Nexus HWR 13.1 Stan:
FD + 803
Ruins of Metropolis
Two miles south of the former edge of the capital of the NEG, Metropolis, there was one tent larger than all the others set up to give people shelter while reconstruction took place. This tent had a flag sticking out the top of it, half red and half blue, with a three-headed dragon symbol in the center of it and an eight-pointed golden star inside a circle in the background. The flag of Rhodar displayed proudly over the tent showed that the man inside was not afraid of anyone knowing where he was, despite being so close to the NEG's capital when only a week before he had been planning all out war with them.
It was late, the suns had set in the west, the King and Queen and their advisors had eaten their dinner, and Alibaba was currently alone in his tent. He had taken a nap since he was up the entire night previous to help keep order inside the Ruins of Metropolis where a group of looters had taken advantage of the dark to try and steal more rations, medicine, and rob the houses that were still standing in the north of the city. The King of Rhodar was putting back on his Kingly clothes, going to head back out into the city to look for his Queen, or for Morgiana. Alibaba bent down and slid his right boot on, then the left, then as he started tying the laces tight, he heard rustling outside the flaps on the front of his tent.
Alibaba Saluja stood up and put his hand down on the hilt of the shortsword at his waist. The flaps of his tent opened up, and two men marched in who made Alibaba lower his hand from his sword. "What is it?" Alibaba questioned the strong guards in Rhodari armor standing there. The men in gold armor with helmets on, glowing spears in hand, and shields on their backs nodded at their King.
The one on the right began, "We caught someone sneaking around outside your tent. He says he works for you, but he had no identification nor any clearance codes."
Alibaba gained a confused expression on his face, but he nodded at the guards and put his hand back on his sword hilt before saying, "Bring him in."
The guards nodded at their leader. They turned and lifted the flaps back up, telling another two guards standing outside the entrance to bring the prisoner inside. They walked in, each one holding an arm of a boy between them who looked infuriated. "If you don't put me down right now," the boy began, seething it through his teeth. He was wearing a brown cloak that covered most of his body except for his head, and on top of his head there was a blue hat with a red poof-ball on top of it. The poof-ball was cut horizontally so it was only a hemisphere with the flat half facing up. The boy's hair was brown beneath it and pushed down by his hat, and he had a dark look in his eyes as he turned to the man farther in the tent, "Tell them to let go of me, or this is going to get ugly."
"Stan?" Alibaba questioned. He let go of his sword and made a little motion with his hand to get his guards to let go of the kid. Alibaba's guards half-expected the kid to be lying, so they were surprised to hear their King say the boy's name. "Where's Anakin?" Alibaba asked after the kid got put down.
Stan brushed his arms off and shot the guards around him glares, but they knew that they were just doing their jobs and ignored the kid who did not have the proper information. Stan himself grumbled under his breath, thinking, This wouldn't have happened if I had just walked right up to the tent like a normal person. Why'd I have to appear behind him all spooky-like anyway? That was stupid! Stan calmed himself with a few deep breaths, then he lifted his gaze to Alibaba with a serious expression on his twelve year old face. "Alone."
Alibaba looked at the boy confusedly, then he lifted his eyes to his guards and gave them a small nod to show it was okay. One of them opened his mouth to argue, then he closed it and looked down at the kid instead. "I'll be right outside," he said, more of a warning to the kid than an assurance to his King.
Stan frowned up at the man who still did not trust him despite their King's orders. He waited for the guards to leave, then Stan walked forward so he was away from the edge of the tent and prying ears for what he was going to say. Stan looked up into Alibaba's golden eyes, and he said in a dark voice, "Anakin's dead." Alibaba's eyes opened wide in surprise, then the King of Rhodar's fists clenched and he ground his teeth in anger.
Alibaba cursed under his breath. Anakin, I told you to get back! We were planning on invading- couldn't you have just waited for us? Why did you have to join in that crazy battle?! "The Underworld?" Alibaba questioned the boy before him.
"Ichimaru Gin," Stan said, his voice coming out as a hiss. Alibaba could hear the sheer hatred behind Stan's words, and he did not like to hear that kind of tone come from anyone, let alone a child. Stan continued, "He was one of the High Council."
"I know of him," Alibaba began. "So he was in on that alliance I have heard so much about?" He mused to himself, and the King frowned deeper. "So many of their government were in on it, that I find it hard to trust the words of Mustang and the Arbiter." Alibaba looked back into Stan's eyes, and he said in a serious voice, "I trusted Anakin. He was a good friend, and I'm sure he was a good mentor." Alibaba took a step towards the young boy with so much anger and hatred on his face. "I know we only met the few times, but Anakin trusted you, and I will too."
Stan looked up at the King of Rhodar in surprise, and Alibaba smiled down at the boy. "Help me, Stan," Alibaba began. "In this tumultuous time, when the lines separating friend and foe and thin and hard to see, I need people I can trust around me. The information you and your Master supplied us with during your time in the Underworld, and with Metropolis's rebels, was invaluable to the Rhodari people. Stan, with your help we can continue to do good not just for Rhodar, but for all-"
"Stop calling me that," Stan growled. His head bowed and the brown hair sticking out below the front of his hair shadowed over his eyes. Stan lifted his head a little and glared between his bangs into Alibaba's eyes, "My name, is Darth Marsh." Stan's fists clenched at his sides, and wind rushed around him that made Alibaba sweatdrop. His plan to motivate Stan, give him something to look towards, calm him of his hate, it was not working.
