At 'long' last, Ratchet came to a stop.
Vendra was so delirious from the exertions of the trek that she nearly ran into him, but she managed to stop herself just in time.
"We're here," Vendra barely heard the tan Lombax say.
Through fading vision, the exhausted Nether squinted up at a massive robot head that jutted out from the side of the mountain, just on the other side of a small canyon.
The machine looked like it was once the head of a massive mining bot, but Vendra realized the whole thing was really just a hallucination caused by delerium when the thing actually started talking to them.
"Halt, Outsider!" the massive face declared in a booming voice. "What business have you in the Hollow?"
Ratchet gave a friendly smile to the giant 'Guardian' and, remembering his first time seeing it, leaned over to Vendra, "Don't worry," he assured her quietly. "It's just for show, to try and scare away unwelcomed visitors. There's really a Vullard controlling the thing just behind it."
The woozy space witch gave Ratchet a half-lidded glance, but the only thing she could focus on at that moment was fighting her urge to vomit as the ground spun beneath her tired feet.
"We've come in search of information," Ratchet shouted back at the Guardian. "We'd like to talk to the Vullards in the Hollow."
There was a loud hiss of steam in response, "The Hollow is a sacred place! We do not allow outsiders."
Ratchet eyed the giant robot head curiously, "Well, maybe you can't see through that thing, but I've actually been to the Hollow before. It's me, Ratchet. I helped you guys out a while ago?"
More steam billowed angrily from the Guardian's mouth and it shook itself from side to side, "An outsider is an outsider and none may enter the Hollow."
Vendra had regained enough sense to recognize the look of frustration on Ratchet's face. He was clearly surprised that they didn't know who he was.
"Ooooh," Vendra whispered, trying to make the hoarseness in her voice sound intentional, "That must hurt the old 'hero ego', eh Lombax?"
Ratchet scowled at her and then turned back to the bot, "Look, I get that you guys like your privacy, but I know this is all an act. I can see you operating the Guardian's controls from here."
At those words, the tip of the Vullard tail, just barely visible on the other side of the Guardian's mouth, was swiftly pulled out of sight.
"Pay no attention to the incredibly handsome Vullard behind the head," the Guardian boomed. "You outsiders are not granted access! The Guardian... has spoken..."
And with that, the large robot head fell silent as if going to sleep.
Vendra smirked as she watched Ratchet's tail and ears stiffen indignantly. She found his displeasure extremely gratifying to watch and for a moment, even considered that maybe this trip wasn't going to be all bad.
"Come on," he growled, not taking his scornful eyes off the silent Guardian head as he turned and walked away.
Vendra's good mood immediately evaporated as she realized she'd have to walk again.
Too tired to waste precious energy on asking where they were going, the exhausted Nether simply followed Ratchet up several more plateaus, fighting desperately not to show her misery and weakness.
Vendra was so relieved that they'd only gone a short distance that she didn't even question it when Ratchet threw his wrench at a tall piston-looking platform that stood jutting up in the middle of the ground.
Using the electro tether in the wrench, the tan-furred Lombax proceeded to pull the platform down, compressing the spring around it's piston, until the platform locked into place with a clunk.
Vendra had gather enough sense to be curious when she saw Ratchet jump up onto the platform, but before she could consider his actions, he reached out and offered her a hand to join him.
Now, under normal circumstances, Vendra would have questioned or even outright refused to climb up on the platform, but this time was different. This time she was so exhausted that the very moment she was offered assistance her baser instincts flashed with indignations.
Vendra scoffed at the offered appendage and all of her focus and willpower immediately went to the task of getting up to the platform without any help. She'd show that annoyingly fit Lombax that she was just as capable as he was, or die trying! (Which, she realized, was fairly likely to happen if things kept up the way they were.)
Still, the indominatable Nether pressed on. She felt her muscles scream as she pushed herself up onto the platform. She had to set her jaw tight to keep from crying, but she was spurred on by the rush of blatantly snubbing Ratchet's still outstretched hand.
At last, she made the 'arduous' journey to the top of the platform and, standing atop it, she let her chest swell with pride as smugly watched frowning Lombax use his tether on another nearby platform.
This one was much taller and it's platform jutted out into the air like an upsided down 'L'. As Ratchet pulled on his wrench, rotated in place, bringing the distant platform closer until it was practically right above their heads.
It was then, at last, that Vendra finally asked the question, 'What the heck am I doing here?'
"Hang on tight," Ratchet said from behind her. Vendra's attention was focused on the tall secondary platform.
"Wha-" was all she managed to get out before she was scooped up into Ratchet's arms.
Vendra's eyes went wide, and before she could even comprehend what he'd just done, he jumped.
The instant their momentum shifted, some mechanism in the launchpad triggered. It released the giant spring inside the first platform and the two riders were jettisoned up into the air.
