Author's note:

Sorry about the week long delay everyone, and thank you all for your messages of support and reassurance. Everything has been sorted out on my end much to my relief and I'm back in business for the foreseeable future. I won't bore you with the details, but the issue that's been plaguing me for these past few weeks has been resolved and I certainly feel a whole lot happier now that weight's been lifted off of my shoulders.

Taking Lightsaviour2759's advice into account, I've decided to spit this chapter up in half in order to both pace the story better and make my life easier. I've been trying to get each planet done per chapter like I'd done previously with Time Heals All, but considering the vastly increased content to cover with Going Commando it's just not practical. From now on I'll likely be spreading out some planet's events over 2-3 chapters instead; giving me the chance to put in the necessary amount of detail without having to rush in order to met my deadline as hopefully making the story a bit easier to digest as well.

Also, I have new fan art once again courtesy of Nekolover3 and, at her prompting, Airbax herself! Neko has drawn both Ratchet and Ellen in their casual wear from the Megapolis interlude, which can be found on her Deviantart account under (/art/Ellen-s-Casual-Wear-Whole-Again-558637801) and (/art/Ratchet-s-Casual-cloths-Whole-Again-560733543) respectively. She also asked Airbax if she could include a quick sketch of Ratchet and Ellen together for one of her sketch request compilations and she did! Check out (/art/Sketch-requests-559718973) under her profile and look in the bottom left to see them sharing a tender moment.

Review replies:

Firestar5277 - Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Funny that Debonair reminds you of someone you actually know; she's kind of a composite character based upon various media sources and sheer randomness off the top of my head. To find out there really is somebody out there like her is surprisingly weird, but in a good way. Ah yes, the innuendos; what would a ratchet & Clank game be without them? It's always been there since the first game, but didn't really get into full swing until Up Your Arsenal and has been going strong ever since. I'll do my best to keep the chapters coming and hope this one is to you liking too.

Shane Kor - Huh… that's a really good idea, an one that one that I'll definitely have to find somewhere to use. Perhaps as some kind of jet pack enabled exo-suits bristling with multiple target-seeking missile racks and arm mounted bazookas; perhaps as a pair or an entire squad if the circumstances are right. What do you think?

DarkEnigma95 - Thank you, it's always nice to hear someone's anticipating the next chapter in this story and certainly a motivator to continue typing up more. To answer your question; yes she is, although the way I've cut this chapter in two means you won't be seeing her until the second half I'm afraid.

GoldenLombaxGirl - Aw, thanks! I partially based his actions off of my cat's sleeping habits; although unlike Ratchet he tends to stretch out anywhere and on anyone he thinks is warm and soft.

Destiny - Glad you like it, and thank you for your understanding. Hope you find this chapter worth the wait.

Razor of DOOM - As much as I loved the Carbonox armour set, aside from preventing Ratchet's face being seen in cut scenes, I'm afraid it's unlikely I'll be using it in this story. Aside from the eye watering two million bolt price tag which would prevent Ratchet and Ellen from being able to afford it on their limited budget, I personally think having a suit each would make their jobs far too easy. I do however intend to eventually have Debonair design a better armour set or two for them both later on in the story; likely incorporating parts of the Carbonox armour set along with my own original designs to form something truly unique for both commandos. Hope that helps.

StaticBomb93 - Nothing wrong with enjoying a dose of fluffiness, I know I certainly do. If the Ratchet & Clank series were more open world, I would love to see someone like Debonair as an armour vendor; although I would have to agree that she would have been a sight to see had she actually been in Going Commando. Happy you're liking the way things are going thus far, and hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Starrat - Thank you for the encouragement, and I hope this chapter is to your liking as well.

Zenith88 - Why thank you, and I'm glad you like how Debonair's personality panned out. To answer your question, I suppose it does in a way. Perhaps not directly, but definitely a follow up chapter of sorts; giving Ratchet and Ellen a chance to take some time to themselves while building upon their existing relationship.

ReginaDC21 - At least you won't be melting indoors anymore for the time being when the temperature spikes, although I'm sorry to hear your sister's feeling under the weather and can only hope she gets better soon. To be honest, if it hadn't been for me scribbling down a reminder note on your suggestion at the time of your review way back when, then I probably would have clean forgotten myself.

As for your account name, I like it; it's short, snappy, and symbolic for you as well in more ways than one. The fact it's easy to spell and remember is also a plus for anyone wanting to search for your profiles or stories too; something some authors all too often overlook.

