Author's note:
Well here we are with the concluding half of the Maktar Resort arc, and the particular portion of this level that I'm sure you've all been waiting for; the arena. I haven't gotten word back from Flowerstar just yet, so this particular version hasn't been beta read as of the time of writing. I've combed over the chapter the best I can, but with my writing time now at a premium thanks to longer working hours I'm bound to have missed a few things. If anyone spots any niggles or stupid mistakes, let me know and I'll fix it as soon as I'm able.
I also have a whole slew of new fan art once again thanks to the artistry of Nekolover3; (/art/Whats-A-Horse-Whole-Again-546635539) , (/art/The-New-Guy-Great-Whole-Again-547074580) and (/art/A-Little-Fluff-Time-Heals-All-547543594) respectively, which you can check out on her Deviant Art account should you wish.
Review replies:
Destiny - Thank you, hope you like this one too.
vengarl22 - Thanks again for the reminder. It's taken a bit of mulling over, but I think I've come up with a more 'realistic' spin on the health levelling system; though I won't be implementing it until the next chapter at the earliest since it would mess up the flow otherwise. To be honest, armour will probably be one of the most straight forward to resolve out of all the upgrades, and I've already started to plan for some potential alternate sets to go along with the canon ones. The actual process of fitting the armour is going to need a bit of work, but hopefully I'll have something ready by the time the first upgrade point pops up in the canon storyline.
The White Guardian - To be fair, the Ratchet & Clank series is full of plot holes which are just begging to be poked at; the least of which being the claim in Tools of Destruction that Ratchet 'has never seen another lombax' in spite of having previously met Angela years prior. On the plus side, that does mean that fan fic writers are free to use their own explanations to fill in the blanks and make things more coherent in the way they see fit.
The same thing goes for the enemies capabilities really. In game they're little more than cannon fodder and barely give the player pause; but if they were real then even the lowliest of bad guys must have some form of survival instinct beyond standing around in the open and blazing away in the hopes of hitting something.
You're definitely right about Ellen; considering what's coming up in the foreseeable future there will most certainly be more explosions, with Ratchet and herself almost certain to be caught up in the middle. Unfortunately I don't have a PS4 yet so I can't play the demo, but from what I've seen of the E3 footage it's shaping up to be an interesting reboot for the series that will hopefully attract a new generation of fans. Thanks again, hope you like the new chapter.
Firstar5277 - If you liked the last 'set up' chapter, then I think you're going to love this one; especially with what I've got in store. Yeah, narrow escapes from self-destructing constructs are going to become a regular occurrence for poor Ellen, and it's still only her first day on the job as a commando. Hope you like the new chapter.
GoldenLombaxGirl - Yep, and maybe he'll finally get to find out what a horse is. I do actually plan to have Ratchet and Ellen visit Earth together eventually, which I may extend into a side story if the idea proves popular enough; and with her family involved, things will definitely be… interesting…
Sonachugirl - Yeah, I got a little bit carried away with certain portions of the chapter (which I won't spoil) and before I knew it the thing was nearly four times as long as my average chapter length. Needless to say I had finger cramp for days afterwards, and proof reading was a chore unto itself. Big booms and narrow escapes do seem to be a reoccurring theme for Ellen; and considering her luck so far, I'd say the chances of it happening again are somewhere between 'yes' and 'nigh definite'. Fingers crossed you'll consider this chapter worth the wait.
Kairi671 - Honestly? I can't see them getting married anytime soon, although I haven't ruled it out yet entirely. Depends on how things work out between this story and the next. The Future saga is another undecided factor; as much as I'd love to say yes, I'm not sure how far I'll take this series yet. The plan was to just do the original trilogy, but with the amount of time it takes to write each of the books in the series and me wanting to branch out into something different, I'm going to have to say no for now. I guess we'll just have to see what the future brings.
BulletWitch1985 - Can't say I have, but if Hollywood comes a-knocking then that's fine by me! It's taken quite a long time, but I finally feel that I'm comfortable enough with Ratchet and Ellen's interactions to make them seem more natural rather than just trying to shove words in their mouths. Judging by your reaction to the chapter, I guess I must be at least making some headway in the right direction.
I guess that's something me and Regina have in common. I'm actually normally quite calm in most situations, but there are just some games that make me turn the air blue; especially when failing the same bloody section over and over like Groundhog Day on loop. I do intend for Ace to crop up again soon, but I haven't decided when; just need to find the right moment in the story or failing that make a scenario up.
Glad you finally got to see Jurassic World, I still haven't had a chance yet but I'm itching to see it myself on the big screen and have been going out of my way to avoid any spoilers beyond the trailers. Chances are I'll end up having to wait for the home release, but if it's anywhere near as good as you say it is then it'll be well worth the wait. Take care, both of you; hope you like the new chapter.
StaticBomb93 - Hey there, long time no see! Yep, this series is still going strong - for as long as I'm able to keep to my update schedule that is - and I intend to see it through to the end. Caitlyn was originally only written to be a bit character; just someone for Ellen to play off of in the first scenes and show how far she's come since Time Heals All. Now though… I think I might have a bigger role lined up for her once this story is finished, depends on how things work out. Glad you like the story so far, and hopefully you'll like the new chapter as well. Take care.
I'm always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.
If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account should you wish.
The arena awaits, along with its champion; assuming our heroes can make it past the multitude of mercenaries gunning for them that is. Here's Chapter 7.
- 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 and is used with her kind permission.
'Thoughts'
Flashbacks
"Speech"
Chapter 7:
Luck of the Draw
Maktar Resort, Maktar Nebula
Bogon Galaxy
G2.17.081 Galactic calendar
1:48pm GST
Things hadn't exactly gone to plan for Ratchet once he had left the transport terminal for the casino complex, primarily due to the mass influx of missile launcher equipped PMC troops stationed on the nearby rooftops turning the whole area into a no fly zone. Instead, he had been forced to divert the shuttle to a more secluded spot well away from his destination; an isolated maintenance platform at the base of some kind of cargo block that could only be accessed via a shuttle craft and had no other way off other than climbing vertically. This presented little problem for the agile lombax however; powerful legs launching him straight up to grasp the lip of a horizontal strut above and allowing him to shimmy across to an access hatch that led to a long ladder. Once he was topside, Ratchet soon found himself in a docking area of sorts; heavy lift cranes lining either side of the boxed in area beyond along with top half of the casino complex just beyond.
Of course, the squad of mercenaries that were rapidly taking up position behind some stacked crates ahead had no intention of letting him through, and the arrival of another angular silver dropship overhead to land more troops didn't exactly bode well. With practically zero cover to hide behind, the lombax's only option was to stay mobile; re-equipping his Chopper and slinging throwing stars down range even as he leapt to one side to avoid the first barrage of micro missile sent his way. The ricocheting projectiles worked wonders in the enclosed environment, taking down two of the thugs hunkered down behind the crates and distracting the remainder long enough for the lombax to somersault away and switch over to his Gravity Bomb once he had closed the distance again.
