Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Mass Effect.

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Escaping Hades

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Chapter Twelve

"How long has he been at it?" Miranda questioned quietly from beside Naomi, both standing in the hallway outside the Normandy's limited training room, both dressed in their military fatigues. Inside, Naruto was pounding away at a punching bag, similarly clad, but shirtless at the moment with his gloves on his hands. Even from where they stood, they could see the cold stoicism engraved on his face, his punches packing enough power in them to shatter the bones in anyone's face, save for possibly a Krogan's. Had it not been such a serious moment, Miranda might have taken the time to admire her blonde lover's muscular tattooed physique, but now wasn't the time for any fantasizing.

"A few hours. I called you just a few minutes after the incident and he's been in here since." Naomi responded, leaning back against the wall with her arms crossed under her chest. Miranda could only stare at her lover sadly, having been filled in on his behavior earlier. Shortly after returning from dealing with the Geth Dreadnought, Naruto had stormed into the Normandy's war room and assaulted one of the Quarians present; specifically, Han'Gerrel, the Admiral of the Quarian Migrant Fleet's Heavy Fleet, for carelessly risking the lives of so many Quarians just to take out a single dreadnought that could have easily wiped out the entire Migrant Fleet if it hadn't been for Naruto, Naomi, and her team, who were almost killed during Gerrel's assault. She also found out that Naruto was among the scarce few people in the entire galaxy that wasn't a Quarian that could speak and fully understand their native language, Khelish, though he wasn't exactly fluent in it and his accent was horrid; according to Tali, that is. It was only because of her translater that Naomi knew what was said, but she refused to repeat what the blonde Major had said at that particular point. "...Are you sure it's a good idea to go in there?"

"I love him too much to just sit by and watch him do this to himself, Shepard." Miranda mumbled in reply. After the incident, the Quarian Admirals, minus Gerrel, came together again and decided it might be best to let the Troy temporarily join the Migrant Fleet during their current side-war with the Reaper-controlled Geth. Both as a better option to losing more of their ships and for more firepower and soldiers; now that the dreadnought was dealt with, the ground assault began soon and they would need the marines the Troy housed. "Besides, as far as I know, I'm the only one that can calm him down..."

"Beauty and the Beast, much?" Naomi responded light heartedly, managing to coax out a slight smirk from Miranda and single breath of quiet laughter. It was only momentary, however. After a few quiet words of departure, Miranda headed into the training room while Naomi waited outside for a few more seconds. Noticing her presence, Naruto stopped what he was doing.

"Hey, baby..." Miranda cooed softly with a warm smile as she wrapped her arms around Naruto. Despite the sweat, she nuzzled her cheek against his chest with her eyes closed, listening to the sound of the Major's heart thundering in his chest as his own arms wrapped around her. Bowing her head with her eyes closed, Naomi smiled a bit sadly and shook her head a little bit before pushing off the wall and heading back to the Normandy's Combat Information Center; if she were truly honest with herself, she was jealous of what Miranda and Naruto had together. Suppressing the wonderous thought of possibly finding a life-partner like that, Naomi stepped into the elevator and hit the button that would take her up to the command deck; there was still a war going on.

"You need a shower..." The Captain mumbled quietly from her spot, but didn't bother moving. Feeling a hand gently press against the small of her back, Miranda instinctively pressed closer and held her beloved blonde a little tighter. When she felt him kiss the top of her head, however, she couldn't help blushing at the affectionate act. Looking up at him, she leaned up and kissed him tenderly, smiling again. "Come on. Let's get back to the Troy and get you cleaned up..."

"..." Naruto stayed silent as he pulled his white shirt and fatigue jacket back on and let Miranda lead him out of the room and towards the elevator, an arm wrapped around one another as they walked. He didn't speak up until after they got into the slow moving metal box. "...They were just pawns to him."

