Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet and Clank or any of its characters. Rivet Appreciation Week 2021 prompt list by weeksofrac of Twitter.
Had to take a break from posting stuff for this bc writing 12,000 words in less than a week just about took all the air out of me. So, finally, we have the final chapter for my Rivet week collection. Hope you all enjoy! :D
*Trigger warnings: choking and mentions (tried to keep it to mentions) of vomiting. There's also heavy manipulation from Emps' side, but yeah, that's what you get when you want him better than his canon form.
Standing in the Eye of the Hurricane
Day 7: Ending an Empire…
Chapter Summary: Day 7 – Ending an Empire…. The emperor wanted her to join his ranks and fight for his glory. It was too bad that she had already sworn to destroy his entire empire.
"…You know, sometimes I think you make this almost too easy for me…"
It took everything in her body to not spit the blood welling in her mouth at the pearly-white armored feet in front of her. That would have shown that she was easily irritated, and the emperor thrived off of making people react to his words.
Instead, she forced the blood down with a swallow, keeping her venomous glare centered on the floor.
A low laugh left the robot overlord. "No words? Playing the silent treatment this time around?" He moved, and a long metal claw traced the edge of Rivet's face, guiding her head up. "Good. I hate not having a little challenge from you. You've always been a little spitfire when it comes to taking me on, and I would hate to have you broken so easily…"
Before she could stop herself, her lips peeled back into a snarl, and a growl burned in her throat.
Claws snapped over her jawline and wrenched her face up at an awkward angle. Orange optics peered down from above, and an arrogant sneer marred the ugly mess of a robotic face. "Ooh, love it when you growl. Almost makes me think you're stupid enough to try a second round."
The emperor's office was silent, but full. Four Nefarious Juggernauts encircled her with two holding her arms up while the rest of her weakened body sagged to the floor. That wasn't counting the six other Lasertroopers stationed by and around the door; the Blitztroopers and Sluggers lined up in formation outside the office; and the endless horde of regular Trooper-bots on-call for any sudden offensive. And all of it excluded the emperor himself, who was more than capable of tearing Rivet apart with telekinesis alone.
It would be suicide if she dared lift a finger against the emperor.
"I'm not an imbecile, you overdressed pile of shareware." Rivet wheezed, swallowing more blood leaking from her damaged muzzle. "You got me this time. You won the battle. But you know what I know? I'm not in Zordoom right now, nor is my body six feet under hard dirt." Another raspy breath choked up her lungs, and she forced down the shuddering coughs rising up from her heavily-bruised chest. "Means you got a plan for me and brought me in here for a reason."
The emperor was quiet for a moment. The smile didn't leave his face, and anger didn't flash in his optics as he flicked his hand and threw her head to the side. "Adorable, Rivet. You continue to show me such wonderful traits about you. And yes, you are here for a very special reason."
Her neck cracked and joints popped painfully as she leaned her head back to face the tall robot. A low ache thrummed in the bases of her shoulders, where the top of her arms connected to her chest, and whatever serum they shot her with took away all strength in her legs.
She was helpless to the situation.
Emperor Nefarious turned away, strutting over to his surveillance system. He held up his hand, bending his index finger in a way that said, 'Come closer.'
Instantly, the Juggernauts holding her gripped her arms so tightly the Lombax was forced to hold back a sharp scream of agony. The enormous robots floated towards their leader's desk, stopping just before the edge, and used their free hands to yank Rivet's ears down. Her head fell back, and the delicate base of her ears lit up with sudden suffering.
"I want you to take a look at something, my dear." Claws outstretched towards the numerous screens, and with a telekinetic reach from the emperor, the screens lit up one-by-one. Images of other resistance members–Ali, Helga, Phantom–scrolled into the holo screens, followed by pages filled with information on where they were; their pasts; and all of their strengths and weaknesses. "In order for me to show you something I've been working on for a little while now, we're going to have to address the delicate little team you run around with."
"Don't you dare." The words left her gritted teeth before she could stop herself. "Hurt them, and I'll fight you right here. I don't care if I die. Do it, and I'll find some way to make you regret it."
The emperor brightened, a giddy smile on his face completely contrasting the arrogant look that had been there previously. "There! See, that's the type of go-getter attitude I'm looking for!" He reached forward, patting the top of her head and ruffling the hair fluff. "But I think I'm getting ahead of ourselves here. We need to start at the beginning if we're going to do this properly."
He paused, flicking a look to the two guards holding onto Rivet. The happy look was replaced with something murderous, a blink-and-you'd-miss-it moment when the false fiction was lost to the reality behind the veil.
The robots holding Rivet shivered. She could only guess what the emperor had said to them before the strike mission against her had gone down.
"Let's start over." Emperor Nefarious tilted his head, slitting his optics and curling up the edges of his mouthpiece into a grin. "We've been fighting for such a long time. It's been, what… six years now?" A soft chuckle left the robot, and he waved a dismissive hand off to his side. "It's been wonderful to see you try and put up a resistance to my conquests, good as they have been, but I feel like you could be doing more with your skills."
The screens flashed, and a picture of Ali in all his robotic, destructive-gun-wielding glory blew up over the mass of holovisions.
