Author's note:

Bit of a shorter chapter this time around I'm afraid, although perhaps understandable given that the level upon which it is based lasts only a five minutes tops if you ignore the extra challenges. Still, dogfights are kind of my thing, and I've done what I can to keep this space battle chapter on par with its predecessors in terms of pace and action. Here's hoping you'll all like it. Also, at the time of writing, this story is not only one of the longest in the Ratchet and Clank archives but also the most reviewed as well! Once again, thank you all so very much for reading and supporting this story, along with the series so far. I just hope I can continue to live up to your expectations, and keep the updates coming on schedule.

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 24:

Sphere Of Influence

Megacorp Deep Space Disposal Facility, Hrugis Cloud

Bogon Galaxy

G2.17.083 Galactic calendar

11:37am GST

Orbiting a brown dwarf in an otherwise unoccupied or developed system lay a most peculiar object; it's moon-sized, spherical mass covered in a translucent surface under which lay a honeycomb of criss-crossing patterns that seemed to shine an almost neon green against the blackness of space. A bulbous ridge - itself several storeys high - ran vertically around the construct's circumference, while a similar but much smaller belt encircled it along a parallel axis; intermittently glowing red at three second intervals and intersecting along two points on opposite sides. It was to one of these areas that a certain pair Star Explorers were heading right now; for the artificial planetoid's interior was in fact Megacorp's deep space disposal facility for hazardous materials, and this particular intersection happened to mark the only entrance or exit.

It had been a good few hours and a short detour since the three companions had left Joba, and there was still no word from Mr Fizzwidget in spite of repeated attempts to contact him. Background radiation causing interference had been ruled out fairly earlier due to their ship's sensor suites and Clank's own knowledge, and everything seemed to be mechanically sound too in terms of both short and long wave communications. That meant there was either a problem on their somewhat eccentric employer's end that prevented any transmissions from getting through, or nobody was around to answer the increasingly desperate calls; neither scenario boding well, and only encouraging the two Megacorp affiliated ships to be pushed harder in an effort to get to the rendezvous point faster still.

Now that they were here though and with no evidence of recent traffic anywhere near the facility, those worries were starting to look a lot more founded, and Ratchet couldn't help the sense of unease creeping into his voice as they maintained station just outside of the still locked down entrance. "Doesn't look like anybody's home... You find anything, pal?"

"I am afraid not," Clank replied with a shake of his helm as he continued to work on the red Star Explorer's central console; remotely compiling what information he could from the disposal facility's lower level servers. "The station itself is entirely automated, and if the arrivals logs are to believed, then the most recent visitors other than ourselves was a supply vessel almost three weeks ago."

"So Mr Fizzwidget still hasn't shown up and we can't even call him to find out where he's got to," Ellen summarised aloud over the open radio channel between their ships. "Question is, what now?"

There was a pregnant pause broken only by a faint hiss of static over the radio before Ratchet spoke up once more. "Well, we're here, and it'd be a shame not to take a look after coming all this way. Let's head inside and check the place out; maybe the old man left a message or something for us to find."

Doubting the lombax's suggestion but following along anyway, Ellen gently throttled forward and slipped in behind his ship as the entrance doors parted at their approach upon confirming their transponders to be those of Megacorp affiliated vessels. Before them lay a rectangular corridor that could easily accommodate a pair of frigates side by side with room to spare; a second set of heavy shutters opening once the two Star Explorers were mid-way through, even as those behind them closed and locked once more with a sense of finality. What drew the human's attention most however was the construct's expansive interior into which they had now emerged; a vast, open space easily stretching for a few miles in every direction and bordered only by the vaguely hexagonal patterns formed from trapezoid and triangular, translucent green-tinted panels that lined the walls around a solid framework of what looked titanium support struts.

There didn't seem to be any artificial gravity considering there was a multitude of small debris floating around seemingly at random, or anybody else around for that matter; the belt of what was likely storage container docking points ringing the interior eerily silent, and with several looking like something had broken out of or smashed into them with massive force. The quite literal centre piece however had to be the gigantic, spherical power core floating directly in the exact middle of the disposal facility itself; its centre split open horizontally to reveal a turbulent cone of wavering blue energy surrounded by a quartet of constantly rotating blast shields that presumably helped keep any detritus away from the more vulnerable innards while venting heat build up. It was certainly an amazing sight to see such a massive artificial structure from the inside, but that still didn't get them any closer to discovering what had happened to their employer, or the Protopet's fate.

"Guess there really is no one home, huh?" Ratchet mused aloud, casting a brief glance over to where Clank sat in the passenger seat and continuing as he set the Star Explorer into a gentle circuit of the perimeter. "Better input that password Mr Fizzwidget gave us; don't want to get shot up by our own side."

The little robot nodded before rapidly tapping away at the ship's central console. "Check. Transmitting... now."

...

"...Did it work?"

"I am... unsure," Clank replied to the lombax's question; going over the screen once more with a puzzled frown. "There does not appear to be any change in the security system status."