Vendra flailed wildly in surprise and terror, held in place only by Ratchet's strong grip under her knees and across her back.
Expertly he landed on the second platform, just as another mechanism on some kind of a timer triggered. The platform spun around, carrying them to the nearby cliff edge.
Without missing a beat, Ratchet jumped again, carrying Vendra onto a nearby ledge.
When he finally stopped moving, he stood at the end of a grind rail that led into a tunnel filled with fire.
Vendra's head spun and her heart was pounding. Everything was happening so suddenly, so ridiculously, so enragingly that it took her a long moment to recover her senses.
When she finally realized what had just been done to her, the startled Nether turned a furious eye up at her tormentor who still carried her in her arms, "What the frack do you think you're doing!" she screeched. "Put me down this instant!"
But Ratchet wasn't listening to her. Instead, he was watching something so intently that he didn't hear a word she'd said.
Genuinely surprised by his lack of response to the amount of anger she'd directed toward him, Vendra was given pause. She studied his stern expression and noticed that he appeared to be mouthing a count of some kind.
She then followed his focused gaze and finally she spotted the series of fire-spewing jets that filled the nearby tunnel.
Vendra looked at it in confusion and then her eyes grew wide in terror, "You're not going to-'' but she was again cut off when Ratchet suddenly stopped counting and ran at the grindrail.
Forgetting everything other than the fact that she was about to be burned alive, Vendra let out a horrified scream as Ratchet mounted the rails, sending both of them grinding toward the shroud of fire at speed.
However, just before they hit the flame curtain it.. Vanished! The nozzles that were venting the firest switched off as some unseen timer reached its limit, letting the two of them pass by unharmed.
There was no time to feel relief, however. The terrified Nether could now see that the rest of the rail was blocked by several fusion arcs that shot two solid streams of searing electricity across the rail ahead of them from one side to the other.
Vendra screamed again, just as they they were about run into the first gate, but Ratchet expertly jumped over it. As he did this, another group of jets ignited on the roof of the tunnel above them, pouring fire down in front of their path.
Vendra shut her eyes, awaiting the inevitable, but Ratchet had timed his jump perfectly and they safely fell back to the rail, below the reach of the jets, without getting scorched.
Then a second fusion arc was in their path and, like the first, Ratchet jumped this one as well.
Unlike the first, however, this time he came a little too close to the flame jets and Vendra could feel the heat wash over her and her nostrils filled with the scent of singed Lombax fur.
Ratchet had pulled her close to his chest, so he took the brunt of the burning exhaust, but she could still feel the flames kiss her skin and it sent a chill down her spine.
Other than a few burnt strands of fur, however, they both landed unscathed and, after jumping a third fusion arc that thankfully had no followup jets of fire, the two continued down the rest of the unobstructed rail.
Vendra finally let out in a breath of relief, though it was more like a wheezing pant of exasperation. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest as if it were trying to escape her body. The experience had been so rattling that she'd actually clung to Ratchet's chest. Only now did she realize what she'd done.
She immediately let go, more horrified at what she'd done than anything that had happened so far.
The light at the end of the tunnel came into view and Vendra had just enough time to process what had happened. She even had time to feel her rage boil up inside her, but she didn't have enough time to say anything before spotting another launch pad at the end of the rail.
While similar to the first one, this pad was set at an angle and looked more like a catapult.
That was the last thought Vendra had time for before Ratchet hit the pad and the two of them were flung up and out into the sky.
The angle of the launch forced Ratchet to ball up and spin in the air, wrapping himself around Vendra who had closed her eyes. She saw nothing of what was happening, but could feel the force of their momentum as they spun like a top. The urge to vomit came back, stronger than ever, but all she could do was hold on for dear life.
After what felt like an eternity later, Ratchet landed expertly on his feet, directly in the Guardian's mouth with Vendra still held firm.
For the young Nether, the terrible motion came to a sudden and abrupt halt. At least, it did so physically. Vendra's world still spun even as Ratchet gently lowered her shaking form to the ground and stood her upright on her feet.
The nauseous space witch didn't dare open her eyes for fear that seeing the world that was surely still spinning around would push her stomach beyond her control. Instead, she kept perfectly still, knowing that any attempt to move would result in her toppling to the dirt in a heap of vertigo and sickness.
Completely unaware of her discomfort, however, Ratchet immediately turned to the now easily visible Vullard behind the Guardian's control console and gave the creature a withering look.
"Oh, welcome, Outsider," the Vullard began. "I apologize for the ruse, be we like to keep our operation away from the prying eyes of galactic authorities."
Ratchet's glower intensified, "I 'know'," he spat. "I said that when I was standing on the other side of the canyon!"
The Vullard simply nodded, "Well then come. You have proven yourself worthy. I'll show you to the Hollow!"
