Chapter Thirty-nine: Third time's the charm
The door-bridge closed.
"Great jump, Jack," Qwark said.
Slim smiled weakly as he say down on a bench.
Ratchet seemed concerned. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good," Slim uttered. "Just a little exhausted."
"You said you knew where Heinous would be," Ratchet said.
"Yeah. He'll be--"
"SHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Nefarious hushed them as he watched the screen which displayed the ship they where on a few minutes ago. "I wanna see the explosion."
"Ranger, are we at a safe distance?"
"Yes, Captain Qwark. We're safe from the--"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!..!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
The ship exploded in a great, big ball of fire. Several more small explosions uncured in reaction. Hundreds of small pieces of debris went flying everywhere while the ship itself fell towards the clouds.
"That was cool!" Nefarious said with a stupid grin.
"Man, I'd hate to be directly under that ship when it crashes," Qwark said.
Slim seemed sadder. If the Leader survived the fall, he'd be crushed by the falling ship. He didn't like him, but still………..he wanted answers to what his purpose was. Although he didn't show it, he was curious about what the thug said. Was it true? Were the other experiments alive? All of them? If not, which ones were dead? Where were they? How would Slim meat them if--?
"Jack?"
Slim's mind ceased wandering. He turned one eye to the right.
Clank sat next to him. His face was plain, but his mind wasn't.
"Is something the matter?" the robot asked. "You look unhappy."
"I'm just worried," Slim said. "Heinous sent a second ship to the Wupash Nebula."
Everyone was listening.
"How do you know?" Nefarious asked, eyebrow raised.
Slim sighed. "How I know isn't important. What is important is getting there before Heinous has enough raritanium."
"Right," Ratchet said. "Ranger, get us to the Phoenix pronto."
"Aye, sir!"
"…as you can see behind me, there has been yet another robbery at a convenience store. Officials believe that a lombax-buginoid hybrid thief, known as 'Pincer', is responsible for all these heists. He has entered and exited the crime scenes in the exact same fashion. No one has been seriously hurt, but Pincer can still be dangerous. Captain Starsheild says he's going to do all he can to catch this thief. If you are in Metropolis and you own a small store, it is suggested that you--"
-blip-
"Hey, I was watching that!" Al wined as he turned his head around the sofa he was sitting on. His expression changed when he saw Sasha. "Oh…er… Hi, Captain!"
"We have better things to do than watch new about some common thief," the captain said.
"But I own a store," Al said, gesturing at himself.
"You haven't returned to that place in weeks," Skidd said from the other sofa.
"So?" Al defended his old job. "I could go back anytime."
"Dude, you being a--"
"Ahem," Sasha interrupted, getting the men's attention. "Ratchet transmitted a signal, telling us that he and the others are returning here."
"Did they stop Heinous?" Al asked.
"No, they didn't," Sasha's face saddened some. "According to Jack, the ship on Grelbin was a distraction for another ship."
"Where?"
"Somewhere called the Wupash Nebula," Sasha said. "A very hot part of the galaxy."
"Hey, Sasha," another voice called.
Everyone looked.
Ratchet stood in the doorway.
"We're ready to go," he said.
"How'd you get here so fast?" Skidd asked.
"We were in a hurry," Ratchet said quickly. "Where's Angela?"
"She went to Lunar City to collect the remains of the protopet you destroyed," Sasha said with a small smirk.
Ratchet blushed slightly.
"Can we just go?" he asked, trying to change the subject.
"Sure," Sasha said as she walked briskly passed him.
"Have you tried medicine?" Albert remarked.
"How can I?" Heinous gestured, pointing to the sick-looking sand shark on his bed. "She's a robot."
"Maybe, there's something wrong with her circuits."
"Probably," Heinous rubbed his chin. "If that's the case, we'll have to wait until she works it out of her."
Albert raised an eyebrow. "Meaning…..?"
"……."
"…….."
"Never mind."
A beat.
Albert changed the subject. "How's the raritanium collection going?"
"Good question," Heinous chirped as he walked over to his desk and pressed a button.
While the screen rose, Albert spoke some more, "Sir, I'm having a problem with this base."
Heinous leaned his green head to the side. "Huh?"
"It's just too big. I almost got lost when walking."
"You'll get used to it."
Albert made to protest, but the screen was already buzzing with static. Heinous punched in a frequency and, in under a second, a thug henchman's face was seen on the oversized viewing system.
"Mr. Heinous, how can I help you?" the thug said.
