A/N: Bad news, everyone. My friend, Some Random Tosser is retiring from beta reading this story, so I'm on my own for now. If anyone would like to help beta read this story, please send me a PM if you would like to help. Anyway, here is Chapter 19 with Ratchet and Clank in it.
Chapter 19: The Battle of Mudus Gate: Part 2 of 3: The Lombax and Robot: Of Those We Bond With
The party finally arrived at a town called Foothill Town, it was a small village near the Kaystros Mountains.
"Finally, we made it to a village! And we met some some beautiful babes during our journey here." Daxter sighed in relief as he hopped off of Jak's shoulder and was about to walk towards an inn till Chris grabbed him by the tail.
Chris was up in Dax's face and growled "Call us babes again and I'll make a skin fur coat out of you..." Daxter gulped and nodded vigorously as Chris dropped him, making him fall flat on his face.
"All we need to do now is to formulate a plan. Perhaps one of our own can provide a clue on the upcoming battle at Mudus Gate." Vert pointed out.
Leo turned to Elaine and asked her "Elaine, how many troops remain at Mudus Gate?"
Elaine begin to think about it for about 30 seconds until she calculated "It is intended to house two regiments at all times, but at the moment, I believe there is only one. Largen's 2nd Legion defends Mudus Gate. He had planned to send his 2nd Legion and three additional regiments to Zelzagun Fortress. I do not know if has stayed true to his plan, but he most likely brought his 2nd Legion to Zelzagun."
Winfield crossed his arms in thought and pointed out "Which would leave Mudus Gate empty, but I doubt we will be so lucky."
"At least one regimentt was assigned to this attack on the Frontier." Elaine smirked.
Zerva asked "This was the regiment you brought with you?"
Elaine nodded and stated "In part, I brought on a siingle battalion- there should be nearly a full regiment at Mudus Gate."
Winfield frowned and said "Then this sortie may be more challenging than I had hoped. Our enemy is in a impregnable stronghold with several times our numbers. It seems the odds are against us."
Leo shook his head no with a smile and stated "Perhaps not. If they are but reserve troops, they are likely undisciplined. With Elaine and Largen gone, they will have no regimental commanders."
Elaine nodded in agreement and added "Leo is right. Only the battalion commanders are there now. There were none fit enough to fill the role of regimental commander, so I was the one put in charge."
Neptune's eyes glittered and said excitedly "Maybe they'll still listen to you since you're the top cheese at Mudus Gate for now."
Elaine chuckled nervously and said "Yes, some will lay down arms at my command. I do not wish to fight them."
Zerva glared at Elaine, unconvinced by saying "I cannot help but wonder if that is your true intention."
Elaine reassured him by saying "No matter how clever a plan a we hatch, they have far more soldiers." Elaine turned to Leo and asked "Please, Leo, let me talk to them."
Leo pondered about it for about a minute and answered "We have little choice, If we can avoid bloodshed, I would prefer to do so. Will you talk to them, Elaine?" Leo smiled softly at the female general, causing her to blush.
"Y-Yes. Of course." Elaine stuttered shyly.
Fyuria was a little peeved about this and remarked "You forgot these are men of low rank. Their primary concern is the opinion their superiors have of them. They will be too concerned about being punished for their mistakes to make the right decision. If we had a larger force, perhaps it could work, but I suspect this plan will serve only to endanger us."
"The young lady has a point." Winfield nodded in agreement with Fyuria. "If they see our army, we lose any element of surprise. It is an all-or-nothing gamble, but then, what about our campaign has been anything else?" Winfield theorized.
Fyuria frowned and abruptly looked away and muttered "Do as you will. I am not the commander, after all." Elaine was silent as she bashfully looked away.
Leo cleared his throat and said "There is far too much we are unsure of. Once we know more of the situation at Mudus Gate, we will make our decision. For now, we will rest here, and make for Mudus Gate when our preparations are complete."
"Right." Everyone nodded in agreement as they head towards the largest inn in Foothill Town.
That night, Renee had a dream...
The dream shows her walking towards a cafe with the blue haired girl she yelled at in her previous dream.
"Say Renee?" The blue haired girl looked at Renee with a smile.
"Hmm?" Renee looked at the blue haired girl with a calm look.
