Disclaimer: The following is a brainstorm I had upon playing Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time. This also has elements from the 1987 Japanese series "Cho Jinki Metalder". I do not own the rights to either franchise, nor is this story intended for any profit.
Also, I am not 100% familiar with the Ratchet and Clank universe, so forgive me if any inconsistencies in the timeline pop up. :-)
Enjoy!
The Omega Sector…also known as the Great Unknown.
This was the destination that a familiar young Lombax, and his robotic partner, now flew into. For years, they had heard the stories of how few would dare to venture into this sector. Those who would, often, would never return.
"I must say, Ratchet…" Clank spoke up as he looked out of a window. "I understand that you want to do a bit of exploring…but perhaps we could have easily found another sector, one without as much…mystery as this one."
Ratchet heard him, but didn't answer for the moment. He was simply too distracted. It had not been long since he both fought, and lost, General Alistar Azimuth, the only other Lombax that knew all about his father.
"Ratchet?" Clank asked again.
"Ratchet…If you keep staring out at those stars like that, I'll most likely have to peel you from the windows."
"Huh?" Ratchet finally responded, snapping out of his haze. "Sorry Clank…I was just…thinking."
Clank nodded slowly, as he left it at that. He knew what Ratchet was thinking about all too well, and didn't want to press it any further. He couldn't even imagine what he was feeling now.
Clank had at least gotten to know about his creator, and father, Orvus, in much detail. Ratchet never had that chance, and he never would, especially now that the General was dead.
After what seemed like hours of silence, Ratchet finally spoke up.
"Look, Clank…" He gazed over at his little friend for a moment. "I know this all seems sudden, and unusual…but to me, it makes perfect sense. I've always wanted to go on an expedition like this, and be the first one to map out the Great Unknown. After all that's happened recently, I just thought I owed it to myself to finally follow my dreams, and do it."
Ratchet nodded slowly. "Well, we have certainly tackled bigger mysteries and problems than this one…plus, if we do map out this sector, it would certainly increase our standing in the universe by a substantial margin…it does seem like a good opportunity."
The little robot then put his metal hand near Ratchet's. "Whatever you decide to do…I shall be by your side for it at all times. I owe you at least this much, from all the times you've assisted me."
Ratchet smiled, and shook the Robot's little hand. "Thanks, Buddy…"
Clank then sat back, and prepared to relax for a while, before Ratchet suddenly looked out of the window, and began to ease up on the ship's throttle.
"Hello…" his eyes grew wide. "I think we've found ourselves a planet."
"Indeed?" Clank quickly sat up and looked out, as he then punched away at a console in front of him, analyzing the planet.
"Yes…" he spoke up. "It does look habitable. It mostly seems to be desert and mountains, but there are a few water sources as well."
Ratchet nodded quickly. "Well, I've been flying for a while now, and I need a place to land and rest. Let's check it out."
Clank nodded in agreement, as Ratchet slowly brought the Aphelion into the atmosphere. Sand blew into the window a bit, as He looked down, and saw what looked like an elevated landing pad in the middle of the sand, near what seemed to be an empty building.
The Aphelion carefully set down on the dilapidated pad, as its cockpit flipped open. Ratchet quickly hopped out onto the ground, getting his first breath of fresh air in some time as he savored it, and stretched, Clank on his back as usual.
After stretching, Ratchet looked down and examined the rusted, cracked surface of the landing pad, much of it covered in sand.
"Looks like no one's been here for a while…" Ratchet commented, as he then looked to the empty building near the pad.
"Ratchet, get down!" Clank suddenly called out from behind.
Ratchet quickly ducked down behind a metal crate, as a blast of green energy whizzed past his head.
"Whoa!" He quickly peeked up from the crate and looked around. "I guess there IS someone here."
"It looked so strange…" Clank narrowed his eyes. "But familiar at the same time."
Ratchet wondered what he was talking about, before he finally caught a glimpse of his would-be assailant. It was black, with silver trim, and red eyes, the exposed wires and bolts confirming that it was some kind of robot.