"No need to be formal," Heinous said. "How's the collection going?"
"It's going just fine. We've almost got a full cargo."
"Awesome!"
"Are you sure you won't be needing a fleet of ships as defense?"
"Hmmmmm," Heinous hummed as he rubbed his chin. He then said, "Go for it."
"Certainly," the thug nodded. "Another thing…we have received word that the ship on Grelbin has gone down."
"No need to worry about that," Heinous said overconfidently. "Those losers will think they've done a good job while I'm using a second ship."
"Is there anything else?"
"Nope, go on. And remember, stay on guard. Things might not go exactly as planned."
"I'll keep that in mind. Over and out."
The screen went black.
Several Thugs-4-Less ships flew left and right around the Wupash Nebula. They were careful not to go too close to the Sun, otherwise its gravitational pull would have pulled them in, resulting in incineration. They were using their weapons to break floating crystal, releasing raritanium. In the centre of it all, was a gigantic ship, the same models as the ones that had gone down on Tabora and Grelbin. The large vessel was also doing its best to collect as much glowing rocks as possible. And a few light years away, a giant, forty-story cube drifted.
"Okay, Ratchet," Sasha spoke to the lombax, who was leaning against his personal ship. "A ranger dropship is too slow to navigate through this quadrant of the galaxy without getting destroyed. You'll have to use your ship and infiltrate the collector, apply this bomb--" she held out a bomb with a timer "--and blow up the control room. You'll need to enter the ship, because your nukes won't work on the shield Dr. Heinous installed."
"No problem," Ratchet said confidently, "it's about time Clank and I go solo."
"Don't get cocky, Ratchet," Sasha warned.
"I won't," Ratchet grabbed the explosive and absorbed it with his watch. "Let's go, Clank," he said in his usual tone to the robot.
Clank merely nodded.
The ship's lid was already opened.
Ratchet jumped in, followed by Clank. The lid closed and the thrusters glowed.
Sasha saluted; Ratchet saluted back through the glass. The ship hovered turned a one hundred and eighty degree turn and flew through the vacuum-proof opening.
Nefarious walked and stopped by Sasha's side.
"You know he's gonna die," the robot said suddenly, "right?
"Don't say that," Sasha spat. "He's been in worse situations before."
"Whatever," Nefarious said yawningly. "Shouldn't you be sleeping or something?"
"There's too much to do."
"Uh huh. Where's Courtney?"
"In the game room."
"Good to know."
TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF!
Ratchet's ship fired blue cannon blasts at a thug ship, destroying it instantly.
Other ships realized and opened fire.
TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TFT-FTF-TF!
The red ship twirled, firing missiles.
PHWOOM! PHWOOOOM! PHWOOOM!
"I just realized something, Clank," Ratchet said as he button-bashed.
"What?" Clank asked without looking.
"I have no idea how we're gonna infiltrate the ship."
"That's where I come in."
Ratchet blinked. He looked at the ship's screen.
"Hi," Al's image said.
"Al?" Ratchet remarked.
"I've studied the Thugs-4-Less ships' structure and have equipped your ship with a device that'll allow it to look like theirs."
"Really?" Ratchet was intrigued.
"Yeah. But it won't work unless you destroy all the nearby ships."
Ratchet pressed a button, dividing the screen in two. Al's face took up the top, while a radar on the bottom showed that there where three ships.
"I'm on it," he said.
"Thank you, Al," Clank uttered.
"No problem," Al waved him off as if it was no big deal. "All I did was install a holographic matrix adaptor with--"
Click.
Ratchet turned the monitor off.
"What was that for?" Clank asked as if his companion had just said the worst of words.
Ratchet shrugged. "My hand slipped."
PHWOOOOOM!
Ratchet fired a torpedo.
The ship he was aiming at went 'up' and dodged it.
B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-BLAST!
The hero's ship's shield took some damage from blasts coming from the right.
WHOOOOOOOSH!
The thrusters sent the ship forward by several yards. It then turned around, took aim, and fired.
FWOOOOOM!
BOOOOOM!
A Thugs-4-Less ship was destroyed.
The red ship did ten side flips for some reason.
B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-BLAST!
Another thug ship was attacking from behind.
Ratchet's ship flew up, did a flip and ended up behind the thug ship.
TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF!
BOOOOOM!
Another enemy ship was out of it.
The last one came in view.
FWUUUUM!
A mine was launched at it.
Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-ZAP!
BOOOOOOM!
"Well, that's the last one," Ratchet said.
