Author's note:

Hey everyone, It's been a while, hasn't it?

To be honest, I had intended to get back into my regular writing schedule and start posting again last month, but… Well, things didn't quite go as planned. Personal issues, the Christmas rush, and a serious case of writer's block kind of put a damper on the whole thing for far too long; leaving me struggling to produce anything half decent or coherent.

But thankfully most of that's behind me now, and while I'm still nowhere near ready to resume a bi-monthly update schedule, I do at least have this concluding chapter to the Boldan arc. Hopefully it'll be enough to whet your appetites in the meantime; along with my first entry in the Time Heals All Anthology: Omake Collection, which will be posted shortly.

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 30:

Disavowed

Silver City, Boldan

Bogon Galaxy

G2.17.083 Galactic calendar

12:31pm local time

'Shit! Shit! Shit!'

Ellen's hands were juddering and her breathing short as she kept the stand off below in the crosshairs of her Vaporizer's scope; watching Logan's body language become increasingly threatening along with the demands she could hear over the still open radio link with a defiant Ratchet. The situation was rapidly going south and she had no idea what to do. It would be all too easy to drop the mercenary leader right here, right now; almost impossible to miss really given the relatively short distance and her excellent vantage point. But with Ratchet and Clank both in the line of fire, not to mention having no possible escape route with that many armed thugs staring them down, the redhead found herself completely torn. Damned if she did, damned if she didn't.

It was a decision taken out of her hands but a few moments later as the lombax was goaded into lunging at the merc leader, before being taken down in a brutal fashion that left no possible way of fighting back. Ellen froze in horror with her finger still poised over the trigger; heart lurching as Ratchet convulsed on the ground in agony and Clank shorted out before falling limp from the resulting stun gun's electrical current passing through them both. Even then she couldn't bring herself to move in such a shocked state, only able to watch as Ratchet's eyes somehow found her own through the rifle's scope with a look that imbued a maelstrom of emotion.

And then Logan's heavy combat boot smashed down upon his face, and the icy grip upon Ellen's body burned away under the smouldering anger now filling her veins. The Vaporizer's scope aligned directly upon the Thugs-4-Less leader's head with crosshairs neatly centred right between his eyes; tremors running through gloved hands gripping the weapon tight enough to dent metal as she gritted her teeth with barely suppressed fury.

It took every last ounce of willpower she had not to immediately pull the trigger and end that bastard's life for what he did to her fuzz ball, damned be the consequences. But Logan clearly wanted both Ratchet and Clank alive for some reason - though she was less sure about herself - and so long as she didn't interfere, things would hopefully remain that way for now. In the meantime however, if she wanted any chance of rescuing her boys, then she would first have to save herself; and the only way to do that was to make sure she was at least one step ahead.

Which is why Ellen remained still where she was and kept watch as a pair of thugs grabbed the now limp lombax by his arms and began to drag him away; hoping to glean any information she could on where they were being taken. Thankfully she didn't have to wait long as they passed by Logan's smugly grinning form, his loud, confident voice carrying easily in the largely deserted convention centre as he issued orders to his men. "Take 'em away, boys! As for the rest of youse, let's pack it up and head out. These two knuckleheads just earned themselves a one way trip to our new prison ship, and one heck of a payday for us!"

There was a brief, ragged cheer from the surrounding mercenaries before the individual squads began to move out towards their prearranged assignments, and Ellen had to strain to listen in further, but was glad she did when she caught wind of Buddy Boom leaning across to speak with his boss in that distinct rumbling tone of his. "But what about the other one? She'll probably be halfway across the city by now."

"No, she's around here somewhere. Probably lookin' to spring her boyfriend and the tin can," Logan replied with a vicious grin slowly spreading across his features. "And when she makes her move, we'll be ready and waiting."

"So what are we supposed to do till then, boss man?" Bling interrupted, throwing his hands up in annoyance. "I mean, first you want them dead, then we gotta take 'em alive. Hell, we've already got the furball and canner; why do we even need that bitch? She nearly dropped me and my bro; I figure we're owed a little payback."

"Because the contract's changed, you moron," the mercenary leader groused with a withering glare at his subordinate. "Our new employer want's 'em still breathing, so if we're gonna get paid, they gotta be alive. But..." he trailed off with a predatory look towards the two brothers; a clenched fist slammed into an empty palm punctuating his words. "That doesn't mean they gotta be in one piece, or that we can't have a little fun first."

Ellen... wasn't quite sure whether he was referring to roughing them up or something much more darker - particularly with concern towards what they would do if they caught her - but had quite frankly heard more than enough to warrant getting the hell out of there right now. Besides, it was only a matter of time until somebody thought to check the raised gantry ringing the convention centre above their heads, and the redhead had no intentions of making their lives any easier.

Packing away her sniper rifle and drawing a deep breath to calm her thundering heart, Ellen kept low and slowly edged back along the gantry towards the hatchway she had originally entered through; clambering out as quietly as she could before flattening herself against the rooftop outside as a Thugs-4-Less transport ship rose up barely forty feet away from below the building's edge. Thankfully the pilot didn't seem to spot her considering the craft lazily swung away and made for orbit at full burn, but that didn't stop Ellen's curiosity as she crawled forth and peeked over the convention centre's edge at what lay below.

Occupying the plaza out front were at least a half dozen more of the bulky vessels that were practically buzzing with activity. Everywhere she looked, Thugs-4-Less employees roamed back and forth like a frantic hive of worker bees. A fair number were kept busy loading munitions crates, vehicles, and salvage on to the resting transports, while others patrolled around the grounds in small, heavily armed groups with weapons raised and ready for trouble. As daunting as the prospect of slipping past them was however, Ellen's main concern lay with one particular group that had just exited the convention centre, or rather the unconscious lombax held between them while another carried Clank's inert, compacted form under one arm.

