The Clone Wars-3 Sides

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Star Wars but I do own any oc's that I come up with.

Xion was walking back towards his private quarters. The bombardment of Ihonihs had just ended and not long after, Xion had started to feel dizzy. Deciding to retreat to his private quarters, Xion was almost there when he was interrupted by a wave of vertigo. Steadying himself with one hand on the wall, Xion was bowed down as waves of pain started to emanate from his body.

'Wha..what's happening to me?' Xion thought to himself.

As he tried to steady himself and stand upright, he felt another wave of weakness hit him. Once that passed, Xion made a bull rush for the door to his room, managing to get in just as darkness hit him.

Upon waking up, Naruto felt water all over, yet he didn't truly feel wet. Looking around, Xion saw that he was in a dark and wet sewer with dim lighting.

'Great! How many years has it been since I've been here?' Xion thought.

Walking around, Xion followed the piping in the ceiling, looking towards the biggest ones for guidance. Arriving at his destination, Xion looked at where the giant prison gates were that kept the beast known as the Kyuubi locked away.

Upon his arrival however, Xion noticed that things were vastly different. The prison gate had become warped and melted, the bars twisted and bent out of shape, no good for keeping something locked up. The seal was completely useless.

Xion's eyes widened upon seeing the shape of the gate, and upon seeing what was inside.

The Kyuubi, its slited eyes red with malice walked right out of the cage with a terrible grin on its features. Its teeth shone, polished and as sharp as ever, claws that were as large as a person and looked capable of gutting just about any living creature were on its paws, and fiery red orange fur covered the entire body. The Kyuubi was as terrifying as it could possibly be.

Too bad it wasn't terrifying enough. Xion smirked as he looked at the creature, seeing it as no more a threat to him than a grunt soldier. For despite the Kyuubi's terrifying visage, it only had five of its nine massive tails swinging behind it and it looked far smaller than the monstrous size it had previously been.

"Aw, what happened? Cat got your tails?" Xion laughed at his bad pun.

"Naruto Uzumaki. How nice to see you again. And here I thought you forgot all about me." Kyuubi spoke with so much venom in its voice it put a black mamba to shame. The Kyuubi had constantly been weakened by the Force along with Naruto's chakra and it was now only thanks to the destruction of Ibonihs, which caused a wave of chakra to emit from the dying planet that Kyuubi had gained enough strength to bring Naruto to it.

"Tch, Kyuubi, why'd you bring me in here?" Xion got straight to the point, even though he felt he already knew the reason.

"Now that the seal is no longer functioning thanks to you blowing up the entire world we used to live on, I feel its time I relinquish you of your body and take it for my own."

"You, take over my body? Give me a break. When I unlocked my power over the Force your fate was sealed! Kyuubi, you've been a major factor for why my life was hell back in Konoha! I think it's time I ended you once and for all!" he no longer spoke as the Sith Lord Darth Xion, but as Naruto once more.

"My thoughts exactly. Naruto, I will enjoy rending the flesh from your bones!" the Kyuubi roared and charged forward.

The wind generated from the Kyuubi's roar blew off the hood and Naruto's mask, exposing his face. Fitting, as it would be Naruto who fought, not Xion.

Grinning with anticipation, Naruto jumped back and to the side to avoid the charge. The Kyuubi tried for a swing with one of its paws in Naruto's area, hoping to skewer him on its claws. Naruto ducked and avoided the blow, but had to move back as three of the Kyuubi's tails were sent his way. Long as they were, they had decreased greatly in size along with the Kyuubi and were not capable of drawing to the length needed to hit Naruto.

Kyuubi charged again, its head pointed down showing the clear intent of smashing Naruto into mush with the top of it. Once more avoiding it, Naruto shouted out "Ole" like he was some sort of bull fighter.

Unfortunately for the Kyuubi, when Naruto had dodged the wall had been right behind him and the Kyuubi was going too fast to stop now. With a resounding crash, the Kyuubi smashed its head on the wall, creating powerful boom and making a large crater in the wall with many good sized cracks coming from it.

Naruto whistled at the damage the Kyuubi managed to do. The Kyuubi meanwhile had suffered what could be called brain damage at this moment and its body was currently going through painful spasms as its head was trying to repair itself and regain control. And that's if it could get over the migraine that had been caused when the Kyuubi had hit its head.

Naruto, having gotten quite tired of just dodging the Kyuubi's blows, decided to act once the Kyuubi had recovered and tried to stomp on him with one of its paws. Using the Force, Naruto blasted back the palm, and then proceeded to blast back the Kyuubi into another wall. Another loud boom resulted from this action, and the hole and cracks made were ten times bigger as the Kyuubi's whole body, decreased in size as it had been, was used instead of just its head.

Naruto, concentrating, raised both of his arms, made a grabbing motion with them, and brought down those arms, putting Force Energy into the movement and causing the ceiling above the Kyuubi to come crashing down upon it. Eyes widened at the oncoming debris and the Kyuubi was crushed by the tons of rock and piping that came down on it.

Naruto smirked at the downed form of the Kyuubi, currently covered in rubble. Rage meanwhile built up inside the Kyuubi, being mocked as it was and humiliated constantly from Naruto's constant countering or dodging of its attacks.

Building up what strength it had, the Kyuubi forced its way from out under the rubble. Giving off a mighty roar that created some winds that caused Naruto's cloak to billow, the Kyuubi began firing beams of its deadly chakra at Naruto.

These weren't any of the large massive beams the Kyuubi normally fired, but smaller, narrower and more focused, designed for much smaller targets like Naruto. Yet, just because these beams were smaller, by no means did they pack any less of a punch. Any regular human would have been incinerated by these beams. Naruto was no normal human obviously.

Sadly the Kyuubi seemed to actually be surprised when Naruto proceeded to bitch slap every beam sent his way and turn them off to the side. Explosions sounded off as each beam was deflected, large conflagrations starting where the beams did hit. Naruto was smirking all the while as he used the Force and his Mandalorian armor to great effect, protecting himself from the Kyuubi's chakra attacks.

Kyuubi continued to be surprised as Naruto kept deflecting each beam that the Kyuubi repeatedly sent his way. It was becoming a great struggle for the Kyuubi as it saw its abilities continuously countered or bested.

"This isn't possible! How! How can I be bested by some worthless brat! You're nothing! You're just an insignificant spec compared to my glorious existence. Even weakened as I am you shouldn't be capable of even looking like you have a chance, much less actually winning against me!" the Kyuubi roared out angrily, unable to comprehend why it was losing.

"How arrogant of you! I have the Force on my side! What are you but some misbegotten mutation of the Force brought to life! You have the nerve to think you are more powerful than the Force, the very thing which holds the very fabric of our universe together! HAH! Maybe your hubris has finally caught up to you!" Naruto mocked.

Raising his hands up in a shrug Naruto also said "Then again, it could also be because you've challenged me in my mind! The place where I'm strongest! Where I am a virtual god! The only reason you've even had any power in here is because I've been curious to see what you can do with the power you have left to you. Guess that's been answered for me though."

"But you never knew how to control your mind before! How have you obtained such an ability?" Kyuubi sounded incredulous.

"Oh dear, seems your battle with the Force in my body kept you out of the loop for longer than I thought.? Perhaps the seal didn't degrade at that time? No matter. You see, when learning about the Force, controlling my own mind was one of the first lessons!" said Naruto.

With that, it seemed as though the walls had become some sort of morphing sludge as they formed into tendrils that held the Kyuubi in place. Naruto then raised his hands and the water level suddenly receded. Yet this was only the prelude to a massive wave of water that appeared behind Naruto, rushing forth at speeds that could easily break bones and crush bodies upon impact.

Upon reaching Naruto however, the water didn't even seem to actually touch him so much as just surround him. The Kyuubi held no such power or luck as the wave hit it full force, blasting it back, the tendrils disappearing as the wave hit. Being slammed into a wall, the Kyuubi made another huge crater in it as its bones were broken, skin and fur shaved off, and organs compressed.

The wave had just put the Kyuubi out of commission as of now. Naruto smirked and started to walk over to the downed Kyuubi.

"Alas you poor fool. You though that you could beat me in my own body. How foolish! And now, you lie on the ground beaten like a worthless dog! I can't believe I was ever afraid of you! I can't believe that it took my father summoning a god of death to beat you! You certainly haven't proven yourself worthy of that effort!" Naruto mocked the once great beast.

The sound of footsteps echoed across the vast hallways that made Naruto's mind as a pair of feet could be heard getting closer and closer. Naruto's eyes widened and he grabbed the arm that came out from behind him in an attempt to stab his back.

Taking said arm, Naruto threw it and by proxy the body it was attached to at a another wall and watched it slam painfully. A new shock when through Naruto's system when he saw the body. It was way too familiar to him. The spiky sun-kissed blonde hair, the whiskers on the cheeks, the orange jumpsuit, short height, kunai in hand, hell even the way the body moved just screamed out the identity of this newcomer to the battlefield. It was Naruto.

And yet, at the same time wasn't, for Naruto no longer wore an orange jumpsuit, he didn't have a height problem anymore, he wielded no kunai, and he most certainly didn't look like he was twelve anymore.

As the younger looking Naruto got up from his position, the elder one wondered just what the hell was going on.

"Who…who are you?" the elder Naruto said, his eyes widened, mouth hung somewhat ajar.

"Tsk, I'm you." the younger Naruto spoke as he stood fully. A smirk adorned his features as he looked at the older one.

The older one meanwhile looked at the Kyuubi and growled out "Kyuubi, what is this! What sort of mind trick have you done!"

The Kyuubi grinned and started chuckling "He he he he he hee, you fool. I haven't done anything. Why don't you take a closer look at your compatriot. Use that Force of yours you're so proud of. The answer is looking you in the face."

Naruto growled out and reached out to the Force, using it to sense what was around him. He gave a short gasp upon feeling the younger Naruto's energy's. He knew what energy the younger one used, and he also realized how the younger one came into being.

"So your just a chakra construct like the Kyuubi eh?" the older Naruto said. "I assume that you look the way you do because the last time I used chakra was around twelve, so whatever charka was left imprinted on that and you were formed. Though what is your purpose I'm not exactly sure of yet." he continued.

"I'm here to save you!" the younger Naruto called out, utterly baffling the elder. "I'm here to show you that you're on the wrong path, but that you can still turn back!"

"WHAT!" the elder was too stunned to get out anything else.

Pointing a finger at the elder, the younger said "You've got to stop! You can't be a Sith anymore! You're hurting too many people! Look at everyone you've killed! All those people back on our homeworld! You didn't have to kill them all! What did they all do to deserve death at your hands! You've become a monster! You go around saying you're bringing peace yet all I see is that you've killed anyone who's gotten in your way! YOU'RE A HYPOCRITE!"

Elder Naruto got furious as this false version of himself continued to speak as though it had any right to. So what if people had to die for his goals to move forward! Anyone who ever made a great change throughout the course of history had to step over a few bodies somewhere at some point, and those who claimed they didn't just happened to have a few more skeletons in the closet. Besides, hadn't he brought prosperity to the Empire he had made? Hadn't he uplifted a people who were choking on their own despair? So what if he had killed people in order to do so. Wasn't as if most of them didn't deserve it anyways.

"I don't know where you get off trying to lecture me, but I damn well know that I don't have to justify myself to myself! That's just fucking ridiculous! Now I'd suggest that you shut your trap and fade away like the remnant of the past you are!" the elder Naruto said.

"No! I believed in everyone, in Konoha, in the Will of Fire! You may have forgotten them but I never will! I'll never back down! I'll never give up! THAT'S MY NINDO, MY NINJA WAY!" the younger yelled out the last part before throwing several shuriken that he had quickly pulled out.

The elder sneered at that utterly stupid phrase he had come up with by listening to that weirdo Hinata when she had her fight with Neji. Waving his hand, elder Naruto stopped the shuriken in midair and caused them to drop to the ground. Now, having to avoid attacks from his younger self, older Naruto watched with shame at the sloppy form that his younger self possessed. The attacks were simple punches and kicks that left a lot of openings to be exploited, the stance was quite unstable and could easily be tripped, there was very little speed in the attacks, and most moves were direct and easy to block. On the off chance that there was a sudden switch in movement, then the younger was simply too slow to actually make it effective. No wonder Sasuke had such an easy time dominating him in taijutsu.

Of course, what the younger Naruto lacked in actual taijutsu skill he more than made up for in other areas. Ninjutsu to be specific. If there was one technique that older Naruto knew was going to be a nuisance it was Kage Bunshin. And by gods was it a nuisance.

Multiple versions of his younger self soon began converging on his position, forcing him to actually use his own combat techniques in order to combat the sheer number that were now assailing him.

Grabbing the outstretched hand of one clone, Naruto threw it to one of the many brothers it possessed, watching it burst with smoke as it disappeared along with the brother it had hit. While that happened he also back kicked another clone hard in the stomach causing it to dispel with another burst of smoke. Naruto punched two other clones that rushed at him, and when he felt one jump on his back he turned around and let it act as a shield for the oncoming wave of kunai that several other clones had launched.

As that clone disappeared, Naruto pushed his hand out and did a large Force Push, shoving many younger Naruto clones back harshly. Such was the force of the attack that some found bones broken, lungs crushed, bodies collapsed, or limbs pushed back at awkward angles. Regardless all were injuries that were sufficient enough to dispel the clones caught in the attack; and dispel they did, creating a large wall of smoke that heavily impaired vision.

This proved to be a problem for the younger Naruto, who was unable to discern anything within the smoke, but not for the elder, who had the Force to sense them all. Pulling in more Kage Bunshin, the elder did heavy chops to their necks, breaking some in a few cases, causing them to dispel and continue the smoke field.

The younger, seeing that his support was getting whittled away to nothing looked to two clones who nodded in affirmation, somehow already knowing what their creator was thinking of. Transforming into two large windmill shuriken, Naruto threw them at his elder. With the smoke still covering everything from view, the younger really only threw in a general direction, but as he had hoped, the elder had caught them regardless.

Feeling a large wind come and blow the smoke away, the younger Naruto saw that the elder was definitely holding the two windmill shuriken.

"And just what did you hope to accomplish by that? Your chances of hitting me were next to nothing with all the smoke, hell if I hadn't decided to catch them, these shuriken would have just flown off into the distance never doing anything useful…or would they?" the elder said.

The younger's eyes widened as he feared that his plan may have already been discovered. His fears were proven true with the next sentence "You think I wouldn't realize that you would have transformed two Kage Bunshin into shuriken that would have immediately transformed back to go for a surprise attack? Come on! We have the same memories. You think I would forget how I did the exact same thing to Zabuza? Hah!"

Suddenly, the younger Naruto gave a smirk and at the same moment, both of the clones exploded, covering the older Naruto in large balls of fire. The younger was quite pleased with himself. Instead of using the exact same trick done with Zabuza, he had instead attached explosive notes to each of the clones, hoping that the elder would catch them in order to counter the first trick.

And now it had worked beautifully.

"Hahahahahah! You should have seen your face! Hell, I wish I could! You were all like 'oh look at me, I'm so great, I know everything, look at me gloat at your failure!', well whose gloating now!" younger Naruto proceeded to laugh himself hoarse.

As the smoke cleared, and the younger was able to get a better view on his opponent's body, what he saw shook him to the core. The elder was still standing, completely normal, as though he hadn't even been scratched by the explosion. The armor held not a single scorch mark, the cloak was just fine, and; if the younger one could have seen his face, he would have seen the completely bored look that was on the elder's face.

"But…but I don't understand! How can you be alright! I made those explosions as powerful as I could. This is my mind! I willed them to blow through your armor, so why didn't they!?" the younger asked enraged.

"Well, this is my explanation on what I think is going on, but it could be possible that since we are both 2 versions of the same person that the power we wield while in our mind is nullified. You imagined that the explosions broke through my armor, I imagined that they didn't. Therefore, since we both had two completely opposing thoughts, the powers simply didn't work, and instead our mind as a whole imagined it based on the real world, and in the real world, such an explosion would never have had the chance of busting through my Mandalorian Iron armor." older Naruto gave his first explanation.

"Now bear with me, that is just one explanation. The other explanation is…" and here the elder took a pause, followed with a deep breath, building dramatic tension in the younger as he wanted to know what else it could be, "…you just suck." the elder deadpanned.

Cue a face fault from the younger as the utter bluntness and simplicity of the statement got to him.

"Yes, sad though it is, the second is probably truer. I mean, in case you've forgotten, you're my 12 year old self. I sucked at 12! Sure I managed to pull a few impressive victories, but I think my enemies never started taking me seriously until it was too late. I mean, look at our fight with Kabuto. Man that guy was an ass." the last part the elder muttered to himself.

"But now, I think it's time that I ended this farce of a fight!" older Naruto suddenly yelled out, startling the younger. He then raised his hand in a choking motion, and the younger started to rise, an invisible force now constricting on his windpipe.

His mouth wide open in an attempt to breath in air, the younger Naruto was only able to make a few gasping noises to show the situation he was in. That situation was then made a whole lot worse when the elder decided to begin slamming him against the walls. Painful cracks could be heard as the younger was forcefully crashed into the very thick walls, blood starting to leak out of wounds appearing from impact points.

Bones were broken, organs were damaged, bruises, cuts, and many other injuries were formed as the elder continued his unrelenting assault on the younger.

Throwing him next to the downed Kyuubi, the elder Naruto looked at the beaten form of his younger self. Clothes were ripped, torn, and bloody all over; bruises were visible on the face, arms, and legs; blood was leaking out of cuts caused by tears against shrapnel and the like when the wall slamming was occurring. There were also some areas where bits of bone seemed to be sticking out, further signifying the fact that the younger Naruto had been horribly brutalized.

Wheezing from exhaustion and being strangled, the younger Naruto struggled to get up, gritting his teeth in effort. He tried to push himself up with one of his good arms, but unfortunately lacked the strength to do so. Looking over at the Kyuubi, who was stirring from its own defeat, the younger Naruto suddenly got an idea.

"H-Hey, Kyuubi, I-I know we haven't always s-seen eye to eye, but if we team up now, we can beat him! I know we're both going to lose if we don't do something quick, and neither one of us has beaten him alone. But together we can win!" the younger Naruto managed to get out, panting afterwards from his desperate need for air.

The Kyuubi actually seemed to be contemplating the idea. It knew that from its previous battle, fighting the older Naruto wasn't going to be easy, and winning was starting to prove far more difficult than 'anticipated'. Still, allying with the younger wasn't exactly that much better considering how the Kyuubi loathed both of them. Yet, as it pondered the choices, a new one made itself known to its thoughts.

The Kyuubi gave a grin towards the younger Naruto, which looked absolutely terrifying considering the Kyuubi's facial structure, and just as the younger Naruto thought he had gotten an ally for his fight, the Kyuubi shot out its tongue, wrapping it around the boy and bringing him towards its mouth.

Chomping down on the foolish boy, the Kyuubi let out a vicious roar as it felt its chakra levels begin to rise. Waves of power began to emulate from the beast as it could feel is power rise. The Kyuubi was quite surprised at how much energy that the boy must have had left in order for it to gain such power. And boy, did it feel invigorating. Soon enough, the Kyuubi could even begin to feel itself grow another tail back! Such was the power, a whole tail's worth was within that boy! Maybe had Naruto been allowed to truly grow as a ninja he would have been one of the best, but now, his despicable older self had gone on to become a user of that accursed Force.

Naruto meanwhile, looked on with widened eyes at what the Kyuubi had done. While he had obviously expected some form of betrayal from the Kyuubi towards his younger self, he hadn't expected it to come in such a…rather disturbing form. He could only imagine what getting eaten must have felt like. Oh wait! He actually knew what that was like if his time in the Chunin Exams was anything to go by.

Naruto gave a shiver of disgust as he remembered that experience, which he wasn't allowed to dwell on for long as he saw the Kyuubi charging up its attack.

Firing off a Bijudama of very large proportions, the Kyuubi was actually pushed back by the beam. Naruto however smirked and raised his armored hand up, intending to block the beam with it.

When the attack hit, the Mandalorian Iron did its job, protecting Naruto from the demon's attack. Naruto yawned, using his other hand to cover his mouth even though he wore a mask. Yet all the Kyuubi did was smirk.

Seconds later, Naruto realized why. He was being pushed back!. The attack was actually strong enough to push him back! And now, it was much too late to dodge as by catching the beam he was now unable to move. All he could do now was just try to push back against the attack. Yet, that proved harder than anticipated, as now even with Naruto calling on the Force, the Bijudama was proving stronger.

Eventually, Naruto crashed back into a wall where the Bijudama exploded with massive force, destroying everything within a mile radius.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WHAT AN ARROGANT BRAT! THINKING HE COULD BEAT ME. HE'S 5,000 YEARS TOO YOUNG FOR THAT! Now, I think it's time I start taking over this body!" the Kyuubi gloated over its apparent victory. Keyword, apparent.

Naruto crawled out of the rubble that used to be a wall and picked himself up. He wasn't worse for wear from the attack, a few singe marks on his armor being the main damage, such was the durability of his armor.

"Alright. Enough is enough! I'm done playing around with you! It's time I made you disappear into the past where you belong!" Naruto said, pissed.

Drawing out his lightsabers, Naruto ignited them both, their red and blue glows each illuminating a side of his face.

Racing forward, Naruto let out a battle cry as he sought to end the Kyuubi once and for all. The Kyuubi, not about to let Naruto get close with those weapons on him, began firing multiple miniature Bijudamas at Naruto. What they lacked in power they more than made up for in speed. Or rather, that would have been the case, had Naruto not held weapons capable of deflecting such attacks.

Charging Force Energy through his lightsabers, Naruto deflected the beams right back at the Kyuubi, who was forced to dodge them by jumping off to the sides to avoid them. Of course, the Kyuubi counter attacked with more beams; firing off many, many more than what even Naruto could hope to deflect back, forcing him to instead spin his lightsabers around in a continuous circle in order to shield himself.

Still charging forward, Naruto increased his speed in order to keep moving through the onslaught of beams. It was only thanks to a warning in the Force that Naruto managed to avoid the tail that came to impale him.

Jumping back, Naruto threw his blue lightsaber into the appendage, eliciting a roar of pain from the Kyuubi as it felt the laser sword burn into its tail.

Determined to make the boy pay, the Kyuubi sent forth its other tails to try and get the boy, but Naruto was quite capable of dodging them, and it seemed as if the Kyuubi hadn't learned from its previous mistake, and Naruto set forth to make sure the Kyuubi understood why this would cost it greatly.

