Our Future [p]

[ずまきਮ]

OOC: This is for Bit, Sharkk, Estilo, Vegapunk and Genbu only. Anyone else joins and they'll find out what it's like to be disintegrated ICly. Post once to enter and wait for my reply, so I can make a posting order.

---

Water. There was water everywhere. It was a strange cave, but big nonetheless. The raging waterfalls of Taki would quiet down the further one ventured in, as well as the light that reminded all of reality. But just as darkness threatened to take over control, the end would be reached. The pools of water across the cave bowed down to a small "island". Rocky and hard, it was no more hospitable than any other portion of this cave. But still, something here was different...

A dark figure, much larger than any human, loomed atop this island. Quiet and silent, it would remain as it was even when several figures seemingly appeared out of nothing. Their entrance was instantaneous, their figures materializing before the strange being and remaining just as still. However, after a second or so, they both adopted motion. One spoke.

"...how much longer are they gonna be...?"

[Nujabes]

Where am I?

It was the only question I could muster as I floated aimlessly in the pit of an abyss, all of my senses -- spare for one -- blinded by the eternal darkness. I could feel others nearby, surrounding me, yet could do little else. I could not speak, see, or even hear. In the waning moments that followed, I didn't even feel like I could breathe.

. . . Where am I?

[tigaevo]

[atrb=width,390,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][style=float: right; border: 3px #280f14 solid; -webkit-border-radius: 20px; -moz-border-radius: 20px; border-radius: 20px; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/wSjrf.png); width: 100px; height: 100px;] [/style][style=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 30px; color: #4F000F; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: 30px; margin-left: 0px;]Limbo[/style][style=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 30px; color: #4F000F; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -11px; opacity: .5; alpha:filter(opacity=50%); margin-left: 0px;]Manninin[/style][style=font-family: bankgothic lt bt; font-size: 30px; color: #4F000F; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -11px; opacity: .25; alpha:filter(opacity=25%); margin-left: 0px;]Ahhhhh[/style][style=overflow: hidden; background-color: #280f14; width: 390px; color: #6d3943; font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 15px; text-transform: uppercase; height: 15px; text-align: center;] [/style] [style=text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 11px; width: 360px; margin-left: 10px; color: #9d9d9d;]'What the hell happen?' Bit thought to him self as he found him self in what seemed like infinite darkness. 'What happen to me, did that guy with the pot get me?' The boy thought as he attempted to move around, he couldn't really feel him self making any progress towards any thing it was just a feeling of weightlessness like he was just floating around or something. "Where am I?" he would say as he sensed other energy's around him, he couldn't see anyone but he knew he could feel other peoples presences. 'I wonder if Atlas-san was captured.' [/style] [style=overflow: hidden; background-color: #280f14; width: 390px; color: #6d3943; font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 15px; text-transform: uppercase; height: 15px; text-align: center;] [/style] [style=float: left; background-color: #280f14; width: 100px; color: #f0e3e3; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: 1px; margin-top: -18px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; -moz-border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; -webkit-border-bottom-left-radius: 20px; -moz-border-bottom-left-radius: 20px; border-bottom-left-radius: 20px;]tagged: comments: credit:[/style][style=text-align: justify; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 11px; width: 260px; margin-left: 10px; color: #9d9d9d; margin-top: -8px; margin-left: 110px;]No one Hopes. made by ZINGARA of BTN & LS[/style]

[vegapunk]

". . . . . . ."


It was all such a vicious blur. As if everything had been blasted clean, a blank canvas, these ninja would soon all appear together in a mysterious and new region. How he had arrived there escaped his mind as he tried to piece any information he had retained as soon as he could. But nothing came to him immediately. This situation is still incredibly hostile. Best to stay on edge, this thought the only one able to find bearing in the swirling waves that was his mind.

His body was heavy as a dull ache rang through his muscles. Movement for now would be flawed so Eiichiro just tried to gather himself, center everything and concentrate. Regaining his senses he would look around to survey his new location. How is this possible?, he reflected as his gaze was caught by nothing. He was in some kind of limbo an area of where time & space met in marriage. Just where was he? and could this be a genjutsu. He wasn't sure, as any genjutsu he had faced was not nearly this powerful. However, these men were not like anything he had met either. With the ninja who participated in the battle around him he couldn't help but wonder....what did these mysterious men want?

