Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
A/N: The new story poll is up now! There are 19 choices (Small because two stories are ending close together) and YOU CAN CHOOSE 5! So remember to vote if you haven't!
Beta: Chaos-PSD. Contributor: Kuronodono12.
Chapter XLVI: Padawans Lost.
Without Humility, Courage Is A Dangerous Game
Turmoil in the Outer Rim! Located near a major hyperspace lane, the planet Felucia is caught in an unending battle between Republic and Separatist forces. Clone tank divisions make a valiant push deep into Separatist-controlled territory led by Anakin Skywalker, Naruto Uzumaki, and their Padawans Ahsoka Tano and Zule Xiss. General Grievous, learning of the impending Jedi attack, has dispatched reinforcements to one of his droid outposts hoping to secure his grip on the system….
Felucia.
"Droid re-enforcement has just arrived." Plo Koon told the other Jedi and clones from a ridge looking over the droid outpost. "We shall break into three groups to divide their defenses. I'll take the left flank. Uzumaki, and Skywalker, attack the front gate. Ahsoka, Zule, you scale the back wall, we'll meet in the middle."
All of them stood before Anakin looked back. "Okay, scouts, find me a way down there, quiet-like."
"Going through the front gate won't be easy," Ahsoka said before Naruto looked forward.
"You two have it tougher going over that wall.
"You taught me well. I can handle anything." Zule said as Ahsoka nodded at Anakin.
"Don't get cocky. Remember, a novice can beat a master if they're cocky." Naruto replied before the Padawans left with a group of clones.
The group then walked through the tall flowers before coming up near the outpost. "Hold up, I sense something out there," Ahsoka said, stopping them as they looked around.
"A droid?"
"I don't think so. Probably just an animal." Ahsoka said before Zule walked up.
"Come on, we have to get to that wall."
"Stay alert, men. Let's move."
Up with the Jedi, Plo Koon got to a corner before speaking in his comms. "Uzumaki, Skywalker, Ahsoka, Zule, are you in position?"
"Ready and waiting, Master Plo."
"We're in position."
"Yep."
"Artillery, open fire."
The tanks fired on the outpost as the droids got ready to attack. B1 battle droids and dwarf spider droids marched out the front gate, as Naruto, and Anakin activated their lightsabers and attacked, cutting through the droids alongside their men. Meanwhile, Koon jumped over the left wall with the aid of the Force, with Wolffe and their soldiers following with their jetpacks.
"Comet, Sinker, Boost, get up there," Ahsoka ordered as she and Zule guarded the door.
Before the Padawans could join them, they were incapacitated via stun net by a male Trandoshan. "I can't believe my luck, Jedi younglings."
Up with the others, they pressed through the battle droids, dwarf spider droids, and droid commandos defending the base's interior, the Jedi, and their men converged on the command center alongside Tano's squad. Skywalker jumped onto the command deck and destroyed the tactical droid, securing the Republic's control over the outpost.
"The outpost is secure. Good job, Corporal." Anakin said before Naruto saw Comet without the Padawans as BD looked over his shoulder.
"Where's Commander Tano and Xiss?"
"They were covering our flank when we scaled the wall."
"Everybody fan out. I want a perimeter sweep now." Naruto ordered as the clones nodded. "Alpha, go and look at the wall where they were."
"Roger sir."
"Ahsoka, state your location. Ahsoka, come in. Are you there? Can you hear me? Ahsoka, come in. Where could she be? Ahsoka, can you hear me? Ahsoka!"
Ahsoka And Zule.
The two Padawans woke up in a cave before seeing the Trandoshan holding their communicators. "You won't be needing this."
He crushed it and left before Ahsoka looked at another alien captive.: Hey, what is this place? Who are these pirates?"
"These are Trandoshans, they're gonna release us and hunt us down for sport." The alien replied as Zule looked over.
"Hunt us down?"
Up in the cockpit, the Trandoshan went to two more. "We have found new prey for the hunt. The youngling will provide a great sport."
"Perhaps your first Jedi kill." One turned to the younger-looking one. "Are you ready, Young Dar?"
"They'll die by my claw."
"Your son will outplay all comers." The first said before going into Hyperspace.
"We'll take this new batch to Island Four." The leader said coming out of hyperspace and landing on a planet where they dumped all of the captures. "Time to see who's smart enough to join the hunt. Open fire!"
The captives ran towards the dead-looking trees and plants with several being shot. The two Padawans ran into the forest and waited for the ship to leave before another young woman with short black hair and a Padawan braid, a male Twi'lek, and a male Cerean all covered in dirt dropped down.
