The Last Avenger and The World of Omni: Raincheck

[Sasuke Uchiha]

“THAT’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!”

*BOOM*

It wasn't even light outside and it had been like this for weeks. Blood and sweat soaked the ground and there had to be something said about the air; just never seemed to be enough of it. It was just so hard to breathe that you were literally always short on breath.

“STILL TOO SLOW!!!”

*CLASH*

Thundering sounds of the shinobi colliding and exchanging blows rang throughout the mountains echoing to the forests below. The speed in which they moved was unnatural and the young Genin known as Sasuke, had found himself on the wrong end of a spinning back elbow. It was a shame really as he had foreseen and blocked the previous elbow, but in his hesitation he failed to counter. Life’s funny that way; some of the best lessons have to be learned the hard way.

Endless White overrode his vision as his limbs failed him and went limp. His vision returned but only for a moment. It then grew dark as his body collapsed from under himself, onto his knees, before finally finding himself face first in the dirt.

“Tell me Sasuke. Is that all there is left of the great Uchiha Clan?”

And like that the walls came crashing down, consciousness flooded back into the young shinobi breathing life anew. He was up and with haste he was on his opponent with an ill intention. His eye’s a fiery red known only to the Uchihas, as he rushed forward and began to unleash a barrage of furious punches and kicks, all of which found contact; none of which found an opening but this did not deter the young upstar---

*SMASH*

This time his vision would remain intact, better that way, now he would be able to see the smug expression on Kakashi’s face as he fell to his knees. Kakashi took a knee so that he was face to face with his pupil before speaking, “I thought you had purpose. I thought you had someone to kill.”

His breathing was heavy and he couldn’t, for the life of him, catch his breath. Damn this elevation he thought, but he knew he had to answer, “I will kill him.”

The young ninja sprang fourth with all his might, clenching all the power he could in his right hand and he fired a hell of a right hook intended for the silver haired instructor.

*SWOOSH*

“How are you going to do that, when you can’t even hit me?” the words soft, but only a whisper on the tongue of Kakashi and only audible to Sasuke because mid-way through the punch Kakshi had instantly vanished, only to reappear directly behind him.

“You have these damn weights on me, of course you’re dodging me. I bet it’d be a different story if I took them off.” The youth retorted, exposing a contempt he did not mean to show.

Kakashi shrugged, looked Sasuke over with his eyes, and said simply, “the weights I applied to your ankles are only half the weight being used for Rock Lee’s training.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened in embarrassment.

His sensei grinned and began again, “honestly, they aren’t even as heavy as the ones I am using now.” he finished talking, removed his under garments, tossed them to Sasuke and upon catching them, they plummeted to the floor with Sasuke unable to hold them up.

Frustrated the teenage ninja snapped back, “It doesn’t even matter. I will still kill him.”

Kakashi arched an eyebrow, grinned, and rushed the young shinobi with his own barrage of punches and kicks.

“NOT IF YOU DON’T GET FASTER!!!”

*CRASH*

It continued like this for some time and looking back on it Sasuke would value Kakashi’s training far more than he ever could have imagined. For, it was about to be one of the last times he would ever train under the great Kakashi Sensei ever again. Through this training he would gain great power, hands down, but nothing would prepare Sasuke for what would come next.

“Arrg!.. Man, I swear if he doesn’t show I’ll kill him. I swear, I’ll kill him!”

Pacing back and forth in frustration a youth who had to be no older than Sasuke gritted his teeth and balled his fist in front of him. He stood from what looked like a private box seating apart of a larger coliseum. His clothes dirty and worn as through he had just been through a battle and upon his chest he wore a badge that read...

[spoiler]

“Chunin Exams: Compettitor
Village Hidden in the leaves
Name: Uzumaki”

[/spoiler]

It was a tournament, a rite of passage to the shinobi, and it was in its conclusion. This meant that for some lucky few they would be progressing further into their respective ninja ranks. Sasuke however, was only minutes away from being disqualified for being late!

"Ugh.. What’s he thinking? I bet he’s planning some big entrance or something… Well, I’m not going to be impressed!”

It was none other than Naruto: the number 1 hyperactive knucklehead ninja from the village hidden in the leaves and what a sight for sore eyes he was. Though Sasuke didn’t realise it then, Naruto was not only Sasuke’s comrade, he had become closest thing to a friend Sasuke had ever known.

“Ha! So you decided to show up after all. I was betting you wouldn’t show cause sooner or later you would have to face me!” He lied. Naruto had been telling everyone they were wrong and that Sasuke would show. He even punched a kid who had said Sasuke was too chicken to show up.

His eyes glimmered a shade of ocean blue as his face lit up like only a child’s face could. His grin bore into Sasuke, exuding a confidence that Sasuke knew could only mean one thing.

“So, what about you? Did you win?” the Uchiha smirked at his rival and comrade.

“You know it!” Naruto exclaimed as he extended a thumbs up at Sasuke.

“Hmph, well don’t get too full of yourself. You still can’t beat me!” Sasuke replied cooly as he flashed a sly grin.

So, Naruto won the first round and against Neji no less… Naruto… you are getting stronger. I can’t wait to fight you again!

“You better not lose to that guy!” Naruto interrupted his train of thought.

“Got it.” He replied, and to be honest, he was getting excited. He couldn't wait to put his new training to use on this devil from the sand everyone was talking about.

“SASUKE!” shouted Naruto, “Beat him so we can fight!”

“Got it!” flashing another Uchiha grin.

Don’t worry Naruto, you’re next. I have to become the strongest!

But just like that, he was gone; Kakashi too.

“Naruto..? Kakashi Sensei?...”

Darkness. Not that pale shadow of dawn, but the actual certainty of non-existence. How? Was he not just standing with his comrades? Death comes for us all, but on this day? Was the Uchiha flame to be extinguished so soon? No… No, he would not accept that.

Why then, this blackness? Had the fight already begun? Had he lost… lost more than just the match? The devil in the sand… That had to be it, Genjutsu!

“My Clan… My clan… I can’t die here. Remember me, their looking to me… My brother… I am an avenging angel… and ANGELS DON”T DIE!!! ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!”

Light; Illumination; The very beginning to existence exploded into being cupped in Sasuke’s right hand. Bolts of electricity popped and crackled, surrounding his fist. He lunged forward, attempting to destroy anything he could make contact with.

*BOOM*

He hit something and it hit back; hard. Light exploded as the power in his hand faded away. Sasuke’s body was sent sprawling backwards, like a rock skipping across water. The blackness encompassed him, however, the light that had exploded yards away still remained and from it stepped a silhouette of a man…

“My name is Omni. This is not the world you know. This is the Omniverse. You interest me, so I have made you part of it. The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.”

“What…What are you going on about?” the Uchiha stuttered in disbelief.

The being suddenly appeared before Sasuke, now only a few feet separating them.

He’s fast… just as fast as me… none of my training will do me any good here… Damn!

The white silhouette reached out, extending his hand forward. Startled, Sasuke reacted, flipping backwards and landed in a crouched position.

A florescent glow illuminated from his hand as the being know as 'Omni' seemed to express what looked to be a smirk... at Sasuke, though Sasuke couldn’t be sure. In the palm of his hand he held a glimmering orb in which all the colors of the rainbow coalesce.

“This is Omnilium. It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most. "

“Immortality?” Sasuke questioned, expressing curiosity for the first time.

“You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium. Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn."

That got his attention and his interest. “I don’t care about others. I only care about one man. Tell me, is he here? Is Itachi Uchiha here as well?!”

“That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.”

“Wait, what? No, what, no... No, wait.. Wait! WAIT!!!... Damn…!"

"...."

"Damn..."

[Sasuke Uchiha]

An aroma of freshly ground coffee beans, accompanied by the sizzling sounds of eggs and bacon brought a dreary, old Arnold Hammond to the breakfast table. He rubbed the night from his tired eyes letting out a yawn accompanied with a stretch. Atop of the table next to his keys he found a pack of smokes and sparked up a cigarette.

“Rough night?” his loving wife, Margaret Hammond, asked as she placed his breakfast before him along with his coffee and a side of buttered toast and jam.

“Rough year.”

She smiled as she sat opposite her husband with her hands folded in her lap. She hadn't made herself a plate yet and wouldn't until Arnold left. Being a Storm-trooper, her husband had a ridiculous schedule that made spending any amount of quality time together rather difficult. So, she would wait, as she always did. It didn't bother her in the slightest as his job was not only taxing, but a dangerous one as well.

“This is why we need to take that vacation I’m always talking about.” She spoke with a smile, but her face expressed worry for her husband.

Arnold had been hurt on the job and not just once. You don’t come into command of the Imperial’s finest force within the Omniverse without getting your ass handed to you by a prime or two, but he had also excelled in the ranks. It was bittersweet thing, as his career had brought them a quality of life they had never known, but Margaret, she’d trade it all for her husband’s safety. As a soldier there was just never any certainty Arnold would return home each night. Thus, Margaret had originally despised his occupation. On many occasions, she had actually tried to persuade him to quit and pursue other employment. Unfortunately for Margaret, her husband was a true storm-trooper and had unwavering resolve in his commitment to the force, no pun intended.

So, she wouldn't eat. Not until he had already left for the day. She would just sit and listen, taking advantage of what little time they had in the morning. This brought her comfort and so every morning she would just sit; she smiled as he ate.

“Ever since they put me in charge of the fountain detail, it has been nothing but setbacks, headaches, and pains in my ass.” He grunted between mouthfuls of egg.

“Well, Arnold, you know how I feel about it…”

“Oh, now. Don’t start that. I haven’t even finished my coffee yet.”

Margaret took a moment before replying with, “I know sweetie. It just makes me nervous with you out there and all. With those dangerous new primes… Most of them are savages. They aren't all like Palpatine, that’s for sure!”

“What we need is more like The Judge!” Arnold gleamed from ear to ear, ignorant to the egg on his lip.

Margaret rolled her eyes, giggled, and wiped the food from his mouth. Arnold was a huge supporter of The Judge and rightly so as a commander in the storm-trooper fleet. People who knew him might even say he was The Judge’s biggest fan, as he saw himself a lawman for good in this crazy, chaotic new world they inhabited.

Arnold Hammond had been a part of The Empire since before it all began, starting with Emperor Palpatine himself. Arnold was an original secondary that came with the building of Coruscant, so he had actually seen what it was like in Coruscant before The Judge showed up. Crime, violence, and all manner of filth and vulgarities had plagued the city. That was until The Judge showed up, he was the man who cleaned it all up.

“I tell ya, Margaret, we are all indebted to that man!”

Margaret rolled her eyes again, tossing a piece of bread at her husband; they laughed. She had always been more of a Palpatine advocate. She viewed the Judge as a dog, a necessary threat, but one she wished the emperor would keep a tighter leash on. She knew this wouldn't happen though, as he headed the entire storm-trooper army and wasn't going anywhere, at least not anytime soon.

“I lost men yesterday.”

Margaret closed her mouth, leaned back against her chair, and folded her hands back into her lap before speaking, “Not Jimmy? You said he was going to be good.”

“Aye, he didn't even make it through the afternoon. Got impaled by a… a hammer… if you would believe it.”

“Oh no. I’m so sorry, hun.”

“That’s not all Margaret. They got Kenny too.”

“Oh my god! They killed Kenny?!”

Kenny was one of the last three remaining storm-troopers who originally took up the fountain detail when Arnold took command just a little over one year ago.

“You bastards!”

“Easy, sweetheart. You know we need primes…”

“I know, but it’s not fair! It’s always like this! ‘And what about the primes?! I’m sure we won’t see any justice for them!” She scowled.

“Baby…” Arnold was sympathetic.

“Ughh… Well, what about Cody?” she was crying.

“No, Cody is fine” Arnold replied as he stood.

Cody and Arnold, now the only remaining originals from that day Arnold took command; they had seen countless others take up the post only to die under their watch. It was awful and it had really been taking a toll on Arnold, but he had to do it. Primes were the key to the salvation of the Omniverse, or so the empire believed as they so keenly repeated it over and over to their regiment every single day.

“At least there is some good news” his wife said as she planted a kiss on his cheek before handing him his helmet.

“I’ll be late for dinner, but when I do get home, we’ll talk about me taking some vacation time. We can spend it together, just the two of us.”

“You promise?”

“Yes, as soon as I get back. I promise!”

****

“Damn…”

Brilliant light burst into existence all around the young shinobi. Within an instant the black had retreated, unveiling nothing but emptiness. To the north, east, south, or west nothing but an empty white horizon. Emptiness that which consumed you, enveloped you, and seemed endless, however, strangely, Sasuke did not mind it here. He felt something peaceful about it; like being still, submerged deep under water, he experienced a moment of bliss.

A passing moment, as they always are, for the very space beneath his feet vanished. An odd thing really, for he did not ‘see’ the vanishing. Everything was white; he merely felt the ‘ground’ disappearing, he could not see it. Ominous; he could sense a new ‘ground’ rushing up to meet him, but again, nothing. It was as though the land was made up of nothing. Literally nothing; there had never been anything and there never would be.

A snap of your fingers and like that everything changed. The white before him rippled and crackled causing him unease as he anticipated the worse. The space below him distorted, phasing in and out. The Uchiha blood strong within Sasuke, allowed him access to his dormant Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan, and with a grin, he laid eyes on the anomaly.

Would this be it, would he understand the mechanics to Omni’s power? He braced himself as he scanned the space below him in bewilderment. He could see something, but it didn't make sense to him. It was as though he could see written words, but could not comprehend them. “What is this? I can’t copy that… it doesn't even make sense! It jus---AAARRRGGGHH”

His Sharingan suppressed itself, all of its own accord, as a sheering pain tore its way through the young shinobi’s brain. A migraine of immense pain, the likes of which he had never experienced plagued his conscious mind. Excruciating anguish jolted throughout his nervous system causing him to retreat into his own sub consciousness; his own blackness and all the while he was still falling.

The ripples that had formed below, out of the thin air, were like that of a rock skipping across water. It crackled one last time; the loudest of them all and finally a giant cascading waterfall had appeared in its place. A beautiful sight to behold for sure, unfortunately, sight wasn’t an ability the Uchiha currently possessed as he plummeted towards the water. It would later cause the Uchiha great heartache as he would recognize this waterfall to be of his home land, more specifically the Valley of the End.

*SPLASH*

Water surrounded the youth as his limp body, swept away by the current, crashed amongst the rocks. Blood dirtied the water as it menacingly found its way down the throat and into the lungs of the Uchiha. This caused his reluctant consciousness to come rushing back to him. Dazed and confused, he held the back of his head as he began coughing and hacking up water. With the unforgiving currents relentless in their pursuit to submerge him, Sasuke pushed hard with his feet, breaking the surface. Gasping for air he saw it too late, the edge was upon him... and he was going over.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke braced himself as he found, once again, he was plummeting in a free fall. Was this really happening? Or was this just hell? Perhaps he was doomed to just… free fall forever. That was it; there was nothing more to this place but confusion. Just fall and fall… and fall. This fall would likely never end.

A snap of your fingers and like that it ended.

