"Come on. 'We' got this," the confident Lombax said with a smile as he stepped out from cover and gestured for her to join him.
But Vendra shook her head, "I think I'm fine where I'm at." Even she had her limits to what she'd recklessly jump into and a fight with a living metal dragon was one of them.
Ratchet shrugged and the cautious space witch watched him bend his knees and stand his ground as the hulking Hydra Tank literally tore a path towards him.
"Ok, the trick to taking out a Hydra is to hit it while dodging its fire attacks," the experienced hero quickly explained without taking his eyes off the metal monster. "I'll lay on the damage, then you pull out its pins. Got it?"
Vendra looked up at him without an iota of understanding, "No!"
Ratchet frowned, "Just stay out of its fire range, but keep it in yours!"
This was all he had time to elaborate on before the three-headed mechanical beast reached their position.
Vendra shrunk further behind the safety of the scrap metal wall, while the Hydra Tank roared passed.
With great skill Ratchet backflipped out of its way and before even landing he'd begun to open fire with his Warmonger. He sent a barrage of armor-shredding rockets into the back of the tank, punching several holes in its body before it spun around and countered with a salvo of fireballs.
The experienced adventurer expertly dodged the attacks without so much as breaking his rhythm. He switched quickly between weapons, countering with blaster shots and thrown explosives, all without taking a single hit himself.
Vendra, still behind cover, was once again captivated by the Lombax's abilities. It wasn't long before he had covered the metal beast in glowing red holes, many of which billowed with black smoke.
The monster roared angrily in response, but it had soon had enough and the rain of its ineffectual fire balls ceased.
The fascinated Nether watched on as all three heads pulled back towards their shared body and tucked themselves up against the central turret. As soon as they were far enough in, a large, egg-shaped orange shield enveloped the top half of the tank. A moment later, three versa-fuses popped out from the underside of the hull, just below each of their necks.
Vendra blinked in surprise. Not at the fact that the tank had a shield, but at the sight of what was behind it.
Through the orange window, she could see the dozens of holes that Ratchet had just put in its hull starting to close up as the tank auto-repaired itself. The monster would be back to full fighting power in mere moments as if nothing had happened.
"Vendra, the pins!" Ratchet shouted.
His words broke the space witch from her trance and she immediately realized what he'd meant before.
Vendra leapt out from cover and reached a hand out. Gripping the nearest versa-fuse with her powers, she pulled hard.
The pin-like versa-fuse flew free of it's housing with electrical 'pop'.
Stunned by how easily it had been to remove, Vendra turned her attention back to the Hydra Tank. With its power regulation suddenly removed, the war vehicle's shields quickly overloaded and shattered as if made of orange glass.
The three heads screeched as if in agony, spinning on their turret as internal explosions rippled through their shared body.
A particularly large detonation went off just above where Vendra had pulled out the versa-fuse. Right at the point where the neck connected to the body, fire and sparkes spewed forth, and the dragon-like metal head was blown clean off the hull.
The now 'two'-headed Hydra roared its anger and an orange glow quickly filled both their remaining mouths.
The two heads each pointed down to the ground and a stream of burning, plasmatic fire erupted from each of their jaws, striking the road at their tracks and cutting a line outward straight across the ground.
The area around the tank was now divided in two by a wall of flame.
"Vendra, get airborne!" Ratchet shouted.
Vendra obeyed without hesitation.
The experienced Lombax knew what was coming next and prepared himself. Once more he opened up with his weapons, but as he did so, he made sure not to take his eyes off of the flaming trails.
The Hydra tank ignored the incoming damage and its turret began to spin, rotating both heads along with it, and with them the lines of fire.
Ratchet expertly jumped over the burning wall as it reached his position. Just like with the fireballs, he didn't even interrupt his attack as he did so.
However, even as he poured more rockets and plasma bolts into the Hydra's body, the beast simply held its heads down with single-minded determination. It began to spin faster and faster as it built up momentum and the frequency with which the embattled Lombax was forced to jump over the fires began to increase.
Like a deadly game of jump-rope, Ratchet fought to avoid the flames while also continuing to damage the tank's body.
