AN: I don't own Naruto/Star Wars: Legends


4:8:30 (BBY 31)


Wind blew across the plains, rustling the grass back and forth, kicking up tiny motes of dust as it gently caressed the world as it traveled across and away from the small city in the distance. Pushing through the winds, a growing group of entities moved through a number of stone laden outcroppings that overshadowed the city, looking down on it and shifting about as two figured slowly moved to the forefront; one smaller with a blue skin tone that managed to blend in better than the dark red figure that stood next to her.

The small city that they'd been sent to show their strength against was teeming with life, potential, and the smell of foods. Aayla herself did not smell it, but through the Force, she could almost feel the palpable hunger from the Anzat around her. Each of them fed her in turn through the Force, causing her to trace her hands across her lips, exhaling slowly as she tried to refocus.

Idly, she turned and looked to her bodyguard. The person - creature - was what Master Volfe had called a "blood guardian". Her bodyguard. Her protector. It made her skin crawl, brought nausea through her, but she tried to force it back. No, she wouldn't lose herself. She needed to focus, to overcome this, as she'd been taught by her Master...

Master. The man who'd killed her uncle had called himself that. He'd had a look on his face when he'd come to her, and now she wished she had paid attention to it. It had held something in it that, in her panic of someone breaking into her room, she'd failed to notice. Now though, it stood out in her mind, and seemed to draw her attention back to it with more and more inistance.

Feeling something grip hear shoulder, her mind suddenly felt like static. Turning to the blood guardian, she exhaled slowly as it rested it's hand on her, reminding her of her duty here and now. The past was behind her. The future was something she shaped now. And now, she was to overwhelm the foolish, and evoke the sensation of a feast.

No words were said. The pull and overwhelming passion of the Force was sent out like a pulse through each of the Anzati; even with only the basic thoughts, base instincts, and primal nature, they were still entities that were connected through the Force, and used it on an instinctive level. To the point that, the moment she'd thought to tell them to move, they'd sent a feeling of elation that dragged her with them as they began racing down the slopes into the city.

Immediately it was obvious that the city was theirs. The moment the first few people saw them, it was far too late. The Anzati were able to bound faster than normal people could consider thinking, and there was more than a few who were knocked down or pinned while those who caught them began draining their "soup", and the screaming was finally able to commence.

As they moved through the city, it became more obvious that the number of Anzati to people here, while smaller, was still an immense amount. Over a hundred Force-sensitive, feral beasts, that slammed into the side of it, knocking through people, draining them, growing in strength with each suckle of their precious "soup" before they moved to capture others to hold for more later.

With each one that collected their "soup", Aayla found herself staggering, gasping at the onrush of feelings that she was experiencing. There was a sensation that came over her, like her head being overwhelmed with a pulsing, overwhelming onrush of power that brought a feeling of elation through her body. Each Anzat that was feasting was sharing in their elation, in the onrush of power, and sending it directly to her, allowing her to experience the pulsing, powerful onrush that they felt.

Feeling the shadows that came with it, her eyes shifted through the city, slowly coming to focus on one building in particular. Each pulse around her seemed to build the power, focusing through the city as though to note different places as targets. Except this one. Within those pulses, she felt caution, danger, but the strongest pulsing of power as well. A power that, should they take it, would make for more power than any other she'd experienced.

The blood guardian seemed to note her staring, and let out an ear piercing screech that rattled the roofs around them. A pack of the Anzati nearby who had yet to feast howled back, turning and leaping towards the building, with several crashing through the windows into the building with immediate feelings of success.

Idly Aayla heard the sound of blaster fire, but she ignored it. If any Anzat fell to it, she had been told to simply focus on their death, and then savor it. Not that she had understood what that meant, but with the savor she felt simply from their elation, she considered that it might be something similar to what she was feeling now.

Moving alongside them, Aayla stared at the main entrance, humming softly as man who went that way were getting caught out by the Anzati who had moved here to catch them out, leaving many with no choice but to go back in. As she stared, a thought came to her; a place like this would surely have a back entrance. A place to slip out of, for those who didn't wish to cause trouble.