"Have you ever thought of finding a boyfriend that is right for you?" The blue haired girl asked, looking at the sky as the two of them stopped walking.
"Uh..." Renee looked away bashfully. "Y-You know... I haven't even thought of that, since I was busy being a Mew Mew and all." The wolf girl stuttered in embarrassment.
The blue haired girl giggled excitedly and said "Well, once we have time, I'll find you a cute boyfriend that is right for you!"
Renee gave a small chuckle and replied with "Thanks, Corina. I will enjoy it. Who knows, the boyfriend you may set me up with may be the one..."
Before the dream can continue, Renee woke up in the middle of the night because of a loud noise.
Renee yawned as she stood up from her bed and checked the window. The moon was shining down on the town. But that wasn't the reason Renee woke up for. She sees Houki training with her wooden sword, hitting a dummy she may have set up.
Curious, Renee exited her room and left the inn as she went to the area Houki was in.
Houki let out a "ARRRGHHHH!" while striking the dummy with all her might, it's a miracle that she didn't wake up the whole town with that. Panting heavily, she wiped some sweat from her forehead and sighed in relief.
"Training by yourself, eh?" Renee's voice asked casually. Alarmed, Houki turned to face Renee who was staring at her with a soft smile.
"Oh it's you..." Houki sighed in relief again as she and Renee stared at one another. "What are you doing here?" She asked.
"I woke up due to your training in the middle of the night. So I decided to watch." Renee shrugged.
"..." Houki continued to stare at Renee for about 30 seconds till she asked "Tell me what kind of person Leonhardt is..."
"You still don't trust Leo, huh?" Renee raised an eyebrow in humor before sighing and adding in "He's a good leader. In fact, he's the only one who can end the war on the Frontier."
"What makes you say that? How did Leonhardt acquired powers no normal man would ever achieve?" Houki asked skeptically.
"According to Leo, he's bound by a contract he made with Dyshana after she brought him back from the brink of death. He made it because he wanted to protect Ellis." Renee looked up to see the moon in the bright night sky accompanied by stars that may be worlds, who knows?
"Oh..." Houki looked down, desponded. She looked up at Renee's perspective and asked "How... exactly did Leonhardt come back from death's door after he was revived by this Dyshana?"
"He was killed by a guy named Melchior who plotted the fall of his family's royalty. He used a powerful evil minion of Summerill called the Dark Knight. That is why Leo is still alive and all. He used the power Dyshana gave to him to redeem himself for the crimes he committed while he was a general of Gridamas. He helped a lot of people, including Fyuria and her brother Zerva. That's why me and others are following him, to end Summerill's evil." Renee looked at Houki with a smile.
"I see..." A smile came about Houki's face. "You know... my respect for him has grown since you told me about him. Thank you, Renee." Houki bowed lightly in gratitude.
"Anytime. Come on, let's head back to the inn before we catch our deaths in the cold night." Renee suggested, Houki nodded and the two of them went to bed.
The next morning, the party set out for Mudus Gate, after awhile, they rested at Trosia Highland. It was there a event took place.
Elaine was using a pot to put some things in it. She stopped to think about what to do next.
"Should I put this in? ...Or perhaps this one..." Elaine shook her head no with a cute smile and turned to another ingrediant. "No, this one for sure..."
Leo was suverying the area till he smelled something. He turned to the source and saw Elaine cooking something.
"This smell... Elaine, what are you doing?" The Spirit Vessel asked as he walked up to the female general.
Elaine noitced Leo, smiled and said "I am practicing my cooking. I was never allowed in the kitchen- cooking was the maid's job. I thought I'd try my hand." Elaine smiled even more and offered "Would you care for a taste?"
Leo closed his eyes and smiled and replied with "I would love one. Here goes..." Leo used the fork to bite down on Elaine's dish, suddenly, his eyes turned into small white dots and he suddenly didn't feel so good.
'Th-This feeling... I have felt it before, on the battlefield... As though death stands beside me...' Leo thought to himself as he did his best to resist the urge to vomit.
Elaine looked at Leo with concern and asked "Is there something amiss? You needn't be shy. Or perhaps you do not..."
