A/N: Wow. I had no idea the last chapter would be so well received! I imagine the idea of the Kyuubi tearing the shit out a reaper must've been pretty fun to imagine, ne? I know I've been away from this story for a while (far too long in my opinion) but as you can see I've taken to updating again, and this was next on my list. You can expect an update for Sentinel after this, but hey that isn't why you're here now, is it? No! You're here for the next chapter! And I, am proud to give it to you! And with that...

...I present you with the next chapter of Cataclysm!

"The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions. But by iron...and blood."

~Otto von Bismarck.

Lies of Succession

Genereal Corinthus and his men were left consumed by shock, awe and hearstopping terror in the wake of the reaper's destruction. Shock; because they'd just witnessed the inexplicable; a reaper touching down no more than a few mile from their camp. Awe; because no sooner had said reaper set foot upon Palaven's moon than it was immediately been set upon by a giant crimson fox. A. Giant. Crimson. Fox. Teeth the size of skyscrapers, eyes the colors of oceans of blood. Tails that savaged mountains and split the sky itself, paws that forced the very soil itself to quiver in fear and subservience.

Those great, glinting fangs sank into the the reaper's impenetrable shell like a hot knife through butter. Those streaming tails of sinister scarlet seized the synthetic's hulking form and dragged it to the ground as though it weighed no more than a feather. Slavering jaws creaked open, with a sibilant hiss; revealing a spiralng spgere of onyx and oblivion trappend beyond, growing in size with each passing instant. Nine tails of unwavering fur held the synthetic down, pinning it in place while its demise drew ever nearer. When the luminous orb reached roughly half the size of their moon, the demon fox let loose; blaring into the reaper with a deafening knell, a deadly bell tolling the synthetic's demise.

When all was said and done there was nothing left of the ravaged reaper; nothing save a charred husk in an equally charred crater. Some raised their weapons and cheered at the unexpected death of the synthetic; still others were less than optimistic in the prescence of what they perceived to be a new threat.

Yet why did they feel terror in the prescence of their saviour? Well, they felt terror; because said fox was now padding toward them, baring row upon row of jagged teeth in an equally hearstopping grin. Several soldiers fainted straight away, the rest threw down their weapons and cowered in outright fear. Anyone-anything-that could take down a reaper was something to be feared; certainly not something to be fired upon! Scarred, an hardened veterans quivered in their boots as the almighty beast disgorged the last of the reapers remains, and, apparently satisfied with its kill, stormed towards them.

Everyone looked on, horrified as the great kitsune padded away from the reaper's ashes, clearing the barricade as though it were naught but a stick in its path. It glowered down at them, taking in their camp with those blood-red eyes, as though contemplating whether or not to devour these mere morsels.

And then, as if at some unseen command, the fox started to shrink. Its great gory coat shriveled up, crimson fur receding into its skeleton as its frame began to bend and twist. Becoming more and more humanoid with each passing instant. A heartbeat later and it was smaller still, crimson tail falling loose and flat upon the soil, snout receding into the likeness of a human skull. Before long a gasping man stood there in its place, naked as the day he'd been born. He remained as such for a moment, resting on his hands and knees, knuckles dragging across before he hauled himself to his feet.

He stod there before them, arms folded before his chest, uncaring for his nakedness. Blue eyes like winter skies surveyed the damaged camp with a frightening complacency, taking each in, and dismissing them one by one. Crimson tails swirled forth from his bare backside, covering him without the slighest care in the world. His eyes drifted shut for a hairsbreadth and suddenly it was there; crimson armour rippling forth from his very flesh, sheathing his body in a sinister shade of scarlet.

With some semblance of normalcy restored, the general promptly began issuing orders.

"Tobestik, get your men up on that norther barricade! Sergreant Bartus, find a way to get that comm tower operational!"

"Sir!"

