Here we go, some space battling for all of you to enjoy. Hope you enjoy it, leave a review so I know what you think. And yes, I did change around the chapters, combining a few so that would explain why some people couldn't leave a review. If you were one of those people that tried to review and couldn't, sorry bout that.
Chapter 12
Naruto had a tablet out, familiarizing himself with the nuances of the different armor forms his girls had prepared for him. 'As much as I bitched about not needing this armor, I have a feeling it'll be surprisingly useful. Now lets see... huh, no mention of the special modification I wanted Brianna to make to the gauntlets. I better check with her, after all if it's missing then that'd be a bit of a problem.' Unbuckling his safety harness Naruto stood up, stretching for a moment before making his way towards his gun toting girlfriend. Naruto leaned over the back of the seat and grinned as he watched Brianna snoozing contently, tracing the tips of his fingers along her cheek. The movement caused the relaxed woman to giggle in her sleep and Naruto kissed the top of her head, deciding he could wait to have his questions answered.
It had been over twelve hours since the Visigoth had launched and everyone had decided on getting some shut eye, everyone that is except Naruto. Ace had taken several power naps, just enough to keep him sharp, not wanting to be caught flatfooted if there was an emergency. Everyone else had settled in for a long nap, wanting to be fresh for the fight. Naruto walked down the aisle towards Ace, seeing that the man was awake and checking the instruments on his board, verifying that they were still on course. Ace looked over his shoulder and nodded at Naruto as he drew closer, the shinobi stowing the tablet in his pouch when he reached Ace's chair.
"Hey, you shoulda grabbed a wink or two man, it's gonna be rough down there... least that's what my gut says." Naruto sat down in the co pilot chair and turned towards Ace, a smile on his face as he began to speak.
"Bah, I've had worse. Remind me later to tell you the time I stayed up for four days straight during the middle of the Fourth Shinobi war, Baa-chan nearly had be sedated after that for a week... damn, I miss her, lectures and all." Ace's expression changed to confusion as Naruto finished speaking, not understanding what the man had been referring to.
"Baa-chan? What the heck is a Baa-chan?" Naruto laughed softly, careful not to wake the sleeping girls from their slumber.
"Right, I forgot you don't know much of my history. Well, Baa-chan was the leader of my village..." Naruto began to explain the relationship he had with Tsunade, also giving the condensed version of his mishap and final release from the accident he had with the seal array. When he had finished the tale Ace looked at the man in front of him and had only one thing to say.
"Whoa... that's crazy man." Naruto grinned and leaned back in the chair he was using, placing his hands behind his head as he relaxed. Before either man could continue speaking a flashing light on Ace's control panel grabbed the pilot's attention. After Ace checked his instruments he turned back to the shinobi and grinned.
"That's some heavy stuff man, but it looks like we're going to have to wake the ladies, we're almost there, two more hours then we get to kick the door down and bust some heads!"
Meanwhile, on Aebra
The capitol and only remaining city of the Kryn was slowly turning into a pile of ruined buildings, rubble and twisted metal replacing homes, burned out husks that were once places of learning and museums and the markets were empty of both people and products, making the last remaining Kryn city seem sullen, cold and barren. A newly formed crater in the ground contained a single individual, a person that had been one of the last hopes for the endangered race. Stripe groaned as he tried to rise, his injuries stopping him from moving more than an inch. 'My people... my planet... they are both lost now, I couldn't stop them. I have failed...' Looking to the smoke choked sky, Stripe's mind wandered to the initial battle he had on the planet after his arrival.
Flashback
Stripe fought against the creeping darkness that threatened to pull him under, leaving him vulnerable to his enemies. The apparent leader of the Dynasty troops reappeared, balancing on a ruined wall of the building Stripe had been slammed into. The heavily wounded prince could see his beloved home of El Dorado firing on the ground troops, an act that provoked a response from their enemies. The very elements appeared to turn against El Dorado as it was engulfed in a trio of powerful tornado's, the violently rotating columns of air doing their best to pull the ship to the ground, forcing the hovering cityship's engines to fire at full power just to maintain it's position in the air. Stripe watched as his opponent intently watched the endangered city continue to struggle, causing the man to shake his head slowly.
"Still you fight, your bravery and courage are testaments to your race's will to survive, but you only delay the inevitable. The Dynasty's true purpose has always been the safeguarding of life in the universe. We do only what we must to ensure that a greater evil does not plunge our universe into anarchy. If you truly understood what we are attempting to accomplish you would trade your lives, your very souls to allow us to continue on our mission. But, I can see there is no reasoning with your kind any longer and for that, I am sorry."
Stripe attempted to raise himself again but his body betrayed his wishes, his wounds from the Gigas' attack having shattered bones and reduced him to a broken man that could only watch helplessly as the multiple funnels of savage wind tore at his home, slowly succeeding in the inevitable process of dragging the cityship to the ground. Clenching his eyes shut in helplessness, Stripe was ready to surrender to his despair when a soft voice echoed through his mind. The young prince stilled for a moment, recognizing the voice of the person that was trying to reach him, his despair slowly vanishing as a glimmer of hope appeared. 'Jazelle?'
'Stripe...Stripe, please don't give up... The hopes of your people rest on your shoulders!' Cleansing healing energy engulfed Stripe's body, mending bones and filling the Prince with renewed life. Rising to his feet Stripe's determined gaze fell on the unaware commander of the Dynasty troops, his anger against this man having boiled over as the destruction of his people continued. Raising his arms Stripe began to activate his Flame Raker, intent on finishing what he had started.