Ratchet's intense annoyance deflated into disbelief as the oblivious creature turned around and started heading up the nearby hill. It was like the Vullard had no free will of their own and their reaction was completely scripted. Perhaps they'd simply been doing this job for too long.
He shook his head, "Come on, Vendra," he said without turning around. "At least we can get into the Hollow now."
Ratchet went to take a step forward, but just as he raised his foot, a hand touched the square of his back and a moment later a pulse of raw electricity shot through his body.
The Lombax yelped as he was flung forward under the power of his own legs reacting to the intense shock.
He hit the ground, but reflexively turned the fall into a dive that allowed him to roll and come back up facing his attacker, wrench in hand.
Ratchet's combat mind had known what had happened the moment he'd been zapped, but his conscious mind was still surprised to find Vendra standing there with arms held aloft and purple sparks jumping between her fingertips.
"Are you crazy?!" he demanded, blinking in surprise. An arc of static electricity ran down his now straight-standing fur. He couldn't believe that she'd actually chosen to attack him while he still held her collar control.
But Vendra didn't look like she cared at all, "Am 'I' crazy?" she repeated with furious indignation, "You're the one who dragged me through a death-coaster without any warning!"
Suddenly realizing what Vendra was upset about, Ratchet relaxed a little and considered her words, "It wasn't that bad," he countered, genuinely baffled by her reaction.
Sure they'd both singed a bit of hair, but they were ultimately no worse off, and they'd gotten past the Guardian.
Vendra, however, was not calmed by this argument. Her powers flared with anger and she darted forward with a speed that caught Ratchet by surprise.
Reflexively the experienced adventurer put up his wrench to defend himself, but the enraged space witch's hand stopped just short of striking him.
The two of them stood there frozen, inches away from attacking one another.
Vendra made a show of electricity dancing over her arm as she slowly leaned forward, "If you 'ever' touch me again," she whispered so coldly and so softly that even Ratchet's ears could barely hear it, "I'll roast your furry hide until it's charcoal… Understand?!"
Genuinely afraid, Ratchet didn't dared to speak and instead simply nodded his head slowly to confirm that he understood.
Vendra narrowed her eyes dangerously and stared into his for a long moment to make sure the message had gotten through.
Satisfied, she cut her powers, took a step back, and simply walked away.
Ratchet watched her go for a bit, then let out a deep breath and relaxed his grip on his wrench.
His feelings quickly turned from fear to relief, and then to indignation as he turned away to whisper under his breath, "It really wasn't 'that' bad."
"What was that?!" Vendra screeched from way further than Ratchet had thought she could hear.
"Nothing!" he shouted back, before swiftly catching up to both her and the lumbering Vullard gatekeeper.
Instinctively wanting to put some distance between herself and the made Lombax, Vendra stomped forward and Ratchet followed her. Both of them reached the door to the Hollow before their Vullard guide, though, and suddenly found themselves awkwardly standing next to one another in front of the locked gate.
Vendra decided to spend that time glaring angrily at Ratchet, who for his part kept his eyes on the Vullard and willed the slow creature to hurry up.
Finally, they arrived and without a word opened the first gate.
Ratchet let out a slight sigh of relieve as the second gate started to rise, however, he suddenly felt like something was off, "Where's the batterybot?" he questioned, having expected to find a rebellious sentient energy storage device running around outside the door.
The Vullard laughed and waved their hand dismissively, "Oh, no. We haven't used batterybots for a while now. We run on Gelatonium reactors now."
"Pft," Vendra scoffed, momentarily forgetting her annoyance. "Giving A.I. to a battery is one of the dumbest ideas ever. Anyone who uses those crazy things is an idiot who deserves to have their lights turned off."
Ratchet gave Vendra a sideways look, "We used batterybots to power your stasis cell."
Vendra sneered back at him, "I remember."
"Yeah, we got fed up with them always running off and shutting down equipment," their Vullard guide continued. "One time it got so bad that some outsider had to come in and recapture them all for us."
Ratchet's ears and tail went stiff, "That was me!" he barked incredulously. "I told you I'd been here before and 'I' was the outsider who rounded up all your manic little bots for you!"
The Vullard looked Ratchet up and down for a moment and then shrugged, "If you say so, Outsider. Anyway, enjoy your time at the Hollow!"
And with that, they turned and waddled off.
Ratchet glared at the Vullard's back and Vendra found her mood suddenly lightened after the whole grindrail nightmare.
But then her mood soured again just as suddenly when a wave of sulfur hit her nostrils from the now open gateway.
The 'Hollow' was actually a series of manufacturing complexes that had been built into the crater of an active Volcano.
To make things worse, the air was also filled with the unpleasant odor of burning metals and plastics, caustic chemicals, gases, as well as the painfully loud sounds of crushers smashing, cutters sawing, and incinerators whooshing.
Of course, none of the Vullards cared about the smells or noises.