"Sta- Darth Marsh," Alibaba corrected himself as he doubted calling the kid by his name against his wishes was going to help him at this point. "It's not your fault, Anakin died," Alibaba said, his voice soft and understanding. Stan's eyes opened wide, and the King continued, "I sent you to Metropolis, and he made the decision himself to follow my orders. I'm sure if there was anything you could have done, you would have done it too. You can't blame yourself. Sometimes, people just-"
"I don't blame myself," Stan interrupted. Suddenly, Alibaba could see that all of that hate in Stan's eyes was not misplaced. The boy was not just angry, not just mad at the world. All of Stan's anger was directed at something, "I blame Ichimaru. That shinigami killed my Master for no reason," Stan snarled. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, and the wind around him picked up a little. The guards outside of Alibaba's tent looked behind them as the outside of it started ruffling around, but they waited for their King before making a move. Stan continued looking into Alibaba's eyes, and though his throat clenched up he rasped out, "I am going to kill him!"
The visible anger around Stan was making Alibaba's eyes grow wide. The King of Rhodar looked at Stan to see his hands trembling, his eyes shaking, and his throat twitching like he was trying hard to keep any other emotions except anger from rising to the surface. "It's okay, to mourn," Alibaba whispered.
Stan's eyes grew wide again, and the wind rushing around him stopped. Stan calmed himself down and he lowered his gaze to the floor. "Not yet it isn't," Stan whispered back. "I promised myself I would kill him. And I know where he is." Alibaba shook his head in amazement. Stan had become calm, but his calm voice was so full of anger that it was astonishing that Stan could keep a straight face. "Aebrith," Stan said, and he lifted a clenched right fist in front of him. "I'm going, to avenge my Master."
Alibaba looked at the kid's fist, and he watched as Stan lowered it down to his side. Stan turned his back to the King of Rhodar, and he finished, "I only came to let you know what happened to Anakin, and to tell you that I'm not working for Rhodar anymore." He started walking for the exit, "I only was because my Master chose to. With him gone, I have no reason to stay."
Stan reached the exit, but before he could push the flaps and leave, he heard Alibaba behind him, "Stan." The kid's teeth clenched in annoyance as he had told the King not to call him that. Alibaba knew what he said though, and he continued, "You can't, be angry, all the time. Anakin wouldn't want it that way. He wouldn't want you to walk that path." Stan hesitated in the entrance of the tent like he had when his close friend Kenny told him to stay in Metropolis. Kenny told him to stay behind with him and his friends, and Stan had seen how carefree and childish those children were. He wanted at the time to listen to his friend, just like he wanted to listen to the Rhodari King right now.
I'm just, so angry, Stan thought. He can see it, Kenny could see it, even I can see it. It's not healthy. Stan's expression darkened and he muttered, "If only not being angry, was easy." The kid looked over his shoulder, "But I'll try to keep that in mind, King Alibaba." Alibaba could not see if the boy really meant it, and Stan did not know himself whether he meant what he said. Stan turned back to the exit though and pushed through it. I'll meditate on the way to Aebrith. Calm down my soul a little. But I told Anakin, like I told those kids, that I am a Sith. He left it up to me to choose my path, and I am too angry to ever be a Jedi. Too angry, to let all this anger hold me back. Instead I'll use it, to make me stronger!
As Stan marched away from the King's tent, Alibaba sent one of his guards away. A minute later, a woman walked inside his tent, and Alibaba turned to the ninja. The woman had blonde hair, a Village Hidden in the Sand headband that looked too big for her head since it was just resting over her shoulders around her neck, and she wore all black for another day straight. "What is it?" Temari questioned, her voice low but serious. Alibaba smiled softly at the woman who recently learned about Shikamaru's fate from a boy who knew him in the ruined NEG capital.
"I have a mission for you," Alibaba began. "A boy just left my tent. He can't have gone far. He's wearing a brown cloak and has on a red poof-ball hat. Can you follow him and report where he's going?"
Temari looked a little confused, but she nodded her head at the King in front of her. Temari turned and ran back out of the tent, and Alibaba lost his smile and let out a sigh. Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone.
FD + 808
Los Santos
Stan Marsh walked off the end of a street at the eastern edge of Los Santos onto a boardwalk. He was on the eastern seaboard of Rhodari territory, in a port city not far from the nation's northern border with the NEG. Down the boardwalk to his left, the wooden walkway became more commercial with a lot of other people walking around, eating at the concession stands set up. There were steps going down on the side of the boardwalk opposite the city and the road he just walked off of, and those steps led down to the beach below where there were a lot of people laying out in the sun or playing in the water.
The kid turned the other way and walked away from the more populated area of the boardwalk. He was heading towards the industrial area, and after walking a few minutes he reached a fence blocking it off. Stan jumped up in the air and used the Force while he did to get himself high enough to clear the barbed wire on top. He landed on the other side and looked around at all the huge rectangular crates lined up around the area. He started walking towards the docks he could see that had large ships on the end of them. I only need the smallest one. As long as it can get me across the ocean that is. Sorry Alibaba, but I'm not asking. Stan saw two men walking his direction, and he acted like nothing was weird about him being there and just kept walking forward.
"Huh? Who's this kid?" One of the two burly men questioned.
Stan frowned and lifted his left hand. "You don't need to know who-"
"Ah, you must be the boy we heard about," the other man mentioned, and he nodded as he looked the boy up and down. Stan stopped what he was saying, and the man who last spoke could see he looked confused, so he chuckled to himself. "You didn't know? Well whatever, come on." He waved his hand and turned the other way, while the other burly fellow looked Stan up and down a couple more times.
"This don't seem like a good idea to me Paulie," the guy following his partner began. "He's just a kid. I don't know what he's doing, but the rations they had us stock it with…" The man could see out the corners of his eyes Stan glaring at him, so he turned to continue straight to the kid, "Hey, you're not planning on crossing the whole ocean alone, are you?"
