-Welcoming Notes

Yello minna-san, I'm SoulEmbrace2010!

A wild Rixxell Stryfe appears.

And welcome back to the Shattered Realms Production of Final Fantasy Uzumaki XIII: Crystal Legends Beginnings. Damn, it's been too long since I released a new chapter, and from here on, since I'm out of school and waiting to graduate in December, I look to release a new update every 1-2 weeks, when I'm not working, doing Let's Plays, and playing games with my partner here.

I hate you Soul... Can't you see your buddies suffering with no computer and barely any internet! What I would give to work on my own story or even our collab works at any given time:/

Hey, I'm suffering here too! But that's besides the point! We both have to improve our situations somehow, but we're stuck, so there's nothing we can do :( Anywho, after you lovely viewer check out this here chapie, go check out me new Youtube Channel, SoulEmbrace2010 GAMING, showcasing my Let's Plays, Trailer Reactions, and Unboxings. Also, check out Rixxell's solo story, Tipping the Scales, a Naruto x High School DxD story. Saa, with that being said… LET'S BEGIN!


SoulEmbrace2010 and Rixxell Stryfe presents…

A SHATTERED REALMS PRODUCTION

FINAL FANTASY UZUMAKI XIII


Chapter 03: Public Enemies! Cocoon's Most Wanted


(With the Cataclysmic Celestial Maelstrom Guardians)

"Sorry, guys!" Averia apologized as she ran up to her teammates waiting for her near the tunnel that would take them to the surface.

From there, they would nick a fast ship that would take them to Palumpolum to begin their mission.

"To be honest, that outfit looks better than your other one. Shows more too." Naruto praised as he eyed Averia up and down and admired her more pronounced curves.

"Why thank you, Foxy-kun!" Averia said and twirled around once to give him a 360 degree view of her new look.

Averia's new outfit consists of a violet and glossy silver sleeveless corset blouse with a white ribbon between her bust and another one on the lower back that hanging down; a violet leather pauldron with gold trim, white and yellow wrist cuffs; a dark violet-blue miniskirt with a brown utility belt, and white boots with violet socks underneath with her Chrono Trigger gunswordwhip folded within a sheath similar to what Lightning uses to house her Blazefire Edge.

"Great! Now that Averia's all badass with an original outfit like the rest of us, can we please go?" Lebreau asked and kicked the door to the tunnel open.

"How far does this tunnel stretch out?" Vanille wondered as they entered.

"Not that far. This is the quickest way to the surface, but we might end up in the heart of enemy territory." Lebreau replied as they walk through the tunnel, and were able to see thanks to the fire jutsu/spell provided by Naruto and Tifa.

"From there, we'll get ourselves a ship. We will be going total stealth and silence on this one. You girls will split into two man teams and find a couple of military dropships that won't raise any alarms in a different sector of Cocoon. It's very important that you don't trigger an alarm. If you trigger an alarm, it could bring guard cats. I fucking hate guard cats! Anyway, there should be some landing pads to the north of the city for your access." Naruto started with the plan, but became increasingly aggressive and what looked to be paranoid as he talked about guard cats, especially when a certain cats came to find, much to the alarm of the other girls.

Tora the Cat, from one of this first D-ranked missions as a Konoha shinobi. The damn cat was owned by Madam Shijimi, the wife of the Fire Daimyo. It was even worse when Tora actually had kittens during Naruto's three year training mission with Jiraiya, and it's been a living hell for every Konoha shinobi assigned to find her kittens from hell.

"My clones and I will be covering the eastern end, clearing the path for your mission, before going into the city's center and removing anything along the way that might be troublesome and call an alert...eghm'blowusthefuckup'eghm... when we take off, just to cover our bases. And yes, I will not trigger an alarm, because I'm that damn good... I fucking hate guard cats!" Naruto said while he faked a terrible covered voice of a potential fate and followed with psycho screaming about guard cats, making everyone sweatdrop with concern over Naruto's random conflicting mental state just as Lebreau, who rolled her eyes, halted the group when they arrived at an exit.

"I hear a lot of footsteps and vehicles. This is it." Lebreau said and turned to Naruto, "Naruto, guard cats aside, please don't use that magnet bomb thing again."

"Why would he do that? He knows we need at least one ship intact for us to get to Palumpolum. Besides, I wanna see if he is that damn good at Infiltration missions as he is in anything that requires a Person of Mass Destruction." Tifa chided as she frowned at her.

"I know. I'm just saying that there's no need to go crazy." Lebreau elaborated, with Naruto being the one rolling his eyes now.

"Really now? From what we've heard, that should be directed to Averia and Serah more than anyone." Aya stated with a smirk at the inseparable sisters.

"Hey!" Serah and Averia said reproachfully, despite it being true that they've been quite crazy lately if the last couple weeks were any indication.

"Enough ladies. Averia, you're teaming with Aya. Tifa, you and Lebreau. Serah, you're with Vanille, and Yuna, Kairi. Find 2 ships, and keep it quiet. I know I will because...I'm that damn good of course. Now let's move." Naruto ordered and went through the exit before adding, "And watch out for those guard cats."

"Geez, you and guard cats man. Just remember to keep on coms, work together and we finish faster." Averia reminded her fellow females before they left as well.

The operation was easier than they thought. Sure there were a lot of potential enemies, but apparently most were in a meeting, discussing the current developments of Palumpolum, and thus leaving the city on minimum security detail. Plus, there was a pair of dropships that were in the hanger prepared to deliver 2 fully equipped Spec-Ops squads to reinforce the other soldiers stationed in Palumpolum and there was a near minimum of guards watching the supply ship since the crew was finished loading the gear before the mission.

Naruto went to the watchtower nearby the command post, which was also lightly guarded, and sabotaged its systems by pulling wires while incapacitating the guards. Meanwhile, the teams of Averia and Aya, working with Tifa and Lebreau, knocked out the guards surrounding the dropships while Serah and Vanille set up a trap at the fueling depots with explosive tags Naruto made. Yuna and Kairi sabotaged the other ships inside the hanger, making certain to plant explosive tags in places that would provide the most cover. Naruto didn't tell them what the explosives were needed for, but he said to use them all. Once they were done, Tifa and Averia put the unconscious guards on a raft and pushed it away, allowing them drift out in the sea without their radios.

After killing the other radios, Naruto made his way out of the watchtower and into the Command Center, where he destroyed the communications equipment that covered the Bodhum area, creating a communications blackout. He managed to hide as some nearby guards came to investigate, and bashed their heads in so they wouldn't raise the alarm, granting them mean concussions. By that time, Lebreau managed to bypass the Remote Flight Control systems, preventing the other supply ships from activating, with everyone getting on board.

"Well that was easy." Aya noted as they took off in both airships, one piloted and filled by Naruto's clones without hassle.

"Thanks to my abilities, and the cluster of people in that building for the meeting, I managed to get all sorts of authorization codes just in case we get ourselves in a jam." Naruto said, having used his Rinne Sharingan to read their minds, "Among other things..."

During the process, he was tempted to kill a few of them due to the various disgusting acts he learned that some of them did to previous (female) Purgees. Barely anyone in there had a clean mind.

"I managed to swipe a military map detailing Palumpolum." Tifa said, setting it down on a table and opening it up for everyone to see, "Looks like it's a port city."

"Is there a fal'Cie in the city somewhere?" Kairi asked, looking over the map as Averia scanned it with her touchscreen phone.

"From what I know, no. There really is no need for a fal'Cie in Palumpolum since it's just one huge shopping mall. It's the City of Commerce after all, strange since these days people do online shopping." Averia replied and gesturing to her new outfit since she got the material to make it online.

"Carbuncle!" Serah suddenly shouted, gaining the attention of everyone present. Serah's eyes were glossed over, as if she wasn't even aware of her actions. The pinkette regained her composure, noticing everyone's attention on herself, and looked slightly confused.

"Sis?" Averia asked, the concern present in the tone of her voice. Serah motioned her off, obviously hoping to discuss it later, which the middle Farron sister accepted.

"Anyway, Palumpolum is now locked down, with panic and chaos in the streets due to PSICOM's hostile takeover. While I killed their radios and communications, PSICOM will send people to investigate, and they'll know that this supply ship was stolen. So we blow the place at the best opportune moment, then fly these ships there, and destroy it with a kamikaze dive bomb, using the drop gear in the ships to deploy us. People, we need to get the demonized l'Cie as under-appreciated thugs. The world needs its attention on me, a human who would kill Fal'Cie. This is the best plan of attack in helping your sister and her merry band of buzzkills. They are beyond cutoff, walking a road which will most likely lead to the deaths of countless people, not limited to themselves in the slightest!" Naruto decided, with everyone looking at him like he was crazy.

"What? Kill a fal'Cie!? Also, how will we get back to Bodhum?!" Serah asked, looking confused, "I mean, don't we need these ships? It would be very beneficial to have a non-traceable Military Dropship. Why can't we save one hidden in our Bodhum safehouse and use the other to transport the entire group with the massive, spectacular explosion to accentuate our arrival in town and our challenge to Cocoon Leadership?"

