Shell Shock Writers:
Rating: PG-RG
Warnings: Ratchet/Azimuth. Violence.
Disclaimer: We value our lives too much to even dare think about claiming Ratchet and Alister as our own. We borrow them for an RP, so don't worry. [Put the Wargroks back into your cage!]
Summary: Everyone's nightmare is to wake up in a cold, dark place without a clue where one is. Sadly, that's what's happened to us. What's even better, we have monsters and weird encounters to endure as well. And then there's them…
Lucky, right? If I ever get out of here, I will need some therapy sessions.
Chapter 3
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"Damn it!" His gaze rushed back to the spheres which were now glowing brightly and flashing faster. Not good. Absolutely not good. They needed to get out of that hall, now!
At this moment, a large discharge hit Ratchet. He yelped and jumped almost to the room's center as the tips of his ears were none too gently 'flicked' with electricity. Looking up, a blue, spiked ball of light grew from the needle, crackling and hissing.
Just what the hell was this room for?
"Ratchet!" Azimuth shouted, waving agitatedly with his hand. "We have to get out of here! NOW!"
"I know! Blast it all!" Ratchet dashed back, tearing at the open door as he reached the exit. He gasped. "General, the door's closing and I can't hold it open!" Indeed the door moved automatically back into the frame, gears whirring somewhere in the walls at the height of the hinges. The handle pulled Ratchet with it no matter how much he leant back, boots creaking over the smooth floor.
"Hurry!"
Azimuth rushed after Ratchet as fast as he could. The spheres already started to emit small lightnings that clashed against each other, making terrible noise as their environment started to blur to a complete infinity of blue. Azimuth growled and ignited his hoverboots, dashing towards the door. The humming turned into cracking, the cracking into deafening noises. The elder had to hurry, definitely.
As soon as he was close to Ratchet, he grabbed the younger and flew into the corridor, the door behind them flying shut and blocking out all the noise from the room. Azimuth hovered on for a few moments before he came to a halt, putting down Ratchet and steadying himself on the ground.
"Thanks," Ratchet breathed, looking first to Azimuth who was again drenched in purple, then to the door that innocently hid that electric inferno in the room behind.
"You're welcome." The elder replied as he caught a breath. "... That was a close call. Really."
Ratchet nodded mutely. Turning around himself, he paid more attention to the displays around them this time. The pattern of the blinking lights didn't change, wouldn't slow down or accelerate - apparently this part of the facility and the machines in the room were independent from each other. It raised even more questions.
At least he had now an idea what he had seen, his gaze had been drawn to the ceiling as the discharge went off before. "... Just what kind of facility is this? What machine could they use that needs or produces such an energy outlet?"
"I don't know." The elder replied, leaning onto his wrench. "I would suppose that it is a facility that needs to perform incredible tasks or at least create something to make other creations possible. Perhaps a weapon facility? As we both know, the newest trend at weaponry is raritanium embedded in the shell of both weapons and armors. So they would need a lot of energy to merge it with any other material." He frowned. "... But this is just a guess."
It would be an explanation, just- Ratchet couldn't explain the feeling, but a detail his mind couldn't grasp seemed off. "You mean Grummelnet for example? Maybe it's cliché but wouldn't there be their logo somewhere?"
"... Maybe. Perhaps it's an outpost, or we are with another weapon company." The elder frowned. "... Though I couldn't imagine one who would go against the Grummelnet company." Azimuth tapped idly against his chin. "Of course, there is no sign that this is such a facility. There is no evidence of any involvement of Grummelnet either, and since there are no labels to be seen here..."
"Well, Megacorps pretty much kicked Gadgetron out of the Bogon Galaxy, so this could be a hidden outpost of a rival company to Grummelnet."
"... That is if there was anyone who would dare this. Grummelnet's kicked too many other companies out of business to be considered beatable." Azimuth bit his lower lip as he thought on. "And what if this facility isn't related to weaponry at all? Maybe they are handling the construction of battle cruisers? Ones that can't be shot down that easily?"
"The problem is we only know they need vast amounts of energy." Carefully Ratchet leant against a wall, arms crossed before he raised a hand to grasp his chin. "Neither of us knows of which race the guards are, or even whether they are organic or robots. For me it would be normal since I haven't been in this part of Polaris long, but that you don't know about them makes it suspicious."
"... True." Azimuth stroked over his chin s he slowly started to walk in small circles. "Which makes me wonder..."
