Star Duels
Summary: Lord Vader has fought many unusual opponents in service of the Empire. One such opponent is a human, strong in the dark side and discovered in the Unknown Regions, Vader learns that sometimes the card is greater than the lightsaber as he leads the charge to recruit the mysterious Force user.
A Star Wars and Yu-Gi-Oh GX crossover one-shot by Yung Warrior
The dark takes many forms. At some times, it is a festering pit filled with squirming serpents, where hatred, fear, and anger grow layered, thicker, stronger. At other instances, it was cool, soothing, the place from where life sprang. Emotions, felt strongly, were legitimized and given strength after being shunned from the light of reason.
In the cool shade of the rejuvenation tank, Darth Vader bathed in the artificial relief bestowed by sensory deprivation. Existence was pain for him, the ordinary sensations he took for granted as man now stinging reminders of his limitations as a machine. The meditation chamber was his one luxury in a life otherwise ensconced by the austere efficiency of the Galactic Empire. Here, he felt some facsimile of peace.
"Lord Vader, an inbound transmission from the Emperor." Captain Piett's voice roused Vader from his stupor into hellish reality once more. On some occasions, Vader would ruthlessly dispatch an officer who so gracelessly interrupted his rest. However, Firmus Piett was too valuable an officer to do away with, skilled at hunting down pirates and rebels alike and even more so at shifting the blame when things didn't go his way. If he kept up his current performance trends, Vader could see Piett being made Grand Admiral at some point in the future…no, he could not waste such talent no matter how tempting it was to choke the life out of him in this moment. And at any rate, a transmission from the Emperor could not be ignored.
"Master…" Vader thought with resentment. Palpatine always seemed to call when Vader was resting. It was as if he knew when Vader would be meditating and deliberately called to disturb him during that time. Indeed, finding new ways to subtly poke and prod his apprentice appeared to be one of Palpatine's great indulgences in life. And why should he stop? Vader did not have the power to challenge his master. That chance had come and gone with the death of his former apprentice, Galen Marek. What a fiasco that had been, and Vader knew he should have handled the situation differently. A lesson learned, but when would be the next chance to recruit such a powerful force-sensitive? To surpass his master, Vader would need a prodigy the likes of which came along once in a generation, much like Anakin Skywalker had been.
The thoughts circled lazily in his mind as he made the familiar trek across the Executor to his private transmission room. There, he knelt and called Palpatine back, the hooded Sith's holographic head looming over his apprentice.
"Ah, Lord Vader. I hope this is a good time to contact you." The Emperor's sunken yellow eyes crinkled with sadistic humor, as if he did not know every detail of Vader's schedule already.
"How may I serve, Master?" Vader expected to hear of another lost Jedi to be hunted down. That would be welcome - he could use a good fight to clear his mind. But then, it had been eighteen years since the formation of the Empire, and there most likely weren't many Jedi to be found anymore. "Except for Kenobi…" The visage of his former master filled Vader with hate. There was also Yoda to consider, but the little green one seemed exceptionally skilled at masking his presence in the galaxy. And he was old, besides; perhaps he had already become one with the Force. Regardless, Palpatine never seemed concerned with the remaining Jedi, so maybe this was about the burgeoning rebellion that was kindling in the outer rim and core worlds alike. Vader had seen some brazen displays on Corellia and Alderaan. And worse still, their banners bore the crest of Marek's clan. It would be some months yet until the DS-1 battle station would be complete - then, the upstart planets would realize the unimaginable depth of their folly.
"The expeditionary force led by Grand Admiral Thrawn has returned from the Unknown Regions to resupply on Coruscant. I plan to send him out there again - his cartography has been most useful." Palpatine reported, the seeming non sequitur confusing Vader. "And he seems to enjoy it, though such considerations matter little so long as he serves my will."
"Thrawn is an exemplary asset to the Empire." Vader replied, fuming that he had no choice but to play this little game until his master arrived at the point.
"I see, so you did not sense the disturbance I did." Palpatine said after a pause, causing possibilities to bloom in Vader's mind. How could a Jedi be in the Unknown Regions?
"It is no Jedi, Lord Vader." Palpatine seemed to sense his thoughts with the greatest of ease. "This presence is of the Dark Side, arising from the planet Ee-arth. Is that how you say it? Well, you'll see for yourself once the Grand Admiral provides the coordinates."
"A Sith pretender is no threat to us, master. I will demonstrate to them the true nature of the Dark Side before they die." Vader said coolly.
"There is more." Palpatine was unimpressed with his apprentice's boasting. "This individual is most likely not of the Sith. Ee-arth has never made contact with the rest of the known galaxy. It is likelt their people do not possess the capacity for intergalactic space travel. This one may not be an enemy…such raw potential is better served towards a more useful end."
"He seeks to replace me." Vader knew. Palpatine had stopped just short of directly chastising Vader for his reliance on machinery to stay alive. And while he was still more than a match for most Jedi even in his inhibited state, Vader knew his current strength was a pale shadow of what he might have become if not for the injuries sustained on Mustafar. If this new force-user had the potential to surpass him…well, betrayal was the way of the Sith.
"Thrawn's research discovered that the denizens of Ee-arth appear to be human in spite of their detachment from the rest of the galaxy. While some of them can harness the Force, they apparently manifest their powers through talismans of sorts…they look rather like Pazaak cards, actually." The emperor explained as Vader brooded. The emperor held up a card for reference. The card's name was Dark Hole and it was evidently a 'spell card'. "I rather like this one, myself."
"What? How absurd." Vader wondered if his master was playing a joke on him.
"Oh I assure you, it is true…the admiral has procured some of the talismans. If possible, I'd like for you to engage this individual with them. If that does not work, you are more than welcome to subdue them with the usual methods." Palpatine bid. "I would like to examine this new technique myself, but I am too busy."
"Too busy to stand up and fight your own battles for a change." Vader thought with a snarl, wondering when the last time Palpatine even left the Imperial Palace, much less Coruscant. Although after a second thought, Vader supposed it made sense that the head of state wouldn't dare risk his life on a wild bantha chase in the Unknown Regions. "That's what I'm here for." The cyborg mused bitterly.
"Nevertheless, I cannot suffer a mystery of the Force to remain unknown to me." Palpatine blathered on as Vader stewed.
