Hi hi.

I am so sorry I haven't posted in so long. Two years! I have no excuse. Sorry.

And I can't think of anything else to say, so I'll just get on with it.

The Story So Far...

Kai and Tessa managed to save Ratchet and Clank, and offered them a lift to a specialist in Lombax ships, which they accepted, with Talwyn following. On the way, Ratchet learns

Once landing on Ka Fyera, Aphelion was taken to a mechanics for repairs, while Ratchet and co. went to get cleaned off. After that, the group split up: Ratchet went to TJ's Experts to check on Aphelion, while everyone else went to get Cronk, Zephyr and Clank checked over by a robotics expert.

Inside TJ's Experts, Ratchet met the cyborg albino Nicola Quasar, and stump-tailed Claire Sutton. He also met a mystery Lombax, who seems to understand a lot about the psychology Lombax ships. Have we finally met the mysterious Scree? What's going on with the others? Will somebody give me a hand summarising this chapter? Find out now, with Mage Tales 1: The Discovery, Chapter seven.

Talwyn examined her strange surroundings of Circuit Fixers, a place she'd been wanting to visit for years. Since she was a friend of the family, the owner had always met up with her to do regular maintenance checks on Cronk and Zephyr. Unfortunately, things had been hectic for a while, and it was now three years since the veteran war bots had had a check up.

Tools, power cables and miscellaneous tubes hang from ropes attached to the ceiling, dangling within easy reach above three workbenches. The lights were dim, angling the light down, and the floor and walls were unfinished metal, hung with all sorts of old advertising posters, all for robots. "Allergies? Germophobic? Yet you still want a dog? Then the P00d1e v1.0 is just what you need!" Things like that.

Only one bench was in use. A robotic waiter sat there, it's head slumped forward, it's lower half separate on the table next to it, single wheel pointed upward.

Looking up at it, Clank was hit by an irrational fear. Not so much at the other robot's condition (although that in itself was worrying), but the robot itself. It seemed to have an aura of... well, evil.

As the twins approached the dismantled robot, someone behind it said, "AH! Ya bastard!", and staggered backward as electricity coursed through the robot.

"De-de-de-death to the guardians!" It's hands slid into it's arms, a cheese grater sliding out of one, an electric pizza cutter out of the other. It's single eye flashed between red, to purple, to blue, then back again. "The May-ay-ay-ages must be destroyed! The Z-z-z-z-z-!"

It lurched forward, aiming to slash at Talwyn as it fell. She leapt back, pulling Clank to her chest like a teddy bear. Then she squeaked as it began to drag itself towards her, looking like a zombie crawling out of the grave.

Kai jumped on the robot, pushing it back to the floor. Tessa grabbed a pair of pliers and dove at the open back panel, cutting random wires.

She'd managed to disable the pizza cutter before the robot stuck it into Kai's arm. She swore aloud, then tugged it out, pulling the blade off and throwing it to the side. Talwyn placed Clank on the floor, then sprinted around the workbench to check on the person behind it.

Tessa cried out as the robot drew the grater across her knee. Hard. She dropped the pliers into the robot's chest as blood dribbled slowly down her leg from the wound. Kai swore again and punched it in the head.

At that point, a tan Markazian male with black hair vaulted over the workbench. He stuck his hand in the robot, grabbed the main power cable, and pulled. It's eye went black and it stopped struggling. The twins relaxed and started inspecting their wounds.

The Markazian who'd leapt the workbench stood up, sighed and ran a hand through this short hair. He pulled off a pair of thick-rimmed glasses and sighed, tossing them back where he'd been working. "That is the last time I take a job from near the Zoi-neutral border." He grumbled. "You two OK?"

"I've been better," said Tessa, grimacing as she moved the skin on her knee, inspecting the damage.

Kai glanced at her cut and shrugged. "I've had worse." She went over and pulled the Markazian into a one armed hug. "How you been, bro?"

"Ah, same old, same old," he said, returning the hug, his other hand reaching down to ruffle Tessa's hair. He nodded at the brunette. "Talwyn."

Talwyn smiled and nodded back. "Still taking the homicidal jobs, huh Kane?"

"That is a lie and you know it," insisted Kane. "And I have a bone to pick with you. You promised you would drop in six months after I checked your bots last. Instead, you disappear! And now you decide to come in when the zombie robo-waiter from hell is in for repairs. What happened, Cronk and Zephyr fall apart or something?"

