Disclaimer: I also happen to not own the Ancient Language used by Paolini in Eragon.

The tavern from the night before was less busy, though there were still quite a few people coming in for food and the rare drink. Sitting at a table with large plates of food eating jovially was Naruto and Sakura; Kakashi merely smiled and nodded politely, while Sasuke sulked next to him.

"Sakura, you really showed everyone here last night," Naruto grinned, "I've never seen so many guys get flipped just from an arm wrestling contest!"

Sakura puffed her chest out, looking triumphant. "Well after seeing a dwarf beat an elf twice in a row of course they'd want to try their luck!"

"And then they all started placing bets," Naruto laughed, "I can't believe there were still people thinking their friends could beat you!"

"It was quite a feat," Kakashi admitted, his plate already empty. Many people in the tavern wondered how he had eaten without removing his mask; others that knew better seemed in awe of his features. Sasuke merely grunted, his arms crossed over his chest. Sakura grinned, reaching over to lightly tap him on the arm.

"Ah, don't feel bad Sasuke," She said, "A hundred or so years without having to fight against something stronger than another elf will make anyone a little soft in the arms."

"I'm anything but soft," Sasuke retorted. Sakura merely shrugged, returning to her food.

"If you say so," She replied, "But the results would prove otherwise."

He merely glared in her direction as Naruto laughed.

Kaguya glanced upwards at the door as it opened; entering was Kakuzu, Hidan nowhere in sight.

"I assume you were successful," Kaguya questioned, her chin resting on her fist; Kakuzu nodded. "And Utakata?"

"He is dead, my lady," Kakuzu answered, Hidan entering the room.

Kaguya smirked, her other hand resting on Kokuo's head. "Ah, then why not come in my dear Saiken?"

The room shook slightly as the dragon walked; he turned towards her voice, his unseeing eyes staring straight into hers. Saiken bowed, his head touching the ground as the rest of his body arched accordingly.

"It is a privilege to serve you, Kaguya," He spoke, his eyes looking up towards hers. Kaguya smiled, standing from her throne and walking towards him, Kokuo following behind her respectfully. She placed her hand on his head gently, stroking him gently; a growl of approval rumbled deep in Saiken's chest.

"And it is a privilege for you to join us, Saiken of the Northeast, Dragon of Corrosion," Kaguya said gently, "With you on our side we will surely bring peace to this corrupted world, and once again we may all walk the earth freely."

Saiken heaved a sigh, eyes closing at the thought. "A lifetime of being closed away from the world…how I dreamed to fly the skies freely, showing that I was truly in charge of my life!"

"And you shall, soon enough love," Kaguya cooed softly, stroking his head; Saiken leaned into her touch. "However, I will need you to do something for me, so that our dreams may merge with this wretched reality."

He looked up into her eyes. "Anything for my liberator."

She smiled. "I need you to merge with Kokuo; with your powers combined into one being, nothing can stop us."

"Our minds will merge as one," Kokuo added, "We will be together again, like how it was always supposed to be."

Saiken smiled to himself, remembering times that were never lonely before the split. "Yes…I-"

He stopped midsentence, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind bothering him. A faded memory of a young man with black hair, smoking a pipe that always produced bubbles appeared; nights on a lonely, cold mountain that were never actually cold or lonely. Kaguya noticed his hesitation, concern written across her face.

"What is it, dear Saiken," She asked, kneeling before him. He flinched from her touch, backing away slightly.

"Utakata…" He groaned, shaking his head, "Where…where am I? What have you done to him? Utakata!"

Saiken spat acid towards her; Kaguya dodged, her robes billowing around her as the liquid singed the floor. Kokuo roared, charging towards Saiken; he rammed into the other dragon, knocking him on the ground. Saiken roared and thrashed, working to try and remove Kokuo from him. Kaguya quickly approached them, avoiding the acid on the floor; she knelt before Saiken, cradling his head in her lap as he thrashed.

"Pömnuria Bjartskular,"She whispered; Saiken halted his thrashing, looking towards her in awe. Kaguya smiled, stroking up his head as she continued to speak.

"Bjartskular," She repeated, "Eitrum erni maninar orya. Fricai onr eka eddyr."

Saiken's body relaxed as he rested against her lap, her fingers continuing to stroke his scales. Slowly his mind began to come back to him; all fanciful images of a young man vanished with her words. "You speak the truth," He murmured, looking up at her. She nodded, brushing a strand of hair away from his face.

"I never speak lies in the language of old," She replied, "Now please, Saiken, will you help me to save this wretched world?"

