Chapter 19
Brianna stretched her arms out in front of her, a loud yawn escaping her lips as she walked towards the front door. Grasping the door knob, Brianna's face immediately gained a wide grin as she looked at her smiling mother waiting patiently outside.
"Mom! What are you doing here?" Julia looked over at her youngest, the mother of three grinning widely as she quickly entered her daughters' home and gave Brianna a hug.
"Well, I wanted to see if anyone wanted to come with me when I headed out to Jade tomorrow. After all, I need to be there for the Arms-Master Tournament and I thought it would be a nice way to spend some time with my daughters." Brianna grinned as she looked over her shoulder, her gaze focusing on the trio of people in the backyard that were sparring with Naruto and doing a fine job of keeping the unpredictable shinobi off balance.
"Hmmm, I'll go for sure, but I think Gina and Brit'll be a little too busy to come this time..."
Flashback
"So, you finished your shower, went to get dressed and you were attacked by three masked people and they...'snerk' grabbed your a-ass and a-attached a b-b-bell collar to your neck! HAHAHAHAHAH!" Naruto fell to the ground, laughing loudly as Britanny glared at him. Moments later the laughter changed to a loud groan, the angry were-cheetah having kicked Naruto in the stomach with bone crushing force. Both Gina and Brianna giggled softly as the were running several scans on the collar, the pair split between concern for their sister and watching Naruto as he recovered from the powerful kick. Gina looked back at her screen, her head shaking slowly as the readings before her caused Gina to sigh loudly.
"Well, it's definitely magical in nature, but I still should be able to get it off. We might have to go talk to dad in the end though, magic is kinda fickle sometimes when it's exposed to technology. Naruto, what about using a seal to take it off?" A loud groan was the only answer that Gina received, a smirk growing on her face as she watched Jaliera levitate the shinobi in the air, the Kryn woman using her body to hold the groaning man upright. Sheila was sitting on a table top, her legs kicking back and forth lazily as she grinned widely at the hijinks occurring around her.
"Son of a... damn, that hurt Britanny! Anyways... Student! What's rule number seventeen concerning seals and their usage?" All eyes focused on Sheila and she glared at Naruto quickly before she cleared her throat.
"Thanks for putting me on the spot Sensei. Umm, never mix different types of energy with an already completed formula?" Naruto nodded as he leaned against his human crutch, Jaliera's grin growing as she held the man close to her curvacious body.
"Correct. I could probably get rid of the damn thing, but the reaction would be... bad. Yeah. We'll go with bad. Theo and I tested a few combinations involving seals and magic, to see if we could increase the effectiveness of some of the items we both use. Chakra wasn't a problem as a energy source for an item designed with it in mind, but introducing chakra into a item that wasn't designed for it produced some results that were..." Gina nodded as she slowly turned back towards her computer.
"Yes, bad, I got it. Well, let's break out the ion cannon, it should be safe enough for this." Naruto grinned as he watched the blood drain from Britanny's face, the young woman not liking the sound of using a cannon to remove the collar when a loud tone caught Gina's attention. "Oh, the phone. I wonder who it could be?"
End flashback
"Turns out that Penny needs a hand over at Civ-Alpha, there's a new beta tool there that's playing havoc with her equipment. Naruto and the others are getting a little sparring as you can see and Gina is gathering the last of the needed supplies. I'mma gonna go grab some stuff for the trip to Jade, wanna go see how the girls are doing against Naruto while you wait?" Julia glanced over her shoulder as her daughter raced up the stairs, a smirk appearing on the Jade Arms-Master face as she stepped outside and sat in one of the comfortable loungers.
Naruto was currently dodging rapidly as Britanny rushed forward, her arms blurring as she launched multiple body blows at the agile shinobi, none of which connected as Naruto demonstrated just how flexible a properly trained shinobi can be. Sheila jumped into the air, a powerful yell following her descent as her chakra encased fist plowed through the ground, a move that had Julia's eyes widening in surprise as a small crater formed at the point of impact.
'Wow, only a few weeks and she's already able to manipulate her chakra to this extent? Either she had specific training that would help her do this or she's a prodigy.' Julia smirked as Jaliera rushed forward, her TK field lashing out and latching into Naruto's ankle, the telekinetic pulling hard and throwing the young man off balance. Naruto growled as he was sent rolling along the ground, his hands pushing against the ground and allowing the man to spring upwards, getting his feet under him as he ran back towards his opponents. A blast of ice from Sheila's recently summoned Ice Fang caused Naruto to skid to a stop but it was too late, a line of thick ice catching Naruto flatfooted, encasing the now struggling shinobi in a block of ice up to his neck. Sheila grinned as she rested her weapon over her shoulder, an equally smug looking Britanny walking up and flicking Naruto in the forehead.
"Told ya we'd win!" Naruto sighed as he stuck out his tongue at the grinning were-cheetah, the comical expression causing Julia to laugh loudly as she clapped slowly.
"Very good girls, it's not everyday that you can get the drop on a Kage level shinobi, even if he is holding back." Naruto continued to struggle against the ice and sighed as he craned his neck over towards his student.
"Alright Sheila, lemme out of this stuff, I'm losing feeling in my fingers already." Sheila grinned as she cracked the ice, her sensei falling to the ground and complaining about his frostbitten fingers. The jag-were stretched her hand out and ruffled Naruto's hair roughly, a giggle passing her lips as she skipped away from Naruto before he could slap her hands in annoyance, the entire scene reminding Julia of how she treated Gar while she had been training him. Rising to her feet, Julia walked towards Naruto and held out her hand to help the Shinobi up. Naruto looked at the offered hand and grinned as he took hold and was hauled to his feet quickly.
"Heh, still got that awesome grip I see. So, to what do we owe the pleasure Julia?" Julia shook her head at the cheesy grin Naruto was sporting as she reached up and messed up his hair, a laugh escaping her lips as Naruto groaned aloud at the treatment. Julia's grin changed to a look of confusion when Naruto suddenly yelped, the shinobi spinning around and glaring at a grinning Jaliera.
"Jaliera! When I get my hands on you..." Julia watched as Jaliera blew Naruto a kiss, spun around and sauntered back into the house. Julia looked back at the annoyed expression on Naruto's face and decided that she would need to have a talk with Brianna about what was going on in this house during their trip.
