Took longer to get this chapter done. I hope things aren't getting too boring or anything ^^ I'm paranoid that the less feedback for the later chapters means I'm not engaging readers. If My writing rambles a little or you see anything that needs fixing, please point it out if you can. Thanks for reading and sorry for the wait. Hope you have a fun time waiting for Chritmas ^^


Lifeforce: Chapter 7

"The rivalry is with ourself. I try to be better than is possible. I fight against myself, not against the other."
-Luciano Pavarotti

The Ego of a Loki

It was rather cliché. An old tree standing idle and alone; detached from the rest of the horizon. Its metal brothers stretched higher and shined more than its bark; standing upon a small hill surrounded by a meadow. Peaceful, almost like a story-book scene.

The wind made the long, golden grass ripple out in soft, slow waves. If you listen closely, some say you can hear it whisper the names of those who died around it; around that meadow that stood in the outskirts of Fastoon's proud city. The small houses around it where battered and forgotten; the rust and moss clawed slowly up the once pure surfaces.

With all that around it, it wasn't so beautiful.

Not anymore.

The tree, when you looked closer, was now dead. The branches, instead of hanging lazily and swinging calmly in the wind, lay crooked and limp. They creaked as the heartless breeze pushed past them without consideration for what they used to be.

Through the lonely, cracked streets of the fringe of the city, the man walked. The clinking sound of his foots echoed in a soft, repetitive 'sshh' as he strode in slow, steady steps.

A hand, bony and frayed, slid along the wall as they went; the smooth metal cold and stiff.

The fire around him burned the metal that he tried to lean on, his hand had to pull away-

He turned his armored head.

Ickabar turned his head upwards, his breath shaky. He could just see something through the smoke-

The armored figure turned away from that path, and changed direction.

...

Beep, beepity, beep, beepity, beep-

THUD.

"Stop your chirping, you blasted machine!"

"Perhaps you should try seeing what the problem it."

"Silence, Steward..."

The Loki waved a dismissive hand and turned to the screen in annoyance. He ought to replace that infernal Steward- the subtle back-talking was getting too much for his temper to deal with at the moment. He forced his eyes to the screen, though he really couldn't be-

Hang on, what's this?

"Hmmm..." He rose a brow, eyes lidded. Apparently, something- the scanners didn't know what- had been picked up on the radar of the defense system. It had only been detected for a split second- and small slip in a cloaking device, perhaps?

He grinned, bearing hidden sharp teeth and cocked his head to the side casually. "I believe our guests have arrived. Steward, let's make them at home..."

"Yes Master. Calling in reinforcements..."

...

"They'll know."

Ratchet's nose wrinkled in a protesting manner upon hearing this deadpan remark. He glanced at Trisby, gripping the steering joysticks tighter. "It was just a glitch- they won't notice..." But, he knew, it probably would be. He hated when things that were already complicated only got more so.

The cat-like creature let out a slow breath, frowning through the windscreen at the sight before her. Ahead and above, not too far, was Ephemeris, locked onto IRIS in a deadly embrace of claw-like hands.

And, with all the little ships scattered around the two giant balls in space like bees around a beehive-just waiting for a target- a slip in the security system just wasn't welcomed.

"Oh great." She mumbled to herself- then looked towards the controls. With a sniff of indifference, she frowned and slipped down to the wires beneath, opening the flat and taking hold of them. Ratchet's eyes widened.

"Hey, that's REALLY dangerous, don't tamper with the..." The lights in the ship darkened suddenly. Oh no, they were out of power-

Something sent a vibration through the ship. Clank's tale optics widened in alarm. "Did we just shoot something."

"Tracking beacons. Tampered with 'um when was bored."

"Is that not a little too obvious? Boastful or not, the Loki is not that foolish." Clank folded his arms. Trisby snorted, glancing at the skeptical tin man over her shoulder.

"Pfft. I said 'tampered.' They'll think that's our ship, giving another glitch in the security. Though its only gonna work for a few minutes, so put your seat belt on."