****

*BOOM*

“What was that?... Was that the fountain?!”

Arnold turned to face his comrades, “I don’t know, but we better check it ou—“

“OH MY GOD!!” One of the troopers exclaimed as he pointed.

Cody, a veteran of the regiment, stared off into the distance in dis belief as his jaw dropped, “It is the fountain. Will you look at that… Wow.”

“I don’t think I've ever seen it that big. JesusOmni! What do you s’pose it is?” Arnold questioned.

“I don’t know. I knew it changed all the times with Primes and everything, but I've never seen it that big!”

“C’mon, let’s go check it out.” Arnold grunted as he motioned the men to follow.

[Mami Tomoe]

Mami tumbled through the gate, landed with a swift roll and was on her feet running without a single wasted movement. A look of determination covered her face as she dashed as quickly as she could across the Nexus - She had met so many people near that Fountain not long ago, so perhaps she would find someone else there? But last time no one appeared to know anything - Everyone else seemed just as in the dark about the Omniverse as she herself was. There was always hope, however - She could find someone that knew where she had to go. Things like bounties, especially when they had information like the bounty she found, wouldn't exist unless there was knowledge on where to go and how to go about handling the guilty party.

Mami scanned her surroundings - Most notably, the eight Gates which lined the 'walls' of this Nexus. She wondered where each one would take her, or even if all of them did take her somewhere. Maybe some of them would simply lead to nothing, or to traps? She had been lucky enough to end up in that peaceful land of plains, fortresses and other such things, but it didn't seem the smartest to think much about going into any of them without a quick test with a ribbon. Which, oddly enough, she still couldn't seem to create any. Had coming here weakened her? Did she need to re-learn to master the magic she had already mastered before?

The sound of an explosion took the schoolgirl out of her thoughts as she turned to look in the direction, shielding her face as a precaution, though no debris appeared - However, something had happened - The Fountain had turned into some sort of valley, centered by a waterfall and lined by two carvings of faces she had never seen before. Mami stopped dead in her tracks and stared wide-eyed at the former Fountain. What in the world had caused this? Mami wasn't sure, though she suspected it wasn't something good. She caught her breath once more and started sprinting again with renewed energy.

The girl dashed along, squinting slightly in focus and thought. She wanted to summon a pair of rifles, in case whatever caused this was hostile, but she considered that perhaps this was normal. Maybe the Fountain here was the only thing that ever changed, as the rest of the Nexus was simply white. Nearly running flat up against a wall - A valley, rather - Interrupted her thoughts, leaving her only to look around from where she was. While climbing would give her a good view, it didn't quite seem practical...

But another quick look gave Mami all she needed to see. Her eyes widened as she saw a figure - A boy, from the looks of things - Hurtling downwards toward the water. That would no doubt hurt or possibly kill him if he couldn't swim - Mami had to take action. But before she could even think of jumping to try and catch him, he broke the surface of the water, causing a large pillar of white water to fly up around the otherwise clear blue Fountain. Not good, Mami thought and dove into the water without a thought for how she might fare in this situation. She swam over to the boy that oddly enough wasn't sinking, who she could now identify as just older than her but also just shorter. She grabbed his hand, pulled him toward her and wrapped his arms around her neck and began swimming to the edge of the water.

With a little difficulty, the Magical Girl pulled herself out of the water with the boy in tow. She set him down face-up on the ground, then stood up. "Sorry I came a little late," she said with a smile. "I just saw you fall there. What happened? More importantly, are you all right?" There were many questions she wanted to ask, but it didn't seem fitting to ask them now. "If you think you can get up after that, I'll give you a hand." She offered her hand, maintaining the smile of care tinged with sympathy for someone she didn't know. "I'm Mami Tomoe. Who might you be, if it's my business?"

[Sasuke Uchiha]

All of a sudden, things had gone from completely black to completely white… Again. It seemed as though this was a reoccurring theme for the world of Omni. Only this time, Sasuke had awoke to find himself, not only soaking wet, but with company as well. How had this happened? How long had he been out? How long before he would be back on his path of vengeance? He had wasted enough time already!

"Sorry I came a little late,"

Sasuke planted both palms on the ground, raising his torso so that he might face whom the voice was coming from; his legs still stretched out before him.

Ugh… What happened…? My Sharingan… he thought.

"I just saw you fall there. What happened? More importantly, are you all right?"

What?... Who is this person?... Still not answering.

"If you think you can get up after that, I'll give you a hand." She offered her hand, maintaining the smile of care tinged with sympathy for someone she didn't know. "I'm Mami Tomoe. Who might you be, if it's my business?"

Sasuke, alert, gave her a once over as to access her threat level, but the notion was dismissed as quickly as it had come. She was too soft. Everything about her was soft; her big doe eyes to her tiny frame. She even moved with a delicacy Sasuke hadn't been exposed to in a long while; the image of Sakura flashing in his memory.

Standing, of his own strength, he began to speak, “Thank you,” he smiled at her, but only just slightly, barely even noticeable, “but I am an Avenger of the Uchiha Clan. My name is Sasuke Uchiha and I am looking for someone.”

Soaking wet herself, the strange apparel she wore now tightly hugged Mami, betraying her and exposing a rather flattering, womanly figure. She withdrew her outstretched hand with a frown, “I'm sure you could have handled yourself there, but I couldn't help but worry a little bit.” Her smile anew.

“You’re looking for someone…” she placed her forefinger onto her bottom lip as she stood in silence for a moment. She then raised her finger outward and spoke once more, “Hunting someone?” She adjusted his words. "Maybe you're a bounty hunter?"

Sasuke, having noticed Mami’s feminine figure, turned his head away from her before speaking, “The person I am looking for is a mass murderer. It’s very important I find them.”

Sasuke took a couple of steps, creating more space between them as he peered off into the distance. How would he ever find Itachi now? Even if he found Itachi, then what? That would only prove fruitless as he knew in his current condition he’d be no match for him anyway. He needed to get stronger, but how? He was trapped here…

Damn it Sasuke, you fool! You’ve lost everything. You thought you could see. Well, you didn’t see this coming… he thought.

The young blonde stepped forward after Sasuke; her back to the fountain now. Her face lit up with a smile, ear to ear in excitement and in this moment, she was extremely attractive. “That’s it! You are a bounty hunter! Haha! I knew it! Well now, that IS lucky," mused the out of character-ly excited Magical Girl. Perhaps being away from people for what felt like so long made her more excitable?

Looking to her voice, Sasuke laid eyes behind Mami on the fountain and all its glory for the first time. He’d seen it many times back in his home land of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. His heart tinged for a brief moment as any emotion he had expressed quickly disappeared. A good ninja never exposes their emotions.

Bringing his attention back to the matter at hand he pondered the words of this newcomer, Bounty hunter…? Here? What for…

Omnilium! He realized.

Sasuke looked upon her face, her cheesy grin, and her big doe eyes and he couldn’t help but grin himself.

This is Omnilium. It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.

That was the ticket to the mother f*cking chocolate factory! This girl had made Sasuke so happy, he forgot himself and embraced her. Startled from being hugged, Mami hesitated for a moment before speaking, “What's this about?”

“I’m thanking you.” The Uchiha explained as he broke the space between them, turning away from her.

“Oh, trust me, you have nothing to thank me for,” She replied as she dismissed the thought with a motion of her hand.

Confused the young shinobi took a step back and retorted, “What?... No!...” He chuckled at the thought as he placed his hands within his pockets, expressing a confident grin on his face before continuing with a mock tone, “What are you talking about?”

“Wait-- But you were...” she stammered as she pointed to the fountain and then to their wet clothes. Frustrated she continued, “Out of curiosity, what are you thanking me for? Whatever it is, you don't need to, I swear--”

Sasuke removed his hands from within his pockets, raising his right hand up into a fist before he replied with, “For reminding me of Omnilium... For giving me back my purpose!”

His face was more alive and intense in this moment than it had been throughout the entirety of their interaction.

*SPLASH*

His train of thought was suddenly broken as his eyes shifted off Mami and upwards behind her. Sasuke’s eyes grew wide in horror as a singeing pain jolted from the cursed mark upon his neck.

“HEY!!! LOOOOOK OOOUUUT!!!!”

The Uchiha bellowed to female as the pain brought him to his knees. Mami, alert, shifted her position and met the horror with her own eyes. Water cascading off reptilian scales; a giant serpent of a snake had risen from the fountain’s very waters. Standing (so to speak) a gnarly twenty feet tall, the serpent posed an ominous threat. It hissed a wicked sound just before it struck out viciously, headed straight for the lovely Mami!

[Mami Tomoe]

Mami met the horrifying serpent before her eye-to-eye and, in a terrible bout of regaining memory, felt her neck with her left hand. Wide-eyed she sucked in her breath and regained her composure - Her eyes turned from wide open to a squint of determination as she flipped backwards, picked up the pain-ridden Uchiha and jumped out of the way of the grand but terrifying snake that now hurtled forwards at them. It bit down on the curious, white substance that made up the floor of the Nexus and found itself stuck, which Mami took as an opportunity to set Sasuke down.

"Aren't you in high demand?" Mami joked with a friendly smile. "If you're up for it, I think we should handle this as a team," she thought, recalling Omni's comment on how there were others like herself. Hopefully these others, like Sasuke, would have powers like her own - Which the flaring and expanding mark on Sasuke's body seemed to prove. She extended her hands out, creating a rifle in each hand. "I'll distract it as best as I can. You try to find a weak point and exploit it the best way you can. I don't know exactly how you fight, but hopefully you can figure out a way to--" Mami glanced over her shoulder and saw the serpent pulling out of the ground. She pulled Sasuke to his feet, muttering a soft "Sorry" in the process. She dashed away to face the serpent head-on, leaving it to face her and not Sasuke... While he was left to stare at the girl who had just unloaded so much on her without even a pause to catch her breath. He couldn't help but wonder why he had let her run off and fight...

Then again, she had weapons. And she had created them out of thin air. Maybe she could hold her own for a while? But Sasuke himself had something to do, didn't he? Right, she wanted me to-- Find a weakness? Orochimaru's snakes don't have a weakness. Unless-- Sasuke looked up at the snake's head, and there was the man who had made his curse mark. I need to fight him. But am I strong enough? And is it worth risking never getting the power to kill... Him? Itachi's face flashed ever-so-vividly in his mind. Weighing his options briefly, Sasuke decided he had to prioritize living now.

Mami tossed her right-hand rifle into the air, removed her hat and swiped it across the ground at shoulder level. A number of rifles, identical to the pair she was holding, appeared in front of her. She put on her hat and caught her right-hand rifle, shooting it as she caught it, hitting the snake in between the eyes - Though this appeared to have little effect. She shot a glare down the sight of her left hand rifle and fired it at the same location, then tossed both rifles to her sides. Mami grabbed another rifle, still staring down her opponent, and shot it in the same location, discarding the used rifle, and repeating with the opposite hand and another rifle. Again and again she fired, expecting no great result, she hoped that Sasuke could find something so she could avoid facing down this monster seemingly alone.

Gritting his teeth and occasionally letting a muffled cry of pain through his lips from his burning curse mark, Sasuke dashed along the body of the serpent with a strange sense of determination. It appeared that he wasn't noticed by Orochimaru, as he appeared to be watching Sasuke's 'friend' with amusement, with his back turned to Sasuke. The snake twitched below him every now and then, causing him to jump to later portions to avoid being knocked off and occasionally stumble, grabbing the scales and seemingly running on all fours for a step or two. Though before long, he had approached the snake's master himself - Though before he could so much as lay a finger on him, Orochimaru turned around.

"Sasuke," he chimed with a devilish smile. "It's been too long."

Good? Good. Okeh? Okeh. Good night.

[Sasuke Uchiha]

**CRASH**

The giant serpent slammed into the Nexus floor, erupting a cloud of white debris so great the snake’s form became hidden within it. The serpent, in its rage, had intended to take a mouthful of Mami and got the Nexus floor instead. This caused the snake both pain and panic as it became ensnared by the very floor itself. It thrashed about this way and that in an attempt to free itself, causing quite a ruckus.

Mami, who had avoided collision with a nimble display of acrobatics, landed on the balls of her feet in a crouched position next to Sasuke. "Aren't you in high demand?" Mami joked with a friendly smile. "If you're up for it, I think we should handle this as a team,"

Sasuke looked down upon her hand which had been intertwined with his from when they avoided the snake together. The image of Naruto and Sakura flashing before his eyes as he accessed the blonde female again, “No. Our opponent is too strong, you stay here and let me take care of th---“

"I'll distract it as best as I can.” She interrupted as though she hadn’t heard him at all, “You try to find a weak point and exploit it the best way you can. I don't know exactly how you fight, but hopefully you can figure out a way to--"

Mami glanced over her shoulder and noticed the serpent was on the move again. She stood, pulling Sasuke to his feet as she was still holding his hand. She looked down to their hands and immediately pulled her hand away muttering a soft "Sorry" in the process just before she took off for the snake.

“Wait, no! The snake isn’t even the problem!” his words fell on deaf ears as she had already sprinted out to meet the snake in combat.

Damn… he thought as he observed the battle unfolding before them. Kicking up dirt, (Or the equivalent to whatever the white stuff was that kicked up from his feet as he sprinted) he accessed his Sharingan and laid eyes on the snake.

There! He realized.

Even in the midst of battle, Orochimarua had the gaul to mock you. That of a true predator, he would play with his food, as he was doing with Mami now. He was standing atop the serpents head, directly in harm’s way as though to mock her.

“That ego of yours will cost you!” Sasuke smirked as he was already upon him. He had scaled the vicious beast and done so without notifying his opponent of his presence. The young Uchiha crouched down and planted his arm down to the ground as he began to focus and charge all of his chakra into his right hand. He grinned.

This technique he had learned with Kakashi was devastating and would certainly take care of this pest, however, it would take time to acquire enough chakra for a foe such as Orochimaru. Time he wouldn’t be allowed…

"Sasuke," Orochimaru chimed with a devilish smile. "It's been too long."

“Humph. Not long enough, if you ask me.” He remarked coolly as he stood, abandoning the ambush and placed his hands within his pockets. Expressing a confident grin on his face before continuing in a mock tone, “If you’re here for an autograph, you’ll have to wait in line like all the other girls.”

His aloof demeanor, however, did not go unnoticed by the former, snake-like villain of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Sasuke felt an immense pain jolt throughout his entire body as the cursed mark upon his neck began to sear. Rebellious, the Uchiha remained expressionless in spite of this. He refused to allow Orochimaru the satisfaction. He glared meeting the snake eyes of his opponent head on, now for the second time. Orochimaru, with his serpent like tongue slithering about his lips, addressed the Uchiha, “What’s thisssss?”

His blood thirst and murderous intent so intense that you could literally feel it. It enveloped and consumed you. The air was filled with it and it gave a sort of, euphoric ‘washing over you’ feeling; one of sorrow and despair. The hissing sound of his voice sent chills down the youth’s spine, but he shrugged it off, he had experienced this before and like before he had already resolved to go through Orochimaru in order to kill Itachi. Things would be different this time, this time he was ready.

