[Yaseyama][Lonely] The Final Expedition

[Hayate]

Beads of sweat rolled down Mariya’s brow as she tumbled her way blindly through a dark cave, knocking into it’s walls until finally she was on her knees. She keeled over, her entire body burning with an immense heat as her mouth frothed over. Gasping for air and gurgling she blinked, her eyes swirling into red, glowing in the cave and casting a slight light in an other wise dark place.

Her hand ripped at the ground as she expelled flames, lighting a torch that had been dropped nearby. Struggling to pull herself towards the torch she could feel her heart beating through her forehead.

What… was that?

Then everything went black.

---

The sun was high in the sky as it refracted off the crystalline structures of snow creating a scene that was incomprehensible to most, nothing more than a blinding-white expanse. Through the bitter winds and the biting cold a single silhouette marched upon the snow in brilliant defiance of the laws of the natural domain to which they currently belonged.

Mariya shivered beneath her tunic and winter gear. It was warm but even the scientific exploration team had it's limits. Doing what she could to warm her body through the use of chakra, she had waded through the snow for days now in search of the final uncharted territory of this expanse. The final piece to the puzzle to claiming Yaseyama for the empire and being able to say they had full understanding of their world.

The brave explorer's eyes darted amongst the snow- light was no barrier to her. Touching a seal on the side of her neck, she spoke out.

"10 clicks from the northern camp- there's a shape, potentially a cave. I will investigate."

Her time as an explorer of new lands had taught her that to keep one's sanity and strength it was important to speak, even if to yourself. It was equally important to keep a log. Taking a deep breath, the shinobi picked up her pace and made haste to the cave. Night fall would arrive within the next few hours and suitable shelter was a more important- especially when said shelter was something not marked on a map.

Within moments of reaching the mouth of the cave the howling winds stopped; Mariya could feel her face again, and her body began to warm. A feeling of relief flushed through her as she set down her packs and her snow-shoes 10 meters into the cave and took a seat, catching her breath as she examined the inside of the cave. Nothing seemed too off, not yet. She reached into her pack for an energy bar. It seemed it was her last one. She'd taken a bit longer than she had intended in the adverse conditions and was running low on food, given no choice other than to find food in nature herself.

Unraveling the bar, she began to eat it. Hopefully the storm would die down outside and she could do some hunting... but for at least another day she would probably be fine.

After a few bites, she would stand up, still chewing on the bar, as she looked about the cave. There was a strange sound, almost like a voice. As she listened it sounded as if it said you'll fail them all. She blinked a few times and shook her ears- perhaps too much snow had gotten into them. It couldn't be anything more than the wind flow throughout the cave... right?

...and yet for some reason it called to her. It called to her with an illustrious allure that made it impossible to ignore the call to go deeper into the cave. Leaving behind all her gear but a torch and tossing behind the safety nets she had prepared, Mariya mindlessly stumbled deeper into the cave, chewing at her meal bar. Her hand touched the torch as she flowed katon chakra into it, it's warmth emanating onto her as she went deeper into the cave. The walls were spotted with some sort of growth- mushrooms perhaps. The ground had a plethora of strange plants. And yet, the cave was so dusty and dingey, clearly no sign of a human ever having step foot in it- until her eyes spotted something on the walls, between the growing spores and the nature that had over-taken it.

Red lines and patterns lined the walls. It was a cave painting- a relic of something of a greater intelligence that had once lingered here. Perhaps thousands of years ago? Perhaps before this place had been a frozen wasteland. Mariya scratched her chin and continued with caution.

They knew that some of the tribes of Cold had wandered here- and that people looking to make a name for themselves in the new lands had even made their way here before. But, she didn't have many record of any ancient people having inhabited this land, and if they had, there was certainly nothing left of them anymore... She paused.

Was it possible that before the spirits this land had once been temperate? It's longitude and latitude wasn't that much different from Kumogakure, so the fact it was so frigid in of itself seemed wholly unnatural. She took the final bite of her energy bar then rolled it's packaging up and put it into her pocket.