"Reason? Your kind subjugate all before them with no warning, no explanation and you expect us to roll over and die when you ask? The 'saviors' of the universe know only how to sow death, not protect life! Let me show you how it is done, FLAME RAKER!
Stripe leapt forward, his miraculous recovery surprising his target long enough to connect with the full power of his pyrokenetic strike. Stripe watched as his adversary clutched his wounded chest and faded from sight again but the blast continued on, it's power so great it destroyed a Gigas that was standing behind the commander, reducing the mechanical walker to mere fragments of broken armor. Stripe breathed deeply, sinking to his knees while he caught his breath. 'I...I still can't get the hang of using the full power of these artifacts. I have to be missing someth... oh no.'
Aboard the El Dorado
Jazelle collapsed to her knees, her desperate gamble to try and heal Stripe from this distance had paid off but at the cost of all of her remaining energy. 'It falls to you Stripe, our hopes are riding on your success.'
As the head priestess slowly rose to her feet, El Dorado violently shuddered, the groan of tearing metal causing all that were on the bridge to look at Jan in worry. Jan was rapidly manipulating her controls, a look of fear growing as the shuddering became stronger.
"Jazelle, we have a problem! Those twisters are dragging El Dorado out of the sky and there is nothing I can do to stop them! The ship is going to crash, WE MUST ABANDON THE SHIP!" Everyone looked at Jan for a moment before a loud alarm woke them from their stunned expressions, everyone watching as the ground quickly came closer to the doomed city ship.
Back with Stripe
Stripe shook his head as his home finally succumbed to the vicious elemental assault and crashed into the ground, never to rise again. Stripe's patience had finally been depleted and the now furious Prince stood slowly, watching as a pair of Gigas' advanced towards him.
"I see you truly have no mercy and I am done trying to make peace with a group that refuses to even attempt to listen. Prepare yourselves for my wrath."
End flashback
The enraged Prince had fought for hours, helping his people escape from the advancing army but after hours of constant battle the fight had turned against Strip, his battered and tired body finally giving out on him. 'Well, at least I managed to take some of them with me. I'm sorry Brittany, I couldn't come back to you... but at least your safe. I love you.' Stripe watched as a pair of Gigas' stood above him, several Warlords were holding position in the sky, intent on trapping the Prince before he could escape. Stripe grimaced as he tried to move. His beaten body ignored his commands again and the Prince relaxed, knowing that his end was near. A Gigas raised it's fist, intent on snuffing out Stripe's life with a final blow.
Stripe closed his eyes as the fist descended, but before it could hit a rush of clarity hit Stripe instead, giving him hope that all was not lost. Focusing his will on his artifacts, Stripe screamed as his arm glowed brightly, the Gigas fist blocking this phenomenon from his enemies. As the war machine's appendage hit the ground the remaining forces of the dynasty readied their weapons if Stripe still lived. When the Gigas' hand moved away from the point of impact, the invaders lowered their weapons, seeing the dead body of the Kryn Prince, crushed into the ground and broken beyond any hope of revival.
The Dynasty has won... Stripe'Gia was dead.
Back on the Visigoth
Naruto was checking the rest of his gear, getting the feeling that he wouldn't have time to do so later. Looking over at Brittany Naruto saw her expression and frowned, worried about how she was dealing with this. 'Fiancee goes and runs off to defend a planet that he's never visited, leaves her behind and he may never return to her alive... not to mention he ran out on his own wedding. Oh man, he is in for the beating of his life if he survives.' Pulling himself out of his chair, Naruto walked toward Brittany and placed a hand on her shoulder. The focused were-cheetah jumped slightly and looked up at Naruto with a questioning gaze. Naruto reached into his pouch, producing a tri-bladed kunai and a sheathe for it, holding the offering out towards his friend.
"Cheets, since you wear such tight clothes I had to make this for you, you haven't got anything that could hold the kunai without possibly hurting yourself. Now, if you find yourself in a bind on Aebra, use the kunai and I'll be there in a flash... literally. I don't want you to take any chances, everyone is coming home, understood?" Brittany meekly took the proffered kunai, looked at the weapon then nodded at Naruto as she secured the weapon around her waist. Naruto grinned and ruffled the sombre were-cheetah's hair, causing the woman to ineffectually try and smack the shinobi's hands away form her head. Naruto grinned as he jumped back, sticking his tongue out at the now glaring young woman. Naruto walked back towards the front of the cockpit and stood by Ace, glancing at the controls for a moment. "How much longer till we arrive?"
Ace looked to the controls on his right as he answered the blonde, his attention never wavering from his task. "We got five minutes left. If you got anything you want to say, now's the time man." Naruto looked over his shoulder at the concerned faces of his friends, friends that were afraid of what they would find when they reached Aebra. Turning around, Naruto cleared his throat and got everyone's attention, even the Vaultron Force in the external pod were listening in over the com systems.
"I know your all worried about what is going to happen when we reach Aebra, dozens of situations and thoughts are racing through my head as well at what we may face. But just remember one thing, we are getting Stripe back and dragging his sorry ass back home so he can marry Cheets. I am not letting anything stop me from completing this mission. If you need help, ask for it, if someone needs your help, give it. We are a team... and a team has each others backs. Get ready, things are about to get wild." Naruto grinned as he saw everyone's resolve return, the worries of what may occur had been banished and steely resolve was all that remained.
