Chapter 5: Difficulty Spike
Nearly a half hour or so after hitting the first facility, the group had extracted the piece of the map Dal had sent there. As an extra precaution, the map piece had been stored and backed up within Clank, Kit and Glitch separately, ensuring that backtracking would not be necessary.
Afterwards, the group debated which facility to attack next. Segen explained that there was another outpost which was about as large and well defended as the one they had just hit, and the other was a much larger and more heavily protected facility.
Ratchet brought his hand to his chin and thought about what course to take. "On the one hand, if we go to the small one first, we'd be saving the worst for last," He began. "But on the other, getting the bigger obstacle out of the way first lets us take it easy on the last one."
"I say we go hit the big one first!" Rivet suggested enthusiastically.
"Why is that?"
"I dunno, sounds like it would be more fun."
"Alright then."
"Is that really the entirety of your decision making process?" Segen asked.
"Yep." Both lombaxes said at once.
Segen sighed. "Of course it is. Big Base first it is."
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The Big Base, as they had come to call it, was rather deserving of its moniker. Ratchet was thinking of something maybe two or three times as large as the last outpost, and was understandably taken aback when he laid eyes on the compound before him.
A large tower stood in the middle of a wide field of metallic ring-like barriers. The dark material of the structure was faintly outlined by the lights that shone through its scarce windows, making the structure look like it swallowed the bright lights of the Undercity.
As Ratchet lifted his head to look at the entire length of the tower before him, he started getting a bad feeling that the terminal was going to end up being in one of the highest floors, and a faint sense of regret began to manifest in his mind.
As for the defenses leading up to the tower, Ratchet pursed his lips at the sigh of them. There were several patrols of Ruined pacing through the gaps between the rings. The rings themselves were thick and had few gates to pass through, a guard tower above each.
"How are we gonna get through all that?" Ratchet whispered hoarsely as he ducked behind their cover.
"As much as I hate to admit it," Rivet chimed in. "We might need a plan for this one."
"I thought our specialty was improvisation?" Kit joked, getting a giggle out of Rivet.
"And that it is, Kit. But improvisation is only ever as good as the plan it breaks away from."
"Well, you wouldn't need to improvise if the plan was, ya know, good." Segen spat. "That's kinda the whole point of a good plan."
Ratchet repressed a groan, and took his hand away from his holstered Omniwrench. "Alright, we're definitely going to need a distraction."
"I can make a distraction." Rivet said, and Ratchet turned to see her draw her Mr Fungi glove. "These guys know how to call attention to themselves."
"No." Segen cut in harshly. "If we do anything loud, an alarm is going to be triggered and a boat-load of reinforcements will arrive."
"So we take out the comms tower thingies like last time?" Ratchet proposed.
"The 'comms tower thingies'-" Segen airquoted derisively. "-Are inside the main building. We have to get inside without triggering alarms before you can disable them. Also, the central terminal where Dal's map piece will be at, is blocked behind some pretty heavy duty doors, so you'll need to knock out two separate power generators to disable them."
"It is important that the generators are disbled after-" He drove his finger into Ratchet's chest as he said the word. "-The comms are disabled, or an emergency signal will be sent out automatically, so we will need to stay in touch and coordinate once inside."
"Alright, that's all great," Rivet spoke up. "But how are we getting inside to begin with?"
At that, Ratchet returned his gaze to the facility before him. He started observing the layout of it more keenly. He remembered there were scant, but existing windows on the surface of the main tower, with bumps directly below them that looked like small balconies. That got his gears turning.
"Hey, Kit?"
"Yes, Ratchet?"
"Do you think you could throw us all the way over to one of those windows?"
"Wait, what?" Segen yelped.
"Ohhhh, I like the way you think." Rivet said, nudging him on the shoulder.
Kit meanwhile, got off Rivet's back and looked at the building, optics angled in a calculative manner. "It is a considerable distance, but… yes, I believe I can." She stated with enthusiasm.
"Now hold on a minute-" Segen began putting his hands up.
"Great, whenever you're ready!" Ratchet said, giving the little robot a thumbs up and nod, which she returned right before running off to get some space.
He saw Kit power down, slouch, and then shrink. Then, a mechanical whirring filled the air, and the tiny robot suddenly sprouted enormous legs followed by a matching torso, the ground rumbling as she grew into her imposing warbot form.
Kit's eyes scanned the tower and flashed bright blue. "Calculations complete." She said, turning toward Ratchet and extending a giant hand to him. "Ready for launch."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Segen exclaimed in disbelief.
"Nope." Replied Ratchet as he hopped onto Kit's hand. Metal joints moved as the massive robot then positioned herself, taking aim.
A moment later, Ratchet found himself shooting through the air, wind pushing against his face, memories from Megalopolis and more recently the Maze of Kamul, flooding back into his mind. He had to hold back a cry of joy, since in the yellow lombax's mind, there wasn't anything quite like flying through the air at extreme speeds to a potentially hazardous destination.
Before long, Ratchet saw the balcony of the Ruined tower getting closer. He spotted a couple of Fishbowls keeping guard, and drew his Omniwrench. As he was about to land, Ratchet swung his weapon at one of the Fishbowls, hitting him in the head.
As his blow connected, Ratchet himself landed on the platform, doing a quick roll to disperse the momentum of Kit's throw. Once steady, he turned around to finish off the second Fishbowl, who had already drawn his arm-mounted blade.
He was beaten to it however, when he saw Rivet slam on top of the poor villain, cracking it's helmet with her hammer. She then rested her hammer on her shoulder and walked off the fallen villain with a smirk.
Segen then crashed on the floor with a smack, face down and limp.
Ratchet jumped back at the sudden sight. "Oh, dude, are you okay?"
"...Peachy." Segen muttered, staying still.
"Well, come on," Ratchet said, nodding at the door behind him. "We need you to show us where the generators are."
Segen then put his flailed out arms close to his body and pushed himself off the floor. "Let's go then." He whispered.
The lombaxes followed the technician as he led them through the dark hallways of the tower. Upon reaching a certain point, Segen stopped abruptly, causing Ratchet to nearly bump into him. He was about to ask what was wrong, but then saw the technician slam his fist into a nearby wall and knock loose a metal panel.
"Uhhhhh-"
"I'm taking out the cameras," Segen clarified as he fiddled with the jumble of colored wires. "That should let us move around without having to worry about people seeing us." He said as he finished his work, returning the metal panel to its original place.
"Oh, cool," Ratchet said. "Where are the generators, then?"
Segen pointed at the stairs directly ahead of them. "There are three passageways up those stairs. Dead ahead is where I'm going; Comms. The right and left paths each lead to a generator room, just go straight and keep going until you reach a door with five little blue lights around it's frame."
"I'll go left." Rivet said quickly.
"I'll go right." Added Ratchet.
