AN: Well...it seems I just cannot let go of this story yet, it just keeps getting longer and longer. I was half expecting it to end at Chapter 4 the longest, but it looks like plans change drastically. I still have a clear ending to this in mind, but I seem to have place on myself the burden of expanding it. Anyway, this was a pretty tough chapter to write. Hopefully I got the characterisations right and believable.

This chapter...not sure how to describe it, I have been having a few rewrites of the content for quite a while as I was less than satisfied with how it played out. Now I have done what I planned and have posted it...pending your judgement. I can safely say EVERYONE knows who Erza is, so I will just lay it bare, this Chapter is purely character development and a little bit more of my theory being implemented. What is the theory, just read on.

On a side note, I checked the word count and my eyes bulged...over 10,000 words. I was not expecting that at all. There will be a lot of...content, and not much fights but hopefully it does not get too daunting.

Give me your thoughts, I spent a lot of time on it and I WILL appreciate any constructive comments.

Just note, the name of a character in this chapter would be very familiar to those whom knows the series it concerns, but just to let you know it's only similarity is in name, nothing else. Why? It is an alias for the individual's real identity. ANy characters whom have names from other series I use are only as alias. OK?

Also, a big shout out to DiLost for his assistance in some translations and of course ideas, really appreciate them! IF you have the time, be sure to read his stories especially his Samsara series. Revolutionary...

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Mass Effect or any other implied series; this is Fanfiction for a reason.

"Conversation"

"[Elementaris/Shinobi Speech]"

It was actually surprising to say the least, prior to her birthday over the past years, the common thoughts and emotions flooding her mind were often of hate, despair, sorrow and anger. She mentally shuddered when she almost gave herself in to them in the early morning of her birthday, October 10th would have been a day of massacre if that happened. But ever since her 'insanity' as she now associate her other self, mysteriously became silent, her adoption and the killing of those monsters, she was starting to push these dark feelings deeper into the depths of her mind, and with a little luck, bury them. It was without a doubt she would never forget this painful past, but at least she felt there was now a chance to move on...

Now it almost seemed like the world became a lot brighter in her eyes, and for that Erza was thankful.

Regardless of her undernourished and overstrained physique, Erza wanted to start any training or initiatives the day she woke up in her new home, but her mother, Jane was once again adamant about her taking a whole week off from anything strenuous and really just start to live life like a normal ten year old for a change even if for seven days. In fact, even her father whom she found out was a rabid workaholic was supportive of her mother's decisions. Hence with a week without any formal plans, her mother decided to take her to the commons area of the metropolis for shopping, something she did not really have the time or 'security' to partake in when she was alone, so Erza was not really that enthusiastic about it...

Frankly speaking, Erza doubts she would ever be enthusiastic when she heard the word shopping, the television was a curious machine, it was already three days into her first week as a Shepard and she would admit she has used a television more often than that she ever would over a year in the Orphanage.

Erza felt her mind wandering, and so she thought back about the shopping issues, and what she saw was less than pretty...

Commercials for...Clothing shopping, how could one woman or girl be able to buy so much apparel and footwear and still say it is not enough was well beyond her comprehension. As shocking as that sounded, even men were subjected to this plague. To her, buying clothes were just for that, to clothe you, making sure you were sufficiently warm on a cold day or well protected in harsh places, anything else was a waste of time, counter-productive, unnecessary...foolish.

She was now far more informed about...existence than she ever was before. News programs talked about different planets in greater detail, different systems and most importantly on wars. It was always about war...whether it bred from hatred,stupidity, arrogance or blind ideals it resulted in the same outcome, death. The cycle of violence never end, and the reasons for violence ever petty, ever pathetic, such reasons a disgrace for existence, that must be destroyed.

Wait where did those thoughts come from?

Once again she silently thanked her saviour whom was now her god, when she found out her mother practically hated those type of people and their lifestyles, evidence being her over-dramatic gag reflex when she asked the older red-head. Perhaps being in the military made sure practicality was paramount when talking about apparel...or it was another similarity she had with her adoptive mother.

Despite that, she still spent a good few hours with her mother in *shudder* clothing shopping, reason being the clothes she currently had on were all too big for her or as what her mother said, made her look like a "starving child". Thankfully they were all practical clothes which normally included t-shirts, pants and very durable walking shoes, suffice to say her mother was not in to fashion and Erza would not have it any other way.

First week, fourth day, 4 hours after shopping hell:

Erza sighed melodramatically after getting her last set of clothes, this was taxing to her mind in a very different way, her mother chuckled and told her "well sweetie, that may be a few hours you may never get back from your life, but I can safely say you will never need to do this again...except maybe when you outgrow these or tear them." Erza rolled her eyes, she just hoped to leave this clothing booth as soon as she could and perhaps just go home.

Whilst walking back to their shuttle, she heard her mother ask, "since we ARE in a shopping district, there is way more stuff to see than clothes, anything caught your eye?" Erza shook her head, believing there was nothing in this bazaar that could interest her...but then something did catch her eye.

It was a booth called "Nos Astra Sporting Goods", it sold a variety of wares mainly a lot of weapons, but it was also fitted with a reasonably large display, in it containing models of various model ships of all sizes and designs. Erza felt herself stop in her track and eyeing each and every model...she caught eye of various shuttles, a few alliance ships that she saw flew over and one absolutely massive model that she had not seen before. She took a few steps closer to the displays and took in every little detail of the massive model, it resembled a pentagon and consisted a central ring which , from which five 'arms' protrude. At first glance it did not look outstanding at all compared to the other ships models in the display but Erza somehow knew this was the most outstanding of the other models. She inspected the various arms closer, and saw small 'structures' within them, almost as if there were buildings of sorts. She was so deep in appraising the model she did not realise she was drooling.

She then took a peek at the price that was ever so conveniently placed by the side of the model in display, her eyes bugged out...950 Credits! That was far, FAR more than the monthly allowance Anderson gave her and everyone else when she was orphaned, as a matter of fact, she could acquire 950 Credits if she did not use her allowance at all and save it for a whole year! She was somewhat heartbroken, but that did not stop her from gawking the model again.

