Author's note:

Phew… I made it… if only just.

It's been a mad scramble for the best part of the day to get things done, rewrites not withstanding, but I think I've got an adequate enough chapter ready to go (kind of) on time. Thank you all once again for your words of support, and for sticking with me in these trying times while I try and get my life back into order. With any luck, things will get a little easier from here out, even if my output speed isn't likely to be up to bi-weekly posting for quite some time. But in the meantime, and without further ado, let's get on with the chapter.

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 49:

Winter Retreat

Tundor Wastes, Grelbin

Bogon Galaxy

G2.17.100 Galactic calendar

12:33pm local time

"What's taking you so long?!" Ellen shouted over the roar of gunfire, her Reaver Carbine spraying on full auto and on the verge of overheating as she desperately tried to keep the small horde of snapping Protopets at bay. "Hurry up and shut that bloody door!"

"What the hell do you think we're doing?" Angela yelled back, her cold numbed fingers scrambling to reverse the damage done in her frantic attempts to hotwire the security door's control panel. Leaving Samus to provide enough light for the lombax to see what she was doing, and helping to hold a few stray wires in place until they could be properly spliced. "This isn't exactly easy, you know!"

"Well, work a little faster!" the redhead returned, along with a fresh burst of gunfire and her carbine's butt stock cracking down on one of the fuzzy little horrors as it tried to flank her. "They've got more bodies than I've got bullets, and I can't hold them off for much longer!"

The unappreciated irony was that this stand off represented the first opportunity their little group had gotten to actually stop running for what felt like an age, but probably couldn't have been more than ten minutes or so at most. Protopets of both kinds, not to mention hostile security robots, and even some of those damned YETIs assaulting them at every turn in this twisting maze of a complex. The latter of which had somehow broken into one of the processing plants down below from the outside, and ended up in a three way brawl between their group and a detachment of security robots that almost literally brought the house down upon them all. The trio barely managing to escape by the skin of their teeth, and not without burning a significant amount of ammo in the process. Which was when they discovered that the grossly enlarged Protopets had a new trick up their sleeves; one that even Angela hadn't seen coming.

The ability to reproduce asexually... via regurgitation. Literally hawking up the next generation in batches of three or more, and quickly overrunning the entire facility through sheer weight of numbers alone.

According to her, the Protopet was specifically bio-engineered to be sterile, with any associated anatomy and drive to reproduce conveniently removed from the equation. Mostly to ensure that parents would continue to buy more from Megacorp when their fluffy companion inevitably died, but also to prevent exactly this kind of scenario from happening in the first place. But whether due to some fluke in the original DNA make up or a mistake on her own part during her tenure on the project, Angela couldn't deny the overwhelming evidence before her own eyes, in spite of the impossibility. Of the sheer waves of fluffy blue horrors that threatened to overwhelm her team's very exposed position any moment, and the much larger creatures in their midst that even now were quite literally spewing out more of their brethren at an insanely accelerated rate. Lending further credence to Ellen's bitterly off hand comment, even if she didn't get the reference or who exactly the girl was talking about at the time.

"I guess Jeff Goldblum was right after all. Life really does find a way."

But that was neither here nor now, and with one last twist of a wire, redirecting the power flow and inadvertently shocking herself in the process, Angela finally managed to get the security door to start closing. Though not before Ellen's carbine ran dry with an ominous click, and a half dozen newly born Protopets came surging through the rapidly closing gap, nearly dogpiling her had she not instinctively dove to one side. Leaving the lombax with a relatively clear line of sight as she punched her pistol towards the snarling mass of bodies; all sense of accuracy lost as she desperately fanned the trigger in an effort to keep them from overwhelming the downed girl. Two of their number swiftly falling with multiple exit wounds riddling their bodies, while the rest were far too close to risk hitting Ellen with the way she was thrashing around.

"Pearce, I can't get a bead! Hold still!"

But in spite of being pinned down with a Protopet on her chest, its teeth gnashing at her helmet, and another attempting to bite her arm off through the armour, Ellen was still far from helpless and had no qualms about fighting dirty. Using her free arm to grab the Protopet trying to maul her face and giving it a traditional Glasgow kiss, before tossing the stunned creature aside and drawing her Versa Blade. The resulting headache tempered by blind panic and furious anger as she lashed out at the one with its jaw locked around her other arm like an angry Pit Bull; activating the high frequency function with a flick of her thumb and driving the blade directly through its skull.

By that point, Samus had already darted into the fray in spite of her obvious fear, while Angela picked off another from afar. The little robot squeaking in fright as the last Protopet lunged straight at her, only to miss entirely as she swiftly boosted over its head, before subsequently coming into contact with Ellen's armoured boot. The newborn smashing it into the closest wall with enough force to leave a dent and knock it senseless, only to be finished off by a single round from the human's hand cannon that echoed unnaturally loud in the otherwise silent aftermath.

