A/N: I! AM! BACK! BACK WITH REQUEST WEEK ONCE AGAIN! This weeks request? Updating this fic! Among others. So off we go!
Also we need to address some nasty little reviews. Two in particular out of the dozens I've gotten.
By 2200ss:
Trying to find some Finn/Rey and Pie and I find this piece of shit. I hate this website intensely.
Seriously, bro? Why'd you even read it then? No constructive criticism at all, just blatant hate...
Mithos Yggdrassil chapter 1 . Apr 28
Typical. Nerfed!Naruto.
Again with the hate!
See, stuff like THIS is why I have trouble updating, why I tend to vanish, if only to get away from the negativity. Ever try writing when you're upset? It doesn't work! AT! ALL! Its a two way street, people! Its impossible for me to write something when stuff like this keeps cropping up. I'm not one to block people over stuff like this, but to be blatantly attacked just for trying to write a story? For trying to entertain people? I write this stuff for YOU GUYS not for me, despite my poor health. And when I get relentlessly attacked for it, well...
...it HURTS, to say the least.
Alright, rant over. I'm just going to go cry in a corner...
Now, someone asked about Naruto going to the dark side in this? Is it a possibility? Hmm. That depends. Remember, he is very, very VERY angry at a certain Goddess for screwing up his life. Add to that the whispers he's hearing, and the new wellspring of power he's only just begun to tap into and all I can say is...he's toeing a perilous line. It remains to be seen whether he crosses it, or not, dear readers.
Now, I proudly present the next chapter of...
...Not So Far Away!
...make of it what you will!
"Why is it orange?"
"I think you mean...why the hell not?"
~Naruto and Rey.
Light in the Dark
FN-2187 was going to die.
He'd come to terms with it mere minutes before, seen his death in the eyes of the man who'd buried Lord Ren under a mountain of rubble. He knew precious little of Jedi or Sith or their strength, only that he wanted NO PART of this. But he found himself all but frozen, rooted, powerless to take so much as a single step backwards in retreat. He could only look on in muted horror, as the two titans clashed mere yards away, flinging their bodies through impossibly complex maneuvers, always moving, ever shifting, each striving to take the other's head.
And for the life of him, he couldn't get away from them!
Stricken by equal parts terror and sheer awe, Eight-seven watched helplessly as the pair raged about the crumbling village like a pair of angry rancor. Bringing devastation to everything they touched in their wake. None dared fire on either for fear of hitting their liege and for that 2817 was glad; because had they fired, he would've been branded a coward for simply standing here, frozen in fear. But could one really blame him? This was so far out of his league-or any of his blaster toting comrades for that matter-that he knew the moment they raised their blasters they were as good as dead.
More than once the duo came within mere inches of him, saber and staff clashing with single-minded determination. For the life of him, he couldn't decide who he wanted to win. By rights, Lord Ren was his superior. But he'd nearly ordered them to fire on civilians. Civilians! Who ordered such a thing?! They were meant to be on the side of good, of order, not...whatever this was!
When the final blow came it was abrupt and swift.
"Gotcha!"
The interloper laughed and sidestepped a frenzied lunge by Lord Ren and brought his staff around in a crushing blow; one that took the aspiring Sith low in the gut and disarmed him all at once, driving him to his knees even as the sabet clattered to the sands. In the next instant the stranger capitalized on the opening and spun, putting the full weight of his body into a single debilitating strike. 2187 wanted to look away, he truly, truly did, but his eyes betrayed him, staring to the very last, watching in horrified awe as that staff swung down...down...DOWN...
CLUNK!
With an audible noise of staff striking metal-the hardened steel of Ren's helmet to be precise-the formerly cloaked stranger clobbered the pretentious little twat across the head, driving him to the ground in a heap. The stranger hesitated for a moment waiting for his opponent to rise, then hit him again, for good measure. Eight-seven thought he heard a soft groan. When Ren did not rise again, the blond planted a foot on his back and forced him over onto his stomach. No resistance was offered.
That last hit had laid him out cold.
A pall of silence fell over the battlefield with the realization.