There was a fair amount of jeering as the group made their way past the numerous mercs who had stopped to watch their little procession, no doubt eager for revenge on those who had cut down so many of their comrades in arms. But thankfully mob rule didn't hold a candle to Logan's commanding presence as he trailed just behind with the Buddy brothers in tow; soaking up the praise of his subordinates as he promised untold pain for those who had humiliated their organisation, and reminding them of the hefty bounty due to be paid for their successful capture.

Even so, the going was still slow considering just how many thugs there were crowding around; provided an excellent distraction for Ellen as she descended to ground level via her Grapple Gun and ducked down behind a partially stripped down attack chopper that had seen better days. Stealth was the only advantage she held right now given the sheer number of foes before her, and since the chances of immediately grabbing her boys and racing back to their ships was practically nil, Ellen needed to find out just where exactly they were being taken in order to have a hope in hell of tracking them down.

To that end, she kept a low profile while steadily advancing from cover to cover; gradually working her way around the temporary staging post's perimeter while remaining out of sight. There was no room for error here and more than a few close calls along the way, her breath hitching as one patrol in particular passed by her latest, partially exposed hiding spot close enough to touch. But with a majority of the thugs' attention diverted elsewhere, Ellen was able to close in on the transport vessel Logan's little procession were approaching from the far side without being seen; reaching down to her utility belt and withdrawing a small metal disc no bigger than her palm before slapping it on to the hull just beneath a fin stabiliser.

The Megacorp issued commando tracking beacon gave an almost inaudible bleep upon activating, and after making sure it was secure and properly synched with her Wrist Com's tracker program, Ellen gave a brief nod before skulking back out of sight behind one of the plaza's raised flowerbeds. But she couldn't bear to leave, or at least not just yet. The redhead's heart lurched at the sight of her lombax and robot companions being so close, yet out of reach as the thugs dragged them aboard the parked vessel's lowered ramp, while Logan hesitated at the base to address the Buddy brothers who had continued to accompany him this far.

'Ratchet... Clank... I'm coming for you both, I promise. Just hold on a little longer...'

Ellen's wistful thoughts were interrupted however as the merc leader's growling tone brought her back to reality, picking up the tail end of his conversation and feeling a pit of dread building in her stomach at implication of his words. "Do whatever it takes, turn the city inside out if you gotta. Just make sure she's still breathing when you bring her in."

With that, he turned around and boarded the transport shortly before it steadily rose off the deck with the ramp still retracting and took off for orbit, leaving Bling and Boom behind while Ellen deigned to make herself scarce. Facing the mercenary brothers had been tough enough the first time around, but on her own with no back up, low ammo, and outgunned at least a hundred to one by who knows how many other thugs with a grudge to settle? Those were not betting odds - especially with those two leading the hunt - and now seemed as good a time as any to get a head start.

Even now, small teams were heading out from the perimeter in order to begin their sweep, with a couple of choppers acting as their eyes in the sky; the Buddy brothers seemingly occupied for the moment with directing their search patterns before no doubt heading out themselves. As such, nobody was really looking for a threat from within and subsequently missed the commando in their midst as she crawled beneath a parked hover truck that was currently being offloaded and out the other side; pressing up against a metal crate nearby until a two man patrol strolled by before crossing behind them in a low crouch and continuing across the plaza.

Boarding one of the ships with that many watching eyes was too risky, and there was no guarantee that it would even be heading to the same place as the thugs were taking Ratchet and Clank; meaning Ellen needed to get back to her ship and airborne fast in order to keep up. But without being able to accurately retrace their previous route, and the fact she was being actively hunted for, the redhead was forced to keep to ground level for the most part until she could leave the staging area behind, and even then at an infuriatingly slow pace lest she be spotted.

Once she had managed to gain sufficient distance and ducked into a nearby alleyway however, Ellen was able to at least partially make up for lost time; activating her Star Explorer's emergency transponder via Wrist Com and using the marker projected upon her HUD display to help navigate. Which was just as well really, since she had no idea where she going was or what lay ahead; flattening herself up against the back of an apartment block as another attack chopper cruised by overhead before crossing to the far side of the building's enclosed courtyard and attempting to shoulder open the oddly flimsy-looking door there.

The lock gave after her fourth attempt, and Ellen almost overbalanced as she crashed through the doorway before catching herself on the frame; taking a second to regain her bearings before pushing on through the interior. She knew there were search teams combing the nearby streets for her; what little garbled and heavily encrypted radio chatter the redhead's Wrist Com could pick up indicating at least a dozen or so individual units in contact, but no real indication that they had spotted her yet. Which was just how Ellen wanted to keep things for the foreseeable future; hunkering down behind the serving counter of the family run cafe she had found herself in and watching as an enforcer led patrol passed by out front through the wall length, glass-fronted windows

'Damn it, they're everywhere... and the ships are still a fair while off...'

Waiting until the thugs had passed by, Ellen cautiously rounded the counter and kept low as she made towards what looked like the employee restrooms, going by the familiar symbols on the door; hoping to find a window or similar she could fit through. Unfortunately it wasn't to be, seeing as the room inside was sealed and walls little more than polished steel, with not so much as a convenient ventilation duct to squeeze through. Which meant of course that she would either have to backtrack to the courtyard once more and find another way, or otherwise risk taking to the open street once more; hoping to gain some ground before the search net inevitably closed in on her.

Much as she didn't like the idea of being exposed to any potential watchers, there was only one real choice if the redhead wanted to make it back to her Star Explorer in time. So it was perhaps little surprise then that the cafe's front doors clicked open shortly thereafter as Ellen hacked its electronic lock and slipped outside; quietly closing them once more before darting behind a hover car parked nearby.

