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


GRS 4:10:3


Dawn approached far more rapidly than Naruto felt it had any right to, but still was more than capable of getting himself ready and moving. He did take a smack from Aurra, who scolded him softly for not waking her for watch, but they let it slide when the witches began waking as well. Ven didn't look Naruto's direction once, seeming to go out of her way to ignore him, while Kara was belligerent and constantly glaring Naruto's way. The others left them alone, still in agreement to travel together, but each riding apart; keeping only just close enough for softer calls of where to go.

Riding up to a ridge, both groups peaked over, staring at the site below. It wasn't necessarily sprawling, but it was spread in such away that it felt there were more people there than there likely were. Seeing a good number of those people moving about, they motioned their rancor down, and hopped off so they could approach and begin their own reconnaissance.

"So, what are we up against?" Naruto asked softly, motioning towards the camp below.

Ignoring Kara's snarling, Yenwin pointed towards various points of interest. Slave pens, the various smaller tents where they likely slept or moved around, a more grand tent where the matriarch would be, an area where various rancor were penned and cared for, some pen that they called the "lizard keeper" pen. Additionally, there was some faint rumbling from a guarded cavern off to the side, to which none of the witches could say what it was, but they all could easily agree that there was a good likelihood that whatever Mother Zalem was doing, it was likely in there. That left the guarded areas, which were guarded scarcely, but with others who were likely as skilled as those with them.

Naruto lay on his stomach, grunting softly as he tried to get a better view. Feeling a gentle nudge, he smiled as he turned to Aurra, who was offering the scope of her cycler. Using his hand to cover the far end, he began slowly moving it across the entirety. He heard some muttering from the others, but he continued to ignore them, focusing instead on a few of the creatures. There was a good deal of them, giving this clan a dangerous disadvantage, should they try to rush it head on. Even with their own rancors, they simply outnumbered them.

Slowly putting the scope down, Naruto glanced to Yenwin and Kyrisa, slowly offering it to them. They both looked at it warily, shaking their heads at the device. Handing it back to Aurra, he slowly huffed. "... these are really good odds."

"Outnumbered, five to one at least, and you consider those good odds?" Kyrisa asked, quirking her brow at his seemingly brash words.

"Yes." Slowly pointing, he tapped the air in the direction of the caves. "If we slip in, there's so many people moving around that another few won't be overly suspicious. Suspicious to the observant yes, but not... overly so. Honestly, Aayla and I will be the odd ones out. We'll stand out too much if we just wander in... we'd either need disguises, or something that would allow us to..." Naruto paused, then slowly began cackling softly. "Actually... wow, it's been a moment. Aayla might be the only one who stands out, if I can do what I need correctly."

They all stared at him in confusion, each of them wondering if he'd cracked. Then, Aurra suddenly snapped her fingers and had to cover her mouth as she giggled into her hand. "Wait... wait... how long did we forget?"

"I mean, I haven't needed it for so long, but..." Naruto's grin was infectious for Aurra, and they were both looking at the camp with a glint of renewed hope.

"... okay then. We have a shot." Aurra nodded, clipping her scope back onto the cycler and quickly holstering it. Wincing, she rubbed her arm, idly glancing at it with a scowl.

Naruto placed his hand under her arm, giving her a quizzical look. "Are you alright?"

She opened her mouth to say she was, then felt his caress through the Force. Slowly, it moved up across her arm, like a warm caress, rushing up the blaster wound and pushing back the pain. Idly, she placed her hand over his, feeling that warmth, and closing her eyes with a soft sigh. As he drew back, she kept him there for a moment more, just wanting another moment with his touch before she let him go, smiling when she felt his connection not fading. "Yeah. Never better."

Nodding slowly, Naruto glanced to Aayla, placing a hand on her shoulder as well. "You?"

"I..." She paused, feeling a warmth of confidence fill her. Staring at him, she blinked rapidly, suddenly more assured of herself as she nodded. "Yes. I'm fine."

"Good." Nodding to the others, he grinned. "I'm going to do something fun, if I can get a few things done. You take care of whatever you need to, I'll be back in a bit."

