Author's note:

Not as many responses to the last chapter as I thought considering the traffic stats. That said, the reviews have been universally positive, so I guess I must be doing something right. Probably. On another note, this story has just skimmed by the half way mark! I honestly didn't expect to get this far at all, let alone in the space of three months. Yay me!

Review replies:

anonymous - Enough to stuff a pillow, perhaps?

destiny - I actually had the last chapter planned out in my head since before even writing the first, I'm just glad you like it.

Sonachugirl - You have a Ratchet plushie? I wonder if he has a Clank counterpart… There'll be more fluffiness on the way before the end of this story, hopefully it'll live up to your expectations.

TheMountainandTheVolcano - Sorry, I couldn't help myself with Clank's little intervention. Don't worry though, they'll get their moment sooner than you think…

Wow, there are a lot of new favourites and follows this week.

A big shout out to rancorlover and Epically-awesome for adding this story to your favourites along with Ivy Of The Night, violets117, and Sonachugirl (hello again!) who added it to their follows as well. Not forgetting all you regulars as well, thank you one and all.

I'm doing my best to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.

If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.

Bit of a hard act to follow on from the last chapter, but here's chapter 14.

- RevenantReaper337

Disclaimer:

Ratchet & Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 an is used with her kind permission.

'Thoughts'

Flashbacks and inflections on words

"Speech"

Chapter 14:

Palm Trees & Pollution

Jowai Resort, Pokitaru

Solana Galaxy

G2.16.740 Galactic calendar

3:47pm local time

From space, Jowai could almost pass for Earth; assuming that the icecaps melted and the resulting rise in sea levels swamped large portions of land. Another oddity was the large, conical silver dishes in geosynchronous orbit facing the planet. According to Clank, these were solar energy collectors that absorbed light from the sun and channelled it, via means which would require an overly long-winded explanation, into a visible spectrum of light that could be used to illuminate the dark side of the planet and eliminate the night cycle altogether; maintaining the claim of sunshine twenty-four hours a day.

Upon entering the atmosphere, it quickly became apparent as the shuttle flew low over the sparkling blue ocean that things weren't quite as advertised in the infobot commercial. There certainly wasn't any mention of black, modular centipede-like tankers dumping toxic waste into the ocean, nor the constant stream of saucer-like black-painted blarg fighter craft buzzing through the otherwise deep blue sky.

Landing on a raised natural looking wooden dock overlooking the distant resort complex, Ratchet, Ellen, and Clank found that other than the blarg-shaped fly in the ointment, the tropical paradise looked stunning. Palm trees swayed in a gentle, balmy breeze that was comfortably warm, and the ocean gleamed like a thousand diamonds for the most part; other than the areas where patches of glowing green adhered to the surface like oil slick and began to spread. The thick wooden jetty leading away from their ship split in two different directions; the right path ending at a teleporter to the 'scenic Jowai Resort sewers', which Ellen refused to go anywhere near considering her past experience with such places. The left path on the other hand led down to a smaller wooden platform where the Hawaiian shirt wearing novalian from the infobot commercial stood waiting with a relieved look upon his face.

"Hey, you three are the first friendly faces I've seen in weeks! Uh, you are friendly, aren't you?"

"To you, yes," Ratchet smiled reassuringly before leering down at the small robot stood beside him. "To him, no."

The lombax ignored the narrow-eyed glares shot his way from both his companions as the resort owner brightened up. "Well friend, have I got a deal for you! Since the blarg began dumping their toxic sludge into our ocean, the wildlife has... uh..."

"Become ravenous mutants?"

The heavily set novalian cocked a finger before pointing it at the sentient machine who had spoken. "Yeah, you could say that. All my customers either left, or became lunch, so I'm closing the place down. However, I just so happen to have one - count 'em - one O2 mask left."

Ellen folded her arms as she shifted her weight to her right foot. "And I expect you'll want some compensation for this 'gift', right?"

Ratchet merely sighed. "How much?"

The resort owner held the mask protectively to his chest. "It's not for sale."

