Klunk and Sigmund were in the Ardolis Planet Room, cleaning up after the Zoni who, in a fit of boredom, had decided to cause a mess. Sigmund was humming a tune to fill the void of the silence as they worked while Klunk thought to himself for what had to be the fourth or fifth time that month that they could really do with hiring a maid. He'd made the mistake of complaining about cleaning once and had been quickly chewed out by Sigmund about needing to learn humility and that he was no better than anyone else, even if they could be paid to clean his messes. It was only after learning that Sigmund had been a janitor in Zordoom Prison that he realized how it could be a touchy subject for the other robot. While Sigmund was never the type to be upset by other people's words Klunk could imagine that being built to clean up after the messes of the scum of the galaxy couldn't have been a job that brought much pride. Klunk was glad to just work to the sound of Sigmund's tune, knowing that at least they could keep each other company.
"We need to find better ways to keep the Zoni entertained." Sigmund commented once he finished humming his song. "Our copy of Skrunch the Explorer is getting scratched up."
"Agreed. In addition, I am quite fed up with that monkey staring at you through the screen with his one eye, waiting for what feels like an eternity before he pretends you answered him and progresses. It's unnerving." Klunk added. "Perhaps it is time to wean the Zoni from things designed for the under developed mind. With that we could start watching more of what we would like, rather than the holovision being seemingly reserved for the sake of their entertainment."
"I think we've done well enough by moving them up to The Little Krullmaid and Beauty and the Thyrranoid. I think we may also have a copy of The Zanifarian Death Weasel King somewhere around here too."
"I am not sure about that, but I found the holodisk for A Tetramite's Life in between the couch cushions the other day," Klunk noted. "I thought we could watch something more mindless today. Perhaps a marathon of old Courtney Gears music videos or Dallas and Juanita. We deserve it since we have worked longer than usual today."
"Why would you want to watch Courtney Gears music videos? Is this another guilty pleasure of yours?" Sigmund's mouth plates bent into a smile but Klunk refused to react to the teasing, knowing that the other robot enjoyed watching him become defensive about activities he secretly enjoyed, despite finding them utterly degrading. Considering Sigmund's obsessions with comic books, squishies and children's movies, especially the ones with pretty princesses or cute animals, Klunk had realized his fellow caretaker's source of amusement wasn't the activities Klunk partook in themselves, rather his reluctance to admit it. It was much less painful to confess that, yes, he did rather enjoy watching My Blaster Runs Hot whenever it was on, then to come up with excuses and be laughed at by Sigmund every time he was caught watching it.
"I wouldn't say guilty. She was my colleague for a time, so I do not mind paying the small tribute to her every now and again. I believe they have one of those terrible documentaries on her on MHV tonight if you'd like a prelude to a collection of simple clips."
"I think that Super Hero Bloopers is on before too. That'll also keep the Zoni occupied rather well." Sigmund commented with a shrug, "Sounds like a plan. Let's get finished in here and then we can head to the Orientation Room and watch there."
Klunk was about to nod his head in agreement when the room suddenly flashed with red light and a klaxon began to blare. Despite his many months here in the Great Clock that sound was completely foreign to him. Sigmund stiffened in shock and dropped his broom. Klunk waited for the other robot to explain what that siren meant but he seemed too startled to react. "Sigmund, is that an alarm? What does it mean?" Had they failed in upholding the Clock's maintenance? Would they be responsible for the collapse of the space-time continuum and with it, the universe?
"Someone's broken into the Clock." Sigmund answered in a strange monotone, as if he were completely detached from reality. Klunk, unsure of what else to do, grabbed Sigmund's computer on his ring belt and held the screen at his eye level.
A map of the clock displayed on the screen with a flashing circle indicating the point of trespass. "They are in Sector 3. We must hurry." Klunk insisted, his optics wide and desperate for his fellow caretaker to snap out of his stupor. With the Chronoscepter Sigmund would be the most able to deal with a threat but he could not do it from in here.
Sigmund nodded in agreement, violently shaking his head in order to dislodge any self-doubt from his mind. "Let's go!" He took the lead, speeding out of the Planet Room and making way out from the sector so they could take on the intruders. Klunk followed, trusting Sigmund to know the quickest route to their opponents.
