FicWad

Primis

Chapter 13

Naruto found that the normal, bloated zombies were easy to deal with. The zombified yoma with the foam hardening on their body, were a little difficult. Not obscenely thankfully. The blond was quick to learn that the foam, despite being hardened is able to absorb the bullets instead of chipping away at them.

However the areas the foam does not cover is where the chunks of flesh are missing. Shooting at those had caused them to stagger back... before continuing forward. But from the amount of blood spilling out – and hardening on the ground - told the blond those gaps were their weak spot.

Thankfully they were slow moving. Like a juggernaut. So fighting them was easy peasy.

Though he wondered how he knew what a juggernaut was... Meh, he'll chalk it up to Element one-fifteen, Divinium or whatever it's called. He still has it in him. And in the blood vial.

…Huh. He almost forgot about that.

But back to the point; Naruto was able to kill one of the new, zombified yoma types. But he wasted half of his current magazine on it. Fuckers were able to soak up the bullets thanks to the foam covering most of their body. It was like a walking suit of armour...

Huh, that's a good name for 'em. Armour. Or Armour-class.

One of the foam covered yoma's stepped on the back of its fallen comrade, before the foot pushed down and through the back! What happened next made Naruto stop shooting and stare in wide eyed disgust.

The body started twitching erratically. Then bones snapped as the limbs bent in in ways they were not suppose to be bent. Then spurts of blood shot out of every orifice and pores as it flattened itself before merging with the zombified yoma, mixing in with the foam like armour and hardening it even further. Literally becoming one with it.

As a result it ended up having a more thicker armour, which still didn't cover the weak points thankfully, and grew several inches in height; so much so that it slightly towered over the other zombies. Along with gaining a massive blade for an arm.

“...Oh, this just keeps getting better and better!” Naruto sarcastically exclaimed, a heavy scowl pulling at his lips.

The blond pulled the trigger once more, focusing his fire on the tallest foam covered yoma as that was the bigger threat. The foam once more soaked up all the bullets that didn't manage to hit their target. The ones that struck true, had caused more and more blood to spurt out from the exposed wounds and on to the floor.

The blade armed armour reared said arm back before throwing it forward.

The blond quickly combat rolled out of the way, when the arm stretched forward and slammed onto the ground Naruto use to be standing on. He rolled on his back and aimed at the exposed wound on the bicep of the armour's sword arm.

The armour staggered back reeling and hissing from the force of the bullets hitting its weak spot. The sword arm dragged against the ground as the yoma moved.

The blond quickly got back up and continued opening fire. While that was happening he was wondering where in the hell Ember was!?

As if she were responding to his thoughts, the she-dragon partially emerged from a glyph moments after it suddenly appeared near the zombies. The she dragon let loose a stream of fire on the zombies upon entering the physical world. The normal undead were torched until they were nothing more than charred flesh and bone.

The tanks had their foam shell burnt off but were otherwise mostly unharmed. Their exposed injuries had seen to that.

The blond quickly reloaded his FG-42 with a fresh magazine and was about to open fire on the mutated yoma's, only to stop from doing so when a claymore held by an outstretched arm – quite literally at that – came out of nowhere and bisected the normal zombies by the waist.

The taller foam covered yoma side staggered as the charred armour around its torso was shattered by the blade. The arm was pulled back as it reached out to grab it.

Naruto quickly looked in the direction the arm retreated too and to his surprise, found a heavily scowling Helen standing near the exit of an alleyway with a frowning Deneve behind her. Both were staring at the foam covered yoma's who were now looking in their direction, and they didn't notice Naruto standing just opposite the zombies.

“Huh. I'll be damned...” the blond murmured to himself, then he noticed the zombified yoma's were heading towards the silver eyed women rather than him. Growling Naruto took aim once more and opened fire – the bullets striking the exposed holes in their foam armour, and bringing their attention, along with Helen and Deneve's, back on to him.

Both women grew wide eyed when they finally saw him. He should been twenty-three-years old by now, but doesn't look over a day over sixteen-years-old!

