The knock heard through Olympus

Miles in space seem much longer than they already are, maybe because of the lack of gravity; there is no sense of direction telling your mind that you're drawing closer to your destination, just a sense of longing as your limbs begin to envy a gravity rich surface, something to ground your spinning head, and ease the suffering your body goes through. However, it was a subtle compromise, for only a few inches of planetary material separated you from the ravages of the cold, radiation saturated space, and the vacuum that would suck your organs through every opening in your body. One would literally have to settle for the madness of interstellar travel...Only if that being was some organism that developed, and evolved, on some floating rock in space. For interdimensional beings... Well... It was a completely different matter.

No one can tell you what it's like for these creatures, maybe they could give you a well-formulated hypothesis on what it might be like; it may very well be similar to light traveling across the thresholds of our universe, and that a few years might be like mere seconds for them. Maybe they could conjure themselves through brainwaves, radiation, or other frequencies that inhabited their world, and that they could just "think" themselves into the vast reaches of space. In any case, the point still stands, that no one will know what it's like, until one of these interdimensional beings explains it for themself.

A series of strange universal occurrences is beginning to unfold just a little closer to home than one might think, especially for a continent long since vanished from the face of our planet, now returning as it once was, like nothing ever happened... Above in outer space, however, a strange object floats freely beyond the outer rim of our galaxy. Watching. Waiting. For a sign...For a fish to take the bait.

Hard soles grinding against cobbled stone, and loose dirt scratched and scraped into empty corridor walls, echoing, and extending their range through coincidentally placed acoustics throughout these halls. The trudging was heavy set, and had purpose. A set of lighter footsteps accompanied this heavy set, seeming to belong to several individuals tailing a much larger person. As these people exited the corridor, they entered a large prison area, something reminiscent of a maximum security facility like Alcatraz. Hundreds of cells lined these walls, and each housing a pair of inmates. Though most of these people weren't criminals, they were workers sent here to die after failing to provide sufficient work inside Konoha's mines. Some of these people were vagrants, and others, well they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The company ascended two flights of stairs, and advanced through a skywalk looming above the cells in the two floors below. They reached a new set of cells maent for isolation, though on in particular had their interest. It was a cell marked "I-9", inside was a middle-aged man dressed in rags. He was worn, crusted in God knows what sort filth, and gaunt. As the door to his cell swung open, he only had enough time to wince from the light stinging his eyes before two of the people from the group charged in, and brought the man to his feet as they held his arms behind his back. The large man stepped forth, and a twisted, toothy grin curled on his lips. He held his arms crossed in front of his chest, and peered down at the frail prisoner.

"I want answers... Now!"

He barked, immediately followed up with a punch to the torso from one of the men holding the prisoner to his feet. A gasp for air was all the timid man could muster, as the pain had taken away his words, though it only took a few moments before he recovered his breath, and faintly replied.

"I-I told you... It came from T-Temugin... I-I found it there...!"

The man could barely formulate a sentence, causing his words to be very feeble as they left his mouth. The towering, grizzly-looking man scoffed.

"There's no such place! It's the stuff of myths, and legends. Men have explored to the location of this continent, and found only open water..."

At this point he began to laugh as he unfolded his arms

"Or are you telling me it just rose up out of the ocean?"

The prisoner's demeanor suddenly changed, and glared up at the behemoth that stood before him, their eyes met, and for a moment, the tall man was shocked to see the look of stern honesty, and forbodeing apprehension.

"The Gods...Have returned..."

Seeing Basaka's prison was a sight to behold. While most would see nothing but the atrocities committed in a place like this, it was a beautiful display of strength and courage. While Basaka's own goals and motivations may be his own, he was a willing puppet with the means to get the job done. Having Konoha in the palm of his hand was a thrill and a pleasure. When the time came, his soldiers would not disappoint. The Hokage encouraged - no, embodied - strength. Any who opposed would be wiped away in the blink of an eye. But Riku was getting ahead of himself. These plans were years away, hopefully. For now, there were a great deal of hurdles to conquer along the way, a number of plans that had to be enacted to ensure success. Today was one such day.

"The Gods... have returned..." The shaking prisoner muttered as his eyes locked confidently with the Hokage. Silence befell upon the cell for a moment and the prisoner's eyes turned to glance at the entourage behind the menacing brute. His eyes locked with the crimson glare of the Amekage heading the pack. While no words were spoken, a wealth of information was transmitted like a radio signal bouncing between their pupils.

"I know not if madness has befallen this man but he truly believes the words he speaks." Riku's words were intended for the Hokage yet his eyes did not leave the prisoner. "He's witnessed something that's lead to this grand delusion. Something awe-inspiring. Regardless if his words are truth, it is worth investigation."