"I set up a Hiraishin marker for us going back to the hideout." Naruto said and held up a black tri-prong kunai, "The Hiraishin or Flying Thunder God, is the signature jutsu of my father, Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage of my home village Konoha, inspired and advanced upon from another former leader of my village, Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage. It's a time-space jutsu that allows instant teleportation from point A to point B. With my new powers and abilities augmenting my chakra, I can transport us all there in case we get into a major jam we can't get out of."

"That would be useful. You practically created a Safe point for us to utilize in case we need to retreat. It's like a fast travel system in a video game too. Can you create these 'checkpoints' for us to fall back in case of difficult assholes we come across? You know, because having a few options to go to that could be overrun with potential Naruto fodder at any moment would be real hot..." Lebreau asked as she kept her dreamy eyes on the sky.

"Ugh...while we had movies back where I come from, you girls are going to have to educate me about online shopping and video games when this is all over, but as to checkpoints, I'm not going to waste my time and seals doing that when we won't need them, and I'm in no mood to play God like that. We don't have time to go backwards in this world. There's only one path, and it's forward, preferably in front of your sister as quietly as possible or behind your sister as messy as possible." Naruto stated rather directly while maintaining a serious expression.

"You're right. This is not some video game with a reset button like Undertale, or some fairy tail in books. This is real life. We only get one life. I'm sure Naruto-kun could and most certainly would revive us if we're killed, but we shouldn't put him in a position to do that to respect his desire not to play God. Besides, none of us want to experience the sensation of dying, right? While I've been trapped in crystal, dying no doubt could feel different...and painful." Serah agreed and shivered at the thought of dying for real.

"Calm yourself, kid. I speak for all of us when I say that none of us plan on dying, and in my case...again. It was through the actions of my clone sister Eve that I'm still alive, though not without Aurora's help. I was supposed to die, to protect humanity in my world, but Aurora saved us both, and recruited us in her Familia. I was reluctant at first, but after seeing that there were things worse than the Twisted, created from my subconscious when I died the first time, and High Ones, created after the death of Eve's body; I wasn't going waste a second life doing nothing when I can use my power to help other worlds." Aya said firmly, with Yuna looking shocked that her main translator died only to come back thanks to the miracle that was their Goddess Aurora, "Despite that, death is still not a fun experience I care to repeat again. Everything is cold and dark, and you're aware, but not aware at the same time. There is that light, like everyone says...oh, sorry."

Aya was cut off by Yuna signing frantically, 'Okay, we get it! Stop it!'

"She's right, you know. Let's focus on getting into Palumpolum to save Mrs. Estheim's husband. Hell, if we're lucky, we can get her son too. We are not going to die on this here simple retrieval mission. We get in, get Bartholomew and if present Hope's group, and get back to your home base. From there, we can plan our next move. Got it?" Naruto said while never taking his eyes off the map.

"I can get behind that. We just need to figure out a way to locate the Estheim residence." Averia agreed, glad that the subject of death has been wiped to the side for now.

"There is a way. Since Lightning and Hope made it to Palumpolum, they will no doubt rendezvous with Fang and...Mr. Villers. With this being Hope's town, he'll take them to his family residence, and that's where they'll be. So..." Tifa trailed off, waiting for someone to finish her point.

"We'll track them down and follow them, leading us to the Estheim residence!" Kairi finished for her.

"Bingo! Get my friend here a lollipop!" Tifa praised, with Aya tossing one to Kairi, who caught it in her mouth and hummed happily as she twirled her tongue around it in her mouth.

"So how much longer is it to Palumpolum? The sun is nearly starting to set." Vanille noted as she looked out one of the windows, "And will we be able to hide the ship? I sure we'll be taking it back with us to the hideout to re-supply Team NORA instead of destroying it, right?"

"Er, I'll take that under consideration Vanille, but one step at a time." Naruto chided as he studied the map.

"At our current speed, we'll be there within ten minutes. I have an idea of where to land this one. And Naruto, we could really use one of those Flying Thunder God seals on this ship. Once we get our targets, getting back to the ship will be difficult. I also hope you have a means to hide it as well." Lebreau told him, with Naruto nodding before slapping a seal onto the wall on the ship.

"Done."


(Palumpolum, PSICOM Command Post)

Jihl Nabaat is a woman of exquisite beauty with the right amount of sex appeal. Standing at 5'7 tall, 5'4 being without heels, she has silvery blonde hair that reaches to her mid-thigh, olive green eyes with thin-framed glasses, a slender figure, and wearing a modified form-fitting PSICOM general uniform to go with a recent promotion to full Colonel after determining that with this idea to trap all the l'Cie at the Estiem residence and bring their hidden allies from the disastrous end to the Purge of Bodhum out of hiding in order to swiftly end this Pulse incursion once and for all. She wasn't thrilled with the idea that the entire city of Palumpolum could be declared expendable for the purposes of this operation given what the l'Cie and their allies were capable of, but apparently the order already went out that Carbuncle was being moved away with the intent to unleash everything Cocoon had to eliminate this threat. Even if the citizens and military under the rank of Major were uninformed or evacuated...

Right now, she was looking over a military map of Palumpolum, trying to locate possible places for the runaway Pulse I'Cie to retreat to. Next to the map were files of the identified I'Cie, Lightning, Snow, Sazh, and Hope; while the first file she kept extremely close on her person for...personal reasons. Her former trainee has gotten herself into a massive problem this time and unfortunately there was nothing Jihl could do to get her out of it besides being the person to hunt her down. She also had a few pictures of the group from Lake Bresha, all of whom were unidentified but classified extremely dangerous with Kill on Sight orders by Primarch Galenth Dysley himself. Just the picture of the blonde haired man throwing a massive Magic ball at their fleet still sent shivers down her spine when she remembered the video of the attack.

"Any luck finding where the I'Cie allies' have possible safehouses?"

Jihl roughly sighed in annoyance, taking off her glasses and turning to see her fellow Lieutenant Colonel and the man who always came in second to her every since the Military Academy, Yaag Rosch, her right-hand man. His hair is silver and styled in thick, collar-length bangs spiked at the front and slicked down at the back, and a short ponytail tied with a black ribbon. He has sharp facial features, a thin scar above his left eye running the length of his forehead, and violet-gray eyes. He was wearing the PSICOM officer's field uniform and had a military saber on his belt. The man had been badgering her every five minutes either about the inconceivable loss of the l'Cie earlier this morning or the allies they had back at Lake Bresha that haven't done anything since they aided in the escape of the l'Cie.

"Lieutenant. Colonel. Rosch." Jihl growled as she leveled a killer glare at her fellow PSICOM officer at equal rank, as she is tired of his asking the same question every few minutes, "When I find something concrete, I will call you and we can determine our plan of attack. Until then, would you kindly refrain from asking every few minutes about our progress. Besides, I am in charge of this op, and I seem to remember assigning you to monitor the movements of our ground forces in case they run into the l'Cie and setting up the ambush for the group that seems heading for the Estheim residence."

"And I seem to remember your...intimate relationship with one of them. I may not be in charge, but I'm just here to make sure that you're not emotionally compromised." Rosch countered with a stern glare, with Jihl not backing down, and instead looking more pissed at what Rosch is insinuating.

"Need I remind you exactly who put me in charge of this operation? If not, then know your place and get back to your assignment. As for me, I know what needs to be done to our enemies, the Pulse I'Cie, especially if it's someone like my former charge... Lightning Farron." Jihl said, her tone and eyes becoming increasingly dangerous as she got in Rosch's face, "Get back to work, for the next time you interrupt me, I will not be so civil."

Rosch didn't say anything as she eyed the rapier sheathed at her side, before relenting and setting off back to work, with Jihl groaning and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to ease her frustrations.

In another life, Jihl Nabaat would've been the worse kind of human: Cold, calculating, sadistic, cruel, manipulative, and heartless, with a superiority complex. The life of someone who would torture and experiment on those she thinks as less worthy than herself, all for whatever strategic gain she might think they can offer her in both her career and her role as one of PSICOM's Lead Strategic Advisors.

But in this world, that worst kind of person she shows was an outside facade for her. Inside, she was kind, compassionate, considerate, and everything else opposite of her masked personality. And this could be attributed to her time in the Military Academy upon finding a young cadet doing everything she could to prevent people from getting close to her. This girl, was aiming to become both the fastest and strongest soldier in Cocoon's Guardian Corps in attempt to never lose what she cared about ever again, all the while holding the goal that she never needed any help along the way. Jihl, being the person she was found such a goal both promising and worthy, and as she was in her final months of Officer training decided to take it upon herself to raise and mold this girl into a proper soldier. Of course things ended up turning out in a way that was inappropriate for soldiers was completely unexpected, yet Jihl wouldn't change a thing.

