A/N: REVIEW FOR IT FEEDS THE ENGINE OF CREATION.
Ahem.
Sorry about that.
Is the site being weird for anyone else? Because its screwing with a bunch of us. Not to bash the hardworking folks who work so tirelessly to maintain this site, of course. I appreciate all the work they do, but alas, it seems the site still needs maintenance, especially the login area. If you're not able to review at first, please keep trying. It means a lot to us authors. We write for your reviews after all, and like the gentlefolk on this site, write to please the masses.
Speaking of which!
I think this chapter turned out much better now that I've cut THAT bit out that ticked so many people off. Hmm. Yes, much better indeed! For clarification, Shinobi are built of sturdier stuff then most. They are VERY hard to take down. Naruto's pretty much a prime example of that one. So I don't want to hear about guns taking him out. Have you seen his reactions speeds? No. Just not. Furthermore, to answer the question, the planet is very much Eden Prime.
Naruto of course, does NOT know this. He thinks of it as the Earth. His earth, at any rate.
When asked about the other pods, he was very disoriented as well.
Furthermore, Naruto's very hard to take down.
Throw in his insane regeneration and well...
...he recovers mighty fast.
As you'll soon see.
To clarify, the Ninja were overwhelmed by the Reapers. This much is true. But it was SHEER. BLOODY. NUMBERS. That's why they lost in the first place. Reapers are downright vicious to fight, and when you throw in the indoctrination...well, you're in for a bad time to say the least. As to the numbers of shinobi and citizens who survived...we're taking alot here, folks. In the upper hundreds or more, likely. Elite ninja mostly, not the canon fodder scrubs who'd get annihilated in a straight up fight.
In a gun battle they'd take losses of course, but they're gonna make their enemies hurt.
I do apologize for the confusion and inconvenience this causes anyone but this Rewrite was a long time in coming.
Thanks once again for all the support and I hope you all like it!
THE REBIRTH CONTINUES!
"I have an army."
"We have a Naruto."
~?
Settling in Crisis
"Stop calling me Boss lady!"
"But it suits you!" Naruto replied cheekily, plowing on ahead without so much as a backward glance.
"Or would you rather I call you big sis? After all, you are older than meeeeee..."
Williams flushed seven shades of scarlet, and not from anger.
"Ohhh, that is it. You are so dead!"
"Gotta catch me first, sis!"
"Why you little-?!"
Were the last words of Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, as she followed after Uzumaki Naruto, waving and gesturing for the younger man's attention. She was tired, morose and grumpy, her body aching from missing a night worth of sleep, she still hadn't had a chance to put up her hair or recover her helmet for that matter. Nay, she was far too focused on keeping the brash blond out of trouble. But it seemed trouble had chosen to follow him instead, he was raising hell wherever he went.
How could one person cause such chaos in such a short amount of time?!
It had started last night when one of the colonists had tried to "speak" with one of his peoples womenfolk. The man had claimed it was speaking, but judging by the thrashing the blonde had given him, and as a woman herself, Williams suspected there had been more at work there than a simple exchange of words. Then, there had been the incident that occurred in the wee hours of the morning, when every male colonist woke to find their domiciles bleached orange, their underpants and attire missing, replaced by a series of green spandex suits as garrish as they were hideous.
When asked about said crime, the blonde merely replied with "Might Guy's legacy lives on," to that effect, thought not without his own share of mirth.
Honestly, did he have any idea of the chaos he was causing?
Naruto didn't seem to care what she thought of him, though today, his pranks seemed to have faded, replaced by a more serious persona. He was walking amongst his men and women speaking to each in turn, clapping some on the back, shaking hands with others, murmuring reassurances to those who were clearly baffled and frightened by the prospect of waking in this strange, alien word. Williams didn't much blame them for that. If she'd been in cryo-sleep for as long as they had she'd be more than a little disoriented herself. There were so many here, not just warriors but women and children as well, whole families even. And to think, they'd all been in stasis, just waiting to be unearthed...
Naruto and spoke to each of them in turn.
All in all, it left the Gunnery Chief slight...unnerved to say the least.
There were hundreds of them here.
Perhaps even more, assuming they ever got around to a head count.
"Who is that, mama?" A little girl with blond hair and pale blue eyes asked, pointing at her; the marine's suit translators effortlessly picking up the words.