"Well... That was fun," Ellen managed between breaths. Fatigue clearly setting in as she sluggishly dragged herself upright and slumped against the nearest wall, before popping the seals on her helmet and setting it down in her lap. "How long do you reckon that door'll hold them?"

"Probably nowhere near long enough for my liking," Angela replied wearily, shoulders slumping and a relieved sigh escaping her lips. Only to whistle lowly upon taking in the state of Ellen's armour, and the obviously bitten off chunks of plating. "Damn, Pearce... You look like you just went six rounds with an elder Sarsaurex and lost."

Ellen!_ Samus trilled with relief, zipping down to her Ellen's level and practically glomping her arm. Oh my gosh, I was so worried! Are you okay? Are you injured anywhere? I think I have some Nanotech in-_

"Whoa, whoa, easy there Samus," Ellen interrupted before the little robot could really get worked up, giving her a reassuring smile and gentle pat on the back. "Trust me, I'm fine. Or at least I will be, once we finally get out of this frigging death trap of a place and pay the asshole responsible a visit."

Venting a weary sigh and fully conscious of the constant, muffled thumping sounds coming from the other side of the security door, the redhead gave her other companion a pointed look as Samus continued to fuss over her. "Any idea where we ended up this time?"

Feeling the onset of exhaustion herself, Angela wordlessly brought up the Automapper function on her Wrist Com for what felt like the umpteenth time in the past hour. A frustrated, feline growl escaping between clenched teeth and fingers stabbing at the projected, holographic keys with excessive force being more than answer enough, even before the lombax finally spoke up a few frustrated minutes later. "Somewhere near the upper middle half of the facility, best I can tell. There's just too much interference from the raw mineral deposits to get a clearer picture. But we're already three floors up from the service tunnels, so we must be pretty close to the surface by now."

"I really hope so," Ellen sighed, slipping her helmet back on and gratefully accepting Samus' help in hauling her tired frame back to its feet. Her hands automatically going through the motions of reloading her 'go to' weapons, before prioritising the rest. "I've had just about enough of this place to last me a lifetime."

"You and me both," Angela agreed with a humourless snort, before taking an unconscious step back as something heavy put a massive dent in the thickly armoured security door. The very floor and walls shaking from the force of impact, quickly followed by more in rapid succession. "...We should probably start running. Like now."

On that point they could definitely all agree, and it didn't take long for the trio to beat a hasty retreat around the corner and deeper into the darkened corridor they had found themselves in. A small number of electronically locked doors leading off to either side along its length, while a twisted shriek of rent metal upon metal echoing from nowhere near far enough behind only served to spur them on faster. Swiftly followed as it was by a renewed chorus of surging, chittering death that seemed to grow in volume and draw closer with every passing breath. Hearts pounding in time with the rapid staccato of their echoing footsteps across the metallic floor, with a few haphazardly tossed Megaturrets buying them scant seconds at most from the encroaching horde.

Thankfully, however, salvation swiftly came two more turns later, as the open doors of a small, vacant elevator car beckoned forth from the corridor's far end. The guard robot that had just stepped off quickly collapsing under a hail of gunfire and launched plasma grenade to the chest, its shattered remains promptly hurdled over without breaking stride and left for the Protopets to swarm over as they booked it for the elevator at full tilt. Angela slamming the topmost button the second everyone piled inside, and repeatedly hammering it in an attempt to make the doors close faster, while Ellen emptied her remaining magazine through the all too slowly closing gap in a desperate bid to keep the Protopets at bay.

Those last few seconds felt like an eternity, with the frontrunners almost close enough to touch and in danger of swamping the exposed lift with sheer weight of numbers. But finally the doors closed with a pneumatic hiss and the elevator began to steadily rise, leaving the murderous creatures behind and hopefully giving them some actual breathing space this time before the little bastards inevitably caught up. Especially given just how tenacious the Protopets had been in relentlessly hunting them down throughout the facility with single-minded determination, and without so much as a hint of respite. A marked difference from the original's otherwise largely passive behaviour, until sufficiently provoked at least. Which, when compared to the hyper-aggressive and combative nature of these... production models, for want of a better term, along with their ability to rapidly multiply in a frighteningly short span of time, only served to further validate Angela's worst fears.

"Bioweapons?" Ellen questioned aloud as the lombax finished her explanation, unconsciously gripping her weapon tighter still. "You really think that's what this whole thing is all about?"

"You've seen it for yourself, Pearce," Angela sighed wearily, letting her head rest back against the closest wall. "Think about it. You've seen what those things can do; how easily they overran this place. It's obvious that these... 'copies' have been purposely engineered for combat, even if they're a little rough around the edges. But the real question is why, and who stands to gain the most from unleashing those things upon the galaxy."

