Naruto: Dual Worlds Chapter 7: The Beast Within, a naruto fanfic

Naruto: Dual Worlds – Chapter Seven: The Beast Within

A/N: I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do writing it.

The Beast Within

The corridor was damp, and smelled of wet decay and old growth as ancient as the forests of Konoha. The quiet pit-pat of Naruto's steps on the broken stone hallway was the only sound that welcomed him. The maze that he had crossed through ever since he had awoken had brought him through narrow tunnels and wide caverns that pulsated with a deep crimson light. The floor was overrun with green moss and briars that were warm to his touch.

Why was he here? He could not remember. His mind was clouded, and his recollections of his own memories were steeped in fog. Yet, even without knowing which path to take, or even knowing if he should step forward, a fierce instinct within pulled him inexorably toward a destination, and the gradually heating atmosphere signaled to him that his steps were sure.

It was instinct that brought in him an immeasurable amount of fear even though he knew, no, he felt, where the final destination of this instinct would bring him. He stepped down a steep incline and the sudden wave of heated air that greeted him stole the breath from his body. He rounded the last corridor, and he knew he had arrived.

In front of him lay a titanic gate formed of impenetrable steel bars loomed over him, and. A single yellow sealing note clung to the center of that gate. Naruto recognized it as the avatar of the sealing jutsu that bound the Kyuubi into the abyss of his soul. But now, even has he came back to this place that was so familiar to him, he felt the tangible wrongness in the air.

The note was fraying, Naruto recognized, and small portions of that once impenetrable gate began to gradually fade in and out of existence, as if unsure of itself. The red mist that had always been there, that was the Kyuubi's chakra, increasingly leaked out from those gaps. This time though, it was mingled with something else. A ruby red energy intertwined with the chakra, and he knew that the mixed chakra was damaging the sealed gate, accelerating it's degeneration a thousand thousand times. Naruto stepped cautiously forward, and then a whisper of a sound caught his ears.

Striding to the gate, Naruto was surprised that the Kyuubi did not come to greet him. Every instance he had been here before the nine-tailed fox hovered at the entrance of the gate, waiting for a sliver of a chance to escape from his cursed cage, but now the demon's presence was absent. He stopped a bare step away from the steel bars, and peered into the Kyuubi's prison.

Deep inside, farther in than Naruto had ever dared look, he could hear the familiar clash of battle. Roars and blasts and screams echoed back to him, a faint whisper of the undoubtedly horrendous battle that was being waged on the other side. And then like a tidal wave, the memory of what had transpired before he had come here crashed into him.

He had junctioned Ifrit, but something had gone horribly wrong. The guardian force had interacted in a way that he hadn't anticipated. From the din ahead, he could tell what the result of his folly had been in hiding information from Quistis. The guardian force had junctioned to him alright, but Ifrit had been trapped inside the space that was meant for the Kyuubi. And now, the two entities forced into a space together came into conflict with each other.

Naruto had witnessed what the Kyuubi could do. Two years ago when he had been training with his sensei, Jiraiya, he had seen the aftermath of the nine-tailed fox's rampage, and he had also seen first hand the glory of Ifrit's strength.

It was in that moment that he realized beyond a shade of doubt, that Ifrit didn't stand a snowballs chance in hell.

Balamb Garden was especially quiet today. Most of the cadets were huddled in their room either preparing for upcoming field exams or out taking them. Many Faculty members, left with minimal amounts of work, had nominated to head to Balamb city for a relaxing day. The higher percentage of SeeD were out on missions, and though usually only sixty percent of the 1700 SeeD members were gone at any given time, a recent invasion of the Dollet Kingdom by an aggressive Galbadian nation had supplied the Garden with a much higher amount of work, such that 80 percent of SeeD's were out on various missions.

Just outside the south side of Balamb Garden where there was the least security, Zabuza and Haku stood, with the Garden hovering above them.

"There is no turning back, Haku." Zabuza said in the gravelly voice of his. "You know this."

Haku merely bowed in deference. "I do, Zabuza-san. But, I think wise if you would allow me to command the dragons to perform the least amount of damage."

"Oh?" Zabuza asked, a slight tilt in his voice. He knew his charge very well. "And for what reason is that? Do you think that you can maintain full control over so many of these creatures? Once released into a room of prey, their true nature will be revealed. As is with all things."

"It is possible to direct them to places where they can cause the least harm. The more pain we bring to this Balamb Garden, the higher their enmity will be against us. If they should find out…"

"They would not." Zabuza stated. "What grand organization is this, Haku, this Garden? These are nothing but half-warriors and children who do not understand true battle. Stealth? Cunning? Suppression? They do not truly grasp what these mean. Watch them, Haku, prancing around like so many ants, mocking us shinobi with their pale copy of a true village."

"Still…" Haku began again, before Zabuza stopped him with a wave of his hand.

"Still, you are too soft. I know." Zabuza caught Haku's eyes in his, and what he saw there, behind those eyes that hadn't genuinely smiled at him since he had made the deal with the witch, was a silent appeal towards him.

"…Very well. The dragons were originally under your control anyways. Do as you wish. The only important goal is that we secure the Kyuubi child."

Haku bowed deeply. "It should be time."

And is if those words were the signal, an ear-deafening explosion sounded out above them and even deeper in Garden, blowing away walls that lead to certain rooms, following by another and another that continued for a minute like dominos. The steel covering of Balamb Garden that had fallen into disrepair for so many years gave way and large chunks sheered away to the floor. Giant holes ranging from ten feet in diameter to fifty feet wide appeared, and from those holes appeared cadets and SeeDs and faculty members gawking like flies and frozen in confusion.

Haku raised his arm, and behind him the thirty Ruby Dragons, one of the deadliest and most dangerous predators of the world, shed away their natural ability of invisibility, and took flight into the air. The gawkers were in confusion now, and as if disbelieving the sight, stood silent where they were.

It wasn't until the flight of Ruby Dragons roared and a response from their most hated enemy, the T. Rexaur, which would seek the Ruby Dragons, came together, and their combined sound shook the foundations of Garden did they finally begin running…

"Come, Haku. Let us go."

"Alright Zell. You know what to do. I'm starting the blue as soon I'm out of range." Quistis said as she stepped backwards and away from Zell.

"Just make sure he doesn't do anything for…" Quistis quickly calculated the required amount of time it would take to configure and release the stored blue energies within her. "Fifteen minutes."

"Gotcha Quistis." Zell looked back at her retreating form and winked confidently at her, giving her a thumbs-up. When Quistis had backed away to the outer perimeter of the barrier shield, the farthest she could be without the energies of the shield affecting her, Zell cautiously approached Naruto.

The red energy that surrounded the Konoha ninja was collecting unto itself, increasing in shades of darkness and size. His eyes were scrunched in pain, as bubbling red chakra began to solidify itself upon his body. Quistis had been right. The energy was taking form, and she had also correctly identified it as a fox. Two crimson ears of chakra curved upwards from Naruto's head and a long, twining tail swung dangerously from his back.

Fifteen minutes. Why don't I go grab her some caeser salad and ice cream while I'm at it to!? I should have known this was going to happen! I could be eating hotdogs, reading comics, hanging out in the sun. Gah! Maybe, Zell thought with a slight ray of hope, maybe Naruto will just stay there nice and quiet and I won't have to do a thing.

That ray of hope was dashed away as Naruto's eyes suddenly forced open to reveal two blood-shot eyes. Zell was surprised not at that, but at the shape the eyes had taken. They weren't human, he knew, they were something else. Something deep and dark and ancient that made him feel like a worm in a birds sight of view. Two lynx like slits shot with deep red chakra and sparks of light stared at him, gauging him, and Zell felt as if Naruto were stripping him to his core, exposing his flaws and taking in the measure of his weaknesses. Like a predator before the hunt.

"Oh great." Zell muttered to himself. Bringing his arm upwards, he prepared for battle. Those equipped with a guardian force were able to junction stored magical abilities into certain attributes ranging from offensive strength and magical defense to even obscure factors such as luck. And he did just that, junctioning the most powerful spells he had with him into defense to hold off Naruto until Quistis could complete her blue. A golden haze shot with sparks of lightning, Quetzalcoatl's favor, surrounded his body and converged on his fists, before seeping back into his body like a fine morning mist sinking into the ground.

"Barrier." He whispered to himself, and translucent green shell surrounded him. Spells scaled with the magical strength of their user, and Zell knew it was weaker than the one Quistis had conjured that had saved them from being knocked out, but it was quick and energy conversant and the best he had. It would suffice.

Zell debated his method of approach. Should he stay back for a while and buy some time, or would it better to take pre-emptive action?

That was decided for him as Naruto suddenly sprang forwards on all fours. In the space of two breaths, Naruto closed the gap between them.

Zell eye's shot open at the speed which Naruto closed the distance and he flung himself to the side just as Naruto took a clawed swipe at him. Catching his balance, he turned backwards on the balls of his feet and with the ease of a dozen years of martial arts training let loose a sudden roundhouse kick that smashed into Naruto's temples. The ninja was reeled backwards as the force of Zell's retaliatory strike made a full circle.

Naruto tumbled backwards like a cat and launched forwards again.

Then Zell surged forward, his fists pumping. The two exchanged blows, but each strike flashed harmlessly past Zell. Then Zell pull back his fist, just as Naruto let fly his fist – and Zell grasped Naruto's forearm and spun around him using his grip as leverage and slammed his drawn back elbow deep Naruto's back.

Naruto unceremoniously sprawled forwards as he slid through the dirt, redchakra burning the ground around him and lay unmoving.

Zell grinned. It was easier than he had thought! Well, he thought proudly, of course it was! That was a special SeeD martial arts technique to strike three centimeters below the neckline where the second and third vertebrate plates connected that should incapacitate the opponent into unconsciousness while not causing any permanent damage. It had taken him a good year to perfect the technique's timing and force.

Something sizzling caught his attention and he looked down at the source of the sound. He frowned. Where his elbow had come into contact with Naruto's red chakra when he struck, the chakra had become stuck to his spell and was boiling away at its surface, wearing down its integrity. In another blink of the eye, a portion of his barrier spell gave way and melted inwards like acid on paper, though the whole of his spell still remained.

What exactly was this? Zell wondered. "Well, whatever it is, it sure is –"

Zell heard a snap behind him and barely turned around in time to see Naruto coming up from behind him. To Zell's surprise the red chakra surrounding Naruto had grown claws that extended into sharp four prongs that were aimed to disembowel him. Zell bent his middle inwards as much as he could and sucked in his stomach, and thanked Hyne that he hadn't eaten too many hot dogs for breakfast as he narrowly avoided being sliced open. The tip of the red chakra caught his barrier and sheared through it like a hot knife in butter.

Using the temporary lag in the follow-up, Zell did a side sweep with his legs that knocked Naruto horizontal in the air.

"Sorry kiddo!" Zell said as splayed his palm out open in front of him. Ruby motes of energy hovered about the tips of his fingers before zipping together in a tiny seed as Zell brought forth a spell from within him. "Fira!"

An explosion of sudden fire sent Naruto flying backgrounds as the Fira spell struck him in the chest. He hit dirt and slid for several seconds before coming to a stop. Dust kicked up into the air as smoke sizzled from his body, but Zell could see that the Fira hadn't managed to penetrate the chakra shell that had so fully encased him.

He watched as Naruto picked himself up, or rather, the crimson chakra did. The chakra heaved downwards and slowly lifted Naruto without the ninja even needing to use his arms.

Gah! Zell thought. That's cheating!

"I see…" Zell whispered to himself. The Fira spell he had cast confirmed his suspicions. The energy about Naruto gave him a resistance to physical and magical abilities, if not outright immunity. The acidic chakra could boil away magic and who knows what it would do to his skin or body if it pierced through his natural magic resistance. But could Zell's magic, or even his skill at arms penetrate the red chakra? A level-two spell, a Fira hadn't worked, so something stronger would be needed…a level-three spell probably, which Zell didn't possess.

"Damnit!" Zell cursed at himself for being such inept magic user. He looked backwards and nearly called out to Quistis to hurry up. He shut himself up before a word could leak from his lips; Quistis was deep in concentration and a faint blue aura was growing around her. Pearls of sweat glistened from her brow as she struggled to contain the volatile blue energies. Estimating the time that had taken place so far, it had been only…three minutes!? Okay, he thought, this might get a little rougher than I thought. No more Mr. Nice Dincht!

"Naruto!" Zell called out. "I don't know if you can hear me or not, but you're about to receive an imminent Zell Dincht ass kicking surprise! I'll make sure Dr. Kadowaki gives you a nice n' soft bed to rest on!"

"Barrier!"

The translucent green shell that had been destroyed in several sections thrummed once, then an outpouring of energy flooded the spell and mended the openings. He reared back both his hands as sparks once again crackled alongside his skin and in thatinstant re-junctioned all his magic into his offensive capabilities. His muscles swelled with energy as the power of Quetzalcoatl enhanced his speed and strength. A good offense, he had learnt, was the best defense of all.

He thrust his hands forward at Naruto and the sparks that played along his body sizzled out in a white hot jet of lightning. "Thundara!" At the same time the spell flew out, Zell zipped forwards, pacing just behind the sparks of his spell.

Naruto had risen with feline reflex and smashed the bolt away with brute force. The lightning spell exploded in showers of sparks that illuminated the air in front of him – and through that smoke screen Zell broke through, his fist pulled back, and he punched Naruto straight in face.

But Naruto was quicker than he had expected, and pulled back so that Zell's fist grazed his skin. Using one he grabbed hold of Zell's fist in a steel grip and with his other pulled back for a strike.

Zell had expected this, and raised an arm in defense – but instead Naruto released his hand and in that spare second before Zell could react, hammered his fist through the unguarded spot and into Zell's chest.

The breath wheezed out of Zell's lungs as he landed on his back, bellowing out in agony – before whipping his legs around and flipping his body up to his feet. A deep ache shot through his chest and he coughed roughly, catching his breath. A feint! Zell thought in faint disbelief, but when he turned to Naruto, it wasn't the ingenuity of that move that caught his mind.

Naruto was trembling. It was slight, but Zell had trained as a SeeD, and he could see that Naruto's chest was rising and falling unevenly. He was in pain, Zell realized at that moment. And in those dilated fox-like pupils of his, Zell could detect just the smallest spark of consciousness…

He didn't have time to think more as Naruto roared in a voice that wasn't fully human, and rushed forwards, the pain evidently not hindering his impossibly quick movements.