No one moved, neither villager nor stormtrooper, as the victor stood, wiping a bit of blood out of his right eye. Cutting blue eyes cut across the battlefield, narrowing upon the troopers themselves. When a hand rose, a few rifles trained on him. Not a one opened fire, remembering the fate of their comrade. The smoking hole in his head at the hands of the blond stood as a stark reminder of what would happen. That said blond seemed almost eager for them to make a second attempt wasn't lost on them, much less FN-2187.
Even so, what came next taxed their-and his-resolve to the breaking point.
"Oi! I'm keeping this!" Naruto announced, hoisting Ren's stolen lightsaber high. "Spoils of war and whatnot. Now," he continued with a polite smile, hoisting Ren's prone body up by the scruff of his neck, "I need you ol' boys to do me a favor."
By way of explanation he gave the aspiring Sith below him a mighty kick with his artificial foot, send him skidding across the ruined homestead. Eight-seven finally found his feet as the battered sith skidded to a halt at his feet, cracked helmet lolling painfully to one side. When he looked up, he found that the young was somehow closer than before. Only a few yards away now, he planted himself firmly between them and the villagers, staff in hand, Ren's discarded saber in the other. As he looked on, he ignited the weapon, casting his face in pale red relief.
Something in Eight-seven quailed at the sight.
"Alright," he called loudly, his voice echoing in the empty air, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Easy way? You all walk out of here alive with your illustrious way. Hard way-
Ping!
His ragged saber leaned three degrees to the right, expertly deflecting a stray scarlet bolt back at the unfortunate shooter's chest. The man dropped with a choking gurgle.
-that happens." He finished smugly. "So, would you lads kindly get mister broody and miss bucket-head the hell out of here, for me?" Naruto quipped, brandishing his new blade with a humming flourish. "If they want a rematch, they know the place. Oh, and tell them if I catch them shooting civilians again, I'll break their necks. Great? Great!"
Even then, not one dared to move.
Naruto scowled.
"Well, shoo!"
Nothing.
"Go on, get!"
A few, more fearful troopers trickled back towards the blast shuttles, but most-like 2187-remained rooted. Judging by that growl though, it wouldn't long until he set upon them. They hastened their pace, that slow-walk becoming a jog, nay, a sprint as the blond drew a blaster and discharged a few wild shots at their feet. Those lucky troopers few carrying Lord Ren and Captain Phasma all but bounded up into the man's shuttle, and the relative safety it offered. It was those choice few who'd tried to drag an equally unresponsive Poe Dameron with them that found themselves accosted by the sociopathic blond.
They weren't nearly as lucky.
"Hold it, bub!"
The lead guard carrying the man's legs found himself shot straight through the back of the skull before he could so much as take another step. His body dropped like a sack of potatoes, and so too did the resistance pilot he'd been carrying. His fellows drew up short, wincing as a smattering of shots nipped at their heels.
"Ah, ah, ah!" Naruto tsked, waving the weapon at the rear guard with thinly veiled menace. "Leave the prisoner, boys. Let him sleep off his beating. He isn't yours to take."
At this, one of the troopers finally found his nerve.
"You can't just-
VZZM!
Naruto stepped past him in one fell movement, the red bar of his blade cutting toward's the aggressive man's chest.
It stopped a hairsbreadth away.
"I can, and I am. Drop. Him." he warned. "Or I drop all of you."
A burst of killing intent and the rest of them did just that; all but discarding the unconscious pilot to dash toward the nearest ramp, racing away at top speed. Eight-seven nearly followed his brothers, but something held him back. What awaited him if he went up that ramp? A life of following orders that he didn't like? More of this? There was no doubt in his mind; Lord Ren would lead a reprisal mission, try to finish what he'd so foolishly started, dragging Eight-Seven and his brothers back into battle without thought for their lives.
And this time, he might not be so lucky.
In the end, Eight found himself still standing on Jakku as the last shuttle lifted off into the night. A betrayal he was certain would be reported to his superiors. Or former superiors. Damnit. He tried telling himself that he hadn't stayed put out of fear, or even something so simple as a desire for self-preservation. No, he'd remained for another reason.
