Chapter 9: An Old Bishop's Faith
Ratchet eyed the teleporter apprehensively, his hands fidgety. "Okay, just run it by me one last time."
"Try to get him talking." Segen repeated, speaking in a serious tone of voice. "He likes to pace around when he speaks, so in order for you guys to sneak around and find that map, you'll have to get him talking."
"What did you say he liked to talk about? His hat?"
"Yes, just ask him about his hat and he'll go on a huge rant. Should buy you a few minutes at least." Segen added. "But remember, he already has something he wants to talk to you about, so let him burn through that first and if you notice there's a silence brewing, that's when you ask him about the hat."
"Do you think he will find us suspicious?" Clank's voice came from Ratchet's back.
"Maybe, but you need to be there to download the map schematics." Segen stated with a shake of his head. "It's gonna be tough not getting caught, but otherwise, getting into the Church will be way too difficult, and once you get that Folding Drive, we are seriously going to need a clean escape."
"Okay, come on," Rivet spoke up, marching up to the teleporter. "Let's just get this over with."
Ratchet noticed that the rebel rubbed her arms quickly before setting them down at her sides, her posture rigid and tense. Ratchet knew this was going to be an unpleasant encounter regardless of what they tried to do, so making sure it was over as quickly as possible wsa about the only way to lessen the distress.
So, he joined Rivet at the teleporter's platform giving her a gentle tap on her hand and a nod, which seemed to let the rebel relax slightly, eventually returning the gesture.
"Okay, once you're done there, just come back here," Segen said as he tapped away at the teleporter's interface. "The teleporter will have the last location visited saved so you should have no trouble. After that, I'll send us to the Church and get this show on the road, okay?" After getting a dual confirmation from the lombaxes, the technician pushed one last button. "Good luck." He said, and Ratchet's world was consumed by purple light.
After the familiar distorsion of teleportation wore off, Ratchet began glossing over his new environment. It was a dimly lit hallway, much like all War Caste infrastructure was dimly lit, that led on toward a single large door. Green, gold and black banners sporting the Ruined insignia decorated the walls of the hallway and contoured the door.
The duo began to walk toward the door, each of their steps echoing through the near-empty hallway. Ratchet made an effort to stay a single step ahead of Rivet, just in case the Bishop tried anything. As such, he stretched out his hand to the door first, pushing it open with a grunt.
Inside he saw a circular room, much more ornate than the hallway that preceded it. It had several tall shelves, little desks with all manner of trinkets, some more macabre than others, and banners colored red and indigo hung from the ceiling.
But what drew Ratchet's attention was the sturdy desk in the far side of the room, a desk Bishop Samson was sitting behind, both his hands on its surface. Although some odd details stood out to Ratchet, such as the fact there was a low electrical buzzing coming from the desk, and that Samson's eyes seemed to be squeezed shut, his hands balled tightly into fists, one grasping a metallic rod that was emitting a faint blue light. The man did not even seem to notice them come in.
He considered just starting to look for the map while Samson was unaware of them, but he figured it would be better to control the flow of the situation, rather than risking the Bishop snapping out of whatever he was doing. And so, he called out for the Ruined warrior.
Samson's eyes snapped open, and his hands twitched into outstretched claws. When the towering man seemed to make out who had called his name, he relaxed. "Oh, Ratchet, Rivet, here already. Excellent." He sighed, straightening out and gesturing for them to come closer. "Come, come, we have much to talk about."
The lombaxes began approaching, making each step as slow and steady as they could.
"I do not see any maps in the room." Ratchet heard Clank's voice whisper to him. "I believe the likeliest location will be in his desk's computer terminal."
"I agree." Kit's voice said. "We have to get him away from there."
"Yeah, but how do we do that?" Rivet hissed.
"Did you say something?" Samson asked with a tilt of his head.
"Uh, yeah!" Ratchet squeaked. "I asked 'what was that?'! As in, what did you have to talk to us about that you brought us to your lovely office?" The hero asked, putting his hands together.
"Oh, that. Yes, I believe you'd be quite anxious to know."
