Poison Love (Patreon)

Summary- Sabine Callas, Viper, had been a woman to stare into the abyss. With one goal in mind, locked in an endless cycle of trial and error, riddled with nightmares plaguing her. Ridden with the idea of abandoning her desires and her past. Many are left to question what her connection is to Valorant’s most mysterious agent? And by the end, will such darkness remain? (Naruto/Viper) (Naruto/VALORANT FANFICTION)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Valorant, or any other media I use in this story. They belong to their respective owners.

2/1/25

Poison Love

“Is it done?” a stern voice called out over the intercom, waiting, watching.

“Yes, yes, just a few more moments, Einen Gang zurückschalten (Change down your gear)!” Came the Germanic voice of the engineer of the project. As she was connecting and checking wires, doing tests, and overall, making sure that they didn’t blow up the whole facility.

Several metal wires, machines, and feats of engineering surrounded her in a fluorescently lit room, tubes, coils, all around. Panes, reinforced walls built from tungsten alloy, as tempered glass surrounded them. 

All the while, sat a single figure in the center, one that was humanoid in appearance— that was all that you could say about him, as he did not resemble a human, far from it. He was more living smoke than alive. Grayed arms wrapped in bandages, shadows leaking from every pore, his cloak was in tatters, colored deep blues and purples. His form, or lack thereof, stitched together in a constant state of unliving. Wearing what appeared to be dark boots, grey pants, and metallic armor, a ripped hood was draped over him. Beneath the hood was the face of a monster, a dark visage of no nose or mouth; there were no eyes to speak of, just a silhouette, and three bright, glowing, piercing lights that showed under his hood, letting them know that something was alive under there.

This was Omen, or so he was called anyway, his designation, his alias, and it was also the only name he had known. A ghost, a phantom of memory, and a husk of his former self.

He was also a member of the Valorant protocol, the world’s most independent, covert organization with no national affiliation, dedicated to protecting the world from both external and internal threats that may harm it. He was also a Radiant, a being who, through the influence of the element Radianite, had been changed at the cellular level and given extraordinary abilities, powers beyond belief, and what is known. 

Meanwhile, they were being watched by another figure, sitting high above the deck with her arms crossed. She was a tall, slender woman with chin-length dark hair and piercing green eyes. To many, she would look intimidating, dressed in her combat gear, which consisted of a skin-tight dark and green hazmat suit, dark metal gauntlets, and heavy combat boots covering her arms and legs. A utility vest, a harness, as well as several tubes running through her suit, which brought her chemicals through her toxic emitters mounted at each of her wrists. Her respirator over her face, covering her mouth and nose as she watched the project go underway.

This was Sabine Callas, ‘Viper’ as she was known, an American chemist, one of the lead researchers in Radianite technology. She was also one of the two leaders of the Valorant protocol, the one spearheading such an experiment.

Special Agent ‘Killjoy’ Klara Böhringer, a young dark-haired German woman with glasses and a yellow jacket, worked. She was the lead engineer for the Valorant protocol. The woman was muttering to herself about overworked bosses who didn’t know a thing about how a Radianite re-collider even worked. 

“I don’t need your attitude, I need results.”

As Killjoy paused, realizing she had been heard, “Yes, Sabine, I got that. I’m sure it’ll work this time.”

“See to it,” her superior said through the intercom, a stoic voice filled with a lack of emotion, her emerald eyes glaring daggers down at them.

“Right, right… ” Killjoy swallowed. She didn’t know why, but for some reason, Viper had been a lot more intimidating lately as the experiment progressed. Before the German agent turned towards her radiant counterpart. “Well, Omen, are you ready to get your memories back?” she asked as she got ready with the finishing touches. 

“It feels… surreal. Are you certain it’ll happen?" the dark figure questioned. 

She nodded. “I’m fairly certain this machine will restore you to your original form. We’ll finally get to see what you look like, won’t that be nice?” Killjoy smiled.

“Killjoy, this would go a lot faster if you quit talking with the subject,” Sabine’s voice rang out coldly.

“Of course, of course,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You’re going to do great!” Killjoy assured Omen, who was still sitting within his chair. 

Soon enough, she was ready as they got the experiment underway.

“Alright, commence the operation of the reconfiguration of subject O.M.1.0. attempting to return Agent No.3 to his original form. Agent No. 4, are we ready?” Viper asked, seeing Agent Killjoy sitting behind a barrier down below, for protection.

The engineer gave her a thumbs up, “Yup, everything seems operational!”

Viper nodded, giving the German the go-ahead. “Very well, then let us begin.”

As Killjoy readied the control panel, pressing many buttons. Several pillars around Omen rose, meeting him in the center as they began to shimmer. Activating their radianite-powered mechanisms, they started spinning, emitting a dull hum that rang throughout the field. First, it was quiet, but then it became louder, slowly grinding up like the rhythm of a drum, beating, ringing, faster and faster.

“That’s it, keep going…” Viper muttered, more to herself than anything. As the pillars began making even more noise, their energy jutted out, colliding with Omen. 

Inside Omen’s particles began to move, began to change, interacting with him on a cellular level, changing him, morphing him back to a state he once was. Attempting to build him back, piece by piece, little by little, restoring him. His particles restore, rejuvenating his decaying flesh, his form that wasn’t solid, attempting to bring him back whole. As a radiant, his being thrived within radianite, but here, it was different; it was like his body was being torn apart and being constructed. 

The process was… utterly painful.

“Arrrrggggghhhhh!!!” A deep, guttural cry moved from his throat. It was ironic; he didn’t quite have a mouth, and yet he must scream, his clawed fingers clutching onto the chair's armrests. Lightning began coursing around the machine, an amethyst glow, coursing around, crackling with such intensity that the lights in the room started to flicker.

That’s when Killjoy started to worry. It wasn’t much at first, but it was enough, enough to bring a sliver of doubt into her mind.

The machine tore women apart from the inside out, as it tried to make ends meet. 

Omen’s dark form began to disintegrate, but what they expected to be an earthied skin wasn’t that, as mist started to leak off of his form, another scream tearing out from him, one that was so loud it struck fear into all of the hearts that heard it. Omen removed his hands from the chair as they were left clutching at his head, the pain becoming almost unbearable. 

The machine rips into him, destroying him. But it didn’t seem to be doing any repair, his form leaking like blood, yet no wound remained for he could no longer bleed. He could no longer eat, or sleep, or wake or cry, all he could do was scream, scream out in pain as his form began to turn to shadow.

"Scheiße! We have to turn it off!” Killjoy shouted, beginning to shit down the very thing that might kill her teammate.

Viper’s green eyes widened as she watched the scene, hearing Killyjoy call out.

“No!” came her definite voice over the intercom. If they were going to see this, they were going to see it through to the end. 

Dark energy began crackling off of Omen’s figure in waves, his screams somehow managing to overshadow the machine’s humming. Writing in pain, the pain became almost unbearable. His form is starting to disintegrate, turning from a solid to a gas, like a thick fog, a fog that could only feel pain.

“I can feel it growing! I can’t control it! TURN IT OFF! T̸̢̅̌̈́Ù̵̦̲̳̙̎̒͐͌ͅŔ̴͚̜̗͙̦͈͌͠N̵̢̩̞̘̟̹͑̽̇ ̴̹͙̆̎̿̅͝I̷͚̖̐̋̄̚̚T̶͖͉͙̬̓̈́̂̋̀̊͘ ̷̗̋̚Ǭ̵̪͔̣̉̒̂̽̒ͅF̷̡̢̑́̓͒F̶̛̖́̿̆̒ͅ !” It shouted.

Whether it was Omen, a piece of his former self, or… something else they didn’t know, but it struck fear into all of those who heard it. Viper instinctively took a step back, and before she knew it, she found a hand resting at the left side of her stomach. 

A trickle of fear seeped into her, watching as this thing that Omen was becoming started to take shape. Tendrils moving out of his form, like that of an octopus, except he wasn't an octopus; whatever that creature was, it wasn’t human. 

And it scared them, like a beast of panic, of another nature, and of darkness. 

Their fear was ingrained, like the fear of falling, of death; this was darkness. Pure and unadulterated darkness, a creature of the night.

“ARRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!” It roared.

As an explosion shook the building like an earthquake, the room was rumbling as if an act of god.

“We need to stop it!” Killjoy shouted, and yet Viper did not hear it. No, she was too focused, fixated on the creature before them, watching as its form gave way to something new, something they had not seen before. 

And yet the prospect was still there, still left her wanting. 

And she was going to see it through to the end.

Even if it seemed like they were at the end of the world. 

“RAAAAAHHHHH!!!” 

“Viper, we need to—”

“Shut it down!” A new, definite voice of a man they all knew shouted, leaving no room for disagreement. 

As the machine stopped, Omen’s darkness trickled back into himself, slowly giving way to its ill-fated form.

Much to Viper’s anger, as emerald eyes turned around, seeing just who it was that had interrupted her little experiment. 

She saw two figures. 

One of whom was a large, bulky middle-aged man with a large brown beard that was a little greyed, dark eyes. He wore metal armor plating over a blue combat shirt, dark pants, and an orange barrette.

The other was a female, about the same age as her. She was Asian, with dark hair styled in a ponytail, as she wore a white and teal combat robe that was similar to a kimono.

This was Liam ‘Brimstone’ Byrne, and Wei Ling Ying, otherwise known as ‘Sage.’

The former is the de facto leader of the Valorant protocol, and the ladder being a senior member of the program.

And Brimstone did not look happy.

“We need to talk,” came his swift words. 

XXX

“I had it, Liam, that time I knew I had it. Argh!” Sabine shouted, slamming her fist against the wall in her rage, as she gave a pointed look at the man who many considered her superior. As she had been dragged to a covert center of the Valorant headquarters. 

Brimstone just looked at her, arms crossed, a stern look on his face, which contrasted with her angered figure. “What you had almost blew up the entire facility, Sabine. Is that what you wanted?”

“No, what I wanted were results, which you clearly are unable to provide,” the woman argued.

As Sage stepped forward. “Viper, we saw what was about to happen. If Brim hadn’t shut the machine down when he did, who knows what would have happened?”

“My machine would have worked, which is more than I can say for your own experiments,” the chemist added, no small amount of venom in her voice when she said it.

The Chinese woman flinched at the jab, “Be that as it may, it is clear that whatever was happening… it was terrifying, and if it damaged the headquarters, no doubt our Omega counterparts would have taken advantage of it.”

“I had already calculated such conditions; you and I both know that Omen with his restored abilities would have been an asset worth such a price; it might even turn the tide of this godforsaken war.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Brimstone told her, “However, you risked not only your life, but the life of the entire protocol, that is something I cannot allow.”

“I had it under control. You know as well as anyone that I am nothing if not meticulous,” she defended.

“Even so… we’ve decided to suspend the Omen restoration program,” Brimstone told her hesitantly, awaiting her reaction.

As Viper blinked, taking the information in as she stood there, frozen in shock, but not for long, as soon as that shock turned to rage, anger returned in full force. 

“You can’t, I won’t allow it! Not when I’ve worked too hard and sacrificed too much for that program!”

“I know, but at the moment we are retracting the budget for the program, and research will be divided into other areas,” Liam said resolutely.

“Then find more budget! You can’t do this to me! I built that department!” 

“Viper, are you sure you don’t want the program to continue for a different reason?” Sage inquired.

As the woman’s green eyes rounded to her. “Oh, that’s rich, coming from you! You never wanted the program to continue, after all, it’s always been your little failure, you never wanted anyone to show you up!” As Sage took a step back. 

“This isn’t about lack of ability, Sabine,” Brimstone came to her defense. "However, it's clear that this operation means more to you than anyone else.”

“You’ve become too emotionally invested in such an operation. Leading you to take unnecessary risks to achieve your goal,” Sage added.

“So we’ve decided that resources would be better put to use somewhere else; we just wanted to inform you. This might be up for discussion in the future, with Omega Earth’s recent operatives, this is not up for discussion,” Brimstone informed.

So that was it? Viper had been called in here not for a debate or an argument, but to let her know how things were going to be done without any input. Like a child being called in by her parents for a lecture, without being given anything resembling civil discourse. She wasn’t given a say on things, nor a vote for discussion. 

