Vendra sucked in air through gritted teeth as her flight became erratic.

The irony was not lost on her as, just like Magora, she began to lose control. She tried to use her hands to support her wings, pushing down against gravity with all she had, but could barely stop herself from plummeting out of the sky.

Looking down, the exhausted space witch saw again the throngs of Agorian foot soldiers that waited below. Their attention was no longer on Ratchet and the fake Prog, they instead stared up at the real Vendra with cold, glassy eyes.

When the exhausted Nether finally hit the ground, she collapsed into a shivering pile. The stunning realization that huddled on the ground while surrounded by a throng of bloodthirsty killers was not the best position to be in gave her the strength to surge to her feet, but once there she found that her muscles barely had the strength to keep her upright.

She knew that she wouldn't be able to make so much as a spark in her current condition, let alone hold off the army that she now faced. Vendra was sure she'd be shaking with fear, were she not already shivering from the rebound effect of overusing her powers.

Worst of all, Ratchet was nowhere to be found.

Without time to think, the former villain held her head up as high as she could and glared in defiance at the hulking Agorians in front of her.

"W-well?!" she shouted, daring the first opponent to step forward with as much faux bravado as she could muster.

The Agorian horde turned as one to look at the flaming wreckage of Magora's ship and then back to Vendra.

Vendra gulped and stared right back… but it was then that the young space witch realized that it wasn't blood-lust she saw in their eyes, as she'd expected, but confusion.

Almost in unison, a light bulb seemed to go off in each of the dim creatures' heads and their blank expressions turned to realization. And that realization turned to panic.

""Magora's been defeated!"" they cried and utter chaos erupted.

Vendra stared in disbelief as the Agorian warriors pushed and shoved each other in a desperate attempt to get as far away from her as possible.

"We surrender!" "Please don't vaporize us!" "All hail the Space Witch!"

The sound of their shouts were only matched by the pounding of their footsteps.

Open mouthed, Vendra blinked repeatedly as the remnants of Magora's raiders began disappearing into the nearest buildings and alleyways. This was not what she'd expected.

"Not bad," came Ratchet's voice from right beside her.

Vendra nearly jumped in surprise, "When did you get here?!" she demanded, before having to catch her breath again. The shivering still hadn't completely subsided.

Ratchet shrugged and gestured to the tall column of black smoke coming from Magora's crash site, "I just followed the trail of burning Agorian fighter craft. Looks like the plan worked."

Vendra narrowed her eyes and held a fist out towards him, "Just take this thing off," she ordered, before turning her arm to make the Dopplebanger Glove easier to access.

She'd been surprised when the Lombax had suddenly stopped her from charging after Magora, but even more surprised when she'd looked down to find the device locked to her wrist.

Everything had happened so fast, the Lombax had known what would happen and had a plan to counter before Magora had even fired the smokescreen.

He removed the glove from her hand and she rubbed her wrist in thought. Had he not stopped her, she would have been caught right in the middle of Magora's trap.

The young Nether looked up and found Ratchet studying her. He said nothing, as if waiting for her to speak, but Vendra found that she was too tired to make up a reason for why his plan had been stupid, so she settled for simply not acknowledging it.

Vendra glanced back at the dozen or so Agorians still trying to escape into the shadows.

"Shouldn't we do something about them?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

Unfortunately, the self-satisfied grin that grew on the Lombax's face made it clear that he took her lack of insult as a compliment.

Vendra scowled.

Ratchet turned to eye the fleeing warriors for a moment before shaking his head, "Nah. I've already called the Polaris Defense Force to come in and round them up. You took down their leader so they won't make any more moves until they think you're off planet. Besides, they're more likely to fight amongst themselves over who will be the 'new' leader than cause more trouble."

Vendra accepted this answer without complaint. Mostly because she was too tired to fight on and didn't want to have to admit it, but also because, despite herself, she felt a pang of pride at the nod of approval Ratchet gave her.

It was over.

They had defeated a villainous foe and had saved the city.

Vendra had to admit, causing utter devastation and not getting in trouble for it felt rather nice. The former villain wouldn't say that the feeling made playing a hero 'worth it', but she could maybe see the appeal… if she squinted.

A strained hissing noise, accompanied by a metallic groan, pierced through the now silent streets and both Ratchet and Vendra turned to see what had caused it.

From the burning wreckage of the Talon, the ship's cracked and twisted cockpit slowly opened and black smoke poured out.

