Hey people. As irritating as it is for you, I have another story. I'm a slave to inspiration, and I must post after writing. But I will say that after this, I will update my older stories before posting another new story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Transformers.

It was a valley. A valley that looked as though no human had ever set foot in it. A valley that seemed lost to time itself. The only indication that a human civilization had ever been to this place were the enormous statues on either side of a vast waterfall, slowly eroding from the waterfall itself. It was the perfect place to fight openly. The perfect place for two opposing forces to clash without interference.

However, the clashing forces which fought for dominance were completely out of place in the more natural environment. They were neither beast nor men, but rather, they were machines. And both sides were determined to come out the victor in their fight.

Lying on the ground near the feet of two of the giant metal bipedal beings was a small, bluish-green panel. Barely visible, as it was partially buried by the dirt and rock, nobody would ever guess that this small, seemingly insignificant item was the cause of the aggression between the giant robotic beings. Up above, the two which the panel lay between clashed, locking hands in a struggle for dominance. A struggle for control of the small item.

One of the two was slightly larger, and attempting to use that size to his advantage. A wicked snarl was etched into his rather large face. From his shoulders, two large protrusions stuck out well taller than his head, though even that appeared much larger thanks to the rather large horns that stuck out from the side of his head and extended strait upwards. On his back was an over-sized cannon, giving the hulking robot a slight militaristic appearance. Indeed, he looked to be a giant, walking tank.

The other was smaller in size, yet seemed equally strong in holding back the other. Unlike his tank-like opponent, he did not appear to resemble much of anything unless you knew what to look for. His chest plate seemed to be the grill of a semi-truck, and also, if one were to notice, on his arms were what appeared to be the exhaust pipes which you would also see on the side of a semi. The face of this one gave nothing away, as it was hidden behind a face plate of some sort.

"Another Mini-Con, another battle." The tank-like robot growled out the statement with the strangest combination of disgust and…delight. "Really Optimus, why don't you just give it up? THIS MINI-CON IS MINE, PRIME!" he shouted, forcing the other, Optimus Prime, to his knees.

Never Megatron" replied Optimus. "The Mini-Cons will not be used as tools for you and the Decepticons. I will have my own Spark extinguished before I would allow it!" Gathering his strength, he got to his feet once more. Bringing his knee up, it collided with Megatron's leg, forcing him back.

"Ahhh" grunted the Decepticon leader in slight pain. "Would someone just get the Mini-Con?"

Unfortunately, his question went unheard. All of his present subordinates were currently engaged in battles of their own. From the skies, his two flying underlings were both taking on the two members of the Autobot team. Laughing maniacally was his helicopter soldier, Cyclonus. "Hahahahaha. Come on Autobot!" he shouted. "Feeling the heat yet?" Dodging his hail of laser fire, the blue and white Autobot jumped behind an outcropping of rocks. Activating his com-link, he tried to call for help.

"Hot Shot!" he called. "I'm pinned down here. I need back up."

"Sorry Red Alert" came his reply. "I have some problems of my own. Plus, I have the kids with me." Red Alert looked out to see his teammate in his vehicle mode of a yellow sports car attempting to drive on the rocky lake bed which seemed to span the whole of the valley, aside from the small river of water that managed to survive the drying up of the lake. The car dashed around, dodging fire from what seemed to be a fighter jet, his helicopter Mini-Con Jolt providing him with a speed boost.

"Hot Shot" said the girl inside of the car. "Starscream's gaining on us!" She and the other kids were keeping calm as best they could under the circumstances. But the calmness was wearing out, especially when being chased by an evil robot while being crammed into a small space with two other kids and three Mini-Cons.

"I know, just hold on!" shouted Hot Shot, turning and drifting to a stop, letting them all out. "Transform!" he shouted, reconfiguring to his normal robot form. Turning, he ducked to avoid the low flyover of the fighter jet, which flew straight upward into the air before transforming as well.

As Starscream blasted them with a hail of fire of his own, Hot Shot used himself to cover the kids and their Mini-Con partners. "You guys get out of here" he said. "I'll handle Starscream." The kids nodded, before jumping on their already waiting transformed Mini-Cons. Looking toward the sky, Hot Shot watched Starscream smirk.