She also did not see her very amused mother talking to the Salarian shopkeeper manning the booth,

"The people I normally see drooling over a CE-2155 Perfect Grade Citadel model would be fighter pilots in the the Squadron or a few of the Ship commanders docking on Earth and have some time to shop... so many people I lost count and I don't remember half of them. This is the first time I have ever seen a ten year old little girl drooling over ship models. That's some very strange girl you have there ma'am, and I mean very strange, observation and market-based research of customers and consumers suggests that the common young females of human species demonstrates an ongoing obsession..." The Salarian then received a firm punch on the face by the older redhead. Upon recovery he wanted to forcefully demand the reason for being punched but was cut short of that train of thought when he bore witness of the woman's ominous smile...

"Don't you call my little girl strange now you hear, you don't know what type of people you tend to offend saying that...and stop talking crap. Citadel, how much? Now!" the Older Shepard practically interrogated the shopkeeper...

"for you 850 Credits, don't kill me!" the Salarian almost squeaked out, she nodded in satisfaction, intimidation tactics keep annoying people quiet, and can work well as a haggling tool. Drop in an unfittingly gentle smile in such situation the chances of success are raised tenfold. With that 'negotiation' done, Jane transferred the credits to the shop's console, and the keeper went to the display to disassemble the Citadel model for compact storage.

Back to the young Shepard, when the model was stored away, Erza let out a loud whine, she wasn't done with inspecting every single detail of that outstanding model, she was pretty sure it must be sold already otherwise there was no reason for it to be stored away. She had quarter the mind to ask her mother if she could purchase that model... but it was close to 1000 Credits which she believed was a little too much to waste on her. At least she did not have to keep thinking about the model since someone actually bought it...

"Hey sweetie", Erza heard her mother call out to her, she looked back, "Think Fast!", she then saw her tossing a reasonably large box in her direction which made Erza squeaked in surprise, but nevertheless she still managed to grab on to the box that was flying into her face, a little slower it could be a rather embarrassing experience.

She was about to ask her mother what the box contained, but she decided to just look at it before asking unnecessarily; it was a reasonably large box, had a very vivid picture of the Model she was gawking at, with the words Citadel and a 950 credits tag on the side...cue realisation.

"Mom, I don't want it that's okay! You can return it back and keep the 950 credits!" Erza voiced out frantically, she was aware that 950 credits could buy a lot of things, whether it be food, water or even lodging for a few weeks. Her experience in the slums further reinforced that thought.

Her mother went back to Erza from the booth, "Actually, I got it for 850 credits and since it was really obvious you like what you saw, I thought might as well buy it."

"But mom, 850 is still a lot of credits...who knows when you or dad will need it...or when someone else needs it." She looked back at the box "this is just a luxury, it serves no use, just for show. To people back at the slums, these much credits can give them a roof over their head, food, and water...please reconsider." frankly, Erza felt like a criminal for being the reason why so much money was wasted for something that had no use.

"Erza, look at me" the younger red-head looked up at her mother, she then received a light bonk on the head by the older red-head. As she was rubbing her aching head her mother spoke, "what did I say Erza, I told you I am buying something for your birthday and now I have, so don't go thinking that all these was a waste because it isn't. You are just as important as any person here, so you certainly deserve a little something." she heard her mother give off a sigh, "this is the first time I have seen a little girl think so much for others but not herself. It's very nice of you to think of others sweetie, but at times, being a little selfish is OK, we are all human after all." This made Erza scratch the back of her head again and gave her mother another sheepish look. She felt that she might...have overreacted a little bit, since her mother though it was Credits well spent, she would respect that opinion.

Nevertheless, if she somehow managed to earn credits in the future, she would be sure not to waste them, there is only so much a person would need and the rest can be spared for any emergencies...though she would keep some available to collect models in the future, some of them were works of art..

CItadel, she would also want to set foot on the real place, one day...

It was a very slow week for Erza, the only thing that was in her mind during the first week of her new life was when she could start to train, and become stronger. If there was one thing she really preferred in any shape or form, it was the desire to progress. For the past 10 years of her life all she experienced was a painful and hopeless continuity, and with her adoption, she felt that things would certainly progress. She really wanted to become stronger, and suffice to say since her parents are very skilled and experienced soldiers, she was very excited when they agreed to train her, and in the near future, enrol in a military academy.

Second Week:

And after the first week, Erza had to admit that when her parents said they were going to train her, well they mean it.

Her parents, or more specifically her mother was a bona-fide slave-driver when it came to organising and running training sessions. Some of the things she was subjected to were harsh. On the very first day, around 5.00 am in the morning she was ordered to run for 2 hours on a heavy-duty military grade N7 treadmill with 10 Kg weights on her arms and legs, whilst having a perpetual speed of 10 kilometres and hour, and her mother said that because she is still young, she could take it easy...how could she comment on that? Harsh it was, Erza did acknowledge the effectiveness of such an intensive morning program, her stamina was often better than other children back at the orphanage and she did observe that after her first week, she felt more energetic than she normally would after her visits to hospitals back in the past.

That being said, she did not LIKE what took place during mornings from now on...

The bulk of the second week was focused on improving her overall physique and stamina, as per required for any aspiring applicant to the Military. Hence visiting obstacle courses, more endurance tor...training and the odd martial arts practice from her parents filled the week. There was also a very significant change to her dietary plan, since they observed that what she had eaten over the years only filled the bare minimum of her nutritional needs. Erza wanted to eat ramen, but that was not a healthy dish, that was a bit of a sore point for her when she found out she could not eat it often.

Moving on, another new component of her training, which she personally requested her mother to teach her on the very last day of the week, was how to use a Monomolecular Blade the same way her mother could. The thought of deflecting bullets with such precision and in her mother's case, effortlessness was something she did not want to pass on it just looked so cool!

