A/N: Warning! This story and the A03-Archive of our Own- iteration have officially diverged.
I'll post new chapters for said divergence over there...when I get a chance.
Wanted to make this longer, but work calls. Ohhh and there's a story there. Forgive an old man for his anger.
We moved office locations early at one of my jobs a few days back -while I was out with heart problems- meaning yesterday morning, I walked into new systems, new spaces and all kinds of new crap I wasn't prepared for yet was EXPECTED to know, since I'm in charge. And of course we're behind. Needless to say, it is HELL. There's a part of me that just wants to walk and tell them to sod off. New places is a bloody mess and not even fully built proper yet somehow it passed inspection despite that and we're expected to make it work. Its insane I tell you, absolutely inane...
In any case, its that time again; we've reached the second half of the month again, which means more Elden Ring.
But first, a health update. Pacemaker problems related to my heart had me running around the last two days, and I'm dearly sorry for worrying everyone. but its sorted now -no surgery needed at this time- after spending the better part of the day being poked and prodded at. Tests up and down the board, you name it, I dealt with it.
It took them. An entire day. To tell me I was fine. Ffs...
Leg/back problems I can live with. Nothing a cane or walker can't fix. But my heart/pacer? Gotta take care of that. I ain't as young as I used to be; coming up on my fifteenth anniversary here on the site, and I'm really starting to feel my age.
But onto other topics. You want this bad boy upgraded to M? Gotta let me know.
Hopefully my long-lived tenure here will continue...if the site doesn't break once and for all.
I'll say it plain, if this email opt-in business with the site doesn't get resolved soon, I'm probably going to retire.
It HURTS to say that; but with this new system, reviews and readers have dropped to an all time low, authors are leaving the site in droves, and it feels like the end of an era.
If you're not already aware of it, ever since the 16th of November, you now have to turn ON your email alerts in account settings-MAKE SURE YOU CLICK SAVE SETTINGS!-else you won't be notified when anyone updates. No alerts, no email, no nothing. Apparently that's a thing we all have to do every ninety days or so, now. Alas, not many are aware of it...which is a problem. As things stand this new "fix" as it were, has cut everyone's viewership/reviewers in half because most folks don't know about it. Authors are leaving/quitting because of this.
Sometimes opting in works. Sometimes it doesn't. Really depends. Hopefully the devs can fix tweak/update this system before everyone leaves.
No questions this time. No one seems to like them, And I'll not spoil things. Alright, I've kept you long enough.
Once more! most likely be a single pairing, but it may become a harem depending on feedback. It'll be a shorter story at that.
As ever, I own no quotes, references, themes or memes. Not a wit or a one! Seriously. I mean that.
Now away we go! Hope this puts a smile on your face in these times.
"We don't change! We're destroyers! That is all we are! All you are!"
No more. I'll be better. For the sake of my children.
"They're not even yours! Not by blood!"
...and your point is...?"
~?
To be Better
They sisters fought well.
Naruto felt he could give Millicnt's siblings credit for that much; despite all their fear and screams, for all the terror he inspired in them, they did not falter. Nor did they retreat-though they certainly could have. He would not have chased them had they done so. Instead they fought to the bitter end despite overwhelming odds.
It still wouldn't save them.
He respected their effort, doomed though it was. A fine quartet they were indeed, even with him batting them about like children and flinging them into one another all over the place. Their cohesion remained intact; their teamwork damn near unparalleled. But at the end of the day it was just that. Teamwork. They were stronger together as a team, working in unison to fend off almost any foe.
And so he would isolate them. Pick them off. One by one.
Perhaps that was cruel of him; no, it definitely was. But he couldn't afford to be nice here.
He knew them, after all. This was HIS Erdtree after all. He knew everyone who set foot inside it. His gaze raked over them, taking the sisters in turn:
Mary, the eldest, now favoring her right side, her halo scythe bent and blunted by heavy blows. Maureen, the second, clutching her fractured treespear for dear life. Amy, the third with those curved swords, hesitating at the poor Polyanna, the youngest, warding at her dagger before her face to fend him off. Likewise, he knew what these four intended. They could not pass. They must not past. Not in their current state. To let them near Millicent, or sage forbid Malenia in her current state, promised disaster.
He would do what he must.
A pair of rotten blades whistled in at the back of his head, even as a halo scythed hoked in at his heels and a mighty spear struck at his chest. A three-pronged-attack. Clever. Clever wouldn't beat him. Not like this. He didn't deign to defend as such, pausing only to interpose golden forearms between himself and certain death. Duck, dodge, dip and dive. Swatting them aside didn't even tickle. Once, twice, thrice he parried the sisters, deflecting their attacks with graceful ease. That was three accounted for now, but where was the fourth-
He sensed the dagger long before its owner pounced at his exposed flank.
