{words - 6181}
{SmallBasilisk28 here! -Locks the door after hearing a noise from somewhere outside my room- My stories are coming along great but I have to do a disclaimer for this challenge! I own nothing except the OC things I think up.}
{This is kind of in responce to Panther-Strife's challenge so I hope you like the idea and leave me a review.}
{Naruto will be Chaotic Good along the lines of an Anti-hero and powerful like Starkiller with his brutal use of chakra and the Force. He will be very powerful but not a god that can take on armies by himself.}
{There will not be any Yaoi in this story.}
{Warning updates are random and flamers can go jump off a cliff if they don't like the idea I came up with!}
"English!"
'Thoughts, Dreams!'
-Other-
Chapter 1
'Morality separates heroes from villains.'
On the desert of Tatooine in the shipyard of Mos Eisley a lone starship could be found in an almost empty hangar. Built by Republic Sienar Systems in secret the starship christened Harbinger by its previous owner a once feared Sith turned warlord was based on another top-secret project the company built for another monster Darth Maul based on the Scimitar's blueprints. It was made to be better in almost all areas but at the same time also bigger on the scale of a freighter size ship for raids that required a full crew instead of one or two people. The one thing only a handful of people knew was that it never went to its intended owner when the female Sith claimed the prototype starship for her own after killing the men transporting it in a raid of one the company's many warehouses.
The Harbinger built with all the best tech money could buy boasted an advanced hyper-drive, cutting-edge sensory arrays, a fully functional medical bay, multiple crew quarters, a workshop and a meditation chamber that could double as a training room. It also had one of the fastest sub-light engines in the Galactic Republic and a cargo bay that could carry almost anything from two smaller starships to the five basic combat droids that now called that area of the ship home when they were shut down for repairs. In addition to these high-tech features the Harbinger was outfitted with an experimental cloaking device on the insistence of the man wanting such a starship built that enabled the vessel to hide from even the most powerful scanners for short periods of time. The cloaking technology was powered by a rare stygium crystal a form of lightsaber crystal from the Dreighton Nebula that could warp perceptions around it for a few brief minutes at a time. Where the original buyer could have acquired such a crystal without having the Republic or Jedi kicking down their door days later the builders never asked and the company's owners never cared with the amount of money they were receiving to build the starship without anyone knowing.
Under its new owner though the Harbinger was heavily modified to better suit its role as a raider and transport type starship. The shielding was strengthened giving the freighter sized starship a heavier feel when under thrust while some of the other changes included expanded compartments in order to house a squad of around twenty men for long drawn out jobs. Despite the fact that the extensive modifications left several critical components crushed together the Harbinger could still function through hyperspace without overloading its systems. But the starship isn't what's important right now. No what should draw in anyone to ever stepped on board the Harbinger was its third caption and newest owner after a bloody and hostile takeover. A human no older than nineteen and the former slave of his master up until a few months ago when he killed her using the skills beaten into his every fiber from an early age would be easy to miss if you weren't Force sensitive. Those that were though and could sense him would feel the very Force itself thick in the air around the older teen raging like the oceans with the blond-haired human at its very center.
Ensconced onboard the Harbinger from the very young age of three the teen has only the name 'Revan' gifted to him by his phantom, the starship that smiled of death and one secret only he knew about from his childhood. Now inside of the meditation chamber the third captain of the prized starship sat with his eyes closed trying to even out his breathing and focus.
Wearing the heavy gear salvaged from a raid a year ago which in reality was simply a makeshift hazardous environment suit the teen inspired fear in almost all who passed him on the streets. The old crew from the moment his former master found him up until a few months ago when he killed every one of them down to the last man after being pushed to far were afraid of him and the former apprentice knew it. The gear he had on was made of thick, heavy-duty fabrics to protect against the chaotic environment of certain planets along with an aged and tattered long blood-red wrap-around scarf to protect his neck along with the lower half of his face and heavy metal gauntlets to protect his hands for more than one reason.
Through years of training the apprentice repressed all the memories of his previous life without knowing it and spent the next decade and a half training to be a Sith under the supervision of his master. The woman who had taken him from his unknown home world was not a kind guardian in her quest for a powerful apprentice and over the years spent as a slave endured the Dathomirian's brutal almost sadistic training methods that bordered on outright torture. But she did teach the teen to draw on his hate and rage for power, while giving him training in only the basics before forcing the former apprentice to develop his own methods through sparring matches against bounties and brutal tests that left his body scarred at a young age. Even though in his youth most of the teen's injuries were mostly self-inflicted wounds from when he tried ending his own life countless times only for a member of the former crew to stop him needing their greatest asset alive.