Saiken's eyes closed as her fingers continued working, "I will merge with Kokuo for you."

She smiled, bending down and placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Thank you, Bjartskular."

"I still don't get why you're not wearing your armor into the desert," Naruto said, climbing onto his horse. "What if we run into enemies, or monsters out there?"

Sakura sighed as she finished securing her pack to her pony. "Naruto, I've already told you; we're more likely to die from heat than from enemies. Therefore, to reduce the risk, I've decided to not wear the armor."

"But you work in the forges in those clothes!"

"Yes, in these clothes," She said, yanking at the simple black shirt that she wore, "Wearing armor in the forges would not only kill us, but it would ruin some of our more intricate patterns on our armor."

Naruto huffed as they began to leave the stables, heading towards the desert. They walked quietly through the village; some of the inhabitants looked at them curiously. Others blatantly pointed and stared, some at Kakashi's trinkets, others at Sasuke, and mainly men staring at Sakura. Naruto pouted, knowing that none of them were looking at him since he was the most normal in appearance out of the four of them. As they neared the edge of the village, an idea occurred to Naruto; just as he opened his mouth to speak, Sakura cut him off.

"No Naruto, I will not take off the rest of my clothes."

Naruto frowned, throwing his head back in frustration. "Aw come on! You're so worried about heat, taking off the rest of your clothes will make you feel even less hot!"

"While that may be true," Sakura began, "It will also remove any barriers between my skin and the sun, giving me horrendous burns."

Naruto groaned, pouting again. "But I'm sure Sasuke would become friends with you real quick! Ain't that right Sasuke?"

"An elf knows better than to be tempted by flesh," Sasuke responded, causing Sakura to smirk in triumph. Naruto merely threw his hands into the air, slumping in his seat as he gave up on making the ride interesting as they entered the desert.

"They've made it into the desert," A large beige dragon asked, curled around himself. His body was covered in purple markings, his eyes shining a bright yellow from the dark rings surrounding them. A young red haired man nodded, his legs crossed in front of him.

"They have just entered, so their presence is still weak," He said, "However, when they stop at nightfall, we shall ensure that they do not make it any farther."

"Why not kill them now," The dragon demanded, his tail swishing behind him. The man looked back, teal eyes meeting the yellow.

"Because our combined magic does not reach them at this distance," He replied, "You of all people should know this Shukaku."

Shukaku growled, curling inward more. "I despise trespassers in my lands, especially ones that work for Kaguya."

"They will be dealt with soon enough," He said, facing frontwards again, "You must be patient Shukaku."

"Patience was never one of my virtues Gaara," He growled, eyes closing.

As the day passed, Naruto's group made progress through the desert, encountering nothing out of the ordinary. Far off in Kaguya's territory though, the preparations for the ceremony were finally completed by nightfall. Kaguya smiled as she observed her handiwork; runes covered the walls and floors, each having a specific meaning for the bonding. She glanced over at the door, seeing Kakuzu standing guard.

"Let them in," She commanded. Kakuzu nodded, opening the great doors; through them came Saiken and Kokuo, walking side by side together towards her. She gestured towards the center of the room, indicating that they were to stand there. They followed her hand, eventually reaching the center and facing her. Kaguya knelt to the floor, hands clasped together as she closed her eyes, the moonlight shining upon her hair as she began to utter the incantation.

"Deloi abr burthro, Bjartskularar rïsa,"Kaguya began; as she spoke, different runes became illuminated, the room becoming brighter as she continued. "Brisingr abr burthro, Bjartskularar lífa. Vanyali fra deyjai, Bjartskularar eitha."

The dragons roared as the runes flew off the wall, circling around them as she uttered the last word. Slowly the runes from the floor rose as well, encapsulating the two dragons within an magic sphere. The runes began advancing towards the dragons, some already beginning to stick to their scales; as the space became smaller, the dragons began to move closer together, until they almost seemed to be one being. Soon the dragons could not be seen, as the runes flew together to form a black wall. Kaguya's eyes suddenly flew open, her palms slamming onto the ground as she shouted the final worlds.

"Pömnuria vanyali fra Bjartskularar malthinae!"

The sphere condensed suddenly, seemingly collapsing in on itself. A great roar was heard before the sphere exploded the black walls shattering into nothing more than dust. In the center of the room where Kokuo and Saiken stood now stood a singular dragon, its form more impressive than the two dragons alone. Its scales seemed to glimmer like diamonds; the moonlight causing it to look like it was covered in silver stars. It opened its eyes, revealing light blue eyes that stared directly into Kaguya's.

