A/N: Please read this little note, would you kindly? It would mean the world to me!
EDIT: Flames will be flames, I suppose...also added some content...not that anyone's noticed...T_T
As ever, the Embers rule remains.
If folks don't like this story, POOF! Away it goes.
So by all means, speak up! Every bit of feedback matters here! Truly, it does! That's no joke!
I...dislike begging for feedback, but reviews truly keep me writing. Without them, I lose all inspiration. That's no joke! So by all means, speak up! Call that what you will, but I write for feedback; that, and the joy of chatting with you all. That's the long and short of it, and the reason I started to write here so long ago.
Now onto your questions:
Q: Naruto and Salem are playing with one another, yes? Sorry, english is not being best.
A: See for yourself.
Q: Wait, what the hell is Hatake up to?! I know a plot when I see one!
A: Kakashi is a patient and tolerant man...but he's had his fill of Atlas scheming. He's on that talk show for a reason. The world is watching him and he's about to speak his mind, lay down the law, that sort of thing.
Or maybe just pull a prank.
Y'see, its about sending a message.
One never can tell where Kakashi's involved. You'll love it, I promise!
Q: I just realized something. Where the BEEP is Taiyang?! Ruby and Yang won't exist without him!
A: Don't worry. Best boy hasn't been forgotten.
Q: That little Nevermore -Mavis, I believe you named her?- is going to be a plot point, ain't she? I know you! Ya don't name a random Grimm without a reason! What is her purpose?!
A: *zips lips*
Q: So, Salem had time to prepare for her fight with Naruto, yes? Well, that bodes poorly.
A: Ah, but can one ever truly prepare for a shinobi? Least of all a knuckle-headed unpredictable one like Naruto?
In essence she's both lucky, and incredibly unlucky. Sasuke would sooner genjutsu her as look at her, Kakashi can and HAS run circles around immortals like her well...to say nothing of Sakura. As we all know, Salem lacks aura. Meaning! She'd really feel those punches. No protection for her.
Whereas here, she's facing the one member of Team Seven who just might show her mercy.
Q: ...we're gonna hit a war arc soon, aren't we? I have a bad feeling about this.
A: You never know, I might just surprise you. Team Seven will reunite, don't you worry...
...its gonna be glorious.
Alright, then! I think I've kept you long enough. Work calls, and I need to put the finishing touches on this.
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. Not a wit or one~!
Now then! Here! We! GO~!
"Your place isn't with them. It is with me.
Think of all the good you and I could do together! All those lives we could change.
Join me, Naruto. Join me! Do so and this world, everyone, everything could be as you wish...!
~An Offer.
Reasons To Speak
Salem could fight!
It came as something of a shock to Naruto; not that he thought her weak by an means. Quite the opposite, really. He knew what she was capable of and hadn't slacked off in his training. Anyone who'd ruled the Grimm for eons must have a trick or two up their sleeve. As such he'd gone into this battle with a wary mind -prepared for any trick or trap she might conjure!- unwilling to use his all from the very start. Not for arrogance nor pride, but rather, mercy. His mission wasn't to kill her or even wound her. He wanted to understand her and as such, maintained restraint.
He'd never once considered that Salem might hold no such compunctions.
As luck would have it, the Queen of the Grimm was actually quite skilled when she deigned to try.
Breath burst from his longs as he barreled backward into a rock wall, then through it, and came skipping out the other side. Scarce had his feet touched the ground then she was on him again. A flash of black light in the distance was all the warning he received, then she burst from the smoke in a storm of blood black on rueful red...and laughter. So much laughter.
His staff swung out and caught her scepter in midleap, sending sparks skittering into the air as the earth splintered underfoot.
Salem didn't stop and struck again, no, rather, she kept striking even before her feet had struck the ground. Not a berserk rage, not some mindless monster; that he could've handled. This was something else entirely. She just kept...attacking. She didn't tire. She had to eventually of course; immortality wasn't perfect. Inability to die didn't translate to infinite stamina. Sooner or later she'd wear herself out.
"It better be soon!" Kurama remarked. "We've been at this for ages!"
'Ha!' he laughed. 'You're not even tired! We've got this!'