"Wait, what are you-" Ratchet, incredibly, found himself being shoved away, and sliding off the pilot chair by a creature smaller than Clank. Trisby, with a smirk plastered on her mug, grabbed the steering controls and narrowed her eyes.

Ratchet's pupils dilated. "Uh-oh."

Zoom.

They ship blasted forward- right towards the ships. Ratchet let out a long, horrified yell that Clank joined in with as they slid past the ships, turning and whipping in different directions. Trisby tilted the ship left and right, and Ratchet grabbed onto the seat and held on for dear life as she gave the wheel a jerk and flipped them around; turning them upside down as they rolled through the minion ships.

Trisby's grin broadened as they sped up, and she pressed a button on the joystick with her thumb. A bunch of missiles flew out behind them as they reeled in and out between more ships, heading closer and closer to IRIS.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?"

"Meh. Slightly."

Ratchet and Clank stared at each other in silent alarm. Trisby shrugged to herself, then slowly her smirk slid back onto her expression.

Ratchet was what she was eyeing- the very small opening that the minion ships where sliding through. He rose a brow. Maybe...it was insane, but maybe...

"Hang onto your insides."

Trisby sped the ship forward towards the closing gab- the smaller minions ships fled sideways from the crazed vessel and she turned it right- angling it like a key so it could go through.

Ratchet gripped the chair, his knuckles turning white beneath his fur- and they swept through, as lucky as a penny falling from the sky and landing in your pocket. That lucky.

The space left open for the minions slid shut behind them seconds after the ship flew in. Trisby scowled as many defense bots leaped into sight from upon the docking bay.

"I hope you're as good with weapons as they say..." The woman remarked, then brought out a small grenade- Ratchet didn't know how she got it as she had no belt or pockets- just as the ship door was broken down.

Shoot.

Ratchet leaped up and seized his wrench, sprinting forward and hitting the minion closest to him. Trisby growled sharply behind him and chucked the grenade- his ears stood up in surprise as it hit the next minion in the race, sending them reeling back.

They exploded in a fiery inferno. Trisby wandered past, scowling now, a dark contrast to her earlier indifference.

"C'mon." She deadpanned, dragging Clank by the shoulder along with her. The lombax followed in silence.

...

The Loki slammed his fist down on the poor control panel, barely missing one of the very press-able buttons. He ignored the fact he could have very well blown himself up as he scowled at the screen.

"Steward!"

"The reinforcements were not very alert, Master. Perhaps new employment."

"Oh, shut up will you?!"

He wasn't really taking in too much of what he was seeing on the holo-screen slightly above him. Standing on his throne, he ran a hand down his face in frustration, grumbling. This was not called for. How one little space in the security managed to be spotted by a whelp and a tin can he'd never know...

His eyes- or the ones he was currently using- caught something on the screen that wasn't usually there when the lombax and robot where. He scowled, removing his hand from his face in annoyance and zooming in.

What on earth was...

"Is that some sort of Magnus creature?" He asked incredulously. The Steward, whether it was rhetorical or not, decided to answer.

"No creature scans match. Unidentified DNA lifeform."

The Loki rolled his eyes. "What a valuable asset you are, Steward..." He glared at the screen with an air of indifference- but he was boiling with rage. They thought this creature- smaller than even this ridiculous body he'd possessed- was going to take him down?

The parasitic creature snarled to himself and slammed his fist on the side of the throne. He ignored the Steward's 'advice' to count down from ten as he directed his gaze back up ti the infernal screen.

Oddly enough, he remarked in his mind, the creature actually resembled the pet Dr Croid had raised. Lack of a tale and large head, and other minor differences. Strange convenience...perhaps she knew the two Tharpods?

And if the Steward was merely being incompetent- as it seems she had been with her last task, was this a Magnus creature that had been experimented on?

The creature in question was leading the way it seemed- and it looked rather comical. Then, the creature- suddenly kicked a minion that had fallen on the ground, sneering. Oh joy.

He just realized he was about to battle with a temperamental woman.

...

