AN: Holy crap it has been months since I submitted for this story. I apologize to anyone who has been keeping up with it.

I've had issues as far as this story goes. I had to stop writing it back in November because of NaNoWriMo. That story will be posted on deviantart and I will put the link up as soon as it is finished. I got really busy with exams, and then I had job issues which if you want to know about you can ask me. I joined a Vampire the Masquerade rpg a couple months ago and have been thouroughly distracted with that. I found this chapter half finished the other day when I was going through my documents and I decided to finsih it.

I will finish this story with the original storyline that I had in mind when I started it despite obvious inconsistencies with the manga. I don't care that this has gone off in a completely different direction from the manga, I'll finish it as I originally intended.

Thanks again to anyone who is still reading. Please read, review and enjoy. ^_^ End random tangent

"We just need to find Yahiko," Konan stated plainly. "Once we find him all I need is for your group to hold him down while I initiate the jutsu. Hopefully that should be able to separate him from whatever soul he was fused with to create Pein."

Kakashi, who had kept his eyes closed in meditation while Konan was speaking, opened his eyes ad began to talk to the blue-haired girl. "We need to find the rest of our party. I think that the more people we have around for this the better in case something goes wrong."

Konan nodded in agreement. "Do you have any idea where the rest of them could be?"

Just then, the group heard movement coming toward them. The looked off in the distance and saw the rest of their shinobi walking towards them, albeit not in the best condition. Gai was the first to approach Kakashi since the others were busy aiding their comrades in travel. He looked at Konan incredulously and then back at Kakashi. He pulled Kakashi close and whispered to him.

"Kakashi, what's going on? Isn't this girl an enemy? Look at the clouds on the cloak," Gai said.

"Actually Gai…." Kakashi began.

"I am actually in need of your help. I hope that you can lend me your aid," Konan said, interrupting Kakashi's sentence.

Gai raised a large eyebrow skeptically. The entire group of assembled shinobi looked at her untrustingly. What could she possibly need from them? She was Akatsuki after all. Why would an enemy want their help after they had just killed her comrades? Those with questions held them to themselves as Kakashi explained what the new plan of action was. They had to find Naruto and Sasuke because that was undoubtedly where the last Pein body would be.

While Kakashi talked to the group and answered questions, Konan looked over the bodies of Pein that the ninjas had managed to take down. She was rather surprised that the groups had been able to take them down without any casualties on their part. Maybe there was hope. Maybe with this group they would be able to defeat Madara even. Though she doubted that Yahiko and herself would be able to leave on their own once everything was over without any hassle but at least for now this seemed to be the best course of action.

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"What do you mean gone?" Sasuke said as stared into the kyuubi's fierce eyes.

"Your souls were linked together by the seal. If he died you should have too. Why is it that you're here and he's not?" Sasuke's voice began to shake. Why did things seem to always get more complicated?

The kyuubi smirked, "that seal had weakened so much over the years. I managed to extricate myself from it before I was pulled out of this world. It's really as simple as that. That's why you see me here and not him."

"But why are you still in his body then? If you've released the seal, then why are you not in your complete form?" Sasuke inquired.

The kyuubi sighed loudly. "That hokage of yours really knew what he was doing. He didn't only make a seal that bound our souls together. There were two seals, though you wouldn't know by looking at it; one for our souls and then another that keeps me tied to this wretched mortal body."

Sasuke sat, still kneeling on the ground, completely lost in thought. So Naruto's soul had been taken. Hmmmm…He wasn't sure if anything he tried was going to work. All the techniques that he had been taught during his training with Orochimaru were useless in this situation. What was the point of everything that he had learned if he couldn't use it to protect the ones he loved?

The kyuubi watched the thought-absorbed boy in front of him. He himself was rather curious as to what the Uchiha could be planning. Humans never ceased to amaze him with the insanely stupid and life-threatening things they would do in order to help someone else. He had watched Naruto enough to know that humans were not as predictable a lot as one would expect. Sasuke came out of his thoughts and looked at the kyuubi.

"What is it boy?" The kyuubi asked inquisitively. Sasuke stood up and looked down at the demon fox.

"I need you to stay here and protect Naruto's body while I'm gone," the Uchiha stated plainly.

"And who said I was going to willingly cooperate with you, Uchiha boy?" the kyuubi said as he stood up to meet Sasuke's glare.

Sasuke wasn't completely sure of himself at this point. What if his theory didn't work? He was up against a tailed beast after all. If this didn't work he would be in some serious danger. Sasuke lifted his katana and pointed the blade at Naruto's throat.

"I will make you do what I need you to do," Sasuke said with his activated sharingan as he stepped closer to the kyuubi attempting to stare him down.

The kyuubi began laughing. Once again, it bothered Sasuke to hear something so sinister coming from Naruto's mouth. He would get Naruto back, and suppress this, this thing.

"Listen to me now brat," The kyuubi said as he took Sasuke's sword in his hand and moved close the raven-haired boy. "You lack everything needed to control me. You're unsure of your ability to save him. You have no confidence in your own power right now and it makes you weak."

Sasuke glared at the demon in front of him. Too many times had his brother called him weak and said he lacked hatred. Now he was getting the same lecture from a demon. Sasuke pushed back on the kyuubi and forced him against the wall of the canyon they were in.