"Well, other than wanting to see how your training of Sheila was progressing, I came to steal one or more of my daughters away for the next month and a half." Naruto's eyes widened as he shook his head slowly.
"No, say it ain't so, after I was passed out for a few days on Aebra the girls kinda... well, they were kinda..." Julia smirked as she crossed her arms under her sizable breasts.
"They tried to shag you into the ground, didn't they?" Naruto's eyes bugged out of their sockets as he choked on his own spit, his fit of coughing causing Julia to giggle loudly. After the blonde had regained control of his breathing he glared at the still giggling Julia and growled.
"Now I know where they get it from." Naruto shook his head until he felt a slender pair of arms wrap around his neck and pull him close, his vision filled with Julia's red hair before he closed his eyes and put his arms around one of his closest friends, the tense shinobi taking a deep breath as he relaxed into the friendly embrace.
"Ever since you've been with the girls, they've been so happy and so have you. You have no idea how glad I am to see that, I could tell when I first met you that you were hurting after having been alone for some many years. What I'm trying to say is even if you don't make it official, you are now a part of this family and you always will be." Naruto sniffled a bit as he tightened his grip, a grinning Julia smiling as she gave the shinobi a final squeeze before pulling back and looking at Naruto. "Brianna said that she'd be the only one coming with me, she said something about some kind of situation over at a dig-site Penny is excavating?"
"Yeah, this'll be a good time to take Sheila out for a little field experience. Speaking of which, the girl is like a freaking sponge. I don't know if it's cause she's a genius or because her people have managed to remember the teaching methods for chakra usage, but every time I try and teach her something new she picks it up faster than I did... and I picked up this shit fast, once I had a halfway decent teacher that is." Naruto walked towards the house, Julia quickly catching up as the pair watched Brianna come downstairs, a large duffel bag slung over her shoulder. Brianna's grin changed to a sultry smile as she dropped her bag to the floor and wrapped her arms around Naruto, the pair kissing softly as they held each other. Naruto pulled back and grinned as Brianna bit her lower lip, the expression looking unbearably cute on the young woman's face.
"So, Naruto... uh yeah, so mom wants me to go with her to Jade for the Arms Master Tournament, I don't really know when I'll be back, it could be sometime next month..." Brianna trailed off as Naruto leaned in and kissed her once more, effectively ending the awkward explanation.
"Hime, I'm not your keeper, you can come and go as you like, I'll still be around when you get back. And remember, I have a full squad of clones running around Jade right now, I'm sure you'll run into at least one of them... speaking of which, I wonder how that Sage clone is doing in jail right now?"
Jade Realm – Seer's Dungeon
"PRISON RIOT!" Sage-Clone Naruto grinned widely as he ducked under a flying body, his fist lashing out and decking another inmate and sending him careening into a wall, the large man's body cratering the reinforced magical structure. "COME ON YOU WUSSIES, STOP TRYING TO HIT ME AND HIT ME!"
Back on Earth
Naruto shivered slightly as he looked over at Julia. "Um, I think you better get my clone out of prison, I just felt a disturbance in the Chakra and that's never a good sign." Just as Naruto finished speaking a glass on the kitchen counter exploded, the shards of glass falling to the ground slowly while the trio watched the strange phenomenon occur. Naruto turned back to Julia and narrowed his gaze. "Yeah, I think you may want to make that prison visit your top priority once you get there."
Gina stepped out of the elevator and smiled widely as she jumped on Naruto's back, giggling madly as her boyfriend grabbed her by the thighs and held her aloft. Looking towards the door, Gina waved at Julia and Brianna, her mom dropping a small scroll to the ground.
"Mom! When did you get here?" Julia grinned as a small portal opened up behind her, the pristine scene that met Gina's eyes letting the genius know that her mom was heading back to Jade.
"Just came by to invite you all to come to my tournament, but Brianna filled me in that most of you are heading out to help out Penny. Oh yeah, I also need to see just what kind of trouble Naruto's clones have gotten into, make sure they haven't overthrown the government, started the apocalypse, you know, the usual stuff when this menace is involved. Gina, it's up to you to keep that little troublemaker out of trouble while Brianna and I are gone, I know I can count on you!" Gina giggled as she heard Naruto growl softly, an action that caused the genius to kiss the shinobi on the cheek. Moments after the portal snapped shut, Naruto looked over his shoulder at a grinning Gina, his curious expression causing Gina's arms to tighten around him.
"Hey, I'm not that much of a troublemaker, am I?" Gina laughed loudly as she jumped off of Naruto's back and shook her head.
"No, your not that much of a troublemaker..." Naruto sighed as he relaxed, his eyes closing and missing the mischievous smirk on Gina's face. "... you're much worse, easily the most troublesome shinobi on the planet." Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose as he groaned, the action causing Gina to giggle as she jumped off of Naruto's back and walked upstairs to change.
Moments later Sheila and Jaliera came running down the stairs, both girls ready for the trip to the dig site. Several minutes later, Gina made her appearance, a frown marring her pretty face as she saw the group standing before her.
"Well crap, I didn't even think about how I'd be getting all five of use to the site, the car only seats four... unless.." Gina looked over at Naruto and he shook his head adamantly
"Oh no, hell no, I am not transforming into a spare tire and riding in the trunk again, screw that! I could leg it, it's not that far for me, this would also give me a chance to setup the Hiraishin network that way. Besides, that way you can all spend some girl time together." As Naruto watched the trio of women enter the elevator he walked towards his room, wanting to make sure he was prepared for this new dig.
Several hours later
Gina let out a sigh as she threw her jacket back into the Ginamobile, the sweltering heat of the Nevada desert causing the young woman to sweat as soon as she exited her air conditioned car. Looking over to her right, Gina watched Jaliera float out of the car, her arms raised over her head as she stretched languidly after being stuck in the back seat for the entire ride. Sheila and Britanny had already clambered out of the car and had begun to unpack all the gear that Penny had asked for, said gear causing Gina to grimace. "This sucks, I thought my days of chisel and sable brush were behind me. So, are you all coming with me to the dig site?" Jaliera landed beside Gina, her arm landing across the blonde's shoulders as she grinned at her friend. Britanny shook her head and held her hand out to her sister.
"Me and Sheila are going to take a rain check, we'll take the car and pick up some snacks while you two go see what's got Penny so riled up. And where the heck is Naruto? Shouldn't he be here by now?"