“N-Naruto...?” Helen uttered softly, she was so shocked and surprised to see him here after so many years of being missing she almost dropped her claymore to the ground in relief. Deneve was in a similar boat as her friend; but unlike Helen she was prepared in the likelihood he would never return again.

She's glad to know she's wrong.

“Helen! Deneve! Nice to see you two again!” Naruto yelled to them from over the sound of his gun.

“When did you get back?!” Helen called out as she ran over to him, with Deneve hot on her trail.

“Survive now, talk later!” he quickly readjusted his aim when the almost towering fell to a knee with its sword for an arm laid out flat on the ground. He kept up the fire in its exposed holes in the armour. It didn't make any sign of reaction to getting bullets struck in one of its weak spots. “This is the first time I've ever seen this type of zombified yoma!”

Deneve quickly got on the analystic side of things as she stared at it. “What's covering its body?” she questioned.

“It's puss and blood.” At seeing the disgusted looks on their faces Naruto shrugged and said. “Yeah, gross I know. But, somehow, those two combined made a very strong foam like substance that's used as protective armour. Unless I aim for the open wounds the foam and puss didn't bother to cover, then for all intents and purposes it's invulnerable to my weapon.”

“Are there any other weaknesses?” Helen asked as both herself and Deneve held their claymore's up, poised and ready to strike.

“The foam is apparently weak to fire.” Naruto looked at Ember who was watching the two hybrids with narrowed eyes. “Luckily there's a fire-breathing dragon with us.”

“They're constantly bleeding, Naruto. I won't be able to keep breathing fire if their armour keeps regrowing.” the she-dragon told the blond.

Once the current magazine in his FG-42 ran out Naruto was forced to change it. “All you need to do is char the foam, Ember. I'll take care of the rest.” the blond replied as he looked at the still partially emerged dragon, the casual way Naruto talked to it made Helen and Deneve exchange looks.

All the dragon did was roar and hiss. That was really nostalgic and familiar.

The pixie-haired woman looked at him. “You can understand the creature?”

“Yeah! Because all we can hear is it roaring and hissing.” Helen said aloud, before she had a thoughtful look. “Kinda like the Keeper now that I think about it.” she added as an afterthought.

Naruto nodded as he locked the magazine into place. “Yes, I can understand her.” he took aim at the tall yoma that is now slowly shambling over to them again. The other armours were trailing behind it. “And yes, Ember is a girl.”

Naruto took aim at the hole on the shoulder that connects its sword arm to the rest of its body, and promptly opened fire on it using short controlled bursts. It didn't show any reaction.

Scowling Naruto allowed his battle rifle hang from his shoulder, and held his left hand out in front of him. Wrath of the ancients appeared in his hand and he immediately pulled back on the string. An arrow flamed tip appeared between his fore, middle fingers and thumb. He let the arrow loose and watched as it embedded itself in the foam armour, where it proceeded to explode in a show of fire.

The force of the explosion knocked back the mutated yoma; and disbelievingly, the sword arm accidentally buried itself in the torso of another armour ranked yoma. Helen and Deneve watched with sickened fascination, as the yoma that had been impaled started twitching uncontrollably. Then the sound of bones breaking and snapping were heard, as the entire body started to visibly combust. Its entire body collapsed in on itself as blood and puss poured out of every pore on its body. Then it slid up along the amours body, becoming the second being to merge with it.

As a result the merged being grew in height and size. The foam like substance repaired itself.

“It's regenerating...” Helen said the obvious.

“Does it constantly regenerate every time it cuts into something?” Deneve asked aloud.

“Apparently so.” Naruto scowled as he pulled back on the string. “Before you showed up it literally crushed the spine, and ribcage of one of its own.” he let loose on the arrow that formed. “What happened after that, is what you just saw.” concluded the blond as he watched the arrow get a direct hit in the shoulder that was not protected.

The resulting explosion blew off the yoma's sword arm in a grand display of fire, skin, flesh and blood. The shockwave from said explosion sent the zombified yoma stumbling to the ground. And ended getting its entire head crushed beneath the clawed foot of another armour-classed yoma.