His master's favorite form of training was to have one of the men under her command chain him immobile in the dark and deprive the teen of nourishment until he had successfully assembled a lightsaber through telekinesis. Over the years spent in her service the former apprentice was forced to take on the role of his master's personal assassin and enforcer, dispatching problematic individuals who refused to follow her command or pay their debts on time.
"Naruto." Her voice was like honey to the teen's ears but the now named Naruto blocked it out even as the room around him became shrouded in a dense fog. Instead he focused on his weapons. Lying on the ground in front of him rested a pair of dual-lightsabers that saw him through many trails growing up after their creation. Both were based off a heavy-duty design with a solid hilt and featured angled wraparound guards. Their hilts were covered with an interwoven fabric wrapping that acted as the grip of each lightsaber. Naruto's lightsabers saw frequent use just by the sight of each metal casing that was heavily scratched and pitted from battle with their dark purple crystals being the only part that remained after years of repair and battle. "I see you still held onto her lightsaber child even though its been months since you wiped your master's former crew from the galaxy." The teen knew what she was talking about since he kept his former master's lightsaber in a custom-made sheath on his back, rather than hanging it from his belt as was the norm among most Force users. It was a saberstaff, a double-bladed lightsaber which consisted of a single hilt that projected a bright red blade from both ends and once belonged to the Dathomirian who wanted to turn him into a great Sith warrior. She succeeded in more ways than one but failed in others.
A pair of slender arms wrapped around his neck from behind yet Naruto didn't move from his spot. "You rarely respond to me anymore Naruto. Yet you still let me share in your thoughts and senses to view the outside world."
"I had a dream after killing her. I saw a place where I could be happy and it confused me. A dream of white, green, orange-." Turning to glance up at her he finished speaking. "-and a brilliant crimson that matched your hair Kyoko." The lady in question was a beautiful human woman only Naruto could ever see. She had flawless alabaster-white skin and long crimson hair that fell past her slim waist and tied into a loose ponytail with an orange ribbon. She was a head taller than him no matter how many years passed the teen by and had crimson cat-like eyes that gave nothing away. She wore a white jacket with cords through the sleeves and open shoulders while strings were attached to each lapel and tied in front to keep the garment closed along with her sleeves fitting somewhat closely like a loose shirt and extending slightly past the wrist. The slits on the side of her hakama and the openings at the sleeves and shoulders of her jacket Kyoko looked like a figure ripped out of the pages of a history book but from which planet's history Naruto didn't know or bother to remember anymore.
"We've talked about this Naruto. You of all people should know dreams don't come true not after everything we've seen in service to your former master." Kyoko chided while running her fingers through his short, spiky blond hair which had two locks of that were wrapped in bandages framing either side of his covered face. She loved running her fingers through his soft hair that Naruto finally trimmed after his traitorous actions that were still fresh in her mind along with the screams from every person aboard the Harbinger when he turned on them like a hungry beast.
"She was never my master Kyoko." The teen's eyes, the only thing visible under the thick scarf covering most of his face glowed a ominous crimson before shifting to a dark purple then finally returning to a detached dark blue. She knew the crimson and dark purple coloring was a sign of her work and not that coward of a Sith. Those eyes were a part of her gift along with the markings that would appear while he meditated and a curse at the same time from the bargain they struck all those years ago upon his capture by the crew of the Harbinger.
"The Dathomirian was just a failure of a Sith pretending to be a warlord after other Sith Lords became known to the crew so I never saw her as anything more than the woman holding the collar around my neck." He didn't even bother to remember her name when all she wanted to be called was master or lord. So shaking his head slightly Naruto wouldn't bother to speak her name or even try to remember it.
"You above anyone else should no that much." With a blink of his eyes Naruto wasn't looking at Kyoko anymore but the Kyubi no Yoko, strongest of the nine and the being who gave him power most would dream about in exchange for such a simple favor later on when she thought he was strong enough to handle it.
