Hey everybody. I'm back in the saddle on this one. Here's Chapter Six of Under the Stars.

Previously…

[Gaara] stared at the storm clouds surrounding the mountain, and sighed before heading back in to sit around the fire Mace had started. I hope you are safe, my friend.

Ahsoka woke up, and gingerly shifted, trying to relieve the soreness in her arms and back. She froze when she felt that she was naked, and that something was pressed against her. She reached back, and felt her fingers touch flesh. She cast a glance toward the opening of the cave, and saw that the fire had dimmed. A blush crawled across her cheeks when she saw her clothes next to the fire, Naruto's next to hers. She noticed that the clothes were slightly damp, and remembered something from her lessons. I must have been suffering hypothermia, she thought, slowly crawling out of the sleeping bag. She quickly wrung her clothes of the excess water, and sat in front of the fire. She cast a glance at Naruto; he shifted, wrapping an arm around where she had been laying, and she felt an odd tingle in her heart. I suppose I won't kill him when he wakes up, she thought, staring into the fire.

Then again, losing a limb won't kill him…

Gaara opened his bleary eyes, and groaned when light poured into the cave. He threw a hand over his eyes, and turned over, stretching his arms. Yet another night without sleep, he thought, trying as hard as he could to keep his eyes open. He could almost hear the Shukaku laughing at him, and he lay on the stone floor for a moment, wishing his childhood had been different. He finally picked up his head, and saw Master Windu meditating near the fire. He sat down opposite, and closed his eyes, focusing on calming his raging thoughts. Focus, he thought, slowing his breathing.

Let your anger go… reach out to the Force as Obi-Wan taught you…

A memory resurfaced in his mind. A week into training, he knelt across from his Master, panting as he tried to keep up. His every move was blocked, and countered in the blink of an eye. "You're doing well, considering you've had no training with a lightsaber," Obi-Wan said, blocking yet another attack. Gaara collapsed, wheezing. His sand was unable to keep up with the Master's lightning-fast attacks, and the gourd was too cumbersome.

He looked up when he saw a hand enter his field of vision to see that Obi-Wan had offered to help him up. He cautiously took the hand, and was lifted to his feet by the surprisingly strong Jedi. Obi-Wan lifted his lightsaber, and spoke, saying, "When I attack you like this, you have to block me like this," and proceeded to show him the block. Gaara mimicked his movements, and he saw Obi-Wan smile. "Good. Now try and block the attack." He managed to block Obi-Wan's swipe, but his gourd threw him off-balance. He growled, and tossed the object into the corner, sand spilling out. He felt relief as the weight was off, and he saw Obi-Wan lash out; he blocked and countered before the actions had even registered in his mind.

He saw Obi-Wan's approving nod, and the ghost of a smile split his face.

He hadn't used his gourd since, though he always kept a bit of sand with him to remind him of his home; when he mastered Soresu, he found that his body automatically used the style to defend himself. Shukaku had lost its hold over him, and punished him by making him ever more restless. I'm going to have to do something soon, he thought. I can't go forever without sleep. He opened his eyes, and stood, walking to the edge of the cave. He turned to Master Windu, and said, "The storm has cleared. I'm going to look for Naruto and Ahsoka." He turned, and leapt out into the snow.

Naruto blearily opened his eyes, feeling sore from his night spent on the hard rock floor of the cave. He stretched, hearing an audible, wet pop from his spine. He felt muscles burning, and rolled his shoulders before crawling out from under the blankets. He briefly remembered his nudity, but shrugged the cold off. He picked up his clothes, and moved to pull them on when he noticed Ahsoka staring at him in shock in the corner of the cave.

Oh, this is bad.

He noticed a faint blush cross her cheeks as she stared at his body, and he allowed a sly grin to cross his features. He pulled on his underwear and pants, before belting on his lightsaber. Noticing she was still staring at his chest, he decided to forgo the heavy gear he had worn yesterday, as the Kyuubi seemed to keep his body temperature stable. He quickly sealed everything back into a scroll, before sealing that into his robe. He pulled the object on, and then sat across from the Togruta, staring into the flames.

"The reason we were naked was because you were suffering from hypothermia," he explained, predicting her question. "You pulled me out of the snow, and brought me to this cave. When I saw you were incoherent and shivering, I did the only thing I could think of. Nothing happened." He saw her nod, before resting her knees on her chin.

"When I was bringing you here, I saw someone standing in the blizzard before me. He looked like you, and yet he seemed… different. Do you know who he is?" she asked, gazing into his eyes. He sat silently for a few moments, before grunting.