"Remember," Segen paused, giving the duo a severe look. "Don't fight anyone until after I've given you the signal that the comms are down, got it?"
"Got it." Ratchet repeated with a quick shake of his head.
"Alright!" Segen exclaimed, before putting his arm out. "Let's do this!"
Ratchet stared at the limb with a raised brow and a confused expression. He glanced off to Rivet, who glanced back, shrugging.
Segen seemed to notice this and grew jittery. "Oh, it's the- you know- the thing they do in movies? Where the team makes their plan and they put their hands together and do this-" He threw his stretched out arm up above his head. "No? Real- Oh screw you guys! See you in twenty minutes!"
Segen then ran off, leaving the lombaxes by themselves. Another shrug passed between them before they each got on the move, heading down their respective paths.
Ratchet kept his footfalls light and soundless, keeping his eyes sharp whenever he reached any intersections, making sure no Ruined sneaked up on him.
He kept his pace, getting ever closer to the generator room. However, after a while, he heard Clank's voice reach his ears. "Ratchet? May I ask you something?"
"Sure pal, what is it?"
"Why are you so hostile toward Segen?"
Ratchet nearly tripped at the question, jarring to keep his balance as he moved ahead. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"I have noticed you are rather, let's say, rude to him. Not that he isn't rude with you or Rivet, it is simply the fact that you usually take the highroad in situations like this."
Ratchet chewed the inside of his cheek. "I don't know, pal, he just… rubs me the wrong way, you know?"
"If I recall correctly, I used to 'rub you the wrong way' as well." The robot said in a way that made Ratchet know without seeing that he had used air quotes. "And if I am being honest, you did not exactly make a terrific first impression on me either."
"Hey!"
"Be that as it may," Clank resumed speaking before Ratchet could continue being offended. "We've come a long way, and your friendship is now one of the most treasured relationships I've ever formed."
Ratchet could feel himself smile just from those words. He stopped running at that moment, looking over his shoulder to his dear friend. "Yeah, same here buddy, I wouldn't trade ya for the world." He said, only to raise a brow at the silver bot. "But, what does any of this have to do with Segen?"
"I understand your aversion to him," Clank said with a sideways nod. "But I believe a lot of good could come from you putting your differences aside. For one thing, this mission would run much smoother if we all cooperated without conflict, and for another, I do believe that worked out well enough for us, afterall."
Ratchet put on a pout at his friend's words. It was only when Clank gave him a funny look that he rolled his eyes and groaned. "Fine, I'll-" He threw an arm out. "I'll get off his case." He conceded. "I can't speak for Rivet though, and I think you'll have a harder time talking her into it." The hero warned, memories of his conversation with Rivet aboard Aphelion coming back to him.
"I was actually hoping to receive some assistance from you in that regard."
"Why would she-"
"Oi!" Segen's voice came out through the radio, making Ratchet's ears ring. "I'm all clear on my end, comms are down! Knock out those generators so we can move this thing along!"
Ratchet sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "He isn't exactly making this easier on himself."
Clank merely chuckled. "Neither did we, back then."
With that, Ratchet resumed his advance, pressing on through the winding metal hallway.
Eventually, just as Segen had said he would, Ratchet reached a large circular door with five blue lights on it's frame. Ratchet drew in breath and limbered up in preparation for the fight he knew in his bones awaited him. Then, he stepped forward and the door opened with a hiss.
The room that laid before him was circular in layout, with a few piles of crates stacked on the far walls. A low electric hum reverberated constantly. A large column, made of intricate moving parts and glowing lights contained within a crystalline tube, stood at the center of the room. A single control panel could be seen at the base of this column, covered in switches and faintly glowing buttons.
However, it was the people in the room that really drew Ratchet's attention.
There were four Slashers loitering around, followed by two Fishbowls each. There also seemed to be one additional solitary Slasher, rummaging through some crates, a large part of its body obscured by the containers.
Having surveyed the threat, Ratchet drew his Topiary Sprinkler and fired a single round at the dead center of the room.
The sprinkler sprung to life and began coating the unassuming villains in blooming plantlife. Ratchet then switched to the Negatron Collider, charging up the weapon's beam before releasing the stream of blue energy on the villains.
The vulnerable position of the Ruined rendered them incapable of withstanding the powerful combo, which left Ratchet with a cocky smile on his face.
"That was-" He began, trailing off upon realizing there was still one threat in the room.
There remained a single Slasher, the one that had been hiding behind a stack of crates. It was glaring at Ratchet from its distant position, it's only visible hand clenched tightly.
Now that he was looking at it much more attentively, Ratchet noticed there were several details off about this Slasher. It was still covered mostly in dark bandages, but it also wore sturdier-looking armor and seemed overall cleaner than a regular Slasher. It was shrouded by a leather hood as opposed to a cloth one, and also wore a scarf. And what was most striking about this, is that the color of the streaks that ran down the figure's hood, as well as that of its long scarf, was indigo.
Seeing a new color integrated into the traditional black, green and gold palette was as obvious a clue as any for Ratchet to know this enemy was more dangerous than usual. So, as he slowly moved toward the control panel, ears angled back and tail straight, Ratchet kept his eyes on the partly concealed Slasher, and his finger on the Negatron Collider's trigger.
He noticed the Slasher didn't seem to have any weapons, which was often a bad sign as opposed to a good one.
Then, Ratchet heard the door behind him open. He whipped his head to see who had entered and saw two regular Slashers arrive, swords out and ready.
That's when he heard the sound of crates being blown to pieces behind him, followed by Clank shouting his name in fear.
Ratchet returned his gaze to the single Slasher, and nearly jumped out of his skin.
He was quick enough to lean back low, surviving the second most dangerous game of limbo of his life up to that point as the weird slasher threw a huge mace at him.
Only that, after going under the arc of the attack and Phantom Dashing away, Ratchet was able to see that it hadn't been a mace at all.
The Slasher's right arm, which had been concealed by the crates, was almost as large as the entire rest of its body. It's fingers were as long as Ratchet was tall and a wicked, sharp blade ran down each of them, a pulsing indigo light shone from the inside of its palm.
The two lesser Slashers walked behind the main one, who was slowly approaching Ratchet, running the fingers of its colossal limb on the ground, making trails of sparks and a horrible grating sound as they scratched the metal floor.
The hero then lifted his Negatron Collider and opened fire straight at the main Slasher.
The figure responded by putting its massive hand in front of itself, using it as a shield.
The brilliant blue light that filled the room as the Collider's beam crashed against the Slasher made Ratchet squint up until the moment the beam was cut off.
When it did, Ratchet's vision was taken up entirely by the Slasher's right hand balled up into a fist. He then felt the force of a wrecking ball slam against him, sending him sprawling back with a breathless wheeze.
When the hero landed roughly against the floor, he groaned and called through his radio. "Segen…" He breathed painfully, slowly getting up and drawing his Drillhound. "I'm dealing with a new guy here."