The oversized grenade launcher thumped twice in rapid succession; twin fiery blooms sending the densely packed thugs broken bodies flying even as the remainder continued to carpet the area with explosives in his wake and even more beamed down from the dropship to join the fray. They were coming in too thick and too fast for the lombax to effectively counter, especially since he was burning through Nanoclips like nobody's business. To this end, he sent a last Gravity Bomb down range to thin their numbers before vaulting over an exposed power conduit exposed by the liberal use of heavy weapons and charging into close quarters with his wrench in hand. Lombax dexterity allowed him to nimbly evade the odd micro missile that got too close, and in a matter of seconds he was among the remaining three mercs where their launchers were more a liability than anything else.
Predictably, the closest tried to slam his weapon down on the lombax's skull; only for the golden furred blur to deftly step to the right and bring his wrench down on the back of the offender's knee joint with a resounding crack. While the howling merc staggered from the sudden strike, his two friends had not been idle. One had discarded his launcher in favour of a particularly nasty looking machete with squared off edges while the other tried to sweep out the commando's legs from behind; Ratchet's sensitive hearing being the only reason he had enough warning to barely clear the impromptu club and back flip away from the angry mercs.
The first thug had drawn his sidearm from where he was still crouched down on one knee, punching it towards the lombax and forcing him to use the other combatants as a shield. A thrown wrench knocked the pistol away and gave him the split second he needed to finish off the merc with a drop kick before snatching up his weapon once more to parry the machete wielding brute's diagonal slash. Sparks flew from both weapons as they repeatedly clashed, the much larger Thugs-4-Less employee using his superior strength to force the furry commando back with each punishing strike while his remaining comrade charged from the wings once more in an attempt to flatten the lombax.
Ratchet was ready however - especially since the guttural war cry telegraphed the attack in such an obvious manner - and so at the last second he back flipped over the charging merc's head and firmly planted both feet into the small of his back as he passed underneath; sending the brute sprawling into his partner face first and subsequently flailing over the edge of the rooftop into the void beyond.
Having apparently run out of troops, the dropship took off for parts unknown; leaving the lightly winded lombax a brief spell to reload his weapons and recover before pushing on once again. Coming to a dead end at the rear of the docking area, Ratchet used a pair of water towers as a spring board to bounce his way to the top only to find himself staring down through a skylight into the upper most floor of the casino itself. His position gave him an unrivalled view of the layout below; the skylight being situated just above a railed balcony with a flight of stairs descending down either side of the circular room while slot machines surrounded the roulette and poker tables smack dab in the middle of a central railed section lit by an expensive chandelier high in the ceiling above.
Fortunately the place was empty of any patrons, no doubt due to the Galactic Gladiators event happening in the nearby arena, but instead had an abundant clientele of a very different kind. The glass skylight shattered from the explosive shock wave, Ratchet avoiding being made into a furry pin cushion by some miracle as he unceremoniously fell to the balcony a good ten feet below to land awkwardly on the jagged fragments. Rolling over with a grunt and pushing himself back up on to his feet, the lombax soon found the culprits in the form of a Thugs-4-Less brute squad spreading through out the room; one each taking the stairs on both sides while the remaining two flipped over some tables for cover and raised the muzzles of their launchers to rest on top before bracketing his position with their opening salvo.
Expensive wood furnishings shattered under multiple impacts, each explosion tearing chunks out of the balcony and filling the air with a lethal cloud of high velocity shards that forced Ratchet to desperately hug the floor in order to avoid being ventilated. It was pretty obvious they intended to keep him pinned down here until their other guys could flank him, and there was damn little he could do without exposing himself to a murderous barrage of return fire. He managed to keep the two on the stairs at bay with suppressive bursts from his Heavy Lancer, but all that did was buy him precious seconds to think of a way out of this situation. It was as he rolled over to lay down fire on the right hand staircase that something caught his eye; the massive crystal chandelier hanging ominously over the centre of the room.
With little other choice to save his hide, Ratchet steadied his aim briefly before pouring a withering stream of super heated bullets into the supports keeping the massive decorative light fixture aloft; enough rounds chewing through the thick cables to send the entire structure crashing down on the pair of unsuspecting mercs sheltering below. Thankfully it was also enough of a distraction to gain the attention of the two remaining mercs; the momentary hesitation all the lombax needed to spring up from his position and bring his light machine gun to bear on both of them.
One did manage to get off a last salvo as he fell, but the micro missiles went wide; detonating a row of slot machines and spraying thousands of bolts across the polished floors without getting anywhere near their intended target. With no one left to shoot at him, Ratchet swept down the stairs and across the room to the shattered panoramic window through which the mercs had originally entered on the far side, seeing as the elevators to the lower levels were locked down.
Stepping through the forced entry way, Ratchet soon found himself outside again on a narrow walkway festooned with lamp posts and hovering advertising boards along with a large compliment of chicken bots apparently left as a rear guard by the now deceased brute squad. A combination of Chopper deployed ricocheting projectiles and deft sweeping strokes from his wrench reducing a majority of the drones to scrap metal as he forged ahead; the narrow confines actually working against the machines by allowing the lombax to eliminate them piece meal. It was as he prepared to finish off the remnants however that the tide began to turn against him with the arrival of another Thugs-4-Less dropship over head, disgorging heavily armed troops on to the walkway just beyond in a steady stream that soon had the lombax severely out gunned.
Firing over his shoulder, Ratchet narrowly avoided a missile to the face with a tumbling roll as he sprinted back the way he came with a chain of explosions following in his wake; shoving himself up against the wall framing the shattered casino window he had clambered through previously and continuing to trade rounds with his pursuers from his new position. A sudden chiming on his Wrist Com gave him pause in spite of the constant barrage of heavy weapons fire pounding his position, especially since the caller ID was exactly who he needed to talk to right now. Shoving the barrel of his light machine gun around his cover, the lombax managed to pick off one of the merc's who had gotten too close and kept the rest at bay with an elongated burst before ducking back to answer the call.
"Hey babe, have fun taking out that jammer?"
Though he couldn't physically see her since this was an audio call only, Ratchet could picture the look on Ellen's face as she gave an exaggerated sigh. "Oh yeah, tons of fun. What with the whole 'blowing up in my face' thing and- Are those explosions?"
Another thunderous detonation rocked the casino wall followed by some of the decorative wood panelling crashing down on the lombax's helmet; a trio of combat drones bursting into the room only to be cut down before they could take more than three steps. "Eh, a few. Been kinda busy down here since you've been gone."
A launched Gravity Bomb took out another attacking wave of chicken bots and their two handlers, the furry commando relocating as the wall he'd been sheltering behind exploded inwards with a lethal hail of rent metal and masonry chunks followed by a breaching brute squad fanning out into the casino interior with weapons raised.
"Where are you? I'm almost back at the station."
Ratchet slid into the cover provided by the dropped chandelier and the remains of the gaming tables around it on the raised central section of the casino floor as micro missiles blanketed the area with fire and debris. "Top floor of the casino!" He had to yell over the constant din of explosions, blindly firing another Gravity Bomb around the shattered light fixture at the attacking thugs. "Dropship's got more mercs comin' in than I've got ammo!"
