Shell Shock

Writers: Denny and Leila
Rating: PG-RG
Warnings: Ratchet/Azimuth. Violence.
Disclaimer: We value our lives too much to even dare think about claiming Ratchet and Alister as our own. We borrow them for an RP, so don't worry. [Put the Wargroks back into your cage!]
Summary: Everyone's nightmare is to wake up in a cold, dark place without a clue where one is. Sadly, that's what's happened to us. What's even better, we have monsters and weird encounters to endure as well. And then there's them…
Lucky, right? If I ever get out of here, I will need some therapy sessions.

Chapter 33

"Ratchet?"

"Yes?"

"That robot on this bed is glaring holes into us."

"I've noticed." Ratchet replied drily back.

Dull drumming filled the room as the worker suddenly tapped his forearm, line of his mouth pursed as good as he was able to.

"What the slag am I supposed to do here when I could recharge in my room?"

"Good sir," Ratchet stemmed his hands in his hips. "If you want to bite our heads off – we don't taste good."

"Zip it, squishies." A finger was rudely pointed at them. "I have no desire and no reason to bite yer heads off. If anything, I'd throw you right in the Loving's face if they stop creeping around like stalking bi-"

"How come you know of the Loving?" Alister quickly cut in before they went down obscenity road. "As far as I know, none of the workers should have information on them."

"Then your knowledge is just as down the gutter as your sense for politeness." The robot sneered and placed his chin on the palm of his hand. "I can't believe I have to spend my first full day off since months with some shedding organics!"

"We're just on the same level of politeness that you show us." Ratchet crossed his arms. "'Sides if you don't wanna be here, then complain to Nefarious. It's not our decision. If you dare."

"Do I look like someone he gives a damn about? No. He wouldn't even realize I was talking to him!" The robot threw his hands in the air and let himself fall on his bed. "All he cares about is that snobby butler. I should've stayed out of those Shapeshifters' way and just let them have their way with him!"

"Wait—you're the worker who saved Lawrence?" Azimuth stepped closer. "The one who sung those Shapeshifters into submission?"

"The very one." With a move so swift that it drew a surprised noise from both of them, the worker pushed himself up and spun around, now lying on his front and grinning dangerously, though admittedly seductively at them. "So you better watch out or you'll fall for one of my lullabies."

Ratchet fidgeted, the worker's sudden mood change and flirting attitude unsettling him and looked over his head. Then the worker's grin gained a victorious edge and all of Ratchet's uncomfortable feelings vanished.

"You need to work on your flirting, it's not subtle enough. You should get some lessons from the Grummelnet armor vendor."

"Who said it was intended to be subtle?" The robot slid off the bed and straightened his coat. "It was meant to be bold to set you off. Didn't think it'd be that easy on you though." He giggled, but the mischievous edge in his voice did not vanish. "It's going to be real fun having one-on-one singing lessons with you." He crossed his arms and walked over, hip swinging slightly. "It will take care of all my frustration at least."

"Careful or I shoot you in some sensitive places. I can seriously hurt you without killing you or disrupting your ability to sing."

"As I know enough about squishie anatomy to make you squirm like you've never done before." He poked Ratchet into his chest, eyes narrowed and all alluring gestures gone. "Trust me on that."

Clearing his throat, Azimuth quickly interfered. "You're not wearing a helmet. How come?"

"Why am I supposed to wear a helmet in here? This place is as safe as a room full with Nanotech against Shapeshifters."

"It would suck if it wasn't. Alister and I have more than enough to do with them because of our hunting them. Urgh."

"Master of stating the obvious, I take it." The robot sighed and shook his head. "I don't see why I should keep that stifling thing on my head the whole time. I mean, I'm not that nutjob who used to work with us."

"Considering Nefarious let you in, I can't imagine who you could call a 'nutjob'." Ratchet mimicked the worker's tone and pitch.

"True, I guess the odds you met him are pretty low." Spinning around, the worker took off his coat and hung it into the closet, stretching his limbs afterwards. "I suspect he is already gone since ages anyway."