That stare... There was something about it that was palpable. Eyes that seared into his brain... It wasn't terrifying, nor was it something that spurred pity, but rage. How dare he meet eyes with the likes of someone more powerful than he. Like meeting eyes with a vicious dog, anger began to boil inside the Hokage's stomach, though it wouldn't overflow. A voice came from behind which snapped the towering man's train of thought back to normal-although his anger only subsided a little.

The amekage stood just inches from the lot, accompanied by his own men, though it was unclear as to why he was here. Maybe word got out of what the hokage had found? After all, this prisoner had been locked away for months. There was a device that he possessed: a small obelisk fashioned into a necklace which had very peculiar markings on it, and the most notable of which was a strange sort of star. The hokage had ignored it, and locked it away in some lab for some scientist to come and examine it. After all, it radiated a strange signal that could be felt by chakra sensors. It came back into Basaka's attention when it began to illuminate a pale blue glow, and the markings on it turned gold.

So far the only answers they got from this man was that he found it in a ruined city within Temugin, and that he was trying to sell it as a good luck charm at his vendor. It was a good thing panhandling wasn't accepted, otherwise this strange little device would've vanished for good. The energy that pulsed from it could only be described as "otherworldly", since everyone who tried to examine it couldn't find a trace like they usually could with items on earth. Artifacts on earth had a signature of energy much like people, and it required that energy in order to be used properly, but this device just activated itself randomly, and the energy that came from it seemed to manifest within itself. There was another strange discovery, too, and that was the material was most definitely from earth, or the material could at least be found on earth. With this evidence, and Basaka's adamant disbelief with hocus pocus, and other supernatural phenomenon, he believed that it was just some expertly-crafted device.

Riku's presence was unexpected, though it was not unwelcome. Basaka knew that an opportunity presented itself to get even with his mighty ally, after all, Riku was the one who helped him attain such a prestigious title. It wasn't foreign to him since he was such a formidable member of the hoshigaki, and although leadership wasn't really his thing, he would be able to take advantage of an entire nation for his own gain, and he could do it without the threat of being a brigand-like he was labeled prior to meeting the Amekage.

"Amekage, I wasn't expecting you."

Basaka turned towards his blonde friend with a weariness in his eyes, although he had a certain vigor keeping his face alive. A bloodlust that was begging to be quenched; it was a perpetual feeling that Basaka experienced constantly, and it was addicting and overwhelming. He took to no other formalities before turning back towards the prisoner, and wringing his hands around the poor soul's neck. Without a moment's hesitation, Basaka twisted his hand, and broke the prisoner's neck. The two who had been holding him before we're now dragging the prisoner's lifeless body out of the cell, and heading somewhere they could dispose the body.

"I found something that might interest you. I have no use for it."

His tone was bitter after realizing it would take much more investigation to unlock all the secrets of this strange object, and his guess was just as good as any other's that Riku seemed like the kind of guy who liked solving puzzles. Basaka didn't have time for those sort of games, and quite honestly, it made him sick with impatience just thinking about going into some hunt for the great unsolved mysteries of the earth...Unless it involved his strength in battle. The hokage turned towards Riku as he tossed him the necklace, and smiled with that same sort of maliciousness he bore towards the life he just took.

"I couldn't help myself. He looked at me wrong..."

That brutal honesty was just about as vile as his grin, and his thirst for blood shouldn't have surprised Riku at all, but who knew? Even he may have been slightly revolted by Basaka's crude behavior.

"Apparently he found that on the lost continent, Temugin. Can you believe that? And you know what else? Since I don't have anything better to do, I'm going to go see if he was right. After all, I wouldn't mind seeing if there are any more relics there, and if any would be of any use to me."

He and his company of shinobi guards followed the same path they took to get to cell "I-9", this time they headed towards fresh air, and the great outdoors.

"You can come if you like. I'm taking a ship to where the legends state Temugin used to be. But..."

He looked over his shoulder for a moment to eye Riku for a bit.

"I'll bring some 'previsions' just in case our wild goose chase is in vain."

By that -of course- he was talking about women, alcoholic substances, and other things that would turn their voyage into a wild ride just in case it was all for nothing.

"What do you say?"

The object residing in Riku's hands(if he chose to take it) would glow just slightly more blue, but not too much to make it completely obvious, just enough to make one second guess themselves. For neither of them knew that this object was speaking to something else hidden far away. Something that had been lost many years ago, and coincided with the necklace the two of them had held in their hands. The necklace was promising it something, but what?