"The minions have become less frequent." Clank remarked quietly as they wandered through a more darkened hall of IRIS, "I fear we are walking right into an attack."

"Obviously. The parasite knows we're here." Trisby replied, not looking at him as she walked a little ahead. Clank tilted his head as Ratchet rose a brow behind him.

"Trisby-" Clank said, with a note of hesitation, "Arrogant as you've probably heard, he is dangerous. I took four of us to take him down..."

Trisby smirked a little, looking at him over her slim, smallish shoulder. "Don't worry. He's not the first arrogant prat I've had to deal with."

She chuckled, though it didn't sound really like amusement. Clank hoped the small creature was taking this seriously.

Trisby was frowning as she walked, though. She hadn't meant to sound arrogant herself; acting like she didn't care- but it was true that she held no fear. But she wasn't foolish. She WAS on her guard. Loki, even with their exaggeration (and honestly, there was too much from that lot) they WHERE smart creatures.

Ratchet's nose wrinkled. "He made Nevo design most of that stuff. If their such a 'advanced' race...how come he'd do that?"

Trisby chuckled, "Isn't it obvious?"

Ratchet and clank blinked at her as they continued walking. "Huh? What's obvious?"

Trisby looked back over his shoulder at them again, grinning to herself. "Because he's a lazy little arse, that's why."

"Ah." Ratchet said- and he couldn't help but snicker at the word choice. Trisby, he thought, was a temperamental, and firm creature. But it seemed she did have a sense of humor. It helped the mood of the whole 'Tachyon returning' seem a little less...worrying.

"Heads up."

Alas, Ratchet and his robotic companion hadn't raised their heads fast enough to see the flying minions dart at them from the next door- or Trisby irritably toss another one of her green-electric grenades at them.

They blasted into pieces. Ratchet smacked the last one on the head as it sped towards them, ending it. He glanced at Trisby. He and Clank had done most of the shooting up till now...he wondered, what would happen is she marched through on her own?

He grinned a little, unconsciously, as he imaged in the miniature woman strolling casually through the base, tossing grenades out as she passed like seeds to chickens.

Only they blew up, of course.

The door slid open- much to their surprise. Trisby's expression hardened, and her eyes widened slightly. She glanced around, in case of any leaping minions- but none came. Ratchet looked over his shoulder down the darkened hall. Nothing.

"Well, it's the cliché 'finish off myself' battle." Trisby commented with a shrug- though she was frowning now, no longer indifferent.

There was an enormous chamber- rounded like the main questioning room- through the door. Darkened like the rest of the purple-like place, it was probably once used to give some room for visitors to pass in and out of the many corridors. Now it was vacant.

As soon as they stepped in, the door slid shut with an audible 'clunk' behind them, and the lights brightened a little.

No matter how many times things like this happened to the duo, for some reason they always felt a little startled.

"My, my." The cultured drawl above them said, "You've brought along a fan."

Trisby was surprised, a little, to be hearing an accent like that after so many years. She hadn't encounter a Loki for many, anyway.

And this one held an air of certainty; confidence...perhaps too much. It was one of those voices laced with a pleasant 'upper class' coating, but held something sinister underneath. She looked up and scowled.

The Loki was lounging in his throne, leaning against the side with the same careless demeanor as they first time they'd seen him- Ratchet couldn't shake the feeling of déjà-vu. Being in a group before, little words had been exchanged with this particular villain.

Maybe since he did most of the talking...

Trisby stared for a few seconds- genuinely taken back. It was hard to think that this cat-like being with more fluff on his body than she and Ratchet combined, could be possessed by a giant, frightening parasite. "You have to be kidding me..."

That earned her a sharp look.

The Loki where an endurance race, she'd give them that- though anyone would rather be turned into a funny little creature than die via exposure to poisonous atmospheres. She wouldn't say where she learned of Toranux or the Loki, but she did know that outside of a host, they were as good as dead.

