Ratchet and Clank:
The Chosen One
I DO NOT OWN RATCHET AND CLANK, INSOMNIAC GAMES DOES! I OWN ANYTHING ELSE!

Chapter 16: Thieves and Experience Talk

After accepting the mission to go and talk with Annie Webb for information on Spiky Mikey, the golden Lombax was sent straight off. He said he'd rather get the task done sooner than later or Kaden might grow suspicious.

Ratchet was flying his starship, Aphelion, to Planet Murlania. It would not take long to get there as it was in the Polaris Galaxy. The sector wasn't far from where he was.

It was in the Verdigris Sector, where he hadn't been in a couple of years since Tachyon was around. Murlania was near Planet Rykan V, so it was guessed it was a hot planet with deserts much like Fastoon and Veldin.

Emerald eyes flickered to the empty seat next to him. He felt bad. It was just a few weeks ago he had found his best friend, yet, on his adventure he'd hardly seen Clank. His ears dropped guiltiness. He was pushing his friends away since he found out about these Lombaxes. His race. His people.

He didn't know why Jasmine and the others didn't want Clank and Talwyn knowing about this mission either. Besides, he got stuff done quicker and easier with Clank on his back. And Talwyn was good at shooting to protect her friends.

A sigh escaped his mouth. What was he doing? Just because Lombaxes had appeared in his life, didn't mean that he had to drop everything else. Once he'd get back from the mission, he'd go and see his friends and talk with them the whole day. Apologize for not being around.

"Planet Murlania ahead." Aphelion's voice cut through Ratchet's thoughts.

"Thanks, Aphelion."

"You are welcome." She replied, happily.

When Murlania came into sight, Ratchet's breath was taken away. The planet was strange yet beautiful. Half the planet was more green, whereas the other half was more yellow-brown. There was a ring around the planet, much like Torren IV's.

After looking at the planet for a few minutes, the Lombax knew he had to get on with what he came there for. Flying the ship into the planet's atmosphere, he landed a couple hundred yards away from a farm on the desert side of Murlania. He didn't want to scare the person inside the house.

Once the ship's engines were switched off, Ratchet jumped out of the ship. He only took his Constructo Pistol encase anything was to happen. He also had his wrench with him too. He onlined his Ectoflux Armour - he had upgraded his Holoflux armour before leaving Volzar.

He casually walked up to the house. It was a decent size for a farmhouse. There were white fences on each side of the driveway leading up to the house. Behind the fences were big fields with small patches of grass and plants. Many cattle were seen too; from cows to sheep to goats. Horses could be seen as well.

At the house, there were different types of colourful, nice-smelling flowers on the porch and buried in the ground around the building. Ratchet walked up the steps leading to the baby blue door.

He knocked and then waited for a bit. No one answered. He knocked again. Still no answer. A frown hushed across his lips before sighing. As Ratchet was about to turn around, movement was heard on the other side of the door.

Suddenly, the door opened slightly - obviously it was still chained to the wall for extra protection - and a pair of angry blue eyes appeared. The barrel of a shotgun also slivered out the gap and was pointed at the Lombax's chest. "What are ya vermin doing on me farm?" Came the harsh tone of a the female owner. She had that slight countryside Australian accent.

Ratchet raised his hands to try and show he wasn't a bad guy. "I ain't here to hurt you, I swear. I just wanna talk." Sweat dropped inside his helmet. He didn't want to get shot in the heart.

Eyes narrowed. "Dat's what they all say." The end of the gun poked the other in the chest. "Ya got five secs to get off me property before I blow ya guts out." The shotgun was directed towards Ratchet's stomach.

"Look. All I want to do is find information on Spiky Mikey. I'm not here to cause trouble, I promise. I'm just here on business sent by other Lombaxes to collect data and return as soon as possible. I wouldn't dream in hurting you. I'm a good guy. Let me just take off my helmet, and maybe that will persuade you." He spoke, quickly. He just wanted the gun to be removed away from his body.

