Paralogue 2
Part 2
Naruto was back on the makeshift barrier faster than any of them. The rest were quick to follow, but were stopped by a shout from the shinobi.
"Don't!"
Immediately, they all froze.
The reason was evident moments later when the blade of the Scythe returned through the wood. This time, it found purchase in not just wood, but flesh. Blood splattered, and a cry left one of their lips upon seeing the Scythe embedded in Naruto's shoulder. Yet, despite being impaled, the Uzumaki did not falter in his hold. Even when the blade was pulled back, taking flesh and ripping bone, the man stood firm.
"Don't, worry about the door," he reassured, not entirely able to hide the pain in his voice. Robin wanted to protest, but was shocked silent at the unwavering look he turned towards. "You worry about how to get us out of this. I'll hold the door, for as long as I can."
The words caused the tactician pause. The look in his eyes, the way his voice held conviction when looking at her.
It was trust. A level of trust she never thought capable of the man. A sort of acknowledgment from him—as if he believed she could get them all out of this, alive and in one piece.
It made her brain begin running through any and every plan she could think of without any more preamble.
The first, and obvious, plan was out. As interested as she was in seeing the man's skill firsthand, there was no point in fighting an enemy who was unaffected by physical blows. They'd eventually run out of stamina, leaving them open to becoming human pen cushions.
Naruto, and perhaps herself, could possibly survive. The shinobi had regeneration abilities she thought bordered on the level of Godhood, while her own regenerative abilities and durability against steel were nothing to scoff at thanks to the dragon within her. However, whatever abilities she and the man held did not hold the same for her other two companions. They would be the first to fall, and it would forever leave a bad taste in her mouth if she lived to remember.
The second plan was also dismissed.
Using the barrier as a sort of overscallop slide gate for their swords sounded smart, but even if they were capable of constructing such a thing on the fly, the problem of the regenerative armor and no flesh to pierce resurfaced.
The third was no better.
Sending their strongest fighter out and praying he got their attention was a plan of desperation. Not only did she not know if the man could do it, but even if he could, that still left the Scythe-wielding one whose translucent skin she watched knives bounce off of its translucent skin as if protected by some sort of unseen barrier. The chance of the thing ignoring them in favor of the blonde was slim to none, and even if it did, that still left them with the reason why plan one would be a failure.
How exactly were you meant to make plans around something that couldn't be killed? She'd learned the futility of such a task when they went up against the shinobi himself. Giving your all, throwing absolutely everything you have at your adversary, only to watch them get right back up as if nothing ever happened, was a demoralization that would shake any tactician belief in their abilities.
So, the question remained: what exactly could she do in a situation like this? They were trapped, their enemies were practically immortal, and their means of fighting back were severely limited. The only logical plan one could come up with in a situation would be to accept your fate, or somehow learn how to kill something that can't be...killed...
Eyes widening, a hand came to her face—specifically, the hand currently covered by a glove. Even now, despite the seal covering it and the Silencing spell, she could feel the corrupting mana of the Fell Dragon in her veins.
Yes, yes, that could work.
"Guys," all eyes were back on her, Robin noting the rest of her party having taken to helping their leader by holding whatever they could from the sides of the barricade. "I, have a plan." She said, not able to hide the nervousness in her tone. Memories of what the shinobi had told her back in Regna Ferox hardly two days ago flashed in her mind. She knew the consequences of what she was about to do, but it was the only plan she could think of that would, hopefully, deal with their problem long enough to come up with another.
Naruto, clothes ripped in several places and practically coated in blood, looked to the tactician with a knowing look.
"You sure about this?" Robin didn't give a verbal confirmation, but a determined look that told the blonde all he needed to know. "Just tell us when." Saying that, he turned to look to the two helping him secure the door. "Brat, Princess, when she gives the signal, get away from the door."
Both immediately gave a nod; no arguments were given. Getting confirmation and understanding of what she needed to do, the albino steeled herself and went to pull off the glove.
She was halfway there when something on the floor caught her eye.
Scrapes.
Arced scrapes.
It looked out of place in a room that was nearly spotless. On top of that, the wood was dark, meaning something here was moved quite often.
"Any day now, Raven!" A frustrated shout came from the shinobi.
"Give me a sec." She yelled back before rushing to the wall that once held the bookshelf. She looked down at the scrapes once more before observing the wall where the bookshelf once sat. Like the floor, scrape marks aligned the wall. Dark, clearly worn marks that led her to where the marks ended. Moving closer to the wall, she laid her hand on the surface.