Which leaves Erza in this present situation

Second week, Saturday evening, Shepard training quarters

"You have to do better than that honey!" spoke her mother in a firm voice, her face was serious, and in her right hand was a wooden sword. From what her mother has said, the wooden sword was known as a bokken, a Japanese word for literally 'wooden sword'; it is a very effective tool in practising how to use a sword...and to beat people senseless without 'accidentally' killing them.

Erza had a bokken in her left hand, she is on the ground for perhaps the 28th time panting hard and her body was reasonably bruised, suffice to say one of the key steps to starting her training in this ancient weapon style was a 'preliminary' spar with her mother, but to her it was more of a one-sided beating.

The younger red-head growled before rising up to her feet and charged, trying hard to land a hit on her mother, the key word being tried because her strike was once again parried without effort and she was hit in the back. That made her fall to the ground again, and a new bruise on her back.

Her father was watching at the sidelines and he had to wince whenever his wife landed a hit on their daughter.

"Hm, I think I am very sure where you need to start working on" her mother said to herself, and then looked back at her daughter's struggling form, her face softened but her voice remained firm, "Sweetie, I'll ask you one last time, are you sure you want to learn how to use a Monomolecular blade? You are already going through a lot of tough training, and this might just be the harshest it will get, any person wanting to master sword-art will have to learn it for close to ten years. If you say yes, I expect you to see through it to the end, so if you want to pull back, just let me know".

Erza tried to lie on her back and raise her head slightly; that sounded like a challenge and she would be damned not to accept it, she faced her mother with a determined look, "Hell yes I'm doing it mom, I wanted to learn how to use the sword like you, I'm not backing out from it. And you said ten years, I'll do it in five!" her voice struggled out before her head fell again.

She did not see her mother and father share the same nostalgic smile on their faces...

"I'll take your word on that Erza Shepard, don't let me down." her mother replied, she then reached to Erza's exhausted form and carried her, "I think that's enough for the day, just rest up for the night." Her father soon joined the both of them, and he added his few words, "you are going to have a hard five years ahead of you Erza, and by the way I spoke to the Chancellor, we will meet him in the Academy Headquarters at the Capital next week and we will see where we go from there all right?" Erza gave a slight wave of her hand as a response, feeling too tired to give anything verbal.

John and Jane's POV:

After they left a now sleeping Erza in her bedroom, John and Jane closed the door behind them, and both looked at each other. As that happened, both of their eyes changed entirely, John's clear blue and Jane's bright violet morphed in a metallic purple and the concentric circles started to take form in the entirety of their cornea and iris. Jane's face looked calmer, but John's face became entirely devoid of emotions.

It would have been clear to any Elementaris denizen, if they still existed that the older Shepards were Paths, vessels of the Cycle.

Jane then spoke to her husband, in a very familiar ancient language, "[So, does Jigokudo really approve of having Erza join the academy at such an early age? He always had problems when it came to considering applications by individuals who are 'not ready' according to his opinion. She is only ten years old for Kami's sake.]" John gave a contemplative look before giving his response, "[I have approved of it, you have approved of it, I do not see what reason that Jigokudo would refuse the request. She has faced hell and escaped from it once, she has become stronger from the experience. I believe that he will deem her ready, even for such a tender age, perhaps that could even be a benefit on Erza side...]".

Jane/Ningendo continued, "[what about the public, they are certainly not going to be...tolerant having a little girl of all people joining the military academy, won't you think?]"

"[Indeed, this is no longer the Elemental Nations, this is certainly no Hidden Village. I believe Jigokudo will make the necessary arrangements.]"

Jane gave an acknowledging hum and there was silence as both Shepards started to descend the stairs and took a seat at the sofa.

Jane then gave a smirk to John, "[You know, for the personification of God-Complex, you seem to have warmed up to our daughter quite a bit even on the first day. I would have thought the great almighty Tendo would give anyone a cold shoulder and an air of superiority.]" John/Tendo's brows started to twitch before he responded, "[you do realise this is all part of nurturing the young girl to her fullest potential. I do not deem the display of outward affection to be beneath me in any way Ningendo.]" Jane/Ningendo remained unconvinced and gave her fellow Path a questioning gaze. Tendo merely stared back for an extended period of time, before he sighed in defeat. His emotionally-devoid face now presenting a semblance of sadness.

"[How could we not convey genuine affection to the child? We are all shards of Rikudou given sentience, our base thoughts, and our memories are shared in every way. That includes the image and memories of those we loved all so well, the memory of our salvation, and our chosen of the Samsara...]"

"[Chosen of the Samsara, that is a pretty messed up way to say our first daughter don't you think? And you call Rikudou's wife Salvation?!]" Jane/Ningendo retorted.

"[Descendant, Chosen, daughter, offspring, they are all the same within the conventions of our semantics. They mean the same, we may have been disappointed with our first two offspring but our third...was the only person to make us proud. The person we were fully willing to give our affection to...unconditionally.]"

John/Tendo started to reminisce"[Looks like little Erza reminds us of our first daughter and our mother, she reminds us of how it is to truly be human. Unsurprising given that Existence itself is governed by the law of cycles.]"

"[Also doesn't help that she reminds him of what it was like to be the Uzumaki Naruto once upon a time...are you sure she will be the one to bring an answer to our question?]" Jane/Ningendo spoke back. John/Tendo replied "[there is no doubt, we had to change the cycle itself to guarantee this outcome. These forty thousand years will pass in time, and with it the last.]"

There was silence between the Couple/Paths until Tendo decided to speak again.

"[Ningendo, what was the reason for the sudden urge to question me about my show of affection?]"

Jane/Ningendo shrugged before replying, "[Just wanted to see if God had a heart. Now I know you do...sometimes I really appreciate Master for giving us our own mind and self.]"

Erza had to spend another whole weeks worth of gruelling training and exercise before the Chancellor as her father called it was free enough to see them. Hence she still performed the prescribed endurance tests as well as heightened blade combat sessions with her mother, which now took place evenings of every weekday. As of yet, she was still having a hard time actually dodging her mother's strikes in spars, let alone landing a hit, but she did feel more and more comfortable with handling a bokken and after being coached endlessly with how to wield a blade according to her mother's standards, she was slowly but surely learning the steps to master this style.

