OK. Sorry for taking so long to put out this chapter- I just had Spring Break and all, so…yeah.

Oh yeah- there's going to be more switching POV's in this chapter. It'll be like last chapter so I assume you all know what I'm talking about.

Disclaimer: I have never owned Star Wars or Tales of Symphonia.

Chapter 7

Damn…can't…breathe…Lloyd…Kratos' vision was turning black around the edges. His wings fluttered for just an instant, and then disappeared. He glared into Vader's face. At least he would go down fighting…

Just then, the world exploded. If he could have, Kratos would have seen Vader's eyes widen in shock just like his as the angel was suddenly bathed in white light.

/SHINING BIND/

The force of the attack sent Vader flying into the air, as Kratos glided upwards in a surge of power. Apparently, his angel abilities had kicked into overdrive when he went into critical condition.

Vader landed heavily, managing to at least land on his feel. Kratos touched down gently, then doubled over, panting. He had never had THAT happen to him before. He had always been able to cast Shining Bind, but he had never had it erupt spontaneously. He stood up, still glaring at Vader.

"It doesn't look like I'm dead yet." Kratos sneered.

"I am surprised. Well, now that I have seen your powers, I think a little change in plans will be in order. Do you agree, my master?" Vader intoned.

Kratos raised an eyebrow at the words, "my master". "And just what do you mean by that…?"

"What my apprentice means to tell you is that we now have a new target." Kratos swiveled swiftly. A cloaked figure emerged from the foliage, its voice harsh and grating on the ears. It didn't sound very human. Kratos stared.

"And I presume you mean switching from my son and Colette to me?"

"Yes, yes, smart boy. You seem to be catching on quite quickly." A luminous grin was seen from under the hood, the teeth long and crooked.

Kratos snorted at the word "boy". "Don't expect me to become your lap dog or anything. I have no desire for any power and such."

"Well, then we will just have to change your mind, eh?" A harsh laugh was heard. "Think, my boy. You say that your heart does not lust for power, but do not all humans do so, even if in secret?"

Kratos remained firm. "I have had much time to search through my heart, and I have found that no desire for power or wealth exists. On the other hand, I would prefer not to have such things."

The figure turned to Vader. "Fine then. If words will not change, then perhaps FORCE will. Continue the duel, Vader."

"As you wish, master." The ebony mask turned to Kratos. The lightsaber came up.

Wait for it…wait for it…

Kratos braced himself for the attack. He swung the Flamberge up just in time to block the diagonal slash from Vader. Just then, a searing pain flared through his side. Kratos gasped in pain and turned- to find the figure pull out an equally red blade of light from his side.

"Ehehehe…fool. I will have what I want, even if it means harming the package." The hood was thrown off, to reveal the man underneath. Or rather, the monster. The Emperor's skin was sunken and wrinkled, yellow eyes flaming with crimson pupils. Kratos staggered back in disbelief. How in the world would Vader bow to THIS creature?

"So this is…two…on one, hm?" Kratos looked from Vader to the Emperor. Both were advancing on him at the same time. He was clearly at a severe disadvantage. Kratos glanced down to his side. It was smoking, but had cleared enough to reveal a long cut of charred flesh. He looked up.

"First Aid!" The magic rose up, winding its way around the cut, sealing it up enough to just leave an angry red mark.

Right then, the Emperor made his move. Moving faster than Kratos would have expected from someone of his apparent age, he bore down on the angel. Kratos blocked with one hand, and then slammed down his other fist into Vader's mask as he came in from the other side. The cyborg retreated…and then re-attacked. Kratos moved gracefully to one side to avoid the swing, and then blocked the Emperor with the Flamberge. Time to reopen the wings…

The cerulean appendages sprang to life, and Kratos took to the skies, soaring away from the base and into the forests surrounding. The two Sith followed suit. Sighing, Kratos mulled the situation in his head as he began casting. He had battled two enemies at once, but they had never been of this hubris or moved as well as a pair. This was going to take a while, but Kratos was sure that he could defeat them. Of course, that was going to mean a little magic time…

/Luke/

Luke ran forward, lightsaber raised, only to find that the stormtroopers were…retreating? He stopped, a tad bit confused. Why would the troopers suddenly retreat when they had been trying to capture him with such vigor? The whole affair was giving him a headache. Looking over to Han, Leia, and Chewie, he noticed that they were just as confused as he was. What in the world was going on? All of a sudden, Luke got a really bad feeling. An aura of evil was permeating the air around him, settling down on the Jedi with smothering force.