Incidentally, which Dino Crisis game do you prefer? For me, the first was definitely the most atmospheric and tense while the sequel was more run-and-gun. Dinostalker was okay if a little awkward to control, and Dino Crisis 3 was just plain weird. I mean, mutant-hybrid space dinosaurs? Seriously, what the hell was Capcom thinking? In any case, take care, both of you, and hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Sonachugirl - Thanks for offering (mmm, gummies…) and I'm glad you're enjoying the fluffiness along with Debonair's debut. Good to hear your dad's mobile again to a degree, and of course that you've got access to your computer again. I'm not familiar with Colors, though I'm guessing it's a bit like Deviantart. Still, I wouldn't mind seeing what you've come up with so far, would it be possible for you to send me a link?

The White Guardian - Yeah, things went just plain wrong and I knew there was no way in hell I could possibly finish in time. Still, I'm back now, and by splitting this chapter up I've given myself enough time to make sure that I can get the next one out without any further delays. Good to hear your rescue mission on KSP has finally succeeded by the way; I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the video once you've uploaded, although you'll have to let me know where to find it.

I'm happy you liked the way the chapter panned out, along with my introduction of Debonair. It felt like the best time to give Ratchet and Ellen a break from the action and, as you said, to rekindle their relationship. Plus it was an opportunity to introduce a way for them to get custom armour sets and clothing for this and future stories aside from the regular vendors.

As for the OC mini boss ideas, by all means keep them coming if you have any. I'm probably going to limit it to around 4-6 maximum for this story and I still have spare slots, but who's to say any unused characters won't turn up in future stories? And thanks for giving me creative license with your character idea; I'll make sure to do him justice and not turn him into a death ray equipped battle chicken, no matter how amusing it may be. Gives me an idea for an omake though… Good luck with your editing, and hope to hear from you again soon. Take care.

Flowerstar - Long time no see indeed, great to have you back! Normally I get over writer's block fairly quickly by looking at the problem from a different perspective or finding an alternate work around, especially when I'm on a tight schedule, but this time nothing seemed to work at all for three days solid. Thankfully I'm back on track for now, and have a comfortable buffer before the next scheduled update to sort out any other problems that may crop up.

It certainly sounds like you've been busy on your end as well and that's an interesting selection of cosplay choices, although it sounds like it could get expensive pretty fast. I'm not sure how you'd be able to pull off Ratchet since it would likely be a costly and time consuming prospect, although it would be awesome if you did manage. Still, at least you do have a possible alternative lined up.

I know you said you aren't beta reading right now, but I've kept the beta position for Whole Again open for you. Just let me know if, or when, you are available again and we'll go from there. Until then, welcome back and hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Lightsaviour2759 - Yay, new reviewer! And thank you for your concern; things are a lot better on my end and I'm ready to get this story going again. As you can see from the author's note up top, I whole heartedly agree with your thoughts on cramming too much level content into a single chapter and will be trying to spread things out a bit more from now on.

With regard to Ratchet's change in voice, I actually almost did forget to explain it until I was pointedly reminded via reviews and had to rewrite that part of the already completed chapter. As for Ratchet's pet name for Ellen, they've only just gotten back together so she doesn't really mind that much just yet, although I am trying to come up with some alternatives since she will likely tire of it over time. Thanks for reviewing, and hope you like the chapter.

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.

Break's over and our reunited team are back on the thief's trail once again. Find out what lies in wait in Chapter 11.

- 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 11:

Picking Up The Trail

Vukovar Canyon, Barlow

Bogon Galaxy

G2.17.082 Galactic calendar

10:14am local time

The swirling masses of copper and liquid gold that made up Barlow's surface were eerily familiar in Ellen's eyes, bringing back distant memories of Veldin from almost a year ago. It was a trail of thought that continued to persist once her and Ratchet's Star Explorer's breached the atmosphere, cruising through the crystal blue skies over the arid terrain below and attempting to find a suitable landing zone close to where the Desert Riders event was scheduled to be.

Like Ratchet's home world, the planet was primarily a parched, almost desert-like world with craggy plains, steep gorges, and sparse yet hardy plant life. Unlike Veldin however, Barlow had once boasted a thriving mining industry; excavating both precious minerals and metals alike on a massive scale and providing jobs for countless thousands. Even Gadgetron had gotten in on the act, buying out several of the smaller, independent mining companies along with establishing an experimental lab and associated retail outlet.

Then suddenly around a decade ago it had all come crashing down; the mining companies pulling out in droves followed by their workforce and subsequently Gadgetron, who shortly thereafter ceased all operations in the Bogon galaxy for reasons unknown and pulled back to Solana. What had transpired and why so many had abandoned the planet was still unclear even now. Was it a disagreement with the local nomadic tribes that had led to Economic ruin and abandonment, or could it have been something worse like a plague or pirate raids? Sliding out of the cockpit and letting herself drop to the dusty ground below once they had landed on a raised plateau bordered by harsh scrub, Ellen could only speculate on the possible reasons as she rejoined her two companions next to where Ratchet had set down his own Star Explorer close by.

