A/N: HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! AND TO THOSE OF YOU WHO DO NOT CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAY, UM...WELL...HAPPY UPDATE DAY!
Sadly it rained over here so no Fireworks T_T
So...
Apparently people are getting hacked ALL OVER the place lately, on Youtube and other sites. Maybe even this one? A few even happened on Youtube today, apparently. So I say BEWARE! Keep your password and info close to your chest at all times and give it to no one that you don't trust.
Alright ladies and gentlemen, good news and bad news. Good news first. I'm on the mend and still writing. Bad news. Despite the INTENSE hate I've gotten from this story and Bring Down the Sky among others. Gee, you'd think if someone doesn't like a story they'd stop reading, right? NOPE. Apparently a select few individuals feel the need to flame, shame, and otherwise inflict countless threats of death and harm upon my person for some reason.
One of them even tried to confront me on the street! Geez! Needless to say, I sent his ass packing.
Anyhow, I managed to put this up here at points between my new job at my local bookstore. It's been great, guys. Loving the feedback. Really. I'm hanging tough, despite everything life is throwing at me. Despite all that's happening, I don't intend to abandon this or my other works!
Though I would greatly be appreciative of a Co-Writer or two at this point!
You'll soon see what I mean...ALSO a Warning!
Actions have consequences in this story, and the events at the end of the last chapter are about to come back and bite Naruto. HARD. Even a few words can change the fate of millions. Prepare for the unexpected here, folks. You'll soon see why and as a final note, we have a significant nod to Iron Man here... and yes, as pertaining to the title, things might go badly here for Naruto and CO...
"Gentlemen! Execute protocol orange!"
"Wait, what is protocol-OH GOD WHERE DID HE GET THAT THING?!"
~?
Everything Goes Sideways
Virmire was lovely, all things considered.
Even from space, one could marvel at its beauty.
A planet lush and teeming with life, a frontier world, ideal for colonization by carbon-based species. Its vast seas and orbital position on the inner life zone had created a wide equatorial band of humid, tropical terrain that some would have found downright pleasant. It might even make for an ideal vacation Naruto mused, once this was all over. Unfortunately, that ever-shifting instability of the nearby Terminus Systems drastically impeded colonization efforts - the high risk of raids by pirates and slavers made it an unappealing homestead even for him. Still, there was a certain otheworldly awe to it.
It ought to be nice to visit with Jack and Miri once he stopped chasing madmen.
Assuming they didn't rip one another apart, first.
Naruto stubbornly suppressed that nasty little thought and turned his eyes from the window, firmly fastening his gaze to the floor of the crew deck as he continued his systems check. The entire time Jack kept trying to catch his eye but he refused to look at her, refused to even acknowledge her presence, let alone what had happened aboard the Normandy. Ruthlessly, he blotted all memories of that kiss-of that brief, moment of weakness!-from his mind before it could consume him. This was no time to get emotional or lose himself in pointless drama now. There would be time enough for that later.
Much later.
If the drop was successful.
If the new armor held.
If he survived.
If they survived.
If any of them survived.
Too many ifs.
"Boss?" Jack's voice thrust itself through his thoughts like a rusty steel splinter, yanking him back to the present. "Can we...talk?" The Specter yanked on a pauldron with a bit more force than was strictly necessary, his fingers knuckling around a nearby handhold with enough force to buckle the metal. For a fleeting moment he nearly lashed out at her, nearly snapped. It was only with a supreme effort of will that he managed to school his face back into something resembling impassivity once more.
"Nothing to talk about."
"The fuck there isn't, you dick!" her fist crunched into a nearby bulkhead as he stepped around the workbench, intercepting him. "You've been avoiding me all day today." hazel eyes held his, shimmering with a strange, alien vulnerability that he'd not seen recently, but he was too livid to care. "Why?" When he didn't answer, she dared to continue. "I thought...I mean, you seemed alright when I left. What? Is that it?" Her response was so beyond the pale that he actually growled.
"What?"
With that, Naruto's anger finally slipped the leash.
"What?" he bit out, watching her flinch slightly. "I'll tell you what!" His hands slammed into the wall mere inches from her face, pinning her in place. "You! Me! What we did! What happened last night was a mistake! I betrayed Miranda's trust, the one thing I swore never to do! And when I tell her about it-it'll break her heart into a thousand pieces! I hope that one night was worth it for ya Jack; I sincerely hope you enjoyed fucking me, because it is never ever going to happen again. We're never going to discuss this again. Breathe one word of it to anyone else, and I'll toss you out the airlock. Do you understand me?"