"Come on then, Autobot" said the Decepticon from his position in the air.

"Face it Megatron" said Optimus. "It's just you and me."

"Quite the contrary, Prime" said Megatron, calling his Mini-Con Leader 1 to him. "It's just me." Leader 1 transformed and linked to Megatron's back, activating his large cannon. Beginning to fire, he merely laughed as Optimus fell back to cover, allowing him all the room and time he needed to obtain the Mini-Con.

"Now then, let's see exactly what this Mini-Con can do" he said, energy building up around his horns, before firing it down at the panel. After a moment, the energy was released in the form of a sphere of rainbow light, which allowed the Mini-Con to form inside it. "Another one for you then, Cyclonus" he said, launching the small Transformer up to 'copter-bot.

"Oh goodie" laughed Cyclonus like the crazed freak that he was.

"No!" shouted Optimus, throwing his arm out as though he could grab the little robot.

"Optimus!" The Autobot leader turned to see the Autobot team's human companions, Rad, Carlos, and Alexis. It was Rad who was shouting. "Optimus!" he shouted again. "There's something else coming from the Mini-Con panel!"

"Huh?" muttered Optimus, looking over to see something strange was indeed happening with the Mini-Con panel. It was sparking with purple and red electricity.

"What is going on here!" shouted Megatron as a blinding ball of light shot from the panel, consuming all in its glow.

It was the same valley; it was the same opposing forces. However, it was another time entirely. A different pair of beings battling it out. In contrast to their robotic counterparts many millennia in the future, these two were human. More precisely, human children. Even their looks contrasted, proving just how different these two were from one another.

On one end of the valley and the spectrum was one Sasuke Uchiha. His tan pants and blue shirt, along with his raven hair and Sharingan eyes were the exact opposite of the bright blonde hair and orange jumpsuit. Unfortunately, the mind of this one, Naruto Uzumaki, was not thinking of these differences. His mind was currently being tainted by the feral nature of the youki given him by the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

"Sasuke!" he shouted, his mind clouded by anger.

"Well Naruto" thought Sasuke. "It seems you really are special. It doesn't matter." From his neck, an inky blackness began to spread, covering his whole body. His hair grew out and turned white, while the black markings covered every bit of skin, before absorbing in, making his skin a sickly pale color except for a black, four-pointed star on his nose. "Because I'm more special than you."

Rushing at Sasuke, Rasengan in hand, Naruto slammed his attack at Sasuke, dragging him several yards. But once the dust settled, Naruto was shocked to see Sasuke unharmed. His eyes widened before a crunch was heard, followed by a sickening squelch. Jumping away, Naruto was just in time to dodge the large, hand-shaped wing that emerged from his back. Another moment and a second one also burst from his back.

"Come on" shouted Sasuke, powering up his Chidori. "Let's finish this Naruto. Right now…one attack." Naruto just gave a feral ground in response. His red aura of youki flared as a new Rasengan formed in his hand. The two stood facing each other for several silent moments, before they jumped at each other.

"Naruto!" shouted Sasuke, lunging at the blonde, who jumped at him with a similar battle cry, though his was directed at Sasuke rather than himself. For a moment, both sides felt as though time itself had slowed to a crawl. No sound, not even the chirp of the Chidori was heard by the two. And then, it happened. When the attacks collided, it was as if the amassed chakra of half of Konoha had been released all at once.

Both pushed back against the other with all the strength they could muster. The power exploded outward, forming a sphere of white light, of pure power, around the two. It became everything to the two. All that they were before, all that they would ever be, all they were at that moment was the sphere of light. There was nothing that existed now to the two aside from each other and the sphere. Slowly it expanded, breaking into the ground, vaporizing the water beneath them from the very heat of the orb.

Even through the light of the void within the sphere, both peered through at the other. They had become calm, the anger gone for the moment. All they could do was float and stare at the other. The ball of light continued to break into the ground, when it suddenly contacted a small, bluish-green panel. And activated it. It began to glow a faint white light from within. The small object had had its stasis function activated. Within a second, it had absorbed the energy, and the two floating inside the energy, placing them in stasis alongside the Mini-Con inside.