“So, you think you different? Is that it? You’re not. All of them come to me when the time comessss” Orochimaru hissed.

“Humph! I am different. There is no one alive like me, for I am the last of the Uchiha Clan. I am the last avenger, now die here and now OROICHIMARU!!!!” Sasuke screamed as he unleashed all the furry he could in a vicious assault on the snake demon of Village Hidden in the Leaves!

Mami, still firing and reloading (So to speak) in rapid succession had wonderfully corrected the accuracy design flaws of her weapon of choice. Every bullet seemed to be hitting its mark... over and over again without fail. So, much in fact that she had begun to inflict real damage on the snake. The serpent became enraged and struck out at her, careless of the shinobi atop its head.

Sasuke, with the help of chakra, kept his footing, however he feared most for Mami as she seemed NOT to be retreating or even trying to dodge the strike. The snake within mere inches of one of her rifle’s barrels, took on a point blank shot, causing an eruption of blood and hissing sounds before incapacitating the beast. The serpent’s body, however, still posed a serious threat for the young Magician as it was still hurling straight for her through its already obtained momentum.

**CRASH**

Mami fell backwards landing as an explosion from a collision rang throughout the Nexus. She opened her eyes as the debris settled to find the young boy standing in front of her with his arm extended outward in the form of an uppercut.

The snake was spiraling upwards into the clear white sky of the Nexus, instead of plummeting onto Mami’s small frame. The serpent however, would be returning to crush them under its weight. In an instant Sasuke was by Mami’s side and in another instant they had traveled the space necessary to avoid being crushed by the falling serpent.

“Seems as though you are pretty popular yourself.” The Uchiha flashed a grin as he extended his hand.

Mami, unlike Sasuke, took the aid and stood, “Yea, well… It’s a good thing you killed that thing when you did.”

“The beast was already lifeless when I hit it. It’s not my kill, it’s yours.” He stated matter-of-factly.

Mami stared for a moment taking in Sasuke’s appearance from her angle on the floor, the white horizon illuminating his youthful and attractive features. He had surprised her as, up until now, she had been doing all of the saving. She couldn't help but ponder the possibilities this new acquaintance might bring.

He turned to say something else to the girl, but as he did his jaw collided with an oncoming fist. Once, twice, three times his face felt the impact of knuckles smashing and scraping across his face. Stumbling backwards, he raised his right hand in time to catch the next blow and the next after that with his left. He clenched his opponent’s hands in his own and swung his elbow upward. He made contact with the right arm of his opponent right where the joint is causing the elbow to move in a motion it could not. Sasuke Grinned as he heard the sound.

**SNAP**

Quite; Neither one of them made a sound as they stared into each other’s eyes with ill intent. He had just broken his arm, he knew it, but the devil didn’t make a sound. Instead his serpent-like tongue slithered out and licked the side of Sasuke’s face. Sasuke grimaced.

Orochimaru grinned, broke the space and the grip between them, and lunged forward, slamming his knee into the Uchiha’s abdomen. Grasping for air the young ninja began to fall to his knees, however, before he felt the ground his opponent had bombarded him with more strikes, literally elevating him back to his feet with blows. Sasuke’s body began to grow limp as he was taking too much damage and the situation grew grim. He wouldn’t last much longer like this.

Mami had seen enough, she lunged towards the ninja with a great haste Sasuke hadn’t seen her possess. She was fast, perhaps not Sasuke fast, but fast enough to earn his respect, all the same. In an instant she had appeared directly between the two combatants, took Orochimaru in her sights at point blank range, and fired her two rifles in unison.

[Lubbock]

Not even halfway to the Beach Babe Gate, Lubbock had doubled over, his breath caught up in his throat and his lungs pumping hard. What the hell?! How long will it take to get there?! he thought, agitated. That same Godly voice boomed in his head.
"Are you that stupid? Your own perverted mind clouded your vision, and you didn't notice how far away it was? God, some Prime you are," it insulted him. Lubbock stood up straight and shouted back at the voice.
"Hey! I'm actually new here, in case you hadn't noticed! You could have told me! And I'm not that perverted..." his face flushed as red as his goggles, and he hung his head. He kept walking, his face glum and his posture slumped, hands in his coat pockets. He began to unwind the wires on his glove, letting about three meters of them trail out, and he move his hands into them, twisting and turning them into obscure, and sometimes they seemed obscene, shapes. As he did so, he talked to the voice in his head, "So, here's the story so far. I've fallen into a pure white place with weird gates everywhere, and now I'm talking to myself. I think that I have gone insane. How about you?" he inquired of the voice.
"Very much indeed. However, with your pervertedness, I feel that you have been insane since before this 'dilemma' of yours," it replied smoothly, insulting him again.
"Yeah, thanks for the morale boost. I think I just 1UPd because of your very inspiring comment," Lubbock irritably replied, sarcasm highly emphasized in his every word, "You know what? I'm going to give you a name... lemme see...I know, I'll name you Syura!"
"Why might that be, moss-head?" Syura teased, sounding like he was smiling.
"I really don't know... I have a feeling that there's someone I would have met later in life named Syura. I also have a feeling he would have been a real douche," Lubbock foreshadowed his own future, breaking the fourth-wall ever so slightly.
"Why thankyou, Lubbock. I am very honored to be called a douche by the man whose mind I live within," Syura stated sarcastically himself. Lubbock felt a sudden pain in his cranium and dropped to one knee before Syura spoke again, now dead serious, "Lubbock! Look! You're not alone anymore!". Oh, anymore? I was never damn alone to begin with, you stupid voice! he thought, before he stood up, his wires still trailing from his fingers. He looked over to his left and watched as some kind of ninja sent a huge snake spiraling in the air. Oh. My. Word. He watched as the ninja looked away, and the snake transformed into a humanoid, still reptilian, and attacked his partner, a young, blond girl with two rifles.
"Uh oh. Cute-girl-in-danger alert, Syura" he spoke to the voice in his head as he pushed off, letting the wires trail out further.
"Are you serious? You're in a perverted trance-" Syura began, but the green-haired teen cut him off.
"Syura, this isn't perverted now. Both that girl and that epic ninja dude are in danger. Tell me how that is perverted, please," Lubbock explained, irritated with Syura at this point. The voice when silent suddenly, seeming to realize Lubbock's reasoning.
"I am terribly sorry. Please continue. I'll alert you if any other enemies show up," Syura obliged, agreeing to help Lubbock. A smile crept over his face as he sprinted towards the danger. His face contorted as he watched a high-speed fight between the Snake guy and the Ninja. Wow. So fast. That reminds me, I don't feel as quick as I used to in the old world... The blond girl began firing her rifles at the Snake at point blank range, seemingly dealing some damage to him. Lubbock slid smoothly along the ground, between the combatants, startling them, before standing back up, the wires circling his feet.
"Yo, Creature-features. Why, may I ask, are you attacking this awesome ninja guy and the cute blond?" Lubbock tried to small talk with the Snake. In a split second, he felt a scaly fist crunch against his jaw, spinning him around. He used the momentum to spin kick his opponent, who caught his foot. A smile crossed Lubbock's face, and he pulled his left hand back, pulling the wires against the Snake's feet and tripping him up. He pulled his foot loose before backing up beside the ninja, "I was just trying to be kind, you know," he notified the Snake. He turned his head to the ninja, "You need help, or you got this in the bag?"

Notes: If you're wondering, Syura is pronounced "Shura". People who are fans of Akame ga Kill will get the reference. Those who do not, try your best to understand xD

[Mami Tomoe]

Mami glared at the sickly-pale, raven-haired man who stood before her, who at this range would no doubt be blown to bits by the power of her lovely, ribbon-made percussion-lock muskets - But it appeared someone had interfered. Interference was never a good thing - Mami's eyes widened, overhearing something sounding like an offer for help... Not to what she was about to plaster across the floor, but to the two of them. What made it appear as if they needed help? Mami, at least, seemed in perfect control, at least from the looks of things. In fact, she had yet to even be scratched, aside from a little tumble. But Mami would not have needless sacrifice to take this monster down - No harm would come to this one, as he only intended to help. And Mami had great respect for that... So she could afford a tumble for him.

Mami flipped backwards, ending up in a position where her body was lengthwise - Horizontal - In midair, with her rifles pointed at the snake-man, ready to pierce through him - However, she took the risk of adjusting her aim from a distance. She threw her rifles into the air, caught herself with a handstand which she dismounted backwards, landing carefully but swiftly on her feet. She then ran forwards, jumped into the air, grabbed her rifles and twirled them to fly through her target's head. "Sopra Finale!"* She shouted with a single well-placed shot from her right-hand rifle, she landed facing away from her target, whom she then shot again with her offhand rifle by perching it over her shoulder and shooting through the chest. It seemed overkill... But it was definitely the better way of handling things - Besides, she managed to look good doing it. She looked over her shoulder as her target fell to his knees, smiled in a rather relaxed way and winked. "Definitely different from fighting Witches," she observed, and turned around. Their opponent seemed to be dying, which was lucky.

"I don't believe we've properly met," chimed the calm-sounding Mami, though her heart was racing and her pupils were dilated from an adrenaline rush. It felt like ages since she had gotten into a fight, though the fight with Charlotte only felt like it had been moments ago... Time had a strange way of distorting itself here. But why couldn't she remember what happened with that battle, if it happened in only moments past?

"We haven't met away from that, I mean," she amended, assuming the two would know what she was talking about - The snake, which they had just fought. Or, rather, Sasuke had slain and she had distracted - She was sure, deathly so, that she hadn't been doing any damage to the thing. "Speaking of which - Do either of you know what that, or he, was? That couldn't have just been a random occurrence," she explained. "And if it was, why would it be hostile? Some sort of attempt at getting entertainment on Omni's part?" she hesitated at bit at 'Omni', as it felt strange to say - Her education with the English language was good enough, though she never thought about how good specifically, though many words still eluded her. Like 'elude'. She shrugged it off and looked around at the various gates surrounding the trio, tossed her rifles up into the air and, to her surprise, as she raised her arms ribbons extended out of her sleeves and enveloped the rifles, making them disappear. The ribbons retracted into her sleeves again, or at least appeared to, as she did not feel them there. Fighting returned an ability to me, she thought. Or perhaps that was just time? I know my abilities have been limited here, but...

"Do you think you'll be able to handle yourself from here?" Mami inhaled quick and short after, remembering something she had been thinking - Her eyes widened slightly as she looked to the two. "More importantly - Harry Dresden. I'm looking for a man by that name - Have either of you seen him, or do you have any details as to his possible whereabouts?" Her smile had faded, giving her a more serious look, though she did not shift her body otherwise. Perhaps the time she had spent here hadn't been to her benefit, though she didn't mind - Helping out was something she enjoyed.

*Finale from Above!
Posting because no posts for too long! Respond as you please~

[Sasuke Uchiha]

The Nexus; one small step for Omni and one giant leap for the Empire. Clones, droids, aliens, and even a prime or two (though none he could recall) had all taken up their Storm Trooper vows; specifically, to take up the fountain detail and with it, all its glory. There had been a massive wave of attraction to the zone as people had flocked to it and the potential it carried with the mysterious new prime arrivals. A sense of purpose, adventure, and opportunity had likewise, drawn a huge pool of talent for the Imperial forces to pick and choose from. Not to mention, all the large scale campaigning the Empire had orchestrated, full of propaganda and slander against the Kingdom:

“~‘Join the front lines and witness primes in action!’~
~‘Bring back primes for the Empire and write your own name in Omni-history!’~
~‘The Kingdom = Savages! No primes for the Kingdom!’~”

However, once the average life expectancy for a Storm Trooper in the Nexus become common knowledge, things changed dramatically. Now a days, recruits were hard to come by as newly arrived Primes seemed psychotic more times than not. It seemed as though Omni, like most Gods, had a fondness for violence as many a Storm Trooper had met their end to a new Prime arrival. Death, now a common occurrence in the detail, had scared off potential recruits like the plague.

This didn't stop Arnold Hammond though; he become a rigorous drill sergeant, known for his unorthodox and controversial training methods to improve and strengthen the overall worth of a squad. He had single handedly turned the tides for the Empire in The Nexus zone. Any reports of success ever documented from the zone had always seemed to be coming from his platoon. His ability to turn a new recruit into a true, red blooded, Storm Trooper had allowed him to survive countless confrontations with new and unpredictable Primes, thus awarding him rank and prestige. Unfortunately, the lot he had with him today hadn't spent any real time with the great Storm Trooper Commander.

“I bet’chu it’s a whole bunch of them primes and nn-not just one of them...” the voice trailed off, carried through the speaker of the helmet worn by a young Storm Trooper cadet. Pondering what awaited their squad upon their arrival to the fountain, he continued, “Whole bunch of f*ckin' crazies!”

Having sent one ahead as a scout, the remaining Storm Troopers marched in two rows of four; the platoon had trekked across the empty white zone for quite a while and was now growing anxious.

“You’re probably right… and if so, there may be a fight… and if that happens, son, you do what you need to do. Follow orders, and you’ll be fine. Prepare yourself. You can’t be scared when it goes down.” Cody Smith, the Corporal and second in command, responded through his own helmet, in the same manor.

“Yy-yes sir! Will do, sir! ...Hh-how do I prepare myself… sir?!” squealed the voice through ‘helmet intercom’.

“Oh, brother!” commented one of the trooper squad members.

“Combat virgin.” snickered another.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” roared a seasoned Arnold Hammond, his face turning a bright shade of red, although hidden under his helmet.

Silence befell the platoon for a moment as no one dared utter a sound. The Sergeant released air from his lungs before addressing them with, this time, with a more modest volume, “JesusOmni, I don’t have time for this schoolyard bullsh*t. It’s bad enough headquarters changed my roster last minute without notice... Besides your Corporal and myself, none of you have even been field tested against primes, nor have any of you ever even worked together. This is no laughing matter.”

Arnold surveyed the soldiers of his platoon before continuing, there were 8 in total and all but one stood with their chest held high, with their standard fire arm at the ready; the cadet in question. He’s shoulders were slumped and his hand carried a slight tremble, barely noticeable, but as commander Arnold Hammond had learned, in Omni, it’s the little things that mean life or death.

“Cadet… Anderson, is it?”

The trooper who had originally been speaking spoke again, “Yes sir.”

“Are you scared? –And don’t lie to me, boy. I’ll know if you’re lying.” Arnold interrogated the new recruit.

Panicked the trooper responded honestly, “Yes sir!... A-uh little”

“EVERYONE STOP!” Arnold commanded as he walked to the front to the squad, circled cadet Anderson, and came about to face him, eye to eye or helmet to helmet, if you would.

“COMPANY HALT!” ordered Corporal Smith.

“I see, and why is that? Is it because you might die?” questioned the veteran Storm Trooper Commander.

Uncertain, the young recruit looked to his fellow soldiers for support, saw none, and answered, “Well… yea. I mean… yeah.”

“I see. Well, cadet, today is your lucky day! It’s not a possibility that you’re going to die!” Arnold was smiling under his helmet.