"He's here…" Luke breathed.

"Who's here?" Han looked even more confused.

"My fa- I mean- Vader. He's here. And there's someone else. Someone who's even more evil-feeling. I don't know who it is, but that person is giving me the chills." Luke glanced around nervously.

"Vader's here?" asked Leia, with apparent shock on her face.

"Yes. I can sense him."

"Great, kid! Now's your chance to take down the Emperor's right-hand man! He'll probably never expect you to come after him again after what happened on Bespin." Han's face split into a grin. Chewie howled in agreement.

"If you take down Vader, the Alliance will be one step closer to taking down the Empire. The Emperor will be helpless without his Sith lapdog," added Leia.

Luke went along with their comments, smiling and assuring them that he was going to take this opportunity and go after Vader. But inside…

Leia…I'm sorry…but…this is our father that we're talking about. I can't kill him. I wish you knew about Father, but I think the truth would devastate you. So…I'm sorry.

"Listen, can you three go to that base and turn off the generator? I think that Kratos and the others are already there, so you can go join up with them. I'm going after Vader."

They nodded in agreement, and then ran off towards the base. Hopefully, this would gain him some time to find his father and lead him away from the others. It was time for a little family chat…Luke smiled before running off in the opposite direction- unknowingly headed straight towards his father's duel of his lifetime.

/Kratos/

Kratos was still in the air, breathing heavily. He had already cast about five spells, ranging from Grave to Fire Lance. Each had taken their toll on the two Sith below him, but they seemed to take it like it was nothing. Then, a shock of understanding hit him.

You idiot…they're only vulnerable to ANGEL spells…

Of course! How could he have been THAT dumb? As he dodged another flying tree sent his way by Vader, Kratos suppressed a little grin. Maybe living forever wasn't so bad after all…

"Judgment"

The beams of light once again plunged down towards the ground just like they had on Tatooine. Dodging nimbly, Vader escaped the death rays. The Emperor simply deflected them with his lightsaber. Vader turned to his master.

"Master, I think he has- UNGH!" Vader dropped as Kratos teleported straight behind him and used Fierce Demon Fang, hitting the black cyborg square in the back. A thud was heard as ebony armor hit ground.

The Emperor let out an evil cackle. "Excellent, excellent. You are truly one of the Dark Side. I will ask you once again to join us- and become unstoppable!"

Kratos sneered. "You think that after all this I would join you? How very sad, seeing as you have failed to convince me one bit of any sort of power that I could have from joining you. Your so-called apprentice is pathetic. That armor only hinders him further than protects him. If you want to truly be powerful, you wouldn't have to fight with armor or unfair advantages."

Another cackle. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to correct you there. For a more…proper version, I would have to say that only if one must be chivalrous and honorable, will they fight without taking advantage of such situations."

Kratos glared. This monster had NO morals whatsoever. He thanked Martel that his SON wasn't going to be like this. "If that is what you believe, then so be it. However, if you haven't noticed already, this is now a one-on-one battle. That means no more number advantage. And don't underestimate me, or else you will pay rather dearly for your large blunder as your apprentice"- Kratos put a painfully sarcastic emphasis on this word-"did." He pointed the Flamberge at the Emperor. "Now come."

And Emperor Palpatine did. There was a flurry of slashes and thrusts, supplemented with the Emperor's favorite, Force Lightning. Of course, Kratos was unaffected by this elemental attack because, as all who had dueled him before knew, he was mostly affiliated with the lightning element. Kratos smiled as the Emperor ended his attack as his adrenaline rush disappeared. The old man backed off, breathing heavily.

"It seems that not even the master can compare with the recruit, eh?"

The Emperor looked up. "Mwehehehe…young fool…don't be so confident in yourself, or else you will fall, just like he did." He pointed at Vader.

"Fall? As in turn to your so-called Dark Side?"

"No, as in fail in your battles against me."

"Hmph. I have confidence only for good reason. You are underestimating me, just like I expected. Is it because of my appearance?" Kratos gave Palpatine a questioning look.

"Mm…your appearance does not affect my image of you. It is more of your style, the words you choose. You speak to me as if you were my elder. I would think not."

Kratos smiled thinly. "Ah…so it is my appearance, or rather, my assumed youth that is throwing you off. If only you knew…"

"Knew? Knew what?"

