To be forthcoming

by Aeso3

Forced to live with a curse that has haunted him all his life, Sasuke Uchiha struggles to find his place in this new world. Even learning to care for the people who've filled the void in his heart isn't enough for him to tell them how he really feels. But if one thing is certain;no matter how far, he will always be there to protect them and to watch them grow.

27. Chapter 27

Navigating through the mountains was easier said than done. Aside from the sheer cliffs, wandering vultures, and mountain goats, there were trenches dug around the foothills of the mountains, filled to the brim with soldiers alongside a bevy of bunkers overlooking the edges of the Alps. The good news was that despite being heavily guarded, the cliffs also provided the perfect escape venue since they would provide him with an alternate route over the trenches. The only thing that gave him pause was the patrolling airship that wandered about.

That being said, the airship didn't seem to pay too much mind to the cliffsides, rather they seemed to focus more on the trenches around the foothills, most likely to ready themselves to provide support should the need arise and even when they were near the cliffs, Sasuke found a few cracks and crevices big enough to fit him where he could hide until they moved on. Normally, he would only have to scale the mountains until he found a way to the facility on the other side of the Alps, but he had a second goal in mind: to cause as much chaos as he possibly could to cause a ruckus big enough that they would waste time and divert precious attention his way while leaving Erza alone. With a few paper tags on hand, Sasuke stared at the airship as an idea cropped into his mind.

With a little bit of patience, Sasuke had figured out the patrol route of the airship and as it flew past him, he pushed himself off of the cliffside and landed on its stern by jamming a kunai onto the rear that was covered in wood. This wasn't his first experience with an airship either, since he had seen one before during his visit to the Blue Pegasus guild, a name that made him roll his eye and grunt in embarrassment; the least offensive term he could describe their leader was 'eccentric'. That being said, they knew their machines, and that knowledge would be put to the test as Sasuke began sticking explosive tags onto the outer engine core, a machine that hummed and let out a stream of hot air from its vents. The one he was hanging onto wasn't as large or heavily armored as the Christina, the Blue Pegasi's prized vessel.

Once he had applied enough tags, Sasuke leaped from the airship once more and caught the edge of a crevice with his Kunia as he hid from the patrols and waited for the opportune time to do the deed. Within a few seconds, the papers detonated with enough potency to disrupt the main engine, causing the vessel to lose its balance as it began swaying back and forth until it crashed onto the nearest foothill with a loud bang. The commotion was loud and destructive enough to set off every single mercenary towards its vicinity, leaving him with the perfect opportunity to slip past unnoticed through the cliffside while footsteps thumped above him. This also meant that reinforcements would most likely head toward this direction as well, including the big shots, meaning all of their resources and attention might also be diverted toward this area and less towards wherever Erza was.

Leaving the commotion behind, Sasuke recalled the instructions left by Ultear, then disguised as Tatiana, on where to find the entry to the facility, and much to his frustration, he remembered that she was vague on this particular aspect. Thankfully, he already had a good lay of the land, due to Talyn and if his assumptions were correct, one of the bunkers should lead him to the other side. Hiding in a nearby rock, Sasuke observed the mercenaries frantically trying to put out the fires of the burning ship and began scanning the surrounding areas using the ship as a starting point. It was then, that he discovered a unique door, that possibly led to the interior of the mountain, right at the point where the research site should be on the other side. As he crouched down, Sasuke crawled through the rough earth like a snake making its way past a field of eagles to get to the safe haven on the far side of the mountain.

The distraction gave Sasuke ample time to navigate his way through the old ruins of the mountaintop without being noticed and straight towards a small red door in front of the mountainside. Slowly pushing his way through, the Uchiha was greeted by the sight of a small, cramped yet empty room that led to a flight of stairs. Withdrawing his blade from its sheathe, he held it in a reverse grip and gingerly tiptoed his way to the top, where once he neared the edge of the other room, he could hear some shuffling. Carefully moving through the corner with weary feet, Sasuke glanced over, ready to strike at a moment's notice, only to realize that it was none other than Ultear, having already put on some sort of dress and was now busy fixing her hair into her signature twin tails, the sight of which caused Sasuke to rest his blade once more as he let out of huff.

"And to think that the icy cold Sasuke would turn out to be quite the pervert" Ultear teased, having noticed Sasuke's presence as she glanced back and grinned, to which Sasuke responded by looking away and grunting some more. "And here I was getting ready to save your skin again after that commotion. I assume it was your doing?" she said, turning around to face him.

"I needed a diversion" he answered.

"Did you now?" she continued to tease him, as she swayed her head to look around him only to find an obvious revelation, "That's strange, where's Erza? She didn't come with you?"

"She's taking another route" Sasuke gave a brief reply.

"Well, the elevator is less guarded compared to this one but I wouldn't say it's completely safe either. Still, I get the feeling you put her up to this" Ultear placed a hand on her chin and hummed, signalling to Sasuke that she was onto him, while Sasuke in turn remained silent. After a few more seconds, Ultear relaxed, released the hand from her chin, and sighed, "Oh well, I'm sure you have your reasons. Not that it matters that much to me."

Sasuke continued on with his silence and crossed his arms as he watched Ultear rummage through her things again while explaining the current situation; This was one of the few traits he respected about her, her information-gathering and observation skills were top-notch…. the ideal spy. "Alright, let's get down to business. The situation in the facility is already tense with an angry guy in a suit of armor around, but the fact that Gravedigger and Princess Poppy haven't reported back has turned him into a ticking time bomb. You had something to do with that, didn't you?"

"Only the one called Gravedigger. I don't know anything about this Princess Poppy" Sasuke replied as his gaze darted to the side and he rubbed his neck. Her words gave cause for concern since he only encountered one of the hounds, which meant the other was still at large and hunting most likely Erza. At this point, he could only hope for the best.

His anxiousness did not go unnoticed as Ultear finished searching for the contents in her bag and approached him. "You seem worried" She smiled and inched closer to Sasuke, who swallowed and looked away, only for Ultear to giggle and place a hand on his cheeks before sliding it slowly down his right arm before clasping his palm with both her hands and sliding in a key.

"And this is for?" Sasuke asked, curiously inspecting the item in his hand.

"It'll unlock a door in the tunnels, it's how you'll get into the facility." Ultear answered, "But you'll have to be extra careful now since our special guest is here."

"You're talking about Irene, right?" the Uchiha deduced.

Ultear nodded with a grunt. "She arrived this morning and was none too pleased about the situation. Security's gotten tighter too, I had to make up an excuse just to get here…..well not that it matters anymore."

"And what about Marcus?"

"Angry as ever, though Irene is keeping him in check. You might wanna avoid him once you get there. After what you did, he really wants to murder you" she answered.

And who could blame him? For Sasuke, it was a perfectly justifiable reason for this hatred, given that he had just murdered his brother. That being said, his brother really didn't leave him with much of a choice either. "I did what I had to do" Sasuke gave his reasons.

"Just the nature of our business, huh" Ultear agreed, "But he might not feel the same way. Turns out, their ties ran deep, really deep. Remus is the only reason Marcus isn't a brain in a jar like he is and they both owe Irene a debt."

Ultear's explanation caught Sasuke's attention. If what she said is true, then Marcus is a living, breathing person inside a suit of armor rather than a brain shoved inside an artificial body like his brother. "What's their story?" he inquired.

"From what I could gather, they were two brothers who served some kind of noble family in Alakatasia a long time ago. The circumstances are hazy, but based on the info I got, Marcus was slated for execution for striking the head of the family only for Remus to volunteer to take his place. Not too long after that, it seems Irene popped up, wiped out the family, and offered Marcus a chance to serve her in exchange for bringing Remus back to life….as an automaton with a human brain. I don't how she did it but that's how the story went."

While his story didn't parallel Sasuke's as much as he thought he did, the tale did shed further light on the brothers and Marcus's devotion to his sibling. It made his rage against Sasuke all the more poignant, but right now, he had no time to dwell on such matters. "And what about Gildarts? Where are they keeping him?"

"Follow me"

…..

Leading him out to the other end of the mountain, Sasuke and Ultear were perched up on a small cliffside overlooking the touted facility, one that he had been hearing about all throughout this journey. "Welcome to Blacksite 1. Home to the latest in weapons and magic development in Fiore and Alakatasia."

