Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet and Clank or any of its characters. I remembered the drawing Dimensi0nHeist did for Elaris being evil and that was all I needed for this drabble.

Parallelism

Drabble 3: Evil Elaris AU

Chapter Summary: Evil!Elaris AU. After so long of putting up with the Rangers' mistreatment of her, Elaris finally turns to the only man who can help her with getting revenge...

They hadn't known what they had lost until it was gone.

Nimble fingers danced across the command center's keyboard, and studious eyes monitored the information flooding the holo-screen. Attack plans, defense statuses, weapon stockpile locations…

She knew them all better than the back of her own hand, but running a preliminary check never hurt anyone.

"Elaris! What's the status on the Hall of Heroes assault?"

"Already hacked into their defenses and locked every access to their weapon stockpiles," she answered. Her eyes stayed locked to the screen. "I'm currently working on shutting down their communications line to cause further havoc during the final attack."

Silence filled her ears, then gentle claws rested over her left shoulder.

"…I couldn't have done this without you. I hope you know that."

"I do." A soft smile perked up her lips, her expression a ghost of the happy face the Rangers used to see just before they shoved her to the side. "…I know I'm still unused to evil, but thank you for taking me in and just… listening to me for once."

"You have a lot of great ideas." His words were soft. "You're an absolutely brilliant woman. Brave. Intelligent… The Rangers shouldn't have treated you as poorly as they did, and I'm more than happy to help you take your revenge."

They kept quiet for a moment, and their gazes locked on the holo-screen.

A beep sounded, and then the moment to send the signal to the troops for the attack came.

A red button lit up on the control panel's dashboard, signaling the opportunity to finally send the newly designed warbots into the Hall of Heroes. Elaris felt the ends of her mouth lift higher. "Bit cliché, don't you think?"

"I like to keep my villainy traditional from time-to-time."

Her finger moved over the button, hovering over the small surface. Her mouth moved, struggling to form words, but sound failed to follow.

"What's the matter?"

His gentle words echoed in her ears.

Elaris' tongue swept over her pressed lips. "If I push the button… there's no going back. Once it's done, I'm a certified villain."

"…You're scared to take the leap."

Blue eyes flicked to the information on the screen. "I mean… with all the help and information I've already given you, I'd be registered as an accomplice. But this…"

Claws dipped under her chin and bumped the bottom of her face to get her to look up.

Nefarious' usually frowning face held a comforting smile. "You deserve better than them, Ellie," he murmured. "You gave them everything: your time, your ideas, your everything… and even after Drek, even after they promised to treat you better, they still treated you like garbage."

Elaris sighed and looked away, only for the robot to scoot around the side of her chair and duck his head in her line of vision. "You don't deserve to be thrown aside, no matter what the circumstance," Nefarious continued, the smile radiating empathy. "I love… having you here by my side, and I want the Rangers to pay for your mistreatment."

Flashes of memory darted through her mind. Captain Qwark refusing to listen to her on almost every occasion that required any kind of planning or tactical support. Brax and Cora forcing their way into her run-down broom-closet lab to get first-grabs at the weapons Elaris could barely finish fast enough.

Even Ratchet had ignored her most of the time, his eyes filled with the sight of the other Rangers and his need to impress them with his own skills.

The only one that had listened had been Clank, but even then, it was a hollow victory. Clank was usually with Ratchet, and when the little robot was around her, the only think he could offer was words of half-hearted hope. There was only so much of "They'll see your worth eventually" she could take.

Fingers lifted to her head to flick down the lime-green visor by her crown, dropping the eyewear over her eyes. Black eyebrows narrowed, and a soft breath of air drew in through her nose as she rose from her chair.

"You're right, Nef. I deserve better." She paused, staring at the screen. Her gaze turned to an imperious glare. "And it's about time I make that known to them…"

Without a moment of hesitation, her finger jabbed the red button.

Alarms blarred throughout the ship, red flashes bathing the command center in violent-colored light. Cheers and hollers echoed down the hall as Nefarious troopers swarmed the ship's exits. Security camera footage, trained on every inch of space in the Hall of Heroes, popped up across the ship's massive observatory window.

"They made their choice, and now I've made mine." Evil intent touched the smile on her face, and she lifted her chin before looking up to the robot beside her. "I look forward to working with you, doctor. I will do whatever I can to help you in your quest for revenge."

He matched her smile. "No…" he hummed. Claws settled on her hip, and the robot pulled her close. "Our revenge."

They didn't know what kind of genius they had had among their ranks until their mistreatment of her led to her joining the side of evil.

Elaris grinned. "'Our revenge…' I like the sound of that…"

Song Inspo: "Meddle About" by Chase Atlantic

I had so much fun writing this. I need to write Evil!Elaris more…

Onto the next drabble! :D

XD