Shikamaru cursed. It was Naruto who had yelled out Neji's name.

"Naruto, shut up!" he hissed.

The chamber was dark, and damp, slimy and cold. Rats scuttled back in to the corners of the cavern. Gentle drops of water dripped rhythmically on to the stone floor.

A tension spread through the group. Sai's eyes shifted between the group members. Naruto straining to run flat out and search, Shino and Kiba watching Shikamaru nervously, Sakura was trembling, Sasuke no doubt on her mind, Ino and Chouji had clenched each other's hands. Shikamaru… Shikamaru looked oddly emotionless. A blank.

…

Neji was angry. He had wanted someone to rescue him, to take him away from here… But now they were here. They were all risking their lives to get him back. Why? He had never done anything to deserve this? Why? Damn it, why? What should he do? He didn't know. What should he do?

He took a breath.

…

Neji wasn't sure why, but he had woken up. He glanced at the clock. Three minutes past four. Neji felt the heat of Shikamaru next to him. He turned around and observed Shikamaru in his most peaceful, innocent and vulnerable state. Hardly anyone he supposed had seen Shikamaru in this state. He breathed as though the weight of the world lay on anyone else's shoulders but his own. Neji smiled. He leant towards Shikamaru's face and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. He turned back and lay down, and somehow and involuntary grin formed on his face. Just before Neji drifted back into the sleeping wake world, he felt an arm wrap around his waist and he knew… Shikamaru didn't lie.

…

The team had split up. They had come to a split. Two different directions. Shino, Shikamaru, Ino and Naruto had gone left, Sakura, Kiba, Chouji and Sai went right. A healer in each team. A tracker in each team. It was perfect. The rest were there to fight.

Shikamaru, Ino, Naruto and Shino had only gone a little way along one tunnel, when they reached yet another split. They turned left yet again.

Ten minutes later they came to yet another split. Again they turned left.

The passage grew darker. A green light began to seep through the passageway.

Figures began to move eerily around them.

"Shikamaru… We've begun to go around in circles." It was Ino who said it out loud.

"I know."

"What are they?" Naruto gestured at the figures who seemed to be constantly there.

They had made no hostile move up until now.

"It's a mirror image." It was Shino who answered, suprising Naruto, who had been expecting Shikamaru to know.

"Shikamaru, I believe we are in a circular tunnel. Basically if we were to approach a mirror and attempt to break it we would end up in a room, or we might end up outside, depending which side we break, left or right. Either way I believe there is something in that room, of great significance, and I think it would be wise to attempt to break the mirror."

"You think I haven't thought of that already?" Shikamaru retorted.

"I doubt there is anything of great value in that room or it wouldn't be protected by a child's defense. Either way I think we should get out of this bloody tunnel."

Ino nodded.

Naruto and Shino took one side, Ino and Shikamaru took the other.

The mirror gave way startlingly easily, so much so, that Naruto feel face forward on to the ground outside.

Ino and Shikamaru both stood their ground.

They had entered what seemed to be a bedroom. A nightstand with a burned down candle stood stiffly next to a bed, with pristine bed sheets. A mirror hung on one wall.

A wardrobe. Nothing more.

"This must be an underling's room." Ino spoke out loud what Shikamaru was thinking.

"We should see if there are any weapons we could use." Shikamaru indicated the wardrobe.

Black clothes. Uniform. A few kunai and shuriken. Ino stocked up on the smoke bombs.

Shikamaru took nothing.

Naruto and Shino meanwhile, had entered and were currently examining the floor.

"It would be useless to be a guard in the middle of nowhere." Naruto explained.

Shikamaru however, was gazing at the mirror.

He walked towards it. His reflection stared back at him.

'Why has nobody been sent to track us down? This is all way too easy.'

He stretched out a hand. Pushed. The mirror gave way. A crash.

"Shikamaru! Damn it, do you want to get us all killed?"

"Look!" Shikamaru gestured impatiently to where the mirror had once hung. A tunnel stretched endlessly before them. A dark gaping mouth of possibility. Ino walked towards it. Her skin caught the light, fair, and Shikamaru was strongly reminded of Neji, and his onion thin skin. A pastel shade of white. His chest constricted painfully, as though trying to squeeze all the air out of him.

"Shikamaru?" Shino brought him back to reality.

Ino and Naruto were already inside the tunnel.

"Yeah, let's go."

…

Sakura couldn't move. She was paralyzed. Terrified. Sasuke was standing before them. His eyes were like oil. Endless black depths.

Kiba, Chouji and Sai were all glaring at him.

"Why are you here?"

His voice had changed she noticed. Deeper. Steady. Empty. Dead.

"You fucking know why we're here."

It was Kiba who spoke. Chouji admired his courage. It took some guts to stand up to the Uchiha.

"For the Hyuga? Am I correct?"

A nod.

"I cannot let you pass. Your journey ends here. Come a step closer and I'll attack."

Sweat trickled down Sakura's back.

It was a strain just to stand in his presence. His Chakra was bearing down on her, squashing her, taking her air away.

Kiba moved first, he lunged at Sasuke with a kunai. Sasuke didn't even blink. Kiba fell. Not dead, unconscious.

Snakes wound their way around Sasuke's ankles. Sai had attacked. Sasuke's distaste showed plainly on his face. He raised an eyebrow.

Sai and Shino fell.

The Sasuke caught be snakes vanished in a puff of smoke.

Sakura couldn't react. It was happening too fast.

"Go. There is nothing you could do against me. It is pointless."

Sakura's resolve hardened.

"Wanna bet?"

