VanDread The Fox

by Freedom Guard

Yet another creation of mine using Naruto, the Megele crew strike out at the Ikazuchi, unaware that there is a new person in the ship who is a man, but NOT one of the men of Talark.

6. Two Doors

VanDread: The Fox

Disclaimer: I do not have any ties to Naruto or VanDread all right?

Chapter 5

Two Doors…

( ): Thoughts

…

In space…

Naruto guided his Vanguard which had one of it's swords drawn and cuts down yet another Cube Fighter as he turned and tossed an energy shuriken into another Cube Fighter right in the eye as it were. That destroyed the other fighter fairly well. The blonde however was not very happy with how things were progressing. The Nirvana pirates were having a hell of a time dealing with the Harvesters as they were now officially called and for a very good reason.

They were leaderless right now and the whole Dread Squadrons were moving about like the proverbial chicken being chased by a fox. The pilots normally would have done well, but that was only when they were led by Meia herself in the battle. Without the blue haired Dread Squadron leader to lead them in battle, they were floundering around so badly that at times, they ended either getting in each other's way or shooting each other.

Never mind the fact that at the moment, Jura who was currently in command of the Dread Squadrons had absolutely no idea what was she going to do. Without Meia around, the supposed unity of the Dread pilots and their groups was not there at all.

The blonde Shinobi and former Hokage couldn't help but shake his head as he focused on getting back into dealing with the Cube Fighters, but while they were in a large number and were not to be laughed at, the real threat was that darting fighter that routinely peppered the pirates with shots and also the Nirvana. Things were not good for the crew of the Nirvana for a number of reasons, the first being that they were in an asteroid field of all things which had something to do with the fact that they had to go through that so maneuverability was not exactly feasible in the current situation.

The next was the fact that without Meia to guide the Dreads in both offensive and defensive actions, the Dreads were unable to defend the Nirvana effectively and that allowed the Harvesters to close in and hit the ship itself. Adding to the fact that the Nirvana had no defensive abilities for itself with the exception of the shield itself, but even that was not going to cut it.

And the last was that the new fighter was going to be a serious problem as it was too fast and very agile as it was able to dodge and weave through the asteroids, showing that it was specially designed for this kind of battles and it was unleashing a barrage of hits not just on the Dreads but on the Nirvana itself and with it's agility and speed, it was more than able to avoid the Dreads as well as him as this was not the best location for him to fight in.

The blonde however was not the kind to give up and throw in the towel, not a single moment in his history did he ever think of throwing in the towel. He made a promise to Meia that he was going to find a way to take that thing out. And he made that promise to her while she was being wheeled off to the Medical Bay of the Nirvana for treatment.

He remembered that scene easily enough and he was not keen on letting another person.

…

Flashback…

Naruto glared at the harvester fighter that was running rings all over them and the Nirvana, he had to admit that this enemy was going to be a serious threat. Already it had been able to break several of the Dread Squadron's formations and leave the Dread pilots in utter disarray and that was more than enough to convince the blonde Shinobi that it was the ring leader of the group and had to be taken out before it could make more attacks on them.

The same thought apparently was in the mind of Meia as she quickly began trying to take out the fighter herself. But it was not long before it became obvious that the machine was certainly not going to be an easy target with it being able to use the asteroids for cover and it's speed was more than a match for Meia's own Dread. The Dread pilots were focusing on trying to keep the Cube Fighters and allowing Meia to take her target out of the picture.

Meia began to chase the fighter and even though it became very obvious to the blonde Shinobi that Meia was not going to get a chance to take out her target, the blue haired woman was not giving up and continued to chase her target. Naruto however knew that they needed to work together to try and stop it.

He guided his Vanguard after the Dread while cutting down two more of the Cube Fighters that tried to come in and stop him. He quickly got into contact with Meia and tried to tell her that if they wanted to stop this enemy that they needed to fuse their machines and got after that target.

However, being the stubborn and prideful lady that she was, she answered him in this statement.

"I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!"

Before Naruto could try to reason with the stubborn woman, the Dread pilot cut his communications link with her and went after her quarry. She did her best while he tried to stop her from doing something that was going to get her killed, this recklessness reminded him too much of his previous youth and his old friend Sasuke but kept in mind that comparing Meia to his former friend was a mistake and kept that line of thinking out of his mind.

"Meia! Get back here, we can't go after this alone!"

Meia didn't answer as she chased her target trying to get to it and deal with it herself, however that action made her extend the distance between her and Naruto. This made the counter attack of the alien fighter more effective as it quickly outmaneuvered Meia, turned itself around and before Meia could react, the alien fighter open fired at her.

The result was obvious as the silver and grey colored Dread was sent flying off with severe damage as well as leaking coolant and flying parts.

"MEIA!"

Naruto quickly summoned several Kage Bushin and they tossed a barrage of Energy Shuriken at the enemy fighter before it could finish off Meia who was definitely unresponsive. The second he got to the damaged Dread, he focused his systems on the Dread and saw that Meia was injured and unable to respond. He gave a shake of his head and quickly managed to use his Sage Mode and began to feel with his chakra to see Meia's condition.

He was able to feel that Meia's chakra level was still there but it was fading unless she was treated and quickly.

He wasted little time and got into contact with the Nirvana.