It had already been decided, and they were just informing her of their decision.

“That’s how you want to play it? After all this time? After all this effort, you think it’s time to put this project in and label it a failure?” she spat.

As Brimstone’s eyes softened, “Sabine, it might be time to admit that Omen can’t be restored, no matter how much we want him to be.” 

Sabine was taken aback at Liam’s words, “You just want to give up? I can’t believe this, especially when he—” she stopped herself, rounding on an angered scowl on her face, her mask having left her figure long before. “I wouldn’t be alive without him, all of us, and yet you want to turn your back, just like that.”

“It isn’t about turning our backs, it’s—”

“It’s about money, is that it? Don’t give me that shit, you and I both know that isn’t a problem,” The woman growled. “You know, it should have been you. You should be the one who was left in that state, not him!” 

Wei’s mouth formed an ‘O’ shape, too shocked at what the woman said. That was when Brimstone put his foot down, “Viper, the decision has already been made.”

“No, it hasn’t. You won’t hear the end of this, and believe me, this isn’t over!” Viper said, rounding. She realized that they weren’t going to be changing their minds on this, though she made a vow that even if Liam wouldn’t support her, she would still try to complete her objective.

She would still try to bring him back.

Brimstone just gave a tired sigh, “No, Sabine… no, it isn’t.”

XXX

She was floating.

It was an odd feeling, of which she was sure, and she didn’t quite know how to make it out. Should she feel fear? Should she be terrified? Should she be afraid? Even though she didn’t know.

She had been skydiving, only once, but it didn’t quite feel the same. She didn’t feel the sense of floating, the feeling of air colliding around you in a cushion. And her hair, her dark hair flowing through the wind, her skin being touched by such coldness. Feeling as though she were floating through the very heavens themselves, the loudness of the world crashing into your ears. She didn’t feel any of it. 

She was surrounded by darkness, a deep, eternal darkness that was so far she didn’t sense any end, no light to smother it. There was nothing, no sun, no stars, no moon. It was like she was in a dark cave, moving about in a place no other had gone before, where no being should go. 

Humans did not belong where she was; no living being could survive in such a state. Falling forever.

Though, come to think of it, was she even falling? At this point, she couldn’t tell what was up or down, and for all she knew, she could be floating up, or to the side, or diagonally. She didn’t know.

The unknown feeling, the crushing sense of it, ached her to no end. 

And then she stopped…

As if hitting the ground, her body sounded a sickening crunch. Like she was bungee jumping and her line snapped, her body recoiling from her stomach, her back arching, as her spine broke in its place, shattering into what was no doubt a million pieces. 

And then she was somewhere else.

Strong arms resting upon her shoulders, steadying herself as she stumbled.

“Whoa, you okay there?” a voice said. It was calming, confident, with a bit of humor, a teasing glint flashing in those blue eyes of his.

Sabine looked at him, she knew who he was, of course, she knew who he was. His hair was blonde, like the sun, jutting out in all directions wildly. She always used to tell him to comb it, but he would always tell her that even if he tried, it wouldn’t help; even for him, his hair was too unruly to deal with, and she supposed he had to make do. Though in reality she didn’t want him to comb it, she liked the way it looked on him, reflecting his wild nature. He had tanned skin and strange, whisker-like markings upon his face. Idly, she used to wonder if they were tattoos or an unusual side effect of his Radiant powers. It would only be later that she would find out that it was more or less a birthmark that he had been born with and always had. She found them cute, and when he smiled, it resembled a grinning cat, though she would be damned if she told anyone that; it would be their little secret. He was tall, though only a couple of inches taller than her, given her own above-average size, as he looked at her with nothing but concern.

“It’s nothing… just daydreaming, I suppose,” she said, finally finding her voice after so long. Why was that the first thing she could’ve said? Even though she didn’t know, for some reason, she had the distinct feeling that something was worth remembering. What was it? She needed to know, and yet her thoughts were lost on her.

“Oh, is that it?” the male blinked, before smiling. “Nothing too bad, right?” 

As she shook her head, “No, I suppose it isn’t.”

“Well, alright then,” the blonde said, as he took his hand into hers, dragging her about like a wandering golden retriever. “Come on, Vi, let’s go and get a better view,” as he dragged her to the nearby pier, overlooking the ocean.

‘Vi’, that was what he called her, short for ‘Viper’, a venomous snake with hidden fangs, the nickname he had called her for as long as she could remember. He called her by it due to the fact that she was such a closely guarded person, usually keeping to herself as she fought on the offensive, as he would constantly tease her that she resembled a snake in that aspect. At first, she didn’t take kindly to the name, though, like most things about him, it grew on her; now she only regarded the name with nothing but affection. 

The sight he brought her to was an interesting one, a wooded dock overlooking the ocean and sky, as he leaned on the railing, nearly falling into the waters as he did so. Though with perfect balance, he merely reached out, as if trying to grab a fish in the waters right then and there. He was like a child, so bright and carefree; the complete opposite of herself.

“Would you just look at that, is there anything more beautiful?” Came his words, as he stared at the sky. A myriad of colors of the setting sun light the sky in a mosaic, oranges, reds, yellows, mixed with the blues and purples of the waters and clouds. It was truly a magnificent sight, one that they would cherish forever, reminding her of an artwork by Van Gogh in its splendor. 

Truly, there was nothing more beautiful. She was glad Naruto had taken her out here tonight.

It was one of her happiest memories.

“Well, I can think of something more beautiful,” the blonde commented, turning and looking straight at her. 

As the stoic woman tried to keep her composure, though a slight flush of her cheek did manage to shine through her pale skin. Of course, he always had this kind of effect on her, always able to get through her less-than-amicable demeanor with his brightness, his warmth. 

She was still holding onto his hand, even now, as she squeezed his hand…

She felt that it was incredibly stiff, unmoving, like a rock. As Naruto was turned to face the ocean, he looked like a statue in his state. 

Why wasn’t he moving? Why was he standing so still?

“Naruto? Naruto! ”She tried to call out to him, but he wouldn’t answer her.

She tried to wrench her hand from him, and yet his grasp was absolute as he didn’t let go. Trapping her hand like a vice, Sabine struggled to pull free, all the while she called out to him, trying to gain his attention.

“Why would you leave us?” he voiced, turning to her.

As the woman’s emerald eyes widened in absolute terror at the sight she saw. Because it was then that she didn’t see Naruto, no, it wasn’t Naruto’s face she saw, but ‘something’ else. His look of affection disappeared from his face as she stared at nothing but a void in his sockets, his blue eyes that she adored gone from him completely, replaced by an ethereal black. His skin was pale like that of a corpse, his hand so cold that she couldn’t even tell that he was alive.

His hand stiffened from rigor mortis, unable to let her go.

Finally, she was able to jerk herself back, nuzzling her hand into her chest.

“Why? Sabine? Why did you kill me? Why didn’t you try harder?”

Dark tendrils started to rise from the pierre, as the ocean was filled with nothing but shadows, a dark abyss trying to grow itself, surrounding Naruto.

“Why Sabine? WHY!?” 

“I-I…” She couldn’t say anything, even as the darkness grew, Naruto’s decayed hands lurched at her, as she backed away.

SQUELTCH! 

The sickening sound of flesh being pierced was heard, as she looked down, seeing a tendril of darkness pierce right into her stomach, just like he had done oh so long ago.

Fear-filled eyes looked at him, seeing Naruto’s impassive face.

“W-why?” was all he could say.

The darkness consuming her once more…

XXX

Abruptly, she awoke with a startling gasp, a torrent of air filling her lungs that was so loud it was almost deafening. Awaking in a sweat, her chest heaving, rising faster and faster, her fingers clawing at her sheets. Her heart was hammering so fast that she felt as if she was about to explode, her green eyes dilated as she looked all around. Reaching for her nightstand as she grabbed at her mask, and put it on. She took a breath, trying to stop herself from hyperventilating. 

She was in her bedroom, a large, desolate place with a large window overlooking the moon-filled sky, dressed in her nightwear, which was more of a sports bra and shorts than anything. Yet here in that moment it felt foreign to her, the shadows were still there, still over taking her, 

He could still recall his voice, still hear his voice speaking to her, asking her.

Why? Why? Why?

Why did she do it? Why couldn’t she save him?

The shadows were everywhere, pulling at her, ripping her, piercing her, like snakes coiling around her, and she was the prey. Being cornered in a cage, like a rat, unable to fight back.

Idly, her fragile fingers went to find a photograph next to her bed, one of her at the pier, just like her dream, overlooking the sunset.

A similar blonde man in the photo, the figure that haunted her dreams, even now, after all this time…

XXX

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of gunfire echoed across the range, her heavy bullets hitting all of her targets precisely. Straight on their marks as she pulled the trigger, the circular targets breaking down in seconds due to her AR-762 Vandal, all purpose rifle that was reliable and had served her faithfully in the line of combat for some time. Though she would say that she liked the SW-ACR Phantom, it wasn’t her go-to when it came down to things. She couldn’t count how many times she had used the weapon against Omega Earth, how many of her own counterpart teammates she had taken down. Though even still, it felt like they just kept coming back

Dying was an odd feeling, and one she happened to get used to, being resuscitated back to life by their resident ‘sage’ in an effort to stop more cataclysms from happening like in Vince, Italy. Oh yes, Wei Ling Ying was always the most renowned healer, the person with the most empathy, the person who saved everyone she could.

More shots sounded out as she witnessed her next target swerve around her back. Sabine turned, delivering what would be a final blow to the object. Holding her fingers on the grip, her chest against the stock, she controlled her breathing, taking a breath, letting half of it out, and keeping the rest as she fired. 

She hit the target, but missed the bullseye, hitting slightly to the right. 

A hair on her forehead was slightly out of place, as her finger twitched, exalting her rage right then and there; if she didn’t have as much composure as she did, Sabine would have emptied her full magazine into the sky. Though all she gave was a small exhale, more of an angered grunt. She was still shaken from the dream she had, still shaken by the nightmares, as well as Brimstone’s decision.

Why did he decide to give up? Why did Liam choose to just give up on his comrade, her…

“Well now, it would seem you’re caught up in the snakepit now, aren’t you, Sabine?” A smooth voice came from nearby, inwardly the woman rolled her eyes. As she turned, still holding her gun and pointing it at them, a man she would rather not deal with right now.

He was a tall man with sharp facial features, a trimmed face, brown eyes, slight skin, and dark hair slicked back. And it was undeniable that he was wealthy, carrying himself with a perfect posture and filled with a suave confidence. His suit was tailored perfectly with a blue vest over a white button-up with the sleeves rolled up and a purple tie, golden accents all across his body, and a metal implant across his forehead.

This was Vincent Fabron, otherwise known as the Frenchman's Chamber, an expert marksman within the protocol. He was also an endless flirt, whom she would rather drink her own poison than interact with. 

Aiming down her sights, she felt her finger get antsy, ready to fire.

Likewise, he held his hands up once he realized what was happening, trying to placate the situation. “Whoa now, easy there, Sabine, we’re on the same side, yes?” he tried to mention.

But even still, Viper didn’t relent, keeping her barrel trained fully on his chest, her finger near the trigger. It would be so easy to fire, and from this distance, he couldn’t even be able to teleport out— not that she thought he had a teleporter nearby, knowing how expensive they were to put down. Even if he did have one, it wouldn’t do him any good, she knew how long it took for him to bring himself out, and she would assure you that wasn’t faster than a speeding bullet. She wondered what her heavy rounds would do to him at this distance, without any armor on his body. Would it pierce him? Would it tear out his insides? Would it create a shower of blood? Or would he continue to stay standing, as others, for some reason had the capability of doing from time to time? Well then, she supposed it would be better to put 3 more bullets into him for good measure; it wasn’t too often that people survived four bullets in their stomachs. And then he would be gone, sure. Sage could heal him, but he would leave her alone if she was lucky.

She pulled her gun back; she knew she wasn’t that lucky, and shooting him would only encourage the man and waste resources. “Next time, if you want to sneak up on someone with a gun, be prepared to end up with a few more holes in your body by the end of the day,” she warned.