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[Sharkk]

[/style][style=color:FFEFD5; text-shadow: 1px 1px 1px #444444; font-family: georgia; margin-bottom: -8px; text-transform: lowercase]sebastian clave | ^{walking dead man}

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[/i] a few other presences, energies flowed through this place. "hmmm..."[/color][/i]
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[Estilo]

"At. . . I love you."

Darkness. What had once been a dizzying myriad of colors, accompanied by a sound so thunderous that the largest waterfalls paled in comparison, was now completely void. There was no sense of direction here, no indication of life beyond the metaphysical. I was almost certain this was death. That Kami had finally finished writing my long and tedious life story. And that this would be my eternity to come. Here and not here, now and not now. A plane outside of the existence we called reality, a limbo where time and space played no factor. Punishment. Tartarus. Where a dead man drowned in his memories of yore, forced to ponder all that could and did happen.

A child's boyish laughter.

Throughout the course of my life, I had been a son, a friend, a brother, a soldier, a husband, a father, a teacher, an avenger. The Nidaime Raikage. And what had I left behind? A missing wife, a dead son, a quest for knowledge and peace never realized. But there were good things, too- Kumogakure no Sato and its people, a new generation of hopeful Cloud ninja. . . Yukiko and Hirihi. Hopes of a brighter tomorrow, absent of my presence. I supposed my torment here in the void would be lessened by the thought, and it was that which put my mind at ease. I went from feeling nothing physically, to drowning my mental consciousness in what I could best describe as meditation. I was at peace, for now.

A. . . presence?

My mind's eye awoke. Wait, what was I thinking? Dead? I couldn't be dead. Something else was at play here. But for the life of me, I couldn't remember what. I remembered leaving Kumogakure no Sato, Shing's Tavern in Kusa no Kuni, having a drink with Ryusuke Uchiha. And then... the Yonbi. We were fighting it, to no avail. Until these strangers came through. . . A pulse. I felt helpless, but I knew there were others. Somewhere in the darkness of it all, in the same predicament as me. I could feel their energies around. But where- exactly- were we? And what had happened to us all?

Captured in this tranquil calm, I failed to remember.

[ずまきਮ]

OOC: Apple, Bit and Sharkk have been exited. Ambition, Vegapunk and Estilo remain. Everyone please RP accordingly!

---

Both Uzumaki brothers came forth from nothing, in the same fashion they had left the fated battlefield with the Yonbi. However, unlike before, they had appeared before a rather quiet audience, only the strange, large figure looming in the dark accompanying their entrance. But they wouldn't be alone for lone...no. It'd be time to call forth the chosen ones.

"We don't have much time...we need to get the container, the controller and leader established." The voice came from the unarmed Uzumaki, though his voice wouldn't be the only one that rang. Another took birth from atop the looming figure, choosing to remain in the darkness for now. "Took you long enough! Where are my eyes!?"

Silence reigned for a moment as no one spoke for at least a minute, each contemplating on the developments to come; however, the bald one in control of the pot would be like always, moving and executing without much say. After slapping his hands together, the lid of the pot was blown off; yet nothing, for now, came from it...

"Patience...first things first." From the pot came several essences; the Unknown Stranger and The Prince; with a wave of the unarmed Uzumaki's hand, both of their floating "souls", expelled from the jar, would swirl within briefly before disappearing; it seems they had been taken to yet another sinister world.

The same could be said of the one with the legendary blade.

Silenced reigned for just a moment before that strong, passionate voice from before chimed in again. "MY. EYES!!!" Once again, the unarmed Uzumaki at the foot of the dark figure said nothing, but after holding a cold gaze deep into the darkness that held the wild voice, he'd raise his hand slowly; at the same time, the bald one in control of the pot slapped his hands again. It was time for yet another spirit to come forth.

"Be careful what you wish for..." And with that, the One With Cursed Eyes would be sent off to his final nightmare. The rest?

They'd be spit out from the pot slowly but surely, their essence without energy, their bodies barely clinging to life, their souls drifting away...

[Nujabes]

Slowly, I could feel the others leaving. Where they headed? I had no clue. I simply felt the warmth, which surrounded me much like a cocoon, fading away into a frigid cold that gripped my body and soul. Then came my turn, and like butter being spread over too much bread, I felt thin; my body was stretched, and soon a mind-numbing light bled into the darkness.

I was weak.

I was fragile.

But I was alive.

