Rubble
I
The first thing that greeted Ratchet as he climbed out of the ship was the silence.
Not even the wind blew through the landscape, large mountains in the distance hazy through the heat.
Talwyn and Clank made their way to where Ratchet was standing, overlooking the ruined city below them.
The ruins of Fastoon seemed to stare at Ratchet from under all the sand, in spite of its state he could envision how it looked before it was torn to shreds, people filling the streets going about their business, kids dodging and weaving through market places, the panic and mad scramble on the day Tachyon reared his head, the dead pilling up in the streets.
A hand on his shoulder brought him back to reality.
"Are you sure about this?"
Talwyn's question cut through him like a knife and he found it hard to look her in the eye, instead opting to stare daggers at his feet.
"Y-yeah, I need this."
Taking a step forward he began making his way down the stairs built into the cliff face, stopping to let Clank onto his back, the action second nature at this point.
It had been a few months since the great clock, the memory of watching Alister fall hurting even now.
He had been a mess for a few weeks after it had happened, more often than not going days without sleeping relying on tinkering with anything he could get his hands on and booze to keep him functional.
Alister had told him where his father was buried one night under the stars, what had happened when Tachyon attacked, at the time he didn't know how to process the information, putting it aside for longer than he should have.
"You know dad would be having a fit if he saw us making our way into the capital, would always go on about how well preserved it was."
"All of the buildings seem to be in better shape than I predicted, it seems majority of the damage occurred in the inner parts of the city."
Ratchet's attention focused on the large building that stood taller than the rest of its surroundings, the top half of it long since destroyed, large marble pillars standing tall out the front.
Following his gaze Talwyn stood in awe at what lay ahead.
"That's the court of Azimuth, it was the place where the council would meet, it was also the archive of Lombax history."
"The council?"
"The council were a group of noble blooded Lombax, descended from the 3 tribes that unified Fastoon."
Ratchet felt his thoughts bounce around in his head, every answer he got about his species brought more questions.
"How come your dad, or any other history nut go through there."
Talwyn caught herself smiling as they made their way in down the stairs into the barren streets below, rubble littering the streets.
"They did, majority of anything of value was destroyed, murals and ancient art either smashed or burnt, the library was locked off. Dad did find a few books that were unscathed though, a book on Ancient tribes and another about how to make Lombaxian kebabs."
Ratchet couldn't help but stare at the colossal building that stood a few streets away, he had to almost snap his neck just to take in its full size.
"Lombaxian kebabs huh?"
"Yeah, pretty good. Was all Cronk would make when I was little."
"You still got the book?"
"You're terrible at cooking."
Slightly offended Ratchet let out a huff turning to face Talwyn with his hands in the air, lost for words.
"Yeah you got a point."
The closer they got to the court, the more and more rubble there was, before long they stumbled upon entire streets that were obliterated, the trio having to leap over craters and sinkholes.
Robotic corpses piled up the closer they got to the centre of the destroyed city, burnt holes torn through their metal hulls.
They had to step over and in-between a mix of bodies and rubble as they turned the corner, coming face to face with the massive building, now that the group was close they had a proper sense of scale. Each of the sandstone pillars wider than an entire house, almost taller than the mountains that surrounded the city.
Ratchet was about to step forward when his eyes tracked onto something nearby leant against a wall.
Stopping in his tracks he couldn't take his eyes off of the sight before him.
A Lombax skeleton cradling a bundle of fabric, intricate patterns woven into torn clothing.
Letting out a shaky breath he closed his eyes turning around, leaning on an overturned Lombax ship, the hull damaged beyond salvage.
Talwyn sat down next to him, Ratchet subconsciously leaning into her.
"We can turn back if you want to."
Dragging his head out of his hands he shared a look with Clank, a knowing look on both of their faces.
You're going to keep going regardless.
"No let's keep moving, might be something interesting in the court."
The steps up to the building were littered with the bones of Lombaxes, Ratchet couldn't help but stare at the grisly display in front of him. He couldn't imagine what it would actually be like on the day it happened.
The interior of the large building was much like the outside, rubble and bones littering the floor.
The roof arched high above them, several rooms split off from the large hall that seemed to stretch on endlessly.
"I think the library is the first room on the left, how about I take Clank and go looking in there for something, maybe another recipe book for you to have a crack at."
