Author's note:

I don't normally do announcements like this as such in the author's notes, but this week marks almost exactly one year to the day since I posted the first chapter for Whole Again; making it the longest running story I have ever written to date in terms of both content and the amount of time invested. I know I've probably said this before a dozen times already, but thank you all for sticking with this story for so long, and the ongoing series in general. I truly appreciate every review, favourite, follow, and view; including the lurkers. Here's to the future, and hoping that this story will continue to grow and entertain for years to come.

On another note, as pretty much everybody already knows, the end of April marked both the release date for the long delayed Ratchet and Clank movie along with its tie-in game of the same name. While I have yet to have a chance to see the movie yet and probably won't for some time (stupid working hours), I have gotten my hands on the game at least and have been playing it at every opportunity between my other commitments and writing this story.

I have to say, as reboots go, this is a brilliantly realised game that deserves to stand in its own right; not just as a rehash of the original with shinier graphics. While some level layouts are nostalgically familiar and appear to have changed only cosmetically, some have been redesigned completely; with set pieces such as the train ride on Kerwan now almost resembling a mini-level in itself rather than just a few, mostly empty carriages.

Combat certainly feels a lot more solid too, with enemies appearing in greater variety and calling in support rather than just standing around waiting to be shot, while the controls are perhaps the best mixture between that of a modern shooter and those of previous R & C games. A more subtle and welcome touch however is the small details that recognise canon lore as a whole; drawing upon over a decade of previous games to make it feel like feel as if stepping into a wider existing universe that gels aspects of all three existing galaxies together.

Overall, I think it's a well needed breath of fresh air for the franchise; one that both satisfies long time fans and acts as a great starting point for those unfamiliar with the series. Hopefully it will be successful enough to get a sequel green lit sooner rather than not; one perhaps not tied to a movie and thus able to express a great more of the creative freedom that Insomniac does so well.

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.

- 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 23:

Fight Night, Round Two

The Megacorp Games Venue, Joba

Bogon Galaxy

G2.17.083 Galactic calendar

6:33pm local time

"Thanks babe, talk to ya soon," Ratchet returned to his redheaded partner, followed by an extended burst from his light machine gun; the shock mod enhanced rounds causing a charging tribesman to spasm as electrical discharges arced across his armour with each hit.

The lombax had barely dropped his sword-wielding attacker when he was forced to duck back into cover as a murderous barrage of heavy fire raked across the narrow entrance where he was currently bogged down; the gun turrets on the interior's far side still active in spite of his best efforts to take them out. It didn't help that the gunners themselves were content to simply sit back and saturate the golden-furred commando's only way in without giving him much of a chance to fight back; a few snap shots with the HK22 Gun failing to even get close due to the spread of automatically targeting missiles homing in on closer foes instead. Hell, the only let up was when a bunch of tribesmen decided to assault him up close, and that was only a temporary reprieve at best since the guns started up again as soon as he had managed to drop the last one standing.

It was getting to the point where Ratchet was just spending clips and time while unable to move when his ears pricked up at the familiar roaring engine of a distant aircraft approaching rapidly from behind. "Talk to me fuzz ball, what's happening down there?".

The lombax grinned upon setting eyes on the Bogon blue Star Explorer hovering slightly above and off to one side of where he was hunkered down, bringing his Wrist Com up to mouth level and yelling to make himself heard over the constant din of heavy weapon fire singing past his position. "Great timing, babe! There's a couple of turrets inside that's got us pinned down; think you can take 'em out from the other side?"

He could see Ellen nod unconsciously inside the cockpit as she increased throttle and slowly ascended, continuing to speak as she passed low over the raised building's exterior. "I think so, just give me a minute to get into position."

There was a brief pause as the redhead lowered her ship so that it was nigh scraping the angular rooftop before jumping out; sending the vessel back to join its fellow Star Explorer remotely and carefully advancing across the expanse with her carbine held at the ready. Aside from some raised ducting and generator units that needed to be skirted around, Ellen encountered no problems and soon found herself at the opposite side of the roof looking down on a short, railed observation deck with sealed lamps set at regular intervals and a few dozen orbiting fireflies in attendance. More pressing however was the quartet of armed scavengers ranged along its length and presumably guarding the exit door directly below her position; the human resolving to target the only one with a firearm first as she reached down to her Quick Select and withdrew her reacquired, yet thus far neglected Bomb Glove.

The first explosion certainly came as a surprise to the gathered tribesman, and the solitary gun-wielding member in particular since the first bomb had landed directly at his feet; sending him flying over the observation deck's railings and knocking the others off balance. From there the ambush continued to go all one way, a trio of the rapidly thrown spherical explosives wiping out the remaining scavengers in short order and leaving the deck clear for Ellen to drop down with quick bursts of her Jump Pack's thrusters to arrest the fall. Quickly checking for any other scavengers that might be hiding in the immediate area, the human ignored the hastily thrown up zipline anchor point occupying one corner of the platform in favour of pushing up against the still closed shutter door separating her from the interior; the constant, rhythmic thumping of the twin heavy gun turrets inside drowning out all other noise.

Apart from masking the sounds of her prior ambush however, it also meant that the gunners were completely unaware that their rearguard was gone as Ellen punched the door release and flowed inside with her hand cannon at the ready. The manned turrets were set upon a raised, elongated platform no more than a dozen or so feet apart on opposite ends; the redheaded commando quickly snapping her Leviathan up towards the one on her left and putting a heavy calibre round through his back before spinning on her heel to target the other. While the first was knocked out of his turret from the sudden force of impact, the other scavenger had already figured out that something was amiss and attempted to swing his twin-linked guns around, only to find that the human was much quicker off the mark.

Though the armour-piercing round struck the upper portion the turret near its controls rather than the intended target, it mattered little once Ellen thumbed the specially installed button on the hand cannon's grip; detonating the volatile gel-tipped bullets and making sure neither gunner would be causing trouble ever again. In the following lull, Ratchet stormed into the room with his oversized grenade launcher in hand; a shuttered side door on either side of the spacious hanger-like space's ground level blowing outwards at his approach to reveal a mounted saur-beast apiece, charging forth with more tribesmen pouring in behind them.

Numbers alone however had long since ceased to faze the two commandos considering their prior experiences, especially considering the sheer amount of firepower they were packing between them. That, and the small horde of angry locals were about to find themselves caught in the crossfire between the pair; Ellen taking over one of the gun turrets and pouring heavy fire into the clustered scavengers, while Ratchet halted the saur-beasts charge with well placed Mini-Nukes before switching over to the remaining scavengers behind. Within a matter of seconds it was all over; bodies laying strewn across the battle-scarred interior in various states of being and leaving Ellen grimacing in distaste at the carnage they had wrought as she waited for her lombax partner to catch up.

Crossing the distance and making good use of his natural feline agility to scramble up the wall separating them, Ratchet soon rejoined the redhead on the raised walkway before laying a grateful hand on her shoulder to go with the accompanying trademark smirk. "Thanks for the save, babe. Bet they weren't expecting that."

Ellen couldn't help a half amused snort as she gently shook her head, leading the way back out the way she came on to the previously cleared observation deck outside. "Just like I wasn't expecting to make a career out of bailing you out of trouble, you mean?"

"Hey, I'm not that bad!" the lombax exclaimed as he trailed behind her; continuing on as they made way to the zipline anchor point nestled in a corner on the glorified balcony's far side. "Besides, I figure we're probably even by now after all we've been through."

"Touché, fuzz ball, touché," the human returned with mirthful eyes and a knowing smile before gesturing over her shoulder. "Now, how do you want to do this?"

