Ratchet laid on the cold hard ground, the cuts in his torso, arm and face were stinging. His opened wounds were pouring out blood and forming a large puddle around him. If he was bleeding at that rate, then he would be did in a short time, which made the Lombax panic a little.
The Lombax's ear twitched as he heard the sound of someone crying. Since he didn't really have the strength to stand or even sit up, he lifted his head and looked around. He quickly located Circuit standing right in front of him, she was wiping her eye are tears poured out of them. And right in front of her feet was a bloody machete.
"I did this. I hurt you. I am a bad robot," she cried.
"No, Circuit, it's alright. That couldn't have been you who attacked me. You would never hurt me or anything."
"I am a bad robot. I cannot stay with you anymore. I am leaving forever and I am never coming back. Goodbye, Ratchet," Circuit said, turning around and walking away.
"Circuit! No, Circuit, don't go! It wasn't your fault! Something must be wrong with you, and we can find out what! Circuit! Circuit, come back!" Ratchet yelled, trying to reach a hand out towards her. But, unfortunately, Ratchet found himself being unable to move his body. No matter how hard he tried, he could not go after Circuit.
The little robot looked back at Ratchet, then turned around and continued walking away. Until, eventually, she faded away into the darkness. There was not a trace of her left.
Ratchet gritted his teeth and tried his best to hold back the tears forming in his eyes. Then he cried out-
"CIRCUIT!"
Ratchet shot straight upwards and reached his hand out to where he thought Circuit was. However, he found himself reaching out towards the apartment wall, which made his ears droop. He had just had a nightmare. He didn't remember the last time he had a nightmare. The feeling that he was experiencing was horrible. He felt so...depressed. And Circuit had once told him that she had nightmares all the time. So this is what she felt like all the time? Thinking about Circuit being depressed made Ratchet's ears droop even lower.
After getting his head together, Ratchet observed his body. He was surprised to see that his arm and torso were wrapped in gauze, and they were a bit stained with blood. The cut on his cheek felt fine probably because it wasn't as deep as the other two. Ratchet suspected that Clank had tended to his wounds but...when did he fall asleep? He didn't remember laying down on the couch to and falling asleep.
"Ratchet?"
The Lombax nearly jumped out of his fur as Clank suddenly appeared next to him. He looked down at the little robot, wanting to know one thing, "Clank, did Circuit come back? Do you know where she is?"
"After I put you to sleep with Cryo-Sleep gas, I immediately contacted the Metropolis Police Force and told them about Circuit. They are on the lookout for her as we speak."
"Wait, you knocked me out with Cryo-Sleep gas? Why?"
"You would not stop complaining about the pain I was causing when I was trying to tend to your wounds. So I figured that having you asleep would make my job much easier."
"Right, right. Well, thanks pal. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go find Circuit, then kick whoever made her attack me right in the-"
"Ratchet, you should not be moving around. Your body still needs to recover. Those machete cuts were very deep, and you lost quite a bit of blood. I will go out and look for Circuit, you need to stay here and rest," Clank said as Ratchet stood up.
"I don't care that my body is in bad shape! I don't care that I have deep cuts! I wouldn't care is half my bones were broken! Hell, I wouldn't care if all of my bones were broken! Circuit is out there, alone and scared, surrounded by people that she doesn't know! And I'll be damned if I don't go out there and help find her!" Ratchet shouted, grabbing a some clothes that Clank had put out for when he woke up.
"...You are right. It was foolish of me to tell you to stay here," Clank said, feeling a bit disappointed in himself.
"Yes it was. And, I gotta say, you seem awfully chill. Do you not see all the problems that we're facing? Circuit is missing! Why aren't you upset?!" Ratchet yelled, putting on his shirt.
"Well, Ratchet, I...I have tried my best to stay calm in this whole situation because I knew that you would need comforting. I have been forcing myself to be strong for you ever since last night. But seeing you hurt and having no idea where Circuit is, I cannot...I-I just...I-I...I am sorry..." Clank said, placing a fist on his forehead, tears leaking out of his eyes.
Ratchet, who was absolutely surprised that Clank had started crying, couldn't help but think that the whole scene looked very familiar. Then, something flashed before his eyes.
"I-I...I am sorry," Circuit said with tears in her eyes. Then, without a single look back, she bolted out of the apartment.
Without thinking, Ratchet lunged forward and grabbed Clank by the shoulders, lifting him off the ground a little.
"Don't you dare apologize! And don't you dare force yourself to bottle up you emotions for the sake of me! That is the last thing that I want! Watching Circuit run out that door was a blow to the chest for both of us! So we're gonna hurt together! And we're going to relieve this pain together by finding her!"
Clank wanted Ratchet's words to motivate him to stop crying. But, the pain was just too much for him at the moment. It was alright though, he knew that Ratchet was going through the same pain that he was. Ratchet must have known that Clank's crying was failing to seize, because he pulled the little robot into a tight hug, allowing the robot to cry into his shirt. As Clank sobbed, Ratchet stroked the back of his head comfortingly. Then he said quietly,
"You haven't been strong since last night, pal. You've been strong since the very beginning."