Not Megacorp, that's for certain_ Samus mused, head tilted to one side and optics narrowed in thought. Something this big could ruin them financially, or even put them out of business for good. Mr Fizzwidget might be a little... odd, but surely Megacorp's investors and board of directors must have some idea as to what's going on, let alone the consequences_

"Unless it's happening off the books, or under the radar at least," Ellen added, eyes briefly flicking to the constantly changing floor number displayed above the elevator doors as their ascent continued. "Somebody who wants to hurt Megacorp, maybe, and doesn't care how many innocent people get in their way. It might explain why they unleashed those things on one of the company's own mining facilities instead of some remote testing ground."

"Or they could just want us really, really dead," Angela shot back dryly, straightening up as the elevator car finally slowed to a halt upon reaching their intended destination. "We're here. Everybody ready?"

Getting two silent nods in reply, Angela sighted her pistol on the doors as they slowly parted with a cheery 'ding'. Letting the other two take point, with Ellen cautiously sweeping the immediate area with her carbine and Samus watching from overhead, before stepping out herself a few seconds later. Only to blink in surprise upon realising just where exactly they had ended up, a small chuckle escaping her lips. "Heh... now we're finally getting somewhere."

"You know where we are?" Ellen asked, her posture still alert but tone one of rising hope.

"I do now," Angela grinned, taking in the familiar sight of haphazardly stacked crates occupying all corners of the comparatively small room and loose parts strewn across the well weathered floor. "This is the place where I used to hide supplies for the safe house, back when I was first setting up. And if I remember right, there should be a service door just around the corner..."

Trailing off as she strode past with eyes glued to her Automapper, the lombax swiftly disappeared through a nearby open doorway and out of sight. Leaving the other two to share a confused look and synchronised shrug, before scrambling to catch up with all due haste. The narrow corridor beyond taking a few sharp turns in quick succession, only to terminate at a thick shutter door that Angela was already opening with a flurry of keystrokes across her Wrist Com's holographic keyboard. The armoured panels groaning in protest against months of corrosion and acuminated ice as it rose at a glacial pace, while a sudden rising tide of snow flurries and driving hail soon rushed to fill the ever increasing gap from outside. Ellen instinctively shielding her face against the unexpected onslaught, only to slowly lower it again once she took in what lay beyond.

Unassuming and penned in on three sides by towering cliffs of sheer, Angela's safe house wasn't all that much to look at upon first glance. Little more than an outbuilding surrounded by thick drifts of snow, really; probably only used to store materials for the main facility when it was still under construction, and subsequently abandoned thereafter. But as they left the dubious safety of the mining station behind and braved the elements once more, fresh snow crunching underfoot with every step across the exposed field between structures, Ellen couldn't help but notice the little details that clearly said otherwise. The antennae, and what looked like some form of communications array protruding from the dome-like building's otherwise smooth and sloping roof being one, not to mention the bulky external power generator nestled between the far right side and one of the cliffs.

But it was the reinforced, armoured double doors and the attached biometric scanner Ellen spied upon their approach that was the real clincher; clearly not belonging on an old utility building such as this, and easily leagues ahead of what passed for the security measures in the main facility. The fact that nothing appeared to have been tampered with or otherwise disturbed upon closer inspection was a good sign, and the redhead was just starting to relax a little as Angela went through whatever arcane routine was needed to bypass the various locks. Or at least until Samus suddenly stiffened and froze in midair, anyway. Her optics wide and staring unerringly at a seemingly ordinary patch of the snowfield some thirty or so yards away, instantly setting Ellen on edge and sending an errant hand snaking down towards her Quick Select while whispering over the radio. "What's wrong? Trouble?"

I... don't know_ Samus admitted after a moment's hesitation, still twitchy and intently gazing across the white blanket they had sullied with boot-prints mere moments before. I could have sworn there was something moving out there, but..._

"Whereabouts, exactly?" Ellen asked carefully, long ingrained instincts flaring and not daring to take her eyes away from whatever potential threat lay out there. The YETIs and their penchant for ambushes almost instantly springing to mind, along with Angela's original brief on what else called this ice ball of a planet home.

Over there, I think_ the little robot finally replied after a pregnant pause, hesitantly pointing just off from the snowfield's centre. But there's nothing there now. It's probably just the weather playing tricks on my-_

The very ground quaked; loose icicles snapping loose from where they hung and Samus abruptly clammed up with a frightened squeak before darting behind Ellen as a sinkhole suddenly grew from the snowfield's epicentre at a rapid pace. A cascade of compacted snow soon tumbling into the ever expanding crater at a continuous rate, along with some long buried shipping crates and random detritus, only to be ejected with explosive force mere moments later as something big tore through the revealed mantle of cracked ice within. The trio promptly hitting the deck, with Samus ducking beneath Ellen's hunched form and clinging on as she shielded them both from the larger chunks of debris raining down from above; swiftly followed by a blinding mist of finely powdered snow that scoured the redhead's armour like sandpaper.