"You saw my father. You know that I grew up an orphan; both my parents died within hours of my birth."

He leaned back, sliding his calloused hands across the hard floor, before flinching, his hand cutting on a sharp object. He looked, and saw that he had cut himself on a pontite crystal; the frosty shade gave the object the appearance of snow. He pulled it out of the recess in the floor where it sat, and held it before him, marveling in the way it reflected the fire's light. His hand unconsciously reached to Tsunade's necklace, and he fingered the crystal. It seemed to give off the same frequency, and he held it next to the pontite in his hand. Looks like I found my lightsaber crystals, he thought, turning them over in his hand. I synthesize them together, and they ought to make a nice blade color. Although I have to wonder what affect they'll have on the Kyuubi.

He had read that pontites had the ability to cool the skin, and to cool tempers. If that were true, was it possible that he may gain control of the Kyuubi?

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts while Ahsoka tended to the cut on his hand. He could sense there was still a level of awkwardness hanging around, so he broke the chain on his necklace, allowing the crystal to fall to the floor. He then proceeded to break both crystals in half, and used his chakra to fuse them into one crystal, taking on a frosty shade of green. He broke those crystals in half, before handing Ahsoka the darker of the two. She quietly accepted the crystals, murmuring a "Thank you."

"Now you'll always have a part of me with you," he said. He noticed her eyes shine for a moment with unshed tears, before she turned quickly away, pulling out the components of her shoto to assemble the weapon. He pulled out the pieces he himself had brought, and arranged them in a general layout for him to see.

He planned to have a lightsaber with a handle that would glow the color of his blade when he activated it, giving it an ethereal appearance. In the center he had four silver rings near the activation switch, which rested on a rectangular black platform, roughly half the length of the handle, centered on the switch. The rings attached to another black platform of equal size on the opposite side, actually covering the bottom half of the handle. He had arranged a small black segment to cover the pommel, and attached a ring so he could hand it from his belt. The shroud emitter was segmented to appear as a curved arrowhead. (AN: Look at my profile page for a link)

He closed his eyes, and focused gently on the inner workings of the blade. The pieces floated up to eye-level before him, and they slowly moved into place. The pieces fused together slowly as he meditated, saturating them with the Force, and the lightsaber floated horizontally before him; he would have to meditate for some time, to complete the infusion of power to the device. He cracked his eyes open a hair to see Ahsoka doing the same.

And now we wait.

Gaara trudged slowly up the mountain as he looked for a sign of his friends. He had managed to find Ahsoka's ship only due to the inch of the wing that stuck out of the snow. He slowly combed over the snow, finding several places where the snow was churned up. Still nothing, he thought, kicking the snow when he failed to find any footprints. The snow was starting to affect his vision, making the white surrounding him take on a painful shade of pink. He pulled his goggles over his face, slightly annoyed that the red lenses changed it all to a red hue. He thought he saw the opening of a cave, and decided to settle in.

His first impression upon entering was that it had a cramped appearance; the place was barely six feet wide. His second was of the stale scent that permeated the stone. He sat down, and pulled out the components of his lightsaber, identical to Obi-Wan's in all but color scheme, and pulled the sand out of the pouch he kept at his side. He quickly compressed it into a crystal, and fused it with the pontite he had found, before breaking it into the two pieces required for his lightsaber. He set about creating his own lightsaber, deciding that he may wind up needing it to find his friends.

Naruto stretched his cramped legs after three days of meditation; the blade was complete, and he stepped out of the cave, welcoming the sunlight on his face. He heard the crack of boots on ice, and saw Gaara, staring at the ground. "Gaara!" he shouted, running down the slope. The young man's head shot up, and he charged up toward Naruto. They met halfway down, and Naruto tackled him into the snow, laughing as they mock-wrestled. Ahsoka watched from the mouth of the cave, her lips curving in a tired smile.

"I'm gonna rest in here, Naruto," she said, stepping back into the cave. "Try not to kill each other." He waved an affirmative, before ducking under Gaara's tackle. He brought his new saber to his hand, gently pressing his finger to the switch. Gaara saw the move, and drew his own saber, waiting.

"Care to spar, my friend?" Naruto asked, thumbing the switch. Not yet, he thought. Gaara nodded, and Naruto launched forward, activating the blade at the same moment Gaara did.

The instant the blades touched, his vision went black.

He opened his eyes, finding himself standing in the Chunin Exam Stadium in Konoha. He coughed, feeling something unclean pressing in on him. He looked around, and saw the stadium had gone black as night, leaving him surrounded by shadowy figures. He saw people surrounding him, and managed to make out a few.