Vendra eyed the citizens with contempt. Every one of them simply slunk along with their massive backpacks full of junk, their faces either covered or outright replaced with some form of cybernetic mask. Each completely oblivious to how wretched their home was.
"Alright, we need to ask around about Angron Snarg," Ratchet declared as he stepped through the gate.
Vendra noted that his tone was even and focused now. It seemed as if he was completely over his lack of recognition, which struck her as both oddly professional and extremely disappointing.
"We should start with the merchants," he continued, pointing out the direction to the merchant district. "The Hollow expands through the volcano onto the other side of the mountain where most residential areas are. There should be a place to buy and sell goods on the way, but like most of Vullard construction, it's pretty cobbled together."
Ratchet then made his way towards it.
Vendra fell in behind him, not wanting to get lost in the smelly junk maze. The Hollow was thankfully small, however. The volanic manufacuring plants she'd first seen were only a small part of the settlement.
On the other side of a tunnel that ran through the volcano wall, they emerged into a sun-lit area. Surprisingly open for how crapped the volcano had been, the town square contained a few stalls and a handful of Vullards all haggling over junk.
It was only when Vendra looked past the bazaar, that she understood the full scope of the the Hollow and it was exactly like it looked: a city made of junk.
Hidden within a massive canyon of scrap metal and dirt walls, the Vullard buildings grew that from the ground surrounding the bazaar were practically indistinguishable from the junk mounds that surrounded them and they ran the length of the canyon interior as far her eyes could see.
While unpleasent to look at or smell, the former villain had to begrudgingly admit that the city was well disguised. From the outside she'd had no idea that such a society existed in these shattered remains of civilization. She doubted she'd have even recognized the place for what it was had she flown over.
"So, where do we start?" Vendra asked as she eyed the ramshackle stalls, eager to get this over with.
Ratchet studied the bazaar, scratching his chin fur thoughtfully as they continued to walk, "Well, we can start with the stall owners. They're the more established merchants, so they would probably know who's been shopping around recently, of course we could also find some shadowy figure. Usually a less than legitimate Vullard whose wares are questionable, even by Vullard standards. As a matter of survival they keep an eye on everything that happens in the Hollow, but they're not likely to own a stall."
Vendra threw a curious glance in Ratchet's direction, wondering if 'shadowy figure' was a real designation, "If they don't have a stall then how do we find them?"
Ratchet shrugged, "They usually just find 'you'. In the meantime, let's chat up some of the local merchants. It'd be best to get info from someone Snarg dealt with directly, though, they probably won't give up info on a customer easily. We might have to see about making some kind of deal."
"What kind of deal?"
"It depends. Usually when I come to someone for information or help, they also need help with something. Either fixing a problem with some machine or collecting rare goods from dangerous places, but usually I get there just in time to save them from someone or something that's trying to kill them. They're usually more than happy to help after that."
Vendra considered Ratchet's words with skepticism, "But, what if they don't need help with anything?" she asked, thinking that it all sounded a little too convenient for everyone to need saving right when he showed up.
Ratchet shrugged, "If they don't need help, then we just pay them. I used to do it a lot in my early years of hero-ing. Everybody has their price."
Vendra almost let out a laugh, "That doesn't sound very 'heroic'," she scoffed.
Ratchet grinned at her, "It really isn't, but I've seen cold hard bolts move planets, so if it gets the job done…"
The former villain eyed his mischievous grin and her image of him as the sickeningly virtuous galactic hero was started to crack a little.
"But first, let's just try talking a bit," he continued as he eyed a nearby merchant's stall. "As long as you don't haggle them out of their junk tubs, they're usually pretty chatty. The key, though, is to not seem too interested and to keep them on the defense."
He took a step towards the nearet stall, "Watch and learn."
Despite how much she hated the idea of doing what Ratchet told her, Vendra 'did' watch closely. She was genuinely curious to see how a famed adventurer handled information gathering.
"Oh, welcome Outsider," greeted the Vullard merchant as Ratchet approached.
"We don't get many new faces around here, that must mean you have a starship. Can I interest you in a refurbished Mk. 3 hyperbolic compression chamber?"
Ratchet put on an air of disinterest as he looked over the wears, "Maybe, but what I'm really looking for is… wait, did you say Mk. 3?" he asked, his tone suddenly changing.
"Oh yes," said the Vullard merchant as they pulled out the device. "It was salvaged just last week and reassembled by one of our best mechanics here in the Hollow."
"What's the compression ratio?" Ratchet questioned eagerly, his eyes now wide as they reamined fixed to the hunk of twisted and beaten metal that was placed in front of him.
"It's 3.8." the Vullard answered.
Upon hearing the number, Ratchet's ears stood up and his tail wagged in excitement, "How much?" he demanded.
It was difficult for Vendra to describe her disappointment in words, but she knew that she was more disappointed in herself than anything. She should have known better than to expect something impressive in the first place.
