Chapter VII
A/N: I'm not one hundred percent pleased with this, mainly with how I wrote Klunk in some scenes. But I didn't know how else to move the plot along, so... Idk. I might rewrite this chapter at some point lmfao
Also, credit to the amazing bonus scene at the end of this chapter goes to the one and only Tangent! :3
Aridia… outside the massive construction site…
"Kinda weird how we weren't blown out of the sky like Skidd and his agent were," Rivet mutters thoughtfully as Klunk carefully directs their ship onto the landing pad outside the supposedly abandoned outpost.
"Agreed," Klunk amends, turning off the ship's engines after landing. "It is possible that whomever was here when their ship was shot down has since vacated the planet." The cockpit opens with a hiss, and the two occupants clamber out of the ship one at a time. "Interesting…" Klunk slides off the landing pad and bends down to scoop up a handful of the strange green sand rolling out from underneath the landing pad. "This particular region of the planet must be rich with olivine particles."
"… uhh, right," Rivet replies, a sheepish smile spreading across her muzzle. "I… totally knew that."
Klunk turns around and crosses his arms, giving her a very skeptical glare.
"Okay, maybe I didn't," Rivet admits, shrugging. She steps off the landing pad, her boots sinking a little in the sand with a soft squish. Her ear twitches, and it raises slightly as she listens intently. "Hey, you hear that too, right?"
Both Lombax and warbot go silent. Klunk's lower jaw tilts slightly. "Yes, I believe I hear it as well."
Once Klunk is secure on Rivet's back, and the feline herself has tele-equipped her FissionMallet, she starts trudging across the sand towards the source of the cries.
"… Heeeeeelp! Heeeelp! Somebody?!"
"That sounds like Skidd," Rivet mutters, slowing down as she grows closer to the source of the cries. And sure enough, standing atop a small mound of sand, there's the professional hoverboarder himself— and he's been cornered by a small swarm of snarling, drooling Sandsharks.
The feline swings her Mallet up and brings it down hard on the nearest cluster of Sandsharks, earning multiple yelps of pain from the little crimson reptiles as metal smashes against flesh with a loud thwack. Broken bits of teeth fly from the scaly pests' mouths, and greenish yellow bruises billow out across their skulls.
She swings her Mallet again, the weapon sending several of the reptiles flying as it swoops through the air. Rivet wastes no time and swings again and again, making sure every last one of them gets the message: that they're not welcome here. Most of the Sandsharks are smart and run away, yelping in pain. But a couple stay behind, snarling at the Lombax with their nearly now toothless maws. After a few more whacks to the head, they quickly learn their lesson and run off as well. Rivet stands there a moment, panting a little from exhaustion.
The next planet we go to, we're getting something to eat, she thinks. Unless I decide to eat one of these Sandsharks first…
Klunk clambers off the Lombax's back and approaches the now no longer screaming Skidd.
"Whoa, thanks, little dudes!" Rivet turns around, lifting her Mallet and settling it on her shoulder as the hoverboarder adds, "I thought I was gonna be hosed for sure."
The feline frowns, her eyebrow curling upwards slightly. "What're you doing out in the open like this?"
"My agent and I took separate escape pods— cause they could only fit one person— and so we kinda got separated in the crash," Skidd explains. "When I came to, I managed to crawl outta mine— and I then I got attacked by those Sandsharks." He pauses as another one of those little critters decides to wobble on by. Thankfully, it doesn't see any of them, and scampers off after a much smaller animal. "I'd try to get back to my shuttle, but I— uhh—" Skidd gestures to his ankle and adds, "I sprained my ankle."
Klunk's eyes narrow, and his lower jaw tilts into a frown. "I detect no inflammation, and you are resting on both feet with approximately the same amount of weight distributed on both of them. In short… your ankle is fine."
Skidd is at a loss for words, if the fact that his mouth is hanging half-open is anything to go by.
"It's okay, Skidd," Rivet pipes up, hoping to reassure the nervous hoverboarder at least a little. "I get it. This isn't exactly something you're equipped to deal with."
Skidd gives a little nod, fumbling with his hands awkwardly. "If you guys could clear out all the Sandsharks and find my agent for me, I just might have a spare hoverboard for ya."
Klunk turns, crossing his arms and regarding Rivet with a skeptical look. "Must we really help this man?"
"I'll even sponsor you for the hoverboard races on Blackwater City," Skidd adds. "Not only are they givin' away cash prizes this year, but there's also a brand new Platinum Zoomerator for whoever wins the Gold Cup!"
"Although… we do need to refuel our ship," Klunk remarks, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "All this travelling has drained the gelatonium tank significantly."
"Not to mention we should probably pick up some food," Rivet tells him as her stomach rumbles a little. "And charger pack for you. Maybe a few other things too. So… are we agreed?" Klunk gives her an affirmative nod, and then the young Lombax turns her gaze back onto Skidd. "Stay here where it's safe, okay? We'll let you know when all the Sandsharks are gone."