Helen, Deneve and Naruto grimaced couldn't look away as its entire body started twitching uncontrollably with the sound of breaking and snapping bones as the entire body combust. Then the entire body collapsed on itself with blood and puss pouring out every pore until it resembled nothing but a puddle on the ground. Then it slid up along the third armour-classed yoma, merging with it; the three blond's watched as it grew taller and taller until it towered over them by several feet.

Its size was comparable to a bus.

Blood and gore shot from its back as several appendages literally grew out of it: four wavy tentacles made entirely out of flesh...

If it wasn't so horrifying to look at Naruto would have cracked a joke about 'seeing enough hentai to see where this was going.'. Then it pointed its right arm at the severed sword claw and three mass of tendrils shot out of its twist; they coiled around the severed limb and swung it at the hybrids and human.

Before it swung it though, Naruto knew what it was about to do and grabbed Helen and Deneve by the shoulder. He dragged them down to the ground; they both let out undignified yelps as they were just dragged down on their backs by Naruto. A moment later they saw the massive sword arm, thing, pass over them.

They leaned up to look at the armour-classed zombified yoma, just in time to see the tendrils retract back into its wrist. It let out a loud, blood curling howl as blood and sinew exploded from the wrist and severed arm. Tendrils coiled around the separate limbs before sinking into the skin. Revealing that both completely separate limbs have merged into one big one.

Then to their horror, more tendrils shot out of its body from various places, impaling the other armour-classed yoma and reducing them to a gooey fluid that quickly merged with it. Now it was taller than a four storey building; the foam armour became thicker, the sword arm was longer and broader.

And its sword arm was splitting the street into two while walking to them...

Naruto immediately got up and shot arrow after arrow at it. Helen and Deneve got up as well and started to back away with Naruto as it brought up its sword arm – partially destroying a building in the process - to block the arrows.

It didn't even react when they exploded upon contact; nor did it slow down.

“Ember!” said she-dragon, who had finished devouring several zombies that tired attacking her, looked at Naruto when she heard her name. “Get the glyph close to us! We're getting out of here!”

She nodded and retreated into the glyph, which disappeared moments later. Naruto, Helen and Deneve looked to their right when it reappeared again. It glowed as a portal opened in the middle of it.

Wrath of the ancients dispersed into particles as Naruto grabbed Helen and Deneve by the arm.

“Okay! Time to go!” Naruto exclaimed as he ran to said portal with the hybrids being pulled with him. He looked over his shoulder and screamed in a panic when the damned thing started running at them. Naruto leapt into the portal with Helen and Deneve.

Its form changed – though not by much, as it became much thinner – as it chased after them. And when it got to the portal it leapt forward, where much of its upper body got through before it stopped at its thighs.

X.X.X.X

When they got out the other side, Helen and Deneve were let go, and while they kept running until the tenth step, Naruto stopped after five and looked back at the portal. He stared; he waited; but Ember did not emerge.

The blond frowned and narrowed his eyes, feeling something wasn't right, the Wrath of the Ancients appeared in his left hand once more and he turned to face the portal. Naruto's frown became more pronounced when said portal expanded a little, and bared his teeth when a familiar sword arm emerged from it.

It was raised in the air... with him directly below it.

“NARUTO!” Helen shouted out in a panic.

Said blond quickly dived and rolled out of the way, just moments before the overly sized sword came down. If no one was awake by Helen screaming, they most definitely were upon the impact the sword arm had when it smashed itself against the ground.

The head of the armour-class yoma came through the portal, roaring so loud it could be heard for several miles, followed by its upper body and second arm and dragged itself out as far as possible through pushing against the building behind it, and stopped when it reached its hips.

Naruto, was now standing, took an involuntary step back when saw its eyeless gaze on him. His eyes slowly grew wide when it tried grabbing him with its other arm.

“Oh, god, why me!?” Naruto shouted as he quickly backed away from the armour-class zombie. The mutated, zombified, mass of yoma puss and blood dug its fingers into the street the blond was just on, missing him by a hairs breath, and pulled out a chunk of the earth.