A flash of hurt danced across her face.
"I didn't mean to-
"To what?" his eyes must've been burning a mighty red indeed; because for once in her life the tattooed biotic actually looked frightened of him. "Fuck everything up? You know what-nevermind. Just don't talk to me right now."
"Naruto-
"DO. NOT."
"Ready to go, sir?"
The first human specter spun away from Jack with a hiss, slapped on the last gauntlet and shoved his fingers through the hardened gloves. When he stepped out of the darkened alcove and saw just who was waiting for him, his mouth quirked in a small smile. More so when Naruto stepped into the light and they saw the armor.
"Thought I told you not to call me that, Kaiden."
"Sorry." the sentinel started to salute, then caught himself. "Rank and protocol tend to stick in missions like this."
Then he realized they weren't alone.
"Jack."
"Tightass." she nodded in greeting, scowling.
"So that's it, huh?" Kaiden spared Naruto another quick look, eyes ghosting over polished armor before finally locking on the burning red core at the center, shining like a small sun. "Wow. It looks...good. Never saw it all in one piece before. Our people did good work."
"I'm placing a lot trust in new tech here; it better keep me alive."
"Alliance brass says it will. They build their tech to last. So do the Asari."
"If you say so."
Naruto shifted slightly, and the armor shifted with him.
For this occasion they were all but flying in blind into supposedly all based on a cryptic message from Salarian STG. No mission parameters, no intel beyond that. For all he knew, they might well be walking into a trap of some sort. It certainly seemed like it. So instead of landing straight away as they'd planned, he'd commanded the Normandy to pull back to the next system. Then he called up the Council and cashed in a few favors. He asked them for a fleet. An army. Or at the very least, more people to tackle this mission.
Instead they'd given him a large sum of credits and...
...this.
The Nexus Battle Suit Prototype Mark I was a mouthful, to say the least. It was also the first of its kind. A unique marvel of asari and human engineering; one of those infinitely rare projects that goes unbiased by inter-species and evolves into something more than the sum of its parts, it went above and beyond any peace of gear he'd ever wielded before. Without the helmet it all but encased him from head to toe in a living breathing, armory. With the helmet donned, the suit boasted an on board VI named GLADOS-he was SURE there was a game reference in there somewhere, he just he didn't understand it-capable of remote piloting and numerous hacking subroutines and other functions he was only just beginning to understand.
It really did make him even more of a walking weapon than he was without.
His only gripe was the color. Why, you ask?
Because it was freaking blue.
Blue and silver from head to toe! He would've liked to put in a few orange finishes, perhaps a touch of gold and red here and there, but beggars couldn't be choosers, he supposed. STILL...BLUE?! He could still hear the giggles of Miranda and Shepard hours later. Even now, he could see Jack restraining a smirk as they made their way towards the pod bay. 'Don't throw her out the airlock, Naruto chanted to himself, 'Don't throw her out the airlock, do NOT toss her smug, tight little ass out the airlock...!
"That tin can supposed to keep you safe, kid?" Wrex grunted, looking faintly bemused by his irritation. "Looks flimsy."
"Everything looks flimsy compared you, big guy." Naruto grunted right back. "But tell me; can a Krogan fly?"
A rare look of surprise flashed across the ancient warrior's visage. "You're telling me that thing can...?"
"It'll be its first real combat test, so we'll see." Kaiden supplied. "Even without flight, it can take a beating."
"What's it called?" the old krogan asked.
Naruto grimaced.
"Long name. You don't want to know."
Alenko smiled.
The techs-Kaiden among them-had taken to calling it something else altogether. Something about an old superhero flick that he'd never actually seen. What was it again? Iron Chef? No. That wasn't it. The Man with the Iron Fists? Nah, it was shorter than that...
"Project Iron Man." his fellow biotic supplied.
Naruto laughed.
Yes, yes, yes, that was it.
Rather ironic really, considering the armor wasn't iron at all, but forged of a myriad combination of both irdium, platinum, palladium, and a host of other metals he couldn't even begin to pronounce let alone understand. Powered and sustained by a myriad combination of heavy power cells in addition his own chakra network it boasted long range flight capabilities which would have been nice to test out beforehand. As it stood he'd had to practice in the cargo hold. The Normandy had gotten a few new dents out of that 'little' test. Still it was one of a kind, supposedly capable of surviving anything short of a direct hit from ship-mounted GARDIAN laser turret.