“Okay, point taken, mon ami,” he spoke softly, letting loose a bit of air even though he didn't know he was holding, worried that the mad woman might actually end up shooting him. That wouldn’t be pleasant. He had taken way too many bullets already within the Valorant program; he wasn’t inclined to increase the number he had taken anytime soon. 

“What do you want, Vincent?” Sabine asked bluntly, shouldering her gun, though he noted that she didn’t put it down, still keeping a hold of the handle, and ready for anything that might happen.

“Well, now, I was just passing by and noticed your little misstep, over there. I was hoping I could… how do you say, give you some pointers,” he offered. 

“I would rather shoot myself in the foot,” Sabine countered, feeling offended that she would even offer such a thing.

“Then how about a different offer? There is this nice Italian restaurant, I’m sure you would love to join me,” Chamber requested.

Sabine just cringed. There were many things that she had been surprised by in her life, but going on a date with Vincent would never be one of those things. “Look, Chamber, I’m busy, could you just go away?” she brushed him off. 

And yet the Frenchman only got closer, “Oh, but my sweet, it would be so nice, won’t you reconsider?” he prodded, attempting to stroke her hair.

“Tch.” Viper merely turned with a scoff, realizing she had better uses of her time.

“Perhaps I am mistaken, it was to my understanding you were not taken,” his voice called out to her, trying to get her to reconsider, “After all, I had asked Cypher, though, he did happen to mention a past relationship with a certain… shadowy figure, what was his name again? Ah, I remember, it was—”

Before he could even register what had happened, Viper was upon him, swiping out his legs as he was knocked to the ground in an instant, his head crashing into the dirt. Though he didn’t have enough time to reconfigure his bearings, he felt a solid boot being placed on his chest.

Viper’s cold green eyes stared at him like a poison ready to be injected directly into his skin, the woman aiming her gun down upon him. It was an intimidating sight, of which he was sure, and her gas mask covering the lower half of her face only added to her fear factor.

“DON’T EVEN SAY HIS NAME! IF YOU EVEN MENTION HIS NAME I’LL HAVE YOUR HEAD!!!” She yelled out, and Chamber could tell she was serious.

As she fired a single round, moving her aim slightly off of his head and directly to his right, just inches from him, the sound of the explosion pierced his ears, nearly deafening him if he wasn’t accustomed to it. 

This woman was going to kill him, he was sure. He knew that she wouldn’t go back on her work, and the thought terrified him. 

She stared at him like a hawk, or more accurately, a snake, one that was eyeing her prey with such intensity it would petrify her target dead on their feet. As he saw the vision of her sinking her fangs then and there, swallowing him whole and leaving absolutely no trace of him, that was just the kind of person she was. 

He was dead, she was going to shoot him! He thought, the rational part of his brain having turned off at that moment, though he doubted even with Sage’s help, she would be able to heal him once Viper was done with him.

To his surprise, she turned away, her rage still not subsiding in the slightest.

She just realized he wasn’t worth it. 

Chamber let loose a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. 

That woman was absolutely terrifying, her eyes, her composure, her capability, at first it was alluring, but now… 

He felt fear, fear of her possibly ever finding out what he had done.

XXX

Even when Viper left the training grounds, her rage was unsatisfied; she was far too angry for her to think of anything else. Honestly, what had gotten into Vincent? What within his mind, the golden metal-plated head of his told him she was any at all interested? And moreover, who had told him about the past relationship she had once held? She would find them, find them, and do unspeakable things to them, that would leave her unquenchable thirst satisfied. She would leave them soaking in a vat of her own poison, their outsides would dissolve, their eyes would be blinded, and their nervous system intact, just so they could feel the pain over and over.

Now that she thought about it, that might be a good fate for Vincent as well, if she got the chance. She would relish it.

She had never trusted the man known as ‘Chamber,’ the expert marksman who had the technology required for vast teleportation. Something about him just seemed too good to be true; his record was just too spotless, and it didn’t make sense. He had somehow garnered all this money, all this research, and all these skills without anyone the wiser, able to question how or why. And that part irked her; just what had he done to gain such skills? It was her instincts, in that matter, something about her, that just screamed. As if knowing something that she didn’t, something that she should know and yet didn’t; sooner or later, she would find out what it was, but until then…

She didn’t trust him, never had, and never would.

“Out of my way!” Sabine yelled angrily as she bumped into two other agents while walking through the hallway. Perhaps heading to her lab would help take her mind off things, then she would figure out her next course of action. 

The two figures, one of which was a young Korean woman with white hair and blue clothing, and the other was a black-skinned male from the United Kingdom, with orange highlights and a white jacket. 

This was Han Sunwoo ‘Jett’ and Jamie ‘Pheonix’ Adeyemi, two of the agents for the Valorant program, and radiants in their own right with exceptional abilities to control wind and fire, respectively.

“Tch. What the hell is her problem?” Jett asked in anger, turning to see Viper storming off to who knows where.

XXX

“You know, I still don’t get it!” The wind radiant commented, still hung up on Valorant’s resident chemist’s actions.

They were now in the headquarters cafeteria, surrounded by several tables and people she knew, some workers, some agents, much like herself and Phoenix. 

“Come on, Jett, I’ve already told you to let it go; there’s no use getting so mad about a little scuffle,” Jamie/Phoenix told her. Normally, he was also the one to pick a fight, usually. But here he was uncharacteristically calm about the matter. 

“I’ve got to agree with Phoenix over here, I’ve seen Viper when she’s angry, and usually it means it's time to back off,” Gecko, a Hispanic male with short green hair and tattoos, commented. 

“Maybe, but I’m not afraid of her, I just find it a bit shitty that she gets to have a temper tantrum and somehow it's our business,” Jett scoffed, letting her own feelings known.

“Well, there is one thing…” Killjoy spoke up, which perked all of their attention.

“Oh, KJ? Does that mean you know something about Little Miss Snake lady?” Raze, a Brazilian female with orange clothing, grey armour, and explosives at her hip, spoke up to her significant other. 

“Well, I might, I mean… after our latest experiment on Omen, Liam got pretty mad, I heard that he and Sage called to talk with her, and something must have happened… ”

“Hehe.”

“So that must be it? The old cobra is mad about her dumb experiment not going her way,” Jett concluded.

“Maybe, but I remember seeing that look in her eyes when the experiment got shut down. She seemed pretty intense with the way she was looking, like she had a personal stake in the results of the test,” Killjoy explained, giving her own witness account of how things went. 

“So, maybe there’s some sort of factor we’re missing? Something we don’t know?” Raze questioned.

“Heha!”

“What? Like the higher-ups knowing something about Omen that we don’t,” Gecko questioned.

“It might be true, I mean, Omen has been acting quite strange ever since the experiment went off,” Killjoy added. 

“HehehaHaHA!” 

“Will you just shut up over there, you little shit!” Jett yelled angrily as they all turned.

Witnessing a man who was by all measures covered from head to toe, wearing a long white trench coat that resembled a noir film main character. A large hat, with several of his tech-based gadgets on his person; though the most striking part of his appearance was his mask, which seemed to smooth out his face, it was grey, with blue glowing eyes that seemed to move to show his expression. 

“Oh, was I bothering you? My apologies, please carry on, your conversation is just too amusing,” he commented, speaking in a Middle Eastern accent, as he wiped a fake tear from his eye.

“Cypher, you know something!” Jett pointed out, knowing it to be true. Of course, he did, after all, he was the Valorant Protocol's chief information gatherer; he knew everything about everyone that there was to know. 

“What? Me? Of course, I don’t know anything. What is there to know?” he assured, a small twinkle in his eye and a sarcasm in his tone, letting them know he couldn’t be telling anything further from the truth. 

“Like hell I’m going to believe that!” the Korean yelled.

“I don’t see a reason why you wouldn’t, though I will admit, my memory has been hazy as of late, perhaps there might be something that could jog my memory, of the monetary fashion perhaps,” he proposed. 

So that was what he wanted? He wanted money. Cypher was an information broker after all, selling off his services and information to the best of the best, or anyone who was willing to pay for him.

“Oh, you want a reward now? I’ll show you a reward!” Phoenix stated, getting fed up with this guy’s laughing. “How about I show you how those goggles of yours react to my fire, yeah?” Jamie proposed, snapping his fingers, as a ball of light appeared within them, which was his signature ‘flash’ ability. Meanwhile, Jett took out her personal throwing knives, showing she was within a similar mindset. 

“Okay, okay… let us just say you owe me for this one,” Cypher placated, not willing to go into a battle with two radiants; he was more of an informer than a fighter. Besides, he built most of his clientele this way; under the threat of a gun, he would just have to give them a bit of knowledge to see just how resourceful he could be. 

As all of the agents leaned in to hear his story.

“Well then, let us say the story starts where all others do, at the beginning…”

XXX

She was working in the dark corners of her lab, diligently, analyzing compounds, creating formulas, and developing a new plan to restore what once was into what would be. 

Sabine needed to get this right this time; she was sure… she was sure, this time, it would be right. How many hours had she spent trying to perfect such an experiment? How many sleepless nights? She was beginning to think it was too much, and yet, at the same time, not nearly enough. No, she knew it wasn’t nearly enough, not enough to bring him back to her, to bring him back, that was all she needed. 

If she were being honest, she didn’t know what price she would pay, she didn’t know how much it would cost her, and yet she knew it would be worth it. Even if she had to sacrifice everything, everyone, to do so, it would be worth it. 

“Come on, come on,” she called out, having harvested a piece of Omen’s dark energy from so long ago, it looked like a vial of liquid black, a parasite of living darkness ripped straight from the stories, sitting within her vial. And yet, it was a piece of him, a part of his flesh she had taken in an effort to make him whole, to restore him from his fractured state. 

She hoped that radianite would be the key, which was essentially lifeblood to Radiants each on their own. The precious resource that both gave them life and death. 

She knew what happened to radiants when they overexerted their abilities, as although they had been a rare species only discovered less than a decade ago, there had been reported cases of misuse. Those who overexerted their abilities to the point of no return. 

And if reports were to be suggested, Sage’s omega counterpart was going to become one such case. Overworking her healing and resurrection capabilities to the point of breaking, being surrounded by ice-like green crystals as she was encumbered in such a state to heal anyone anytime soon. 

She wondered if this was a similar case of overusing one’s abilities to the point of breaking. 

 Being shattered into a million pieces, utterly devoid, utterly trapped, and unable to remain whole. 

All she had to do was join the pieces back together. 

“Come on, come on…” she muttered, using a small-scale prototype that they had constructed of the larger model. Hoping that this radianite recollider would be of much better use than the other one had after tinkering with it. 

And yet, despite activating, the electricity pulsing outwards and doing exactly what she thought it would… 

Nothing.

Nothing whatsoever, no changes, to resurfacing of blood, nothing. It was just a black mist, as she was beginning to feel it always had been.

“Argh! Damn it!” she roared, throwing everything off her desk, the numerous vials and flasks crashing onto the floor, spilling their contents and running amok in whatever they landed in. No doubt such expenditures would have been valuable, and the money lost was not something that she needed, especially considering these ‘budget cuts’ that Brimstone was talking about. 

And yet she didn’t care. 

Her breath racing in her rage, a stray hair out of place on her forehead, and gritting her teeth.

All of these whiteboards, all of these calculations, and experiments, they were all for nothing. 

Nothing.

No matter how long she spent racking her brain, the answer would come; no matter how many tests she ran, her outcome only seemed more impossible. It was like she was trying to rewrite fate, to reforge the heavens themselves, but physics just didn’t allow her to do so. The laws of the world were broken by Radiants, beings with unimaginable power that defied all logic, and yet all their ability was lost on her. She didn’t have a way to achieve her goal.

It was hopeless…

And now, sitting in an empty room with her rage, the lights are off, and everywhere is filled with darkness. She cast a small glance towards the nearby window, where they had conducted the most recent experiment on Omen— how she loathed the codename he had been given, as if cursing her very prospect of returning him to who he once was. 

She saw her reflection, standing there, alone…

XXX

(Flashback - Several years ago)

“Alright, is the subject ready?” a voice broke out throughout the intercom, one that was familiar, though it sounded younger, more filled with emotion, and less disdain than she usually spoke with. 

