Hi! Lilrose here!
Listen, this story is my first, so I'm a little nervous. Can you give me some reviews on what you think about it? I'd really appreciate it.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this universe except my OC, Zanora/Lynxion.
Ratchet looked out of the cockpit, having finally removed the air bag. He could plainly see that everything was frozen somehow, but the question was, how?
He looked to Qwark, who was pushing at the top of the cockpit. Qwark grunted as he removed his hand and replaced it with his shoulder. He let out a dramatic groan, melting back into his seat like a balloon that had deflated.
"Well, Ratchet, my friend, it seems we're stuck." he announced calmly, then he proceeded to break down and cry, "It's over! OVER! We're DOOMED!"
Ratchet sighed, rolling his eyes at Qwark's antics. He looked at the cockpit roof's locks, noticing they were simply jammed. He looked at Qwark, who was now curled in a ball and sobbing pathetically. He pulled out his Omniwrench from behind him and slammed it on the locking mechanism, forcing the latch to release. The glass case lifted swiftly, fresh air filling the passenger's lungs. Qwark continued to sob as Ratchet climbed up onto the top of Aphelion. The poor ship's wings were torn clean off and the rear thrusters were seperated from the main ship, hovering frozen a little way back.
Ratchet groaned, "How on Veldin will I fix this?"
He paused, looking toward the long crater the ship made on its way down. He noticed the engine impaled on a particularly sharp rock and face palmed.
'The Universe has it in for me. That doesn't even make sense!' he thought grumpily while staring at the suspiciously precise impalement in the engine.
Ratchet heard Qwark let out a shaky laugh as the ship violently rocked, nearly pitching him over the side. He yelped, managing to keep his balance as Qwark suddenly ran past him, jumping onto the solid ground and proceeding to lie on it, kissing it and announcing how much he loved stable, non-exploding ground.
Ratchet shook his head at the green suited maniac, going back to the cockpit and grabbing some important tools he didn't want to leave behind. He noticed that he never let go of his trusted Omniwrench and smiled fondly, glad his instincts were there when his mind wasn't. He secured his only weapon on his back, walking to the back of the ship and leaping easily onto the ground.
He looked around, ears stretched behind him as he tried to listen past Qwark's rambling. He glanced around, his hand twitching as he looked for enemies. Nothing was there, so he relaxed.
He was about to call out to Qwark to stop his anitcs when he heard a faint rustle and his head snapped around, eyes locking onto bright green eyes similar to his own for a split-second. Then it was gone, leaving an empty hole in the bush. He stared a little longer before he heard Qwark call out to him.
He glanced at the forest once more before turning back to Qwark, who seemed to be staring at a path along the ridge of the ravine their ship nearly fell into.
"Where the heck are we?" Ratchet asked, eyes still trained on the area in which he saw the pair of eyes before.
"Beats me." Qwark said dismissively, "Perhaps a stroll through this uncharted forest will solve the mystery!"
Ratchet gave him a deadpan look before walking into the forest, Qwark trailing behind him.
They walked for a while before stumbling upon some old ruins. Ratchet noticed that there was another blue beam of light right in the middle, where some of the ruins had started coming apart. It made the crash seem to stop mid-motion, confusing the hell out of him.
"Whoa." He started, staring in disbelief at the frozen ruins, "Qwark, are you seeing this? Something is seriously wrong with this planet."
He heard his voice echo and his ears twitched, not used to the sound being so distorted.
"It's like time is all... not working." Qwark replied, scratching his head in confusion.
Ratchet was about to reply when he heard rustling behind them and spun quickly. There were the green eyes again. But as soon as he took a step forward, they vanished, the rustling fading away. He blinked, shaking his head and shifting.
"Ratchet!" he heard Qwark call, startling him out of his thoughts, "What's taking you so long?"
Ratchet looked back once more before following, missing the eyes return again and watch him leave.
Ratchet heard running footsteps coming toward them and tensed, spinning around. There was a weird alien running toward him in a panic. He recognized that it wasn't an enemy and relaxed as it approached.