"Just remember I returned your true name when all they called you was boy and gave you the name of your greatest ancestor to walk among the Uzumaki people." 'And the name you could use to strike fear into all that stand against us now that you killed the old fool of a woman and earned the title' "I trained you in the ways of your true people with the knowledge gained from watching their world through my last two prisons so listen to my advice Naruto. Gather a strong crew, a strong clan to stand at your side for when I call on the favor I'm owed. You'll need a clan backing you for what I require child." With those parting words the fog vanished from the meditation chamber leaving the teen to snap his eyes open from the forced dream like state Kyoko placed him under whenever she felt like talking.
Naruto chuckled already having figured out years ago that she never truly cared about him no matter what form the Kyuubi took to slip into his heart. When he was provided with the tools needed to make his first lightsaber to better serve the dead Dathomirian she approached him through his dreams offering power to make the planets shake in fear and vengeance on all who wronged him in exchange for a favor. Naruto didn't think when he said yes as a child but even then the blond knew it would cost him in the future.
Yet despite all of it being lies. Despite the brutal training she put him through in his mind the teen couldn't help but develop a close relationship with Kyoko. She provided the Force adept with enough compassion to stay sane through the trails of being kidnapped from his home world only to be raised a slave meant to serve as a weapon.
"Captain." A mechanized voice belonging to one of the few repurposed battle droids Naruto was able to buy called out to him getting the blond to turn his head in acknowledgement. "A job to clear out a group of rogue slavers was just sent through your account sir. It came from a representative of the Hutt clan wishing to meet with you outside about dealing with the group working out of the privately owned hangar nearby." Taking in the basic combat droid colored a dark orange like the other four he owned the teen resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the sight of a droid that could barely hold itself together waiting for further orders. They were already pieces of scrap when Naruto found them but now they were at least mobile pieces of scrap until he could afford the parts needed to patch them up.
Standing Naruto grabbed his lightsabers and sheathed them as he walked through the sliding doors towards the cargo bay. "Time to start making a name for myself if I want to find a strong enough crew to back whatever happens when Kyoko comes to collect her debt." The blond muttered before stopping to address the waiting droid. "Make sure the Harbinger doesn't smell like death by the time I get back from the job Bob.
"Roger, roger." The droid answered as Naruto walked away before asking a question. "But sir wasn't unit two designated the name Bob?" The now named Bob asked trying to confirm his new designation.
"Your all Bobs to me." His Captain and owner answered with a loud bark of laughter that the other four droids working to clean the ship were able to hear him all across the Harbinger no matter where they were.
42-42-564
"Are you sure you can handle this alone?" Nid'wajo a young, dark green-skinned Twi'lek asked as they walked through the shipyard towards the targets location. "This is my first big assignment from Jabba and I can't risk screwing things up even more by hiring some no name mercenary."
"Relax." Naruto said reassuring the client even though his eyes flashed crimson at the reminder of his status even though he did jobs like this all the time growing up under the old crew's horrid care. "All I have to do is be your guard while you 'talk' to them and if all else fails kill the idiots dumb enough to cross a Hutt."
"Fine!" Nid'wajo yelled throwing his arms up in the air at Naruto's uncaring response. "It's not like I have much choice with only the limited amount of money they gave me but remember to let me talk with them first before you start killing people."
"Fine then I promise not to kill anybody unless they attack first." With Naruto giving his word the pair walked through the hanger doors where the blonde's eyes narrowed at the sight of the smirking slavers and the Force guiding him to something in the area around them.
"What the hell do you want." One of the slavers asked while Naruto scanned the open hanger spotting two small Marauder-Class Corvette ships and the group of around seventy slavers moving to surround them.
"I have been sent on behalf of the great Hutt clans-." He was already raising his arm behind Nid'wajo as the slightly older man spoke. "-and wish to speak with your leader about his error in turning against the mighty lord Jabba." In the split second they were raising their weapons and Naruto closes his eyes the Force goes cold. Then like a rushing tsunami it surges forward and everything in its path...breaks.
"Get to cover you idiot while I finish up!" He shouted before diving over a stunned Nid'wajo whose knees buckled at the sight of all the damage around him and the lightsabers in Naruto's hands. His mind kept trying to put together how one second they were about to kill him then the next everything to his right was just broken.