Thankfully there weren't any more mercs in immediate sight, and other than another attack chopper skimming low overhead once she was halfway down the street, Ellen had a relatively clear run once the pilot had finished his sweep and moved on. Or at least, that was the case, until she was another block away and almost ran head first into a heavily armed squad fanned out in front of a Megacorp supplied hover tank of all things; advancing down an open side street with weapons sighted and doubtlessly itchy trigger fingers.

To make matters worse, Buddy Boom himself was riding on top of the tank with his legs dangling inside the commanders hatch; his bazooka resting across one shoulder and unblinking eyes scanning for trouble. Which didn't help calm Ellen's sudden surge of panic as she skidded to a halt and almost tripped over herself in backing away from the street corner as rapidly as possible, accidentally kicking a discarded can of Nano Cola in the process, which echoed unnaturally loud in the otherwise relatively still air.

"Over there!"

A plasma bolt scorched the sidewalk where she had been standing but seconds before, and Ellen had to clamp down her jaw so as not to yelp out loud given it was close enough to feel the heat wash over her commando suit's padded legs. As it was, she barely had enough time to fall back towards the nearest parked air car and duck down behind its bulbous rear before a pair of thugs rounded the corner with weapons raised; an armoured trooper sheltering behind his enforcer companion's shield and advancing in tandem with all due caution.

"Hey, you guys see anything?" a voice called out from further back, Ellen chancing a peek at the approaching mercs from around her temporary cover with a hand planted firmly upon her Quick Select.

The enforcer meanwhile paused long enough to stoop down and prod at a few charred fragments of aluminium can amongst the scorched ashes that were now melted directly on to the sidewalk itself. "Well congrats, Lance," he deadpanned in a rough, gravelly voice that betrayed a hint of amusement. "You just killed a can."

"Screw you, Carl!" 'Lance' snarled while the enforcer and his trooper buddy snickered at their comrade's expense. "I know I saw something, and it sure as hell wasn't no can!"

"Cut the crap, all of you," Buddy Boom's rumbling tone cut in as he slid off the tank's turret and landed heavily on the road beneath, neatly squashing any further argument. "Something made that noise, and we're not leaving until we find out what. Just remember, we need that markazian girl alive."

'Not good. Really not good...'

With her heart pounding and mind frantically whirling in panic, Ellen ducked back out of sight and bit her lip as she frantically tried to come up with an escape plan. Other than Boom and his tank, she had counted at least four other thugs in addition to the enforcer and his friend, and they all had a very clear line of sight across virtually the entire intersection. Not to mention the distinct lack of abundant cover as well, and the redhead was looking at extremely bad odds if forced into a straight up fight. Meaning she had to find some way of distracting or at least delaying their attention for long enough to slip away, but how exactly?

It wasn't until she remembered one of her most recently acquired and as yet untested weapons however that an ad hoc plan began to form in Ellen's mind, and with a brief twitch of her fingers upon the hastily summoned, wrist-mounted control unit, the Spiderbot was unleashed upon its foes. With such a short battery life, and the chances of discovery ramping up by the second, Ellen quickly steered the quad-legged drone beneath the car she was hiding behind and out the other side; scuttling across the street in the blink of an eye and thankfully without being spotted too, given the lack of reactions thus far.

Keeping an eye on the unit's displayed timer as it rapidly counted down, she quickly reoriented the Spiderbot once it reached relative safety beneath another vehicle and sent it on its way once more; swerving around a phone booth and circling behind the mercs as they began to spread out. Unfortunately her luck could only hold for so long, and given the drone's fair size, it was almost inevitable when one of the thugs towards the rear raised the alarm just as Ellen sent the Spiderbot on towards its intended target; spraying it with his plasma rifle and immediately drawing his companions attention.

Of course by then she had already committed herself, and it was already too late to stop the scuttling Spiderbot from slipping beneath one of the hover tank's repulsor units before detonating its on considerable payload at the redhead's command. The tank jolted to one side from the sudden explosive force before drunkenly wavering back the other way and slewing into a fire hydrant, thick smoke belching from where shrapnel had penetrated one of its most vulnerable spots and shredded the repulsor unit entirely. The sudden, vertically gushing column of water now spraying down upon the intersection merely added to the chaos as shouts of confusion and uncertainty reigned, and Ellen wasn't going to get a better opportunity to make a break for it given the circumstances.

Rounding the far side of the air car she was hiding behind and hunkering down by the driver's door, Ellen quickly tossed out a trio of Megaturrets as a distraction before bolting across the open street. A cry of alarm followed by torrents of uncoordinated plasma were followed in her wake, most of which didn't even come close thanks to an unrelenting barrage of homing rockets screaming towards the mercs, unsurprisingly throwing off their aim.

Buddy Boom's bazooka on the other hand was unwaveringly accurate in spite of the way his partially patched up blast suit was tanking multiple hits; the shell flying directly along Ellen's predicted path and only missing through virtue of striking a random piece of falling debris kicked up by one of the automated turrets exploding. Even then, the sheer force of impact was enough to blow a chunk out of the building Ellen was passing by on the intersection's opposite side; sending her tumbling end over end until she slammed into yet another parked air car with the breath driven from her lungs.

Gasping for air as she forced her pain wracked body to stagger upright, Ellen managed to get her legs moving coherently enough to break into a loping run down the street; all too aware that the no doubt angry mercs would be on her tail any second now. Not to mention they would almost certainly be calling in virtually all the back up and air support the thugs could muster in order to cut off her escape, including Buddy Bling in all likelihood given the brothers penchant for fighting together. All the more reason to reach her ship and get off planet before they could effectively organise a pursuit, especially since attempting to take on Logan's lieutenants by herself was practically suicide given how tough they had proven to be the first time around.

"There she is! Don't let her get away!"

