A/N: I'M NOT DEAD!
So.
The Last Jedi.
Its officially out now.
And I've rendered a verdict.
I am both happy and SHATTERED at the same damn time. How is that even a thing, I ask you?! I literally saw it on opening night and it gave me a lot to think about, not to mention reason to start this story again. After all, it was always my intent to wait until the second movie before I kicked into high gear and went on an updating spree. Suffice to say I'm going to be going on a bit of a Star Wars craze for awhile, if only because of this.
Thoughts?
Opinions?
Now, at the risk of spoilers, I'd like to point out two things that irked me.
Snoke.
As well as the issue of Rey's parents.
I can accept the former, but I feel they kinda dropped the ball on the latter.
I feel Disney could have done more with both and instead chose not to. Or maybe they did. Perhaps they plan to surprise us, and they're saving it for the as-of-yet unnamed third movie in the trilogy. I won't say anymore, for the sake of those who have yet to see it, but it kept me entertained. Plot though...the plot could have been better. But that's all I'm saying.
Now, onto the rest of the note!
I'm also taking pangs to make this story different, unique, and very much my own from the new canon. ESPECIALLY given the events of the most recent movie. Seems I was right to hold back and wait to see where Last Jedi went. So, this chapter may be a touch shorter than the others, but there's a reason for that. You see, this particular chapter represents a bit of a rebirth of things. Now that I've got a concrete plan, I'm freed to unleash the full potential of this story and take it where the fans truly desire it.
I'd like to state this first: the next few updates are going to focus SOLELY on this fic.
Yes, there will be updates for other stories of course, but this is going to be the main focus. This chapter's meant to be a transition of sorts, a manner in which to get others back up to speed without spoiling anything to come. So I do apologize for that.
Now I can proceed with MY plans and bring this fic roaring back.
With a vengeance.
So lets answer some questions! I think six will do this time-no, seven, because I just received one while writing this.
So!
Q: Did...did you just write Finn and Poe out of the story?! And who's Syn? Is she an OC or something?
A: No, they have their own part to play. As does Syn. She's with Naruto and Rey for a reason. Not just a plot device. She actually has a purpose, one no one has guessed at yet.
Q: Am I correct in assuming you're going to take your own route with this story?
A: In a sense, yes.
Q: Any chance we could see a harem here?
A: No. This is firmly a SINGLE. Pairing. Story. A harem serves no point here. I've worked hard to cultivate Naruto and Rey's relationship; introducing another character at this stage would be both rude and meaningless. Besides, I've pulled that already with "The Shinobi Menace" as well as "The Dark Side of the Moon". So no, NarutoxRey is the main pairing. Finn may get one of his own. As well as others. But Naruto and Rey are too invested in one another at this point to seek romantic attachment elsewhere. They are, after all, the stars of this story.
Q: Naruto isn't going to do Dark, is he? Say it ain't so!
A: Read the story, my friend and you'll see.
Q: When will Naruto finish building his lightsaber? How is he doing it for that matter?
A: Soon, and the Force is a mysterious thing my friend. He doesn't truly understand it himself. Seeing Kylo's saber up close has given him ideas to be sure, coupled with the rare crystal he was given...
Q: Sooooo...did you hear about Rey's parent's and the issue with Snoke?
A: Don't worry I have heard and plan to address it. I'm afraid I must remain mum on that issue for now. Spoilers and all.
And there we have it.
Oh and on another note, I believe I may be slowly losing my mind. As in going insane. And not in a good way. My writing skills haven't degraded in the least, but I seem to be dealing with occasional bouts of anger and depression which, for me, is rather unusual seeing as I'm normally a pretty cheerful guy. So where is this sudden stress and anxiety coming from? Holiday stress perhaps? Or maybe it has something to do with work? I honestly can't put my finger on it and in all honesty, it worries me a little bit.
I'll probably have to keep an eye on this.
Nothing too serious.
...right?
Anywho, I proudly present the next chapter of Not So Far Away!
As well as a scene I've held back on for quite some time.
Also, chapter's slightly cheesy.
For good bloody reason.
As you'll soon see.
Ciao~!
"Put that thing down before you get hurt."
"I...you...that's not even...
~?