Miranda didn't say anything, knowing that he was talking about Gerrel and his actions back during the battle over Rannoch. Leaning up, she gently kissed him on the cheek, making Naruto close his eyes and smile faintly, which in turn made Miranda smile a little before resting her head against his chest and shoulder; slowly, but surely, she was making some progress with him. It wasn't much yet, but he was at least opening up to her a little more now...

xXx

"..." Silently looking up from the holographic screen being projected by his Omni-tool over his left wrist, he eyed the residential identifications on the building's wall. Deactivating his Omni-tool, he walked up to the door and thumbed the door bell with his right hand. He needed to find Naruto Uzumaki...

"Coming!" Kushina called out from inside, reaching the door a few seconds later and opening it. What greeted her was something she hadn't expected. A turian clad in what appeared to be a solid black custom-made hardsuit with heavy armor plating in some areas and some dark crimson accents scattered all across the suit, their head covered with a solid black helmet while a black hooded sleeveless trench coat looking article shrouding most of his body; there wasn't a single insignia or symbol on him to identify him or who he was working for. Even still, she saw the solid black M-6 Carnifex hand cannons mag-locked to the sides of his thighs. Her eyes narrowed instantly and her body tensed; it wouldn't be the first time she had been forced to fend off an assassination attempt from some gang or criminal organization working out of the Citadel. "...Can I help you with something?"

"Are you...Kushina Uzumaki?" The Turian inquired, getting a hesitant nod from the red haired woman. "Is Naruto Uzumaki here? It is important that I speak with him immediately."

"He's not here right now." The C-Sec Commander responded calmly; it wouldn't do her any good to provoke the only armed individual present at the moment.

"Do you know where he is right now or where he might go?" The turian asked. Like all turians, he was persistent and resolute to complete whatever mission it was that he was on. Kushina was silent for a few seconds. The turian seemed to realize he wasn't going to get anywhere if he didn't at least give her a hint as to why it was so important he spoke with her son. "It is about...the Shinobi."

"..." Although caught off guard and shocked by the mention of her people, Kushina lashed out and grabbed the turian before hauling him into her apartment and pushing him back up against the wall, the door sliding shut with a hiss as the red haired Commander grabbed both of the Carnifex pistols the turian had and pressed them against the alien's neck. Before she could start questioning the turian, however, she was forced to drop the guns when a red light flashed on either side of the pistols before something built into the grips shocked her as if she had just been struck with a buzz baton, numbing her hands completely. "What-"

"Biometic locks with additional security measures." The turian answered before Kushina could finish her question, collecting and holstering his pistols as he did. "Something your son made for me."

"Made for you? Just who are you?" Kushina questioned, knowing her son didn't make anything for just anyone. A moment later, the turian reached up and removed his helmet, a gasp escaping Kushina as she stared at the alien's face in absolute shock. "You're...alive? But how?! Your body was recovered three years ago!"

"Ah, yes...About that..." The turian hesitantly answered, his beady green irises glancing away from the woman for a moment...

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"Another fuel depot has gone silent?" Naruto mumbled quietly while examining the information displayed before him on the holographic projections coming from the table in the Troy's conference and mission briefing/debriefing room; he was still rather amazed at how the two unshackled AIs of the Normandy and Troy could interface with each other within a certain range of either ship, sharing information and actually learning from each other. Dismissing those thoughts and focusing back on task, Naruto looked over at Naomi, who stood opposite of him on the other side of the table. "You want me to check it out?"

"If you wouldn't mind..." Shepard responded, but Naruto knew what she really meant; she didn't want another incident like what happened in the war room between him and Gerrel the day before. He wasn't going to argue it, however, not wanting to upset Miranda anymore than he had with his recent...episodes. He also didn't want to jeopardize Naomi's efforts to gain the Migrant Fleet as allies in the war against the Reapers any more than he already had. "Miranda can stay here with the Troy and aid us where she can while you and a small team head for the fuel depot in the Trojan Horse. I believe Reapers are behind this, so prepare accordingly. Also...Don't take too long. We may need your boots on the ground..."

"I can't make any promises there, but I'll be back as soon as possible." The blonde reassured before bringing up his Omni-tool and opening a ship-wide channel on the intercoms. "Alpha Squad. Report to the Conference Room."

