This fic is based off an RP I did with a good friend on DA by the name of Chinara *she's a wonderful artist and writer! go see her DA page now!*
Aulus is a Alternate Universe version of Ratchet. Hope that clears things up ahead of time XD
Enjoy!
Plip.
Plip.
Plip.
That sound spited the golden Lombax to no end. the sound of a pipe leaking lord knows what and splashing on his shoulder. Not like he could do much about it though... he was ionically bound in midair. he couldn't shift his weight too much.
This was originally a secret operation that only he and Azimuth knew about. They were to sneak in from a tear in the dimension, find out Tachyon's weakness, and leave.
But they hesitated.
They took too long.
One of the guards caught onto Azimuth and Ratchet's codec signals, and alerted the others to track them down. And now, Azimuth is somewhere on this godforsaken ship, probably suffering worse than he is right now. Ratchet could only pray that Azimuth would still be alive.
Ratchet delved over this, wondering what could have alerted those guards that they were here. It's almost impossible to detect a Lombax codec without having a base signature of the signal itself. Even then, the codes are extremely complex, not even the most intellegent Terrachnoid could decipher it within a week. So how?
How did they know?
Those soft, furry ears twitched to what sounded like an automatic door sliding open, metal grinding against metal. Then, footsteps. Soft, quick footsteps...
Damn, it was that damn little Cragmite. Ratchet growled under his breath, and said sarcastically, "Guess the Lombax is out of the bag, eh pipsqueak?"
But, something was off. There wasn't a skitter of steps.
Not a squeak from what Tachyon usually calls angry shouts.
Instead, there was a chuckle. A dark, sultry chuckle.
"I suppose you expected my father? My, my. I'm afraid I have to disappoint you."
Ratchet's ears perked at the voice, so familiar it was uncanny.
"He does not bother with low-lifes like you." The orange Lombax studied the dark hard, trying to find out where the voice was coming from, and what the owner of said voice looked like.
The footsteps came closer.
"After all, he leaves the weaklings to me..."
Ratchet was getting annoyed. He grumbled under his breath,
"Will you stop babbling on and just show yourself already? I'm getting really tired of all this talking down to me crap."
...Something wasn't right. Ratchet couldn't decipher what it was, but something wasn't right... It felt like he wasn't in front of him anymore. But...
A rush of hot breath breached from behind him, rushing against the sensitive hairs around his ears, "Here I am." The sensation, crawling down his spine and legs, caused him to attempt to curl his legs up. It wasn't that it felt good, but it felt so off that he felt like he should try and curl his legs.
"Haha! How pathetic! You're just like that sad excuse for a Lombax." Ratchet had his head bowed. He felt like he knew that voice so well, like it was from long ago...
Two feet appeared in his view. The boots, shined to a glossy finish, gleamed light green in the ionic light. Following the boots, was thigh armor, wrapped around and buckled tight. A blue long-sleeved shirt, buttons wrapping around sideways to the metal shoulder pads. An emerald crest embroidered into the folds of his cape gleamed proudly in the dim light.
But when he reached the other's face...
His heart nearly stopped.
...it felt like he was staring into a mirror.
The other's face grew cloudy, hissing, "What are you gawking at, scumbag?" He drew a gloved hand back, and struck Ratchet across his cheek. Ratchet's body was flung against the binds, bending his body in painful ways.
He guessed now was the time to ask.
"Who are you?"
The other Lombax turned to Ratchet, and his cold, dull stare burning into him. "Who am I? I shouldn't have to answer such trivial questions, but I am the son of the most feared man in this galaxy! Son of the man who wiped out the traitorous Lombaxes and flushed out the cowards who hid after the great war!"
"Seems like he missed one. The one right in front of his nose." Ratchet grinned at the other, only to receive a jab into his stomach.
"Watch your mouth, you low-life."
Ratchet spluttered, coughing up what felt like watery bile. Over Ratchet's hacking, the other continued, "My father found and adopted me when my bastard of a biological father Kaden abandoned me and left me to die. He raised me to be a true man, unlike the pathetic excuse for a Lombax, Kaden."
He bent to where his face was level with Ratchet's, and crooned, "Unlike this horrid race that I have been bound to, the Cragmites have taken care of me and raised me as one of their own." He straightened himself up, and yanked Ratchet up by his sensitive ears, and said, "The Cragmites have dubbed me Aulus. It's a ghastly pleasure." He flung Ratchet's head back down, chuckling.
