A/N: EDIT: Wow, real classy with the flames people. That's what, thirty of them now?
Why am I writing this if I just have people telling me to die?!
WHY!?
Please read this through to the end before you make your judgement. I promise you will be...surprised.
After all, I write these stories for all of you.
In any case, I updated a few days early! Looking forward to reading all that wonderful feedback from you guys and gals!
As ever, reviews are my fuel, my fire, my life. Without them, my forge turns cold and dark.
That said, I feel I should warn you, dear reader.
This chapter...gets intense. We're talking CASTLEVANIA levels of intense. Also fiddling around with a story idea on that front, but I'll not post it unless folks wish to see it. Still, you don't mess with a man's wife. Because make no mistake. Naruto and Willow? Basically joined at the hip now. And then Jacques blundered into something he shouldn't have.
Now then, lets answer your burning questions, comments, and concerns:
Q: So. Jacques is boned...isn't he?
A: I could clarify but...
*Cackles*
Why don't you read and see?
Q: Why did Nicholas send Naruto's clones away
A: Because he wanted to deal with Marcus himself. Perhaps that's arrogance on his part, but he wanted to deal with him personally. We all know why. People aren't perfect in this story. They make mistakes. Shit happens. Sometimes they make bad choices.
Time will tell if this costs Nicholas.
Q: Are we finally going to see Naruto cut loose?
A: Naruto has been actively restraining himself. Until now. At this point -right now- he doesn't even realize what Jacques is up to; only that he was present when everything went to hell.
But once he puts two and two together. Well.
Anybody remember Dracula from Netflix?
Q: So what's your master plan? We've caught glimpses of it, but so far you've kept -most- of us guessing. I'm assuming you have an endgame planned.
A: I do. Timeskips are coming; they'll be hitting hard and fast~!
Q: I see you! You're gonna do THAT, huh? Never seen it done before in a story. Kudos!
A: SHHHH! Spoilers!
Q: Time for a brawl! Also, damn your cliffhangers!
A: If you think the Heroes are going to let something like this stand...well. You've got another thing coming.
And those previews? They aren't always what they seem.
Alright then, I've kept you long enough.
As ever, I own no references, quotes, memes or themes. Not a wit or a one. Should be reeeaaally bloody obvious by now.
So sit back, put your feet up, grab a drink -I recommend something strong!- and enjoy the show.
Because here. We. Go.
"Little Jacques."
"What...did you just say to me?!"
"I'm sorry, did you not hear me the first time? Shall I use different words for your little brain? Little Man. Little parasite. Little worthless worm who delights in making noise and pretending he is important. That is all you are. All you have been. All you ever will be. Are you going to continue provoking me, little Jacques? Are you going to fight me, little Jacques?! Is that what you want?!"
...!"
"THEN COME AND DIE!"
~the Future.
Waking the Dragon
There are some things a man simply cannot forgive.
This? This was most certainly one of them.
Because the world was burning.
No, perhaps that wasn't right. The Glass Unicorn was burning. Not the world. It simply seemed that way. Everyone was screaming, the world a riot of chaos and bodies and color. Fire blazed as high as the eye could see, a great and towering blaze too wild to be natural. Flames crawled across carpets, clung to the walls, swept up the ceiling. Noxious black smoke poured from burning wood and upholstery alike, choking the air with dust as yet another explosion rocked the already crumbling hotel.
It was into this chaos that Naruto found himself flung.
"Go, go! Move!" He pushed another civilian behind him, ushering a mother and her child to safety. "Get to safety! We'll handle it from here!"
Fire flared beside him and he slammed a fist down, tearing a hole in a nearby wall. He shoved them through and went back for the rest; ignoring the twisting pain in his shoulders. Ignore. Suppress. Save as many as he possible could. Moments before the first explosion, he'd sensed something and yanked Ozpin out of harms way; tanking the blast meant for him. His back burned and begged for rest, for time to heal, but he had no time to give. What did it matter? Pain was an old friend.
He pressed on.
"Willow?!" he cupped his hands and called into the chaos. "Cinder?!" his voice rang hollow over the crackling flames. "Where are you?!"
He felt another shadow clone pop in the blaze, succumbing to the heat and smoke. Smoke that even now filled his lungs, turning his powerful voice to an angry rasp. Blue eyes narrowed to angry slits and he ripped away his right sleeve, using it as a crude cloth to cover his mouth. Then he lurched back into the blaze and thrashed his way forward into the inferno. Too much fire. He needed water. Ice or something. Wind would be of no help here; it would only feed the flames.
Ears ringing, eyes stinging, lungs burning, still he searched for survivors.
Time and time again he stretched out his senses, trying to find them, only to drown in a sea of emotions. Too much pain.
It was everywhere, negative emotions cloying the air like a fog, muddling senses that should've been sharp and clear. Too much fear, anger, negativity; everywhere, everyone, everything. It choked him, dampening his senses when he needed them most. Negative emotion sensing was less than useless here, clogged by ash and fire and the cries of the injured and the dying.
"A little fire won't kill those two." Kurama interjected, ever the voice of reason. "Calm down."
Easy for him to say!
Panic bleated through his mind, blotting all else out, turning his thoughts a red slurry of fear.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" he dodged a bit of debris as they tumbled from the ceiling and ran on, "What was I thinking?!"