Their landing zone just so happened to have a spectacular view of the surrounding landscape in all its decaying glory; the harsh wilderness slowly beginning to reclaim what appeared to have once been a Gadgetron owned complex judging by the storage silos sporting the company name just before them. The sprawling complex encompassed both sides of the cavernous gorge separating the area; shattered glass observation windows, rusted out communication equipment, and golden yellow paint long since dulled with age being the common features of the mainly cylindrical buildings that stood within crumbling walled compounds.

A gentle breeze caused tendrils of smoke from distant camp fires to billow in the otherwise clear blue sky; likely tended to by either scavengers or local tribesmen and the only sign of life thus far considering there wasn't so much as a bird in the sky. Ellen couldn't help but shiver involuntarily at the prickling of hairs on the back of her neck, images of their slog through Gorda City's broken streets springing to mind and the feeling they were somehow being watched making her distinctly uneasy and begin to slowly reach towards her Quick Select. It may have just been long rooted paranoia bought about by the uncomfortable environment, but the human's instincts had been proven justified on one too many occasions and she wasn't taking any chances.

"Well, we're here, and all I see are ruins," Ratchet mused aloud as he scanned the horizon with a frown. "You sure this is where that biker meet is supposed to be?"

"I am quite positive," Clank replied with a subtle nod. "The coordinates Ellen obtained from Mr Fizzwidget indicate that the Desert Riders gathering should be located within approximately 20 metres of our projected landing zone."

"Maybe they were wrong... Or maybe we're just looking in the wrong place," Ellen mused aloud, shaking her head with a soft sigh. "It doesn't look like anyone's been around here for years, and I doubt even the thugs would stupid enough to race around in that."

The lombax merely shrugged, letting Clank take his usual position on his back before waving her forward. "Won't know for sure until we take a look around. Come on, lets see what we got."

His last words were directed towards a weather worn but still functional Megacorp vendor that had been placed next to a tunnel carved through a large rock formation, the holographic interface flickering in and out of focus until he gave it a good smack with his wrench. The seeming abandonment of the area appeared to be working in their favour as the vending machine was fully stocked with both weapons and upgrade kits for their current arsenal; their collective bank balance quickly dwindling as a result of several purchases.

Ratchet's Chopper evolved into the sleeker and much more capable Multi-Star while his Gravity Bomb became the self explanatory Mini-Nuke. The high-velocity semi-homing bladed projectiles launched from the former's now predominately red frame split into two upon impact, doubling the potential mayhem, where as the latter was simply a much larger grenade launcher that threw a high-yield miniature nuclear bomb with a localised blast radius that caused an insane amount of damage, yet somehow didn't leave any traces of radiation.

Of more interest to the lombax however was the appropriately named Seeker Gun; a compact fire-and-forget two-stage missile launcher with a dark purple paint scheme and a pair of upward curving spikes just below the muzzle. Upon launch, each missile would gain altitude before cruising forwards and seek out any enemies, whereupon the second stage motor would kick in and drive the warhead home with a powerful burst of acceleration. By the time he had maxed out on his ammo stores with what little money he had left Ratchet was grinning from ear to ear at the prospect of testing out his new toy and impatiently bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited for his partner to hurry up and finish what she was doing.

Having already spent most of the nest egg Al had forwarded to her back in Megapolis, Ellen decided to conserve what little she had left and wait for something better to crop up. Her solitary concession was an aftermarket package for her Leviathan that included an improved optical scope and increased clip capacity, along with a recoil compensator that would make it much easier to put rounds on target. The only problem however was the fact that since the hand cannon wasn't an 'official' Megacorp weapon, it didn't contain the same smart-upgrade technology as the rest of her growing arsenal; meaning each of the parts had to be installed manually by hand much to a certain lombax's annoyance.

"Can't you do that later? We're burning daylight here!"

Ellen merely quirked an eyebrow, never looking up from barrel assembly she was carefully reassembling while checking the downloaded instructions displayed on her Wrist Com. "You've only been waiting all of two minutes, and I'm nearly finished anyway." Shooting him a sideways glance, there was an audible smirk in her tone as she set to securing the new scope into place. "Besides, you don't hear me complaining about you having a missile launcher on top of a nuke slinging gun that's bigger than you are as well. Are you sure you're not trying to compensate for something?"

"Hey, you can never have enough firepower, and besides..." Ratchet's answering smirk grew along with waggling brows at his next words. "I don't need to compensate; my gun's plenty big enough already."