"Let's start with this particular member of your little club. Big Ali, wasn't it?" The emperor crooned, turning his back to the Lombax and tapping a claw to the tip of his mouthpiece. "Let's see here. A brilliant mechanic and engineer… fond of several of the animes that aired before my oppressive rule, particularly of the show 'Lombaxian Moon'… loves to spend time with his weapons and even calls them his 'babies' in times when he's very attached to them… And an utter lunatic!"
Black pupils blew wide, and rage flooded every fiber of Rivet's restrained being.
"The way he acts? It's too similar to an overactive toddler! Half the time he causes more trouble for the group than actually assisting in your missions. An utter disgrace to the virtues of your team. I could only imagine what he was like before my first Biobliterator prototypes laid waste to his city."
That was spot-on down to the minor details over how Ali acted, the emperor's insults aside. But Ali only stayed within the resistance headquarters. The only way the emperor would have known that…
"Next, that… 'Raritanium Beast' that tends to give my guards trouble." He continued on, and the screens flashed off Ali's picture to Helga's. "Such a funny little name for such a brute. Honestly, if it wasn't for their muscular prowess and their unending quest for vengeance against me, I would have excused all their awful manners and offered them this honored position." Orange optics rolled. "They have such anger against me for 'ruining Lance and Janice'... What a childish notion! I can't understand why you would ever keep such a rabid animal around your base."
No… The headquarters were secure. Ali had made sure of it.
"Then we have this Phantom character." Phantom's face slipped onscreen, including a few pictures of him without his visor on and of days past. "Real name, Trixx McMarx. An aspiring pro-hoverboarder that never really had the chance to be one. Loves the thrill of his little stealth missions and actually gets along with that madman Ali because of their shared love of… 'cosplay,' as they call it."
Disgust marred the emperor's face. "Now this one! If he was in my army, he would have been cleaned up within an instant! His speech patterns!" An open shudder ran over the robot, and he pressed a gentle hand to his forehead. "This 'dude' and 'man' nonsense… You actually consider him as one of the faces of your resistance! What a bloody awful joke your resistance is!"
Their headquarters was bugged. At least the one under the snowy surface of Aridia V was, where Ali and Helga and Phantom mainly visited and roomed in. If the emperor had bugged them recently, within the past several months, then that would be the base that was compromised. The other home bases would have to be checked over, but there was no doubt in Rivet's mind that the main place the resistance used as a base was already giving the emperor more information than the resistance needed it to.
Emperor Nefarious mimicked a sigh and shook his head. "Now, these inane characters–these foolish, uncouth idiots–are the exact same people you fight for and alongside with. You're a brilliant mechanic, a strong strategist, and one of the greatest fighters I have ever had the pleasure of beating into the ground. Without you, they would be nothing. They have a fraction of the talent you hold within your pinky finger, my dear, and it's time I bring this concerning bit of information to your attention."
He turned back to Rivet. Before he could say anything, the Lombax hissed through her clenched fangs. "They're my friends, and if you think that I'll betray them for you, then you're the real idiot." The edges of her mouth curled up into a manic snarl. "But thanks for letting us know that you tapped our base. Didn't think you'd slip that hard in trying to get me on your side."
Again, orange optics rolled, and the emperor made a clicking sound with his vocal processors, similar to if he was clicking his tongue. "I see… we're going to have to work on your struggles with seeing the bigger picture, Rivet." He reached forward and booped her nose, relishing in the violent, wet hiss that Rivet let out at the sudden touch. "You're getting a bit ahead of what I have planned, my dear, and you know how much I despise rushing into things. Come now, we've got the other half of my pitch to get through, and I have no doubt that it will change your mind about our current situation."
At the snap of his claws, the Juggernauts zipped backwards, letting Rivet's head flop forward and releasing the tight hold they had had over her face and ears. The two enormous hands the robots had stayed tight around her upper arms, and her legs dropped back to drag against the cold, steel floor.
"Come now, onto the main surprise I have to offer!"
Rivet moved, groaning under her breath as the two Juggernauts dragged her limp body away from the desk and toward the doors to the emperor's office. As the tall robot passed, the other guards flew back, allowing proper space for their leader to move around.
Once they left the office, the same soldiers that had been waiting around the edges of the room flicked their blasters on. Crackles and whines reverberated around the small hallway. Robotic legs clanked against the floor in military formation, loud and heavy, and Rivet knew without looking over her shoulder that the guards were lined up behind her with their blasters trained at the back of her body. If she made a move, she would be vaporized.
"Pardon the mess in the fortress, my dear," the emperor called out from several steps in front of her. "The last conquest I made–the one I made two days ago, the one on Cobalia… you know about that one, right?-yes, so anyway, we're still cleaning up from that one. It's been excruciating scraping off the remains of the planet's organics off our ships and blasters, but we've been-"
Rivet cracked open her eyes and tuned the robotic dictator out. She would usually listen, since the emperor was bound to give bits of important information laced in his babblings, but her eyes were already searching for a way out of the current situation.
Any vents near her were too guarded, and without her mallet, there was no way she would be able to bash in the grates at a speed that wouldn't get her caught. The numerous guards behind her were a massive problem in-and-of-itself. A quick glance upward to the stoic-faced Juggernauts holding her showed the Lombax that she wouldn't be able to turn them against the others, let alone taking them out without risking more major injuries.
For what felt like an eternity, the massive group strode around the emperor's fortress. At first, Rivet counted the turns, but after the thirtieth hallway, the make-shift map she built in her mind fell apart. She had no idea if the emperor was guiding the group to the right place, or just leading them around in circles to make sure she was completely lost if she ever tried to make a break for it.