He'd seen Jacques here, but thought Willow could handle him. Arrogance. One must never turn their back on an enemy. That cheeky Gele had every reason to hate them; yet with so many allies he would have been a fool to try something. It just made sense, ya know? You didn't attack where your enemies were strongest. No one expected that. It just wasn't done.
It made the bombing all the more devastating.
They'd been able to save some to be sure, but more had perished in the initial explosion. Dozens lay dead.
He could heal many a person, but death? That was final.
Another blast rocked the hotel from above; this one proved the most devastating yet. High above them the roof sagged with an ominous groan. Naruto paid it no mind. He was already moving on. The ceiling would hold. It had to. They were still evacuating people. If it came down now...well. Best not to think of that. It. Would. Hold.
...and if it doesn't?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Teary eyes glimpsed a hunched shape in the smoke and he stormed toward it; only to find Ozpin hunched over a prone form. He turned up at his approach, revealing a dirty face streaked by soot and fire alike. Poor bastard looked just as bad as he felt.
"Did you find them?!"
...I have not." he said. "What of the survivors?"
"I've gotten as many people out as I can find. Who's that?"
He soon answered his own question; for after a moment he recognized them. Qrow? The poor man was even worse for wear; he'd taken a nasty head wound and his right arm was dangling in a such a way that suggested his poor shoulder had been dislocated, if not outright broken. Bleary eyes turned up to regard him, not all there.
"Tried to stop him...
Naruto's blood turned to ice. "Stop who?"
"I must ask you to remain calm." Ozpin temporized with a raised hand. "We have reason to believe Willow has been...taken. Qrow can tell you more. He tried to intervene."
The ice melted and became raging flame, boiling through Naruto's veins.
When Qrow didn't answer he leaned in and touched his marked palm to the man's forehead. A quick pulse of chakra set him to rights and mended his wounds.
"Big bastard." he groaned. "Saw him grab your wife in the chaos."
Even now he had half a mind to argue. "She's not my-
"Might as well be after that display." Qrow waved him down with an angry rasp. "Anyway, I saw the prick; he had her slung over his shoulder like a sack of flour." he tried to stand, only for his knee to buckle. "Tried to take her back, but there was some slimy little prick in a suit with him. He just looked at me and my body locked up; then the big guy slugged me. " a grimace tore across his dirty face. "They...they had a message for you."
...tell me."
Qrow swallowed once.
...if you want her, you know what you must do. Forsake the Schnee name."
A muscle jumped in Naruto's jaw. Jacques. His right eye began to twitch. Qrow was talking about Jacques. No one else would say that. All this death, all this destruction, for...that? The fire in his veins had become molten magma now, searing his thoughts to a fever pitch. This mustn't register on an emotional level. Calm. He had to stay calm. The enemy wanted to make him angry; wanted him to lash out. Make mistakes. This didn't bother him. No. It didn't bother him.
It bothered him a lot.
With a treacherous creak of sundered timber, the roof finally gave way above them.
Blue eyes snapped up. His body blazed gold. Brute force it was.
"KURAMA!"
Two hands snapped up, metal and flesh alike. Nine giant tails burst from his back as a towering form coalesced around him, taking on the shape and form of his old friend. Stern shoulders slammed up and braced against the crumbling woodwork, holding it fast. Mighty knees tensed beneath the weight, forcing him to steady himself. The impact kicked up a gale, briefly banishing the smoke. And in that moment? A single sliver of a second? A brief blink of time?
He saw them.
Two tiny bodies, trapped under a mound of burning debris. Neither moved. He couldn't reach them like this. Then again, he didn't have to.
For he wasn't alone.
"Ozpin!" the headmaster jumped just a little as he roared out his name. "I see them! There!" He jerked his head in the direction of the already swelling smoke. "Get the kids out of here! Now!"
Then he braced himself against the ceiling and pushed.
(.0.0.0.)
She couldn't move.
Somehow, that alone frightened Cinder more than the fire and ash falling around her.
More than the pain, more than her trapped legs, more than anything else. Strange, wasn't it? She'd never been one to fear flame -the heat never bothered her anyway- and yet the prospect of being trapped in any way shape or form...why, it terrified her. Turned her legs to jelly, even if she couldn't currently feel them. Her mind gibbered a little when she tried to move her calves and failed.
No.
Don't...don't think about that.
Ignore it. Suppress it. Don't think about it.
Everything was blurry; muted, distant. As if she were living in a dream. Only the pain told otherwise.
Cinder Schnee was no stranger to pain; she'd lived with it for as long as she could remember. Yet this was agony unlike any other. Everything try as she might, she couldn't get away from it. She struggled in the wreckage, trembling hands fumbling with the smoldering wooden beams pinning her to the ruined floor. Burning pain lanced through her side. She looked down and saw blood against her side, a deep scarlet stain spreading across her dress, rising from her ribs.
She tried to scream. Her voice failed her.
Sienna whimpered somewhere beside her, barely visible through the haze of smoke. "It hurts...
With a supreme effort of will unlike any other, Cinder propped herself up on her elbows and reached for her weapons. Her hands met empty air, unable to find the sheathes, that had been bound to her belt. They were gone, lost in the chaos. Even if she had them, she wouldn't be able to cut through wood this thick. She simply didn't have the upper body strength required to make such a grievous cut. High above her, she heard the ceiling loose an ominous creak.
Where was everyone? Had they abandoned them?
...were they going to die here?
"KURAMA!"
