A/N: Can anyone see this? Yes? No? Maybe so? Do let me know!
I posted this on Archive of Our Own the other day during the glitches. Reposting it here, polished and edited for all to see. For those that reviewed it over there, I'd appreciate it if you could do the same here. It would mean a lot; this will be my final Baldur's Gate story.
Hopefully folks can actually see this story this time around. Hopefully? Bloody site broke down on us again and this time so did I; once and for all.
Allow me to clarify the nature of said breakdown to you, who are reading this. I've lost my mind. Cracked. Gone cuckoo, once and for all. I've made a decision. I'm going to write. And write, and write, and write some more, to entertain as many people as I possibly can before I die, or this site does. Might as well, right? Who knows how long this site has left. Yesterday's disaster has borked Fanfiction's notifications, PM's, and so many other things aaaaall the way back to last year's now infamous week-long disaster. And I. Have had. Enough.
But hey, at least the app works right? Screw it. I'm writing while I still have life left in these old bones. My health hasn't been the best lately.
Long story short, I had to get a massive swathe of skin on my side cut off the other day because my doctors are concerned and checking for cancer. And when I say cut, I mean CUT as in with several scalpels at once, leaving me in horrendous pain. Now I may need to go back to the hospital and get yet more "pieces" removed which has me stressed out even more. Don't get me started about the bleeding and the bandages.
Painkillers are sending me on a right trip, so there's that. I've since had even more pieces carved away on my back, chest and neck besides, with my arm and legs soon to follow. In other words. I. Am. Suffering. Writing distracts me from the pain, if only just.
So here we go. The fate of this fragment depends on you, the reader. Your feedback determines the fate of this tale, and many others.
I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild, wicked world, one word at a time.
Once more, I own no quotes, references, or memes. Not a wit or a one. NOT! A! THING!
They're all tributes to legends far greater than little 'ol me. Disclaimer over.
This is a teaser from something I'm working on in my spare time.
Inspired by Jonathan Young's Song, Answer the Call.
"Come one, come all! Answer the call!
Of the chosen hero that's growing inside!
Come one, come all! In the darkness you carry the light!"
~?
Answer the Call
"Awaken, my dear Chosen."
Her words were so soft, barely a whisper, really, yet they stirred something in Naruto's mind all the same; dragged him from his dreams as surely as the smell of Ramen. And yet for all that, it felt...gentle. Peaceful. Like a cool hand pressing to a hot, feverish forehead, a soft touch and a kind word intermingled together. He didn't necessarily jolt awake per se, but he did awaken all the same...
.
..
...and immediately wished he hadn't.
Blue eyes fluttered open with a groan as he sat up. Blinked now, as he beheld his surroundings. Sand greeted his hands, and much to his confusion, he found himself sprawled not upon the broken Valley of the End, dying at the feet of his former friend, but rather a moonlit beach, warm water lapping at his feet. A full moon hung high above to be beheld by his wanting eyes and it was mercifully not red. Well! At least he needn't fear getting dragged infernal some genjutsu against his will...again. He'd barely broken out of the last one. Speaking of which...
"Kurama?"
His partner's familiar voice groaned in his head. "Did anyone get the name of that jutsu?"
That was the question, wasn't it?
He remembered Sasuke's words, their final clash:
"I won't kill you, Naruto. But you and that Fox are in my way. Goodbye...my friend."
The air had twisted then and then...then...!
His mind had gone blank.
"That rat bastard!" he jolted up with a snarl. "Where did he send me?!"
"Quite far away from yor home, I'm afraid." a gentle voice intoned behind him. "I believe he was being merciful."
He whirled to face someone who hadn't been behind him a second ago with rasengan in hand, only to stop, quite literally, in his tracks.
A lady in silver robes awaited him, pale hair hanging over shoulders. He couldn't see all of her face, not truly, not in such bright moonlight, but her voice carried to him all the same. As he looked on in quiet confusion, that very same radiance dimmed, revealing her divine -couldn't call her anything less- countenance to him. Her eyes seemed gentle, her face kind-yet-quite-curious.
Words couldn't even begin to describe her beuaty. He didn't dare try. She just...was.
"Put thine weapon away, I beg of thee." she raised a glowing hand. "We haven't much time. I mean you no harm. You are safe here, in my realm. For now...
"Who are...?
Her full lips pursed in a thin line, the faintest flicker of sadness and sorrow crossing her ethereal features. "I go by many names. You may call me the Lady in Silver. Had I not acted, you would've fallen into my Sister's domain below, and there, you would've truly been lost." her mouth quirked in a small smile, suddenly. "'Tis a shame, really. Lathander would have been most keen to claim thee, boy who burns like the sun. But better you meet me than Shar."
The names sailed right over his head. "You still haven't answered my question, ya know."