"Um, Clank?" Ellen hesitantly began. "Please tell me those turrets are supposed to be doing that."

Sure enough, several large spinning disc-like structures floating around the upper portion of the inner sphere, which had somehow escaped their initial attention, suddenly flared into life; a singular pulse cannon unfolding both above and below each and reorienting to face the two circling fighters with unerring aim. Eying the weapon platform before him and angling left to put some more space between the two Star Explorers, Ratchet kept his gaze fixed ahead and finger hovering over the trigger as he discretely disengaged the weapon safeties. "...You might wanna check that code again, pal."

"I already have, and I am positive it was correct," the sentient silver machine informed him grimly.

Any further conversation was cut off as a barrage of green energy bolts lit up the facility interior from all angles; a majority skimming past the now jinking fighters, but several striking true enough to drain a significant portion of their shields as the pair split apart to engage. Ellen cursed up a storm while trying to make herself a much harder target, barely able to get off more than a quick burst of her cannons before having to break away from another frighteningly accurate volley of anti-ship fire.

"Damn it! The defences think we're hostile!" Ratchet growled out upon taking another hit to the starboard wing that shook the ship violently; quickly dumb firing a missile at the offending turret and blowing away one of its guns before corkscrewing away into a high-gee turn. "We gotta hold them off until Fizzwidget gets here!"

Ellen was far too busy trying to stay alive in order to deign a response; interlocking fields of fire ensuring that at least one of the automated weapons platforms would score a hit every few seconds in spite of frantic, spontaneous manoeuvres. Of course that didn't stop her from hitting back to the best of her ability in spite of the enclosed environment and lack of room to build up sufficient speed; working in concert with her lombax wingman as they each sough to wreck as many turrets between them as possible. Certainly the redhead began to notice a drop in the amount of incoming fire seeing as her fighter's nigh overloaded shields had finally stabilised; jinking past another of the turret-bearing, spinning discs and releasing a pair of missiles at the platform behind it that took out both guns simultaneously, before pulling away into a sharp left turn.

The bypassed turret wasn't able to get a shot off at the retreating Bogon blue craft however due to repeated cannon hits from behind knocking both guns out of commission; the other Star Explorer barrel-rolling overhead before inverting into a dive and heading on to the next target. The lombax had been all too busy striping away the facility's defences in the most efficient way he could; choosing to target the exposed weapons themselves rather than their much heavier armoured platform mount. It seemed to be a strategy that worked all too well, seeing as what few turrets still left operational were proving to be a much smaller threat once their numbers had been sufficiently cut down to a much more manageable size.

Of course with everything seeming to go increasingly well in the lombax and human's favour, something had to eventually give; and thus Murphy restored the balance once more as one of the apparently 'destroyed' guns on another nearby platform suddenly opened fire; striking Ellen's banking vessel amidships and leaving her biting off a curse. "What the hell? Thought I already gotten that one."

"Your assumption is correct; the weapon platform was indeed offline and unable to function." Clank replied while monitoring the active radar scans being displayed on the central console while his lombax pilot took down another of the apparently resurrected turrets for a second time. "Unfortunately it appears that a number of repair drones have been dispatched to assist, along with multiple escort craft, and will most likely have all remaining turrets fully functional once more within a matter of minutes."

"So, take 'em out fast before they finish fixing everything?" Ratchet mused aloud." This shouldn't take long."

So saying, the lombax sharply banked left to evade another bolt of green energy; spotting a flash of movement from the corner of his eye and quickly changing course to intercept. Closing in on a sparking and inoperable turret was a comparatively tiny silver craft no bigger than a large dog and shaped like an overturned barrel; its single glowing orange optic focused upon the task at hand while twin pincer arms extended and flexed in anticipation. Having to carefully adjust his aim in order to hit such a small target, Ratchet's slight hesitation meant he and Clank were both able to witness an expanding silvery cloud billow out of the drone's lightly constructed frame and envelope its target; the turret's utterly ruined guns seeming to flow back into their formerly pristine state within a matter of seconds much to the pair's surprise.

"An area effect, Nanotech repair system? Fascinating..."

While the little robot was pondering at the viability of such a capability, his golden-furred friend was more concerned with stopping the repair drone from finishing its task; a short burst of cannon fire quickly reducing it to scrap metal a fraction too late as the guns began to spit green fire once more. A split second flick of the controls and subsequent corkscrewing barrel roll allowed the red Star Explorer to slip past the incoming rounds and retaliate in kind, only for a rapid staccato of laser fire to slash across the already drained shield and force Ratchet to rapidly break away. The drone fighters Clank had warned him about were apparently already in play and eager to take the supposed intruders down; the lombax gunning down one latched on to his partner's rear as she crossed his flight path even as two more attempted to ventilate him from behind. "Watch your tail, babe. These guys are everywhere."

