Well, the poll is closed and the votes are in, Stripe is going byebye! BUT! This does not mean that Brittany is just going to jump at Naruto, oh no, I'm going to have some fun with this one! And we may not have seen the last of Stripe either! Now, on with the chapter!

Naruto slowly returned to the land of the living, his breathing unchanged as he took stock of his situation. 'Low chakra, Kurama's healing up the last of the injuries, both girls in the bed with me and holding onto my hands... wait a minute, KURAMA?!'

'Don't yell baka, I'm tired and it's the middle of the night. Lemme sleep a few more hours.'

Naruto sighed internally, happy to hear the voice of his closest comrade once more. Turning his attention back to his current surroundings Naruto tried to think of a way to get out of the bed without letting the girls realize he had done so. 'Looks like their learning, they've occupied my hands so I can't form any signs... very sneaky, girls.' Naruto moved his hand minutely, as if he were in a dream and his muscles had twitched, but the tightening grip on the shinobi's hand stopped him cold. A moan to his left caused Naruto to look over and see the bleary eyes gaze of Brianna, a gaze that was immediately hidden as she buried her face back into his chest.

"Stop moving and go back to sleep Naruto, your not getting out of this bed till the sun's up." Brianna sleep laced voice caused Naruto to relax, the young woman yawning as she nestled herself closer to the warm body that had been co-opted as a body pillow. Gina grumbled cutely and entangled her legs with Naruto's, seemingly sensing that he was thinking of escaping. Naruto harrumphed softly and used his thumbs the rub circles on the backs of each hand he held, causing Brianna to giggle and kiss his chest softly. "Love you too stud, now sleep, you need it to recover." Gina made several happy sounds and sleepily nuzzled against his neck, the relaxing feeling of the intimacy he was sharing with his girlfriends helping Naruto fall back asleep quickly.

From the doorway Jaliera watched the scene before her with a wistful smile, seeing the love that was evident between all three people in the bed before her. 'Too cute...' Turning around the Archon of the Kryn silently closed the door and made her way down the hall, almost dreading the amount of work that was waiting for her in her personal quarters. Most of the population of Aebra had originally been scattered into smaller towns and villages before the Dynasty had come, some families having lived together for generations. At the first sign of attack many of them had managed to scatter, allowing the Dynasty to target the larger cities that were full of the Kryn military forces and the lifeblood of their economy. News of the Dynasty's defeat had quickly reached the scattered refugee's ears and just as quickly they traveled to the lone city that still stood after the final battle. The city's infrastructure was being severely taxed with the influx of people that were arriving each day but Jaliera refused to turn them away, hoping that they could find some sort of way to overcome this new ordeal. Stopping in the hall, Jaliera closed her eyes for a moment, the Eye of Clarity glowing briefly as she looked into the possible future paths that awaited her people. Looking over her shoulder, an enigmatic smile spread across her face as she looked at the room she had just vacated and giggled, knowing that what ever came Naruto would be sure to make a huge impact with her people.

Chapter 14

Early morning sunlight streamed through the open shades, causing Naruto to crack open his eyes tiredly, the nearly empty bed now cold, his bed mates had left him to continue sleeping. Yawning loudly the young shinobi sat up and stretched until his back popped at which point he began a mental checklist of his body. 'Well, seems to be all back to normal, guess it's time to check on Fuzzy.' Naruto dove into his mindscape, appearing in a sewer and walking towards the large form of his partner in crime, Kurama. The massive being shifted it's head as it heard the sound of Naruto's footsteps, rising up and sitting on it's haunches as Naruto came to a stop before it.

"Hmph, finally up I see. About time, you gave all your friends a pretty big scare."

"How bad was it?"

"Punctured lung, the blast just missed nicking you heart. It was a close one, but it also set me free, allowing me to kick start your healing factor into overdrive again. Consider yourself lucky that you had that fight with those midgets before this mission, if you hadn't I wouldn't have been able to break free of the containment seal and we would've both died."

"So, you were able to see what was going on outside of the containment seal huh? Well, I think I'll take a look around the place, get my bearings. But before that... thanks for the help Kurama, it's good to have you back." Kurama smirked as he laid down on the ground once more.

"Just member to take it easy, your chakra is extremely low right now so you should take it easy for a while. That last seal almost didn't come off, I had to shatter it with a massive burst of chakra, that and the Cho Bijudama I used basically wiped out both of our reserves. And no worries kid, I had to make sure that your mates didn't have a reason to come after me if you died. Like hell I want three pissed of females trying finding me after I reformed." Kurama laughed at the stammered denial of Jaliera being one of his mates, causing Naruto to growl as he exited his mindscape. Grumbling about annoying foxes, Naruto swiped a finger along a seal on his forearm, a set of casual clothes appearing in his hands with a poof of smoke. Just as Naruto was about to get dressed a voice interrupted him.

