Watching the doors slam shut, the markazian's confident pose immediately crumbles. Curls bounce as she shakes her head at such a display. "Ugh, what was that? That was embarrassing." Looking back to the entrance behind her, she thinks of the feeling. Showing those guys how ready she was for this is just the beginning. Now, It's time to make good on her promise to herself; to face the universe with a smile. "But I do have to admit, it was kinda fun."
Nova enters the hall, and sure enough, she's met with an armor and weapons vendor. Replenishing the ammo used in training, the woman steps into the armor shop. Metal curtains surround her, and a grummel speaks through the main panel. His posh accent rings through the speakers. "How can I help you, miss?"
"I'd like to upgrade this set of armor, please."
The grummel on the screen narrows his eyes at the outfit. "Holoflux? We haven't seen this model in a long time. Any cosmetic changes to make? It's terribly out of season."
"Actually," Nova pulls the brooch from her pocket, holding it to the main panel. "I'd like to put this in the chest piece to replace that symbol. No other changes."
"Of course. Just stay still and watch the magic happen." Metal prongs emerge from the central box, opening the armor plate and exposing the wiring and sisterboard underneath. She watches with quiet fascination as the machine works, sparking as changes are made. The back panel is replaced, and the brooch is placed inside. The tune-up ends with the glass cover clicking in place. With the slide of a bank card, the console beeps as it accepts the payment. "Thank you for your business, and good luck in the arena!"
After the payment goes through, the walls drop, and Nova steps out of the circle. She takes a deep breath, watching the red light above the teleporter. The quiet atmosphere convinces the young woman to speak her mind before the light changes. "Hey, Clank?"
"Yes, Nova?"
"I…" A sigh. "Sometimes I forget that you're a robot, as silly as that sounds."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, I was watching the armor thing be pulled apart and put back together again, and I remembered finding your blueprints in the garage. And I realized that you're made of the same stuff as the armor thing. Wires, a sisterboard, parts and electricity."
Clank nods in patient confirmation. "Yes, I am, although the armor generators are much simpler than I am. My body is designed to do much more than the armor can."
"True." Nova hums to gather her thoughts. "I just...I've always looked at you and seen a person, not a machine. It still blows my mind that the two can be intertwined."
The little robot can tell her tone is sincere, and he smiles. "Thank you, Nova. That is very kind of you to say." There's a sharp beep, and the light above the teleporter turns green. "Are you ready?"
Nova steps into the teleporter, looking back to Clank. "Let's do this."
...
Every inch of Nova's body is trembling, and she's not sure if it's nerves or the chill of the teleporter's static. At the moment she knows only three things: the sudden deafening roar of the crowds, the thousands of eyes on her, and the familiar, comforting weight that rests at her back. It taps her arm in reassurance, and she smiles to the camera with pride.
The platform she stands on is a relatively large circle, with rings circling the area that are a bit darker than the center. From the looks of things, the rings are designed to be controlled by an outside force, much like the temple's rotating platforms. A deep breath in, then out. There's no time to stare at the ground, despite the markazian's curiosity.
"Get ready, folks, 'cause the show's about to begin! Our next challenger is Nova Albedo, the stranger from Quantos, and a special guest, Clank! Let's give this newbie a warm welcome from our gladiators! On the cannon's fire in three, two, one!"
On that signal, the gates open all at once, and the first wave emerges with guns blazing. Nova sprays the front lines with the pyrocitor, keeping them back while she reads the room. "About ten for now, more coming, right?"
"Correct, Nova. Behind you!"
Nova pivots around, throwing a bomb to the ones behind her. The hiss of laser bullets reaches her ears, nearly burning off her eyebrows as she dodges them. She reads the land, using the shock cannon to take down clusters of enemies and the omniblaster for the more spread out ones. Nova takes down the rest of the first wave, and a Nanotech crate appears near the west end of the arena. There's no need for it now, but it's information that is duly noted.
"That was way too easy. Looks like Nova here knows what she's doing!"
