Chapter 4: Rewards and Retributions
Dodging another overhead sweep, Ahsoka rolled yet again as she backpedaled, panting heavily as she continued to dodge. For the last several minutes, that had been all she'd been capable of, as her unfamiliarity with doublesabers disallowed any form of saber contact.
Stumbling, she lost her footing and cursed, falling to the ground. Ironically, this very slip-up saved her life, as yet another sweep of Ventress' red lightsabers failed to make contact where she'd just been, barely avoiding being bisected.
Scrabbling backwards, she cursed again when her back met rock, the backpack she'd been keeping the Huttlet in scraping against the wall as said infant squealed in protest against the unnatural noise.
"So, out of tricks, are we?"
Growling, Ahsoka merely glared at Ventress, who had one fist on her hips as the other pointed a lightsaber at her nose, her skin prickling at the heat coming off the energy blade. "Now, be a good little bitch and hand over the Hutt."
Swinging her lightsaber, Ahsoka knocked the tip away from her nose, and rolled again, avoiding the second blade as it sheared through the rock wall where her neck had been. Backed into a corner, lightsaber held before her in a futile gesture of defense, Ahsoka willed her legs to not give out as Ventress stalked towards her.
The Sith only had a second to realize they weren't alone, before she backflipped away from the Padawan, a large gash carving itself where she'd just been. Landing in front of Ahsoka, Naruto flipped through several more handsigns before hurling his hands outward: "Fuuton: Daitoppa!"
Ventress crossed her arms before her, her sabers adopting a cross guard before she was hit by the elemental attack, groaning as she was driven back. Growling, she swept the air, her sabers dispersing the attack before she flung her arm out, intent on slamming the newcomer through the wall.
Growling in reply, Naruto moved his arm in a sweeping motion, using his elemental control to coat his limb in highly pressurized air. He easily deflected the Force Push, the attack crumbling the wall to his left. Ventress through her arm out a second time, and met with the same result. Holstering her blades, she reared back and threw a harder one, putting a good deal of power behind it.
The attack hurled towards him, and he could see the ground beneath it crumble and part, such was the power behind it. It made the very air ripple and part. Snarling, he shaped the air around his limb into a blade, before hurling it at the wall of energy, the Force Push parting like Moses with the Red Sea as it crashed into the wall behind him, showering Ahsoka with pebbles and small rocks.
Eyes wide, Ventress grabbed her sabers and reignited them, leaping forward and arching one over her head.
Naruto made no move to draw his weapon, simply raising his hand and intercepting the blade mid-swing. Ahosoka looked away, sure she'd just witnessed her master gravely wounded. When no cry of pain was forthcoming, she dared a peek and was shocked by what she saw.
Suspended in his palm, Naruto calmly held Ventress' blade as if he were holding a staff or a training saber. Ventress seemed equally shocked, but quickly regained control and swung her second blade sideways, in an attempt to bisect the blonde. She met air, and was stunned.
'Where did he go? How can he be this fa-' Grunting, she doubled over and dry-heaved as the wind was knocked out of her, before her cheek caved in and she was sent flying into the wall across the room, a dull THUD resounding through the room followed by a cracking noise as the wall she impacted caved in, relenting to the overwhelming pressure provided by her propelled body.
Landing lightly, Naruto strode over and calmly picked up Ventress by her head, the Sith's groan increasing as he tossed her slightly into the air. Gravity taking over, she began to fall, just before she was spin-kicked into a pillar, her cry of pain cut short as the structure crumbled onto her.
Watching for a moment to make sure she didn't get up, Naruto then turned to Ahsoka, who's mouth was shamelessly hung open in utter bewilderment. His face stoic and unreadable, Naruto walked over before picking her up bridal-style and heading back from where he came, not even passing a glance at the rubble where Ventress had been hurled. As far as Ahsoka was concerned, she didn't think the Sith had any fight left in her, especially after such a sound beating.
Still, she wouldn't put it past a Sith to attempt an attack from behind, but when the rubble didn't even shift an inch, she looked away and rested her head on Naruto's shoulder, content to let him carry her out of the temple. She was exhausted, and he knew it.
Outside the temple, the clones were taking care of the arduous task of sweeping the droids into more manageable piles, clearing the debris from parts of the landing bay so that walking didn't become a hazard.