Klunk had to wonder how long it had been since there had last been a break in at the Great Clock. He knew there hadn't been one since Sigmund had been appointed Senior Caretaker. Nefarious had protected the Clock for the two years before that, determined to prevent anyone else from interfering with his plans to use the Clock to change time. It had to have been since Orvus was in charge of the Clock. The thought had to make Sigmund nervous. Whether he would admit it or not, the other robot constantly worried about living up to the standard set by the Clock's creator. Was he afraid he wouldn't be able to defend it?
As the pair arrived in Sector 3 they skidded to a stop near the intruders' point of entry: a large hole blasted through the wall beneath an external beam that was wide enough to park a ship on. It seemed the invaders were empty headed enough to have missed the clearly visible parking bay that was outside the Orvus Chamber.
"They cannot have gone too far." Klunk insisted.
"Arr, ye be right wee robot." Klunk pointed his optics towards one of the higher platforms and saw a collection of seven robotic pirates staring down at them. He glared up at them, relieved by how few they were. Despite that he was still quick to remind himself that he and Sigmund were still outnumbered three times over.
"Who are you and what business do you have here?" Klunk questioned angrily.
"One so small is in no position to be making demands!" another insisted. A chuckle rose from some of the others, clearly bemused by his small stature.
"My height has nothing to do with my question! What right do you have to break in here? If it is valuables you want we do not have many." Klunk stated blatantly, keeping his voice calm. If they wanted to rob them then, while irritating, being rid of them wouldn't be a problem. At least if their egos were bruised enough then chances were they wouldn't return. If they knew about the properties of the Orvus Chamber though then if not eliminated they may become a reoccurring threat. And he did not know if Sigmund would agree to such a drastic solution.
"What makes ye think we be answering to you? We'll go about our business here and leave when we please."
"Unfortunately for you that is not our protocol here." Klunk turned to Sigmund, really wishing the other robot would provide him some support. Klunk had never before felt so self-conscious about his size, but now he realized that he could hardly qualify as a threat to these intruders. He didn't have Ratchet's arsenal like his doppelganger to do the threatening for him.
"Protocol be takin' a backseat to us. Less ye wish to part wit' yer motherboard," the pirate brandished his sword as he spoke, making his threat obvious.
"I should hope that is a sharp blade if you intend to threaten me with it. Now I will demand this once and once alone. Leave."
"I already told you, ye ain't threatenin' nobody."
Klunk's optics narrowed as he muttered, "We shall see about that." He turned to Sigmund and asked, "What is the fastest route to that platform?"
The other robot was ready to answer when the pirates all jumped down from their perch, quick to surround them.
"Ah, this simplifies things." Klunk noted, trying to sound calm in order to hide the fact that he was genuinely nervous. He held his hands out defensively before him. He had a few martial arts subroutines in his software. He'd never had to call those procedures in the past but he was prepared to use them now.
Sigmund was making quick movements with his hands and the Chronoscepter along with noises that were clearly reminiscent of some Karate holofilm he must have watched at some point. Klunk could only sigh internally at how his companion was completely shattering any sense of intimidation they may have put off. However he knew the other robot must have been more confident than he was from the way he didn't waver.
"Arr, this be a sore sight." One of the pirates shook his head as he edged closer to the caretakers, his large sword bared. Suddenly he was surrounded by an aura of blue as Sigmund tossed a time bomb at him, slowing him down. Klunk quickly sprung at the robot, going for the legs with a few quick kicks which started a motion which would eventually end in the pirate collapsing on the ground. He made a grab for the sword, relieving his opponent of his weapon and hoping it would make him more threatening to the other invaders.
Sigmund threw another time bomb, freezing three of the pirates, before bashing at them with the Chronoscepter. The device was usually used to make repairs but Klunk was surprised to see that it could be used just as easily to destroy, as each limb it made contact with broke in a burst of metal, wires and gears.
Only one time bomb could be thrown out a time though and the robot Klunk tripped got back to his feet much quicker than he had anticipated. He dove for the smaller robot who took a swing with the sword, doubting it was sharp enough to cut through metal but was pleasantly surprised by the sparking of cables that could no longer transmit their electrical signal as he cut deep enough in the robot's torso to cut through what he hoped were vital wires.
He made a similar move on a second robot and slammed into a circuit which he guessed was responsible for functions involving the momentum and inertia of his movements as the strength behind each swing he took became horribly miscalculated.