Taking his red lightsaber, Naruto sliced through the tails coming his way, causing the Kyuubi to howl with greater pain, as this time its body parts were sliced clean off. Unfortunately, one of the Kyuubi's tails had gotten around Naruto and now struck at him from behind. Naruto only had enough time to turn around and bring his lightsaber up in front of him before the tail struck.

Yet, the lightsaber proved its worth once again as the tail was cut in half when it crashed into it. Another roar of pain accompanied this as the Kyuubi felt its tail get destroyed.

Finally, Naruto threw one of his lightsabers at the Kyuubi's mouth. It struck the bottom and came through the roof of its mouth, lodging itself in there and melting the inside of the Kyuubi's mouth. Pained yowls came out from the Kyuubi as it suffered another horrible injury. But Naruto wasn't done yet.

Slowly, he began charging up Force Energy in his hands, causing them to glow a dark blue with the power coursing through them. Then, he raised them up, and from the tips of his fingers came a massive amount of all powerful Force Lightning.

The dark blue colored lightning sounded like thunder as it was blasted out towards the Kyuubi at full force. The Kyuubi was actually pushed back by it; such was Naruto's power. The skeleton of the Kyuubi could be seen as the lightning coursed through its body.

Pure agony was all the Kyuubi could feel now. If it hadn't already used up its voice in screaming itself out, it would have been heard for miles likely. Smoke was starting to rise from its body as the powerful lightning coursed itself through. Small fires even started in places where the fur was especially singed.

Damage was being done internally as well as blood vessels popped, clots formed, bones were cracked and burnt, and organs were inflamed. While the Kyuubi may have been a chakra construct, it was one that simulated real blood and flesh to as close to a degree as possible.

Unable to stand from the assault, the Kyuubi went down once again. There was one major difference this time; it wouldn't be getting back up.

Once Naruto had ended his assault, the Kyuubi was a shallow shell of its former self. Horribly injured from the lightning, burns all over its form, some fires even going on, the Kyuubi was now just a dilapidated fox.

Narrowing his eyes at the downed form of the fox, Naruto stared, his mind going through many different thoughts as he looked at the beast that had been a childhood terror for hundreds if not thousands.

"Kyuubi" Naruto started "once you were all powerful. Once, you were a being whose strength knew no limits. Once, you were something that was unfathomable to me. Once, I was afraid of you.", here Naruto took a deep breath before continuing "You were something that I couldn't even begin to understand. Your power, your form, your feelings, they all reeked of evil, of malice, of a rage that I couldn't even begin to understand. And you scared me. I may have put on a brave front when we would speak to each other, but it was an act. I thought myself 'Gods, what can I possibly do against this thing if it ever breaks free?', 'How can I actually contain this thing?', 'How…how will I ever be able to stand up to it?', 'And why was I chosen to contain it?'. I thought of all these things and more. You were simply too much. When it came to you, fear, and hate were all that I had for you. After all, you were the beast that attacked my home village. You're the reason that everyone hates me. At least…a part of it. The inability of the villagers to try and understand me played a role, but so did you. My parents are also to blame, they put you in me after all. But now…now my childhood is long since over. And I have since gained a power that you can't even begin to compare to. The Force. With that, I'm nigh invincible. I can still be beaten, but that won't be happening anytime soon. And you, you're a shadow of your former self. Now, you couldn't even beat me at my weakest. You aren't the most powerful Biju out there anymore. You barely even qualify as a Biju now. All you are is a reminder of the past. So, disappear, and stay in the past, where you belong!"

Darth Xion swung one of his lightsabers up, and slashed it through the Kyuubi's head, ending the once great beast. All the while, a hateful red slit eye glared right back at him.

A Week Later

Thrace (1) sighed as he watched the patients in the medical ward, their chest rising and falling as they breathed. Blowing some of his blue hair out of his face, Thrace figured that he'd need a haircut soon.

As for their patients, they were relatively new guests that had been rescued off of the burning wreck of a planet that was once Ibonihs. The remnants of the United Liberation Forces Fleet had found shelter around one of the moons of a gas giant in the same star system as Ibonihs. It had been the place that their hyperspace jump had taken them too. One that they were all grateful for, as they could have just as easy appeared inside a planet, too close to a star, crashed into another ship, or any other host of possibilities that came about when making an uncoordinated hyperspace jump.

When the Imperial Fleet had appeared over the habitable planet in the system, everyone in the remnant fleet had instantly felt their hearts constrict within their chests, certain that their doom had come.

When the Imperial Fleet hadn't so much as even launched a scouting ship out, they felt their hearts ease up a little. Only for crushing horror to fill it up once they saw how the Imperial Fleet just bombarded the planet below them. It took them only a few hours to turn much of the habitable areas into molten slag.

Wondering why the Imperials would even want to do such a thing, and hoping to rescue any survivors on the planet, the United Liberation Forces had set out once the Imperial Fleet was gone. They hadn't found much in the way of an answer as to why the Imperials would do such a thing. Weapons testing was a suggestion, but after some deliberation, it was decided that wasn't the answer, as the Imperials would have likely tested the destructive capacity of their weapons long before ever sending them into battle with the United Liberation Forces once large fleet.

They did thankfully manage to find survivors.

One was a black haired young man who was quite handsome with a hairstyle that reminded Thrace of the rear end of waterfowl for some odd reason. A pink haired lady, a dark blue haired lady, a platinum blonde haired lady, a lady with her brown hair tied in two buns, a man with somewhat feral appearance, a man with a disturbing amount of holes in his body that they sealed up, a pineapple haired man, a rather large brown haired man, a man with a bowl haircut, a man with rather feminine hair, another man with raven black hair in a ponytail, a blond haired guy with mouths on his hands and chest; very disturbing for Thrace; a blonde haired woman with the biggest rack Thrace had ever seen, a man with long white hair, a man with dark rings around his eyes and red hair, and various others had all been rescued when they had searched the planet.

Those who did survive had injuries varying from severe to critical. Most that they found, they were unable to do anything for, such was their condition.

Others had been screaming out loud, whether from pain or horror at their situation, none could tell. Perhaps a combination of both.

All around, there was devastation. Massive craters dotted the landscape, fires burnt brightly all over, the air was chock full of ash, the sky was darkened, molten rock flowed endlessly, burnt out life forms could be seen for miles around. It truly did look like the apocalypse had arrived.

And it made absolutely no sense to Thrace. Why…why would the Imperials do something like this?

'Who am I kidding! Why wouldn't they do something like this! The Imperials… they've proven countless times that all they are is a force of destruction!' Thrace thought in sorrow for all those that had been lost to the Sith Empire since its formation.

All this latest action did was further solidify the fact that the Sith Empire had to be taken down. Before it grew too large. Though the latter part appeared to have already happened as far as Thrace and his group were concerned.

Still, Thrace was glad that at least they'd managed to rescue some people from the horrific atrocity that the Imperials committed.

It may not have saved their world, but at least it let a memory of it survive.

Suddenly, Thrace's eyes widened as he saw one of the patients begin to get up.

A pounding headache greeted Sasuke Uchiha as he tried to open his eyes. His whole body seemed to be in pain, and every time he shifted or turned, it felt as though a thousand pins and needles were punched though his entire body. An experience he had already had enough of thanks to his fight with Haku all those years ago.

He then heard a hissing sound as a door slid open, revealing a blue haired man walking through it.

"Oh good, you're awake. The medics were sure that it would be taking you days or weeks even before you'd be up!" Thrace said relieved.

"W-Who are you?" Sasuke said weakly.

Smiling in what he hoped was a friendly manner, Thrace said "My name is Thrace. If you're wondering where you are, you're onboard our ship the Sarthowa. We rescued you from remnants of your homeworld. I'm…I'm sorry for what happened to it."

Sasuke took special note of the words being used. 'Remnants…homeworld, what the hell? What is he talking about?'

Seeing the confusion on Sasuke's face, Thrace decided that it would be best to show Sasuke to help him understand better.

Getting Sasuke to agree to follow him, Thrace had him lean on his shoulder when Sasuke still proved too weak to be able to walk on his own effectively.

Guiding him to one of the viewports on the ship, he let Sasuke take in the sheer emotion that one receives when realizing that they are in outer space for the first time.

Sasuke for his part, fell down to his knees in shock. Outside of the window's, rather than seawater which he somewhat expected to see, regardless of the wording Thrace had used, had instead been greeted with the sight of the backdrop of outer space and a planet that still burned. And now, it was as clear as though he been hit with a kunai, what Thrace's words meant.

Just as he came to this realization, he was assaulted with his final moments on his world.

Flashback

Sasuke looked solemnly at his current state of affairs. He did live in what could be considered the lap of luxury right now, but in honesty, Sasuke saw it for what is was, a prison. The seals all over his body designed to prevent his escape ensured that. There were now also dozens of seals all over the Uchiha District, all designed to counter anything he might do to desert Konoha.

After Naruto had brought him back from their fight at Valley of the End, it wasn't all peaches and cream for Sasuke, even though the blatant favoritism the Council showed towards him might suggest otherwise. Indeed, while Naruto had suffered for his 'outrageous' actions and 'brutality' towards the Uchiha, Sasuke had not escaped punishment. The Council, afraid that Sasuke may try to leave the village again, and not too trusting of him anymore, decided he might best be put to use as a breeding factory.

They would simply have him impregnate as many women as possible in order to build back the Uchiha Clan. Rather than the proud clan that they once were, these new Uchiha would then be indoctrinated into complete and absolute loyalty towards the Council. As far as the rest of Konoha, the Council didn't care.

It was a tragic fate for the once proud and noble clan, and for Sasuke there was no bigger humiliation.

From a shinobi obsessed over revenge, he'd gone down and had been made into a slave in such a way that could compete on a level with Orochimaru's Body Transfer Kinjutsu. And it nearly broke him.

Sure, in body he was as strong as he could ever be, what with the extreme levels of training and the many teachers he was given in order to make him as strong as possible, but it was all for naught. Mentally, he knew that all the power he now had was worthless since he couldn't even do anything with it. All he could do was just obey the orders that the Council gave.

Now, one would think that Tsunade would have done something about them by now, especially after they got rid of Naruto, but due to them taking over much of the trading within the village and their vast influence over the more powerful clan born shinobi, they had taken away a huge chunk of Tsunade's power and had forced her on a level below them.

For public reasons she was still the leader of Konoha, but it was the Council now that held real power. And with their holding hostage of various people that Tsunade cared for, they now effectively owned her. She was unable to rescue anyone herself as there were just too many eyes on her and she couldn't send anyone else as she didn't know who to trust.

And so, with the near unlimited power they had, they did whatever they wanted to Sasuke.

In the time since Sasuke had been made a slave, he had come to regret several of his actions, and not just because he had been made a slave over them. He genuinely regretted his actions over the pain it had caused those he used to call comrades.

And most of all, he regretted how Naruto had been banished thanks to him. He remembered how Sakura had visited his hospital room, ecstatic when she had told him of Naruto's banishment. Sasuke had been floored to hear that. When he'd left the village, he had never meant it to hurt anyone. It was so that he could finally gain the power to kill Itachi. It was his decision, it was supposed to have been about him! No one else was supposed to have been involved! Why else would he have left in the middle of the night! And now, to hear that someone else had been punished so severely thanks to him essentially… well it wasn't pleasant to say the least.

And as for Sakura, she had just droned on and on about how that demon had finally gotten what it had deserved and how she was glad that it wasn't here anymore to taint the love that was between them.

Sasuke had been slowly backing away from Sakura as she had spouted this off. He was thoroughly convinced this girl had mental issues and he needed to get away from her before something horrible happened to him.

Yet just as he was about to leave his hospital room, a great amount of pain flared all around him and Sasuke screamed out loud as he dropped to the floor.

Twitching on the floor due to the pain, Sasuke was taking deep labored breaths as he tried to gain some measure of control on himself.

He also managed to note despite his pain that another pair of feet had entered the room, and the accompanying voice made him cry tears of sorrow…internally.

"Oh, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. That was very naughty Sasuke-kun! We can't have you running away again! If you don't stop, I'm afraid we'll have to punish you again!" Ino said.

'Punish me again! So she caused that pain the first time? But how!' Sasuke thought to himself.

When he looked at his arms however, he found his answer, his arms were covered in seals; all of which still had a faint glow to them.

"Wh-What the hell!" Sasuke yelled.

"Oh Sasuke-kun! The Council was so worried about you! They cared about you so much that they didn't want you leaving us again, so they made a bunch of seals and placed them on you, making it so you could never leave Konoha again! Isn't this great! Now you can stay here forever!" Sakura said, her voice becoming unhinged at the end, and wearing what Sasuke would have said was the smile of a serial killer. Seriously, how had she passed the psyche evaluation was a mystery to him…oh yeah, they didn't have those. Damn it, they needed to get those!

"Saaaaaasssssssuke-kun! You also have to remember, you have a clan to revive! And the Council wants you to have many wives to do it with! And I get to be your first!" Ino said excitedly, the same deranged look on her face to.

"Ino-pig! I'm supposed to be his wife too!" Sakura said, furious that Ino was trying to steal her man.

"Yeah, like a billboard brow like you could ever really satisfy a shinobi of Sasuke-kun's caliber. Don't kid yourself! You're a failure and you'll always be!" Ino said back.

Pretty soon, the two girls were in a catfight with each other while Sasuke used his chance to run the hell away from the two deranged women.

Later, ANBU would gather him up and inform him of his new situation as what was basically a slave.

And thus, he was now just breeding stock for the rebirthing of the Uchiha Clan.

He wouldn't immediately be pushed into making children however. As he was still only 12 when he had been made into a slave, it was decided that they would wait until he was of the appropriate age. They'd decided that that age would be when he was 21.

And thus, now that he had reached that age, it would soon be time for him to begin the impregnation process. And despite him getting to have sex with many various girls, Sasuke could say for certainty that he would not be enjoying it. He didn't know, or want any of these women to be the mother of his child. And he especially didn't want to see the Uchiha Clan brought back only to be slaves.

It would only bring him further pain to see what he knew was going to become of his clan, and yet he could do nothing. He knew zilch about sealing, and his captors had made damn well sure that he couldn't get his hands on such knowledge.

And now, he just waited. He waited for the inevitable. Already he could hear the various women on the other side of the room he was in talking excitedly about finally getting to bear his children. When he looked into their eyes, Sasuke knew he was going to see nothing but the rampant fangirlism that had driven them all to madness.

Not even the freakish amount of shaking, crumbling house, and panicked cries of all the girls in the next room over could brought him any comfort.

…Wait…what?

Sasuke looked around startled, for indeed everything was coming down around him.

He didn't even have enough time to dodge as his roof collapsed on top of him.

Flashback End

As Sasuke came out of his flashback, he realized that he was breathing heavily and that sweat was running down his face…from his eyes. It was sweat damn it! Uchiha men don't cry!

Taking his time to gather himself, Sasuke slowly pushed himself back onto his feet.

Thrace meanwhile looked on in sympathy for Sasuke. He couldn't even begin to imagine what he was going through, but he figured that such would be the impact of having your homeworld destroyed.

About to place his hand on Sasuke's shoulder in a manner of reassurance, Thrace thought about it and reconsidered. He didn't know this man and it may be taken as more of a pitying gesture rather than one of understanding. After all, while Thrace's homeworld and the new Imperial Capital Coranda may not have been destroyed, he bet it was being changed in such a way that he wouldn't even be able to call it home anymore. So in a way, he had lost his homeworld too, but he felt that considering Sasuke's had been put to the torch, trying to empathize may only backfire.

"So, what happens now?" Sasuke said in a somewhat hollow voice, the recent memories and knowledge having taken a ton out of him.

"Now we wait for the other survivors to wake up, explain the situation to them, and tell you who destroyed your homeworld. And then, we work together, and make the monster who did this pay." Thrace said, determination coursing through out him. He knew now more than ever that taking down Xion was a righteous cause.

"Interesting." Xion said as he looked over the AAR's (2) in front of him.

These AAR's were part of a cache of Forbidden Knowledge that the Sethelonian Royalty had locked up under such tight encryption keys within the Royal Vaults that even with all the best hackers hacking away at the terminals, it still had taken them months to unlock the data.

And he could see why they had hidden away this knowledge.

These AAR's talked of events that had happened around four thousand years ago during the beginning of the Sethelonian Kingdom when had decided on a campaign of conquest of the southern regions beyond their borders of the northern west galaxy several decades after their formation.

Sadly for the Sethelonians, this campaign ended in a complete and utter disaster. It was easily one of the largest crises of the Kingdom ever, and it seemed to have led to civil wars that racked the Sethelonian Kingdom for 200 years.

Half of the total military strength of the Sethelonian Kingdom had been called forth for this conquest. Initially they had actually done very well, as the AAR's recorded of how the early months saw the rapid takeover of dozens of planets and the introduction of new alien species. It didn't last however, as 8 months into the campaign was when the disaster struck.

They met an alien species known as the Caracon (3), and the reports indicated that they had used powerful 'magics' against the Sethelonian forces. This meant that the Caracon were Force users, and very powerful ones at that if they were capable of crushing half of the total Sethelonian Kingdom's forces.

This was a huge problem.

But it was also an opportunity.

Contact between the two sides after that event had trickled to a bare minimum for a few centuries and then ceased altogether.

Thanks to this total lack of communication Xion was hoping that feelings between the two would have softened up over the millennia; and if he was lucky enough forgotten altogether.

Looking at the planets where the Sethelonian forces recorded their fights with the Caracon, Xion noted that initially, the Sethelonians were winning at first, even with the Caracon using their Force powers.

He also noted however that those victories for the Sethelonians never amounted to much. They never dealt any crushing blows, took a world that was invaluable, or gained any additional intelligence beyond what they witnessed on the battlefield about their enemy.

For all the planets they took, the Sethelonians Xion noted got drawn deeper and deeper into Caracon territory. And it seemed that their supply lines started reaching a breaking point. However it seemed that the Sethelonians actually came close to achieving a massive victory when they assaulted the Caracon's home planet.

The Caracon had made a blunder by spreading their forces too thin in order to constantly fool the Sethelonians into constantly attacking unimportant targets and further spreading their lines and forces.

Thanks to a lucky break by some surveillance teams listening in to Caracon communications they discovered the location of their homeworld. Immediately Sethelonian forces mustered up for the massive assault that they were sure would break the Caracon spirit.

Alarmed by this development once the Caracon heard of it, they immediately started sending the entirety of their forces to defend their homeworld.

With the Sethelonian and Caracon forces gathering up their full strengths for one battle, the fight for the Caracon homeworld would decide who would win.

And at that final battle, a massive and crushing defeat occurred for the entire Sethelonian military there. With the near entirety of the attacking forces crushed, the Sethelonian Kingdom withdrew all military forces from their newly conquered worlds and abandoned them completely.

The records from survivors of the final battle said that there had been a massive storm which had overtaken the space surrounding the Caracon homeworld that had proceeded to destroy everything in sight.

The storm left the world and the Caracon fleet untouched, but the Sethelonians were nearly wiped out to the last.

After that, the rest was history…or Forbidden Knowledge at any rate.

Xion had taken to comparing the map records of the campaign with the maps that Revan had made of the Unknown Regions.

Revan's maps were much more detailed and held a larger area of the Unknown Regions mapped out, larger than even Xion expected. The near entirety of the northern galaxy save for a few of its most eastern parts had been mapped out by Revan.

'He certainly was busy.' Xion thought about Revan and the time he spent exploring the Unknown Regions after leaving the Republic.

Once he had compared the two maps together, Xion felt as though he had an appropriate location for the Caracon homeworld.

And now, time for a little trip.

Location: Xiamolokalania- Caracon Homeworld

Xion looked at the…extraordinarily difficult to pronounce homeworld of the Caracon.

On board the Annhilator-Class Star Destroyer Exterminatus, Xion could see that the planet looked to be a combination of various greens and blues which mixed artistically well together, with the white colored clouds occasionally blocking off the planet below. The planet was also much more massive than any other Xion had seen. It easily looked to be three times bigger than Coranda! And, Xion suspected that the gravity was also going to be much larger too.

When the Star Destroyer had entered the planet's star system from hyperspace, it had immediately been set upon by a fleet of much smaller ships.

It was only thanks to Xion immediately ordering his bridge crew to send out a signal broadcasting his intent for peaceful negotiations and himself openly exposing his own peaceful intentions through the Force that prevented them from being fired upon immediately. From what Xion could tell from the many warships which orbited Xiamolokalania in various fleet formations and the general feeling of unease, fear, and other high strung emotions he sensed from the planet below, the Caracon seemed to be in a state of conflict right now.

Suddenly, the vidscreen activated as the bridge crew patched in a message that was being transmitted from one of the Caracon's ships.

The image that greeted them was that of an alien with a face that was a cross between humanoid and reptilian. It certainly had the face shape of a humanoid, but that face was covered in scales of a blue color with two small horns atop its forehead, with darker blue hair, and finally yellow slit eyes.

The being looked male, and the voice confirmed it "Unknown vessel. Note that you are in a region that is forbidden to outsiders. You bring forth a message of peace, and your thoughts on it seem genuine, which is why we have not attacked, but even so, we can't just simply let you enter this system. Not until were are absolutely positive of your purpose here."

Xion smirked, Revan's mask resting on the armrest next to him allowing for the Caracon to see his face fully, and then reached out with the Force and spoke into the Caracon's mind directly 'Trust me when I say that I am no threat to you at all in the conventional sense. Attacking you would serve me no purpose. I simply wish to ally with you, and if the surrounding atmosphere is any clue, you need some allies.'

The Caracon's eyes widened in surprise as he heard Xion's voice in his head.

'You are strong in the Force. I had thought that our previous ability to sense your emotions was because you were so open with them, but now I see that that is not the case. You were merely broadcasting them.' the Caracon thought back.

"Correct." Xion spoke with his voice, confusing his crew as they were unaware of the mental conversation.

The Caracon on the screen narrowed his eyes and said "I hope you realize that now we can't let you leave, correct?"

"Of course." Xion nodded as the rest of his men tensed up.

"Until we have truly determined your reasons for coming here, you will remain our prisoners." the Caracon on the vidscreen said.

"Well then, please feel free to board my ship and investigate yourself if you must. I offer no resistance. After all, I want this over with as quickly as possible." Xion said.

"We will see." the Caracon said.

