Author's note:

Sorry for the delay again everyone. This chapter took a lot longer than I anticipated to bring to a close, mainly down to it being incredibly hard to write the hoverboard racing part in a way that isn't mechanical and boring. Still, I preserved and hopefully the end result will live up to your expectations despite having to rush a little in order to finish on time.

Review replies:

GrimlockX4 - That's alright, I like to mention everyone who favourites and follows as a sign of my appreciation for supporting my story since it is they along with the numerous reviews that keep me writing. Happy birthday by the way, I hope you enjoy the HD collection. I'm glad I could inspire a fellow author, can't wait to see what you come up with in the future. Thanks again.

dablackwyrm - Hello again my consistently reviewing friend. I have to admit it would be interesting to see a DmC style game but with Insomniac's penchant for weird and wonderfully over the top weapons thrown in to the mix. Fuse doesn't really count seeing as it plays more like a traditional third person shooter, though the unique weapons and close combat takedowns could make it a contender if Insomniac ever get round to making a sequel (fingers crossed). I've tried to give the two leads distinct fighting styles that compliment each other; Ellen's long range and precision and Ratchet's up close and personal brand of flamboyancy based on the way I tend to play.

Thanks for the reassurance, though I figure I wasn't being punctual in both senses of the word considering how late I was updating. I looked up 'as you wish' from the Mother 3 OST and can see it suiting Ratchet and Ellen's little break on Pokitaru quite well. Taking your advice to heart, I eventually plan on having a variety of tracks taken from a broad spectrum of media to suit each individual chapter, though not until this story is truly finished seeing as time is at a premium for me right now.

It's almost become a cliché of game design to give you the item that would have made life easier after you need it; probably to make subsequent replays easier, but surely you'd want more of a challenge not less? I have in fact played and completed all of the Ratchet and Clank games to date except for All 4 One and Full Frontal Assault (Q-Force for PAL release) which is on my to do list. You might have noted some hints in earlier chapters of Ratchet considering his existence, something I personally think would be on his mind instead of waiting till Tools of Destruction to explore his origins. You're right though, If I ever decide to write for the PS3 games then that'll definitely be an underlying plot thread.

Capser - Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm afraid I still can't find any sign on of your friend's profile or story, despite checking the search bar and combing through the story achieve manually. You mentioned her story is on '.com' in your review, so I'm guessing it may not be on this site. I'd still like to read what she's posted so far, so if you could include either a web address for the site it's posted on, a pasted link, or a story name I can search for in a review or PM then I'd appreciate it very much. Thank you once again.

destiny - Glad you approve, hope this one lives up to your expectations too.

Sonachugirl - Giant Clank is a bit of an oddity. In the first two games Clank needs an enlarging machine in order to change in to his hulking alter ego, but in the third he is clearly seen transforming between the two states in Holostar studios at will without any assistance. There doesn't seem to be any explanation as to why he couldn't do the same in the following games, though I suspect it might have something to do with preventing Clank going on a rampage when our heroes are 'guests' of Gleeman Vox during the events of Ratchet: Gladiator/Deadlocked. Perhaps the circuitry giving him the ability was removed?

Have to agree with you, drek's robots aren't exactly the sharpest knives in the draw; the cardboard box trick from MGS should work a charm on them. Actually, that'd be pretty funny to see… To be honest, if the game made them half smart then the entire factory level would be ridiculously difficult considering the lack of places to run to or hide. Ah, game logic; don't you just love it? Anyway, nice to hear from you again. Take care.

A big thank you to GoldenLombaxGirl and Kairi671 for adding this story to their favourites and follows, not forgetting the rest of you wonderful people who collectively keep me writing this story little by little every day.

If the story has gone off on a tangent I'd rather you let me know than not, 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.

If you'll excuse me, I need to go down a gallon of coffee to wake me up. In the meantime, here's Chapter 21

- 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 21:

Gadgetron & Gizmos

Gadgetron Site, Kalebo III

Solana Galaxy

G2.16.741 Galactic calendar

10:15am local time

If the city of Metropolis on planet Kerwan was impressive, then the site of Gadgetron's main headquarters was something else altogether. The planet looked a lot like Earth from orbit bar the different continents, but the surface couldn't be any more different. passing over the predominantly green land masses, Ratchet piloted the stolen starfighter to the given coordinates just off the coast of the largest continent with increasing dubiousness. "Hey Clank, you sure these this is the right heading? All I see is ocean."

Ellen hummed in thought. "He does have a point, maybe the coordinates were off?"

Clank simply shook his head. "I am quite certain. With our current course and speed we should reach our destination in approximately 3.2 minutes."

Long seconds ticked by as they continued to fly over the crystal clear ocean through blue skies filled with fluffy white clouds, until finally, they saw it.

