Author's note:

So… I might have gotten a bit carried away again with trying to cram everything into this chapter. In fact, I had to cut out a fair chunk of material altogether in order to keep it under 10k worth of words, and even then I'm not entirely sold on how it turned out. In any case, this concluding half of the greatly extended Feltzin system level will see the introduction of the first reader submitted mini boss. Thanks go to (drum roll please) The White Guardian for his suggestion, from which I've built up a character that I can only hope I've done justice.

Also, before I forget to say otherwise, this story now has even more reviews than the entire of Time Heals All; and we haven't even reached the end of the first act yet! Thank you one and all for your encouragement and continued support, and here's hoping this story will continue to entertain for however long it takes me to actually finish it.

Review replies:

Lightsaviour2759 - Indeed I did; it was certainly nice to get away from things for while, especially with the Christmas rush around the corner. Glad I could surprise you and that you enjoyed the chapter overall. Take care.

DarkEnigma95 - Thank you, I just didn't want to write another rehash of the earlier dogfight chapter and things kind of went from there. The Nanotech upgrades just seem like a more logical and cleaner way for Ratchet and Ellen to increase their 'health' without resorting to levelling up as in-game. Happy to hear you liked Ace's little quip and the previous story as well, and I can only hope you enjoy this chapter just as much.

starrat - Thanks, hope you like the new chapter.

Destiny W - Wait no more; the concluding half of the Feltzin system is here and things are about to get explosive…

vengarl22 - I try, though dogfights are always a pain to write properly and it's an interesting challenge trying to get it to blend into ground combat. Still, I'm glad you like the chapter overall.

Firestar5277 - Thank you, it just seemed like such a shame not to make use of the base when it was right there rather than being used as little more than a backdrop object as in-game. Ace is a bit of a slippery character, but he's not above helping out others when in pursuit of a similar goal; 'Sir Assalot' indeed… I… wouldn't really say 'terrors' per say, though the threat I had in mind is a little bit of both, and, well… You'll just have to read on to find out. Take care, and hope you enjoy.

StaticBomb93 - yeah, I do wish this level in the actual game was a lot more like my interpretation; same goes for the Megapolis boss battle. Sorry for any mistakes on my part, I haven't had a chance to go back over the chapter again yet, though I hope to once I've got some spare time.

Tempest Fugit - Thanks for the vote of confidence, I'll make sure to do both the ACK and STIKY justice when the time comes for their introduction (probably in the final act). I'm glad to hear you approve of my writing style, and I'd have to agree with your assessment when it comes to the readability of some fan fics.

Although there are some astonishingly well crafted and beautifully written pieces out there, the respective authors tend to forget their audience upon occasion and overcomplicate things. A story is ultimately there to be enjoyed, and if the reader is constantly having to reread passages and look things up just to understand what's going on then there's something fundamentally wrong. As for Ace, rest assured I've got a plan in mind for him later down the line…

BulletWitch1985 - Hey, long time no see! It's good to hear from you again now that you're better, and that the Goosebumps movie lived up to your expectations. I must admit that my only experience with the series/franchise overall is a few of the stand alone books way back when, so I haven't a clue who Slappy is. But since it sounds like an evil character's name, I'm guessing Regina was justified in flipping them off.

Glad you enjoyed the chapter and the interactions between the characters; it's always a struggle to translate an aerial or space combat sequence into written words and always nice to hear someone appreciates the end result. Like I said before, I think your joint profile name works really well, plus it's easy to remember and for readers to search for. You'll have to let me know when you two start posting so I can take a gander; definitely looking forward to your first stories.

I'm with Regina when it comes to the ratchet & Clank reboot, and am hoping to maybe get my hands on a PS4 post Christmas in the January sales if I can find one cheap enough with a decent amount of storage (maybe I should save up and wait for the 1000GB model?). Also, I wholeheartedly agree with you when it comes to updating older games for the next-gen consoles. There are just so many out there that could work with either a HD re-release or a proper remake, such as Capcom did with the first Resident Evil, which to me sets the bar for how it should be done.

Incidentally, I've finally managed to track down a UK copy of Jersey Devil after many months of searching and have been trying to find enough time to play between writing and RL obligations. Though the difficulty curve is unforgiving in places and gameplay a little dated, I actually quite like it and hope to get into it again when I'm able. I have to say I'm looking forward to your Jersey Devil story even more so now that I've been able to play the game, and it's given me a few ideas for a potential story. Considering how long this series will take me to finish though and all the other stuff I want to write, I doubt it'll make it past the first hurdle.

Sonachugirl - Glad you enjoyed my little diversion from canon, hope you enjoy the concluding half of the Feltzin system. And indeed I do like your art work and style; honestly, you're a lot better than you give yourself credit for in my eyes. Take care.

The White Guardian - Thank you, and actually your review is just on time before I finish up the finalised chapter to be uploaded. Sorry I didn't respond to your PM, I've just been up to my eyeballs in work and have barely had a chance to sit down for five minutes let alone type anything. Good luck with your tests by the way, I'm sure you'll get the results you're after.

I have to say that if those enhancements you've made to Kerbal are indicative of the final product then I can't wait to see the end result; especially since it was achieved through good old fashioned, proper coding rather than just recolouring any existing textures. A Saturn V style rocket sounds interesting, and picking up the landing module post launch to save weight and fuel in the initial launch stage is a solid idea.

Though Ace is a competent and experienced commando, he is kind of full of himself and enjoys annoying Ratchet through Ellen a little too much. Question is, just how much will the lombax put up with before he lashes out? Also, considering that your OC may be involved, our heroes most certainly won't like what they're about to encounter…

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.

Our heroes push further into the station; but will they find what they're looking for or will something find them first? Find out in Chapter 14.

- 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 14:

What Lies Within

Thugs-4-Less Way station G-04, Feltzin System

Bogon Galaxy

G2.17.082 Galactic calendar

11:53am local time

"Contact left!"