By the time she was wholly lost, the robotic dictator led the mass of robots behind him into an enormous, high-ceilinged room.
Everything had been made in gold. Red carpets stretched out across the ornate hall, and from where the Juggernauts held her, Rivet could spy more than a dozen different doors scattered along the outer rim of the room. Columns decorated with gorgeous designs lifted to hold the weight of the ceiling.
Noises–creatures chattering and milling about–reached the Lombax's ears. Several different conversations, too mixed into each other for Rivet to really catch anything specific, fluttered over from a crowd of robots opposite the emperor.
And of course, as he always did without fail, Emperor Nefarious paused in his speech about refurbishing Cobalia's gel plants and waved over to the crowd of robots.
Oh, for the love of…
The last thing Rivet wanted to have now was the emperor being surrounded by his overzealous fans while she was unable to escape. If she had a chance to get out, then she'd take the fans as a blessing, a distraction that could be used to slow the emperor down. But without half the tools she usually had on her and more than a dozen guns pointed at the back of her head, the crowd of robots meant she had to listen to them kiss-up to the emperor for as long as his ego put up with it.
And his ego could take in an infinite amount of butt-kissing.
"Greetings, my wonderful subjects!" Emperor Nefarious called out. Nefarious City citizens swarmed him, basking in 'his eternal glory' or whatever minor quality they praised him for having. "It is such an honor to see so many of you in my Court hall, though you're a tad bit late, I'm afraid. All of my Court finished the weekly galactic meeting early this morning, so they're back at the office for now. No Counts and Ladies for today."
Disappointment and sad groans came from the group of citizens.
Rivet shut her eyes and rolled them so hard the outer rim of her eyeballs strained. There he went, playing to the crowd that probably had daily rehearsals over how to suck-up to the emperor so their noises of excitement or disappointment could be synchronized in time. Irritation burned in her chest. They were going to be in the room forever…
"Oh, no, my wonderful subjects! My Court is doing its part in keeping our galaxy safe and protected from the dangers the squishy resistance tries to plague us with, so their absence is a blessing unto us all!" He paused, letting a warm smile spread across his mouthpiece. "I actually have another guest, one that is just as wonderful as our dear Court members and several hundred times as shrewd."
Wait.
"My wonderful subjects-"
Oh, no.
"Meet the Lombax warrior of the resistance, Rivet!"
The response was instant. More than a dozen robots reeled back in horror and fear, and their faces glitched out in the sudden facial expression change. A yelp came from one of the citizens in the back. The ones closest to Rivet drew themselves inward, as if she was a deadly radioactive substance that would melt their metal off their forms.
Emperor Nefarious immediately lowered his form slightly, making calming gestures with his hands. "No, no, no, my dear subjects! You don't need to be afraid of this Lombax!"
"Uh, no…" Rivet deadpanned, looking to crowd. "Probably should stay scared of me. Just because I'm captured doesn't mean I've lost all the fight to take this overzealous diphthong out of commission."
The crowd went silent. After a beat of silence, one of the citizens raised their hand, looking toward the emperor. "Um… your excellence? This is the Lombax rebel, Rivet… The same one who blew up several emergency centers and housing buildings during the resistance's last break-in on this city…?"
This time, it was Rivet's face that colored in shock. "I… I blew up what?" Guilt choked up her chest. "I- I never meant- I didn't- No, I… I'm not the real enemy here!"
White claws appeared in front of her, and the emperor placed himself in front of her. "Yes, yes, she did that." He mimicked a sigh, placing a hand over his chest. "We all understand that these crimes are gravely serious, and that Rivet cannot be easily forgiven for the atrocities she has committed against this unfaltering empire. She has torn apart families, destroyed our way of life nearly several times, and has been one of the greatest menaces this empire has ever faced!"
"However, as terrible as these crimes are, I believe in something special." The emperor stretched out his arms in a grand gesture. "The path of redemption is a difficult one, but not one that is impossible to earn. Rivet has proven herself as a maleficent force-" the crowd looked to her, pain and misery in their eyes "-but I think, with a little of that hard work I always encourage, she will be an insurmountable addition to the security of our empire!"
The citizens looked at him with dazed confusion, and for once, Rivet was with them.
"Think about it, my wonderful subjects," he began. "Imagine the good this Lombax could do on our side! The resistance fighters that keep threatening our delicate way of life? She's the best fighter among them, so having her on our side would mean imminent victory in crushing the rest of the squishies that think our way of life is wrong!"
He threw out his arms, snagging one of the citizens and pulling them close. "And making up for past crimes? Have you ever seen this Lombax when she's focused on something? She's a vital team player, and with the protection she would provide? Imagine it– a city where Rivet is the highest-ranked Imperial fighter, one where she will protect you from the resistance, aid medical services when saving citizens from destroyed buildings and centers, and hold out her hand to help you with a smile on her face!"
A smaller robot drifted forward, one that was about the size of a child and had most likely been one before their Biobliteration. They floated forward, approaching the emperor, with sparkles in their pixelated eyes.
"Would she really do that for us?"
"Of course!" Emperor Nefarious took a knee. He scooped up the little robot, relishing in the joyous beeps the child made when lifter. "She would keep you so safe, you would never have nightmares of the resistance destroying you or hurting the ones you love ever again!"
