I'm impressed that this story has actually done quite well…wow for me.
This chapter will center more on Lloyd and Colette- more Kratos to come later.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or Star Wars.
"There is no reason to run. You might as well surrender now, Jedi."
"Oh crap..."
Lloyd was staring at the huge cyborg. The next thing to come out of his mouth was:
"What the hell is a Jedi?" The black figure gave a sort of mechanical laugh, which barely sounded like a laugh at all.
"Do not play games with me, Jedi. You know exactly what I am talking about."
"Actually we don't," piped Colette, "so could you tell us what it is?"
"Colette! Be quiet…we don't want them trying anything funny," hissed Lloyd. He stood up abruptly. If they were going to try and capture him or something, he wasn't going to go down without a fight.
"Alright, mister. I don't know who the hell you are, but why don't you get off of this comet? We don't know anything about this Jedi crap, so LEAVE WHY DONTCHA!"
Another mechanical laugh met his ears.
"I like you, boy. You have spirit. You would do well as my apprentice…Now, what is your name?" Lloyd answered in typical- Lloyd fashion.
"Give me your name and I'll give you mine."
"You know, Lloyd, I thought you were going to give up saying that," whispered Colette.
"Eh, I broke that promise today- I found out though that I can't really live without saying it, anyways."
The black machine-thing looked straight at Lloyd.
"I am Darth Vader. Now I have fulfilled my side of your request- you must fulfill yours."
Lloyd drew himself up. Bravado at the time was better than nothing…
"I'm Lloyd, Lloyd Irving."
"And the girl next to you?"
"I'm Colette Brunel. Nice to meet you!" Typical Colette answer…
"Now, my offer still stands, Lloyd- will you and your friend become my apprentices? You would gain power beyond your imagination."
"But, Mister Darth Vader," said Colette, "we're not looking for power, we're just trying to figure out how to find Lloyd's dad."
"That can be done with the Dark Side." Vader was now almost quivering with excitement. If these two would join him, then the Alliance would be crushed completely!
"Look, man, I can do that with the Eternal Sword. No biggie. And also, why the hell would we join you? You've tried to kill us, broke down the doors to this place, and brought in armed troops. Now tell me that this isn't a forced thing." For some reason, Lloyd felt extremely smart.
"Is that your answer? Then, I must eradicate you. There is no need to have two potential Jedi around." The black thing began moving forwards towards Lloyd and Colette. Lloyd pulled out the Material Blades, and Colette pulled out her chakrams.
The cyborg turned to the men in white. "Leave the boy to me. Take the girl- alive. I need her."
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Lloyd charged, the Material Blades whipping around as he took down storm trooper after storm trooper. He yelled back to Colette over his shoulder:
"USE SOMETHING! ANYTHING!" Colette's eyes widened. She nodded, and then closed her eyes.
"O Holy One, cast thy purifying light upon these corrupt souls. JUDGMENT!" The room went black as beams of light, the product of Colette's angel magic, pierced down from the ceiling. Vader's eyes beneath his mask widened when he noticed Colette's pink wings. Angels! They really existed! He then turned to the task at hand. With the storm troopers taking on the girl, he could focus on the boy. "Now you will see the power of the Dark Side." Saber in hand, he charged Lloyd. CLASH! The red saber met with the duel blades of fire and ice.
"Ergh…HUNTING BEAST!" Lloyd smashed into Vader, driving deep and then flipping and smashing the ground, creating a shock wave that shook all of Derris Kharlan.
"Impressive…but still not enough to defeat me." Lloyd frowned.
"Then take this! SONIC SWORD RAIN!" Thrusting forwards, he launched into a barrage of devastating attacks at the torso area. Vader neatly parried each and every one.
Lloyd's eyes widened. "No way!"
"Come now, surely you can do better than that?" The taunt rang in his ears.
Lloyd was totally blown away. There was no way that any living being on the entire planet could survive BOTH of those attacks.