"So you wish me to channel the Force with these…talismans, master?" Vader wondered what was wrong with a good old lightsaber. He had a remarkably high success rate with those. Usually when you stick them with the burning red end, they go down and stay down. Especially if you took off a limb or two along the way.
"Oh yes. Thrawn will provide a deck to you at the rendezvous point along with the updated star charts. I look forward to hearing of your success, Lord Vader." Palpatine smiled, his mouth quirking like a dried-out worm as the transmission ended. "And perhaps I will get a far younger, more powerful apprentice out of the deal as well." He left that part unspoken.
Wearily, Vader rose and ordered the Executor's course redirected to Coruscant.
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As he pondered the stack of cards in his hand, Vader thought, "This is the biggest load of bantha poodoo I've ever dealt with."
Thrawn was much more interested in the cards than he was, the Chiss always holding an appreciation for the artwork of other cultures. The admiral had a lighter touch than Vader as well - when the Dark Lord questioned where Thrawn had obtained the cards, he replied that they had merely purchased them from a card shop, which were as commonplace in the planet's metropolitan areas as restaurants or shopping centers. Or at least, they had attempted to buy them until they realized no exchange rate had been set between imperial credits and the planet's local currency. After that, they held the shopkeeper at gunpoint and shook him down for everything he had. Vader would have just done that to begin with, but Thrawn favored "diplomatic solutions" when possible.
Vader would have much preferred the Chiss be placed on this assignment, but his lack of force-sensitivity precluded him from doing so. And so, Vader set a course for Earth, having learned the proper pronunciation from the Grand Admiral before they parted ways. As the Executor dropped out of hyperspace, Vader could much more strongly discern the presence of multiple Force users on the planet below. Some were more distinct than others, and most curiously there were a mixture of signatures strong in the light and dark side alike.
"Are these force-sensitives unaware of each other? Or do they coexist?" It was a strange thought. Historically, Jedi and Sith could hardly stand to be in the same star system without seeking each other out for inevitable combat to the death. It had been millennia since there had been any sort of accords between Jedi and Sith, and even that was merely part of a larger deception by Darth Malgus to ambush the Jedi Temple.
"Most curious…" Vader thought as he took a token force of Stormtroopers with him on a shuttle down to the blue orb. The planet was mostly ocean, but Vader's keen senses directed the pilot to touch down on a landmass shaped rather like a boot, or at least it looked that way from above.
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"It's so nice to be back in Venice, don't ya think?" A young man with shaggy ginger-brown hair spoke to the open air. His black t-shirt was ruffled and frayed from many months on the road, as were his jeans and red hiking boots. "This is shaping up to be a much better trip than last time!"
Jaden Yuki had finally made his way back to the city of rivers after his previous vacation was so rudely interrupted by Paradox's shenanigans. But even that was its own kind of fun, teaming up with the legendary Yugi Muto as well as that cool guy with the crab hair from the future. What was his name again…
"It was Yusei." A half-male, half-female voice answered for him - Yubel had always been able to tell what he was thinking. Probably because their souls had been merged together for some four years now. Unfortunately, since Jaden was the only one who could see the duel spirit, the passersby thought he was crazy for talking to himself.
However, Yubel was not Jaden's only "imaginary friend". Along with him was the fat brown tabby cat Pharaoh. Although the cat was perfectly observable to the rest of the world, only a few could see the spirit of Jaden's former teacher and once-enemy, Lyman Banner. The thin, black-haired professor took in his surroundings with a smile, despite the fact that his eyes were perpetually closed. He was a pretty quiet guy these days, although he would chime in with a bit of cryptic advice every now and again.
"I sure am glad there aren't any masked villains around to spoil our vacation!" Jaden grinned, putting his arms behind his head in a relaxed manner as he unknowingly tempted fate. Sure enough, moments later he saw a white, triple-winged spaceship descend from the sky and land directly in front of him, scaring off the dozens of civilians in the town square.
"Oh, me and my big mouth!" Jaden rued as he saw the ship entry hatch open up to reveal a tall, imposing figure clad in black armor from head to toe.
"Ah, there he is. I knew my senses would not fail me. Surround him." The dark, statuesque man spoke, and Jaden suddenly found himself surrounded by masked soldiers, their white armor gleaming in the sunlight as they pointed strange-looking firearms directly at him.
"Hey, what's all this?" Jaden questioned as passersby continued to run away, some screaming like chickens with their heads cut off as the peaceful day was suddenly, harshly spoiled.
"Are you the one known as Jaden Yuki?" The golem's voice was deep, clearly modulated through the use of some technology. Jaden could sense great evil in his spirit, although there was a glimmer of some courage, hope, and the capacity to love in there as well. But only a glimmer - the man's spirit was dark and heavy, and it was not the darkness of creation that dwelled within him, but a different force.
"That's me!" Jaden was not one for stealth or subtlety, and offered his real name up freely even as Yubel and Banner facepalmed. "You've got some way of handling introductions, pal. Who are you, and what do you want with me?"
"I am Darth Vader, dark lord of the Sith and supreme commander of the Galactic Empire's military. I have sensed your prowess with the force, and I am here to assess your potential."
"Not gonna lie, I didn't understand a word you just said. But if you're from outer space, I got a lot of questions for ya. I don't mind talking, but you better not do anything to harm the people of this planet. Otherwise, we're gonna have a big problem!" Jaden warned, a harsh warning hidden beneath a playful veneer.
Vader normally wouldn't bother with answering the questions of his adversaries, but he needed to know more about the unusual manner these Earthlings channeled the Force. "Most of this galaxy has been unified under the banner of an empire, overseen by my master, the Emperor. Your planet is in the unknown regions, and our intelligence has recently discovered and charted your star systems. But I am not here to ensure your planet's fealty to the Empire."
"You're not? Well that's good. I'm not really much of a leader. I don't really have much sway in what goes on in terms of politics. It's not really my thing." Jaden said with some confusion.
"It is your ability to use the Force that concerns me."
"Huh? What's that?"
Vader paused, wondering if the boy was playing a trick on him or not. "Don't lie to me. Your strength in the dark side is so potent I could feel it from five systems away. You must be aware of your own powers, there's no other explanation. Who trained you? A Jedi?"
