If you remember the music played during the final battle in Ratchet and Clank 2, then play it in your head as you read.
DUNNNNN………dun dun. D-dunnnnnnnnnn d-dun dun dunna dunna…
Chapter Thirty-five: Lunar battle, Part 2
"RRRRRRAAAARRR!"
The protopet rolled itself into a ball and went after Ratchet.
The lombax stepped back, equipped his Megarocket Cannon, charged and fired.
PH-PH-PH-PHWOOOOOOOOM!.!.!.!
B-B-B-BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Although they hit their target, all the protopet did was stop, turn and speed after Ratchet again.
Ratchet equipped his Mini-Nuke. The black and yellow bomb flew and--
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!.!.!
--exploded in the protopet, leaving a small mushroom cloud.
The protopet unrolled itself, went to the edge of the 'arena', opened its mouth and--
"AA-A-A-A-AAAAAA-AAAAA-AAA-AAA-AAA-AAA-AAAA!"
--spat out several protopet.
While several metal balls scattered all over, the robo mutant did something new. I jumped high and landed on a three-story building.
"That's new," Ratchet said, equipping his favorite for destroying mitliple, little pests.
FWOOOOOOM! Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-ZAP!
Half the amount of minions were zapped by the Plasma Storm.
There were more though.
They hopped at Ratchet who was backing up to the shield.
"Heinous never said it could make shields."
Ratchet equipped his Rift Ripper.
TWSH!
It wasn't enough.
More of them were coming. Ratchet soon found out why. The mutant protopet was hopping from roof to roof, throwing more protopets. Ratchet only had so much ammunition.
TWSH! TWSH! TWSH! TWSH! TWSH!
He surrounded himself with several portals that didn't suck him in thanks to his Gravity Boots, which made him heavier.
He took out his Splitter Rifle and scanned the rooftops.
"……….."
Several protopets were being sucked in. To make things last longer, Ratchet equipped his Agents of Dread.
While the floating robots disposed of the hopping ones, Ratchet searched.
There!
BANG!
"RRAAAAAAA!"
CRASH!
The protopet crashed back to the ground. Just in time too; there were only three small protopets left and the Agents were gone and so were the warp holes.
Ratchet equipped three different weapons at once and headed for the minions.
The mutant protopet groaned and stood up. And as it did, it saw a chicken.
STOMP!
Without caring, the monster stomped the ground, causing the big chicken to bounce up and land in the robot's mouth.
From inside the protopet--
BOOM!
The protopet shook as the chicken exploded inside it.
Suddenly a black sheep and a flying phoenix-like duck came at it--
BOOM! B-B-B-B-B-B-BOOOOOOM!
--and exploded upon contact.
Ratchet smirked at the beast from where he stood.
"Had enough yet?"
"RRRRRRROOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRR!"
"I'll take that as a 'no'."
That said, Ratchet took out his Decimator.
The protopet resumed rolling.
While jumping back and forth and dodging the physical hits, Ratchet fired missile after missile.
PH-PH-PH-PH-PH-PH-PH-PH-PH-PH-PH-PHOOOOOOOM!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
They exploded on contact with the experiment.
The rolling around ceased. Instead, the metal ball opened its mouth wide and--
FWOOOOOM!
--expelled a fireball.
Ratchet dove to his left to avoid one.
The ball of fire dissipated, leaving only a scorch mark in its wake.
Ratchet got desperate and equipped his R.I.N.O. II.
B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-BLAM!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Now, something unexpected happened. The protopet jumped high, resulting in all the spiraling, blue shots missing.
Ratchet looked up, eyes wide.
SWOOOOOOOOSH!
The former fuzz ball was dropping like a rock straight at Ratchet.
Ratchet Charge Booted missing--
CRASH!.!.!.!.!
--the protopet.
WHOOOOOOSH!
A wall of dust came at Ratchet.
The visor of his helmet protected his green eyes.
Silence.
WHAM!
Ratchet was hit in the stomach.
"Ugh," he grunted as he fell on his back.
CHOMP!
Something was chewing on his leg.
"!.!.!.!" Ratchet took out his wrench and smashed whatever was chewing.
CLANK!
The wrench struck something metal.
Ratchet had no idea what it was, because of the dust.
But he had a good guess.
CLAMP!
Something wedged its teeth into Ratchet's but.
Although he didn't feel pain, thanks to the metal, Ratchet still gasped and hit at the small protopet.
CLIIINK!
FWOOOOOOOOOM! Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-ZAP!.!.!.!.!