"We sure are!" Rivet confirmed with fake enthusiasm.
"Well, in that case, I'll just tell you. I would like you two to become my Acolytes!" Samson declared, standing up from his desk, his eyes curved in excitement.
Ratchet's thoughts lagged, partly because of Samson's current propensity for movement, and partly because he was unsure he had heard the Bishop's proposal right.
"Now I know, I know," Samson raised a hand to cut off the duo's possible comments. "You're new here, you don't know what that means, but it's pretty simple. I want you two to become my apprentices, so that one day, you will become Bishops of the Ruined Church!"
Ratchet had to concentrate to not let his bias against the bishop get the better of him. "Do you really think we could do that?"
"I think your accomplishments speak for themselves." Samson said with a quirked brow. "Clearing the trials in such spectacular fashion, defeating the Casters and their beast. You even showed some leadership skills at the end there! Bonus points for that!" The bishop congratulated, jabbing a finger at Ratchet.
"I don't know, sir," Rivet managed to squeeze out. "It sounds like a really important job." She said, her covered head scanning the room, searching for possible distractions. She jolted slightly when she focused on something. "Afterall, can we really go to reach the heights of those mighty warriors?" She asked with grandeur, pointing at something on a shelf distant to Samson's desk.
Her bait worked, since Samson's gaze followed Rivet's finger, and the already standing Bishop began walking over. "Ah yes, some of my dearest friends and fellow Bishops." He said, grabbing the item Rivet had pointed to, a sort of engraved tablet that featured carvings of several people. By the look of it, Ratchet doubted he could pick it up at all, even though the Bishop did so casually with a single hand.
Turning to face the Bishop, Ratchet was able to catch Rivet spring into action, with Kit hopping off her back and dashing to Samson's desk.
Ratchet compounded his companion's efforts by walking over to Samson, narrowing the man's potential field of vision. Ratchet then decided to press the Bishop, fully pinning his attention on him.
"Who are they?" Ratchet asked, getting on his tiptoes to get a better look at the engravings.
"Astaroth, Murglyn and myself," Samson replied, not taking his eyes off the stone tablet. "My brother and sister in arms, and some of the finest Bishops I know. True paragons of the Church."
There suddenly was a sound like a taser going off, followed by a pained yelp and rapid shifting. Ratchet felt a chilly stab of dread when Samson whipped his head to the source of the noise; his desk. "Oi!" The Bishop shouted just as Ratchet turned to see, fearing the worst.
However, he only saw Rivet, holding her organic hand as if injured, Kit's disguised self on her back. "Sorry," The rebel said, sucking on her teeth. "I was just curious."
Samson just sighed heavily and walked over, past Rivet and taking hold of something on his desk.
Taking advantage of the Bishop's turned back, Ratchet looked over to Rivet, signing for confirmation that she had found the map. He bit his lip to stop himself from grunting when she shook her head.
"This is a Flagellant's Handshake, not a toy." Samson grumbled, taking the metal object and walking off to one of his many shelves, storing it there.
"Flagellant's Handshake?" Rivet asked, walking over to the Bishop, gesturing at Ratchet to take his turn at looking.
Ratchet silently rushed toward the closest bunch of shelves, rummaging through them even as Samson kept talking.
"Yes, it's a… religious appliance." Samson said, having regained some of his cool.
"But, why would you need such a thing?" Rivet asked, just as Ratchet started searching through the second set of shelves. "Isn't flagellation for… ya know… sinners or something?"
"Oh, yes, it is. Even bishops are not free of sin, my friend." He muttered, however, the Bishop turned around, shaking his head and focusing on Ratchet, a split second after the lombax had turned around himself, closing the shelf behind him with a kick. "Now, where was I? Oh, yes! My friends, you asked about them, right Ratchet? Well, I would be glad to tell you some of our exploits. Give you some inspiration, and whatnot."
As Samson began moving through the room, talking all the while, Ratchet scooted over to Rivet, who had not skipped a beat in searching through the shelves Samson had walked away from. "Any luck?" He whispered.
"No, there's just an endless sea of paperwork and these weird effigies and stuff!"
