Wow, I'm on a role! Can't believe I wrote this chapter in practically one day.
Thanks again to Evil Ratchet96 and Trekker 77 for the reviews! Keep them coming!
Thanks for reading, and please give your thoughts on the story, characters, and anything else about Ravage.
Chapter 6, Disturbed Recreation,
It took Clank a couple hours to adjust to his new body and for Bones to teach him skills he needed. Bones told him that the battery-life of his device was over five years. Though, it still felt good to go into sleep mode. He felt it strange not to have the same limbs and that the only way to express himself was through a hologram. Bones had taught him how to hack into computer systems and other ways to get around and communicate. Still, Clank was unsure, "Bones, I am not sure if I like this form. I feel, less… tangible."
Bones shook his blue, holographic head. "I don't know how you felt before but trust me, you can still form relationships. My closest friend, I knew for almost thirty years."
"Thanks, I am just afraid that Ratchet will have a difficult time. Not just with me, the entire situation."
"I understand," Bones responded. "Hey, let's go see how they're doing." Bones said in an upbeat tone. With that, the A.I. hovered out of the room, he was followed by Clank.
Sly had talked to Oliver and asked about Carmelita's condition. They were standing in the bar and spoke as Oliver was setting up in preparation for the night. Sly was sipping on a glass of a drink called Black Knight. "She's resting now; I got her heart-rate back to normal and set some broken bones in her chest. She's just very tired and needs rest. If you want to see her, I can check and see if she's awake." He said as he finished flipping the chairs upright.
"If she needs rest…" Sly started.
"Ah, I'll be quiet. Just wait here a second." Oliver then proceeded upstairs.
Murray, Bentley, Ratchet, Leo and Talwyn were out getting some things for Oliver. Atlas was setting up the karaoke equipment. Rykk had not returned yet.
A second after Oliver left to check on Carmelita, Bones and Clank entered. The two holographic figures atop their devices waved to Sly. "Hello Mr. Cooper," Bones welcomed.
"Please call me Sly, Bones; Mr. Cooper makes me feel old." Sly downed the last of his drink. It had a dark and murky taste that, for some reason, appealed to him.
"Hello Sly, I believe we haven't met." Clank said. "I have been told you saved my friend's life. I cannot thank you enough."
"I tried my best to help, but I wasn't a match for Calamity."
"So I heard; where is Ratchet?" Clank asked.
"E's out runnin some chores for Oliver. For tonight," Atlas answered.
Sly's ears heard Oliver's footsteps as he came down, "You can see her, just keep it brief."
"Thank you," He turned to Clank, "I'm sorry, but I gotta go see a friend of mine." Well, more than a friend.
Clank grinned; at least Sly thought he did. "I understand, see you later Sly."
Sly made his way up the stairs and to Carmelita's room. He knocked lightly before opening the door slowly. "Hey," he said softly.
Carmelita was propped up on the bed. An I.V. drip was hooked up, the liquid had a light green tint to it. She wore a simple white, cloth gown. She looked at her visitor, her eyes open but were heavy. She forced them to stay open. Her voice, though tired and weak, still held that fire Sly loved. "Hello ringtail… did Rykk get… the monster?"
He approached the bed, "He got away, but we're safe here. You've had a rough time though."
"Eh… been through worse. So… what is happening?"
"I'll explain when you're better; besides, not exactly sure myself." Sly stood over her and gently stroked the top of her head. He saw that she was starting to fall asleep. "Hey, love you." He didn't care for anyone like he did her. He couldn't help but show care, compassion, and love through his eyes.
Carmelita grinned; her eyes began to lower as her energy was dropping. "Love you to… ringtail."
"Now get some rest. I need you to get angry at me again." The thief chuckled.
"Don't worry… I still am." She replied with a lightly, playful tone.
"I'll be back soon ok?"
She nodded and her eyes closed.
Sly quietly left the room. Except for being very tired, she seems ok.
Oliver was waiting outside the room. "You have a good chat?"
Sly nodded, "Yeah, she's really tired."
"I put her on some medicines that will help her heart. In turn, it'll make her exhausted. They should finish running their course by tomorrow morning. So you gonna stick around tonight?"
"Yep, it would be nice to have some fun. Level out the seriousness from the past few days."
Oliver smiled, "These nights are always a riot. C'mon, let's go take a look at the list of songs I have."
Sly smirked, "You a singer Oliver?"
He tilted his head from side-to-side, "Occasionally, it depends on the night and my mood."
Later that evening the Dragon Tavern was bustling with both humans and lombaxes. Oliver was helping his bartender serve drinks and meals. The bar had become more of a restaurant that night. Oliver was apt to throw out those who became intoxicated and belligerent.
