A/N: Would you kindly read this note?
First, Hey, can anyone see this? This is a Double Update Day -wanna do those while I can- but can you see this? Site's glitching out something awful, so I'm not entirely sure whether this got posted correctly or not? Hello? Anyone there? Hope you can see this~! Only two chapters left now!
Second...well...just brace yourself. This chapter goes right for the throat.
So here we are, three quick questions.
Q: How go the requests?
A: Presently? I'm trying not to do anymore. Might do a proper NarutoxRuby someday, since this one wasn't my best.
Lord knows I've got people chomping at the bit for a NarutoxYoung!Kali story.
...with hilarious results.
To say nothing of "Weapon Master of Remnant" with NarutoxTenten then "Trickster of Beacon" which has Naruto and Tyrian wreaking havoc.
Don't even get me started about "Not My Doctor!"
MUST! RESIST!
Q: Is Naruto losing himself? Please don't let it be so!
A: Naruto has near cosmic power at his fingertips. Controlling that AND keeping your humanity? Well. That's difficult. Mortals aren't meant to house the powers of a god, not for long. Naruto's on the clock here so he's trying to move as quickly as he can. Doesn't help that the God of Light knows jack-all 'bout emotions and the like.
The power is. Quite literally, eating him. Worse part is, it won't kill him. Just his sense of self.
And naturally, other forces have taken notice of his actions.
Q: Will we get an epilogue?
A: Suppose that depends on the reception. And ending. Really, at this point it could go either way.
Alright then, I've kept you long enough.
As ever, I own no references, quotes, memes or themes. Not a wit or one.
"I could do much more for this world...so much more...
...but this is what I get. My reward.
ITS NOT FAIR!"
~Losing One's Self.
Killing Knowledge
Ruby didn't believe in Gods.
Maybe that was silly, but it was the truth. She'd never taken much stock in the notion of a higher power. Myths, legends, stories of Heroes, sure. But...gods? They'd always seemed so distant. An abstract concept, y'know? Something to swear by, but never to see, never to know, never to touch. Nothing the sort a huntress-in-training ought to think about.
Until now.
Now, as the world rippled and shifted around her to reveal the grand spires of Haven Academy, she began to believe. With just a snap of his fingers Naruto had shepherded them from one end of the globe to the other. All of them! Her, the rest of her team, uncle Qrow, even Penny! How else did you explain something like that?! Answer! You didn't! Not even a Semblance could do that!
This? This was a god.
Ruby spun in place, half expecting to see Beacon Tower behind her, only to find the sprawling streets of a vast city. Passerby spared them the occasional passing glance as they went about their business, some looking quite startled to find so many people in their midst, but nothing more. She at least, took the realization better than most.
"Oh, wow." Ruby cast a fretful gaze for her surroundings; trying not to show her awe and failing spectacularly. "So you can do that now, huh?"
"Yup." Naruto smacked his lips. "It took me a bit of focus, but it wasn't all that hard."
Not that hard?! No one else could do this! Likewise, Everyone else was rather worse for wear when Ruby risked a glance at them. Penny's hands had all but flown to her face. Yang's jaw hung open, lilac eyes bulging wide. Weiss was planted on her knees. Blake looked fit to faint.
And uncle Qrow...
"What were you thinking?!" Her beloved uncle surged forward and grabbed a fistful of Naruto's collar. "I want no part of this! Gathering the relics?! Are you insane?! Send us back!"
Naruto blinked once. "Can't. Sorry."
"Why not?!"
Blue eyes blazed gold.
"Because like everyone here, you are needed, Qrow Branwen." his voice took a new edge, as though another, higher power were speaking with him. Through him. "Now man up or go stick your head in the sand like your spoiled sow of a sister."
"Hey!" Yang squawked! "That's my mom your talking about!"
Naruto rounded on her sister. "Did I speak incorrectly?"
"Well, no," Beneath that smoldering gaze, Yang faltered. "But damn, that was a burn...
Credit where it was due, Uncle Qrow tried to rally. "How in the blue hell do you know about-
"I know many things now." Fathomless golden orbs regarded him. "Do not test me. I have neither time nor the patience for your paranoia."
Silenced stretched between them and Ruby began to wonder if her Uncle would draw on him. Naruto squared his shoulders. Qrow's hand settled on Harbinger's hilt. Neither yielded. Panic grew roots in Ruby's heart and riveted her where she stood. They weren't going to fight, right? Right? Right...?