"...I was talking about your height, fuzz ball."

...

"...Oh."

In the ensuing awkward silence, the human soon finished modifying her hand cannon and checked it was functioning properly before the duo cautiously pushed into the dark confines of the tunnel with weapons raised; their helmet's built in light amplifiers allowing them to dimly see what looked like some kind of water tanks sporadically lining their route, along with the occasional fallen rock from the ceiling above. A flash of movement amongst the shadows caught Ratchet's eye, signalling his partner to hold up as he extended his Heavy Lancer towards the source. A pair of brilliantly glowing cyan orbs lit up the darkness, closely followed by another... and another; a low pitched growling beginning to rise in volume before something suddenly lunged forth and an echo boomed from Ellen's Blitz Gun in the close confines.

The shotgun blast lit the interior for only a second, but was adequate enough to get an impression of what she had hit; several more of the small two-legged dog-like creatures with orange fur, large mottled ears, glowing cyan eyes, and a snarling maw filled with razor sharp teeth charging forth past the sprawling body of their pack member and straight into the line of fire. Muzzle flashes from the lombax's light machine gun strobed with each shot as he opened up alongside Ellen, the beasts quite literally shredded by their combined firepower within seconds and leaving the duo tensing for a second strike that failed to materialise.

"What the hell were those things?" Ellen asked aloud in a hushed tone, keeping her voice down and straining her senses for anymore potential ambushes as she kept her weapon trained on the gloom ahead.

"Dunno," Ratchet replied, idly poking one of the bodies with the barrel of his Heavy Lancer and wrinkling his nose with disgust as several clumps of bloodied fur dropped off. "Some kinda mutant dog maybe?"

Clank hummed in thought while peeking over the lombax's shoulder, his antennae pulsing briefly as he considered what he could see of the creature's remains and compared it to the files on Barlow he had downloaded before they had set out. "This species does not appear to be native to this planet, but rather one that has been introduced and subsequently adapted to the environment. Considering the exhibited physical traits and partial deformities, it is conceivable that these creatures may have been genetically tampered with in an... unsuccessful manner."

"This just keeps on getting better by the minute," Ellen muttered darkly, keeping a tight grip on her scatter gun as she began to push forwards once again with Ratchet close behind. "Come on, let's see if we can't find a way out of here before any more show up."

Squeezing through a small gap to bypass a partial cave in, the two commandos dealt with a second group of the rabid canine-like creatures clogging the narrow passage way before quite literally finding the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. The sun's light was blinding after a few minutes spent fumbling in the dark, their helmet's visors having to repolarise in order to compensate as the human and lombax stepped out into a ruined compound surrounded by cracked and crumbling walls that provided shade to a few hardy plants.

Judging by the rusting remains of a parabolic antennae still perched on the edge of the cliffside to their left, the squat building directly ahead past a long destroyed security checkpoint must have originally been a communications hub at one point. But right now it appeared to be playing host to a group of shifty looking people with blue skin and elongated necks; some of who appeared to be trying to strip the very panels from the outer walls with repurposed welding equipment while several others stood about in loose groups to keep watch with... swords and shields?

Upon closer inspection, now that her eyes had adjusted to the light again, Ellen could see that most wore some variant of animal hide trousers, sturdy boots and a jury rigged metal armour chest plate over a grubby looking shirt. A leather skull cap that trailed down part of the neck with goggles perched on top occupied their heads, and from what she could see from the ones that were turned her way, their vaguely avian-like faces had solid violet eyes that glared at everything with quick darting motions and a pair of tusk-like mandibles which twitched with each word of their audibly skittering tongue.

These had to be the Vukovar tribesmen; a nomadic spacefaring group known for scavenging amongst the planet's ruins and trading what they could salvage with their close cousins living on planet Joba, along with their violent tendencies towards any outsiders encroaching on their territory. Case in point being the one shouting something incomprehensible that their translators couldn't make out while pointing their way; his two friends snapping their attention to the two commandos and brandishing their swords even as Ratchet raised his hands defensively in an attempt to stave off the inevitable.

"Whoa! Whoa! Hey, look, we don't wanna fight you, we were just passing through-"

Whatever else he may have said died on the lombax's lips as the three tribesmen charged at a surprisingly fast pace with their shields raised and weapons held high; giving the duo very little time to muster a response. Ratchet quickly got to grips with his new Seeker Gun, a deft stab of the trigger throwing out a missile that swiftly targeted and slammed into the nearest scavenger with enough explosive force to momentarily stagger his nearby compatriots.

"Well apparently they do!" Ellen quipped in reply, taking advantage of their opponent's momentary disorientation and switching to her Reaver Carbine before sending a hail of superheated bullets at the closest threat; his primitive looking shield soaking up a surprising amount of fire before finally shattering and allowing a follow up burst to finish the job.