His efforts were valiant and he fought with expert skill and timing, but it wasn't long before his dodging began to interfere with his attacks. He simply didn't have time to do both effectively and not being torched alive took priority.
Still, Ratchet could see the damage he was doing, almost like an instinctual health bar that hovered above his opponent's head. He was so close to forcing it to shield up again, he just needed a few more hits.
He pushed his luck, managing to squeeze an extra rocket out of his weapon than he should have over the next couple of jumps, each time almost singing off his tail as he landed.
But he soon pushed his luck too far.
Between the weapon switching, trigger pulling, and fire leaping, something had gotten mixed up in his Lombax brain and Ratchet accidentally side-flipped to his left instead of his right.
He realized his mistake as soon as he'd made it, but by then he was already locked into a trajectory that would put him right into the flames.
The Lombax braced for the heat!
But then he felt nothing.
Blinking in confusion, it took a moment for him to comprehend that he was now floating in the air and it took another moment for him to realize that everything around him suddenly had a slight hue of purple to it.
The shoe finally dropped and he looked up to find Vendra Prog hovering just above him with her palm outstretched in his direction.
A wide grin split her face, "Need-" she began, but hesitated, before snapping her mouth shut and putting her trademark scowl back on.
Ratchet saw this and a knowing grin split his lips.
"Say it," he pressed.
Vendra's scowl intensified, "No," she countered.
"I know you were about to," the Lombax hero insisted.
"No!" the now menacing looking Nether shot back.
"Say it or I'll leak to the galactic news that 'former' villain Vendra Prog helped rescue a bunch of Vullards!"
Vendra grit her teeth, and through them, she begrudgingly spoke, "...'Need a lift'?"
Ratchet pretended to blink back tears as he tucked his lower lip into his mouth like someone about to cry, "Vendra's first 'heroic last-minute rescue' one-liner," he said with a feigned lump in his throat. "It was even a pun."
Vendra's irritation was so powerful that veins began to rise on her forehead, "I'm putting you back into the fire," she stated coldly, before slowly lowering Ratchet toward the spinning blaze below.
Ratchet's eyes went even wider, "No! Wait, wait, wait! Vendra, wait!" he begged in desperation.
Vendra halted his descent just above the licking flames. She was half curious about what he wanted to say, but only slightly less curious to find out if Lombax tasted better lightly-toasted or broiled.
But Ratchet's smile returned the moment he'd stopped and he instead pointed his blaster at the hydra tank.
He let loose one final bolt into its metal hide and the beast convulsed, causing both heads to immediately cut off their streams of flames as they reared up and screeched in pain.
Their long necks spasmed and sparked as they fought to pull themselves back against the body.
The moment they were properly tucked, the familiar yellow shield deployed around the injured heads and the tank's two remaining versa-fuses deployed from its underside.
Ratchet, now safe from any flames, then turned back to Vendra, "All yours," he said with a cheeky grin.
Disappointed that she wouldn't be getting to flambe a smartmouthed Lombax anytime soon, the frustrated Nether let out a long sigh, reached out with her other hand, and ripped a second node from the metal beast with her powers.
Just like the first time, the Hydra tank screeched and sparked as mini-explosions ran through its body, culminating in one of the remaining heads exploding free of its hull all together.
"Don't lose your head," Ratchet shouted gleefully at the burning tank, before looking up to Vendra for acknowledgement.
The embarrassed space witch didn't even meet his gaze. She simply flicked her wrist and released her hold on him.
Ratchet fell to the ground suddenly, but his cat-like reflexes landed him cleanly on his feet.
"Baby steps," he told himself quietly, before raising his weapon again and pointing it at the tank.
The explosions across the tank had subsided and the one remaining Hydra head roared defiantly at it's two assailants, but it knew it was outmatched.
It unleashed a salvo of fireballs at both Ratchet and Vendra, but both avoided them easily.
Seeing its doom, the one-headed Hydra tank began to zip around the battlefield, desperately discharging fireballs, while also putting some distance between itself and its opponents.
It was all for nought, however, as Ratchet's marksmanship was almost as good as his agility. Not that it needed to be for such a large target.
He laid down a withering final barrage and it wasn't long before the smoking, sparking tank was at its final limit.