There would never be another truly like it.
As fate would have it, the object of his affections was waiting for him near the escape pods. Jack stiffened slightly and hastened past her to the cycling hatch, refusing to make any form of eye contact. Wrex spared her a nod and Kaiden merely glanced at her, which was about the closest he'd come to an apology after she'd shut him down over a brief round of drinks.
Very brief indeed!
"ETA in five minutes, boys!" Lawson called, ushering them inside their respective pods. "All ashore that're going ashore! "You're on." she added, handing Naruto his helmet. "Good luck."
"Thanks."
Naruto accepted and donned the helm -or was it a mask?- in one swift, smooth movement. For a moment there was only darkness and he struggled to see out the slanted rectangular slits that served as the eyes. Then the HUD flared to life all at once, incandescent blue light flaring across his visage, holograms painting a stark, lifelike picture of Miranda and his surroundings. It was as if he were looking at her through his own eyes, as if he weren't wearing a helmet at all. A crisp, slight deadpan female voice chimed in his ear not a moment later:
"Hello again, idiot."
Naruto sighed, blinking through the screens. "Hey, GLADOS. Status check?"
"HUD active. Propulsion active. Repulsors active. Armor steady at ninety-nine percent. Not for lack of trying."
"You're too good to me."
"I hate you."
Ah, and to think he'd almost missed the VI's waspish sarcasm. What were the techs thinking when they'd made her...? Seemed someone played too many video-games!
"Impressive." Miranda's voice finally reached him through the helmet, "Everything functional in there?"
"She really does have brain damage, doesn't she?"
Naruto frowned, tilting his head.
"Not sure how I feel about having a nagging voice in my ear." his voice emerged as an annoyed, tinny sound, slightly metallic through the face plate. "Wish there was a way to switch her off."
"I heard that!"
"Are you sure about this, then?" Miranda challenged. "You're taking a big risk."
"Not at all, really." he admitted.
"Well. That's reassuring."
"We've been over this, Miri." Naruto sighed, gently taking her hand in an armored glove. "The Mako's not big enough for all of us. And even if it were, its too risky to put all our eggs in one basket. What if something happens? What if the Normandy gets grounded or worse, shot down? We'd be shit outta luck. This is the best way to guarantee that we don't blow whatever's down there. Shepard takes the Mako with her squad, while my group will be going EVA on the other side of the planet. Wrex, Kaiden, Jack and I stand the best chance of surviving the drop, anyway. Anyone else would be at too much risk."
"And yet you're leaving me behind."
"I need someone to coordinate with the Normandy." he replied, fighting down a cringe. Well, it was true. That and he couldn't bear to look her in the eye after what he'd done. The only reason Jack was coming at all was out of sheer fear on her part; the thought of leaving the two of them alone on the Normandy, of word getting out...it wasn't pleasant. He'd only ever seen Miranda truly angry once. Once-when they were younger. It had been enough. She'd taken a large shuttle apart with her mind and crushed it into a ball. She'd only improved since then. Add that kind of tempered biotic power to Jack's and...to be frank there was a very real danger of them destroying the Normandy altogether.
"Remember the clamps." Miranda warned him, brushing his shoulder. "They're located on the back of your neck and near the chest. They'll jettison most of the armor."
"And that is important because...?"
"Because," she reminded him with a frown, "The Nexus armor might be tough, but at the end of the day, its still just a prototype. Without power, its dead weight. No power? No shields. Your regeneration won't hold up long under any kind of firefight. You keep your head down, you hear?" her hands reached up, removing the face plate, exposing his face to hers. "And come back to me." For a moment he nearly caved. Nearly told her everything, only to wilt at the last moment as Miri's mouth met his.
She kissed him fiercely and slapped it back on before he had a chance to react.
"Go get 'em, tiger."
Flicking her a half-hearted thumbs up, the armored shinobi stepped past her and palmed the latch. The door cycled open at once, exposing his seat in the pod, one of made a twisted sort of sense, really. There had to be separate pods each, to increase their chances. Of course, that made him terribly anxious. He had only the briefest instant to wave goodbye; then the hatch closed and he was left to strap himself in, square his back and brace for impact.
'Here goes nothing.'
He didn't wait long; the world fell away and he flew forward like a skipping stone...
...and just like that, his next conscious thought was that the room had grown uncomfortably warm.
