(AN: Oh no! It seems things have gotten worse for our heroes. With Yorda now gone, it only seems that the chances for Ratchet, Clank, Ico, and Yorda's escape from the castle are growing slimmer and slimmer. Let's hope our heroes can solve the brain-teasing puzzles that lie before them...
And if you want to know, this is the second to last chapter! Next chapter will be it!)
(Not gunna put anything worthwhile here since I gurantee this joke has gotten old :P)
Lighting illuminated the dark grey sky above the Castle in the Mist as heavy rain fell down hard, swaying left and right from the gusts of wind. By the bottom structures of the castle, a set of cages hanging on ropes swayed from the wind. On top of one of these cages, a passed out Ratchet, Clank, and Ico lay.
"N-Nng…" moaned Ratchet. He felt the rain splash down on his fur opened his eyes, slowly getting up as he shook himself.
"I'm… alive? I… made it?" The lombax asked himself. Ratchet looked around the area he was in and saw Clank, his Omniwrench, and Ico by his side.
"Clank, Ico! Wake up!" he exclaimed. The robot's bright lime green eyes shot open as Ico woke up. He got himself up as he groaned.
"Where… where are we?" The horned boy asked. The three looked above them and saw the towering castle above them.
"We're… below the castle…" Clank stated. "How did we end up here?"
"I… I don't know…"
Suddenly, Ratchet saw that someone was missing from their group: Yorda.
"Wait! Where's Yorda?!"
And then, images flashed through the lombax's mind of the queen consuming Yorda in darkness, making it the reason she let go and the reason why they're below the castle. Ratchet began to growl heavily.
"The queen… is going… to pay!"
"Ratchet? Are… you OK?" Ico asked, intimidated at the angered Ratchet.
"Don't you get it? The queen took Yorda! We don't even want to know what would happen to her now that she's got her!"
In Ico's mind, a flashback to when him and Yorda first arrived at the main gate played in his head. Ico gasped and placed his hands on Ratchet's shoulders.
"Ratchet! We must hurry!"
"I agree, but… you seem scared. Do you know something?"
"I do! When me and Yorda first arrived at the main gate, we encountered the queen. She said that "she lived in a different world then me". I think this means something!"
"A different world than you…" Clank muttered. "This is not a good sign if she has said this. I agree with you two, we must hurry."
The robot jumped onto Ratchet's back as the lombax and horned boy looked at the set of cages swaying.
"So… how do we get across? They look far away." Ico said.
"You're right… jumping could lead to us getting killed… I have an idea."
Ratchet's plan was enacted: have Ico climb on his back and Clank on Ico's back.
"Are you sure you're OK?" Ico asked.
"I'm fine. I'm a strong guy if I do say so myself. Now, we're going to glide to the next sets of cages. Just don't look down and get scared."
Crouching down, Ratchet jumped into the air as Clank activated his Thruster Pack. Gliding, Ratchet maneuvered himself to the next cage. Then the next cage and the proceeding cages after that. He found it surprising that Ico remained calm during the entire time, taking his advice of not looking down.
After gliding off of the last cage, Ratchet landed on the entrance of a cavern. Ico slid off his back as Clank got back on Ratchet's back.
"I'm fine from here. Let's do this together." Ico said. Ratchet nodded in agreement.
"Couldn't have worded it any better." The lombax said.
Heading forward into the cave, Ico shivered as it soon became colder and colder.
"R-Ratchet… it's so cold…" he muttered. While Ratchet couldn't feel it due to his fur, he patted Ico's back.
"Don't worry, we'll try to find a place to warm up." he said.
Heading to the right, Ico and Ratchet passed by a small stream with a gate in the middle before entering another dark cavern.
Upon reaching the other side of the entrance, Ico and Ratchet saw various structures in front of them, along with a waterwheel being moved by a flowing waterfall above it.
"That must be where we have to go." Ico said.
"Yup, we have to work together if we wanna save Yorda, Ico." Ratchet replied.
"I know, let's go."
Heading straight, Ico pulled down a lever by the gate. Ahead from where the trio was, a chain began to lower nearer and nearer to the water.
"Now… how are we going to get up there…? It still seems like we can't jump from the water, the chain is still too high for that…" said Ratchet. To Ico's right, he saw a crate.
"We'll use this!" he exclaimed. He pulled the crate back and pushed it into the water. Ico noticed that on the other side, a ladder was present, but was cut off.
"Hm, we found a way to that ladder over there!" he exclaimed.
"Wow, didn't even notice that. Nice job." Ratchet complimented. "Alright, on the count of three, we're going to jump down into the water. Now you might need to prepare yourself since I bet the water is cold as hell."
"Don't worry, I'll be OK." replied Ico.
"Good… now… one… two… three!"