But there was more. This robot had rather large metallic ears, and a ribbed wire that looked like a tail.
"Hey…" he realized. "That thing…it looks a lot like a Lombax…"
Clank nodded from behind. "Strange…why would there be a robot that looked like something from another system, and in such an obscure sector?"
Before the two could mull over the possibilities, the crate suddenly exploded in front of them. Ratchet tumbled and fell over the edge of the elevated pad, turning on his hoverboots as he plummeted.
The duo slowly made their way onto the sand now, as Ratchet looked up and saw a whole pack of these robots descending upon them. Within seconds, the two found themselves surrounded.
"It seems we have run afoul of someone in this sector…" Clank commented.
"Already?" Ratchet sighed. "That's gotta be a record for us."
The leader of these robots soon walked out into the sand, and confronted Ratchet.
"In the name of High Commander Neross…" It spoke in a threatening, and dark, distorted voice. "You will identify yourself!"
"Uhhhh…" The Lombax hesitated for a moment. "Ratchet?"
The robot then scanned him with a beam from its red eyes, going up and down his form, before stopping around his chest.
"What is that device you are carrying?" It asked him, pointing behind towards Clank.
"Why do you want to know…" Ratchet's expression hardened, always quick to protect his friend.
"It is not your place to ask questions!" The Robot responded, as it then aimed what looked like a blaster on its wrist. "Give the device to me now, or you will not survive!"
"All right, all right…" Ratchet put up his hands for a moment, making it look like he was going to relent, as he reached behind him. Instead of Clank, however, he quickly got a hold of his omniwrench.
"It's all yours!" He shouted, as he swung the wrench, and smashed off the robot's arm at the elbow, making sparks fly.
"Terminate him now!" The robot roared, before Ratchet swung the wrench into its head, smashing it into pieces and disabling its voice, as the other robots opened fire with their blasters.
Ratchet quickly rolled out of the way, and got out his constructo pistol, firing. The blasts managed to smash into the bodies of two robots, causing bolts and wires to fly everywhere, as he strafed to avoid the fire from the robots he had missed.
"There never seems to be a shortage of evil robots…" Ratchet grumbled, looking up and seeing reinforcements coming down from the sky, flying in from other parts of the planet. He quickly took out a constructo bomb, and tossed it into the air, taking out a few more of these robots with a big explosion.
Meanwhile…
The explosion from the constructo bomb had attracted the attention of another ship that was in the area. This one was shaped quite a bit like the Aphelion, only larger, a small freighter of sorts.
In the seat of the cockpit was the form of a female Lombax, dressed in a green vest, blue jeans, and a red bandanna, controlling the ship as it flew. With her, was what looked like a male Lombax, dressed in a blue jacket with a white shirt, and black pants.
"That didn't look like any kind of weapon the Skabs would carry…" The female narrowed her eyes as she said this, identifying the robots.
"You're correct…" The male spoke in a cool, calculating tone of voice. "It would seem they have discovered someone who has a considerable amount of firepower in their possession."
He then gazed at her, curiously. "Do you wish to bring them assistance?"
The female then grinned in her fascinated, Lombax way. "Yeah, I think we should. If these guys can give the Skabs this big of a headache, imagine what we could do with their help against the others."
She then pressed a button, and opened the back door of the freighter.
"Go ahead, Rusty!" She smiled to the male and nodded towards the opening. "I'll catch up!"
"As you wish…" he nodded, as he then rose from his seat, and calmly walked over to the opening. He looked down over the sand, with no evidence of concern in his eyes, and soon dove from the opening, falling through the sky…
Ratchet quickly tried to run back to his ship, turning and catching the pursuing robots with a few Tesla spikes. The lightning from these weapons shocked and disabled many of them, as he finally reached the pad…only to find another pack of robots guarding it.
One of them fired, clipping Ratchet in the shoulder.
"Ahh!" Ratchet shouted, as he then dove under the pad, taking cover near the column that elevated it. He quickly checked himself.
"Are you all right?" Clank asked with genuine concern from behind.