Moving away, Naruto quickly slid back down to the rancors. Even those that had come with Kyrisa, Terresh, and Ven seemed to perk up and make noises as he approached, giving each of them a quick vocal acknowledgement as they seemed to gather around him. Naruto knew that Aayla had followed after him and was watching, and took a moment to glance back at her as she watched in confusion.

"So, Aayla." He leaned back and pat Brutus on his cheek. "This is my brother. And he is going to help me do something to give the camp down their some worries."

"... okay..." She stared at them all, shifting about and tugging at her Jedi robes. "How... do you do?"

Brutus made a soft noise, and then nudged Naruto's back. Naruto flushed, smacking the back of his hand lightly on his nose. "No, that's not what this is." Getting nudged roughly towards her, Naruto squinted and put his hands on his hips. "Hey, don't you dare..."

The others all made deep, almost gurgle-like noises; a noise something like a laugh, if you let your mind wander far enough. Naruto and Brutus gave each other shoves and grunted as they seemed to wrestle each other, slowly bringing a smile to Aayla's face as she watched it all. It was... interesting. She could feel Naruto in the Force, deeply and without question, she knew where he was and what he was feeling. But that feeling then seemed to wash over into herself. A sudden burst of delight, a sparked bond of indignation and jovial playfulness, the sensation of being lifted by Brutus claw as Naruto held onto his claw and grinned at the much larger creature. There was no fear of this creature, or any of those around them; there was only a kinship, respect, and even a hint of love for them.

"You never mentioned them..." Aayla spoke softly, knowing she was among friends, but still mildly anxious. They were still rancors, and she was still just one young Twi'lek girl.

"I mean, to be fair, I do... people just tend to think 'oh Brutus, that sounds like they're a nice guy.' And I have to say 'no, he's a pain in the side rancor, who's the best fighting companion you can ask for against a krayt dragon.' Obviously." Brutus pat at the back of Naruto's head, getting another grin from Naruto. "You were such a pain in the side. We knew each other for like, a week, and you were so whiny. I - yes we were on a desert planet, but we'd been on a desert planet for a while!"

As Brutus begrudgingly accepted that, Aayla scratched at her arm slowly. "Uh... and, he's going to fight his way into the camp?"

"Hm? No, no..." Naruto pat Brutus cheek, leaning in and whispering to it. As though it understood, Brutus nodded its head along, even making appropriate hums, grunts, and even something that sounded like a snicker at one point. When Naruto finished, Brutus pulled back and gave the most pointed squint to Naruto, which Naruto returned with a wide smirk. "Trust me, it'll be great."

Brutus huffed, moving to the other rancor and began 'discussing' with them. It was further strange seeing that, but even more so was the way they seemed to listen to him. He was smaller than them by maybe half a head, but he carried himself with a poise and strength that they seemed to acknowledge, and even respect in some way.

Leaning to Naruto, she slowly whispered to him. "... what did you say?"

Naruto leaned back, smiling coyly. "... I told him to get them to sing."

"Sing?"

"A song. Yes. Like a melody." Naruto slowly looked back to her, his grin growing slowly. "I want the rancors in the camp to know I'm coming. So they're going to sing the song of a matriarch that Mother Zalem can't be. They're going to sing the song of the Queen of the Arena."

"The... who?"

"My mom."

"Your what?"

"It's a long story." Naruto turned back to Brutus, seeing him motion back in his direction, getting all the rancor to look at him. "Ah, that's my cue."

"Cue? I'm still so lost..." Aayla watched Naruto get up, moving to a position that almost looked like he was prepared to start conducting.

"That's fine... just...listen."

Holding up his hands, Naruto closed his eyes, reaching out to the rancor through the Force. Each one seemed to perk up as they felt his presence, asking to join with them, and each nodding in respect as they let him in. With each of them now feeling him, his presence, and his strength, they then heard words. Words that filled their minds, their hearts, and their souls.

Hail to our Queen, Fighter and Mother, Long may she reign~

Hail to the Brother, Hail to the fighter, He'll raise his claw high~

Hail to the small prince, The Queen's first claimed son, Hear now his words~

Hailing with freedom, Words on their fangs, Strength in their arms~

Hail to the rising, the Queen we have loved her, Now power has changed~

Hail to the first one, He who now rises, Hail to the king~

Hail to the wind borne, The sky liberator, Long may he reign~

Each threw its head back and howled it, letting their voices resound in an unnaturally perfect harmony that in turn sounded like a beautiful melody from one large, powerful creature. The resonance caught the other women off guard, and while Kara seemed to wish to move and silence them, they held her back, watching the curious scene, before turning to see what was happening with the camp, and quite a bit of commotion began occurring as a result of the sudden, resonating song.