"New guy? What do they look like?" Segen asked through the radio.
"It looks like a Slasher, but… they have a huge right arm, and an indigo scarf." The lombax said, Phantom Dashing away from the swinging hand of the foe he was describing.
"Uh-oh," Segen uttered. "That sounds like a Ripper."
"A Ripper?"
"Yep, those guys are tough. Try, uh… try hitting them at their openings! Attacks with a big, unwieldy arm like that make for some pretty big openings."
Ratchet looked at the Ripper, and the two Slashers flanking it as he walked backwards, eyes darting between them. They all advanced slowly, steadily approaching the hero. Ratchet drew his Enforcer, remembering it's efficiency at dealing with these particular enemies.
Then there was a pause, a moment where Ratchet stopped moving, and the villains promptly held still. It was the beat before the draw, villains and hero itching to see who made the first move.
Ratchet decided to be proactive. He aimed his Enforcer at the Slasher to his right, moving so fast the villain barely had enough time to look surprised.
But when Ratchet squeezed the trigger, the projectiles collided not against the Slasher's body, but with the back of the Ripper's right hand. The mismatched Ruined had effectively protected its companion, before hitting Ratchet with a powerful backhand strike.
Ratchet grit his teeth as he staggered back and Phantom Dashed to regain his footing. The second he phased back into existence, he switched to his Drillhound and fired it at the other Slasher.
The Ripper didn't help the lesser villain as the drill exploded on its chest. Instead, it ran at Ratchet, arm posed for an overhead blow.
Ratchet leaped into the air as the Ripper brought down its arm, burying it's fingers in the metal floor when it did. When Ratchet landed, he turned heel and shot another Drillhound at the Ripper's back, causing it to yell and stumble.
He then leaned out of the way of a swing from a hook sword and drew his Omniwrench to parry the next one.
Ratchet now gave his full attention to the remaining Slasher before him. The taller villain pressured Ratchet by using its longer weapons, and much longer arms, to strike at him from a distance.
The hero however, had already fought a couple of these villains before and had learned a few things.
He put his wrench up to catch the hooks of the falling swords. When the Slasher locked its blades, readying to pull Ratchet's wrench from him, the lombax instead ducked and ran forward, now inside the Slasher's guard.
He then planted a brutal headbutt right on the Slasher's gut, winding the lean figure.
Then, before the Slasher's knees had buckled, Ratchet retreated and pulled his Omniwrench from the villain's now flaccid hold. When the Slasher crumpled to its knees, Ratchet swung his weapon at it's head, finishing it off.
He was about to exhale in satisfaction, but his ears flicked with the sound of rending metal. Ratchet turned his head to see the Ripper had pulled it's fingers out of the floor and had immediately returned to attack him.
The lombax switched to his Burst Pistol as dodged the spinning swing, releasing a quick burst of green bullets as the unwieldy limb made the Ripper overextend.
It flinched and squealed before doing a reverse of it's attack, creating just as big an opening, and allowing Ratchet to land just as many shots.
After that, the Ripper used its hand to push itself off the ground, jumping back and retreating several meters away. When it landed, it dug its fingers into the floor, ripping a chunk of it right off before throwing the sparking metal debris at Ratchet.
With a startled yelp, the lombax Phantom Dashed out of the way, frowning at the persistent foe before activating his Hover Boots and heading straight for it.
The Ripper got into a wide, low stance, its right arm raised and ready, anticipating Ratchet. Then, just as he entered the proper range, Ratchet jumped, boosted by his boots.
He rose above the Ripper's wide-arching strike, and above the Ripper iself. And there in mid-air, as he looked down at the villain, Ratchet drew his Burst Pistol, closed one eye and fired a single shot.
When the lombax landed on the floor, touching down with a hand and both feet, he heard the Ripper fall over with an echoing thud, emitting no further sounds.
"Phew, that guy was the toughest so far." He said as he finally walked over to the console.
"We should be weary of any other foes clad in indigo." Clank suggested. "It appears to be a denotation of rank, or perhaps skill."
"Hope Rivet did a little better than us if she bumped into any of them on her end," Ratchet said, gripping his side. "I think I could use a bit of nanotech right about now." He admitted, hissing when he rubbed a particularly painful spot on his side.
Regardless, he pushed past the pain and called Segen. "Hey, Segen? I'm looking at this big control panel on my generator. How do I turn it off?"
"Okay, press the teal button, that'll shut the generator off."
Ratchet's nose scrunched up. "The teal button?" He repeated.
"Yeah."
"You mean the blue button?"
"No! Do not push the blue button! That's the self-destruct button!"
"What!? Why does this-" Ratchet groaned and started over. "Okay, which one is the teal button?"
"You don't know what teal looks like?"
"No, I'm not some art mayor."
"What buttons are there on the screen, tell me the colors."
"Well they are all sort of… greenish blue?" Ratchet said confusedly, staring at the many buttons before him, each a slightly different shade than the other.
"Greenish blue?" Segen repeated with disgust. "Come on man, is there a turquoise one? An aquamarine one? An azure one?"
"They are all greenish blue!" Ratchet yelled. "I don't know what each shade is called! Why do you know what they are called!?"
"I am a technician! Fifty percent of my job is knowing the colors of things!"
"Well I'm not! Don't use technicolor jargon with me!"
"Oh Zoni, give me patience!" Segen screamed on his end, accompanied by a sound like a table being punched. "Okay, look. Teal is relatively dark. It's also more blueish green than greenish blue. Anything like that on the console?"
Ratchet's eyes went over the many buttons, before finding one that was dark and more green than blue. "Okay, found it." He announced.
"Great, press that button three times, that will shut off the generator."
"Done." Replied Ratchet, having done the requested motion and hearing the electric humming and bright lights of the column before him die down, its moving pieces coming to a halt.
"Excellent, now, get out of there and return to the intersection." Segen instructed, prompting Ratchet to get moving. "Once you get back there, go down the path to your right, that'll lead you to comms. Go past that, and take a flight of stairs up, I'll be waiting for you there."
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Ratchet followed Segen's directions and found himself facing a circular door, much like the one that led to the generator room. The difference was that this door was much larger, and only had two lights at it's rim, one shining a bright green, the other a dull red.
Segen stood before this door, his back to Ratchet.
"Is Rivet not done yet?" Ratchet asked, surprised.
"Not y-" Segen started, only to be cut off by the remaining green light turning red, and the door sliding open. "Okay, now she's done." He said as he walked into the recently opened room.
Ratchet looked behind him, a little pit forming in his stomach at the fact Rivet was taking so long. Usually, she would have matched him to the second, running through bad guys just as skillfully as he would have, if not outright having gotten there before him.
He shook his head, finding feeling concerned for Rivet's safety to be a rather silly thought. However, when that pit in his stomach refused to disappear, and a sliver of pain shot out of his injured side, making him involuntarily grip it, he started to worry.