Wonder, both sounds and expressions, left the group as they turned their attention back to her.
"Whoa, whoa," Rivet started. "I haven't- I'm not on your side."
The emperor chuckled, bouncing the child robot on his leg. "Well, we'll see about that." With a sly smile on his mouthpiece, he held out the cheering child to the Lombax. "You wouldn't say no to these wonderful folks, would you? And how could you anyway? You've been a menace to their lives and make them afraid to leave their homes, besides the fact that you've already destroyed so many families and friends in your quest to end our glorious empire."
The child looked at her, a plea in their eyes.
"I…" Rivet's ears dropped, and shame colored her face. Several excuses ran through her head, but the fact that she would have to hurt a child, one that had been brainwashed and fed propaganda to where they didn't know any better, was a force that kept her mouth clammed up.
Her eyes looked over to the rest of the crowd.
They were looking at her with awe. With acceptance. With hope. The exact same hope she didn't see in their eyes when she worked so hard to break them free of their dictator's iron-clad rule.
"I…"
"Well! It seems this Lombax isn't able to make such a statement at this time!" The emperor lowered the child to the floor and straightened up to full height. "And that's quite alright, my subjects. These things take time, and I implore you to keep an open mind to the possibilities." A look of humility, something that Rivet definitely didn't believe was real, shrouded his robotic form. "I'm someone of immense generosity, of great vision for the future, and I encourage you all to keep your arms open and warm for Rivet's welcome!"
Immediately, the robots' attention turned back to the emperor.
"Your majesty! That is utterly brilliant!"
"Absolutely incredible! Your words have utterly moved me, your excellence!"
"Your greatness, I shall do as you say, only if I can hold a shadow of your immense kindness!"
Usually, Rivet would shrug all the praise the emperor received off, but her mind was stuck on a child's robotic face. Of the pleading nature the child had taken on. Of the hope that had shone so bright in their eyes it weighed down Rivet's heart.
Emperor Nefarious waved, closing his optics and soaking up the praise like a sponge. "Thank you, thank you, my wonderful citizens. I wish I could stay and let you bask in my greatness a little bit longer, but me and Rivet have more things to catch up on. I shall leave you all with a platoon of soldiers to make sure you all return to work and home safely!"
With a simple snap of his fingers, the dozens of guards behind Rivet broke away, pairing up with civilians to make arrangements for walks home.
Fangs sank into her bottom lip. This is what she was fighting to avoid altogether. But here were the citizens of Nefarious City, walking home with guards at their sides because they were terrified of being swept up in an attack.
The emperor waved his hand to the two Juggernauts holding Rivet, beckoning them to follow. "Come along now, onto the thing I've been wanting to reveal to you, my dear."
Guilt flipped her stomach over. Rivet watched the child robot join their family, and the family floated off with two Nefarious Sluggers on either side of them. Happy chattering reached her ears.
They kept floating away, and Rivet kept her eyes on them until doors closed behind her.
Her head swiveled back forward, and as the emperor led them up a wide-width staircase, Rivet let her head flop down from emotional exhaustion. All the while, as the emperor droned on about the intricacies of keeping his citizens happy, the Lombax fought down the rising sense of shame drowning her upper chest.
The path widened, and after another several minutes of following the emperor through his maze of a base, the floorplan opened. Giant doors rolled open to a factory floor. Several hundred of Nefarious City's citizens buzzed around, working on building more dropships and warships. Complaints of the 140-hour plus work were silenced almost immediately with pained screams and the cracks of electricity arcs. Propaganda leaked out from the room's overhead speakers, praising the workers for how much their work contributed to the glory of the great Emperor Nefarious' empire.
The vile smells of leaking gasoline, dangerous chemicals, and untreated mold growth rose up to meet the Lombax's nose. Bile shot up from her stomach, and it took everything she had to keep from vomiting at the smell alone.
The emperor turned, tucking one arm behind his back and waving a dismissive hand at Rivet's sudden nausea. "Oh, yes. I forgot that you would be affected by such trivial things, my dear. We'll be through this section of my base before you know it, and then your weak little squishy stomach will steady."
"My great majesty!"
A rectangular-shaped robot flew up from the factory floor below and settled in front of Emperor Nefarious. Even on the steel catwalks above the factory floor, the citizen stayed more than five feet away from the robot dictator.
"We're precisely on schedule, your eminence," the robot cooed, tapping at the tablet in their arms. "Production is up 130 percent since the last failed strike the resistance tried to make against our supply chain, and the fifth warship is nearing full completion!"
A charmed laugh left Emperor Nefarious. "That's wonderful news, Barry!" he exclaimed, taking a step towards the smaller robot. "I expect nothing less from our excellent Warship Manager!"
"Oh, of course, sir." The robot preened under the attention, and the little robotic eyes slitted into upside-down V's. "I live to serve this glorious empire and its unstoppable expansion."
"Well, of course you do. Because if you didn't, then I would have to have you obliterated, now wouldn't I?"
The happy look fell from the manager's face so fast their face struggled to portray their next, terrified expression. "I… I beg your pardon, your excellence?"