"Aha. Is that so," Ratchet coughed the last bits of bile out. Then he looked up, eyes narrowed in contemptious amusement. "I can only say that my father was really lucky not to have such a shitty brat like you to take care of-"
Aulus' fist buried itself into Ratchet's stomach again. Except... something warm and thick was dripping down Ratchet's legs, pooling on the floor.
A stifled yelp escaped the Lombax as the pain shot through his body. Had he been able to, he would have cringed; but neither his current position nor his pride let him do so. Forcing a grin on his lips, he looked up to Aulus who, with curious contempt, returned the gaze with a faint sneer. "I see. When you're out of words, you start pointing your little toy around. Awesome, you learned a lot from your surrogate father, huh?"
"Shut your vile mouth this instant, or you'll be suffering more than the Praetorian Guard has already." He hissed, bringing Ratchet's chin up with the tip of the stained dagger. "It would be such a shame to kill him off. After all, he's much much weaker than you are..."
This caught Ratchet off guard. For a moment he lost his temper, lunging forward and risking to be cut at his throat. "What have you done to Azimuth?"
This anger amused Aulus. "Oh my. You actually care for the elder? Well, we haven't done much yet... well... unless you call torturous disembowlment not much..." He murmured under his breath, just enough for Ratchet's sensitive ears to pick up.
"...! You..." A brief gnash of teeth before the Lombax withdrew once more, forcing himself to calm down. "Is that the case. Is it really. Then who cares? I don't." He swallowed at his own words. "There is no reason to mourn for the deadm after all."
"Big words for a little man." The other said, eyes half-lidded. "I can tell you're lying. Your ears and tail tell the story. Don't worry. We'll bring his body in for you to mourn over if the guards don't decide to treat his corpse like a punching bag like the last prisoners." He drug the blade down the other's throat, just finely digging into the skin and stopping at the other's clavicle.
"The body is resilient. The mind is not." A grin forced itself onto Ratchet's lips. "Whatever. Since you oh-so-kindly grace me with your presence, oh cruel... son of Tachyon, why don't you tell me what you want to do to me. Since it seems like I can't escape anyway."
"If I told you, then it wouldn't be as fun, now would it?" Aulus chuckled, drawing the dagger away and sheathing it. He walked over to the control panel, and typed in a code. "Firstly, here's a little surprise: the elder is still alive. But..." He pressed one final button, the control panel whirring and clicking to recieve camera feed from another panel, "How would you like it if the elder got to see you for a moment?"
"Sure, why not? It is not like I am se-" Ratchet's gaze had fallen onto the ground. Small drips of blood far away from him were visible, trailing the path Aulus had taken. Red trickled down the other's leg and originated from the same spot as the Lombax had been stabbed.
Had Aulus been injured from the beginning on?
"Beatoriche, send the camera feed from Cell-72B's recorder to Cell-16C's screen." Aulus called out, walking behind Ratchet and placing his hand on the dagger again. Ratchet seemed to be able to control himself better, but the elder... hmm... the elder seemed to have a shorter fuse. "Right away, sire..." A feminine voice responded, the holographic screen flashing on, and showing the general hanging the same way Ratchet was.
A twitch of his fingers, but that was all that Ratchet let his body do in reaction. He knew that it was crucial not to display too much emotion, and hoped that Azimuth would think the same. Then again, it was Azimuth who was more experienced with such situations, given his position in the Praetorian Guard, and Ratchet would have to do his best to remain calm.
This was quite hard if you felt a dagger slowly lining your jawline.
"Azimuth, what a pleasure to see you again! You gained a lot of pounds since the last I saw you." Aulus remarked, dragging the dagger from Ratchet's jawline to his chest, softly rubbing it against the other's ribs. "It almost seems like you're a different person." He sneered, prodding the other.
"Perhaps I'm not the Azimuth you know." Amber eyes glowed dangerously, though the voice was calm. He tried not to look at Ratchet, but to focus on Aulus; it would do more harm to do otherwise. "Just like you aren't the son of Kaden I know."
Aulus chuckled under his breath. "Kaden was nothing but a lowlife scumbag with a weak man for a friend. I can see why he was your friend. He had no other weakling to converse with." The dagger dug itself deeper into the opening of the golden Lombax's ribcage, slowly, and painfully, slicing through the skin. "Just like this Lombax here." He added, shifting his head into the crook of Ratchet's neck, smiling.