"This is Naruto to the Nirvana! Meia's been injured badly, I need the Medical Bay ready for her now!"

"WHAT? Meia's been injured?"

…

End of Flashback…

He recalled going back to the Nirvana being accompanied by Dita in her Dread and soon they were in the Nirvana and escorting the gurney that was there for them. Naruto personally pried Meia out of her badly damaged Dread, unmindful of the fact that her blood was all on his clothing. He had no time to worry as he placed Meia on the gurney and soon they rushed to the Medical Bay. He was no longer in Sage Mode when they arrived in the Medical Bay but before he went back out into space to fight the enemy, he vowed to Meia as she was about to fall into unconsciousness.

"I am going to get that Harvester that did this to you Meia-chan…so you better not die on me just yet."

Naruto mentally got himself back into the game and attacked the nearest Cube Fighters and reached down into himself and used his Controlled Jinchuuriki chakra. He felt the power flow though him once more and in that moment he saw his Vanguard react at the power. He turned his Vanguard and unleashed a powerful arm of made of pure chakra energy and crushed several Cube Fighters coming right for him and taking them out before they could mount an attack on him.

The Vanguard was soon covered in the blonde's chakra as he attacked the Cube Fighters fast and hard, but he knew that even with his powers and that of his Vanguard, he needed to defeat that flying target fast as this was not a good place to be. It was that he had an idea to try if it could work. He knew that using Kage Bushin on the enemy with his Controlled Jinchuuriki chakra was bad idea from previous experience and from what he learned from the Eight Tails and Killer B so he decided to use a trick similar to what he pulled on Pain before, or rather Nagato who had used Yahiko's body as his weapon back in the attack in Konoha.

He had no idea if this was going to work, but no sense not doing it either.

…

In the Nirvana's bridge…

Magno looked at the situation before her and couldn't help but feel very worried as the sounds of battle were all around her. She looked to see that the stress of the battle was beginning to chip away on her crew and that made her worry even more though she did her best to keep herself focused for the sake of her crew's morale. Already the bridge crew were doing their best but the stress was cranking up as more and more calls were coming in and it was pandemonium all around as the Dread pilots floundered without Meia's leadership.

"Where is everyone?"

"Watch where you are firing!"

"Sorry!"

"I can't get Miss Gasco's order!"

"A-Team! Defense Pattern Alpha, and B-Team….uh…"

"AAAAHHHHH!"

"Jura! This formation you called for is a mess!"

"I KNOW! GIVE ME A MINUTE HERE!"

"WE DON'T HAVE A MINUTE!"

Buzam listened to the communiqués from the Dread pilots and the panic in their voices told them that they were truly lost in the mess before them. She sighed and replied.

'We've relied on Meia to lead the Dreads for too long, without her leadership, they are falling apart. We didn't train anyone else in the Squadrons to replace her and now we're in the dark on how to fight without here."

Magno then replied.

"It's not that we didn't train anyone good enough to replace Meia BC, it's because she never let us do that in the first place."

The dark skinned woman turned to face the elderly woman as she spoke .

"Captain…"

Magno thought about how she met Meia once in the streets of Megele when she formed the pirates so long ago and what it was like ever since the young girl joined them. And she was well aware of what sort of tragedy had made Meia the way she is now.

"She's always wanted to do things herself, and no matter what would happen, she would push herself even though it was not needed. She never wants to let others in to help her, nor did she ever want to be close to others. It has been her drive to succeed that has seen her this far. But now it seems that all we can do is do our best and pray that Meia will make it."

The old woman then looked back at the door leading out to the rest of the bridge, even though she knew that it was impossible for her to do, she hoped that inside the Medical Bay the blue haired pilot in question was still alive and being able to survive.

(But I hope that Meia can finally find it in herself to let go of the past and forgive herself. Because if she doesn't do that and soon at this critical point and time, she is truly going to be lost to us all, and I do not know what will happen to the crew if we lose her now.)

…

In the Medical Bay…

Duero was doing his best to try and stabilize Meia as her injuries had been pretty severe and it was only due to Naruto's timely intervention that the Harvesters' new fighter had not managed to finish Meia off. She had a head wound and also several other injuries that could be treated but he had to act fast as she began to his work with Paiway doing her best to assist the man in trying to save Meia from her injuries. He had already removed her uniform up to the waits, focusing on dealing with Meia's injuries and saving her than her now naked or to be more precise semi naked form.

However, Duero recognized something in Meia's eyes and the way she seemed to be acting.

(It's as if Meia's giving up.)

Duero shook his head at such thoughts as these were going to be distracting as he worked on saving the Dread pilot's life. He only hoped that she was not going to give up on her life just yet or else all the effort was going to be for nothing.

…

In Meia's mind, she recalled all the time she had been with her Fahma and Ohma, both of them were scientists who were doing all that they could in order to bring back life to a section of Megele that had suffered from ecological damage. She had good memories of those times and looked at them well. However, not all of her memories were pleasant, there were times that her Ohma would get into arguments with her Fahma and this served to strain their relationship.

Meia recalled the arguments and the times she had tried to do something about it to at least help her Fahma who was the gentler one of the family while Ohma was the more assertive one of the family. She then recalled the time she had been given a gift, the very same circlet that she wore for the rest of her life, a treasured memento of her more joyful times when she was just a young girl.