Ace's voice barked as loudly as his heavy calibre marksman rifle in the relatively narrow hexagonal-shaped corridor, shortly followed by the chatter of automatic weapons from his lombax and human counterparts. A staccato hail of bullets replied in kind from the far end of the corridor, the three commandos taking cover on either corner of the T-junction they had been attempting to negotiate and began to exchange fire with yet another squad of mercs. It had been like this for the past ten minutes, barely advancing more than a few dozen yards or so before running into yet another pre-positioned ambush while the occasional strike team attempted to flank them from behind. If the thugs wanted to slow the Megacorp team down then they were doing a damn good job of it, especially since the only thing the commandos had to show for their efforts so far was a trail of corpses and spent magazines left in their wake.

Seeing their older counterpart fighting up close on the ground rather than from within the confines of his starfighter's cockpit cast Ace in a much different light in Ellen's eyes. He was still cocky, borderline arrogant in places, and seemed to have a quip for every occasion. But the markazian somehow seemed more... focused, clinical even in the way he put down any enemy that crossed his path in a disturbingly detached manner; such as when he executed an already bleeding out thug without breaking stride as he stepped over the still warm body. Was that what she looked like, what she was becoming? So attuned to causing death that empathy and mercy went out the window when it wasn't convenient? Ellen honestly didn't know; but so long as her moral compass didn't waver any further than it may have already, then she would do whatever it took to ensure she and those she cared for survived.

The human jammed her Reaver around the corner she was hunkered behind and emptied the rest of her clip down range, ducking back from the murderous return fire and idly noting as she reloaded that the carbine's underslung launcher now had two plasma grenades ready to use. "Cover me!"

Ratchet's response was to redouble his efforts, raking the corridor with fire and giving his partner the precious few seconds she needed to drop to one knee and line up her first shot at a hollow metal crate around the mid-way point that a thug was crouched behind before snapping towards an enforcer leading an advance towards them with his shield braced and extended. The purple and white globules of unstable energy arced through the air in rapid succession, reaching critical mass within seconds and ripping their respective targets to shreds at the molecular level.

By the time the three peeked back from around their respective cover in the following silence there wasn't much left to look at, save for a pair of blackened craters melted into the metal flooring and walls around the impact point and what little was left of the thugs that were outside the blast radius. Ellen honestly felt more than a little queasy at the carnage she had caused as they picked their way through to the other end of the corridor but forced it back down, trying to focus instead on what was ahead of the team and what else could be lying in wait for them.

Rounding a corner onto a wider passageway with a quartet of doors flanking either side, Ace halted their advance with a raised, clenched fist and appeared to be listening for something. Ratchet picked up on it straight away thanks to his sensitive hearing, the sound of heavy boots clattering on metal floor plating along with raised voices filtering from the junction just ahead. Finding the closest door unlocked, he quickly swept his weapon over the interior before ushered them through and jamming the lock behind them; though not before Ellen managed to drop a few Miniturrets in their wake to cover their rear.

The faint whine of motors and thud of the sentry gun's fire mixed in with guttural shouts and explosions soon began to fade away as the team squeezed their way through the increasingly dark and cramped pipe-lined maintenance passage way the markazian had herded them into. Although the light amplification suite on their helmets made tripping over themselves less likely, it was still hard going; Clank having to dismount from his normal spot on Ratchet's back and walk on ahead thanks to a particularly narrow section that had them shimmying through sideways with precious little room to spare.

It was a relief to all when they finally emerged out of the claustrophobic tunnel into what turned out to be a walk-in storage closet, though that was swiftly compounded once Ace cracked the door open a few inches to take a look only to swiftly seal it once again as a fresh batch of troops pounded by. Peeking out a few moments after they had passed, Ace silently gestured to his temporary teammates before stepping back out into the corridor with his marksman rifle shouldered and began to take down the rear most thugs of the group from behind with precision shots, while Ellen ducked around him to unload her scatter gun and Ratchet finished up with his Mini-Nuke.

Most of the thugs were dead before they could even register what was happening, but the shield bearing enforcers that had previously been leading the formation were quick enough to form a defensive line; absorbing the withering hail of incoming fire and bringing their shotguns to bear. Sprinting forth up one side of the corridor, Ratchet leapt up against the wall mid-way up and used the momentum to bounce off; coiled leg muscles propelling him through the air over the initial shotgun blasts to land feet first against the closest enforcer's shield. The sheer force of impact forced the thug back a step and gave the golden-furred commando the opportunity to drop an explosive orb from his Bomb Glove just between the pair as he pushed off once again and somersaulted backwards through the air to land with typical feline grace just outside of the blast radius.

Unfortunately though, it wasn't enough to do more than temporarily collapse the Enforcer's shields and blacken their incredibly resilient armour, along with their already sour moods. The lombax soon finding himself staring down the business ends of their oversized scatter guns once more as they were brought to bear, only to backflip away before either thug could even think to pull the trigger and fling his wrench in midair to crack one across the skull while the other received a neat hole in his head courtesy of Ace's marksmanship. Checking to make sure there were no other threats nearby and subsequently taking the opportunity to reloading while they had the chance, the team kept moving down the identikit corridors with an increasing sense of frustration at the lack of any real progress.

Everything looked the same, and after a further five minutes of wandering Ellen could swear they were going round in circles even with Clank mapping the place out as they went. Before she could voice her opinions aloud however, something posted on a wall mounted screen near to a security booth caught her eye. "Hey, I think I've got something."

Taking a closer look, the human felt more than saw her companions gather around her as she focused on the digital diagram before her while tracing her fingers over the geometric patterns. it was an archetypal map; the kind with multiple floor plans laid out in neat rows along with colour-coded routes to important locations, and even a helpful big red 'you are here' arrow pointing to their current position. If it weren't for the fact she was so relieved at the prospect of finding out where the hell they needed to go, the red-head would have been growling with exasperation at having such a convenient item practically dumped in her lap now of all times when she could have done with it so much earlier.

"Well at least we know where we are now," Ellen sighed while mentally trying to trace their previous route on the screen. "Question is, where the hell do we go from here?"

