A Hero Dies Under Amber Skies
Chapter 4: Retraining, Recovery, and Recruitment: Part 2
*Space Over Dagobah*
Mace Windu's fighter came out of light speed over Dagobah, Ahsoka Tano in the gunner's seat.
"Now, how do we find him?" Asked Mace "The escape pod isn't transmitting coordinates. Can you remember where above the planet you were when he jettisoned?"
"I was exhausted and could barely stand. Plus, I had just had a run-in with a being who had powers I didn't even know existed." Responded Ahsoka sarcastically. "I had other things on my mind."
Mace sighed. "Well, I suppose that we should wait here for a little while, and then land if we still get no signal."
"Very well master." Agreed Ahsoka, settling in for the wait.
Then a thought occurred to her. "Master, what if the Sith are already there? What if they already have him?"
Mace paused for thought. "I Sense a powerful Dark Side Presence on the planet, but it is not a Sith. It is something else. I truly believe that we have beaten the Separatists here."
Ahsoka, seeing no reason to doubt her Master's judgement on a matter like this, greed with him and settled back into her seat to wait.
*Space Over Dagobah, Other side of the Planet*
Ventress' ship came out of light speed on the other side of the planet from Ahsoka and Mace. Niether party knew that the other was there. Reaching out with the Force, Ventress' beliefs that the person in the amber was a Dark Side Warrior of some sort, While she couldn't sense him, she did feel a powerful Dark Side presence coming from the planet itself.
"He must have gone there to regain his strength after the hibernation." She reasoned. But her ship's computer was showing no tracking signal from the escape pod. So she decided to wait, but moved closer to the Dark presence she felt, presuming he would be somewhere near there.
Besides, she found the energy comforting.
She was broken from her musings when her console beeped, telling her that Dooku was attempting to contact her.
"Report, Ventress." He demanded.
"Master, I have arrived at the planet, but there is no signal coming from the escape pod. I will search to the best of my abilities, but unless the signal is reactivated, it will take some time."
Dooku grimaced at that. "Make it fast. The Emperor grows impatient."
"As you wish, Master."
"Remember Ventress, if you come back at all, he had better be with you. I will not tolerate another falure from you."
"Yes Master. I will bring him back."
"You had better." Warned Dooku, ending the transmission.
Ventress shuddered in her seat. Refusing to think about what she would do if she failed this mission.
"Any means necessary Ventress. Remember that." She reminded herself and mentally prepared herself for any request made of her, while slipping in a quick prayer that he was seemingly asexual, like pretty much every Sith was.
*On Dagobah: With Naruto*
Naruto looked up from meditation, his eyes golden, with a red iris, and cross-shaped pupils, the horizontal bar was shaped like a rounded rectangle, and the vertical one looked like a slit pupil. He was using both the Kyuubi's Chakra and nature Chakra, with these two chakras active, he could sense the beings above the planet, looking for him.
"They aren't going away, are they?" He asked.
"Probably not." Replied Kyuubi. "but look at the bright side, your love interest is here."
"I am not in love with her." He sighed, exasperated.
"That's what you think." Teased the Kyuubi. "Are you going to let them find you?"
"If they don't leave I will"
"And if they do? Have you given any consideration as to how you are going to get off this rock?"
"Not really, no."
"They can get you off, it's just a matter of who you choose to ally yourself with."
"True." Agreed Naruto. "Let's wait and see how things turn out." Naruto stood up and activated the tracking beacon n the escape pod. "Hello word, here I come. At least I set the traps, this meeting will be on my terms."
*With Mace and Ahsoka*
"Master, we have an escape pod signal coming from Dagobah. It must be him." announced Ahsoka excitedly.
"I agree. Let's go." Said Mace, steering his ship towards the signal, hoping that this wasn't a trap.
*With Ventress*
Ventress' eyes widened as she got a signal from an escape pod coming from the surface of the planet.
"It must be him." She thought with a mixture of elation at the fact that she might not fail this mission, and fear at meeting this warrior face-to-face.
She entered the atmosphere and steered towards the signal.
Neither ship saw the other.
*With Naruto*
Naruto sat in the middle of the clearing meditating, he heard the two ships land, each about a half a mile away from him, on either side of him. After a few minutes, he felt a tug on his rght index finger, followed shortly by a tug on his left.
"And the fall into my trap. Frickin' amateurs."
*Ahsoka and Mace*
Ahsoka and Mace advanced towards the signal that they were getting, Ahsoka was slightly ahead of him. After a few minutes of running, something caught his eye.