An awkward pause followed what Ratchet had said. A few minutes passed before the female spoke. "Fine." The gun wasn't moved though. "But if ya make the wrong move, I'll feed ya organs to me dogs." If her face was to be seen, then a clear smirk would have been visible.

The golden Lombax gulped. Slowly, he navigated his right hand to his green chest pad to offline his armour. Once his shaky finger touched the pad, the armour died down to it's black form. The helmet returned and Ratchet's face was seen more clearly.

Bit by bit, the shotgun was lowered. The blue eyes showed shock. "You're... You're..." Her eyes widened in realisation. The gun was brought back into the house, and the door closed. Rattling was heard on the other side, before the door was quickly opened a few seconds later.

A female Encaracolado Xpedia was seen standing in the entrance. She had a similar structure to Spiky Mikey's, apart from that she had a female figure and curves. She had light blue eyes with long eyelashes that stood out against her atomic tangerine skin; her eyebrows were a slightly darker orange. She didn't have any spikes like Mikey, but she had the same head shape as him.

She wore clothes that were very cowgirl like. A short red and black checkered top, with rolled up sleeves, was worn over a pain white vest top that showed her belly. Brown trousers with brown laces down the sides were kept up with a brown leather belt. Light brown cowgirl boots were also worn.

"Come in, come in." She said.

Ratchet was surprised by the other's quick changing attitude, however, he ignored those facts, and walked into the house. He was directed in the living room as she went off to get some drinks.

The living room was quite basic. A small TV was seen at the far end of the room with a nice looking couch opposite it. Various pictures were hanging on the pale lemon walls around the room. Many of them looked like the female owner when she was a child. Some of them were family pictures of her and two adults - most likely her mother and father.

A small rug was lying neatly in front of the fire place while an armchair was sitting beside the fire place. There were different types of vases sitting on shelves along with medals, certificates, and other decorations.

A door was seen that lead outside to the backyard. Another door lead into the kitchen.

The female Xpedia appeared in the living room with two tall glasses of fresh lemonade. Drops of condensation dripped off the glasses to show how cold they were. A glass was passed to Ratchet. "Here. That should keep ya nice and refreshed." She smiled. "Go on, take it and have a seat."

"Oh, thank you." The Lombax smiled back as he took the lemonade. He went to sit on the couch after. The other followed, sitting in an armchair opposite the couch.

Her glass was placed on the coffee table in front of them as she sat down. She held out a hand to Ratchet. "My name's Annie Webb by the way."

Ratchet took hold of the hand and shook it. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Webb." The hands retreated. "I'm Ratchet."

"Oh please, call me Annie." She took at sip of her drink. "I already know ya name's Ratchet." When the younger have her a confused look, she chuckled. "Don't look at me like that. Just 'cause I live in a ol' house, doesn't mean I don't watch the news."

Golden ears perked up. "So, you mean you've seen me on TV?"

"I certainly have." She smirked. "I admire ya work. But let's not go inta that. Let's talk about what ya came 'ere for. Something 'bout that traitor, Spiky Mikey."

"Huh? Traitor? What because he stole from you?"

"Of course!" Annie frowned. "He's a no good, back-stabbing thief. I'm guessin' ya wanna know more about him."

Ratchet nodded. "I do. I need to know where he is. Would you have any idea where I could find him?" If she was to know, then he'd be able to get this mission done quicker. He could go after Mikey to save time for the other Lombaxes to meet him.

"Hmm." Annie stood up, and walked to the fire place. She lent against it, thinking carefully. "Well, I've heard news that he's been to three different planets lately. What are they called?" She hummed in thought. "Oh yes! It was Planet Terachnos, Kortog, and Fractis."

"Fractis? I've never heard of that planet."

She turned to look at him. "Fractis is a dry, wasteland planet in the Kavorian Galaxy. It has two native species there called the Kragmites and Cantors. Kragmites are large, devil-like monsters while Cantors are gigantic monsters driven by the instinct of destruction. No one else lives on the planet apart from those two species."

