We know we're coming full circle with God when we stand at a very similar crossroad where we made such a mess of life before, but this time we take a different road.

~Beth Moore

Unsurprisingly, everything was black for a short while. No matter where he walked, how fast he went, or how far he could see, it was just inky unendingness. For a moment, Echo thought that maybe Life and Death had caught on to his dissent. His inner rebellion, his lack of confidence surrounding the role he'd had since his creation.

But the blackness… it was almost warming somehow. It wasn't cold, unfeeling. There was no lingering pain, no shivers crawling up his spine. There was a warm blanket surrounding him, and despite looking around, he saw nobody. Nobody that is, until a man approached, tall and proud. He was wearing a draped cloak, white in colour with red highlights at the bottom.

He had shocking blond hair that stuck up in every direction, held up in place with a headband, with a metallic band. Underneath the cloak, there was a green-like vest, covering up a bright red shirt, with a fishnet-like armour covering underneath that. With blue trousers, he completed the look with black sandals, more like boots in appearance. The man looked up at him with vibrant blue eyes, two whiskers on each cheek, shocking him to his soul, as Echo received echoes of the past- of his past.

The man smiled at Echo warmly, although Echo was still on the defensive of it all. He knew the man- or at least, he had an inkling of what universe the man was from because the features were distinctive- but he didn't know who the person was. He bowed respectfully and politely, and not wanting to be rude- despite his hesitancy- he bowed in return.

"It's nice to meet you, Guardian. I apologise for all of the secrecy."

He stepped out of his bow, looking directly at Echo, who furrowed his brows slightly, curling in his fingers in order, but not in an aggressive way. It was surprising that he was still in a human body, instead of the spherical ball of energy he was normally subjected to- and though wary, he doubted this was Life and Death. It could be an elaborate trick, sure, but there was just an instinctive feeling of trust and kinship.

"May I ask who you are? And where we are?"

The man smiled, waving his hand out to the side. A small ball of blue energy emerged before it hit the ground. Grass revolved around the spot of where it hit, and it expanded outwards rapidly, flowers and blooming trees growing.

There was a large gate just behind the man as the blue sky appeared, and behind the gate, there was what seemed to be a village, although the streets were empty. There seemed to be a large mountain behind the gate, and there were faces engraved into the rock, detailed and almost alive. There were seven in all, all having different features adequately represented despite the single tone nature of it all.

"I go by Mitsuo now. Mitsuo Uzumaki. We're in a different plane at the minute- not your universe, not mine, but one in between. One without Life and Death's reach, reserved for us and us alone. But for now, I bet you are wondering why we are here."

Echo's eyes widened slightly at the mention of Life and Death. Capitalised. Nobody knew of the actual entities save for he, and the mysterious man from before who had taken down the helicopter just like he promised to. Echo recognised the name as clear as day- one of the more eccentric universes that he'd had the pleasure of visiting.

It had been rewarding in a way, it had taught him a lot of skills that could be transferred from place to place. He nodded, crossing his arms slightly as a very authentic feeling breeze surrounded him, cooing like a child to its mother.

"I am. Are you related to the man who saw me before?"

The newly named Mitsuo tilted his head slightly almost inquisitively. He was lost in thought for a moment, before realising something. There was an air of wisdom and power surrounding Mitsuo, and he sounded much older then he looked, considering he looked to be about middle-thirties. He nodded as he began to walk towards the village, gesturing for Echo to follow him.

He did, wondering where this rabbit hole was going to lead: if anywhere good. There was some charm about Mitsuo that seemed to attract everyone to him like a magnet, his mood infection, latching onto people like a parasite. It was an ability that could prove useful, able to approach the most closed of hearts. An ability that could be used for good, or evil, to help or to manipulate.

"Oh, you must be referring to Nate. Don't mind him- he's old and gruff. A big supporter of human rights, and hates when people are twisted. One of the first of our kind, if you're inclined to believe me."

He tilted his head curiously, as they walked through the village, the streets empty. The signs were written in Japanese, the symbols as clear as day to even Echo. The place was almost open and comforting, despite it all. It almost lulled Echo into a sense of false security, silently willing him to drop his guard. It was eerie, seeing a place where it should be populated, but it was empty.

"Anyway, I was chosen to speak with you, since I was the Guardian before you."

