A/N: EDIT: for any chapter errors, in the mobile or desktop version of the site, go to the chapter URL, that is to say the web address, find the chapter number -it should be 1- and simply change it to 2. That SHOULD make the second chapter appear.
The app is being ridiculous. This is the only reliable method I can get to work at the moment.
Hope that helps. I'm on the verge of retiring because of all these stupid glitches.
Now, then...
The more reviews the merrier~! If this somehow makes it past 100, I'll add it to the weekly update rotation with the rest! Here's hoping!
Every review truly does help, large or small, any bit of feedback is better than nothing at all.
This wonderful reception is inspiring me to update even EARLIER~!
By all means, keep it up!
Can anyone see this update, however? Glitches are everywhere. Got called into work, and as a result I wasn't able to finish Long May He Reign today-the chapter NEEDS to be perfect!- but this WAS ready and waiting in the wings and I...I can't hold it back anymore.
If I can post Long May He Reign today, I will. Writing from a phone is hard. But if not today, then tomorrow. In the meantime...
...here we are. Challenge accepted. I really didn't expect that emotional monologue from Conquest. If you've watched the latest episode, you'd understand.
It really does go to show just how broken Viltrumites truly are; small wonder a bit of *SPOILER* genuine love turned them around.
Just wanted to say, I appreciate you all! More feedback means faster updates! It's especially important, in these, trying times, with the main site notifications down. Every word counts and i appreciate you all! All these reviews really keep me inspired! Looking forward to hearing from you~!
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. They're tributes to legends far greater than little 'ol me.
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~!
"I am so lonely.
All the other Viltrumites are scared of me.
No one talks to me. No one wants to be my friend; they think I am...unstable.
Perhaps they are right. They send me from planet to planet, committing atrocities is in their name, and as I get better at it, they fear me more and more. I am a victim of my own success.
Conquest, they call me. I don't even get a real name, only a purpose. I am capable of so much more, and no one sees it.
Some days I feel so alone, I could cry, but I don't. I never do. What would be the point?
Not a single person in the entire universe would care.
Take it to your grave."
~Conquest.
Vanguard
They didn't understand.
None of them did.
Not a one.
Sometimes, Conquest found himself hating his own people nearly as much as he hated himself. He was so lonely. All the other Viltrumites were scared of him. No one talked to him. No one wanted to be my friend; they thought he was...unstable.
Perhaps he was.
Sent from planet to planet, committing atrocities is in their name. And as he grew older, as he got better at it, they feared him more and more. He'd become a victim of his own success; a soldier who not only knew how to fight but reveled in it because from the moment of his birth, that was all he'd ever been taught to do. Crush. Destroy. Kill.
Conquest.
He didn't even get a real name, only a purpose.
The fools! He was capable of so much more, and no one saw.
Not Kregg, not Anissa, nor Lucan, not even Grand Regent Thragg himself.
He was the very apotheosis of the Viltrum way; utterly ruthless, efficient, and powerful; a warrior second only to one. But such did not come without cost. As a result of his conquests, he'd become lonely, miserable, and depressed. To speak such aloud would be deemed weakness, and to be weak was to die.
He'd already lost his right arm in a moment of weakness ages ago. He dared not lose anything else.
Some days he felt so alone, he could cry. But he didn't. He never allowed himself that weakness.
What would be the point? Not a single person in the entire universe would care.
It was almost a pity, really; such a strong warrior, broken by himself.
That, at least, he was allowed to feel.
On and on it went, a self-fulfilling cycle without end...until he couldn't bear anymore.
If this continued, he'd truly become unstable, go tar-raving mad.
So he acted; he broke protocol. He found a planet.
Defied orders for the first time in his life.
And from that simple act of defiance...
...something wonderful happened.
(.0.0.0.)
"Rise and shine~!"
It was his one and only warning; he would not receive another. His instincts yowled a warning anyway; he awoke with a start, burst out of his cot and twisted to the side.
Well that he did too, because a metal fist plowed through the space his sleeping skull occupied only moments before. It kept going, annihilating the makeshift bed he'd created to rupture the floor beneath. Dirt and dust sprayed outward in every direction, threatening to blind him, and they would have...
.
..