The vaguely wedge-shaped, delta wing drones were only lightly armed and armoured but made up for it in sheer numbers and the amount of constant fire they could bring to bear; enabling them to overwhelm much greater opponents through swarm tactics while still being cheap enough to be easily replaced. Combine that with an unknown number of reserves and the constantly repaired defence turrets providing support, and it didn't take much imagination to realise just how much trouble the three companions were in if they didn't end this encounter soon.

"Thanks for the save, and I kind of noticed," the human replied dryly; banking right and leading her opponent with a few probing cannon bursts before finally striking true. Levelling off just long enough to launch another pair of missiles at a turret struggling to orient towards her, Ellen didn't bother to watch the targeted guns explode as she jinked away from more incoming fire and gutted a repair drone before it could get close; inverting into a dive and staying mobile as she continued. "If this keeps up we're going to get swamped unless we can stop them from launching any more drones. Clank, any ideas?"

"I... believe I may have a solution of sorts," the sentient machine answered a few moments later; just about managing to remain sitting upright in spite of Ratchet's wild manoeuvring while making full use of the Star Explorer's sensor suite to confirm what his own enhanced optics had already seen. "The combat drones appear to be launching from concealed hangers hidden amongst the storage container docking points along the facility perimeter. Destroying these would severely hamper any further deployment and drastically increase our chances of survival."

"That's great," Ellen grit out while wrenching into a hard turn that left her skimming around one of the still active turrets with more drones in hot pursuit. "But how do we know which ones are the hangers? They all look the same."

"Only one way to find out," Ratchet replied with an audible smirk; winging over so that he was running parallel to the seemingly abandoned docking bays lining one side of the facility's inner sphere and strafing a turret along his intended flight path. With the uppermost gun out of commission for the time being, the golden-furred commando angled right into a thirty degree turn that would allow him one good high speed pass while hopefully keeping the fighters off his back; flipping the weapon selector switch to his as yet untested torpedo launchers on approach and unleashing a devastating payload on the rows of storage containers.

Not having any sophisticated onboard electronics or guidance systems meant that each dumb-fired torpedo was packed almost entirely from end to end with fuel and compacted explosives; proving more than enough to not so much destroy the neat rows of block-like modules, but rather annihilate a vast majority of them entirely altogether in one fell swoop. The fact each container was only constructed from relatively thin materials anyway, and designed so that the potentially dangerous contents could easily be exposed to vacuum in order to be disposed of, was perhaps a contributing factor as well. But the end result could never be in any doubt once the lombax had streaked past behind a chain reaction of explosions and flying debris; reducing the specimen containment area to so much scrap metal and burying any potential drone fighter launch bays in the process.

"Well I suppose that's one way to get the job done," Ellen murmured while taking out a closely packed flight of unmanned fighters with an extended burst of laser fire; long since acclimatised and entirely unsurprised by Ratchet's impulsive nature, along with his penchant for blowing things up as the solution to nigh everything. 'Now all we have to do is stay alive and hope we can out last the damn things.'

Unfortunately there was still an abundance of drones in both combat and repair configurations, and a majority of the turrets were still going strong after having been fixed for the umpteenth time; leaving the two commandos with their hands full as their respective ships re-entered the rolling dogfight within the facility's interior. Ratchet in particular seemed to attract much ire considering the number of unmanned fighters gunning for him like a pack of snarling wolves; the triple-boost acceleration engines proving their worth in helping to outpace his pursuers, before inverting into a half loop and turning the tables with fusion lasers blazing a trail through their ranks.

Ellen, for her part, quickly fell back into the by now familiar rhythm of space combat and soon began to rack up an impressive tally of her own. Latching on to a drone fighter crossing her flight path, the redhead rolled over into a corkscrewing dive and followed in pursuit; blowing it apart with a well aimed burst of cannon fire before inverting and climbing towards one of the still active weapon platforms. A straight missile shot followed by a snap turn to avoid the inevitable return fire soon took care of that particular problem, although dealing with the surrounding fighter screen swarming the immediate area made picking out any dispatched repair drones a whole lot harder while trying to avoid a potentially fatal head on collision. In the end it was all she could do just to simply keep pounding away at any flicker of movement entering her gunsights; knowing that each drone downed would make their lives that little bit easier, and hopefully discouraging any more turret revivals.

With his much greater selection of available weaponry to hand, Ratchet had no such problems once he suddenly remembered what else was installed on the trio's last visit to Slim's Ship Shack; engaging in the tedious process of striping away the nearest defence platform's armament for what had to be the third time and dropping an Electro-Mine on top before breaking away. It was a process he repeated with each turret he came across between dealing with any drones that got in the way; the area denial weapon living up to its name as lashing tendrils of electrical energy fried sensitive systems on both the floating disc-shaped platforms and those unmanned fighters that got too close. More importantly however, it also kept any repair drones from fixing the damn turrets; which in turn made mopping up the greatly diminished UCAV fleet a whole lot easier for as long as each mine was still active.