Around eight, the karaoke time started. Music filled the tavern as did the voices of man and lombax. Some better performers than others. If someone was good, the tavern would go quiet and listen.
Everyone was having a great time socializing. Sly and Ratchet became good friends and their friends became friends with one another.
Clank was also enjoying himself. He loved getting to know Sly, his gang, and Leo and Atlas.
Around the time karaoke started, Rykk entered the scene. He sat down with his group and Leo said, "Well, well, look who's here."
"Yeah, yeah, haven't had a good time in a while."
Oliver approached their table with a drink. "Here's your usual Rykk."
"Thanks," The glass was filled with a gold/red liquid and had a few ice cubes in it.
"What is it?" Ratchet asked.
"Hunter's Blood," Rykk answered, "Want a taste?" He said and offered with the slightest grin.
"Uh, sure," Ratchet responded and took the strange-looking drink. He took a small sip. His lips tingled from the drink. It wasn't unpleasant though, just unusual. That tingling sensation spread to his tongue and then throughout the lombax's mouth. Despite the drink's bright colors, it had a very dark, almost numbing, yet sweet taste to it. Like honey mixed with the blackest ink. Ratchet swallowed the potent drink and felt the tingling sensation travel into his belly. Once there, he felt like a fire had been lit inside him. The drink caused his fur to stand on end, the bushy tip of his tail looked like a pom-pom. His ears practically stood straight up and his eyes were wide. He coughed and gagged, much to Rykk's amusement.
"Like fire ain't it?" Rykk said before taking a large gulp of the concoction. "Most can't handle it. It's not the alcohol that makes it so; Oliver has a special recipe. Think I'm the only one who gets it."
Ratchet had recovered from the coughing fit, "Gee, I wonder why?" His mouth, throat, and stomach still tingled.
Clank couldn't help but laugh at his friend's reaction, "Oh my Ratchet! That was great!"
Bones simply chuckled, a chuckle that meant he knew what Ratchet's reaction was going to be.
"Yea, Oi could'a told ya how et whould treat ya." Atlas said smiling.
"Why didn't you?" Ratchet said, though he knew the answer.
"Ten Oi whould've miss out on seeing ya fluff up loike a furball!" Atlas laughed. He was joined in by the rest of the table.
Ratchet growled, though he knew he would've done the same.
Once he stopped laughing, Bentley said, "So, anyone going to sing tonight?"
"Was thinking about it…" Talwyn said.
"Maybe…" Ratchet responded.
Sly simply shook his head no.
Murray responded, "I ain't a singer. What about you Bentley?"
"I'm not much of one either, so no." The turtle said.
"Hey Atlas," Leo started, "Why don't you sing one of your old Irish tunes?"
"Oi was tinkin about et," he thought for a second before getting up. He walked over to the karaoke machine and its operator. He filled out the form with the needed info before returning to his seat.
"So… what did ya pick?" Leo asked.
Atlas said, "Te Risin of De Moon (The Rising of The Moon), et's one of me favorites among de auld songs. Oi should be up soon."
"That's a good one," Leo said.
"Think I'll sing a number…" All those at the table were more than a little surprised when Rykk said that.
Chief among them was Leo, "You? You're going to sing?"
"I know which song to. One from my home, before all this happened, when I was a kid." Rykk said as he finished his drink.
"Ya haven't sung in a long time Roikk,"
"I know," with that Rykk got up and submitted his song.
"Well this'll be a treat." Leo said.
"He's good?" Talwyn asked.
"Oh e' as a real talent for et." Atlas answered.
"Well I cannot wait." Clank said.
As Rykk sat back down, Atlas was called to the stage. He stood in front of the microphone and waited for the music to start. A few seconds passed before the Celtic music began. It echoed from the speakers and the tavern went quiet. The drums and strings harkened back to the highlands. Then the bagpipes brought the song together. Atlas' voice was great and matched the songs rousing, yet haunting tune:
""Oh! then tell me, Shawn O'Ferrall, Tell me why you hurry so?"
"Hush ma bouchal (boy in the Irish language), hush and listen", And his cheeks were all a-glow.
"I bear orders from the captain, Get you ready quick and soon,
For the pikes must be together by the risin' of the moon".
By the risin' of the moon, by the risin' of the moon,
For the pikes must be together by the risin' of the moon.
"Oh! then tell me, Shawn O'Ferrall, Where the gatherin' is to be?"
"In the ould spot by the river, Right well known to you and me.
One word more—for signal token Whistle up the marchin' tune,
Wit your pike upon your shoulder, By the risin' of the moon".
By the risin' of the moon, by the risin' of the moon,
Wit your pike upon your shoulder, by the risin' of the moon.
Out from many a mudwall cabin Eyes were watching thro' te night,
Many a manly chest was throbbing For the blessed warning light.