Through blurry eyes he beheld the burning wreckage of the pod, now little more than warped metal wedged into foreign soil. Alarms bleated endlessly in his ears, a steady whee-whee-wheeo that almost made the blond wish she'd gone deaf. He assumed he'd made it to the surface, then. Good. Explosive depressurization was a messy way to go. Aaargh, his head was pounding. Maybe he ought to just lay here a little awhile longer, until he recovered? Yes, that sounded like an excellent idea...
"Move, you dolt!"
Shaking the daze away from his mind, Naruto forcibly ripped himself free of the crash webbing and stood, raising a hand towards the latch. Imagine his surprise when his hand uttered an angry white and simply blasted the hatch clear off its hinges in a pulse of blue-white light. Well! He'd forgotten all about that. Poking his head out the now empty ramp he found his little burst had done much more that merely clearing the way for him to escape it had the added benefit of all but obliterating the squad of Geth hunters that'd been waiting for him on the either side.
All that remained of the half dozen was a bifurcated corpse dragging itself toward him.
A swift stomp put an end to that.
"Glados? We good?"
"Reckless suicide." The VI's voice chimed as he stepped out onto the beach, every word dripping with vitriol. "I just added that to the list. It's a list I made of all the things you've done. Well, it's a list that I AM making, because you're still being an idiot right now, even though I'm telling you to stop. Stop, by the way."
"Noted. How's it look?"
"Power at Eighty percent."
Taking a heartbeat to see where he'd wound up, the ninja restrained a grimace. His pod had landed all of a few feet from the shore, and the tide was already creeping up on the back of his heels. A few yards or so in the other direction and he might've found himself at the bottom of a watery grave. Hell, a couple more hours under and he would've wound up underwater anyway. Just how long had he been out...?
"Only a few hours."
"Oh, good that's-A FEW HOURS?!"
"You're a sound sleeper."
"Then we'd best fix that," he muttered, steeling his legs. "GLADOS. Thrust at eighty percent. Give me a bird's eye view."
"Its your funeral."
"Stop talking and just fireeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaargh!"
Open-air flight was a novel experience; having only ever tested them in the confined quarters of the Normandy's shuttle bay he was wholly unprepared for the sudden explosion of velocity that all but launched him into the sky like a man-made rocket. What little experience he had kept him from smacking into a cliff-side, if only just. Narrowly, he remembered to place both arms away from his sides, palms splayed outwards and, sure as the sky was blue, his flight pattern stabilized.
"WHOO!" despite himself he actually cried out, grinning. "I could get used to this!"
"Congratulations." GLADOS sniped as he shot through a cloud bank. "It seems you're not a complete imbecile after all."
"Can't wait to reprogram you." Naruto sniggered.
"You're welcome to try!"
"Open comm channels."
"Bite me."
-can you hear me?" Miranda's voice cracked through the headset, breaking with strain. "Naru-zzzzzzzzt-you read? Damnit, don't you do this to me!"
"I'm here." Banking left, he blasted past a pair of unsuspecting drones and craned his head toward the horizon. "What's the situation?"
"Shepard's squad is on the ground. Repeat, Mako is on the ground. We're getting heavy interference. Where...hell have you been?!"
"Concussed, apparently." he groaned, shaking his head. "I'm airborne now. What's going on? And why do I hear gunfire?"
"Bloody Sovereign!"
"Alright, now you've lost me."
"There's too much to explain over the radio. Long story short; you were right. It was a trap. We're grounded." A sharp crack momentarily severed the connection, and she swore viciously. "Damnit you synthetic piece of shit! This isn't just some research facility-its Saren's base of operations. He's developed a cure for the genophage and we're working with the STG to take it out. They've converted their ship's drives into a bomb. We're going to detonate it at the heart of the facility. At least, that was the plan before everything went sideways. Saren's gone. He fled. I'll explain later."
"I imagine Wrex didn't take too kindly to your ideas about the cure."
"No, he didn't. Shepard managed to talk him down, somehow.
"And the bomb?" he veered sharply as a streak of plasma arced over his shoulder. Having narrowly evaded the missile lock he thrust both arms forward and flared the repulsors to their max. It was like being seized by a strong current; for a brief moment he found himself stationary-then the world kicked itself into reverse and shot backwards, a stone loosed from a slingshot. His pursuers went racing past in his wake, wholly unprepared for the sudden acceleration. Neither drone detected the whine of the palm-mounted beams until they'd been blown to cinders.
They never stood a chance.
"Your group's setting it off." Miranda's words crackled in his ear. "They won't make it if you don't get over there and help them." she snapped.