"What's a Jedi? You're not making any sense." Jaden replied flippantly, causing Vader to growl in frustration.
"Jaden, he's referring to your powers, but by a different name. He has similar abilities himself. Similar, but not quite the same." Yubel helpfully supplied, and Jaden nodded.
"Ohhh, I see what you mean. Well, if you have the same powers, why don't you show me yours? If you don't mind." Jaden innocently requested.
"This child is a great fool." Vader decided. "I would be happy to demonstrate the power of the force." He said with a note of dark humor as he raised a hand.
Jaden felt invisible fingers constrict around his throat. His eyes grew wide as he realized what sort of person he was dealing with. The dark power dwelling within Jaden burst forward like a geyser, black waves of power tossing Vader's psychic feelers aside. "Hey, that's not very nice!"
"Ah, so you do have some command over the force after all. But I must wonder why you use those bizarre talismans to fight. Have you ever used a lightsaber before?" Vader asked as if he hadn't just tried to choke Jaden out.
"Talismans? You mean my cards?" Jaden withdrew his dueling deck from his pants pocket and inserted it into his duel disk. "If it's a duel you want, why didn't you just say so?"
"Where I come from, duels mean something very different." Raising his right hand again, Vader floated his duel disk out from the ship and attached it to his left arm. The duel disk Thrawn provided was custom made to match Vader's overall aesthetic. The frame was pitch-black like his suit, but was otherwise the same sort of model as Jaden's, who had a white and red disk. In the event that his unknown foe used a lightsaber, Vader commissioned the device to be fashioned from Cortosis alloys. The buttons even matched the colors and texture of the central control panel on Vader's suit. He surmised that Thrawn's crew must have reverse engineered his disk based on the commonly available models on this planet. Although Vader generally didn't care about dueling, he found the engineering and technology behind the device to be rather fascinating. Whoever designed the duel disk clearly had a prodigious intellect. "Through battle, I will learn new powers, and you will learn that your own abilities are merely a drop in the ocean that is the Force."
"Alright, whatever you say! Just don't think I'm gonna go down easy!" Jaden smiled, although he still had many questions about who this man was and what he really wanted.
"So, in this ritual combat, how is the first move decided?" Darth Vader had brushed up on the rules of Duel Monsters on the trip there, but he found them surprisingly complex and did not remember all of the intricacies.
"Well, usually we play rock-paper-scissors. You know how that works, right?" Jaden asked patiently.
"Of course." Vader bristled at Jaden's patronizing tone, swiftly crossing the distance between them. When they stood no more than a few feet apart, Vader looked down at the smiling boy and decided to try his luck. "What am I even doing here? You know what, forget this stupid game!" The dark lord quickly force-pulled the lightsaber from his belt and ignited the red blade, trying to stab Jaden while he was off-guard.
Unfortunately for Vader, Jaden was not treating the encounter nearly as glib as his demeanor suggested, smoothly jumping backwards with unnatural swiftness to avoid the lightsaber's reach. "Not cool!" The boy chastised his would-be murderer. "You know what, just for that I'm gonna decide the turn order, and I want you to go first."
"His speed is impressive. I've known Jedi who were taken unawares by that little trick, but he appears to be smarter than he looks." Vader was a bit irritated, but was confident he could still fight this Jaden Yuki if needed. For now, he would play along with the game. "Very well. I'll start with -"
"Hey, you need to draw first!" Jaden protested again. He couldn't help but feel a bit nervous since the ring of stormtroopers still had their blasters trained on him.
"Erm, what? I thought you weren't supposed to draw if you were taking the first turn." Vader wondered if his rulebook was outdated, or if the boy's understanding of the rules was incorrect.
"Huh? No, go ahead and draw." Jaden offered, and since it was in Vader's advantage to do so, he took another card. Then, deciding to try his luck one more time, the dark lord reached his hand out and attempted to constrict Jaden's windpipe with the force one more time. However, he found that the child was actively flaring his energy, a black aura flecked with gold, that prevented Vader's telekinesis from working. Jaden grinned at him, the Sith realizing that there wouldn't be a quick end to this conflict after all.
Deciding to go ahead with his first turn, Vader declared, "I play the spell card Terraforming, allowing me to add a field spell from my deck to my hand. Then, I'll activate my field spell, known as Kozmotown." Suddenly, the empty alleyway was bathed in artificial light as weathered brick and cement gained a shimmering metallic emerald sheen. Jaden could see and hear futuristic hovercars flying overhead, and the stars above had shifted into unfamiliar patterns. To Vader, it was a rough facsimile of Coruscant, but full of enough little differences to know it wasn't quite the same.
"Now, I'll use the field spell's effect, allowing me to shuffle Kozmo monsters from my hand back into the deck, then draw cards equal to the number I returned to the deck." Vader returned Kozmo Tincan and Kozmo Scaredy Lion to draw two new cards. Luckily, the duel disk provided took care of the shuffling function. It was lucky because Vader was certain he would have accidentally ripped the cards if he tried to shuffle them - his mechanical digits lacked the fine motor control for such things. Drawing his new cards, Vader found them much more to his liking.
"First, I'll normal summon Kozmo Strawman (500/1100)." The spindly yellow golem reminded Vader uncomfortably of Threepio. "Using its effect, I'll banish it in order to summon a more powerful Kozmo monster from my hand. Come, Kozmo Forerunner (2800/1400)." Above the heads of Vader and his stormtrooper squad loomed a large silver craft, vaguely Correllian in design sensibilities. Its engines stayed at a low hum as it hung in midair. "I set two cards and end my turn." Vader didn't like that he wasn't allowed to attack on the first turn.
"Hey, not bad Vader." Jaden said in that unintentionally condescending way of his. "But now it's my turn! And I'll start by playing the spell card Neos Fusion!" A kaleidoscope of colors seemed to burst from nowhere as a portal opened up behind Jaden, his eyes briefly changing color to a bright, burning gold as he did so.
"Golden eyes? So he is channeling the dark side after all." Vader knew it was a typical side effect of those immersed in the dark side of the force to develop gold or yellow irises. Palpatine did, and so did Vader although he seldom saw his own eyes due to the helmet. However, the way this child used the dark side was different than any other Sith Vader had seen or read about. This usage of the energy brimmed with youthful life, fresh vigor, and a sense of playfulness. It was so utterly unlike the solemn, rigid Jedi Order or the violent Sith. Vader found himself curious even as he struggled to keep up with what Jaden was doing.