Her recovery after every day's worth of strenuous training was also stunningly fast, Erza notices her bruises actually heal in a matter of hours, and her lost stamina replenished after fifteen minutes. She knew one way or another it had something to do with the tattoo on her navel, as ever since it was part of her, she became more energetic, focused and surprisingly...level headed, less prone to succumb to any emotional backlashes that would hamper her performance in whatever she was doing.

Though something was amiss...

Erza took full advantage these new-found benefits and used it to improve on her blade forms and katas that her mother taught her. She promised to her parents and to herself that she would master her mother's blade-work in five years instead of ten, she would be damned if she did not keep that promise. Most of her late-night training lasted for four to five hours before she would truly pass out from exhaustion. For the second week of training, it practically surmounted to over ten hours with periodic breaks for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

On the weekends of the second training week, her parents decided that she should gain a further understanding of her biotic capability and learn to control it. As such, Erza and her parents were back at the training room of the Residence. She was looking at her parents, waiting for their instructions...

"Okay Erza, this is the first time for a while since you have demonstrated your biotic abilities, so I recommend that you start things slow and steady. Firstly, do you know or are you aware of what biotics are?" Her father asked. Erza was unsure as to the nature of the ability she had demonstrated, other than the fact that it is called 'biotics' so she just shook her head.

Her father nodded, and went into a lecturer persona, "Biotics, is essentially the ability of lifeforms, in other words organics to manipulate mass effect fields by using Element Zero nodules embedded into each and every individual's body tissue. Element Zero, also known as Atomic Number 0, or Ez for short is a rare material that when subjected to electrical current, and dark energy, can be manipulated into a mass effect field..." the words seem to drown out the more Erza heard, them she knew they were important but she just could not for her life make sense to all of the technical words that came out of her father's mouth, hence in the middle of the lecture, her mind started to space out from a combination of information overload and lack of foundation understanding.

"Are you keeping up with me Erza?" she heard her father said, with that her mind returned and she looked at her father, whom had an miffed look on his face obviously not appreciating the fact that she was not concentrating. She scratched the back her head again, something she had been doing over the three weeks but it was something she often did not realise.

"Hehe, sorry dad, I couldn't keep up, there was just too much information and a lot of terms I did not understand...is there an easier way to understand it?" she asked her father. She felt bad that she could not understand his lecture, but it was far too complex for her as of yet. But she nevertheless wanted to understand the nature of her powers, made sure that she could control it better and use it when absolutely necessary.

Her response came in the form of her mother, "let me explain it to her John, what she needs is a simplified version of what biotics is, then when she knows more, you can go on with your boring lecture, how about that?", John just looked blankly at his wife before conceding and motioned for his wife to continue.

"Okay, I suppose you know about the universe sweetie", Erza gave her mother a nod, "well, the Universe is a constantly expanding and changing, one of the reasons it changes is from something called Dark energy, this energy influences everything that exists, period. Now how Element Zero comes into the picture is when used in combination with Dark energy, which exists everywhere, it can produce something called Mass Effect, not much clearer explanation to that, but Mass Effect is very useful as you can see from what your father and I have done, and what you did back at the orphanage. In fact, it is currently used to power our shuttles and ships! We have 'nodules' Element Zero in our bodies and as a matter of fact all of us do in different amounts, only some of us can use it to create Mass Effect, if you can do that, you are a biotic. So does that help?"

Erza kept track of what her mother said, it was certainly a lot less technical compared to her father but she was aware that was significantly simplified compared to her father's lecture. But as of now, she knew the basics and she hoped that would be enough. So she gave her mother a more enthusiastic nod, a little curious as to when she could try to harness this energy again, despite the fact that she received hell for doing so...but that was in the past now, so just bury it and look forward.

Her father took over again, after giving a lingering stare towards his wife's smug face, he then instructed, "now, I recall that you know how to use biotics generally, you visualise a specific effect and allow your mind to process it, with that your Ez nodules will create electrical impulses that will trigger a reaction with dark energy and hence a Mass Effect for the purpose you visualise takes place. Due to your outstanding circumstances, you will not require any amplifier implants, but we will see about that." Erza was getting increasingly overwhelmed with information again until her father continued, "now Erza, I am giving you a challenge that no one else other than us have achieved, I want you to empty your mind and visualise having mass effect energy coursing through your entire body and understand it, if you can do that the first step to learning real biotic abilities becomes open to you, so take your time because you will need it..."

"What your father is trying to tell you is meditate until you can call upon Mass Effect at will, and to keep it circulating in your body" Her mother added.

Erza nodded, closed her eyes and took a seat on the floor of the training room, she tried to visualise just so, Mass Effect coursing through her without purpose and as of yet nothing took place.

Three Hours Later:

This lasted for about three hours , and Erza's brows were twitching, she was getting increasingly annoyed, the lack of progress was starting to grate on her nerves. Her parents came in and out of the room to check up on her but otherwise it was herself.

She could not understand! She could pull items and levitate objects when she first met her parents, but she could not let the energy alone course through her body without an outlet...

Perhaps the main problem was, she did not understand what it mean to be a biotic...how they viewed Element Zero or Dark Energy or whatever! She was essentially in a block, and she could not discover how to get the energy to course through her...

Her mind wandered, she did not understand Mass Effect, all she received were possible explanations of how it happened but at the end of the day they were just that, possible explanations. Understand...what did her father mean by that?

But then, she felt her vision changing ever so gradually, the blackness of her closed eyelids started transitioning. It remained dark mind you, but she felt like she was in a different place, a large spherical space of nothingness, except for the top of the 'ceiling' which had an unmistakeable image of a single eye she knew so well. She felt herself floating at the centre of the large spherical space. Erza's mind soon detached from her real location and her consciousness left her, instead taking full trance in this hallucination. She did not realise that her eyelids opened by themselves and replacing those emerald green orbs were the Rippled eyes of the Sage.

Back in the empty space two flames of equal size started to burn to her left and right, one was Blue, the other Red...she started to hear voices that were not hers, it was Rikudou's voice she noted absently..