Zell stood back and was readied himself to cast a restorative spell, then a spasm of pain shook his body senseless and he leaned over in a fit of coughs. He looked down at his chest, and where there hadn't been any before, was a liquid green energy laced with crimson chakra. His barrier had given in when Naruto had punched him, but instead of dissolving, the red chakra had consumed his, and was now eating away at his skin!

Hynedamnit! He thought. He must not have noticed it earlier because his innate magic resistance had briefly delayed the corrosion!

He looked up, and Naruto was already on him. He was bowled by the roaring red ninja, and barely had time to raise his hands in defense. Then Zell coughed again, but this time red blood came from his lips as Naruto punched Zell hard, once, twice, thrice –

Zell heaved upwards and bucked Naruto off him before he could do anymore damage. He placed both hands together and drew from his reservoir of energy. "Thundara!" Lightning crackled along his hands again and shot out. The bolt caught Naruto in the chest and sent him soaring backwards where he should have fallen on his back– instead, that red chakra turned him in mid-air and he landed, uninjured, on all fours.

"Thathurt!" Zell exclaimed as he staggered onto his feet. He took three, even breaths and lay his palm on his chest. "Cura." A gentle white aura emanated from his hand, seeking injuries and soaked into his body - but where there was red chakra, the healing spell was rejected. His body mended, but the red chakra still pained his chest, and in three knuckle-shaped areas along his stomach where it had melted his clothes and was boiling his skin.

"So…" Zell coughed out, "That red energy…can…prevent cure spells, huh? Well, to say this isn't going well would be an understatement. Ninjas, gotta love 'em."

Naruto stood where he was, growling.

Zell's left eye twitched, a habit of his when he was especially ticked off. "You know Naruto, this would have been so much easier on me and you if you had just stayed where you were. But nooo, you just had to go try and kill me. I like you, and I think you're a neat kid, and since you're Quistis' friend, that makes you my friend also. So trust me when I say this is going to hurt me much than it's going to hurt you."

Naruto didn't respond, Zell hadn't expected him to, but he had wanted to give a warning and he had hoped that Naruto, wherever he was under all the dark red energy, could hear him. He could see something happening to the red chakra around Naruto. It was deepening, rolling around and…changing? It was doing something, and Zell didn't plan on letting him do it, whatever it was, not when he had just a few more minutes left to go.

Zell lifted his finger and began to trace a sigil into the air. A trail of light followed the tip of his finger as he looped in the air. Naruto pounced forward again, right before he was about to topple Zell over again, the cadet disappeared, shuffled into a cross dimension.

From where Zell had been was a ball of lightning the size of a curled fist. Naruto eyed the object, not even blinking from its blinding light as it began to grow in size. And when he reached forward, curiously, to touch it, he was thrown a hundred feet backwards as an enormous feathered wing swept out and collided with him with the force of a gale.

Quetzalcoatl, Zell's summon, had answered his call.

Zell's Guardian force was a bird of immense proportions. Two wings, each twenty feet wide, spanned gloriously outwards, supported by a great current of wind that followed in the its wake. Feathers that were the hue of the rainbow reflected and even generated white light and covered the entire of its body. A proud humanoid torso thrust outwards and a sharp, beaked visage looked down with haughty disdain. The guardian force had no legs. Instead, its body curved down into the winged tail-feathers of an eagle.

Energies crackled along its body and electrons hummed within the air. Its shining feathers dazzled as arcs of electricity flared upon its body. It was lightning incarnate. And Quetzalcoatl looked down on Naruto.

A voice filled the air, one that bespoke of excitement and a haste nearly as fast as life, and Quetzalcoatl spoke three words that echoed in air like a thousand whispers.

It is You.

Naruto prepared to leap upwards, but Quetzalcoatl was the quicker.

Torrent upon torrent of white-hot energy sped up its body focusing into one singularity. It lashed out with that concentrated energy and dozens of rogue thundaga bolts laced the air. They were aimed for Naruto, and heated the atmosphere as he dodged with them uncanny reflexes. His claws extended, he reached for the guardian force – then a bolt of pure-white heat caught him in the chest and he was sent crashing like a meteorite into the ground. Dirt was kicked up and billowed from the ground in waves.

A lance of continuous solid lightning pinned him there, but unable to break through the red chakra, and Quetzalcoatl flapped its great wings once and ascended into the air, just below the reach of the protective dome.

More energy played up its surface, as magic was converted into more and more lightning. It fed that electricity into a quick-silver dome that formed around Naruto from the ground up.

Then, the air stilled for the briefest of moments as the dome completed itself.

The entire dome vanished into a singly point above Naruto, and all the power than had been gathered came pouring down on him at once in a streak of roaring, inexorable white thunder with Naruto at its epicenter. The ground shook and the earth split in the shape of a cross as the intensity of that bolt was great enough that it was given tangible mass.

Then it ended and Quetzalcoatl hovered above the ruin. It flapped its great wings once and a gust of wind blew forwards to scatter the floating debris.

The dust blew backwards – then, a red claw of chakra extended from the dissipating depths of the cloud of dirt. Quetzalcoatl flew back – but its movement was lagged from the expenditure of so much energy and the hand grasped the guardian force around the waist. Its keening screech of pain deafened all noises as cruel red chakra burnt into the entities skin.

Naruto bellowed as the last of the dust cloud drifted away to reveal his grasping hand stretched outwards. His pupils had narrowed more even more, and his face had become fierce, more feral.

Another red tail joined its twin alongside his back.

The guardian force flailed and struggled to extricate itself, but Naruto held fast. He reared his hand back and the guardian force was tossed around. Then Naruto flung Quetzalcoatl upwards with a force so hard that when it struck the containment field its body of energy nearly imploded on collision. The dome became visible as it struggled to prevent the energies from escaping, and flared back in response to the guardian force, searing its body with immeasurable heat. Thousands of blackened feathers filled the air as the guardian force's physical body died and it faded back into its dimension at its dissolution.

Then space shifted once again and Zell popped forwards, nearly tripping over his own feet. To him, not a single second had passed between when he had cast the summoning and reappeared.

Good, he thought. Naruto should be lying unconscious somewhere around here. With his magical ability and gauging the relatively strong defensivechakra, the offensive power of Quetzal should have been enough to pierce that red chakra without killing him…– and then he felt something wrong. His ability enhancing junctions, his spells, were all gone, or rather – he was unable to access them. And Quetzalcoatl who had always been a spark within his mind had disappeared, or faded away…

But, that meant that Quetzalcoatl would have had to be…!

Zell looked down, and what he saw frightened him. Naruto was right in front of him and stared back at with narrowed eyes. Gone was the shred of humanity that had been there. Now, there was nothing but darkness and hate and loathing and pure killing intent.

Zell prepared to leap backwards – too late.

Naruto bellowed – a deep, hollow sound that filled the entire training center, and a sphere of blackened red chakra erupted from him. It ate through his left-over barrier as if it weren't there and Zell was flattened against that horrible chakra like a fly against a window, then the sphere expanded again and threw him backwards with such force that on landing there were several audible crunches.

Zell was still breathing, though he was drained of strength. He couldn't move, could barely breath, and his voice was gone from him. If only he could reach down and take a potion, anything from his pocket…his eyes flew upward.

Though his sight was hazy, he could still see Naruto steadily approaching him…

Zell could only look as a mere foot away, Naruto stopped, then reached out for one final, killing blow…

Then he stopped in his tracks. Why had he stopped? Zell blinked hard. Had something within Naruto recognized him? No…it wasn't that…

Peering behind Naruto, Zell could see ruby-red energy leaking from the boy's body at unbelievable speeds. It was pulling Naruto backwards, and the ninja was forced to take a step back one at a time as a force pulled his guardian force, and him backwards.

Following the path of energy with his eyes, Zell saw that it led to a swirling blue vortex that had formed in front of Quistis. And then, from within his own body, he felt a weakened Quetzalcoatl un-junction and flow towards the blue mage in a thin, golden strand.

Just in time, Zell thought with a smile and a wash of relief. Though, I might have appreciated this more if she had finished a bit sooner…

Zabuza strode through the halls of Balamb with Haku following closely behind at his side. There was confusion all around them, and no one cared that one or two strangers had snuck in when there were Ruby Dragons, and soon to be T.Rexaur, Grats, and Granaldos on the rampage.

Very soon, Haku knew, one of the witch's minions, or several of them, would shut down the main power supply. This would disable the protective field that kept the T.Rexaur in their cage of steel, and these creatures would flock out in droves to attack the Ruby Dragons, along with whatever creatures this Garden kept that were now free to roam. Large portions of the Training Hall had already been blown apart by earlier explosives, and there were enough holes and monsters around to keep all of this…Balamb Garden…occupied.

As Zabuza strode the halls with supreme confidence, for he had long since committed the entire map of Balamb Garden to mind, a man in a blue uniform emblazoned with gold, a SeeD, called out to him.

"You! You there! All visitors are to evacuate to safety now!" He said.

Zabuza ignored the man and continued. The man, sensing something wrong, approached him.

"Stop! Identify yourself! Where is your badge of entry!" The man asked aloud with an air of superiority. His face flushed red with anger when Zabuza ignored him once again. "This is your last chance!" He reached out to grab Zabuza's shoulder and spin him around. "Identify yourself now or I will be forced to –!"

The man was flung backwards like a rag doll as something unseen jolted him from the ground and he landed on his back, unmoving. Zabuza continued, not even turning to look at what happened.

Perhaps, hours from now, if Balamb Garden was secure once again, someone would approach this man and notice there was a long needle, nine inches in length, had pierced him in the neck…

When Quistis opened her eyes, the devastation in front of her nearly caused her to lose a hold on her blue-spell. But she held on to it – she had worked far too hard to accidentally release it.

Her eyes scanned the field. There were deep furrows that went down to the steel foundation of the training center. Scorch marks ravaged the ground and thousands of burnt pieces of…feathers?..dusted the ground like so much trash.

Where were Zell and Naruto? Turning her head, she spotted them and her eyes widened at the sight – and then released her blue.

A snap crackled the air in front of her and then a tiny blue rip in space rent the air. It began to twist and twirl, becoming a vortex. It was a gateway to her soul, the chamber of her mind where all guardian forces reside. And it was a dangerous technique in that not only was she rooted to the ground until she dismissed the blue magic, but sometimes unwanted things would make their way in…

But there was no time for that. Naruto was stepping towards a fallen and injured Zell, and he somehow seemed different. That horrible redchakra, of some unknown entity that was absorbing Ifrit…it seemed to have strengthened somehow.

She grimaced. Zell was a gifted cadet, and though his magical and paramagical abilities were lacking, with the right training and experience he would grow into one of the finest SeeD's of Balamb Garden. And then, how had he been injured so when Zell even had Quetzalcoatl junctioned to him? And in a mere fifteen minutes?

And that was when Quistis realized with a quick intake of breath that those feathers that littered the ground were of the Guardian Force's. And that Quetzalcoatl, the Storm Herald, had been defeated by Naruto…or whatever it was that he had become.

The vortex's growth completed and it snapped open, spinning at a rate that Quistis knew to be of over three million rotations per second. Naruto stopped in mid-step, and Quistis could see the energy of Ifrit beginning to flow out of him. It was a weak, pale energy. Ifrit was near death, and probably with another ten, fifteen minutes; the Guardian force would have been distinguished completely. And to her continued shock, an even weaker trickle of golden energy came from Zell. The physical avatar of Quetzalcoatl must have been destroyed completely for something like that to happen!

The energy from Zell soon stopped its flux, and Quistis could feel the damaged aspect of Quetzalcoatl enter her mind. It would take at least a half a month for the guardian force to recover.

But, streams of energy continued to gush from Naruto. Quistis was puzzled. Something must be blocking Ifrit, something impeding his movement. But the blue magic was irresistible, and sooner or later the entire essence of Ifrit would leave Naruto and enter her.

Something was happening.

Naruto had been waiting outside those steel bars for a signal, for even the smallest sign! Anything! He had tried to make out the sounds from within the cage, but nothing but echoes of a great battle reached him, and he was left as clueless as ever. This was the first time he had been trapped for so long within himself…without knowing where to go, or what was happening, or if Quistis or Zell were somehow in danger because of him.

And then, the red mist began rise from the ground, and it gained a movement of its own, a form of something that seemed like sentience as it swelled and began gushing out. Not the kyuubi's chakra, Naruto noted. It was a lighter, ruby red that was extricating itself from the deep sanguine of the Kyuubi's.

It started slowly, within the mist only in the room escaping. And then, a minute later, a torrent of so much mist burst from the cage that Naruto had to brace or be knocked down like a tiny tree in the face of a hurricane and nearly gagged at the foul odor that came before covering his face.

He looked up, through the blinding red haze that was akin to a crimson sandstorm, and he saw that sections of the gate were disappearing. And they weren't coming back like before. Portions of that impenetrable steel gate were evaporating as if it had never been there, and deep from within the steel cage, a savage sound like drums rushed past him and was forced to squint his eyes as the storm increased in power. He saw from the corner of his eye something that resembled Ifrit, but torn and tattered and broken, rush past him.

And then, the storm faded, the wind died, and there was silence.

But from that silence came a throaty chuckle like claws on a chalkboard, one that brought to mind dark images of people being flattened and forest sized conflagrations. Naruto recognized that voice that so brimmed with malice and thoughts of destruction.

It was the Kyuubi.

Quistis closed the portal. It was simple She merely waved her hand and the vortex snapped shut before disappearing. She was right. Ifrit had eventually come to her call, and whatever it was that had blocked him hadn't stopped the guardian force from leaving Naruto. Now, she sensed the two spirits within her resting and partaking of her strong magic.

Naruto was lying in a heap on the floor. For some reason, the red chakra hadn't dissipated, yet, but she would worry about that later. There was a more important matter to tend to first. She ran over to Zell's side, and with a physician touch calmly stripped him of his cloth. He looked visibly relieved as Quistis cast a Full-Cure on him, one of the two she had in her arsenal. The powerful restoration spell mended his wounds and she winced as she heard various bones readjust. But some wounds didn't fully heal. There were dark red welts and patches of skin that were criss-crossed with red lines.

"What is this…?" She asked, peering closer to taking a look.

"Bleh." Zell muttered back. He was fully exhausted and it would take him a full day of rest and several platters of hot dogs before he felt like participating in any fighting at all, SeeD exam or not. "It was that red energy that surrounded Naruto." He grumbled. "Little bugger is tougher than thought he'd be. I wasn't planning on bringing out Quetz, but that red energy…it can eat away at spells and Naruto was at a fighting level nearly up to me, not to mention that I couldn't really touch him with anything I had…I tried to heal myself, but this red stuff eats away at healing magic too."

"And what happened to Quetzalcoatl?" Quistis asked.