“It’s not?” the cadet questioned.

“Nope, it’s not a possibility at all!” the sergeant reassured him once more.

The cadet’s shoulders relaxed, relieving some tension before his sergeant, Arnold, spoke again, “Yup, it’s not a possibility you will die; it’s a certainty. You will die. It’s bad, reeeaaal bad. Do you want to know how bad it is?”

The gulping sound the cadet made in response was so loud it could damn near be heard all the way back at their barracks in Coruscant. Arnold, standing a half a foot taller, leaned forward so close their helmets touched, “Ask me how bad it is.” he continued.

“How bad is it?” Anderson obliged his commander.

Arnold grinned as he created space between them, “We’re all going to die. You won’t make it out alive. No one makes it out alive. Ever met someone who did?”

He took a step back to meet the eyes of his subordinates, of all of whom were grinning right back at him. It seemed as though most of them were already up-to-speed; good. Extending his forefinger back in the direction they had come, he began again, “Do you see that gate? That gate is my home. My wife lives there..." Arnold marched back over to cadet Anderson, grabbed him by the breast of his battle armor and pulled him in close, " ...and my children go to school there. How powerful are primes? How f*cking crazy are they? Where do your families live? How close are we to that F*CKING FOUNTAIN?!”

The cadet, still trembling, flinched so bad his feet nearly left the ground. Arnold narrowed his eyes on him as he released the new recruit, addressing him specifically, “Son, I've seen you die a thousand times and it doesn't ever get any easier to watch.”

Cody, his second, stared after Arnold for moment as only he understood the true meaning of the words. Davidson, Jackson, Johnson, Gonzales, Owens or even an Anderson; the list goes on. Countless recruits had come, all with their own story to tell… All just to have their story cut short. His own heart tinged with sorrow; he quickly brushed the thought away and stood strong amongst his subordinates.

“Men, there’s not a single person in the entire Empire who has a more important job than you or I. Not even Emperor Palpatine himself! So, if any one of you P*SSYS wants to back out now, go ahead, because for the time that I've been given I will be doing my pissing standing up!” it was Cody this time who spoke and as he did he felt the encouraging hand of his Commander on his shoulder.

With the morale high, they pressed on. Arnold took point and as he turned to face their goal, he spotted his scout off in the distance, returning to them. “Finally!” he grinned as he met his scout to debrief him. The scout removed his helmet as he approached the company.

“You’re not going to believe it, but there’s a f*cking giant snake battle going on over there.” the scout explained as he used his free hand to brush his ginger hair out of his face, revealing an implanted robotic eye.

“What?” Arnold questioned his subordinate.

“Yea, it’s crazy. There’s a girl, a boy, and a young man with greenhair and they’re all battling giant twenty foot snake!” he exclaimed as he pointed in the direction.

“I see… alright, thank you. Men," he turned to address the company as a whole, "set your blasters for kill and ready your frags. It seems we have a hostile on our hands!” as Arnold commanded he dismissed the scout who, in turn, fell in with the others. They began their trek forward to intercept the hostile with Arnold out in front and Cody heading up the rear.

However, before they could offer any assistance or neutralize the threat, an explosion erupted from just under the platoon’s feet.

**BOOM**

The explosion created a morbid chaos amongst the platoon with many taking on initial damage and others left in a bewildered state. White Nexus debris flew everywhere with several troopers having been knocked to the ground and a blood piercing scream shot through the chaos that sent a chill down Arnold Hammond’s spine.

“AHHHHHH!!!”

Arnold turned back just in time to witness one of his men being violently ripped from the ground by their own 20 foot, serpent adversary. Blood splattered the troop’s all white armor as the beast’s fang ripped into their comrade. Quick on the uptake, the soldiers unleashed a fury of beams from their blasters. The serpent wavered, taking on fire, as more and more blood splattered the white void that was the Nexus. It appeared as though the monster was no match for the standard Storm Trooper issue E-11 Blaster Rifle and would be releasing their comrade in no time.

That was until a second eruption exploded, followed by another blood curdling scream. Only this time Arnold’s stomach hit the floor; he knew the voice well, it was Cody.

“NOOOO!!!! CODY!!!”

**CRUNCH**

And like that Cody was gone. Swallowed whole, in one gulp, the newly arrived serpent had taken his second in command from him; no, it had not only taken his comrade, it had taken his best friend from him.

“I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!!!” he screamed as he rushed forward with his trigger finger putting in work. The beast ignored Arnold’s onslaught as it struck out at the injured Storm Trooper, hanging from the mouth of the other snake, his body became caught in between both serpents mouths, playing tug-of-war with one another at his expense.

“COVER ME!!!” Arnold roared over the sound of blaster fire as strapped his rifle to his back, pulled out two smaller blaster pistols, and bounded into the air. Arching backward, performing a gainer, he ascended the distance of the two serpent’s heads. With his form perfect and his blasters fully charged, he prepared to unload on snakes at point blank range. Unfortunately, as he reached them he was met with gore and blood splatter as organs fell from his comrade like a pinnate. He was too late; his subordinate had endured for as long as he could, but had, alas, come apart in two.

Furious at the loss of his comrade, Arnold squeezed his trigger fingers unleashing their death sentence upon the serpent enemies. He was unable, however, to avenge his Corporal’s death in that moment, as the serpent who had consumed his partner, managed to avoid its intended blast. The second serpent, not so fortunate, fell to the ground not only lifeless, but headless.

**BOOM**

Serpent flesh and organs exploded in every direction leaving organic debris in its wake, however, once cleared, standing where the live snake had been, stood a helmetless Corporal Cody Smith; a frag grenade pin still wrapped around his finger. In his opposing hand he held a small cylinder device and upon clicking down with his thumb an energy force field enveloped him. He grinned before shouting to his comrades, “Deflector shield! Never leave home without it!”

***

**Bang**

Gun powder and blood filled the air as the rifle’s scream carried throughout the empty white verse. Mami’s visage expressionless and stained with blood, she discarded her current fire-arm, tossing it aside before wiping the blood away. Her opponent’s limp body presented itself to her, falling unto its knees.

"Definitely different from fighting Witches," the female combatant commented on her own handiwork.

Taking a step back, the young Uchiha expressed disbelief as he processed what had just happened. This girl, this… ‘Mami’ had just succeeded where he had failed. A new green haired, combatant had revealed himself, but Mami... She had defeated Orochimaru, an opponent Sasuke had already lost to. How could this be? Who was this girl? Or was that not truly Orochimaru? Sasuke straightened his posture, composing himself, and resolving not to expose his frustrations on the matter. Her aim true and the execution swift, Orochimaru probably didn’t even feel anything as he vanished into nothing.

Vanished into nothing.

Vanished into nothing?!

Sasuke watched on in amazement as his former opponent’s body began to break apart, slowly dissolving into a rainbow hue of streams, wafting upwards towards the sky. The imagery hit home with Sasuke. He was in a different place, playing by a different set of rules. The thought sent a chill down his spine causing the hairs on his neck to stand. Something within him, deep within is subconscious, panicked, causing his heart to race as an inner voice desperately screamed; desiring nothing but to escape this baron place. Fear and shock overwhelmed the youth, paralyzing him for a brief moment. No one noticed or said anything. Internally, he struggled.

Accessing his thoughts he found the fear and eliminated it as best he could. He simply ‘stopped’ the emotion through sheer will power, allowing him peace of mind, however he pondered the reason for the emotion. It was as though a pillar of his subconscious… a fundamental belief within him, had been rocked to the core; one that had, previously, given him a sense of security.

"I don't believe we've properly met," Mami began addressing the new arrival with green hair. Sasuke found the young man odd as he was eager to just jump in and wrangle with a random, giant snake. One that had absolutely nothing to do with him, but this intrigued the young ninja more than anything as for whatever the young man’s reason, he certainly wasn’t a weakling (too afraid to get into the action) and that he admired. However, Sasuke missed most of the small talk, as he was still deep in thought about the world around them.

This Omni, wasn’t of the the toy soldier that was man; he was the 'real deal Holyfield'. To him, the ‘Awesome Ninja’ (as Lubbock put it) was an insignificant play thing. It wasn't as though Omni was just ‘in another league’, that would imply they were both players, outmatched, but still both players. You bleed, I bleed and all of that underdog motivation simply... didn’t exist here. Sasuke had witnessed the very laws of death bent to Omni’s will. Omni wasn’t a player. Omni designed the game... and as such, Sasuke didn’t stand a chance against him; he never would. Omni could simply un-design him. The fear crept back up on him, forcing him to suppress it once more. Sasuke shook the feeling and laughed at himself. He was too smart for his own good and it had actually scared him.

"Do you think you'll be able to handle yourself from here?" Mami inhaled quickly and short after. Then her eyes widened slightly, creating a mannerism Sasuke found adorable, however, it turned to a serious expression all to quickly, "More importantly - Harry Dresden. I'm looking for a man by that name - Have either of you seen him, or do you have any details as to his possible whereabouts?"

“I haven’t but,” Sasuke began speaking as he moved closer to the trio, “if you’re searching for someone, we can cover more ground as a group. It’d work for me. Like I told you earlier, I have someone I too must to find. While asking around for Itachi Uchiha I can ask for your… ‘Harry Dresden’ as well-"

“Now, tell me son, why is it you are looking for a high profile, wanted criminal?” the voice, interrupting Sasuke, sounded out of a speaker from inside the helmet of an approaching soldier. Followed by 8 others, they wore a white battle armor that incased the entirety of their bodies and they carried a sort of weapon Sasuke was unfamiliar with. He summarized it to be like that of the ‘Mami’ characters, but different.

Sasuke dug his feet into the ground, taking on a combat stance as to be ready for anything. His eyes shifted from the soldiers, to the green haired male, until finally finding Mami’s eyes; he nodded at her before finally focusing all of his attention on the platoon they had encountered.

“Now, now. No need for all of that,” one of the soldiers stepped forward, placing a hand to the original speaker’s shoulder before continuing, “My name is Sergeant Commander, Arnold Hammond. This is the Imperials finest, division fountain detail. We represent the Empire and on behalf of Emperor Palpatine himself, we welcome you."

Sasuke stared blankly at the soldier, looked to the others in his party to access their understanding of the situation, and then stared back at the soldier in confusion, concluding that not Mami nor the green haired fighter had any idea what was going on, just like Sasuke.

"I’m sure everyone’s a little confused right now. Let me explain, you’re all in the Omniverse, and yes it is real. All primes were like you at one point. We -” He pointed to himself, Cody, and the rest of his men, “-All arrived here because of Primes, we were summoned by a prime; someone just like you. We don’t know who Omni is, or what he wants. He created omnilium for all of us and we use that to build our Kingdoms and even summon our friends.” He nodded to his soldiers. “Primes are people like you, those who were chosen by Omni.”

“People who can use omnilium,” Cody, the soldier who had originally questioned Sasuke about the wanted criminal, added. “That’s why we’ve come here. You see, you’re all important.”

Arnold began again, “We can make you comfortable at the Empire– and by that I mean a real place to live, not some stone-walled shack. Make use of the technology available to us, such as the Dataverse. You’ll find it can be very useful for locating someone…” he paused for a moment looking to both Mami and Sasuke before continuing, “There’s no catch. You can come and go as you please. I’m not forcing anyone,” he extend his arm showing open palms, “You can come with us to a better place, we are the hub of prosperity, or you can go to any one of the other verses.”

Okay, so respond to the Storm Troopers as you see fit. I have a story in mind that will take place in Coruscant, so, if you want to roll with me that's what I'll be doing. Please, no one slay NPC Arnold or Cody Storm Trooper as they are important to the story. (All other troopers are fair game for slaughter if thats your thing. xD) I have created us a thread to discuss here.

[Obito Uchiha]

This just had to be the worst day of his life. No....it REALLY was! Why, you say? Because this was the day Obito of the Uchiha Clan was sure he was going to die, and he was even ready for it. He was only a kid, but since he was a shinobi, he had the honor of one, and dying to help save the ones he cared about the most, that left him feeling quite satisfied now, at the end of days. He lay there, thousands of pounds having crushed his body, his blood leaving his insides, his heart collapsing...his lungs failing to bring in air, his thoughts becoming clouded, and his sight being lost (not that it mattered anyway because he wouldn't have been able to see anything but blackness anyway due to the boulders piled on him).

"Are you sure, Obito?", came Kakashi's voice, concerned for his teammate he'd been so bitter towards.

"Yes...", came Obito's final wish, just before Rin would do the field surgery to remove Obito's left eye, and then implant it into Kakashi's face, giving him a new eye to replace the one he'd lost in the fight against the Iwa-nin. Happy....his strength failing him in the last instance of his life, the boy's arm fell limp to the ground. Rin had screamed and cried. Kakashi was there though, and he'd give her solace. Now the only thing to do was to have his soul drift away to the afterlife so he could watch over his friends' progress from the spirit realm. However...

The young Chuunin's spirit drifted down a dark tunnel towards the light, as he heard the voice of an elderly man beckoning him to wake up. He didn't know this man's voice, and every inch of the boy's body hurt. He also really didn't understand how he could possibly be alive, but some old man was here nonetheless, saving him from an early and untimely death. Obito couldn't stay awake though, and whoever had him was moving through the wilderness. He fell back into a deep sleep, half dead and thoroughly exhausted.

Much much later, consciousness returned to Obito's form. He felt dizzy, lightheaded, but for some reason, he didn't feel the pain and numbness he should be feeling from half of his body being absolutely crushed. No, instead, he felt whole, at least for the most part. This was because, when he opened his eyes and his vision came into focus, it seemed only his right eye was working. The boy sat up, and felt for his face, touching his left hand to where his left eye should be, but the eyelid there sank in. A feeling of dread overcame the boy!

'Wh...what? Where's my eye?!', Obito thought, panicking. He held his hand in place over the empty eye-socket, and memories flooded and crowded his mind, jumbled at first, and then making more sense after a few minutes. He remembered Namikaze-Sensei sending him, Kakashi, and Rin on an important mission during the war. Then while they were on their way to the bridge, Rin was abducted! He remembered getting into the fight with Kakashi and going ahead to save Rin, and then he remembered Kakashi saving him, and Obito had gained the Sharingan! Then...then...he remembered he and Kakashi had saved Rin, but....he as crushed by the collapsing ceiling of the cave she had been held prisoner in. Obito cringed as the memory of the pain returned. Then at last, he remembered giving away his eye to Kakashi, for his promotion gift, because Obito thought he was going to die for sure.

As this all sank in, fear and confusion was running a muck in the child. He shook with shock, his one eye widening with disbelief He yelled aloud, "I should be dead!!" His voice echoed though, in an empty space of a vast and desolate looking room. It was pitch black here. Was this the inside of the cave? Had the collapsing of it been all some elaborate Genjutsu or something? None of this made sense. The boy shakily got up from the floor, and when he did, a ghastly, transparent silhouette of a human being came into being, and it spoke to the boy, grinning an intense toothy grin,

“My name is Omni. This is not the world you know. This is the Omniverse. You interest me, so I have made you part of it. The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.”