Ace smirked from his pilot station and grabbed the controls that would drop the ship out of its hyperspace route. Moments later the front viewport was filled with the sight of Aebra... and an entire armada of enemy fighters that was split up and patrolling the planet. They appeared to have not noticed the Visigoth yet, but this could change in an instant. Naruto turned around and headed for cockpit exit, towards the EV chamber that Penny had prepared, Brianna hot on his heels. Before Naruto could leave he was pulled to the side into the arms of Gina, a deep kiss her only message to him. Naruto held the woman in his arms and when the pair separated he rested his forehead against Gina's, enjoying the feeling of being close to her.
"I promise, I will come back. And you know what that means for me. Keep everyone safe." Naruto exited the cockpit, leaving Gina standing as she watched her boyfriend's quick exit and sighed when the doorway slid shut. Turning back to the sensor station Gina's eyes hardened in determination as she sat, intent on making sure she did everything that she could to protect those that she loved and trusting in Naruto to do the same.
Naruto stood tall in the chamber, ready to summon his EV armor and get this show on the road. As he looked to his left, Naruto watched as Brianna went to open her hyperspace pocket and summon her armor but one look at her hardened expression caused the young man to worry about what may happen to her during the battle. Grinning widely, Naruto threw his arm out and wrapped it around her waist and pulled her towards him, catching her completely off guard. Brianna to look over at her boyfriend in shock that soon turned into happiness as Naruto kissed her, his arms pulling her flush against his body.
Brianna's eyes slid shut, the emotions that Naruto was stirring in her causing the woman to relax as she held the man that she had come to love. Naruto pulled back and grinned at the relaxed expression on Brianna's face, unable to resist kissing her nose. Brianna giggled at the action and squeezed the man in her arms before letting him go, her armor finally appearing and sliding into place on the now relaxed woman.
"Sorry, but you looked way too tense. Now, are you ready?" At Brianna's determined nod Naruto tapped a key on his bracer and his EV suit began to appear, each component locking into place until he was completely enclosed. As the holofield rezzed up and Naruto could again see the chamber he and Brianna were in, the now enclosed shinobi triggered his com network and grinned, seeing that Brianna had already set it up for him. There were four channels in total, one was set for Brianna and the second was set for Vaultron, the third was the main combat squad channel and fourth was the general com channel. "Well, that makes things easier... of course I still have no idea how to work most of this stuff. I have no problem flying this thing, that was easy to pick up... but all the other stuff that I have to run? I better not crash cause I'm not paying attention."
"Of course you won't sir, that is why I am here after all. Also, I believe that speaking towards oneself is an early form of insanity."
"Who the hell just said that?!" A small window opened in the lower left of Naruto's vision and what appeared to be a young woman composed of pure light standing at attention, patiently waiting for Naruto to respond to what she had said. Naruto looked at the image for a moment then growled softly, realizing he had been tricked by Brianna. "I'm assuming your here to help me? So why didn't you say anything earlier?"
"You are correct sir, I am here to assist you and as to why I did not reveal myself, I was instructed to keep my identity hidden by one of my creators, Brianna"
"That little... open channel one, I need to talk with my girlfriend for a moment." As the channel opened up Naruto looked over at Brianna and her madly grinning face, her suit's headpiece having a clear face shield meaning that her expression was not hidden.
"Hey stud, what's up?" Naruto pointed a accusatory finger at Brianna and her grin grew larger if such a thing was possible, the woman having an idea of what was coming.
"YOU SET ME UP! 'Oh, you'll get the hang of it when you start to fly, I'm sure you won't have any problems!' GE T THE HANG OF IT MY ASS! Now what you said make so much more sense! All I can say is... good job!" Brianna lost her tenuous control on her laughter, happy that she had managed to finally pull the wool over Naruto's eyes.
"Well stud, I thought it was time for a little pay back. After all, I can't let you think that I have no skill at pranking people. Meet Yang, a fourth generation A.I that both Gina and myself created. She was custom built for the armor, we needed to use it with yours as the tech is much more advanced, she'll be helping you run all the other systems while you concentrate on flying and fighting. Yang, say hi to Naruto, he's your new operator."
At Yang's formal bow Naruto grinned and shook his head. "So, your going to help me with the functions of the suit, huh? Awesome, glad to have you aboard Yang, I seriously have no idea how to use half of this stuff... that reminds me, Hime did you install what I asked for on the gauntlets?"
Brianna frowned as she nodded, her hand resting on her hip as she look at the armored suit. "I still have no idea why you need a bracket system like that on your gauntlets." Naruto put his empty hand behind his back and when he pulled the hand back in sight Brianna's eyes bore a confused expression, wondering what he held in his hand. Naruto grinned as he asked Yang to open up the bracket system, depositing the items in their new homes.
"Oh, you'll see why when we launch... speaking of which, we better get outside."