A breeze, almost unnoticeable, was felt against her fingers. Hoping against hope, she pushed.
Something clicked.
Eyes widening, she pushed harder.
To her shock, the wall moved.
Like a revolving door, the wall shifted, and she pushed till she could no longer. A lit stairway met her surprised visage, leading down into what was hopefully their way out.
Poking her head out, she yelled at the three who were too focused on the door to witness what she had found.
"Guys!" Heads shot back to her once more, confusion lighting their expressions upon seeing the newly created path. "Get in! Quickly!"
They did not need to be told twice.
Lucina was first, followed close behind by a stumbling Morgan. Making sure the kids got in first, Naruto gave one last look at the crumbling barricade before turning and making his way inside. Everyone accounted for, Robin pushed to close the wall behind them.
To her frustration, it didn't move.
Putting everything she had behind her, she found that her efforts were pointless. "It won't close!" Left her lips as she increased her efforts.
The shattering of wood, followed by various other falling objects, reached their ears. Clanking armor and a deep voice echoing a familiar demand told the quartet that they were out of time.
Making one last ditch effort, Robin put everything she had behind her previous efforts—the fear of these things following them into what could possibly be another dead end strengthening her resolve.
To her joy, the wall began closing, but not from her effort alone.
Standing behind her, arms over hers, and feet planted firmly on the adjacent wall, Naruto helped her succeed together where she couldn't alone. The last thing they heard was the deep rumbling of the scythe-wielding phenomenon before the wall shut close.
Upon closing, scraping and unholy screeches of frustration echoed from behind the wall, yet it remained unmoved. Later, rather than sooner, the activity behind the wall ceased. Moments later, the clanking of armor was heard retreating away from the wall until its noise could no longer be heard.
The group held steady for a few more minutes just to be sure this time. When nothing happened, they finally allowed their bodies to collapse. Breaths were caught in large gulps and minds were cooled as the group tried collecting themselves in companionable silence.
A silence broken by a laugh.
Three heads turned to one, observing as the laughter grew in pitch and fervor.
"Something funny?" Morgan decided to ask for the group.
"N-nothing," she struggled to say, whipping a stray tear from her eye. "I-it's just, I've barely been with you for 48 hours, and we've almost died twice. It's, it's the Shepherds all over again!" Continuing her round of laughter, the rest looked to her, but with an obvious lack of judgment—a smile even beginning to grow on the normally placid princess's face. Soon, the youngest Uzumaki was left the only one not sharing the joviality, albeit, for a more personal reason.
When the tactician was finally done, Morgan allowed the woman to catch her breath fully before she decided to address the elephant in the stairway.
"So, when are you gonna get off of my Dad?"
Robin's face went blank upon hearing the comment. At first, she didn't understand what the girl was talking about. Her head was against something hard—warm, but hard. It did seem to shift every now and then, along with her entire left side, but she thought it was simply her own body rising and falling from the intakes of air she had been constantly taking. But now that the adrenaline was gone, along with whatever enjoyment she got out of the situation, she could now feel the heat of a warm body against her own. Turning her head ever so slowly, she prayed not to see what she expected to see.
Blue eyes and a whiskered face full of hair confirmed her fears. What was worse, a foxlike smile illuminated his features and their faces were close enough for their noses to touch.
"Don't worry, Raven. I'm down to stay like this a little longer if you want."
The man's teasing immediately had Robin scrambling to her feet and away from the blonde. Said blonde sat up, his grin still in place as the tactician sputtered, "G-Gods! Why didn't you say anything?!" She exclaimed, the smile never leaving the man's face.
"I would have, but you looked comfortable. Excuse me for being a gentleman and not wanting to ruin your good mood."
Robin was speechless, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. There was so much she wanted to say against that, but none would come to her tongue. When something finally did, she was overwhelmed by the shorter blonde who stood between them to look at her with clear frustration on her face.
"You," she pointed at her father, "stop flirting with a cheater! And you," she pointed to Robin. "Stay away from my Dad!" Her final statement was followed by a growl, Robin further stunned by the accusation.
Opting not to allow their antics to continue further than necessary, Lucina brought the group back to the reality of their situation. At once, they were back to being focused, everyone looking down the revolving stairway that seemed to be beckoning them forward. As the leader, Naruto was the one to lead them forward.