Omni hands you a glimmering orb in which all the colors of the rainbow coalesce. “This is Omnilium. It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.

“You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium. Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn.

“That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.”

Before Obito could ask questions or anything, the scenery began to shift. The water fountain in the middle of the vast empty whiteness turned into a waterfall he was familiar with back in the forests of Hi no Kuni, near the village of Konoha, the waterfall of the Valley of the End, flanked on each side by two enormous statues, one of Senju Hashirama, and one of Obito's idol, Uchiha Madara. Obito found himself then somehow faced down in the water in front of the bottom of the falls, the thundering water sound crashing in his ears. He gulped, trying not to choke on the water, and he pulled his head up, and he swam to the bank and pulled himself out of the water and onto the blank white fields of the lucid place called the Nexus.

It was safe to say that Obito was thouroughly confused. It wasn't even just the fact that he had just basically been dying, and then pulled from death into this Godforsaken who-knows-where ville. It was also because of the fact that there had just been some kind of monster corpse disappearing, and here were two girls, one with green hair, one with blonde, and a kid who wore the familiar Uchiha Clan emblem on the back of his shirt, having black hair in a raven cut. It all made Obito blurt out, "What the hell is going on?" He looked so puzzled at the scene that was laid out before him. Not only were these people here, but now there were dozens of tall soldiers fully clad in white armor, complete with helmets. There was no way to even tell that they were actually human, other than their fluid movements.

Still, these guys didn't seem hostile. It seemed as though they were helping out the normally dressed three individuals, so Obito decided to walk towards them, curious for knowledge about this place and the circumstances going on. The boy quietly listened to what was being said by one of the soldiers that introduced himself as Sergeant Commander Arnold Hammond. This man would go on to explain that they were called primes, and those were the people who were chosen by Omni, and given the use of the spectral substance called Omnillium. He also was extending a hand to them to join this "Empire", ruled by someone called Palpatine. All of this was so strange, but very interesting. What really caught on to Obito was when the white armored man said that they had technology that could locate people! He wondered if he could find out where Kakashi and more importantly, Rin was. He couldn't bear being alone in some weird place after all. There was though...this other strange Uchiha kid he'd never seen before. Maybe he knew the way back to Konoha? Anyway, he just had to take this oppurtunity! They were offering help, and Obito wanted it!

So, the kid spoke up, rather loudly, though with all the seriousness in the world on his face, "I'll go! I want to know where some people I know are, and I want to find out how to get back home!", he said. He then looked the way of the other Uchiha, and he'd say without so much volume, "Hey, so who're you? Are you lost too? I'm Obito Uchiha."

[Mami Tomoe]

Mami liked what she heard. Sasuke would help her on her with finding Harry! Two pairs of eyes were always better than one, and Mami liked how Sasuke handled himself, so he would probably be a good partner in this strange place. Maybe she wouldn't have much trouble making her way around here after all. However, three pairs of eyes would be still better than two - Perhaps the green-haired man would join her as well? But how would she handle fighting, searching, and generally functioning as a group? She wasn't used to it, as she was almost always fighting alone. And fighting alone, only having one back to watch over, was always easier - Having to look over your shoulder and make sure your allies are unharmed was no doubt a worrying prospect. But Mami didn't want to worry about that now, as it had been long since she had any sort of long-term company. Perhaps she would be able to have them properly sometime, ideally without interruption from serpents.

Mami suddenly realized her face was bloody - Well, not only her face, but dots of blood here and there (And everywhere) on her outfit were noticeable. Since Mami wasn't used to fighting enemies that bled, this was more than a bit unnerving. Instinctively she looked around for something to clean her face with, so at the very least she would look presentable, though as she found nothing she deemed it unnecessary - The only people nearby would understand. Then again, there was the Fountain. Mami took her hat off, splashed some water onto her face and wiped off the blood. With a glance of her reflection in the water, she noticed there was still a little circle of the crimson liquid on her cheek, which she tried not to think about while putting on her hat as she stood up, feeling queasier than she had earlier.

She was greeted not only by Sasuke and the green man's backs, but by a number of (Possibly) men in armor of white, splattered in what she had just cleaned off. While Mami wasn't one to speak of impracticality in combat - She herself liked to be flashy in fighting style and elegant in dress, she knew wearing white to battle was incredibly silly, and it showed. Unfortunately, Mami was a little distracted by the fact that they were splattered in a snake's blood, and put a fist to her mouth, as if she were holding a barf bag to her mouth. Now, tell me son, why is it you are looking for a high profile, wanted criminal? That question echoed in her mind as it was spoken.

This in itself seemed a peculiar question. While she and Sasuke clearly did not look the most qualified for such things, they both were hunting someone down. As she opened her mouth to speak, she saw Sasuke shift to what she concluded was a fighting stance. Such things were alien to Mami, as in battle she was almost always moving. She was then going to try talking Sasuke out of fighting when she was interrupted by “Now, now. No need for all of that". Mami thanked her lucky stars and allowed the situation to continue silently.

The man spoke of some sort of Empire, led by an Emperor Palpatine. That name rung a bell, but it seemed very much like an overseas name from many years past. This seemed like some sort of armed-to-the-teeth housewarming party, substitute house for Fountain, which Mami found a bit concerning. He explained things that Omni had explained to her when she first arrived - Maybe it was assumed that she was a newcomer here. While she was, she already knew what this place was (Sort of). But then Mami realized something. Maybe this was necessary because Omni didn't contact everyone, and instead only contacted a select few, and that was where this information came from. Maybe Primes were summoned here frequently with no instruction of what this place was, and groups such as these were necessary to educate them.

In other words, maybe Mami was special, as she was told they (Collectively) were. She considered it a possibility, but a very unlikely one, and continued listening. But then it was confirmed she was important, though likely in a very different way. The ability to use Omnilium apparently did that.

Mami's heart nearly skipped a beat as they mentioned the possibility to assist in her bounty-hunting endeavours, though the mannerisms and ways of speaking this man employed seemed... Fishy, for lack of a better word. Something was off - Like it was rehearsed, or he was made of plastic. While he certainly wasn't forcing any of the three, he seemed to be trying to tempt them with short-term desires, which Mami disapproved of. However, something seemed to scream 'necessary' about following him... Especially since she got the feeling her new allies would likely be going as well. And while Mami was rarely the girl who went with the grain, she wanted to avoid loneliness again above all else, at least for the moment.

"While I don't think taking detours will get us any closer to finding who we're looking for," she responded, "It would be rude to turn down such a polite offer, wouldn't it?" Mami offered her best smile while attempting to hide the fact that the blood on their armor made her feel nauseated. "My name is Mami Tomoe. It's wonderful to meet you, Mr. Hammond, and I extend the same to those under your command," she chimed. Though something interested the girl, someone, more specifically: Someone who certainly hadn't made themselves hidden, who seemed to have approached Sasuke. Hopefully Sasuke knew this boy, who called himself Obito - She wondered if she would perhaps encounter someone she knew in the Omniverse as well if given some time... Though what were the odds?

Longer post than usual! Ohmuhgahd!

[Lubbock]

Much to Lubbock's astonishment, the blond girl had eradicated the opponent with grace and style, leaving him wide mouthed, and the Ninja himself also seemed to be surprised. Lubbock then hung his head in disappointment. She didn't need help at all. I feel embarrassed now. His head pricked back up when the girl began walking back, the snake disappearing behind her, and said something to do with 'fighting Witches'. Witches? Where's she from? Definitely not the Capital... Lubbock had a mental stumble when the girl, once again not knowing her name, had mentioned the fact that they hadn't met outside of the battle with the reptile.
"O-oh, yeah, you're right!" Lubbock stuttered and blushed in embarrassment at the fact that he hadn't introduced himself. He bowed to the girl, "My name's Lubbock. It's a pleasure to meet a girl as-" but before he could finish flirting, a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Lubbock, you don't even know if she even wants to be acquainted with you," Syura stopped him.
"Shut UP, Syura!" he growled quietly to the obnoxious voice in his head. He noticed the two staring at him weirdly, and stood up straight, red-faced, "Oh, no, don't worry! I just like to talk to myself sometimes..." he tried to persuade them otherwise. He turned around and whispered, "Thanks to you, Syura, now they really don't want to be acquainted with me!".

He was brought back to his senses when the girl, yet to introduce herself, asked about the snake and if anyone knew what it was. Lubbock just shook his head in denial, confused himself. She suddenly mentioned Omni's name, the creator of the place they were in, Syura had told him. Without warning, Lubbock had disconnected images flow through his head, all of them including a black landscape with a strange, white figure standing in front of him. Lubbock could vaguely remember some of the things Omni had said in the small time before he was sent through time and space.

“My name is Omni. This is not the world you know. This is the Omniverse. You interest me, so I have made you part of it. The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.”

Omni hands you a glimmering orb in which all the colors of the rainbow coalesce. “This is Omnilium. It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.

“You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium. Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn.

“That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.”

Ah, so I did meet Omni. I really can't remember doing so, but crazier things than amnesia have happened in the last half hour, he reminisced. He was brought back to Earth when the blond mentioned finding someone by the name of 'Harry Dresden'.
"Harry Who-den? I don't know who that is, but I'll happily help someone as-" he agreed to help, but was interrupted by a cough in his head. You are SO lucky you're a voice in my head, otherwise I'd have murdered you by now.
"I CAN hear your thoughts, Lubbock," Syura scolded the green-haired teen. Lubbock didn't even bother going any further.

"Now, tell me son, why is it you are looking for a high profile, wanted criminal?" the ninja was interrupted as he mentioned looking for someone as well as this Harry person. Lubbock turned to see a squad of some kind of troopers, clad in white armor and wielding strange, black firearms. Who are these guys? The police force here? Lubbock took a laid back position, trying to make a good first impression, while the ninja took a fighting stance. Jeez, does he need to fight absolutely everything? One of the troops had come forward and attempted to calm the ninja, before speaking.
"My name is Sergeant Commander, Arnold Hammond. This is the Imperials finest, division fountain detail. We represent the Empire and on behalf of Emperor Palpatine himself, we welcome you," he introduced himself and the squad he was with.
"So, in other words you're a security-force kind of group, and a welcoming party too? Good thing I'm not planning on getting in the way, then," Lubbock informed them, as to them he possibly looked suspicious.
"I’m sure everyone’s a little confused right now. Let me explain, you’re all in the Omniverse, and yes it is real. All primes were like you at one point. We -” Hammond referred to himself and the squad gathered behind him, “-All arrived here because of Primes, we were summoned by a prime; someone just like you. We don’t know who Omni is, or what he wants. He created omnilium for all of us and we use that to build our Kingdoms and even summon our friends,” he nodded to his soldiers, “Primes are people like you, those who were chosen by Omni," the trooper finished explaining. That sounds almost exactly like what Syura told me when I arrived here. Guess that's the best description for the place, then. One of the troopers mentioned that their ability to manipulate Omnillium was very important, and Hammond assured them that they could all be given a home. Get given a home? I just want to go home, for goodness sakes! But I may as well make the most of my time here, he took a quick glance towards the blond. Hammond had also mentioned something called the Dataverse. Lubbock took a mental note, literally giving it to Syura, so he could look into it later. Finally, the girl spoke up, mentioning the rudeness that would be found in declining the offer, and introduced herself as Mami Tomoe, giving her greetings to the troopers. Mami, huh?.
"Hey, question, how many babes are here?" Lubbock burst out, no embarrassment in his voice, at the thought of learning a girl's name. Before a reply could actually come along, another young man, another ninja it seemed, spoke up, voicing his will to go with the trio, and introduced himself as Obito Uchiha. Well, two's a team, three's a charm, but as they say, four's a crowd... And it's not a chick either, so....

I am sooooooo sorry I took forever. I've had some IRL and RP stuff to clear up, and I would have posted last night had my internet not messed up on my beloved PC. I hope this satisfies everyone!

[Sasuke Uchiha]

“…Make use of the technology available to us, such as the Dataverse. You’ll find it can be very useful for locating someone…”

‘Locating someone…’ thought Sasuke.

He knew then he would go with these white, armored soldiers. What other choice did he have? It was the only lead he had and although he was suspicious of their seemingly scripted welcoming, it didn’t really matter; not to Sasuke. If they became an obstacle to his end, he would just have to go through them. The decision was already made; he was done taking the backseat, he would avenge his clan if it was the last thing he did.

"While I don't think taking detours will get us any closer to finding who we're looking for," Mami spoke first, "It would be rude to turn down such a polite offer, wouldn't it?" as her locks of hair, a tint of sunshine, brushed across her eyes. She looked as fresh and well-kept at the end of an epic battle as she did at the start and her bubbly demeanor hadn't exposed any signs of diminishing either.

Sasuke grinned in response. This Mami had purpose, she had her own goals and she wouldn’t allow for falling off task. Sasuke liked this girl, she was capable and she wouldn’t slow him down. Suddenly his mind flashed an image of Sakura; his expression faltered and his eyes observed his feet.

Mami offered her best smile, unfortunately this time Sasuke was too busy in thought to notice, "My name is Mami Tomoe. It's wonderful to meet you, Mr. Hammond, and I extend the same to those under your command."

"Hey, question, how many babes are here?" Lubbock burst out, for the first time and with no embarrassment in his voice.

Mami shot him a look and Sasuke rolled his eyes in response to the green haired newcomer as he wondered why he was always getting paired up with goof balls; an image of Naruto flashed in his mind.

'This one even wears goggles just like him… I wonder if he will come with us or not?’ Sasuke thought as he eyed the strange young man.

”I'll go!” came the sound of a voice Sasuke hadn’t heard or recognized. The Last Avenger turned to see to whom it had belonged to and upon witnessing the owner, Sasuke found himself at a loss for words. There stood, at about five foot and two inches, a young boy who had to be no older than Sasuke himself and like Sasuke, was also a shinobi; for he wore Konohagakure's Leaf Village headband sideways on his head, covering the left side of his face.

“I want to know where some people I know are, and I want to find out how to get back home!" the other ninja stated. He then turned, facing Sasuke and addressed him, this time without so much volume, "Hey, so who're you? Are you lost too? I'm Obito Uchiha."

'I’m Obito Uchiha. I’m Obito Uchiha… Uchiha…!' The words echoed throughout the space between Sasuke’s temples. Had he heard right? Had he actually said Uchiha? …But that couldn’t be.

“What are you talking about?!” Sasuke Snapped.

“Huh? Well, I mean… We ARE lost.” the self-proclaimed Uchiha said laughing as he rested his elbow over the top of the back of his head.

“How dare you… Are you mocking me?!” Sasuke snarled showing the youth contempt. With his teeth shown, clenched in anger, and his chakra beginning to build, he spoke, “You think what happened to my clan is funny? My people, my friends… My FAMILY!!!”

Obito, startled by the sudden aggression in his fellow Uchiha, spoke up in confusion, “Wait… what? What are you talking about? What happened to our clan?!” and all the while his body language remaining non aggressive.

