AuthorsNote: I bet a few of you are wondering why there has been such a quick update? Well, the answer if a huge bolt of inspiration, powered by the announcement, and following two hours of Watching gameplay footage of the next Ratchet and Clank game All 4 One. Plus picking up the New Ratchet and Clank Comic. OMG its great. That, and well, reading this from the Insomniac News letter "And one tidbit from the PAX Panel: Can you say "Sasha"? We brought her back!" WOOTS THEY ARE BRING BACK SASHA! -Is a Sasha fan obviously- So yea, all and all its a great fuel for the inspiration train. Which has been chugging rather hard in response, so, without further rambling I give you Chapter 15: Stella's Training
"We're going to start out simple." Ratchet continued
"Simple how?" Stella asked as she walked up to them.
"Well...A race to the other side of the room while the floor changes sounds good."
Stella looked out as the floor began to resemble a battle filed, some of it puffy others filed with craters as the tiles sunk in on themselves. She glanced back up at her dad and grinned "You're on" She said with a laugh and took off with her dad in pursuit.
Stella stopped laughing and focused on running, leaping over pits in the floor and dogging around mounds, she tripped when a pit appeared underneath her foot right as she stepped on and she had to cart wheel her arms and roll to keep her speed. She glanced to her left as she saw her dad leap onto a mound and jump off of it over a pit, and her, to land in front and keep running.
She let out a groan and put on an added burst of speed, to try and catch up to him. Before she was halfway there though she started getting winded and finally touched the wall where Ratchet was waiting walking and breathing slightly hard.
"Not bad."
Stella looked up at her Father "That...was...horrible...you beat...me here...by at least...five minutes."
"True, but for a 12 year old, that's pretty impressive."
Stella smiled and turned to locate Sky and her mom. Ratchet shook his head "They went to a different place, Sky can run just fine, Your mother is going to brush up on some of his other skills."
"So...I'm being trained in running?"
Ratchet nodded slowly "That, and this too" he said pulling out a large silver wrench from behind his back. Stella's eyes got wide as Ratchet leaned the wrench on the wall next to her, the thing was a big as she was.
"This is the Omni-Wrench 3000 series, Old, But sturdy, and what I originally used to save our home planet."
Stella's eyes got a little bit wider at this "You used this, and you want me to use it?"
Ratchet nodded "Yes, I started using it when I was about your size, so I figure your old enough for it."
Stella reached out and wrapped a hand around bottom of the wrench, her hand barely closed around it. She lifted and stepped back when she realized it was a lot lighter then it looked. Still heavy, but defiantly liftable. She hoisted it high in the air and swung it side to side a few times. She looked up at her dad he had a darker wrench in his hand and was pointing out to the field.
"Ready to give it a try?" he asked, Stella turned around and saw several of the tiles getting taller.
"Smack those to bring them down."
Stella nodded and bracing the wrench on her shoulder took off for the mounds, jumping up and bring the wrench off her shoulder and down on top of the mound with a mighty smash. She raised her head to look around at her and glanced back at her dad "How was that?"
Ratchet chuckled before drawing his arm back and throwing his Wrench across the room to hit a mound next to her. She gasped as it hit the mound and then bounced back spinning through the air to land back in her fathers palm.
"That was cool" She looked down at her wrench "How did you do that, Magnets?"
Ratchet laughed and walked over to her "Partly, I'll show you later alright?" He tapped her wrench "For now this thing is just that, a wrench, but as we go along with the training I'll start activating some of the things that I've added on over the years."
Stella looked doubtfully at the wrench in her hand "This thing can do more?"
Ratchet nodded "You'll see"
Stella grinned "So, what else can this thing do then?" she asked hefting the wrench onto her shoulder.
"Well...If you can put more of these mounds down then me, I might just activate the Magnetic Ability on it." Ratchet said spinning his wrench around, while glancing out over the floor where there were 50 or so mounds all popping up. "What do you say?"
Stella grinned and took off towards the nearest mound yelling over her shoulder "I say you better catch up slow-poke"
Ratchet grinned and chased off after his daughter, who had already put down two mounds and was working on another three. Ratchet diverted to the left towards a cluster of five and swept two down with one swing and brought the other three down with a follow up. The tiles he had deactivated glowed red, he turned to glance at Stella and felt his eyes go wide as she already had fifteen tiles changed to her red.
"Whoa" he couldn't help but let out, before he back flipped through the air and brought his wrench down in a comet strike the dropped six more. Stella meanwhile was having the time of her life, she found that by starting off spinning she could wrap both of her hands around the wrenches handle and turn into a little whirling tornado of damage. She brought ten more down this way and brought her score up to 25, while Ratchet threw his wrench to smack another one that brought his to 25 as well. He glanced as Stella as she stopped spinning and held her head for a moment before looking for the last mound.