She planted a hand on the mighty mace resting at her hip. "I shall answer thy question with another question. Art thou not a hero?"
"Careful," Kurama's words rumbled in his ear. "This woman's nor mere mortal...far from it...
She certainly spoke strangely, but he could catch the gist of her words, for the most part.
And really, what kind of question was that?! "Of course I am!"
"Art thou truly?" In an instant she was in his face, words sharp, eyes sharper, lips mere inches from his own. "Many have said those words to me before." a cool hand came up to caress his face, stroking his cheek. "Many have thus claimed to be what you are. Many have fallen. I can ill afford another failure, not here, not now, when the night is darkest."
Maybe so, but that was no reason for him to be afraid. He couldn't sense any ill intent from her. Which meant...this had to be some sort of test, right?
Then he should tell the truth!
Kakashi-sensei always said the truth will set you free.
Heroes always told the truth in all the old stories, didn't they?
Kurama blanched in his head, sensing his intent. "I don't think that's a-
"I ain't changing my answer!" he firmed his feet, grit his teeth, crossed both arms before his chest and looked the glowing silvery woman right in the eye. "If helpin' people makes me a hero, then sure. I'm a hero. Now whaddya want?"
"Truly?" The tension drained from the Lady's face like water from a broken sieve. "Then next, I ask thee this. Do you stand strong in the face of adversity?"
He considered her question, remembering the few times he'd faltered. "As best I can, and even if I fall, I pick myself up again."
"Good, good." her head bobbed in a nod. "Art thou noble and true, kind whenever you can be?"
He remembered all the foes he'd faced, those he'd fought to redeem. "...yeah."
"Do you face the dark without fear?"
He winced. "Well, maybe a little fear; I don't get on with ghosts, ya know.
That drew a light, lilting laugh forth from her lips. "Such honesty! In light of such, I would ask a boon of thee, brave warrior."
Here at last, a gnarled vine of hesitation wrapped around his heart. "What kinda boon we talkin' about?"
Her cheeks dimple in a smile. "If thou render thy aid to me, I shall return thee to thy world."
"Alright!" he slammed a fist into his palm. We're in business!"
"Then heed my words." The woman before him-he was starting to think she was much more than that- did not retreat, but rather advanced, causing him to take a rare step back. "And see what you face."
Out came her hands, conjuring a sphere of light, and within it, he glimpsed horrors beyond his reckoning.
Sights. Smells. Sounds.
Carnage incarnate.
So much death.
"Faerun stands on the edge of a knife." The Silver Lady's voice rang over it all as he looked on, mesmerized by sheer horror. "My worshipers are slaughtered, my children taken from me, and the foul cult of the Absolute grows stronger every day. No more! her gaze rose, meeting his over the massacre taking place in her palms. "Bhaal has loosed a mad dog against me and mine. And so I look to you. I ask of you balance. I ask of you to be my Chosen. I ask you to stand against the coming darkness and my wicked sister, Shar."
Good against evil, eh? It was hardly a hard choice to make. "If helpin' ya gets me back to my world, then sure."
Her eyes sparkled with wry amusement "You may not be in such a hurry to return once thou art done."
What was she up to? Meh, probably not important. "Still doin' it, moon lady."
"Indeed?" Her gaze danced with full moon mirth as she released the vision within her hands. "Then it seems I chose true after all. Harken to me." the sordid scene before him vanished replaced by an entirely different image; that of light cast in a land of shadows. I shall send thee as close to thy destination as I can, but the path shall be yours. Heed it; let thine heart guide thee, and thou shall not go astray. It will lead thee to that which I treasure above all else."
His brow furrowed a little at that. "You're being awfully vague...?"
"I must be." she smiled sadly for him. "Just as I must make our meeting a short one. Ao frowns upon direct intervention on my part, I am already risking his wrath with mine interference here tonight. Seek the Thorm family crypt." she burned another image into his mind without his asking. "Thine senses shall lead thee." A pause followed then, as she considered him anew. "Ah, but I would be a poor host and you a poor Chosen indeed, if I did not gift thee mine power. Come closer, warrior of light."
She beckoned him.
He didn't have to approach; it was as much an invitation as a plea.
Against his own fear he took a tiny, tentative step forward across the sands toward her.
The goddess was quick; no sooner had she done so than she grabbed him and reeled him in to...
.
..
...press her forehead to his?
Her scent reached him a moment later, soft and faint like a lover's caress. Her arms encircled him, cool yet comforting. And her bosom...
Nope, nope, nope! This was a goddess he was thinking about! Focus on other things!
"I bless and restore thee, Naruto Uzumaki." her chin came down on his shoulder and he found himself inhaling sharply as fresh strength flooded his weary body. "May you be filled with my moonlight, my champion of the just, and return my daughter to the world."