"I believe there are more than just three, Ratchet," Clank announced.
The lombax rolled his eyes. "The last nearby one."
Clank said nothing.
"How does the cloaking device work?" Ratchet asked.
"Try that button," Clank pointed.
Ratchet looked and noticed for the first time a blue button above the screen.
"…..," the lombax reached a gloved hand out and pressed the switch.
-click-
"….."
"……"
"….."
"….."
Nothing seemed different.
Ratchet craned his neck to see the ship's nose. It was the same as usual.
"Maybe, Al made a mistake?" Ratchet questioned.
"I doubt it, Ratchet," Clank said.
Ratchet raised an eyebrow. Clank pointed out side. Ratchet looked.
Several Thugs-4-Less ships, that had just neared the red ship, where drifting around. But they didn't attack.
The imposter Thugs-4-Less ship flew towards the collection ship.
It neared the enormous vessel and the lombax and robot inside noticed an opening with a space-proof shield.
Wasting no time, the 'thug ship' flew through the shield and--
--entered a garage-like area. Ratchet was puzzled; he never saw a place like this in the other ship.
"Okay, Ratchet," Sasha's image onscreen said as one second after it switched on….startling Ratchet, "make your way to the control room and administer the bomb. There's an elevator to your right. Get there before any thugs see you."
"Got it," Ratchet said.
The lid opened.
Ratchet jumped out, followed by Clank. The lid closed.
"Are you sure it is wise to leave the ship like a thug ship?" Clank asked, looking up at Ratchet.
"If the thugs see it, they'll impound it like last time or destroy it," the lombax responded.
"But how will we know which one to take when we ret--?"
"Let's think about the minor details later," Ratchet interrupted.
Without question, Clank jumped and landed on Ratchet's back in his Heli-Pack mode.
The lombax ran into the nearby elevator, which was on the same floor as he was, jumped in and pressed the top button.
"Stay on by back," Ratchet said. "No doubt Heinous upped the security encase we found out the other on was a decoy."
"Affirmative."
"This'll take us to the top."
"On the contrary, Ratchet, there are many elevators all which stop and being on different floors."
Ratchet looked annoyed. "You mean….?"
"This won't take us to the top."
"Oh well. I'll just have to have some fun one the way."
"You do not mean that you're going to kill, do you, Ratchet?"
"Why not? I've done it before."
"Ending lives is not always the solution, Ratchet."
"…….."
"You know what I mean, right?"
Ratchet signed. "Right."
"Good."
"…."
"….."
"….."
"……."
"We're here."
The elevator made no ding sound as it opened. Ratchet was given a view of another hallway with a sliding door at the end.
He jogged towards the door……
……which exploded.
BOOOOOOOOM!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Ratchet fell back with a grunt.
He looked up and gasped.
Three Thugs-4-Less elite henchmen stood at the door, aiming Heavy Lancers.
"Ratchet, what's--?"
"Clank, I want you to be quiet."
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
Ratchet rolled right kicked his feet up, forced himself up, equipped his Mine Glove and threw several spheres while strafing.
The balls grew spikes and hovered towards the thugs.
One lunged forward and whacked them with the butt of his gun.
BOOOOOM! BOOOO-OOOO-OOOM! B-B-B-B-B-B-BOOOM!
Ratchet's eyes bugged.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
Ratchet equipped his wrench and spun it like a fan in front of him.
C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-CLANG!
While doing this, he ran forward, a Walloper in his free hand.
The thugs ceased fire.
One jumped over Ratchet. The other two-side stepped.
Each thug landed a foot on Ratchet's back/Clank.
The lombax stumbled towards the doorway and bumped into something.
He looked up.
A second class brute looked down at him. He swung his foot at Ratchet's chest.
KLUNKKK!
The lombax blocked with the broad side of his wrench.
The brute brought his foot down, pulled out a Mini-Nuke and fired.
Ratchet ducked the bomb.
BOOOOOM!
It landed behind him. Apparently, the other thugs miraculously dodged it.
"What the Hell?" Ratchet was dumb founded.
The brute aimed again.
Ratchet swung his wrench low.
TRIP!
He managed to trip the thug over.
From behind….
Cli-Click! Clak!
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
Ratchet jumped over the grounded thug, the shots only aiming at him.
He landed in a row and shot a missile from his newly equipped Devastator.
PHOOOOOM!
All the thugs dodge it.
Ratchet was at a loss of words.
"Behind--!"