Rebirth or Descent
"I've got a bad feeling about this."
As if the echo that very statement, the Millennium Falcon gave a harsh shudder and their world plunged into darkness as someone-or something-cut the power. Illuminated by the faintest red from the emergency lights, Naruto quietly palmed his face and grit his teeth. Great. What else could possibly go wrong? Apparently the universe took issue with his pessimistic attitude, for in answer to that very question, everything lurched again, the floor upheaving beneath his feet to hurl him and his companions to the floor with a squalling BB-8 not far behind.
"What the hell?!"
To their credit, none of them froze.
Rey reacted first.
Racing to the cockpit she gripped the throttle and slammed it as far forward as it would go, to no avail. By then Syn had already raced past, thrusting her head up to see who-or-what had stalled their escape. Judging by the small whimper she gave, it wasn't anyone friendly. BB-8 trundled after her, trailing a long mournful note. The Twi'lek rattled off a fearful reply of her own her normally bright face now wan with worry. Naruto scarcely heard any of it, consumed as he was with the ringing of his ears.
'Not to self. Stop hitting your head...
Ears a'ringing, vision swimming, he stubbornly shook his head and willed sense to return to his skull. By the time they finally did, it was almost over. Somehow the shadows deepened even further suggesting they were all but in the grasp of their enemy. Whomever they were. Judging by their steady rate of ascent, they'd been locked in a tractor beam of some sort, the controls frozen until they reached their final destination. Of course they were. It seemed the galaxy itself was hellbent on proving them wrong.
Unbidden, his temper sparked back to life and he stubbornly tamped it down.
Was it too much to ask for a break?
"Controls are dead." Rey's voice reached him a moment later as he climbed to his feet. "We're locked out. Naruto Did you hear me?"
"Yeah," he muttered, following Syn's stare. "I think we've got bigger problems...
The sight outside stilled his heart.
To say that the freighter was massive would've been an understatement; it was colossal. Its cargo bay doors loomed open before them, like the maw of a great beast ready to swallow them whole. Another shudder ripped through the ship as they were drawn inexorably upward its cavernous edifice. There could be no escape from such a towering vessel; even if the controls were somehow rendered functional, they'd be hard-pressed to tear themselves free from the Gazing up at it, the Falcon's occupants couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear. Some more than most.
Syn whimpered a soft oath.
Tearing himself away from the sight, Naruto rallied himself and turned his gaze on Rey.
"They're going to board us, aren't they? Tell me you have a blaster or something on you. Any kind of weapon, or...?"
The scavenger shook her head in quiet dismay.
"All I have is my staff-
At that, the Twi'lek jolted back to life.
"Chuba!"
Naruto crashed backward as the petite alien rounded on him.
"Hey!"
Any other words on her part were lost in a string of angry invectives and syllables he couldn't understand. While he might have acquired a primitive understanding of technology in this world, many of its languages were still far beyond him. It was already something of a miracle-or happy coincidence-that he and Rey spoke the same language at all. But Huttese? The notion of it completely and utterly escaped him. Her fuming expression only made matters all the worse in his eyes; for though she expected him to understand him, he caught not a wit of it. In the end, he turned once ore to Rey for answers.
"Wanna translate that?"
Instead, Syn thrust a finger at his bag.
"Jeedai! Weapon!" she spat in heavily accented basic.
Oh.
The blond bolted upright.
Realization flooded him all at once.
"Alright, alright!" he snapped. "I get it! I'm going!"
Frantically he stabbed a hand into his pouch and emptied it upon a nearby table.
"Oi, droid. Gimme some light." he commanded, and this time, BB-8 didn't question him.
A strange, eerie calm settled over him as he spread the assorted parts out against the flat surface.
How did he know this was a weapon? In truth, it was just a guess. A spark. Hope. He'd nearly completed the final design before they'd been forced to flee Jaaku. His pet project, an act of construction he didn't understand yet felt compelled toward all the same. An unknown presence, guiding his hands. Aided by the faint light afforded by the rotund little droid, he cracked his fingers and went to work.
"Here goes nothing...!"
