Author's note:

Yet another split chapter this week everyone, in spite of my efforts to condense things down. Notak is a fairly shortish level in game anyway if you ignore the side mission and potential health bonus pick up, which I was originally going to do. Then I had a few ideas, realised the chapter was growing way too long, and that a visit to certain merchant's secret ship shack wouldn't be enough for a chapter in its own right. Hence, another two-parter.

Incidentally, I'd hoped to get the first act of this story all finished by Christmas before taking a break, but with all the delays and split chapters up till now that's pretty unlikely. So instead I'll be temporarily stopping once I get the Siberius chapter posted and carrying on again in the new year once the Christmas rush has blown over since trying to juggle both extended working hours and this story along with everyday life is starting to become a bit of a grind. Rest assured I'm not giving up on this story, I just need some time for both myself and my family over the holiday season. Hope you all understand.

Review replies:

starrat - Thanks, and don't worry; I've got a little something more… intimate planned for Ratchet and Ellen in around 3-4 chapters time. In the meantime I'll try to keep up their usual banter and none too subtle flirting.

Lightsaviour2759 - Hulk smash indeed, and I'm glad my attempt at drawing more out of Ace's character came across the way I intended. The conveyor belt plan was actually inspired in part by the Tyrant boss battle on the cargo plane in Resident Evil: Code Veronica, though minus the steam catapult. Definitely agree that it would take something a lot more to truly kill Tank, though at least with the station exploding on top of him he won't be a threat to anyone else anytime soon. Probably.

I do still have slots for mini bosses left to fill, and a more technically minded thug does sound like an interesting idea to implement. Not sure where just yet, maybe later on in the story or as part of a tag team battle with another thug lieutenant… In any case, thanks for the suggestion and hope you enjoy the new chapter.

DarkEnigma95 - …I take it you approve then? Seriously though, I'm more than happy you liked my interpretation of how I feel the level could have been. And yes, Tank is a nigh unstoppable badass. I had originally intended to include the visit to Slim's ship shack this chapter, but I've had to put it off till next time since the word count has gotten way too long. I found the Electro-Mines incredibly handy myself, though I think my favourite ship-based weapon was actually the Multi-Torpedo Launcher for its ability to simply spam enemies with explosives. Thanks again, and with any luck this chapter will live up to your expectations as well.

zenith88 - Hey again, and don't worry about not being able to review sooner. I honestly don't mind, though I am glad to hear you enjoyed the chapter and my interpretation of how the level could have been. Take care.

NikoBellic96 - (Does best Roman impression) Hello cousin! Sorry, I couldn't resist. All jokes aside though, I'm always happy to hear from a new reviewer and that you've enjoyed this series thus far along with my addition to canon. As difficult as it is to keep up, I've tried to convey all the action and mayhem of the game with each chapter in such a way that it reads almost like a mini action movie. I had been a bit worried that I might be going overboard, but if you and everyone else likes it then I guess I'm doing something right.

As for Ellen, I've read far too many stories myself whereby the author either makes their character into an unstoppable juggernaut that can wipe the floor with everyone or a completely useless burden that, while perhaps more realistic under certain circumstances, isn't very interesting to read. For this reason I've striven to keep her on the middle road; strong and independent enough to be on level with the threats she and Ratchet encounters, but not pulling off anything above what she could realistically be able to do. Thanks again, and I hope you continue to enjoy the series for as long as I'm able to carry it.

Firestar5277 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked how the boss battle turned out along with the introduction of the two new characters. To answer your questions, Cash is indeed my OC, though not based off of the Future Saga's Smuggler. He's actually inspired by a similarly named character from the old PSX game Nuclear Strike, though with a Crocodile Dundee thrown into the mix along with a few ideas of my own. Angela is definitely stirring up a lot of trouble for our favourite trio; though rest assured that the time for the inevitable confrontation is fast approaching, and Ellen certainly won't go easy on her. Take care.

Destiny W - Here's hoping you'll like this one too. Enjoy!

Nekolover3 - It's funny you should mention that; I had, long before I started work on Time Heals All, written a draft chapter of what would now be the third story in this series before I'd abandoned it. The intention had been to start from Up Your Arsenal and skip the first two games with Ratchet and Ellen already in an established relationship, but it just didn't work. Anyway, back to the point; the chapter covered the intro for the third game, including the Secret Agent Clank segment.

In it, I had Ellen play Agent Clank's on-again/off-again love interest; a fellow spy known only as Miss Signet who works for the same agency and often crosses paths or occasionally teams up with him throughout the show's run (much to Nefarious' annoyance). Aside from having mid back length red hair (thanks to a wig) she looks no different than Ellen normally does, other than wearing a sleeveless, floor length scarlet dress with a slit up one thigh for the casino scene as opposed to a slinky catsuit with a utility belt for her 'normal' missions. Hope that helps.

StaticBomb93 - Huh… Now I think about it, it kind of was a bit like the battle against the Snagglebeast; minus the lava and with a lot more explosions. Wasn't intentional, just one of those odd coincidences I guess… You said I'd mixed up 'him' and 'her' on some of the dialogue for Ellen, do you have any specific examples? I've only had chance for a quick skim through and haven't seen anything yet that stands out, but if you could point me in the right direction then I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks again.

ReginaDC21 - Hey again, glad you liked the chapter. To answer your questions, I'd have to say that Ratchet needed superhuman (or should that be lombax) levels of restraint to not lash out considering how impulsive he normally is. Also, I checked on the Wiki, and aside from a few examples it seems to be universally spelt as 'OmniWrench' with the additional capital and no spacing. Personally I think Omni-Wrench would be better though, especially for my spellchecker.