Both her and Ratchet spotted at the same time and took off for it, Ratchet and Stella laughing as they realized that it was another race, to see who got to it first. Ratchet had just resolved not to throw his wrench when Stella began spinning, one, two, three, four times, and on the fifth revolution she let her wrench fly. It soared straight as an arrow into the mound and turned it glowing red as it sunk into the ground.
Stella kept spinning till she lost her footing and fell on her butt with an grunt, hands cradling her head while she waited for the room to right itself. She blinked a few times and shook her head gently to steady her vision. When it settled she glanced up into her dads face who was crouched over next to her chuckling softly.
"Unexpected, left you vulnerable, but that was one heck of a throw there Stella" he said holding out the wrench to her. She grabbed it and he pulled her up before letting go, she waved it side to side a few times before settling it on her shoulder again.
"So about that Magnetic ability.." she started.
"I suppose I did say..." Ratchet trailed off like Stella
"You did"
Ratchet chuckled "Alright, on one condition though, you need to agree to run the room on active mode after I'm done teaching you."
Stella looked out over the room "Active mode? Is that like when we raced?"
Ratchet shook his head "Nope, that was Mild, Active the room try's to actively stop you from reaching the other side."
Stella studied the room "Just the tiles right?"
"Yea, of course."
She turned back to her dad and held out her hand "You're on then."
Ratchet laughed and instead of shaking her hand pulled a glove out of his quickwatch and tugged it over her hand. Stella looked at the large brown leather glove for a moment before pulling it tighter on her. The finger grips were a little big, and it was loose and went down to her elbow, but somehow, she just liked it anyway.
"Whats this for?" she asked
Ratchet leaned down and tapped the back of the glove and Stella twisted her hand around to see a small blue chip embedded in the back. He face brightened.
"Is this what activates the magnet?" she asked tapping it, half a second later though her own question was answered when she heard a voice in her head.
"Activating HelpDesk Software, system boot load please stand by..."
"Uh...Dad? I'm hearing voices"
Ratchet looked at the glove before he tapped the chip again and the voice in her head faded out "Sorry, that's the HelpDesk software I had a long time ago, I thought I had shut it off. Sorry about that, little weird hearing it in your head huh?"
She nodded "Yea, So, why this glove?"
"Because, that's my old Wrench, and that's my old glove, wired with the circuits that guide the Omni Wrench back towards me. Plus its always nice to have some padding."
"And the Magnetic ability?" Stella asked as she held the wrench in front of her.
"Like this" Ratchet said prying the grips of the Wrench apart till the opened and looked like a normal wrench. There was a small click and she felt something in the glove vibrate gently.
"Now, with me" Ratchet said lifting his Wrench up and bring his arm back "I just throw" he proved his point by bringing his arm forward and sending the wrench spinning out. "The important thing, is to throw the wrench side ways and with a spin, this is what activate the magnetic ability's in it to grab stuff around it and bring them back to you."
"Also to keep your arm out as that's what helps guide the wrench back to you. Pull your arm in" Ratchet did so and the wrench stopped spinning on its way back and dropped to the ground. "You lose connection." He held his arm out and the wrench dragged across the floor to snap up into his glove "If you're close enough you can do that, other wise you have to get it yourself"
Stella braced both of her hands on the wrench and began a spin "Like this?" she asked sending the wrench spinning out with her arm extended palm out. The wrench whistled as it spun threw the air, going rather farther then Ratchets throw, it reached its limit and began to swing back towards Stella.
"Alright, now brace, this may sting the first time." Stella widened her stance and braced her outstretched right arm with her left. The Wrench came swishing back and smacked home right into Stella's palm and she closed her arm around the hilt, her arm jerking back and falling on her butt again from the impact. Stella shook her arm once, shifting the wrench to her other hand.
"Cool" she said as she got her legs beneath her. "Also yes, it did sting." she said shaking her hand again.
Ratchet laughed and stepped back to the wall pulling out a remote "Alright, I showed you how, ready to give the room a run?"
Stella nodded, placing her Wrench against the wall, while Ratchet pressed some buttons. Stella looked out across the room and when nothing happened turned back to her dad.
"Well?"
Ratchet shook his head "It's active, its waiting for you to run across."
"Oh" Stella faced the room again and got ready to run.
"3, 2, 1, GO!" Ratchet shouted waving his arm down like a race announcer.