A pair of purple hands grabbed him from behind.
Ratchet growled, reached behind him, grabbed a bare arm with both hands and attempted throwing the henchman over him.
However, the thug behind him manipulated this move and instead threw the lombax over shoulder.
Ratchet twirled his body around and landed in a sliding crouch.
He looked in front of him.
The brute had just gotten up. The first three thugs stood by his side as did the one who just flipped Ratchet over.
"……"
All five stared glowing a yellow hue.
Ratchet raised an eyebrow.
FWOOOOOSH!
One of the three thugs blurred at him.
"!.!.!.!.!" Ratchet panicked and held his wrench up in front of him.
CLANG!
The thug quickly back-flipped. And as he did--
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
The three thugs and brute unleashed Heavy Lancer fire.
Ratchet strained to deflect every shot with his wrench.
C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-CLA-CL-C-CLAN-CC-C-C-C-C-C-C-CLANG!
Plant.
The thug who blurred at Ratchet five seconds ago landed from his back-flip.
FWOOOOOO-OOOOOSH!
The three henchmen blurred at him in a yellow streak.
Ratchet lunged at the nearest one with his Walloper.
CLIIIIIICK!
The thug blocked with his gun.
The other two flipped over Ratchet and landed behind him.
Ratchet stupidly looked at them.
WHAM!
He was punched in the jaw by the thug who blocked his attack.
The thugs behind him gave way for him to teeter back.
Ratchet regained his sense.
The two henchmen back-kicked at him.
Ratchet jumped back. The thugs flattened themselves against the wall.
Except one.
TWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
The brute blurred at him with a fist at the ready.
WHAM!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Ratchet flew back and--
CRAAAAAAAASH!
--created a hole in a door he had just went through.
He groaned and stood up.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine Clank."
They looked around and found that they where in a maze of cubical. Several different offices lay all about, making it difficult to navigate through without getting lost.
"Why is there a cubical area on a ship that collects raritanium?" Ratchet asked.
FLASH!
CRASH!
A wave of yellow flew through the door destroying it. It then went through several work stations before dissipating.
Ratchet saw the five thugs blurring at him.
He made a run for it.
"Ratchet," Clank said while the lombax ran, "I've found an exit that'll take us to the next set of floors."
"Where?" Ratchet panted.
"The North Wing of this area."
"Where are we now?"
"……….The South Wing."
"Great."
FLASH! F-FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!
Five golden waves flew at Ratchet.
The lombax rounded a corner before they could hit him.
"!" He skidded to a stop.
Two elite henchmen were aiming Thrasher Cannons at him.
They fired.
BLAM! BLAM!
Ratchet ran left, into a cubical, and avoided having head explode.
He leaned against a desk and panted.
A beat.
SMASH!
A glowing fist went through a piece of wall above Ratchet's head.
The lombax jumped back.
STTTTTTTTSKKKKKKKSSXX!
A glowing brute had removed the top half of the cubical wall.
The other four thugs took aim.
Ratchet heard clicking to his left. He looked.
The other two henchmen aimed their weapons at him.
Ratchet crouched, jumped, and used his Heli-Pack, avoiding--
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
BLAM!
BLAM!
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT!
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
Ratchet grabbed the edge of the wall that was opposite the half-destroyed one and vaulted himself over it.
He landed. He heard. He looked.
The last two thugs that attacked him had come around the corner and were aiming their Thrasher Cannons.
B-BLAM!
Ratchet jumped both shots, went over a wall and landed on a desk.
He quickly headed to the West side.
He was about to jump over a wall--
SMASH!
The brute had come through the wall.
CLUTCH!
He grabbed Ratchet's ankle and threw him towards the other thugs.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT!
One of them fired.
Ratchet landed in time to block the shots.
C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-CLANG!
From his left…
FLASH!
A wave of yellow.
The lombax quickly deflected with his wrench--CLOOONG!--and Charge Booted to his right, dodging a downward fist from the brute behind him.
SMASH!
FWOOOOOOSH!
Ratchet blurred.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
The seven thugs blurred after him.
The brute fired a bomb from his Mini-Nuke.
Ratchet stopped and turned right.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The bomb missed.
Ratchet panted.
He heard footsteps.
He looked left.
Two of the henchmen where already at the end of the 'block'. Somehow they managed to get there in less than two seconds.
Ratchet ran into the doorway in front of him and fired a charged shot from his Megarocket Cannon.
FWOOOOOOOM-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-SMASH!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Several walls had new holes in them.
