Alright, I'm back! Again, not much when it comes to the amount of words I've written these past few weeks, I really should put more time and effort into this.
Reviews:
Max Chronicle: "Sweet music man, (still haven't played Undertale though)
Anyway, some high leveled buttkicking is on the way. BRING IT SNAGGLEBEAST! I"M GOING TO SEND MY SWAMP FLIES ON YOU!
This is going to get shiz very quickly and I hope Hypernova is on the uh... and there goes the song. (Clicks repeat) :) Go get 'em guys!
Max out."
You haven't? Ooh, shame! It's only ten dollars, can be run with stone-age hardware and I can guarantee you'll enjoy it.
Yeah, that scene from GC. Good memories, good memories.
You'll see soon enough how this scene plays out! Enjoy!
rst64tlc: "Megalovania, I love that song! Can't wait for Hyper gets is hands on Qwark."
I love it too, it's one of my favorites! Anyhow, I hope you'll enjoy this way overdue chapter!
Ratchet quickly shot forward using Clank's Heli-Pack to avoid a swing of the Snagglebeast's arm that had the purpose of knocking the two heroes into the lava surrounding the area. Ratchet had been running for his life for several minutes now, not having had the chance to counterattack.
Whilst running, Ratchet tried to grab his Combustor, only to realize in shock horror that his suit had stopped functioning. He was defenseless.
"Clank! I got no weapons!"
Clank frowned and stared at the Snagglebeast. The apparatus on the creature's head had been puzzling him. "Ratchet, I believe the Blarg are in control of the Snagglebeast, at least to some extent. They seem to be controlling him using that apparatus on the creature's head."
"Very interesting, pal. But, uh... do you also have something that could save our lives right now?" Ratchet said as he rolled under another swing of the Snagglebeast's arms.
"No, I do not. However, judging by the faces of the observing Blarg, how you are spotlessly dodging their prized experiment seems to frustrate them greatly. Keep dodging, and they might do something reckless."
"Got it." Ratchet said, panting. And true to Clank's word, after five minutes one of the Blarg got bored. "Initiating ground pound protocol."
The Snagglebeast's eyes lit up, and it began to slam his hands into the ground.
"What's it trying to accomplish?" Ratchet wondered out loud."
"Run!" Clank yelled, and Ratchet ran just in time. "The Snagglebeast is somehow using seismic shock waves to break the ground below you, causing lava to spray out."
"Oh, that's bloody great!" Ratchet said. "Now this bastard's got range too!"
"Initiating fire sweep protocol." One of the Blarg scientists said, clearly bored, before uploading even more data to the Snagglebeast's head. And suddenly, the Snagglebeast opened it's maw and spat a stream of fire. "What?! No way that's natural!" Ratchet yelled as he jumped over the fire.
"Indeed." Clank said. "This specimen seems to have been equipped with cybernetic enhancements."
"Oh, for crying out loud!"
"Ratchet, there is one flaw about Snagglebeasts, they are not very smart. If the Blarg upload too much data, it will overload it's brain."
Ratchet's eyes lit up. "That sounds like a plan."
He managed to dodge for five more minutes. "Argh, I'm tired of this!" One of the Blarg scientists said. Apparently they were so bored that they had forgotten to turn off the intercom. "Initiating charge attack."
The Snagglebeast suddenly sprinted forward, and Ratchet rolled out of the way just in time. However, the Snagglebeast's flaw made it's presence known as the beast charged right into the molten rock.
It let out a terrible screech as it jumped out immediately and clung to the girders supporting the roof.
"What?! That thing can fall into lava and just shrug it off?!" Ratchet cried out.
"We've lost control of the subject!" One of the Blarg cried out. As the Snagglebeast was in panic however, those small, green, four-legged alien creatures came swarming in. Ratchet grabbed his OmniWrench with both hands, and with wild swings he managed to keep the enemies at bay.
The Snagglebeast dropped down from the ceiling again. "Subject back under control. Keep an eye on those readings, Jim." one of the Blarg said to his colleague.