Right now, all that she can think about is how the hell her old flame and trainee got herself into the situation she is in, and that if there's anyway to end this without bloodshed. She doesn't want to kill Lightning, or her friends for that matter. If only she could locate them directly… It was then when it hit Jihl. Dajh has constantly badgering the others about seeing his dad and he's been branded a Cocoon l'Cie by Kujata, thanks to the two Pulse l'Cie breaking into the Euride Gorge, then his Focus must be…

"Bingo!"

Since there was a way she could find them herself, Jihl could enact a plan to fake Lightning's death and send her to safety until this whole things blows over, allowing them to stay together. At least that's what she hopes. While she and Lightning were forced apart due to their positions, there's no way she'll throw her under the bus when her lover needed her the most.

With that, Jihl took out her communicator and punched a few buttons.

"This is Lieutenant Colonel Jihl Nabaat. Send me the little one, Dajh Katzroy, at once. After all, for every task, there's a perfect tool."

"Yes, ma'am."

After she cut her communicator off, she sighed as she yet again looked over the footage from a few days ago of the destruction at Lake Bresha and the Hanging Edge, "And for every plan, there's a perfect storm."


(Palumpolum, CCMG)

"Seriously, are you sure you will be able to get the damn plane out of this tight spot you decided to land in?" Tifa drawled at Lebreau, who nervously laughed.

Lebreau found a parking spot that was like an enclosed building. While it would hide the ship from everyone curious, like PSICOM and the Guardian Corps, it would make it a tad bit difficult to get the ship out when they leave.

"I can try. You all are proof of the impossible being possible." Lebreau countered and stuck her tongue out.

"And we can make more miracles to prove that with every step taken in this world. So, Felix Heights is that way, right?" Naruto asked, pointing in the direction of the residual district.

"Naru-kun, you will likely become an Urban Legend in a short time with every action you take. The people who fear l'Cie will think of you as a boogieman, while those you help might find you as a Saint brought forth by the Goddess Etro. I can only imagine how the future of this world will look upon our actions..." Serah whispered when she again dropped to her knee, a massive headache coming to her as a vision came forth.


(Serah's vision)

Serah was looking at herself, an unknown blue-eyed brunette man with blue and black clothing with tribal patterns, a moogle, and an unknown blonde woman with short hair as they stood in a massive room with monitors all around them. The woman was speaking to the group, saying something about how they had seen the Forbidden History and they must be silenced.

The man said something about how they were supposed to be stuck, to die in that location, only to also mention that they had met a man named Caius 200 years farther in the future who had attempted to kill them because they were a paradox, like Aurora's Familia were.


(Palumpolum)

Serah, still dropped to her knee, couldn't help but be confused at this, learning that she somehow ends up traveling through time with some mysterious man that is not Naruto and Averia wasn't anywhere to be seen was surprising enough, but seeing yet another vision of the possible future however was beginning to take a mental toll on the girl.

Why was she having these visions? What made her special and how were they triggered? Every time one happened, it would leave her in a somewhat physically drained and that was not something the team could afford to have happen in the middle of a mission, as such a thing could get everyone killed.

Averia noticed Serah yet again having dropped to her knee and grabbing her head and took it upon herself to find out what was happening, "Imouto, what is it? I can tell it is another vision and that is the third time now. Talk to us, talk to me..."

Naruto and the group turned their attention to Serah when she abruptly stopped walking, and when Averia mentioned the comment of the vision about Snow that she had earlier and how this was the third time it had happened, Naruto decided that they needed to stop the group for the moment.

"Serah, I don't know what you may have witnessed, but when we were coming here you said something about Carbuncle. The earlier thing with Snow attacking your sister too. I get the feeling that these visions may be related to our mission, so please can you tell us what happened? You were talking about what the future might say about me in particular before it happened. Does this vision have anything to do with me in particular?" Naruto said, his voice holding a tone of both urgency and concern at her state.

Unknown to everyone else, the reason for Naruto's tone was due to his Empathic abilities sending him various feelings Serah was going through, feelings of loss, hesitance, and most of all, terror. This was the first time Naruto had felt such a feeling in one close to himself and he honestly had not expected the difference in how it compares to the likes of fear. It was almost like Serah was devastated by what she saw, but it couldn't that bad when compared to seeing her former boyfriend at least attempting to kill her oldest sister?

Right?

Naruto just moved up to her and wrapped her up in a hug, something that unknowingly concerned Averia, as she too moved to her sister to mimic the action, knowing that if Naruto was doing this, then Serah must need all the support she could get. Naruto looked grateful to Averia for following him, to which she just offered a smile before looking to her sister's face hidden behind her hair. The look of utter shellshock drove home some almost maternal feelings in the middle Farron sibling, as she was the one who took forth the effort as a pseudo mother to Serah when Lightning had all but left them emotionally.

"Serah!" Averia suddenly shouted, drawing further confusion from the group around them as Serah snapped out of it.

"It's alright sis, Naru-kun. This vision just now, was shocking only because of how confusing it was. I was in some room for a moment, standing beside a man I've never seen before, talking to a woman I've never seen before. There wasn't anyone else around, yet there was talk about a 'Forbidden History", about myself traveling through time at the very least 200 years, and which I should mention also doesn't include the fact that the place I was at already looked to be technologically advanced far beyond current stages. The name of a man, Caius, stood out, as he had tried to kill me and the man I was with, talking about how we were Paradoxes, like you Naru. I don't know what's happening! Why am I having these visions? What do they mean? Were you killed?! I just don't know!" Serah started screaming at the end, exhaustion and shock setting in.

Naruto took it upon himself to knock Serah unconscious with a quick flash of his Rinne Sharingan into her eyes in an effort to prevent the team from being discovered, but also to allow Serah the rest she needed now.

"Serah!" Vanille squeaked as said pinkette slumped into Naruto's arms.

"Hey, you didn't have to do that!" Averia snapped reproachfully as her sister leaned into Naruto, now peacefully sleeping against the blonde.

"I'm sorry Vanille, Averia, but I had to. She was panicking thanks to that vision, which might have caused her magic to go berserk, leading to a high risk of being caught. Ok ladies, change of plans. Lebreau, I need you to take Serah back to the dropship. Aren't we glad about that idea to keep it now? Aya, I want you to partner up with Yuna now so we can get an idea of how you work together. Averia, you're paired with Tifa, and Vanille is paired with Kairi. We're facing some tough resistance and I know working with new people for the first time in a life and death struggle is not the way to do things, but our backs are against the wall. We need to get Nora Estheim's family out of Palumpolum and we're already down a member. Therefore, I'll find Carbuncle on my own, the rest of you will need to work together, staying together as much as possible, during your effort to extract the Estheim's without being spotted by Lightning or her companions. I know you may want to help your sister directly Averia, but this way the l'Cie can continue their path and we lead the way into Serah's vision about Snow. There is more to gain by letting Cocoon's leadership think they are running things all according to their plan." Naruto said, obviously concerned with the current state of Serah and the mission in general.

Vanille looked over to Kairi, Aya to Yuna, Averia to Tifa, and Lebreau to Serah's unconscious body before all looked back at Naruto with fire in their eyes. This needed to be done and they were more than ready for this. Besides Naruto claimed he could kill a Fal'Cie. What could possibly go wrong?

"Finally ladies, take these. If anything and I mean anything goes wrong, throw them at the what is most concerning. If somebody is about to take a fatal attack or if you need anything, just watch out for the flash." Naruto said as he handed each one of them his Hiraishin kunai.

"Naruto-kun, what good is a little knife going to do? It's not like we could throw it at an airship and the thing would fall out of the sky..." Lebreau said looking at the knife with no small hint of skepticism.

"I don't think something as small as this can destroy an airship Lebreau-chan. But given everything Naruto has done, freeing my sister from a Crystal prison and blowing up an entire Air Brigade, the hint of 'Watch out for the Flash' makes it quite obvious that something explosive in nature might happen." Averia said to her best friend, attempting to ease her nerves since she would be essentially alone with their airship and Serah.

"Ladies, if you must know, yes the Hiraishin can make a fleet of airships fall out of the sky, if only technically. However it all depends on the use that I decide on. With you throwing the kunai, it acts more like an emergency beacon. I have to consciously open a rift to transport something from one place to another, such as a massive attack or a fleet of airships pressing their advance." Naruto said, getting both relaxed shrugs and wide eyes at his declaration.

Kairi suddenly piped up, "Naruto-san, I know you have your own objective, but I just don't have a good feeling about this. Do you really need to go find Carbuncle?"

Naruto looked over to the redhead-brunette and saw she was shaking. She was obviously uncomfortable with what happened to Serah and the sudden change in teams. She and Yuna had been spending an awful lot of time together over their time in the safehouse, so maybe it was just jitters. Still he decided to take the extra effort to calm her nerves as he handed the kunai off to her. Grabbing her hand, he said, "I know this may seem like a lot for you to handle at once and trust me, this mission seems an awful lot like my first real mission as a ninja. Off into the unknown, facing off against superior foes nearly unaided, and most of all, the concern for your comrades safety, but listen to me. I will not allow my comrades to die." Naruto grabbed Kairi's shoulder as he said that, forcing the girl to stare directly into his eyes.