The thought gave her a second to pause, to try desperately to determine who had told her that, who had taught her to think of such things. And then another wave of elation and pleasure swept over her and she was pushed back into the present, a wicked smirk on her face as she moved with the Anzati who had moved to cut off those heading towards the back. No one was there immediately, but that would change.

Seeing the Anzati huddling outside the back, she idly held them from simply jumping in immediately. It was a strain, and forced her to concentrate fully on not letting them rush in immediately. They'd get more easy food this way; an ambush, not an assault. They were almost fully rewarded when several shoved out the doors forcefully, stumbling and screaming themselves hoarse while multiple other shoved those in the lead out with them. Those who were in the front had the first moment to realize their mistake, but couldn't stop or turn back, as those behind them shoved them even further into the awaiting arms of the Anzati who pounced on them.

Then, as the elation was sweeping over her, the feeling was swept back as another feeling in the Force hit her. Hunger, frustration, and confusion. As well as another presence. Someone else, holding onto the Force, wrapped so deeply within it that she could now palpably sense it. No, they'd been doing so for longer than this - they had to have, to get this much energy drawn into one place. Yet, she'd missed it.

Without thinking, she ignited her lightsaber. A threat. The Force screamed it at her, and she moved forward, getting the Anzati to part ways as the blood guardian walked beside her, its gaze never wavering as both stared into the establishment with curious eyes.

Inside, standing before a group of people, stood a cloaked figure. The Force rolled off them, their stance as they stood before a veritable army unwavering, resolved, firm. They stared down the Anzati without flinching, hand on a blaster, with a second moving behind their back. As they watched them part for her, they shifted, wavered for just a moment, then muttered something under their breath.

Familiarity. Why was she constantly finding people who expressed that? Knowing her, when she herself could not. The emotion sent her frustration skyrocketing, and it fueled her strength in the Force. If he knew her, then he would tell her.

"Take that one alive... sip only." Aayla said, idly adding the last when she was overwhelmed with frustration from some of the Anzati around her. The small addition seemed to quell that, seeming to make them more eager to dive in.

As they moved, immediately Aayla realized something was wrong. She couldn't immediately place it, but the way the man shifted, she realized he was too ready for their assault, and tried to reach out to them to draw them back. However, her immediate command was still being followed through, and the Anzati ignored her as they leapt in.

Upon doing so, the man snapped his hand around, cleaving through two of their heads as an orange energy blade struck through them. No. Not again. Another lightsaber. Again with the blasted flickers of knowledge and memory that pulsed in her head as she saw yet another of the blasted items before her.

More Anzati moved to flood in, but the reality of what was before her became more clear. The door was a choke point. With it, she couldn't force the numbers high enough to simply overwhelm the man, and each Anzat that was able to slip in was a simple, single entity that he could deal with. Not enough. There was not enough room. Shifting in place, she drew on the Force.

If there wasn't enough room, she'd make room.

Following Volfe's instructions, she molded the Force, pressing it in such a way that it would be forced and focused where she wanted, not anywhere else. Then, throwing back her head, she screamed. With each second of breath she spent, the ground shook around her, but more importantly the building itself began to quiver and shake as she bombarded it with waves of energy that sent rapid cracks up the side. Behind her, many Anzati began to howl, adding to her scream as soon the wall before them began to crack and crumble to dust.

Finishing her shout, she stared at the much wider opening, feeling a wave of fear, terror, and anguish from the people inside. The Anzati felt it as well and howled in elation, a feeling of victory pulsing through their ranks. Aayla though focused through it, trying to find the fear of the cloaked one.

He stood silently, his hood thrown back to reveal blonde hair, and a number of marks on his face. In the Force, he was... annoyed.

Annoyed?

She took a moment to reel back in surprise at the sensation and the indignant feeling it brought up in her. There had been an impressive, overwhelming show of force, the ability to destroy a choke point that he'd set up to try cutting them down, and all he had the dignity to only feel annoyance at what she'd done. Everyone behind her had various feelings of fear, or terror, and he was annoyed.

No, not just him. Reaching out, she sensed one was curious, and another was frustrated. Better than annoyed, but even so, it wasn't enough.