The tide quickly began to turn in favour of the two Star Explorers, who promptly exploited the temporary slackening of fire directed their way and began to systematically hunt down any remaining drones. Ellen quickly blew away a repair drone orbiting one of the crippled weapon platforms as it waited for the attendant Electro-Mine to die out, snapping over into a climbing turn that saw her latch on to a pair of fighters and harry them into Ratchet's waiting crossfire. The lombax in turn jinked right to avoid a torrent of laser fire that splashed off his port wing before diving down towards the massive power core occupying the centre of the facility's inner sphere; hugging the surface closely and using it to mask his vessel from the closely pursuing drone fighters before dropping another Electro-Mine in his wake that took both out with a surge of raw power.

Completing the circuit, Ratchet soon moved to rejoin his partner near the top of the inner sphere where she had already shot down three more drone fighters and was currently chasing a fourth; picking off one that was attempting to blindside her from below with one of his few remaining missiles before settling in off her wing. Together they managed to sweep aside what little opposition still remained through virtue of sheer firepower; raking anything that moved with laser fire and conducting a thorough search for any stragglers within the facility. It wasn't until they had made sure nothing else was going to quite literally come crawling out of the walls a few long minutes later however that the lombax and human finally allowed themselves to relax; Ellen breathing out a relieved sigh as she asked perhaps the most obvious question for just such a situation.

"What the hell was all that about? Wrong password or not, shouldn't the defences have recognised our ships as Megacorp fighters with the transponder signals to match?"

"Not necessarily," Clank answered over the open radio channel. "Due to their extensive influence and market share in this galaxy, almost all spacefaring vessels are manufactured by Megacorp or subsidiaries; therefore making it almost impossible to differentiate between friend or foe based solely on manufacturer alone."

"Still doesn't explain the whole password thing though," Ratchet cut in with a sour tone colouring his voice; pausing as the central console inside his cockpit chimed insistently with an incoming transmission and perking up once he saw the caller ID. "Finally! It's about time Fizzwidget called."

So saying, the lombax tapped the 'accept call' prompt on screen and watched as the blank background was quickly replaced with the familiar visage of their absent employer; Ellen's face clearly visible in a small window occupying the top right corner once she too patched into the conference call. The main screen briefly crackled with static before resolving into the cheerful visage of their elderly employer, standing at ease as he spoke. "Come in Ratchet, Ellen. Can you hear me?"

"Mr Fizzwidget, where've you been?" Ratchet exclaimed. "There's nobody at the disposal facility, and the defences attacked us without warning!"

"Sir, you gave us an erroneous password," Clank added with an accusatory narrowing of his optics; not even bothering to conceal his sense of suspicion.

"Implausible!" Megacorp's somewhat eccentric CEO shot back with a shake of his head, only to pause in thought with furrowed brows while cupping his chin. "Unless-... Uh, is this Tuesday or Wednesday...?"

Both Ratchet and Clank exchanged looks while Ellen's small portrait rolled her eyes in response to the old man's absentmindedness before opening her mouth to speak, only to be cut off as Fizzwidget barrelled on. "Anyway, sorry to have missed our meeting, but I was called away to film a commercial for our weapons facilitory."

"Wait a second, what about the-"

"Commercial?" the much older CEO cut in with a beaming smile and a glint in his eye. "I was great! Here, watch this."

Before anybody could protest otherwise, their employer's image was quickly replaced with a blank screen that quickly faded into an aerial shot rotating around what looked like a dam at first glance. The towering structure appeared to be made from brushed steel rather than filled concrete and stone work however, with scores of tinted glass windows decorating the upper half much like those of an office building, and a thick set of double doors set around a quarter of the way up from the base. This in turn led out on to a wide, circular viewing deck situated in the middle of a deep blue reservoir, and was supported by an ornate, raised metal walkway that continued off screen towards wherever the shore presumably lay; Mr Fizzwidget himself narrating over the top in a grandfatherly tone while soft music played in the background.

"Megacorp keeps you warm... keeps you healthy... and now, keeps you safe.

The view changed to show a close up of the man in question as he smiled and waved at the camera. "Hello, I'm Abercrombie Fizzwidget, and I'd like to welcome you to the new Megacorp weapons facility. We offer guided tours to show you how our weapons are made." A tour group of humanoid robots with single green optics and a rolling trackball instead of legs came into view as he gestured behind him with a grandiose sweep of his arm; the three following after a similar machine modelled to look just like Mr Fizzwidget as they all moved through a wide archway together into the interior.

"Our highly trained experts spend their day creating the latest heavy-duty weaponry, to protect you and your whole family," Fizzwidget's voice continued as the camera angle changed once again; this time showing his mechanical counterpart leading the tour group through what was clearly a missile assembly line. A pair of hulking black-painted robots, resembling up-armoured versions of the malfunctioning construction robots Ratchet and Ellen had encountered in Megapolis, diligently worked on a conveyor system; pausing in their task of attaching a massive warhead to its respective booster stage in order to greet the visitors.