Mckeith reached forward and tabbed a control that activated his com system. "Alrighty, it's time for me and the boyos to see if the patrols we be seein are friendly or not! Vaultron Force, launch!" As the external pod jettisoned from their ride all five of the Vaultron shoes reconfigured, forming the Vaultron gestalt, it's thrust systems sending it towards the nearest patrol craft rapidly. As the team neared the six ships a pair of them broke off and without any warning at all fired on the Vaultron Force. The leprechauns had been prepared for this and maneuvered around the incoming fire, launching a spread of missiles that destroyed the pair of crescent shaped fighters. The remaining four craft immediately homed in on the Vaultron Force, intent on destroying the now hostile mecha. As Vaultron was about to launch more of it's conventional weaponry at the approaching enemies, a powerful beam of energy passed over it's shoulder and impacted with the lead fighter, slicking through it's armor like a hot knife through butter. Looking on his screens, Mckeith grinned as he watched Brianna take up a long range sniping position, another fighter meeting it's fiery death at her precision shooting. Naruto's jet black suit meanwhile rocketed towards the remaining members of the patrol, causing to Mckeith to grin in anticipation. "Alright, stand by team, let's see how Naruto uses his new suit in a fight!"
Naruto's bark of laughter was his only answer he provided Mckeith, his speed increasing as he began to dodge the incoming fire from the remaining pair of starfighters, his ion thrusters pushing the suit faster than the fighters could respond. As Naruto got into melee range he ducked under a final blast of energy, coming up under one of the ships and one brilliant flash of light later Naruto had sliced a wing free, the now crippled fighter spun out of control until it hit a small asteroid in it's path. Naruto the used his flight system to intercept the last bogey, the final fighter tried to turn tail and run but it was too late as Naruto sped up, deploying a second beam of energy from his gauntlets. The shinobi raced forward and landed on top of the fighter, then drove his weapons in to the cockpit, killing the pilot. Naruto fired up his thrusters again and when he was clear a final shot from Brianna destroyed the now out of control fighter, leaving this part of space free for the moment.
"So Vaultron Force, how was that?" Naruto grinned at the holo images of the Vaultron team, the common consensus was awe at what Naruto had just done.
"Faith be, what did ye use to slice through that ship, it looked like there weren't any armor at all!" Naruto grinned as the trio took off towards the now approaching armada, the enemy finally having detected the approaching ship.
"Beam sabers, they were a... gift, from a... friend. Yeah, we'll go with that..."
Flashback
"Ok Naruto, remember those beam sabers of mine that you 'borrowed'? I'm going to need them back." May held her hand out expectantly, waiting for the blonde shinobi before her to return her property.
"Sure thing May, but before I do that there is the small matter of... ah, here it is, your bill." Naruto placed a sheet of paper in May's hand, the time traveling girl looked at the paper in confusion then at Naruto.
"Whattaya mean, bill?!" May looked at the information again and did her best to resist the urge to deck the man in front of her when she read through the list of items and the cost for all of them.
"Well, you did bust through several walls when you entered our home and destroyed several extremely valuable pieces of equipment in the process, not to mention the damage done to the Ginamobile, it was a complete write-off. Plus, the lab damages also were indirectly your fault, you did provide the codes that Peachbody used to access the time craft and that was what caused him to destroyed Gina's lab. So, even though you were tricked into helping Peachbody... you still have to pony up the cash to replace everything that was destroyed."
"WHERE THE HELL AM I GOING TO GET EIGHT HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!" May crumpled the bill in her hand and took deep breaths as she tried to control her anger.
"Not my problem, you broke the stuff, not me. Now, I could be convinced to look the other way but I would need something in return... say, a pair of beam sabers?" May's jaw dropped and her patience finally shattered, the young woman lunging at Naruto and began to choke him, causing the young man to try and pull her hands from his throat. A moment later Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke and a log appeared, causing May to look around in confusion. The girl finally spotted the grinning face of the man she wanted to throttle standing behind her, waving cheerily.
"I can keep this up all night long. Now, Gina has asked me to handle this situation in the way that I think is best, so just lemme keep the sabers and you walked away without paying a cent, deal?" Naruto hoped the girl didn't call him out on his little fib... after all, he really wanted those beam sabers, they were perfect weapons for him to use!
May screamed in fury and stomped off, catching the attention of Brianna as she passed the fuming girl in the hall. Brianna watched as May stormed out of Mita's home, slamming the door in her anger. Walking into the room that May had just left Brianna saw her grinning boyfriend, walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "What the heck was that all about?" Naruto merely grinned , kissed Brianna quickly and walked out the door, never saying a word about the situation and leaving a very confused Brianna behind.
End flashback
"Gift my ass! That's why May was so pissed off!" Naruto grinned unrepentantly at the annoyed look on Brianna's face and cut the transmission, not wanting to get into an argument with his girlfriend in the middle of a fight. Looking over his shoulder Naruto turned his attention back towards the now approaching armada of ships, ready to continue the fight they had started.
"Well, that's what happens when you try and destroy the home of a shinobi. Kirei, how many ships we looking at here?"
"I count about three hundred ships... and you do know your giving those beam sabers back after this mission, right?" Naruto grumbled as he launched himself towards the approaching ships, knowing that it was a lost cause to argue with the girls when they were adamant about something.