All of a sudden he halted, his ears perking as he came to another thought. What if... "As unbelievable as it sounds... Could it be that we got kidnapped to another galaxy?"
"Please not again." It was Ratchet now who clasped a hand over his face, groaning in exasperation. "This would be the third time already - actually the second, but Clank and I not exactly landed in Polaris because we wanted to."
"What? The third time already?" Azimuth raised an eyebrow over this remark.
"I think I told you we tend to attract the weird. That includes to being abducted into another galaxy." Grinning in fond memory behind his hand, Ratchet shook his head. "Or stealing the Cragmite Emperor's ship after he invaded Kerwan, which had the coordinates set for Polaris what we didn't know of course." The grin became smug and he showed it Alister. "I bet that Percival wasn't amused though unfortunately we didn't get to see it."
"Hah! You stole it from Tachyon?" Azimuth laughed as he covered his eyes with his hand. "I don't believe it. So it really was this bastard's work that brought you to Polaris!" The laugh turned bitter. "How ironic that I got to meet another Lombax thanks to him."
"And that I learned at all where I come from." Ratchet replied, suddenly somber. His ears drooped and he closed his eyes. "Unfortunately at least a few years too late."
At his sudden change of mood, Azimuth's dropped as well. His fist clenched.
"Tachyon will pay for what he has done. As soon as we have found the Great Clock, I will set things right again. Tachyon will get what he deserves." He looked at the younger who did not react at all. Perhaps because the thought wasn't satisfying enough? Or because the thought of what he had lost thanks to Tachyon was too strong?
The elder bit his lip slightly. He couldn't imagine how a Lombax had to feel when not growing up with their own kind. It had to have been awful for him, to say the least. "... If I had known, Ratchet... If I had known that you were out there, I would have looked for you."
Gloves creaked as smaller hands dug against the wall. The silence persisted as Ratchet kept quiet but not for long - he didn't want the elder to feel guilty. "I don't think you could have known. Somehow, Tachyon must have found my father and me because he knew we were the last remaining on Fastoon. I have no idea how he got me safely from the planet - but he had somehow done it that way Tachyon couldn't find me, at least not for several years. Whatever it was, he probably didn't want to jeopardize it by leaving any trails to where he sent me off."
"... Maybe." Azimuth bit his lip. "But I should have grown suspicious when I found Kaden and your mother, but not you." He gulped lowly, thinking of Fastoon's demise once more. "Which is why I'm sorry. I should have searched for you to at least give you something related to the Lombaxes."
"Thank you, I appreciate it." Turning his head away, he looked into the distance of the corridor. "But I think-" He still kept his gaze away, brows narrowing as his lips curled. "Had Tachyon something personal against my father?"
"... I suppose." The elder frowned as he recalled not the mayhem, but the process of working together with Tachyon. "Your father didn't like him one bit, always trying to convince me that it was the wrong decision. He kept telling me that it was wrong to accept Tachyon's help - and what did I do? I brushed it off nonchalantly, ignored his advice." A faint growl escaped him. "If I had listened..."
"Don't." Pushing himself from the wall, Ratchet strode to Alister's side, laying a hand on his arm. He squeezed gently and as the elder stared at him, he mirrored it with a serious gaze. "Yes, you made a mistake by not listening to him and trusting Tachyon. And I won't discuss if it was your fault what happened when he attacked Fastoon, because I wasn't there and can't judge. But I know you have been beating, no, punishing yourself about it for several years, having to live with the guilt all alone except for Perihelion at your side." A shadow flickered over Ratchet's face which fell under it. "I'm sorry to say this - but I don't think it would have gone much different if you had refused Tachyon. Knowing him, he would have found someone different, a loop hole to get your technology anyway. And if that hadn't worked - who is to say he wouldn't have gone to the Terachnoids or another race to use their technology? The goal was always the same to him - destroy the Lombaxes."
"... Still..." Azimuth stared at the ground yet he didn't. His fist clenched at the thought of his mistake. "If I hadn't done that, we would have had at least our own technology to beat him. But when I gave him access to our secret files, that..." He broke off, trying to gather his thoughts. "We would have had a chance if he hadn't known every single weakness in our technology. We would have had a chance if I had not shown him." His eyes shut as a growl left him. "If he hadn't had that knowledge, the Lombaxes wouldn't be in such a terrible situation! They wouldn't be hiding in some strange dimension because of this one damn mistake I made!" His voice grew louder and louder, his gestures wilder and harsher. "Kaden even warned me. He told me not to trust Cragmites, even pointing out our race's history with them! And what did I do? I ignored all sense and reason, just because I didn't want to believe that I was wrong!"