"You need to come with us."
"Who are you?" Zule asked as they turned to leave.
"We used to be Jedi younglings." The woman replied before they ran into the woods and came to a large hollowed-out tree.
"We never stood a chance." The Twi'lek explained as they walked into a circular area where there was a fire. "They attacked us on a training mission."
"We were captured and brought here." The girl said as they sat.
"Why would they take younglings?" Ahsoka asked before the Twi'lek turned to her.
"Because Jedi Knights are too powerful for them."
"I'm Kalifa." The girl said before gesturing to the Cerean. "This is O-Mer and Jinx." She finished and introduced the Twi'lek last. "Who are you?"
"Ahsoka Tano."
"Zule Xiss. We were captured during the Battle of Felucia. We're Padawan learners."
"What's the situation here?" Ahsoka asked the group.
"We were taken by those foul lizards for their amusement. To be hunted, killed, and mounted on their wall as trophies." Kalifa explained before O-Mer spoke up.
"We've been stuck here for more rotations than we can count. No one has come for us. I doubt anyone is still looking."
"Chew on that, Padawans, then rest. You'll need your strength." Jinx said as he laid in a dent in the back.
Felucia.
"General, we've been over the same area a dozen times, and there's no sign of Commander Tano or Xiss," Rex said before Aloha ran up.
"All I found were their sabers, plus some bottles near the entrance.
"Well, droids don't need that. Someone must have been staking it out for something then saw them." Naruto said walking up with BD.
"(Trills)"
"A bounty hunter maybe?" Alpha spoke as Naruto sighed.
"Possibly, I know the Separatists hire them from time to time to derail our missions or of course try to capture one of us.
"We have alerted our forces throughout the Outer Rim and intelligence assets inside the Confederacy. If she's spotted, we shall know about it." Plo Koon said, walking up to them. "Skywalker, Uzumaki, our mission here is finished. We must return to Coruscant."
"I am not abandoning her," Anakin said before Naruto walked up.
"No one said you can't look for her in your spare time. Right now we have to go report or get in trouble."
"Call everybody in, Rex, we're leaving." Anakin sighed as they left for the ships.
Island Four, Morning.
"Ahsoka, Zule, it's time to go." Kalifa woke the two up
"What's happened?"
"The sun's almost up which means we clear out," Kalifa said as they stood.
"Where do you go?" Zule asked, rolling her shoulder.
"We keep moving and keep those disgusting hunters from picking up our scent."
"That's your plan?" Ahsoka said before Zule snapped her fingers, knelt, and reached for each boot to pull out knives before giving one to Ahsoka.
"What? Naruto taught me."
"If you two are Padawans, you would know there's wisdom in experience. We've been here longer. You will learn if you listen. And only if you listen." Kalifa said before walking out.
The Trandoshans.
"The sun has risen, let the hunt begin!"
The leader yelled as his men gave war cries and ran out revealing they were on a flying base and each went to a hover pod with blaster turrets.
In the woods, the Jedi younglings and Padawans stopped running on a limb Get down. Someone's coming." They hid in the leaves as two aliens, one male, one female walked by.
"Those two came in with us, we should help them," Ahsoka said before Kalifa spoke up, stopping her from standing.
"No, it's too late."
Suddenly, Trandoshans flew up and shot at the two, killing the male as the female jumped into the woods. "Look at her run."
"It's your shot, take her out."
The second male pulled a sniper rifle out and shot the female through her chest as she jumped on limbs before the hunters left, having the group stand and leave. "We could've stopped them."
"No, Ahsoka, we are not saviors here. Here, we are survivors. If they had spotted us we'd be dead now."
"We'll never get out of here if we just keep hiding," Zule said, holding her knife in a reverse grip. "We have to act."
"There were other Padawans here that once thought as you do now," Jinx spoke up.
"Alright, where are they?" Ahsoka asked before Kalifa stood.
"They're dead!"
"Just because they failed doesn't mean we will," Ahsoka spoke before O-Mer looked up.
"You don't understand, it's not that we don't want to fight, we're younglings. They have every advantage."
Ahsoka took off followed by Zule before they heard Kalifa.
"Get back here."
"Can't do that. Our Master would never forgive me for running and hiding in a situation like this."
"Do not overestimate your abilities."
"We're not," Zule said as they got to the end of a limb
"Ahsoka, Zule, don't…" Kalifa stopped as they fell and landed on the ground before the leader's son dropped down.