"Hold on, I need to read what your cards do. I'm not familiar with them." Vader requested awkwardly. He had been off-kilter ever since stepping foot on this planet. Pushing a green button on the side of the disk, Vader saw a heads-up display showing Jaden's cards and their effects.
"No sweat man, I'll just go ahead and explain what I'm doing while you read them. This spell lets me fuse two of my Neo-Spacian monsters by sending them directly from my deck to the graveyard. Pretty cool, right? I'm gonna send Elemental Hero Neos and Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab to summon my Elemental Hero Flare Neos (2500/2000) to the field!" Jaden blinked, and his eyes returned to their normal warm brown shade. The sheer energy emitting from the portal turned to flame as a warrior clad in a deep orange and black carapace emerged from the blaze. Vaguely insectoid in mannerism, the humanoid monster hovered in midair on stiff, bulky wings. Vader tensed as he felt thick waves of heat emanate from the monster's body.
"And that's not all! I equip Flare Neos with the spell Favorite Hero, preventing him from targeting by other card effects!" A gold-white aura stacked on top of the blood orange one already exuded by Flare Neos as the beast rose higher into the air. "Time to battle!"
As Jaden clenched his fist, Vader was suddenly aware of a shift in the air, as that spectrum of colors that Jaden effortlessly called upon seemed to hang over the city like fog. "And when I initiate the battle phase, Favorite Hero lets me play a field spell directly from my deck - Neo Space!" As Vader struggled not to be overwhelmed by Jaden's flurry of plays, he noticed that the attack value of Flare Neos was continually rising, stopping at 6600.
"How is that possible?" Vader meant to think, but said out loud.
"Oh, it's a couple of things, really. Sorry, I should have stopped and told you what was going on." As Jaden chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head, Vader was momentarily overcome with the need to choke him through the Force. He decided not to, for he wanted to beat the annoying child at his own game.
"Flare Neos gains 400 attack points for every spell and trap on the field. I have my equip spell, and my Neo Space field spell, and you have your two set cards, so he gains 1600 off of that. The effect of Neo Space gives Flare Neos an additional 500 attack points. Finally, Favorite Hero lets him gain attack points equal to his defense points of 2000. So all in all, he gains 4100 attack points, which is more than enough to take down your Kozmo Forerunner. Get him!" Jaden's aura flared gold and black as he commanded the attack, Flare Neos dropping down on the ship like a meteor. Normally Jaden preferred to draw a duel out, it was more fun that way. However, he was a bit miffed at getting his trip to Venice interrupted a second time, and decided it would be best to end the fight as soon as possible so he could move on with his day.
For a moment, Vader was paralyzed, but he recovered his wits quickly enough to respond to the attack. "I play the trap card Kozmojo." Channeling the duel energy through what little remained of his physical body, Vader blended it with his natural force talents seamlessly. "By destroying one of my Kozmo monsters, I can banish one of your cards." Although Vader knew that Flare Neos itself was untargetable, he could still get rid of the equip spell. Thrusting out a gloved hand, Vader tore apart his own Forerunner ship and hurled the scrap metal at the advancing Flare Neos, halting its path and besieging it in a rain of loose debris.
Flare Neos lost the auric glow granted by the equip spell as it was removed from the game. It lost a tremendous amount of strength as a result, now reduced to 4200 - still enough to destroy almost any monster in the game, but a loss nonetheless. "And now, the effect of Kozmo Forerunner activates." Vader was internally glad for the prompt provided by the duel disk, or he would have forgotten about the trigger. "I can special summon a Kozmo that's lower than level six from my deck! I play Kozmo Wickedwitch (1900/300) in defense mode."
From the ship's wreckage emerged a pallid, slender young woman with short charcoal hair and a tattered black cloak. In her hands was a double-bladed ruby lightsaber much like the one his master's previous apprentice, Darth Maul, used in combat. Jaden looked briefly surprised that Vader managed to escape defeat but rallied in short order. "Darn, this might be tougher than I thought. Guess I might as well attack anyways!" Jaden and Flare Neos take a lap before the orange hero circled back and dove towards Vader's new monster.
Vader expected Wickedwitch to be destroyed until he got another prompt from the duel disk reminding him of her effect. "I pay 1000 life points to keep my monster on the field!" Vader declared, finding himself pushed back by the blankets of solar wind put out by Flare Neos. (Jaden 4000/Vader 3000)
The damage was easy enough to bear, but felt real despite the fact they were 'playing a game'. "A game of shadows, a game of death. Still, I am no stranger to pain, and if it serves a greater goal then all the better."
Jaden paced back and forth, observing how Vader took the strike. "This guy's got some shadow powers of his own…I can't afford to treat this like a game." He thought sadly. He did not find any excitement or enjoyment in fights to the death. If Jaden had it his way, this would be a friendly game over a cup of coffee, but he didn't seem to get his way very often. "I'll throw down a face-down and end my turn." Jaden could have powered up Flare Neos by setting the card earlier, but he wanted to hold a little something in reserve just because he didn't know what Vader's backrow could do.
"It will take more than that to subdue me, foolish child." Vader stood, causing some of the stormtroopers who had moved towards him to hastily step out of choking range. "Draw." He was starting to get in the swing of this. That hidden lethality of the game had begun to engage him. He had always been comfortable flirting with death, ever since Anakin Skywalker started building podracers as a boy.
"Hey, you don't have to be such a meanie, ok?" Jaden stuck his tongue out childishly at the Dark Lord of the Sith.
"Oh, you've yet to see how 'mean' I can be. I call on the magic of Dark Core, allowing me to banish your monster at the cost of discarding a card!". Vader raised a palm skyward before slamming it on the pavement, ripples of energy emanating from his gloved fist. Using the force, he was able to throw Flare Neos down to earth and vanquish it with a blast of jet-black energy, leaving Jaden's field empty of monsters.