Not knowing what effect her Versa Blade would have on the steel cable and finding it impractical otherwise, Ellen elected to instead traverse the zipline just as they had done during their first adventure back in Solana; wrapping her legs around Ratchet's waist and holding on for the ride as the golden-furred feline tore down its length in seconds with his wrench held overhead. The trip was short and uneventful other than a handful of ocean birds rapidly scattering out of their wake, and the two commandos soon found themselves dropping off on to a moderate-sized, floating platform a lot further down into a valley formed between two closely nestled islands that looked like it could easily accommodate one of their ships.

An unattended air cab was parked against the left side while a small blue pad with what almost looked like a crosshair emblazoned upon it lay on the right, but neither caught their attention as much as the shady-looking, green-skinned rilgarian man stood waiting for them at the zipline's end; especially since his face was all too familiar. In spite of the floor length black trench coat and red visor partially concealing his eyes, Ratchet recognised him almost instantly as the same black market dealer he had encountered on Rilgar with Clank back during their first adventure; from whom he had eventually bought the RYNO just before the final assault on Drek's fleet and subsequently Veldin itself. What he was doing in this galaxy and here of all places was anyone's guess, though the three companions were son left in little doubt that the lizard-like man was up to his old tricks once more if the slippery, conspirative tone of his opening words were anything to go by.

"Hey, youse three goin' to the games?"

Ratchet's eyes narrowed in suspicion, unknowingly mirroring Ellen's expression as he curtly replied. "Yeah. What's it to ya?"

Eyeing his potential customers and gauging their collective mood to be less than receptive, the shady salesman held up both palms in placation as he tried a different angle. "Whoa, take it easy chief. I ain't lookin' for no trouble; just an honest man lookin' to make an honest buck."

"I sincerely doubt that," Clank returned; his organic companions sharing a look that implied they were all on the same wavelength.

The black market dealer merely gave a nonchalant shrug. "Hey, I ain't the one trying to get in to a sold out arena. But if you wanna get in..." His smirk grew as he produced a mostly plain package from behind where he stood; purple glyphs across the front which Ellen couldn't decipher above a line drawing of some kind of... powered glider? "...then you're gonna need this Levitator to get there. So, whadya you say?"

Ellen personally thought they should tell him where to stick his likely ill-gotten gadget and use one of their ships instead to make the ascent, though that idea was shot down when it became apparent that the airspace above the arena was heavily defended by an advanced anti-aircraft network. A little overkill for a sporting event perhaps, but justifiable in a way considering just how hostile the local population of tribesmen were to pretty much everyone. In any case, considering the distance they would have to cover, along with the lack of anchor points for the Grapple Gun and Swingshot, meant that there was little other choice but to grudgingly hand over the 20,000 bolts asking price and hope this 'Levitator' was all it was cracked up to be.

"Nice doin' business wit' cha again," the salesman began with a smug grin; handing over the package along with a folded installation pamphlet. "Now, if you don't mind, it's time for me to... uh, relocate."

While the shady rilgarian sauntered off towards the nearby taxi and prepared to disappear once more, Ratchet set the box down and eagerly cracked it open before critically eyeing the slightly smudged instructions manual while Ellen looked over his shoulder in curiosity. "Huh... I thought it would be more complicated than that."

As if to spite the human's words, the paper pamphlet rapidly unfolded and expanded until it touched the floor; leaving her blinking at a bewildering array of cramped writing and complex diagrams that left her gawping. The golden-furred feline holding it in both hands however merely furrowed a brow, tilting his head slightly and squinting at the diminutive but familiar script as he mused aloud. "Hmm... The instructions are in... Blargian."

"Goodbye."

Clank, optics widening in alarm, promptly spun on his heel and sought to make himself scarce; only for Ratchet's free hand to clamp down on his helm with unerring accuracy in spite of never looking away from the manual. "Okay, it says here: 'Tab A goes into slot B..."

Discarding the pamphlet after giving it one last skim over, the lombax pulled out a wrench along with a small toolkit from his Quick Select and went to work on his little metal friend; Ellen handing him parts and tools when requested with a worried expression at Clank's discomfort as things got more complex. "Okay... and then magnetise the graviton matrix, remove your left arm..."

"What?!"

"...and done!" Ratchet finished with a flourish, standing back to admire his handiwork with hands planted firmly on his hips.

Clank for his part had calmed down surprisingly fast once he had a chance to inspect the new add on to his frame; a pair of retractable swept wings temporarily replacing his arms while a trio of small thrusters protruded from each leg socket and chest plate respectively. "I must admit, you do have skills."

"You know it," the lombax shot back with a grin. "Now, what do you say we try it out?"

Transforming back into his normal bipedal form, the little robot was soon secured upon Ratchet's back once again and ready to go, Ellen following along as they took a short walk over to where the blue pad they had glimpsed on their zipline descent was and got a good look at the way ahead. Through a narrow valley formed between two closely neighbouring island slopes lay their current goal; the Megacorp Games arena partially obscured but otherwise visible off centre to the left where it sat near the top of the tallest peak in this particular cluster of islands. The arena complex had to be at least a good three hundred feet away and forty above where they were they currently stood; the Levitator's limited fuel capacity making the trip a close thing even without taking into account the extra weight posed by having to lift an additional body.

Nevertheless, Clank reconfigured to his new form and Ellen hung on tight as Ratchet launched them skywards with all three thrusters on full burn. The lombax kept an eye on the plummeting fuel gauge displayed in the corner of his helmet's HUD as they gradually gained altitude by the second, blowing past jutting forest canopy and tall, slender relay towers while coaxing the throttle in short bursts in order to preserve what he could of the tank. Were it not for the pressing issues of keeping aloft and not missing the intended destination, the three companions would likely have found the view breathtaking; the evening dusk bathing the surrounding island's greenery and causing the waters below to gleam with its warm, but gradually fading glow.

With fuel waning and their landing zone coming up however, sightseeing was the least of their concerns. Feathered bursts allowed a controlled descent, and with a surprising amount of finesse considering their combined weight and velocity, Ratchet managed to set them down a few feet within the railed platform jutting from their intended target a few seconds before the Levitator finally ran out of fuel. The entrance way to the arena complex itself sat a mere dozen yards away in front of them past the drop off point for air traffic on which they stood; Ellen quickly dismounting from the lombax with a sigh of relief at being back on solid ground once again before following him inside with a gnawing sense of wrongness that seemed to be growing with every step closer they took.

This was it; the embodiment of the gladiatorial combat she so detested, and yet Ellen still continued to walk inside the imposing entrance archway in spite of how the memories of her previous experience at Maktar Resort made her blood boil. The mob mentality, thousands upon thousands packed into endless rows of seating around the arena floor and baying for blood; not to mention the sheer number of combatants slaughtered for the simple purpose of entertainment... She didn't even realise just how badly her hands were trembling at the turbulent thoughts running through her mind until they were grasped firmly in Ratchet's own; the human blinking away her mental funk and looking up into a pair of concerned jade eyes mere feet away.

"Hey, relax. I know how you feel about this whole arena thing, and you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

Ellen shook her head vehemently. "I know, it's just... Why do you even want to do this again in the first place, especially after what happened last time?"

Ratchet knew the redhead well enough by now to read between the lines, and more specifically pick up on the importance of what wasn't said. While Ellen was just as much his equal in terms of fighting prowess, she didn't experience the thrill of combat as he did; seeing it only as a means to an end in defending both herself and those she cared for. The idea of killing for 'fun' and the entertainment of others abhorred her sense of morality and ran counter to everything she stood for, so it was little surprise that she was so edgy now that they had arrived at the main reason for visiting this planet in the first place. Choosing his words carefully as he ran a comforting hand down the small of the human's back in a soothing motion that bled away some of the tension, Ratchet decided that blunt honesty and appealing to her better nature was perhaps the best course of action.

"I'm sorry babe. It's my fault we ended up in that arena back at Maktar, and I didn't really think about how much this affects you, but I need to do this."