For once, there was complete silence in the group. Despite descending down what felt like an endless pathway, no one in the group had seen the meaningless banter, all for their own reasons. When words were finally spoken, it wasn't to fill the lull but to inform the group that they were (finally) reaching the end. A light, much too bright to be candlelight, was seen circling what was likely the end of their descent.
They wasted no time in seeking out the source.
...
thr group looked at, what the Archaneans thought was the discovery of the century.
Standing before her was not something of the present, but of the future.
A giant labyrinth of winding hallways was filled with bubbling cauldrons, mysterious contraptions, stacks of books, and strange instruments. Just the sheer height of the ceilings was a sight worthy of attention, but what truly took her attention were the lines amongst lines of green lights that stretched along the ground, wall, ceiling, and beyond.
Slowly creeping forward, they looked at the strange items on tables and cabinets they'd never seen before in awe.
At the very end of the hallway, the tactician found a laboratory within a laboratory. It was filled with all kinds of strange tools and devices that were, for sure, not of this world. Shelves of vials and jars containing strange substances, as well as pots of boiling liquids and tubes filled with brightly colored substances, lined nearly every table—Robin idly wondering what alchemist was capable of creating such a place, and how it had remained undiscovered for so long.
"What is this place?" Even her voice came out awestruck. She didn't think she'd ever wanted to know the answer to a question more in her life.
"Looks like some sort of laboratory." Nearby, Naruto was the one to answer her question, not showing nearly as much awe as she was currently in. "A very futuristic one at that. Well taken care of, and, recently used." She saw him pick up one of the tubes. She would have cautioned him about how dangerous it was to touch an alchemist's invention if she wasn't sure none of it could harm him anyway. "Don't know who this place belongs to, but I know for sure they aren't from this Realm."
"What makes you say that?" She asked, joining him in hovering over the table filled with foreign equipment.
"I've been all over this world, Raven. I've seen the best that this civilization can offer and some. Trust me when I say the technology your people are capable of compared to my own is like day and night. What would take your people a couple of decades to cure, we could do in a few years or even months, depending on who you had on the job. Travel from Ylisse to Regna Ferox? Done in 12 hours on self-driven carriages. Wanna talk to someone across the world? Send them a message? Done with the click of a button. Don't know if all this is from my Realm or not, but I know it's definitely not from this one."
"You, are not of this Realm?" Robin asked, something akin to amazement in her tone.
"Uh, no? Thought you already knew that."
"You've told me of your lands, but you've never specified your origins—specifically, that you're from the Outrealms. Was that not proven to be a myth by the Annas?"
Naruto turned a skeptical brown towards the tactician, a shine much like a kid finding out Santa was actually real in her eyes and posture.
"The Annas actually run the Outrealms. Her and the Gods."
"That, actually makes a lot of sense!" She exclaimed, her eyes practically sparkling as her thoughts lasered in on possible theories she'd once thrown away. "Claim to be historians, garner credibility, prove a long-time fairy tale to be a myth, and everyone will believe you. It's, it's genius! Gods, who knows how many people were discredited for simply knowing the truth!"
Naruto said nothing in the wake of the tactician's sudden monologue. If anything, he looked somewhat, put off, by the intensity of her interest. She then turned that intensity back on him with sparkling brown eyes as she said, "You have to tell the people."
"Why the hell would I do that?" He shot back almost immediately.
"Why not? This could open a whole new avenue for the Ylisse-no, the WORLD! And if the Outrealms exist, then think of all the legends and fairy tales that may not actually be so! There are so many possibilities to be had with this knowledge reaching the people!"
"Yyyyyyeeeeeeaaaah, Imma have to go with a hard 'no' on this one." He rejected, putting the sample where it belonged before walking away from the flabbergasted tactician.
"Wh-why not?" She demanded, following swiftly after the blonde.
"If I've learned anything in my life, it's that there are things that are better left away from the masses. The Anna's work with the Gods, which also means your Gods likely had a reason not to reveal the Outrealms to the masses—and you never, EVER, anger the Gods."
"But you told me! I'm sure Morgan and Lucina also knows, which means that's three you've told with no repercussions! What's telling a few more gonna hurt?"
"Wrong on a few things there, Raven. For one, I didn't tell Lucina or Morgan anything. Lucina already knew, and my future self has, apparently, taken Morgan back to my world on many occasions. You're the only one I've actually told so far... and I'm starting to regret it."