Ratchet lined up the finishing shot, but just before he pulled the trigger, a flaming spiked flail came sailing toward him.
He spotted it in his peripheral, but didn't have time to avoid it completely.
Purple light flashed just before it struck and the burning mace was sent veering off course, missing Ratchet by a hair.
Vendra floated down to Ratchet's side, her hands numb from the effort of suddenly redirecting the projectile.
The relieved Lombax turned to thank his companion, but a chorus of war-cries split the air a moment later.
Both he and Vendra spun to see a screaming band of Agorians charging towards them.
"Company," Ratchet said with a slight sigh of annoyance.
"What about the Hydra tank?" Vendra pointed out.
In the short moment of distraction caused by the flail, the wounded Hydra Tank had managed to get behind the Agorian host and was likely about to initiate its auto repair in safety.
The irritated Nether growled in annoyance, "It's on its last head! We have to finish it off before it heals."
But they both knew that even with their attacks combined, the two of them couldn't cut their way through the Agorians before it would finish repairing.
That's when Ratchet had an idea.
"Vendra," he said as he turned to face the space witch. "I need a lift."
Before he'd even finished saying the words, however, a wicked grin had split Vendra's face. She'd already been thinking the same thing.
Without a word, the tiny Nether's arm shot out and gripped Ratchet by the collar. Purple light coursed from her hand and snaked around his body.
The surprised Lombax blinked as Vendra quickly turned, took a big step toward the oncoming Agorians, and then hurled him high into the air.
Ratchet's long cry of surprise faded as he sailed clean over the Agorians' heads.
Vendra let out a long sigh, savoring how good doing that had felt, but she was hunched over a moment later as her breath suddenly caught in her throat.
Even just tossing a Lombax as hard as she had was starting to take its toll. To make matters worse, the sight of a flying space-rat had not stopped the Agorians' charge.
As Ratchet safely sailed toward the hydra tank behind them, Vendra grit her teeth and squared her back.
She didn't have time to take flight. There were a few riders in the group and she knew by the lack of incoming flails that they were waiting for her to do so.
She would simply have to break their first wave herself and hope that her companion returned before she was overwhelmed.
However, high above the battlefield, the nimble Lombax had recovered enough from his sudden insight into a cannonball's existence to spin himself in mid-air and hurl a grenade back toward the mob.
Vendra saw him do this from the corner of her eye. She knew that one or two grenades would do little against a threat this large, but was begrudgingly grateful for any help.
This made her all the more surprised, and disappointed, when she saw the explosive device arc well over top of the oncoming rush to fly over her own head and out of sight.
It struck a building on the far side of the street and exploded.
Vendra shook her head and returned her focus to the enemies that were now just a few feet from her. Her only wish now was to live long enough that she could mock the cross-eyed Lombax's poor aim.
However, just as she braced her body for impact, the screaming Agorians began to slow.
Their war-cries fell silent and they all began to stared wide-eyed at something over Vendra's shoulder. The curious Nether was compelled to follow their collective gazes.
She heard the sound of groaning metal before she saw it and turned to see a very tall tower, its support beams a twisted mess of blasted scrap, slowly tilting toward her position.
The Agorians shouted in fear. Forgetting their charge, they began running into one another to try and get out of the way, but the knowing space witch didn't move.
Vendra could see that the tower wasn't tall enough to reach them and would land just short of where she stood.
She secretly thanked the Lombax, swore never to tell him so, and used the distraction to take flight.
The tower smashed into the ground a few meters away, just as she'd predicted.
However, while she'd been right about where it would land, what she hadn't expected was the tidal wave of water that burst forth from the top of the water tower.
The high wall of liquid washed over the Agorians, knocking many to the ground, but for the most part it did no damage.
The enraged warriors shouted and cursed as they sputtered and slipped over one another.
Some of the warriors who still stood looked around frantically for their target, only to be surprised when they found her floating just a few feet away.
She was hovering only a few inches off the ground.
Vendra touched down lightly on the barely submerged roadway, sending out a single ripple from where her toes touched and stood well within skewering sword range.