FWOOOOOOSH!.!.!.!
Ratchet Charge Booted.
While zooming, the lombax looked right.
Two elite henchmen were blurring at his speed, glowing yellow. They kept their glowing yellow eyes in his.
Ratchet looked left.
Another two elite henchmen were blurring alongside him in a similar fashion.
Ratchet looked behind him.
An elite henchman, a normal henchman, and a brute were coming at him.
"I'm beginning to think these aren't normal thugs," Ratchet said as he zoomed.
"I'll do a scan," Clank said.
"Right now?"
"Is there a better time?"
"Yeah, you should--"
WHAM!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Ratchet crashed into something. It wasn't a wall; it was a second class brute. Beside him where two purple henchmen.
All amounting to ten thugs.
Ratchet almost whimpered.
His ears perked as he heard the sound of an advancing thug behind him.
Ratchet circled the brute, avoiding accurate shots, ran into a cubical and jumped from wall to wall.
The thug that was chasing Ratchet didn't stop.
The brute cupped his hands in front to him.
The henchman jumped, landed in reptilian hands, was given a boost, and fired at the visible lombax while the others ran alongside him.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Ratchet stopped traveling, stood in the middle of a small office, and spun his wrench over him.
C-C-C-C-C-C-C--C-C-C-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-KLANG!
Plant!
The thug landed in front of Ratchet, blocking the irrelevant exit.
"HIYYYYAGH!" Ratchet swung his wrench sideways.
CLIIIIGG!
The thug blocked with his Heavy Lancer. He reached a glowing hand out and shot a wave.
FLASH!
Ratchet ducked. He swung his foot low.
The thug jumped and landed safely.
Ratchet swiped at his head.
The snivlakean performed a limbo.
THWAM!
He high-kicked Ratchet in the chin.
Ratchet stumbled back.
He looked up just for the Hell of it. His eyes bulged.
Two thugs were keeping their balance on the wall. The same on either side. Ratchet looked up and realized that he was being aimed at from all angles. Seven thugs on the walls, on in the middle and…..where were the brutes?
Ratchet had no choice but to equip his Plasma Storm.
He fired up.
FWOOOOM!
All the thugs back-flipped, giving Ratchet the time to zoom away via Charge Boots.
He dropped mine after mine behind him. He could hear the found of explosions.
Suddenly--
WHAAAAM!.!.!.!
A fist came out of nowhere and rammed into Ratchet's face.
The lombax flew left, was caught by another pair of arms and thrown further towards the West side of the room.
A leg shot from a corner to his right.
THWAP!
Ratchet crashed into it.
He groaned and looked up.
Two more elite thugs were aiming Thrasher Cannons at him.
Ratchet sweatdropped. "That's twelve now, right?"
He jumped before--
BLAM!.!.!.!
A brute came from the right, his hand glowing. The other two henchmen aimed in a similar fashion.
FLASH!
Ratchet fastened his fall to dodge the yellow blast.
FLASH!
He landed and side-rolled.
FLASH!
He back-flipped.
CLUTCH!
Ratchet gasped.
A brute had snuck up on him from behind and had both his ankles on one handful.
He spun the lombax over his head and chucked him at the henchmen.
Ratchet held his wrench out.
CLANK!
Wrench met Thrasher Cannon.
Right now, the thug stood in a nimble squat, holding his gun up in a vertical position. Ratchet was literally doing a 'wrench-stand' on that gun.
The thug pushed him off gently.
Ratchet landed on his feet.
CL-CL-CL-CLICK! CLAKK! CLIICK!
He looked behind him.
Eight thugs were all aiming at him.
Ratchet looked in front of him.
The brutes had taken out Mini-Nikes, while the last two henchmen aimed their Thrasher Cannons.
"….."
"….."
"….."
"….."
"….."
"….."
"….."
"….."
"….."
"….."
"….."
"….."
"….."
"….."
The thugs didn't fire; they were waiting.
"Still doing that scan?" Ratchet asked his robot friend.
"Yes. I'm almost done," Clank said.
"Can you tell me where we are?"
"We are almost at the center of the cubical area. To get to the elevator, we must travel to your right and pass by three blocks."
Ratchet had no problem with the thugs hearing what Clank said.
"Alright."
He equipped his Mini-Nuke in one hand and his Nitro Launcher in the other.
He fired in front of and behind him.
The thugs fanned out.
BOOOOOOOOM! BOOOOOOOOM!
Ratchet equipped his Walloper and--
BAM!