After a thorough check by the Caracon boarding party through the minds off all, even though Darth Xion, though they noticeably had great troubles with him, they ascertained that the newcomers posed no threat.

Or at least, no threat that they had any chance of finding.

They had been given suits and told to put them on over their outfits. The suits were a silvery gray and were rather big and bulky. The soldiers had been rather reluctant to put them on, but had done so anyways, with a lot of complaints. Even Xion had been hesitant to wear them at first, mostly due to their discomfort, but had eventually put them on; after which Xion walked over to a transport along with his small contingent of Sith Troopers.

The transport lifted up and blasted out of the ventral hanger bay, heading down towards the planet below. The Caracon had given specific instructions for where their transport was supposed to land.

As they entered the atmosphere the sky changed from the pitch black of space to the blue of the ozone, passed down white clouds, and finally soared over the planet itself.

It was a stunning sight to see, especially the capital. The soldiers looked out of their view port over at the vast, lush, and vibrant jungle that surrounded the place. The capital itself was a massive city that seemed to overflow with energy.

Strong walls surrounded it, with many strong and heavily armed sentries standing guard, and the city itself was filled with buildings that were of an architecture that seemed to emphasize a mixture of technology and nature with at times, cold hard stone and metal structures rising out of the ground, yet natural plant growths such as trees, flowers, and the like all seemed to grow from them, one slowly fading into the other.

The transport flew over to the center of the city where three massive ziggurats rested atop a large square base that rose up hundreds of feet allowing the ziggurats to tower over the rest of the city. On each ziggurat, four pillars, one on each side, rose up from their bodies. On top of these ziggurats, the left ones peak glowed with a whitish glow, while the right one held a dark glow, and the middle one's peak glowed with a symphony of lights.

"My god, that thing is large enough to rival the Imperial Citadel!" one of the troopers exclaimed upon seeing the place.

As the transport landed in a hangar bay of the area, several armed figures were already approaching it.

Once Xion had walked out along with several accompanying troopers, one of the greeting party members, female Xion noted, spoke to them "This is the Albakno La Monolakokawan (4) one of the most secure and holiest places on the entire planet. I trust you realize what will happen to you should you cause trouble here?"

"Of course. Now, shall you be leading the way, or will you just tell me where to go?" Xion said, pleasant voice, aura, and all, causing the female blush at her own rather blunt greeting.

"N-No, we will guide you to a meeting hall." the female said and turned around, leading Xion and his group inside the center ziggurat and eventually into a very nice looking room with a fountain in the center of it and various soft chairs and couches. While they were traveling there however, Xion noticed something that was very surprising. Along the walls, there were many pictures depicting scenes of a man in robes teaching what looked to be a large group of Caracon. Xion noted that the scenes of familiar powers being used indicated that this man was teaching them the Force. What truly struck Xion was the man's face. It was Revan's face! He'd recognize it anywhere. The man who had given him the power needed to make the galaxy a better place. The man who had taken in and sheltered him when his own people betrayed and abandoned him. Even if it had only been a mere memory of the man, Naruto had forged a great bond with him, and it had hurt him to have to destroy his holocron.

So when he saw images of Revan on what were obviously very important images that were held in what seemed to be the Caracon's governmental HQ you bet he was surprised; though he hid it well enough. Admittedly this was made easier by the fact he was still in a suit that covered up most of his body.

Eventually, another Caracon, followed by a guard of two came into the meeting room and sat across from Xion.

This one possessed scales colored a deep black, and fiery red long hair, and what Xion noticed on all of the species, wings that were folded on the back to look like a cape, and a tail, with this one also having red fur on it as well. It had a far more human look to it than some of its kind, and it possessed a powerful aura and a handsome look about itself. This being also wore robes and armor similar to that worn by what Xion recognized as Dark Jedi from his lessons with Revan. In fact, a lot of similarities were found with what few Caracon Xion had seen and the Jedi culture as far as clothing went.

Hell, he even saw lightsaber hilts on the belts of some!

And this black Caracon seemed to carry six regular lightsaber hilts, another one twice as long meaning a double-bladed lightsaber, one only slightly longer than the others, and one that was rectangular in shape rather than the typical cylindrical style.

"So, you are the powerful Force user that I have been warned about. Well, you said you had peaceful intentions, so mind telling me what those are?" he said in what Xion noted, was a rather young voice.

"Yes, I've come for the purpose of an alliance. I've sensed that nearly your entire species is strong in the Force, and if I'm not mistaken, then I think our two civilizations might be…brothers of a sorts." Xion said.

"Oh?" the Caracon raised one eyebrow in question.

"Yes, you see, I feel that both of us share a rather deep connection with Revan." said Xion.

"The Great Teacher? By the Force, how would we share a connection over him! He came to us some 4,000 years ago! Even if he also came to your people, I have doubts that with so much time and so little interaction that is a strong enough claim for an alliance. You clearly want us for our power, now the question is why?" the Caracon stated.

"What you said is true enough, though I must say that my contact with Revan was much more recent than several millennia ago. I was taught by a holocron of him tha-" Xion got no further as the Caracon had suddenly seized him by the shoulders and had an excited look in its eye, startling Xion's guards and causing them to raise their weapons at the offender.

"You found an artifact of The Great Teacher! Is it with you? Does it still work! Oh how does he look? Is he tall? Does he have black hair, or is it blonde? Oh come on tell me!" and thus Xion was pestered with questions by the now overenthusiastic being.

Xion's guards were unsure of what to do, and the Caracon's guards seemed to also be enraptured as their leader was with any news on Revan.

"I-I-I-It-t's go-on-on-one now!" Xion tried to say as the Caracon had taken to shaking him back and forth.

"WHAT?! WHAT HAPPENED TO IT!" the black Caracon screamed.

"I destroyed it!" Xion yelled out right before he realized that that might not have been the best thing to say.

A sudden cold fury descended upon their hosts, the guards' eyes narrowed and they gripped their lightsabers in anger, the black Caracon meanwhile seemed to grow a deathly aura about himself.

"You…YOU DESTROYED IT! A PRICELESS ICON OF REVAN! THE GREATEST FORCE USER OF ALL TIMES! YOU DARE TO COME SPEAKING OF AN ALLIANCE AND THEN SPIT UPON ME WITH THIS NEWS!"

"Hey, he asked me to! He was 4000 years old too, so I can't really blame him either!" Xion said hurriedly, trying to prevent this situation from deteriorating into all out war.

Some of his words seemed to reach through to their hosts, who as one seemed to go back to their more polite and cordial selves, though this time there was an abashed air about them.

"Ehm, my a-apologies, you should never have had to see that. Regardless of how this affects us, the holocron was yours and you had the rights to do with it as you wished, even… destroy it." here the black Caracon took a deep breath before continuing "Even more so if the holocron itself requested it." the black Caracon said, ashamed of himself.

Xion nodded, excusing the act, if Revan was this important to their culture then he reasoned that would be a typical response.

Xion's Sith Troopers once more lowered their weapons, but a few now began spreading out to more effectively cover the room and the Caracon and several others moved closer to Xion so that they could protect their lord quicker, the trust in their alien hosts dropping further and further.

Sensing the rising tensions in the room, Xion decided to get back to the topic "Well now, again the purpose of my visit here is to form an alliance with your people. You see, I am the ruler of the Sith Empire, Darth Xion. And for the most part things are going great…except for one thing. You see, for a Sith Empire, it lacks one major component, Sith. And that's where you guys come in. If you were to join up with me in an alliance at least, I'd have temporarily solved my Force users problem. Of course this won't be just a one way deal. If you have any demands, I'd like to hear them."

"Sith…you're telling me you're Sith." the black Caracon said.

'Oh great.' Xion thought to himself, having jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to be luring your young and impressionable ones over to the dark side! I just want you to fight for me is all! Whatever your inclination with the Force is it's no problem with me! I myself favor a healthy mix of both sides!" Xion said, trying to salvage this situation.

"You're a Sith Emperor. Hm, I'm sorry, but this complicates things." said the black Caracon.

'Of course.' Xion thought.

"You see, we've been at war with the Sith for the last 4,000 years. I'm afraid that any sort of alliance would mired in antagonism from my own people." said the black Caracon.

"But I only formed the Sith Empire a few months ago! And we control all of the known north part of the western galaxy! Where the hell would another Sith Empire be!" Xion said, outraged that there was another Sith Empire to compete with.

"I'm afraid that they took to areas that were never mapped. The southern west galaxy is a vast and unknown place. It's part of the reason why we've had such difficulties in fighting them…amongst other things." the black Caracon spat out bitterly.

Taking a deep breath, the black Caracon spoke once more "Thankfully though, they shouldn't have expanded very far. In fact, they shouldn't have expanded at all."

"Oh, and why is that?" Xion asked.

"Because, there is no way that the Neo Sith would have been able to expand and keep us at bay at the same time. We Caracon are a mighty race no matter what weaknesses assail us, and the Mandalorians have certainly been a great help in stemming the tide of Neo Sith." the black Caracon said.

"Mandalorians, Neo Sith?" Xion questioned warily, getting a nod from the Caracon.

"Yes, the Neo Sith Empire is what the Sith we have been fighting call themselves. The Mandalorians here are those who were originally descended from the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders. They fled from Revan after their defeat in their Mandalorian Wars at Malachor V and ended up here, in what the Republic half of the galaxy knows as the Unknown Regions."

And Xion continued to be surprised by what the Caracon said. Having not bothered to at least skim the Caracon's mind for the sake of politeness he knew nothing about what the black Caracon knew. He hadn't expected Revan to have taught them about the Galactic Republic and his own history either, though he supposed that Revan had his reasons, just like he did with him. And then the Mandalorians. Somehow they had gotten here and now they had just become another factor in his plans. He had learned about Mandalorian culture from Revan, and even now he was already forming a plan for how to gain control of them.

If he was right, it would be far easier to have them under control than as just allies; and gaining control over the Mandalorians would be very easy considering he knew about some specific warrior traditions.

"So, now that I've at least talked to you about why we're here, could you please inform your leader about this? After all, this Alliance's groundwork can't even be laid out without your leader, and I would eventually like to speak face to face." Xion asked.

"Oh no worries about that. You're already speaking to him. My name is Surzin, Overlord of the Caracon." Surzin said.

"Ah, any other surprises I should be made aware of?" Xion said sarcastically.

"Yes, we're also free users of both sides of the Force, we're descended from dragons, have extremely potent regenerative abilities, are as strong as a baby Rancor, can breathe fire, and need to drink blood every once in a while or we will descend into a horrible Blood Rage." Surzin then smiled.

"…Y-You're screwing with me…aren't you?" even though the suit Xion was given by the Caracon hid every part of his body, one could literally feel the eye-twitch.

"Doesn't make any of it less true." Surzin said.

Once the negotiations had started to reach their end and Xion and his guard were leaving the room, Surzin walked over to a portion that at first appeared to be a black wall. Yet upon closer inspection, it was revealed that the 'wall' was in reality an intricate lighting design meant to shroud the surrounding area in darkness.

And out of that darkness stepped several warriors clad in the traditional Mandalorian Neo-Crusader armor.

"So, what's your take on all this?" Surzin asked the Mandalorians.

"If the offer of an alliance is genuine, then this could save us all; if it isn't, then at least we won't be any worse off than we were before, save in how quickly we may die. Personally, I'd recommend taking the alliance and dealing with whatever trouble comes out afterwards. The more immediate threat of the Neo Sith are what we truly hate. These new Sith haven't done anything to us yet either, and with our situation, we really don't have much of a choice. I'd recommend investigating these guys as much as you can though. I know that's what we'll be doing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to report back to the Clan Representatives."

Darth Xion stood looking out over the sunset that was gracing Albakno la Minasocomto (5), the capital city of the Caracon race.

The suit he wore, he was told had been given to his party because of the intense gravity that this place exhibited, which was three times as harsh as the regular gravity of a normal planet. They hadn't been told at first as a test apparently. Since they were so earnest to make an Alliance, the Caracon had wanted to see whether or not the Imperials would be willing to put some trust in the Caracon. They seemed to value faith in your allies, and so were trying to see whether the Imperials believed the same.

The rest of his discussion with Surzin had gone well enough, and it seemed like they would be on their way to making an alliance. Surzin however had told him of one problem that Xion was going to have to rectify.

Ancient Caracon traditions had made it so that the Caracon would never ally with an unproven race. Surzin had said that he wanted to just skip such wasteful things and instead get allied so that relief could finally arrive for his beleaguered people and the Mandalorians in their war with the Neo Sith, who he said were slowly winning.

Yet, Surzin had his hands tied. The Caracon traditions were tough and rigid, and even he couldn't change them without having mass rebellion from the clans. The clans were how the Caracon race were divided, with every member of the species belonging to some clan save the Overlord.

Honestly, it was starting to seem to Xion that getting the Caracon's allegiance was more trouble than it was worth, until he reminded himself that he had next to no Force users in his empire and the Caracon were at war with a bunch of other Sith for the last 4000 years. Well thankfully they didn't seem to remember their war with the Sethelonians.

In order to prove himself to the race as a whole, Xion was going to have to undergo one of the trials that those Caracon wishing to be one of the Clan Representatives had to go through. This was a modified version of the Caracon trial of becoming an adult which involved hunting and slaying a powerful beast with only a lightsaber and a single Force power. The Clan Representatives in order to become what they were had to take the same test, but on a forbidden continent that had long ago been ravaged by civil war. The Force had been used in such unholy ways that the land was forever tainted. Only by orbital bombardment could such a place ever be cleansed.

At least that's what Xion was told. He figured some of it might be exaggerated, and had stated as such, figuring he would have been able to sense such a place as its foulness would have reached him. He was then informed of how there were many crystals in place used to prevent the corrupted Force Energy from the continent from leaking out. The crystals would absorb it, and have to be changed every year due to having only a limited capacity.

And what this corrupted Force Energy had done to the continent itself, Xion was told that all life there had become a twisted heinous form of what it used to be, and that all of the normally extremely dangerous beast that were all over the planet could also be found on that island, mutated into terrifying monsters. Only the most powerful of the Caracon were allowed, and since Xion was such a powerful Force user, they felt this would be a fair way to prove himself.

Oh well, if getting the Caracon's allegiance would have been so easy, it probably wouldn't have been worth much at all.

Location: Albakno La Monolakokawan Council Room

Overlord Surzin sighed as he heard the admittedly warranted disbelief of Representative. The Representatives were those beings sent from each of the 7 Caracon Clans to advise him, ensure that their Clans got their interests pushed forward, and acted as a means of contact to the Clan Heads of each of the Caracon Clans.

Rilengar, was the Representative of the Manocarodic Clan, a very powerful Caracon Clan filled with those who often went for a twin bladed lightsaber style. They were fast and hard hitters and were terribly strong, often capable of taking down targets many times bigger than themselves.

Rilengar himself was a white scaled Caracon with black hair and fur on his tail who wore a blood red medium classed armor and used 2 black lightsabers with Firebrand hilts, a Red lightsaber with a Firebrand hilt, and a silver lightwhip.

Rilengar was also the Galactic Basic version of his name, his True Name, or Caracon Name being Rikmenoniclo (6). The Carcaon's true names were intimate things that were only ever shared with beings that they trusted with all their hearts. For one to give you their true name meant that you would have a friend for life, one that would help you no matter what befell you, no matter what your crime.

The other Clan Representatives also had Galactic Basic and Caracon names as well.

The Representative of the Xinkolean Clan, a Clan who were extraordinarily great in defensive combat techniques and shrugging off even the most brutal of attacks along with monstrous endurance, was led by Dilirin, whose Caracon name was Kiminochiqui (7), and whose appearance consisted of a very heavily muscled blue-scaled Caracon with black fur on his tail and black armor that had the signs of being through far too many battles. He carried with him a large shield with sharpened edges, and wielded a long and powerful lightning hammer that channeled his Force Energy and a blue lightsaber with a Praetor-hilt.

The Representative of the Quliknobaso Clan, a group of Caracon who specialized in speed and stealth, using the Force to blend in with shadow and mask nearly all of their movements or confuse and warp the minds of their enemies, was named Damokas, and her Caracon name was Satilamokada (8). She was a slim purple-scaled woman with long red hair and red fur on her tail and she wore purple robes with a light armor and bracers on her arms. She was armed with a purple double-bladed lightsaber with a Guardian hilt and a red dual-phase lightsaber.

The Representative of the Humosaganoko Clan, Caracon who took to the art of healing, whether it lay on the Dark or Light Side of the Force, was Alnimona, or Ynamoksanolo (9). She was easily the biggest eye-catcher in the entire room. A beautiful woman with long silky red hair and fur on her tail and red scaled skin with a light shine that was so smooth and fitted in such a way as to not even look like scales. She wore pure white robes that hugged her body, showing off her magnificent curves and extenuating her beauty as a healer. She only carried with her one weapon, a low powered yellow-bladed lightsaber with a consul hilt.

The Representative of the Tekamonokasuda Clan, a clan of Caracon dedicated to combining the arts of the Force with technology and science, was called Talvanis or Wohamotiksonka (10) in Caracon. He was a somewhat scrawny green-scaled Caracon with blue hair and fur on his tail. He wore an oversized white lab coat that covered up most of his body except for his wings and made him seem even scrawnier. He was equipped with a yellow lightsaber that had an adjudicator hilt and a plasma pistol.

The Representative of the Samoquihonasimoto Clan, a clan of Sith Beast Riders and Alchemists, was Gaganious or Kamidolasomokta in Caracon (11). He was a blue-scaled Caracon with wild white hair that looked as though it was in a permanent state of being tossed up by the wind and white fur on his tail. He had on a rancor hide formed into a cape, with a tunic that had the skulls of various creatures tied onto it, roughspun pants and boots. He was armed with a green lightsaber with an arbiter-hilt, an orange lightwhip, and a green lightclub.

The final Representative was of the Siclemital Clan. This was a clan that specialized in complete study of the Force. They delved into the deepest parts of the Force that they could possibly go, and as a result, had gained a near insatiable thirst for knowledge of any sort. Their Representative was called Endagin or Etmikitmeno (12). He was a slim red-scaled Caracon with black hair and fur on his tail. He wore combat robes normally, but in battle opted for a light armor. His only weapon was a purple lightsaber with an adept-hilt.

"So my lord, you think that an alliance with these Sith will be beneficial to us? (13)" Rilengar asked, though one could tell he was being sarcastic.

With a look Surzin silenced him before looking out at his council room. The Clan Representatives were all seated before him around a circular table. Surzin himself sat in the throne of the Overlord while the rest sat in simpler, and sadly for Surzin, much more comfortable chairs.

"Yes, I do think so. Their leader himself came to meet with us. That at least shows they are taking us seriously. And their leader was very open with his mind. I didn't probe too deep, but his surface thoughts show that he is genuine in his desire for an alliance. And let's face it, we need this!" said Surzin.

Suddenly standing up, Surzin said heatedly "For nearly 4,000 years we've been at war with the Neo Sith Empire! First they unleashed the Mandalorians on us and though we weathered their assault like no other could have, their sheer ferociousness cut deep wounds into our people. Then when the Neo Sith finally struck out after establishing themselves they showed a viciousness not seen since our last Civil War! They fell upon their hired Mandalorians as well as us! And then, they committed a crime that can never be forgiven. You all know what it is…"

And indeed, the Caracon in the room either had a mass of rage on their face, a countenance of sorrow, or a distinctly uncomfortable look about them.

"THE FORCE EATER VIRUS!" Surzin roared out, startling the other occupants of the room "That disease which has since its conception caused an untold amount of destruction for our people. In the first dark, terrible days of its release millions of us died at the hands of this disease, the virus eating away at us, making a mockery of our resilience, spitting in our faces over how useless our power over the Force was in the face of this disease! And then, when the damage was done and we thought the disease had killed itself out, we discovered to our tragedy that we as a race had forevermore been scarred by that thing! Not only had it nearly caused our defeat, but we as a people were rendered near infertile! We have since made a comeback, but it isn't lasting. We as a people are slowly dying, the virus having done something to our genetic code that our best scientists and Force users have not managed to fix."

Here, Surzin took a deep breath before continuing, having captured the attention of everyone in the room "We are dying! DYING! And so far not one of our scientists, Force Users, or anyone else has managed to fix this one simple fact. The Mandalorians, despite our alliance simply can't push back the tide either. The Neo Sith will beat us all at the rate things are going. Every victory for them is one we make them pay for oh so dearly, but they are victories nonetheless. Every dead Caracon is one less to help our race's survival, one less to fight the good fight, one less that returns to the embrace of their families once more. We need this other Sith Empire…these…Xionic Sith if you will. They have the one thing we all lack at the moment, fresh numbers. They can push back the tide. They can help us claim victory! But only if we let them! I know that to ally with the Sith must seem abhorrent to you all, but we have to think about our people! Plus, they are not the same Sith! These ones seem to believe in a more balanced version of the Force like we do. Plus they lack the numbers of Sith that our Neo Sith enemies have."

Surzin looked around the room, trying to see in the eyes of his Representatives whether he was gaining any support. Some like Damokas, Endgain, and Rilengar seemed to be contemplating just why he was so desperate to get this alliance, though Rilengar seemed to be the most wary of such a thing;, but others like Dilirin were completely set in their stance against such a thing while Gaganious and Alnimona looked rather neutral on the subject, and Talvanis…was still having his head bowed in solemn remembrance of the whole Force Eater Virus he had been talking about previously. At least, that's what it appeared like. Now Surzin could see that he was really just working on some other gizmo or gadget that he constantly carried with him in one of his many pockets on that oversized coat.

Getting a tick mark at having been completely ignored by the Representative, though inwardly Surzin admired how he had managed to look like he was paying attention to the speech from before, Surzin sent a powerful Force Push Talvanis's way, blasting him out of his chair and knocking him down to the floor, sending away whatever it was that he was working on to.

Normally, after such a wretched display of blatant disrespect to his work that Talvanis just experienced, he would have gone ballistic and slaughtered everyone in the room if he could. Thanks to it being Overlord Surzin however, who he could see had a very pissed off look on his, Talvanis decided it would be best if he just looked a apologetic as he could, swearing to get back to work as soon as the meeting was over.

"Now, as to the main purpose of this meeting. I've called you all here for the purpose of proposing that we simply forego the Proving Test that Xion would need to take in order to show that he is worthy in our society of an alliance." Surzin said, knowing that he had just opened up a shitstorm.