"Knew your mistake, young one." And with that, Kratos launched his offensive, slicing, swinging, and twirling- all with a grace that seemed ingrained in his body. He swung low. The Emperor blocked low. He grinned, as if to egg Kratos into attacking him further. Kratos complied with a heel kick to Palpatine's chest that sent the Emperor staggering. Just then, Vader managed to get to his feet.

"You are going to pay for that," he rumbled.

"I think not. Both of you are not in condition to fight me, despite your number and age advantage. You would think after a good 4,000 years that my body would have deteriorated out of fighting condition. It seems not to be so, however." Kratos watched their expressions shift to one of disbelief, although the Emperor tried hard not to show it, and Vader's face was hidden by his mask.

"Nothing to say, eh? Then let us continue." Kratos resumed his attack frenzy, again moving with smooth grace that was time-honed. Shoving the Emperor into a nearby tree as he blocked his attack, Kratos went straight for Vader. He slammed the Flamberge towards Vader's control panel. Vader blocked. Kratos brought his sword back and then thrust forward again. Vader side-stepped and then brought his lightsaber down onto Kratos' sword-arm. Kratos rolled inward, ending at Vader's back.

"Once again you fail to protect your back. I am sorely disappointed. Super Lightning Blade!" Purple lightning played over Vader's armor, sending him crashing into the ground once again. Kratos looked around and smirked.

"So…still have that offer from you?" The Emperor had been knocked out when he had crashed into the tree that Kratos had shoved him into. Vader was on his knees breathing hard. Apparently, lightning worked havoc on his breathing system. Kratos looked down at Vader.

"I'm not going to forget the fact that you wanted to recruit my son and his girlfriend as well. Consider this your warning." He raised the Flamberge once more. Right then, Luke Skywalker ran into the clearing.

/Luke/

Running through the dense foliage of the moon of Endor, Luke found himself with a growing feeling of dread as he went further into the forests. There was something wrong with his father…he knew it. Their Force bond was screaming with pain, and Luke occasionally winced. The fact that his father might very well be screaming his life out made him run all the faster. Just then, a cry rent the air:

"Super Lightning Blade!" A crackle of electricity, and a thud. A very heavy thud. Almost sounded like…metal hitting the ground. Luke's heart jumped into his mouth.

Father!

Now sprinting with almost inhuman speed, Luke dashed off towards the noise.

Almost there…hold on, Father…I'm coming…

The noises were getting louder. He could hear a deep voice talking. Was that…Kratos?

"I'm not going to forget the fact that you wanted to recruit my son and his girlfriend as well. Consider this your warning." Time seemed to slow. He watched with horror as Kratos raised his sword- was it on fire? - right above Vader's neck.

He was going to kill him.

No! No! Luke wasn't about to let that happen. One more dash- he was almost there- was he going to make it?

/Normal/

"STOP!" Kratos looked up in surprise. Luke burst into the clearing, lightsaber ignited.

"Luke…?" There was a look of confusion on Kratos' face. "What are you doing here?"

"Kratos…" panted Luke, "don't…kill…Vader..."

Kratos frowned. "I wasn't planning on doing that. I have no desire to do some unnecessary killing."

"Then…put…the…sword…down…please…" The Jedi was holding his side- there was a major stitch in it.

"As you wish." The Flamberge's point was lowered. "So Luke, you haven't answered my question. What are you doing here? I thought you would go ahead to the base and meet up with Lloyd and Colette."

Luke straightened up. "You sent Lloyd and Colette off by themselves? What? Then…what are YOU doing here?"

"Hmph. This…man"- he waved a hand at Vader- "attempted to stop us from entering the base. I simply distracted him while Lloyd and Colette took care of the mission. However, our battle sort of blew over when HE arrived." Kratos pointed at the unconscious Emperor. Luke stared. Was that…?

"Oh. OK. Well, you should, uh, go meet up with Lloyd, Kratos. I'll handle it from here." Kratos met his request with a raised eyebrow.

"Now that is interesting. I was under the impression that you didn't want to fight him. Now you have changed your mind? I think something deeper is going on around here."

Luke looked sort of guilty. "Well, I…I…I'll tell you later. Just…just leave him to me, OK?"

"So I'm not the only one keeping secrets."

"I guess…heh…" Luke's laughter died away.

"I have to see this." Kratos stood there, looking rather smug.