So it was with the faint sounds of whirling rotor blades on the horizon and massed pounding boots far too close behind that Ellen found herself slipping down an alleyway a few seconds later; guttural shouts and the occasional bolt of plasma following in her wake. From there it was a tense game of cat and mouse as she led her pursuers deeper into the urban maze of half forgotten passages and byways, jinking around a dumpster that had seen better days and concentrating upon putting some distance between her and the mercs.

A sharp left at the first available branch followed by a right shortly thereafter brought the redhead a little further from her intended destination than intended, but did at least succeed in throwing off the thugs of a little once they could no longer visually see her; forcing them to split up over the various branching routes in order to cover every possibility. But while the enclosed conditions would help to limit what airborne or armoured support the thugs could effectively rely upon to assist in their search, the fact that several of the alleyways intersected one another combined with multiple back up squads clogging every which way she turned only served to make Ellen's life that much harder in her effort to escape the tightening net closing in on her.

Time to get creative then.

{()}

Charging forth through the claustrophobic back alleys with the remnants of his assigned squad close behind, Buddy Boom growled lowly in his throat at the thought of that damn girl getting the drop on them yet again. Between the sudden ambush that had knocked out his tank and slashed their numbers in half, there were only three original members left, including himself. All of whom were much more wary now given the other search teams' frantic radio chatter and the sporadic crump of explosions coming from seemingly everywhere at once.

Even without his brother helping keep track from above, running the little redheaded bitch down should have been a cakewalk once she had revealed herself; her capture inevitable considering they had her outnumbered, outgunned, and soon to be completely out manoeuvred once the other units closed in. Hell, if it weren't for being ordered to bring her in alive, then Boom would have been sorely tempted to just blow her to pieces with his bazooka right there and then before she could duck into that random alleyway. Thinking about it now however, especially given how much grief the girl was collectively giving them all with each passing minute, a growing part of him really wished he had.

If nothing else, it certainly would have meant not having to track her down in this urban hellhole, or dealing with the ridiculous number of traps left behind at nigh every turn. Rigged dumpsters, rocket turrets deployed in chokepoints, and those damned remote Spiderbots lying in wait were but a few of the unpleasantly effective surprises reaping a bloody toll on the squads that happened to stumble across them. Worst of all, they were really starting to have an effect upon morale and making everybody over cautious. Just as their target no doubt planned; letting her gain ground and slip away while they fumbled in the dark.

Well, not any more if he had anything to say about it; especially since he had a damn good idea of where the girl was heading if she wanted off this planet. Add to that the fact Bling had finally finished patching up his jetpack and was currently en route with more back up, and the trappings of a plan began to form in Boom's mind; raising a pair of thick digits to his ear piece as he opened a private channel. "Hey brother, how far are you out?"

"'Bout a couple o' blocks south of you," Bling yelled out over the slightly muffled sound of his jetpack's engines. "Be there in a minute tops. Why, what's up? Did ya catch that bitch already?"

Boom paused briefly in his reply as an explosion rocked the alleyway somewhere up ahead; a squad likely having tripped yet another one of those damned booby traps. "Not yet, but I've got an idea. Here's what we're gonna do..."

{()}

Gasping for breath, Ellen's legs burned with fatigue as she sought to put some distance between her and the multitude of mercs closing in, tossing the last of her Megaturrets over her shoulder and continuing to push on. The last twenty odd minutes had been hell trying to stay one step ahead in this twisting maze of concrete and steel that seemed to press in on all sides. Every corner potentially concealing another foe, or a dead end that would see her trapped. It wasn't like she could just Grapple Gun her way up on to the rooftops and just avoid it altogether either, or at least not if she wanted to get away without incurring the wrath of those attack choppers that kept buzzing overhead at regular intervals.

As she rounded yet another corner however, the redhead finally caught a glimpse of an open street up ahead on the far side of the alley; tired limbs forced into motion and spirits lifting just a little at the prospect of finally getting out of there. The sense of impending freedom didn't make her any less cautious though, and Ellen took the opportunity to catch her breath while scoping out the area for any thugs lying in wait while remaining out of sight; a precaution well founded since a pair of helos hovered overhead mere seconds later before eventually moving on. Thankfully there didn't seem to be any other sign of the mercs in her the immediate area, and upon stepping out between a pair of store fronts on a surprisingly wide street, Ellen recognised just where exactly she had ended up.

To her right lay the Silver Bay hotel that Ratchet and herself had only recently shot their way through; its front facade pockmarked and scorched in places from the intense firefight, although the lack of bodies lying around suggested that Thugs-4-Less had had already passed by in order to reclaim their dead. Concerning though that might be, given they might still be in the area somewhere, Ellen was more focused upon the fact that she was back in familiar territory and, more importantly, less than half a mile away from her Star Explorer at most according to the navigation marker on her helmet's HUD display.

Throwing caution to the wind, Ellen quickly pounded her way back across the plaza where she and her companions had first fought the Buddy brothers. Taking the elevator on the far side and retracing their original route at a fast clip, the redhead quickly left the ruined shopping promenade up top behind and was back among the open air market stalls just beyond once again before encountering the first signs that Logan's mercs might have beaten her to the punch.

Heavies, enforcers, and regular troopers were patrolling the immediate area in force, while a solitary sniper was visible atop a building just across the way; looking bored as he slouched against the railings while blowing smoke from a lit cigarette. Others still were busy loading Megacorp branded ammo crates on to a nearby dropship with the aid of hover model forklift, but what got Ellen's attention was a pair of armoured thugs stood talking a dozen or so feet away while leaning against a miraculously intact market stall. Their words were a little muffled given the amount of noise their friends were making, but that just made things a little easier for the human as she snuck closer and hunkered down behind the central, multi-tiered fountain in order to better listen in.

