Chapter 24
Why…
A large grey cargo ship jetted through the shadows of space, its interior dark and filled with quiet tension. Rivet, Kit, and Clank sat in the backseat while Nefarious was pushed into the passenger seat, shoulder to shoulder with the massive dark creature piloting the ship. Aurora's gold eye shifted to the sparking mini-dimensator on her wrist, red flag signs the thing had reached its capacity. She grumbled, wishing she had the complete knowledge to build a full-fledged dimensionator rather than relying on a mini replica with great limitations. Hence why she was not able to use it during the prison break or her more recent adventures.
Rivet had not said a word, keeping a close eye on the monster that had saved them. Reaching a hand around her side, she punched in a small code on her mechanical arm's built-in radio link. It relayed a few small beeps before blinking off. Aurora glanced back to the rebel Lombax, in response, Rivet simply cut her an equally dark glare. Her kidnapper/savior chuffed an annoyed sigh and focused on flying. Nefarious had, oddly, not said a word since their escape. Kit was busy trying to reawaken Clank, but her male counterpart was greatly low on power.
After a few minutes of flying, Rivet noticed they were entering Sargasso's atmosphere.
"What are we going here?"
"Returning you…" Aurora gruffly responded, pulling the ship's decent lever that caused the entire hull to dip downwards. Informing Rivet they'd be moments from landing.
"Where is Ratchet?" Rivet asked, hair standing on end.
Ignoring the white female, Aurora typed in some codes that caused the ship to slow to a still hover when they reached the ground. Right outside the Mort's factory and Rivet's garage. The big beast Lombax opened the hull, reached around, got all three of her forced captives in one paw, and drug them out. Her big clawed feet squished the grass downwards while escorting the three right to the garage. Once by the front door, she put all three down. Turning to walk away, Rivet summoned her hammer, leaped upwards, and delivered a painful bashing to Auroras' skull.
She shook her head, backing a few steps away to clear her vision. Anger started to boil up as she shot Rivet an impatient look. Rivet stood there, hammer firmly in her mechanical hand, glaring a look that only spoke death.
"You're not going anywhere…" she put her hammer away and cracked her knuckles. "What are you planning? And where did you hide Ratchet?"
Fur standing on end, Aurora gripped her forehead, muscles relaxing as she forced herself to calm down. "This… is none of your concern."
"It became my concern when you took my arm and then hurt my man…!" Rivet reached for her hammer again, sliding into an attack stance. "Better not make me ask again, or I'll crack your skull like a freaking walnut!"
Aurora paused, staring at the female lombax long and hard.
"I regret what I did, yes. However, one cannot argue the actions didn't have their purpose. Only partially personal…" she turned away, facing the ship and her back to the aggravated rebel. "This, however, is your chance… walk away from me."
When she took a step away, Rivet drew a gun and fired a shard right into Aurora's back. The projectile dug its way through her shoulder and exited out the other end. Clattering against the ground, covered in blackish blue blood. More blood trailed down her arm till the big beast slowly turned around to re-face Rivet. Her organic eye glazing over into a solid gold orb, hiding any sign of emotion or expression her pupil-filled eye would've given away. This new look made Rivets' skin crawl as she kept the rifle aimed at Aurora, a bit shocked the big black ball of fur didn't even flinch from the skin piercing blast.
"I… told you… to walk away." She took a step forward, slime dripping from her jagged fangs. "Don't make me engage…"
Smirking, Rivet waved her hand like a crazy person. Aurora tilted her head until many individuals suddenly leaped out from the bushes and surrounded her. Faces of rebels she remembered seeing when studying Rivet's group. Captain Quantum and Phantom, being the first ones to arrive, kept their guns trained on the big hunched-over creature. Sweat trickled down Quantum's pirate hat.
"We got your call Rivet, but…"
"What is that thing?" Phantom asked, keeping his thermal riffle trained on Aurora's big mass.
"This THING… needs to be put down. It was responsible for what happened to Ratchet, including my arm…" Rivet explained while keeping her blue eyes coldly locked onto Aurora. "Don't think I haven't paid attention you drooling freak… when you saved us at the jail, could clearly see you're not as young as I previously thought. Limping around, work only done in the shadows, then how you took out that group of guards… you only did it because you had the element of surprise."