There was a pained cry indicating that the lombax had at least hit something before the return fire seemed to redouble on his location, forcing him to hunker down until a window of opportunity presented itself. "Don't worry, I'm on my way. Just stay safe... and please don't do anything stupid, fuzz ball."
Ratchet couldn't help the growing smirk on his face even as another explosion rocked his cover, causing it to disintegrate more rapidly by the second. "Hey, it's me we're talkin' about it here!" Hearing Ellen's groan of frustration, he simply chuckled before preparing to end the call. "Love you babe, see ya soon."
Using the precious seconds he had while the thugs reloaded to circle behind a row of slot machines, the lombax made a break for the stairs back up to the balcony above where he could make a stand. All he had to do now was hold out against a seemingly never ending stream of heavily armed and angry mercenaries with a dwindling supply of ammo all on his own. Business as usual, then.
{()}
Staring at her Wrist Com for a few moments after the call had terminated, Ellen shook her head in resignation before accessing the limo's navigation computer and manually overriding the pre-programmed destination. If her relationship thus far with Ratchet had taught her anything, it was that there were two constants in life for the golden furred lombax; an instinctive ability to wade knee deep into trouble, and the inevitable explosions that followed. Right now she just knew that both had come into play, and so it was as the upper reaches of Maktar Resort came into view that she could better see the steady flow of mercs and machines streaming across a raised walkway between a gleaming silver dropship and one of the more lavishly decorated blocks that made up the station.
Tracer fire, the plumes of missile propellant, and the dulled flashes of explosions rocked the entry way to the casino's upper floors, becoming clearer with every passing second and making Ellen's stomach churn at the ridiculous number of enemies her lombax was facing down there. Sure, he was used to facing overwhelming odds and had a ridiculous amount of luck, but even he would be worn down eventually. Seeing the Thugs-4-Less troop transport dust off and another take its place with a fresh cargo of battle hardened mercs solidified her opinion. There was no time to park the limo and back tracking from the transit hub would take far too long to come to Ratchet's aid. Growling low in her throat at what she was about to do, Ellen flipped off the limo's auto pilot entirely and manually guided the unwieldy vehicle towards its new destination. It was time to do something incredibly stupid, and hopefully something she would live long enough to regret.
{()}
With a liberal application of high explosives courtesy of his over sized grenade launcher, Ratchet was finally able to start pushing the assaulting mercs back out of the casino little by little. Throwing stars ricocheted off the walls and drones lay in broken heaps as he flushed the advancing thugs from cover; Heavy Lancer letting rip at any sign of movement and keeping the thugs from replying in kind. Eventually he ended up virtually back where he started; the panoramic window long since gutted along with the adjacent wall while bloody corpses, robot parts, and spent magazines decorated the floor. Preparing to engage the next wave coming from a fresh dropship, the lombax was in just the exact position to witness a speeding limousine approaching fast from the right in a steepening dive.
Eyes widening, he could do nought but watch as the passenger door opened and a very familiar figure wearing a commando jumpsuit tensed briefly before leaping out across the void of space a good thirty or so feet up, just outside the resort's gravity well. The inevitable impact as the limousine slammed into the dropship jarred the nearby resort, Ratchet barely able to keep himself standing as the mangled burning hulk made from the twisted remnants of both vehicles turned end over end and sank from view into the depths.
"Ellen... Ellen!"
The lombax's gaze whipped up to where he had last seen her, only to get a face full of human slamming into him and sending them both crashing down on to the partly covered walkway. Groaning from the skull juddering impact, Ratchet blearily opened his eyes only to see Ellen's face mere inches from his own from where she lay straddling him; her helmet's oxygen mask retracting to reveal a dazed expression.
"I know you like being on top, but doncha think we oughta wait until we're somewhere more... Private?"
The human's vision swam back into focus only to find a mirthful lombax waggling his eyebrows beneath her with a shit eating grin plastered upon his face. Her face flushed at the insinuation, especially since his crotch was pressed up against her body and their form fitting commando jumpsuits left little to the imagination.
"Ratchet!"
Smacking the side of his helmet, Ellen quickly scrambled to her feet and tried to compose herself in spite of the fluttering sensation in her stomach. "I didn't mean to land on you! I had to jump and it just... sort of happened."
Ratchet chuckled as he stood back up and dusted himself off. "You just killed a dropship with an air car and you blame me for doing stupid stuff? Kinda ironic if ya think about it." She huffed in indignation, and he couldn't help but think about how cute she looked when she was this flustered; her cheeks hued and arms waving expressively.
"It was the only thing I could think of at the time, okay? You had your back to the wall, and if I'd taken a longer route..."
She trailed off as he pulled her close with one arm around her mid section, the other cupping her chin and gently moving her face down to meet his own. "Hey, it's alright. Believe me I'm grateful; I just hate seeing you put yourself at risk like that. If anything were to happen to you, I'd never-"
This time it was the lombax's trail of words that was cut off as Ellen embraced him fully, lips locking with his own in a passionate kiss that had both their shared tensions melting away. It was an act symbolic of their love for one another; one born not just of physical attraction, but of trust, companionship, and the knowledge that whatever the universe could throw at them, each had the other's back. Reluctantly breaking contact, Ratchet breathed huskily at the warm feeling filling his very being as the girl he had come to care so much for gazed back at him with those affectionate pale blue eyes.
"Well... damn... If that's what I get when you're upset, I can't wait to see what happens when you're really in the mood."
A faintly smiling Ellen merely rolled her eyes in response. "Oh hush you. Now come on, I got a lead from Mr Fizzwidget and the sooner we finish up here the quicker we can get going."
Ratchet grinned as he drew his Heavy Lancer while moving to walk alongside her, the human arching a brow at his choice of weapon. "New toy?"
He patted the barrel affectionately before shooting her a lopsided smirk. "Kinda. Got an upgrade kit for my Lancer from a vendor. You oughta take a look when we get a chance." She hummed noncommittally, keeping her Leviathan in hand as they approached the end of the walkway and found themselves before a heavy duty airlock like door with a conveniently placed Megacorp branded vendor just off to the right.
"This must be a side entrance to the arena; we've pretty much been everywhere else."
Ratchet nodded in agreement, taking up position on one side of the door while she mirrored his actions on the other. "Yeah, but what I want to know is why the hell all those mercs are here in the first place. I mean, what's our thief tryin' to do?"
Ellen shook her head in resignation. "No idea, but we're not getting any answers stood out here. You ready?"
At his nod she punched the door release and the pair smoothly slipped inside while the doors parted, weapons raised and ready as they swept down the darkened interior beyond. It took quite a bit of fumbling in the labyrinth of identical looking corridors to make any progress, several twists and turns leading deeper into the heart of the structure that was all too suspiciously merc free.