Walking towards the edge together, Sasuke knelt down and observed while Ultear handed him a spyglass before pointing him towards a specific building. "You see that building at the heart of the fortress? It's called Sector Seven or the Research and Development Administration. That's where they keep all their latest prototypes. It's divided into three wings: the east wing or the R&D section, the main building or productions, and the west wing, where they keep all their test subjects for experiments. Make your way to the west wing through the tunnels I told you about and you'll find Gildarts."

Sasuke silently took in every word uttered by Ultear as he scanned the area for guards, their patrol routes, and whatever defenses they might have. "And the cure?" he asked.

"That I don't know, but given that Mr. Erdrine was the one who came up with the plan, he should have the answer to that. He's also in the west wing, shaking in his boots and drinking. He's been pretty jumpy since he got here so I'm sure you won't have much trouble getting answers out of him. The problem will be the security, since it's guarded by some sort of special mechanized automatized units, you'll definitely have to watch out for those."

The duo remained silent as they observed the fortress before Ultear made the first move to walk away. "See you around Sasuke, Take care of yourself."

Sasuke looked back and wondered, "You're heading back?"

"Yeah" Ultear nodded, "It's time for me to be plain old Tatiana again. Everyone's on edge right now, so I can't afford to slip up. They'll figure out sooner or later that someone's feeding them intel, they're not that stupid."

"Are they onto you?" he asked with a look of concern. However, he wasn't sure whether it was out of practicality or sentimentality.

"Not yet. I'm safe for now" she solemnly answered before quickly reverting back to her mischievous person as she held her hips, "Why? Concerned about me?"

"You're playing a dangerous game" he pointed out.

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself" She brushed him off and turned towards the door, "Besides, I know what I signed up for. Just wait till I get there before you make a move. I'll be at the courtyard where I'll give you the signal. That way I'll keep them busy while you head off and do your thing"

As the door to the mountainside shut, an awkward silence fell in the air even though the sirens from the fortress blared across the entire alpine. With a grumble, Sasuke resumed his observation, waiting for Ultear to give him the signal whereby she would provide a distraction. He wasn't sure he could fully trust her but it helped to be patient at times.

---

Surveying the surrounding fortress from a safe distance thanks to the spyglass provided to him by Ultear, Sasuke chanced upon the courtyard she mentioned, where a certain someone was stirring up a ruckus: Marcus, the golden knight was hammering the ground away with his armored fist, the result of which were small holes being left in their wake. Next to him was another familiar figure; one whose existence had bothered Sasuke for quite some time.

"Calm yourself, Marcus" Lief chided as he approached the angry warrior, "Have you no shame in throwing a tantrum like some spoilt child in Lady Irene's absence?"

"Shame?" Marcus repeated with a growl as he turned around and grabbed Lief by the collar, his towering stature casting a shadow over the smaller man, "That boy killed my brother!"

Despite the sheer difference in size, Lief showed little fear or hesitation. No doubt alluding to his rank and power level, Sasuke believed as he continued watching the scene unfold from a safe distance. It was also at that time that he witnessed Ultear, now disguised as the shy Tatiana, approach them with a file of papers clutched to her chest; no doubt a deliberate attempt to invoke the mousey secretary role she was playing.

"And you will have your revenge, in due time" Lief brushed aside the hands of Marcus, "But until then, control your temper."

Marcus could do little in response but scowl and snarl underneath his helmet as he swung his massive claymore and flung it across the courtyard, causing Tatiana to let out a high-pitched gasp as she fell to the floor with her papers flying everywhere. Unperturbed by this, Lief silently glared over at Tatiana and then refocused his gaze on Marcus while Tatiana scrambled to pick up the papers.

Before Marcus could continue on with his rampage, a small squad of soldiers approached them and bowed before their presence. "Speak" Lief commanded.

"Gravedigger and Princess Poppy" the soldiers hesitated before continuing, "They've been killed. We used the vitality lacrima to track them and their lifeforces have dropped."

The news was not one Marcus was all too happy to hear as he pulled his claymore from the wall and turned around with a thunderous roar, one that frightened the men into taking a few steps back. Ignoring his tirade, Lief stepped in between them and continued asking the soldiers, "What else?"

"W-we, found….him" they answered as one of them carried over a sleeping boy and laid him on the ground. It was profound enough that both Ultear and Sasuke raised their eyes over what they were seeing.

Lief inspected the sleeping Alzack from head to toe, turning his head sideways to discover some sort of needle being jammed into his neck. "Sleeping darts" he stated as he pulled the object from Alzack's neck and rose to his feet, "It seems they're more capable than I gave them credit, defeating two members of the Silver Hounds like this. But this also means that they're making their way here as we speak, so it looks like you'll have your chance at revenge after all Marcus, just as I said it would."

The revelation seemed to have at least tempered the towering Knight's foul mood as he placed his sword into his backside with a growl and stomped his way to the interior, stepping over the papers that Tatiana had just rearranged, and causing her to squeak. "Take him to the interrogation room" Lief ordered, to which the men answered by carrying the sleeping Alzack, "Once he's awake, he's got a lot to answer for."

As the men carried away Alzack, Lief also began making his exit before making a pit stop near Tatiana who was busy salvaging the scraps of papers. "Don't take all day" he ordered before disappearing from her sight, causing her to heave a sigh of relief. After making sure the coast was clear, Tatiana looked at a nearby mountain and waved before quickly rushing inside the main facility.

From the distance, Sasuke had picked up on the signal Ultear had given him, though he was surprised that she could surmise his exact location. Folding the spyglass, the Uchiha made preparations to infiltrate the fortress until he was interrupted by a returning Talyn, who landed on his left hand. The Eagle was silent yet Sasuke could feel his every intent and what he was trying to convey to him. The answers, surprised him as he gasped. "That kid saved Erza? And she's beaten one of the Silver Hounds?" he noted with a sigh before looking at Talyn, he was genuinely surprised that the persistent boy with a poncho would go out of his way to aid an enemy. Perhaps he was one of the honorable sorts or perhaps he didn't want competition. Regardless, he was grateful to him for helping Erza "And she's making her way over to this place? *sigh* Right…just keep stalling her."

On his order, Talyn departed from his hand and vanished into thin air. It would seem he had underestimated how far Erza had truly come on her own. Sasuke himself had a difficult fight with one of them, so to hear that Erza had achieved the same results was both concerning and fascinating: She was making rapid progress in her strength but it also meant she was catching up to him in the race towards the research facility. Under any other circumstances, he would be happy to see her make it this far, but right now, she was going to get in his way and endanger herself.

He had to act fast.

---

Traversing the tunnels that Ultear had mentioned was easier than expected, mainly because security was next to non-existent. On top of that, the key she had provided worked just as promised and led him to a chamber with a ladder that took him to a manhole. So far, Ultear has proven she could be trusted.

Once he ascended the ladder and opened the manhole, the loud humming of the machine and an odorous stench indicated to Sasuke that he was in a waste treatment plant at the bottom of the west wing. However, this proved to be the ideal starting point for him as he could get his bearings without anyone watching him. But the moment he stepped out of that room, the Uchiha was blindsided by a very different environment; gone were the poorly trained, undisciplined sellswords that he had faced and in their place were rigid, precise, and alert automatons that Ultear had warned him about.

They were far quicker on their feet and weren't as easily distracted as the mercenaries. In addition to not requiring human needs like food or sleep, it also meant that knocking them out was going to be much more difficult. Thankfully, for all of their advantages, they also came with their shortcomings, since they were more rigid and bound by their programming, lacking the creativity that human guards would have. This meant, that they hardly bothered to look up, something that suited Sasuke just fine since he could just crawl through the ceilings. This also meant that the jumpy scientists would hardly pay notice to him.

The one information that Ultear did not give was the exact location where Gildarts was being held besides that he was on the west wing, which meant that he had to deduce his precise location. Based on his observations, Sasuke reasoned that the most logical place would be where security was tightest and after several near misses with the automatons, and landing upon some ventilation shafts, Sasuke was able to pinpoint Gildarts' location: a specialized room on the southwest section of the building, still asleep yet bound and hooked up to some tubes. The one major advantage of traversing through the vents was that he could bypass doors that required special access items.