"Qrow, I mean it." Naruto's voice's lost its deep tenor and fell in warning, "Don't do this. It won't end well for you. I'm trying to help."
"Yeah?" her uncle growled. "Well you've sure got a funny way of showin' it-
"Both of you, stop!" Ruby thrust herself between them before they could come to blows. "This is stupid!"
"Ruby look at him!" Qrow flung an arm at the deified blond. "He's got horns for crying out loud! No way is he the same person! You'd be crazy to think otherwise!"
...still." her lips pursed in a thin line. "I trust him."
Qrow scowled. "Think, Ruby! Think!
"We're on the same side!"
He scowled at her. "Are we?!"
"We are!" Weiss stepped up beside her and widened the gap further, shattering the impasse altogether. "Honestly! If the two of you would stop being such boys and focus for half a second you'd see...!" The reality of the situation must've caught up with her a moment later; because she dared a quick glance about. "Well. This really is Mistral, isn't it...?"
"Second verse, same as the first." Naruto shoulder Uncle Qrow aside to reach Penny and Ruby was pleased to see that his eyes had gone blue again, at least for the moment. "Hey squirt, you mind doing me a favor?
The mechanical maiden saluted. "Certainly!"
"Great." then those eyes hardened again. ""I want you to...
He leaned in and whispered the rest into her ear, speaking so softly that no one else could hear. Ruby strained her ears -she was right next to them for crying out loud!- yet somehow she couldn't make out a single word. Was it magic of some sort? Or was he really speaking that softly? Bah! Pesky god magic. Wasn't fair.
Penny tilted her head and gazed up at him. "If I do this...will it save the world?"
A wry grin creased his face. "Definitely."
"And...are you sure its legal?"
"I'll make it legal." he patted her head as an elder brother might for a younger sibling...the way Yang once had with her. "Hold still and think of home. We'll see you in an hour."
Whatever he'd whispered, it had Penny preening. "Yessir! See you soon!"
Naruto snapped his fingers. Then she vanished.
Literally. Just...vanished.
"What the heck?!" Ruby flailed her arms through the space her friend had just occupied, grasping at the motes of light where she'd been. "Where did you send her?!"
"Atlas, of course." Naruto tilted his head. "She's going to prepare the way."
Blake found her voice at last. "The way for what?
He smiled. "Our revolution."
Yang gulped. "Well, that sounds ominous."
"It really isn't." Naruto temporized with a raised hand. "I could explain, but you wouldn't believe me."
"Try us." Yang crossed both arms beneath her bosom. "We might surprise you."
"You already have."
For a fleeting instant, Ruby saw something different in Naruto's gaze. Something sad. He looked miserable; as if he were about to burst into tears. Ruby felt something twitch in her heart. She'd seen the Relic of Choice for all of an instant back in Beacon, but not what it had shown him. A small part of her suspected she never would. If she could see every choice she would ever make and where each would lead...nope, nope, nope!
Life wasn't just about the choosing, it was about the living.
"Right, screw it." Uncle Qrow flung up his arms. "I'm gonna get a drink."
Naruto quirked a brow. "Have one with the headmaster. Try mentioning my name."
"Waitaminute." the surly bird squinted at him. "You want me to tell Leonardo we're here?"
Naruto smiled. It was all teeth. "I'm banking on it. Drop Salem's name while you're at it. See what happens."
"Fine, I'll bite." Harbinger slammed back into its sheathe. "Doubt it'll do anything. But I've got one last thing to say." he stepped forward and slammed his head against Naruto's. "Ask yourself this; what happens when a man becomes a god? It changes him. Changes you. Doesn't it?" When Naruto didn't answer, his expression became rueful indeed. You don't split a man's soul between light and dark, and expect him to remain the same. How much longer ya got left? Hours days? How long until you're not you...?"
His brow furrowed. "Long enough."
"Fine." Qrow shrugged. "I've said my peace. Don't come crying to me when this blows up in your face.
He vanished in a whirl of dark feathers and a dark bird took wing. Somehow, the sight didn't surprise Ruby. She'd seen too much to be amazed by something like that. Well, at least they weren't trying to kill one another now. That was good. Wasn't it?
And then Yang had to chime in. "You sure all that power isn't going to your head?"
Naruto fell silent.
"This is...strange." he said at last. "I feel like somewhere, sometime, this has happened before. All this power, yet I could do so much more." His gaze swung back to the academy with a frown. "So much more. I could turn all these buildings to ash and remake them in an instant." He sounded almost curious. Contemplative. "With just a snap of my fingers...