Ellen only managed to catch the tail end of their conversation before the mercs went their separate ways, but it was enough to leave her cursing up a storm inside. Somebody had gotten smart and decided to impound both their Star Explorers, taking away her only real option to get off world and intercept the ship transporting her companions before it could reach its destination. To make matters worse, they already knew she was coming and were simply waiting for Ellen to show her face; confident that she would be caught between them and the pursuing forces led by Buddy Boom. Given the situation, Ellen knew the loose-lipped guards weren't far wrong, but that didn't mean she was out of options just yet.

The dropship still being loaded for example looked like it was designed more for short haul flights rather than deep space work, meaning it was likely going to meet up with a bigger vessel and dock before heading off to wherever. If she could get aboard and figure out where exactly it was going, then Ellen might just be able to hitch a ride out of the trap she had unwittingly been herded into and plan her next move; hopefully before the tracking beacon she had tagged the prisoner transport with got out of detectable range. If that were to happen...

Ellen shook her head, forcing herself to focus. With all those munitions crates being carried aboard, there had to be some kind of cargo manifest to help keep track, such as that tablet she could see one of the supervising mercs poring through near the dropship's lowered rear ramp. If she could get close enough to hack it and copy the data via Wrist Com, then it might be possible to find out the ship's intended destination. But there were a lot of mercs milling around the ruined market area and no clear path to sneak through without being spotted, meaning the redhead needed a distraction of some kind first. Preferably something subtle, given that she likely only had one shot at this and would likely need to get out fast if things went wrong.

Fortunately however, Ellen had just the thing in mind.

So it was that a Thugs-4-Less enforcer on patrol found himself suddenly and inexplicably tripping over as he passed by one of his colleagues, landing face first in an undignified heap and drawing more than a few sniggers from those that witnessed it. Growling in anger, the merc quickly hauled himself upright and turned his ire on the amused trooper stood a few feet away; lips curled back in a snarl. "Hey! What's the big idea?!"

"Whatcha talkin' about, Ray?" the trooper shot back with a raised brow and a mirthful look on his face. "Not my fault your clumsy ass can't stay upright for five minutes."

"Clumsy? Me?!" 'Ray' shot back in angry disbelief. "You tripped me on purpose, you asshole!"

"What? No I didn't! Hell, I wasn't even anywhere near you!" the other merc exclaimed, his temper starting to fray as well.

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

By now a small crowd had gathered around the pair, bored of their duties and eager for some free entertainment while they waited for something to happen; a ragged cheer going up as tensions finally boiled over and the two mercs came to blows with one another. Heavy punches, hollered encouragement, and more than a few bets were traded once the spectacle got underway; none seeming to notice as a remotely controlled Spiderbot drone scuttled underneath a stall nearby, its purpose fulfilled. Nor were they apparently aware of the solitary female figure darting from cover to cover while making a beeline for the parked dropship; the thugs loading it earlier having left in favour of getting a better view of the ongoing fight.

As it was, Ellen figured she had less than a minute tops before her surprisingly effective distraction ran its course, and so got to work on remotely hacking the presumed manifest datapad as soon as she was in range; the thug it belonged to having dropped it in his eagerness to get a good view of the ensuing brawl. Thankfully that proved unnecessary since, by some quirk of fate, it had been left unlocked and open on the exact document she needed; the redhead quickly skimming through its contents and copying them across to her Wrist Com while keeping an eye out for any stragglers bearing down on her precarious position.

From what she could tell, it looked like the bulk of the Thugs-4-Less forces on planet were due to meet up with a small fleet in orbit before heading off to another rendezvous point in deep space. Likely a staging point for heading elsewhere, perhaps even the secretive Protopet manufacturing and distribution centres given what Angela had mentioned previously with regards to their new contract. Definitely something to pass on for investigation once she got the chance. Of more immediate interest however was that the dropship here, plus two others, were carrying supplies that were intended for the newly opened Thugs-4-Less Maximum Security Penitentiary, along with a new guard rotation of some fifty odd mercs to help bolster their resident security force.

The three ships were due to dock with a light cruiser in orbit before making a direct jump there, along with Ratchet and hers impounded Star Explorers for some reason; the only clue for which was a side note on the manifest detailing it as 'compensation'. It almost seemed too good a prospect to be true, and left a niggling feeling in some hind part of her mind. But with circumstances as they were and damn few options in-between, Ellen saw little choice other than to board the dropship and hope for the best. Especially since the timer for her previously deployed Spiderbot was just about to run out in an explosive fashion, and there was no way in hell she would be able to avoid the soon to be alerted mercs and any back up they might call in.

As it was, she had barely gotten halfway up rear loading ramp when the Spiderbot went up on the opposite side of the market place, along with the cluster of various munitions crates she had parked it next to. The initial detonation was more than enough to rock the entire area, and the mercs stood around the nearby brawl were sent sprawling from the pressure wave alone. But with so many secondaries going off from nearby stockpiles that hadn't been loaded yet, it was a miracle anyone was able to stand up; Ellen included. Even then she only just made it inside the dropship before the surrounding thugs went on high alert, staggering forward as the ramp began to close and only just remaining upright thanks to instinctively grabbing on to the nearest wall for support.

The dropship's engines were audibly spooling up, doubtlessly in preparation for an emergency takeoff given how much flammable material was both nearby and onboard, and guttural shouts interspersed with barked orders from outside indicated that the thugs would be well and truly occupied for quite some time. But right now Ellen was more concerned with finding someplace to hide within the dropship's hold until it reached its intended destination; somewhere she could rest up and work out how the hell she was going to rescue her companions, while making sure the crew didn't find out about their 'extra cargo'.

Unfortunately, there wasn't exactly much to go on considering how utilitarian and bland the interior was; no hidey holes beneath loose floor panels or human-sized lockers to duck inside. What there were however was a quite frankly ridiculous number of sturdy crates, strong boxes, and weapon cases stacked along either side of a central aisle; one that was occupied by a tarpaulin covered hover tank secured to the deck via magnetic clamps. It was a tight, claustrophobic environment, and a major pain in the ass to negotiate. But that was an issue that worked both ways; for anybody attempting to search the cargo hold for a potential stowaway was liable to give up long before searching every nook and cranny.