"Eh hem, where do you think you're going?" Naruto froze at the sound of the voice and slowly turned his head to answer, but as soon as his eyes landed on the person behind him the ability to speak coherently suddenly abandoned him. Gina was leaning against the doorjamb of what Naruto assumed was a bathroom, and all she was wearing was a smirk and a very short, very sexy silk robe. Gina walked towards her stunned boyfriend, looped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly, holding the kiss for several moments before pulling back and looking Naruto in the eye. "I think someone needs a bath, care to join me?" Naruto finally woke up, trying to grab onto the grinning vixen before him but she spun away from Naruto's grasping hands and sashayed back to the bathroom, undoing the sash of her robe and letting it drop to the ground once she reached the door. As Naruto focused on the firm naked body before him a giggle drew his attention upward, his shocked expression meeting Gina's over the shoulder come-hither look just before she reentered the bathroom.

"Hmmm, not bad, I'd go after her if I were you. Imma gonna leave you two alone for a while." Naruto nodded dumbly as he dropped the clothes from his now slack fingers, walked towards the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Several hours later

Naruto grinned softly as Gina murmured in contentment from his bed, completely drained from their workout and sleeping soundly. Kissing her cheek softly, Gina continued murmuring something in her sleep as Naruto rose from the bed, dressed quietly and exited the room. As Naruto exited his room he stopped when he saw the pair of guards standing at attention on either side of his door. "Uh... so, how good is the sound proofing of these rooms?" Both guards struggled to keep an impassive look on their faces, causing Naruto to grin. "Ok... could one of you tell me how to get out of this place?." Naruto tried not to laugh as the guard that answered him refused to look him in the eye, detailing the basic layout of the palace and how to exit it. When asked if the guards had seen Brianna they both gave Naruto a look of envy and said she had left the palace earlier in the day. Naruto cocked his head at the strange behavior and shrugged, walking the path that was outlined for him.

Before Naruto could get a hundred meters from the guards, an arm appeared out of nowhere as the shinobi passed an open door, grabbed Naruto by the shoulder and hauled him into the room he was beside, a familiar blonde looking out at the pair of guards and flashing them a victory sign before slamming the door shut. Both guards watched the entire episode and looked at each other with identical thoughts.

'Lucky bastard.'

Later that afternoon

Naruto relaxed as he held a content Brianna in his arms, the sated young woman resting on his chest and listening to the beat of her lover's heart. As Naruto ran his fingers absently through Brianna's hair, a single question was begging to be asked and the young man decided to finally ask it. "Ok, what's wrong?"

Brianna rose partial from her comfortable position, a denial already prepared for the question, but when she saw the face before her it died quickly. Lowering her gaze, Brianna muttered something nearly unintelligible as she laid back down against Naruto. Many would have had the woman repeat it but Naruto heard enough of her mumbling to piece it together. "We almost lost you."

Sighing softly, Naruto ran his hand along Brianna's bare shoulder, marveling at how soft it was as he remembered his younger years. "Hmph, that's no surprise. You've both seen me at my best, a fully trained and highly skilled shinobi. But when I was a kid, oh man, I got destroyed constantly. Seriously, I lost count of the number of times I should have died" Brianna looked up, tears shimmering in her eyes as she listened to Naruto describe some of his more... demanding battles.

"Why are you telling me this?" Naruto sat up and pulled Brianna into his lap, kissing the woman softly and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Because, you both need to realize I don't always come out of a fight in perfect condition. I will bleed, I will need to stay in a hospital most likely and I will scare you both shitless as I take insane amounts of punishment. But, there is one thing you both need to remember." Naruto kissed Brianna deeply, the woman moaning as she straddled Naruto and returned the kiss with zeal. Resting his forehead against Brianna's he stared into her eyes and grinned. "I always keep my promises... and I promise that I'll always come back to you both." Brianna let out a watery giggle and kissed Naruto again, holding him in her arms as her tears trickled down her cheeks. Naruto grinned as his fingers trailed up and down Brianna's spine, causing the woman to purr in happiness. "Now, what else is bothering you two?" Brianna's eyes opened wide as she stared at Naruto in shock, the shinobi chuckling at the expression. "Blame Sakura-chan and Hinata, they taught me how to tell when a woman is bothered by something. I can tell there's something else your not telling me and I will find out... oh yes, I will." Naruto's hands reached out and tickled the blonde in his lap, causing Brianna to shriek, forcing the blonde to grab onto her writhing body as she tried to squirm out of his hands.

"OK! I give, I give! We're worried about Jaliera bagging you! STOP THAT!" Naruto stopped immediately, his eyes wide as he looked at a red faced Brianna that was trying to get her breathing under control. Brianna laid back down, resting against Naruto's neck as she softly spoke. "We're both worried that she'll get you and we'll be left alone." Naruto chuckled softly as he wrapped his arms around Brianna, causing the woman to bristle slightly at the laugh before relaxing in Naruto's arms.

"You know I'd have to be a real ass to just drop you two for something that Jaliera said. I'll be honest, she is beautiful, but I just met her. Plus, she's going to be here on Aebra while we head back to earth. Have a little faith in me, I may be insane but I am loyal. You're both stuck with me till you can't handle it anymore." Naruto grinned as he kissed Brianna's nose, causing the woman to giggle. Pulling himself out from under Brianna, Naruto rose from and began to gather his clothes as Brianna stretched out on the large bed, resting her chin on her folded arms.

"Come on, stay in bed with me, you need to relax more often." Naruto laughed as he pulled his shirt of his head, kissed Brianna's temple as she stretched out on the bed.