"After learning of the Megacorp Games and some research on my part, I have discovered that there are a number of useful gadgets being offered as prizes," Clank chimed in helpfully from over the lombax's shoulder. "Should we fail to rendezvous with Mr Fizzwidget or anything... untoward happen in the meanwhile, such devices may prove essential in our continuing mission."

Ratchet nodded in agreement. "Exactly. And after everything that's happened so far, better to be prepared than not, right?"

Ellen could see the logic in that, and had to admit that between Angela's dire warnings and the hacked files recovered from at the testing facility, she was seriously starting to doubt the company's integrity. Add to that Fizzwidget's increasingly odd behaviour and you had a potential recipe for disaster if the old man didn't follow through with destroying the Protopet; the prospect of setting a mass produced version of that thing on an unsuspecting public a terrifying thing to contemplate. The human had learned a long time ago that leaving things to chance was just asking for trouble and could prove lethal, so any way to increase the odds in their favour would get her vote, regardless of how distasteful the method of acquiring such resources might be.

Venting a deep breath, Ellen nodded her assent as she steeled herself for what was to come; burying any lingering doubts and focusing entirely on what needed to be done. "I know, and... you're right. I might not like it, but with things the way they are, we're going to need all the help we can get. If I didn't know any better though, I'd say my paranoia was starting to rub off on the pair of you."

"Well you gotta admit it's saved our hides more than once, so that can't be a bad thing," Ratchet replied with a knowing smirk; one that faded as he thumbed the button for the open-fronted elevator before them and turned back to face her. "Last chance to back out. Are you sure you wanna do this?"

The redhead snorted as she stepped alongside him onto the recently arrived lift. "No, not really, but I'm going to do it anyway. Let's just get this over and done with."

Ratchet gave an approving nod and joined her on the platform before they rode down into the depths together; stopping on the floor where the arena entrance itself was located only to pause at the sight of a short queue waiting in front of a bespectacled, deskbound cazar flanked by a burly novalian security guard with arms folded across his broad chest. Considering the fact that the random assortment of people from several species were all armed and armoured to the teeth, and appeared to be checking in with the desk jockey at the front, it would seem that this was where all the would be gladiators signed up before getting into the arena itself. Certainly the cazar didn't seem to be wasting any time in waving the potential challengers through after but a few brief checks, and before they knew it, the two commandos plus one little robot were soon next in line to face his scrutiny.

"Next please. Name?"

"Ratchet, Ellen, and Clank," the lombax nonchalantly replied; causing the chestnut-furred cazar to pause and look up from his paperwork in surprise. "I'm pretty sure we're expected and-"

"Wait, did you say 'Ratchet and Ellen'?" the man questioned excitedly. "As in the Ratchet and Ellen, from the Maktar arena? The ones who took out Chainblade?!"

"...Maybe?" Ellen offered with tentative caution. "Who want's to-"

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe it! It is you! And you're both here!"

As it turned out, being the first ever winners of the Gladiator Games had made the two commandos more than a little famous on the arena circuit; becoming minor celebrities in their own right and giving them more than a little leeway in bypassing the security checks needed in order to participate. The mathematician had left two arena entry passes as promised for Ratchet and Clank to collect, but a promised autograph and signed group photo for the fan boy later secured Ellen's place as well; the security guard giving a respectful nod and murmured 'good luck' as he allowed them to pass by through the armoured door beyond. The distant roar of the gathered crowd echoed along the plain, metal-plated corridor; growing in volume with every step they took along its dimly lit confines until they finally reached the final gateway between them and the arena floor itself.

The heavy metal shutter slowly began its descent as they got within a few feet, the light filtering through the gaps from beyond temporarily blinding as the two commando's helmet visors tinted to compensate. Ellen briefly wondered where all the other competitors had gone to since she hadn't seen any sign of them on the way, but ultimately pushed it aside as the gate finally lowered and she strode through the entry way alongside Ratchet with as much confidence as she could project in spite of the uneasy feeling pervading her stomach and sense of bitterness at what she was about to take part in.

Then again, that might partially be down to the sulphuric smell coming from what looked like a pool of molten lava surrounding the elongated, roughly oval arena floor; which otherwise appeared to have the same concealed ports for flame jets and exposed floor fans as those encountered during their last time around. In spite of Ellen's concerns however, the paying audience roared in approval at the two commandos entrance; some perhaps recognising them for their previous exploits at Maktar Resort, but most seeming to go with the flow as they reached the centre of the open-topped, circular arena dome beneath a bank of massive, floating holoscreen monitors. It was there that an all too familiar voice blared from unseen speakers hidden around the walls and far above; the same one voicing over both the Megacorp Games commercial and their Maktar arena rampage.

"Are you ready for the main event?" the bombastic announcer questioned rhetorically; the two commandos instantly recognising him as the same commentator from their last arena battle, who was currently getting a rising cheer out of the audience as he continued. "Introducing for one night only, two of the fiercest gladiators in the galaxy: Rrrrratchet and Ellennnn!"

"Hey look, it's us!"

At the lombax's nudging, Ellen glanced up at the ridiculously large widescreen display mounted high up on one side of the arena only to see a composite image of Ratchet and herself taking up its entirety; fighting back to back with wrench and shotgun against a surrounding horde of enemies. The whole thing had been photoshopped of course - or whatever the galactic equivalent was here in Bogan - in order to appear more dramatic, but it certainly had the intended result in further whipping the crowd into a frenzy of anticipation. Ratchet seemed impressed as well, along with the overall reception to their arrival if his expression was anything to go by as he gestured and played to the packed stands, while his human partner stood nearby with mounting tension at what was to come. Even ever logical Clank got in on the action by attempting some heroic poses, only to be shot down by the announcer's next, somewhat hesitant words.

"...and, uh, some... metal... guy." Clearing his throat, the commentator quickly shifted back to his regular, enthusiastic tone as he wrapped up his spiel. "They'll be lucky to survive against some of our toughest gladiators yet and make it through to the final challenge that awaits them. Let's get it on!"

No sooner had the words left the announcer's mouth when a pair of boarding chutes lining the arena walls extended forth to deposit their deadly cargo; Ratchet twirling his wrench in anticipation and preparing to leap into the fray, while Clank retook his regular spot on the lombax's back and Ellen kept her drawn carbine sighted on the closest ramp door as it slammed down onto the killing floor while tightening her finger on the trigger. A singular armoured saur-beast charged forth with loping strides straight towards the redheaded human who promptly hosed it with automatic fire; doing little more than enraging it further and having to dive to one side at the last second in order to avoid being crushed.

Coming up on one knee as the hulking beast blew past, a deftly stabbed button on the underslung attachment sent a rapidly destabilising plasma grenade arcing towards the hulking beast as it skidded to a halt and attempted to come around for another run; adhering to its armoured headdress with a brief crackle of energy before violently exploding. Turning her attention back towards Ratchet once she was sure what was left of it wasn't getting back up, Ellen soon found that he was dealing with a saur-beast of his own; baiting it away before somersaulting over its charging mass with typically feline grace and dropping a Mini-Nuke at its retreating back.

Though only catching the edge of the resulting detonation, the sheer force of the blast alone was enough to bodily throw the thoroughly scorched animal over the arena's side and into the surrounding pit of boiling pseudo-lava; giving the pair a clear run at the next incoming wave as more boarding chutes rolled forth to reveal a scuttling swarm of dark blue metallic chitin. Resembling dog-sized spiders, or perhaps ants considering they only had six limbs, the mechanised insects were still incredibly fast for their size and entirely single-minded; single red optics locked on to the two commandos and jaws snapping as they rapidly closed in. Thankfully they weren't that tough however or fireproof for that matter; Ratchet hosing down swathes with his Lava Gun before they could even get close, while Ellen blew apart any approaching clusters with her shotgun.

