Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart,
Dimensional Warriors.
Chapter 4.
Sargasso, June, 20th, 2021.
9:15 A.M.
Alex and Bill were trying to find a safe area to test the load capacity of the jet pack but so far they had been waylaid by all manner of swamp creature. Alex had taken to using his mace to conserve ammunition while Bill had been using his shotgun with abandon.
"I see a clearing up ahead." Alex shouted as he sliced a Fendersnax Wasp in half. Stupid thing got to close trying to sting him. Bill gave him a nod as he flew around blasting anything that tried to sneak up on Alex. Together the two mopped up the few straggling creatures that remained and high tailed it to the clearing. Once there they stopped and took a short rest, Alex's injuries not really healing properly due to the constant physical exertion he found himself going through. Bill seemed to notice.
"Hey uh you ok?" He asked as Alex gave him a weary look. A thumbs up was his anwser.
"Yeah." He looked around and saw the great machination.
"Ok lets test this thing out." Bill looked concerned but nodded anyway. Bill grabbed two strap's from around his waist and held them open.
"Ok, lets get you strapped in." Alex went over and Bill secured the semi harness around Alex waist and chest.
"Ok this can bee a bit jarring at first just relax and let me do all the flying." Alex gave him a thumbs up. With everything as safe as they could make it, Bill started the jetpacks engines. The roar caught Alex off guard but that was soon overshadowed by the fact that they had lifted off the ground. They were only a few feet in the air but Alex felt slightly nervous about having his feet danging in the breeze. Still he trusted Bill, and so gave him the thumbs up signaling him to continue. And So they did continuing to see how far the pack would carry the two until they were a good five stories in the air.
"Are you good?" Bill asked as Alex was concentrating on not vomiting. He gave him the thumbs up. Bill then started to fly forward, gradually gaining speed until they were at the proper cruising threshold. Bill gave Alex a glance and saw that he was for the most part enjoying himself. It acutely made Bill smile. He regained his focus and looked for their target. He saw the Seekerpede off in the distance and made a beeline straight for it. Thankfully the thing didn't have an escort. Bill swooped in unnoticed and was surprised to see that Alex had mag boots, with his feet on semi solid ground once more Alex felt a little more focused.
"Ok. Lets see how we can disable this thing." As he looked around for some kind of weakness to exploit Bill activated his mag boots as well. He slipped however causing Alex a fright as he reached out for the reptilian. Bill got his footing and gave Alex a nervous grin.
"Sorry, they aren't the latest models." With Alex's nerves on end he shook his head and made a note to keep an eye on Bill's step, just in case. Continuing to look around for anything Alex spotted what looked to be an exhaust port, way at the front of the machine.
"Well it's gonna be a small hike to get over there." Bill nodded as he stowed his shotgun. The two started the arguious climb along the Seekerpede's spine. Alex however was curious.
"So Bill what caused you to become a mercenary?" Bill was kinda shocked. No one ever seemed to care about wanting to know anything about him. He thought back to his childhood and smiled.
"Well it all started when my brother joined the Goon's 4-"
9:23 A.M.
"Home sweet home." Rivet smiled as she entered her humble abode. Clank however was curious.
"Why are you so hesitant to trust me?" Rivet sighed.
"Look, Robot's aren't really my thing." She made a fist as she walked up to her blast door.
"Especially when they're tearing my galaxy apart." Clank felt genuinely offended.
"I am not.." He stopped and tried to collect his thoughts.
"I was trying to help Ratchet find the other Lombax's." He clarified. Rivet stopped and thought about this. She then shook her head, her stern face once more hiding her mask of doubt.
"We'll see the truth soon enough." She used her hammer to open her blast doors leading into her home proper.
"Once I scan you and the infobot I found in Nefarious City." As she entered her home however she smelled the blood clinging to her fur and grimaced.
"But first a shower is in order." Taking Clank over to her desk she sat him down and gave him a stern stare.
"Don't. Do. Anything, while I'm gone." He gave her a salute while she rolled her eyes. Leaving him be for now she went into her bathroom and stripped down to her fur. Smelling the blood on her suit just made her cringe, so she tossed into the nearby nanosolution to soak and get the blood off. Then she detached her right arm and hung it on the wall next to her. Starring at it did little but bring back painful memories.
With a sigh she stepped into her shower and turned the water on. She let out a moan of delight as she felt the hot water cascade down her fur. Standing there for a few minutes helped calm her nerves and set her brain on track for relaxation. She took a nearby scroungy from the wall and slowly began to lather herself down, taking her time to make sure she got every last drop of blood from around her face and neck. When she was satisfied she had gotten all of the blood off of her self she once more stood there letting her mind wonder. In particular her mind found itself on the one who was responsible for this blood in the first place.