His body tensed up, his hands were formed as if they were about to claw into something. "I refused to acknowledge the fact that Tachyon was dangerous. I refused to accept that it wasn't right to grant him access to our technology. Even with all my knowledge about the Great War, I did not realize it!" His fist crashed against the pipes just as he huffed slightly from all the shouting; yet he did not stop.
"Do you know this vexing feeling when you are caught up in a reality that is just as real as a nightmare? When you know that no matter what you do, you can't escape it anymore?" He turned away from the wall harshly. "When guilt keeps shaking and shaking you until you just wish to die yet are too afraid to stop living?" He looked at Ratchet for a moment. "I could have prevented it, Ratchet. I could have prevented the death of so many Lombaxes if I had not believed Tachyon!" He pulled his fingers over his face violently as he turned away again, his tail whipping harshly back and forth.
First with discomfort, then with increasing anxiety Ratchet listened how the elder talked himself into frenzy. It had startled him for a moment when Azimuth punched the wall, now when Azimuth's hand clawed at his own face as if he wanted to rip the skin open, fright took the young one. In his self-hate, Azimuth didn't seem to care if he hurt himself – maybe he even wished for it. Before Ratchet thought over his action, he leant up and gripped the wrist which the white Lombax easily broke free. "Please, stop it! You have punished yourself enough, why can't you let it go? I never got the chance to get to know my father, but he couldn't have wanted his best friend to hurt himself!"
"If I had listened to your father, everything would be different! If I just hadn't trusted Tachyon, none of this would have ever happened! But I had to. I just couldn't take being wrong! And what did it bring? Death! Death to Kaden, death to the Lombaxes, death to Fastoon!" Again he faced the younger, staring at and yet past him. "This didn't have to be, Ratchet. None of it! If it hadn't been for my mistake your father would be alive! The Lombaxes would be alive! Fastoon would be alive! And you would have had a family from the beginning!" His fingers clawed into the fur of his head, digging deep into it, his face turned into a grimace as he could not bear the sudden wave of anger and guilt coming over him - then, finally, he fell onto his knees, his head still in between his hands.
"But… As things are, everything's gone. My mistake robbed so many Lombaxes of their life, their family." He whispered, his voice faint and wavering. "If it hadn't been for that mistake… If I just hadn't believed in Tachyon…"
Ratchet's hand stayed in the air from where under it Alister had sunken to the ground before he could try to get his attention by grabbing his arm again. The hand hovered for seconds, beginning to shiver after a while before slowly the limb sunk. Fell to his side, hanging there numbly like his mind in his head; his mouth hung open with the words dead in his throat. The white Lombax seemed to have dwarfed - on his knees, body bowed under the emotions that were quaking his frame now. This was different from Lumos. Alister had been wary, tired, letting himself glide to the ground in front of the younger Lombax; but the resolve, the desperate hope had burned in these amber eyes so strongly that they had appeared to glow golden.
Now the elder's emotions overrolled him, stripping the image of the proud warrior, part of the Praetorian Guard, Lombax Research Center councilman Alister Azimuth away. Stance, attitude, aura, everything left revealing the person whom probably even among the Lombaxes very few had met. Mortal, flawed, vulnerable – lonely, simply Alister weeping for everything he had lost.
With a step forward Ratchet fell to both his knees between and under Alister's arms. He pressed against the shuddering chest, wound arms around the broad back and held on.
Azimuth, first caught up in his thoughts, was startled as he suddenly felt a slim, lithe body pressing against him. He tensed up for a moment. An odd sensation went through the elder, not sure what he should think about this situation. For one, it felt awkward to be hugged, comforted by someone so much younger than him. It was wrong, against his pride. For another, what did it look like if he was being hugged by Ratchet? Certainly it was something laughable. But then why was he feeling so much at ease all of a sudden? All he knew was that it had a comforting effect on him.
Azimuth did not understand it. No matter what he did, he couldn't understand it... And if he was honest, he didn't want to at all. All he wanted right now was to remain in this position, just to stay, to feel the other so close to him. Slowly he relaxed against the other, pulling him closer, hesitatingly wrapping his arms around Ratchet's figure and pressing his face lightly against the other's head.