Here's hoping everything goes well on your end, especially looking forward to when you two finally start posting once your FF account is set up. Take care, both of you, and hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Sonachugirl - No worries, you're not too late at all. Glad to hear you're back online, and that you enjoyed the boss fight in particular. I'm guessing that the particular image you have in mind can be summed up with 'squish'… Yeah, I'm not sure I'd even want to consider what kind of mess a fall like that would make.

As for your art, it's kind of difficult to pick favourites… Though I do really like 'Cry Plays Folklore' for its depth of shading and detail (incidentally, I'm really going to have to get round to finishing the game one of these days) Also, 'Huggles~!' and 'Sonic & Ratchet' for both fluffiness and your particular art style for the characters respectively. I'm… probably going to have to stop here before I end up describing every piece in your gallery. (Clears throat) Anyway, thanks once again and please continue to draw such wonderful pieces. Take care.

Flowerstar - Hey again; it's been a while, hasn't it? I… kind of lost the password I jotted down for my e-mail account and couldn't remember what it was for the life of me when prompted to log in. Thankfully I managed to find it as of the time of writing (Saturday) so I can finally check out my inbox. Sounds like you've been exceptionally busy, heck, it's a wonder you've had a chance to review at all with what you've got going on. Congratulations on your graduation by the way; you may not have a first, but with only a few points off it sounds like you've got results that you can truly be proud of.

I read through your article as well; It's always fascinating to gain some perspective on other people's first gaming experiences, and the memories it brings back. A very well written and nostalgia provoking piece with a message I can get behind; don't write off the classics, retro games are just as good if not better than a fair amount of today's identikit efforts. Sorry to hear your computer's out of action, but at least you're still under warranty. Considering my old XP laptop has recently given up the ghost I can definitely sympathise.

It's always nice to hear someone enjoys my stories to the extent that it becomes something to look forward to on a weekly basis. Oh, and thanks for the clarification; I think I might have been getting my 'its' backwards or in the wrong context for a good number of the more recent chapters. Something I'll have to comb through to fix once I've got enough time to do it properly.

I tried to add a bit more dimension to Aces character rather than just using him as a way of creating tension with Ratchet, so I'm glad that came across the way it was intended. Yes, that is a blatant MLP reference and indeed he does. Then again, with his hyper-violent toddler-like mind, he probably just likes the pretty colours. They do say a picture is worth a 1000 words and it's the little details that truly sells the image; I just try to round out the edges. If it weren't for Ellen's potential disproval, I'm pretty sure Ratchet would have hit him by now.

He is, as you pointed out, very protective of those he is close to; but considering he's already nearly lost Ellen once and seen Clank kidnapped then he's likely justified in making sure nothing untoward happens to them. The inevitable confrontation with Angela is certainly going to be an interesting one to write, and likely to divert a bit from canon considering what I have in mind; same goes for Silver City if things pan out the way I want them to. I'm guessing you'll be listening to the appropriate OST once we get to that part?

Wishing you a very happy birthday in advance and hope you've got something nice planned for the day. Have a great day, and hope you like the new chapter. Take care.

The White Guardian - Sounds like you've got a lot on your mind this week, not the sort of thing you want hanging over you on the run up to Christmas. Hope everything works out okay with both your tests and the mod for KSP; though on the bright side, you must be doing pretty well with the latter considering you've been asked to help out on someone else's mod.

Glad you liked how Tank panned out in the chapter, I tried to keep him as true to your original idea as possible while coming up with a personality to match. Yeah, I'm pretty sure Ratchet et al weren't too pleased to see him at all; let alone coming back once again to ruin their day. If you've got another idea for a mini boss then by all means let me know once you've hammered out the details. I'm still putting together the remaining roster so there's still a few potential spaces to fill before I lock things down, plus I've got to try and flesh out more charters from the various other suggestions so far to boot.

Notak does seem to have a bit of a futuristic Venice theme going on with the canals and motorised gondola-like boats everywhere. Unfortunately Ratchet and Ellen aren't going to get much of a chance to do much of anything with the amount of mercs gunning for them this chapter, though I do hear Slim Cognito is looking to buy in starship components from reliable sources… Happy to hear you enjoyed my take on the Feltzin system as a whole, and my introduction of Cash for a soon-to-be antagonist. There's definitely going to be some mayhem when our heroes finally face off with him; especially since he has more than a few tricks up his sleeve to even the odds.

Good luck with your last test, and hope you like the new chapter. Thanks again.

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.

With the thief's location in hand, Ratchet, Ellen, and Clank rush to confront him. But will they make it in time, or simply be chasing ghosts once more? The answers lie right here, in Chapter 15.

- 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 15:

Chasing Ghosts

The infinite span of the cosmos has fascinated civilisation since the dawn of time; a never-ending sprawl of planets, stars and faraway galaxies beyond human imagination. Of course to the varied peoples of the wider galactic society, such things had become more... mundane and routine after centuries of space faring, with the long hours spent journeying between worlds whiled away on other pursuits. It was little surprise then that despite the relatively short distance to Notak, Clank was using the multipurpose display on the Star Explorer's navigational computer to channel surf with Ratchet diverting his attention between the screen and the void ahead.

"So, how's the reception out here?"

"We have sports, the weather..." The diminutive robot's reply was flat as he continued to flip through the channels, or at least that was until he found something that sparked his interest. " ooh! the science channel!"