"Th-then just tell me of the Realms!" Robin pleaded, her desperation clawing at her at this point. "I-if you can at least tell me where I can find the Outrealms, then I swear not to bother you on this matter ever again. I won't even tell a soul!" The deadpan stare she got as a response spoke volumes about what he thought. "I swear it!" Robin stared into the shinobi's eyes, doing her best to show sincerity through the eye contact they shared.
"...No."
It failed.
Robin was left gawking as the blonde walked away from her to observe another experiment in a far corner of the admittedly wide space. Her fist tightened, frustration in her being as she swore this would not be the last the man heard of the topic.
"Dad! I found something!"
The call from Morgan further into the laboratory had everyone drop what they were doing to run in her direction. Upon arrival, they were greeted with a door. To say the door was huge would be an understatement. The structure was 5 times the size of the shinobi and just as big in width. There was no door handle, but a pad. A key pad that looked just as futuristic as the rest of the underground laboratory.
Morgan, being the curious child she was, immediately pressed one of the numbers on the pad.
A robotic female voice responded to the action.
"ACCESS DENIED."
Morgan jumped back, Lucina and Robin tensing up at the voice that seemingly came from nowhere. Naruto, on the other hand, looked curious. Walking up to the keypad, he observed it for a bit before following in his daughter's footsteps.
"ACCESS DENIED."
"...Interesting." He said, observing the pad before turning his attention back to the door.
"Wonder what's being kept behind it." Morgan pondered, her curiosity had officially peaked. "What if there's an entire civilization of people in there! Frozen in time by their ancestors, the lost people of Altea freeze their last remaining people in hopes that they can spread their technology to the world and fend off the evil horde of zombies from the Demon King! Or what if it's some super secret world ending weapon hidden by our ancestors in hopes the Demon King doesn't get his hands on it ever again? Oh! What if it's the Demon King himself?!"
"That all sounds highly illogical." Lucina cut in before the girl could get any more useless scenarios running through their heads.
"Only one way to find out." The group watched as their leader took a few steps back. Joints were cracked and muscles were stretched as the man ended it all by getting down in a sprinter's stance. Not wanting to get in the way of whatever the man was about to do, the rest of the group stood clear. Upon them moving, the blonde had a clear shot at the door not 10 feet from him. When he moved, it was not in a sprint, but a jump. Leaping higher than any normal man should be capable, the blonde caught hold of not the door, but the vent the rest of them had just now acknowledged. With one hand, the blonde held on tight to the vent, while with the other, he ripped the covering clean off. Turning, he smiled at the rest of the group who actually looked awed at his actions.
"This, ladies and gents, is how you beat the system." Saying what needed to be said, he lifted himself up to begin his crawl.
It was all too late to notice the bright stream of flames rushing to greet him.
His head was completely engulfed. A gasp left the tactician's mouth while the time-travelers looked nonplussed by the live roasting before them.
Eventually, it stopped.
"Anymore wisdom you wanna bestow before you continue?" Morgan called out. A charred, skeletal face looked back at her, flipped her off, then proceeded through the vent. Like before, a stream of fire was seen consuming the vents. Shouts of pain and expletives echoed through the vents as the rest tried not to cringe at the hell the man was likely going through. In the end, it all ceased. The sound of roaring flames disappeared completely, along with the sound of metal bending with force.
Eventually, the gate slid open.
A dimly lit pathway greeted them. From the way the ceiling seemed to arc downward, they could tell the path forward led further down into the depths.
And standing in front of that pathway was a blackened skeleton wearing pants.
A lull was shared between the party and the walking display.
"...Nice tan, Dad."
Two boney middle fingers was the skeleton's reply.
After their long journey down in conversationless silence, the party of four found that the day was not yet finished hitting them over the head with surprises. Reaching the bottom of the pathway, another lab greeted their arrival. However, where the lab above was akin to a labyrinth of viles and potions, the place they'd found themselves in held tight corridors barely big enough for three people to walk through. Where the ceiling was as tall as some castles, the ceiling here was relatively normal.
And where fluorescent green lights flickered along the walls and ceiling, glass tubes lined the entirety of the walls.
To say Robin was astonished upon discovering what was in the tubes would be an understatement. Genderless, humanoid figures, fully preserved and floating in a clear, greenish liquid, greeted her. Eyes, mouth, nose, and even ears were vacant on the form, yet what looked like smaller tubes of some sort connected from the back of the figure to something inside the tank. She had no idea what they were doing here or for whom, but of course, her curiosity was piqued.