He blocked her with lazy grace, to which Salem whirled on him with a pleased sound, one that became an outright giggle as their weapons collided again. Magic sparked against chakra in a whirlwind of motion, so much so that both found themselves physically propelled backward at impossible speed. She recovered first and dove on him as he found his footing, driving him into a wild whirl of offense to match her.
"That's the way, Deceiver!" her voice sang at him over the clashing of steel as they traded blows, word a low contralto that made his blood shiver. "I know you can do better than this. Why do you restrain yourself? Is out of some misguided sense of duty?" her lips pursed into a frown as they struggled against one another. "I've no need for it. Give me your best, or nothing at all!"
Her words piqued into a gasp as he slipped through her guard and smashed his forehead into hers. Now it was her turn to stumble back, warding her scepter before her as a blind woman might a cane. She shook her head once, wiped black blood from her face, and frowned. He nearly pursued her, and would have too, if his sixth sense hadn't shrieked a warning. Her palm snapped up and he countered on instinct alone, briefly calling upon the full might of his cloak to counter her.
And they both missed.
He flickered aside and a majestic spear of dark lightning pierced the space he'd occupied a moment before. Another raced way in the opposite direction as Salem flung herself to the ground.
Behind them both, two mountains absolutely evaporated.
Naruto pivoted to regard the spreading mushroom clouds with a sigh.
A bead of sweat run down his brow and dribbled down his chin. "Well. That was overkill...
(.0.0.0.)
Remnant trembled.
From the Grimmlands to Vale. From Mistral to Menagerie.
Even distant Atlas and Vacuo, the very world felt the tremor that followed.
(.0.0.0.)
Ozma, now Ozpin, felt it the tremors in his bones and whispered a prayer to the gods.
Tugging up his cloak, he squinted into the dunes of Vacuo.
"Surely not...!"
(.0.0.0.)
Sasuke felt the ground quake underfoot as he ushered the children outside.
"Even from here...?" he looked into the distance with a frown. "That chakra feels like...
"Naruto." Sakura slapped a hand to her forehead, hiding a rueful smile. "Who else could it be...?
"What's a Naruto?" A half-awake Tyrian tilted his head as she tucked him into her side. "Is that another god?"
"Urk." Sakura made a squelching sound. "I guess you could call him a brother? Comrade in arms? Something along those lines?"
"Aha!" the boy cried! "So he is a god! Another pretender!"
Kali and Ghira shared a dour look.
Raven and Qrow facepalmed.
"Tyrian, no!"
(.0.0.0.)
"What's wrong?" Salem cooed at him, lowering her hand. "Don't tell me you're getting cold feet. Is this all you have?"
...are we being mocked? Because I think she's mocking us."
Naruto grit his teeth and planted his feet.
Blue eyes shimmered gold.
...I noticed."
Her full lips twisted into a smile as he drew himself up to his towering height, braved his ringed staff with both hands and descended upon her.
"That's more like it." In her arrogance, Salem moved to meet him. "Come here-oomph?!"
She actually tried to block. More fool she.
Red eyes narrowed, first in confusion, then concern as she found her weapon -and herself!- forced to retreat a step merely by defending herself. She tried to block again, and a rousing roundhouse caught her in the cheek, denting her face with an explosion of unseen might. Teeth whirled through the air. Her body joined them a moment later as a spinning kick dented her ribs. What followed was nothing short of glorious...and unexpected, in that he forgot to hold back. Momentum ripped Salem in half and the severed halves of her torso skipped across sundered stones like a pebble flung across a wide lake, kicking up smoke with each impact.
Naruto lowered his leg with a wince. "Oops?"
"Meh, she's immortal." Kurama shrugged. "She can take it."
Sure enough, her battered body began to regenerate. Red-and-black light folded over one another until she was whole once more.
Sheathed in dust, Salem frowned, spat blood as she climbed to her feet.
Red eyes fastened upon honeyed saffron, regarding him intently. "What on Remnant was that?!"
"What's wrong?" despite his earlier reservations, a smile curled at Naruto's face, "I'm right here. Aren't you going to attack?"