The Agorians would have been delighted... if it weren't for the blood-chilling smile she wore. It flickered in and out of the shadows cast by the dancing purple electricity jumping between her outstretched palms.
Ratchet tossed aside the sparking versa-fuse as the remains of the Hydra tank detonated behind him.
He didn't even bother to watch the explosion as he hurried back to Vendra, only to find her standing over a pile of blackened, twitching Agorian bodies that still had purple electricity jumping across them here and there.
She hovered over to him, barely trying to hide the grin of satisfaction from her face.
"I took care of the tank," said Ratchet.
"I can see that," Vendra noted dismissively as the fire ball settled in the distance. "I took care of the Agorians."
Ratchet wrinkled his nose, "I can smell that," he noted as he kept his eyes turned away from the carnage behind.
Vendra gave up trying to hide her morbid pleasure and grinned at what she perceived as a compliment, but then her vision blurred, her legs went weak, and she lost her balance.
There were no market stalls around this time for her to grab onto. However, she instead found a Lombax hand catching her around the waist and stopping her from falling to the ground.
Ratchet helped the exhausted space witch down to one knee, "Are you alright?" he questioned, concern written all over his face.
Vendra tried to roll her eyes, but the act made her feel dizzy and she regretted it immediately, "I'm… fine," she panted.
Ratchet looked unconvinced, "Maybe it's time for you to tap out. I can handle the rest from here."
Vendra scowled, "Hey, we beat that thing, didn't we? I'm sure I can handle whatever scraps are left of these muscle-bound buffoons."
But Ratchet shook his head, "No, we still haven't done the hardest part yet."
"What do you mean, Lombax?" Vendra questioned indignantly. "Look around. We must have killed almost all of Magora's soldiers by now."
Ratchet nodded, "True," he agreed, though, he didn't appear to be put at ease. "But villains are cowards. They rarely face any real threat if they don't have to. They'll throw all their expendable minions at you until you've been worn down, then they'll swoop in with some superweapon or secret elite reserve troops, and take all the credit."
Vendra looked skeptical, "That's ridiculous," she argued with a shake of her head that made her feel sick. "Dividing their forces like that would be foolish. I don't think 'all' villains are that stu-"
But even as she spoke, the Agorian radio crackled to life.
"All Magora's raiders!" came a gruff voice over the speakers. "Break off the attack on the Lombax and the Space Witch. I, Magora the Sky Demon, have deemed them worthy opponents and shall take care of them... myself."
The self-satisfied Lombax had just enough time to give Vendra an 'I told you so' eyebrow raise before they heard the scream of a Talon Fighter's engines in the distance.
"We've got to move."
However, as much as Vendra agreed with Ratchet's analysis, she had a slight problem.
"OK, so... I might not be as 'fine' as I said I was," she admitted with strain evident in her voice.
Vendra was still kneeling on the ground and couldn't seem to catch her breath. Her body shivered slightly as if she were cold, despite the hot climate.
Ratchet clenched his jaw, knowing how bad it must be for Vendra to admit it, "Here, take this," he said before Vendra felt a slight pinch on her shoulder.
"Ow! What was that?"
Ratchet pulled his hand away to show her the now empty autoinjector, "It's a Nano-tech Booster. It should help with the fatigue."
Vendra could already feel minor aches and pains across her entire body disappear one by one as the nanites made their way through her, supplementing the ones already inside her body.
Still, Nanotech could only do so much. It would ease the pain, but it could not undo the stress her powers put on her body.
"Can you stand?" Ratchet asked, his brow creased with worry.
"I can, but not much else," Vendra wheezed. "I just need a few minutes to gather my energy."
The exhausted space witch stiffened, realizing the only way to get to safety was for him to carry her.
She hesitated to make eye contact and her cheeks warmed with embarrassment as she choked down her pride for what she was about to suggest.
To her surprise, however, when she turned to address Ratchet, the concern on his face had vanished.
"Oh, no worries then," he said, almost casually. "Just get to your feet and take as long as you need."
Vendra looked up at him in confusion. So much confusion that she willingly allowed him to help her to her feet.
"What do you mean?"
But before she could get an answer, a sleek starfighter's frame slipped out from between the buildings and came straight at them.
