A/N: EDIT: If by some miracle this makes it to 100 reviews, I'll update it with the rest. If not...ah, well. I tried.
Wow. Baldur's Gate looks...good. Really good.
I'm almost afraid to start playing the bloody thing. Send help.
Nearly retired with the site breaking, but I'm still here and still writing...for now.
Alright, the people have spoken. "Let Them Rot" and the Godfrey story are becoming proper tales after all.
There, that is EVERY DEMIGOD covered in some form or another, bar Ranni, which I can't do for obvious reasons, given she's fully fleshed out while lorewise, there's very little on Malenia as a whole. Radagon can't possibly be done, as he's literally part of Marika's soul that she split off. The sheer hurdles I'd have to leap through to pull that off would be...
.
..
...but what if I-gah! No! Bad Neon! Don't even think about it!
Godfrey will get his own bit sooner or later as will Morgott and Mohg, but for now I need to stop.
With my fifteen year anniversary on this site finally here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.
And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.
Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. The tragedies in Hawaii serves as a terrible example. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.
Time and feedback will determine if tales like this, "A Long While" and "Defying Death" becomes a proper story.
In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!
This is short for a good reason; I'll not waste energy on it if folks don't want to see more.
I can't afford to, not with my health as is.
"Well, I died. That sucks. But I still won! Everyone's safe. No more baddies. That's gotta count for something.
Bit of a shame though, ya know? In the end, I didn't get to do what I wanted to do.
Didn't fulfill my dream either...wait...hold on...now I see a light...
Hmm? What's that? Walk towards it?
Alright, but if I wake up tied to a chair, I'm blaming you!"
~?
Let Them Rot
He had to live.
He had promised them he would live.
He had sworn to them. No matter the cost. He had to get back...get back to...back home?
Didn't he?
The thought twisted like maggots in Naruto's head, the uncertainty gnawing at him so many teeth. That strange urgency persisted, even as his soul twisted in the dark.
.
..
...wait, his soul? Where was his body?!
He looked down aghast and found the familiar outline of his shape awaiting him...yet something was off. He was transparent, an ethereal shade of blue in the void that he could see right through. He felt cold. So very cold. No, don't think about that right now. He was alive. He would live. He had to live. He must live-
Something brushed the back of his mind, little more than a wisp.
And with it, came a voice, barely a whisper.
"Help...
He whirled and found a golden mote of golden light dancing past his eye. It was small, tiny even, barely the size of his palm. There was something wrong with it; he could see streaks of scarlet etching their way across the light, gradually consuming it radiance. Curiosity perked up in him, pushing his dread back if only for a moment. On a whim, he reached out and touched a finger to it. A faint flicker of warmth suffused him. The wisp didn't retreat; on the contrary, it seemed to sense him as much as he did it; the second he touched it, the light dove into his hands.
"Don't let her take me...I'm tired...so tired...
His fingers reflexively curled around it protectively. "Let who take you?"
"Red Lady." her could hear the exhaustion in the little one's voice. "Chasing me...
She sounded young. Very young. An awful thought occurred to him. If he was a soul right now, was this the afterlife?
Was he holding a child's soul?!
'Alright, alright, don't panic. This is fine. Everything is juuuuust fiiiiine...'
IT WAS NOT!
"Go on ahead." He gave the child's soul a gentle squeeze, screaming inwardly. "I won't let her get you. I'll take care of her."
The soul in his hands warbled hopefully, plaintively. "...Promise?"
He smiled. "Cross my heart. I keep my promises, ya know?"
"Thank...you...
Without warning the little light in his hands burned with new intensity. The eerie red veins crisscrossing its surface burned away and it almost seemed to tremble in his palms. He felt a sudden sharp burst of joy from it, then it shot up through his palms to pierce the black. The dome of darkness shattered. For a moment there was a blessed flash of white clouds and a sprawling blue sky above. The little golden light vanished into it with a flutter of white wings. Then it was gone and the darkness crashed back in, laving him in the ether once more.
