So here's another chapter, real early xD
I got my muse back for this fanfiction so I'm going to update practically every day maybe. I just really want to get to the Attack of the Clones Arc REAL badly, but I won't sacrifice quality for quantity. By the way, the Phantom Menace Arc will be split in two and the Attack of the Clones arc will be split into three and the Revenge of the Sith arc will be slit into four parts. Just to let you know.
I have a shitton of changes in this chapter that will change the entire course of the Star Wars universe thanks to a few ridiculous games of swtor and the Force Unleashed.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or Naruto
Chapter 7: A Rift
Part III of V
The Phantom Menace Arc
Maul walked back to his ship with only four Zabrak brothers at his back. At least eight of them had died in his time on the wretched desert planet. Much to his displeasure, he accepted that he'd underestimated the Jedi and the two force adepts. Darth Sidious won't be pleased. His two Zabrak brothers had scars on their faces and one of them was even missing an arm; something that Maul knew he'd have to fix out of his own pocket.
Orders were given and the five Zabraks rushed to their seats and lifted into the air above Mos Eisley, wanting to have nothing to do with the planet. Maul gave orders and soon enough they were in space calculating their next pathway. Home to Dathomir seemed like a good idea since he couldn't go and tell his master of his failure. Besides, it seemed necessary to build an army of his own to distract the Jedi from their true goals.
With hyperspace engaged, Darth Maul stood from his seat and headed towards the hologram station and contacted Sidious as quickly as possible. The Darth was known for being impatient and ill-tempered, something that Maul didn't want to be on the receiving end of.
"My Lord Sidious…" Darth Maul bowed.
"What happened down there?!" The wrinkled man asked with a grouchy, scratchy voice. "I am expecting three force adepts but I don't see them there, and I can clearly sense them too."
"I let them go." Maul replied his head still bent down. "They were too strong for me to handle on my own."
"What of the adept's skills?" Sidious asked curiously, already in a small thinking pose.
"I killed one, but somehow he managed to teleport from out of nowhere." Maul replied. "I didn't think much of it until now, My Lord."
"There is something different about one of the force adepts." Maul added. "There seems to be another power residing within one of the boys. He was stronger than I had thought."
"Explain in depth, Darth!" Sidious roared, making the other Zabraks flinch at the Sith Lord's tone.
"He managed to give physical substance to the force!" Maul shouted. "He compressed it into a ball and managed to blow me back. I don't know what the other can do, but if one can, it'll be safe to assume that the other can do the exact same thing."
Sidious was silent for a long while, not once making a move to speak. Maul was surprised when his master didn't make a reply. Sidious simply gave him a flick of a wrist and Maul knew exactly what his master was saying. Return to Dathomir. Sidious cut the transmission and the hologram simply faded away. Darth Maul was met with the nervous looks from his fellow compatriots and gave each one a simple nod before collapsing into his seat.
"Head straight to Dathomir." He said with his dark foreboding voice. "We have some business to attend to."
Many weeks later…
"This is Republic Station I-58, watching Dathomir…" The Republic officer stated. "There seems to be strange movement on the surface of the planet."
"What do you mean, Station?" A voice replied on the other line.
"I don't know how to explain it." The officer replied, with a slight crack in his voice. "Whatever is going on down there it isn't pretty!"
Republic officers and space corpsmen walked back and forth, minding their own business, completely unaware of the incoming threat. Men and women from all over the Republic strode past one another, conversing and standing guard. It was another normal day on the Station I-58. Many though, wondered why they were tasked to watch over Dathomir of all the planets and systems that they could have been sent to.
Some hated watching the savage planet below while others tried their best to be as content as possible with where they were. It was hard of course; being away from your family and having to watch for an enemy that everyone knew didn't exist. Despite that, the Station continued its daily routine which consisted of; walking back and forth, watching the planet below, walking back and forth and watching the planet below. It was the same shit but a different day to most.
