Hello there!

Sorry for the update being delayed. It happened because of the new fic I made. I'm giving Naruto x ZZZ a shot and I'm not sure if I'm doing a good job there. Either way, here we go! Disclaimer is in the first chapter.

The whole journey to the Overworld was rather terrifying. Considering that the furnace core was essentially just a dumbwaiter for Geomarrow, the idea that no one had decided to check its safety in a long time took heavy root in everyone's head, especially considering rickety and clunky ride to the top. Once they were at the top, the group got out of the furnace core and knocked out the guards before hiding the bodies and walking towards Belobog. "So, what do we do now?" Seele asked. "If we do anything wrong, we will be arrested and I don't want all our efforts to be for nothing."

Naruto thought about the conversation he had with Hagoromo last night and took a deep breath. "I have a plan. Just follow my lead." With that he took the lead and everyone fell in behind him. "Listen up. Our first step is to get into Belobog and find Bronya. If I am right, she should be with Cocolia. In the best-case scenario, she's safe and back to her duties. In the worst case, Cocolia has her on her way to the Stellaron. I hate to say it, but the second option is looking a lot more likely than the first. In any case, we'll have to find someone willing to help us out. Assuming the worst, Bronya is out of the question, Gepard is a no go, Pela won't help us and Cocolia is a definite no. The only neutral party I can think of is Serval. I'll take care of hiding us, so just stay close to me. Also, do not act rashly." The stern voice made everyone, even the rule breaking Caelus himself and the carefree March 7th, straighten their backs. "We want to save Bronya and Jarilo-VI. Not get ourselves arrested or possibly killed in the process. Is that clear?" Everyone nodded in understanding. After seeing what he did to Svarog, they did not want to make him mad at them. "Good. Let's go."

After the small breifing, they continued onwards. Halfway through, Naruto asked them to move closer to him and tapped his staff on the ground, creating a small dome and which made a warm blue glow around each of them. "Stay close," He had said, "that will let my technique keep working at its best." Everyone nodded and they made their way to Serval's workshop. On the way, they saw many familiar faces and noticed that the city seemed to be more on guard than usual. Naruto decided that the Supreme Guardian may have ordered it and wondered if he made a mistake letting Bronya through. Once they reached the Neverwinter workshop, March reached in to knock but Naruto gently grabbed her hand and pulled her back into his field and watched the door. Half a minute later, the door opened and Gepard walked out with a tired and exasperated but also satisfied expression on his face. Just as the door was about to close, Naruto grabbed it and directed everyone inside before closing it. Once he did a small headcount, he walked up to Serval and tapped her on the shoulder. The ex-rockstar turned around and let out a scream after seeing someone that close. Luckily, Naruto had placed a silencing seal on her when he tapped her, which meant she looked very silly right now. "Miss Serval. Can you please stop screaming so that I can safely take off the seal from your shoulder?"

Serval stopped screaming, looked at her shoulder and ripped the paper seal off. "What was that for? You scared me. Also, call me Serval. Honorifics make me feel old."

Naruto sighed. "Sorry about scaring you mi- ahem, Serval. We came here because we need some help." He explained the whole situation including the Stellaron and Bronya's plan to confront her mother to Serval and by the end of it, the ex-rockstar looked like she was on an information overload. "That should be everything. In short, we need to get to the Stellaron and seal it away before Cocolia can use it to corrupt Bronya. If we don't, this world is as good as gone."

Serval slowly nodded. "Yeah… yeah, I think I got it. I'll help. Bronya came here yesterday before she went to meet with her mother to tell me about you guys and to help you out if we meet. I know where the Stellaron is kept, so I can take you there. What do you say."

Naruto nodded with a smile. "Lead the way, Serval."

Serval nodded and went to the door to open it, but a voice stopped her. "Oh no. It's Gepard. He'll arrest you if he sees you there. Hide! Quick! I'll deal with him!" Everyone nodded and scrambled to find a hiding spot. The Express Trio hid behind the counter, Seele used her scythe and (somehow) flew upstairs while Naruto just stood next to the door. "What are you doing? Hide!" Narto just gave her a confident smirk, tapped his staff on the ground and vanished before her eyes. Before she could say anything to him, the door swung open by itself and she had to get into character. "Hello Gepard! Back from the frontline so soon? Miss your sister that much?"

Gepard smiled. "Things are manageable there so far. I'm back here to take care of some business. Didn't I tell you this before?"

Serval also smiled, stifling the shudder that went down her back when she lied. "Oh yeah, you did! Must've forgotten."

Gepard's smile widened before dulling when he saw how tense Serval looked. "You look a bit pale sis. Is everything ok?"

Seval tensed again. "Yeah. Must've been all the repairs I've been doing. It's not hard but you can get lost in it. Those outworlders helped a bit but even that wasn't enough. So, what brings you here?"

Gepard sighed and regained the smile. "That's good to hear. Take some rest then. Also, you never use my full name. Are you finally letting go of the nicknames?"

