Chapter 2: Down the Rabbit Hole
The light that filtered through the towering skyscrapers of Megalopolis was starting to grow dim, indicating the coming of the sunset.
It had been several minutes since a reluctant partnership with Segen had been formed, and everyone had just taken a bit of a pause to come to terms with their new circumstances.
Ratchet was pacing behind Aphelion, his restless thoughts pushing him around.
"Ratchet," Clank called, watching his friend. "You've been pacing for minutes on end now. Would you like to get something off your chest?"
"I just-" Ratchet slipped out, his mouth moving faster than his brain. He took in a deep breath, willing his body to stay put. "I just can't believe we're doing this. I mean, we were just going to the Lombax Dimension, after so long! After I had just got ready!" He stressed. "And then he shows up!" Ratchet gestured at Segen, who was right beside him, looking offended. "And ruins everything!"
"Oh for Zoni's sake, man!" Segen groaned "I'm a technician, dang it! I'm not at fault for this!"
Ratchet was about to snap something at the 'technician', but stopped himself when he saw Rivet and Kit approach.
If Ratchet had to guess, he would have assumed the duo had a little private pep talk, kind of like what he was just trying to have with Clank. Regardless, they seemed to be ready to move on now.
Rivet took the lead, Kit hiding slightly behind her, eyes not leaving Segen, who for his part, took a couple of steps away from the new arrivals. That might have had something to do with the scowl Rivet was giving him.
"Do we know where we're going yet?" Rivet asked, crossing her arms.
"Yes, I already know where we're going." Segen replied dryly, causing Rivet's scowl to deepen.
"About that,"Clank raised a finger, drawing the group's attention to himself. "Would you mind telling us what we should expect to find once we get to our destination?"
"A wormhole." Segen deadpanned.
"A wormhole?" Ratchet repeated. "Why would we wanna go to a wormhole?"
"Because wormholes are naturally occurring gateways between universes," Segen explained. "We don't have a means of controlled trans-universal travel yet, Dimensionator or otherwise, so we'll have to do this the old fashioned way. Lucky for us, my universe and this one are actually linked directly by this one specific wormhole, so it should be a rather straightforward procedure."
"I see," Clank mused, taking a hand to his chin. "May I have the coordinates to this wormhole?" He asked politely.
"Sure. Here you go." Segen replied, kneeling down and showing Clank the screen on one of his gauntlets.
The silver bot approached and looked at the screen, quickly memorizing the coordinates.
"Very well. I now know where we need to go. I'll upload the coordinates to Aphelion once we are ready for departure." Said Clank.
"Then let's not waste any more time." Rivet spoke up as she headed towards Aphelion, walking briskly past Segen, who followed her with his eyes.
Once she was far enough away, Segen turned towards Ratchet. "Why do I feel like she hates me even though I've known her for less than thirty minutes?" He asked in a whisper, pointing subtly at the white lombax.
Ratchet didn't humor Segen with a reply and stormed after Rivet, Clank hopping onto his back as he went, leaving Segen to follow grumpily behind muttering something to himself.
Eventually, everyone climbed aboard the ship. Ratchet took the driver's seat and Rivet got shotgun beside him while the bots and Segen all squeezed into the backseats, with Segen being relegated to a corner while Clank sat in the middle, serving as a barrier between Segen and Kit, who tired putting as much distance between herself and the technician as possible while still staying near Clank.
After Aphelion's canopy sealed shut and the ship was flight-ready, Ratchet took hold of the wheel and blasted off, shooting up into the sky toward their new destination. As they did, the light of sunset slowly phazed out, replaced by the ambient glow of outer space.
The air in the cabin was pretty stiff. No one talked or made much noise at all, likely not eager to mingle with the suspicious stranger aboard.
Segen himself seemed unbothered, leaning on the glass of Aphelion's canopy and staring at the stars, humming to himself.
Ratchet occasionally glanced over to Rivet, who sat quietly, arms still crossed and ears angled back, clearly unhappy. However, she seemed to grow even more unhappy, when her nose scrunched up and swatted at the air in front of her, apparently having smelled something nasty.
Ratchet's own nose scrunched up when the same smell reached him. His ears flopped down and his eyes rolled as he realized the only possible culprit. It was Segen, naturally.
Segen smelled like flowers. But that was the furthest thing from a compliment Ratchet could come up with. The masked stranger smelled like dying flowers, old withered things whose water had gone stale.
Ratchet hadn't noticed the smell before coming aboard Aphelion. He credited that to the fact they were now in an enclosed environment, where the smell had nowhere to escape to.
"Dude," Ratchet called, not shifting his gaze from the expanse before him. "Can't you, I don't know, do something about the smell?" He asked.
There was no reply.
There was a strange pause that made Ratchet feel like he was being watched. He was about to ask again, but out of a sudden, he felt a hand grab the neck of his seat. His eyes flickered to his side, and there he found Segen, slowly, very slowly leaning closer to him.
Ratchet felt goosebumps at the sight of that cold metal visage so unexpectedly close. Segen was also not blinking, eyes wide and fixed on Ratchet. The lombax tried his best to just keep a straight face and keep his eyes forward, but the fact he could almost feel the filtered breath coming from Segen's mask was making his skin crawl.
After a couple of horrible seconds, Segen spoke in a low tone. "No, Ratchet, I can't." He stated venomously. "It comes with the suit. I should know, I've been drowning in it for more than twenty years."
"Okay," Ratchet replied uneasily, refusing to look at the masked creep. "Just checking."
A beat passed, and he felt Segen retreat to the backseats again. Ratchet then blew out the breath he had subconsciously been holding for that whole experience.
After that stimulating exchange, the cabin returned to silence.
However after a while, the silence was broken once again, but this time by Clank. "Segen, may I ask you something?"
"Hmmm? Oh, sure. What is it, little guy?"
Ratchet could somewhat tell what was going on thanks to the faint reflection on Aphelion's windshield, which allowed him to keep a tab on the conversation.
Meanwhile, Clank proceeded to voice his question. "Well, I was wondering, what exactly is your alternate means of trans-universal travel?"
Segen stiffened at the question. "Well, I'm not entirely sure on how it works myself," Segen admitted, scratching his neck awkwardly. "So, I'll just explain it to you how it was explained to me." With that, Segen cleared his throat and then stretched out an arm. "Okay, what is the fastest way to get from this point-" He said as he tapped his shoulder with his other arm. "-To this point?" He finished, tapping the very tip of his middle finger.
Clank narrowed his eyes, humming in though. " A straight line?"