"Says the one who has lost all his dignity when he succumbed to this creature's thoughts." Azimuth's fingers flexed faintly. The next breath was heavy, almost sharp as he heard Ratchet's pained groan that was stifled through sheer willpower. The elder could well imagine the pain, and could not help but feel proud of Ratchet for the moment. Worry still dominated him, though, but he did not let it shine through. "Perhaps. But he is still superior to a simple mindset like you."
"Lost my dignity? HA! I gained more dignity than the rest of the Lombaxes all together..." He was grinning, but in his mind he was seething mad. How dare he compare him to a bunch of cowards? The dagger sunk deeper, a small stream of blood bleeding out and soaking the hem of Ratchet's pants. Aulus would have to get a bit... messy.
Without warning, he pulled the dagger back, flipped it to where it was slightly angled upwards, and took a ferocious jab at the other's abdomen, dragging it up quickly.
"Hiargh-" Ratchet tensed up, arms pulling hard at the ionic restraints. The sudden pain was too much for him to bear at once, and he struggled to remain calm. He had been through a lot, but a wound inflicted by a knife was different from one caused by a bullet. It burned and pulsated, causing an explosion in his nerves. But he would not allow Aulus to enjoy it. He had to endure. Endure...
"RATCHET!" Azimuth pulled at his chains, his façade vanishing for a moment. Worry was in his gaze as was anger in his voice. "You little, dirty..."
"Are those tears in your eyes, Azimuth?" Aulus mocked, "I thought in times of distress Praetorian Guards showed no emotion!" He laughed haughtily, then drew the dagger back, taking it and this time, shoving it into Ratchet's back, dragging it up slowly this time, and twisting it for good measure.
Inarticulate yelps left Ratchet as he gasped for air, screams barely stifled anymore. He wanted to get away, but he couldn't - and so he was to Aulus what a sheep was to a wolf. Helplessly cornered.
The elder pressed his lips together, arms shaking under the tension his forced tranquility evoked. Why... Why, why, why couldn't he help Ratchet? Why did he have to -
?
For a moment, his attention was led astray. He noticed how the golden fabric of Aulus' clothes gained a dark red tone, much similar to blood and at the same spots as Ratchet. Azimuth frowned. What did that mean? Were they connected or...
"Haaaa... what's with the contemplative expression, Azimuth?" Aulus growled, twisting the knife more and more, bearing his canines. "Don't like the fact that I managed to make you crack?" Aulus chuckled at Ratchet's face, scrunched up and eyes squinted shut in pain. His father did mention something about Lombaxes and their weak spots. And the golden one's ears were drooped down, so...
Aulus grabbed hold of Ratchet's ear, and took a ferocious bite, gnashing his teeth together.
"AGH!" Ratchet couldn't hold it in anymore. He screamed at the violent treatment, struggling with what strength he had left. He felt blood trickle down, not only his own, but also Aulus'; it dripped into his wounds and burned.
"... I was actually wondering when you'd stop, seeing how you will die if you go on." Azimuth's gaze had turned heavy-lidded as his eyebrows had been drawn up high. Of course, he was still riled up inside, but he couldn't let it show. Not now.
"Unlike this little one, I have a higher tolerance of pain, so you could chop my arms and legs off and I wouldn't bat an eyelid... although, I might just stop on him and work on you. Would you like that?" Aulus grinned, quickly pulling the dagger out, and running his tongue against it, purposefully jabbing it.
Ratchet spit blood out, panting hard to regain his composure. "N... No. You leave him alone..." The blood loss was getting on his mind. If he didn't get medical treatment soon... But that was of no importance right now. Ratchet gathered the last bit of composure he had and addressed his counter part. "You can do whatever you want to me. I... can take it."
"Don't speak nonsense, Ratchet!" Azimuth's fingers curled. "It's enough. If you'd rather want to go on with me, then fine. Just get him medical treatment."
"Hm, it seems like Ratchet wants to continue on. Like he's trying to prove a point... although I will admit, me gaining the same wounds as you seems a bit queer. But no matter..." Aulus stepped around Ratchet, to where he stood to his right, and said, "...If I can gain your wounds, can you gain mine?" Aulus was taking a nasty risk here. But if Ratchet could take it, why not? Aulus brought the blade to the corner of his eye, and dug the blade in with a stifled hiss, then chuckled, dragging it down.