But like everything, it was not meant to last.

…

Back in the real world.

Naruto's Kage Bushin had managed to turn things around somewhat as he managed to ambush even more of the Cube Fighters, this decreased the headaches being suffered by the Dread pilots who were still very much in a mess. He then knew that the next problem would be the alien fighter itself. He looked to see that bloody thing darting about once more,. It had managed to use it's speed to evade his previous trap using the Vanguard sized Kage Bushin, however, this had allowed him to learn more about the fighter.

The fighter might be fast and agile, but he knew that it was not able to dodge multiple attacks at once when his Kage Bushin nearly destroyed it. But he also knew that it was not going to fall for the same trick again and he had to come up with something that was going to take it down for good this time. The plan to have him merge his vanguard with Meia to match the thing for speed was out and with Jura being in a mess with leading the Dreads without Meia backing them up, there was little time to merge his Vanguard with her Dread.

He then decided to go with merging with Dita, the machine might not be built for high speed, but the long range firepower might do the trick. He was not sure that it was going to be a viable strategy but he was already low on options as it was so he had to make due.

He contacted Dita quickly.

"Dita-chan! We need to merge our machines together quickly; our VanDread's guns might be enough to take that thing out!"

"Right! But will it work Mr. Alien?"

"There's only one way to find out, hurry and merge with my Vanguard."

"Coming!"

…

As soon as the two machines merged together to form the VanDread, the blonde Shinobi and the redhead quickly guided their fused machine to go after the Harvester fighter to take it out, They swatted aside several Cube Fighters that came to attack it. They used the blades to cut them down and quickly began to lock in the massive cannons on the shoulders and the blonde guided the VanDread to aim and fire it's main cannons to end the enemy fighter.

However, the blonde was forced to break the lock quickly as a massive asteroid came at them and the alien fighter took off before he could lock in. The blonde managed to keep himself cool headed as well as focused and analytical. Though this was not part of his nature when he was much younger, the blonde Shinobi had long since learned the value of keeping a clear head as well as patience and analyzing the area before him.

Which was why instead of getting mad, he merely sighed and replied as he looked at the escaping fighter before him, not caring for it escaping for the now as he focused on what he had been able to learn about his foe.

"This is not going to be easy. This entire asteroid field is making it hard to get a good lock on it even with the cannons, and it's agility certainly is giving it an edge."

It was here that Jura appeared, and she was not in the very best of moods, and for a good reason. Due to her not having enough or nearly no experience in leading the Dreads on her own, she was at a complete loss on how to guide her fellow pilots. This was yet another symptom of the over reliance of the women on Meia's leadership skills, and it was not making the blonde Dread pilot cool headed as she spat at the blonde Shinobi.

"Nice going! You let that thing get away! Is that what you men are only able to do?"

Normally Naruto would have retorted at that and bit back with even more venom, but he had matured enough to see that goading the enemy might work, but goading allies was not the way to go, and Jura was an ally, an ally who was under a great deal of stress and was trying to find a way to vent out the stress. Making her vent out her anger was a viable option, but hardly recommended in the middle of a fight.

That was why he replied calmly to her taunt.

"You're not going to be helping your friends by getting mad at me Jura-san, focus on what you need to do here and now."

This served to shock and embarrass Jura, as well as make her a bit angrier, she had expected the blonde to lash back at her and say something that would make her shout back, anything to help her vent out her frustration. Instead he had calmly told her to cool off and do what she was supposed to do…this only served to make her all the more angry as he spoke out.

"Shut up! I don't need a man to tell me what to do!"

Naruto then replied to that in his own way.

"Good, then do what you need to do."

The blonde Dread pilot left and that allowed Naruto to cool himself a bit, he had a feeling that this was not going to be the last time he was going to have a conversation with the blonde Dread pilot. He was not against this as he needed to get her out of the depression she was in, right now, the Dread pilots had to rely on her and they needed her to be at her best.

He then looked briefly at the Nirvana and wondered just what was going through Meia's mind.

(Come on Meia-chan, now is not the time for you to die, the crew here need you, they need you to lead them in the other battles, they care about you and you will accomplish only success in breaking their hearts and spirits if you decide to let the past haunt you.)

…

In Meia's mind once more…

She recalled the day that something happened to the systems that her Ohma had tried to design, it failed and it required a full scale evacuation for all the people involved. Her Ohma was staying behind while she and her Fahma were sent to evacuate from the place in the escape pods. She and so many others were trying to escape, there was chaos everywhere as people were screaming and begging to leave the place before the fires spread too far out of control. Already the destruction continued to grow all over the place and the sounds of the screaming grew ever louder.

All the while, Meia begged to her Ohma to come with her, to escape before all was lost to them. But there was little chance of it happening. There was not enough room in the escape pods and there was little time for them all to escape, so the decision was made to let the children, who were young to escape the inferno and the certainty of being killed in the fires alive. Meia was one such child, she tried desperately to reach out to her mother. But her mother smiled sadly and shook her head, and soon she was separated from her mother.

Meia recalled how loud she cried out for her mother and, her screams for her mother and for life began to be mixed in the sounds of crying, wails of fear and loss along with the never ending darkness as well as the feeling being closed in and cut off from all sound and light surrounded by others in the same fear as her.