Knowing that there was little he could do at the moment, Sasuke continued crawling, until he came upon a dead end on the second floor, which forced him to exit the vent through an opening duct and continue on with his investigation through tight corridors. But rather than leave himself open, Sasuke conjured up a way to walk through the corridors while hiding in plain sight; he would achieve this with a wooden crate that was empty and was bound for transportation, something he heard from a conversation with one of the factory workers. Hiding inside the box, Sasuke bid his time until he began to hear the shuffling of items and the box, he was in being moved around. Through a small peeking hole in the crate, Sasuke was privy to the sight of the production, the so-called Sector Seven adjacent to the west wing. There he saw all manner of vehicles and weapons and other items, many of which were incomprehensible in design, though this was probably alluding to the fact that they were still just prototypes. After a few minutes that crate stopped moving and as soon as the footsteps disappeared, Sasuke carefully opened up the crate and slithered his way to the room overlooking productions.

Once he had gotten a clearer view, it became clear to Sasuke just how the duke had accumulated so much wealth as a weapons manufacturer. At the center of productions was a massive, humanoid construct, complete with a head, torso, and arms but lacking in legs, hanging by massive wiring tubes; no doubt some weapon of war, comparable in concept to the Susanoo. "Wait! I don't know anything, please!" his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice coming from one of the rooms. As he inched closer and pressed his ear against the door, he realized that the voice was none other than Duke Erdrines'.

"Aren't you the owner of this facility?" the other voice asked, the origins of which were clear to Sasuke: it was Ultear's. "Well yes, but Lady Irene and Master Wall are the ones who have it under their control. That mechanized construct is a product of the Machias."

"Machias?" Ultear asked.

"They're living metal machines that can wield magic and take on any appearance they want " Erdrine answered.

"And this…Master Wall, is a Machias too?"

"Y-yes and an associate of Lady Irene too. Frankly, half of my invention actually came from him" Erdrine admitted.

Sasuke could hear a disappointed sigh coming out of Ultear. "So you're just a lying fraud after all this time," she said, her footsteps thumping closer to the door, alerting Sasuke to hide within the ceiling, "What a shame."

"Wait! What are you going to do!? You're not going to report me to the King, are you?" the duke pleaded.

"Why? Worried you'll lose everything?" Ultear snickered, "You betrayed Ishgar and Alakatasia sees you are nothing more than a pawn under their thumb. You have no use for me, you're irrelevant. Not even worth bothering."

With those parting words, Ultear left a whining Duke to his fate as she exited the room, obvious to the fact that Sasuke was right above her and had listened in on the entire conversation. To the Uchiha, it would seem she had revealed her true intentions for aiding him and Erza; a convenient distraction while she pursued her own agenda as always. Once he had saved Gildarts and Erza, he would have to deal with her.

The moment the coast was clear, Sasuke dropped from the ceiling and entered the room, much to the shock of the Duke. "Y-y-y-you! Why are you here?! They've been looking everywhere for you and that girl!" he cried out, "Wait, you're here to kill me aren't you!"

Sasuke took out his sword and pointed it at the duke, causing him to panic even further. "I've heard everything. So, either answer my questions or I'll make you" he threatened.

The cold stare of the boy's eye was enough to cause the duke's bald head to glisten with sweat as his legs trembled. "W-what do you want to know?" he nervously asked.

"Gildarts. What did you do to him?" Sasuke asked.

"We put in a medically induced coma with a specialized formula. That way we could bring him here and begin the brainwashing process"

"Brainwashing" Sasuke repeated, his tone dripping with contempt.

"The goal was to render him docile and obedient. A perfect servant as a Shield of Spriggan. A gift for the emperor" Erdrine quickly replied.

"And who are they?"

"The most powerful Wizards on the continent. Each of them pledged eternal servitude to the emperor but they all have their own agendas. Lady Irene and Master Wall are two members of Spriggan" the duke explained.

The pieces were all starting to come together. The Duke was nothing more than a puppet and the true masterminds were likely to be Irene and the one called Wall. Could Lief and Marcus also be members of this so-called elite group? Sasuke shook off the notion once he remembered that both Leif and Marcus serve under Irene. Besides that, it did not matter short term what they wanted, all that mattered right now was Gildarts. "How do I wake him up? Is there a cure?" he asked.

"Y-yes, it's in my office on the third floor of the R & D department. It'll reverse the effects of the formula and awaken him "Duke Erdrine answered, shuffling through his pockets and handing over a small key. 'It's in a safe next to a painting on the wall."

As Sasuke took the key and his eye was glued to it, he kept pointing his sword at the duke. Why was he being so cooperative? "What's in it for you?" he inquired.

"I…" Manuel was at a loss for words as he paced back and forth, seemingly on the verge of tears before he composed himself, "I just don't want to lose everything that I have built up; my wealth, my men, my power."

"Then you shouldn't have thought about betraying us" a third voice emerged, revealing the silhouette of a very familiar figure.

"Lief" Sasuke murmured.

"So you came here after all, just as anticipated, Sasuke Uchiha" the mysterious individual spoke back. Behind him were the thumping footsteps of a towering figure. One who had been itching to get his hands on Sasuke for a while.

"YOU!" Marcus blared with a venomous tone as Sasuke readied his blade and activated his Sharingan. With a thunderous roar, Marcus slammed his claymore down on both Sasuke and Manuel, both of whom dove out of the way, the latter with a terrified scream. As the weapon collided with the ground, it split the office table in half and reverberated with a violent shake. Without wasting a second, the knight swung around to decapitate Sasuke, who jumped and landed on the weapon itself before running through his enormous arms and slamming his sword onto an exposed point on the knight's armor at the back of his head, near his semi-exposed neck before summoning electricity from his hands and using the sword as a conduit; his prior experience with the larger brother had taught him that a frontal assault was pointless, but it meant that his back was weaker and more vulnerable.

Volts of energy flowed through the body of Marcus, his metal armor serving as a conduit while he let out a gurgling sound as his body convulsed. Resisting the electricity, Marcus powered through the attack and attempted to get Sasuke off of his back, wildly swinging his arms everywhere in the process. But Sasuke was intentionally gambling on this fact, guiding him towards the edge of the large windowed glass that overlooked the production line. Once they were near the edge, Sasuke pushed both of his feet, sending Marcus tumbling through the glass, which splintered into a million pieces as he plummeted to the ground below with a bellowing thud.

But Sasuke had little time to rest, as Lief decided to take action and summon a curved sword with a hilt guard out of what seemed like pure water out of thin air with which he attempted to deliver a slanting slash that was blocked by Sasuke's sword. The nature of the weapon took Sasuke by surprise a bit, since from the looks of it, the form took the shape of water yet was solid enough to clash with his own steel sword. "Is this.." his words were interrupted as Lief spun his arm and dismantled his sword. Not to be outdone, Sasuke immediately performed the same act and disarmed Lief as well, who let out a surprised hum.

Taking advantage of this momentary hesitation, Sasuke went for a flying punch that was quickly intercepted as Lief grabbed his wrist, turned sideways, and tossed him to the ground. But as he made his way to the fallen Sasuke, the Uchiha quickly struck back with an overhead kick, forcing Leif to block and take a step back. Rising to his feet, Sasuke immediately went for a spinning flying kick that Lief evaded as he summoned two water blades and spun around Sasuke in an attempt to slice him. The Uchiha avoided this fate by flipping through the air and landing across the room where his sword was.

Immediately taking hold of his sword, Sasuke dashed forward with Leif doing the same. The boy parried the first strike from his opponent's right side and blocked the strike that came from the left side. As the blades locked, Lief struck with his other hand that held the other hydro blade, forcing Sasuke to extend his sword to the other side while the mysterious warrior brought down the weight of both his weapons onto Sasuke before quickly reeling back and delivering a spinning back kick that sends Sasuke flying across the room and straight down onto the production line where Marcus laid in wait.

Falling to the ground with a nasty crash, Sasuke groaned in pain but quickly recovered. Shaking off the woozy feeling, he looked around and found himself surrounded on all sides by automaton guards, with Marcus at the forefront, pointing at the Uchiha with angry "Get him!". Raising his sword, Sasuke traced his hand across the blade, imbuing it with the powers of electricity, before leaping into the air with blinding speed. The first robot fell before it could react as Sasuke slammed his blade onto its body, not wasting any time and refusing to give them any chance to react, he quickly went for the second and third, slicking them in half from the torso, before he spun around sliced three more in a circular motion.

One of them quickly shot some sort of explosive projectile that Sasuke rolled out of the way from as he dashed towards the automaton, dismantling its right arm with a vertical slice before kicking its head clean off of its body. Four more automation came charging in, to which Sasuke answered in kind by cutting up the first one with a vertical slash and then leaping into the air, slamming his sword into the second, and then ripping apart the remaining two in a motion that was so swift that he was akin to a lightning move past their bodies as their limbs came apart.