"Ugh, keep going," Ratchet grimaced the thought of being stuck listening to his best friend's favourite station for the rest of the trip. Although a brief glimpse of what was on the next channel soon caught his attention. "Whoa, what's that? Hey Ellen, check out channel 32!"

"Hang on a sec," came the human's reply over the open radio link between their ships along with a hint of incredulity but a moment later. "Wait... is that Qwark?"

On screen was indeed the gurning figure of Captain Qwark, striking a suitably heroic pose in front of a plain blue backdrop adorned with his trademarked logo. Of the three companions, Ratchet and Clank recognised the background music from their brief stint on the Behind the Hero HV show, though all listened with equal intent to the narrator's opening words. "The man, the myth, the legend... The loser." The screen changed over to a video clip of an irate and handcuffed Qwark trying to cover his face while being led into a police van by two uniformed officers, jostling paparazzi flashing away with their cameras as the voice over continued. "Captain Qwark, once the idol of everyone in the galaxy has finally hit rock bottom. After his humiliation at the hands of Ratchet and Clank, Qwark sold bogus merchandise he claimed were Gadgetron products."

The video was soon replaced with a series of newspaper headlines and photos of the dynamic duo to highlight the narrators words, plus a few blurry shots featuring Ellen, before flitting to the treacherous ex-hero posing with what looked like a bad combination of a Swiss army knife and a toaster. "But a key defect in this product - the Personal Hygienator - caused severe irritation in sensitive body areas, and alerted authorities to Qwark's scam. Behind the Hero will return, after these messages." The screen faded into the show's logo along with the appropriate theme music before cutting to commercials, Clank switching off the computer's HV mode and giving his long time friend a quizzical look at the sudden sound of realisation. escaping his lips.

"Well that explains a lot."

"Yes, I suppose it-" the little silver robot began hesitantly, only to be interrupted by Ratchet once more.

"All this time, my Personal Hygienator must have been causing that itch!"

...

The sound of Ellen clearing her throat filtered over the still open radio link in the following awkward silence, Ratchet sinking down in his seat with flushed embarrassment as her voice seeming to waver between horror and amusement. "Do I... really want to know where you stuck that... thing?"

"I severely doubt it," a disturbed looking Clank retorted before trying to change the subject. "In any case, we should arrive at our destination shortly."

"Uh... right," the lombax coughed to cover up the lingering awkwardness and tried to regain his normal nonchalant tone. "Better have your weapons running hot, no telling what kind of welcoming committee we'll find down there."

Canal City, Notak

Bogon Galaxy

G2.17.082 Galactic calendar

5:24pm local time

The skies were overcast and the rumble of distant thunder threatened to bring a storm along with it as the two Star Explorers descended through thick cloud cover; spots of fine rain beginning to smear across their canopies thanks to a bracing ocean breeze. Once they got low enough to see through the gloomy weather and could finally pick out the distant strobes from coastal lighthouses, Ellen got her first glimpse of the thief's last known location and couldn't help but think that it almost resembled a futuristic Venice. As the name suggested, Canal City was built upon an ancient settlement lining the banks of a large network of waterways that had served as trade routes for close to a millennium. Of course nowadays the city was significantly industrialised, with the relatively small residential sector bordering the old docks sandwiched between the exclusive promenade shopping district to the west and an extensive Megacorp owned chemical plant to the east.

Though it was now home to a significantly thriving commercial sector and heavy industries, the canals themselves were still all-important arteries that characterised the city's layout continued to support trade as much now as it did in centuries past. Lumbering, long barges transported goods to and from the ever busy docks to who knows where, while speedy motor launches carried tourists and residents alike for both business and pleasure. In fact, the constant stream of traditional water-going ships actually outnumbered the more conventional air-cars and such typically seen in most cities, with a vast majority of the numerous bridges criss-crossing the canals and walkways lined with leafy palms indicating a city geared towards foot traffic rather than ground based vehicles.

None of this truly mattered to the recently arrived commandos however as they finally touched down upon a raised parking zone close to the city's shopping promenade, especially since they were more preoccupied with tracking down their ever elusive quarry. It was a task that would prove to be a little easier than they might have expected; especially when a dark crimson painted shuttle rose up from the plaza just below, the very thief the pair had been doggedly chasing briefly visible through its transparent bubble canopy as it began to angle for the overcast skies above. There was nowhere near enough time to make it back to their ships before the masked man disappeared once again, Ellen shouldering her sniper rifle and attempting to draw a bead on the rapidly escaping ship only to watch as it vanished beyond the clouds.

"Damn it! We practically had him!"

Ratchet wholeheartedly agreed with her sentiment but forced down his growing frustration at seeing their target slip away once again, along with his instinctively raised Seeker Gun. Even if they had successfully shot the thief down, there was a good chance of accidentally killing the Protopet too if it had been on board. "Too late again..." he sighed wearily. "I swear this guy knows when we're coming; he's always one step ahead!"

"We do always seem to be a bit late," Clank mused. "Why is that?"

There was a silent lull only broken by the gentle patter of rain on metal decking; the three shifting uncomfortably and exchanging thoughtful looks before Ellen dispelled the dampened mood with a shake of her head. "Not a lot we can do about that now either way, and we're still no closer to catching the thief or finding out what he's up to."

"Well, we're here now," her golden-furred partner responded with a nonchalant shrug before hiking a thumb over his shoulder. "Lets check the place out, see if we can't find out where he's headed."

