A/N: I return!
Soooo...Andromeda. Apparently that's a thing now. I recently bought it, and aside from a few glitches and animation problems, it really isn't all that bad. *Braces for flak* I was leery of picking it up at first, and I'm not saying that it doesn't need polish and patches because it certainly DOES, but I got the game as a gift, so the decision was made for me. Haven't finished the game thus far, but I see plenty of humor reminiscent of the Citadel DLC, gripping loyalty missions, and plenty of quests to keep me busy. That keeps it entertaining at least.
So who are you guys and gals romancing on your first playthrough? Personally, I haven't decided yet. So many CHOICES and options!
I'll save my final thoughts on Andromeda for when I beat the game, but feel free to let me know!
Apparently Bioware is already working on new DLC for Andromeda that ISN'T multiplayer!
Lets all be reasonable here and wait to see what happens in a few weeks, shall we?
Mass Effect Andromeda has brought fresh life to the Mass Effect fandom so here we are once again! I've also got a nifty little update schedule, so there's that, too.
As we recall, last chapter had Naruto in quite the predicament...
Bit of a jab at an old trope here.
Also, an old friend appears...
Enjoy the comeback!
Sorry if its short!
"I'm getting too old for this shit."
"Wait...you look like...
~?
Hello Darkness
'Is this what death feels like?'
In hindsight Naruto realized this a foolish thought; if he was dead then he wouldn't feel anything at all now, would he? Instead he found himself keenly aware of the aching pain in his back, contrasted by the distinct lack of sensation in his right arm. Countless aches and pains made themselves manifest as he came to, angry rents and tears struggling to stitch themselves shut as his body floated in and out of shock. Vision swimming in a distant red sea, ears ringing, he eventually came to the conclusion that he had somehow survived. All well and good of course, he hadn't been planning of throwing his life away.
The only question was:
'How?'
His last memory was being flung clear, landing in the water, sinking, then...
Blackness.
He didn't remember clawing his way out of the water onto the beach and he certainly didn't recall repairing his armor. In fact, he didn't remember much of anything beyond flailing for his life underwater. Had someone rescued him? And if so...where had they taken him? Propping himself up on his good limb, he forced himself into a weak sitting position, wincing when his body protested the sudden strain-more so when he stood. Part of him expected to find some of the sandy soil that was Virmire beneath him his boots, or at the very least, solid ground.
He didn't expect to fine more darkness.
As if someone had suffocated the sun and plunged the world into eternal night, no discerning features could be seen, only an endless void of darkness. A plain of perpetual shadow as far as the eye could see, stretching on into infinity. Naruto had never been one to fear the dark, but in this complete, utter absence of all light, he felt just a touch of paranoia. It felt as if the world itself were pressing down around him, trying to snuff him out. For a fleeting instant his mind rebelled against the calm, reeling.
Stumbling, he touched a hand to his headset.
"GLADOS? You there?"
Static answered.
"Normandy? Anyone there?"
Once more, white noise.
"Well. Fuck me." with a growl he cast a frantic glance about himself. "What is this, the fucking shadow realm or something? I better not be dead!" When those words echoed away into nothingness with no response, his anger only intensified, boiling to a feverish degree. "You hear me, big guy?!" a snarl shot to the ebony skies overhead. "If I'm dead, I'll crawl out of hell just to kick your ass! I'm not wandering a world of darkness for the rest of my-
No.
Wait.
There.
A small point of light had interposed itself against the shadows, beckoning him from afar.
"Shit. That better not be the afterlife...
Reluctant to approach what very well might be his final hour, but for lack of any other option, the broken Specter started forward, watching the speck gradually growing larger as he stumbled towards it. What was it? A beacon of some sort? As he came within sitting distance of the strange glow, he realized that what he assumed to be a beacon was not a beacon at all. Pressing on he felt a faint warmth emanating from it, saw a series of telltale embers crackling across broken logs in darkness, skittering away into the black.
A fire.
All the way out here?
When he drew closer still, he saw a silhouette framed against the dying flames, absently shifting over the flickering embers with the tip of a weathered cane. Shrouded in a dark, tattered cloak, hunched and firmly focused over their task, they didn't even seem to be aware of his own existence, let alone the futility of their efforts. Though weak flames flickered intermittently over the charred and blackened logs, still they kept shifting them, struggling to lend life to the fading blaze. It was almost sad, really.
For a fleeting heartbeat he hesitated, uncertain too approach.
'Who the hell is this lunatic?'
As though sensing that very thought, the cowled face jerked in his direction.
"Good. You're finally here." a voice like smoke rasped by way of greeting. "Pull up a seat, boy. We have much to discuss."
"Who are...?"
The stranger scoffed.
"Doesn't matter. Sit the hell down."
Reluctantly, the battered blond did as he was bade, pulling himself onto the weathered log beside him.
"So. Staying behind to arm the bomb yourself and make sure it blew." the stranger mused aloud, shadowed face peering into the flames. "Pretty ballsy. Not what I would have done in your shoes, but you get points for trying. Still, I would've at least used a clone or something. Guess you're more dedicated than I thought. Radiation burn's gonna suck, though, even with your regeneration. Though I suppose getting your ass blown up was better than confronting your own mistakes."
Irked by the stranger's blunt assessment, Naruto jerked to his feet.
"Well, I got the job done! Isn't that what counts?!"