"No!" Ruby latched onto him. "Bad Naruto! No snapping! Don't do that!"
"Why?" he blinked down at her.
"Because its wrong!"
"I...you're right." Naruto touched a hand to his temple with a frown, looking lost. "Why would I...?"
And then he was gone again.
"I could bring back your mother, you know." he said suddenly. "She misses you. Would you like that
His words were a lance through her heart, stripping away all sense and sanity. Would she? Yes! All the yes!
Yang recoiled. "Don't joke around like that! Its not funny!"
"No, I mean it." he regarded her with a blank gaze. "I can do that now...but there has to be balance. I'll be strong enough to do that." his brow furrowed as though listening to some unheard voice. "Soon." he amended with a wince. "You deserve a reward for what you're about to endure...wait."
Naruto pivoted as nasty looking man strayed just a bit too close to their party; someone who was only just now drawing something from their pocket. His hand clamped down on their shoulder and his victim dropped like a stone to slumped at their feet. A knife clattered from their hand. Ruby recoiled. Had he been about to mug them? She was't sure if that was brave or stupid. Uncle had once said Mistral had and underworld or something of the like, but she'd never paid much heed to those words.
She wished she had now.
Weiss hissed.
Blake balked. "Why did you...?!"
"Life for life." Naruto murmured. "Death for death. One soul for another."
"He's cracked." Yang muttered to herself, stepping back. "Absolutely cracked."
"I don't think I am!" Naruto gaze swung back to her, giddy as a schoolyard boy. "I feel great!"
"He just teleported us with a snap of his fingers." Weiss whispered. "I suggest we stay on his good side."
"Are we really meant to be doing this?" Blake gripped her wrist so hard Ruby heard it creak. "I mean, how can we save the world? We've not even graduated."
Naruto did not answer. He turned and kept walking. Ruby cast her friends a helpless look and raced after him. Even then the blond didn't respond. Not at first. He marched onward like a soldier to war, stalking up the long steps leading to the academy proper, taking two at a time.
"Can't we stay a little while?"
"No time." he muttered, shaking his head. "My other half will have figured out what we're doing by now...assuming Darkness hasn't gotten to him."
"Darkness?" she blinked.
"The game's changed, Ruby." the blond moved even faster, forcing her to jog just to match his pace. "The stakes...well...they're higher now. So much higher. We have to hurry."
Those were dire words, an awful warning, yet somehow, they still made her smile.
Naruto noticed at once. "What? What is it? Why are you grinning?"
She sniffled a little. "You said we. You're still in there."
He blinked. "I did say that, didn't I?"
A small, hysteric giggle bubbled out of Ruby's lips. This was insane. This was impossible. She'd just wanted to be a Huntress. It had seemed like such a simple dream at the time. Now she was so much more than that. She had all the power of a Maiden coursing through her veins. Now she was a Friend to a God on a mission to save the world.
And her friend was losing himself.
She didn't know how to fix it, or even stop it. And that...that burned. "We must look like ants to you, now...
"Giants, really." A worn smile creased his whiskered cheeks as he pushed a door open. "You're all living your lives, while mine is ending."
"No." Her heart flip-flopped again, yet still she followed him deeper into the academy. "Don't say that. You'll make it through this. You're tough. You're...well...you!"
"I don't know if I will." his confession startled her. "Even if I survive this, I don't know if I'll be me...after." he raised a hand and she realized it was glowing from within, limned by light. "Its like holding water in a cracked glass. I'm try to hold onto the memories, onto these feelings, but its hard."
"And...you'll remember me?"
Her heart really needed to knock it off; she was going to have a heart attack at this rate. Naruto acted so much older sometimes, but they were nearly the same age. He was just a teenager, not even an adult.
Naruto stopped and leaned against a wall. "I'd like to."
His right hand trembled and he gripped it by the wrist, stifling the tremor. Ruby saw it and flared her semblance. She vanished in a cloud of rose petals then reappeared at his side to latch onto his arm. No. It couldn't end like this. She refused to let it end like this. There had to be some way, some rule, some loophole they'd forgotten.
"Don't forget," She whispered. "Remember us. Remember me."
"I want to remember Ruby Rose." his hand settled on her cheek. "My first friend. The girl who flushed me out of hiding and chased me down when I ran away."
She hiccuped a little. "You took my scythe. Of course I chased you...