As his men left to tend to their tasks, the general found himself face to face with the very creature who'd saved his men. The crimson warrior stared at him, pinnioning him with a gaze that left the turian commander all but shivering. Those crimson orbs were cold-nay they were beyond that. They were empty. Devoid of any emotion save anger and even that was now sorely lacking. It was as if his only purpose in life was to destroy, to exact vengeance upon those who had made him, to be for what he was; a monster, demon, devil. None of these words could hope to describe the creature standing before him; none could lend meaning to his existence and so General Corinthus didn't bother.

"If you keep staring at me," Naruto frowned, "You're going to piss me off, ya know?"

Corinthus wasn't quite sure how he ought to respond to that, but in the end he never had the chance. Because instead of confronting him the blond abruptly turned aside making way for a face that nearly everyone this side of the galaxy knew. Saviour of the Citadel, killer of the collectors, if the N7 on his armour didn't distinguish him from the others, nothing else could.

"General?"

"Commander Shepard." The avian-like alien inclined his head curtly. "Heard you were coming but I didn't believe it myself. General Corinthus," he introduced himself with another nod, his gaze slidding across to Naruto a hairsbreadth, later appraising the hybrid. "Interesting friend you have there. We could've used him a few days ago." Shepard managed a wan smile in the same instant that the hybried supplied the turian general with a rather ferocious grin.

"Just point me at the Reapers, turian. I'll end your little ground war within the hour."

General Corinthus frowned.

"Cocky, isn't he?"

"He has every reason to be." Javik was suddenly at the commander's elbow, flanking him with a frown. "He was born and bred to be superior."

"Bred?"

Corinthus exchanged a glance with Shepard.

"Just be glade he's on our side." the commander reassured. "Regardless, we're here for primarch Fedorian."

There was a tense silence as the general took his fingers away from the command console.

"Primarch Fedorian is dead. His shuttle was shot down an hour ago as it tried to leave the moon."

Shepard heaved a sigh.

"That's gonna complicate things." Another tremor rocked the base camp; the sounds of fighting piquing in the distance. "How bad is it, general?"

"We just lost about four hundred men in half an hour. We set up camps on this moon as an advance position, to flank the enemy. A sound strategy just...

...irrelevant." Shepard finished, knowing full well that it was damn near impossible to flank the hulking synthetics.

"Exactly." Corinthus agreed. "The sheer orce of the reapers seems to make them immune to that sort of tactic." Behind the cartilege his eyes seemed to harden, casting about the command map as though the answers to their problems could somehow be found there. "The primarch and his men found that out the hard way."

"I'm sorry." the commander apologized, his expression softening in sympahty, "I hear he was a good man."

"And a friend." the general answered. "He would've been an outsanding diplomat."

"So what happens now?" Shepard cast about for an answer, one Liara was all too willing to provide.

"Well, the turian hierarchy provides very clear lines of of succession-

"Enough of this!"

Liara started in surprise; she'd been so wrapped up in her CO's conversation that she'd forgotten all about the brooding prothean standing behind her. Naruto and Javik had maintained their silence thus far, but it would seem that the former had finally exhausted the last vestiges of his patience.

"I am tired of this meaningless talk!" Elbowing his way to the front of the group, Naruto slammed both hands down upon the holographic table and brought himself eye-to-eye with the turian general. "Do you or do you not have a primarch for us to retrieve?!"

"Our communications are down." Corinthus explained, refusing to flinch in the heat of the hybrid's ire. "If we restore them, I might be able to contact Palaven High Command and learn who the next primarch is-

"Bah!"

Naruto snarled in exasperation and paced away from the turians, crimson tails snapping angrily after him. Shepard gave Javik a long look, to which the prothean simply shrugged. If he was at all concerned by this most recent ouburst from his comrade, he did precious little to show it.

"It appears he is not content to wait, commander."

"I-I'll get him." Liara volunteered, cursing herself for her stammer. She darted after Naruto, weaving past the occasional turian as the blond rapidly outpaced her. Goddess! Was he always this fast? She watched him try to hang a right, only to be met with the perimitier wall; five seconds later, there was no wall. Wary, she ventured out into the opening after him; silently thankful no husks were there to greet her. The blond had slowed his pace, allowing her to close the distance between them.

