Oh My Gosh! A chapter released before 3:30am! Instead it's 2:10 - An improvement nevertheless!
Just another quick thank you to all who read and review my story. You're what keep me going! :)
How do you guys feel about the fact that there is only 9 more chapters to come out?
Also... I have significant;y changed the ending of this story, so if you read the original version, be prepared for a different set of ending feels ;D *Spoiler alert* :P
Now without any further rambling, enjoy the story :)
Almost a week had passed since what Talwyn was calling the 'Literal Jump Scare Date', which with all the action and divine food had propped itself at number 1 on her list. After getting half the movie last week, we had been abruptly teleported back home and the following day I had to buy that same movie because Talwyn was curious to see how it ended. Since then, our holiday had been fairly uneventful. We got settled into a routine of waking up late, cleaning up a bit, going out for the other half of the day, which almost always went from lunch till dinner. Then at night we would sit under the stars and talk for hours on end before going back to bed. Tomorrow night I was even thinking of going back to the top of Mount Axel for a night under the stars. Though not every thought materialises that quickly…
The night the Frey attacked was quiet. Talwyn in and I were tangled in bed, watching Captain Qwarks latest movie; My Blaster Runs Hot with Clank at our feet.
As soon as he found out about what happened to us, he sent us a letter with the 'Supremely Awesome Edition' of My Blaster Runs Hot.
Dear Clank, Talwyn and Ratchet.
I've heard about what happened, and I'm glad you're okay, my trusty sidekick! As you you Ratchet and Talwyn. You should be aware of the dangers in Solana. I didn't become a Superhero for no reason you know, you of all people should know that, Ratchet.
Stay safe, happy and enjoy the movie!
P.S. You should check out the directors commentary, starry yours truly.
Have a Qwarktastic Day!
Copernicus L. Qwark.'
Typical Qwark. I was not surprised at all when I read it, and Talwyn just rolled her eyes. Clank got a giggle out of the sidekick part though, but if anything I'm sure he'd prefer to be on my back, rather than anyone elses.
So there were were, watching Qwark run around in his green spandex, 'saving' citizens whilst avoiding burning his hand from his overheating blaster, as per the title. It was during the slow-mo matrix like scene when I first heard it. The dull thuds of bombs being dropped onto the city, which was soon followed by the cities alarm.
My reflexes were lightning quick as I jumped out of bed and rushed to our now working telephone. Tools number was on speed dial, though it took him too long to pick up. Eventually I heard a click from the other end.
"Tool, what's happening?" I questioned the man on the other end almost instantly. Before I heard his voice, another bomb must've landed close and even through the small phone speaker it was loud. When he eventually replied, his voice puffed as if he was running.
"It's the Frey! They've started bombing us." I sighed, almost in disgust. The Frey were a confusing Race to say the least.
"Any reason to it?"
"Nope, not that we-" The Veldinian was cut off by another explosion which forced me to take the phone away for a second before yelling back into it, as if to compete with the bombs.
"Tool! You still there? Tool?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm living, quit your worrying," I let out a sigh of relief, "No apparent reason for the attack. It looks like they're sending out ground troops now, so get your ass down here and help us before the place is reduced to rubble and-" I barely heard the explosion before the line went silent, but even under the new pressure I failed to hesitate. I ran back to my room where Talwyn and Clank were both looking at me expectantly.
"Invasion," I answered there unspoken question whilst stripping down in front of the two. I grabbed my street gear - Orange shirt and Blue pants - from the drawer and got them on in a flash.
"Who's invading?" Clank asked before I chucked my Quick Select Glove at him.
"Fusion Rifle, Bomb Glove and the N60 Storm please." I asked quickly before reaching for my harness.
"The Frey. Bombing and ground troops are being sent out now." The answer came out of my mouth as my harness clicked into place. Clank nodded, whilst Talwyn looked confused, since my best guess was that she had no idea who the Frey were. I grabbed my hoverboots, and sat down next to her, whilst slipping them on.
"They're an unusual species with grey skin. In all of recorded history, they've never been the same.. Or sane for that matter. And after the past 30 years of peace with Veldin, it seems they've had one of their rather infamous mood swings, and have begun attacking, so Clank and I are going to help drive them away." And as soon as I said it, I knew what she was going to say…
"I'm coming with you."
"No, you're not." I said firmly, turning my head to look at her. She already looked irritated at the fact that I was going to make her stay home.
"Yes, I am."
"No, Tal." I got up to retrive my glove from Clank, and went on a small search for the left one.
"Why?" She had stood up, hands on her hips and a disapproving look plastered across her face. The Frey certainly knew how to ruin a good night.
"Why do I have to sit back here and wait, while you risk your life saving yet another planet?" With both gloves now fitted, I spun round to face her and held her by her forearms.
"3 reason Tal. Number 1; the Frey are know for badly mistreating women,and that paired up with their violent mood swings doesn't make it any easier for me if I knew you were out there."