A thunderous shout split the gloom, banishing the smoke for a moment. Cinder looked up with wide golden eyes. Balked as a giant golden fox burst through the smoke and slammed upward, impossibly large, and yet so much more than that. She saw the man standing in its great gilded skull and her heart soared. Father raised his arms and shouldered the ceiling, take the weight of the world on his back. She dared a pained smile at the sight of her protector.
It said something to her, but the ringing in her ears returned, momentarily deafening her to all else.
"Hold on!" a familiar voice broke through the haze not a moment later. "I have you!"
A firm hand swept down and shattered the heavy oak entrapping her like brittle glass. It didn't fly. It flew across the room.
Bleary eyes blinked up at her savior. "Mom...?"
For a wild moment Cinder thought it might be Willow, but no; although their hair was indeed pale, everything else was wrong. Willow didn't wear black and green. Willow didn't carry a cane. No, Headmaster Ozpin swept down, missing his spectacles and somehow looking all the more stern for it. He saw her legs, and winced but a little. Then he did something with a glowing green hand, something that simply lifted the last of the debris off her and Sienna alike. The moment he did, Cinder felt her legs again.
She soon wished she couldn't.
Agony!
Her world went black for a moment; when she came to, she found herself tucked into the headmaster's chest. Quite suddenly she realizd the fire and the flames were gone, replaced by cool night air. It felt heavenly upon her burnt skin. Through bleary eyes she beheld Raven holding a battered Sienna as an anxious Summer fussed over them both. Each looked like they'd taken their fair share of hits in the blast. At least they were alright, though it looked like Sienna had taken a bad cut to her arm.
Wait. Why was everything still blurry? Why couldn't she see properly...?
She tried to speak, but her lungs, damaged by so much smoke, betrayed her. All that emerged was a low rasp. "Ah...?"
Ozpin pulled her just a bit closer, doing his best not to meet her eyes. "You're going to be alright now."
Was she? Cinder tried to look down at herself. Saw the burns. Something in her recoiled. No. Don't look. Suppress it..
Desperate to avert her gaze and avoid what was already proving to be a traumatic experience, Cinder turned her eyes to the skies instead and sought solace there. As such, she saw the moment it appeared.
A giant golden fox burst through the wreckage of the Glass Unicorn, snarling furiously at the moon.
More than a few men and women shrieked at the sight; survivors shrank back with frightful cries, no doubt thinking their doom had come upon them. But it never did. Instead they were left to gasp as it shrank back into the shape of a man. Said man alighted upon the ground in a pointed crouch, but he didn't stop glowing, not for a moment. All black and gold with frightful red eyes, he looked like some great gilded god, his once gentle azure eyes now burning a molten shade of scarlet.
Somehow, across the distance, Father saw his Daughter.
Naruto took one look at Cinder and moved.
Ozpin jolted back, startled as he all but ripped her from his arms. The sudden motion left the young girl whimpering; not in fear, but in pain.
"I've got you."
Rather than spout false assurances, Naruto simply acted like the good Father he was. He knelt, lowered her to the floor and pressed that marked hand of his to her forehead. Divine chakra flashed out. Cinder hissed as she felt the bones in her legs shift and snap. Burnt flesh became healthy pink skin. The abominable ache n her lungs abated. Her vision cleared. It was a horrible process for Cinder; one that felt like an age, when in truth it took only a few minutes. To her, it may as well have been an eternity.
Finally -finally!- he pulled back and helped her rise once more.
"I...thank you." she clutched at his hand.
"You're alright?"
"Mmm." her small hand squeezed his.
He hauled her into a firm embrace.
No more words were needed.
"Remarkable." Ozpin breathed the word with awe. "I didn't think she would last the night...and yet you healed her."
Naruto leaned back and threw a less than pleasant remark his way. Cinder took the chance to wriggle free and sit up up fully. Only then did she see the flames.
For the rest of Atlas was burning.
Not all of it, but there enough buildings aflame to raise the alarm all the same. The Glass Unicorn -good riddance to bad rubbish!- wasn't the only victim tonight. They'd merely been the opening salvo in an attack that no one knew was coming. There would be many a fire to put out come morning. Not even the academy had been spared. She vaguely saw the general looking that way with a thunderous expression.
High above them, a Nevermore shrieked.
"Aw, c'mon!" Summer straightened with a sigh and reached for her weapon. "This is going to draw Grimm by the droves!"
"Perhaps so," Ozpin remained unruffled. "Ah, but that's what we have you lot for, is it not? Remember, we prepared for just such a scenario."
Naruto's expression turned thunderous. "Wanna run that by me again?!"
"Rest assured," the headmaster soothed him before suspicion could rear its ugly head, "You weren't bait. We simply thought it wise to...be prepared, given our enemy's interest in you. Miss Branwen?"
Raven rolled her eyes, but nevertheless tore Omen free from its sheathe. A quick flick of her wrist ripped a portal into the air. At first, Cinder thought it pointless. Who was she creating a portal to? What purpose could it possibly serve? She didn't think Willow and Raven were bonded well enough to give her a direct line to the latter. Convenient as it would have been, it just wasn't possible. So why make a portal at all, then? If she could not use it to rescue anyone, then what was the point?
Ozpin straightened a little and spoke into that grisly red tear. "Glynda? Its time."
Cinder soon had her answer.
As one the Hunters and Huntresses of Beacon poured through the breach. So many. Too many too count.
First she spied a strange man with wild green hair and spectacles. Another with a great big belly and a battleaxe fused to a blunderbuss. Behind them came a striking young woman in violet and black, her green eyes cold like frozen emeralds. Just looking at her sent a chill down her spine.