"Sorry Hime, not today. I'll be back later." Brianna sighed as he covered her nude body with a blanket, the tired woman falling asleep quickly as Naruto exited the room and quickly made his way out of the palace.

A massive courtyard spread out before him, the memories of Naruto's clones allowing him to remember the battle his clones had fought here. Walking towards the center of the courtyard Naruto narrowed his eyes, seeing that there no people at all in the center of the city other than a few pairs of patrolling guards. Sitting on the ground Indian style by a now empty pedestal, Naruto closed his eyes and stretched his chakra senses out, attempting to locate the people he assumed would be returning to the now freed city. A large mass of life energy was located on the outskirts, confusing the shinobi even more. 'Hey Kurama, ready for a little action?' A loud chuckle was Naruto's only response as he accessed his partner's long dormant energy, standing tall as his form was covered in a golden nimbus of power. Naruto had forgotten how his Chakra mode felt, the raw power at his disposal as well as his enhanced senses. Stretching these senses out a frown appeared on Naruto's face as he was bombarded by a multitude of emotions from the people on the city outskirts.

'Fear, anger, despair... yeah, I think it's time we find out what's going on here.' Naruto opened his eyes as his Chakra mode quickly ended, just as a pair of guards had stopped in front of him. Naruto gave the pair a brief nod as he leapt towards a distant building, rapidly making his way away from the center of the city, leaving the awed guards to wonder where he was heading.

Spardus, captain of Archon Jaliera's Guards, sighed explosively as his men attempted to calm the large mob of people before him, several of his men pushing the more unruly people back from the line of guards. Unfortunately they were unsuccessful as the frightened and hungry mob couldn't understand that they did not want to keep them out of the city, but they were doing this for the peoples own safety as the capitol was still a disaster area, several buildings having collapsed recently and causing the Archon to stop her people from possibly walking to their own deaths. His patience finally spent, Spardus growled softly as he strode towards the now angry mob, raised his battle staff and slammed it into the ground, causing the people the shrink away as a thunderclap sounded across the plain. "My fellow Kryn! We are not here to stop you from entering the city so that you cannot rest and recover, but we are here to make sure that you do not enter into what could be your own deaths! Already too many of our people have died in a senseless war, we do not wish to add more to the count because we could not wait until we are sure the area is safe! We ask for your understanding and patience, we will help you but not before we are sure that you will be safe."

As Spardus took a moment to see if his words would have any effect a large male Kryn stepped forward and gestured angrily at the Captain. "You would keep us from that which we need, that which we are entitled to! We have sick and wounded that require shelter and care, not petty words of comfort! If you will not help us we will take what we need, by force if need be!" Spardus sighed as the mob shouted as one, their anger stirred once again.

Just as the captain was about to order his men to force the people back, a dagger appeared in the ground and a brilliant flash of light caused many Kryn to fall to the ground, covering their eyes from the blinding flare of light. All eyes focused on the scene before them as a young man reached down, grabbed the dagger and quickly placed in a pouch on his hip, a serious gaze sweeping over the crowd of Kryn before him. Spardus sighed in relief, recognizing the man that the Archon had brought to the palace, the very man that had ended the senseless violence against his people. 'Maybe he'll have better luck getting the masses to calm down.'

Naruto looked at the multitude of people before him and then turned back towards the guards, his serious gaze switching to one of annoyance in a moment. "Someone better explain what is happening here. Now." As one of the guards stepped forward and quickly explained the situation to Naruto, he closed his eyes and nodded, having been exposed to the same situation after Pain destroyed Konoha. "I get it, leave this to me." Reaching into the pouch at his hip Naruto pulled out some sealing supplies and placed them on the ground. Raising his hands he created a dozen clones and pointed to a nearby section of land. "Start right there guys, I'll let'em know what's happening." As the clones scooped up the materials and loudly made their way towards the indicated plot of land, Naruto turned back to the now silent and wary throng of people, their eyes following the unknown stranger intently that seemed to be able to make copies of himself.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I'm also known as the Toad Sage of Konoha. I know what it is like to lose your homes, the fear that drives you to do desperate things as you try to make sense of what happened and protect the ones you love. I know what it's like to lose a home, many years ago a man that was hunting me destroyed my village while searching for me, he attacked my village while I was away training to become strong enough to protect which was most important to me. After I returned, I kicked the idiot's ass and saved my people. The civilians of our village reacted in a very similar manner to all of you, they were scared and confused as the military and I did what we could to protect them and rebuild our homes at the same time. I know it's not much but until the city is safe for you to inhabit again I can provide you shelter and I'll see what I can do to get you the supplies you need. We just finished a war, let not start fighting with each other."

Claudus watched as the people looked at each other, as if debating whether to trust this unknown person or take what they needed. The apparent leader of the mob stepped forward and looked down at the man that had spoken to them all, his angry stare locking onto Naruto. Naruto merely grinned as he adopted a relaxed stance, his clones in the background jokingly arguing as they continued to create a very large seal on the ground. Finally the large Kryn sighed and stepped back, rejoining the group of refugees and allowing everyone to breath a sigh of relief. Naruto walked forward and clapped the man on his shoulder and proudly gestured at his now waiting clones. "Now, I suck at the original version of this technique but, with the help of an old buddy named Yamato, I managed to make an alternate method that should be perfect to help you all out." As Naruto finished he turned towards his clones and grinned, a rumbling sound caused the Kryn behind him to step back in fear, then stop and stare in awe as a large stone building rose from the ground.