Snarling, she moved forward herself, the blood guardian hot on her heels. If he did not fear what she had done, then she would follow what she'd been taught and draw upon all those behind him to fuel her and make him learn the error of that feeling. With a howling scream, she flew into the building, blade swinging violently as she began her aggressive dance with the man.

The hum of lightsabers, the crackling energy echoing in the small room. Idly, Aayla noted that the blade that her foe used was shorter than her own, denying them the ability to reach her with some of their swings. It mean all she needed was to fight him with the range advantage she had over him. Simple enough.

Except, as soon as they began fighting, she found herself frustratingly struggling almost immediately. He took control of each motion, each movement of their blade dance, pushing her, leading her on, then moving around to where she was forced to duck, dodge, or defend. One of the few saving graces that she had was that she was not alone, as there were several moments the blood guardian either attacked and forced him back, or intercepted a blow that was meant for her. Each of those blows sparked pain through the guardian, but only left a faint black mark on their skin. It appeared that the ritual her master had done gave it some faint resistance to the lightsaber's energy blade. A useful enough feature to prevent it from being slain by this person.

After a held clash, she shoved herself back to give herself a moment to think and consider her options. Seeing two others standing idly, one holding a similar blade, Aayla tried to focus. If they moved in to confront her, she would be doomed. Yet, they stood and watched. What were they doing?

The crawling hunger grew in her mind, and she idly cursed. Of course. The people. She stared at where they were, the fear and terror beginning to ebb away as the two of them had begun ferrying people away from the conflict. The man was being a distraction. If she kept trying to confront him -

"Don't look away."

She balked as he was suddenly in front of her, the guardian's arm barely moving in front of her in time to stop the swing that had been aimed for her arm. When had he moved? They'd leapt apart, and should have had more distance between them that she could've taken advantage of. Instead, he was right in front of her, pressing the closer distance advantage.

"Listen here you, buzz off." The man's eyes moved over to the blood guardian. As he said that, the guardian reached out and gripped his throat with a vice-like grip. "... alright, fine."

Aayla's eyes widened as he dropped his blaster and wrapped his body around the guardian's arm. Idly, she thought the maneuver was foolish. She could simply lash out, catch him across the side or back and take him down before he could act. Except, it happened so fast she couldn't think, let alone react to what he was doing as he arched his back, a loud pop of the guardian's arm becoming dislocated resonating. With the arm popped out of place, it grunted, giving only an instant of weakness that the man took advantage of to slip out of its grip and slam his boot into its head before throwing himself backwards and rolling to his feet.

All of that in a brief heartbeat. A breath, and it was over. Staring at him, she heard the sound of the guardian shoving its arm back into its socket, groaning and growling as it glared him down.

"Who are you?"

"... I'm your friend." His voice was soft, calm, and his eyes locked on her with an emotion she couldn't place. "Aayla, you helped me once, me and the people with me... let me help you."

"I don't even know you." She felt the guardian place a hand on her shoulder, and her mind blanked, letting her focus. Master Volfe wouldn't allow her to be swayed by this foolishness. "And I don't need to!"

"Aayla please -"

She didn't let him finish, wrenching herself from the guardian's grip as she threw herself at him. As she did, she sent out a command to the Anzati; capture them all. She couldn't focus it on one person anymore, she had to simply take them all down, and sort them out when it was over.

The moment the Anzati joined the fight, the chaos exploded further. In a moment, as she raged and threw herself forward, she suddenly had double vision. Or, perhaps more than that - she suddenly saw a half dozen of the same man suddenly seem to explode out of him, arcs of energy racing across many of their arms as they slammed into the Anzati horde. Several of them screamed out in surprise and outrage, being forced to have a number of them forced to confront him or perish to the electric current charged across his arms.

All the while she was forced to deal with the one wielding the orange blade. Something about it seemed to pulse with each conflict, each time it connected something flashed in her eyes. Idly, she felt something else near their chest, pulsing and trying to draw her attention. Idly, she tried to swing her blade to strike through his cloak, only to find herself stumbling when the guardian gripped her shoulder, thoughts leaving her as it threw her back, narrowly avoiding a swing that grazed across the guardian's arm.