Suddenly, she began to hear whistling in her ears once more... whistling that lulled into what she could swear were words- words she could just barely make out.

Yooou faiiilillleedd theeem!!!

Mariya shook her head. What the hell? She could feel something pulling her deeper into the cave. With a gulp as she swallowed her fears, she powered on forward. Something about this cave was off but she needed to know more. She needed to finish the complete survey of the country that was to become another home to their empire... she needed to know how she failed them.

How she failed everyone.

But... who were "them"? Who did she fail?

[Hayate]

You failed us. We waited for you and you failed us.

Mariya winced at the sound of the voice reverberating in her skull. What had originally been nothing more than feint whispers in the wind, hardly audible words, was now loud and clear in her head... and, whilst the cave was warmer than the outside, it was not that warm... and yet paradoxically she was beginning to sweat. With each new portion of the cave she had stripped a new piece of gear leaving her now down to her tang-top and her pants and pouches.

Her mind told her something was off- that this was irrational but she could find no respite against the beating voice in her cranium- telling her... No, reminding her that she had failed them.

Her hand gracefully pressed agains the seal on her neck as she spoke in a meek voice.

"Explorers log; solar date 3121489... the cave calls to me. It wills me. It compels me to dive deeper. It taunts me with a voice that is not my own. There is no fighting this compulsion and I fear my only hope is to see it to it's end."

You failed us!

Her hand moved from her neck to her head, cutting her transmission, as she gripped it. Her head ached. The air in the cave had become deeper. A strange metallic smell filled her nose at every corner and overwhelmed her olfactory senses to the point of causing her to gag, moments from retching.

She waved her torch about revealing more cave paintings; but shockingly she started to see a shape.

H her eyes were alight E her hand traced the L and P. This... was no ancient language? This was... her language? Mariya stumbled backwards confounded at her discovery. What could it mean? Was she not alone?

Blind! Blind! Blind!

She gripped her head as she let out a blood curdling scream. The pain of the voice had brought her to her knees on the cave floor, the torch bouncing about as it went out on the cold hard ground.

"Ahh! GET OUT... OF MY HEAD!"

Blind! Blind! Blind!

Her eyes could see in the dark some- more than most others. She could see the traces of kinetic energy over the text. It was different from the paintings before... it was fresh? She could smell copper and a metallic smell even stronger now as it assaulted her very wits. Dry heaving she rolled on the ground and grabbed at her face only to feel a wet feeling wash over her face.

Her nose smelt her finger tips.

Copper. Metallic.

In horror she scrambled for the torch, lighting it to reveal her nails were damaged and her fingers coated in blood. Her own blood? Had she... had she drawn on the walls? Curling in on herself she began to rock back and forth as the voices got louder and she gave in to all they blamed her of.

It's all your fault.

You left us here.

You were blind.

You were blind.

You were blind.
"I was-"

You were blind.
"I was blind.

You left us here.
"I left us here."

Her voice began to echo the sentiments of the voice in her head as she went her body go limp, relaxing as she spread wide eagle on the cold cave floor. Her mind had shattered, given into the voices. It struggled to retain it's dominance... yet still in the back of her head part of her conscience was fighting.

What was happening to her? What was going on? What... was this cave? She reached for the torch, rekindling it then jamming it into the wall as she tried to stand against it. Her legs were weak, and she was drenched in sweat. She closed her eyes and gave into her exhaustion. Opening them once more her sharingan were gone, and with one step, she collapsed onto the ground.

I failed... But who did I fail? I left them here... But who did I leave here? I... I was blind? But what was I blind too?

She coughed, her mouth tasting funny as she nodded off and her mind drifted away. Guilt was growing within- guilt with no origin but guilt so strong she was beginning to doubt everything, least the reality she was subjected to now. What was real? Was she even in this cave?

Was she actually a failure?

