Anger and fear.
Those were it.
Those were the only emotions that were willing to surge through that he was trapped here, being used like a puppet just to entertain a crowd, forced in to combat minute after minute, and spending his bolts just to keep buying ammo so he could shred through the line of mercenaries. And afraid that, if he messed up, even in the slightest bit, he and his friends would be killed in an instant. It almost happened once, and he wasn't going to let it happen again.
Ratchet felt his heart rate increase as the next battle began.
Floating on the edge of despair
Eyes still twitching even in sleep
The crowd's cheering hit his ears. Ratchet took a deep breath, his armored body shaking on the inside. He put his helmet on, and his helpers, Merc and Green, floated up beside him, prepared to help him in anyway. The doors opened, and the crowd went wild as Eviscerator and his glowing yellow eyes came out of the darkness. The blades on his body shining with intimidation. Ratchet gulped and equipped his Dual Vipers, ready to unleash a flurry of bullets at his Exterminator opponent. Another round, he thought to himself. Just get through another round. If he died here, his friends would die as well. They would kill them. Vox would kill them. All of their lives rested in the hands of Gleeman Vox, and he wanted to free them. He wanted to free everyone from this terrible place.
Into the depths of our illusion
The gods await to hear our plea
Although our fate's controlled by their hand
Freedom awaits if we have the key
Eviscerator glared at Ratchet, the Lombax's reflection in the small yellow eyes. The crowd waited in anticipation, and the people waiting to be freed held their breaths, waiting for the first movement. Two green eyes stared at a screen and he prayed for his friend's safety. Ratchet could feel the weight of one thousand planets on his shoulders. Dreadzone...this damn Dreadzone! He was going to kill the person who created this so called television program. The person who made it didn't deserve to live.
Ratchet took another deep breath as silence filled the room. It was time, he thought. The next round had begun, and lives hung in the balance. He was going to save them all.
It's a fantasy program
Bestowed onto us by the gods
Eviscerator jumped for Ratchet. The Lombax stood still, waiting for just the right moment. When the Exterimnator landed in front of him and prepared to slice, Ratchet pointed his Dual Vipers at him and pulled the trigger, sending bullets into the robot. Holes littered his body, and oily blood leaked out of them. Eviscerator sent a deadly glare at the Lombax and swung a blade at him, but Merc blocked it and shoved a bullet into his elbow, hopefully jamming it. The bullet did go through, but, even though it caused him great pain, Eviscerator kept swinging at Ratchet, who was reloading his Dual Vipers.
"Ratchet, watch out!" A sudden voice in his helmet yelled.
The Lombax looked up and quickly ducked as one of the blades barely missed his head. Ratchet sighed, "Thanks, Clank."
"Do not thank me, yet..." the little robot said from his control panel.
"Right, we've still got a long way to go. Guide me through his attacks, alright, pal?"
"I shall do my very best to assist you."
Ratchet loaded his Vipers and pulled their triggers immediately, puncturing more and more of Eviscerator's body, but he did look anywhere close to being done with him. A mixture of black and red blood ran like a river out of his wounds. Ratchet kept firing, he wasn't willing to give up either.
So now eins, zwei, drei
Soon we will synchronize
So now eins, zwei, drei
Escaping our demise
Eviscerator let out a horrible yell as he was shot in the eye by Merc. The insect whipped his head towards the robot and threw an arm at him, sending the helper bot flying across the room. Green cried out in horror, and Ratchet's teeth clenched. He quickly equipped his good old fashion wrench and whacked Eviscerator on the head with hit, sending him into a dazed state. Ratchet looked at Merc, who was getting up off of the ground.
"I'm okay!" He yelled, waving his gun around. "Don't just stand their! Let's squish this bug!"
A slight smiled formed under Ratchet's helmet. His heart was still going fast, and he still felt both anger and fear, but he also felt confident. If they kept this up, they would get out of here. He couldn't lost his courage, or else everyone would go down with him. He could feel Clank nodding approvingly at this slight change in emotion. The Lombax then equipped his Scorpion Flail and threw it forward, nailing Eviscerator in the chest. Direct hit.
But if we stay strong
Keep our courage
We'll find a way to exist within this
SURVIVAL GAME
Ratchet swore that he had him, he had Eviscerator on the ropes. He was going to win within his next blow. However, in the blink of an idea, Eviscerator's hand flew towards him and struck a hard blow to his chest, sending Ratchet a few feet away.
Or spiral out of control
"Ratchet! Ratchet, are you alright? Ratchet, please answer me!" Clank begged through his headset.
Ratchet shook his head and he moaned a bit as he sat up. He tasted blood. Eviscerator seemed to send a satisfied smile his way, despite his lack of a mouth. Ratchet gritted his teeth as he struggled to get up. There was a large pain in his torso, most likely broken ribs. And this was just from one hit. If he didn't get nanotech soon, Ratchet would be in real trouble. And Clank was well aware of this.
"Ratchet, I cannot watch this any longer. If you wish me to, I will pull you from the fight."
"No," Ratchet gasped. "I'm not ready to give up yet."
"What?! But...Ratchet-"
"I'll be fine, pal. Everyone is counting on me to get them out of here. And quitting will just leave them without hope. I'm staying in!"
Clank nodded, worry in the back of his mind. Ratchet flexed his fingers until he regained feeling in them, then he stood up and went back into battle. His Scorpion Flail in his hand and ready to strike.
No I don't need your pity
You couldn't begin to unravel this need for life
I only wanted to carry out that promise
The Lombax, even though he was in a large amount of pain, ran towards Eviscerator, who was going after Merc and Green. With a glint of determination in his green eyes, Ratchet threw the flail forward with all of his might. The fate of all the innocent lives on his mind, the Lombax made sure to get Eviscerator right in the head. The insect yelled in pain as the flail cut through his skull. Blood began pouring out of him, and bullets kept sailing through him as Merc and Green fired. Ratchet even equipped his Dual Vipers to land more hits on him.
"Bring it on!" Merc yelled.
"E-Em...yeah...br-bring it...I guess," Green stammered.
"I'll end you! I'll end you, and set everyone free!" Ratchet cried out, grasping his Dual Vipers hard. He ran up to Eviscerator and shoved the guns into his chest and fired. Eviscerator yelled in pain one last time, blood pouring out of him and his many bullet holes, and he fell over with a large boom. The crowed was silent, stunned about what they had just saw. Ratchet unequipped his guns and breathed heavily. Clank told him that he had done an impressive job, and Ratchet thanked him for saying that. The Lombax then stood up all the way and walked over to Eviscerator, bending over him. The yellow in his eyes were fading. He was dying. Ratchet then looked up at the crowd, who seemed to be waiting for something to happen. The Lombax took a deep breath, "I'm going to free everyone from this game! I'm going to take down everything that you throw at me, and I'll destroy anything in my way! I...and every other person being kept prisoner here...are going home when this is done, whether you like it or not!"
"Oh really?"
Everyone gasped, including Clank, as a familiar voice boomed throughout the arena. Ratchet's ears twitched and he turned around. Behind him was the one, the only, Ace Hardlight. Ratchet glared at him as he reached for his Dual Vipers.
And like a fool I truly believed it
Somewhere deep down..
Song: Kuuso Mesorogiwi (English Version) by Amalee and NateWantsToBattle.
I've never written or even played Ratchet: Deadlocked. Mostly because I've never cared for the seriousness and darkness of the plot. Like when Ace straight up shot Big Al and almost shot Clank. They didn't even try to make that funny, Ace just straight up killed people. Yeah, didn't like that.
Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!
This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!