Stan said nothing, still wracking his mind over what was going on. They knew I was coming? Wait, "rations?" Has someone- Stan spun around in mid-step, and he glared towards the top of a storage container a hundred meters away from him. He had turned so suddenly that the woman watching to make sure the sketchy kid did not attack the workers did not duck away in time to avoid the kid catching a glimpse of her. Alibaba, Stan thought, letting out a low growl as he turned and continued to follow the two dock workers. You had someone follow me? Damn, how didn't I notice them?! I didn't say I needed, your, help… Stan reached the dock the two men started walking down, and Stan looked down it with widening eyes.
Temari frowned as she poked her head out and looked towards the kid's back not far from her. She looked past him at the single boat at the end of the dock that was obviously meant for the boy. On either side of the dock were large shipping freighters with large turrets on the sides of them and giant towers sticking out the tops. The sailboat the kid was given had motors on the back to let him go faster, but the ship was small in comparison to most sea-faring vessels. It was either meant for close-to-shore boating, or if it was for a long-distance travel, it could only support one person. Stan smiled as he thought about there being food inside, new clothes, probably a lot of extra gasoline so he would not have to make many stops to fill up the motors.
The kid frowned after he caught himself smiling, but he thought begrudgingly, Thanks, Alibaba. I'll try to bring it back, someday. If I survive that is. Stan's expression hardened, and the two men who turned to see why the boy was not following them backed away to either side of the dock as he came marching forward. Stan reached back and grabbed the hood bunched up on his neck, and he lifted it over the top of his head, shadowing his entire face over and making the two men in front of him very nervous. Master, Levi, Mikasa, Armin, Fry, Leela. Bender and Eren too. Ichimaru Gin, I blame you for all of them. I know Luthor killed most of them, but you killed my Master. You killed the one man on this world who always protected me. He made me stronger, so that I can now survive on my own in this shitty world. Anakin was like, a father to me. More than my real father ever was.
Stan leapt up in the air and landed in the back of his new boat. He waved his left hand as he landed, and the men still watching him nervously started backing away more. They were afraid as they watched the ropes tied to cleats on the dock untie themselves. The ropes pulled onto Stan's boat, and then the ship pushed away from the dock without the boy ever saying a word of thanks to them, not that they were going to mention it to him. Stan turned his gaze to the east and frowned as he set off on his journey, Master, whether or not you want me to, I am going to avenge you. I need to kill Ichimaru Gin. He taunted me after he killed you. He murdered you for no reason at all! But he made one mistake. He told me where he was going. He is going to regret that.
FD + 819
Finally, not a cloud in sight. Maybe it'll be a calm day for once. Stan set the motor at full throttle, locked the turning mechanism to keep him on a heading due east, then he walked up from the stern of his ship. Stan climbed on the seats on the side of the stern area, and he stepped over the top of the door leading down into the boat's cabin. Stan took a seat on top of his boat's cabin, and the top of his head was just a few inches below the bottom of the sail's boom. It was not very windy anyway so Stan did not have to worry about the boom swinging back and forth and potentially slamming him in the head. Stan sat cross-legged in the center of his ship, and he located his own center with his eyes closed.
The kid hummed, and without opening his eyes, objects underneath him on the inside of his ship's cabin started moving around. Stan had left the cabin a mess when he left it earlier to get started on another day of travel, and now he was reorganizing it. His ship had electricity, and that meant he had a fridge for much of his rations, and for fish he caught with the fishing rods and lures provided for him with the boat. The door to the fridge opened, a chair slid out from the table next to it, and two water bottles on the seat of the chair lifted up and moved towards the fridge. Stan placed the water bottles down in the door and let out a deep breath. Alright, level two. The mattress to his bed that he pulled off its stand and left laying sideways against his bathroom door started to shake. The mattress lifted up, and at the same time, the just-add-water rations on his couch and kitchen counter lifted up.
Stan grunted and lifted his hands at his sides, finding it difficult to use this much Force without assistance. Come on, come on, he thought. His mattress turned sideways, pressing up against the walls on either side of his hallway and becoming harder to move with his mind. The rations shook as he shifted them closer to the cabinet, and the cabinet doors that he planned on closing after he put the rations inside started shaking too. He was focusing too much on the next steps and he knew it. I can't just force the mattress through a space it won't fit in, and I have to wait until one task is finished before I can start the next! Keep imagining the room, focus!
For a second, all of the items Stan was holding stopped shaking. The mattress popped out of its strange position and a part of it hovered over Stan's bed-stand in the small room next to his bathroom. His rations floated slowly towards the cabinets, made it through the door, then Stan dropped them. He dropped them when they were only halfway through, but the heavier halves were sticking out of the cabinet and they dropped down to the counter. Simultaneously, the mattress dropped and got stuck half in Stan's doorway, though none of it got on top of his bed. Stan did not look annoyed as these things dropped though. The kid's eyes opened and darted up in the air, and they narrowed in at a figure high above him.
A bug? Stan thought, seeing what looked like dragonfly wings sticking off the back of the creature. No, that's way too big. It just looks small because it's far away. It's bigger than I am, and it's watching me.
"Leol-sama, it appears there is only one human aboard the ship." Flutter, a Chimera Ant, used his telepathic powers to communicate with his boss. "I believe it is safe to drop cloaking and attack."
"Good work."
Stan re-closed his eyes. There are more of them. Coming from the south. We're far out in the Great Ocean, I doubt it's a Rhodari ship. He heard the splashing from a distance, but it was getting louder every second. The ship is much bigger than mine, but not freighter size. They have… ill-intentions. What could they be? Pirates? Are they here to take my stuff? Depending on the pirates, I can probably take them. I won't know if I can handle them though from first look, probably best to avoid a fight.