Taking the short lift platform down to ground level, the two commandos paid a visit to the Megacorp vendor just off to one side and took the opportunity to restock as much ammo as they could carry before checking to see if any new weapons were available. By and large the stock was nigh enough the same as the last vendor they had patronised on Barlow, the only recent addition being a pricy humanoid-shaped hovering gun drone known as a Synthenoid which both decided to give a miss and save for something bigger. Stepping away from the machine, the lombax and human took in the relatively quiet yet still potentially treacherous coastal cityscape before them as yet another slow moving barge passed by on the nearby canal. None of the three companions had any clue as to why the thief would visit such a place, but with so much ground to cover and their quarry's trail growing colder by the minute, it became increasingly obvious what needed to be done.

"Much as I hate to say it, we're gonna have to split up."

Ellen nodded reluctantly at the lombax's assessment with a drawn out sigh. "Yeah... I know... Doesn't mean I have to like it though. It's pretty much guaranteed that our mystery thief will have left a few surprises for us."

Ratchet gave her a wry smile in return, though he too was wary of what might be ahead. "I hear ya. But it comes with the territory, right?"

The redhead couldn't help a snort of amusement at the words she had spoken seemingly a lifetime ago being directed right back at her. "Damn right, fuzz ball. So... Which way do you want to check out first?"

In the end Ratchet choose to head towards the docks and chemical plant while Ellen would investigate the shopping promenade, with both agreeing to met up and assist the other once their own sweep for any potential leads was complete. Giving her hand one last lingering squeeze, the lombax's eyes betrayed no small hint of concern as he took a step back. "You be careful out there, alright? No telling what those mercs might try after losing that space station. You get into anything you can't handle, call me, and I'll be there."

The human merely leaned down to briefly lay a chaste kiss upon his lips before pulling back with a twinkle in her eye and a warm smile touching her lips. "Same goes for you two as well. Guess I'll see you when I'm done window shopping."

With that said, she gave him one last look of reassurance before turning away and jogging along the streetlight festooned walkway bordering the canal with her eyes peeled and Reaver Carbine readied for any potential threat waiting to pounce. Ratchet continued to watch her shapely jumpsuit covered posterior as she easily dispatched a trio of wandering chicken bots and disappeared out of sight around a corner and into the shopping promenade's main entrance; shaking his head in amusement and proceeding towards a nearby humpback bridge in order to cross over the canal and make for the docks.

Peering back to where the human had recently disappeared, Clank couldn't help but furrow his optics in puzzlement. "Is it me, or does Ellen seem to be a little... enthusiastic given the circumstances?"

The lombax smirked at his best friend's query, a chuckle escaping his lips as he reached the far side and drew his Tesla Claw before striding forth into a gaggle of drones and preparing to chain artificial lightning between them. "She's a girl heading towards a ton of shops selling designer clothes and has bolts to burn. Guess some things never change, whatever the species..."

{()}

Ascending the few steps leading up to the shopping district's entrance, Ellen took a moment to appreciate the intricate holographic globe hanging above with the words 'Canal Promenade' orbiting around it in three different languages, including binary code, before stepping inside with her weapon raised. A short tunnel tastefully lit by angled overhead spotlights opened out into a circular room lined with display cases showing off the latest fashions and the first real indication of Thugs-4-Less' presence on planet in the form of a half dozen chicken bots and a pair of assault rifle packing mercs.

Snapping off quick bursts at the walking glockenspiels, the human quickly fell back to the tunnel entrance in order to funnel the remaining drones her way while sheltering from the inevitable hail of bullets in return; quickly switching over to her Bomb Glove and tossing an explosive orb around the corner before following after it a second later with her shotgun in hand. Both thugs had dove away at the first sign of the contact sensitive bomb, and the brief lull in incoming fire was all Ellen needed to fill them full of buckshot at nigh point blank range; pushing past the bodies down another wider, and equally well lit tunnel leading to a courtyard centred on one of the many canals the city was famous for.

A large and detailed metal sculpture of Notak kept suspended by some form of anti-gravity device and surrounded by fragmented concentric rings and moons that actually moved around the planet acted as a centrepiece over the canal itself. Numerous flowerbeds lined the U-shaped slate-like walls bordering the left side of the courtyard, interspersed as they were with identical statues of featureless, spring-based robots holding up depictions of nearby planets and drooping foliage that looked like a cross between weeping willow and cherry blossom trees. Of more pressing concern however was the four thugs responding to the sounds of combat, sweeping across the tunnel exit to block her path and bringing their assault rifles to bear while one of their number pulled a pair of chicken bot spawning grenades off of his belt and tossed them her way.

Ellen instinctively squeezed the trigger at almost the same time as her foes, the shotgun blast eviscerating the drones in mid-air before they could deploy and winging one of the mercs who subsequently stumbled backwards into the canal with a splash. Bullets skimmed past by mere inches as she dove to her left and tumbled into a roll, a few striking her legs but not penetrating thanks to Debonair's gel layer suit upgrade which blunted the force of impact significantly. Fortunately the pain from each hit and subsequent bruises would be delayed thanks to a heady combination of adrenaline and Nanotech working overtime in her bloodstream, leaving the redhead free to drop a few miniturrets in her wake to distract the thugs while she dashed for cover behind one of the statues along the border while spraying her carbine back over her shoulder.