As the group moved on however at the Fizzwidget-bot's behest, one lagging behind at the rear was suddenly blown into atoms by an accidental discharge from the worker's cannon arm much to his surprise; the tourist's tattered and still burning wide-brimmed hat floating back down into picture. Further along, a second visiting robot wearing a plain blue shirt and porkpie hat paused in front of a rack of completed missiles with his head tilted in curiosity; heedless of the others moving on without him or the potential danger as he reached out to touch the nearest warhead, only to be vaporised along with a good chunk of factory floor considering the massive crater now occupying it.

"So stop by today, and bring the kids. Our tours are both informative and fun." The last robot tourist - a female wearing a pink sleeveless dress, sun visor, and a pearl necklace - was completely oblivious as to what happened to the remainder of her group and still followed closely behind the mechanised effigy of Mr Fizzwidget. She did however slow down as another of the imposing worker robots crossed her path, bending down to offer her a shiny, metallic red balloon. It was a gift that was graciously accepted... and subsequently exploded with the force of a thousand pound bomb a heartbeat later as the last tourist attempted to move on; unsurprisingly leaving little more than fine metal sediment raining back down.

The camera changed once again to focus upon the real Mr Fizzwidget as he began to wrap up the commercial, ignorant of his robotic counterpart rolling back out of the factory entrance behind him and its confused expression upon realising the tour group's sudden disappearance. Pointing a cocked finger pointed towards the screen, the old man gave another of his grandfatherly smiles to go along with his parting words. "And who knows; you just might learn something."

The screen soon faded to black as the video ended and was once again replaced with the live video call of their grinning employer, looking for all intents and purposes like the cat that had gotten the proverbial canary. "That was one handsome fellow, eh boys?" If he noticed the three companions equally deadpan expressions then Fizzwidget certainly didn't show it as he laughed good naturedly; nor the sudden reactions that came with his abrupt signing off and subsequently hanging up. "Fizzwidget out."

"No, wait!" Ellen yelled with a sudden surge of panic, leaning into her central console's camera as if it would suddenly bring him back.

"Sir? Ratchet tried as he frantically tapped at the now blank video call screen. "Mr Fizzwidget, come in! Damn it, he's gone again!"

"Perhaps we can still find him at the weapons facility," Clank suggested; ignoring his lombax friend's burst of frustrated anger and subsequent fist slamming down perilously close to where the weapon arming switches were located. "Based upon topographical features in the video transmission and narrowing down the signal origin, I believe it to be located upon planet Todano."

"It's worth a shot, I suppose," their redheaded friend countered while pinching the bridge of her nose with a sigh; her concerns over their increasingly erratic employer not abated in the slightest. "After all, what else do we have to go on?"

"Not a thing unless Angela comes up with something in the meantime," Ratchet admitted grudgingly before shaking his head. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

The once sealed blast doors leading out of facility proved to be little match for a combined remote hacking attempt and capacious amounts of explosive firepower; one of Ellen's expensive anti-ship missiles punching a gaping hole straight through the battleship grade armour plating and blowing them apart from the other side. The outer most shutters thankfully opened upon their approach, and the two Star Explorers soon made their way back out into the void of space once more with a new destination in mind. With luck Mr Fizzwidget would still be there, or at least have left a trail to follow, and perhaps some new equipment to 'liberate' as well. This was a weapons facility after all, and who knows what kind of experimental stuff was just lying around for an enterprising lombax and his associates to find...

Unknown Location

Bogon Galaxy

G2.17.083 Galactic calendar

1:13pm GST

In a darkened control room bathed with the light from a dying star stood an imposing and powerfully built figure; his narrowed crimson gaze ignoring reams of data being displayed upon the surrounding semi-circle of monitors in favour of staring out of the wall length, reinforced glass windows directly ahead. Times like these were increasingly rare these days; whereby he could simply stand and watch the swirling nebula beyond without any external distractions while allowing his mind to drift a little. It was usually a calming, pleasant experience recommended by his therapist after going through a particularly messy divorce, and tended to help deal with any lingering anger issues left over from the stresses of daily business operations. But right now Logan's turbulent mind was focused upon one ongoing company venture in particular, and the steadily spiralling costs that made him question whether it was becoming more trouble than it was worth.

What had seemed like a simple protection gig at first had quickly gone south once those two commandos had gotten directly involved; the sheer amount of men and material lost to them, along with an eye-watering amount of ammunition expenditure, was fast becoming a black mark on the private contractor's finances that the current job's payoff simply wouldn't cover. Worse than that however was the humiliation of being personally beaten by that damn furball and his deformed markazian floozy not once, but twice! Even with pre-prepared ambushes, credible intelligence, and all the odds stacked heavily in Logan's favour, the Megacorp flunkies and their little tin can robot chum always seemed to walk away without so much as a scratch.