Now he found his palms guided once again by that mysterious force, all the while keenly aware of just how little time he had. Yet his fingers moved just as quickly, seemingly of their own accord to slot the remaining components into place. Inserting the crystal. Adjusting the circuits. Sliding the bronze-colored metal that was the outer shell over it all and into place. Tightening the casing. A dozen tiny configurations he didn't understand, yet knew were vital all the same. A thousand lines all leading to one point of origin, a single destination forged by countless tiny interlocking mechanisms.
Ba-krang!
A harsh thud on the hull jolted him out his trance, and for a moment, just a moment, Naruto actually despaired. Lost himself. He stared down at the tangled mess beneath his hands, utterly unable to think of the next step. He paused. Faltered. Hesitated. But whatever had him would not be so easily denied. A blink and he saw the next step,
"Hurry!" Rey hissed.
"I'm trying!"
Within moments, he'd finished.
It was a crude creation cobbled together from spare parts and junk, utterly lacking in beauty or prestige. But it would hold. There would be time enough for finery or refinement later. If there was time. If they survived this whomever had taken them. For the time being, it would serve the purpose for which it had been created. A purpose he still didn't truly understand, yet felt compelled nonetheless. He didn't know how he knew-only that he did. Like a shard of a dream half-forgotten upon waking, yet remembered all the same. Something -or someone?- had called him to this task and he was powerless to resist until the deed was done. Even now he heard the whispers spurring him forward, urging him onward. To what, he knew not.
Only that it was his.
Rising slowly, Naruto braced himself on his good leg and pushed himself upright, cradling the cylinder carefully in his right hand. Spirits, it almost felt alive. As thought he metal-and the crystal housed within-were singing to him and him alone. A song of such rich emotion that nearly brought tears to his eyes.
Could a crystal be alive?
"Is that...?"
Rey must've shared the same thought, for when he met her gaze she looked almost...conflicted. Strangely enough, part of him almost wanted to give it to her. He couldn't quantify the reason why, only that it existed. Ah, but a thorn of selfishness pricked at him and held him back and he pulled away from her. Perhaps she sensed it. Whatever the case, her face closed down, her expression turning almost guarded as he tilted the weapon in his hand, quietly admiring his crude creation.
"I don't know what it is." he admitted as much to her as to himself. "But I think...I think I was meant to have it."
Syn all but bounced on the balls of her feet, such was her glee.
"Jeedai!"
"I keep telling you, I'm not, oh, fuck it...they're coming. Hide!"
"What? No! What're you doing?!"
"If this does what I think, I'll be fine. Now, get!"
Reluctantly both girls did as they'd been bade. The latter seized BB-8 and dove under a nearby floor-grate. Naruto eased the covering over them just as the lights blazed back at full strength. Even from here he could just hear the Falcon's ramp lowering.
Steeling himself, he thumbed the switch he'd just installed.
Vzzm!
"Well, now?!"
Started as he was, Naruto nearly dropped it on the spot, which would have been most foolish indeed.
Somehow he managed to hold on.
To gaze at it.
To know.
To see.
With an explosive snap hiss the blade-for it was indeed a blade-burst to life in his hands, drawing a startled yelp from its wielder as he gazed upon his unwitting creation. An amber line casting the colors of sunset across his visage. A bar of brilliant orange plasma curling inward upon itself, banked in flames. Fire given form. Fierce, yet gentle. Wrath. Justice. Hate. Kindness. So many emotions, all wrapped up in this creation. His love, his anger, and all of his sorrow, fused into a searing sword of pure energy.
A lightsaber.
The name came to him suddenly, as if he'd known it all his life.
When his arm moved so too did the hilt and the blade with it, a low growl tracing through the air. Wary of the searing blade and the harm it might cause, Naruto traced another motion and the near-weightless lightsaber mirrored it, albeit with the stiff awkwardness of a beginner. He sketched a third motion from side to side, familiarizing himself with the weapon's length, then took its long hilt in both hands holding tight. A beat of awful silence passed as he waited for the enemy to break, an eerie pall hanging heavily across his shoulders.
"Okay," he growled, bracing himself against the wall. "Any day now...
And the door opened.
He'd expected stormtroopers.
Soldiers, at the least.
Instead he found himself face to face with a scruffy old man wielding a blaster.
And a very large, very furry Wookie.