Aurora raised an eyebrow, listening to Rivet explain her observations while she and the rebels enclosed her position.
"Knew if you were the one caught off-guard; you'd be no match against us. Your strength is only useful in a short amount of time. Because you're age and old wounds." Rivet continued to explain when she raised the barrel of her gun to point at Aurora's head. "Now you don't have a choice, best tell me what I want to know, or else."
Aurora relayed a bellowing chuckle, startling the rebels as she shook her head.
"Admire your… tactical mind."
"Would say thanks, but any compliment from you is just a waste of time. Time to talk!"
The black Lombax shook her head, removing the panel that hid her eyes. Her left robotic started to glow with big strands of electricity sparking all around it. Rivet gasped when a massive gold laser was fired at the ground, sending a huge smoke cloud all around them. With everyone blinded, Phantom coughed while trying to fan the dust from his eyes.
When the cloud finally cleared, Rivet gasped when seeing a giant hole blown right through the ground. "No!" She ran to the edge to look down into the muddy darkness. "Damn, she got away!"
"No, she didn't, come on, evil awaits to be stopped!" Quantum heroically chanted while throwing himself into the hole. Phantom followed, then the other rebels. Leaving Rivet alone with Kit and Clank to stare cautiously at the soil's gaping wound. Before they could follow, a big shadow leaped off the roof of her garage and right in front of her.
Aurora stared at her, left eye glowing brightly while glancing back at the hole.
"If you truly think I am dumb enough to not know how to minimize my enemy's chances… then… all I can say is… surprise."
"Hey, this is nothing but a dead end!" Quantum yelled.
Firing up her laser again, Aurora shot another round at the hole's edges. A big stream of lasers attached to the ground, crisscrossing over the opening like electrical bars. With a loud crack of her neck, she turned to face Rivet, who now stood standing in a complete mental loss.
"This gate powers down in fifteen minutes…" Metal chromed claws shot out of her organic fingertips. "Cannot say I didn't warn you to back away and leave this alone. Would've reunited you with your mate, if you had not proceeded to interfere…"
Kit watched from behind Rivet, trying to pry the jail collar off the guards clamped on her neck to prevent her transformation. She knew the situation was going to get worse when Rivet took another step forward, fury present in her blue eyes.
"I don't need help to take care of you…" then she fired another shot. It, once again, hit Aurora right in the side.
This seeming to anger the beast as her mane ruffled. Electricity sparking up again, she fired another laser a few inches past Rivet. A clear warning shot as it burned another huge hole through a big tree right next to her. This did not scare the rebel as she charged, with the hammer now placed back in her grip, she slid between Aurora's bent legs and struck her lower back. She stumbled, barely managing to catch herself before Rivet was on her again. Another swing she took to the head, barely able to dodge her smaller opponents much faster swings. Rivet bent her knees and launched herself upwards, aiming for a hit to her mechanical ear until Aurora's big paw grabbed her whole body and slammed her into the ground. Steam blew in the one-armed rebel's face.
Rivet grabbed her paw, struggling to push the giant off, but all it did was tighten her hold. Aurora dipped her head till their eyes were clearly locked. No chance for the gaze to be broken.
"Don't think you understand what's going on…" she showed Rivet her teeth. "You want to find the Lombaxes, Ratchet had informed me… but why… would you want to find people who—like me—left you behind?"
"What the heck are you talking about?" Rivet snapped, showing her little white fangs that were nothing compared to the rabid jaws hanging inches from mauling her face off.
"Your surname, Azimuth, is but a cursed title to bear. Him, your father, was responsible for catastrophic things that forced him to give you up. I remember… because I was present." Aurora pulled her head back and hoisted her paw to give the little lombax breathing room. "You don't remember anything, perhaps it's for the best. If you had known what your father had done, I doubt you'd be trying to stop me."
"I don't know anything about this crap!" Rivet yelled, spitting a bit in Aurora's eye.