The officer though looked nervous for a moment. He couldn't believe his eyes. Objects too small to be flight craft were travelling fast towards their station. He wasn't too sure if he should report it thinking it to be debris of ships shot down in the exosphere of Dathomir. There was a battle on the surface of Dathomir, one that he could see almost as clear as day thanks to the telescopes and cameras at the bottom of Station I-58.
Dathomirian's were blowing things up down on the surface while their ships were blowing each other out of the sky. But for some reason, the debris finally disappeared and the objects stopped flowing up to their Station. He looked down onto the radar, but found that no debris was floating past them and into greater space. He shrugged thinking they simply got caught in the lower levels of the base; most likely attracted to the magnetic stabilizers.
"Engineers." The officer said into the intercom. "Do a check on sector five-four-eight on the lower levels and check for damages."
The sound fuzzed and cut. The officer was slightly confused but didn't give it another thought. He rested his knuckles onto the control panel and kept his eyes locked with the primary scans and the radar. His eyes drifted towards the planet waging war within itself and back to his panels. He pressed a few buttons and gave a few orders but before long, the lights were shut.
"Hey?!" Someone shouted. "What gives?!"
"Who cut the lights?!" Another roared.
"Stay calm!" The officer howled over the rising commotion. "No need to fear!"
Men and women, officers and soldiers clamored for their flashlights to light the way, but there was a bright, ominous red light coming from one of the hallways. Everyone faced the sight with weary eyes and lifted their blaster rifles in defense. The officer felt his hand trail to his blaster pistol at his side. Something was coming and he knew that it wasn't going to be pleasant.
The lights were abruptly returned to power, blinding the republic men and women. They shouted and screamed at the sudden light, some shrouding their soft eyes in surprise and others simply dropped to the steel floor below to cover their burning eyes. Once they accepted the brightness, they straightened up.
On the scaffoldings surrounding the command center where they were currently at, Nightsisters of Dathomir were drawing their energy bows and Zabrak Nightbrothers, each one wielding a blood red lightsaber, appeared as clear as day. Blasters were dropped in fear of what was to come. Each Zabrak watched with darkening looks and sickening smiles spread across their faces. Blood red blades glowed from the lightsaber hilts, starting to drown out the white lights with their red hue.
"The Republic has no place on Dathomir!"
Elsewhere…almost a month later…
Naruto walked with the beautiful Queen of Naboo next to him, neither leaving each-others side since landing. He didn't say a thing though as Padmé simply watched the planet-metropolis of Coruscant come to life around her. It was early morning and the Republic capital was already beating its life. A small smile formed on her face as the blond of the two kept to him.
Anakin walked in front of them having a small conversation with Master Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. The three were talking about something important and made sure to keep their voices low. Naruto wanted to keep his attention out of their conversation, but he really felt that the conversation was about him and Anakin. Padmé though didn't care and kept watching the world around them.
She had an appointment with Chancellor Palpatine within a few hours and she was still dressed like she had just gotten out of the bath. She didn't care though; Naruto was going somewhere and she wanted to be there. She wouldn't say that she was attracted to him in the most literal meaning of the word, but rather, intrigued by his abilities and she wanted to know more. Curiosity was always her problem when it came to issues like these.
Naruto looked like an average teenager; slightly taller than her, but shorter than his brother. He had muscled arms, and stood tall and straight. His face was lightly tanned and completely unscathed; no scars or even the slightest of blemishes. Padmé narrowed her eyes at the boy; she knew that there was something that he was hiding.
She did have a question about Tatooine though; how did Kakashi flash to the ship? It was a subject that riddled through her mind for the last few weeks. She was confused though; Qui-Gon and Obi-wan didn't speak a word of it after the death of Kakashi. Neither even brought up Tatooine. Anakin and Naruto consoled their mother as she wept over her dead son, but neither spoke a word of what happened. Padmé wanted to get to the bottom of it, or else it was going to mess with her mind.
She continued to stare at the Uzumaki, boring holes into his face, wondering when he'd notice that she was staring at him. She just couldn't figure him out. He was angry and she could see it, but he was trying so hard to rein his emotions in. She shook her head and looked away, trying her best to not look his way. She wanted to know more about him and where he came from, but it seems that he wasn't going to open up any time soon. Besides; she had to convince the Chancellor to agree on sending a force to break the Trade Federation Blockade.