Back in the present, the light faded, allowing the optic nerves of the Transformers and the eyes of the kids to see. They were all shocked. Floating in the air above the panel was what looked to be a cross between a human boy and a bat-like creature. Also in the air, was a blonde-haired boy, with several long animal tails protruding from his tailbone as well as two animal-like ears protruding from his head, in place of his non-existent human ears. They both floated down to the ground, before touching down, clutching their heads. As they opened their eyes, Naruto and Sasuke went back to back on instinct seeing the large…titans which surrounded them.

"Sasuke?" asked Naruto. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. But I'm not going to go without a fight. If these things make a move, we take them down" replied Sasuke, Naruto nodding. Megatron, hearing their conversation, couldn't help but laugh.

"Excuse me? Do you mean to say you plan to defeat us?" he asked, a slight bit of humor in his voice.

"Ooooh" said Cyclonus gleefully. "Can I destroy them Megatron?"

"Why not?" replied the Decepticon leader. "By all means, have your fun, Cyclonus."

"All right you little pests, come here." Chuckled Cyclonus, flying in close. That was his big mistake. Before anyone could react, a chirping noise was heard, followed by a shriek from the Decepticon soldier. Nobody realized for a moment what had happened. Only that the bat-like person had somehow moved from in front of Cyclonus to behind him. Cyclonus himself was still, unmoving, before he slowly turned his head toward his left arm, which was making some very unnerving creaking sounds. Suddenly, and without warning, the arm shattered where it connected to the shoulder, causing it to fall off completely.

Everyone, Autobot and Decepticon, human and Mini-Con, took a step back. What had been done by this person was actually frightening. Even Megatron, though he would never admit to it, was severely unnerved. Starscream was grateful of how far in the air he was.

"What was that Optimus?" asked Hot Shot.

"I don't know?" replied the Autobot leader. "But let's not find out."

"Well, I must say that was rather impressive." Sasuke turned to see the barrel of Megatron's cannon aimed at him. "But I'm afraid your demonstration has come to an end." Megatron prepared to fire, and was disappointed when the only reaction from the boy was an eye twitch. "Prepare to die" he said. But as he began to fire, something knocked his cannon away, causing him to blast upward toward Starscream, who only just managed to pull off an avoidance maneuver. Megatron looked down to see the blonde one had wrapped five of his nine tails around his cannon and literally shoved it off course. Two things were severely wrong with that picture. The first, was that the blonde hadn't moved from his spot. The only visible indication that anything about him had changed was his facial expression, which was shocked, as though he had no idea how he had done what he had done. The second was that his tails had seemingly extended to reach that spot. It was as if they were unnatural.

"Where the hell did you get those, Naruto?" asked Sasuke.

"These things are new to me too" replied the blonde. Sasuke nodded, accepting the explanation for some reason.

"Well then, I think this one needs to taste my Chidori as well." At the proclamation, Sasuke flew through the hand seals for his jutsu, and the same chirping sound could be heard as lightning began sparking in the palm of his hand. Megatron's eyes widened, as Sasuke lunged at him.

"Decepticons" he shouted. "We got what we came for, retreat!" In the sky, Starscream seemed to rip to pieces which flew away, warping to the Decepticon base. Picking up his arm, Cyclonus too warped back. Letting go of him with his tails, Naruto saw Megatron begin to warp when Sasuke made contact just below his chest. And then in a flash, both Megatron and Sasuke were gone.

Naruto was stunned. He had tried to get his friend back. They had even worked together not a moment ago. And now he was gone. Turning, he saw another group of the giants, which seemed to stare at him with their unblinking eyes. Settling into a fighting stance, he addressed them.

"I do not wish to fight you, but if you advance, you leave me no choice." Optimus and the Autobots were shocked. So these two were not inherently violent. At least not the blonde.

"What do you think Optimus?" asked Red Alert.

"Hmm" said the Autobot leader. "I think maybe we should just talk. I'm interested in this. I want to know just how they got placed into stasis with the Mini-Con. Nothing I can think of makes any sense."

"Optimus." He turned toward the three children hiding behind some rocks.

"Huh? What is it Rad?" he asked.

