A/N: Double update day~! This, and another Elden Ring story!
Nearly retired with the site breaking, but I'm still here and still writing...for now.
With my fifteen year anniversary on this site finally here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.
And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.
Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. Feels like everyone's lost their minds sometimes. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.
So here we go. The fate of this story depends on you, the reader. Your feedback determines the fate of this tale, and many others.
Once more, I own no quotes, references, or memes. Not a wit or a one. NOT! A! THING!
They're all tributes to legends far greater than little 'ol me. Now then..
This will most likely remain a single pairing, but it may become a harem depending on feedback. It'll be a shorter story at that.
We'll keep the clarification up here for Naruto and Malenia's "children" since there are a LOT of names floating around right now. Nania's really the only OC here. The rest actually exist in the game. First and foremost we have the adorable Nania and Millicent. Mary is the eldest, wielding her halo scythe with ease. Maureen comes second, with a heavy-treespear. Amy, would be third with her curved swords. Polyanna is, the youngest, having a dagger.
Now let's pick up where we left off...
"MALENIA!"
~Over Fallen Leaves.
To be Radahn
His mind was returning.
Radahn dearly wished it hadn't; life had been so much simpler when he was a mindless, raving lunatic caring only for his next meal; little more than a mad dog who felt only hunger. No sadness and sorrow, no pain, no lingering thoughts gnawing his tortured soul to pieces. And yet he felt it now; indeed; the fact he even could suggested some small semblance of sanity must've returned to him at some point during the brawl when he wasn't paying attention.
For a brawl this was, a battle for the ages...and one he was winning.
He took great pride in that particular point.
It was seven against one, after all.
Eight if one counted the strange little girl who kept casting those darn healing incantations; her spells kept his foes on their feet, even him when she missed!
Honestly, he had no idea what to make of that one. He'd left her alone thus far. But the others-
Aogny bloomed up his thigh as a scythe raked his knee.
He countered with a savage snarl and backhanded his adversary away, only for another to perch upon his back and bury her spear in his shoulder. Even as she did, another drove their daggers into his left leg, while a fourth raked her curved swords across the other, drawing fresh blood. Pain smashed his senses down and maddened him once more; he gave his back a mighty lurch and cast them off like so much chaff, sending them tumbling amongst one another. Despite being hideously wounded and rotting from within, he still possessed every bit of his speed and skill and he wasn't afraid to use either to get at them.
A golden flash swept them to safety before he could hope to run them down with Leonard.
"See?" An unfamiliar voice sighed behind him. "Told you he was too much for them."
Radahn rounded on him but he was too fast, and his blades went wide.
Clenched knuckles swung in at his face with fearsome speed, forcing him to block for his very life. The punch rang his blades like a bell and his arms besides. His head snapped back, opening him up to the one-armed warrior to leap in and go to town. An open palm pummeled his stomach once, twice, thrice, blasting the breath -and more of the Scarlet Rot!- from his body each time until finally, Radahn doubled over and vomited more of it, clutching at his dented gut.
Another golden palm slapped his armor and then his foe was past him, grinning like a maniac.
"That's right." he catcalled after him. "Focus on me!"
It must be the Blond One again.
Every time that one laid a hand on him, every time he hit him, he felt his rot-addled psyche begin to heal alongside his body. With each moment that passed he grew stronger as his body began to return to its prime. His insides still ached from the Rot within, but already he was a far cry from the mad dog he'd once been...though most thoroughly exhausted.
The little redhead cheered in the distance. "Go, papa!"
He heard the telltale crackle of movement behind him and pivoted, narrowly evading a punch that would've knocked him clean out. His mighty Startscourge Greatswords descended like twin hammers, only for the blond bastard to catch one in each hand. The dunes dented beneath his feet and he grunted in pain, but held true, uncaring as the blades bit into his palms. And for the first time since their battle had begun...Radahn smiled.
Yes, at last!
Here was a proper fight!
And yet despite that satisfaction, he was still furious.
Because you see, with the return of his wits came true recognition. Enough to know the wretched witch standing before him. Because you see, he saw her. HE SAW HER. He remembered her, she of the red hair, she who was responsible for all his pain, all his decay, his trauma, all his rot and rage.
There she was, striding toward him now, cresting a dune, blade in hand.
Her golden eyes met his. When had she regained her vision-no, it didn't matter.
"Radahn, please." her very voice tickled his senses. "Enough is enough. If you must fight someone, let it be me!"
