Alright, Chapter 4! And don't worry- I'm going to have Kratos meet up with Lloyd and Colette sooner or later- just don't worry about it now- just enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I own neither Tales of Symphonia nor Star Wars. They belong to Namco and George Lucas respectively.

Chapter 4

Did I forget to mention that Tatooine is completely sand? That's right. No green, no yellow, no reds, but instead all brown. Yep, brown. Not that Kratos cared at any rate. Scenery was the last thing on his mind right now. After all, who could think about scenery when their hands were bound behind their back and they were being transported to some sort of gruesome monster in order to be killed for some sadistic worm-slug thing's twisted sense of humor? Kratos sighed. Still, scenery was better to think about than one's death. He decided to opt for not thinking about gruesome deaths and instead focused on the conversation that was currently going on between the other members of the execution barge.

"How're your eyes, Han?"

"They're getting better…everything's now really light instead of really dark. Wish I could see what was going on."

Luke smiled. "There's not much to see, actually. Just sand for miles. I should know. I used to live here, you know."

The other man gave a wry smile. "And now you're going to die here. Convenient."

"Don't worry so much, Han. I have a plan. There is no way that I will allow any of us to die here." Luke's voice was surprisingly calm.

Han snorted. "Some plan…"

The barge was now pulling up to a giant pit. Kratos peered in over the side. What greeted him were thousands of teeth, rearing up to greet him, gruesome- looking tentacles swaying in the slight breeze.

"Yuck." Luke voiced his sentiments. My thoughts exactly…thought Kratos.

A weird machine opened up one of the windows in Jabba's huge barge that was now pulling up to the skiffs that they were being held in.

"The mighty Jabba hopes that you will die honorably, and states that if any of you wish to beg for mercy, he will listen."

"3PO, tell that worm-ridden piece of filth that he'll get no such satisfaction from us!" Han was clearly trying to go down with a bang.

Luke looked up towards Jabba's barge. "Jabba- this is your last chance- free us, or die." There was an audible burst of laughter from the barge. Kratos sighed. He really was getting rather hot out in the heat of the twin suns.

The guards began moving Luke into position to be thrown into the creature's massive mouth. He raised one hand in salute as if to say farewell…and then jumped off the plank leading outwards. There was a gasp. Kratos smirked. The boy was daring, if not over confident. Luke grabbed the edge of the plank with his fingers, and then nimbly vaulted back onto the barge, taking the two guards in there by surprise. Acting swiftly, he booted one of the guards overboard into the sarlacc's waiting maw. He then caught a small cylindrical item from the air and ignited it. That same green beam extended. Deflecting blaster bolts, Luke quickly severed the binders on Han and Kratos.

"Will someone get Leia?" He yelled over the blaster fire.

"Who?" Kratos roared over the ensuring din. There were now other skiffs heading out towards them as Jabba roared his fury. His entertainment was backfiring!

"Leia," yelled Luke, "girl with a weird outfit on, probably with Jabba!"

"Can't you get her?" Yelled Han, as the furry creature that Kratos had learned was called Chewie let out a howling warning. Han ducked as a rod went right over where his head had been a second ago.

"I'm…a little…busy…here!"

"Is she on the barge?" asked Kratos.

"Yes! Can you get her?"

"I will try." Kratos knew exactly what he had to do.He opened his wings. The familiar cerulean splash behind him fluttered eagerly. Kratos cast a glance at Han and Luke. Luke was staring slightly, surprise on his face. Han, whose eyes were still out of it, was rubbing his eyes furiously, thinking that it was some sort of trick of light. Kratos took off for the barge, landing firmly on the deck of the barge. Shutting off his wings, he ran into the depths of the ship. Unfortunately, there were quite a lot of guards left. He drew Excalibur. Moving swiftly, Kratos sliced his way through the guards, finally reaching a sort of "throne room". Seated on a platform was the mighty slug himself, Jabba. However, the Hutt gangster did not see Kratos' entry. He was currently worrying about the girl at his side that was choking him with her chain. Moans of frustration were issuing from his slack mouth as he tried to loosen the tight chain that was cutting off his windpipe. The girl gave a final last tug. Jabba stopped resisting, and went limp, flabby hands falling to his sides and his huge tongue hanging out of his mouth. The girl gave a breath of relief. Then she saw Kratos, who had watched the whole affair with a hint of amusement on the corners of his mouth.