"But you know I can-"
"Hey!" I cut her short. "Number 2; they're also known for their looting and pillaging. Thier just as bad as Space Pirate, only their organic.I have no security installed on this place whatsoever, so I would like someone capable to stand guard incase a few of them decide to come out this way. And number 3; I love you, and I could never forgive myself if you got caught by something out there, be it a bomb or a psycho."
She finally nodded a very defeated nod, and I gave her a quick kiss on the lips to try and quell her disappointment, which by the newer happier look on her face, looked like it worked.
Finally after the short time it took to get ready we were finally able to go. I chucked the small robot up in the air and braced for impact as he hit the harness and locked himself in. I flicked the switch to the garage door before locating the keys to our new hoverbike we got a couple of days ago. It's sleek blue figure reminded me of the ones I rode around Torval whilst being forced to fight in DreadZone. Ahh, the good 'ol days.
Within seconds I had jumped onto the bike and flipped the key, igniting its high performance engine. Even when idling you could tell that this was just as much of a beast as the ones DreadZone let me use.
"Be safe" Talwyn half shouted of the roaring exhaust. I nodded as if to say 'of course' before shouting a reply.
"See you soon." the look of worry on her face let us both know that, that may not be the case. And though I was sure I'd have no troubles, I knew that this could easily drag on and I wouldn't leave the planet with a small interplanetary was going on.
The ride through the dark was fast as I sped through all the shortcuts I knew of, and keeping the highest speed possible to get there as fast as we could. The city was soon in our sights, but unlike most nights, it wasn't lit up by the stadium lights, or the neon signs dotted around the place, no. The city was partially ablaze. Roof tops had been either turned into candles, or were missing. A flock of ships hovered above the city, most the small dropships that were diving the the ground level to send off troops but there were a few larger ones which had been stationed around the area. The next thing that I noticed is that the gates, now only 100 meters away from me, were shut tight. There was no was in, or out of the city. But an idea came to me.
"Clank, get ready with the Heli-Pack! You'll see what I'm doing." I shouted to Clank above the wind and the now more audible fighting. As we reached the wall, instead of slowing down, I redlined the bike. Under normal circumstances, I would get a hefty fine for destroying part of the wall, but at the moment I don't think the officials would care. We we're now 20 meters away from the 8 meter high wall, and I pulled up on the handlebars of the bike, sending us upward a bit. At the vertex of the jump, I straightened my legs, pushing Clank and I off the bike, and one step closer to the top of the wall, and if it hadn't been for Clank, I would've been squashed up against the stone wall. But instead, I was on top of it. The Heli-Pack idea had worked!
I ran over to the other side of the wall and was barely shocked at what I saw. I was expecting to see people running, and other shooting, there was no time to think about that. I chose the Fusion Rifle from my quick Select Glove and pressed my eye to the scope. I had 12 shots, and with this things power, that could mean 12 dropships downed if I did it right. I took aim, shooting where I guessed the fuel tank would be. It took 5 hits for the Frey to notice they had a sniper shooting them down, and by the time one came my way, I had already taken another two ships down.
I had to duck behind cover as the dropship scattered ammunition into the wall around me, but the pilot was only delaying the inevitable as I shot him in the rear, breaking a thruster and sending him spiraling into a ditch. It was a short and hollow victory though, as two more sped towards me at an alarming rate. Again, without thinking I held the gun up and shot one after the other without using the scope. The first one went up in flames before the second knew what was coming, and after the second shot I could safely say there were 3 ships in the ditch behind me.
Deciding that I had enough sniping, I jumped of the wall and Clank made sure got got to the bottom safely. It was then that I ignited my hoverboots and sped off to the centre of the city, looking for some action. Right now, I felt as if I could take on anything.
I got my wish when a couple of ground soldier ambushed us, and I got a good look at the dull creatures ahead of me. Thier heads were in a hammerhead shape that look tough enough to break through the wall itself. Their elongated bodies somehow held themselves and their armor up as they ran towards me. Heightwaise they ranged from Captain Qwarks height to Nefarious', though it didn't bother me as I was used to looking up all the time.
Soon though, I had nothing to observe as a multitude of bombs had been thrown their way, and even through their thick skulls, I'm pretty sure that would've hurt.
"Ratchet!" Clanks voice snapped me out of my daze. "Take a step left."
Without even questioning it, I stepped left, then watched as a bullet went through where my head was 3 seconds ago. I turned around to find two more Frey shooting, but thanks to Clank stuck in a time bomb. I threw 4 bombs into the bubble of slow-motion and walked off with Clank, though not missing the satisfying explosion that rang through the air as the time bomb dispersed.
"How many times have you saved me now?" I asked the robot, a smile on my face. Thanks to him, I really did have eyes on the back of my head. But instead of a cheerful response, his voice was sombre.
"More than you know..." was all he said, which worried me. That was not like Clank.
"You alright, Pal?" I asked, genuinely worried. Something bothers him, something bothers me, bros rule.
"Yes, just a bad memory, but this really isn't the time."
"Right, well we'll talk about it later." I promised, with a small smile that he couldn't see.
And with that done, we sped off even further into the city.
Coolio, that's that done :D And with exams right around the corner, I'm going to try an start writing these up in advance... If that ends up happening I will have surprised myself :P