"You have recreated me, Lady Kaguya," It noted, a hint of approval in its voice. Kaguya merely smiled, standing up slowly from the ground.

"It was my pleasure, Gedo."

"I can't feel Saiken or Kokuo anymore," Shukaku said, watching Gaara meditate. Gaara glanced back at him, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Does that mean they've been merged," Gaara asked. Shukaku looked down at his claws, flexing them in uncertainty.

"It means they've either been merged, or they're no longer with us," He finally responded after a few moments. Gaara nodded, standing up from his pose and clasping his hands together.

"Well then, we might as well stop that group before they get any closer," He said; a chill wind whipped around him, his hair and clothes flying. He pushed his hands away from his body, causing the wind to spread out of the room and out into the night. Shukaku watched through narrow eyes as Gaara sat back down, resuming his pose.

"You think setting the temperatures below freezing will stop them," He huffed, "You should send a thousand sandstorms after them!"

"We must bide our time," Gaara said, "The desert is vast, and we do not know their specific location. Therefore, we must reserve our powers so that when they get closer, we can definitely eliminate them."

Shukaku merely snorted his disapproval as he closed his eyes, the chill of the night already setting in.

Naruto shivered again as the wind blew; he turned around and began digging through his pack, looking for the wool cloak that he wore at the start of the trip. He found it, wrapping it tightly around himself in the hopes that it would warm him. The wind blew again, the chill harsher this time, causing him to shiver again as it hit any exposed skin. He glanced at Sakura; despite being wrapped in her cloak, she was shivering as well, though for some reason Sasuke and Kakashi seemed to be unaffected.

"Can we stop for the night," Naruto called out, scrunching his shoulders so that his chin was shielded by the cloak. "It's gotten really cold, and I don't think Sakura or I are built for this kind of weather."

Kakashi glanced back, noticing for the first time that the two of them were shivering. "Ah, of course; I forgot that neither of you had cloaks enchanted for the elements."

Naruto blinks. "You can do that?"

"It is a simple spell, sung as the item is created," Sasuke explained as they stopped, "Elves commonly use it for our cloaks so that we can survive any weather."

"Well I hope you brought a couple extra, 'cuz Sakura and I are freezing over here," Naruto exclaimed, jumping down from his horse.

"Tch, the only thing I can spare is an extra blanket."

Kakashi turned to face them, finished setting up his sleeping area. "I've extra room in my cloak for someone who wishes to join me." He offered a smile on his face.

Naruto grimaced, imaging spending a night lying beside Kakashi. "No offense, but I think I might have to pass on that one."

"We could always fight for Sasuke's blanket Naruto," Sakura said, walking up beside him, "Nothing complicated, just perhaps a good bit of horseplay. It would set the blood on fire real quick."

"No way," Naruto said, "Last time we engaged in horseplay, you nearly broke my rib! I'd rather sleep next to the old man then fight you."

Sakura grinned as Kakashi frowned, a slight protest at the jab towards his age being heard. "Well then, it's settled. I get the blanket, and you get Kakashi."

Naruto grumbled his protests, grabbing his pack and stomping his way towards Kakashi. Sakura smiled, unhooking her sleeping mat and spreading it on the ground. As she positioned her pack to act as a pillow, a rolled up dark green blanket was thrown in her direction. She looked up in the direction it was thrown in, seeing that Sasuke had finished setting up his mat as well.

"Don't destroy it," Was all that Sasuke said before lying down on his mat. Sakura smiled, unfurling the blanket and lying down as well; as she covered herself with the blanket, she caught a scent of damp earth and rich flowers. She blinked, looking at the blanket in wonder.

"Does this…smell like his home," She wondered, still staring at the blanket. She relaxed, a soft smile spreading across her face as she lay down, her head resting on her pack.

"I wish to see it now," She thought to herself; it was the last thought she had before drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

Pömnuria Bjartskular: My Brightscales (Formal for "my dragon")

Eitrum erni maninar orya: Those memories are poison.

Fricai onr eka eddyr: I am your friend.

Deloi abr burthro, Bjartskularar rïsa: Born of earth, dragons rise.

Brisingr abr burthro, Bjartskularar lífa: Born of fire, dragons live.

Vanyali fra deyjai, Bjartskularar eitha: Dead from magic, dragons leave.

Pömnuria vanyali fra Bjartskularar malthinae: From my magic, dragons bind

A/N: So apparently giants don't have their own language. Whatever, let's just use Paolini's Ancient Language! :D (It does magic *nods sagely*) Anyway, hopefully this was a good chapter…It's one of those awkward child chapters in the lull of action.