A series of large jagged peaks protruded from the sea in a roughly circular pattern of most likely artificial design, encircling what appeared to be a veritable city of green-tinged glass and gleaming steel standing proudly upon the ocean surface. Swarms of hover cars of all shapes and sizes from sleek single-seaters to family saloons flowed through the sky like vast shoals of fish in twisting invisible air lanes, while compact commuter trains ferried passengers to and fro on a rail network oddly similar to that on Oltanis.

Despite the vast size, it soon became clear as they closed in that this was corporate property due to the lack of street and living quarters, as well as the huge golden-coloured Gadgetron brand name orbiting around the tallest tower in ten foot high letters. It was a structural engineering feat beyond compare; the sheer amount of work that must have gone into the design and construction of such a mammoth undertaking left Ellen gaping in awe at the sheer opulent majesty of it all. Ratchet however seemed a little more nonchalant about the whole thing.

"Huh, guess you were right after all."

Finding an unoccupied landing pad on the outskirts of the facility, the lombax brought the ship into land and powered down the engines while Ellen drank in the scenery with more than a little sense of wonder. Her reverie was broken however as a hexagonal-shaped, black-painted dropship roared forth just over their heads on twin ion engines to hover over the artistically stylised meandering walkway connected to their landing pad a good hundred feet or so ahead; disgorging what looked like black-clothed soldiers with jetpacks before flying off again.

"What's the odds those guys are here to sell girl scout cookies door to door?"

Ellen snorted with mirth at the lombax's quip. "I'd say somewhere between 'slim' and 'no'. We'd better get tooled up, I doubt they'll let us pass without a fight."

A trip to a nearby vendor had their ammo reserves fully replenished, and so with weapons in hand the duo started to make their way from the landing pad to the facility entrance. The raised bridge come walkway they were traversing was more decorative than anything else, with glass dome-covered lights set in pedestals every dozen or so feet, along with the occasional larger version that seemed to act more like a small scale lighthouse for air traffic. Sections of escalator-like conveyors made of hard light occupied the centre of the walkway in spaced segments and seemed to change direction based upon which end was stood on first; acting as a high-tech counterpoint to the simplistic terracotta-style floor plating that made up the rest of the surface. It was on one of these escalators that Ratchet and Ellen were riding down a steady incline as the three soldiers from before became a lot clearer with each moment they drew nearer.

They were evidently blarg, judging by the skin tone from what little flesh wasn't covered up and their basic anatomy, but were neither of the two distinct types the duo had previously encountered. The soldiers were much larger than the regular blarg troopers, but nowhere near as bulky as the rocket launcher wielding heavies from Metropolis, and with their choice of attire they looked more like a special forces unit of some kind. Each wore a black, sleeveless composite vest with cyan trim, matching elbow-length gloves, nautic-green trousers, and a pair of black combat boots, as well as a black balaclava to obscure their faces. Equipment wise, they all wore a silver utility belt around the waist, along with a bulky twin-engine jetpack that allowed them to fly around freely as they did now, and what could charitably be called a pistol considering the blocky, silver gun held one handed was almost as big as the blarg's torso and likely packed a mean punch too.

Ellen opened up first with her machine pistol over Ratchet's head, several rounds connecting with one of the blarg's jetpacks and sending him into an uncontrolled spin to the waters below. Alerted by the sound of gunfire, the remaining two spec ops quickly homed in on the duo and sent a series of rapid shots their way; the lack of available cover forcing them to stay mobile as they used what little room there was to split apart and evade.

Leaping over another volley of rounds sent his way, Ratchet sprinted towards the nearest foe with his wrench in hand, only to find that the blarg was easily able to hover back out of range with his jetpack flaring while keeping the lombax within his sights. Of course he probably didn't take Clank having a Thruster Pack upgrade into account, nor the fact that Ratchet was perfectly happy to make use of it to introduce an Omni-Wrench to his face as it knocked him flying back into one of the larger light fixtures and left him slumped on the ground unconscious.

The last member of the blarg squad had taken to constantly strafing while taking pot shots, making Ellen's life that bit more difficult as her rounds continued to miss by inches with each burst. Unfortunately one such volley sailed past its intended target and struck something round and metallic a little further along the narrow walkway ahead, and before she knew it a contingent of bomb ball drones were swarming forth to ruin their day. Thankfully the redhead was saved from having to back-pedal any further by a localised discharge of artificial lightning that arced between the clustered machines, and even managed to catch the blarg elite unaware in a storm of electricity that fried everything it touched.

Turning away from the still sparking bodies, Ellen raised a brow at the Tesla Claw toting lombax stood beside her. "And you didn't do that in the first place because...?"

Ratchet scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Heh, kinda forgot I had this for a second there. 'Sides, don't wanna waste the good stuff when we're just getting started, right? Who knows what else we'll run in to."

"Fair enough."