"It's only a thousand-" the merchant began, but Vendra cut them off.
"We're not looking for junk!" she snapped. There was irritation in her voice, though it was not directed at the Vullard. "We're looking for Agron Snarg."
The merchant hestiated at the sight of the angry space witch, but then their close eyes whired between her and Ratchet and the Vullard cocked their head to one side, "You know, I don't 'think' I've heard that name before," the began and even through their synthesized tones Vendra could sense that they weren't being honest. "It's hard to remember things, though, when you have all these amazing wares to sell."
The merchant gestured to all of the junk layed out in their stall, "Maybe if I didn't have to worry about so many I'd remember more easily, Outsider."
Vendra grinned, "Perfect."
In a flash her hand had shot out and grabbed the merchant by the neck. The Vullard squawked in surprise as they found themselves staring into the Nether witch's eyes which glowed with purple light.
Behind her, dozens of the tiniest, sharpest looking metal objects from the stall rose up into the air and they all pointed at the Vullard.
Vendra knew that her powers were currently too weak to make the objects do more than prick someone, but she also knew that seeing the swarm of tiny metal arrows looked terrifying.
"Where. Is. Agron Snarg?" she demanded in a flat, but dangerous tone.
"W-who?" the terrified creature vocalized.
Vendra's eyes narrowed and she willed one of the larger scrap needles to poke against the Vullard's eye lens, "Snarg… big ugly lizard, looking for unique parts recently. Where is he and what was he doing here?"
"Ok, ok!" the helpless creature whined. "I'll tell you!".
Vendra grinned, but before her victim could continue, she felt something firmly grip her by the shoulder and pull her back.
The sudden jolt broke the focus that was required to maintain her powers. The tiny metal shards fell to the ground in a series of soft clatters and she was spun around to face Ratchet's glaring features.
The Vullard merchant saw their opportunity to escape and took off running from their stall.
And while they could only waddle away at about half a normal person's walking speed, there was nobody chasing them.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Ratchet demanded.
Vendra's eyes narrowed, "What do 'you' think you're doing?" she shot back, focusing her powers inot her shoulder to shock his hand. "I warned you about touching me!"
Before she could discharge it, however, Ratchet released her shoulder, but he did not soften his gaze.
"That is 'not' how we gather information," he barked, then hesitated, "Well, not usually... But you can't just go around threatening innocent civilians like that!"
"That Vullard knew something," Vendra protested, not backing down from his gaze.
Ratchet shook his head, "Maybe, but now we'll never know."
"Because of you!"
Ratchet looked into Vendra's defiant eyes and saw no hint that she even understood what she'd done wrong. He realized that he didn't know how to explain basic decency to a former villain.
The torn Lombax was at an impasse. He needed to find out the information on Snarg as quickly as possible, but he couldn't risk Vendra snapping on another innocent sales clerk.
At last, he let out a sigh, "You know what? You're on time out!"
Despite being mad, Vendra's expression still showed her confusion at the words.
"Your collar will activate if you get too far away from the controller, but its range covers the markets. Go find a place to keep out of trouble while 'I' pump the other vendors for information. You're not to move from that spot until I get back, understood?"
Vendra turned up her nose at the order, but she bit back her rage at being told she was 'on time out' like some kind of child, "What, so you can go spend all your bolts on useless junk?" she spat back. "Is that your definition of 'pumping for information'?"
Ratchet's ears bent in embarrassment, clearly aware of how his excitement had gotten the better of him, "Just try not to kill anyone," he pleaded.
When Vendra said nothing else, he took that as her acknowledgement. He then turned around and searched for the closest merchant that hadn't seen what Vendra had just done. All the others had promptly ducked behind their stalls or threw 'Closed' sighns up.
Vendra huffed as Ratchet left, watching him go until he was out of sight before turning to walk in the opposite way.
'Fine by me,' she fumed, honestly glad that she finally got a break from standing around with the heroic Captain Ratchet's stupidity on full display.
She spotted a shaded corner of the bazaar and leaned up against the rusted metal wall away from the oppressive sun.
If this is what the goody-two-shoes Lombax wanted then great! He can do all the work and then come crawling back to her when he's lost all of his bolts and with no info to show for it.
Until then, she would just relax.
Half an hour later, Vendra had not relaxed at all.
She had spent this entire time stewing, unable to comprehend why heroes were so weak and so incapable of doing what needed to be done. If he'd just let the Vullard finish talking they'd have what they needed by now and would probably be off this putrid rock!
Lost in thought, the fuming space witch barely heard the "Psst…" from a small alley next to the junk hut she was leaning against.
At first, Vendra had thought that a pipe had broken in the cobbled-together junk-town and was now hissing in her ear. She was considering getting up and finding a new spot, but eventually turned to see what was making the sound, only to find the shadowy outline of a Vullard hiding in the darkness of the alley. It blinked at her with it's one working eye light.