Orange optics rolled again, and the manager flinched as a long white arm clapped around his back. A calm voice, one Rivet could only pick up because of her heightened hearing, spoke low in the manager's audio receptors. "Barry, we all know about how things are going with the missus and children at home. I know that they've been whispering about you and how much time you spend toward making this empire the greatest empire in all of history." He mimicked clicking his tongue, waving a finger back-and-forth. "I've seen that your family's been holding you back from your full potential. If they try to get between you and your incredible contributions to this wonderful government, then obviously, they may need to be 'taken care of,' if you will."
"N-n-no, no-no, no, never, never, your majesty!" The tablet clattered to the catwalk, and terror painted the robot's facial screen a sickly yellow. "I wouldn't- I would never- They wouldn't- My family would never impair me from my service to you!"
Even the forced smile the manager gave was tainted with an influx of fear.
Emperor Nefarious brightened, matching the same warm and welcoming grin he gave Rivet when he had first started his 'pitch'. "Absolutely wonderful to hear, Barry! You know how I am about the importance of work, and, well…" his optics narrowed, and a touch of anger and malice slipped into the taller robot's facial expression "-I would really hate to see you struggling to make the hard decision of family or work…"
The robot shuddered, drawing in on themself.
"But, that's clearly not going to happen, so we're all clear on that issue!"
"Um… your excellence, is… is there… another issue with the current state of the factory?"
"Well, it's just…" The emperor mimicked a sigh, shaking his large head. "You mentioned before that the factory is only producing things at 130 percent greater than it had before. With how great we are, this factory should be producing at 150 percent at the very least!" He tilted his head to the side, making a facial expression that looked somewhat like a soft pout. "You've just proven to me that you're capable of the great sacrifices needed in order to keep the empire running at top efficiency. Let's say you get this place up to running at that 150 percent? That's only twenty percent more than it's running at now, and you've had harder challenges while in this position. It should be nothing to a brilliant robot like yourself."
Unease decorated the citizen's face. "Um… yes, sir. Yes, your excellence." They shook their head, mimicking a swallow before forcing on the broad smile they had on at the beginning of the interaction. "Of course, your majesty! I know how much trust you have in me, and I will make it happen! Anything to bring further glory to the empire!"
Claws clapped the manager heartily on the back, and joy shone bright on the emperor's face. "Smashing effort! I look forward to seeing what you'll be able to produce in the coming hours!" He lifted his hand and motioned for the guards holding Rivet to follow. "I must be off now, what with dealing with rebels and whatnot, but I wish you the best in upping production while I'm gone!"
"Of course, your majesty, of course…"
As Rivet's legs dragged against the steel floor, the manager zipped away, screaming at several other citizens to pick up the pace of their already breakneck-speed. Pained groans and screams of agony reverberated in Rivet's skull with each step the guards took in dragging her.
And then, everything was silent.
A door slammed shut, then blissful quiet settled over the space. The horrible smells from the previous room eased their assault on Rivet's senses. Shuddering breaths drew into the Lombax's lungs, taking in the clean air with desperation. Emperor Nefarious was still blabbering on, now at a much softer tone to match the low volume of the room.
Thank the gods above. Her stomach was churning, so close to emptying the contents out onto the floor, and a steady pounding came from every corner of her inner skull. Her eyelids burned, seared from the chemicals from the last room. If she was dragged through another room like that, the chance that she would throw up from the sensory overload and past injuries was more than guaranteed.
"We just have this room to step through and another long hallway to traverse before we make it to one of my personal laboratories. I apologize for the long trek, my dear, but I like to keep my personal projects away from my official governing ones. You know how it is."
Teeth ground together, and Rivet craned her neck every direction it could turn in. Blue eyes swept over the space, taking in every little detail. If there was something, anything, she could use to get out and escape, she would have to go for it.
The room was massive, similar to the room before, but instead of the ceiling being right overhead and an open floor far beneath them, this room had a high ceiling with a grated floor under Rivet's feet. A coppery smell, muted when it came to the vile smells in the last room, hung in the atmosphere. It touched Rivet's tongue, filling the back of the Lombax's throat with a tight and sick feeling.
"You'll be delighted to see the laboratory I have, Rivet. It's got a beautiful view of the building my Court uses for business, and of course, of the gorgeous statue outside."
It took a moment for the dim red lights to fully outline the enormous machine next to them. It stretched up and across almost two stories, a huge square-shaped contraption that Rivet recognized the moment she swept her eyes over the whole thing.
The Biobliterator.
"Oh, yes, you know this handy little thing of mine." The emperor waved a hand in a circular motion, not stopping from his pace. "I would have you Biobliterated, but I require a little something before I do that. So, no, my dear, this fate is not yours. Yet."
At the halfway point across the room, doors opened, and sharp screams pierced through the veil of dim light. The sound instantly froze every drop of blood in the Lombax's body, and she jerked her body around to try and see the creature behind them.
Two Nefarious Lasertroopers holding a small Mort burst into the room. Even from afar, Rivet could see the adject terror plastered all over Mort's face. Eyes wide, tears glistening in the red light, arms and legs kicking and struggling against the troopers-
"NO!" Rivet yanked her right arm, gritting her teeth through the clamp against her organic muscles. Her arm slipped out from the Juggernaut's slightly-relaxed grip, and the moment her body flopped to the floor, the Lombax forced what energy she could to move her legs.
Her ankles twitched, but that was the most her body would allow.
"Oh, not another…" Emperor Nefarious' voice, calm and unbothered, sounded out behind her limp body on the floor. "Come now, my dear, I apologize greatly for the unnecessary distraction."