Salem surged in and was summarily beaten back again. Thrice she failed now as her scepter tried to swat him aside and her body suffered for it. Four times. Salem grit her teeth as Naruto struck out again and again and again, only to find that for all her mastery of magic he was being beaten down with each strike. In a fit of pique she thrust a blazing palm into his face, only for him to slap it aside and bring an elbow crashing down on the back of her neck. When she staggered, he flickered inside her guard and crushed a knee into her chin, snapping her head back as her body twirled through the air anew.
She was still spinning end over end when a great gust of wind smote her from the sky.
"See, that's the funny thing." Naruto lowered his palm. "I wasn't exactly idle this last year, either."
Three rapid steps carried him to where she lay.
He found here there in the crater on bent knee, a fist slammed into the ground. As he crept closer she reared back and punched the ground again, fracturing the stone yet further. The blackest of oaths leaped from her lips as she glared bloody red daggers into the earth. Yet for all that, she didn't move, didn't try to escape, didn't even seek to flee as he slid down the lip of the indent to land beside her.
...you won't stop me." she croaked. "Your tricks and fists aren't enough."
"My fists have a lot of names, Salem. And whole lotta thoughts backing 'em up. You? You're done." he hooked his staff under her throat, lifting her chin to face him. "Give up. Don't make me destroy you."
"Impressive." she glowered up at him, wasted and gasping for air. "Most impressive. You're certainly stronger than I anticipated. However!"
Her gaze narrowed upon his, one monster to another, framing a grin.
"I believe I've found my second wind."
Salem's scepter twisted suddenly, gaining mass to manifest a blade that hadn't been there before. Naruto jolted, startled by the sudden change, yet quick enough to react all the same. Her scythe twisted around his staff, catching him across the face, turning what might have been a decapitating blow into a glancing one. Blood sprayed through the air as she tore a horizontal crimson line across the bridge of his nose. He grimaced and touched a hand to his face, frowning when it didn't stop bleeding. More magic at work. He'd have a scar there.
"This is your first and final warning." she brandished her bloody weapon at him. "Do not underestimate me, as I shan't underestimate you. Are we clear?"
Ignoring the stinging pain in his brow, Naruto glowered at her.
"Crystal."
In that moment he felt something eerily like respect for her. He supposed that was his fault. He'd given Salem time to focus; to train and sharpen her skill until she was no longer a shadow of her former self but something altogether worse; until she'd gone from a miserable, apathetic with searching for oblivion...into a warrior. One did not give an Immortal a year to train. He understood that now.
They snapped apart, paused, and collided again.
She folded around his arm as a fist thundered into her stomach.
Pain flashed through his chest as she raked her nails across his chest.
A booted foot cannon into her chest, hurtling away. She glided to the ground with a smile; one that shattered as he caught her by the ankle and whipped her into the ground. Once. Twice. Thrice. On the fourth she slashed his hand and tackled him. He caught her wrist, tore it off, then slapped her in the face with it.
Salem recoiled with a laugh -an actual laugh!- as she grew another. "Better! Don't hold back!"
Naruto pressed her, limbs like a cyclone. He did as she had done only moments before; didn't give her an instant to catch her breath, to focus, to do any such thing. He simply attacked. She fought back just as hard, not a care in the world for her injuries. The fiercer he became, so did she. It wasn't even a battle anymore. Not really.
It was absolute madness.
It was chaos incarnate.
It was glorious.
At some point he'd started laughing during their mad waltz, and it shamed him to know why. He was enjoying himself. No need to hold back, no reason to restrain himself; she could take all he had and more. For so long he'd felt like he lived in a world of cardboard, a house of glass. Always taking constant care not to break something or someone, ever limiting himself for fear that someone might die. Sometimes it worked.
...sometimes it didn't.
It had been oh-so-difficult to gauge his strength in this brave new world. He couldn't ever cut loose on anything that wasn't Grimm; because if he did, people would die. But she could take it...or at the very least, more than most. And while he didn't want to kill her, if he at least wanted to put her down and maker stay down...didn't he own it to himself to try?
His fist slammed at her face, only to meet an invisible wall.
"We've been fighting for hours now." Salem spelled him away with a bolt of light, grinning from ear to ear. "And still you haven't tired. Yes! How I've longed for this!" Her staff whirled and shifted again, the crystal within changing color to a baleful green, altered by fell magic. "Give me more! All that you are! AND I SHALL DO THE SAME!"