What had she actually accomplished since leaving the Black Ops? There was nothing that made her special. Irreplaceable. Even Akihiko was starting to surpass her. For all the talks of the prodigy she was she had amounted to nothing.

Just like Tada Banri said she was when he pulled her from her tube. When he berated her failure to be the weapon she was conceived to be.

"I failed..."

Her dreams were filled with the faces of everyone she had let down. But each cycle ended in Tada Banri. Each cycle ended in his cold eyes looking upon her... his attempt to "salvage her". To make her worth something, even if she had been a failure. To squeeze some semblance of an ROI over his failed experiment.

Suddenly she was awake again. Panting.

Had she moved deeper into the cave? Confusion wrecked her. How much time had passed?

Beads of sweat rolled down Mariya’s brow as she tumbled knocking into the walls blindly, and falling to her knees. She keeled over, her entire body burning with an immense heat as her mouth frothed over. Gasping for air and gurgling she blinked, her eyes swirling into red, glowing in the cave and casting a slight light in an other wise dark place.

Her hand ripped at the ground as she expelled flames, lighting a torch that had been dropped nearby. Struggling to pull herself towards the torch she could feel her heart beating through her forehead.

What... what was going on?

Images of text on the wall. Images of her bloodied hands. So many images were overlapping. Had she been here before? Had she already experienced this- was it even her experiences?

Heaving for air the girls eyes opened wide as she belched in insanity, her screams turning to a laugh until finally she went limp and stopped moving. Her chest was still respirating, but she was still as if she was a porcelain doll. Broken. Unable to do anything but experience the world around her.

[Hayate]

Mariya's eyes ached. Scrambling upon the ground she tripped, tumbling down a path until finally she hit a rock with a light "thud", and caused some rocks to fall forward even further, met with a light plunk sound.

Water? Her eyes ached harder as she could feel tears welling up in them, but the tears smelled weird. Once more the copper-metallic smell filling hers sinuses. Crying, she gripped at her face as she bent over towards the water, sticking one hand behind her and releasing a jet of flame, temporarily lighting the cavern up.

She looked into the water- her pupils were dancing, their shapes changing in her eyes and morphing, black contrasted against red as blood poured out. Her body began to writhe in pain as she fell backwards. Her entire bodied burned.

You were blind.

She cried out as she writhed on the ground. It felt like her tenketsu had become flames, burning her body from the inside out. Screaming she grabbed at her own eyes, almost clawing them out but instead scratching her eyelids and her face up as she rolled about.

"Show yourself-" she screamed. Who was this tormenting her?

"Show yourself coward!" she screeched, teetering in and out of sanity with only the pain keeping her awake. Was this a genjutsu? Her throat had begun to itch. She closed her eyes. And suddenly everything went dark... and once more she was within the cave, but no pain. She waved her torch, looking about the room. It was filled with a hazy green color, thick in the air. Like some sort of haze. She looked over to the corner, a figured was curled up in a ball. In expedition clothing?

Released of all her torment, she stood in silence looking at the stilled figure.

"Hello?" she called out, her voice reverberating through the walls of the cave with no answer. The walls of the cave seemed to glisten. There was no response. No other voice. "Are you okay? she called out to the expedition member only to be met with silence. Stepping forward she reached for their shoulder, grabbing and asking "Are yo-" only to jump back, startled as the person fell apart- bones rattling on the ground and revealing itself to be a corpse. Nothing more than bone filling the clothes of what was once an adventurer.

Panic-stricken she stumbled backwards.

These clothes could only have been that of a Kumogakure Expedition force. Her eyes widened as she recognized the special flak jacket and the green headband wrapped around the arm of the corpse. It was her own!

It... It can't be?

Her heart beating she looked about the room. How could she be here if she was dead? How did her body decompose so fast? Thoughts flooded her head as suddenly the pain came back.

YOU SEE IT, BUT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!

A voice called out to her. Gripping her head she rolled on the ground till once more everything went black... and then she opened her eyes. The cave was dark. There was no glisten or glow. Nothing. Just her. She fumbled about towards the corner of the room but found no body.