"And I don't regret a thing."
She nuzzled closer and pushed her head into his glowing chest. Huh. So this was what Yang had meant about boys. She was beginning to understand a little, now. This strange feeling she felt when they were together, it wasn't nausea, but something beautiful. It was just that; butterflies in her stomach.
"I don't want you to go." she whispered.
His arms tightened around her.
"Neither do I."
In that moment, that single sliver of a second, she made her choice.
Naruto needed memories to exist. An experience so powerful he'd never forget. And she didn't want to lose him. She made a decision. Wasn't hard, that. Her hands tightened around him, denying his escape. He could've broken free, could've shattered her arms like matchsticks, could've done any number of things. Instead?
Naruto just...frowned. "Ruby, what are you doing?"
"Making a choice." she said. "And giving you a memory."
She leaned up on the very tips of her toes and pressed her lips to his.
He made a noise of surprise, he didn't return her affections, but neither did he pull away. He simply held her. Held her, until her resolve faltered and she finally pulled away.
"What now?"
"First we need to find the Maiden." his head cocked, as though testing a scent on the wind. "There. I have her. Let me just activate her Semblance...
"Wait, you can do WHAT?!"
Without word or warning he reached out. His hand vanished through a shimmering scarlet portal and rummaged around for a moment. A startled yelp echoed from the other side. Not a heartbeat later he drew something through. No, not something Ruby realized.
Someone.
A woman with striking red eyes and dark hair fell through the breach with a squawk. "What the hell is this?! Who're you?!"
Yang must've seen the commotion; because she ran up.
"Did you just manhandle my mom?"
Naruto blinked placidly back at her. "Yes...?"
"No, by all means." she waved at him. "Carry on."
"Right."Naruto's gaze snapped back to Raven. "You have the power of Spring. Hand it over."
She looked away. "No, I don't...?"
"Don't lie to me." he growled. I can smell it on you. Your compliance isn't really a factor here. Hold still."
Then he grabbed her by the face.
Yang's mother screamed. It was an awful keening sound, one Ruby would never forget. The older woman spasmed as Naruto lifted her from the floor. Red light bled out of her body; legs kicking helplessly in the air as she struggled for purchase she couldn't find. All at once, she shuddered and fell still. The power leaked through her eyes, flowed across the god's fingers, and coalesced into his palm.
Only then did he release her.
Raven collapsed to the floor, wasted and gasping for hair. Ruby was startled to find gray in her hair. She looked...older now. Frailer.
"What," the ex-maiden balked at her wrinkled, veiny hands, "What did you do to me...?"
"I took your power and spared your life. Thank you for your cooperation." his head inclined in a shallow nod. "Goodbye."
"What do I do now...?"
"Make up with your daughter." Naruto walked away without looking back "Or don't. Sit there for all I care. You don't matter anymore." Thrice as fast, he whirled, but not on her. "Right, nearly forgot. Hey, Yang. Catch."
"Wha? No!" his fellow blond backpedaled rapidly, hands flailing. "Don't you dare put that power in me you ffffffffucker!"
Words became gibberish and collapsed backwards as he flicked the light in her direction.
Ruby stifled a small smile behind her palm.
Some things never changed.
(.0.0.0.)
"Do we have an accord?"
"Destruction, eh?" Yami considered the offered palm. "Sure. Why not."
A wild grin tore across his whiskered visage.
"LET'S BURN THE WORLD!"
(.0.0.0.)
It was a struggle to stay attached to this world now.
Naruto still found it lovely, make no mistake, but it was a distant beauty to him now; as one might admire a fine painting. His body was tethered here to be sure, but his emotions were getting away from him. He kept having to reel them back in, pour water back into a broken glass.
But when he looked at Ruby and her friends, all that life and color came rushing back.
They were his anchor. The one thing that kept him from plummeting into the abyss, never to return. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.
"Naruto?"
Ruby's voice snapped his mind back like a rubber band. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"
Yang winced. "You've been spacing out for the last five minutes...
Oh. That wasn't good.
...have I?"
They looked worried at that.
"We're here." Weiss whispered into the silence. "You told us to wait."
Did he? He didn't remember that.
Marshaling the tattered threads of his thoughts, he found himself in the main lobby of the academy proper, gazing upon a glorious statue of a beautiful knew what lay beneath. Many things were known to him now. But not all. For anyone else, it required a key to trigger the elevator mechanism, but he wasn't bound by such limitation.