"Matter makes up all that exists, and with matter there is Mass. If Chakra is the physical and spiritual energy that flowed within every person, be it human or otherwise, then what energy flows outside the person? What is the energy that governs all that exists outside the vessel of a being? It is inferred into the fabrics of existence, guiding it and influencing it. There is to be no explanation to it nor should there be, but it will exist, seemingly absent but is omnipresent, seemingly impotent but is omnipotent...God in every right, a God that is beyond comprehension, a God that demands respect." She heard the voice in her head, it should once again confuse her significantly, but it did not, she acknowledged those facts, understood them in its entirety. A silhouette slowly formed in front of her, a figure fully covered by the darkness of the space, the only noticeable characteristics were his Horned head, his Rippled eyes and his red Necklace, she knew who the person was...both of his palms were opened, and two different coloured energy 'spheres' erupted from his hands, one was a black spiralling sphere in his left hand, the other was a bright electric blue in his right.

"What is the energy that flows outside the person, that exists everywhere? It cannot be explained thus it would be called Ankoku no Chikara, energy that influences matter, hence it influences mass that much is clear. However that is merely the catalyst, but there needs to be matter for there to be a result, a precursor element that triggers creation...the Primordial Element, the tool of God. Used together they create, and they destroy, an acceptable outcome, a contradiction without a paradox. The process...Shisturyo Koka."

"Chakra...the power to defy one's own conventions of limits, Shitsuryo Koka...the power to defy the conventions of space and time. Shisturyo Koka, the power of God, the voice of creation." Rikudou clapped both of his palms together, the different spheres mixed in his closed palms. Moments later, his entire body started to radiate in a familiar energy, not the one that she saw him use, no. It was familiar to her because she used it, the lightning-like energy surged around his body repeatedly, Erza knew well enough what that was. After a few seconds of having energy coursing around him, he released it all in one large ripple of power. The Sage of Six Paths, upon his second Cycle, had discovered Mass Effect...

Upon that discovery, Erza started to regain consciousness and her mind returned back to reality, the Ripple Eyes that temporarily replaced her own orbs disappeared. Once her mind was lucid again, she shook her head vigorously to get rid of all of the traces of her trance, and looked around...the room remained unchanged and her parents were nowhere to be seen as of yet. So she decided to continue with her meditation, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, she then tried to conjure raw mass effect again. Though there was a big difference compared to minutes before, this time she was aware of what she had to do, and how to alter her thoughts...

Ankoku no Chikara, her mind told her that meant Dark Energy; it was everywhere, it acted as a catalyst for Ez, element of creation and when they were used together, Shisturyo Koka which she instinctively knew was Mass Effect, took place...but how? How did two things work together to create the result?

Friction...everything started with friction. She did not know why she knew that but she just did.

She pictured Dark Energy visibly coursing through her body and Element Zero within her being manipulated according to her thoughts almost like a voluntary muscle. The friction between Element Zero and Dark Energy intensifying and she willed it to go further. Slowly but surely...she felt a spark of energy erupting across her body and became stronger, moments later she felt herself being lifted off the ground.

Erza then opened her eyes, and was surprised to see she was literally floating above the floor of the training room, she felt her jaw dropping slightly. She then looked at her body and saw the red biotic energy that she became closely acquainted with circulating around her, almost as if it was alive. Despite her surprise, she still managed to keep rein on the latent biotic energy coursing through her, making sure not to release it until her parents caught eye of this, but she did admit keeping it in her was starting to put a strain on her entire body.

She did not have to wait long as she saw her father entering the room, and he looked impressed, "Now that is really unexpected, it was a stretch to see if you could do it when no one else could. I was starting to fear your mother, myself and a few others were the only ones. People lacked the understanding of mass effect and of their abilities, you understood it and unlocked yours in close to four hours. I knew you were special Erza." She would have felt sheepish from the praise if not for holding back the latent energy that was becoming increasingly unstable. The lack of an outlet and the fact that she unknowingly willed more energy to be produced was giving Erza the feeling that her entire body was slowly boiling, she would need to have an outlet soon...

"Now that we know you can muster your biotic potential, I will need to know just how much of it you can generate. Now Erza stop keeping the growing mass effect in your body, release it now, all of it." Her father instructed.

She was very unsure of what would happen if all the biotic energy was released in one go, but she presumed her father knew of any consequences and deemed it safe, so she did just so.

POV Change

Jane was heading to the training room to check her daughter's progress, and as that happened, she felt a large tremor coming from the training room. This was reason enough to quicken the pace and she bolted to the training room.

She was then met with a very fascinating sight, a large hole through the wall separating the training room from the hall way that was suspiciously close to human-shaped, and now lying on the hallway floor was John, whom was struggling to get up again.

"[What the heck happened here Tendo, and why didn't you use the door like a normal person? Beneath your godly status?]"

"[This is not the time for a situational remark Ningendo, Erza successfully unlocked her full biotic potential. I asked her to release all of the energy, this happened.]" John got up and discretely relocated his shoulder, there was no expression of pain coming from him.

"[So I suppose our little girl doesn't need amplifier implants then?]" Jane responded with a smirk.

"[I will disregard that rhetorical question...on a side note, we might just be seeing the first human Pure-Biotic, a exceedingly powerful one at that. Ten years old biologically and already stronger than an Ardat Yakshi, which means a lot of control exercises.]"

Erza's POV

She felt the relief of expelling the entirety of biotic energy that was becoming increasingly unstable in her body, and then heard a very loud explosion-like sound across the training room. She felt herself fall back to the ground, signifying that all the mass effect was gone from her system. This was her cue to open her eyes;

The training room now looked like a wreck, the floors were destroyed in an almost ripple-like pattern and many items that were placed in the room were now lying everywhere. Erza started to panic, she has caused so much damage to a room, with this she thought that her father would get angry. She then looked around for any signs of her father and she saw none, except for a man-sized hole through the wall at the edge of the room. It was then her heart sank, she knew her father was forced through the wall with the release and was very likely hurt. She felt terrible and afraid of how her parents would react to her.