It lasted only a few moments, but by the time it had rolled over their position and Ellen managed to scramble back to her feet, Angela had somehow disappeared from view. An errant, twitching boot protruding from a nearby snow drift providing some small sense of relief that quickly turned to horror once she got a good look at just what exactly had split the earth so dramatically. Her heart pounding and gaze slowly rising towards the sky with creeping dread as the redhead took in the utterly gargantuan, wyrm-like creature towering over them with blood red eyes and an equally huge, fang-laden maw that looked like it could devour an air-car whole. The bat wing-like appendages protruding from its predatory, saurian skull, along with the spiked appendages jutting from its lower jaw and short, stubby nose horn only added to the overall draconic image. Even without the obviously long and serpentine neck, covered in grey scales and thick, bony plates that only grew thicker in girth as it disappeared back into the crater from which it had burst with shocking speed for something so large.

"Oh fudge me sideways..." she whispered faintly, eyes wide and suddenly feeling more than a little under armed as the titanic creature loomed over its soon-to-be prey with its jaw split into a screeching, triumphant roar. "It's a frigging leviathan..."

Because of course it had to be the single, most terrifying apex predator on the planet coming to ruin their day. The very same creature that YETIs were supposedly designed to counter... and utterly failed, save for providing the leviathans with another source of food, and apparently able to tank an obscene amount of directed firepower if Angela's quick briefing on the local wildlife while en route to Grelbin was anything to go by. With the only effective counter being to date best summed up as 'run like hell', and praying that you could escape the towering behemoth's exceptional reach long enough for it to lose interest in favour of easier prey. Neither option of which was exactly available right now, considering the surrounding icy cliffs fencing them in and acting as an impromptu arena, and the fact that Angela wasn't exactly in a position to go anywhere right now. Even with a clearly terrified Samus frantically trying to dig the groaning and otherwise incoherent lombax out of her own personal snow bank to little effect.

All of which left Ellen with no immediate backup and precious few options, which swiftly went out the window as the leviathan suddenly reared back and lunged towards her with a spittle-laced roar. Its gaping maw snapping shut on thin air by the barest of margins as she instinctively jinked to one side with a quick burst from her Jump Pack. The unexpected momentum briefly causing her to stumble and roll across the uneven terrain, before just as quickly scrambling back to her feet and whirling around in time to face the leviathan's lightning fast, follow up strike. The serpentine neck curving back on itself with contemptuous ease, and moving with astonishing speed for something so large as it descended from above like a cobra upon a trapped mouse.

It was an analogy Ellen didn't like one bit; her finger jamming down the trigger and already pounding heart leaping into her throat at the very sight of those rapidly approaching, cavernous jaws that threatened to swallow her whole. A spray of full auto fire stitching a line across the front of its bony skull and protruding nose in particular; mercifully hitting at least something of importance, given the way its head suddenly jolted off course at the last second and accompanying roar of pain. With Ellen wasting no time in sprinting away to gain some much needed distance and switch her weapon out for something bigger, only to openly gape in disbelief upon seeing that her Reaver had barely even dented the massive creatures scales, let alone caused any kind of lasting damage. Save for pissing it off even further that is, and dragging a furrow in the snow as its head whipped around for a third attempt.

Or at least until Ellen pumped a trio of independently targeting missiles into its face at any rate. A ripple of explosions briefly engulfing the leviathan's exposed skull, screeching in agony as high velocity shrapnel tore into the softer tissue surrounding its right eye, and leaving behind little more than a congealing trail of purple ichor. The sheer, baleful look of pure murder in the creature's remaining blood red orb being more than enough for Ellen to break into a run once more. Her own fearful shriek drowned out entirely by the much deeper, bellowing roar threatening to engulf her from behind, and only tempered by the fact it didn't seem to be getting any closer for reasons unknown. Only for a stolen glance over her shoulder to soon reveal why, and subsequently lament not asking Angela for further details on the massive creatures while she still had the chance.

Because, while not really up there on the list of weird shit she had been exposed to in this particular galaxy thus far, Ellen was still pretty sure that the massive ball of crackling blue energy gathering in the leviathan's already gaping maw couldn't be natural or conducive to her ongoing health. The sheer heat build up prickling her skin, even through the layers of armour and undersuit, and sending a feeling of imminent dread directly down her spine. A Jump Pack assisted boost setting her down at a respectable distance, having circled around almost all the way back to the main facility, and giving the redhead a chance to put her Visibomb Gun to use while there was still time. The leviathan having ceased its chase in order to focus on building up what she could only assume to be some kind of energy based attack, and more importantly, staying still long enough to steer a TV guided missile straight down the monster's gullet before it had a chance to attack.

