Chapter 13: She's Gone 1/2

Disclaimer: I guess I should tell you that I don't own this. So I shall. I don't own this.

Author's Note: Yo, I'm back. I gotta get this off my chest, that Black Panther teaser during the NBA Finals was amazing. I love the director/writer Ryan Coogler, he is honestly amazing, Creed and Fruitvale Station are awesome movies. That and you got some of the greatest actors in the business; Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Martin Freeman, Lupita Nyong'o, and Andy Serkis are all amazing. The only pour decision that has been made regarding this movie is that god awful poster. What's with MCU and their low-quality posters recently, I mean seriously. Captain America: Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Spider-man: Homecoming, and now Black Panther. But, a poster doesn't define the movie, so I won't let that effect my opinion of how the movie will turn out, and you readers shouldn't either. Don't sweat something as small as a poster. Key example of people flipping out over stupid shit being the super dumb thing known as "ScarGate." For those that are unaware, fanboys nearly shat out of their mouths when they saw that Kylo Ren's scar in The Last Jedi had been shifted upward so that it stretches over his eye rather than the bridge of the nose. Who cares? You see the cut in The Force Awakens for like three seconds, and I think we can all agree that in hindsight it looked really awkward. Now, from what I could see from the nanosecond long shot in the trailer, it looks waaaay better. Okay, rant over.

The title of this chapter is a song by Daryl Hall and John Oats, though I prefer the Tavares version. I heard this song while on vacation, and it inspired this chapter pretty heavily. Also, someone PM'd me and asked if I would recommend the readers listen to the song while reading this chapter. I would, or at least listen to it before so you get an idea of the mood I'm trying to set.

-x-

Chapter Thirteen: She's Gone

-x-

"Wow."

Those were the only words Naruto could use to describe the city of Xandaria, capital city to the planet of Xandar. Unlike Earth, where a city lives in a county, which lives in a state or region, which lives in a country, which lives in a continent; Xandar wasn't divided, but united under a single flag. This seemed to be a major similarity in several major world powers such as Hala or Skrullos. Tara had felt the need to inform him about the Xandarian way of life, with Xandar being ruled by their Empress, Adora Volt. The ruler is selected by a council of governors and military leaders, with the prerequisites being that they needed to have served at least ten years within the Nova Corps, with their ranking needing to be Denarian, they also need to have spent another ten years in a high government position, and finally need the backing of several dozen government leaders throughout the world. And that's just to be nominated as a candidate, there was a lot more vetting that needed to be done, and then there was the world-wide vote that took place when it was narrowed down to two people. Usually, the Emperor or Empress of Xandar is in their late fifties at the youngest, but Empress Adora was in her early forties, described as a military prodigy went through the ranks with ease and became the Governor of some regent when she was twenty-five.

Speaking of ranks, apparently their military's ranking system is similar to that of the Elemental Nations. The Corpsman are Genin, the Millennians are Chunin, the Denarians was a go between, though Naruto supposed he could compare it to a Special Jonin, and finally Centurions are Jonins. Then you have the Nova Prime who Naruto could compare to the Hokage in several ways. Supposedly, all soldiers in the Nova Corps have access to the "Nova Force," a source of power created and sustained by the Xandarian government. The power however is kept under check, once again this is all hearsay, because the power can cause various side effects depending on the mentality of the user, from heightened aggression to full blown madness, with the Centurions are vetted heavily to ensure that they won't succumb when given complete access to it.

The city of Xandaria was incredibly large, with towering skyscrapers that eclipsed the buildings within New York City entirely, their structure however being more circular in shape. Set in the middle of a body of water, the city was shaped after the Nova symbol, a six-point star to be exact, whether it was natural or manmade unknown to Naruto, the blonde man to busy marveling at the shining metropolis. What impressed Naruto the most about the city was that it was massive, around the size of Rhode Island all together.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Tara asked, walking up next to the still flabbergasted blonde, "Though, I think that the city of Kreed is my personal favorite, a little less…snobbish."

"Snobbish?" Naruto asked.

Tara shrugged, "The Xandarian people are known throughout the galaxy for being a bit…self-righteous, Xandar is the wealthiest planet, with Xandaria being the wealthiest city in the system, along with having the most prestigious military slash police force in several galaxies."