Talwyn's voice brought Ratchet out of his thoughts, he smiled her way before going back to staring vacantly at the huge marble statues of Lombaxes smashed to pieces on the floor.
"Sounds like a plan."
"Ratchet?"
"Yeah?"
Talwyn hesitated for a moment, a conflicted look falling on her face.
"Don't worry."
With that Ratchet took off down the hall, blaster in one hand flashlight in the other.
"Ms Apogee?"
"Yeah?"
"Is it wise to let Ratchet go on alone exploring?"
Talwyn turned around heading towards the library, Clank hobbling after her.
"He'll be fine, just needs some time to himself."
"That's what I'm worried about."
"Clank he'll be fine, c'mon lets go see what we can find in the library now that the doors are open."
The library was huge, wooden shelves as tall as the ceiling were stacked precariously, each tower of shelves seeming close to collapse, it was like a dusty forest of books, majority of them burnt.
In the centre of the room was a large table that stretched the entire length of the room, lombaxian etchings and runes carved into it.
Clank pulled out a book and glossed over it.
How to archive a library for dummies
"Found the History section."
Looking over Clank had to supress a laugh watching Talwyn lug a colossal book onto the table, the thick leather binding close to falling out.
"A comprehensive guide and history to Carpentry, from the first age to now."
Clank let out the laugh he was holding, Talwyn glaring daggers at him.
"This has to be at least ten thousand pages about cutting wood."
Talwyn blew off the thick layer of dust, the action causing the book to be blown away as well, crumbling to nothing.
"I don't think we'll be learning about carpentry now."
"Funny."
Ratchet couldn't shake the feeling of being watched as he continued down the main hall, the statues of Lombaxes glaring down at him.
None of the rooms on either side caught his interest, it didn't help he couldn't read majority of the words above the doorways
Talwyn had been trying to get him to learn Lombax, he couldn't wrap his head around most of it, most of it going in one ear and out the other. He spent majority of the time thinking about whatever projects he was working on instead of learning how to say his own name.
Ratchet was brought out of his thoughts by a low hum that was coming from a large room to his left, glancing inside of the room the first thing he noticed was just how dark it was.
The next thing he noticed was a huge gun on the table, a bright green glow coming from it.
Walking up to the table he looked over the scattered notes that he couldn't read. The gun on the table was massive, wiping the dust off it, he took in the sheer size of it.
It was similar to the negotiator that he had accidentally blown up recently trying to ram ryno ammo in it, the thing was fully chrome with several runes he couldn't understand etched in to it, a large power cell in the centre of the grip the source of the bright glow.
Lugging it off the table he almost dropped the gun, it felt like it was meant to go on a tripod of some sort. Ratchet grinned widely just imagining how crazy the recoil would be.
Walking back out into the hall the feeling of being watched returned, the fur on the back of his neck standing up.
The sound of something falling in the distance made his ears perk up, the sudden noise putting him on high alert.
It came from further in the building, everything beyond a few metres fading away to darkness not even he could see in.
Straining his eyes he could make out a faint silhouette, a shape darker than its surroundings.
Footsteps behind him made him turn, the huge gun illuminating Talwyn and Clank in its green hue.
"Where'd you find that thing?"
"In that room over there, pretty cool huh."
Talwyn had to stop herself from trying to pry the gun from his hands, she doubted she could even lift the thing herself.
"We heard that crash from the library, that wasn't you breaking something was it?"
"Nope."
"I believe there is something down there."
Ratchet and Talwyn both turned around pointing their guns down the hall, Ratchet's tail stiff as a board.
"I think I saw something before whatever it is, it's huge."
"If that's the case could we please depart, I don't like our odds against something living in a place like this."
"Took the words right out of my mouth pal."
With that they made their way back towards the entrance of the huge building, Ratchet barely able to jog with the literal cannon in his arms, their footsteps the only sounds other than the wind that blew through the hallway.
"Maybe you'll actually get some muscle on you lugging that thing around."
Ratchet rolled his eyes at the jab, trying his hardest not to drop the gun on his feet.
"I'll have you know Talwyn that Ratchet is currently under a strict workout regime and diet."
"I've seen what your feeding him Clank, he's gonna end up looking like Quark!"
"Is this all you both talk about when I'm not around, what I'm eating?"
"Yes."
Ratchet flinched as they both yelled in unison at him, grumbling to himself as they made their way through the huge pillars and down the stairs.
The trio unaware of the eyes that watched them from the darkness.