Hey everybody! How you doing? Well, I think that my last chapter was by far my biggest success yet, in any of my stories if the number of reviews is anything to go on. So without further ado, here's Chapter 17 of Under the Stars.
Previously…
"This Council will not surrender one of ours to be executed," Mei said, her normally silky voice hard. "Therefore, we declare war on the Republic."
"You could find no alternative, Naruto?" Mace exploded, his normally stoic features contorted with rage. "And who exactly will lead this group of rebels?"
"I will," Naruto said, and an eerie silence fell over those in the Chancellor's office. "I am Jedi no more. From this day on, you shall call me... Darth Kurama."
Naruto cut the link then, the image showing the shock, anger, and fear of those on the other side before it faded to nothingness. His legs went numb, and he fell into a chair as Kakashi set it behind him, gently guiding his former student into it. "Easy," Kakashi said. "Slow your breathing. Breathe too fast, and you'll hyperventilate." Nodding, Naruto slowly managed to control himself, before hiding his face in his hands.
"What have I done?" he asked, shaking. The Five Kage looked at him sympathetically, mournfully, while Padmé tried to hide the tears running down her face. Composing himself, Naruto cleared his throat before straightening. "Right, well, since I have bound my fate to that of Kironia, I suppose I had better start taking on the role. As the ruler of this planet, to which you elected me, I declare first off that the name of the title will be Kurama. Now, Senator Amidala, your ship is ready. They did not see you during the last conversation, so you take off, and tell them that you managed to escape before my announcement. Take this with you," he told her, handing her one of his father's specialized kunai.
"What will this do?" she asked, turning it over in her grasp.
"It will deter any Kironians from preventing your departure," he told her. While it was the truth, it was only the partial truth. Naruto had learned the theory and basics behind the Flying Thunder God technique, and had a plan put into place. "When you arrive on Coruscant, turn it over to Gaara. He's the only one with the expertise to properly dispose of it."
"You take on a heavy burden, Master Uzumaki," she said, bowing her head. "To turn traitor and come up with your plans in order to redirect the Republic's attentions to yourself… I don't know if I would be able to do so."
"Strength of character is not exclusive to anyone, Padmé. In time, you will come to know this for yourself." Naruto politely kissed her hand, and a moment later she was gone. All was silent for a moment, before Kakashi spoke.
"Lord Kurama, Naruto, whichever you prefer to be called… I, Kakashi Hatake, son of Sakumo Hatake and Husband to Anko Hatake, do hereby pledge to you my loyalty, my life, and my blade. May the Force be with you." Kakashi knelt, grasping Naruto's hand. He held the pose for a few moments, before rising to his full height and moving aside for the rest of the Council to make their own oaths. Anko strode up to him when they were done, and wrapped him in as good a hug as she could with her swollen abdomen.
"Thank you," she whispered into his ear. She kissed his cheek, laughing as he blushed, before taking her place at her husband's side. Naruto sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, his fingers dancing around his horns as was his habit. Excusing himself, he left, intending to check out his new quarters.
Ahsoka screamed in anger, hurling her few modest possessions across her room. Several days had passed since Naruto's announcement, and she finally was alone long enough to vent. Her body shook with uncontained rage, and she rammed her fist into her wall, denting the steel. Letting out a strangled sob, she collapsed to the floor, cradling her bleeding hand. How could you do this, Naruto? she thought, curling into a ball on her bed. How could you love me, yet cast it all aside? Did I mean nothing to you?
"Ahsoka?" Gaara's voice called from the other side of her door. "Ahsoka, can you hear me? I heard crashes and screaming. Are you alright?"
"GO AWAY!" she screamed. Her voice broke, and she sobbed harder, not caring if Gaara heard her.
"Ahsoka, let me in or I will carve open this door." When she ignored him, she heard the activation sound of his lightsaber. "I mean it." Sighing, she got up and strode over to the door, opening it and beckoning him in. His eyebrow shot up as he took in the destruction she had wrought, but he made no comment as he walked through the door, allowing her to shut it behind him.