Clank raised a metallic digit. "But you said-"

The increasingly shifty sounding novalian gestured with his free hand. "I said I had a deal; and indeed I do. You manage to get rid of those blarg ships and it's all yours. Just escort me to the other end of this resort and you can use our jet fighter."

Ellen frowned in consternation. "Why the hell would a holiday resort have a jet fighter lying around?!"

Her voiced concern was ignored by all present though as Ratchet rubbed his chin in thought. "Jet fighter, eh? Alright, but you better not try to stiff us!"

Surprised but elated at being included, Clank turned to glare at the resort owner alongside his lombax companion while a small smile tinged Ellen's lips. Maybe the fuzz ball was learning not to hold a grudge after all. With the little robot returning to his place on Ratchet's back, Ellen walked alongside him with her Blaster drawn as the resort owner brought up the rear. Descending the ramp off of the jetty onto a small sand bar, they got their first good luck at what had happened to the local wildlife.

"Is that a puffer fish? On land?" the sole female of the group asked incredulously. For indeed, the dog-sized, bulbous orange fish flopping around on the sand ahead didn't appear to be affected by being out of water, unlike their smaller Earth-bound counterparts.

"Like your little metal friend said, the sea life started mutating after the blarg dumped their waste in the ocean," the Hawaiian shirt wearing man answered. "Just don't get too close to 'em, they tend to get a bit... bitey."

Be that as it may, the surprisingly robust fish lasted longer under the intense flame of Ratchet's Pyrocitor than expected, but were otherwise cooked in good order. Ellen fired short bursts into a second shoal of spiky fish, only to find that they tended to get back up and turn into spinning, spiny balls bent on perforating her hide before being put down for good. They managed to finish off the mutant amphibians between the two of them, only to be confronted with a four-tentacled purple thing with an elongated neck and a large dome-like cranium covered in a thin, translucent membrane under which the brain could be seen.

Without warning, the quasi-octopus like creature lowered its head and motes of golden energy gathered around its dome moments before a psionic pulse burst towards the group with a harrowing screech. Shoving the novalian they were escorting aside, Ratchet hit the dirt while Ellen rolled away on the opposite side; the energy projectile searing past them and impacting the nearby cliff side, creating a four foot wide imprint that cracked and shattered the solid rock. Not wanting to let the strange creature have a second shot, the lombax charged in with his flamethrower blazing while his human counterpart peppered it with Blaster fire from afar. Thankfully it didn't take long for the purple beast to expire under the combined assault, its body slowly sinking into the depths of the ocean and leaving the area mutant free for the time being.

"What the hell was that thing?" Ellen managed to say between breaths as her thumping heart rate slowly returned to normal levels.

"That would be a psytopus," Clank stated matter of factly. "A native species of Jowai. It would appear to have increased in both size and power since mutating."

The human stared in bewilderment at where the corpse had been. "That's a psytopus? You mean, that's what I ate at that restaurant in Metropolis?"

Ratchet shrugged indifferently. "Didn't hear you complaining then."

Ellen grimaced. "That's before I found out I've been chewing on a bloody psychic octopus."

She gave an involuntary shudder, but otherwise dropped the subject as the resort owner jumped on to an abandoned hover-skiff beached nearby and fired up the anti-gravity engine. "Looks like she still works. I'll drive, you two just make sure nothing tries to take a chunk out of me."

Climbing aboard what was probably a tour vessel at one point, the lombax and human stood back to back amidships waiting for any potential threats to show themselves. They didn't have to wait long, since a wave of the mutant puffer fish began to jump out of the water in an effort to attack the vessel's occupants as the skiff cleared a small protruding rock island. Ratchet swatted away the nearest aquatic creature with his wrench while it was still in mid-air, before switching to his Pyrocitor to douse a pair landing on the rear of the ship. Ellen meanwhile was using a combination of short concentrated bursts from her Blaster to pick off any fish from a distance, while making use of her Versa Blade and the occasional kick on any stragglers that got too close. Passing close to a waterfall near a pair of small sandbars, the attacks intensified from ones and twos to shoals of five or more as the day-glo orange mutants tried to swamp the hover skiff with sheer numbers.