The young Nether's instincts told her to run and a pang of panic shot through her, but she knew she didn't have the strength to outrun a starship.
The deadly battlecraft came to a halt only a few meters away and pointed its weapons at the two of them.
Vendra tensed, sure that this was the end, but Ratchet remained perfectly calm. As much as she hated to admit it, seeing this helped her keep her cool as well.
The Lombax stood up straight and defiant, while subtly helping Vendra to do the same with his arm under hers.
To her utter astonishment, the Talon did not open fire. It just hovered there for a moment, watching them.
A loud hiss of hydraulics filled the air and the cockpit began to open, revealing a hulking warrior, even by Agorian standards, sitting in the pilot's seat.
Vendra tried not to let the confusion show on her face as she fought to comprehend what was happening, 'Why don't they just kill us?' she wondered.
The enormous warrior stood up and struck a pose by putting one foot on the nose of their ship, "Well, well, well… So you're the famous Ratchet. Savior of three galaxies, conqueror of Emperor Tachyon, and, most impressively, champion of the Agorian battleplex?"
Ratchet kept his expression flat and his posture firm, though, up close Vendra could see his slight grin of self-satisfaction that curled his lips, "I am," he answered simply. "And you must be Magora?"
"Bah!" the Agorian warlord bellowed, before spitting in disgust. "You're even punier than I had been led to believe! I find it hard to imagine that a tiny furball like you defeated the greatest Agorian champions in the arena of sacred combat."
Ratchet wore an arrogant smirk, "Maybe you should ask your foot soldiers what they imagined?"
Vendra's eyes widened, 'What was this dumb Lombax doing?' she shouted internally. 'Did he actually 'want' the blood-thristy Agorian leader to kill them?'
But to her continued astonishment, the large Agorian threw their head back and let out a bellowing laugh, "Ha! I like your fire, space-rat! I'd been worried that hunting down all of these defenseless Vullards would make my warriors go soft, but thanks to you I've finally got some sport!"
Ratchet's expression darkened, "What are you doing here, Magora? How did you know the Hollow would be defenseless?"
Vendra started, suddenly remembering that she hadn't yet told Ratchet what she'd overhead about Snarg crippling the defense cannons.
Magora grinned slyly at the Lombax's question, "A little birdy told me... The only catch was that my raiders and I had to kill every single junk-back we found. Not that we mind a little target practice, of course."
Ratchet stiffened indignantly and puffed out his chest in a show of defiance that Vendra noted seemed a little forced, "You won't win," he declared in a self-aggrandizing tone. "We'll defeat you and save the Vullards!"
Vendra winced at hearing him use 'we'. A part of her had been wondering if she might convince Magora, as a fellow villain, to let her live.
Magora snorted, "You may have bested most of my army, but don't think you're a match for me, Rat! I am Magora the Sky Demon, master of starfighter combat! I was once the most feared pilot in the grand Agorian Armada! My name strikes terror in the hearts of every space freighter captain in Polaris! It was 'I' who scuttled the Aperian Fleet, 'I' stole the Matriarch diamond on transit from…"
As the Agorian warlord continued to list off their accomplishments, striking a different eccentric pose for each one, Ratchet subtly leaned over to Vendra and whispered in her ear, "How are you doing?" he asked in a strangely casual way. "Did you catch your breath yet?"
Vendra fought the urge not to turn and stare at him in exasperation. Instead, she inhaled deep and slowly, finding that her body had indeed recovered enough to breathe normally.
"What's going on?!" she hissed through clenched teeth. "Why aren't we dead yet?"
Ratchet shrugged, "It's a monologue," he answered, as if that explained everything. "All villains like to brag about how great they are or how brilliant their plan is. If you can get them going, it's the best time to gather information or catch a quick breather before the final showdown."
Vendra blinked in disbelief at Magora, who was still rattling off accomplishments, "Maybe the idiot villains," she scoffed. 'I'd never do something as stupid as let my enemies live a moment longer than they had to."
Ratchet stiffened visibly and his effort to keep his eyes focused on Magora seemed to become even more forced.
Vendra turned her gaze on the Lombax and eyed him with suspicion, "What?" she demanded coldy in his ear.