"And now, I'll banish my Kozmo Wickedwitch in order to special summon Kozmo Sliprider (2300/800)!" Vanishing in a black haze, the smoke was soon dispelled by the flight of a cherry-red starship with four unfolded wings that made the shape of an X when they were fully extended. "When this monster is summoned, I can destroy a spell or trap card on the field." Vader wordlessly pointed to Jaden's set card, finding Neo Space to be no threat compared to the unknown variable presented by the other backrow. The starfighter pointed its turbolasers at the face-down card and peppered Jaden's field with a volley of bright blue shots.
Jaden threw up his arms to keep the dust out of his eyes, simultaneously declaring, "I reveal my face-down, Flute of Summoning Kuriboh! This quick-play spell lets me bring out a friend from my deck - Winged Kuriboh (300/200) in defense mode!" Jaden's monster arrived accompanied by a soothing woodwind melody. The beast was sickeningly cute to Vader, a hairy brown furball with little angel wings and large, expressive eyes. It was with great pleasure that he shot the Kuriboh down with another blast from his Sliprider. "I'll set another card and end there." While he was somewhat annoyed at Jaden's swift defense, the Sith found himself comfortable in a more offensive bout of momentum.
As Jaden drew, he took note of Vader's two set cards. "Alright check this out! I play Card Trooper (400/400)!" The monster reminded Vader of some droid models he had observed and often worked on himself. The robot maneuvered on tank treads and took aim with twin cannons attached to a red chassis. Its optical receptors shone bright out of a glass bulb. "Once per turn, I can send up to three cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard, and this little guy gains 500 attack points for each one!" Sending three cards caused the droid to whir slightly faster as its circuitry worked harder to raise the attack value to 1900. Quickly peering over the dumped cards, Jaden smiled and knew what his next move was.
"Now I've got what I need in my graveyard to play this! The spell card Miracle Fusion! This lets me banish Elemental Heroes from the graveyard as materials for a fusion! I'm gonna banish Elemental Heroes Sparkman and Clayman!" Jaden thrust a hand skyward, and his brown hair whipped wildly in the wind as he drew on greater depths of duel power.
Having reviewed some of Thrawn's intelligence reports, Vader expected Jaden to summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant. However, the emerging creature was something different. The warrior's armor was a rather busy amalgamation of several colors, implements, and accessories, as if it were a hybrid of several other monsters mashed into a blender. "By fusing two different normal heroes, I can summon Elemental Hero Grandmerge (0/0)! This guy gains 300 attack points for each level star of its materials! Since Sparkman and Clayman are level four, this gives Grandmerge 2400 attack points!"
Since it ended up having 2400 attack points anyways, Vader wondered why Jaden didn't go for Thunder Giant, but he had little time to ponder it before Grandmerge was flying towards his field. With an electrically charged punch, the warrior carved through the starship like it was made of paper. (Jaden 4000/Vader 2900)
"Ergh…" Vader stumbled back from the glancing blow. "I call on Sliprider's effect to summon Kozmo Soartroopers (1000/1000) to the field!" Vader's battalion looked vaguely similar to the stormtroopers in his personal guard, only these wore black armor and had winged attachments built into their armor. For what practical purpose, none could discern.
Conversely, Jaden was in the process of calling out a new monster as well. "When Grandmerge destroys a monster, I can sacrifice it to summon another Hero fusion monster, without needing any fusion technique!" Grandmerge dissolved into a sphere of light that pulsed rainbow waves of color. From the ground beneath his feet, Jaden could hear the low hum of a drill grow louder, before finally the concrete burst open and his new monster rose from the rubble. "I play Elemental Hero Nebula Neos (3000/2500)!" Normally, the triple contact fusion monster would require a herculean effort to summon, but now Jaden could take advantage of its strength without having to go through the onerous summoning procedure. The warrior resembled Elemental Hero Neos, but clad in ridged black and gold armor. Attached to one hand was a triple-headed drill that circled around its wrist, while the other palm radiated with dark, ionized fog.
"This card's pretty cool, check it out! When it's summoned, I can draw a card for each other card you control!" Since Vader had a face-down, Soartroopers, and the Kozmotown field spell, Jaden drew three cards. "Then, I can negate the effects of one of your face-up cards until the end of the turn!" Jaden had no good targets for the effect and ended up negating Kozmotown, Neos spreading thick haze throughout the battlefield. "But my Neos can't attack monsters with a lower level than itself, so instead I'm gonna have Card Trooper attack your Kozmo Soartroopers!" Firing from its cannons, the droid put holes in the bumbling henchmen. "Then, I'll call it a turn!"
Vader was growing impressed, against his will. Jaden had ferocious, seemingly endless wells of power. It was a travesty for him to throw it away on this silly game when he could become a powerful Sith instead. "Listen well, boy. I am not a man of mercy, but I am willing to make an exception for those with strength in the force like yourself. Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as master and apprentice." For dramatic effect, Vader raised the fist that wasn't holding his cards and clenched it.
"Hey, I don't mean to criticize ya, but aren't you supposed to be winning before making those kinds of offers?" Jaden scratched his cheek and chuckled sheepishly. "Besides, I don't even know who you are, what this empire thing is, and why I'd have to be your apprentice. I mean if you want my help for something, can't we just be partners? Depends what it is of course. You seem like a really evil guy, so I'm not sure I want to help you with anything." And yet, Jaden could perceive something different there, some courage and nobility that was once pure before it had been twisted towards wicked ends.
"The power you draw upon is the dark side of the force. Your application of it is different, but it is the same fundamental well of energy that surrounds us and binds the galaxy together. If you join my side, you will not only have power beyond your dreams, but status and wealth as well. Entire worlds would bow before you - anything you desire would be at your fingertips." Vader was not used to the sales pitch, usually preferring to impose his will through overwhelming power. However, the boy didn't know of his reputation, and rather than being scared, he seemed to enjoy the prospect of facing a strong opponent.
"Gee, I've pretty much got everything I want right here on Earth." Jaden visibly struggled to think of something. "Well, do you guys have any interesting new cards up there in space?"
"...There is nothing quite like these talismans in all the galaxy, or at least the parts of the galaxy I've seen." Vader responded dryly.
"Darn, that's too bad. In that case, there really isn't anything I need. Personally, I prefer to live and let live." Jaden's tone turned somewhat wistful. "But I'm guessing that's how you do things."