In spite of the increasing odds however, Ratchet and Ellen continued to push back the invading puffer fish despite the overwhelming numbers making it on to the vessel's deck. Taking care of another, the redhead felt a sudden stab of pain as the spines from one of the ballooned beasts tore a rent through her shirt and pierced her skin. With an angered cry, she span low on her foot to jam her knife into the offender before shooting a spiny fish that was about to cannon into Ratchet. The lombax in question had just had a brainwave of sorts and switched to his Suck Cannon, trapping and storing any nearby mutants caught within the pull of its vortex. As the two finally began to gain the upper hand, the skiff ceased moving forward and began to ascend vertically in place; leaving the remaining killer fish behind as the journey ended at a wooden dock jutting from a cliff face with a nearby waterfall cascading into a pool basin before over the edge once more.

Upon leaving the vessel, the group were set upon by a pair of puffer fish backed up by another psytopus just beyond the landing near some palms. Ellen shot the nearest bounding mutant with her machine pistol, the second inadvertently being nailed by a psionic blast from the purple squid-like creature in the rear and allowing her partner to get in close. Not wasting any time, Ratchet tossed a few bombs at the psychokinetic creature which reduced it to sushi before everyone moved up; only to halt at the edge of the expansive pool beneath the waterfall. Dozens of the orange spiny fish blocked their path, floundering in the relatively shallow water against the moderate current.

With both their Bomb Gloves equipped, the human and lombax rained down explosives on the clustered sea life; sending bodies flying and clearing a path to the other side. Wading through the waist high water, flamethrower and Blaster fire finished off any stragglers as Ratchet and Ellen escorted the resort owner down a wood-lined path set between two cliff faces. Descending a set of stairs at the end, they soon found themselves on a plateau covered in lush greenery, with a stunning vista of the surrounding tropical islands and three angry looking, beady-eyed mutant fish waiting for them.

With a gout of flame, Ratchet used his Pyrocitor to engulf the amphibious creatures while Ellen finished them off with a few well placed Blaster shots. The only way forward now was a steady incline leading down to a stretch of beach, broken up by yet another waterfall and even more of the damned persistent puffer fish flopping about on the sand. Moving on, the lombax continued to sweep the tide of mutants with his flamethrower with his human counterpart tossing a few bombs of her own where they were most concentrated. Passing the waterfall, the lombax yelped in surprised pain as one of the fish leapt out of the water to stab him with it's spikes; Ellen quickly running it through with her knife before tearing the body off of her grimacing partner.

"Ratchet, you all right?"

The lombax nodded with a wince. "Yeah, just... give me a sec to heal up." He soon sighed with relief as the Nanotech in his bloodstream went to work, flooding his veins with pain relief and rapidly sealing his puncture wounds until only a few dried specks of blood remained on his fur. "Alright... Let's keep going."

After cleaning out the last of the orange-coloured opposition with a little more caution, the group boarded another hover-skiff beached on the sand and backed out into the crystal clear bay waters. With the resort owner piloting the vessel once again, the lombax and human checked their remaining ammo with more than a hint of concern considering they had burnt a lot of it already. Ellen stuck to her Blaster for the time being, her eyes sweeping the ocean for any more flying fish attempting to strike. Ratchet meanwhile had holstered his almost empty Pyrocitor and retrieved his fully loaded Suck Cannon, intending to both save ammo and recover it at the same time. The relatively peaceful journey was interrupted as the skiff approached a narrow gap through a gulley formed by two opposing coral-sporting rocky islands, with more of the infernal puffer fish beginning their assault anew.

Ratchet's Suck Cannon blasted fish out of the air like clay pigeons with their brethren that he had previously hoovered up; emptying the weapon only to suck up more organic projectiles as they came. Ellen was having a harder time since she didn't have another weapon other than her knife that didn't explode, and so she had to make each of her remaining shots in her dwindling ammo supply count. Because of this, the human resorted to quick two to three round bursts to pick off distant targets before switching back to her Versa Blade or plain putting the boot in when they got too close. Between the two, they barely managed to hold off the swarm of killer fish long enough for their novalian driver to bring the skiff in to rest at a much more impressive looking bronze-decorated metal dock beside the main resort complex.