"Fuin: Shichūka no Jutsu. So, how many people we looking at housing today?" Before anyone could answer his question, a loud explosion of smoke revealed fifty new clones, all of which immediately ran towards the city. "Oh and look, a group of runners to get supplies and food that can avoid any dangerous situation. So, anyone else have a problem that needs solving?"

Jaliera stretched as she exited her room, deciding to take a break and see what had been happening today. As the leader of the Kryn passed Naruto's room, a smirk appeared as a disheveled Gina exited the suite and nearly ran into her, the distracted girl apologizing profusely for almost running Jaliera down. "It's ok Gina, calm down. Now, what's with the rush?"

Gina crossed her arms behind her back and looked away from Jaliera as she mumbled her answer. The Archon grinned as she leaned closer, having an idea what was going on. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I didn't quite catch what you said." Gina glared at Jaliera as she spun on her heel, stalking away in anger.

"I'm going to find Naruto! I know you heard me the first time!" Jaliera laughed softly as she quickly caught up with the anger Gina and grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards the Palace exit.

"Well, if you'll follow me, we'll go find him together. I'd like to see what he's doing as well." Gina growled softly but decided it was best to follow the ruler, since it appeared that she knew where Naruto was. The pair exited the palace and found an irate Brianna interrogating a pair of guards, gesturing wildly as she yelled at the pair. Gina and Jaliera both looked at each other, sighed and decided to rescue the men from Brianna's anger.

"YOU JUST LET HIM LEAVE? HE WAS OUT FOR THREE DAYS AFTER ALMOST BEING KILLED! ARE YOU STUPID OR WHAT?!" Brianna's hands shot up and just before the enraged woman could grab the guard's breastplate and pull him closer, two sets of arms grabbed Brianna's shoulders and pulled her back. Brianna looked back in shock at the serious gazes of Gina and Jaliera, their expressions causing the angry woman to pause in her rant.

"Corporal, continue with your patrol, I'll handle this." One hurried bow later and the two guards were running for the far side of the courtyard, well out of range of the irate woman that had nearly attacked them. When the men left Jaliera and Gina let Brianna go and stared at the woman, waiting for an explanation with equally stern gazes.

"Um... hi?" Brianna chuckled nervously as she started to back away, wincing when she hit the pedestal that Naruto had sat by mere hours before.

"Brianna..." Gina gave her sister her best 'you got some 'splaing to do!' look and even though Brianna was used to it, she cracked almost immediately.

"Ok, fine! I wanted to find Naruto, but when those guards told me he ran out of here I got a little annoyed. I mean he just woke up, he should be taking it easy. He may be tough but he's not indestructible." Gina and Jaliera both looked at each other, nodded and grabbed Brianna's arms and started to drag her into the city. "Hey, lemme go! I mean it, lemme go you two!"

Unknown to the girls, they were being observed from a room on the upper level of the palace, a morose Stripe watching the trio interact as they entered the city. A door opened and Stripe glanced over his shoulder, seeing his adviser Primus enter and bow his head briefly.

"It is as we feared, Lord Stripe. I am sorry but there is nothing that can be done." Turning away from the scene before him, Stripe sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he came to a decision.

"I'll inform them tonight."

As soon as the trio of women entered the city Jaliera used her telekinetic abilities to quickly traverse the most dangerous places in their path, her telekinetic bubble carrying the woman high into the sky above the capitol. Both Gina and Brianna kept their eyes peeled to the ground, worried that they would miss Naruto as Jaliera had her eyes closed, concentrating on maintaining her telekinetic field. Gina looked back at Jaliera for a moment before asking the question that had been bothering her for a while now. "Jaliera? Why aren't you just using your clairvoyance to find Naruto?"

A light laugh caused Gina to look at the woman in front of her and narrow her eyes in irritation. "My powers aren't a light switch Gina. They rarely work when I want them to and even when they do tell me the future, they usually don't tell me what I want to know, but what I need to know. Otherwise I could have prepared my people for the invasion of the Dynasty and hunkered down to wait for all of you to arrive with Naruto." Gina looked at Jaliera's somber face, turning back towards the ruined city after deciding that she had said all that should be said for now.

Several minutes later the Diggers women and Jaliera reached the outskirts of the city, the lookouts crowing in triumph as they spotted their quarry. One quick word later and Jaliera rapidly descended, landing beside a hunched over Naruto that was drinking from a water flask and taking deep breaths as he appeared to be resting. All three women rushed forward, concerned that Naruto was still weakened from his latest experience but the content look on his face calmed the girls quickly.