Between the sentry guns and her own automatic weapon, the remaining thugs were swiftly cut down by their combined weight of fire and it wasn't long before Ellen was able to gingerly step back out into the open. With no immediate threat in sight, she ignored the exposed humpback bridge spanning the canal and instead negotiated around the expensive looking sculpture that was now sporting a few bullet holes; keeping her eyes peeled for any more ambushes only to pause at the sounds of splashing and muffled cursing coming from the deep canal. Curiosity getting the better of her, the human cautiously peeked over the side only to stifle a snort at the sight of the grenade slinging thug from a minute ago glaring up at her while treading water.

"What're you laughing at?!" he snapped at her clearly amused expression. "Soon as I'm out of here you're dead, bitch!"

"Well someone's got a temper," the red-headed commando replied far too cheerfully to be sincere while skimming through her Quick Select. "I think it's about time you learned to... chill out."

Swapping her bullpup rifle for the Thermenator, Ellen ignored the death threats sent her way and began to fill the canal with thermal pellets that quickly turned it into an ice skating rink; the unfortunate thug-sicle in the middle unable to do anything but glare back in his frozen state. Feeling oddly refreshed for the experience, the human was just about to continue on past a fountain to her left in an alcove area to her immediate left when more drones sprung out of the surrounding shrubbery and tried to take a chunk out of her hide. Ducking instinctively under one that leapt at her face, Ellen immediately drew her Versa Blade as she spun back on her heel and neatly bisected a second with the heated edge before kicking out at a third.

Unfortunately the commotion also drew three more mercs led by an enforcer from a nearby coffee shop at the base of the escalator separating the courtyard-come-park from the promenade's upper level; though why they hadn't intervened earlier when they had the opportunity was anyone's guess. Knowing she had to finish this fight fast before the thugs could bring their weapons to bear, Ellen snap-kicked one of the downed drones straight at the nearest assault rifle packing reptilian to buy time before finishing off the first chicken bot and rolling away from a shotgun blast that dug deep grooves through the metal floor plating where she had been stood.

Springing back up into a run, the human used her own scatter gun to keep the more dangerous enforcer off balance while trying to close the gap; pushing up against the side of the coffee shop to avoid his friend's murderous volley of fire. Setting another miniturret down to keep her flank secure, Ellen spammed a handful of explosive surprises from her Bomb Glove around the corner in the hope that it would be enough to take out the heavily armoured thug, only to fall foul of his extended arm mounted shield. The other two mercs hadn't been idle after the initial exchange however; one turning over one of the coffee shop's outdoor tables as a temporary barricade while the other rushed forward to take hunker down behind the enforcer and fire over the top of his shield as he advanced towards the human's position.

Ducking back to avoid the renewed barrage, a quick check on her carbine revealed that there was a single plasma bolt available for the underslung launcher; one which was promptly shot at the shield bearing thug as he was about to clear the corner and struck his shield square on. Ellen backed off further as the crackling ball of energy began to destabilise before the enforcer could tear off his shield gauntlet, drawing her hand cannon and sending two rounds into the bare-chested thug behind him just before both were engulfed in the resulting detonation. The resulting thermal energy was enough to scorch the nearby grass and make her eyes water from a good dozen yards away, but that didn't stop Ellen from forcing herself up and past what was left of the two mercenaries to deal with the third that was still very much alive and blind firing over his cover outside the coffee shop.

The red-headed commando waited until he stopped to reload before spinning around the melted remains of the wall and sprinting towards where the last merc was holed up; dropping into a short slide across the surprisingly smooth metal flooring bordering the canal and under a fresh stream of bullets until her boots made contact with the overturned table. The Leviathan came up in a two handed stance and bucked thrice as its heavy calibre slugs tore through the makeshift barrier like wet cardboard; the last echoing report fading away into silence that was only broken by the perforated merc on the other side finally keeling over.

Blowing out a breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding, Ellen awkwardly staggered upright as the burst of adrenaline began to simmer; taking in the carnage she had just caused and wondering not for the first time just how much being around the lombax she had grown to love was influencing her increasingly impulsive actions and behaviour. While Ratchet was all too eager to get up close and personal with their enemies during both their previous adventure and at present, she preferred to keep them at a distance and only really engaged in melee when it was absolutely necessary. There had been no need to charge that last guy; she could have quite easily just spammed him with bombs from relatively safety or punched through his cover with her sniper rifle, and yet Ellen felt compelled somehow to recklessly charge forth without even thinking it through. Not to mention the terrible one-liner along with putting that thug on ice...

It was an issue she would have to shelve until much later considering the task at hand, and so Ellen dusted herself off and made sure her entire arsenal was fully loaded before pushing on once again. Neatly skirting around the rapidly cooling corpse on the other side of the table, the redhead re-equipped her bullpup carbine and held it at the ready as she paced forth towards the escalator just ahead; pausing to sweep the coffee shop's interior for anymore mercenaries lying in wait before continuing. Stepping onto the still running automated stairs, Ellen chanced one last glance back and had to do a double take at the all too familiar looking logo adorning the shop's holographic overhead hoarding. Surely it was a coincidence; there was no way an Earth-based chain store could make it here, right? Snorting a laugh of disbelief, she shook her head before turning around as she neared the top and stepped off with her weapon already raised and ready.

'No matter where you go, or what galaxy you're in, there will always be a goddamned Starbucks...'

{()}

Leaving the smoking and twitching combat drones in his wake, Ratchet continued down the wide coastal street that was bathed by the glow of faintly blue streetlights interspersed with leafy palms at set intervals. In the distance he could see the imposing chemical plant growing closer just ahead, beyond a suspension bridge with support cables that almost resembled a spider's web with the way they criss-crossed. A number of store houses bordered the right side of the street while a recent-looking industrial building that hummed with the sound of working machinery took up the left; a trio of thug regulars hustling out of the open entrance and bringing their assault rifles to bear even as the lombax snapped up his grenade launcher and dropped a localised nuclear bomb in their midst.