There where defiantly a lot.
Ratchet equipped his Vortex Cannon.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
While his weapon sucked, Ratchet ran everywhere he could. He wasn't concerned about fighting the enemy; he was concerned about seeing the enemy.
"ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!"
There was still a lot of dust and enemies.
Ratchet replaced his Vortex Cannon with his Rynocirator.
FLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
The number of protopet sounds lessened.
Ratchet continued sucking dust up.
………
Finally, the job was done; Ratchet could see perfectly. Good thing too, because there was a huge, metal ball rolling towards him.
Ratchet equipped his Mini-Nuke. The ball flew and--
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!.!.!.!
--exploded upon contact with the ball which was in the middle of turning around.
ZZZA-AAAA-A!
The agents dealt with any remaining small enemy. When there weren't any more small protopets, the agents went after the big one, exploding upon contact.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"RRRRRROOOOOAAAAAAR!"
Although it didn't look damaged or weakened, the mutant protopet seemed angry……er.
"This is getting annoying," Ratchet said. Through gritted teeth, he went on, "Why won't you die?"
The protopet opened its mouth to release minions.
"Oh no, you don't!"
FWOOOOOOOOM! Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-ZAP!
The Plasma Storm destroyed all the minions before they could touch the grass.
FWOOOOM! FWOOOOOOOM! FWOOOOOM! FWOOOOOM!
Fireballs flew at him.
Ratchet back-flipped again and again and again.
Ratchet had an idea. He equipped his unused weapon.
The Obliterator.
This gun was about as heavy as the R.Y.N.O.
Ratchet aimed, charged up the weapon and fired.
PHWOOOOO-PHOOOOO-PH-PHWOOOOOMMMM-PHWOOOOOOM!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Ten--count 'em, ten--rockets flew out of the barrels.
The protopet's eyes widened. He had no time to jump.
KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Ratchet leaned on his Obliterator and waited for the dust to clear.
"You better be dead."
In fact, it was……more or less. The mutant protopet had pieces of itself missing. Had it been organic, Ratchet would be disgusted. It lay on its back, inactive. This time, truly defeated.
Ratchet walked up to the robotic carcass. He kicked a piece of metal. CLANG!
"Don't suppose you're gonna cough Qwark up, are you?"
Of course, there was no answer.
Ratchet turned around and started walking his exhausted body towards the robots.
Heinous' yellow eyes opened. The robot slowly stood up and dusted himself off. He scanned around him. Albert--twitching slightly--Raxamis and Sandy lay near him. Clank and Nefarious lay still in the distance.
The scientist clenched his fists. Another plan failed. He took out his communicator and spoke.
"This is Dr. Heinous. I need one of you to come get us."
"Uh, that's not part of the plan," a thug responded.
"I know. Listen, just get me a dropship quickly."
"Roger."
-blip-
Heinous put the communicator away. He looked at Albert.
The butler was slowly getting up. After straightening himself he looked at his master and asked, "Did we shut down?"
"Yes, we did."
"How long have you been awake?"
"About thirty seconds."
Albert noticed Sandy and Raxamis. "What about them?"
"Sandy's gonna remain like that unless we recharge her."
"And Raxamis……?"
"Nnnnnghh!" Raxamis stirred. He bore a drunken smile. "Courtney…"
"I think that answers your question, Albert."
"Oye," Albert palmed his forehead.
Nefarious' red eyes opened. He stood up.
At the same time, Clank reactivated from the middle of the road.
"Dr. Nefarious, I believe we have switched back in," Clank said as he trotted over to the taller robot.
"No shit," Nefarious grunted as he dusted himself off. "What happened?"
"The protopet released a something which caused all robots within the vicinity to shut down."
"Then, why are we awake?"
"The protopet must have been deactivated."
"By who?"
"Ratchet."
"'Ratchet'?"
"He isn't a robot. And he's defeated the protopet before."
"Do to know," Nefarious seemed uninterested now. "Where's Jeremy?"
"There," Clank pointed.
Nefarious looked.
Heinous was carrying Sandy up the door-ramp. Albert was dragging Raxamis after him.
Nefarious started running.
"Wait!" Clank called and was ignored.
Nefarious panted nonexistent breath as he ran.
Heinous was the only one on the ramp. He looked straight at his stepbrother.
"Another time, Vince," he droned. "Another time."
The walked in. The door-ramp closed, making it looked like there was no door-ramp.
Nefarious kept running. He was thirty meters away.