Who was this boy? Was he really an Uchiha? Did Omni bring him? The thought of Omni nearly paralyzed Sasuke as a chilling fear washed over him. He shook the feeling off and took in Obito’s image, accessing him. The aura that had begun to envelop Sasuke started to dissipate and the fire in his eyes along with it, “You don’t know what I am talking about?”

Obito stared blankly at Sasuke.

How could it be that he knows the Uchiha name, but not their fate? Nothing about this made any sense to Sasuke, not at all… unless… “If you’re from the Leaf, who is you’re Team Sensei?” questioned Sasuke.

“Ha! That’s easy, everybody knows I have the best Sensei, Minato Namikaze!” the newly arrived ninja stated, matter-of-factly.

‘The late Fourth Hokaga… This poor guy, he has no idea. Well, I won’t be the one to tell him.’ Sasuke thought.

“I see. Leaf Shinobi alright… and, you’re lucky to have him.” Sasuke responded. He just didn’t have it in him to tell the kid, that and his own reluctance. Back home, neither one of them had much left to get back to.

“What’s that blood from?” Sasuke asked as he pointed to the stained, white armor they wore, turning about to face one, Arnold Hammond, of whom he believed to be the leader of the group.

“I’m betting you all could tell us that.” Arnold responded as he made no attempt to clean his armor of the foreign substance.

“What are you talking about?” someone in Sasuke’s party spoke up.

Arnold Hammond put his fore finger to his helmet causing the visor portion of the helmet to slide open and reveal and younger, but still middle aged man in his mid to late forty’s.

He reached inside his armor to retrieve something, although Sasuke couldn’t understand how he was able contain anything within the armor he wore, but out of seemingly nowhere he pulled out and held a device in his hand. He moved a finger, a clicking noise sounded, and transparent images of a person erected themselves from the devise, using it as a platform to stand upon. Sasuke watched this intently as he had never seen technology so advanced; it intrigued him. Weary of the unknown technology, however, he then scanned the others in his group for their reactions, until he felt everyone in the party was either relaxed or at least just as confused, like him.

Shifting, his gaze fell upon Mami’s visage, who had also had her attention occupied by the device held in the Storm Trooper’s hand and under the hue of the luminescent light it cast, all of Mami’s elegant features seemed to compliment her beauty. From her big golden doe eyes, to the soft locks of hair that brushed against them, she held a foreign softness that Sasuke hadn’t encountered and for a time he seemed to be more captivated by her than the device the Storm Trooper held. Shaking the awkward urge to speak to her, Sasuke withdrew, folding his arms across his chest and observed the newly arrived Arnold Hammond.

“This is a prime,” Arnold spoke after having exhaled a cloud of tobacco smoke. He then moved his fore finger again sounding another ‘click’ and another transparent figure formed, adjacent to the original. “And this is a secondary. See how the prime brought the secondary into existence. Their differences vary, but the most important difference is that one summons the other. Those Snake’s back there were secondaries and you four here are the only primes for miles, so, one of you summoned them. Those snakes murdered one of my comrades and one of you knows who those snake belong to.”

Sasuke knew where this was headed so he decided to cut to the chase; he stepped forward, “I knew the rogue ninja known as Orochimaru, but a bond we did not share. Orochimaru was a foe, an enemy to myself and all other Shinobi of the Leaf. So, you have the wrong person if you think I would align myself with him. I had no desire to reunite with that cretan.”

Arnold arched an eyebrow, however, before he could speak Corporal Cody Smith stepped forth with his own helmet visor unveiled, “We lost a man to those vile creatures you summoned. Under the Imperial Code all primes may be held accountable for the actions of the secondaries they summon.”

“Cody.” Arnold called after his Corporal.

“Sir! These primes should be getting hauled off to jail! All four of them! They murdered on of our own!” Cody exclaimed.

“Corporal! Stand down!” the Commander asserted himself over his subordinate, locking in eye contact as he did so. Cody’s Visor activated, concealing his expression as he fell in line with the others. Sasuke observed the situation, unaware of how things were going to turn out and uneasy about the lack of control he possessed at the moment.

Arnold turned his attention back to the primes, directing his eyes to Sasuke, “You there. You say you knew the secondary in question?”

Sasuke didn’t like the sound of this. Would he have to fight his way out of here? He needed to avoid that at all costs. The odds just weren’t in his favor as he knew people immediately lost their backbone when with dealing with an authority. It was likely that if things turned sour the others with him would opt out of the confrontation, after all they had only just met. It was one thing to aid in the slaying of a giant serpent, however another to be called on to combat a policing authority. Sasuke stared defiantly back into the Storm Trooper Commander’s eyes, “I have encountered him before, yes.”

Arnold studied the boy closely. Sasuke felt as though he was on trial and that any one wrong answer would land him in a hot situation; he kept his composure and Arnold spoke again, “I see, this is very troubling. As you see, being a secondary myself, I know full and well that my subordinate will not be returning to me. To a secondary, death is still a very real and freighting end game. If you don’t mind, I’m going to need you to tell me exactly what happened.”

“You see that’s just it, I don’t really remember much. I was home, in a tournament and then, I was here. Well, I was falling… I hit my head… I don’t really remember too much…” Sasuke recounted.

“Awe c’mon, Sir!!! That’s a load of bullsh*t!!! Don’t tell me you are going to let them off the hook like that. Frank’s dead! He ain’t coming back!” the Corporal of the unit had begun immediately as Sasuke finished.

“Corporal! If I have to address you with another stand down order, I am going to take that Corporal’s badge off of you and pin the damn thing on Cadet Anderson, I swear to Omni!” Arnold silenced his platoon. He then turned to Sasuke once more, “I see, so you lost conscious?””

The young shinobi in question answered with a head nod and Commander Hammond let out a sigh, “Well, it looks like you haven’t done anything intentionally. Involuntary secondary summoning is a common ailment for newly arrived primes, especially ones who loses consciousness.”

In the background, Cody Smith’s irritation could be felt through his fidgeting body language. Sasuke made a note to keep an eye on that one before responding to Arnold with, “So, what happens next?”

“Well, you’re off the hook… for now, but this isn’t something we’ll look away from in the future, you’re a prime and with it come great responsibilities. Get a handle on them, or we’ll be forced to get a handle on you. Murder isn’t tolerated under Imperial Code.” Arnold stated straightforwardly. After taking another long drag he continued once more, “Now, if you all will follow us, we’ll get you acquainted with the finest verse Omni has to offer!”

Okay, from here, if you are coming with us into the next Arc, roleplay your character traveling with the platoon (On foot) through the nexus to the Coruscant Gate, however don't cross over into Coruscant. Stop at the Storm Trooper outpost next to the gate, as the next scene will take place there! Thank you and hope you are all enjoying the story! Also, Cody and Arnold Troopers are still off limits for killing, everyone else is fair game! If you have any questions, ideas, or thoughts don't forget you can use this here.

[Miranda Frost]

"Cant anyone get sleep here?"

The winds that flew over the canopy of Los Noches, the home of the Arrancars were raging again, dragging a lasy cloud of sand with it. The sand covered and devoured Los Noches, burying it. At first it would seemed the domed city would withstand the weight but even that would not last. The ceiling cracked, weakened and caved in on top of the city. On top of that mess. Seraph could feel him. He could feel Primera as he crushed everything....

Light rushed into his eyes, awakening him from his sleep. White was everywhere, but that wasn't all. The Fountain he had fell asleep against was a good one hundred yards away and he could tell it had changed recently. It was small and and simple, a classic ideal fountain. Blood and bodies lie nearby. Those white knights known as storm-troopers had been here and left a mess of their own bodies... but that wasn't all. Markings indicated a battle but nobody alive remained. Heh.

"Couldn't have waited for me? Pity... It would seemed a couple even dragged me away...", he mentioned to himself, looking over to the dead soldiers nearby. A coy smile played upon his face as he slowly stood, his eyes scanning around. A medium-sised group was in the distance, heading away from the fight. Perhaps they were the main cause of all this carnage.. which mean they were good fighters.

"Oh boy! Let's see. One.. Two.. Three.. Ten? All of them for me!", He giggled and grabbed his sword, whose name escapes him due to memory lapses from the old omni-snatching. It wasn't the only thing he lost either. He forgot the names and faces of most of his comrades from Los Noches. Even his experiences there in that world was lost. However, he did remember who, what, and how he was.

He took one step and stopped. A hand had reached out and grasped Seraph's boot, an action generally asking for immediate hostility, but Seraph hesitated. The armored soldier was battered, bloody, but would survive if treated. It would take a long time to die as he was as those injuries were barely serious. Seraph sighed and kneeled down to help up the soldier and carry him over to his group. "Here here.. whatever it is.. you survived eh?", Seraph chuckled and wrapped an arm around the man's shoulder, slowly making his way over to the group.

The stormtrooper said nothing but. "P-primes m-man... and.. t-this snake.. b-big snake" The speech drawed off to inaudible mumbling and whimpering, but it perked Seraph's curiosity. My.. a big snake and others like Seraph. It was an interesting and amusing thing to chase after. It could be worth all the trouble of guiding a red sheep back to its white herd. He could barely make out how many they were from this distance, but he could tell they were there. They could likely do the same and make it easier for him.

"Quiet you.. you will be in better hands you here.. real soon", The arrancar grumbled to the wounded trooper. They had to pick up the pace or they would lose them. Seraph was already dead.. so running wasn't gonna kill him any more than he was. He picked the soldier up and carried him on his back, picking up the pace in hopes of catching up with them. Blood seeped down onto his coat, staining it from the white he once had it. Pity.. It was actually enjoyable to wear without the sight and stench of blood. He only had to keep running for a little while longer, though he had to slow down. He was sweating and panting very human-like.

"Damn.. this place behaves differently than home..", He cursed himself and forced himself to slow to a fast stroll. It would seem they were heading for Coruscant's gate.. the white soldier's home.

[Mami Tomoe]

Well, I was definitely wrong to think... Mami watched in horror as Obito and Sasuke argued. She was tempted very strongly to step in and stop the arguing on her own, though before she could think of something, anything to say, the situation was resolved. She got the bad feeling, however, that this was a shaky foundation the two had built, and anything built further between the two would like be worrisome. Still, she shook off the thought and the mention of "babes" on Lubbock's part which worried her a little bit, and returned her gaze and attention to Mr. Hammond. As he explained, she found a cloud of smoke flying in her direction, which she fanned away with a little ribbon from her left sleeve while coughing a little bit from whatever smoke passed her wall of fanning. The awful smell of tobacco filled Mami's nostrils for a few moments, causing her to feel a bit nauseated, but the feeling wore off before long.

The words coming from Mr. Hammond's mouth were about as pleasant as the tobacco smell, however: She worried about what she was hearing, much more so than she probably should have been. That snake had appeared with Sasuke, hadn't it? But she and him were fighting it... So he couldn't possibly have summoned it, right? Or could Sasuke have been simply been putting up a front when, before Mami came along, he had been planning to do something malicious?... No. That didn't seem like Sasuke - As little as she knew about the boy, he seemed friendly enough, and not like the type that would intend to kill unless for a very, very good reason. In fact, if anyone had blood on their hands (Literally and otherwise), it was Mami herself.

Fortunately, they were "off the hook", though the pint-sized gunslinger would accept nothing but being even with these people. They were awfully kind themselves to have presumably helped in fighting that snake, so she spoke up. "I'm very sorry that snake cost the life of one of your allies... How may I repay you?" she asked. Few ideas came to mind, and the only conceivable one that did was taking his place for a while, though she couldn't do that. There were no doubt people out there that needed her - In this place she no doubt had many things to do. Her duty was not fighting for king and country, especially not for a country she knew nothing of. "Being 'off the hook' as you say isn't enough. I don't want anyone to be in debt to anyone here - Neither you or I benefited from the lost life, so neither you or I should leave this situation having lost more than already has been lost. If there's anything I can do... Let me know."

Mami returned her attention to the walk, but suddenly she felt as if she was forgetting something. Not just anything, something deathly important. If there's anything I can do... Definitely different from fighting Witches. Images of fighting that snake flashed in the girl's mind - Summoning ribbons, facing down a massive creature with her rifles - She had done that before. She had done that to fight a Witch... Charlotte. She felt a pounding sensation in her temples, which she cringed at, but quickly regained her composure. She had to start fighting Witches again - It was her duty, and if she ignored it... Her Soul Gem would grow cloudier than it already was, wouldn't it?

Mami stopped. "I'm afraid I will have to turn down this invitation," she decided. "I'm afraid I have even more pressing matters to attend to than seeking him out... Matters that are life-dependent in importance." Her head faced west, where there appeared to be more like those who had come to meet them. "Before I go," she took a few steps toward Sasuke, "It was wonderful to fight alongside you, Mr... Uchiha, was it?" though he appeared younger than herself, Mami tried to use respectful honorifics with most people, and since she wasn't the most familiar with English equivalents, perhaps she had overstepped a boundary. "I extend the same to you, Mr. Hammond, and to the men under your command. And lastly..." She turned to Lubbock, whom she still didn't know the last name of. "Thank you for offering assistance. Perhaps that's an offer I may be able to accept one day," she chimed with a smile and turned her back on the group, deciding she would head southwest. "Until we meet again," she finished and began her run for the gate of two bent palm-trees. Before long, she found herself in front of a gate displaying a lovely view of a small, coarse-sand beach with an ocean expanding ever-outwards otherwise. Mami held her breath, not knowing exactly what else to do, and stepped through with her head angled down and her eyes shut. The last time she had done this, she had been rendered unconscious for who-knows-how-long... Hopefully leaving the Nexus again wouldn't cause that same effect twice.