On top of the office, Lief looked on with amazement at the boys' fighting skills. His showing on the bridge was clearly not reflective of his true abilities as he held his own against him and Marcus despite the overwhelming size and power advantage. Could it be that he had gotten stronger? Or was it that he could adapt to his foes?

"Interesting" a soft yet powerful voice interrupted his train of thought as a cold, black hand with sharpened claws touched his shoulder. The feeling sent a shiver down his spine as he let out a quiet gasp. On instinct, Lief turned around and immediately bowed.

"Lady Irene" he greeted her. Her appearance had changed from her first encounter with Sasuke. Rather than the modest attire she wore prior, Irene now brandished more outlandish clothing, complete with a unique and large hat alongside a large staff that resembled antlers.

Irene barely regarded his greeting and continued observing the fight, as Sasuke tackled both the automatons and the rampaging Marcus. "This has proven to be most entertaining. To think that a failed specimen would show promise like this."

Lief was flabbergasted by the words of Irene; from a certain point of view, they almost seemed like compliments, ones that he had never received. The very thought of it made his hand twitch.

Meanwhile, on the ground below, Sasuke was now surrounded on all sides by a dozen or more automatons, with Marcus on the backside waiting to pounce. Seeing no other option, the Uchiha lodged his sword onto the ground and began weaving hand signs, ones that channeled the power of lightning through his hands. But the intensity was magnified by a greater amount, to the point that its power could be felt even from the top.

But just as he was about to slam his fist to the ground, Irene disappeared in a flash, and before anyone, including Sasuke, could even react, a massive explosion was ignited at the position where Sasuke currently stood. Its impact was strong enough that both Lief and Marcus had to cover their faces. As the smoke slowly cleared, Irene stood tall and gazed down upon Sasuke, who was lying motionless with his face on the ground. "As amusing as this has been, all plays must come to an end eventually" she asserted, dramatically flickering her left hand.

Seeing an opportunity appear before his very eyes, Marcus stomped his way over to an unconscious Sasuke, only to be held back by Irene, who stared at him with an irate expression. "Your methods have failed me, Marcus, and your obsession with vengeance has turned you into a fool" she chastised him, contempt in her voice, "You disappoint me."

Even at his absolute lowest, Marcus knew there were some lines he couldn't cross. Every fiber of his being wanted to pull away from Irene's grasp and stomp the boy under his heel, but with every ounce of willpower and rationality left in his mind, he relented and backed away with a deep growl as he bowed.

With her enraged minion under control once more, Irene gazed upon the sleeping boy as a grin came over her face.

---

Metal collided against flesh and bone, pounding on them with such ferocity that every blow resulted in horrifying screams of anguish. With each strike, those screams slowly morphed into incomprehensible gurgling sounds until it turned into a faint wheeze. A few seconds later, there was nothing but a thud as a body fell to the ground.

"Now then" Lief began, rubbing his hands as he strolled towards a particular individual who was tied to a chair, "Shall we continue, Alzack?"

The mysterious entity stood next to stressed-out Alzack, who looked on with horror as he watched the lifeless body of what was once Duke Manuel Erdrine lay on the floor, motionless. "I told you I don't know where she is, I swear!" he cried out.

"Is that so? Then explain to us why you were on that same platform where Princess Poppy fell to her death?" Lief prodded, gripping Alzack's shoulder tightly.

"The crazy lady was going to kill that girl. I had to do something!" he admitted.

The boy's admission did little to alleviate his present circumstances, for the one who was responsible for beating the duke to death stood in front of him. What was once shiny, golden armor was now soaked in blood; all from the vicious beating he initiated on the former duke. "So, you're the one who killed Poppy!" Marcus snarled, thumping his way over to Alzack.

Alzack was in a state of panic as he shook around and attempted to free himself from his bindings, though it was nothing more than a futile attempt as Marcus almost smothered his entire face with his enormous hands and gripped his jaw. "N-no! That's not it! The girl was the one who killed her, I…just stopped that robot lady from killing her."

"Why you!" An enraged Marcus was on the verge of crushing Alzack's head like a fruit until the timely intervention of Lief put a stop to it as he grabbed his metallic hand and pushed it away. "Elaborate" he gazed towards Alzack and sternly asked.

With a deep breath, Alzack began explaining the entire situation from the beginning; starting with the time he found them in their hideout, his encounter with the red-haired girl, all the way to their battle against one of the Silver Hounds. "And she knocked me out after that" he finished.

Once he had finished listening to Alzacks' side of the story, Lief turned his attention toward Marcus with a look of contempt. "Is this true? Did you order the hounds to kill her?" he demanded.

"Yes," Marcus answered without hesitation, staring down Irene's top lieutenant without flinching. But his blunt nature would be to his detriment as pieces of his armor suddenly began to act of their own accord, twitching and moving erratically as Marcus watched his body act on its own in disbelief. His fingers disjointed from one another, the limbs of his armor loosened to the point of being inert and the knees buckled as the screws that held it in place moved on their own.

Once he was completely immobilized and on the floor, the perpetrator entered the room. "Your actions today have been embarrassing, to say the least," Irene lamented, stepping over the fallen pieces of armor as Tatiana followed behind until she was lording over her subordinate, looking down on him, "But knowing that you went completely against my orders? I ought to kill you."

"He..he killed my brother. I couldn't let that go" Marcus explained using what little mobility his torso had to face toward a particular direction.

"So it was vengeance that drove you. I should have expected it" Irene gave out a disappointing sigh, "I'll deal with you later. So, whom do I have to thank for saving that girl?"

"This one" Lief pointed toward Alzack.

"And who might you be?" Irene asked, her attention now diverted towards the young gunslinger.

"A-Alzack, Ma'am" the boy nervously answered. He had long since heard of the fabled Shields of Spriggan, how their legendary powers were the greatest in the empire. It was for this very reason, he signed up, to prove his worth to them. But to see one with his own eyes and speak to them was something else entirely; he was simultaneously awestruck and terrified. The enormous magical energy he felt from her made him feel insignificant by comparison: an ant in the presence of a god.

"Alzack, is it?" Irene repeated, motioning for Lief to release him, an order which was complied with. "As a reward for saving that girl, you'll get the distinct honor of helping me search for her."

"Really? Umm….how do I do that?" Alzack asked, rubbing his wrists to soothe the pain of being tied up for hours. The pain from those bee stings still lingered, leaving behind a nasty aftershock that inflicted pain on his arms and face every time he moved.

"Through him, of course" Irene answered, pointing towards another body that was hanging by chains tied to his hands and the ceiling on the other end. As Alzack stared at the body, he realized it was roughly about his size with only his shorts for clothes, while his bare torso was covered in cuts and bruises. It seemed familiar but he couldn't fully make out who it was due to the bag that was put over his head.

Once Lief removed the bag, it became crystal clear who it was. Sasuke Uchiha hung from those chains, his breathing heavy yet without a single word being uttered from his bloodied face as he stared at them with a soulless gaze. The sight of him caused Alzack and Tatiana to collectively gasp, with Tatiana even covering her mouth in frightened panic.

"Tha-that's" Alzack could barely form his sentence as he stammered on.

"We found him cutting a backdoor deal with the good Duke, who's paid for it with his life, as you can see," Lief said, walking over to Sasuke, who remained quiet and glared as Lief grabbed hold of his face and faced it straight Irene, "He, on the other hand, has value. He has information we need regarding the girl, so we're holding off on his execution."

Once he locked his eye on the woman, his expression changed immediately; transforming from hardened determination to a softer appearance, a mix between surprise and fear. Releasing his grip, Lief strolled over to Alzack and patted him on the back before handing him an electric prod, "Now then, Alzack. Prove your worth and your loyalty; beat the answers out of him."

Alzack looked dumbfounded as he stared at the prod intensely. His grip swayed between tightening and loosening against the stick as pulses of electricity sparked at the end. With some encouraging push from Lief, he stumbled onto Sasuke, getting an up-close view of the boy's battered body. A feeling of guilt and uncertainty came over him; he wanted to prove his worth and defeat the boy, but not in this manner. He wanted it to be a fair fight. He wanted to prove that he was as good as the heroes of legend, not be a torturer or an executioner. As Sasuke looked down on him, Alzack could barely make out what he was whispering to him but from what he could gather it came off as "Just do it."