Oh, dear. That didn't look good.
Unholy wildfire erupted from her scepter, scoring the Grimmlands in great green swathes to sear ground and air alike. Wherever her spell struck, the earth began to crack and heave. Naruto edged backwards, ceding the high ground to her in favor of safety. His caution was well rewarded. Pillars of living fire burst from the very crust of the earth as he danced, birthing vile eruptions that shook the Grimmlands to to their core. Noxious black smoke spewed forth in their wake, horrid fumes choking the very life from the air itself.
Salem grinned down at him from her lofty perch. "Now what will you do?"
Naruto raised a hand to his mouth, squinting into the smoke.
Then he moved.
Flowering flames chased him as he ran a wide, circular path around her, each blast closer than the last. When the fires were nearly upon him, he gathered his legs and leaped straight at her. Salem saw him coming, of course. There could be no avoiding that. Her hands linked over her head, fingers splayed. Ebony light burst from her palms.
"Come!"
Naruto responded in kind. Taut golden arms burst from his back as his body shimmered into golden black. Wind howled. A pair of baleful blue rasenshuriken were born together and he let them fly. They cut right through her spell like paper. Salem spread her arms with laughed, embracing his jutsu with all her heart and soul. She didn't even try to dodge.
And they struck.
White light burned away the eternal darkness to reveal the ruin where the Queen of the Grimm had once stood. All that remained was a charred piece of ground, blackened and twisted as the last of her fire guttered out. A mournful wind blew through, scattering the ashes to twine through the smoke.
Until.
Quite suddenly.
Something appeared.
It wasn't a simple disappearing act or any such trick; somewhere between one blink and the next, she'd reappeared, or rather her silhouette had. A faint, shuddering gasp pierced the gloom. Everything transpired quickly after that. She stood in the smoke, missing half her...everything...until she wasn't, anymore. Black light crawled across her mangled body. A broken hand snapped back into place, reached up, and set her jaw with an audible crack. He expected fury, some white-hot blaze of anger now that he'd actually managed to inflict some lasting pain upon her.
What received instead was a laugh.
"That's much better!" Her smile was nothing short of rapturous. "I actually felt that!"
Naruto looked down. Frowned. "Ahem. Clothes...?"
"Hmm? Oh. I thought there was a draft." she scowled at her body and covered it with a wave of darkness. "Now where were we...?"
He raised a fist. "Last, I checked, I was kicking your ass."
"So you were." Salem considered him for a long moment. "How long will this last, I wonder?"
...long enough."
"But it doesn't have to. Can't you see? Your place isn't with these mere mortals. It is with me." she offered him her right hand, fingers splayed." Think of all the good you and I could do together! All those lives we could change." her voice was the darkest temptation, a soft seduction that spoke to the darkest parts of him. "Join me, Naruto." she dared a step forward, then another still when he didn't budge. "Join me, and together we can rule this world. Everyone, everything could be as you wish...!
His brow furrowed as a seed of uncertainty planted itself in the back of his mind. "Why offer me this now?"
"Because you fascinate me. Because I see your potential. All that you are, are that you will ever be...
He slapped her hand down and sent her sprawling with a Rasengan.
Her defense buckled, Salem crashed to a knee, slamming a fist into the ground. But only for a moment.
"More." she pushed herself upright. "You'll need more than that to keep me down...
Naruto stepped back half a pace. What was she, a hedonist or something?
...you're insane!"
"Am I?" she licked her lips. "No, for the first time I think I'm actually enjoying myself." She dove on him, eyes wild red rubies in her skull. "MORE!"
"I think we've awoken something in her...
"Ya think?!"
Enough was enough.
"Come on, then!" Black light built between his fingers. "If you really want to test your strength, stay right where you are! This is gonna hurt!"
Naruto reared back. Salem mirrored him perfectly, mumbling some arcane chant he didn't understand. Whatever it was birthed a spell so foul he could barely stand to look at what followed. He let the tailed beast bomb fly then, straight and true. Light swelled to meet dark. Twin forces struck as one, twisting the very fabric of reality around them. Entire packs of Beowolf quivered for miles around. Nevermore plummeted from the sky, dying in droves. All their remains were sucked inward by the vortex.