My usual demeanor was replaced with an almost childlike innocence, and I found myself laying against the banks of the lone-island within the cave; half submerged within the water, half draped over the land. I coughed once, and then again, before I managed to raise my head to look up at the men who had captured me, and the massive shadow behind them.

"Aye." My voice, despite my condition, was still pretty cheerful. "Where in the Hell am I?"

[vegapunk]

What was the meaning to this all? As if to be separated from what is rightfully mine, I could feel it slowly drifting away from me. There is no life without it, nothing has meaning, nothing at all. The foreign force was pushing at Eiichiro from the inside. How is this even be possible, what is this incredible sensation??, the young boy pondered. Empty space gathering inside where once his soul dwelled, the life was being driven out of his body, slowly, like the seconds of the day. His senses were numb to the point of no contact. How could he fight this? how could he even try to conquer such an ancient and willful power?

Drifting like green leaves in a light wind he could feel the others around him slowly move. Shifting inside of the pot their presence, the core of their essence, would be moving from them without warning. But it would not be my mere mortal sense which would allude me to such a thing, no, it was something much more primordial. An extraneous warm with envelop his body leaving him curled in a state of innocence. Dark and silent it would shield him from the cold which came with the darkness, a never ending void it seemed. As if a calling from above a light would appear signally the golden-haired boy without warning to be pushed to the surface. Opening his eye's finally, or were they already open? It was hard to tell, but now he could feel normal sensations, or so it seemed...

Deep and heavy voices of unknown origin would scatter around him, rising before fading away into nothingness. In a condition that could only be described as floating he would move his body, neck in this instance, raising his head upward to plant the emerald gaze upon the men of his capture. There intentions with Eiichiro were still unknown, but all of this was far beyond his comfort zone. On reflection he wondered how he even got himself in this situation, memories of the bijuu and his Raikage flickered briefly in his head. With a deep breath he would expand his chest and gather oxygen in his lungs, he could breathe once again. With a voice shaken and disorientated he would verbalise his worries.

"What do you want with us..?

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[Estilo]

Trepidation. One by one, the warm energies that surrounded me drifted away. Unsure what was happening, and incapable of doing anything about it, I was forced to ponder what was picking them off- and whether I'd be next. I still couldn't remember what had happened. I still didn't know where I was. But, coursing through my essence, I could tell something was up.

Then it happened. My soul slowly began to solidify, the darkness that enveloped my form gradually receding as it was devoured by a strange light. Then, a sensation unlike any other, followed by a brief flash. And darkness reigned over me once more. Except... it wasn't the same as before. I had senses now, limited and weak, but there nonetheless. My skin crawled with the cold that permeated its surface, my ears attuned to the sound of dripping water, my nose and mouth inhaled and exhaled- shaky and deep breaths.

This was only followed by a mind-numbing pain to the forehead. I winced, dropping down on all fours, my tattered gloved hands pressing down on wet rock and long grass. I was on the bank of an island of some sort, in a cave. This much was clear. But my body- my soul- it felt so... drained. "Ugh, damn... d-did I just get laid?" I grumbled under my breath, displeasure on my countenance as I struggled to get a hold of myself. I remembered what had happened last. The Amber Purifying Pot. The strangers.

Then I heard two voices echo throughout the cavern, dark figures in the periphery of my vision, at the same level as I. But we weren't alone... were we? I could feel it, just as I had felt those energies in the strange plane I had only recently been released from. I dared to look up at them, viridian green orbs gleaming slightly as my eyes narrowed with suspicion. I didn't say anything. Whatever questions plagued me at the moment had already been voiced by the other two. I only awaited an answer. An answer to all of this.

[ずまきਮ]

He'd turn to the bald, plump brother by the jar and gave him another nod, the now standard form of communication between the Uzumaki as exemplified by their recent actions. In response to this, bushy brows slapped his hands together again as he did when calling forth the beings from the Amber Pot, but this time, more than one handseal was formed; this time, there were many.

"You...you have all been called here for a reason..."

"...one you will soon discover. Painfully."

On queue with the unarmed Uzumaki's last spoken words, the final handseal within the bald man's string of seals was reached, and when it was so it was held with great poise. His face, or what could be discerned of it from the shadows, intensified, his focus no longer on this world. No...with all his might, he'd be calling a higher power - one that could truly set all of their plans in motion.