Or at least that's what she hoped, but unfortunately for her, the draconic creature was far from stupid and just that bit quicker on the draw. The missile barely having escaped its launch tube and rapidly gaining height, only to be vaporised in midair along with a good chunk of the main facility's upper levels as a veritable tidal wave of energy split the air like a clap of thunder. The launcher tumbling from her grasp as Ellen instinctively threw herself forward and hugged the ground, ears ringing and blinking spots from her eyes in spite of her sealed helmet dampening out the worst effects. Though that didn't stop her from scrambling on all fours in an effort to retrieve her weapon the second it had passed overhead, or the sneaking suspicion rising in her gut as the earth trembled once more and seemingly took the leviathan's serpentine form with it. Memories of the tentacled swamp beast on oozla uncomfortably springing to mind, along with the late night Tremors movie marathon that had terrified her nine year old self to the point that she refused to step on open ground for almost a year.

More relevant, however, was the vague similarity in both behaviour patterns and physical form to the dreaded 'thresher maws' from Mass Effect. A game series she had played religiously since release, and long held source of frustration when facing the massive, acid-spitting death worms, even with a jump jet capable armoured vehicle for support. Their penchant for burrowing beneath the surface out of harm's way, striking from below in an effort to swallow her character whole, bearing more than a passing resemblance to her current situation; right down to the disturbed trail of snow snaking its way across the still rumbling surface in a seemingly random pattern. Leaving Ellen tensed and ready to spring at a moment's notice; her head on a constant swivel and the remainder of her Megaturrets deployed in a rough semi-circle at the arena's edge as she waited for the inevitable with bated breath.

'There!'

Even with forewarning and her own expectations, Ellen still just barely managed to escape the sudden explosion of ice, snow and debris fountaining up from underneath her by a hair's breadth. A combination of Charge Boots and Jump Pack carrying the human up and away from the blisteringly fast, gaping maw lunging forth from the newly opened hole. Close enough for her boots to scrape off its teeth in the split second before they snapped shut with bone shattering force, and certainly close enough for her Bouncer's hastily launched cluster bomb to tag the leviathan around half way down its serpentine neck. The scattered sub-munitions doing little more than scorch scales and maybe crack a few of the protective bony plates, but the resulting noise and flash of detonations did provide enough distraction for Ellen to retreat and try to engage from a distance once more. Planting her feet in the snow some fifty or so yards away, and raising her Vaporizer's scope to eye level in the hope that at least something in her arsenal could inflict more than superficial damage.

"Pearce! Heads up!"

The sudden shout made her flinch and the shot pulled wide; scoring the top of the leviathan's skull and drawing its immediate ire, along with a litany of curses under her breath as she desperately tried to get a bead once more. Only to instinctively duck and shield her face as something detonated against the massive creature's hide with a blinding flash of light and noise that left spots dancing before her eyes. A guttural roar reverberating through the air as the leviathan's bony neck plates melted in several places with an audible hiss, thanks to a white hot, glowing substance that continued to burn regardless of how much it thrashed around in the snow. Leaving Ellen to blink away the after images her helmet hadn't filtered out in surprise, before whirling around to face the most likely source of the sudden light show. "Angela? Wha-"

"What are you doing just standing there?!" the lombax yelled as she frantically reloaded her compact grenade launcher. Still looking a little worse for wear and wavering unsteadily from where Samus had presumably dug her out. "Hurry up and shoot it already! The effect'll wear off any second now!"

Sure enough, the glowing stuff was beginning to fade fast now that she looked at it, and the leviathan less panicked as it drew itself upright once more. which made the open wounds stand out that much more against its half melted neck plating, and a much easier target for Ellen to snipe from range. One shot following the next in rapid succession the moment she had a proper bead on the now exposed weak spots, leaving the draconic beast thrashing and heavily bleeding from every hit she managed to score. But more importantly though, it also kept the leviathan off balance and unable to concentrate on charging up another beam attack anytime soon, or in much shape to launch a physical one for that matter. Especially once Angela arced another one of those custom grenades she'd cooked up through the air and managed to detonate it directly above the creature's head. A small, viscous cloud briefly raining down from the blast site, before just as quickly igniting into a raging inferno that adhered to its already rent flesh and scales in spite of the wind and driving snow.

This proved to be the final straw, and with a wailing screech of terror and pain, the panicked and thoroughly bloodied leviathan rapidly withdrew into its current burrow. Still thrashing in the snow, desperately trying to put out the flames licking at its body to no avail, and almost clipping Ellen in the process had she not thrown herself flat and rolled away at the last moment. But still a victory of sorts, and a chance to calm her still racing heart as she backed away from the crater with a wary eye one the now vacant hole at the centre, ringed with patches of what she presumed to be still burning napalm of sorts. The redhead's attention soon shifting towards the rest of her team once she was sufficiently far enough away, and a certain lombax in particular, whose featureless mask did nothing to disguise the sense of smugness radiating off of her in waves.

"What the hell was that?" Ellen panted between breaths as she approached, wearily slogging through the ice field's freshly churned snow and resulting adrenaline crash both. "Some kind of napalm bomb?"

