Chapter 9: Power Play
Ratchet could still feel the explosion, even though he had placed plugs in his ears. His hands were currently over Kyra's ears as Angela detonated the explosives they had placed on the vehicles that recharged the lockdown guards.
After the dust had cleared, Ratchet looked up, feeling a little better than the last time they had blew up the recharging stations. He saw that nearly all of the robots had been destroyed, although a few had escaped and were pointing their guns at him. After a quick count, he now knew that there were six of them.
"What's going on?" cried Angela, feeling weak from the explosion, and when she saw the lockdown guards, she fainted immediately.
"A lot of help you are," Ratchet said sarcastically to the limp body of Angela, taking the fact that they had been defeated lightly. "So, what's going to happen now?" The droids were obviously confused at Ratchet's behaviour.
"We're going to kill you," one at the front of the pack said. "You destroyed our kind and we'll now destroy your kind. Starting with her." The robot pointed his gun at the crying baby's face.
"Well, that's nice," said Ratchet, whipping a small silver gun out of his belt and firing it twice towards the group. The robots all deactivated, and he shushed Kyra to sleep. He then wondered how he was able to hear the robots with the earplugs. He felt around his ears and noticed they were gone.
"Ratchet…" muttered Angela, stirring from her unconsciousness. The male Lombax looked down near Angela, and found one of his yellow earplugs, which were previously white until he had placed them in his ears. The explosion had popped them off.
"Angela, I'm here," muttered Ratchet, helping the weak furry creature to sit up. Angela moaned, and tried to stand up, however Ratchet stopped her.
"Lemme puke," Angela cried, and suddenly Ratchet was as far away from her as possible. She leaned over to the side away from Ratchet, and regrettably listened to the retching sounds that come out of her mouth. Spontaneously, she remembered that Wormy was on that side, and when she looked at the yellow mess, she spotted the black Worm-droid floating inside.
"SORRY, WORMY!" she yelled. Ratchet crawled back around the corner, and picked up Kyra from her resting spot at the stall. Angela was disgusted as she picked Wormy out of the vomit, and cleaned it off him. From the weak sounds he was making, it didn't look like he appreciated being covered in Angela's puke.
"We need to get out of here," Ratchet stated, keeping his distance from the sick Angela.
"I'm feeling better now," Angela responded, and she slowly stood up. Her balance was a little wobbly, but she remained stable after a while. "Well, that's all of them." The two had rushed around Silver City all day, destroying the three remaining groups of recharging stations, and they knew that most of the droids had been blown up, but there might have been a few droids straying from the main groups. The robots Ratchet had deactivated we're still a threat, as they could activate any time soon.
"What if Champio sends more guards down?" asked Angela suddenly, and Ratchet felt as if their work had gone to waste.
"What do you think Corrina is doing right now? She's probably on that big ship right now taking care of things. Plus, we learnt when Champio was broadcasting on that computer that the droids would be doing weekly rounds, so we've probably got five or six more days until more robots are sent. We can free the people by then."
"I guess," Angela agreed, however she wasn't completely sure.
"What should we do now?" asked Ratchet as he scooped up Kyra and led Angela down an alleyway.
"I think we should get back to Guy," Angela muttered. "Looks like the power isn't back on."
"Yeah, he might be having a tough time with the fact that there's no way through the place without something that hovers," Ratchet laughed. "I'm glad we chose to blow stuff up."
"That's a little mean," said Angela. "You know, I feel weird talking around you." Ratchet looked at her confused.
"How do you mean?" he asked.
"It's just I've never met a Lombax in my entire life," answered Angela.
"Me neither. Unless you count my parents, who I don't even remember."
"What do you mean you don't remember them? Actually, now I think about it, I never got to learn of your past."
"I was abandoned as a child," said Ratchet, answering the first question. "I grew up in Kyzil Plateau, where a few local families helped to take care of me. I made friends with the children of those families, but they all left to explore space. I never met another Lombax."
"Our species must be rare then."
"Well, that sucks because ever since I was little, I wished that I'd be able to find more Lombaxes, and possibly have one of them be my girlfriend," Ratchet answered. "But that wish looks grim. Anyway I-"
"There's always me," whispered Angela, stopping along with Ratchet, and she began to lean in for a kiss.
"No, Angela, I don't mean-" Ratchet's voice was muffled as Angela covered his mouth with his lips. He fought back first, but then started to enjoy it, and they continued snogging for a few seconds. He then realised that he loved Corrina, and was trying to tell her that, and he pulled back immediately.
"Why did you do that?" panted Ratchet.
"I thought you meant...I'm sorry!" cried Angela.
"No, it's my fault. I misguided you, and didn't correct you quick enough."