Glad that particularly stressful little trip was over, the group disembarked and made their way up a set of stairs before crossing a snaking bridge which unpacked itself into a zigzag pattern as they approached. On the other side, Ratchet and Ellen swatted aside a few straggling puffer fish and continued to follow the meandering path around the edge of the resort until they reached a flight of stairs that led to a small shopping plaza lined with abandoned stalls and businesses, as well as a heavy presence of mutant fish occupying the centre. Not wanting to waste any more time, Ellen switched to her Glove of Doom and tossed out a pair of silver egg-shaped canisters into the greatest concentrations; splitting apart to reveal an octad of miniature cackling drones that subsequently began to bite and blow up the mutant wildlife with reckless abandon.

Using the distraction provided by the chaos, Ratchet stormed in with the red-headed human close behind, both paving the way with bullets and fire until they reached a pressure pad that extended a helix-shaped bridge leading deeper into the resort. Crossing over, the lombax used his Suck Cannon once more to blow away the puffer fish waiting on the other side with the high-velocity marine life contained within. Ellen on the other hand was forced to holster her empty machine pistol and rely upon her trusty Bomb Glove for protection as they rounded a corner on the path, finding a cul-de-sac lined with streetlights (odd when you consider that the resort was supposed to be sunny 24/7) and a hanger at the end on the sea front just beyond a shallow swimming pool. Finishing off the remaining mutants, the group breathed a collective sigh of relief as they came to a halt outside the metallic structure.

"Well, we're here, now where's that fighter?" That's Ratchet alright; always to the point.

"Right there in that locked garage," the resort owner gestured to the hanger behind him. "One tourist crashes a jet and wham! Heh, heh... lawsuit!"

Clank tilted his head in thought at the man-sized pillar with a bullseye painted on top just in front of their objective. "That lock is unlike any I have seen."

Ellen frowned as she looked at the structure "That's a lock? How the hell are we supposed to open that?"

The Hawaiian shirt wearing novalian raised a finger. "Very astute observation, Mr. Shiny and little miss redhead. I can't open it either; I don't trust the tourists, and the board of directors sure as heck don't trust me." He gave a nervous chuckle. "So we have a... little problem."

Ratchet snorted with apathy. "We have a little problem? I just want the O2 mask. So if you can't open up the lock, that's your problem!" The lombax's eyes narrowed, Ellen and Clank wearing similarly annoyed expressions as he continued. "Now, cough up the mask!"

The resort owner waved his hands in front of him in a placating manner. "Now hold on a minute. I can see that you really want to fly our jet, so I'll tell you what. Go talk to Bob in his Roboshack. He knows about these locks."

United in their plummeting opinion of the increasingly grating novalian, the team of three set off to a nearby shop with a familiar rotating sign of a robot holding a wrench over its head on top. To be brutally honest, it would have been so much easier to take the mask by force; but both organics and robot had a much better moral compass than that. And so it was that they found themselves inside another Roboshack branch with a sense of déjà vu, especially considering who was behind the counter.

"Well, well... whadda we got here?" Aside from being significantly thinner and the twang of a southern accent, the butter-yellow alien looked surprisingly similar to Al from Metropolis, right down to the white lab coat, glasses, and monocular eyepiece set atop his head. Without warning, he grabbed a startled Clank from where he stood before depositing the robot on the counter top.

"Hey, watch it!"

The store owner, presumably Bob, ignored the metal digit pointed at his face in favour of scrutinising the minute sentient machine. "Ah recognise that work. Y'all been to see Al, ain'tcha?"

Ratchet nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he installed the Heli-Pack."

Bob gave a small chuckle. "Ah kin see that. Ah taught that idjit brother of mine everythang he knows." He leaned on the counter with one arm while directing his attention towards the lombax and human. "Look, if you want some real hardware, ah kin fix this lil' feller up with a Thruster Pack!"

Clank made an appreciative noise while Ellen stepped into the conversation. "I don't suppose that would help us get past that weird lock next to the fighter hanger by any chance?"