"Where are they?"
"Three clicks east of your position. Taking heavy fire!"
"I see 'em."
One really ought to give the Geth credit; they were surprised by the man-shaped object streaking towards them certainly-what rational sentient being wouldn't be-but not for very long. In the time that it took for him to close the distance, they opened fire with everything they had. Rockets and small-arms fire smashed against his hardened shields, barely slowing him as he soared by. By the time they noticed the grenades at their feet, he was already free and clear, leaving a beautiful orange cloud to blossom, spattering parts everywhere.
"Beautiful."
His next pass sowed even more chaos in their ranks; he dove amongst them hands splayed to either side, firing wildly. By then Wrex and the others had long since realized what has happening and opened fire from the ruined door they'd chosen as cover. Caught in the blistering crossfire, the Geth troopers withered. Then came the coup de grace.
"Missiles!" Naruto barked!
"Firing!"
Streaks of smoke shrieked past his peripherals as a series of small, shoulder-mounted rockets leaped forward from his suit, streaking unerringly forward to crash into the enemy encampment below. Naruto dithered for a moment longer, scanning the black smoke, hovering to make certain all hostiles had been eliminated. Down below someone was waving at him, frantically trying to get his attention. He waved back cheekily.
"Well, that was easy."
"Target lock!" GLADOS shrieked!
"Where?! I don't-
CLUNK!
An almighty blast of fiery napalm swatted him out of the sky with massive force, sending him spiraling into the sand, the impact cratering the ground. Naruto groaned and lifted his head out of the divot a moment later, pulling himself out of the scorched hole with an effort. Remarkably, he found he still had all his limbs. They'd all be bruised come tomorrow.
Armor had seen better days, though.
"Suit integrity holding at seventy-five percent. Power reserves at fifty." GLADOS chimed darkly. "By all means, try that again. I'd loved to see that turret smear you against the wall."
"Turrets?" he groaned, scraping himself off the ground. "They have fucking anti-aircraft turrets? Why didn't you tell me that?!"
"You didn't ask."
Scraping himself off the floor, he found a three-fingered hand waiting for him.
"You're weren't kidding about that tin can of yours, boy." Wrex rumbled. "Nice work."
Grinning, he accepted it. "I try. How's the bomb?"
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Jack snarled. "We're never doing this shit again. Ever. Let's blow this bitch and go home."
"Can't." Kaiden groaned. "That last shot screwed it all to hell. Remote detonation's not an option. Normandy's en route for pickup. We've got Geth incoming." a grim look stole over his face. "Someone needs to make sure it goes off. Make sure they don't screw with the bomb." In that instant, Naruto knew. He was going to volunteer. Make the ultimate sacrifice. Wrex wasn't the sort to volunteer, and Jack didn't give two licks for a soldier in the Alliance. They were just going to let him lay down his life.
He couldn't let him do it.
"I'll do it. I'll stay."
Kaiden's neck spun with such force the blond was certain he'd heard a pop. "Sir?! You can't!"
Jack swore.
"The hell you will-
Naruto's hand knifed into her neck before she could finish.
For a moment the psychotic biotic stood there, wobbling on her feet, her mouth frozen in a small, round oval. Then she dropped like a sack of potatoes. Naruto dropped to a knee, catching her before she could crack her head against the metal decking. When she tried to rise he struck again, harder this time, rendering her insensate. Her body went limp in his arms, eyes rolling back.
"You...bastard...
"Get her on board, Wrex. Alenko, too."
"Sir-
"That's an order, lieutenant!"
Whatever else he might've said was drowned out in the rush of an engine as the Normandy's shadow fell over them, its great bulk coming to rest before them not a moment later, its ramp clanging open. The old krogan actually hesitated. For perhaps the first time in his life, Wrex actually looked uncertain.
"You sure about this, kid?" a blood red eye flicked to the bomb, then back to him. "Might not came back from this."
"Has to be me. Someone else might get it wrong."
"You don't know that-
Naruto gave him a shove.
"Wrex. Go."
For a fleeting instant he actually thought the old warlord would knock him out and drag him on board. In the end, however, he respected his wishes. Facing away from the Specter he fave Alenko a hard shove.
"You heard him, greenhorn. Move!"
Dutifully he watched his old friend clamor up the ramp, dragging an insensate Jack and protesting Kaiden with him. When the Sentinel tried to double back the Krogan seized him in a biotic field and all but hurled him in to the hold. Within moments the ramp swung shut and the Normandy hurtled away. They must've thought he was on board as well, at first; because Miranda's voice crackled in his head only after the ship had vanished from sight.
