(AN: These chapters are getting longer and longer I swear. Well then again, we are closing to the end of our adventure, so it's only natural.
Anyway, we're finishing up the waterfall area this chapter, along with that, we've got some creepy foreshadowing coming up. What could this mean for our heroes? Read and find out!)
I think a copyright goes here but I'm not sure... oh, I'm sure Sony won't be mad if I use these characters without putting a copyright.
A new room lay in front of Ratchet, Clank, Ico, and Yorda as they passed by the raised door. They walked across the stone walkway and into another room, which was quite dark as there were no open "windows", nor any light seeping into the room.
"So what do you suppose we do here?" asked Ratchet, looking around the room. "We have to start somewhere."
A lone ladder stood on the lower portion of the room as Ico noticed it. He ran over to it, calling out for the three. The horned boy began to climb on the ladder as a pipe connected to the wall was above Ico. He saw that there was a platform far away, and knowing he could jump without risking death, he knew he had to go across on the pipe.
"Hey, Ico! Watch out will ya?" Ratchet called out as Ico hung onto the pipe, moving to the left. Ratchet had to admit, Ico was very good at hanging onto the pipe despite the sword in his left hand. He moved onto the stone platform and climbed onto another pipe near the platform. After traversing across it, yet another stone platform with a pipe near it lay.
"Jeez, how many pipes are there in here? I don't remember seeing this place use plumbing before." Ratchet asked himself.
"Just imagine if the plumber back home saw these pipes." replied Clank.
"Then we really would get a case of plumber's crack."
Yorda turned her head in confusion. She had no idea what the horned boy's strange new friends were talking about, stuff such as a plumber and his crack she didn't understand.
After going onto the final platform, Ico saw that out the window, there was a ladder. Climbing on the open window, he climbed down on the ladder and heard the sound of rushing water.
At the end of the ladder, he took his hands off the steps and landed on the ground with an "oomph!" With the sound of owls and birds in the air, Ico walked around the large stone steps and to the other side, seeing a lever by the wall. He pulled it and as he did, the wooden door only a few feet away opened.
"Whoa!" Ico heard Ratchet say in surprise. Just as he was about to enter the room where the lombax, the robot, and the pale girl were waiting, something in a tree by him caught his eye.
"What is that?" Ico said to himself. He wacked on the tree with his sword as the object fell. It bounced on the floor as he recognized it, it was a ball. Seeing the ball however, gave Ico a flashback to his childhood.
TOSKA VILLAGE
The young children of the Toska Village were playing with a ball in the sandy fields of the village. They had finished their chores and had time to play. However a young boy, Ico, sat alone by the group of children, depressed knowing that they wouldn't let him play. He looked onto the ground as multiple shadows overcame him.
"Well well… it's the horned child." said the eldest boy of the group in the village's native tongue. "It's such a shame a freak like you can't play, all you would do is cause us misfortune!"
The kids laughed as Ico came close to tears. Since birth, he had been harassed by the adults and children of the village, due to him being the sacrifice for this generation.
"Why don't you get yourself sacrificed now? It makes it better so we don't have to see you!" said one of the girls. The children laughed again as the sacrifice buried his head in his legs.
"Go away… leave me alone…" Ico said softly.
"What's that? You're speaking up? I can't hear you!" said another boy.
"I said leave me alone…"
The eldest boy looked at Ico before pushing him onto the ground with his foot.
"Oh yeah? What's going to stop me? Some weirdo who's going to die before he's an adult? Give me a break!"
He began to kick Ico as the sacrifice tried to protect himself, but was soon overpowered as the other children joined in. He had no choice but to accept all the blows he was receiving.
Ico gasped as he returned to reality. He picked up the ball and felt it.
"I can't believe it… I'm holding a ball for the first time…" Ico thought. He never thought a day would come where he could do something he couldn't do in the village. However, just before he could think about being a kid again, he remembered Ratchet, Clank, and Yorda. With the ball in hand, the horned boy went up the steps and into the room, where the three were waiting for him.
"Well there you are. I was kinda getting worried." Ratchet said. "What's with the ball?"
"I found this in a tree." Ico replied. "However I'm not sure what it does."
"Well you play with it obviously. What else do you need a ball for?"
Ratchet, Ico, and Yorda failed to realize that just a few diameters away, Clank was examining a wall. He noted how the wall in the middle seemed different in terms of color.
"Something's not right here…" The robot said to himself as he placed his robotic hand on the wall. Suddenly, he yelped as the wall began to push. Clank fell to the ground as Ratchet, Ico, and Yorda looked to his direction.
"Clank! Are you alright, Clank?!" Ratchet desperately asked.
"I'm fine Ratchet. But it seems I found something. We might not know what's down those steps."