Ratchet glanced at Samson, noticing the Bishop was still deep in his monologue. He then glanced off to the man's desk, to the computer terminal still sitting on it. "Rivet, I think you and Kit are gonna have to try the computer again."
"But I can't access it!" She whispered back in distress. "It's really locked down tight!"
"I'll buy you as much time as I can, but I don't think we have another choice. I think we're running out of conversation here."
Rivet hesitated, shooting a glance at the terminal, before giving Ratchet a firm nod and rushing to the desk, her skills in spycraft allowing her to reach it in total silence.
As she did this, Ratchet returned his focus to Samson, who, much to the lombax's chagrin, was still going on about his friends and their adventures, about how many innocent people they had killed, about how many planets they had helped conquer. Frustration and built up tension were starting to take their toll on Ratchet, and so, squeezing his eyes shut, behind his helmet, he made his move.
"Sir, can I ask you something?" Ratchet almost blurted out, drawing Samson's gaze back to him. "Why do you like that hat so much?"
"Huh?"
The Bishop's monologue was cut off so suddenly the silence that fell across the room felt tangible.
"It's just, every time I see you, you're wearing it. And I can tell it looks pretty old. Ah, not that it doesn't look good or anything-" He raised his hands and chuckled at the sight of Samson's stare. "-It's just that I was curious… why that hat?"
Samson seemed to grow somber at the question, his eyes narrowing and focusing on Ratchet, making the lombax feel as if he was being stared through. The Bishop then hummed and nodded once, a tiny motion, before slowly reaching for his hat.
He took it off, revealing the hidden segment of his mask and feather mane, before bringing the leather accessory down to chest level, looking down at it.
"You know, I'm three hundred and seventy four years old. Been serving the Ruined Caliphate for three hundred and forty three of those years, and I've had this hat for almost as long." The Bishop said, twirling the hat by its hem and scoffing.
"Do you know what the key to anything's longevity is, Ratchet?" Samson asked, eyes suddenly on Ratchet, a shadow falling over them. "And I do mean anything. It could be an empire-" He gestured all around himself. -"A relationship-"
Ratchet winced as he felt his heart wrench uncomfortably in his chest.
"-Even a little hat?" The Bishop continued, eyes back on his hat, an amused look on them.
The pause made Ratchet stumble to answer. "N-No, sir. I don't think I do." He replied, his eyes darting toward Rivet, still behind Samson's desk.
"It's devotion, Ratchet." Samson declared, rubbing the hem of his hat. "Anyone else would have let this hat wither away centuries ago, but not me. I've had this thing tailored, repaired, shined and restored more times than I can count, and because of all that time and effort- all that devotion- to something as silly as this little hat, I've made something that's outlasted the lifespans of quintillions of people across the multiverse." He declared proudly. "When you devote yourself to something, you are putting yourself on the line, your time, your effort, your love, to make that thing everlasting. That's the beauty of it, the power of devotion." He finished, placing the hat back on his head and fixing it meticulously. "And it still looks dang good on me, I have to say." The man added with a laugh.
Ratchet did not laugh with him.
The Bishop paused for a moment, returning his focus to the hero. "Why this hat, Ratchet? Because it's the hat I want. Because anything worth having in this world is worth wanting."
There was a pause, a silence that passed and took hold between the two. Ratchet felt an awkward, unnamable twinge in his chest, followed by a deep sense of disgust, which was then followed by grimness. He did not want to admit it, but the Bishop's words seemed to have struck a chord.
Samson broke the silence first, clearing his throat. "Just something to think about."
"Yeah… I guess you're right."
"In any case-" Samson picked up, moving toward his desk and giving Ratchet a heart attack. "-I think we ended up veering quite far from our original course, ey?"
Ratchet turned to follow the Bishop, dreading the image of Rivet and Kit getting caught in the act, only to find the duo to be standing idly in front of the desk. Samson passed them by with unassuming calm and then sat down, seemingly finding nothing to be amis.