"I don't know, sweetheart." the woman that was doubtlessly her mother, replied. "She must be a friend of the Hokage."
In that instant, she could've sworn she heard Naruto snicker, then it was back to the girl again.
"So...she's a good guy then?"
Somehow the little girl's simple way of thinking brightened William's mood more than anything else this morning; she flashed the pair a small smile and moved on-unknowing she'd just spoken to Yamanaka Ino and her young daughter. It simply never occurred to her, she didn't even know them, despite having spoke with Naruto only this afternoon. This was all so surreal for her...seeing all these people here; seeing them, listening to them, all these families...
...it almost made them feel human.
"My, is that a blush I see?"
Tch! Cocky little...!
Ashley took a half-hearted swipe at him with the stock of her rifle; as expected, the blond flowed around it as though it weren't even there. At this point she'd all but given up trying to crack him across the head when he'd annoyed her. If Naruto didn't want you to touch him, you weren't going to touch him.
"These are my people. Why wouldn't I look after them?"
They were, weren't they?
In a way she empathized with them, even understood what Naruto was trying to do. The people here obviously looked to him for guidance, and as their leader, he was doing his level best best to provide it on both sides of the spectrum. Although he was clearly still out of sorts himself, having only had a day to recover, he was doing what all good leaders should. Speaking with their people. Comforting them. Consoling those who hadn't had a chance to survive the stasis process, mourning with them of loved ones lost.
Was this really their home world?
Naruto had made such a claim that this planet had been theirs long ago, long before the people of Earth had traveled to the stars via Mass Relay and carved out a spot for their colonies in the galaxy. It sounded absurd on paper. What were the chances of another species looking just like them, even an ancient one? Just how ancient...he refused to say. At first she'd dismissed his words as folly, but now, seeing everyone's reactions, she was beginning to think there might be more than a grain of truth in his words.
So subsumed was she in her her mind that she almost failed to notice Johnson until he was actually shouting at her.
...CHIEF!"
"What?!"
"Gunnery Chief, we found something else!" a technician came jogging up to her, breaking up her thoughts.
Great, now what?
"We kept digging through the night," Johnson continued en, indicating a nearby hole with a glance, one that hadn't been there last night. "And this is what we found. Please, come and see." Warily, Williams followed after him, mentally bracing herself for the sight of another pod when she saw Naruto nearby. Except there wasn't.
What she found instead was a beacon.
Tall enough to loom over them all, it gleamed a faint iridescent green. Flowing craftsmanship melded together to create an imposing piece of architecture. Yet still, there was something about it that drew her. Almost as if it were alive. Even as she approached the metal seemed to thrum, calling out to her...
"What's this?"
Naruto turned his head aside, regarding the strange artifact with a frown.
"What is that?" he wondered, seconding her.
"Gotta be Prothean." For all the confusion she felt, Williams still recognized the make of it at once, she'd seen countless images of such things in holovids.
"Prothean?"
"We've already sent word to Alliance Command, ma'am." the technician saluted smartly, unaware of his own peril. "They should have a ship inbound within a few hours." The Gunnery Chief swore a silent streak beneath her breath. This was precisely the sort of thing she'd wanted to avoid until everything had settled. Now...just how the hell was was she supposed to tell the brass they'd found a cache of extraterrestrial survivors from a bygone age? But something was wrong. She began frowning at the beacon, gazing at it like he half-expected it to sprout legs and walk away.
Naruto seemed to be of a similar mind.
"Oi. Ash."
"Hmm?" she cocked his head aside, mildly surprised he'd used her name.
"We didn't bury that." A touch of dread had entered the man's words, his expression uncharacteristically sober. "If this is so important...maybe we should have a look...
In that instant, his bare hand brushed the beacon.
The seizure that followed lasted all of an instant, wracking the blond's body with enough force to physically snap him backward; his body nearly parallel with the ground. Was it possible for a man to scream with their teeth clenched? Apparently it was. Limbs twitching, fingers spasming, the whiskered warrior hunched over with a wordless howl, clawing at his head. And then, just as quickly as his convulsions had begun, they ended. The ninja jerked upright up in a heartbeat, swearing like a sailor.
"No, no, no. This isn't...this can't be...
Abruptly, his eyes widened.
"GET DOWN!"