"Fine, I've got point! You two, cover me and take out any ships I disable!" Before Brianna could shout out a chastisement that Naruto was being too reckless, the shinobi had already ramped his flight system up to full power and was pulling away from his comrades. As soon as he got within range his 'borrowed' beam sabers flashed out again, carving through starfighter armor as if it was nothing more than paper, providing perfect shots for Brianna and Vaultron to take the disabled enemies out of the fight permanently. With the sabers attached to his forearms Naruto was able to take full advantage of the flight systems that Brianna and Gina had created... and take advantage he did, his body contorting in ways that nearly made Brianna wince at times. Naruto was like a dervish, never stopping, constantly on the move and after disabling his current opponent he rocketed towards the next, his speed never slowing as he fell into his element, complete and total chaos on the battlefield. A low whistle of admiration from the Vaultron force woke Brianna from her slack jawed staring at her boyfriend's maneuvers, reminding her that she had a job to do. Raising her plasma cannon again Brianna began to thin the oncoming enemies... well, what was left of them anyways. Just as Naruto was about to reach the rear column of fighters a brilliant blast of energy crashed into his armor, sending the shinobi spinning towards his allies. For a moment no one moved, waiting for Naruto to turn around and blast after the energy that had hit him... but when he failed to move the remaining squadrons of starfighters accelerated, seeing an opportunity to destroy what appeared to be the biggest threat and not wanting to miss out on the opportunity.
'He's not moving!' Dread clutched at Brianna's heart as she heard Gina screaming for Naruto over the com lines, but no response was forthcoming. Brianna's eyes closed as her dread slowly shifted, changing to pure rage towards the ones that had hurt Naruto. Vaultron had to dodge as Brianna activated her flight system, barreling past the mecha and firing wildly at the opportunistic fighters that were intending to finish off Naruto in his vulnerable state. "NOT ON MY WATCH ASSHOLES! Vaultron, cover me while I pick off these vultures!" Ramping up her cannon to full power, Brianna began to snipe at the fighters brave enough to even approach her boyfriend, trusting in the Vaultron team's ability to keep her safe until Naruto was back in the fight. 'Come on baby, wake up!'
Naruto groaned, feeling like he had just been sat on by Gamabunta. 'Oh yeah, totally gotta check up on those guys, I keep forgetting to do that... wait, what the hell happened? And who's yelling my name over and over?' Naruto groggily opened his eyes and as his vision cleared he saw the concerned face of Gina's through the com screen. "Gina?"
"Naruto! You idiot! Rushing in like that, we thought that you'd been killed when you got hit by the energy blast!" Gina furiously wiped at the tears forming in her eyes and Naruto wished he was beside her so he could comfort the obviously distraught woman. Wincing slightly, Naruto tried to move but it felt like his suit had seized up on him, leaving him a floating shell of armor in deep space for the moment.
"I'm sorry Hime, I'll be more careful next time... if I can get moving again that is. Yang have you got a status report for me?" Yang's system window appeared again as she began to analyze what had happened.
"Systems are booting back up, it appears you were hit with some kind of disruptor beam, it managed to knock you out and temporarily shut down our internal systems. Life support was unaffected so you shouldn't have any lasting side effects from the blast. Give me a moment to bring your armor back online and you'll be able to get back in the fight."
Naruto sighed as he waited, knowing that he couldn't do anything except wait for the time being. Tapping into a small portion of Kurama's chakra that he had been hoarding away Naruto used it to scan for his fellow attack squad members, wanting to see how they were doing. Naruto could feel a sense of determination and desire to help Naruto from the Vaultron force, making the blonde grin at his new friends acceptance of him. When his senses shifted to Brianna, Naruto paled at the emotions she was feeling. Fear, loss, rage, each emotion battled for dominance inside the young woman as she felt that she may have lost Naruto to that blast of energy. Shaking his head, Naruto decided that he could use some of the remaining chakra to put Brianna at ease once he could move again. Focusing on the spot the woman occupied in space Naruto saw a brilliant signal coming from her and grinned as he pinpointed his girl. Once Yang informed him that his armor was ready to move again Naruto used some more of Kurama's chakra and disappeared in a flash of red light.
Brianna was dropping deeper into the depths of despair for every moment that Naruto wasn't moving, the only thing that kept her going was the fact that she had seen him shrug off even worse damage so she had a small glimmer of hope that he was ok. Continued attempts from her teammates to contact her were ignored as the young woman continued to cover Naruto, not willing to let anyone get close enough to even attempt to harm him. As Brianna watched Naruto's armor began to glow and she hoped that it was a sign that it was trying to reboot... when the suit disappeared into nothingness, all that remained was a burst of red light. Brianna stopped for a moment, her shock at what had happened warring with her refusal to believe that Naruto could possibly be gone. Brianna saw the Vaultron force move in front of her, covering her immobile body as she tried to understand what had happened to Naruto. A new com request opened but Brianna wasn't paying attention to it, her mind locked up and her eyes shut from the situation as she tried to make sense of what had happened. A com window was forcibly opened and Brianna could faintly hear the annoyed voice of the person on the other end of the channel as tears flowed down her cheeks.
"I don't care that she's not answering, just break through and take control of her com systems! You're a forth gen A.I, I'd expect that your able to... oh, you did , thanks Yang. Hime, snap out of it! I'm ok, everything is fine!" Brianna's eyes opened and she saw the concerned face of Naruto in front of her, her boyfriend letting out a deep breath as she responded to him. Brianna looked at her motion sensors and saw that Naruto's suit was right behind her, causing the young woman to sniffle a bit as she felt a huge amount of relief... relief which quickly turned to monumental fury.
"DAMN YOU NARUTO! Don't you ever scare me like that! Do you understand me mister?" Naruto maneuvered his suit towards Brianna and held her close to him, even though the young woman couldn't feel his warmth she could feel his body through her suit, the gesture calming her frayed nerves considerably.
"Sorry Hime, I'll try my best to make sure something like that doesn't happen again. Unfortunately I don't have eyes in the back of my head, so I can still sometimes be caught unaware." As Brianna's arms wrapped around her boyfriend, a new com window popped up and an annoyed Mckeith appeared.