"Yes and no." Segen replied, raising a finger knowingly. "A straight line is the optimal path one can take between two points. But, the fastest way to get from one point to another-" He paused as he moved his outstretched arm. "-Is to make the distance between them null." He said, as he folded his arm, bringing his finger tip to his shoulder.
"We call it Folding," Segen described. "We have these things called Folding Drives, which are put into ships. They're like these special engines that can project energy that messes around with space-time, that's how the Ruined get around through the different universes. And it's what we're gonna use to get to the Lombax Dimension." He declared, somewhat proudly.
"Fascinating," Clank mused. "And what an eloquent visualization." He added.
"Why, thank you!" Segen said, optics angled in what would have been a smile.
"But then-" Kit's voice suddenly came, all eyes instantly on her.
The sudden attention made Kit attempt to sink into Aphelion's seat to escape.
"Go on," Segen invited, waving his hand. "What do you wanna know?"
Upon the invitation, Kit fidgeted with her hands, slowly building courage. "But then, what is the difference between this… Folding, and the Dimensionator? Are they not the same?"
"Ah, that's a good question," Segen said, pointing at Kit. "Remember when I did, ya know, this?-" He paused, replicating the motion he had done to illustrate earlier. "Well, notice how the actual folding in question is done from a specific point? And that point is preemptively designed to move a certain way?" He said, referring to his elbow joint.
"Y-Yes?"
"Well, the Dimensionator does kinda do the same thing; making the distance between two points null. The difference is that instead of manipulating space-time naturally, the Dimensionator literally tears the fabric of reality apart. Think of it as me bending my elbow the other way around."
A grotesque image of Segen's arm being bent painfully the wrong way made its way into Ratchet's mind, making him cringe slightly.
"I see, that must explain why the device is so… volatile." Kit deduced, likely referring to the fact a giant dimensional cataclysm was caused almost entirely by a Dimensionator just being mishandled.
"Yeah, Folding Drives just explode when you mess with them." Segen said in a casual manner. "I mean, they explode extremely, exceptionally violently, but they just explode."
"You're being very talkative," Rivet suddenly interjected, her stony expression never shifting to face Segen. "Any reason why?"
"Oh, it's because I love robots!" Segen exclaimed merily. "They are great conversationalists, and have such nice voices!" He praised, putting his hands together and squinting.
The compliment made Clank raise an imaginary brow at Segen, but otherwise appeared to actually smile. Kit, for her part, seemed to have relaxed a little, no longer hiding so obviously from Segen, yet still keeping her distance.
Something about that made Ratchet frown, an irritated twitch appearing on one of his eyes. His friends being all buddy-buddy with a stranger that was, in one way or another, partly responsible for their current predicament just sat wrong with him.
Between that, Segen's stench polluting the cockpit, and the general nature of their current situation, Ratchet wasn't exactly in a good mood.
So he leaned on the accelerator, his grip on the wheel growing tighter and Aphelion gaining speed every passing second.
"Uhhh, Ratchet? You good, man?" Segen asked shakily, gripping his seat.
"Yeah. Just great."
"Okay, just checking, wouldn't wanna crash into an asteroid or something."
"Don't worry, chump," Rivet spoke mockingly. "Ratchet here is a dimensional counterpart of me. So there's no way he'd mess up a simple flight like this." She joked, giving a side-long smirk to her friend.
"You know it, me!" He joked back, a small smile finally appearing on his face.
"Oh man, don't do that." Segen said in a disgusted manner.
Ratchet's ear flicked in annoyance at the technician's voice. "Don't do what, Segen?"
"That. Joking about being counterparts-" He air quoted vigorously. "-Or whatever. It's lame."
"Lame how? We are counterparts after all." He said, gesturing at Rivet.
"No you're not."
Ratchet jolted at the sheer confidence in the reply, as if Segen had made an obvious correction.
"Yeah we are!" Was all he could say back. It was the truth after all. "Right?" He added quickly, looking at Clank for reassurance.
"No you're not!" Segen repeated, matching Ratchet's tone.
"Yes they are?" Kit quietly interjected.
"No, they're not." Segen said in a sweet, friendly tone, giving Kit a mouthless smile.
"Yeah we are!" Rivet swooped in angrily.
"No! You're Not!" Segen immediately switched back to shouting as he turned towards her. "You're lombaxes!"
"What does that have to do with anything!?" Rivet questioned, throwing her arms up.
At that, Segen paused. He leaned back into his seat, put his palms together and brought them to the tip of his gas mask's filter. The technician then closed his eyes and released an extremely long, heavy sigh.
"Okay," Segen started, uttering the word in such a condescending manner that Ratchet could practically feel the blood boiling in his veins. "How to put this?" He said, tapping his now steepled fingers against each other.
"Lombaxes all come from the Lombax Dimension, right?" Segen began. "That means that the lombaxes are this weird kind of 'multiversal anomaly', sort to speak. Which means; they don't occur naturally in other universes, just in the one Lombax Dimension, right?"
Ratchet actually gave pause, remembering hearing this information elsewhere before.
Segen meanwhile, continued. "So, with that in mind, it is literally impossible-" He added hand gestures for emphasis. "-For you to be alternate universe versions of each other, because there aren't alternate universes for you to have come from in the first place."
At that, Ratchet could feel the puzzle pieces sliding around in his brain as he tried to make sense of what he had just heard.
"But then-" Ratchet and Rivet suddenly said, startled into stopping when they realized they had jinxed each other.
Ratchet turned to see Rivet, who was looking at him with knit brows and wide eyes, ears hanging low. Neither said a word, staring at each other with an awkwardly adjusting perception.
"And look," Segen suddenly picked up, almost as if he predicted them planning a counterargument. "I'm pretty sure you can point me to an endless number of people and places that I'm certain are counterparts or alternate versions of each other, and that's great." He said with mock joy. "But you two aren't. The fact you're Lombaxes alone proves it." He stressed. "My guess is that you were just put into vaguely similar circumstances and adapted accordingly."
There was silence after Segen finished. There was quite a bit to unpack there. Ratchet could feel his head spinning.
"But hey, if it's any consolation, there's another term people might think of when they look at you two."
Ratchet felt the clearly seedy undertone of the jab just from the smug way Segen's optics were angled. "What is that supposed to mean?" The lombax asked.
"Oh you're smart, you'll figure it out." Segen chuckled, making a vein pop on Ratchet's temple. "In any case, we're here."