Padmé was appalled. She couldn't believe that he wouldn't agree. He was a fellow Naboo, how could he reject his people like this?! If she was angered by what the Chancellor had said, she didn't show it. Maybe it was the pound of make-up she was wearing keeping her from creasing her eyebrows. Padmé merely watched the Chancellor frown at her response.
"Queen Amidala…" Palpatine sighed. "Please, I urge you to understand where I stand."
"I don't see that I do." Padmé replied with a glare.
Qui-Gon motioned for his three wards to follow and they left the office, once they knew that the talks were getting heated. Padmé was stubborn and didn't listen to reason, especially when it came to talks like these. She was right by all respects, but Qui-Gon knew that a Jedi had no place in politics. Naruto though, wanted to stay and listen in on what they were talking about. Padmé gave the blond a look that said to leave as soon as possible.
With the Jedi gone from the office, Padmé and her entourage took the seats around and stationed themselves along the walls and watched the area for intruders or attackers.
"Padmé, I had to wait for the Jedi to leave the room." Palpatine sighed and sat back down. "There is something of disturbing news coming from one of our Outer Rim Stations."
"What do you mean?" Padmé asked.
"Zabrak's; Nightbrothers, Nightsisters and so on and so forth, have started a war for control of Dathomir. Already, they've slaughtered over eight hundred Republic personnel without giving demands for ransom, or even stating why they've done it."
"Why was this kept a secret? And how do you know they even did anything?" Padmé asked. "Last I knew, Dathomir was a simple backwater outer-rim system."
"It is far more than what you think, young Queen." Palpatine sighed. "What do you know of the Sith?
Naruto walked back and forth, sensing something within that room. Something that felt of nothing but darkness, a lot like the red faced Zabrak. The blond concentrated on the force signature; it was evil and slowly growing. Something that Naruto didn't even know could happen. Whoever was in there was successfully suppressing their own force signature well enough, that the trained Jedi weren't even able to sense him.
Unless they can. Naruto froze at the thought. What if they knew, but didn't know who? What the hell is going on?
"Master Qui-Gon!" someone shouted from down the hall. "We need help near the Jedi Temple!"
"Be calm!" He shouted back. "Breathe, tell me what happened."
"W-We don't know…" The man said with a shaky voice. "T-They attacked from all directions!"
"Who?!" Obi-wan asked with a glare.
"Stay calm, Padawan." Qui-Gon reprimanded. "Explain."
"Dathomirian Zabraks." The man then fell limp, collapsing into Qui-Gon's arms, revealing a smoking hole in his spine.
Obi-wan and Qui-Gon shot into action and drew out their lightsabers and stood guard against the door of the office. Something wasn't right. Qui-Gon couldn't believe what he was told; Zabrak's attacking the Temple? Zabraks attacking Coruscant?! Who was leading this attack? What would they even gain from attacking the Jedi?! Too many questions so fast and Qui-Gon knew that the longer they waited the longer their enemy would succeed in their mission.
"Naruto, Anakin." Qui-Gon said with a stern voice. "I am going to take a gamble by letting you two stay here and protect the Queen. I know that you can fight Naruto and I wouldn't put it past you either Anakin. Obi-wan and I have to go to the Temple and see what's wrong."
"Whatever you do, do not leave this hallway!"
Anakin gave Qui-Gon a simple nod of his head and took positions against the door. The two Jedi rushed from the scene with a few Palace guards following behind him. Something wasn't right and both Naruto and Anakin knew it. They were sensing something coming to the Senate Palace, and it was huge. For some reason, they just couldn't see it yet.
"Naruto, go into the office and tell the Chancellor and the Queen what has happened." Anakin ordered. "I'll watch the hall for now."
The teen didn't protest and moved swiftly, sliding into the office with little sound leaving his footsteps. Naruto swung the door open only to have his jaw drop. From his view, he could see the Jedi Temple in the distance, and smoke was rising all around it. Fires were growing on the ground levels around the Temple. Ships were flying sentry over it, firing lasers onto the structure.