“Ouch! We’ve known each other for so long, Vi, and yet that’s all you can call me, I’m hurt!” Another voice in a chair spoke, this one being male, told her, feigning a grievous wound over his heart that would not heal. This was, of course, Naruto Uzumaki, the same male from her dreams, the man that haunted her. And the scientist on the intercom was undoubtedly Sabine Callas; gone was the usual combat outfit that she usually wore. Now she wore a more casual garb, which consisted of a white lab coat over a grey turtle neck, black pencil skirt, and stockings. Something that Naruto had on many times described as ‘an outfit with so much sex appeal he didn’t know how to control himself whenever he looked at her.’ Sabine would just roll her eyes and usually tell him that he was reading too much into her outfit, but she would continue to wear such an ensemble, secretly enjoying his comments about her.

“I’m referring to you as a subject because this is officially recorded, so please, cease your foolish actions; this is on record,” Sabine noted to him, a hint of mirth within her voice. 

“Ah, so that means I can’t talk to you about last night, a shame, I was hoping we’d get up more of that when this is done,” Naruto said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. “So, anyway, are these sensors supposed to be like this?” he asked, referring to the electrodes that were supposed to be taped to his chest. 

Sabine sighed, “No, they’re not…” she told him, before walking over from the observation area with the various monitors to the testing room, where Naruto was situated. “You know, you should really stop pulling on them.”

“Hey, I can’t help it, they feel weird, and— ahhh! A little cold!” He squirmed as Viper opened up his shirt and placed a few of the strips over his chest, trying to keep her formal composure. 

“We could just use needles, if you wanted; those would be far more likely to stay in place if you’re just going to complain with these,” she said coldly.

“Yeah, let’s not do that. But I mean, come on, you’d expect me to get a reward or something for all of this,” he said, as she put another electrode over his bare chest. He was well-muscled, a testament to his hard work in training his body, as well as his powers. Training himself like that of an Olympic swimmer, built for flexibility and speed, seeing as how he had no use for an unnecessarily large body like that of a bodybuilder. She happened to find it quite nice to look at, if she were willing to admit, and exactly her type. 

“Oh, please, as if you deserve the reward, I’m the one doing all the work in this experiment,” she commented.

“That’s true,” Naruto agreed. When it came down to most of these tests, they were merely light work for him, a lot of registries and blood samples needing to be taken, a lot of reactions needed to be examined. For him, it was simply doing what he had always done, but for her, it was her life’s work, trying to understand how radiants interacted with the world. Leading to much headway in the research needed to create and maintain Radiants and their connection to radianite, given that there were so few recorded accounts of the subspecies.

“But even still,” the blonde grabbed onto her wrist, forcing her to look straight into his eyes, those emerald orbs he loved so much locking straight with his ocean blue irises. “Can’t a guy ask for a bit of love from his fiancée?” he enquired. 

Sabine's light skin flushed slightly in a way that only Naruto could perform, as she went back, “W-well, it would be unprofessional,” she tried to argue. 

There were cameras, and this was a government-produced lab that they were in, and there was already speculation about her ability to keep her personal interests out of the project. The HR department had a field day with their newfound relationship of scientist and research volunteer they had been given, though, above all else, she proved through her skill and grit alone that she was the best. That they couldn’t do all she had done without her, and Naruto was one of the few radiants who had actually agreed to volunteer for such research, so they couldn’t do such experiments without him.

As Naruto got close to her, their faces were only inches apart. “I’m okay with that, after all, I am risking my life for this, who says I shouldn’t be able to have a kiss every now and then?” 

“Very well, you may proceed,” she said, her hot breath melting against his skin.

Naruto didn’t need any further permission, as he pressed his face into her own, feeling the softness of her lips as they touched. The warmth of her skin, even as she was usually so cold, he would never get used to the feeling. Sabine let out a slight hum, her eyes rolling into the back of her head, taking pleasure in the action as well. 

Naruto had always been like this, ever since she had known him; he had always been an obnoxious flirt, and something about him always seemed to gravitate towards her. He was like the sun, ever so bright and uplifting. Of course, at first, she had tried to keep things professional, and yet he had the distinct ability to worm his way directly into her heart.

Originally, the blonde radiant had been nothing more than her subject, a volunteer for the Everett-Linde Research Facility, the top-secret collaboration of both Omega and Alpha Earth, and the leading research lab for all things Radianite. Naruto used to be a soldier, one who used his powers to wage war and help in conquest, using his powers in an effort to benefit both their country and the world. And yet, he didn’t always feel that his abilities were being put to good use, that he was actually saving as many lives as he was taking. And, sure, he got to take down his fair share of bad guys, but at what cost, and how many people would they lose in hopes of settling petty squabbles he didn’t really care about?.

And so, in an effort to make a difference, Naruto volunteered for the Kingdom Organization, the leading scientific corporation aiming to harness the power of Radianite. With prospects of renewable energy, enhanced medical programs, and finding out what sort of ‘sickness’ was causing such a rise in radiants in this day and age. The blonde hoped to make a difference, that the Kingdom Organization could make sense of his powers, and create a new step forward for humanity. That was why she had been called in to analyze what exactly made Naruto tick, move, and fulfill his life as a Radiant. 

Of course, at the time, she had strictly been professional, and yet, Naruto had somehow seen that as an affront to himself, one that needed to be rectified. That was to say, he was relentless, and eventually, he whittled her down; one date, and then another, and another, until finally, he popped the big question… and she said yes. 

Sabine would say, if she were being honest, she had never met a man like Naruto, someone so willing to go for the greater good that the second he found out he had powers, he enlisted, and when that wasn’t working, he decided on another way. He was kind, compassionate, and slightly mischievous in the ways only he knew how to be. 

And she loved him for it, she loved him more than anything, and she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

Currently, they didn’t have a wedding planned anytime soon, and it wasn’t like they were having much trouble with the organization. Naruto had been born an orphan without any parents, and hers were estranged to say the least. She always figured they would have a small wedding, if anything, without too much hassle or constraint. And yet, Naruto was still looking forward to the prospect of seeing her in her wedding dress; she didn’t want to deny him.

As Naruto pulls back, a pleasant look on his face, “That’s my girl,” he smiles.

Sabine just rolled her eyes again, “You pulled your sensors off of you on purpose.” It wasn’t a question, more like a statement, an assessment of what he did. 

“Maybe, I just wanted to see my future wife before her big breakthrough,” Naruto said smoothly. 

Sabine did her best to keep her composure, but somehow Naruto always had the effect of getting her to unwind. Luckily, she managed to keep herself in check this time, though she did note that Mrs. Uzumaki did have a nice ring to it. 

“You always say that. This is just a routine test, nothing we haven’t done before,” she merely told him.

“Maybe, but it doesn’t hurt to be optimistic, especially when the lead scientist is so beautiful,” Naruto shrugged.

Sabine just ignored him, not wanting to waste any more time and company money with their light banter. As such, she merely returned to her post, ready to get everything started. 

“Are you ready?” she asked, locking eyes with him. He nodded, and soon began the test.

As several steel rods raised in front of him, handlebars, two of them that were parallel to one another on a square machine, Naruto gripped onto them. Soon, he began to activate his radiant powers, his eyes glowing an eerie blue, as black and azure energy spiraled from his fists and arms like lightning. Even the room started to darken, as if sucking in all the light away like an endless black hole, an abyss in which nothing could exist. 

This was his Radiant power, and still the most unbelievable she had ever seen. Of course, she would later see radiants with interesting abilities, Jett with the capability of creating a hurricane. Neon, whose body created a vast electrical output and was capable of running at over 100 mph. Even Astra, which Kay/o had described as being able to ‘destroy’ worlds, didn’t hold a candle. 

Because Naruto had powers over darkness, the abyss, and worlds beyond their own realm. Able to make himself intangible, create objects made of such, and travel vast distances in an instant. And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

As Naruto’s dark energy coalesced above him, morphing and forming that of a circle, a portal, which seemed to stem from another dimension entirely, even she grew a little awestruck, even if she had seen such a feat over a hundred times. Monitors flared, igniting and collecting so much data that even the dials were large enough to read. It was a technological marvel, a marvel of human evolution she witnessed, this dark portal that led into spaces unknown, and yet here she was seeing it. Dark energies, dark matter, element X, all the things that seemed to be theoretical were before her, ready to be unleashed into the world. And she knew, a small part of her, that humanity wasn’t ready for what he could provide. They hadn’t reached the technological advancements to even understand what made him tick, and despite all her efforts, she hadn’t even begun to scratch the surface of Naruto’s abilities. 

__________________________________________________________________

Elsewhere, two figures stood on opposite sides, one on the side of Omega Earth and the other representing Alpha Earth. Two snipers, each with equally good aim, the same level of skill in fact. 

And at the same time, each of them fired right into the Radianite collider that they were ordered to destroy…

__________________________________________________________________

Boom!

A crash was heard within the Everett-Linde Research Facility, startling all those within. The power seemed to shut off, flickering before fading to black, different from how Naruto pulled the light in, as all of the sensors turned off, as seemingly the power had shut off in the room. 

“What’s happening?” Naruto was left to question the test over, as it would seem that there were bigger problems.

He had felt it; the entire building shook in its place, as a loud echo was heard from all around, no doubt for miles. He could tell something wasn’t right.

Sabine donning a serious expression on her face, it was then that the backup power went off, and the alarms started blaring. 

—-Beep! Beep! Beep!---

A red alarm started to ignite upon the ceiling, Naruto feeling an ounce of foreboding, knowing that it could never be good. 

“No, it can’t be…” the woman said, and immediately she rushed towards the nearby computer to try and see what was happening.

“Sabine? Sabine?” Naruto called out to her, instantly rushing towards his fiancée’s side.

“No, no, no…” she chanted, pulling up the security cameras to try and see what was going on in the facility, what she saw only caused her to feel an even further sense of dread. What she saw was people running, scientists and security folk alike trying to flee, and she could imagine why.

“We’ve got to go, I’ve got to try and stop it…” the woman muttered, before rushing out of the room through a nearby door.

Naruto’s eyes widened as well, quickly chasing after her, passing several people running in the opposite direction, away from where they were headed. “Wait? What’s happening?” 

Minutes later, they were in a large room that was now empty, given that everyone left, as Sabine was working on a control panel. 

“Damn it!” she shouted in rage, unable to control anything in the system. 

As Naruto put a hand on her shoulder, trying to get her attention, “Sabine, what’s this alarm mean?” he asked her, as she and pretty much everyone else looked absolutely terrified. 

“The Radianite collider, it’s becoming unstable… someone— something must have caused it to burst, and now the system isn’t letting me shut it down,” Sabine said, actually fearful of the situation they were in.

Naruto too grew serious, “And what’ll happen if it does burst?” he asked.

As she looked up at him, “Well, the machine was meant to make use of unstable radianite, supercharging it and making it more dense for suitable use. We hoped to use the substance for energy, but its potential was too great. If it bursts and loses, the amount of unstable radiation within the explosion will release all of its energy all at once, and….”

“Sabine, look at me! What’ll happen?” Naruto shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders, already knowing the answer.

“It’ll be an explosion great enough to level a small country,” she concluded, as Naruto’s eyes widened.

To think that the research facility here had enough firepower to resemble a nuclear bomb. Though the facility was in a remote region of New Mexico, if it blew up, it would cause an untold amount of damage to several states nearby, as well as Mexico to the south. That wasn’t to account for any other untold side effects that might arise from such changes in weather patterns, and if radianite particles would be carried through the winds, likely affecting the entire hemisphere.

That was to say, everything was not good if the thing blew up.

“Really, and you guys didn’t think that creating such a giant freaking bomb wouldn’t be dangerous!” 

“It wasn’t supposed to ever overload this much; it was supposed to help us understand radianite, and we were hoping to change the world with such advances. Something must have disrupted it, and now the system— Damn it!” she shouted again, at the terminal. “It’s not letting me shut it down!”

“How long do we have?”

“At this rate… maybe 5 minutes, maybe 10, if we can’t stop it.”

“Is there anything else you can do?”

As Viper looked up, “There is a kill switch, one nearby the main machine, that should be able to shut the machine off.” 

Naruto’s form turned to darkness, as Sabine saw him move. 