Rex surveyed the resulting battle, and was fairly pleased with the overall results. Of the 6 AT-TE's and 100 troopers they'd brought, only two of the tanks and 10 men were lost; this he could attribute to his general's overwhelming surprise attack and excellent battle strategies.
Grudgingly, he now agreed with Naruto about his first plan of attack. They would have lost many more troops, and could have lost ALL of the tanks in the first battle. With the unexpected second battle, they would have been all but wiped out. He hadn't thought about a Separatist counterattack, and was ashamed to admit it.
'Namikaze makes one HELL of a war general. I'm just glad he's with US, and not Dooku. We'd be screwed if he was.'
Turning his helm skyward, he grinned as a Venator-class Republic cruiser entered low orbit, gunships and V-19 Torrent starfighters streaming out of the landing bay. What caught his eye, however, was 2 Jedi Starfighters heading straight towards their location.
No sooner had they landed than Obi-Wan Kenobi and Revan Namikaze leapt from their respective transports and sped over, seeking him out immediately.
"Rex, I see you managed to hold your own quite splendidly."
He grinned at Obi-Wan. "We sure did, General. But I'm not going to take the credit for this one; this was all General Namikaze's doing. He's a brilliant commander. We barely lost any soldiers, because of him."
Obi-Wan nodded. Revan stepped forward. "Where IS my husband, by the way?"
Turning, he made to point the blonde out. "He's right over...uh..."
Seeing the commander's confused expression, Revan sighed. "Lemme guess: No idea."
Shaking his head, Rex was about to reply before he saw said blonde exiting the temple.
"Nope, he's right there."
Eyes widening in surprise, Revan looked over and saw her husband carrying what looked like a body. She feared the worst immediately, but relaxed when he flashed her a small smile. Upon closer inspection, it revealed he was carrying Ahsoka...who was carrying the Huttlet in a backpack.
Striding over to greet them, he set Ahsoka down on the ground, content to let her sleep as he hoisted the backpack into his arms, the Huttlet gurgling in delight at seeing new faces.
"Guys, meet Jabba's son."
Obi-Wan frowned slightly, and pinched his nose. "Good lord, Naruto. What have you been feeding it?"
"Oi, I haven't fed it anything! It ALWAYS smells like this."
Revan elbowed Obi-Wan, giving him a glare before she took the pack from Naruto. "Aww, aren't you just precious~?"
Naruto palmed his face. "Women and infants. I swear..."
Obi-Wan shook his head, before staring down at Ahsoka. "Is she okay?"
He nodded. "Yeah, she's fine. Just a little drained, is all. We fought a Sith."
Silence permeated the immediate vicinity. Rex's eyes were trying to escape his skull, and he swallowed hard to clear the lump in his throat. "A Sith, you say?"
Naruto nodded, glancing at the commander before looking at Obi-Wan. "She was definitely a user of the Dark Side, that much I can say. I don't know her name, though, albeit Ahsoka mumbled a name in her sleep. Ventra...or Venertia..."
Obi-Wan scowled. "Ventress."
Naruto clapped his hands. "Yeah, that's it."
Obi-Wan frowned. "She's a Sith Acolyte, an apprentice to Count Dooku. She's been showing up more and more on the battlefield, and has caused the deaths of several Padawans, already. Question is, what was she here for?"
Revan rolled her eyes. "Don't be stupid, Ben. It's obvious Dooku sent her here to kill the Hutt."
"Actually, she wanted it."
Blinking, all present turned to see Ahsoka struggle to sit up, succeeding only when Naruto supported her back with his hand.
"She wanted it? You mean she wanted to take the Hutt?"
She nodded, which earned quirked eyebrows all around. "Huh. That would explain a lot. I figured Dooku would kill the Huttlet, and make it look like we did it, but rescuing it and bringing it to Jabba would definitely earn his favor."
Revan nodded at her husband's astute observation. "Well, what happened to her? You took care of her, I take it?"
Naruto nodded. "Yep. Hurled her through a wall, then a pillar. She won't be getting back up anytime soon."
Obi-Wan sighed. "Must you destroy everything you come in contact with?"
Naruto grinned. "It's in my nature, Benny-boy."
"Well, I might as well see to it that my Padewan gets taken care of. Can't have her hanging around YOU all the time." Shaking his head, he picked up Ahsoka and headed towards a nearby gunship.