Meanwhile...
Naruto sighed in satisfaction as he finished his seventh bowl of ramen, sliding the stack of bowls towards the wide eyed waitress. "Wow, I've never seen anyone eat that much Ramen, let alone that fast!" Naruto chuckled as he stood up, his bill held in his hand as he made his way to the register.
"Hah, if I wasn't behind schedule I'd stay and eat some more, but I really got to get out of here. Keep the change, that was awesome!" Naruto quickly exited the restaurant, picked up his GPS and checked where he was currently. One light kick off the ground later and Naruto was off, the air pressure generated by his intense speed sending dust flying everywhere. As soon as Naruto exited Tempe he cut loose, his speed increasing dramatically as he felt Kurama's chakra coursing through him. 'Next stop, Civ-Alpha!'
Back in Nevada
Gina and Jaliera had entered the large cave before them, the pair gasping in awe as they walked through the silent city, the pair reaching the far side fairly quickly. A loud beep caught Gina's attention as she pulled a walkie talkie out of her backpack. "That you, Penny?"
'You know it girl. Hurry on up, we're waiting on you! Just follow the crates and you'll find us!" Gina looked around and began walking to the large crate that was on the platform with her. As Gina looked out towards the far side of the cavern she gulped loudly, seeing a large chasm stretched out before her with several crates placed on top of several large rock formations along the way.
"Are you kidding?! I'll never make it across this place! You had Charlie carry you across, didn't you?" A soft chuckle caused Gina to sigh as she placed the walkie talkie back in her backpack with an indignant huff. But just before she could jump, Gina felt a strong hand grasp her forearm and hold her back. Looking over her shoulder, Gina looked at a grinning Jaliera in confusion for a moment, when it dawned on her that it would be no problem to get across the chasm. Moments later Gina and Jaliera landed on the final platform, a pouting Penny watching as Jaliera set her TK bubble down, a dirty Ryan looked over his shoulder before waving at the new arrivals, the martial artist turning back to the item he was digging out of the ground. Gina grinned as she watched Charlotte, the harpy happily flicking her claws against the stalactites as they each produced their own unique musical notes every time she struck them with her claws
"Damn, and I wanted to see if Gina was actually gonna try and jump. Anyways, here it is girl, this is why your here." Gina dropped to her knees as she looked at the partially buried disc, the glyphs that adorned it causing her eyebrows to raise in surprise and shock. Jaliera looked at the item and crossed her arms under her breasts, confusion written all over her face.
"What is it Gina?" Gina looked over at her companion and let out a deep breath before replying.
"It's a Beta Tomb." Just as Gina was about to touch the metallic disc before her a loud beep broke her concentration.
"Hey sis, we got company."
Outside...
"Who? Penny owns all the land around here for miles!" Britanny raised her hand to block out the sun as she watched a trio of helicopters land nearby.
"I'll know in just a second when they... oh hoh! It's the Montara Twins, Naruto is gonna be REAL happy when he gets here! He's been looking to getting back at those jokers for months! And... looks like Pee Wee and his crew are here, but it looks like someone is..." Britanny trailed off as she sniffed the air, the strong scent of men's cologne coming from right behind her alerting the were-cheetah to the approaching threat. Britanny's ears twitched as she heard a near silent step land behind her, her tail lashed out and wrapping around the person's leg as the were-cheetah quickly stood. Looking over her shoulder Britanny grinned as she watched a surprised Daishi lose his footing, his katana slipping from his grasp as he slid away from his opponent.
"Hey, Daishi! Long time no see, looks like you finally got out of the hospital. How are those wounds that Naruto gave you, they giving you any trouble?" Britanny spun around and was about to race towards her opponent when a calm voice interrupted the fight.
"Yeah, some masked guy. Yeah, he looks like a stereotypical ninja. Really? Gotcha sensei! Ok, I'll keep an eye out." Daishi and Britanny looked up at the top of the outcropping to their right, their gazes landing on a very happy jag-were.
"Hey Brit, Sensei says that I can jump in if he's too much for you or if someone interrupts the fight. Otherwise, kick his ass!" Britanny grinned evilly as she leaped forward, Daishi weaving under her powerful punch and hitting the shocked were-cheetah with a powerful chop to the neck, knocking the young woman off balance as he threw a rising front kick to Britanny's chin. As Britanny began to fall to the ground her eyes widened as she saw wisps of energy gathering around one of Daishi's hands, the ninja raising his arm behind himself before flinging the appendage forward as if he were throwing a bowling ball. The chi energy compressed around his hand exploded forth, blasting Brittany back through a stone wall and sending her skidding along the ground, the young woman coughing loudly as blood leaked from her mouth.
As Britanny painfully rose to her feet, the gasping were-cheetah wiped a trail of blood from her chin as she saw her opponent stalking towards her, Britanny's previously flippant attitude disappearing in a moment. "Ok, so you wanna play rough? I can do rough..." Pushing herself to her feet, Britanny bent low and raced forward, her enhanced speed allowing her to close in on Daishi and deliver a punishing kick to his family jewels, the genetically enhanced ninja groaning as Britanny grabbed him by his tunic and reeled him in.
"Nothing like a 'Cheetah Kick to the Jewels!' to end a fight, now how about you just..." Britanny's voice trailed off as she felt Daishi's hand grab her wrist, twisting the were-cheetah's arm forcefully as he slid into her guard and lashed out with a back fist to Britanny's ribs, causing the woman to wince. "THAT'S IT! Your goin' DOWN! Lights out, ninja boy!" Britanny's hand flashed forward, yanking Daishi's mask over his eyes, blinding the man and giving Britanny all the time she needed to make her move, a vicious kick to the back of Daishi's knee caused the man to lose his balance so that Britanny could sweep his feet out from under him, both moves taking less than a second for the angry speedster. As Daishi slowly fell towards the ground Britanny clenched her fist and sent it flying forward, sending her opponent tumbling along the ground in a heap, a low growl his only response to the beating he had just endured.
"HAH! How did you like that extra strength dose of Reality, you son of a..." Britanny trailed off as she saw Sheila appear beside her suddenly, the jag-were's hand straining against the air as if it was grasping onto something . Sheila smirked as her ears wiggled slightly, her tense arm pulling what ever she had caught towards her, her free fist flying through the air and Britanny heard the familiar crack of a fist smacking loudly against flesh. A loud squawk of indignation and Zelda suddenly appeared before the lycanthrope pair, the genetically enhanced woman wiping at the blood leaking from the corner of her mouth as she growled at the newest arrival.