"What? You're not…"

"This is nothing personal. I just want to see how good you are, to claim that you can take care of two people at once."

"Uh…could you?"

"I certainly could, but since you decided to remove me from the battle field, I would like to see what you do instead."

"Oh…OK…" Luke felt extremely stupid right now. Then, something struck his mind. "Oh- by the way, Kratos- you said you told Colette and Lloyd to take care of the generator?"

"Yes. I am guessing you sent someone else there too as well?"

"Uh…yeah. I already sent Leia and Han there too."

"I see." Kratos looked a little amused. Hmm…wonder what Lloyd and Colette are up to anyways…

Previously with Lloyd and Colette…

"Gee, Lloyd! This place is HUGE!"

"Yeah, no kidding. And they've got all these crazy machines too. Which one's the generator?"

"I don't know. I bet the Professor would know if she were here though."

"Yeah…" The two stood for a minute, thinking about how Raine would have acted if she were inside with them.

"Scary…" Lloyd voiced his sentiments on the mental image he had just gotten.

Colette smiled at Lloyd. "Well, let's get started!"

"Let's get started doing what?"

"Looking for that generator!"

"OK." The two wandered deeper into the base, taking time to point out interesting pieces of machinery and such. Eerily enough, there was nobody in sight around.

"That's odd…wonder where all the guards are…this place should be crawling with them…" Lloyd looked confused.

"Maybe they're all taking a nap," Colette offered.

"Yeah…" Just then, they arrived at a large chamber. It was glowing. In fact, it was glowing bright orange.

"Nice lights…" Lloyd commented. He stood there, admiring the effect it had on the walls.

Colette ran to the middle of the room. "Hey Lloyd, check this out!" Lloyd ran over.

"WHOA!"

"I know! How coincidental is that?"

"Gee…thought these things only existed on Symphonia…"

"I wonder how it got there…" Straight in the middle of the room was indeed the generator. However, it was actually just encompassing something else. Something that looked awfully familiar to Lloyd and Colette. Straight in the heart of the pulsing generator…was an oracle stone.

"My question is, how in the world did the Empire get their hands on one of these?"

"Beats me, Lloyd. Maybe they took it from one of the ruins."

"Yeah…maybe. Hey- Colette- let's try and see if we can get to that oracle stone." Lloyd ran over to the controls. "These should turn the generator off. Now…which switch do I press?" The control panel had about 100 switches, ranging in color from blue to orange to magenta.

Colette ran over. "Well Lloyd, let me take a- WHOOPS!" True to Colette-fashion, the ex-Chosen tripped for some unknown reason and hit the panel. Immediately, the switches began flashing. Lloyd frowned.

"That didn't seem to do anything…"

Suddenly, a machine-like voice rang out. "Self-destruct activated. Timer set for 10 minutes."

The two looked at each other.

"Oh crap." Lloyd muttered.

"Gee, Lloyd, we seem to be in this situation a lot, huh?" Colette was her usual cheery self despite the odd circumstances.

"You could say that again…Now let's get out of here!" Lloyd grabber Colette's hand and began dashing off towards the exit. The building was shaking a lot by now, and the roof was beginning to cave in.

"Almost there…almost there…" panted Lloyd.

"Lloyd! Look out!" Glancing up, Lloyd acted quickly. Grabbing Colette, he dove through the entrance. A giant piece of the ceiling collapsed, falling just where they were 5 seconds ago, sealing off the base.

"Thank goodness for that," said Lloyd. He turned back to Colette. "Now let's get-"

There was a huge explosion from behind them.

BOOM! CRRRAAAACCCKKK!

A big shockwave blasted the two off their feet and into the nearby shrubbery.

"Oh…my head…" Lloyd got up, rubbing his temple.

"Well, that was interesting," commented Colette as she pulled a twig out of her hair. The pair glanced back at the ruins.

There in the center stood the oracle stone. Despite the rest of the building being blown to smithereens, for some odd reason, the stone had been protected, probably by the generator, which had also been destroyed. At least it was a mission accomplished.

Colette looked at Lloyd.

Lloyd looked at Colette.

"Go for it," they said at the same exact time.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Well, that was certainly long. Sorry for those of you who got bored. Anyways, there you have it- chapter 7. Please review.

COMING UP: What is the meaning behind the oracle stone? And will Kratos' (actually now Luke's) duel with Vader and the Emperor ever end? Find out in chapter 8!