Serval laughed and answered in typical older sibling fashion. "Not a chance bro. I recall you saying that you weren't a fan of me using it in public, but it you like it that, much, I won't mind calling you that more often Geppie. ~" The answer made Gepard's eye twitch as he silently rebuked himself for reminding his sister of the dreaded nickname. Suddenly, his ears twitched as he heard what sounded like a giggle coming from behind the counter. His smile left his face and he quietly walked towards the counter. "What are you doing?" Serval's words fell on deaf ears as he summoned his guitar case.

Behnd the counter, March was holding her mouth in fear while Caelus and Dan Heng were looking at her in horror. Seele tensed in her hiding spot and moved to get a better look at the situation. She held her scythe, ready to fly down and help them if they needed it. Suddenly, a familiar black staff appeared under Caelus' hand and a blue glow encased them.

Serval's eyes widened when she saw a now visible Naruto cross the room towards Gepard and stand behind him. He turned around to face Serval and brought a finger to his lips, signalling her to keep quiet. The Silvermane captain looked over the counter and saw nothing. 'Am I hearing things? Maybe I should spend less time in the Fragmentum.' As he turned around, Naruto moved to stay behind him. No matter how strong or weak he got, the whiskered blond was a shinobi first and foremost, and for one of his calibre, staying out of sight came as naturally as walking. "Sorry. My bad. I thought I heard something over there, but I guess it was just my imagination. Well, with that or your shop is haunted. Sis, you look even paler."

Serval had to try really hard to keep her eyes off Naruto who was standing just inches behind Gepard. "Maybe it's the heat. I should open a window here. So, anyway, why did you want to meet me."

Gepard perked up and dismissed his guitar case. "Oh, right! There's something wrong with the Barrier generators at the front line and our engineers can't make heads or tails over it. I was hoping maybe you could take a look?"

Serval gave a genuine smile. "Sure thing. I'll be over soon. There are some things I need to take care of at the shop first, so it might take me some time."

Gepard nodded. "Take your time sis. As long as you can fix the problem, it's fine. Anyway, I'll be leaving now. See you soon!" With that, Gepard left and everyone hiding let out a collective breath of relief. The trio jumped up from behind the counter somewhat comically and handed the shakujou back to Naruto while Seele jumped back down to join them. He took it with a smile and gave it a twirl. He was about to say something when he suddenly paused and turned around before tapping the ground with his staff, causing everyone to disappear. Serval stared confusedly at where he'd been, wondering what was happening when the door opened again. "Forgot my water bottle here last time. I left it on the counter." He walked up to it and retrieved his bottle before leaving the shop for good. Everyone let out another, longer sigh of relief and turned to continue the conversation.

"So where was I? Right! I was supposed to take you to the Stellaron. We can get going right now. Since there is some trouble at the front line, we can use that as a cover for why we're there. Can you use that invisibility trick of yours to keep yourselves hidden?" Seval asked curiously.

Naruto nodded with a smile. "Sure thing. Leave the hiding to me and just focus on getting us there."

Serval also nodded her head with a determined smile. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going!"

Over the next hour, Serval led the concealed group through various places and towards the frontlines. As they got closer, they noticed that there were a lot more guards than just a few blocks back. Eventually, they reached a checkpoint and managed to get past without much suspicion thanks to Naruto's invisibility field and Serval being called up to investigate the Barrier generators. In the end, they got through and managed to get closer to their destination. The problem arrived when they had to get through a gear bridge which meant that they had to fix up the mechanisms. Naruto just said no to that and summoned a black orb, which spread out to form a path for them to walk on. Any doubts of its strength quickly disappeared when the blond walked over it perfectly well. After that ordeal, they arrived at a locked gate where they saw something unexpected.

"Hey! Is that Bronya?" March shouted her name and ran towards the image, only for her mood to turn curious when she saw what looked like a transparent afterimage of the person she thought she saw. Everyone curiously surrounded it and March voiced their thoughts. "What is this? It looks like Bronya and Cocolia."

"That's an echo." Everyone turned to Naruto with some kind of question on their face. "It's an echo of a past event trapped in time. They are quite similar to the bubbles of Memoria that you'd have seen when you were walking around Herta's space station. However, echoes are much clearer than memory bubbles and are a part of the real world, making them even more dangerous. Seeing as there is no sound coming from this one, we aren't too close for a powerful one to be left behind."

"W-What do you mean by a powerful one, Mr Naruto?" March asked with a small hint of fear in her voice.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "There are echoes that can take the shape of powerful beings and replicate them almost entirely. Ever head of Echoes of War?" Everyone, except Caelus shook their heads.

"You told me about them before." This time, everyone turned to Caelus. "You said they are imprints of energy that often occur when there is some kind of instability in the world's energy. You also said that this normally happens with great battles that release a lot of energy."

Naruto nodded. "Correct. Here, it happened because of how close we are to the Stellaron. Right now, we're close enough for me to sense it from here. This echo can go from a still projection like this to a fully functional copy of the original."