"I don't really know. I summoned him because I was taking a chance that Quetz might just knock Naruto out without really hurting him, you know? Because that energy protects against spells and even blunts physical damage. I didn't have enough para-magical energy gathered to use my limit-break yet, so I summoned him, and then, when I came back Quetz was gone and Naruto was under me and…" Zell moaned as the memory of hitting that blackened red chakra shield came careening back to him. "Well, to say the least, it REALLY REALLY REALLY hurt."

Quistis sighed. "Perhaps it was unwise to junction Naruto so soon. Especially when it seems like he's keeping certain…secrets…from us."

Zell looked her in the eyes and dead-panned, "Ya' think."

She laughed. "Are you okay to move or should I call in the medics?"

"No need." Zell took a deep breath and flipped upwards. When he landed on his feet he took a sharp-intake of breath and felt the back of his spine. "Oh. That's going to hurt in the morning."

"Would you like me to request another mission time for you then? I'm sure Headmaster Cid would agree that the circumstances are unusual, to say the least." Quistis asked.

"Nah. I just need a bath and a bed and I'll be good as new tomorrow! That was a full-cure after all! I'm feeling practically good as new!" Zell smiled and began to shadow-box before he strained something then moaned. "Or not. Um. Quistis?"

"Yes?" She answered, still peering at the distinct wounds on his chest.

"You got Ifrit right?"

"Of course." Quistis mumbled. She poked the injury and Zell winced.

"Then why is Naruto still like that?" Zell asked with apprehension in his voice. "Is it supposed to stop?"

Quistis turned around, and she saw that the red chakra around Naruto had deepened once again. This time it began to become more solid, more tangible, more opaque, and Quistis could hardly make out his face beneath the swirling red energy about him. Behind him, extending into the air, were three tails of flowing crimson chakra. Naruto opened his mouth, and Quistis could see two long canine teeth curve down from his upper lip and something red and spherical developing between his jaws... -

"Blizzaga!"

A burst of mighty ice magic came hurtling from Quistis just as Naruto fired an enormous fireball. The dual forces of nature collided and wrestled with each other in a fiery battle. Quistis gasped. Her spell gave way and burst into shards as the fireball continued at them, considerably decreased in size but still large enough that preferred not to try stopping it with her hand, and since Zell didn't have a guardian force, he couldn't either. She grabbed Zell's shoulder and was about to tell him to run, before Zell raised up his hand and let loose.

"Blizzard!"

Another ice spell, weaker than Quistis's in both size and power by far, shot from Zell and plowed into the fireball before shattering. The flame shrunk again, and Quistis stopped. When it came close enough she reached out and cuffed the missile to the side where it hit the edge of the barrier surrounding the dome and dissipated.

"You can cast spells without a guardian force?" Quistis asked.

"Just first-level spells. And that was the first time in actual combat." He grinned.

"Well thanks. And, we're getting out of here." Quistis said, then took hold of Zell's shoulder and pushed towards the edge of the containment barrier. They were already close to the edge, so in a few steps they stepped through without obtrusion. Behind them, Naruto pounced at them, and Quistis and Zell both turned and took up a defensive stance, ready to blast Naruto with another wave of magic. But the ninja crashed into the shield and went rebounding back, smoking. The containment field flared for a brief moment as it channeled enough energy to hold back Naruto.

"Good, I thought that would work." Quistis nodded, more to affirm to herself that it would hold than anything else.

"Whoa!" Zell breathed out. "Naruto crossed the recognization threshold for quasi-magical beings?!"

"Seems like it. I suspected as much. The containment field isn't barring Naruto from leaving. Rather it's identifying that red energy and holding that back…but even I don't know how long it will last. I'm going to enlist a SeeD squadron to come down here and immobilize Naruto. Cid's personal squadron of course. I don't want this spilling out to the instructors…"

"What about me?" Zell pointed to himself and put on a plaintive doe-eyed look.

"Yes, Zell, you can go rest - " Quistis began, and then everything tumbled into chaos as the artificial lighting of the Training center shut down and plunged them into darkness. A brief moment passed, and then the emergency back-up generator came to life and the training center was filled with a parody of the light that used to be there. Just enough for cadets and SeeDs to make their way back out of the training center without getting lost…

"What's going on!?" Zell cried out, looking around like a frazzled puppy.

"I don't know. Stop moving! I need to think!" Quistis bit her lip. The Balamb Garden generator was maintained by a panel of technicians. To her knowledge, it had only ever gone down once, and that was over ten years ago before the Oversight Panel for Protection and Maintenance of Energy was established to safeguard the generator. But it wasn't that which Quistis was worrying about, it was the silent hum that signaled the deactivation of the containment field…

The Garden interface speaker crackled to life, and the gentle voice of Headmaster Cid spoke. His voice was calm, and like usual, instilled a measure of safety and confidence in those who knew him, but the words were far, far from comforting.

"Attention all faculty, cadets, SeeD, and visitors. There is an emergency in Balamb Garden. Code Omega-six-six. I repeat, Code Omega-six-six."

The speaker went silent for a moment as Cid covered the mic and seemed to be arguing with someone in the background.

"Code Omega-six-six." Zell asked out loud. What was that for? He had never really memorized all the various school codes. He nearly squealed out when Quistis fingernails bit into his shoulder. "Hey, watch it!"

Quistis shook her head and released him. "Oh, sorry Zell…Code Omega-six-six, it's the first time I've heard it…It means that Balamb Garden is under a level-two invasion. I think. A level two-invasion. Not a full-scale invasion, but this isn't good anyway it goes."

"Wha-! Why now! Who would attack a Garden! We have alliances and non-aggression treaties with every major nation!" Zell muttered in disbelief.

"I don't know. I honestly, don't know. Let's wait for Cid to continue." Quistis suggested. Zell nodded.

When Headmaster Cid's voice came back on the speaker, he was considerably more agitated, and it showed in his voice, though he tried not to.

"All SeeD's and cadet's above fifth level are to report to the main hall. Effective immediately."

"All faculty and visitors are to take shelter in classrooms or the dorms. Cadets below fifth level are to escort faculty and visitors to safety and safeguard them as the proper authorities deal with the situation at hand. Under no circumstances should anyone without fighting capabilities enter the library, cafeteria, main hall, any of the auditoriums, or to exit into the immediate surroundings of Balamb Garden unless instructed otherwise. I repeat; those without fighting capabilities are not to enter any wide, open spaces. Once again, all SeeD's and cadets above fifth level are to immediately report to the main hall."

The instructions were repeated several times. There was a click, and the interface closed down.

"What now?" Zell asked.

Quistis tapped her feet against the ground. "Zell, I want you to look for Squall, and if possible, Seifer, and bring them both here. They're both level-seven cadets, so they should be in the Main Hall."

"And you?" Zell asked, but he knew what she would say before her lips parted. "You're staying here aren't you?"

"Yes. The barrier dome has collapsed, and the back-up generator doesn't have enough power to reactivate it to any extent. I'll stay here and make sure Naruto doesn't escape the Training Hall." Seeing the look of worry on Zell's baby-boy face, she sighed. "Don't worry, I'm a SeeD, Zell, I know what I'm doing."

"But…"

"Just go! You're wasting time!" Quistis rebuked.

With one last glance backwards, Zell stumbled through the canopy and began running towards the exit.

Fire. Burning. Heat.

To Naruto, those were the only sensations that existed in his world. He was in the midst of an inferno. A flame that could be neither extinguished nor lessened. It burned without end, did not need sustenance, but still turned everything in its path to smoldering ash. It did not discriminate. It ate everything.

Indescribable pain racked his body as he was lifted into the air. These flames controlled him, holding him, shackling him better than any man-made cuffs ever could. It was an unnatural fire that moaned with hate as heavy as guilt and chakra dark as sin.

At the edge of his perception where he was able to gather the barest of thoughts, he could see the flickering iron poles that were the Kyuubi's prison slowly fading, and hear heavy footsteps reverberating, coming ever closer. One step at a time.

Thump…thump…thump…

And he knew, without a doubt, that when those footsteps where at his doorstep, he would be devoured.

Devoured by the Kyuubi.

Quistis turned just as Zell left the clearing, disappearing into the trees. For a brief moment, knowing that she was alone, all reason left her.

What would she do? What should she do? What could she do? Years of SeeD training and months of being an Instructor kicked in like a rocket engine and she shook her head, tussled blond hair flying haphazardly in all directions. This was no time to hesitate.

She turned her attention back to Naruto. The ninja boy was now rolling around on the ground wildly, in pain, as if he were being burnt alive and was futilely trying to flatten the flames. He pulled at his clothes with abandon, and ripped off his clothes, tossing the singed garments out.

What had happened? She wondered. What had gone wrong? Ifrit had been un-junctioned, but Naruto still leaked that energy. Was that Ifrit's energy?

But something was off. She cast a small scan and focused on the energy, sorting through it with a scholar's eyes, and blinked.

No. It wasn't Ifrit's power. It was similar; there were fire-inherent properties, but she could feel that this was fundamentally different. It was as if the energy could sense her, as if it were living being in and of itself. Normally when viewed through a energy sensing magic such as scan, energy formed a cloud around a person as the body naturally radiated tiny increments at all times. But this energy undulated with a rhythm that belied a cunning intelligence. It was as if it was a being…a powerful one, and she sensed, a malevolent one.

It was possible of course…she knew that Guardian Forces were sentient bodies of physical magic, and some had dangerous personalities, but she had never heard or seen any case of a Guardian Force taking over a host. Junctioning could occur if a Guardian Force was attached to a human, but even then that was only a shadow of its true power, as the Guardian Force merely gave away some of its vast energy to its host and could be summoned in times of need. Anything more would destroy the host, as normal human bodies were incapable of fully absorbing the amount of power that a Guardian Force contained. Even Trabia Garden had barely delved into this topic of research…

Her eyes widened. Was this what Ifrit warned about back during the exam? Was this the reason for his aggression?

As if on cue, Naruto's back snapped up like an arch, and he let loose a blood curdling scream. A veal of dark flame crept over his eyes. Crimson orbs caught Quistis' and she stepped back and nearly tripped on her heels.

A SeeD was schooled in several subjects. Chief among them and the ones most emphasized were combat strategy, psychology, diplomacy, magic theorem, spy tactics, hand-to-hand combat, and weapons training. They were taught to analyze a situation and act accordingly. Fear could save you, but overwhelming fear was dangerous; it clouded judgment and made the mind hazy. It had been the first emotion that a SeeD was taught to suppress.

Looking at those blood-shot eyes that narrowed at her, she understood that all that, but her knees still shook. This feeling couldn't fade. Those eyes that seemed as if they would drag her into perdition. She laughed and steadied herself. Was she scared of Naruto? She, who had been the youngest in Garden history to achieve the status of SeeD? She, who had participated in dozens of missions and faced down even more monsters?

Reasoning and sense had left Naruto, and all that was left was mere bloodlust and rage. No more bargaining, no persuasion, only the siren call of battle.

In one smooth movement she withdrew her whip. The dragon-leather weapon slithered on the ground in anticipation. She knew from years of participating in life or death SeeD missions that all lessons became irrelevant in battle.

There was nothing but survival, and the mission.

But what was her mission now? To protect Naruto? From what? From himself?

How to do that? How to tame a beast whose mere touch could incinerate you? Knock him out? Incapacitate him?

She needed an idea, and she needed it soon.

Because with a roar Naruto's eyes dilated once more, and he leapt towards her, claws extended.

Zell sped towards the exit, cutting through shrub and trees with lightning speed. A minute later, he saw the light of the exit and game himself another boost.

Just as he burst through the exit gates, he nearly missed the group of cadets before the Training Center entrance, before digging his heels into hallway carpet. The force of the stop snapped him forwards and sent him tumbling flat on his face but luckily avoiding the surprised cadets.

"Ugh…" Zell moaned, his face flushed with pink from the embarrassment, and held out his arm. "Can I get some help here?"

One of the cadets stepped forwards. He wore casual clothes that were covered in sulphorous green muck. Short brown hair framed a pair of wary eyes. He took Zell's hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Who are you?" The man asked.

"Zell Dincht. Cadet no. 41084. Rank six." Zell held out his hand and the other man shook it. "What's the situation?"

"Nida. Rank three." Nida said, deferring to the higher ranked Cadet, and waved towards the other cadets that huddled behind him. Zell saw that they were children and a few teenagers. There were probably some that hadn't even taken up a weapon before. "Everyone else here is rank zero. They were in the library studying when the alarm went off. I'm escorting them to the dorms, where the other cadets are."

Zell plugged his nose. "Why are you covered in goo?"

Nida grimaced and held up his hands in mock disgust. "Grats. Too many too count."

"Grats?" Zell echoed, furrowing his eyebrows. "What are Grats doing outside of the Training Center?" Grats were supposed to be contained in the training center. Even if they wanted to get out, there was only one exit, and there was also the energy shield…well, he thought, remembering the flashing red lights in the Training Center, no more energy shield, but still…

"Someone's disabled the defenses that keep the Grats in. It was probably a mole. Not only that, but they've also managed to plant explosive devices around Garden. The Training Center has more holes than Swiss cheese right now." Nida pointed at the green muck on his chest. "I ran into some Grats on the way from the library as I was escorting these cadets to the Safe Zone. Unfortunately, rank zero cadets aren't trained in combat yet, and I didn't have my weapons with me so I had to use hand-to-hand."

"Ah." Zell said. Well, that explained the stench of rotten eggs. It had been a good year of two since Zell had been splattered by Grat blood, thinking back, it had been around the time he had acquired Quetzalcoatl and the use of magic abilities. Grats were monsters that were a hybrid a flower bulb and Venus flytraps, and were larger than a mastiff. Only requiring water, some minerals, and sunlight, the creatures were the perfect training tool for beginning Cadets. The abominations walked by using some of its dozen tentacles as feet. They were fairly easy; the creatures were bred to have no teeth or claws. The stalks could hurt, but they were individually were considered a joke by SeeD soldiers. But it was different when they were in groups. Grat vines had paralyzing properties, and a cadet could quickly be overwhelmed if number didn't favor them. Not only that, but they had the disgusting tendency to explode in a shower of slimy decay after dying. Zell always thought that it was the Grat giving a last 'fuck you' before dying. It was one of the few aspects that hadn't yet been successfully bred out of the original specimens, and there were few ways to prevent it from exploding.

A well-aimed thundara could bring one down and neutralize the inbuilt explode-after-death instinct that Grat's had.

"Are there any enemy units?"

"No. That's what's strange. You'd think for all this there would be an army or something headed our way…but there's nothing. Nothing yet, at least."