She'd heard how he'd been dragged from it. Idly, she wondered how he was still alive. The creature he possessed looked familiar- some would have said 'cute' if it hadn't been the expression. What someone looks like is based on their mind as well, what they show on their faces- and all she could see was a dark, slightly unsettled danger behind the green irises. A beast watching furious from its cage, forcing patience upon itself.

At first glance, the mixture of the innocent face and dark expression, and narrowed eyes...some would find it unnerving. Or very weird at least.

Trisby then glared quietly up at him, head lowered and eyes blazing. 'Fan' was not a good word to use on this female.

Another burst of anger shot through her when the Loki decided to grace her with a passive look; as if he was looking at no more than a insignificant mouse in the corner. Or ladybug.

The Loki rose a brow at her, then chuckled inwardly, looking down at his claws while he fiddled with them in an absent manner. "Hm. You lot must be desperate."

Trisby sneered a little. "Says the leech stuck in a pet's body..." She drew the words with a slight amusement. The Loki's gaze snapped back to her. His inward fury showed on his face in a hard stare and he looked ready to lash back out- but instead he forced a small, tapping his fingers together.

"Charming." The smile faded, and he glanced down at Ratchet and Clank. "So it's seems the meddlesome party is down by two members." A deadly sort of grin appeared then.

"How delightful."

The smooth clangs of moving mechanics filled the trio's ears below, and the lights grew bright and ready. The hoverthrone raised up further and the Loki stared down upon them from above, hands behind his back.

"Well, I'm not in the mood for a long confrontation..."

"You sure like talkin' though." Ratchet remarked with a grin.

"Silence, you."

"What does a parasite need with IRIS?" Trisby questioned, though she already knew- villains had a thing about letting on more about their plan when people asked. However, he said nothing, merely frowned back at her. She tried again.

"Doesn't the 'advance' Loki race KNOW more than IRIS?" Trisby tilted her head, speaking softly; but a deadly tone was underneath. The Loki's eyes narrowed.

Just what would SHE know about our race? Toranux had been lost long before her time. He shrugged it off; it made no difference. Though a spark of pride filled his chest knowing that they were still known-somewhat.

But, knowing or not, he had no time for a meddling interloper, as that Spogg would have said...

"Until now I believed the owners of what I need where fools- and they still remain so. Wasted potential of something so powerful...I would have studied it further, but I had...mm, other business." He gave an inward laugh. Then, he straightened up and pressed one of the buttons on his throne.

"I DO hope you enjoy your visit." He crooned slowly, just as the minions- bigger ones; creatures of sharp teeth and advanced weaponised armor, marched towards them. Then, the double canons flipped out from either side of his throne.

The minions, by command, closed in slowly. Ratchet stood with his wrench at the ready. Trisby growled lowly and turned back at him- earning his gaze once more.

"Confident aren't you?" She called, arms out a little in a casual manner- then he scowled, though her mouth twisted into a nasty kind of smile that looked more like a sneer. "I've seen less overdone attempts in video games."

She tapped her chin, glaring up at him as the minions continued moving towards them, "So the mighty Loki wins, hmm?"

The Loki snarled a little, "Do not try to talk down to me." He replied, trying to keep his posture- but Trisby could see anger. Her smirk broadened like a cat who'd spotted a mouse.

"Mmmm...Nope." She turned on her heel, and pulled out a small metal device- which promptly reconfigured- like unfolding paper- into a blaster.

She shot the nearest minion- and the others pounced. Trisby darted back with the quickness of a cheetah, shooting as Ratchet charged forward, hitting them with all he had. The Loki chuckled from above.

"You seem a little taken back." He called down to the female creature, who rolled her eyes, keeping her back to him. "After you and those 'heroes' are gone, I'll be able to resume by business."

Trisby hopped out of the way of a charging minion and rose a brow up at him, craning her neck so she could catch sight of him. He must have liked her having to look up at him like this...the thought made her blood boil.

"The galactic devastation of all living things? Do the Loki only live to muck up other people's lives..." She called, unimpressed as she turned to face him. "Seems like a lil' bit on a superiority delusion..."