Looking down, she observed the pad holding various keys and symbols foreign to her. She knew not what they did, but she didn't think she needed to know that green meant 'good'... Hopefully.
Before she could even ponder whether or not to test her curiosity, an alarm shook her. A loud cry of "I didn't do it," from Morgan echoed before the alarm went away as fast as it came. Quelling her curiosity, she regrouped with the rest of the party.
The exposed, chiseled back of their leader was the first thing she came across. Now, she knew she held regenerative abilities of her own—an ability she would say trumped even the best healer of the realm. Alas, watching a man go from chard bone, to organs, to muscles, and finally skin within minutes was a sight she believed would have been better left in her nightmares—nightmares she was sure to have when this was all said and done.
"Forget how this is possible, I'm more concerned with what's in all of these tubes, and why a place like this is in the middle of nowhere." She caught the tail end of the man's query. She saw him get closer to the tube and knew the moment he found what she had. "The hell is this?"
"Don't tell me these things are all filled with..." Lucina trailed off, her face growing paler at the thought.
"I don't think most of these things are even human... yet." Naruto commented, getting the bluenette and albino to look his way quizzically. "All of them, they lack chakra. Every living thing has it, yet these things don't. They are empty. Empty as a rock."
"Then, what do you think they are?" Robin had to ask.
Naruto didn't even look her way as he replied, "If I were to guess, these, things, are likely dolls—something meant to simulate that of a human being. But personally, I think the implication of someone creating these things to be more terrifying than if they were actually people, and even more frightening on what they are actually used for."
No one had anything to say at the conclusion, the implications of just what these 'dolls' could be and the possibilities sending jolts of fear through their system.
While the group was lost in their thoughts, Morgan sought out her own adventure.
Walking through the labyrinth of tubes proved to be an eerie experience. For the most part, her footsteps were the only thing she could hear aside from the running machines that likely kept the tubes working.
She was on the verge of heading back to the group when something caught her ear. Tuning out all useless noise, she sought out the sound. It sounded like something banging against a door; hard, at that. Problem was, there were no doors she could see while coming down here, so that meant-
Moving further into the lab, she used her keen ears to find the source of the noise while ignoring the rows and rows of test tubes around her. Eventually, she came to a door.
A solid thud told her she'd found what she was looking for.
A door, the only one she'd seen since coming down here, stood isolated down a hall, vacant of any tubes or wires.
Suspicious.
Too suspicious.
She was alone, without chakra, and a door that clearly screamed 'suspicious' was practically calling her name. Though her fear of the supernatural had all but subsided since locking those dirty ghosts behind the wall, it did not mean there were other, more tangible, things and could-
"NOPE!"
She turned and marched back to safety.
It had only been a few steps before a sudden epiphany, much like a divine revelation, hit her.
This was a lab.
A lab containing experiments on living, breathing beings. Everything looked pristine and recently used, which meant there was likely a scientist or two here. If that was the case, then they were likely also the reason none of them could use their chakra.
Along with that thought, came questions.
What if the mad scientist of this place was behind that door? What if the reason behind that super secret door was because they were hiding in here? What if they didn't have time to hide themselves properly, so, panicked, they jumped into the supply closet, thinking they wouldn't open it?
Smirking, Morgan turned back to the door and quietly approached. The banging had suddenly gone quiet, further proof of her theory, no doubt. Putting an ear to the door, she tried to make out any sounds that would be out of the ordinary. What she heard was rustling, and whimpering.
In made her smile in triumph.
Grabbing the handle and turning, she swung the door open.
"AHAH! Cower, evildoers! For I, Morgan Uzumaki, have come to put an end to...your..."
Words trailed off as confidence was replaced with incredulity.
Two pairs of eyes stared back at one. Two men, young men, sat amongst supplies, wearing nothing but their small clothes. Both had brown hair, yet one had significantly more in patches throughout his body, along with long, floppy ears falling down the sides of his head. What actually gave a picture for the scene were the ball gags in their mouths and the way the ropes that had them tied up were placed to specifically accentuate their chest and groin areas.
Morgan stared down at the two, not a hint of emotion on her face even when literal rivers of tears began streaming down the tied-up men's faces and muffled pleas escaped their gags.