It was Ratchet with his keen sense of hearing that picked up the distant roar of the crowd from somewhere far off, steering them towards it in the hope that they could find a more public area from which they could better get their bearings. The cacophony of voices gained in volume as they moved down a widened corridor dimly lit by overhead lamps, reaching a fever pitch once they reached the heavily armoured door on the far side which promptly began to rise up into the ceiling at their approach. The light from beyond was blinding considering they had been fumbling around in the darkness, and by the time they had regained their sight it was more than a little obvious that they were a lot closer to the action than Ellen would have liked.
"I think we may have taken a wrong turn..."
The human's worried comment was a bit of an understatement, especially seeing as they were now stood inside the arena itself and the door had slammed shut behind them. The place was massive, easily encompassing a football pitch with room to spare within the dome like structure; the thickly panelled circular floor interspersed with raised conical vents kept suspended by an electromagnetic field surrounding the perimeter.
Twin tiered seating ringed the whole arena, the paying masses separated from the carnage by a good fifteen foot gap and heavily reinforced glass partitions while Blazing lights flooded the area from above and banks of super widescreen monitors from the ceiling gave a play by play view of all the gruesome details. Before either commando could think to find a way out of their current mess however, the same bombastic announcer's voice they had both heard from the Galactic Gladiators advert made himself known over the arena's speaker system.
"Is everyone ready for tonight's mega battle?!"
The crowd's response was suitably charged, cheering even louder at the potential bloodshed to come as he continued on. "Introducing, from nowhere in particular; these... guys!" A flying camera drone invaded the pair's personal space, causing them to lean back instinctively and catch a glimpse of their own bewildered visages on the overhanging monitors above; the spectator's tone changing to jeers and disapproving murmurs that were beyond comprehension thanks to the sheer number of voices.
"If they can make it past all of our gladiators-" The image on the big screens flitted to a trio of muscular green skinned bipedal aliens sporting glowing red eyes, fang like teeth, and huge spiked maces as big as they were plus matching round shields. "-They'll take home this brand new Electrolyzer!" The gladiators disappeared from view in favour of a cyan and green trimmed gadget with twin combination lock like prongs and a small monitor mounted on the back above a pistol grip. "But if they can't make it past our gladiators; well, they'll receive a... consolation prize."
"What the hell do we do now?" Ellen hissed into the lombax's ear, conscious of the scrutinising camera's gaze and the sobering image of a gravestone displayed on the hanging monitors much to the crowd's approval.
Still scowling a little at the commentator's less than stellar introduction for the pair of them, Ratchet eyed the potential battlefield with a practised eye; searching for any advantage they could possibly gain to make it out of here alive. "The same thing we always do I guess; make it up as we go along."
The human gave an exasperated sigh in response, hand automatically going to her Quick Select and eyes briefly checking through her weapons status' displayed on her HUD before deciding on her Spitfire for versatility's sake. "Wonderful. Still, I suppose it could be worse."
The lombax arched an eyebrow while similarly preparing his Heavy Lancer. "Oh really, like how?"
She merely shrugged. "Could have been buttons, or heights. Maybe even both."
He couldn't help but snort at her answer, along with the girl's brief shudder at the reminder of her two phobias; especially since she considered both to be far worse than taking on an army by themselves. Ratchet had to forestall his own retort however seeing as several boarding tubes emblazoned with the Megacorp logo began to extend from the walls into the arena, the doors smoothly splitting apart at the seams to disgorge their cargo of blood thirsty gladiators on to the killing floor before they turned to march on the two stationary commandos.
"Let the games... begin!"
Weapons raised high above their heads, the wave of genetically modified combatants charged straight into a withering hail of automatic gunfire with a single minded purpose and apparently little concern for their own safety. Though a few fell to the constant torrent of sustained fire, the remainder continuing to gain ground with their shields up and deflecting any rounds that struck true; forcing the lombax and human to pull back before they could end up on the receiving end of those wrecking ball like maces. Seeing as their current tactics just weren't going to cut it, Ratchet left Ellen to suppress the advancing gladiators while he sprinted around to flank them from the side; already switching out to his Chopper and flinging a few throwing stars in his wake as blazed a trail past the surprised warriors towards their rear.
The semi-homing bladed projectiles more than served their purpose; ricocheting between the arena walls and the angered gladiators in a whirlwind of death that further whittled down the group, but more importantly split their attention and gave Ellen a chance to let loose on the exposed flanks of their now distracted foes. Of course that didn't mean that the remaining gladiators were going to go down with out a fight, the roaring of the crowd almost drowning out the battle cry from one of the few still standing as he shoulder charged the startled human with his shield before swiping his mace in a horizontal arc.
The female commando barely managed to duck in time, falling on to her back and planting both boots into the genetically altered warrior's stomach to propel herself into a backwards roll and away from the follow up strike; bounding back on to her feet in time to see Ratchet cave in the green skinned brute's skull with his wrench just as the next boarding chutes opened out on to the arena floor.
"Did somebody order chainsaws?!"
Both lombax and human were already weaving through the ventilated and bloody corpses before the commentator could even finish his rhetorical question, orienting towards the tri-squads of MSRs as they scuttled forth with their chainsaw arms already buzzing ominously. Though these repurposed security robots looked virtually identical to the ones the duo had easily trounced before, it soon became clear that they a lot quicker and aggressive; closing the gap rapidly and forcing their opponents into close combat.
Ellen had switched to her scatter gun just as one of the marauding machines leapt over its compatriots to gut her from above, only to receive a point blank blast of buckshot for its trouble that blew it to pieces and sent mangled limbs sprawling all over. Racking another round into the chamber, she ducked under another swinging blade and came up within the offending robot's guard; reducing its helm and a good portion of chest cavity to metallic dust before whirling around the teetering body to avoid a third coming up behind.
She needn't have bothered, Ratchet already identifying the threat to his partner had taken out its legs with a flung wrench in mid stride; somersaulting over a myriad of rotating blades attempting to amputate his own lower limbs and snatching up his melee weapon of choice before taking of the downed machine's helm with a fell stroke and turning to face the rest. Sparks flew as the solid wrench met roaring metal teeth, the lombax having to use both hands to keep the chainsaws at bay as he parried multiple strikes from two MSRs at once.
Neither gave him any respite, and it wasn't until the familiar booming of a shotgun damn near bisected one of his assailants that Ratchet had the opportunity to go on the offensive once more. An overhead strike smashed the remaining machine's weapon arm hard enough to cause the saw blades to cut out; a rising uppercut followed by another heavy blow to the helm finishing the job just as the next wave of hostiles were released into the arena via boarding chute.
"Looks like these two are having a ball!"
Blade balls came swarming out on to the field by the dozen, their densely packed formations resembling a whirlwind of spinning death as they rapidly closed in on the two commandos.
"Seriously?! Is this guy supposed to be punny?!" Ellen's yelled question was barely audible over the deafening boom of her shotgun, the human alternating between unloading buckshot into the tight clusters of drones and wide sweeping slashes of her Versa Blade that neatly bisected several at a time.