"You bitch! How the hell did you know I was even there?" Sheila smirked as she placed her arms on her hips, her stance causing Zelda to growl loudly as she glared at the shorter woman.
"Please, you're noisier than a stampeding bull, I could hear your approach ever since the fight started. Same with the guy that's behind you, he may as well drop the stealth spell, it won't work on me." Sheila's smirk grew as Ionis slowly appeared, an annoyed look on his face at having been detected so easily. "So, 2 on 3, I like them odds." Britanny looked down at her companion, shaking her head as she got into a ready stance once more.
"Girl, you've been hanging around Naruto too much. I'll handle Daishi, you see if you can keep Zelda and Ionis busy!" As Daishi rose to his feet, Ionis shook his head and placed a hand on the ninja's shoulder before he could rush towards Britanny.
"Sorry ladies, but 'Lord Talon' requires our presence inside. We'll give your regards to Gina when we find where she's hiding!" Britanny growled as the trio was surrounded with ethereal energy, the angry faces of Zelda and Daishi focusing on the two lycanthropes before they vanished into thin air.
"Dammit! Sis, your gonna have some company real soon! Pee Wee and his goons are porting in, Sheila and I'll try and cut'em off when they get in the entrance!"
Deep underground
"Ok Brit, better bring the car with you, we may need it! And you better put on 'you-know-what', I got a feeling it's gonna come in handy really soon!" Gina was about to put her walkie talkie away when Britanny responded.
"OH NO, I am not putting that thing on, it still gives me the creeps! I'll think of something else if one of these things shows up!"
"DAMMIT BRIT! Now's not the time to be stubborn, 'you-know-what' may be our only chance to keeps the phantoms off of our asses!" Sighing in frustration, Gina turned back towards the beta tomb and chewed on her lower lip as she tried to piece together what was happening.
"Why would Pee Wee and the Montara's be here? They must already know that we cleared the place out of all the treasure, so what do they want?"
Ryan sighed as he looked down at the Beta tomb, shaking his head slowly. "Well, Pee Wee is a geneticist, he must have found out about the beta phantoms and wants to try and get a sample. But that doesn't explain the Montara's, they only like cash." Penny crouched in front of the tomb, her eyes narrowed as she took a deep breath.
"And artifacts containing secrets to ancient psychic powers. But in this case, it may be the psychic power that wants them. When I was absorbed by that Beta Phantom earlier (Happened off screen last chapter), despite it's attempts to take over my mind I was in complete control the entire time, even though I could tell that it had loads of psychic power. Seems like the phantoms need someone to teach them about the human psyche and who better than a human psychic. Anyways, we better concentrate on this, you can remove the lid Charlotte." Charlotte gulped loudly as she used her enhanced strength to lift the large metallic plate, revealing a cloth wrapped being held in the beta tomb.
"W-w-what is it Penny?" Penny stood up, her eyes staring intently inside of the tomb, her gaze focused on the occupant that they had uncovered.
"It's a Saurian 'Mummy', preserved through Beta Technology. We've started the process to wake him up, we should be the first people he's spoken with in over forty million years. Now, all we can do is wait and see what happens."
The darkened caverns of Civ-Alpha were a dark hive of passageways, but the psionic Montara twins were traversing the site as if they had visited it every day, unerringly homing in on the psionic signal that was drawing them closer.
'Brother, I can almost taste it, we are drawing close to the energy! But I still feel that we should use caution, Erwin Talon is afraid to come into these caves and as such we have time to send out a Psi-Probe, which will tell us what lies ahead!'
'I beg to differ sister, Erwin's minions are approaching his location, soon they will make their way here so our time is short! There is no time for a Psi-Pro...' Both Montara's froze in fear as the looked up, a silvery being towering over the pair as they entered a small antechamber.
"MONTARA, WAIT NO LONGER."
Meanwhile
"Finally. Daishi, chase after Cheetah on your own time, we are here on business." A low growl was Erwin's only answer as his minions followed him into the darkened cave, you young genius tripping over a loose stone and nearly falling on his face before Daishi grabbed his shirt, halting his fall. Zelda looked looked at the stalactite covered ceiling over their heads, whistling lowly as she drew closer to Erwin.
"Hey, Pee Wee, I mean Lord Talon, where's Montara?" As Erwin stood on his feet once more, he adjust his glasses and sighed.
"That's what I'm wondering Zel..."
"NO! STAY AWAY! NOOOOOO!"
"BROTHER!"
Erwin froze as he stared into the inky darkness, the screams of the Montara's fading slowly as the quartet drew closer to each other. "W-what... was THAT?" Daishi's eyes widened as he reached forward, grabbing Erwin and flipping backward, landing on a clinging to the rock like a spider.
"Lord Talon is secure. Prepare for combat while I keep him safe." The sound of something massive moving in the darkness was heard, they booming steps getting closer.
"D-defensive positions! Montara encountered something huge! Ionis, you're leading defense!" Everyone's eyes were focused on the darkness before them, the only sound was the rhythmic pounding of the massive being making it's way towards Erwin's group.
"Don't worry Pee Wee! I got a quad Thundershot coming online right now! This thing won't know what hit... it..." Ionis' confidant voice trailed off as the blackness before them appeared to take shape, it's inhuman proportions causing everyone to take a step backwards.
As it's blank face scanned the humans before it, it's head seemed to be focusing on Ionis, the mage sweating as he gathered more energy for his spell. Ethereal flames began to appear before the blank face, the fiery energy slowly gathering into a single, focused point right before the creature until the energy rocketed towards Ionis, a focused beam of energy that shattered a stalactite in it's way as if it were nothing more than a sheet of paper, the once confidant mage covering his face with his hands. "Escape Ward!"
Zelda stiffly turned towards her teammate, watching as he disappeared just before the beam of energy could hit him, the creature's attack continuing through the stone wall and peppering the enhanced woman with fragments of rock.
Daishi jumped to the ground and let Erwin down, the young genius shaking as he backed away fearfully. "T-that was twenty feet of solid rock!" Daishi's gaze narrowed as his hands rose, chi already gathering in his palms as he prepared his attack.