"Mmmmmmhmhmmmmmmmm! Mmmhmhmhmmmmmmm! Mmmmmmmm-"
*SLAM*
The silence was long upon the door's return to its rightful place. A silence so long Morgan momentarily wondered if she'd even opened it in the first place.
"Oi, brat! What was that noise? You find something over there?" The call of her father came from not too far off, leaving Morgan with a choice that had to be made.
"...Nothing over here, Dad!"
"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!"
Naruto, Lucina, and Robin arrived just in time to find Morgan holding her back firmly to a door that seemed adamant on coming off its hinges.
"...Got something you wanna share with the rest of us, kiddo?"
Brow scrunched in frustration, Morgan immediately denied, "It's, nothing, Dad! Just, two, perverts!"
The trio stared at the youngest member of their group, looked at each other, then back to the struggling girl. Naruto was the one to walk forward and, gently, lift the girl up and away from the door. Obstacle removed, Naruto stepped to the side of the door before reaching out to the handle.
As he expected, the door slammed open the moment the knob was turned. The 'perverts' landed face first before them, while Morgan was immediately hiding behind her father, giving the two on the ground a wary glare.
Naruto could understand how the girl had come to such a conclusion about the kids before him. Their arms were tied behind their backs in tight knots while the rest of their bodies were connected in a perfect execution of a shibari butterfly harness. Add the fact that they were in nothing but their underwear and even he may have connected the same dots.
Worming themselves up to their knees, the 'perverts' scanned their surroundings warily before finally stopping on the man who'd 'freed' them.
Their eyes immediately became wide as dinner plates—doubly so when Lucina's joyous cry came from behind him.
"Yarne! Inigo!" The bluenette was kneeling in front of the two boys in a heartbeat. Her face brightened considerably upon realizing it was truly them before bringing them both into a warm embrace. "By the Gods, I'm so happy you're both OK!"
"I take it these are more 'friends' of yours?" Naruto piped up, Lucina pulling back from the embrace to nod at her teacher.
"They are. They must have come through that gate." Frowning, Lucina finally noticed the state her friends were in and immediately went to undo their bindings—starting by removing the gags. Indigo was the first to be released and immediately took in a gulp of fresh air.
"Gods, you have no idea how happy I am to see you, Lucina. Another day and I fear we may not have lasted." The baritone voice of the brunette spoke.
"Who did this to you guys?" Lucina asked, reaching to undo the Taguel's gag.
"I, truthfully, do not know how to answer that." Indigo replied sheepishly. "One moment, we were walking through those dreadful halls, the next-"
"We were ambushed!" Came the cowering voice of the 'last' Taguel. The boy's body quivered like a leaf. His tone was frail, the complete antithesis of what any of them imagined a beastman to be like. "I-it was horrible, Lucy! I tried to tell Inigo that something was off about this place, but he didn't listen! As soon as we walked in, the doors locked behind us and I couldn't transform or use any of my skills! Then g-g-ghost possessed the armor and... Gods, those things were everywhere! And the one with the red hood and the Witch—" Yarne suddenly grew paler. "G-Gods, the Witch! Lucy! You gotta get us out of here! Th-the witch! There's a witch here! Stole our mana! She said she'll eat me! Gods, she must already know you're here! I'm too young to die!"
'What a wimp.' Three of the six present thought in unison.
"Get a hold on your senses, Yarne!" Lucina chided, firmly shaking the Taguel till his panic subsided and he was able to look her in the eye, however teary his own might be. "Good. Now, start slow, and tell us everything that happened, and what you know about this 'witch'."
"That will not be necessary."
A third party alerted them before they even heard the clanking of heels. At once, all turned towards the beginning of the corridor.
A single figure stepped around the corner and stopped. Immediately, guards were raised. The figure, tall and clearly female, revealed itself in full. Through the dimly lit lab, they could not see features, but light or no, it would have been redundant. A large, pointed hat adorned her head, its wide brim hiding all but the red lipstick on her lips. A long black cloak covered a black and deep red dress filled with gold and white intricate embroidery around what looked like a single gald coin. A staff of oak wood adorned with carvings and crystals was in her hand and seemed to emanate a sense of dread. A darkness seemed to surround the woman, dampening the air around her and making even the likes of an immortal feel his hairs rise.
A choking silence passed between the woman and the group who all looked ready to jump at even the slightest twitch.