"And I also forgot that you love Corrina," the female Lombax muttered.
"What? How did you know that?"
"Don't you remember when you yelled after Corrina was captured? It blatantly told us that you love her with out actually saying the words."
"Oh," moaned Ratchet, his panting stopping. He looked forward. "Hey, we're nearly there." Ratchet walked out of the alleyway, and was on the familiar path that was right near where Ratchet had parked his Star Explorer during his last adventure, and where it was parked right now, however Guy wouldn't have recognised it.
"Come on!" Ratchet yelled, trying to forget about what Angela did. He liked Angela, but only as his friend. Corrina was the one he wanted. He rushed with Angela down the steps on the landing pad that looked more like a garden. He was glad that a bridge that connected the pad to the entrance of the underground highways, where Guy was trying to connect the power.
Corrina was disappointed for Mandy Yord when she walked back in with a frown on her face. She could tell by that frown that Mandy hadn't been permitted to leave the Pillblin Fighting League. Corrina opened her mouth to speak, but the short woman walked straight past her and headed into the sleeping quarters.
Corrina had woken up half an hour ago, and she was now eating a horrible dinner provided for her. She looked at the clock and it read 5:23pm, so she knew that back on Silver City the sky would be starting to turn grey. There was still about half of the mushy food on her plate, and she knew she couldn't stomach it all.
Corrina moved to the sleeping quarters, wondering if she could talk to Mandy, however, when she went inside, Mandy was fast asleep. She didn't even hear the guard coming inside to announce the next battle. Corrina decided to find Svim, just to have someone to talk to, but when she came out, he and Baws were missing.
"Where's Baws?" Corrina asked to no-one in particular, guessing that Svim was getting medical attention, but one of the men Dyril was talking to was kind enough to hear the question,
"He's battling with Scrawny," he answered, and Corrina would have expected him to begin to talk to Dyril and his other friend again, but the man's attention seemed focused on her body. "I don't believe we've met. My name's Flint."
"Corrina," she replied, knowing that Flint was interested in her. He's kind of cute. Masculine, but caring enough. But when I look at him, all I can think of is Ratchet. Flint reached a hand out, and Corrina shook it swiftly.
"I thought you'd be just like Mandy, but you're a lot prettier," Flint said. Corrina felt like blushing, but made sure it didn't happen.
"Thanks. So who do you think will win between the two? And who's Scrawny?" They began to move to the two Holo-visions that were situated on the wall that had the door on it. Corrina looked back at Dyril, wondering if he didn't like her, and Flint noticed this.
"Don't worry about Dyril," Flint assured. "He knows that in everyone's head, when you're in the arena, you want to kill them, but out of the arena you're on good terms with them, like the fight never happened. Unless you were already on bad terms before." Corrina was relieved, and turned back to the Holo-visions.
"Oh, yeah," said Flint, remembering the question Corrina had asked. "Baws will win definitely. He's never been defeated. On the other hand, Scrawny's nickname tells you everything about him, and he hasn't won a single match, so I feel he'll be leaving soon, unless the audience likes comedic effect. That probably why Champio chose him."
"I wonder if I'll face Baws," Corrina muttered.
"If you do, you'll win no doubt," Flint complimented.
"Thanks," Corrina smiled. Their conversation was interrupted by the audience's cheers as Baws picked up the weak Scrawny and threw him out of the arena. Scrawny fell for a bit until he was teleported back onto the arena, although from a height the force from the impact stood. Scrawny then placed his hand up.
Corrina knew the fight had finished and she began to walk off with Flint to the table. As soon as Corrina sat, Mandy staggered out of the sleeping quarters, not being able to get much sleep. "Hey, you okay?"
"Miserable," answered Mandy, sitting down next to Corrina. "I hope I only have one battle left." The three talked for five more minutes until both Baws and Scrawny were escorted in, and everyone listened as the guard began to speak.
"Miss Tars and Miss Yord, you are next in the arena. You have 15 minutes to prepare."
Guy had already swung across monkey bars down the left path, to no avail, and was almost back at the crossroads when he noticed two Lombaxes talking at the entranced to where he came in. "Bloody hell, where have you two been?"
Ratchet and Angela were shocked at Guy's behaviour, and didn't dare to laugh when they saw how silly he looked swinging across the bars. They waited patiently as Guy jumped down and rested his arms.
"I have a present of you," said Ratchet as pleasantly as he could, pulling out a Momentum Glider from behind his back.
"You use it," panted Guy. "I can't handle this anymore." Ratchet shrugged to Angela and she helped put the Glider on Ratchet.
"Which path?" asked Ratchet to Guy, and quickly pointed to the right.
