Chapter 4: Escape
We need a plan." They heard a bang above them, and the glass cracked. "Screw the plan; let's just get out here!"
"That's the Ratchet I know!" Mariah exclaimed. She pulled out a katana while Ratchet pulled out his trusty wrench. Another bang on the glass. One more hit, and it would shatter.
"Ready?"
"When you are," she replied.
"Now!"
Ratchet kicked open the cockpit, and the two Lombaxes jumped out, landing side by side, weapons at the ready. Turns out, they were completely surrounded by robots. "Damn it…" Ratchet muttered. To Mariah, he said, "Well, this ought to be fun, don't you think?"
"If you find this kind of game fun," she replied with a nervous chuckle. After a moment, she blinked in surprise and looked at Ratchet. "That's funny. Why aren't they attacking?"
"Because I have yet to give them the order to," a voice said. Both Lombaxes looked towards the source. A green hedgehog with sunglasses over his eyes, black shoes, and a black jacket with a flame design on both crossed arms leaned calmly against the doorframe at the entrance of the hangar. "Ryan 'Ratchet' Darkstar, son of Kaden, and Marie 'Mariah' Aristana, daughter of Serena." He said it like a polite greeting.
"Who are you supposed to be?" Ratchet demanded.
The hedgehog lowered his glasses, looking over them for a moment before setting them back in their original place. He moved off the doorframe and walked towards the two Lombaxes. "I am Scourge the hedgehog," he said finally. "Military commander and expert strategist for His Excellency's armada." He bowed with a fancy flourish.
"And, how, pray tell, do you know us?" Mariah demanded. Ratchet glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He knew that tone. The situation wasn't going to end without a fight.
"It does not really matter all that much," Scourge said, standing strait. "But you, my dear, are a simple matter. I met your parents once a long time ago. As for you, Ryan-"
"The name's Ratchet," the golden Lombax said, shooting a sharp glare at the green being.
"Yes…of course," Scourge replied, seeming as if he had just seen something distasteful. "Ratchet, I knew your mother and father quite well. I must say you look just like him. Except for your eyes. You have your mother's eyes."
"Shut up, you don't know anything," Ratchet shot, about ready to launch himself at the hedgehog right that second.
"Quite the contrary." Scourge leaned back against the wall behind him. "I am very knowledgeable in Lombax activities. For instance, Tachyon's attack on Fastoon." He glanced over the edge of his sunshades once more, measuring Ratchet's reaction. "Your father was the Keeper of the Dimensionator. Your mother, the pretty sight she is, was one of the highest-ranking females in the Praetorian Guard. Few match her skill; even fewer overcome the level she reached.
"Now, Tachyon wasn't alone when he invaded. You see, besides those incompetent Drophyds, a majority of my Master's armada was there. It was strange, how Kaden put up such a fight before he was killed."
"How could you know that?" Ratchet asked. "Tachyon killed my father."
"I assumed he would tell you that," Scourge sighed. "That was a cover. My Master requested that he keep our existence a secret, so as not to…instigate any problems. It was quite entertaining to see your father struggle against us as we slowly tortured him until his final demise."
An unexpected rage filled Ratchet, nearly blinding him with a red haze. "SHUT UP, YOU FILTHY, HEARTLESS RAT!" Infuriated, he flung his wrench with all the strength he could muster at the green hedgehog.
Scourge ducked, eyes wide. Quickly recovering, his eyes narrowed, flooded with their own displeasure. He stood up straight and roughly yanked the wrench from its lodging in the wall. An agitated flick of his wrist and a sharp word led to the robots' attack. An instant before the robots could reach the two Lombaxes, Scourge was upon them, swinging Ratchet's wrench.
Mariah concentrated on destroying robots while Ratchet was locked in combat with Scourge. Ratchet was on the defense as he dodged the hedgehog's swings. He was too close to use any of the weapons he had available to him. He needed to get his wrench back. He stepped back each time he avoided a potentially lethal swing, eventually ending up with his back against the wall. That wasn't good.
He ducked beneath Scourge's swing, the wrench lodging itself in the wall. Scourge leaned against it with one hand, his other hand closing around Ratchet's throat. Ratchet growled, gritting his teeth as the hedgehog added pressure. Ratchet kicked at Scourge, nearly knocking him down. With surprising strength, the green hedgehog picked Ratchet up and threw him across the hangar. Ratchet skidded to the floor, panting.