Moving to cross the the narrow Jetsons inspired conveyor belt-bridge leading to the headquarters' main entrance, both lombax and human halted as another angular dropship flew in to drop troops on the other side of the bridgehead in order to cut them off. Not willing to give them a chance, Ellen hefted her Visibomb Gun and sent a TV guided missile straight at the stationary transport just as its first few passengers disembarked and used their jetpacks to fly deeper into the facility. Their friends however weren't so lucky seeing as the missile impact struck amidships; blowing the blarg craft and its remaining occupants to pieces. With the immediate area clear, the team quickly crossed the rolling escalator-like bridge to the far side and, after hitting a large button that disabled the force field blocking their way, stepped through the grandiose archway into the minimalist surroundings of the building's main lobby.

Potted palms lined the perimeter of the cylindrical chamber, the walls made up of glass panels held in place by a steel framework set in an isometric pattern stretching to the high ceiling above, while a solitary Gadgetron vendor sat in the centre of the terracotta-patterned floor. Aside from the way they had come in, there were three other archways branching off to other areas that formed a rough Y-shaped pattern when viewed from above. One blocked by a force field, another leading to an elevator marked 'transit hub', and the last leading back outside to a walkway that hugged the main building directly to the right of the entrance, upon which a pack of sandshark drones milled about aimlessly.

"We should probably clear out the ground floor first, then see about that blocked door. Someone around here must know where we can get our hands on a Hologuise, assuming the blarg haven't got to them first that is."

Ratchet grinned at Ellen's words while hefting his flamethrower. "Sounds like a plan. Let's do this."

Taking the right hand archway, the lombax's Pyrocitor blazed a trail through the sandshark-inspired skirmishers waiting outside without breaking his stride; Ellen close on his heels as they turned left at the end of the walkway to enter the facility's interior. Advancing down the surprisingly deep and narrow corridor, the human couldn't help the niggling feeling in the back of her mind that things were a little too easy as they stepped into a wider room lined with scorched, steel-plated flooring and numerous thick doors emblazoned with the Gadgetron logo lining the walls. Before she could voice her concerns however, sturdy armoured glass bulkheads slid into place and blocked both the exit archway as well as the way they had come in.

"Well that can't be good."

The lombax was proven right as the surrounding doors opened all at once to reveal what looked like futuristic crash test dummies behind each one. The head and torso were vaguely humanoid, with the archetypal black and yellow checked design set in a circle applied over the body and in place of the robot's eyes. A glowing blue ball similar to the roller bots previously encountered provided propulsion instead of legs, and the spindly arms with two fingers and a thumb on each hand were worryingly equipped with a fully functioning Bomb Glove.

"Um..."

Then they decided to attack en masse

The human and lombax were instantly put on the defensive as they desperately sought to evade the constant rain of explosives detonating around them. Thankfully these robot dummies appeared to be little more than pre-programmed shells with no sense of tactics or environmental awareness since they moved in a random, uncoordinated manner and didn't actively target the organics in the room. Decapitating one with his wrench as he ran past, Ratchet broke out his flamethrower once more to flambé the surprisingly fragile machines whenever they crossed his path, while Ellen made good use of her own Bomb Glove on any robots clustered together at every opportunity. For every dummy destroyed another would soon pop up from an opening doorway; but with the liberal use of dousing flames and high explosives the tide began to falter, until the last finally fell to a swipe from Ellen's Versa Blade that neatly bisected it.

Leaning against a wall, the human concentrated on getting her breath back before falling in behind Ratchet as he walked through the now open exit archway leading to the anti-gravity lift beyond. "What the hell was that all about? Weren't those Gadgetron robots back there?"

Clank hummed in thought at Ellen's question before deigning a response. "It would appear so. I can only assume they were reprogrammed to attack any intruders once the blarg made themselves known."

Ratchet glanced over his shoulder as they waited for the elevator platform to descend. "Then it's a good job they're kinda flimsy, otherwise we'd be in real trouble. C'mon, lets go."

A short ride later saw them deposited on a section of the rooftop surrounded by tall mesh fencing, just as another squad of spec ops jumped from a passing dropship with jetpacks flaring to block their advance. Hunkering down behind a nearby stack of shipping crates, the pair weathered the hail of fire sent their way in the relatively enclosed space before launching their own counterattack. Flipping sideways out of cover, Ratchet sent a bolt of lightning at the closest blarg with his Tesla Claw; shorting out his jetpack and dropping him to convulse on the floor before ducking behind some more crates on the opposite side to avoid the subsequent energy blasts perforating his hide.

With the lombax using himself as bait, Ellen took advantage of the distraction to drop another blarg elite with an extended burst from her blaster, only for the last squad member to boost forward with his gun blazing in an attempt to engage her up close. Not having any of that, Ratchet leapt up on to the crates he was sheltering behind before using them as a springboard to jump and tackle the charging spec ops soldier in mid-air; the momentum slamming them both into the mesh fencing and subsequently spinning out of control. The blarg flailed desperately with both arms to get the lombax off of his back, but Ratchet's grip was as solid as he was tenacious.