"What do you- oof!" she grunted in surprise as he wrapped his strong arms around her, holding her close to his chest. She struggled for a moment, before she fell into his friendly embrace, sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder. The young Jedi remained silent as she cried, his eyes hard. Slowly, ever so slowly, she managed to compose herself, and wove her way out of the embrace. "How could he do this?" she asked Gaara, trying to keep from shaking in anger. "Do you know what I told him before his announcement, Gaara?" When he shook his head, she sighed, sitting down. "I told him the truth… I told him that I'm pregnant."
Gaara's eyes widened with shock, before he swore under his breath, beginning to pace back and forth, his robes swishing around his ankles. "That's potentially problematic," Gaara said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Potentially problematic?" Ahsoka screeched, her voice hysterical. "Potentially problematic? It puts in danger all that I have achieved! If the Jedi find out that I have broken the Code, I will be exiled! How could I have been so stupid?"
"You loved Naruto, and therefore expressed your love," Gaara said, shaking his head. "There was nothing stupid about it. On my planet, children fought and died in the name of a contract. I wouldn't be surprised if most sixteen-year-old Kunoichi were pregnant in the old days. We fought young, we bred young, and we died young… I would imagine that life could be hard on your planet as well."
"I wouldn't know," Ahsoka said, hugging her knees to her chin again. "Like most younglings, the Jedi took me when I was a baby. I don't remember my home." She would have said more, but Gaara's comlink beeped.
"Senator Amidala is requesting your presence, Gaara," Master Kenobi's voice said over the comlink. "She managed to escape from Kironia before madness broke out, and she has something she says only you can dispose of."
"What exactly is it?" Gaara asked, confused.
"I'm afraid I don't know. It looks like some kind of knife mixed with a trident. She said that she received it from the Council in Kironia to assure that she wouldn't be harassed when she was out on the streets. Apparently it has to be disposed of by someone from Kironia, and since... well you're the only Kironian we have."
"Alright, I'll take a look at it. I honestly don't see the point though; unless it's an explosive kunai it could just be thrown away." Cutting the link, Gaara sighed, before turning back to Ahsoka. "I have to go," he grumbled, shaking his head. "If you need to talk some more, just find me. I'll be there for you." With that he left, and Ahsoka felt more alone than ever.
"Itachi… Itachi, can you hear me?" Naruto paused for a full minute, listening to static feedback, before repeating his words. This isn't like him, Naruto thought, a prickling fear creeping up his spine. What if… what if they've been taken? Itachi, Ara, Senshi… All they ever did was serve me loyally, befriend me. They fought beside me… his thoughts were cut short as a burst of light poured out of his comlink, materializing into a hologram of Itachi crouching near a large pile of crates.
"Naruto! Thank the Force," he murmured, checking around the corner of a large fuel tank before running to a new location and crouching. "I'm pinned down in the Senate docks. I managed to find a safe house for Ana and Senshi, but I was caught when I was headed to ask the Chancellor what was happening." Itachi briefly met his eyes, his prosthetics hard and cold. "Care to explain the rumors I'm hearing about you becoming a Sith?"
"There really isn't any time, Itachi," Naruto whispered, trying to keep him from being caught. "Look, can you get Ara and Senshi to the docks at the Jedi Temple? I'm going to grab Ahsoka and meet you there."
"What?" he whisper-shouted, his eyes widening. "You're on-world?"
"To be precise," Naruto grunted, shifting in the air vent, "I'm in the Jedi Temple."
Obi-Wan awoke in the midst of a nightmare, shouting as he shot up, his bare chest heaving with each breath. As he took in the familiar surroundings of his room, he sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow. "That dream again…" he murmured, thinking of the black-cloaked figure he had seen in the Temple. Every night since Naruto's betrayal, he had seen the figure in his vision, taunting him with unknown secrets. "A walk… that's what I need," he said to no one in particular. Grunting as he rose, he rubbed his legs through the fabric of his sleep pants for a moment, restoring some of his circulation, before pulling on a thin, simple tunic. From force of habit, he grabbed his lightsaber as he walked out the door, intending to clip it to the belt he had not put on.