"I should be going. I still have to prep my own team for a rescue op on Rannoch." Naomi remarked before briefly saluting the Major and leaving the room. Studying the information Naomi gave him a little more closely, Naruto waited only about a minute before all four members of Alpha Squad entered the room.

"Alright, we're fixing to deploy again, just the five of us." Naruto began before touching one of the holographic computer screens, isolating a handful of images and a few key points of information. "A little less than three days ago, a fuel depot went silent out in the Silean Nebula, Cyone. We're going out there to find out what the problem is and get the reactors back online, if at all possible. It's friendly territory, but there's a high risk of Reapers being there, so we have to take certain kinds of equipment and extra ammo into consideration when it comes to your loadouts. Also, make sure your suits' breather masks are fully operational, your oxygen supplies topped off, and take a couple anti-rad pills before we get to the station; there might be a reactor leak or something. As for enemy resistance...I can't really answer that and as much as I want us to stay adaptable with heavy weapons, we can't take any with us. Might cause more damage to the depot, if not cause a chain reaction that might kill us and destroy the depot, so our Typhoons are the closest thing to heavy weapons we'll be taking. Questions?"

"...No, sir." Vasquez spoke up after glancing at the others.

"Alright. Get everything prepped for a hasty deployment. We launch in eight hours and its a long trip, so get some rest. Dismissed." A moment later, the four soldiers saluted the Major, only to be lazily waved off with a grunt as dismissal. Shutting the computer-table down, Naruto headed straight for the Captain's Cabin, hoping Miranda was there. Stepping out of the elevator and taking his uniform jacket off, Naruto opened the door to the room and smiled at Miranda, who he had let sleep in and take the day off while he took over command of the Troy for her. Still dressed in only a pair of black panties and one of her few white button-up blouses with a handful of the buttons still left undone, the dark haired Captain was on the bed with her legs tucked under her, doing something with a data pad. Tossing the jacket over the back of the nearest foldable grey chair set beside a foldable grey table, the same set he used to have in the Ambush, Naruto moved over to the bed and slipped up beside Miranda, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his lap.

"Mm..." She moaned quietly with a content smile, letting her eyes close when she felt him lightly kiss her neck. Shutting the pad off and setting it aside, Miranda turned around and straddled her boyfriend, kissing him deeply and passionately. Pressing against him a little more firmly, she held either side of Naruto's neck while another groan escaped her, smiling against Naruto's mouth when she felt his hands on her rear. She let out a brief groan of disapproval when they broke apart, but it became another moan of pleasure when Naruto kissed and nipped the side of her neck. A moment later, she frowned slightly, recalling the announcement she heard over the PA system. "Mmm...You're heading out again, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but not for another eight hours..." Naruto mumbled into her ear, making her grin seductively and rock her hips against his. Forcing her tongue into his mouth when she kissed him again, Miranda started undoing the few buttons holding her blouse closed.

"Well, I guess we don't have any time to waste, now do we?" She mumbled huskily in his ear before nibbling on his ear lobe, getting a smirk from the blonde as he kissed her again, rolling over on top of her...

xXx

"Alright. That should do it..." Naruto mumbled while putting the final touches on the program, installing a back-up fail-safe in the fuel reactor operation systems that would ensure that there wasn't another fog bank of toxic irradiated fumes covering half of the facility any time soon. He had just finished locking one of the fuel rods in place and evacuated the radiation gas by reactivating the ventilation system, but he wanted to make it a little more secure. Just as he turned from the console, however, the Trojan Horse pilot radioed in on an open channel, letting them know about movement detected in different areas of the station. Areas that didn't show such readings until now. "Shit. Possible targets inbound. Ready your weapons. Arcaino, Romanov; get to the Captain. Diangelo, Vasquez; to me. Confirm target before opening fire! I don't want any more problems than we already have!"