However instead of throwing it at him, as Naruto expected the being to do, it instead tossed the chunk of the ground at Helen and Deneve. Instead of moving to avoid it both women sliced it into many small, harmless pieces when it got within their sword's reach.

It was to distract them as the women quickly realised; the giant mass of blood and puss changed its sword arm back to normal. Other than the overly long arm that was. Helen and Deneve both found that they were beset by a series of tendrils that spouted from the giant yoma's wrist and nails; all of which they managed to slice and dice into pieces; but they were kept on attacking, driving their focus away from Naruto and onto its tentacles trying to impale them.

This left the giant monster to focus on Naruto... who proceeded to shoot a blue flame tipped arrow on its exposed neck wound. THIS made the monster screech out in pain, as the resulting explosion threw its head to the side as a part of its neck and lower jaw, became an explosion of a bloody, gory mess.

The chunks of flesh that touched the ground quickly melted and became puddles of blood and puss. However the damage inflicted on the monster regenerated; but the wound was still uncovered.

With the monster roaring as loud as it possibly can neither Naruto, Helen or Deneve heard people approaching. Not until the blond saw dozens of crossbow bolts harmlessly embedded in the monsters thick armour.

He quickly looked in the direction the bolts came from and found several dozen soldiers armed with crossbows were in the middle of reloading said weapon.

The blond quickly looked back at the monster, and was quick to roll out of the way of several tendrils. Laying on his back Naruto looked back and found many of the soldiers were impaled through the stomach.

“Oh, shit!”

Naruto could only watch in horror as the tendrils began to collapse, and then bloat up like it was sucking at something. At the time time the men started to look as if they were having all their fluids sucked out of them. Slowly becoming nothing but skin and bone.

Growling Naruto swapped Wrath of the Ancients out for his Ancients Wrath; he sat up, with his now blue flame enveloped sword, and cut through the tendrils like a hot knife through butter. He rolled to his feet and back-peddled away from the giant monster with his sword raised to ward it away.

Naruto kept his eyes on the monster as he yelled. “How are they back there?”

“N-Not good!” he heard one of the men reply. “They're alive, but they are not doing so good!”

“Drag them away!” he ordered. “And whatever you do, avoid those tendrils! It will be the difference between life and death!” Then he remembered what happened to the other armour-class yoma when Ember breathed fire on it. He looked at his bow and pulled back on the string; an arrow manifested between his fingers and thumb.

An arrow with a flame enveloped tip.

The blond took aim and fired arrow, after arrow, after arrow at the monster. Each arrow exploded on contact, causing the points of impact to explode in a show of blood and gore, and the shockwave knocked the monster on its side.

This in effect stopped the assault Helen and Deneve were under. With them no longer being attacked the two blondes quickly moved positions.

Then, suddenly, out of nowhere Miria appeared before them like a mirage; the woman had her backs to them and was staring at the monster with narrowed eyes. Then she looked over her shoulder and was surprised to see two of her friends in Rabona.

“Helen! Deneve! When did you get here? I thought you both were in Alnwick?” while she was happy to see them, the woman had to know how they got back without any one knowing.

It was Deneve who answered. “Long story short: Naruto.”

After saying that, more and more hybrids appeared on the scene. All of them were familiar, but too few were well known amongst them. They were on the roofs and floor.

And as for said blond, he started choking when a tendril wrapped itself around his neck and held him off the ground. Growling Naruto grabbed one of his Ragnarok DG-4's and stuck the bottom end of it into the tendril. He turned it on and took sadistic joy when the electricity from the wonder weapon, raced up and down along the entire length of the tendril. Shocking the entire limb it was connected to.

Then the entire tendril, and a small part of its palm the thing was connected too, exploded in a grand display of blood. Naruto let out a pained grunt as he got dropped on his ass, and quickly crawled back as the monster started thrashing in pain.

It was weak to Element one-fifteen powered weapons, and Keeper based weapons. Getting an idea Naruto looked at Helen.

“Helen, catch!”

Said blonde looked at him, startled, and reflexively caught Ancients Wrath. Naruto pointed at the weak point the monsters upper shoulder.