Rivet dashes to the side, pulling down on the trigger of her Spiral of Death at the same time. The pale blue circular blade springs from the weapon and spins as it zips across the battlefield. It takes out several Sandsharks along the way, before winding back around to return to its owner. The feline tries not to look at the poor critters' thoroughly shredded bodies, instead focusing on removing the rest of the Sandsharks from the equation.
Thankfully, the remaining reptiles seem more keen on vacating the premises immediately, rather than trying to take on a Lombax with more than enough ammo to wipe the rest of them out.
So Rivet and Klunk are able to escort Skidd to his crashed escape pod, although they do have to stop a few times because the hoverboarder made the mistake of looking at the carnage that had taken place— and had gotten sick, naturally.
Once they make it to his escape pod, Rivet asks, "How do you plan on getting off this rock, exactly? You said your escape pods could only fit one person, and I doubt those things have enough fuel to make it halfway across this system."
"I dunno." Skidd shrugs. "I'm just takin' it one step at a time. Right now, I'm just worried somethin' bad might've happened to my agent. We've been here for… hours. A lot can happen in that time. He might even be… y'know…" Skidd's fearful expression tells them the rest.
Klunk grabs Rivet's wrist and pulls her aside. "Tell me you are not thinking about chauffeuring this squishy and his agent." The silver robot crosses his arms and gives the young feline a glare.
"Why not?" Rivet asks, looking right back at him. "There's plenty of room in our ship, and we already agreed that we'd go to Blackwater City anyway. We can drop them off there. Not to mention Skidd did say he'd sponsor us for the hoverboard races, and he can't exactly do that if he's still stuck here."
"Oh, very well," Klunk grumbles, looking away.
Rivet kneels down and, after a moment, puts her hand on his shoulder. "I know this situation isn't exactly… ideal. And—"
Klunk lifts a hand for silence, and Rivet goes quiet. "I understand. I will have to learn to start putting up with some things that I do not like."
"That… isn't even close to what I was gonna say."
"But it is true—"
"Bolts," Rivet cuts him off, now raising her hand for him to be quiet. "We're a team now. That means your opinion matters. Yeah, we might not agree all the time— heck, ninety or so percent of the time, we don't agree at all— but that's why we need to talk things over so we can come to an agreement. I don't want you feeling like your, well, feelings don't matter. Because they do."
"I…" Klunk is at a loss for words. He quickly shakes his head and says, "While I do not like the idea of travelling with two more squishies than usual, even if it is to just one planet… I do agree it is the most logical course of action at the moment." He points a finger directly at her, and then Skidd as he declares in a louder voice, "But do not ever speak of this to anyone, or I cannot be held responsible for my actions."
Rivet snorts in amusement at that. "Now there's the Bolts I know. C'mon, let's go see if we can find Skidd's agent."
Within the construction site…
Rivet quickly razes the Construction-Bot on the platform ahead with her Dual Raptors. The robot falls over onto its side, sparking dangerously before exploding into a massive ball of flames— the heat of which she can feel even though she's several metres away from the source.
At least she's too far away for any of the shrapnel to hit her.
Once the flames have died down for the most part, Rivet steps onto the small conveyor belt and runs across it to the other side. She inches along the edge of the platform to avoid the still-blazing remains of the Construction-Bot and then clambers onto the next, and slightly raised section of platform.
Another Construction-Bot leaps down from somewhere above. Rivet tele-equips her Mallet and smacks the bot hard in the chest, sending it tumbling off the platform, and plunging into the strange, quicksand-like substance below.
She then sprints along the next conveyor belt, and with a few whacks of her FissionMallet, sends yet another Construction-Bot falling to its demise. "I wonder why all these Construction-Bots are attacking us?"
"Likely for the same reason Skidd and his agent's ship was shot down," Klunk answers. "Though if that is the case, then why were we not also fired upon?" he continues, echoing Rivet's thoughts from just half an hour earlier. "Unless the two are not related in any capacity, and it is merely coincidence that these Construction-Bots have a tendency towards attempted murder."
Rivet shrugs as she steps onto an elevator pad. "I dunno, but either way, it's really, really weird…"
Rivet certainly hadn't been expecting to find Skidd's agent cornered by a small squadron of Blarg troopers, but that's exactly what she found.
"By order of Executive Chairman Drek, all trespassers are to be killed on sight! That means you, buddy!"
"Please… I'm sure we can make some kind of deal, right? How would you like this authentic autographed poster of my client, Skidd McMarx? One of only ten copies!"
"Hmmm… sure, why not? But only if I get to take it off your corpse!"
Rivet, who'd been climbing up the ladder to the platform at the edge of the construction site, clambers over the edge just in time to see Don Wonderstar diving behind a rock just as the Blarg open fire.
The feline tele-equips her FissionMallet and whistles loudly, causing the troopers to stop shooting and turn their attention onto her— just as she leaps towards the nearest Blarg and brings the head of her Mallet down against their skull. There's a loud crack upon impact, and the soldier slumps to the ground in a heap.
