A/N: Back at it again~!

Double update day! This and another story.

So let's get the disclaimer out the way. SPOILERS FOR RUIN.

In other news depression's starting to hit real hard these days. Sometimes I wonder why I do anything at all. I can't claim to understand what's going wrong with my head. I don't even know why! One moment I'm fine, then my mood craters for a few hours, then I'm back again for a bit, and the cycle repeats. Its rather annoying; as though I've become a prisoner in my own mind sometimes. Sure, what's one more mental problem on the pile. Not like I don't have enough, what with already being this old. Feels like every day is a battle sometimes. My doctor is of no help at all.

*siiiigh* Don't mind the rambling of this geezer...

With my fifteen year anniversary on this site finally here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.

And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.

Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. Feels like everyone's lost their minds sometimes. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.

So here we go. The fate of this story depends on you, the reader. Your feedback determines the fate of this tale, and many others.

As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. They're tributes to legends far greater than I.

I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.

Time and feedback will determine if this remains a story. Simple as that.

In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!

CG5's newsong Ruined Lullaby spurred this early update.

Its a real banger and fit perfectly with what I was

"Mimic, eh? Lets see you mimic THIS!

~?

Guide Me Blindly

Cassie ran.

She pelted down the tunnel as fast as she could, all the while keenly aware of that thing chasing her. Run, Cassie! Even now Roxy's voice bleated in her ears as she pelted down the tunnel. Run, run, run. Never stop. She could hear it behind her. Not Gregory. Never Gregory. Her Roxy-talkie was gone, crushed in the chaos, her Faz-wrench lost, her mask broken. All she could do was run.

Where was she supposed to go?!

"Go right." an unfamiliar voice whispered in her ear.

She jolted a little, eyes wide. "Who's that?"

"Does it matter? Just go right!"

She took a right.

"Another right...and oh, you didn't unlock the secret ending. Fine, I'll help you out a little earlier than intended."

Cassie rounded a corner and saw it. There it was! An elevator!

But she didn't have her wrench to open it...!

She heard the heavy footsteps behind her.

Her pursuer lumbered her way with plodding steps, taking its time, drawing out the moment, savoring her fear-

She scrambled back, shoulders hitting the wall. "Help!"

"Alright."

An arm burst through the wall and clotheslined the monster chasing her. It landed flat on its back, but the madness didn't stop there.A boot crashed through the wall and kicked it away.

"Sorry about that," a grinning young man man phased the west of the way through the wall, whiskered cheeks dimpling in a wry smile. "I like to make an entrance." She glimpsed bright blue eyes framed by tawny blond hair going white near his scaly and where those...horns? "This'll just take a second."

She gulped a little. "Who're you?

He laughed. "The devil on your shoulder."

Well, that wasn't ominous at all. "Where'd you come from?

"Hopped in from another dimension, or I guess you could call it the main game."

"Main-what-now?"

A steady thump-thump-thump-reminded her of the monster.

The twisting animatronic -Mimic!- lumbered forward at them with a growl.

Her savior blew out a quick, angry breath at the sigh tof it. "Gimme a minute."

Pivoting, he conjured something to his right hand. It looked like...a ball? No, a sphere. Whatever it was, it did the trick. He smashed it into the mimic's chest. The rest, as they say, was history. It went flying back down the tunnel with a tortured wail of grinding gears and broken parts.

"Hurts, don't it?" Naruto cracked his knuckles and waded in after it. "Did you enjoy chasing the little girl? " his voice rose as the twisted amalgamation of parts climbed to its feet. "Let's see how you like being chased. How many people have you tried to lure down here? Is she even the first? Or just the first to make it this far?

Cassie didn't know much about fighting.

She was just a kid, after all. Why would she?

She'd only seen a bit of boxing on her dad's television once.

Naruto acted like a boxer now; squaring up, fists raised, bounding from one foot to the other. He swayed left, dodged a clawed hand and hammered a gloved fist into the side of the Mimic's head. One of those awful golden eyes winked out and it swayed in place. He didn't stop there. Right, left, center. His fists reminded Cassie of powerful pistons, hammering in one after the other. North, south, east and west. Each punch broke the monster down that much more, like a chisel chipping away at a rock face.

The Mimic never stood a chance.

At the end of the day it was an animatronic, a machine, and it simply didn't know how to-

"Fight back!" Her savior spat at it as he obliterated one of its legs, bringing it crashing down to a knee. "Surely you can do that!"

The Mimic made a blind grab for him and lost an arm for it; the limb whistled through the air, wedged itself into the wall, and lay still. Even disarmed, it didn't give up.

It rasped angrily at him. "Hurts...

"Oh, so you can mimic my voice after all." clawed fingers smashed into the robot's chest, destroying its vocalizer. "Great, great. No, really, that's something." a grin split his face. "Lets see if you can mimic THIS."

An uppercut thundered up under the Mimic's chin, launching it back. It struck the ceiling and fell flat.

Naruto only smiled.

"Don't fancy your odds against someone that can fight back, do ya?! Lets play a different kind of game then. Its been awhile since I used this 'ol trick Beerus taught me...

He held out a hand, fingers pressed tight against one another, thumb in his palm.

For a brief moment, his blue eyes flashed with eerie light. "Hakai~!"

"Aiiiiiyeeeeee!"

Cassie yelped and scrambled backward; because with a tortured wail the mimic began to dissolve before her very eyes; its lanky form crumbling like to much paper in water, turning to motes of purple light. It strained its remaining hand toward her, but even that dissolved as she looked on, until at last...

Nothing remained.

"Well, that settles that."Naruto snatched her up by the scruff of the neck and reeled her back in as one might a fish. ""No elevator for you. Unless you want a bad ending. Now, then...

He slashed a hand through the air, conjuring a large scarlet portal in hits wake. She could hear voices within. Laughter.

"You're late for your birthday party. Right this way. All your friends are waiting~!"

Was this what it felt like to have a big brother?

Cassie sniffled a little despite herself.

It felt...nice.

A/N: Another saved.

Looking back, its hard to tell who made the elevator crash. One might thing it was Gregory, but there's a theory it was the Mimic as well. Really, its quite confusing for this old man.

Shaking off the rust, don't mind me.

As ever, the Embers rule persists. If folks don't like this? Well...I'll not continue it. So by all means, speak up! Raise your voice! Make yourself heard! Your reviews matter! Really, they do! That's no joke. I don't have days off anymore -two jobs will do that to you- and I'm working myself to the bone.

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Revieeeeew, Would You Kindly?

Hope you enjoy the previews!

(Previews!)

"Freddy m'boy! Its so nice to finally meet you! And you must be Gregory!"

"The heck're you?"

"Yes."

...that does not answer my question.

Sorry kiddo, its the best answer your gonna get from yours truly."


"Alright you sneaky little rabbit...GET OVER HERE!"


Naruto whistled sharply.

A dark shadow detached itself from the wall behind him and strode their way.

Cassie glimpsed familiar hair as she stepped into the light.

Her eyes widened. "Roxy?!"

R&R~!