"Anyways, I have to get going. They need reinforcements at the infirmary from the Grats. Those things can't resist the scent of the injured after all."

"Alright, cadet." Zell gave Nida a clap on the shoulder, then grunted in dismay as his palm came back sticky with ooze. Just as he was about to turn away, Zell remembered what he was here for, and turned back, and called out for Nida, barely catching the man as he was escorting the group of kids down the corridor.

"Yes?"

"Have you seen Squall? Squall Leonheart. You might not know him but he has brown hair. A scar down one side of the face. Kinda moody. Likes leather." Zell sucked in his cheeks and tried his best imitation of Squall scowling in his usual leaned back pose. The result was not pretty, and of the younger cadets giggled. He sighed. Maybe it just wasn't something he could do.

"Squall?" Nida repeated, turning his head up for a moment. "I know Leonheart. He bumped into me at the library. He was a level six cadet?"

"Seven." Zell clarified.

"Ah. I remember. I think he was headed for the cafeteria. There was something big going on down there that they needed more support. I was ordered not to go since I'm only rank three, but Squall might be there. But watch out, hall leading to the cafeteria is infested with Grats right now. You'd want to pass through a different route to reach there, or it would take you hours to get through all those beasts."

Zell grinned, and began running down the opposite corridor. "Thanks a bunch, Nida!"

"You're welcome." Nida said, then disappeared down the hallway, kids in tow.

The cafeteria was ruined. Scorch marks and broken tables and chairs were strewn about like so much wind blown trash trash. Worse than that though, was the smelly goo that covered every other inch of the once pristine lunch-room. Three dozen Cadets and half the number of SeeD were clearing the cafeteria of Grats and other small beasts that had escaped from the Training Center and had been lured by the smell of fresh food. Most of the Cadets and SeeD had been busy leading the guests that had been in the cafeteria and those that couldn't fight away; some back to the dormitories, some to the infirmary, and some back Balamb city.

Among those cadets that still remained in the cafeteria were two gunblade wielders.

Squall cut forwards with his gunblade held horizontal to the floor. One. Two. Three! He hopped forwards as a green blur whistled underneath him, then somersaulted in the air. A forest of hungry vine tentacles splattered below. He landed right behind the three Grats, swiveled around, and his blade passed through the Grats at once.

The creatures paused for a moment, stunned. Then the top half of their bulbous bodies slowly slid to the floor in a pile of dewy ooze. Besides him, a man with slicked back white-blonde hair smirked. He wore a gray trench coat with a crimson cross etched on the back, carried a gunblade that was dangled lazily from one gloved hand. He had cruel, taunting eyes that were sparkled like shards of ice. A fresh scar, faded by magic, ran down the side of his face, opposite the side on which Squall had his.

"Squally-boy." He began, waving his index finger perniciously. "That took you longer than expected." The man laughed. Behind him were the corpses of a dozen Grats, slain in a more wild fashion, but with similar results.

Squall turned. "Seifer!"

Seifer sighed, and lifted his hand. A tentacle slapped around his wrist, and he grasped it. Digging his feet into the floor, Seifer leaned back and pulled. The tentacle, along with the Grat attached to it, came soaring forwards.

"Thundara!" Seifer bellowed, and a bolt of hot, white lightning shuttered forth from his palm, smashing the Grat away, the force snapping the tentacle like a taut rope. The Grat at the end continued until it smashed into the wall, and sticky juices sprayed a nearby Cadet who was fending off another Grat with a pair of daggers.

Seifer laughed.

"Nowthat's funny." He commented.

"…Humorous. I'm sure." Squall muttered, seeing that some of the Grat juices had partially blinded the Cadet. He held up one hand, muttered a word, and another lance of lightning shot out, spearing the Grat the Cadet was fighting. Seeing that the Grat had been disabled, the Cadet began wiping as much of the smelly juices off his face, while glaring at Seifer.

"That's most of the Grats in the cafeteria." Seifer said, looking around the cafeteria. There were still a few battles about, but nothing that Balamb Garden trained Cadets or SeeD couldn't handle. "Now, what was it you wanted to say?"

Squall bit his lip. He hated asking for favors, especially from Seifer.Especiallyfrom Seifer. "Something's happening to Quistis."

"Why don't you go alone then? I swear to Hyne if you expect me to change your diaper or some shit, I'm not going to."

Squall grit his teeth. This man was infuriating! There was no way that he was going to admit that he might need some help. The idiot would hang it over his head for the rest of his life! And beyond that!

Seifer paused for a minute, and then grunted. He knew that Squall wasn't one for words. It was better to fill those words in for him. "And you think this has something to do with Quistis?" Seifer said, motioning to the remains of the Grats around him.

"Yes." Squall replied.

Seifer's eye twitched. "That's nice. Well, Squally-boy, if you're not going say anything more, I think I'll be headed for the terrace where the SeeD and T-Rexaur are." As he was turning, Squall's voice stopped him. He smirked. Squall was too predictable.

"The young boy that was brought here a few days ago."

Seifer rubbed his chin. The little blonde boy? He knew that he was here, of course. He was the leader of the disciplinary committee after all, and nothing that happened in Garden escaped his notice, but he had been busy with other matters to give the kid an interrogation welcome ceremony…

"What's he got to do with anything?"

"He's…special. During the field exam, he displayed a range of blue-level abilities I haven't seen before." Squall continued, explaining what happened at the Ifrit's cavern, and how Naruto had turned into a clone and had used some paramagical melee attack to defeat the Guardian force. As he was spoke, Seifer listened intently, tapping a shoe on the cafeteria floor.

"...I guess you can call it a hunch." Squall finished at last. He looked up at Seifer, who was looking down at him with a mixture of hestition and barely accepting belief.

"So you want to go on a ghost chase for a hunch? That's not like you at all, Squally." Seifer smirked. It was very unlike the chilly Cadet at all. Squall was a very methodical man, Seifer knew, and it reflected in every aspect of his life, to the way he organized to the way he spoke to the way he fought, he was definitely a type-A personality. Of course, that meant that Squall really did think something was happening, and if so…

Squall spoke again, noticing Seifer's hesitation. "It won't be a goose chase. I know where they are."

Seifer perked up. "Where are they?"

"The Training Center. Zell told me today he was training with his new roommate. I suspect, Naruto."

"Zell? That chicken wuss? This kid must be nothing great if he's training with Zell." Seifer laughed. "All he cares about is hot dogs and manga. But," Seifer said, "It won't be much trouble to go with you."

Squall turned back and shouldered his gunblade. "Let's go."

Seifer scowled. Fucking prick. "Lead the way." He said.

Then the ground shook, tossing the two to a heap in the floor, and T-Rexaur broke through the windows of the cafeteria, closely followed by a Ruby Dragon.

The infirmary was in chaos. Not from fighting, because it would take more than some monsters to get through the twenty SeeD that had assigned to guard the infirmary, but instead the heavy influx of wounded.

Cadets and SeeD that had been paralyzed by the Grat poison and had no antidotes on hand were being sent in by the handful, and the ones that were in more dangerous situation, being mauled by T-Rexaur or a Ruby dragon, had to be treated with curative magic immediately.

This of course was children's play for Dr. Kadowaki, who had made her name famous by operating during the Galbadian-Esther conflict so many years, except that it was compounded by the fact that there were hundreds of Cadets and guests of Garden that were shoved in the infirmary with her. Nurses and other doctors shuffled around tending to the wounded. She could barely make a step without pushing into someone else!

"Move aside!" Dr. Kadowaki screamed at last, and bullied the Cadets in front of her to run away. She reached down and looked at the newest patient. Reaching down, she lifted up the Cadets shirt, exposing a brutal wound that had sliced through tendons and muscles. She would need to heal this quickly. And a mere potion wouldn't work either. Damn the Garden medical budget! She had exhausted all the hi-potions earlier this week and a new shipment wouldn't arrive until tomorrow! She would need magic for this. Now. The longer wounds like this lasted, or were exposed to bacteria, the harder it was for weaker magic to heal it.

"Xu! I need you for a moment?" Dr. Kadowaki called out. A young girl with long brown hair and almond eyes extracted herself from the SeeD force and came to Kadowaki's side.

"Yes?"

"What's your curative magic stock right now?" She asked.

Xu closed her eyes for a moment, and assessed the magic within her. "Fifteen cures, five cura's, and two curaga's. I also have three regeneration magic spells and a single resurrection spell if you need it."

"No full-heals?"

"No."

"Very well. Cast a curaga on this man here, then cast a regen." Kadowaki instructed. Xu complied, and a pearly white light tinged with green spun into the man, searching for injuries. Flesh knit together as the vicious wound closed. Then another shock of green tinged magic faded into the wound, and the color began to slowly turn from black.

"Thank you. Now, come closer." Kadowaki ordered. Xu stepped forward. "You're the assistant to headmaster Cid, aren't you? I want you to tell me what this wound came from.

Xu peered at the wound. It was healing, but she had been trained to be a field medical SeeD, and she could tell that whatever inflicted the cut, and it was a cut, was a long weapon, most likely a sword. It had cleanly severed the skin and flesh in one sweeping stroke.

"Do you see?"

She grimaced. "As I thought. Hey," She called out. "Where did this man come from?"

A Cadet rose up. "He was from the energy security division, ma'am. He was found injured as the sector was being evacuated from the explosion."

Xu nodded in thanks and the Cadet sat back down. "I see now. That's how the energy supply was deactivated. There is a mole after all. And as he was escaping, this SeeD caught him, but he managed to escape by wounding him. I'll have to inform the headmaster of this later. Improvements to security need to be made."

Dr. Kadowaki sighed as another man stumbled in with a Grat tentacle wrapped around his neck, and motioned the man to stand in line where one of her assistants could help him. She looked to Xu again. "But what could they want?"

"They aren't an attack force or army for sure. Just some Ruby Dragons and espionage won't bring down Balamb Garden. They sure chose a helluva time though." Xu commented. It was a smart choice to attack during the daytime when so many SeeD were away on missions, especially now that there was a conflict in the Dollet Kingdom.

"Cid talked to me about this before I came here. He thinks that it's a distraction, but he wouldn't elaborate."

"Distraction?" Kadowaki echoed.

"Think about it. Why else waste so much effort planning an attack on Garden when it will ultimately have no effect. There haven't been any reported deaths. No, whoever did this wants something, and they're probably in Garden at this moment."

"What could they want?"

"…Tell me, Dr. Kadowaki, has anything happened recently?" Xu asked.

"Now that you mention it…" Dr. Kadowaki muttered, "There are those two boys that were recovered…"

Xu nodded. She had seen one of the boys earlier today in the cafeteria while it was breakfast. Blond and jumpy, she had wondered what he was doing here at Garden. However, it was the Headmasters orders that brought him here, and she knew better than to interfere with Cid's business. But wait; there was only one boy she had seen, where was the other one…?

"What about the second boy. Where's the other one?" She asked at last, turning to face Kadowaki.

"Neji? He should be in his room. I've kept it locked because Cid asked me to, but I can bring you to him if you want to see."

"Yes. Please bring me."

Kadowaki sighed and led Xu to the room, pushing her way through Cadets and SeeD alike to make a path. "He's in a magic-induced coma right now, so I can't estimate when he'll wake up. Once his body has purged the contaminent from his body, he should wake soon after. When, I do not know." She turned one last time, until she came to the end of the infirmary hall.

"He should be in here." She said as she pulled out a card from her vest pocket and slid it through the sensor. The door slid open with afwooshand the two stepped through.

And on the bed, where Neji was supposed to be, was nothing but a pillow and blanket. And to the side of the room where the sunlight had streamed in, was a billowing curtain and a shattered window. Glass shards littered the floor inside of the room. Someone had broken in.

"Blizzaga!"

Quistis held her arms together and wave of swirling frost erupted from her hands. The cold could freeze monsters and humans alike, but it merely brushed against the red blue of chakra that was Naruto, and sloughed off like water on oil.

He lunged for her.

Shit!

Quistis stepped backwards and extended her whip. With a flick of hands, the leather whip flashed outwards and wrapped around Naruto's waist. Using Naruto's force and herself as a center, she grasped the whip with both hands and flung Naruto like a blazing comet.

He crashed in the floor away from her, before effortlessly rebounding.

Quistis felt a drop of sweat roll down her cheek. It had only been around ten minutes, but in that short time she had learnt everything she had needed to. Ice, Lightning, Fire, Water, dozens of spells and none of these were effective. Not just elemental magic, but status spell, time magic, residual magic, nothing worked, or rather, it was unable to penetrate the crimson aura of chakra. She glanced at the ground and saw that her whip had been eaten away by the chakra. Gah! And there went her favorite whip.

She smiled. This wasn't over yet. Brown sparks of energy crackled in the palms of her hand and raced up her body like a lightning rod in a thunder storm. Even if pure elemental magic wouldn't work, it was only one of the several types.

Naruto raced forward again, his body straining to catch her.

Quistis pointed her hand at the floor and a stream of earth-colored energy shot into the floor. It was silent for a moment, then an outcry as Naruto's feet slipped into the liquid ground. He clawed at the ground, but the more he moved the more the mud sucked him in. Another second and he was waste deep. Then the ground solidified.

Naruto scowled and drops of chakra fell onto the ground with a sizzling sound. He raised his arm, as if reaching into the air.

Quistis stepped back cautiously. What was he doing now?

She fell into a coughing fit and nearly tripped on a rock as she was walked backwards. She smiled dazedly. It seemed the use of so much magic was taking its toll in such a short amount of time. Mental note to self: Magic Stamina needs to be trained.

Her eye's shot open. Naruto threw down his arm and red chakra in the shape of a claw flew from his body.

It nearly caught Quistis, but entangled around her raised reflect spell. She held her arms out, and the magic sizzled as the chakra ate away at the shimmering blue shell.

With visible effort, Quistis pushed her arms out and spoke a single word. The reflect shield dissipated and the energy imploded, sending the red chakra backwards. In that time, Quistis twisted and flipped herself into the air.

"Thundaga!" A lance of pure gold thrust from her hand at Naruto three times. The streaks of light collided with him in an explosion of fireworks. He scowled and shrug the magic off like a fleabite.

The claw reached out again and grasped the base of a giant tree. Then, with a roar, the floor shook and Naruto pulled out from the ground, and came soaring out the ground.

Quistis gasped. She wouldn't be able to dodge in time! It would be a direct collision! She held her arms out and cast a series of spells. Green, white, and blue threads of light burst from her body. Her blue wrapped around her in a glistening halo.

They collided.