Ratchet then noticed Rivet move her head, looking at him from behind her crystal helmet. She then put a hand behind her back for him to see, and gave him a thumbs up. The hero felt a rush of giddy satisfaction flow through him, and tried burning off some energy by trotting over to Samson's desk.
When the hero lined up beside his companion, Samson resumed speaking. "Well, I suppose I have just given you quite a bit to think about. An apprenticeship is usually something that is considered until a Ruined warrior performs exceptional feats on the battlefield, and it is traditional for only one Acolite to be taken in at a time." The bishop explained. "But, I am a Favored Bishop, so certain rules don't apply to me, hehehe. Besides, I think splitting you two up would be counterproductive. You seem to have a bond. There is a rare kind of strength in such a thing."
Ratchet felt some heat building in his suit. He felt the reflex of denial compelling him to speak, but Samson raised a hand, cutting him off. "Alas, I think it is time you two get going. The grafting ceremony is nigh! Once you enter that Church, you won't be the same coming out."
"Oh, it's beautiful." Segen mused as the hologram of the Ruined Church was projected before them.
"I agree, it is a very well designed structure." Clank added.
"Does it need to have that many floors, though?" Rivet questioned.
"It looks a little too… gothic, for my taste." Ratchet complained.
"Yes, I am more partial to baroque style architecture." Said Kit.
"Well, whatever your architectural proclivities might be-" Segen spoke up exasperatedly. "I think we should get a plan laid out, we're only an hour or so from the Ceremony."
Ratchet sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. How do we play this?" He asked, crossing his arms.
"Well, seeing as you'll be allowed through the front gate, I think the best way to sneak off is the good old fashioned 'bathroom break'." The technician enounced. "Once you get to the main room, you're gonna break left and head down this hallway here-" He pointed to a long winding hallway with several branching doors. "-Once there, go through the tenth door to your right and go allllll the way down to the bottom."
Ratchet felt a twinge of dread at the amount of stairs he'd have to climb to get out of there. But kept his grievances to himself as Segen kept explaining.
"Once at the bottom, you'll push past the Ceremonial Prosthesis room and find this door-" Segen pointed to a large, circular door. "That's where you are going to input the Acolyte passwords. After that, you should have a direct line of sight with the Folding Drives. Just grab one, we don't need more."
"Alright, then what?" Rivet interjected. "We run back up the way we came and rejoin the party?"
"Not unless you want to get caught. The Grafting ceremony is… let's say, revealing, to say the least." Segen said with a tilt of his head and a weighted voice. Ratchet shuddered at the implications. "No, you'll need to slink out the back. There should be a sewage pipe right about here."
"Man, does it have to be a sewage pipe?" Rivet moaned.
"It could also be this mutilation chute," Segen replied without missing a beat. "It's a little further away in the torture chamber, but I would guess that blood smells better than sewage."
Ratchet chuckled at Rivet's half-lidded look at the technician, speaking up afterwards. "Alright, we'll go through the sewage pipe, we'll have these suits to keep us clean, afterall. Then what?"
"The sewage pipe will eventually take you guys to the Dolent Cliffs. Once there, I'll lead you to an… acquaintance of mine. He has a teleporter that will send you my way. After that, we keep our heads down, return to your ship, I'll install the Folding Drive and then… we're off to the Lombax Dimension." He finished, a smile evident behind his mask.
Ratchet glanced from the technician, to Rivet, to the bots, to the hologram of the church in front of them. He then cracked a grin. "Sounds easy enough. What are we waiting for?"
Ratchet walked up the long slope of stairs that led up to the Church, Clank on his back while a backpack-wearing Rivet and Segen walked at his sides.
The many other Ruined who had passed the third trial walked alongside them, murmuring among themselves in their own language. He had developed a sense of comfort in being amidst crowds of hostiles over his time wearing his disguise, and yet, something about the imposing air the Church emitted made him uneasy.
The building was made of ancient dark stone, carved with mastery that Ratchet had seen nowhere else, even when compared to other Ruined architecture. The walls seemed sturdier and more resilient than the most advanced metal buildings the lombax had visited, and the elegant stone embellishments were so detailed that Ratchet thought they might come alive.