Oh yes, he remembered her. In spite of the years, the decades, the centuries, he'd never forgotten her face. He never could.
Even in his ravaged state, he remembered.
Her.
Her.
HER!
He'd carried her on his shoulders when she was small and led her through Leyndell. Helped her braid her hair as it grew long. Sat by her side and held her as she wept and lamented the loss of her right arm, then her legs, even her eyes. Year after year, she lost her very body to the Rot within her and still he stood by her side, as an older brother should. He had defended her honor despite Father's protests, stood for her, when her own flesh and blood wanted to banish her from the capital due to her curse. From the moment of her birth he had been her champion, forever and always, watching over this willful who reminded him so very much of Ranni.
And how had she repaid his kindness?
By attacking him. Rotting him. Turning him into...this.
This was all Her fault. She had done this to him. Blood demanded blood. Vengeance.
"MALENIA!"
He smacked the blond aside and roared forward.
She met him with her hated Wateffowl Dance. Dozens of wounds bloomed across his body, but he was prepared for them. He barreled through her storm of strikes and lunged at her anew, blades blurring, body awash in a violet gravity magic. His half-sister parried the first strike, then the second, followed by the third. Not so the fourth and fifth. He struck her in a brutal corkscrew of a crosscut that bit into her collarbone, shattered her false arm, and sent her flying across the dunes in a shower of blood. Radahn paused, his rage brought up short by such weakness.
She was slower, her skills nowhere near as sharp as they'd been on that final fateful day here in Caelid.
Confusion quelled his ire, if only for a moment.
Was this truly Malenia?
A pointless question. Of course it was. But who were those girls with her? He didn't recognize them. He could see the quintet over the next rise, ready to rush him again. He knew their faces not. Yet their hair...that hated red hair...no. It didn't matter. He was strong, they were weak. He would win. There was no question. Victory was his.
He would crush them and...wait. What was that noise?
Scowling, he pivoted in search of it. He needn't look all that far.
"Alright, pal." a low voice rumbled behind him. "You got your free hit in. I've had just about enough of you!"
Much to his annoyance, the blond one was up again, hand in the air like he just didn't care. A sphere of purest blazing blue loomed over his outstretched palm. It was quite large and growing larger. Almost as large as him, in fact, no, larger now, casting him in his shadow. His eyes widened, a flicker of fear overtaking him for the first time in centuries as the snarling sphere dwarfed him completely. No. There was nothing he could not defeat, and this "Spell" would be no different. He was general Radahn and...
"Super-Ultra-Big-Ball RASENGAN!"
.
..
...why was ground?
His addled mind sputtered in fits and failed starts, unable to comprehend why he was suddenly sprawled amidst the dunes of Caelid, what was going on, or why his spine ached. How had the Blond One gotten behind him so quickly?! He hadn't even seen him move...?!
Dazed, he raised his head in desperate search of his noble steed.
Leonard lay slumped yards away, unhurt but wheezing for air. Good, good. At least he was safe.
He had half a second to see before he got jumped again. Was that the saying the kids used these days? It rather felt like it.
Those annoying redheads attacked him again, not with their weapons, but their hands. They grabbed at his limbs and tried to prevent his wounded body from rising. Indignant, he thrashed at them. What manner of merry madness was this?! Did these children truly think they could restrain him?! HIM!? of all people!
"Don't kill him! Just hold him down!"
Golden eyes sparked with renewed rage. So that was their game! They thought to capture him?, did they! Never! He would not be taken alive; they would not lay him low! He would not lose his mind once more! He bucked and burst to his feet, thrashing about himself with a will. One was kicked away, two were bowled over by his charge while the fourth flung herself flat and tumbled between his legs to avoid losing her head to his blades. He brought his blades down again and again, striking madly, for to stop was to be captured again, and he would not allow-
"STOP AT ONCE!"
Remarkably, the fifth did not flee, she shouted at him.
Radahn paused, taken aback by the sudden outburst of sheer indignantion.
The blond one shouted at her in return. "Milicent! What're you doing?! Get back here!"
"Uncle, please!" she ignored him raised both arms, real and prosthetic to ward him off. "We mean you no harm!"
Radahn's mind fizzled again for an altogether different reason.
"Uncle...? the word was heavy on his rot-laden tongue, his jaw stiff, his throat dry from eons of senseless snarling. "Uncle...?!"
Oh.
Ohh.
Ohhh.