Before Ashley had a chance to ask what had made the young man so distressed, he stepped up and shoved her. Hard. The motion sent her staggering backwards, arms pinwheeling. In a heartbeat a world of emotion itself flashed through the soldier's mind. She was left looking at Naruto with confusion, hurt, wondering why he'd shoved her, why he was standing there, why he was shouting, why-
CRACK.
Naruto's body snapped backwards as something slammed into his chest, blew through, and emerged out the back of her visage, spattering Ashley in a shower of gore. All that, in the blink of an eye. There...could be no other word for it. Naruto Uzumaki was dead before he even hit the ground. There could be no denying that. He'd just been shot through the heart. That was death for any organic short of a Krogan, and even one of the burly brutes would've been hard-pressed to regenerate from a grievous injury like that.
...ow."
So one could understand how baffled she might've been when the blond inexplicably straightened up and touched a rough hand to her face. Looked down at her body. Repeated. He did this for several seconds, rigorously checking her over for any manner of injury. No words were exchanged between the two of them, despite the fact he'd just been shot right in front of her. Her mouth worked wordlessly, sound refusing to emerge from her throat. Finally, a strangled syllable slipped past her lips.
"What...?"
He knelt next to her, uncaring for the blood on his face, the gore from his hands.
"C'mon now," he reached for her, hoisting her to her feet in a single violent motion. "You need to get out of here. Now."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I don't have to time to explain!"
With a growl he pushed past.
"Defensive positions!"
Ashley wanted to say something-anything-but somehow she knew she just knew, the moment she spoke, the blond would go off again. Or worse. For once in her life she actually faltered, standing there, helpless as her companion marched into the thick of his people, barking orders. The shock set in. A confused, terse silence fell over the colony as they began to move. The land itself seemed to come to life for their sake. Civilians were ushered makeshift shelters of wood and earth, impossibly created before her very eyes. Others drew weapons, preparing themselves for that they no doubt believed to be a confrontation.
Was it so wrong that she wanted nothing more than to help him in that instant?
'Calm down, Williams.' she reprimanded herself for the slip. 'Focus. Rationalize.'
Unable to do anything for the young man's sudden fit of temper, she instead set her sights on finding the would-be sniper. Who had fired the shot? Clearly none of the colonists stood suspect, nor any of her men had been the one to try and end her without say so. Everyone was here, gathered around the shinobi. Besides, the angle was all wrong. The bullet had come from above, not below, which meant from higher ground, which meant...
Ah.
That, was when she saw it. A lone creature, its silhouette just visible over the horizon, it's flaslight-like head swiveling impossibly on a stalkish neck to gauge the status of its targets. Lowering its high-powered rifle, it emitted a series of strange clicks and garbled gibberish. As though it were laughing at them. Mocking them. Scowling, the Gunnery Chief drew her own weapon, sighted down the scope, and fired. Everything moved on instinct, there was no pause, no hesitation as she squeezed the trigger.
Perfect shot.
"There!" she shouted, capturing the attention of shinobi and soldier alike. "On the ridge!"
The Geth-for that was what this creature was-had already dropped like a sack of interstellar potatoes. Its neck spurted tiny bursts of electricity where its head had once existed, its corpses toppling over the ridge with a dull thud. A bead of sweat trickled into her eye and she blinked, unable to watch its downward spiral for an instant. When she opened her eyes, everything changed. Another Geth was standing where the first had fallen. Soon it was joined by another. And another, bearing its exact resemblance. And another still, until it and its fellows numbered in upwards of dozens. They stood there for a long moment, staring down at the teeming mass of populace below, gazing upon them in silent contempt.
Ashley swallowed.
She could taste the colonist's fear, knew what was coming-
"Geth!"
That word proved to be the linchpin, someone screamed. Everyone panicked.
And the Geth opened fire.
Civilians died in droves within the very first volleys; not so the Shinobi. The former were unarmed, but the latter, though unable to comprehend the use of such advanced weaponry, were able to react within a modicum of error before they could be cut down by the gunfire. Some still fell of course; all but ripped to pieces by the supersonic shells. But more survived. Their superior numbers afforded them a strange cohesion; instead of falling apart at the first signs of death, they retreated, erecting barriers of hardened earth-and in some cases water-even as they beat a fighting retreat.
Ashley herself barely managed to get into cover and snap off a few shots of her own.
As for the rest...
"Scatter!" Someone shouted!