"Why are you still here?"
His trembling knees told a different story.
Eight-Seven froze, the blood turning to glacial ice in his veins.
"I...um...ah...
Naruto turned his head, frowning.
"What's your name?"
Something like cognizance stirred in the trooper's fear-addled brain. Fumbling fingers fiercely fought the seals of his helmet as he hastened to remove it. Perhaps if the stranger saw his visage instead of another faceless bucket he'd not be so quick to kill him? Whatever the case, he thought he caught a spark of pity in that blazing blue gaze when he finally got the damn thing off. Raw terror compelled the troop to move, to do something anything, to save his life.
And so he did.
His hand rose sharply, saluting without thinking.
"FN-2187, sir."
The blond blinked.
"FN-no, no, screw that." he turned his head and spat a bloody wad of saliva onto the ground. "That's too damn long. I'm calling you Finn. Why are you still here?"
"I...I can't go with them, sir."
"Stop calling me sir." the blond admonished. "And why not?"
Finn bristled.
Did he dare lie to him?
Dark eyes flicked to the still active weapon.
Truth it was, then.
"I didn't sign up for this." He started slowly, never taking his eyes off the blazing blade. "I wanted to restore order. Not...kill innocent people! It...is not right." Sputtering, he waved a hand in the direction of the villagers and their ruined homes, wincing slightly at the myriad of glares he received in return. "But you did. You stood up to...him. Y-Y-You did the right thing." He dare not speak Ren's name, merely the thought of the unstable dark-sider threatened to conjure him and undo his fledgling courage all over again.
Naruto watched him for a long moment, scowling.
Abruptly, he nodded.
"Fine."
"Eh?"
"Alright, Finn." he relented, extinguishing the blade with a sigh, "You can stop shaking, now. I don't kill without reason, even these days. You want to be useful?" his neck twitched, regarding the prone form of one Poe Dameron. "You stay with that pilot over there. Lose the armor. And when he wakes up, you do everything in your power to help him on his way. Don't make me regret this." a finger prodded his chest, forcing him back half a step. "I'm giving you a chance. Its more than most get."
"What?"
"Don't just stand there. Or do! I don't care anymore. Fuck's sake...
Chuffed to find that he was going to live after all, the now-named Finn nearly lost his voice when the blond stormed past him. A quick word with one of the villagers, an outpouring of thanks for his efforts, and he went on his way, loping back across the dunes with a single-minded determination. The ex-trooper couldn't help but notice that the man was favoring his good leg.
"Where are you going?" Finn called after the man who'd named him.
A rueful blue eye regarded him over one shoulder.
"To bed."
(Several Hours Later...)
Rey opened bleary eyes as a dark shadow detached itself from the blackness.
At first the scavenger didn't rightly realize who had entered her home; only when a shock of golden hair flickered in her peripherals did she allow herself to relax minutely. Naruto entered the AT-AT with much muttering and plenty of quiet cursing, banging about their little hovel with a racket she'd long since learned to ignore. The blond was simply incapable of being quiet when he was upset, something she resolved to ask him about at first light, soon as she was awake. Later, of course.
Sleep now, her brain decided.
Questions in the morning.
"Where'd you go?" she yawned when he finally slipped into the blankets beside her. The chill fled from her bones all at once as she snuggled up against him-purely for warmth of course she told herself-fingers splaying across the scarred plane of his chest with practiced ease until the numbed digits were nice and toasty. If he noticed her concern he didn't remark on it; his only response was to turn his head away from her, azure orbs peering up at the matte grey ceiling of their home with a quiet intensity.
"Places."
"Places?" another soft yawn stifled itself against his chest as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "What kind of places?" And why did he smell of charred ozone? Had he been in a fight? So many questions, but the sweet lure of slumber was pervasive, invading her every thought, dulling her curiosity.
"I'll tell you tomorrow." he promised on a sigh. "First thing, scouts honor, 'ttebayo."
Rey hummed a quiet agreement of her own, surrendering to the lull of sleep.
As fate would have it, she actually found something the next morning.
Something that changed everything.
(...)