There was no verbal response, just action as the squad split and went to their ordered destinations. All of Alpha Squad and Naruto readied their Typhoons while Captain Riley and the three others with her only carried basic M-8 Avenger assault rifles, something the orange-armored female marine Riley felt a little ashamed of when compared to the heavy Typhoon rifles of Alpha Squad. Still, she kind of liked the quiet one. His name was Arcaino, if she wasn't mistaken. He seemed to know what he was doing when he locked in the other fuel rod, even going so far as to add a quick security program into the system that would allow the station's VI to alert any engineer to deviations in the depot's systems and machinery, authorized or not...

"Contact! We've got Reapers!" Diangelo called out as he took aim and loosed a brief two-shot volley from his rifle, dropping the simple Human-based Husk. Another dozen shots rang out simultaneously from the others as they found targets of their own. "God damn it! Even in our own stations! How the hell did they get in here?!"

"That doesn't matter right now! Just shoot the fucking things!" Vasquez snapped from a few feet to the left of the PSC, Naruto being on Diangelo's right. Spotting a Marauder, the Corporal opened up with a slightly longer burst than usual, tearing down the turian-husk's shields and knocking it down for good. Three more came from the same direction. "Marauders inbound! Keep an eye out for others!"

"What the-" Naruto was cut off before a short burst of shots struck his kinetic barrier along his back, stumbling him slightly. Spinning around, Naruto opened fire on the Marauder that had snuck around behind them, dropping it quickly before mowing down the handful of Husks that had followed it and then a Marauder that had brought up the group's rear. "Watch your six! They're trying to flank us!"

"Oooh! Nice one, Vasquez!" Diangelo called out with a touch of sadistic amusement after watching their squad leader grab a Husk by the back of its head when it got too close before pulling it in, headbutting it hard enough to partially cave in a part of its skull before letting it drop and firing a single shot into its head. After a few seconds of calm, Naruto narrowed his eyes and lowered his Typhoon.

"Riley, sitrep." The Major instructed over the com-link.

"One casualty, but we're clear." The Captain responded, sounding a little breathless, but not much else.

"Warning: Coolant leaks detected, Reactors One and Two. System restart impossible." The station's VI spoke up over the speaker systems.

"Well, thank you very much for make our job that much more irritating." Diangelo remarked sarcastically from his spot.

"Stow it, Private." Vasquez hissed at him, making the lower ranking soldier raise a hand placatingly before focusing back on the task at hand.

"We've got to seal those tanks, Riley." Naruto began, even though it was rather obvious. "You take care of Reactor Two's tanks. We'll deal with Reactor One."

"Alright, I see them. Moving to seal." Riley answered just as Naruto gestured towards the second coolant moderator tank on their end. While Diangelo rushed over to it, Naruto brought up his Omni-tool and hacked into the tanks primary systems before re-engaging the pressure seals, the whole process taking only a few seconds while the station VI announced the tanks' resealing. Regrouping with Diangelo and getting a thumbs-up from the marine, Naruto contacted Riley again.

"Reactor One tanks are sealed. How are the reactors looking?" He questioned while walking over to what he knew to be a control console for Reactor One itself; mostly observational sensors and emergency lock-down programs, but still a control console.

"They're stable. Reactivation is a go. I'm already in position; on your mark." The orange armored engineer returned.

"Alright...and...Mark!" Naruto ordered while starting up Reactor One, Reactor Two thrumming to life across the way a second later.

"Um...Major?" Vasquez started up a bit hesitantly, his Omni-tool active as he checked the live-feed scans from the Trojan Horse. Once he had Naruto's attention, he continued. "We've got movement again. More than last time."

"Shit! Targets inbound! Targets inbound!" Naruto warned through the com-link, only for a couple gun shots from where the others were to answer him. Hearing something, Naruto whirled around just in time to bash the butt of his Typhoon into the face of a Husk, Diangelo finishing it off while the Major opened fire on the group of Husks further back. As a couple glancing shots pinged off his shield to his right, Naruto grabbed one of his grenades while gathering Biotic energy around it before tossing it at the three Marauders that had taken cover off to the side; none noticed the grenade until it was too late. Because of the Biotic energy surrounding it, the grenade's explosion set off a small mass effect field that contained the shrapnel so that there wasn't any critical damage to important machinery while still killing the three Reaper-indoctrinated abominations, essentially turning the standard frag grenade into a lethal concussive grenade.