"This looks kinda important." So saying, the furry clinger-on ripped out one of the jetpack's hoses before releasing his hold and tumbling into a roll as soon as he hit the rooftop again. With the only thing keeping him aloft now unstable, the hooded elite went rocketeer as one of his pack's thrusters suddenly flared into life; sending him corkscrewing uncontrollably through the sky to who knows where.

Shaking her head in disbelief at the lombax's unorthodox tactic, Ellen moved up to stand beside him at a breach in the mesh fencing that overlooked a wide gap to the adjacent structure. Taking note of the active force field barring the way into the interior and the big red button just beside it midway up the wall, the human couldn't help but voice her question aloud. "Why the hell are the switches to turn off the barriers on the outside? Surely they're supposed to be on the inside for keeping people from entering in the first place, not the other way round."

Clank piped up from his position on his golden-furred friend's back. "I must admit, the security system does seem highly illogical. Though since they are on the exterior, it may well be an emergency override of sorts."

Ratchet shrugged in response. "No idea, but it sure as heck hasn't stopped the blarg from getting in. You wanna do the honours babe?"

A single aimed shot rang out from Ellen's Blaster to hit the big red button; deactivating the force field and allowing Ratchet to glide down through the gaping entrance slightly below their perch with Clank's Thruster Pack. Following shortly thereafter by using her Grapple Gun to reel herself in, the human immediately found upon landing that her beau was surrounded by bomb balls and desperately trying to fend them off with wild swings of his wrench. Wading into the fray, Ellen activated the advanced cutting feature on her Versa Blade and tried to clear a path to the besieged lombax; not willing to risk accidentally shooting him in the incredibly tight melee. With her actions taking some of the heat off his back, Ratchet smashed one exploding bot into a wall followed by swinging his wrench underarm to launch another at the ceiling above and out of the fight.

Sporting a few new scrapes and bruises from debris thrown about by the self-immolating robots, the victorious pair continued on through a familiar looking, long and narrow corridor to emerge into an identical room to the one with the Bomb Glove packing test dummies; right down to the scorched flooring, already sealed bulkheads, and multiple doors emitting a steady stream of metal cannon fodder.

"Oh, not this shit again."

Ratchet shared his girl's sentiment, but was slightly too busy to reply seeing as their opponents were all packing Wallopers and one was coming right at him with its gloved fist extended. Vaulting over the top, the lombax buried his wrench in the dummy's back before tossing a few bombs at a group clustered in one corner; however he soon changed course upon hearing a cry of pain coming from behind him.

Ellen had her hands full with the constantly moving test bots, Blaster spitting rapid bursts at anything that crossed her line of sight and not getting a moments respite. Because of this, she never saw the Walloper hit her in the side until it was too late; driving the air from her lungs and sending her sprawling against the far wall in an aching heap. Despite the fire burning through her ribs, the human managed to shake off the blurriness in her head and propped herself up against the wall with teeth grit against the pain. Clutching her side, Ellen continued to fire with wavering aim even as Ratchet carved a path directly to her side.

Standing defensively over her injured form, the lombax asked the stupidly obvious question. "Ellen! You alright? Where're you hit?"

Biting back a more sarcastic reply, Ellen rolled her eyes before a twinge of pain focused her on the here and now. "Pretty much around the big bloody spot, do you have any spare nanotech?"

Thankfully Clank did, passing a phial to her as their lombax friend continued to fend off any dummies that got too close with his Tesla Claw while the infusion took effect. Climbing unsteadily back to her feet, the redhead was soon slinging bombs in support of Ratchet as the nanites gradually worked to heal her wounds at an accelerated pace. Between the two of them the room was soon test bot free, and the pair made their way through the now open corridor on the opposite side of the room leading back outside.

A quick blast of artificial lightning arced between the sandshark drones waiting on the open plan observation deck courtesy of Ratchet's Tesla Claw, just as one of the blarg's hexagonal dropships flew past while dropping off a pair of jetpack wearing soldiers who soon turned their corridor shelter into a deathtrap. With no choice but to break out into the open, the pair split apart to make themselves harder to hit while striking back with their weapons of choice. Ellen's machine pistol spat rounds at the constantly moving blarg elite she was tracking while dodging his return fire as best she could, though she wished she had something with a bit more power considering how many bullets it took to punch through the resilient body armour he was wearing.

Ratchet on the other hand decided to go for something a bit more... explosive. Holstering his weapon, the lombax had a grin plastered on his face as he drew his Devastator and sighted it on the circling spec ops soldier before pulling the trigger; the rocket striking him square in the chest and detonating his jetpack before sending the body sprawling to the ocean depths below. Lowering his still smoking launcher, the lombax shrugged while thinking out loud. "Huh... thought it'd make a bigger mess than that."