"What's he saying? We don't exactly speak Japanese." The Autobots looked sheepish for a moment, forgetting that while they could each speak hundreds of languages fluently, the humans could not. At the question, they all saw the blonde stare at them. To Naruto, he heard the words, and they made no sense. However, in an instant, a pain in the base of his skull appeared and disappeared.

"Ow" said Naruto, rubbing his head. "Now that was painful." It took a moment to realize that he was speaking a totally new language.

"But it appears he speaks English" said Optimus, stepping forward. "Let's start out with introductions. I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. These are my teammates, Red Alert…" Naruto took notice of the blue and white giant nodding at him. "And Hot Shot…" This time, the yellow one nodded. "And the three behind us are our human team members, Rad, Carlos, and Alexis."

Naruto closed his eyes, taking in the information. "Hello Optimus Prime" he said after a moment. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. Care to explain to me what's going on? A moment ago, that other one you saw was fight me, and I him. Then we suddenly appeared here, or you did, or whatever happened. It's all very confusing."

"Well, we'll try to figure that out. But for now, you're more than welcome to come with us" said Optimus.

"Optimus, are you sure that's such a good idea?" said Red Alert, voicing his concern.

"Red Alert, he's lost, and has more of a connection to us than even Rad, Carlos and Alexis depending on how long he's been in stasis. And I won't lie to you Naruto, your home is more than likely gone. Lost to the force of time" said Optimus, making the boy widen his eyes. "But even so, as I said, you are welcome to come with us."

"But what about Sasuke?" asked Naruto.

"The other guy with you?" asked Hot Shot, getting a nod from the blonde, which caused all the Autobots to act nervous.

"What are you not telling me?" asked Naruto.

"Naruto…" said Red Alert. "While we don't know the exact location of the Decepticon base, where your friend now is…we believe it to be on the moon. If he is with them…he's more than likely dead." Naruto's breath caught in his throat. Sasuke was dead? After everything he had gone through, he now had lost the last living link to his home in a moment.

"Hey man, I'm sorry" said Hot Shot. "Were the two of you close?" Naruto just stared into his space for a moment, before remembering where he was.

"No" he said. "He was a comrade. But he turned traitor to our village and I was sent to bring him back." Optimus nodded. He knew all too well about the shifting of loyalties.

"Autobots" he said solemnly. "Transform and roll out." After everything that had happened, Naruto wasn't even outwardly shocked at the giants suddenly becoming different four-wheeled vehicles. The door popped open on Hot Shot and Optimus. The other two boys all got in Hot Shot, while Naruto and Alexis took Optimus. The Mini-Cons took the opportunity to hop in a carrier hooked onto Optimus's rear. Once everyone was thoroughly strapped down, Naruto felt a strange feeling in his stomach. Any outside onlookers would have seen three very out of place vehicles become blurs of light and color, before vanishing.

However, in the Decepticon base, Sasuke was very much surviving. Doing well, maybe not, but he wasn't dying…for the moment. Shouting, as he was thrown up against a metal wall, he slouched down, nearly unconscious.

"Demolisher" said Megatron, having just launched him into the wall. "Why hasn't he died yet?"

"Well, Lord Megatron sir" replied said Decepticon. "While his body is human at some level, whatever happened to him has changed his make-up. Not only has he gained a few traits of the Cybertronian race, but scans show that there is some sort of strange energy field protecting him. It appears as though he's as comfortable here as in any habitable atmosphere. He'd probably be just as comfortable at the bottom of the ocean as well."

"Hmm, it seems that this Mini-Con has yielded more than I thought possible" thought Megatron.

"Is that all you've got you overgrown pile of scrap metal?" Megatron stared down at the boy as he said this.

"You have a certain uniqueness to you. If your tailed friend is as strong as you, I may require your services" he said.

"Naruto?" said Sasuke, taking on a dark look. "It's his fault we're here. He took my revenge from me. And I will make him pay for that." Turning toward Megatron, he said, "I'm yours." The Decepticon leader smirked, before energy built up in his horns, firing down to Sasuke's chest. The boy screamed as the energy seared his flesh, burning away the front of his shirt. When it was done, Sasuke dropped to the ground, looking down at the purple symbol now forever burned into his skin, tattooed there for all time.