Drawn out of his thoughts and into the moment, Ratchet hit the brakes on Aphelion, only to release a marveled wow as his eyes went over the sight ahead.
It was surreal, almost impossible to describe. Mainly because there was nothing to describe, only the outline of it, the contour of a great cosmic anomaly.
The wormhole was very much like a regular hole, a negative, a depression. But it was a hole that warped the space around it, bending it around itself, as if someone had just carved out a big piece of existence.
"That's not something you see every day." Rivet commented in a wondered voice.
"Indeed. This is a rare sight." Kit agreed.
"Yeah, and our destination is on the other side of it." Segen added, rubbing his hands together. "Whenever you're ready." The technician said, throwing an arm forward, bringing it to his lap afterwards.
Ratchet looked at the wormhole, at the next step in his journey. He felt a flicker of fear as he stared into the great void. It wasn't like the dimensional rifts, it wasn't glowing neon pink and he couldn't see the other end. It felt like he was about to walk into the mouth of a giant beast.
Yet, Ratchet refused to turn back. He swallowed his fears and braved ahead, accelerating towards their destination.
As Aphelion moved forward, a light turbulence began to manifest, and Ratchet realized the wormhole was actually pulling them closer to itself. The thought made the hero sweat a single bullet, but not much else.
"Hey Ratchet." Segen's voice suddenly came.
"Yeah?"
"Uh, silly question," Segen said with his optics curled up as he leaned forward and entered Ratchet's peripheral. "This ship has a negative gravity emitter, right?"
Ratchet blinked, turning toward Segen. "A what?"
"Oh you know," Segen nudged him in a placating maner, scoffing. "A negative gravity emitter! The device that emits an equal yet opposite force to the wormhole's gravitational choke so it doesn't crush us to death while we go through it?" Segen elaborated, his voice and eyes growing more and more concerned as he went without reaction from Ratchet.
"..."
"You do have a negative gravity emitter, right!?"
"I didn't even know negative gravity was a thing until now!"
"Oh, well then!" Segen put his hands on his head, eyes wide in horror. "We're dead! We're gonna die! Goodnight!" He shouted, waving goodbye at Ratchet.
Ratchet turned towards the wormhole, grimacing as sweat began to dot his temples, his feeling of walking into a beast's mouth feeling unpleasantly prophetic.
Ratchet tried to steer Aphelion away, but found the ship not responding at all, even as the wormhole got closer and closer. The pull from the cosmic anomaly was far too strong to counteract, and the ship's engines sputtered when Ratchet tried to resist.
Ratchet frantically looked over to his friends, all of them quickly growing more and more panicked as their ship started rumbling harder and harder, the darkness of the wormhole growing absolute around them. He saw Clank and Kit retracting into their backpack forms and holding onto each other while Rivet stood up from her seat and desperately tried to hold onto the back of it.
"Oh boy, here it comes," Segen warned in a breaking voice, gripping his seat as tightly as he could while Aphelion started quaking. "Hold onto your butts!"
And then, for a moment, the quaking stopped, the ship held still. But rather than feel relief, Ratchet recognized this as the moment the roller coaster reached the peak of the hill.
And then the ride really started.
Shrill screams filled the cockpit as they were plunged into what felt like a whirlpool, while free falling, and somehow remaining upside down the whole time. Ratchet felt like he was being stretched to impossible lengths and being squeezed into imposible compactness simultaneously, all while being completely blind.
Aphelion's sensors blared in protest amidst the screams of the terrified passengers as they kept being subjected to the wormhole's transcendental strain.
Ratchet could have sworn he was about to blackout, but the pulsating darkness in his eyes could very well just have been the purity of the blackness that took up his vision.
And then, it ended.
As quickly as the tormentous sensation began, it stopped, as if it never happened. That did not mean Ratchet had suddenly gotten better though.
The yellow-furred lombax laid slack over Aphelion's consoles, entire body frayed. Ratchet squeezed his eyes shut since he could feel them spinning in their sockets.
He let out a groggy groan as he slowly started regaining his strength, only to sit upright for a moment, before falling right back into his seat. As Ratchet opened his eyes, one after the other, he could see his companions were in no better shape.
Rivet was rubbing her head, groaning loudly as she leaned against Aphelion's canopy. Clank and Kit were still clutching onto each other, eyes wide as dinner plates and audibly rattling in their seats. And Ratchet was pretty sure Segen was just straight up dead, sprawled across the floor of Aphelion's rear seats, with an arm bent awkwardly over his back, unmoving and silent.
However, Ratchet's hopes were dashed when he saw the technician slowly lifting himself off the floor.
"Argh…" Segen groaned, his optics recalibrating as he stood. "That sucked." He muttered to himself, rubbing the back of his head.
However, when the technician's optics finally focused and he was able to see, his disposition changed. "Whoa! We- We made it!" He suddenly shouted in joy, making Ratchet wince from the sound. "Ha-ha, ha! Oh man, I don't even wanna know what this ship is made of to have withstood that, but I'm glad it did!"
With that, Segen seemed to have wanted to reach forward for the controls, only to faceplant onto them when his legs gave out beneath him with a hollow slap.
Ratchet couldn't hold back a quick chortle at the technician's pain, but quickly turned serious when Segen recovered and started fiddling with the controls.
"Hey… Don't! Touchmyship!" Ratchet slurred, throwing his dizzy body at Segen to knock him off the controls.
"Ow! What!?" Segen demanded angrily when Ratchet shoved him away from the controls.
"Don't touch… my ship!" Ratchet repeated, more clearly this time, jabbing a finger at Segen.
"I was just putting in the coordinates to our next stop, It's not like I was gonna blow us up!"
Ratchet simply narrowed his eyes at Segen before turning towards the ship's consoles. Indeed, there were some new coordinates put in, for a very distant planet. A planet with a name that made Ratchet reminisce of home.
He then raised his head and turned to Segen. "Why are we going to Veldin?"
Segen drew breath before answering. "The place where we need to go, where the Folding Drives are, is very difficult to reach. It is in the heart of Ruined territory, so we'll need a way to blend in." He explained. "In this universe, Veldin is one very nasty blackmarket heckhole. If you want it and it's illegal, it's at Veldin." He said. "As long as you can pay for it, of course."
"Hmmm, this dimension's Veldin does not sound like a friendly place." Clank said.
"Oh, it's not," Segen confirmed, turning from Ratchet toward the little bot. "It's an arrid, dusty place with nothing nice to offer anyone. And the people? Hoooo boy, Veldians are resentful, petty little jerks! I hear they literally pass down grudges through generations! Can you believe-"
Segen's rant came to an abrupt stop when his gaze returned to Ratchet. The yellow lombax was staring daggers at the technician, ears angled back and mouth taut from keeping himself from openly snarling.