"Hey Segen?" He called, going after the technician.
"Hmmm?" He hummed, as he kept walking through the large spacious room, seemingly headed to the raised platform on the far side of it.
"That Ripper guy, the one I fought, are there others like it? Other kinds of indigo-wearing Ruined I mean."
"Oh yeah,there's plenty." Segen confirmed nonchalantly. "Indigo is the color of the Elite Units, and those guys mean business. They have better armor, better weapons, and some even get cool extra abilities. They aren't as bad as Special Forces Units by any means, but they are still a cut above your standard Ruined Soldier-" He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes landing on Ratchet's injured side. "-As you were probably able to tell."
There was something about that sentence that made Ratchet raise a brow. He couldn't think of what specifically it was, given the distress he was currently in.
But then, his ears perked up when a familiar voice sounded. "Hey guys! Sorry for being late. I got caught up with some tough bad guys in the generator room."
Ratchet turned around to smile at his friend and offer her a quick high-five for a job well done. His smile faded however, when he saw the angry red slashes that ran over her left cheek and arm.
"Rivet, wha-what happened?" He asked, hands restless at his sides.
"Oh, this?" She pointed at her injuries. "Bah, don't worry, just some lucky flesh wounds this creep with a jacked up arm managed to land on me." She said casually, giving Ratchet a reassuring smile. A smile that faltered when she noticed his own injury. "Seems they gave you a run for your money too."
"Yeah, same guy as you actually, or well, same type of guy. Nothing a bit of nanotech can't fix."
"You said it." She said, giving him a nudge. "And hey, I got him back," She paused, pulling something out of her pocket. "I took his scarf." She boasted, dangling the Indigo cloth proudly.
"Nice." Ratchet scoffed with a smirk.
"If you're finished," Segen spoke up. "Can we please move on with the extraction?" Segen asked with a half-lidded stare, arms gesturing at the terminal.
Ratchet and Rivet rolled their eyes before chuckling, amused at their synced motion.
He then leaned down for Clank to hop off his back. He also passed Glitch's chip to his silver friend before he went to Segen, who picked him up and held him over the terminal's keyboard.
"Okay, this should only take a moment, there's less stuff to run through this time." Segen said out loud. "Let me just-" He trailed off, pressing a large button on the terminal.
Ratchet then felt the ground shake briefly when the large metal gate behind him closed sonorously.
"Uhhh, Segen, what's going on?"
"N-Nothing, just taking a precaution." The technician responded shiftily.
"A precaution from what?" Rivet insisted, concern lacing her tone.
The lombaxes jolted at the sound of metal being warped. Ratchet looked at the gate, and saw that a thin green spike had been driven through the rim of it. He then jolted again when another spike punctured the gate, right beside the first one. He got really concerned when a third, and then a fourth spike were driven through the gate.
"Segeeeeen?"
"Oh crud," The technician mumbled, fear weakening his voice. "That's a Bleeder."
"A what!?"
"A Bleeder," Segen repeated, his eyes wide and fixed on the door. "Another Elite Unit, like the Rippers you faced in the generator rooms."
"Oh great, just what I wanted to deal with right now." Rivet grumbled, drawing her Void Repulsor.
"Hey, you're the one who wanted to come here first." Ratchet teased, getting behind her and drawing his Headhunter.
"Yeah, and you agreed immediately!" Rivet countered. "It's as much your fault as it is mine."
"Touche." Ratchet gave in just as the sound of another spike being driven into the gate echoed through the room. "Ready?" He asked, eyes forward, noticing the sheer amount of spikes already on the gate.
"You know it." She replied, activating her weapon.
One final spike was pushed through the dark metal of the gate, completing the circle. A beat passed where silence fell upon the room. Ratchet drew in breath and held it.
With a thunderous bang and a cloud of smoke, the door was blasted open by a powerful electric blast coming from a large, round Ruined, a Burster.
Ratchet pulled the trigger and exhaled.
The Burster's body flailed backwards as the Headhunter round hit it's mark, leaving a trail of glowing yellow dust behind as the big Ruined fell to the ground.
The battle cries of several other Ruined filled the air, and Ratchet saw a flurry of bullets come at him, bullets stopped by Rivet's Repulsor shield.
The yellow lombax saw a squad of Fishbowls, complemented by Calibers, all raining fire on Rivet's shield. He switched weapons to his Drillhound and aimed it to go underneath the Void Repulsor's barrier.
The three rounds he fired drilled their way over to the battalion of enemies, leaping at them and exploding loudly, covering the villains in smoke and shrapnel.
Ratchet then saw a trio of Slashers running at them and was about to retaliate, but was beaten to the punch when Rivet shot out the Void Repulsor's shield, shattering the energy barrier against the lean Ruined and knocking them all back in one attack.
"You guys are doing great!" Segen shouted. "Keep that up, we're like, a third of the way done!"
After the status update, Ratchet returned his attention to the fight. His ears flickered at the arrival of a strange sound. It was a sound like countless gears grating against each other, like a long, metal tail slithering across the floor.
Ratchet tensed up and Rivet put her shield up again, both pairs of eyes fixed on the obscured gate ahead. Then, from behind the thick smoke, Ratchet saw a flash of indigo light, and heard the whistle of something being thrown at incredible speeds.
A split second later, a cracking sound was heard, and Ratchet looked to see a long, narrow green spike lodged in Rivet's Repulsor shield, the tip of which was mere inches away from the rebels face.
A sound like a dozen rusty metal rattlesnakes snapped the lombaxes out of their awe, returning their attention to the foe that now advanced toward them.
The Ruined that slithered into the room was huge, larger than even a Burster. It was tall, or maybe it simply used it's dark, serpentine lower half to raise itself higher and appear more intimidating. The upper half of the Ruined's body was covered in tattered bandages, its chest encased in a sturdy composite plate with a circular indigo jewel in the center of it. The creature's gauntlets were jagged and angular, ending in long, sharp fingers. It's back was covered in spikes, just like the ones lodged on the broken door and the one still in Rivet's shield.
But it was the snake-like villain's head that made Ratchet shudder. A single mechanized eye, which glowed in an intense shade of indigo, glared at him from the center of a noseless, mouthless face, given contour by rusty blades and a mess of cables and tubes that created an abstract replica of hair for the creature.
The Bleeder hissed threateningly at the lombaxes, arms out and hands made into claws, the spikes on its back shaking and emitting a rattling sound.
The villain then reached for it's back, ripping a spike right off with a crunch that made Ratchet cringe. It then threw the spike at the energy shield, causing it to bury just as deep as the first one.
"Okay, I feel like we need to switch this up." Rivet stated before she lowered the Repulsor and dodged out of the way of another spike.
Ratchet dodged as well, and went in the opposite direction to Rivet. Both lombaxes switched weapons as they started closing the gap with the Bleeder, approaching it from opposite sides in a pincer.