The ninja gave a slow nod, "So, you guys mentioned a war?"

"The Thousand Year War." She clarified, "No one truly knows what the catalyst was, though the popular belief is that the war started when a Kree battleship destroyed a Xandarian transport unit carrying civilians. After that, Xandar declared war and they've been fighting ever sense. Sure, there've been lulls here or there, but for the most part this war has been a brutal mess."

"So you've got two worlds fighting a war that has been going on for so long most of them don't really know what they're fighting for to begin with? Why not end it if that's the case?"

"Well, one of the major reasons for the Xandarian's vast wealth is that they've made a massive profit off the war." Tara folded her arms under her bust, "Then you have the Kree people, most of whom are heavily militarized, with a good handful of their military leaders being highly fanatical in their belief that Xandar needs to be wiped from existence, Ronan the Accuser being the most outspoken."

Naruto shook his head, "Still, for a war to last a thousand years. That's just unthinkable to me."

"They've been having peace negotiations for a decade now, but it's a slow process. Hopefully it will end within the next few decades, but who's to say."

Naruto looked over at Tara, "Do you really not care?"

Tara shrugged again, "War is good for business as far as the Ravagers go. Xandar or Kree will send out a bounty, or someone will need something smuggled in or out of somewhere, or something needs to be stolen for some strategical nonsense. Do I want the war to end though? I suppose."

Naruto was about to continue when Martinex spoke up behind him, his head poking out from the doorway, "We'll be landing in half an hour, from there I'll have Tara and Stoveer take you to the Broker to get you a Unit Transfer Apparatus. From there we'll get your Unit Account set up so that we can transfer to you your Units." His head retracted back, only to pop back as he spoke again, more than likely as an afterthought, "Also, the Captain would like to meet you down in the hanger before you depart."

"Got it, thanks." Naruto said to the retreating first mate, "Stoveer?" He asked to Tara.

The daughter of Stakar began to walk over to the door, "He's pretty much our accountant. He'll make sure you get a good Uta and that your payment transfers smoothly."

Naruto followed after Tara, an eyebrow raised, "Uta?"

"It's what people call the Unit Transfer Apparatus. If you're going to travel around the galaxy, you're going to need to get a grip on the lingo."

Scoffing, Naruto said, "I'm trying my best here Tara, give me a break."

"Is that the same kind of 'trying your best' as when I tried to teach you how to fly a M-Ship for the first time?" Tara asked, "Because if it wasn't for me you would've crashed into that cliff side." Looking over her shoulder, she smirked at the now pouting blonde.

Naruto couldn't help but think about his first flying lesson, something Stakar had insisted upon. Tara had taken him out while they were fueling up the Starhawk, the woman sitting in the co-pilot chair, showing Naruto all the things he'd need to know. From the throttle positioned on his right, to the fuel gage, to the autopilot controls, and so on and so forth. What Naruto found interesting was that if programmed in, the co-pilot could take control of the ship at any point with a shift of their throttle, with the pilot being able to do the same as well. According to Tara, this was because there are somethings the pilot can't see, and with how volatile the star ways are, it's safer just to have the co-pilot take immediate control rather than give the warning verbally, have the pilot take notice, and for the pilot to then take action.

So, as soon as Naruto had a pretty good understanding of where everything was, Tara handed him the reigns. Stupid decision on her part. He had almost immediately lost control of the ship, nearly crashing them into the side of a cliff before Tara took back control. Much to his consternation, Stakar and his crew were quick to let him know how poor his piloting skills were, claiming that Tara was a better pilot then he was at five years old. The rest of the month-long trip towards Xandar consisted of Tara and Naruto working on his piloting, with Naruto taking out one of their worse for wear ships out in case he decided to crash it. Once again, thank goodness for the Prayer Beads of Saraswati and its ability to not only allow him to understand every language verbally, but any written language as well, otherwise there would've been no way for Naruto to read the instruction manual given to him by Tara.

"I'll have you know your dad told me I was as good as Martinex." Naruto said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Martinex is one of our worst pilots." Tara pointed out.