Naruto woke the next morning to the high-pitched, frenzied chatter of droidspeak.
"Shh!" Rey's voice interposed itself upon the blackness of his dreams, "BB-8! You'll wake him."
A mournful note answered her chastisement.
Well, he was certainly awake now!
"What in blazes...?"
Pushing back the thick covers-they'd easily been able to afford more since Plutt was outright terrified of him-and scrubbing sleep from his eyes, the battered blond turned his gaze upon the source of the ungodly ruckus taking place only a few feet from his head. At first, still bleary from deep sleep, he didn't know what he was looking at.
When he squinted down enough to see, he still didn't.
He found himself face to face with a ball.
No, not quite a ball.
The droid itself was a small, spherical little thing, all orange and white. Orange. Now that was a plus. Clearly whoever owned the little guy had a good fashion taste. A tiny head lay mounted atop the rolling base, which somehow only served to make it all the more adorable. Despite his initial misgivings, the crippled shinobi found himself lowering his guard. How could something so...round possibly be a threat? As Naruto looked on the little guy tumbled forward, chirping an inquiry.
"This is BB-8." Rey explained as she prepared breakfast. "I caught Teedo trying to scavenge him."
"Hope you kicked his ass."
"A little." she grinned.
"Thatta girl!"
"Want breakfast?"
"Hmm? Later. Wanna work, first." Naruto quipped intently, tumbling out of the thin cot that served as a bed and onto his feet. As ever, his attention went straight to his pet project. Food could always come later. Right now, he desperately wanted to puzzle this out while the latest epiphany still danced in his mind. Ren's stolen cross-guard lightsaber lay beside his creation and he was quietly struck by the similarities. Was this what he was trying to build? A blade of some sort?
Even now he could feel his fingers twitching, longing to take his new trophy apart, decipher its inner workings. Already, he could hear the whispers calling to him, guiding him, telling him what to strip from the insidious blade and what to keep, all so that he might-
"Where'd you get that?"
Aaaaaaand the moment was lost again.
Despairing the momentary lost of inspiration, the shinobi shot Rey a glower over his shoulder.
"Swiped it." he said, quietly hoping she'd let the matter be.
"From who?"
Ugh.
"A little teme. Called himself Kylo Ren. Name ring a bell?"
"BEEEEEEEEEEP!"
The diminutive little droid suddenly spun on its axis to face the blond, shrieking loudly for his attention. Naruto blinked, suddenly very glad he'd bothered to learn some measure of droidese in the first place. After a few moments of this, he felt he understood enough of the measured sounds to suss out what the little automaton was trying to tell him.
"Oh, you know me?"
An affirmative bleat.
"I don't think we've met...?"
For all of his amusement, he still found himself frowning at the series of beeps and squeals that issued forth. Even then it took him a handful of seconds to decipher the gibberish. Rey looked on in silence with him as the droid finally ceased his frantic string of squeaks. Honestly, he was surprised the poor thing didn't drain its power cells outright from all that squawking!
"Wait, you were there? But you ran off before we could finish the fight?"
BB-8 offered a plaintive whine.
"What fight?" Rey frowned.
"Just a little dust-up." Naruto deflected her query a touch too quickly, feigning an innocent smile. "Nothing special. Buncha punks tried to kill people. I stopped them. Can't we just leave it at that?" Clearly not, for BB-8 chose that moment to chime in, and his commentary proved far more colorful that the blond's. It also had the added effect of dashing Naruto's lie to shreds and had the scavenger's brow shooting straight up to her hairline. The silence was telling, chilling even.
"Naruto," she began softly, sweetly, "Details, please.
For a fleeting moment, the broken ninja actually found himself reminded of his old teammate, Sakura. She'd used that same tone more than once when he tried to keep things from her, missions or otherwise. Rey had the same look about her. The difference? While he was quite certain the scavenger could never inflict anything in the way of lasting damage on him, there was just something about the gleam in her eye.
He wasn't quite sure why, but in that instant, he feared her more.
"I may have...erm...killed a few guys, troopers, really...
BB-8 offered a flat squawk.
"You killed men from the FIRST ORDER?!"