"Yeah, you," whispered the shady figure, "You looking for Agron Snarg?"
Vendra stared in disbelief for a moment, but inwardly she had to admit that she was a little impressed. For a holier-than-thou hero, Ratchet clearly knew the underworld well enough.
"That I am," she said with a sickeningly sweet smile, before turning down the alley and approaching the shadowy figure.
The two disappeared into the darkness.
Several moments later, there was a bright flash of purple light that illuminated the image of a small Nether girl grinning maniacally as she gripped a hapless Vullard by the neck.
Vendra made her way through the tiny bazaar looking for Ratchet, but she was surprised by how hard he was to find in this tiny maze of merchants. He must have moved around quite a bit since they'd separated.
Walking around the rusted, smelly, and shoddily crafted bazaar reminded Vendra of how much she hated the place. The place was filled with Vullard junk merchants who, like the first one, were all peddling what appeared to be the exact same scraps that littered the ground of her and Ratchet's landing site.
She was eager to find her Lombax handler because she now had the information they'd been looking for and the sooner she passed it on, the sooner they could get off this planet.
However, she also realized that if she just came out and told him about what she'd learned, the sappy-hearted hero would want to know how she learned it.
Unable to think of a believable explanation, her plan was to mercilessly mock him for having accomplished nothing by the time she found him and only then would she bestow upon him her great wisdom.
Hopefully he'd be so grateful and/or ashamed of himself that he wouldn't be too pissy when she explained the rest.
As she walked most of the merchants she saw that weren't haggling with a customer were scanning the bazaar for prospective customers.
Occasionally, one would spot Vendra and their electronic eyes would literally light up as they saw a possible sale to a foolish outsider.
Vendra had realized this after the first one had tried to sell her some kind of junk jewelry. Now, every time she made eye-contact with one, they'd take two short hobbles towards her before she stopped them in their tracks with a cold, hate-filled glare. Immediately after, the creatures would slink back away, much faster than Vendra had thought they were capable of.
She did this several times as she circled the bazaar until she heard a familiar voice.
"Thanks anyway," came Ratchet's painfully cheery tones from a short distance away.
Vendra spun to find him waving and walking away from one of the stall merchants.
"Come back anytime, Outsider," replied the Vullard merchant. "I always have the best parts in the Hollow!"
"Liar!" shouted a rival Vullard merchant who was set up parallel to first. "You think your 'trash' is even half as good as my junk?"
The first Vullard gasped and immediately took up the challenge, "You take that back! My junk is not trash!"
Vendra watched the two hunchbacks argue with a sort of detached curiosity until Ratchet spotted her and ran over.
Briefly the former villain had wondered if he'd be upset that she was wandering the bazaar rather than staying put like he'd told her, but the quick glance she spared him as he approached showed her a friendly Lombax who was not at all displeased to see her.
It annoyed her.
"I want to go back to prison," she said the moment he was close enough to hear her, before she turn away to stare at the merchant vs. merchant spectacle.
Ratchet stopped short and raised an eyebrow at her curiously, "But, we only just got here?"
Vendra scowled as one of the two Vullards shoved the other, causing the junk on their back to spill onto the floor, but not even that could brighten her mood, "This place is loud, smelly, and filled with mindless junk peons who think a useless ball of scrap is worth its weight in gold. At least my jail cell only stunk this badly on Taco Tuesday."
This statement caused Ratchet to look at Vendra with stunned awe.
When he did not immediately respond, the irritated Nether girl turned to see his reaction and her face flushed with the realization, "N-not 'my' cell!" she blurted out defensively. "The whole block stank... I don't even like beans!"
"Uh, huh…" Ratchet intoned, barely keeping the grin off his face, "Well, sadly, as much as you miss it, I can't take you back to prison just yet. We still have work to do. Besides, Lombaxes have some of the most sensitive noses and ears in the galaxy. If I can handle this place then so can you."
Vendra's cheeks were still a little red, but she smirked at him in response, "Please, you love it here. You're just as junk-addicted as the rest of these slugs." She then motioned to the sack of wares that were now slung over Ratchet's shoulder for emphasis.
Seeing the gesture, the accused Lombax put his hand to his bag defensively, "Uhh… this was just part of my information gathering. Yeah, that's it! No one's just going to hand over details about a paying customer except to another paying customer, right?"
"Uh, huh…" Vendra intoned, barely trying to keep the smirk off her face. "Well, did you at least find anything interesting?"
The knowing space witch was sure that, even after all this time, Ratchet had acquired nothing but that sack of garbage on his shoulder and she couldn't wait to rub it in his stupid furry face. Only then would she reveal how she'd gotten the information they needed using 'her' way.
But to her surprise, Ratchet's eyes lit up and his ears flicked excitedly at the question, "Absolutely! Check this out!" he beckoned.