Clank took the opportunity to climb down from the counter while the proprietor cupped his chin in contemplation. "Ah, so you know about those gizmos, huh? It sure as heck will! It's got a real special power slam move built raht in!"

Ratchet gave his robotic companion a poignant look. "It's a good thing I need it to get to that jet, or you'd be outta luck, pal!"

A few thousand bolts transaction later and Bob reached over once again to pick up Clank, only for the small robot to pre-empt him. "I have got it." Using his Heli-Pack rotors, he flew up on to the counter where the store owner was already laying out his tools.

"Ah'll have you fixed up faster'n a horny toad a hoppin'!" Less than a minute of work later, the upgrade was installed and the little silver robot turned around to show off his new wings. "There ya are lil' buddy! Better'n new!"

Clank gave Ratchet a knowing look. "That is right, I am 'da man!'"

The lombax in question merely stretched with a yawn. "Yeah... not bad."

Returning to the fighter hanger, Clank triggered the thrusters on his new upgrade to propel both himself and Ratchet up into the air before a burst of acceleration brought them both crashing down on top of the pressure sensitive lock with enough force to make Ellen wince. The pillar slammed into the ground and the shutter-like door on the hanger slid open to reveal a bright orange and white-trimmed quasi delta-winged fighter aircraft sporting two thrusters at the rear, and another pair mounted in tandem with a machine gun on each of the wings.

Ellen couldn't keep the incredulousness from her tone as she echoed her earlier question. "Again, I have to ask, why exactly is there a fighter jet at a holiday resort?"

"I got it cheap from a blargian trader," the resort owner interjected. "Figured I'd make a profit from letting tourists take a ride. Trouble is, you need a special kind of helmet to make it fly, and it doesn't exactly work with just anyone. Probably why the last guy ditched it in the ocean and tried to sue the resort." He gave a dry chuckle. "Just as well we got him on a counter claim for damaging resort property."

"Helmet, huh? You mean like this one?"

The novalian squinted at the silver protective head gear held in the lombax's hands before replying. "Yeah, that's it all right." Pausing only to clap his hands together, the resort owner continued as he made his way back out of the hanger. "Well, I'll leave you three to it. Just come and see me when you're done with the blarg. Oh, and try not to wreck the jet. it's still company property."

Once he was out of sight, Ratchet gestured towards Ellen and the two inspected the exterior of the aircraft for anything that might tear off or blow up in flight, or at least the lombax did. Ellen frankly didn't know what the hell to look for, seeing as her knowledge of spaceships and airplanes in general wouldn't be enough to fill the back of a postage stamp. Instead she tried to learn from Ratchet as they carried on, while Clank sat in the cockpit and went through the instruments and controls for any defects. After concluding that there was less chance of the fighter breaking apart in mid-air than Ratchet executing a perfect landing on Novalis, Ratchet hopped into the pilot's seat with Ellen and Clank managing to squeeze into the cramped rear seat of the tandem-crewed aircraft.

"Kay, let's see... Fuel tanks are filled, avionics a-ok, ejector seats... Ah, who needs 'em?"

Ellen looked down at Clank as he balanced on her lap with the seat's harness stretched to accommodate him. "Should I be worried?"

The minute machine looked back at her apologetically. "Considering Ratchet has a dubious track record with flying vessels so far? Most likely."

Her reply stilled on her lips as the canopy descended to seal the cockpit and the fighter rolled forward out of the hanger. "Alright, let's see what this baby can do. You might want to hang on to something back there."

Cue human and robot bracing for the worst as Ratchet punched the throttle and sent the orange blargian-built aircraft into a near vertical climb. Levelling out around 500 feet, the lombax banked smoothly to the left and set course for the largest concentration of blarg tankers while Clank began to push buttons on the flat screen displays in front of him and his human companion. "What're you doing? Actually, what're we supposed to be doing in the first place?"

The little silver robot answered without missing a beat, the screens in front of him lighting up with numerous statistics and a radar display in the centre. "I am making sure that the weapon systems are activated. We are currently seated in the radar intercept officer's position, and thus are responsible for locating threats to the aircraft as well as assisting in targeting missiles for the pilot while he is otherwise engaged."