Klunk was starting to feel optimistic as he realized they really could stand a chance when suddenly one of the pirates made a quick stab into Sigmund's torso. Sigmund's limbs went limp and the lights in his optics shut off. The pirate removed his sword and Sigmund collapsed onto the ground, his system completely shut down. Klunk held his gaze on his companion's, waiting for a sign that he might reboot. Instead he laid in a lifeless heap on the floor an occasional spark crackling from the slice in his casing.
"Sigmund?" Klunk questioned, his mind completely removed from the fight. "Sigmund, respond!" he commanded, desperate for a reaction from the other robot.
Too many thoughts entered his mind all too quickly. Sigmund was dead. These pirates had killed him. He needed to fight them off alone or he would suffer the same fate. He was too small and weak to do such a thing alone. He needed to make a grab for the Chronoscepter so he could use its powers. He did not know how to use the scepter. How was he going to get rid of these pirates otherwise? What did they want so badly from them? Why wasn't Sigmund responding? He could not be dead. What would he do if Sigmund was dead? What was he thinking? Sigmund obviously wasn't dead. Then why wasn't he getting up? How would he run the Clock alone? How would he run it without his fellow caretaker? Sigmund, get up, damnit!
And then the thoughts were all suddenly silenced as an emotion he hadn't felt in a very long time took precedence. Wrath. These pirates were going to pay for what they had done. No single one would obtain an ounce of mercy from him. Dr. Nefarious had built him with the final intention to kill Ratchet and Clank, and he had the abilities to commit such an act, but not in this form. He knew there was a protocol for it, he had used it against Ratchet in Metropolis years ago. But try as he might he could not access it. Why? Was Ratchet and Clank's presence one of the parameters? He let out an irritated noise as he realized it was obviously intended to prevent him from turning on the doctor by using his built in weapons against him.
One of the pirates grew too close to him as he tried to concentrate and Klunk reacted with a quick stab into his chest, slashing downwards in an attempt to destroy as much of his internal components as possible. The opposing robot fell to the ground, wires and circuits spilling out from the wound.
He needed to trick his coding into thinking the parameters had been met. He needed to convince himself that Ratchet and Clank were standing before him. They needed to be killed. They needed to be crushed into tiny insignificant pieces of scrap. They needed to be punished. Because they had killed Sigmund.
The squishy and Clank had been here! Why had Ratchet not remodeled parts of the Clock with weapons when he had helped with the repairs? Was he not obsessed with firepower? Why was Clank not here to help Sigmund? Orvus had entrusted the Clock to him. He should have been here to be the target of these pirates not Sigmund. He deserved this fate in Sigmund's stead.
In fact he was here. Klunk could see his form beneath him, where the pirate he had just slashed through had been laying moments before. He was crumpled on the ground, pathetically begging Klunk to stop as he held his hand against his chest, trying to catch the components that were spilling out from him. Ratchet could be heard in the distance, the click of an empty gun and the cry of someone desperate to protect their friend echoing with each squeeze of the trigger. The wails from his squishy vocal cords rang against his audio processor. It was most certainly the Lombax. There was no other voice that would cry so pathetically at the sight of Clank harmed.
Finally Klunk felt his legs swell as his body began transforming. His torso spun, growing larger along each part of the rotation until he towered over the robots. He opened his optic shutters and stared down at the canons that projected from each wrist. He hadn't been in this form in so many years and felt like returning home. Finally, his fear of being too small to fight off these invaders fled from his mind as he towered over them, clearly out matching them. He could hear a small voice in his mind, the doctor's surely, insisting he destroy them all to bits for daring to attack him. The cowards were no better than squishies, the voice insisted, break them into tiny insignificant pieces.
He could hear them cowering in fear beneath him and Klunk felt the wonderful sense of satisfaction as the cries reached his audio processors. He took a swing with his large fist, pounding into the ground and catching one of the robots beneath his knuckles, the force of impact strong enough to thin out the malleable metal casing and damage important components.
He heard a wail as one tried to run further into the Clock in a poor attempt to escape from him. He aimed his arm in his direction and his wrist rocket locked on and fired, targeting and striking the pirate, forcing him to explode in a rain of sprockets and bolts.
Rage was still exploding through him, even though all of the pirates had either been incapacitated or destroyed. It wasn't enough to make up for what they did to Sigmund. He stepped on the broken remains of the intruders, gaining satisfaction from the metal as it crunched beneath his giant feet. The cries of the robots begging for mercy were soon silenced as they became nothing but broken pieces of scrap. He began to charge a bomb strike to drop on them to finish the job when he began shrinking automatically, his sensors no longer detecting a threat.