“W-what are you doing?!” She questioned, seeing as how Naruto had closed the blast door in between them, a wall of reinforced glass that was able to survive even a grenade and come out standing. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll go find the switch, but I’m faster. Try to see if you can shut it off from the outside,” he told her.

“Naruto, you don’t honestly think I’ll—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Naruto had already left, as she saw him morph into his shadow form and head towards the doorway towards the main collider, which led to a more ambient giant room that had no ceiling, seeing as how it seemed the entire facility rested upon it. He could see the sky and the sun, as well as the large machine that seemed to resemble an octagon-like dome that was about the size of a delivery truck.

Sabine waited there, knowing that she couldn’t manage to shut the collider off from the outside. It felt like hours, or a lifetime, fearing the worst, and yet it likely wasn’t more than a few minutes, minutes filled with trepidation, yearning to hear Naruto’s voice.

“Sabine? Sabine! Are you there?” Naruto called out, and a second later, she could see him, more out of breath than the last time he was in her view. 

“I’m here!” She yelled out.

“I tried to shut it off just like you said, but something’s wrong; it's still gaining power, I think it’s about to overload,” he told her.

“You have to get out of there, there isn’t anything else that can shut it off!” she told him, pleading with him to try and escape.

Naruto wasn’t so sure, “I don’t know if I can do that, but there might still be a way.”

“No, there’s nothing! We have to evacuate, get to safety!” she tried to reason. There might still be time to get into the bunker down at the bottom of the facility, hopefully—maybe that would be able to protect them. 

And yet the blonde merely shook his head, “Not us, just you, you have to get out of here—”

“No, believe me, Naruto, once this thing starts, there isn’t any way of stopping it!”

“That’s where you’re wrong… Sabine, I can divert the blast, somewhere— a place that won’t be able to harm anyone,” he said in absolute seriousness. It was the only way he could think of that would keep everyone out of harm. 

Instantly, Sabine realized what he was thinking about doing, “No! Naruto, you can’t! You’ll never be able to make it out in time!” she told him. 

“It’s the only way, I mean, you said it yourself, if this thing blows up, so many people will get caught in the crossfire, I can’t let that happen,” he resolved.

“But what about us? What about you!” Sabine shouted; she was beginning to cry now, fearing for the worst.

Naruto merely smiled at her in the way that only told her he was accepting of his fate, “Don’t worry, I’ll make it back. All that matters is that you stay safe,” he lied, placing a hand right over the glass to feel her warmth.

Sabine clutched at it like a lifeline, placing a hand over his to try to reach out to him, and yet there was a barrier in their way. 

It was then that they saw particles, white flickers of light, all around Naruto start to form, his hair lifting from his head, as if he was about to be struck by lightning.

“I have to go now, Sabine, just remember, I love you!” He told her, looking at the machine before locking eyes with his lover one final time. As he then activated his powers, reinforcing the glass wall with his darkness to try and protect her, if only a little. 

Naruto then went over the machine, which was starting to build up with energy so much that it was beginning to form a white dome of energy. He surrounded the collider with his darkness, a dome of shadows instantly appearing, as he tried to bring it into his shadow realm. The place his body slipped into every instance he used his powers, the machine building up, about to explode. 

All the while, he heard Sabine cry out to him. 

“Naruto… NARUTO!!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

An explosion was all she heard, and when the room that held the collider opened up, it was empty, with no one to be found…

XXX

Emerald eyes flickered back to life as soon as they faded, seemingly lost in memories. Who knows how long she had been standing there, trapped in that endless state of lost memories. 

It had been so long ago, so, so long. 

And yet she could still remember, she could remember everything, she could remember every hair on Naruto’s head, every crease on his clothing. 

But most of all, she could remember the feeling, the fear of not knowing what was going to happen, the fear of losing Naruto, and then, when everything was done, she could remember Naruto not being there. That despite all of their plans, everything they had hoped for and the life they had laid, all of it had been gone in an instant. 

Naruto saved so many lives that day, including hers, and yet she was never the same again.

How she longed for his touch again, to feel his warmth and to see his smile. Yet all she had were memories, memories, and a reminder of what she lost that day.

XXX

(Elsewhere, in another room.)

“You seem tired, old friend,” Wei spoke kindly, with genuine concern in her voice. They were in a dark room, filled with many monitors, as Liam Byrne sat there, looking, researching.

“Tired, I suppose that’s how I have been for a long time,” he remarked. Currently, he was looking at old security footage, all of the experiments Viper had spearheaded in her attempt to restore what was lost to her, never succeeding.

He had to hand it to her, that woman, she was determined. Really determined. 

“You think we made the right choice, with Sabine, that is?” He questioned. 

“We did what had to be done. Give it time, I’m sure things will change,” Sage said calmly.

“Right… I don’t think she’s even forgiven you; she won’t give up, I just know it,” he told her, continuing to look at the screen, this time it was the most recent experiment. The so-called ‘Radianite Re-collider,’ a machine that they hoped could rebuild Omen from what he is back to his original form. And yet, all he could see was the dark radiant turning into a monster, straight from one’s nightmares, just like he did before.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way, he knew.

And he had only seen such a being once before. 

It had been a while since the infamous ‘fracture’ incident had become famous, and yet its interference had been swept under the rug; everyone had forgotten about Naruto Uzumaki, and the hero that day had vanished without a trace. Everyone except for one person, Sabine, hadn’t forgotten, and she hadn’t given up either. And so she had recruited him, before they formed the Valorant program, and being a former officer of Naruto Uzumaki, he had agreed. 

Sabine believed Naruto was still alive, that he didn’t just die or fade away because there hadn’t been a body, or even a single trace of him. And at first, he had been a little skeptical, but he had assembled a squad of some of his most elite soldiers who had known Naruto to see if what she said was true. 

What they found was… more than what they expected.

In the deserts of New Mexico, they had found a being with powers similar to Naruto’s, and Sabine had known that it was Naruto. Though he wasn’t as certain. 

To put it simply, what they had found was a monster, a creature of nightmares, and dark tendrils poised at the ready. 

This ‘darkness’, as they had called it, eliminated 3 of his men before they had a chance, and 2 more until they managed to regroup themselves. Whatever that being was, it was an unstoppable killing machine, a void. 

Sabine had thought she would be able to reason with such a being, going along with them for such a reason, but he knew the truth… she had paid the price for it. 

She was stabbed, right in her lumbar region on her left side, right above her hip. Luckily, this did not reach any of her vitals, and eventually, they were able to get medical attention, but the scar still remained, a reminder of that day. He was reminded, too, of the lives they had lost against that thing.

In the end, they were able to subdue the creature, though it had been luck more than anything, as well as his quick wit, but even still, the losses had been immense. They had taken that thing to a monk in China, a radiant who they called a sage, a miracle healer who was said to cure any and all ailments. 

Sabine wanted Sage to cure Naruto, knowing that for some reason, when the radianite collider blew up, it had shattered him, turning him into something else, something monstrous. And Sage had been able to restore him, at least what was left, without any memories or form…

Thus, Omen was born, the Omen for change, whether for good or bad, they didn’t know. 

And all Liam could think was that he didn’t want to see such a being again and would do anything to stop it.

He had allowed Sabine her experiment to try and bring him back, yet this one was the first one to show that whatever had attacked them in the desert, it was still inside of Omen. 

Wanting to break free, he feared what would happen when it did. 

“She won’t forgive me, either, knowing I’m stopping her from Na—” he reflected.

Crash. 

Before a crash was heard in the hallway, they both turned, seeing Omen in the corner of the room, accidentally knocking over a trash can in the shadows, masking himself and listening in on their conversation. How much he found out, he couldn’t say; he only hoped it wasn’t enough to get him to find out who he really was.

Sage widened her eyes as she saw Omen’s fingers curl in anger, as she expected him to lash out. 

Brimstone immediately reached for his pistol, ready to gun the man down should he ever turn into that thing again, and he saw it… and he felt betrayed.

“RAAHHH!!” Omen cried out, and when they were expecting an outburst, instead, what they received was the agent disappearing back into the shadows.

They weren’t sure if he would return. 

XXX 

Omen was angry. 

He was irate, a rage brimming inside of him, of reasons he didn’t even know. 

He didn’t know a lot, he realized, from the moment his existence sprung he realized he had no idea who he was. Was he a lab experiment? Was he a creature that just popped up without being born into existence? Did he have a creator? Did he have a life outside of what he knew? All of these questions left him wanting. 

An endless void writhing within him, a hole in his chest that he felt would never be filled. Not unless he knew who he was, and who he was beginning to become. 

He wanted to know whether he was a bad person. Did he kill people before he became who he was? Of course, that would explain why he was so good at it now. 

Omen, was the name he had been given, which to him was more than a code name, but it described him entirely. He was the agent who had no background and no life outside of the Valorant protocol. 

It was as if he were a shadow, without any autonomy of his own. He had taken up a few hobbies, of course, trying to dull the emptiness he felt, like knitting, but even that hadn’t quelled his feelings. Why did he have such talents in the art of killing and firing a rifle? Why could he use his powers like they were second nature to him without cost? 

And why did he feel like his life was right there, and yet strangely, beyond his grasp? 

There were times when he would have nightmares, living another life that was so far out of reach. 

And of course… there were the voices, the voices that were so loud and quiet at the same time. One begging him to do good, and the other begging him to do evil, the dark one was beginning to win out; he could feel it.

That was why he did the tests, to try and mitigate himself, to bring him back to what he once was, whatever that might have been. It couldn’t have been any worse than what he felt now.

He knew that the others knew something, if not what he was, then who, who he had been; he could just feel it in the looks they gave him, at least the higher-ups. But that look Brimstone had given him, the look of resolve that he had given, that had all but confirmed his theory.

They were hiding things.

They were willing to put him down, despite all he did for them, despite all the times that he helped them; they were willing to put him down like a dog. Like he was some sort of monster that needed to be restrained… he supposed he was a sort of monster, in the end.

Not knowing who he was, he would feel fear too. And he did, at what he was becoming.

As the void within him grew, the darkness only seemed to grow more powerful. 

He felt… joyous, that the one they called Viper seemed dead set on helping him, even if he didn’t know why. Though he did have to wonder, did she, too, know who he was? Was that why she was helping him in trying to regain his lost memories? 

In the end, he didn’t know who he could trust, and he didn’t even know if he could trust himself, for that matter. Everything was just so confusing.

All he needed was some answers… and he knew he wasn’t going to receive them from those who wouldn’t help him.   

Cling. Cling. Cling. 

Traveling throughout the halls of Valorant headquarters, he was met with a man he knew all too well, just sitting there, waiting, and leaning against the wall. In his hands appeared to be that of a small coin, though in actuality it was a part of a reconnaissance tool used for tracking the movements of others, one of his specialties. He could plant the thing on anyone and would know their exact locations, or he could plant it on any doorway, monitoring its activity without anyone noticing. 

The figure was, of course, Cypher, the intel broker he knew all too well.

As the agent’s slitted eyes lit up, creasing as if he were smiling, “Well now, it would seem a little shadow has lost his way, unable to find his Peter Pan, isn’t that unfortunate,” he remarked as Omen passed him. 

“Rrrrr… I don’t have time for this!” the specter told him, not wanting to deal with the man right now, always a price, always trying to charge him; he wouldn’t find his answers from him either. 

“Oh, but I think my time would be well worth it, old friend. Or perhaps you think your time is running out, is that it?” Cypher questioned as Omen turned to look at him. If he were normal, he would look surprised, or perhaps his eyes would be formed into a firm glare, and yet he wasn’t, so his face looked like it always did. Despite this, Cypher could tell he had got his attention. 

Did Cypher know about the darkness, the voices, and his condition?

“And what would you know about my time, what would you know about MY SHADOWS?!” Omen questioned, as darkness seemed to condense around him.

Cypher was not easily startled, though he would admit, inwardly, that the figure in front of him did give him some cause for concern. Though he merely stood his ground, knowing that if this were to come down to a fight, he couldn’t hope to match the specter in raw power.

He knew he needed to play this right, for both of their sakes. “Hey now, easy there, I don’t mean to offend,” the Middle Eastern man placated. “I merely meant to extend my aid; you looked like you could use the help, friend.”