Yet more were still emerging when Raven rounded on Naruto.
"Well?! Why are you standing there, gawping! Get going!"
"Excuse me?!" the blond scowled at her.
"You're a warrior, Naruto." Raven stomped a boot and tossed her hair to one side. "Stop moping around and act like one! They took Willow!" Her eyes locked on him, wild and angry. "What're you going to do about it?!"
His face settled into a scowl.
"Summer."
"Yup?" the silver-eyed warrior smacked her lips. "You need something?"
"Look after Cinder for me."
"Sure thing!" Much to the girl's chagrin, she found herself drawn into the huntresses' arms. "You can count on me~!"
Naruto barely seemed to hear her.
...Ironwood." the Captain jumped a bit when the whiskered warrior utter his name. "Earlier, you asked what I was capable of."
James frowned but a little. "Yes...?"
Naruto's grin was just the wrong shade of vicious. "Watch closely, now."
Then he crossed his fingers and the world boiled with smoke...followed by a sea of gold. He gave them their orders, uncaring as civilians and hunters alike balked at him. They -the horde now assembled before them- gave a smart salute and obeyed those commands with hesitation. As one mind, one body, they turned. Through the streets of Atlas an army of shadow clones sallied forth. Some leaped down into Mantle. Others took to the roof tops, while still others drew weapons and waded into the city proper.
Cinder smiled all the while, preening in the attention they received.
Heh. She never got tired of surprises like this.
Best dad ever.
(.0.0.0.)
Nicholas had made a bit of a blunder.
Perhaps it was arrogant of him to believe he could fight alone for so long; moreso for him to send Naruto's clones away at the beginning of all this. No, it certainly was. He had something to prove, something to do, and he knew he'd not be able to do so with that young man -gods bless his simple soul- watching his every move. He knew all too well Naruto's penchant for mercy. When faced with Marcus, he might have hesitated. Might have been swayed, and offered him a hand of friendship instead.
Nicholas Schnee felt no such hesitation these days. Only the bitter regret of his past mistakes.
He understood what needed to be done. He would not hesitate. He would show no mercy. Marcus Black could not, and would not, be redeemed. He was too far gone. Too corrupted by his Mother's influence and a lifetime of pain. Sometimes you just needed to put dogs down. And at the end of the day, his dimwitted son was just that; an angry stray biting out at all who had hurt him.
That stray struck at him now, driving a metal-shod boot at his face.
Amateur.
It was the work of but a moment to step aside and let Cleave -his trusty greatsword- do its bloody work. Its wicked edge sliced through aura and flesh, carving through bone. Marcus tumbled away, clutching at the ruined stump of his knee with a yowl. Surely he was running low on Aura. He couldn't use that many Semblances without wearing himself out. Regenerating limbs had to be a costly endeavor. It was merely a matter of pushing him to his breaking point.
"I am sorry for this." he raised his weapon high as his son tried to crawl away. "I'll try to make this painless."
A patch of gloom shifted behind him. Blasted interloper again! Would she never learn?!
Nicholas pivoted, evading a strike that should have taken his had.
His attacker barely managed to graze before he whirled with a snarl, bringing his sword to bear. Daggers scraped across his blade, drawing a score of sparks. Rather than retreat like any sane sensible soldier in the face of an ambush, Nicholas braved his blade with both hands to force her back, then down as he exerted his mighty strength against her paltry weapons. Cleave bit into her nameless daggers, fracturing them, forcing the woman to cross her smaller blades lest she lose them entirely.
"You fight well." he considered her over their interlocked weapons. "Who are you? Who taught you?!"
"Tch." behind her mask, the young woman clicked her tongue in mild irritation.
It was the only warning he received before she dropped her daggers to drive said mask into his nose. Blood ran down his bear. He rode the blow then swept his blade forward in a sweeping arc of silver to strike her bony white facade. She recoiled with an angry yowl and he took the chance to ram an armored shoe into her ribs, flinging her away with an audible crack.
"Not so eager to lose that mask, are we?" Nicholas brandished his blade over one arm. "I wonder who I'll find underneath?"
A lone golden eye regarded him through the crack of porcelain as she clamored to her feet. A gloved hand drew a fresh pair of daggers from her bandoleer of knives. A frozen Beowolf pounced on her from behind and she drove one of her blades into its eye without even looking back. His summons crumpled into harmless ice at her feet.
...my identity doesn't matter. Your death does."
"I'm afraid I must disagree, my dear!"
With a gregarious laugh he surged in and drove the masked assassin back a step. Her daggers skittered harmlessly off his blade Then another. Another now. Another still. Still she fought on, willingly giving ground. It wasn't hard to guess her intentions. She was trying to draw his focus away from Marcus. Give him time to heal and rejoin the fight. Pity it wouldn't work.
Beneath his feet a new glyph flared to life, powered by lightning dust.
Whomever this masked woman was, she fought with cold speed and grace. Even in the face of his enhances speed she didn't give up. She did not cry out when he wounded her, nor did she give herself away when she attacked. But she bled like anyone else and didn't heal when he cut her. That meant she could be beaten. For a moment he'd feared she might be that...thing, but no, this woman appeared mortal as any other. Damnably hard to kill perhaps, but mortal all the same.
A fully-healed Marcus lunged at his exposed flank. Nicholas didn't even deign to look his way.