"You are mine now, child." A sickly sweet voice pervaded his ears. "Your body, your soul, your very being."
An indistinct figure of red light bearing the vague shape of a winged woman. She had no face, only the vague outline of one, and even that seemed to radiate smug satisfaction as she descended toward him. A faint scent wafted his way, vaguely reminding him of a flower, yet it was too sweet somehow, almost...rotten. Whomever she was, she was terribly tall, towering over him at nearly eight feet, maybe more. The very darkness itself seemed to quiver at her presence. Her head tilted, regarding him as one might an amusing pet.
"Submit."
He scoffed. "Yeah, no."
Her voice piqued in disbelief. "I beg your pardon?!"
"Did I stutter?!" he flipped her the bird. "In case you haven't notice, I'm dead. Meaning I have nothing to give you, ergo, piss off!"
"I shall not!" She floated closer. "Do you have any idea how long I have been chasing...wait. You can speak?" Although he couldn't see her face, he could hear the horror in her voice as she looked him up and down, just noticing his appearance for perhaps the first time. "You shouldn't be able to speak!"
Naruto grabbed what he hoped was her wrist and reeled her in.
"You can touch me?!" her voice piqued yet further. "Unhand me at once, knave! I am a goddess! You have no right to-
"Listen you, my name ain't knave." he smashed his forehead against hers, stunning her. "Its Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." she made to speak and he summarily snarled her into silence. "I killed a goddess once already and I ain't above killing another. Send me back to my body RIGHT NOW or so help me...!"
"I cannot, for I had no part in bringing you here!" She thrashed and sputtered in his grasp, acting every bit the petulant child. "You are not my host! This was not the bargain I was promised!"
His brow furrowed. "Bargain?"
"I was promised a newborn soul, a life to shape and mold to my whims, to give my blessing!" She glared at him furiously, trying to free her wrist, to no avail. "You are not the one who is yet to be born. You are not Malenia. Where is she?!"
Now it was Naruto's turn to tilt his head. "Who?"
"Her soul, you twit! Where are you hiding her?!" she flailed her free hand at him, trying to search him and finding nothing. When she came up empty, she made a noise of purest pain. "She's gone, isn't she?! You must've sent her to the hereafter! You've ruined everything!"
Before his very eyes she crumpled down at his feet -nearly dragging him with her!- and burst into tears. The strange sickly sweet scent around her grew even stronger, causing his eyes to water. He released her to ward a hand before his face. She didn't even seem to notice. As he looked on she tucked her knees into her chest and began to bawl.
"I had one chance to redeem myself!" she pressed her face into her legs and refused to look at him. "One! That's all I had! They're all going to laugh at me now! The Formless Mother, the Lady of the Stars, the Lord of Dragons, The Twins of Ice, the Greater Will! Even the Frenzied Flame fared better than meeeee!
Her voice piqued into a wail, leaving Naruto feeling quite awkward indeed.
He scratched at the back of his head, suddenly unsure of what to say when faced with this now-hysterical deity. "Sorry...?"
"Sorry?!" her head whipped up, eyes blazing. "You ruined a millennia's worth of work that all you have to say for yourself?! No, no, no." she surged up to her feet barreled on before he could even think to speak. "Don't answer that. I can still salvage this. You!" a rose red finger jabbed into his spectral chest. "We must come to an accord quickly, you and I, or both of us shall be ruined. You will be left here, a lost wraith left to prowl the void, and I...I will be dragged back home, the laughingstock of my kin.
"Stop poking me and I'll think about it!" He looked down, annoyed to find a sizzle of smoke against his chest where she'd jabbed him. "And don't do that."
"It is not so simple!" she took her finger away but glowered down at him all the same. "That is what, who, I am. I am the Goddess of Rot. Decay is what I do; I perpetuate the endless cycle of death and rebirth."
Ouch. "You picked an awful thing to be a goddess of...