Fortunately Ratchet's sensitive hearing could easily discern her voice amongst the carnage, his lips quirking into his trademark cocky grin as he vaulted over a group of blade balls whilst unleashing a spread of throwing stars before tucking into a roll on landing and switching out to his Gravity Bomb. "Well look on the bright side babe, at least he isn't saying we suck!"
In spite of the life threatening situation and being outnumbered at least twenty to one, the two had settled into an almost relaxed rhythm once they had gotten over the shock of being dumped into a gladiatorial death match. Compared to the kind of crap the lombax and human had previously been through this was barely even a challenge; the wide open space, clear lines of sight, and the fact their enemies were only packing melee weapons thus far allowing the pair to blitz through the opposition with impunity. It was because of this that the drone swarms lasted scant seconds under their joint assault, the crowds lapping up the brutality and carnage with savage glee. Though as the boarding chutes extended once more to deploy the next wave, Ellen couldn't help but feel that things were a little too easy and the worst was yet to come.
"These two are literally are on fire!"
Jets of blue flame shot up from concealed ports around the arena floor; Ratchet leaping away from one such faucet with a yelp as it singed his tail while Ellen frantically patted out the clinging fire threatening to burn through the arm of her suit. Their momentary distraction however allowed the lumbering group of gene-modded gladiators to get in close, the lombax taking a shield bash to the chest that sent him sprawling away with a pained cry.
"Ratchet!"
Before the human could move to render aid however, she soon had her own problems to deal with; one of the mace wielding warriors smacking the shotgun out of her hand and attempting to pulp her skull with a follow up strike. Jinking to the left, she barely missed the oversized mace as it slammed into the arena floor; grabbing the hilt with one hand and using it as leverage to unleash a spinning roundhouse kick to the chest that forced him back a step and sent a jolt of pain up her leg from the impact.
'Ow! Son of a bitch that hurt!'
With adrenaline masking the throbbing pain, Ellen used the brief opening to plunge her Versa Blade into the reeling gladiator's throat; tearing it free and scooping up her fallen shotgun in one fluid motion before unloading on another assailant just as the gurgling body finally slumped to the ground. It was more than a little worrying to the human at just how desensitised to violence she had become from her prior experiences; pulling off the brutal manoeuvre without batting an eyelid where once it would have sickened her to the stomach. But Clank's words from so long ago gave her some form of solace; for if she were truly too far gone then she would not possess the conscience to question her actions. At the end of the day it was a simple matter of survival; and if she wanted to live long enough to regret the lives she took, then she ultimately had to be the more efficient killer.
By the time the human had emptied the rest of her Blitz Gun into her remaining assailants, Ratchet had long since recovered and gone back on the offensive. The Gladiator who had backhanded him had charged forth to finish the job only for the lombax to respond in kind. Sprinting forth and avoiding the spiked mace swung his way by a whisker, he slid between his much larger opponent's legs; taking out the back of a knee with his wrench before leaping up and bringing it down on the staggered warrior's head with a resounding crunch. The remaining Gladiators didn't last long once he bought his light machine gun out to play, super heated rounds in conjunction with Ellen's new penchant for buckshot quickly shredding the green skinned brutes' unprotected flanks and adding yet more bodies to those decorating the arena floor. Without pause, the boarding tubes extended into the arena once more; and with it yet another wave of enemies to fight.
"Time to turn up the heat!"
Three squads of MSR IIs came marching on to the field, their predominantly red armoured frames blending somewhat with the swathes of flame they swept in their wake. Close combat was out of the question, and to make matters worse the raised conical vents protruding from the arena floor spun over on their axis to reveal exposed fans that would not only be lethal to touch but also created a buffeting wind that would stagger anyone in close proximity. As if the two commandos needed any more incentive to stay the hell away, the increased air flow caused the mechanical pyro's flames to billow into burning clouds that blanketed a much wider area, thus giving them even less room to manoeuvre.
Time to bring out the big guns then.
Ratchet pulled the trigger on his oversized grenade launcher with a distinctive thump; the high yield explosive obliterating two of the converted security robots to pieces while a third was sent flying minus its front legs only to be sucked into one of the spinning turbines with an awful screech of rent metal.
"I don't care what part of the galaxy you come from; that's got to hurt!"
The crowd cheered even louder at the announcer's understated comment, chanting some incoherent mantra that was almost lost in the din of explosions and gunfire reverberating inside the arena walls as the duo continued to smash their way through the rest of the flame spewing machines. Ellen's hand cannon roared; each shot carefully measured to hit only when she could actually see her target in the burning haze that covered the area and stung at her eyes even with the protection offered by her helmet's visor. Thankfully the effect lessened as the number of MSRs gradually dwindled down, Ratchet taking particular joy in riddling the last one with enough rounds from his LMG to turn it into Swiss cheese.
"Let's see if they can handle the variety round!"
It was as if whoever was transporting the various combatants into the arena was either clearing out the reserve stock or was otherwise bored and simply decided to say 'screw it'. Every single boarding tube opened on to the killing floor simultaneously; disgorging a rag tag horde of blade balls, genetically cloned gladiators, and killer robots of both varieties that soon had the human and lombax duo completely surrounded on all sides. Oh, and somebody thought it'd be a great idea to switch the flame jets back on. Joy. It was times like this that Ratchet wished he had a lot more explosives on his hands, especially since he only had two grenades left in his launcher and only a few spare Nanoclips, and so he turned a glance towards his partner to see how she wanted to play this.
"So... any ideas?"
Ellen dared not take her eye off the slowly converging crowd, her Spitfire shouldered and ready but not yet firing. "Well... I guess surrounding them is out of the question."
He couldn't help the snort at her dry quip even in the face of stupidly overwhelming odds. "Yeah, maybe. But what about if we pulled another Gemlik?"
The human blinked in incomprehension for a few seconds until realisation dawned, a small smile ghosting her lips at the memory of their literal running battle through the main hanger of the blarg moon base orbiting Oltanis back in the Solana galaxy. "Well it worked once, so why not. Same drill as before?"
The lombax's answer was to heft his Gravity Bomb launcher with a borderline feral grin plastered on his face. "Yep, just make sure you're right on my tail. Alright, let's do this!"
The ring of muscle and steel had been slowly tightening on the duo throughout their conversation, the caution displayed by the surrounding combatants at the way their predecessors had been slaughtered wholesale the only reason why the commandos hadn't been immediately overrun by their numerically superior foes. The sudden outburst of violence was a surprise then to those stood barely fifteen feet away when the lombax launched a pair of Gravity Bombs into the crowd nearest their position, followed by switching to his Chopper mid stride as he barrelled through the resulting carnage. Ellen was barely two steps behind, keeping up the breakneck pace set by her partner while hosing the wall of enemies turning to cut them off with her Spitfire before opting to swap over to her now reloaded shotgun once they breached the perimeter formed from the mass of bodies crushing down on them.
"These two are on a rampage!"