Kai snorted. "Just Cronk. Zephyr's only senile."

"HEY!" Came a voice from outside.

"We heard that!" Came another voice.

"The moment this fool stops kicking my head around, I'm coming straight in there to give you a piece of my mind!"

"Who're you calling a fool, you scoundrel! Take this!"

There was a metallic thud, then, "Ow! There was no need to kick it away like that!"

Kane sighed, let go of his sisters, crossed over to Talwyn and laid his head on the top of her's, sighing again. "What are we gonna do with you, exactly?"

The Markazians chuckled good naturedly, and Talwyn playfully shoved Kane off. She went over and picked Clank, previously unnoticed by the robotics engineer, and placed him on a worktop.

"Before you settle in with those two for the long haul, why don't you start with something quick and simple." She signalled to the robot in front of her. "This is Clank, and he needs a quick systems check to make sure that he's alright. Clank," she turned to the robot, "this is Kane Swordsmith. Kai and Tessa are his little sisters."

"Nice to meet you, Mr Swordsmith." Clank extended his hand.

"Please don't call me that," said Kane, taking the robot's hand. "It's Kane. Now," he released Clank's hand, bringing both of his own together in a decisive clap, "let's see what we've got to work with here."

Scree was a patient woman, most of the time. Well, when it mattered. She could wait for a landslide to settle so she could scale a particularly high cliff-face. She could wait for a batch of cupcakes, or brownies, or whatever, to finish baking.

She could not, however, wait for Ratchet to ask The Stupid Question Everyone Needs To Ask.

The reason The Stupid Question was making Scree impatient was, in an effort not to appear an idiot, Ratchet wasn't asking it. And the problem with that was, when The Stupid Question arises in someone's mind, they can't think of anything else to say. So Ratchet wasn't saying anything, except to ask her to pass a different scrubbing brush.

They had cleared out all the pieces of Aphelion's engine that were still solid, and had hosed out all the gunk that, as far as they could make out, were melted wires and the acid from the batteries. Now they were scrubbing the intricate workings of corrosive gunk, after scrubbing clean the engine's cavity.

Bored of sitting there in near silence, Scree placed down the things in her hands, and turned to Ratchet. "Will you just ask the Gods damned Question already?"

Ratchet visibly flinched, but his voice was calm and casual. "What question?"

Scree sighed. Why did they all seem to act like this? "The Question! The Question that is dominating your mind, driving you nuts, and making you think you're an idiot. You're trying to find a different line of conversation, but trust me, you won't. The sooner you ask, the sooner we can get onto another topic."

Ratchet was determined not to give into The Stupid Question, to think of something else to talk about. Even if Scree was right, even if he did have a mental block on other subjects. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Ratchet," said Scree. "Ratchet, look at me." She waited until he'd complied before she continued. "I'll give you this much, your tougher than most of the shmucks who've walked through those doors and been confronted with the impossibility of me. But unless you ask The Question now, it will build and build, until you finally explode with it. Probably in front of Kai. And you don't have a clue how ruthless she actually is."

Ratchet winced at the thought. "And you won't get offended?"

"Nah, I'm used to it."

"Well, um, Scree..?"

"Yes?"

Ratchet had to swallow before he continued. "...Are you really a Lombax?" Wince.

Scree grinned, her peridot eyes sparkling. Finally! "Yes Ratchet, I am."

Ratchet blinked. The urge to question her on her species sated, he noticed three things: Firstly, he didn't feel as stupid as he thought he would. Secondly, peridot was a very pretty shade of green for eyes. And finally, he realised Scree was stunningly beautiful. Honey yellow fur, tangerine stripes, elegant ears, sparkling eyes, cute nose, delicate frame and tail, yet an athletic figure... and that was just a few physical features he picked out when glancing at her. She wore the same teal shirt that the other girls, as well as green shorts and white trainers.

Both Lombaxes went back to work, and a pleasant conversation started up.

"So, how did you meet the twins?" asked Scree as she scrubbed at a stubborn stain on the piece she was cleaning. "Jeez, did no-one ever clean this engine? Disgraceful," she muttered.

Ratchet held his piece up to the light, checking how clean it was. "They were just... there. To ask Talwyn a favour. But she was helping me, they tagged along, and we ended up helping each other." He glanced at the other Lombax. "What about you?"