Segen then gulped and chuckled nervously. "Uh, I mean, I- I love Veldians! My uncle is a Veldian! Yeah, such nice, forgiving people, hehehe."
Ratchet just rolled his eyes and returned to sitting down, taking the wheel once again, repressing a growing urge to beat the technician over the head with his wrench.
"How long will it be until we arrive?" Kit's voice reached Ratchet's ears.
"It says here we're looking at a few hours." Ratchet replied.
"What are we going to do for that long?" Rivet asked, subtly shooting a glance at Segen.
"Well," Segen started loudly, stretching his arms high above his head. "I can't eat, drink, or scratch my nose in this thing," He said, gesturing to his suit. "But you know what I can do?"
At that, Segen looked at one of the screens on his gauntlets and started tapping away at it.
Then, with no warning, Segen went out like a light, slumping into his seat, fast asleep.
"Classy." Rivet said unimpressed.
Ratchet let out a heavy sigh and let his head hang down. "This is going to be one of those long adventures, isn't it?"
0000000000000000000
After a while, everyone had seemingly decided to take a page of Segen's book and get some shut eye. Clank and Kit were in their seats, deep in rest mode, regaining their strength, while Ratchet had leaned his seat back, hands over his chest and eyes closed while he left Aphelion on autopilot.
Rivet however, found herself staring out at the unfamiliar stars.
She couldn't exactly tell the difference between the stars back in her universe, since the bright little dots were simply too many to count, and the changes, if they were there, were too minute to notice.
But Rivet wasn't star-gazing just for the fun of it. She was busy thinking, her thoughts wandering in all sorts of weird directions.
Her mind had already been restless before this. The idea of finally being able to go to the Lombax Dimension by itself had given her plenty of food for thought. But now, there were other concerns in her mind. Both new, and old, yet changed.
She needed someone to talk to, someone to help her get these things off her chest.
She looked at the lombax just a few feet away, hesitance gnawing at her mind. "Hey, Ratchet?" She called softly, afraid she might wake someone up by accident.
"Yeah, Rivet?" He whispered in reply with his eyes still closed, surprising her.
"Oh, I thought-" She stammered, pausing and starting over. "Hey, can- Can we talk?"
At that, Ratchet opened his eyes to look at her. He then straightened his seat up and turned his body to face her. "Sure, what is it?"
Rivet thought about what she wanted to say. She ran her hands over her arms and looked to her side. "How are you holding up?" She asked, deciding that was the best way to start, by getting a read of her friend.
Ratchet was seemingly taken aback by the question, his mouth opened ever so slightly, before closing again. He then smiled, a thin, fleeting smile as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Good. Good enough, at least. Just a little tired, even though I know this thing hasn't even really started yet." He said with a dry chuckle.
"You can say that again," Rivet whispered with a thin smile of her own.
They shared a quiet laugh, very aware of their sleeping companions. However, the smiles on their faces vanished quickly, neither lombax meeting the other's eyes.
Eventually though, Rivet heard her friend exhale. "It's just that-" Ratchet spoke suddenly. "I've just been building this whole thing up in my head for years. Ever since I heard about the Lombax Dimension, I've had this clear, pristine picture of them in my head."
"But, as time went on, after all the things I've gone through… all the things I've been put through," He reworded, more than a drop of anger in the last words. "I can't help but have this feeling that maybe it's not even worth it?" He admitted.
"I mean, all this just to meet people I've never even seen. And I already built so much without them. I have Clank, I have my friends, I have you guys-" He gestured at her and Kit. "I even have a gir-"
He froze, and Rivet could just see the sorrow seep into his face before he lowered it. "Had." Was all he said, a simple, clear correction.
Rivet felt her heart twinge at that. "Oh, right. That..." She thought somberly, rubbing her arms.
"And now this-" He said, opening his arms and looking all over the cockpit. "The second I make up my mind, the universe swoops in and kicks me in the teeth." He sighed. "I'm starting to doubt even my little perfect picture would be worth finishing this."
Rivet's brow furrowed at those words.
"Ratchet, It's because you've gone through so much that we have to finish this." She said, a bit more firmly than she had intended, and for a second she was afraid she'd woken someone up, or even rubbed Ratchet the wrong way.
But when Ratchet raised his head to look at her, those green eyes wide from surprise, she decided to focus. She softened her expression, thinking her words carefully.
"Don't you think that because you've waited so long, and gone through so much, that you at least deserve an answer? Say that the lombaxes are either perfect or horrible, you'll at least have found out. It would be done and over with, after that, you'll be free to do whatever you want, you won't have doubt gnawing at your mind anymore. You'll have closure."
Rivet chewed the inside of her cheek before speaking. "Look, I haven't actually spent so much time building up the Lombax Dimension in my head because I've had the Emperor to deal with, so maybe my opinion doesn't really matter." She began uncertainly. "But I think I'd ever forgive myself for quitting so close to the end… And I don't think you would either."
Ratchet was silent, looking at her intently, as if he were weighing and analyzing everything she had said. Rivet was a little nervous she might have said something wrong and started hugging herself, as if to brace for a coming rebuttal.
But none came, she instead was greeted by the sight of a smile slowly making its way onto Ratchet's lips. He coughed a short laugh as he spoke. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Of course I'm right." She quipped, getting another repressed chuckle from the yellow hero.
"And here I thought you wanted to talk about something bothering you," Ratchet said back. "Thanks for the free pep talk, though." He added, his smile receding slightly as he composed himself, looking at her expectantly.
It was almost like Rivet had forgotten why she had even called Ratchet. She had concerns of her own, concerns that apparently had gotten pushed aside by her drive to help her friend.
Yet here Ratchet was; patient and eager to lend an ear. It was comforting, and gave Rivet the extra boost she needed to voice her own problems.
"I'm a little scared, Ratchet." She got out in a small voice, and that confesion alone shocked the smile straight off Ratchet's face.
"Scared of this whole mess. I mean, we have that jerk there to contend with," She said bitterly, nodding toward Segen's sleeping frame. "And a whole army of dimension-hopping villains in our way. To be honest, I've never been very familiar with winning. But now, after actually beating the Emperor and his lieutenants, and now that I have-" She trailed off, closing her eyes.