This seemed to calm the monster in him down. But even so, Omen was sceptical. “Help? You don’t help anyone but yourself.”

“Ouch, that hurts,” Cypher jested, as if taking a knife wound straight to the heart. “Though it isn’t entirely untrue. However, I believe what I have to say would be to your benefit.”

“Hmmmm…” Omen hummed, which was his cue to tell the man to go on. If he didn’t like what he had to say, well, things might not end so well for the broker; he knew this, and as such, got straight to the point.

“I know you’ve been searching for your memories, and I have been more than willing to give you them, for a generous price, of course—”

“Hnnnn…” Omen growled.

Cypher realized he should just speed things along. “However, let us just say the price has been paid, there are a variety of people who have felt it would be a good investment to have you taken care of. After I pulled some strings, of course, you can thank me most generously later—”

“Hrrrr…”

“Or whenever you feel like, hehe!” He nervously laughed, realizing Omen was only getting angrier. “Let me just say, try to take a visit to Sabine’s bedquarters— although you didn’t hear that from me— there you might find something that will lead you to your past, I can only hope,” he told him, instructing the 

Omen looked at him, and he could imagine the gears turning in his head, the expression changing, and he could picture them. Of course, he couldn’t quite see them, considering his head never actually changed from the three slits that appeared to stare into him. But, one could imagine, he supposed, it didn’t hurt to hold a childish imagination now and again, he supposed.

“...” he didn’t speak a word, didn’t grunt.

All he did was morph back into the shadows, appearing in a different location, and Cypher knew he was gone.

As the man let loose a breath he didn’t quite know he was holding, ‘That was… more intense than I thought it was going to be,’ he thought to himself.

Though it was over. And he hadn’t been lying, though he hadn’t exactly been telling the truth. Some people wanted to see him return to his original form, himself included. He had just lied about how many. Naruto was a good man and a soldier who helped not just his allies, but others as well, and he could respect him for it, even as he was reduced to nothing more than a shadow. 

Though he did have to wonder, what would really happen when Omen regained his memories?

He realized things would be a lot more interesting with Naruto around, more profitable too. That was all he could really ask for.

XXX

Sabine had an uneasy feeling. 

She didn’t know when it had arisen in her, or perhaps it had been with her for some time. But she could tell that something wasn’t right.

As she mixed various chemicals and did her calculations, it was like there was an itch in the back of her mind, something needed to be scratched. She didn’t know if it would bode well, and so she stood her ground. 

Her hands were shaking slightly, and then she saw it… 

Out of the corner of her eye, and yet she saw it, off towards one of the walls in her lab, in the experimentation room, the same place where they had experimented on Omen, she saw him.

Naruto, sitting there, standing there, not noticing her. But it was enough to cause her heart to skip a beat, to believe, to lie to herself, that he wasn’t really gone. But the next second, he disappeared, the same with her hopes of returning.

A part of her told her she should move on, the scientist part of herself told her to be logical. That no one, not even Naruto, could have survived such a blast, and it had been a miracle that he did in some form. But he was gone now, and there was no changing that.

He had already hurt her once before, of that she knew. As the woman reached a tentative hand up towards the left side of her abdomen, where that thing had stabbed her. It wasn’t Naruto— no, she could never reason inNaruto hurting her, she knows he would never do such a thing. It had been what he had become, that darkness, it scared her as well, and when she had come across it, she had been utterly terrified. The feeling of it ripping into her flesh, seeing it tear apart her fellow men, she still had the scar to prove it.

She had been terrified, of course, she had, who wouldn’t?

If she were being honest, she was still terrified of what the creature was, which was why she hadn’t gotten close to Omen, why she had kept him at arm's length. Because he didn’t remind her of Naruto at all, he reminded her of the monster he had become. 

So she had to wonder, had she been performing her experiments on Omen to bring back Naruto, or had it merely been so she could get rid of what he had become? Even though she didn't know at this point, everything had just become a blur, truthfully. 

Her hands shook, her figure out of breath.

Seeing Naruto again had been the last straw for her, and perhaps the mark on her body was a constant reminder that there was no hope. That Naruto, despite her efforts, wasn’t in there.

Perhaps she needed to listen. 

Although don’t get her wrong, she knew what she was doing; she had read all the books on the subject, even written a few of her own when she had her time. 

The 5 stages of grief could be classified as: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, acceptance.

Now, most people would say that constantly trying to bring back your former lover from his unearthly, shadowy cocoon as a shadowy monster that he had remained after taking a beyond nuclear level bond within his pocket dimension tied to his existence wasn’t quite the acceptance stage. Though to be fair, she didn’t know if she could quite accept such lunacy, but that had been her life for the past 5 years, even before the Valorant protocol had been formed. 

But even so, many would say that she hadn’t quite accepted Naruto’s death, and they were right.

Though she didn’t know if she was ready to accept such a thing, if she ever truly could, she just didn’t know. 

With a sigh, Sabine finally ended up leaving her lab, with a dark circle around her eyes; she hadn’t been sleeping much. Not with the nightmares she had been getting, and perhaps she needed a change of scenery.

“Honestly, I don’t know what to do…” she told herself, looking at her reflection, a shadow of her former self. 

XXX

The walk through Valorant headquarters was a desolate one; not many people were up so early in the evening, as her clock had told her, it was half past 1, and she had spent much of her time in her lab, too long, and yet at the same time not long enough to achieve her goal. Despite all her wanting, despite all her grief, she still hadn’t broken through. 

Most of her fellow agents were asleep by now, and the ones that weren’t were more than likely in their rooms, rather than roaming the halls. It was peaceful, alone in such a place, or it would have been.

However, it didn’t quite shake the unease she felt. 

Perhaps she was tired, perhaps it was the lack of sleep she had gotten, her mind trying to run a thousand miles per minute, and her constant overwork to keep herself going at such a pace. 

Naruto would constantly lecture her about such a habit, and he would smile at her, and tell her that good ideas come at the most unexpected moments, and that if she was looking for a breakthrough, then she would be more likely to find it when her mind was well rested, rather than overloaded with all her thoughts. She, of course, tried to listen to him; she would go right back into being a workaholic, constantly looking for her next discovery.

There were times when he would find her sitting at her desk in their shared apartment, and he would sometimes lay a blanket over her or bring her to their shared bed. Back then, they had decided to live together, partially because they were going to the same place, partially because they had been ready to take that big step into their lives.

She loved times like that, the simple moments rather than the big events, of which Naruto would also plan because he had a habit of wanting to spoil her. 

And yet they were gone now, tossed into the wind in a single moment. She sold that apartment and had gotten rid of all of their belongings, having felt that everything was a bad reminder of what she had lost. 

And now she was alone…

Click-Clack! Click-Clack! Click-Clack!

The sound of her shoes echoing across the metallic floors rang out and was heard in the long hours of the night as Viper headed for her room. And with each step, she felt the hole in her chest only grow; she could feel something wasn’t right. As she went on, she could tell something was wrong, something was very wrong.

Until finally she reached her door, tentative hands reached up towards the door, fearful at what might lie beyond, as a dark and hostile aura seemed to leak from the bottom.

Her instincts screamed out at her, telling her not to go forward, to turn back, that she wouldn’t like it if she pressed forward. Almost to the point that she couldn’t take it anymore, no matter how many times she closed her eyes, she could see him, right there, as if he were alive, as if he were right in front of her; she hated it. She should stop, she should run, that’s what her body told her, and yet she still pressed on.

And yet, what more did she have to lose? 

She opened it, and then she saw him.

Omen, or what appeared to be Omen, or rather his darkness. The dark, monstrous figure that lay within him, tendrils ripping from his back, much like she had seen before. He was just sitting there, along the edge of her bed, looking at a single photo, her photograph of her and Naruto, which she had kept on her nightstand. A memory of better times, and he was desecrating it; darkness leaking from his figure, an undiscernible expression appearing on his face, or lack thereof.

What was he doing in her room? What was he doing here of all places?

Immediately as the door opened, the figure turned towards her, as a true ounce of fear was laced upon her.

She realized, this wasn’t her Naruto, no, it couldn’t be her Naruto. 

“Hmmmm…” it hummed as it stood, a dull and guttural growl, much like a beast, the same types of sounds she had heard from him before, as that sent a shiver down her spine.

It was then that Sabine, on reflex, took a hold of her gun, a small sidearm, a BP-9 Classic that aimed straight at him. The creature took a step forward, tendrils poised at the ready. She glared at it with dark, heated emerald eyes that seemed to bore into the creature. And yet it still stood, moving towards her. 

“Stop! Don’t move, I mean it!” she roared out, even as the figure took another step. 

She aimed down the sight of her pistol, her finger on the trigger, her hands shaking, twitching, ready to fire, her instincts begging her to fire. 

“HNnnnnnGGGhh!!!” it snarled. 

“I’m warning you! I’ll shoot!” Sabine yelled again, this time she really meant it, she would kill this thing, once and for all, if she had to. Naruto was dead, she realized, and he was never coming back again. 

“Hummnnugh!... Look!” the shadow shouted at her, walking towards her, as it was then that she turned away. Not being able to look the creature in the eyes as she finished it off.

No matter how hard she tried, she knew Naruto was still in there, even if it pained her. 

“Look at me! Look at me! Sabine! Look at me!” it shouted once again. This time, she closed her eyes even tighter, knowing she wouldn’t like what she saw when she opened them.

She could feel his presence, right there in front of her gun, his chest at its end. If she fired now, she would know it would splatter his body all around, her bullet reaching him point-blank.

“Who and I, Sabine? Who am I?!” Omen yelled, as she reached one of her arms to comfort her around herself, as if a warm hug. 

Her body told her that Naruto was gone, that he was gone forever, that she should pull the trigger, and yet…

“Sabine… look at me.”

His voice was a lot different now, more human, more familiar.

He sounded like Naruto.

‘A trick!’ she realized within her mind, a trick she realized. 

Whatever the shadow was, whatever Omen was, it wasn’t her Naruto.

Because her Naruto was gone, and he would never return to her again. 

That was what her brain told her, the logical side of her, the scientist within her. And yet, the part of her that was woman, the part of her that yearned to see Naruto again, her more emotional side waivered, if only a little, and yet it was enough. 

She caught sight of him, opening a single one of her eyes for the slightest of moments, seeing him in her peripheral vision.  

As she nearly lost all her breath in that moment. 

Because what she saw wasn’t a monster that she was expecting, it wasn’t even Omen, but it was, in fact, her Naruto. 

Naruto instantly caught sight that she saw him, “Sabine I-I—” he tried to reach for her, but she moved. 

But she moved, taking a step back, not being able to look at the ‘thing’ that had portrayed herself as her former—now dead— lover.

“Stay back! Don’t…” she said, still holding the gun towards his position, this time her voice a lot weaker than before, more strained, even though she didn’t know if she would pull the trigger. 

It had to be a lie, she knew, an illusion that she was seeing, and she knew it couldn’t be real. This felt like a dream more than anything, after all, after so long trying to find and get Naruto back, here he was, alive and well… that sounded too good to be true, and in her case, she believed it wasn’t.

Even still, as her words and her mind said otherwise, she still felt conflicted, as a small set of stray tears leaked from her eyes. The liquid spilling from her closed eyelid, falling down her pale cheek, and dripping down her chin, only to fall helplessly onto her coat. Such an action would go unnoticed, especially in the darkness of the room. 

Even so, she heard a rustling in front of her, and she then found a set of tender fingers wiping away her tears as they fell.

“Sabine, look at me…” he said, much closer than he should have been. 

As the small, hopeless part of her turned to look at him. Sure enough, Naruto was there; however, it wasn’t exactly the Naruto she knew. No, she had known him enough to memorize the small idiosyncrasies of his person, and she could tell what was different about him.

For starters, his skin tone was different, if slightly, as his complexion was slightly paler, his hair a slightly lighter shade of white. And then there were his eyes, which used to be a cerulean blue like the ocean, but were now darkened, like the depths of the sea. However, the most noticeable thing about his person was his touch; his touch was cold, colder than she could remember, and utterly changed. 