"These two are massacring them!"

Ignoring the announcer's ongoing commentary, the pair switched their focus towards the next set of boarding ramps slamming down on the opposite side of the arena; disgorging a trio of Megacorp's genetically modified gladiators sporting much bulkier armour and bigger maces than previously, along with a trailing squad of the MSR I series that seemed to have been upgraded further still. These version 3 variants, as their helmet's combat recognition software helpfully informed them, had much thicker armoured panels bolted onto their frames and an improved chainsaw with raritanium-coated blades; a potentially lethal combination that neither commando wanted to engage considering their penchant for fighting in closely packed groups.

Fortunately there was still plenty of room to manoeuvre and more than enough time to prepare for the inevitable charge; Ellen dropping a few of her Megaturrets to provide support for Ratchet's sprinting form and drawing her hand cannon, while the lombax dove into the fray with grenade launcher already in hand and an almost feral grin on his face. The gladiators however had a few surprises of their own; one staggering from a rocket turret's explosive payload while another merely raised his shield and continued to tank hits before swinging his mace on a horizontal arc, the spiked head shooting forth on an extendable length of chain towards the surprised human. Ellen instinctively darted back with a flare of her Jump Pack with mere inches to spare as the mace whistled through the space she had only just vacated, smashing the deployed sentries to pieces and sending her pulse skyrocketing as she brought her Leviathan to bear and squeezed the trigger.

Ratchet meanwhile hadn't been idle and flipped over the swung chain with contemptuous ease before dropping a Mini-Nuke amongst the still clustered group of combatants; taking out the gladiator threatening his partner and another in one fell swoop along with a MSR that got caught up in the blast radius. The third mountain of muscle and armour was too busy trying to wipe off the acid mod's resulting caustic spray that continued to eat through his chest plate in order to notice the fast approaching lombax and thus didn't see the rising wrench strike that snapped his head back until it was too late. Nor did he hear the pair of thunderclaps announcing two armour piercing rounds punching through his translucent bubble helmet before detonating a heartbeat later; the lizard-like man collapsing like a stringless puppet even as the remaining MSRs scuttled forth into melee range.

"Boom! Headshot!"

One brought its chainsaw arm down in a broad stroke that missed Ratchet by mere inches and sent sparks flying off the arena floor as rolled to one side; catching one of the machine's spindly legs with his wrench in passing and forcing it to stagger for balance. He didn't get a chance to capitalise on said opportunity however due to the second MSR wading into the fray; ducking under a frenzied swing and jinking around another just in time for a stabbing crimson beam to cleanly take its head off amidst a shower of sparks. Having no time at present to thank Ellen for her precision sniping skills at present, the golden-furred commando quickly snapped back to the other, just recovering robot and hosed it with liquid fire; the upgraded armour plating still proving no match for the Lava Gun's ability to melt through nigh anything going once sufficiently saturated.

It didn't take long for the next wave to arrive and things quickly settled into a familiar rhythm; Ratchet's up close and personal approach neatly blending with Ellen's more precise, stand off style of combat to systematically dismantle the incoming formation of flame-spewing machines. Like their chainsaw-wielding counterparts, these MSR IIs were also upgraded to the version three standard and sported much tougher, heat resistant armour in addition to an improved hybrid flamethrower and fireball gun that boasted an increased overall range. Ratchet learned this first hand as his Lava Gun proved its lack of effectiveness in spite of having emptied a good portion of the remaining clip; flipping sideways to evade taking a fireball to the face and breaking out his HK22 Gun instead for its independently seeking missiles and inherent crowd control capabilities.

Ellen on the other hand elected to scatter another spread of Megaturrets and switch back to her Reaver Carbine; drilling the closest machine centre mass with a torrent of fire and hoping the heat build up would be enough for the underslung launcher to generate another plasma charge. Between the rocket launching sentry guns and launched homing missiles, the end result was a given really; constant, multiple explosions blowing the red-painted MSRs apart and sending pieces flying much to the crowd's roaring approval. There was no time to relax however as the next set of boarding chutes had deployed even before the last machine had fallen; spinning blades becoming the order of the day as panels on the arena floor flipped over to reveal the lethally sharp and already spinning fans beneath while a few dozen of the new model bladeballs Ellen had encountered back at the test facility swarmed them from all sides.

"Whoa-ho! Look at 'em go!"

The duo were long used to being grossly outnumbered however and fought nigh back to back in the only way they knew how. Ratchet slung a pair of razor sharp bladed projectiles from his Multi-Star that quickly split apart and sliced through multiple targets like a hot knife through butter; leaving them to automatically seek out their next foes as he dropped and spun on one heel to smash aside a bladeball about to blindside his partner while she unleashed a broad cone of buckshot over his head.

Racking the shotgun once more, Ellen angled left and blasted another pair of the tenacious drones into scrap metal; the shock mod's electrical tendrils surging through a few more just behind and stunning them long enough for a follow up shot that whittled their numbers further still. Opting to switch back to her bullpup carbine once more, she continued to pick off any stragglers with short, precise bursts while Ratchet simply held down the trigger on his Lava Gun and swept it across the remaining crowd with perhaps more than a little pyromaniacal glee.

No sooner had the last drone gone down when the next wave of attackers relentlessly marched forth from multiple extended boarding chutes; a pair of saur-beasts charging across the arena floor with a trio of chainsaw MSRs following close behind. Fortunately or not, the exposed floor fans smoothly receded back into their alcoves only for the surrounding strips of flame jets to light up instead; white hot pillars of fire forming a temporary barrier that brought the two commandos a few precious seconds to split apart and prepare themselves accordingly. One of the hulking reptilian beasts bounded through the flames regardless as they died down while the other steered around and ploughed through the arena centre; both meeting a hail of rockets from more of Ellen's deployed turrets while her partner's raised Minirocket Tube delivered the coup de grace.

"Wow! These two are really holding their own!"

The scuttling quad-legged machines almost seemed like an afterthought considering how distant they still were, the redheaded commando switching out to her barely used Visibomb Gun and dropping a TV guided missile amongst the tightly clustered trio that permanently took them out of commission. One barely surviving robot flailed about on the floor with a solitary leg and stump of arm until Ratchet put it out its misery; taking the helm off with an upwards stroke of his wrench that sent it flying high up against the shield barrier protecting the audience from the carnage below much to their appreciation if the raised swarm of voices and indistinguishable chanting was anything to go by. It also appeared to herald even more trouble as multiple boarding ramps opened up across the arena in a random but constant flow; flooding the already corpse strewn killing floor with a deluge of fresh bodies that threatened to overwhelm the two commandos with sheer numbers.

Someone was apparently pulling out all the stops; gladiators, mechanised spiders, bladeballs, and MSRs of both kinds pouring forth in a seemingly never-ending tide of flesh, metal, and malicious intent. The returning exposed floor fans and renewed flame jets only added to the mayhem, even as another pair of the ever relentless saur-beasts bullied their way through the surrounding throngs; accidentally knocking some of the combatants into the surrounding moat of lava in their haste to close the distance. This also made them priority targets for the lombax and human, so it was perhaps little surprise that the purple-skinned lizards found themselves under heavy fire; a pair of rockets from Ratchet's launcher stopping one cold and sending the broken body tumbling backwards, while Ellen's Vaporizer stabbed a crimson beam through the second beast's thick skull that staggered it before a second finished the job.

Of course the neatly holed and hefty corpse still had forward momentum and the pair were forced to dive apart as it skidded between them towards the edge of the arena; Ratchet tucking into a roll and coming up with his grenade launcher already thumping away, while Ellen really wished she had the Bouncer to hand right about now. Said human hadn't landed quite so gracefully after throwing herself sideways and almost found herself on the receiving end of a gladiator's mace as he charged forth; rolling back the way she came and barely avoiding the spiked ball upon its extended chain that swung overhead by mere inches.