They used the Force to pull him to a tree before each fought him with several strikes before he was lifted by Kalifa.
"Kalifa! Don't kill him out of hatred. It's not the Jedi way." Ahsoka said before Kalifa dropped him, having Zule wrap her arms around his neck.
He tossed her off before Kalifa used Force to throw him into a tree. "The others will be coming," Kalifa said before they ran, Ahsoka pick up the rifle that was dropped.
Later, Ahsoka was fiddling with the gun as it wouldn't work. "I don't understand, why won't this thing work?"
"The Trandoshans deactivate the blasters if we take them. That is why none of us have any." Jinx spoke up from his bed before Ahsoka threw the gun away in frustration.
"It's been a long time since the Trandoshans captured another Padawan and brought them here," Kalifa said to the two who sighed
"Thanks."
"I didn't mean it as an insult. I meant it as a sign, a mistake on their part. Ahsoka, Zule, your energy, your strength, it's what we've been lacking. We were beginning to lose hope and forgot who we were."
"And who are you?" Ahsoka asked the three who stood.
"We are Jedi."
"All right, we need a strategy," Zule spoke up as she and Ahsoka stood up.
"So, what do you suggest?"
"What about a base? I mean, they must have a compound or something, right?" Ahsoka asked them while they shook their heads.
"Not that we've ever seen."
"So where do they come from?" Zule asked, crossing her arms.
"We don't know, we've only witnessed them hunting and in their hover pods," Kalifa explained to them.
"If we are gonna go on the offensive, we'll need to find out where they live. We'll start covering ground tomorrow." Ahsoka spoke before they sat down to rest.
The next morning they looked around the woods before Jinx spoke up. "We have already covered the beach area and most of the briar on this side of the bay."
"If it was easy to find, you guys would have found it before we got here," Zule spoke up as he sat on a log.
"True enough."
"Maybe we should try more inland?" Ahsoka asked, putting a hand on her hip.
"It's worth a shot."
"Guys, I think we're looking in the wrong place." O-Mer, who was looking up at the sky, spoke. "That's their fortress."
They looked up to see the base before the Trandoshans flew out on their hover pods. "Split up!"
"O-Mer, this way!"
The group split up as the females went one way and the males in another.
As they dodged multiple blasts and ran into the trees, Kalifa is shot off a briar branch and lands, winded and injured, on the ground, with Dar in hot pursuit. Before he can shoot her, Ahsoka intervenes and engages him in hand-to-hand combat, before Zule drops down onto him and knocks him off the branch. Dar then fell onto a large thorn, killing him instantly.
Enraged, Garnac, who was Dar's father, opens fire on the young Jedi, fatally injuring Kalifa. "Kalifa, we have to move, hurry."
"Please, Ahsoka, leave me."
"I won't."
"You have to." Kalifa coughed before continuing. "Ahsoka, please take care..."
"I'll take care of the others." Ahsoka interrupted as Zule was looking around.
"I know you will." She then closed her eyes and stopped breathing before hearing Garnac.
"I'll kill you! You killed my son! I'll kill you! You can't hide from me!"
Coruscant.
"What is Ahsoka's strength?"
Plo Koon asked Anakin who was at the console. "She is fearless."
"That can also be a weakness. Is she a worthy apprentice?" Plo Koon asked as Naruto walked in.
"No one has her kind of determination."
"Except you." Plo Koon said as he walked around the Jedi
"I'll find her."
"This may not be within your power."
"Whatever you're trying to say, Master Plo, just say it." Anakin turned to speak to the Master.
"I am suggesting that perhaps if you have trained her well, she shall take care of herself, and find a way back to you. Like Uzumaki has done to Zule.
"Zule's too stubborn to go out this way. Naruto said, crossing her arms. "I trust she can find her way back.
Jedis abducted! Ahsoka Tano and Zule Xiss are missing in action. Captured and released into a hostile jungle, they fight to stay alive with the help of a small band of Jedi younglings. As Anakin Skywalker and Naruto Uzumaki scour the galaxy, desperate to find their lost apprentices, Trandoshan sport hunters track their youngling prey. With the death of their leader Kalifa, and separated from their friends, we find Ahsoka and Zule on the run as the hunters close in around them.…
Island Four, Morning.
Zule and Ahsoka are running in the forest as the Trandoshans run just behind them. They continued pruning on limbs as one Trandoshan tracked them by sniffing the air and following broken twigs. One stopped on a branch and knelt to look over the edge. Underneath the two Padawans are holding onto vines before a hover pod drops in front of him with Garnac. "Where are they?