I guess you could say Mami's diving into the Deeps... Headfirst. *Puts on aviators*
We'll cross paths again regardless of what happens, the lot of us - I'll make sure of it!~

[Lubbock]

A shiver was sent down Lubbock's spine as the ninja and Mami shot looks of disappointment at him after his mention of babes.
"Jeez, just asking!" Lubbock put his hands up and lit up like a red light bulb.
Not too soon after the new ninja arrived, who proclaimed himself as Obito Uchiha, a fight broke out between him and the other ninja, trading words about clans and ninjas and other things that Lubbock had no idea about. He began to raise his hands shyly and open his mouth to speak, but decided it was a stupid move and he would make more of an ass of himself than he already had. He just watched as the two discussed, and eventually the argument died out with the first ninja turning his attention back to the troopers, asking about the blood on their white armor.
"I'm betting you all could tell us that," Hammond accused the group. Lubbock recoiled in defiance. U-um, come again? he worried.
"Don't worry, Lubbock. This in fact has nothing to do with you. Pull yourself together," Syura encouraged his owner. Obliging, Lubbock regained his posture and slid his hands into the pockets of his green coat. It seemed that the other three were baffled too, the ninja voicing his confusion as well.
"Yeah, Mr. Hammond, I believe that we're all slightly confused as to your reasons here," Lubbock voiced his opinion, trying to act it cool. The trooper had then raised the visor of his mask and pulled out a strange device, which he clicked, materializing some kind of incorporeal image of a random person. He explained that the person shown was a Prime. A small cloud of smoke floated outwards, and he noticed Mami trying to wave it away. However, the green-haired man just pulled his goggles down onto his eyes to block the vile substance from ruining his sight. He placed his sleeve over his mouth and nose. He turned his attention back to the image, but his eyes caught something on the way. Lubbock noticed that the ninja seemed to be quite captivated by Mami's appearance, and tried covering up his awkwardness as he turned back to the floating image. Hammond clicked it again, materializing another person beside the first, stating that they were a Secondary, and that Primes could summon them into the existence of Omni's world. Are you saying the ninja brought that monster into existence? Why would he then be fighting it? What dark motives does he have? Lubbock shot a subtle look at the ninja, whom he had yet to discover the name of, and took a look at his eyes. Not at any point did they look like they were hiding something. Lubbock looked back to the armored man.
"Sure, I've seen my share of massive snakes in my time as an assassin," he didn't even bother covering that part up, due to being in a whole new world, "But none I have never known personally," Lubbock looked over at Mami, who seemed to still be baffled, but the ninja spoke up
"I knew the rogue ninja known as Orochimaru, but a bond we did not share. Orochimaru was a foe, an enemy to myself and all other Shinobi of the Leaf. So, you have the wrong person if you think I would align myself with him. I had no desire to reunite with that cretan," he stated his loathing of the creature he apparently summoned. One of the troopers spoke up, and judging by his badge he was of a high rank, although below Hammond. He voiced the fact that one of their comrades were killed, something Hammond stated earlier without such aggression. The young man, known as Cody, was put in his place by his superior. Hammond's attention flew back to the ninja he was questioning.
"You there. You say you knew the secondary in question?" he asked, almost like a detective. After some thinking and debating with himself, the ninja replied, confirming that he had encountered him before. He was questioned further, being asked how he arrived. Apparently, he was in a tournament, then he was falling, an alibi in which Cody challenged. I believe it. I kind of had a similar experience. That gate though... that was kinda weird... Hammond had also agreed, to which Lubbock let out a sigh of gratitude. Although, he mentioned that involuntary Secondary Summoning was common for those who lose consciousness. Lubbock hadn't done so, so he wouldn't have summoned the Snake. Finally Mami spoke again, offering to help the troopers if she could, which Lubbock admired. Lubbock also didn't want anyone to be in debt, and showed his opinion to with a small nod.
The group was 'off the hook' apparently, and the same situation wouldn't be overlooked in the future. The troopers offered the group to follow into the one of the verses, the one to the Empire it seemed. However, Mami had decided to turn down the offer which rather surprised the assassin. She gave her gratitude to the ninja, now known as another 'Uchiha' like Obito, then the troopers, then, amazingly, to Lubbock. She respected his offer to help, and said she may take that offer one day. Lubbock went bright red and his green hair covered his face.
"T-thanks, no problem! I'm just glad that both of you are safe!" he told her, before sliding the goggles back up onto his head and revealing one of his green eyes, the other still covered by his equally green hair. Mami turned around and left for a different verse, to which Lubbock payed no attention. With Mami turning down the invitation, he was reminded that he really didn't have anything to do with the group, as he was used to strange things happening that sent him to strange places. He decided he would figure these things out himself. He also didn't need the prick of a voice inside his head making him more of an embarrassment in front of everyone.
"Actually, come to think of it, I might take my leave too. I feel I want to explore the rest of the place, and I don't really have anyone I want to find, so yeah," he was slightly disappointed by his own choice, but decided to live with it none the less. He turned on the heel of his shoe towards the Beach Babe Gate, before waving over his shoulder, "If you need anything, you'll know where I am!" he told them, before running off.

(Mami, it's ironic that you are going to the Deeps, because that's exactly the original destination of Lubbock! I hope you don't mind if he unknowingly goes there with you. I believe that something funny could happen if the two suddenly met again!)

[Obito Uchiha]

There were so many people crowded in this seemingly small white space of a land. While Obito observed and listened to the blonde haired girl and the green haired guy who he had thought was a girl at first, he wondered if this was all just one of those weird mix-matched dreams that people sometimes get. Maybe the reality was that he was sleeping in a sleeping bag in a camp in the woods with Rin, Kakashi, and Minato-Sensei. He had to really think about this though. The boy who wore the orange goggles tok a kunai from his pouch, and it felt real. It felt slightly cold, heavy, and when he ran a finger gently along an edge, sharp.

"This is all real", Obito confirmed to himself. Omni was real, Omnillium was real (and really weird too), and all of these people as well, even the white armored men. He looked around at the scenery, noticing blood on the blonde-haired girl's face. She had walked to the fountain and washed the blood off. Blood was also splattered along the ground. The boy trailed it with his one dark colored eye, and found a body. The body was of one of the white metal clad soldiers and some of them who stood nearby had blood on them as well. Also there was still the fact that Obito was missing an eye, so everything with the mission that had gone wrong too was real.

'What happened here?', Obito asked himself. He couldn't help feeling afraid. However, he just couldn't bring himself to ask this out loud. Surely it'd all be explained anyway. Then the tension was broken, at least for a moment, by the green haired guy with the red goggles.

"Hey, question, how many babes are here?", Lubbock burst out.

Obito gave him an awkward look, saying "What a real winner. Well, I'm clearly not a girl, so there's only one! Oh and by the way... nice goggles!", he said, ending this in a toothy grin. He adjusted his goggles a bit at the bit, and rubbed the bridge of his nose, which was kind of itchy.

The next thing to happen was when the other Uchiha guy finally responded to Obito's question. However, he snapped at him angrily, confused by Obito's statement.

"Huh? Well, I mean..we [b]ARE lost."[/b], Obito answered in response to the other Uchiha kid, laughing, feeling really awkward. He had no idea why this guy was so agitated with him.

The other snarled at him, yelling, "How dare you...Are you mocking me?!". His teeth were clenched in anger, and he continued, "You think what happened to my clan is funny? My people, my friends...MY FAMILY!!!"

Obito was really startled, afraid, wondering what happened that he didn't know about. He spoke up in response, just as loud as the raven haired shinobi, "Wait...what? What are you talking about? What happened to our clan?!", though his body language wasn't aggressive like his kin's. He just stared blankly at Sasuke, waiting for an explanation.

However, there was no explanation. The other Uchiha wasn't even nice enough to tell him his name or anything. Instead, the raven haired Uchiha asked Obito who his sensei was, and seemed to doubt Obito's origins as a Konoha-nin as well.
Obito responded to this with an enthusiastic tone, as he was proud of his sensei, explaining that his teacher was none other than Minato Namikaze, the Leaf's "Yellow-Flash"! In response, the other Uchiha accepted Obito was lucky to have Minato as his sensei. Obito beamed with a burst of joy at this, laughing with his one eye closed. He took a thumb to his goggles and pushed them up unto his hairline. His right hand rested casually on his right hip.

The young Chuunin was going to ask again about what happened to their clan. However, the other Uchiha was asking the white armored men about the blood, and Obito didn't ask again at this time, be cause he too wanted to know where the blood came from.

Arnold Hammond responded, "I'm betting you all could tell us that."

Obito's eyes widened in shock. Did he think that Obito and the other non-white clad people had something to do with this? Arnold Hammond lifted his visor portion of his helmet, revealing the eyes and face of a middle aged man old enough to be Obito's father. The man then reached into his armor somehow and brought out a device, which he clicked. The handheld machine displayed a hologram of a person. Obito was ever confused more and more so, as each moment passed. There white clad men had technology that was very foreign to the young shinobi.

Arnold Hammond smoked a cigarette then, exhaling tobacco smoke, then stated, "This is a prime", then he clicked the device again and another holographic figure appeared next to the first one. "And this is a secondary. See how the prime brought the secondary into existence. Their difference is that one summons the other. Those snakes back there were secondaries and you four here are the only primes for miles, so, one of you summoned them. Those snakes murdered one of my comrades and one of you knows who those snakes belong to."

Obito listened, though his eye darted from Arnold Hammond to each of the others, and the boy exclaimed honestly, addressing Mr Hammond, "I'm not sure about any of this Mr. Hammond! I'm honestly really confused. All I know is I saw a dead body and some blood. I arrived after the snake thing. I didn't even see any snakes!"

The other Uchiha spoke up then to Hammond, knowing much more about what occurred. He spoke the name of an Orochimaru, who was an enemy to Konohagakure! That name rang a bell of sorts. He himself had never seen Orochimaru though. He only knew he'd been a student of the Third Lord, along with Jiraiya and Tsunade. He was one of the legendary Sannin. To hear that he had become a rogue-nin was a surprise.

Before Arnold Hammond could respond, Corporal Cody Smith stepped forward, also raising his visor. He explained that the Imperial Code said that all primes may be held accountable for the actions of the secondaries they summon. The second thing he said only made Obito upset. This is when he said that all of these primes should go to prison. He blamed them for the murder of his comrade in arms. Obito clenched his hands into fists at his side, gritting his teeth.

The boy thought to himself, 'I have nothing to do with this, and he's being unfair!' Luckily though, he didn't have to speak out loud and get himself in trouble. This was because the commander told his subordinate to stand down. Cody brought his visor back down then, and then fell in line with the other troopers. Obito was able to relax then, sighing, and wiping sweat from his forehead. Arnold addressed Sasuke. Obito hoped the other Uchiha could get them all out of this mess.

The two continued to talk. Sasuke explained that he had known Orochimaru and what had happened to him upon his entry into this place. Arnold seemed to accept this, though he explained that, he himself being a secondary, the death of his comrade in arms was quite serious. The corporal spoke up again after Sasuke had finished telling his tale, and he was still being negative, seeking punishment for the primes, namely Sasuke in particular. One again though, he was silenced by Commander Hammond.

The commander didn't blame Sasuke, or any of the others for what happened. He also explained that sometimes secondaries could be involuntarily summoned. Obito wished in that case, that he could have summoned his friends here with him (or at least Rin). The boy lowered his head and looked at his feet, feeling lonely without Rin and Kakashi. He hoped he could somehow get home. If it was impossible though, he'd make sure how to somehow summon his friends. He didn't even think of the fact that he was selfish in that thought. Finally, after a slight exchange of words again, and Sasuke and the others off the hook, the commander said that he'd take the party of primes to get acquainted with the omniverse.

After one more strange man appeared, garbed entirely in white with a bit of black, the blonde haired girl stated that she had to turn down the Empire's invitation, and that she had more important things to take care of, leaving after she bid farewell to Sasuke and Commander Hammond. She ran towards a circular portal-like gate with a view of a beach and ocean, and disappeared through it. Lubbock, the man with the green haired, would also say his farewells, and he followed the girl through the beach gate. This only left the two Uchiha, and the white and black clad man, along with the platoon of storm troopers.

The young Uchiha who wore blue and orange would smile, still apprehensive, but not really worried anymore about his "tour-guides". He said aloud towards the commander, "Your not such a bad guy after all Commander Hammond. I'll do my best not to cause any trouble."

"Glad to hear it. Come on then, you lot. You too, new prime," said Arnold Hammond, that last line being for Seraph. The commander eyed the newcomer with suspicion, but since he had helped out an injured soldier, he saw him as a good man.

The commander and his platoon marched in double file towards a portal that displayed a high-tech, mufti-tierd city with floating vehicles. Obito had never seen anything like it before. He was so curious about everything in this new universe. However, before he'd step into the shimmering "stargate" in front of him, he'd catch the other Uchiha by the left shoulder with his right hand, and he'd ask him, "What's your name anyway? You never told me. I also want you to answer my question about our clan. What happened to them?!"

Sasuke looked perturbed, a bit annoyed, but he'd turn to face this Obito Uchiha and say, " My name is Sasuke. Maybe I'll tell you what happened later, but know this...I will avenge them."

Obito was really worried about the Uchiha Clan, even if he didn't ever get to meet his own parents. The Uchiha as a whole were a family, and the most elite shinobi in the world. At least Sasuke had told Obito his name though. The boy nodded, understanding. "Ok." He kept it simple, because he could tell that Sasuke was edgy, and didn't want to make him any more angry.

He decided he'd stick with Sasuke, at least for a while. Besides, he was family, at least distantly, and they were both shinobi of Konoha. He had no idea though, of the time paradox between the two. In the future to come, surely more would be revealed.

[Miranda Frost]

Upon arriving at the group of soldiers, Serph casually tossed the injured soul aside and looked among the group. The eyes he saw were largely negetive and tired. He could tell the ones who looked at them were uneasy, and Seraph didn't blame them. By the look of the blood that had soaked into his once white coat, a battle must have been fought. Either they one or survived.. which could explain the shakey atmosphere. Seraph would walk among them, Examining them closely, perhaps too closely.

He had to admit.. he did invade a few of the troopers' personal space on purpose. He wanted to know their reaction and from the nervous and trembling he saw from the most, he could tell they were not eager for another confrontation. Seraph withdrew himself and crossed his arms in disappointment. "You guys are no fun.. I expected at least one punch thrown... not everybody is smart you know", he said coyly, waving a finger in one of the soldier's visors. He scanned the group again, kinda ignoring the little conversation they were having with what seemed to be the leader of the group. He looked around.. seeing various lights upon the Horizon-

"Yeah yeah whatever you say Doc, Hey trooper there!", He said, waving an obviously disrespectful and dismissive wave at the leader before moving up to a random trooper, wrapping his arm playfully around him as if they had been friends for some time. "Hi there! I can't happen to notice those lights on the horizon! Those wouldn't happen to be portals like the one you guys are going right?", he said, pointing with his scabbard over to the lights to make his point.

"Ahhn? Y-yes."

Seraph ignored the trembling, knight looking being beneath him and continued along with his questions "There wouldn't happen to be a desert behind one of them would there?"

"Yes.. that one" The stormtrooper pointed in a direction seemingly directly across from here. It was... frustrating to say the least. Seraph was NOT a loner and it frustrated him to here that he would have to walk aaalll the way over there. Seraph gritted his teeth.

"After spending days... hanging around the friggin Meto-mophi-fountain... baking in the non-existant sun... STAIN MY FRIGGIN UNIFORM WITH THE BLOOD OF A NO-NAMED NOBODY! JUST TO HEAR THAT I-", He started, anger rumbling through Seraph's body... until he heard the gurgling of of the trooper underneath him, and the readying of the weapons from a couple of nearby troopers. He blinked and released the trooper, slapping his helmeted head in a somewhat friendly manner, though probably to hard. The storm trooper stumbled foreward and composed himself, stepping out of Seraph's way as he began walking foreward.

'Well... I believe I've overstayed my welcome.. time to eh.. make my trek across the great white void... again", He thought to himself, not giving two rats' asses about the two bickering children or their white armored knights that for some reason wielded strange looking guns. Silly children.. knights didn't have guns. Silly children.

(exit)

[Sasuke Uchiha]

And then there were two.

Sasuke found it funny that, out of all the Primes, he and his fellow Uchiha were now, the only ones left. In his home and time he was the only Uchiha left, but in this place, all had left him except the Uchiha; funny he thought as he laughed at his own misfortune and despair. He had thought the Mami character would join them as he believed her to be as disciplined in achieving her goals as he was in his; a foolish thought. How could she? How could anyone? No one could relate. No one knew what he was going through. NO ONE needed to kill someone as bad as he needed to.