"Hey ladies, you finally came to join us?" Each girl looked at each other in confusion, then looked up at the plain before them and as one they gasped in awe. Hundreds of large buildings were spaced across the once barren and war torn plain, each appearing large enough to hold dozens of people easily. To their left was a much larger building that appeared to be some kind of warehouse, where the guard contingent that had been trying to stop people from entering the city were helping twenty clones to hand out food and medicine to the refugees. A round of happy laughter caused the women to look to their right and all three giggled as they watched multitudes of children playing on various playground equipment, several clones acting as if they were the children as they kept them busy and out from underfoot. Jaliera dropped to her knees beside Naruto and watched him take a slow swig of his water, her grateful gaze never leaving his face as he breathed deeply, closing his eyes and listening to the people around him. "There was so much fear, so much anger coming from your people that I had to do something. Hopefully it'll be enough, cause right now, I'm tapped out. I think I'm going to need a hand getting back to the palace." Jaliera quickly grabbed onto his forearm and helped the shinobi stand, tears coming to her eyes as the sounds of her people's happiness reached her ears.

"But why? You've already done so much for us, you didn't need to do this." Naruto grinned as Jaliera put Naruto's arm over her shoulders and helped him walk towards his girlfriends.

"It's because I can. Now, lets head back, I have a feeling that this day's surprises aren't over yet." Just as Naruto reached his girls a cheer broke out as the refugees acknowledged their savior, the man that had freed them from not just their enemies but also their fears. Turning back, Naruto stood tall and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment then waved to the people, Gina and Brianna walking forward to put Naruto's arms over their shoulders, supporting him as his new fans shouted out their thanks. Moments later Jaliera lifted everyone into the sky and the foursome disappeared back into the city, the people now convinced that they would survive.

Naruto leaned comfortably against Gina, her hand slowly running through his hair as the group made their way back to the palace. "Now what did I tell you about working yourself to exhaustion? It cuts into a our nookie time, so stop doing that." Naruto chuckled softly as he pulled Gina's free hand to his lips and kiss her palm softly. Brianna stretched out in to telekinetic bubble and rested her head on Naruto's stomach and almost started to purr when one if his hands massaging her scalp gently. Jaliera, meanwhile was watching the scene before her with a pout, the concentration needed to maintain the bubble preventing her from joining in.

'So unfair, I want to cuddle with him too, he looks like a great body pillow.' Several minutes later the group landed in the courtyard once more, Naruto waving off the girls as he slowly stood under his own power, reaching into his pouch and popping several soldier pills in his mouth.

'It may not be as good as getting some rest but that should give me enough energy to handle anything for the rest of the day.' As the group slowly walked into the palace, Naruto froze for a moment, the girls looking at him in concern.

"Wait, where are the others?"

On the other side of the planet

"Dig faster me boyos! We be rich, rich I say!"

"Penny, why are we over here girl?"

"Well, I did blow a lot of my money on the Visigoth, so think of this as... reimbursement."

Back at the Palace

Naruto laughed loudly as he followed the girls into the palace, waving at the approaching form of Brittany. Moments later Naruto's laughter stopped as he saw the concerned look on the were-cheetah's face, his protective instincts coming to the front.

"Hey Cheets, what's wrong?" Brittany looked at her friend and sighed, a look of frustration replacing her earlier one of concern.

"It's Stripe. Pretty much since we arrived here, he's been avoiding me. It all started when a group of the 'nobility' pulled him aside to talk about something they said was 'very important'." As Brittany let out an exasperated sigh, simmered in her anger, Naruto looked back at Brianna, Gina and Jaliera. Both of the Diggers sisters were shrugging their shoulders, confused at the new of Stripe's new behavior, but Jaliera had a guilty expression that caused Naruto's eyes to narrow as he had a sneaking suspicion that there was more going on than a 'simple discussion.' Walking towards the silent woman, Naruto gently grabbed her forearm and pulled her away form the group, ignoring the protests of his girlfriends as he disappeared in a flash of light. The pair appeared in Naruto's room where he let go of Jaliera's arm and looked at her sternly.

"Alright, tell me what's happening."

Stripe ran a hand tiredly over his face, the documents that he had been reading seemed nothing more than a jumble of words as he leaned back in the comfortable chair he had been using, his eyes sliding shut as he decided to take a break from the monotony. A loud shout from outside of his room caused the young Prince to cock an eyebrow and stand, wondering what the commotion was about. Moments later one of the guards that had been assigned to him came flying through the door of his room, groaning as he lay crumpled at Stripe's feet. Seconds later a loud meaty thump was heard and the wall beside the door shook and the man causing the disturbance stalked into the room, a furious Naruto glaring at Stripe. Stripe, the ever eloquent Prince that he was trained to be, finally decided on the words he needed to sum up this situation. "Oh, fuck me..."

Naruto walked forward, his hand latching onto the stunned Prince's shirt and pulling him close. Not a second after this occurred a breathless Jaliera burst through the door, her eyes wild with fear. "No, Naruto! Don't hurt him!" Stripe watched as the blonde shinobi he thought of as a friend slowly turn his gaze and look at the frightened women. Turning back towards his captive audience, Naruto clenched his fist tighter.

"I'm not going to kill him. We're going to have a little... chat." A flash of light blinded Stripe and the young man was suddenly introduced to the joys of traveling via Hiraishin. Stripe moaned as he fell to the group, his stomach strenuously objecting to the instantaneous travel as he threw up his last meal, groaning softly as he finished retching. "Yeah, sorry bout that, unless I use my chakra to make the ride smoother, that technique will really mess with you. Course, considering how pissed I am with you right now, I'm actually not sorry about that and you're lucky I didn't just gut you where you stood." Stripe groaned as he stood up, his eyes blinking as he looked at the burned out tower that Naruto had transported him to. Looking back at the glaring man before him, Stripe took a deep breath before speaking.

