A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and your kind words, I'm very happy to hear this story has motivated people to write. Feel to burrow any ideas you like, warms my heart to see everyone enjoy it so! :D

Warning, this chapter is about to get very dark. Proceed with caution.

Chapter 16

Motive's Laceration

Dr. Nefarious clamored through his hideout, it was one a.m. and the former evil overlord had been awakened to loud electronic cries. "I am coming!" He waved his hand; a long pink robe and fluffy slippers covered his thin purple chassis. "When I command you to be quiet I expect obedience or there will be no more midnight strolls!" He hastily pushed open the door to spy a crib in the middle of a blue room heavily decked out in baby stuff.

Inside the crib was a silver bot swaddled in blue blankets. Oily tears leaking down his blue optics as Nefarious rushed over to peek over the railing. The electronic newborn burst into some more tears. The Doctor cringed as he quickly leaned in and snatched the baby up and bounced him. Desperate to quiet the screaming metallic child.

"Now now Lance Jr, be like your father and be obedient to your master," he rocked the child as it eventually began to simmer its heated circuits down. Groaning to himself, Nefarious bonked his head against the wall in exhaustion. "First paid paternity leave, then free babysitting so your parents can take a honeymoon to the tropics. I've become so soft," then he paused as he balanced the baby against his shoulder to retrieve a bottle. "This does beat losing to that meddlesome Lombax… At least this time I'm succeeding in something, like keeping you quiet."

The baby cooed as Nefarious put the bottle in his mouth, which Junior happily received and drank happily. Nefarious sighed and continued to bounce him. "After this, I demand you let me sleep little minion, even evil geniuses need their beauty sleep. Isn't that right?" he tickled the child's belly as it cooed in laughter from the doctor tapping his sensitive torso wiring.

As the baby bot began to yawn, Nefarious sighed in relief and slowly started to put the child down. Till a bright purple flash halted him.

"What in the name of this galaxy?" He put the child down to turn around. Coming face to face with sickly yellow eyes glaring at him through a black visor. "What in the—!" Nefarious fell backward as the creature grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the wall. Denting the structure's surface as if it was made of wood rather than steel. "W—what are you!" he yelled while struggling to get away, but the strange cloaked creature was just too strong for his fragile built.

"Stop struggling," she whispered, looking back to the dimensional rift she had torn open to get here. "And you'll be spared of any pain."

"You dare trespass into my home!" He yelled while shaking his fist despite the creature easily overpowering him with one arm. "I will summon all my resources to obliterate you and—!" She shoved a claw into his mouth to shut him up. Nefarious watched in growing horror as the gold eyes moved away from him and locked onto the child. The intruder tied his hands and feet together before dropping him onto the floor and moved over to the crib.

"Mmm!" Nefarious yelled out to protest the stranger's arrival over the innocent child.

The child slept peacefully, unaware of the danger looming over him. Golden eyes looked around the room, searching for other potential adults. When seeing none, she inhaled a deep sigh. Gently, she picked up the child with one paw, claws keeping the kid secure in her grip as not to drop him. Walking back towards the rift, she used her free hand to grab the doctor less gently and hauled both new hostages through the dimensional tear. The portal slammed shut behind them, leaving the baby room empty. An open window blowing a lonely breeze through the facilities.

On the other side of the Rift, Nefarious found himself awakened in a desert. Nothing but acres of sand and mountain-sized dunes. He shakily looked to the horizon and saw a massive civilization, but rather than high-tech skyscrapers like he was used to, the buildings were made of… junky looking materials. Nefarious raised a brow in confusion until the same stranger grabbed him by his neck and hauled him to a circular door that led into the ground.

Nefarious swallowed nervously as the creature tossed him into the hole before leaping after him. He grunted in pain while bouncing off the walls, sparks flying every time he hit the metal walls. Slamming into the ground, the gag came out of his mouth, allowing him to verbalize his pained groans. The stranger landed a few feet by him, the child of his butler still firmly held in his grasp.