"Ahsoka, look out." he said as loudly as he dared
Said Padawan froze in mid-step.
"Move your leg back, very slowly."
"What is it?" She asked.
"Look, a wire. On the ground." She looked back, and there it was, reflecting the dim light of the planet's sun. "Tread carefully."
Ahsoka nodded an affirmative and stepped over the wire, carefully, she then stepped over the next one. Mace doing the same right beside her. They continued like this, stepping over wires, looking out for the next one after a few minutes of this, Mace stopped her again.
"What is it this time?" She asked.
"Another wire." Answered Mace.
"I see it." She hissed.
"No, look closely. " He instructed, kneeling down.
That was when Ahsoka saw it, and she truly appreciated the genius of this trap.
"A Second wire right between the other two." Observed Mace. "The first one reflects the light easily, but the second one is colored to match the ground, making it harder to spot. This took some time to set up."
"It also means that he can't be far."
"He isn't. I can sense him. About ten feet that way." Said Mace, pointing towards some bushes nearby.
Navigating the wires, they made it to the bushes and crouched down. They plled the bushes apart and saw their target, sitting in the middle of a clearing, meditating.
The two were wondering how to approach when he said:
"You can come out now. I know that you're there."
Knowing that they were found, they stepped out into the open
*Meanwhile: With Ventress*
Ventress scowled and stepped over another wire,
"This is not the easiest trap to dodge in an ankle-length skirt." She mused, referring to her choice of dress. The fabric was stretchy, light weight and easy to move around in during a fight, but she had picked a bad time to wear it.
Then she noticed the colored wires and needed to step over them as well.
"Will me navigating his trap impress him?" She wondered. "I hope so. If I impress him he might be easier to convince."
She felt his presence a short distance away. Just behind some bushes.
She peeked out through them, and could feel the power he was giving off, pouring off of him in waves.
"Such power. This is unbelievable." She thought. "He could really be the being that assures Sith dominance of the galaxy." She then smirked. "Maybe having to seduce him won't be so bad."
She was broken from her thoughts when he said:
"You can come out now. I know that you're there."
Ventress, not wanting to anger him, stepped out into the open.
*Meanwhile: With Naruto*
Naruto sat in the center of the clearing. All three of his stalkers had been ensnared in his trap. And he decided to let them know that he knew they were there.
"You can come out Now. I know that you're there."
Ventress walked out on his left, Ahsoka and Mace on his right.
"YOU!" Shouted Ventress, igniting her lightsabers.
"Ventress!" Yelled Ahsoka and mage, igniting their blades.
"Is all you people do is fight?" Asked Naruto to himself, then yanked his hands apart and downward.
The effect was instantaneous. The three all went flying backwards until they were on opposite sides of the clearing, hanging in the air.
"What?" Asked Mace Windu. "What is going on here?"
"You fell into my wire trap." Answered Naruto.
"That's not possible!" Protested Ahsoka, we avoided both kinds if wire."
"So did I." Said Ventress.
"Both?" Asked Naruto sounding confused. There were three kinds. The two on the ground, and the ones cobwebbed in the trees. They were the thinest ones."
"Thinner than hair, stronger than a steel cable!" Shouted Ahsoka. "You used these wires on Grievous!"
"Got it in one." He smiled. "Really I'm disappointed in you Ahsoka, I thought you would have noticed them, since you knew they existed more than anyone else."
Ahsoka didn't have a reply for that.
"Am I to assume that you are all here to try to recruit me to your respective sides?"
"That would be accurate." Responded Mace evenly.
"Hmmm... well, at least you're honest." Complimented Naruto.
"Join us Naruto.' Asked Ahsoka. "You would be a hero, you could finally be the one who brings peace to the Galaxy."
"NO!" Yelled Ventress. "Don't let her deceive you. If you join the Sith, you could have anything you want, the entire Galaxy at your feet. Jedi like this whore put I their place. Join us and we can create a galaxy where you could have you fill of wine, women, and blood."
"At the expense of so many innocent people!" Spat Mace. "You have already killed Grievous. Continue to fight with us."
"Forget them." Growled Ventress "We have all felt your aura, your bloodlust, the absolute evil that surrounds you. You are meant for the Sith. Join us and live in comfort and luxury, servants and slaves at your beck and call. Anything you could possibly want at your fingertips, ripe for the taking."