"...It would seem more bugs have wondered into my home..." The woman's voice was deep and monotonous, devoid of emotion and subtly laced with an underlying hint of authority. Though there was no outward expression of anger, her firmness elicited an intimidating presence that no one wanted to challenge.
Naruto swallowed audibly. It was that feeling again. That feeling back in the forest where something powerful had excited every nerve in his body. Even without his chakra, he could tell the one in front of him was powerful. Probably the most powerful human he'd come across since coming to this Realm. The thrill of fighting someone so capable would normally have lit a fire in his soul.
But without Kurama and his chakra?
He was no fool. He didn't stand a chance.
And if he didn't stand a chance, then they were all screwed; plain and simple.
The walls shook in the wake of that thought. An invisible force began pushing down on their shoulders as the air around them seemed to become scarce. Around them, metal began to wane, and glass could be heard cracking in the distance.
The cause of all this?
She was walking towards them, slow and deliberate. Her heels echoed in their ears like gavels sentencing them to their deaths. It was only when she was halfway to them that they were finally able to see the glowing crimson eyes behind round spectacles. In that moment, the Archaneans all wondered if this was what it felt like to stare death in the face.
"You are bugs. Bugs trespassing in my home. As such, I hold the right to cleanse you and send you back to the-"
*WAM*
*THUMP*
The pressure vanished.
Breaths were caught at the charity and all began gathering themselves.
When the heat of the moment finally waned, incredulity replaced it as everyone was left staring. The terror they were feeling barely minutes ago had vanished, and whatever seriousness the situation held had all but been stomped out mercilessly at the sudden turn of events.
"...What, just happen?" Morgan ended up asking at large, not receiving an immediate response.
"I think, she...tripped?" Inigo replied, not quite believing his own statement despite witnessing it firsthand.
On the floor, the witch lay, her hat covering her head and her body as straight as a plank. Looking at her leg, it wasn't hard to see what had felled the woman so effortlessly.
A cord.
an honest-to-God cord.
Dropped her like a log.
"Is, she dead?" Yarne asked, hope in his chest that he could live another day.
Hope was dashed and a screech left his lips as the felled witch moved. Slowly, she began pushing herself back up until she was on her feet once more. The hat that once covered her features was now held firmly in her hands, allowing the group to see the curly crimson locks flow down her head. The spectacles she wore were now cracked, the light of the floor was enough to reflect off the lenses and block her eyes from sight. Unlike her earlier demeanor that commanded respect, she now stood ramrod straight, her hat clenched in front of her and her head slightly lowered.
Was she, shaking?
A time passed before the woman finally looked up at them.
The witch was young and beautiful, almost unnaturally so. Her features were matured, hinting that she was likely in the prime of her life, yet the intensity of her gaze remained despite the quivering of her body. Her skin was pale and her eyes were deep and piercing, yet it was now hard to take the look seriously when her body language hinted she was close to breaking down. Despite the new picture they had of her, they couldn't help but feel like they'd all seen her before.
When she spoke again, nothing in her pitch or tone changed, yet there was an obvious lack of threat behind her words.
"My apologies, in the heat of the moment, I do believe I forgot to introduce myself."
She's completely dismissing what just happened. They all thought in unison.
"My name is Anna. Annabelle Martell. The first Anna." A brief lull stretched upon blood suddenly trickling down her nose. Her shaking increased, and tears, honest to God tears, followed the blood, yet her stoicism remained. "...and you people are trespassing."
A/N: For some strange reason, no matter how many weeks go by, I can remember major plot lines for the story and major events that will lead into later chapters. However, for whatever reason I just cannot remember that Morgan has ONE eye! You would think I would remember something so important, yet it slips my mind every. Single. Time!
We now have Inigo and Yarne introduced in an, interesting, way. I've had this scene written out and saved for the last 2 years. You have NO idea how long I've been waiting to use it. And with their introduction, I introduce an OC in the form of Anna. The first Anna. Yes, it is exactly what you think. Be prepared for secrets to be revealed and potholes in Fire Emblem to be fulfilled in the next chapter. Next chapter will also bring an end to this Paralogue, but not an end to the 'filler' unfortunately. I know people want to move on to cannon, but a few things must happen before we get to that point in the story. This arc is all about pre-war preparation and if I wish to change cannon, these things must happen.
What say the next chapter will be out next week, but with the rate I'm typing out these chapters and the recent motivation, I suspect it to be out soon.
Big thanks to those that reviewed! Reviews give me motivation and am always accepting of criticism!
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