Peeking over Ratchet's shoulder, Clank swept his optics over the displayed diagram and had found what they were searching for within seconds, extending a single metal digit towards the labelled room as if to punctuate his words. "According to this map, the space station itself appears to consist of six main floors along with the associated hangers and resupply facilities for larger vessels, plus an observation deck which also doubles as a cafeteria and... 'yoga appreciation society' area, hmm..." His optics shuttered briefly at the oddly labelled room, but pushed on nevertheless." The communications room appears to be on the fourth floor along with this facility's command centre, both of which should be directly connected to the primary array beneath the station's exterior. It is logical to assume that we may be able to obtain the information we require there from any achieved communication logs."

"Looks like there's some kind of cargo elevator running up the station's core," Ace pointed out with a tap of his finger. "We'd have to cut through the missile storage room to get there, but from then on it should be a straight shot to the fourth floor."

"Sounds like a plan," Ratchet nodded before glancing over his shoulder. "Clank, see if you can't download that map. We're gonna need you to guide us there." Swapping weapons and hefting his recently reacquired Tesla Claw for old time's sake, the lombax couldn't help the growing smirk on face at just how screwed the thugs were now they knew where they were going; leading the way with Ellen and Ace close behind in a loose wedge formation. "Well, let's go find us an elevator..."

{()}

"Enemy has broken through sector K! I repe-"

"Charlie squad is not responding! Gamma, regroup with Zeta and push towards-"

"Can't hold out much longer, we need back up right n-"

"Second section is gone! We're getting slaughtered out-"

"DAMMIT!"

Captain Tyranus, or Terry as his subordinates referred to him behind his back, slammed his reptilian fist on his desk with unconcealed rage; denting the metal beneath and spilling a half cup of coffee in the process as he continued to listen to the increasingly dire verbal reports filtering into the command bunker from his troops around the station. To say he was having an exceptionally bad day would definitely be an understatement; especially since being the commander of this way station out in the ass end of nowhere was supposed to be an easy assignment. It was supposed to be a simple refuelling and staging point for the collective Thugs-4-less fleet that usually saw no more than a half-dozen company ships per month at most; an overly boring, monotonous post that would allow him to kick back and relax while getting paid for the privilege.

Of course that had all gone to hell when the boss decided to use his little out-of-the-way, backwater space station as a rendezvous point for virtually the entirety of the mercenary group in the Bogon galaxy, upsetting his daily routine and forcing him to rouse his men in order to make sure everything was in order should their organisation's leader decide to pay an impromptu visit. He thought he'd dodged the proverbial bullet when the fleet came and went without a hitch, but just as the last elements were beginning to leave and it looked like Tyranus could finally catch a break, those damn Megacorp ships had shown up out of nowhere and turned his world upside down.

At first he'd thrown the station's starfighter squadrons and interceptors at them, confident that the three solitary craft would be no match for almost ten times their number. Boy was he wrong. in just under ten minutes, Tyranus had witnessed the base's defences being systematically ripped apart piece by piece; his fighter umbrella nigh wiped out, point defence batteries brushed off, and even the use of capital ship killing long-range missiles had proven to be useless in the face of such a seemingly unstoppable foe. With the exterior shield disabled, the mercenary commander began screaming orders over the interior PA system and had gotten a platoon's worth of men down to the interceptor launch bay the Megacorp ships were attempting to enter just in time to set up a welcoming committee.

That at least had proven more fruitful, tying up the intruders long enough to scramble reinforcements from the barracks even if meant losing most of his mobile heavy weapon platforms in the initial exchange. Then that lombax and the red-headed markazian girl had landed and everything went to hell. Tyranus could only watch over the banks of wall mounted monitors in his command room with disbelief as that commando bitch took over the hanger's crane and used it dump a ton of ordinance on top of the supposedly impenetrable hanger barricade before the other two blew it up; taking out most of the area's security feed in the process and leaving the bunker's occupants staring at nought but static. Switching to another camera soon showed that they had already gotten through the blast doors and were fighting their way further into the base itself, with any attempts at sealing them off blocked by selective remote hacking of the security systems.

He recognised those two lunatics from the survivors reports of the company's operations in the local sector that had gone south in the past few days; the pair steamrolling through practically everything Thugs-4-Less could throw at them, and yet still coming out virtually unscathed against insane odds. He'd called bullshit at the time when first going through the data, but from what he'd seen and heard first hand so far it was going to take more than just an army to stop those them in their tracks. And then there was the third guy who had recently shown up on the company's radar; targeting someone their client didn't want found and generally pissing off the wrong people. Why the hell were they here anyway? Why now, and working together as well? Although he may not have know their motives, Tyranus did know that he wasn't going to take any more chances with the hyper-lethal Megacorp team.

"Lock down the elevators and all passageways other than the main cargo lift," the mercenary captain intoned darkly. "Have all remaining squads fall back and regroup around the main core. Tell them to maintain their positions, no matter what."

Rising up from his command chair, Tyranus left his subordinates to coordinate the remaining squads in their defence of the facility before quietly taking his leave. These were desperate times, and if he couldn't beat the commandos by conventional means then perhaps it was time to unleash the one thing that could potentially turn the tide; something buried deep within one of the secure storage rooms in the station's core that he had long hoped would never get to see the light of day. Upon exiting the command bunker, he took a right past his personal quarters and headed for a nearby elevator and closed the doors behind him before punching in a set combination of floors.

The lift shuddered briefly and descended only to halt a half floor later, the doors opening onto a wide, whitewashed area with blast doors on the far side and a huge armoured silo covered in hazard signs and striped warning tape that dominated the room. It was towards a nearby terminal that Tyranus strode however, bypassing the triple layered security and bringing up the camera feed from within the containment unit on screen. Despite having nearly twelve inches of battleship grade armour plating between him and the silo's occupant, he still couldn't help but feel a sense of unease as he tilted the computer's microphone towards himself and cleared his throat before speaking the required command phrase aloud.