Ellen turned a little green at the thought, especially of what it could do to her if she was hit, but swallowed down the rising bile in her throat as she moved to stand beside the lombax at the edge of the observation deck; overlooking a good fifteen foot gap between it and the walkway on the other side. Ratchet was easily able to boost across thanks to the Thruster Pack, but since he couldn't carry the extra weight, his human partner had to resort to using her Grapple Gun to tether to the edge of the platform before reeling herself in and clasping his outstretched arm in to haul herself up.

Moving along the stretch of walkway, the two soon ran into more bomb bots clustered in a circular section ahead that was fenced in with glass walls that soon reacted to their presence. Bolts of arcing electricity softened them up for either Ellen's bullets or a good swing of Ratchet's wrench; neither keen to have a repeat of the literal knife fight they previously had with the suicidal machines from earlier. Using a randomly placed Gadgetron vendor to top up their ammo reserves, the pair soon found themselves atop a raised platform off to one side facing back towards the main facility; a set of Versa-Targets giving them a much easier option to re-cross, though there was still quite a drop to what passed for the ground on the much lower far side.

Not fancying adding broken legs to her growing repertoire of injuries, Ellen opted for using her Grapple Gun to reach a balcony just across from their platform on the opposite side; picking off the mechanical sandsharks in the lower tiered area below from her vantage point before Ratchet could land there via his Swingshot. Dropping down to his level, the redhead rejoined her lombax companion as he threw his wrench at another override button set high up on the wall; deactivating another force field blocking the way forward way up near the ceiling. Latching on to the Versa-Target just inside the archway with their respective gadgets, the pair landed within a second of each other just as the fence crackled into life once again.

With their path of retreat cut off, a grind rail curving out into the open was their only option now. Ellen couldn't help but wonder just what kind of nut job designed this place as she latched on to Ratchet once again; making sure she didn't jostle Clank as the lombax hopped up on to the vaguely question mark-shaped rail and rode it until it terminated above an observation deck big enough to land a half-dozen fighter-sized ships. Sandshark drones were waiting for them of course, but by now they were little more than a nuisance for the increasingly battle-hardened team that barely warranted more than a single bullet or swipe of a melee weapon. With their landing point clear, the human and lombax experienced another case of déjà vu as they moved back indoors; armoured glass bulkheads sliding into place to prevent their escape while dozens of thick metal doors emblazoned with the Gadgetron logo opened to reveal even more test robots, this time wielding Pyrocitors.

Joy.

More than a little fed up at the persistently homicidal dummies, Ratchet broke out his Tesla Claw and went to town on the fire-spewing machines. Electricity arced between the test bots in the relatively confined space, shorting out large swathes only for more to take their place a few seconds later. Ellen used her Glove of Doom to bring a few exploding friends to the party before switching to the so far untested Drone Device; using expendable ball-shaped drones as a screen against the sweeping flames heading their way while snapping off staccato bursts from her machine pistol at any test bot that got close. Between the two organics' actions and the soulless mockeries of robots accidentally killing each other the chamber was soon clear; if you were to ignore the piles of mangled metal bodies strewn across it that is.

Exiting the deathtrap room to emerge out into more sunnily lit climes, the battle-weary pair soon found themselves on a wide platform linked to another via a thin bridge and confronted with the largest blarg contingent they had faced yet. A pack of charging sandshark drones immediately in front of them were blown apart by a few well placed bombs; Ratchet's wrench polishing off the remains even as another black-painted blarg dropship flew low overhead and dropped reinforcements to bolster the squad of spec ops already on the far side of the bridge. Bringing her Visibomb Gun to bear, Ellen carefully tracked the predominately hexagonal transport until it slowed down to deploy its troops; angling a guided missile up over the defenders to strike the dropship just as the last elite exited the cargo bay.

Shrapnel from the rapidly falling wreckage took out one of the blarg and gained the remainder's attention; a solid wall of energy bolts hammering the human and lombax's exposed position as the pair sought refuge behind a stack of discarded shipping crates. Pinned down behind their rapidly disintegrating cover, Ratchet blind fired over the top with his Devastator in an effort to buy them some breathing space. Though his rockets were wide of the mark, they provided enough of a distraction for Ellen to reactivate her Drone Device and make a run across the bridge with the surprised lombax catching up a few seconds later. Charging across the bridge, the redhead let the disposable silver ball-like machines orbiting her take the punishment; bomb balls guarding the span detonating harmlessly against her mobile shield even as incoming fire whittled it down.

With the ground based robots distracted by the human's spontaneous advance, Ratchet had free reign to continue launching rockets at the hovering elite troops as the gap between the two sides closed rapidly; direct hits dropping two just as Ellen's impromptu shield inevitably fell apart. Finding more shipping crates to duck behind, the redhead could finally bring her own weapons to bear on the blarg soldiers as she and the lombax caught them in a deadly crossfire; their airborne advantage rendered moot since they were now exposed to a withering hail of bullets combined with streams of electricity that shorted out their equipment and left them convulsing on the decking below.