Ultear thought she had become accustomed to such sights, that she had numbed herself to the pain of others for the sake of her ambition. But something within her began stirring the moment she set her sights on the beaten body of Sasuke. As the boy in the poncho raised his trembling hands and was about to zap him, something within Ultear compelled her to move on instinct and speak out. "Wait! Isn't he already hurt?" realizing that she spoke out of turn, Ultear Tatiana immediately covered her mouth as her eyes widened.

She expected a swift reprisal but instead, Irene simply looked at her with a snicker. "Concerned for him?" she asked.

Tatiana responded by looking away and stammering, "N-nothing like that, it's just that I don't see the point in beating information out of someone who might die."

Her response gave way for a smirk to form on Irene's lips as the sorceress replied, "He can take this punishment. After all, he's not even human."

Her comments caused both Alzack and Tatiana to stare at her in disbelief. "What do you mean he's not human?" Alzack asked her.

"Have you ever heard of the term, Etherious?" Irene deflected his question with her own, which left Alzack dumbfounded since he had no clue what she was even talking about.

Thankfully, Tatiana (Ultear) was better versed in such knowledge, given that it was secretly her obsession. "They're demons from the Books of Zeref" she diligently answered.

"Correct" Irene nodded before continuing, "But did you know that Zeref created a second batch of demons, ones created from the remains of a dragon with very unique eyes. Ones that Lief has and that boy must've had as well."

Irene pointed towards Lief, who pulled away the bangs from his left side to reveal a very unique, eye with several circular lines embedded throughout the iris. The revelation took both Alzack and Tatiana by surprise but for very different reasons: for Alzack, it was genuine new information since he had no clue about such things but for Tatiana, it was different: as Ultear, she had seen that very exalted eye within Sasuke as well. It was as if the dots were starting to connect.

"They were called Second Generation Etherious and were created to surpass the first generation in strength and power. However, even such creations could not please Zeref and he quickly abandoned this project, and that, my dear, is where I come in." She continued her story while all parties concerned listened closely, even Sasuke who was glancing in silence. "I learned of the secrets that Zeref developed to create such creatures and carried over his work, thus, the Third Generation of Etherious was born. Combining Zeref's knowledge, my blood and enhancement magic and the fallen dragon's remains to create the perfect vessel. One such specimen stands before you as we speak."

Irene pointed towards Lief, who stood quietly as he was being gawked at. "He's a demon!?" Alzack nervously asked, his body trembling even more as his legs began to shake as well.

"I am and so is he" Lief admitted before pointing toward Sasuke, "Now, will you stop wasting Lady Irene's time and get to it?"

The gunslinger gulped and looked at the boy with the eye patch, having a new perspective on him than before with this disclosure; even so, causing such an act of cruelty did not sit right with him. "Hey, is it true?" he looked up to Sasuke and asked, "Are you really a demon?"

"No" Sasuke weakly answered.

"You can deny it all you want but you're one of us" Lief argued, "Now Alzack, get to work or else."

Even after being told that Sasuke wasn't human, the look in his eye was telling him otherwise. But he couldn't go against his orders either, lest he suffer the same fate as the duke. "I'm sorry" he expressed regret as he hammed the prod into his body, sending a million volts of electricity through Sasuke; the boy's body twitched and convulsed violently as he made a gurgling sound. The sight of it caused Alzack to immediately release his hold on the prod and reel back.

"Again" Lief demanded, to which Alzack hesitantly complied and zapped Sasuke again.

Watching the torture session unfold, Tatiana's heart raced as she gripped her clothes tightly. "What about him? You said he's a demon too, right? Did Zeref make him?" she asked.

"No, he is my creation. A proof of concept I designed alongside many others to see if I could replicate what Zeref had achieved. One in a series of failed prototypes that I discarded before I made Lief and another special one. But neither of them could give to me that which I had created them for in the first place; to become my perfect vessel. However, their strength and abilities proved quite useful in other ways, so I let them live." Irene answered with her chin held high, "What I'm most curious about is the fact that this one somehow managed to survive the purge and live out his life believing himself to be human."

Irene's answer did little to assuage Tatiana's unease. Rather, it awoke a feeling inside of her that she had been holding on for a long time. "So, you discarded him? Just like that?" she questioned the scarlet woman with a pursed lip, "You knew he was alive and sentient, and yet, you still threw him away?"

"Indeed, just like that. He was a failure, a flawed prototype by all accounts, in fact, I never even thought to give him a name. He's nothing more than a mass of Etherion condensed into a body like the rest of the other failures" Irene bluntly and without a hint of remorse replied, "Of course, he surprised me in many ways by continuing to live and even showing promise, but at the end of the day, he's not worth much to me."

Hearing those words, Tatiana could barely contain her rage as she tightened her fist into a ball. She was his creator and by all intents and purposes, his mother yet it was apparent that she saw him as little more than trash to be thrown, simply because he did not live up to her expectations. And she deemed it appropriate to say all of this in front of him too as if his feelings on the matter were even within her consideration. The thought of it made her blood boil as it drew back painful memories, memories of when her own mother abandoned her in favor of two new children just like what Irene was doing. "But wouldn't that make him your son? Why would you do this to him?" Tatiana questioned.

The girl's words earned a snicker from Irene. "My son?" Irene laughed, "Little one, would you consider a toy you made to be a child of your own? Even if that toy had value, it is still a toy; one that can be broken, discarded, and replaced, just as it is with him and Lief. I'd advise you not to get sentimental with such concepts."

"And what about the girl? The one you're looking for" Tatiana continued prying.

"That….is for reasons you cannot possibly fathom" the scarlet sorceress answered with a sneer that came out of a wicked smile, "So for your own sake, let's leave it at that."

Tatiana could read that thinly veiled threat disguised as a smile and realized that she wasn't going to get anything further. And so, rather than continue to prod her, she crossed her arms and looked away with a contentious frown.

Meanwhile, the torment of Sasuke continued as Alzack carried on prodding again and again to no avail as Sasuke remained dead silent. "Just tell us where she is, this will be all over then. I don't want to do this!" he yelled at the one-eyed boy, the anger in his voice was mixed in with frustration as he begged and pleaded with him to comply, yet Sasuke would remain stone-faced without ushering a single word aside from "No."

Lief was impressed, to say the least, annoyed but impressed. "Your refusal to break is admirable but misguided," he said, taking the prod out of Alzack's hand and pointing it at Sasuke, "We will find the girl, regardless of whether you talk or not. But a lot of trouble will be saved if you tell us where she is right now, for all of our sakes. You've seen what happens to those who would harm her, don't you? I give you my word, no harm will come to her."

Even such an offer did little to deter Sasuke, who simply shook his head in response. Before things could boil over, Irene stepped in and motioned for both Lief and Alzack to step aside. Once they had complied, Irene grabbed him by the throat and looked at him straight at his one remaining eye. "That girl is more important to me than you could possibly fathom. You will tell me where she is" Irene demanded.

"What …do you want with…her?" he asked.

"That is none of your business" Irene disregarded his question, "And you're in no position to ask questions."

"Then I can't" Sasuke answered with a hitch in his voice, "I'd do anything you ask of me, but not this. I'm sorry."

Tatiana was surprised by how much his tone changed in her presence. Could it be that he still saw her as his mother? Even after the truth was revealed? Even after listening to what she had just said about him? A demon seeking approval? Just thinking about it made her fingers twitch.

"I see" Irene blankly noted as she released her grip on him and turned away. But just as she diverted her gaze, almost instantly she brought it back with a look of abject realization. "How curious..." she began, holding his chin, "There is a dark power stirring within you. Perhaps, if I release the shackles, you'll be more persuasive." And with those words, Irene embalmed her left hand onto Sasuke's face as it began glowing in a red aura, the likes of which caused Sasuke to let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Deep within the plane of the Uchiha's consciousness, the world around Hagoromo began to fall apart as a pair of crimson, crossed-shaped eyes appeared before him. The prison that shackled the inner darkness of Sasuke began to crack open as even Sasuke's doppelganger watched astounded by this turn of events. "How can this be? How could she discover this?" Hagoromo noted, flabbergasted.

An enormous hand emerged from the darkness and began pulling away at the dark half of Sasuke, who began morphing from his mirror image into a large creature with a toothy maw that resembled a grin. "Yes, break these shackles that hold me! Free me!" he howled in adulation.

"You cannot do this" Hagoromo asserted as he reached out his hand, releasing a stream of white light that pulled the beast in the other direction. While the tug of war continued, Sasuke was crying out in anguish on the outside.