The Lombax stood, rubbing his throat, as his opponent walked slowly towards him. "Heh. I'm impressed," Scourge said with a sarcastic smirk. "You fight just like your father. Of course, we know how that ended."
Ratchet growled again. "Shut. UP!" He lunged forward, grasping the wrench in the anthro's hands, wrestling with him for possession of the weapon. Scourge already had the upper hand, though. He hit Ratchet in the gut, before bringing up his knee to strike the Lombax's chin. Ratchet fell flat on his back, the air knocked out of him. "Dammit," he growled, voice strained.
Scourge then took the wrench and pinned Ratchet to the floor by the neck. "Ratchet!" Mariah tried to go to him, but was blocked by the horde of robots. Ratchet struggled, kicking at Scourge while trying to keep the wrench from suffocating him.
"How fitting. Just as weak as your father. Ironic, no?" He added a bit more pressure to the wrench, grinning sadistically. Scourge looked to the side as he heard a shout. Mariah ran at him, letting her momentum carry her, and slammed against him. Scourge was knocked to the floor, dropping the wrench as he fell. He pushed himself up, shaking his head. "Damn bitch." He adjusted the glasses, their lenses now cracked. "You'll pay for that…"
Ratchet grabbed his wrench before both he and Mariah ran down a corridor. "We'll have to split up and search for Clank. Watch out for enemies and get back to Aphelion as soon as possible."
"Right." Mariah took the right turn while Ratchet took the left. After only a few minutes, Mariah could hear her pursuers. "Brilliant." She quickly tried a few doors. They were all locked. She moved further down, occasionally trying a door, trying to remain ahead. Suddenly, she came to a door that opened without any effort at all. She went in without thinking and closed the door quickly behind her. She set her ear against the door, listening carefully as she heard her attackers run by.
She sighed in relief, relaxing. That is, until she realized she wasn't alone in the room. She turned around quickly, eyes wide with bewilderment at what she saw.
Ratchet sent another electric charge at his enemies, glad he had thought to keep a few weapons on his person instead of with Clank. The robots overloaded and fell over, dropping a few bolts on the floor. Taking the momentary reprieve, the Lombax checked his Nav-unit. Clank wasn't far now.
He hurried down the last few hundred yards to the spot that indicated his friend's location. He opened the door carefully and, seeing no enemies, entered the room. Clank was on a table in the center of the room, his optics dark, a few of his wires sticking out. "Clank!" Ratchet rushed over to his companion, relieved to see him mostly in one piece. He'd have to do repairs later; he didn't have the time to right now.
Gingerly putting the wires down and closing the compartment, Ratchet picked up his robot companion and latched him securely on the harness he always wore. Surprisingly, he managed to leave the room without any incident. He still felt edgy, though. "Mariah?" He waited until he heard her answer before speaking again into the com device. "I found Clank. Head back to the hangar. I'll meet you there."
He rushed back the way he had come, finding it very suspicious now that he didn't encounter any more of Scourge's bots. Again without incident, he got to the hangar, seeing Mariah standing close to Aphelion. She climbed in as soon as Ratchet was close. "Where did all the guards go?" she whispered. "It's so strange."
"I don't know," Ratchet muttered in reply. "But I have a really bad feeling about this…" He didn't hesitate to fix a few wires to get Aphelion running again, waiting only a few minutes as a set of special nanos fixed the glass covering. As soon as this was done, he started the engine and slid out of the hangar into open space. "We have to find some place relatively safe to hide out." He glanced at the female beside him. "Mariah…? What's wrong?"
Mariah had seemed deep in thought until Ratchet said her name. "I…I think…I might know a place…" The name reached his mind without her having to speak at all. He nodded, knowing she was right. Uneasy that they had yet to be found, they left the ship's hangar, setting the destination coordinates for Planet Fastoon.
Hey, people who actually read this! I learned something knew, so I have a typo in the previous chapter! Apparently, this will make it the third time Clank's been taken.
(I'm surprised no one pointed it out.)
Same here…maybe they didn't notice…
Anywho, new update. I haven't updated this in FOREVER! Dang, I'm mean.
(And hopeless!)
Shush!
The Lightning Ravager is the weapon used here. I placed it in this chapter because it's my favorite in ToD honestly. I always use it.
So…what exactly is the plural term for "nano"? More specific: how is it written?
Anyway, college classes finished for the semester; home school taking a lot of time; entertaining my little sister; learning guitar; the usual excuses and such.
I'll be very slow with updating until I catch up with my home schooling, so I appreciate the patience you all have given me so far.
Now to get started on chapter 5…
Review please!