With the blarg force wiped out, Ellen breathed a sigh of relief as the constant stream of adrenaline in her bloodstream began to ebb, before following her golden-furred partner in leaping across a gap between their platform and an elongated observation deck backing onto what looked like a large hanger. Making their way to the large armoured-glass doors at the far end, Ratchet motioned for her to stop as he eyed the now familiar rows of thick-plated doors lining the walls from one end to the other. "you thinking what I'm thinking?"

The human nodded in agreement. "You mean that this is yet another ambush waiting to happen? Yeah, I do, and it's getting old fast."

Equipping her Glove of Doom, Ellen swung her arm back and bowled the dispensed silver metal egg across the mixture of faux terracotta and metal flooring into the hanger interior. No sooner had the canister cleared the threshold when all the doors opened at once; dozens of test bots packing a broad mixture of Bomb Gloves, Wallopers, and Pyrocitors swarming out into what was fast becoming a veritable maelstrom. The lombax and human simply hung back and watched the show; the armed dummies combined with Ellen's recently deployed little helpers tearing each other apart in a chaotic brawl punctuated by fire, explosions, and mangled body parts raining down all over the place. A few minutes of mayhem later and only a few heavily maimed test bots were still functioning; Ratchet and Ellen putting them out of their misery before making their way to the now oddly open glass doors and the archway beyond them.

A few twists and turns later amongst the minimalist decor of the building's interior saw them at the threshold of a half moon-shaped open plan office, the rounded walls consisting of glass panelling that gave a panoramic view of the ocean and surrounding island chain. Leafy palms and exotic plants grew in a green belt ringing the perimeter of the mostly furniture free room, the sole occupant gazing outside without a hint of worrying about the conflict playing out just beyond these walls.

Approaching the distinctly male figure, Ratchet raised a finger hesitantly. "Excuse me sir, I was wondering if you were... concerned about the... uh... invasion?"

Ellen honestly wasn't sure what species the alien was as he turned around; there was a vague resemblance to a squat novalian, yet somehow almost toad-like considering his facial structure and faded reptilian, nautic-green skin. He wore a heavily padded, dull brown suit that looked like it was designed more for practicality rather than aesthetics, with a pair of thick black-framed glasses perched below an equally thick set of bushy white eyebrows that matched the coarse goatee on his chin. "Son, our defences are the best money can buy. Don't give it a another thought!"

Taking into account the opulent office space and the elderly man's distinct tone of voice, it would seem that this was in fact the CEO of Gadgetron. Considering what they'd just been through, Ellen wasn't exactly overwhelmed. "If you're talking about the tin cans and the crappy force fields, then it's a small miracle the blarg haven't already razed this placed. I mean, no offence, but there's only three of us and we pretty much blew through everything with barely a scratch."

The boss of Gadgetron shot the human a condescending look. "Those were just test bots, missy. The real defences are hidden until they're most needed." He turned his attention back towards the athletic looking lombax with an appraising gleam in his eye that was part calculating, part childish glee. "Say, you ever been on a hoverboard?"

Almost preening, Ratchet pretended to think it over. "Yeah, once or twice."

The elder CEO grinned in anticipation. "Well, then have I got an offer for you! I am in search of a hip young star to represent my newest line of boards; someone the kids can look up to."

Chest puffed out, the lombax gestured self confidently. "Then I am your man!"

The team tensed briefly as one of the previously homicidal dummies from earlier entered the room, but relaxed upon seeing that it was unarmed and apparently welded to a red-coloured Z-3000 model hoverboard. "If you can beat my test bots in a race, the job is yours! Just let me know when you're ready to go."

Taking the opportunity to upgrade his board before the race, Ratchet set to installing the Platinum Zoomerator with Clank assisting where he could, while Ellen questioned the toad-like alien. "So where exactly is the course for this race? The only thing around here besides those islands is the ocean, and I'm fairly certain hoverboards don't work on water."

He smiled knowingly at the redhead before beckoning her over to the wall-spanning glass tapestry depicting the outside world. "See those islands? Just watch this."

Pulling a remote control from his hip pocket, the head of Gadgetron pushed an innocuous looking button; Ellen's eyes widening slightly as she followed his gaze to what was happening in the middle distance. Slowly but surely the water level began to recede, draining evenly to reveal that the surrounding island peaks were in fact all physically connected together to form a giant artificial bowl in which the headquarters building and attached facilities were situated on raised struts. A good twenty feet below what would normally pass for sea level rose a twisting network of ramps, halfpipes, and winding track that made up an intricate looking race track that she just knew Ratchet would approve of.

"Okay, I admit, that's impressive. But why underwater? It must cost a fortune to keep a pump system like that working."

Gadgetron's top dog postured proudly. "In case you haven't noticed young 'un, money isn't exactly an issue around here. Besides keeping the place tidy, the filtration system regulating the water in this basin is a work of engineering made art."