"The weak will always be dominated by the strong. Why else does anyone pursue strength, if not to avoid the inevitable subjugation that results from the natural order of things? The strong do as they will and the weak suffer what they must. If you are not stronger than me, then I will do as I wish with you." Vader drew himself taller, and Jaden felt chills race up his spine.
"Then I guess we're going things your way…" With waves of dark duel energy rolling off of him, Jaden's eyes briefly flashed burning orange and electric teal as Vader prepared his next move. Due to the effect of Neo Space, Jaden got to keep Nebula Neos on the field.
"I'll activate the spell Pot of Extravagance, banishing six cards from my extra deck to draw two cards." Since Vader didn't need the extra deck, the cost was nothing to him. He learned the various extra deck summoning methods on the trip to Earth and could understand them, although pendulum summoning took some time and practice to comprehend. During his studies, Vader also decided to include a card that would particularly help in this matchup. "I play De-Fusion!"
Jaden gasped in shock as Vader thrust his palm out and flung back Nebula Neos through the air, the warrior spiraling through the black hole at the center of Neo Space. De-Fusion split apart fusion monsters and summoned back their materials from the graveyard. However, since Jaden didn't have Grand Mole, Black Panther, and Neos in the graveyard, Nebula Neos was unceremoniously spun back to the extra deck without leaving anything behind in his wake.
Jaden grit his teeth. "There's no way you just happened to have that card in your deck…you must have done your homework, unlike me when I was in the academy."
"Naturally. Our scouting parties sent down probe droids to investigate what sort of cards you were playing, and I adjusted my own deck accordingly. He who fails to prepare prepares to fail." Jaden could have imagined a smug smirk on Vader's face if not for the helmet. "You, on the other hand, had no way of preparing your deck to face mine."
"That's fine. I trust in my cards, and I know they won't let me down!" Jaden declared with a fiery spirit. Although most would scoff at the idea of faith-based belief having any effect in a game of skill such as Duel Monsters, Vader knew well that resolve and determination had a direct impact on one's ability to channel the force. He looked forward to breaking that resolve.
"For my next move, I'll use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Neo Space." The heady colors disappeared, and the dark lord had a slightly easier time getting his bearings. "Then, I summon Kozmo Farmgirl (1500/500)." Although Vader did his best to make the card sound intimidating, its appearance did not help his case - the girl held a cute, naive expression with braided ginger hair. That being said, there was nothing cute about the blaster holstered at her waist.
"By banishing Kozmo Farmgirl from the field, I can summon Kozmo Dark Eclipser (3000/2600)!" Above the farmgirl's head appeared a sleek black cruiser with burning red exhaust firing out of the rear ports and laser turrets on its sides. Its shape was vaguely similar to the Ventator-class Star Destroyers of the empire, only its coloring was black with purple highlights rather than solid steel grey. Wasting no more time, Vader ordered the ship to fire immediately on Card Trooper, two shots turning the droid into a smoking pile of scrap. The concussive shock of the beams sent Jaden flying, although he was able to catch himself in midair using duel energy and lowered to the ground safely. Once his feet touched the pavement, Jaden let out a gasp of pain and lowered to one knee. (Jaden 1400/Vader 2400)
"Darn…he can bring the big guns out really fast!" Jaden hissed through clenched teeth. "But it's not all bad - when Card Trooper is destroyed, I get to draw a card…"
Vader stood proudly now that he had finally inflicted a heavy blow on his enemy. "Now you see it is useless to resist! Join the Empire or die!" He set a card and ended his turn.
"There is a great deal of inner darkness in that one…it's quite delicious, wouldn't you agree, my sweet?" Yubel chimed in. "I would relish the chance to absorb his power, if you would allow it."
"Take it easy, Yubel." Jaden didn't mind indulging the spirit's appetites every now and then, but it didn't seem very helpful at this time. "I still gotta find a way to win this first."
As he realized the challenge that lay before him, Jaden's pain subsided and was replaced by audacious laughter. "No way, you've got it wrong. I love fighting strong duelists, and I'm just getting more excited!" Drawing, his cheery demeanor only intensified. "Now, I'm gonna start by playing Miracle Contact! This spell lets me shuffle back fusion materials from my graveyard into the deck in order to summon a Neos fusion monster! I'll add back Neos and my Elemental Hero Flare Neos in order to summon Elemental Hero Neos Knight (2500/1000)!"
Neos stood proudly in red and silver armor, brandishing a double-bladed halberd single-handedly while carrying a shield on the other arm. Dusky auburn hair trailed from his pointed helm. The creature reminded Vader of the ancient Jedi and Sith who used to brandish steel swords before the invention of lightsabers, nearly 5000 years in the past. "Neos Knight gains half the strength of the other monster used to fuse for it. Since Flare Neos had 2500 attack points, Neos Knight gains a cool 1250!" At 3750 attack points, Neos was comfortably stronger than Vader's ship, but luckily Neos Knight's effect prevented it from damaging the opponent. Raising the heavy sword above his head, Neos leapt into the air and charged, slicing through the ship easily and landing in a three-point stance.
Seeming to expect Jaden's swift reprisals at this point, Vader coldly replied, "I can banish Dark Eclipser to search another Kozmo to my hand from my deck…" as the ship's wreckage blazed around him, the hologram sticking around a bit longer before dissipating.
"He doesn't look worried…" Jaden thought with a bit of trepidation himself. "Even though he hasn't dueled before, he's going blow for blow with me! I hate to think what would happen if he got some more training. He can definitely take some punishment. I think I'm gonna finish this with the next move…if I can!" "I'm gonna throw down a face-down and call it a turn."
Likewise, Vader had to accept that this opponent was, in his own way, just as dangerous as any Sith in history, despite the differing means by which they fought. However, the boy had a painfully obvious need to play the hero, and that could be made to serve Vader's own ends, if he took a different approach. "Jaden Yuki…the reason I came to this planet was not to conquer it, as you might think, nor was it to eliminate a potential threat to the Empire."
"Huh? Gee, you could have fooled me. What are you up to, Vager?" Jaden picked his ear casually.
"It's Vader!" The golem hissed, only to remember his objective. "I needed to assess your potential because I seek to overthrow the Emperor of the galaxy, my master. He is a wicked man who toys with planets as children would play with dolls. He turned the democratic republic we used to prosper under into a totalitarian dictatorship where the suffering, slavery, and scarcity are the norm." Vader conveniently omitted his own role in ensuring the Empire rose to power, as well as his preference for the current order to the former Republic. The only change he truly wanted to enact was to overthrow Palpatine and place himself atop the galactic hierarchy.