A handful did just that, managing to rally despite the assault, showcasing what Ashley could only call extraordinary abilities. One man seemed to be shielding himself with sand, the grainy substance moving even faster than the Geth weaponry, roiling and coiling round him at impossible angles, deflecting all but the most imprecise of shots. It boggled the mind...how could sand intercept a bullet?! As she looked on, it did more than just intercept, curling around to ensnare a rocket fired at their position and fling it back to explode in Geth faces as though it were an errant bauble.
"I suggest you stay were you are, miss." the redheaded man said. "Unless you'd rather die."
Numbed, Ashley nodded.
"Have faith." he reassured her, unflinching as his sand snared another lethal volley and reduced it to so much dust. "We are not all incompetent...as we may seem."
As if to echo his words, Ashley saw it.
The beginnings of a counterattack beginning to form around her, the geth sniper line falling apart before it.
To the right of her a young woman, had wrapped herself in a shroud of ice itself, the bullets pinging harshly off her impenetrable dome. A flick of her hand sent that very same dome crashing outward, skewering a host of nearby geth as though they were naught but meat upon a barbecue. And their were others still. A rather strange looking fellow rapped tunelessly to himself as he cut down hordes of Geth, bifurcating their helpless bodies with...ten swords?! Ashley felt her jaw drop. These shinobi...truly were strange.
How could they perform such feats?!
But even as these select few beat the geth back, men and women were being cut down. While the warrior stood their ground and fought for their lives -others retreated in terror and fear- the colonists weren't nearly so fortunate. They were helpless to do anything but flee from their assailants. It was a...heartwrenching conflict. Still, the Shinobi defense held long enough for the soldiers to rally and return fire of their own. In time, they whittled down the Geht numbers in return. Even then the fire didn't cease.
Chaos raged all around her.
Like Gaara, some stood tall despite the adversity.
Still another seemed to possess some power of precogniscence, instead of using elaborate techniques to protect himself he simply stood there, his body shifting in the most minute of away, as if he were using the least amount of effort to evade. Despite the unbelievable speed of the sniper rounds none of them had touched him. None came close to this raven-haired man with those bright crimson eyes. There were others who dodged or evade the deadly hair of artillery fire, taking refuge through means either mystical-to her, at the least-or otherwise, they endured.
Not this one.
He took the fight to the Geth without fail, darting forward across the open expanse, sword flashing free from its scabbard with a crackle of sparks. A single leap covered the distance between them in its entirety. And then he was upon them, striking and slashing and cutting. Moving. Always moving, lest he be caught by a stray round. Ashley didn't expect a katana to stand up against the armored hide of the Geth, but this one did so in spades, splitting them in twine like a hot knife through butter. His voice carved across the distance to demand action.
"Will someone get that idiot out of here?!" he hissed. "We haven't got all day!"
Others fell.
All the while, the colonists fled for their very lives; what little good it did them. Lacking any of the superhuman abilities possessed by Naruto's people, few lived. Some found shelter by the side of the Ninja. Others fled to the east and were cut down by withering crossfire. Still more managed to find momentary shelter in the domiciles, only to be cut down by waiting geth drones. In contrast, none of the deadly synthetics dared approach Naruto. Nor did their bullets, either, they seemed to simply glance off him now, as though his rage itself were repelling them.
He took the fight to the rest.
Rather than face them with a weapon as any SANE individual would, he fought with his bare hands. Tore apart Geth with a furious snarl, a wordless oath of rage leaping from his lips with every kill. His body very body all but shone an eerie shade of saffron, proving the source of his blistering speeds. Ashley never really knew what he did that day. Only that he moved somehow, and every geth in a mile radius shattered like so much glass, their bodies crumbling apart as the blond blurred back into existence seconds thereafter.
The remainder died to what she could only describe as miniature nukes.
"ORAH!"
Keening spheres of wrath and might slammed into any synthetic unfortunate enough to catch his eye; ripping away circuits as easily as flesh, sundering all in their path. To stare into such a storm was to go blind; in the end, Ashley had to avert her eyes from the massacre as Rasenshuriken after Rasenshuriken decimated the colony. Then, as quickly as the battle had begun, it ended. The last Geth fell and the world went silent, its brief peace stolen away by catastrophe.
"Regroup!"
So too had Naruto's kindness been ripped away and fury left in its place; she could see it, lurking in his eyes-those deep scarlet pools, dominating his entire expression. He passed at her a glance, his glassy eyes seeming to phase right through her. As if she weren't even there. Throughout it all, she hadn't so much as fired a second shot.