She saw her parents coming through the hole, her guilt took over her emotions and she rushed to them.

"I'm so sorry dad for causing so much damage and hurting you! I'll be more careful please don't be angry!" Erza continued to apologise profusely, her parents blinked for a short moment

Both her parents blinked repeatedly, before her mother placed both hands on her shoulder, "Calm down Erza!" she calmed down and her mother pointed to the hole in the wall, "you mean for that?" Erza nodded doubtfully, still unsure of how to react now.

"There's no need to apologise, your father asked you to release all the biotic energy, and you did. It was his fault if he got hurt, which he is not by the way. You did nothing wrong sweetie, don't blame yourself." Erza continued to eye her mother, whom had a reassuring smile throughout the conversation, soon she felt like a very large weight was off her shoulder. She gave a sheepish smiled back at her mother but could not help but give an apologetic look to her father. Her father chuckled and shook his head.

"Besides, he is suppose to be a war veteran, being blown through a wall won't take him down. So don't worry, I think he should be thanking you for giving your father a little endurance exercise..."

Cue another withering glare towards the older red-head whom remained unaffected, her father diverted his attention back to her, "now that we know how strong your biotic capabilities are, though I feel that the word strong is an understatement..." Erza looked embarrassed at that comment, "I believe the first thing you will need to do is to control your abilities, if you try anything else, I fear that the mass effect will cause damage not just to us, but to yourself. But that is a problem for another day, I say it has been a fruitful three hours, many other human biotics take months or even years to use biotics, and you went the extra mile in just a few hours." she saw her father's proud smile and she could not help but feel happy that she had made someone she cared about proud of her.

He ruffled her hair, something she was now very used to when it came to her father, it always reminded her eerily of her saviour..."we will be heading to the academy tomorrow morning, you will meet with the chancellor there. He is an old friend so don't worry." with that her day of training ended, and Erza was left feeling excited, but also nervous about tomorrow's plans.

Alliance Military Academy Headquarters, Erza's POV:

This was another dramatic sight for the young red-head, the military academy was a very large establishment located at the centre of Metropolis 1 capital city of the Earth. She could see countless shuttles entering and exiting the complex and a fair few ships docking as well. She was overly excited to be able to enrol into the military academy, and learn more about what lives people like her parents went through, and the fact that it was another stepping stone to become stronger.

When her parents parked their shuttle at one of the reserved lots, they had their doors opened by one of the sentries that patrolled the grounds. As the Shepards move through the grounds and into the buildings; officers, soldiers, and other military personnel gave them firm salutes, which her father returned, whilst her mother merely waved or just say "how ya' doing?", this got a disapproving look from her father.

After a few minutes of walking, she was now outside a large door, possibly an office, on the side was the owner of the office's name and status.

Lord Mael Radec, Chancellor of System Alliance Military Academy, Co-Chairman - N7

"Oh yeah sweetie, when you do meet with him, just keep in mind that he is very uptight, demanding, grumpy, and has a 'holier than thou' attitude. So don't worry if he gives you the cold shoulder when he talks to you, he gives it to everyone. But when you get to know him, he's alright." Her mother told her.

Her father continued, "And Lord Radec strongly appreciates honesty, and confidence, keep that in mind as well Erza."

The Shepards entered the office, and the secretary drone outside his private office spoke to her father, "Lord Radec is on vid com with the Chairman of Cerberus Colonel Shepard, he will be with you momentarily". This was the first time Erza saw a drone, and she approached it to get a better look, however she managed to hear conversation at the other side of the closed door, and made out some of its content;

"All I am asking is why did you expel my operatives from the N7 program?" she heard a smooth voice call out, it was electronically muffled which might be a result of vid com...

"I believed I have made it clear, the applicant may have the physical requirements to take part of the N7 program, however what he drastically lacks is the correct mindset to bear the responsibilities that such a status would provide" spoke a deathly calm voice, which was muffled as well, but in a different way that she could not identify.

"You know that is unnecessary Radec, my operatives will require the best training they can receive, we are fighting for the good of humanity for Gods sake! How can we strengthen ourselves if you hold on to those impractical values?" for the good of humanity...to Erza that sounded exactly the same as those bastards from the slums, she felt her fist clenching slightly from hearing that phrase, a phrase spoken so often when they decided to make her life a living hell...she already hated the owner of this voice so much at this point.

"Your motivations and those of your splinter group are none of my concern, I have always ensured that the N7 program takes place in a manner that is impartial to all its applicants. Their requirements, whether it be physical demands or mindset all play equal role regardless of who applies for it. The fact that no one other than the founders have completed it is an indication of the various flaws of the applicants themselves"

"Listen Radec-"

"Lord Radec, Chairman"

"Lord Radec, perhaps it is time I lay it all bare, in time Cerberus will break free from the Systems Alliance, and when it does, I require no one but the best to join me in our goal for human supremacy. You as well as the other founders of N7 are the best soldiers throughout the Sol System, and if I hazard a guess, perhaps the Galaxy. I can disregard this minor setback in respect to the principles of your Enclave, but I would also like to extend you and the N7 Collective, an invitation for a partnership with Cerberus. The System Alliance it too hamstrung with rules, regulations of the other alien races, it does not understand the needs of humanity as a whole, nor does it have the capacity to act according-"

"Say no more Chairman, I have vested upon myself a great deal of patience and forbearance hearing your complaints and idealistic rant. The N7 have no intention of considering such an offer for a foolhardy quest that will never see an end, and that decision is final." the calm voice retorted.

She heard the other voice sigh from the other, "I must say, that I am very disappointed with this outcome Lord Radec, and am very ashamed that you would not support the strengthening of our race. You have made a foolish mistake."

"My advice to you, Chairman Harper, is simple; do not take what is not rightfully yours. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and your intentions are unfounded and foolish...reassess the individual whom has made the foolish mistake. I believe that concludes our conference."

The conversation ended, and Erza was now informed of new things about the world she was living and her mind started to wander; everyone lived in an existence filled with hate, and unnecessary conflict. An existence where arrogance and stupidity fuelled actions that cause for harm than good, created wars and death; this Cerberus would be one of the main players in the near future, that was what a part of her mind told her.