From the dark cloud came the battered form of Magora the Sky Demon, coughing and spluttering in the toxic air as she crawled out on bruised and bleeding limbs.

Vendra's eyes narrowed at the not-quite-dead warlord, "Hold that thought," she said in a grimly casual tone, before taking a step toward the crash site.

Fury burned anew inside the space witch as electricity crackled between her fingers. The act of doing so stung, a sure sign of her inability to regulate her power, but she ignored the pain.

She knew she should probably leave this up to Ratchet, but her pride wouldn't let her. 'She' wanted to be the one to end this.

As Vendra approached, Magora tried to get up, but failed. One of the Agorian's legs was clearly broken and she had lacerations all over her body that bled profusely. For all her muscles and strength, the warlord was barely able to move.

Vendra felt pain in her hands as her own power singed her flesh. She didn't have much strength left, but it should still be enough if she used it wisely. She knew the Agorian's skin was thick and insulating, but if she jammed her thumbs through the warlord's eyes then she could make a conductive path directly into Magora's brain.

She hoped that would be enough.

Magora gasped for breath as Vendra's shadow loomed over her, "W-wait," the battered Agorian pleaded with eyes wide in fear. "D-don't kill me! I don't want to die..."

But not even a flicker of compassion crossed the small Nether's face. Magora had murdered and pillaged without restraint, all for her own selfish desires.

Vendra reached her still sparking fingers towards the Agorian's head, the former villain had no mercy for a creature she 'knew' deserved none.

A large, gloved hand gently wrapped itself around one of Vendra's smaller ones. Electricity danced and fizzled out against its insulated coating, but she knew some of it must have gotten through to the flesh beneath.

Vendra turned a questioning expression up at the Lombax, but one look at his solemn face told her everything.

"You can't be serious," she breathed in a whisper that was equal parts denial and pleading.

Ratchet didn't say anything.

"You know what she-"

"I do," Ratchet interrupted. "I saw the same thing you did and I also know what she's done on countless other planets… but even so…"

With stern eyes, the Lombax hero turned to the wounded Agorian Warlord, "Magora the Sky Demon. You are wanted in twelve sectors for gratuitous violence and wanton destruction. You have a warrant out for your arrest by the Polaris Defense Force."

"I surrender!" Magora gasped, seeing her one way out. "I swear, I won't hurt anyone ever again!"

Ratchet narrowed his eyes, "The Polaris Defense Force will be here soon. Do you promise to come quietly and turn yourself in?"

Magora nodded vehemently, despite the blood it caused to ooze from the cuts on her neck, "I swear on my honor as an Agorian!"

Ratchet released Vendra's hand and stood up straight. He nodded to the former warlord before turning to walk away.

Vendra stood there with her mouth open.

She couldn't believe what was happening.

She looked from Magora's prone form to Ratchet and then back again. Sparks danced in her eyes as she contemplated finishing the Agorian off anyway.

"Vendra," Ratchet said flatly, his back still turned to her and Magora. "Come on. We should start searching for any Vullard survivors."

The former villain seethed, 'How can that pompous, bleeding-heart hero not understand?!' she shrieked in her mind. After what Magora had done, the Agorian warlord didn't 'deserve' to live. The galaxy would be better off without her in it.

Magora watched the enraged space witch with unblinking eyes, not daring to even breathe as she waited to see what fate awaited her.

With clenched teeth, Vendra finally tore her gaze away from the prone Agorian and glared at Ratchet's back, "You'll regret this, Lombax!" she shouted. "She's your enemy! If you let this trash live, she'll come back to try and kill you one day. And countless others in between. You'll wish you'd let me finish her off now!"

Ratchet stopped walking and he spoke in a voice that was surprisingly gruff and heavy, almost hostile, "I know this might be difficult for you to understand, Vendra..." he said before slowly turning to face her. When he did, his eyes were hard enough to give the young Nether pause. "...but, we don't go around 'executing' people who can't fight back."

The words Ratchet spoke were so unexpectedly cold that Vendra lost any fire she had to argue further. She was once again struck with an unusual feeling, as if she were looking at a different person than the one she'd spent all day with. It made her uncomfortable in a way she couldn't describe.

Ratchet turned again and continued walking off without saying another word.

Vendra hesitated a moment, watching him go as if unsure what she should do, but soon she followed after.

Once out of earshot, the forgotten Agorian warlord breathed a massive sigh of relief. She had thought for sure that mad space witch was going to finish her off. Magora had never known fear like what she'd felt when looking into those cold and empty eyes.