Stella took off running and watched as a tile raised up in front of her, she ducked around the side and dived over a pit as a tile sank underneath her feet. She rolled up and pulled herself onto another tile that raised, and jumped over two more pits as the tile sank back to the ground. She rolled and felt the ground drop out from beneath her, and tried to right her self but fell into the pit that the tiles formed, she tried to grab the tops but there was nothing to grip.
"Well, if Sky can do it." she muttered to herself as she braced her legs and bounced up against one wall of the pit, when she hit she placed her palms on the wall for a moment and used that to push off the wall her legs giving her the extra power she needed to grab the top of the tile as it tried to raise further out of her reach. She locked a hand on the edge though and pulled her self up over the side. As the tiles started to sink again, Stella rolled to her feet and sprang off the tile to roll across the floor and jump up and over another tile only to slap her hand against the far wall to stop her movements.
She took a breather for a few minutes before turning to face her dad, who was walking across the room as all the tiles sank into the ground.
"That, was impressive Stella, I thought that pit had you for a moment but you surprised me." He walked up and held out the wrench to her "Here, this is yours now, you've certainly proved that you can use it."
Stella looked at the wrench in surprised for a moment before taking it with a smile. "Mine" she said softly. Rubbing the hilt with her ungloved hand, she traced a small mark on the handle. Seeing her hand the reminded her.
"Hey dad, Can I have the other glove?"
Ratchet looked confused for a moment before he pulled the other glove out from behind him "Sure, I don't see any harm in it."
She caught the glove and pulled it on over her other hand "I can keep these too right?"
Ratchet nodded, "Yea, until I get you fitted for your own gloves, go ahead."
Stella grinned, a list already forming in her mind of the stuff she would need to complete the plan that was developing.
"Thanks, mind if I go back to my room now?"
"Want to use that Wrench already eh?" he asked raising an eye-arch.
"Yea."
Ratchet rolled his eyes "Alright, off to you're room then, I'll check in with you're brother and mother."
-Stella's Room, Phoenix, Three days Later-
Stella pulled down the goggles over her eyes while she fused two more circuits together, this was harder then it looked considering one of her arms was encased in the harness she was wiring the circuits onto. She glanced back to the readout of her Fathers gloves on screen, noting placement of the wires.
"Now the really tricky part" She said, reaching for her Fathers glove she gently wiggled a piece of metal under the Helpdesk chip and pried it out of the glove, making sure not to rip the connections. Holding it under a microscope she examined it for damage and satisfied she had removed it correctly she began to fuse it on the harness her hand was in, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth in concentration.
As the sparks flew she heard her door slide open, she didn't look since this late at night it was just Sky. He started coming in to talk about their training that they had been going through.
"Hey" he said softly as he threw himself onto her bed, dropping the package he was carrying on the floor
"Mmm" was all she said as more sparks cascaded onto the table.
"Going to tell me what you're doing yet?" he asked
"Mmm-mm" she mumbled still focused on the glove.
"Close to finishing it...whatever it is?"
Stella gave him her attention finally "Yep" she said with a quick nod as smoke rose gently from her welds. "Did you bring the stuff I asked for?"
Sky reached down and poked the package he dropped, Stella reached over and grabbed it, putting it on the work bench.
"Don't really know why you wanted that particular leather, but I hope its good enough."
Stella held up the black leather in front of her light and gave an experimental pull. "Perfect Sky, thanks. Its what I needed and just enough too."
Sky just shook his head and muttered "Girls" under his breath. He got the empty box thrown on top of his head as a result.
"Hey" he grumbled as he stood up and put the box back on the floor "Anyway, I see you're still busy, so, I'll see ya in the morning."
Stella just waved a vague hand over her shoulder, finally freed from the harness. Sky rolled his eyes and closed the door behind him.
"Just wait" she though to herself "This is going to be great"
-Phoenix, Mess Deck, One Week later-
Sky Ratchet and Sasha sat down at an empty table and began to eat their breakfast, Sasha looking around for Stella.
"Sky, where is your sister?"
"She'll be down, she said she was getting dressed when I knocked on her door."
Sasha looked at Ratchet "Well I hope she gets down here soon, she'll miss breakfast."
Sky who was drinking from a glass of milk snorted suddenly and spit out his milk coughing.
"Sky whats wrong?" Sasha asked reaching over the table to pat his shoulder.
"Stell" He coughed "Turn round, you've got to see " more coughs "This"
Sasha felt her face scrunch up as she turned around, Ratchet swiveled around in his seat and was studying his daughter with an amused expression.