Slowly, the ship rose and went out of sight.
Nefarious stopped. He growled.
"COME AND FACE ME, COWARD!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!"
The dropship didn't return.
Nefarious slumped to his knees.
"I was too late."
He growled as he punched the tarmac, leaving a small dent.
Ratchet limped by Clank's side.
When Clank noticed the newcomer, his eyes widened. "Ratchet!"
"I'm okay, Clank," Ratchet waved him off. "I called for help after I destroyed the protopet. A dropship, carrying Slim and Qwark is on its way."
"That would be unnecessary," Clank said.
Ratchet cocked a weak eyebrow. "Why?"
"Dr. Heinous has left Lunar City."
"Damn," Ratchet grunted.
A few minutes later, a ranger dropship landed in the road. Its only entry opened and Qwark--Skrunch on his shoulder--and Slim rushed out towards Ratchet and Clank.
"We're here," Slim said. "Where's Heinous."
"You just missed him," Ratchet said.
"He got away?.!" Qwark cackled.
"Yes," Ratchet said and slowly walked into the ship.
"Where's Nefarious?" Slim asked.
Clank looked to his right. He spotted Nefarious marching towards the group.
"He is coming," Clank said.
"Good news," Angela said.
"What?" Sasha asked as she swiveled around.
"I just got off the phone with Mr. Fizzwidget. He said he's convinced the galactic president to give us a place to stay."
Sash smiled. "That's nice. Where?"
"A hotel in Megopolis."
"Would that happen to be on Planet Endako?"
Angela smirked. "You've been studying."
"When can I meat Mr. Fizzwidget? I'd like to thank him."
"He's very busy. Knowing that you enjoyed you we enjoy ourselves in the hotel in thanks enough."
"We'll only be staying there for a day."
"Yes, I know. And don't worry; the president will pay for everything."
"No," Sasha shook her head. "I couldn't."
"Oh come on, Captain. With all the things that have been happening, you disserve a break."
"Wellllllllll," Sasha thought. "Okay, I guess I can not pay."
"Good to hear."
"At least we won't have those icepacks to slow us down, eh?"
"Hehe. Yeah."
A frustrated Heinous waited patiently.
He was in his room. The only one who was with him, was Sandy. She lay silently in her basket, wires from the wall putting energy into her.
The big screen displayed static.
As he waited, Heinous' mind wandered.
"…………"
FLASH!
FLASH!
CLANK!
The restraints are broken at once.
All five of them.
The room becomes colder.
Heinous shivers and pleads, "Please wait and let me explain everything!"
"Explain what?" it barks. "How you dragged me here and tortured me into becoming this FREAK?.!.?.!.?.!"
It moves closer to him.
"No, wait!" Heinous backs up against a wall. "You don't understand!"
BEEB-BEE-BEEB-BEEP-BEEP!
FLASH!
FLASH!
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!
"?" Heinous was knocked back to his base. The screen was beeping. He pressed a button, revealing a purple face.
"You asked to talk?" the thug Leader droned, his face hard and emotionless.
"Yes, I asked to talk!" Heinous shouted. "The plan was a bust!"
"You sound as if you're blaming me."
"What do you think?.!"
The Leader droned, "This may have been my plan, but you're the ones who failed to execute it properly."
"That's true," Heinous admitted, "but Plan B didn't work. The protopet turned on us!.!.!.!"
"That was yer department, Doctor. All I did was supply the protopet. You were the one who transformed it. You told me everything was okay, so I didn't press on about the subject."
"……..," Heinous was silent.
"I offered many thugs for you, but you only asked for a dropship with five thugs. Do you really want our help?"
"I do!" Heinous looked for something to say. "It's just that………" his voice lingered.
"You don't have faith in us, do you?"
"…………"
"Then there's only one thing to do."
"?.?.?.?"
"Order a bigger ship for raritanium. Instead of Tabora, we'll excavate on Grelbin."
"Remind me about Grelbin."
"It's a planet covered in snow. It's home to failed experiments, such as the Y.E.T.I.s. And natural wildlife, such as the leviathans. It also has a reasonable amount of raritanium."
"You know how much I need, right?"
"Yes, I do."
"How will this plan work?" Heinous shot at the Leader. "I'm out of mind-control devices."
"I'll be providing several thugs for protection."
"That's still not enough."
"I know. There will be something else."
"And what would that be."
"I'll be going there myself."
This wasn't one of my best, I know. The chapter after the next will be gripping. However, the next chapter won't contain any action.