She heard Ratchet shift in his seat, likely having caught her strange reaction. She decided to continue, steeling her nerves. "One of the reasons I never got too disheartened at defeat, was that I never really had a whole lot to lose. Now that I have… things to lose," She said in a strangled manner. "I can't help but feel this dread, this just horrible feeling that if something bad happens, everything I have and everyone I care about are going to get snatched away from me."
"And I know it's probably the years of espionaje talking- he doesn't seem smart enough for that sort of thing- but I can't shake the feeling he is going to stab us in the back." She said, pointing at Segen.
She exhaled, putting her hands on her lap and fixed her gaze on them, resigning herself to the consequences of what she'd gotten off her chest.
"Look, for starters," Ratchet began. "If he ever tries anything funny, I'll hold him, you punch, deal?"
Rivet giggled at his words, feeling some heat appear in her cheeks. However, she didn't raise her head just yet.
Ratchet soon continued. "And you don't have to be afraid of losing anymore. You are probably the most dauntless person I've ever met and the best fighter I know. These chumps? The Ruined or whatever they're called? They don't have a chance!" He quietly praised her. "Especially because you're not going to be fighting them alone. You'll have Kit, and me and Clank will be right beside you guys at every turn. No one is snatching us away." He promised.
Rivet could feel relief wash over her, followed by gratitude. She was about to slowly raise her head to thank the hero, but she instead felt her breath catch when Ratchet gently took hold of one of her hands. She quickly lifted her head and found the yellow lombax, leaning close.
"Hey. Whatever comes, whatever happens, we'll go through it together, 'kay?" He said, giving her hand a light squeeze.
The two lombaxes locked eyes. They were silent, the words they had said to each other fresh on their minds, removing the need for anything else. They merely sat there, enjoying their moment.
Their moment was interrupted by a long, loud yawn, followed by the popping of joints.
The two lombaxes hurriedly scrambled to remove evidence of their interaction just as Segen woke up. Ratchet rushed to the steering wheel and Rivet got busy straightening her already perfectly straight goggles.
Shortly after Segen awoke, Rivet heard her two robot friends emerge from rest mode, springing back to life.
"Are we there yet?" Segen's dry voice asked.
"Of course he leads with that." Rivet though in irritation.
"Yes, actually," Ratchet confirmed.
Rivet was then greeted with the sight of a huge dusty orange planet. Veldin grew closer and closer as Aphelion started breaching the outer layers of the atmosphere.
"Well Segen," Ratchet resumed speaking as Aphelion kept descending. "I sure hope these coordinates you put in have what we're looking for."
"Oh they have it alright. It's just going to be a matter of whether or not we're tactful enough to get it."
"What do you mean?" Rivet asked with a brow raised in suspicion.
"How comfortable are you with bullying discounts out of people?" The technician asked with a perfectly straight face.
Rivet had to take a second to come to terms with the fact she had heard that question. "Not comfortable. Not comfortable, at all."
"Noted." Segen uttered.
At that moment, Rivet felt Aphelion touch down on solid ground. She looked out through the crystal to see a large town poking out of a long range of mountain peaks, surrounded by an enormous desert.
Ratchet had landed the ship in a distant platform covered by the terrain, yet placed near a path that wound and led to the heart of the town. It was also covered generously by shade, hence protected from the extreme heat Rivet was certain awaited them.
"Alright," Rivet spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to herself. "What's our plan? What are we looking for?"
"We need a couple of things to get past the Ruined," Segen answered. "We will need some disguises for you guys, since you know, people might take offense to your… healthiness." He said with a stare. "That part should be easy enough. The trouble starts with the other things we need."
"Since we're going so deep into Ruined territory, we won't be allowed to land, or even fly, without a clearance code and a licenced ship. Now, we should be able to get the clearance code and some proper disguises easily enough, it's just the new ship that's gonna be a problem from sheer costs."
"Hey hold on a second!" Ratchet suddenly interjected. "Why do we need a new ship? What's wrong with Aphelion?"
"Oh because the color palette is wrong, Ratchet," Segen replied without missing a beat. "It doesn't match the aesthetic that they're going for." He paused, letting his words sink.
Rivet stared at the technician with half-lidded eyes and a tight frown, keeping down a growl.
"Because we need a licenced ship to land on an occupied planet, you dingus!" Segen yelled. "We can't just roll up on a random ship and expect to be left alone!"
"Alright! Then just say that!" Ratchet yelled back.
"Just open the cockpit, alright?" Segen said, rubbing his helmet's temples. "I know a guy here who can get us everything, just follow my lead."
Ratchet obliged, opening the canopy, allowing Segen to leave and start heading towards town. Everyone else though, stayed behind. After Segen's shape started shrinking from the distance, Rivet saw Ratchet turn to her and the bots.
"Ok, so we're not doing any of that," Ratchet declared simply, meeting no objections.
"It is true that changing ships would be… suboptimal," Clank chimed in. "Aphelion is likely significantly faster and better equipped in most regards than whatever ship Segen is planning to procure."
"And we can just transmit the clearance code from here!" Rivet contributed. "At most we should just need a paint job or something to make it more believable."
"And let's just say we've got that covered." Ratchet said with a wink.
Rivet felt herself grin. "Alright then, let's go catch up with Mr Roses."
"Yeah, it'll be nice not having to breathe wilting flowers for a while."
With that, Ratchet re-opened the canopy and the heroes wasted no time hopping out. Rivet felt Kit strap herself to her back and gave her a light little bump with her right arm, along with a quick smile.
With that, the heroes jogged to catch up with Segen, who had already reached a large metal archway that served as the entrance to the town's main square. It was a large open space with several shop stands which numerous townsfolk passed between, piles of crates here and there, the place circled almost entirely by towering rusty buildings, save for the openings carved out by the converging streets. All this showered in the bright light of the desert sun.
Rivet also noticed a little old lady clothed in some light robes, praying to an odd-looking idol mounted on a stack of flat stones near one of the farthest corners of the square. She didn't pay it much mind though.
"So, this guy of yours," She spoke loud enough for Segen to hear. "Where's he at?"
"Close by," Segen replied as he walked past some locals. "He owns a garage as a front, but pedals a whole bunch of Ruined tech and tradecraft. If the clearance code, your disguises and the new ship are anywhere, they are with this guy."
Rivet had to fight a knowing smirk from appearing on her face. Even though the mean technician was a few paces ahead of her and couldn't see her expression, she wanted to be subtle.
As the group kept moving through the square, Rivet's ears picked up on several interesting snippets of conversations.
"I've heard the Ruined are getting ready for another conquest soon."