"How kind of you to say!" Her voice dripped with venom as she scowled at him. "I was not given a choice! I was made this way!
"Alright, alright." he rolled his eyes and floated backward, irked by her outburst. "Yeesh. Who put a bee in your bonnet...
"YOU DID!"
Oh, right. He had.
"I am not a goddess as you understand it." She held up a hand, letting pinkish-red light swirl about her fingers. "I cannot interfere in mortal affairs so easily as you wish. Any act on my part expends a great deal of power. I can restore you to life, but not in the body you inhabited. Wait!" She amended hastily, hands flailing at his thunderous expression. "What I can offer you is the same body whose soul you so unwittingly ascended. You will be reborn as the child whose soul you replaced. You will have little strength at first, but in time you will become more far powerful than you are now, and possess the full breadth of my might. Does that not sound fair?"
It sounded like a decent deal. He got to live again.
Maybe not in his old body, but one was better than none.
His mouth twisted in a grimace. "...I guess that's sounds alright..."
"Sensational. Although," She looked away with a wince. "There is...a minor complication. The body you will inhabit is not that of a baby boy, but a girl."
A muscle jumped in his jaw. "Come again...?"
"There is no other way. The alternative would mean destroying another child's soul for you to replace-
-no, we're not doing that!" he palmed his face with a sigh. "That's cruel and inhumane; I won't do that to someone. I'd rather die!"
The Goddess of Rot planted a fist on her hip. "Then your choice is clear. Unless you'd prefer to drift in the void for all eternity?"
He most assuredly would not. At the end of the day he was afraid. Terrified, really, not of the prospect of being dead, he could get over that, but of being alone; cast adrift in the void with no hope of return, uncertain if he could break out under his own power. He wanted to believe in himself, but that faith had been shaken. What if he didn't break out? What if he wasn't as strong as he thought he was? What if he spent the rest of his un-life here with no one but his own voice for company?
He'd go insane.
Naruto shook his head to banish that ugly thought. "If we do this, we do it on my terms."
The Goddess of Rot sighed. "I suppose we don't have much choice, do we? Name them, and I shall do my best to aid you."
'Alright, Naruto. Put on your bargaining face.' He set his visage in what he hoped was a stern look. "Think you can throw in a healing factor? You already said I'll be fast and strong, but I can't have you rotting this new body of mine. I'll have enough problems to deal with as is. I don't wanna go losing my abilities.
...very well. You shall retain your gifts. What else?"
He squinted at her. "Don't make me short. Already dealt with that once as a kid."
A rare laugh burst out of the Goddess. "You needn't worry about that. You're going to be...spectacular."
"There was also a powerful fox with me. Kurama." he shrugged when she looked baffled. "Any chance you could find him?"
"One of my kin probably snapped him up. I dare say he'll show up sooner or later." her lips pursed. "Fine, don't make that face. I shall endeavor to seek out his soul, wherever in the Lands Between it may reside. Our time runs short. Are you prepared, mortal? This proccess will exhaust me most thoroughly. This may be your last chance to speak with me for quite some time."
She made it sound like he had a choice. What choice was there? It was this or nothing at all-wait!
His eyes widened and he raised a hand. "Hold it!"
She flung up her arms. "What is it now?!"
...I never got your name."
"My...name?" The Goddess of Rot paused. "Truth be told, I never had one. It was always sister this, or daughter that."
His spiritual shoulders rolled in a shrug. "Well, I can't just go callin' ya Goddess all the time."
"No, I suppose that would grow boring." she touched a finger to her chin, considering. "But a name? Hmmm...I've not used one in eons...aha! I've just the thing. Rose." she smiled at the last. "Yes, that fits. You may call me Rose. I had thought to use Bloom or Summer perhaps, but I feel that would be a little too on the nose."
There was something about that word. "...I get the feeling you're making a joke at my expense.
"Not at all." her smile grew a little. "I'll ask you again. Are you prepared?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." He grit his teeth and gulped anxiously. "Do it."