"Not so loud, Rey-chan!" the whiskered warrior hissed, rubbing his right ear. "Jeez! Ow! What the hell, droid?! Why'd you rat me out, 'ttebayo?! Eh, a pilot? Oh, NOW you want answers?! Fine! I left somebody like that near the Kelvin Ravine. Looked pretty roughed up, last I saw him, he had a nasty head wound. Why? What's he to you?"
BB-8 blew an electronic raspberry at him.
"None of my bus-OF COURSE ITS MY BUSINESS! Don't give me that classified crap! I already saved your nonexistent ass once before! You owe me!" Faster than a blink he reached down, snatching the rotund droid up before it could think to retreat. "Ha!" he crowed, glaring down at the little offender. "Whaddya say now, eh?!"
Bzzt!
That, apparently.
"Yow!"
Naruto got a nasty zap on the nose for his efforts, forcing him to drop his prize with a dull clank.
"Touche, droid." he muttered, rubbing his nose. "Touche."
If a droid could look smug, BB-8 would've been the picture of it.
"We should get him back to his owner, then." Rey piped up, gripping her staff. For the life of him, Naruto couldn't tell whether she wanted to clobber him with it or not.
"Supplies first." Naruto argued, rising from his workbench with the air of a tired soldier. "I'm tired of eating rations. Lets splurge for once. Get some real food before we trek halfway across the damn planet. 'Sides, if that wound was as bad as I thought, I doubt flyboy's going to be going anywhere anytime soon."
"You just want to terrorize Plutt again."
A toothy grin was his first answer.
"C'mon, don't make that face! What's the worst that could happen?"
Needless to say, mistakes were made.
(One ill-fated trip later...)
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
Naruto restrained a strangled yelp, ducking under an explosive green bolt of plasma and hissing softly as he felt the searing air warm his hair. Rey was half-a-step behind, which wasn't at all surprising when one realized they were being shot at by a Tie Fighter. Two, actually! Either the pilots were piss-poor shots, too busy playing with them, or they were incredibly lucky. If one could call this luck. Rey's strangled curses told the blond all he wanted to know about that particular situation and the chewing out that awaited him once they survived this.
If they survived this.
It wasn't his fault!
He'd expected some sort of reprisal for his actions, of course; he just hadn't thought it would be so soon. Part of him suspected Ren would go crawl under a rock and nurse his wounds-another even dared to hope that in spite of what had happened, perhaps the little pansy would even see the error of his ways.
Evidently not.
Instead they'd run into a full squad of armored troopers before they could even reach Plutt. And when they'd beaten those down-then came the air support. The last five minutes had been spent leading them on a merry lil' chase across the junkyard, doing their damndest not to get themselves shot.
This wasn't going to work for much longer, either.
"Go!" He barked! "I'll buy you some time!"
Rey nearly skidded to a halt.
"What are you doing...?!"
Naruto grinned at her.
It was all teeth.
"Trust me."
Apparently she did; because the scavenger took off at a dead run for the quad jumper, BB-8 hot on her heels.
One Tie screamed past to follow.
The other swung around to track Naruto.
Mistake.
Snarling, the strengthened blond swept his arm back, locking the saber in the on-position with a press of the button. He lingered all of a moment more, making certain the offending fighter had locked onto him for an attack run. Whomever the pilot was, they never once paused to consider the fierce red Lightsaber in his hand. They probably didn't given Ren's lightsaber so much as a second thought. And why should they? They probably thought it was just some fancy vibroblade of sorts, nothing that could possible pierce the superior armor of their craft. No, they didn't consider it a threat at all.
Until he threw it.
VZZM!
The red blade arced through the air with a mournful howl, a blurring red discus that cut across the air to meet the hull before the pilot could think to veer away. His mistake. Durasteel met to hot plasma and yielded into it like butter; parting with a groan as the whirling blade effortlessly bifurcating the cockpit, followed by the prone pilot within. Bereft of its guidance, the TIE uttered a whining groan and hurtled past, grinding itself into a spectacular shrapnel-hurling fireball caroming wildly off a junk stand and sending the scavengers scattering like flies.