Dealing with a couple of chicken bot stragglers that were loitering at the old, U-shaped dock with steps descending down into the water to his immediate right, the golden furred commando glared at the purple-tinged force field blocking the archway just ahead and decided to double back to where the thugs had revealed themselves in the hope of finding an alternative route. Passing through an outer chamber that had various supply crates haphazardly stacked on either side, Ratchet slowed to a halt upon reaching what appeared to be a hydroponics chamber with a trio of large scale industrial pumps flanking either side. A faint groan escaped his lips at the realisation he would need Ellen's Thermenator in order to freeze the waterlogged floor in order to reach the raised gantry on the far side; unless that is...

Borrowing a couple of crates from the previous room, the lombax pushed them up against the closest, left most encased unit to him and clambered on top before jumping up to grab hold of the thick edging running around the pump and shimmying his way across hand over hand. Dropping down on to the gantry once he had reached the other side, Ratchet made his way through the sole doorway running alongside it and through an overly long tunnel before emerging out into a fairly wide and circular chamber; in the centre of which was a black and silver trimmed floating machine which began to randomly launch glowing orbs that quickly hatched into a rapidly expanding army of chicken bots.

Charging into the fray with his wrench in hand, Ratchet effortlessly smashed a pair of the mechanical terrors into the nearest wall with a single stroke while using the momentum to spin around and take down another leaping from his left in mid-air. Dealing with the blarg drone generators and their spamming nature during their first adventure back in Solana had given the lombax more than enough experience in shutting them down before the swarm could overwhelm them; which was why he was currently cleaving a path through the never-ending stream of chicken bots towards the source with the aid of his Multi-Star. The lethal storm of ricocheting blades quite literally cut the drones down to size; allowing him to get close enough to hit it with his Bomb Glove and scatter the remaining pieces all over the room.

Upon exiting on the now thoroughly trashed chamber's far side, he soon found himself stood back outside on a fairly wide and open loading bay platform suspended a good twenty feet above sea level that could easily accommodate a couple of transport shuttles along with the stacks of wooden crates that temporarily hid yet another ambushing Thugs-4-Less kill-squad. There were two regulars along with an enforcer and a brute; Ratchet opting to deal with the much more dangerous missile launching merc first via Seeker Gun before diving out of the line of fire and going to town on the rest with his Heavy Lancer.

Though the assault rifle toting thugs were relatively simple enough to take down by now, their much heavier armoured colleague was a different story altogether; bullets pinging off his deployed shield and the answering shotgun blast tearing the lombax's recently vacated cover to pieces as he leapt away. To make matters worse, somebody had apparently called for back up in the form of a dark red-painted atmospheric VTOL fighter with short and stubby machine gun tipped wings, a bulbous tinted glass cockpit, and a ridiculously long cannon protruding from its nose that promptly spat a high explosive shell towards the still running lombax as it closed in. Ratchet barely managed to clear the blast radius thanks to his inherent feline agility but the nearby enforcer wasn't so lucky; his shield doing little to save him against the trigger happy pilot's continuous barrage as he raked the platform with fire.

Thankfully the hovering jet wasn't as capable at taking damage as dishing it out, the lombax flipping sideways over a torrent of machine gun fire and snapping off a single Seeker Gun missile at the apex that sent pieces of burning wreckage spiralling down into the bay area below. With the immediate area clear, Ratchet lowered his still smoking weapon and pushed on ahead; making his way past several off-shore fuel tanks suspended over the ocean by deep set struts and into what was beginning to look like a raised docks area for both airborne craft and large cargo ships via a series of interconnected jetties that were crawling with chicken bots.

Not bothering to stop, an underarm throw from his Bomb Glove blew one such group of combat drones into pieces scant seconds before he ran through the resulting rain of mechanical parts; hanging a right and pushing up a narrow ramp towards another jetty held even more suicidal machines in addition to what turned out to be incredibly volatile chemical storage tanks. Still, it made his life a little easier when it came to clearing them out; and a swing of his wrench sending one such hapless drone flying back into one of the tanks and setting off a chain reaction that took out a vast majority in one go along with a pair of thugs who had been lying in wait.

The survivors weren't in much shape to continue fighting in spite of their efforts, and after giving them an all expenses paid trip to the bottom of the bay, Ratchet pushed up another ramp to the next platform above. Another mixed squad of mercs and drones surged forth from behind more storage tanks in an attempt to ambush him while exposed only to get more of the same treatment; a brief burst from the lombax's LMG being enough to detonate the container's contents and engulf half of the platform's occupants with it in the ensuing firestorm. In fact, the only ones still standing were a stunned brute, who was staggering to his feet until Ratchet clocked him across the skull with his wrench, and a legless chicken bot that snapped its jaws ineffectively at his boots as he passed by towards the platform's edge.

Now that there was nothing immediately trying to kill either him and Clank, Ratchet could see that they had reached what looked like one of the uppermost areas of the docks; the series of interconnected jetties leading up to an expansive platform that housed several warehouses and refuelling stations for both air and sea traffic, along with the associated mass of boxed goods and shipping containers scattered throughout. Of more pointed interest to the lombax however was the tall structure directly ahead of him, sandwiched between a pair of smaller buildings that had been shuttered up, and currently home to a multitude of Thugs-4-Less employees that were currently entrenched just outside behind a wall of crates and barrels with their weapons pointed firmly in his direction.