Chuckling, Naruto made to retort, but was cut off.
"Put me down, Master. I'm fine."
Eyebrows quirked in surprise, Obi-Wan did as he was asked, and although a little shaky, she nodded her thanks. Surprising him even more, she made her way over and hooked an arm around Naruto's, pulling him towards their starfighters.
Revan blinked, then strode forward and stopped the duo, giving the Padewan a look before handing the Huttlet to her husband. "I'm assuming her dragging you to your starfighter means she wants to continue the mission. Although, she could have gone about it a better way." She leveled another look at Ahsoka, who had the decency to blush.
Naruto looked over at Ahsoka, before sighing. "Ahsoka, gimme a second. I need to talk to Rev." When the Padawan refused to let go of his arm, he patted her hand reassuringly. "I promise I'll come right back." With a nod, she reluctantly let go, and he hooked his arm around Revan's before pulling her off to the side.
"What's the deal with her?"
Naruto shook his head. "Honestly? I don't know. But that's not important, right now. What IS important is the fact that she's right." At Revan's confused expression, he sighed. "About continuing the mission, love. We HAVE to do this, not just for the Hutt, but for the Republic itself. We NEED those shipping lanes, remember?"
Revan nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer. "So, what's it like?"
"Huh?"
"Having a Padawan? What's it like?"
"It's..." he paused. "...Actually, it's not that bad. To be honest, I've been a lone wolf for so long that I didn't really know how to work cohesively with a teammate until you showed up, hime. Now, I have a little tagalong that is trying her hardest to compensate for any and all blind spots I have. I'll admit, I've been letting myself get a little lax around her, but it's all for the training she undoubtedly needs, and I'm willing to provide her with that."
Revan smiled. "Maybe we should talk to Yoda about a transfer?"
Naruto nodded. "Sounds good to me."
Revan grinned. "Great! Now that frees Ben for our kids again!"
Naruto snickered. "Sucks to be him."
Revan swatted him, gaining a yelp from her husband. A wicked grin crossed her face, and making sure Ahsoka was watching, she leaned down and grabbed his face before kissing him deeply, his eyes widening at the sudden display of affection, before he kissed her back.
Parting, Naruto inhaled. "Care to tell me what THAT was about?"
Revan grinned. "Just making sure the girl knows where her standing is, that's all."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Jealous, much?"
Revan swatted his rear. "Damn straight. You're mine."
Naruto rubbed his behind and shook his head. "You're such a goof."
She mock-gasped. "Take that back!"
Naruto grinned. "Goofy-goober."
She growled playfully. "Naruto..."
Turning, he ran over and grabbed Ahsoka, all but yanking her and the Huttlet towards their starfighters. "Gotta go, Rev. See you later!"
She shook her head. "Damn him. Oh, well...I'll get him back later."
Walking over, she poked Obi-Wan hard in the shoulder, the Jedi turning with a look of discontent on his face.
"Can I help you, Revan?"
She nodded. "Yeah, you can. You can start by rounding up the troops. We're going to Tatooine as backup."
Obi-Wan blinked. "But I thought Naruto said-"
"Screw what he said. I'm going, and you're coming with."
Groaning, Obi-Wan hung his head. "Fine. Just don't put any blame on me when Naruto flies off the handle after he discovers us following him."
Ignoring Ben's complaints, she shooed him away before pulling out a communicator. Commander Cody's visage popped up on the comm. "Yes, General?"
"Commander, I want you to recall all fighters and troops. We're going after Naruto and Ahsoka to provide backup."
Nodding, he saluted her. "As you wish, General."
Cutting the comm off, she turned and watched as Obi-Wan gave the orders to Rex, who passed it along through the ranks. She knew it would take them a while to load up, and could only hope that they weren't far behind.
Inside the temple, rubble and debris shifted slightly, before falling off to reveal a battered Ventress, her dress slightly torn but otherwise intact. Wiping some blood from her mouth, she spat out a globule before reaching into her pocket and pulling out her communicator, wincing as she nursed a bruised rib.
Flicking it on, she was greeted with the image of Count Dooku, his expression of anger falling away to confusion. "Ventress, report. Have you secured the Huttlet? Jabba is getting...antsy."