He stared at her, caressing her cheek with his right hand lovingly. “You’re just as beautiful as the day I lost you…”

As more tears formed within her, despite all of these changes, she could still see in his gaze the way he gazed at her with nothing but absolute love and admiration. That was the same. 

As she realized, this was her Naruto, as he had always been.

“Oh, Naruto…” Immediately, she dropped her gun to the floor, taking solace in his presence as she wrapped him in a warm embrace to feel his warmth. Wrapping her arms around her body, as her tears hit onto his clothing— what appeared to be remnants of Omen’s form, tattered blue fabrics. 

Naruto’s arms wrapped around her on instinct, as she leaned into his warmth, what little there was, and melted. 

It had been so long, so long since she had been with him, but here, it felt like all her worries, all her troubles were gone. Vanishing in an instant as she felt complete, like nothing else mattered in that moment, and it was just the two of them, again.

“You shouldn’t cry, your eyes look a whole lot better when they’re happy,” he told her, wiping away even more of her tears.

As she looked up at him, “You’ve been gone… for so long I-I…” she tried to say.

“I know… I know…” Naruto merely told her.

Reality set in for her as, unconsciously, she pushed herself off of him, taking him all in once again. As her more analytical side

“How are you here? How are you alive? We have to get you to my lab, we have to do a test to make sure you’re okay, we have to—” she tried to drag him out of the room, but he firmly held himself to the ground.

“Sabine, I-I… you have to stay here, we— I-I’m… not sure I can keep control without you with me,” he admitted, as she looked at him once again.

She saw a storm cloud glaze over her eyes, like a shadow, a wisp of his dark power festering inside. And it was at that moment she realized, if she left him, if she was not there for him, even for a second, he could be gone again, leaving her alone.

Even now, it was utter torture for him, keeping his mind afloat in what seemed like an endless abyss, constantly fighting what was around him. Even now, he could feel the darkness, whatever it was, trying to take hold of him, reaching out, and seizing him, trying to pull him back in.

Luckily, Sabine’s presence made the fight all the easier. 

As she looked at him, resolving that she would help him the best she could. And if that meant being with him, here and now, then so be it. “Okay, we won’t go outside then,” she told him. 

Naruto nodded, finding his hands firmly placed on her shoulders, basking in her touch, for who knows how long. Just being in her company soothed him in ways that he couldn’t describe; her being there, in this moment, meant so much.

“I was looking at that photo, you still kept it, Vi?” he inquired. 

“I couldn’t part with it, I always thought— I always wanted you to return, and I never gave up searching for an answer for you,” Sabine admitted. 

“I know you did, you were always so determined when you put your mind to it. You never gave up, it was always one of the things I liked about you,” he told her.

“You remember?” she asked, wanting it to be true, wanting to know if he could remember the day. Omen didn’t have any memories, Omen couldn’t remember a thing about her, and didn’t even know of their connection. Still, she needed to know that this was Naruto, that here he was different.

“Of course I do, how could I forget?” he nodded to her, recalling the day as if it were yesterday. “It was the day I proposed on the pier, at sunset.”

“Hmmm…” she hummed, telling him to go on. 

As he pulled her close, “You and I spent the whole week on a vacation getaway, just you and I, in our SUV for miles, headed for California,” she hummed again. “We listened to 80’s love songs, Elvis, Sinatra…” as he took hold of her hand, giving her a mock twirl, much as he had done many times before. “When we got to the beach right next to the hotel, we took a look at the sunset. I played ‘I can’t help falling in love’ on the speaker I brought, we danced,” much like they were doing right now, swaying to a rhythm only they could hear. “And then I asked you the most important question of my life, and you said yes… we then watched the sunset, and a photographer took a photo of us, one of the happiest days of my life,” he described, almost in perfect detail. Now they were standing with her back against him, his arms firmly wrapped around her.

Their bodies swayed in their embrace, as he planted a firm kiss on her head. She took a deep breath, letting the moment set in. 

That was one of the happiest moments for her, too. Back when she was trying to find ways to cure him, or when the nightmares haunted her so, she would take a look at that photo, and remember. Rekindling her love and igniting her drive to press on once more. 

It had been so long since they had been like this, it had been so long since she had felt his touch and had been in his warmth. Even his smell she loved, that strange smell that smelled like a mix of smoke and ramen that he always loved—despite her telling him to eat healthier. 

She knew at that moment that she was whole. She was complete, here with her now. 

Sabine didn’t want anything else in the world.

“Hey, Naruto?” she spoke up, gaining his attention.

“Huh, what’s up?” he questioned.

She turned to him, looking him straight in the eyes, “Do you remember what also happened that night?” Sabine asked. 

As Naruto tried to recall what else happened, “Well, after we got the photo from the photographer, we headed to the stands, I bought you some cheap, knick-knack present, and we enjoyed the beach a little, before heading back to our hotel room and— Oh!” Sabine’s hands moved down towards his waist, and more specifically, his crotch, as he got the message. 

After they headed to their hotel, they made love, not for the first time, but then it felt different, slower, like they had truly become one. It was a night he couldn’t forget, and a night he still remembered fondly.

[Lemon Start]

“Would you like to reenact that as well?” Sabine questioned, a little more hesitantly than she would have liked.

Naruto’s eyes widened. “You mean, you want to… right now?” he asked.

Viper bit her lip as she recalled Naruto’s touch upon her, the feelings he gave her; even now, she still felt them. And she wanted to feel him more; she reasoned that if he needed physical touch to keep himself afloat, she was more than willing to give it to him. 

“I do, I… It’s been so long since I’ve done those things, I’ve spent my time waiting— searching for a way to bring you back, and now I don’t want to waste our time together for an instant,” she admitted. It had been so long since she had felt his touch, so long since she had felt him inside of her, she needed that again; she needed to know he was still here with her.

“Okay,” Naruto nodded, not willing to deny her plea.

And it was then that he leaned forward and down slightly, taking her lips into him once again. They were soft, as soft as he remembered. The touch of her lips with his own, feeling the gentleness of her skin, a soft reassurance ignited within them both. And a spark, a spark of what was, and would be, reigniting the fire within them, as both yearned for each other. He could smell her perfume, subtle, yet stinging, like a poisoned flower, a scent he grew all too fond of in his time.

Absent-mindedly, he found his hands firmly placed at her hips, whereas her arms moved up from him, rising from the bottom of his torso, to his shoulders and finding themselves at her hair. The woman brought his head even closer towards him. As he did so, she let out a slight moan of pleasure, heating him from the inside out. How he longed to hear the sounds, wanting to hear more of them, feeling her warmth, it was fueling him to continue. 

With his tongue, he asked for entrance, and she gave it, longing to feel him, for even longer, as he explored her, mapping every inch of her, recalling her body like an old friend. But they were more than that; they were lovers, knowing each other as much as they knew themselves. She let out another moan, his yearning only grew, he wanted to devour her. He wanted to satiate his own hunger. 

And yet… he withdrew from her, if only for a moment to take a breath. 

“Did that feel real?” Naruto asked her as she nodded.

Knowing it was truly him, as she looked at him once again, she noticed that his skin pigment was getting darker, more like the tan she remembered, and his body temperature was colder than warm, as if he was returning to her.

He smiled at her, “You’re still so beautiful,” he said. Kissing her on the lips, then the cheek, as he trailed his lips down her neck, the woman gave a light moan as he reached her collarbone. 

“I want to remember every part of you,” Naruto whispered.

“Then do it, take me,” she exhaled, Naruto reaching for the back of her lab coat, as she shrugged it off. 

The back of Naruto’s hand reached for the zipper of her black and green body suit, as he pulled it down. The woman removed it from herself, all the while Naruto left stray kisses on her lips, neck, and chest, leaving the woman in nothing but a simple black sports bra and panties, as she kicked her clothing to the side.

“And you?” she asked, how would Naruto take off his clothing? Was it even really cloth, or perhaps was it something else?

Naruto answered her for him, as his eyes darkened for a moment, his clothing formed into nothing but wisps into the shadow, leaving him in nothing but a pair of synthetic boxers. His other coverings were made via his powers and thus could be removed or changed within an instant. 

The blonde’s hands roamed her body, from her slim waist, to her hips, towards her underbottom, as his hand lingered there, cupping her lower cheeks rather firmly.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” she noted.

“With you? Always,” he told her, giving her buttocks a light squeeze, feeling at her firmness, as his fingers sank into her skin. “I love every part of you, always have,” Naruto reminded.

“Is that so?” She quirked an eyebrow. As her hands went low, towards his boxers, she noticed a very pronounced ‘indent’ poking towards her. “It seems this guy agrees,” Sabine mentioned, taking hold of his member, fabric, and all.

He grunted, “Of course, you know how you make me feel.” As he kissed her, leaving her wanting even more.

Naruto then pulled her close, to the point where their barely clothed bodies were interlocked. She could feel his cock poking at her stomach, not a bad sensation, knowing that her body excited him. 

“God, you’re so fucking beautiful,” he groaned.

And she was, although the only one who got to see her like this was him. From her thick thighs to her rather sizable ass, toned stomach, slim waist, and breasts that were quite large, around D to DD in size. Matching her perfect body to her absolutely stunning heart-shaped face with sleek porcelain skin, pink lips, dazzling green eyes, and short midnight hair, it was a wonder how he got so lucky. Wasn’t there anyone else to see how beautiful she was before he met her? You would think they would have swallowed her up the first chance they got. He wondered if it was her personality that threw others off, her emotionless and downright antagonistic nature. Though to him, that was just a cover, a guard he could get through. 

Anyone who couldn’t see the prize that she was had to cut their losses, because she was his now, all his. And he was hers, and he would never forget it. 

Although there was one thing that did bother him, and that was the rather large scar on the left side of her navel, about 4 inches in diameter.

As he looked at it, a frown formed across his features. “Sabine, what’s this?” he questioned, touching the scar.

The woman did her best to hide the phantom pain as he did so, though she knew Naurot would never hurt her intentionally. It was the wound the shadow gave her, his darker form.

Nevertheless, she didn’t tell him its origin, not wanting to endanger the moment in the slightest. 

“It’s nothing you should worry about,” she lied. That was in the past, and Naruto was here with her now, and she wouldn’t let it bother her. 

Even so, Naruto’s frown only deepened, though he went with the lie, as she kissed him to try and all of his worries melted away, so did hers.

A small, delicate smirk reached her face, “Want to take this to the bed?” she asked, although it wasn’t a question he would refuse. 

Wordlessly, both were led onto her bed, as Naruto sat lower, Sabine above him on her knees, as Naruto trailed kisses throughout her body. On her naval, on her size; his hands snaking up from her thighs as he rose, his fingers finding their way onto her breasts covered by her sports bra. 

A gasp drew from her as he clutched onto both of them in each hand, feeling at her nipples, which were slightly pronounced due to her arousal, as he played with her tits, wanting to feel her even more. She herself removed her bra, as she lifted it over her head, letting her perky breasts sag slightly. As Naruto caught sight of her perfectly pink nipples and areola, encircling her buds with his fingers, he leaned up to kiss her. 

“Mmmmm~” she moaned as he touched her.

Naruto then reached his left hand around her back, his right still playing with and pinching her nipple, as he pushed them both forward, to where he was on top of her, her back to the bed, both of them lying down. 

“Your nipples are still sensitive, aren’t they, Vi?” he teased, as she felt herself flush slightly. 

“A-ah!... O-only with you—oh, I suppose,” she hissed, which only fueled Naruto’s fire, his member growing even harder, as she could feel him poking her leg. 

“Glad to know I left an impression,” Naruto said with a smirk, as she gave him a firm look, or as form as she could within the ecstasy. Sabine found herself slowly rubbing her legs together in anticipation and wanting, trying to stimulate herself with those movements. 

Naruto noticed this, removing his right hand from her breast, as he moved it down towards her thigh. Telling her to uncross her legs, she gave him full access to what lay beneath. As her bottom was still covered in her panties that hugged her figure, Naruto reached into them, feeling her womanhood. “You’re so wet,” he pointed out, as her pussy leaked fluids in anticipation, as he pulled her clothes down, she aided him with the rest.

“Can you blame me? You seem excited as well,” she pointed out, referring to his rock-hard member, ready for all that was about to happen to them that night. 