Leo held his hand to stop Elaine and with a weak smile, he stuttered "N-No. I just remembered that I had already eaten... Well, here goes..." Leo, shaken and trembling used his fork to take another bite of whatever the dish Elaine made, once again, he felt sick. He dropped his plate and it shattered into many pieces, the food was embedded on the ground, Leo's face turned green.
"What is it?!" Elaine shouted in concern as she looked at Leo with a worried expression.
Leo clutched his stomach and spluttered "Elaine, wh-what... What did you put in this?"
Elaine put her pinky on her chin, looked up and replied "Nothing that strange... How does it taste?"
Leo was getting sicker and greener by the minute, he gasped out "Taste? I suppose I should... be honest..."
Elaine nodded and said seriously "Of course. If I am to fix any mistakes, I must have your full, unadulterated opinion."
With all his might, he was resisting the urge to vomit. "Well, in that case... It is... well... a very creative and innovatived dish..."
Luckily, Elaine was understandable and she said "I knew it. It is terrible, isn't it? I have prepared several other dishes. Perhaps one of them will be better?" Elaine picked up a plate with food that doesn't look edible.
A huge sweat drop appeared on the back of Leo's head and he muttered "Well, I, ah... I... I think I hear Winfield calling me! Perhaps I can try them next time, Elaine!"
Elaine closed her eyes and smiled and said "Then, I shall have to try harder next time. Promise me you will try my cooking again, won't you?"
Leo nodded weakly with a weak smile as he rushed towards somewhere.
We cut to Leo vomiting near a tree (The puking scene is censored, so don't worry about it).
Leo panted heavily as he turned around and leaned on a tree while sitting down, catching his breath and letting his strength recover.
"I... pray to the gods that Elaine's cooking will be better next time... If she doesn't improve and I tried one of her food again, I will die again... Oh gods..." Leo sighed in relief.
Suddenly, Leo's senses begin to act up, now fully recovered from that ordeal, he stood up and peaked his head to see something that intrigued him.
It was a strange metalic vessel with wings and some sort of top with glass on it. He saw that the vessel also has weaponary he has never seen before. He inducted that it must be from another universe or something.
Curious, he slowly walked up to the vessel and got near it. He sees the wings of the vessel has a symbol that looked like a wrench. Wrenches haven't been invented yet, but still, his curiousity wants to know how adavnced this vessel is.
Suddenly, he heard a "YAAAAHHHH!" Alarmed, Leo unsheathed his sword and blocked what looked like a larger wrench but much more futuristic.
The owner happens to be what looked like a huge humanoid cat like creature with ears and a lion's tail and wear brown high tech clothes. He also has a orange amulet with a ruby on his right arm.
Leo and the creature mimick each other's attack patterns till the creature shouted "Who the heck are you?! Did you come to steal my ship?!"
"I mean you no harm! If I was trying to steal your vessel, I wouldn't jump to conclusions like that!" Leo tried to reason with the creature. Leo also added "Besides, I have never seen a ship like that in my life!"
Suddenly, to Leo's surprise, the ship spoke with "He is right, Ratchet. He was just curious about my design."
That worked as the one called Ratchet lowered his weapon and felt guilt for attacking someone he thought was trying to steal his ship.
"You're... You're right, Aphelion. Sorry about that, Mister..."
"Leonhardt Raigan. But calle me Leo." Leo smiled as he held his hand, offering a handshake.
"I'm Ratchet. I'm a Lombax." Ratchet smiled as he took Leo's hand and shook it.
It was then a small metaltic man of some sort with green eyes and a small red attenna on its head came into appearance.
Ratchet chuckled and pointed to the metalic creature "And this robot is my best bud, Clank."
The one called Clank looked at Leo and said politely "Please to meet your aquritance, sir."
"S-Same here..." Leo smiled meekly, and then he went back to his serious look and turned to the two and said "I take it you two are wondering where you are. It's not safe here with monsters or enemy soldiers or the undead minions of the Demon King Summerill. ...Is it alright if we take a ride on your vessel?"
To be continued...
Next chapter: The Battle of Mudus Gate: Part 3 of 3: Of Vandreads and Tensions: To Fight a Former Comrade.
A/N: The action is about to heat up in the final part of the Mudus Gate arc, so don't miss it!