“Make sure you hit the open gap in its armour!” He yelled to her over the noise of the monster's howling and thrashing. “It's the thing's weak point!”

“What should the others do?” Deneve asked as Helen began winding up her arm, that is holding Wrath of the Ancients to form the drillsword.

“To not get hit!” he answered. “The moment those tendrils impale them, then unless someone manages to severe them, they're fucked!” the blond then turned to the rest of the soldiers. “Also, anyone with ranged weapons, should only shoot at the open parts of its armour! And for gods sakes, make them count!”

Naruto quickly turned his attention back to the monster and snarled when he saw it's hand reaching to grab him. Instead of getting out of the way Naruto, yelled at everyone to not get close as he grabbed the other Ragnarok DG-4 and activated it. Just as the hand was about to grab him, Naruto turned his arm up and drove the wonder weapon in the middle of its healed palm and pulled the trigger.

The Element one-fifteen charged electricity shocked the monster; causing it to roar out in agony as as it started to spasm. The foam around its arm crumbled to the ground. Several soldiers armed with ranged weapons took that time to open fire. Many arrows and crossbow bolts missed their intended target, thanks to the monster thrashing around in pain from the electric shock, but did manage to embed itself into the newly exposed flesh.

Naruto yanked the wonder weapon out from its palm and then dived and rolled out from under the oversized hand. At the same time Helen took aim at the open wound on the things shoulder, from her side and her arm stretched while it unwound. To Naruto, as he stared at it, the technique looked like a propeller.

He stared in awe as the technique completely and utterly reduced the monster's shoulder, upper torso and a large part of its head into a large mess of blood and goop. The severed sword arm fell to the ground, limp.

But somehow, despite it not healing, it was still alive!

The monster roared in agony as it quickly retreated back into the portal. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and looked to Helen, nodding at her with a relieved smile.

Then suddenly a large amount of tendrils shot out of the portal, reconnected with the severed arm, which then proceeded to spear Naruto through the stomach!

“Naruto!!!” a wide eyed Helen screamed out in utter terror.

Naruto lurched backwards, flinched and shakingly looked down. The blade pierced him through the front and back. He could feel the blood running down his back and stomach. The blond dropped the Ragnarok DG-4's to the ground and grabbed the flat of the blade.

“Ugh... Guh...” he winced as he tried pushing the blade out of him. It wouldn't budge and only made him bleed more. “So...” his blood began to drench his uniform. “...this is what being stabbed is like?”

He lurched forward with a pained grunt, when the blade was pulled out of him and into the portal where it closed a second later. Naruto fell to his knees holding on to his stomach to stop the bleeding. It wasn't working.

The blood from the monster disintegrated itself so it would not be collected to be used against them.

Helen and Deneve caught him by the shoulders to keep him from falling over.

“Fuck fuck fuck! Deneve, what the hell do we do?!” Helen yelled in a panic.

“Stop the bleeding, that's what!” Deneve yelled back at her. She and Helen proceeded to add pressure on the exit wound on Naruto's back. Trying their damnedest to at least slow the flow of blood.

“Don't just sit there you two, get him up!” They heard Miria bark.

Naruto paid them no mind. The blond looked over his shoulder to his backpack. The blood vial. He's going to bleed out of this rate... and he didn't want to die. Getting a determined look, Naruto pushed Helen's hand off his shoulder so he could grab the blood vial.

He yanked it off and held it in front of him.

“Naruto, what's that?” Miria questioned him.

Naruto uncorked the vial and held in front of him as he said. “Remember I said, when I didn't know, who rescued me from the Organization?”

Miria looked at him with suspicion. Why did he bring that up? “...Yeah?” Then her eyes grew wide.

Naruto chuckled when he saw the look on her face. “Yeah.” he brought the vial to his lips. “I lied.” and he drank the crimson fluid and barely resisted gagging when the bitter taste of iron got on his tongue.

But he chugged it down like a pro, and when the vial was empty, he tossed it aside and hunched over with a groan as the two versions of Element one-fifteen contained within mixed and merged with his own.