Ico took Yorda's hand and held out his sword, walking slowly down. Ratchet took out his Omniwrench, expecting one of the shadow creatures to pop out. However, instead a stone circle was the only thing that lay in the room, along with another set of stairs and a walkway. The four stepped on the circle as a column raised from on top the walkway.
"What did that do?" Ico asked. Ratchet walked over to it and examined it, noting how there was an opening on top.
"It looks like we put something in there." The lombax said. He turned his head back to the two humans and saw the ball in Ico's hand.
"Ico, pass me your ball."
"Huh? Why?"
"Just do it."
Ico passed Ratchet the string ball. He dribbled it a bit and threw it into the air. It landed inside the opening with a small thud.
"Did that do anything?" Clank asked. All of a sudden, from the corner of Ico's eye, he saw something fly out from the window.
"DUCK!" He yelled. Ratchet and Clank moved out of the way as Ico took Yorda and threw themselves onto the ground, the pale girl gasping as the object hit the ground with a clang. The four looked up and saw a large handle with a spiked ball on the tip.
"Oh wow… it's a mace!" Ratchet said. Ico walked up to it and picked it up.
"Perhaps I can replace my sword with this. It seems stronger."
"That is correct, Ico. Mace's are generally more effective in combat compared to swords, and with the length of that mace, you could do copious amounts of damage to the shadow creatures." Clank explained.
"Then that's good. Let's leave here, there's nothing more left for us to do."
After leaving the hidden room and going back outside, Ratchet saw a stone block by the rushing water.
"Let me and Clank get across this. Your arms are probably still hurting from all that pipe climbing."
Despite Ico's words, Ratchet pushed the stone block by the edge as he climbed on top of it.
"Ready, Clank?" he asked.
Clank nodded as Ratchet burst forward from the thruster pack. He got on the other side and turned his head right, then left, noticing a well hidden ladder on the other side. Running towards it, the lombax climbed on it until reaching the top, where he noticed a very large valve. Ratchet placed his hand on it and turned the valve until it stopped. On the lower floor, the Watergate began to close as the small stream died out.
"That should do it!" Ratchet called out. He jumped off the building as Ico and Yorda looked shocked, until Ratchet glided down with the thruster pack. Ico climbed down to where Ratchet and Clank was as Yorda simply stood there. Ico called out for her as she took small steps towards the edge. She placed her hand on the ground and climbed down. The four went towards the opening from where the water was flowing and entered the room they were in earlier.
Jumping off the platform and going down the stairs, Ico and Ratchet climbed the railing as Yorda did it carefully. They walked across a bridge and saw a stone couch by them.
"Let's take a rest. We need it bad." Ratchet said. He noted that the sun was going down as well, as the sky began to turn red. "Plus it's getting dark soon."
The three placed themselves on the couch as it glow. They began to close their eyes and rest for the puzzles that would lay for them in the future.
However, late into the night, Ratchet jerked as he snored in his sleep.
"W-Where am I?" Ratchet asked himself. He was in a dark, empty room that was very cold, surrounded by mist and fog. The lombax shivered as mist surrounded him. He then heard a cold voice in the mist.
"So, you are the one accompanying my daughter along with your robot friend and that horned child."
Ratchet turned around as he saw a veil of black, almost like a cloak of sorts. A pale face appeared within the veil, making Ratchet's fur rise.
"Who are you?!" he asked.
"My, it seems you are as foolish as I thought. I am the queen of this castle. I must say, having that horned child is very irritating, but there's nothing that I can do since he's a sacrifice. However, I don't appreciate strangers coming into my castle."
"Q-Queen? You're Yorda's mother then! Why are you trying to do these things to her?!"
"My poor little lombax friend… don't be so rude. Yorda is very important to me, and I can't have wanderers taking her from me."
Ratchet jerked up. He noted that the queen knew what species he is.
"How do you know what I am?"
"That's a simple question; you see, I can see into your mind, and I know everything you've done lombax. I know you've saved galaxies on multiple occasions, and are known as a great hero all across your world. But this is my world now. Here in this castle, you are nothing. No one can save you, your robot friend, and that sacrifice. Remember that, lombax!"
Ratchet snorted. "Oh yeah? What, you and those shadow creatures are going to stop us? As if! We're going to save Yorda, and me and Clank are going to leave this place!"
The queen scoffed as she put on a face of anger. "Insolent fool! You are no match for my power!"
The queen threw out a burst of electricity at Ratchet as he fell to the ground, screaming.
"You may be strong, but it is just as I said, you are nothing. The villains you've faced are nothing like me. They will never see powers like mine. This is a warning to you, lombax; stop fooling around with that sacrifice and my daughter if you know what's good for you."
The queen vanished from the dark room with a burst of dark energy.
Ratchet yelled as he woke up from his nightmare, waking up Ico, Yorda, and Clank from his sleep mode.
"Ratchet!? What's wrong?" Ico said.
"Ico… oh it's you… I had a nightmare… I saw a w-woman… she's was completely dark, and her face was hidden by a veil of darkness."