"Wish me luck," Ratchet yelled jumping out hearing that familiar sound when the Glider activated and he felt like he was swimming in air. The Glider was obviously much faster than climbing on the bars, and Ratchet was through the winding path and onto the platform in less than a couple of minutes.
As soon as the Lombax landed, Ratchet noticed a huge light bulb, shaped like a cylinder that was almost camouflaged because it was deactivated. He looked around for a switch, and could barely make out the dusted red handle on the right side of the wall.
Ratchet awkwardly ran over to the switch and whacked in downwards. The bulb immediately sprang to life, and a sea of lights lit up Silver City as the sun gave up its natural light. Ratchet was blinded by the purple electricity that was flowing into the bulb, and immediately began to glide back.
As Ratchet glided back towards Guy and Angela, he seemed to be racing the lights as they came on. Gradually, the furry figure of Angela into view, but Guy was camouflaged due to his dark suit. Angela had a look of glee on her face as Ratchet glided with the lights, making the area much more visible.
The first thing that nearly every citizen of Silver City did was try to find an explanation for the sudden restoration of power on their laptops and computers. However, all they could find were rants by Champio and his supporters. Just when some were starting to not bother, Guy Milligan appeared onscreen.
"People of Silver City, I am local newspaper reporter Guy Milligan." Guy was still in the underground highways as the background was dark. "I escaped this lockdown with a few other people. The radiation is a hoax. The bomb was not nuclear. We have restored power to the city, and it is rid of the guards. However, we will know that more will arrive in six days maximum. If you decide to leave your homes, do not stray far, and if you see any sign of a huge ship coming into the atmosphere, run."
"In these remaining five or six days, us, the group that escaped will try to destroy the field preventing escape and hopeful overthrow Champio in the process. If robots arrive, we'll send a message throughout all computers saying to get back safely in your homes. A quick warning is that at least six more robots are out in Silver City. If you want to leave your homes, bring a weapon just in case, preferably a projectile. If you have any information that will be useful to our cause, please send us a message. We'll keep this window open, but you can go back to your computer business."
With that, the window reduced in size, and was now able to be minimised and closed. Guy waited for a few seconds on his laptop that was in his backpack, stolen from one of the shops during Guy and Angela's morning raid. Ratchet and Angela were unseen in the window, but were listening to every Guy said.
"I have information," said a voice that was only familiar to Angela. She bumped Guy out of the way and saw another window containing Angela's local butcher, Eric.
"Eric! Out of all the people, you have information?"
"Angela? You're a part of this group?" he asked, almost as shocked the Lombax.
"Well, I kind of got stuck trying to escape and I had to return the favour to Guy, Corrina and Luci."
"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Eric. "Do you mean Corrina Tars?"
"How do you know Corrina?" asked Ratchet, coming into view.
"She was my wife until about a year ago, where I messed up when reacting to her pregnancy, and she left me," Eric shamefully answered.
"So you were the jerk who left her?" snapped Ratchet. Eric was a bit shocked, but didn't show it. He assumed that Ratchet was Corrina's new boyfriend or something and took the outburst lightly.
"She's actually calling me a jerk? Wow, I must have messed up real bad," Eric answered. Ratchet felt a little sorry for the butcher, and regretted yelling at him. "Can I see her?"
"Ummm, about Corrina…" Ratchet muttered.
"Champio got her? I heard a rumour that someone was taken during the assault on the Clock Tower, and when Angela mentioned Corrina, I got a hunch it was her. Angela, is that your baby?" The female Lombax forgot she was handling the sleeping Kyra, and even forgot that she had a bottle in her pocket, ready to feed her when she woke up.
"No, she's not mine," said Angela, bringing Kyra sleeping body up to the camera. "Say hi to your daughter, Kyra." Eric was close to tears when he realised that it was his child, and wanted to hold her.
"Carrying Kyra around must be tough and dangerous, so why don't you leave her at my place?" pleaded Eric.
"Will Corrina approve of that?" asked Ratchet, a little hostile of the butcher.
"Corrina knows that it's not in my nature to harm anyone close to me, so she'll still be mad but will know I took care of her."
"Okay, we'll drop her off, and then we'll go…" Angela stopped when she remembered that Eric had information to tell. "What info do you have for us?"
"Oh yeah, I knew I was forgetting something," Eric said. Guy was getting anxious. "One of the members of Champio's party visited about a week ago. He let a few secrets off to me, such as a hidden switch in the city to turn the field off. He told me the field was for security reasons in case of stolen ships escaping, but something told me he was lying."