...if he didn't know exactly where his attacker was.
Pivoting viciously, he whirled and drove his right fist forth in a rising uppercut.
A meaty crunch was his reward, followed by daylight as his assailant hurtled through the roof of his hut.
He leaped out after them, caught them by the ankle and whipped them into the ground. Unwilling to stop there he dove down and planted a boot in their gut for good measure.
Blood sprayed across his face.
Funny thing about plants with ten times gravity, you have to plan ahead for every move, make constant calculations in your head, prepare every action in advance.
He should know, he had spent most of his life here.
It also made for a fantastic training regiment.
He didn't know the name of his planet, and to be honest, he didn't really care. It was home. Home was where he lived, ate, slept, trained and played. All he knew, all he needed to know was, it was a jungle plant with frightfully high gravity, filled with monstrous beings.
The results spoke for themselves.
But even those paled in comparison to the towering titan trapped under his heel.
Said godly being -seemingly- old man wearing a white uniform not unlike his own, laughed up at him wearing a snaggle-toothed grin. "Okay! That's a start!"
"Start?" he laughed again, still high on his victory. "More like an end, if you ask me." He hefted a fist, whiskered cheeks dimpling in a rare grin of true triumph. "You're done."
"Telling me to give up?" The muscleman grunted, but it wasn't capitulation. "Don't go getting soft on me now, son."
"Who said anything about going soft?" He twisted his heel, grinding it down into onto his adversary's neck instead. "I'd simply rather not get blood all over my feet. It's a pain cleaning between the toes, ya know."
"Bah! If it weren't for this infernal gravity, slowing me down...
He stomped down harder, threatening to crush the man's throat underfoot entirely. "That's a poor excuse, and you know it, you're more used to it than most. This is my victory."
The man granted in pain, good eye gone, narrow. "Is that what you think, Vanguard...?"
Vanguard. His title as well as his name. Not a real name, not like other Viltrumites, but one he took pride in nevertheless.
...pay attention!"
Conquest grabbed him by the ankle while he was distracted, whipped him into a tree, then threw both. Another, and another, tearing down an entire grove in a single swipe.
Breath burst through lungs, when he came to, the older warrior had him by the throat. "Checkmate."
Vanguard smiled and raised both arms. "Fair enough, you got me."
"Now who's giving up?"
"Not me!"
Swinging them down he clapped both his ears at once, forcing a flinch from the man who had raised him.
A knee smashed into his chin, tearing a gasp from him. He grunted in annoyance and backhanded his adversary, only to receive a crushing kick to the ribs; one he caught and used to fling his foe away.
A fist caught the back of his skull, flooring him, smashing his face into the mud.
Not enough; not nearly enough make him stop.
He thrashed upright, nearly breaking his attack to BITE his attacker's wrist, tearing a bloody chunk free to earn a truncated cry of surprise.
"Yes!" the praise that followed warmed his blood. "That's it! Fight harder, boy!"
Whirling he launched him up into the air, then oast it, forcing him to right himself in the upper atmosphere, trailing blood as he went. He hung there for a moment, catching his breath in the thin air. A streak of white and gold was his only warning as his death raced up to meet him.
This time, he was ready for it.
Up here, freed from the hellish gravity of his home, he braced himself.
Gritting his teeth, he reared back, clenched his fist, and delivered a brutal haymaker. "Gotcha~!"
Conquest ran right into it; in his haste to reach him, he barreled headlong into his punch like the maniac he was.
Fist plus jaw equals absolute BOOM.
Up instantly became down.
Down burst into flame.
His foe became a fiery meteor as he rocketed down to the planet, smashing into the ground at Mach 9. The explosion that followed was amazing, the ground combusted from the very force of the impact, creating a fiery plume of napalm and a rising mushroom cloud to flatten every living thing from miles around. He could see it from orbit.
He didn't believe for a second that was enough to put him down.
Drifting down once more , he crossed both arms before his bloodied chest and waited.
Sure enough, when the smoke cleared and the fires burned out, he found the old bastard getting right back up again. Burnt, bloodied, battered, but still very much alive.
This was more than he'd ever hurt him before; that settled it; this was going to be the day. He knew it. Victory for Vanguard.
With a grin he rocketed down at him, fist-first.