The third soon went down to another precision missile strike, but by now the remaining tribesmen had long abandoned their tasks and were charging through the gaps in the walls near to the long destroyed security checkpoint in an effort to flank them; along with one clutching a long rifle of unknown design while riding on the back of what could almost be Barney's poorer cousin. The large and squat two-legged reptilian beast had a thick purple hide and glowing amber eyes set above a cavernous mouth with a vicious underbite; the armoured saddle and head dress proving to be more than adequate enough to deflect a surprising amount of fire away from both rider and mount as they gained ground at a frightening pace.

Pulling back to the tunnel entrance, Ratchet opted to try and keep the sword wielding scavengers at bay with his LMG while Ellen swapped over to her Pulse Rifle and lined up the charging animal in her scope's crosshairs; hoping that the direct energy weapon would be enough to bring it down. A luminous green vapour trail shot forth from the barrel a heartbeat later; punching straight through the Saur-Beast's armoured head dress and out the far side of its skull, while the surprised rider was catapulted over the top of his saddle only to be crushed beneath the dead weight of his now tumbling mount. Of course with all the momentum built up during its charge, the mass of meat and muscle simply kept going in the same direction; forcing the two commandos to dive out of the way as it crashed into the tunnel exit and giving the remaining tribesmen a chance to get in close.

The lombax barely had time to pull his head back before a sweeping sword cut through the same space it had been occupying, rolling backwards to his feet and using his wrench to deflect a follow up shield bash with a shower of sparks. Parrying another thrust of the scavenger's curved blade, Ratchet feinted to one side and let his opponent overextend his reach before flipping around the opposite way and cracking him across the back of the skull; staggering the swordsman long enough for a finishing blow.

Ellen meanwhile had her own opponent to deal with, opting to draw her Versa Blade and holding it in a reverse grip with her right hand while her left palm was kept defensively in front. The tribesman made the first move; a vertical slash forcing her back a pace while the human's counter strike was easily deflected by his unusually hardened shield. undeterred, the red-headed commando ducked low under another swing and stepped inside the scavenger's guard; grabbing his sword arm by the wrist and spinning on her heel to drive her elbow into his gut, using the momentum while he was doubled over to throw him over her shoulder and wrench the offending limb out of its socket.

The sword clattered to the ground and the tribesman hissed in pain despite having the air driven from his lungs on impact; although he soon quietened down once Ellen had jabbed his temple with the hilt of her knife and knocked him out. Catching her breath in the immediate aftermath, the redhead blew an errant strand of hair away from her eyes as she watched Ratchet jog around the Saur-Beast shaped obstacle between them and up to her with his wrench nonchalantly leaning across his shoulders.

"I think that's the last of 'em for now, though there's probably plenty more where they came from. Nice moves back there by the way."

Ellen merely shrugged, a wry grin working its way on to her face as she fell in beside him and started walking towards the ruined security checkpoint bisecting the compound they were in. "Thanks fuzz ball, I'm just glad that two week crash course in Karachi Mu-Tai worked as well as advertised. Hopefully we can find this Desert Riders meeting before anymore of these lot turn up looking for their friends."

Back on guard as they crossed the cracked paving of the remaining compound and stacked up on the probable communications building, rounding the doorframe in tandem and stepping through with weapons raised. The circular room had definitely seen better days; various tangled and frayed wiring dangling from the cracked ceiling, while a quartet of dirty glass tubes overgrown with creeping vines flanking both doorways into the room contained thick bundles of cables that led off to who knows where.

Of course there were also more tribesmen as well, no doubt part of the former crew from outside who had been lying in wait to ambush the three companions. A reverberating shotgun blast blew the first back several feet to smash into one of the glass tubes, shredding his shield and leaving both attackers vulnerable to a veritable storm of laser sharp throwing stars from Ratchet's new and improved Multi-Star. Ellen finished off the second scavenger with another dose of buckshot, the pair crossing over the now thoroughly wrecked room once the danger from the lombax's throwing stars had passed and exiting on the far side.

A handful of the mutant dog things greeted them in the courtyard outside, but honestly weren't much of a threat in such a wide open space; Ratchet electing to smack the few that got close with his wrench while his partner used her Reaver to put them down with quick three round bursts from a safe distance. The only really pressing concern came from a high velocity slug whistling by Ellen's helmet courtesy of a tribesmen sniper perched atop a Saur-Beast on the craggy rise up ahead, the follow up shot missing only due to the human dropping into a tumbling roll before coming up firing on full auto. Her golden furred partner meanwhile had reverted back to his Seeker Gun after flipping over a snapshot sent his way and simply let the actively targeting missiles do the talking; one taking the sharpshooter permanently out of commission while the other blew away his mount over the other side of the ridge and out of sight.