Ratchet had equipped the Cold Snap upon seeing Rivet equip the Warmonger and aimed it at the Bleeder. The temperature of the room dropped when the frigid projectile was fired and hit the villain, getting it ready for Rivet's attack.
But then, Ratchet saw and heard the ice crack almost immediately, the Bleeder having used its tail to break free of it's icy prison.
It then lowered its entire body to the ground and slithered out of the incoming Warmonger missile River had just fired.
The creature moved so fast that Ratchet could not properly track it. It moved faster and more fluidly than even the Slashers or Ripper he had faced and had repositioned itself practically half-way across the room in a second.
The Bleeder then reached for two more of its spikes, and threw them both at Ratchet, one after the other.
He dodged the first one by jumping through the air, but the second one grazed his right arm when he landed.
He cried out and gripped his arm at the burning sensation. He had no time to linger on his wound, since he saw yet another spike be thrown his way. Ratchet managed to move his head just in time to avoid the spike sticking him between the eyes, trailing beside his right cheek instead, leaving a red groove on his fur and skin.
"Hey!" He heard Rivet shout, drawing the Bleeder's indigo gaze from him. "Look here, you overgrown snake!"
The rebel then unleashed a stream of purple bullets from her Blackhole storm. The Bleeder put its arms up in defence as it flinched and writhed under the heavy fire. But then, the creature arched it's back and hissed loudly in rage before suddenly charging at Rivet through the pouring bullets.
The rebel reacted by Phantom Dashing backward, away from the swiping claws of the Bleeder. However, the moment she became tangible, the Bleeder wound up its tail and flicked it at Rivet, crashing it onto her side and shooting her back several feet.
It was Ratchet's turn to yell. "Hey!"
The Bleeder turned it's upper body toward Ratchet, squaring it's shoulders and rattling it's spikes at him.
The lombax then drew his Lightning Rod and fired it at the Ruined.
This time, when the Bleeder tried to block the projectiles with its jagged gauntlets, it squirmed and shrieked as electricity ran through its body.
But even with the amount of voltage Ratchet was pumping into it, the Bleeder still had the strength and raw will to slowly reach for another round of its spikes, it's indigo eye staring hatefully at Ratchet as it got ready to attack.
But then, a powerful explosion engulfed the shrieking Bleeder, making Ratchet huff in surprise.
He then saw the serpentine villain crumble to the ground, limp but still twitching, convulsing more violently on its lower half.
After the Bleeder had gone still, Ratchet saw River walking toward him slowly, holstering her Warmonger and gripping her side.
He got a mixed bag of feeling seeing her like that, it made him stay quiet, eyes shifting over her wounds and to her face, noticing she was doing the same with him.
Then, when the two locked eyes, Ratchet smiled lopsidedly. "Hey," He called, gesturing at himself. "We match."
Rivet scoffed amusedly upon realizing what he meant. Each had a slash on the cheek, another on an arm, and a painful throbbing on their side. They laughed at the coincidence before gripping their injured side, the dull, stinging pain stifling any further laughter.
"C'mon." Ratchet said with a smile and a shut eye, nodding at the terminal where Segen and Clank waited.
Both heroes then reached their companions just in time for Segen to lower Clank to the ground and turn to face them. "All done," Segen said, cringing upon seeing the lombaxes. "You guys look terrible."
"Yeah, we know," Ratchet exhaled. "Do you guys have nanotech anywhere in this place?"
Segen directed the duo to a stack of metal crates that rested behind the terminal. On this stack, Ratchet could in fact see nanotech, as well as plentiful munitions.
While he approached the boxes, Omniwrench in hand and raised to swing, he heard Segen talking to Clank. "Well, that's two down. Now we just need to get out of this place."
"Indeed, and I believe this is where our talent for improvisation comes in." Clank declared before pressing a button on his chest. "Kit, can you hear me? We have finished acquiring the map piece and are ready for departure."
"Copied, on my way."
"Hold on, what does she mean she's on her way?" Segen asked.
Ratchet had finished smashing the crates open and collected the supplies within, refilling his ammo count and sighed with pleasure as the nanotech healed his wounds, dissipating the lingering pain immediately.
"You might want to get away from the walls, pal." The hero warned, causing the technician to nervously shuffle closer to the center of the room.
Shortly after, one of the walls exploded, sending out a powerful gust of wind and making Segen yelp. Ratchet then turned to see Kit, hovering near the hole in the wall she blasted open.
"Need a lift?"
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After Kit had flown them out of the Big Base, the group had decided not to delay things and head straight to the last outpost.
Upon arriving, the party essentially recreated their previous exploit, destroying the comms tower before sweeping the base of Ruined soldiers. Ratchet noted how much more comfortable it was to fight against basic enemies rather than the so-called Elite Units.
"I never thought I'd be so relieved to see black, green and gold again." Ratchet quipped as he smacked the daylights out of a Shielder with his Omniwrench.
"As prone to confrontation as we are," Clank spoke. "I believe it is advisable to avoid battles against stronger enemies if we can help it. They have already proven capable of pressuring you to a much greater degree than the ordinary soldiers, and given the connective, synergistic nature of the Ruined's military doctrine, I believe a bad enough combination could prove very troublesome."
"Ehhh, we can take em," Rivet said confidently, walking past the defeated Ruined on the courtyard. "Anyhow, we should probably get to downloading that map piece."
"Yep, then we go back to Dal and get the last one." Segen added in confirmation, before giving the lombaxes a head tilt. "Gotta say, I didn't expect you guys to actually get all of them in a single day." He praised. "Pretty impressive."
"Are you really still surprised?" Ratchet asked with a cocky smirk.
Segen scoffed. "I am, just not for the reason you're thinking."
Ratchet raised a brow at the comment, but didn't pressure the technician further. He instead looked over to Clank, who had gotten off his back and was heading into the building, walking beside Kit. Segen followed shortly after, leaning down to talk with the little bots as they entered the facility.
The yellow lombax noticed that he was feeling much more at ease with that sight. He chuckled inwardly when he remembered himself being pissed at Segen socializing with his friends. He credited his change of heart to Clank's advice, knowing his friend to seldom, if ever, be wrong about such things.
"I think he's slowly getting better," Ratchet said out loud. "I mean, he's a bit- no scratch that- he's still very rough around the edges but, who knows? We might actually shape up into a good team."
Ratchet was a little thrown off by the silence that followed his words. He looked over to Rivet, who stood meters away, slowly rubbing her arms. "I don't know Ratchet, I still don't trust the guy."
The yellow lombax bit his lip at that. "Yeah, I know," He said mellowly, taking a seat on the steps leading to the building's entrance, elbows resting on his knees. "I don't think I trust him fully either, I just think he's past the point of betraying us. I mean, I don't think he made a plan this detailed just to dunk us at the end."