The enthusiastic Lombax then proceeded to drop his bag on the floor and open it.
Reaching inside, he quickly pulled out what appeared to be a series of metal tubes that had been haphazardly welded together.
"It's a multi-spread ion flow redirector!" he exclaimed. "Usually, you can only divert ion radiation in one direction while the thruster is still engaged, but with this baby, I can change flow patterns at will! Sure, there's a little danger of the sudden change in full-throttle ion flow putting extra strain on the emission coils... it's kind of why they don't sell them 'legally' at any shops with a reputation... but there's only like a three percent chance of that happening and besides-"
Ratchet caught himself mid-sentence when he looked up at the mildly irritated and extremely uninterested expression on Vendra's face.
"You, uh… you meant about Snarg, didn't you?"
Vendra leaned back and crossed her arms, "Oh no, by all means, continue. I had just thought that you went through the trouble of releasing one of the galaxy's most dangerous villains from prison for the purpose of trying to save it from catastrophic peril at the hands of a bloodthirsty criminal... but if you want to spend your time knick-knack shopping instead, don't let 'me' hold you up."
The embarrassed Lombax gave Vendra a tight-lipped stare as his ears curled downward. He carefully put the redirector back into his bag while mumbling under his breath, "It's not a knick-knack".
"What was that?" Vendra questioned in a condescending tone.
"I said I 'did' find information about Snarg," Ratchet shot back, puffing out his chest, but unaware that his ears remained bent. "One of the merchants I talked to said they saw Snarg in the market a week or two ago. Vullards usually notice outsiders, so a Thug stood out like a sore thumb."
Vendra looked surprised to hear this, "You mean you 'actually' got some useful information?"
The way she'd spoken the words made it sound like the idea itself was utterly implausible and the fact that she seemed genuinely surprised, rather than intentionally trying to be insulting, somehow offended Ratchet even more.
"Yeah, I 'did'," he snapped back. "The merchant said the Thug was asking about precision modulated power sources. Snarg talked up a few vendors, but nobody had what he was looking for. According to the merchant, the only Vullard in the Hollow who might actually have something like that is the resident energy expert. Some old Vullard who's in charge of keeping the lights on in this place."
"Oh," Vendra replied quietly, knowing immediately that his information was right because it was the same thing she'd forced out of the alley Vullard.
The former villain felt a twinge of guilt at her now unnecessarily cruel action, but then she reminded herself that the Vullard had been shady and she brushed it off.
"Well, come on then," she declared before turning and heading for the exit of the bazaar, back toward the volcano heart.
Ratchet was surprised to see her move with such purpose, as if she knew where she was actually going. He quickly picked up his sack of knick-knacks and chased after her.
"Wait," he said as he caught up, "Where are you going?"
Vendra turned to the Lombax and gave him a confused look, "To find the head electrician's office, obviously."
Ratchet returned the confused look, "Yeah, but we don't know where it is yet."
Vendra stopped walking and studied Ratchet for a moment, "I thought you said a vendor told you about Snarg?" she pressed.
"Yeah, but that was only a guess. It's common knowledge that if you need energy modulators you'd go see the top energy specialist, but he runs the power plant for the whole Hollow and the vendor has never needed to go there before. We'll need to ask directions from someone else."
Finally realizing that Ratchet had only acquired half the information they needed, Vendra grinned wickedly and began walking again, "Don't worry, Lombax," she said in a condescending tone. "I'll help you find your way."
Vendra had made the alley Vullard explain in detail the directions she needed to follow in order to get to the head electrician's office. Sure, Ratchet was only missing directions, but it proved that her method was superior after all.
"Vendra, do you even know where you're going?" Ratchet called after her, his voice tinged with suspicion.
But Vendra didn't answer and instead just pushed on.
With a confused grumble, Ratchet just shook his head and chased after her once more.
As the two of them crossed back into the manufacturing center of the Hollow, back into the heart of the volcano, Ratchet couldn't deny that Vendra seemed assured of where she was going. But that was what had him worried.
"Why do you think the electrician is this way?" he asked when he caught up to the strutting Nether. It was possible that she'd just guessed, this area was the heart of the Hollow's industry after all, but he feared that wasn't it.
Vendra gave him a knowing smirk, "I asked around a bit," she said in a self-satisfied tone.
Ratchet knew instantly what that meant and he ran up to block her path, "What did you do?" he demanded, also knowing that he wouldn't like the answer.
Vendra rolled her eyes and simply walked around him, "Like I said," she waved dismissively, "I 'asked' someone and they told me the answer."
"Don't play dumb!" Ratchet almost shouted at her.
His raised tone was enough to finally make Vendra stop and turn around.
"You attacked someone again, didn't you?" he pressed, his fur rising at the thought of what she might have done and the idea that he was responsible for not keeping a better eye on her.