"These two are faster than most, I've lost their scent!"
"(Hiss!) They can't hide forever. Mark my words, I'll have her hide and nail it to the wall for killing my son." He turned to leave as the other hunter jumped on.
Later, the two Padawans went back to the hollowed tree and jumped in
"You made it!" Jinx said standing with O-Mer.
"We feared the worst. Where's Kalifa?"
Zule sighed as she placed her knife back in her boot. "She didn't make it."
"She's dead?" Jinx asked in surprise as O-Mer sat down. "I can't believe it. She has been here longer than any of us, and now..."
"We're all going to die here, it's only a matter of time." O-Mir finished hands on his face.
"If it's only a matter of time till we die, I say we go down with a fight," Ahsoka said, turning around to face the group.
"That is suicide," Jinx stated as she walked over before Zule spoke.
"You've said that every few days they release new prisoners on the beach. I say we attack that dropship head-on. They'll never expect it."
"Is it worth a shot?" O-Mer asked Jinx before standing.
"Maybe it is."
Later, they got to the edge of the forest and hid behind a tree before Ahsoka looked over her shoulder at the others. "Get ready, we'll have to be swift."
"The drop point's not far."
They then saw a ship come out of the clouds before the lights came on. "Now!"
The group ran onto a large rib bone and jumped onto the ship and attacked. One of the pilots got out and was wrestled down by Jinx and O-Mer. Zule jumped over and stabbed the alien in his legs before using the Force to throw him off. Ahsoka descends into the ship to take down the other pilot. Their fight at the control consoles sends the ship drifting around aimlessly and damages vital systems, forcing the young Jedi to abandon their attempt.
Just before the ship breaks apart, Ahsoka opens the cage release to let the other prisoners out. And found only one tall male alien that's covered in brown hair with an ammo belt over his shoulder. "It's a Wookiee!"
The Wookiee growled at that before they all ran into the forest back to the tree. The Wookiee then started growling while Ahsoka translated. "Your name is Chewbacca?"
"Chewbacca, does anyone even know "you were taken?" O-Mer asked Chewbacca who gave a low growl.
"No, but he says his home world is very close." Ahsoka translated as Jinx sighed.
"That's great, but it might as well be Coruscant, as far as I'm concerned. We've got no ship."
Chewbacca stood and gave several growls. "He thinks he can contact his home planet if we find a way to transmit a signal."
"Right, and how would we do that?" Jinx asked, going to his bed to lie down. "Send smoke signals? We don't exactly have a transmitter lying around if you haven't noticed."
"(Growls!)"
"Chewbacca says he can build a transmitter from the wreckage on the beach."
"Well, we can't just sit here," O-Mer spoke up, having Jinx sigh.
"Fine, we'll do it the Wookiee way."
Later, they went to the beach where Zule looked back at the others. "Chewbacca, Ahsoka, and I will go out to inspect the crash site. You two stay here, and signal us if you see anything."
The three walked to the downed ship as Jinx and O-Mer were hit by a large rock. As Chewbacca got on the ship, a hover pod flew over having Ahsoka push the others back to hide. "Get back! It's a patrol." The hover pad went to the woods where one hunter dropped down with a sniper rifle and laid on the root above the Younglings as the others went into the ship. Hopefully, that patrol won't be back for a while."
"What are we looking for?" Zule asked before Chewbacca pulled stuff from the ship from each room they walked in.
After pulling some wires, Ahsoka sighed as Zule and Chewbacca put the stuff in a box. "We better get going. "That patrol might come back." They then walked out before glancing around. "It looks clear, come on."
And had a shot hit the sand. "Sniper! Get down!" Zule yelled before they ran back into the ship and heard fighting sounds.
They then walked out and saw the others fighting the hunter before Chewbacca ran up and grabbed him just as he picked a knife up. He twists the arm, having the knife drop before kneeing the hunter in the stomach and then starts choking him. "Wait! We should take him, prisoner!"
"Fine. Chewbacca, let's take him."
Later, at the tree, Chewbacca was making a transmitter while the others tied the Trandoshan up.
"How's it looking, Chewbacca?" Ahsoka asked the Wookiee who looked back.
"(Growls!)"
"Will it work?" Zule asked as she saw lights trying to come on the device.
"Well, something's working," O-Mer said before the device fizzled out.
"We've got a prisoner. We should be using him to our advantage while we have a chance." Jinx stated as he looked back at the Trandoshan.