Sasuke placed his hands in his pockets, pondering his predicament as he marched alongside the Storm troopers in stride. He was beginning to feel like he might not ever return home. He didn’t mind, there wasn’t much left for him there. Suddenly he began to think of Naruto. Weird… Not weird… Naruto had become his rival and his closest friend. He didn’t know it then, but he missed the damned fool. He wouldn’t think on it now though, he had business he had to finish. He had to find and kill Itachi, if it was the last thing he did.

The company came to a halt as Sasuke laid his eyes on sights he hadn’t ever even dreamed of. Directly in front of him stood the giant portal to coruscant and through its transparent visage, a futuristic wonderland resided within. A sprawling city of a magnificent architectural design stretching far and wide, encompassed as much of the vast white ocean as Omni would allow. Sasuke didn’t quite know what he was looking at, but he knew no one back home had ever seen anything like it. He repositioned himself, scanning the party to see if anyone had caught him gawking and instead found Obito, carefree, gawking to his heart’s content at the majestic city before them. Sasuke chuckled. He liked this Obito, he reminded him of Naruto, they even had the same cheesy grin. He had noticed it when Sasuke acknowledged Obito’s sensei, the Fourth Hokage. Shifting his eyes from Obito back to the portal he wondered if the city would remain as wondrous once they actually crossed over and entered.

Before the portal existed a sort of check in station manned by more of the white clad-armored soldiers. Only these soldiers seemed more misshapen in their uniforms and lacked the proper form Arnold’s own platoon carried about them. Sasuke wasn’t the only one who found them out of place as Commander Arnold Hammond questioned the outpost soldiers, “You there. What is all this? Is all this just for Dante’s Abyss?”

Behind a table two Storm Troopers stood looking over some documents over. One of them, in response to the question, drew their attention to Commander Hammond, “Dante’s Abyss? How’d you know?”

The other station trooper backhanded his partner across the arm/shoulder area and then spoke up himself, “Dante’s Abyss? Oh no… They won’t be setting up for that for at least a couple of weeks.”

Arnold arched an eyebrow in response before speaking up once more, “Then what’s all of this?” He indicated to the outpost with a point of his finger.

“Well, sir” the trooper started, “there seems to be a new virus sweeping across all the other verses, I think they are calling it the blight?...” he stopped to look at his partner, who had a smug grin on his face, before continuing, “Yea, that’s it. The Blight. Anyway, new imperial policy, anyone entering Coruscant has to get vaccinated…”

“Oh, awesome!” recruit Anderson exclaimed as he stepped forward, “I can’t afford to be getting sick. My wife and I… well... We have one on the way!” he beamed like the proud father should. Arnold grinned in response, being a family man himself.

Okay, Obito, I dunno if you are still with us, but if you are, decide whether or not Obito takes the vaccine from the new soldiers or tried to deny it in your next post! =O

[Sasuke Uchiha]

“Okay! Who’s ready to get their shots?!” questioned a Trooper from behind the tables. He then placed a syringe, filled with a cyan colored substance, into a gun shaped device before continuing, “Okay, I’ll need two lines. One for the Primes here, and another for Secondaries there. Hustle up, we don’t have all day!”

“Nn-needles? Ii-I hate needles!” the young chunin, known only as Obito, stammered as he took a few steps backwards.

“Scared of needles? You know, you Primes aren’t half as bad as I had expected.” another’s voice carried from over Obito’s shoulder as the young Ninja now felt a hand’s presence there; Obito allowed it. The hand on his shoulder belonged to Cadet Anderson, who proceeded to lean in closer to Obito, close enough that his remarks were limited to Obito’s ears alone, “Although, I wouldn’t let that other one fall asleep on me.” He indicated Sasuke Uchiha as he spoke, “Those snakes were no joke. Corporal Smith was not kidding around earlier. Frank is dead and he’s not coming back.”

Anderson’s words caused Obito to focus his vison on Sasuke at the thought. The Cadet passed him to join the other secondaries for their shots and the Ninja in question, Sasuke, was standing off away from the group. His aloof demeanor gave the impression he had grown bored with the whole situation causing an image of Kakashi to flash in Obito’s mind. He realized now where he had encountered this kind of persona before.

“Oh, don’t be such a girl. You’re Uchiha, aren’t you?” Sasuke taunted as he proceeded to the indicated booth, flashing his famous Uchiha grin as he passed the other shinobi.

“Tch!” expressed a frustrated Obito and as if to not be out done, he promptly followed his fellow Ninja of the Leaf, falling in line behind him to await his shot.

“Hold up! Wait just a second…“, Arnold began as he eyed the outpost Trooper with suspicion, “Dante’s Abyss most certainly is starting today, it’s the first day of signups. That date released by the media is a hoax, made to be a grand surprise and in fact, the Imperial Storm Trooper Fleet is in charge of the events security… What unit did you say you were with?”

The outpost trooper stared blankly at the Commander, but before Hammond could receive an answer, a static, buzzing noise sounded from within his helmet, through his transmitter, “Commander Hammond, come in Commander Hammond. This Imperial center with the Capitol, are you there? Over.”

Interrupted, the veteran Commander let out a grunt as he began walking, moving his position away from the outpost and answered, “Hammond here, go ahead.” Afterwards, he quickly turned back to face the Primes with a shout, “Don’t do anything until I get over there! That’s an order!”

Sasuke peered over his shoulder, putting the leader of the white armored men in sight; his face expressed defiance. He didn’t know who this ‘Hammond’ character thought he was, but as the guy had already stated himself, Sasuke hadn’t broken any of their laws, so, for him to be barking orders at him… Sasuke didn’t take well to this. Sasuke was fine to be used as a tool to achieve another’s goals, for this was the way of the Shinobi, however, he had proclaimed no allegiances to this Empire and as the raven haired assassin saw it, they hadn’t done anything to warrant the right to call on his aid.

The artificial voice sounded from inside Arnold Hammond’s helmet, drawing his attention away once more, “Prisoner #744,023-LPXJ-5,178 has been released to Imperial Supervised Probation. Prisoner in question is a Prime and under Imperial Code Alpha 1077-“

“I know the damn code!” this time it was Arnold who interrupted the electronic voice, “So, you have a Trustee and you want me to babysit, is that it? Well, I don’t mind, send ‘em on down, but know this, just cause he’s a Prime don’t mean he’s ready and I’m not responsible if Omni don’t like him and don’t send him back!”

“Yes Commander. Noted. -And Commander, we firmly agree with you and your way of doing things. Make us proud, he’ll be awaiting your arrival for debriefing in the Alpha Dog Barracks.”

Hammond smirked in response to the flattery he had received from the Capitol, for it was a common, bittersweet taste in his mouth; empty compliments from pencil pushers who knew not the burdens they caused from their ‘comfy’ seats of office, but he shrugged it off, as he always did, “No, that’s no good. I got a feeling that…” the commander paused as he shot a look over his shoulder at Sasuke and party before continuing, “Yea… If that Trustee wants to start working some of that debt off, now’s as good as a time as ever. Send him to this outpost, I’ll send the coordinates now.”

---

After a moment of indecision, Sasuke finally stepped away from the outpost trooper and his vaccine. Although reluctant, he had decided following Hammond’s orders were probably in his best interest. He knew these soldiers had stated he HAD to get the shot in order to enter and he HAD to enter to locate Itachi. Plus was certain his brother was here, only a matter of tracking him down, however, every trooper who had come into contact with Hammond seemed to treat him with either one of two things, respect or fear. The Vaccine obviously wasn’t the only thing that could prevent Sasuke from entering; prevent Sasuke from finding his target. Sasuke concluded that being on Arnold Hammond’s good side was just as vital to progressing his search as the vaccine seemed to be. So, irritated though he was, wait for the Commander he would.

---

“Uhh, sorry sir… But, uhh, a Handler has already been dispatched…” the voice, almost nervous, responded to Hammond’s request while checking to confirm with their records.

“A Handler? I didn’t submit a request for a Handler… On who’s orders?” Arnold questioned as he placed his gloved hand to his helmet.

“Uhh, right!..., loooooo-kkkkking o-veeeerr his f-iles ow… Letzzzzz zzee… Uh-h…” the electronic voice now coming in all scrambled.

“Spit it out!” the Commander demanded!

“H-hre reiiiiiiiiit **Crack** is! Rri-gh-, t-he’s being **Kkkk—kkk** ested by Hadler, Sent -oooooooosef.” The voice sounding like a static, whizzing mess.

“Repeat that. I didn’t get that last bit. Over.” spoke a frustrated Arnold Hammond as he slapped the upside of his helmet.

“He’s being escorted by Handler, Sergeant Josef. Over.” the electronic voice suddenly crystal clear.

“Damn Nexus.” Hammond cursed before continuing, “What the hell is going on around here? Do you have his com-link there?”

“Yes, I’ll put you through now.” replied the voice over helmet transmitter.

“Thank you.” sighed the aged Storm Trooper.

---

“So, we’re not getting shots? Seriously, are you messing with me? I really don’t like needles!” Obito declared as he too followed Sasuke away from the booth. However, before Sasuke could respond, he came under assault!

“NOT SO FAST, YOU LITTLE PUNKS!!!” screeched one of the outpost Troopers as he lunged towards Sasuke and drove the vaccine needle into his neck.

**PRICK!!!**

Sasuke’s eyes widened and his pupils dilated as Cadet Anderson turned to see what the commotion was all about.

“NOW, YOU’RE TURN!!!” the enemy roared as he charged Obito!

The Cadet couldn’t believe his eyes. Troopers were attacking Primes? He had a distaste for them sure, but the Empire regarded Primes highly… what was going on here?

Sasuke, faster than the assailant, intervened, pushing Obito from harm’s way, but took the second injection in his shoulder as a consequence.

**PRICK!!!**

Sasuke’s vision fluttered before his pupils vacated, leaving only the whites of his eyes. He fell to his knees, motionless.

Cadet Anderson had seen enough. Murder was murder! What would the Commander do? Anderson unholstered his firearm.

---

A static noise sounded in Hammond’s helmet once more, “You’re in.”

“Great.” He replied before addressing the new channel, “Sergeant Josef, this is Sergeant Commander, Arnold Hammond of the Imperial Fleet, Division Fountain Detail: Alpha. Do you read me?”

"Reading you loud and clear, Commander Hammond" the soldier on the other end confirmed.

“Do you have that Trustee with you? Over.” asked the Commander.

"Mhmm...” the other end confirmed again, this time the voice sounding louder.

“Great, bring that Trustee to this outpost, I’ll send the coordinates now.” ordered the Commander.

“Copy that, we'll bring him through" the transmitter cut off.

“Okay, now that that’s over…” Arnold said as he turned to face his new Prime Arrivals and under the cover of his helmet’s visor, his jaw hit the floor in response to what his eyes revealed to him. Before him lay one of the Primes, lifeless, on the white surface known as the Nexus floor and the other, displaying a fit of acrobatics, was under siege by way of blaster fire!

Arnold couldn’t believe what he was seeing, although his gut had been giving him a foreboding feeling and was why he had requested that the Trustee come straight here in the first place(better their necks than ours, he figured), but even so, he hadn’t expected this.

Not only that, but the commotion had drawn out more of the misshapen looking Storm Troopers from the within the post.

Corporal Cody, Arnold’s second in command, flanked his Sergeant’s right, “Looks like the shit just caved in. Who-raa! You ready boss’man? What’s the order.” He moved with such efficiency, quickly aiming down the sights of his potential targets.

Without missing a beat Arnold began directing his platoon into action, “Set your blasters to stun, I want to take them alive. Even the scum wearing our armor. Also, I want all of you to take off your helmets.” They did so. “Now, fire on any Trooper wearing their helmet.” Stunned, most of the platoon members faced their Commander for confirmation. Arnold returned their looks with a fire in his eyes.

Enraged, Corporal Cody spoke up at this, “You’re siding with these Prime scum?! You want me to fire on my fellow officers?!”

The Commander responded simply with, “Take a closer look Corporal. Those uniforms are a forgery. Those aren’t the standard issue. Also, where is Cadet Anderson?”

Amongst the chaos the Cadet could be seen firing upon the other Troopers.

“Not only that,” Arnold continued, “who among you hasn’t been anticipating Dante’s Abyss? Any of you get confused on when it starts?”

The platoon shared looks amongst each other before they all nodded in agreement. Dante’s Abyss was the biggest thing to happen to the Omniverse since the Banishment of Diablo, there wasn’t a single soldier of Coruscant who hadn’t been briefed on their involvement with the event. Whoever these guys were, they weren’t the multi-colored blooded Storm Troopers they were; they were fakes!

Cody grunted.

Arnold smirked from under his visor as he spoke once more, “-And lastly, even if I am wrong, you’ll have your blasters set to stun.”

Arnold surveyed his men before commanding his platoon once more, “Now, the new Prime arrivals are our first priority, protect them at all costs. Well, you have your orders men, let’s bag ‘em and tag ‘em, MOVE OUT!!!”

“RIGHT!!!” his men all shouted in unison as they sprang fourth into action!

Arnold unholstered his own blaster in order to secure the missions success, however, just as he was about to engage in battle a static, buzzing noise sounded from within his helmet once more, “Sir, sir! We have incoming! A Vehicle from the east! Over.”

Arnold recognized the voice to be his Scout Officer immediately and responded with, “Great timing, it’s probably a Prime Trustee straight from the Capitol. Clear a path for them!”

“Yes sir!” was all that responded.

**PHEW** **PHEW**

Blaster fire rained down upon the, ever elusive Shinobi of the Leaf; his image a blur of oranges and blues as he dodged beam after beam. One of the beams, however, managed to explode directly underneath Obito as he was landing, causing the Shinobi to lose his grace; taking a tumble.

**PHEW** **PHEW**

Beams sought after Obito with ill intent as he managed to rebound, taking control, and transitioning back into the acrobatic display of dodging. Nimble as ever, he seemed to elude the blaster fire with ease now and in fact, began to mount a counter assault. The youth, bounding through the air, planted his left hand to the Nexus surface, removed a trio of shuirken from his person with his right, and whilst holding the handstand he channeled all his might and chakra fourth, allowing him to pole-vault himself high into the air. Obito grinned overhead as he unleashed a barrage of shuriken upon his attackers.

Landing without noise, the young Ninja accessed his handiwork; two of the attackers had been injured by shuriken. He placed his hands on his hips as his confidence swelled up, “Is that all you got?!”

**SMASH**

As soon as the words left Obito’s mouth, a fist belonging to Sasuke slammed into it. The one eyed Ninja hit the floor, taking some bad bounces before he was able to catch himself. He rubbed his lip; his hand coming away red from blood.

“What the hell? What was that all about?!” Obito exclaimed in astonishment at his fellow Shinobi of the Leaf.

Sasuke, without a word, rushed Obito with great haste; his pupils still not present within his eyes. Quickly closing the distant between them, Sasuke fired one hell of a right cross at his fellow Uchiha!