"Another one? Didn't they just capture like seven new planets?"
"Restless bunch, they are. Utterly restless."
Rivet felt her brows knit when she heard this exchange. Hostile planetary takeovers were not something she was partial to. However, her sensitive ears picked up a different conversation before she could properly think about the last one.
"Why would a Bishop come all the way out here?" A villager asked, sounding comicaly unconvinced. "Those monsters only ever go to war-planets to help the conquest. The Cardinals would never send a Bishop out here to the butt-crack of the galaxy to beat up a bunch of low-lives like us."
"Well, I've heard something is coming this way, check-up patrols are not that uncommon you know? And well, there's the nature of local business. I don't think the Ruined are very happy about us contrabanding their stuff."
"Hmmm, you're right, it's about that time too, isn't it? Someone should tell Miss Fern to wrap up her praying, the Ruined really don't like that."
"Well, be my guest! I'm not about to tell her to stop praying for her buried son!"
Rivet was getting a very unpleasant sense of deja vu. An oppressive, galaxy-spanning rule, bolstered by brutal enforcers? She wouldn't be surprised if the leader of these Ruined named their entire faction after themselves somehow.
She decided to keep her thoughts to herself, opting not to make a scene while in public.
However, something crossed her mind. Segen was still wearing his hazmat suit. He didn't camouflage himself at all, no hologuise or anything, just walking around in the open in a town that clearly had a lot to fear from the faction the technician belonged to.
To say Rivet found this strange would have been an understatement. But if the locals didn't question it, neither did she.
Eventually, the group crossed the square and Segen led them down an ally. At the end of this shadowy ally, stood a single shop, built into the side of a tall and dusty rock formation. The words "Roy's Garage" were plastered on a rusty sign that hung over the entrance to the building.
"This is the place?" Rivet asked, tilting her head at the place.
"Yes. Remember, the garage is a front, this guy is legit."
"We'll see about that." Ratchet said, earning a grumble from Segen.
With that, the group entered the garage. Rivet felt a relaxed sigh escape her when the feeling of decent air conditioning washed the desert's heat away. She then swept her eyes over the inside of the building.
It was a spacious place, with room to house several small ships at once. Tools and parts were spread all through the garage, on tables, shelves and leaned against the walls.
The sound of struggle could be heard and Rivet soon pinpointed a large purple alien working on a huge engine block. The alien had an old welder's mask and was dressed in true grease-monkey attire, down to the multitude of stains on both his clothes and his skin.
"Roy," Segen called loudly, his voice echoing slightly in the garage. "How's it going?"
Roy, the purple alien, did not reply immediately, instead focusing on finishing his work. Rivet saw the man very carefully use a blowtorch to reattach a previously broken piece of the metal frame back on, creating a smooth, even weld, a mark of experience.
Once Roy was finished, he exhaled and lifted his welder's mask, revealing his wrinkled face and age. "Well, well, well." The alien said as he turned toward the group. "Seems you made yourself some friends, ey Segen?"
"Sure, sure," The technician said hurriedly. "We actually have an order for you, Roy, a same-day delivery order."
Rivet's ears flicked at Segen's suspicious pronunciation, but upon seeing the expression on Roy's face, she quickly caught on.
"Same-day delivery, ey?" Roy repeated. "What for?"
"We're trying to get to a planet controlled by the Ruined," Ratchet responded before Segen could. "We have to pick something up there but don't want to get caught. Do you have anything we could use for that?"
Roy hummed to himself, scratching his chin. "Well, you'd definitely need disguises, they don't take too kindly to healthy people around there." He warned. "I have something that should fit you. You'd also need a clearance code to get past any blockades, along with a proper ship."
"We already have a ship," Rivet declared, and she could feel Segen start glaring holes at her. Not that she cared. "We just need the disguises and the code."
Roy huffed and nodded, before turning around and heading deeper inside his garage. A few seconds passed and Rivet lost sight of the purple grease-monkey when he took a turn behind an orange ship.
"What do you think you're doing?" Segen asked tersely.
"Getting what we need." Rivet said, crossing her arms at Segen.
"You missed the ship."
"We already have a ship." Ratchet stepped in. "Aphelion can camouflage, she has refracting panels on her hull to change colors. We just have to configure the patterns to match your black, green and gold. If those clearance codes work, we shouldn't have a problem."
Segen raised a finger at the yellow lombax and seemed to wind up to yell something at him. However, he was cut off by a thunderous sound.
A sound like the sky being split.
Rivet's hair stood on end and a quiet gasp left her lips. She could never forget that sound.
She turned towards Ratchet. "They're here."
Then, the sounds of panicked screaming reached her ears and she saw Ratchet grow tense, ears and tail going straight. "Let's go."
She nodded and immediately moved to turn towards the exit, followed by Ratchet.
"Woahwoahwoah!" Segen suddenly shouted, rushing to place himself between the lombaxes and the exit, arms spread out wide. "Where the heck do you think you're going!?"
"We're going to protect the townsfolk!" Rivet yelled back.
"Ohhhhh no you don't! If you go out there and pick a fight, the Ruined are going to know that two lombaxes wiped out a troop deployment! They are going to be looking for us!"
Rivet snarled as she pushed past the technician, knocking him over. She heard him protest loudly at this, but she didn't spare so much as a glance behind her as she ran, the heat of the desert returning the second she exited the garage. And even though she could not see him, she heard Ratchet's footsteps right behind her.
Rivet ran through the alley back to the main square. She stopped just as the alley opened up to get a grip on what she was walking into.
To her surprise, the amount of bad guys was much smaller than she thought. This was probably due to the fact the ship that hovered above the town square was significantly smaller than the one that had attacked Megalopolis. It was colored the same, and had the same general structure, huge golden ring and all, but it was at least a third of the size.
There were still plenty of enemies to go around, and all the familiar faces were here. Fishbowls, Slashers, Calibers and Scorchers.
Strangely enough though, it didn't seem like the Ruined were actually causing much trouble. All the townsfolk had retreated into their homes and cleared the square, but the bad guys didn't chase after them, and had even left the shops alone. They appeared to be looking for something, but other than irritatedly rummaging through the shops, they weren't being very violent about it.
"Huh, that's… odd." Rivet commented.
"It would seem they aren't here to raid the town." Clank's voice spoke. "They must have a specific objective in mind. I would assume it has something to do with Roy's business."
"Well, that just buys us time to come up with a plan," Ratchet said as he drew his Blaster Pistol. "What's our play?"