Tyranus once knew him as Marcus, his predecessor before the... incident involving six crates of beer, a drunken bet, and an illegal super soldier serum stolen from a blargian chem lab for a discerning client. Someone had insulted his mother, one thing led to another, and... well, it worked. Sort of. Marcus was ridiculously strong and could shrug off bullets like dandruff, his body's new regenerative abilities able to fix the damage from a tank's main gun within seconds; hence his new moniker. He was also incredibly dangerous to anyone who so much as slighted him in some way, and since his mental faculties had regressed to a child-like state that had been a particularly lethal combination as some of his ex-subordinates had discovered to their detriment.

Despite the starkness of the room's exterior, the silo's interior was surprisingly pleasant; the walls adorned with rich pastel colours and what appeared to be numerous vibrant plushies scattered all over a pink carpeted floor. It was the oversized mauve couch and equally large and decidedly male, muscle-bound creature occupying it that dominated what amounted to a comfortably furnished prison cell; what once might have been a thug brute had he not looked like the ten foot tall, steroid abusing offspring of Bane and the Incredible Hulk. Glazed eyes intently watched a cartoon about colourful equinoids on a massive flatscreen holovision taking up the far wall, a thin string of drool cascading from his smiling maw as he hugged a large brown teddy to his broad, bare chest.

"Pre-tty po-nies..."

The former commander's current accommodations and mindless kids HV were the only way to keep him docile and prevent him from tearing anyone apart, and now Tyranus was about to unleash that pent up force on an unsuspecting station. Drawing a deep breath, he typed in the final command in a long string and last sense of lingering hesitation, executed the program. The oversized flatscreen blanked out much to Tank's confusion and sudden rage; a viscous green fluid from a collection of translucent drums suspended above the containment silo emptying their contents into the interior shortly thereafter, converting to a fine spray of mist that affected him almost immediately. Bones shifted, muscle mass rippled as it grew at an expediential rate, and an all too animalistic, reverberating growl echoed forth from within the metal construct.

"Where did po-nies go?! Me crush who make pre-tty po-nies go bye!"

Captain Tyranus only stayed long enough to make sure everything was working, opening the blast doors amidst a screeching of klaxons along with the nearby munitions lockers before taking his leave. Tank would have a clear path straight towards the cargo elevator where those commandos were no doubt closing in on even now, and with freely accessible weapons plus no one else to get in his way, he would have no one else to vent his fury on than those Megacorp interlopers. The Thugs-4-Less commander could only hope that he would be long gone by the time that thing had fully woken up, preferably in the next star system, and that there would still be a station left over afterwards to return to once it was all over.

{()}

"Anyone else think this is weird?" Ellen enquired aloud as they followed Clank's directions down yet another blank corridor.

"You mean the fact no one's been trying to kill us for the past five minutes?" Ratchet responded. "With the way our luck holds out, I'd say that's a new personal best."

Ace merely grunted noncommittally, keeping his eyes peeled and his sidearm, a modified Megacorp Security Pistol, pointed directly ahead. "Missy's got a point, something's not right here. Those mercs have been hammering us good since we got here, and now they suddenly back off? I don't buy it." Briefly shifting attention, the markazian glanced over to where Clank was perched upon his lombax companion's back. "Hey, tin man, how much further to the cargo elevator?"

"We are approximately twenty six feet away from the station's core on this level," the diminutive silver robot replied cordially. "Take a left at the next junction and proceed directly ahead; we should be able to summon the cargo elevator from there."

Sure enough it was right where Clank had indicated, the dull metal-plated corridors giving way to a large room just under half the fighter hanger's size with multiple sealed blast doors lining each wall and numerous crates stacked in neat rows. The cargo elevator itself was essentially a massive forty-foot squared solid metal platform, with waist high railings around three sides and a folding ramp that allowed heavy goods to be off loaded via forklifts or the in-built chain-link conveyor belt system. It wasn't all too surprising to see that several shipping containers were still on board along with several drums of unidentifiable material, though it was a little suspicious to see that it had stopped invitingly on their floor of all places.

Despite any misgivings however, the commandos crossed the relatively short distance into the hanger without further incident and were soon aboard the oversized goods platform; keeping all arcs covered while Clank hacked the lift controls. With a distant rumbling of machinery, the ramp began to fold back on itself to form a fourth barrier and the elevator began to vertically rise at an achingly slow pace. On the bright side, at least it gave them a chance to take a quick breather once they had checked to make sure no thugs were lying in wait to ambush them from the shipping containers. And, as Ellen reflected, it was still nowhere near the agonising crawl of the elevators from the Mass Effect series, thank God.

After a good minute or two of nothing more sinister than the rumble of heavy machinery, the group began to relax a little and make sure their weapons were ready for when they finally reached their destination. They were halfway up the station's core in a relatively confined lift shaft and Clank had the controls on lock down to prevent outside interference; surely if the thugs were planning something they would have sprung it by now. or even before they set foot onto the elevator in the first place. Of course Murphy is a vindictive bastard at the best of times, and so no sooner had that thought sprung to anyone's mind when something truly massive dropped straight down onto the platform from above with enough force to trigger the elevator's emergency brakes and send its occupants sprawling.

Groaning from where she'd cracked her helmet against a railing, Ellen forced herself back up to her knees only to stare wide-eyed at the towering behemoth occupying the far side of the platform. Apparently somebody had most definitely had their steroid flakes for breakfast. "Um, guys? I think we might have run into a slight problem..."

With a powerful fifteen foot plus frame that was almost as broad as he was tall, the reptilian giant almost resembled a scaled down Chainblade were it not for the difference in species. Unnaturally large and thickly corded muscles strained against taut, deep-purple scaled skin; faintly glowing, bulging green veins clearly visible across his entirely bare chest and hulking arms. In fact, the only clothing he wore was a pair of heavy combat boots that had seen better days, black cargo pants similar to those worn by the regular thug grunts, and a contoured metal mask of some sort that kept his blazing crimson eyes exposed. More worrying however was the massive cannon of some sort strapped to his back thanks to an ammo festooned bandolier, and the ridiculously large mini gun-like rotary cannon he held casually in one hand which looked like it belonged on an armoured vehicle; the elongated barrels spinning up and pointed directly towards the shaken commandos.