"Hey you there," a voice called down to Stan's ship. The boy opened his eyes and put his hands down at his sides to push himself up, then his eyes shot open wide and he pushed himself backwards to avoid the figure dropping down to his ship. The man hit down and the entire ship rocked knocking Stan onto his butt. Stan stood back up and glared at the man in front of him. He was wearing his usual brown cloak and damaged hat, while the man in front of him was a lot more vibrant with his clothing. The figure had on bright purple pants, a black shirt with a gray skull in the center of it, and he had golden rings on most of his fingers. The skull design on his shirt matched the real one that looked like it used to belong to a human that dangled from the bottom of a necklace the man was wearing. The man himself intrigued Stan, as his skin was reddish brown with darker brown stripes on his exposed, thick arms. What interested Stan the most though, was how the man standing on two legs looked like he was a lion with a long white mane. "What are you doing all alone out here? With such a nice little ship too?" The lion Chimera Ant questioned.
Stan examined the man in front of him closely. He's confident enough to jump right up to me. Is he overly cocky, or just very strong? "I'm heading to Aebrith," Stan replied. "Who are you?" He questioned the figure, and he narrowed his eyes to try and look a little threatening himself.
"Heading to Aebrith huh? What a coincidence, so are we!" He swung his arms out to the sides, and Stan looked past the figure to the ship he came on. The edge of the ship was taller than the top of Stan's sailboat's mast, and Stan wondered what the wooden ship was being used for. He did not see any black flags above it, but this creature sure seemed like a pirate to him. Humans and other strange creatures lined the edge of the ship when Leol swung his arms to the sides, and Stan's eyes narrowed at them all. "Call me Leol-sama. Want to come with me?" Leol asked the boy.
Come with him? What is he offering? Stan's eyes shifted around the different figures on top of the ship. There are a lot of them, and they're all armed. I don't know if any of them have powers either. What happens if I deny him? Does he take me anyway… Is that what this is? Is he here, to kidnap me? But why? Unless, no. Yeah, probably. They aren't pirates at all. "Sure," Stan finally responded to the figure in front of him. The lion-human hybrid looked a little confused at the response, but Stan grinned and put his hands behind his head as he looked into the Chimera Ant's eyes. "I'll come with you. Your ship looks nicer than mine after all."
"Hahaha! Alright then, come aboard! But first," Leol reached behind his back, and he grabbed a collar off of his waist that he brought in front of him.
As I thought, Stan stared at the bracelet with fear across his face. So these guys are slavers? I didn't think slavery was a thing here, but Awul isn't all of Nexus. And Nexus is not Earth. This is not a "civilized" world. Stan took a step back, How do I play this? Kill them all right now? No, there's still a good chance they're stronger than I can handle. If I reveal that I'm more than just a kid right now, they'll take measures to restrain me. Act like a normal kid. Put up a fight like any kid would. Stan lifted his fists and yelled at the lion in front of him who started laughing at the kid's reaction.
Stan turned and ran for the stern of his ship, but Leol dropped down in front of him and grabbed the top of the kid's head with his right paw. He gripped Stan's skull and lifted him up with it, He's strong. This guy's probably the leader of their group, considering the rest are just standing by while he deals with me. If they're his subordinates, he's probably the strongest of them. I should test his strength now- no, no that would be a bad idea. A single boy slave, I'm probably not worth much. If I start fighting him and actually make him mad, he might just kill me to remind his men how brutal he is. Stan stopped struggling, and he whispered, "I'm sorry. Please, don't do, whatever you're going to do to me."
"Haha! You haven't figured it out yet kid? You don't have any idea what the place you were heading towards is like? Aebrith's full of sickos who get off on little kids like you." The lion Chimera Ant started laughing loudly, and many of his crew laughed along. Stan saw the flying Chimera Ant lower down to the edge of Leol's ship next to a female Ant with blonde hair and a pink hat on. "If you're lucky," Leol continued and Stan's shaky eyes shifted back to the Chimera Ant he was tricking, "maybe some schmuck will buy you to just be a servant or something. Now, say goodbye to your ship," Leo finished. Stan became confused as to why the Chimera Ant said that, but what happened next actually had Stan surprised and breathing faster in panic.
Leol snapped the boy's collar on around his neck, then he threw the kid by his skull up at his own ship. "Take him to the hold with the others!" Leol called after while Stan flew off in a panic. He wanted so much to use the Force to flip himself upright instead of spinning around, and he had to remind himself that the slavers did not want him dead or they would not be capturing him alive in the first place. Stan was caught by someone, and he heard Leol off the side of the bigger ship, "Empty out this toy and then send it to Davy Jones' Locker."
Stan calmed himself as he was being carried away by a ten foot tall human-tiger Chimera Ant that seemed to have a lot to prove as it kept taunting him with promises of torture at the hands of his future owners. Alright, gotta play this smart now. The Ant brought Stan below deck, and Stan looked around confidently as he did not see any slavers around. They're all above deck right now. "You should put me down," Stan suddenly said, interrupting the Chimera Ant.
The slaver frowned and lowered Stan to the floor in front of him. "You will turn around and look behind you for twenty seconds," Stan looked straight into the Chimera Ant's eyes as he said it, and the Ant with the face of a tiger turned around. Stan hurried away into a room they were about to pass that looked like some kind of storage room. Should have searched me Leol-chan. Stan opened a barrel in the back of the storage area full almost to the top with rice. Don't know how long they've been on the sea for, but if they've had this that whole time, then they must barely use it. Stan rose his right hand over the barrel and used the Force on the rice below his palm, pushing it all to the sides to the point where it almost overflowed. He dug as deep down as he could, then he reached under his cloak with his other hand and dropped his lightsaber into the barrel. Good, the collar isn't a power nullifier. I bet they have them though, so I need to keep my power hidden.