Unable to take it anymore, Alzack immediately jumped between Irene and Sasuke. "Wait! You don't have to do this, please!" he pleaded, an act that shocked even Lief.

It took a few seconds for Alzack to realize what he had just done as he looked to see Irene cast a dark shadow over him. The gunslinger froze in terror as the scarlet woman gave him a scornful gaze, one that was contemptuous at him for even daring to plead with her. "You would dare to go against me!?" she insinuated.

"N-n-n-no! Never! I-I-I mean, I'd never betray you!"

"Is that so? Then give me one good reason why I shouldn't liquidate you" Irene demanded.

Luckily before Alzack could dig himself deeper, Tatiana stepped in and spoke up," What he's trying to say, is that if you go too far, you might kill him and you wouldn't be able to intel out of him if that's the case. He may be a demon but even demons have limits too, right?"

"And why should it be anyone's concern whether he lives or dies?" Irene pointed out.

"It's not" Tatiana answered back, but it's clear to me that there's a spy here that's been helping him and the girl, otherwise, how could they have known how to get here? And how could he have known to speak to the duke?" Tatiana swiftly answered. It was a big gamble, planting the seeds of the idea that there was a traitor among them even though she was the spy in question. But worse still, she couldn't understand why she was risking so much for him.

Yet the gamble seemed to have paid off, at least momentarily as Irene began pondering. "Interesting, if we have an infiltrator amongst our ranks, then it doesn't bode well for this facility. And Wall will not be pleased by this" she murmured to herself before looking at her demonic Lieutenant, "Lief, I want you to look into this matter. And take Marcus with you. He may have some connection with this spy and I have some use for him yet. You two, do with him as you wish but make sure you get answers, I'll be waiting. Oh and before I leave." With a wave of her hand, Alzacks' hand began to glow as he screamed in agony until they had morphed into some sort of green, shapeless, gelatinous substance. "Let this be a warning if you ever decide to interrupt me again."

As Irene left with Lief carrying the armored remains of Marcus, Alzack dropped to his knees and murmured in shock as he narrowly avoided being executed at the cost of his arm. His savior, on the other hand, was none too pleased as she approached him with a scowl. "Help me get him down" she ordered, lowering the chains while he caught him and removed his cuffs, "They're gonna want us to carry him to the holding cells."

"Look at Me! Do I look like I wanna help you?" he growled though he regretted those words the moment he caught a terrifying glare.

"Do you have a problem? Or would you rather have Lady Irene kill you instead?" Tatiana threatened, summoning a glowing orb in her hand "But if you think that's not enough, I can do it for you."

"Okay, okay, I got it" Alzack nervously complied and allowed Sasuke to be lifted Sasuke over his shoulders with Tatiana's help.

As she led them away from the room, a thought came over Ultear, who had now shed the guise of Tatiana, "Why am I doing this?"

---

The inside of his mind was a dark place, yet it once had a feeling of cold comfort thanks to the presence of the sage. But now, everywhere he looked, it resembled a rushing river of pain and torment, the waters running muddy and trickling toward an endless darkness. "Sage? Where are you?" he called out to Hagoromo as he waded through the thick waters.

As he journeyed through the endless darkness, a feeling of discomfort came over Sasuke as he chanced upon two very familiar figures kneeling down in front of what seemed like a piece of the small room. Out of morbid curiosity, Sasuke trudged toward those two figures until there was enough light to reveal their faces, much to his own horror; at that moment, the vestiges of his mother and father knelt before him.

"You disappoint us" the phantom of Fugaku Uchiha spoke, his voice brimming with contempt, "You had always been a burden to our clan and to us, but now, it has culminated in our deaths."

Sasuke took a deep breath and began panting heavily as he closed his eyes and repeated to himself, "You are not real. You're only of my mind."

"Then why do you still listen to us?" Mikoto Uchiha's phantom pointed out, though she did not come off as scornful as his father, yet a sad disappointment remained, "If only you had worked harder if only you had been stronger. Then Itachi would not have had to carry all of the burden by himself and do the things he needed to do."

The mention of his brother shook Sasuke out of his denial as he looked at the remnants of his parents. "I…. I tried to" he pleaded, reaching out for them.

"You were nothing like Itachi. If only you had his strength, his skills, his talent. You could never compare to him" Fugaku's shade chastised him. "You are truly a failure, Sasuke."

Sasuke's expression changed in response to the harsh rebuke that the memory of Fugaku expressed towards him. Even if they weren't true, even if the voices were just vestiges of past memories; the resentments and the frustrations lingered in his memory for years, now boiled over to his breaking point. His father had died before he could confront him about it but now, he had the chance, "If I'm such a failure to you, then why don't you-"

He was interrupted by a gentle hand resting on his shoulder. "They are not real. They are simply amalgamations of Sasuke's memory twisted by the darkness" Hagoromo reassured him, waving his hand towards the phantoms, "Begone false spirits, be at rest."

On command, the remnants of Fugaku and Mikoto disappeared, though the chaotic nature of his subconscious remained. "What happened here?" Sasuke wondered out loud.

"The darkness within you, your other half; he has been freed" Hagoromo answered.

"Freed?" Sasuke blinked and repeated, taken aback by this turn of events.

"That woman Irene has managed to reach into this plane of consciousness through unfathomable means and freed your darkness. I had always thought magic and chakra could not work in harmony, yet she has found the means to do so. Could this be the 'curse power' we encountered before?"

A disturbing notion, if any there was for Sasuke. But even more unsettling was the fact that Irene could match powers with the Sage of Six Paths, even if he was just a shadow of his former self now. "Can't you seal him back?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, I cannot. The damage inflicted has become far too severe and I do not possess the strength I once possessed to do so. We can only hope to be able to contain it" The Sage grimly answered.

"So where is he?"

Hagoromo remained quiet for a while before giving his response, "He has merged with you, his essence, his chakra, all of him is now flowing through your every being. Your strength may now be greater without the restraints I had imposed on this body but I fear that your mind be in constant torment from now on."

That would explain those dark memories of his parents, a notion that worried Sasuke. But the silver lining was that there was one less annoying voice in his head. Yet, even so, the words of Irene still weighed heavy in his heart. Even if she truly was no longer the mother he knew, to hear those words from word, was painful.

"Hey, I want to ask you something," he asked, looking at Hagoromo.

"What is it, dear Sasuke?"

"You once said you created the Tailed Beasts from pieces of chakra of the Ten-Tails and that you created this body using your chakra and mine. You also said that I had been split into two halves" Sasuke began, letting out a saddened hum, "What if…what if I'm just a mass of chakra that thinks it's Sasuke Uchiha? What if Irene's right? What if I'm not human?"

The Sage of Six Paths was bewildered to say the least, especially because of the abrupt nature of this question. That being said, the more he pondered, the more he realized that Irene's words must've weighed heavily on him. If she truly was his mother reborn, then calling him a discarded failure and a demon was most unkind. It appears that seeds of doubt regarding his existence have already been planted in his mind. "As I have said when we first made this agreement, you are Sasuke but you are also not Sasuke. How you view yourself, should be up to you."

The Uchiha's face was neutral, showing signs of neither relief nor disappointment yet doing little to alleviate his present dilemma. "That's not the answer I was looking for" he objected.

"I'm afraid I cannot give you that answer. But if what Irene said is troubling you, then know that you are not alone in this feeling. She is the second person to regard you as a demon, under the assumption that she created you. There are mysteries in this world that even I cannot decipher yet but if the words of those demigods ring true, then I fear our existence has changed the flow of this world, both the present and perhaps even the past. For now, take solace in the fact that it is you who will define the Sasuke you want to be" The Sage gave another vague advice, one that caused Sasuke to groan in annoyance.

"Forget it" he brushed aside as he laid down on the water, waiting for the chance to wake up.

The more things were revealed, the more questions were abounded.

---

Despite his injuries, Sasuke expected to be in a jail cell rather than an infirmary, since he was still technically a prisoner to them. However, that did not stop 'Tatiana' and Alzack from being allowed to tend to his hounds, under the supervision of a few patrolling guards, of course; the idea was to keep him alive until the next round of interrogations.

"How bad is it?" he asked.

"I'm not a doctor, but I'd say it's pretty bad" Tatiana answered as she applied the last bandages to cover up Sasuke's right shoulder alongside a pack of ice, which elicited a pained hiss from him. "You baby" she teased him before getting to her feet and facing him, "Let's see, broken ribs, dislocated shoulder that I had to readjust, not to mention you're probably bleeding all over on the inside, your back and hip are busted as well as your knees. And you probably have a concussion too. At this point, you're a walking corpse but then again, you're not human…. are you?"