In fact, the only reason he hadn't pulled out of the contract right now was that Thugs-4-Less needed the money in order to recoup at least some losses, and the hit to their already murky reputation would make touting for future business untenable. It was clear now to Logan that he would have to pull out all the stops and perhaps call in a few favours in order to see this thing through, but the satisfaction of blowing the lombax and his pals to pieces before grinding what was left beneath his boots would be oh so worth it in the end. Now, if only he could find some way to fund-

...

Hm?

Blinking out of his brooding state, Logan reached down to his back pocket and withdrew his personal work phone; raising a brow at the unknown caller ID on screen as it continued to ring and wondering who it could be. Figuring that nothing ventured was nothing gained, the mercenary leader took a deep breath and exhaled to vent any lingering anger before adopting his best customer friendly tone and thumbing the 'answer call' button. "Thugs-4-Less; pay for six hits and the seventh's free."

...

Were anyone observing the otherwise empty control room, they would have noted the abrupt change in both Logan's manner and expression as he listened to whomever was on the other end; eyes widening slightly and brows sharply raising. "Wait, you want us to do what?"

...

"Whoa, whoa, hold on a minute! That'd be, uh... an unethical conflict of interest."

...

The veteran merc's face darkened into a thunderous scowl upon hearing what the caller suggested next, crimson gaze narrowing at the implication. "Hey, what kind of scum do you think we are?" The answer and resulting explanation however soon had Logan changing his tune, with a thick tri-digited hand absently rubbing his chin in thought. "Say, that is a lot of bolts..." He briefly cleared his throat. "Well since you put it that way, I suppose we could always, uh... undo our previous obligation."

...

"Excellent, sir. And thank you for choosing Thugs-4-Less." A cruel smile stole its way on to Logan's face even before he terminated the call; the expected reply along with the promised change in fortune for his company heralding a brighter future that was likely to include a soon to be very dead pair of commandos. There was so much to do in so little time; men to be recruited, equipment procured, ships diverted... Speaking of which, it was about time the PMC's top mercenary and founder shared the good news with his loyal employees and got the ball rolling before being sidetracked again; pocketing his phone once more and stepping up to a nearby bank of monitors linked to a long range communication system.

A flip of the switch was all it took to begin transmitting on a preset priority frequency, Logan experimentally tapping on the attached microphone to check its functionality before clearing his throat and broadcasting his voice across almost the entire Bogon galaxy. On multiple planets the story was the same; groups of mercenaries with only their parent organisation as a uniting factor, pausing in whatever task they were engaged if safe to do so and listening to the beginning of their leader's address via phones, tablet devices, and radios where able.

"Attention all Thugs-4-Less personnel; cease all current operations and return to base for refitting. We now have... a new employer."

Well if our heroes weren't suspicious before then they certainly are now, or at least wary of trusting Fizzwidget's judgement with regards to the Protopet. I honestly considered making the space battle bigger in scale and perhaps involving external elements such as Thugs-4-Less, but ultimately decided against it since neither really worked the way I wanted; instead introducing drone fighter squadrons to balance things out and make them more interesting.

Also, Thugs-4-Less have changed sides as well, and a bit later than in canon. It just made more sense to me for Logan to be contacted after Ratchet, Ellen, and Clank escape from the 'accidental' ambush at Hrugis Cloud since the mysterious employer wouldn't have wanted to waste hiring Thugs-4-less unnecessarily.

Review replies:

Sonachugirl - Though she's trying her best to get by, Ellen really doesn't like blood sports and is only taking part in the arena battles so that Ratchet doesn't have to face them alone. It's kind of a sore spot for her, and I'm sure she'd appreciate the sympathy (or someone to vent with). Thanks for the sentiment and your support; here's hoping year 2 of this story goes as well as the first.

The reboot really does look amazing, and plays just as well; with some brilliantly reimagined levels and set pieces that really stand out. I only wish the story was a bit more consistent… I honestly can't believe it's topped the charts over here either myself, especially for a 'kids' game that - as you said - is much more popular over in the states. Guess there must be a lot more R & C fans over here than expected, or those willing to give it a chance for the first time, with or without the movie's influence. Thanks again!

Light Seeker 001 - Nope, you're thinking of the Makar Resort arena. There are two main boss gladiators to face at each arena; Chainblade and B2 Brawler for the first, Arachnoid and Megapede for the second. Ellen is kind of getting used to the idea of blood sports at this point, but it's not something she'll ever really accept; participating only when absolutely necessary to help with the ongoing mission.

I'd have to agree that Ellen would sympathise with Alister Azimuth once she got to know him and his situation a little better over time. Although she would find it hard to truly forgive him for trying to kill Ratchet, let alone almost destroying the universe through his own sheer bloody mindedness and blind ignorance to the truth.