Jaden frowned. "Then how come you serve under him rather than fighting back?"
"I am not strong enough to fight him alone. With your aid, things might be different…" Vader planted the thought in Jaden's head and left it there. Indeed, the boy's expression took on an aloof, almost calculating mien as he pondered Vader's words.
Letting him dwell on it, Vader continued his move. "I'll use Kozmotown's effect, returning one of my banished Kozmo cards to my hand." Bringing back Kozmo Farmgirl, Vader took slight damage from the field spell's cost. Since Farmgirl was a level three monster, he took 300 points of damage. (Jaden 1400/Vader 2600)
"Then, I'll use my trap card, Escape from the Dark Dimension, to bring back Dark Eclipser to the field." Torrents of dark energy streaked across the blue sky as Vader's capital ship cast a looming shadow over the city. "In addition, I'll normal summon Kozmo Farmgirl back to the field."
"What is it now? Neither of those cards can beat my Neos Knight…" Jaden knew Vader had to have something else.
"They don't need to - I offer up both of my monsters in order to special summon my strongest monster, Kozmo Dark Planet (4000/4000)!" Vader channeled the deepest depths of the dark side to invoke the creature. Jaden was amazed as he looked high in the sky and beheld the structure, a moon-sized sphere outfitted in green plating and further armored with a black floatation ring and stabilizers on either side. The capital ship was so large, anyone within a 500-mile radius could see it clearly.
"Wow, that's the biggest monster I've ever seen!" Jaden gushed. "This is so cool!"
Vader strained under the pressure of summoning such an immensely powerful monster, and found he had run out of patience with Jaden's childish behavior. "Dark Planet, FIRE!" He thrust a hand out. It took some few minutes for the craft to charge up its central laser cannon, but once it the green beam came down like a bolt from heaven itself. As the ship prepared to fire, Jaden's smile dropped and was replaced by a tense worry.
"That thing's got enough power to blow away the entire planet! Neos, go higher!" Jaden couldn't save his monster, but he could try and avert any damage to the surface since the attack would be focused completely on his monster. Heeding his master's command with a silent nod, Neos Knight leapt in the air and met the laser halfway. The warrior was shielded by the Neos Fusion in Jaden's graveyard, a cloak of rainbow energy absorbing the hit as the spell was banished. The force generated by the impact caused a rush of air pressure that sent Jaden, Vader, the stormtroopers, and the remaining nearby civilians to the ground. (Jaden 1150/Vader 2600)
"Urgh…" Jaden struggled to rise. "If that thing hits me, I'm a dead man. If Vader is this strong, just how much greater is this Emperor guy?" He realized with a thrill of intermingling dread and excitement. This was what he had sought ever since his duel with Yugi - new levels to reach, new adventures to embark on. The existence of a wider galaxy was amazing to him.
"This is your last chance. Give up, and you will live." Vader intoned as plume of dust circled around the duelists. The cyborg's breathing was slightly off-kilter front he impact, and he had to press a few buttons on his chest's control panel to realign his circulatory apparatus. Distracted with this task, Vader failed to notice that another monster was on Jaden's field in addition to Neos Knight.
"Hehe, I already told you I don't do things that way. A duel's not over until the last card is played, and I had a card in my hand just for this occasion." Next to Jaden was an ethereal apparition of his Elemental Hero Neos. "This card is called Elemental Hero Spirit of Neos (2500/2000) and I can summon it from my hand whenever you declare an attack." Jaden moved to give Neos a fist bump, only for his hand to pass through the hero's ghostly form. Chuckling a bit, Jaden scratched his head and continued, "When he's summoned, I get to add an Elemental Hero spell or trap from my deck to my hand, and I'll add EN Shuffle."
"Do whatever you wish, you won't be able to destroy my monster. My turn is done." Vader declared confidently. He was so focused on the duel, Vader didn't even realize that the force of the Dark Planet's attack rendered his stormtroopers unconscious.
The top card of Jaden's deck shone with golden energy. "I can feel it…this card's gonna be the one I need! I draw!" Jaden's trust in his deck was absolute, and although he couldn't immediately see the use of this next card, when he thought it through he knew the right way to go forward.
"Alright, I'm gonna star by playing my EN Shuffle spell!" Normally, this magic would allow Jaden to swap out an Elemental Hero he controlled with another one in his deck, or a Neo-Spacian of his choice. If the spell resolved, he planned on switching Neos Knight with Grand Mole in order to remove Dark Planet with Grand Mole's effect. From there, he could strike with Spirit of Neos.
"Your spells are insignificant compared to the power of the force. I use Kozmo Dark Planet's effect, banishing a Kozmo monster from my graveyard in order to negate your card." Removing Sliprider caused the EN Shuffle to fizzle and go to the graveyard. Vader was taking a gamble - he couldn't afford for EN Shuffle to resolve, but if Jaden had another spell in his hand, he was now free to use it.
Unfortunately for him, Jaden did have another spell in his hand. "Suit yourself, man! Because the last card in my hand is Instant Contact! By paying 1000 life points, this card lets me bring out a level seven or lower hero from my extra deck for one turn! And the one I want is my favorite hero, the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!" (Jaden 150/Vader 2600)
From the sky flew in Jaden's original ace, a muscular fighter with green and red skin, a single white wing, and a draconic right arm that could spew flames on command. Vader waited silently, knowing that the monster must be a fusion material, since it couldn't attack and was too weak to do anything anyways.
"And now, I'll use Spirit of Neos' effect - I can bring him back to the deck to summon out a normal Elemental Hero monster, and I'll choose the original Elemental Hero Neos." The form of Neos gained definition and frame as it gained physical form.
"He has no other cards in his hand and nothing he can activate from his graveyard. He still can't defeat Dark Planet. Unless…the face-down!" Vader realized.
"I reveal my trap card, Favorite Contact! This lets me fusion summon by returning Neos and Flame Wingman into the deck!" Fusing with a trap card was unexpected, and Vader marveled at how the boy's cards worked together. "Merge together to create Elemental Hero Shining Neos Wingman (3100/2500)!"