"Hrngh..." Gnashing his teeth together, Ratchet felt sharp pain around his eye, and the blood trickle down his fur.
He would not give Aulus the pleasure of success. Never.
"Oh, being the hero, are we? Alright then... "Aulus took one final step to make him crack. He brought the dagger to his neck, and began to saw.
Azimuth gnashed his teeth. He had to compose himself. He had to. Just... How he wished that he could -
Actually. He could. He really could. But not with out a system.
"Before you commit suicide over there, can you tell me again which cell you are in?"
"What's it matter to you? Cell-16C. Now, If you'll excuse me..." Aulus brought the dagger back up, and took a quick slash at his own throat, a heavy amount of blood seeping down.
"I see, thank you." And without taking another glance at the two Lombaxes, he gathered all the strength in his body and broke his chains. To his luck his wrench was in the same room, and so he could escape from his cell. Now where was 16C-
A moment of hesitation. What did he see there...?
Ratchet stared at the blood running down his body. He did not dare to breathe or pant anymore, too scared to accelerate the blood loss.
Aulus wasn't dumb enough to try and breathe heavily either, but he could certianly make the other do so. He balled his fist up, and punched the other square in the chest.
What energy went into Ratchet's in middle-air kept body was turned into an impetus for a counter attack. Lashing out with his leg, he kicked Aulus against the wall. He wouldn't leave him the pleasure.
"Ugh! You little BRAT!" Aulus hissed, staggering upwards and lunging at Ratchet, his hands wrapping around his throat and squeezing tightly.
Despite the situation he was in, despite the state he was in, a cocky grin stole itself on Ratchet's lips. What Aulus had left behind as he had become one of the Cragmites, was still a gift to Ratchet. And so he heard quick steps approaching, followed by the sound of a sliding door and ended by a piercing yell as Aulus as crashed against the wall once more.
Azimuth took the place before Ratchet and caught the limb body in one of his arms. "Hold out, Ratchet... I'll get us out of here." And with that he rammed his wrench into the chains, breaking one connection after another.
Aulus growled, crawling to the control panel and pressing the security switch. "Guards! The prisoners have escaped! I repeat, the prisoners have-GAKK!" If only he was able to finish that sentence.
Azimuth held Ratchet tightly in his arms when he felt a portal pulling at them. He turned around and saw Torren IV, his house not far away from it either. Splendid. Jumping through, he rolled a few times over the ground before they came to a standstill, his breath heavy and accelerated. God, he needed a break.
Not before Ratchet was safe, though.
Opening the storage device, he selected his newest discovery and materialized the nanotech in his hand. "Please hold out for a little longer," he whispered. As soon as the blue orbs appeared, he shattered them one by one, the first one on Ratchet's throat, the next one on his abdomen. Then he turned him around and took care of the back wounds.
Aulus struggled to his feet, and saw the tear in the dimension. He chuckled, "Whomever you are, thank you." and without delay, he leapt through.
Meanwhile Clank had seen Azimuth carry Ratchet in. "General? Is Ratchet alright?" He asked worriedly, the antennae on his head glowing green.
"He will get through." Azimuth put Ratchet on his bed, his hand casually stroking over the younger's cheek.
"G... General..."
"Hush. Rest." Azimuth smiled faintly and stroked over Ratchet's head before he got up and turned to Clank. "Have you closed the gate?"
Clank sorted through his processors for a moment, when he came to a realization. "It appears Sigmund hasn't yet... let me-" With sudden brute force, the bloodied and beaten Aulus kicked Clank aside, sending the robot to the wall. "Sigmund can keep it open for as long as he likes..." He said with a dark chuckle, blade in hand.
"You..."Azimuth narrowed his eyes as he readied his wrench again. Slowly he approached the beaten Lombax, wrath dominating his glare.
Thankfully, Clank was quick to recover. "General! Take Ratchet's alternate self and bring him back to his dimension. So long as Ratchet and him are in separate dimensions, they can't gain the same injuries!" Aulus whirled around and spat, "Shut your mouth, you pathetic excuse for a toaster!"
"Ah ah. Lombax rule Number 1: Concentrate on your enemy!" Grabbing Aulus at his neck with his wrench, he kicked on his hoverboots and shoved them both back into the other dimension. There they skidded over the ground until Aulus hit the wall. With one well-placed stomp the elder disable the younger's bladed hand.