Dan Heng's eyes narrowed. "So you mean…"

Naruto nodded with a smile. "Perceptive as ever I see. But, yes. There is a good chance that we would have to fight an echo of Cocolia and possibly even Bronya, so be weary." Everyone nodded and they continued on with the invisibility field, leaving the echo alone. Just for good measure, Naruto also blasted the thing with one of his orbs.

Eventually, they managed to reach a checkpoint where they could stay for a bit. After a scuffle with a Silvermane Lieutenant who turned out to be Serval's old bandmate (who quite clearly had a crush on her), they continued onwards towards their destination. Another half an hour of anxiety later, they reached the frontline. By then, Naruto had dropped the field because Serval wanted to be honest with her brother about what was going on.

"Sis? What's going on? What are you doing with these fugitives?" Serval's back straightened unconsciously at Gepard's voice. While they had wanted to meet him, that was supposed to be at least a good ten minutes later.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before facing her brother. "Look Gepard. It's not what it looks like. See, the thing is-"

"It better not be, because what is looks like is my sister aiding outworld fugitives in getting to the frontlines." The somewhat of a distraught edge in Gepard's tone made Seval flinch. It was clear that he didn't want to arrest his sister and that his feelings as Serval's brother and the captain of the Silvermane guards were waging a war in his head. "The last thing I'd want is to put up a wanted poster on your head, so please tell me that you aren't doing what I think you're doing."

Serval sighed and looked Gepard straight in the eye with a determined look. "I'm sorry Gepard, but I know what I'm doing. We can't live in this frozen wasteland of a planet for much longer. If they have a way to save us, then I'm willing to give it a try. Besides, Cocolia is corrupted. I saw the signs, but I never acted on it, and now, it's too late." That last sentence was said with a solemn undertone that got Naruto thinking. "Either way, I had to choose between my following my best friend or saving our home from this fate, and I chose our home. Now, as your sister, I ask you to do the same."

Gepard looked taken aback. Right now, his sister is asking him to practically betray the Supreme guardian. Deep down, he knew that he would do it the second his siblings were in danger, but right now? He wasn't sure. The potential survival of the planet hinging on his decision alone was tough enough, but when it questioned the loyalty he prided himself in? He was left at a standstill. Eventually, he came to a decision. "Sorry sis. But I can't let you pass."

Everyone but Naruto looked taken aback. Said man just sighed. "W-what? Why?" Serval shouted.

Gepard let out a tired sigh. "Sorry sis. No hard feelings, but there isn't enough proof for me to trust what you say. They could just be lying to you. Even if these outworlders could end the eternal freeze, how can you trust them based on just a promise?"

Naruto sighed. He'd had enough of this. "Alright then, listen here. I'll show you everything you need to know, but you have to trust me. This world has been suffering for 700 years and it needs a break. We are only here to help and nothing mo-"

"Enough!" Gepard cut Naruto off. "That's enough fugitive! Sorry sis, but I have to do this. Guards! Arrest them!" At the Captain's command, everyone moved in to surround the group, causing them to draw their weapons.

Naruto's hair covered his closed eyes as he took deep breath before releasing it in a sigh. "Leave this to me, will you?" With that, he disappeared. The next second, blurry afterimages appeared behind them and vanished when Naruto twirled his staff and held it upside down behind him. All the soldiers fell down while he walked towards Gepard with an activated Rinnegan eye, visible through his hair. "Look around Captain. The frontline is right there. Your last line of defence against the monsters of the Fragmentum is right there. I never wanted to say this, but right now, this is the last hope for your world."

Gepard held his guitar case like a shield while gathering ice energy in his hand and gritted his teeth. "What do you mean?"

Naruto sighed. "This world is already a Fragmentum." That caused everyone's eyes to widen in shock and disbelief. Afterall, this man was clearly saying that it may already be too late for the planet. "For the Stellaron to fully corrupt a planet, it needs to reach the core of the world. Right now, this one is very close to doing just that. Why do you think monsters can live outside the 'Fragmentum'? It's quite simple. This whole world is already a Fragmentum, just not powerful enough to summon its own monsters. Any other world would normally be nothing more than a husk by now. I guess you did the right thing when you put your faith in Qlipoth. That old rock has never abandoned his people and never will. For that, he is a true Aeon and all that follow him are protected. Except maybe the IPC. He should probably abandon them." The Belobogians weren't sure whether to take offense or to nod along. They weren't happy that Naruto called their Aeon an 'old rock' but he also praised him.

Suddenly, a loud crack sounded above them as the world around them started to crack. Everyone got their weapons out, but Naruto calmed them down. "Relax. This is my doing." They kept their weapons up and within the next dozen seconds, the world around them fell away to reveal a beautiful field bordered by mountains, oceans, forests and even deserts. "Welcome to my Mindscape. I brought you here to show the consequences of leaving a Stellaron unchecked in a world." He then conjured up the images of 10 worlds that looked like they were in some form of disaster. 4 of them were frozen solid. "These are worlds we were unable to save. As you can see, some of these worlds froze to death. March, do you still have the picture we took from the Express?" The girl nodded and handed him her camera without a word. Naruto took it with a 'thank you' and pressed a few buttons before showing it to everyone else. He let them look for a few seconds before showing them a picture of one of the frozen planets. "Now tell me the difference between these pictures."