"Fools, the lot of them!" He was mumbling when Liara finally reached him. "Primitives! They should be taking the fight to the reapers and dying with glory! Not cowering behind their bulkheads and waiting for the end to suss them out in their bunks! Cowards! They sit and talk and babble with their precious politics when they should be out there eradicating the enemy!"

"Naruto?"

The hybrid kept walking, oblivious to her words.

"Ingrates, imbeciles...

"Naruto!"

He began to distance himself from her once again, either unable to hear, or simply unwilling to care. Belatedly, Liara realized they were headed in the direction of the comm tower Corinthus had specified. While she did not feat for Naruto's safety-he'd already demonstrated his ability to take down husks and marauders-she was fearful for herself. She did not welcome the idea of facing a horde of husks alone, with an uncaring prothean to guard her flank.

"Naruto!" She shouted at his back, her voice piquing in distress. "Wait! You musn't go that way!"

"..."

Goddess!

Exasperated, Liara reached out with her biotics and yanked him to a stop with a quick biotic pull. The effects were as immediate as they were unpredictable; because, instead of bringing the biotic hybrid to a halt, Liara realized too late her mistake; instead of slowing him, she had released a veritable hurricane.

She'd give the man an excuse to vent.

Naruto rounded on her with a hiss, biotics flaring; and Liara abruptly found herself flattened against the nearest bulkhead. At first she balked. Then she gasped. Gasped, as she felt the first vestiges of pain, searing into her veins, flooding her body with liquid fire. It was as if a giant's hand had clamped down upon her throat and trachea, driving the breath from her lungs and body, depriving her of strength and much needed oxygen. A starburst of white-hot agony exploded across her vision, sapping her willpower, denying her the focus needed to retaliate with her own biotics.

"That was unwise, asari." Liara became dimly aware of the hybrid's voice speaking to her beyond her field of vision, but whatever else he might's said was lost on her. Any and all attempts to extricate herself were met with fierce resistance, crushing her down against the unyielding steel with unrelenting force. She could feel her joints beginning to pop, her muscles screaming-tearing-as her body ground against the earth. Terrified, a startling realization reached her mind; if he didn't stop soon, she might die. Liara didn't want to die. She wanted to live. More than anything else.

"Stop struggling." Naruto's figure stepped into her blurring vision, his blue eyes dominating her gaze. "You're only making it worse."

"I-

Snarling, the hyrbid seized her by the jaw, forcing her to meet his gaze. He spoke slowly and clearly, enunciating every word.

"Stop struggling."

Finally, she realized the futility of her efforts. It was her own struggling that tightened the noose around her neck; not any action by the blond.

Liara complied; ceasing her struggle against the invisible tied that bound. Just like that they dropped away, leaving her gasping and sputtering for breath. She collapsed forward, falling onto her hands and knees, trying and failing to hide her own weakeness.

"I am sorry." His apology caught her flat-footed; she hadn't been expecting him to seek her forgiveness. "I...did not mean to hurt you."

Liara looked him in the eye, and suddenly, she was reminded of the beast lurking within. She couldn't help it; she flinched aside. Naruto watched her, his expression stoic. When at last she raised her gaze, those steely sapphire eyes were more akin to winter ice than the afternoon skies for which they were so well known. For a moment-just a moment-she was reminded of a thresher maw; a terrifying creature that emerged from the soil to strike when one least expected it. In many ways Naruto was worse than a thresher. He could kill her with merely a thought; goddess knew she'd given him reason enough to.

"You fear me." It was not a question.

"I-yes." Looking into those soulful blue orbs, Liara could not bring herself to lie. She was absolutely terrified of him. She expected arrogance and scorn for her answer. Derision and disgust in recompense for her bout of cowardice. What she received was something else altogether; because Naruto smiled at her. It was a sad, lonely little thing, that smile, an expression that said "I am a mon ster; it is only natural I be feared as one" and it stirred such sympahty in her that the asari wanted to weep.

The hybrid sighed, covering his face with a gauntleted hand.

"Hold still." he muttered into a glove.