Stan rushed back behind the tiger Chimera Ant who shook his head in confusion, then snapped his gaze down to the boy looking back at him in fear. Stan turned and started running away, but the Chimera Ant yelled, "Hey!" He ran after Stan much faster and grabbed the boy around his sides with paws that had claws on the ends of them. The Ant looked infuriated, but he calmed himself as he did not want to damage the product. For a second he thought about mentioning to Leol that the boy tried to run, but that would mean that he had to admit he gave the boy the chance. "Don't fucking do that again," the Ant snarled, bringing Stan's face up in front of his own.
"S-Sorry," Stan apologized.
"Alright," the Chimera Ant whose head felt funny muttered. He continued walking the direction he was going originally, and he brought Stan down to the bottom deck. Stan's eyes grew huge as he looked around and saw dozens of people in cells around the dark deck level. There were buckets in the cells for using the bathroom, chains on people's ankles, and each of them were wearing only brown rags. "Get out of those," the Chimera Ant told stand as he dropped the kid to the floor. Stan made sure not to land on his feet, and the kid sitting on his butt looked up at the Chimera Ant in nervous confusion. "A nice cloak like that, and maybe even that shitty hat too, bet I could sell them for something when we next stop to sell."
The Chimera Ant walked over to some barrels near the door, and he pulled out some rags for Stan to wear that looked dirty to the kid. Then, the slaver grabbed something out of a barrel next to it and looked at Stan darkly. "And I don't know if you were planning on getting one after you got there, or if you just didn't know about this, but you gotta wear a Power Blocker if you're gonna be coming with us. Now, didn't I tell you to strip!" The Ant reached down and grabbed Stan by the right ankle, hoisting the boy up upside-down and forcefully clipping the anklet on him. Stan winced in pain as the bracelet caught some of his skin and ripped it when it locked shut, and he darted a look at the Ant who was holding him that made the Ant's smirk vanish and his fur stand on end.
CALM DOWN! Stan lost his scary look and returned to appearing afraid for his captor. The Chimera Ant looked enraged that he felt fear for a second from a measly human, and Stan got thrown into some cell bars, making the people behind them call out for Stan to stop resisting. They did not say anything to their slaver, and Stan frowned while facing the floor his face was pressing against. These people are terrified. You monsters enslaved them, tortured them! When we reach Aebrith, I'm going to kill you all!
FD + 858
Somewhere in East-Central Aebrith
A few days after Stan massacred the crew of the slaver ship he was on for much longer than he had hoped, the boy fell backwards with blood all over him, panting heavy breaths and coughing every few seconds. Around him were four bodies, bodies of Chimera Ants who were prepared for him unlike the ones he slaughtered on Leol's ship along with the captain himself. Hunters, Stan thought, sitting up and moving towards the body of the final Ant he killed. He leaned his back up against the half-horse, half-man, half-eagle Chimera Ant hybrid he had the most trouble defeating. They said, they were sent to hunt me down. That means, they knew it was me. That means, one of the slaves I released gave me up. Dicks.
Stan pushed down on the body of the purple-furred creature behind him, and his hands got even more wet as he pressed down into a spot he had cut through with his lightsaber. It's some good training at least, he thought to himself, while limping away from the creature with a pissed-off look on his face. Who am I kidding? I got hurt facing a few Chimera Ant grunts, and I want to go after a powerful shinigami? I need to be much stronger before I try anything. I found out that Ichimaru Gin is in the north, a new Lord up there or some shit, but the Resistance is in the south. If I want to avoid these Hunters, escape the stronger ones that are sure to come after me now that I killed these, I need to get south into safe territory.
Stan turned to the south and started walking that way, but he stopped and turned around. The kid looked towards one of the flying speeder bikes the Chimera Ants descended from the sky on, the only one undamaged from the fight as its rider was quick to get off to get close to Stan, to be the one to capture him. He was also the first to die. Stan got on the bike and started testing it out, and as he figured out how it worked the kid started smirking. This is so cool, Stan thought. He sped up closer and closer to full throttle, the wind hitting him harder and harder with every mph he increased. I can't wait to tell Kenny about this. Maybe I can take one back to Metropolis next time I… Stan frowned deeply. What am I thinking about at a time like this? Keep going.
The young boy in a brown cloak with a red lightsaber at his side raced across the landscape of Northern Aebrith. Traveling by vehicle was much better than by foot, and much more effective now that he had a clear destination in mind too. Those people I saved, they're dicks! How could one of them give me up after I freed them?! How could, they? Unless- I mean, they couldn't have helped it, if they had been captured and forced to explain it. If that's the case, I hope they cracked quickly. I mean, they're dicks if they did, but I don't want anyone to get tortured because of me. I freed them so they wouldn't be tortured! Yeah, I freed them in the middle of Cooperative territory. That means, they're still technically slaves if anyone else catches them… I couldn't have taken them all with me! We would have been caught in minutes!
Stan tried to meditate, but these thoughts were plaguing him. I gave them a chance. I gave all of them chances to escape! It's not my fault not all of them were able to use their freedom to get to a safe place. It's not my fault, some of them are slaves again. They all looked so hopeful when I freed them. They were so grateful. They thanked me over and over, but I don't deserve their thanks. No. Stan's eyes darkened and the sky happened to be darkening above him at the same time. As it got darker out, Stan's expression darkened as well, I don't want their thanks. I only freed them because I wanted to get free. I freed them because with more slaves escaping in every direction, they wouldn't be able to focus all attention on a single one of them. What I did was the best course of action, for me! And I'm not heading south to find safety! I'm not going south to get to Resistance lands! The Resistance is not the only thing south of me. If I want to get stronger…
I need to join the Sith.