"Now, let me show you REAL power." Vader went on the offensive, noting with pleasure the surprise on the young man's face as he was beaten back. All of a sudden, though, he felt as sudden jab of pain as two twin circles cut through him.
"ANGEL FEATHERS!" Sith…he had forgotten about the girl, who was now running over to her companion. She had evidently defeated all of the storm troopers.
"Lloyd, are you okay?" The young man gritted his teeth.
"Yeah…but I don't get it- why don't my attacks affect him? And why do yours?"
"Hmm…maybe it's because I'm an angel!"
Realization dawned on Rock-head.
"OH!" Lloyd's eyes widened. "Colette! You're a genius! Why didn't I realize it before! That guy must be like pure darkness! Like Shadow!"
"That's great, Lloyd! You're really thinking now!" Colette looked rather excited.
"Thanks, Colette. I know what I have to do now." He turned back to the Sith.
"Alright, Darth Vader. Bring it on!" Lloyd spread his huge wings. Under the mask, Vader's eyes widened. Angels! That was what they were! No wonder the girl's attacks had affected him so much… Just then, a memory that had long buried itself resurfaced.
"…are you an angel? I've heard deep space pilots talk about them. Angels are the most beautiful creatures in the universe…"
"You're a funny little boy…"
So it was true…angels really did exist!
Lloyd's voice brought him out of his reverie. "Alright, man! Are you going to just stand there?"
Vader glared, although his mask didn't show it. "You may think that you have the upper hand now, but you have yet to see real power." He suddenly reached out into the Force, using its power to Force Choke Colette. The girl stiffened as she tried to resist his crushing grip.
"Ack…help...me…Lloyd…" Lloyd snapped, as red clouded his vision like a fog.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Using his wings, he sped towards the Dark Lord.
"FALCON'S CREST!" The ougi hit Vader like a bullet. He grunted as he released his grip on Colette's lungs.
"Excellent, young man. You have just witnessed your first bit of Dark Side power. I can see it in your attacks. Use your anger! Let it flow through you!"
"No, Lloyd! Don't let him get to you!" Colette cried.
Lloyd took a deep breath. "You're right, Colette. I can't let him get to me. Now, let's finish this guy off once and for all! Together!"
"Alright, Lloyd!" Colette smiled as the two charged at Vader.
"Sith…" Vader knew he was outnumbered. The two angels were too much for one Sith. Plus, both of them seemed to have an intense will to live. They would not lose or turn easily. "You have won…for today. I will retreat…but not without this!" He Force-hit the controls to Derris Kharlan. The self-destruct controls, to be exact. Vader disappeared. He had had the last laugh.
"DAMN!" Lloyd ran over to the controls. "We can't stop this…Colette! Can you find any sort of escape ship or something?"
"Um…" Colette ran hurriedly around, trying to find some sort of escape route. "I can't find any- Whoops!" She, in usual Colette-style, crashed neatly into the escape pod. "I think I found it, Lloyd."
"Great! Now get in!" Colette did so, and Lloyd soon followed.
"Now, let's see…how to start this…" Debris was falling as the comet began caving in on itself.
"Well, Lloyd, I…Oops!" Again, Colette tripped, hitting the correct switch. "Oh! I must have some good luck whenever I trip."
"That's for sure," muttered Lloyd, who was remembering all the times Colette had saved them by tripping. The pod blasted out into space as Derris Kharlan exploded in a riot of flames and hurtling debris.
"Dad's not going to be happy when he finds out about this…"
"I think you're right, Lloyd."
Meanwhile…
Kratos had reached the fortress. With towering gates the same color as the surroundings, it had been very well camouflaged. However, his angel senses had easily remained on target. Touching down gently onto the dusty ground, he noticed a young blond man already walking towards the gates. With a swift flash, Kratos's wings disappeared. No use in having someone discover THAT particular fact about him. He walked up to the man.