"D-didn't you promise no killing until I gave the order?" That one question was the only thing he could think of as the Twi'lek watched the not so simple mercenary ripping through the group of slavers with lightsabers.
"I tried, I really did but I wasn't going to stand there and let my first official client die like an idiot." Naruto joked not concerned about the screams of mercy or blood splattering his gear having long since stopped caring about getting rid of scum like the slavers trying to kill him right now. Bawling his right hand into a fist a slaver trying to shoot him from behind started clawing at his throat desperate for air when Naruto's grip tightened breaking his neck. "Besides it's not like they actually have any training so this shouldn't take more than a few minutes." 'It also helped that I was taught to dodge or block from an early age by everybody on the Harbinger and Kyoko.'
Turning in a fluid motion like a body of water his lightsabers cut through a blaster before he uses the Force to throw another slaver through the nearby ship bending the metal at odd angles. That's when he sensed where the pull was coming from when his eyes landed on the location where the trapped slaves were still stuck onboard the Marauder-Class starships. It was the feeling of fear, rage, and deep down a small flicker of hope for freedom and those feelings drove him further into his need to end all the slavers still alive.
"Kill that son of a bitch!" Another slaver yelled as the few remaining men able to fight opened fire only for all of their shots to freeze mid-air.
"That isn't very nice you know." Naruto spoke up in an amused tone of voice holding up his left hand in a loose fist before sending every single shot back at their owners with a laugh watching the slavers freeze at the sight before dying. Looking around he could feel only the client still alive and deactivated his lightsabers as Nid'wajo shakingly got to his feet.
"W-well that was interesting." Nid'wajo commented still weary over the fact he was dealing with a Sith of all things. "N-now about your payment."
"Screw the money for this job I want one or two of their slaves along with whatever gear I can get off of the bodies and ships." The blond could get more money off of the gear than the Twi'lek had on him at the moment and the pull from the Force was even stronger now urging him to save somebody inside the nearby starship. It was the same pull that helped him survive alongside Kyoko healing him and also urged him on the day he turned on his former 'master' so the teen refused to ignore it's guiding hand.
"D-deal!" Nid'wajo couldn't agree fast enough not noticing the way Naruto rolled his eyes while calling a pair of droids to follow his signal and start stripping the bodies of anything he could use. Ignoring him as the client went on about other possible jobs in the future the blond walked up towards the cargo bay doors of the closest starship following the path to whoever it was the Force wanted him to help.
42-42-564 {A few minutes earlier.}
"Its okay Ganodi." A young voice mumbled though the fear in his voice could be heard by every other slave gathered in the room around them. "Remember I promised everything would be fine because I'd protect you so don't worry okay." The older boy said giving her a smile that was breaking apart by the second. After weeks of being transported from world to world towards whoever planned on buying them he couldn't find any reason to keep trying except Ganodi still needed him. And while trying his best to reassure the shaking Rodian hiding behind him everything would be fine throughout their time spent as slaves the eleven year old did the only thing he could think of lying to try calming her down.
"But you can hear it can't you Petro. Somebody is out there killing all the slavers outside." He could hear the screaming but unlike Ganodi the young human could also feel the Force raging in the air swirling around them in a protective embrace while the man outside stood at its center. Whoever the man was he didn't give off the cruel feeling of a Sith from what little they were taught in the temple before being betrayed by the Besalisk who sold them to slavers but at the same time the warrior wasn't a Jedi in any sense of the word just by the way he fought.
"Do you think its somebody from the temple?" Ganodi spoke up when the screaming finally died down outside. It was one of the few things that actually scared her about the temple after such a respected Jedi Master turned them over to slavers so they could be smuggled to Serenno for a man interested in younglings. The cruel smile on the Besalisk's face when he explained how many times one or two younglings would have an 'accident' while on an educational expedition scared her along with the sick looks in some of the slavers eyes when looking at the older women gave Ganodi nightmares almost every other night they were stuck in the dark cargo hold. The worst part was that the temple would do little more than keep them in their thoughts when they couldn't find their bodies taken by the local wildlife like the Jedi would report when he returned to the temple.
"I don't know." Petro answered doing his trying to hide how scared he really was from the only other member of the temple's Kitsune Clan sold into slavery by the traitorous Jedi.