"Where are you?"
Naruto stalked back to the bomb. "Where I belong."
She must've realized what he meant to do, then.
"You can't do this."
"They said I couldn't walk on walls, either." Naruto hummed as he raised a hand towards an advancing geth, methodically checking the range before sighting down on the encroaching swarm once more. "Did that." He spun, blasting another before they could reach him and the payload. "They said I couldn't fall in love, and well, I did that, too. I've done a lot of things they said I shouldn't be able to do. If I'm going to go out like this, at least it'll be on my terms."
"You'll die!" her voice broke in his ear, sobbing.
"Maybe." the specter shrugged at the response from his headset. "Maybe not. I've never been blown to atoms before. Should be a novel experience." The suit was beeping angrily at him now so he snatched up a fallen weapon and a finger twitched on the trigger, dropping another synthetic with a peerless precision. Then another. And another. And another still. The rifle slagged in his hand, overheated beyond repair. He snatched up Kaiden's pistol and continued to fire.
"Idiot!" Jack screamed! "You can't regenerate from something like that! Get out of there!"
"And I can't let someone die on my watch." came the reply.
Miranda refused to listen.
"We can double back! The Normandy-
"There's no time."
Bang.
Scoped and dropped.
"Naruto...
"Don't be like that." he sighed, tugging on his helmet. "It had to be me. Somebody else would've gotten it wrong." Checking the safety he calmly strode over to the bomb, watching as the last few seconds ticked down from ten, a timer counting to his end. To oblivion. Not the way he wanted to go out. He wanted to live. When the counter reached five he flared his shields to full; and felt his skin begin to crackle and burn beneath the intense radiation of the flaring energy.
Shots pinged harmlessly off them, ricocheting back towards the oncoming machine marauders.
He'd delayed them long enough.
Then he started running. Within those last three seconds, he'd nearly reached his goal. The voice in his head snarled at him in disbelief.
"How...?"
"Fuck you, that's how."
One last time, he heard Miranda's voice in his ear.
"NARUTO!"
With a defiant roar, he gathered himself up and dove off the pier towards the water. Too slow. A wall of fire roared over him, smashing into his spine and smashing him into the sea with all the force of a falling comet. In the back of his head he heard something snap. Weighted down by his armor he began to sink almost immediately, plunging to the bottom. Wait. Something was wrong. He couldn't breathe. No air. None. None at all. He was suffocating. Something prevented him from breathing.
Water.
In his suit!
In his mouth!
Nose!
Lungs!
"Well," GLADOS's voice crackled weakly. "Didn't expected to go out like thi-bzzt."
"GLADOS? You there? Fuck. Shit. Crap, gotta get the armor off." he hissed, scrambling for the release seals. Nothing happened. He slapped at them again and again, but the suit refused to respond, bleating an angry negative. Too late, he realized the cause; the intense heat from the had all but welded the clamps shut, trapping him in the armor. Worse, water was pouring through the cracks in the helmet. "Gotta...gotta...oh...shi-
A dark shape resolved itself in the corner of his vision.
That was all he had time to see before blackness took him.
A/N: And there we go. Events are already spiralling out of control, Saren's causing havoc and Naruto's out for blood after being humiliated as he was. Shepard's had a rude awakening and a bit of redemption all rolled into one neat package after her brush with death, so expect her to become less abrasive as time goes on. She also shares fragments of the vision with Naruto. As to just how that happened...all will be explained in time.
That's right she'll be working with Naruto! The Normandy is his! But what will happen with Cerberus? Will the pairing remain NarutoxMiranda or should Jack eventually be involved?! And what of Hanabi?
You decide, dear readers!
I'm not quite certain as to whether Shepard will remain this fic for the duration of all three games so please tell me what you think about that as well! I am but a humble writer without your input, oh dear reader! Any and all ideas are welcome!
So...in the immortal words Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly? And of course, enjoy the previews! Is Naruto dead? Stay tuned to find out!
(Preview)
"It's all my fault."
"What is?"
Jack cringed.
"I did it." she confessed. "It was me, and now he's...
Miranda's went ominously still.
"You did what?"
The silence was telling.
"What did you do?"
"...that's not fair at all."
A finger tightened on the trigger.
"Sorry, no fucks given."
Hope ya liked it! R&R! =D