Naruto groaned, quietly mourning the loss of his prize in the wreck.
"One down."
Unfortunately he didn't have anything to tackle the second, which, upon seeing the death of its wing-mate, banked around to fire on him once more. Streaks of green plasma arced past, not to where he was, or even at Rey and BB-8, but where they would be-
Oh, hell.
The Quad-Jumper came apart moments later, a cloud of black and orange consuming their means of escape; flinging bits and pieces of engine parts in all directions. To her credit, Rey didn't slow. She simply banked an angry right and hurtled towards the only other freighter within spitting distance. Naruto bit back another groan as he raced after her, his bad leg protesting with each step that jarred up his spine. Worse, he thought he saw fragments of his false foot tumbling away behind him.
Later.
"Are we seriously stealing this hunk of junk?!" he hollered, bounding up the ramp!
"Better this than nothing!"
A near miss shook them.
...garbage it is, then!"
"You think?!"
"Hey!" Mere moments before he ducked inside, Naruto thought he heard a distant shout. "That's miiiiiiiiine!"
The blond scoffed and slapped the hatch shut, the ramp rising behind him.
"Not anymore it ain't!"
The Millenium Falcon bucked and yawed beneath his feet a heartbeat later, hurling him forward.
"Gunner's position is down below!"
Naruto turned his head and spat a tooth onto the deck, shaking himself out of a dented bulkhead. The metal offered a brief squeal of protest when he pushed himself free, as if the very ship herself were complaining to him about his lack of finesse. He gave the wall another whack for good measure.
"You know," he shouted towards the cockpit, swallowing a mouthful of blood, "I had the impression that you were a pilot."
A barrel roll tossed the jedi-in-training right on his ass.
"Shut up and man the guns!"
"That it?"
"NARUTO!"
Funny how a single word could carry so much death.
"Right, right, I'm going! Jeez, the things I do for-
"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOO!"
That was all he managed before a small blur of orange and white slammed into him and sent him sprawling. Repressing a growl, he thrust BB-8 off him, depositing the madly beeping droid against a crate. With a hiss to stay put he grabbed the nearest rung in the ladder and scurried down below, swearing all the while. Just another low point on what had already proved to be a spectacular morning. Quietly resolving to rain hell down on the unlucky bastard shooting them, he strapped himself in and struggled to make sense of the myriad controls before him.
The quad guns jammed not a moment later.
"I really hate this day, dattebayo!"
A/N: SURPRISE!
Poor Naruto. Sorry if this chapter is so terribly, short, but I needed to get this off the ground. Now, before anyone says anything, Naruto is NOT at his max in this. Nowhere near it in fact. In short, he's gotten his arse handed to him, most of his powers reduced/stripped away, flat. Yes, he's stronger than your average human, but don't expecting him to be tossing any Rasenshuriken around just yet...
So, in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...REVIEW! And May the Force be with you! AND ENJOY ZE PREVIEW! Tis a shocker!
(Preview)
"You're sick."
"No, I'm justice."
Naruto's only response was to raise the hilt in his hand.
Vzzm!
"You...stupid...little shit!"
With a warbling shriek the LIGHTSABER sprang to life in his palm, a thick amber-colored blade igniting as they looked on. The ninja gave the weapon an experimental twirl, testing its weight. Seemingly satisfied with his new creation, he gave it a flick of the wrist, hanging it at his side, dragging against the brown leaves until it drew sparks.
Then he started forward.
"I'm going to kill you." he drew the words out with deliberate care, as though the young man were as much admitting it to himself as he were Ren. "Slowly. Painfully. Piece by piece. I am going to take my fucking time with you, and I'm going to enjoy it, even though I shouldn't. I hope you realize that." Ren realized something alright; those eyes weren't blue anymore. They were...gold, a sickly shade of yellow, like so much poisoned honey, not the eyes of a man, but a monster, a cold-blooded killer brought to the fore by the events that had transpired here.
"And when I'm done with you, I'm going to do the same to your master. I AM GOING TO FUCKING DESTROY THE TWO OF YOU!"
Then he flew at him.
R&R! =D