Ratchet and Ico jumped down into the water, coming up back to the surface. Ico began to cough as the chill of the water seeped into Ratchet's bones.
"So, let's take this crate to the other side. Maybe we can get outta this place." The lombax said.
Grabbing onto the side of the crate, Ratchet and the horned boy swam to the other side, placing the crate right under the broken stairs. The two got on top of the crate and climbed the ladder. Upon reaching the top, the only thing of value there was a lever on the wall. Ico pulled on it as the gate near them lowered, allowing Ico and Ratchet access.
"Awh man… we really have to go back into the water huh?" Ratchet asked, shaking. Ico nodded his head as he climbed down the ladder, Ratchet following suite. The two got back into the water and saw the lever they pulled down earlier, knowing it would be smart to place the crate under it.
After placing the crate under the chain, Ico and Ratchet both got on the box. The water from the waterfall behind them sprayed on them as they looked up.
"I'll go first. It'll make things safe-"
"No. Let's go together. If we're going to save Yorda and beat the queen, we need to work together."
Ratchet looked at Ico before nodding. "Yeah, I agree. Alright, let's do this together then."
The two climbed on top of the chain as they descended up. Reaching the top, the horned boy and the lombax saw a structure and pushed it as far as they could. As the structure was put into place, many wheels began to turn. Ratchet heard the noise.
"I think we did something down below. C'mon!" he said. Ratchet descended down the chain and followed the sound, Ico right behind him. He began to swim to the left and climbed back up to the surface upon making contact with it. As he moved forward, Ratchet saw the source of the sound: a spinning wheel with various spokes poking out of it moved clockwise.
Ratchet walked forward and climbed up on one of them, Ico following. He found it exhilarating for a short while before falling down to the top. The two walked forward and saw a ledge. Climbing on it, they placed their hands on the pipe near them and moved to the right.
Reaching at the end, the two saw a pipe below them and dropped down to the next pipe. Moving to the right as before, the two reached the end and dropped down to the ground with a "clunk" sound. Ratchet and Ico moved forward, crossing along a narrow pipe before reaching the other side. The two climbed up on a pipe, moving against the metal cylinder and dropping onto the platform below them where the pipe ended.
Seeing another pipe that went up straight, Ratchet and Ico climbed up it to the top, seeing a chain behind them.
"I see what we have to do. We have to jump off this pipe and get on the chain. Though it looks dangerous if we both went at the same time... How about I do this first? I think I'll have an easier time with Clank." Ratchet said. He jumped off the pipe and with Clank activating the Thruster Pack, glided to the chain. The lombax saw another chain in front of him as he began to swing, launching himself to the next chain.
"You can come down now! I'll meet you on the other side!" he called out. Ico jumped off the pipe as he barely got on the chain, almost falling to his death. The horned boy did exactly what Ratchet did, swinging on the two chains before reaching where Ratchet was.
"That was close. Let's keep going." he said. Seeing an opening in the wall with another wheel moving, Ratchet and Ico passed through it. Another wheel spinning with spokes poking out rotated clockwise. The two jumped on different spokes as they descended up.
Upon reaching the platform below them, Ratchet and Ico dropped down and ran straight on the walkway. A rotating wheel sat spinning near the walkway as Ico and Ratchet jumped forward, climbing up from the edge and jumping onto the next wheel.
"We have to pass this barrel, but it's rotating. Be careful, Ico." Ratchet said as the two ran forward. Ico almost collapsed, but was able to get back up and get to the other side. The two went to the left and went down the walkway, reaching the edge. To their left, a cave sat. Ratchet sighed in relief.
"That should be it for this room… Thank the heavens, this room was tricky…"
Entering into the cave, the atmosphere of water disappeared as the gusts of wind and thunder from outside were heard. Going straight, Ratchet and Ico saw water from a waterfall above them flowing down as the dark sky was seen, lighting flashing left and right. The lombax felt Clank softly shake.
"Don't worry, Clank. The lightning's not going to get you." he soothingly said.
"I h-hope so…" responded the robot.
Going up the narrow ledge, there was a space where Ico and Ratchet could climb down. The two went below as they saw another ledge in front of them. Ico took a running start and jumped as Clank activated the Thruster Pack, allowing Ratchet passage. Reaching the end of the ledge, there was another ledge just a few inches above them.
Ratchet and Ico jumped up and hanged onto the ledge as they moved to the other side. Reaching the end, the two climbed down to the ledge below and moved to the right.
Going up and down ledges were what the two did for several minutes before finally reaching the end, landing on a set of two rusted pipes. Ico took several deep breaths as he put his hands on his legs.
"Tired?" Ratchet asked.
"Y-Yeah…" responded Ico.
"I don't blame you. Let's sit down and take a small break for now."
Ratchet and Ico sat down on the pipe as they waited for their energy to recuperate.