He was standing in a pile of broken robotic HHHremains, the intruders clearly gone for good and yet he was not satisfied. He kicked at a cracked optic that lay near his foot and watched it bounce until it settled next to Sigmund's limp body.
Klunk was taken aback as his rage washed away and was replaced with the very concern that had led to it. "Sigmund!" he called as he ran over to his fellow caretaker. "Sigmund, wake up! You are not allowed to die, do you understand?" he began to shake the other robot in his desperation.
Sigmund was the tinkerer who understood mechanics and machinery, not him. If the situation were reversed then Sigmund would have easily been able to repair Klunk. However, Klunk was completely at a loss, not even sure what was wrong, what was broken or how he could fix it.
"Sigmund!" he cried as he continued to shake him, desperation clear in his voice. "You cannot die! I will not permit it!" A new emotion welled its way through his circuitry, making him feel absolutely terrible as he watched his companion's still body. He was wrought with sadness and grief, two emotions he'd never thought he would need to suffer through. He knew that using Clock's abilities was absolutely forbidden and he could not rely on that as an option, as much as he wished he could. He would do it if he had to, but there must be another option first. He was supposed to be a reasonable robot with sophisticated observational software. He should have been able to come up with a solution. Instead he simply felt pathetically incompetent as nothing but his melancholy clouded his processing unit. He laid his head against Sigmund's torso and pleaded, "Wake up."
"Fix?" a tiny voice buzzed through the air. Klunk lifted his optics to see that a lone Zoni had broken from the hive to happen upon the scene. It was fixated on Sigmund, only turning to Klunk as it asked a second time, "Fix?"
"Can you?" Klunk asked, doubtful as he stared up at the creature. He knew the Zoni were meant to be all powerful with control over time, but he had never seen such abilities with the exceptions of when they abused their powers to amuse themselves. And how would time powers grant them mechanical prowess? He could not think of any other option as he simply stared up at the Zoni, waiting for it to confirm that, yes, it could save his fellow caretaker.
He felt Sigmund move beneath him and he sprung away as he realized he was surrounded by a blue aura, similar to the one from the time bombs. The robot's limp body was lifted in the air and began to spin. Klunk could only watch in humbled awe as hope started to bloom within him. When the spinning stopped Sigmund's body began to return to the ground, facing upright. The slash had completely disappeared from his torso and Klunk realized that the Zoni had reversed time for Sigmund to the point where he was uninjured.
"Sigmund?" Klunk tried fervently to hide any signs of worry from his voice. If Sigmund could not remember being struck by the pirate then there was no point to concern him with it. Klunk did not want to have to admit that he could not protect his companion. All he was good for was a mindless tantrum after the fact, it seemed. He couldn't bare the idea of letting Sigmund know that he'd had the power to protect him but failed to use it until the damage had already been done.
"Klunk? What's going on? Weren't we cleaning the Ardolis Planet Room?"
"We finished with that." Klunk insisted. "Come, we were on our way to the Orientation Room to watch Beauty and the Tyhrranoid, your favourite movie, remember?"
"Not at all." Sigmund held his head and seemed to freeze as he caught sight of all of the broken parts that remained from the fight with the pirates. "What's all of this from?"
"You know how the Zoni can get when they are agitated." Klunk shrugged as if it were nothing to concern themselves with, "Simply more work for us. It can wait until tomorrow though, we have already called it a day."
"Agreed. I feel way too tired to clean all of this up now anyway."
"It will wait for us in the morning." Klunk insisted as he lead Sigmund away by grabbing his hand and making way towards the Orientation Room.
He would not admit aloud to Sigmund the terror that had rushed through his mind at the mere thought taking care of the Clock without the senior caretaker at his side. He would never tell him what had happened in Sector 3 with the pirates. He would not let him know that he could not save him or that he hadn't even tried to use the Clock. As far as Sigmund would know, he had never failed him. He was far too ashamed that it could have happened once. Now that he knew how to falsify the parameters for his Giant mode procedure he would never be overpowered by a threat to the Clock again. He would never leave Sigmund to defend himself. He would not fail him again.
For he could not imagine a future without his only friend by his side.