He continued to explain that It was originally designed for a corporation on Aquatos. But when the deal fell through, he snapped it up at a cut price and used it in conjunction with a terraformer to create the basis for the site of Gadgetron's current headquarters. Admittedly, Ellen partially tuned him out after that in favour of drinking up the awe inspiring view outside; snapping back to reality once Ratchet announced he was done. Having finished his modifications and learned about the location of the new course, the lombax took a private elevator down to the starting grid while his human and robot companions remained behind to spectate on a series of holographic screens called up by the Solana galaxy's equivalent to Steve Jobs.

{()}

It quickly became apparent to Ratchet the second he shot off the starting grid that this race would be nothing like the one in Blackwater City. His opponents were insanely fast off the line, unsurprising considering they were emotionless drones rather than sentient beings, and even with the upgraded grav-drive he was barely able to keep up as he used a magna-strip to gain some speed while skimming past a short ramp and into the first corner. Clipping another magna-strip on the inside, the lombax boosted up a steadily inclining ramp that allowed him to pull off a series of front flips before gravity took its course; his board sparking on impact as it hit the track just in front of one of his rivals.

Hopping over a row of explosive crates blocking the way, Ratchet triggered a quick boost of speed from his reserve tank in order to clear the gap over the water between the abruptly ending, angled track he was on and the course beyond. One of the main advantages of the recently installed Platinum Zoomerator was that performing tricks while riding the board would convert the kinetic energy into fuel which could be used to gain a brief burst of acceleration; something that he planned to take full advantage of in this closely fought race.

Landing on the far side, Ratchet kept to the ground route of the two-tiered section as he rounded the corner onto a straightaway with support struts occupying the middle. Hitting every magna-strip in sight as he weaved through the thick pillars, the lombax managed to cut by the inside of another racer to bring himself up to 4th place; just as he hit the next bend leading onto a short stretch marred by various metal containers and explosive crates, flanked beforehand by a pair of long but stout ramps on either side of the track. Opting to charge up the middle, he bobbed and weaved between the potentially deadly obstacles while running over another magna-strip to keep his pace high; culminating in a shallow turn preceding a raised section of track that acted as a ramp with a decent run up beforehand.

Pulling off a few flips and grabs to generate some fuel, Ratchet managed to skip a chunk of the course as he hit the ground boosting once more. The track widened briefly ahead before being split by what looked like a generator plant of sorts into two very distinct paths. Hitting yet another magna-strip, the lombax opted to go left; having to deftly hop across to a broken off section of track set standing alone in the water and back on to the main course before he could tackle the banked curve leading back onto the start-finish straight. With his fuel tank supplemented by the track-wide section of magna-strips he'd just run over, Ratchet weaved through the trio of gates occupying the steeply angled turn that got in his way with inches to spare; not realising until he'd cleared the last that an alternate route branching off from the start line had just opened up ahead as the force field blocking it off dissipated.

Willing to take any advantage he could get, the lombax veered off to the right as he entered the second lap; passing through a short tunnel and gaining speed from a few rings of energy that acted in a similar manner to magna-strips before finding himself back on the main course and in 3rd place. Moving down the long straight, he again negotiated the row of explosive crates inexplicably blocking the course and the subsequent jump over the water immediately afterwards; skimming the magna-strip on the inside of the turn followed by taking the ramp leading to the upper tier of the extensive stretch. Nimbly jumping from section to section of the broken up, elevated track with feline agility, Ratchet battled to hold on to his position as he used a row of magna-strips to edge out his lower-riding rival before the upper route ran out at the apex of the next corner.

Back on the ground again, the lombax burned what reserve fuel he had stored to gain on the racer immediately in front; cutting the inside of the turn and tagging the magna-strip as he sped through the crate infested stretch for a second time by riding up the half-piping on the edge of the track. Running on empty, Ratchet used what little remained of his boost to gain some air on the following ramp with the decent straightaway before hand. An acrobatic display of graceful somersaults soon topped up part of his reserve tank, the subsequent magna-strip upon landing adding even more speed as he swerved down the right path of the split section of the course just ahead. Sheer velocity sent the lombax flying over a ramp to land just at the beginning of the banked curve section on the inside; never letting off the boost for a second while he hunched down in an effort to streamline himself further and gain even more speed.

Taking the short cut once again after weaving through the activation gates, Ratchet went all out in his effort to catch up to the race leader on this final lap. The rest of the course went by in a blur; muscle memory guiding the lombax in executing every jump and turn as he pushed himself and his board to the very limit. it wasn't until he'd reached the two-tiered straight section of the course once more however when he caught glimpse of something moving fast up ahead. Weaving between the support struts to clip the magna-strips nestled among them, Ratchet caught up on the following corner; following the test bot hoverboarder that was booking it through the minefield of regular and exploding crates dotting the stretch beyond within a hairs breadth of making contact. Tucking into his rival's slipstream once they had cleared the obstacles, the lombax inched closer on the approach to the big ramp leading to the final section of the course.