That was why she feared being in the dark.

…

In the Medical Bay…

Duero was now in a situation that many doctors dreaded, how to save a patient's life with a new device that could potentially save her, or kill her. The wounds he had treated were done and bandaged, but upon closer inspection, there was a crystal lodged in her brain, no doubt from the energy emissions was related to Paeksis.

Duero theorized that the crystal must have come from Meia's Dread, considering that her Dread was damaged in the fight. There was a chance to remove it by other means, but there was no telling if the energy backlash would have a negative or even fatal effect on the Dread pilot if it was removed by conventional means. So here he was…

He had called in Parfait to make a device that would release a certain amount of energy that would be at a frequency that could shatter the crystal without harming Meia, and it would allow the crystal to be broken down to the last shard. The problem was that there was no telling how Meia would react to the energies coming from both the crystal and the device should they clash.

Parfait was already assembling the last parts of the device and both she and Paiway were hoping that this would work in saving Meia." Duero hoped for the same thing to happen, but there was no telling on the results once they got the device online.

They could only hope and pray for the best.

…

Meia looked at her life afterwards, her parents were never found, and even if by some miracle they were alive, she doubted that she and they could ever find the happiness they once shared. After the disaster, her Fahma and Ohma's respective names were dragged through the mud and they were no longer treated with respect and kindness. She fared little better as she turned to a life of crime and street fighting, avoiding people for every time she would be in the area where people gathered, she would hear them.

They would ridicule her and call her nothing more than trash now, she had once been in the spotlight due to her parent's efforts and planes, but now she was nothing. Just a has been and no longer a person who deserved to be respected. She spent her life living on the edge, stealing, mugging, fighting, having one night stands, and more.

All the while she was still hurting and bleeding inside, and wanted to finally die and end it all, but she had no idea how to do it. She would never die like a coward, she had too much pride for that, and she would never fight for anything that she deemed to be an empty cause. She had nowhere else to go…

Until the day came that she was facing Magno and Gascogne, the old lady gave her a laser ring and told her that if she truly wanted to die, she would die doing something both worthwhile and cool.

And that was how she joined the pirates…

…

The stress was all over the ship as it was not limited to just the Dread pilots or the Bridge crew, but also to the engineers as they were trying their best to keep things in the ship from falling apart, and the calls coming in from all channels seemed to drown out the whole mess. In the Register, only Gascogne's reminder of their motto managed to keep the crew in her section of the ship from succumbing to utter panic.

The only one who was currently working on what he needed to do was Naruto himself, he was still with Dita as the VanDread was currently on a refueling status as it had exhausted a good deal of power and needed to recharge, all the while, the former Hokage was still running some ideas in his head to find a way to put the fighter away for good.

However, he then decided to check out on a certain Dread pilot who he had no doubt was still trying to make sense of what she should do right now to get them out of this mess.

…

Jura was currently in the Register and trying to get herself back together, but the goal proved to be a lot harder than she thought. The reserve Dread pilots were now out there to fight as their Dreads were fully repaired, fueled, and armed. They were going to hold the line and keep the enemy from getting the momentum of the battle on their side until Jura and the veteran pilots were back in the fight once their own Dreads were repaired, refueled, and re-armed.

But the leader of the veterans or rather the current leader was still not in the right frame of mind to lead anyone. She was still reeling from the mess that was the result of her first attempts to command the Dread pilots and she was not keen on doing something that may have the very same results.

"I…I…I can't do this…I can't replace Meia…"

Gascogne saw this and was already next to the blonde pilot as Jura was too busy crying to pay attention to the fact that the head of the Register was right next to her.

"You're not supposed to do that Jura."

The blonde looked at the head supplier and Gascogne spoke once more on the matter before the two of them.

"You have to lead the way you feel that you can lead. You're not supposed to be like Meia when it comes to being a leader Jura. You lead in the way that you feel you are best able to do and we'll be with you every step of the way."

"It was here the Naruto appeared and gave Jura a smile and replied."

"Gascogne-san has a point you know. Leadership is about doing what you know and feel is the best course of action, sure you make mistakes, but it's best not to dwell on them. Instead learn from them and grow. Getting angry if things don't go your way or getting mad at others produces nothing worthwhile."

"I recall a young guy I knew of who was once asked to lead a band of students through a training course in one day. The guy was the worst leader one could pick at the time, didn't know the first thing that was needed to be a leader. He had a lot of crazy times with his students, but he was able to teach them some things…things eventually led to the students being the best team in their school and later in life."

The blonde was actually referring to himself in his younger days when he got assigned to help teach Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon. The whole mission was a disaster from the very second he took it when he took them under his wing, but it was not too bad in the end. In a way, he had taught them the need to do whatever you could to help your team and make the most of what you have."

"Don't hesitate to rely on others to help you Jura-san, trust them and find a way to make things work out, doing that is what being a good leader means. Now then, I'll see you out in the battle field."

With that, Naruto smiled once more and decided to get back to his planning on how they were going to fight back.

Gascogne looked at the image of the blonde Shinobi and when the image disappeared, she replied with a smile/

"For a man who certainly is nothing like the men we've seen in the shows back home, he's got a great deal of insight and gives good advice."