However, once they reached the inside of the building, having made it past an archway and then a pair of doors large enough to allow a Breaker through. The inside of the buildings looked like the courtroom of a castle, with arches holding up the vivrant chapels on the ceiling.
With effort, Ratchet was able to tear away his eyes from the patterns on the ceiling, which he imagined told all manner of stories, and focused on the large doorway on the wall to his left, the one Segen had mentioned.
There were still quite a lot of Ruined moving around restlessly, all of them heading toward the same place. At the furthermost point of the church, was an elevated altar, where green lights and mist permeated the air and sharp machines twitched and sparked. The smell of blood was thick, and grew thicker every step Ratchet took closer to that nightmarish stand.
And just when the lombax felt the dread the stand evoked could not get worse, he saw Bishop Samson standing on it.
Ratchet felt Rivet's voice reach his ears. "You know, I'm almost sorry we don't get to kick his butt before we leave."
"That wouldn't have gone very well for you." Segen whispered, his eyes fixed on Samson,his hands twitchy.
"Oh come on," Rivet bumped his shoulder. "You don't think we could take him?"
Segen did not so much as glance her way. "No."
Ratchet could not help but feel a prick of worry at Segen's almost dooming certainty in Samson's victory. Regardless, the lombax returned his gaze to the Bishop when the man drew the room's attention with a booming speech.
"Everyone! Welcome!" Samson beconed, his arms extended and his stance tall. "It is my great joy to see all of you here today." As the man spoke, Ratchet noticed that movement around the church began grinding to a halt, as everyone present turned toward the Bishop.
"Alright, I think this is the best moment to move." Segen whispered. "You know the plan, call me through the radio if anything goes wrong."
"Will do." Ratchet whispered back, giving Rivet a quick tap on the arm and gesturing for her to follow him.
"Be careful, and good luck."
"Hey, I thought we didn't need luck or improvising if the plan was good?" Rivet quipped.
Segen scoffed, looking away from Samson for a second, a friendly curve to his optics. "Yeah, you're right, you'll be fine. I'm the one who made this plan afterall."
With that, Ratchet began to weave through the crowd of Ruined alongside Rivet, all while Samson kept talking.
"You have passed our tests, you have proven yourselves worthy, and now here is your reward." The Bishop said as he paced through the gruesome altar. "We are, all of us, Ruined. Broken, battered things. We all long for the cracks in our very being to be filled in! Filled in with purpose, with servitude! Well, I hereby give you service to the nobles cause that can be; Service to the Cardinals, to the Caliphate, to the Alterrathan Itself! And to its glorious reign of the Multiverse!"
A thunderous wave of cheering filled the room, as the Bishop spoke, the Ruined suddenly flung into a frenzy of fanatical raving and frantic movements.
"Yep, definitely a cult." Ratchet muttered to himself as he tried ducking under a large Caliber's arm.
After making out of the crowd unnoticed, the lombaxes made their way through the door and into the long hallway Segen had mentioned. He then remembered the technician's directions and ran to the tenth door on the right. When he opened it, he saw a dark circular stairway that grew darker and darker the deeper it went.
The hero had to activate his suit's lightsource so as to not trip and fall down the shadowy steps.
Segen's voice then came through the radio. "Alright guys, Samson's starting to bring people up to the Altar, so your countdown's on. It should take a good long while, but he's going to be expecting you two specifically. If he gets too jittery I'll let you know."
"Thanks Segen." Ratchet replied, keeping his eyes on the descending stairway. "Clank, is there anyone down there waiting for us?"
The silver bot waited a moment before answering. "As far as I can see, no."
"As far as you can see, Bolts?" Rivet interjected worriedly. "What's that mean?"
"Well, some structures in the facility seem to be protected, insulated. I cannot get any proper readings inside these specific rooms. And unfortunately, the room where the Folding drives are is one of these rooms."
"Great, so we're going in blind." The rebel moaned. "I guess we'd better be ready for a fight then." She added, drawing her Buzz Blades.
"You said it." Ratched agreed, drawing his Ricochet.