Squall pushed Seifer away just as the T-Rexaur stampeded over them, frothing at the jaws. Its tiny eyes were dilated, and it snapped its rows of teeth like a chattering rat. The ruby dragon was smaller. Rather than the gravity-bound T-Rexaur, the ruby dragon was a long, serpentine creature with powerful forearms and a set of wings that allowed it to fly for short periods of time.

Using those wings, it flung itself upwards and onto the T-Rexaurs back, and latched onto the creatures neck with it's maw. The two mammoth beasts tussled some more as SeeD and Cadets looked on in shock and awe. They crashed into the stands and rolled into a column, breaking it.

Then without warning, a pair of ruby dragon crashed into the cafeteria from above. Mammoth wings crumpled as the beasts leapt onto the T-Rexaur.

A tail lashed out and caught a cadet in the stomach. Bones cracked, and the man flew backwards. A SeeD sprung upwards and caught him just before he hit the wall.

The other SeeD began to distance themselves. Some drew weapons, and others let magical energy pool in their hands. They couldn't let these beasts fight in Garden any longer. The damage was severe enough that even in just the cafeteria it possibly the infrastructure.

"Well look what Hyne sent us…" Seifer whispered. He watched with muted delight as the ruby dragons tore ribbons of flesh from the T-Rexaur. "We'll need to help clear this up before we can go, Squall."

Squall glanced around the cafeteria. Most of the SeeD members were injured; and Squall doubted even if a platoon of cadets could handle something like this. And of everyone here he was the only was who was junctioned with a guardian force. "You go. I'll stay."

Seifer scowled. "If you think I'm a fucking pussy and can't handle a few dragons, then you'd better-"

"I don't. I just…feel...uneasy about this." Squall said as he looked down and swung his gunblade a few times. He cast a protect on himself and a thin green bubble encapsulated him. "Just go, Seifer."

Seifer frowned. What's up with these hunches anyways? Little bitch. He would much rather stay, but he had a feeling too…that whoever was doing this was going to be where Quistis was. He smirked his trademark devlish grin. There would be honor and rewards galore if he caught whoever did this. Probably even a promotion to SeeD! Well, fine then, if Squall insisted so much, then he'd go.

Seifer turned, and vanished.

The passageway was one of Garden's many secrets, one of the dozens, if not hundreds, of unmapped entrances when the Balamb Garden was created by transferring one of the relics of the ancient civilization.

Dank, dark, illuminated only by traces of light that streamed the cracks in the concrete wall, it smelled of old moss, and constantly had an annoying drip sound in the background, it traced from just near the entrance of the Training center. The route entered through a small vent in one of the janitor's closet and into the lower levels cutting directly to the cafeteria where it exited out into the open courtyard. Only a bare few, two or three students at most that had been either brave or bored enough, knew the route; it was a good destination to hide when one was skipping class, and students never wanted to share there little secrets.

Zell raced through, as fast as he could, his knees nearly giving out from the strain he was placing on them. Out of magic, out of stamina, nearly out of willpower, that last thing that he wanted to do was encounter a Grat and be paralyzed. No, it was safest if he took this route that he had used for so many years to run away from Seifer and his self-appointed goons.

To his surprise, in the dark he bumped into someone. It was like hitting a solid wall, and Zell was knocked backwards as the wind escaped him. He scrabbled to onto his feet, wondering if a Grat or something worse had managed to make its way down here.

Zell saw two silhouettes, one tall and one short, and recognized them as generally human "Holy shit!" Zell gasped. He laughed in relief. Nope, not Grats. "You two scared the daylights of me. You almost gave me a heart attack!"

The tall man stepped forward. A beam of light scattered upon his face, tracing the contours of two narrow eyes that gazed down on him with emotion akin to apathy. He had ashen skin the color of a shark that had forsaken the light, and loose bandages concealed the lower half of his face like a shawl. Zell's eyes caught on a something large that extended from the back. It was the spark of light reflecting on metal. A sword. He realized with a gulp. A big sword.

This wasn't anyone from Garden, or from Balamb City.

"….You…" Zell whispered, taking small steps backwards. There was something about this man, something primal and indescribable that triggered an instinct to flee. "Who are you…?" Zell grinned nervously.

The man was silent for a moment as he scrutinized Zell.

He spoke. "Haku."

The other man stepped forwards and Zell saw that the man wasn't really a man, but rather a young boy, or…was it a girl, in a loose robe that fell down from the shoulders and was bunched at the knees. His hair was tied backwards into a bun, held it in place by two thin needles.

"Yes, Zabuza-san?" The boy, Haku, asked.

"This boy." Zell's eye's twitched at the word boy. He. Was. Not. A. Boy! "Can you sense it?"

Haku nodded. "Yes. The presence of the Kyuubi is strong. Recent. He might know where he is."

Zell blinked, then gasped as a flash from the corner of his eyes caught him by the collar.

"W-wait! Hey!"

Zabuza held him up with a single arm and shoved him into the nearby wall. Zell bucked, but his arms felt heavy as lead and his weak kicks felt as if they were striking orihalcon.

"W-what do you want?!" Zell coughed and managed to articulate a few words through the chocobos and stars that were passing by his vision like a merry go round. "You can't strike a cadet! This is a heavy offense ya' know!"

"Boy." Zabuza ordered, catching Zell's frantic gaze, and suddenly he was quiet. "Tell me where the Kyuubi is."

Zell appeared perplexed. "Kyuu…bi?" He echoed.

"The nine-tailed demon. Where is it? Where is the boy?" The man asked again. His arm pushed forward and Zell hit the back of the wall again much harder. He winced as a rib cracked.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Zell voiced and began kicking again.

Zabuza leaned forwards and his words dripped with promises of pain if he would even think of lying. "You smell of it…this disgustingchakra…I've felt it before. Where is it?"

"W-wha…huh?" Zell could only remember one energy signature that made his stomach turn and nearly spilt out Naruto's name before shutting him mouth. If this was true, then he really couldn't let this man know where Naruto was!

Haku, who had been standing idly besides, withdrew something from robes. Zell squinted at it in the dim light and he nearly choked when he saw it was a needle. He hated needles!

"Zabuza-san. Allow me to question him."

"…Hn. Very well."

Zell was thrown to the floor. He scrambled away, only to be stopped by a brutal kick to the sternum. He tasted blood.

Haku knelt down, and Zell felt a cool hand pressing down on his shoulder. A soothing coolness flowed into him. Pain left his body, and he almost tumbled over peaceful bliss if not for the soft hand that supported him. Isthis healing magic? He thought.

The boy leant forward until his lips were a bare inch from his ears.

"You know Naruto-kun, don't you?" Haku whispered.

Naruto? Yah, he knew him alright. He was even his new room mate! Zell nodded.

"Then you must help me find him. I wasn't the only one that felt it – an surge of unnatural chakra. Naruto-kun is in danger right now, isn't he?"

Zell paused for a moment. Where was Naruto anyways? He remembered something vaguely about fighting just a moment ago, but the memory was blurry. Fox…Naruto…fox…red chakra that hurt like a bitch…was he in danger? Zell giggled and shrug his shoulders. "I think…I think I was fighting him awhile ago…something red and big and not fun at all."

Haku smiled. That was as good as any confession. "Then lead me to him. I can save him. Let me help you."

There was something strange about this boy, Zell suddenly thought. The idea crept into his mind from nowhere. He had never met this boy before, but it was if he had known him his entire life. There was a feeling of closeness, of bonding; he wanted to trust him…they were friends, weren't they? And it felt so good right now, to just lie down and sleep…

No.

Quistis had said something, hadn't she? He strained his mind. What was it that she had said…Squall and Seifer? Squall and Seifer. Squall and Seifer. Find Squall and Seifer! His eyes snapped open. There was an attack on Balamb right now! This assault on Balamb…these two could have been part of it! His eyes swept to Zabuza, who was standing by, and then to the sword strapped to his back. No, this definitely wasn't normal! This wasn't normal at all! Friends?! He didn't even know these two! There wasn't any way he could bring these two to Quistis. She needed help, and the cafeteria was just a little farther ahead! If he could just get there…

He shook his head.

Haku's kind eyes fell on him. So this was his choice, was it? It appeared that the genjutsu wasn't as effective as he had hoped. The mental resistance of this one was strong indeed.

"A regretful decision." He whispered.

And a thin needle pierced Zell's neck.

When Seifer reached the Training Center, it took all of half a second to spot which direction that Quistis, and the little blond boy, Naruto, were most likely in. Besides the Grats and other little creatures that weren't scurrying and fleeing away from that general direction, there was a trampled path that led deep into the center; and most likely to the Guardian training area.

He walked briskly along, and after the first tree nearly knocked him unconscious, began using the flat of his gunblade to divert stray branches, taking a different route through the jungle, a short cut that cut directly to the training area instead of having to circle around on the entire path. He noted that the area seemed much more ominous in the dim light of the artificial solar panels. Strange, that a few lengthened shadows could have such a dark effect. The Training Center under Balamb Garden headlines lit 24/7; you never knew when Cadets or SeeD or someone from the Faculty was training. When Garden had temporarily shut down, the energy department had probably thought it best to divert energy to more important functions, such as the medical offices or the command center.

Another minute and he cleared the last branch, coming into the open area somewhere near the east side of the center. And then his jaw nearly fell to the floor.

"Well, well, what do we have here…?"

Quistis lay unconscious on the ground. Fading blue wisps of magic streamed around her, wrapping around her body in a protective glowing cocoon. Eventually they faded away as the But that wasn't what caught Seifer's attention. It was the sight of a red creature, if Seifer could even call it that, hovering over her a few paces away. It had the shape of an animal. He squinted. A fox it seemed, but molded with red energy that dripped. When little droplets touched the floor, they hissed like concentrated acid. Three tails trailed from its body freely. Right now, hundreds of paper thin sapphire colored rings of light locked it in place.

Nice one, Instructor, he whistled. He had seen those rings himself on a recorded vid-com playback. It was temporal stasis, one of the renowned Blues that had caused Quistis' face to be splashed across paramagical research magazines everywhere. Of course, there were reasons that in the known world the number of people that could cast such a Blue could be counted on one hand. Seeing that the fox-thing didn't seem as though it were going to move anytime soon, Seifer sauntered over.

She was unconscious, and looking none for the better. Whatever the thing was, and he gave a little peep over his shoulder to make sure it still wasn't moving, it had sure done a number on her. Was it also something that had come with the Ruby Dragons? He gave her a callous little kick. "Hey, Instructor, wake up."

She moaned a little, but otherwise remained still. He kicked her two more times, a little harder, but the result was the same.

He sighed. Why did everyone always need his help? Bending over, he reached into the side of his trench coat and withdrew a pair of slender vials filled with phosphorescent green liquid. A potion. Luckily he had remembered to request some earlier from a passing Cadet. And even more luckily, that Cadet had also been interrogated by the Garden Disciplinary committee. Uncapping them, he kneeled down to turn her over, forcing her mouth wide open and pouring both into her mouth. Just as he tossed the used potion vials to the floor, she coughed, and sputtered back to consciousness.

A pair of worn crystal blue eyes found focus, then found his. And boy, they didn't seem happy. At all.

"Seifer." She croaked, distressed. Her voice was raw and scratched. She tried leaning up, a pathetic attempt that made her look like a up-turned turtle, but quickly fell back down. No good. She had exhausted everything; physical, mental, and magical. It was an effort itself to keep from slipping back into peaceful oblivion.

"Garden's number one hero and idol is here." He smirked.

"I'm alive." She noted.

"Unfortunately."

Quistis mouth crinkled. Yesterday hadn't been good. Or the day before that. Or the day before that. Today's prospects weren't looking great either. "Unfortunately. I must have accumulated too much karma to be worthy of being be saved by the Garden's most dashing Cadet of all people." She nearly gagged on her own words.

Seifer graced her with a glaringly arrogant smile studded with shining white teeth. "So, Instructor, mind explaining what's going on? What's that thing over there?" He turned around and nodded towards the creature that had been frozen in time. For some unfathomable reason, when he stared at it, even though he knew it was in Temporal Stasis, he couldn't shake the gnawing feeling that it was staring right back at him…

"My blue worked."

"I'd never have guessed it. Mixing battle with experimental magic's isn't your style, Instructor. The potential backlash could have killed you on the spot. Luckily, yours truly saved your life."

Quistis made an ungraceful snort, and managed to find enough strength to prop herself up. She cursed. It hurt. More than she thought it would. "No need to remind me. There was no guarantee it would work…but I had to try something. Did Zell find you?" She asked.

"No. You sent Zell? Hyne! No wonder! Chicken wuss probably lost himself wandering around in the confusion." He smirked. "Actually, it was Squall that begged me to come here. He was so adamant about how much better my skills were that he insisted I come to save you."

"I'm sure. And how did he figure I needed the help?"

"He…called it a hunch."

"That's one lucky hunch." She paused, considering. "I'm glad, actually. Thanks for saving me, Seifer. I used to think you were useless both in class and in real life, but it seems I'll have to reevaluate my horridly poor opinion of you."

He narrowed his eyes. She wasn't funny at all.

"Any how," She continued "Give me a briefing on what's happening outside."

"The usual. Somebody blew up the walls to the Training Center, so now the halls are flooded with Grats and T-Rexaur. And a fleet of Ruby Dragons invaded Garden. You know, what happens every day."

"Human soldiers?"

"None. Just the Rubies. It's a little strange in fact."

"More than a little strange. Do you have your communicator with you?" Quistis referred to the hand held gadget that SeeD kept on hand when they were away on missions. A relatively knew device, it couldn't be discounted that SeeD has all the latest gadgets. It was used for contacting other SeeD, and for receiving new information from the headquarters, aka Cid's office. Quistis hadn't brought hers today as her love for all things past caused her to hate the little things with a passion. If she had knew this was going to happen, she would have made sure to kept a dozen spares! But she couldn't berate herself. What's done was done, no good fretting over spilled milk.

Now Seifer on the other hand would want something to better easily communicate with his minions…

"No. I left it in my room." He said, dashing her hopes away with a single sentence. "I remember Squall carrying his though. He probably tried to contact you."

She sighed heavily. Nothing was going her way today. "Then we need to find Headmaster Cid and have him send his specialized SeeD team here. The stasis might have worked, but it has a limited duration, and with Naruto's rather unique energy, I have no idea how long it will last."

His eyebrows rose. "That's Naruto? The little blond boy?" He recalled. He glanced back again, this time with more interest. The rings of the blue still held him in place, but…there was something about that energy, something uneasy…and predatory. "Looks like some kind of fire elemental creature to me."

"Yes, well that is Naruto, I assure you. We had been training with Zell, to let Naruto better learn how to junction, but after Naruto junctioned Ifrit, something happened. There were signs of rejection, for some unexplained reason, something that I can only term an alien energy took over him, from inside. We tried to stop him, and he nearly destroyed Ifrit before I could forcibly extract it. As it is, that red energy surrounding him is protecting him."