"As you wish." The Goddess of Rot leaned down. Her forehead touched his. "...Close thine eyes and let me in."
He did as she asked. Her hands settled on either side of his face.
Something warm and soft graced his lips. His mind jolted.
'Wait a minute, did she just-
Darkness rushed in.
(.0.0.0.)
"She's alive!"
Naruto opened his eyes.
Why was everything so damn big?
Reality and realization rushed back in, bringing with it a stinging brightness and terrible noise. The world lurched and he found himself swept up against a woman's breast. Bright golden eyes gazed back at him, framed by golden hair and an exhausted face. There were tears in her gaze. Actual tears.
"There, there, you're alright Malenia," the women holding him, crooned. "My little petal...we almost lost you."
Naruto certainly didn't feel alright at the moment. Everything was a whirl around him.
A long strand of something fell across his eyes. He wrinkled his nose.
...red hair. He'd been reborn with a full head of scarlet hair. It tickled his nose prompting a sneeze. Long, red hair. Just like mom's. It confused him all the more. Why would he have red hair when his mother -Malenia's, not his!- was so very clearly a blond...?
He looked down. Blinked now. Blinked hard.
Patted his face with pudgy hands. Not. Not his face. Her face.
Right, then. Malenia's father must be around somewhere, unless he was the sort to run out for milk.
'There he is!' he spied a rather pale man with flaming locks lurking at the woman's elbow. 'You're the reason I have red hair!'
"Such a fearsome scowl!" the woman crooned in utter delight. "Look, Radagon. She resembles you."
The redhead scowled down, his voice a low baritone. "There's something odd about her...
Naruto froze. 'Geh! No, no, I'm a perfectly normal baby!'
"Radagon, dear, you're scaring her."
"I am merely being thorough." the redhead's scowl redoubled. "One can never be certain where the Outer Gods are concerned."
"Hush, you." Thankfully, the mother disagreed with his statement most vehemently. "That's enough; she's you daughter. No need to be paranoid."
"Marika...
"Don't you Marika me, mister!" The woman delivered a stinging smack to his arm. "This is your child, and she just might be one of your last if you're going to be so suspicious about your own kin!"
Marika, eh? Was that the woman's name? Good to know. Avoid the big guy at all costs.
The woman winced suddenly and heaved a sigh.
Naruto looked up at her, baffled by the sudden tension in her.
She only smiled and handed him off. "Don't fret little petal. That's just dearest Miquella coming into the world, right on schedule. Here, Radagon. Hold your daughter."
Bastard didn't look much pleased about that. The sentiment was entirely mutual. He didn't think they would ever get along, the two of them.
...I will be watching you, child."
Naruto glared back as best this new body could.
Radagon noticed, of course. "Don't give me that look!"
He'd be doing all that and more in the coming years! Even as a baby girl, this new body had power, strength that far surpassed his old one. Fine. Very well. So be it, then. If he couldn't go back to his old life for the time being-and he was determined to find a way sooner or later!-well, he would just have to make a go of things here for now, wouldn't he? On his terms, not theirs. Being a girl wasn't about to keep him down, no sir!
And then another mewling cry reached his-her now!-ears amidst those stubborn thoughts, bringing with it another surprise into the world.
Bright eyes widened. A sibling? The Goddess of Rot hadn't said anything about this.
'Huh. A brother-no, a twin! Always wanted one of those...
Maybe...maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
And if anyone laid a hand on Miquella?
If they sought to harm him?
Let Them Rot.
A/N: Aaand scene.
Here we are, a more humor-driven story, but something new all the same.
To further clarify, "Malenia" is only going to be interested in women. Seems...fitting.
Sooooooooo, do you want this to be a story? Yes? No? Maybe so? Make yourselves heard!
Really need to hear from you guys and gals here; if not this will simply remain a Shard like others.