"Alright you cretin, speak now or suffer my wraaaath!" he yelled as loud as he could, the gears pulsing behind the green glass of his oversized cranium. Panting a bit after that large yell that took a bit more of his energy then he anticipated.

She got him by his arm and dragged him down the cold damp hallways, bats fluttered through the darkness. Nefarious started to tremble as a dim blue light at the end of the tunnel caught his attention. Lights nearly blinding him as he was brought into, what appeared to be, a control room. Many things laid under dusty tarps. Nefarious nervously cocked his head to the side as the stranger freed him of his bounds. Upping himself, the doctor tried to run away, but the stranger simply grabbed him and threw him fifteen feet across the room.

"Time… is not of the essence," she looked down to the child in her claws. "Have acquired machinery from your counterpart's technician office… but no knowledge to control them. Need your hands to operate them for me." Her clawed feet scraped against the metal as she slowly limped towards him, gold eyes growing darker by the second. "Do as instructed… will then return you… and the child… to your home. Unharmed."

"And… if I refuse?"

Steam fogged up his optic lens as the creature looked down to the child and then back at him. "The… 'unharmed' element will no longer be viable in the agreement." She loomed over his scrawny frame, powerful shoulder blades bulking out from beneath the grey cloak filled with holes. Big fangs flash beneath the visor. Whoever this was, Nefarious could see frustration stemming from this individual's body like a pissed-off bull about to charge.

"Not logical to hurt a child. Same can't be said for you." Black fur started to bristle from the exposed sections of her armor. The baby started to wiggle in the stranger's grip, optics beginning to open. She didn't even glance down to the awakening child bot.

"I… will not take orders from the likes of you!" Nefarious yelled, trembling in his boots, desperate to stay firm in his resolve. He extended his hands out to take the child back, but terror kept him far away.

The feline creature looked down once more to the child. "Like you once did, also have a goal. Malicious acts for… a cause one might deem… noble. Very important… for this to succeed." She slowly unsheathed her claws and reached behind her; eyes still locked onto the stubborn doctor.

"You… doctor, need to understand the severity of your situation. I… am unable to… care for other's lives. Even my own existence has almost no meaning. Logic… my logical side… is quickly taking away who I once was. Fear… nor desire… leads my decision-making. Simple… pure… raw… logic." She slowly picked up something and brought it forward, darkness still veiling it.

"Time, as previously stated, is not of the essence. Have little patience left. Either make this painless… and do one simple favor that will lead to results that have absolutely no impact on you… or those near you."

"I still do not trust your words or understand what this is about. What will you do?" He swallowed an emotional cog down his throat. Trembling in his purple chassis.

An object was dropped before him, clanking loudly against the ground. Nefarious looked at it for a second, before recognizing the cracked orange casing of the destroyed chunk of white metal. Fear reached an all-time high as he quickly fell backward, kicking the object away from him.

"My gosh!" he yelled in fear till the creature nabbed him his throat and turned him to look at a chair in the back of the room. Where a familiar white shell of emperor nefarious' body sat. But something very important was missing. Doctor Nefarious grasped his head, shaking even louder. Eyes reflecting the grizzly sight before him.

"What is the purpose of this!" he squeaked in total terror, all attempts to be tough flung out the window.

"Understand… threatening someone who cares not her fate is pointless. Only this plan matters. Do one request… and you'll be returned. Safely…" she quickly dragged him away from his counterpart's dead shell. "Refuse, and I'll have no qualms against doing to you as I did to him."

She released him and walked to the front of the room and ripped away from tarps. Nefarious gasped as he was nearly blinded by green glass shielding a large variety of equipment. All different shapes and sizes as they bleeped with energy so powerful it almost blinded even him. Its power almost seemed to burn the glass red. The doctor slowly looked to his new captor.

"What are you doing here? What is this?"

The creature sighed, "You… have received all you need to know. Instructions are inside the room. Operate these devices… once I have gathered the remaining ingredients. Then and only then… will you and the child be allowed to return. Unharmed. Long as you do as instructed..."

"How do I know you'll keep your word?"