"…seriously?" Naruto asked weakly.

"Is it really that shocking you suck at something brat? Last I checked, you weren't exactly the greatest fighter around when you first started out." Kurama stated, "In fact, Genjutsu still isn't your strong suit, even with your newer abilities."

Naruto decided to ignore Kurama, staying quiet for the rest of the walk towards the hanger. When they finally arrived, the duo saw Stakar standing in front of a rather new looking M-Ship. The ship wasn't actually shaped like a 'm,' that simply being the English translation to the Arcturan word it really resembled. If Naruto were to describe it, he'd say it was more like a x with the center split and connected by a horizontal line (-). Anyway, the ship was lean and slick, with its main color scheme being red with purple accents. It was slightly smaller than the standard M-Ship, more than likely more suited for a small group rather than an entire crew of people.

Stakar, his arms folded across his chest with his standard cigar slipped between his fingers, took notice of them, "You sure you don't wanna join my crew kid? We could use someone as destructive as you, that's for sure. That and we need a new pretty boy, my mugs gotten a little saggy in my old age."

Naruto gave an apologetic smile, "Sorry Stakar, but I think I'm gonna have to turn you down…again." The captain of the Starhawk had been rather adamant that the blonde join his crew, the man obviously impressed with his show of power on Hiberlac. In truth, Naruto could see himself joining them, but he had things he had to do, and sadly hanging around these scallywags wasn't one of them.

Stakar shrugged, almost as though he didn't care either way, "Well, I suppose I should leave you with a parting gift. That, and since you did most of the work in taking down Blastaar, I figure I might as well give you a little something extra." Patting the side of the ship, Stakar smirked, "Say hello to your new ship brat."

Shock spread across Naruto's face, the ninja honestly not having expected the man to give him one of his ships. From what Tara and Martinex had told him, you were only given a M-Ship when you had proven yourself as a Ravager. So, for Stakar to give him one of his ships, even Naruto could tell this was an oddity.

"Tha-thank you, Stakar." Naruto said, truthfully thankful for this gift.

Stakar patted Naruto on the shoulder, "Well, can't have you taking anymore naps in space, now can I?"

Naruto chuckled, "No…no I suppose not."

Stakar then turned towards Tara, "Once you help him take care of his business, meet me back at the ship, we'll be rendezvousing with a squad of Centurions in five hours." Turning back to Naruto he said, "You can either stay on the ship while we're still here, or you can go ahead and find yourself a place to stay, either way, be ready for the fact that we are going to be called to meet some kind of bureaucrat either by the end of the day today or sometime tomorrow for our payment."

Naruto nodded, "Right, I'll probably just find a place of my own, get it over with I suppose."

Stakar nodded, the man giving him one last pat on the shoulder before walking past him, his business with the group over with. It was then that someone spoke, "Nice ride Flame Boy, I hear she's mighty fast when she wants to be."

Turning around, Naruto saw a man resembling a hairless rat walking over towards them. The ninja had seen him periodically around the ship, the guy usually sticking to himself as far as eating in the mess hall and walking throughout the ship went.

"Flame Boy?" Naruto asked incredulously, "And you're Stoveer I'm guessing?"

Stoveer nodded, "Right on the first guess, and that's what the crew's been calling you, what with you being on fire when we found you and all."

"Super original." Naruto deadpanned.

The rat man shrugged, "No one's ever called a Ravager creative."

-x-

Naruto stood inside a rather small building, the place no bigger than your average fast food restaurant. Looking around, the blonde could see various pieces of expensive looking jewelry and trinkets, some truly confusing Naruto as to what their purpose was. Apparently, this Broker's jewelry business was a front, his true business being more black-market in nature, with him being the go between in most dealings. Broker would be contacted by whoever, them wanting something valuable that was hard to obtain, Broker would then contact someone like the Ravagers for instance, the Ravagers would find and 'confiscate' the valuable object, they would give it to Broker, he would pay them, then the Broker would sell the object to the employer. Standard stuff. Today however, such under the table dealings weren't necessary, as Naruto's group was looking for a cheap but durable Uta for the blonde warrior.