"At what cost?" Demanded Mace
"At the cost of weaklings who would never otherwise achieve anything with their meaningless lives!"
"No life is meaningless!" Yelled Ahsoka.
"Silence you Jedi scum!"
"Will you all SHUT UP!" Roared Naruto with such force that all of them stopped talking. "I can barely hear myself think over all the yelling, let alone make a decision that will affect the rest of my life!" He paused for a deep breath. "Look, I already know the Jedi side of things, so it's time to see the Galaxy from the Sith point of View." Naruto walked over to Ventress and locked eyes with her. A few seconds later, she shuddered and he withdrew, grabbing his head as Ventress' memories poured into him.
This caused him to release his grip on the strings that were holding the Force-Users up.
In the split second before she hit the ground, Ventress made a snap decision. If he was feeing indecisive, she would show him the power of the Dark Side, by cutting down both the Jedi Master and the Padawan.
She had her lightsabers ignited before she even hit the ground. She charged toward the Jedi duo, who barely managed to get their guards up in time. Ventress' blades met Mace's and Ahsoka's with a crackling hiss. Mace jumped over Ventress to strike her from behind, but his strike was blocked by Ventress. Ahsoka went in for a strike from the side, but was blocked by ventress, who now had a Jedi on either side of her.
Meanwhile, Naruto was sorting through the flood of information that he had gotten from Ventress. Her life had been so much more traumatic than Ashoka's, so there had been a large backlash from taking in all that trauma. But now he understood, Ventrss had suffered trauma after trauma and Dooku was using that.
He vowed to stop that abuse.
Looking over to the fight that had erupted in his absence, he drew his katanas and jumped into the middle.
Ventress was now fighting The two head on, having gotten out from between them a moment ago. She managed to break their guards and prepared a killing blow, only to, yet again, be stopped by Naruto.
"Why?" She screamed. "Why do you keep stopping me? Don't you want her dead? This weak pathetic Jedi whore, WHO ISN'T EVEN WRORTHY OF BEING YOUR SLAVE? WHO-" Whatever she was going to say next was cut off, courtesy of Naruto's foot to her stomach, sending her flying back into a tree and knocking her out.
"There. Now we can get this under way." Said Naruto, sheathing his swords. He rached into his coat and removed some rope. He walked over to Ventress' unconscious body and tied her wrists together, then tied her to the tree she was slumped in front of, being careful to not hurt her anymore than she was already. He then picked her lightsabers up and tucked them into his coat.
"Are we going to talk or is there going to be more fighting?" He asked. "you know, for an order that preaches pacifism, you sure fight a lot." Naruto remarked.
"Only against the Sith."
"And Bounty Hunters, and droids, and slavers, and sometimes clones and other Jedi." He rattled off.
"We only fight when necessary." Defended Ahsoka.
"Say whatever you want. But your order isn't all that you think it is." Scoffed Naruto. "At least we Shinobi never claimed to be anything more than what we were."
"Shinobi?"
"Story for another day." Remarked Naruto. "Now, I don't believe any of us have been properly introduced." Observed Naruto, walking towards Mace and Ahsoka. "Naruto Uzumaki, at your service." He introduced himself, bowing, then kissing the back of Ahsoka's hand.
"Mace Windu. Jedi Master."
It took Ahsoka a moment to regain her composure. "Ahsoka Tano, Jedi Padawan."
"I asked for names, not titles. I don't care greatly for them."
"Then let's get straight to the point. What are you? Jedi or Sith?" Asked Mace.
"Good, you don't beat around the bush." Complimented Naruto. "and as for your question, I am neither Jedi nor Sith. What I am is not easily defined. But if you insist on giving it a label, I am a Shinobi. The ins and outs of that I will explain later."
Mace seemed to contemplate this. "Very well. Ahsoka spoke highly of your powers but so far I have only seen you use tricks. Clever, but not very impressive."
"Did it ever occur to you that tricks are all I need?" Asked Naruto.
"No." Admitted Mace.
"If it pleases you, I will give you a demonstration of my skills in a friendly spar." Offered Naruto.
"Alright. Show me." Accepted Mace, igniting his lightsaber.
Naruto wasted no time, he lunged at Mace, drawing his blade in the process. His glowing steel clashed with Mace's plasma blade as the two clashed, mace slowly being overpowered. Mace broke the deadlock and jumped back. Landing in a crouch, hu ducked under a swing from Naruto, who had drawn his second blade.
Mace saw the glowing metal moving towards him and leaned back to avoid it. The steel missed his face by a few inches, but a cut still appeard.