The Naboo Delegation and Palpatine were watching with awe, completely horrified by the sudden attack. Something that none of them were expecting. Before long, the ships began to pull out as Republic police fighters rushed to the scene. The holocommunicator on the Chancellor's desk began to ring, flickering with a message. Suddenly all over Coruscant, the billboards and holoboards began to flicker and snow.
"Ha." A red-faced Zabrak laughed. "For the Galactic Super Power…your security is lax, just like the Jedi Order."
Naruto's face darkened at the sight. It was the same Zabrak that killed his Brother. Naruto's fist clenched, drawing blood from his palms. Padmé turned only to look at Naruto in fear. She quickly turned and looked back to the scene outside of the office. Naruto slowly walked towards the holocommunicator, his eyes somehow turned into a blood red with the pupil, grown into a slitted form.
"Eighteen Padawans and five Masters." Maul laughed. "That is twenty-three dead Jedi. I, Darth Maul, Practitioner of the Dark Side of the Force, Lord of Dathomir and Dark Lord of the Sith, declare war on the Jedi Order."
The room went silent at the declaration. All eyes were as wide as plates. Darth Maul was serious. His smirk only continued to grow.
"You Republic Dogs can stay out of this war." Maul added with an even sicker smirk. "Knowing how you scum like to cower behind your politicians; I want the Jedi; they at least will pose a real threat!"
And with that, the transmission was cut, leaving empty holoboards and confused people, all over the planet. Palpatine gave Padmé a look that spoke, I told you so. Padmé took a deep breath and kept her tears from falling. It seems that her people were going to have to wait. A war between Jedi and Sith seemed like something from the ancient days. Padmé couldn't believe how ridiculous everything had become.
Naruto stood still, frozen in his rage. His eyes still glowing with a blood red hue. His fingernails had extended into his palms, slicing them open, pouring blood in between his fingers. His teeth were barred and his canine teeth were extended, coming over his lower lip, making him look like a reversed Gamorrean.
"N-Naruto…"
Qui-Gon slashed through the final Zabrak Nightbrother, sending his halves to the scorched steel below. Jedi were walking about, covered in dirt and some with burn marks and missing limbs. Nothing too serious. Damage to the Temple was simple and small; no structural damage was done to the Temple, so the Padawans and Archives were left unscathed and unharmed. Of course, there were a few fires in and around the Temple, but they were quickly extinguished by fire-teams.
Police and their teams of droids rushed to the scene, along with hospital units, lifting the dead Jedi from the ground and the steps leading to the entrance of the Temple. Bodies were lined up and wrapped in bags for examination later on, but it was the corpses of multiple Padawan learners and Jedi masters that Qui-Gon was rather fond of that brought sadness to his heart. They were murdered by an unknown enemy, an enemy that seemed to know when to strike and how to strike.
They were caught off guard and everyone knew it. The Council knew it, but Qui-Gon wanted to know why they weren't making any moves to against them. No runners were sent to gather the Council members, nor were there any Masters crying for battle, just like in the old days of the Jedi Order. Already, there was a small rift within the Jedi. This was too much for them.
An Attack on our own lands. Qui-Gon thought incredulously. Who wouldn't lose faith in the Jedi Council? I just hope that Anakin or Naruto don't do anything rash. That was the same Sith that killed Kakashi. I can only imagine the kind of hatred the two must feel right now.
"Master Qui-Gon." Someone said from behind. "Your presence has been requested in the Council chambers."
"Master Shaak Ti, what's going on?" Qui-Gon asked.
"Master Yoda has something to say." She replied. "It's important that we go."
Obi-wan was about to follow after him, but Qui-Gon simply shook his head and motioned for the Padawan to stay where he was. The two masters entered the Temple to see that much of the structure was fine, save for the various holes and burn marks on the polished tile. It was a small battle, but there were dire consequences. He could see a few Jedi carrying the corpses of Padawan learners to be burned and returned to the Force.