He blinked once. "Daughter?"
Panic, raw and primal, flitted across the woman's face and she jerked back as though she'd been stung. "I have said too much. You must go. Now! Quickly! Before he-
The heavens rumbled above them and the moon faded as dark clouds rolled in. It felt as though the entire world had paused, taking a singular breath. And then a voice filled his ears, low and rumbling; rattling his every nerve from top to bottom as if all of creation had fixed its sights upon him.
"You have overstepped."
A bead of sweat ran down his brow. "Any idea who that is?"
"Ao." The Lady in Silver sucked in a sharp breath, then released it, slim shoulders slumping. "You have lingered here too long.
All around them, the once pristine moonlit beach dissolved as reality shifted; the quiet sanctuary replaced by shadowy sky and miles below it, distant ground. Naruto panicked at the sudden loss of solid footing beneath his feet, desperately denying gravity with every fiber of being. Were it not for a silver disc of light beneath his feet- was it her doing?- he would've plummeted to his doom.
That...was a long drop. He'd always hated heights; almost as much as he hated ghosts and-
"You must go!" The Unnamed Deity took him by the shoulders, shattering his thoughts. "Now! I will be punished for overreaching, but perhaps he might yet spare you!
He cast a baffled look to his patron. "What should I do now?!"
"Do as you did for me." The woman in white-and-silver smiled as the shadows swallowed them. "Aid the needy. Vanquish the wicked. Answer the Call."
A fresh peal of panic bleated through him. "I don't even know your name!"
She smiled for him, took him by the hands...
...and kissed him full on the lips.
His thoughts fizzled out.
"Selune."
Without warning, she gave him a push. He pitched backward as gravity sank its cruel claws into him. His world lurched and his vision dimmed as he fell from the stars. High above, he watched a bolt of light smite the poor goddess, driving her down to her knees. Then he could see no more; she became a distant speck shrinking away into the distance as he tumbled down into the shadowy realm below.
Wind lashed at his face while he fell, stinging his eyes.
The next thing he saw was...wait.
Was that an inn down there?
It was! Even from here he could see it rushing up at him, contained within a dome of pure, silvery light.
Kurama growled. "Landing strategy! Now!
Right, should probably focus on that.
Twisting his body, he raised his arms on either side of him and succeeded into slowing his fall, if only just. Wind snapped at his coat as he lurched back, causing the battered garment to billow out behind him. His chakra cloak flared a moment later and much to his surprise he found it burnished with shimmering silver set over gold; if he had shown like the sun before, then now he had the brilliant radiance of the moon. Wouldn't be much of a surprise if folks saw him coming. Honestly, he'd be disappointed if they didn't. He took a moment to marvel at his new form, tucked in his legs reared back and-
Brace for impact.
He alighted in a pointed crouch, knees bent, one fist slamming into the dirt in a vain attempt to bleed off his excess momentum. A crater burst beneath his feet, kicking up dirt and dust to briefly enshroud his form. He felt it made his entrance more...cinematic, ya know? Classic superhero landing. Minato would've been proud. Really was hell on the knees though.
A dozen startled faces stared back at him, balking at his abrupt arrival.
Well, they weren't attacking him juuust yet, so he'd call that a win in his book.
Now if he could just convince the lot of them to stay that way, he'd be willing to call it a day.
Rising to his feet -and trying to ignore his wobbly knees after that gnarly landing- he snapped off a salute. "Hello, there~! Naruto Uzumaki, reporting for duty!" When that didn't evoke a reaction from them, he raised his hands above his head, palms splayed to show just how harmless he was. "I come in peace!"
Alas, those words had the opposite effect; out came their weapons, all leveled his way.
His smile died an ugly death. "Awww, c'mon now...
Well, at least this couldn't get any worse?
Almost on cue, a stern looking blond woman clad in green emerged from the group. Idly he noticed the two swords at her back, her lovely face carved from stone and...oh. Oh, dear. She didn't look much happier to see him now, did she?
"Great!" he beamed at her, hoping for the best in spite of the worst. "I'm guessing you're in charge here? Could you ask your people to lower their...
Her eyes glowed, her hand pulsed with power, and quite suddenly he found a mighty web of earthen roots entangling his feet.
...weapons." he heaved a sigh, shoulders slumping. "Just once I wish someone would say hello before attacking me."
Imagine his surprise when the woman granted his request with a smile and just a touch of sass. "Hello."
His heart performed a little flip in his chest. "You have me at a disadvantage, miss...?
"Jaheira." there was the most enticing accent to her voice, the way she almost seemed to drawl every other word that riveted his attention. "This is why we're here, you see." she drew forth a curious flask from her belt pouch, revealing what appeared to be a strange slug contained within. "Strange, isn't it?" her gaze met his with a smirk, as though she knew something he didn't. "This curious creature hides all manner of secrets. But if there's one thing that we know," she held it out to him, "Is that it knows its own kind...