And indeed he had. There was an immediate outcry from most of the Caracon in the room, the only ones seeming to remain quiet were Damokas, Alnimona, and Endagin.

Dilirin was easily the most outspoken about his thoughts on the matter "Are you nuts! No matter how much we may need his forces, if this Sith Emperor wants to get in an alliance with us he has to prove himself in some way, shape, or form! IT'S TRADITION! AND YOU DON'T JUST ABANDON TRADITION! WE'D BE LITTLE BETTER THAN THE FALLEN ONES IF WE DID THAT!"

Dilirin was easily a staunch traditionalist, along with much of the race. Due to their long lifespans of centuries instead of decades, the Caracon had a long time to develop a way of doing things, and then once developed they were rather reluctant to change it for the younger generations who by the time they grew up enough to escape the yolk of their forefathers rule, had become so used to the current method of doing things that they saw no need for change, beginning the cycle all over again.

It was a facet of his people that Surzin could understand, and yet hated. Having essentially been thrust into the role of leadership at what could technically be considered a teenager's age, Surzin was forced to handle nearly every single problem that his people had, and he found that many of their elder traditions which worked for their time had now become a nothing more than a nuisance or downright damaging at worst.

Here they had someone who was willing to fight with them. Sure they wanted the Caracon to fight for them in return, and Surzin was quite positive that there may be other consequences to this alliance, but his people needed it and he knew that.

And yet they were going to go and make the very leader of hopefully their future allies who had come here himself go off and prove that he was worthy of allying with them. Surzin knew that in Caracon society, such a thing like alliances, treaties, contracts, etc could only be made by those who were legally adults, and the only way to become one was to go through some sort of trial. The most common one in Caracon society was when a youngling went out to kill some sort of powerful beast and brought back the head freshly cut from the body. The other ways were either too obscure or involved some sort of battle such as the Mandalorians had done.

Surzin feared that all this was wasting valuable time. The trust test with the anti-gravity suits was one thing, but Surzin worried that this next one may screw up a chance at an alliance. After all, while this Darth Xion seemed very powerful in the Force, just being very powerful wasn't going to be enough on the Forbidden Continent or Chabusalokbaas it was called in the Caracon tongue. And if he did die, it would screw up any chance of an alliance with this Xionic Sith Empire.

Yet as Surzin looked at the Representatives, he saw that he wasn't going to be getting the support he needed to overturn the Proving.

Dilirin was staunchly for tradition, Alnimona felt that they shouldn't show special treatment regardless of who it was, Gaganious stated that he simply didn't trust any new Sith, regardless of whether they were 'different' or not.

Yet there was one whose lack of support hurt worst of all. Damokas, when she shook her head, cut through Surzin like a burning knife through his ribs. Though he kept his expression professional, anyone who knew Surzin well enough could tell that he hurt on the inside. He felt utterly betrayed by the fact that his own mother wouldn't support him on what was clearly one of the most important decisions that they could be making for the Caracon race!

Meanwhile, Endagin had stood by his longtime childhood friend; Rilengar felt that since Surzin was their overall leader, he had to make decisions based on the whole of the race and not just a single faction, so Rilengar supported Surzin, and Talvanis was just excited to see if these new Sith had any technology for him to study and went with Surzin to get it faster.

With Surzin's own vote, the decision was split 50:50, and thus it wasn't changed. Xion would still have to go through the trial.

"Well, now that our decision…or lack of one has been made, I call this meeting to an end. Thank you all for listening to me, and regardless of who or what we have sided with, let us all remember that at the end of the day, we are on the same side. And that we each want what's best for our people as a whole, no matter what we think that best is." Surzin ended off.

With nods from all of the Representatives, the meeting ended, and everyone began to leave the room.

Location: Chabusalokba

Rolling black clouds covered up the sky, letting no light from the sun shine through onto the twisted continent below. The life on the Chabusalokba was a dark parody of what should have been. Plant life had become painful and vicious, losing all sense of beauty it once had. The forests were filled with trees that had lost all their leaves, instead possessing sharp wretched thorns that leaked a terrible green colored poisonous sap.

Other plants had changed to become as murderous as predators, with giant meat eating plants such as the Chabusalokbaian Thresher Trap, a plant that was a long stalk with a large wide mouth at the top that lured victims to their doom with a sweet fruit that grew on the inside of its mouth which was open nearly all the save for when it consumed flesh.

Other plants came in the form of large throbbing pods that shot out a dissolving acid when burst open, or large flower that laid flat upon the ground, unsuspecting creatures walking over them, never noticing the teeth that lined the petals, only for the petals to snap up, impaling the victim while the flower secreted digestive juices, slowly dissolving the prey into a nutrient rich liquid that the flower absorbed.

And then, you got to the actual animals that dwelt on the continent.

All of them had been affected by the tainted Force Energies that leaked from there. Herbivores had become giants that were prone to fits of rage, often rampaging through the place. Their hides had become toughed to survive the plants, their digestive tracts strengthened and the acids within made more potent. Not to mention many had great strength or some form of deadly defenses that made them a laborious effort to kill.

And then you got to the predators, the ones designed for killing for a living. They were the most terrifying things on the continent. From shrieking reptilian-like birds to the dreaded Arugar, whose appearance was designed for the sole purpose of scaring its prey, to the massive and monstrous beasts such as the Kryat Dragons and Rancors who had been made even more powerful by the tainted Force Energies leaking out, giving them increased size, highly armored skins, teeth and claws that could cut through durasteel with ease. Then there were also the adaptations that came over these beasts for the different environments, from serpentine-like creatures who preyed upon those wishing to drink in the rivers and streams to giant Daraks, a creature consisting of a bear and mole physiologies that tunneled underground and sprung up to take whatever prey that it sensed up above.

Chabusalokba was not for the faint of heart to say the least.

"Ahhhh! I can't tell you guys how good it feels to be out of that anti-grav suit! Man, did you really have to make them so bulky?" Xion asked as he stretched himself out, this time dressed up in a simple black tunic, brown pants, and black boots.

Most of his soldiers agreed as they also enjoyed the breathing room now granted by a lack of the anti-gravity suits they had been told to wear at the beginning.

Thanks to Surzin gathering a several hundred Caracon and spreading them out over the circumference of the continent, they had been able to use the Force collectively to decrease the gravity around the entire continent, making it possible for Xion and his men to wear their regular clothing on Xiamolokalania.

"Well, you'd have to ask our tech experts for that. I'm not an expert when it comes to those things." Surzin said, throwing a pointed look at Talvanis who nodded his head, the message clear. Work on making the suits thinner!

Currently, Surzin and all the Clan Representatives with their accompanying guard along with Xion and his entourage were at a beachhead camp, one of several that had been established by the Caracon to help them keep a watch over the Chabusalokba.

"So, now I will explain the rules of this Proving. You have a grand total of five days in which to complete this trial. During that time, you must hunt down and kill a beast of great power. As this is the Chabusalokba, any beast that you kill from here will count. Know that you only need to kill one beast to prove yourself. Do you understand the rules as I have explained them so far or do you wish for a repeat?" Surzin said.

Xion confirmed he understood and said to continue.

"Good, now as to how you may make your kill. You are allowed to choose one weapon and one Force Power for use in this trial. Note that those who are using their powers to decrease the gravity are also monitoring for powers being used that aren't the one we tell them you have chosen. Also, know that once the trial has started you are allowed to forge new weapons and other items from whatever materials you may find in the Chabusalokba. Now, after your five day time limit if you have not returned with your kill or if you haven't returned at all and our scouts can't find you please realize that we will be forced to consider you dead. Now that I have explained all the rules, are there any other questions you may have?" Surzin finished.

"Nope. Just send me on out there. I'll have one of these little beasties killed in no time." Xion stated.

"Very well then. Your trial starts now! Go forth, and show the strength of your words, and let the Force be that beacon which guides you forth onto victory and glory!" Surzin called out the words which had been said countless times and in numerous variations.

Xion nodded and raced off into the wilderness, intent on finding a creature worthy of killing for his Proving Trial.

3 Days Later

Xion sighed as he made his trek through a wasteland that he figured may have once been a prairie.

As he moved, he saw out in the distance a massive source of what passed for light on this Force forsaken continent.

It was a mass of tainted Force Energy that continuously rose up from out of the fissured ground and into the sky, the energy itself glowing an eerie luminescent purple. Other sources glowed different colors, some a poisonous green, others a pus weeping yellow, one a psychotic blue, and another an furious and rage filled red. Still yet, some gave of multiple colors that constantly changed. All however worked in not only continually tainting the land but providing some form light, bathing the continent in a rainbow of color.

It would have been beautiful too…if it weren't for a fact that all of it caused this land to be a hell on earth.

Xion's experience with the whole trial so far could be considered something of a warm up, but really nothing worth mentioning. So far his skill with a lightsaber, of which he used his blue one, had served him just fine, letting him slaughter his way through anything that had tried to kill or make a meal out of him.

Alas, that was the problem, Xion was finding things rather easy save for a few encounters here or there. He didn't' feel that any of the creatures he had so far killed were worth bringing back as a sign of his success in the trial.

Continuing on his journey, Xion pondered just what creature would make a worthy kill? So far he had killed several kinds of beasts, all of which wanted to kill him. From territorial herbivores to hungry carnivores, so long as Xion was their target they were doomed.

A lightning-fast swing of his lightsaber tore through even the toughest of hides, burnt through the strongest of limbs, and pierced the thickest of skulls.

So far the largest and most powerful beast that Xion had killed had been a Neuzablar. This was a large and very territorial herbivore that was about the size of a house. It walked on all fours, and had thick legs with three toes on each that were made of a dense mixture of calcium and other minerals. Its tail was several feet long and was studded with four large bony clubs that could help deliver the meanest tail whack ever. The head was small and its sight wasn't that good, but it did have another large bony protrusion on top of its snout which allowed the Neuzablar to give a devastating ramming attack that was quite capable of smashing through boulders.

Xion had killed such a beast by managing to jump over its head and slice through its neck while he was sailing over it. Not that it was very easy to get there.

When Xion first encountered the beast, he realized that to just try and cut through it normally with a lightsaber wouldn't work. Its skin would likely be very toughened against that, and he was proven right when in an experimental slash against the Neuzablar as it charged him down, his lightsaber met some incredible resistance, only going in a single inch into the beast's body.

It had still hurt the creature, but by no means killed it. Xion had then gone for targeting the more flexible parts of the creature such as the joints, figuring those would have to be softer in order for the creature to move as effectively as it did.

Thus, through a series of dodges, feints, and some strategic planning involving getting the Neuzablar trapped in a space between several large tree roots, Xion had managed to kill the beast.

But as previously stated, even this creature didn't feel appropriate for his kill.

As he kept wandering the wastes, Xion searched out with the Force, hoping that he would be able to find something strong enough to kill.

His senses with the Force were all being screwed up by this land though, the tainted Force Energies interfering with his abilities.

Just as Xion was about to cease his search for now and get some rest, he suddenly found himself receiving massive feedback through the Force as something began to emit a powerful signal.

Soon, a massive wailing sound was heard. It seemed to echo all across the continent. And this wailing, it caused a cold feeling to grip Xion's heart. His eyes widened, his heartbeat raced, his breathing became short, and a great sense of despair seemed to settle all over him.

'Wh…what is this? I-It feels like all of my strength is leaving me! What's going on?!' Xion thought to himself as he was forced to his knees.

Rumbling could be heard all around as the ground started to shake. The wailing then began to turn into a keening roar, as whatever was causing this noise began to wake up from its slumber, brought out by the power it sensed from Xion.

The anomaly had started to spread all over the continent, and the Caracon outpost where Xion had first come was also experiencing effects similar to Xion.

"W-What the hell is this!" Surzin yelled out.

Meanwhile others like the Clan Representatives found themselves weak from the aura that was being emitted while the lesser Caracon and Xion's troops ran around in a panic, the aura practically overwhelming them.

"Sir! We're getting multiple reports of a massive anomaly that seems to be originating from the center of the continent! It's letting off a large amount of tainted Force Energy too sir!" one of the Caracon who was handling the communications said to Surzin.

"What! Well what is it?!" yelled Surzin.

"We don't know sir, but whatever it is, it seems to be breaking out from beneath the ground!" said the Caracon.

CRACK!

And just like that, a booming crack noise was heard as the anomaly broke through the ground and into the open world. The noise seemed to echo over the continent, its twisted ecology seeming to strengthen the sound.

Then a roar was heard.

It was like metallic screech, a ghostly wailing, and a bestial roar of dominance that all seemed to be combined together.

It seemed to deafen anyone who heard it, regardless of what they did or wore to cover their heads.

And the feeling through the Force that was starting to accompany this awakening was sickening to everyone who was sensitive enough to feel it. Even those who were dulled to the Force could still feel the unpleasantness that had set upon their hearts.

"Whatever the hell this is, I hope Xion has the capacity to beat it, because if it's what I think it is, we may all be dead." Surzin dreaded even as he began to piece together the clues from the history of this land.

Darth Xion meanwhile, due to being much deeper in the continent, was able to actually view the anomaly rising.

And it was no mere anomaly, but instead a beast of ancient legend. Something that he had only ever seen or heard about in stories. And yet, as it gave off a second roar, Xion knew this was no mere legend, but the beast in its full glory.

What had his new focus was a dragon. A fully fledged, honest to god dragon.

Wow.

Xion stood in stunned amazement at the sight. Too see a creature from his childhood fantasies brought to life was a once in a lifetime event.

For a moment he was even able to forget about the oppressive aura and clearly evil power that flowed from the beast like water from a river.

Only for a moment.

Now getting himself back together, Xion began to shrug of the prior effects of the dragon's powers; his own incredible will and inner strength coming into play. Calming himself, Xion looked at the dragon, and saw how despite the fact that the creatures on this island seemed like steroid pumped psychotic sociopaths, they were still creatures made of flesh and blood.

Yet this dragon, it was clear to Xion, was something else entirely.

It looked like a skeleton that had been extended and strengthened to look like a sort of skeleton armor that a dragon might wear, if the frame wasn't filled with a purple electric like energy. This power flowed throughout the entire creature, giving it a look of instability, as though this power might burst out at any second. The skeleton meanwhile, looked as though it were a fusion between bone, metal, and stone.

The dragon itself was massive, having four powerful and heavyset limbs, a wider front, a long tail ending in a curved spear-like tip, large wings that were also made out of the metallic, grey-scaled bone substance, and ram-like horns that were on its head.

The dragon turned to Xion, seeing the source of power that had awoken it.

"So you are the little wretch that caused me to awaken. Impressive that a member of your species could have such a powerful connection with the Force. Dare I say, you're even stronger than some of my own kind. Nothing compared to me though. And now, it's time that I end you and calm rightful lordship over this entire world, as is my birthright!" the dragon said, before he leaped at Xion.

Xion's eyes widened in panic at seeing the titanic creature heading for him.

Racing off to the side to avoid being squashed, Xion managed to dodge the lunge.

The dragon landed with a loud crash, his form crushing the ground beneath him and causing cracks to form where it landed. It then began to lift its hands up, checking to see whether or not he had crushed his opponent. The dragon gave off a rumble of disappointment when he saw that he had not done so.

Xion meanwhile cursed at his current state. He was currently incapable of accessing the majority of his powers due to the trial still being on and so would have to rely on only his single lightsaber and his chosen Force power.

And yet, he couldn't stop a smile that was forming on his face. He did long for a real challenge in this wasteland, and now it seemed as if he'd gotten one.

The dragon gave off a roar as it turned towards Xion, prepared for another lunge at its target.

The roar itself seemed to be trying to weigh Xion down, introducing fear and despair into his heart and mind. A lesser man would have let it consume him, breaking him down into a sobbing wreck.

Xion however had already thrown it off once and now knew what to expect. So this time he was ready and the roar didn't do so much as faze him.

The dragon then charged at Xion, its weight causing the creature to make large echoing crashes as its hands and feet smashed into the ground.

Xion ignited his lightsaber, and with his own war cry, raced forward to meet the oncoming beast.

As the two drew nearer, it seemed as if the dragon would crush Xion beneath its forefront limbs.

That didn't happen as Xion rushed in between the limbs while holding out his lightsaber in order to cut through one to cause some damage. Alas, when the lightsaber came into contact with the bone-like body all that happened was the lightsaber bouncing off of the substance. Thankfully Xion didn't lose his weapon, as that would have compounded things further, but as of right now, the lightsaber didn't look like it would be off too much help.

Doing some quick thinking in order to avoid leaving the relative safety of the dragon's underside, Xion jumped up onto one of the hind limbs, climbing up the structure while avoiding the sparks of energy that would occasionally come out of the beast.

'Damn! That armor is just too strong! Not even a lightsaber can pierce it! And without most of my Force powers, a direct fight isn't a good idea. I'll have to stay hidden most of the time.' Xion thought to himself.

Coming up with a plan to defeat this thing was proving difficult though. Xion theorized that the joints would be where the armor was at its weakest, as always. The problem was knowing whether a lightsaber would prove strong enough to cut through these joints, or damage them at the very least. And then there was the issue of what to do after he had damaged the joints. He didn't know whether destroying them alone would topple the beast or not. It would certainly weaken it, of that he had no doubt. But complete death was the key here.

Then, like a spark, an idea came to Xion to insure the dragon's destruction.

Smirking, Xion began to move towards one of the dragon's joints, right behind the knee of one of the hind limbs. He was currently on the left leg so that was the one he headed towards.

Meanwhile the dragon had taken to searching for the quarry it had lost. It growled in anger at not being able to find and slaughter its prey.

The dragon tried to search out with the Force, sending its senses forward, backwards, sideways, pretty much everywhere in a 360 degree angle from himself…except himself. Alas, the dragon had never before faced enemies who A. Ran the hell away from him immediately or B. Engaged him in direct combat. Thus he never thought to check himself.

Snorting at his apparently cowardly enemy, the dragon began to turn around and go off looking for the concentration of Force signatures he had felt north of him.

Raising its massive wings, the great beast gave a single beat and lifted off from the ground, kicking up a storm of dust and debris. Another beat had the dragon rise higher, and higher, and higher, until it pushed itself forward and soared off to its new destination, giving off another terrifying roar as it thought of the new foes it would meet in battle.

"Hehehe! I can practically feel the blood running down my claws! And after this, I'll be free to rule over all of Xiamolokalania! After all, this new Overlord that I sense won't be able to escape my wrath! And it isn't as if my pesky little brother is here to stop me this time!" and giving off another roar, the dragon rushed forward to do battle.

At least, that was its plan, until it felt great pain blossom along one of its legs. Specifically around the back of his left knee.

"Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggggggghhhhh!" the dragon cried out in pain as it felt a fire burn there.

Xion meanwhile gave a satisfied smirk at seeing his lightsaber piercing the joint. Trying to do as much damage as possible, Xion dug the lightsaber in deep, twisting it around as he sought to hurt his foe. Then he pulled his lightsaber out before swinging it back into the joint causing long burn marks to appear.

The dragon continued to below out its pain filled cries as it started to become unbalanced in its flight due to being attacked in such a vulnerable area.

The leg Xion was on started to move due to the pain, unbalancing him and nearly causing him to fall off. He managed to grab one of the sections of bone-like armor just in time and save himself a grisly death from being several hundred feet in the air.

He wouldn't be able to hang around the place for long though as it appeared the dragon was starting to twist and turn his body to check out the wound it had received and hopefully find the one who did this.

Seeing this, Xion made to jump onto the beginning of the tail. It wouldn't be easy as holding on to the leg while the dragon was twisting and turning was forcing him into a position with very little momentum to be gained for a jump.

Still, Xion tensed up his legs as best as he could, faced the spot he was going to jump, and pushed away from the left leg with all of his might, jumping across to the tail. For his own sake, he did manage to land on the tail, but not without a few lucky breaks such as the tail swinging closer to him and having the dragon twist so that the tail came even closer.

Alas, this also came with the risk of him smashing his face in, which he did.

Managing to stifle the cry of pain that came with it, Xion began the task of climbing up the tail and swinging to the other leg.

Once he got to the top of the tail, he had a much easier time jumping off and onto the right leg. Landing on the leg, Xion began his work at once, attacking the knee joint at the back with his lightsaber vigorously.

The dragon roared out in pain again as it felt another joint being attacked. Now checking his right leg, Xion was forced to keep moving in order to avoid being spotted, not able to nearly as much damage as with the first leg.

Moving onto the tail and up the dragon's back, Xion's luck finally ran out.

He encountered a creature of sorts. It came out of the dragon's back like some sort of worm breaching the dirt. It was a four limbed creature, and it was made out of the same bony substance that the dragon was made out of, and filled with the same corrupted energies that the dragon had. The limbs were all legs that ended in sharp blades, and the creature's body was oval shaped, with a long neck that ended with the head of some insectoid looking creature whose mouth was shaped like a cone. Said mouth had four slits appear on it, and then opened to reveal a petal like mouth, with the spider-like monster screeching at the intruder upon its master's back.

It began to move towards Xion, its legs making a crack sound as it scraped against the structure of the dragon. The creature then tensed its legs, and Xion widened his eyes before jumping off to the side to avoid the leap that the creature had tried.

Reigniting his lightsaber, Xion moved to attack the beast, the hum of his blade growing louder as he swung it to slice at the creature's limbs. As he expected, when the blade hit, it bounced off as though it had been a physical sword striking a stone wall.

Screeching to him again, the spider creature countercharged Xion and raised up its forefront limbs, intending to strike Xion. Bringing them down, the creature intended for them to stab through his body. Instead, Xion blocked with his lightsaber, generating sparks as the two weapons clashed against each other.

Giving off a roar of frustration, the spider creature pushed against Xion, trying to overpower him. It also began to gather the corrupted energies within itself and opened its mouth once again. Purplish energy began to gather there, and Xion knew he would have to make a move very soon to avoid this attack.

Suddenly, the creature felt the resistance against its forefront legs give out completely causing it to become unbalanced. Falling forward as a fast pace, the creature would have had its front limbs sink deep into its enemy if Xion's lightsaber wasn't swung up once again and hit the creatures limbs.

This time, due to the sudden relaxing that came from the lack of resistance, the creature was unprepared when Xion swung his lightsaber back up and it felt both of its limbs knocked back up into the air, causing the whole creature to start leaning back, exposing its belly to Xion.