"Excuse me," The man jumped slightly at being addressed. Kratos found himself facing a green beam of light. "Or not."
"Who are you? Are you one of Jabba's flunkies?" The man seemed suspicious.
"I am not one of 'Jabba's flunkies', contradictory to what you may think. I also have no idea who this 'Jabba' is. I have just arrived on this…dust ball, and have no idea where the nearest civilization is. All I found was this fort. And as for who I am, give your name and I will give you mine." Kratos found himself echoing his son. How ironic…
The man gave a short laugh. "This isn't exactly civilization. This is the home of Jabba the Hutt, the worst crime lord on this 'dust ball', Tatooine. If you're looking for somewhere decent, I doubt there's a place on the planet that is."
"And your name is…"
"Luke Skywalker."
"Ah. And I am Kratos Aurion. Now, if you don't think I should be here, then what would YOU be doing here."
Luke stiffened. "I'm trying to rescue some of my friends. Jabba's captured them. I don't need help, if that's what you're offering."
"I offered nothing of the sort." Luke couldn't help but notice the very interesting similarities between this man, Kratos, and his father. The deep voice, the calm composure…he also couldn't help but notice that the man's Force signature was pretty high. Was he a Jedi? And even if he wasn't, this guy looked like he could handle practically anyone in duel. The sword at his hip only added to this effect, as well as the odd clothing. (If anyone cares, Kratos is at this time wearing his purple armor- did I say this already?)
He sighed. "Well, if you're just going to stand out here, I wouldn't suggest it. The nights here on Tatooine are really cold."
"So, what do you suggest?"
"Well…look, why don't you come with me? I'll need some help anyway."
"I thought you didn't want any help."
"I thought better of that statement."
"Very well."
And with that, the swordsman and the Jedi disappeared into the depths of the home of the dreaded Jabba the Hutt.
Inside, Kratos watched as Luke waved his hand carelessly, bringing out a very interesting reaction in the guards. How very peculiar…he noted. He then watched as some sort of bizarre…creature walked up to them, and then began jabbering to Luke in a strange language. Luke merely waved his hand, said something, and then watched with a satisfied smirk as the…alien repeated the statement, and then complied with his wishes.
As the odd creature lead them deeper into the heart of the fortress, Luke suddenly drew up short and turned to Kratos.
"Hey, uh, Kratos. I need you to go undercover. Act as one of the guards for me. I have a man in here, name's Lando. Find him. I might need backup."
"And what about you?"
"I need to go in alone. If Jabba attempts to do anything funny, I won't have to worry about protecting anyone or having anyone get caught up in my business."
Kratos raised an eyebrow. "I don't think that will be particularly necessary, but if you want it so, I will comply."
"Here- go back to those guards I sent off earlier. Just knock one of them out and then grab their armor. Should be no trouble."
"And I will know your man…how?"
"He'll be wearing… a sort of tusk-like helmet or something like that. If you look closely, you'll note that he's human and has really dark skin."
"Dark skin, helmet, and human- I have it."
"Okay. Good luck to you, Kratos."
"Hmph." was the response. Luke smiled as he ran after the alien majordomo. Kratos waited until he had disappeared into the adjacent corridor, and then doubled back. That armor that guard had been wearing looked pretty ugly…in fact, the entire guard had been ugly. He sighed. This was not going to be pretty- he could just feel it.
To Be Continued…
A/N: Alright! Chapter 2 is done! I was going to have Kratos in his Judgment costume, but then found that I had stated in the previous chapter that he had his purple one on. Darn…anyway, review, PLEASE! Look for the appearance of Lando Calrissian in the next chapter, as Lloyd and Colette meet up with the Alliance, and Kratos helps Luke rescue Han and Leia!
Also, for those of you who are confused, an ougi is a like an ultimate move, like Divine Judgment, or like Kenshin's Amakakeru No Hirameki. (Did I spell that right?)