However, that relief quickly turned to embarrassment as the defeat of the once feared warlord began to settle in.

The embarrassment turned to shame as she realized her own cowardice and how she'd just begged for her life.

Shamed turned to anger as she pushed herself onto her knees and glared at the retreating figures of the Lombax and his pet.

When she finally looked over the wreckage of her beloved Talon Starfighter, that anger then turned to resolve, when she spotted the laser cannon hanging by just a few wires from her ship's broken wing.


Ratchet stomped his way down the debris-strewn streets. He wasn't actually sure where he was going, but he couldn't stop now.

Inwardly he chided himself. Not because of what he had said or even for how he had said it, but because of 'why' he'd done it. Seeing Vendra about to execute a helpless and defeated foe struck a nerve with him and brought back memories of the Nebulox... of Cronk and Zephyr.

He had a right to be angry, he knew he did, but he couldn't let that anger dictate his actions. Not if either of them, Vendra or himself, were going to move forward.

Ratchet's ears twitched as he heard Vendra's footsteps approach. They were awkward and uneven. She was clearly struggling to keep up. She probably didn't have enough power left to fly.

As much as he wanted to keep a bit of space between them at the moment, the irritated Lombax took a breath to calm himself and slowed down.

When he heard her footsteps just to his side, he opened his mouth, "Vendra, I-"

"She's just going to hurt more people, you know?" the irritated Nether huffed, cutting him off.

Ratchet clenched his jaw, but he noted the way his companion had spoken the words, "She surrendered," he countered. "She'll be judged fairly by the Polaris Defense Force and serve her time in prison."

"She's a villain and a murderer," Vendra pressed. "What's the point of letting someone like that live?"

Ratchet turned just enough to catch a glance at the young Nether. Her arms were stiffly at her sides and her eyes were pointed away from him.

Vendra's tongue was sharp as ever, but her words didn't sound angry to the experienced Lombax. To Ratchet, they sounded more frustrated than anything. If he didn't know any better, he'd think Vendra was pouting.

The unexpectedly child-like reaction was almost enough to make Ratchet smile reflexively.

The Lombax's shoulders relaxed and he stopped walking before turning to the sulking space witch, "Look, Vendra-"

"Die Space Witch!"

Ratchet's ears twitched and his eyes went wide. A moment later he was lunging at the unsuspecting Nether.

Vendra barely had time to react before his arms were around her and he was pulling her away.

A burning beam of red laser light ripped through the air where she'd been standing just a moment ago, barely missing her to the point that she felt the hot, ionized air against her skin as it passed.

Ratchet spun, twisting himself along with Vendra to face where the shot had come from.

Magora lay atop her burning starship. Through sheer rage and determination, she'd managed to drag herself up to the sparking, ship-mounted laser cannon and was directing it's muzzle with her muscular arms, "You will rue the day you challenged Mago-".

But another blast rang out, this time from Ratchet's blaster. The plasma bolt struck the Agorian warlord with deadly accuracy. It struck clean through the eye, silencing her for good with a single shot.

Vendra's mouth hung open as Magora's body fell.

The stunned space witch had expected the Warlord to betray them, she'd made that abundantly clear, and while she'd been surprised at how fast it'd happened, she wasn't shocked by it.

Instead, she stared in disbelief at the Lombax that still held her as he let go and holstered his pistol, before turning to give her an apologetic look.

That look set Vendra's eye's ablaze.

"You knew," she hissed.

Vendra had seen it, before Magora's attack as Ratchet had stopped walking and turned toward her... his blaster had already been in his hand.

Ratchet looked away and rubbed the back of his head, "I thought she'd try to shoot at me," he confessed. "I'm sorry, with all the 'pet' talk they were throwing around, I was sure she'd try to take me out instead."

"Not that!" the enraged Nether snarled, completely uncaring of the danger to her own life. "All that garbage about justice and fairness! You were just going to kill her anyway?!"

The Lombax hero stiffened at the accusation, "I gave her a chance," he countered. "She begged for her life and I gave it to her. 'She' chose to throw away that chance."

"You knew," Vendra repeated, not buying his excuse for a second. "You knew that the instant we turned our backs on that Agorian, she'd attack us again!"

Ratchet shrugged and looked back at the dead warlord, "I didn't have any restraints that could hold an Agorian of Magora's strength... the best way to know if someone is going to stab you in the back is to show it to them."