As she was looking she suddenly regained her composure, a strange heat filling her very being as if all her hesitation and worry was for naught. The feeling she had remained, but the words Naruto said lifted any and all doubts as to what that gut feeling might hold as she knew that Naruto wouldn't allow harm to come to her. It was a feeling unlike any she ever had, knowing that this mission was her first real test as a Wielder of the Keyblade and that something would happen, but the acceptance she felt in knowing that whatever happened would not be the end of her journey. It was something she just couldn't truly explain. So she chose to instead grab Naruto up in kiss that sent shockwaves to everyone present.

Naruto of course, hadn't intended for his pep talk to have this effect on the younger girl, but he certainly wasn't going to deny the action when she obviously needed it right. He deepened the kiss momentarily before releasing Kairi, knowing the 6 conscious girls around him had all shown some extent of romantic interest in him and he wanted to be fair to their feelings knowing that jealousy is a difficult emotion for anyone to deal with, let alone on a mission. Still Kairi's feelings worried him and he had to make certain that a few backups were in place, but most importantly for the team of Kairi and Vanille. Vanille was a shy girl, uncertain about her actions and things like that could leave her paralyzed in a manner of speaking. Kairi was confident in her emotions and actions, but physically weak. The team would work in time, but time wasn't necessarily on their side. He only hoped that his plan would come full circle, but no doubt the girls would be safe now.

The Uzumaki just hoped Kairi and Vanille would hold out when the storm actually happened...


(Palumpolum, PSICOM Mobile Command)

"Lieutenant Tien! Get me the latest scouting reports on the l'Cie allies from Lake Bresha. And also, get me up to date reports from the Estheim's residence surveillance team. Colonel Nabaat ordered an ambush and we're going to give her one." Yaag Rosch ordered his adjutant officer as he stormed into his mobile quarters and went to his desk to cool off from the confrontation he just had with his 'superior officer' for the duration of this mission. Typically, he and Jihl would be stationed in different tasks, working towards the same goals overall, yet Primarch Dysley had ordered the both of them to work together on this mission. Worse yet was that Jihl got a promotion for this operation and was doing everything she could to keep him out of major planning.

Just thinking about the woman brought another sneer to his lips. Yes he respected everything she did, as she always managed to prove herself on a tactical level. She was by far Cocoon's number one strategic asset for emergency planning based on everything put before her in the past. However the Pulse incursion has affected her decision making. Every single attempt at outright killing the l'Cie was shot down by her and it is all because of Lightning Farron. Her protege has always been a problem ever since it was discovered that Jihl was promoting favoritism at first before an official inquiry happened and it was discovered that Jihl had in fact been in an ongoing sexual relationship with former PSICOM Lieutenant Farron. Jihl's career was only saved by timely intervention from the Primarch, who stated that as long as Lieutenant Farron was removed from the ranks of PSICOM in favor of an Non-Commissioned Officer position in Cocoon's Guardian Corps and the at the time Major Nabaat was stripped two ranks back down to Lieutenant. The Primarch stated that the skills in both were too important to lose, but Rosch honestly thought that more favoritism went on by even allowing Lightning to be pushed into the Guardian Corps.

Honestly the more Rosch thought about both the Primarch and Jihl, the more upset he got. Yes Jihl's skills were important, but this was not a proper assignment for her to be heading up. The fact that the Primarch was always involved in anything that had to do with Jihl's own career advancement only made things worse. It was frustrating to not only Rosch, but many other officers. It honestly seemed all proper military doctrine went out the window when she was involved. Some people had suggested it was because she was a very attractive woman, but any man that actually got the balls to approach her was very swiftly sent packing as a result of a verbal tongue lashing that made it clear any and everyone was beneath her. Hell, people had even tried to connect a sexual relationship with Primarch Dysley to account for how he is always involved in her career, but nothing could ever be connected because any time they were together it was always in public or in the company of other officers. There was no reason why the Primarch would be so interested in her career, yet it was clear that she had his favor in her every action.

Just then, he was broken out of his musing from a knock on his door. "Come in."

"Col. Rosch sir, I have those reports you requested. Is there anything else you would require sir?" Lt. Tien asked, just out of curiosity. Usually he would wait to be dismissed, but he knew his superior well enough to know that he was really bothered right now. Ever since Col. Nabaat got her newest promotion a few days ago, the entire PSICOM division had been thrown for a loop at why she was being given this command. There were stories among the higher ups about Jihl's past with Corporal Farron of the Guardian Corps and he knew enough to know that PSICOM was split about Jihl's leadership.

"Yes, I would ask your imput on this ambush. My original idea is that we coordinate a strike between a stealth entry into the Estheim Residence when all l'Cie have been accounted for while simultaneously attacking with a platoon of troops from the front and at least one Havok Skytank. What are your thoughts as to this plan, before taking into account the possibility of the l'Cie allies attacking us in a pincer from the outside and inside?" Rosch had originally planned on this attack, but when he was in Jihl's office he noticed the updated reports on the Lake Bresha incident. He took keen notice of the picture of the blonde male's attack and had been hesitant in putting a final ok. He decided to give his subordinate a chance for input since he was an up and coming star from the recent academy class and as such fresh with current tactics in the newest equipment PSICOM had access to.

Tien looked over the reports of the l'Cie, paying close attention to the known strengths and skills of targets, before moving onto the reports of their allies which were mostly blank aside from a few instances of Bodhum residents associated with Snow Villers, Lightning Farron, and Serah Farron.

"Sir, I honestly don't think that plan will work at all. Just looking at this one person," he said holding out the report Rosch was most concerned about, "Any and all attempts at capturing our targets will fail. However we do have options. Several targets," he said holding out the reports of Snow Villers, Lebreau Farfalla, an unidentified redheaded female, and a couple others, "Are seen to have clear weakness or confrontations with the others that can allow a means to drive a wedge in their group dynamic allowing a moment to capture at least one target. According to our stated mission objectives by Col. Nabaat, we need to capture at least one target for public execution to satisfy the media attention."

"I propose that we use Snow Villiers in some manner after his recent assault which saved Lightning Farron and Hope Estheim. If you'll remember after the attack, Lightning Farron clearly used some lightning magic at Snow after he had nearly took her head off with his motorcycle and shot at her when releasing his summon. Snow escaped, taking the child with him, however they obviously planned to considering Lightning allowed it. The idea of capturing Lebreau Farfalla on the other hand is also appealing, as she seems to be the weakest link of both groups, however this would hinge on discovery of their airship which is what I would assign her if I were leading them. Crashing one of the two ships they arrived on has clearly made locating them much more difficult, yet easier at the same time since we can roughly determine their range. Given our limited timeframe and the area that would need to be covered in locating said airship, our best bet would remain in Villers sir." Lt. Tien finished his summary and waited to hear what his superior had to think.

"You may in fact be onto something, Lieutenant. I'll be sure to write you up for credit on the planning of this. It would be exceedingly easy to manipulate the l'Cie if they are dealing with infighting, but honestly I find myself worried about Lightning Farron. She knows all our tactics after having trained under Col. Nabaat and if we're being completely honest, she would be the most desirable target for capture considering the Primarch's plan of public execution. I believe we may need some misdirection... Dismissed." Yaag Rosch had a grin on his face as he came up with what would no doubt be the hallmark of his career.


(Naruto's clone w/ Serah and Lebreau)

"Lebreau, what's wrong? You've been in a foul mood for a while now." Shadow Clone Naruto stated as they trekked back to the ship, with Serah on his back and Lebreau bringing up the rear, with the latter's negative emotions rolling up her in waves, "Care to share?"

"I'm just worried about Serah, and the future. Not only that, but my chances of survival due to all the craziness that's happened in the past few days. I count myself lucky to get out of them unscathed. Why? Because I'm the only one with any normalcy on this team. Even with my body changing thanks to taking a dive in your mind, will it be enough to protect Serah and stand side-by-side with you guys?" Lebreau replied with her voice shaking and her grip tightening on her favorite rifle.

"It will. Before all this, the boss had a similar discussion with one of my girlfriends, Haruno Sakura, who's soul is now fused with Kagura's, that voiced that same concerns as you. She was a bookworm, and a fangirl to one of the biggest pricks in my world that you'll ever find. Thankfully, she snapped out of it after seeing his true nature, and somehow, she ended up with me after seeing the good I've done and the girls that flocked to me...because of me, but I digress." Shadow Clone Naruto said a bit slowly at the last part, with Lebreau with a depressed look, "Look, the point I'm trying to make is that she had the same concerns. Originally, she was a bookworm, very knowledgeable in some aspects, with only the basic skills of a ninja, unlike the others who had something unique that made them stand out in the crowd."

"So how did she make herself stand out?" Lebreau asked with a raised eyebrow, paying attention in hopes of advice that would make herself unique and not a plain girl anymore.