"Fool of a boy. When will you learn?"
Yet another glyph howled to life beneath his progeny and slammed him into the floor. No sooner had he landed than a pack of frozen Ursa fell upon him, their icy claws and mighty limbs forcing the assassin to fend for his life once more. Yet again the masked woman was denied her reinforcements.
"Useless assassin." she growled. "He's not worth what we're paying him...
His blade swept through her body and she swayed away, giving ground rather than risk another frontal clash. Stars burst before his vision and a dagger took him in the thigh, but he soldiered on to ram the hilt of his blade into her face. Another crack crawled across her hardened visor. She snarled and fell upon in a storm of shadow, to no avail. He had the measure of her now; without Marcus and the element of surprise, she was but a lone assassin, a single enemy, and he'd slain more of those than he could count.
Eventually, she slipped. Stuck just a little too high. Nicholas struck low, forced her guard higher still and finished it.
"You're alone, now." he stepped in, swept her legs and rammed her to the floor. "Enough!" Cleave came up under her chin, forcing that masked facade to lift or have its throat torn out. "Give up. No one's going to save you."
He wasn't prepared for her laughter.
"Who said I was alone?" he couldn't see her face behind that mantle, but her tone lent the impression of a smile. "My work is already done. You're just a bonus."
Behind him, the main doors opened. Nicholas knew better than to turn, but his body betrayed him all the same.
Freya limped through, clutching at a horrid red tear in her dress. As he looked on she leaned against the wall, leaving a red stain behind as she dragged herself forward. She didn't make it far. Even as he realized she was real, the Winter Maiden fell to her knees. She did not rise from them.
"Nicky, dear." she looked up, granting him a ghostly smile. "I think we have a bit of a problem."
His world ground to a halt. "Freya...?"
"Still alive, is she?" still at the tip of his blade, the masked woman nevertheless clicked her tongue in mild admonishment. "You old fools just can't lay down and die, can you?"
Nicholas rounded on her and cuffed her across the face. Her mask held. Even as he reached down and grabbed her by the throat, it still held.
"Just who do you think you are?!"
A hidden dagger slipped from her sleeve. "I am your death!"
Her wrist landed in an open palm. Firm fingers closed around flesh and bone, squeezing until the wicked dagger fell from her grasp. Her visible eye widened within the mask. Still he squeezed. Until the nerves of her arm ground together; until her wrist became find powder, until her weapon clattered to the floor. With but a scoff, he flung the assassin over his shoulder into a frozen Boarbatusk. The mighty beast gored her on its horns and flung her down the hall. Nicholas didn't bother to check on her. A wound like that would keep her down, if not finish her outright.
He turned just in time to find Freya brandishing a knife of her own. Silverware, really. Little more than the kind you'd find in a kitchen drawer. Did she intend to fight? With that little thing? She held it in a strange, reverse grip, baffling him further. She stumbled forward a bit. Tried to stand. Failed.
"Freya," he stumbled toward her, "...what are you doing?"
His old friend granted him a small, sad smile. "Something that should have been done a long time ago. If they want my Power this badly...
Too late, he glimpsed the dagger in her hand.
...then this old woman will deny them!"
Blue eyes widened.
"No!"
Even as he reached for her, the knife came down with sound and aplomb. It sank deep into her chest with a horrible squelch of sound. Red bloomed across her chemise, staining her nightgown scarlet. She tottered on her feet, swaying as a lost ship would at sea. When she fell. Nicholas dove to catch her, to no avail; even as he caught her he recognized the mortal wound.. Already he could see the blood pooling beneath her, soaking through her white shift.
"I'm...sorry, my dear." Hazy eyes regarded him. "Tell her I'm sorry." A trembling hand rose to cup his cheek. "This the only way I could think to help you...my power will go to someone better...someone stronger...
She slumped over with a lifeless sigh and a pale blue light burst from her corpse. For a fleeting moment it almost seemed to hover there, as though unable to decide where it wanted to go. Then, in a blink it arrowed out to the east, struck a window, and vanished in a spray of broken glass.
Marcus snarled and reached for it. "No!"
Nicholas hacked the hand off at the wrist. The young man recoiled with a shriek of pain.
"Damn you!"
He didn't have time to utter anything more.
High above them, the ceiling shook. Once. Twice. Thrice.
Nicholas looked up with a rueful smile. "Impeccable timing as always.
Not a heartbeat later a streak of golden light came crashing down from the second floor. He knew at once it was a shadow clone, if only for the look of utter rage written upon its whiskered visage. Seemed one of the boys hadn't listened after all. It looked absolutely furious. That fury only escalated when it saw Freya's still form. Assumptions were made, even if they weren't the correct ones.
"MARCUS!"
"Shit!" the assassin swore." Time to go!"
Beside him, the woman hesitated. "Not without his head."
"Lady, we don't have time for your bloody vendetta! We can kill him later-
A fist caught his face and smashed him down into the floor.
Nicholas flung up an arm as dirt and debris sprayed out in every direction; nearly blinding him to what came next. Nevertheless he still bounded forward to engage the masked woman as she sought to strike at the clone's exposed flank. Steel struck steel as he warded her back with a sweeping strike, forcing her back one pace, then two, three now.
"Wretched man!" Here at last, she snarled at him, her composure finally fracturing. "Why won't you just die?!"
"No." He turned his head aside and spat blood. "The only death tonight, will be yours!"
As such, he found himself with a prime view of what came next.