"What was he?" She pondered out loud. She had been to many planets and seen many species before but nothing quite like him before. In fact the closet she could get to was Captain Quantum, and even he was drastically different in appearance. Thinking about what Clank had said brought her back to square one however.
"What if he's telling the truth?" She refused to let her mind get caught up in false hopes. Giving it a good shake to get her mind on track and to help get the water out of her ears she continued to bath herself until she was satisfied that her coat was clean and shiny. As she stepped out of the shower however she couldn't help but think.
"Why do I care if I look nice?" With a slight flush to her cheek's, she went over and was glad to see that her suit was blood free. She grabbed her arm from the wall and popped it back into place, then she grabbed her suit and slipped that back on as well. Exiting the bath brought her some joy as she saw that Clank had indeed helped himself to her tools while she was taking a shower. She had to admit, while she despised robot's this one was slowly growing on her. But that still didn't mean she wanted him messing with h er stuff.
"Ahem." She cleared her throat causing Clank to look her way and chuckle.
"Uh, well you see-." She held up a hand and gave him a soft smirk. Looking at his missing arm, she couldn't really blame him. She let out a sigh as she went over to her bench and motioned for him to hand the wrench over. Clank did as he was told and Rivet got to work on trying to repair as much of the broken war bot's systems as she could. She glanced at Clank and dared to take a leap of faith.
"So tell me about these friends of yours?" She asked as Clank gave her a look of bewilderment. It was soon replaced with a smile and he soon began to regale her with tales of his and Ratchets past adventures.
9:30 A.M.
Alex and Bill had finally made it to the front of the Seekerpede, with Bill having told Alex practically his life story. He had to admit he couldn't blame Bill for wanting to join the mercenary group. His brother had been his hero when he was younger and to hear the stories he told, he seemed to be on par with Ratchet in terms of coolness.
"So whats your bother up to now?" Alex asked as Bill's face lit up with joy.
"He's an academy instructor." That surprised Alex but he smiled none the less.
"Wow that's honesty pretty cool, not gonna lie." Bill nodded his head.
"Hey with how good you are maybe you should join up. We could use someone who's good in a tight spot." Alex laughed but he did give it some thought, In truth he'd always wondered what it would be like as a mercenary. He flashed Bill a smirk.
"I'll have to think about it." He looked up and saw that their destination was a few meter's away.
"After I get through all of this I'll see if I can hit the academy up, Deal?" He held out a hand as Bill extended his.
"Deal." Alex however held on tight as the Seekerpede suddenly plummeted into a nose dive.
"WOW!" Bill shouted as he held on for dear life, his old magni boots slipping on the surface of the giant robot bug.
"HOLD ON!" Alex shouted as he planted both feat on the spine of the mechanical monster and gripped Bill's one hand with his two, his chest heaving as he tried to block out the fiery pain that was lancing throughout his nervous system. Bill for his part had a firm grasp on Alex's hand and soon his second hand joined in. Alex looked around and was horrified to see them heading straight for a building. He pulled Bill close and held him tight.
"This is going to suck!" He shouted as Bill looked over his shoulder and saw exactly what the human meant.
"Oh shit!"
9:32 A.M.
"You feel bad?" Rivet thought about all that had happened up till this point. She shook her head.
"I just watched your brain-diary-thingy." Clank looked forlorn. Rivet meanwhile looked conflicted.
"Hey don't feel bad ok?" She tried her best to cheer Clank up.
"From the looks of it you and Ratchet are a pretty good team." She was bout to say more but soon the info bot started beeping.
"What the hell?" She gave it curious look and then her eye's dilated. She scooped up Clank and the info bot and not a moment to soon seeing as a giant Seekerpede tore through her houses wall a second later.
"Missing info bot located. Initiating Retrieval." Rivet was just about to reach for her go bag when the Seekerpede activated it's tractor beam. The intense magnetic field ripped her metal arm from it's intended goal and to her horror she soon felt Clank began to squrm on her back.
"What wrong bolt's?" She asked as he began to float away.
"The tractor beam is to strong." Clank said as he activated his helicopter mode. Rivet saw this and made to grab for him but the tractor beam was faster.
"No!" Rivet shouted as the Seekerpede grabbed Clank. Thinking that it had scooped up the correct robot it made to leave. As it did so Rivet was certain she heard Alex nearby. She shook her head and ran to the giant hole in her house. Looking around for anything that could help she spotted a Speedle. Leaping from the hole in her house she landed on said Speedle and took off after the Seekerpede.
"Hey! That's my annoying robot!" The pilot of the Seekerpede smiled.
"Deploying amphibious explosives to neutralize hostile furball." Rivet let out a shout as she dodged the explosive creatures the mechanical monster dropped into the water and focused on getting at the things weakness.
