A new chapter folks.

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Read the AN at the bottom.

Hatred... it burned deep within his chest as he watched the rat scurry around, a thin trail of sand wrapped around its neck. He watched with mad glee as the creature choked to death, its grotesque face turning all shades of purple and blue.

His face, once smooth and unblemished, had cracks, both small and large, crawling across his face. He couldn't help but touch his face, his fingers crumbling into sand as it came into contact with the harsh surface.

Twisting his one good hand, the sand snapped the rat's neck. He felt no guilt for what he had done, why would he? It was nothing more than a vermin, a blight on the Earth. If anything, he was doing the world a favor by killing the pathetic thing.

As his sand absorbed the life form, he felt the cracks on his face start to diminish, if only slightly.

"Yes..." He could feel it start to heal him, to undo the damage that had been done. He knew, though, that it would not be enough. He needed more... he needed more blood to be spilled.

The more he took, the more he would receive. It was as simple as that in his twisted, demented mind.

There was a problem, though, with this 'simple' solution. Rats were too small. He needed something bigger, something with more blood and iron... something like himself.

Closing his eyes, he started to plan out his next set of actions. He would have to find someone who would not be missed... someone like himself. Maybe a peddler, or maybe even a beggar?

He shook his head, it didn't matter in the end. Once he was at full strength, he wouldn't need to hide from the humans anymore. He would be able to take his true form, the one that dwarfed even mountains.

Then, and only then, would he crush the red-eyed man that kept following him. He was not so blind as to not notice the raven that followed him everywhere he went, especially when said bird had red eyes like the man that was always around the corner.

"Hehe," A slow chuckle escaped his mouth. Yes... he would soon have power... power to submit the rest of the world to his will.

Artemis couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her mouth as she watched over her youngest huntresses. She was resting on the branch of an abnormally large tree, its branches creating a large canopy against the harsh sunlight.

Her brother was not happy, it seemed. Though lately, that seemed to be the case more often. She couldn't even remember how many times she had to guide animals out of the way of raging wildfires.

She still remembered the chewing out that she, Aphrodite, and Zeus, had given the Apollo after the tenth time. Apparently, the love goddess wasn't happy with the fact that so many cute animals had died a painful death.

"My Lady?" One of the newer recruits approached the tree with a small frown on her adorable face. Her short brown hair was adorned with daises that some of the other huntresses had picked. It honestly made the goddess happy to see such things from the older ones of her 'little' group.

The little girl swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as she watched the goddess jump from her resting place. A pair of wings surged out of her backbones so as to slow down her descent.

The young girl couldn't help but stare in awe. Her lady was so beautiful. She honestly thought that Artemis looked like an angel.

"What is that you want little one?" Artemis asked as her bare feet came into contact with the cool mossy ground. Her silver eyes were filled with warm love as she rested her hand on the smaller girl's shoulder.

The girl shuffled in place, feeling slightly awkward, "Um... who is that?" She pointed to the woman chained to the ground by a collar wrapped around her neck. She had a muzzle around her mouth, making it impossible for her to make a sound. Oh... and she was stark naked.

Artemis's smile faded, if only slightly. She looked at the girl, "That's no one to concern yourself about, and despite her appearance, I assure you, she is not a human."

The girl nodded, though it was obvious that she was still hesitant. Artemis wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulders and started to lead her towards her tent, purposefully blinding the girl's view of the woman, "How would you like something to drink?"

A bright smile appeared on the girl's face, "Of course!" She skipped on ahead into the tent, missing the look that Artemis gave the prisoner.

With a motion of her hand, she watched as the woman was dragged away by her hair, blood spilling down her face. Like she had told her, there could be no peace for such a person.

Naruto frowned as he watched the setting sun, his blue eyes heavy with sadness. His hands were crossed behind his head as he rested on the roof of the mansion. Going by the position of the celestial body, he had been up there for a few hours now.

"How long are you going to mope for?" His father asked as he stood by the protruding end of the chimney, his arms crossed in slight irritation, "It hurts, I get that."