"Agh! Fuck!" Diangelo cried out as a Husk jumped on his back after it had snuck up behind him while he was busy fending off a few others that had rushed him from the front. Stepping up beside Diangleo, Vasquez opened fire on the Husk, the force of the bullets ripping it off Diangelo and sending it flying back a couple feet before the artificial gravity pulled it back down to the ground. Diangelo immediately spun around and stomped down on its head, smashing it like a rotten melon while clutching the side of his neck where it bit him; thankfully, it didn't get past the armor plating, let alone break through the pressure suit underneath. He'll still have a bit of a bruise later. "God damn bastard!"

"Major, we're being over run!" Riley called over the radio, the symphony of gun shots from their end being relentless and without end. "We can't hold this spot much longer!"

"BRUTE!" Vasquez called out, distracting Naruto for a moment while time, in his eyes, slowed to a crawl as several bursts of adrenaline rushed through his veins all at once. Shouldering his rifle, Naruto instantly opened fire on the Brute's head, making sure he caught its attention and made it focus solely on him. He hesitated for a moment when the behemoth turned to face towards him.

"Vasquez! Diangelo! Get to the others! I'll take care of Ugly!" Naruto shouted to the other two, still firing bursts at the Brute while backing up hastily. A moment later, the Brute bellowed furiously at him before it broke into a sprint, Naruto doing the same as it chased after him. Cursing and swearing the whole time, Naruto vaulted over the occasional piece of machinery or guard railing, the massive Brute simply smashing through most of the obstacles as it gave chase. Thankfully, there weren't many critical systems in the area as Naruto led it further away from the reactors; it wouldn't end pretty if it damaged one of them. However, after a good one or two minute race through the fuel station, the Brute swung one massive limb and clipped Naruto, throwing him from his feet and into a nearby wall. Although dazed and sore, Naruto forced himself to roll to the side out of instinct just in time to stare at the giant claw-like fist that hit the ground right where he had been a moment before. "Oh, shit!"

Bellowing at him, the Brute raised both of its massive arms to smash him into paste, but Naruto had already scrambled into motion, scurrying between its legs just as both limbs slammed into the ground where he had just been laying. Not even standing up fully yet, Naruto's right Omni-blade blazed into existence before cleaving through the back of both of the Brute's knees, dropping it to all fours. Already mounting his Typhoon to his back, Naruto's left Omni-blade flash-forged into existence as he jumped onto the Brute's back and drove both blades into the base of its neck. Letting loose an almost binaric howl of primal agony, the Brute thrashed, trying to dislodge its unwanted passenger, but the flanged carapace extending from either side of its spine provided enough protection to keep Naruto from getting caught.

"Come on, you nasty fucker! Die already!" Naruto snarled through gnashed teeth before flash-forging a fresh second set of Omni-blades and crossing them above his head, only to chop down with them and slice through the rest of the synth-organic flesh and metal-bone. As its head and grotesquely elongated neck flopped to the ground uselessly, the Brute's body gave one last spasm as it futily grasped for the armored Major before falling forward. Tumbling off of it as it hit the ground, Naruto laid there for a moment and groaned before pushing himself back to his feet and shouldering his Typhoon once again. "I can't wait for retirement..."

He didn't have any time to rest or get his bearings before a Husk tackled him to the ground. Gritting his teeth beneath his helmet, Naruto glared at the synth-organic zombie, using his rifle to keep the Husk held back as it scratched and clawed at his armor, teeth gnashing rabidly. Letting it drop closer, Naruto lurched forward and smashed his head into its face, stunning it while he shoved it as hard as he could a moment later, knocking it off of him completely. Getting back on his feet, Naruto drew his Talon and shot the thing in the head before it could get back up. After holstering the pistol and giving the Brute's decapitated head an annoyed kick, he put his right index and middle fingers to the side of his helmet.