"So we get to shoot stuff while Ratchet does his best to make me redecorate the cockpit with whatever's left of my breakfast?"

"More or less."

Ellen sighed. "Wonderful.

Their lombax pilot's voice interrupted their some what pessimistic banter as he punched the throttle. "You guys ready back there? We're going in!"

Heading straight at the nearest tanker, Ratchet strafed the length of the centipede-like machine with gunfire before quickly diving to avoid a collision. Bleeding off speed, the fighter banked hard right; bringing it up behind another tanker and off to one side. While the lombax lined up to bring his guns to bear, Ellen - with Clank's help - managed to bring up the targeting reticule for the multitude of missiles recessed in the belly of the aircraft. As soon as the flashing green sight turned red with a solid negative tone, She pushed the ominous little red button on her right arm rest; a missile ejecting from the launch bay a split second later and streaked towards its target. Their golden-furred pilot had managed to destroy two of the tanker's cargo modules, the missile adding a third just before the jet overshot the much slower moving vessel.

Wrenching the fighter into a high-G turn, the lombax soon lined up yet another tanker with enough range for Ellen and Clank to get some good shots in. Missile after missile flew on a plume of smoke to impact the oddly graceful vessel with a shower of rent metal and burning debris. As soon as they were in range, Ratchet opened up with the machine guns to finish the job, culminating in the destruction of the 'cab' pulling the cargo modules that made up a bulk of each tanker. The blarg hadn't been idle during the attack though; their oddly saucer-like agile fighter craft barrelling down from above to eliminate the one interfering with their operation. Fortunately their numbers counted against them in such a tightly packed environment, making it difficult to target the orange jet as it flitted between the swarm of manoeuvring fighters while gunning down any that stood directly in its path, before latching on to another of the centipede like waste carriers.

At such a stupidly close range, Ellen simply dumb-fired missiles at the tanker without bothering to wait for a solid lock-on. With a concertina effect, the combination of heavy calibre machine guns and makeshift rockets shredded each module from the rear of the vessel up to the cab towing it. Barrel rolling through the resulting explosion - just because - the jolt of plasma striking the port wing forced Ratchet to go evasive as more blarg fighters pursued with fervour.

"There are two enemy aircraft on our tail, I recommend evasive manoeuvres."

The lombax pilot rolled his eyes at Clank stating the obvious. "Oh really, ya think? Just watch me lose these guys."

So saying, he inverted the orange fighter and dove towards the expanse of water below with the blargians close behind firing all the way. Stray plasma whipped by far too close to the cockpit for Ellen's liking as Ratchet finally pulled up from his power dive a scant few feet off the oceans surface, before weaving in and out of scattered islets and palm-covered sand bars at a ridiculous speed. The lead blargian misjudged his distance as he attempted to follow through a narrow gorge formed between two tall rock formations, realising at the last second that his wider craft couldn't make it through and forcing him to eject. His wingman simply flew over the top of the obstacle however and continued his dogged pursuit anew.

"Uh, Ratchet...?"

"Not now, I'm kinda busy here!" He bled off speed as he prepared to make a tight turn; the already damaged port wing clipping a rock formation as the two-man fighter squeezed past it and took off the wing tip in the process. "Oops."

"Really not filling me with confidence back here."

The rain of plasma striking the ocean surface around them shut down any further conversation, Ratchet yanking the fighter back into a half loop to face their attacker before rolling back up the right way. The second blarg ship popped its airbrakes and attempted to draw a bead on the orange aircraft, only to fail as a hastily launched missile reduced it to flaming debris. Breathing a collective sigh of relief all round, the borrowed fighter was reoriented back on the remaining tankers with the afterburners lit and weapons ready.

Having only six missiles left, they really had to make each one count. With Clank's fine tuning of the radar system, Ellen locked onto the first waste carrier to cross their path and triggered a couple of missiles to strike amidships while Ratchet jinked to avoid incoming fire and return his own. Speeding past the crippled vessel, the lombax engaged the airbrakes and pulled the fighter into a gut wrenchingly tight turn before going to town with his guns and finished it off. Kicking the rudder, he spun into a corkscrew to avoid a head on attack from a blargian fighter and put holes in his wingman with the mounted machine guns, while Ellen tracked and downed another fighter with another missile shot.