The cannon fires as the gates open once more, and reinforcements appear in greater numbers and with stronger weapons than before. Two of the burlier ones creep up in front of her, swinging scorpion flails in the air with wicked chuckles. They move faster than Nova expected them too, and it takes a well-timed jump to slide back out of range.
There's a sharp gulp of fear at the new cracks in the ground. Right where the attacks landed. "Got to keep moving," she mumbles with shaky breath.
The brutes synchronize, using each crushing blow to corral their target into the wall. More reinforcements fall into place, firing at Nova. The young heroine tries to put her focus on dodging the heavier attacks, leaving the lights of gunfire to her peripheral vision.
Living opponents certainly prove to be more of a challenge than previously expected. Unlike Zurkons, these guys have a larger variety of attacks and strategies. They're bullet sponges compared to the tiny bots. The more the organic's thoughts dwell on such things, the more her focus crumbles.
Such carelessness grants Nova a few laser burns, and costs precious Nanotech. The stinging sensation resets her concentration, and the crowd is dispersed with the remaining pellets in the shock cannon.
The camera zooms into the challenger as she dashes to the center of the room, finishing off the final gladiators. It's quiet now, the fallen removed from the fray. Too quiet.
The sudden cannon blast makes Nova nearly jump out of her skin. Blue eyes turn to pinpricks at the sea of thugs and agorians flooding out of the gates for the next round. There's the sudden realization that this may have been a mistake.
The buzz blades materialize from her glove, fired at the closest enemies. The ricocheting discs knock each of them away, swinging around to deal more damage. To her left, there's three of them trying to flank her, and she answers them with the rest of her bombs.
"Watch out!"
"Huh?" Out of reflex, Nova turns around, only for her gut to meet the spiked ball of an agorian's scorpion flail. The impact spins her, throwing her into the ground. The crowd's volume skyrockets, worsening the ringing in Nova's ears.
"Whoa, what a hit!"
A metallic voice speaks to her, but the words are drowned out by white noise. The silver blob that stands by her shakes her arm. The rookie groans, eyes shut to block out the pain, garbled noise, and lights. She stumbles, arms shaking with the attempt to push herself upwards. One knee, that's progress.
A scaly crimson hand suddenly grips her collar, lifting her to his eye level. Thinner hands feebly attempt to pry the mercenary's fingers from the holo-cloth. "Looks like I'm taking home that prize, sweetheart. Why not just sit there quiet-like and take the loss?"
A furious scowl spreads, the hero-in-training refusing to accept such a nickname from a brutish stranger. Recalling lessons from the fongoid elders, the markazian takes a deep breath and meditates on the question. Closing her eyes, a quote comes to mind. 'Don't ever forget why you hold that staff.'
Why don't I take the loss? Why do I hold my staff? Wandering eyes dart across the room, catching sight of the answer, which meets her gaze with concern. The idea of making that answer proud inspires greatness.
Nova glares into the brute, going deathly still. There's suddenly recognition in her eyes; this is the same jerk that called her a 'little pastry chef'. The thought of getting even inspires a bit of improv.
She laughs, feeling the agorian's grip slacken a bit in confusion at the sudden shift in tone. "You really think I'm going to do that? Well, If you think that I'm some common baker, you're wrong. I've come too far to fall here. If you, or anyone else thinks I'll quit now..."
Something in Nova snaps, she can feel it. Her body feels numbed by adrenaline. The world seems slower, more focused on the enemies around her than their blurred surroundings. Wait, I've seen this before. Is this bullet time? It has to be! In that case…
The agorian quietly watches the girl in his grip as a knowing smirk coats her face. Through some otherworldly force, her eyes shift in color.
"You've got another thing coming."
Concentrating her thoughts on the hoverboots, she equips them, bringing her feet forward. One such boot slams right below the belt with all the force of the accelerator at the heel. The rest of her momentum goes to completing a backflip.
The markazian lands, smirking with pride as she watches the pain from the well placed shot slowly begin to cover his face. One could almost hear his cry in slow motion. With a flick, Clank is picked up and placed on Nova's back once more.