"Thermite and white phosphorous mix, actually," Angela replied with confidence and more than a hint of satisfaction in her work. "Or at least the first one was, anyway."

"...and the second?" Ellen hesitantly asked. Wondering not for the first time whether all lombaxes had a thing for pyrotechnics, or if it was just her choice of company.

"The same stuff we used for lab asset containment failure, back when I still worked for Megacorp," Angela continued, before patting one of the various canisters decorating her utility belt. "It's an aerosol that converts into a highly flammable liquid state at preset moisture and temperature levels. The wetter it gets, the more denser and flammable the cloud, and with a few slow burning magnesium tablets as a catalyst..."

Ellen shuddered at the thought. With enough initial heat and an entire planet's supply of ice to melt for fuel, a weapon like that could continue to burn hotter and stronger almost indefinitely. Easily roasting the leviathan alive right down to the bone, regardless of where it fled or how many attempts it made to smoother the flames, and probably causing some major damage to the local ecology by proxy wherever it touched.

"Did anyone ever mention just how scary you can be sometimes?"

"Only sometimes?" Angela questioned playfully, chuckling lightly as she turned back towards the safe house door. "Guess I'll have to try harder next time, then."

Please don't_ Samus added, finally speaking up for the first time since the leviathan had appeared. I think I've had enough excitement for one day_

"Too bloody right," Ellen muttered, watching on as Angela went about disengaging safe house's remaining security measures. "Let's just get this over with and off this damn planet. Preferably before anything else shows up."

With a groaning protest of metal and a triumphant cry on the lombax's part, the heavy security doors finally parted at a ponderously slow rate. With Angela impatiently squeezing through the gradually widening gap once there was enough room, shortly followed by Samus and Ellen in turn, only for both to pause on the threshold and stare in wide-eyed surprise once they caught a glimpse of the interior.

"Holy crap..." Ellen breathed, taking in the fairly modest yet incredibly well stocked and spacious living space within. "You don't do things by half, do you?"

Much like the TARDIS, Angela's safe house looked a lot bigger on the inside than initially suggested by the exterior. The repurposed, circular store house floor easily covering some forty odd feet in circumference, with a small, partitioned laboratory taking up most of the rear, while various consoles, communications equipment and stacked supply crates lined the front-most walls in a rough semi-circle. Leaving a combined basic kitchenette and lounge area in-between, along with countless piles of discarded research papers, data discs, and miscellaneous electronics that Angela had dumped here at some point in the past. The lombax in question soon making a beeline for the nearest mound of junk the moment she had relocked and secured the door against any unwanted guests, before crouching down and sifting through the contents.

"How'd you even manage to fund all of this?" Ellen wondered aloud, stowing her weapon and strolling over to inspect a dust sheet covered server bank. "It must have cost a fortune to get this place up and running."

Angela laughed lightly at the human's still awed expression as she continued to wander around and explore the domed room. Giving Samus an appreciative nod as she flitted down to help rummage through the cascading piles. "I guess you could call it a... remnant from my previous life. Megacorp does have a generous salary and benefits package, you know, and I tended to roll most of the allocated holiday pay back into my personal research budget. So money wasn't exactly an object for a while after I bailed, until they froze my accounts anyway."

It's still really impressive for what little time and resources you must have had. Especially with Megacorp hunting for you all over the galaxy_ Samus opinioned. The little robot concluding her search and moving over to a second pile of assorted crap, only to pause as a thought suddenly occurred to her. Um... What exactly are we looking for again?_

Angela sighed, running a tired hand down her face.

"A copy of the master override key for Megacorp HQ's genetics division," she enunciated slowly, giving the other two a baleful look. "We'll need it if we're going to get inside, and to access the high security labs where they're most likely to be holding the original Protopet. I left it here for safekeeping, but I can't remember where."

"Guess we'll have to keep on searching then," Ellen mused aloud, moving to check the surrounding dust sheet covered furniture, "and hope we find it before those Protopets manage to find a way up that elevator shaft. Any idea where you might have seen it last?"

In the end, it took the best part of half an hour between the three of them to finally track the illusive keycard down. Searching every nook and cranny, virtually turning the safe house inside out, and almost upending half the laboratory's contents in the process... Only to find the damn thing in the pocket of a spare, fur-lined coat of all places; hung up by the entrance doors and easily within reach the whole time. Tempers... may have frayed, just a little. Compounded further still when Angela tripped over yet another random mound of junk while stomping around in very vocal frustration, much to Samus' amusement. Especially since it seemed to be mostly comprised of 20% coupon books for Groovy Lube, which the lombax seemed to horde by the dozens for reasons known only to herself.