"False verbalizations for manipulation are but a waste of time and energy. None of which I have. Can only do this… one or two ways. Easy, or hard. Make it easy, promise will give you the same treatment. Make it hard, and will not tolerate you further… understand?"

The child started to sniffle and cry. Nefarious proceeded to get the kid, but the stranger grabbed his wrist. Forcing the wimpy scientist to helplessly fall back on his haunches when tugging to remove himself. He shot an angry look up at her.

"You are frightening him!"

Holding the child, she gently offered a pacifier retrieved from the room when taking them. Which the bot happily accepted and suckled with much vigor. Sickly yellow eyes, one organic and the other robotic, loomed back towards the doctor, electricity gathering up around her claws.

"You are not the one whom I bear any resentment too. This child… needs not to fear me. Only those with the surname Azimuth must…"

Nefarious tilted his head at the strange comment till a savage snarl stopped him in his tracks. This individual was through talking.

"Finish step one… and you'll be allowed to keep the child with you. Temporarily. After that… we will see." She turned and exited the room, keeping the kid close as the door slammed shut behind her.

~Former Nefarious City~

The blue octopus-headed man laughed as he sat outside the bar with a big bubbling drink in hand. "No no, you first," he laughed drunkly while taking another big swig. His friend, a tiny orange bot with no legs and two crane-like arms shook its head.

"Bridger, you had enough, give me the drink!" the tiny bot with a squarish head tried to take the mug away. But the aquatic alien wasn't having it as he used his foot to push the floating bot away.

"Hey, VIP… you can't tell me when I had to much!" Bridger yelled angrily while rubbing his black beak. "Told you, I had a rough day today, lost to a short bot in a race, lost all my winnings… you have any idea how much was riding on that race? Got angry loaners to pay off!"

"Didn't you make a pretty bolt off that one client?"

"That goofy masked lady that breathed a lot?" he spat his drink out and sourly looked away. "Yea she paid a bit, but you didn't have to talk to her. So… freaking creepy, just standing by her made my skin crawl!"

"Maybe stop insulting our clients and they'll keep hiring us!" VIP snapped while punching a rusted palm to his forehead. Disbelief coming off him in waves. "Can't believe how stupid you can be, for someone supposed to be so smart! Gotta stop making enemies man!"

"Hey! I sort of saw her face beneath that helmet, was the most… ugliest thing I've ever seen… should've seen her teeth! Damn, how could you not insult something like that?" He sighed and shook his head, rubbing his arms in a weird attempt to get the goosebumps off. "Like someone shot it in the face and clumsily re-stitched it together, disgusting!"

"You had too much to drink, you get overly dramatic when you drink. Now shut up and get in the cab, we got somewhere to be."

As the two slowly made their way over to the cab, a dark crimson-colored bot sat in the distance. Watching both his targets every step with great intent. Ratchet tried to contain the boiling rage that threatened to surface in his gut. His suit's long-wave radiofrequency picked up on their entire conversation. The last client the 'Bridger' guy flapped his beak about matched the description of the stranger he was looking for.

Ratchet was about to move towards them, but then he stopped. Hesitance returned to full force as he thought of his friends, of Rivet. He wondered what they would say if they saw him right now. Sighing, the male lombax hugged himself and sat down. None of this was fair, why did this happen… what else could he do? He knew full and well they would scold him or be appalled at his actions.

… … …

… …

…

"Ratchet…" came a faint voice that resembled Rivet.

Quickly looking up, Ratchet glanced behind him and froze at what he saw. His partner laid in her own blood, a gash like his own marking up and down her chest. She reached a shaky hang out to him.

"H—help me…"

Ratchet shot his eyes open, breathing like a mad man, he looked all around him. Seeing no sign of Rivet, he tightened his fist. Anger quickly overcame his hesitance as he leaped down from the roof that concealed him. Darting towards the taxi, he ran with much vigor, eyes pulsing with raw rage the closer he got to them. The red tint of his visor that made him see everything in a similar color felt so symbolic at this moment. What was about to happen, he did not know, all he could remember was Rivet's blood-ridden form.