The duo eventually reached the bottom of the dark stairway, and the lighting remained as abysmal as ever. Stepping onto even ground, Ratchet began sweeping the room ahead. Even though Clank had not detected anyone here, the hero wanted to be cautious.
However, what his light shone upon made him squeal. Dozens of severed limbs hung from the ceiling and on the walls, casting morbid shadows and outlines. There were arms, legs, wings, tails, even bits of faces. But then, after catching his panicked breath, Ratchet focused, and saw that the limbs were not made of flesh and bone, but were rather metal prosthetics, made of trademark War Caste color metals. The metal limbs had seemed so gruesome to him because they all had lots of loose wiring that had reminded him of veins and loose shreds of meat.
"Man, these guys can't design an inviting room to save their lives." The hero grumbled.
Rivet's giggles caressed his ears. "What's wrong, hotshot? Afraid of a few prosthetics?" She mocked, wiggling her robotic hand's digits in front of him.
"Yeah, yeah," Ratchet nudged her hand away. "Just got a little spooked is all. Remember, there might be someone down here with us Clank and Kit's sensors are just not picking up."
"I guess you're right. Segen also said we were on a timer, so we should just find these things and get going."
With that agreement, the lombaxes traversed the prosthetic filled room, their eyes caught by the occasional outstanding prosthetic, since there were a few, tucked behind piles of more standard-issue-looking limbs, were specimens so remarkable that Ratchet heard Rivet wowing under her breath.
The second time Ratchet squealed he was joined by Rivet, since this time, a loud hiss echoed through the room, followed by mechanical whirring and a flurry of blinking lights as one of the mechanical limbs had suddenly began moving, being picked up by metal assembly arms and sent up a hatch that opened in the room's ceiling.
"Must have been sent up for the ceremony or something." Ratchet tried rationalizing, with Rivet humming in agreement.
Shortly after, the walk through the shadowy room ended when the duo was faced with a heavy door, rimmed with faint indigo lights and featuring a large console near the base.
"Alright, this is the door Segen said," Rivet started. "Kit, you got the passwords, right?"
"I do. I'll input them shortly." The yellow bot said, hopping off Rivet's back and running to the console. When the little robot reached the console however, he froze, before turning around, an embarrassed look on her face. "I'm sorry, I cannot reach without help. Segen usually helped me up."
"Oh right, these guys make really tall terminals," Rivet remembered. "Don't worry, Kit, I'll help ya up." And so, the rebel walked up, grabbed her friend and held her to the console, allowing the little bot to tap away at the glowing green interface.
Then, the lights on the door blinked from indigo to green, and the sturdy metal structure began to slide open.
"I wonder what these Folding Drives even look like." Kit said aloud. "I am quite curious. Perhaps when this is all over, I might keep one? To study it, of course."
"Sure thing buddy," Rivet assured, bumping her friend as she placed her on her back. "We'll nab a second one just for you… just as soon as this dang door finishes opening up."
Ratchet raised a brow in exasperation at the rather slow process of the door, but raised both in amazement at the contents of the room behind it.
Held up on pedestals, protected by cases of gold and glass, were weapons. Swords, axes, hammers, spears, weapons used by warriors. They were all made of gold and black and purple metals, each one looking as polished and well made as the last, each one looking as deadly as the last.
"Man, is it weird that I want one of these?" River asked, pointing to a sleek hammer with a long hilt that sported a beautiful purple gem in the center of its head.
"I don't think so, I kind of want one of these." Ratchet said, pointing to a two-sided axe with a golden neck and a dark hilt, also decorated with a smooth purple gemstone.
And yet, as the lombax wandered the room, his wonder made way to ralization. A rather worrying realization.
Ratchet tapped his radio and called the technician. "Segen? We're in the room, but we don't see any Folding Drives, it's just a bunch of melee weapons. Really cool weapons, but still. Are we in the wrong place or something?"
"No, you're in the right place. Those weapons you're talking about? Those are Bishop weapons, that's why they're behind such a big door. Those indigo gems you see on them; the smooth purple ones? Those are the Folding Drives."