Azimuth looked to Ratchet in a fed up manner before he turned to the worker, only to notice something… peculiar on its shoulder. A faintly glowing sign that did not fit with any sign pattern Nefarious would use. Cocking an eyebrow, annoyance was replaced with curiosity which was noticed by the robot.

"… Is something wrong?"

"Alister?"

"… It's nothing." The elder shook his head slightly. "I just saw that glowing sign on your back."

"You mean this?" The robot turned halfway to them, one hand reaching for the spot.

"Yes. I thought it might be a barcode the Shapeshifters left on you, but then I realized it might've just been a personal modification of your shell." Alister grinned apologetically. "I'm sorry for assuming this."

"No need to apologize." The robot turned away again as he pulled out a device in his pocket that turned into a music stand. "Especially since you're right."

Ratchet's eyes widened a fraction, spotting the sign on the worker's shoulder.

"… We can empathize. We were in a similar situation and barely got out.

"Still, if that's why you're so rude – it's no reason to be rude."

"I suppose. Perhaps having been constantly confronted by Shapeshifters has made me more irritable than assumed." The robot sighed lowly and turned around to the Lombaxes. "I think we got off on the wrong foot. The name's Zane." He walked over and extended his hand.

"Quite." Ratchet's grin was crooked, but genuine. He hadn't really been fazed by Zane's attitude but it didn't make him like the robot either, of course. That he still offered to start over on his own turned Ratchet finally over and he took the offered hand.

"Mine's Ratchet."

A grin appeared on the robot's lips. "It would be a lie to say that I'm glad to meet you, though. You're the reason the Shapeshifters are going havoc – and frankly, every single worker hates you for this."

"Thank you very much for this piece of information." Ratchet rolled his eyes. "The way Lawrence always goes about the Shapeshifters, they would have gone rampaging at some point later anyway. So, even though it sucks – we're just speeding things up a little."

"Well, you could've waited until we were out of here!" Zane shook his head and sighed. "Now we have to work double time and do the cleaning up." The robot turned to Azimuth. "Can't you keep an eye on your lover?"

"E-Excuse me?!" Azimuth stepped back, eyes widened. "What are you—we're not-!"

The robot looked at him quietly. "Of course."

"Don't mind him. Alister's just unsure 'cause we don't know each other yet that long and we kinda rushed into this because of all the crap happening to us in the last few days-"

The door opened all of a sudden; and before they knew, there were only two.

"I guess he didn't take too kindly to that joke." Zane rubbed the back of his head and looked after Azimuth. "What a shame. Well, let's hope he doesn't get lost or anything. As for you…" The robot turned around and walked towards the music stand before taking a detour to a comfortable armchair.

"It is time you sing me a lullaby."

-

"This is the second time Azimuth fled a room. He must really hate singing." Nefarious shook his head about the strange squishy behavior, removing his feet from the console as he moved away from the monitors showing the sector's corridors.

Not that Azimuth hated singing. In fact, singing was something he had liked doing occasionally when he was in the military, and more often when he had still been in his academic years. No, he really liked singing, and so did he like the tune of the song – but he simply could not stand the lyrics for dubious reasons. Of course, this remained unknown to any other individual other than the elder himself.

"Ah, there he comes." Nefarious rubbed his hands, smirking in dark glee as he saw the elder Lombax on the monitors about the corridor in which the monitor room laid.

It was then a light beep reached the doctor's audio processors. One of the monitors started to flicker until a new image was transmitted, namely that of the Superior who had its hands folded in beneath its chin. "Good evening, Doctor Nefarious," it echoed from the speakers, "It is a pleasure to see you again." How odd it was to hear the Shapeshifter speak! It was a peculiar organic yet robotic note, and certainly surprising in itself. The entity too seemed a little taken aback, only to hide it under an adorning smile. "I see, so this is how this system interprets my thoughts. Interesting, interesting."

"Oh, hello." The raised brows would have more fit on Lawrence's face but the understated expression just appeared all the more menacing with Nefarious. Inwardly, his reaction was stronger but as hell as he would give the entity that satisfaction.

"What is it that you want?"

"Well, I have realized that two days have already passed," the Superior noted, "And that we have not commenced planning our game yet. Since it is a new game we are joining in for, we will have to set the rules beforehand by ourselves, no?"