Taking the dirt trail to their immediate right, the two commandos soon crested the ridge where the sniper had been and found themselves staring out over an extensive suspension bridge that spanned the gap between the two sides of the canyon. Thick metal cables were held taut between the outward facing struts that kept the entire structure intact, creaking slightly in the wind and giving Ellen a distinct sense of unease that she was once again becoming all too familiar with.

"I don't like this... It's way too open..."

"Perhaps so," Clank interjected. "However, with time of the essence and no obvious alternatives, this bridge is our only conceivable crossing point."

Ratchet however was not so fazed, confidently striding out onto the plated metal bridge and continuing to walk backwards as he spun around to talk to his wary partner. "Relax babe, we'll be fine! See? no one around for miles!"

Ellen grimaced at the lombax's tempting of fate but otherwise said nothing as she followed him out onto the metal plated span, her bullpup carbine kept half ready and icy blue eyes flickering over potential ambush spots. After half a minute or so of nothing jumping out to kill them however, the redhead began to relax a little; releasing the tension in her shoulders and taking a moment to appreciate the unparalled view of the winding valley stretching out below. Maybe Ratchet was right. Maybe she was just being a bit paranoid. After all; it certainly wouldn't be the first time she had gotten over cautious over some niggling little detail.

It wasn't until they had reached roughly around the midway point of the bridge however when that particular trail of thought went straight out the window. From behind a cascading pile of rusting shipping containers on the far side of the bridge came a flash of glinting metal and hurried movement; the two commandos freezing in their tracks as a veritable horde of Vukovar tribesmen came careening around the obstruction and across the bridgehead with a thunderous war cry.

"Oh shit..." Ellen breathed out with widening eyes. "You just had to jinx it, fuzz ball."

Ratchet didn't waste any time protesting , instead opting to draw his recently upgraded grenade launcher and dropping a Mini-Nuke in front of the closest mass of angry tribesmen. "Back the other way! Go!"

The human didn't need telling twice, dropping a few Miniturrets in her wake and the occasional burst of automatic carbine fire as the pair conducted a fighting retreat back the way they came. Ploughing through the lingering mushroom cloud left over from the compact nuclear bomb came the largely intact mass of scavengers with swords held high and more than a few cracks from decades old assault rifles proceeding a hail of bullets ricocheting off of the metal bridge surfaces in their foe's wake. The deployed turrets claimed more of their numbers before being destroyed, but otherwise did little to slow the diminished horde's advance while seemingly making it easier for the gun wielding members at the back to draw a bead on their targets if the increasingly accurate fire was anything to go by.

By this point Ellen had reached their side of the bridgehead with Ratchet not far behind, both taking cover behind a support strut and pouring a withering stream of fire from their respective automatic weapons into the rapidly closing press of bodies in an effort to suppress them. Unfortunately the tribesmen's shields deflected a fair amount of their rounds, and the firing rate of her Reaver steadily rose along with the temperature gauge until it was on the cusp of overheating; although the excess heat had the unexpected benefit of creating a single plasma grenade for the carbine's underslung launcher. Before she could make use of it however, Ellen's golden-furred partner had apparently decided to throw caution to the wind and simply saturated the bridge chokepoint with enough Seeker Gun missiles to cause the bridge to creak ominously and sag slightly as one of the strut's cables was severed.

Waiting several moments for the dust to clear and to make sure there weren't any more surprises, the two commandos gingerly made their way across the groaning and protesting bridge without further incident. Once on the other side, they carefully made their way through the jumbled mess of shipping containers while keeping an eye out for any stragglers and soon found themselves on a wide clifftop path bordered by a vertical rock face on the right and a breathtaking view of the valley and surrounding ruins off to the left. More importantly however was the virtually intact compound entrance up ahead, and a trio of saddled Barlowian Saur-Beasts minus their riders that had presumably been left behind by the bridge storming mob and were now making a beeline for the two commandos with malicious intent.

Stabbing the yellow button on her modified bullpup's secondary barrel, Ellen had but a few moments to admire the brilliantly purple and white globule of unstable energy exit the launcher and arc gracefully through the air; sticking to the nearest reptile's head and crackling with a high pitched whine before promptly exploding once it reached critical mass. With the first missing most of its front half, Ratchet dove aside as a second Saur-Beast attempted to slam its head into him while his partner fired at its flank and barely managed to pull her out of the way of a third that attempted to blindside them both.