"Oh, now you're serious are you boy?" the kyuubi taunted in amusement. This boy certainly was interesting.

"Yes, I am. You remind me of the person that I had spent my entire life chasing after in order to destroy. I will take you down too if you dare to stand in my way." Sasuke glared at the kyuubi with eyes as equally fierce as the demon. His mangekyou sharingan had activated and the kyuubi had lost some of his confidence as a result.

"You will obey me," Sasuke said in a determined voice as he pushed the kyuubi into the wall while glaring him down.

"I WILL save him no matter what and you will cooperate otherwise I will kill you," Sasuke said in a voice that was dripping with anger.

Damn this brat and damn that cursed bloodline of his. The kyuubi glared back at the dark-haired boy with obvious hatred. Those eyes, he hated them. They were the same eyes that Uchiha Madara possessed.

The kyuubi returned the intense glare though he was beginning to falter slightly under the power to the mangekyou sharingan that was weighing him down. He doubted that he would be able to resists their influence for much longer.

"Fine, I'll help you boy," the kyuubi snarled as he pushed against Sasuke again causing the raven-haired boy to back away from him.

"Good," Sasuke said contemptuously as he turned around and walked away from the kyuubi. He located a large flat rock face and brushed the sand off of it. He brought his katana up to his other hand and sliced into it. He wasn't sure if this technique would even work. He had learned it from some scrolls of Orochimaru's that he had been reading but he had never attempted it himself. He was surprised at how much information Orochimaru had on techniques involving death and the souls but he figured that one had to know as much about death as possible if one was to avoid it completely as Orochimaru was attempting.

The kyuubi looked on curiously. What could the boy be planning? Sasuke had painted a string of kanji on the rock face in a spiral pattern using his own blood. He only had a vague idea of where Naruto's soul could have been sent but it was a better guess than anything else.

"What are you doing boy?" the kyuubi questioned critically.

Sasuke turned around to face the kyuubi and addressed him in a cold tone. "Watch over Naruto's body and mine while I'm gone. If anything happens to his body, I swear I will kill you."

The kyuubi stared at Sasuke, still not completely sure of what he was planning on doing. 'Watch over Naruto's body and mine while I'm gone'. Sasuke's words reverberated inside the kyuubi's head.

"Hmph. I see now boy. You're planning on going there yourself aren't you? You do realize that you'll probably die right? Do you really know if this technique of yours is going to work properly?"

Sasuke didn't respond. The kyuubi was right, this technique could fail horribly. He might not even be able to get to the other world let alone find Naruto. Even if he did make it there, he knew that this was probably suicide on his part. But if he didn't at least attempt it then Naruto was gone forever. He would bring him back even if he didn't make it back alive, at least Naruto would.

Sasuke placed his hand on the spiral of kanji and the letters began to glow a deep crimson red. Sasuke moved as if to walk forward and his body collapsed on the ground. The kyuubi, who had been watching him intently, saw this happen and merely smirked.

"Guess you're a smart one Uchiha boy," he chuckled as he walked over to Sasuke and propped his body up against the boulder. He wasn't sure how that jutsu had worked but he assumed that it would probably be best to not move the body far from the seal.

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"He's so adorable isn't he Minato?" the blond hokage nodded as he picked up his newborn son that his wife had been holding. He looked lovingly at his son as the infant smiled back joyfully.

"Naruto, one day I'm sure you'll be hokage just like me. I'll help you get there," he promised his son who had begun to fall asleep.

The room faded and was replaced by a large city. Yahiko and Konan stood on the edged of a balcony overlooking the cityscape.

"Konan, I'll make sure that we can protect this city and make it work properly, for you, for us," Yahiko promised.

Konan smiled at him. "I'm sure you will Yahiko," she said as she turned to face him and embraced him.

"I'm sure that we can bring peace to this city, just like Jiraiya-sensei told us to," Konan said optimistically.

That scene faded as well and was replaced by darkness. Pein felt his head spinning and his entire body ached. 'Who had those people been?' he wondered to himself. He had seen them both in his dreams before and in various stages of their lives but he still did not know exactly who they were to him. He tried to open his eyes but when light filtered past his eyelids he was forced to close them again as his aching head increased in strength and became completely unbearable. He lay there for several more minutes trying to piece together what had happened. He remembered now. He had killed the Jinchuuriki but then that Uchiha had attacked him. Pein sat up and analyzed his surroundings. He was in the same place as he had been before. 'What in the…'

Pein looked in front of him fixed on the scene with disbelief. The jinchuuriki was sitting there looking as if nothing had ever injured him save for his blood-drenched clothes but the Uchiha boy was sitting unconscious against the face of a large rock. Pein stared at the kyuubi who stared intently back.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up," the kyuubi said apathetically.

Pein stood despite the fact that his body was screaming in pain.

"Don't even think of attacking me. I won't be taken down like the boy was," the kyuubi snarled.

Pein gathered that somehow the tailed beast had managed to hang onto the body even after death though how he did not know.

The two stared at each other. Pein's plan had backfired on him. He had no idea what he was going to do now, though he knew that he would have to kill this demon if his plans to overthrow Madara were to succeed.

AN: Ok so that is chapter 14. Looking to tie this up in about 4 more chapters. Need motivation for finishing quickly so I can get onto more exciting stories.