Gepard leaned in for a closer look but it was Serval who answered. "That second picture looks much more barren and… deteriorated."

Naruto nodded. "Correct. And how long do you think it took for this to happen?" Everyone guessed somewhere more than a thousand but Naruto shook his head. "It only took 400 years, possibly even less. The only reason yours isn't a copy of this is thanks to Qlipoth's blessing, but even then, the power of Aeons in the mortal world is very limited." The world started cracking again and in another dozen seconds, they were back in the real world. "After showing you this, I'll ask again Gepard. Will you let us through?"

Gepard thought about it. "No! How can I be sure that what you're saying isn't just some fake you made up from nowhere? Enough of this nonsense! Enough of this trickery! I will take you down!" With that, he summoned a shield and charged Naruto.

Naruto sighed. "As you wish." He twirled his staff and used the front to change the course of the guitar case and shatter the shield. With the back, he touched Gepard's spine, causing him to buckle and fall unconscious. He then went up to his head and crouched down. Once he was sure that the captain was out, Naruto stood up and looked at Serval who was looking at her brother with a horrified look on her face. "Don't worry, I just knocked him out. Stay here and take care of everyone. We'll continue from here. As for the monsters, don't worry. They'll be dead within the hour. You have my word." After that, he turned to the rest of the group. "I want you guys to head out and find Bronya while I take care of the monsters. I mean I did just incapacitate their guards."

After some back and forth, Naruto sent them on their way, each with a Hiraishin Kunai and his little trail seeking trick. Then, once they were out of sight, he crouched down and activated his Byakugan. 'Here we go.' His eyes let him see the location of all the monsters around him and once he had planned a path, he dashed with a sonic boom. Being one of the fastest beings out there, it came as no surprise that he could easily make sonic booms that would leave anyone dazed. As it just so happened, this was exactly how he beat the smaller ones outside the gates. As for the bigger ones, a much more lethal recreation of the scenario with the guards got the job done. In total, all the monsters were dead within just 1 minute of Naruto entering the battle.

Suddenly, Naruto's Byakugan detected something near the energy signatures of the other 4. 'An echo; and a powerful one by the looks of it.' Without hesitation, he Hiraishined to the kunai he gave Caelus and arrived just in time to block a hit from a frozen lance. He pushed back and threw the offending figure a few feet back. Looking around, he noticed March standing back with a knocked arrow, Dan Heng and Seele on opposite sides, ready to flank their opponent, and Caelus with his Stellaron enhanced bat, mid swing. Hearing the sound of bricks shifting, Naruto looked back and saw the almost perfectly replicated figure of Cocolia standing up from the rubble. "Leave this one to me will you? Go help out your friend." Everyone shared a reluctant glance. "Go!" With that, they reluctantly left and Naruto looked at the eco with a smirk. "So, Supreme Guardian Cocolia Rand. I'm curious; what would it take in terms of power to become the Supreme Guardian?" The shakujou in his hand slowly transformed into the spear he used in the space station while the echo picked up its weapons. "Now then, shall we dance?"

The echo came at him with a war cry and Naruto blocked a swing from the its lance and held it down with his foot. The other came at his head but he ducked under it and placed a hand on its chest. The echo looked at him in confusion and Naruto smirked. The next second, it was sent flying into the air by a Rinnegan eyed Naruto. He then pulled it back towards him and moved to stab it with a Chakra rod.

The echo saw this coming and twisted its body to stop itself from stabbing into it before raising her hand into the air and bringing it down. He felt something coming and looked up to see two lances made of ice flying towards him. He chuckled before dropping his spear and clawing his fingers. The weapon stopped midair and flew towards the oncoming targets, shattering the icy projectiles into pieces. He moved his head to the side and grabbed the lance that tried to stab him from the back before whipping around and landing a punch on the echo's face. The echo cried out as it was thrown across the ground with one of it's lances still in Naruto's hands. He then threw the lance towards its owner but the echo managed to recover and block the hit.

Naruto clapped his hands. "Impressive. Not bad for a simple echo, but is this really all the Supreme guardian is required to be capable of? Throwing around chunks of ice? Even a child could do that." Cocolia's echo released a subtle growl, making Naruto smile. 'Afterall, angry people are a lot easier to take down.' "Come on now! Don't put a damper on it!" That did it. The echo shouted and slammed its lance on the ground. Two more larger lances fell down behind her and a frigid wind started to curl around the woman. Suddenly, Naruto felt his phone vibrating and decided to take a look. The message's contents made him chuckle. 'March 8th huh. Nice to see he has a sense of humour.' He quickly typed out a response before placing it back and summoning his spear. Meanwhile, the storm around Cocolia had grown much larger. "Now that's more like it. Hope you guys are ready; cause it's about to get wild!"