Circuit reluctantly followed Doctor Nefarious out of the spacecraft that he had brought her in. They had been flying for several hours, and she had no idea where they were now. She wasn't exactly good with planets yet, and the only ones that she knew of were Kerwan, Pokitaru and Lumos.
The planet seemed like a nice place though. When they had flown over the area, Circuit had seen forests, mountains and even a large body water. Maybe it was an ocean like the one on Pokitaru?
Circuit was behind Nefarious, her hands behind her back, and her head tilted slightly downwards. She wondered how Ratchet was doing. With the cuts that she had left him with, he was probably all bandaged up and in recovery. The whole scene haunted her memory, and she knew that it would never go away. She knew that she had a whole new batch of nightmares coming her way, and no one will be there to comfort her.
Nefarious turned around and looked down at Circuit, which frightened the little robot a bit.
"Now then, we're going to get to my secret lair soon. But, since I don't exactly know if those two are tracking your location or not, I'm going to have to shut you off until we get there. I don't want an orange rodent and his talking backpack running around my place. Now come here so I can drain the life out of you!"
Circuit winced as Nefarious's sharp claw-like fingers grasped her back. She struggled a bit as she was lifted into the air, and jumped when she saw two beady red eyes staring at her. An evil grin formed on Nefarious's face.
"Nighty night!"
A large surge of electricity traveled through Circuit's body, which made her scream in pain. But, soon everything went dark. And she actually wanted it to stay that way.
? Hours Later
The feeling of being kicked multiple times stirred Circuit out of her unconscious state. She could feel the surface beneath her: cold and hard. It was either metal or ice. She went with metal because it didn't look like ice could stay intact with the planet's temperature. But why was she laying on metal.
The kicking suddenly started again, making Circuit opened her eyes and look up. Though she was a bit weak after being electrocuted, she managed to move her head and she saw exactly who she predicted that she would see.
"Well good afternoon. Have a nice nap? So, you decided to come after all...or did Nefarious have to drag you by the hood of your jacket?" Klunk asked, crossing his arms. his blood red eyes looking down at Circuit's calming purple ones.
"I...came here voluntarily," Circuit quietly, sitting up and rubbing her left arm.
"Oh? And what about the Lombax and that worthless piece of tin?"
"I will...I will no longer be seeing them. I left them. I...I am evil now."
"Hehehehe! Excellent! Now this is a sister that I can live with! Now I bet you're wondering where you are right now. I am forbidden to tell you what planet we're on just in case you decide to contact those two. But, I can tell you that you're in Nefarious's real secret lair, the one at Pegasus Outpost was just a temporary one. And this room is your cell...er, room."
"My room...?" Circuit said as she looked around. It was just a windowless room made of metal. "I think that 'cell' is the proper terminology, actually."
"Well, it's still a room isn't it? And I think that you should be a bit more grateful! We could have made you sleep outside!" Klunk said, pointing to the cell's door.
"I uh...I guess you are right. I mean, I got a bed..." Circuit said, looking at a cot that was set up at the edge of the room. It was just a small got with a blanket and a pillow. But no stuffed animal or anything to cuddle, which made Circuit a bit sad. "So...what do I do now?"
"Just stay in here until further notice. And try moving around as little as possible, make sure that you conserve a lot of energy."
"A lot of energy? What do I need a lot of energy for?"
"You'll see tomorrow. So go and take a nap or something. I'll be back if anyone needs you or if I get really, really bored," Klunk said, turning around and walking over to the cell's door. But he stopped and looked over his shoulder, "Trust me, Error. You will soon see how wonderful it is being evil." And with that, Klunk exited the room and close the door behind him, locking it.
Circuit just sat there, staring at the door. How wonder it is to be evil...is being evil really that wonderful? Will she like being evil after all? Klunk had made it sound like that she was destined to discover the wonders of being a villain. But will she? It's not like there was any way to back out at that point. She was with Nefarious and Klunk now, her new Ratchet and Clank. But she had to say, Ratchet and Clank offered much nicer hospitality.
So, completely ignoring the cot that was set up for her, Circuit simply went into the corner and sat down. Thinking about what would happen to her in the next few days. She also thought about how she was going to sleep tonight, knowing that no one was going to be there for her if she had nightmares.
The life of a bad robot was a very lonely one.
This chapter of Violet Eyes is brought to you by "In Your Past" from the Sword Art Online Soundtrack. Seriously, I listened to it the whole time I was writing this. This music inspired the conversation between Ratchet and Clank.
So I'm going camping for nine days in about two weeks, so I'm actually trying to finish this story before I leave. The campground doesn't have Wi-Fi and my computer doesn't have Open Office or anything like that.
Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!
This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!