The faint whine of jet turbines caught both lombax and robot's attention as a dropship augured in from behind a warehouse off to the left, disgorging even more heavily armed mercs into a small clearing between various shipments to reinforce their compatriots. Ratchet was already running as the transport's pair of fighter escorts turned their attention and elongated nose cannons towards him, leaping over the wide gap between his platform and the next thanks to Clank's Heli-Pack even as the first shells struck behind him. The VTOL craft angled around to bring their machine guns to bear only for one to be blown apart by Seeker gun missiles while the other ducked below rooftop level to avoid the same fate; the golden furred commando switching over to his Mini-Nuke even as a wave of chicken bots surged forth from behind several crates ahead to run him down.

Dashing through the resulting mushroom cloud, Ratchet proceeded to unleash merry hell with a faint smirk on his face and but one thought on his mind.

'Wonder how Ellen's getting along on her end...'

{()}

To say Ellen was a bit on edge would be an understatement considering how twitchy and paranoid she was right now.

The last thing she had expected upon stepping off of the escalator was for the suavely dressed and surprisingly life-like mannequins to burst through the front window of the tailor shop on her immediate left with automatic weapons blazing. Had it not been for her instinctively jumping back with her heart in her mouth and finger jammed down on her carbine's trigger, the human likely would have been cut in half from the opening barrage alone, let alone any follow up attacks once the disguised mercs had gotten their bearings. Luckily the thugs weren't armoured, and the first two were scythed down by a hail of bullets even as several skimmed past her helmet in return by mere inches, while the third fell foul of a hastily launched plasma from the under barrel launcher that vaporised much of the remaining store front along with him.

Breathing heavily, Ellen desperately willed her hammering heart rate to calm down as she leaned against what was left of the facade, grateful not for the first time that the shops were closed for the evening and there were no civilians around to get caught up in the crossfire. With the sheer amount of gunfire, explosions, and property damage however, it was inevitable that the local authorities at least would come to investigate; meaning she had to wrap this up sooner than not before the thugs turned the promenade into a war zone. Still, she couldn't help but wonder as she pushed off of the ruined shop front at what this place would be like in the daytime, with its numerous glass-fronted businesses and freely growing exotic plants and palms along either side of the meandering canal that was connected via several humpback bridges. Maybe she could come back here again with Ratchet and Clank to take a look around when this was all over.

Any future plans would have to be put on the back burner however until the present situation was dealt with, and so a now much more wary human continued on with her eyes peeled and finger poised on the trigger. It was a caution well warranted as one of dark red-painted Thugs-4-Less atmospheric fighters rose up from beneath the exposed bridge she was intending to cross and opened fire with its primary cannon.

"Oh shit!"

Wide eyed, Ellen hit the deck just as the first shell screamed overhead to strike one of the shop fronts just beside her; rolling over and scrambling forward on her hands and knees into the relative cover provide by a copse of decorative palms. A second round reduced most of the trees to splinters, and as much as she liked the Visibomb Gun now held in her white knuckle grip, she couldn't help but wish for a homing missile launcher like Ratchet had right about now. Even if the redhead couldn't aim properly under such intense fire, the dumb-fired TV guided missile had its desired effect on the mercenary pilot as she broke from her now completely flattened cover; forcing him to break off his attack and giving her the opportunity to draw her sniper rifle.

Zooming in with the magnifying scope, her heart pounded in her ears as Ellen aligned the shaking crosshairs on the fighter's cockpit and waited for it to level out before stroking the trigger. A luminous green vapour trail stabbed through the air and the relatively light VTOL craft's canopy, exiting through the other side and leaving the immediate area in silence once the echoing report died away. A few long seconds later the fighter began to lurch to one side, the pilot undoubtedly dead given that it sheered a wing off on the edge of the promenade and spiralled out of control before unceremoniously splashing down in the canal below with a resounding screech of twisted metal.

Venting harshly and wetting her suddenly dry lips, the human kept her Miniturret Glove prepped to throw as she made best speed over the now clear bridge; passing by an oversized wind chime-like sculpture on the far side that with multiple arms that constantly gonged as they rotated. Of more pressing concern however was the merc squad rushing out of an electronics store to confront her, along with a solitary thug lazily aiming his assault rifle at the red-headed commando as he rode down a nearby escalator that ran beneath an old aqueduct spanning the promenade. The handful of sentry guns Ellen dropped in her wake proved their worth once again, dropping one of the mercs almost immediately and forcing his friends back into the cover provided by the store.

It also gave Ellen the opportunity to take out the fourth guy who had opened up on full auto before his feet had even stepped off of the escalator; using a nearby statuette of Notak's moon as cover before rounding it with her Leviathan in hand and putting two rounds in his bare chest. Of course the two in the electronics store were still putting up a fight; spraying rounds her way and no doubt waiting on the trio of enforcers the human could make out pounding across another humpback bridge to the left of the escalator to join the fray. Still keeping the decorative piece between her and the trigger happy mercs, Ellen switched over to her Visibomb Gun and held it nigh vertically before squeezing the trigger; arcing the TV guided missile over the top in a 180 degree arc before slamming down right into the shotgun wielding heavies' midst with enough explosive force to take out a main battle tank.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Ellen took off towards the escalator at a fast clip while skirting close to the bullet-pocked shop front where the last two thugs were still holed up; ducking low to avoid their fire and tossing a few Miniturrets through the shattered front window to keep them busy while she moved on. A niggling feeling in the back of her mind had the human crouching down with her Blitz Gun pointing ahead as she neared the top of the ponderously slow escalator ride; a slice of paranoia that turned out to be entirely justified considering there were two more thugs waiting for her by a fast food vendor that would have turned her into Swiss cheese through sheer weight of fire had she still been stood up. A point blank shotgun blast blew one away, Ellen quickly racking another shell into the chamber and sending the second crashing through the vendor's glass-fronted stand a heartbeat later.