"Slanar'pir (Piss off)!" They shouted, grabbing the guardian with their free arm and throwing them back. It only skid back a few feet before glaring at him, only to find their jaw slammed into by his foot. "I'm in the middle of something! You'll get your -"

The momentary distraction and cursing was all she needed. Quickly sheathing her blade, Aayla drew on the Force, slamming it into him like a hammer as she pinned him down. He grunted, thrown off, and thrown back by the strike as he turned to look at her. Another poor choice, as multiple Anzati who had slipped past his attempted defense leapt upon him, grappling and pinning him in place.

"Finally..." She grunted, feeling a faint soreness in her arms. He had pushed her beyond what she'd ever had to do against Volfe, and as she stared at him, she found herself feeling an oddly familiar feeling. Respect, admiration, and even a hint of awe. "... who are you?"

"... I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Your friend."

One of the Anzat moved in front of him, their proboscis moving to shove themselves up his nose to sip at his soup. With so many around him, his mind would be rattled by the sheer number trying to quell his struggling, allowing them to subdue him, and she'd have her moment to finally get some answers.

"... and this isn't my first Anzat wrestling match."

In a sudden burst, lightning filled the room like a storm. The guardian moved to intercept him, hand outstretched to try and stop him, but the bolts of lightning leapt from the frying Anzat that had been attempting to sip from him into its chest, forcing it back and out of the building. Each one holding onto him screamed, holding onto this man - this entity - this... Naruto, unable to let go as more electricity pulsed across their skin, throwing some who attempted to join the pile to stop him flying through the air. No bolts flew back into the building, as though the storm was centered only on those attacking him. Only those with ill will. Protecting his friends.

... and among them, untouched by the lightning, she stood, untouched.

Slowly moving back, she grabbed the guardian, relishing in the moment she had to herself as she lifted it, forcing it on its feet and away while other Anzati moved to continue the assault on the town at large. They still had plenty more success than this one failure, but even so, it was one that was now attempting to play through her head in rapid succession. To many questions to ask, to few to answer.

Perhaps her master could help answer them.

=-x-=

Everything was pain. It always was when he attempted to use Force Lightning like this; pulsing off his body, arcing between body to body. Yet controlled, not striking any within who were not Anzati. He never questioned how he knew who was and wasn't a target of this ability; he simply focused on those who were atop him, and those attempting to cause further harm, and struck.

"Let it flow through you. Stand tall."

Naruto didn't know who spoke, but he shouted as he shoved himself to his feet, electricity burning through those that tried to stop him, or slow him down as he held his place, electricity slamming into several others who came his way. Gritting his teeth, he felt it arcing painfully across his skin, the agony of the power leaving trails of electrical burns across his skin.

Then, a feeling reached into him, and he found the burns lessening. His anger at the Anzati being ignored for the feeling that pushed into him, making him roll his shoulders back, eyes slowly opening, as the power of the Force Lightning lessened to a few stray arcs across his hand.

Concern, and wonder.

Aurra stared at him, watching his display of power, with more than a few people who had been huddled and ferried away from the broken wall watching as he walked from the corpses of the feral Anzati. Blinking rapidly, Naruto tried to see more again, the spots in his eyes from the flashes of lightning directly in his face not helping that. Pressing his hand into his eyes, he exhaled and tried to refocus, slowly opening them again as he stared at Aurra as she approached. "... Aayla?"

"Left."

"... damn..." Naruto turned to look back to where she's stood, trying to figure where she would've gone. Taking a step forward, he cursed when he stumbled, caught on Aurra's arm as she caught him. "I have to go after her..."

"You will." Aurra's voice was soft, soothing, and as he glanced up at her, he caught a glimpse of her frustration before it faded. "But... I know you. Are you going to rush after her? You know she's here now... why run?"

"I..." Naruto blinked, trying to get his mind to focus again. Why run? Him, or Aayla? Aayla. Why had she run? "... she has somewhere to hide herself here."

"Exactly. And she has..." Aurra nudged one of the Anzat bodies near her with the toe of her boot. "Anzati. I've never seen any who were this beast-like. It's unnatural."

"She was trying to command them." He shifted, trying to regain his footing. Every muscle in his body felt like it was seizing up, rebelling against normal motion. "And they were listening. Is... everyone okay?"

"For the most part."