Snout furrowing, another charge began to glow in her robotic eye. Rivet knew what was about to happen as she shielded her eyes shut, heart beating out of her chest. Aurora snarled, rage flying rampant through her mind. Her prey's pulses rang through her hand and up her wrist, pounding her ears like an angry drummer. The heartbeat, nervous sweat dripping from an angry expression hid traces of pure raw fear. One blast was it took to rid herself of the rebel, and she could continue her plan in peace.
So… why couldn't she do it?
Aurora stared right at Rivet pinned beneath her scarred paw. Now her own old heart started to anxiously thrum, grief and shame began to strain her muscles to the point they could barely move. A tear built up around the rim of her organic eye. Her robotic eye slowly powered down along with her loosening her steel grip. About to remove herself from Rivet completely until pain lightning bolted through her whole body.
A big yellow arm shot out and smacked Aurora right off Rivet and into the wall, cracking its whole surface as the beast fell flat against the soil. Shaking her head, the surprise came when a fully transformed Kit stood feet above her. The collar that had previously held Kit laid broken a few feet behind her. Clank still laid against the garage, power levels struggling to refill themselves. The only action he could do was open one optic to see what the heck was going on.
"I can't allow you to hurt Rivet," Kit sadly spoke out while drawing her large wrist cannons. The blue lights humming within the lustrous black barrels as she watched the greying she-beast climb to her feet.
"But I also don't want to hurt the one that saved us, regardless if it was done intentionally or not. Please, don't make me do this."
Eye going bloodshot, Aurora's shoulders began to budge out, muscles veining with her temper starting to boil out of control. Her paw came to house her forehead as she tried counting, desperate to keep cool, but the sight of Kit's towering frame blocked her route to the ship. This only worsened the rage as she lowered her head, feeling her veins cracked around her temples. Burning, the familiar hot lava pinch returned with a vengeance. It hurt her insides beyond imaginable.
Kit saw the dark look growing the mismatched gold eyes and readied her canons. Even her own mechanical heart pulsed a bit, nervous about the unknown tactics this creature could be capable of. When she took a step forward, Aurora got on her legs and ran into the forest. Gasping, the big yellow bot gave catch, leaving massive footprints in the grass as she trailed to the creature. A bit closer she got to the beast until she jumped into a four-legged sprint and easily pulled out of Kit's grabbing range. Still, the she-robot didn't give up, running with all her might until coming to a stop in a patch of trees that blocked all sunlight. Everything around her was nearly black.
A branch breaking startled Kit around with her canons aimed in the sound's direction. Many blue orbs fired and burned massive holes into the dead trees, knocking the big plants completely over. Not a soul in sight, till leaves rustling redirected Kit in the opposite direction. Until another sound of rocks being kicked turned her around again. All sorts of noises came from every direction, scrambling Kits' sensors as she struggled to pinpoint the owner of the ruckus.
Tiptoeing up to one bush that carried the most activity, a large object landed on her shoulders. Aurora grabbed Kit by the head and wrenched it sideways. Kit quickly disengaged her guns to normal hands in order to grab the beast, until her attacker jammed a large rock shard into the neck crevice. Unable to turn her head, Kit struggled to see Aurora, flailing her arms in hopes of landing a blow. Which she did when the mutated creature flopped into the ground but was quick to stand back up. She cracked her neck and took a step back into the darkness, vanishing from sight.
Kit struggled to turn her head, but the rock jammed into her neck prevented her from turning. Having to turn her whole body around, she frantically tried to find the allusive fanged menace.
When she took a step forward, something knocked her feet out, tumbling her whole body down onto the ground. Kit found herself jammed in an oddly shaped lying position in a deep mud-filled trench. Every time she tried to move a joint, she would just slide further into the goop. That, and with her head still jammed in one direction, Kit was feeling utterly helpless.
Aurora stepped out from the bushes, drawing in the long metallic thread she drew out when Kit's gaze was stuck in the opposite direction. She tsk'd the stuck bot and tossed the string away and leaned over the edge to get a better look at her.
"I told you, didn't want any malice."
"You have, go ahead and finish me!" Kit yelled, hoping with all her heart this beast wouldn't do it.
Huffing, she got up and began walking away. "I never wanted to kill you, just as I don't want you to kill me."
Only about ten feet away until Kit's words turned her back to face her.
"What have we done to you?"