During their search, however, Ellen had taken advantage of the safe house's communications array and used it to boost the bandwidth on her Wrist Com, with the intention of checking for any further news or broadcasts concerning the Protopet. But while most of it could be dismissed as inane chatter and forum speculation regarding Megacorp's hottest new product, two items in particular stood out on her flagged list. The first being a seemingly innocent commercial which, given the others she had seen previously, Ellen suspected to have a much darker and frankly disturbing undercurrent practically from the start.

A notion quickly proven as she watched the projected video play, starting with the heart-warming scene of a robot family spending the day in an idyllic park. The husband and wife couple chatting amicably as they made their way across a decorative stone bridge, until their much smaller daughter insistently tugged on her mother's skirt. The camera swiftly cutting to the little girl's mostly blank and featureless face, her metallic pigtails bouncing and singular green optic staring widely at the screen with childish curiosity as she asked the video's titular question.

"Mommy, where do Protopets come from?"

"Why, they come from Megacorp dear," her mother answered with a warm voice and endearing look in her mono-eyed gaze. Her father remaining silent as the screen faded to the by now familiar Megacorp logo, and an upbeat narrator chiming in with his own spiel.

"That's right, Mrs Robot! All the Protopets in the galaxy come from right here, in one of our dedicated factories!"

The logo soon gave way to the image of an imposing structure of glass and steel, its twin central spires stretching to the heavens as they cradled what had to be an absolutely gargantuan Megacorp insignia between them. Clearly an idealisation, given how impractical it looked to be an actual working factory, or possibly a deliberate ruse to prevent the real ones from being found. Especially considering just how ridiculously difficult it had been for Ratchet and Cash to actually locate any of the suspected sites while she was still recovering on Slim's station, let alone shut them down.

"Your little friend is lovingly extracted from the original Protopet," the narrator continued. A short clip showing the little fluff ball stuffed inside a heavily armoured box, electrocuted by a trio of presumably high powered emitters built into the walls and writhing in pain, until finally coughing up a new duplicate moments later. The screen swiftly changing to another angle as the new Protopet was grasped by a robotic claw arm and held down, before having the Megacorp logo forcibly burned into the back of its skull via branding iron. The narrator carrying on regardless of the horrors being inflicted on the newborn creature. "Each Protopet is given a name and birth certificate that is unique. While our training system helps mould your pet into a wonderful friend that you'll cherish forever."

'Yeah, I'm sure it does...' Ellen thought, wincing at the accompanying image of a Protopet strapped down to what could only be called a torture device. It's terror apparent as a buzzing circular saw descended towards the creature's face while what looked like some kind of death ray settled between its stubby legs. 'What in God's name were Megacorp thinking, releasing something like this? It's almost like they're trying to sabotage their... own...'

"So the next time your child asks you," the narrator pushed on, interrupting her trail of thought. The screen briefly replaying the little girl's question.

"Mommy, where do Protopets come from?"

"You can answer with confidence," he finished with assured certainty. "They come from Megacorp!"

The video ended just as quickly, but Ellen's thoughts were still whirling at her sudden epiphany. What if the Protopet project was deliberately designed to fail from the very start? Angela had previously mentioned all of the obstructions and red tape she had experienced while working in Megacorp's genetics division, with the company seeming to stymie any progress her department made on fixing the original Protopet. It wasn't much of a stretch to imagine what else might have been going on behind the scenes, and given how eager Megacorp seemed to be on flooding the market with the cloned creatures, not to mention their frankly disturbing commercials that all but confirmed their status as potential killing machines to the general public... Then there were the Protopets that had attacked them throughout the facility, which if Angela's suspicions rang true, were a sign that the creatures had been deliberately weaponized. Possibly by an outside agency, and a successful one at that given how horrifically effective they had been at overrunning the mining facility in what had to be hours at most.

It was either the biggest screw up in Megacorp's corporate history, or perhaps the greatest act of industrial sabotage the galaxy had ever known. One aimed at destroying the consumer giant from the inside out, while somehow bypassing the shareholders, directors board, and God knows how many other barriers that should have long since put the brakes on this insanity before it ever got to this point. The implications of which sent shivers down Ellen's spine as she tried to comprehend the sheer scale of this disaster in the making. But it was the second video that truly made Ellen's blood run cold as she cued up the saved file for viewing. Her eyes widening in horror and a leaden weight growing in her stomach as the images played out on the holographic display, before turning towards her currently bickering companions with a low, solemn tone full of dread.

"Guys... you really need to see this..."

{()}

"This is Darla Gratch reporting live from Allgon City, where Protopet mania is in full swing."

On a small screen, against the backdrop of a suburban street in the midst of utter chaos all around her, three pairs of eyes and optics watched as the familiar form of Solana's top roving news reporter smiled towards the camera. Seemingly heedless of the sheer panic, sporadic gunfire, and downright savagery behind her as the local population were swarmed by a veritable tidal wave of chittering blue horrors. Even when one unfortunate robot tripped over and was quite literally ripped limb from limb scant feet away; his severed head flying into the shocked arms of an already fleeing female cazar.