"GIVE BACK PRE-TTY PON-IES, OR TANK HURT YOU!"

Bewildered as they were by the newcomer's enraged demand, long engrained instincts kicked in and the three were moving even before the words had left Ace's mouth. "Scatter!"

The markazian punctuated his shouted warning by diving behind a stack of nearby storage tanks that had been lashed together, Ratchet and Ellen similarly splitting apart and hunkering down wherever they could as that monstrous weapon roared. An armour-piercing stream of high velocity death hosed the immediate area, shredding several of the supply crates still occupying the platform and punching through the larger shipping containers as if they were tin foil. There wasn't a lot the Megacorp team could do against such overwhelming firepower without being pulped in return, but thankfully the giant thug's bullet hose of a gun had one glaring flaw that they could all too easily be exploited. It had to be reloaded.

All too soon Tank's rotary cannon clicked dry with its barrels spinning uselessly, his less than stellar mind taking precious seconds to comprehend the reason why and giving the suppressed commandos a chance to fight back as he fumbled for a new clip. Ratchet immediately went for his Seeker Gun and began to pump a steady stream of missiles into the hulking thug, Ellen jamming down the trigger of her carbine and stitching a line across his chest while Ace concentrated fire from his DMR at where he guessed the heart to be. In spite of the numerous burns and chunks of torn flesh from multiple explosions, Tank barely so much as took a step back under such an onslaught; partially shielding himself with his weapon before shoulder charging one of the shipping containers and sending it screeching across the deck into the one Ellen was sheltering behind with a shower of sparks.

"Move!"

It wasn't clear who shouted to the redhead but she honestly didn't care; hurdling over a low stack of crates and barely managing to avoid being flattened by her former cover thanks to Ratchet yanking her out of its path. The heavy duty shipping container slammed into the railings on the far side of the platform with a shriek of twisted metal, buckling it entirely and partially wrenching the loading ramp out of place. Pounding footsteps reminded them that their adversary was still out there, but as the pair rounded an overturned munitions locker they couldn't help but stare with disbelief at the towering mass of muscle stalking towards them; the lombax's words perhaps best conveying their collective thoughts.

"You've gotta be freaking kidding me! What's it take to stop this guy?!"

Whatever damage had been done to Tank's body was effectively regenerating at an insanely fast rate; flesh visibly regrowing before their very eyes and wounds knitting back together with nary a scar to show for it. In fact, all that firepower had apparently done was to further piss him off if his snarling, predatory gait and the whine of his newly rotary cannon were anything to go by; something further compounded by an incendiary grenade exploding in his face.

"Go! I've got you covered!"

The lombax and human didn't need telling twice; sprinting away from the random spray of heavy calibre rounds being spat their way and bypassing their markazian counterpart as he pitched another explosive orb at the temporarily blinded juggernaut before retreating after them. Regrouping on the opposite side of the lift platform, Ellen hurled out a trio of miniturrets to keep Tank busy while the team tried to come up with a better plan, his angered roar audible over the top of his weapon's sustained fire.

"YOU HURT TANK! TANK MAKE YOU PAY!"

That rotary cannon of his had to go for a start, and when Tank stopped to reload once again after flattening the deployed turrets the three concentrated fire with the best weapons they had to hand. Ellen shouldered her as yet untested Visibomb Gun, with Ratchet hefting his Mini-Nuke and Ace packing a double-barrelled rocket launcher respectively; all three firing simultaneously at a single point with enough explosive force to obscure their target entirely. By the time everyone could see again, it was obvious they were more than a little successful; the oversized thug's arm mangled and charred along with parts of his chest, while his weapon was little more than scrap metal. Unfortunately, losing his auto-cannon only seemed to enrage Tank even more so than before; his regeneration kicking in despite being peppered with heavy fire and allowing the behemoth to wield it as a crude club which smashed down on the Megacorp team's tentative cover.

Scrambling in separate directions, the three managed to evade being splattered by mere inches as Tank continually pursued them with increased vigour; his attacks becoming more and more frenzied until his makeshift melee weapon finally shattered into pieces. It was almost as if his anger was fuelling his abilities; making him stronger and more resilient over time the longer they fought. Was that even possible, and if so, how the hell were they supposed to beat someone that appeared to feed on violence? Continuing to burn through both ammo and available cover by the second, the three commandos had managed to gain some distance and regroup again just as Tank stopped to unsling the massive cannon strapped to his back; levelling the cavernous barrel in their direction and squeezing the trigger with a deafening report that sent a broad cone of foot long flechettes down range.

It was just as well the team decided to vacate the intended target area immediately or they would have shared the same fate as the shipping container occupying the line of fire; the oversized shotgun blowing a gaping three foot wide hole straight through one of the shipping containers in the platform's centre and the one behind it. Tank paused to eject the spent Nanoclip and insert another into his weapon's breech, giving everyone a chance to pump more explosives into him for what good it did and only succeeding in having a large car-sized crate hurtling through the air to impact the already damaged cargo ramp. Seeing the retractable wall beginning to waver under the constant punishment did give Clank the beginnings of an idea however, especially when he took into account the still undamaged chain-link conveyor system built into the elevator floor.

Another conical blast from Tank's flak cannon collapsed what was left of the shipping containers and slammed the mangled remains together, conveniently grinding to a halt atop the industrial grade conveyor belt and providing the diminutive silver robot with a perfect opportunity to test his theory. Hacking into the control system was laughably easy, and as soon as the lumbering juggernaut stepped in just the right spot, Clank pushed the conveyor to maximum speed and launched its cargo straight at its intended target. The sudden impact apparently caught Tank unaware since it slammed him back into the already groaning cargo ramp with bone crushing force; his flak cannon discharging harmlessly at the far wall of the elevator shaft and peppering it with flechettes that tore ragged holes through the thick metal.