As much as Vendra liked to see Ratchet upset, she knew they wouldn't get anywhere if this continued, "Look, Hero, I didn't kill anyone, just like you said, and I got both the information and the directions we needed. What's done is done, so let's just get on with it already."
But Ratchet wasn't satisfied with this answer at all. "I can't believe you!" he growled, genuinely surprised that a convicted criminal would disobey an authority figure.
He knew that Vendra likely didn't have the power to kill anyone easily, but he'd been wrong to assume that fact would be enough to keep her out of trouble.
Ignoring him, Vendra just sighed and turned away, walking straight through the entrance of a nearby industrial building. As she passed through the entrance, she pointed up.
The frustrated Lombax reflexively opened his mouth to scold her about trespassing, but then he noticed the large thunderbolt-emblazoned anvil etched into the metal above the entrance.
'Is this the power plant?' he wondered, having been so caught up in Vendra's crimes that he hadn't realized how far walked come.
Ratchet quickly crossed the threshold in pursuit of Vendra and inside he found a series of control panels as well as a beltway large enough for a hovercar to drive on. The conveyor-like belt sat at ground level and continued out over a pool of molten lava.
There was a Vullard working at one of the consoles who looked up at them as they entered, but they were clearly unsure of what was happening or how to respond.
The entrance to the beltway was locked behind a barred gate and above it was stamped the same thunderbolt-focused symbol that had been on the front of the building.
Vendra wasted no time in making her way to the gate, "While you spent your time drooling over spare parts and scrap, I got the information we needed," she gloated. "The main power-routing station for the Hollow was built at the heart of the volcano in order to regulate thermal power generation and this walkway here transports personnel and gelatonium directly to the power plant. The head electrician is just on the other side."
Ratchet studied the interior of the facility, noting all of the machinery and power routing conduits with an experienced mechanic's eye.
"You there!" Vendra barked at the hapless Vullard background character. "Open this gate and activate the walkway."
The Vullard looked surprised, but shook their head, "I can't, Outsider. Only authorized personnel-"
But Vendra cut him off by grabbing the control panel with both hands.
Purple lighting snaked down her arms and wormed its way from her fingers into the device.
Sparks flew and lights flickered as Vendra's powers forcefully overrode the system. A moment later the gate opened and the walkway began to move.
Grinning at her own accomplishments, the proud space witch took a step toward the moving beltway, "Come on, Lombax. You don't want to be left behind, do you... again?"
But just before she stepped onto the moving platform, a hand grabbed her shoulder in an annoyingly familiar way.
Vendra spun around and angrily looked Ratchet in the eye, but held her tongue when she saw the intensely serious expression on his face.
"This walkway here?" Ratchet asked in a surprisingly low tone.
Vendra hesitated, but fixed him with a confident smirk, "Yes, 'this' walkway."
Without a word, Ratchet stepped up to the moving walkway to stand at Vendra's side. He stared at the moving belt for a moment before turning back to her with a hard look. Then, without shifting his gaze again, he tossed his sack of purchased junk onto the conveyor belt.
This action seemed odd enough that Vendra temporarily forgot her anger and instead just watched the bag move along the walkway.
The moment the bag crossed a sensor line further down the belt, a massive crusher slammed down on the pathway, pulverizing the sack and its wares into a metalic pancake.
Vendra gasped in surprise.
The dumbfounded space witch then watched in horror as the now flattened sack moved further down the conveyor where it was then crushed again and again by more pulverizing plungers, until it was finally thrown off the belt into a distant incinerator.
Realizing that the bag represented herself, had Ratchet not stopped her, the stunned former villain turned to look at him open-mouthed.
But the disapproving Lombax had turned away and refused to look at her as he spoke, "I'm not going to ask what you did to get your information, but whoever told you how to find the electrician clearly wanted you dead. I'll leave it to you to figure out why."
Vendra's surprise quickly turned to anger, "I'm going to kill that rat-slug!" she hissed with deadly sincerity.
But Ratchet just shook his head and turned to leave, "I'm sure your 'informant' is long gone by now. Besides, isn't this just part of 'your' way of doing things? I can see now why Neftin handled this kind of stuff."
Upon hearing the very justified condescension in his voice, Vendra quickly turned her anger from the shady Vullard towards Ratchet instead.
She opened her mouth to retort, but by the time she did, the Lombax was already halfway to the entrance of the facility.
Even just by walking quickly, he moved very fast and Vendra was forced to suck in her pride and chase after him, having to nearly sprint to catch up.
As they left the disposal facility, the hapless Vullard worker watched the two of them storm out before quickly waddling over to the gate controls.
When the command console turned out to still be working, they immediately turned off the crusher belt and re-locked the gate before letting out a sigh of relief.
The Vullard then simply shrugged and muttered, "Outsiders," before going back to their work.