They hit the jump almost at the same time; the magna-strip he'd previous clipped just before take off giving Ratchet that extra boost he needed to pull alongside while dropping down to the course below. Both picked up speed from the magna-strip just in front of the course split, the lombax electing to head right again while the test bot took the left hand route. Unable to see how his rival was doing with the tall structure in-between their two paths, the seconds it took to clear the divided segment of the track seemed unnaturally long as he strived to maintain speed on the last turn coming up. A flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye gave the lombax an idea of just how close the end result was going to be, taking the optimum angle into the turn with his boost on full even as his rival began to gain ground inch by inch.

Barely twenty feet to go and they were almost neck and neck with the finish line upon them any second. With a last ditch burst of speed, Ratchet willed the remnants of his spent reserve tank to give him the crucial trickle of power he needed; crossing the line bare inches ahead of the pursuing test bot rider and snatching a last second win. With adrenaline still pumping through his system, the lombax gave a yell of delight as he brought the speeding hoverboard to a skidding halt. Once again Ratchet had won by the skin of his teeth; and more importantly, he'd nailed the job offer and shown what an awesome boarder he was. Heck, if he played his cards right, then maybe he could blag any new hoverboards when they came out too...

{()}

"Nice going fuzz ball, bit close there at the end though."

Clank seemed to agree. "You succeeded despite the odds. However, I believe you might have achieved a more clear cut victory had you not been showboating quite so much."

Grinning in response, Ratchet pointed a thumb at himself cockily. "Hey, Hovercon intergalactic champion here, remember? I had it in the bag the whole time."

Ellen rolled her eyes. "Sure you did, captain modesty."

The sound of hands clasping together loudly drew everyone's attention to the pleased looking Gadgetron CEO stood facing them with a twinkle in his eyes. "That was terrific! Now, I just need you to say a few words about our hot new boards!"

Eyes widening in shock, the lombax's self assured confidence plummeted like a stone at the insinuation. "Huh? Now?!"

The toad-like company head chuckled good naturedly. "Of course! Just look into that camera right over there and say what comes naturally." Sure enough, there was a movie camera mounted on a tripod just off to one side and trained on the gathered team. How it got there when the office had previously been empty last time anyone had looked was a mystery that probably wouldn't be solved as Gadgetron's CEO made a circling gesture with one hand. "Rolling!"

Ellen had no inclination for having her face used for advertising, but stayed put in order to support the stuttering lombax with a soothing hand making discreet motions on his back while he tried to improvise badly. "Uh... hi? This is Ratchet for... uh... Gadgetron hoverboards. And if you... um..."

Apparently having had enough of seeing his friend's faltering attempt, Clank stepped in to try and salvage the situation. "Yo dudes. For the freshest boards in the galaxy, check out the new XZ88 from Gadgetron! So hot, it is cool!"

Equal parts annoyed and relieved at being upstaged and having the focus taken off of him, Ratchet shot his small metal friend a dirty look as the company head rubbed his chin with a sigh "I think I got the wrong guy. That was... uh... something..."

Seeing an opportunity and wanting to smooth over his embarrassing performance in front of the camera, the lombax decided to try his luck. "Hey, I was thinking... do we get a discount on gadgets now?"

The CEO mulled it over for a moment before trying to let him down gently. "Uh... you have to be with the company for two years before the employee discount kicks in. I can however let you have this."

So saying, he produced a device from behind his back and tossed it to Ratchet, whose eyes lit up in recognition as he checked over the newly acquired Hologuise. "Sweet!"

Ellen gave the head of Gadgetron a smile as she steered the lombax out of the office. "Thank you for your time, sir, but I'm afraid we've got to get going."

The toad-like CEO waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, that's alright missy. I'm sure I can make something out of this." He patted the camera just as they crossed the door frame out of the office. "And remember; buy Gadgetron for all your consumer needs!"

Retracing their steps, the team managed to find an exit at the other end of the corridor that surprisingly led back to he lobby through the one archway that was previous barred by a force field. After restocking on ammo at the vendor, the human and lombax steadily made their way back to their ship while taking in the technological marvel that was Gadgetron headquarters. Much as Ellen would have loved to stay and explore some more, the three had prior business to attend to now they had the means to infiltrate the robot factory on Quartu. Settling back into the contoured seats of the prototype starfighter, Ratchet recalled the last used coordinates on the navigation computer and they were soon on their way once again. However, despite being one step closer to saving the galaxy from the blarg menace, the human couldn't help feel that the worst was yet to come.

Getting close to the end now, and as of next chapter no more annoying backtracking. I'll try to keep the next updates on schedule, but I might be a little delayed with all the crap I'm taking at work recently. Still, I'll do what I can to keep things on track.

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

Thanks for reading

- RevenantReaper337