"Welcome then" said Megatron. "You should feel honored. The first non-Cybertronian being to ever join the Decepticons." Slowly, the dark Transformer began chuckling, before it turned into full blown laughter. His maniacal glee was not shared by his Decepticon minions. Cyclonus was howling in pain as Demolisher worked on repairing the soldier's arm, while Starscream just eyed the boy warily.

Back on earth, a similar event was happening in the base occupied by the Autobots. Naruto was lying on a glowing table while several lights flashed over him. Red Alert read the data carefully, almost not believing what the equipment was telling him. "Red Alert?" The bot turned to find his leader coming toward him. "What's the boy's situation?" asked Optimus.

"It's remarkable Optimus" replied Red Alert. "Somehow, while in stasis with the Mini-Con, bits of the little Transformer have crossed over to him. His brain function is higher than any human I've ever seen, and his body is far more durable. Nothing like us, but still." He waited for his superior to nod before continuing. "Besides that, he has some sort of strange energy field emanating from his body. While I don't mean to presume anything, he could probably survive situations as harsh as the bottom of the ocean or deep space without problem."

"I see" said Optimus. "While I can't find an answer for the energy field, the crossing over of the Mini-Con is more than likely due to the panel itself. They were designed for only one occupant. It would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible to put more than one item or being inside of those panels."

"Well, it's obviously not impossible" said Red Alert. "But you're probably right. What I want to know is how they survived being put in stasis to begin with."

"Perhaps we'll find out eventually" said Optimus. "But for now, we let him get accustomed to his new life. He's just had his entire world collapse on him."

"Understood" said Red Alert, getting back to work, while Optimus just stared at the blonde boy, who gazed at the ceiling, with no emotion on his face, a glossy look in his eye.

"It's alright my young friend" he thought. "Even if we can't get you home, you are not the only one. I miss Cybertron, but the mission comes first. Perhaps you can find your own home here." Unlike the Autobot commander, Naruto's thoughts were of a much different sort.

Deep within the recesses of his mind, he stood in front of the cage containing his tenant, the Kyuubi. The two had not said very much. A surprise for both of them. When Naruto had met the fox in the past, he had been angry, but at least chatty. And Naruto being…well, being Naruto, was downright unusual in not talking. Eventually though, the need to break the silence broke down Kyuubi, forcing him to say something.

"Why are you so sad, boy?" the massive beast asked. "In that entire village, there are maybe five others who even care a bit about you. Why do you miss them so? What is it?" Naruto looked up, seeing the fox for the first time as something other than a savage beast. This thing was curious, not stupid. It was intelligent, not instinctual. At least not fully. But when he didn't answer, the fox continued.

"Why, boy, why? Why do you do it? Why fight for them? Are you fighting for something? Some sort of ideal? If you hadn't noticed, Naruto, every ideal or moral a human adheres too is merely a farce. A lie. One that they will cast away at a moment's notice. Humans are simple creatures. All they truly know or care about is their survival. Or even more accurately, they want to thrive, and will do anything they can to make it so."

Naruto was shocked for a moment when Kyuubi actually used his name, but something about the speech was bugging him. "Wait" he said. "You keep talking about humans as though they and I are two separate species."

"That is because, as of the moment you were sealed inside that technological storage item, you ceased to be human." Naruto's eyes widened. So he was right. The fox did have something to do with his tails. "Becoming trapped inside that item would have killed you" the fox continued, "Were it not for me. And I would bet, the Uchiha's cursed seal is responsible for his survival."

"For now, I suggest you stay with these, Autobots. They may be able to help you in this new world." With that last piece of advice, Naruto was flung from his mind, back to the waking world. Sitting, up, Naruto hopped off the massive scanner down to the floor. A fairly long drop for most, but next to nothing for a ninja.

"Hey." Naruto turned to see the three kids coming. He noticed they had changed clothes. Instead of the orange jumpsuits they wore, which had him thinking of his own clothing choice, they now wore civilian clothing.

"Um, hey" replied Naruto, addressing the boy who had begun talking to him. "It's Rad, isn't it?" he asked, getting a nod from the boy.

"Yeah. We were about to go get something to eat. You wanna come?" asked Rad, but got a slap in the back of the head from Alexis.