“Right, and why wouldn’t I be, after all, there’s such a wonderful woman in front of me,” Naruto told her.

“How sweet,” she merely told him, only silently amused with his antics, before looking down to his boxers as if they were a blemish upon her name, not delighted in the slightest. “Take ’em off, now.”

Naruto, not needing to be told twice, did as he was told, much to her delight, as his firm member was revealed to her in all of its glory, the only light coming from the light of the dark moon from her large window, which illuminated them both. 

He was as big as she remembered, as she licked her lips hungrily, Naruto’s fingers snaked towards her womanhood, or they would have, had Sabine not stopped him. 

“What, no foreplay?” he questioned.

As she gave him a firm look of death if he disagreed with her, “Naruto, I’ve been waiting years for you to be with me again, and I don’t want to wait any longer. I want you in me, now! Or so help me I will…”

“Alright, alright, if that’s what the lady wants,” he joked, as he leaned up to kiss her, positioning his member right in front of her womanhood. “Make love to me again,” Naruto whispered, as she silently nodded, giving him the go-ahead.

In one fluid motion, they united, not for the first time; it had felt like ages, and now they were complete, whole once again, and that was all they could ask for.

“Ohhhh~!” she moaned out, Naruto’s member pressing deep into her, joining their hips together in ways only a man and a woman could. 

“Fuck, you feel amazing,” he groaned, as her womanhood wrapped around his member tightly, conjoining them, as her folds gripped onto him like a vice grip. It had been a long time since he felt her, and even now, he was astounded at how she felt, as she took him in completely. 

Naruto waited for the silent confirmation to continue, as the two slowly built up a rhythm, going back and forth as he pushed deep inside of her, stretching her insides. At first, they were slow and melodical, much like a slow dance, but then they both sped up. Naruto continued thrusting into her, reaching deep into her cervix as Sabine swayed her hips, matching his rhythm as her pussy gripped his cock tightly. 

“Keep going, faster!” she moaned out, as she found herself gripping onto the sheets of her bed from the pleasure, Naruto rocking into her in the way that she needed as he picked up his pace. Watching as her breasts swayed up and down from their movements, as he gripped one of them tightly, being ever so careful to play with her nipple to produce the maximum amount of pleasure for them both. 

“Mmmmm~” she moaned out as Naruto struck particularly deep within her, feeling the shockwave all the way down to her womb, a thin trickle of sweat forming across her face from the exertion. 

Naruto didn’t sweat, but he did grunt and groan from the movements, all the while she continued to squeeze him with her tightness, wrapping around his cock completely. Her legs coiled around him, which only served to press him even deeper into her. Naruto’s left hand grasped around her thigh for support, her back arched from the pleasurable sensations she was feeling. Several words were said, in whispers and pants, as curses.

Naruto leaned forward to capture her lips. She made no protest as they battled for dominance with their tongues, a myriad of slurps and moans forming as they made out with each other. Eventually, the blonde gave way, which allowed the woman’s tongue entrance, as their bodies conjoined together. Her pale fingers were clawing at his back and running through his blonde locks.

Naruto pulled back, though it wasn’t without a few kisses to his lips, cheek, and neck.

“God, I missed this, I missed you,” he groaned.

As Sabine looked at him lovingly, a look she hadn’t mustered in quite some time, “Then show me, show me how much you missed me, show me you’re here… I-I’m close,” she told him, letting him know that she was readying her climax.

“So am I.” Naruto kissed her right then and there, his hand going to her chin as he played with her tongue. Informing her of his own impending orgasm, his member thrusting in and out of her cunt, sending pleasant sensations throughout each of their bodies.

“Where do you want it?” he questioned.

“Do it inside, I want to feel all of you, I don’t want to part, even for a moment,” she told him without hesitation.

Naruto blinked in surprise, though he did continue, as they both upped their paces, following each other's rhythm as he felt a right within him. 

“Sabine, I’m about to—” 

“Come!” 

As both of them orgasmed, Naruto's cock proceeded to coat her walls in his cum, his member twitching as he gave one final thrust that struck particularly deep into her. Instantly, several thick, white ropes were sent within her, as Viper buckled her hips, a myriad of pleasure shooting throughout her body. Her nervous system was in overdrive, as she arched her back, sending out all of her juices onto his cock at the feeling, mixing their fluids, her heart skipping a beat in the process as Naruto filled her womb to the brim with his spunk completely. A tight heat stretched all around her, filling her and the void within her completely, her body vibrating from the pleasure, gritting her teeth, her hands found themselves scratching at his back.

Eventually, Naruto stopped pumping his fluids into her, the orgasm subsiding, as both felt a euphoria at the pleasure of their orgasms; both left panting, a trickle of sweat running down her face.

“That was…” Naruto struggled to find the words, his heartbeat rushing over a thousand miles a minute in the effort.

“Intoxicating?” she answered for him.

Naruto smiled at the word; it was completely and utterly like her to say, as he laughed, “Haha, yeah, you were intoxicating,” he said, pulling himself off of her, which released a small puddle of their liquids onto her bed as they leaked from her pussy, giving her a light kiss upon the lips as he did. Sabine closed her eyes, leaning into the kiss, as she moaned in pleasure as his semen leaked out of her, not that she minded.

[Lemon End.]

“Mmmmm~...Naruto?” she moaned out, drawing his attention. 

“Yes, Sabine?” he asked, wanting to know what she was going to tell him.

“I love you.” It felt like she had never said it, at least from what she could remember; she had probably said it a thousand times, and yet she couldn’t recall them. But now he was with her, here and now, and she would be damned if she didn’t say it. If she didn’t mention how much Naruto mentioned to her…

She had stood fighting, fighting for him to come back to her, and now he was here.

She wouldn’t forget that fact for a second.

Naruto’s smile somehow widened; how he was able to do it, she didn’t know. “I love you too,” he told her, interlocking his fingers with hers, laying kisses upon her, as he worshiped her body. He was still hard, as she suggested they continue their lovemaking for another round, continuing in their embrace, basking in each other’s warmth and love.

For Sabine, one thing was for certain: she didn’t want such a moment to end.

She didn’t want to fall asleep…

Because she didn’t know if she would wake up from such a dream, and things would still be the same.

XXX

But eventually she did sleep. 

As much as she didn’t want to, as much as she tried to keep her eyes open, sometimes, she couldn’t recall when they fell, and with it her consciousness. 

When her eyes opened again, the sun was up, casting light into her room through her large window overlooking the city in Valorant headquarters. The sky, filled with a myriad of colors, ranging from vibrant oranges to fiery reds and lively yellows, stirred her awake as the light reached through her eyelids.

A groan escaped her lips, a testament to her exhaustion, her whole body aching as if she had run a marathon. 

And it was then that she didn’t feel anything, just the faintest sense of apathy within her system, as it was then that she didn’t remember a thing. Not having any recollection of the past few years, as she had slept soundly, the nightmares forgotten, as well as the memories. Here, she couldn’t remember what had happened; nothing to do with the incident at Fracture, and certainly none of the failed experiments she had exhausted.

However, after some time, she did remember; she remembered everything. 

She remembered the countless nights spent trying to resurrect Naruto; she remembered the incident that turned him into a fragment of himself. 

But then, she remembered the night she had just had, feeling his touch, feeling him inside of her, the joy she felt when they were reunited, when they were one.

It feels like a dream, a dream she had to wake up from. 

Because when she awoke, she didn’t feel his presence, nor the warmth that comforted her so. His side was cold, she recognised. Opening her eyes, she was met with the sight of Omen at her bedside, sitting on its edge, decked in his usual outfit, fitted within his shadows.

As her eyes fell, “Sorry,” was all he said.

All that could be heard. 

XXX

“Are you ready?” a voice spoke in the intercom; it was her own.

They were once again in her lab, in the experimentation room, Klara and Omen as well.

Several weeks had passed since the night she had spent with him, or at least the night she had thought she had spent with him. And in that time, she had learned more about Omen and how his abilities worked, specifically how Naruto came to resurface. You see, as it would turn out, much like how she initially thought, Omen—as well as Naruto— had access to their own pocket dimension, which allowed them to traverse several landscapes in an instant, separate from their own dimension. 

However, it would seem that this dimension was as much a part of Omen as his body. And, with the explosion that happened due to the radianite collider, his body, his very soul, had been fractured. With the split came two very distinct personalities, or shadows, of his former self. One, a being born without his memories or mannerisms, and the other, a being born from the abyss that lay within him, ever hungering. Naruto had been fighting for control, lost in the abyss of darkness, trying to take control of himself, if only for a short while, which had been enough to let her know he was there. 

If she were honest, the thought of coming face to face with that darkness still bothered her, though she didn’t fear it as much as she used to.

Omen didn’t regain his memories, though he did gain the knowledge of their connection and who he was to her. And, while she wouldn’t say that she treated him the same as who he was, she would say that she grew fonder of him, rather than keeping her distance. Omen decided he wanted to reclaim his memories, as well as his lost form, even knowing what that meant, and for that, she would be forever grateful.

Although she wouldn’t say it was easy to restart the project, and it had taken some thorough convincing on her part for Liam and Wei to agree to her demands, they eventually came around. Keeping a cool head during their conversation, even though they could see she wouldn’t back down. All that they could do was support her in her endeavor, and that was all she could ask for. This reignited the ‘Radianite re-collider’ project that they were running, a new and improved version that she hoped would repair Omen’s pocket dimension and his soul, returning him to what he once was.

“Everything is good to-go, Miss Callus,” Killjoy gave a thumbs up toward the woman. 

“Well, alright then,” Sabine nodded, though she did add one final note towards the Germanic engineer who had helped her so. “And, despite the results, I would just like to say… you did good work, Böhringer,” she told her.

Klara was actually surprised by this, not expecting Viper to say anything of the sort. All she could do was smile, glad that she was being appreciated. “I… Uh, thanks, though I wouldn’t give up on our work just yet!” she said confidently.

Sabine seemed to find her upbeat infectious, as she had her own small smile formed across her face. She then turned towards the star of the show, “And, you, Omen?” 

The specter, giving a nod to her, silent as ever, he had felt like he had been waiting forever.

Viper merely just nodded back, “Then let the experimentation commence.” 

As they began to start the procedure, Sabine didn’t know if it would work this time, didn’t know if today would be the end of her searching, if Omen would finally get back his memories and be restored. In truth, she didn’t know if the machine would work.

But, if her visit from Naruto had taught her one thing, it would be hope.

Hope for a better future, hope that the machine would work, hope that Naruto would return to her. 

As she activated the machine, she didn’t have a hand on her old wound, this time, but towards her womb, hoping that things would turn out okay.

Yes, she supposed hope wasn’t such a bad thing.

The End.

An: And that’s the end, with this, like many of my fics, being alot larger than it was supposed to be. But I did end up getting it done.

Valorant is of course a game of mixed feedback, much like League of Legends, but personally I enjoy it every now and again with some friends. And I’ve always liked Omen as a character.

This was an idea I’ve had in my mind for a while, and, I don’t know if any of you are up to date on valorant lore (I myself am not too up to date, but I know alot of the basics), they just released a new lore trailer and it… kind of ruined this idea. Legit, like a week before I started this.

Basically, it goes into depth of the relationship of Chamber and Viper on Omega earth, particularly a romantic relationship, (its unclear if they have the same relationship on the other earth,) nevertheless this takes place on Alpha earth of course. I don’t particularly care for such a ship, so I did what any fanfic writer would do, and I ignored canon.

This is the result, of course. 

With Omen with a different origin, and Sabine desperately drying to restore him, even at the cost of her sanity. And I think this turned out okay, with their relationship inspired by Caitlyn Snow and Ronnie’s in the show ‘The Flash’.

With Naruto returning, if only for a brief moment, with questions of it being real or not. In the lemon there’s also a reference to a deleted scene that Viper has, if you caught that. 

Sabine, is hinted, at least in the end, at being pregnant, if you didn’t catch that part. 

Other than that, Next update might be a Chapter for the Sue fic, so look forward to that. 

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Special thanks to Patreon members:

Ruby?, Antonion Munoz, Invictus Messor, Alexander, Jeremiah Paich…