It was more instinct than anything else that had the redhead drawing her Blitz Cannon with one smooth motion and jamming it up under the clone bred warrior's heavy chest plate before pulling the trigger; the sheer force from hundreds of electrified pellets at point blank range blowing him clean off his feet and pulping a good chunk of flash fried flesh in the process. It was pretty obvious he wouldn't be getting back up again, and Ellen didn't exactly have time to reflect upon the brutal execution or subsequent blood splatter now decorating her commando suit from close proximity as she racked the pump and fired again at an approaching cluster of robot spiders. Once again the situation had devolved into a case of kill or be killed, and there would plenty of time for worrying about the consequences later; along with giving Ratchet an earful for having to deal with this kind of shit all over again.

The rest of the battle passed by in a blur of gunfire, explosions, and bloodshed that rolled into a seemingly endless tide of violence; the two commandos fighting a frantic running battle against the steadily dwindling horde while making best use of the arena hazards to cull their numbers further still. Ratchet continued to launch miniature nukes into the pursuing crowd at random with devastating effect, taking out vast swathes of clustered drones and repurposed security robots alike while the resulting spray of dispersed acid ate away at many more. While he was otherwise occupied, Ellen took to covering their rear with a spread of Megaturrets dropped in her wake before using her carbine to spray anything that got too close; switching roles once the lombax had finished and tossing out explosive presents from her Bomb Glove, while Ratchet made use of his Tesla Claw to great effect.

By the time they had made a complete circuit of the arena's perimeter there were but a few flamethrower type MSRs still moving along with a single mace-wielding gladiator; all sporting some degree of injury or damage that left them all too vulnerable. Once the last had fallen and all was otherwise still on the body strewn floor, Ellen was left panting in short breaths as the adrenaline slowly began to bleed out of her system, while Ratchet stood supporting her with one arm as he leaned on his wrench with the other. Though physically draining for the human, it had been just as exhausting mentally as well considering the sheer amount of carnage she had helped bring about once in such an enclosed arena space; the roaring crowd's approval and incomprehensible, constantly chanting mantra not helping her already low opinion of this place one bit.

"Is it me, or did that seem a little too easy back there?"

Ellen snapped her head around to berate the lombax for his off hand comment only to pause at the furrowed brow and thoughtful look on his face; though her tone was still incredulous in reply. "You call that easy? We were getting swarmed out there!"

"Yeah but not like last time, y'know?" Ratchet mulled aloud "Not that I'm complaining, but It just feels like we're missing something here."

He... had a point, now that she thought about it more clearly. Loathe as the redhead was to compare such an experience once more, they had a lot harder time dealing with the Maktar Resort arena, and aside from that last wave the enemies here seemed to come at them piece meal rather than in enough force to actually overwhelm two extremely well armed and experienced combatants. There was definitely something odd going on here, but right now Ellen was more concerned with getting the hell out of this enclosed arena and back beneath an open sky once again. Any further musings were interrupted however by the annoyingly upbeat commentator's voice blaring out from above, almost drowning out the still jubilant crowd's sheer volume with his next words.

"How about that, folks? These two have taken down some of the best gladiators we have and won themselves a pair of these beauties each; the Gravity Boots!"

A sudden mechanical whirring of drew the three companions attention to the circular, central section of the arena floor beneath their feet a few seconds before the metal plating split in half along a previously invisible seam; jumping to one side and watching as a small pedestal rose up with twin pairs of metallic boots attached via small, spindly arms. Gingerly reaching out to take a pair, Ellen found them to be a lot smoother looking than the Charge Boots she was wearing and the blue accents along the sides to fit in better with her commando suit without being too obvious. Ratchet seemed to appreciate them too along with their versatility compared to his old Magne-Boots, and was just getting comfortable when the announcer cut in again with a rather unwelcome aside.

"Believe me, they're gonna need 'em, because we're turning up the heat! Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for a cage match!"

"Cage match?" Ellen exclaimed. "We didn't agree to a cage match!"

The organisers apparently didn't agree with her protests seeing as an assortment of gladiators and chainsaw-wielding MSRs charged forth from a pair of boarding ramps just ahead of the two commandos and closed the distance rapidly; neither noticing the pedestal sink back into its hole only to be replaced with a slightly glowing raised pad instead. No, the lombax and human were more concerned with the fact that the surrounding moat of pseudo-lava was quickly beginning to swamp the arena floor; charbroiling some of the slower combatants where they stood and leaving the pair in danger of suffering the same fate. Thankfully Ratchet's sharp eyes spotted the jump pad just behind them in the nick of time and grabbed his partner by the arm, dragging her close and sending them both hurtling skywards before she could question otherwise.

The sudden acceleration stole the breath from Ellen's lungs and she could barely manage a startled scream as the pair rocketed into a spacious, vertically suspended tube-like cage high above the arena floor; the transparent panels lining it flashing by at speed until their ascent began to slow and gravity reasserted itself. Ratchet seemed to know what he was doing even if the redhead was too busy panicking at the prospect of plummeting to their doom, angling her and by extension himself so that their feet touched against the tube's solid inner lining and stuck with a solid magnetic pull. Of course this didn't exactly allay her fears one bit considering they were now facing back down on to the completely flooded arena a good forty or so feet below, and the surviving gladiators plus a singed MSR were currently plodding their way up to meet them.

"Ratchet... What the hell?"

"Sorry, but I didn't exactly have time to wait for permission," the lombax offered by way of apology before gesturing to the remaining enemies still closing in. "They must have Gravity Boots too or something to walk up here, but I bet we can knock 'em off with a few good hits. You ready for this?"

Not really, but what choice did she have?

It felt weird moving around normally on a vertical service, the metal micro-mesh underlay running through the translucent panels ringing the suspended 'cage' providing such a degree of traction that it was easy to forget were it not for the constant pull of gravity. It also meant that all of the combatants involved were able to take full advantage of the tube-like structure and traverse the walls as if it were a floor; Ratchet pounding his way diagonally up one side with his rocket launcher already shouldered while Ellen tentatively took her first steps towards the other side. Despite the conflicting signals in her brain as to what constituted 'up', the redhead managed to draw her carbine once more and focus on the task at hand; gripping the weapon tightly lest she drop it and snapping off tight bursts at the closest foe.

The rounds struck an advancing gladiator centre mass and staggered him somewhat until he could bring up his shield, one that soon had a an extremely unstable glob of plasma attached before exploding violently courtesy of the human's under-barrel attachment. As the charred corpse fell into the smelting pit below, Ellen shifted to deal with the next approaching enemy only to find she needn't have bothered; Ratchet's penchant for heavy artillery ensuring that both the chainsaw MSR and second lizard-like man received a rocket-shaped surprise as he completed his corkscrewing circuit around the tube that blew both away in short order. Coming to a halt beside her with the still smoking launcher held aloft, the lombax offered his human counterpart a smug grin as he posed for the no doubt watching cameras streaming all the action to the waiting audience below.

"Well, that wasn't so hard. You'd think they'd send something bigger considering how much we've been kicking these guy's butts."

As if in answer to the lombax's ill advised words, something heavy sounding followed by skittering noises drew the commandos attention to what lay behind them further up into the open-topped arena's roof where a large shadow briefly obscured the waning evening sun; dropping down onto the upper most portion of the cylindrical cage with enough force to almost over balance the pair. Staring back down at them with glowing red eyes and metallic mandibles snapping was a truly massive mechanised spider that could probably tear a tank in half; long pincer legs braced against the cage walls and forelimbs sporting electrified coils poised menacingly. Its heavily armoured abdomen was bulbous and covered in small ports that likely concealed more weaponry, while what looked like a spinneret protruded from the rear; the announcer's voice not helping one iota even if it did give this new foe a recognisable name.