"I thought the prisoner was the backup plan?" Ahsoka asked, looking over her shoulder, hands on her hips.
"It's clear enough that we cannot rely on that device."
"(Growl!)"
"No offense, but we just can't sit here any longer," Jinx spoke up after Chewbacca growled.
"We should wait," Ahsoka spoke up before O-Mer stood.
"I agree with Jinx, we have to act while we have an advantage.
"Let's say we do it your way, what's the plan?" Zule asked, crossing her arms.
"We can use the prisoner to trick the enemy into flying one of their pods down to us, then we hijack the pod, fly up to their base and take them by surprise," Jinx explained before O-Mer looked at the Padawans.
"Ahsoka, Zule, you got us to believe in ourselves again, and I believe Jinx's plan will work."
"Look, do what you want, but O-Mer and I are leaving with the prisoner in the morning," Jinx spoke before he and O-Mer went to their beds.
"Their hearts are in the right place. You know we can't let them go alone." Ahsoka said to both Zule and Chewbacca.
"(Growls!)"
"We're not going to be able to do this without you. We need your help. Who knows? Maybe our luck's just about to change."
"(Growl!)"
Morning.
The group walked back to the downed ship before Ahsoka looked back. "All right, we better get started."
"Right, time to call your friends," Jinx said to the Trandoshan.
"I'm not helping you, whelp!"
"Chewbacca, we need him at eye level, please," Zule said, having the Wookiee do that.
"You will listen to us," Zule said as both she and Ahsoka waved their hands.
"No, I won't."
"You will listen to us," Ahsoka said, looking at the hunter.
"I will listen to you."
"You were our captive, but now you've escaped." Zule continued before the hunter spoke.
"I was your captive but now I've escaped."
"You need to call a speeder to pick you up." Ahsoka picked up.
"I need to call a speeder to pick me up."
The Trandoshan then called the base before hearing a voice.
"Smug? Where have you been?"
"I need a speeder to pick me up."
A moment went by before a hover pod came down. "Get in. Let's go."
"Now."
The group attacked the two off the pod before Chewbacca knocked them out as O-Mer dropped the pod by them. "Want a lift?"
They then fly up to the base, but cannot prevent the guard from warning his compatriots and are overpowered after a vicious but short struggle. "Kill them! Kill them! I want their skins!"
Unbeknownst to them, however, Chewbacca's transmitter has succeeded in contacting his people.
A few minutes later, a Wookiee relief force, led by a Wookiee General and aided by the bounty hunters Sugi and Seripas, arrives just in the nick of time to save them. "Make it quick, General. We're charging by the minute. And if my ship gets damaged, it'll cost you extra."
While a firefight erupts on the lower deck, killing the entire Trandoshan crew, Ahsoka follows Garnac into the bowels of the ship and defeats him in hand-to-hand combat. When he still attempts to kill her in retaliation for his son's death, Zule drops down and Force-pushes him out of the hatch and down onto the lower deck, killing him instead.
Coruscant, Jedi Temple.
"Ahsoka!"
"Zule!"
Anakin and Naruto greeted their Padawans as they got to a landing pad where they were with the Wookiees. BD jumped down and ran up to climb on Zule's shoulder. "Yeah, I missed you too, Sparks."
"(Beep!)"
"It is good to see you safe, little Soka. And you as well Zule." Plo Koon said as he walked up to them.
"Ahsoka, I am so sorry." Anakin spoke up as the others left.
"For what?
"For letting you go, for letting you get taken. It was my fault."
"No, Master, it wasn't your fault," Ahsoka replied to her Master.
"I should've paid more attention, I should've tried harder."
"You already did everything you could, everything you had to do. When I was out there, I had your training and the lessons you taught me. And because of you, I did survive. And not only that, I was able to lead others to survive as well."
"I don't know what to say," Anakin said in surprise.
"I do. Thank you, Master."
"You're welcome, my Padawan," Anakin replied as the Wookies and bounty hunters walked away.
To Be Continued.
A/N: Thanks for reading and let me know of any mistakes.
Beta: Chaos-PSD. Contributor: Kuronodono12
The new story poll is up now! There are 19 choices (Small because two stories are ending close together) and YOU CAN CHOOSE 5! So remember to vote if you haven't!
I hope those that celebrated it had a safe and Happy Easter!
Next to be updated will hopefully be Avatar Maelstrom but if you don't see it by Thursday it'll be up with Hero Rising: Next Gen as for Avatar I only have a scene to add to it.
Nothing else to say.
Talk To You Later,
Lone Wolf Out.🐺