The initial explosions had done more than just punched a hole through the encroaching gladiators and machines; the force from the blast knocking several of the combatants into each other, with some falling foul of the randomly firing flame jets and the still spinning fans that redecorated the arena floor in a gruesome manner. The chaos and confusion sown however was more than ample a distraction for Ratchet and Ellen to go on the offensive; her shotgun booming at point blank range into the exposed flanks of the confused ring of enemies while his ricocheting throwing stars reaped more havoc as they skirted around the edge of the arena with relative impunity. Of course all good things have to come to an end eventually, and once the some what depleted ranks of cloned warriors and repurposed security bots had gotten over their initial surprise the balance of power began to shift once again.
Blade balls being the quickest were the first to respond, the globular drones easily sent packing with both wrench and buckshot before they could even get a chance to deploy their rotary blades as the human and lombax continued to run counter clockwise around the perimeter. The flamethrower wielding red painted MSR IIs spat forth gouts of flame in an attempt to cut off the two commandos, only to more often than not end up hitting their own side seeing how clustered the various combatants were in such a densely packed area. Though the robots splashed with fire were easily able to shrug it off, the gladiators weren't so lucky. The quasi napalm like substance clung to their thick leather like clothing and burned through to the flesh underneath for the duration of its short burn, those that survived its effects enraged to the point of attacking anyone that got too close in their pain fuelled haze.
"It's like watching a train wreck! Wow!"
With most of the green skinned brutes now fighting both the robots and among themselves, Ratchet and Ellen continued to weave between the numerous traps that seemed to go off in a random fashion while picking off any stragglers they could reach at every opportunity. Automatic gunfire and creative use of the arena hazards claimed even more of the sizeable force, and it wasn't long until the number of enemies had dwindled down to a half dozen machines and one angry mace wielding gladiator.
Ellen's Leviathan roared and bucked with the recoil, the last warrior's head snapping back from the heavy slug punching through his skull as the scuttling MSRs of both varieties continued to sally forth right into the path of a descending Gravity Bomb. The single mangled survivor was bereft of functioning limbs and yet still managed to drag itself forth on the stumps of its arms while trailing shattered legs; a situation remedied by a single heavy calibre pistol shot at point blank range exploding the ruined bot's helm much to the crowd's roaring approval. Exhausted, Ellen collapsed to her knees and greedily sucked air into overworked lungs with her heart still hammering a mile a minute; Ratchet looking a little tired himself as he leaned heavily against his wrench.
"Well what do think of that, folks? Six rounds of pure carnage. Let's hear it for our guest contestants!"
The audience's guttural cheering was a constant drone that created an electric atmosphere, the very sight of the fatigued but triumphant commandos still standing amongst the visceral carnage they had reaped leaving the paying patrons baying for more. For their part, the lombax and human were just glad it was all over now; the fight having taken its toll on body, mind, and increasingly expensive ammo expenditure. At least now they could just take this damn Electrolyzer and get out of here, especially since the thief was probably-
"That was a great warm up match, but now it's time for the main event!"
Wait... what?
A heavy lift platform descended slowly from the ceiling in time to an entrance theme that emphasised a heavy bass guitar soundtrack; the two commandos now fully focused on the thirty plus foot tall hulking green skinned behemoth playing to the crowd as the atmosphere reached a fever pitch. The muscle-bound walking tank clad in heavy-plated armour was definitely the same monstrosity from the commercial they had seen back on Oozla; his solid red eyes seeming to glow from the confines of his helmet as he drew a pair of massive segmented swords almost as big as he was from the sheathes on his back and swung them with a flourish.
"Returning to battle is everyone's favourite gladiator! Weighing in at three tons and undefeated in 500 straight matches is the colossus of carnage! He slices, he dices, and carves up a mean dish! Please give it up for CHAAAIIINNNBLAAAADDDEEE!"
"Oh... fudge..."
An earth shuddering tremor shook the arena floor as the massive bio engineered gladiator dropped the last ten feet to the ground and landed heavily, causing the only other occupants still breathing to stagger briefly. Ellen's opinion was reaffirmed now that the behemoth was stood directly in front of them; rearing back his head and unleashing a spittle laced roar that had her taking an involuntary step backwards with a grimace as several flecks landed on her ballistic weave jumpsuit.
"Ew... what the hell have you been eating?!" The stench of rotted flesh caused her nose to rankle, but apparently didn't bother her lombax companion seeing as he merely stood where he was with his head cocked to one side.
"Huh... He looks a lot bigger in real life."
She shot him a look of disbelief at the random comment, but didn't have time to respond in kind seeing as Chainblade was already swinging one of his signature weapons on a horizontal arc aimed at bisecting the pair. Ratchet leapt over the first strike and managed to duck into a roll to avoid the second, Ellen barely managing to scramble backwards in time as they both went for their respective weapons with the towering titan bearing down on them with his lumbering stride. A trio of hand cannon rounds managed to punch a hole in the enlarged gladiator's armour but otherwise did little to slow him down in his dogged pursuit, the human only managing to stay ahead of the maelstrom of whirling blades now targeting her thanks to the sheer amount of adrenaline pumping through her body.
Ratchet meanwhile had used the brief respite to switch over to his Heavy Lancer and was now peppering the back of the not so jolly green giant's legs with super heated tracer fire. A roar of indignant rage accompanied the blood splatters as the rounds struck one of Chainblade's few unprotected spots, the mountain of muscle whirling around frighteningly fast for someone so big and lashing out with both swords at once.
The lombax saw his grateful partner try to gain some distance as she changed weapons but was otherwise far too busy trying to stay alive to keep track of what the human was up to; barely evading the stabs and slashes aimed his way with typical feline grace while trying to get in a few hits of his own with his LMG. It was becoming patiently obvious that the massive brute could soak up pain like a sponge considering how little he had been affected, meaning that the duo would have to find a way to take him down before they both dropped from fatigue.
"Looks like Chainblade's really got his hands full with these two!"
The colossal gladiator had apparently gotten tired of chasing the pair down and decided to change tactics. Hunching down briefly in the centre of the arena, he sprung a dozen feet straight up into the air before the jump jets built into his heavy duty boots flared into life; keeping the green skinned mountain of muscle hovering high above the two commandos heads as he flourished his swords menacingly.
It was then that they learned just how Chainblade got his name; the segmented weapons somehow extending to almost twice its original length as he thrust one towards where the surprised lombax stood, missing him by a whisker as he flipped one side and barely avoiding the follow up strike from the other sword. Ratchet's natural agility kept him one step ahead as he continued to evade the blows raining down from above which gouged the arena floor; throwing stars doing little more than annoy the looming titan as he kept the focus on him and not his human partner circling around to flank their foe.
Ellen had taken full advantage of the behemoth's distraction to get into a position where she hoped she could actually do some damage, bringing up her Leviathan in a two handed stance and sighting on the exposed flesh of his bulging right bicep. Aiming carefully at the constantly moving target, she stroked the trigger thrice; making sure each bullet would impact closely together and hopefully weaken the giant's ability to fight. Chainblade jerked away with a roar of pain as the heavy pistol rounds pulped the muscles in his arm, crimson ichor spraying the ground below as his arm dropped in mid swing and his sword drew a shower of sparks upon striking the arena floor far from his intended target. He turned a murderous gaze upon the now paling human slowly lowering her still smoking hand cannon, a reverberating growl growing in the back of his throat as he landed with a ground shaking impact and began to stalk towards her.