The searing sunburst of light nearly overwhelmed Vader's visual receptors as Jaden's newest hero burst forth. Resplendent in silver armor with ornate, opalescent wings, the warrior loomed nearly as large as the Rainbow Neos Jaden and Jesse summoned against Yusuke Fujiwara, nearly eight times larger and taller than Jaden himself. The heavenly fighter gained 300 attack points for every monster in Jaden's graveyard. He had Flare Scarab, Winged Kuriboh, Card Trooper, and Grandmerge in the graveyard, boosting Neos Wingman's attack points to 4300. "When this monster is summoned, I can destroy cards on the field up to the number of different attributes on the field. I have light monsters while you have a dark monster, so I can destroy two cards!"
Dark Planet was immune to targeting, so Jaden instead destroyed Kozmotown and Vader's remaining set card, the trap Kozmourning. "No…I will not let you defeat me!" Vader roared, his flaring anger reminiscent of Anakin Skywalker for a fleeting moment.
"Sorry bro, but you don't have much of a choice on this one! Neos Wingman, take down his Dark Planet with shining scorcher!" Like a comet, Neos flew through the sky, his silvery aura trailing behind him, scattering like stardust. Concentrating its power into a single punch, Neos soared into the ship's core through an open thermal exhaust port, destroying the central power system and causing a chain reaction resulting in the total combustion of the dark planet. It exploded in a mighty burst of green smoke as Neos Wingman came out of the other side, while Neos Knight prevented the explosion and the ensuing wreckage from landing on the Earth via an energy projection. Channeling energy through his sword, Neos Knight turned away the stellar heat and debris towards outer space, preventing any damage to the planet's surface. Neos Wingman's effect activated, inflicting damage to Vader equal to the attack value of the dark planet. The duel was over with a bang. (Jaden 150/Vader 0)
Vader dropped to one knee, breathing ragged as sheer rage and frustration. "You…you beat me…" He muttered as the card holograms faded away.
Jaden let out a deep breath he didn't realize he was holding before giving out his usual two-fingered salute. "Hey, you're not bad for a beginner, that was a sweet game!" He strode over to Vader with a jaunty stroll, his relentless positivity salting Vader's wounds.
"How could I let this irritating child defeat me…this is a new depth of humiliation. At least end my life here and now so that I may at least have a warrior's death." Vader's tone was somber, his head knelt.
Jaden put his hands up. "Woah, relax man! I'm not gonna kill you, that would be totally unchill."
"Oh, so you're going to enslave me, use me to serve your own ends? It would be just as well, I have been a slave my entire life." Vader complained, some of Anakin's old whiny temperament returning.
"Dude, just take a chill pill. I'm a nice guy, I don't like to do any of that stuff. Come on, you did fine. It was a good game, but now you gotta pack it up and head home. I'm on vacation, so I'd like to get going with the rest of my day if you don't mind." Jaden laughed nervously - he found Vader's grimness as odd as Vader found his optimism.
"A nice guy…too nice. The Emperor would make short work of one such as you. The galaxy is a harsh place, and even with your great strength, you would not last long." Vader goaded, trying to work an angle on Jaden one last time.
"Oh yeah, you keep mentioning this Emperor dude and how strong he is. Well, if he's a better duelist than you, I want to see what he's made of! Besides, Venice will always be here when I get back. Well, unless I die out there, haha."
Vader could scarcely believe his luck. "Wait, you would be willing to help me defeat the Emperor? What changed your mind?"
"Well, I want to keep an eye on you. No offense, but you seem like a really evil guy, so I don't want you to do whatever you want. And if the Emperor's an evil guy too, then I don't want to sit by and let him oppress people. I want to get to the bottom of this, and you're gonna help me out just like I'm gonna help you."
"I could teach you in the ways of the force, if you would become my apprentice." Vader offered, mainly so that Jaden would keep him around to learn from.
"Kill him! Kill him now!" Yubel screeched before Jaden finally lost patience and snapped back, "Would you put a sock in it for five seconds?"
"Eh, listen, I'm not into being anybody's apprentice. I just wanna do my own thing. Besides, I was never the best student back in school. But if you wanna tell me about a few tricks along the way, I can show you some cool things about Duel Monsters." Jaden's counteroffer was decidedly more flippant than what Vader expected to hear, but the dark lord found it amenable in this instance.
"I…you're really going to help me defeat the Emperor." He repeated to make it seem more real. "I tried to kill you three times in the last hour."
"I like to let bygones be bygones. Come on, let's go. You guys have any good food on that ship?"
"Erm…I get my nutrients through an IV tube. Long story, I'll tell you more on the trip." Vader would have laughed at the absurdity of it all, but it had been so long since he had done that, he forgot how.
"Damn, so the food sucks. Well, in that case I'm eating here, we are in Italy after all. Come with, I can tell you more about Earth and then we'll head out. By the way, I hate to say it but I think your guys are kinda…dead. Or at least unconscious."
"Oh no big deal, some time in the bacta tanks will fix them up. And if they are dead, well there are more where that came from, trust me on that one." Vader said casually.
"...You're a weird guy, Vader. I hope you're not planning on betraying me at some point." Jaden said incisively.
"Don't worry, we Sith always stay true to our word." Vader placated as they walked towards the Italian restaurant together.
The end…?
A/N
Yes this is a crackfic, no I will not explain. Well I'll explain a little bit, I thought this idea would be funny because in both the Legends EU and the new canon, the Darth Vader comic books always pit him against these random opponents, like ninjas, cyborgs, a tentacle monster, etc. So this whole concept is kind of a take on that, only instead of Vader killing Jaden as he usually would, Vader and Jaden are chill for the time being. I think Jaden would sign up to take on a classic villain like Palpatine. Jaden craves challenges and he likes to feel like the hero in a given situation, so it's not like he's going to sit by and let this supposed tyrant dominate the galaxy. However, that doesn't mean he would clear the way for Vader to take over the dictatorship either. If I were to make a sequel to this, which I probably won't, Jaden would probably ditch Vader to join the Rebel Alliance since this fic takes place around 2 to 1 BBY. I've always loved Star Wars so it was a treat to write a fic about it again after so long. Hope you guys enjoyed and found this silly fic entertaining. I'll see ya around!