Echo froze in place, in visible shock. He was beginning to think it was some kind of fever dream, some kind of trick, something that had happened while he was unconscious from that wound. Mitsuo seemed light-hearted enough, which raised a flag for him. If he was truly the Guardian that he succeeded, then why was he so open and carefree? Why was there no malice or cold or apathy that he'd fought with?

"I represent the organisation that helps those like us. To free us from our servitude."

He continued on, Mitsuo having a narrowed expression. It was guarded, and he thought, for the briefest of moments, that maybe he'd misjudged the man in some way or form. It wasn't enough to make him relax his guard, no, not at all.

He'd always thought that the previous Guardians had been killed, wiped away, leaving no trace. He had never been told about them, only being told to avoid the mistakes that his predecessor had made. To be perfect, and never falter. But he'd failed at that spectacularly if he was here- but was it really such a sin to develop a conscious.

"How did you pull me here? What happens… now?"

Mitsuo disappeared and repeated on the roof just next to Echo. Knowing the man wanted him to follow, he slipped into a character long discarded and materialised next to him, as they ran across the rooftops, hands outstretched behind them. It was almost reassuring to revisit the places in his past, even if he knew that the next time he went, nobody would remember him. Such was his fate and a dreary one at that.

"When you become unconscious, your hold to the universe you're played in becomes weaker, easier to manipulate. While you are unconscious in your current universe, your mind was simply pulled here. The body you have here is just a construct. And as to what happens now- that's up to you. We can free you from your servitude, and place you in a world of your choosing, or we can do whatever you want. We're not going to force you into anything."

"What happened to you?"

He smiled, softly, almost endearingly, at Echo. There were a wide array of emotions that went through the man's face. Love, endearment, adoration. Mitsuo stopped running, and the blue ball from before appeared in his hand. Mitsuo crouched down, and placed it gently on the roof-tiles, before the ball spread out like before, displaying the forms of many people.

One was the mirror image of Mitsuo himself, with the same bright blue eyes, and whiskers, though the man had three of them. He looked to be younger then Mitsuo, early twenties it looks like. Though they were blue and translucent, certain aspects of the form took on colour, such as the yellow tinge to the hair. Next to the man, there was a girl, her eyes pure grey. There was no pupil within her eyes, but she had dark purple hair. Between the two of them, there were two children, both young looking.

Next to them still, there was a girl with vibrant pink hair, the colour of sakura blossom. There was a young girl between her and the man with the red eyes, and the blackest hair. Lastly, there was a woman, with tumbling brown hair that fell to her lower back, with a newborn baby in her arms, with his mother's hair, but his father's blue eyes. A miniature whisker covered each cheek. Her eyes were warm and comforting, eyes a life filled green.

"I got a family. My brother, and his wife. Their two children. My friend and his wife, and their daughter. My beautiful wife, and my son, my kin. Something I thought I'd never have, but got in the end. I got my freedom."

Echo looked at Mitsuo as the image dispelled, settling like the rolling sea over the beach. Echo felt a sense of urgency, because after all, the last he'd seen, his squad were all dying or fatally injured on the floor. While he couldn't feel the pain here, more of a dull ache than anything else, the people he had grown to accept as his own were in an unknown condition.

But why… why this iteration of his squad? Why not any of the other people he'd met before? There was almost a weighty blanket weighing down on Echo, of all the things he'd done, of all the people he'd seen and been forced to give up on. The control that Life and Death had on him for so long. Was he really worth this? He'd done plenty of horrible things, things he hadn't even regretted at the time. Cutting down whoever he was told, manipulating relationships, setting things up that were destined to fail.

"But after all the things that I've done, is it really worth all of this?"

Mitsuo growled at him, an oddly inhuman sound. Echo's eyes widened slightly, as the man took a second to school his features, and orange fire almost flickering in his eyes. When he spoke again, he spoke with an undertone, much deeper and refined. The growl was angered, and an inhuman look overcame the once calm man.

"I thought the same once. When I was put into this brat."

The word was said with some fondness, rather then an insult like Echo thought it might have been once upon a time. The man in front of him was no longer Mitsuo, but rather an avatar. An avatar that had power seeping off him like waves, similar to Mitsuo's own, but more intense. It was concentrated enough to visibly pour off the man, the elegant robe flickering around him, orange sparks leaping.