"Protecting him?" Seifer asked.

She nodded. "High resistance to all forms of physical and magical forces. Though I can't say all, all of the ones I tried only washed off him. Increased strength, speed, reflexes. The area barriers don't even recognize Naruto as human anymore. Though, in exchange he seems to have lost his mind and gone feral, attacking whatever is close."

"Not exactly the best trade off."

"Not only that, but see that red energy that's covering him?" She pointed out. He nodded. "It's corrosive. Burns through magic and physical matter while shielding him. I've never seen anything like it. It appears sentient, having taken its own form also. And don't ask me what form and why. I'm just as confused as you are."

"Corrosive, huh? Maybe you were too weak?" He suggested. "Maybe your little spells just bounced off him because his magic resistance was too high."

"Naruto nearly almost killed both me and Zell. You don't stand a chance either, Seifer, so don't think about it. That Blue I cast may be called temporal stasis by some, but in reality it's nothing more than one glorified Stop. Based on what I've experienced so far, that energy will dissipate my spell soon enough. And don't think I don't know what that glint in your eyes means, Seifer! I don't want to be the one left picking your ashes off the floor. Our priority should be to inform Headmaster Cid and find more qualified SeeD to handle this situation."

Seifer grit his teeth. He didn't stand a chance, did he? He would admit that Quistis was a good fighter, what with her being a top SeeD and instructor. Even that little chicken wuss could put up some degree of resistance. But him? He was better than everyone and anyone in Garden.

"We'll see about that." He muttered. Rising up, he pretended to ignore Quistis' continued warnings and approached Naruto, or what was left of him beneath the mask of energy. He withdrew his gunblade and began examining him, using the tip of the blade to poke at the energy. Yup. The blade sank in a little ways, then halted completely. He pushed a little harder to the same result. Then he looked up, and crimson eyes filled with hatred found his.

There was an expansion of energy, a pulsing of sound, the calm before the storm. Naruto flexed, and the rings of blue light shuddered then dissipated completely. An orb of pure ruby energy laced with murky black burst from Naruto like a birthing star.

"Seifer!"

"Take it down! Take it down!" One of the SeeD shouted out as the mercenaries continued to pummel the last remaining ruby dragon with spells and projectiles. The other T-Rexaur and Rubies, a total of five of the beasts, had been killed. Many of the SeeD had left with injuries or fire burns, and now only a handful remained to engage the dragon from below.

However, one particularly brave cadet had taken an opportune chance, latching onto its back.

Squall scrabbled onto the beast, using his gunblade to dig into corded reptilian muscle, and grabbing hold of the thick scales for leverage. He was nearly jolted off as someone let loose a poorly aimed fira, barely missing him by a few feet. His sucked in his breath as the heat of the spell scorched his leather pants.

"Idiot," he whispered. Didn't they know that Ruby dragons were immune to fire based magic's? It was RUBY wasn't it? Perhaps they should have named it FIRE IMMUNE DRAGON so that some SeeD would actually remember. There was another shake and he tightened his grip on a scale as the ruby dragon swerved to bite at the annoying swarm of SeeD that assaulted it from below. Swinging with the motion, he used the momentum to launch himself straight onto its back.

Keeping his body low to its body so he wouldn't be tossed off, he steadily progressed towards its head. Then, he raised his gunblade and thrust it into the skull. There was moment of hard resistance, and suddenly Squall plunged forwards as metal broke through bone and into the soft tissues of its cranium. Squall uttered a word. A bolt of purifying lightning ran down the metal blade, into the dragon's skull. A fountain of hissing blood blinded him, and he stumbled backwards.

The dying dragon reared, throwing Squall into the air. A SeeD caught him, and moved aside just as the huge corpse smashed dent the floor, shaking the cafeteria. There were scattered cheers as the SeeD celebrated the death of the last Ruby Dragon in the cafeteria.

"You all right Cadet?" The SeeD asked, setting him down. Squall noticed that the SeeD seemed worse of than he did. He had probably returned from just another mission as Balamb Garden came under assault, Squall surmised.

"…fine." He responded. He wiped himself off as well as he could with the amount of guts and gore that covered him. He almost laughed, an action highly uncharacteristic of him. He looked like a zombie from one of Zell's damn video games. He shook his head. The exhaustion was getting to him. He'd need a bath after this or else he'd be doing something even more uncharacteristic. Like smiling. A good, long, hard, bath with bubbles. Lot's of bubbles. And rubber lions.

After the SeeD assured himself that Squall wasn't suffering from any head injuries, he left him with orders to report to the terrace as soon as possible before turning and leaving himself.

Squall sighed. He turned, walking over the fallen debris of the cafeteria to where his gunblade still lay imbedded in the dragons head. With a tug, it came free.

Now to find Seifer…

"Seifer!" He heard Quistis call out one second too late.

Seifer raised his arms just as Naruto freed himself. A halo of ill energy shot forth from him, nearly catching him in the chest. Nearly.

As he steeled himself for whatever would happen when he was hit by that blood red energy, a translucent blue wall shimmered into existence in front of him. The energy struck the wall and sloughed off like rain drops on leafs. Taking the opening he skid backwards to gain some distance between them. He wasn't about to be caught unawares bythat again.

Another blue screen blinked into existence followed by another. And another. They surrounded Naruto and herded him into their center. He let out an appreciative whistle. The blue walls had completely blocked off Naruto into a four-sided cage. He raged inside, but his slashes were rendered futile, incapable of harming the mantles.

Impressive. Did Quistis do that? Looking back at the instructor, she lay there just as confused as he was if not more so. He shot her a questioning look. You? She shook her head.

Turning his attention back to the wall he stepped a little closer, but kept a good distance away so he could react if Naruto jumped out. It wasn't an energy barrier, not really. In fact, it was rather solid…was that ice?

"Well done." A voice sounded behind him.

A deep, masculine voice. Not Quistis'. He spun around and came face to face with Zell. Waiting behind the blonde Cadet stood a man, a giant sword strapped to his back, and a young girl.

"Chicken-wuss?!" He called out, perplexed. "What are you doing here? Finally found your way back did you?"

Zell didn't respond. In fact, he appeared to be unconscious. His usually vibrant eyes that were alive with curiosity glazed over with shifting gray veil. Though he moved, he shuffled around with all the grace of a single jointed doll.

Well,that didn't bode well. As chief of the disciplinary committee he had used enough interrogation spells and techniques that he knew when someone was under the influence of drugs or magic.

"So..." He said, positioning himself so that he stood between Quistis and the new group. "I take it you two aren't from Balamb Garden?"

An ominous air hung around the man, the feeling he got when a T-Rexaur would be staring at him as it hid in ambush. His ashy skin and cruel eyes didn't do much to alleviate his doubts. And the girl. He let out a low whistle. Pale, clear skin. Long, lustrous raven colored hair. Round, almond shaped eyes, and a delicate nose. A model profile. Nice ass too, he noted. She was definitely his type, but he got the feeling that she wouldn't like his advances and was far from unarmed.

"I take it you two aren't from Balamb Garden?" It was more of a statement than a question. A quick glance at Quistis told him that she didn't know these two either. From their clothing, he guessed that they weren't from Balamb, Dollet, or Galbadia. Trabian, perhaps?

To his annoyance, they ignored him. They hadn't turned to him, but instead were looking at the caged Naruto. Ah, he realized. So they were the ones responsible for that.

"Haku." The man said to the girl. "How long will it take?"

"I still don't know the full range of his power at the moment. First, I must contain him." Haku responded.

The man smiled, an expression that was even visible underneath the gauze covering the lower half of his face. "I hadn't expected the boy to be in a released state. The Nine-Tails is…more than I expected. I can see why they would want this power. Well, so be it. Do as you will." He commanded.

"Yes, Zabuza-san."

Seifer's hackles rose. What do they think he was? A side dish? He strode towards the two, gunblade ready in one hand. "Hey, dipshits!" Their continual ignorance of him perturbed him to no end! "You better answer my questions now or face some serious consequences!"

Then he heard a crack. Stopping immediately, he turned towards Naruto. A jagged fissure spiked through the blue shield. It glowed with dark, murky red light. Like a web, the crack began to extend outwards until the transparent wall looked like a hard-boiled egg that had been thrown against a wall.

Shit!

He reacted with the speed of a top-rated Cadet. Spinning around, he scooped up the Instructor in one arm and hurtled backwards using his body to cover hers as they fell in a heap on the floor. He cast his spell just in time just as an inferno of red chakra shot past him, searing his pitiful shield spell and charring little smoking holes into his gray jacket.

When the roaring glut of fire finally ended he peeked upwards and saw that the two strangers were left unscathed. Another thicker blue wall, this one more opaque, rose in the air in front of them. It had shielded them, along with Zell, from the blast.

"Seifer!" Quistis called out from under him. "I can't breathe!" She tried to bucking him off but she was too weak at the moment, her efforts amounting to nothing more than a little flex.

"You should be lucky Instructor," He said as he rolled away "you're in every girl's dream position."

She coughed as his heavy weight moved off her. "And I'm sure you gave them as much of a choice as you did me." She countered. "What's wrong with Zell?" She asked, spotting the blonde.

"It seems chicken wuss was caught and placed under some sort of hypnosis. Magic or drugs, no idea, but he was the one that probably led them here."

She grimaced as he confirmed her fears.

He smirked, half smiling. "Look at the upside. They haven't killed him yet."

"That's great Seifer. I'm sure he appreciates the sentiment."

"Who do you suppose those two are?"

"I don't know. I can't recognize their clothing. Do you?" He shook he head. "Well, it seems they're here after Naruto. And my guess is that they are also one of the parties responsible for the lockdown."

"That girl." He asked. "Is she a blue-user? That's a pretty unique shielding spell they got there…"

"Ugh…" Quistis groaned, "don't ask me. There's been too many new 'things' happening recently that I can't keep track of it all."

"Things?"

"It's a long story."

"We have time."

"No we don't. Just assume she is a blue user and take the necessary precautions." Seifer nodded. Talented blue users were unpredictable at best, and down right crazy at worst.

He rose up, helping Quistis onto her feet. She stumbled around before balancing herself. "What do you suggest we do then Instructor?"

"If they're here for Naruto, we can't let them take him." She said after considering the situation.

Seifer gave her a puzzled look, "But if we let them take him, they'll leave right?"

Quistis shot him a dirty look. "Besides how callous that sounds, it's against Balamb Garden code to negotiate with terrorists. And yes, Seifer, assuming that they did plant explosives in Garden and send a fleet of Ruby Dragons to create chaos, that would classify them as terrorists. Also, I have the feeling that it would be worse if we let them get away with him."

"Okay. Then what do propose we do."

"I can't do anything. I'm barely staying awake as it is. It's going to be what you are going to do. You're going to stop them." She said, though her unsure voice betrayed the confidence etched on her face.

"Hey Instructor, I hope you can put things into perspective, since you're so good at everything. Zell and you can't do shit. Now, you want me, to stop someone that is capable of stopping…" He pointed over at Naruto, who lay crouched and snarling "that?"

"Yes. And?" Quistis countered with all the haughtiness she could muster. "Squall will be arriving any moment soon right? I'm not asking you to stop them, just delay them for a moment. As a level seven Cadet you should be well aware of the risks of battle."

"Squall!?" What did Squall have to do with this!?

"Once Squall arrives, I'm sure he'll be able to handle the situation that you obviously can't. And since you don't have your communicator with you, you can't ask me to walk all the way back in my condition, can you? A poor defenseless little girl like me."

Seifer's eye twitched and an angry vein throbbed on his head. Squall, huh? He'd show her alright. He was better than puberty boy would ever be! "Fine!"

Picking up his blade, he strode forward.

Haku placed his both palm forwards. His hands glowed with intangible chakra as the power of Kyuubi splashed off his shields.

"The nine-tails is stronger than expected." He said, informing Zabuza. "Something happened before we arrived. He was not supposed to be in a released state."

"Fools who cannot handle the Nine-tailed fox will burn themselves. Those who ran this institution messed with forces beyond their control." He replied. He shifted his head a bit to the side to make sure that the two he saw here were keeping their distance. Turning back to the task at hand, he noted the red chakra that surrounded Naruto. "This feeling…the chakra is without doubt much stronger than I felt on the Great Bridge. What do you think?"

Haku nodded in agreement. "When Naruto transformed into a released state back then, he still kept his appearance. But this time, the chakra has fully converged on his body, and has assembled into a ghost of its true form. I doubt he can even think anymore. The tails on his body most likely indicate the strength of his released form. At three, I was able to contain him within a field. Nearing four, he broke out." Using his sense of chakra flow, he could tell how the chakra shifted. "The strength grows at an exponential rate."

"Can you handle him?"

Haku paused for a brief second before answering. "Yes. At most I can constrain him with four tails. At five, I have no other choice but to end his suffering."

"…Very well. Then take him dead or alive; it matters not to me." Zabuza turned, and watched and Seifer approached them. "Quickly. It seems those here have finally gathered their courage."

"Yes, Zabuza-san."

Naruto pounced forwards. His claws coated with burning chakra sought to tear the closest person to pieces. In this case, it was Haku. To his side, Zell fell onto the floor.

Haku wave hands and uttered a string of fast-paced syllables. "Ninpo: Crushing Wave Dragon." A funnel of lacerating wind shot out from one hand. From his other hand came a flux of water with enough force to break apart stone and steel. The two forces met, plowing into Naruto, who held his ground for a second before the force of the barrage lifted him upwards and was soaring backwards. It didn't end there. The water converged and solidified and took shape – that of a serpentine dragon. It crashed downwards and picked up Naruto into it's crushing jaws.

Haku advanced. With one hand he kept a constant sequence of motions. The wind stilled, and thermometers dropped like falling stars. The air misted over as freezing winds filled the room. Tree branches snapped off, unused to cold weather, snapped off.

The soaring dragon stopped. It lay unmoving in the air and from within its belly came a glowing red light. The ice dragon, a creation of wind and water, was in visible pain.

As he finished the last of his seals, the dragon let out a final roar as its belly ruptured and Naruto leapt out, unharmed.

Below, an obelisk of pure ice shot upwards at unnatural speed. It caught Naruto in its growth, and then grew over him, capturing the nine-tails in a twenty foot thick column that topped off at a hundred feet into the air.

Haku stopped at the base of the buttress. He placed his hands onto the hardened ice and closed his eyes. Then slowly, he edged forwards, and sunk into the ice as water meets water.