"For those who've spent the past few weeks in hyper-sleep, the Protopet is Megacorp's much hyped and wildly popular bio-engineered pet," Darla continued with enviable, unflappable calm. "Adorable, non-allergenic and-" She paused; the camera panning down to show one of the Protopets attempting to gnaw on her leg, only to continue once she had shaken it off. "...house broken, fans of the creature have dubbed it: 'the perfect companion'."

In the background, a hover car covered in Protopets crashed through the front window of a house. A pair of police officers blazing away at the horde in an attempt to rescue the driver, only to be overwhelmed themselves as even more surge out of a nearby manhole and attack from behind. The street soon littered with even more blue bodies and scattered remains as what few citizens still left alive fled, screaming in terror.

"Between the Protopet's surprisingly low price tag, and its lightning fast breeding cycle, there may soon be more than enough Protopets for everyone. Darla Gratch, Channel 64 news."

The video ended, screen fading to black, and Ratchet couldn't help but grind his teeth in a combination of lingering nausea and frustrated anger. A glance at the live feed of Ellen's face in the top right corner of his Star Explorer's central display showing that she felt much the same way. "How old did you say this was again?"

"About four hours," the redhead reminded him from her end of the video link, holding it together in spite of how sickened she looked. "I thought we had more time. But if Megacorp's already stepped up their schedule..."

"Then we may already be too late," Clank finished with grim finality. "At the currently projected rate of expansion, the number of Protopets will soon exceed that of the native population, and subsequently consume all life on the planet."

"Not unless we get there first," Ratchet shot back. Promptly wrenching the control stick over and sending the ship into a hard right turn, with Cash cursing up a storm as his much more sluggish vessel tried to follow suit. "I've already got the embedded coordinates, and we can make it in an hour or so at full burn."

Ellen nodded, her eyes smouldering with determination and no small hint of gratitude. "We'll meet you there. Good luck, fuzz ball, and stay safe."

"You too," he whispered once she had signed off, before taking a deep breath and glancing down at the diminutive form of his best friend sat in the passenger seat. "I just hope you're wrong this time, pal."

Staring out at the stars passing by as the lombax pushed the Star Explorer's engine to its limit, his thoughts on the fate of yet another world in peril, Clank could only reply with quiet melancholy

"As do I..."

So… Things still didn't quite work out the way I'd originally intended, but overall, I'm fairly happy with the way this chapter ended. Some ideas still ended up on the cutting room floor or otherwise changed, but given that I had no intention for dragging this arc out for yet another chapter, I think it worked out well in the end. Allowing me to save some for the next chapter, as our heroes finally reunite amidst the fuzzy apocalypse of Allgon City. See you then!

Review replies:

Gamer Heart - I honestly can't say for certain that far ahead as yet. Circumstances can change, and any chapter plans I might have can just as easily go out the window once it comes down to actually writing the damn thing. I think the best answer I can give you for now is 'definitely maybe', but only if it fit's the ongoing narrative.

starrat - Thanks! I just hope I can keep up the pace.

Bookwriter94 - I wouldn't say my life was all that bad; lord knows, there's always somebody worse off no matter how bad things might get. It's just a lot of crap I could really do without all coming to a head, and having to be the responsible one in trying to glue everything back together. But at least the worst has (hopefully) passed for now, and hopefully things will stay that way. As for the chapter, I haven't got anything concrete on the old mystic as yet, though I might consider small omake for him in the near future to tie up any loose ends. Depends on how things go with the rest of the story.

DarkEnigma95 - Thanks, it's good to be back and writing again. I'm afraid our mysterious not-a-Jedi will remain a mystery for what's likely to be the rest of the story. But like I said to Bookwriter, I'm considering a short omake or snippets to shed some light on his past and role in the story beyond canon. Though again, that's likely to be well after I've finished this story, since its my sole focus right now. Also, you should well know by now that 'escalation' is my MO when it comes to… fleshing out some of the canon levels. Almost excessively so, in fact. But so long as people enjoy it, that's the main thing.

Firestar5277 - Thank you; I'm doing a lot better than I was, and things are finally settling down enough that I can start dedicating some time towards writing once more. Hopefully without any more unpleasantries putting a damper on… well, everything. I'm glad you liked the chapter overall, despite my misgivings on its quality, and the characterisation in particular. Didn't mean to give you a heart attack though… (rubs neck sheepishly), so… sorry about that.

Were there any particular issues you can point out? I'd like to fix them sooner rather than not if I can, and any feedback would be more than appreciated. As for your pun… You can't hear me right now, but I'm cackling in spite of myself. So I guess its my turn again.

Disgruntled ex-employee Dunn Wright is once again in court today, hoping to overturn his terminated company contract on moral grounds. Speaking to the press outside of the court house this morning, the defendant's newly appointed lawyer justified his undertaking of the case as a 'just clause'.