Mort hollered, kicking furiously as the Lasertroopers reached the entrance of the Biobliterator. She was thrown into the open side of the enormous machine. Once Mort was somewhat in, the Lasertroopers lit up their weapons, crowding Mort into the machine.
Rivet saw organic, furry arms move–Mort begging for mercy, 'PLEASE'–before one of the Lasertroopers grabbed the flailing hand and whipped the small creature deep into the machine.
Bulky claws lifted Rivet from the ground as the Lombax's cries mixed with Mort's final scream and the sounds of heavy machinery at work. Moist tears rimmed the Lombax's eyes, and the Biobliterator lit up with life. Red light burst out from the black machine, shining through tinted windows and showing the terrible process the machine went through in order to change organic matter to something made of pure metal.
And just as fast as it had started, it was done.
Rivet kept her eyes on the other side of the Biobliterator as the emperor dropped her back into the Juggernaut's clutches. He didn't bother trying to hide the new Nefarious citizen floating out of the Biobliterator's other side, a short, box-shaped robot eyeing the world with a curious expression. As if the person who had been turned hadn't had a whole separate life that they were now never able to go back to. As if they didn't know about the grief their family would go through when they found out the new robot's fate.
The Lombax's stomach convulsed as she, the emperor, and his two guards passed the newly-Biobliterated robot. Fangs sank into her bottom lip, and Rivet squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of the robot's voice.
It was still Mort's. Just… more warbled and less airy. Cold and metallic.
"I honestly apologize for that mistake, Rivet." There wasn't an ounce of sincerity, even fake sincerity, in the emperor's tone. "I keep telling my troopers not to disrupt me while I'm talking to a creature over a very serious topic. I tell them, time-and-time again, and they just prove that they don't listen to me."
He didn't care. Not in the slightest. He didn't know that Rivet was already planning her apology to Mort's family, wherever they would be on Sargasso after her breakout. He didn't know that Rivet had already calculated the cost of bolts she would have to give to help the grieving family hold a proper memorial service. He didn't care that he had just destroyed a family, because everyone knew the Biobliterator's effects were irreversible.
That was how she had always known him, but seeing that kind of apathy up close was vile beyond words.
The new Nefarious citizen zipped off, heading back to the room before. Several beeps, something that sounded like information being uploaded to machines, echoed out, and the last Rivet saw of that robot was the square-shaped back floating to the warship and dropship construction zone.
Doors closed behind the guards, and the room with the Biobliterator was gone.
Every breath Rivet drew into her lungs felt like a momentous challenge. It was already taking everything she had not to lose what she had inside her to the floor, but knowing that she had been right there, right next to the place where one of the Morts had been Biobliterated…
Somewhere along the next long trek of hallways, the misery sparked into boiling, white-hot rage. Fire curled in her chest, lighting up her nervous system and perking up her ears for an offensive attack. Rivet's eyes glared holes into the emperor's turned back, and all while the tall robot droned on about the 'annoying complications' that came with managing an entire army, the Lombax ground her teeth until the little bones ached.
Her ankles could move, but her calves and thighs were still unknown in their conditions. It would be a gamble to see if she could run, so if the opportunity came, she had to save it for the right moment.
"...and then I said to them, 'Such is life!' And then the three troublemakers put up such a bloody fit over it! Honestly, if it wasn't for the behavioral programs I then updated all of my soldiers with, they would have had a fate far worse than the quick deaths I gave them for such insubordination-"
If there was a way just to get him to stop talking, Rivet was eager to take it.
After walking for over ten minutes and passing so much Emperor Nefarious memorabilia it would have made a narcissist feel self-conscious, the group stopped in front of a small door. The outline of a small control panel laid just to the right of the lab's door. With a few taps of the emperor's claws, the door swished open, splitting in the middle and disappearing into the thick gaps in the threshold.
"Ah, here we are. At last, the thing I've been so eager to show you…"
He stepped to the side, and when the bright lights flicked on, Rivet got a full view of the lab.
Several machines, meant for holding up larger pieces of machinery and connecting them with each other, settled at the edges of the room. A holo hoverer–a fancy, circular display-case-slash-stand for any armor or weaponry sat at the very center–was empty, the base glowing red with the white paint. The far wall was completely made up of tinted windows and, just as the emperor had described, the far-off building Sasha and her father worked at stood framed at the windows' center. Hums from a personal generator filled the space. Everything was perfectly in order, and Rivet could see that several scientific implements looked a little too… well-placed for someone even as orderly as the emperor.
A set-up?
"Rivet, my dear, I am honored to finally show you what brilliant invention I have been slaving away on." At those words, Emperor Nefarious stepped over to the control panel stand by the room's display case, tapping a combination of buttons that turned the red colors glowing from the display orange. "Honestly, with the way I slaved away at this, it would be sheer idiocy to turn this down."
Slowly, the suit of armor materialized into the display case.
Rivet's jaw dropped.
Inside the holo-hoverer was a white suit of Imperial armor, measured to what looked like exactly her size. Everything looked as though the galaxy's finest Raritanium was woven into the synthetic fabrics and titanium plates. Images popped up around the suit to show the statistics within the armor. Flexibility, defense, speed… All of it, laced into a suit that looked like a carbon copy of the emperor himself.
