Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Also, the plot should be picking up more of a pace from this chapter onwards (thank god)! Enjoy!

Neji, being the epitome of esteemed composure he was, awakened with a guttural groan before hacking out a mouthful of blood. He groaned, rolled over onto his side, and cracked open his eyelids. It took him a minute to adjust to the darkness, and the dim lamps handing off the walls barely helped with his predicament.

Dirt. Dirt, and gravel. And a dark, eerie cave.

Someone must have been around to hang up the lights.

He bolted upright, wincing when the subsequent pain shot through his abdominal muscles like a raging bullet. He'd forgotten about his never-healing injury.

The cave was silent, save for the heaving breaths of a few people lying beside him.

Wait. People.

He turned towards the noise slowly. It was Shikamaru, with his arm scorched and his skin still smelling like cooked flesh. The stench was putrid; he bit back the bile rising in his throat, then looked ahead and let it out.

"Neji?" He heard Tenten's voice whisper from the darkness. "Am I really that gross to you?"

She was grotesque. There were metal wings hanging off her shoulder blades, dripping in blood, and a few extra pairs of steel arms protruding from her sides. What had happened while he was out?

"No," he lied through his teeth, "I just felt a little sick."

"Right." His vision cleared, and she was back to the girl he'd known for a little over a week. "Well, do you know where we are?"

Confused, Neji blinked. Still normal. "A cavern, I believe."

"I got that much," she hissed, glaring at the stalactites hanging up above, "You're just as confused as I am, then."

"Shouldn't we be at the second stage?" He queried, realising that no one was going to congratulate them on passing anytime soon. Normally, based on past reports, the first thing that happened upon passing the first round of the Tournament was a terse round of applause and an informative chat on the next event.

This was a far cry from what Neji knew and heard of.

"That's what I thought," she replied, finally noticing Shikamaru's body lying in between them, "What happened to him?"

"Sasuke," he grit his teeth, suddenly feeling hostile, "Your team did this to him."

She appeared to have dismissed his statement in favour of emitting a high-pitched yelp. He hushed her. "Idiot, someone's going to catch us if you're too loud."

Her eyes were wild. "But who? Haven't you noticed that our Teams aren't even here?"

"Of course," he said brusquely. "I don't know who put us here. Or why."

"You willing to use that X-ray vision of yours then?"

He threw her a quick glare, then searched for the familiar rush of chakra that came when he whispered byakugan. Nothing. Neji tried again, but to no avail.

"I'm out. My chakra's gone."

"Oh. Shields?"

He closed his eyes, pinpointing the aches and sores littered throughout his body - internally and externally - and winced. "Maybe, but I doubt I can hold myself in a fight for a long period of time again."

Shikamaru let out another groan, before opening his eyes. He gasped for air, like a man thristing for water in the desert.

"Shikamaru?" He heard the shuffling of feet, and Tenten's worried cries. "You're awake, finally. How do you feel?"

"My arm," he said, after a brief period of panic, "I can't feel it. Why can't I- what." His eyes widened when he tilted his head to examine the scorched arm. There were no words, only a terrified, stunned silence.

Neji looked away, then stood up and readjusted his jacket. What he didn't anticipate, however, was Tenten's strangled groan.

"How-you too?"

"I beg your pardon?" He turned around, gaze accusatory, then stopped in his tracks when he saw the ashen colour of her face. "Is there a ghost behind me?"

Shikamaru was starting to scream, so Neji knelt down and tried to comfort his teammate. Tenten was still gaping at him. "A little help would be nice, Tenten. Do you know any first aid?"

"No," she shook herself out of her shock, "Nothing but bandaid care. But," Tenten waved a hand over Shikamaru's arm, "Maybe this might help. For now." A few metal pieces flew out of Tenten's pockets, as did the zipper from her jacket and some of the surrounding lamps from the walls. They melded into each other, spitting out a few choice lumps, then flattened and formed a cast around the burnt area of the arm. "That's all I can do for him, until he gets medical help."

"Will it do much?" Neji eyed the cast skeptically, but not ungratefully.

"Who knows?" She shrugged, smoothed out the hair around Shikamaru's forehead, then stood up. "I hope, for your sake, that you'll be fine, Shika."

The boy grunted, then tried to stand up. His legs shook uncontrollably.

"Stay here for now," Neji instructed. "We-"

"Neji," she interrupted, suddenly returning to her former look of horror, "why do you have that tattoo?"

"What?"

"Tattoo?" Shikamaru's eyes flickered to Neji's neck. "Or an elaborate hickey." His eyes shot to Tenten lazily, insinuatingly.