Jura couldn't help but nod slightly and then she had an idea that came into mind that should give them a serious edge in the fight before them all.

…

Naruto was still busy thinking about a possible solution when he noted that Dita was crying somewhat, this distressed the blonde as he didn't like to see women crying. He gently touched her shoulder and spoke to her in a calm tone.

"Are you all right Dita-chan?"

"I…I'm so worried Mr. Alien."

"About Meia-chan right?"

The redhead nodded intently. Naruto said nothing and she then spoke out with sadness in her tone.

"Is she really going to make it?"

Naruto smiled gently and replied.

"You have to have faith in Duero Dita-chan, he's a great doctor and he will find a way to save Meia, and you have to have faith in her as well."

Dita looked at him and she nodded and seemed happier now. However, Naruto turned and looked at the Nirvana and hoped that Meia was not planning on giving up now. Because if she did, she was going to be asking for a serious amount of trouble since there was no telling how her loss would hit the crew. He knew it would be devastating, but to what extent, he didn't know nor did he want to know.

It was then that Jura's voice came on the line.

"All Dread pilots are to switch their shields to a different frequency, this should cut off any chance of friendly fire."

Naruto nodded with approval and began to think on what he should be doing.

It was here that he had an idea.

…

In the bridge…

"You want to do what?"

Buzam looked at Naruto with a look of utter shock and surprise in her face, the suggestion that the blonde Shinobi had given them was not exactly common procedure with the use of Dreads in space warfare. In fact NO ONE, not even the finest pilots in the Megele Navy had even come up with something like that before at all.

"I know it's the craziest plan you've heard, but it's not like we've got a load of options here to work with. Besides, that flying dart of theirs is the ring leader, we can waste time and possibly lose pilots trying to chase it, but I doubt it can stand up to what I have in mind. Besides, this isn't the first over the wall crazy scheme I've cooked up before."

Magno could tell that the plan had a great deal of risk, but it seemed to be the forte when it concerned this man.

"Is there anything that you want to add?"

"I need to take command of the Dreads for now, just enough to get this plan underway."

"You need to take command of the Dread pilots?"

"Yeah, I need their help to pull this off and this will not work if they're not going to be part of it either."

Magno nodded and Naruto then replied.

"I just hoping there's going to be a heck of a meal waiting once this whole thing blows over."

"Heh, if you're plan works Naruto, I'll give the crew in the galley to cook you whatever you like and as much as you can stomach."

The blonde smiled warmly at that and replied.

"With a reward like that, who am I to refuse?"

…

In the Medical Bay…

Duero hooked up the device on Meia's head and despite the fact that he was a scientific minded man by nature, as well as knowing that what he was doing was already sacrilegious to the core, he prayed to Grand Pa that despite the animosity between their genders, he would show mercy to Meia and give her the strength to pull through what was about to happen.

He checked her vital stats once more and soon powered up the device

…

Back in space…

Naruto got himself ready for the battle that was to come for him, he had outlined the plan to the Dread pilots and as he expected, many if not all the Dread pilots did not like the idea of him taking command of the whole operation. This was proven true to the bone the very second he spoke.

"All right ladies, listen up and get ready to make the move to your coordinates the second I give the order. All teams report in now."

"A Team ready."

"B Team ready."

"C Team ready."

"D Team ready."

He could tell that the women really didn't like the idea of working with him, but he ignored that and focused on getting his plan into full swing. He checked the progress of his target and the rest of it's cronies. As soon as they were in the planned range, he gave the count down and spoke for the last time.

"It's game time…ten…"

Already the enemy were moving in and a barrage of weapons fire came from the enemy forces and soon hit the Nirvana. The impacts caused the shields to buckle from the impact, but Naruto waited for the right time as he continued to make the countdown.

"nine…eight…seven…"

The Harvesters moved ever closer with their new fighter at the helm of the attack and soon their attacks weakened the shields of the Nirvana.

"Six…five…four…"

Bart screamed out for the plan to be put into action as the pain for him continued to grow, but the blonde relaxed as he looked at the scanners before him. He knew that the enemy was now committed to the attack. Even if they were machines, the fact that they were speeding closer and closer for the kill told him that they had fallen for the bait, hook line and sinker.

And now the fish was going to find out that the joke was on him.

"Three…two…one…ATTACK!"

The signal was out and soon the Dread pilots charged out and were now moving to their locations at high speed. Naruto then moved forward but not before throwing an extra surprise into the mix as he summoned his Kage Bushin again.

"KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!"

Several Kage Bushin of VanDread Dita now joined the fray as they flanked the original VanDread, but they soon broke away and moved into an area that the blonde had in mind. The blonde then had the VanDread ready it's main guns and made some alterations to the power to weaken the shaping field but allow the energy to form smaller spheres. The same was done by the Kage Bushin and soon the plan was in action. Naruto felt the strain and knew that making Kage Bushin for the VanDreads was tough so he had to use it wisely. In a way it was like he limited his use of Senjutsu due to the weaknesses associated with it and as such, he could only make a handful of Kage Bushin.

He smirked at the Harvesters and replied.

"LET'S SEE YOU DODGE THIS!"

The cannons on the original VanDread moved to the forearms, merging with the blades on the same location as the VanDread Kage Bushin did the very same thing.