Marcus yelped. "Hey! A little help here-ack?!"
"No, no, no." behind him, the shadow clone grabbed a stunned Marcus by the skull and slammed him into the floor. Over. And over again. "You don't get to teleport! Not this time!" He beat him down like a man possessed, ruining the man's once handsome face into a grisly caricature of its former self. "You're not going anywhere!"
Beneath them, wood and stone gave way with an awful groan.
Nicholas looked down uneasily; knowing full well that the foundations simply couldn't take such abuse.
Sure enough final slam sent one unfortunate Marcus Black -and the rest of them!- hurtling into the cellar below.
(.0.0.0.)
He could sense her now.
Away from all that negativity, all that pain, he could feel her.
She was so far away, but he saw her in his mind's eyes. Not far. Not for him.
Grimm barred his path and he had a moment to wonder why the shields were down. Then he stopped caring.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
Naruto ripped and tore.
Until it was done.
(.0.0.0.)
(.0.0.0.)
"Wake her. We have to hurry. He'll be here any moment."
"I know, you fool! Don't rush me!"
Willow woke with a wince to those voices. It was not a slow awakening by any means. One moment she'd been sleeping soundly. The next she was wide awake, nursing an abominable headache. She tried to move, only to find her hands bound behind her back, held by heavy chain to an equally metal chair. Her feet were likewise entrapped, held by wicked-looking manacles. She cast a fretful glance down, only to find her weapon gone, and her vials of dust with it.
Confusion crept through her soul.
"Wha...?"
All at once mind jolted back, recalling what had transpired in all its ugly glory. Jacques. The bombing. So much fire. So much death. Her head snapped up.
The room itself was little more than stone and clay; likely a cellar of some sort. Four bare walls, a floor and a ceiling, with only a simple oak table between her and a reinforced door. A simple oil lap burned overhead, hung from a rusty hook. Was it just her imagination, or was there dried blood on-
Without word or warning the door crashed open. Light rushed in, blinding her. She turned away from it with a hiss.
"Hello, my dear."
She heard Jacques coming long before she saw him. He'd always been the type to gloat. Knowing didn't help her aim much. Still, she gave it a good shot. The moment Willow saw him, the second his oily forehead touched hers, she reared back and spat in his face.
"How rude." He dabbed a this face with a handkerchief "I'm afraid we won't have as much time together as I would've liked." he didn't bother to sit but instead crossed the table. "We'll have to make this quick, my dear."
She tore her chin from his grasp. "You won't get away with this."
"Still you defy me? What does that fool have that I do not?"
She sneered. "He's a man, for one."
He bridled. "There are no men like me."
Willow scowled. "There will always be men like you."
"Enough of this prattle. Resistance is futile." Jacques leaned back, took a seat behind his table, and laid both hands atop it. "My Semblance is invincible. Now...you will comply. Or you will be made to."
Willow grit her teeth. "I...will...NOT!"
"You will." the businessman remained serene in his confidence. "Refuse, and I will kill your father." she winced and his smile grew. "Then that wretch you call a daughter." a snarl tore out of her, yet he only smiled. "Maybe even that faunus brat. Everyone and everything you love will die. Because of your selfish defiance."
"Monster!" she surged upright, only for the chains to hold her back.
"Am I? I'm only the monster you made me." his mustache twisted in thinly veiled agitation. "This all would have been so much easier if you just...obeyed."
Something slimy brushed against Willow's mind, like fingers of oil threading through a pool of clear water. A foul presence stabbed down into her mind, her very soul, and latched on with dark fingers. She clenched her jaw and grit her teeth against it, snapping her head to one side. Still it crept in, tainting her every thought.
"No." she growled the word. "I won't submit."
Jacques merely smiled. "You have no say in the matter."
"Yes, I do!" she grit her teeth as a migraine came on. "I refuse! Piss off!"
"Such a foul mouth." His hand cracked across her face, bringing with an icy flare of pain. "It seems he's corrupted you more than I thought. I'll have to erase those awful memories."
Her soul stilled.
He was bluffing, surely. There was no such Semblance that allowed a man to do so much. Mental domination was one thing, yet to inflict pain and debilitating exhaustion with but a word? That was something else. No, this had to be something more. It had to be. This couldn't be magic. Magic wasn't real...right?
Jacques spoke again, bringing yet more pain. "You are mine. Obye. Forget him."
She was not his. She would never be his. So she swore.
And yet, inch by inch she felt her sense of self being eroded under the weight of his words. This was black magic, warped by a semblance so foul she didn't even understand it. But she didn't have to understand something to hate it. He was trying to change her. Alter her. Mold her into what he thought she should be. She fought back with all her might, rallied her willpower to push him away time and again. With each wave the pain grew worse. She cried out in anger as he struck her. Resisting brought only more pain. She felt her resistance crack.
Then it happened.
A ray of light found her in the dark, a sharp and sudden fire in her very soul. It burned away the foul miasma wrapping around her psyche.
"Rise, my child." an oddly familiar voice intoned. "For you have been chosen."
Something sang in Willow's veins, a pure and holy power that burned all her pain and fatigue away. No. It didn't burn...it was cold. It froze them. Like a great cleansing blizzard sweeping all before it.
Her head snapped up.
Frost crept across the chains that bound her.
Unable to compromise with the fresh forces pushing against them, those heavy iron links shattered under the frigid temperature. Shrapnel sprayed in every direction. Some of it struck Jacques through his aura, ripping a bloody furrow through his suit. He recoiled with a pained shriek, his concentration all but annihilated.