"Long time ago..." Scree paused, causing him to look back at her. "It's not my place to say why... but I met them when they tried to run away. They snuck out with their brother. Ended up at this big carnival. Just out there actually." She chuckled quietly, motioning with her head. "They looked terrified. They'd never-"

As her sentence cut off, she looked up into Ratchet's confused eyes. "They'd never what?"

Scree shook her head. "Not my place to say. Their past is their past. If they want to tell you, they will." Quickly changing subject, she asked, "So what did they help you with?"

"Getting my friend back. A robot called Clank. The Zoni took him." Ratchet gulped. He still felt the fear for the little robot. Especially since he found out what the Zoni were capable of. "I don't know why they took him." He looked at Scree again, and saw the vaguely horrified expression on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Tell me something," she said urgently. "Did Clank ever say he could see them, before they took him?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"A Seer!" Scree muttered.

Ratchet shook his head, confused. "A what?"

"A Seer is someone who can see those who live off of spiritual energy, like the Zoni, even if they're in Spirit Form," She calmly explained.

Ratchet looked sceptical. "Spiritual energy? Spirit Form? Are you some sort of religious nut or something?" He instantly regretted his words. Mocking her potential religion could burn the bridge to the only other Lombax he knew of. He mentally prepared himself for a stinging slap to the face.

Which is why she completely surprised him when she burst out laughing. "I don't blame you! A lot of people who know about this stuff are utter nutters. But no, it's nothing religious, at least not to me." She shook her head. "No, it's like... a chemical reaction, I guess. But it involves emotions instead of chemicals. When you feel a strong emotion, like happiness or sorrow, a certain amount of spiritual energy is released. The stronger the emotion, the more energy is released."

"So, the Zoni get energy when we feel emotions?" Ratchet wondered why the Zoni seemed so... mean.

Scree rinsed off the engine part she'd been cleaning. "Well, basically, yeah. But there are a couple of different types of spiritual energy. The Zoni feed off of the type that gets created by negative emotions, like sorrow and hatred and pain. Their sole purpose is to become all powerful, then to end the universe, so no-one can ever become more powerful than them. And they..." She stopped and swallowed, her expression slightly pained and disgusted.

Ratchet was almost too afraid to ask her to continue, but his natural curiosity was getting the better of him. "And they... what?"

Scree bit her lip before continuing, her expression full of sorrow. "...The soul is the epicentre your emotions, right?" Ratchet nodded, and she continued. "The Zoni have a way of... it's known as Extraction. The soul is... forcibly removed from a person. In that moment, the soul is racked full of pain, and the Zoni... keep the soul aside and... and feed off of it. The body becomes nothing but a cross between a puppet and an empty shell. It's... vile. Disgusting. Terrifying."

Her expression was one of horror and fear at the act she'd just described. Ratchet was ashamed he'd made her talk about it, so he quickly back-peddled away from the subject. "You said ' those who live off of spiritual energy'. There are others? And what IS Spirit Form?"

Long lashes met as Scree blinked, not quite sure where the questions came from at first. "Huh? Oh yeah, the others. They're the Scatheen. They live off of positive emotions, like happiness, passion..." Her expression turns sentimental. "Love. The people who follow them are known as the Scathes. I'm one of them." She shook her head, clearing away the old memories. "And as for Spirit Form, it's a form they can take when they don't want to be seen by your average person."

"Clank said something about you guys!" The male Lombax's eyes brightened as one of the nagging questions he'd been asking was at least partially answered. "He said you were always prepared, but he didn't know what you were prepared FOR."

She smiled at him. "Your friend is one well-informed cookie."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

He sighed. "What are you prepared for?"

At this point, Nicco came over with two mug of coffee. "The Zoni's every attempt to rise to supreme power. What else?" She handed a mug to Scree, "Milk, two sugars," and one to Ratchet, "I went for the standard for you: milk, one sugar."

Ratchet took the mug and sipped at it. "Thanks, it's perfect, actually."

"Thanks, Nicco." She takes a sip, then puts it to one side. "Gimmie a yell when the twins get in. I have a job for Kane."

Nicco leant against the forklift. "What job?"

"An AI that could do with some TLC. The battery casing and all the wires are melted, so at the very least, she's gonna be distressed." Scree picked up the last piece in need of scrubbing.

Nicco nodded. "You do realise there are two robots out there playing football with one of their heads."

(A.I: That's soccer for you yanks.)

"I, uh, know them," Ratchet admitted. "Cronk's neck is... loose."