There was another one of those damned flying artillery pieces back on the opposite side of the canal, past another humpback bridge and hovering in front of what looked like a music store as it provided support fire for an entrenched merc squad while a nearby generator pumped out drones by the dozen. Diving into the cover provided by a low wall bordering a flower bed on the edge of the canal, Ellen grit her teeth as an explosive rain impacted around her position; trying to come up with a viable way of taking out the VTOL jet while making sure no Thugs-4-Less employees tried to flank her in the meantime.

A few Miniturrets scattered behind her managed to even the odds, if only by a little; tracking the fighter craft as it jinked away and giving Ellen the opportunity to poke the barrel of her Visibomb gun over her cover before loosing off a TV guided missile that blew it to pieces. Not taking any chances, she loosed off a second that promptly nose-dived towards the chicken bot spawning machine with a twitching of the weapon's built in thumb pad; moving on to targeting the remaining thugs only to find that they had already broken cover and were now charging her position from across the bridge with weapons still flaring sporadically.

With the opposition spread out and her missile launcher proving far too unwieldy in what was rapidly becoming close quarters, Ellen fell back on her trusty Pulse Rifle and dropped the closest thug just as he reached the centre of the crossing point. The echoing report hadn't even died away as she quickly adjusted her aim, the missile launcher wielding brute filling her crosshairs letting loose a swarm of micro missiles a split second before she stroked the trigger a second time. Instinctively ducking back behind her pock marked cover, the human hunkered down as multiple explosions turned it into rubble before springing back up with her carbine in hand; only to have it torn from her grip by the last thug standing.

A flicker of movement was all the warning she got as he shoulder tackled her, driving the air from her lungs and sending the redhead sprawling across the deck in a heap. Honed reflexes were perhaps the only reason Ellen managed to roll away from the burst of nigh point blank automatic fire meant to finish her off, forcing herself to draw breath as she scrambled back to her feet while lashing out with an underhanded sweep of her Versa Blade that cleanly sliced the merc's gun in half thanks to its unique super heated edge. Dropping what was left of the utterly useless assault rifle, the snarling thug leapt back to avoid a follow up strike while trying to draw his sidearm only to have his shooting arm grabbed and a solid composite metal helmet slammed into his jaw.

Momentarily stunned and staggering back from such a brutal impact, the reptilian mercenary was in no position to react as his legs were swept out from underneath him; cracking his skull on the unforgiving decorative flooring of the promenade before another sharp impact caused him to black out. Discarding the severed gun barrel she had used to bludgeon the thug into unconsciousness, Ellen stepped over his limp form and retrieved her own weapon before pushing on over the bridge and through what few drones still remained standing from her previous missile strike. Finding a small open top elevator nearby, she duly rode it to the top and stepped out on to what had to be an observation deck of sorts filled with various fauna and benches that looked out over both the aqueduct and promenade in its entirety.

It was also home to a crudely marked out landing zone large enough for a modest sized transport ship, with a recently set up teleportation pad on one side and several bulky looking crates stacked on the other. Curiosity piqued, Ellen cautiously made her way over to the seemingly abandoned containers while keeping an eye on her surroundings on the off chance this was a trap; carefully using her Versa Blade to jimmy one open and not even bothering to conceal the wide-eyed expression adorning her face as she took in the neat stacks of refined Raritanium ingots lining the bottom.

Another bore the same fruit, while a third still contained a pair of platinum bolts wrapped in protective coverings. What was this, off the books payment? Or maybe the thugs had simply stolen it from nearby and were hoping to sell it off in order to fund more hardware; she and Ratchet had cost the PMC a lot of men and material over the past few days after all, and that couldn't be cheap to replace. In any case, their loss, her gain; and after all the crap she'd been through to get here, Ellen intended to 'liberate' such resources and put them to much better use. Not wanting to drag the heavy crates back the way she came or go through a nausea induced teleportation to who knows where, the redhead simply opted for remote piloting her Star Explorer and setting it down on the observation deck before piling the spoils into the underbelly storage bay.

Giving Ratchet a call while she worked, Ellen opted to transfer it to her helmet's communication suite in order to keep her hands free. The trail might have gone cold on her end in terms of finding out what the ever elusive thief was up to, but at least she had something to show for her efforts. She could only hope that Ratchet might have better luck on his end, and that together they might be abler to piece together where their quarry had gone to. Assuming he actually answered his Wrist Com so that she could work out where to actually meet him that is...

This feels a bit long winded to me now that I look back at it, but I did need an excuse to give Ratchet and Ellen the resources they need to buy ship mods and such from everyone's Favourite intergalactic arms dealer. Since the duo haven't been collecting Platinum bolts or Raritanium for upgrades as in game, I had to find an alternate way to make sure they got those resources; hence the supply cache at the promenade's end rather than a nanotech booster. On the plus side though, making this a two part chapter does mean that I'll be able to tie things up properly next chapter with a visit to Slim's and allow our heroes to get suitably geared up before we finally hit Siberius.

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

Thanks for reading

- RevenantReaper337