Amazing, his snark hasn't declined one bit.

Neji felt affronted. "People of the Hyuga clan do not waste their time dabbling in silly trinkets like tattoos, much less tarnish their skin with them."

"Have you looked at yourself?"

His eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Wordlessly, Tenten creeped towards him, her arm partially covered in a smooth sheet of metal, and held it up to his face. Neji scoffed, turned to the side where the alleged tattoo was, then looked back.

Nothing.

He felt a spike of anger shoot up his spine. "You're being ridiculous. There's nothing on my neck."

Now it was her and Shikamaru's turn to scoff. "You're either extremely delusional, or you actually can't see it."

"I don't get it." Tenten threw her arms into the air. Her hands landed on her own face as she proceeded to groan in frustration. "I don't get any of this."

"Tenten," Neji called out, having finished a scrutinising lap around the cave before checking back with them, "Y-your wings."

The monster from before swivelled its head around, peering at it's wings blankly. It shrugged at Shikamaru just as Neji moved to drag his teammate away.

"Neji?" It asked cautiously, moving towards him with all six of its arms spread out. "Are you okay?"

"GET BACK!"

"Neji?"

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO TENTEN?"

He was quivering against the cave wall now, standing in front of Shikamaru with his arms spread out in front of him.

The other boy was gazing at his leader questioningly. "Neji," he drawled out, "Calm down. You need to relax."

He knew Shikamaru tended to be overly-relaxed in the face of adversity, but this was taking it too far. "What happened to Tenten?" He demanded furiously at the monster, "Did you kill her for her powers? You BASTARD."

"Neji-"

All inhibitions lost, he flung himself at the monster, grasping at it's wings and kicking at the metal arms, ignoring the pain coursing through his body as he did so. Neji was met with thin air moments later, and found himself clawing at Tenten's armour.

"What?" He croaked out, and crawled off.

"Neji," Tenten peered back at him, metallic pupils shimmering under the dim torchlight. "What's going on?"

"It-y-you had wings. And arms. Six arms. What is-What?"

She and Shikamaru shared a covert look; something in their eyes flashed. Fear? Concern?

"Neji," Shikamaru spoke up, "There was no monster. We're the only ones here - wherever here is."

Tenten edged towards Neji hesitantly, still covered in metal, and reached out towards his face. He flinched when the cool metal made contact with his cheek.

"We're going to find out what's going on. I promise," she implored him to meet her gaze, which he did, after a while, then smiled. "When we get out of here, we'll help you, and we'll help Shikamaru. Just stay with us."

"I'm still with you," he said through gritted teeth, hating the way they looked at him, "I swear there was a monster here. I saw it. You were a monster!"

She sighed, exasperated, and removed her hand. "N-"

"I'm not crazy! There was a monster there! You! What if you turn back into one again?"

He realised, after a few tries, that nothing he said would convince them to believe him, so Neji grit his teeth again. To his surprise, he felt the skin of Tenten's palm rest comfortingly against his cheek.

Neji lifted his head and saw her bare face in front of him. She smiled weakly. "Neji, I'm here. I'm Tenten. Tenten, the orphan, the girl you've been arguing with continuously for a week now. Not the entity with six arms and wings, okay? Nothing's going to change who or what I am. At least, not anytime soon," she added, as an afterthought, "In any case, even if I did become some kind of monster, I definitely wouldn't grow three pairs of arms. That's plain gross. So, don't worry."

Neji smiled.

It wasn't until all three of them heard footsteps echoing in from the end of a dark passageway that Shikamaru deigned to extricate himself from the ground and hobble over to the far end of the cavern - of course, with the help of Neji and Tenten. They situated the weakened Gensho behind them, crouching into their battle stances, with their eyes scanning the darkness for any threats. If Tenten was being honest with herself, which she was, the only one physically capable of fighting at that moment was her, as she was the sole member of the trio yet to be cruelly electrocuted or mystically injured.

The situation was grim, even in her own thoughts. Seventeen years, plus one week of intense training, and it all boiled down to this very moment. She'd made peace with the fact that maybe, probably, they weren't in the bounds of the Tournament anymore. If they were, Shikamaru would've been sent away for intensive treatment, Neji wouldn't have Sasuke's tattoo on his neck, and she...she wouldn't be feeling this morbid. Whoever was watching them, if there was anyone anymore, they were doing a rotten job of protecting them.