"Oh shit..."
Ratchet however was already in motion, his wrench in hand as he sprinted straight at the enraged juggernaut with the vague semblance of a plan in mind. "Hey you! Big and ugly!"
Chainblade whipped around with a speed bellying his size, his left sword aimed low to bisect the lombax only to hit nothing but air; his dwarfed opponent flipping sideways to land on the flat of the extended blade and using it as a springboard to launch himself up on to the colossal gladiator's arm. Chainblade bought the pommel of his other sword down hard in an attempt to dislodge the furry commando, only for Ratchet to leap away and snag his wrench on to one of the green-skinned giant's armoured pauldrons; dangling from one arm as he was flung around like a rag doll in the hulking brute's attempt to shake him off.
Trying to buy the crazy lombax the time he needed to do whatever the hell he was trying to pull off, Ellen exchanged her half empty hand cannon for her Blitz Gun and began to unload buckshot into the towering titan's legs. Chainblade stumbled under the assault, one blade repetitively descending on the constantly moving commando nipping at his heels while the other was discarded in favour of reaching out to grab the furry hanger on and crushing the life out of him. Ratchet had other plans however, and with a deft pendulum swing managed to land on the bio engineered behemoth's shoulder; ducking under the grasping meaty digits clawing at him and launching into a spinning strike that saw his wrench smashing into the thick plated helmet before him with a resounding vibration much like a gong.
"Um..."
Chainblade... did not look best pleased. Solid crimson eyes burned holes in the lombax's hide as he let loose a roar born of both frustration and pure unadulterated rage straight in Ratchet's face, blowing back what little golden fur was exposed and making him almost gag at the massive gladiator's putrid breath.
"Y'know, you should really try flossing."
His jibe was unsurprisingly not taken very well, the bio engineered behemoth curling the digits of his right hand into a wrecking ball sized fist that descended on his precarious position with meteoric certainty and an accompanying roar. Ellen continued to unload round after round into the green skinned giant in an effort to stave attention away from the soon to be pulverised lombax only to be ignored entirely; panic rising in her gut only to be quickly replaced with bewilderment at what she was now witnessing.
Focused entirely on the thrown punch coming straight at him, Ratchet hunched for a brief second to coil his leg muscles before leaping straight up on to the green appendage just as it passed through the space he was previously occupying. Landing on Chainblade's forearm, he quickly scrambled forth before the towering titan could regain his wits; making his way towards the elbow joint just as realisation dawned on the hulking brute and he responded in the only way he knew how.
The lombax's impromptu platform became entirely unstable as Chainblade drew his arm back and oriented the sword still held in the other towards the furry commando, but didn't deter him as his feline sense of balance kept him upright long enough to follow through with his ad-hoc plan. Reaching the elbow joint that was rapidly being pulled back, Ratchet began to spin on his axis while tilting backwards; simultaneously drawing his grenade launcher and bringing it up to bear at the gaping tooth-laden maw before him.
"Or you could always try some mouthwash!"
Time seemed to slow as Ratchet squeezed the trigger, the Gravity Bomb appearing to sail through the air as if it were passing through syrup as he pushed off of the bulky limb and let the laws of physics take their course. The cheerfully painted explosive didn't have far to travel at such a close range, and so Chainblade had virtually zero time to react as it landed right inside his gaping maw before he could snap it shut. There was but a heartbeat in which the colossal gladiator appeared to realise just what had happened before the flow of time seemed to return to its natural state and the spherical device detonated inside his mouth with a muffled roar; the lombax tumbled through the air to land hard on the arena floor below with the wind knocked out of him while Ellen rushed to his side.
Both commandos watched with bated breath as the towering mass of green muscle swayed unsteadily, his crimson eyes now dull and glazed and the remaining sword clattering to the metallic floor. Blood and liquefied grey matter trickled freely from the once imposing behemoth's mouth and helmet for several seconds until, like a great oak that had finally succumbed to the lumberjack's will, Chainblade finally fell backwards to impact the unforgiving floor with an earth shattering rumble. Absolute silence filled the arena for long seconds, human and lombax now standing together and wondering just what the hell was going to happen next when suddenly the crowd burst into life. The wall of noise reverberated in the air louder than anything the pair had heard so far, a guttural chant going up from the ecstatic patrons packing the seats while the announcer's voice came through on the arena speakers after a few moments of fumbling static.
"I can't believe it! Chainblade has been defeated! Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it for the first and... well, only winners of the Gladiator Games; these... guys!"
If anything the paying audience cheered even louder, partially deafening the two still standing on the body strewn killing floor. With the constant flow of adrenaline ebbing away now that the battle was over, Ellen felt more than a little sick at the carnage surrounding them as cold reality seeped back in. Not one square inch of the arena was untouched by the brutal contest; blood, oil, and machine parts along with a multitude of mangled bodies lay strewn around Chainblade in a never ending pattern like some twisted modern art piece. She barely registered the lombax beside her receiving the Electrolyzer to thunderous applause, nor the journey from the arena itself as he gently guided her away from the baying crowds and outside the main entrance facing towards the public parking bays where they had left their ships.
"Babe... Ellen, talk to me. Are you okay?"
Ratchet couldn't help but worry over the sudden lack of response from his partner, or the haunted look in her eyes that almost seemed to stare through him at something only she could see.
"What's wrong with those people?" At the quizzical expression etched on his face, she pushed on. "All that blood and death, and they were baying for more; like animals!"
Her ice blue eyes hardened and it was all the lombax could do not to take a step back at the savage anger beginning to build in that intense gaze, instead choosing to pull her into a one armed hug while the other made soothing motions on her back. "I'm sorry babe; it's my fault we got mixed up in that arena back there. If I hadn't taken that wrong turn-"
Ellen cut him off with a shake of the head, draping an arm around his neck to pull him closer. "No it's not, we just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time." She sighed. "It's just... Whenever we've killed before, it's because we either have no other choice in order to survive or to protect others. But to them, its sport; orchestrated slaughter for some sick form of entertainment. I know those gladiators and machines were just engineered clones and drones rather than sentient thinking beings, but the idea that something like that can be considered normal and acceptable in a society that's light-years ahead of my own is just... messed up. Don't they realise those are living beings down there fighting and dying for their amusement? What kind of sick bastards are they?"
Ratchet for his part wasn't sure what to say for the moment, instead concentrating on soothing the jumpy and agitated human to the best of his ability. "I guess that's just the way things work around here, babe. You know, if Megacorp didn't organise this 'Galactic Gladiators' thing then someone else would; and at least all the challengers are supposed to be volunteers. I kinda doubt they'd care on the underground circuit."
Ellen vented softly, enjoying the lombax's ministrations upon her back as she leaned her chin on his shoulder that left her feeling like putty in his hands. He'd make a damn fine masseuse if the whole galactic hero thing didn't work out, and she'd definitely be first in line. "You've got a point I suppose, and it's not like humans haven't done something similar in the past, but... I just didn't expect to see something like that in this day and age, let alone be stuck in the middle of it."