Elsewhere, he could see fires being put out in the main foyer. Qui-Gon was distraught by what he was looking at, but Shaak Ti quickly reminded him why they were even in the Temple instead of helping with the repairs; it didn't matter if they were small or unimportant.
The two masters arrived in the Council Chambers to see multiple masters yelling at one another, stating their own opinions on what to do with the matter. Men and women of varying strengths and ideals clashed, making the room a place that made conversing in a civilized manner nearly impossible. Surprisingly though, or rather unsurprisingly, Master Yoda, sat with a blank look on his face, calculating the situation.
As the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Yoda had to make the right decision that could either endanger the Republic, or endanger the Jedi Order; which was more important to the Jedi, was the question that the Masters were arguing about. Hallowed traditions of peace and pacifism could only go so far was one side of the argument, while the other rebutting with the fact that the Zabrak's were nothing but terrorists that didn't have real force powers. There was no Sith.
Qui-Gon sat silently knowing that it was half true. Those Zabrak's didn't have many force powers, but they still had them. They weren't entirely Sith either. He rested his chin in his hands and watched the Councilors continue to argue like the politicians the Jedi try to avoid if they can help it. This wasn't what the Jedi were supposed to come to.
Suddenly, the holocommunicator flickered, shutting their arguments. The Masters looked at the holocommunicator and let it patch through revealing Darth Maul in all of his imposing size. In his right hand was a double-bladed lightsaber and in his other hand was a woman that seemed utterly familiar to Qui-Gon. All heads turned to the sight and waited for what the self-proclaimed Sith would do.
"This war has a reason." The Darth said after almost five minutes of silence. "A reason that you fools fail to realize."
"And what reason is that?" Mace Windu asked with a glare.
"This woman, while you Jedi probably don't know what family means, seeing as how you give it up all the time…" Maul began. "This woman is the mother of two very important Force Adepts that your Jedi Master Qui-Gon has taken. I want those Force Adepts on Naboo by the end of next month. This woman will die if you don't. Either way, those two will come to the Dark Side sooner or later."
"What makes you so sure about that, Maul?!" Aayla Secura asked with a glare equal to Mace's.
"Easy, Twi'lek." Maul laughed with a dark look. "The moment they find out that their mother was killed and you fools did nothing to save her…imagine the anger and hatred they'll feel. With the power that I know they have…it'll be the greatest and most beautiful thing to ever witness. I want them and their mother will be released."
Yoda glared at the hologram. This man was too smart and knew how to play his cards. All eyes were stuck to the little green alien. No one though pressured the Grand Master into saying anything. There were too many ways that this could go. It could either go right or wrong. That was the problem that Yoda was having right now. A problem that could come back to bite him in his little green ass, or could manage to save the entire Jedi Order and the Galaxy from a millennium of tyranny under the Sith.
"Qui-Gon, deliver the children you must." Yoda said suddenly. "Keep your promise, Darth Maul. A war, we do not want. A war, you do not want."
"It was a pleasure, Master Yoda."
The hologram flickered and fuzzed away, leaving a room full of stunned. Since when did the Jedi hand over children to Sith, or better yet, anyone?! Yoda knew that there was about to be a shitstorm of comments and opinions and simply raised his staff, shutting their mouths before any sound or words left.
"A War the Sith want, get a war, The Sith will." Yoda said with a harsh tone. "Retrieve the boys' mother; fight the war after. Threatened, innocent woman is; receive the repercussions, the Jedi Order will. Protect the boys we must."
"We'll try our best."
"Do or do not." Yoda began. "There is no try."
Qui-Gon sighed and leaned back into his chair. Something wasn't right. How the hell did Darth Maul capture Shmi? It didn't matter how; all that did was that he was going to have to get her back. No matter the cost.
Anakin and Naruto can't fall to the Dark Side, no matter what.
So, what'd you guys think? Was it good, cool, interesting? Oh well lol I'll get a chapter out tomorrow or at the latest the day after tomorrow.
Ja ne!
gottahavekyuubi