Murmurs passed along the valleys Like the banshee's lonely croon,
And a tousand blades were flashin at the risin' of the moon.
At the risin' of the moon, at the risin' of the moon,
And a thousand blades were flashing at the risin' of the moon.
There beside the singing river That dark mass of men was seen,
Far above the shining weapons Hung their own beloved green.
"Death to ev'ry foe and traitor! Forward! strike the marchin' tune,
And hurrah, my boys, for freedom! 'Tis the risin' of the moon".
'Tis the risin' of the moon, 'Tis the risin' of the moon,
And hurrah my boys for freedom! 'Tis the risin' of the moon.
Well they fought for poor old Oireland, And full bitter was their fate
Oh! what glorious pride and sorrow Fill the name of Ninety-Eight.
Yet, thank God, e'en still es beating Hearts in manhood's burning noon,
Who would follow in their footsteps, At the risin' of the moon!
At the rising of the moon, at the risin' of the moon,
Who would follow in their footsteps, at the risin' of the moon."
As he sang the chorus, background singers came in. Atlas' voice, combined with the music filled the tavern with the song's haunting tune. The chorus made it sound as if there was a regiment of soldiers in the room, all singing about a past battle.
Ratchet, Talwyn, and Clank had never heard anything like it. They were all moved by the ballad. It made Ratchet remember the fights he had been in.
When he finished, everyone in the room broke out in applause and cheering.
Atlas simply waved and said thanks before sitting back down. "Well, dat was a lot of fun."
"You were great!" Leo applauded.
"That was beautiful; I've never heard anything like it before." Talwyn stated.
"Me neither," Ratchet agreed, "It was amazing."
"I always liked that one," Rykk stated, "You do sing it best."
"Up next, is Rykk! Let's welcome him to the stage!" The karaoke announcer rang out.
Rykk smiled as he stood near the microphone. A lone guitar played before the upbeat pounding of drums began. At the right time, Rykk began. His voice seemed to change, it became higher and smoother:
I'm changing lanes
I'm talking on the phone drivin' way to fast
And the interstate's jammed with
Gunners like me afraid of coming in last
But somewhere in the race we run
We're coming undone
And days go by
I can feel 'em flying like a hand out the window in the wind as the cars go by
It's all we've been given, so you better start livin' right now
'Cause days go by
Out on the roof just the other night I watched the world flash by
Headlights, taillights running through a river of neon signs
But somewhere in the rush I felt
We're losing ourselves
And days go by
I can feel 'em flying like a hand out the window in the wind as the cars go by
It's all we've been given
So you better start livin' right now
'Cause days go by
We think about tomorrow then it slips away. Oh yes it does.
We talk about forever but we've only got today
And the days go by
I can feel 'em flying like a hand out the window
As the cars go by
It's all we've been given
So you better start livin'
You better start livin'
Better start livin' right now
Cause days go by
I can feel like 'em flying like a hand out the window in the wind as the cars go by
It's all we've been given
So you better start livin' right now
Cause days go by
These days go by
Oh, so take 'em by the hand they're yours and mine
Take 'em by the hand
And live your life
Take 'em by the hand
Don't let 'em all fly by
Come on, Come on now
Don't you know the days go by!
"That was Days Go By, by Keith Urban, let's give Rykk a hand!" The announcer exclaimed.
Rykk hurried back to his seat, he ignored the applause he got.
"Wow, that was great as well!" Leo applauded.
"You got quite a voice," Bentley added.
Ratchet patted Rykk on the shoulder, "That was great!"
"That was, I admit, fun." Rykk said; his voice deepened back to its normal tone. He was about to say something when he heard a woman's, piercing scream. He went stiff, "Did you guys hear that?"
Everyone but Sly shook their head no. Sly was also stiff, "Yeah."
At that, both Sly and Rykk jumped up and ran outside. The rest of the group followed. A second later there was another scream. This time, without the sounds of the tavern, everyone heard it. It came from one of the smaller buildings. Rykk's skin turned sable, his eyes started to glow, and his clothes turned back into the black jacket and pants. His transformation to his Aggression Form happened instantly and he shot himself towards the building. He didn't stop; he disappeared into the building's wall.
The rest of the group ran and entered the building a short time later.
The building was used for storage and was a bit smaller than a house.
Sly was the first one in and the sight inside made him hurl. There were two mangled, bloody, and cut up bodies; one female human and the other a male lombax. Blood was everywhere, their faces frozen in terror. A woman was sitting on the floor; she was hysterical and the source of the screams.
Rykk just looked around. His pupils were glowing yellow. "These bodies are a few hours old. They were put here, the killer wanted them found."
Just as Sly started retching, the rest of the group came in.
Talwyn also upchucked.
The rest came close to losing it.