More importantly though, it seemed to have briefly stunned the hulking thug and torn the ramp entirely free of its hoardings; meaning that there was no longer a barrier to prevent anything from tumbling over the edge. Capitalising on the opportunity, Ace raised his rocket launcher once again even as he yelled to his younger counterparts to do the same. "Hit 'em with everything you got!"

Tank's wounds were closing up fast, and the hulking mass of muscle was already rising back up from his staggered crouch with a glare of pure hatred in his crimson eyes that bore into the assembled Megacorp team. Countless explosions rocked the towering titan's blood caked frame to little avail, keeping him from advancing too far and damaging his flak cannon, but otherwise not possessing enough force to push him over the edge. In desperation, Ellen unloaded the full complement from her carbine's underslung launcher before quickly grabbing her Grapple Gun; the burning plasma grenades incinerating wide swathes of Tank's arm along with his weapon and eliciting a deafening roar of pain.

Given prior experience and his predisposition to remotely take over machinery, Ellen figured that Clank was behind the improvised conveyor-launched missile and hoped he could do it again. To this end, the human latched onto a nearby munitions crate before bracing herself against the strain with grit teeth as she began to slowly reel it in at a crawl. A slight drop in the number of explosives raining down on the straining juggernaut announced Ratchet's arrival as he slammed up against the crate from the opposite side and began to shoulder it along while unsteadily wielding his grenade launcher in one hand. Together, they managed to grind the heavy package into position and gave Ace just enough verbal warning to let him dive clear as their makeshift bomb was catapulted forth and slammed straight into Tank's still pockmarked chest a split second before one of Ace's rocket's detonated the contents.

The resulting explosion rocked the entire elevator shaft and sent the Megacorp team sprawling, though that was nothing considering what happened to the one stood at the epicentre. Swaying drunkenly with blood loss and disorientation thanks to the massive crater in his torso, Tank let his flak cannon slip from his grasp as he teetered on the brink of the lift platform. In spite of his healing factor, the oversized Thug's multiple wounds were far too numerous to ignore and this latest attack seemed to be the final nail in the metaphorical coffin. It came as little surprise then as he leaned back just a smidge too far and finally plummeted into the darkness of the elevator shaft below. Upon picking themselves back up, the three commandos tentatively made their way over to the broken loading ramp and peered over the edge; still clutching their weapons tightly as they stared into unyielding gloom.

"You think we got 'em?"

As if to answer the lombax's question, a resounding boom accompanying a sickening squelching sound echoed up the shaft several long seconds later. Ellen turned away with a grimace, moving to sit down a few yards away and catch her breath while the adrenaline high petered out. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's dead fuzz ball. Most people don't tend to get back up from a fall like that, healing factor or not. Oh, and Clank?" The little silver robot perked up at his name, giving her a curious glance as she offered him a grateful look. "Nice work back there with the conveyor belt."

"You are welcome," Clank replied with a gentle nod and a faint smile. "I only wish that a viable solution had presented itself sooner."

"Speaking of which," Ace cut as strolled back over to the group with his DMR back in hand. "Think you can get this elevator rolling again, tin man? Otherwise we've got a long ass climb ahead of us..."

Following his gaze up the darkened elevator shaft certainly put things in perspective, and considering Ellen's inherent fear of heights she was more than a little dubious about the prospect of having to tackle something that seemed to stretch out to infinity. Thankfully Clank still had access to the cargo lift's systems, and with a few override commands he managed to disengage the emergency brakes and resume the elevator's ponderous climb. For now at least, they could breathe easy for however long it took to reach their destination and the complimentary Thugs-4-Less ambush that would no doubt be lying in wait; safe in the knowledge that whatever the hell that hulking monstrosity was, it was no longer a threat.

{()}

At the bottom of the elevator shaft, several long minutes after the Megacorp team had ascended to their destination, a pulverised lump of charred meat began to stir. Flesh twitched as bones snapped into place and muscle tissue slowly began to knit back together, gradually accelerating as what should have been fatal wounds suddenly became negligible. A hulking arm rose shakily with fingers clawing at air as the oversized thug regained consciousness, crimson eyes snapping open with furious anger and a rumbling growl reverberating from his throat across the steel-plated walls of his temporary confinement.

{()}

Upon reaching the fourth floor, the cargo elevator slowed to a halt and the blast doors before them ground open thanks to Clank accessing the station's security systems once again. With their respective weapons raised, the three commandos of the group hopped over the gap where the broken cargo ramp would have lowered and stepped out into a dull grey hub room with an abandoned security checkpoint on each of the three exits lining the walls. Somewhat surprised and a little uneasy at the lack of a welcoming committee, ratchet and Ellen began to cautiously sweep the immediate area while Ace wandered over to one of the security booths and began to flip through the security feed from the desk-mounted monitor with a raised brow.

"Looks like they're jumping ship. Guess taking out that big guy spooked those mercs good."

Sure enough, nigh every camera showed small groups of thugs retreating towards a bank of elevators, sealing bulkheads behind them as they went. In fact, the only ones that weren't busy getting the hell out of there were a pair currently smashing up equipment in a room filled with computer monitors and servers. That had to be the communication room, and if their actions were anything to go by then the mercs had an idea of what they were after and were desperately trying to deny them any useful intelligence. Leaning over the desk, he shouted out so that Clank could hear him. "Tin man, you need to get these doors open! They're cleaning house, and if we don't get to that comm room yesterday this'll all be for nothing!"

Ellen came running back into the hub area from the side room she and Ratchet had been checking out with the lombax close behind, both of them slightly shuddering from having downed the contents of a Nanotech booster pack they had stumbled across in what turned out to be a small armoury. Clank tilted his helm to one side with his antennae pulsing rapidly for a few heartbeats before the central most door rolled up into the ceiling and the team rushed through with weapons sighted down the narrow corridor beyond. They passed by the open entrance of the long abandoned command centre and stacked up on the thoroughly locked down entrance to the communications room they had been searching for.