Naruto...
Even as Ashley realized standing this close might not be a good idea, the strange ice-user from before appeared beside her.
"That seems to be the last of them."
"There will be more." Gaara pointed out distressingly. "There always are."
"I'm not concerned about that right now." Naruto barked, his gaze scouring across the colony, issuing orders to those still holding the strength o stand. "Bee, gather the wounded, see who survived. Sasuke, I want this site locked down. Now. No one gets in or out. Haku, I want a ship fully fueled and prepared to bug out of here within the hour. Everyone else...burn the dead. Leave the colonists. With a bit of luck, we might get out of this one alive. We can pan out our options afterwards."
"That's all you have to say?"
Five pairs of eyes snapped towards Ashley Williams, just now rising from where she'd hidden herself away. She knew the blond was running solely on anger and duty right now. Knew that his drive to survive, to keep his people alive, was all that kept him from breaking down into grief again. But even so, even so, she just couldn't bring herself to sit idly by why he let potential survivors wither and die. She'd never considered herself much of a paragon before, but even so, this renegade behavior was utterly intolerable.
"She survived?" Haku mouthed, impressed, but a hiss from Naruto silenced her.
"Is there a problem?" Gone was the clever prankster from this morning, in his place was a leader, forged out of steel and nothing else. There was no longer anything soft about him. Perhaps there would be later, maybe-once they were out of danger-but for now, he was every inch the man, the leader his people needed him to be.
"What about the colonists?"
"We'll assist with their evacuation, but that's no longer our primary concern." the Hokage waved her concerns away with a flick of the wrist. "Right now, I'm more concerned with tending to my wounded. My people. Not yours. Get yourself somewhere safe or help us. I don't care which, but you need to decide. Now."
She flinched, stung.
"You don't have to be such an ass about it."
"I know." Naruto bit back, his voice scraped raw. "But you don't understand. We have to go! Those bastards are coming and...they...
Though his mouth hung open to continue, his face had now fallen slack with shock.
"No." The word was little more than a dry rasp. "Not now. Not again...
"Oh." Was all Sasuke managed to say, staring upward at the sky. "Well...this puts a damper on things."
Ashley followed his gaze and froze.
Something was descending from the sky, a great monolith coming down from the clouds, its many arms spread wide.
Not just anything, but something absolutely massive. In a way, it looked almost like a giant metallic squid, hovering amidst those crackling sparks of red lightning. But when this massive creature bellowed it left everyone deafened; its bass notes seemed to silence the planet itself. When its arms spread wide a lance of pure crimson light lashed out at their position, carving through the terrain as effortlessly as one would through water. The shinobi wasted no time in getting out of its way but she was only human, and it was moving all too fast, far too swiftly...
"The hell you doing?! MOVE!"
A golden arm clamped onto her shoulder and heaved, ripping her backwards.
Ashley William's last sight was that of Naruto's movement, then...
...she found herself gazing up at a giant golden fox.
And beside it...a giant burning purple skeleton?
"Oi! Sasuke! Toss me at that fucker!"
Blackness.
A/N: Aaaaaaaaaaaand there we go. A different tone indeed! Naruto's touched the beacon this time around, and had its images blazed into his brain. While said becaon remains intact. Allowing others to interact with it, though that may bode good or ill...
I almost pity Sovereign this time around.
ONE reaper against a few shinobi?
Two of whom are nukes?
Yeah, buh-bye.
Also!
You all asked for it, so be sure and read the preview below! I genuinely want to know what you think!
We also get to see Shepard next chapter! Not sure if it'll be a he or a her, so if anyone has any ideas in that regard, feel free to go ahead and throw me a line here!
So, in the immortal words of Atlas...
...review, would you kindly? And of course, enjoy the preview!
More lighthearted tone next time around!
Udina is, as always, a snake.
(Preview)
"Congratulations, Williams. You're being promoted."
"Sir?"
Udina smiled thinly.
"You've been nominated."
"I'm afraid I don't follow, sir."
"Must I be blunt? You're going to be our ambassador to these...what do they call themselves?"
"Shinobi, sir."
"Yes, those."
"But sir, I-
"We need their technology and evidently, their leader is fond of you. Consider yourself reassigned."
R&R! =D