"No... no, you don't," Naruto closed his eyes as he tried to prevent the tears from coming. He clenched his hands subconsciously as he brought himself to an upright position, "I could have saved those children if I had just shed my human form sooner." He looked to his father, the tears brimming in his eyes visible, "I was scared that someone would see me!"

Nikola sighed as he got on his knees, his hand coming to rest on his son's shoulder. It was moments like this that showed just how young Naruto really was, "And there was nothing wrong with being scared. Even though you couldn't prevent their sad fate, you were still able to bring those children justice." He looked to the setting sun, his thoughts coming to a slow halt, "Naruto... you did not fail!"

"Huh?"

Nikola chuckled slightly, "You heard me. You did not fail those children. You are not to blame for what happened. If anyone is to blame, it is the woman who ate them." He pat Naruto on the shoulder, "Think about what I've said. If you want, I can send you to stay at the Sanctuary Network for a while."

As he got up, he shot Naruto a final smile before heading back inside. He knew what his son was feeling, he'd experienced it many times before.

The next day, as the morning rays of the sun hit the mansion walls, Naruto stood by his new motorcycle. His hands were on the handles as he revved it up, a small grin forming on his face as he heard the loud growl of the powerful vehicle.

Behind him stood his father as he looked at the tablet in his arms, a pair of glasses giving him the look of a scholar. Both he and Naruto knew that they were not needed, it was merely for aesthetic purposes.

He glanced up from his work to give his son a praising look, "Do you have everything you need?" It wouldn't do well for his son to be unprepared. He needed to be like a fox, cunning in everything that pertained to his survival.

A nod was his only answer.

"Good." He approached his son and shot him a parting smile, "And remember... never be afraid to take on your true form. You are better than the humans, you are more powerful. Take care that you never forget this fact, or it may very well become your undoing."

Naruto nodded his head at his father's advice. Sure it sounded quite pretentious, but it was true. The one time that he had taken said form... he had created an all-new mountain range on accident.

With nothing else to say, Nikola stepped to the side. It was about time that Naruto got out of the house for more than just a day. He needed to become his own man, to find his ideals and what he would fight for.

He gave his son a final nod and watched as he sped off on the silver motorcycle.

The flapping of wings told him that Naruto's appointed guardian was flying high above, watching over his friend/charge. Nikola smiled, both Sasuke and Naruto were something else.

And if there was one thing that he was certain of, it was that both boys would lead the humans into a new era.

Unknown to the mortal creatures, a small part of Artemis's essence had been watching the father and son in the form of a silver squirrel. Her small body was able to watch the scene without being noticed by the mortals.

Her cheeks were chubby from all the acorns that she had gone and stored in them. If there was one word to describe her at the moment, it would have to be greedy. She loved acorns cause they tasted so good.

Or... was that just the squirrel talking? She shook her head as she went and spat them out like a rifle spat out bullets. It clattered of harmlessly against the bark of the tree, thankfully. It would not have done for the Dryaid, or Nature-Spirit, to come out and ring her neck.

She smiled as she watched Naruto drive the motorcycle that she had given him, its aura blazing to the eyes of the divine. She hated to admit it, but it was her way of telling others that they could not claim him for their desires.

She paused as she felt something approach from up high. She didn't need to use her sense to now that it was a predator. Making a quick jump, she latched onto the soul of a young raven, its feathers turning a soft silver to mark her claim.

While she was sad about the death of the squirrel, its body being torn to bloody bits as the eagle ate its entrails, she wasn't going to dare harm her father's sacred animal. That was a bag of shit that she wasn't going to open.

She flapped her wings and took off after the boys, intending to watch and see what would happen. She had the feeling that it would be something awesome and damned be if she didn't like excitement in her boring life.

She was a huntress, she searched for danger with every step she took. She wasn't like Aphrodite, who waited for her boy toys to bring what she wanted. She did things with her own hands, even killing her enemies.