The galaxy-famous hero just shook his head as subtly as he could, "N-nothing."
Vendra let her slightly recovered powers flow through her body, causing a static charge to prickle the Lombax's fur, "Don't lie to me! I never did anything like this when I was a villain!" she growled, though her voice lacked certainty.
Ratchet bit his lip and held his tongue, but as the electric tingling coming off of the space witch intensified, he let out a sigh, "Do you remember when I defeated Neftin at the Sky Train station on Silox?"
Vendra recalled the incident and bile rose in her throat as she remembered watching her brother fall, "Pfft, you mean barely," she spat back, also remembering how close the fight had been. "You could hardly stand up straight after that fight."
But instead of being offended by the clear dig, Ratchet only seemed to stiffen more and nod, "Yep. And do you... also remember how your Thug army had Clank and I surrounded?"
Vendra's eyes narrowed, "Yeeessss…" the former villain answered slowly, trying to recall what had happened next.
That day had been one of the worst days of Vendra's life. It was when she'd been betrayed by Mr. Eye and when she'd lost her entire reason for living.
She remembered the anger of seeing her brother defeated, then she remembered the delight at seeing her Lombax foe doubled over and panting while dozens of her Thug minions pointed their guns at him. They'd all been waiting for her order to execute him and his metallic companion like the dogs they were.
Then she remembered floating down toward them with the mock-dimensionator in hand and…
Vendra's eyes went wide, "Noooooo…" the former villain breathed in horrified realization.
She spun her head back to look at Magora, still monologuing while the Talon's guns sat idle, then eyed Ratchet once more, "But, of course 'I' could gloat! I had you dead to rights!" she hissed defensively.
Ratchet nodded stiffly, "Yep."
Vendra's eyes narrowed, "You weren't even a threat any more! I could have killed you at any time!" she insisted further.
Ratchet nodded again, "Yeah… you could have."
Vendra grit her teeth, "I-I was angry. You were such a thorn in my side that just killing you didn't seem like enough. I just... I wanted you to see your failure before I killed you! If I hadn't been betrayed by that traitorous Mr. Eye you'd be..."
"Buuut I'm not," Ratchet noted with finality, though he could not completely hiding the slight smirk from his face.
Open mouthed Vendra turned to stare at Magora, who was still mid-monologue.
The recovered space witch felt her restored powers flood through her body as a sudden sense of embarrassment and self-hatred found a way to be unjustly redirected.
She balled her hand into a fist, focusing power into it, before throwing it outward and hurling a stream of purple lightning from her fingers.
Despite being mid-explanation of how Ratchet would be pulverized by a missile barrage, Magora spotted the attack from the corner of her eye and activated a yellow protective shield just in time to catch the blast with it.
To her surprise, the Agorian warlord's reflexes were worthy of a master fighter pilot, and perhaps even a little bit of her own boasting.
"What are you doing?!" Ratchet shouted, mostly out of surprise from the sudden bolt of lightning that had been fired just a few inches away from him.
Vendra didn't say anything, but to both of their surprise, Magora let out a booming laugh, "Eager to face your doom, eh little witch?" the large Agorian smirked. "Very well, I'll grant your wish."
Deactivating the shield in her hand, Magora fell back into the Talon's cockpit with practiced ease and the canopy quickly closed over top of her.
Vendra could feel Ratchet's disapproving gaze on her.
"What?"
He shook his head, "It's nothing, just… interrupting the monologue is kind of against hero etiquette."
Vendra's gaze darkened at the idiocy of it all, "Good thing I'm not a hero then."
A slight smile curled Ratchet's lips as the whine of the Talon's engines crescendoed, "I hope that was enough time at least," he said as he readied his weapons.
Vendra let raw power pulse through her hands and wings, "Too much time," she answered with a scowl.
But her mood quickly became serious as the Talon's weapons were armed.
"This will be a much tougher fight than the last Talons we faced," Ratchet cautioned. "Magora's Talon is a Class 3 fighter. Those guns are pretty nasty and her gloating wasn't all talk. She's quite skilled in fighter combat. You gonna be ok?"
Vendra smirked, "I'll be fine… wait, 'she'?!"