What Tatiana was insinuating made Sasuke and Alzack pay attention as the latter looked towards the former? "I told you, it's not like that" Sasuke argued.

"Oh really? Then care to explain what it was that Irene was speaking about then?" Tatiana shot back, crossing her arms.

"It's complicated" he answered.

"Everything is complicated" she glared back. Both sides remained firm as they glared daggers, leaving Alzack in an awkward position of being stuck between them.

"Hey, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here" the gunslinger interjected, stepping in the middle of their standoff. At first, he wasn't sure they'd listen but eventually, the two of them complied.

"Alzack, right?" Sasuke said, rising to his feet with great difficulty and limping over to him, "I need a favor to ask of you."

"A favor?" Alzack blinked and repeated what Sasuke spoke of and then close his eyes and shook his head before speaking up again, "Listen, are you sure you're not screwed up in the head from all that beating? You wanna ask a favor from me? You do know I tried to take you in, right?"

"But you also saved Erza, didn't you?" Sasuke pointed out, "I heard everything about that conversation."

"Erza? You mean that girl?" Alzack pondered, bewildered by Sasuke's words, "Yeah, what about it? It's not like I saved her out of the goodness of my heart. Besides, how do you know if I was even telling the truth?"

"Let's just say a certain bird told me so" Sasuke answered, alluding to the information Talyn gave him. "Remember when I said that you don't have what it takes; what I meant was, you're not like them. You're a good person."

Alzack was even more perplexed by this point, something even Tatiana took note of. "Don't ack like you know anything about me" The gunslinger bit his lip and held his tongue, his thoughts pondering on the words of Sasuke as his face flustered a bit before speaking with a heavy sigh, "Fine, I'll at least hear you out first. What do you want me to do?"

Taking this as a sign of consent, Sasuke limped closer to Alzack and leaned into his ear, whispering instructions that left the poncho boy exasperated based on his dumbfounded expressions, something even Tatiana picked up on. "Are you crazy! No way I'm doing that!" Alzack reeled back and yelled before quickly covering his mouth the moment he realized that guards nearby were beginning to give him some strange looks forcing him to quickly come up with a false story, one that he spoke out loud, "I MEAN I CAN'T HOLD THE DOOKIE FOR YOU!"

Tatiana groaned and covered her face with her palm as Alzack looked back to see if the guards were still paying attention, only to find out that they had lost interest much to his relief. With the deflection successful, he focused his attention on Sasuke once more, "If I do this, I'll be a traitor to my country. I'll be turning my back on Alakatasia."

"You'll be turning your back on a bunch of mercenaries fighting for money. They were more than willing to ditch you when the moment called for it. No matter what you do, it was never enough, was it? And I'm asking you, not ordering you. You have a choice here. Besides, do you still wanna help the same people who did that…." Sasuke replied, eyeing those deformed arms of his.

Alzack was left to his own devices to contemplate his next course of action. As he paced back and forth, he looked at the boy in front of him and thought about the girl he met before; they were supposed to be his enemies. He was supposed to fight them, yet they had shown him more patience and kindness than all of his so-called comrades, who treated him as an annoyance at best. No matter how hard he tried to prove himself, it was never satisfactory. Worst of all, Irene had taken the one thing that mattered to him more than anything else; staring at the gelatinous gooey arms, his face scrounged into barely controlled fury. "Argh, fine! I'll do it" he gave his answer with a growl.

"Then you'll need this" Sasuke said as he shoved his finger inside his mouth and began gagging and emitting choking sounds until he spewed out a key, much to the disgust of Tatiana who looked away and Alzack. "The duke has a safe hidden in one of his paintings" he instructed as he handed over the key.

"You kept it inside of you this whole time? Is that why you didn't speak so much? So you wouldn't throw up? Gross!" Alzack exploded, revolted by what Sasuke had vomited out. He was initially very, very hesitant to take the key given that it was covered in saliva and who knows what. However, he eventually relented and accepted the item with a look of abject revulsion as his arms immediately absorbed the key into the hand itself. "I can't make any promises" he warned the one-eyed boy.

"That's fine. I trust you. And if you see Erza, help her." Sasuke reassured him to which Alzack reciprocated with a nod and withdrew from the cell.

Once he was out of sight, Sasuke turned towards Tatiana, though he knew her better as the recurring individual known as Ultear. Even though their actions were supposed to be for mutual benefit, he couldn't see what she had to gain by saving him. Her motivations to aid him in this state were above any sort of gain and it was at a great risk too. "What about you?" he asked.

"I think I'll get out of here soon" she sighed, brushing her hand against the prison wall, "Tatiana had her uses but I think her time has come to an end. They've probably figured out who the spy is and come for me. Still can't believe I did that."

It would seem that they both had the same question. "Risking your cover like that? Why did you do it?" Sasuke asked, keeping a close watch on her.

Ultear continued tracing her hand against the walls, deep in thought; thoughts of her past, of her mother, and the things she went through. "Maybe I see more of myself in you than I thought I would" she solemnly gave her answer though without any context, Sasuke was still just as clueless as before. Incidentally, at the same time, Ultear decided to bring up a question of her, "My turn. Is it true that she's your mother?"

Once again, Sasuke hung his head and gave her his answer, "Like I said, it's complicated."

But Ultear was not having it this time and pushed through with the questions, "Just answer me; yes or no."

At her insistence, Sasuke relented and gave his answer, "Yes. She…...was ….my mother."

"Was?"

"She's a different person now, that's all I'll say. I said it before and I'll say it again; it's complicated. You wouldn't be able to understand, even if I told you the whole truth." He insisted.

"Complicated huh? I guess that's true when it comes to family" Ultear chuckled as she leaned against the wall, "You almost seemed like a different person when she's around. Didn't you even hear what she said about you? About how little she actually values you? If the situation calls for it, would you kill her?"

"I know what she said and it doesn't matter to me. I'll stop her but I won't kill her"

Ultear frowned upon hearing his answer. "You say that but I can tell from the look on your face that it's bothering you. She said she threw you away like trash and called you a failure. She doesn't seem to even care if you live or die and you still think of her as your mother? Are you really going to hold back on her? She's going to kill you-"

"I won't lose her! Not this time" Sasuke cut her off, his own face transforming from sullen to vexed to sullen again, "Never…...never again."

Ultear blinked at his prompt reply. She couldn't make sense of the devotion he was expressing toward Irene, his so-called creator. What was it about her that made him so staunch in refraining from harming her? And what did he mean by "never again"? She figured he would probably be ambiguous about it even if he did answer and so opted to leave it be: he was just one big bag of mysteries. "Then you're a bigger fool than I thought you were" she admonished him.

Sasuke returned her rebuke with silence aside from an irate "hmph". It would seem that they had said enough about each other as Ultear made preparations for her escape by rearranging her hair into the twin tails she usually kept. "What are you doing?" the Uchiha asked.

"There's no point in being Tatiana anymore" she stated, summoning her orbs and sending them flying towards the guards, knocking them out one by one. "I'm leaving this place before they're onto me. But listen…." she said, placing a syringe on his hand, "Since I can't stop you from fighting, take this. It'll keep your body from falling apart for at least an hour."

Sasuke stared at the syringe before looking at Ultear, "What about you?"

Ultear responded by cusping his left cheek with a softer but still stern gaze, "I have an airship parked at a lake southwest of here. If you and everyone else make it, I'll be waiting for you there. One hour, that's all I can give you."

With those parting words, Ultear resummoned her orbs and used her magic to crumble the wall next to them, as she strutted her way through an alternate route that she had created. "Be careful, Sasuke" she said as she restored the wall to its former state, barring Sasuke from following her. Once the wall was fully repaired, the Uchiha was by lonesome as he carefully observed the syringe that she had given him.

Either this was going to kill him or help him. All of it hinged on whether or not he could trust her. Regardless, if Alzack's plan was to go off with less difficulty, then a distraction would be needed. One that he could provide even if it meant painting a target on his back.

---

Lief stormed through the corridors of the research facility with a squad of automatons as his escort alongside a few mercenaries. Not too long ago, a massive explosion detonated within the holding cells, setting off alarms that blared throughout the entire infrastructure. Given that it was the place where a special prisoner was being held, he knew who was likely responsible: either this Tatiana, whom he had recently discovered had been sabotaging and stealing important documents, or The flawed specimen known as Sasuke was responsible, or perhaps it was both of them in collaboration.