One in particular -the newly named Mavis- watched the clash from its treasured atop the tower. This little fledgling alone saw what transpired; the miracle that was birthed from this moment.
In the shadow of blast that followed, two beings collided. And from that singular, spectacular collision, there could only be one victor.
One would stand. One would fall.
(.0.0.0.)
They say Demons run when a good man goes to war.
Today, the world felt that moment.
The very instant it happened.
With a peal like almighty thunder, the entire studio, nay, all of Atlas shook from top to bottom. Cries of fear went up as those audience quivered in their peril. Then came foncusion...confusion. Atlas was high in the sky, held aloft by unseen forces. How, then, could it experience a quake in the conventional sense of the word? They shouldn't be able to feel it at all. And yet they did; as if the hand of an angry god had reached down and tried to wrench them out of the sky.
Kakashi could think of one reason.
He alone remained unfazed as the rattling ceased. He alone did not bat so much as an eyelash as the ceiling crumbled and the floor fractured underfoot. And if he smiled beneath his mask, well...who could have possibly seen it? Really, the timing was perfect. He'd been interrupted at just the right time...
Such a good student.
"Never one for restraint, are you, Naruto?"
Cordovin gulped. "I'm sorry...what was that just now?"
"That?" Kakashi smiled. "Was one of my students. A whole continent away."
...I see." the young woman tugged at her collar, doing her best to marshal her faltering resolve. "Yes, well, I believe we were taking about the glory of Atlas...?
Gotcha.
"I'm so very glad you said that." Kakashi steeped his fingers and laid his chin over them. "It has come to my attention that certain...elements within Atlas have been causing unrest." thus speaking, he turned his attention toward the camera and flared his Sharingan. "Not too long ago, one of them tried to kidnap my daughter and force me to support a frankly foolish plan to attack Menagerie. These, are the acts of a coward." he allowed his red-rimmed gaze to roam over all those before him, including a somewhat stricken Cordovin. "It stops now. Here. With me. You see, I came on this show for a very specific reason...
Cordovin gulped. "And what might that be?"
"Why, to make a statement, of course. Sometimes the best course of action is an obvious one."
"Sir. This is Cody." His earpiece hummed a moment later. "We're in position, awaiting your command."
Kakashi smiled. How kind of Nicholas to lend him twenty good men. Not soldiers, not private operatives, not even specialists, but men of a singular skill and mindset. Men who, like him, had grown rather tired of Atlas and her endless bickering and dickering. Men who would be silent no longer as their great nation drove itself into oblivion. Men whom he had spared no expense in training. He might not be able to grant them chakra, but he'd bestowed upon them something else entirely.
Conviction.
"Then by all means, Cody." Still smiling, he touched a hand to his ear and spoke for all to hear. "Execute Order Sixty-Five. Arrest the Council of Atlas."
His earpiece chimed once. "Understood, sir."
An awful silence filled the studio. There was no thunderous applause, no shouts of condemnation, nothing at all. Then it happened. It began as a whisper, then a murmur as someone raised their voice. Before long all the world was awash in a sea of noise, one voice utterly indistinguishable from another. Louder and louder they grew, each harsher than the last, until it was all he could do to hear himself think. And then, at the height of this great and glorious cacophony of sound...!
Cordovin flailed her arms and shouted over it all. "What have you done?!"
"I thought that was obvious." Kakashi tugged down his mask, exposing a rueful smile. "I am assuming direct control of Atlas until such a time as you idiots get your collective heads out of your arses." he leaned forward and said smile suddenly had entirely too many teeth for her liking. "Nothing personal."
She glared at him. "Its seems plenty personal to me! You're a traitor to this kingdom!"
"Unfortunately for you," he hummed, "History will not see it that way."
The doors behind the soldier slammed open.
Kakashi flicked a hand at Cordovin.
"Take the girl."
A/N: As ever, the Embers rule remains.
If folks don't like this story, POOF! Away it goes.
So by all means, speak up! Every bit of feedback matters here! Truly, it does! That's no joke!