...is that it?" He swayed out of Polyanna's path and tripped her in passing. She crashed into Mary; down they went in a tangle of limbs. Maureen and Amy took full advantage and struck out at him when he wasn't looking. This time, he took the hit.
"...!"
Honed steel struck his back and met hardened skin. The former shattered. In the same instant he raised his right leg to kick Maureen down the roots. Her cry of pain fell on deafened ears. Not so Amy, her sister managed to duck the follow up blow and proved herself every as capable as her mother; for she snatched a shard of her broken blades out the air, dove under his sweep, then brought it crashing down on his forehead.
Naruto caught her wrist. Squeezed, now. The shard fell from her trembling fingers.
"Better." he complimented her effort. "But still not enough."
He drove his skull into hers and she stumbled away, clutching her face...then her stomach now as he folded her torso over his fist in a cruel strike. Clenched knuckles ground into her gut. Deeper still. She gasped, retching for air, so far from her sisters, who were only just now recovering. s shifted his grip.
The Rot in her snarled at him. Kurama roared it into silence, suppressing it.
Bereft of its influence and might, Amy gasped, falling like a broken puppet at his feet.
One of the sisters howled imprecations at him. Might've been Maureen. Didn't matter now.
Naruto stepped over Amy's dazed form. "Next."
The sisters scattered, moving to strike from three sides again-
Nope. Not dealing with that again. He could only imagine poor Mary's surprise then, when he blitzed her. Poor girl absolutely yelped.
He hit out at the eldest sister and was rewarded with the dull crunch of bone as his fist found her face. From there he opened his hand and used it to grab her, and run, dragging her along the dirt as he did, smashing her head down time and time again. Her struggles ceased after the fourth slame. With his hand on her, he found her connection to the Scarlet Rot, so much weaker than Malenia's, and...
.
..
...burned. It. Out.
Crimson chakra flooded her veins. She screamed once, a short, sharp sound. He closed his heart to it. The foul presence of the Outer Goddess retreated with an outraged squeal, unable to stand against him. Mary wasn't able to either, and slipped into unconsciousness soon thereafter. She'd wake up a changed person...if she woke up. You didn't just shove chakra into a person and hope for the best. If her core will was strong, she and her sisters would meet him in their dreams and, hopefully, find a way out of her nightmares. If not...well, he tried.
"Two left." he dropped her like a hot potato and waded toward the remaining sisters.
Maureen rushed him with a senseless shriek, hands bared in a desperate attempt to gouge his eyes. Naruto caught her neck in passing, wrestled her down, seized the Rot within her and yanked. What little remained held no sway over her; without it...well. The results spoke for themselves. The second youngest tumbled past him and hit the ground in heap. In a matter of moments she joined her sisters in slumber.
And with that, he rounded on the last foe to face. "One to go."
"You...you fiend!" Polyanna warded her dagger before her face, trying to fend off an attack that never came. "What have you done?!"
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
She whimpered. "I very much would!"
No point terrifying her now. "I freed them. And I'm gonna do the same to them.
All their lives they had known only rot and pain and misery. Amazing what a little light could do.
Pollyana faltered in the face of his fury. "We just want to bloom!"
That was the Rot talking. "Sorry, can't let you do that."
His hand closed around her face. Hoisted her up.
"Now hold still and lemme fix yer everything."
(.0.0.0.)
What was she looking at?
Malenia blinked. She blinked hard. Scrubbed at golden eyes with the back of her false hand now, just to be sure, even as the other held a baffled Milicent in her lap. To be perfectly fair she'd expected something like this; Naruto had even gone so far as to warn her of such before he'd gone to face the intruders. One might've thought she would've prepared her heart for. And she had! Really, she did! She'd never once doubted the outcome of the battle; if her intended could best her with minor effort, then surely these pale shadows of her self stood no chance.
But seeing as they say, was believing.
And right now? She saw Naruto clad in a cloak of shimmering gold, dragging four unconscious woman behind him. Two were slung over his shoulders, and one to each golden hand, leaving him looking pleased as pudding. There wasn't so much as a scratch on him. He'd won flawlessly, just as she expected. Really the outcome had never been in doubt-
Millicent burst out of her lap with a yelp, shattering her thoughts like so much glass. "Did you kill them?!"
"Not at all." Her consort deposited them at their feet with a pleased hum. "See for yourself."
Nania skipped after her "sibling", bright eyes wide and eager. "They look just like her...so pretty!"
Malenia found herself following, staring overlong at the slumbering redheads. Even kneeling to inspect them, now.