"RASENGAN ARASHI RENDA!"

The VanDread and it's Kage Bushin fired out a massive barrage of small spheres like the Rasengan, but these were in much larger numbers than before. The spheres were soon reflected by the shields of the Dreads and were soon moving like high speed streaks through the asteroid field. The spheres tore through the asteroids with tremendous force and the debris added to the overall mayhem.

The attack was similar to a massive shotgun blast, unleashing pellets everywhere in a cone. The Harvesters were completely caught off guard and were soon wiped out, even their high speed attack fighter had no avenue of escape as the spheres were launched everywhere and the debris plus the spheres cut off any chance of escape.

The spheres soon detonated with amazing force and light that blinded the pirates briefly, but the results were there. A massive empty space was there in front of the Nirvana and the bridge crew reported with utter awe and relief that there were no Harvester signals anywhere in that void of space.

…

At the same time, Meia cried out in pain as the device was used, Paiway and Parfait were utterly worried, even more so when her vital signs went erratic for a few moments and soon flatlined as she herself fell down motionless.

"MEIA!"

…

In the bridge…

Buzam looked on in shock as she saw the results of what was the most dangerous plan she had ever heard of in her life.

"I still can't believe it…he used the shields of the Dreads to reflect his new attacks as well as those of his' Kage Bushin' and send them all over the place. No one had ever come up with that idea anywhere on Megele. I doubt even the men of Tarak would try something that insane on their own forces."

Magno smiled and chuckled a bit, knowing that Buzam spoke the truth in the matter.

"Insane that plan may be, it worked, and now we are in the clear…I just hope that we have enough food for that blonde when he gets back."

…

Meanwhile, Meia was currently in limbo, thinking that she had finally reached her end and there was nothing left for her to fight for. She could finally rest and place everything away and never have to worry about it ever again. However that was when she found herself in a different place that was nothing like the darkness she had been in earlier. It seemed to be a place like a valley that had deep green grass, the smell of fresh air, and beautiful sky with clouds. It was beautiful to her and this would be a good place for her to finally rest.

"Meia…"

The Dread pilot turned and saw her mother looking at her, she knew that this was just a part of her mind wandering, but it felt too real to be an illusion.

"Mother…I am here."

"You should not give up on life so easily Meia. You are a lot stronger than this."

"No…I was not strong…I was always saying that you don't need love since it makes you weak. I was wrong, you were stronger than me, to do those things, stand by me and Ohma even through everything, you are stronger than me."

"I always ran away, closed away every door to myself, I wanted never to bond with others, to feel love…because I was afraid, afraid of being rejected, of being hurt, of being alone."

" I know…but I have faith in you, being in love and caring for someone is what gave me the strength to live my life with you and your Ohma. I was afraid, but because of love I had the courage to stay. Remember what I said to you before Meia?"

Meia nodded and replied.

"You said that one gains strength and courage by being with those that she cares for."

"Yes, I loved you then when I held you in my arms, and when I allowed to you live, you and your Ohma gave me strength, the strength to live without regret. You have people who care for you back there Meia…they need you, and trust you. You cannot leave them now, you will make them utterly sad if you die now."

She looked at the images of her fellow pirates, and even the men, and heard their advice when she met them. And she recalled also the times she had seen them rely on her and gain strength from her presence.

As she listened to everything that was spoken by those she knew, she saw an image of Naruto himself, when he was smiling, laughing, teasing her, and when he seemed to have a gleam in his eye that made her both curious and wary. There were also the rare times that he was brooding, silent, and seemed to hide a lot more of himself than he let others see. He was an enigma to her in every sense of the word.

And she recalled the time he had talked to her after the mission on the desert planet. Instead of getting angry about the words that came from the blonde, she began to see the logic in his words from before.

…

"You're weak."

"You're weak, not in a physical sense, but an emotional one, something happened to you in the past I take it? Is that why you don't ask for help at all?"

"You want to die don't you? You feel like you have nothing left to live for, that's why you don't want anyone's help, even if it is something that should not be turned down. I can see it in your eyes Meia. That's why you're weak, you have nothing in your heart worth fighting for than meeting your end."

"You think you're the only person I've met who's lost much and suffered Meia? Do you think you are the first to suffer the effects of other people's cruelty, selfishness, hatred and distrust, their scorn, and more? I have met my fair share of people like you…some of them chose to wither away to nothing because they didn't find something to keep living for, others managed to move on, make life worth living, and grew stronger for it."

"Those people chose to live and endure more pain and suffering to make their lives have meaning. Those people were strong, stronger than the first batch since they found something to keep their spirit alive as well as their will to live. I met those people and they were my friends, they showed to me that it takes greater courage to live than it does to die."

"Life is not something you can discard like that Meia, and until you find out what will give you a will to live, you are not dying on my watch. I am going to make sure that you get that foolish and idiotic notion of dying out of your head one way or the other."

…

What made him act like that? The way he spoke to her told her that he meant those words, meaning that he was not lying about meeting such people and seeing them change. She had ignored those things before but now that she thought about what he had said to her and also what she began to think about concerning the others on the Nirvana.

She then turned to her mother and spoke.