"Introducing the terror of Tarantia. It's shocking! It's amazing! Please, give it up for, theeeee Arachnoid!"

"Great. You just had to jinx it, fuzz ball," Ellen groused as she reached down to her Quick Select; knowing she would need something a lot bigger than a carbine to even bruise the titanic machine.

The Arachnoid didn't give Ratchet a chance to come up with what, in all likelihood, would have been a smartass reply due to leaping forth with incredible speed for such a large construct; forcing the pair to scatter in opposite directions to avoid being run through. While the lombax's inherent reactions safely saw him away however, Ellen barely managed to slip past the forelimbs swiping at her back as the coils on each crackled with electrical build up in preparation to shoot; seeming to focus upon what the robotic spider deemed to be the easier prey. That, as it turned out, was a costly mistake seeing as it gave Ratchet a clear shot at the Arachnoid's extensive rear quarters; one that was soon lit up by multiple explosions from what was technically above it.

Screeching in alarm, the mechanised terror launched a thick steel cable from the spinneret at its rear and latched on to the top of the cage before quickly reeling itself back up to a safe distance; Ratchet's rocket launcher still firing away as he completed his circuit of the inner tube and rejoined his partner, who was preparing to go on the offensive herself. Being on vertically suspended structure at gravity's mercy limited their options somewhat, but Ellen did find that her Megaturrets worked just as well as normal when firmly attached to the translucent panels beneath their feet and took full advantage of it; following in her feline partner's footsteps and covering the entire circumference of the cage with a defensive line that quickly got to work.

Of course the Arachnoid hadn't been idle and was prepared to weather the incoming storm of rockets while charging up for another strike; quite literally considering the twin streams of crackling electricity that surged from between two shielding legs and over the cage's conducting metal support struts, detonating several rockets in flight before overloading the turrets that launched them. Considering the conductive nature of the metallic, micro-mesh built into the panelling they were traversing, there were few safe places for the commandos to dodge towards that wouldn't be affected; leaving little choice other than to disengage their Gravity Boots at the last second and jump.

The wave of faux lightning passed beneath close enough to make her skin tingle, and the drop itself was but eight or so feet at worst before the magnetic soles of her boots kicked in once more. But to Ellen it was a heart-stopping moment of purely blinding terror that didn't assuage her fear of heights and subsequently falling one bit; instead serving only to make her more determined to finish the fight so that she could get the hell out of here and back on to solid ground once again. Ratchet himself certainly didn't seem to have any such qualms and continued to blast away at the currently still stationary Arachnoid; itself apparently content to simply shelter behind its shield-emblazoned legs and attack from afar. Seeing what he intended to do, the redhead soon joined in with her Visibomb Gun; sending a TV guided missile streaking after the hail of rockets to impact against the armoured limbs locked together and hitting them with a tank-killing blow.

The results were devastating and left the Arachnoid reeling with a metallic screech of rage as the already damaged shields shattered, along with one of its front legs. A half charged blast of electricity provided an adequate distraction for the mechanised spider to jump on to another wall with surprising dexterity considering the now missing limb, allowing it a moment to open the rear hatch in its abdomen and disgorge a contingent of the smaller, ant-like drones that the two commandos had fought earlier. Against Ratchet and Ellen they were little more than cannon fodder that quickly fell to light machine gun fire and a pair of shotgun blasts, but by then the distraction had already served its purpose; the Arachnoid manoeuvring into position so that its spinneret was facing towards the pair before shooting out a high tensity line towards the pair.

The lombax managed to weave to one side with spit second timing and continue attacking, but his partner wasn't so lucky; the metal cable rapidly snagging the human around the mid-section and yanking her off her feet in the blink of an eye as it reeled her in with a startled yell. Ratchet could only check his fire and watch helplessly as the giant mecha-spider lifted her higher still by the second, albeit at a slightly slower rate; mind racing to find a way to save the redhead even as he sprinted forth with his rocket launcher back in hand. "Ellen! Hang on, I'm coming!"

"Looks like the Arachnoid has just claimed another victim, folks!"

Ellen meanwhile, having almost lost her gun due to the sudden acceleration, grabbed hold of the line with one hand while switching over to her Versa Blade with the other and activating its advanced heated edge; thankful that the Arachnoid apparently couldn't reel objects in as fast as it could grab them since that gave her more time to hack away at the high tensity cable. She was almost near to the tank-sized spider's bulbous rear end when her knife finally cut through the last of the dense metal cable, gravity taking its course once more and sending the now screaming human plummeting back down towards the fiery pit far below with her heart lodged firmly in her throat. Just as she was flailing for purchase and about to run out of cage to latch on to however, a strong, gloved hand belonging to a grimacing and entirely welcome lombax grabbed hold and left her dangling by one arm.

"I gotcha."

With a grunt of effort, Ratchet used the leverage provided by his Gravity Boots in order to haul Ellen up until she could get her own boots reattached to the magnetic surface; both panting from the strain and more than a little dose of fear at almost having lost one another for good. "Thanks fuzz ball; now I owe you one."

"Well... I can think of one way to settle the debt," the lombax managed between breaths with a knowing smirk etched on his face; one that soon vanished as he directed a scowl towards the reason for their close call in the first place. "But right now, whadaya say we finish this and get out of here?"

Ellen couldn't agree more.

Ignoring the distant roar of the crowds far below and the commentator's bombastic byplay of their close call, Ratchet and Ellen renewed their offensive with gusto as they sought to bring as much explosive firepower to the table as possible; the former going to town with his HK22 Gun blazing a trail of independently targeting missiles that mercilessly tore into the robotic spider while the latter dropped every last one of her available Megaturrets. In spite of the sheer amount of ordinance heading its way, the Arachnoid still managed to evade a good portion thanks to its stunning agility for such a large construct; leaping from one side of the tube-like cage to the other while constantly edging closer with each step.

More streams of electricity arced across the conductive surface and took out several of sentry guns with contemptuous ease; forcing the two commandos to be just as mobile, but otherwise not abating their constant attacks in the slightest. Ellen, having equipped her Vaporizer and relying upon instinctive aiming rather than the scope, sent stabbing crimson beams at the nimble machine's predicted path; most missing by a spit second or only causing superficial damage that was added to by her trigger happy partner. Whether through persistence or luck however, one exceptional shot succeeded in taking off another of the robotic spider's numerous limbs at the 'knee' joint and caused it to momentarily stumble; making a perfect target for Ratchet's Minirocket Tube as he squeezed the trigger thrice in rapid succession.

All three high explosive warheads detonated dangerously close to the already scorched and damaged Arachnoid's comparatively small helm; protectively throwing its forelimbs up with a metallic screech of alarm before suddenly tucking in its remaining limbs and dropping like a lead weight down towards the two commandos below. "Move!"

Ellen didn't need to be told twice, already moving before the lombax's shouted warning had left his lips and barely avoiding having her head taken off by the mecha-spider shaped missile by scant inches as it whistled past. Whirling around, the pair caught sight of their mechanical foe as it braced its undamaged legs against the cage's magnetic panel walls with a shower of sparks in an attempt to arrest its fall; one backed up another deployed spinneret cable acting as a brake and - as they soon discovered - a previously disgorged contingent of spider drones closing in from above and behind.

"Looks like the Arachnoid is at the end of his rope!"

Thus it became a two-pronged battle with the three companions trapped in-between; moving by unspoken agreement so that Ellen faced off against the encroaching horde while Ratchet concentrated upon the soon to be recovered and still lethal giant robot spider down below. Not wanting to leave her back unprotected for very long even with her partner's help, the human's shotgun quickly boomed in concert with what few Megaturrets still remained and stopped a majority of the ant-like machines cold; picking off stragglers even as the mangled remains of the rest fell past and almost getting lethally shocked had it not been for Ratchet's quick warning and quicker reactions.