"Yeah…yeah, I'll be fine…" Ratchet tended to the slightly singed part of his furred shoulder, as he then looked up and saw another pack of robots landing, with him in their sights.
"I think…" he swallowed a little. He then quickly took out his Negotiator, and prepared to let the robots have it with a single blast…
Before he could even aim, though, he saw the form of the male Lombax come down from above, and land right in front of the pad near Ratchet. The ground shook just a little, and sand blew around him, as he landed on one knee, and slowly stood up.
"It's the renegade!" One of the robots shouted towards Rusty as he stood up. "Focus all firepower on him!"
Ratchet didn't even get to ask the Lombax who he was, when he suddenly heard a beeping noise under his standing body.
"Combat form!" Rusty shouted, facing down his enemies.
A force field shot out around him, protecting him from enemy fire, as he held his arms out at his sides a bit, and a blue light could be seen spinning in the right side of his chest, along with a whirring, computerized sound. Bolts of energy surged through his body, as his organic façade slowly faded, piece-by-piece with each bolt, revealing a robotic form underneath.
The robot still looked very Lombax-like. Half of his body was red, the other blue, as his blank yellow eyes glowed with power. His processor spun to full power in the right side of his chest, creating the plasma energy that he seemed to run on, as pistons pushed and pumped within his body at the same time. He grasped at each of his wrists for a second, readying himself as the field came down.
"Stranger, and stranger…" Clank commented, as Rusty sprang into action. He grabbed the wrist of a Skab that tried to fire at Ratchet, and delivered a karate chop with his free arm, decapitating the robot.
"Well, at least this one seems to be on our side…" Ratchet grunted as he took out his buzz blade weapon, firing a saw at another robot that approached him, as it sliced and diced the machine into a pile of scrap in a matter of seconds.
"Do not be concerned, stranger…" Rusty spoke to Ratchet in a distorted, but much more benign sounding voice. "Help is on the way!"
Ratchet nodded, and finally got to fire his negotiator, taking out a larger group of robots with an explosion, as Rusty spun and punched another robot in the stomach, letting loose with a burst of plasma from his palm, blowing it away from him as it dashed away and onto some nearby rocks, smashing apart.
Ratchet prepared to back him up with another blast from his negotiator, before he heard the sound of a ship whooshing in from above. He looked behind him to see the descending form of the freighter that Rusty had dropped from, setting down onto the sand nearby.
The back door opened, turning into a ramp, as the female lombax's tall, skinny form now sat in a heavily modded jet bike. A helmet covered most of her face, as she revved the bike a bit and pressed a button in front of her.
A scream came from the speakers on the bike, as a speed metal song she had recorded from another unknown sector blared through, and provided her with inspiration for her attack. She zoomed down onto the scene, and pulled out a large wrench of her own, charging in like a medieval jouster.
She quickly slashed the wrench at a Skab that had dared to try and jump her from the side, putting a huge gash in the chest armor of the robot as it flew back with sparks flying.
Ratchet saw the android in front of him more than holding his own against the other Skabs, so he decided to turn on his hooverboots, and zoom out to meet the jet bike. The masked rider quickly spotted him, and offered the left flank of her bike to grab onto.
Ratchet complied quickly, and held on, as he then whipped out his constructo shotgun, while the rider fired off a machine gun from inside the nose of the bike. He immediately saw a Skab coming towards his side, and blasted it in the chest, as the rider quickly tossed her wrench into the face of another that tried to jump directly into her seat, smashing it.
The two quickly made short work of their enemies as they zoomed around the desert, while Rusty was busy, kicking and punching around the remaining skabs. He waited for the right moment, and held out his right hand, as a slot opened on the bottom section, below his pinky.
Plasma energy gathered in this slot, making the bottom of his arm glow to the elbow, as he then charged in once more, and punched multiple enemies with the same hand.
He then singled out the last of the group, as the others writhed and fell from the deadly plasma shot into their bodies. He jumped into the air, and then nailed it across the chest with a diagonal karate chop as he came down. The surge of energy caused the Skab to explode into nothingness, along with the others at the same time.