His wound healed and Naruto got to his feet seemingly against his will. Knowing something was wrong Deneve quickly got away. The blond growled as before everyone’s eyes his skin paled, like a corpse, and his eyes gained a glowing orange tint to them.

Lastly a fog-like mist began constantly emitting from his body, but would disperse a few metres into the air. Then to the surprise of everyone, he fell to his knees again and sat there. Growling and snarling as he tried to rein in control of his body that was slowly reaching out of his control.

It wasn't working. He couldn't... couldn't get control of himself. His past flashed before his eyes. The way he was treated. The way everyone looked at him, even his own sisters, Mine and Fuyu made him feel useless. Worthless.

He... wasn't good enough. Just like his... parents said he was. Maybe... maybe it would be for the better if he did die here.

“What is this?”

Naruto Namikaze looked up. ahead of him, as did everyone else, and the blond was very surprised at seeing himself; more specifically, Primis Naruto, the one he met in the other dimension.

“...What?” Namikaze Naruto whispered in disbelief.

Spectre Naruto gave the Namikaze an inquisitive frown. “What are you doing, Naruto? Why, aren't you fighting for control over your body?” he questioned him.

Namikaze Naruto looked down at the ground; he couldn't look the spectre in the eyes. “What, can I do? I'm useless.”

Spectre Naruto scoffed. “That's bullshit, and you know it.”

“Is it, though?” the blond retorted tiredly. “Ever since I lost my memory all those years ago... Ever since I wasn't able to do anything they wanted me to do, my family, didn't think I was worth having around.” he breathed, as his eyes partially closed. “They stopped treating me as their child, and started, treating me as a stranger. Like... like I wasn't worth anything in their eyes. Maybe they were right. Maybe, I am nothing.”

“They were bullshitting you, Naruto!” the ghost said, as he looked to Helen, Deneve, Miria, Cynthia and Yuma. He then looked back down at the blond. “You are worth something! To someone!”

The Namikaze gasped as he hunched over, falling onto his hands. The blond growled as his veins became darker and darker a stark contrast to his pale skin, and his eyes started to bleed into empty, glowing orange eye sockets.

“Worth something, eh?” Naruto growled as he slowly stood up, and swayed unsteadily before righting himself. He gave the ghost a fierce glare. “What a joke. I'm not worth anything...”

He grunted in surprise when he felt someone put their hands on his shoulders. When he quickly looked in both directions he was astonished to see that Helen and Deneve were the ones touching him. Then Miria, Cynthia and Yuma, Flora, Eliza and Veronica followed suit.

“You're not worthless. If it wasn't for you, then the causalities at Pieta would have been numerous.” Miria told him.

Naruto bared his teeth and growled. He was evidently struggling with himself, Miria realised. “But it wasn't me, it was the Keeper.” he pointed out to her.

Deneve immediately countered him. “It was you who put our safety above your own. You allowed us to be taken out of there first. And when the awakened beings were converging on the city, what did you do?” she asked him expectantly.

“...I, snuck out of there.” the blond answered her.

Deneve nodded. “You're not useless. Not even close.” the woman had a lot of conviction in her words. Naruto looked at the other six and say they were nodding with the same amount of conviction as Deneve.

Well... with that many people believing in him, he can't just go and give up, now can he? With a low growl Naruto started fighting back.

The spectre grinned with satisfaction as he nodded to himself. “Now that's the Naruto I remember!” he exclaimed.

With determination welling in his very being, Naruto Namikaze was able to regain complete control over his body. His skin regained colour, and his eyes changed back to normal. Inhaling and exhaling Naruto brought his hands to his face and looked at his blood soaked palms then he looked down at his front.

Oh. Now that was a lot of blood he lost.

Seeing as he had calmed down, Helen, Deneve, Miria, Yuma Flora, Veronica and Eliza took their hands off him.

Then he looked at the spectre with a furrowed brow; he remembered something. And the ghost saw the look on his face.

“What is it?” Spectre Naruto asked him.

“What the hell is a scrub?” Namikaze Naruto questioned him.

“Oh, well, a scrub is what you call someone who's bad at something. It can also be used for other things too...”

And so began the pointless and unneeded attempt at explaining what a scrub is.