In answer to your other review question, what I meant was that I wouldn't be using the Carbonox armour for this story because I intend to have Debby fashion both Ratchet and Ellen a custom set instead. I haven't decided on the final designs yet, but they will likely use at least some Carbonox plating along with other materials to create something that is tough but balanced enough to make the final showdown a near run thing. Chances are I will make use of at least some of the canon armour sets for the rest of the series too, but I want a chance to show off some of my original designs too. Hope that helps.

What's good you - You're welcome, and I kind of guessed RWBY might have been your thing. With the workload I've got right now, I'm not taking on any more additional story projects for the foreseeable future, but that doesn't mean I can't give you a few pointers should you want.

Don't let lack of experience or writing ability get you down; everybody has to start somewhere, myself included, and the only way to improve is to practice. Take a look at other author's works, observe their writing styles, and use them as a base to help develop your own; concentrating on writing short summaries and snippets before gradually building up from there. I'm only familiar with RWBY in passing, so I don't have a good grasp on the setting or characters; but if you need help structuring the story or events then let me know and I'll do what I can to help. Until next time, take care, and hope that helps a little.

starrat - Thank you once again, and hope you like this one too.

OMNISENSE95 - Things are certainly heating up, and Ellen will likely be wanting to do more than just strangle her abductor/employer a long time before the Protopet situation is over. A better question would be as to how long she can restrain herself from doing so…

Firestar5277 - Glad you liked the chapter, and yes, Ratchet and Ellen do seem to be building themselves a bit of a following. As it stands at the moment, I probably won't be doing Deadlocked for a long time if at all due to other projects that have backed up while working on this series so far. But If I do however, then as you said, whatever celebrity status they would have built up on the gladiator circuit will mean that any fan boys (and girls) out there will be more than eager to see them take part in Dreadzone. Some honestly do take things way too far sometimes with certain fandoms, resulting in some incredibly dark and just plain wrong stories and 'art' that makes you wonder what exactly is going through the creator's mind *shudders*.

Unfortunately there really are way too many OC-insert characters out there that are either straight up Mary Sues or so mired in misery that you wish the author would bump them off already. Because of this, I've always striven to keep Ellen balanced and down to earth as a character; not some invincible, superhuman ideal. Real people are flawed and so are good characters; having their own sense of morality, fears, and ideals that make someone relatable that the reader can actually invest themselves in. Can't say my portrayal of Ellen is perfect, far from it in fact, but if you approve then I must be going in the right direction at least.

I completely agree with you, Insomniac needs the movie to be a success in order to cultivate a new generation of fans and keep the series going; although the reviews don't exactly look promising so far. Fingers crossed both will be commercially successful enough to keep Ratchet and Clank going for years to come; bringing about bigger and better sequels while pulling in those who would otherwise miss out on an action-packed, witty, and beautifully realised game franchise.

Also, thank you so much for the many omake suggestions, for which I will likely be using nigh all of them. Seriously, you have no idea how helpful they are, and the ideas they've given me as a result; although some of the more serious ones, such as flashbacks of Ellen's brother, are more suited to Earthside and so will appear there instead. To answer your question, and as thanks for helping so much, I will reveal that Ellen's family has in fact have a dog; an excitable Scottish terrier called Hamish, whose bowel problem usually result in involuntary pooping whenever he sneezes. Add Ratchet and Ellen's Wrist Com translators into the mix, and… Well, I think you can guess where I'm going with this. Thank you once again, and hope you enjoy the new chapter. Take care!

Destiny W - Thanks again!

Razor of DOOM - I don't know if I'll be getting past Up Your Arsenal at this point considering how long it takes to write these stories, but as to your question… Well, let's just say Ellen won't be best pleased about Dreadzone even existing, let alone being forced to participate.

Plasmatik - I did consider dragging things out a bit with Ratchet's situation, but didn't want to end up back in the same rut I hit with the Maktar resort two-parter way back; getting bogged down on one particular fight. That of course and the fact I didn't want to completely overshadow the arena battle to come shortly thereafter. I'm sure Ellen would have loved to have had five minutes alone with the announcer considering how much he grates on her nerves, but luckily for him Ratchet and her have got a lot bigger fish to fry right now.

I'd have to agree with your thought on the reboot as they almost mirror my own. Initially I was blown away by the graphics and seeing such familiar environments being given a beautifully detailed re-imagining, with combat (on hard mode) feeling a lot more solid and challenging. Although I haven't actually finished it myself, I did find myself a little disappointed as I progressed however at how… disjointed things became; with the overarching story not really adding up and some levels feeling incomplete or unsatisfying compared to what it could have been.

I haven't seen the movie yet, so I can't be certain, but it feels like Insomniac tried to blend the original levels and newer, cinematic counterparts so as to try and please fans both old and new; with the end result feeling not quite right overall. On top of that, I wish there could have been more of the original game's weapons brought up to date plus new additions (like the Pixelizer) rather than simply recycling those from the Future saga such as the Groovitron and Predator.