Another tedious game of dodging followed as the Snagglebeast squashed and burned the few remaining aliens in a fit of rage before going after the much more mobile target.
Ratchet rolled under a few swings before throwing his wrench at the Snagglebeast's face and catching it again.
The wrench scored a hit in the eye. Blinded, the creature began to swing it's arms around, while walking forward. Ratchet ran to the lava. "Hey smelly big doofus!" he yelled. "Over here!"
The Snagglebeast, as Ratchet had hoped, charged right at him, and in it's stupidity it had forgotten about the lava, charging right into it.
"Subject appears to have a fondness for falling into lava." one of the Blarg noted. "Jim, let's boost the neurotransmitters and see if we can add some IQ-points to this dim-wit."
As the Snagglebeast swung around the room in panic, more aliens flooded the area, including those brown, armored ones with very sharp teeth.
"Ratchet, you should not try to engage those aliens up close. You need range for this."
"Trust me, pal, I know." Ratchet said, jumping back as a nearby alien bit at him.
"Initiating cranial implant!"
Suddenly, a huge arm moved across the battlefield, sweeping everything into the lava. If it wasn't for Clank quickly engaging his Heli-Pack to boost Ratchet over the arm sent his way, they would've fallen into the lava as well.
Ratchet attempted to start dodging again, but the Snagglebeast definitely got smarter. It caught Ratchet in it's right hand and began to crush the Lombax.
Ratchet was struggling to breathe as the Snagglebeast held him above the lava. Ratchet could hear it bubble in anticipation.
Then the Snagglebeast opened his hand, and Ratchet fell with a loud yell.
Hypernova blasted through a glass window of the station at a high speed, slamming into the reactor core in the center of the room. Getting back up, he scanned the area for signs of Ratchet.
He noticed a few hairs lying on the platform. Picking them up, a quick DNA-analysis proved it to be Lombax DNA.
Turning around while activating bio-scanners, he noticed a few more hairs near a closed door. There were noises coming from within.
Hypernova blasted the door open and charged in. The air leak he made upon entering the station forced a local lockdown, thus a blast door slammed shut behind him nearly instantly.
Time froze as he saw Ratchet fall. Summoning all of his power, he charged forward, catching the Lombax in mid-air. Bouncing off the wall, he landed in the center of the room.
He let go of Ratchet before turning to the Snagglebeast towering over him. The Snagglebeast attempted to crush him. Two swords of energy formed in Hypernova's hands. Simply raising his arms, the sharp points quickly made the Snagglebeast reconsider.
"Ratchet, why aren't you unloading all of those weapons of yours on this guy already?" he yelled over his shoulder.
"My suit stopped working, and that includes the quick-select function."
Hypernova frowned under his helmet. "Strange." he mumbled as he created a shield to block a punch from the Snagglebeast.
Hypernova raised his left hand, and the lava suddenly shot up before it started to spin, turning the outer wall of the small arena into a fiery vortex.
The Snagglebeast attempted to throw another punch, and Hypernova dropped his shield. He simply stepped aside before creating a chain of energy around the creature's wrist.
"He's all yours." he yelled as he threw the Snagglebeast over his shoulder, slamming it into the ground in front of Ratchet. Said Lombax immediately began to hammer on the Snagglebeat's skull with his wrench.
"What now?" Ratchet yelled back as the Snagglebeast recovered.
"This is your fight." Hypernova said as he flew into the air before spreading his arms. A cyan-colored aura formed around him, before it began to swirl towards Ratchet. The second it touched the Lombax, Ratchet began to glow.
Ratchet felt his strength increase tenfold, he could focus extremely well, he could move much faster, and...
The Snagglebeast got closer, but was rewarded with a blast of energy in the face. Ratchet could control the cyan aura around him and force it into any desired shape.
And he was going to use that ability. Ratchet ran forward as he tightly grabbed his wrench with both hands.
The Snagglebeast punched him in the face, but Ratchet didn't even flinch. He didn't even feel it at all.