SPOILER: Click to show

A low grown erupted from the darkness of the cage, and though no one could see its owner, they could feel a strong power up and ahead. The unarmed Uzumaki turned back to the group now, an odd smile worn. He paused for a moment as he observed each one, taking in their interesting quirks and reactions in light of such a desperate situation; had they truly no notion that it was the end for them...?

"Until then, do not expect me to answer to the likes of you..."

Once again on queue, another slap on the bald Uzumaki's part would serve to break the tension. Yet another spirit seemed to emerge from the pot, but this time, it was much grander and stronger than the others spat before them - it was Son. His energy swirled in the air, and for a moment, his innate fiery powers served to light up the room. Though weak, the three strangers would be privy to a moment's glance at the true hell they had fallen into. For a moment, they would see it.

The statue, it seemed to come alive - and it was eating Son...

[Nujabes]

I may have been in the shittiest condition of my life; I may have been completely outclassed by these two assholes, the fat guy and the cryptic dick; hell, I barely felt alive. But I definitely wasn't about to turn into someone's bitch on the drop of the dime, or just because.

"I'm not afraid of pain," I croaked. "Training to use the gates - now that's real pain. Gettin' kicked in the nuts? That's real pain, too." Fighting against the strain, my body moving off of pure hydrolics, I pushed myself to my hands and knees. Let me tell you, it was a lot harder than I imagined it would be. Every muscle in my body felt as though it'd been torn asunder, rendered into ground meat or something equally as unattractive. But, I had ambition - I had the will to continue long after my body had given out on me.

Dripping wet, I elevated my head just in time to see another spirit - the bijuu - being summoned from the pot and fed into the statue. As strong as these two were, I found myself wondering if they'd be able to take the both of us? Probably.

"Hey, big guy," I spoke to the spirit of the beast, regardless of if he could hear me or not. "Sorry about helpin' these assholes kidnap you. But, you know what they say: hindsight is twenty-twenty."

By this time I'd done what was probably deemed impossible: I was standing. Even slouched, my unnatural seven feet, three inches would've made me a towering monolith amongst these men. I was wobbly, sure, but I felt my resolve was still as adamant as it had always been. My fingers curled into fists, and slowly-- as if arthritis has taken hold --my left arm rose. Painfully, my fingers wrapped around Hebi's hilt.

"Now, where the fuck am I?" Even my voice was fragile, no longer holding the bass it usually did. I felt like I was going to pass out. The bluff was an easy call. "And what're you doing to the big ape? Doesn't look. . . pretty."

[vegapunk]

It was difficult for him to think of anything else in his current situation, but he knew he had to change his focus. Echoing through his mind he would punch the phrase "All is not lost...all is not lost...all is not all," repetitively until he had blocked any negative thought out with an iron wall of stoicism. Although, a mental barrier of strength came far easier to Eiichiro than any physical reflection could muster. He could feel the hairs on his body stand-up overtly, like a endless pine forest all linear and never faulting. This physical edginess could be felt further than the bounds of his body could reach, whether it was the others around him, or the fact that it was a such strong sensation he did not know. However, he did know that it would be a signal someone with perception could pick up on.

Never show weakness.... on his hands and knee's he would try to muster enough strength to propel his body upward in any manner he could. Bruises, cuts and bleeding riddled the young blonde-haired shinobi's body like a mixture of blues, blacks and reds smeared over a canvas. Heavy as if gravity was holding a grudge, he fell out of sync with his body, all movements inaccurate and sloppy. How did he become so fragile? filtering through his mind he would come to the conclusion that this must be a temporary effect from being drawn from the pot only seconds earlier. The injuries he had sustained from the battle would flash in his mind, recorded and preserved, noting every one of them. That had to be it...surely.

Hand to his throat he would cover his mouth before barking a succession of coughs, although not overly loud, it would signal some distress to the others around him. He had to clear his throat to make sure his voice was firm and strong. Weakness seemed to not be tolerated by these mysterious men in front of him, and it wasn't something that Eiichiro would dignify them with either. Before he could let anything out an airy feeling surrounded the three captured warriors, a presence much larger than his own but not foreign. This must be Son, the Monkey King. So he was captured by these men indefinitely, Eiichiro thought to himself. For that moment he saw it, the fiery light which would envelop the room in an instant, the true power captured in such a restraining form. How could this be? Turning to his Raikage then back towards the men in question his gaze would continue its worried expression at the situation, but his voice to the mysterious men would sound bitter and sharp.