"Rad, how exactly is he supposed to go out like that?" Realizing she may have just insulted him, she blushed and uttered a brief "no offense." Naruto just smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, I guess most people wouldn't be used to seeing a kid with nine fox-tails, fox ears, and freakish red eyes." This time, the other three looked sheepish from embarrassment. "Just give me a second, ok?" continued Naruto, making Rad and Carlos look at each other and Alexis raise an eyebrow. The three Autobots, who had also shown up out of their own curiosity were also wondering what he meant. Placing his hands in a weird position, Naruto gave a shout of "Henge!" before a blast of smoke erupted around him. When it cleared, the Autobots and humans got yet another surprise.

Standing before them was the same boy, but his eyes had become as blue as anyone could imagine, their odd, slit pupils replaced with normal looking ones. He appeared to be wearing what Rad himself wore, but he had tweaked the color scheme to a red and dark blue, mimicking that of Optimus Prime's. Gone were the tails and ears that made him look like some sort of animal, his claws becoming hands, while his whisker-like cheek markings seemed to have sealed to nothing more than three, pencil thin lines on each cheek.

"You're able to transform!" said Alexis.

"Dude, that is so awesome!" said Carlos, wide-eyed. Rad was merely stunned speechless.

"More than likely an effect of being put in stasis with the Mini-Con" said Red Alert, but Naruto shot that theory down.

"No, I could do this long before now. It's something every Shinobi needs to learn to graduate the academy." Red Alert and Hot Shot looked at Optimus, before looking back at Naruto, as if asking for an explanation. Naruto sighed, it was going to be a long day.

"Ok, I'm rather hungry myself, so I'll make this simple. Once a child in my village reached a proper age, which can be anywhere from seven to nine years of age, they are evaluated. If they meet the requirements, they have the choice to enter the Shinobi academy." Naruto was interrupted by Hot Shot, who asked the question on the group's minds.

"Ok, what exactly is a Shinobi?" Naruto nearly faceplanted. He settled for facepalming.

"Maybe I should use a word you'll understand. Does Ninja work for you?" The children looked surprised, but the Autobots were still a bit confused. Rad explained.

"Ninja are legendary warriors in Japanese history. Masters of stealth and shadows." The explanation was short, but it filled in the blanks a bit for the Cybertronians.

"As I was saying" continued Naruto, "There were several villages known as Hidden Villages. While they weren't technically hidden, the designation identified them as a Shinobi village. Shinobi were used as the village's main military, but also the main source of income. A ninja could be hired out from the village for a fee, depending on mission difficulty, and could be hired to do just about any job. When I first started out, my teammates and I did jobs like catching runaway pets and pulling weeds. As you advance through the ranks, you get higher level missions."

"I see" said Hot Shot. "Basically you Shinobi are something like a military force and hired hands put together."

"Exactly" said Naruto with a nod. "I myself am a genin rank, which generally is the lowest rank unless you count an academy student. Then there is chuunin, Jonin and Special Jonin. I don't actually know the difference between the two, so don't ask." The mood was lightened a bit at the statement. "Then there is the village elite, the Anbu squads, followed by the village leader, the most powerful Shinobi in the lands, called the Kage. To you, the Kage would be Optimus, as he is the leader of you and by far the strongest if I would guess."

"So, they turn kids into warriors?" asked Rad. "That's a little wrong, isn't it?"

"That's our life" said Naruto. "Don't think down on us. It's a good life. At least it was…" Seeing that Naruto had begun to look depressed, none of the others pressed matters.

"Well, then let's go get something to eat" said Carlos. "You've been stuck in the Mini-Con panel for how long? You're probably starved man." Naruto's demeanor brightened a bit and he smiled.

"Yep, so let's go!" Following the three kids, he seemed to be without a care. But on the inside, the Fox's words ate at him like nothing ever had before.

"Are you fighting for something?" He didn't know if he even had an answer to that question anymore.

Chapter end.

Alright guys, I have had some new story ideas, and as you know, I am a slave to my inspiration. However, I will not post a new story, then immediately post another. Before all else, if I post a new story like this one, expect an update or two on other current stories. I plan next on Hidden Leaf Nights, and then maybe Uzumaki X. But I would rather update some of my shorter stories. So expect updates on those.