Realization broke in a bitter dawn. His blades felt heavy in his grasp for perhaps the first time in his life. No wonder they looked like Malenia. These were her children. He looked upon them now and saw the resemblance to their mother, not just in their face, but their faces, their eyes. These were his kin. His nieces.
"Do you see, now?"
Radahn rounded on the voice.
How in blazes was she still alive?!
Against all odds, Malenia had dragged herself up somehow, and though dazed with her false arm forever shattered, she still stood tall, gripping her broken blade in her off-hand. The blasted blond one must've spent all this time healing her wounds. How else would she be able to stand? "We haven't come here to kill you. Had that been my intent, I would've simply bloomed again, rather than allowing my consort to restore your mind."
The blond one grinned and mad a cooing noise her way. "Aw, you say the nicest things."
She tilted her head. "I swear, if my body wasn't rotten, I would ride you until you saw stars."
Naruto's face went red. So did Malenia's a moment later as she too realized the weight of her words.
And on that lovely note, Radahn's mind shorted out again. Consort? By the Greater Will, what had he missed?!
Malenia cast her broken blade aside and knelt before him on her false legs. "I'm sorry, Radahn. For all of it."
What..what was he to say to that? What could he possibly say? Where had all his anger gone?
And thentThat little redhead from before scurried out from between her parents legs.
"Hi~!" she chirped up at him happily. "I'm Nania! Nice to meet you!"
How could one possibly be angry with her?
Radahn looked upon her and felt his nerve falter anew. A child. Oh, gods. Malenia really did have children. This one must be the youngest. He could see the best of her parents in her. She looked upon him without fear, no, that wasn't quite right; this one didn't seem to fear anything. She scooted up to him and beckoned with a little hand. He found himself leaning down to regard her. So very small, this one. Was she going to attack him? In the end, his fears were unfounded as she she laid a pale palm upon his face.
With her gentle touch, the Rot within him began to ebb.
It was too much. He hadn't expected an apology, much less this. He'd thought they'd come to kill him. But they hadn't. Instead the family of eight crowded around him. Some of them actually dared to hug him, heedless of his previous aggression. And with their courage, the rest of them gave in and began to embrace him, chattering happily. Could all truly be forgiven so easily? He scarcely heard their words as his resolve begin to crumble. A low, warbling noise fled from his dry and cracked lips.
"Its okay." Nania closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to his towering face, speaking with great wisdom for one so small. "You're going to be alright. Everything's going to be alright."
How easy it was to believe her. With those words, the dam shattered within the old general's weary, tortured heart.
Radahn broke down and wept.
A/N: There we go.
Awwww sibling reunion is best reunion!
Congratulations, Radahn! You're an uncle now!
Well? Should this remain a story? Yay or nay, what say you? Not much else to say this time 'round. Reviews keep me writing, and without them, my inspiration falls flat. Ever bit of feedback helps. Pain hurts. Pain hurts a loooot. But silence from readers and reviewers? That hurts even more. As ever, reviews keep this old man alive during these dark and crazy times. I ain't joking.
Seriously, we're all locked away anyways these days, feedback is all that sustains me.
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas... Review...Would You Kindly?
May the make you smile~!
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
Read at your own risk!
Mostly the same here. Didn't want to spoil the next arc.
(Previews)
"I AM AN UNCLE! I MUST TELL EVERYONE!"
"Speak, and I will listen."
Gowry grinned. "All part of the plan...
...to what do I owe this visit, Sister?"
Ranni raised her hands. "I would have words with you."
"Bold words, coming from the witch who begot this madness in the first place." She clicked her tongue. "Oh, yes. I know about the night of Black Knives. You were its architect...
Ranni's gaze cooled. "Then you know of what I am capable. I would ask you to stay out of my way."
"You come here, into my home, and threaten me?"
"Not a threat, sister. A warning. I wish no more death between us. Has there not been enough?"
"WARRIOR!"
"Oi, oi, oi! Its too damn early for this!
Malenia took a deep, shuddering breath.
Then she rounded on Naruto.
He balked. "Uh-oh."
She stepped in and drove her lips against his with furious passion, all but crushing him against the bed. Her bosom pressed into his chest. Wings bloomed behind her back, sending rotten butterflies flitting through the air in a storm of noise. She paid them no heed; there was no need, because he was holding her, returning her affection with slow, gentle sincerity. It was too much. She lost herself.
A hand flitted out, tearing his shirt away...
EDIT: Hey, you made it! Thanks for reading!
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? Well, it won't be continued. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy.
So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Looking forward to hearing from you all when I get back from work~!
R&R~!