"By training as a true ninja. She stopped dieting and gained much needed muscle and power, used more than kunai and shuriken by using gauntlets as weapons, and by using her natural born talent with books, she trained under the tutelage of one of the most powerful Medic Kunoichi in our village, Senju Tsunade. Through this, she learned Medical techniques and Super Strength, with the boss helping her out with a fighting style. With her Fire Nature, she can augment her fist and weapons with pinkish flames, something that no one else could do. It took some time, but she made herself as unique as a beautiful blazing inferno." Naruto said with a smile, as he remembered how Sakura look last time compared to her previous fangirl self.

Pink hair with red strands, a toned body with breasts that rivaled Hinata's, her oversized gauntlets she stores in seals in her wrists, and the same diamond-shaped mark on her forehead that Tsunade had, allowing her to store chakra. All in all, she became so strong and focused, that she actually kicked Sasuke's ass before Naruto got to him, sparing him of a poisoned kunai.

"I...see..." Lebreau muttered, as she started sorting out a training regiment in her mind to increase her own strength and stamina.

"But to be honest, you're already unique, being the only normal girl on the team, but, you can wield all kinds of firearms." Shadow Clone Naruto said brightly, with Lebreau looking surprised at that, "But if you really want power, then I'm sure the boss can help you by teaching you how to mold chakra to enhance your reflexes and strengthen your body who you'll be able to withstand devastating attacks. After that, you working on something with that power to make yourself stand out. Just remember that with great power comes great responsibility, or so the boss heard." Shadow Clone Naruto told her as they entered the ship, with Lebreau blinking at him.

"I'm guessing that you know about Spider-Man where your original is from." she mused with a smirk.

"Uh, Spider-who?" Shadow Clone Naruto asked dumbly, with question marks dancing on his head, and three dots above Lebreau's head.

"Never mind."

Shrugging, the Shadow Clone sat Serah down on one of the beds hidden in the walls after Lebreau brought it out.

"Don't go getting fresh with her now." Lebreau said sternly until seeing Naruto reach over her to cover up Serah with a blanket.

"Like hell I will, you jealous prude..." Shadow Clone Naruto countered with a smirk.

"I am not a prude, you pervert!" Lebreau snapped angrily, waving her arms childishly.

"Then you're a pervert too." Naruto simply said before Lebreau aimed her rifle at him, "It's true, considering what I heard what you and Averia-chan did after you two got drunk is any indication. And please don't waste your bullets on me. Serah-chan needs her rest after all, so calm down."

"Oh, I'll calm down, when I riddle you with holes!" Lebreau snarled with a tickmark on her head.

"Well, before you do..."

Shadow Clone Naruto flash-stepped in front of a frowning Lebreau, and kissed her with a peck right on the lips, shocking her to the core and making her heart sing with joy.

"You jerk… Kissing me so suddenly...even if you're a clone...!" she thought as she dropped her rifle and fumed.


(With the real Naruto)

Meanwhile, the main Naruto was on a billboard tower with a great birdseye view of Palumpolum. Right now, he had his Six-Paths Bijuu Sage Mode active, with his eyes sporting the Rinne Sharingan ripples and tomoe, and his pupils being cross-shaped.

"Where are you?" the hanyou demigod Uzumaki muttered to himself while blocking out the mass of negative emotions enveloping the city.

Said negative emotions were driving his senses haywire, and it was taking all his Will and Determination to focus on the task at hand. The people were afraid of the l'Cie "running rampant" in Palumpolum, and in fear of another Purge happening, this time in their city. A fact he did not tell to anyone in the time since his partnership with the Kurama twins and gained the Negative Emotion Sensing ability was that depending on the range and intensity of what he was sensing, the ability could influence his own emotions and cause him to have an emotional breakdown, much like a telepath could be overloaded by the thoughts of others and lose all sense of self. This fact that he kept to himself was strictly out of the idea that his former superiors might think he would lose control over Kiyomi, the Yang Kyuubi, and in a way they were right, as he himself would be left in a state very similar to a drone, but now Kagura and his new partners have been working on a means to control the flow of what emotions he felt in periods when his senses would show signs of exertion.

Emotional breakdowns were not on the menu today however as come hell and high water, Naruto could not let PSICOM and their fancy little ships go crashing around Palumpolum like back at Lake Bresha. There was too much on the line in a heavily populated area that was bordering on the verge of rioting. "If I was Carbuncle, the Cocoon fal'Cie that was responsible for Cocoon's food supply, where would I be nested?" Naruto wondered to himself as he focused more power into his eyes, "Come on, show yourself..."

"Allow me to help you, my descendent." Kaguya's voice suddenly sounded through his head, with her chakra flaring through Naruto.

Naruto's eyes suddenly stung, forcing him to close them because of the sharp pain. When he opened them, the black outlines of the Rinne Sharingan were now a glowing white like the Byakugan.

"That should do it. Sorry about the pain." Kaguya apologized with Naruto shaking his head.

"It's ok, Usagi-hime. But a little warning next time?"

Kaguya didn't respond immediately due to blushing up a storm at Naruto's nickname for her, with their being heard by a third party.

"Oh-ya? Trying my mother's route, Naruto-kun? You work fast. When can you send some of that magic my way?" Kagura asked with a mock pout.

"Maybe, with your back on the bed and me plowing you into next week." Naruto replied cheekily, making Kagura sputter and her blood bleeding at imagining herself and Naruto rutting in the bed.

"Gah, so blunt! You may have slept with Hinata-chan and the others, but just for that, you'll have to earn it with me, baka!"

"Fine then. It'll be more enjoyable to see you go mad when me and the girls are fun...tethering together." Naruto said with a really evil grin, causing Kagura to wail in despair at her failed attempt to blackmail her container.

"Oh, oh! Me first! Me first!" Muzet cheered, causing Milla to groan and look away with a blush of her own, "I would really like some of that hot demon god DNA inside my-"

"MUZET!" Milla yelled, covering her mouth quickly.

"You girls..." Naruto mused and cut the connection to his tenants before he got a hard-on for real, and instead used his upgrade eyes to find Carbuncle.

Thanks to Kaguya's upgrade, Naruto looked through the city structures and noticed some energy lines looked like veins spread out all over. And thanks to that, Naruto traced them to increasing abundance somewhere underground until he found the source.

"Got ya!" Naruto declared with a grin, marking the location with his eyes before using Kamui to teleport to the fal'Cie, "Hiya there!"

The reddish-blonde could sense the fal'Cie being startled at his sudden appearance in front of it and grinned again, this time with a frightening slasher smile.

"You must be Carbuncle, right? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, the esteemed leader of the Cataclysmic Celestial Maelstrom Guardians, and the newest member of the Goddess Aurora's Familia." Naruto greeted the fal'Cie with a bow, "And that introductions are out of the way-"

No sooner as Naruto finished his introduction that Carbuncle struck and stabbed a tentacle-like appendage to his arm to transfer it's Power and Will into Naruto in an attempt to make Naruto its underling.

It wanted Naruto as a Cocoon l'Cie.

"I see. So that's how it's done..."

If the fal'Cie could display emotions, it would certainly show it, as it's surprise was felt by the Blonde in that it felt its Power and Will being pushed back by Naruto's own. That, and due to being the avatar of Kami, Yami, and Shinigami, and the servant of Aurora, the daughter of Cosmos and Chaos, its attempt to make Naruto a Cocoon harbinger was doomed to fail.

"That wasn't very nice, Carbuncle." Naruto remarked coolly as he yanked the tentacle off his arm and tossed it aside, "Seriously, I just wanna talk and you pull that stunt? If it weren't for the fact that you're the source of Cocoon's food production, I would Bijuudama your sorry ass into next week, but I digress."

As he said that, Naruto formed said Tailed Beast Bomb in the palm of his hand with his demonic chakra, but quickly dispelled it with a flick of his wrist and put this hands in his pockets.

Carbuncle observed Naruto, obviously fearful at what the blonde was capable of, and wondered if the human before it was indeed...human, as his aura was unlike any other human, with the fact putting the fal'Cie on edge. How this being before it could exist and be in this world was beyond Carbuncle, but it was worried that the fact that this being's presence could throw a monkey wrench into the plan to summon the Maker back into the world. A plan that Carbuncle has no intention of revealing to the blonde before it.

"So, Carbuncle. Will you tell me what your fellow fal'Cie of a Super Pope is up to with his plans for Cocoon, or will we have to do this the hard way in order for me to get some answers in this twisted world?" Naruto asked and loudly cracked his knuckles in his hands, "And I highly suggest you make it quick due to my limited time, not to mention that patience isn't my forte."

"Even if I tell you, there's nothing you can do."

The fal'Cie didn't speak openly, but Naruto heard it in this mind, which means that some fal'Cie like Carbuncle can speak telepathically.