As VIP helped Bridger into the car, Ratchet's gauntlet smacked him out of the way like a fly. Skipping across the pavement like a stone, VIP didn't stop till he painfully connected to a nearby wall. Bridger gasped in shock to see a short but broadly built crimson robot overwhelm him in a second. Ratchet grabbed the octopus man by his head and slammed him against the back seat windshield. The taxicab driver screamed in fright as he bailed out of the car.

"Your last client… where is she!" Ratchet demanded in his batman-sounding voice while delivering a savage and precise knuckle jab to Bridger's head. His purple fluids staining the glass.

"Who the hell are you?" He cried out in pain as another fist spiked him across the cheek. "I… I don't know what you're talking about! Please!" A third blow connected to his jaw, causing him to see stars for a second.

Ratchet started flexed his teeth hidden his mask, fur bristling. Grabbing his target by the collar of his coat, he slammed his head against the back of the driver seat. "I just heard your conversation, the female who wore a helmet and apparently had a jacked-up face?" He rammed another fist into the thin alien's ribs, breaking one in the process.

"Man come on! I can't give away customer information, i—it's bad for business!" Tears ran down his eyes as the crimson bot released an enraged growl. He was pulled back and thrown out of the cab and onto the pavement. Blood trickling down his injuries as Ratchet rammed his knee into his neck, pinning him to the ground.

"Know what else is bad for business?" his saws leaped from his wrist, spinning at rapid rates. He brought the right one near Bridger's face, sparking into its inferno mode. The blade flung golden sparks everywhere, the steel glowing a bright heated red. Burning everything that came within centimeters of it. "A broken neck…!"

The saw came closer and closer, Bridger gasped in horror as he wiggled to getaway. "Okay, I'll talk!"

Ratchet ceased his approach and withdrew his blade, but kept his knee pressed against Bridger's neck. Keeping him firmly locked onto the ground.

"Who is she…? Where can I find her?"

"S—she…" suddenly he flung his free arm and smacked Ratchet off him. Once the weight was off, he sprang to his feet and darted away.

Ratchet cussed to himself as he quickly gave chase. Steel boots pounding against the concrete as he ran with all his might to catch his trenchcoat-wearing target. Bridger tried to keep a distance between them, but his drunken state and injury combo prevented a full out sprint. It was only seconds before Ratchet was on him again. Grabbing the blue alien by his coat, he yanked him to the left. The force threw Bridger right off his feet and onto the wet ground. Sliding several feet until he hit a bridge's loose guard rail. He wobbled to his feet, holding his head till his vision straightened out.

Lightning struck as Ratchet suddenly appeared before him. Both energy saws were now in a full spin as he slowly stalked towards him. The flames spiking back to life cast a devilish red glow over his visor. Steam rose from the searing heat. One step at a time, Ratchet inched closer and closer to Bridger. The blue alien backed up until he bumped the railing. A quick look around showed he had nowhere to run.

As Ratchet kinked his arm back, Bridger suddenly grabbed the railing and flung himself over it. The lombax gasped as he ran towards the edge and looked over the ledge. He saw nothing but waves crashing against the rock miles below the cliffside. His target was nowhere in sight, other than his coat floating past him.

Tightening his fist, Ratchet swung his fist against the metal, breaking it into like a toothpick. He screamed into his fist, gears and visor flaring up into a bright red. Not wasting a second, Ratchet whipped away from the edge and ran back in the opposite direction. Entering the city minutes later, he came upon the small orange bot he had smacked into stasis in the beginning of his assault. Ratchet hmphed to himself, recalling the conversation between his deceased target and this little bot.

Bending over the robot, he snatched it up and folded him into a powerful compartment built into his back. Relief quickly set in as he started towards a different direction, leaving the area before anyone could see it. He might've lost the primary suspect, but he'll just have to settle with his assistant.

"For your sake…" Ratchet whispered through gritted teeth. "You better be ready to talk." Allusions of Rivet covered in blood spiked a deeper nerve as the lombax tightened his fist.

"Because as of this moment… I am through playing around."