One Week Ago
"You say you're a Jedi?" Sokka questioned the short kid in front of him. The tan-skinned young Resistance leader scratched some black stubble on his chin. "I guess you can come with us. We've still got a few thousand miles to the refuge cities in the south." He glanced over his left shoulder and shivered while looking back at the miles of tents and parked vehicles behind him. Sokka wore the ratty brown cloth he had over his shoulders as the only extra protection from the cold, and it had just begun to snow in their region of southwest Aebrith. He looked back in front of him at the kid who looked warmer with some heavy pelts on him. "Got any more of those?" Sokka asked the boy.
"Are we really letting him join us?" Jericho asked in annoyance. She and Guila were standing on either side of the jeep Sokka was sitting on the hood of. The vehicle was a compact four-wheeler that had a soft beige cover over it and a military-style appearance. Jericho stepped forward on its left side and looked down her nose at the kid, "He's just-"
Stan looked over his shoulder, and he reached back into a pack on it to pull out a hat he made with the fur of a monster that had been hunting him. The dead beast was all over his body at the moment, but he preferred his own hat to the one he made, and he got too hot wearing it on top of his blue and red one. "Here," Stan said, holding out the green fur hat.
"No," Sokka said, waving a hand at the kid in front of him. Stan looked confused, and Sokka smiled down at him and said, "Go back there. Find someone who you think could use it."
Stan's eyes widened as the cold man in front of him said that. Sokka crossed his arms and rubbed his hands over his biceps, and when he breathed out his breath hung in the air, but he smiled at the boy in front of him anyway. "When Pon-Gatso burned down, we had to get everyone out of there in a hurry. Most people lost everything they owned. All their possessions, gone in an instant. It's why we're heading to the refuge cities, because there's nothing left for these people in the rest of Leam. Anyone who could go somewhere else has already broken off from our group." Stan looked back there again and only now realized just how bad off all these people were. He started to feel bad about lying to Sokka just so he could travel with them, which would hopefully be safer than traveling alone with a target on his back.
I must have crossed into Resistance lands at some point, but that last hunter followed me so close to here. Maybe because it was a single monster it got through the cracks, just like me. "Sure," Stan finally replied to the older man in front of him. "I'll go, do that," he said, and he started walking away through the light snowfall to look for someone colder than he was. As he entered the camp of hundreds of thousands who had set up camp for the night, Stan looked down at his own coat and pants and gloves and even fur-lined boots that he spent the afternoon before creating out of his dead enemy's body. He looked back up at some of the nearby people gathered outside of a cluster of tents. They had set a fire up on the ground, and all of them were huddled around it for warmth that they desperately needed considering none of them looked ready for snow. Two were actually wearing shorts, and they kept reaching down and rubbing their legs before stepping closer to the fire.
Stan lifted back up his gaze and stared out ahead of him into the distance. He could not see over the tents because of his small stature, but from a distance he recalled how far back everything stretched. All the tallest vehicles were on the outsides of the horde of civilians, and that was where the guards were. He wondered why Sokka did not put him with the guard detail, but he was reminded of how those two women with Sokka looked at him and figured they had problems trusting random people. Even kids, he thought. Not that they're wrong to distrust me. I told them I'm a Jedi, when in actuality, I'm a Sith. I'm going to head south and figure out the quickest way to enter the Emperor's ranks. As Stan thought it, he was sliding his arms out of the sleeves of his fur coat, and walking towards the group of cold people near him.
Five Days Ago.
"There they go," a middle-aged man said to the short boy standing on his side. "Are you sure about leaving them?"
"I was never really a part of their group anyway," Stan replied. "I just met up with them on my way here." He turned away from the window on the western wall of the Resistance fort they were in. The base around them was a mess, with all the furniture and food and supplies cleared out. The people in it had given everything they had to the refuges from Pon-Gatso, and it still was nowhere near as much as those people needed. Stan looked back towards the window and to his right this time where a different massive force of people was moving. The new group of people was much smaller than the fleeing people of Pon-Gatso, but they looked much more threatening with their rolling tanks, giant army formations, even giants walking in between battalions of armored soldiers. "What's up with them?" Stan questioned.
"Leam's retaliation," the older man said down to the boy. "The enemies following the Resistance's retreat have crossed into Leam's borders. There had been other Resistance areas between Pon-Gatso and Leam, but all of those agreed to merge into Leam within the last few days." The man hummed and scratched the furry light blond beard on his chin. "The recent territorial shift caused a short panic through northern Resistance lands. The maps were updated quickly, but in the chaos many accepted Leam's control in order to ensure protection. Even this Resistance base would not have been inside Leam territory as of two days ago."
Stan frowned to himself as that sounded very similar to something he had heard before. Leam's policies sounds a lot like the NEG's. "Would Leam's army not help out if these areas weren't in their territory? Aren't they part of the Resistance?" Stan wondered.
"Not exactly," the man replied, while looking down oddly at the boy in a half-poof-ball hat. He had a question on his mind, but he chose to answer Stan's first before asking it. "The Resistance must request aid from Leam, and often Leam agrees to help in joint efforts. However, although Leam is one of the member nations of the Resistance, the Resistance is not itself a country. It's an army composed of many nations combined. Leam assists the Resistance, and the Resistance assists Leam, but the two are not one and the same." Stan nodded along as he was starting to understand the demographics of the region a little better. "You do not seem very knowledgable about these parts, for such a curious boy," the man mentioned, and Stan turned to look up into the guy's eyes.
The way the man said it was implying something. If Stan was this curious, he should have known about these types of things already. Stan looked up with his small black irises and responded, "I'm from far away."
The boy thought that the man would not be satisfied with his short response, but the older man just nodded and said, "It is a large world." He turned and started walking across the empty room with just some scattered trash in it and nothing else. The man wore a long brown cloak with a white gi on underneath, and he tossed his brown cloak to the side before turning back to the boy behind him. He reached down and pulled off a lightsaber from the right side of his waist. "Shall we begin your training?"