Punched through a thin wall.
He repeated the process, dropping Glove of Doom agents behind him.
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
There it was! Or there they where.
Three elevators where at the North wall, as Clank said.
Ratchet ran to the middle button and madly pressed the call button.
He sweated bullets and looked behind him.
He could see a streak of hot yellow coming at him.
Ratchet looked at the numbers.
One floor above him.
He desperately threw several mines behind him.
The elevator doors opened.
Ratchet rushed in.
He pressed the button for the top floor.
The doors began to close.
A Thigs-4-Less henchman had ignored the mines and was running at the elevator in a burst of golden.
Ratchet prayed.
SWOOOOSH-WHUMP!
Unfortunately, the thug managed to get inside without having his feet cut off.
"…..," Ratchet glared at the thug.
"……," the thug glared at Ratchet.
They stood on opposite sides of the claustrophobic elevator.
And the glowing thug smirked.
"How's it goin', Ratchet?"
"……," Ratchet was silent.
"We thought youz was never gonna come back."
"….."
"After ya killed our beloved Leader."
"……."
"Youz know what? He lived."
Ratchet's lips parted.
"He surviv'd the explosion with an ejector seat," the glowing thug explained. 'E was stranded on a desert island afta' that. The brain tumor 'e 'ad screwed him over and he needed help when 'e was found."
"……"
"He's changed lots though. No longer da happy thug we all knew."
"….."
"I we received word from a surviving thug that the ship on Grelbin went down. Youz didn't kill 'im again, did ya?"
"No," Ratchet finally spoke. "I didn't even see him."
"Like the improvements?"
Ratchet knew what the 'improvements' were.
"What are they?"
"Special chemical we've developed. 'Llows the user to go super fast 'n throw yellow waves."
"Ah."
The thug's smirk disappeared. He lunged his fist forward.
Ratchet barely caught it. He swung his foot at the thug's shin.
The thug blocked with his gun.
TOING!
He head-butted Ratchet in the forehead.
Ratchet teetered back.
The thug pulled his fist and, thrust the barrel of his Heavy Lancer at Ratchet's skull.
Ratchet caught the barrel and--with the momentum--aimed it left.
The thug kicked at Ratchet's groin.
The lombax jumped and stood on the thug's shoulders for a second.
The thug aimed up with his weapon and fired.
RAT-A-TAT!
C-CL-CLANG! The bullets bounced off the ceiling, making holes.
Ratchet had jumped off the shoulder and landed behind his opponent.
He noticed that the shooting had created a hole, big enough for him to fit through.
The thug back-kicked.
WHAP!
Ratchet was hit in the chest by a bare, purple foot.
He swiped his wrench downward.
The thug turned around and caught it before his head could be sliced in two. He levered himself around the wrench and--
THWAP!
--sprung his foot into Ratchet's side.
The lombax stopped his movement by placing his hand on the wall, pushed and sent a fist at the snivlakean's face.
The thug ducked.
Ratchet went passed him, placed both palms on the wall opposite the one he was on before, and back-kicked.
WHAM!
The thug was hit across the cheek.
"Clank, Heli-Pack now!" Ratchet yelled.
"Got it."
Ratchet stood in the middle of the elevator, jumped and, with help from Clank, managed to grab the edge of the circular opening. He hoisted himself up and looked around the shaft.
He was on the middle elevator, which was making a slow ascend. The other two elevators were following closely behind.
Ratchet contemplated jumping on another one.
And jump he did.
He ran to the edge and--with a stretch-jump--managed to make it on another elevator car.
Suddenly--
JERK!
The elevator Ratchet was on stopped.
So did the one he was on earlier.
The same for the other one.
"Ratchet, I have finished scanning," Clank said.
"And…?"
"The thug was right," Clank explained. "Some sort of chemical has been developed that allows whoever comes in contact with it…..to posses heightened reflexes, speed, and the ability to shoot yellow waves of concentrated energy from their person."
"What's the weakness?"
"The power is due to run out."
"When?"
"For that, I'm uncertain."
Ratchet sighed--
SMASH!
A green hand burst through the elevator's roof a few inches from Ratchet's foot.
The lombax jumped.
S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-SMASH!
Other hands burst through the roofs of, not only the elevator car Ratchet was on, but the other two as well.
Ratchet grew pale.
He equipped his Gravity Boots and ended up walking on the shaft's wall.
He equipped his Vaporizer, aimed at the rope of the elevator he was on, and fire.