Quick to press his advantage, Xion stabbed his lightsaber right in the creature's stomach. The belly had several skeletal ribs that all pointed towards the center where there was a large opening that showed that ethereal Force Energy that flowed through the creature.

When the lightsaber went through, the creature roared out in pain, the attack in its mouth dissipating as the flow of energy was viciously disturbed. Arcs of purple lightning came out of the creature's belly where the lightsaber had stabbed through. Xion pushed his weapon up, cutting through the creature's torso, and then swung it back down, slicing through the creature entirely.

Falling off the dragon, the spider creature's two halves soon disappeared from sight.

The dragon itself meanwhile gave a triumphant roar as it had reached its destination, the very same beach that Xion had first arrived on.

Surzin and the rest of the group looked at the massive beast with horror.

'So, it's as I feared!' Surzin thought to himself.

He realized that this beast must be the one of the original two brothers who caused the civil war that had corrupted the Chabusalokba in the first place. And history had recorded this being as Subalokadafur (14), the elder brother and son of the Overlord who ruled before.

It was said that somehow he had managed to find a method by which he could descend into the far more bestial draconic form that characterized the Fallen Ones and yet still keep his intelligence and Force powers.

And corrupted as he was by the continent, Subalokadafur had become a very dangerous enemy who had the capacity within himself to destroy all of Caracon civilization if he was allowed to leave the continent.

Just as Surzin was about to yell out to everyone to stand back so that he could face the creature alone, one of the soldiers that Xion had brought with him ran out in front of the dragon.

"Don't worry guys, I got this! I read it in a book. I know how to stop it!" the Sith Trooper said before starting to dance, swinging his arms back and forth, dancing to some sort of song sung by a high pitched guy who kept saying hey yeah yeah yeah yeah.

"You just need to sooth it. Soothing dance! Everybody good vibes! Good vibes now! Watch, he'll calm down. Good vibes!" the soldier said as he continued to dance, making everyone from the Caracon to his fellow soldiers to Xion to even Subalokadafur watch him in a moment of stupefied silence.

The soldier started to slowly stop dancing as he saw the dragon looking at him "Um, guys, I don't think this is working."

He was proven right as Subalokadafur gave a flap of his wings, rose up into the air and let loose a mighty roar.

"Oh shit! Oh man, it didn't work! You guys, he's not calming down! What do we do!?" the soldier panicked as he ran back towards his buddies, only to get killed when Subalokadafur decided to fire a burst of purple lightning at him.

The rest of the Sith Troopers were looking the other way meanwhile as they tried to pretend that guy hadn't been one of them.

'Who let that guy in my army?' Xion thought to himself.

'For our sakes, let's hope the rest of his army isn't that stupid. Otherwise we might really be extinct by the end of this.' Surzin thought, his eye twitching.

'He is sooooo not getting covered by life insurance.' thought the Imperial Commander of Xion's troops.

Roaring once again, Subalokadafur opened his mouth wide and blasted out a large beam of purple lightning, causing everyone on the beach to find some sort of cover or be incinerated by the blast.

Dozens of Caracon and several Sith Troopers were killed by the attack, their bodies turned into dust in an instant.

Subalokadafur then brought his hands together and began to gather a large amount of Force Energy there. The energy grew into a large orb, glowing with an eerie purple light. Sparks of electricity raced out of the orb, and swirling mists seemed to be absorbed within it.

When the orb had grown to a satisfactory size, Subalokadafur threw it down onto the ground, much to the horror of everyone else, who had no idea what this new attack would do. Alas, it wasn't an attack, but something else entirely.

As soon as it hit the ground it sunk into it and turned the surrounding area a glowing purple. The corruption soon spread to encompass a large area of the ground, with the Caracon and Imperials staying well away from it. The area eventually started to equal the size of a small neighborhood, the purple energy flowing through the ground forming cracks as it expanded.

And as it grew, creatures began to grow within it.

Rising up as though from a sludge filled swamp, creatures made of the same material as Subalokadafur began to rise from the corrupted ground.

Various beasts ranging from the spider like creature Naruto fought to large brute reptilian-like creatures to even smaller dragons dragged themselves out, their wails combining together to form a chorus or of tormented voices.

"Soldiers, form up into defensive ranks!" the Imperial Commander yelled out immediately. Now that there was a threat that the Imperials could focus on, their training came back to the forefront and they became disciplined soldiers, immediately forming a defensive perimeter, setting up whatever heavy weapons they brought with them, getting into tight formations so as to focus their firepower, and getting behind whatever cover was available to them.

"Brothers and sisters, to battle!" Dilirin yelled out, hefting his massive warhammer as he charged forth to meet the enemy, his cry being a rallying point for other Caracon to bring out their own weapons and charge forth into the fray with him.

Surzin meanwhile began to gather a massive amount of Force Energy. His eyes started to glow and his body gained an aura as he gathered his power. Prepared to unleash a torrent of Force Energy against Subalokadafur.

It was only when he saw Xion on the dragon's back that he hesitated. Xion meanwhile focused on Surzin, trying to look at him with as much intent as he possibly could. Was really difficult atop a flying dragon's back when it wasn't properly positioned.

Surzin however, managed to at least sense Xion's feelings, and instead turned his attack towards the various beasts that Subalokadafur had summoned up, laying a hailstorm of destruction upon them with his Force Powers.

Force Blasts ripped them apart, destroying their bodies and burning them, Force Lightning coursed through them, electrocuting and melting them; Force Fire coursed its way through and ignited dozens, their screams and wails magnified due to their pain; beams of pure Force Energy tore through even more, cutting them in half or vaporizing the beasts. And as other Caracon began to add their own Force attacks to Surzin's, even more of the beast started to fall, the area becoming a symphony of colors and flashes, a deceptive type of beauty.

Those Caracon who had chosen to go forth and do battle directly showed off their deadly prowess with their weapons. Dilirin swung his massive warhammer as though it were a sword, smashing it into enemies and sending them flying. Bursts of Force Lightning came out of the hammer as Dilirin coursed his Force Energy through it, electrocuting whatever enemy he attacked and often sending out a wave of powerful electricity; blasting back many more enemies. Those who he didn't send flying he instead had their bone-like bodies broken and crushed, the sheer force behind his massive blows crushing the lightsaber resistant monsters.

Rilengar meanwhile was having a much more difficult time. His twin lightsaber style wasn't proving nearly as effective against the creatures summoned by Subalokadafur. As he sliced at them he found his attacks either being blocked or knocked away. Forced to go for the more vulnerable energy body underneath the bony skeletal like body, Rilengar instead began to use one lightsaber for controlling the enemies' movement and blocking and the other for stabbing through into the more vulnerable parts and slicing that way. He also managed to aim a few of his swings to hit the vulnerable areas of other creatures, killing them too as his slashed them in half.

Damokas meanwhile stole through into the shadows, using the Force to cloak herself in darkness and creeping through the monsters, using precise strikes and deadly stabs to slay the beasts. Her abilities with the Force also let her use corrupting balls of Force Energy that upon coming into contact with the enemy, began to turn their bodies into dust. Small Force Lightning attacks combined with her precise lightsaber strikes from her double-bladed lightsaber caused devastation to the enemy ranks.

Alnimona meanwhile began using her own abilities to heal those who became injured or fell in battle, saving many from the brink of death. The Force flowed out from her like a serene ocean, going forth and reinvigorating exhausted warriors, healing them, and giving them newfound courage. She also drained the life from her enemies, purifying the corrupted Force Energies within them and sending it out to heal her allies. Unfortunately these actions forced her into a deep meditative stance, leaving her wide open to attacks, which was why a sizable guard of Caracon kept watch over her.

Talvanis meanwhile threw out thermal detonators into large masses of enemies, causing large explosions which consumed the wretched beasts in balls of fire, distracting them for when he used his plasma pistol to take pinpoint shots into their most vulnerable areas such as their necks, in the eyes, their chest cavities, etc.

Gaganious meanwhile used his large lightclub to bash in his enemies, screaming out loud about the great "LORD GAGANIOUS, THE HERO WHO MAKES KIDS LAUGH! WHO MAKES EVIL SHAKE IN FEAR! WHO SAVES ALL OF LIFE FOR THE SAKE OF GOODNESS ITSELF!" …Most people just tried to ignore him.

Endagin meanwhile added his own considerable Force powers along with Surzin's, ripping apart the wailing creatures with the telekinetic powers of the Force, or throwing large rocks at them, making the earth explode where they walked, or crushing them into tiny bits. Miniature tornadoes of lightning were formed as he swirled the Force around into currents of wind, filling them with the destructive power of Force Lightning.

The Sith Troopers meanwhile got in their share of kills as well. While they may not have had the great strength or reflexes of the Caracon, they were by no means weak. Their blaster rifles fired as one into large masses of the monsters, the lasers using numbers to their strength while attacking so that while many bounced off of their bone-like skeleton bodies, other shots entered in through the openings, causing damage and wounding the creatures. Gatling Guns had also been set up, adding their weight to the fire and belching out large numbers of laser bolts into the enemy. More accurate sniper rounds killed off more creatures as well, the snipers taking their time to insure each shot was as lethal as it could be. Rocket launchers were used to great effect to take out many of the wounded creatures, and one soldier even carried with them a high powered repeating double twin barreled sub-cannon. The weapon was heavy, forcing the Sith trooper to hold it with both hands and carry nothing else, but its power was such that it pushed the summoned beasts back easily, or in the case of those with more openings in their skeletal bodies, killed them completely.

Many of Subalokadafur's minions died in the face of the combined might of the Caracon and Imperials. But Subalokadafur had minions to spare. And more just kept growing out of the ground he corrupted.

Not to mention that the beasts that he summoned outnumbered the defenders by the hundreds. And they took their bloody toll on said defenders.

The spidery-like creatures darted forth and slashed, hacked, and stabbed with their sharp appendages, cutting through the scales of many an unfortunate Caracon and killing them thanks to surprising them with their lightsaber resistant skeletal bodies. They screeched victoriously with every kill they earned, blood running down their limbs as they hacked apart bodies. Beams of corrupted Force Energy erupted out of their mouths, blasting through the unfortunate Caracon who were caught in their paths. Those who were still alive after such attacks could only scream in agony as the corrupted energies consumed their bodies unless aid was gotten to them quick enough.

More brute like creatures who stood on their powerful heavyset two legs grabbed Caracon and often times just crushed them in their hands, such was their strength. Others used their claws to rend open Caracon, letting their blood and sometimes organs spill out onto the ground, the brutes taking great pleasure in their pain. When Caracon tried to fight them directly, the brutes often just punched them or hit them with a swipe of their arm, knocking back the lightsabers the Caracon used to defend themselves and often enough causing the lightsabers to cut into their own wielders due to the force with which they were knocked back. In addition to the blunt force damage they received from the brutes, most Caracon didn't survive their attacks. The brutes great strength wasn't their only method of killing either. Others breathed in great amounts of air and let loose powerful sonic blasts, reducing many Carcon to hysterics with their terrible noise, blasting them back, or simply disintegrating them if they were close enough.

And finally, the miniature dragons took to both the land and air, fighting it out with either their tails or claws. They slashed and swiped or swung and slammed, breaking bones, rending open flesh, and causing screams as they brutally killed of their foes. Some engaged in aerial duels with the Caracon, both groups flying around each other as they tried to score kills on one another. And others used the same lightning breath attack that Subalokadafur used, incinerating many with their deadly lightning.

The Imperials managed to take no casualties save for the initial ones from Subalokadafur's attack since they were all providing long range support. But if things continued in this manner, it wouldn't be long before they would run out of ammo and be forced to join the Caracon in close combat. And unfortunately for them, they simply did not possess the much superior reflexes and strengths that the Caracon had.

While the battle down below was going on, Xion was still climbing around on Subalokadafur, now going for the fourth and final joint on his left elbow. The great dragon meanwhile was trying with all his might to squash Xion with his hands.

Having continued his work while the battle had started, Xion had managed to get down towards the right elbow joint and do some major damage to it before Subalokadafur had finally realized that his creature hadn't taken care of Xion like he had thought.

Roaring in anger at having been humiliated by Xion for the third time in a row, the dragon was determined to kill Xion, no matter the cost. Using his own claws, Subalokadafur began to rip and tear at his own body. Anywhere he saw Xion became a target for his attack. He ignored the pain that came forth from inflicting injuries on his own body, his own claws being made of the same bone-metal substance that his skeletal form was made of, but much sharper and more focused and thus being capable of cutting through even his nigh invincible armor.

Xion meanwhile, even though he was playing the fates far too closely, couldn't help but laugh. Honestly, at this rate the beast would kill himself!

Alas, Xion it seemed had run out of luck when a particularly powerful swing of Subalokadafur's left arm combined with a rather loose piece of bone he was climbing on all served to fling Xion off of the dragon's body.

Eyes widened as Xion looked down for but a moment and felt a pit in his stomach drop. He knew that with the height he was at he would die if he fell. Subalokadafur it seemed wouldn't be satisfied with that though as he grabbed Xion with a wave of his massive hand.

"Ack!" Xion cried out as spittle flew from his mouth. The force that he had been caught with had been enough to drive the air from his lungs and leave him breathless.

"Ah! Hehehehe! I've found you, you little wretch! After the pain and humiliation you've caused me I can't wait to personally end your life! A mere human, managing to wound me as you have! There's just no way I can let that stand! Now…scream for me! I wish to enjoy your cries of torment!"

And here Subalokadafur began to squeeze slowly on Xion, his left hand slowly tightening on his body. Xion began to grit his teeth in pain as he felt his body being compressed. He could slowly but surely feel his ribs starting to be pushed inwards along with his organs. With nearly all the air being driven out of his lungs before, Xion was finding that he was already about to lose it from not being able to breathe properly. His face was turning blue, and the pain from his chest was growing greater with every second.

Eventually, cracking sounds started to be heard, and Subalokadafur laughed as his victim was slowly having the life crushed out of him.

Gulping down what little air he could, Xion tried to focus his sight on Subalokadafur's left arm. Raising his hand as much as he could, Xion began to focus with the Force, using the one Force Power he'd been allowed for the Proving Trial. Force Pull.

Gathering the needed Force Energy was not easy when you were having the life squeezed out of you, and though Xion managed to do it, it wasn't without starting to feel slightly delirious.

Subalokadafur noticed his left hand moving however and figured out Xion's plan.

"Oh no you don't!" the dragon said as he let out a wave of corrupted Force Energy, interfering with Xion's powers.

Xion meanwhile screamed in additional pain as he felt the corrupted Force Energy flow through him. Losing his grasp on the Force, Xion was unable to use Force Push to move Subalokadafur's left hand to scratch at the arm holding him like he wanted.

As the pain coursed throughout his body, he tried his best to think up of another solution. Looking at the only other weapon he had, his lightsaber, an idea came to him.

Igniting the powerful sword, Xion used all of his considerable might to throw the weapon into the left elbow joint of the dragon. His aim was true as the blade hit in a vulnerable part and sank deep within, causing Subalokadafur to give a great cry of pain. Releasing Xion, the man started to fall once more.

Looking down, Xion tried to aim for the swinging tail of the dragon, knowing that that would be the only thing saving him from an imminent death. Twisting and maneuvering his body as best as he could while blinking back tears of pain from his recent ordeal, Xion managed to catch the tail just as it was swinging up towards him.

Now that he was on the tail, he began to do a series of calculated drops to ensure that he reached the end of the tail. Once there, he had to wait for the right moment for the tail to swing so that it was perpendicular to the ground, thus giving him the least distance to fall.

'Come on. Almost. Almost. AAAAAlmost…there!' Xion jumped of the tail and let himself fall, aiming for the edge of a tall, gnarled, dead looking, but thankfully non-poisonous thorny tree.

He hit the tree, though it was not in the most dignified of ways, having landed face flat on a large branch with a loud 'thud'.

"Omph!" Xion let out as he landed on the branch, his voice muffled by having his head face first on the branch. Grumbling to himself, Xion pushed himself up off the tree limb until he was standing again.

Proceeding to jump off of the branch and begin swinging back down to the earth, Xion was forced to contend with the fact that his limbs by this point were burning with exhaustion. Climbing around on the back of a giant dragon wasn't easy after all.

When he finally did reach the ground, Xion winced as he landed on his protesting legs. Panting, he tried to steady himself, and get ready for the final part of his plan.

Subalokadafur meanwhile was contending with the fact that he had the equivalent of a large splinter stuck in him. Having to carefully pick at the area so as to not send the lightsaber in deeper was proving difficult for the dragon considering his massive claws. He did manage to get two of his fingers to pinch the lightsaber hilt in just the right manner and pull out the lightsaber in time. Throwing the nuisance, and reminding himself to ban all lightsabers once he took over his homeworld, Subalokadafur was about to finally go in and take care of all of the fighters on the beach himself when he heard a voice yelling at him.

"OY! YOU STUPID DRAGON! YOUR MOTHER SUCKED EGGS LIKE A BITCH!" Xion yelled out at the dragon, wondering if that would focus the beast's attention back on him.

It did.

"I WILL ROAST YOU ON AN OPEN FIRE AND HAVE YOUR SCREAMS PLAYED AS MY RELAXATION MUSIC YOU LITTLE WORM! MY MOTHER WAS A SAINT!" Subalokadafur raged as he opened his mouth, prepared to blast apart Xion now that he found him again.

Massive amounts of corrupted Force Energy gathered in the dragon's mouth. Subalokadafur heaved his torso up, raised his head high, and came back down with a crash on the ground, head extended out to where Xion was, letting loose a massive beam of lighting that made loud booming noises and created a deep gouge that went for forty feet deep, the ground in the gouge having become molten.

Xion widened his eyes, a smirk on his face as he started to run. The beam sailed past and tore through a large rock formation that was behind him. Subalokadafur turned his head as he tried to follow Xion, the beam moving and slicing the bottom of the rock formation.

Xion meanwhile pushed himself as hard as he could, his legs burning, his breath shortened, and sweat running down his face. The beam was also starting to close in on him as well. The sound of thunderous lightning became louder, a purple glow was coming out from behind him, and the temperature was starting to increase all around him.

'Come on! Move, move, MOVE GOD DAMN IT!' Xion thought to himself as he could practically feel his back starting to burn from the intense heat.

Subalokadafur meanwhile watched in anticipation, feeding more power into his attack and moving his head in accordance with where Xion was going. Finally, as both reached the end of the rock formation, Subalokadafur saw something burn from his attack. Ending it, the dragon let out a roar of triumph as it saw Xion burn.

"Hahahahahahaha! The little bastard is finally dead! HA! I only wish I could have sunk my claws into that pest myself! And now, to destroy those little insects on the beach myself." said Subalokadafur.

As the dragon was about to go and unleash his full fury upon the defenders, a loud rumble echoed out.

"Huh?" the dragon turned his head around to the source of the rumbling, only to look on surprised as he saw the entire rock formation rising up from the ground.

"What is going on!" Subalokadafur said as he tried to figure out what was happening.

It was only when he saw Xion again, that he figured it out.

"You! You used me to cut lose that giant slab of rock. And you gave up your shirt to fool me into thinking that you died!" and indeed, Xion was quite shirtless right now, though the huge smirk on his face showed he didn't care.

"Well now my good sir, I must say I've had a wonderful time being your guest, but I'm afraid I'll have to end this little party of yours. Permanently." Xion said and used Force Pull to move the massive rock formation to the appropriate distance before letting go and having the rock's own momentum send it towards Subalokadafur.

"Do you think this is it? That you've won! HAH! DON'T BE SO STUPID! A MERE ROCK KILL ME! YOU'RE BRAIN MUST HAVE BEEN FRIED! I DON'T EVEN NEED THE FORCE TO STOP THIS!" and to prove it, Subalokadafur grabbed the rock with both of his hands, rising up on his hind legs to give himself extra support.

Yet, instead of stopping the rock formation dead in its tracks as Subalokadafur had wanted, his arms instead cracked open, fissures originating from his damaged elbow joints, and his legs buckled underneath the additional weight, cracking open as well, becoming filled with fissures. And the rock just kept coming regardless.

"NO, NO, NO! IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS! IT JUST CA-" Subalokadafur protested right before the rock crushed his main body, the sheer force and the many cracks in his armor all causing it to break apart.

With a massive crash, the skeletal dragon was brought down, his lifeless body crushed under a rock. The great terror that had plagued the Caracon race from there terrible civil war so long ago now dead. And yet, there was something happening to this lifeless body. The energies that powered Subalokadafur still flowed, only now they were not contained, and they come out into the world with an explosion.

Purple colored energy blasts out of Subalokadafur's dead body, destroying the rock crushing him and making a massive crater where his body used to be. Fragments of his skeletal form are scattered throughout the continent, but the head comes to rest at the beach, crushing several of his summoned beasts.

The explosion also sent out a shockwave that covers the entire continent, and the creatures that Subalokadafur summoned feel their master's death, their own wretched lives fading away as their power source fades.

The Imperials and Caracon let out cheers of triumph as they see their enemy beaten, new brotherhoods and friendships forged in the crucible of battle.

And atop Subalokadafur's head, Xion stands.

"So, are we getting that Alliance or what?" he asks Surzin, a smirk on his face.

"And with this momentous occasion brought to a close, the Coranda-Xia Alliance has been solidified! The Imperial people are proud to bear witness to this event, and we can only hope for even greater relations with the Caracon people and their illustrious leader Overlord Surzin! Of special note, Overlord Surzin will be traveling onboard the Exterminatus with Emperor Xion to go on a tour of our Sith Empire! We can only hope that our friends will enjoy their visit of the Empire! This is your Imperial News Network, signing off!"

The image on the holoscreen was one of Darth Xion back in his Darth Revan robes with his face unveiled shaking hands with the titled Overlord Surzin while an assembly of officials from the Sith Empire and Caracon each stood off on the respective sides of their leaders.

Many eyes looking on at the screen could only stare on in shock at the face displayed before them. The spiky blond hair, the blue eyes, the whisker marks, those were all far too familiar to them! This was the supposed man who had ordered the destruction of their very way of life!

"No way, there's just no way! It's him!" a pink haired woman said, falling to her knees on the floor in sheer shock.

Most others were barely even capable of forming a coherent sentence, a man with grey hair standing off to the side and wearing a mask only able to stare off into the screen, at times even seeming to stare straight through it, as though he were looking beyond into something that only he could see.

One other, a man with dark rings around his eyes and red hair couldn't help but continuously weep as he looked at the image, a man with brown hair and woman with blonde hair could be seen trying to comfort him as best as they could, but even they looked shaken.