In a way, I think being tied to a movie license has limited the game's potential since it has to conform to the expectations of its big screen counterpart; resulting in a more constricted narrative flow and often times flat dialogue during some in-game cut scenes. Overall I like the game for what it is and will continue to play, but honestly would have been just as happy if not more so with a true, full HD remake of the first game while incorporating the reboot's best features. That or an open world, online multiplayer Ratchet and Clank game. It'll probably never happen but hey, I can dream, right?

Dablackwyrm - Hey again, and glad you liked the Maktar Resort two-parter overall. It seemed like the best weapon choices for them really, with Ellen desperately needing something for close quarters and Ratchet wanting an alternative for ranged attacks. Yeah, I couldn't help but put that reference back in there somewhere, and it's a question that'll be bugging poor Ratchet until he finally finds the answer.

The arena battle took me a long time to finally get right, but I think the results speak for themselves, and if you like it too then I must be doing something right. Also, the Gemlik manoeuvre is now a thing and the bane of any arena-based enemies our heroes may encounter in the near future. Ellen really doesn't like the whole modern gladiatorial combat business whatsoever, and as for her uncharacteristic rescue attempt… well, let's just say a certain lombax may be rubbing off on her; one who may well be getting his hands on a Mini-Nuke sooner than you think. Take care for now, and hope you enjoy the rest of the story so far.

DarkEnigma95 - Thank you very much! The Joba arena was technically more difficult in game due to tougher enemies and challenges, but I wanted to convey the idea of Ratchet and Ellen being more experienced and better armed this time around; making it perhaps a little more straightforward for them both. I always found the Arachnoid far too easy by this stage in the game considering the amount of upgraded heavy weapons available to hand; unlike the Megapede, which was a pain in the ass even before challenge mode. They will definitely be needing most of those new gadgets in the coming chapters considering what lies ahead, and perhaps more than a little luck too. Thanks again, and hope you enjoy the new chapter.

The White Guardian - Hey again, and thank you; I didn't even realise until you mentioned just how far ahead this story is in terms of reviews compared to the rest of the Ratchet and Clank archive, so thanks for pointing that out. Carnage was my intention, and I'm glad to have delivered. I'd have to agree that the Impossible Challenge was just plain tedious and not really worth it in the long run, other than for the sake of completion, and probably could have been replaced with something more rewarding. Also, Ellen's opinion on gladiatorial death matches hasn't changed one bit, and she certainly won't be signing up to more anytime soon.

To be honest, by this stage of the game the Arachnoid was a pushover considering how much firepower the player had to hand; hence why I decided to enhance it and make a real challenge for Ratchet and Ellen to beat. I'm pretty sure they didn't appreciate it though. The Infiltrator might have been an essential gadget to progress through the game, but like Ratchet, I too really hoped for some kind of unique weapon on my first run through. The less said of the Megapede the better though; I hate the damn thing. Still, at least it was an optional boss and not compulsory in Going Commando; that would have been way too much, especially the challenge mode version.

You believe correctly; the disposal facility is located at Hrugis Cloud and promises to be an interesting furball for the reasons you mentioned, plus my own additions and the fact it is extremely cramped quarters relatively speaking for a space battle. There may be two Star Explorers this time rather than one, but that certainly doesn't mean things will get any easier; especially since they now have to worry about midair (space?) collisions with each other as well as the automated defences. Still, as you said, it'll take a lot more than that to stop our heroes considering what they've already dealt with previously, and the conclusion is almost foregone.

That sounds like a really comprehensive planet pack for Kerbal you've got going there, and it's clear you've put a lot of thought into it; especially the moons. Those are some pretty vivid descriptions and some widely varying environments; I can clearly picture each one in my mind, even without seeing them myself. Will you be uploading a video of the pack in action once it's done? Still images are one thing, but nothing quite beats seeing the whole thing in action; though I wouldn't object to some sneak peek images if you're willing to share. I suspect it'll take some time to iron out any lingering issues or glitches, but given what little of your prior work I've seen, I'm sure it will be more than worth the wait for Kerbal players once the pack is up and running.

Good luck with your planet pack, and thanks again for reviewing. Annoying though the level might have been at times, I hope you like my interpretation. Take care.

Rothiem - Hello new reviewer, and glad you're liking the series so far! You make a very valid point, but I'm afraid I've already done so for the proceeding chapters up to present and will likely continue to do so until this story's end. The reason I began posting review replies like this in the first place was because not every reviewer has an account or constant access, so it seemed like the fairest solution. As time's gone on however and the number of reviews per chapter increased, it has become cumbersome and, as you rightly pointed out, artificially increased the word count.

To this end and for future stories once this one is completed, I'm probably going to stick to individual PM replies, and having a Q & A section instead at the end of the chapter for any points that readers have collectively raised; thus making my life easier and the chapter neater to look at too. But until that time, and considering the fact this story is already well past the halfway mark, I will carry on posting replies until the end so as not to exclude any readers. Thank you once again, and I can only hope this doesn't put you off the rest of Whole Again.

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

Thanks for reading

- RevenantReaper337