Shaking her head, she leaned against a wall to stop the world from spinning. "No, Master...I nearly had him, but was caught off-guard by Namikaze." At his glare, she straightened her posture, ignoring the screaming pain in her lower back. "It was not my intention to engage him, Master. I had no choice. Regardless, he managed to beat me with a few tricks I'd never seen before. It was not as though he bested me in combat."
Sighing, Dooku could be seen rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Very well. I will not condemn you for defending yourself. However, I will also not condone failure on your part. Be that as it may, you are far too injured to continue, so I expect you to head to the nearest Separatist medical facility to heal up."
"Master-"
"NO QUESTIONING MY DECISION, VENTRESS!" he roared. Taking a deep breath, he composed himself, letting his anger simmer. "Just get to the medical center. I will deal with Namikaze. He may be strong, but he has a handicap with the Huttlet in his possession, and a Padawan at his side. I should be able to deal with him, myself. Dooku out."
The holoimage faded and Ventress was left wondering, even as she made her way to her Ginivex-class starfighter, just how strong Naruto was if her master himself was using handicaps to bring the blonde down.
Space Above Tatooine...
Warping out of hyperspace, the duo wasted no time in detaching their fighters from their hyperspace rings and penetrating Tatooine's arid atmosphere, their starcraft soaring over the desert landscape as they headed for Jabba's palace.
"Ahsoka, land here. We'll continue on foot."
"But why, Master?"
Naruto didn't respond, merely directing the craft downward. Sighing, Ahsoka did the same, landing a click away from Jabba's palace. Leaping out of her craft, she walked over to Naruto, Huttlet in tow.
"NOW will you tell me-"
"Count Dooku."
Her eyes widened, before she spun around to stare at the well-kept appearance of the Count of Serrano.
"Ahh, my dear friend. Such a pleasure to see you again. You're well, I take it?"
Ahsoka's eyes darted back and forth between Naruto and Dooku, her expression showing her bewilderment. "You two KNEW each other?"
Naruto nodded, but didn't take his eyes off the Count. "We used to, back in the days before the Clone Wars." Regarding the Count with sad eyes, Naruto shook his head. "You were a good person once, Dooku. What changed?"
Dooku sighed, and his eyes took on a melancholy look to them. "Time, Naruto. Time changes everything. Over time, I began to see the Jedi Order for what it was becoming, instead of the ideal I used to believe in. Corrupt, arrogant, BLINDED to the true nature of the Force. Unwilling to heed the call of the Dark Side, the call of power and promise, the call of kings, emperors, rulers of the known galaxy-"
"The call of the Sith, the call of evil, the call of FALSE power and EMPTY promises. You know this, Dooku. You know the Dark Side brings nothing but pain, sorrow, and regret. Why serve it? It is not too late, believe it or not. Call off this farce of a war. Rebuke the Dark Side. LET GO of your hate, your anger, your bitterness. I can help you, Revan can help you, Obi-Wan can help you, Yoda can help you. We all want to help you."
Dooku smiled, a genuine, true smile, his lips curving upwards into a pleasant grin, and Ahsoka caught a glimpse of what Dooku used to be, a kind, caring old man who wanted nothing more than a peaceful life.
Then it was gone, replaced by the sadness and distraught nature of his very being. "I'm...sorry, my old friend. I truly am. I did not wish for it to come to this, to war. Bloodshed only begets bloodshed, and violence the same. Yet, it has come to this only because the Jedi refuse to see the error of their ways. If not the Dark Side, then they should at least embrace their emotions."
Naruto shook his head. "We can rectify that...together. Come with me, please. Turn away from this path, my friend. Let it go." Reaching out a hand in good faith, Naruto beseeched the troubled Count.
"I'm...I'm afraid I can't do that, Naruto. Too many times I've tried reasoning with the council. Too many times I've tried persuading them to see the truth. 'Fear is a path to the Dark Side.' said Master Yoda. 'Fear leads to Anger, Anger leads to Hate, and Hate leads to Suffering.' The Jedi fail to see that it is their FEAR of the Dark Side that has led them astray."
Naruto nodded at this, shocking both Ahsoka and the Count. "You're right. Their fear HAS lead them astray. But fear in of itself is not a bad thing, Dooku. Fear is what keeps us alive when we need it most. Fear lets us know what we should avoid doing. And most importantly, fear keeps us from doing things we know, deep down, are wrong."