Tightening her fist, Aurora roared a loud growl. The sound silenced Kit as she stomped back over. "I'm tired of being alone!" She hollered at Kit, breath hard and heavy. "Wish for no self-pity, but that's all I can find! Why must plan be constantly met with resistance? Never wanted half this stuff to happen!"
"But you used me to hurt Rivet!"
"Thought that's what I wanted but was wrong. Was a mistake, all of it was! Shouldn't have involved you, understanding that now!" Aurora paced around, jaws leaking from her growing enraged emotions. "Spent too long on dealing with everyone, now heart is hurting beyond all measure… c—can't do this, but I must!" She turned around, holding her head to refocus herself. "Must… if going to re-make the lives stolen so young. Because I was too weak to stop any of this."
Aurora knew she had wasted to much time attempting to fix the problems she caused, even though some of it was necessary. Constantly answering their questions forced her mind to gloss over details she dared not touch. Now it was starting, her heart, the guilt, grief, and shame. They were returning with a vengeance, and her entire body was starting to feel the emotional toll.
"Why must things be this way?" She asked Kit, "Only ones with a selfish craving seem to own this world. But ones who feel regret receive none in return. Why must it be so backward? Why!" Aurora roared at Kit, sweat rolling down her fur in litters. "Just wanted to be normal, that's all wanted, but can't accomplish it… not because of you, but myself!"
She sat down, digging her claws into her forehead. "Wish for one moment could truly be detached, so wouldn't care. Could just go on, not feel these… these… unseeable things that strain your gut, hurt body, and damage mind! But at las, nothing I do makes this internal self-torture go away! See why? Last chance, to cure self from this… this… guilt!"
Kit listened to the creature's rants of pure angry. Blue eyes lit up in surprise to see Aurora express such heavy grief she formerly couldn't see.
"You don't know goal, only Ratchet, and annoying Doctor does. None of this makes sense I'm sure, but can you answer my Whys'?" She glanced back to Kit, eyes straining with obvious blood clots blotting around the edges.
"Why… can I not truly hurt the ones… that hurt me…" Aurora closed her eye and drifted her head towards the dirt, claws retracting. "How can… I refuse forgiveness…?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, but you can't hurt people that never harmed you! Rivet and Ratchet did nothing to you!" Kit called out while struggling again to escape from the mud pit, but no luck as she just slid deeper into it.
"That is why heart hurts! Because did something understand now, I shouldn't have done this! Because of this, fear won't be able to carry through the plan. Because heart always causes me to back down, but can't have that… just… can't…"
Getting up, Aurora quickly walked away. Not having the guts to continue this debate with the yellow bot she used to hurt Rivet. Tears were building upon the rim of her eyes, but she shook it off. No, this was not going to happen again, she had to be strong!
As she quickened her walk, a large hole was blasted into the tree inches next to her head. Freezing in her spot, Rivet stood right upon a hill. Smoke rising from her gun as she had it trained on her head.
"Don't take another step, or the next shot shaves your head off."
The fanged beast stared at Rivet blocking her way to the ship. Jaw twitching, her eye began to glaze over to a solid gold color. A vibration rattled her brain with her limbs shaking in sync. The emotions' claws peeled the layers of her mind away one bit at a time. The longer her and Rivet's eyes stared, the more her gut collapsed. Fur bristling all the way up, an angry fog left her breath. Foam gathered around her teeth when Rivet took a step towards her.
Everything Aurora felt was now dominated by the lava-like pinch that burned her heart and brain in third-degree burns. Rage, pure raw and ugly rage.
Rivet had no idea what was going on, but the creature before her looked like she was about to explode. All intelligence in her eyes vanished into angry gold moons filled with nothing but animalistic rage. The rebel had a bad hunch that whatever was going on inside this individual, all rationality vanished.
Aurora lowered her body on fall fours, stalking towards her, foaming jaws sprayed spit with every lunge she took at the air. A clear indication of what the instincts were driving for. Hunger showed in the dripping drool while red hot hatred burned in her trembling eyes narrowed to slits.
Rivet grew nervous at the unsettling sight. With the gun raised, the spotting laser took aim between Aurora's soulless eyes.
Her organic finger grasped the trigger.