"Zelda, dodge left, I'll handle this creature!" As Zelda bit back a scream, the woman diving to the floor as a second beam lashed out at her, Daishi took a deep breath as the chi in his hands glowed even brighter, the creature finally turning towards the ninja and preparing a third blast of ethereal energy. "SHINKU-GADOBEAM!" Daishi thrust his hands forward, an immense beam of chi energy lancing out towards the shadowy being.
Erwin breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he could count on Daishi to protect him from anything, when the creature's hand rose up and the Gadobeam bounced off the of it, the energy blasting through the ceiling of the cave and sending shards of rock skittering towards the ground. A nervous Erwin looked back at his minions, the terrified face of Zelda as well as the worried look in Daishi's eyes causing the young boy to panic.
"That's it! Let's get the hell out of here!" The sound of a powerful engine caused everyone to turn around, a set of powerful lights cutting through the darkness. Erwin watched as Brittany and another were-cat exited Gina's car, the normally bubbly were-cheetah looking very grim.
"Not a bad idea Pee Wee, but these things can catch me, which means you three have no chance of out running it, so I guess yer all screwed! But, as much as I'd like to see you all get your just desserts, I can't watch you die so I'll handle this one. Sheila, you get them to safety, I don't know how much of a mess this thing is gonna make, better safe than sorry." Sheila nodded as she raced forward, grabbing the diminutive Pee Wee and slinging him over her shoulder like a bag of groceries and sprinting towards the exit. As the jag-were raced towards the exit with her new package, the shadowy being's head followed her path as azure flames appearing once more as it prepared to fire on it's fleeing opponents. But just as it was about to fire, the phantom's head whipped around and stared at Britanny, her arm held out in front of her as the Phantom Ring spun around it swiftly.
'Well, this better work sis, or else this is gonna be the shortest offensive of all time!'
Meanwhile, with Naruto
Naruto continued sprinting through the Nevada desert, a pair of sunglasses adorning his face as he ran through the arid desert. As the shinobi crested a sand dune, he skidded to a stop and pulled a canteen from his belt, drinking deeply as he caught his breath, a wide smile as he looked at the familiar scenery.
"Ah, reminds me of Suna, good times. Well, I'm almost there, a few more minutes and..." Naruto's voice trailed off as he felt the ground shake below him, the shinobi holding his arms out as his chakra clung to the sand beneath his feet, preventing himself from falling. Moments later a loud screeching noise caused Naruto to look at the mountain he was traveling towards, a brilliant sphere of light blasting out of the top of the mountain amid a shower of debris. Narrowing his gaze on the sphere that was hovering in the air, Naruto's eyes widened as he saw it turn on a dime and blast towards the mountain once more, effortlessly passing through the stone before it appeared on the other side of the mountain. As the shinobi reached into his pouch for his phone, he watched the sphere making constant passes at the interior of the mountain at something inside of it.
Dialing rapidly, Naruto watched as the glowing sphere picked up speed, the mountain it was crashing into quickly turning into Swiss cheese under it's assault. Raising the phone to his ear, Naruto heard the dial tone and turned away from the sight before him when Sheila picked up.
"Sheila, what the hell is going on over there! There's some kind weird glowing orb..."
"FORGET ABOUT THAT! Cheetah's in there alone with a Beta Phantom!" Naruto's phone slipped from slack fingers, his expression changing from surprise to intense worry in a moment. Crouching down, Naruto 's chakra enhanced legs pushed off of the sand beneath him, the shinobi racing across the arid field towards his friend. Naruto growled as his chakra flaring brightly, the blonde pushing himself harder than he had for a long time as his worry for Cheetah grew with each step. Just as Naruto reached the entrance to Civ-Alpha, a titanic explosion hurled Naruto away from the cave, causing him to roll along the ground like a rag doll. Several minutes later Naruto groaned as he slowly stood, his hand wiping at a trail of blood that was falling into his eyes as the loud ringing in his ears caused the shinobi to shake his head slowly as he stood. Moments later Sheila appeared beside him, her hands running over his arms and face as she tried to talk to him but he heard nothing but the same ringing sound.
"WHAT?" Sheila sighed as she shook her head, finally understanding that Naruto couldn't hear a word she was saying. Just as the jag-were was about to turn away, she saw Naruto's hands twitching and her eyes widened, recognizing the movements as a set of hand signals that Gaja had taught her when she joined the Edge Guard, the shinobi looking at her intently as Sheila began responding in turn with her own hand signs.
"I'M FINE! I'LL GO CHECK ON CHEETS!" The shinobi turned towards the significantly brighter cave, his jaw dropping as he slowed rapidly once he came across Britanny and the car... and the massive smoking crater surrounding them both.
"SHIT, IT LOOKS LIKE ME AND KURAMA WENT CHKRA BIJU MODE IN HERE! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" Naruto's yelling attracted Britanny's attention, the were-cheetah waving cheerily at the shinobi as he leaped towards the epicenter of the explosion. As soon as he landed, Naruto sighed in relief as his hearing finally returned to normal, the ringing stopping just as Britanny leaped towards him, the young woman whooping loudly as she grabbed the shinobi in a hug.
"Oh wow! You should have seen it Naruto! That was so awesome!" Naruto grinned as he looked at the devastation around him in awe, his arms holding onto the woman that had caused this destruction.
"Seen it, hell I felt it, I got caught in the blast wave. Would have deafened me if I didn't have Kurama around to patch me up too. What the heck happened Cheets?" Just as Britanny was about to explain what had happened, a loud beeping sound caused the two to stop for a moment, both of them looking down and realizing just how close they were to each other. Britanny's eyes widened and she jumped away, a nervously chuckling Naruto rubbing the back of his head as Britanny grabbed the walkie talkie, her cheeks flushed as she began speaking with Gina. Naruto whistled loudly as he continued to survey the devastation before him when he heard a soft chuckle from his partner.
'Well, it looks like you're not the only one that can cause untold amounts of property damage.' Naruto's growl caused Kurama to cackle madly, the pair bickering mentally as Britanny continued her conversation.
With Cheetah
"Relax Gina, everything is fine." Britanny winced as her sister screamed at her, the were-cheetah pulling the radio away form her ear until her sister ended her rant. "Hey, stop yelling like that, my ears are killing me!"