He saw Jiraiya, smiling at him in his usual manner. The man looked different; he had a toad sitting on each shoulder, frog-like features, and lines drawn across his face. His pupils had irises had been replaced by an orange horizontal bar, and he exuded an aura of even greater power.

He saw Ahsoka, dressed in a pair of gray tights with diamonds on the, and shirt with a diamond just above her more-developed breasts, and four bands around her biceps. She wore fingerless gloves that extended to her elbows, and silver bracelet-type object around her wrists. At her belt were both her lightsaber and shoto. Her montrals had grown taller, and her lekku now extended to her breasts, framing her face, giving her a more exotic look. She gazed at him, a loving smile across her features.

He saw Gaara, dressed in a pair of black pants and matching combat boots. He wore a blood-red tunic, matching his hair, and a white hooded cloak with gray sleeves. His eyes had the star-shape they had when he was possessed by Shukaku, but the color was the normal pale blue of his eyes. A scar crossed his left cheek, but it appeared invisible next to the smile crossing his features.

A shadow suddenly fell over the three, and they slipped into a battle stance. Blue lightning arced out, striking Jiraiya squarely in the chest. Naruto yelled out as the light faded from the man's eyes. Gaara was next, a red blade appearing through his heart. Both men crumpled soundlessly to the floor, like puppets whose strings had been cut.

The figure appeared behind Ahsoka, gently placing its palms across her jaw, revealing clawed fingers. It pressed its claws into her skin, causing a tear to fall from her eyes. She gazed at Naruto, and he saw her mouth, I love you. With a sudden twist, the figure snapped her neck.

Naruto roared in fury, immediately pouncing upon the being. His lightsaber in hand, he fought it violently, utilizing Vaapad to a more violent degree than he had ever used. He could feel himself dancing at the edge of the dark side, and the creature's own fury entered, cycling through his body into more and more power. He felt a blow slip past and strike his opponent's weapon arm, but it glanced off, catching him by surprise. He launched back to avoid a strike, and sent a huge blast at the figure through the Force, revealing his foe's identity as his black robe flew off.

It was himself.

He was older, and more feral. His physical appearance represented a human version of the Kyuubi; strong, compact, fast. His nails were claws, his teeth fangs, his birthmarks whiskers. His hair gave the appearance of a mane, and black and red had appeared in the blond. He wore a pair of black pants covered by a kama like Rex's, and he wore forearm-length gauntlets, boots, and a chest plate of segmented black beskar. His biceps were bare, displaying the scars crisscrossing them in a pattern similar to the lightning he could call forth. His lightsaber was unadorned save for three prongs sticking out, resembling claws.

The Sith laughed, a deep, impure sound as he summoned his cloak; his voice sounded to Naruto like a death rattle. The Sith donned the cloak and rolled his shoulders, before he spoke: "And now you see what I am." He appeared next to Naruto, slowly circling him, whispering in his ear. "Your fear… your hatred… all those things that surrounded you throughout your life… they fed me. Made me grow so strong…." Naruto slashed, but the Sith disappeared in a wisp of smoke, before appearing ten yards away. "Do you know who I am, Naruto? I am you, but only in body. Your weakness released me. I am the Kyuubi! And when I kill you here, I will finally be free!"

The Kyuubi launched forward, his blood-red blade gleaming with an almost tangible bloodlust. Naruto used a Soresu block, before summoning Gaara's and Ahsoka's lightsabers to him. Holding Ahsoka's, he used the Force to keep Gaara's blade attacking the Kyuubi from behind, while he used a Jar'Kai variant of Vaapad to attack the Sith from the front. The Kyuubi was a blur, frantically blocking and countering, yet his face remained calm. Naruto summoned Ahsoka's shoto, and manipulated it through the Force as well, testing his abilities to their very limits. Faced with four lightsabers from all directions, the Kyuubi began to slowly tire. Where he couldn't block with his lightsaber, he allowed the beskar to stop the blades. As he moved to block Gaara's lightsaber, Naruto suddenly saw a distortion appear in the center of the plate. By instinct, he moved his hand forward, channeling the Force.

Upon contact, the chest plate shattered.

The Kyuubi roared as pieces of shrapnel entered his bare torso, before it was suddenly cut off. He gazed down, staring at the green blade erupting through his heart. He stared into Naruto eyes, as his body slowly began to dissolve, flowing into Naruto. As the final screams of fury were uttered, he vanished completely, and Naruto jerked. A field of chakra erupted around him, yellow in color, and he could feel the Kyuubi being forced to submit. The plane around him began to fade, and as it did, Naruto smiled. The Kyuubi had finally been brought to bear.