"This is going to be amazing!"
They went mad.
Conquest caught his fist. He headbutted him instead and smashed a knee into his stomach, blasting the breath form his lungs. A bruising backhand caught him by the face, opening him up to another punch; he rode the momentum of it and decked him in return.
Like wild beasts they tore into each other, swinging for the fences, all semblance of control, gone and replaced by maddened berserk fury.
All sense of discipline vanished; controlled blows became savage hooks, right crosses, then left, right again as they whaled on one another. All the while, he targeted the geezer's right side ruthlessly, aiming for his metal arm with cruel precision, knowing it was his one vulnerability.
Metal was weaker than viltrumite flesh.
Metal could be battered.
Metal could be bent.
Metal could be...
CRUNCH.
...broken.
"Again?!" Conquest reared back, glaring balefully at the ruined stump of his metal arm. "Damnit, boy! You're a vicious little-
He was still speaking when a fist smashed into his face, driving him to the ground, creating a crater miles deep.
Vanguard landed on his chest and started swinging before he recover.
Blood flew through the air. Teeth danced in the sky. It was so beautiful; it made him want to cry.
"Is this still fun, old man?!" he slammed his fist down, pulping his foes face with every punch, bright eyes gleaming with bloodlusht. "Are you enjoying yourself?!"
Another punch. Scarlet streaks spewed across the ground.
"Having fun?!"
A nose caved under his punches.
"Well?! Answer me!"
...yes."
He paused, fist halting just shy of his skull, an inch from pummeling him into oblivion.
Father and Son glared at each other, chests heaving, eyes wild, until one of them finally fell slack.
"Congratulations, boy." Conquest grabbed his bloody nose with his good hand and set it with an audible pop. He grinned through broken teeth. "You pass."
Triumph. Acknowledgement. Pride. It burned through "Vanguard" in a heady rush. He tumbled off him and flopped onto the ground, completely and utterly spent. His arms were aching. He was sure his limbs were on the verge of breaking; he had broken ribs and countless fractures besides, but it didn't matter.
Victory was his.
A canteen of water landed on his chest. He fumbled for it and drank greedily, eager to wash the taste of blood out his mouth.
A shadow fell over him as his battered old man sat beside him.
Neither spoke for the longest time; there was no need.
What use were words, anyway? He knew the rules.
Dad was, well, dad. Conquest, really, but he didn't like being called that. He knew he wasn't quite right in the head-anyone named Conquest couldn't be for crying out loud-but it didn't change who he was to him. He came by every few months, visited. Brought gifts.
And once, every birthday, Dad tried to kill him.
Today was the first time he'd won.
And he just couldn't.
Stop. Smiling.
Conquest saw it and scoffed. "Feisty little shit, aren't you? Just like your mother."
Naruto growled and punched his leg.
"Hmm." the older Viltrumite. "So getting mad DOES make you stronger. Interesting. Must be your mother's genes, what little you got from her. She always was a wild one...gotta be that DNA of yours boy. Always getting stronger.
"Stronger than you?"
"Ha! His old man barked to laugh, then sobered. "Not as strong as me. Not yet. Not like her."
Dad didn't talk about Mom a lot. He'd never met her; apparently she died soon after he was born. This was a decent enough life, he supposed. He had food to eat, water to drink, and prey to hunt. Plenty of time to improve himself.
"This will be our last bout for awhile. Patrols are getting awful close to this sector. And...well...
Dad didn't want him to be found. He understood. Unsanctioned breeding was punishable by death. He knew that. He was an aberration. He shouldn't exist.
Conquest wasn't finished.
"Kushina...she was a feisty one." the sudden admission had him looking up, somewhat startled. "Your mother, she was good to me. More than I deserved. She showed me things I didn't think were possible." he closed both eyes, good and bad alike to sigh. "But Thragg found her. And I was punished."
"I know-
"No, you don't." Conquest touched a finger to the scar at his face, his blinded eye. "He hurt me that day, more than anyone ever has. I nearly lost you when she died. Would have, too, if she hadn't hid you away. He doesn't know about you. But he will, soon."
A pause followed, longer than the last.
And then came another surprise. "I've got another gift for you."