"Well I'm sorry miss "Relax, everything is fine'! What the heck was that explosion, it felt like a freaking nuke going off! What happened to Pee Wee and his gang?" Britanny rummaged around in the car, grabbing a can of pop and cracking the top as she took a swig of the sugary beverage.
"Well, Pee Wee and his flunkies all decided to run away before I started the fight, they should be fine. Actually, I wonder where Sheila is, she helped them get clear..."
"Never mind, what the heck happened up there?" Britanny took another sip of her drink as she saw Sheila appear at the edge of the crater, the jag-were waving her arm and catching Britanny's attention.
"Sweet, there's Sheila, hey Naruto! Go grab her, I don't think she's quite as good as you are at jumping such long distances yet. And I'll tell you everything that happened later Gina, I'm not really sure what exactly happened."
"Naruto is here? Great! But sis, was it a Beta Phantom?" Britanny looked at the devastation surrounding her and chuckled softly.
"You could say that. Also, about this ring-a-mabob you made to stop these guys? It works.. does it ever work." Dropping her radio into a pocket, Britanny turned around jut as Naruto landed, Sheila held in his arms and giggling as she put her arms around her sensei's neck.
"That's so much fun, keep going sensei!" Naruto sighed as he mock glared at his student, the jag-were giving her teacher her best attempt at puppy dog eyes that she was capable of. A reluctant sigh escaped Naruto's throat as he jumped into the air once more, Sheila whooping in joy as the pair sailed to the other side of the crater, Naruto not even putting Sheila down as he raced down the tunnel towards the dig site. Britanny growled softly, crushing the empty can of soda in her hands as she glared at the disappearing pair.
"That little... wait, what the heck is wrong with me? Why am I getting jealous? Never mind, I gotta go." Just as Britanny was about to get back in the car, a loud crash caused her to spin around, her eyes widening as she watched the beta phantom rise from the still smoking crater, the titanic being not even looking at her as he climbed out of the it's previous resting place.
"SHIT! Where's the Phantom Ring?!" Britanny spun around her, blood running cold as she saw the beta phantom step on the Phantom ring, the creature's large foot crushing the device as if it wasn't even there. Grabbed the radio again, Britanny screamed loudly as she backed away from the Beta Phantom. "GINA! Gina, help me! ThephantomringisbrokenandImgonnadieee! It's... It's... what the?" Britanny's eyes looked on in surprise as she watched the Beta Phantom continue to walk out of the crater, it's immense bulk disappearing in the dense smoke that still rose from the crater/ Moments later the booming footsteps faded and Britanny fell to her knees, her left eye twitching as she stared at the direction the phantom had walked towards.
"Brit! Brit? What's going on, what is it?" Britanny shook her head slowly as she raised the walkie talkie back to her ear and swallowed loudly.
"Gina? What kind of weirdness have you dragged me into this time?"
With Naruto and Sheila
Sheila's breath caught in her throat as Naruto continued to run down the corridors of Civ-Alpha, the feeling of behind held in his arms causing the young woman to blush slightly as she tried to gather her thoughts, something that had just happened piquing her curiosity. 'Ok, just take a deep breath and ask him... oh wow, his arms are so firm and muscled... DAMMIT, focus! Focus!' Sheila took a deep breath and turned towards her smiling sensei as he continued to navigate the darkened cave before them.
"Naruto, how did you know that sign language we used? I was taught it when I joined the Edge Guard, but it should have been impossible for you to have learned it. Gaja told us it was one that wasn't taught anymore." Sheila's eyebrows raised slightly as Naruto chuckled and shook his head.
"True, I doubt that it is taught anymore, after all it's over fifteen thousand years old. The reason I know it is because I was one of the people that helped develop it. After the Fourth Shinobi War, the elite of all the villages liked to get together every once in a while, share stories, hang out, renew old friendships that blossomed during the last war. But, sometimes we needed to share information that was sensitive, so some of us decided to create a secret language, only known by the elite of the elite. This was real secret stuff, you should be honored to have learned it. After all, how do think I concocted this insane plan with Onoli without being able to talk with him beforehand?
Flashback - Chapter 17 – Far side of Seer's Hamlet
Naruto-2 sighed happily as he bounded through the tree homes of Seer's Hamlet, the fresh air a nice change from the crowded and polluted cities that now covered Earth.
"Ah, progress. In the end, it destroys more than it saves it seems. Now, how about you guys come out and we can talk." Naruto-2 turned around and watched Gar and Onoli land on the rooftop he was crouching on, the pair of were-cats panting lightly as they watched the man before them.
"You've led us on.. whew, a merry chase Naruto. But, we must bring you in, as much as it pains me to do so. You are to be questioned by the Sheriff for your involvement with the disturbances in Seer's Hamlet over the past two days, please come with us quietly." Naruto-2 grinned as he stood up, facing his friends as his hands started twitching.
-Oi, you two better understand what I'm saying here, or else Gaja fails as a teacher.- Naruto grinned as he watched Onoli and Gar blink slowly, his grin changing into a full blown smile. -So, you do understand me, good.-
"Hey, I know you're just doing your jobs guys, no hard feelings. But, there is one small, little problem...I'm not exactly willing to go quietly." The clone watched as both Gar and Onoli's eyes widened, the pair shifting into their fighting stances as their hands also began to twitch.
-What the... Naruto, where did you learn this sign language? Gaja told us was a secret!-
-Apparently there is more to you then meets the eye, Naruto. What is it you wish to tell us that cannot be spoken?-
Naruto snorted as he shook his head, one of his hands sliding into his pocket while he raised his free hand so he could scratch the side of his nose. Both were-cats growled and leaped towards Naruto, the clone's grin never faltering as the trio began bounding over the roof tops, their hands and feet flying through the air as they fought on their way towards Nali's clinic.
End flashback
"So, after I gave them the sign to attack me, we had a running, fighting sign language conversation on the way back to the clinic. Both of them were now aware of the fact I am a shinobi and that Gaja and I were working together. After we entered the clinic and we found Gaja...
Flashback – Chapter 17 - Nali's clinic
"Heh, the legends are true... a completely insane warrior that is nigh unstoppable and also a man willing to do anything for those that are dear to him... I know my time is short... and there are things you must know, come closer." Naruto bowed his head and leaned forward, the old mage taking a deep breath as he spoke softly.