"So, what? It's OK to slaughter our way through an entire army of Agorians, but the second one of them gets all weepy and says they're sorry we have to let them go? Even if they just got done killing a bunch of innocent junk mongers for sport?"

The Lombax hero looked tired as he sighed and met Vendra's gaze, "Yes," he answered flatly. "Our mission isn't to kill the Agorians, or to get revenge for what they did, but to 'save' as many lives as possible. We only killed the Agorians because it was the only way to stop them, but if they surrender instead, that's all the better. After that, they can be judged for their crimes by the galactic authorities."

But this answer seemed to do nothing to quell the furry in Vendra's eyes.

The two held each other's gaze for a long while, neither seeming to back down or concede, but neither saying anything further.

Eventually, Ratchet let out another sigh and turned away, "Come on, we still need to help search for survivors."

But as he took a step forward, Vendra began to shake her head, "This is crap!" she spat at his back. "You do this whole song and dance thing to 'give her a chance' but you knew that deep down she was still a villain. You knew that the second she had the chance, she'd go right back to being a monster. The end result was exactly the same! You could have just killed her while she was unarmed and blubbering and it would have made absolutely no difference at all!"

Ratchet stopped walking. He paused for a second before slowly glancing back over his shoulder. He looked hard at Vendra. His gaze was tired but resolute.

The former villain was caught off guard by his expression. The Lombax's eyes didn't look at her with annoyance or anger, Ratchet's eyes weren't filled with judgment or disgust at her cold words, instead, they held only pity in them as he spoke,

"It makes all the difference in the galaxy, Vendra."


Vendra looked down at The Hollow from where she floated high above it... or at least from where her mind did. Through her powers she could sense the energy that flowed around her body below.

She could feel the Vullard workers, scattered around the still burning city as they shored up damaged buildings and rescued survivors. Vaguely, she could sense a few Agorians far off in the junk fields as they tried to stealthily slip away.

More than any of that, though, she could sense the Lombax helping with the rescue efforts directly below her ethereal form.

Though 'seeing' wasn't the right description and there was no sound that could be 'heard', Vendra watched as Ratchet directed Vullard volunteers in digging their way through the collapsed building.

Just ahead of them and beneath the rubble, the space witch could detect a life force that was still strong enough to be a living Vullard. The same life force that Ratchet's group now quickly worked to dig out.

Although Vendra couldn't sense dead matter directly—'lifeless' material like stone and steel gave off no radiation that she could detect—she could still see the energy reflected off of it from other sources, a lot like sonar or echolocation.

That was how she saw the building's weakened supports start to crack, it was how she saw the roof and walls giving way around Ratchet and the Vullards, and how she was able to watch as it all silently began caving in.

The life energy of the Vullard rescuers flashed a cold blue as adrenaline and fear pulsed through them with the rapid beats of their hearts... but Ratchet's energy didn't.

Even as several tons of rock and steel crumbled around him, the Lombax hero's aura glowed a constant, brilliant golden-yellow.

It happened so fast that Vendra could do nothing but watch. It was as if a cold explosion went off, causing the ambient energy in the building to decrease suddenly. The energy through which the young Nether 'saw' flickered and darkened as if someone had dimmed a light switch. She couldn't be sure because the echo of the building was so weak, but judging by the fact all of the creatures inside it continued to pulse with life she assumed something had happened to stop the cave in.

This guess was vindicated as the Vullard energies turned green with relief, before they scrambled to shore up the supports in the building and to keep it from collapsing further.

Seeing they were safe, Vendra focused her attention once more on the brilliant yellow glow and marveled at its consistency. Ratchet's calm and confidence had always been irritating to watch in the flesh, but it was another thing entirely to see it like this.

She'd half suspected it was all an act. Just something that a vain hero did to try and look cool, more arrogance than courage.

Only now could she see just how deep the Lombax's control went.

'Where did that sense of certainty come from?' she questioned with a metaphysical shake of her head. 'How could he face such danger without even a flicker of doubt? All for the sake of some Vullard he doesn't even know?'

Perhaps that was why the few times she'd seen Ratchet appear angry, to see that control waiver, she felt so thrown off by it. Like the time when she'd almost led them into the crusher, or when she was about to kill Magora. If he could keep such confidence while a building fell on his head… Vendra wondered what color energy she'd have seen coming from him in those moments.

The more the space witch shifted her attention onto the Lombax's energy, the more her mind tuned out other sources. The light of energies further away from where she drew her focus began to fade away and Ratchet's form began to solidify. He went from an amorphous swirl of energy to the familiar silhouette of the Lombax she knew so well. She concentrated even harder until his facial features were 'visible'.