And what was more exciting than a boy that could turn into a nine-tailed fox? Artemis winced... it sounded like something out of one of Apollo's crappy manga novels. She'd read one of those... apparently, Apollo was still hung over Japanese culture, even though he was banned by the deities of Japan.

Who knew Tsukuyomi didn't like the fact that his wife's virginity was taken by someone else.

She continued flapping her wings and gliding on the winds that her father gave to her.

As Naruto drove down the road on his motorcycle, the shadows that belonged to Naruto and the motorcycle waited and watched. They couldn't do anything as long as the boy was on his bike. The claim on him was too strong when he was near the bike. He needed to be somewhere else, somewhere where he would be without allies.

So they stayed their shadowy hands and chose to simply watch the human that had killed Alexander. To them, there was nothing special about the boy, but appearances could be deceiving... that was a lesson that they had to learn the hard way.

They still carried the wounds from that fateful day. A large gust of pain surged up from within, nearly causing their forms to separate from the real shadows. Sheer will, though, allowed them to stay attached, even if it was by a thin unseen thread.

This would be harder than they had thought.

"You ok up there?" The human boy shouted towards the winged human that was watching from above, "I know you feather brains can't fly for very long without having to rest."

The shadows paused... they couldn't tell if that was some form of concern or an insult. It sounded like it was a mix of both but that made no sense. Was that their way of showing love? ...Maybe it was some form of mating ritual?

They couldn't see how though. Their forms were incompatible as they were both of identical sexual forms.

A loud crack of thunder stopped their musings. They had been going off on a tangent.

"Better than you are, you mangy beast. Maybe you should stop to rest. I know I don't need to." The birdman retorted in a sharp tone, though his tone was light with jest.

The shadows felt like groaning... this was going to be a very long ride.

Helen frowned as she stood on the lawn that faced her house, her long black hair flowing in the wind. In her hands was a cup of steaming coffee, something that she was taking her time to drink.

The world was going to hell, she knew that. She saw how wars got more brutal as humanity developed their technologies more and more. She hated herself for the fact that she'd even given them designs for super powerful weapons, weapons that they were using to kill their brothers and sisters.

Why couldn't they accept the fact that they were all human? That they all deserved to live on the Earth? Did they really have such little love in their heart?

She shook her head as she took a sip of her drink. The sun was setting and that meant that soon a new day would be upon her and her family. Her end goal was to protect her family and to keep them safe from forces that would try to harm them.

She would be ready for the day when they came knocking at her door and she'd greet them all with a fist to the face. Well, that and bullet to the head. Fists tended to not be enough when faced with abnormals that had tough hides.

The watch that rested on her wrist started beeping, drawing Helen's attention away from her drink and the view that she was beholden to. A soft sigh escaped her mouth as she realized that her guests were here.

She pressed a button and spoke to the watch, "Henry, can you and Will please welcome our guests? It's getting late and I don't want the two boys getting sick on their first day here."

There was silence for a few short minutes before a voice replied back, "Will do." Helen smiled as she heard the misery in the voice. Good. That meant that they were not likely to get into a fight without her permission.

Honestly, the god of them. They were there as guests and friends. Sure Nikola was suspicious as hell, but that didn't mean that she wanted them to start a fight with his men.

She sighed, it was about time that she got back as well. There was still some things that she needed to work on before she went to bed. She gave her a cup a sad look and then to the watch, "Also... tell Bigfoot that I'm going to need some more coffee."

A short chapter... but its better than nothing.

I feel like this is going to be one of those stories that will be short but nice. But onto some nice things, reviews. I want to thank everyone who left me a review.

In particular, DelayedInspiration... dude you are the boss. Your stories are just dope. Which is why I've done a reading of Assasins's Creed: Transcendence. Guys, check it out and leave him a review and the same for my reading of it.

Also, if you guys like the Justice League, check out my two new stories: Beacon and Injustice: God's Unleashed. I'm quite proud of them, but they're not getting a lot of love for some reason.

So please check them out and tell me what you think of them.

Thanks and see ya next time on Hunter or Something.