"What is this?!"
Willow spread her arms and let the cold winds bring her aloft. She gave herself to it gladly, let it direct her body like a puppet. Instincts not her own took hold and guided her through the steps. Voices of generations past whispered in her ear, babbling happily as she joined their ranks.
She welcomed them with open arms, and they did the same to her.
This power was amazing; it went beyond aura and her semblance, wrapping around her soul in a protective cocoon of azure light to shroud it in strength. She felt alive in a way she had never been before. The very earth beneath her feet stirred, ready to do her will. Wind whipped into the air to lash at her hair, creating a pale hale across her face. Sparks skittered at her fingertips, ready to be unleashed at a moments notice. And fire. So much fire.
It burned in her veins like lava, demanding to be release. She felt like a god.
Was this what Naruto dealt with on a daily basis? Always being careful. Always moving so slowly. Always making sure not to break something? Or someone? So much power. Oh, gods. A girl could get drunk on this. Perhaps she already was. That...might be her concussion talking. She didn't know what this Power was, where it came from, anything. Only that it had come to her here and now, in her moment of need. There would be time for questions later. For now? Nothing else mattered...even if it burned so very badly.
No! She had to keep it controlled, lest it consume her-
"You dare defy me?!"
A stray shot pinged off her restored aura, drawing a flinch from the heiress. Her ironclad control slipped. Burning blue eyes narrowed upon the culprit, watching intently as Jacques reloaded an antique-looking dust pistol. He looked rather put out. So sad. Too bad. Her damaged mind found humor in his plight. Perhaps that was vicious of her. Perhaps that made her cruel. But he had been cruel unto her, had he not? Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth. Evil for Evil. So went the saying.
And so she spoke. "I will always, always, ALWAYS defy you."
Hate reared its ugly head in Willow's heart and became spite. He looked so small from down here. So meaningless. There was nothing more she wanted from him. Not his pain, not his suffering, not even an apology. None of those mattered anymore. Only his death. For the indignity he'd inflicted upon her, she would grind him down into paste.
"I am your master!" heedless of his peril ranted at her, frothing at the moth. "Your king, for all that it matters! You will do as I say!"
Willow tilted her head, regarding him with thinly veiled intent an scorn alike. "What is a king to a god?"
His face turned an alarming shade of puce. "What is a god to a nonbeliever?!"
She scoffed. "Still a god."
Hazel lunged at her when she wasn't looking.
Willow didn't even deign to face him. Even as his arms closed around her. She simply exhaled and let all her new power flow free as it wished. Fire flashed, blasting him away from her with impossible force. Even as he fell, her hand swept upward, bringing with it a rush of hail and ice. Flesh was no match for such an element, least of all a man so large. His bulk made for an easy target. Hazel crashed to the ground, frozen solid just below the chin. Wide, fearful eyes regarded her.
"Stay." Willow smiled at him. It was not a pleasant smile. "Good boy."
Then she burst forward and rammed into Jacques.
Credit where it was due, he did defend himself. For all the good it did him. She batted his weapon aside with but a flick of the wrist, ignored his pistol as it barked against her ribs, grabbed him by the face and wrenched him into the floor. It burst at her touch, cratering outward for miles in every direction.
"Do you believe now?"
Something spoke through her, the voice of generations past.
He glared up at her. "...you don't frighten me."
"Little Jacques."
"What...did you just say to me?!"
"I'm sorry, did you not hear me the first time?" Willow cocked her head, looking down upon him. "Shall I use different words for your little brain." she pushed closer still and cupped his chin, gripping it tight in her hand until she felt the bones creak audibly beneath. "Little Man." Blazing blue eyes bored into his, wild with hate and flame. "Little parasite. Little worthless worm who delights in making noise and pretending he is important. That is all you are. All you have been. All you ever will be."
He opened his mouth to retort and she struck him, raking her long nails across his face.
A cry of pain split the air.
"Are you going to continue provoking me, little Jacques?" another swipe ripped through his lip, leaving it hanging in a grisly sneer. "Are you going to fight me, little Jacques?!"
It was too much for his ego, of course. He snapped.
"Pain!" Jacques all but spat the word up at her, throwing the full weight of his Semblance behind it. "Pain, pain, pain! Bow to me! Submit!"
Willow grit her teeth and braced herself. Somehow, that helped; it let the command wash over her like so much water leaving her unaffected. His voice lashed at her like a whip. She gave him a shove and he crashed into a nearby wall. She, however, stood tall. The wind took her and held her aloft again as her arms rose at her sides.
"I bow to no one."
Her fist flew out and an arc of pale blue fire followed. It struck straight and true, latching onto Jacques and his hateful face. He toppled back, shrieking as the left side caught flame. His body crashed to the floor, writhing in wretched agony as he clutched at his ruined visage.
"Damn you!" his good eye glared up at her, wide and hateful. "What have you done to me?!"
"Something that should have been done a long time ago."
Her hand swept up, and the world bent to her will. The rickety rook above began to creak, unable to resist the wind tugging at it, much less Willow's command. Metal ripped itself free from its moorings, steel and concrete came untethered, rising around her in a maelstrom of death. Still she wrapped it tighter, threading the wind with every element she could muster. All around her, the very foundations of the building creaked. Still she took it apart, rending it away at the seams.
"Goodbye, Jacques. I'd say it was nice knowing you," her lips quirked into a scowl. "But we both know that's a lie. Now, kindly die."