"Who are you, stranger?"

Kratos smirked. "I am Kratos Aurion. I was asked by Luke Skywalker to rescue a woman by thename ofLeia. If you happen to be her, then…how convenient." The girl scowled.

"I am Leia. Now hurry up and get me out of this!" She gestured to the heavy chain that bound her to Jabba. Kratos gave a slight "hmph", and brought Excalibur down on the chain. It split apart with a metallic whine.

"Now, let's go." Kratos helped Leia off of the platform, and then dashed off for the top of the barge. He was about to spread his wings and take off with her, when she stopped him.

"Wait- we need to destroy the ship."

"Hmph." was the response. Is this the only thing the man says? thought Leia.

Kratos scanned the deck for something that could aid him. Hmmm…a blaster cannon there…but no, not my style. Kratos sighed with exasperation. These people were so…barbaric. Blaster cannons were so outdated, even for a 4,000 year old angel…

He closed his eyes as the remaining pig-guards rushed onto the deck.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Leia cried, as she kicked one of the guards and then grabbed his blaster, shooting furiously into the melee that was rapidly surrounding them.

"A little help here?" Kratos opened his eyes in annoyance.

"Do not disturb me. I am trying to destroy the ship, and I can't do it with you interrupting my thoughts!" Leia scowled. Kratos sighed and then went back to casting. He glowed suddenly. Yes, his magic was properly charged now.

"Sacred Powers- cast thy purifying light upon these condemned souls. REST IN PEACE, SINNERS! JUDGMENT!"

Beams of light began streaming down onto the barge, striking through the surface and hitting the cannon. It exploded in a burst of sparks and flame, lighting the deck on fire. The guards who had been firing at Kratos and Leia abruptly stopped, and began concentrating instead on the fire that was rapidly spreading. Kratos smiled thinly in satisfaction.

"And now, we must depart." With a sudden move, he grabbed Leia in a bridal-style hold and leapt off the deck into the sands below. The young woman gasped as they fell, and then gasped even louder when she realized that the man who had rescued her was…flying! He soared over the burning remains of the barge, now tumbling into the awaiting jaws of the sarlacc. Landing on the skiff that Luke had managed to take control of after dispatching of the rest of the guards, Kratos released Leia, and then retracted his wings. They disappeared with a flash of white light.

"Hmph. I suppose you could say mission accomplished." Kratos said. His statement fell on deaf ears. Han, Luke, Leia, and Chewie were all too busy staring at him.

"You…you got wings…like a bird!" said Han.

Kratos glared. "Yes? And what does that have to do with anything?"

Leia spoke up. "Well, you see, people with wings suddenly sprouting from their backs aren't exactly normal- even for this galaxy."

A roll of the eyes was the response. "I am perfectly aware of that. I would just like you to stop staring at me like I am an exhibit at a zoo. This is not something that you NEED to know about- how I got the wings is MY business." Kratos turned away, muttering something like, "Damn you Yggdrasil. If I didn't have the Cruxis Crystal, then…" The four leaned in closer, hoping to catch a little bit more from the elusive man. Kratos whirled around.

"What are you looking at?"

"Uh…well," Luke stuttered slightly, "well, we just wanted to know who you really were."

"That will be revealed in due time."

"Oh great," said Han, "that basically means 'I don't want to tell you'."

"I suppose you could take it that way." The entire group could tell that the conversation was getting nowhere. There was an awkward silence. Suddenly, the beeping of a comm shattered the silence in the air.

"It's mine," said Luke automatically. He reached for his comm and brought it up. "Skywalker here."