"I can't blame you for that, I'm assuming you know now?" At the glare that Stripe received in response to his question the Prince sighed, sitting down on a piece of rubble as he rubbed the bridge of his nose as his stomach slowly settled. "Who told you?"

"Jaliera, I had to nearly pry the information out of her, but she only told me the basics." Stripe nodded slowly then looked up at the still standing man, his entire posture screaming the anger he felt.

"Well then, I better fill in the rest that you don't know. El Dorado was the brain child of one of my ancestors, a king named Blaze that ruled over eight thousand years ago. It was originally designed to seed colonies across the stars to expand our numbers and then, when it's mission was done to return to Aebra. As it was his idea, Blaze decided that it was his responsibility to accompany the ship on it's voyage. The nobility, the bastards that they are, decided that this was a ludicrous idea and wanted Blaze to hand over control of his people to them while he was gone. Of course, the nobles were power hungry, corrupt and self serving, meaning that Blaze decided to mess with them before he left."

"Heh, sounds like the majority of the council from my old village, damn civilian bastards always tried to screw with me when I was younger. Keep going." Stripe nodded as he continued his tale.

"Blaze decided to name a magistrate of his court as the Archon, a leader for his people in his absence. You already know what happened when we reached Earth so we'll skip that part, during the crash we lost the ability to communicate with our home planet until Jan and Rol arrived earlier this year on Earth. Before Blaze left, the nobility demand a provision to be added to his decision to appoint an interim ruler. If a descendant of Blaze returned to the planet than the current Archon would be dismissed from their position with no chance to claim it again and said descendant would then take his or her place as the ruler of the Kryn. After our battle with Rio, the nobles tracked me down quickly and informed me of the situation and what would occur if I declined my birthright. If I do not take my place as the ruler of the Kryn than the responsibility will fall to the nobles to lead my people." Stripe looked at the impassive face of Naruto and waited for his response.

"And? So what? You don't belong here, hell you didn't even seem to want to come here until you heard they were in trouble! Stripe, you're MARRYING Brittany, she's not going to want to stay here, her home and family are on earth! Let the nobles lead the planet, they know what the hell is going on here, you don't!" Stripe stood quickly, walking towards Naruto and grabbed the pissed off shinobi's shirt in his hand.

"I CAN'T! The nobles are still as corrupt, craven and useless as before! They wanted to abandon Aebra with the social elite, let the common folk fend for themselves! How can I leave people such as that in power? I can't abandon my people to that, if I did I'd be no worse than the Dynasty!" Stripe was breathing deeply, his anger showing as he voiced his opinions of the 'ruling class' of his kind. Naruto looked Stripe in the eye and sighed, pulling himself from Stripe's grip and sitting down, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"When I was a kid, there was a powerful clan in my village, the Uchiha. They were arrogant, prideful and worst of all they were in charge of keeping order in the village as it's police force, allowing them to flaunt their... 'superiority'. But this wasn't enough for them, they decided that they should be the ones to make the decisions, they should be the ones to make the rules for everyone. So they planned a coup, to take what they felt they deserved. In the end, a single man from that damned clan stood up and opposed them, doing what he felt was the only option. He killed his clan, his friends, his comrades and his family. No one was spared, none except his youngest brother that had nothing to do with the plot. His name was Itachi, and his resolve saved our village from civil war. I know what it's like to bare a burden as well, just like him... just like you. I can't blame you for doing your duty to shoulder the burden you are entrusted with, but I can blame you for making Brittany choose between you and her family." Standing up, Naruto grabbed Stripe's arm and a moment later the pair appeared before a group of very anxious women, each intent on giving Naruto and Stripe a piece of their minds. Naruto pushed Stripe towards Brittany and folded his arms over his chest, his actions causing the rest of the girls to fall silent. "You two have a lot to talk about. We'll be waiting for you both right here."

Brittany followed Stripe as he lead her into a vacant room. As her fiancee closed the door, a feeling of dread slowly grew in Brittany's heart, hoping that she was wrong about what she was about to be told. Stripe held Brittany's hands in his own and began to tell her what he had shared with Naruto, the words flowing from him as he confessed why he had seemed so distant for the last few days. Brittany closed her eyes, tears forming as she listened to the man she loved explain to her that he wasn't coming home with her and her family.

"I know that this is a lot to take in, but I want you to stay with me Brittany, I want you to be my queen for my people." Brittany looked up at Stripe's hopeful gaze and cupped his cheek in her hand, a watery smile gracing her features.

"Me? A Queen? I don't know the first thing about being a queen... or your people. I'd be a terrible queen. And your asking me to abandon my family, my friends, my life and my home. Your asking me to share you with all of your people, when I only want you to look after me, care for me and love only me. Everything your saying is what you want, but I'm the one giving everything up. How is this fair to me? Marriage is a partnership, both people make sacrifices." Stripe closed his eyes and pulled Brittany into his arms as she sobbed into his chest, the Prince already knowing the decision that Brittany was going to make without her saying anything.