"Strange occurrences are afoot, not only here in Seer's Hamlet but in many locations across Jade. I and my students were to investigate these situations, but now I pass this charge to you, Shinobi of Konoha. Please help my students with your powers and wisdom." Naruto looked down at Gaja in shock as the old jag-were chuckled weakly. "Ok, just your power than, wisdom may be pushing it." Naruto chuckled weakly as he nodded his head slowly, his hand grasping Gaja's firmly
"You got it old man, consider it done."
End Flashback
"So that's why you surrendered so easily?" Naruto nodded as he continued to leap across several large rock formations, his senses homing in on Jaliera and Gina on the ledge ahead of him.
"Yep, on the way to the sheriff's office I put myself into Sage mode so that they assumed that was how I normally looked. First chance I got I swapped with a sage clone and he's been cooling his heels in prison the entire time we've been on Earth. He's the leader of a small brigade of clones that are searching the towns and hamlets of Jade, looking for people with the same characteristics of the Sheriff and Judge of Seer's Hamlet." Sheila's head whipped around as she stared open mouthed at Naruto.
"Wait, the Sheriff AND the Judge? They don't even look remotely similar!" Naruto laughed loudly as he flipped forward, Sheila squealing as she tightened her grip around Naruto's neck.
"True, but they had the same basic scent, mannerisms, body language and more importantly, chakra. They stand out like a sore thumb to a shinobi like me, or a canny were-panther like your friend Thorpan. Well, we're here! Last stop, Ancient Saurian Tupperware containers, Aisle 5!" Sheila giggled as the pair landed, Naruto setting his student on her feet as Jaliera ran towards the pair. Gina was hunched over her computer, her brow furrowed as she rapidly tapped away at her laptop. Naruto greeted Jaliera with a hug and turned towards Gina, his foot snaking out and tapping against Gina;s thigh to grab her attention.
"Oi, should I leave you and the computer alone? I can get you guys a room if you need it, I'll get you an awesome deal on the going rate." Gina looked up at her boyfriend, sticking out her tongue and blowing him a raspberry in response to his teasing as she turned back towards her computer.
"Hey Naru, no time to greet you properly, that shockwave that Brit set off is allowing me to map this whole complex, but I have to finish before it dissipates. Where is Brit by the way?" Naruto looked over towards the cave he had exited earlier as he heard the Ginamobile land.
"There she is, I'm gonna go see what happened, I'll talk with you later Kirei." As Naruto spun around and walked towards Britanny, Jaliera slid up beside Sheila and nudged the jag-were with her elbow.
"So, I noticed you arrived in Naruto's arms, how was it?" Sheila grinned saucily at Jaliera and crossed her arms under her small breasts, a self satisfied look crossing her features.
"All I can say is Gina and Brianna are damn lucky to have a guy like him." Jaliera grinned as she watched Naruto enter the dark cave before the pair
Naruto yawned loudly just as he got exited the final passage, seeing Britanny as she stood over the destroyed Phantom Ring, both Penny and Charlotte looking at the wrecked device as the were-cheetah continued explaining what had happened up above.
"So after the Ring started floating, I took off like a shot for the Phantom, but I missed and punched through the mountain! After I realized that yes, I wasn't imagining that I was seeing daylight I discovered I could steer the damned thing! So I circled around for another pass, punching through the mountain effortlessly as I tried to nail that giant bastard!" Naruto walked forward and hip checked Britanny, gaining a mock glare as he nodded slowly.
"So that's what I saw in the air above the mountain. Why did you keep making passes like that Cheets?" Britanny looked down at her feet as she kicked a small pebble, the gesture causing Naruto to laugh internally. 'Aw, she's embarrassed, how cute!'
"Well... I kept missing, that bastard had to have been a dodge ball champ in a previous life! That's the only way he could have dipped, ducked, dodged and dove like he did, it wasn't until he started staring out towards the desert that I managed to tag him. But it was really weird, it was almost like every time I made a pass the Phantom Ring kept spinning faster and faster, it felt like it was going a million RPM's!"
Penny's eyes widened as she looked away for a moment, a bead of sweat appearing on her brow as she swallowed a lump in her throat. 'Dammit, they've already found the Phantom Ring's weakness!' Just as Penny was about to continue speaking the genius heard a voice that caused chills to run down her spine.
"But Penny, in your secret notebook you wrote that if something like that happened than the Ring would explode into a million bits! And won the explosion then scatter the person wearing it across the universe at the speed of light?" Penny's gaze narrowed as she struggled to control her anger, her body trembling as she continued looking at her tablet while Charlotte hovered over her friend's shoulder.
"Charlotte? WHO said it was ok to read my PERSONAL- Top Secret- notebook?" Charlotte sniffed as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, Naruto's head swiveling back and forth as he watched the tense conversation unfold before him while Britanny had frozen solid after hearing what had almost happened to her.
"I know I did a bad thing Penny, but I like reading about all the romantic stuff you and Ace do together... speaking of which, I was meaning to ask you something that confused me, I was home when you and Ace came back from your last date and I was pretty sure I never felt the earth move at all..." A loud growl caused Charlotte to back away from Penny and cower behind a large boulder.
"Dammit... we'll talk about this later Charlotte. Britanny, Charlotte was right, it sounds like you hit the Beta Phantom just in time, otherwise you may have gone poof and then... no more Cheetah." Naruto looked over at the shell shocked Britanny and poked her forearm gently.
"Cheets?" Naruto saw Britanny shake herself as if she were waking up from a bad dream, her voice strangely quite as she decided to express how she felt about the possible outcome of her fight.
"That would have stung..." Britanny stiffly turned towards the passageway Naruto had come from and walked away quickly, causing Penny to shake her head sadly. Naruto sighed as he watched his friend walk away, his first instinct was to run after her and try and calm Britanny down but something was niggling at the back of his mind. As he replayed what had happened before Britanny had managed to hit the Phantom, the blonde rubbed his chin as an idea formed in his mind.