"I want to say so much to you…I want to apologize for ever being the way I was to you…"

"I have already forgiven you long ago Meia, there is nothing to apologize for."

"But there's so many things I want to say to you."

"I know, and I have no doubt that it will be interesting. But that will come in time Meia, you have a future waiting for you, reach out for it and hold on tight. I will be with you no matter what as long as you remember what I said about love and caring for others."

"Mother…"

Soon the images faded away and she found herself alone in darkness…

Meia looked at the darkness once more that was all around her and it was then that she saw two glowing portals…like doors before here, and both doors were beckoning to her. One seemed to show her a place where there was peace, rest and a final end to all her sufferings, but a place of unending darkness. The other door showed her a world filled with hardship, suffering, pain, and more, but in light itself.

She took a deep breath and thought about all the things she had been able to think about, and made her choice.

…

In the Medical Bay…

"it's so bright…"

Meia opened her eyes into the light and soon found herself being looked over by Paiway and Parfait, both girls were sobbing hard as they looked at her with utter relief in their eyes.

"You came back Meia!"

"We were so worried…all of us were!"

Meia looked at both the women and saw the tears in their eyes and saw that Naruto did have a point though she doubted that he was around to make any comments. For that she was thankful as she was not yet in the mood to tangle with the blonde Shinobi and decided to speak to the two women who were there.

"You guys stop doing that…"

She moved her hand to her face and see if she was truly whole. The very second that she found out that her circlet was missing, she quickly felt a great deal of panic in her body and looked around to see where the last reminder of her past was. She then spotted Duero who had the item in his hand as the man looked at her with some level of relief and calm.

"Here is it, we kept it close for you, this must be very valuable to you isn't it?"

Meia looked at the circlet and replied in a calmer tone.

"Not really, it's a reminder."

…

Later…

Meia got herself out of bed and was now moving around to see what had happened to the others when she had been taken out from the battle by the Harvesters' latest toy. She had been told by Buzam what had occurred and how the battle had ended. She had to admit that Naruto's plan was bold and very much a dangerous and high risk move. They agreed that it seemed to be a running theme when it came to that blonde Shinobi.

However, being who she was, she was not keen on being in the sidelines and got herself out of bed and here she was. She made her way to the galley and saw that the vast majority of the Dread pilots were there. All of them looked like they had been celebrating and partying all the while. Jura and Barnette were gently snorting there together on the floor while leaning on a table. The other Dread pilots were scattered all over the place and there were plates and bottles everywhere. The Dread pilots were not the only ones there as the bridge crew with the exception of Ezra were there, and the Register Crew were there as well, though naturally Gascogne was not there with them as she had to relax in her own fashion.

It looked like a fiesta back on Megele had been taken completely into the spirit of things and there was no doubt in her mind that the cleaning staff were going to have a busy day. This would not have sat well with her and she would have warned them not to do this again as this was a breach of discipline.

But she decided to ignore that for now and relaxed her stance.

After all, they deserved this celebration, they had won a major victory against heavy odds, without her this time.

She moved to where Dita was, expecting to find Naruto as there was a massive tower of plates there next to the redhead who was smiling and sleeping soundly. She was surprised to find that the blonde was not with the redhead and seemed to be elsewhere. The only thing that was showing that he was there was a pair of chopsticks in a bowel that no doubt held ramen which she knew at the blonde's favorite food.

She looked and recalled all her encounters with the blonde Shinobi, she had no idea what to make of him. The only thing that she could agree on was the fact that the man was not someone to underestimate.

"He ate so much of that ramen and other dishes we were all wondering just how much he could take before popping like a balloon."

The young Dread pilot leader turned to see Magno next to her, she had been thinking so much that the elderly woman had managed to get close to her without her noticing.

"Captain."

"That young man is just like you, in some ways. He can be a leader and be serious when he wants to be. But he shows his feelings, speaks his mind, and does not hesitate toe state what he likes and dislikes. And despite his antics…he's a lot smarter and more mature than he looks."

"I guess you are right."

"Meia, I know all about your life, but I feel that now is the time to seek forgiveness for yourself, you do not need to fear the past anymore do you?"

"I…don't know."

Magno smiled a bit and replied.

"I understand that it's not easy, but it can be done, all you have to do is take the very first step. It might be the hardest, but it is a start in the right direction regardless."

…

As Meia moved about through the ship and soon she found herself in the gym, she was about to leave when she saw something at the corner of her eye and looked to see Naruto currently doing several Taijutsu exercises and he was bare with most of his upper clothing and he wore only his pants and his gloves as well as his forehead protector. She looked at him and saw that he seemed to be totally focused on what he was doing and she noted some sort of tattoo on his stomach that was in a fashion that completely was not like the tattoos some women would wear.

As she looked at the man, she couldn't help but notice that he looked to be in the bloom of health and also seemed to be in fighting shape. She wondered why he would say those things to her, both to surprise her and confuse her. She placed those thoughts aside and coughed a bit. That was enough to make the blonde stop in his training actions and look at her direction with some level of surprise.

"Ah…Meia-chan, you're awake, I thought you were still recovering in your room after the surgery."

Meia replied to that.

"I'm fine."

Naruto raised an eyebrow as he didn't believe that entirely but decided not to push the issue and said nothing as he reached for a towel and began to dry himself as he was sweating the whole time.