"I've already been trained," Stan said in a cold voice, while lifting up his left arm. He had a vertical scar going down his face from just above his right eye to just below it. The left arm he rose was made of steel despite the fake skin over it that looked so real, just like the flesh and bones in his legs hid the fact that they had been cybernetically enhanced. The first few days on Nexus were harder for some than others, and Stan still carried so many scars from back then. The hilt on Stan's side pushed his cloak up as it flew into Stan's left hand, and then the boy brought his right up as well to grasp the hilt in front of his chest. He held the hilt right in front of his neck, and a red blade extended straight up in front of his face and above him.
The man Stan was facing extended his lightsaber at the same time, though he had brought both of his hands in front of his right shoulder with the blade pointing straight up. He paused after seeing Stan's blade extend. "A red lightsaber," he began.
"Sorry I couldn't find any of the crystals to make one," Stan snapped in annoyance. "My old master killed a Sith, and I got the guy's old lightsaber. That's it." It was not the true reason he used a red lightsaber, but he felt it was better to lie in this situation. He hoped he could get away with it even saying it to a Jedi, and it seemed to appease the man in front of him. Stan sighed in relief in his head, and he was glad he was able to at least partially use the truth or he doubted he would have been able to fool the Jedi master before him. I did get the lightsaber from a Sith Anakin killed, but that's not the reason I still use one. I've had plenty of opportunities to switch. Stan lowered his blade from in front of his face to his right side, then his left side as he started walking to the right, circling towards his opponent who began to circle the other direction.
"I recognize your stance," the Jedi master said, and Stan narrowed his eyes wondering if the man knew something. "You really were trained by a Jedi from my world," he added, and Stan felt more relief that the man was convinced by his movements.
Anakin did say he was a Jedi before he became a Sith. Wonder if all the Jedi learn the same techniques? The man stopped circling and Stan stopped as well as he felt the man before him get more serious. "Are you ready to begin, young man?"
"I am, Master Qui-Gon," Stan replied, and then he charged forward at the Jedi before him. He leapt up in the air with his powerful enhanced legs, and he did a flip over the older Jedi, slashing down at him as he rose above the man's head. Qui-Gon Jinn lifted his green lightsaber and blocked the boy's slash, but he had to push hard into the child's blade to keep it off of him. He pressed out to knock the boy's blade away, but Stan just kept up his momentum from his flip and spun his blade back around towards the Jedi's back. Qui-Gon spun and held his lightsaber sideways, blocking Stan's blade again. Then, while Stan's blade had no movement in it, Qui-Gon slashed his own lightsaber around Stan's other side. Stan twisted his arms to point his lightsaber down on that side, and the green and red clashed. Stan was holding his weapon at a weird angle, and the man had more strength behind his push, making their lightsabers move closer and closer to Stan's body every second.
Stan was sweating, and his weapon was getting pushed so far back that Qui-Gon's lightsaber was nearing his left side. Stan lifted two of his fingers on his left hand and used the Force to push back against Qui-Gon's slash as well, then he let go with his other hand. Letting go with one hand without using the Force with the other would have let the master swipe right through his defenses and into his side. With the Force and one hand pushing against him, it felt just as hard as when he had two hands on the hilt, but with the other hand free, Stan was able to Force Push the man straight in the stomach and make him skid back ten feet over the floor.
Qui-Gon released one hand from his lightsaber and faced his palm behind him, stopping his skidding in a moment. He had not gotten too far from Stan, and the two with a ten foot distance between them put their lightsabers back in both hands at their right sides. Stan was panting, and he had an annoyed look on his face as he saw that his opponent did not look as tired as he had gotten in that one clash.
"There is much I can teach you," Qui-Gon Jinn said, a smile on his face as he looked the boy up and down. "When you sought me out and asked for advice on getting stronger, I was skeptical that you knew what you were asking for. After all, not many Jedi seek the path of strength over all else." Stan narrowed his eyes more as he wondered again if the man was hinting at something more with his words. "I must ask you something though, Stan. What is it you desire power for? What is your reason for asking me for assistance?"
Stan looked straight into Qui-Gon Jinn's eyes and responded, "I want to help people." Revenge. "I want to get stronger because the bad guys here are stronger than I can keep handling at my current strength." Ichimaru Gin. "Will you help me?"
Qui-Gon looked back into Stan's eyes and saw so much conflict in them. He could not tell whether or not the boy's words were true, and because of that it seemed to him that there was some truth in them, as much as the boy was hiding. "I understand," Qui-Gon replied aloud, keeping his concerns and thoughts to himself. His green light blade retracted back into its hilt and Stan became confused as they had only just started training. "We will continue this on our journey."
"'Journey?' Where are we going?" Stan asked. He didn't catch me. Good. I'd rather train with a Jedi than risk going to the Sith and getting murdered by those bastards. I don't know what their organization is like, but they sound too dangerous to go to with a heart like mine. I know I'm not as evil as they are, and if they find that out too, they might just slit my throat. A Jedi on the other hand, Stan felt confident that he had made the right choice, which was why he accepted that they were leaving without hesitating.
"This base is being abandoned," Qui-Gon replied. "It has no strategic importance at this position, and we have no idea if the land will ever change back to what it was. We are not waiting for things to normalize, so I have been called to a southern Resistance base by a Commander I am acquainted with. He has a new base location to position me at back on the border with the Emperor." Mention of the Emperor made Stan's ears perk up, and Qui-Gon paused as he saw an interested look appear on the boy's face. "Help me break down this base, and then we will begin our journey." Qui-Gon turned and started walking away, while Stan got a really confused look on his face and put away his own lightsaber.