The helmet. The faceplate. It was completely orange, decorated with a solid circle and a few sharp lines, and solid-colored so a creature wouldn't be able to see who was inside.
So the creature at the foot of the soldier couldn't see the one responsible for ending their life.
"This is the greatest thing I have ever created, Rivet. A suit of armor, better than anything else this empire could offer, and it is entirely yours. Scarce resources, the finest in the galaxy, are woven into each thread and plate of the suit to make an armor that is unstoppable in battle and resistant to the harshest of climates."
Her stomach turned viciously.
Claws tickled the back of her neck, and the Lombax startled as her wide eyes snapped away from the armor to the robot dictator standing beside her. "You've been fighting me for so long, my dear," he hummed, sounding worried. "You've lost so much. You've never been with the Lombax species, such a tragedy at that, but something that couldn't be helped with their cowardly nature. You've been on-the-run from me for years, living in several different places at once and never really having a place to call your own. You're being wasted by the resistance with the talents you have. You're fighting a battle against me that you will lose, and on and on…"
He stepped in front of her, crouching down to her level to lay a calm hand on her shoulder. "With all the fighting we've done, there's not much left, my dear. Don't you want to have a home? A place where you belong? How much longer do you want to keep fighting against the inevitable? How much are you going to give to a battle you just won't win?"
Emperor Nefarious stepped back, holding out his arms to present the armor in all its glory. "This is the future you were made for! A future where you work by my side and I reward you in full for the incredible skill you show! Fame and bolts! Numerous people that love and appreciate you, even more than the current gaggle of idiots you surround yourself with. A chance to stop wearing yourself down to death, and an opportunity to become the greatest Lombax in the entire galaxy!"
With a final touch to the armor, the emperor straightened, tucking his hands behind his back. "Now, what say you? Will you join me at the top-" a look of disgust appeared on his face for a split second "-or will you continue to fight against me and wear yourself to death against a battle you will never win?"
The entire room fell silent.
A set-up. It had been a set-up. Everything. The only reason Rivet was still alive was because the emperor wanted to recruit her as his own personal soldier. All the positive attention she had gotten after leaving the office? Completely organized by the emperor's order, no doubt. The walk through the factory floor and the Biobliterator? Not only a personal show of his resources, but also a show of what would await Rivet's friends if she was killed and couldn't protect them anymore. And the fact that he had Biobliterated a Mort in front of her, held her right next to the poor creature as flesh was turned to metal…
Even his emotions. None of that had been real.
Everything. Everything was faked for the set-up to get her to agree.
Anger flared so bright in Rivet's chest, it was a miracle she didn't burst into flame.
"No."
Surprise colored the emperor's face, and his eyebrows narrowed in confusion. "I'm sorry, I beg your pardon?"
Her brow furrowed deep until her eyes were completely slitted in seething rage. Lips peeled back to expose fangs, and a low growl rumbled in her throat. "Lemme make this very. Clear." She glared at him, lowering her head to shoulder-level and spitting out her words. "Fuck. You."
Tension choked the entire room.
"You think I'm just going to join your forces after all the stuff you caused me to go through?" Rivet kept her eyes locked on the emperor's unchanging face. "You've killed so many people… families and friends of mine and countless other people that didn't deserve to have their lives ripped away from them the way you did it, and you tried to turn that on me." The words mixed with the hiss at the back of her throat. "You force people to live under your rule and you work them to death with all the resources you build up. You've smothered an entire galaxy in a miserable existence, and if it wasn't for me and the others putting up a fight, there would be nothing left. I'm not going to work with you, you absolute moron, in this reality or any other."
Even the robots holding her trembled, and Rivet waited for the death the emperor was no doubt going to give her.
Slowly, Emperor Nefarious relaxed his face. He straightened, schooling his face into something that showed nothing of what was going through his mind.
And then the telekinesis ripped Rivet out of the Juggernauts arms and slammed her into the steel floor.
Slim claws backhanded her face the moment she lifted her head off the ground and white-hot pain lit up the side of her face. Before she could do anything else, claws wrapped around her throat, squeezing with the palm, and the ground flew out from underneath her.
Furious orange optics filled her vision.
"Who. Do you think. You are?"
Rivet choked, coughing out the breath being lost from her lungs.
"I am the ruler of the most powerful empire this galaxy has ever had. I have slaughtered millions, and hundreds of creatures with my bare hands alone, and you thought for even a second that you could desecrate my name?"
Her eyes squeezed shut, and she tilted her head back to desperately get air. Agony ached at her throat. The sensitive cartilage protecting her throat began to cave.
"I am giving you the opportunity to do the first worthwhile thing in your miserable squishy life, a new life full of belonging and prosperity, and you spit disgusting explicatives and lies back in my face."
As a last resort, Rivet sank one of her long canines into the soft side of her tongue. Her nostrils flared and her head tilted back, but it was fruitless against the emperor's grip.
"You miserable little rodent, I will take away everything you have ever held dear and put each person you care about through a hell unlike anything that has ever been theorized! I will work them until they are begging for the sweet release of death-"
Iron-tasting liquid flooded her mouth, and she whimpered softly as her head started to swim and her consciousness began to fade.
"-and I will make sure that they know exactly who damned them to that excruciating fate! Your existence will be a blight amongst your kind and anyone who has or ever will know of you! I will make you rue the day you ever-"
And when Emperor Nefarious reached the height of his monologue, Rivet threw her head forward and spat the mouthful of blood straight into the emperor's optics.