"The enemies are currently very tightly packed." Kit suddenly announced. "Weapons with a high area of effect could deal very significant damage to multiple enemies at once."
"Well, you don't have to tell me twice," Rivet said, equipping the Shatterbomb.
She started getting her pitching arm ready, closing an eye and sticking her tongue out as she took aim. But, just as she was about to throw her first bomb, she heard a horrified scream reach her ears.
She then felt a knot appear in her stomach when she turned and saw the old lady she had seen praying a while ago being dragged by the hood of her robes across the ground, pulled by a Slasher's hooked sword.
Rivet heard the woman crying her throat out, throwing her arms desperately in the opposite direction she was being dragged from. The white lombax recognized that as the place the old lady's shrine was at. And the knot in her stomach tightened when she saw a Caliber throw a sturdy kick at the shrine, knocking it over.
"Skachane itskalen! Tar lan torarir ni janji xansui!" The Slasher shouted over the woman's crying, throwing her to the ground. "Tari kapral moi delo sar!"
At that, Rivet saw a Scorcher slowly approach the fallen woman. It looked at her blankly, tilting its head to the side and raising an arm at her before speaking in it's garbled voice. "Iros, itskalen."
Then, just as Rivet was about to scream for the villains to stop, she heard a powerful metal cling.
She then saw the Scorcher's head slowly dissolve into bright yellow dust.
She whipped her head to her side to see Ratchet, wielding the Headhunter. She then saw him fire off another shot, and when she looked back at the villains, the Slasher was now headless as well.
The other Ruined had apparently only now processed what had happened, because they all snapped into action, roaring battle cries and immediately opening fire on the heroes, completely ignoring the old lady.
"Go distract them!" Ratchet shouted as he got up and ran to the left. "I'll pick them off!"
"Right!" She shouted back before leaping out of the way of an incoming bullet from a Caliber, Phantom Dashing past a volley of Fishbowl bullets and using a shop stand as cover to switch weapons.
Rivet managed to see Ratchet running off, using the Headhunter to gun down three Slashers that were chasing him. Even as the three lean figures moved low to the ground and zigzagged, Ratchet only fired three shots, and each one hit its mark. As good a marksman as Rivet was, she had to admit, Ratchet was really on another level.
Nevertheless, Rivet wasn't going to slouch in this fight. She needed to draw attention off Ratchet to let him work efficiently. So she picked out the best tool for that job.
Just as a squadron of Fishbowls rounded the corner, Rivet equipped the Glove of Doom. She then threw a single round at the villains and watched as the metallic agents hatched, immediately chomping on the Fishbowls.
The scrawny villains screamed as they tried shaking off the hungry agents to no avail, eventually crumbling, leading the agents to look for new prey.
Rivet got on the move as well. She switched over to the Bombardier and released the mechanical drone to rain explosions on her enemies, all while the agents kept chomping on any Fishbowls they came across. Sounds of angry and pained Ruined cries permeated the battlefield.
She then drew her Buzz Blades and started spraying fire over any foe she came across. Between her agents, the bombardier drone, her own fire, and Ratchet sniping any enemy left unattended, the Ruined were left in total disarray.
Rivet moved through the square, dodging the many stray projectiles that flew through the air. She eventually made her way to a stretch of parallel running shops as she chased a fleeing Fishbowl.
Once she put down her enemy with a swift blow from her Omnihammer, she was ready to push on when she saw a pair of Calibers turn the corner of the shops ahead, charging their weapons.
Rivet smirked at the duo and touched the ground, her body low and ready to dash forward and jump past the coming projectiles. But just as she was about to attack, three Slashers jumped into the alley, sprinting towards her with their swords out.
And at that very moment, the Calibers started firing. The pressure was high enough to make Rivet turn heel to reposition herself, opting to leave a kill corridor like that. However, the second she turned around, she was met by a wall of green fire. The heat made Rivet put her arms up and squint her eyes.
A Scorcher had sneaked up on her and boxed her in. The creature had its arms forward, spewing fire as it advanced, pushing Rivet back and closing off her exit.
"Rivet!" She heard Kit cry.
The lombax remembered she had some quickly approaching company to deal with. So, Rivet turned right back around towards the incoming enemies, switched weapons and pulled the trigger.
When the Slashers leaped at her, swords posed for brutal overhead swings, they all bumped face-first into the glowing shield of Rivet's Void Repulsor.
The lombax smirked at the masked faces plastered on her translucent shield before releasing the trigger and blasting the shield forward, knocking the Slashers back. She then pulled up a new shield upon hearing the loud blasts from the Calibers' guns. Rivet pushed ahead, seeing the projectiles being caught on the surface of her shield as she went. And so, just when the Slashers had gotten up and were about to resume their attack, Rivet released her shield again, this time enhanced by the Calibers' bullets. The ensuing blast showered the enemies in energetic shrapnel, knocking them all over.
Not pausing, Rivet switched weapons once again, returning her attention to the Scorcher behind her. Upon seeing a small squad of Fishbowls arrive to reinforce their fire-loving friend, Rivet felt herself justified in firing a single shot of the Bouncer.
The bouncy projectiles smothered the green fire and the hazmat-wearing villains with dark yellow bursts, flooring all enemies in a matter of seconds.
Pleased with her work, Rivet turned right back around in search of any remaining enemies. A couple of moments later, she was met with the sight of her agents and bombardier drone exploding into brilliant flames all around a group of Ruined.
Rivet managed to spot a single Caliber surviving the explosion, trying to orient himself. However, before he could get his head on straight, it was blasted off by a Headhunter bullet.
The sharp-shooting yellow lombax responsable entered the scene soon after, looking very pleased with himself. "I think that's the last of them." He said, blowing out the smoke at the end of his weapon's barril.
Rivet rolled her eyes at the cocky gesture, but smiled nonetheless.
But just as she was about to holster her weapon, Rivet heard the sound of abstract engines roaring. She raised her head to the sky, to see two long spikes shoot out of the ring on the Ruined ship's golden ring. The spikes began emitting a blinding purple light that made Rivet shut her eyes and look away, before the same booming sound she had heard before erupted, sending out a small shockwave strong enough to ruffle her hair.
After this, Rivet raised her head again, and saw the Ruined ship was gone, which made her sigh with relief. It was over, for now.
The next sound she heard was sniffling. She turned to see the old lady scampering towards her toppled shrine. The lady immediately got to shifting the heavy flat rocks
Rivet rushed over to her. "Here, let me help you with that."
"Oh, bless you." The lady said, wiping some tears off her face. "Bless you."