"What?"
"Surprised?" asked Naruto. "It's a little trick I learned from a friend of mine. I can coat my blade with wind and extend it's reach by a substantial amount."
"You can control wind?"
"And more." Naruto didn't bother to elaborate as he swung at Mace again. This time with both swords in a X-shape.
Mace countered with a Force Push, putting a few feet between him and Naruto. The blond didn't waste a second and ran ad mace again attacking with his swords. Mace deflected the strikes, but barely.
"Well, this has been fun. But I think it's time to wrap it up." Decided Naruto.
He jumped backwards and landed about fifteen feet away from the Jedi Swordsman. Then, taking on a meditative look, he said:
"Crescent Moon Dance."
Suddenly, there were not one, but THREE Naruto's heading at Mace. One from above using an overhead slash, one attacking from Mace's upper left, and another from his lower right.
He knew that he couldn't block all three strikes, nor did he have time to dodge. So, trusting his luck, he Force Pushed at the overhead one and blocked the lower-right one. The overhead one flew backwards and the lower-right was stopped. Mace thought he had won, but then felt steel cut the flesh of his torso open.
"Gah!" Mace fell to his knees, clutching at the wound in his chest.
"Master!" Cried Ahsoka as she ran to his side.
"Not bad." Remarked Naruto. "But still not the best match I've had."
"ARE YOU INSANE? ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL HIM?" Screamed Ahsoka.
"Relax, will ya? I'll heal him right up."
He laid the bleeding Master down on the ground, and the enveloped his hand in some green glow, and pressed it right to the wound at his shoulder, he then slowly moved his hand down across his chest and the wound started to close up.
Ahsoka looked on in amazement as a wound that would take a long time to heal, even with medical treatment, was closed up right before her eyes.
"And that's that." Said Naruto. "Take it easy for a few days and you should be fine."
"Thank you." Said Mace. "What was that attack you used?"
"A very advanced kinjutsu move." Answered Naruto. "I'll tell you more about it when we meet again."
"Again?" Asked Ahsoka. "Wait... Doe that mean-"
"Yes." Naruto cut her off. "I have decided to join the Republic."
"Now, what about Ventress?" Asked Mace.
"Don't worry about that. I'll take care of her." Answered Naruto. "As a sign of good faith. By the time I'm done with her, you will know everything she knows and she will never bother you again."
Mace looked at Ahsoka, who nodded.
"Very well. Ahsoka and I will leave her interrogation to you." Said Mace. "Let's go."
"What about the wire trap?" Asked Ahsoka.
"Taken care of." Answered Naruto. "Now go. I'm sure your superiors are eager to hear your report. I need to stay here. I need a few weeks to get back to full strength."
"Very well. We'll send a transport for you in the near future." Responded Mace.
The two turned to leave, and Naruto turned to Ventress. "Now... What to do, what to do?" He pondered while looking at the young woman.
*Ventress' Point of View: A few minutes ago*
Ventress started to stir. She tried to move, only to realize that her hands have been bound. She struggles to break free but she is too well tied. She looks to her left to see Naruto talking with the Jedi.
"Does that mean-"
"Yes." Naruto cut Ahsoka off. "I have decided to join the Republic."
With those words, Ventress' world fell out from under her. She heard the conviction in those words. It was subtle, but there. Nothing would change his mind, nothing could dissuade him.
She had failed.
"What about Ventress?" She heard the Jedi Master say her name.
"Don't worry about that. I'll take care of her." Answered Naruto. "As a sign of good faith. By the time I'm done with her, you will know everything she knows and she will never bother you again."
Ventress' years of training had given her a tough exterior, but the recent events had cracked it. She felt like crying, and she was sure she could feel her eyes tearing up.
"Now... What to do, what to do?" She looked up to see Naruto standing over her. Throwing her pride away, she decided to make one last attempt to bring him back with her.
"Please," She begged. "come back with me. I'll give you anything you want. Name it, and it's yours."
"Sorry. I won't join the Sith." He answered, drawing one of his Katanas.
She watched as he held it high above his head.
"Time for you say goodbye to the Sith."
He swung it down.
Ventress could do nothing, except pray for a painless death.
*End of Chapter 4*
So this is my way of apologizing to you for the wait. Two simultaneous chapters for 'A Hero Dies'.
Sorry if it doesn't quite make up for it, but this is my best attempt.
Remember to vote on the poll regarding the lemons.
-Khaos