Ellen knew in her heart before accepting Fizzwidget's offer that things weren't exactly going to be sunshine and rainbows out here in the Bogon galaxy, and she'd been apprehensive from the get go when she first learned of the Megacorp sponsored Gladiator Games. But to see such senseless brutality being marketed as just another sporting event in person had struck a chord deep within her psyche. Violence was supposed to be a means to an end; a last resort to end conflict and prevent further bloodshed from happening at all, not propagating it further. Still; different galaxy, different rules. All she could do was learn to accept it and move on.
"I've had just about enough of this place. Come on, let's get back to our ships; Fizzwidget's got a lead for us to chase up on Barlow and I could do with a change of scenery."
The bridge between the arena and the parking bays was still out, but thankfully there was a terminal on their immediate right with twin port sockets that looked like a control panel. Upon equipping his recently acquired Electrolyzer, Ratchet found the gadget to be a perfect fit; Ellen leaning over his shoulder to observe the tiny screen on the back of the device as it zoomed into display a circuit board with a series of switches and electrical pulses running around the perimeter. It was honestly quite an easy fix, the lombax simply having to flip the breakers in the right sequence to complete the circuit and prevent any power surges from shorting it out. Once the panel had gave a positive chime and changed from red to green, the hard light bridge reactivated and the two commandos soon made their way across. It was as they approached a small islet in the middle however that something caught Ratchet's eye.
"Hey, check this out!"
Ellen turned to see what had gotten her partner's attention only to raise an eyebrow at his distraction. "A photo booth? Don't you think we've got more important things to do right now, like catching up to that thief?"
Ratchet however merely waved an arm dismissively before practically dragging her over to the open sided machine. "Come on babe; stop being such a stick in the mud and chill out! Besides, this would make a nice souvenir for Clank."
Snorting with mirth at the jibe, she couldn't help but smile a little as she moved to squeeze beside him in the cramped booth. The experience in the arena had taken its toll on her usually positive outlook, and she could do with a little bonding time with Ratchet that didn't involve things exploding violently around them. Besides, it wasn't like they were going to find the thief anytime soon anyway, so why not enjoy doing something relatively normal as a couple for once. The booth was one of the novelty souvenir variety, the touch screen interface bringing up a variety of scenes themed around the arena for patrons to superimpose their faces upon.
"Hey, this looks good."
Less than a minute after he had started skimming through the touch screen interface, Ratchet bought up a cut-out depicting a spiky armoured gladiator with a mace and sword crossed over his bulky chest, while a slimmer and undeniably feminine figure wielding a pair of pistols stood with her back arched suggestively against his side.
"Really?" Ellen arched a brow at his choice but otherwise didn't say anything to the contrary as the smirking lombax pulled her close and they posed in preparation for the camera's five second countdown.
Ratchet flashed a very catlike grin and she gave a mirthful one of her own as the camera flashed, their likenesses uploaded and superimposed on to the blank faces on screen. The end result didn't look all that bad she had to admit, even if did heavily resemble the cover for a 80's B-movie, but whatever thoughts the human had on the matter faded as a wash of static ran over the on screen depiction of Ratchet.
"Hey!"
The lombax's indignation was understandable, even more so when the picture cleaned up to reveal his face had been replaced with that of the very thief they were chasing after. The screen pixelated with a squelch of metallic noise and the image disappeared entirely to be replaced with a pre recorded video, the two commandos stiffening with a sharp intake of breath at what they were now seeing.
"Clank!"
Barely conscious with his glowing optics half lidded, the diminutive robot's scuffed frame lay secured to an angled table with a series of magnetic clamps; the entire ensemble linked up to a slab like piece of machinery that was festooned with lights and dials that hummed ominously with power. In the foreground however was a very familiar figure clad in predominantly crimson attire, cape flowing freely behind him as his featureless gaze bore into the camera's lens.
"You have no idea what you're involved in. Return to your own galaxy immediately, or this," he gestured grandiosely to his now slightly more lucid captive, "will happen to you!"
The thief slammed a fist down on a large red button on the side of the machine, Clank wincing in preparation for what was to come... only for nothing to happen. There was a pregnant pause during which the masked criminal looked back and forth between the still unharmed robot and the humming apparatus before something seemed to click in his head as he spied an identical green button just below the one he'd previously hit.
"...Or, this... will happen to you..."
It sounded more like a question as he tentatively poked the second button; Clank convulsing with the resulting electrical discharge as thousands of volts ran through his minute body until he finally laid still, optics shuttered and helm lolled to one side. The thief turned one last gaze towards the camera before the transmission cut off, the opaque eyes of his mask unreadable but still somehow conveying a sense of smug inevitability as he signed off.
"Farewell."
A deep resonant growling punctuated the otherwise deathly silence, a reverberating tone that caused Ellen's flesh to goose pimple and an involuntary shudder to run down her spine at the primal, predatory note it carried. Ratchet's face was a mask of burning anger, teeth grinding as his emerald eyes glared back at the now blank screen while his clenched fists shook with barely suppressed violence. She had only seen the furry feline that furious only once before for as long as she had known him, and that was back on Quartu when they had discovered that Drek was planning on blowing up the lombax's home planet with the Deplanetizer. To be fair, she felt exactly the same way as he did right now; the thought of anyone torturing her diminutive, innocent-minded robot friend far too deplorable to forgive.
The only difference was that Ellen was a lot better at reining in her emotions and channelling them into something productive, in this case pulling up a signal tracking programme on her Wrist Com and attempting to triangulate the transmission's source. "Think I've got something."
Ratchet's head whipped around in an instant, eyes locked on to his human partner as her fingers dancing over the holographic interface with a practiced eye. "I managed to part trace the signal's origin before the message erased itself and got some broken coordinates..." There was a brief pause as she cross-referenced the code fragment with the galactic map database on her Wrist Com; a positive chime sounding after several seconds of pregnant silence along with a red blip indicating the most likely result. "There! Megapolis, planet Endako."
"Then that's where we're heading."
Ratchet spun on his heel and was at the other side of the islet before Ellen could even register his absence, the second bridge linking their position to the parking bays soon reactivated by the still steaming lombax with his Electrolyzer. The two practically sprinted across the hard light structure and were back with their respective ships in no time at all, rapidly spooling up engines and punching in the rough coordinates to their next destination on their navigation computers. For the time being, Ellen's lead would have to wait. Right now their closest friend was in danger, and if the masked kidnapper thought the two commandos were just going to cut and run then he had another thing coming.
It was time to show him exactly what kind of people he was messing with.
Phew, we're finally done with Maktar Resort, and with Clank's kidnapping finally having come to light you can guarantee there will most definitely be a reckoning once Ratchet and Ellen get their hands on the masked thief. Lord help anyone who gets in their way.
Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they're posted and/or updated.
Thanks for reading
- RevenantReaper337