With that in mind, Ellen managed to find a gap in the rows of containers just bordering the tank's left side and was just about to crawl through to an alcove formed on the far side when some instinctual sixth sense caused her to freeze at the faint, tingling sensation of being watched. Cautiously raising back up from her crouch, the redhead suddenly snapped her drawn hand cannon towards a blur of perceived movement out of the corner of her vision, only to find nothing but more crates and an eerie silence broken only by the dropship's rumbling engines. Heart pounding and palms sweaty, she slowly began to sweep the interior with carefully measured steps; breathing shallow and eyes constantly scanning for the slightest hint of trouble.

There, beneath the tank's tarpaulin. Something caused it to move, and it sure as hell wasn't her...

Keeping the Leviathan unwaveringly pointed towards the perceived source, Ellen slowly lifted the heavy covering with her free hand and instinctively pulled the trigger as a small, flying pink blur blew past her face with inches to spare. The shot echoed unnaturally loud inside the sealed interior, and would almost definitely rouse the crew's suspicions were it not masked by several loosely secured cargo crates grinding against one another, thanks to the turbulence associated with breaking through the atmosphere. Ellen however was more concerned with trying to get a bead on whatever the hell it was that startled her, instinctively whirling around with both hands bringing the hand cannon to bear once more. "Don't... move?"

To her surprise though, staring down the Leviathan's barrel with wide, almond-shaped blue optics and dainty, visibly shaking tri-digited servos held up in surrender was what looked like a heavily modified infobot. Although it maintained the familiar anti-gravity thruster unit in place of legs that were characteristic of those Ellen had seen before back in Solana, the infobot's light pink finish and much more slender frame gave it a distinctly feminine appearance. It was an image reinforced by the seemingly painted on, quasi bowl-cut black 'hair' atop its - her - oval-shaped head and accompanying upright, pigtail-like antennas that continued to quiver along with the rest of the adorable little robot's terrified visage.

"Um... Hi?" Ellen tried hesitantly while slowly lowering her hand cannon; the infobot's instinctive flinch at the movement making her stomach clench uneasily. Gently raising a free palm while stowing the weapon away, the redhead's tone was soft and reassuring as she continued. "Sorry about that, but I thought you were one of them, and... I just reacted."

Taking a hesitant step forward, Ellen paused as the little robot backed off a few feet; not looking quite as frightened given that she was no longer shivering, but still casting a wary optic her way. "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you."

An inquisitive tilt of the head was the redhead's only answer; perhaps not surprising given that the infobot lacked a visible mouth or vocaliser of any kind with which to communicate. Still, it was progress of sorts, and considering the fact they were pretty much stuck together in this relatively small cargo hold for at least the next several hours, then it just as well be on good terms. With that in mind and mounting curiosity of her own, Ellen took another step closer and extended her hand in greeting; offering the infobot a warm smile and a chance to start for them to start afresh. "My name's Ellen, Ellen Pierce. What's yours?"

Shining blue optics shuttered and the little robot's digits began to nervously tap against one another in the ensuing silence, looking flustered and worried in equal measure. Ellen couldn't help but want to groan aloud, because of course the little robot couldn't answer; how could she without a mouthpiece, speaker, or whatever? It's not like she had a pen and paper to- Wait, was that her Wrist Com?

Sure enough, a quick glance showed that she had a new message from an unknown sender. Giving the infobot a meaningful glance and receiving a timid nod in return, Ellen's brows rose sharply upon opening the text only message, before a subtle grin found its way on to her face. Clicking the provided link, a fresh private chat log popped up with but a single entry already sat at the top; the cursor continuing to blink on the projected screen as she read it once more.

I don't have one_

"Well, I can't just call you 'infobot'. Um, you are an infobot, right?" At the little pink machine's timid nod, Ellen continued. "Well, what do your friends call you?"

Well, um, I'm an S4 commercial chassis: model number MU5-415743. Does... Does that count?_

"I... guess," Ellen hesitantly replied with a slight frown.

It was kind of a mouthful, and didn't easily roll off the tongue; although the designation did bring back fond memories of just after she had first met Clank, and Ratchet's subsequent ad hoc moniker that had stuck ever since. Unfortunately though, trying to come up with something original on such short notice was a damn sight harder than the lombax made it look, and most of Ellen's initial ideas were either too obvious or just didn't seem to fit. It wasn't until she looked at the modified infobot's reply again however that something suddenly seemed to click into place; realisation dawning along with a widening grin as the initial digits and letters reformed into a name all too familiar from one of her favourite childhood videogames.

"Samus..."

The little infobot perked up at redhead's singular word, optics alight with interest. "How about I call you Samus, for short?"

She seemed to consider it for but a moment before darting forward to enthusiastically encompass the human's still outstretched limb with both of her own. Thankyouthankyouthankyou! I've always wanted a friend name - not that I didn't have a designation before - but now I have one like organics give one another! Yay!_

Ellen couldn't help but chuckle at the newly named robot's bubbly nature now that she had finally started to come out of her shell, and the way her tiny body vigorously bounced up and down with excitement in midair. "I'll take that as a 'yes' then?"

Optics shuttering, Samus paused long enough in her tirade to realise what she was doing and quickly snatched her slender servos back; helm tilted away bashfully and cooling fans kicking in to deal with the flush of heat threatening to overwhelm her frame. Oh. U-um. Sorry. Yes, thank you_

"You're welcome," Ellen returned warmly; taking a moment to sit down and make herself comfortable against a nearby crate with a relieved grunt. "If you don't mind though, I do have a few questions. Such as what you're doing here in the first place."