With the fighter screen scattered, the route to the last remaining centipede-like tanker was simpler, but hardly clear. Pushing the throttle to maximum, Ratchet sought to close the distance as rapidly as possible to prevent any interference during their attack run. With the flexible serpentine vessel filling her view screen, Ellen fired off the remaining missiles as quickly as she could acquire each lock-on. The three fiery spears slammed into their respective targets, followed by a swathe of gunfire just before the high-velocity orange streak of a fighter blew by; the damage caused catastrophic, but not enough to completely destroy the now burning vessel.

The Nearest squadron of blarg fighters came screaming in with weapons blazing a trail of plasma bolts at the constantly dodging orange-painted interloper in their midst, reducing Ellen and Clank to being spectators in the ensuing furball as they clung on for dear life. Ratchet practically made their aircraft dance in a maelstrom of gunfire and flaming wreckage; each opposing fighter going down one after the other in an unchoreographed aerial ballet until the attackers were squadron was no more.

Once the last hostile ship was sent spiralling down to the ocean below, Ratchet pulled the fighter around for one last strafing run. The tanker they had previously hit was now limping low over the ocean, attempting to escape the immediate area for who knows where. Not giving the blarg vessel a chance, the lombax pulled into another power dive and held down the trigger as hundreds of rounds perforated the weakened hull plating and tore it apart; the waste carrier splashing down into the ocean with a final groan of twisted metal before slowly vanishing without a trace beneath the calm waters. With nothing left to protect, the remaining blargian fighters bugged out and presumably headed back to their base while a slightly worse for wear orange and white-trimmed aircraft was brought back to the resort so that the occupants could claim their prize.

The landing was surprisingly smooth all thoughts considered, the canopy popping open as they slowed to a halt and allowing Ellen to take a breath of clean ocean air. Once the jet was safely parked back in the hanger, the three crew members found the resort owner waiting for them with the O2 mask tucked under his arm. "Well, I guess that should do it. Here you go."

Tossing it into the waiting lombax's hands, Ratchet clutched the mask with a combination of relief and exasperation etched on to his face. "It's about time."

Nodding in agreement, Ellen watched the novalian walking away with a furrowed brow. Having the O2 mask was all fine and well, but there was only one between the pair of them; not a lot of good unless one or the other stayed in the ship when they returned to explore Orxon. Thinking about it, her eyes suddenly lit up with realisation. If they couldn't buy or earn another O2 mask, why not make one instead? Since Al had helped with her Grapple Gun idea, maybe his brother would have a similar solution for her problem. After conveying her concern to Ratchet and Clank, the three trekked back to Bob's Roboshack to pay him a second visit.

"Well if it aint you three again. What can ah do ya for?"

After thrashing out the details and making a part payment using the multitude of scrap electronics the human had 'borrowed' from the blarg depot, Bob told the three to come back in a few hours and set to work. With nothing but time on their hands and a deserted tropical paradise resort at hand, Ratchet made a suggestion. "Why don't we take the rest of the day off, chill out a little?"

Clank shook his head vehemently. "The galaxy is in danger, we have no time for such trivial matters."

Ellen however rubbed her chin in thought. "Actually, he's got a point. We've spent the last three days or so getting shot at, maybe we should have some time to ourselves to rest. We can't go anywhere until Bob's finished, and I don't know about you, but I could do with getting something to eat."

Ratchet grinned in return at the smallest member of their group. "Sorry pal, you're outvoted."

The little silver robot paused in thought for a moment before finally giving a shrug. "Very well, but only until Ellen's new equipment is completed."

With that, the three set out to enjoy the sights and sounds of Jowai Resort, minus the mutant wildlife and blarg polluters. A whole day with the place to themselves.

"This is gonna be sweet!"

A short break for our heroes and a chance for Ratchet and Ellen to solidify their new relationship? All coming up next time…

Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they're posted and/or updated.

Thanks for reading

- RevenantReaper337