"I lost a lot of things being sealed into Mitsuo and Naruto. As did the two of them. I lost my immortality, my siblings, but I gained a sense of pride and humility. Those two lost their childhood, their parents, their village because of me. But, through those two, I was able to redeem myself."

He paused, casting back in thought almost. Echo looked down, feeling chastised. And for once, it genuinely affected him. It wasn't something he was feigning, the words, instead of burdening him, were almost lightening him up. He couldn't look away from Mitsuo's eyes, intense and giving him shivers.

"What's the point of existence if your actions aren't your own, Echo? What's the point if you have nobody you can care for, nobody you can call your own? Even I was never truly alone: I had my siblings. But what do you have? You have those who you are waiting for, but you don't let them in. You don't let them know who you truly are?"

The avatar, like the orange glow, subsided back into him, the intent he was feeling being absorbed back into him, revealing Mitsuo's blue eyes. There was a short smile on his face as his entire form relaxed, but he still looked somewhat solemn.

"What I gained far outweighed the downsides Echo. I got a family, and if I had to give up my knowledge of the future, then so what? I still gained more in the end. I don't have to play a character any more, I can be me. How many have you kept away in order to be the Guardian? Have you thought about just being Echo, or whatever identity you choose?

I can be myself. Mitsuo Uzumaki, Jinchūriki of the Yin half of the Kyuubi, Kurama. Son of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze, brother to Naruto Uzumaki. That's all I have to be, no one more and nobody less. That is what I got, and everybody deserves that: the chance to be their own person. You deserve happiness and free will, not servitude and torture. Now… I think it's about time you wake up."

Echo didn't get the chance to ask anything else as his surroundings fell into obscurity, and the oddest sensation of cold water being thrown on him jarred him back to where he'd likely be- a medical bay somewhere. And for once, he felt uplifted about the future. There was a sense of self that he'd not had before.

Echo came too in a ward in Germany. His legs were bound up tightly, in swaddled bandages, and his arms were wrapped up in the same. He was wearing a nondescript hospital grown, and his whole form stung violently with pain, unable to be soothed. Small pads were on his chest, hooked up to a machine which monitored every beat of his heart. His gut was churning, every movement sending a searing pain, and his head was foggy and confused.

He remembered what had happened, with sickening clarity, of course, he did, but he wanted nothing more than to focus on the task at hand. To distract him from the insubordinate thoughts. He had so much more to work through… his squad to help save. Every thought and action was given another thought of consideration- knowing that the wrong decision could lead to death. A lesser man would be tempted to be in it for himself, but that was not the kind of person Echo was.

"Echo min. You awake?"

The drawl was difficult for Echo to understand, the words bouncing meaninglessly around his head. No matter how hard he focused on them, they bounced uselessly around his head. Echo had never quite felt this weak before, and he'd been around a very long time. It was as if something was leaching out of his body, only further fuelling his exhaustion and tiredness. Despite the familial drawl not making much sense, he could pinpoint the name and accent.

Soap MacTavish. He repeated his words, this time coming out much more lucid. Shutting his lids and yawning, he focused on the hazy eyes of his teammate, covered in bandages but not bedridden. He was standing next to Echo's bed, in simple clothes- a plaid shirt and casual jeans. It was an odd look considering that Echo had only seen the man in army garbs before, but even in his state, he could assume that he wasn't on duty.

"Yeah…"

He answered slowly, hesitantly, his accent the faintest whisper. Soap pushed the button that would summon a nurse- Echo really didn't want to deal with one of those at the minute- before gently trying to push himself up, recoiling at the stabbing pain in his stomach. Soap pushed him back down, gently, and for once, the man couldn't bring it in himself to push back.

"Zakhaev's dead. We're all alive- thanks to you. It was an incredibly risky thing you did- and I don't wan to be in your shoes when Price comes a calling."

Author's Note

So, the last chapter is going to be the end of Arc 1. I'll be taking a break from this story to write Arc 2, in which I'll post another story in the meantime. The next Arc will have much less emphasis on this "Guardian" concept, and by the time Arc 3 rolls around, Echo'll basically be a normal soldier.

I'll see you next time!

~Cait