"Apparently, they've hijacked one of those old robots of Abercrombie Fizzwidget to respond to their messages in case they want the field turned off. However if any other people try convincing him of something, he'll run. He's currently in the Gravitron Building in the east part of the city, and I've heard the switch is through a gravity maze that only robots can go across, due to their circuitry allowing the gravity to work, because if you walk in there with a robot, the gravity goes only one way."
"You may be able to ride on the robots back if you can reprogram him, but you'll need to find some robots of your own. Maybe with one of those six droids that are around. That's about all the information I have."
"Thanks a lot, Eric," said Angela. "I'll put in a good word with Corrina after we rescue her."
"Cheers!" exclaimed Eric happily, and the window closed. Before anyone could say anything, Guy forced his window onto every computer in the city using a hijacking program.
"We have a new announcement, thanks to information given," Guy spoke in his rich, deep voice. "If you come across one of the lockdown guards throughout the city, if it is possible we would like you to deactivate and reprogram it so it is no longer hostile. Deactivating it will be good enough if you have no reprogramming skills."
"We understand that this would be difficult, so if you have any droids that we are able to ride on, they would be helpful. We will only need two, possibly three. Thanks for your help." After Guy had finished his speech, a car hovered past on the highway, causing the three to smile at the inhabitants cheered for them.
"So, you ready to leave?" asked Guy, looking back at the now active elevator waiting for them. The two Lombaxes nodded, and stepped onto the elevator. As it was going up, Guy remained quiet but Ratchet and Angela chatted to each other.
"Will you need a robot because don't you have Gravity Boots?" she asked to him.
"One, the gravity in the maze only works for robot's circuitry and two, I didn't bring them," answered Ratchet firmly, as if he was expecting the question. The elevator reached the top quickly, and a silver lockdown guard waited for them at the top.
"Oh, hi there," said Ratchet calmly. "We've been looking for you. Thanks for rising to the occasion." As the droid expected, Ratchet whipped out his electric gun. The robot lifted his leg up and kicked it away.
"We've been monitoring your tactics," the guard said in a scrambled, strange voice. Ratchet felt defeated, and no-one but Angela realised that Wormy was scuttling to the electric gun behind them. Angela waited patiently as Ratchet reasoned with the droid, and opened her hand.
Wormy made an "mmph" noise as he tossed the gun upwards, leaving Angela to snatch it out of the air and fire at the robot. "Good job, Angela," said Guy and went behind the guard and opened a door on its back. Ratchet and Guy worked together to reprogram the robot, and eventually they both thought the droid was no longer hostile.
"Let's fire this baby up," mentioned Ratchet, and he bonked it with his wrench to start it back up. The guard powered up, and it looked blankly at Ratchet. "Hmmm…" Ratchet jumped to the left, and the robot followed him with its eyes. Ratchet took two steps back, and the droid took two steps towards him. "He's harmless."
"That's one robot down," said Angela. A loud whistling sound took the three's attention. They all looked up at the source and found a wrecked spaceship plummeted down towards the ocean near them. "That thing must have crashed through the field! They're mad." As the ship neared, the top of it opened and a tiny figure jumped out, gliding slowly over towards them.
"Who is that?" asked Guy, being the only one able to see the body of a silver robot, except it had green eyes, a single antenna, and a Heli-pack installed. As the floating figure came closer, Ratchet and Angela both simultaneously realised that their old robot friend had come to help.
Clank touched down in the middle of the triangle that the three made, and only Guy was wondering who this robot was. "Clank, you're crazy!" yelled Angela in a way that sounded angry, but at the same time happy to be back with their old friend.
"How did you know we needed a robot?" asked Ratchet.
"You know how I joined the Megacorp Electronic Hijacking Taskforce a month ago?" Clank said in his robotic voice.
"The MEHT, yes," Ratchet nodded.
"I tapped into a transmission given by this man over here." He pointed at Guy, who was waiting to ask about Clank. "It was coming from Silver City, and I was shocked to find that power had returned, and I listened in to see what he was doing. But when I saw you and Angela come into the picture while talking to that butcher, I knew I was missing out on an adventure, and I thought I'd become one of the three droids you needed."
"I managed to convince the Taskforce to not fine you for hijacking because they were helping the cause of freeing Silver City, which many in the MEHT agreed to, and so they let me go down to the planet to help you. I'm surprised they spared one of their ships."
"Oh, now I remember you!" exclaimed Guy, shifting the attention to him. "You're the sidekick!" Clank looked at him angrily. "No wait, you're the hero and Ratchet's just the butler or something." Now Ratchet looked at him angrily. "Do I have to say you're both equally awesome?" The two nodded. "Crud."
"So, shall we set off to that butcher's place?" asked Clank. The three nodded once. "I have a lot to learn on the way."