Both turned to the Veknoid Jedi who was still among the people, seeming to consider things before he smiled faintly, as though amused by a thought. A few of the people nearest to him seemed to be more calm than the rest, though a few others still had the audacity to look indignant at being saved. One person though stood out to Naruto, due to their smoking remains. Gorto Zaga. Apparently he had still been one who was preparing trouble, and Naruto had thrown lightning at him.

"Forgive me, young Jedi." The Veknoid bowed politely, lightsaber still alight upon his walking stick. "I am Zao, Jedi Master. And, I do not believe I know you, but that is perfectly alright. We were brought together through the will of the Force, and I believe it was to help these people. If you'd be so kind? There are still others out there who are in danger, and these here should be moved to where they will be safer."

"... right." Naruto nodded, leaning on Aurra. Instinctively, she reached out and steadied him, letting him hold himself with his chin held high as he looked at everyone. "Listen up. I have no idea what just happened, and I don't rightly have the energy to consider it all here. We're moving. Stay near us, and we'll get you out of here. Please. I know what I'm doing."

He sounded confident, self-assured, and it showed in how they reacted, looking to him with hope, consideration, and acceptance. Not having a clue of what he was going to do, Naruto mulled it over as he tried to think of what to do next. Thankfully, some of the people present seemed to have a good idea or two, even with their panicked minds.

"Do you think they've taken the spaceport? If we get there, maybe we can take a ship offworld."

"A ship? Just one? Are you a kriffing idiot? Look how many people are here! We can't fit them all on one."

"Maybe they're going to take the ships. Imagine an army of those things in the stars..."

"Don't be dumb, we should run to the Kiffu Guardians! They'll protect us."

"Unlikely..."

Naruto held up his hand, getting them to slowly calm down. "We go to the spaceport. Zao, can you cover the front?"

"Aye, I can do that."

"Aurra, can you cover the back?"

"Like you have to ask."

"I do." He smiled at her indignant stare. "I'll cover the rooftops, and make sure they don't try to blindside us. If we can get some of those ships off the ground, you'll be able to get off world."

"Not if the Guardians have anything to say about it." One of them muttered, getting Naruto's attention. "A lot of us here are criminals. If we try to fly past, they'll blow us out of the sky."

Naruto frowned at that. He'd forgotten this was predominantly a prison world, meaning airspace was restricted. Thinking on that, he glanced to Gorto. Approaching the man, he quickly turned out his pockets, doing his best to ignore the smell of burnt flesh. It was better than some of the smells of the pub, but not by much. Still, by pulling things out of his pockets, he was relieved to find that in a jacket pocket, untouched by his lightning, was a datapad.

"Maybe not..."

"You have a thought?" Aurra peaked over his shoulder, watching him scroll through the various bits of data on screen.

"Gorto wanted a Guardian dead, and something about having some people he was 'good with' or something. Plus, he gave you the flight path to get on world, so maybe..." flicking through it, he paused as he stared at one of the bits that was stored on it. Tapping it, he watched as the patrols of the Guardian's ships popped onto screen. "He was given their flight patterns to get things on and off world."

"Well, that's kind of bound to happen on a criminal colony." Aurra mused, then glanced to some of the others around them. "How many of you ran items for Gorto?"

A few of them mused and shuffled about, clearly not wanting to answer the question. Internally, Naruto was grateful for Aurra's question. This was damning evidence against whoever could've leaked it to a criminal on the world, and having people who already knew the patterns would make it easier to get people off world, while keeping this datapad on hand. He should've thought of that first, but then finding the evidence that proved that some here could do it was perhaps better.

"No one here," One of the muttered, only to be cut off when several others raised their hands. Seeing them do so, the one clicked his tongue in disgust. "No loyalty."

{None needed for the dead. And we don't want to end up the same.} A Rodian shot back, motioning to the three before them. {Lead the way. If it gets us away from this insanity, I'm all for it.}

Several others immediately began voicing agreement, drowning out some of the others who tried to back the one up. It was quite apparent that at least a few of them had their priorities straight, and were more than willing to abandon Deadend in favor of somewhere safer; even if it meant flying past the Guardians to get there.