He opened his eyes to find Ahsoka and Master Windu kneeling beside him. Gaara was a few feet away, thrashing in his own vision, and Mace quickly ran over to him. Ahsoka wrapped her arms around Naruto when Mace turned his back, and she squeezed him until he felt he would break. She let go, and helped him to his feet. "You had us worried," she said, nervously shuffling her left foot across the ground. She seemed to look everywhere but at him. "Master Windu said that you had somehow begun the Trial of Spirit, and that there was nothing we could do. He said that if you woke up, then you passed."

So I have the Trials of Flesh, Courage, and now Spirit, he thought, his throat raw. Now for Skill and Insight. Gaara suddenly jerked, and his eyes shot open. His breathing calmed, and he managed to stand on his own. When the young boy looked at Naruto, he saw that Gaara's eyes had transformed, taking the appearance they had when he was under the Trial: they now appeared to be the eyes of the Shukaku, with a pale blue instead of a sandy brown. Judging from Gaara's look, his eyes had changed too, and when he looked into the ice that coated the mountain, he saw that his eyes had turned into a shocking blue version of the Kyuubi's.

"I think we have stayed long enough," Mace said, and the Padawans all turned to him. "It's time we go home." As they began descending the mountain, Naruto asked, "What do I do about my destroyed ship?" "You can ride with Ahsoka. It'll be crammed, but you'll fit, so long as one of you sits on the other's lap."

The two cast a glance at each other, before looking away, blushing.

As it turned out, Ahsoka had decided to sit on top, and Naruto was nervous beyond belief. Whenever Ahsoka moved, the confines of the cockpit would force her to grind against Naruto's groin, and he barely managed to keep from letting his "feelings" show. As they entered hyperspace, Ahsoka had the Astromech lock the controls in case the confines cause them to bump into something. After a few minutes of silence, Ahsoka decided to break the tension.

"Do you love me, Naruto?"

He froze, and for a moment could have sworn he felt his heart stop. "What do you mean?" he asked, trying to buy some time to think. Does she know I love her? And more importantly, does she love me? I know I had that vision, but the Force often only shows possibilities as to the future's path.

"I mean, Naruto, that the Jedi Code states that we are not allowed to love. And yet, I feel that I love you. Whenever we're near each other, I feel a longing in my heart, and I need to know if you feel the same way. Do you love me?"

He answered her by wrapping his arms around her waist, and pressing his lips against her neck. He heard her moan, and she leaned back, relaxing into his embrace. She managed to turn enough to press her own lips to his, and for a moment, he forgot about everything. His past, his future, his visions, and the fact that what they were doing was forbidden: nothing existed but the two of them.

"I love you, Ahsoka," he whispered into against her lips, and he felt her smile. She deepened the kiss, and the two continued, spending the remaining flight together.

Inside of his office, Chancellor Palpatine sat with his fingers crossed, observing the papers before him. They were various proposals and laws the Senate wished to pass, and he narrowed his eyes, impatience coursing through him for only a moment. He was Darth Sidious, ruler of the Sith, ruler of the Galaxy. He had stretched his nefarious schemes throughout decades, bringing about this exact situation one step at a time.

He had not, however, counted upon the young Jedi-Shinobi.

Naruto and Gaara had the potential to become stronger than anyone he had ever met; stronger than even his old Master. Legally, there was no course he could take at the present moment. If he could set them up, frame them for a great enough crime, he could banish them from the Republic, sending them back to their planet. However, if their planet had spawned two of the greatest Force users ever known, how many more had it spawned? They two boys were the only ones known, and it was rare for a planet to have even one of their calibers. But two? He had to assume that all of these so-called "Shinobi" had to have the potential to be a great threat to him if properly trained. A hologram of Count Dooku appeared before him, and he waited as the Count took a knee before him. "My Master," Dooku said in his noble voice. "I believe that I have discovered information that will allow us to discover the true potential of the newest Pawns in this game."

"Speak, Tyranus."

Back on Naruto's homeworld, a group of holograms stood arguing inside a dark and depressing cave. A voice raised above the din, saying, "The Kyuubi has escaped the planet, and worse, so has the Shukaku! Our plan requires them to be captured in order, and if we can't get the Shukaku, how can we get any of the others?"

A figure with ringed eyes turned to face him, and the others quieted at the silent fury of his gaze. "We have ways to get them back, Deidara. Let them believe they are out there, aiding the galaxy. As they do, their own world shall descend into darkness.

"And they will come."

Alright guys, there you go. Love it? Hate it? Review please. Zeratide, out.