"Detailed?" Rivet asked mockingly. "The guy literally forgot the Church had been remodeled! I'm pretty sure he's just making this up as he goes." She laughed dryly.
Ratchet laughed with her, a bit more mirthfully. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."
She smiled thinly at that, and Ratchet felt some tension lift from the conversation when she sat down not far from him, elbows on her knees, just like him. He looked at her, at her weary yet slowly easing features.
It was natural for her to be reserved, seeing the life she had grown to be used to. A life of tradecraft and espionage would do a number on anyone's ability to trust. And now, very recently, she had been given a chance to rest from all the fighting, only to be thrown right back into the thick of it. He was no different. They had both been ready for a well deserved rest, for some easy answers for a while now, only to be denied those things yet again.
It was unfair, he thought, but it was up to them to make the best of it.
"Hey, even if he does stab us in the back, we still have our backup plan."
"You hold him, I'll punch?" Rivet quoted their agreement from Aphelion, chuckling. Ratchet noticed she scooched closer to him.
"Exactly." He said, giving her a finger gun and sly grin, making her giggle.
"Thanks Ratchet." She said with a sweet little smile as she suddenly took one of his hands in hers.
The motion, combined with the soft expresion on Rivet's face made Ratchet shudder. His ears flicked up and his tail went straight, his hand squeezing hers almost of its own accord. This was familiar, comforting, holding onto someone so innocently like this.
But then, he remembered what came afterwards. He remembered how much it stung, losing that feeling after getting used to it. How he was unable to do anything about it, how it just slipped out of his grasp, out of his reach.
He flinched and slid away, pulling his hand back slowly but firmly, a dreadful, prickling sensation running up his arm and twisting in his chest. That was too close. He wasn't ready. He couldn't do it yet. Even when regret instantly began churning in his stomach, he couldn't bring himself to do it again.
He dug his fingers into his palms and looked away. He hated making her feel like this.
His chest felt cramped and heavy, and he could practically feel Rivet's eyes on him.
He had to say something, he knew he had to say something. "Rivet, I'm-
"Hark! Hark thee scoundrels!" A high, regal voice shouted, causing both heroes to spring to their feet, Ratchet's previous thoughts hastily and forcefully pushed out of his head.
Quickly sweeping his eyes over the battlefield for the source of the voice, Ratchet spotted a single man entering the courtyard. The man carried himself with poise and dignity, taking long, deliberate strides and keeping a straight posture.
Ratchet snarled upon noticing the War Caste getup the man wore, doubly so after noticing the dreadful shade of indigo mixed into the color scheme.
However, there was not so much as a dirt stain on this man's black, green and gold outfit. Whereas the other Ruined Ratchet had faced were covered in dirt or grime and wore tattered, bloody bandages, this man was as clean as he would have been if he lived in a palace all his life.
The man had puffed up green and indigo sleeves like those Ratchet had seen on drawings of noblemen. He wore dark leather gloves and boots, adorned by shimmering green lights. On his waist was a belt, holsted on which was a sword scabbard, among other things. His body armor, that Ratchet could safely assume was made of carbonox from the way it looked, was covered at the breast by a decorative banner, a banner that sported a single symbol. A biohazard sign, superimposed over the outline of an hourglass.
However, Ratchet was quick to notice that the banner on the man's chest plate was colored red. Ritch, blood red.
"Hey!" The hero called when the Ruined man continued getting closer. "I'd back away if I were you!" He warned, pulling out his Omniwrench.
The man, to his credit, came to a halt near the middle of the courtyard, several meters away from the lombaxes. There, Ratchet took notice of a very peculiar detail.
The man wore a narrow-brimmed cavalier hat, with a side of it pinned to its crown, an assortment of feathers embellishing the headwear. But it was what was missing, rather than what was there, that really drew Ratchet's attention.
The man, an adult markazian from what he could tell, was not wearing a mask.
No crystal dome, no visor, no helmet, nothing. Just a golden ring at the neck of his armor vaguely suggesting a slot for a helm of some kind.
"Oh, so tis true!" The man suddenly exclaimed, a strenuous, taut smile appearing on his moustached mouth. "Thou art lombaxes! How marvelous!" He cheered, a deranged glint in his beady eyes.
Ratchet's nose and brows scrunched up at the sound of the man's voice and the old fashioned dialect he apparently spoke.
"Bishop Samson hath told me that rowdy ruffians assailed our bases in the Undercity, but the gent wasn't sure it was thou!"
"Well, you'll be sorry he was right if he sent you alone to stop us." River growled at the man.
The markazian laughed heartily at this, throwing his head back and putting a hand on his chest. "M'lady, I regret to inform thee it is thou who shalt be sorry. For thine path hath crossed with that of a Ruined Musketeer!" He declared with ample pride, drawing a Headhunter rifle.
Ratchet's eyes went wide. "The amount of illegal mods on that thing!" He thought in horror as his eyes went over the heavily altered, long barreled weapon.
"Have at thee!" The Musketeer shouted, aiming his weapon at Rivet.
Ratchet's heart nearly jumped out of his throat at the sound of the Headhunter being fired, but felt a wave of relief wash over him when he looked at Rivet having rolled out of the way of the projectile.
The rebel immediately got to her feet and ran at the Musketeer, Omnihammer raised above her head.
She swung her weapon in wide powerful arcs, causing the markazian to retreat steadily. Ratchet then saw him draw his own weapon from the sheath on his belt, an estoc.
The Musketeer then put his sword out and intercepted Rivet's incoming blow. He slotted his sword below the head of Rivet's hammer and then with a spin of the wrist, he redirected the attack, opening Rivet's guard before extending his arm and driving the tip of his estoc into her shoulder.
She cried out in pain as the Musketeer stepped back and put his sword up, smiling wickedly.
Ratchet lunged at the villain, Enforcer at the ready. He was about to pull the trigger, but saw the Musketeer glance at him, pull a small grenade from his belt and drop it at his feet.
The villain's form then refracted, repeated, stretched out and displaced itself like a hall of mirrors, before collapsing back into a single outline that now stood several meters away. Ratchet's mouth went slack as he realized what had happened.
The Musketeer had Phantom Dashed.
And not only that, but the transition had happened faster and reached a greater distance than when he or Rivet did it, almost as if the elegant villain had some sort of optimized version of the technology.
Ratchet's grim wonder was quickly replaced with fright, when he remembered the grenade the Musketeer had dropped right in front of him.
Upon realizing the spherical device was beeping rapidly, Ratchet Phantom Dashed backwards, seeing Rivet do the same.
The grenade went off right as Ratchet blinked back into existence. Immediately after, Ratchet saw the glint of sniper flash before him.
The lombax was a split second faster than the Musketeer's trigger, and managed to dodge the Headhunter bullet that had been shot at him.