"Are you alright?" Ratchet asked warmly as he joined in on restoring the lady's shrine.
"Yes, I'm fine," The lady replied. "Thank you so much."
Rivet's chest swelled with pride when she saw the old lady smile at her restored shrine, the small idol returned to its rightful place.
She then heard the other townsfolk start returning. The varied aliens all emerged from their homes and hiding places and started cheering, howling praise and gratitude at the heroes.
"I can't believe you guys did that! That was awesome!"
"That'll make those creeps think twice about coming here!"
Rivet smiled and waved at all the celebrating people, a warm feeling of accomplishment nesting itself in her chest. She glanced over her shoulder to see Kit smiling as well, beaming at the crowd.
"We're getting good at this hero business." She thought to herself.
"Well, who would have thought?" A voice raised itself above the others in the crowd, drawing Rivet's attention. "I've never seen anyone fight off a battalion of Ruined War Caste that easily."
Rivet saw Roy approaching, a yellow metal orb in his hand and an expression of pure gratefulness on his face.
"Well, we know a thing or two." Ratchet said casually.
"I bet." Roy agreed as he tossed the yellow orb to Ratchet. "I was originally going to charge you nearly half a million bolts for that," He said, pointing at the orb. "But I think saving my sister covers your expenses."
At that, Rivet saw the old lady go over to her brother and be enveloped by his embrace. "Thank you, all four of you, from the bottom of my heart." Roy said, still hugging his sister.
Rivet couldn't find the words, she was still far from used to this. All she knew was that she would gladly fight however many Ruined were left in this universe just to help people like these be happy.
"Be careful on your journey, wherever you're going." Roy warned, now having released his sister who turned to face them. "The Ruined are fiercely defensive of their conquered worlds. You'll face much stronger foes than the ones you saw here."
"We'll keep an eye out for trouble," Rivet promised. "And thank you for the code and hologuises, we were a little short on money right now." She admitted, scratching the back of her neck and smiling embarrassedly.
"Oh they aren't hologuises," Roy said suddenly. "They are real Ruined suits. If you are going to a Ruined-occupied planet to find something in a stealthy manner, then you'll need a real, solid disguise"
"Really? How come?"
"A hologuise could likely fool most civilians and members of the War Caste, but it won't fool a Bishop. And a Bishop is the last thing you want to get caught by."
Rivet remembered hearing that title before, among the townsfolk.
"Can we know where you are going?" The lady asked. "So I may send prayers of safety your way?"
Rivet was about to answer, but caught herself when she realized she didn't actually know where she was going. She knew it was some planet controlled by the Ruined, Segen said as much, but she did not know the name of the place.
"Misericordia," A low, gravelly voice said. "We are going to Misericordia."
Rivet's eyes flicked over to find Segen, advancing towards them. The technician's shoulders were squared up, his hands clenched into tight fists, and a narrow, sharp glare in his eyes.
"Misericordia!?" The lady exclaimed, bringing a hand to her mouth. "But that's-"
"The Ruined Homeworld," Segen cut her off, not taking his eyes off Rivet. "The most well-defended planet in their entire dominion."
"You can't go to Misericordia!" Roy protested suddenly. "You'll get caught! Should you somehow manage to even land, that planet is crawling with the War Caste! The Bishops will find you and kill you!"
Rivet gulped at the sudden spike in worry. "Listen, we'll be careful, our ship has some pretty good camouflage and with what you've given us, we can move safely through their defenses."
"We have quite a bit of experience in these sorts of matters," Clank's voice came. "We can assure you, there is no need to worry on our behalf."
The two siblings did not look very convinced, but relented. "Just please be careful," The lady begged one last time. "They killed my son, I don't want them to kill anyone else." She said in a low voice, prompting her brother to grab her shoulder comfortingly.
Rivet felt a deep pang of sorrow at those words, so much so, she could not gather a proper reply.
Segen however, spared her the need for one. "Yeah yeah, we'll be careful. See ya later, Roy. Please tell your sister to hide her shrine better." He said, pushing past Rivet and heading out of town.
Rivet held herself back from throwing a punch at the tactless jerk, but just barely.
Soon enough, she found herself walking after the technician, with Ratchet walking closeby. Once they reached a point where they could see Aphelion, Rivet turned towards her fellow duo.
"That was some nice sharpshooting back there." She complemented.
"Thanks! You guys weren't so bad yourselves."
"How many did you get?"
"Twenty four." Ratchet declared proudly.
"Hah! We got twenty six!"
"Really? And how many of those did your Doom agents get for you, huh?" He asked, planting his hands on his hips, a competitive grin on his face.
She was about to retort something to her friend, but she nearly jumped away when she saw Segen reach out for her out of the corner of her eye.
Rivet's ears and tail were on end, eyes wide. She never really trusted the technician, but she hadn't been expecting an actual attack from him.
His hands were crooked into claws and aimed at her neck. He looked like he wanted to strangle her. However, he pulled his arms back, clenching his hands and lowering them slowly. The technician groaned very loudly as he tried to regain his composure.
"You…" He said. "You little… argh!" Segen yelled and kicked at the ground. "Why did you idiots do that!? The Ruined will have their guard up now!"
"We had to protect the townsfolk!" Ratchet yelled back, the fact he placed himself between her and Segen did not go unnoticed by Rivet. "We weren't going to stand by and do nothing!"
"Why!?"
"Because they were innocent! We're heroes, remember? We aren't about to let the Ruined have their way with them!"
"Buy whyyyyyy!?" Segen moaned, looking up at the sky in desperation. "You realize you made this mission a whole lot harder, don't you? All to save, what, fifty people you've never even met before?"
"Even if it had been a single person, we would have done it." Rivet stated, unwavering. The memory of those people happy and feeling safe served as more than enough justification in her mind.
"Well, I sure hope you like them, because they are likely the last fifty people you are ever going to save!"
At that, Segen turned around and stormed off toward Aphelion.
"He does have a point." Clank said suddenly, and Rivet had to do a double talke.
"Wha- Bolts!" She exclaimed, louder and more shrill than she meant. "You're siding with him!?"
"I am merely pointing out that we will face greater resistance from now on." Clank replied calmly. "While I most certainly do not regret our choice to defend the people of this town, we must be ready to face the consequences of said choice."
"I concur," Kit added quickly. "We will face greater challenges from this point onward, and it would be best to be well prepared for them."
"We will be." Rivet promised, giving her metal friend a little bump.
"There's nothing these freaks can throw at us that we can't take if we take it on together."
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