'He looks determined,' she noted, as the Lombax worked with the single-minded goal of rescuing the trapped Vullard.

Around him, the other Vullards continued to work with guided precision, breaking apart and removing debris as Ratchet directed them. The group worked in harmony, all sharing the same goal.

It struck Vendra as odd how each time Ratchet's mouth wordlessly gave orders to the others, their energies shaded, not with irritation at having been ordered to do something by a non-Vullard, but with respect and eagerness. Some even looked at him with reverence that shone brightly in the mix of infrared body-temperature and brain waves that radiated from them.

The Vullards were all tired, their energy lack-luster from the day of seeing their homes burned and the friends taken, but they brightened as they worked, despite the immense amount of effort it must require.

As she watched, Ratchet moved to help one Vullard pry loose a bit of debris, using his Omniwrench until it came free. The wall it had come from began to bow slightly, but another Vullard was there in an instant with a metal support beam to wedge up against it and stop its progression.

As the first Vullard began to break apart the chunk of concrete they'd removed, Ratchet patted the side of the second Vullard's bucket affectionately, thanking them for the quick action. The Vullard brightened with pride and even Ratchet glowed a little with genuine appreciation, before both returned to the task at hand.

Vendra felt her distant, physical chest tighten as she saw this. She remembered the few nods of approval that Ratchet had given her throughout their long battle today and she wondered if the Lombax had glowed like that for her.

Unwelcome memories flashed in her mind, showing her the image of Ratchet's face as he'd reprimanded her for suggesting that killing Magora in cold blood made no difference.

'No, not reprimand,' she reminded herself, feeling her distant chest tighten further.

The look in the Lombax's eyes hadn't been angry or judgemental. He hadn't looked at her as if she'd done something wrong. No, Ratchet's eyes had been filled with pity. Pity at the fact that she didn't even know what that difference was.

Vendra's peripherals flashed red with her own anger. She focused even harder on Ratchet's features, bringing them even clearer into view in her mind. She was angry! Angry because he was right. She 'didn't' know what the difference was. She didn't understand!

As she continued to stare, the color that shrouded the corner of her vision dulled from red to a dim purple. The color of fear and indecision.

'Was that the real difference between them?' she wondered. Was the gap between his brilliant golden light and her dim darkness so vast that she couldn't even comprehend it?

Ratchet's face was almost solid now, each of his distinctive furry features as clear as if she beheld them with her own physical eyes. His presence now filled her mind entirely, to the point that it 'felt' like her face was just inches away from his.

Vendra could feel the energy that radiated off of him in her mind as if it were on her skin. It was warm and strong, but gentle at the same time...

Suddenly Ratchet flinched, his expression becoming intense. He looked at her. He looked the incorporeal Nether right in the eye, as if he could see her.

Vendra was startled. She reflexively pulled her mind back and Ratchet's form melted. His light grew dimmer and more distant as she pulled herself further away, as if running from it, until his light was just a vague blur in her mind's eye.

The surprised space witch snapped back into her body and sat up, blinking at the dark room she'd been meditating in. Her pounding heart was the only thing she could hear.


Ratchet wrinkled his nose, trying desperately to fight off the intense sneeze that was building. He didn't know what that strange feeling had been, perhaps a static charge caused by the dust in the air, but the room had already caved in once and he wasn't looking to risk another one.

"Are you alright, Lombax?" asked one of the Vullards to his side.

Ratchet nodded, "Yeah, let's just get this done so we can 'all' get out of here."

The other Vullards all buzzed their agreement and redoubled their efforts to set up makeshift support beams and move the excavated rubble.

Using his wrench to pry up loose debris, Ratchet lent a hand, though only 'one' hand as the other held another cryo grenade, ready to freeze the walls in a block of ice should they start to give way again.

A few minutes later, the group had managed to carve their way to where the building's basement entrance should have been located. They could now hear the muffled sound of static-riddled shouts and banging through the rubble.

Ratchet let out an appreciative sigh. Vendra had been right about there still being someone alive down there. He made a mental note to thank her, but then made a second note to figure out a way to do so that wouldn't enrage her.

Just as he drove his wrench into another stone, the space witch herself hovered down to land just outside the nearly collapsed building. Ratchet didn't need to turn to see that it was her. He could tell by the unbelievably soft footsteps that had suddenly started from out of nowhere.