Good, the shaking stopped. It stopped. Shakily exhaling Ratchet, let Alister press them closer together so that he was almost was sitting in the taller's laps. Arms thicker than his neck encircled him now and he fought against the anxiety caused by being surrounded by the massive bodily presence. The tension inside him just rose more.
This wouldn't work. He wasn't used to this proximity, whether it was personally or physically. Here the overwhelming presence of Alister's big body surrounded him what his brain interpreted as threat, muscles tensing in the rush of adrenaline.
He took a deep breath and let the anxiety flow freely through him. It hurt at first, his panic from being enclosed by bigger foes than him learned in years rocketing up, but only shortly - his mind noticed he was in no danger, no target of an attack by the other Lombax. More than that; strange as it was, bit by bit he started to feel safe. Despite the elder's presence still overwhelming him, he slowly relaxed against the other, simply enjoyed the heat that seeped into him. If it helped Alister, a bit of discomfort on Ratchet's own side he could endure. Because it really didn't matter.
Alister felt the change of tension in Ratchet's body, even if only slightly. Was it uncomfortable for him? The elder frowned a little over it, not sure what to do. It was then that he realized how slim and... small Ratchet's body was compared to his. If Azimuth was sensing it correctly, his hand was big enough to easily reach from one shoulder blade to the other, perhaps even big enough to hold and cover most of Ratchet's head. How come he hadn't noticed? Really, for a moment all this slim- and litheness made the elder fear that he would break under his grip.
Now that he relaxed, the guilt from feeling threatened by Alister, although the other needed comfort, also slowly dissolved. Did it always feel so- nice to be hugged by someone bigger? With the body around him the facility vanished from his view and the heartbeat he felt against his cheek flooded the beeping of corridor's machines away. Their situation, the possible danger they were in, they faded away and left him with a sense of peace, as short as it might be.
It was funny that he was also being comforted now, in some way.
A soft sigh left Azimuth as the memories and emotions faded away - it was so calming to feel the other that close to him, to hug and to be hugged. His fingers stroked slightly over Ratchet's head as he nuzzled his face faintly against the other's fur. So... calming.
Oookay, that was feeling weird now. Ratchet's ear twitched as a nose brushed against and through the fur, the sensation tickling like mad. It caused him to slightly shake his head in instinct.
As Ratchet shook his head, Azimuth had to chuckle a little. It tickled, not in a bad way, but it did. And with that, he felt really at ease, nearly comfortable in their situation - so much that he slowly changed his position to a more comfortably sitting one and slightly, not even really pulling Ratchet even a bit closer.
It sounded good to hear Alister laugh again and Ratchet smiled against the chest. He let the elder pull him with, settling between his knees he laid his cheek on the armor, the other's heartbeat clear even through the material. And again he noticed that unique scent that was the other Lombax – desert, sand, sun, sweat and now a touch of electricity he hadn't noticed before. This one probably originated from Alister's use of his wrench's charge ability.
- When had he begun thinking of the elder with his forename?
Alister, quite content by now, nuzzled his face against Ratchet's ear again. Why he did that he did not know - but he knew that it was really calming, if not elating. His thumb stroked repetitively over Ratchet's shoulder protection as he tried not to hold the younger too tightly while keeping him close. ... Then again, it seemed like that wasn't necessary anyway.
Who would have thought that Alister was a cuddler? More than a bit amused that the other nuzzled his ear again, though also at himself because he enjoyed it too, Ratchet pushed his hands slightly against the chest to lean back. Craning up his neck he smiled softly at Alister's sudden worried gaze. "Are you feeling better?"
Azimuth had nearly made a sound when Ratchet pushed him a little away, but now that the younger had asked him something, he smiled at the other gently. "Yes, yes I do." He chuckled lowly. "Thanks to you." His hand reached up and stroked over the other's head.
The golden Lombax grinned back. "You're welcome." Ratchet leant in the by now well-known gesture; he did not purr but the hum coming from his throat and his closed eyes transferred just as good his contentment to the elder who smiled at the sight.
Alister found it a bit amusing to see the Lombax so contently leaning into the stroking. Not that he minded - he would have liked well to remain as such for a long time, but he knew that they had to go on. The elder had a quick glance over Ratchet's face which made him sigh faintly in a content way.
... Well, maybe that could wait for another minute or two.