But as that mindset materialised, it was gone, and Erza was a little clueless as to what she was thinking a few seconds ago, how did that happen?

She failed to realise that she was still standing next to the drone, when it voiced out quite loudly, startling her, "Lord Radec is now available, you may enter his quarters" Erza fell on her rear, due to the abruptness of the Drone's response, and she heard another giggle from her mother, who promptly pulled her back to her feet. Then her parent went in the office, with her tailing them from behind.

She was then met with what could likely be one of the most intimidating faces she would ever see, well face being said quite loosely. Lord Radec looked strikingly familiar, perhaps because she had seen his face in the N7 photo that she looked at on her first night as a Shepard. His gas mask was ever present, covering his whole face with the exception of his cold brown eyes.

"Good day Lord Radec" her father greeted

"Hey Gas Mask!" her mother greeted

This elicit a sigh from the masked man, he looked tiredly towards her mother, "still demonstrating a lack of professional courtesy I observe Captain...Good day to you Shepards", his eyes turned serious, "not that I am unenthusiastic in meeting with comrades in arms, but I presume there is a basis for you to make an appointment with me today?"

"As a matter of fact we do, I am here to make a request for a person to enter the Military Academy, and to enlist in the Alliance Military when she is of age." Her father explained, Erza saw a single brow of Radec's raised slightly.

"Is that so? This is the first time I have received a personal recommendation or request to enrol an individual into the academy, no less from you Colonel. That being said, who is the individual and where is she right now?"

"Well, she is behind me Gas Mask, come on Erza don't be shy!" She felt her mother pushing her closer to Radec's table, and by then his attention was fully placed on her. She looked up to his eyes and she was intimidated with him on first sight. His eyes were a light brown, they were sharp and naturally calculating, and they bore into Erza analytically, she felt as if his eyes could look right into her very soul, passing judgement on her by eye contact alone. She was so tempted to look away from his intense gaze, but a part of her crushed that temptation, she wanted to get stronger and if meeting this man was going to help in achieve that, she would be strong. She met his gaze and tried to muster up any confidence she could acquire, and tried to politely greet the man in front of her.

"N-nice to meet you...Lord Radec, I am Erza Shepard." She spoke out but stammered slightly, even with the confidence she has mustered, she was still being intimidated by his presence.

His gaze lingered on her for a few moments longer, before he replied to her parents, "I do hope that your request is all in jest Shepards. Contrary to popular opinion, I have no fond interest in the training and recruitment of Child Soldiers, especially so if it is done against their will." He levelled a glare on her parents, but it looked like they were unaffected by said glare.

"Well you can be rest assured my friend, because our daughter here has chosen to join the military and has expressly requested formal enrolment, all on her own accord" Her father replied evenly, but still held a friendly tone with the masked man.

The brow of the masked man was raised again, "daughter, this is certainly news to me...though I suppose I can identify an uncanny resemblance to Captain Shepard, only exception being her eyes but then again could be a recessive trait from her side of the family-"

"She is our adopted child Radec, I was surprised myself for the resemblance, but nevertheless she is our daughter, and we have committed ourselves to take good care of her." Her father interrupted Radec, he had a knowing look on his face that she could not really decipher, but Erza suppose it was not too important.

"Adopted...existence works in very unusual ways. However, we are getting a little off topic here, a little girl perhaps ten years of age...requesting enrolment in a military academy. Even with your words of reassurance Shepard I still find it hard to believe that a child of such a tender age would willingly make such a decision..." Radec looked back at her, his gaze hardened again and she felt an almost cold chill run down her spine from the look.

"Girl, I will let you know right now that the decision on whether to consider your request or not rests entirely up to me and as of yet I am unconvinced. However I am curious, why do you want to be a soldier?"

It was a simple question, Erza knew it was, but when it came out from this man her mind practically went blank. She tried to remember why she made this decision; it was to be stronger, she wanted to be stronger to protect her precious people, she was afraid that they will disappear, and she was left alone again, in this cold, cruel world. She also remembered Rikudou's message, she also wanted to protect those who needed it.

"I-I want to get stronger, I want to protect those I care for. I am afraid of losing those I care for and to be alone and weak..."

"You are afraid girl?" Radec responded abruptly. Erza visibly shuddered by the sudden, quiet but cold voice of the masked man.

"If you are afraid, why are you here? Why do you bother to come here and ask me to grant you a favour made for the brave? We train soldiers here, not cowards, and certainly not foolish little girls like you whom just want to prove something petty-"

Every word the man spoke hurt, not physically but more emotionally. The worse part of it was what he said was mostly true, she was still afraid; that was perhaps one of the main reasons why she made this decision... She had been saved by Rikudou, and he had faith in her, and here she was having so little confidence in herself...she never had confidence in herself, despite her improved determination, the years of abuse had corroded a lot of her self esteem.

"Radec, that was uncalled you do not have to say that to her!" she heard her mother retort.

"Captain Shepard, it seems like if your daughter, adopted or not, is informed enough to decide to try her luck in entering the academy when she is clearly under-aged, I have every right to speak my mind, harsh or not that is immaterial." Radec replied calmly, before he continued his criticism. Her father was silent, watching the turn of events.

"Foolish little girl, do you know what soldiers actually do? I have served many years in the Alliance military and fought wars that could be best described as hell. Soldiers are trained for war, as long as there are individuals, there is always war, in its many forms. We deal with it at it's most extreme, it's harshest... That is what a soldier does, each and every one of them are to be ready to make the ultimate sacrifice. They place their lives at stake, knowingly, willingly and without fear. They are willing to go through hell, and that is not something a naive child like you can understand. Do not waste your time, and do not waste mine."

To Erza's surprised, instead of shrinking further from the man's words, she felt...anger? Indeed that was right, the moment Radec told her she had not seen hell before was the moment she started to feel angry. Though she was not angry that he was unaware of her childhood experience, it was from the fact that she as a child felt this hell, knew it so intimately that it disgusted her. All of these were products of hostilities, conflicts of opinions, of hate. A cycle of hatred that always followed everyone, one way or another.