Vanguard perked up, both intrigued and alarmed by the remark. "What is it?"
"Your mother had a name for you." the admission sent a shockwave surging through him. "I didn't give it to you for the longest time; because I was afraid you wouldn't survive." Conquest fell silent for the longest time, a long time indeed, perhaps not yet willing to give it up. "But you've done more than that. You've thrived."
"Soooo...?"
"Naruto." Conquest curled his good hand into a fist and released the word with a sigh. "Your real name is Naruto. She named you that."
The word trembled in the air, filling him with hope.
Naruto. That was his name. It felt good...more than that, it felt right. Like he'd found a missing piece of himself he'd never known was lost. He was a Viltrumite through and through. Not completely pure blooded like some of them given his unique heritage. But close. Very close. Having a name made him feel like he truly belonged; even if he sometimes wondered why he wasn't being told enough.
"Look, son." Conquest continued, claiming his attention. "You're special. There's no denying that. "But Thrag'l kill ya, as soon as look at ya."
Naruto grimaced. He'd never met this Thragg guy and prayed that he never would. Anyone who would strike fear into the heart of his father with someone he didn't want to mess with.
Well, not yet - not until he was much stronger.
"Technically speaking, you shouldn't exist. Unauthorized breeding is frowned upon in the Vltrum Empire. But you're strong. They'll see that. You'll prove it."
"How?" he asked.
"I'm sending you to Earth. Conquer it. By any means necessary."
Naruto's brow shot into his hair, mildly alarmed by the task. "By any means?"
His father grimaced and reluctantly amended his words. "Well, I shouldn't say that, you might want to be careful, don't want to draw too much attention to yourself."
"Afraid I'll die...?"
"Brat." He cuffed him on the back of the head, but the blow lacked weight. "You're sturdy."
He'd seen Conquest flatten buildings with a single punch. This was nothing.
An idea dawned. "Should I breed with the locals?"
"If'n ya like." The old man shrugged a burly shoulder. There aren't many of us left." A secret he would be slain for should he ever speak it. Not that he would. Might take a while to raise a few brats. Maybe you'll get lucky and their powers will pop up early. They won't be real Viltrumites, but they'll be worth something."
"There's something you're not telling me...
...aye." he relented with a grunt. "Nolan's charge of that planet. Doubt he'll take kindly to you stepping on his toes. You'll have to deal with him eventually, one way or another."
Did Dad's hatred for his own kind run that deep now...?
Realization broke with the dawn. "You want me to pretend to be someone I'm not...?"
"Idiot." he cuffed his ear this time, but gently. "I want you to be you. Make your old man proud. And don't tell anyone about this."
Or they were both dead. It went without saying. Best be careful.
"You want me to go incognito, then?
"You should be fine," Conquest muttered, "Haven't been able to grow a mustache anyway, so it won't give you away."
"Hey, not for lack of trying!"
His father continued unabated. "You'll have to lose the uniform after you land, too; he'll recognize it.
Naruto sulked a little. "Awww, but I like this thing."
"I know you do, boy but Nolan isn't a team player. He's fierce; he'll try to kill you the moment he lays eye on you. He's ferocious. If you can't beat me in a real fight, you probably can't beat him.
He bridled at that, mildly insulted by the remark. "I can almost beat you eight times out of ten! I won today!"
Father flicked his forehead. "What do we say about almost?"
He recited the words on rota. "Almost doesn't count...
"That's right. We take the good with the bad."
He elbowed him. "Damn straight we do."
Conquest leaned back, and the look of almost parental fondness past through his good eye. It was gone in an instant, and he almost thought he imagined it, but no. A small surge of pride flushed through him regardless.
And then his sire stood.
"Come on, then, one last battle for the road."
Naruto hopped, to his feet, delighted. "You mean it?"
There it was again, that flicker of fondness, flashing across his father's face. "Don't make repeat myself. I'm old, not deaf. Come on, show me your game face."
A savage smile split his visage.
"There he is!" Conquest paused, with a grunt, just short of rushing him. "Hrrrm...not sure when I'll get another chance to do this again; might as well say it now."
Naruto tilted his head. "Dad?"
Hearing him say that aloud seemed to pleased the old man.