"A Lombax! I thought you guys were all extinct!"
Rivet lands in a low crouch, gripping her melee weapon tightly in one hand as she quickly gauges the situation. "Think again." She sprints towards the trooper who'd spoken, dropping into a sliding position as they shoot at her. The Lombax swings her Mallet up, and strikes the Blarg right in the chest— sending them flying through the air and crashing into the sand a few feet away.
Two down, one more to go.
Despite her having taken down their buddies, the lone Blarg seems far from impressed. "Oh, look at that! A wittle Lombax with a wittle hammer— YEE-HOWCH!"
"It's called a FissionMallet Eon 14, you chump!" With the last of the troopers having been taken out of the equation, Rivet calmly approaches the rock behind which Don is still crouched. "Ehhh… you can come out now."
"Who are you people?" The agent gets to his feet and steps out from behind the rock, regarding Rivet and Klunk— who'd climbed down from the feline's back once the fight ended— with a cautious glare.
"Your saviours," Rivet answers drily, un-equipping her Mallet and crossing her arms. "Skidd sent us to look for you."
While the two squishies talk, Klunk kneels down by one of the unconscious Blarg bodies, the silver bot's jaw tilted in a frown.
What are the Blarg doing here?
Now that he thinks about it, all those conveyor belts throughout the construction site… "Drek must be constructing another warbot factory here," Klunk pipes up as he stands and turns to face Rivet and Don. "Whomever is in charge of this construction site did not want anyone discovering what was going on here, and possibly warning the Rangers about it. That must be why your ship was shot down when it flew too close to the planet."
"But that still doesn't explain why we weren't shot at too," Rivet adds, a frown tugging at her muzzle.
"I might have had something to do with that," Don says, drawing his rescuers' attention to him. "I knew that in the unlikely event anyone came looking for us, they'd get blasted out of the sky too. That is, if someone didn't do something about the rocket launchers on that ridge up there." He points to a series of cannons poised atop the cliff lining the one side of the valley. "So I snuck into the construction site and destroyed the controls for the launchers. That's when the Blarg found me and chased me all the way down here."
"Well, uhh… thanks, I guess," Rivet says awkwardly upon receiving that piece of information. "Anyways, we'd better get moving before these guys come to." She gestures to the still-unconscious troopers as she speaks.
Rivet and Klunk agreed to return to Aridia after dropping Skidd and his agent off in Blackwater City and getting the supplies they needed, to see if they could find any information there.
Neither Lombax nor robot trusted Skidd or his agent alone with their ship— it's just common sense, after all. Unlike most other ships in the Solana Galaxy, the courier ship doesn't need a Robotic Ignition System to operate. And if Don could disable the Blarg's rocket launchers, he could very easily break into the courier ship too. And while Rivet doesn't think of Skidd as the type to double-cross someone, both she and Klunk agree Don most certainly is.
Why in the universe Skidd would want someone like him to be rescued, she'll never know.
The flight to Blackwater City was filled with constant chatter, primarily on Skidd's part. Which was fine as far as Rivet was concerned. It was honestly better than sitting in a flood of roaring silence. Or listening to Courtney Gears for another two hours.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Rivet says, scratching the back of her head as the four of them stand on the landing pad just outside Blackwater City.
"Thanks for savin' us, and givin' us a lift," Skidd tells her and Klunk. "You two are allllright!" He presses a button on the watch looped around his wrist, and in a flash of light, a hoverboard appears in front of them. "Here's that spare hoverboard I promised ya. Oh, and that reminds me—" Skidd turns to Don. "I'm gonna sponsor these two for the hoverboard races!"
Don's eyes grow so wide that they look like they're going to pop right out of their sockets. "You're going to what?!"
"You two didn't talk about this on the ride here, why?"
Rivet's query goes ignored, and after listening to the two argue for about ten seconds, she just takes the hoverboard and turns to look at Klunk. "Wanna go into the city and take a look around?"
Klunk gives a nod, clearly not in the mood to listen to the loud dispute either.
Bonus Scene:
On the way to the spaceport…
"So... did you manage to get the name of the little guy that was with the Lombax?" Dallas asks with a hopeful smile as he walks alongside Juanita.
His former coworker gives him a heated glare as she retorts drily, "We don't work together anymore, Dallas."
A hurt look washes over Dallas' face. "Look, just because you got your own talk show…"
Juanita isn't having any of it— she is done with Dallas' bull. She had to put up with it for nearly five years, and after getting her own show, she is not about to put up with it ever again. "Exactly! MY OWN talk show! And my own ship! I'm NOT giving you a lift, Dallas!"
"I'll pay!" Dallas practically wails.
"REAL bolts this time, and not I'll-pay-you-later bolts that you somehow forget about every time we happen to meet each other afterwards?"
"Er..."
"GoodBYE, Dallas. Get your own ride."