Voices could be heard inside along with the crackling of electronic devices being trashed, and it was blatantly obvious that time was running out if they wanted to get anything out of this bloody excursion. To this end, Ace motioned everyone back as he pulled a shaped breaching charge from his Quick select and stuck it to the thickly armoured door; twisting the device's arming handle and pulling it free before retreating to one side and shielding his face with one arm. With a proceeding faint whine, the concentrated explosive detonated and blew a ragged, roughly man-sized hole through the two inch thick material, directing the blast into the room a half second before the commandos stormed in.

Of the two thugs inside only one was still standing if only just, staggering against a work station on the far side of the room while spraying his assault rifle blindly in their direction while his partner lay unmoving on the floor in a pool of blood with chunks of shrapnel embedded in his body like some morbid organic pincushion. A rapid series of shots from Ace's MSP plus a singular heavy calibre slug courtesy of Ellen's Leviathan soon put down the last merc and the team could finally take in the mess that had been a communications room. Broken equipment and sparking wires were everywhere, and it was quite frankly a miracle that the main console was still intact at all considering how much damage the Thugs-4-Less employees had caused; though upon taking a seat and accessing the primary relay's communications logs, Clank was beginning to see why.

Someone had initiated a complete data wipe and the systems archives had almost entirely been purged, save for the most recent communiqués that had been received or redirected by the base to elsewhere. With some quick thinking, the diminutive robot was able to salvage what was left of the records and prevent anything else being deleted; pulling up a list of the most recent call logs to see if there was anything that might give them some clue as to the thief's current whereabouts. "I believe I may have something."

Upon clicking on the last entry, the screen temporarily faded to black before springing to life once more with a spilt-screen video call, the left occupied by an exasperated female robot call centre operator with a headset perched upon her helm and brilliant blue optics glaring over the top of her black-rimmed glasses. "For the fifth time, I have a collect call to Thugs-4-Less from a Mr 'you are gonna die'. Will you accept the charges?"

On the right half of the screen was the familiar image of the private contractor's esteemed leader, his brow scrunched up in thought and a thick digit tapping his chin. "Uh... 'You are... gonna die?'"

"I'll take that as a yes," the operator countered while reaching for something beneath the screen. "Thank you."

The left portion of the split-screen briefly faded through static before resolving into the glaring mask of the Protopet thief, his raised fist clenched in anger. "You... idiot!"

"Uh-oh..." Logan honestly looked a little worried if his sharp intake of breath and widening eyes were anything to go by, though that didn't stop his current client from laying into the veteran mercenary.

"I'm paying top rates for your protection," the hooded man stated with a rising snarl in his voice as he jabbed a finger towards the camera, "and your moron employees are off at some... picnic!"

"Hey, that was a company bonding exercise," Logan protested only to be cut off.

"I don't care!" the thief snapped with a dismissive swipe of his arm, his voice dangerously low "I'm at the pickup point right now. If your men aren't here pronto, then you can kiss this contract goodbye."

The left portion of the screen faded to static as he hung up, leaving the Thugs-4-Less front man struggling for a comeback in spite of no one being on the receiving end. "Uh... oh yeah? Well you can kiss your, uh... uh... your... your, eh, you know what I mean!" Logan scowled with frustration, his shoulders slumping as he terminated the call. "Ugh, dang it."

"Tell me you can trace that," Ratchet asked with rising hope that this would be the break they were looking for.

"Already done," Clank replied cordially. "According to the time stamp, the call was initiated from Canal City on planet Notak approximately 1.6 hours ago."

"Then we better get going before he decides to move again, we might not get another chance," Ellen stated with a growing sense of urgency. Turning her attention towards the only other commando present, she had barely opened her mouth before Ace waved her off.

"Don't wait up for me, missy. I wanna take a look at what's left on the system; maybe there's something in there that'll help me find Doctor Cross."

"You sure?" Ratchet asked with a raised brow. He may not have liked the older commando, but he wasn't about to desert an ally in the middle of an enemy held space station.

The markazian merely chuckled in response, sliding into the chair Clank had vacated and plugging his Wrist Com directly into the main computer via an extendable cable. "Don't worry kid, I'll be fine. Right now you three need to find that thief before he bails again with the Protopet to who knows where." Looking over his shoulder as the two devices noisily communicated, he offered them an easy going smile. "If I find anything useful I'll make sure to forward it your way, but until then I guess I'll see you around. Watch your six out there; especially you, sweetheart."

His last comment was accompanied by a flirtatious wink sent Ellen's way that had her lombax partner stiffening before she quickly led him away lest he do something stupid with Clank tottering behind shortly thereafter. She tuned out Ratchet's never ending stream of increasingly inventive threats as they made it back to the cargo elevator, halting his tirade with a warm hug and yet more reassurances on the long ride down. It was just as well the remaining thugs had apparently vacated the base since she had was frankly shattered from the non-stop space and ground assault and could murder a cup of tea right about now. Still, on the plus side, at least this place wasn't suddenly deciding to spontaneously self-destruct all around her like the last spaceborne construct she had narrowly escaped.

{()}

The reinforced metal wall dented under the sheer force of each impact before a purple reptilian fist punched straight through as if it were tin foil; thick digits receding only to grasp at the ragged hole and wrenched it apart to better accommodate Tank's massive frame. Stalking into what turned out to be launch room for the station's anti-ship missiles, his heavy footsteps jolted everything in sight that wasn't nailed down; including the twenty foot long capital ship killing weapon hanging loose from where it had been abandoned half way into its launch tube by the evacuating crew. All it took was one vibration too many for the missile to be knocked loose, sheer weight sending it careening past the confused looking giant thug and the contact sensitive warhead striking against a rack of similar missiles that were all primed and ready to go.

{()}

A massive explosion tore through the station, sending Ratchet and Ellen crashing to the deck in a jumble of limbs. Klaxons blared and flashing orange emergency lights bathed the corridors as the groaning pair struggled back to their feet and an automated announcement played over unseen speakers. "This is a stage one alert! Structural integrity has been compromised on decks two and three; all personnel are to evacuate the station immediately!"