Thrace looked on at the figures in the room, his sympathy for them skyrocketing.

There were many more of them throughout the ship, and all of them seemed to have the same type of loss that these people had, though they all expressed it in their own way.

'It's all thanks to him! He's the cause of all of this!' Thrace thought to himself, anger coursing through him as he thought about how these people had lost everything due to what was probably a whim from Xion.

"Thrace, I need you to come with me." Varison said to him, startling him out of his thoughts.

"Huh? W-What's going on!" Thrace said.

"We're thinking about a direct strike against Xion. We want everyone there to discuss how it's going to go down." Varison says, a frown on his face showing his disapproval of the idea.

"Really? Do you…do you think we can actually do anything right now?" Thrace asked.

"In my opinion, I think right now is the worst time to even think about trying to take Xion on. He's much too powerful, and he has far too much support. I advised that we go underground and start regaining support from there. But I was outvoted." Varison said as he began to lead Thrace to the Command Bridge of the Sarthowa.

Once they got there, they saw that General Ixecis was going over a hologram of a route that Xion's tour with Surzin was taking. The route had been publicly posted so that the people of the Empire could go and visit the places that Xion and Surzin were going to.

"Alright people, the best place to attack Xion directly will be when his ship is in the Soldaris System. The only planet there of any worth is just a small agricultural world, but it's on the path of the tour and Xion will be stopping there. And when he does, we'll be lying in wait for him!" Ixecis said, determination in her eyes and a fire in her spirit.

"Yes, and once we spring our trap, we'll use these special boarding pods which will be fired out from the guns of the cruisers. They have the capacity to rip through any ship's shielding, and they also tear through armor just as quick." Moltron said, taking over from Ixecis.

"Now, when Xion's ship appears from hyperspace, our ships will immediately engage it. The Sarthowa will move in close and fight Xion's ship directly while the rest of our cruisers will maintain their distance and bombard it from afar after launching their boarding pods. The Sarthowa will also be providing cover, making sure that Xion's ship won't be able to use its long range cannons to attack our cruisers." Moltron finished before allowing Ixecis to take back control to explain the boarding phase.

"Once our boarding teams have entered the ship, all teams will attempt to hack into the mainframe and download a map of the ship. The first team to succeed will send copies of the map to all other teams, after which we will then make our way towards the Command Bridge and confront this Xion once and for all! He will pay for the loss of Palaven! He will suffer for the fall of Sur'Kesh! He will bleed for all the lives he has taken!" Ixecis finished off with a dramatic air, getting cheers from many of the crowd that listened to her.

"Heh, maybe we can do this Varison!" Thrace said.

"Oh, and what makes you say that?" Varison responded.

"Well, this time we have surprise on our side! Every time Xion's beaten us it's because he did something we weren't expecting! But now, he really thinks we're dead this time! There's no way he'll be expecting us this time! And this time, we're going for a small invasion! A direct strike!" Thrace said.

"Yes, while a direct strike has the advantage of being sudden and hard to truly counteract, it can also leave us vulnerable too. We're going to be on his turf regardless. He'll have his soldiers to fight us. It won't be nearly as easy as those two are making it sound. Or did you forget how a single one of their largest battleships completely wrecked nearly our entire fleet?" Varison said, one of his eyebrows raised.

"Varison, if we just keep giving up after every defeat then we'll never be able to kill Xion! Don't you want to make him pay for all his crimes?!" Thrace cried out.

"Yes, I do. But we need to do it sensibly! There's no point in killing him if we die to! Or do you not wish to help Bethany rebuild?" Varison said.

This caused Thrace to grumble to himself, turning away from Varison who gave a small smirk.

Itachi Uchiha meanwhile watched these proceedings with a cool air. He had volunteered to be on one of the boarding teams assaulting Xion's ship. Xion…just thinking about him made Itachi feel irony seeping into his very being.

When he saw the holoscreen showing him, Itachi had immediately recognized that face as an elder version of one Naruto Uzumaki. To think that the little obnoxious loud boisterous boy who was an orange eyesore had somehow become an Emperor. The thought was enough to actually make him smile for a fraction of a second.

It was truly a marvel how at one point Itachi would have held the boy at such a disadvantage that to even compare the two would be like comparing an ant to a lion. One was simply too far above the other.

And now that same little boy was now quite possibly the biggest threat out there.

'Truly the universe can work in mysterious ways.' Itachi thought to himself.

Sasuke meanwhile wasn't too far off, glaring at Itachi. His fists were shaking as he fought with the urge to kill Itachi.

Sasuke had only realized he was on board the ship after Itachi had awoken. It had taken five men to bring Sasuke down and prevent him from simply beating Itachi to death with his bare hands. Afterwards, a restraining collar had been placed on him that gave him a very painful dosage of electricity. It had been placed at the behest of Sakura and Ino who had managed to convince the people in charge of the ship that Sasuke was a criminal who needed to be restrained lest he rage out of control.

Unfortunately, Sasuke screaming out in a rage, ranting about how he was going to kill Itachi, and nearly foaming at the mouth did no good in proving his non-psychotic state.

Itachi had simply said nothing, just looking at Sasuke with a calm cool gaze. His emotionless visage only served to further anger Sasuke, requiring an additional two guys to help hold him down.

At the end, Sasuke was now being forcibly kept away from Itachi, with several people watching over him to make sure he did try anything with Itachi again. So now all he could do was stand and glare at him, a prisoner once again.

Sasuke had also decided to volunteer for the boarding party, and after a bit of deliberation, had been allowed. He was hoping that maybe in the chaos, no one would notice if a certain weasel died.

As Ixecis and Moltron continued to talk about their plan, more of the Konoha shinobi that survived the destruction of Ibonihs began to volunteer for the boarding parties as word spread of the plan. Many were looking for answers, others were looking for revenge, but all of them wanted to see Naruto again, regardless of the reason behind it.

So far, Sakura, Ino, Kiba, Hinata, Shino, Shikamaru, Choji, Lee, Neji, Tenten, Hanabi, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro had all volunteered to be on the boarding parties as well as some other miscellaneous shinobi from the other villages that survived.

And they were all determined to get the answers that they sought from Naruto, no matter what.

Location: Soldaris System

"Sir, I'm detecting several energy readings that appear to be coming out of hyperspace in the system." one of the staff in the space station orbiting the agricultural world of the Soldaris system said.

"Really? Emperor Xion's ship isn't due for quite some time. And his ship is alone. Are you sure they're coming to this system?" the commander in charge of the station asked.

"Yes sir! Though, I do think it may just be an advance guard sent to insure that everything is up to standard for his majesty's arrival." the officer said.

"Hm, that's a possibility. Still, activate the station's shield generator's and request for a clearance code from them once they exit hyperspace. And put the entire station on level three alert status! If this turns out to be some sort of pirate raid I want us ready!" the commander said.

"Yes sir!" the entire bridge crew responded before transmitting the orders throughout the rest of the station.

The station which orbited the agricultural planet Soldaris, named after the system, was a relatively moderate one. It had adequate defenses for fending off pirates, who were geared towards quick hit and runs against defenseless targets. It held a small contingent of Sith Troopers from the Imperial Military but most of its service personnel were patriotic volunteers from the planet down below. It held a small starfighter complement and two light frigates for defense as well as a few defense satellites scattered here or there for additional support.

Overall, not the most threatening defense ever, but enough to drive off those who would be tempted to try and attack Soldaris. Any larger enemies were going to have to be dealt with by the Imperial Navy.

"Sir, the ships have exited hyperspace! There appears to be five of them. We're getting our readings on them now…and there is one Centurion-Class Battlecruiser and four Turian Cruisers." said one of the bridge crew.

"Hm? Those are ships? That's weird, I thought the rearming of the navy got rid of those classes." the commander said.

"Actually sir, there are still plenty of the elder vessels around, but most have been assigned to less important positions until they're switched out." another bridge member said.

"Ah. Hm…then why would older vessels have been sent? Especially for this?" the commander narrowed his eyes as he thought.

"Officer, ask for their clearance code immediately!" the commander yelled out.

"Yes sir!" one of the officers said as they went to work.

"Um sir, don't you think you might be overreacting? Sure they're older vessels, but haven't most of the newer ones been sent to areas still have more major problems? It could just be that with the relative peace of our system and his majesty's own formidable starship, command felt that this would be an adequate escort." another officer asked.

"Probably, but it never hurts to make sure. And as long as I follow procedures, I'm not doing anything wrong." the commander conceded.

"Sir, we've yet to receive the clearance codes from any of the ships! And they're coming closer!" the commander was informed.

"They haven't? Well then, strengthen our communication array to maximum output. I want to speak to them personally." the commander said, a frown on his face.

Once that had been done, the commander opened up a comlink that was capable of contacting all the ships.

"Attention approaching fleet, this is the Soldaris Defense Station, we require your access codes if you are to approach any further." the commander then waited for a response.

"Attention approaching fleet, this is the Soldaris Defense Station, I repeat, we require your access codes if you get closer!" the commander said.

"Sir, they're not responding, and we're starting to get interference in our communication's array! I think they're jamming us!" one of the officers said, panicked.

"What!" the commander said, outraged.

"Damn! So these are enemies! Activate defense satellites, arm all missile tubes, charge up laser cannon batteries, and launch all starfighters! We won't go down without a fight!" the commander ordered, determined to fight off the enemy.

Just then, the entire space station started to shake as the enemy fleet began to bombard it. The station's shields held, but it wouldn't be for long under sustained fire from such powerful warships.

Interceptors were launched from the defense station's hanger bay, moving forward to engage the enemy while defense satellites activated and turned their guns on the enemy fleet. Missiles fired out from their tubes while lasers streaked forth, hitting the enemy shields.

Explosions swept through the fleet as the met the retaliatory fire. However, they began to launch out their own Sith Interceptors to counter the newer Imperial ones, and though the Imperials fought bravely, they were too heavily outnumbered and inexperienced, falling before the battle hardened and determined forces before them.

The defense satellites weren't very powerful either, and the guns of the Centurion-Class were making quick work of what few were there. The station itself possessed only a few guns as well as missile pods, and they weren't nearly enough to damage the extremely powerful Centurion-Class which soaked up the damage with its impressive shielding.

And with the added support the Centurion had, it wasn't too long before the space station had been stripped of its shields and most of its defensive emplacements.

"Status report!" the station commander yelled out, even as fires raged all around him and most of the bridge crew now lay dead.

"S-Sir! We've lost m-most of our defenses! O-Our shields are down, and our entire starfighter complement has been destroyed! The life support systems are in critical condition, and most of the personnel are dead!" one terrified, if still physically fine officer said.

"Can we get a message out to Emperor Xion?! He needs to be made aware of this!" the commander asked.

"S-Sorry sir! But the communications array was destroyed! And even if it wasn't, we're still being jammed. We wouldn't have been able to get anything through!" the officer replied.

"Argh!" the commander cried in outrage. "Well can we atleast have any personnel escape?" he asked.

"Maybe. If they haven't been cut off, some should be able to reach the escape pods. But there's a strong likelihood that the rebels will hunt them down." replied the officer.

The commander sighed for a moment before responding "Well, give the order to escape anyways. We've lost. No point in denying that. But let's try to-" he never finished as a missile hit the command bridge and destroyed much of it, killing anyone who was still alive on it.

Whoever could escape tried, and those that couldn't died; trapped on the station as it started to fall apart under the continuous bombardment.

The wreckage of the station behind them, the United Liberation Forces remnants now played the waiting game.

Location: Exterminatus

"So, Surzin, something going on between you and her?" Xion asked, pointing towards Damokas.

"Hm? What makes you say that?" Surzin asked.

"Well, I've noticed you seem to be unusually uncomfortable around her. Is there something that happened between the two of you to make you like this?" Xion asked.

Surzin narrowed his eyes before speaking "Well…yes, something did happen. Its…I don't really know how to describe it. She's just…she acts like…well…she used to be my mother."

Xion's eyes widened, "Your mother eh? Well, I must say I'm rather surprised. She still looks as though she's in her twenties by human standards."

"Yes, well, while live far longer than regular humans we also age far slower, so by looks alone, you wouldn't be able to tell our age. My mother for example, though she looks like a young woman, she's actually 87." said Surzin.

"Oh? Well, how old are you? You seem to be in your twenties too, but now I can't be too sure." Xion asked.

"Oh. Well I actually am twenty." Surzin smiled.

"Hm, interesting. Anyways, what did you mean by she used to be your mother?" Xion asked.

"Well…its sorta like I said. She used to be my mother, but now she isn't. We're not that close anymore." Surzin said, a frown on his face.

"Why not?" Xion prodded.

"You'd have to ask her yourself. I don't know. Ever since I became the Overlord of my people, she's just kept distancing herself. We don't even talk anymore unless it's about my duties or some clan related matter. …I don't wanna talk about this anymore. Can we move on?" Surzin said, his voice getting a bit heavy.

"Xion nodded, wondering what happened between the two of them. He'd been an orphan, never getting to see his mother. Though he knew who she was now thanks to his little forays back under Revan's tutelage, it was a rather cold comfort. He knew the identity, but not the person behind it.

Was she a kind woman? Was she strong, courageous, outgoing, fun, loving, understanding? Or was she a wretched one? Was she mean, cruel, sadistic, heartless, uncaring, cowardly? He didn't really know.

Sure he had the stories he occasionally heard, though those were few and far in between, but they only told so much. And those could easily be colored by another person's perspective. No, without ever having met her himself, Xion…Naruto, couldn't ever say that he knew who she was.

And thus, he couldn't really understand whatever it was Surzin was currently going through. He assumed that it wasn't easy and it was probably causing a lot of pain for him.

Guess he would just offer his sympathies.

As Xion was about to start reviewing some reports on the recruitment of additional soldiers, a voice was heard over the speakers.

"Attention my lord! We will be exiting hyperspace into the Soldaris System in a few seconds." one of the bridge crew said.

Pressing a button, Xion responded "Very well then. Thank you for update."

He then went back to viewing his reports before he heard alarms blare on throughout the ship.

"What the! What's going on?" Xion yelled as the alarms flashed.

"Sir! We're under attack! It looks like it's the remnant forces from that rebel fleet that Grand Admiral Thrawn took care of!" the bridge crewman called back over the speakers.

"Those pests! So, it seems the little rodents haven't learned their lesson yet! You'd think the thrashing Thrawn gave them would be enough!" Xion said.

"Xion, what's going on!" Surzin came racing back, startled by the alarms.

"Some rebels are attacking us! Don't worry, it won't take long to fini-" Xion's eyes suddenly widened and it looked as though he was staring far off into the distance.

Surzin felt the stirrings of the Force around him and realized that he must be seeing something, a vision perhaps.

Xion's eyes eventually seemed to focus back into the present, prompting Surzin to ask what he saw, only for him to pause as he saw the look on Xion's face. It…wasn't a good look to say the least.

Xion then went over to a console and pressed several buttons, "Captain, respond."

"My lord!" the Captain's voice was heard.

"Have anti-boarding squads sent to these locations now! Do you understand me!" Xion ordered.

"Yes my lord! It will be done!" the Captain responded.

The Turian Cruisers all aimed at the Annihilator-Class Star Destroyer, their boarding pods filled to capacity, while the Sarthowa moved forward to do battle at close range with the Exterminatus.

The Turian Cruisers fired, their boarding pods shooting forward like large missiles. They ripped through the shields, cutting in small holes through which they passed before hitting the heavy armoring of the Exterminatus.

The pods tore through that too, depositing their cargo into the ship in the process.

As the assault squads began to board the ship, they found themselves under attack by the soldiers that were lying in wait for them.

Gatling guns, defense turrets, and Sith Troopers blasted away at the United Liberation Forces' boarding parties, determined to eliminate the invaders.

Meanwhile, said invaders fought just as hard, many gaining a fatalistic edge to their combat prowess, knowing that if they failed here it was all over form them.

"Come on! We need to get to a console now!" Varison yelled out, racing out of the boarding pod along with the other members of his group.

Thrace, Bethany, Itachi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Sasuke, Kakashi, Neji, Deidara, and Sakura all followed him.

It wasn't long before they managed to encounter another group of boarders, this one consisting of Ixecis, Ino, Shikamaru, Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Hanabi, Lee, Tenten, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, and Choji.

"You guys! This is great! Now we can find that monster and take him down!" Kiba said, happy to have found more friends.

"Right, but we need to be careful. There's no telling what'll happen to us in here." Shikamaru said.

Once together, the two groups set out as one, checking hallways, watching their rear, insuring that no flanking maneuvers could be pulled off on them. All the while they

Yet strangely enough they found no one. Not a single person roaming the halls, not one patrol group, not even one couple who were in an embarrassing situation.

As for that console, they weren't having much better luck with that either.

A general feeling of unease was beginning to settle over the entire group. It was slowly starting to become obvious that something was wrong.

Several of them who knew how to tried to draw on their chakra to send it out as a sonar, only to remember that none of them could use chakra anymore.

Back when they had woken up from the destruction of Ibonihs, many of the Konoha group had tried to use their chakra, or at least get a feel of it, but instead all that had happened was…well nothing for most.

Some, like Itachi had felt the stirrings of something within them as they tried to reach out for their chakra. Others like Tenten had felt nothing at all.

Itachi had even managed to utilize it, in secret to everyone else, managing to levitate a few objects here or there. He knew that this was some sort of power and that it was different from his chakra. Upon managing to actually take hold of the energy that was now within him, he had immediately felt something great. It was easily much more powerful than his chakra had ever been, and in fact, he had nearly lost control of it. It was only thanks to his years of self-discipline, the experience he had with his excellent chakra control, great amounts of willpower, and determination that he managed to quell it within himself before the power exploded outward, possibly doing something that would have very negative consequences.

And now this very power seemed to be telling him that things were going to go wrong soon.

"Okay, this isn't right! Why haven't we seen anyone yet?!" Kiba finally yelled, sick and tired of having nothing to do except run around.

"Calm down mutt! Do you want to get us caught!" Ino yelled right back.

"If we were going to be caught, it would have happened by now!" Kiba retorted.

"Both of you shut up! There's no use in arguing about it!" Ixecis said, shutting them both up, and getting them to cringe a bit, both of them not really used to the whole concept of real live aliens.

"Hey you guys! I think I may have found a place to download one of the maps!" Varison yelled out, attracting everyone's attention.

The group moved over to where a durasteel door was, Varison kneeling beside the door control panel.

"I can hear the humming and beeps of computers inside, so it should be able to be accessed for the layout of the ship! It's locked, but I think I can get it open in time! Come you guys, I'll need some help and some cover." Varison said.

"How much time would this take?" Ixecis asked.

"I don't know! Could be seconds, minutes, an hour at most." Varison replied as he ripped of the paneling to the door and began to hack it.

Ixecis' face gritted in impatience before she said "Come on everyone, let's go! We can't wait around here for some door that might lead to nothing!"

Turning around to leave, she was stopped by Varison's yelling "What! You're just going to leave me here by myself!"

"If you waste time with that when we should be trying to find a console, then yes, I will!" Ixecis snapped.

"The hell?! I can't do this by myself! I need some people to guard me! What if a patrol comes along! I'll be a sitting duck!" Varison yelled, outraged.

"Stop whining! You have the best armor out of all of us, a shield in your left arm, and that blaster lance of yours deals out way more damage than any of us can hope without a gatling gun or laser cannon! You're far from defenseless!" Ixecis argued back.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't be overwhelmed, outflanked, or outgunned! I need support!" Varison was exasperated by this point, unable to fathom Ixecis' impatience.

"Well then, I suggest you either come with us or get left behind! Everyone, move out!" Ixecis said.

The group was now starting to get conflicted as to what to do. Most wanted to help Varison, but all also knew that Ixecis was the appointed leader of this mission, and for the shinobi of Ibonihs, not following orders was often times grounds for some serious punishment.

In the end, discipline which had been ironed into all of them from the beginning of their careers won out, and the shinobi group left with Ixecis, leaving Varison behind with only Thrace and Bethany.

"Wait you guys! Come back! We can't just leave Varison here by himself! You guys!" Thrace called out.

"Tsk! Don't bother, those idiots aren't going to listen." Varison said bitterly. Sighing, he turned towards Thrace and Bethany and said "Go on you guys. I'll stay here and see if I can get these doors open."

"What! We can't leave you behind!" Bethany said, worried to her wits end.

"You have to. As we are right now, if a large enough group of enemy soldiers come, we'll be overwhelmed in short order. At least, if you two stick with the larger group, you may have a chance. If I can access this place, I'll get the ship schematics, send them all to everyone, and then we can all head towards the command bridge. If I can't…well, it was nice knowing you guys." Varison said, a solemn smile on his face.

Thrace nodded, although he couldn't help but feel a gut wrenching pain inside of him at having to leave Varison behind thanks to Ixecis' stupidity, but Bethany came first.

Taking her hand, Thrace began to pull her away, despite her protests, following the main group, and leaving Varison behind, to what may be his doom.

Once the two reached the main group, they were surprised to see that they had stopped moving. A moment later they realized why when they saw that right in front of said group was a rather large group of soldiers stood in front of them.

These however were not the Sith Troopers that the vidscreens and holoscreens had made so well known to Thrace and Bethany.

They were dressed up in an entirely different armor. Theirs was colored blue for starters, looked a bit heavier than the regular Sith Trooper armor, was more curved, and the visors were shaped in black t's with the edges sharpened off.

The many guns they pointed at the group however remained the same, at least, in Thrace's eyes.

Then, from the group of blue soldiers, one who was dressed in gold armor came to the forefront.

"So, you're the little parasites that thought they could invade Mandalore's ship! I have to say, you little gnats have guts. But here's where your fun ends. Why, I suspect that even now, the rest of your buddies are being stomped into the ground. Dare I say, you guys are probably the last group of your invaders. Hehehe. Makes me wonder what you thought you could gain out of this." the soldier, his face still covered up by his helmet, seemed to make his sneer felt to them all.

Ixecis' mandibles twitched in anger, yelling to the man "You'd best better have the information that I want, otherwise we'll cut up and gut you and all your worthless, spineless, and soon to be lifeless troops! My patience only stretches so far!"

"Oh-ho! So, the little girl thinks she has claws! Oh I'm just so scared! But there's no need to start PSMing! You see, we've been ordered to bring you Mandalore himself. But I'm sure you all know him by the more regular name of Emperor Xion." the gold armored man said.