The Arachnoid was back in play and apparently up to its old tricks once more considering the alternating streams of high voltage current being sent forth from its constantly discharging forelimbs; ensuring the two commandos had to run a deadly gauntlet in order to survive, let alone fight back. But powerful though it was, the giant mecha-spider couldn't keep track of everything at once, and as the damage to its frame continued to mount up along with yet another shattered limb, the end result was starting to become more and more inevitable with each passing second. With its mobility extremely hampered and having precious few other options available, the Arachnoid changed tactics and sought to charge up its forelimbs for one last mega shock blast that would sweep across the entire cage and wipe out the annoyingly persistent organics in one fell stroke.

It would prove to be the last mistake the insect-like machine would ever make.

Not having to keep dodging for a few precious seconds gave Ratchet and Ellen enough time to bring their greatest weapons to bear, and make each shot count. Not having to worry about the effects of gravity due to their foe now languishing below them, the lombax drew his oversized grenade launcher and dropped its Miniature nuclear payload directly on top of the still stationary Arachnoid; the resulting detonation nigh gutting the mechanised spider even without the secondary, acidic splash damage and reverberating up the tube-like cage. Having taken a little longer to set herself up, the human's Visibomb Gun almost seemed like an afterthought as she directed a TV guided missile across the relatively short distance and blew what was left of the once powerful machine in half; the already falling remains shattering further still as they plummeted all the way to the flooded arena floor below and were consumed by boiling pseudo-lava.

By the time their ringing ears had had adjusted enough from being subjected to the Mini-Nuke's deafening explosion in such a relatively confined space, a very different kind of noise greeted the two fatigued and thoroughly drained commandos; the roaring approval of an ecstatic crowd and the excitable commentator's voice barely rising above it. Neither really cared too much about what he was saying in their state, and Ellen soon found herself leaning on the more rapidly recovering lombax as she tried to catch her breath; letting the soothing motion of his fingers on her back relieve some of the pent up tension and distract her from the fact they were still a stupidly long way up with only one way back down. Subsequently, the redhead didn't notice that the pseudo-lava covered floor was rapidly draining away until Ratchet nudged her gently and pointed it out; giving a knowing smile and firmly enveloping her with both arms as he prepared to shove off.

"Ready to get out of here?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," the human muttered before releasing a deep, calming breath. "Alright, do it. Before I change my mind."

Not deigning a reply, the golden-furred feline disengaged his Gravity Boots a few seconds after his partner and jumped so that they were roughly in the centre of the tube-like cage as they fell; feeling Ellen tense further still as her legs wrapped around his waist and waiting for them to exit the vertically suspended structure entirely before letting Clank switch to Heli-Pack mode. Their descent was smooth and otherwise uneventful even with the extra weight, much to the human's relief; her wariness and all pervading fear of heights still raising its ugly head at the worst possible times and preventing her from simply gliding down with her Jump Pack. A few moments later saw the trio drop down near to the middle of the arena where the rapturous cheering and undecipherable chanting from the audience was at its peak; the announcer's voice blaring over the top even as a now familiar pedestal began to rise from the central most section once more.

"First Chainblade and now the Arachnoid. Let's hear it for our undefeated arena champions; Ratchet, Ellen, and… the metal guy!" The explosion of noise was enough for Ellen to crank her helmet's audio dampeners up to the maximum in order to drown it out, with a clearly wincing Ratchet clamping his hands over his much more sensitive and exposed ears even as the bombastic man continued. "And of course, for being such great sports, they get the grand prize of the Megacorp Games; theeeee Infiltrator!"

Said gadget now sat upon the raised pedestal and was promptly snatched up by a slightly disappointed-looking lombax before he presented it to his redheaded partner. "Here, take it. I think you'll get more use out of it than me anyway."

"So you're not trying to bribe me for having to go through that shit all over again?" Ellen asked with an arched brow over shoulder as she made best speed towards the now open arena exit; still feeling uneasy at the carnage they had just been part of, but thankful that at least she didn't have to wade through a mountain of corpses this time due to the pseudo-lava melting everything that had remained. "Or pissed off because it wasn't a RYNO or something bigger considering what we had to wade through?"

"What? No! I just... uh..."

...

"Yeah, okay, you got me. I just figured we'd get something better, you know? After everything that happened and all that effort, I... I'm sorry Ellen, for dragging you through that again for no reason. If I even knew-"

The lombax's rambling tirade was halted just as they exited the arena dome's main entrance, a slender finger against his lips followed by a lingering kiss that left Ratchet blinking in confusion at the surprisingly calm and amused expression on Ellen's face as she took a step back. "Apology accepted, fuzz ball; even if there's no need. Like you said before, we might need those gadgets anyway if things go wrong, and damned if I was going to let you face off against that lot without backup." The human's expression faltered a little. "Just... promise we won't be doing anything like that again anytime soon; once was enough, and twice is pushing it."

Ratchet gently shook his head in assurance. "Don't worry, we won't, and besides; Mr Fizzwidget's probably waiting for us by now anyway. C'mon babe, let's get out of here."

"You certainly seem to have an affinity for words," Clank quipped at the lombax's expense; both watching as the redhead resumed walking and set about summoning an air cab with her Wrist Com. "Gift of the silver tongue, I believe is the term."

"That's not the only thing it's good at," Ratchet murmured as his eyes tracked Ellen's path and the way her rear slightly swayed with each step; memories surfacing of their previous night spent together.

"What?"

"Uh, n-nothing! Hey, I think I see the cab right now!"

Resetting his optics at his golden-furred friend's sudden brush off, Clank filed away the occurrence for later study as the taxi slowed to a halt at the end of the extensive railed platform; his companions climbing aboard and enjoying the spectacular view as the fading sunset bathed the landscape below. It didn't take long for them to reach their still parked ships after replenishing any expended ammunition at the nearby vendor; mounting up and checking for any messages from their increasingly oddly behaved employer only to find none whatsoever, much to their shared concern. Still trying to re-establish contact with Mr Fizzwidget even as they took off once more, the two Star Explorers soon raced across the warmly hued skies and back into orbit before setting course for location of the company's deep space disposal facility; the three companions wondering all the while if something untoward had happened to Megacorp's eccentric CEO.

Hopefully it was just a communications error and the old man would be there waiting for them. But if not, then the commando team were prepared to deal with whatever might be waiting in his stead.

And so our heroes are back on the road and heading straight into the unknown once again; where their loyalties are likely to be tested and the concept of friend or foe redefined. Things are likely to get a lot more rapid-paced from her on out as well until the end of the second act, with precious little time for any kind of rest stops in-between. Rest assured though, there will be fluffiness to come when the time is right, and perhaps a greater challenge to Ratchet and Ellen's relationship in the foreseeable future…

Review replies:

The White Guardian - As much fun as going the all out explosive route is, it doesn't really make for interesting reading long term, which is why I tried to mix things up for the chapter and keep each battle feeling fresh. Shame the code didn't work first time, but at least you managed to find a way around it and finally get hold of perhaps one of my most favourite weapons of all time. After all, with the Bouncer, there really is no substitute when it comes to clearing out every bad guy in the room. A glitch compilation sounds like a fun idea, especially with appropriate sound bites and text commentary to go with it; definitely something I wouldn't mind seeing.

Unfortunately, bad localisation seems to be a universal problem with foreign language movies these days; with most translated dubbing lacking the right inflections, nuances, and general feel of the original to such a degree that it ruins the overall story. But like you said, at least when it eventually gets a home release you'll be able to watch the movie as it was originally intended. Interesting little fact there too; coincidence, or perhaps something more…? If you liked the Maktar Resort arena battle then I think you're going to love what I've got in store this chapter. I kind of prefer the original game's soundtrack for the most part, probably because it invokes such fond memories, but the reboot's music works quite nicely too.

Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you with your KSP modding, and I'm glad version 1.1 is living up to your expectations. Here's hoping your planet pack is well received. Take care for now, and hope you enjoy the new chapter.

starrat - Thanks again!

OMNISENSE95 - No, they were completely optional as far as I remember… and probably the only gadget that was, now that I think about it. The only real reason to have them was to obtain the Nanotech booster on the far side of the enclosed room with the Dynamo activated floor panels and pistons, hidden behind a time sensitive door that shuts down if not reached quickly enough. Hope that helps.

Firestar5277 - I was really dubious at first about writing the second hoverbike race due to how hard it was last time, but I'm glad I did now. It makes a nice change from the usual run and gun antics, like you said, but also give Ellen a chance to shine on her own merits once more. The gloves are as much a symbolic gesture as an excuse for a little sweet moment in a way; reminding Ellen that even the thugs are people and not just cardboard cut-out bad guys. She certainly seems to be making a career out of baling Ratchet out of trouble recently, and I have no idea where the tribesmen could have gotten that much firepower in canon. I mean, they are presumably scavengers like their cousins on Barlow, so it's probably all borrowed, bought, or otherwise stolen from Megacorp since they make everything going.

You may well get your wish yet, but not as part of an omake… because both will likely be part of a separate short story I'm tentatively calling Earthside; a bridge between the second and third games, whereby our heroes finally get to visit Ellen's home world together. If all goes well, I'll be working on it once this story is over and release it in the run up to the sequel. If you do have any other ideas or suggestions for omakes and such, please feel free to let me know; I'm really, really struggling for ideas right now and any prompts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reviewing, and the virtual sugary goodness; hope you like this chapter too.

Sonachugirl - Yep, the locals are most definitely not friendly. Glad you like the chapter overall, and the hoverbike race too; it may have taken some effort to get right on my part, but I think the end result was well worth it in the end. I do love your art style, and thanks for clarifying; now you've mentioned it, I'm almost tempted to go back over some of my old OCs now to see if they don't trigger any new story ideas. Thanks again!

Destiny W - Thanks, and I'm glad you enjoyed the race. It just seemed like the sort of thing the biker would do, and further cements Ellen's tentative place amongst the Desert Riders. Something that may perhaps cause a conflict of interest later on considering they are all Thugs-4-Less employees…

Razor of DOOM - I think you're thinking of the Vukovar Canyon track. There's a stupidly narrow bridge section there after exiting some caves, just before crossing through the wide open area with roaming saur-beasts that leads on to the home stretch. The Joba circuit is almost all swamp and forest from what I've seen on my flythrough, so if there is a bridge there then I'm afraid I haven't seen it.

Tempest Fugit - Ah, don't worry about not reviewing; I'm just glad you like this story. Oh, and yes, this is the game with the Sheepinator. Interesting analysis on the emotional vibes, and nigh enough on the button really given their differing experiences in the chapter. I guess it wasn't the most original way to end the chapter, but like you said, it does seem to work so well as a mechanic regardless of setting. It would certainly make an interesting challenge, and the results most definitely interesting to watch unfold. Murphy, unfortunately, appears to be well acquainted with Ellen's life by now, and just seems to love dropping bad situations right on top of her and anybody remotely close by association, such as a certain lombax. Hope you like the new chapter, and yeah… not sure I want to know how he knows that either…

Light Seeker 001 - I'd have to agree; from what I've played of the game and said movie elements you mentioned previously, it does seem that Insomniac have condensed the ongoing game lore together so that the three canon galaxies intermesh with each other. Hopefully Ellen will have dealt with or at least compartmentalised her issues with blood sports and arena combat by the time Dreadzone comes around; otherwise she's going to be seriously struggle. Although Nefarious and Gleeman Vox will be high up on Ellen's hate list for their respective schemes, Tachyon would definitely be topping that list due to what he did to the lombaxes. Add a threat against Earth into the mix and lord help anyone who gets in her way; or what's left once she's ploughed through them all.

Plasmatik - Hey again, and thanks. I'm glad you liked how the upgrades worked out, and the chapter overall.

DarkEnigma95 - Why, thank you very much! Seeing as Ellen has prior experience from the last race, I tried to make her opponents much tougher this time around, and bailing Ratchet out of bad situations does seem to be a reoccurring theme with her right now. I really hope there is a sequel to the new reboot, especially if Insomniac decide to expand upon Going Commando and include bigger, more epic set pieces. Of course, in the unlikely event that they ever decide to contact me, I'd be more than happy to give a few pointers if they wished; just so long as I get creative licensing of course. Thanks again, and hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Dablackwyrm - Funnily enough, I had a similar experience back when I first played that level; finding myself pretty much up the creek sans paddle once the second wave hit and having to restart once the inevitable happened. This chapter was my first time trying to write air, or rather space combat and trying to nail down the dynamics of dog fighting into printed words, so I'm glad you approve. I decided to make Ace a bit of a rival to Ratchet in a way, and he'll certainly be making waves of his own later into the story, along with the little infobot once the right time comes. You'll just have to wait and see.

OMAC001 - I'm looking forward to writing for Up Your Arsenal myself, but that's probably going to a fair while off yet. Unfortunately I haven't seen the movie yet, but I really want to. Hopefully I'll get a chance soon.

ReginaDC21 - Hey again, it's been a while, hasn't it? No need to apologise though; it sounds like you've got enough on your plate as is, and family matters always come first in my book. On that note, I hope things don't get too dramatic for you any time soon, or that you'll need to make use of that bat. Probably would be a great way to let off steam though. Good to hear you're finally on PS4, and I'm sure she'll give it back… eventually. I've never actually finished Madness Returns, and now that you've mentioned it, I've kind of got the urge to play it again.

Glad you're liked the chapter, and the story in general. I've only recently gotten into One Punch Man myself, and love it despite my original scepticism. Can't say I've seen the other two, or if that's how the latter is spelt, but I well have to check them out when I've got a chance. Until next time, take care the both of you, and hope to hear from you again soon.

What's good You - Hey, a new reviewer! And Thank you, for the haiku and your concise analysis. Unfortunately, for every good OC-centric/SI story out there, there seems to be about dozen identikit clones that stick to exactly the same tropes you've described. It's typically over angst-ridden stories like those that put people off fan fiction in the first place, and make finding the hidden gems within the archives that bit harder to find. I'm glad you like the series overall thus far.

This is my first crack at writing romance and developing a relationship at all, so sorry if Ratchet and Ellen's making out feels a little too strong; I was trying to convey the heightened emotions from having grown to love one another, only to be torn apart and then suddenly reunited without knowing whether they will survive the next day. I did briefly consider posting a separate lemon scene, but ultimately decided against it due to inexperience and severe time constraints between chapters. That, and I think it's more interesting to simply drop hints and let the reader's imagination fill in the blanks instead.

Action scenes do tend to be my forte; although trying to keep things fresh and interesting each update is always a challenge. Ellen's moral compass and its effect upon her actions is something I'm using to try and ground this story and act as a foil to one of the more common pitfalls of fan fiction with regard to violence. There are too many stories out there whereby the main character, usually a OP SI, is able to wipe out thousands without so much as batting an eyelid, let alone considering the moral impact from mass killing of sentient beings. Ellen on the other hand only fights when necessary in order to survive and ensure the safety of those she holds dear; shouldering the burden of taking life and its impact on her psyche. Thank you once again, and hope you continue to enjoy this series as it's posted. Take care.

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

Thanks for reading

- RevenantReaper337