Stella had just walked into the room, dressed in knee high brown boots, she was wearing a light grey jumpsuit that had a piece of black leather running half way up her left leg. The top of her was covered with a purple shirt, that ran down into and fused with a belt that ran across her back, holding a brace against her form with the Omni-Wrench in it. She had her pony tail pulled back and hung down her left shoulder, a black band holding it place. It covered a leather shoulder pad that was bolted down onto to a secondary harness that could be traced underneath her shirt where more padding was visible joining up with another pad on her right. Instead of Ratchets gloves that she asked for she was wearing slightly thicker, but sleek black gloves that ran up to her elbows. On the back of the left handed glove there was a small blue chip that looked like...
"Hey...is that my..."
Stella finished getting her food and came over to sit down at the table. Sasha studying her and Ratchet looking at her gloves. From the left one, with the Helpdesk chip in it, there was a small cord that trailed up her arm and underneath her shoulder guards to rest with an ear bud that was nestled in the point of her ear. Ratchet traced the wire with a finger and she giggled when he reached her ear.
"Wired it into an ear bud?" he asked. She nodded, and looked at him somewhat shyly.
"Well...what do you think?" she asked.
Sasha shook her head in disbelief and voiced a question "Where did you get that?"
Stella giggled again "I made it, Sky helped me by getting some of the leather. I couldn't afford it all with out him."
Sasha looked at him "You knew she was making this?"
Sky shook his head, still studying his sister. "Nuh-uh, I just got the leather for her."
"Are you mad?" Stella asked suddenly.
Ratchet shook his head and studied her a bit more "Me, I'm not, rather proud in fact" He rubbed a finger along one of her gloves and felt the metal in them. "Reinforced?" He asked
She nodded "Yea, to help me wiled the wrench and throw it too." She held out a gloved hand for him to look at "I also reinforced the right glove and gave it a small motor system attached to a power pack at its base. When I activated it I squeezed a spare piece of pipe closed. I figure it would work if worse came to worst."
Ratchet nodded "So you're thinking combat then, I dunno about the outfit as armor, but the gloves definitely work. If you pull me on this we can see about reinforcing the whole thing so that it could be armor, and wearable too."
"You want to help me, and you're asking?"
Ratchet chuckled "Sure, I want to help, if this is for combat I can give it a once over, plus there's the brains from behind a mechanic. Of course I'm asking as well, this is your project, not mine."
"So you approve then?"
Ratchet nodded "I already said that, but yes I do."
Stella turned to face her mom a worried look on her face "Mom...?"
"Well, Ill be honest, Part of me wanted to know you were doing this, part is worried that it wont be enough." Stella looked down and Sasha put a finger under her chin and lifted it to her eye level "But you know what? All of me is proud that you did this by yourself. Its a great outfit Stella, and with you're Fathers backing, I'm sure you could turn it into an armor set for you." she winked at her daughter "Then maybe design something for Sky too."
"Hey, I don't want any Purple"
Stella faked a pout "But then we won't match Sky, and I already laid out such awesome plans too."
Ratchet and Sasha laughed as a Ranger ran up to the table and saluted.
"Yes what is it?" Sasha asked.
"Sirs, we have a development, it appears a small Fire-Lord squad has appeared on the far side of this sector, and the Planet below us is requesting support."
Ratchet and Sasha stood up, their faces hardened, they glanced at their kids "Stella, Armor or not, go to your room and close the door." Sasha ordered them.
"You too Sky" Ratchet added as he tapped his chest plate to turn on his armor and grabbed his helmet from the floor. He turned to Sasha "I'll go prep my fighter and head out with a Ranger force to assist while you bring the Phoenix around."
Sasha nodded as the kids got up and headed for the elevator.
Ratchet raised his wrist to his mouth "CR3, Prep for Battle, You're heading up the Space fight with me, sound the alarms and have all Rangers report to their stations."
"Yes sir"
The lights dimmed suddenly and flashed red twice before beginning to pulse, while a computer voice told everybody to report to their stations.
Ratchet grabbed Sasha and gave her a quick kiss "Stay safe" he said when he broke it.
Sasha ran a finger over his lips "You too Hotshot, you have a promise to keep to you're daughter."
"I won't break it" he replied running a hand down the side of her face and cupping her cheek. They eventually broke apart and Ratchet ran for the elevator, it opening and CR3 waving at him. Sasha looked at the Ranger next to her.
"Alright, to the Bridge, time to test some theories." She said heading for a different elevator, with the Ranger following.
Next Time, Sky's Training, Big surprise right? Also as a side note, I've decided to open Anonymous Reviews for this chapter as an experiment, I hope that all who read this but don't have an account are trust worthy enough not to flame. I'll take constructive crit of course, so we'll see if I leave it on.
Peace,
Emile