On the sidelines, Quistis gaped at the giant ice pillar that spanned the air. Its tip nearly reached the roof of the Training Center!

But more so than that was the young girl. She had entered the column, actually blended into the ice. Was that even physically possible? It must have been some sort of para-magical infused structure. And, remembering the spells that had shot from the girl, Quistis had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't blind. The girl, if she wasn't mistaken, was a dual-caster. A person with the ability to cast two spells at once. It was a one in a million people that could do that, and in all of SeeD history she couldn't recall one so far that was capable of doing so.

She shivered and cursed herself for wearing clothes meant for warm weather. More worrisome was that the girl had altered the weather. It was restricted to a local area, but still…that was something that even Quistis couldn't do. There were few enough people in the world that could do that, and she wasn't one of them - yet. It required concentration and power that nearly rivaled those of a Guardian Force.

She grew worried as to what would happen to Naruto, but thrust her worry aside as she contemplated the more immediate problem.

If the girl had that power at her disposal, then what about the man? He didn't seem bothered by Seifer who was nearing him, anger burning bright in his eyes.

She wanted to call Seifer back, but stilled her voice at the last moment. She'd need to wait and see what would happen, to assess the situation further before she could act. That was what a SeeD did, butshewas trained to do. Things couldn't go on the way they were. If these two were searching for Naruto, he most likely held a greater value than they had initially realized. There was no way she could turn him over to enemy hands. If Squall arrived soon, then she could use his communicator to contact Cid and have him send his SeeD squadron here.

A squadron? She mused. Was that even enough?

This man, Zabuza, seemed to find amusement in him, Seifer noticed. He stood there like a guard, barring the path to where Naruto and the girl were duking it out. He thought he had done an admirable job concealing his incredulity as the temperature dropped what felt a hundred degrees making every cold breath painful, and a towering column of ice literally appeared out of nowhere, swallowed up Naruto, and then disappearing into the column. He turned his attention back to Zabuza, who he had designated target number one. The man stood there like a fearless stone guardian as he approached, not even bothering to withdraw that ridiculously oversized sword that was strapped to his back, unperturbed by the gunblade that Seifer was wielding.

I'll wipe that smile off you, Seifer thought, happily thinking of how many dozens of times he was going to smear his foot on that cocky face.

He stopped in front of him. "Identify yourself." He ordered through clenched teeth. As much as he wanted to kick the ass out of the man, he was a cadet, and he followed protocol.

Zabuza leaned backwards and folded his arms into his hand, infuriating Seifer even more. "And if I don't, boy?" The man asked in an ire-inducing drawl.

Oh, he did not just call him boy. This man had just crossed the line "Garden rules can rot in hell!" He bellowed. His flexed his arms and his gunblade swept out in a wide arc – only to cut into nothing as Zabuza anticipated the strike and stepped back, the blade missing a disemboweling strike by a mere half inch.

"Be careful where you wave that. You might cut someone someday." Zabuza whispered in a mocking tone.

Seifer's blood boiled. Leaping forwards, he swung his blade out – only for Zabuza to withdraw a kunai and block the path of the strike.

"How come you aren't using your sword, intruder?" He asked.

"My sword is reserved for the worthy." Zabuza responded, eliciting a scowl from the blonde. "If you wish for me to end your life so quickly, then beg me. Otherwise, it's been a while since I've played around."

"I'll carve that smirk off your face!" Seifer cried out. He spun back around and over, building momentum for a devastating overhead strike. Hyperion tore halfway into the ground, missing Zabuza by mere inches – again.

Themissing-nin placed his foot on the blade as Seifer struggled to tear it free. "Is this the best this so called Garden institution has to offer, boy? Unimpressive."

Straining, Seifer jerked once more and Hyperion slid free of its sheath. He took a few steps backwards. He had underestimated the man. The next move would have to count.

"If you don't come to me," Zabuza whispered in a voice that sent shivers crawling down his spine, "I'll come to you." He disappeared.

What the hell? Seifer twirled around, and nearly lost his balance as he brought up his sword to block a strike. The pressure of the kunai against his blade sent him half-kneeling to the floor. This man, he realized, was prodigiously fast, and worse than that, devastatingly strong. What he wouldn't give for a junction right now!

"Have you abandoned hope so soon? If you beg, I will end your life – painlessly." The man murmured from underneath his bandaged visage.

"Not quite." Seifer said. He dropped fully too his knees and tossed his blade to the side. The sudden change gave him a moment's advantage.

Fira!

A spark of magic and a torrent of fire shot from his hand and engulfed the man as Seifer tumbled away and took hold of Hyperion once again. Casting a quick shell on himself, he propelled himself into the flames, blade held high.

There was the ring of metal against metal. The fire sputtered for another moment and the flames died down altogether to reveal Seifer's gunblade struggling against a man-sized sword with a single large hole at the end.

Zabuza smiled from beneath his bandages. The blaze hadn't harmed a single hair on his body, Seifer noticed with disgust. Rock shattering strength? Check. Untouchable speed? Check. Unnatural magic resistance? Check. He didn't even need to know if this Zabuza had strong para-magical abilities or not – the girl covered that base well enough. It wouldn't even surprise him if he popped back with another pair of wings or two.

"Lost all hope yet?" Seifer mimicked.

"Not quite."

Then Zabuza was gone again, his speed literally making him disappear from vision.

"However, it's over now."

Darkness. He should have been used to it by now, should have learned not to fear the unknown, that the only fear was the fear itself. The red fire had tugged him into its death, to his doom. Would he die soon? He hoped for an end, and end to this emptiness that consumed him. But life wasn't easy. Nothing was that easy.

Darkness. Could he escape? In fantasy, in his dreams, the enemies could be fought face to face. But now, he knew, the true enemies were not the foes he see, but those inside. The true enemies were the demons that dwelled deep within. The demons of the soul.

Darkness. How long had he been here? Trapped in utter silence. He was beginning to understand, just a little. In the darkness, there were questions, burning questions that should never be asked, but in the darkness, there were also answers.

Suddenly, there was light. Naruto blinked. He saw red, saw blue, saw black. With effort, he lifted his back from the floor, and sat prone on the ground. He felt better. He popped his arms. Much better. Looking around, he realized he was back in that room, the cage of his soul where the nine-tailed fox lay imprisoned, but something was different. Blue ice glazed over the ceiling, covered the walls, and coated the floor. Beyond, the iron bars of the Kyuubi's gate still held, but the demon fox itself wasn't there. He thanked whoever was looking out for him from above.

Events flashed back to him and he shuddered, grabbing hold of his body for what little warmth was there. The Kyuubi. Dark red chains that dragged him down. Pain. Loneliness.

..:Darkness:..

"Naruto-kun." Someone called from behind. Naruto turned, caught by surprise. His eyes widened. It had been almost three years since that day on the bridge when he had seen the boy standing before him, but his memories hadn't dulled. If anything, they had gotten all the stonger. He was a little older, and a little more worn down by life and time, but Naruto would remember that hauntingly beautiful face anywhere.

"Ha…ku…?"

Haku smiled, bright and brilliantly. It was an honest smile filled with warmth that warmed Naruto like any sunny day. "You remember me," He said depreciatingly, "I must say I'm a little glad."

Naruto was baffled. He knew that Haku had died those years ago. Not by his hand, but it might as well have been. "Are you…here to haunt me?" He asked quietly. If this was payment for that day, then he would accept it.

Haku laughed. "No, Naruto-kun. I'm not a ghost. I'm quite alive."

"But you…- "

"-Yes. But something happened between then and now, and I was given another chance to serve again."

Serve? Naruto wondered. He knew Haku from those few days before. And he would serve only one person. "Zabuza is back too?"

"Yes."

He didn't understand everything fully, but was there a reason too? That he was chatting with someone that died years ago, in the depths of his soul, brought up a whole host of other questions. "Then...what are you doing here?"

"I'm here for you?"

"For me?" Naruto asked.

"You should know best of all. I am here not for who you are, but for what you are."

"What I am?" It clicked. Again, it was the Kyuubi. Everything came back to the Kyuubi. "I see. So you're after the stupid fox also?"

"Yes. Though I know not what circumstances created this situation, that was my original mission. However, in this sanctum of your soul, I have the chance to make a change, to choose another decision. Another choice, hard to think of, and harder to make."

"Another choice?"

"Tell me Naruto. What do you think of destiny?"

The sudden change in topic caught him off guard. What was Haku after? "Destiny is…something that we create for ourselves. I've seen it myself. Those who…pain over themselves, those who strive to improve themselves, those are the ones that decide their own path."

Haku's lips tilted upwards. "That's just like you, isn't it Naruto. And if I told you that destiny was set for all of us at since the beginning of time? That in the end, you and I are but mere pawns in a greater game."

"…I don't believe that. I can't."

Haku looked at the mist that circled his across the floor. "…Thank you. I wanted to hear those words. Naruto."

"…huh?"

Haku looked up at him this time, and he was caught by the pleading expression in his eyes. "If you believe in defying destiny, then I too, will believe. I, too, will do everything I can to change what has been set. This will be the first time I've defied his orders. Even is he will hate me…then I will take that too."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked. All this cryptic mumbo jumbo was beginning to confuse him.

"I told you I was here for the Kyuubi, didn't I?"

"…yes…" Naruto echoed slowly.

Haku hesitated, as if he were about to say something uncomfortable. "Originally, my mission was to destroy your body, and transfer the Nine-tailed Fox into a more suitable container."

"What!?" Naruto scrambled backwards. "Don't think I won't put up a f-fight!" He sputtered.

Haku laughed. "Well, that was the plan. However, if you can agree to help me, then I can help you."

"Help you? What would you want from me."

"Simple. One month from now - I want you to kill me."

"WHAT!?!?" Naruto screamed out, even louder than before. He was definitely a spirit sent to torment him! There was no other way.

"I know it might seem an impossible request because of your nature. But I can think of no other way. In return, I will help you seal the Kyuubi until then."

"I can't do that. I can't agree to kill…you. Not again. I can't agree to that again. No way…" Naruto murmured. He didn't elaborate on the nightmares and dreams that he had for days afterwards, that he still had occasionally. The guilt had just begun to die down. He wouldn't be able to do it again. He continued, his voice lower, hushed. "I hated you back then. Back when I thought you had killed Sasuke, I really, really hated you. And then when I found out you let him live, I was so sorry. I still am. If only…if only I could have stopped what had happened, if I could go back…then I would change it all."

Haku smiled kindly. "You are not at fault Naruto. What's done is done. As humans, we can only look forward to what tomorrow brings. What you did, I never blamed you for. Those were the results of my own actions, the consequences of my choices. When I died, I died in peace."

"But…"

"Listen to me. If you truly feel guilty for back then, then help me."

"Bykillingyou!?" He was shouting now.

"By saving me." Haku insisted with a conviction that left no doubts to whether or not he believed his own words.

"That's insane! How will killing you achieve anything? Is it for him again? Is it for Zabuza!? He's just using you!"

"If he is, then I am glad. It is my choice that I follow him, and I am grateful he keeps me by his side."

"Why! He doesn't even love you!" Naruto stopped when he saw the pained look cross Haku's eyes. Had he gone too far? He only wanted to get the point across that that man was using him, not because Haku was Haku, but because Haku was the inheritor of a blood-line technique.

A pause. "…I know. But still, we must protect those things important to us. For Zabuza-san…I can give everything. For Zabuza-san…I can sacrifice all. That won't change in the past, present, or in the future. Tell me, Naruto. Is there someone that you would do anything to return? A point in life in which you regret?"

An image, a flash of black, a red, white fan. His next answer was subdued, "…yes."

"Then you know what I speak of."

"It's different. He made the wrong choice and his friends had to suffer for it!"

"It's the same. You once said to me 'I want to become the number one ninja. To protect everyone and to have them recognize me. That is your dream, and mine is also to protect the light of that which is important to me."

Naruto hung his shoulders in defeat. Haku was right. To 'protect that which was important to him', what would he give up? "…You're an idiot. Just tell me, why?"

"That is not you should know now. Later, as events unfold, you will learn, and from that seed of knowledge, you will grow. But quickly. Time runs out. It will return soon."

"I…" Naruto was conflicted. "…I…if…that is how I can make it up to you. Then I agree."

"Thank you."

Suddenly a burning presence filled his mind. An instinctual reaction to run, to cower, flooded his body. He saw Haku look behind him and grimace. Without turning, he knew. The Kyuubi was back.

From behind the vestiges of the gate, enormous blood shot eyes opened. They were eyes that could drive you into insanity.

WHO DARES??? A deafening voice threw Naruto to the floor like a rag doll, but Haku held his ground. FOOLISH INTRUDER! DO NOT THINK I CANNOT SENSE YOU THERE. WHAT RIGHT HAVE YOU TO STOP ME!? HE. IS. MINE!!!

"I have the right to stop you," Haku spoke, as he glided past Naruto, who scrambled onto his knees. "You have no right to take him. You shall not take him." He whispered more quietly, "stay behind me Naruto. Whatever you do, do not leave my side."

Naruto nodded, remembering the unpleasant memories that accompanied him thinking of the Kyuubi. He didn't want to sink into that darkness. Not again. "Stupid fox," he whispered.

YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME? HAHAHA! I'VE EATEN MEN GREATER THAN YOU AS A SNACK. WHEN I DEVOUR YOU, I SHALL PEEL YOUR SOUL LIKE THE LAYERS OF AN ONION OVER THE COURSE OF A MILLENIUM!

A million threads of red chakra, tinged with darkness rose up around the duo. It converged on them – only to be repelled by a glowing sheet of liquid blue ice. It flowed like a river around them, a nurturing guardian, and when it touched the darkness, it brushed it away like so much dirt.

ARROGANCE! The Kyuubi screeched into their minds. THE CAGE THAT BINDS ME IS BREAKING. WHEN I AM FREE THEN YOU SHALL SUFFER!

"You are still weak, spirit." Haku called out. His hands lay flat in front of him, glowing with cerulean light. "The last one to fight you was stronger than you, and he sealed you."

THE ACCURSED FOURTH WAS STRONGER THAN YOU WILL EVER BE!

"True. But the groundwork has already been laid." Haku examined the metal bars that bound the Kyuubi. Though he didn't know the exact jutsu, he knew that it was a technique of the highest degree. A fuuin, a sealing jutsu that was beyond his skill, and from the telltale signs, it had probably cost the user his life. He also knew that for a ninja of this caliber to leave an intricate seal such as this here, for the Nine-Tailed Fox, would not do so without leaving some means to strengthen it at a later date, lest it escape. There was most likely a mechanism by which to repair the corroded lock, but he didn't have enough time to search for it. He While unable to fully reconstruct what was there, he could strengthen and solidify the gate. It wouldn't last, but the other option – letting the Kyuubi free – was worse.