The cane came flying out of nowhere, striking him hard upside the head and upending him from the log in a vicious swipe. He'd barely struck the ground before a sandal planted itself against his chest, crushing him back to the black soil with the force of a thousand stars. In an instant he found the stranger's face a breath from his, bright eyes boring into his very soul. There was something familiar in that gaze, Naruto thought. Haunting. Eerie.
"Hey?! What are you-
"You're a fucking greenhorn, that's exactly what you are, boy." came the harsh reply, low and guttural with anger. "When I was your age I fought a fucking goddess, then an army. Did I win? No, but I took the fuckers down with me. I did my job. When I made mistakes, and boy did I make them, I owned them. Each and every one. But you," shaking his head, the fire-light-stranger removed his boot from the young man's chest and limped back to the fire. "You run away from your choices and refuse to face them. Think a few accomplishments make you brave? An assassination here, a bomb there, that's supposed to count for something? Fucking scientists and their petri dishes...I'm getting too old for this shit."
An inkling of realization stabbed at Naruto, but he buried it, refusing to believe.
Wincing at the pain in his chest, the Spectre clamored back to his feet, shooting the cane's owner a dark glower.
"Just what the hell do you want from me?"
The entity tilted its head.
"What do I want?" he spat in a voice like sandpaper. "I want justice. I want to rest and be with my loved ones. I want peace. But nooooooo, apparently DNA's a bitch. Fucking youngsters." coughing, he turned his head and spat into the fire with an ugly hacking noise. "Seems that's not going to happen, what with you throwing yourself into death's arms time and time again. By rights, you should be dead to the world by now," another coughing fit followed, "Seems you aren't, so we have a bit of a problem, you and I."
"For and old man man, you sure complain alot-OW!"
The cane descended mercilessly again, cracking across his knee.
"Will you stop?!"
"Make me."
Rubbing his leg, the blond shot to his feet, this time wisely keeping the stranger at arms length.
"Who are you?" he challenged. "What is this place?"
"Suppose you could call it the between, boy-
"Stop calling me that!"
-someplace that isn't life or death," the cowled man continued in his strange, familiar voice without missing a beat, "I've been here for years now, waiting, thanks to you. But I'm tired of waiting. Now, you have a choice. You can give up, hand me the reigns, and admit you have no idea what you're doing, or you can continue. Those are you choices. Choose."
Naruto fought back a scowl.
"None of this makes any sense."
"Expect it to be simple, did you?" the rictus of a grimace flashed at him through the cowl. "Time is short. Choose-what are you doing?"
The old man's grimace deepened as Naruto's hand snaked out, seizing him by a gnarled wrist.
"Who are you?" Naruto growled.
"A shadow." came the slow reply. "Someone who once was, yet still remains."
"Show me your face."
"Are you sure you want to know?" the stranger inquired, voice never wavering despite the crippling pain that was surely shooting through his arm. "I know your future. I've lived it, long ago, long before those scientists got the idea to bring you along. Surprised? Chakra's a funny thing, my boy. I've been watching you. And so far? Not impressed."
Naruto held his tongue as the old man shuffled to his feet, refusing to give him the satisfaction of being awed.
"The road ahead won't be an easy one." the cowled man argued one last time. "In fact, its going to be damn hard. No one will believe you. You will be betrayed, each time more painful than the last. You will climb a mountain of corpses as your friends and loved ones become willing slaves to the enemy, puppets of the Reapers. They will curse your name and drag you down, into oblivion. Even so, knowing this, do you choose to continue? Or will you give up?"
"Fuck that. I told Miri and Jack I'd live, so I'm going to live. I never go back on my word. Now, show me your face!"
...well said."
With that, the entity abandoned his hunch and stood tall, peeling away the hood to reveal his visage.
Naruto jerked back with a startled hiss as if he'd been burned.
In a sense, he had.
His face.
He was looking at himself.
Decades older, wrapped in a web of scars and blind in both eyes, but it was still his face and the sight of it shook him to his core. Shock threatened to paralyze him on the spot. None of this made any sense. How could he be looking at himself? It was impossible, wholly, utterly impossible. Space magic bullshit. A fever dream. Hallucination. Yes, it had to be one of those. Had to be. Surely. He'd lost so much blood that he was actually seeing things-people-that weren't there.
Yet somehow, he knew.
This was undoubtedly him.
"Good choice, kid." those milky white eyes cut to him with startling accuracy. "Maybe you'll do better than I did. Give my regards to Hanabi when you wake up. She's responsible for pulling your ass out of the fire, this time. Tell her I...ah, hell." shaking his head, the blond tugged up his cowl anew, casting his face back into shadow. "Doesn't matter."
"Wait, what? I have so many questions, I don't even-
His past self struck him upside the head again.
"What the hell was that for, old man?!"
He turned away, chuckling softly.
"Ah, worth it. Now, wake up."
A blinding headache hit.
"Wait, what the fu-
Pain.
A/N: And there we go.
Naruto got a good talking-to from his old self, a pep talk, as it is, ad and it seems he's gone and hitched himself a ride to boot. Think Old Man Logan, but a Naruto version. Hope you had a blast reading this chapter as much as I did writing it! Now I'm off to work!
What will happen next?!
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! Bit of tongue in cheek, here =D
(Preview)
"You truly test my patience, lover."
"...the fuck is an Andromeda Initiative?"
"Well, its an initiative to explore beyond the Milky Way-
"Yeah, no. I like THIS galaxy just fine, thank you very much."
Hope ya liked it! R&R! =D
