Anger, Rage, Hatred, Revenge
By Sarge11
Disclaimer: The only stuff I own is the stuff not in the game.
Sorry. There are two reasons why this took so long. One, school is really hammering me hard. And two, well, that's personal.
Chapter 2: The Culprit
Ratchet, Clank, Alema, Angela, and the mystic entered the room where Screw slept. He was still glowing a little bit, but he was sleeping more peacefully than Ratchet had ever seen him sleep before.
Ratchet approached his boy slowly, and bent down to see if he was really asleep, or if he was in a hibernation caused by the strain of using his powers, which had happened to Ratchet many times before. He pulled his head up and signaled to Angela that he was just sleeping. She quickly and quietly walked over to Screw and scratched him behind his ear, which always woke him up.
His eyes shot open. There was still a blue glow lingering in his eyes, showing that he still had some power left. He thrust his arm out toward Angela, but instead of flying through the wall, she just felt a small, invisible, withering force pushing lightly against her. Screwdriver was able to keep up the pressure for ten seconds, and then fell into hibernation. The glow faded, his eyes closed, and he went limp.
The mystic stepped forward and held his arms out. A series of pink rings surrounded Screw and started swirling around him.
The young Lombax sat bolt upright and looked frantically around the room.
He paused for a second, then broke up in tears, screaming, "Miss Sasha! Miss Sasha! Come back!"
Angela bent down and hugged him.
Ratchet asked, "Who did this?"
"I can answer that," said a voice similar to Ratchet's but deeper.
They turned around and saw Ax, who was much bigger than Ratchet due to his many adventures. Sarge11 was standing next to him.
They crossed the room to a holomoniter at the other side of the room, and Sarge11 inserted a chip. As the video was starting up, Ax explained what was on the chip.
"This video was taken by Sarge11 while he was searching a nearby asteroid for a rare power crystal. He was able to film the Phoenix in its last moments of life," explained Ax.
The Phoenix appeared on the screen. Except it was on fire. Flames were pouring from the engines, and the entire back half of the ship was an inferno that was quickly making its way to the ships powder magazine where all the ship's ammo was stored. The flames reached the magazine and ignited a series of explosions that rocked the ship. Finally, one last explosion separated the "neck" of the ship from the body.
However, Angela, Clank, and Alema weren't looking at the Phoenix. They were more interested in the attackers' ships than the Phoenix. It was a design they had never seen before. They looked like giant, vomit-covered bricks. But one of the more interesting parts of the ships, were the six "legs" on each side of the craft that would "grab" onto parts of the Phoenix and pull them off; turrets, shield generators, armor plates, and parts of engine.
The computer on the recorder started tracing smoke trails leaving the attacking ships. It zoomed in on the sources of the smoke and scanned the sources and the smoke. The smoke was a trail of hydrogen, and the source was a hydrogen bomb.
The computer zoomed out again and started scanning other things. It scanned the ships' engines, but could not get a reading on it. So it scanned the entire ship, and revealed that the ship was carbon-based. The ships were literally alive.
The Phoenix launched one final barrage at the attackers, before being destroyed by the enemies' missiles, and managed to destroy an enemy ship.
The computer focused on what appeared to be empty space, but there was a humanoid figure floating around; a very tall one too. Apparently it had come from the destroyed enemy ship. Another figure floated into view. It was much smaller and clad in a bright orange vac suit. It was Screw.
As Ratchet studied the taller figure, he realized something horrible. It was one of the creatures he had been captured by on his first "visit" to Crusade. The same kind that had tried to suck Skidd's brains out and that killed Sarge11's entire squad.
Screw floated closer to the creature. It started ripping and tearing at the suit and managed to get a hold of some of the places where shrapnel had punctured the suit and started tearing it open. He was able to kick away from the creature before the suit was completely ripped. After floating around for maybe three seconds, he fell unconscious and the ships left.
A Ranger Dropship came into view and was moving toward the camera and extended its ramp. Sarge11 walked toward the Dropship but turned around as if he had forgotten something. He reached for the camera and the video stopped.
"After showing this to Galactic Command, this new threat has been christened, 'The Beast'," Sarge11 spoke for the first time. "We were able to capture two of the creatures and discovered something odd. They share a single mind. Basically, this means that what one creature hears or feels, the entire species experiences as well." He put another disk in the monitor, and the two creatures mentioned appeared onscreen. "One of the creatures is hooked up to some electric wires, while the other one left alone." Two screens showed what was going on in their brains.
The current was turned on and both the creatures convulsed, not just the one hooked up. The screens with the brains lit up in the same patterns. Even though one of them wasn't hooked up, it was feeling everything that was happening to his buddy.
The monitor was turned off and silence filled the room.
Ax was the first to speak. "I managed to capture one of the ships. It's sitting in the hanger."
They reached the hanger and saw something the likes of which they had ever seen before. It was a disgusting green color and looked like it didn't have any aerodynamic parts whatsoever. It was just a giant, green brick that had six legs.
But the strangest was yet to come. As they got closer, they could see the surface heaving lightly up and down, as if it were breathing. Sarge11 took out a laser blade and cut into the ship. A horrific smell filled the room, something like charred flesh. A cut was made into the side and something akin to blood flowed from the cut. As the cut was made, a silent squealing sound emitted from the ship, the heaving increased, and the legs started twitching.
"So. Not even the ships are made of metal. The only thing that is even slightly modern are the missiles," mused Ratchet.
"Yes, but the problem isn't the power of the weaponry, it's the speed of their attack and the numbers of their ships," Sarge11 explained.
"Their escape route has been traced and we've found their base on Crusade," said Ax.
"Oh, no. The Albinos. We've gotta help them out!" exclaimed Angela.
"I've already checked it out. They're already in hiding and are getting prepared for war," said Ax.
"Let's drop by and give them a hand," said Ratchet with grim determination.
Well, here's the second real chapter. I thought that, as a whole, it could have been better, but the part about the small push and the descriptions of the ships were way cool, I think. So, I've done my part, you do yours and review.
-Sarge11