Naruto," Haku called pleasantly, and the blond ninja stepped forwards. "Do you have any last words to say? My abilities are not as refined as this…Fourth…that the Jyuubi speaks of. I cannot leave a path of communication between you and the Kyuubi, nor can I allow the chakra to freely flow between. The connection between you two will be fully sundered."

"Good." Naruto said. He turned to the Fox. "I'm not scared of you, and I'm not going to let you take me again. I don't need your power anymore. I'll seal you someday, you stupid fox, I'll seal you for good, better than the Fourth ever could! Oh, and before I forget," Naruto turned back around, then pulled down his pants, giving the Kyuubi a good view of his nicely shaped derriere, "you can kiss my ass!"

YOU LITTLE BRAT!!!!!!

A billow of hateful chakra crested forth, chakra that killed at contact and would dissolve flesh and bone. Haku's shield held under the assault, but the miasma smothered them in a thick fog that Naruto couldn't see through.

"Naruto. I need your assistance."

He scrabbled forwards, eager to help. "What can I do?"

"It seems…my current chakra might not be enough. I need yours to complete the technique."

"You got it." Unsure of what steps to take, Naruto reached out his hands until they were hovering over Haku's. There was a great flash of light from him, and the room brightened as Naruto's chakra saturated the air. He began to emit light, a brighter shade than Haku's pearlescent blue.

"Kinjutsu: Forbidden Technique, Ice Realm Absolution"

They glowed further, and suddenly the fog blew backwards and the room cleared. And they were witness to the Kyuubi a mere foot away from them, its body reformed by mist. Its eyes seized upon them and it crouched, threatening to tear them it titanic claws. Naruto almost leapt backwards in shock, but Haku gripped his shoulder.

"It's nothing more than an image. The real demon still lies within." Haku raised his arms, and the halo of light around him intensified until every shadow disappeared. The appearance of the Kyuubi washed away. Towers of ice laced with arcane runes and charms rose into the air. The temperature dropped until every breath was frost, and the sound of shackles breaking and the Kyuubi roaring drummed the wind. Naruto could hear footsteps, loud footsteps as if something was running at them.

YOU ARE TOO LATE, FOOL!

"No." Haku said. "You are."

The talisman that symbolized the steel cage flashed for a brief second, a light blue light flooded all the senses, and then every hole, every missing piece, every bar that disappeared in the struggle between Ifrit and the Kyuubi was connected by bars of impenetrable ice.

SMASH!

Something rammed into the gate and it shook with a fiery fury. Then it rebounded and crashed backwards. Naruto fell to the floor as the ground shook from the impact.

Haku moved his hands and began running through a complex series of hand seals. From the right, a blanket of ice crawled over the gate until it reached the other side. There, it stilled, and coalesced with the gate into a solid shield.

Naruto caught Haku just as he crumpled to the floor.

"Hey! Hey! You okay!?" He called out. He slapped the black-haired boy's cheeks a few times. "Hey!"

Haku's eyes opened a mere slit. "I'm fine…for now. Sealing…the Kyuubi, was much more than I expected. I expended…too much…chakra. As is, I will return to the physical realm soon, and I won't be able to speak to you anymore. Listen, to my words. In one month, come to Galbadia City. The seal that I created will only last…that long. There, I will be able to fully seal the Kyuubi, and there…"

"You shall end my life."

He held his hand up and Naruto gripped it with what strength he had. "Thank you for saving me, Haku. I promise you…"

The world turned off.

Seifer grunted as he bore the weight from another cleaving strike. The swords sparked as they screeched against each other. He hadn't been so lucky with the other hundred or so, and scores of wounds dyed him red.

He couldn't much longer, he knew. This man, Zabuza, was toying with him. He could have ended this any time, but chose to inflict tiny cuts wearing his strength down. What a sadistic little bitch, Seifer thought.

He thrust his gunblade out again and this time when Zabuza effortlessly dodged – he pulled the trigger. There was a loud bang as a bullet exited from the tip, nearly striking Zabuza. The gunshot thrust him forward and he pushed ahead adding more momentum to his strike. Again, the man avoided the blow by a mere hair breadth. Zabuza struck out and knocked Hyperion from Seifer's hands.

"The young forget the basics so easily. Swing with your weight. Keep the weapon firmly grasped. Do you think it's cool? How do you expect to fight without a weapon?" He said.

"Like this!" Even without a gunblade, Seifer was a lethal weapon himself. He thrust his arm outwards and called out to the coiled energy within him. "Thundara!"

A bolt of white-hot lightning shot from his hand at Zabuza – or at least where he had been. Seifer knew what was coming. A kick to his knees humbled him, and an unyielding hand brutally pulled back his blond hair, scraping his skull. A dirtied boot planted itself on his back and pushed, and Seifer almost screamed as some his hairs were pulled out. A sharp knife rested at his neck, drawing a thin ribbon of crimson.

Seifer wheezed. He had dodged or intercepted all of his attacks, then restrained him, and he wasn't even breathing hard yet. His speed and reflexes could only be described as precognescent. Quistis was right; she was going to be cleaning up his ashes after all. He had always wondered how he would die and had even imagined a few scenarios, the least of which included a warm bed, a bottle of Galbadian Vodka, and a pair of twins – having his throat slit in the Training Center by some stranger with an overcompensating weapon, however, was not one of them.

"If you're going to kill me, do it quickly. I won't beg for mercy." Seifer grit out. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.

The inevitable came in the form of another rough kick that sent him toppling forwards.

"Leave." Zabuza said.

"Why didn't you kill me?!" Seifer scowled. He didn't want or need pity.

"I have no interest in weaklings. Leave, while you still have hope. Leave, before I change my mind."

As Seifer prepared to tell him to go tell hell, Quistis' voice caught him. "Seifer!" She had apparently gotten the hint that the man was willing to let him go alive, and knowing her, she didn't trust him to take a chance when given.

Though his face was red with humiliation, he turned and stumbled backwards. As a Cadet, he knew that if you lived, you could always fight another day. Live, and you could take revenge. The dead weren't given second chances. Right there, he swore to grow stronger, stronger until he could kill the son-of-a-Grat who had humiliated him so much.

"Seifer!" Quistis called out again. Her voice was more urgent this time, and she looked at him with widened eyes.

He fumed. "I got it! I'm not stupid!"

"Not that! Look behind you!"

Seifer paused, then did a 180 on his heels. What he was looking for wasn't in front of him, it was above him. The ice column had collapsed, the tower that spanned nearly the breadth of the distance to the roof of the Training Center had broken down. And it was going to land right on him… -

Oh shit!

Seifer jumped to the side, but fell short. The injuries he had taken caught up with him, and he felt his knees give way! Shit shit shit shitshit!

The ice spire crashed.

Squall arrived just in time. As he watched the icy buttress collapsed, he tossed his gunblade aside and picked up Seifer in one hand and Zell in the other, barely making it out from the shadow of the tower as it shook the ground with the weight of its demise.

"Oh thank Hyne." Quistis let out her breath that she didn't even know she was holding, seeing that the three Cadets were safe. She was sure that Seifer and Zell would have been crushed otherwise, their bodies reduced to little more than pulpy piles. Well, she didn't care that much about Seifer, and his death wouldn't have pained her or caused any unnecessary nightmares too much, but Zell was like a little brother to her!

"A little late aren't you Squall?" Quistis chided, sighing again in relief.

"…I was…preoccupied." He murmured again. Quistis nearly snorted. Even after the run he was still quiet as always.

Coming to a stop besides her, he lay the two Cadets down.

Zell plopped to the floor, still unmoving after he had collapsed. Quistis reached out and found his hand. Still alive. Seifer however, wasn't very happy. "Oh, puberty boy to the rescue." He drawled sarcastically. Squall ignored the comment. Quistis, however, didn't.

"Squall always has to rescue the damsel in distress. Aren't you going to give him a little thank-you kiss?" She countered.

He shook his head in disgust. "Well Instructor, after having almost been killed because you sent me too my death, I can now say I really, really do not like you."

That hurt Quistis a little. She did feel guilty for tricking Seifer into fighting an opponent so far beyond his level – well, it's not like she knew at the time. In fact, she doubted if everyone here together could defeat the pair – and that was on a good day.

"Squall," She asked suddenly, "where's your communicator."

In response he reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin, flat black panel. Quistis took hold of it, and soon had it buzzing.

"Headmaster?" She spoke into receiver. There was static for a moment, then "Quistis?"

"Affirmative."

"What is it dear? You aren't in trouble or anything are you?" His concern leaked over, and made her feel somewhat safer. He always had that affect on her, like a father that would always be on her side. She would never tell the Headmaster that though.

"That would be an understatement. We have a pair of intruders from the party responsible for the explosion down in the Guardian Force Training Center. Also, I need a team of SeeD down here ASAP to deal with Naruto. Make sure they junction high magic-resistance Guardian Forces. Right now I have Cadets Zell Dincht, Seifer Almasy, and Squall Leonheart, but we need reinforcements immediately."

"That doesn't sound very good."

"Not at all... Zell is unconscious, Seifer and Squall are injured. I'm not doing so great either, Headmaster."

"I'll get right on it." There was a click and the hiss of static as the communicator shut down.

Squall took a moment to interrupt. "…Situation?" He asked.

Quistis rubbed her temples. "More complex than I can think of. I'll explain later. Let's get out of here for now before another tower comes crumbling down from nowhere." Squall nodded his agreement. His sword along with Seifer's was hidden somewhere underneath all the rubble. He'd retrieve it later when the cleaning crew swept past.

Then, from there was shaking from amidst the ruins of the melting ice.

Squall shot her a questioning look as he picked up Zell.

"It better not be that Zabuza again." Seifer muttered. He hoped the two along with the blonde kid and died in the crash. Unlikely, but hey, he could hope, couldn't he?

"…Zabuza?" Squall asked. Seifer ignored him

The blocks of ice parted, and Seifer nearly smacked his head as the form of the swordsman who had so laid the 'smackdown' on him emerge freely - and uninjured. Looking closely he could tell there was something in the man's arms. Or rather, someone. It was the girl that had come here with him, and had melted into the tower. She lay draped over his arms, her shoulder and knees supported by his strength. For a moment carrying her, he looked somewhat…gentle.

"Any sign of Naruto?" Quistis hushed. She didn't want to catch the pair's attention. Seifer shook his head.

And then, Zabuza was suddenly in front of them. Squall moved first, dropping Zell unceremoniously to the floor and unsheathing his gunblade - then realizing that his blade was somewhere underneath the blocks of ice that littered the grounds, he cast a protect over himself and a Firapooled in his hand. Seifer did the same, gathering a spell in his palm, ready to be unleashed. Quistis pulled herself backwards, and dragged the still unconscious Zell along.

"I am not here to fight you. What I have come here for does not matter anymore. That kid, Naruto, is over there. If you want to save him now, then so be it. His fate for this moment is no longer my concern."

"What do you want then?" Quistis asked from behind the shield of Seifer and Squall.

"Only to give you a warning. One month from now, come to city named Galbadia."

"What makes you think we'll do that?" Seifer sneered, but his timbre betrayed his confidence. "We don't have to do anything you want."

"I do not need you. Only the boy. Tell him that I have his friend - and he will come."

"…his friend?" Quistis sounded out loud. A light switch flicked in her head. "The other boy that was with him. Neji."

"Then you understand. I have nothing more to say. Farewell."

"Do you really think you can leave here that easily?" Seifer cried out in affront. "There's a dozen SeeD coming to the Training Center. You're trapped."

Zabuza grinned. He raised both his hands while keeping the girl firmly ensconced in his arms, and went through a series of seals. Droplets of waters fused in the air and surrounded him like pearls of aqua light.

"Galbadia. One month."

Then he was gone.

Squall:I need a bubble bath. Now.

Monster Stat:

Grat Lvl. 10-20 Plant-type Creature

Hp: 325

Mp: 20

Strength: 22

Speed: 10

Vitality: 15

Luck: 8

Magic: 5

Spirit: 11

Weakness : Fire, Status-Effects, Lightning

Resistance : Water (absorbs)

Special Skill: Explosion- Upon death green goo is spread in a 20-meter radius.

Kyuu-Bi – two tail mode Lvl. 50 SSS-level Classified being

Hp: 2400

Mp: 850

Strength: 90

Speed: 74

Vitality: 95

Luck: 13

Magic: 100

Spirit: 52

Weakness : Ice, Water, Wind, Gravity

Resistance : Fire, Earth

Special Skill: Chakra immolation – Contact with its chakra causes 30 magic damage every second.

Special Skill: Chakra fart – A sphere erupts from user extending ten feet, and all within who fail to dodge takes fifty magic damage and is thrown into the air for additional damage.

Monster Stat:

Quetzalcoatl Lvl. 40 Mid-level Lightning Elemental Guardian Force

Hp: 1525

Mp: 800

Strength: 60

Speed: 81

Vitality: 65

Luck: 27

Magic: 90

Spirit: 42

Weakness : Water, Earth, Fire

Resistance : Lightning, Ice

Ruby Dragon Lvl. 37 Dragon-type abomination

Hp: 1125

Mp: 120

Strength: 62

Speed: 40

Vitality: 80

Luck: 5

Magic: 13

Spirit: 72

Weakness : Ice, Water, Gravity

Resistance : Fire

Special Skill: Invisibility – Can freely become invisible for up to one hour per day. Invisibility is also dispelled upon attacking.

Seifer Almasy Level 19. Gunblade Specialist

Hp: 350

Mp: 160

Strength: 49

Speed: 37

Vitality: 55

Luck: 36

Magic: 40

Spirit: 28

Weapons: Gunblade - Hyperion

Junctioned GF #CLASSIFIED#

Haku Level.59 Mist Assassin

Hp: 450

Mp: 796

Strength: 40

Speed: 79

Vitality: 42

Luck: 12

Magic: 97

Spirit: 68

Weapons: Ice needles

Special Abilities:

Dual Casting - A unique power that allows user to cast two spells at once

Kekkei Genkai (Ice World) – Can freely manipulate water, wind, and ice. A unique ability that allows user to create various techniques usable only by someone with a similar ability.

Junctioned GF #CLASSIFIED#

Momochi Zabuza Level 68. Missing-Nin / Swordsman of the Mist

Hp: 880

Mp: 520

Strength:89

Speed: 76

Vitality: 47

Luck: 16

Magic: 73

Spirit: 51

Weapons: Zanbatou - Kubikiri Houcho (false) - 7 strength/-4 speed

Junctioned GF #CLASSIFIED#