BANG!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
The rope snapped and the elevator fell into the darkness below it.
Ratchet smiled.
FLASH!
A wave of yellow flew and singed the wall 'below' Ratchet's feet.
Ratchet looked 'up'.
Five thugs stood on the other two elevator cars.
Ratchet frowned, equipped Multi-Star and fired.
TW-TW-TW-TW-TW-TW-TW-TWISH!
Some went at the thugs, who--
C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-CLANK!
Deflected them with their guns.
Two purple projectiles were lucky and manage to--
SNAP! SNAP!
--cut through the necessary ropes.
The five thugs jumped and, amazingly, started kicking off the shaft's walls.
Ratchet walked upwards backwards, firing Multi-Disk Gun shots.
All the glowing thugs managed not to get hurt by either deflecting with their guns, shooting the projectiles with their guns, avoiding them by jumping from wall to wall, shooting them with a yellow wave, and/or batting them away with their own hands.
Ratchet sweated bullets and he backed up more.
"Ratchet, I can see the top floor," Clank said.
"Good."
Ratchet looked behind him and saw that the top floor of the shaft was getting closer.
PHWOOOOOOM!
He fired a shot from his Decimator.
BOOOOM!
The missile exploded into tiny, irrelevant missiles and destroyed the door.
Ratchet aimed behind him and shot a few blind rounds with the same weapon.
He heard no cries of pain of anguish.
He found the doorway and jammed 'down'. Gravity resumed to normal and the lombax made a run for at after--
FWOOOOM!
--shooting a single shot from his Plasma Storm.
He could hear the sound of zaps, but didn't bother to look.
He just sprinted. He and Clank where in a hallway that showed doors on the left and space via windows on the right. This ship wasn't entirely different from the other ships.
He decided it would be better if he used his Charge Boots.
"We are on the same floor as the control room," Clank said.
"Do you know the way?" Ratchet asked.
"Yes. Stop."
Ratchet stopped.
"Open that door."
Ratchet equipped his Bomb Glove and hurled an explosive.
BOOM!
The door was shattered.
Ratchet ran through, used his glove to destroy a second door--as instructed by Clank--and walked into another hallway.
"I'm getting sick of these--"
BLAM!
Ratchet was cut off as a Thrasher Cannon that was aimed at him went off.
The lombax dove forward and flattened himself against a wall.
He looked to his left and saw a henchman reloading his Thrasher Cannon. Like the others, this thug was outlined by a yellow aura.
"I'm guessing I have to go that way," Ratchet said as he pointed behind the thug.
"Uh…..yes," Clank said.
Ratchet ran towards the thug.
FLASH!
Instead of using his gun, the thug fired a wave of yellow.
Ratchet twirled his wrench and deflected.
CLIING!
BLAM!
The thug fired this time.
Ratchet side-stepped the blast.
WHOOOOSH!
The thug blurred at him.
Ratchet raised his wrench.
The thug raised his weapon.
CL-CLANG!
Both locked weapons and applied weight on one other.
They could smell one another's breath.
The glowing thug smirked like the previous one.
"Nothin' withou' weapons, eh?"
Ratchet barred his teeth.
The thug grinned.
THWAP!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! THWAP!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Two pairs of eyes bulged.
Two pairs of eyes watered.
Two people went cross-eyed.
Two people clutched their nether regions.
Both Ratchet and the thug fell over after kicking each other in the crotch.
The thug's yellow glow disappeared momentarily as he muttered several different curse words.
Ratchet fell on his side.
"Ratchet, what happened?" Clank asked.
"I'll….be…..fine," Ratchet wheezed.
The lombax fought to stand up. He leaned against a wall and slowly walked away. He saw that thug was still convulsing.
Ratchet yelped now and then and moved.
"I'm receiving a call from the Phoenix," Clank said.
"I'm listening," ratchet strained to say.
A small visual display unit emerged from a compartment in Clank's chest, grew in size, and hovered in front of Ratchet. It revealed a tyhrranoid. Slim.
"Hey, Ratchet," Slim greeted. "Sasha wants to know what's taking so long."
Ratchet tried to sound as calm as he could. "We've encountered super thugs."
Slim looked curious. "What do ya mean?"
"They're really fast, they're smart, glowing yellow, they can shoot yellow blasts…they're a tough challenge."
Slim looked afraid.
Ratchet went on as he walked and the monitor hovered in front of him. "Clank said that they're using some sort of chemical that heightens their--"
"I know," Slim interrupted. He sighed. "On the last ship, I fought the thug Leader."