Liara blinked.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Hold still." Naruto raised his right hand, a faint green glow stemming from those gloved fingertips. Before the asari could think to protest, before she could even consider the possibility of refusing his aid, the hybrid did the inexplicable. He laid said hand upon her shouldersand squeezed. Hard. Liara gasped in surprise; gasped as she felt her torn tendons tie themselves together, her fractured bones molding and mending in the span of an instant as the green glow diffused throughout her form. Her rational mind sought to compar the proccess to that of medi-gel; in her heart, she knew there could be no such comparison.

Within the span of two beats, the minor injuries he'd inflicted upon her had simply ceased to exist.

Naruto drew his fingers away and nearly formed a fist, his expression stradling the line between sympahty and scorn. At last he seemed to think better of it, his arm falling uselessly to his side. He reached down for her, grabbed her by the wrist, hauled Liara to her feet.

"It is alright to fear me, you know." he said at length.

"W-What?"

"There will always be fear." Naruto replied, turning to face the burning orb that was Palaven. "Without fear there is nothing to conquer. With nothing to conquer there is no strength. With no strength, you cannot protect that which is precious to you." His words grew in passion as he spoke, drawing Liara in, ensorcellling her. "If you cannot protect that which you consider precious...then tell me, why do you live, asari?" He turned to face her at last, pinnioning her on his burning gaze. "If not to protect that which you hold dear, if not to safeguard all those you care for, then what, I ask you, is your purpose in life?"

His words were like roots, tying her down, binding her to the rocky soil of the moon, forcing her to face her greatest fear. What did she fight for? What were they all fighting for? Shepard, fought to keep the galaxy free from the reapers and she followed him, true, but for what did she fight? For whom? She couldn't claim to have any close ties with Thessia beyond loyalty to her people; beyond that, nothing. Was there anyone she held near and dear in her heart? Someone she'd be willing to lay her life down for? For her friends, of course, but she fought for...for...

"Because its the right thing to do." the words escaped her lips before she could bite them back; they were the first thought of her head. Apparently they intrigued the alien. He leaned forward with intent, grabbing her jacket at the shoulders, holding her fast. Liara could feel his fingers through the fabric, biting down with such strength she was certain he'd leave bruises. A small 'eep fled from her lips as her back greeted the nearby bulkhead, preventing her from fleeing. She tried to squirm away from Naruto, but to no avail; he merely moved his arm into her path, blocking her avenue of escape with his body.

"W-What're you-

"Liar." He accused, his words sharper than any blade. "You claim to fight, because it is 'right,' but what do you know of right and wrong? Nothing. No, you have no purpose. You fight because it is all you know, all you can do, and because, deep down, you enjoy it. Yet, you are ashamed to admit this. I can accept that." Naruto chortled bitterly. "You remind me of my former mate." his breath was warm against her face, tantalizingly close, now, teasing her with its proximity.

So close.

Too close!

Liara's cheeks burned bright violet, yet try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to break away from him; nor could she tear her gaze aside from those sinister scarlet orbs. She was suddenly aware of everything in her surroundings; the gattle of gunfire, the scent of smoke, the taste of blood upon her lips. But, most prevalent, was, the sensation of his arm, reaching around to cup her by the waist, drawing her body close to his. Her free hand reached up to cup a whiskered cheek and he hers, and that was that; she was lost, her mind cast adrift in a swirl of emotion stemming out of the blond like a raging whirlpool.

There was no point in resisting the flow; Liara knew it would easier just to give in; to allow herself to be swept up, content to ride the current wherever it took her. But she was nothing if not stubborn. She refused. She would not give into these feelings in the middle of the mission, in enemy-infested territory with husks abound and...and...and...goddess! She gasped, going weak in the knees, as another wave of alien emotion coursed through her mind, stemming from Naruto like a universal beacon. Countless images flickered before her mind, frantics flashes of life and death and life again until she couldn't make sense of either.

"If you need a reason to fight, I'll gladly give you one," he whispered, his words prickling her skin in gooseflesh. His fingers brushed across her cheek for a final time. Unbidden, the memory of their first kiss or 'mucosal contact' as Naruto called it, stirred in her mind. He claimed this was how his kind imparted information; that they shared their emotions through touch. Was he merely imparting information to her now, or, was this kissi signifying of something deeper? She had no way of knowing. And still, she fought him.