In his final moments, the disgraced noble still had the audacity to scream at her. "WILLOW!"
Then the roof fell upon on his head, bringing the rest of the building crashing down.
(.0.0.0.)
Naruto found Willow walking out a burning warehouse.
He knew at once that something was amiss; if only because of her glowing eyes.
His marked hand trembled, rejoicing at something he didn't undertand. "All is as it should be. As it must be."
Steeling himself against it, he gripped his wrist and stormed forward. Only then did he truly see what she had behind her back. It wasn't hard to miss. She dragged a frozen caricature of a man behind her like some grisly trophy. Poor bastard was still alive too; for the ice left his head unharmed. But Willlow...oh dear, that was a lot of blood. He hoped it wasnt hers...
"Willow?" He all but bolted to her side. "You're alright?! How did you get away...?"
"Hello, dear." She smiled up at him like a blood-soaked princess. "Did you miss me?"
Something about the way she said those words worried him. As if she weren't quite...there.
"Well, of course I was worried." he took her hands in his. "Nevermind that, where's Jacques? Is he in there?"
"Yuuup." she swayed a little on her feet, reminding him of a drunkard at last call. "I killed him. Burned most of his face off and dropped a building on him." a tipsy hand indicated the burning-yet-frozen ruin behind her. "I think his body is in there, somewhere. He screamed a lot, by the end."
Something was certainly wrong here.
...are you alright?"
"I don't think so, no." the heiress stumbled a bit. "I think I have a concussion. Which sounds silly; because he only hit my head a few times...
Rage sparked back to life in him. Yeah, definitely a concussion. And she'd won despite that?
"Oh!" her bleary eyes lit up in a startling moment of lucidity. "I took a prisoner." she swung a bloody hand back to indicate the scowling man trapped in ice. "This is Hazel. He helped kidnap me. Say hello, Hazel!"
The giant growled. "I'll never talk!"
Willow laughed; it was a sharp, frantic sound born from too much stress. "You just did."
"..."
"Don't mind him." Willow whispered into her hand. "He's shy. Also." A brief blink followed. "I think I need a drink. Or several. Probably."
Naruto couldn't help himself. He threw his head back and laughed. "Where did that come from?!"
"Where do you think?" she gazed up at him with half-lidded eyes, her irises still trailing blue flame. "I was just kidnapped, tortured, and nearly mind-raped to death. I want to pretend this night never happened. No," her hands tightened on the lapels of his jacket, "I want to bury it in a good memory. So." she leaned up and kissed his cheek. "You. Me. Alcohol. Now."
...fair enough." his hands settled on her waist. "But later. You need medical attention."
"To hell with the hospital!" she headbutted his chest. "Get me a damn drink."
Yup, there was the Willow he knew." He chortled softly. "Sure thing...
Willow made a pleased sound and nuzzled his chest.
Jacques could go hang for all they cared.
Everything was alright now.
Wasn't it?
A/N: BEHOLD YOUR NEW WINTER MAIDEN! Long may she reign!Didn't see that coming now, did you! Willow cleaned house before Naruto could.
Suppose that's a mercy, considering.
Not really much else to say here; save that we'll be hitting a timeskip in the middle of the next chapter.
As ever, reviews are the fuel that keeps me writing. Without them, I can't write a single world. Seriously! So speak up! Every word -and every review!- really does matter!
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly?
And enjoy the previews.
Hope you're ready~!
(Previews)
Naruto beckoned. "Well? What're you waiting for? You've spent the last three years training. Show me how much you've improved."
Sienna and Cinder shared a glance. Nodded.
Then they lunged.
"Well, we ARE older now...
Sienna frowned. "Cinder. No. Bad Cinder. Don't even think about it. Dad will tan your hide."
"Oh, come now." amber eyes flashed as a coy smile touched her face. "Even if you know how a story ends, that doesn't make it any less fun to watch...
Kali scratched the back of her head. "We may have a problem...
Naruto yawned. "You, or the White Fang?"
...both?"
"You dolt." Willow sat up with a sigh. "What did you do?"
"What she always does." Ghira graced them with a good-natured smile as he pulled up a chair. "Bites off more than she can chew. Its about Mistral...and...well...
They told them. Naruto winced.
"A drug that boosts semblances? That's not ominous at all...
Cinder dreamed of a world forged from fire and blades. Endless blades made of glass and metal alike.She saw it when she closed her eyes. Saw it even now, so close to understanding the true depths of her power. Like she could reach out and touch the blades-
"You alright there?"
She blinked, and the vision vanished. "I'm sorry. Did you say something?"
Naruto laughed. "Like I said, we've earned a little vacation. Mistral's lovely this time of year...
Willow took his hand in hers. "Something wonderful has happened...please don't be angry...
Naruto's heart skipped a beat. "Eh?"
"Who is this, Father?"
"This is the man responsible for your creation, Alma." Watts preened. "Without the chakra he provided, you wouldn't exist. You can finally meet him now."
"He is?" Alma considered him with grave, golden eyes that seemed to glow. "Is he my uncle, then?"
Arthur's mustache twitched. "Why, yes. I suppose you can call him that."
Naruto's jaw clicked open. With an effort, he snapped it shut.
"Well, hot damn. here I thought I'd seen everything...
Then Alma's gaze found Willow and Cinder.
She offered each a beatific smile.
"Please to meet you~"
R&R~!