"If I can just get on it's back-" Her thought was interrupted however when the Seekerpede gave a sharp jolt. "Almost as if-" Her question was answered as the Seekerpede dived into a nearby platform, dislodging it's two stowaway's. Ale and Bill were both sent flying onto the hard metal surface, Bill giving a grunt and Alex letting out a growl of pain. Rivet seeing an opening shot off a nearby ramp and leapt from her Speedle landing on the platform with all of the grace of a feline. Looking around she saw that Bill was helping Alex get to his feet.
"Where's the Seekerpede?" She looked around to see that is wasn't in the sky. Suddenly the platform began to shake. Alex and Bill were sent tumbling to the ground but Rivet kept her balance as the giant vehicle in question burst from the acid swamp's depths.
"Oh goody, you all must be so desperate for annihilation!" The pilot had a murderous gleam in his eye as he hit a button. The Seekerpede let out a wave of blue/green energy sanding the deadly light towards Rivet. The beam however missed as a rather large explosion engulfed the cockpit, knocking the head of the giant robot off course. Rivet looked over to see Bill propping Alex up with one hand while he had his shotgun in the other, Alex having brought out his shatterbomb. Rivet was thankful for the timely intervention but the Seekerpede wasn't down just yet. Rivet bought out her own special surprise.
"Eat this." She launched a rocket at the Seekerpeded by way of her Warmonger. This did not sit well with the pilot. Looking at his screen however made him smile.
"Ah, backup power has almost restored the flight stabilizer. How delightful!" He scanned the group of three before him and saw that one of them was definitely more succeptable to damage than the other's. So he sent a beam their way.
"Alex Look out!" Rivet shouted as the beam lanced through the air. Neither Alex nor Bill really had any time to react. So Alex did the next best thing. He shoved Bill out of the way and tried to roll in the opposite direction. To be fair it almost worked. Bill was safe, but Alex still got grazed by the hot beam and for his heroics he ended up with a scorched back, and a trip to comaville as his body shut down.
"Alex!" Clank was mortified. Seeing someone from a whole different dimension save the life of a goon no less was more than he was prepared to see this day. Rivet had to admit that while she was skeptical of him at first this definitely put him in her trustworthy category. So she raised her Warmonger and took another shot at the Seekerpede. Another direct hit lit up the cockpit and the sky. The Seekerpede pilot had had enough and started to send out Nefarious Goons.
"I got these guys!" Bill Shouted as he brought his shotgun and let lose a torrent of fire. Rivet took another shot with her rocket launcher but sadly this time she missed.
"Ah ha Flight Stabilizer is back online, Goodbye!" The Seekerpede began to leave and Rivet was to give chase, but she stopped and looked over to Bill and Alex.
"Don't worry I got him." Bill went over and grabbed Alex strapping him into the harness and igniting his engines. Rivet meanwhile had spied the Speedle form before. She wrangled it and took off after the Seekerpede. This time she managed to land on it's back after hitting a few ramps. When she was close enough she brought out her Warmonger and landed a direct hit to the giants flight stabilizer, sending it crashing to the ground.
"This is unfortunate." The pilot said as the giant mechanical monstrosity went plummeting to the ground. As soon as the cockpit was within her sight Rivet leapt onto it's rim, the pilot giving out a scream right before it's brain's were now on the outside of it's skull. Clank was shocked.
"You came back for me?" Rivet just nodded.
"Of course." She sighed as she grabbed a hold of Clank and slung him on her back.
"What can I say, you kinda grew on me." Clank laughed as the two hopped down off of the wreck of a machine, when they did so however they were greeted to the sight of Bill carrying a unresponsive Alex towards a group of medical Morts. Rivet used her rift tether to clear the gap in no time, and she went over check on the strange yet brave alien.
"Hey." She greeted Bill who gave her a look of shame.
"Hey." She looked at Alex and cringed as he was lowered into a vat of nanobots.
"Is he going to make it?" She asked as Bill shook his head.
"The doctors aren't sure. If he does it will be a miracle." Rivet let out a sigh as she sat down and thought about the past half an hour. Looking over at Clank she thought long and hard.
"We need to get your communications antenna up and running." Clank nodded in agreement.
"Yes, the sooner we can get Ratchet up to speed and more importantly his help with stopping Dr. Nefarious, the sooner we can get all of this sorted out." He looked at Alex and frowned.
"And hopefully no one will have died in vein." Rivet felt sad. She hadn't gotten to know this alien like bill and it would appear Ratchet as well. She wished she had now. Even if she felt it was a lie, she put in a smile and gave Clank a confidant smirk.
"Hey don't worry about it, he'll pull though, you'll see." Her assurance was appreciated and it did cheer up both Clank and Bill but the two were still somewhat skeptical of his chances.