"If you mean by 'ourselves' that you alone set them down – NO. If we are going to play this game, both sides are going to have a say in defining the rules."

Something very similar to shock settled on the Superior's face. Blinking to close its widened eyes, it had unconsciously sat up straight at the assumption. "… No. No, Nefarious. I have not laid down any rules yet, I am afraid. I did contact you with the intention to set the rules together, seeing how this is a game we both are equal partners in."

Had it been the Nefarious from before the incident with Lawrence – his jaw would have dropped. He narrowed his optics instead in suspicion, then shrugged.

"I won't complain about that."

"I would have been worried if you had. It would have implied you did not want a fair game." The entity looked down as it opened a document on its screen. "Well, shall we commence with the framework for our endeavor?"

"Yes, let us. The elder Lombax should be here in any moment, so we should hurry."

"I see. Well then, let us not waste another moment." The Superior folded its hands under its chin and looked at Nefarious. "I would like to propose a round-by-round system, meaning that each day we will set one fight between one of our subordinates. No interference whatsoever during the battle – who dies shall die, even if it is one of the more valuable members."

"That gives each side enough time to plan new tactics." Nefarious nodded his assent then snapped a finger. A holo-screen appeared, letters rapidly materializing to set down the first rules.

# 1 – Each day one fight, one against one from each of the sides.

# 2 – The battles are to the death of either one or both of the participants.

# 3 – Interferences during the battle are forbidden, including the rescue of a participant close to dying.

"Oh. We should perhaps include a penalty in case a rule gets broken." The Superior looked at the rules contemplatively. "I am certain neither of us trusts the other on playing by the books." At the intense glare the entity only giggled as it looked admiringly at Nefarious. "By all honesty, do you trust me – us – to be fair? Even if I put my hand into a vessel of concentrated Nanotech to vow for my word?"

The robot waved it off. "As much as I would love to see that, you have enough energy to make your injuries insignificant in the long run. And I have a good idea of which kind of penalties you have in mind."

"A nefarious mind fathoming what I want to suggest? I am intrigued." The Superior raised a brow and smirked faintly. "Do indulge me."

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, one of the few squishy sayings I can agree to." Nefarious smirked, crooking his wrists and tapping the tips of his fingers in front of his face. "In case of a broken rule, the other side may break a rule too. However – the obvious issue is that in case of the participants being rescued, the battles get dragged unnecessarily."

"Indeed, indeed…" The Superior nodded in agreement. "Saving a party is absolutely forbidden – doing so would take out all the fun of it." A pause. "Then again, I suppose your living resources for this game are quite limited, so we could grant you a joker for this."

"I was about to suggest that." Is this a trap? The Superior is oddly forthcoming. The robot added the rules to the list.

It went unnoticed to the entity. Apparently it looked aside and smiled to itself contentedly. There was a certain notion of… no. This was ridiculous. A Shapeshifter could never look genuinely gentle, could it?

He dismissed the notion.

"What else should we set down as a rule?"

"Hm…" The Superior tapped its chin and fell into deep thought. "Oh yes. No attacks on either base." Someone behind the entity moved; it was tensing up at that suggestion.

Nefarious' head jerked. Did he hear that right? Was the Shapeshifter for real?
"What do you mean by that? Your goons of lower Shapeshifters are going to leave the workers alone?"

"Yes-" A loud hiss from behind had the Superior turn around in anger. Apparently one of the inferior entities was quite in disagreement with that idea. "A moment, Nefarious." The creature left its seat; in the back the robot could see it argue with another.

Meanwhile the door slid open behind the doctor. Azimuth walked in, obviously oblivious to the situation. "Sorry for the interruption, Nefarious, but I had a few matters I wanted to-"

"Oh." The scientist had forgotten about the Lombax who stared in shock at the monitor with the Shapeshifters.

"It's no problem, I wanted to discuss with you something anyway. Come in or do you want to stand there all time?"

Azimuth had long moved out of the view of the Shapeshifters – or what he expected to be seen by the other party of the conversation. "Nefarious! What is going on here?!"