Meia for some reason couldn't help but notice that the tattoo that Naruto had on his stomach was not fading away at all, showing that it was not the kind that one would be able to wash away. Before she could stop herself, the blue haired girl began to look a bit more than she intended as she looked from his tattoo to his chest. The second the blonde sighed out at drying himself, she stopped and wondered just why she was suddenly interested in looking at the blonde in this state he was in.

She directed her attention to the man's face as the blonde looked at her with a slight glint in her eye that faded as he spoke.

"Either way, it's nice to see you up and about Meia-chan, excuse me while I get my other clothes."

Meia nodded and that was when she saw that his clothes had the splotches of blood and in that moment, she thought that he was injured during the battle. She then spoke to the man and wondered if there was some injury that he suffered and bothered not to show to the people in the Medical Bay.

"Are you injured?"

"What? Oh…no, this was your blood, I was the one who pried you out of your cockpit and carried you to the gurney to take you to the Medical bay for treatment. I'm not injured after all so there's not need to worry about me just yet, though that would be nice."

Meia was surprised by the discovery that it was Naruto who had willingly gotten her out of her cockpit, she had gone to see her Dread when it was repaired and was amazed that she was actually taken out from her machine after the hit it took. She left it alone before going to the galley and came here to the gym.

She soon spoke to the blonde who was now taking his clothes no doubt to be cleaned while still remaining naked above the waist.

"You saved me?"

"Yeah, you needed to be treated for your injuries, and besides that, I didn't want the crew to lose heart if you didn't make it."

"I…thank you."

Naruto looked at Meia and did so for a full minute to see if she was just pulling his leg on the thank you she just gave him, but he saw that she meant it and he relaxed afterwards. He smiled at that and replied to her statement.

"Not a problem Meia-chan, I guess you'll be taking back your position as Dread Squadron leader?"

Meia nodded and the blonde smiled even more and replied to that.

"Great, they work a load better if you were around to lead them after all, I think that this might be the first and last time they will take orders from a man after all. You are a better leader for them than I was, though it was good to lead a team once again after so long."

Meia noted that and spoke once more to the blonde, she should have placed that aside and let the matter be, but this was something that seemed to compel her to find out more about the blonde who was there before her. There was a lot about Naruto that they had no idea about and this might be a chance to learn more. Meia reminded herself that she was doing this to make sure to know more about the blonde to be prepared for more things that might happen when he was involved.

So why was it there seemed to be a tiny voice that told her that she was lying?

She ignored that and asked her very first question.

"You've led people before?"

Naruto looked at her, guessing that she wanted to know more about him and that seemed to amuse the blonde considerably and decided to answer her question truthfully. He could have tried teasing her, but seeing that she had just come back from near death, he knew that now was not the time for unnecessary jokes on his part.

"Yeah, quite a few times actually, many of them were a bit younger than me…and others were also very important to me as well. I managed to get many of them back alive, and they were all my friends as well. Along with some who I considered allies in some…rather dangerous battles, some of which I prefer not to talk about actually."

Meia noted a faraway look in the blonde's eyes and she had a feeling that he was not lying to her and her instincts had not led her wrong just yet. She also could tell that this was not something that she could force the blonde to talk about and decided to drop the subject for the time being.

"I see."

Naruto then grinned and replied.

"Anyway, saving people is something I do my best to accomplish, even more so if it's a lady. I guess doing the right thing is in my blood and like I said, I would never abandon those who are my allies no matter the situation they and I happen to find ourselves in. Anyway, thanks for talking to me Meia-chan, and I think that means we're on better terms now right?"

"I…suppose so."

"Great, anyway, I hope we can be on better terms later on, and who knows…it might go beyond that as well."

Meia looked at the blonde in confusion and replied.

"What do you mean by that?"

Naruto smiled and moved away and left Meia to try and figure out just what he meant by that statement. And she wondered just what she was going to do when it concerned the blonde male who was still a good mystery to her.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

Now with this done, let's hope that we can be assured that VanDread: The Fox is not dead but is alive and kicking. I am hoping that this update will be enough for all readers and that I can crank up another chapter before I ship off to spend some much needed time on Christmas vacation with my family and also my nephew and nieces.

I hope that in the next chapter that I get to crank out, we will get the chance for Naruto to reveal his more…perverted side and this might actually start the whole idea of Naruto landing a few of the ladies, with three of the women being already familiar for all the readers here in this website. Now Naruto is not going to go all grabby here, due to the fact that he has learned very easily that getting grabby with a woman right away is going to get you a slap in the face…even more so when the women in question happen to come from a society that view men as the enemy.

It's been a while since I saw VanDread so I need to get a chance to review and refresh my brain a bit to make sure that I get the details right and make a good story. There is also the fact that since we're talking about Naruto here and he's already had his experiences with being intimate with women, he is going to reach the point that he is going to make the first move as it were and the results can be rather interesting for the women.

…

This is still under construction though so I will not be sure on when I will crank out the next chapter. And as such, I will hope that the next chapter will be up to the standard that I have been working for some time. And I will do my best not to include things that are from my other stories and that should be enough to get me back on track. I read the reviews about that and I apologize for making those errors so I hope that the next chapter will be good enough for all the readers.

Bye!