"Those are Folding Drives!?" Ratchet asked in amazement.
"Yes, those are Folding Drives, now hurry up and grab one! Samson's burned through half this crowd and I can see he's getting suspicious that you're not here!"
"Copy that." Snapped Ratchet before turning to Rivet. "Alright, we need to get one of those things. Apparently the purple gems are the Folding Drives."
"Really? Those little things?" Rivet questioned, pointing at the casing which held the hammer. "Oh well, let me bust one of them out of these cases." She said, cracking her knuckles.
The rebel then wound back her metal fist and threw a punch at the glass casing of one of the weapons. A dull humm of wobbling glass followed, along with Rivet hissing and shaking her hand. "Man, that is some strong glass." The rebel then tried punching the casing again, only to be met by the same results.
Ratchet quickly deduced they were going to need something stronger to break the casing, what that might be, he was not sure. But before he could even think something up, he almost choked on his spit at the sight of Rivet drawing her Warmonger and aiming it at the glass.
"Whoahwhoahwhaoh! What are you doing!?" Ratchet yelped as he placed himself between Rivet and her target.
"I'm trying to break the glass, duh."
"What if someone hears us and we get swarmed down here? We haven't found that sewage pipe Segen said, we don't know where to go."
"Oh come on. We're like a hundred feet underground and they are having a cultist rave up there, I doubt they can hear us. Besides, do you have any better ideas?"
"Yeah, actually, I do. Kit could probably crush that glass in her warbot form. Then, she shrinks back, we take the Folding Drive and we split. No need for explosions."
Rivet seemed to pout behind her helmet, likely due to not getting to use the explosives she was so fond of. Thankfully, Kit seemed to take Ratchet's side. "I believe I have the pinch strength to overcome the caseing's structural integrity. However, it might take me a moment, depending on the strength of the material."
"Just get it done, Kit. You got this." Ratchet said confidently. "Meanwhile, Clank, have you found the sewage pipe Segen was talking about?"
"I have." The silver bot confirmed. "It has a small entrance point a few paces to your right."
Ratchet quickly saw a little bump in the room's floor, likely the hatch to the sewage pipe. He smiled with contentment at such a handy escape route. Shortly after, the sounds of Kit transforming began whirring in sequence. Turning around, Ratchet saw the yellow bot already in her Warbot form, one hand grasping the hammer's glass casing.
A sound like a hydraulic press then came from Kit's hand, and an expression of distinct effort began to set on the yellow robot's features. Then, a single crack shot across the surface of the glass casing, announced by a loud pop. Afterwards, another crack appeared, and then another, and then another. Little by little, the cracks started growing in size and number, popping and sprinkling tiny bits of glass.
And then, with a burst of movement, Kit's hand completely balled up into a fist, wringing the golden reinforcements of the glass. Slowly, the warbot opened her hand, revealing she had completely crushed the caseing's frame, pulverized the glass and broke apart the weapon within, leaving the purple Folding Drive popped right out of its socket.
"Alright!" Ratchet celebrated. "Well done, Kit! Come on, let-"
"Guys! You gotta get out of there! Samson just ran off from the Ceremony!" Segen's voice shouted through the radio.
"What!?" The lombaxes exclaimed in unison.
"He's on his way down! I think an alarm must have triggered somehow! Get out of there! Leave the Drive if you haven't gotten it yet, he's going to-"
"And here I thought we could be friends."
Ratchet felt every hair on his body stand on end. Samson's voice had been like cold water running down his back. "I put my faith in you." The bishop hissed.
Samson was standing just outside the room's threshold, his massive sword in hand. The Bishop released a long, heavy sigh, throwing his head back. "Oh, well. Alterra had smiled on me for too long anyways. Hardship strengthens the soul, afterall." He said, his grip on his sword growing tense.
Ratchet felt sweat pooling on his forehead as he reached for his Omniwrench, Rivet reaching for her own weapon beside him.
"I am required to pray for you." Samson said, finally lowering his head, his green eyes dilated and boring through Ratchet. "So… Pick a verse."
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