Broker, who seemed to be of the same species as Stoveer, looked at the Ravager duo with slight apprehension, "You do realize just how incredibly unorthodox this is I hope? When you called me, I was under the assumption that you were looking to do business, not well…actual business."

Stoveer scoffed, "You know damn well we don't deal in 'business' with you Broker, not after what happened with Yondu." Nodding over to Naruto he said, "We're only here because you sell cheap Utas, which Flame Boy over here needs if he wants to survive."

"Don't make us regret coming here Broker." Tara spoke in, "Your lucky our Captain didn't call in an embargo after he heard of the business you and Yondu were dealing in. He still deems you as useful, seeing as how a majority of our Clans use you and your business. But that can change."

That subtle warning seemed to have cowed Broker, as he gave a quick bow, his voice quivering in worry as he spoke, "Of course, of course! My apologies, I'll get what you're looking for right away. Just a moment."

Naruto stepped forward, his eyebrow raised in curiosity as he asked, "Embargo? Does Stakar really have that kind of power?"

Stoveer turned to Naruto, "Stakar is the longest running Captain in the history of the Ravagers, with his original team being the most infamous among the Galaxy. And since every member of that team is now a Captain of their own Clan, all of whom are influential in their own right, Stakar's word carries a lot of weight."

"So what did this guy do to piss him off so much?" Naruto wondered.

Stoveer faced away from him, "That's Ravager business Flame Boy, and last I heard, you're not a Ravager."

"Seriously?" Naruto asked skeptically.

"Naruto." Tara said, her voice firmer than usual, "Just drop it, it's a personal issue."

"Hmm…it seems this 'Yondu' and Broker did something frowned upon, probably something to do with that Ravager Code of theirs." Kurama surmised.

"No shit." Naruto thought, "That's obviously what's going on. I'm just curious as to what went down for Stakar to get that pissed off." The ninja decided to shut up, not seeing reason to continue a conversation that would obviously rather be ignored by the two Ravagers in his company.

Broker came around from the back a few minutes later, a white object in the shape of an oval in his hands. Walking over towards Naruto, he held the device out in front of him, "Which is you nondominant hand?" He asked.

"Left." Naruto answered.

The rat man nodded, "Your left arm then please." He didn't wait for Naruto to stretch his arm out, grabbing it and positioning it in front of him. Placing the white disk onto Naruto's forearm, he positioned it just under his wrist so that it stopped a few inches before the middle of his forearm, "You're going to feel a bit of a…pinch." He warned.

"It's going to wha-MOTHER FUCKER!"

-x-

"Thank you, come again."

Naruto nodded with a smile on his face as he began to walk away from the stand, the blonde ninja now by himself as he walked around the shopping district. After getting his Uta, which hurt like a bitch when it was internally wired into his forearm. After that, the Ravager duo set him up with a hotel before going on their way, telling him that they had his contact information via his Uta, which could apparently make calls for some reason. Feeling kind, Stoveer lent Naruto a couple hundred Units to hold him over until he got his cut transferred over, the rat man feeling the need to tell him that he was taking it out of his portion, asshole.

Now on his own, Naruto decided to walk around and see the sights, the other worlder having found cluster of shops forming a quaint little shopping district hidden in the massive city. His first stop being a small little clothing shack, Naruto bought a cheap grey jacket that was zipped up to his lower chest, the top portion of the open collar flipped up and over. Now looking for a bite to eat, Naruto looked through the various stands, his eye brows raised at the strange looking…things they were selling. He honestly couldn't tell if they were fruits, vegetables, or something in between. He attempted several times to get assistance, but the place was so crowded it was hard to get a word in.

A tap on his shoulder caused him to turn his head over to see a woman, her head mostly covered by cloth, similar to a hijab worn by Muslim women back on Earth only that it kept a bit more of her face from view. His eyebrow raised he said, "Yes?"

The woman looked up slightly, more of her face coming into view. Her deep caramel skin tone was smooth, with full red lips that were pulled into a small smile. Amusement could be seen in her dark brown eyes. Strands of slightly wavy hair fighting to escape their confinement showed Naruto that she had dark brown hair that was almost black. She was truly beautiful. The rest of her cloths were pretty standard as far as he'd seen, with a faded green long sleeve shirt and grey pants.