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this particular tidbit, and others. If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? Well...I'll not be able to continue it! Sad as that may sound, 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, as such, I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly? And have some previews -potential blot bin things- that I'm working on.
References ahoy~! And ideas for new stories. Hopefully this will sate my muse for the time being.
(Previews)
It...took longer than Naruto would've liked to get used to the name Malenia.
There were times when Miquella worried for his twin.
Malenia was...wild. Energetic to be sure, but she didn't act at all the way an Empyrean should. Not like him. Not like Godwyn. Not even Ranni. From her earliest moments she had been this way-fiery and fierce, not at all a composed demigod. She railed against her Curse and fought it at every turn. She just...fought. And fought. She loved to fight and nothing else.
He loved his twin make no mistake, but she was everything he was not; wild and rambunctious, ever eager to be somewhere. Today was no different.
"C'mon! We're going to be late!"
She ran past him with a wild grin, scarlet hair lofting in the breeze behind her. As he looked on she leaped past him, kicked off a wall an launched herself into the air, all but rocketing ahead of him. Gods be good but he pitied her future husband. Assuming she ever took one. She didn't seem all that inclined toward boys. Girls, on the other hand...well, he wasn't one to judge.
Miquellaaaa! C'mon!
As his sister willed, as always. They were the youngest of the demigods, mere children compared to true titans that were their siblings; General Radahn, Praetor Rykard, Lunar Princess Ranni, and of course Godwyn the Golden. They were the outliers of course, for they were Empyrean. Today was their fifth name-day, the day they would receive their Shadows. Malenia seemed quite excited about that, despite her...condition. Did she not understand the ramifications of such a thing? Their shadows were simply another shackle, another way to better bind them to the Greater Will. Silent blades, poised to strike them down at the first sign of treachery. And for what? The Golden Order could not cure their curses. Of that much he was certain-
Irina! There you are! Sorry, no time to talk! We're going to be late!"
Miquella sighed and considered warning the poor girl just whom she'd made friends with, then thought better of it. She'd realize what Malenia was eventually, just how wild she was. Everyone did. Sooner or later.
This was it. Her second chance. She had to do this right. "I am your shadow, my lady." the young woman bowed before her charge. "A pleasure to meet you."
She wasn't prepared for said girl's bright, sunny smile, nor her response. "We're going to be the best of friends~!"
Well, that wasn't what she expected at all! "I beg your pardon?!"
Today was war. And war, like his sister, never changed.
"Sister! Please stop!"
Malenia most assuredly did not. She was a red dervish of death, destroying everything in her way. Another knight rushed her and she grabbed their face, swinging them about like a human flail. Her laughter filled the battlefield as she smashed them down. Two more rushed her and she beheaded them without so much as a backward glance, cutting their compatriots apart with them. Only then did she turn. Wild gold-red eyes looked back at him as she tilted her head to stare at him.
A bloody smile was his reward. "Isn't this fun, Miquella...?"
The youthful Empyrean sighed softly.
His sister was utterly insane.
"I enjoy that look of confusion." she tutted softly, bare feet ghosting over broken glass. "When an inferior beings meets a higher power," Red light built around her body. "Its intoxicating...
Her victim gasped in pain.
"It burns, doesn't it? Knowing you can't fight back, can't do anything at all. How do you think your victims felt? Much like this, I'd wager.
"Don't do this, Malenia. I can give you everything you want."
"Then die!"
...wait."
Radahn tensed.
She rose behind him, dragging herself upright.
But she did not bloom. She glared at him with red, ruby eyes.
"That hurt." he heard her rasp. "That actually hurt. You'll regret that...
She clicked her tongue. "I will not.
A fist crashed into her face. She didn't budge.
"Is that all?"
Will you marry me?"
Malenia barked a laugh at them; it was a decidedly unladlylike sound. "Sorry, but you're not my type."
"How so?"
Her lips quirked, ever so slightly. "You're a man for starters...
Wait. But that meant she preferred...oh. Ohh.
Ohhh.
R&R~!