Crying she screamed in frustration, all the pain coming back to her.

What was going on? Her mind raced. It raced through every clue as she fought for clarity. In desperation she waddled towards the water and dunked her head in. And every time the voices came she dunked her head again, and again.

I failed them. I left them here. I didn't see something... YOU LEFT US-

She dunked her head.

The vision... it was myself. I died here... YOU FAILE-

She dunked her head.

Was it spirits- was it the spirits of this cave? But how could I have failed them, or left them? I've never been here before?

The gears of her head were moving as she fought to stay conscience.

The messages- the red. It was me. It was my blood- it was my hands? I hurt them to write it, but why? YOU WERE BLI-

She dunked her head, but this time did not lift it back out.

I... was leaving messages for myself? A feeling of catharsis washed over her. I'm mentally compromised- I might be going in circles. I was leaving messages for myself... and the vision- I died because.

She pulled her head out gasping for air.

I died because I failed myself. I failed myself because I was blind- I didn't see something. And I left myself here. But how can I be de- Before she could finish the thought she heaved, vomiting onto the ground. Her body was now shaking violently.

What did I miss?

Anxiety wracked her brain as she put together the missing pieces of the puzzle, and yet she lacked the critical variables she needed to solve the equation. The voice in her head was her voice. There was something going on in the cave and she had seen it, and if she didn't figure it out, she would perish.

She dunked her head again.

What was dunking her head helping her think clearly? Was it her fever? What was it? Her mind raced as she could begin to feel pain in her side. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

But did she trust herself? Did she trust what her eyes could see... Not the sharingan, but her own eyes? Her mind raced through the scenes that had replayed, or perhaps she had re-experienced, for hours. Perhaps even days- with no sense of time anymore it was unclear.

Wait- I had weeks of food, and yet, at the mouth of the cave I only had my last energy bar?

Her mind had found another hint. And then it hit her. Something she was looking at all along? Something she had seen in her vision- the haze. The green haze in the air.

The mushrooms and fungi on the wall.

Spores.

What a fools he had been. So pre-occupied with her anxieties of failure. So pre-occupied with trying to see things with her doujutsu... that she had ignored what was right in front of her. What she could have seen and perceived by just stopping for a moment to observe the natural rather than seek the outlier.

She flushed chakra into her body as she utilized her fuuton technique to give her a source of oxygen, removing her need to breathe... And then, leaping into the water rinsed her self off. With every second passed clarity returned to her, until finally, she emerged out the waters reborn.

Her chakra felt weird. Changed from before. Something felt absent- as if her body itself had evolved... but she had no time to think about that.

Casting her wind armor, she created a protective layer that would blow spores away.. and finally, after ten or fifteen minutes, though she felt gravely sick still, her mind had returned to her.

She had been the one making the cave drawings. As she re-traced her steps it had been clear to her that she had wandered this cave for days, repeating the same thing day after day as the effects of the caves fungus wore away her mental state. Most curious. The voices in her head were not an enemy or a spirit- it was the voice of her own conscience chiding her for her mistakes. Trying to reach her. Trying to save her.

She paused.

But, what was that vision she had saw... and her changed eyes? Had that been merely a fever-pitch dream? Finally reaching the mouth of the cave again, the snow storm had seemingly died down and now she could see the moon glisten upon the white snow. She put her gear back on, having picked it up as she re-traced her steps, and looked into her bag retrieving a flare gun.

She was too weak to survive a journey. Pointing a flare gun into the air, with a clear sky to send her message, she shot it, then walked to the wall. Cutting her finger one more time, she wrote on the wall.

TOXIC SPORES. DO NOT BREATHE.

Then collapsed. She'd await the retrieval team, knowing that she had done her part to explore strange new worlds and discover the secrets they held.

Little did Mariya know, but her vision and her changed eyes... that was not the spores. It would appear she had awakened something deep within her.