"This is bullshit!" the human exclaimed as they hurtled around a corner, following Clank's directions as they sprinted back towards the fighter hanger where their ships were still parked. "I didn't even press any buttons this time!"

"Less talking, more running!" Ratchet yelled back, leaping over a collapsed beam that had broken loose thanks to yet more smaller explosions that began to become more frequent in nature. Keying his Wrist Com, several heartbeats passed as he tried to get hold of the markazian commando still somewhere on the floors above them before finally getting through. "Ace, you copy?! The whole place is comin' down, you gotta get outta there right now!"

Ace's voice came crackling through a few seconds later, and if his rapid breathing was anything to go by then he was already running. "Don't wait up for me kid; elevator's busted so I gotta take the scenic route. You and missy just concentrate on getting out of there while you still can; Ace out."

The walls began to creak ominously as the human and lombax made their way through numerous twists and turns in the maze of corridors, skimming past the crumpled bodies of those they had fought previously while the automated PA system continued to list off compromised sectors of the station and its declining status. After what seemed like an age, the three finally made it back into familiar territory and the entrance to the hanger; pounding through the wreckage of the demolished barricade and still licking flames before racing back to their thankfully intact ships. Spooling up the Star Explorer's engines, the two commandos were just taking off when Ellen glimpsed something moving out the corner of her eye.

"Ratchet, look!"

Turning his attention back towards the hanger, the lombax caught sight of Ace running flat out into the hanger with his marksman rifle in one hand and the other frantically waving them off. The reason for which became blatantly obvious a split second later as the bent and grotesque form of Tank crashed through the base entrance in a loping run; his limbs and body grossly misshapen with odd-sized limbs and pustulous growths no doubt due to his regenerative abilities misfiring. The markazian ducked under a clumsy swing before sliding beneath the wreckage of a burnt out fighter; his pursuer closing the gap by simply ploughing through any obstacle that got in his way with an inarticulate roar of frustration only to run headlong into a hail of laser fire from the two ships now hovering a dozen or so feet off the deck.

Even with his healing factor working overtime, the sheer amount of damage that boiled away his flesh brought Tank almost to his knees; giving Ace the precious seconds he needed to make it to his own starfighter and hastily lift off on full power. The three ships turned tail, their pilots thankful that the hanger's external shutters had automatically reopened due to the evacuation order and were soon back past the trapezoid exit tunnel into space once more with the hulking thug's bellow of rage fading away in their wake. Looking over her shoulder as they gained some distance, Ellen could see that they had only just made it out in time; the entire space station seemed to be collapse in upon itself and into the original asteroid it had been built on shortly before going up like a nuke as the primary reactor detonated spectacularly.

Once they had ridden out the resorting shockwave of energy and debris that pelted their retreating craft, the Megacorp team were finally able to breathe easy once again for at least a little while. Unfortunately they still had a job to do; Ace wishing them luck as he headed off to make sense of the information he managed to download and resume his search for Doctor Cross, while Ratchet, Ellen set the coordinates provided by Clank into their navigational computers and made best speed towards Notak. If the communication logs they had fought so hard to get were accurate then the thief was likely still there, and with any luck they would be able to intercept him before he got off planet.

Canal City, Notak

Bogon Galaxy

G2.17.082 Galactic calendar

4:48pm local time

Venting an angered sigh, the cloaked figure released his finger from the end call button before sliding a gloved hand over his blank mask. Thugs-4-Less were becoming much more trouble than they were worth, and their idea of 'protection' was little more than a joke. Why, oh why, had he even bothered to hire those incompetent budget mercenaries in the first place rather than a more expensive firm? Hundreds of thousands of bolts wasted on two bit thugs packing state of the art hardware, and they couldn't even take care of a couple of rookie commandos for crying out loud! The plan was in motion and if he wanted to keep Megacorp off his back long enough to see it through then more proactive measures were needed. Thankfully there was still another option on the table that might just give him the edge he needed.

Pulling up the directory on his Wrist Com, the thief input the number manually into the public video phone booth he was occupying and began to impatiently tap his foot as it connected. On the third ring it was answered; the static on the recipient's half of the screen resolving into a well built cazar in his mid thirties wearing scuffed jeans, a faded green vest adorned with numerous pouches hanging open over a red short-sleeved tee, and a tanned slouch hat decorated with a belt of sharp teeth. Though his eyes were hidden behind a pair of tinted sunglasses, his bleached and dishevelled looking brown fur spoke of someone that had seen constant sun exposure, and the toothy vulpine grin betrayed more than a hint of mirth as he spoke with a stereotypically Australian accent.

"G'day! What can I do for ya?"

"...Right," the thief drew out warily before deciding to press on. "I'm in the market for some extra security, and your name came highly recommended by an... associate of mine."

The rough looking but seemingly friendly man merely chuckled. "I'll bet they did. So long as ya got me fee I'm ready to start whenever you are; just say where and when."

"Good." the hooded criminal smirked beneath his mask, pleased to finally be dealing with a professional rather than those clowns who called themselves mercs. "Meet me at these coordinates. The advance fee will be in your account within the hour, with the rest payable upon arrival."

The contractor checked his Wrist Com briefly for the received data packet before nodding firmly. "Well in that case, perhaps a proper introduction is in order." A wide grin adorned his features as he tipped his hat. "Cash Harding at your service; you just bought yourself the best bloody merc this side of Bogon!"

And there we go, the Feltzin station is down and our heroes are back on track. I had originally intended to turn Tank's reappearance into a secondary running boss fight, With Ratchet and Ellen fighting back to their ships, but ultimately had to cut it down due to not being all that interesting and sending the word count spiralling out of control. The brief interlude near the end also introduces a new character that our favourite trio will be running into all too soon, and perhaps in future chapters as well (hint).

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

Thanks for reading

- RevenantReaper337