[=-x-=]

Quinlan Vos woke slowly, blinking as he tried to regain consciousness. Shifting, he felt himself restrained, held to a vertical bed, strapped and immobile. Pushing against it, he grunted as he felt the binding press against him, and a soft voice spoke from near him.

"Ah, you're finally awake." Slowly standing, a beautiful, dangerous Dathomir woman approached him. Among those who had imprisoned him here, after his spaceship had crashed, Vonya had been one who had been an idly persistent difficulty in his mission. Most recently, she had come across him after he had finally discovered something more of what the witches had been doing. After having finally begun getting some headway, Vonya had managed to intercept him and capture him.

The fact she was here already said a lot. She had been waiting for him, expecting him to awaken, and wanted to be there for it. By the way she moved around him, he could sense she was darkly pleased with his awakening. Idly, she moved over and grabbed a syringe, something moving vaguely withing the bit of glass he could see. Shifting and struggling, he grimaced as she slowly glanced to him.

"You spoke with my sister... well, perhaps she is not my sister... She did kill Leela after all. But she was strong enough to scatter Yani... but not me. She may be Zalem's daughter, but even her new beauty will not save her. Especially since she won't be here to keep this from happening, as she's gone to prepare the ships to ensure our glory." Her lips curled into a dark smile, holding up the syringe and holding it before his face. "These are artery worms. They will eat you alive from the inside out. I can promise you, it will hurt, and your death will be slow."

Quinlan clenched his jaw, a number of retorts coming to mind, but his eye on the syringe had him focusing on the syringe. He knew only a little, but the name alone told him enough. A parasitic creature designed to eat him from the inside out. It would not be pleasant.

As she moved to press the needle to him, she paused as a sudden sound resonated from outside. It sounded like a rancors' voice, but multiplied. Or larger. At first it was just a noise, then it built louder. Then, as if to add to it, there was suddenly deeper, much closer roaring from the rancor. Slowly, Vonya closed her eyes, setting down the syringe and snarling. "Can't leave those fools alone for two minutes without things going wrong."

Turning, she stormed out, throwing the tent flaps roughly to the side as she stormed out. Quinlan watched her leave, taking a moment of silence, then tried to struggle against his bindings. The distraction likely wouldn't last long, and if he didn't get out soon, he'd have artery worms crawling in his veins.

Unable to get free, he closed his eyes and groaned. It wasn't going to be easy, but if he had enough time, he could attempt to force his way out. Shifting, he began trying to slowly pull his hand out, his wrist giving very poignant sparks of pain through him as he struggled further against the bindings. After a few moments though, one of his bindings suddenly loosened, his eyes snapping open.

"Ros?"

"Shhh," Ros Lai, the daughter of Zalem, stood before him, undoing the clasps that restrained him.

"You considered my offer?"

Ros Lai scowled at him, looking for a moment like she wanted to tighten the straps and leave him there. Quinlan had struggled and fought to get to where he could learn as much as he had; that she had been disguising herself as a disfigured woman, endured taunting by being called "the Rancor", the murder of her father by her mother, and her subsequent desire for revenge. And, after he'd discovered it, and about the Star Chamber, he'd offered to help take her mother down with her. Despite his attempts, she'd seemed to reject him. Yet, now, here she was.

Outside, there was a sudden explosion, causing Ros Lai to begin quickly undoing the straps faster. "Curses on that man, not able to wait for even a moment..."

"Who?"

"That other lizard keeper." She muttered, causing Quinlan to brighten.

Yag Shushin, a Given who'd crashed here on a ship that the witches had managed to somehow transform into a subterine; a vehicle that, not only remained space worthy, but could burrow and fly underground. He'd met with Quinlan among the captured, then become his friend as they'd struggled and tried to push against the subjugation of the Nightsisters.

"He got the ship?"