"Holy shit, you can talk? If that's the case, when why the hell are you and your fellow fal'Cie only giving out directions in your chosen l'Cie's dreams instead of telling them outright? It'd keep things simple, don't you agree?" Naruto drawled out sarcastically, but the fal'Cie pulsed it's disagreement.

"It's our message through dreams that reveals the Focus of our l'Cie. Out of the fear of turning into Cei'th, It's up to them to interpret what it is. Call it a test of wits and will that we have. Whether they complete their Focus and gained immortality, or their despair turns them into Cie'th, it matters little. Our goal in summoning the Maker back to our realm is inevitable, no matter the price. You, a Maelstrom of Destruction, and your fellow companions, are only what humans call a roadblock."

"Wow. Are all fal'Cie assholes, or is it just you?" Naruto asked with a glare before firing off questions, "On that note, is your Maker like God or something? Furthermore, why do you want this Maker back? At what cost?"

"That is none of your concern, Outworlder. Leave this world, while you still can." Carbuncle replied while unleashing its aura to intimidate the hanyou demigod.

Naruto looked unimpressed and gave a killer glare, "How about no, ya lousy floating farm. You will tell me, or so help me- oh for f-..."

Carbuncle lashed out with its various tentacle-like appendages that zoned in on Naruto, who now looked bored and was about to counter when a wave of negative emotions caught him off guard, allowing a heavy looking thick sword in its axe form attached it a chain connected with the fal'Cie's core.

"What the hell?!" Naruto yelled in shock as the sword-axe withdrew itself, as Carbuncle started sinking.

"N-no...Chaos, you..." Carbuncle rasped out in horror as it sank to the ground below, it's glowing lights flickering until it died out completely.

"Carbuncle! Gah, dammit!" Naruto shouted as he dodged the same weapon that killed Carbuncle, and drew his dual-blades, Tensa Zangetsu, "Who's there?!"

His eyes followed the huge sword back to a figure with silver armor set with blue jewels with a dark blue cape and a distinctive horned helmet, who caught his sword and set it on his shoulder.

Naruto scowled at the figure, sensing that he was extremely dangerous and was not a native of the world he's in.

"So, you're Aurora's newest Pawn." the armored figure stated as if bored and unimpressed.

"And you are?" Naruto snarled before firing a wave of chakra that the unknown sliced in half.

"A stalwart of Chaos...and your doom."

With that, both hanyou demigod and stalwart of Chaos clashed.


(Palumpolum, Estheim residence)

Outside, night has fallen, and world natives Averia and Vanille, along with their out-of-world friends Aya, Tifa, Yuna, and Kairi, arrived on a rooftop that overlooked the Estheim residence that was dead ahead.

"No easy approach. There's a lot of open space around it. If PSICOM decides to pop up, we'll be walking bullseyes with our quarries in hand." Aya stated after viewing the building through her tactical binoculars and noticed Yuna signing at her, asking her if she had a plan, "I'm working on it."

"Maybe you can make a mini earthquake with your fists, Tifa-san." Kairi suggested, with Tifa looking at her.

"PSICOM will be all over us if that happens, and we'll be those walking bullseyes Aya alluded to. No, I vote that we try our hand at stealth again by sneaking in, knocking them out, and summoning Naruto to take them to the ship with them being none the wiser. And preferably with PSICOM not around." Tifa muttered back.

"Always the careful one, eh Tif?" Averia asked with a raised eyebrow, "Despite being a tank like Naruto-kun."

"I just don't want to lose anyone of my friends. Surely, you can understand that, Averia-san?" Tifa countered bitterly, with Aya rolling her eyes.

"I can tell you're not a cold person, so stop acting like it, Tif. No one's losing anyone, not anymore, so have faith." Averia shot back as Vanille tugged at her, "Vanille?"

"I agree, but right now you should know that PSICOM had the same idea as us." Vanille stated as she pointed to the sky in the opposite of the Estheim residence.

Everyone look to see a fleet of ships bearing down on the residence, with troops being set on the ground with their guns live. Then, a small flash of light enveloped the estate, followed by all the power around it shutting off.

"Well shit." Averia growled as they lobbed tear gas grenades before storming the place.

"There's too many of those damn soldiers. The risk of us being discovered by both parties is high if we forgo stealth on this one. Averia, this is your world, and Naruto's not here, so it's your call here." Aya said with a side glance to the middle Farron sister.

"Well, looks like we'll need to go Metal Gear Solid on this one, so we'll need to deploy some stealth and misdirection tactics here. So! Tifa, you and me will be in the house, employing silent non-lethal takedowns. If we get sighted, then we have the green light for a lethal takedown. We cannot risk them struggling against us and calling for reinforcements. You may be against killing, but we're in a situation that Batmaning it will not work in our favor in the slightest." Averia explained pointedly, with Tifa looking confused.

"Uh, Batmaning?" the busty fighter asked with a tilt of her head.

Averia groaning, rubbing his head, "Ugh, I'll explain later. Vanille and Kairi, you both will cause distractions with guerrilla warfare tactics, basically hit-and-runs with spells without being seen; leaving Aya and Yuna to retrieve Hope and his dad Mr. Estheim. In case coms are hack, go with a personal codename of choice when communicating. It's quite the foolproof plan, so nothing major should go wrong. If it does and we're in a pinch, then use the life-line by the name of Naruto and his Hiraishin. Hopefully he'll be done with Carbuncle if and when we summon him. Got it?"

"Crystal." Aya nodded before looking off into the distance and frowned, looking through her binoculars again, "Uh, Averia… What is that? It's big and coming this way."

Aya handed Averia her binoculars, with the latter looking through it and paling, "Oh fuck me sideways up the ass, are you fucking shitting me right now?!"

"Given your language, we got more trouble, prompting yet another change of plans?" Tifa asked wryly with Vanille and Kairi's faces beet red at Averia's unexpected colorful language.

"They have deployed a fucking aerial machine of death codenamed the Havoc Skytank. That thing will level the Estheim residence in an instant, and even Lightning and the others will have a hard time taking that thing down, even if they are l'Cie. The fact that they deployed that blasted pile of scrap means that PSICOM's doing everything in their power to control the situation, even if civilians get caught in the crossfire. Fucking hell! This has just put a timeframe on the mission, and we need to get this retrieval done now! Tifa, sorry, but we need to put down these PSICOM soldiers down, so non-lethal takedowns are no longer in effect." Averia stated through gritted teeth, with Tifa understanding.

"Don't worry about me. Back in my world, me and my fellow party members had to put down many Shinra soldiers trying to kill us, so this isn't new to me. It's either us or them." Tifa assured her as she cracked her knuckles.

"I'm a former police officer and federal agent, so that's pretty self-explanatory. I am concerned about Kairi, Yuna, and Vanille here." Aya said as she looked at them, with the three nervous due to the changes in the mission that involves taking lives, "But, Yuna and I will be focused on the father and son, and Kairi and Vanille with their distractions, so it should be fine. Let's do this."

Averia smirked as she whipped out her Chrono Trigger, "Took the words right out of my mouth!"

With the respective partners nodding to each other, they went ahead with the mission as the dreaded Havoc Skytank drew near.

MISSION START

Despite PSICOM swarming the residence, the six members of CCMG successful slipped in, and with their partners, they stuck to the shadows.

As Lightning and her group struck their opposition down, Averia and Tifa thinned the herd on their end, catching the PSICOM Enforcers off guard and quickly dispatching them. Meanwhile, Kairi and Vanille caused small explosions near the Enforcers that attracted their attention. Their attention was grabbed long enough for Averia to ensnare them with her Chrono Trigger and rip them apart. As for Tifa, she seems to be channeling Tsunade's Super Strength to make the Enforcer's heads and organs explode.

As the four caused hell, Yuna held onto Aya as they strode through the shadows, with Aya having equipped silencer mods on her pistols and dispatching Enforcers that were in the way. She did it quickly so none of them would alarm the others.

"Dad!" Hope's voice was suddenly heard, leading Aya and Yuna to the room he was in.

"Hope! Thank goodness! Are you hurt?" another voice asked, concerned.

"No. How about you?"

"Still in one piece."

Looking around the corner, Aya saw the whole gang: Lightning, Sazh, Snow, Fang, Hope, and Bartholomew in the main room. Gesturing to Yuna, they quickly moved and hid behind an abandoned piece of furniture.

"Mitochondria here. Targets sighted, but they're around Lightning and her group. I need a distraction in the main room." Ava muttered quickly in her earpiece.

"Roger that, Mitochondria. Pearlwing and I are en route." Kairi responded back after being relayed Vanille's own choice of codename by the latter herself.

Eve suddenly prodded at Aya's senses, prompting her to pull Yuna to the ground with her as a hail of gunfire nearly hit them. Looking up, Aya saw that Snow Villiers had put his coat out into the open, with the Enforcers and Rangers of PSICOM opening fire that by all rights should've taken off his arm.

"Don't shoot! I'll show you what a l'Cie looks like!" Snow yelled, with Aya catching Yuna's looking at Snow strangely as the fool put his hands up and stepped outside.