He whipped his head to see the Musketeer swap his rifle for his estoc, before Phantom Dashing straight at him, a crazed smile bridging his ears.
Ratchet leaned out of the way of the Musketeer's thrust, drawing his Omniwrench to strike at the villain's stomach.
The villain leaped back however, avoiding the attack before countering with another quick thrust.
Ratchet felt the metal spike dig into his chest, scraping against his rib. His eyes closed from the pain as he pulled himself back, entering a defensive stance.
He then heard a loud battle cry, a cry the Musketeer must have heard as well, because the markazian Phantom Dashed away from him just as Rivet landed, slamming her hammer on the ground where the musketeer stood.
The duo stood up and turned toward the villain, who had once again switched to his Headhunter.
Ratchet's whole body tensed at the glint of the scope, springing into motion an instant before the weapon fired.
He then dashed toward the Musketeer, only to break suddenly when the tall villain threw out three grenades in front of him and Phantom Dashed away.
Ratchet backflipped out of range of the explosions.
When he landed, Ratchet saw the Musketeer dash toward Rivet. The rebel tried to retaliate with her Omnihammer, but when she threw a mighty overhand swing, the villain put his sword out horizontally, placing a palm at the tip of his blade.
He caught Rivet's weapon and with a fluid motion, redirected her once again, the momentum of the rebel's strike making her stumble forward. The Musketeer took advantage of this and placed a quick stab on Rivet's back, getting a pained cry from the rebel as she fell to her knees.
Ratchet grit his teeth and growled, dashing forward, a vein pulsing in his forehead upon seeing the toothy grin on the Musketeer's face.
The lombax concentrated, he willed his breath to even and kept his eyes on the villain as he turned to him and pulled his estoc back for a deadly thrust.
Then, in the blink of an eye, Ratchet raised his Omniwrench, twisted it in mid-air and caught the Musketeer's estoc in it's prongs. He then placed it on the ground, cracking the pavement as he did.
The villain's balance was thrown off at the sudden move, jarring forward. Ratchet then raised his wrench, striking the villain's chin with a powerful uppercut that sent him stumbling back.
Ratchet moved to keep the offensive and leaped at the villain but ended up hitting thin air when the Musketeer Phantom Dashed away.
Once in his new position, Ratchet saw the Musketeer draw another grenade. The markazian then wound up his arm and threw the explosive right at Ratchet.
It was caught mid-air however, by Rivet, who threw it right back at the sender with a grunt.
The Musketeer released a breathless huff when the grenade hit him in the chest, exploding shortly after.
Ratchet took advantage of the staggering attack and ran for the still recuperating villain. He threw a precise swing of his wrench at the markazian's neck.
When the villain was knocked to the side by the impact, Ratchet saw Rivet swoop in and hit him with her Omnihammer, sending the villain staggering back at Ratchet for him to hit him again.
And so they went. While Ratchet placed precise, almost surgical blows on the Musketeer, Rivet folded the villain over with the pure might of her more brutal strikes.
And after the long combo, the two lombaxes hit the Musketeer at the same time, sending him sprawling back, landing gracelessly, the sound of shattering glass following suit.
The duo kept their distance when the villain slowly started gettin up, grunting loudly as he did. It was then that Ratchet noticed something.
The villain's head looked different, his cavalier hat was missing, as was the luscious black hair that had reached past his ears, rendering the markazian bald. Dark blemishes were spread all over his head and face, his complexion pale and skeletal. The golden ring of his armour apparently was the outline of a glass dome. The elaborate facade had been a hologram projected from the glass to hide the Musketeer's true, hideous appearance.
Ratchet felt goosebumps at the sight. He knew the Ruined were supposed to be sick, but he never thought their illness would be so… disfigurating.
He was pulled from his thoughts when the Musketeer roared in rage and threw out a flurry of grenades, dashing far away.
Ratchet's breath hitched at the amount of explosives before him. There were too many even for him to dodge.
But then, a second before the bombs went off, Ratchet felt Rivet tackle him, knocking him to the ground as explosions rang out behind them in a bright scorching flash.
As the dust settled, Ratchet grunted and slowly opened his eyes. He saw Rivet on top of him, panting, smiling in relief. He started to smile back, glad she was okay.
His face went pale when he saw a glow sight appear on her temple.
Ratchet literally kicked Rivet off him in a desperate attempt to throw off the Musketeer's aim. He succeeded, but felt himself tense up when he heard the warbling sound of someone Phantom Dashing straight at him.
He turned to see the Musketeer launch his arm forth, aiming to drive his estoc into his eye socket.
However, the blade was caught, mere inches from his face, by a yellow metal hand.
Both Ratchet and the Musketeer seemed to be equally astounded, both looking over to Ratchet's right.
There, Rivet stood, glaring at the villain. She then grunted and clenched her metal arm, snapping the Musketeer's estoc in half.
Reeling back from shock, the Musketeer shrieked, staring at his broken blade in horror.
That was the window Ratchet needed.
The lombax drew his own Headhunter, took aim, and fired.
Silence followed the loud bang of his gun, and Ratchet only released the breath he was holding when that silence was broken by the Musketeer's now headless body falling backwards to the ground.
Both lombaxes then exhaled heavily, panting from the strain of such a fight.
"That… sucked…" Rivet breathed, a hand clasped tightly over one of her stabwounds.
"Yeah… I think I prefer fights… where I don't almost die… every ten seconds."
"What in the world happened here!?" The hero heard Segen shout.
He turned to look at the entrance of the facility. There he saw the technician walking briskly toward them, Clank and Kit rushing right beside him.
"Rivet!" Kit cried, running to her partner and encasing her in a hug. "Are you okay? How badly are you hurt?"
Rivet huffed from the sudden embrace, her eyes going wide and arms going stiff. However, a warm smile made its way to her face before she wrapped her arms around her little yellow friend. "I'm fine Kit, just a little banged up." She said softly.
Ratchet looked at the duo and sighed. "How come you don't hug me like that?" He asked jokingly, looking at his own robot friend.
"Because I've already grown used to you getting hurt in fights." Clank replied slyly. "Kit still has to adjust to the fact her partner being covered in wounds will be a more frequent sight than she might like."
Ratchet snickered at his companion's sarcastic tone. But settled down when he felt him place a hand on his knee. "Even though I've gotten used to it, it does not mean I like seeing you like this."
Ratchet let out a deep sigh, his ears flopping down. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, buddy."
Clank chuckled lightly. "It is fine, I know this is within your limits to bear. Let's just get you some nanotech."
"Who did you guys even fight to get like this?" Segen inquired. "Even the Elite guys back at the Big Base didn't mess you up this bad."
"It was some markazian jerk," Ratchet responded, using Clank's help to stand up. "He used a Headhunter and a weird sword. I think he called himself a Museketeer?"
Segen's eyes went wide at that. "You guys beat a Musketeer?"