A familiar chill ran up his spine. There was nobody else who could get that close to him without making a sound.

Vendra peered into the 'entrance'.

The real entrance had collapsed with much of the first half of the building, so she was really just peering into the giant hole they'd blasted out to get in here, but that was semantics.

Vendra stepped over the threshold and a Vullard worker put out a hand.

"Oh no, you don't want to be in here, Outsider," they said in warning. "This whole building is unstable."

Vendra just glared coldly at the Vullard and they backed off without another word, though Ratchet noted that they didn't run or cower in fear from her either.

Still, the Lombax considered ordering her to wait outside until they were done as well. The Vullard was right and it was still very dangerous in here. But, as he wiped the dust from his fur, he found that he was too tired for an argument at that exact moment.

"I finished searching the area," the young Nether said quietly as she walked up to him. "I didn't sense anyone else trapped in the rubble… at least not alive, anyway."

Ratchet could feel the other Vullards stiffen at her words and he made a third mental note to talk to her about 'heroic tact', but he simply turned to her and nodded to show he understood.

Except, she wasn't looking at him.

Ratchet studied the young Nether as she averted her eyes from him in a strange way, seemingly doing her best to avoid eye contact.

He raised an eyebrow, wondering what that was about, but figured that she must still be upset about what he'd said with regards to Magora.

Honestly, tyrant or child, he couldn't decide which she was. Though, he supposed those two weren't mutually exclusive. Still, the fact that she cared about his words at all was likely a good sign… he hoped.

"Alright, good job," Ratchet said to her with an appreciative tone, while inwardly hoping that the word 'good' didn't set her off. "We're almost through here, so you can just rest outside."

Ratchet tensed as he waited for the argument about having suggested she might need rest or that he'd essentially dismissed her, but to his surprise, it didn't come.

Surprised, but not displeased, the Lombax hero returned to the rock pile in front of him and pried another slab of metal out of place with his wrench.

However, as a Vullard came to remove the debris and he was about to turn his attention to the next one, he noticed that Vendra hadn't left yet.

Not that he expected to hear footsteps, but Ratchet didn't have to look to feel Vendra standing behind him. He could hear her soft breathing even as she tried to keep it quiet. Even more than that, though, he could actually feel her eyes on him now.

It was a little unsettling.

He was about to say something when she finally spoke.

"You know I could-"

'There it was,' Ratchet thought.

"No," he refused firmly.

Vendra's jaw clenched as her default mood returned, "You didn't even let me-"

"No," Ratchet said again, cutting her off once more. This time stopping to turn and look at her, "I appreciate the offer, but there's no way you've recovered enough to help move these rocks."

The space witch fixed him with an irritated glare and right away Ratchet knew he'd said the wrong thing.

"'Appreciate'," Vendra repeated indignantly. "I'm not doing this to help 'you', Lombax. I just want to hurry and leave this wretched planet, but you fools are taking too blasted long!"

Ratchet opened his mouth to argue, but before he could, purple light cascaded from Vendra's hands and covered the massive slab of concrete and metal that lay in front of him.

He turned to watch as the debris pulsed with power and slowly began to lift.

Vendra smirked as it did so. She knew instantly... that she'd made a mistake.

The young Nether's still very sore muscles screamed under the intense weight of the slab. What had she been thinking? Deflecting missiles and bombs was nothing compared to deadlifting a solid block of stone and metal! The material was so dense that it was much heavier than it had looked. The full weight of which had to be relocated directly through her body into the ground. She was sure that her blood vessels were going to burst under the strain.

Ratchet clicked his tongue in frustration, but waved to two of the other Vullards.

They both waddled over to him as quickly as they could and together the three of them helped Vendra lift the slab.

With both muscle and mind, the slab slowly groaned free of the rubble and the moment the wreckage was up high enough, Ratchet jammed his wrench under it and fully extended the neck, locking it in place.

Both Vullards let go, wheezing digitally as they held their sides, while Ratchet checked to make sure the rubble was stable.

Once he was confident it wouldn't fall down again, the Lombax turned to fix Vendra with a disapproving glare.

But the space witch just eyed him back lazily.

Despite fearing that her legs were going to buckle any moment and that she might be on the brink of vomiting from the sudden strain, the young Nether tried her best to look smug about the fact that the slab was now up and high enough for a trapped Vullard to crawl under.

Lucky for her, any further reprimand from the Lombax was cut off.