One new daughter she could accept-just as she had little Nania-learn to cherish, even. She was a miracle of the Haligtree-turned-Erdtree, a dear wish granted, so she at last made some modicum of sense. But by all the old gods and the new, who were these four? Each resembled her in some small way; indeed said resemblance was nigh-on-uncanny. From their half-lidded sleepy golden eyes to her wild red hair, right down to their pale skin and pensive expressions. Even in sleep they resembled her.
One of them whimpered in their sleep.
Slowly, tentatively, she touched their face with her good arm, stroking their cheek until. They quieted. Something stirred in the back of her mind, like a fog lifting on a sunny day.
Naruto made a noise that could only be described as smug. "See? You're a good mom after all."
Malenia flushed to the very roots of her hair. Of course, his jab meant she couldn't ignore the others. She touched the remaining trio too, one by one. And in doing so she found that she knew them. Remembered. Not just their names but their personalities, strange as it might seem. Were they truly parts of her, pieces she cast aside when she'd bloomed? Or something more...? These were as much her "daughters" as Millicent was, though she had little memory of either within her. She truly did not remember having children; when Naruto had asked that, she'd spoken truly. She'd never taken a consort. Not once.
Yet here these girls were:
Mary, the eldest, her hair cut almost boyishly short. A leader, ever hopeful.
Amy, her hair styled in a loose braid that had seen better days. Always thinking of the future.
Maureen, missing her left eye, hair bound in a tight bun. So quick to temper, always eager for a fight.
And last of all, little Polyanna, her hair longer than her siblings, despite her petite frame. Shy, but loyal to those whom she trusted.
Her blood ran through them, each of these girls, all the same. To a one, their clothes were battered bloody rags, although their wounds and weapons were nowhere to be seen. She suspected Naruto had something to do with that. He'd likely thrashed them within an inch of their lives then dragged them to her for punishment. And while might be able to heal their wounds, he could hardly sow their outfits now, could he?
Millicent fretted over her siblings still, idly shaking Maureen. "Will they wake up?"
"Maybe?" Naruto plonked down on the ground beside her. "Depends entirely on them." he was quick to amend his words when she made an anguished noise. "I can't force them to let go of the Rot, ya know. I can burn it, suppress it for awhile, but in the end, its their choice."
"The Rot is all they have ever known! You cannot expect them to choose differently!"
Nania hummed a little. "They will."
"Have can you be so sure?"
"Simple." those bright blue eyes fixed on her, quelling her angry look. "You were like them once, weren't you? All it took was a needle and a little kindness."
Millicent opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again and rallied now, clutching at her false arm like a petulant child. "I...do not deny that, but those were extraordinary circumstances.
"There you have it." Malenia felt the ghost of a smile touch her face. "We live in strange times. Listen to your father." A rare, impish impulse stirred in her. "Unless you're suggesting you see him as more than that...
Millicent's face burned an incandescent red. "Mother!"
Her smile grew and Millicent saw it. Her willful "daughter" flushed like the pure maiden she no longer was and kicked at the ground sullenly.
"Worry not, t'was merely a jest...
And it was...for the most part. She couldn't very well have her daughters thinking of Naruto as more than a Father. Such would be uncouth of course, but in truth she wasn't sure how she felt about the notion of sharing one's partner. They hadn't even done anything terribly intimate yet and already she found herself...displeased by the idea of another woman warming his bed.
Just thinking about it made the Rot writhe within.
Nania scooted forward and began to kiss the foreheads of sleeping quartet, one after the other, from youngest to eldest.
It proved a suitable distraction. ...what are you doing?"
"Helping." her daughter chirruped.
"Helping how?!" Millicent was all but beside herself. "They may never wake."
"They will." came her soft reply, spoken with all the surety of a child.
"How do you know?!"
Nania giggled and pressed a raised finger to her own lips. "Shhh...
Mary stirred at their feet, mumbling softly. "Where am I...?"
It was like flicking a domino; when she began to rise, so too did her sisters. Some slower than others, some with a fair bit more protest, but one by one, they awoke. Millicent made a pained noise where she stood, but she couldn't bring herself to move away. Malenia couldn't bring herself to blame her daughter. She too, found herself paralyzed by indecision in this moment. Even little Nania looked on, spellbound.
Naruto alone stepped forward, ready to intervene if they proved hostile. "Here we go...
Golden eyes fluttered open. Sharp, angry, anxious confused.
All that changed the moment they laid eyes upon her.
"Look! Polyanna perked up, startling them all terribly. "Its her!"
Mary rubbed at her eyes. "Where?! Oh, I see her!
Maureen tilted her head to the right. "Mother?"
Amy clasped her hands. "It really is her!"
"Ahem!" Naruto coughed into his fist before they could babble fruther. "Seems you've come to your senses. Now what do you have to say for yourselves?"