As he exited his room and turned, he froze in his tracks.
At the end of the hallway stood the figure from his dreams. He stood tall and strong, his stance relaxed but prepared for combat at a moment's notice. He wore a set of mottled blue-black pants, the colors made to mimic the shifting of shadows. His face was hidden by a black hooded cloak that hung to mid-calf. The man shifted, and the cloak fell open enough to reveal a black flak jacket over a dark blue, nearly black, tunic. Strange runes and patterns covered the entire ensemble. As the man took another step near him, Obi-Wan quickly activated his lightsaber, the blade casting a blue light that failed to penetrate the depths of the hood.
"I wish it weren't you, Master Kenobi," a familiar voice said, and Obi-Wan felt his heart stop as the man pulled back the hood, revealing Naruto's familiar features. But the Master he had turned the boy into was not the same; his skin was a shade paler, and his eyes, once so bright and cheery, had taken on a hard quality that bespoke of pain and suffering. "Speechless, I'm sure," Naruto stated, placing a hand on his hip. "The Dark Side makes changes to a man almost as soon as he aligns himself with it. My eyes aren't yellow yet, as you can see; I haven't used any of the corrupting powers yet in their full capacity. But the mere words allow change to come; my skin is paler, and I am harder than any veteran in the Clone Army." For a brief moment, Naruto's eyes softened with remorse. "I truly am sorry for this repayment of the risk you took to advance me so far."
"Why, Naruto?" Obi-Wan asked, his voice warbling in pain. "How could you do this? You had everything! You had friends, you had respect… all that you had wished when you left your planet, you had achieved!"
"No!" Naruto roared, and Obi-Wan stumbled at the small shockwave the force of his words had created. "I was a Master, yes, but a Master in a system that silently accepts injustice! We say we serve the Republic, but the Republic is broken! The aristocracy buys their fame, and silences those who would embarrass them."
"This is about that woman Anko, isn't it?" Obi-Wan asked, realization dawning on his face. "Naruto, I understand what you are saying, but you have to realize that the rest of the galaxy is not as things are on your own planet! If someone is killed, for whatever reason, the authorities have to conduct an investigation. I know that it was justified, the Chancellor knows, and every other damned person knows!"
"Yet they would not have saved her from the wolves!" Naruto's lip turned into a snarl as younglings and Masters alike began pouring into the hallway, investigating the source of the noise. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shaak Ti approaching him stealthily, and his grip on his lightsaber tightened. At the critical moment, he whirled about, slicing at her neck, which she blocked with a quick activation of her lightsaber. The force of the attack, combined with the lack of preparation for the defense, sent her lightsaber spinning out of her hand. Before he could capitalize on the opening, however, another Jedi pressed the attack, forcing him to backpedal swiftly, spinning every which way to block incoming lightsabers from all direction.
He quickly drew his secondary lightsaber, and activated it as he quickly spun low, forcing his opponents to retreat or run the risk of losing their legs. Taking advantage of the split-second pause in the fighting, he leapt straight up, and roared as he released the power of the Dark Side: lightning flew from his hands, arcing into dozens of Jedi and propelling him further into the air. Masters and younglings alike flailed in pain as the electricity coursed through their body, but Naruto quickly cut the flow when he was sure that he had gone as far as he could without killing them. Only four people managed to remain standing; Obi-Wan, Mace Windu, Gaara, and Ahsoka. Naruto felt his heart clench as he saw the look of pure hatred present on Ahsoka face, before he was forced to block her feral attacks.
When he saw a gap in the attacks, he tapped into the seals circulating his clothing, activating two of the twenty seals to increase physical power. Launching forward, the strength of the movement causing small spider-web cracks to spread through the floor where he was standing, he smashed the base of his pommel into Mace Windu's face, sending the man flying back and rendering him unconscious. Two great physical feats… two seals burned out. Eighteen remaining. Tapping into another, he then launched a roundhouse into Obi-Wan's stomach, knocking the wind out of the man as the attack burned another seal. Seventeen… need to be careful here. I'll need fifteen to assure safe passage off-world, assuming the worst case scenario. Naruto sidestepped a vertical slash from Gaara, before slamming his knee into the Jedi Knight's groin, watching as he stiffened, before falling like a sack of potatoes to the floor. It's probably good for him that I didn't use one of the seals that time.