"You know that things… have escalated in the last few days." The robot looked over his shoulder at the two Shapeshifters arguing quietly with each other, certainly as that the program wouldn't be able to pick up on what they were saying. The two weren't paying attention to the robot and organic in the moment.

"Yes, I know. And I assumed that this would lead to them leaving us alone!" The elder pointed at the monitor. "So what are they doing here, chatting with you? Do you really think those Shapeshifters would do this without an ulterior motive?"

"Are you really that naïve, General?" To emphasize his question Nefarious threw him an 'are you kidding me'-glare. "They had the audacity to attack Lawrence under my optics. They had the gall to trick me into believing Lawrence wouldn't be hurt. And I have retaliated in kind although they would have deserved much worse.

"Even without my retaliation attack, do you really believe they would have stopped harassing the facility after the kind of move I pulled? Do you believe they would have stopped going after you and Ratchet? If so, then you are an idiot. An escalation was bound to happen – and this here is an attempt to regulate it at least."

The elder pulled his brows together, stepping back a bit before scoffing lowly and switching to the communication channel. "Of course I did not forget that. I meant that they might be feigning fair play when they are planning to attack us right now in the base, not in the outer periphery of the facility." He turned to the entity's monitors, making sure that he did not step into their view. "Weren't they supposed to be locked out of the communication system of the facility by now?"

"I have calculated they will break the rules. The Superior was far too benign and reserved during our discussion. It even suggested lighter restrictions for our side considering the rules."

"… What?" Azimuth stared at the robot as if he had said that he loved Qwark like a brother. "Are you serious-"

"My apologies, Nefarious." The Superior sat down again and sighed. "There were some… complications regarding a certain entity's respect." In the background, one of the guards was holding its arm suspiciously tightly.

"It's alright. I know the issues with those of rank lower than you butting with their opinions in when it's not needed."

"It is quite a pain, isn't it?" The entity giggled in agreement before it intertwined its fingers with each other and placed its chin on them. "Either way, let us add this rule and swiftly proceed to the schedule of tomorrow."

A snap of a finger, and the rules were added.

"I suggest we begin around midday."

"Agreed. Now, for the first fight…" The Superior giggled lowly. "I suspect you prepared those Lombaxes for the Jealous?"

"Yes, I have."

"Work with me here." He sent to the Lombax.

A nod came from Azimuth. "I'm ready."

"I would like to propose that you send out the elder for this round." The entity looked at Nefarious. "One of the Jealous against your Lombax-"

"No!"
Heads snapped around. Alister slapped his mouth and stepped back in shock. It had simply blurted out.

"What was this?" Nefarious' optic twitched. "Why don't you want to fight anymore? Beforehand, you had no problems when I suggested this to you." A blatant lie – but he was also curious why the elder was reacting to intensely all of the sudden.

"No, it's just…" Azimuth realized that the Superior was now staring into his direction. Unsure whether to reveal himself or not, he quickly switched to the secure communication channel. "You said the Jealous have this thick armor shell around them… And well, it's easier to break their defense if I'm working together with Ratchet-"

"Is the elder here?" The entity looked around. "If you are, do come into my sight. I wish to see every party of this conversation."

"I wished to discuss some last details with him, so yes, he's here." No point in pretending otherwise. This could jeopardize the whole meeting. "I honestly forgot he was on his way but this works now as well. General, would you step forward?"

Only with hesitation did the elder follow that request. Body upright, he approached Nefarious and looked at the Superior with a posture as dignified as he could have. "Hello there."

"Oh why, hello there, Lombax." The Superior grinned dangerously as its eyes narrowed. "It has been such a long time since I have seen you."

"It could have been longer." The general remarked drily, drawing a low chuckle from the entity.

"Of course you would wish that. Just as I wish that our…" It lifted a hand where the index finger was still missing. "… message has not been forgotten?"

"It has not." How could he have forgotten that? The sheer memory of that moment when only the force field between them had stopped the guards from capturing them let him tense up; the images of the Superior carving its message into the barrier had him wince.

The creature watched his movements with hidden pleasure as it folded its hands once more. "Keep it in mind at all times, Lombax for none of its words have…" An odd pause. For the briefest moment a frown hushed over the Superior's face. "… lost their meaning."