"Can you hear them? Let them in Bronya. They will save this world! They will build our future!" The voice of the Supreme Guardian echoed around the frozen wasteland.

Bronya was doing… surprisingly well. For the past hour and half, her mother had been trying to get the Stellaron to speak into her head in an effort to get her into their side and, as of now, all she had to show for it was a heavy headache. She held her hand on her temple to ward off the pain while the other slid behind her back into her belt. Right there, she felt the reassuring weight of the kunai that Mr Naruto had given her. Even though she could call him at a moment's notice, she wanted to confront her mother on her own. As of now she was starting to feel something start to burn her neck. 'The eye! Is it losing effect?' She idly moved her hand to her hair and felt the pendant become warm. She also felt that the carvings had changed. 'Is this why Mr Naruto said this was still in testing?' Unfortunately for her, Cocolia seemed to have seen what happened and walked over to her.

Just before Cocolia could do anything, an icy arrow flew past Bronya's head and graced past her mother's outstretched hand. Both turned around and saw the Express trio and the Underworld enforcer standing there with determined expressions on their faces. "How about you leave our friend alone Cocolia!" Hearing March's words, a small smile broke out onto Bronya's lips.

"Listen to me Bronya! Don't give into them! The future of our world is in your hands!" Seele's loud voice and the trust behind her words started to drown out the headache.

"Don't listen to them Bonya!" Cocolia's voice was tinted with desperation. "You have to become the pillar for the rebuilding of our world! They will guide us! They will renew everything!"

Bronya thought about it. On one hand, it was the friends outworlders that had helped her through dragged her into the desperate rebellious Underworld and on the other, it was the woman, who had raised her, nurtured her and become her mother. 'Wait.' Bronya thought. 'They helped me through the Underworld. They never dragged me in there. What's going on?' Suddenly, the back of her neck started to burn, causing her to let out a gasp and pull off the pendant from her hair. When she looked at it, the eye was open. 'The Stellaron!' She took a deep breath to ward off the haze in her head. "Sorry mother, but I've made my choice." She gripped the pendant tightly and summoned her gun while Cocolia looked at her in disbelief. "I choose our home!" Cocolia looked mad and a slightly wild tinge entered her normally calm eyes. "You say that you will make a new world, where we don't have to fight or our survival, but who will that world be for? I've seen the people on the Underworld and the frontlines, struggling for survival, and this Stellaron is the cause of it. Our ancestors resisted the call of the Stellaron and worked tirelessly to preserve our home. Even if we are doomed to fall apart, I want to fight for this world, rather than handing it to this seed of ruin."

Cocolia closed her eyes and Caelus felt the Stellaron resonate. "Well then. I have no choice. You were to be the mother of the new world, but now, you'll never see that bright future. This world's fate is sealed and its future will unfold in our hands. And you, will become the foundation of that new world!" Everyone got on guard as she raised her arm and started condensing ice energy in her palm. "You must break the old to build the new!" An icy lance appeared in her hand and she raised it into the air, causing the whole mountain to shake as she floated into the air. "The Supreme Guardian commands you!"

"Rise! Engine of Creation!" At her command, a large hand rose behind the floating Supreme Guardian as a giant body of metal and stone raised itself from the ground. The robot had a theme of blue, gold and grey along with 4 distinctive bright yellow 'eyes' that had a small tinge of red to them.

"Look out! It's one of the Architects ancient machines!" Bronya's warning made everyone run as the robot swept one of its giant hands and moved to fully stand up behind the Supreme Guardian. When it was fully upright, the mountain they were on seemed tiny in comparison.

Naruto blocked another hit from the echo and pushed it away as he felt the tremors. "Guess it's starting." The echo recovered and charged him but Naruto brought out a Chakra rod and used a body flicker to get behind it and stabbed it in the head. "I reckon this'll be interesting. Let's hope that old rock is watching." He watched the Echo disappear before walking towards the Everwinter hill.

The Engine of Creation's disturbance attracted monsters that formed a barrier between them and the Supreme guardian. Caelus looked at everyone and nodded before dashing forward with Seele and Dan Heng in tow. They managed to eliminate a good number of monsters, but a shout from Bronya directed their attention upwards. The Engine of Creation focused its energy into a powerful laser and shot it at them. Caelus dropped his bat and summoned a shield which warded off the brunt of the attack. The quick distraction let Bronya cast her technique on Seele and the Wildfire enforcer tapped into her speed as she took down all the monsters with a single well placed hit to their heads.

Seeing that she wasn't managing to do anything, Cocolia listed her lance and gave the engine a silent command. The machine's eyes glowed red as it reared its hand in preparation for an attack. Just as it was about to bring down its fist on them, a laser beam parted the clouds and struck the arm, making the robot fall to the ground. Cocolia had a confused look on her face as she flew towards the mech. "Himeko! It's Himeko!" March's words made Caelus' eyes widen.

"Wait!" March looked at Caelus. "She has a laser?"

March nodded. "Yeah! It's almost as big as the express. Wait…" The girl fished out her phone from her pocket and answered the call with a bright smile on her face. "Himeko! Thanks for the support!"