"Yes, it's where we met up again, and now he's firing on the encampment!" Ros Lai growled, pulling him out of his bindings. Turning, she stared at the syringe, giving him a quick once over. "She didn't use that on you did she?"

"No, she got distracted. The rancors-"

"Yes, they're rioting, I know."

"... beg pardon?"

Ros Lai lead him out of the camp, and they witnessed a camp in chaos. Rancor were running amok, seeming to be almost screaming in unison as they moved, ripping through the camp. There were clearly more than a few of the witches trying to use various methods to restrain them, but something strange seemed to be happening, as they were rebuffed and quickly being scattered. Stranger still, there were a number of other rancor who seemed to be moving to join them, as though from outside the camp. Recalling the last time he'd seen such a thing, Quinlan winced. A raiding party was great for them now, but if they tried to capture him, it would only lead to more difficulties.

The subterine began swooping down, its doors opening to allow Quinlan and Ros Lai to begin moving up towards it. Seeing another pair of ships already taking off, Quinlan cursed. Zalem. She'd been getting the ship ready, and had taken off. Moving up towards it, he and Ros Lai began moving up into it, when they heard a voice from behind him. A very familiar voice.

"No way. Vos?"

Turning, Quinlan stared down at Naruto, was was looking up at him with an incredulous look, quickly brightening into a large smile. As the young man moved up to him, Quinlan's eyes drifted behind him, staring at a few of those behind him. Dathomirians, a woman who appeared to be another native of Dathomir, but whose attire and equipment was that of those from the galaxy, and the last... was Aayla. Staring at her, he felt her eyes on him, and saw her face twist into an angry growl.

"No." Naruto's voice cut through the sudden spike of tension, forcing Aayla to look at him as he held up a finger at her. "... no."

"He killed my uncle."

"No."

"He's right here. How can you tell me-"

"We are in the middle of an exploding camp, and there are two ships that took into the air." Naruto pointed at the ships, seeing the chaos behind them as many were scattered by the rancors running wild. One of them turned, looking towards the group, and Naruto quickly waved to them. "Go have fun Brutus, don't keep them here! Go, I dunno, out and find some fun!"

Aayla's gaze returned to Quinlan, her lips curling as she looked all the more ready to leap and fight him, but a hand on her shoulder held her back. Slowly, she relented, letting Naruto lead her into the ship.

As they entered towards the cockpit, their Given pilot turned around and stared at them. "... did we pick up some more stragglers?"

"Friends, actually." Quinlan said, patting his shoulder. "Good friends, the sort who don't want to try killing us."

"Oh good, I was worried you were trying to pick another fight and they jumped aboard." Sarcasm dripped from Yag as he quickly took off.

Behind them, there was a shout. One of the witches was snarling, leaping up to attempt boarding the ship. As she did, Naruto reached out to intercept her, only for her to be grabbed and dragged back to the ground by someone else. Naruto slowly peaked out, waved at her fallen form, then slipped back in as he closed the door. "... Kara really does not like me."

"Most people don't until they get to know you." The stranger woman said, before she motioned to Quinlan. "I'm Aurra Sing."

"... Aurra Sing, the bounty hunter?"

"My reputation precedes me."

Quinlan motioned between her and Naruto. "You brought a bounty hunter? Was it... just to find Aayla or...?"

"Well, yes." Naruto smiled at Aurra, who lounged back leisurely. "But, she's also a good friend of mine."

Nodding slowly, Quinlan slowly moved back, glancing back to Yag. "Think we can beat them down that shaft?"

"Probably, but-" Yag yelped as the ship was jostled, trying to look behind him. "Not if we have company!"

"We are NOT about to have a space battle underground, are we?" Naruto asked, his mind seeming to suddenly pick up on what was going on as the ship angled and quickly began moving into the hole in the ground.

"Yes."

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Naruto groaned, pushed into his seat by Aurra who moved back towards weapons.

"Just sit back, we'll handle this. Hey, come help out." Aurra called to Quinlan, motioning him to follow as she raced towards the back. "This thing has to have blasters of some kind, or a turret, let's get this thing some defense!"

"... right."