Ratchet's lips parted….more than they already were.
"He used a special chemical. Said he extracted the power from Experiment 3."
Ratchet was about to speak in a hopeful tone, when Slim cut him off.
"Don't believe that. He was probably lying. Anyways, he's dead now."
Ratchet's eyes widened. "You killed him?"
"No….he sorta fell off the ship by accident," Slim half-lied.
"I see."
"Back to the topic at hand. The ship has finished collecting raritanium and will reach Heinous' base in five minutes!"
"We are almost at the control room," Clank announced.
"Then, hurry and be careful. Slim out."
The image disappeared and the hovering display unit went into Clank's compartment.
"Turn left," the robot said.
Ratchet turned left, destroyed another door via Bomb Glove and stopped.
They where in a massive control room. A wide console of shiny buttons, levers, and knobs surrounded a large screen. Clank jumped off Ratchet's back, walked towards a button near the door the lombax just destroyed, and pressed it. A second door replaced the old one.
"Let's plant the detonator," the robot said.
"Why do we need the detonator in the control room?" Ratchet asked as he looked at his friend.
"And explosion here will trigger an immense chain reaction," the robot simply replied. He held his hand out. "The detonator please."
Ratchet selected what was asked and an explosive materialized in his left hand. He held the bulky device out for Clank to take. The robot held it in both arms. He trotted towards the middle of the console and pressed a few buttons.
"I set it to two minutes," Clank said as he walked towards his partner.
"That's not enough time!" Ratchet exclaimed.
Clank remained calmed. "There is another exit."
Ratchet blinked. "Where?"
"Follow me."
The two walked over towards a door. It swished open…..revealing a hallway with a translucent, green wall, blocking the entrance to space.
"Can we pass through that?" Ratchet asked.
"Yes," Clank responded, "it is similar to the ones in our galaxy." As they walked, he said, "Call the ship."
Ratchet pressed a button on his glove.
They waited. Ratchet say against a wall while Clank stood near the opposite one.
A beat.
"Couldn't we have come through here instead of going through all that pointless fighting?" Ratchet asked.
Clank nodded.
"Why didn't we?"
The robot shrugged. "Sasha must have forgotten to tell us about it, or she didn't even know."
Ratchet groaned; he was still hurting.
A few seconds later, a red ship came through the shield. There was enough room for its wings.
"The shield must have worn off," Clank said.
"Let's go," Ratchet said.
He walked up to the ship. The cockpit's lid opened. Ratchet jumped in, followed by Clank. The lid closed and the jets glowed.
Soon, the ship backed up. When it was far enough, it turned away and headed for the Phoenix.
Meanwhile…
Back at the control room…
Two thugs traversed the large place.
They weren't glowing yellow though.
They had confident smiles plastered across their faces.
One thug saw the detonator. He went to it, picked it up, pulled out a screwdriver, opened its back, and cut a wire via claws.
"'Ave the other thugs survived?" the thug who deactivated the explosive asked his comrade.
"Yup," the other one replied. "The elevator fall was nothin' thanks to the special chemical."
The other one just smiled.
"Don't worry, Sasha," Ratchet's image on a big screen said, "we've planted the detonator. It should explode in about twenty seconds."
"Great work," Sasha said with a soft smile. "Return to the Phoenix at once."
Ratchet nodded. "Copy that. Over and out."
The screen switched to a view of the ship that was about to explode.
Sasha and Slim were the only organic ones there; all the others had on to sleep. Three rangers were the only ones present.
Sasha waited.
Slim waited.
And………………..nothing happened. The ship kept its course and eventually went out of sight.
"What the…," Sasha was at a loss of words.
A few minutes later…
Heinous waited as he stood in front of the Compound Reactor. The amount of raritanium was still being counted.
Thirty--not glowing--thugs waited behind him. They shifted impatiently.
Albert stood by his master's side.
Sandy and Raxamis weren't there; one of them was sick with some unknown illness, and the other was writing fanfics.
The work of the constructobots was no more, because everything that needed to be built was built.
All ten troopers stood in a line just like the thugs. Their faceless heads reflected any light that touched them.
All ten robo roosters waited silently.
The final result came.
'POWER AT 100 PERCENT'.
"YES!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!" Heinous bellowed loudly, startling Albert and some thugs. "We have enough power! Robo roosters, set a course for Solana!.!.!.! We're LEAVING!.!.!.!.!.!.!"