A hand settled on his head. "I want to thank you, son. Really. You know, its not often I get to cut loose like this. Usually there are so many mission parameters - so many things to not destroy. People not to kill. Everything breaks so easily. But for whatever reason, and I don't really care why, you won't die."
Chuckling, he tousled his hair.
"I have been ordered to raze planets, to take control of civilizations by any means necessary, have lived for thousands of years, yet in these last nineteen," he shook his head ruefully, "A mere fraction of a fraction in my lifespan, you did something to change me and I...I thank you for it. This has been an immense joy."
Sentient. How very unlike him. But he didn't mind.
He wasn't blind to the message hidden in those words. "You telling me everything will all be alright?
"I'll tell you no such thing, boy. If you screw this up, you'll have to fight Nolan." he granted him another grin. "To be honest, there's a part of me that wants you to face him; show him who you are, and kill him. Just like I want to kill Thragg for what he did to your mother." he stood and beckoned. "But enough about imminent murder. I want you to hit me. As hard as you can. No holding back-
Conquest was still speaking when he decked him, denting his cheek.
His head snapped back as he staggered. Stumbled. Fell to knee . Blood dribbled down onto the floor. He spat out a tooth.
One.
Followed by two.
Three soon came after, tumbling to the dirt.
"That's much better." he granted him a bloody grin. "Show me more."
Naruto grinned and batted his hand down. "Still gonna kick your ass, hold man."
Conquest boomed a belly laugh, rich and raucous. "After all I've done, after all this, you still grin at me, threaten me, without fear. I dare say, son, You are starting to impress me." Drifting back, he spread his arms wide, ready to embrace his wrath. "Do your worst!"
Naruto decked him, ducked the follow up and hammered his ribs. Conquest retaliated in kind.
Father and Son collided one last time, and the planet trembled in their wake.
To Naruto's great delight, he won the fight that followed as well.
He would be the Vanguard of Earth's destruction.
It was just a little mudball of a planet; nothing special. He wouldn't get attached. He refused to get attached. Dad was the only thing that mattered. He was fast, he was strong, he could think on his feet. He had all the powers of a Viltrumite...and that unbeknownst to anyone else. How hard could it be to seduce some females and raise an army? It wasn't as though he would get attached.
No, surely not.
He was stronger than that.
In hindsight, he would come to regret that belief.
A/N: Aaaand scene.
Hope you enjoyed this~!
Pairing is going to be wild; though I will say this, my team and I are hesitant to to take Eve from Mark.
Unless that's what folks want to see...?
Do you want this to remain a story? Yes? No? Maybe so? Make yourselves heard! Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this particular story, and others. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy.
So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly?
Have some previews~!
(Previews!)
It was a surprisingly smooth landing.
What followed was not.
x
He acted without thinking and yanked her out of harms way.
x
The mace shattered against his forehead.
...what was that meant to accomplish, exactly?"
x
"Uh...who's the new guy?"
Don't be a dick, Rex."
x
"Who are you supposed to be, exactly...?
The colorfully clad youth, nearly of an age with him, placed both fists on his hips and preened. "I'm-
*insert title card*
Naruro decked him, sending him tumbling througn the air:
"No." He shook his head slowly. "You are not invincible. At all. No one is."
Dad wasn't.
Mom hadn't been.
No one was truly invincible.
"Dude! Not cool! You broke my nose."
"You punched me first. I'll do a lot more than break your nose if you get in my way again."
"Whoa, hey! " the younger man raised both hands to ward him off. "Just calm down-
x
...enough.
He drew himself up and stepped over the fallen fighters, regarding his attackers and the man behind the desk with keen intent.
"I don't want to hear any more speeches from you chumps." he shucked his ruined shirt, baring his chest. "Not one word. You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry... hell, you're all gonna be doing that in a second. But no more words."
Lightning crackled across his skin as one struck.
His fist snapped up, backhanding the zapper clear out the building.
Battle Beast licked his lips."Finally! A worthy opponent! Our battle will be legendary!"
Naruro felt something shift in his eyes then, blue snapping into feral red. "What did I just say?"
Machine Head swore. "Ah, shi-
All hell broke loose.
Looking forward to chatting with you all when I get back from work~!
Warm regards,
~Nz.