"Chewie, we're home-
The latter howled a warning.
It was the former who had spoken, but at his companion's cry his keen gaze snapped toward Naruto.
If he was at all alarmed by the sight of a long-forgotten weapon, he did little to show it. There was no shock hidden there in that narrow gaze. No fear. No hesitation. Only annoyance. And perhaps a bit of anger. As if the very sight of the saber irked him; the mere existence of such a thing such an affront to his pride that he couldn't stand the sight of it. And beyond that anger...pain. A wound so deep that it seemed to scorch his very soul, to sap what little life he had yet remaining. Masked perhaps, hidden, but still very much there.
The pain of losing everything he'd ever held dear.
A pain he knew all too well.
Something in the old smuggler's gaze made Naruto lower his blade.
Mistake.
No sooner had he lowered the blade than the old-timer rounded on him, shoving the blaster against his chest. In that moment Naruto could've easily taken the blaster and the hand holding it besides, but something stayed his hand. Pity? Empathy? He didn't know. Only in that moment, he saw his future self. Old. Broken by guilt and grief.
Something deep inside of him recoiled, and older man mistook it for shame.
"Who are you supposed to be?" the man growled at him, his voice rough from lack of use. "A jedi? Don't make me laugh. Do yourself a favor and put that light sword away before you get yourself hurt."
Despite himself, Naruto felt a muscle jump in his jaw.
"How many times do I have to say I'm not-ack?!"
A stun-bolt slammed into his chest and the lightsaber tumbled from his nerveless fingers, clattering to the floor where it guttered out.
Even then Naruto nearly didn't go down without a fight...
"Chewie?"
...until a great and furry paw slammed into the blond's back back before he could recover from the debilitating shot, slamming him own into the very grate he'd been protecting this entire time. That of course caused Rey to yelp, which in turn drew the smuggler's attention and suddenly that very same blaster found itself jutting up against the blond's temple. The softest of clicks informed him its owner had taken the liberty of setting it to kill rather than the simple stun setting of mere minutes ago.
"Don't move."
Chewbacca groaned.
Han sighed softly in agreement.
"Yeah, we're getting too old for this shit. So, kid...
A deep scowl turned itself upon him.
...who the hell are you?"
A/N: Weren't expecting that, were you?
Just goes to show what mercy can get you; especially if you're caught off guard.
I can EASILY see Han telling someone that. At his age he's too old to put up with bullshit. And Naruto being too shocked to put up a fight against it. Hope you liked the little turn of scene there rather than sticking the one from the movie. It just seemed more entertaining.
And yeah, Gundam quotes are gundamn quotes.
I thought the line was appropriate, given the situation.
So, now Naruto's got a lightsaber, but he's got a ways to go before he figures out how to use it properly.
SURPRISE! Added a bit of my own spin on things, here. Hope you enjoyed it~!
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 an amusing little thing!
(Preview)
"I know that look."
"What?" Naruto stiffened. "No. No, you don't."
The weathered smuggler merely smirked in the face of his defiance.
"A' course I do. Seen it plenty of times, kid. Even a blind man can see you've been making eyes at her."
"No, no, no."
"Lemme guess, you even-
"Shut the hell up you scruffy nerf-herder!"
Fear leads to anger.
Anger leads to hate.
Hate leads to suffering.
"She's nothing. No one."
"Aw, that's cute. Trying ta' lie to her."
"What? No, wait, what are you dooooooinggrgh?!"
Ren's facade shattered into a startled grunt as he and Naruto unexpectedly traded wounds, the blond suffering a deep swipe into his side even as he dropped his saber and spun, driving a booted foot between his ribs. In the next instant he caught the tumbling blade and brought it up in a rising slash that the so-called Sith only narrowly blocked by leveling his weapon vertical against his torso. The sheer force behind the blow drove one of the prongs back against the young man's shoulder, drawing a furious snarl from him. In the most stark of contrasts, the wounded warrior gritted his teeth through the pain and laughed, slamming the amber-colored saber against his own.
"Kicking your ass! Time for round two ya broody bastard!"
"And so we meet at last."
Naruto raised the blade warily.
"Sorry. I'm not one for long conversations."
"You think to kill me, do you? By all means. Try."
R&R! =D