"You seem to be having trouble." She said, her voice having a surprising smoothness.

Naruto chuckled, "That obvious?"

She nodded, "Xandaria is a hub for all varieties of people, some from the edge of the known universe. That is why we have such a diverse collection here, so we of Xandaria can try different things, and so people from far away can have something a little familiar." Looking over Naruto's shoulder at the stand closest to him she said, "This stand here sells fruit from Hala, they're quite delicious."

Looking over, he gave the stand a quick look over. Satisfied he turned back over, "Thanks a lot-" only to find that she was gone, "What the hell?" He sighed in exasperation.

Buying the less weird looking fruit at the stand, Naruto left the shopping district, now fighting his way through a crowd through a narrow alleyway. All around him he could hear the sounds of bustling restaurants, sign spinners shouting out why you should visit their store, and fly vehicles zooming by hundreds of feet above. Finishing off the purple piece of fruit, Naruto thought, "That was actually pretty good. I'd prefer an apple or something, but whatever."

"You're lucky for that good Samaritan, otherwise you'd still be walking around like an idiot." Kurama chuckled out.

"Yeah I know." It was then that he spotted something in front of him, "Speak of the devil."

There, walking a few yards in front of him, was the mystery woman. Deciding to walk over and give him his belated thanks, something else caught his eye. A man, or what he was assuming was a man, was stealthily making his way towards the mystery woman. His head in the shape of a curved cone, with pointed ears and a skin tone that was a mix of grey and yellow. Wearing a dark grey jacket that was a few sizes too big, Naruto watched as the man bumped into the woman. The two of them stumbled, one a display of decent acting ability. Giving the woman a quick apology, the man went on his merry way. By the time the woman realized her bag was missing, he was already gone, submerged into the crowd.

Naruto was already on the move, weaving his way as fast as he could through the ever thick crowd of people. Making his way next to the woman he said, "Did you see where he went?"

Looking up in surprise, it took her only a second to recognize the man she had assisted earlier, "Uh, yes." Pointing over to the right, Naruto followed her finger over to an alleyway. Nodding, Naruto made his way over.

"Excuse me!" He shouted, "Pardon me!" He bellowed, "Move dammit!" He finally screamed. He cries went unheard, the blonde ninja forced to practically swim through the sea of people. Finally breaking through, Naruto sprinted into the alleyway the woman told him the thief escaped into. As he entered, he immediately saw him walking casually, his hands in his jacket pockets. Just as Naruto was about to take the guy out, someone flew past him. The mystery woman, much to his shock. Showing a speed he honestly wasn't expecting, Naruto watched in mild fascination as the man noticed her coming his way, and made a run for it himself.

Running up the side of a building, the man grabbed ahold of a latter on the side. Scaling up the latter with the quickness of a spider, the man was quickly followed by the woman, pulling off the same moves he had, only with a grace and ease he'd only seen back on his planet. Not wanting to be left out, Naruto ran up and jumped on to the side of the building, sticking to the side with his chakra. Making his way up to the roof of the building just a few seconds after the first two, Naruto came to the site of them pulling off some impressive parkour, jumping and flipping over any obstacle that came in their path. Only, while the thief's was a little more raw, his movements reeking of inexperience, the woman moved like a cheetah on the hunt, with a tamed grace that screamed decades of training.

"Who the hell is this chick?" Naruto asked out loud as they both jumped across the ledge of another building, both landing with a quick roll before continuing the chase.

"You know you could end this with a flick of your wrist, right?" Kurama asked testily.

Naruto smirked, "Where's the fun in that? This isn't something you see every day Kurama."

That was until the thief pulled out something from his pocket and turned around to face her, the object being what looked like a knife. Before the man or woman could move another inch, Naruto's hand wrapped around the thief's wrist, the sound of his bones popping out of place heard by all around.

"Wha?" The man asked, his face scrunched up in pain as he looked at Naruto in surprise.

"Anyone ever tell you it's not nice to steal from a woman, force her to chase you across a set of roof tops, then pull a knife on her?" Naruto asked, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Where did you come from?" The woman asked, "I had it handled by the way."