"My friend, if you embrace fear, you will be crippled by it."
"No, Dooku. To embrace your own fears gives you strength, not weakeness." Naruto shook his head with a smile. "I learned this long ago, centuries before your time. To be afraid, to know of fear, is not weakness. To embrace your fear is not weakness. To let your fear RULE you, to let it take hold and stay your hand, halt your movements, to let it cripple you...THAT is weakness." Dooku looked as if he wished to interject, but Naruto held up a hand. "To embrace your fear is to acknowledge your shortcomings. Doing so is also not a weakeness.
True strength...TRUE strength...comes from being afraid, yet pushing PAST your fear, acknowledging you're afraid; afraid to die, afraid to fail, afraid to lose, afraid to screw up, afraid to let a best friend down, afraid to come up short, to be second best. All these and more. Yet if you can push past them, to strive for something REGARDLESS of your fears, REGARDLESS of your fear of failure, of loss, of death...THAT is what makes you truly strong, Dooku."
Silence permeated the dunes, and Naruto gently took the Huttlet from Ahsoka's stunned grasp, gently guiding her forward as they neared Dooku. Clasping a hand on the stunned Count's shoulders, Naruto squeezed it sympathetically. "Believe me, my friend, I know. Everything you've been through, I've already experienced. The sadness, the loss of friends and loved ones. I will admit, I never knew my family, but I've always felt close to them, so to not know them is a loss, too. Trust me, I know."
Letting his hand fall back to his side, he turned to Ahsoka. "Let's go. We've said enough."
Nodding, she followed him, looking back at the stock-still form of the leader of the Confederacy, before turning and racing to catch up to Naruto's retreating form.
Dooku was stunned. No, stunned was too light a word...shocked? Bewildered? Caught off-guard? All these and more seemed to pale, to fall short of what he had just heard.
He'd known that Naruto was wiser than he was given credit for. He'd known that Naruto was older than he was, and had probably seen it all and done it all, and come out standing.
What he hadn't known, however, was that Naruto was MUCH more intelligent than he was given credit for. Bordering on philosophical, if that speech had any link to the depths of Naruto's psyche. Like his predecessors before him, Dooku had taken for granted the general ignorance that Naruto displayed on a daily basis; laughing, joking, and poking fun at most every situation that arose.
Little did he know that it was a mask, a mask constructed from DECADES of torment, of every conceivable pain known to man. So well crafted, this mask, that it took Naruto himself removing it for one to see what he truly was: a humbled individual with more knowledge of the inner workings of the soul than Dooku cared to think about.
Shaking his head from his musings, he realized he'd been standing there for some time. Chuckling to himself, he made his way to his Flinknot speeder. 'Perhaps Naruto was right. Perhaps he was wrong. One thing IS certain, however...' He frowned as he sped off in the direction of his solar sailer. 'I won't be getting much sleep for the foreseeable future.'
With Jabba's son returned safely to the palace, and the Hutt's promise of access to his shipping lanes granted, their mission was complete. Naruto sighed as he sank into the couch, smiling softly as he ruffled Anko's hair gently, careful not to wake the sleeping girl. He, his wife, and their three children had been spending the past several days together, making up for lost time as they enjoyed their brief reprieve from war duties.
Glancing over, he made sure everyone was asleep before flicking the holoset off, not an eyelid amongst them twitching in response. Scooping Anko up in his arms, he kissed her forehead softly before carrying her into her room, putting her to bed before doing the same with Haku and Kushina. After tucking the last one in, he went back to the couch and, with a grin, scooped up his wife in his arms.
Her eyes blinked open, and she yawned before snuggling into his grasp. "Mmm, how long was I out?"
Shrugging, he carried her to their bedchamber. "Not very long. An hour or two, at most."
She nodded, but couldn't stifle another yawn as he laid her down and curled up next to her, nuzzling her neck as she sighed.
"I wish we could just stay like this, love."
Naruto nodded, not needing to speak as Revan had already fallen asleep. 'Me too, koi. Me, too.'
Okay, so that's the end of the Clone Wars Movie. Now we can actually dive into the nitty gritty of the Clone Wars series itself. Once again, I don't promise any updates, as I'm dealing with a ten-ton plate of crap right now, so I can't make promises I can't guarantee I'll keep.
-Sgt. Assassin