She lunged forwards, kunai in hand. Sasuke had turned, had not been expecting this. He was caught off guard. Sakura raised the kunai above her head. Ten centimeters separated kunai and Sasuke's neck. Her hands shook.

Tears fell.

'I can't do this… Sasuke. I'm sorry.'

Sasuke sent her flying through the air. A scream was wrenched from her body as she flew. Her body landed ten feet away, cut from invisible strings that held her upwards.

Sasuke regarded the scene.

Too easy.

…

Shikamaru turned.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled.

"No! Naruto! NO!"

Ino and Shikamaru restrained him, he fought, trying to get away, to help Sakura.

Shino punched Naruto hard in the stomach. Naruto fell.

"Remember the mission Naruto. Sakura wouldn't want you to screw it up because she got in to trouble."

Naruto's body shook somewhat.

He took a deep breath.

He nodded.

The brightly lit passage was lined with torches. Door on either side, each numbered.

"These look like sleeping quarters Shikamaru." Ino said aloud.

"I'm pretty sure they are, you can hear them breathing."

Sure enough a steady rhythmic breathing was coming from each room. It was as though the whole base was sleeping, tucked away in rocks and hidden from the world.

They walked for what seemed like months. Twists and turns, bends and staircases. Hidden passages, hidden rooms. Nothing.

Bars.

A sign marked 'laboratory'.

They all entered. Green and blue light. Bodies suspended in tanks, aquariums. Wires hooked in to the forms, feeding god knew what through the blood stream.

Regular beeps and drips from machines and IV's.

Shikamaru walked through a line of tanks. In some there were girls. Young children, tubes running through their arms, sometimes a larger tube leading in to their chest cavity. Sometimes suspended in liquid, other times they seemingly floated upwards. Held by air. Grown men, half way between man and animal were also held in cages or tanks, strapped down, hooked up to machines. Faces sunken, haunted, stuffed with pills and drugs.

Shikamaru halted. His stomach turned unpleasantly. Test tubes. At least a hundred. In all of which was an embryo, small their Chakra so weak and irregular, flittered and fluttered. As Shikamaru walked further forwards he found they grew bigger, more and more like a person, fingers, or arms, feet, toes, sometimes eyes. Though the eyes were shut.

"Where…" Ino swallowed, "where did he get the eggs for this? Where did he… Where…" she was trying not to cry.

Behind a cell door were women. Hundreds of women. All hooked up to an IV with which nutrients and hormones were being fed directly in to their blood line. They wore rags, but they all had one thing in common in terms of clothing. Their stomachs were exposed. A scar showed. Sometimes fresh, sometimes old. But all were just over the ovaries. Animals kept for meat. For milk. For fur. For eggs.

Ino sobbed. The women stirred. They could not speak. Their tongues had been cut out. Instead they reached out through the bars with the arm which was not hooked up to an IV. Ino stared, as they reached out to her.

Ino approached them. A younger woman grabbed Ino's hand through the bars.

Ino gasped.

The woman drew Ino closer. The woman wiped away Ino's tears. She shook her head. Ino's sobs subsided somewhat. The woman bit her thumb. Blood trickled down her hand. She bent down, reached out through the bars. Wrote something.

Shikamaru watched, frowning slightly.

In a ruby red, now stood; Are you scared?

Ino shook her head in disbelief.

She was scared.

But here stood this woman. Who had gone through so much, and yet could still be kind to the people who came here, even though she didn't know if they were doctors like Kabuto or friendly, and she still comforted her.

Ino smiled a shakey smile.

"I'm not scared."

"I wouldn't say that if I were you."

Kabuto.

His glasses glinted.

Anger coursed through Shikamaru's body, hot and fiery like lava. He wanted to hurt the man who had taken Neji away. Wanted to make him go through all the hurt he had been through in the last few days.

"Ah, there you are."

Kabuto was eyeing Shikamaru through his glasses.

"You're the one he was thinking about all those times."

Shikamaru wanted to hurt him.

"How do you know about that?"

Kabuto smirked.

"Brainwaves."

Ino gasped.

…

Neji was shaking. His knees were wobbly. He couldn't see properly. His head was hurting. Aching. Black swam before his vision. He couldn't walk in a straight line.

"Neji?"

Shikamaru… Shikamaru… Shikamaru…

Please.

He stumbled. He fell. Shikamaru caught him.

"Neji? What happened?"

"They… They… Curse… Seal… Help…"

Anger coursed through Shikamaru's body. They had hurt him. Had broken him. His Neji.

Shikamaru placed gentle kisses on Neji's face, wiped away the sweat, held him, if only to keep him from falling apart.

…

In his cell, Neji was pacing.

'Where was Shikamaru? Where was he?'

…

Shikamaru coughed. Blood spattered the laboratory floor.

…

Neji hurled himself at the bars.

…

Shikamaru lunged at Kabuto, he missed, he fell, Ino screamed.

…

Neji ran. He ran and ran, his muscles screamed in protest.

…

Shikamaru ran toward the grey haired man.

…

Kabuto smirked. Kunai plunged in to flesh as easily as would have done in to butter.

…

"Shikamaru!" Neji yelled.

He stood in the doorway of the laboratory.

…

Shikamaru's eyes widened, his life blood pooling steadily around him.

…

"Don't die! You don't have to win! Please. Don't die. I came here to protect you… To protect you all… Please… Just… Stop. Don't get hurt anymore than this. It's enough that you came here…"

Kabuto smirked.

"Quiet Neji."

He vanished.

Shikamaru's body flew through the air.

"No! God, NO!" Ino screamed, Shino trying to hold her back, to stop her from getting herself killed.

"SHIKAMARU!"