"Seriously? "Well, we took out our aggression on his coat boys. Stop firing."" Aya whispered mockingly while struggling not to snigger, "Like that's gonna end well of him- hmm?"

Yuna tugged on Aya and pointed, with Aya looking and realizing that they have a clear shot at getting the Estheim father and son.

"Girls, I'm gonna need that distraction sometime today! I'm seeing one chance here to grab Bartholomew Estheim and Hope Estheim and we need to take it now!" Aya growled and mentally swore when Lightning looked in her direction in confusion, "Shit!"

"Thought I saw someone for a second..." Lightning thought as she frowned before dismissing the notion and turning her attention to the idiot hero Snow who she want nothing more than to zap the hell out of.

"We'll be right there, so stop pressuring us!" Kairi snapped as she and Vanille scaled the wall to the roof, with the latter having managed to nick some bombs and wrap them around her person, "Just hold on for a just little bit longer!"

Meanwhile, Lightning was about to investigate what she saw when a crashing noise caught her attention, making her look in confusion, wondering what was going on and not knowing that it was Tifa who threw a PSICOM soldier through a wall a few rooms away.

"There's someone else here..." Lightning murmured, with Fang being the only one who heard her, but was broken out of her thoughts by Snow speaking to the PSICOM soldiers that fired upon his jacket.

"Me! I'm a l'Cie! Surprised? Expected some kinda monster? I'm flesh and blood like you! An ordinary citizen of Cocoon! Don't you get it? This has been our home our whole lives! How could we even think about destroying it? We want to protect this place just as much as you!"

Apparently his words struck a chord with the soldiers, who were speaking to each other in confusion, unsure of what to do next.

"Just how does that seem to work?!" Aya yelled in disbelief through her mind as the Enforcers and Rangers were now rethinking what they were doing.

"So, you must be Snow Villiers."

The new voice that the soldiers recognized snapped them out of it parted way for their commander to step in front of them to address Snow.

"Yaag Rosch, PSICOM Division. I understand your plight-"

As Yaag introduced himself, Aya sweatdropped, "Our opponent sounds like he's named after a rejected character in a H.P. Lovecraft story. This world is hell, but weird too."

"However, the Pulse threat is not so easily dismissed. The very existence of you l'Cie put every last one of us in danger. Tell me, do you really think your life is worth more than the lives of millions of Cocoon citizens? I do not. And so it falls to me to order your execution. It's that simple. It is my responsibility to see you put down. Your lives are forfeit." Yaag stated simply as Lt. Tien came up to stand by his side.

"Aw, cut the crap! You want l'Cie, then kill l'Cie! Why do other people have to die? The Purge has got to stop!" Snow stated angrily, making it stop like the simplest thing in the world.

"Do you think we want to Purge our own people? If any trace of Pulse remains, the populace will erupt into chaos. Without sacrifice, without the Purge, Cocoon will die!" Yaag snapped, refusing to bend to the idealistic belief.

"If that's the case, then Cocoon isn't worth living on, or saving, and should just die." Aya mused silently, with Yuna looking disheartened at that, but understood since Cocoon had the makings of a failed utopia.

It was then that Vanille finished popping the pins off a belt of tear gas grenades and lobbed then at Yaag and this soldiers. The grenades bounced off the Havoc Skytank and fell between the formation of Yaag and his soldiers before detonating with the the debilitating gas billowing out. Thankfully, they thought it was the Havoc Skytank that fired it and not someone else. The sound however startled the main pilot of the Skytank, causing him in panic to press a button containing explosive grenades that rained over his allies. In confusion and panic, thinking that it was the l'Cie attacking, all the soldiers fired upon each other, wounding and killing each other, with Yaag managing to get away with Lt. Tien, but were both seriously wounded from the gunfire as they retreated.

Unfortunately, the Havoc Skytank still remained, prompting Lightning, Fang, and Sazh to run out to engage it, with Snow being unable to fight due to some injuries he sustained from watching Hope; leaving Hope and his father alone.

Bartholomew Estheim heard the sounds of battle between the l'Cie and the PSICOM tank before looking back at his child. Hope was struggling within his mind on whether he should help his so-called comrades, to such a point that Bartholomew thought even attempting to talk him out of it would be an affront. These people were there for him when his mother had died and he himself had barely any right to truly call himself a father. Yes he provided for his family on a financial level, but he was never there. Just as he was going to give Hope his final words, encouraging him to go help his friends, two women came into the room. They approached in a non-threatening manner whilst baring weapons, but Bartholomew did the first thing that came to mind and positioned himself between them and Hope.

Hope, noticing his father's swift action, turned to look towards the rear entrance of the room and was alarmed upon seeing the two women. His gaze then settled on Aya, who was still holding her gun, with her unarmed hand put a finger to her lip and made a silent hushing sound with a stern stare.

"Hope and Bartholomew Estheim. My name is Aya Brea, this is Yuna Braska, and we're here to take you back with us. Our client requests you both specifically, and we will not fail in bringing you before them, so let's move while the others are distracted. And trust when I say that you should comply." Ava stated as she holstered her gun, but left the clasp open should she need to execute a Quickdraw to hit them both with a sleeping bullet she loaded before confronting the Estheim's.

"Why should we go with you? For all we know, you could just be working for PSICOM!" Bartholomew said, somewhat hoping to have been heard by Lightning and the others, if only to ensure Hope's safety, while wondering about the strange but oddly casual getup of the two women.

"Because l'Cie or not, a child shouldn't have to be on a battlefield. Because widower or not, a father shouldn't sacrifice his life for his son's safety, even if he hadn't been acting like a father. Because like it or not, if you don't come with us now, I can make you, even if I need to break your kneecaps and throw your body over my shoulder. But you will both come now, otherwise the safety we have promised for your family thanks to our client will not come to pass. Now, do I need to shoot you or will you come? And do we even look like we work with PSICOM?" Aya snapped, reaching towards her gun as she finished speaking to help influence the fact that she was short of time and needed to proceed with the extraction of the Estheim family.

"...I understand. Hope, we don't have anytime to waste. These people don't seem to wish to harm us and we'll most likely we will die if we stay here. Lead the way Ms. Brea." Bartholomew said, causing Hope to double take at his actions.

"No, I'm not leaving! Not when Operation Nora is right here! Snow has to die! He killed my mother!" Hope started shouting, leaving a now annoyed Aya but little choice but to shoot the child with a silenced tranquilizer round.

Hope instantly dropped and was out like a light, but Bartholomew managed to catch him before he hit the floor. Before he could protest, Aya pointed her gun in his direction and made a hush motion again, making him shut up.

Taking the boy from his father and throwing him over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes, Aya turned to leave, with Yuna grabbing Bartholomew by his arm, and leading him away from the fighting while speaking into her earpiece, "This is Mitochondria. Nirvana and I have secured the targets. Packages now in route outside the combat zone."

"This is Gandiva. Copy that Mitochondria. Metal Knuckle and I are nearly finished in the house. Rendezvous at the observation nest where we started. That's our evac point." Averia ordered before stabbing a PSICOM Ranger behind her.

"I do not want to be call that..." Tifa muttered over the coms as she backfisted an incoming Ranger that just rounded a corner, "Much less than the codename I have in mind."

"10-4 Gandiva. Moving out now. ETA 5 minutes." Aya acknowledged and motioned for Yuna and her quarry to follow her.

Meanwhile, Kairi and Vanille were witnessing Lightning, Sazh, and Fang struggling against the Havoc Skytank, and it allowed Kairi to observe the Skytank in action, noting its abilities, possible weaknesses, and support points, such as the Starboard Hull, Portable Hull, Starboard Turrets, and Portside Turret.

"If we take those hulls and turrets on the the starboard and port sides, the others might stand a chance. Vanille, give me some Synergy buffs, and I'll use my Wisdom Drive to bombard those support points to weaken them. It'll allow the others to take it down. Once we do that, we get the others and disappear fast!" Kairi said as she summoned her Star Seeker Keyblade.

"I'm with you on that. The time I spent away from Fang is long enough. This time, I'll tell her the truth, that I really have my memories, and what happened before we turned to crystal. I owe her that much." Vanille agreed before they moved to a better positions so they won't get caught.

Along the way, Vanille proceeded to buff Kairi as the latter shifted into her Wisdom Drive Form, her clothing turning blue and becoming slightly altered. Her Wisdom Drive Form modified her clothing to the form that she has a hood, her tanktop beneath her clothes turned black, detached sleeves with zippers from her arms appeared, her vest becoming a long sleeveless coat with the tails extending to her feet, a shoulder cape, and metal boots remanence of those torn by her sensei and big sister Master Aqua.

"Time to get in there and do some damage." Kairi muttered when they came to a nice enough spot, with Kairi channeling her mana to cast a high level spell, not knowing that her mana reserves received a major upgrade after falling into Naruto's mindscape, while also drawing on her developing chakra reserves that mixed in with her mana.