Kicking down the broken door, Lief sent his mercenaries and automatons to scout ahead to which they complied by rushing over to the designated area where the commotion was at its fiercest. A sequence of metallic slashes and human screams followed until only the sound of the burning wrecks remained. With no one else to send forth, the demon took it upon himself to solve this issue himself as he stomped his way over to the holding area, where Sasuke stood atop a mountain of damaged mechs and human bodies.

"You," Lief said, summoning his shorts blades out of the water and pointing one of them at Sasuke, "Where's Tatiana?"

Sasuke glanced back with his crimson eye before turning around. "She's gone" he answered, "You won't find her."

"So, you two were working together after all. Now it all makes sense as to how you could defeat a member of the silver hounds and make it all the way here without anyone noticing" Lief deduced, "You're sneakier than I thought."

"So, what about it?" Sasuke taunted.

"You're going to tell me everything" Lief demanded.

"No" the Uchiha bluntly replied. To show his act of defiance, he began weaving a new kind of hand sign, one that summoned the power of lighting in his hands in the form of two blades. Closing his eye, Sasuke's face tensed as the two lighting blades began to take shapes that mirrored the blades that Lief wielded, right down to its hilt guard and short pointed edge.

"You…you copied my weapons?" a baffled Lief balked, partly taken by surprise and partly insulted by this act. That being said, he immediately composed himself and chuckled at this turn of events, "It doesn't matter, it's nothing but a cheap imitation."

"You're the one who's the cheap imitation. You have the power of the left eye and you don't even have an ounce of imagination on how to use it to its fullest potential" Sasuke insulted back.

"Then show me. I've beaten you before and I'll do it again."

"Not this time."

---

Erza felt like she was being led around in circles, with every corridor looking the same as the previous ones she had passed; at certain points, she was beginning to doubt if Talyn even knew where he was leading her towards. "Talyn, are you sure we're going the right way? It feels like we've been here before" she whined, but the crimson eagle simply flew around in silence, forcing her to follow it with an annoyed huff. After navigating what seemed like a maze, she and Talyn had finally made their way to the fortress, only to find most of it in ruins with the sound of sirens blaring all throughout the place. "Has Sasuke already made it here?" she wondered, reasoning that such destruction could only come from his hand.

Wasting little time, the two made their way into the fortress, where Talyn deftly guided her through the research facility. Given the chaotic state of things, Erza saw little need for subtlety as she brandished her sword and cut down all who stood in her way. But the facility housed foes she had never seen before and these automatons proved to be more persistent than she thought, since for each one she destroyed, another would take its place; like an endless supply of soldiers who began to dogpile on her, forcing her to switch to an armor meant for enhancing her physical strength that allowed her to break free of the dogpile. But even then, the mechs kept coming.

Fearing being overwhelmed, Erza switched to her lighter gear and bolted past the automatons as she followed Talyn, who led her through every corner and crevice that was present, even running past a few panicking scientists who paid her no mind. Yet, with each door and each new room, her options were running out until at last, a final large door stood. As it lay open, a familiar face peeked through. "Hey, over here!" Alzack called for her.

Erza and Talyn hastily ran with all their might until they were on the other side of the room. "Help me close this thing," he asked, to which Erza responded without hesitation and slammed the massive, steel doors before locking them in place.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Erza turned her attention toward Alzack, only to be horrified by the metamorphosis his arms had undergone. "What happened to you!?" she questioned.

"A lot, and not for the better" he tentatively replied, hanging his head in shame as a mixed feeling of pity and fear came over Erza. But before the mood could drop any further or any condolence could be offered, Alzack straightened himself and coughed out before speaking to Erza again, "Listen, I have something that you might need."

Extending his liquified arm, Alzack pushed through what looked like a blue test tube with a black cork from the inside of his hand and dropped it onto Erza's right hand, as she accepted it and observed the item with unease. "And this is?" she asked.

"It's a cure. For your friend over there" he pointed out towards a surgical bed with wires and tubes extending all over a particular body.

"Gildarts!" she yelled, immediately rushing over to him. Time was of the essence as Alzack began to hear the sound of the door banging from the other side, indicating that the mechs were attempting to barge in, and based on the way that the door was bending, it might be sooner rather than later.

"You might wanna hurry up!" Alzack warned Erza, who was busy looking for any sort of opening within the regulators. Yet, as she was doing so, a thought crept up in her mind: could she truly trust Alzack? After all, he did try to take them on more than one occasion and she had no idea if the cure the boy gave him would actually work. What if it made it worse? But the more she put stock on such matters, the more she remembered that he had also saved her life and helped her this time as well. And seeing as Sasuke was not around and trouble would soon follow, there seemed to be little choice. "Trust your instincts" he would say, at least that's the kind of lesson that he usually drilled in her head. "So how do I use it?" she asked.

"I don't know! Just stick it in" the gunslinger suggested. With a hesitant groan, Erza saw little choice but to do it as she opened his mouth and poured the viscous liquid down. As the banging on the door, intensified, Alzack shouted out "Is it working?"

In a panic, Erza looked on as Gildarts showed no signs of life. Her eyes expanded and her mouth dropped while her heart sank at the notion of the worst possible scenario happening and her decision being the catalyst for it. Worse still, the door was at its limit from the constant barrage of assault. But just when all seemed lost, Gildart's finger twitched, followed by him slowly opening his eyes to the blurry sight of a delighted Erza shouting his name.

"Gildarts! Wake up Gildarts"

"Ugh, Erza? Where am I? What the hell is this, kiddo?" a groggy Gildarts, rose from his prone position and sat in a rested position as he ripped off the tubes and wires that were attached to his body. Facing forward, he noticed another kid standing in front of him as the door finally broke down and an army of automatons flooded in.

"No time for that! We need your help now" Erza requested as she turned away to face the mechs as Alzack dove away, helpless to fight back in his current form. "Can you fight?"

The last thing he remembered was having the time of his life, drowning in booze at the Duke's mansion only for him to now wake up in this current state. Whatever had happened between him falling asleep and him waking up now, must've been one heck of an adventure. But that would have to wait, for none of the children in the guild would be in mortal danger under his watch and it was a vow he took seriously. Grabbing his right shoulder and rotating it before doing the same to his left and then rotating his neck, Gildarts leapt out of bed and slammed his fist at the front of the mechs, sending some of them flying while the floor was completely obliterated and turned into a massive crater. The sheer volume of power from such a casual display of force was enough to send Alzack into a panic while Erza covered her eyes from the gust of wind formed in its wake.

"Alright, time to get serious"

If machines could feel fear, the Gildarts would be the cause of it, for his display of strength was enough for them to take a step back.

---

AN: One more chapter left and this arc will be done. I'll most likely take a short break after this before continuing on with new stories for this fanfic. If I had to guess, there's at least two more arcs (with some filler chapters) before I reach the main timeline. Thanks for holding out till then, your support has been immensely appreciated.

Robin Chwan Fatliyansyah : In a way, failing to get revenge actually helped saved Gray in the long run. Compared to Sasuke, Gray is a lot more stable and well adjusted while Sasuke fell off the deep end after Itachi's death and Danzo murder. As for moments with Ultear, I think they have a lot more in common than they realize.

Yoj1mb03796: Funny you should say that, there's a year where no S Class was ever ranked, just before the main timeline begins.

Moose16364: I try not to get stressed about it too much. The way I see it, Sasuke getting stronger is kinda like leveling up in an rpg game after beating a boss. Each new enemy is basically like a boss fight where he racks up wins (If you get what I mean).

Neoyle: Honestly, I see their dynamic as very reminiscent of Batman and Catwoman or Talia Al Ghul. But yeah, they truly have a lot of things in common. I'd say Ultear mirrors Sasuke more than anyone else in Fairy Tail.

Tim: If it's any consolation, he's won more fights than he's lost. So far, he's started with a single bandit, then killed an Ice drake, defeated a young berserker, a powerful shapeshifting witch, a demon possessed Mirajane, an enhanced human with the powers of a berserker, Ultear, Remus and Gravedigger. He's stacking up wins like he's in a video game boss fight and he'll get even more wins in the future. So, I try not to worry too much about being accused of nerfing him. Any fight he losses, he always wins the rematch or does better and if he's struggling, it's mostly because he's holding back, has to keep an eye out on younger guild members who could be in danger, affected by an outside force (Kyoka's curse) or just learning to adapt to Earthland's magic which are unconventional.