"Raikage-Dono this doesn't look good...."

"I don't know who you think you are or what you want from us. But I don't appreciate your condescending tone. To me, it looks like we have a couple of Rikudou Sennin fan boys."

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[Estilo]

I watched as one of the men- bald and overweight- began to issue a string of complex hand seals. If my suspicions weren't already in high alert, they would escalate to entirely new heights with the orange-haired stranger's following response. You... you have all been called here for a reason... one you will soon discover. Painfully. Alarm. I shot the men a glare, stumbling up onto my feet on weak legs. These men, the same men that had attacked Son Goku so effortlessly, were threatening us. This was no game. I kept my stare fixated on our captors as one of the men I had been captured with voiced his grumbled opinion and struggled to get his bearings. But I kept quiet, not out of fear, but out of curiosity.

No, this wasn't weakness. It took everything I had to keep myself from attempting an assault on the strangers, especially when the horrifying visage of what could best be described as a 'hellish altar' appeared. They were, after all, threatening the life of one of my ninja. Perhaps even threatening the shinobi world as we knew it. But these men were not to be taken lightly. Not when one of them held the power to form objects as large as a miniature moon. No- what I needed to do now was observe. See what they had up their sleeve, what they planned on doing. Wait for the right moment, if it ever came. We'd been brought here for a reason... but what? I wouldn't find out by attacking and-or evading them.

The fact that I felt like crap wasn't helping much either. With powerful resonance, a low groan resounded throughout the cavern. A groan I perceived belonged to something much bigger than all of us. Our orange-haired captor held a strange smile. He didn't plan on answering any of our inquires any time soon. He made it clear. And when Son Goku's fiery spirit emerged from the Amber Purifying Pot, I grimaced- shielding my face with a single arm, trying to block the sheer heat of it all from my eyes. Eyes that dared to wander into the abyss of fire ahead, catching a terrifying glimpse of what was occurring. The statue... i-it was devouring Son Goku's spirit! Emerald orbs widened as I tuned in to what Eiichiro had to say. "Raikage-Dono this doesn't look good...."

"Not at all," I replied, eyes focused on the scene unraveling ahead. I couldn't imagine what Son Goku was going through. A Sage, his spirit being devoured so easily. "We need to keep close." I continued, narrowing my optics at the stranger's ahead. "But... we can't let them do this to Son. Not when we had a hand in capturing him. It isn't right..." I trailed off, giving my companion a moment to voice his opinion over our captor's condescending tone. But what could we really do? Convince them to stop? Beat them into submission? Hardly. I was conflicted, my thirst for knowledge bumping heads with the fact that we were just standing there. Watching the once magnificent Yonbi get devoured. Although physically weakened, I had to do something.

[ずまきਮ]

No, it did not look good at all.

"Die."

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If your time to act was then, then your time to act was wasted; now, for our retort. Brother would know to continue his order of business, the sequence of seals that would strengthen the incorporation of Son's spirit into that...thing. Oh, how I loved it too! Each glance I took at it would only reassure me of the inevitable tomorrow I'd force everyone to experience. And just when that picture solidified itself within my psyche, I'd move to make it a reality.

"Go-san...observe. I will teach how to forge destiny. There are steps, levels. Step one.

"Obtaining the slave-souls. Strong, able, sturdy...only the best. Once acquired, you quickly lead into step two..."

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And like that they would, their bodies levitating a few feet above where they once stood, control no longer residing within them. Their ascension was slow and steady, timed with my rising right hand, but once it stopped, so would they - and then, without warning, fist would close, allowing darkness and nothingness to overcome the brave warriors. The sounds their bodies produced...extravagant. Rare. Who know a human body could crumble, twist and turn in such ways?

"...purification. Cleanse the soul and give its purpose. As they are, the ideals of these times stain them, damage them. Irreparably."

"But thanks to us...well. Let's just say, destiny needs players, so let us make the right ones."

"Right...?"

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Go-san only nodded. I would motion to the three dead men floating before me, my finger wagging back and forth between the pot and them for a brief moment, as if mocking my own demonstration. But it was all in good fun given how neat our plans had unfolded thus far; now, for the final touch. My other hand came to action now, cupped before chest as it would be under the robes. A bright flash followed, so bright that the inception of the item in question was unknown - was it merely among the folds of my clothing, or coming actually from within me?

"Now, Son, be a good boy and meet your master..."

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