Too close to risk using explosives without injuring them both, the lombax instead vaulted onto the closest unoccupied mount's saddle and yanked the reins in an attempt to steer it away; manoeuvring the lumbering beast at just the right angle to slam into its friend and send the pair careened over the cliff edge to the valley floor far below. Ratchet only managing to avoid suffering the same fate by virtue of backflipping off of the Saur-Beast at the last second, landing with his fists punching victoriously at the sky and a cocky grin adorning his face.

"Show off."

He merely shrugged at his partner's accusation. "Hey, when you're this awesome you don't need to show off."

The redhead couldn't help but shake her head with a snort of disbelief as they moved on once again, taking the opportunity to dump her carbine's spent clip and ram a fresh one home while there was a brief lull in things trying to kill them in increasingly interesting ways. Upon approaching the well preserved compound entrance, the two slowed to a halt and peeked around one of the gateway pillars, taking in the short hydraulically operated bridge and the small guard contingent of as yet oblivious tribesmen on the far side.

Switching back to her Pulse Rifle, Ellen peered down the scope and steadied her aim on the Saur-Beat mounted sniper at the rear; gently stroking the trigger as she exhaled a pent up breath and punching straight through the hulking reptile's exposed flank. With the surprised rider toppling off of his mount, Ratchet used the confusion his partner had caused to snap off a pair of Seeker Gun missiles as he raced forward that promptly took out the other two scavengers. A luminous green vapour trail finished off the recovering sharpshooter before the lombax could bring his wrench to bear, a brief look over his shoulder revealing a still smoking sniper rifle in the human's hands as she jogged across the bridge to join him.

The building entrance the tribesmen had been guarding was secured by a heavy metal gate with an encrypted keypad that would have proven difficult to bypass had Clank not been on hand; the diminutive robot easily coming up with the correct code to gain access, albeit with a concerned frown at what he had found. "Most curious... According to the security algorithms, this structure appears to be some sort of biological testing laboratory."

Ellen blinked in realisation. "Those mutant dog things, you said it looked like they had been genetically modified... Was Gadgetron making them here?"

Stepping inside once the gate had fully retracted, the three found themselves inside what had apparently once been a fully functional genetics lab with white washed walls and numerous work stations sporting various scientific apparatus. Glass phials and beakers lay discarded or otherwise smashed across the cracked tile floor, along with puddles of congealed formulas and what may have been dried bloodstains. But most tellingly as to the facility's purpose was the liquid filled tanks keeping several malformed but recognisable specimens suspended inside; each of the increasingly warped canine hybrids looking worse than the last.

"Well," Ratchet stated dryly, "I guess there's your answer."

An ominous low pitched growl began to reverberate from somewhere in the lab, growing in volume as more joined in the chorus while glowing cyan eyes preceded a quartet of particularly mangy looking hybrid hounds leaping on to various furniture before lunging forth to attack. Ellen's shotgun caught one in mid leap with a hail of buckshot, sending the body crashing through one of the specimen tanks and allowing the contents to swamp the tiled floor; while a follow up blast missed the intended target and took a chunk out of a nearby countertop instead.

Ratchet meanwhile stuck to his melee weapon of choice and was making just as much mess as he smashed through various equipment and mutant dogs alike. One jumped straight at the golden furred commando with its maw snapping only to end up denting a metal sheeted work station with its rib cage crushed, while a second trying to blindside Ellen was taken out with a thrown wrench that smashed the limp body into the remains of a chemistry experiment.

"Duck!"

The lombax didn't need to be told twice, hitting the ground as his partner racked her scattergun and fired over his head; perforating the last genetically modified animal with burning chunks of buckshot and leaving the abandoned laboratory silent once more. Thanking her for the save, Ratchet accepted Ellen's outstretched arm and hauled himself up before taking point again with his Heavy Lancer held low and ready as they negotiated the gutted lab and tried to find an exit without further delay. It was pretty obvious Gadgetron had dabbled in something they shouldn't have here, and right now the three companions wanted to be as far away from ground zero as possible.

It did raise the question of what the company were trying to achieve though and what went wrong. Could it have been their own earlier version of the Protopet perhaps? Did someone sabotage the geneticists' work, or were these creatures some kind of bio-weapon gone wrong? The lab was clean of documentation or computer records so the truth may never be known, but if it was the latter then their mission may have just gotten that bit more complicated. After all, who was to say the thief wouldn't coerce someone like the still missing Doctor Cross into mass producing a weaponized version of the Protopet and ransoming the galaxy? The implications were quite frankly terrifying, but that particular theory would have to go on the back burner in favour of their current mission.