The sisters exchanged a long, lingering look between themselves, one that seemed to last an eternity.
Finally, four heads bowed in complete submission toward him. "We're sorry...
"You better be!" he huffed at the lot of them. "Darn kids...do you have any idea how hard it was to bring back your sanity?"
Millicent blinked. She blinked hard. "How?!"
"Tell you later. And don't just apologize to me." Naruto shook his head, stepped back and he pulled Nania into his arms. "I ain't the only one who needs to hear those words here...
The quartet pivoted on their knees like good little girls.
...in fact, I think you owe these two a big hug."
Malenia stiffened, and Milicent with her, suddenly finding themselves pinned beneath four anxious gazes. Not quite, eager, but tentative. Naruto's words had stripped the last barrier away and brought the full weight of the girl's attention crashing down upon them. Anticipation built, swelling in the air like lightning, ready to burst. Oh. Oh, dear.
Polyanna squirmed a little where she knelt, looking at her nervously. Mary dared a tiny, tentative smile. Maureen scooted closer. Amy started to reach for her with her good arm-that was the spark that set everything into motion. It suddenly became startlingly clear just why Naruto had scooped up Nania and retreated. Malenia's sixth sense shrilled a warning. Too little too late. She had an instant to brace herself for the coming storm and Millicent even less.
"MOTHER! SISTER!"
With a singular cry, the quartet launched themselves up from their knees and pounced upon them.
Down everyone went in a tangle of arms and legs!
There was no pain, no discomfort, no angry snarl from the rot. She simply found herself swarmed, cocooned by warm arms, slender bodies, babbling voices, and happy tears. It felt...she didn't know how it felt. Comfortable wasn't the right word, but she wasn't uncomfortable either. Content? Yes, that was it. She tried to hug one of her "daughters" only to find herself swarmed anew. Grasping hands latched onto her and poor, flustered Millicent, clinging for all they were wort.
Millicent tried to plead into the chaos, to no avail. "Sisters, please, be reasonable about this-ow!"
"Says the one with a headstart!
"I saw her first!"
"No, I did!"
"Me!"
Naruto plonked down beside them and planted Nania in his lap, grinning like a fox. "Our work here is done. We'll just watch. Don't mind us~!"
Although Malenia sitll found herself pinned by her daughters, her maddening quartet whipped around to stare at him. Naruto tensed.
"Wait," one began.
"If he's with Mother...
"Does that make him Father?"
"Father! Quick, grab him! Don't let him get away!"
Naruto tried to stand. Mistakes were made. Maureen grabbed him and Nania and in an instant they were drawn into the madness of happy arms and laughter.
Loretta stumbled into the chamber with a yawn, one hand fanning her mouth. "Forgive me, I was sleeping. What did I...miss...?"
Her jaw clicked open as she saw everyone sprawled out among each other.
.
..
...
...What is the meaning of this?!
A/N: More fluffy moments incoming.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! It really wore me out.
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!
(Previews)
"Naruto, no." Malenia palmed her face. "Don't do it."
"Naruto, yes." his fist swung back with intent, and she knew any chance of arguing with him was long lost. "Naruto smash..."
...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?"
"Mama! Miquella's awake!"
Malenia all but vaulted the steps, taking them three at a time to reach her brother's cocoon.
Someone stood before it, tall and slender, their back to her. Perhaps that was a mercy; because they were naked as a newborn. But no newborn was this. She recognized that golden-white hair, but little else. Her mind all but fizzled at the sight of what should have been her brother...and yet Miquella was not as she knew. What on earth was that body?!
"Brother...?"
The stranger turned to face her fully, revealing golden eyes and a small smile. "Good morning, sister."
Malenia absolutely choked. Behind her, Naruto took one look at Miquella and fell over laughing.
Nania clapped her hands. "Pretty!"
"Can't we relax a little while longer?"
"You will burn that blasphemous Erdtree to the ground, or you shall die. You have no other recourse! No hope! An army stands against you!"
"Piss on that!" a shout came from the parapet. "We have a Kurama! Your argument is invalid!
Curious word, that. "...what in the Greater Will's name is a Kurama?"
Take one step past that line and you'll find out!"
Morgott scoffed and crossed the line.
A rush of black light -could light be black?- burst past the castle walls, raced over his head, and detonated, annihilating a score of knights and trolls. Then another. Another now. Hellfire rained down on the battlefield, turning the plains into a killing ground, Head aching, ears ringing from the blast, Morgott fell to his hands and knees.
When next it returned, the usurper's voice was smug. "We'll accept your surrender now~!
The Omen King bridled. "Never!"
"Meh. Your funeral...
Radahn raised his head, swords in hand, to loom over them.
"Oh, bugger, you didn't say he was that big...
All hell broke loose.
"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~!