"Oh help! Help! Please, please help me!" it cried, sounding female, "My children! They're in danger!"
"What seems to be the problem, citizen?" Qwark asked softly, missing Ratchet's eyeroll.
"Zyphoids." she hissed, pointing to a squad of creatures crawling around a small ledge with a smaller alien standing on top, terrified, "We were fishing up river when they attacked!"
"Qwark, stay here." Ratchet commanded, pulling out his Omniwrench, "I'll go save the children."
He made quick work of the Zyphoids, saving the three children and returning them to their mother. The mother offered to take them to her village, which they gratefully accepted. She led them through the jungle, answering their questions as she went. Then, Ratchet worked up the nerve to ask what he was curious about.
"Is there a creature with bright green eyes that hides in bushes around here?" He asked, ignoring Qwarks quizzical glance.
The mother stopped, turning toward him quickly.
"Where did you see the eyes?" she inquired.
"I first saw them where we landed, then they followed us around."
The mother stared at him intensely, making him shift slightly. She then closed her eyes and nodded.
"You have her eyes."
Ratchet blinked as she looking at him in understanding, "Well, yeah, its eyes are the same colour as mine. Is that why it is following me around? And who's this 'she'?"
"She is following you." the mother replied, then pausing in thought, "Don't know why though. She is not known for following people. She tends to get food in the village and leave. Never stays long."
"Well, I'm curious now!" Qwark announced loudly, leaning toward the mother, "Who exactly is she?"
"No one knows. She came to the village a long time ago, when I was a child. She didn't say anything, but we didn't ask her. She was frightening at first, you see. Never had someone like her."
"Who is she?" Ratchet urged, but the mother simply shook her head and walked on. But she gave them one more piece of advise.
"Ask the Chieftain. He will answer your questions."
Ratchet was desperate for answers, but kept his silence. He moved to follow when he heard rustling again. Turning quickly, he saw the green eyes, but they weren't at ground level anymore.
They were on the face of a shadowed figure. Female, by the look of it. And taller than him. There were no distiguishing features, but Ratchet could see the outline of a pair of ears. Lombax ears. He went to move toward her, but she vanished again, the rustling fading into the distance.
Ratchet followed after Qwark, thoughts running wild. Was this mysterious woman... a Lombax?
The mother guided them to a large gate that opened as she drew near. There was another alien like her on the other side, holding a glowing staff and looking surprised.
"Enessa!" it cried, revealing that it was a male, "What are you doing out here?"
"The Zyphoids are back." She replied, "There must be something wrong with the time keeper."
"Not in front of the outsiders!" he quickly hushed, glancing at them from the corner of his eye.
Ratchet felt indignation rise up, but pushed it down while slapping a hand over Qwark's mouth as he went to say something.
The male alien continued like it hadn't noticed, "Quickly, we must head into the village."
He then started walking, leading them to a lively place that was situated near a huge temple. Ratchet walked faster to try and talk to their guide, but Enessa held him back. When he turned to ask why, she wordlessly shook her head. Then, she gathered her children and walked away, leaving him and Qwark to follow the male.
The male led them to the front of the temple, then turned toward them.
"You are the ones from the crashed ship, are you not?" He asked calmly, ignoring the surprised looks on their faces.
They nodded and he continued, "Your ship isn't beyond repair. But fixing it will take powers beyond anything this universe has ever seen. Powers not to be taken lightly. Can you keep a secret?"
They nodded again and he explained about the Zoni, making Ratchet internally jolt. The Zoni had taken Clank. If he asked them about it...
"Now, follow me and don't touch anything!" The male interrupted Ratchet's thoughts as he walked off, leading them into the temple.
Ratchet walked behind the male, two Zoni trapped in the capsule on his back. He looked to the male before, hesitantly, bringing up the topic he wanted to know.
"Um, who is the woman with green eyes?"
The male stopped and turned to him, confusion obvious.
"How do you know about her?"