"Oh, by the maker!" buzzed an enormously relieved Vullard's voice. "I feared I would be trapped down there until there was nothing left of me but scrap!"

Ratchet gave Vendra one last, hard look, before turning to help the freed Vullard from their hole, "Don't worry, everything's going to be alright now," he said with a smile, doing his best to reassure the likely traumatized creature as he offered his hand.

As the old Vullard took the offered appendage and scraped their way out of the shattered basement stairwell, Ratchet recognized the familiar blue paint they wore and his eyes widened.


"Hmmm... I don't know, Outsider," the old Vullard electrician intoned while still knocking dust from their voice modulator.

Ratchet opened his mouth to make his case again, but Vendra 'spoke' first.

"Oh, come on!" the enraged space witch screeched. "Not only did we save your hunched back-side, but we saved your whole cursed city! The least you could do is cough up one stupid address!"

The old master electrician shuffled on his stubby feet and glanced around thoughtfully, "Ehhhh… Ummmm... did you happen to reactivate the defense cannons like we agreed?"

Vendra stared in shock, blinked once in disbelief, and then snarled in rage.

She took one step toward the ungrateful Vullard with sparks flashing in her eyes.

But Ratchet put up a hand and stepped in between them before she could reach them.

He gave Vendra an admonishing look before turning back to the old Vullard… and giving him a similar one, "Look, I can appreciate your dedication to customer-service, but you do kind of owe us one here."

Vendra didn't stop glaring at the obstinate creature, but she did take a step back, if only because she was tickled to see the 'hero' reaching the end of his rope as well.

The old Vullard considered Ratchet for a moment, then looked to all the other Vullards who eyed him with equal annoyance at refusing their saviours.

"I know, I know," the master electrician said, throwing up his hands placatingly. "It's just difficult to let go of. I haven't sold out a good customer's information in fifty years!"

Vendra snorted, "Good customer? Snarg's the one who disabled your city's defenses and told the Agorian's you'd be helpless! Well… more helpless than usual, anyway."

At this, all eyes, including Ratchet's, turned to Vendra.

The oblivious space witch's expressions turned to confusion, then to realization, "Oh! Right... I 'may' have overheard the Agorians chatting about it on their radio. They said they had Snarg to thank for the defense being down... Did I forget to mention that?"

Considering Ratchet was the only one present who had real facial expressions, Vendra tried to look at anyone besides him and the deeply annoyed gaze that he fixed her with.

But, in lue of an expression, the old Vullard electrician became very still and stared off for a long second as something clicked in their mind.

"That chrome-plated sack of..." the master electrician said in what was likely supposed to be a horrified whisper.

Ratchet turned his judgemental glare from Vendra and eyed the Vullard instead, "What?"

The old Vullard turned to meet Ratchet's gaze, their hands in fists and the scrap in their bucket clanging as they shook with rage, "Snarg! He did this because I know where he's hiding. He did this... all this destruction... just to silence me!"

Vendra breathed a sigh of relief that she was out of the hot seat thanks to the explanation.

Ratchet looked hopeful as he pressed the old creature, "So you do know where Snarg's base is, then?"

The Vullard stomped their stubby foot, "Of course I know! I wasn't supposed to know and now I know why I shouldn't know!"

Ratchet didn't understand what had just been said, but he let the old electrician continue anyway.

"When that over-oxidized lizard made his purchase, I offered to deliver it for him, free of chage, but he said no. Said that he'd have some of his lackeys come pick it up when it was ready. I shrugged it off and got to work. When the order was ready, his men came as promised, only there was too much stuff for their little ships to carry. All they had were fighters and a few missile cruisers. They needed a star-blasted freighter!"

"What was the order?" Ratchet asked.

"Bunch of power regulators and heating units mostly. Also a few big capacitors and control switches," the Vullard answered. "The kind of stuff that lets you precisely control a vast power source."

Vendra's lips curled into a slight smile, "Sounds like the kind of equipment one would need to manipulate the energy flow into a certain physical law-breaking crystal. Not sure what the heaters are for, though."

Ratchet nodded his agreement and gestured for the Vullard to continue.

The old Vullard nodded back, "Well, Vullard tech isn't known for its compactness. To get the specs that Snarg wanted I had to make the regulators and capacitors pretty big. The sorry scrappers he sent to pick 'em up would'a had to make at least three trips to wherever in the blasted galaxy they were hauling the stuff!"

Ratchet's eyes widened with understanding, "Ah, and I guess you offered the underlings a 'free delivery' again?"