She knew of hate, she knew it all too well and it was something she was not proud of admitting. What Radec assumed about her was untrue, she was no naive little girl, some orphans still held fast to those childish thoughts; they were always optimistic and hopeful, but she had outgrown that for as long as she could remember.

"That is not true Lord Radec, I am not naive." Erza spoke in a surprisingly even tone, gone were the feelings of being intimidated and that of fear. Radec himself seemed to stop speaking entirely and diverted his full attention towards her, perhaps his curiosity was sparked again due to the dramatic change in her demeanour.

"I will not say that I know the experiences of soldiers at war, because as you said that would be foolish. But I have spent ten years of my life as an orphan, and the last five years before my adoption, I have felt hate, I have felt hell. I have suffered for that many years, beaten, tortured, abused and I have never been strong enough to fight back, and the people who gave me hell, were always too filled with hate to understand their own foolishness, hating something that is different...something they do not understand." Erza lowered her head as she spoke, the bangs of her hair covering her eyes. She was only a child in age alone orphans grew up and matured faster than any other kid, and an orphan like her, who has only seen a life of pain, loneliness and sorrow could even understand things that only seasoned war veterans could.

She was tired of all the hate, tired of hearing reasons why people fight, why people die. She once asked herself what her purpose was, at first was to merely protect those whom she had opened her heart to, even if they did not need it. She also remembered her saviour, he said she could make a difference to this world if she wanted to...perhaps this was what she wanted. She wanted to bring an end to this cycle of hate, to bring an end to the pointless wars.

She looked up at Radec, "I want to learn from you Lord Radec, I still want to be stronger. I will protect the people I care for, and those who cannot protect themselves. One day I hope I can bring an end to this cycle of hate, an end to wars and an end to the hell that people experience every moment of their life. I want to bring peace." Erza spoke, marginally louder and this was the first time she had heard her voice sounding confident, fearless, hardened.

Radec moved his eyes closer to Erza, but she did not relent, she looked back at Radec's hard eyes with her own.

"Earth, is not the only 'world' that exists; the galaxy is a very big place girl, and in an existence so immense, you can never truly bring an end to the hate, you can never save everyone. Peace...has always been an illusion, no one not even God can bring peace to this existence."

Erza remained undaunted, "I am aware of that Lord Radec, but as long as I am here, I will keep trying. I have been broken and bruised before, and I am willing to sacrifice more in ending all these hate, and to protect those I can protect...with my life if I have to. Perhaps one day I will make you can eat your words, the answer to peace is out there somewhere, and I am not giving up until I find it. "

Radec was silent, his gaze left Erza, it was only for a moment, but the little red-head notice it. He soon looked back, his voice sounded tired and aged...weary. "Girl, what made you think, that you can single-handedly bring an end to hate. What made you believe that you alone can make a difference?"

Erza looked down for a moment, a faint smile crossed her lips, she looked back at the masked man, "...because someone precious to me, has given me his faith...and I have faith in myself. As long as I do, I will keep trying..."

A long silence fell in the room, Erza's parents were quiet throughout the exchange, the emotions on their faces indiscernible. Radec's gaze lingered for Erza a little while longer, before he diverted his attention to her father.

"Shepard, deal with the enrolment formalities, and any other necessary documentation... I will organise special classes for your daughter in two weeks time...and deal with a few issues that would surely arise. Monday, 0700 hours she will meet with her instructor. Do not be late." Radec declared.

Erza was surprised, Radec whom seemed very likely to disregard her request a while ago seemed to have instantly granted her a place in the academy. However she was even more surprised what she has said, she was aware of it but at the same time it felt different, almost as if she would not have been able to think and respond in such a way in her previous years. Maturity beyond her age is one thing, but what she had said came from a mind that could not be possessed by a child, it seemed foreign but was slowly defining her.

Over the weeks, she had felt strange; on one hand she was herself, a young girl trying to make good of her life and trying to hold on to some semblance of hope. She wanted to discover everything there was to know, wanted to be strong and most importantly, she wanted someone whom would care for her, so in return she had someone she would fight for. This part of her mind, was that of a child whom wanted to be happy and wanted no one else to feel what she felt.

On the other hand, there was a part of her that felt like she had seen everything there was to see about the world, whether it be on the surface, of below it. That part of her mind felt weary, almost as if there were so many imperfections in this existence to the point that she could feel herself getting increasingly angered towards it.

She was young, that was something she was very much certain about, but sometimes she felt older. It was almost as if she had lived or wandered this world or beyond for so long, that she knew how ugly it was, and just how much things had to change...there is enough hate, she would find peace, and make sure it was permanent, and if anything or anyone stops these changes from happening...she would end them, painfully if needed.

"Jane, take Erza out for now, I need to have a word with Lord Radec" she heard her father speak. She was about to be taken out of the room but the same just felt the urge to ask one last thing.

"Lord Radec! What about N7?" she called out. Radec looked back at her with questioning eyes, "What about it girl?".

"Mom said, the N7 are the best of the best, and I heard from a conversation you have with some 'chairman' guy you spoke to and he said the same thing. Mom said I could join if I am ready." Erza blurted out, the small part of her that was a child did not oblivious the repercussions of exposing the fact that she eavesdropped on a private conversation.

There was another silence, for what seemed like minutes Radec finally responded;

"We'll see..."

AN: My goodness, I have finally finished this chapter, one of the hardest if I say so myself. Now of course I still have concerns with what I have written, the key concern being...DOES IT MAKE SENSE? What do you think? I know it is a fanfic but a part of me will always want to make sure everything I write has an explanation.

Some might question "ten year old, military?", well that would happen, but of course there will be behind the scenes work here and there, which would be explained in future chapters.

So...how was it? What did you find out? Expect amendments over the weeks when I read my chapters as a reader. Just to let you all know as well I also have work during these two months. I will update when I can!

Reviews are appreciated. Thanks!

Druid