Suddenly the doors to the cargo hold were ripped apart as their savior walked through them with light from the hangar filling the area almost blinding some of the slaves if he still wasn't blocking the opening. Looking around some ignoring the yells for aid or freedom the blond scanned the large crowd of slaves before his eyes landed on Petro and Ganodi in the far off corner trying to go unnoticed after the older boy sensed the chaotic feeling the blond haired teen gave off even as the Force tried telling them something.
Seeing him walking closer the young boy quickly placed himself in front of his only other friend glaring up at the man with rage burning behind his eyes. "Don't touch her!" Petro yelled trying his best to be seen as a threat only for the blond to crouch down when he got within a few feet of them while his eyes shifted through blue then dark purple before stopping on crimson drawing gasp from a few of the other slaves.
Naruto just smiled even with his scarf hiding most of his features at the sight of the child trying to scare him off. 'He reminds me of the fire you once had as a child and it could one day grow into a raging sun like you did.' The phantom whispers of Kyoko could be heard in the back of his head along with a strong urge from the Force wanting him to take the pair with him. His smile dropped slightly at her almost constant reminder of the light-colored, sun-like marking on his right palm. The tattoo like marking along with the techniques of his unknown home world were one of a few reasons why he wore the heavy metal gauntlets on his hands and it annoyed him even if the Sith Runes carved into the metal helped focus the substance known as chakra better.
The human boy looked around eleven with tan skin, black hair that looked like it needed a good trim and piercing green eyes that did well to mask his fear. While the shaking Rodian trying to make herself seem small and unimportant looked around nine years old but they both had a few things in common to his senses at least. Both of their robes were in tatters and they looked slightly pale from being kept inside the cargo hold for so long. But what caught Naruto's interest and answered the nagging pull in the back of his thoughts was the fact that they were Force sensitive younglings meaning one of the other Sith Lords his dead master feared or an apprentice had a plan in motion for something.
"What are you going to do with us Sith?" The young girl questioned looking into the crimson eyes of the Sith standing before them trying her best not to cry. Ganodi's fear of Jedi had already reached a limit with all the nightmares plaguing her but now that a Sith of all things stood before them she couldn't control the tears running down her cheeks at the thought of dying by his lightsaber.
Petro tensed waiting for a blow to come for calling him that only for the blond to blink before laughing a joy filled laugh while his eyes shifted back to their original dark blue. "I'm the furthest thing from a traditional Sith there is little lady even if I do keep the name out of spite to my former master." The older teen told them still chuckling under his breath. "Look into my eyes youngling, truly look into them and tell me what you think I am."
And she did for a few tense seconds where Petro refused to move from his spot between them before finally speaking up. "Your not a Jedi or Sith but somehow both at the same time." She sounded confused trying to follow the nudges from the Force trying to guide her. "Your more like a Grey Jedi I think."
Naruto smiled a kind caring smile that put them at ease even if they couldn't see it though his scarf. "I prefer to think of myself as Sith version two point one or a Neo-Sith if you will, but you're also correct in thinking me a Grey Jedi." His answer confused the pair of children but they weren't as nervous as before. "As for what I currently want. Well right now I'm working under a contract for a representative of the Hutt clan who is waiting outside informing Jabba of his newest batch of slaves." There were a few worried mummers from the other slaves but he was to focused on the nudges from the Force to pay them any attention. "In exchange for my normal payment he agreed to let me take a few of the captured slaves with me instead of the usual credits since I'm in need of a new crew for my ship." At once the cries for freedom could be heard all around the cargo hold until a brief pressure spread out across the area calming them down within seconds.
"As I just got through saying I can only take a small handful of people with me." Holding out his hand Naruto ignored the boy flinching back having grown use to being hit after spending weeks trapped with the now dead slavers. "And I'm offering you your freedom younglings. Will you take it even now after learning I'm a Sith?"
'You always do what I expect of you and save those in trouble.' Kyoko whispered watching the young boy hesitantly reaching out to take her warden's hand not knowing what would happen to them or even willing to risk becoming slaves to the Hutt laying claim on the others around them begging for their freedom. 'Only you would return the one thing stolen from them when most others would have seen Jedi younglings as future pawns on a chessboard to move about.' Shaking her head the phantom presence continued staring as he offered one other slave out of the dozens surrounding them freedom already knowing Naruto didn't care about the others who would be sold by the Hutts for profit once Jabba got word of the cargo he now owned. 'At least you aren't stupid to go against the Hutts.'