'When I started running towards the mountain to get to Cheets, I was releasing a lot of chakra... could it have been looking towards me? But why would it do that?' As Naruto pondered this question for several minutes a loud explosion caused the shinobi's head to snap towards the tunnel Britanny had run into earlier, his worry sending him racing away from a screaming Penny and Charlotte. As Naruto sped through the tunnel, his worry grew as he rushed into a cloud of dust, the shinobi not even pausing as he raced towards his loved ones on the other side. As he exited the tunnel, Naruto skidded to a stop, his mouth working silently as he saw the scene before him. After a moment the normally unflappable blonde finally found the words to describe the situation he now found himself in as he stared at the towering pair locked in combat before him, one of the creatures a familiar looking shadowy being and the other...
"What the hell is that thing?!"
Several minutes earlier
Ryan shook his head sadly as he entered the Beta tomb chamber, his eyes drawn towards Gina as she continued to work on her computer, a soft sigh escaping the young man's mouth as he looked at the young woman before him. 'I really did screw up with Gina in the end.' As the martial artist looked around the chamber he saw that Gina was no longer alone, a smile gracing his features as he took in the sight of Jaliera and Sheila talking quietly at the far end of the cavern. Dropping his bag to the ground, Ryan sauntered over to the two furry woman and gave them his most sincere smile as he greeted the pair of exotic women before him.
"Hello ladies, Ryan Tabbot at your service. I'm guessing you're friends of Gina?" As Ryan continued to study the beautiful women standing before him, he saw a slightly confused look spread over the face of the taller woman.
"Tabbot... Tabbot... I know I've heard that name before... Oh yeah! You're that blowhard that Naruto scared the shit out of! Well, my name is Jaliera and I have heard ALL about you." At Jaliera's smirk, Ryan sighed and turned to the shorter woman. Ryan cocked an eyebrow when the young girl shook her head and placed her hands on her hips.
"Don't look at me, Naruto's my sensei, he'd kick your ass if you so much as looked at me the wrong way. Besides, I don't date two timing jackasses." Ryan's head fell as both woman giggled at him, the pair giving each other a high five as Ryan began walking towards Gina. As Gina heard his footsteps approach, the young genius looked up from her computer and gave Ryan a brief smile before going back to work.
"I see my reputation has proceeded me... I guess I'll never have a chance with any girl you hang out with, will I?" Gina giggled softly as she set her laptop on the ground, the blonde pulling out a canteen and glancing at the martial artist from the corner of her eye as she slowly sipped it's contents.
"Well, I can't be sure about any others we add later, but you won't have any luck with those two. Jaliera is already... 'attached' to someone and Sheila is more concerned with becoming a... how did she put it? Oh yeah, a 'kick ass shinobi like my sensei!'." Gina sighed in contentment as she put her canteen in her pack, the pinging of her laptop a moment later causing Gina to squeal in excitement. "Finally! That shockwave from Brit's fight let me map the entire cavern around us, it's about time that I finally got a complete look at this place!" As Gina focused on the computer in front of her, Ryan looked down at the now opened tomb, the silent occupant giving Ryan the shivers as he looked away from the scene before him.
"Gina, why the heck are you working near this thing? Damned mummy gives me the creeps..." Gina looked up and sighed, her intent gaze focusing on the tomb's occupant.
"Because we've determined that this Saurian was the one that had left all of the messages we've found so far, each of which pointed to this location. The Tomb lid gave us the instructions on how to wake him, so either Penny or I are around the baby-sit him until he wakes up. We're hoping that he has a solution to the Beta Phantom issue but never had a chance to implement it."
"GINA!" Gina blinked rapidly as she turned around, her eyes focusing on her angry sister as she stalked towards her.
"Cheets?"
"Why didn't you tell me? Seriously, you could have warned me that your little Ring gizmo could have shredded me into ground beef then scattered me around the cosmos! Or was the safety of your little sister so unimportant I didn't even rate a warning?" Gina's expression rapidly changed to a remorseful one as she stood, reaching a hand out towards her sister.
"But Brit, I..."
"No Buts Gina! From now on I'm OUT! I can't believe you this time, I mean usually you warn me if something you want me to test is dangerous, but this is so far beyond anything you've pulled before that I'm... what are you doing?" Gina's remorseful look slowly changed into one of horror, her hand rising shakily as she pointed over Britanny's shoulder. "What, something goin'on behind my back? This better be good cause I am so pissed off..." As Britanny slowly turned around, her eyes widened as she looked into the silent face of a Beta Phantom, the large creature's clawed hands reaching for the previously irate were-cheetah. "WAAAA! GINA, WHAT DO I DO!?"
"Sis, RUN! HIDE! DUCK! HIT THE DECK! PLAY DEAD! DAMMIT, DO SOMETHING!" As Gina continued to yell, Sheila pulled Ice Fang out and began to channel her weapon's ether while Jaliera gathered telekinetic energy to try and protect Britanny from her attacker, but a blast of compressed air threw everyone to the ground, the ground rumbling as something massive stirred in the once sealed tomb. Moments later and the sounds of heavy machinery was heard as... something burst from the Beta tomb, the large form slamming into the Beta Phantom and pinning it against the stone wall. As Gina and the others all looked on, several scraps of what appeared to be cloth fluttered to the ground, the occupant of the Beta tomb having finally revealed itself just in time to rescue Britanny from another run in with a Beta Phantom.
"A robot? The Saurian in the tomb was a freaking robot?" Ryan looked at the scene before him in shock as Gina ran toward Britanny, the eldest Diggers kneeling beside Britanny and spinning her around.
"Brit! Are you okay?"
"I bit ma tung!" Before anyone could say anything else Naruto burst out of a side tunnel, the shinobi skidding to a stop as he looked upwards at the monstrous creatures before him.
Back in the present
"What the hell is that thing?!"
"It's a robot Naruto, just like the Hurtbots! This is what was in the Beta tomb!" Gina watched as Naruto's eyes narrowed, his normally carefree attitude falling to the wayside as he slowly lowered himself into a crouch, one of his hands sneaking into his kunai pouch.
"No it's not!" Gina looked over at Naruto in concern as she nodded her head.
"Yes it is, Naruto." Naruto shook his head vehemently as he pointed at the towering beings before him.
"No, it's not! Gina, it's not like the hurtbots! There's something alive in that thing! It's wired into it, I can feel chakra running throughout it's entire body!" The large robot's head slowly swung towards Naruto, it's six glowing eyes flashing brightly for a moment before turning back towards the captive Phantom. The robot raised it's free hand, a trio of familiar black rings spun into sight, the robot's movements shredding the rest of the material covering it's body when all hell suddenly broke lose.