Caelus couldn't help but smile at March taking with the woman who somehow felt like a mother figure while having a giant nuke at her disposal. Shaking his head, he looked at the robot and the Supreme guardian standing in its shoulder.

Making eye contact with the others, they exchanged subtle nods, giving Caelus a silent signal. 'Go!' The boy put away his bat and jumped onto the arm of the robot and started running towards the shoulder. He jumped over some joints, but his path was blocked by some monsters that just appeared. Before he could react, a single shot killed them all. "I'll cover you!" Bronya fired off a few more shots as Caelus gave her a smile and kept running upwards. Unfortunately, the Engine of Creation decided to wake up again and moved its arm upwards, making the angle quite steep. Caelus slipped but Seele dashed up and teleported up to the boy and held out her hand. Caelus took the hint and grabbed onto her and she spun them around before using her momentum to throw him up. The girl's strength sent him flying a good bit over the robot's arm, letting him get his bearings before plummeting back down. He dove towards the arm and used a roll to bleed off the momentum before continuing upwards. The robot's eyes turned red and it moved its other hand to try and squash Caelus like a bug, but the boy gathered some energy in his legs and jumped through the gaps in the fingers. He flew high and reached for the platform, but missed and started falling. A green tinted spear flew through the air and impaled itself on the robot and Caelus reached out to grab it with both hands before spinning around and launching himself towards the platform. He flipped in the air before landing with a crouch and coming face to face with Cocolia.

The Supreme Guardian stayed silent as he summoned his bat. She dropped the lance and brought her hands to her chest. "Behold!" Ice started creeping up her legs and her body as frozen storm circled around her. "The power granted by them!" The storm broke and Cocolia looked very different. Her body resembled the void and she was wearing an armour made of ice while 4 ice lances floated behind her. Caelus gripped his bat tighter. This woman was no longer Bronya's mother. "The Stellaron is the only hope for this world! Just as it destroyed the Antimatter Legion 700 years ago, it will build this world anew!" She raised her hand and the frozen lance on the floor followed. With a single flick, the lance flew at him, breaking any shield he put up. It pierced his chest, right above his heart, making hm drop his bat and lose his balance. Everyone let out a gasp while March let out a scream. As Caelus fell and his eyes became heavier, he felt the time around him slow down. As the pain slowly fell away.

The sensation of warmth made him open his eyes. When he did, he noticed that he was in a rather unfamiliar place. "Is this, the universe?" It was the best way to describe where he was standing right now. Seeing no other option, he started walking towards the spiral in the center of this dimension. It felt… strange. Walking on what looked like nothing was kind of awesome. While he was walking, he saw what looked like an echo from the corner of his eye. Curious, he walked up to it and realised that it was actually a memory of Cocolia. "Why, is this here?" He watched it for a second before ignoring it and continuing his journey. On the way, he saw many more memories of Cocolia as she descended further into madness. He saw her push away Serval and put down Bronya, each harsher than the last. "How long has this been going on?" Eventually, he reached the spiral and saw something he did not expect to see.

A child was staring at a column of fiery light, through which he could see a glimpse of brown and orange. As he got close, the child spoke. "The city is drowning in tears, and the power of the Preservation is fading." The voice sounded like a mix of many. "We could not defy the Stellaron afterall."

Caelus sighed. "Cocolia abandoned the Preservation. I believe that Qlipoth would want something better for this world."

"Ah, a believer I see. Sadly, the Fragmentum has been expanding for the past 700 years, leaving no faith nor wealth for our successors. Only despair. The haunting whisper of temptation that lingered while our home withered was a torture in itself. We knew a day would come that even the strongest of wills could no longer resist, and the Amber Lord would forsakes u. And now, that day is here." The child's voice was resigned and tired, like they were tired of looking out for the world.

Caelus gritted his teeth. "No! All is not lost! People are fighting for the sake of Jarilo-VI and we don't intend to lose!" The child turned around, astonished at what he said. "One will may have faltered, but there are many more! Bronya, Seele, Serval, Gepard, Pela, Natasha, Oleg, even Sampo! We're all rooting for this world and willing to do whatever it takes to free it! Not to mention the Nameless of the Astral Express! We won't leave this world until the Stellaron is sealed!"

The child closed their eyes and a smile spread on their face. "You are but strangers, yet you seek to bond our future with yours. So be it, so much has already been lost." The child turned around and looked at the column of fire. "Touch the light of the amber, Trailblazer and see if your will is enough to attract their gaze."

Caelus nodded and walked up to the fire. It slowly parted to reveal the handle of a familiar lance. The same one that had stabbed him before, but with different colours. With a deep breath, he reached out and grasped the handle. A burst of fire repelled his hand, but there was no visible damage. he looked behind him and saw the eyes of the child still on him. 'They want to see my will. I cannot falter.' With newfound determination, he grabbed it again, and ignored the searing heat of the weapon. He fought against the push and moved both hands to grip the handle and pulled. He screamed in determination as the ground beneath the tip cracked and the Flaming lance came lose in his hand with the distant clang of a hammer. For a second, he saw the visage of a stone giant surrounded by amber light, gazing down at him. 'Qlipoth, the Amber Lord.'