"I thought as much," said Nicco, then sauntered away. A comfortable silence settled over the two Lombaxes as they finished cleaning, then started putting the engine back together.

"So... Is Scree short for something? Or is that it?" Ratchet asked, eager to know more about the attractive Lombax he was working with.

"Try not to laugh. It's short for Sacaree. Sacaree Integen." Her ears picked up the chuckle that Ratchet tried to conceal. "I knew you would laugh. It seems ridiculous in a modern society, but it means 'Little Warrior' in old Lombax."

He looked confused at that. "Old Lombax?"

"Yeah. You don't think our language didn't change and evolve as we met new, interesting and sometimes dangerous new species?" Then she winced slightly. "Sorry. I forgot, you've not grown up around Lombaxes. You won't know the language. It's just... you seem so easy around me, so easy to be around."

Ratchet smiled at her and her words. "Thanks. You're easy to be around too." He then turned his attention to the engine. "Looks like we'll need three new batteries, all new wires, and a couple of new pistons."

Scree looked over the engine as well. "And a new ignition system. That one's never gonna work again. Damn. Getting suitable ones for Lombax ships is tricky." She unbuttoned her teal shirt to reveal a white vest underneath.

"Well, there's someone I can ask," said Ratchet, thinking of the Smuggler. "...If I can find him."

Tightening a screw, Scree shook her head. "Nah, I know where to get one. It's just gonna be a bit... expensive. We have new batteries and wires in the back, and I can salvage the pistons from one of the dead ships if we don't have any in reserve."

At that point, a male voice spoke up behind them. "YOU should be on your lunch break."

Sighing as she turned, Scree smiled at the Cazar who was looming over her. "Hey TJ. I did leave earlier, then I heard about Aphelion and came back."

TJ sighed. He too was wearing the teal shirt which was the uniform, a pair of jeans and black shoes. "We've discussed this, Scree. You can't keep working through your lunch breaks. It's not healthy!"

Scree raised her hands in surrender. "I'll go! I'll go." She got up and walked to the locker room.

TJ then turned to Ratchet. "I'm guessing you're gonna help her fix your ship?"

"Well, I was hoping to..." Ratchet scratched behind his ear, unsure of himself. "Is that a problem?"

Chuckling, TJ shook his head. "Not at all. We just do this deal where, if you help, you just pay parts and overheads. Labour's free."

"And I was helping with the twins' ship so much," Scree added as she came back with a leather handbag, "TJ figured it was cheaper to hire me. Which is why I work here." She pulled Ratchet to his feet. "Come on, I'll source the parts, then we can get lunch."

"But I'm supposed to be meeting Clank out by the fountain! He could be out there any second!" Ratchet didn't want his best friend to be left waiting for him again. Not this soon.

"Well, why don't I get the parts, and you get some take-out? Then I can drop the parts back here, then we can eat out on the grass," suggested Scree.

"...Good idea." Ratchet smiled at her. "What do you want?"

"Hmm... I know a good pizza place."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Lets go then." Scree waved to TJ as she led her fellow Lombax out the door.

TJ waved and sighed. "If Scree trusts him to work on a Lombax ship, I can tell I'm gonna end up hiring him, too."

Claire stepped up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "At least we'll have another person who doesn't make engines spontaneously fall out of ships."

CRASH!

Nicco's cry of "I'll fix that! I'll clean it up, then I will fix it!" only made TJ's sigh more exasperated.

AUTHOR'S INPUT: Hi hi,

Again, sorry this took so long. Life just got in the way.

So, yeah. That's the chapter. Sorry it's so short.

Now for the reviews for chapter 6. Actually, make that review.

SilverDragonXIII

I very much like what you're doing here, in fact I think you should change your user name. There's no need to be timid, get out there and show the world what you can do! True the grammar could use a little work here and there, but I'm really liking this story. Reading it can take the edge off a very trying day for me and overall, as I keep saying, I enjoyed it. I found pieces of it a little iffy, however most of that comes under grammar and my years spent deprived of a good session on any Ratchet and Clank game. Whatever the case my point still stands, it's good and getting better so keep it up!

I'll be rooting for you. Take care

Thanks SilverDragonXIII.

I know the grammar isn't spectacular all the time, I've recently re-read it (to remind myself where I'd gotten to), and I'll eventually redo them. Probably when I've finished this series.

Shame you haven't played R&C, but not everyone has.

Glad you're enjoying it.

Thanks to all who read this.

Bye byes,

Timid Vulpine.