When Talwyn was done, she escorted the hysterical woman outside. She then returned to the disturbing scene.
Rykk then started to wander deeper into the structure.
Leo asked, "Where you going Rykk?"
"Found a blood trail…" he said as he followed it. "I figured," he said a second later. Ratchet, Leo, and Atlas followed him. Rykk was staring at a dark wall.
"It's too dark," Ratchet said.
"Leo, some light please?" Rykk asked.
Leo held his hand out and Ratchet jumped as a ball of shining, purple energy came out of Leo's hand.
This day just keeps getting better and better. Ratchet thought sarcastically.
The light from the plasma ball revealed a blood drawing on the wall.
It was Calamity's symbol.
This is horrible, Ratchet thought, this Calamity is going to die. He's going to go slowly to, like these victims did, like we were going to. It's what he deserves.
"That monster…" Talwyn said before she place a hand over her mouth and looked away.
Sly joined Ratchet, Rykk, and Leo in looking at the symbol. "What does this symbol mean?"
"It simply means Calamity, like this…" Rykk pointed to his chest. The triangular symbol did glow a bright, deep purple against his sable chest. "…means Rykk." Rykk looked around, his pupils glowing yellow. "Calamity's long gone by now. That slippery, murdering psychopath is gone!" Rykk yelled in great frustration. At the same time, there was a flash of black and purple energy from his body. He had to step outside, it took him a minute to calm down.
"So what are we gonna do about the bodies?" Sly asked.
"We'll have Bones scan the bodies and ID them." Leo ordered. "We'll notify their families. Once Bones is done, he'll contact the necessary people. You guys go to bed. We'll be done here soon and set up watch shifts."
"How did you create that ball of energy?" Ratchet asked Leo.
Leo sighed, "Simply put, I'm a Dragon. A super-solider, that can create and manipulate plasma and lightning; I can tell you more later. And tomorrow we'll get you guys armed and moving."
At that, the group left.
As they did, they passed Bones and Clank entering the scene. "Clank," Bones said, "Let's get to work."
"This is awful, who would do something like this?" Clank asked both Bones and Leo. At that time only Leo and the two A.I.s were in the room.
Bones shot a blue line and began scanning the bodies, "It was Calamity." Bones finished scanning and looked at Leo, "Thank you Leo; you may go back to the inn. When finished, I will alert the proper authorities."
Leo nodded and left the structure.
"This is typical of Calamity's MO; messy, stab wounds meant to inflict as much pain as possible without killing, that means these poor souls were alive when he cut them up." Bones hovered over to the torso of the human female, "Look, some of the cuts are different, less precise and jagged. That indicates that they were taken and attacked by one of his puppets. Now, I want you to scan the bodies and then get a DNA sample from the lombax. Find out who he is, I'll give you a copy of my records. I'll find out about the human."
Clank then did his own scan; a glowing green line ran across the grisly scene. Finished, he hovered down to the severed arm of the lombax. He extended a robotic arm and got a hair sample. He took it and put it into a slot on the side of his device. He activated his internal scanner and felt a rush of information flood his mind.
Clank jumped a little as a voice echoed in his mind. "Hey, it's Bones, sorry if I scared you, forgot to teach you about our "Instrumental Telepathy" if you will. You can use it to communicate through machines; I'll teach you more later. Anyways, I'm about to upload my civil records to you."
"Uh, thanks, is there anything else I need to learn?"
"Probably, for now let's just focus on this. The upload will feel, odd. You might want to brace yourself."
"Um, ok… ack!" The thousands, no millions of faces, names, and identities flashed through Clank's mind at dizzying speed. He saw each and every one in the space of ten seconds. The amount of data felt like it was going to drive him crazy. Once it ceased, he felt such relief.
That is until the DNA scanner dumped its data into his mind. Using that data, he began to cross-check the new database of info. His holographic eyes were closed and his face showed great tension and focus. "…Randall Arbelos, age 24, single, dead father, alive mother, worked in a Valkyrie processing center, has a roommate, and a hurt shoulder."
"The woman is Harriet Adler, age 27, married, no kids, both parents dead, and worked as a secretary." Bones stated.
"What next?" Clank asked, though he was pretty sure what the answer was.
"We notify the mortician, the Law Men, and the victims' families." Bones said grimly, "Don't worry about the last one; I won't put you through that. I've done it too many times to count. I'll give you the mortician's contact information and the Law Men. Notify them."
Clank asked, "The Law Men?"
"They are physically enhanced law enforcement. Contact them," Bones uploaded the contact info to Clank.
So, the gang has had an interesting/fun/disturbing night.
Had fun with this chapter (most of it, the ending was a bit dark but then again, the story will be as well.) and hope you did reading it.
Stay tuned for the next one!