Everyone on the ground was in disarray as they watched Caelus plummet to the ground with a lance stuck in his chest. Their best hope of defeating this crisis was now dead and falling down. They ran towards where he looked like he was going to land. Then, the lance started disappearing from his chest, relieving everyone that he may be in a saveable condition. Then, just as suddenly, a flaming lance appeared in his hand and he took in a lungful of air. He saw his position and flipped around, landing in a crouch on the Engine of Creation before standing up and looking at his friends. Their relieved faces made him smile as he turned around and pointed the re-ignited Will of Preservation at the Supreme guardian.

"No! This can't be!" Cocolia screamed. "Neither you, nor they know of the plight of the world! Of it's yearning for its final end!"

"The will of preservation has made its choice, mother." Bronya spoke with a calm determination. "And even if we are doomed to destruction, we will go bravely, walking hand in hand into the darkness!"

"No! That end won't come to pass while we're around!" March proclaimed loudly. With that, they got ready to make their stand.

Naruto smiled from distance. "Not bad kid. Not bad at all. Maybe you can even surpass me one day." He turned around and found a rock to sit down on. "Now then, let's see what you're made of." "Are you sure that's what you'd want Naruto?" Naruto tilted his head. "What do you mean Kurama?" "What I mean is that your existence is one of a kind. Just because he can also walk on multiple Paths, that doesn't mean he can walk on them like you can." Naruto thought about it. "Huh. Guess you're right… Maybe I can play this role a little longer…" With a sigh, he stood up and walked towards the fight.

Caelus was… having fun. As unlikely as it sounded, he found the sensation of fighting alongside his friends quite fun. March and Bronya covered them from the back while he took the attack with Seele and Dan Heng. Cocolia fired off multiple frigid spikes towards the three, but they used their speed and agility to dodge everything. "Illusions of the past!" Seele's afterimages appeared around Cocolia and they all slashed at once, leaving her disoriented, but mostly undamaged. In response, the guardian summoned two lances to the ground. They were confused at first, since they didn't hit them, but the frigid winds gathering around them gave them a good idea on what they were supposed to do.

Inside Caelus' mind, something clicked and he thrust his lance into the ground. Not a second later, a frigid burst of snow and ice flew off the dual lances, but were blocked by what looked like Magma. Making eye contact with Cocolia, Caelus instinctively adjusted the grip on his lance and to everyone's open-mouthed shock, the Engine of creation raised up its arm and slammed its massive fist on the lances, destroying them and making a shockwave that made Cocolia stumble. When she looked at the grey haired Trailblazer again, he had a small smirk on his face a glint in his eyes.

Caelus adjusted his grip again and his new toy glowed bright orange. He tried to draw power from the Stellaron, but nothing happened, much to his confusion. Cocolia took advantage of his confusion and fired off a specially powerful attack at him in an effort to take out one of the wildcards. Luckily for Caelus, a frigid shield blocked the attack. Looking behind him, he smiled at March 7th, who was giving him a thumbs up. Caelus gave her a nod and she seemed to understand. Caelus re-engaged his Magma Will as the happy-go-lucky cryokinetic drew her bow and fired off a rainbow coloured arrow. This one soared higher and split into what looked like small comets. 'A meteor shower! Of course she'd summon a meteor shower!' Caelus and Seele let out a laugh when they saw one pelt Cocolia in the face while the others froze her to the ground. "Dan Heng!" The boy nodded and threw his spear towards the frozen woman's head. She saw it coming and swatted it away with her hand, but it rendered her blind to Caelus attacking her from above. The attack almost hit, but Cocolia managed to grab the weapon with her hand. Unfortunately, for her, it seemed that Caelus was prepared, as the lance glowed orange before releasing a wave of explosive Magma straight on to her. Caelus jumped away and slid backwards like a surfer on a wave of fire.

He had found it rather easy to get used to this new, fiery energy but, while it was versatile without a doubt, it still lacked the pure destructive capabilities of the Stellaron that he was used to. Just as Cocolia was about to summon another pair of lances, a well-placed shot from Bronya stopped her midway. Caelus took the opportunity and levelled his lance and closed his eyes with a deep breath. "Flaming lance…" His eyes snapped open and he gripped his weapon. "…Forward!" The weapon almost moved on its own, making him run to catch up with it. Cocolia dodged it, but the fiery wake left behind made some of her armour melt off.

The next second, the Engine of Creation delivered another punch to the Mother of Deception. This one landed and left her dazed for long enough for Seele to get a clear hit on her arm. The ice armour prevented it from going too deep, but it still hurt her all the same. She summoned a lance and moved in to throw it at Seele, but Bronya's barrage and March's shield stopped it from doing too much.