That got a seemingly combined gasp of surprise from the entire group, for which they received a small clap from the crimson armored man for such perfect coordination.

"Oh really? I just why should we believe you?!" Kiba yelled.

"You don't have to. But, how soon are you thinking you'll find him otherwise. You have no way to navigate onboard this ship. You could be stuck in these hallways for a long time. And trust me when I say that the Sith Troopers won't be so friendly to you as we are." the gold armored man said.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. He didn't trust these people at all, especially if they worked for him. But at this point, did they really have any other choice? They were being offered to be lead to their target by those who apparently knew where he was. Plus they did have a point. It really was only a matter of time before they were forced to fight enemy soldiers, and then their numbers would slowly be whittled away until there were none left.

'Damn! We may have no choice! If we don't follow, there isn't much hope for us! It's not like we found a console yet, and we left that other guy behind with the only viable source of info. And this guy here has a bunch of backup armed to the bone with weapons. Well, looks like we have to play along for now.' Shikamaru thought.

"So, if we follow you, you'll lead us to Xion?" said Shikamaru.

"That's what I've been saying." said the gold armored man.

"Hey! Did I give you permission to speak! No negotiating with the enemy!" Ixecis spat, furious that an underling would try to usurp the chain of command in her eyes.

"Well since you squandered our previous method, we don't exactly have much choice anymore do we?" Shikamaru yelled back.

"I should have you executed for that!" Ixecis' eyes widened in fury as she spoke.

"Very well then, if you are going to take us to Xion, I will follow." Itachi said, before moving to the front of the group.

"Well, finally, someone with common sense! I like you already! What's your name buddy?" the gold armored man said before throwing his arm around Itachi's shoulder.

Upon not getting a response, a rather awkward silence fell around everyone.

Yet the golden armored man seemed to ignore it with ease, his rather cheerful voice showing no sign of being rejected.

"Well that's okay! You're probably going to be dead in a few moments anyways! I mean, it's not like you'll survive meeting Mandalore. He's not exactly happy with you guys. I mean you did tear up a bunch of holes in his perfectly nice ship! What was that for exactly?" the golden armored man said, making everyone around him wonder if he was entirely sane.

"Oh yeah, and you're trying to kill him too. People don't like that you know. Naughty, naughty." he said, wagging his finger at the invaders as one would do when admonishing a child.

Everyone was now positive that he was insane.

Leading the group onwards, the golden armored man had managed to convince them that they could take him down easily enough considering his insanity. It would be his entourage that was the real problem. So far they had remained silent and professional, always keeping their guns trained on the group at all times.

Even though the group did the exact same thing, the armor that they wore was of far less quality than the blue soldiers, and many feared that a direct fight would result in a defeat for them.

It wasn't long before the group came up to a vast room.

Within that room were massive red drapes which had the symbol of the Sith Empire on them, many couches and cushions on the side, two hallways, and two statues at the end of the room, each one commemorating Darth Revan.

In between those two statutes was a chair in which sat the man they all wanted to find, Darth Xion, or as most of them knew him as, Naruto Uzumaki.

Location: Sarthowa

Dorgovitch sighed as he watched the battle play out before him.

Things were going not to good.

Imperial Interceptors battled with Sith Starfighers, the two forces playing out their dogfights in little streaks of light. Mobile suits meanwhile blasted apart the starfighters with ease, ripping them apart with their bullets or blowing them to pieces with their bazookas.

The Exterminatus meanwhile blasted at the opposing ships, the Sarthowa taking the brunt of the damage. The Sarthowa's shields held, but that wouldn't last for long, and the superior firepower of the Exterminatus meant that it was out-firing the entire United Liberation Forces remnant fleet with ease.

The Turian Cruisers were hanging back trying to provide long range support for the Sarthowa, but at best they might as well have been mosquitoes biting a Kryat Dragon. They were annoying and that was it.

One Turian Cruiser was already up in flames, badly damaged with holes in its hull, fires raging all throughout the structure of the ship. Weapon systems were still firing, but it was a desperate last gesture. The ship was dying and nothing could stop it. The remaining crew were merely trying to squeeze every last drop of usefulness the ship had left. It wasn't much, and the ship went down in a bright ball of fire.

"Tch! Damn him! Damn that Imperialist scum! His desire for war has driven us all into this corner!" Dorgovitch yelled out, frustrated over how little they had done beyond boarding the ship.

Then, to his surprise, the Exterminatus began to move. Its engines went at full throttle, the exhaust fumes being lit up into powerful streaks of fire as the massive ship moved.

Dorgovitch knew at once what they were trying to do.

"Hurry! We must catch up to them before they get out too far! If they can use their long range weaponry we're finished!" Dorgovitch yelled out to the bridge crew.

As the United Liberation Forces fleet began to move out to follow the Exterminatus, another disaster struck them.

Another Turian Cruiser was experiencing problems of its own. During the earlier battle with the station, it had received some damage to its engines from one of the satellite defense cannons. It wasn't too bad and could have been ignored until a later date had the ship managed to keep its support role. However with the speed that the Exterminatus moved at, it was already starting to outstrip the other ships, forcing them into overdrive just to keep up.

This cruiser simply couldn't take it. The damaged section of the engine blew up from the stress being placed on it, sending the entire ship out of control. It went veering off its original path and straight towards the Sarthowa's rear.

"No! Get us out of that ship's path right now!" Dorgovitch yelled desperately.

The Sarthowa's bridge crew tried to get their ship to move out of the damaged cruiser's path, but they simply weren't fast enough.

The Turian Cruiser crashed into the backside of the Sarthowa, causing catastrophic damage to the ship's shields, and spelling the end for that Turian Cruiser.

The explosion tore through the shielding and badly damaged one of the Sarthowa's engines, crippling the ship's ability to move.

Shockwaves were sent throughout the ship, doing additional damage to some vital systems, causing electrical explosions throughout the rest of it, and causing most of the crew to be knocked off their feet.

'No, no, NO!' Dorgovitch yelled in his mind, horrified at the situation that had now befallen him.

"You know, the general purpose of an orbital bombardment is that it leaves no survivors. So when you…ya know, survive, you kind of ruin the entire purpose of it." Naruto glared at those to whom he spoke to.

"Y-You…you really did all of that?" Tsunade asked, her face one of pure horror at the sheer nonchalant way that Naruto was capable of disregarding them all and what he did.

"Yes Tsunade." Naruto said, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Damn you, you demon! I knew the second I heard about you that you were just some foul evil monster. Our dogs had always told us how they didn't like how you smelled, and some of them even wanted to go down and hunt you, but mom always prevented it. And now look how she's been repaid! I'll kill you! I swore that if I ever saw you again I'd kill you!" Kiba yelled out at Naruto.

"And this is why I did what I did." Naruto doled out.

Getting up from his chair, Naruto proceeded to say "On that world, I was viewed as nothing more than a monster! Someone who wasn't even worth being alive! All my life I was treated as this disgusting thing that had the mistake of being born! And for what! For having a demon sealed into me when I was only a baby! For something I couldn't control! For something that inevitably saved your lives and kept you safe for 12 years! Well screw that! I won't let anyone get away with how I was treated! Not one single soul! And you know what, it wasn't Konoha alone that would have wronged me! The other nations would have done just the same! Kumogakure has a history with trying to capture people to be their little tools. Suna treated its own Jinchuuriki just as bad! Iwa would have hated my guts for my father alone! And Kiri has a history with destroying anything they consider out of the ordinary! It all had to go!"

"So that's your excuse? That's your reasoning for destroying everything on our world! Because most of it may have treated you wrong!" Jiraiya said hysterically.

"It's no excuse! An excuse implies that I was in the wrong when I clearly wasn't! I was sending down justice upon a world that wronged me from the day of my birth! And that's final! Now, it's about time for you all leave! Malcador, please have our 'guests' exit the premises." Naruto said, looking towards the golden armored man.

"Yes Mandalore." the now identified Malcador said.

Naruto, while he was on Xiamolokalania and right after his Proving Trial and establishment of an alliance with the Caracon had immediately gone over to where the Mandalorians were on the planet and had proceeded to challenge the current Mandalore. This fight had proceeded much faster as the challenge allowed one to use all of their skills due to the fact that such a challenge was a test of who was truly the strongest. After he had slain the previous Mandalore, he took the title and leadership of them for himself.

"Like hell! You're going to die demon!" Kiba yelled.

"We'll, if it's a fight you want, I'm more than happy to oblige!" Naruto said as he ignited his red lightsaber, holding it forward, daring Kiba to come at him.

Kiba did just that, racing forward before jumping up high into the air. While he may have lacked his chakra, he was still naturally strong, and his many years of physical training were paying off in this regard.

Kiba, when he saw the lightsaber he inwardly sneered at the weapon. Real weapons were supposed to be made out of cold hard metal, not some fancy little light! Just like that idiot to think some little red flashlight was going to take him down.

So, Kiba thought that he would just simply knock the weapon aside and begin a beat down on that blond punk's face. He could even imagine the screams of pain that Naruto would let loose once he started his attack. He would have revenge. He would do this for Akamaru! Poor guy never made it, the orbital bombardment of Ibonihs having ended him.

When Kiba neared the end of his descent and got close enough to Naruto, he swung his left fist out, intending to knock the weapon hilt away from his chest. So when his arm was filled with a terrible burning pain, he could only look on in surprise as he saw his left arm get cut completely in half. This surprise turned into horror as his momentum carried him forward and impaled him on Naruto's lightsaber.

As the life began to fade from Kiba's eyes the room was deathly quiet for a moment.

"My God! I can't believe he actually impaled himself on the lightsaber. That has got to be one of the dumbest ways to die. Congratulations Kiba, you have earned Biggest Dumbass of the Year Award! Is there anyone you'd like to thank for receiving this award…no? Well then, that's too bad." Naruto said before twitching his wrist up a bit, making the lightsaber move up, melting through Kiba's body a bit more and causing said body to slide down the blade, leaving its upper portion cut neatly in half.

The rest of the group could only look on in stunned disbelief that Kiba had been taken down with such ease. The stunned part was with the speed with which he was killed, the disbelief was in how he had just essentially jumped into his own death.

Finally, Thrace could take it no longer. He may not have understood what exactly went on in Xion's childhood, but the sheer fact that he was so nonchalant about destroying his own homeworld only served to fuel the fire of hatred in his heart for that man. The man who had taken everything away from Bethany; forcing her to flee from her own homeworld, destroying everything she ever knew and loved, and forcing her through this entire ordeal.

"XION! I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU! YOU'VE BETRAYED THE ROYAL FAMILY! YOU HAD THEM ALL BUTCHERED! YOU SLAUGHTERED YOUR OWN PEOPLE! AND NOW YOU DON'T EVEN REGRET IT! I SWEAR YOUR TYRANT SCUM, AND I WILL TAKE YOU DOWN!" Thrace yelled as he brought up his blaster lance, prepared to unleash its devastating firepower onto the ruler.

"Alright then, what if you do take me down, what then?" Naruto asked.

"W-Wha?" Thrace said, nearly tripping over himself at the rather unexpected question.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto said "What if you do take me down? What if you do restore your…little kingdom? What then? How will you possibly handle the mob?"

"T-The mob…" Thrace trailed off.

"Yes, you know, the mob! The people! The citizens! Whatever you refer to them as! How will you deal with them? Even you can't delude yourself into thinking that they'll love you and…her." Naruto said while pointing a finger at Bethany, who flinched and looked away.

"W-W-Well… she…B-Bethany is a kind and loving person! They'll love her!" Thrace said, though even he didn't sound very certain.

"Oh? You mean that they'll just forget the centuries of abuse that Sethelonian Royal Family committed on them, that they'll just forgive and forget how the Royal Guard stole babies from their parents to be brainwashed into loyal troops, that they'll just accept those who stole so much from them so readily into their hearts? You really are a complete moron." said Naruto.

"…" Thrace tried to come up with some form of rebuttal, some way to deny what Naruto said, but he wasn't having much luck in that regard.

"The people are your castle, your ramparts, your moat. Without them your house is nothing! I possess their love. I possess their loyalty. I didn't go on for a thousand years or so stomping down on their rights and making them live in the very depths of poverty! Every single piece of news I've ever spread about the horrors your Royal Family committed on their own people is true. I'll admit there was a time when the Sethelonian rulers were kind and just people, but that time has long since past. And now people can only remember the bad parts of the Sethelonian Royalty. And really, when the last 2,000 years were filled with wretched leaders it isn't hard for them to hate you." Naruto said.

Thrace was starting to become panicked. He had always been so sure that despite the fact that the Sethelonian rulers were awful he'd have been able to get Bethany on the throne. Ever since the day she saved him from those bullies, he had become determined to protect her, and upon seeing her kindness and serenity, he was absolutely positive that she was meant to be the ruler of the kingdom. But now that Xion was actually in front of him pointing out these flaws, it was starting to batter away at his confidence.

"Now, perhaps the biggest question off all is whether or not our little miss princess over there even wants to be a ruler." Naruto said, pointing straight at Bethany who cowed under the Emperor's gaze.

"Um…w-well…I…I" Bethany closed her eyes and took a deep breath, opening them once more when she shouted "I DON'T WANT TO BE A QUEEN!"

Her shout was so loud that it momentarily stunned everyone, regardless of whether they had known her well or not. Bethany just naturally came off as a quiet type.

"Thrace…maybe…maybe he really would be a better ruler." Bethany said, turning to the one whom she trusted most in the galaxy.

"W-What!" Thrace said, while the rest of their group looked at the girl shocked.

For some the fact that Naruto could be good at anything was too much for them to take while for others it was that she seemed to be complimenting her family's killer.

"Well, he's right! Everyone loves him! Every time I see one of those broadcasts, thousands of people in them are singing his praises! Everywhere we hear about how things are getting better for everyone, how all the cities are being rebuilt, how everyone isn't starving, how the people are able to live again! It's better if we just let him rule. He's clearly better at it, and he's wanted." Bethany said, unable to keep off the look of regret and sorrow she felt at knowing that she would never be able to earn her people's forgiveness.

"B-Bethany…no." Thrace said. Unable to stand up after hearing that he fell to his knees, broken in a way.

All he wanted was to make her Queen, and now he felt as if he had failed her in the biggest way possible, by being unable to help her realize this dream.

Malcador suddenly fired his blaster pistol above Naruto, shooting at Lee who had been sneaking around, trying to get the drop on Naruto while was 'distracted' by his conversation.

Flipping back to avoid the laser fire, Lee yelled back "My apologies! I was unable to carry out my attack! Proceed with the next phase!"

Everyone then began to throw their thermal detonators towards the Mandalorians, forcing them to split off to avoid the grenades.

Once those had gone off, the Ibonihs survivors charged in, engaging in battle with the surprised Mandalorians.

Malcador took the fight to Lee, while the Caracon contingent that had accompanied their Overlord also entered the fray. Damokas fought with Tsunade while Rilengar held off Jiraiya.

Shikamaru meanwhile directed everyone through the earpiece communicators that everyone had. He smirked as he saw the second half of his plan being put into motion. He was somewhat disappointed that Jiraiya and Tsunade were being held up, but if the two they were fighting were able to go toe to toe with them, even if it was only in taijutsu he'd rather that they keep on distracting them.

Now, through this distraction all that needed to be done was for several smokescreens to be cast up. Once that was done, he could sneak on through, and kill Naruto himself, making that monster pay for the death and destruction he had caused.

However, before he could even begin to move, another figure rushed through the fighting crowd, dodging, ducking, weaving, and twisting around with grace as she got closer to Naruto.

Hinata grinned viciously as she rushed at Naruto, intent on dishing out whatever form of punishment she had in mind.

"Ooooooh Naruto-kun! How wonderful it is to see you again! Tell me, why did you betray me again?" Hinata called out in a terribly deceptive voice before proceeding to attack.

Just as she was about to however, she found herself getting punched in the face from the side, a fist from Surzin having pushed her away.

Flying off to the side, Hinata landed on the ground and skidded for a few seconds before coming to a stop.

Surzin meanwhile grimaced at his punch. It was far weaker than it should have been though sadly it was necessary. Due to the Caracon race as a whole living on a planet with 5 times the normal gravity than what was normal to a human, this had led to them becoming much stronger than normal. On their planet it was okay as everything there had grown or been built with that 5 times stronger gravity, but outside, it was much more of a problem.

This meant that all Caracon had to wear a special implant which connected to their nervous systems, decreasing their body strength to a degree that was more acceptable. Thankfully, the implant was controllable and could have the limiters reversed, allowing for a full on beat down, though Surzin felt that it wouldn't be necessary this time.

Furious, Hinata jumped back to her feet and glared at the one who dared to interrupt her chance at attaining her slave.

"You!" Hinata spat with venom while looking at Surzin.

"HOW DARE YOU INTERFERE! NARUTO WAS GOING TO BECOME MY SLAVE! THAT LITTLE DEMON WAS GOING TO PAY FOR MESSING WITH MY HEART! I WOULD HAVE WORKED HIM TO THE BONE UNTIL HE WAS BEGGING FOR MY FORGIVENESS, LICKING MY HEEL LIKE A BROKEN DOG AND CALLING ME MASTER! BUT YOU, YOU INTERFERED WITH OUR LOVE! NOW DIE!" Hinata roared out, completely and utterly insane by this point.

Surzin raised an eye while looking at Naruto, a WTF look on his face.

Naruto merely shrugged, twirling one finger next to his ear in a spiral, universal for crazy.

The insane woman tried to continue her assault on Naruto, ignoring Surzin, who Force Pushed her into a waiting group of Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders. Taking up battle with her, the sound of pain and fear could be heard as the poor soldiers tried to contend with the insane force that Hinata had become.

Needless to say…they failed. Miserably. And in his heart, Naruto couldn't help but feel sorry for them, seeing as Hinata did very powerful strikes that not only managed to crack open their armor, but also seemingly did massive internal damage in the horrible cries of agony were any clue. He didn't know, but it seemed that Hinata was somehow managing to use the Force even though as far as Naruto knew, there was simply no way she could have had any training.

Meanwhile, the rest of the people fighting mainly consisted of Ixecis and the Ibonihs people, Bethany having pulled Thrace out of danger.

Sasuke was having one hell of a problem though. He was currently going at seven on one again, only this time he at least had weapons. As with all the Ibonihs group, due to their lack of chakra, they'd been forced into equipping themselves with more weapons such as blasters, thermal detonators, vibroblades, rocket launchers, and any other weapon they could get their hands on.

As for how Sasuke was doing against the Mandalorians, he was actually managing to hold them off. He was forced to dodge a swing from one Mandalorian blade only to have block another slash with his own vibroblade.

Jumping back, Sasuke saw three more Mandalorians charging in front of him. He could also hear two more coming in from behind. Once they had all gotten into close range, he jumped up into the air and let them all crash into each other.

At least, that's what should have happened. However, it seemed the warriors were much more skilled than he gave them credit for as they managed to stop themselves from crashing into each other.

And while that went on, the two remaining Mandalorians brought out their blaster pistols and fired them at Sasuke. They even managed to score several singing blows, though the armor that Sasuke wore prevented anything too serious.

Once he landed back on the ground, Sasuke was forced to deal with the recovered Mandalorians who began to once more assault him from several sides. Slowly, Sasuke was starting to tire. Forced to constantly block and dodge, he wasn't able to get anywhere and end the fight.

And it was slowly beginning to frustrate him. The more and more he struggled, the more his efforts seemed to be in vain. But then again, that was his life's story. Whether it be with getting his father's attention, trying to make his family proud, trying to outdo Itachi, trying to gain more power; it all just seemed to be so useless in the end. He could never do it.

And now, Itachi was just off on the other side of the room, fighting off several opponents with seeming ease, and yet he couldn't reach him. It only served to further fuel the rage that went through Sasuke.

'Why…WHY! Why is he here! Why can't I ever get him! Why can't I make him pay! He…he killed our mother, our father, our aunts and uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces! He didn't spare anyone except for me! So why is he allowed to walk free! Why is he allowed to go on without punishment while I suffer every day!' Sasuke's thoughts only served to fuel the darkness that was raging in his heart.

And this darkness was sensed by those who were able to, though only a few knew what it truly meant.

Naruto smiled to himself as he began to formulate a plan.

"Sasuke, I must say, you've certainly improved these past few years. After all taking on seven Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders without your chakra is no small feat." Naruto said.

The Mandalorians ceased attacking Sasuke as soon as Naruto spoke, causing Sasuke to look up at Naruto, wondering why he was talking.

"You know, I just wonder about something. I see that you have a shock collar on your neck. That must mean you're a prisoner to these people. But tell me, why would they be keeping your prisoner?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke glared as he was reminded about his collar, and it only served to increase his rage. He was being made into a slave while Itachi got to roam free! It was an outrage.

"Sasuke, you want to kill your brother don't you? He's standing right there you know. All you'd have to do is walk right across the room and stab him. That's all. But you can't can you? It's because you're not strong enough. It's because you don't have power!" Naruto said.

"No…No, NOT YOU TOO!" Sasuke said as he began to back away, clutching at his head as he began to experience an emotional and physical pain.

Out of all the people in the world, Sasuke would never have expected Naruto to be the one saying these words to him. But they were true regardless. Sasuke, no matter what, seemed to never be strong enough to kill his brother, or when he did have the power, he was never able to reach him.

"But it's true! And you know it! You feel angry, you feel fury, you feel sorrow, misery, rage, pain, and betrayal! And all because of one man who has made your life a living hell! When Itachi destroyed your clan, he destroyed your life! HE TRAPPED YOU ON THAT PATH OF AN AVENGER! HE MADE YOU INTO THE SLAVE THAT YOU ARE NOW! KONOHA WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ENSLAVE YOU LIKE THEY DID IF ITACHI HADN'T KILLED OFF YOUR CLAN!" Naruto was now calling upon the Force, reading every last painful moment of Sasuke's life and using it against him.

"N-No…stop it!" Sasuke fell to his knees as he tried to deny Naruto. Alas, the guilt he still felt over having been a part of Naruto's original banishment flowed through, leaving him unable to ignore what Naruto said.

"But there's a way to change all of that! There's a way to make Itachi, to make all of these Konoha fools pay for doing what they did to you!" Naruto spoke, his voice sounding like sweet honey to Sasuke's ears now.

"H-How…" Sasuke said, his eyes wide open, his form trembling, looking for all the world like a lost child.

"It's simple. Give in." said Naruto.