"Not that I want to break up a touching scene such as this... BUT WE COULD BE USING SOME HELP HERE!" Naruto and Brianna both looked towards the Vaultron force and saw the remaining fighters were advancing on them, forcing the team to maneuver rapidly across the battlefield. A new contact showed up on the edge of Naruto's sensors and the shinobi had Yang send the sensor data to Brianna. "How much you want to bet she's the one that took me out of the fight earlier?"
Brianna's eyes narrowed as she looked towards the approaching enemy, the systems on her armor enhancing the image enough to show that it was a woman standing on top of what appeared to be a mechanical bird... and she didn't have any type of space suit on. 'Ok, that's a new one...'
"Is it just me, or is she glowing now?" Naruto slid his fingers over a seal on his armor, a kunai popping free, the shinobi twirling the blade rapidly as he observed their newest opponent. "I got a bad feeling about this..." Naruto let the kunai fly toward the enemy, hoping that he wouldn't have to use his newest attack.
'I suppose it's time to dirty my own hands, as much as I loath doing so.' Uriel held her staff at the ready, knowing that her initial blast would not take out the being that was decimating her troops.
"At first I thought you all could be agents of the Others, but I see the truth now. You are all mere lower life forms, battling against your betters. You should feel fortunate, little pests, that I am in no mood to torture you until death claims you all! Your deaths will be extra quick as I have little time for nuisances such as yourselves!"
Uriel closed her eyes, her focus on decimating the enemies that threatened her family's mission on this world. Her concentration was so great that even though she sensed the small weapon that penetrated the outer skin of her flier she felt that it was insignificant, her ego laughing at the fact that these gnats thought that she would be destroyed by such an insignificant weapon. An orb of crimson energy rapidly gained size until it was about half the size of the interloper's ship, at which point Uriel launched the orb of destruction at the soon to be dead nuisances.
"NOW DIE!"
"OH SHIT! Hime, Vaultron, get to the ship! NOW!" Naruto immediately whipped around, firewalling his thrusters and hauling ass towards the ship. Brianna and the Vaultron team were barely able to keep up, both of them were swearing up a storm as Naruto tried to think of something to stop the massive sphere of death as it slowly gained on them. "Kirei, if you got an idea, you better use it, I've got nothing!"
On the Visigoth
"Hang on Naru, just keep heading towards the ship, I'm working on it!" As Naruto, Brianna and the Vaultron team neared the Visigoth, Gina was furiously typing at her system, watching the energy sphere growing larger in the viewport.
"Gina, gimme some good news! Can the Visigoth handle a blast like that? Cause if it can't... girl, we are gonna be so dead!" Penny was looking out the viewport, a worried expression the only outside sign that she was concerned about the ball of death that was heading their way.
"Ummm, yeah, about that... we are going to die if that thing hits us. It's not a question of the blast, it's the shockwave, it'll rip us to shreds! Wait a minute... Naru! Get your tight butt back here, I need you to pick up something that'll stop the blast, it might be just enough to weaken the shockwave!" The next thing that everyone saw was Naruto appearing on the prow of the Visigoth in a flash of brilliant red light, his body language screaming agitation.
"Come on, gimme gimme gimme! That thing is getting way too close, hurry up!" Gina finished entering the final commands and Naruto's hurried demand over the com system and a large piece of machinery was ejected from the craft, one that was instantly scooped up by Naruto as he aimed himself towards the oncoming blast and punched his flight systems again, trusting that what Gina had planned would work that he didn't even question what he was doing. As the shinobi rushed towards the oncoming blast Gina was keeping a close eye on the distance, waiting for the right moment to implement the final part of her plan.
"Gina, what was that?" Gina immediately shushed Brittany, concentrating fully on the task at hand as Naruto edged closer to their approaching doom.
"Holo forcefield emitter, it was made ejectable for a reason! Naru, you're going to throw it... NOW! Then hurry up and get your butt outta there!" Naruto reared back and threw the item he had lugged from the Visigoth towards the oncoming blast, spun around again and raced towards Brianna and the Vaultron team, realizing what would happen from what Gina had just said and hoping he was going to make it outside of the blast zone. The crew of the Visigoth not currently running for their lives watched as the force field emitter impacted the oncoming energy blast, stopping it's motion and detonating it well short of the mark as it fulfilled it's last duty and managed to contain the blast. As Brittany and Charlotte yelled out a victory cheer Gina watched in shock as she saw Naruto catapulted past the Visigoth from the remainder of the shockwave, towards the very planet they were going to land on. "Uhhh... Naru? You might wanna slow down there... Naru? Ah hell, he's going in way too hot!" Gina watched in helplessness as she watched Brianna and Vaultron race after he falling boyfriend, intent on stopping his uncontrolled landing with the planet Aebra.
"We got him sis!"
"Aye! Don't be worrying Gina me lass, Naruto be in good hands!"
Gina's eyes narrowed into a deadpan expression, watching as the three suits began to fall towards the planet. "Guys... now all three of you are stuck in the planet's gravity well."
"…"
"…"
"AHHHHHH! HELP US, WE'RE GONNA BURN UP!" Brianna's terrified scream as she was pulled further down into the clutches of the planets gravity was only beaten by the screams and protest of the five leprechauns in Vaultron. Gina massaged the bridge of her nose, wishing this was all a bad dream. Just as Ace was about to turn the Visigoth towards the planet, intent on catching their friends, the woman that had nearly vaporized them flew past them, hit the Visigoth with a smaller energy sphere and stopping it dead as she dove towards her now helpless prey.