Whatever. It wasn't like Tenten needed help to survive; she was a strong, independent woman who could probably kill a heavyweight wrestler with a plush doll if she needed to. That was what she told herself, over and over again, as the footfalls grew closer and closer towards them. She tried to disregard the sheer lack of metal in this cavern, most of which was used for Shikamaru's cast, and the heavy wheezes coming from the two boys beside her, and the evil cackling approaching them, and the hissing sounds that were steadily increasing in volume, and the growing sense of dread consuming her inner thoughts. Confidence was always the key to winning a battle - but what about a war?

"Who are you?" She managed to shout out, only to be met with hissing sounds. "Don't come any closer." Tenten was glad that her voice didn't come out as shaky and uncertain as she felt.

"Tenten," Neji breathed, "That tattoo you mentioned earlier?"

"Yeah?" They moved closer towards the wall. "What about it?"

"I think I can feel it?"

She swivelled towards Neji, shocked. Sure enough, there it was; glowing and growing and throbbing as the hissing grew louder. "Does it hurt?"

"Like a bitch."

The hissing stopped. The tattoo's growth didn't.

"My, my," a predatory voice emerged from the shadows, followed by a pale-skinned man with matted, dark hair and snake-like eyes that gleamed at all three of them maliciously. "My mice have awoken."

"Mice?" Shikamaru grimaced. "Lame."

"Your tongue has no boundaries," Tenten scolded him, then promptly told him to "Shut your trap."

Neji, ever the task-master, ignored their ill-timed banter. "Orochimaru."

The snake-man allowed a flicker of surprise to pass across his pasty face. "And here I thought that I'd already disappeared into the pages of Konoha's history books."

"You haven't even warranted a mention, to be perfectly honest," Shikamaru drawled out, yet again making her send him a livid glare. He held up his free hand. "I'm not scared."

Tenten turned to face Orochimaru, feeling somewhat lost but not losing her defensive stance. "What do you want?"

"I can see how you two boys know of me," Orochimaru continued, "Most Leaf children should, if they were taught properly. But, you, girl," his shifted his focus to Tenten, "I'm surprised that you don't recognise me at all."

It was Shikamaru's and Neji's turn to share a covert look. "What?" She gawked.

"My," he grinned, flicking his fork-shaped tongue out at them, "How time heals."

"What is he talking about, Tenten?"

"Believe me, Neji, I'd tell you if I even knew."

Would she have? She'd only known this boy for a little over a week, during which he'd found out little about her but her name and school ranking. One week wasn't enough time to learn to confide in a stranger, especially if a secret involved this child-hunter here.

"You do, Tenten," Orochimaru's curiosity deepened, "But it seems that something, or someone, has planted something into you. Something strong, something for you to forget." The whispers were coming back. "How very curious."

This guy was mad. Tenten growled. "I think I'd know if there were any gaps in my memory, snake-face. And, even if I did have any, it's none of your business. So, why don't you just crawl back to sunbathing on your sun rock and quit being a grade-A paedophile?"

"Your wit hasn't diminished in the slightest," he replied drily, "Aren't you curious about your heritage? Your origin? Why, at such a young age, you lost your parents?"

Her breathing faltered, as did the levitation of the small metal blob in her hand. "What would you do if I was?" She challenged, reorienting her stance.

"Tell you," the man said simply, "Withholding the truth is pointless; in fact, my life's work revolves around upholding the truth. Science, children, science needs the truth to remove the veil that keeps mankind from truly seeing the world."

"Great," her eyes flickered to an uncertain Shikamaru, whose eyelids were beginning to droop down in fatigue. They needed to get out, and get help, pronto. She deliberately, subtly, tapped Neji's foot with her own, and he nodded imperceptibly. Message received. "Well, I hope the truth doesn't sting you in the back. And, I think I can manage being ignorant for a little longer. Toodles."

With that, Tenten threw the little ball towards Orochimaru's skull, an action that effectively distracted the older man, and wrenched whatever rusted metal posts there were off the walls. There wasn't much, but she made do with enough of a sheeting plate to smash Orochimaru into the adjacent wall and pin him to the rocks.

"He came from there," Neji stated, hauling Shikamaru onto his shoulders, and pointed towards the tunnel, "There's definitely a way out."

Tenten nodded, retrieved her small ball, then rushed out behind Neji. The tunnel was dark, as expected, but filled with the hissing noises of what sounded like thousands of snakes. But where were they?

"Shika," she panted, "Can you figure out where these tunnels lead? With your shadow-magic?"

"Not magic, idiot," he murmured, "But yes, if I try."

"Can you do that? Like, now?" She whacked the top of his pineapple-spikes, which earned her a non-committal glare in response. "Sorry, we're kind of in a rush, in case you haven't noticed."