A metallic female-sounding voice issued out. "Hello, Skywalker. It's me, Mothma. Have you completed your mission?"

Luke glanced at Han with a grin on his face. "Yup. Everything's under control."

"Good," said the metallic voice, "now, I need you to return to headquarters. We have some new recruits and I would like you to meet them. I am thinking that they could join Rogue Squadron if you needed some more pilots."

"Always in need, Mothma. By the way, we've picked up a new recruit here on Tatooine as well- guy by the name of Kratos Aurion. Not too bad with a sword- you know, those outdated metal things?" Just then, an explosion of sound took place from the comm.

"DAD! HEY! IT'S ME! LLOYD! ARE YOU REALLY THERE? HEY! HELLO!"

Kratos laughed. That sounded so much like his son.

"Yes, Lloyd, it's me."

"WOW! Hey- where've ya been? Colette and I were so worried when we found out you hadn't ended up on Derris Kharlan with us."

"I landed on some sort of desert planet- think the Triet Desert, Lloyd."

A higher-pitched voice joined the fray.

"Kratos? Is that you? I thought so. When Lloyd heard that Luke fellow say that you were with him, he started jumping up and down like a madman!"

"Hey! Awww…Colette…"

"Anyways, Kratos, hurry up and join us! We're part of this thing called the Rebel Alliance now, and Lloyd and I are both really confused on what's going on. I mean, after what happened to Derris Kharlan-" All of a sudden, Colette's voice cut off.

"Hey, Colette, don't want to spoil the surprise, now would we? Ehehehehehe…" Lloyd's nervous laughter echoed slightly. He was apparently trying to distract Kratos from whatever Colette was about to say. Too late. Kratos had already taken the hint.

Lloyd?" he asked sharply, "what happened to Derris Kharlan?"

"Uh…" There was a silence on the other end. "Uh…Dad? I…don't think you'll want to know…" Lloyd's voice drifted off.

"Lloyd," said Kratos in a dangerous voice that sent shivers down the necks of anyone who heard it, "tell me NOW."

"Okay, okay…er…Dad? Uh…well, this guy in black came in and accused of being these 'Jedi' or something like that- I forget. Anyways, we had to fight him off as well as a bunch of other weird guys in white. And then, right as we had the black guy cornered, the self-destruct mechanism went on! I don't know how it happened- I swear! Colette and I were nowhere near it! So, the switch was hit and we escaped in an escape pod, and then…" Lloyd's voice drifted off again. Kratos sighed. And after he had tried so hard to atone by staying with Derris Kharlan…it was all down the drain.

"Please don't be too mad, Dad. I didn't touch it, I swear!" The sincerity in the tone of voice Lloyd was using was rather evident.

"I am not 'too mad', Lloyd, but I do feel a little…disappointed." Colette's voice suddenly broke through.

"Don't worry, Kratos! I don't think anyone, especially Lloyd, would have wanted to have you staying in Derris Kharlan forever."

"I suppose you're right…"

"Don't beat yourself up, Dad. If anyone's to blame, it's that evil guy. I'm sure we can go find him and beat him to a bloody pulp or something."

"Perhaps…now, I must allow Luke here back on." Kratos handed the comm back to Luke, who took it with a grin.

"Hey, Mothma?" asked Luke, "Can I bring him up?"

Mothma's voice echoed from the comm. "No problem, Commander Skywalker."

"Thanks. Skywalker out." Luke switched off the comm. He turned to Kratos.

"So, you've got a kid?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm sure he's anxious to see you, judging from your conversation, so let's get going!"

To Be Continued…

A/N: Chapter 4 is done! Sorry if it was sort of boring- I had to do that huge dialogue. Also, I know that I didn't have a Lloyd section, but that's because I put him in the comm episode. Don't worry- he'll get some more action soon. Now, please review and tell me what you think!

COMING UP: The Aurions plus Colette meet up on the Rebel base, and the whole gang goes on the Endor mission! WARNING: EWOKS IN NEXT CHAPTER!