Kairi focused mana through her Keyblade before lifting her arm and quietly chanted, "Magnera." At once an object appeared above her Keyblade that drew in parts of the Skytank's Aft Starboard Hull, causing bits to break off and minor explosions to start inside the machine as ammunition suffered misfires.

While Kairi was busy with the beginnings of an attack on the target, Vanille was realizing the fact of just how misplaced she was against this enemy. Her main methods of combat were through her Debilitating attacks and Magical abilities. Yet this target was completely immune to all forms of status effects and her magical attacks would only be so effective without the support of a Commando-type like Fang to help damage the target while Kairi and her own magic slowly weakened it. Despite this realization, Vanille wasn't going to give up. Steadying herself, she set to launch consecutive Water spells, hoping that the combination of these attacks might help Lightning in some unknown way, as the pink haired elder Farron sister was busy attacking the forward turret with a bevy of Lightningstrike empowered bullets utilizing her strength and Fang was supporting with consistent Blitz assaults, thereby alleviating Vanille's worry about being unable to properly assist while remaining unseen.

"This is fun! Now I can see why those two always enjoyed things like this. But I truly wish I could remember their names..." Kairi commented as she rolled away from an errant missile attack via a cartwheel. The girl righted herself before thrusting forward with a light glowing around her body, deflecting bullets as she swung her Keyblade in a left to right horizontal motion.

"Barrier Surge!"

The girl's reflective attack easily destroyed the Aft Starboard Hull in which they were attacking, leaving Vanille in awe at the ease in Kairi's win. Not wanting to be outdone, the 600 plus year old girl lost in time decided to show some of her experience from the Pulse Incursion of Cocoon all those years ago.

Targeting the Aft Port side hull, Vanille again conjured her mana that interlaced with her own new chakra reserves into Water-styled attacks, but before launching them, she gained a fierce look in her eyes. "You will not hurt my friends, nor my lover. With the might of a l'Cie, I shall Overwhelm my enemy. Watera!"

The second tier magic spell splashed down on the hull and was hidden by the explosion of the Forward Turret Fang had just destroyed in the same moment. Kairi looked over to Vanille to and saw how the slightly meek girl was being reborn in a sense, understanding that the need to fight to protect was more important than to despair over what she might not be able to do.

However, before Vanille could follow up on her attack, her instincts suddenly spiked when she sensed somebody was behind her, but failed to react in time as she was suddenly struck in the neck by an unseen attack.

"My, my. What beautiful pets I get to have." a beautiful blonde woman suddenly spoke drawing both Kairi and Vanille's attention away from the battle. Kairi wanted to help Vanille, but the woman was standing next to her holding the girl by her arm. It looked as if Vanille was unable to do anything, as if even basic concentration was a chore.

Vanille for her part tried to call upon her mana, but she had some collar attached to her neck that was making her unable to focus on her powers. She looked over to the battle where Fang was, noticing that her lover was completely oblivious to her presence or her plight. She then looked back to Kairi, who looked uncertain on what action to take and was unaware of the three soldiers approaching from her rear. Vanille tried to say something, to warn her new friend, but instead of words coming out, she received an electrical shock, making her soundlessly scream.

"Oh no, my dear pet l'Cie. You must be trained properly. Now, Ms..." The woman looked over to address Kairi, who was still standing in a defensive stance, unaware of the danger behind her.

"Who are you and what did you do to my friend!?" Kairi shouted, subtly reaching for the knife Naruto gave her before the mission.

"I don't think you're in any position to make demands little girl. Would you come with me willingly or must I get rough? Please say you want it rough, as I've been dreadfully lacking proper pets as of late." the woman said as she lifted her arm to push her glasses up on her nose.

Without warning, the soldiers that were Jihl's personal squad, the Valkyrie Squad, behind Kairi attacked, grabbing her arms, one knocking her Keyblade away that shattered and reformed into a bracelet on her wrist, as another latched a similar collar around her own neck. Kairi's body suddenly relaxed, as the mana in her body was being forcefully blocked and her own Chakra gained from contact with Naruto was no longer completely controlled at the sudden Spiritual Power irregularity.

One of the soldiers holding Kairi decided to grope the girl's breasts, completely oblivious to his being in the presence of a superior officer and one of his cohorts who is female, "This girl has a rocking body. Let's give this l'Cie lover a proper patdown..."

As Kairi shrieked in disgust and struggled with all her might, a displeased Jihl growled as she reached for her pistol, appalled at that monkey's desire to want to rape this girl, especially in her presence!

She would teach him!

As one of female cohort was about to draw her saber to strike her fellow teammate for his despicable intentions, she was beaten as the groper was suddenly hit directly in his kneecap by Jihl's gun, shattering it and causing him to cry in agony.

"You fool! We need my pets in one piece for Chancellor Dysley's plan to work properly. And to even think of such acts again will have you written up and working garbage duty on the Vile Peaks. You, take this man away and place him under guard in the Infirmary to await disciplinary actions!" Jihl yelled wondering how this man made it through her selection process to get in her personal squad.

"Let's go, scum!" the PSICOM Huntress snarled as she escorted her cohort away at gunpoint.

"Now, please tell me your name?" Jihl requested to Kairi, knowing that PSICOM had no intelligence at all comrades supporting the Pulse l'Cie.

"My name is Kairi Hikari." Kairi drawled out without hesitation. She was trying to focus on anything else, tapping into her chakra to allow a means to avoid answering questions, however she could easily give her name in a purposeful manner to avoid some problems. But more direct questions could prove harder to avoid and therefore she had to acres something. She could see however by judging from Vanille's vacant expression that the collar around her neck was not designed for her powers in mind and therefore she might be able to withstand interrogation.

Jihl looked at Kairi and smiled, "Well Miss Kairi, please come with me. You and your friend are very important pieces to my plans, so we need to leave before we run into unwelcome issues."

Kairi, again unable to focus on anything different and therefore fight the means compelling her obedience, walked towards Vanille and the as of yet unknown blonde woman, followed by the female soldier who had been present in overpowering her.

Turning her back, Jihl pushed Vanille forward, "Move my pet. We have much to accomplish and little time to do it. Poor Rosch, thinking he could outwit me. I bet his little plan will end up in failure."

Kairi walked along, trying and failing to focus her chakra, but did manage to pull out the Hiraishin knife Naruto gave her. However before she could throw it, the Huntress by her side grabbed it out of her hand and shouted, "Ms. Nabaat, you'll want to see this."

Rushing forward to her side, the grunt passed along the knife. "How interesting. Keep moving, I'll hold onto this for now. We must evacuate to the Palamecia right away, before their comrades catch wind."

'Naruto-kun, save us please!' Kairi thought, unknowingly she managed to tap into her chakra even if only for a moment.

As Jihl had her squad march Kairi and Vanille away, with the battle still raging inside and outside the Estheim residence, and Aya and Yuna escaping with Hope and Bartholomew, a lone figure was watching the proceedings.

He is a tall, slender, muscular man with long purple hair adorned with feathers and tribal beads and a long, purple and black headband to hold it back; purple eyes, and wearing form-fitting black and purple armor with the motif of a legendary summon Dragon, dark boots lined with white fur, and a giant purple greatsword with an evil-looking Dragon eye in the sword's rain-guard.

"Cosmos. Chaos. Aurora. Their war has spilled into this timeline, effectively creating a new world. Could a multiverse be born from this? ...No matter. It seems that the future changing the past does not apply here. If so, will I even be able to find her? My Yeul..."

CHAPTER THREE END


Next time - Chapter Four: A Change in Motion

Soul: Yosh, minna-san! This is unfortunately for now, the last collab update until my buddy Rixxell get his compy up and running, due to internet problems on his end. Anywho, Final Fantasy Uzumaki XIII will continue soon...as soon as we modify a few plans and ideas, thanks to a certain GamingSins video from Dartigan that was recently uploaded: Everything Wrong with Final Fantasy XIII-2. After revisiting the storyline of the game after playing it back in 2012, I have decreed (in quite the crazed state afterwards) that it would be impossible to adapt the craziness of the time traveling element in this here story, so expect a slight title change in the next update. However, we shall still try to adapt Lightning Returns...somehow, as the jury is still out on that, but that's then, and this is now. So thank you so much for sticking around for this update, and I promise to all my followers that despite my torturous work schedule and the genesis of my Let's Play project, I will crank out an update every one-to-two weeks. Also, be sure to give my said Let's Play YouTube Channel a view at SoulEmbrace2010 GAMING. Until then, please review, fave, follow, all that jazz! Arigato, peace out, and ja ne!

Rixxell: Hey party people, sorry for the critical hit... But alas, life has not been kind to me and we are forced to delay upcoming chapters. That said, I hope this upload suits your tastes nicely. If not, by all means please drop a review to help guide us in where we went wrong. If you feel so inclined, I would love for you to check out my own fic, which is also badly delayed, Tipping the Scales, a Naruto/Highschool DxD crossover. Thank you kindly for you our patience and support.


Released: Monday, July 18, 2016