She begins another flip to gain some distance for her next part of the plan. Midair, Nova turns her body to the pile of enemies that once surrounded her, equipping the negotiator. It's weight speeds up her descent a bit, but there's just enough time to close one eye, aim, and pull the trigger.
During the somersault, Clank catches a short glimpse into the huge viewscreen. Green optics zero in on the image. His trainee is staring into the group of attackers, having just released a rocket...with the same green eyes from before.
In that split second, the related information gathered combines into a single file. The two glimpses into the past, the 'time bomb' that was never used...Could this be Ratchet's influence, or something else? Just what is this girl capable of? Questions to bring up in less dire situations, for sure.
The recoil throws off the spin a bit, but both feet land on the ground, albeit shakily. The robot blinks, processing the turn of events. Even in training, Clank had never seen her move with such intensity or speed! "Well done, Nova!"
"Thanks, but it's not over yet." The cannon fires once final time, but neither of the pair is phased by the sound. Nova moves her attention from the circle of charred ground and flying agorians, noticing the inbound combatants flowing from the doors. According to plan, she landed near the crate of Nanotech. A quick staff swipes at the container, releasing the nanites inside.
The chill of her bruises being healed in an instant gives a rush of energy and confidence, and she prepares to face the final wave. Buzz blades are aimed at the crowd, but the click of an empty weapon greets its wielder. No ammo crates have spawned, either.
Nova throws up the weapons screen, using bullet time's precious seconds for a plan. They're all coming in at once. If I can get them all in one place, I can finish this with a few negotiator rockets. Don't have much ammo left, so I have to make it count. Maybe a new weapon, I can swap out an empty one. With a bit more time I can end this.
The world seems to resume its normal speed as a twinge of pain erupts in the woman's skull. Something tickles her nose, and a thumb wipes off what she assumes is gunpowder or debris. A smudge of blood lies on the digit, a sign not to push such a new skill so far. "Guess I'm on my own now," she mumbles. "No problem. Thanks for the boost," she grins at the heavens.
Clank watches the huge viewscreen as Nova summons the shield launcher. What he doesn't expect, however, is for her to turn a shield pod sideways in her hand. Why do that, instead of firing it to the ground? "What are you doing, Nova?"
"Improvising!" The device is attached to the base of her staff, gripping into the wood with its metal prongs. Upon contact, it activates, creating a makeshift riot shield. Using the tele-quip, Nova swaps the buzz blades for the quantum whip, and rushes forward.
The rope-like energy strikes the gladiators, pushing them back into a more condensed crowd. Those that realize what's happening shoot towards their smaller opponent, but the shield is brought forward to block the attacks.
Clank's attention moves back to the viewscreen, watching as Nova dashes back and forth, herding the enemies to the edge of the arena. What an interesting idea; She remains mobile, yet still retains the shield's protection. I did not teach her that, and it is not a concept Ratchet used.
To finish off the group, Nova launches the rest of her negotiator rockets, bringing them all down in one fell swoop. Their bodies bounce against the walls, falling to the ground as medics remove them. Pushed to its limits, the shield shatters. It's energy spent, the device falls to the ground.
The agorian from before remains on the other side of the arena, curled up into a ball with his hands protecting the impact site. The middle ring of the arena flies upwards, flipping the unlucky agorian like a pancake. The ring stops, hovering above the rest of the space. The reduced floor space reveals a sea of boiling lava, and the gates open one final time.
Before facing what comes next, Clank asks a burning question. "Where did you pick that strategy up?"
Nova brushes the sweat and dried blood from her face. Out of breath, she huffs. "Who said hologames weren't educational?"
The robot blinks. Of course, she picked it up from a hologame, and Clank can guess the exact title. She's no simple minded fool, made evident by her ability to observe the world and quickly learn from it in such subtle ways. "You have learned well, Nova."
Clank looks up at the viewscreen once more. More specifically, at Nova. I wonder if you would be as proud of her as I am, my friend? She is already a fine hero.
The announcer's voice fills the speakers once more.
"What a show, folks! But we're not done yet!"
Fog spills out from the northern gate for dramatic effect, and the audience leans in to see whatever surprise Destructapalooza has in store.