Ratchet raised his hands in front of his chest. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Did you just say Cragmites?" But he thought he sent them back to their dimension after defeating Tachyon. How could they still be around? Unless some of them escaped.

"Oh no. No Cragmites. Kragmites. With a 'k' not a 'c'. Sorry if I confused ya." She rubbed the back of her neck while grinning sheepishly.

"That's fine. Wait a minute! If no one lives there, why would Mikey have gone there?"

Annie's lips thinned. "Ya know, I have no idea. It's just what I heard a group of men talkin' 'bout." She shrugged her shoulders at the thought of it.

Ratchet rubbed his chin in concentration. Strange. What business would he have on Fractis? Wait! Men? He glanced up at the female. "What did the men look like? And where did you see them?" Maybe those men worked with Mikey for Rage. Victoria mentioned to him that there could be other people involved.

"Well, there were four of 'em - all strong built Blargs from what I could guess. There were a pair of twins: olive green skin; yellow eyes; same clothes. Can't mistake 'em - both got a scar across their left eyes. One of the other members looked strong build but was actually more on the chubby side. He had purple skin with blue eyes. The last one was the shortest; had dark green skin with orange eyes.

"The last time I saw 'em was 'bout two weeks ago in Axiom City. Sounded like they were gonna ta meet up with Spikes. If ya ask me, they were gonna be up ta no good. Most likely gettin' orders from their boss to do the dirty work." Annie went to sit back down. "Ya see, they don't always stay in one place. They move around - like ta hide in new parts of the galaxy where they ain't been before. Not that I care. I don't care where the heck they are, unless it ain't on me property."

"He stole from you three years ago. A swingshot if I recall. What type of swingshot was it?" From what he guessed, it was most properly one of the old ones as they are rare to find in shops now. On the other hand, it could have been an expensive one because he couldn't afford it.

"An ol' one. Was my grandfather's that he upgraded. Was the fastest swingshot people had seen back in 'em days. Properly why it was stolen from me." Sadness gazed in her blue eyes. "He would be ashamed of me if he was 'ere today." She looked up at Ratchet. "Sorry, I'm blabberin' on." A smile was forced. "Anythin' else ya wish ta ask me?"

Emerald eyes blinked at the change of tension in the atmosphere. Was she normally like this? Maybe it was the memories she was going through. "Er, I...don't think so." He thought for a moment. "Oh wait, there's one more thing. What part in Axiom City did you see them?"

"Downtown. In the run down part of the city. Why? Ya don't intend ta go after him, do ya?" She asked, with slight worry running through her voice.

"Yes, I do intend on going after him. I just need...to ask of few questions." He stood up. "Thank you for all the information you've given me. It's been a pleasure talking to you, Annie." He nodded once, before heading to the door. When his hand touched the door handle, the other ran up to him.

"Wait! Before ya go, I need to warn ya." Concern flickered in her baby blue eyes. "Don't underestimate Mikey and his group. They're strong, fast and smart. I know they have some sort of weapon, however I don't know the details about 'em. Just keep ya eyes out for anythin' strange; where ya go that is. And stay safe."

Ratchet's eyes widened when Annie stopped him from going, but then his eyes flickered with determination. "Don't worry about me." He smirked. "I have experience." With that he opened the door, and walked towards his ship.

"Next stop, Axiom City."

Sorry if it's a little late, but here's chapter 16 of TCO! I promise you guys that the next chapter shall be exciting with action. Haven't had some in a while so it should be good! :D

Ratchet, Clank, Talwyn, Kaden, Axiom City (Terachnos), Kortog, Fractis, Kragmites, Cantors, Cragmites, Blargs, Aphelion (c) Insomniac Games

Jasmine, Victoria, Annie, Rage, Xpedia species, Volzar, Murlania, Spiky Mikey, the four Blargs, writing, The Chosen One (c) Me