Moving back down, Quinlan took a quick glance over his shoulder, exhaling slowly before making his way out. He knew he could trust Naruto, and Yag, but leaving Aayla with Ros Lai, he wasn't so sure. With Ros Lai having a vague sense of dislike for him, and Aayla openly angry, he could only imagine how this could end up. He would trust in the Force, and his skills with shooting, as he quickly slipped into a gunner seat, and began swinging around to attempt picking off those following them. This mission needed them to beat Zalem to the Star Chamber, else more than just the mission would be in jeopardy; the lives of billions, or even trillions, could be in danger.

[=-x-=]

Kara screamed. She howled, and she threw a tantrum. She screeched, and threw her strength in the Force and tried to use it to bombard the area around her. Her frustration was beyond measure, and she would let all know it whether they cared, or not.

As she did, she found her voice cut off as she struggled to claw at her throat, eyes bulging as she gasped out, unable to take in air. Struggling, she shifted and dug into her neck, threw her weight in the Force, trying to save herself from the pain. Feeling pain, then a striking, terrifying numbness, she heard something just barely through a sudden high-pitched ringing in her ears before she found her face in the dirt, coughing and gasping for air, only to cough more upon inhaling dirt.

"Who did that? Why did you stop her?"

"What does it matter? We don't need to follow him."

"He left us. Abandoned our cause."

"It was never his cause."

"Besides, now... can't we complete our mission? With the rancors help, they're more scattered..."

Kara couldn't process everything at once. Too much. It was all to much. First that man had mocked her, then shown that he was indeed very much the threat he made himself out to be, then rather than do anything to stop him, one of her sisters had helped let him go? It was madness.

Moving over, slowly, she stared at them all. Ven was shifting and moving back, almost hiding behind everyone. Terresh was grimacing, but nodding in agreement, seemingly with Kyrisa who was getting her face pushed into by Yenwin. Yenwin, despite her calm demeanor, was wrapped up in the ecstasy of combat and violence, and clearly not thinking as clearly as she could. Under normal circumstances she was collected, but this was why she was often passed over for another as the leader of raids; she would be too involved in causing destruction to remember that their goal was to do something else.

Still, that left Kara on the ground, with a curiosity. Someone had yanked her out of the air. Someone had stopped her from destroying that man. Slowly, she tried to push herself up, only to be pressed back down by a motion from Kyrisa. Her eyes widened, staring at her in shock as she tried to move, to no avail, while Kyrisa kept speaking.

"You need to go and finish what we've started. Terresh, Ven, go with her. We need this handled quickly. I'll deal with Kara... she's been needing this for some time."

The three stared at her, weighing their options. Kara wished she could call out, to try and get even one of them onto her side, but to no avail as they slowly nodded while she coughed and struggled, watching them move away and leave her alone with Kyrisa.

Kyrisa moved slowly, leaning over her before she began kneeling next to her. Shaking her head, she watched Kara struggle for a moment more. "... you've really made a mess of yourself, haven't you sister?"

Kara idly wished she could draw in enough strength to spit at her. She had sabotaged her, kept her from her desired assault, her attack, her rage. Slowly, realizing that Kyrisa was doing nothing, she began to relax herself, trying to recenter and refocus herself. Eventually, when she was more calmed, the Force was suddenly removed from her, and Kyrisa held her hand to her. Warily, she took the hand, letting herself be pulled to her feet.

"... why...?"

"Why not just kill you?" Kyrisa nodded, taking the question as a matter of course. "Sister, we fight enough as it is. In the wilds, we see that those beneath an alpha fight to be at the top only when they think they have the power to do so. You think you're strong, but you are not that strong. Not strong enough to overthrow another. Yet, someone else thinks they are stronger than you - and were able to catch you off guard when you were leaping."

Taking a moment to process those words, Kara frowned. "... you think one of our sisters...?"

"Maybe. One who was strong enough to catch you off guard, and to slip past my notice." Kyrisa crossed her arms, nodding to herself.

Kara tried to look into her eyes, to see something she'd missed, maybe to think of a way that she could prove it was Kyrisa herself. However, the more she looked, the more she couldn't prove or think that it was her. Slowly, Kara began nodding to herself. Yes, one of the others could have done it, if they were fast enough, or had managed to do so cleverly.