"Yeah, why? Is it hard?" Ratchet asked cockily, right before the stab wound in his chest flared up and made him groan loudly.
"Considering they are a Special Forces Unit, yeah, it's pretty hard."
"Special Forces Unit?" Rivet spoke up, gingerly letting go of Kit and standing up.
"The guys above Elite Units." Segen clarified. "Musketeers are some of the more dangerous ones too, so, looking on the bright side, I guess this fight served as a warm up for the Acolyte."
"The Acolyte is going to be this tough!?" Ratchet exclaimed.
"About as tough, yeah. But hey, I'd say you did pretty well, and an Acolyte is only like, thirty seven percent stronger than a Musketeer."
"That is not a small gap."
"Oh you'll be fine." Segen said with a dismissive wave. "Anyway, we better get going back to Dal to get that last piece, your next Trial of Kamul is coming up!"
Ratchet closed his eyes, looked to the dark cavern roof and breathed deeply.
"You will be fine Ratchet," Clank's voice came, and the lombax felt his friend hop onto his back. "We are making very good headway."
"Yeah… I suppose we are." He agreed.
His eyes then wandered through the courtyard, noticing that Segen had already started walking off into the distance waving and calling him to speed up. Ratchet then looked at Rivet, nodding at Segen's direction with a smile.
Rivet smiled back, although fleetingly, with her expression fading as she walked ahead, and Ratchet was left with a view of her back.
His eyebrows knit, and he exhaled through his nose.
He really did hate making her feel like this.
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The lombaxes moved through the roofs of the Undercity's heart. They were still undisguised, so they couldn't walk through the Ruined crowds freely. They followed Segen, who walked down on the streets casually as he led them back to the building where they had met Dal.
After a short while, they arrived at their destination and Ratchet saw Segen come to a halt before waving at them.
The heroes carefully descended from the rooftops, eyes scanning their surroundings for any unwanted onlookers. They eventually walked up to Segen, who stood at the threshold of the building.
"Okay, are you sure Dal is going to be cool with us being… ya know, healthy?" Ratchet questioned, gesturing at his face as he did.
"Yeah, Dal is a pretty reliable guy, and he already knows what I'm up to, so you guys being healthy shouldn't really throw any kind of wrench into our arrangement."
"Hey, Segen?" Rivet called, drawing the technician's gaze. "Should we be worried about that?"
Ratchet turned to the gate the rebel was pointing at. It looked like it had been kicked open, the metal of it warped, one of its hinges clearly having been knocked loose.
"Oh no," Segen muttered.
The technician ran into the building, breathing heavily as he pushed the damaged door open. Ratchet followed after him, keeping his head down and his ears up, listening in for any threats.
They entered the waiting room where they had first met Dal, only that the quartermaster's desk, and the reinforced walls that stood before it, had been torn to pieces, papers and office supplies scattered across the floor, along with debris of the damaged structures.
That's when he heard a hideously familiar voice hit his ears, and a pit formed in Ratchet's stomach. "Do you think I am an idiot, Dal?"
"N-No, please I don't- I have no idea-"
"Three of our bases were attacked today," The distant voice cut him off. "Bases that received transmissions from you, bases that were attacked within hours of you sending those transmissions."
Ratchet saw Segen advance past the destroyed desk, taking a left into a deeper room inside the building. He followed him, noticing that the voices got louder and clearer as he did.
He then arrived at a large open room with several desks laid out symmetrically, Segen had hidden behind one, an expression of horror so pure, even his masked face couldn't hide it.
Ratchet didn't have to look hard to find the cause of this.
Bishop Samson stood over Dal, holding the kneeling quartermaster's head with both red hands, looking down at him with cold eyes as the man sniffled and tried tugging the bishop's hands off.
"It is also funny," Samson spat. "That the recordings of the time at which those transmissions were sent, happened to be erased. It's almost as if you didn't want me seeing what you were up to." The bishop spoke in a calm, even voice.
Ratchet felt his fists ball up when he heard Dal cry out in agony as Samson's hold on his head grew tighter.
"Please! I'm sorry I didn't-"
"Oh Dal, we both know the punishment for treason is death. It is written." Samson cut him off again, apathetic. "But, what isn't written, is how painful that death must be. So, I'll make you a deal. Tell me who you spoke to, and I'll end your life quickly."
Ratchet looked over to Segen, the technician was paralized hiding behind his desk. He didn't seem to see Ratchet even as the lombax tried getting him to move, waving and gesturing and hissing at him from his own hiding place.
Upon getting no response, Ratchet turned around to Rivet, who was hiding with him. She looked about as uncertain as Segen did, which was as bad a sign as Ratchet could hope for, because he quickly found his own drive being slowly eaten away by doubt.
Dal's voice came again. "Okay, alright… I'll talk." He whispered, and Ratchet could feel a chill run down his spine when he did. "It was… It was Segen, he came here with two others, they are the ones that attacked the bases, I swear."
Ratchet's mouth hung open at the realization that Dal had just spilled the beans, blowing their entire cover. There was no knowing what was going to happen to them now. And so a slew of paranoid thoughts began to brew in his head, thoughts on where to hide, on how to proceed, on whether they would even be able to make it that far.
The yellow lombax's mind was silenced by Samson's voice. Or well, not his voice, a low wheeze, a wheeze that grew into a quiet snicker.
Samson cleared his throat and sniffled away his laughter in an almost embarrassed manner. "Sorry, I'm sorry," The bishop muttered, a scoff following his words. "But do you really expect me to believe Segen has the spine-" He pronounced sharply. "-The absolute stones to do something like this? To go against me?" He questioned, audibly losing part of his composure.
Dal's cry of pain made Ratchet cringe and tighten his fists even more, unable to move under the circumstances. "Yes!" Dal cried. "Yes, I'm telling you, it was him, why would I-"
"I should let the Wardens have you until they get bored of you." Samson hissed loathingly, his mask fully down, his voice dripping with venom. "And I should feed your mangled carcass to the Aberrants, but you know what? You wanna know what, Dal? They are all really far away and I am a busy man, so we're just going to do this here and now." He said, shaking the quartermaster violently, causing him to scream.
"I am required to pray for you." Samson said. "So pick a verse."
Dal sniffled, his voice breaking. "Please, I don't wanna-"
"Okay, my pick then." Samson yelled. "Termulos, verse one hundred ten." He said, leaning down to meet Dal's eyes. "Old fool, old fool, who did you think you were to challenge me? A hero? A saviour? No, old fool, you are a man, nothing more and nothing less, and like all the men who came before you: You. Can't hope. To beat… Me."
The sound of bones breaking echoed through the room, followed by a low thud, someone hitting the ground.
Samson sighed heavily as silence filled the room.
And just when Ratchet thought he couldn't bring himself to hate the bishop any more than he already did, the armored man spoke again.
"Oh crud, I should have hired a new quartermaster before killing you."
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