Ratchet explained his encounters with her, including the latest one. The male looked thoughtful before starting to explain.
"She is an old being. She has lived some years with us now, and never has she revealed her name. But we know her true form, as she tends to protect the village in it's darkest hours." he paused, staring right at them, "She is a sorrowful soul. She weeps for a family that we believe to have died. So we named her two names."
"Lynxion is her name, but what it stands for is also another name for her. You see, due to her true form, we called her 'Lynxion' because, in our language, it means 'The One of Broken Wings'. To have her follow you..." he searched for information to give, but came up with nothing, "I'm not really sure of the reason."
He then guided them on in silence. Ratchet's thoughts were whirling crazily, questions buzzing on the tip of his tongue.
What was her true form? Why is she here? What happened to her family? Why does she have Lombax ears?
But by the look on the male's face, he didn't want to talk anymore. And Ratchet himself felt that it would be rude to continue questioning.
When they approached the entrance of the temple, the ground suddenly shook and the Chieftain gasped as he ran out ino the light. Ratchet and Qwark followed quickly, exiting the temple and staring in confusion.
There was a large ship hovering over the village and dropping robot soldiers on the fungoids. There were villagers screaming and running, trying to avoid them.
"Quick! Everyone inside the temple!" the Chieftain yelled as the villagers heard and rushed over, "Vorselon is coming!"
Ratchet pulled his Omniwrench from behind him and glanced at his companion.
"Alright, Qwark." Ratchet started, "You ready to let those stallions out of the stable?"
Qwark stretched and put his fists up, "I was born ready!"
Suddenly, an alien in a high-tech suit appeared behind Qwark.
"Azimuth!" it yelled, it's voice scratchy and sounding like a broken radio.
Qwark let out a high-pitched squeal as he leapt from his spot into the Chieftain's arms.
The newcomer approached Ratchet, putting his face close, "I believe Dr. Nefarious was clear as to the repercussions of leaving your hovel."
Ratchet took a step back as it leaned in close, glaring daggers at him.
"The Clock is ours." It growled menacingly, leaving Ratchet confused.
"Whoa... wait." Ratchet tried to take in what he heard, "Who?"
"Dr. Nefarious has no authority here, villian." Qwark came from nowhere, shielding Ratchet from the newcomer's view, "In fact, I'm not even entirely convinced he's a real Doctor!"
If they were in friendlier company, Ratchet would have facepalmed.
"So return my sidekick's pal before I bring the thunder!" Qwark struck a ridiculous pose as Ratchet helplessly shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.
The 'villian' wasn't amused. He held out one of his arms as it crackled with electricity and suddenly Qwark was trapped in a bubble. Ratchet jumped back, staring desperately at the floating man in the bubble.
Qwark struggled before growling, "You win again, technology."
Then he sped away, taken to the ship hovering above the village. The villian turned and faced two of his soldiers.
"Kill the exile," he commanded, "and bring the rest in for questioning."
They then approached Ratchet and he brought his helmet up in preparation of the incoming attack.
He managed to destroy a few of them before they started attacking on all sides. Ratchet couldn't get a hit. Suddenly, there was a shriek and something dived in front of him and scattered the enemies in front. Ratchet quickly dealt with the enemies behind him before turning back in time to see a giant blade slice through the enemy's ranks easily.
There was a girl standing on the end of the tail, using claws and horns to run the attacking forces into the ground. Ratchet couldn't see her that well, but he could see the bright green eyes that were familiar now.
'Lynxion' his mind supplied as he blocked another blow, pushing it away and slamming his trusty Omniwrench into the side of the attacker's head.
The fight took a while, but with Lynxion on their side, the enemy eventually drew back. Ratchet felt his helmet disappear as the Chieftain cried out in despair.
"We're too late! Vorselon is leaving!"
Ratchet narrowed his eyes in determination, knowing what had to be done. He turned toward the exit to the village, only to spark a clash between green as The One with Broken Wings stood in front of it.
At long last.