Naruto stood tall as he watched the door that the couple had entered, a intent look on his face as Gina and Brianna both were talking softly with Jaliera behind him. The door opened suddenly and Brittany walked out, looked at her family with a tear streaked face and raced off, dashing out of sight in moments. Stripe exited the room as well, a look of immense sadness as he closed the door and faced his friends. Gina strode forward and slapped him, Stripe not even reacting other than his head whipping to the side from the hit. As Gina stormed off after her sister, Brianna glared at the man and scoffing at him as she followed Gina, hoping to provide some comfort to her distraught sister. Jaliera stayed where she was as Naruto walked forward, one of his beamsaber's held in his palm. Tapping the inactive weapon against Stripe's chest, Naruto growled at the silent Stripe and stalked off before his anger got the better of him. Stripe looked at up at Jaliera, the former Archon bowing in respect before she walked off, leaving Stripe to his own thoughts and the consequences of his actions.

Naruto quickly ran through the hallways, sensing two of the Diggers ahead of him as he raced for the exit of the palace. Stopping at the top of the stairs, he saw Gina and Brianna standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking around the courtyard as they tried to find their sister. Naruto slowly walked down the stairs and wrapped his arm around Gina's waist as Brianna began to shout out Brittany's name. "By the time we got out her, she was already long gone... she could be anywhere Naru." Closing his eyes, Naruto reached out with his chakra and began connecting with each Hiraishin marker on the planet at this time. On the far side of the planet he felt the marker of the Visigoth as well as several dozen stationary markers in the city. The markers on both girls beside him also connected to his senses, as well as a third that was rapidly making its way through the city.

"I got her. Give me a little time to go talk to her and I'll bring her back Kirei. Both of you should wait in my room, I'll bring her there when we finish talking." Gina and Brianna both sighed, turning towards Naruto and kissed his cheeks softly before slowly making their way back to the palace. Naruto reached up to his forehead protector, tightened the knot and ran towards the city, running up the side of a tall building so that he could hop from roof to roof as he kept an eye on Brittany. Several minutes later Naruto found the distraught were-cheetah, her speeding form dashing through the city and dodging obstacles as she maintained her run. 'No matter how fast you run Cheets, you're not going to run away from this...' Naruto watched as Brittany began to slow as she reached the edge of the city, her strength fading from the hectic pace she had set for herself. Just as Naruto was about to drop to the ground beside Brittany a worried Kurama caught his attention

'Ummm, don't you think it's a really bad idea to sneak up on her? You do remember what happened the last time you snuck up on an emotional woman... right?'

'Aw, I didn't know you cared so much about my well being Kurama.'

'HAH! Hell no, I'm the one that has to help heal you every time you do something stupid, I'm just keeping the amount of work I have to do to a minimum, baka.'

Brittany collapsed onto her knees, her strength exhausted as she had dashed full speed across the entire capitol in an attempt to run from debacle that had become her life. Tears continued to fall down her cheeks as she sniffed pitifully, her heart breaking as she realized that Stripe would never be hers. 'He doesn't trust me to fight, he leaves me without telling me what's wrong and then he expects me to give up everything to live on an alien planet with him?' Leaning forward on her hands Brittany screamed in anguish, letting out all of her anger and sorrow, her hands beating the broken ground for what felt like hours. A pair of strong arms pulled Brittany to her feet against a obviously male chest, holding onto her as she screamed out her rage at the man that held her, her fists beating ineffectually against his chest until she collapsed in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm here for you Cheets, all of us are. We're never going to abandon you, ok? Just let it out, I can take it all, after all I spent the first fifteen years of my life holding the embodiment of rage in me, a girl beating against my chest... well, that's kinda a nice change of pace." A watery laugh from Brittany caused Naruto to grin as he held the crying woman in his arms. Several minutes later her tears slowed as she wrapped her arms around her friend and held him close, looking up at the grinning face of Naruto and resting her cheek against his chest.

"Thanks..." Naruto made a noncommittal noise as the pair sat down, looking at the stars before them as Brittany continued to calm down while still clinging to Naruto.

"S'ok, what else are friends for? Let me know when our ready to head back, your sisters are worried about you." Brittany closed her eyes as she leaned against Naruto's chest, her emotions slowly coming back under her control.

"In a while, I just want to stay out here for now. You'll stay with me?" Naruto chuckled softly as he tapped the were-cheetah's nose.

"Course I will, I'm not going anywhere."

Naruto grinned ruefully as he slowly made his way back to the palace, a sleeping Brittany in his arms. Dropping to the ground Naruto made his way into the palace and walked towards his room, a timely application of wind chakra opening the door for him as he nearly laughed at the scene before him.

Gina and Brianna had apparently decided to wait in bed for Naruto and Brittany, but the wait apparently had been to much for them as then fell asleep, Brianna cuddling up to her older sister from behind her. Naruto laid the sleeping woman in his arms on the bed, the furrowing of Brittany's brow making him worry that she would wake. But moments later Gina's arms reached out and pulled her sister closer towards her, holding the middle sister in her arms. Naruto grinned as all three of the girls Cuddled together, looking as if they didn't have a care in the world while they slept.