A few of the dancers looked anxious, trying not to look overly anxious, and failing. Naruto closed his eyes, exhaling a deep breath through his nose before opening his eyes and staring down the pirates among the group. "... where are the codes for any slave chips."

"What?" One Zabrak of them blinked, looking confused, then back between him and those near him. "Why? Wouldn't they make for good distractions?"

"I am the distraction." Naruto said, his voice a hiss as he leaned towards them. The Zabrak, despite having both a height advantage and being wider shouldered, found himself scrunching in and trying to do all he could to avoid his eyes. "Now, answer me."

"Hm..." Zao muttered, getting Naruto to pause, realizing what he was doing. Then, before Naruto could apologize for how he was acting, Zao added in. "I do believe that, because we're in an Inner Rim world, that could get you in much trouble, should it be found you have slaves..."

"They're Twi'lik's, it's part of their culture." They tried to defend, only to cower further when Naruto's eyes widened into such a glare that it almost seemed like the air around him began to heat up.

Another of the group, one with less foolishness than his companion, turned and moved back into the building. The Anzati appeared to have abandoned the front, with no bodies of anyone else remaining there, leaving it looking like a damaged, broken wreck after a storm, with streaks of blood occasionally scattered about throughout. It was a haunting sight for any who saw it, but for those who went, they had something more important to worry about; the man barking orders, and was getting their asses off the planet.

Turning to Zao, Naruto slowly exhaled as they went off to do what he asked. "... you don't disapprove?"

"You are acting well within your rights, considering the food." Zao rubbed his chin, considering something. "They do need to be freed, and they should leave the planet. All in all, you've thought of many good things. I do not disapprove."

"... why?"

"You complimented my food."

The response was so not what Naruto expected that it caused him to mentally fumble, blink, then burst out laughing. It was so surreal, throwing him off guard, and for a brief moment, his laughter filled the broken down rubble of his most recent victory, and he found that feeling of wonder fill him as he felt Aurra gently elbow his side, her own grin caught from his laughter.

"So, what next?"

Naruto breathed out, eyes slowly opening and refocusing on the amazed, and perplexed crowd of survivors. He had to lead. Again. But now, his mind felt more clear than it had felt in some time. Finally, he felt like he had his answer to why he did all this. "First, we free the slaves, and sent everyone who doesn't want to remain here off world. Then, I'm going after them, and I'm going to stop all this madness."

"All on your own?"

Taking a moment, Naruto closed his eyes, feeling the words weighing on his shoulders. "Those who break the rules are scum... those who abandon their friends, are worse than scum." Opening his eyes, he stood tall, a feral, wicked grin now splitting his face. "And I'm the best damn person for the job."


Omake: Probably a Bad Idea... Part 2

(Back in time, in chapter 120, after Naruto had been allowed to take the younglings to the Senate building)

"This isn't the way to the Senate building."

Naruto nodded, not fully paying attention to where their driver was going at this point as he hummed and shifted a few things around. "I mean, I did ask him to take us somewhere first, so it should be fine."

"Uh... where are we going?" Anakin asked, looking perplexed by Naruto's blatant ignoring of what Ali-Alann had asked. He'd expected a little bit of that from Naruto, but to see him simply circumvent it by making a 'stop' along the way - with younglings no less - was not what he'd anticipated.

"It's this nice little diner, not far from the Senate building. We can literally walk there, and get a bit of culture from viewing this big city from how everyone else sees it." Naruto held up a finger, smiling gently. "It's not just about the big galaxy out there..." he slowly pointed down, motioning in circles. "We have to remember that it's about the people here, among us, that we do what we do. The galaxy needs people after all, who make the world a better place, and in turn make the galaxy a better place. The senators are a voice for those people, so seeing some of them and experiencing it should be a good lesson."

Anakin glanced to the younglings. They were all nodding and listening attentively, but some were doing things like pushing their face to the window, or pushing each other playfully. Two of them had fallen asleep, somehow so completely at peace that they had managed to pass out. It was nice, but Anakin couldn't help but feel uncomfortable still.

"... alright. If you're sure."

"Anakin, I'm going to end up being wrong about a lot of things. Helping people is hit or miss, but if it's for a good cause, you'll feel like you never miss."