Before his very eyes, the creature shrieked and evaporated in its prison, causing the vial to shatter in her hand.
Naruto blinked, baffled by the display. "...was that supposed to do something?"
Her brow furrowed upon him. "What in the hells are you?"
So many things. He didn't have words for them all.
...not an enemy?"
"Whatever you are, you're not a True Soul. Congratulations." she flicked her hand, discarding the shattered vial and the roots binding his feet with it. "You've earned yourself the benefit of the doubt." she looked to the armed men and women still pointing their weapons his way. "Hear me, Harpers! All clear! At ease!" when next she looked back to him, her gaze seemed...softer, somehow. "I'll not pretend to understand who or what you are, but I'm old and wise enough to recognize a sliver of hope when it crawls out of the dark."
"Old?" His brow furrowed. "You don't look a day over thirty."
And she didn't! In what world would a woman like this possibly consider herself old?!
"Ha!" the woman threw her head back and barked a hearty laugh. "I assure you, stranger, I am much older than that. Tell me - who are you, and why have you come here?"
"If its name's your after, I'm Naruto." He dared a reluctant smile. "As to the rest, that's a bit of a long story...but I'm kinda hungry. You got any ramen?"
Now it was Jaheira's turn to be confused. "And what, pray tell, is this Ramen you speak of? I've not heart of it before."
Naruto recoiled bodily. This world didn't have any Ramen?! Blasphemy! What fresh hellscape had he landed in?!
He heaved a hearty sigh, shoulders slumping in abject despair. "Damnitall, Selune, why'd ya send me here...
For some reason, that seemed to startle Jaheira. "Did you just say Selune?!"
"Yeah...?" he shrugged. "That's her name. She important?"
"I...you...!" The warrior woman -druid?- sputtered for a moment before rallying. "Listen here you cheeky boy, Selune is the goddess of the moon and her power is the sole reason this place is still standing!" her gaze fixed on him anew, and she finally seemed to notice the faint silver shimmer shinning around him. "Are you telling me she sent you down here?! That you're her Chosen?!"
Well, she had said those words, hadn't she? "Yes...?"
Jaheira seized him by the wrist and held tight. "Start. Talking. Now."
Naruto wearily scratched the back of his head. "Like I said, its a long story...
A/N: Aaaaand scene.
Hope you enjoyed this little fragment.
Pairing was meant to be small, potentially NarutoxIsobelxAylin, -yes, I'm aware of their leanings- unconventional as that may seem. Or possibly NarutoxJaheira, given that we don't get a chance to romance her in the game. Maybe even a converted Viconia. Of course, that depends entirely on fan feedback.
That'll do it for today. Now I'm headed to bed; trying to sleep off the pain.
Well? Should this remain a story? Yay or nay, what say you? Not much else to say this time 'round. Reviews keep me writing, and without them, my inspiration falls flat. Ever bit of feedback helps. Pain hurts. Pain hurts a loooot. But silence from readers and reviewers? That hurts even more. As ever, reviews keep this old man alive during these dark and crazy times. I ain't joking.
Seriously, we're all locked away anyways these days, feedback is all that sustains me.
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas... Review...Would You Kindly?
May the make you smile~!
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
Read at your own risk!
(Previews)
"GHOST!"
"You are a literal agent of the divine! You cannot be afraid of a few specters!"
Easy for you to say! Jaheira!"
Isobel blinked at the burning being before her. He almost seemed to shine in the moonlight. Was he a fellow cleric?
No, this went well beyond what pitiful power she could muster in her current state.
A Chosen. Her heart raced, skipped a beat as it hadn't since Aylin.
He smiled at her then, so full of light and hope that, for a moment, she could've sworn her long lost love was standing right there.
"Who are you?"
Me? He beamed at her, still clad in that resplendent silvery light. "Just someone who answered the call."
Chosen. The word bleated in her mind, stark and bright. Selune's Chosen.
How noble-no, focus! "I would have your name, good sir."
"Oh, sorry!" he scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "Got a little ahead of myself."Names Naruto." whiskered cheeks dimpled in a smile and her heart skipped a beat again. "As to the how and why, you might wanna pull up a chair; its a long story...
She sank to her knees before him.
...you're blessed by my mother." Even here, in the Shadowfell, he shown with her light. "I can tell. Who are you, stranger? Why have you come here?"
A hand wreathed in gold and silver pierced her bonds. "To break your cage."
Her heart fluttered in her chest as it hadn't in years.
Aylin clasped his palm in hers.
EDIT: And there we have it! Thanks for reading! Hope you have a wonderful day, filled with lots of luck!