That had done it. Ratchet saw it, Clank saw it. There are moments in two people's lives when they meet and almost instantly, they hate each other. It doesn't even take much- but now, it was personal. They shared a long, narrowed gaze, Trisby slightly smirking, The Loki's teeth bore back in a snarl.

Who DID this little...creature think she was?

Simply looking at that subtle smirk upon the female's face made him furious- and affronted. She knew nothing of his race and goal, yet she flounces in here, feeling she could say what she wanted...?

Well. He slammed his fist down on one of the buttons, loading his cannons. The poor, ignorant creature would soon learn her lesson.

He forced a grin down at her, "It seems your fond of confidence, too." He noted, as she began backing up a little, her brow creased in a frown as she gripped her small, weak weapon. He leaned back against the side of his throne, eyebrows raised. "Bu you see, my dear, I make sure that I get what I want in the end...and no primitive little cat is going to stop me."

She gave a sound that sounded almost like a snide giggle, amused by him. He scowled.

"I'd love to see that."

BLAST.

Trisby gave a short yelp and dived out of the way- having expected a retort before fire. Ratchet's eyes widened- he was further away, fighting minions.

"Are you okay?" The Loki's laugh overtook his words.

"How fun! You weren't so smart at that move, where you?" Trisby landed back on her feet and rolled her eyes.

"Oh please. A toddler could've dodged that."

Oh, he hated this creature. The Loki growled lowly to himself and fired again- and every time the pest managed to dodge, muttering insults as she went about his aim.

"I'm getting boo-ored!"

Rage overtook his senses and he gave a loud exclamation. He turned and twisted a key beside him on the throne- and it sent a signal to the overtaken IRIS, and the floor trembled. Trisby stared down at her feet- and the disc-like floor split. Not like in movies, but like one 'ring' at a time. Two 'rings' of the floor fell downwards into darkness- and Ratchet and Clank with it.

Ratchet gave a yelp as he hit the ground of a lower floor- like a basement. The only way out was back up onto the floor above.

Trisby slowly turned back to the Loki, frowning thoughtfully. It seemed he'd sent the fight down below, trapped the two heroes to deal with...after her. He was really raving mad.

She chuckled to herself, dodging another hit. And that's what she wanted. The angrier he was..the more stupid mistakes he'd make. It was actual becoming easier to-

"AH!"

A burn singed her shoulder as one of the blast narrowly missed her. The Loki snickered nearby and she dived away, rolling behind a fallen minion for cover. She re-loaded her blaster just as that cover was incinerated.

Then she was moving sideways again, shooting at him- and annoying, he put up a shield, flashing a smile before turning but to the controls. Brilliant...

The fight continued, and despite her luck in dodging, Trisby couldn't keep this up for long. He wanted her dead, and painfully by the looks of it...

It could sense the danger.

It slid through the hallways, leaving a cold trail behind it as it went outside. The armored one had saved the lombax and his robotic friend...but there was more threat than that.

From the outside, it watched the two spheres in space. Latched onto in a metal embrace, the Magnus-born machine wasn't built by Loki hand.

Not entirely.

So, it went back. Far, to a place in the galaxy more remote. Where the gravity felt disturbed and teh climates mixed and abundant.

In the inky sky of Magnus, nothing suggested its presence as it slipped into the large laboratory, down the hall, into the workspace.

Two tharpod stood, unaware, as the coldness filled the air.

"Moew?"

The tiny muse peered around, large green eyes wide and innocent as the cold brushed his fur. Dinkles looked around, feeling the strange presences that his instinct told him was there.

Nevo didn't seem to notice; he was working hard on something. Then, the computer buzzed. Dinkles tilted his head curiously trotted over and pressed a random button.

The news flashed on, and Nevo turned around. Frumpus blinked.

"Oh...Dinkles, why did you-"

"The IRIS supercomputer appears to have a twin! A giant, moon-like drone hovering nearby..."

Nevo dropped his tool. Then, the two tharpods turned and faced each other, eyes wide. Frumpus looked incredulous.

"So that's where it is!"


Strange presences...O.O Please review. :D Hope you have a good December!