"DAMN! Bitch scrambled the power systems with something like what she used on your guy G, damn near fried my engines!" While Ace and Penny did everything they could do to restore power to the main engines, Gina watched the three forms falling deeper towards the surface of Aebra along with their pursuer, praying that they had a way out of this mess.
Meanwhile, with Naruto and Co
Naruto groaned, a very rare headache forming as he woke form his enforced slumber. "Note to self, do not try and stop giant energy balls of death in a tin can space suit... " Opening his eyes Naruto looked at what was in front of him and stopped groaning. Closing his eyes again, Naruto shook his head and opened them again. "Yang, why does it look like I'm falling into the atmosphere of Planet Aebra?"
"Because Naruto, you ARE falling into the atmosphere of Planet Aebra."
"…"
"…"
"SHIT! How come I don't hear anyone screaming at me? I'd think the others would be worried that I was about to fall to my death..." Yang held her finger up, indicating that she needed a moment when suddenly the suit was filled with the terrified screams of Brianna and the Vaultron team. Naruto groaned in frustration then looked around, seeing the pair falling beside him and sighed.
"Son of a bitch... and the evil psycho that caused all this?"
"She's right above you, ready to take another shot at you." Naruto quickly looked up, seeing the enemy commander racing towards the three entrapped suits, apparently wanting to finish them off before they burned up.
"Perfect. OI, STOP SCREAMING YOU TWO! We got a bogey incoming, get ready to kick it's ass! Yang, cut all power to propulsion. I'm gonna need it for something else."
Uriel grimaced as she entered the gravity well of Aebra, intent on ending the lives of the insects that dared to defy her. Lining up her staff a final time she aimed it towards the now helpless beings before her, ready to snuff out their lives. "And so it ends... what?" Uriel 's attack faltered when the black armored insect suddenly disappeared from her sight, leaving it's comrades to her mercy. "HAH! I see your camaraderie is only skin deep, well they must not have been that important if you left them to die!" Uriel's lips twisted into a sneer as she brought her staff to bear, one more time. And suddenly her prey in the black suit of armor disappeared from her sight, surprising the Dynasty warrior that the lower lifeform could still even move. Moments later the flier that bore her towards her prey was replaced with white hot flames, ones powerful enough to make the Uriel scream in agony.
Naruto held his hands in front of him in the sign of the snake, his latest explosive tag experiment shredding the bird shaped flier of their attacker. "Hiraishin no Jutsu: Jirai no Noroshi!* Mckeith, you ready?"
"AYE! Full power to the Blazing Shillelagh!" Vaultron managed to move aside just in time to raise it's Shillelagh high above it's head and slap the woman towards the ground and finally a parting shot of the Brianna Cannon turned her from a now unconscious alien woman falling into the atmosphere of a planet... into a burnt and smoking woman falling into the atmosphere of the planet.
Naruto grinned as he watched the woman fall towards the planet, that was until Gina's com window opened again and her worried expression woke him up.
"Naruto, we can't get to you in time! The engines are still offline... we can't rescue you, I'm sorry..." As tears began to roll down her cheeks, Naruto chuckled softly and grinned at Gina.
"Come on, you really think I didn't have an escape plan? Who the heck do you think your talking to Kirei?" Gina looked up in hope as Naruto's grin almost covered his entire face. Gina quickly shifted her view to the external displays to watch the falling forms of her friends and loved ones. Naruto's suit suddenly vanished in a flash of light and Gina grinned softly, understanding what was going to happen.
Brianna continued panic, convinced she was going to die in one of the worst ways that she could imagine. 'I don't wanna die! I'm not even 10 yet! I have way too much to live for, why didn't I wait before rushing off after Naruto? Damn me and my impulsiveness!' As these thoughts ran rampant in Brianna;s head the terrified woman felt an arm pull her into a strong embrace, looking behind her Brianna burst into tears as she was held by Naruto. The shinobi raised his hand in a half seal and the pair instantly were transported beside the still screaming Vaultron Force. Naruto chuckled as he grabbed onto the gestalt, then turned back towards the Visigoth and a moment later the trio disappeared in a flash of brilliant yellow light.
The next thing they all felt was the hard floor of the main cargo hold, Naruto landed nimbly on his feet while Brianna fell to her ass and Vaultron fell into a tangle of mechanical legs and arms. Naruto looked around and finding his quarry he helped Brianna stand. Walking over to the com panel he contacted the bridge, grinning at his fellow attack squad member before the connection was made to the bridge.
"Well, aren't you both glad I marked you with those teleport seals? But, that was a lot of fun, how about we do it again?" Brianna pulled her helmet from her head and glared at Naruto, causing the shinobi to turn away and whistle innocently. Moments later the bridge appeared on the com panel, a triumphant laugh from Ace signaled that the engines were fixed and ready to go. Penny sighed in relief at seeing her friends in one piece and grinned at Naruto.
"Well Naruto, since we're in the middle of what appears to be a war and you are the tactical commander, what's our next move?" Naruto stowed his suit in hyperspace, once more garbed in his new armor and slowly rubbed his chin while the Vaultron Force separating into their individual components and the leprechauns dragging themselves free of their confined mecha.