The diminutive robot looked more than a little awkward as she shifted in place, servos wringing nervously together while trying to form a coherent answer. It's... well, kind of a long story..._

"Kind of a long flight ahead of us too," Ellen replied with wry grin, before idly patting the smooth metal decking beside her. "You tell me yours, I'll tell you mine. What do you say? Might help pass the time a little faster."

Though still thoroughly embarrassed at her lack of control, Samus took up the invitation and floated down to hover beside the human with servos still clenched together in worry as she began to haltingly explain. Well, you see, I guess it all started about a galactic year ago..._

{()}

Watching from the safety of his vantage point several storeys up, Buddy Bling watched with narrowed eyes as the dropship took off and disappear into the clouds above; leaving a maelstrom of destruction in the desecrated market place below. Even now there were still secondary explosions from cheap ordinance cooking off and setting anything flammable nearby ablaze, with a scattering of Thugs-4-Less employees doing their damnedest to get the fires under control.

"So, did it work?" Boom asked over their private channel, the two brothers having kept it open ever since their improvised plan had begun.

"Yeah, that little bitch took the bait alright," Bling shot back with a scowl on his face. "Along with half the ammo and supplies our guys were loading. You know that's gonna piss off the boss even more, right?"

"We pull this off and it won't even matter," Boom reassured with an audible smirk. "Girl just bought herself a one way ticket to solitary and doesn't even know it."

"And Logan?".

"Doesn't need to know, or at least not yet. Just make sure to let Annie know about the package we're sending her way. Best she rolls out the red carpet too."

A faint twitch tugged at Bling's lips upon the mention of their cousin, especially given the fact she had a sadistic streak a mile long, and now ran the company's newly opened prison ship. He might not be able to get revenge on that little redheaded bitch directly, but she wasn't getting away this time. And by the time Warden Annabel Crudelis was done with her and that lombax, they'd wish they had never been born.

"You got it, bro. I'm sure she'll give 'em a warm welcome."

Remember when I mentioned way back that a certain adorable little infobot would pop up again? Well here she is, and without wanting to spoil anything, liable to play a much larger role than in canon with what I've got planned. Suffice to say though, the next few chapters are going to be very interesting; especially with another of the Buddy brother's relatives thrown into the mix…

Otherwise that's it for now I'm afraid, but with any luck I'll be more up together in the new year and able to start posting regularly again, once I've got a few more chapters drafted. Thank you one and all for your patience and support during this not quite hiatus period, without which this story would likely still be languishing, and I can only hope you'll continue to stick with it for the foreseeable future.

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas, and a happy new year. Take care!

Review replies:

Guest - I admit to being a little confused here, since I'm not sure whether I'm replying to one guest reviewer or three who happen to be using the default 'Guest' name, since there's no way to differentiate between them. But for the sake of ease I'll just assume it's the former and reply to all three in order. Let me know if I'm wrong.

I'm pretty sure the 'Ratchet trying to propose for the course of Up Your Arsenal' thing has been covered before, but to reiterate what I may have said previously, it's something I might consider. As for your second point… Other than the fact that I'm sure it would fall short of the site rules, I'm not sure I see the point when there are alternate methods such as the PM system and E-mail for those who want a more immediate answer. Signing up is free after all, and contact details can be found on my Author's page, though I'm thinking of changing the E-mail address soon.

I'm glad to hear you like the story, and as for helping, reviews do tend to spur me and keep the metaphorical ball rolling. When you ask how I 'came up' with Ellen, did you mean her character or her physical appearance? Aesthetically speaking, Ellen was based off the combination of an old friend from secondary school mixed in with features from my primary Mass Effect trilogy run's Fem-Shep, and kind of evolved from there. I also tried to bear in mind the level of fitness she'd realistically need in order to keep up with Ratchet and tailored her physique and more physical traits accordingly.

Personality wise, that's… mainly me projecting to a degree, plus some quirks and flaws, such as her fear of heights, thrown into the mix for good measure. It just sort of took off from there really, and ended up making what has turned out to be probably my most popular OC. Hope that all helps

Firestar5277 - Evil you say? Perhaps so, but if it gets you itching to find out what happens next then, then that particular cliffhanger has certainly served its purpose and hopefully made you want to come back for more. The boss battle kind of dragged out longer than I had intended, but I'm happy to hear you liked the way it played out. I wanted to make it a more epic set piece and really give our heroes a run for their money, and things just kind of snowballed from there.

As you've no doubt seen from this chapter and in future chapters to come, Ellen has a bit of a vicious streak when it comes to dealing with those who mess with her loved ones, and Thugs-4-Less just made things personal. Add a worried and generally pissed off Ratchet back into the mix once he regains consciousness and the mercs can kiss their collective backsides goodbye in an undoubtedly explosive manner.

There are certainly some interesting suggestions as to what fate shall befall the Qwark action figure, and I do have a few more ideas as to a use for the Sheepinator; just not decided on what to use yet. Poor Stuart too; losing all that memorabilia. How… tragic (Grins). Thanks again for the encouragement and review, and hope you liked the new chapter.

Destiny W - Hope you enjoyed this one too; thanks again!

Light Seeker 001 - Isolated, alone, but as you can see from this chapter, not out of the fight just yet. I suspect she'll have more than just an inkling as to who's behind this whole mess perhaps a little sooner than that however, given her naturally suspicious nature, but that last Behind the Hero segment would definitely be the final nail in the coffin, so to speak.

DarkEnigma95 - Glad to hear you liked this chapter, and that I'm not the only one who thinks the same with regards to the kind of disappointing Meteor Gun. It's just so… redundant by the time you get hold of it and takes away the original's best feature; the ability to literally hose down crowds of enemies and clear out swarmers from all sides in seconds.