He responded by jumping into the air and releasing blow after blow with his OmniWrench until the Snagglebeast was too dazed to even register what was going on.
"Now!" Hypernova yelled, stopping the stream of aura and taking position next to Ratchet. "Let's finish this!"
They pointed the palms of their hands at the confused Snagglebeast before unleashing a blast of energy, Ratchet releasing any leftover aura while Hypernova used his dwindling energy reserves.
The energy output was so strong that the Snagglebeast got launched through the fiery vortex (the vortex vanished a second afterwards, the lava falling to the ground) into the observation area, and one of the Blarg scientists was shot through the window and landed ungracefully before the three heroes.
"I yield! I yield! Please, don't hurt me!" the Blarg yelled.
"Tell us what you know..." Ratchet said, panting. "Tell is what you..."
He took a few breaths. Clank stepped forward. "Tell us what you know about Drek's plans."
"I-I have this infobot!" the Blarg scientist stammered, dropping said robot.
"You watch this one, pal." Ratchet said. "I'm just gonna take five."
"I'm coming with you." Hypernova said. "I have just below 1% worth of energy left, if I do much more before recharging I'll fall like a brick."
While the two heroes walked out of the arena, Clank focused on the infobot as the Blarg scientist got the hell out of there.
The screen flashed to life, showing a green, slender, alien figure with an oversized, hairless head and two large ears. "Greetings, Blarg imbeciles!" the alien said with his high-pitched, scratchy voice. "If you're watching this infobot, it means you have been selected for the beta-trial of my latest invention. THE XK-81 JETPACK!" the alien shouted
"It had some issues at first, but I'm happy to announce that I have finally worked out all of the kinks! Now you can use it to traverse the skies, giving you an advantage over those morons on the ground! Come pick up yours at our base on Gaspar."
Clank walked out of the arena, regrouping with Ratchet and Hypernova. Both heroes were sitting on a stack of crates. "Hey, pal. What did you find?" Ratchet asked upon seeing the robot walk in.
Clank told them what he had seen.
"A jetpack?!" Ratchet cried out. "That's amazing!"
"A base on Gaspar..." Hypernova said, lost in thought. "That can't be good."
"What?" Ratchet asked.
"Gaspar is a volcanic planet. Over half of the surface is molten rock. It's like sticking your head inside an oven. No, without proper gear you'd dehydrate in a matter of minutes."
Then Hypernova noticed something. "Ratchet, why are you sweating?"
"Because it was bloody hot in there and I had to run?"
"You could feel the heat?"
"Yeah, the suit's functions were down, remember?"
"Yes, but the material that the suit is made of was specifically designed to reflect heat from the wearer despite a lack of power. Add to that, the Protosuit I designed would never shut itself down all of a sudden."
"You designed?" Ratchet asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, I designed it for you together with Elaris. Speaking of your suit, could you show me your arm for a moment?"
Ratchet did as he was told. Hypernova took a good look at the plating. The light reflected by the surface of the armor only further supported his theory.
He slowly grabbed some of the plating, and pulled it off with ease. "This isn't double-layered titanium with an extra Raritanium alloy, and whatever that is, it sure as hell isn't Troglosaur skin! This is plastic! This suit has absolutely zero damage reduction!"
"Oh." Ratchet said, ears lowering a little. "So that's why stuff still hurt that much."
Hypernova let out a growl and slammed his fist into the wall. "Damn it!"
"Hey, calm down!"
Hypernova sighed, and nodded. "Gotcha. I'll make a new protosuit for you, with my own hands this time. No way I'm gonna draw another blueprint only for the result to be ruined again. Judging by where we'll likely be heading soon, I might as well add some heat-reduction features."
As they stepped into a small shuttle, Clank hacked into the system to steer it to the hangar where their ship was currently parked, while Hypernova leaned against the wall. Ratchet, on the other hand, was trying to get in touch with Qwark. Finally the signal came through. "Captain, it's Ratchet. We've defeated the Snagglebeast."