"Woman? Veil of darkness? You mean… the queen?"
"Y-Yeah… she appeared in my dream… She warned me to not be around you and Yorda if I know what's best for me."
"Hm… it seems that she entered your mind while you were asleep to give you that warning. However, the Ratchet I know would ignore her, right?"
Ratchet softly chuckled. "Yeah, you know me, Clank. I'm not going to back down. We've come really far, and I'm still set on helping Yorda along with going home. Right, Ico?"
Ico nodded.
"That's good. Tomorrow, let's head off and show the queen whose boss. I'm sure we'll be out of this castle in no time."
The next morning, the four woke up from their well-needed rest. Ratchet was feeling better from his nightmare, as he was the first to wake up.
"Rise and shine everybody! It's time we head out!" He announced. Clank found it shocking that Ratchet had a lot of energy this morning, as the lombax often slept in and was definitely not a morning person back home.
Below the bridge, Ico could see a pair of stone idols. He called out to Ratchet and pointed at them.
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
The four headed down the stairs to the right and climbed down to the lower part of the room. Going down a slope, Ratchet, Clank, Ico, and Yorda were close to their destination.
However, an oh-so familiar sound was heard across the room. Yorda gasped as two dark pools on different sides of the room formed. The lombax grasped his Omniwrench while the horned boy held his mace tightly. Four of the larger shadow demons came running towards the group. Ratchet was successful in hitting two of them, knocking them to the ground while Ico had more unfortunate luck, swinging his mace then missing.
The shadow demons knocked Ico to the ground as one of them grabbed Yorda. The pale girl gasped as she tried to fight her way out of their grasp, but failed. Ico quickly got up and swung his mace, Yorda dropping onto the floor as Clank ran over, making sure she was OK. In only two swings, the shadow demons died as the pool dissipated.
"We're already dealing with these demons first thing in the morning. The queen was right." Ratchet said.
"How so?" asked Clank.
"She said that I needed to stop being with Ico and Yorda if she knew what was best for me, and what other way to stop me then to send those shadow creatures?"
"I only hope they don't grab Yorda. May the Sun God know what would happen…" Ico said to himself. They walked up to the ledge where the idols were, but found none of them were able to climb on top of it.
"What do we do know?"
Suddenly, Ratchet remembered the stone block by the dried out river. He facepalmed as he groaned.
"I can't believe we forgot about that!" he said. Suddenly, an idea popped up in Clank's mind.
"Ratchet, I think I have a solution! I will need yours and Ico's help."
The two looked at the robot confused.
"Ico, you need to give Ratchet a boost so he can climb up. Then, he'll be able to get everyone on top of the ledge."
Ico nodded as he walked to the wall, holding out his hands. With Clank getting on his back, Ratchet followed behind him and got on his foot as Ico lifted him up. Ratchet climbed on the ledge and held his hand out. Ico jumped and Ratchet pulled him up. Getting back to the end of the ledge, Ratchet held his hand out to Yorda, but the pale girl didn't want to, as she said something in her native tongue and shook her head.
"I know it seems tough, but believe in yourself, Yorda. You can do it." Ratchet said. Even though she couldn't understand him, she knew she had to try. She jumped as high as she could as Ratchet caught her. Ico helped Ratchet pull her up as the princess was pulled up to the ledge.
"Alright! We did it! Now, ladies first to do the honors?"
Ratchet extended his hand towards the idols as Yorda walked to it. The same burst of electricity shot from her as the idols lit up, making the same usual sound. The four passed through it into a new area.
Much like the other rooms in the castle, the sound of rushing water was heard when the four entered the new room. They went down the flight of stairs and onto the rock. Ratchet examined his surroundings and saw that they were most likely in some sort of cave, as rock was everywhere. As Ratchet, Clank (on the lombax's back), Ico, and Yorda followed the stream of water; they passed by two waterfalls and saw a source of light. Ratchet gasped in awe as the room in front of him was a very giant chasm with mechanical parts all around.
"We have to start somewhere. Let's head up that ladder." he said. Ratchet climbed the ladder as Ico followed behind him. The horned boy called up for Yorda as she climbed slowly. When she reached the top, Ico took her hand and the four continued on, heading up a wooden side path. They had to stop in front of a large opening that would certainly lead to death if they fell.
"Ico, you go first. I'll go next and we'll then get Yorda." Ratchet said. Ico nodded as he long jumped to the edge of the floor, barely getting across. He climbed up as Ratchet took a running start and activated the Thruster Pack, getting across safely. Ico held out his hand for Yorda as the pale girl jumped, grabbing onto Ico's hand and being pulled up. They then headed up the path as they saw the morning sun in the sky, illuminating the cave up.
Seeing as they were about to enter a new area, Ratchet, Clank, Ico, and Yorda were ready for anything the queen was about to throw at them.