Next chapter's gonna be a doozy.
Aye, I went there with the references and use that order. Not 66!
As ever, reviews/feedback keep me writing them. Without them, I lose all hope, creativity and imagination.
So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly!
SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
(POTENTIAL PREVIEWS. Be sure and vote for what you want to see~!)
"What have you done to me?!" Salem touched a hand to his face. "Why can't you just understand...?!"
"I do! More than you know!" he rounded on her with a snarl. "I know what its like to hurt, to be alone, to just want it all to end! That's why I'm doing this!"
Menagerie was still burning.
Sasuke burst out of house in a whirl of motion, sword at the ready and fearing the worst.
Crazed faunus ran to and fro, fending off men in eerie black masks.
"Sakura!"
She looked up and saw the fires. Green eyes flashed with flames. She spread her arms wide; to which her feet left the ground. A single perfect hand rose toward the smoky sky in silent prayer; to anyone watching it must have looked like just that; as though she were praying to the elements themselves.
And the heavens answered.
With a low rumble of dark thunder, Clouds swept in from on high, coalescing in a matter of moments. White became dark as rain fell down in a focused storm. The very heavens themselves bent to her will, drenching what could've been a deadly blaze and reducing it to so much embers.
"All your fault." she sighed. "They're never going to believe that I'm normal now. As if they did before. Bullshit.
"Language!"
Oops. Children present. Gotta watch that.
Young Tyrian tilted his head just so. "See? Told you our goddess is the best."
"You seem remarkably calm about all this."
"Meh." the boy shrugged. "Got shot before. You learn to expect this sorta thing after awhile...
Sasuke whirled as footsteps approached their fortified position. A squad of attackers fell, shrieking in the hellfire that was Amaterasu.
"Hmm." Sakura hummed her appreciated as she pulled the children close. "Why don't you use that more often again?"
Raven watched with wide eyes. "I want that."
"No." Sasuke granted her a dark glower. "You don't."
Sakura grabbed at his wrist. "Don't lose yourself. Don't do this for revenge.
A blank eye regarded her over his shoulder.
"In certain extreme situations, the law is inadequate." His words chilled her to the bone. In order to shame it's inadequacy it is necessary to act outside the law, to pursue natural justice. This is not about revenge. Revenge is not a justification, it's an emotional response."
He drew his sword and waded into the madness.
No. This is not revenge...this is punishment."
Then he waded into the madness.
He dove into a pack of -what where they? Marauders? Pirates?- and cut them down. They fought with zealous fervor to the last man. There was no honor or glory in this; where he walked, enemies fell. A single flick of his fingers or a stroke of the sword, it all ended the same...until He stumbled into a figure in the smoke and whirled.
A red blade flashed in the gloom.
"Duncan. Report."
The wiry swordsman granted him a nod and lowered his blade. Whatever their relationship might be, he knew better than to kneel in the middle of a warzone. He casually caught a blade with the back of his sheathe. Aura sparked as he kicked his attacker down. Wilt and Blush descended and the poor bastard recoiled, clutching at their ruined arm.
"They hit without warning." steely eyes met his. "We suspect they came in on the last freighter. Are the others...?"
"They're fine. Kali was hit by some debris."
It was the wrong thing to say; for Duncan's already tense face became murderous.
"She's like a daughter to me. The invaders will die screaming."
Good man. You didn't mess with kids.
He caught one by the throat and tore off their mask. He didn't recognize their face. No surprise there.
Sasuke's fist tightened around their windpipe. "Who do you serve?!"
His victim only laughed. "The new order!"
Kakashi took his seat. "Well. That was surprisingly...easy."
An alarm went off.
...me and my big mouth."
Nothing happens in Vacuo. Nobody cares about Vacuo.
Oh, how little they knew.
How little indeed.
"Prejudice isn't necessarily caused by hatred." Sasuke cast a stone into the pond, watching the ripples spread yet further. "It can be a fear born of ignorance, discomfort- born from an obsession of purity- with the different. Really, it just depends on your upbringing. Its not something you can change overnight, Sakura."
She huffed.
"Even if its a road filled with thorns, I can handle a little pain."
STAY TUNED! R&R! =D