"Vasquez, report." Naruto ordered over the radio, but all he got was static in return. Smacking the side of his helmet seemed to get him a bit of a better signal, but it only lasted for that brief instance and it wasn't much any ways. Gritting his teeth angrily and turning around, Naruto full-on punted the Brute's head, sending it sailing through the air over machinery and then, amongst the scattered remnants of gun fire, it hit something that made a noise.

"Ow!" Came the distant cry from Diangelo as it hit him in the back of the head. "What the fuck?!"

"Oops..." Naruto mumbled quietly before snickering. Yeah, he had to be a sociopath...and maybe a little something else. There was no other explanation for his constant behavior. Replacing the almost spent thermal clip in his Typhoon and mounting it to his back again, Naruto stuck with his Talon for the moment to pick off a stray Husk or two that escaped the main fighting and drew too close to him. Heading back to the lone entrance into the depot's reactor room, Naruto reloaded his pistol and holstered it as soon as he spotted the others. Out of Alpha Squad, Diangelo was obviously the least happy; blackish green synthetic-organic blood splattered the back of his helmet from where the Brute's head hit him, the paint was a bit scratched in some areas from Husks tackling and clawing at him, and it looked like someone had to spray him down with a fire extinguisher for some reason due to the white foam covering his left foreleg and along the left side of his back. Naruto then rapped his knuckles on the side of his helmet. "Comms are out and the Brute's dead."

"Yeah...We know..." Diangelo growled out quietly before Vasquez roughly smacked the Private in the back of his helmeted head, causing Diangelo to doubtlessly shoot his squad leader a glare.

"You saved our asses, Major. My team's in your debt." Riley spoke up, the Turian and two Asari with her nodding in agreement.

"Keep this depot running and we'll call it even, Captain." Naruto returned before saluting the Captain, who promptly saluted in turn along with the rest of her team. Facing back towards his own team, Naruto gestured for them to follow. "Alright, Alpha Squad. Let's get back to the Troy."

"Yes, sir." Vasquez acknowledged before the four heavily armored marines followed after their commanding officer...

xXx

"..." Miranda was quiet for several moments as she reviewed the information Naomi had relayed to her, most of it being relevant to the mission; Rannoch. Apparently, Admiral Raan located the Reaper base that was producing the signal controlling the Geth. Unfortunately, there were jamming towers disrupting the Flotilla's targeting systems for both weaponry and virtually all sensory scans. Even the Troy was unable to pierce through the 'white noise' and they had an unshackled AI assisting them. Thus, the Normandy was going to go in fast and low and take the Reaper base out via bombing run. However, there was another snag; blast doors protected the only form of access the missles would have. Because of that, Naomi and her team were going to infiltrate the base and open the blast doors before proceeding with the bombing run, which would have to be done with a laser-targeting device due to the jamming towers.

She still wasn't happy about Naruto having to head back out on another mission just a few hours after getting back from the fuel depot. He, along with a number of the Troy's marine ranks, had gone down to Rannoch's surface to move on the jamming towers around the Reaper base and draw the attention of the Geth defenses. Her thoughts were broken when updates started coming in from detachments of marines that had gone down to Rannoch's surface. One by one, targets started appearing on the hazy section of the map, each one detailing a jamming tower. When it was done, there were nearly a dozen jamming towers, a fully equipped squad in position to take each one out once the signal was given. Once the marine squads started their coordinated assault on the jamming towers, Shepard and her team would move in on the Reaper base while most of the Geth forces moved to defend the towers. From there, the Normandy would take out the Reaper base.

But she had a bad feeling about it all...

Down on Rannonch's surface, Naruto and Alpha Squad were getting into position near the jamming tower they were tasked with taking down. Prepping their Typhoons, all five heavily armored marines shared unseen looks and nods. In a corner of their HUDs, the time clock finally zeroed out, marking the start of the operation. As one, they all stood up from behind their chosen cover, currently being rocks not far from the Geth installations. In that same moment, their Typhoons roared with gunfire...

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