"I don't...need a reason...

"Perhaps I understimated you, asa-no." Naruto admitted, then paused, correcting himself. "Liara T'soni." his lips drew up in a smile as they brushed against hers in a feather's touch; soft and stirring, shivers of delight shooting down her spine. When he kissed her, she was completely unprepared for it.

Violated!

Her hand cracked out, striking him in the face.

And then it was done.

Naruto stepped backwards, leaving her gasping and sputtering for breath. Emotion lingered, leaving her feeling deprived and confused.

"I told you," Naruto paused to wipe his mouth. "This is how my kind imparts emotion." He arched an eyebrow. "Do you understand now, T'soni? Have I given you reason enough to fight?" Liara balked at his words; had he expected her to make sense of that jumble of images; that twisted tangle of emotion? Her head ached at the thought of it, still struggling to connect the dots.

Naruto turned, raising a fist in defiance towards the flaming planet of Palaven.

"Liara."

Somehow when he spoke her name, Liara couldn't help herself; she shivered. It was as if he were saying mine. As if he'd claimed her somehow. Naruto turned towards her for a final time, and for the first time since she had met him, Liara thought she saw genuine mirth in his features.

"Listen, no one chooses misery. It just happens. But it is necessary, because strength comes not from embracing misery, as you have been, but from fighting and overcoming it. You say that it's better to trust no one so that you can't get hurt - that's what I thought. You may have changed my mind, T'soni." He opened his hands and faced the comm tower, a slow, sinister smile spreading across his whiskered face. "I suppose I will thank you for this. You've helped me blow of some much needed steam. I suppose it is as they say..."

That was when she saw them; the husks, countless human corpses swarming over the tower. Wait. Liara balked as Naruto stalked forward, lengthening his stride with every step, drawing closer and closer to the horde of husks with each passing seond. He couldn't. He wouldn't!

Naruto laughed and flung himself forward at them, biotics blazing around him in a sea of screa mingscarlet.

"The brave do not live long, but the cautious do not live at all!"

It was not until sometime later as she joined him, that Liara realized it:

She was laughing as well.

A/N: Naruto is part of a race of bio-engineered beings, nine in total. He's obviously the strongest!

So, in the immortal words of Atlas...

...would you kindly review? And of course, enjoy the preview!

(Possible preview)

"What could've possibly destroyed your species?"

The blond bristled.

Naruto gave Liara a good long look. In the end, he uttered two words.

"Orbital. Bombardment."

"Master!" A voice cried. "My master!"

Naruto froze in midstep, rooted by those words. Scarce had he done so than a blazing blur struck him, bowling him backwards, head over heels.

"What in the nine circles of-

Naruto balked, balked as a flaxen-haired girl flung herself at him from out of nowhere; bodily cleaving against him, arms wrapping around his neck. In sharp contrast to his nine tails of sinister scarlet, she bore a mere two; twining tails of azure fur; the colors mirroring that of the blue ears poking out of her hair. If Naruto was a fox, then this woman was almost certainly...a cat! She nuzzled her head into the whiskered blonde's neck, purring softly like a contented kitten. Her cream colored armour was contoured to her every curve, fitting flawlessly against her ample body, cleaved now against her fellow blond as though the very act of separation was painful.

Before anyone could think to stop her, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips flush to his. There was a silence. Then:

"Y-Yugito?!" Naruto guffawed, his stony facade shattering.

"Moh, master!" She chided, wagging a reproaching finger before the blonde's face. "Do you have any idea how long it took for me to wake up on Illos?!" She crossed both arms before her bosom, sullen. "Too long! Way too long!"

Javik offered a mute shrug.

"I was unaware she yet lived."

Liara's left eye twitched.

"Would someone mind explaining this?!"

Hope you enjoyed it and hope you liked the role-reversal between Naruto and Yugito, a kitten and fox, eh? A little jealous there, eh, Liara? R&R! =D