A frown on his own appeared on Nefarious' forehead. Just what is going on? I have never seen it so unsure before.

"Is something the matter, doctor?" Sudden coldness was in the entity's voice. It had tensed up, fingers clasping gingerly as it looked at Nefarious with heavy-lidded eyes. "We should proceed with our planning. I don't have the whole day for you lot."

"Bah, I'm just not interested in the squabble between you and the Lombaxes. The less I hear about it, the better. Besides, I can say the same regarding my time about you.

"So let's go on so we get this finished."

"Agreed. Now…" The entity looked at Azimuth. "I hear you had quite the vocal objection to the schedule we had for the first round?" As the elder did not answer first, the cruelly innocent smile appeared on its lips again. "I should have expected as much from you. He could never measure up with our Precious in any terms." It spat out those words as if they were venom both to the elder and to itself.

"Yeah yeah yeah, the elder is bad, Ratchet is great bla bla. Get back to the point!" Nefarious cut with an arm through the air.

"Well, since the elder is so oppositional to the setup of the first round, I propose that we have a two-on-two battle then." It glanced to Azimuth, then to Nefarious. "If we added any more participants, I fear your capacities would already be exhausted."

The robot shrugged. "Fine by me."

"But keep in mind that it is the one exception we will make to this rule." It glanced at the Lombax with a grin that revealed more teeth than a friendly expression would have needed. "I suppose it would be easier for them to be eased into the process."

"I suggest that after this fight, the General and Ratchet fight by turns – one day Azimuth, then Ratchet, then Azimuth again and so on."

The elder nodded slightly, just like the Superior did. "Splendid. Then I will make sure that appropriate counterparts will meet them in battle." It looked at Nefarious and smiled sweetly. "Don't worry, I will be kind. After all, we don't want those precious Lombaxes to die, no?" It giggled and folded its hands. "Well, this would be all I have to say. After this conversation we will contact you, if need be. Or do you have anything to say? After all, you made such a determined declaration to give us one hell of a game, doctor."

"Don't you worry about that." An equally malicious grin mirrored the Superior's. The deranged, clear throbbing in his optics returned. "You won't know what will hit you. You are going to beg that I myself kill you instead of the Lombaxes."

"Oh my, what a fine declaration. I am almost charmed." The entity giggled once more before it raised its eyebrow a little. "All right then. Until tomorrow. I will forward the location within the next few hours." And with that, the connection was cut, leaving the doctor alone with Azimuth.

Without waiting, the scientist turned to the elder with still that dark glee glowing from behind his face. "Why, did you hear that, Azimuth?" His optics narrowed to slits without losing any gram of delight.

"Yes… I did." The elder sighed. "Well, I guess it will be a tough job fortnight then." He looked at the doctor with a raised eyebrow and crossed his arms. "And that will be already without you breaking any rules – so I hope you don't have anything of that sort in mind."

Azimuth's ears twitched down when the robot's smirk just grew more dangerous. "Maybe I have. Maybe I do not. You simply have to wait and let yourself be surprised."

A low sigh from the elder. "Remember the agreement, Nefarious. If either of us dies, the survivor will leave the facility immediately. So you better look out or you will have to deal with these guards all on your own." The Lombax turned away and headed to the door. "Until tomorrow morning for the briefing then."

Nefarious only idly waved his hand half-turned to the door before he fully faced the set of monitors again.

An annoyed twitch of his eye was the only thing Azimuth let out to show his anger with the imprudent way the doctor treated him. What was he doing here anyway? There he was, the scientist who was terrorizing the Breegus System, the one he had been sabotaging during the past two years. He could end this right now by simply destroying his circuit, and everything would be fine—

If they were not in this hellhole of facility.

Without the doctor's help, as much as Alister did not want to admit it, Ratchet and he couldn't leave this place. Not with the Shapeshifters going wild, and not without a sufficient map to escape. They had to cooperate, and as much as Azimuth despised that fact, he still did as he was told. It did not add to his slightly foul mood, however. Walking back, he only hoped that no more annoyances or unpleasant surprises would happen.

He had just to jinx it, didn't he?