Aranos is indeed next after this extra, concluding part of Boldan, and the recently converted Thugs-4-Less flying prison ship. Somehow, I don't think Ellen's parents would be particularly pleased to find out just what she's been up to and the danger she's put herself through up to this point, let alone adding a prison visit on top. One thing I can say for certain however is that mayhem will definitely ensue; and should Ellen eventually divulge to her parents what she's been up to during her 'disappearances' from Earth, their reactions should be… rather interesting, to the least…

starrat - Thanks!

Razor of DOOM - You'll just have to wait and see, I'm afraid. Although I will say things will definitely go differently than canon…

Tempest Fugit - You're not wrong. The gloves are now officially off, and Logan is about to have a very, very bad day all too soon; along with anybody else dumb enough to get in Ellen's way. Ride of the Valkyries is an interesting choice, though perhaps more suited to an Apocalypse Now style epic airborne assault, rather than the low key stealth tactics Ellen is using right now. Now you mention it though, that gives me an idea for the sequel… In any case, I was thinking more along the lines of 'Oh No You Didn't' by the Wojahn Brothers (the main theme to Mercenaries 2: World In Flames) given some of it's more appropriate lyrics with regards to vengeance and all.

Buddy Bling's personal weapon was actually just something I made up on the fly, with both brothers being based on reviewer suggestions that I then fleshed out. I didn't even think about any similarities really, although rest assured that the STIKY still has a place for near the end game, where it will see some heavy use. That's some good advice there, and an… interesting song to end on. Thanks again!

Lavakey - Woo! Another new reviewer! Don't worry, I haven't given up on this story and will definitely finish it one way or the other. Not sure if I should have the heroes get a RYNO II to be honest, especially since Tempest has some rather interesting stand ins that intend to use to their fullest extent, but I'm leaning more towards 'not' at this point.

Though I have a fairly busy writing schedule right now between here and FiMfiction, I'm always open to reviewer suggestions. Not sure if you've read some of the replies and such on older chapters, but I have previously mentioned my intention to eventually write a side story set between the second and third games called 'Earthside' that details our heroes' first visit to Ellen's home world. It's intended to be more of a light hearted, slice of life style story, and since they haven't even heard of Nefarious as yet, he has no reason to target them. Altough that's not to say that it'll all be plain sailing, or who might intervene…

In any case though, thanks for reviewing, and hope you enjoyed the new chapter.

Sonachugirl - No such thing as late to this party, and everyone's welcome! (Grins). And yeah, I honestly did need a break and feel a whole damn sight better for it. Not back up to speed yet I'll admit, but getting there eventually. Feel free to haunt away. I have a suspicion that Logan might soon be having some very strange dreams involving fire for some reason…Glad to hear you enjoyed the chapter overall, and hope you liked this one just as much. Take care.

Plasmatik - Welcome back to the party! Glad to be hear you're liking it still, and that somebody finally gets the none too subtle reference in the brother's names. I tried to make the boss fight interesting, and might have gone a tinsy bit overboard, but I think it would have made for an epic battle in game if sufficiently toned down to fit in. Then again, having the RYNO II to hand would more than level the playing field in our heroes favour, but not necessarily be overkill given how tricky the Buddy bros can be.

Xcantax - Why, thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story thus far, and hopefully the tweaks I've made to canon to better accommodate it. Hope you like the new chapter too.

Guestimus Prime - Wholeheartedly agree with you there. While useful to a degree, the Meteor Gun is largely redundant by the time you upgrade to it in Going Commando; especially when there aren't enough proper crowd control weapons in the game. Can't say I've ever seen it as a boss killer, but then again I tend to ditch it once upgraded in favour of more explosive options. Might have to give that a go at some point…

kirstyhough - Actually, she did. To quote: "Hold your horses, fuzz ball. Much as I'd love to, the thief might still be here, and we've got the rest of the resort to cover."

It's part of a running joke throughout the series so far, and liable to be played for all it's worth. Hope that helps!.

Lightsaviour2759 - Huh, I was wondering why I hadn't heard from you in a while… and why my review count just suddenly rocketed up. Still, at least you get to enjoy the story all over again, and who knows? Maybe I'll end up with the most reviewed Ratchet and Clank story on Fanfiction at this rate.

The somewhat literal catfight in chapter 18 does seem to be rather popular for some reason (smirks) and so does Cash for that matter; adding an extra whose personality bounces off Angela's, and who might be able to keep her out of trouble. Tambora also seemed like a good place to slow things down for a bit and let Ratchet and Ellen express their affections more physically, but in a tasteful fashion. I tend to find that unless the detail in such scenes are crucial to the plot, it's better to leave it off screen and to the reader's imagination, so to speak.

It's never really explained in game why Megacorp robots would be shooting at one of their own commandos in the levels following Angela's big reveal, so I simply went for the most obvious reason; basically declaring them rogue agents. Hope you liked Ellen's Metal Gear antics as much as the arena combat and of course the Arachnoid cage match. Not sure why, but they seem to come naturally to me for some reason…

Given the confined environment and limited options, I'm actually surprised the Disposal Facility dogfight came out as well as it did, to be honest. Especially since it's such a short level and barely a challenge at all. Ace does tend to be a bit of a kill stealing douche at the best of times, and our heroes really needed a chance to show how good they are without his assistance. I can neither confirm nor deny whether Cash and Angela will end up together, but who knows what the future holds. Hope you liked the interlude anyway, and my attempt to show she can hold her own when the bullets start to fly.

Believe me, much as I love this story, I feel a damn sight better for having some time away from such a gruelling update schedule. I may have to take things slower for future updates, but one way or the other, I'll definitely be finishing this story. Thanks again, for the complements and for sticking with this story. Hopefully you'll find this chapter to your liking as well.

Omega97 - Just did. (Grins). How's that for timing?

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

Thanks for reading

- RevenantReaper337