The blond just snorted at her words already knowing Jabba would crush him if he bothered with freeing the slaves that were now pleading to go with them. He wasn't an idiot and could see from just the way they looked that most of them were drug users who sold themselves into slavery for quick cash without thinking about the consequences. So no the blond Sith wouldn't bother saving them and gaining the wraith of the Hutts only for most of the slaves to sell themselves again when they needed another fix. 'I gave the few I could and would use it a chance unlike you with your almost infinite power.' Naruto replied before cutting off their connection for now as he led the pair of younglings outside along with a female Twi'lek that was going to be sold to a club in the seedier parts of Mos Eisley following behind them. Nearby two of his droids were already hurrying to gather anything a value before more mercenaries under the Hutts control arrive but they were ignored as the Force around the new Master calmed for the first time in years at the prospect of battles to come and apprentices to train.
'You'll never admit it but I think what you truly gain out of doing this is the family you lost so long ago even if you can't remember them anymore.' Kyoko's words were never heard by her warden who was far more concerned with the three slaves he just set free.
Author's Notes -
Yes he'll be on the good guys side but will fight more like an Anti-Hero meaning body bags when they want the targets in jail to pay for their crimes. Naruto was taken off his homeworld at an early age and was raised by an OC Sith and pirates so his sense of right and wrong are screwed up. He'll see himself as a Sith out of spite to annoy the other Sith he knows are still out there and also because he thinks the Jedi are just as flawed but will be the furthest thing from what a Sith should be. As for everything else in the galaxy with Naruto being there things are going to butterfly effected after adding him into the mix. I'm not going to change a lot in the beginning but it will deverge from canon in some areas later on down the road. The younglings being smuggled by slavers to get them to Dooku isn't that far out of the question on something that could possibly happen because the Jedi dropped the ball on a few things when the Sith were involved.
Naruto will be happy, have fun, laugh, and do all the other things Sith don't do like saving a cat that's stuck in a tree just to mock the way of the Sith but in battle he'll fight like a wild berserker showing he more than earned the title through years of cruel training and conflict. The time frame right now is set about two years before the clone wars but that will catch up soon enough after another chapter or two which I'll sneak a flashback in but right now Naruto is making a name for himself as a simple merc for hire. While on the jutsu side of things he knows mainly what Kyoko decided to teach him which is mostly Earth and Fire style techniques along with a few family jutsu. But like I said he isn't a god and won't be going blow for blow against Force users like Yoda or Palpatine.
As for Kyoko she's really Kurama only taking a female human form to get a connection with her warden/prison the other two wouldn't attempt because they already knew of her past. Naruto knows nothing of his home world besides what she decides to teach him and outside of training most of it is lies. He knows he's being lied to though but doesn't care since she was and still is the one constant good thing in his life after being kidnapped.
If you've read some of my other stories you already know this but to anybody that hasn't I like using supporting characters if I can find a use for them. They only get seen for a few episodes and give me a lot of free room to work with. I've also looked it up on the wiki about what little there is on the Jedi younglings so I already know somebody might complain about their ages but it never tells how old they are unless I missed it somewhere. But then again its my story so I'm picking how old they are either way. Naruto will possible be the oddest Master there will ever be and isn't going to bother following or teaching any of the Sith or Jedi codes he doesn't like so he'll say fuck it to a few rules and especially when it comes to the Rule of Two since he can clone himself.
As for the wiki it says between the ages of four and eight younglings were divided into ten 'clans' of up to twenty children one of which was the Bear Clan just doesn't say for how long or when. There are also Jedi that start their training when older or even as an adult like Nomi Sunrider so I get my wiggle room to do things my way. [Evil Laughter Inserted.] Also I couldn't find anything else on the clan names the Jedi younglings were in so I'm just called theirs the Kitsune Clan so deal with it I guess if you have a problem.
Right now I won't go into why he has the tattoo since it won't come into play until later except for the part where they can sense the others presence.
I know I promised people I'd work on the stories I marked with an X but I've been a little busy this past month and let Jess work on whatever updates she felt like when she offered to do it for me. I really haven't had that much time to work on the stories I wanted to so sorry in advance but I'm just adding the notes and rewriting a few things for this set of updates.
Response - (Thanks for your reviews.)