A hand rose and a soft click emanated from within.
His knowledge was not infinite and though the Relic of Choice had shown him the way to best Salem, he did not relish the steps that followed. There were questions he needed to ask, answers he must know before the end of this. Even poor Leonardo Lionheart was a part of this grand tapestry, strange as that might sound. Others were, as well. Qrow and Penny would push his agenda into action, even if they didn't realize it.
But first... came the lamp.
"Right," he muttered to himself. "Ruby and Yang? With me. If the rest of you wouldn't mind waiting here...?"
If they had arguments, he didn't hear them. He made for the elevator. Eventually, the sisters followed.
'You don't need them.' a voice whispered in his head. 'They are shackles. They limit you.'
Limits? Good. He needed limits. Checks and balances...balances for what?
There he went, losing himself again. He tried, tried, and tried some more, but it was just so hard. One did not simply become the avatar of a god without consequences. Striving against it, he willed himself down the elevator. From there it was a matter of moments; of merely waiting for their downward spiral to end.
Ruby and Yang marveled at the beauty of the Vault as they stepped out.
Naruto barely noticed. He gave Yang a nudge and she laid her hand against the door. Golden fans folded back, clicking into place to reveal an arid desert beyond. They murmured anew at the sight. Naruto ignored them. He only had eyes for the Relic within. No time. Had to hurry. Every second counted.
He waded in to retrieve the lamp.
And then he spoke.
"Jinn."
Blue smoke wafted up and resolved itself into the shape of a woman. Once her stirring beauty would have stricken him speechless. Now, he barely felt a hint of arousal or even embarrassment. Another sign of just how far he was changing. He saw her, laid eyes on her, and was not afraid.
She saw him too, and her eyes widened. She, a being of complete knowledge, actually blinked.
He didn't expect her to float down and bent the knee. Anything but that.
Her gaze rose to regard his. "How may I serve you, my lord?"
He blinked. "You know what I am?"
"Of course I do." she prostrated herself anew. "You are his avatar. You burn with his life. What do you wish of me? Is it time to end this pitiful world"
"No!" horror broke the surface of his soul and the word burst out of him. "We're not ending this world. We're saving it."
"As you say." she rose with a graceful genuflect. "You have questions, I suspect.
Right. Moment of truth. "Tell me how many-
"Two remain in this era." the respect in her voice was oddly humbling. Had he made her like this? No, he hadn't made her. Blast, the lines were blurring again. The Crown had shown him one path to victory, but that didn't mean there was only one way. Best to have a contingency. A contingency, and knowledge of his Darker self's plans.
"I have questions." he rasped at last. "I need you to answer them properly."
Her head bowed. "As you command, my liege."
Naruto steadied himself and spoke the words through pale lips. He asked his questions. Both of them. His voice bounded off the walls of the inner chamber, long and low. He phrased them wisely, carefully, with all the intelligence he'd been granted. Jinn listened, and her
A moment of awful silence fell between two divine beings.
She gave her answers. Somehow, they surprised him.
Naruto doubled over and began to laugh.
Tears sprang to his eyes.
"I knew it...
A/N: Two chapters remain!
Next chapter title will be: Killing Creation.
As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write. Simple as that.
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...Review, Would You Kindly?
And here, because folks cried for them:
Enjoy your previews.
SUR~PRISE~!
(Preview)
"I've lived too long with this power. This pain wrapped up inside my head, twisted into a knot.
"No. Don't do this. You don't have to do this! We can run! Lets just go!
If you wanna remember be, you can do one thing. That's all. One thing. Have a good life. Do that for me, eh. Have a fantastic life. Ruby. Its my honor."
"PLEASE! DON'T!"
Jinn floated beside his shoulder. "You know not all of them will survive the coming storm."
"Quiet."
Hell is descending! The world is ending!
"I! AM! TALKING!"
Atlas fell.
And a man caught it on his shoulders.
Light and Dark.
Two forces, opposite sides of the coin.
Some say neither can exist without the other...or can they?
"Why come to this place? No, you're here for something. Or should I say...someone?"
"Did you really think it would be that simple?"
Naruto took the next punch dead on the forehead. He didn't budge an inch. Blue eyes blazed gold.
"Well, bugger." His darker self blinked, somewhat taken aback. That should've killed you."
"You just hurt someone I like. That is not a safe place to stand."
A glowing hand snapped up.
And there was light.
Peace out~!
R&R~!