"They're doing quite well don't you think, Kurama?" The fox hummed. "They are, but at this rate, they're going to die." Naruto's smile became smaller. "What do you mean?" Kurama sighed. "They maybe strong, but they can't kill. Only you can do that. Why do you want to sit on the sidelines anyway? Didn't you say that you want to get back into it?" Naruto sighed. "You know why don't fight Kurama." "Yes I do, but you can't let the past hold you back! Now keep that in mind and get out there to show them who's boss!" Naruto sighed again, and smiled. "You always have the best pep talks Kurama."

With that, he stood up and held his shakujou behind him. The next second, he vanished.

Cocolia blocked the barrage and moved for Dan Heng. Unfortunately for her, the spear user was fast and managed to outmanoeuvre her and hit her on the ribs with the back of his spear. Cocolia stumbled back and raised her hand to summon a lance to run the boy through.

"Head up!" That was the only warning she got before a foot met her face. Before she could be blasted away, Naruto pushed Chakra into his foot and lifted it off by an inch before bringing it down with enouh force of actively reshape her face. The Supreme Guardian was blasted away and landed straight on the monument that housed the Stellaron. Everyone stared wide eyed as Naruto flipped off his staff and wrenched it from the ground. "Sorry I'm late everyone. A black cat crossed my path, so I took the long way around." Everyone sweatdropped while Naruto chuckled. He turned around with his back facing Cocolia as he looked over everyone. "Come on guys, why the long face? Look like Caelus got a new weapon. I'm assuming your Stellaron abilities don't work with that one?" Caelus shook his head. "That's because the Paths conflict. In this case, the lance stops you from using the Stellaron." Caelus nodded his head and Naruto noticed theyone's eyes widening by just a fraction.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and let his perception of time slow down as he ducked under a frigid lance bound for his head and moved his hand under it. A small application of Kyuubi Chakra was used to start melting it and he turned around and summoned a Rasengan. This time, 4 small blades of condensed wind spun around it, turning it into his own original jutsu, the Rasen-shuriken. Without hesitation, he threw the jutsu at the Supreme Guardian-turned-icicle and let time flow normally. The jutsu landed on Cocolia and her scream resounded around the whole area as small blades of wind inside a dome of the same element, dug into her armour and reached her flesh.

For everyone else, Naruto had just melted the lance without so much as touching and done something that left Cocolia screaming in pain and fury; all in less than a second. When the dome dissipated, she was kneeling on the ground, panting and almost bleeding. With a grunt, she gathered golden energy in her palms and brought them to her chest. The chips and cuts in her amour started closing up and a slight golden energy enveloped her as she floated in the air.

This time, she floated higher and held her hand in the air. "The power of the Stellaron is with me!" A large amount of energy gathered in her raised palm as she summoned a giant ice meteor. "You are but cinders of the old world! Soon to become ashes!"

With that, she threw down the meteor towards everyone, fully intent of destroying them along with the mountain. March and Caelus quickly put up their strongest shields to try and reduce the damage, but it was clear that it wouldn't be enough. Naruto scoffed and closed his eyes.

When the meteor finally hit, Cocolia was surprised to find that it made a much bigger bang than she expected. "It that all you got?" Her eyes widened at the voice and when the smoke cleared, she saw everyone except Naruto cowering in fear. As for Naruto, he was standing there with a smile as a light blue aura that formed what looked like a skeleton and covered everyone. The skeleton had acted as a shield, absorbing the impact and destroying the meteor. With a wave of his hand, it disappeared. "Listen here Cocolia. I want to end this quickly, so I'll give you a choice. Either surrender now and let go of the Stellaron, or let me do it for you."

"Never!" Cocolia screamed. "You do not know of the promised world they will give! The Stellaron will be our salvation!"

Naruto took a deep breath and sighed. "Alright then, you asked for it." He turned to face the others. "Do you mind if I end this quickly?" Everyone tilted their faces confusedly, causing him to smile. "I'll take that as a yes then."

Naruto took a step forward and his staff changed to its vambrace form. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, his bright blue eyes were replaced by purple Rinnegan eyes that glowed with power. He held out his hand at Cocolia and muttered two words. "Bansho Tenin." Suddenly, the floating Supreme guardian was pulled towards Naruto's open palm. When she got close enough, he brought his hand back and cancelled the jutsu, letting her momentum carry her towards his palm. When she was close enough, he hit her stomach a palm strike and pushed. "Shinra Tensi!"

Cocolia went flying straight to the hand of the Engine of Creation but before she could do anything, Naruto appeared behind her and gave her a kick on the back. The woman stumbled backwards as Naruto stalked towards her like a seasoned predator, his face showing no emotion whatsoever.

To be continued…

8400 words! Let's go!

Sorry for the late upload. The update was delayed first by the new fanfic and it took me a long time to write this because I wanted to keep the whole final fight in one chapter. As for why it stopped abruptly, it's because I wanted to give you guys a choice. Should we save Cocolia and give her a redemption or just off her like cannon? You guys decide. Also, if you have anything to say, feel free to PM me. I always read them. Anyhow, please leave a review and,

Peace out!