'Oh kami, the sweetness is giving me cavities! You do realize you don't have anywhere to sleep, right? I say we go find Jaliera's room, I'm sure she'll let us bunk with her!'

'You know, that's a great idea!' Silence met Naruto's internal exclamation for several moments until Kurama's surprised voice chimed in.

'Really? I knew you had it in you, you sly dog you!'

'NO, NOT REALLY DUMBASS!'

Early the next morning

A hurried conversation with Penny and a brief argument with the Vaultron Force took place that morning, the details on yesterday's incident purposefully kept sketchy as Naruto got the rest of his friends to get ready to leave Aebra. Naruto watched as the Visigoth flew overhead, heading for the outskirts of the city. Looking behind him, Naruto watched as a sombre Brittany walk towards him, her mood still in the dumps from yesterday.. Grinning cheekily at his girlfriends, Naruto walked over to the girl and hip checked her, causing Brittany to look at Naruto in shock. "Hey, wanna race to the ship?"

Brittany blinked as she processed what Naruto had said, a look of surprise replacing the glum look. "You wanna race me? Um, I think I may be a little too fast for you to start with, maybe you should race Brianna." Naruto laughed heartily as he tossed his jacket at Gina, the smiling girl deftly grabbing the article of clothing as she watched the back and forth banter before her boyfriend and sister.

"Please, I beat the fastest shinobi alive in a contest of speed! I think I can stack up to you Cheets... that is, unless your afraid to race me?" Naruto grinned as he stretched languidly, angry sparks flying from Brittany's gaze on the relaxed shinobi as he attacked her pride.

"BRING IT!"

At the Visigoth landing site

Penny stood at the foot of the Visigoth's ramp, checked her watch one more time. "He said that they'd be here by now..." A loud sonic boom knocked the young genius off of her feet, her face scrunched up in anticipation of the pain that would follow her fall. Several moments passed when Penny opened her eyes and stared into the amused eyes of the person that had caught her... "Naruto! Dammit, put me down!" Naruto laughed loudly as he set Penny back on the ground, just in time for the pair to see a panting Brittany appear from the city.

"YOU BASTARD! You cheated!" Naruto laughed as he dodged several angry swipes from the panting were-cheetah, managing to keep himself just out of reach.

"Oh come on, I didn't cheat, you're just a sore loser! Plus, I don't need to cheat to beat you in a race." Brittany glared at the shinobi, setting him off on another round of laughter. Moments later Brianna flew overhead in her battle armor, Gina holding on to her armor as the pair landed and grinned at the scene in front of them. Penny slid over to her ex rival and motioned at the bantering pair behind her.

"What the heck did Naruto do to cheese off Cheetah so much?" Gina snorted as she pulled Penny towards her and whispered in her ear. Moments later Penny burst out laughing, attracting the attention of the annoyed woman and shifting her ire to her now present sisters.

"Dammit, don't tell her what happened!" As Brittany walked towards her sisters, she realized they were standing on a cliff overlooking a very large plain outside of the city. As the curious were-cheetah reached the edge of the cliff and looked below them, her eyes widened and she turned back to her family. "Ummm, Naruto? I think you need to see this."

Naruto cocked his head to the side, stepped towards the edge of the cliff and was greeted by a sight that made him grin and happiness. Thousands of Kryn cheered as the man that saved them from destruction appeared, screaming their thanks for the visitor from another planet before he made his way home. A glowing Stripe quickly rose from the bottom of the cliff, landing beside Naruto and extending his hand. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he took the proffered hand, a roar of approval from the crowd below him at this gesture.

"I know that you're all angry with me, I only hope that one day you can forgive me for what I need to do. I want you all to know, if there is ever anything me or my people can do for you, you have to only name it and it will be done. We owe you our lives and our homes, we will never be able to repay you for what you did." Naruto sighed as he shook Stripe's hand once more as he used his free hand to wave at the ecstatic Kryn below him. Turning back to the others, Naruto looked at Brittany and motioned his head towards Stripe before entering the ship. Brittany walked towards Stripe slowly, the soon to be King of the Kryn looked contrite as his ex fiancee stood before him.

"Brittany, I'm so..." Stripe stopped speaking as he felt Brittany's arms pull him close, holding him gently as a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry too, I'll miss you Stripe. Goodbye." Her piece said, Brittany immediately boarded the Visigoth with the others, the boarding ramp retracting quickly and the ship rising into the sky. Stripe watched the ship leave, regret at what he had lost but secure in the knowledge that Brittany was strong and she would move past this trying time in her life and find happiness.

On the Visigoth

As the women made their way towards the bridge, a musical laugh caused the four women to stop and look at each other in confusion. Gina raised an eyebrow as she listened to the voices on the bridge. "That doesn't sound like Ace... and it's definitely not Naruto... wait a minute!" Gina ran towards the bridge, stood in the doorway and screamed in outrage, causing the other women to try and push past her to see what was wrong.

Naruto was laughing loudly, slapping his knee as he pointed towards the co pilot chair, a smiling Jaliera cocking her head to the side as she smiled at the recent arrivals to the bridge. "Hello, my name is Jaliera. By the first official decree of King Stripe of Aebra, I have been appointed as the Aebrians official liaison with Earth. Surprise!"