"Any signs of the enemy?"
Penny nodded quickly as she punched up a display for their new commander, the sensor data appearing just as Gina rushed into the cargo bay, crashing into Naruto and holding onto him tightly. "It appears their entire army is centered around this population center, the only one we could find. It's a coastal town, approximately the size of New York City and about half destroyed at this time. These aliens seem to be taking their sweet time in doling out the beat down on the Kryn, we better hurry or there'll be nothing left."
Naruto studied the aerial maps again for a moment and a malicious smirk appeared. "Oh yeah, I got an idea."
Archon, leader of the remain Kryn slowly exited the caves that her people had been using as a refuge and watched as the sun slowly rose in the sky. A wave of sadness washed over her as she watched the rays of light illuminate the ravaged land before her, a land that had been a paradise for her people not even three months ago. 'All that we have done is slow the Dynasty, but they move forward like an unstoppable force of nature, crushing all in their path... perhaps we are meant to fade into darkness, a forgotten and forsaken people.'
As Archon closed her eyes, tears staining the fur on her cheeks, a low level roaring sound was heard. The sound was like nothing the Kryn leader had heard before in her life and it was getting... louder? Looking up, Archon saw a ship descending into the atmosphere, heading for the coastline that the cave faced and the it began to fly towards the ocean and the nearly destroyed capitol, it's speed kicking up a large spray of water as it flew mere meters above the ocean. A flash of the powerful engines and the ship accelerated rapidly, a powerful wind the only evidence that a ship had even been there. Archon's wide eyes watched until the vessel was a mere speck in the distance, the only thing that brought her out of her focus on the ship was a strong hand on her shoulder.
"I have a feeling that they are here to help. We should go and meet them."
On the Visigoth
Naruto stood tall on the prow once more of their transport, his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk still adorning his face as they neared the heavily damaged capital. Hearing a soft beeping in his ear, Yang activated Naruto's com system and Gina's voice could be heard. "Hey Naru, we're about 3 minutes out, are you going to tell us what we're going to do?" Looking over his shoulder into the viewport of the Visigoth Naruto closed his eyes as he felt the wind rushing past him, the high speed causing his blood to sing at the freedom he felt.
"Oh don't worry, you'll see what happens. After all, it's not every day you see an entire legion for out of thin air." Turning back towards the approaching coastline Naruto formed his favorite hang sign and the prow was covered in smoke. Moments later hundreds of blurred forms leapt to the water, leaving Naruto with a single clone that was grinning happily. Four more time Naruto repeated this process until he had been joined by five clones on the prow, each appearing to be as ready to jump into the fray as their creator. Naruto turned to the remaining clones and handed them each an earbud and holding his arm out, a brilliant flash of light appearing and a bundle dropped into his outstretched palm. Grabbing the item Naruto unfolded it, revealing a long black coat with orange flames as it's trim was revealed. Putting the garment on, Naruto turned back towards the approaching coast line and the inevitable battle that they would encounter there. "Alright, you all know what we're here for, lets make these guys wish they were never born." The five clones leapt from the Visigoth and landed on the ocean, using wind chakra to skim the surface of the water, looking as if they were skating rapidly across the expanse of water. The five clones used Naruto's insane speed to pull ahead of the Visigoth and the original Naruto nodded in satisfaction. As Naruto stood on the prow, multiple voices reached his ears and he grinned, watching as the five lead clones were joined by a handful of clones... then a dozen and this number eventually grew to a hundred. Soon there were a thousand clones, all passing the Visigoth and the number still continued to grow, causing the occupants of the Visigoth's bridge to gasp in shock and awe.
Ten thousand insanely exuberant clones were pulling away from the Visigoth, some were leaping around like little children let out to play, others were as focused as a laser, but all of them had the same instructions.
Raise complete and utter hell against the bastards that dare to attack his friends and family.
As the clone army and the Visigoth neared the shoreline, each of the five clones that had been with Naruto and had been selected as his commanders further pulled ahead, a sign to the other clones to separate into equal groups, two thousand clones to a commander. Naruto tapped a control on his bracer he opened a channel the the earbuds he had provided to the clone commanders and gave his final orders. "You will be identified in order of creation, your units are Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Epsilon and Sigma. Alpha, Beta, your jobs are to assault the main forces, use any and all mean necessary to destroy, harass and pin down the enemy. Gamma, your job is to get any survivors out, I have a feeling that some people are still holed up in the city. Epsilon, your job is to sabotage or steal any and all vehicles and tech you can get your hands on, if it's too big to carry then blow it the hell up. And Sigma... go nuts, you're the wild cards, give'em hell boys!"
Naruto grinned merrily as ten thousand voices yelled out "YOSHA!" in sync, his clones launching themselves into the capital when land was reached and more than willing to follow their instructions. The Visigoth landed on a cliff at the coastline and the rest of Naruto's team exited the ship, staring at Naruto in stunned silence at the spectacle they had just witnessed. Naruto jumped down, landing gracefully on his feet and walked towards his new family.
"Come on, lets go find Stripe."
End
Hiraishin no Jutsu: Jirai no Noroshi – Flying Thunder God Technique: Landmine Beacon – A supplementary technique to the original Flying Thunder God created through Naruto's seal experimentation. A secondary seal siphons part of the energy reclaimed from the kinetic energy produced from a teleport, producing an explosive charge equivalent to a dozen explosive tags. The Snake handsign is required to activate the charge.