"Err, Alister?" The stroking stopped and Ratchet cursed himself that used the elder's forename as he saw the other's purple-colored surprised face. "I mean General – I really like this and I'm glad I could help you, but, yanno, shouldn't we get up or something?" He wanted to stay like this, enjoy longer this close contact but who knew if maybe the guards patrolled here and caught them off guard?
When Ratchet reminded him of their situation, reality hit the elder right in the face. What was he doing here? Letting down his guard, cuddling around... Not only was it dangerous, but also... Not embarrassing, but all of a sudden he didn't know how to look at the younger anymore.
"... True." Azimuth finally said and looked aside. He lowered his hand, still hesitating before he let go of the other Lombax. "We should before the guards come, right?" Slowly he moved away from Ratchet, getting back onto his feet and picking up the wrench before he offered the younger a hand. "Then we shouldn't waste anymore time."
Regret washed over Ratchet at Alister's 'mask' sliding back, hiding the Lombax beneath the persona of the fighter. He had noticed the elder wouldn't look at him anymore but kept quiet about it, he didn't want to make the other even more uncomfortable than he was probably was. Instead he took the offered hand and stood up from his knees at Alister's pull.
"Let's go, Ratchet. Time's a wasting." The elder let his fingers slip away from Ratchet's grip as soon as the other was standing and headed down the corridor, his wrench already slightly charged. As it seemed, he neither wanted to be surprised by a guard nor go unprepared against anything else that might approach them.
Ratchet stared at his hand for a moment, then turned his head away and kneeled down. With a sigh too low to even be noticed by the other if he had been closer, he picked up his own wrench before he ran after the elder. "I guess we're taking the red corridor now. Hopefully there won't be any more surprises like the room."
"I sure hope so." Azimuth replied, ears perked. "Otherwise I would wonder from where these guards have come. Then again..." He frowned as he followed that train of thought. "If the guards came from the red corridor, that might mean that we will have to fight a lot." His grip around his wrench grew tighter. "... Which would be to our disadvantage."
"There's always the possibility of hidden doors." Ratchet shuddered at the thought that just behind their backs a part of the wall could split open, with all of the machines and computers, and they wouldn't notice even when those creatures ran because of the little noise they made. More than ever he wished they could find a Grummel weapon vendor so he could fill up his ammunition. His dread rose with the degree the purple light of the corridor lessened until they turned once more around the corner and stood at the fork again.
"... Well. There's nothing left for us but to follow that corridor now." Azimuth sighed and pointed at the red glowing corridor with a wink of his head. "Let's hope that there are no guards waiting for us."
In contrast to the blue corridor, the red light faded with every cubit they stepped further - did they actually? - into the facility. Soon plain concrete walls surrounded them, and also different from the first path, this took a sharp turn left. The edge of a window was visible, the rest obscured by the wall of the corridor.
Before Azimuth even raised his hand to point to the wall, Ratchet already pressed himself against, eyes concentrated on the end of the hallway. Ears perked to catch any suspicious sound although they both knew they would hear little if the guards approached.
The elder pressed against the opposite wall, eyes closed as he listened sharply for any sound that there could be. As it seemed, there were none - but how sure could he be in such a situation? They didn't know what kind of abilities or traits their enemy had, yet to say if their weapons had any effect on them.
Forget that. Concentrate.
The elder breathed in and out, listening closely; but still he couldn't hear -
Tapping.
The sound of something tapping onto the ground.
Ratchet's body turned rigid, muscles tensed and the visible fur on his neck bristling. Green lighted up the pads on his armor as he activated the Ectoflux, the helmet materializing at the same time while he swapped his wrench with the Constructo Pistol. After a nod to the white Lombax, quietly mouthing 'Have my back', Ratchet crept along the wall to the turn.
Heart hammering, Ratchet clawed with his free hand into the concrete. The end of the wall, rather what was still hidden behind it made his stomach turn in anxiety like usual whenever he had to sneak around an enemies' location, when detection was no option - either to survive because the enemies was too strong or he needed to first find out who they were and to what they were able combination of both didn't help in this situation.
Ratchet pressed his back even harder against the wall, slowly inching the last cubit sideways. Breath short but low, his upper body moved away from the wall, twisting to the left.
Azimuth watched him, his body tensing up. The Lombax better be careful…
Again a short hesitation before Ratchet turned his head slowly around the turn but saw only the opposite wall of the next corridor. Adrenaline pumping even more, he moved the last centicubits, tilting his head to see bet-
Ratchet yelled, losing his balance he fell into the corridor, arms flailing.