The Vullard nodded, "Aye, Outsider. My assistant took the hauler and brought the whole load to 'em in one jump, right to the coordinates they gave me. I remember now, the poor young buzzer came back with nothing but static in their synthesizer. Mentioned that Snarg was looking like he was going to vaporize the lot of them. I figured he was just mad his underlings hadn't brought ships big enough to get the job done."

Ratchet shook his head grimly, "Snarg probably would have killed your assistant, but then he realized they weren't the only one who knew the location."

The old Vullard's shaking suddenly stopped and they hunched over even further, letting out a static-riddled whine through their speakers, "All this destruction over a delivery address..."

The empathetic Lombax hero took a step forward and put a comforting hand on the Vullard's scrap bucket, "You couldn't have known," he said.

Vendra, uncaring about the stubborn Vullard's terrible loss, interrupted them, "Well? Where is he then?"

Ratchet fixed her with a disapproving stare, but the old Vullard raised their head and met her gaze with narrowed ocular sensors, "Traxia."


AN: Ironically, writing this chapter actually made me fully understand the term "cold-blooded murder". I always thought it was something more along the lines of killing someone without caring, like a psychopath, but it really means killing someone without adrenaline in your veins. A person in the middle of combat, getting shot at and almost getting killed themselves has 'hot blood'. They're actions are as much reflex as they are a choice. In that state you might kill out of desperation and survival or even to protect something/someone. The point being that there isn't time to think.
However, someone who wasn't in any immediate danger and could stop and think about the consequences of their action, someone whose blood has had time to cool, they are fully responsible for every action they take.
Regardless of the reasoning, someone who kills in cold blood is a murderer in the truest sense of the word.


Season Finale AN: Woo! It's done! My first major project since I burned out and ditched my main story is complete!
(No Days Past fans, I have not stopped writing it).

Writing A Prog in the Machine has been an extremely unique experience so far. Dealing with Ratchet and Vendra's familiar, yet very distinctive personalities has been both a great challenge and a whole lot of fun, while the dynamic between them has been even more of a blast to play with than I could have ever imagined. It just gets better the further they clash and become interconnected! (Not to be a tease, but arc 2 is probably some of my favorite writing I've ever done).

Speaking of arc 2, you'll probably want to know when that's coming out, right?

Well, so would I. As it stands, I've actually made some decent progress. One chapter, in particular, has been holding it up and I think I've spent more time writing and rewriting it than I have on the whole rest of the arc so far, but I've finally made it over the hill on it recently. I'd say I'm about halfway done writing arc 2, with pretty much everything scripted out. I would say that that's a good sign for the story coming out sooner rather than later, despite my long history of fickle writing motivation and wandering writing attention span.

Also, on a completely unrelated side note, this season finale chapter to this story that I started posting on Aprils fools day, just by complete coincidence, is being posted on Friday the 13th. This also happens to be the 13th draft of this chapter, which I only just noticed as I posted it... Absolutely nothing to read into there. *nervous laughter*

Anyway, while I get back to writing the next arc, there is a new poll up on my profile. Let me know what other kinds of Ratchet and Clank stories might tickle your interests and maybe one day when R&C 20 comes out for the PS8, I'll turn one of them into something readable.

Be sure to fav this story if you've read to this point, as it lets me know just how many people are actually interested in seeing it continue. Follow it so that you'll be notified of whatever century the next chapter comes out (Ha! Literally just realized as I was writing this that, on top of the ominous dates, you're all going to be waiting for the 13th chapter to come out! Muahahaha, I swear I'm not doing this on purpose!)

Finally, if you feel so inclined, please write a review of what you thought about the story so far. Let others know that it's worth a read, plus, hearing what you all think about my work really helps motivate me to make more. Thank you to those who have commented already: UltimateCCC, you short but consistently sweet to hear from; Guest, you mysterious and utterly nieve spirit lifter, unaware that I'm a sadist and hearing people beg for more is like sweet music to my ears that only makes me want to withhold further; TheObserver17, you best kind of commenter: a long-winded one; and to everyone else, it means a lot. I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far!

Also, feel free to PM me if you'd like to chat about the story or just Ratchet and Clank in general. I always enjoy discussing the topic.

Lastly, a big thanks to my editors, Bays Milly and Magnor. My work is always better with your help, but this time I think you two really pushed me to make something special, even if I did have to spend some time pouting in the corner for a bit because I don't take criticism well initially.

Until next time!