Ratchet soon detached from the bike, as he went towards the last robot he saw, and let him have it with a baseball swing from his omniwrench, literally knocking its block off, as he then switched off his hoverboots, and took a moment to rest.
He then looked up to see the form of the blue and red android walking towards him. He just stood there, not quite sure what to make of it, or the rider, as the android soon walked close and extended his hand in a gesture of friendship…
Then, his processor suddenly stopped spinning…
Rusty froze in his tracks, just a few feet away from Ratchet and Clank. The clicking of his pistons stopping could be heard too, as the body of the android lurched forward, and collapsed, face first, onto the sand.
"Aww man!" The female suddenly called out as she stepped off of her bike, taking off her helmet as she ran over to Rusty.
"I thought I fixed that damn thing!" She grunted as she turned Rusty onto his back, and examined his chest plate.
"Ratchet…" Clank spoke in surprise as the Lombax exposed her face. "She's-"
"I know…" Ratchet looked on with a surprised face, eyes wide, as the female furrowed her brow and thought about something, checking another part of Rusty's chest plate.
"Ah!" She suddenly smiled. "It's just out of alignment…" She then tapped his chest plate a little with her wrench, making it spin to life once more.
The android's hand twitched a bit, as he then sat up, and slowly stood once more with the female. She looked over at Ratchet's surprised face, and slowly began to look evenly befuddled…but not for the same reasons.
"Do we get a 'thank you'?" She asked him, curiously, as Clank detached from his back.
"Oh! Yeah! Thanks!" Ratchet nodded quickly. "Thanks, miss…"
"Rivet…" She giggled a bit as she adjusted her bandanna. "Call me Rivet."
Ratchet nodded again. "Ratchet…nice to meet you Rivet."
Rivet smiled, just a little, as Clank walked over to Rusty.
"Re-engaging Chameloid Circuit…" He spoke, as he returned to his male Lombax form.
"It is indeed a great joy to find a fellow automaton in this sector…" Clank proclaimed, happily. "My name is XJ-0461. But you may call me 'Clank'. What is your designation?"
"I am prototype model MT-9516." The android answered, matter-of-factly. "But I am often referred to as 'Rusty'."
"Rusty…" Clank repeated the name as he nodded. "Why do you go by that particular nickname?"
"Because he always needs a LOT of oil…" Rivet giggled again as she answered for her partner.
"So, what were those things that attacked us?" Ratchet asked Rivet, pointing to the remains of the robots.
"Special Korthos Armored Battalion…" She answered as she hopped back onto her bike with her helmet. "Skabs, for short."
"I see…" Ratchet nodded, as Rusty soon joined her on the bike.
"Look, I know we both have a lot of questions for each other now…" Rivet gave him a serious look. "But we need to get out of here before more of them arrive. Follow me, and I'll take you to a spot where they won't find us."
"Will do!" Ratchet called out as she drove off towards the freighter, while he headed back to the Aphelion with Clank.
The figure of a grizzled, adult male Lombax stood in his tower, looking out through the glass window onto the work being performed by the Skabs, and other robots far below him. He was dressed in an austere, black armor, highlighted by green, glowing trim on his arms and around his waist, a symbol painted onto the left side of the chest armor.
The door to his office opened, as the form of what looked like a much more advanced robot walked in, a long cape attached to the large headpiece and shoulder pads. Two small antennae extended from the sides of the helmet, as the face was one triangular visor, a long sword sheathed at his side.
"Commander…" he called to the Lombax in a wavering voice as he bowed.
"Ah, Decimus…" The Lombax turned to his creation.
"You sent for me?"
The Lombax nodded slowly. "A Lombax ship recently landed on Hared III, and its inhabitants gave our troopers a bit of a hard time. I want you to find these individuals, and see what possible connections they may have to the renegades. Engage in combat only if necessary."
"Yes sir…" Decimus bowed again, and walked out of the room.
The Lombax then walked back to his desk, and picked up what looked like a locket, holding it, and looking at it for a long time, almost obsessively.
"The time is drawing nearer…ever nearer…"