Wandering through the second floor of the abandoned lab, the two commandos soon found an access doorway leading out onto a balcony ringing the building's upper floor; giving a commanding view of the entire region and an excellent position to ambush the half-dozen tribesmen gathering around the blazing camp fire in the sunken area just below. Apparently it was getting close to lunchtime if the vaguely boar-like creature they were roasting on the open flames was anything to go by; pity then they wouldn't get a chance to taste it.

Waiting just long enough for his partner to get into a flanking position, Ratchet opened up with a trio of target-seeking missiles from his Seeker Gun that lay waste to the gathered contingent below; halving their numbers before any of the tribesmen could muster a response. The survivors attempted to make a break towards the dead spot beneath the balcony where the lombax could no longer target them, only to be picked off by carefully aimed shots from Ellen's newly upgraded Leviathan that neatly punched through the sole shield raised in her direction with contemptuous ease.

There weren't any convenient ladders to descend from the balcony, and so Clank made use of his Heli-Pack to allow Ratchet to glide down next to the still smouldering camp fire while Ellen rappelled the short distance via Grapple Gun; the two commandos rapidly making their way through the makeshift camp and through the open doorway of another abandoned structure. There wasn't much left of the interior that hadn't already been stripped out by the scavenger crews, and considering the state of the few visible load bearing struts it was quite frankly a miracle the entire building hadn't long since collapsed. Right now though all the trio were concerned with was finding a way out, exiting on the far side past a collapsed security door and back out into the open once more.

Staccato bursts of assault rifle fire met them almost instantaneously from just ahead; the gun wielding scavengers providing cover for their sword wielding counterparts while a pair of mounted riders charged in from the rear. Prioritising the closest threat, Ratchet dropped a Mini-Nuke on the chokepoint formed between two crumbling compound walls that the tribesmen were pouring into; taking out the gunmen in one fell swoop and allowing him to concentrate on the rapidly closing Saur-Beasts. Ellen meanwhile had dropped a few Miniturrets to help hold off the melee fighters before switching out to her sniper rifle once more and drawing a bead on one of the reptilian mounts before dropping it with the last round in the magazine.

A Seeker Gun missile took out the last of the tribal cavalry charge, leaving Ratchet free to engage the last two swordsmen up close and personal; sparks flying each time their respective melee weapons clashed in a flurry of steel. The lombax parried a forward thrust with his wrench, ducking to avoid the second tribesman's swing and trying to sweep his legs out, only to be blocked by a hastily redirected shield. Not wasting any momentum he continued spin with the force of the blow and kicked out at his first opponent's shins, staggering the scavenger briefly and allowing

Ratchet to get in a rising uppercut that dropped the blue-skinned man like a lead weight. Before he could move on to the final tribesman still standing however, a sudden thunder clap sounded across the dusty terrain and the sword dropped from the suddenly lifeless scavenger's hand thanks to the fist sized hole punched clean through his chest.

Ellen breathed a sigh of relief as she lowered her still smoking hand cannon, walking towards the mock scowling lombax as he drew himself back up from his half-crouched stance. "Hey, I had that guy right where I wanted him."

She couldn't help but snort in amusement at his childish attitude, rolling her eyes as she switched over to her shotgun and fell into step beside him once again. "I'm sure you did, fuzz ball. But in case you forgot, we're kind of on a tight schedule here."

"Ellen is correct," Clank interceded, "the time frame for successfully locating the Desert Riders is rapidly diminishing as we speak. We must hurry."

"yeah, yeah, I hear ya."

The area up ahead was roughly circular and surrounded by thick walls topped by mesh fencing aside from the missing section on their far left and the wide gateway were entering through. As they cautiously moved further into the exposed plateau however, Ellen couldn't help but feel a returning sense of unease along with the impression of being watched; her weapon raised and eyes roving over the perimeter with each step. The sound of rapidly scraping metal on metal once they had reached the centre had the two commandos whipping around, only to find that a fifteen plus foot tall spiked security gate had risen from the ground to block their retreat. To make matters worse, a chorus of guttural yells coming from the broken wall section announced the arrival of a horde of tribesmen charging en masse across a hydraulically operated bridge from the other side of the gorge with swords raised high.

"Well..." Ellen opinioned, racking her scatter gun for emphasis. "Here we go again."

As I said before, this is only the first half of the Barlow level, and I actually have the next several thousand words already typed out. My problem, and one of the reasons I've been experiencing writers block up till now, is trying to work out how to portray the upcoming hover bike race against the Desert Riders. I did struggle with the Hoverboard races last time around in terms of trying to convey the sense of speed and fluidity of the event without making it boring to read, and things aren't proving any easier now. Still, I'm getting there slowly and from what I've got so far it should hopefully prove to be worth the wait.

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

Thanks for reading

- RevenantReaper337