Nodding, Anakin leaned against the window, letting himself space out, enjoying the small transport as they shifted and wove through the traffic leading towards the Senate building. It was funny, watching all the vehicles around, and wondering where they were all going. Some to work, some to meetings, others to more hard working jobs, or even to little diners. That actually got him to smile softly, thinking about the little things he had been learning. Maybe he'd be able to tell his new friend, Tru, about this. He'd probably think that Naruto was a crazy, but fun sounding master to have.

After a while, Anakin kept shifting about. It was taking some time to get to the Senate building, and each time he peaked at it, it felt like it was just getting hidden behind more and more buildings. It was strange. Naruto had said it was close to the Senate building, but it was taking so long. Wasn't the building just a short way from the Jedi temple?

"It's just a bit of traffic sir, we'll be there soon. Just needed to take a side street to get around it."

Anakin perked up, looking to the driver. Naruto stood next to him, humming as he slowly sat down. Apparently Naruto had thought the same thing, and had gone to ask the driver. Traffic wasn't incredibly uncommon, but often people would simply take another lane, wouldn't they?

"Master?" One of the younglings moved up, gently tugging on Naruto's sleeve. Naruto smiled, turning to them as the kid pointed out the window. "Isn't this the lower levels? We're not supposed to go down here."

Slowly, both Naruto and Anakin peered out the window. They had indeed begun descending, moving into the more lower sections of Coruscant. With the changing of lanes, and the natural maneuvering of the small transport, it had been near impossible for them to notice. Or to notice the small groups of swoops that were traveling underneath, moving more towards a flanking position.

Slowly standing, Naruto moved up, setting his hands on the dashboard next to the driver. "... where are you taking us?"

They were silent, staring straight forward and ignoring Naruto. Slowly, Naruto turned to stare at them. All of the younglings slowly shifted, the ones who had fallen sleep suddenly snapping awake as they yawned and stared forwards in confusion.

"I'm just doing my job."

"Your job was to take us to a little diner outside the Senate building, or to ignore me and go straight there."

"It was supposed to be Ali-Alann, not some kid. You can't possibly-"

"Some kid? I am a Jedi Knight, and I will be disrespected as such."

The driver seemed to struggle with that for a moment, which was more than enough time for Naruto to pull them out of their seat and slip into it. Glancing back at Anakin and the younglings, who all stared at him with confused wonder, Naruto gave them a thumbs up.

"Everyone, grab onto something, take a deep breath, and if you want to scream, scream loud. This is gonna be a bumpy ride."

Anakin's eyes widened, a sudden burst of adrenaline coursing through him as he reached over and pulled the youngling who'd stood up back into a seat as Naruto began flipping various switches. On either side, the swoops converged, very obvious blasters and blaster rifles being pulled out. As they moved to the transport entrance, Naruto turned his head and stared out at them, gave a wave to the driver, then slammed on the throttle to force the vehicle forward... and into a steep dive. The last thing Anakin heard before the chorus of screams began was quite adequate in summarizing exactly the sort of situation they were all in.

"... uh-oh."


AN: Delicious conflict. Isn't it wonderful?

The decision to write it from Aayla's POV was honestly one that I felt would work better overall to give the idea of what she's feeling, and peak into the Blood Guardian a tad. There's plenty of good and bad going on, but let's face it, the bad always had a touch more fun to seeing and wanting to know what will happen next.

Also, before anyone says something, yes the Force Lighting thing Naruto did caused him harm. It's not necessarily a "nerf" to how strong he is, more that - while he's learnt to use it from his hands, using it from all over his body in a burst isn't something he's had to do all that often, so he still has things to either work out, refine, or practice. A subtle way to remind him that he's not perfect, and that he always will have that little bit more he'll need to do to improve to avoid having someone else outclass him and overwhelm him.

Plus, the true way to beat Naruto; overwhelm his numbers with more numbers. After all, one lucky hit could be all it takes.

Thank you all for your reviews, they are always great to read. If you haven't seen, there's a poll to go over the pairing options for Naruto for everyone, as well as those new to the story on my Profile. I look forward to seeing who you choose, and how I'll be able to consider and use it through the building story.

May this chapter find you well, and may the Force be with you.