We're destroying the base? Why would we do that? Leam's army just marched north of us, so it's not like the enemy are going to be taking over this base anytime soon. Is there important information stored on the computers here? This doesn't make sense. Or is he expecting Leam's army to break and the Co-op forces to push south? In that case, they wouldn't want the enemy to be able to use this base. Stan was full of questions, but it already felt like he had asked too much that most people already knew, making him seem oblivious to his new Master. He did not want Qui-Gon thinking he was a fool, so instead of simply asking, he came up with a hundred theories in his head, only to sweatdrop as Qui-Gon and the other remaining Resistance members unloaded the few vehicles they had been left with from the garage, then pressed a button hidden inside a wall and capsulized the entire fort-like base. Guess that makes sense, Stan thought, though he felt like a fool now for all the false theories in his head.
"Good health to you, my friends," Qui-Gon said, nodding his head towards the others from the base who were all piling into other vehicles. He had a tan land-speeder behind him with two seats in it and large glowing blue engines on the back. The others at the base said their farewells to the Jedi Master, then he turned to tell Stan to get in.
The kid was already halfway climbed up the side of the speeder though, and he turned as he got over the edge, "Can I drive?"
Qui-Gon smiled at the child as the kid asked the question. Stan took it as an affirmative and grinned back as he had never driven one of these vehicles before. As Qui-Gon watched a young boy climb behind the wheel of a speeder though, the appearance of another boy getting behind a similar vehicle flashed through his mind. The nostalgic memory made Qui-Gon chuckle to himself, then he jogged over as the kid started the engines and looked so excited that he might just drive off without him. As soon as Qui-Gon got into his seat, Stan pushed the thrusters on full and his head snapped back, a wide smile on his face as the wind pushed into it.
"Whoa," Stan said, as he spotted how fast they were going on the speedometer. His attention refocused on the landscape in front of him, and the smirking kid said in a quiet voice, "I like."
One Hour Ago…
"You are leaving with them?" Qui-Gon asked his new apprentice.
"That kid- that man," Stan said, changing his words because Qui-Gon did not know who the figure who had appeared over the Resistance base really was. "He saved my life. I told you that I want to help people, that I want to become strong to help others, right? Well, if I can't help the kid who saved my life, how can I save anyone?" When Stan answered the Jedi's question on what he planned to do with his power, Qui-Gon had been skeptical of his response. At the moment however, Qui-Gon could see that Stan meant every word of what he said.
Stan thought back on the man who appeared above the Resistance base. He recognized him. He remembered what he looked like as he had seen the man before, many times actually. Timmy Turner has saved my life so many times. After Luthor beat him in Metropolis, when I saw his body all wrinkled up and dying, I thought I would never get the chance to repay him. He survived though. Then I found out he was twelve, like me. Timmy Turner is so strong for a twelve year old. He has the power to beat Ichimaru Gin, and if he can get that strength at only twelve, so can I. Maybe, if I can save him, he'll tell me how he did it. I'll be able to do it too, as long as the fatass hasn't completely lost it.
"You will respect the Wizard King's fucking authoritah!"
No. Fucking. Way.
Stan had calmed down a little from his reaction from hearing Timmy's last shout before the boy flew off earlier. No one else says it like that. I mean, the multiverse is huge, but no one else is that much of an asshole.
"So soon after we arrived," Qui-Gon began, but he started smiling as he did. "I understand, Stan. If you wish to continue your training, seek me out after your journey to the Wizard King's domain. I will not be hard to locate, as long as you continue to stay on the side of the Resistance." As the Jedi Master said it, Stan's eyes narrowed and his heart rate sped up as he wondered what the man was implying with that. Qui-Gon Jinn bowed to the boy after saying it though, not elaborating on his implications as the boy hoped he would.
Does he think I won't? I did plan on joining the Sith originally, but he's good enough that I though- Or is he talking about the Sith at all? Stan wondered this while his new Master bowed, and he continued to as he bowed back respectfully. The old man just said the "side of the Resistance," which could mean a lot of things. I don't necessarily have to join the Sith to grow stronger, but staying in the Resistance might do more harm than good if I've got as good a grasp on the situation as I think I do. Stan lifted his head back up and stared once more into his Master's eyes, then he turned towards the southern wall and started walking towards it. Those are all questions for after I save Timmy Turner.
Now, Stan thought, changing the subject in his mind while he looked towards the wall. I need to prepare better for this than when I tried to appear behind Alibaba. I was sloppy and got caught that time, but this time…
Present
Flawless, Stan thought, as he climbed up the ladder towards the opening in the side of the truck above him. Not one of them saw me coming. Like a boss. The mysterious kid who appeared in front of the group heading to save Timmy Turner grinned, though by the time he reached the hole in the wall where people might be able to see him again, a stoic expression had returned to his face.
A/N Stan the Sith. Stan the Jedi. Stan the twelve year old boy. Stan's a pretty conflicted kid. He's got the lessons of his old Master, advice from Alibaba, and new lessons from his new Master to think on, but the overwhelming feeling of wanting revenge against Ichimaru Gin is driving him across the world. Those good influences, and just the fact that Stan Marsh is a pretty good kid, keep showing up though through Stan's thoughts and actions since he departed from Awul. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! No review responses today, 'bout to fall asleep when I remembered I forgot to post this after finishing it. I will put a quick list below as I added some new characters this time, and brought back a lot of old ones.
Avatar TLA: Sokka
7DS: Guila, Jericho
GTA V: Los Santos
Naruto: Shikamaru, Temari
Hunter x Hunter: Flutter, Leol, Chimera Ants
Bleach: Ichimaru Gin
Star Wars: Anakin, Qui-Gon Jinn, Jedi, Sith
South Park: Kenny, Stan
-And I think that's it. As I said, short Author's Note today. Thanks for reading, and 'till next time!