"You bastard!" he heard Ahsoka scream, and he turned just in time for her to ram her blade hilt-deep into his left shoulder. His lightsaber dropped from numb fingers, his entire arm losing all feeling. "How could you betray us?" she gasped as he reached out, using the Force to control his arm, and pinched a nerve cluster in her neck, rendering her unconscious. In one fluid movement, he deactivated his lightsaber and caught her as she fell, throwing her over his good shoulder as the other mended. Quickly storing his primary lightsaber in his hip seal before doing the same to his secondary, which he summoned with a quick motion, he turned and ran to the dock, where he saw his companions helping a familiar adolescent ready a familiar, one-of-a-kind ship.
"Boba, start the engines!" he screamed, putting on a burst of speed with another seal. "Now!" The young bounty hunter charged on board, and Naruto heard the engines fire as he ran up the ramp, his three companions hot on his heels. The Slave I took off as fast as it could, and within ten minutes they were outside the planet's atmosphere, programming the hyperdrive.
"You are one crazy-ass rogue," Itachi said, massaging his chest. "I'm fine," he told Naruto in reply to the Sith's wordless question. "I was shocked in the chest when they tried to capture me, but I managed to escape. I've been dealing with chest pain since."
"Itachi, the shock might have damaged your heart," Naruto said, handing Ahsoka's unconscious form to Senshi before whipping off his cloak. "Senshi, take her to the cell. Itachi, lay down on the table." Itachi did so, grunting as his pain from the past few days finally caught up with him. Closing his eyes, Naruto reached out to the Force, channeling what healing abilities he knew to probe Itachi's body and look for any complications. He found the scared tissue left over from the man's sufferance of the Blue Shadow Virus; he found the tissue scarring from the surgery to replace Itachi's eyes; he found a number of other remains of various injuries and sicknesses the man had suffered over the years. After several minutes of searching, he found nothing. "Looks like you'll be alright. The electricity just appears to have irritated the muscle. You get some rest while I go see Ahsoka."
Ahsoka woke to find herself laying on a cold, durasteel floor in a strange cell, the sound of hyperspace rumbling in her ears. The bars seemed to come from the surrounding walls, creating the cell via bar proximity rather than any actual layout. She sat up, shivering in the sleep shorts and tank top she had worn to bed. She gently pressed a hand to her abdomen, as if to try and comfort the unborn child growing inside her.
"You're awake. That's good," Naruto's voice sounded from the darkness. Ahsoka's eyes widened, and she hissed in anger as he materialized before her. "First off, I made sure that no one died. Every Jedi in that hallway will live." Ahsoka remained silent, and Naruto sighed, running his hand through his hair. Her eyes softened somewhat as she saw his fingers dance around the horns, as was his habit, and for a brief moment she saw her love in the man before her. "I don't expect you to understand why I've done this, Ahsoka. I barely understand myself. On my planet, I fought for so long… fought for so hard… and in all those years, I made several friends that I would give my life for. Two of them are dead, one by my hand, the other by her own. One left the planet with me. One ran beside me as we moved to protect his wife." Naruto pulled a lever to his right, and the bars slid back into the walls. She rose to her feet as he stepped forward, wrapping his cloak around her shoulders. She remained silent as she gazed intently at his face as he adjusted the cloak, his expression soft and loving.
"Damn you," she whispered, leaning her forehead against his. "I want to be angry with you. Can't you let me have that?"
"I'm afraid not," he said, grinning before softly kissing her lips. Ahsoka melted into his arms, pressing against him as he lifted her off her feet. After a full minute, they separated, and Naruto set her down gently. "Ahsoka, I know that things will become difficult now, but I want to try and make sure that you and our child will be cared for." He paused, before dropping to one knee.
"Ahsoka Tano, will you marry me?"
Well, I hope you guys liked it. Review and tell me how I did.
-Zeratide, out.