"GYAAGH!"The younger screamed, yanking his limp wrist and cradling it. He stood up and spat, "What? You'd kill your old friend's flesh and blood?" He smirked inwardly to himself when Azimuth paused.
"... My friend's flesh and blood inherits the soul that soothes my mind." For a brief moment a soft smile came over him; but it vanished the almost instantly as he continued. "Not that rotten thing you call your self." He still had Aulus pinned down, now on the bladed hand with his knee to free his other foot. Then he raised his leg.
One stomp. "A disgusting, spoilt personality."
Another one. "The exact opposite of Ratchet."
And another one. This time Aulus coughed up blood, grinding his teeth as Azimuth leant in. "Yes, you might be Kaden's son. You might be Ratchet's other self. But that does not mean that I have the same connection to you as I have to Ratchet." A devious grin stole itself onto Azimuth's lips. "Now, tell me. If I don't have any connection to you, want to avenge what you did to Ratchet and know that you might be dearer to Tachyon than any other creature on this ship, wouldn't it be stupid not to kill you?" Another stomp, this time with even more force.
Aulus wheezed pathetically, the blood oozing out of his mouth. "Y-You really have no shame... do you Azimuth...?"
"Perhaps." Azimuth frowned as he smiled bitterly. "Perhaps not. Shame is something so stupidly restricting sometimes. I learned that in the last few weeks." Again a softer gaze came over him, but only for that long. "But of this you would know nothing. You lost the ability to empathize." Once more he stomped onto Aulus' chest, and this time he narrowed the gap between the two halves of his wrench. "It's a shame that this happened to you, Aulus."
A gurgled cry escaped the other's lips, and he convulsed for a moment. Then... he was still. The shouts of the guards rang in Azimuth's ears, "Lord Aulus went this way!" "We have to find the prisoners!"
"Hmph." Azimuth released the wrench and took one moment to look at Aulus. How different he was from Ratchet! And still, they were still one and the same person. Only in different dimensions, in different timelines. Had he met Ratchet like this first, what would have happened? Would he have despised the younger?
He reached out for Aulus' eyes and closed them. Then he got up and rushed through the portal, just in time so that it closed before the guards.
Clank hurried to Azimuth, and asked, "Ratchet's been trying to get out of bed... he's asking about you... whatever happened to the other?" The small robot craned his neck upwards to the other.
"He... Um. Met an unsightly end." Azimuth cleared his throat before he walked back, head turned to Clank. "He's been asking about me?"
"I see... Well, Ratchet was asking if you were alright, and if you were hurt... are you alright, General, and are you hurt?" Clank asked, a grin spreading across his face.
"... Why are you grinning like that?"
"I was simply repeating what Ratchet asked, because I am curious as well."
"Is that so?" Azimuth sighed. "Well, yes. I am all right, thank you for asking. I'm not considerably hurt and what not."
"Well, let's not keep him nervous and answer his questions." Clank responded, turning and walking to Azimuth's house.
The elder followed him silently, placing his wrench beside the entrance and walking over to Ratchet. There he kneeled down and reached out, stroking slowly over the younger's head. "Hello there."
"...Uhn... A-Alis...! Alister-agh!" Ratchet bolted upwards to cling to Azimuth, to hold onto him for dear life, but... his wounds might have healed, but he was still in pain.
"Don't move. I didn't find enough nanotech to heal everything. You'll need some rest." Fingers brushing over Ratchet's ear, he placed his forehead beside Ratchet's, nuzzling slightly against it.
"...What happened to Aulus...?" The smaller one asked, half-closing his eyes.
"... I taught him a lesson he won't forget. Don't worry." Azimuth closed his eyes, remained in the position he was in. Only his tail swung back and forth in a slow, tranquil movement.
"...Well... Th-thank... you... nnh..." His eyes grew heavy, and eventually, he drifted off to sleep.
"Heh." The elder smirked, his thumb stroking over Ratchet's head. "It's the least I could do for you." And with that he placed his lips on Ratchet's forehead before he distanced himself from the younger. It had been a strenuous day, and one Azimuth would not forget that easily. As he sat down beside his bed, he observed the environment, watching and ready to act should anything happen.
A faint brush attracted his attention. It was Ratchet's hand, searching for the elder.
First surprised, the elder reached out for the hand with a smirk. Ratchet really soothed him, calmed him. Nobody had the same effect over him; and this was why he would protect him at all costs.
Silence was his witness.