His scream was instantaneous. His free hand shot up to clap at his optics, and curses fell from his mouthpiece like a stream of fast-flowing water. The claws around her neck tightened for a bone-crushing moment before loosening.
He didn't drop her out of shock like she had planned for.
Instead, the robotic dictator drew her close before whipping out his arm and sending the Lombax flying. Rivet was airborne for an eternal moment that lasted a quarter of a second. Then, her back crashed against the lab's titanium walls and mind-shattering pain thrummed through her spinal cord.
The moment she hit the ground, everything in her stomach came rushing up her sore throat.
Blue eyes blinked open, and in between heaves, Rivet snorted in air through her nostrils, fighting back gags and burps. Gloved fingers splayed against the freezing floor, careful to keep her upper body from falling in the mess she was making on the floor. Her boots scrabbled against the floor, and while her legs trembled violently, her body was still able to make a run for it.
Spitting the last of the bile from her mouth, Rivet shot to her feet, making a beeline for the door to the lab.
The Juggernauts flew toward her. One of them stretched back a fist, seemingly ready to sock the Lombax backwards. The other powered up its blaster, and the sharp whine pierced the room's atmosphere. Both were ready to lay an attack on the defenseless Lombax, but Rivet was ready to resort to nails and teeth if it meant she could make a break for it.
A determined scream roared out of her mouth. It was up to this moment, whether or not the Lombax lived or died. Rivet raised her right arm, ready to shatter any bones in order to get out alive. She lowered her head, preparing to duck under the first Juggernaut's punch-
A powerful force pulled her straight for the floor, and the Lombax face-planted against the smooth titanium hard.
Every part of her body struggled, but she couldn't break free. Purple energy swarmed every inch of her, holding her to the ground, pressing the front of her body so tightly to the metal it was a miracle she didn't melt into it. The only thing she could move with less struggle than it took to move anything else was her head.
When Rivet looked up, she found both the Juggernauts completely swallowed in purple telekinesis.
Then, they were torn apart in front of her.
The emperor didn't say anything as distorted cries echoed from the guards, which meant he was long past the point of calming down. Rivet's ears dropped, and the Lombax winced at the horrible tearing sounds reverberating around the laboratory.
Once everything fell silent, Rivet felt an ice-cold sludge roll over her limbs.
The telekinesis lifted her, then rolled her over so she laid against the floor on her back. Her eyes rolled and a soft groan left her at the sudden drop in adrenaline.
He was standing over her. Heaving. Like an organic would, but in a twisted, wrong way that looked horrifying to witness.
"You've just made a big bloody mistake, vermin." Orange optics, outlined in smears of Rivet's blood over a white face, narrowed in violent anger. "I'm going to make you regret turning down the offer, make you regret ever raising a hand against me, and trust me, you will be begging for a sweet, merciful death by the time I've reached the height of what I will do to you."
Despite the pain, fear, and lightheadedness, Rivet gritted her teeth and pushed out her words.
"I… will… end… you…"
Emperor Nefarious froze, then bent over to where the lights above encircled his head like a hellish halo and Rivet's gaze was filled with nothing other than the robotic dictator's face. "Well then, my dear," he whispered, "Everyone's waiting for you to make it happen…"
Rivet sucked in another ragged breath, but there was nothing she could do to get out of the situation.
With grace, the emperor straightened, craning his head to the side and screeching at the very top of his lungs. "FLOOOOOOOO! IN HERE! NOW!"
His assistant seemed to materialize out of the corner of Rivet's eyes, because nothing signalled the tiny robot's arrival. A giggle left the sadistic little minion before a syringe of light blue-tinted liquid glinted from the assistant's fingers.
A tiny prick at her neck, a moment of feeling the foreign substance dip into her bloodstream, and the Lombax felt her consciousness begin to slip away. Black spots dotted her vision, and her limbs relaxed against the hard surface under her. Her breathing slowed, and while she would have given up more of a fight, the injuries she had taken over the past day finally began to take their toll.
As her eyes closed, her ears caught the emperor's voice.
"Send her to Zordoom for now and put her in the special cell I made for her. She won't be Biobliterated… No, I won't be that generous…"
A swallow ran down her throat, and the emperor's last words echoed in her mind before everything went black.
"And Flo, cancel my afternoon plans. I'm going to be working on the KT-7461 project…"
Song Inspos: "It's Time to Die (Remastered)" by DA Games; "Mind Games" by Sidekick; and "Villain" by K/DA.
This took an eternity to push through in the week I spent writing this. The only reason I managed to write so much of Emps is because of AWildTrashCan, who sat on call with me while we both worked on our stuff. Because of that, the Emperor's Assistant was named Flo for this fic in their honor (inside joke).
Other than that, this is the final fic in Rivet's appreciation week. I hope I did well in showing her struggle with her enemy, and HJGHYUI hoping that this was balanced enough between Emps and Rivet. I had to rewrite a lot of Emps' character because he's pretty useless after his first cutscene, so I wanted to build him up as an actual formidable foe, but I don't know if it took away from Rivet, but HHH THIS IS DONE AND I THINK I'M GOING TO CALL IT FOR HERE.
Thank you all so much for reading and supporting, and I hope you all enjoyed these Rivet stories! :D