"You did?! But that's im... pressive."
"We've also learned that the Blarg have a secret testing facility on planet Gaspar. Apparently they have been working on jetpacks."
Qwark gasped immediately. "I've always wanted one of those! If you can get one, Elaris can build a few more for the Rangers! I hereby assign you the, not-at-all-deadly mission of acquiring one jetpack! Captain Qwark must fly like a bird!"
"Got it." Ratchet said.
"The captain wants us to acquire a jetpack on Gaspar." Ratchet informed the others. "One is enough, Elaris can build a few more."
Hypernova hummed in thought. "But how are you going to use a jetpack? Yes, you have a hex-mount on your back, but that one was designed for Clank."
"Good point." Ratchet said. "Maybe Elaris can alter the design a little to turn it into an upgrade for Clank."
"Ooh!" Clank said. "That certainly sounds useful!"
"Well, off to Gaspar it is then. Give me one moment though." Hypernova said as they arrived back at the hangar. He walked into the airlock Clank had used earlier, and Ratchet and Clank watched him fly off from the hangar's large windows. He flew right at the nearest star.
"What is he doing?!" Ratchet wondered out loud.
"I do not know." Clank said. "I see no reason for approaching a star."
A few minutes later Hypernova returned. "Whew, that was refreshing." he said as he stepped out of the airlock.
"Refreshing?" Ratchet repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"This suit is light-charged. During our little trip to the hangar I had regained just enough energy to cover the distance to the nearest star, where I was able to use the intense light to recharge my suit to some extent. It's not fully charged, but it should be enough to do this."
Hypernova suddenly fired a beam of cyan-colored energy at Ratchet, and the Lombax found himself unable to move. When the light faded, he saw that he was wearing a new kind of armor.
It looked nearly identical to the suit he had been wearing, but instead of orange-blue it was silver, and reflective. And also a lot more heavy.
Hypernova hummed in thought. "I wonder, during your training back on Kerwan... then now, with your old suit shutting down all of a sudden... something was definitely very, very wrong with that Protosuit. I was already wondering why your aim had become this off all of a sudden, I saw you fight and you were fine. I supposed that it was a result of you having to get used to the suit's supporting functions, but I'm starting to have a rising suspicion that something else is going on here."
"What do you think?" Ratchet asked.
"I won't say until I have more evidence. For now, let's head to Gaspar. We've got a long trip ahead and Gaspar is a burning hellhole so we might as well get this over with as soon as possible. However, the instant we acquire a jetpack, we're going back to Kerwan to hand it over to Elaris, and I'll finally be able to teach you some tricks."
"Souds okay to me." Ratchet said.
"Alright then. There's one thing though, I'm all out of power, and I'm gonna need a lot of time to recharge fully. Can I hitch a ride?"
"How? There aren't enough seats!"
"I'll hold on to the wing."
"Are you insane?!"
"Relax, no matter what happens, I'll find you within an hour. Assuming that I even lose my grip, trust me, you won't be getting me off your wing that easily."
"Well..." Ratchet said. "I don't see any other way myself, besides, you came up with the idea of riding on the wing, but the more help we can get, the better, right Clank?"
The small robot nodded. "We could definitely use the assistance. Who knows what the Blarg have set up in advance. For all we know they could already be expecting us."
"Then it'd be rude to keep them waiting, right?" Hypernova said as he climbed onto the ship's right wing.
Ratchet and Clank climbed into the cockpit, and they flew off. Ratchet had no idea where he was going, but if what Hypernova said and what Clank had found on the holonet during the flight were true, then they would be in for a really bad time – boiling temperarures, meteors raining from above, radiation, the Blarg of course, and any hostile wildlife that could be present.
"Well..." he thought. "At least this time I've got some help."
Alright, let's hope chapter 9 will be up sooner. Happy 2017 to everyone by the way!
Also, if you're enjoying the story so far, please consider leaving a review below. It may not seem like much but they mean a lot to me, and they help keep me motivated.
Either way, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and (hopefully) see you in the next one!