"Why did you stop Yenwin though? Surely she would have figured them out..." Kara slowly shook her head, her mind clearing for a moment before thinking it over again. "... unless, you wanted to be the one to find her?"

"Not quite. Yenwin is a wild card in battle, and is dangerous when she's like this. Later I'll discuss with her, as that means we know it to be one of two people."

Terresh and Ven. Ven seemed so innocent that it couldn't be her, leaving Terresh. Yet, she didn't rule out Ven on principle, not wanting to find herself at the mercy of one more powerful than her catching her off guard. Still, that was one of two; two sisters she did not know well enough to point to either. Terresh was softer spoken than some, but had ambitions that she knew nothing of. Ven was quieter, and had proven her skill with plant manipulation to be something of a powerful thing when traversing the forest. That could be an indication of her strength, but she couldn't say for certain. Knowing one ritual over another did not mean she was stronger, just more capable at that technique.

"So you did it so... you could what?"

"I want to take them under my leadership." Kyrisa smirked, crossing her arms. "I'm still learning, but the stronger I get, the easier it will be to take control of the clans, and bind them under one banner. Even Zalem hasn't had this unified. After all, look at us, raiding her base, taking what we wish. Having whichever of them showed that much power and skill under my hands, would make an amazing ally."

"... why tell me then? Aren't I-" Kara began, then bit her tongue and glared at her. No, she wasn't a threat, or competition to her. Kyrisa saw her as beneath her, to the point that she was willing to tell her outright what she was planning. "What to say that I won't simply speak of what you're desiring to others?"

"Let them know. It will just mean more will rally under me when I begin to act."

Unfair, as that cut off what she'd began thinking was her biggest asset. She idly considered telling the plan to one like Mother Talzin, but even she might simply state that it was as sound plan, should she prove her power to be able to do so. Otherwise, she was simply another star eyed sister who would be struck down as any other might. With simply telling her, Kyrisa had seemingly boxed her in, making her have two choices; join her, and be part of a glory to come, or leave and watch her ascend without her.

"Why then?" Kara asked, glowering at her.

"Because... you have no interest in Naruto."

Kara barked a laugh at that, quickly having to cough and clear out her throat. "Didn't he save you and the others? None of you hold claim to him anymore. If anything, Yenwin and I hold more so than you do."

"No, but who said I need a claim on him, if he willingly comes to us?" Kyrisa tapped her head, smirk growing. "He must leave, else he can't come back. I've seen it. I know it."

"Great, he'll be back." Staring towards where the vessels had flown into the world, she slowly turned to Kyrisa. "... him? Why?"

"Because," She crossed her arms, staring with her into the tunnel, her eyes gleaming with those stars in her eyes; too far for today, maybe never in her grasp, but close enough for her to see and to hunger for. "He is strong. And I am not afraid of one with such strength like our other sisters. If he is strong, all I must do is be more clever than he, and make him need me."

"And, how will you do that?"

"Simple..." Kyrisa slowly turned, walking back to the rancors, her bonds through the Force flowing out. "I will become someone he needs. He will come back... so I have the time I need to do so."

Kara nodded, missing when Kyrisa's smile dropped, her eyes turning back to the tunnel, or heard the soft, worried sigh. Kyrisa slowly looked at her hand, closing her eyes as she reached out to the rancors, for the first time her Bonds near a plea. She needed to be strong for his return. Her vision had told her that she would need to be, else she would find herself lost in the white, and forced to wait so much longer to be found and to gain that power she desired. So she would become stronger.

... she had to.


AN: Tiny bit of movement there, but then most of Quinlan's time was already over and done with - he might explain a bit later of who is there and what is going on, but that's for later. The now is a chase, in the air, underground, looking for a big ol' ancient gate. Exciting!

I'm glad that people have mentioned that they've enjoyed the sister's I've made to go alongside Kyrisa. Figuring out the skeptics, the believers, and just trying to make them feel like they belong is a lot of fun, and is why I'm looking forward to adding more "they were never touched on" entities to the Star Wars universe, to have more fun and chaos to be quelled, or stirred up. After all, can't have things staying the same when we've got crazy Sith on the loose.

Thank you all for your reviews, they are always great to read. If you haven't seen, the Naruto poll is done, and now there is a poll to go over the pairing options for Anakin on my Profile page. 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.