"H-Huh?" questioned Sasuke.

"Give in to your anger. Let your rage consume you. Let that darkness rise up from inside of you, and overwhelm you, and then use it! You will gain a power unlike any other! POWER THAT WILL LET YOU CRUSH ITACHI IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND!" Naruto yelled out.

"But how…HOW DO I USE IT?!" Sasuke yelled back, still unsure about this. He had already made a mistake about trying to obtain power once, and he really didn't want it to happen again.

Naruto smirked at this "Join me Sasuke. Join me, and I will teach you everything you need to know! Stand by my side, and you will be able to become one of the greatest figures in all of history, and, you will be able to start your family again."

"SASUKE NO!" Sakura yelled out, her eyes wide, a look of utter desperation upon her face as she realized what was happening. Her Sasuke was trying to leave her.

"SASUKE, DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! HE'S LYING!" Ino roared, trying to make sure her Sasuke stayed where he should.

"I…I accept." Sasuke said while bowing down towards Naruto.

To Sasuke, when he looked at Naruto he didn't see a blond haired man dressed in robes and armor, but rather a glowing nexus of power. It was of such intensity that it nearly blinded him. And yet at the same time it was saturating, intoxicating. He wanted to be able to wield such strength as well. It was just awe inspiring.

"Excellent." Naruto said.

Then looking directly into Sasuke's eyes, Naruto said "Now, dig deep, and find that power within yourself. Let your feelings of rage and hate guide you."

Sasuke did just that. As with his chakra, Sasuke dug deep into himself, trying to draw out that power, focusing his rage, hate, pain, and any other powerful emotion he felt would be useful into his search. What happened next was rather explosive to say the least.

"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGH!" Sasuke roared out has the Dark Side of the Force blasted out of him, filling him with power that he had never experienced before.

His eyes became sulfuric yellow, and his hair began to blow upward while Force Energy exploded out from his body.

The shock collar around his neck was blown off by the power, breaking in half and being sent flying to opposite sides of the room.

Everyone took pause from their fights as they knew that what had just happened was very important, and the Ibonihs knew that it really wasn't good for them. Made some of them wish they had tried to stop Naruto from talking to Sasuke though.

Eventually the power died down, leaving Sasuke breathing heavily. But that wasn't from exhaustion, but excitement.

Naruto then took two lightsabers from a pocket of his and tossed them both over to Sasuke, who caught and ignited them, the red of the blades illuminating him. With the sulfuric eyes, it only served to make him look more dark than he already was.

Immediately Sasuke rushed over to Itachi, weaving his way through the crowd, intent on achieving his long awaited vengeance.

Itachi also moved forward, dashing through his Mandalorian opponents to meet his brother in battle.

The two clashed blades, Sasuke's lightsabers crossing with Itachi's single vibroblade.

The two pushed against one another, each trying to overpower the other. Sasuke held a maniac like look in his eyes as he sought to attack his brother. The Dark Side of the Force flowed through him, increasing his strength as he let his rage course through him.

Itachi could feel the increase in strength that Sasuke gained and immediately moved back, knowing he couldn't combat that.

Sasuke's lightsabers swung downward as they lost their resistant foe, burning deep grooves into the floor.

Sasuke immediately rushed forward once again, intent on slicing apart Itachi with his lightsabers. Itachi this time chose to dodge Sasuke's blows, swerving, weaving, bobbing, twisting, and practically dancing around Sasuke's blows.

Everyone was watching the battle between the two, none daring to interfere in the battle between brothers; knowing that this was so much more than just one brother trying to kill another.

After Sasuke and Itachi had split off once more, Itachi spoke for what had to be the first time since waking up.

"So little brother, you've gained a new power. I wonder, will this be enough? You've gathered all of your hatred, just like I told you so long ago, and yet you still can't seem to kill me." Itachi spoke in his constant monotone.

"ARGH!" Sasuke roared out, charging his brother with both lightsabers pointed forwards, going at mind numbingly fast speeds.

For those not attuned to the Force, Sasuke was impossible to follow. For those that were, he was still moving at impressive speeds.

Itachi for his part remained entirely calm, waiting for Sasuke to reach him.

Naruto widened his eyes as he started to realize what was going on with Itachi.

'Damn! I didn't think he'd have the Force too! And from the looks of things, it seems several more of them have the potential too!' Naruto thought, frustrated that his plan for turning Sasuke may get disrupted.

When Sasuke did reach Itachi, he calmly moved, knocking aside both lightsabers with his vibroblade and raising his free hand, using the Force to push back Sasuke, sending him flying back to the other side of the room.

Everyone else looked on in shock. Just a moment ago it was Sasuke who seemed to have the advantage, and then Itachi just pulled this.

'Itachi…you really are a genius!' Naruto thought, impressed with how Itachi had managed to utilize the Force entirely by himself, just like he did all those years ago.

As Sasuke flew, back, Ino and Sakura, who would have normally gone to help him immediately were instead stuck by the wayside, tears falling from their faces as they kept pressing the shock collar activators, trying to take back their control of Sasuke; so lost in their disturbing delusions that they couldn't realize that there was no way for them to do such a thing.

Deidara meanwhile, who had been silent in all of this was taking his position, hidden behind one of the statues of Revan. Shikamaru smirked as Deidara alerted him to his position. He had put in this final piece of the plan to have Naruto killed. Deidara, who was excellent with long range was chosen to have a sniper rifle and was given the task of dodging around and getting into a position where he could safely attack Naruto should all the other options fail.

And now it was time for him to make his move.

Deidara took aim, Naruto watched as Sasuke tried to get up and engage his brother once more while a smile slowly formed on Naruto's face.

Deidara smirked once before he fired, the sniper rifle blasting out its powerful laser shot. The red beam went through its target's head, burning through their skull, brain, and coming back out. With a cauterized wound through her head, Ino Yamanaka fell down to the ground, dead.

Shikamaru's eyes widened in horror as he saw this.

"W-What the hell! What's going on?! I-Ino! NO!" tears started to form in his eyes as he turned and glared at Deidara who jumped from his hiding spot and moved next to Naruto, bowing down as he did so.

"I hope you don't mind, but I decided to join you, un." Deidara said with a smirk as he got up.

Deidara, when he had awoken and learned of their homeworld's demise hadn't been horrified like the rest. He'd been ecstatic. What had happened to their entire world was literally the biggest type of bang he could think off! For his entire world to go out in such a manner, truly representing the art of a fleeting moment was the height of what an artist could hope to achieve.

Xion had earned Deidara's respect. Finding out that he was one of their Jinchurriki targets hadn't even put a damper in his spirits. All in all, a much better prospect to join than those ragtag freedom fighters.

"Weren't you a former member of the Akatsuki?" Naruto questions, though there is a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Yeah, but no hard feelings against you. I was forced into the organization anyways, not like I wanted to be there." Deidara said rather nonchalantly.

"And you aren't upset that I nearly killed you?" asked Naruto.

"Are you kidding me! Going out like that would have been the best. A true testament to my art. It is all but for a fleeting moment after all." Deidara said, a rather large grin on his face now.

"YOU BASTARD! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO KILL HIM! NOT JOIN HIM!" Shikamaru yelled out hysterically, weeping over the death of Ino.

With Sasuke now up again he glared at the Ibonihs group, about to charge into their midst. They meanwhile readied their own weapons, willing to fight Sasuke if he tried to attack them. However, when the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders began to back him up, their already rather low morale sank further. And with Deidara having joined up with Naruto, things were really starting to look down for the group, especially as they were outnumbered and were unable to use their chakra.

The Ibonihs people realized that they would have to retreat. Surrender simply wasn't an option for them.

Jiraiya and Tsunade each disengaged from their respective opponents, having been so caught up in their fights that they had ended up ignoring most of what had happened.

Each of them was panting heavily, sweat rolling down their bodies and burn marks were everywhere. Meanwhile their opponents were far better off than them, not having any wounds and managing to look as though they hadn't broken a sweat, though if one looked closely you would see small signs of weariness on them.

The situation was turning, and the Ibonihs group was slowly being forced back.

All but one of them.

"NARUTOOOOOOO-KUUUUUUUUUUUUUN! I'm waiting for you…so why…WHY WON'T YOU LOVE ME!" Hinata screamed hysterically as she charged once more at Naruto.

She maneuvered though all of the troops that tried to stop her. Their actions were seemingly pointless.

"Big sister!" Hanabi said as she made her way over to her sis, determined to support her. Though she had some rather different plans from her sister, as she was more intent on bringing an end to the treacherous scum who destroyed their world. Hanabi had had an easier time getting through the crowd of Mandalorians by being smaller, and all of them being distracted by her sister.

Once she did reach her, the both of them prepared to fight against Naruto. Or they would have if Surzin hadn't been in their way first. Slashing at them with his lightsabers, Surzin was determined to not let them reach his ally.

And for all the viciousness that Hinata possessed and all the skill Hanabi had, it wasn't anywhere close enough to match Surzin's overwhelming power. He was faster, stronger, and better than either of them could hope to be.

This became obvious as not after even a minute of fighting Hinata and Hanabi were clearly beaten.

On their knees, the sisters were down to the last of their strength as they sought to get back up and fight again. But on Hinata's face, there was the unmistakable look of fear. She didn't want to die here. She still had so much to do. She hadn't made Naruto pay yet.

And then, smoke bombs blew up right in the middle of the Mandalorians, shrouding them all in a dark smoke.

Hinata took her chance, shoving her weary sister towards Surzin, she shocked the Overlord with the betrayal of her sister before fleeing within the smoke.

The sound of blaster fire could then be heard within the smoke, causing men to curse or yell out in anger. Suddenly a man came back, pedaling out of the darkness, and to Thrace and Bethany's delight it was Varison.

"Come on you guys! I've gotten us a way out of here!" Varison yelled out to the group, getting them to follow him through the room's exit.

Once the smoke had cleared up from the Mandalorians, they grew confused when they saw that their enemies were gone.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for? GO AFTER THEM!" Xion yelled out, annoyed he had to actually tell them that.

Malcador meanwhile smacked his face in embarrassment of his troops.

Having just killed off the few soldiers and mechanics in the hangar bay, the Ibonihs group now boarded a transport ship.

"H-Hey, Varison, how did you manage to get this?" Bethany asked, awed along with Thrace.

"Well, while you guys went off and got yourselves captured by Xion, I managed to enter that room. Turns out it was a security room too. Unfortunately there were several soldiers in there, and I ended up having to fight them. I also ended up damaging a far bit of the equipment inside as well. It was nearly a disaster once the fight was over. My only saving grace was that there was one set of working consoles left in the room after the fight. I accessed those and managed to get a layout of the ship. In fact, I also managed to access the security systems. And that's where I made a rather unfortunate discovery." Varison said with a grimace at the end.

"What was it?" Bethany asked.

"Ours is the only group still alive. All the other boarding parties were pretty much eliminated as soon as they got onto the ship." Varison said, a frown on his face.

Bethany gasped, raising a hand to her mouth in horror. 'Dorgovitch, I'm so sorry.' she thought as she closed her eyes in sympathy for the man.

Thrace also closed his eyes, his regret starting to soar for ever taking this mission.

The Grinshi Commandos under Dorgovitch's command had nearly all volunteered to be a part of the boarding parties, and now all of them save the few on board the Sarthowa were dead.

"Now, let's leave this place. I don't know about you guys, but I'm done with Xion and this empire bullshit for a while." Varison said, marching up into the transport.

"W-Wait. W-Where's Ixecis?" Thrace asked, having noticed that the Turian wasn't with them and hadn't been amongst those that had boarded the ship.

"Tsk, like I know, or care! Now come on, we don't have any more time!" Varison said, pulling Thrace and Bethany into the ship and closing the doors.

He went over to the cockpit, ignoring everyone else on board and pulled out Jiraiya, who was trying to figure out how to work the ship, and sat down in the pilots chair.

Bringing the ship's systems online, Varison had the ship blast out of the hangar bay just as a group of furious Mandalorians and Sith Troopers entered.

"Hey you!" Ixecis said.

Naruto and Surzin turned to look at her, rather surprised that she hadn't left with her allies.

"You! Are you listening to me?!" Ixecis said, pointing straight at Surzin.

"Well I am now." Surzin said, confused as to why she would even still be here.

"Don't you know how much of a fool you're being?!" Ixecis yelled at him.

"You know, considering the fact that you actually stayed behind for some reason, I say you're the fool." Xion said, bringing out his lightsaber to kill another one of those rebels.

"Don't you see" Ixecis said, ignoring Xion completely, "you're being played by that man! He did it to my people too! Can't you see that?!" Ixecis warned.

"I don't see the need to justify anything to you. But if you must know, Xion has helped my entire race in a way I'll never be able to truly repay him for. Allying with him was simply the least of what I could do." Surzin said.

"No, no, no, no, NO! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! THAT MONSTER NEEDS TO DIE! HE ALREADY KILLED OFF MY BROTHER!" and here Ixecis glared at Xion "You remember General Altimus, the man you MANIPULATED AND BETRAYED!"

"And your point?" Xion said, "Yes I used him and I got what I wanted out of him. In this line of business it happens. He was my enemy and I utilized him in the most efficient manner possible. Besides, he wasn't some rose colored little school boy. He was perfectly willing to wage a war of conquest on his own. I just provided a bit of a boost."

"NO! YOU PROMISED HIM THE SALARIAN UNION! AND YOU STABBED HIM IN THE BACK, DRAGGING BOTH OF OUR RACES DOWN!" Ixecis roared hysterically before pointing towards Surzin.

"Can't you see, you need to kill him now! Before he does to you what he did to my people and destroys you! You need to join us!" Ixecis yelled.

Surzin's eyes went cold at that. He had had enough from her. What she was suggesting to him was easily one of the biggest insults ever. Most Caracon held an extraordinarily high value on loyalty. And since Xion had not only defeated one of the biggest threats to ever visit the Caracon race, but also got the alliance, he had won a very deep seated loyalty from Surzin. Alliances weren't something to be made lightly in his eyes after all.

Surizn could sympathize with the Ixecis for the loss of her family member, but that still didn't change his loyalty towards Xion.

Ixecis meanwhile continued to go off on a rant about how Surzin should kill Xion as quickly as possible. Her heart was somewhat in the right place but sadly for her she had no idea that she had just sealed her own doom.

Raising his hand Surzin sent out a Force Choke on the Turian.

Rising up from the ground and gasping for air, the Force slowly wound its way around Ixecis' neck, squeezing the air, and subsequently life out of the woman. Her eyes widened and she clawed at her throat, desperately trying to get rid of the seemingly invisible arms that held a grasp on it. In her eyes one could see a multitude of emotions ranging from fear to anguish to desperation to despair. Finally a crack was heard, signifying that Ixecis neck was broken, and the dead woman fell to the ground in a heap.

Turning over to Xion, Surzin bowed, saying "Sorry for my outburst there. I just couldn't let her keep insulting me like that. As if my honor was so worthless." Surzin muttered the last part to himself.

"No worries. One less enemy to worry about. Now, I think I'd best inform the captain to have the rest of that rebellion wiped out." Xion said, glaring as he thought about those who had become a part of it.

Surzin nodded before looking down at the knocked out Hanabi. He couldn't help but pity the girl for the betrayal she had suffered from her own sister.

As soon as Varison had the ship lift off from the Exterminatus' hanger, he set it straight for one of the Turian Cruisers, having seen the state that the Sarthowa was in and not even bothering with it.

He went straight for the one that held the civilians that had been rescued from Ibonihs and moved into it right before the assault on the station. That Turian Cruiser was moving away from the battlefield so as to make its escape while the final one was providing cover. The Imperial Interceptors and Mobile Suits however were making it very difficult for the final cruiser to be of any use however.

And the Exterminatus had finally gotten into long range and was thus capable of using its all powerful beam cannons.

The ship took aim, targeting the fleeing cruiser, and fired. The powerful green beams blasted through space, intent on annihilating their target. Yet before they could, the other Turian Cruiser gave the last of its own life shooting forward at full power to intercept the attack.

It succeeded in that task, blocking the powerful beam with its own body. Alas, that came with the cost of losing its own life in the process as the beam tore through the ship's hull, buring huge holes though it and coming out the other side. The cruiser exploded, the fire and smoke coming out and providing a small obscuring of vision for the Exterminatus' crew when spotting the fleeing ship. Then again, that's what targeting computers were for.

"S-Sir, you might want to look at this." a rather scared bridge officer said to the Captain as he pointed towards a computer screen.

"Hm? What is it? Emperor Xion has ordered us to hunt down those escapees so make it quick." the Captain ordered.

The bridge officer pointed once again towards the computer screen, causing the Captain to look at it. What he saw was sufficient enough to get him to panic. The screen showed an image of the battlefield as a whole, and was it was currently showing was a blipping dot that was the Sarthowa getting closer and closer at extremely unusual speeds.

"Oh shit!" the Captain said as he realized what was happening.

"Turn the ship around immediately! Have all starfighters and mobile suits target the damaged Centurion! Bring it down right now!"

Location: Sarthowa

Fires raged all across the damaged ship and sparks burst out of wiring that had been exposed by the damage.

In the command bridge, Dorgovitch had taken personal control of the ship's steering controls, moving the ship as fast as he possibly could.

Everyone else on the command bridge was already dead, leaving him as the only survivor there. And Dorgovitch had also rerouted all of the ship's power systems to shields and engines and life support for the bridge. Everything else had been cut off, killing practically everyone else onboard the ship, leaving Dorgovitch as not only the only survivor on the bridge but on the entire thing!

Sweat rolled down his face from the heat in the room. His eyes were set, hard as stone and cold as a blizzard. His lips formed a grim line of determination. Muscles were tensed in anxiety, hand gripped the steering controls tightly, and feet were planted firmly on the floor.

Dorgovitch was dead set on this course of action. He was going to crash the Sarthowa into the Exterminatus, and he swore nothing would stop him

'Hey, Dorgovitch, let's make a promise; that one day we'll rebuild our homes again! I'll visit the Grinshi Kingdom, and you can come over to the Sethelonian Kingdom. We'll be able to have so much fun!' Dorgovitch had remembered those words that Thrace said to him.

He smiled ruefully.

"Alas my young friend! Even then, I knew it was a futile promise! I realized the second that that accursed Xion took over my home that it was hopeless. He was too strong! And my people were too weak!" Dorgovitch yelled out, a wail seeming to come from him at the end of that.

His face then turned into one of pure anger.

"But, what that pasty, no good, imperialistic, greedy pig didn't count on was the love that a man could have for his homeland! He doesn't realize that such a love can give a man the strength of a thousand men! Imbed courage into even the most cowardly of hearts! Inspire the laziest of sloths into zealous action! THAT IS THE LOVE YOU CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND XION! THAT IS WHAT DRIVES ME TO DESTROY YOU AT ANY COST! WHEN YOU DESTROYED MY COUNTRY, WHEN YOUR TROOPS TRAMPLED OVER OUR LAND, YOU IGNITED A HATRED WITHIN ME THAT WILL NEVER DIE! A HATE THAT WAS BORN OUT OF MY LOVE! AND NOW THIS IS WHAT MY HATE WILL DO! THIS IS WHAT I AM CAPABLE OFF YOU IMPERIAL SCUM! NOW, IMPRINT THIS INTO YOUR PITIFUL MINDS! I AM DORGOVITCH REZNOF, LEADER OF THE GRINSHI COMMANDOS AND PROUD SON OF THE GRINSHI KINGDOM, AND I WILL BRING DOWN A RECKONING UPON ALL OF YOU WEAK IMPERIALIST BASTARDS!" Dorgovitched screamed out at the top of his lungs, adrenaline fueling his every action now.

The Sarthowa blasted forth at full speed, remaining engines powering the ship forward. All safeties for them had been turned off, allowing for them to work at several times their normal function, but causing even more damage to themselves and the ship. The shield meanwhile took blows from the Imperial Interceptors and Zaku's, protecting the ship from their weapons.

But their combined weight was still taking its toll, and the shields could only hold out for so long.

Still, the Battlecruiser powered on through, the state it was in irrelevant to its mission.

Alas, that was a mission it would never complete, for the Annihilator-Class Stardestroyer had finished turning around to meet the threat, and this time it brought forth all 16 of its mighty beam cannons to bear.

"Wipe that piece of junk off the face of the galaxy!" the Captain ordered.

The green beams fired out from the twin barrels of the gun emplacements, shooting forward to meet their target. This time, the Sarthowa's shields fell apart completely, having lasted for barely a second against such firepower.

The beams tore through the already badly damaged ship, destroying everything. The hull was warped, the metal melted, holes were made, and the entire ship was blown to pieces.

In the end, despite Dorgovitch's conviction, it just wasn't a match.

If there was one good thing that had come out of it for the dead man though, then it was that his actions had bought enough time for his companions to get away once more.

Well, I tried my best, but I don't think I'll be able to get everything that I wanted to fit into this chapter. My original plan was to have this be the last sort of buildup chapter before the Clone Wars, but now I'm starting to feel as though the last arc I'm writing is taking forever, and I feel as though I've made everyone wait long enough for the next update. So here it is, with just one more chapter to go before the Clone Wars.

Also, I get that the reunion between Naruto and the Konoha people was probably disappointing, and to be honest, I just really didn't know how to write that scene any better. So any criticisms on that part are welcome. Just please try to be constructive.

And finally, for any who are curious about my current situation, I've just entered my freshman year of college, so I'm experiencing a lot of different things right now. It's really different from highschool, that much I can assure you of. Way more free time, but most of it I've dedicated to studying. I eventually want to get into medschool.

And finally, HAIL TO PITT! My new college and home away from home for hopefully the next eight years.

(1): I have a pic of Thrace uploaded to my profile.

(2): After Action Report

(3): The Caracon are an OC species created by a good friend of mine known as Flair the Demon Dragon King. Just type that into the search engine and set it to authors to find him. PM him for most information on this race, as he is the ultimate creator. All credit for this species goes to him and I am just happy to try and bring them to life.

(4): Means "Where he first taught"

(5): Means "Where he first walked"

(6): Means "a life that has been scratched"

(7): Means "heavy defense"

(8): Means "Unseen threat"

(9): Means "Dangerous Beauty"

(10): Means "Marvelous achievement"

(11): Means "the call of the wild"

(12): Means "Dark secret searcher"

(13): The italicized means that they are talking in their own native language. I wasn't going to bother writing down the entire conversation in it.

(14): Means "Great Hunger"