Neji snarled. "Communicate now, talk later. Shikamaru, you give me the directions, I'll be your legs - warn us about any obstacles. Tenten, prepare yourself for any form of attack - we need your skills to keep us afloat for now, so don't screw yourself up. No pressure," he added, in a more gentle tone.

Tenten was used to clipped orders, so she hummed in affirmation and stretched the ball out into a sharp, double-sided needle before covering herself in a metal suit. Safety, at last. Then, "Incoming boulder at four o'clock when you reach the end of this tunnel. Uh," he stammered when Neji growled at him, "In about ten metres."

They paused at the allotted distance, then heard the rumbling of a gigantic hunk of rock - not metal, unfortunately for her - rolling past them, and pushed forth. They continued in this manner, dodging obstacles and fighting off rabid animals or the occasional masked figure ("ANBU," Neji whispered, "Why?") until they all spotted a speck of light in the distance.

"Shika?"

"Don't get your hopes up," he squinted, "Not yet."

"Right."

"Tennie?"

They froze. The lights flickered on, revealing a similar-looking cavern, but with brighter, more numerous torches, and-

"Sasuke?"

He looked calm, unharmed, even. Like he'd just had a long, relaxing bath and extensive spa treatments right afterwards. Sasuke grinned, of all things.

Neji, Tenten and Shikamaru didn't return his pleasantry, even though Tenten just wanted to run up to her childhood friend and hug the living daylights out of him.

"ChiChi, what are you doing here? The exit isn't too far away, let's go."

"No," he declined, still smiling that infuriatingly blank smile, "That exit's a trap - I've already tried it. There's no way out. We might as well just stay here for now, until someone finds us."

If anyone else besides Tenten noticed how robotic Sasuke sounded, they didn't voice it. Shikamaru, with his eyes narrowed and his expression sceptical, hadn't let a single sound out of his mouth since Sasuke's reappearance. Then again, she mused, the Uchiha was the reason why his arm was currently unusable.

Sasuke walked away. "Follow me, I found a few bedrooms in this hallway. We can just settle in for the night."

Neji inclined his head towards Tenten. "Ladies first."

"Do you even trust him right now?" She whispered back, shooting apprehensive glances at Sasuke's back. "He seems...different."

Shikamaru groaned. "It's not like we can do much else. There's a fifty-fifty chance that the light up there is a real trap, and I'm willing to bet my arm on Sasuke's fifty. My dead one. Either way, whether we follow him or not, we'll be in danger."

"This is just fan-tas-tic. Of all the Tournaments to get involved in, it's the one that's completely screwed up." She stared at her friend's back again. "What if he's pulling us into another trap? Then what?"

"Shadow magic?" Shikamaru offered sarcastically. "He was smart, setting up all these lights. I can't see a thing from here."

Neji let out a frustrated noise. "Can we just make a decision?"

"If you're quite done warbling at each other," Sasuke's sonorous voice cut into their discussion, "I can provide medical assistance, which, judging by the way you all look, is highly necessary."

"And just how do you happen to have medical assistance?"

"Well, not me. Sakura."

Neji perked up immediately. "There are more team members in here?"

"Most of us are inside this cave," Sasuke tapped his fingers against his arms impatiently, "You three are the last to arrive."

Tenten grimaced when Neji bounded up to Sasuke like a dog meeting its master, then plastered a fake smile onto her face.

Sasuke returned her smile, and held onto her arm protectively as they started to turn into a corner. "Hate to keep everyone waiting, wouldn't we?"

She didn't like the ominous feeling that fell upon her with each successive step, or the carefully-composed masks present on everyone's poker faces, or the loud hissing sounds emanating from a few rooms they'd passed while walking down the tunnel. Tenten felt herself slipping back into her old ways, the mistrustful ones, in which every passing face was a threat to her existence, and every warm smile held people's hatred of her at bay. Newly-orphaned Tenten was cold, indifferent, friendless. That was how she fed herself on the street at night and worked her way up the ranks of Suna's Academy - efficiency was the key to her survival.

If she was going to survive this, whatever this was, then old-Tenten needed to come back. She saw Sasuke's calculative eyes flicker over to her, as though he'd sensed her change in resolve.

Typical Sasuke; he'd always been more attuned to her emotions than most people. Except Gaara. Gaara was her kindred spirit. She needed old-Gaara to survive too, not the tame one. No. She wanted the unhinged one with a bloodthirsty attitude that could beat down a ravenous lion without a second thought.

The Tournament was over; now, it was time to turn over the rotten leaf. She blinked.

"Yes, that would be monstrously rude."

Reiyaame, keroRiBBIT, thank you so much for reviewing, and a big thanks to the followers and favouriters too!

-misspandalily