Chapter 10: An Old Bishop's Might
With the same chilling words she had heard him speak to those he was about to kill, Rivet saw Samson flourish his sword in an intimidation display, before breaking into a brisk march toward them,
But before the Bishop could even get within striking range, Rivet saw Kit's massive fist come down upon him, creating a cloud of dust and rubble and sending out a shockwave that rumbled through the whole room.
Kit then pulled her fist back, revealing Samson had placed his sword over his head, holding it by the handle and placing an open palm near the tip of the blade. The Bishop had braced his knees, and he was now embedded on the floor up to the shins, but otherwise appeared completely fine.
"Thank Alterra I have good knees." The armored man mumbled, before switching the grip on his sword.
Rivet narrowed her eyes, recognizing the grip as the one Lanari had used against the Casters during her second trial. Her eyes then widened when, just like Lanari, Samson threw his sword, aiming it at Kit.
The crunch of rent metal followed, and Rivet turned to see Kit stumble back as Samson's sword was now buried up to the hilt on her chest.
But just as she tried crying out for her friend, Rivet was cut off by the sound of shifting rubble, and the feeling of a wrecking ball crashing against her side. When she felt her body hitting the ground, Rivet grit her teeth, tensed her limbs and sprung right back up her feet.
She turned around to see Ratchet acrobatically dodging wide, arching swipes from Samson's mace-like arms. "I'm going to crack that helmet open. I want to see your eyes pop out of their sockets when I squeeze the life out of you!" The Bishop hollered.
A poorly timed jump later, Ratchet was struck on the side by a fist roughly the size of his torso and then flung through the air to land roughly beside Rivet.
"This is… not great." Ratchet wheezed as he got up clutching his side gingerly. "He definitely broke some ribs."
"How many?" Rivet asked as she drew her Buzz Blades.
"All the ones on this side." He chuckled painfully as he drew his Burst Pistol.
"Oh nice, I think he broke all the ones on my side too." She replied, causing laughter to burst from both of them.
Samson charged at them, arms outstretched and hands made into claws. Both lombaxes leaped over the incoming limbs, peppering the Bishop with projectiles until they reached the ground, by which time the man turned to swipe at them, only for them to Phantom Dash out of reach.
The moment Rivet blinked back into existence, she switched to her Warmonger and fired a rocket at Samson's chest, eliciting a pained grunt from the Bishop.
Ratchet followed by letting off a beam of his Negatron Collider, flooding the room with blue light.
"Guys!" Segen's voice came suddenly, causing Rivet to turn around to see the technician approaching, a terrified expression on his masked features. "We need to get out of here! Do you have the Folding Drive!?"
Rivet gasped in realization that they did not, in fact, have the Folding Drive. She then scanned the room, passing her eyes over the battered floor and located the smooth purple orb just a few paces in front of her.
However, before she could move to get it, a red metal hand clamped itself around it, carving grooves into the stone floor as its fingers clenched. "Oooooh, Segen." Samson's voice came as his hand rose. "I should have known. A little pile of trash like you couldn't have brought anything but trouble to my door-."
Samson's speech was cut off and his hand spasmed when a burst from Ratchet's Lightning Rod sent a jolt through his body. Thanks to this involuntary spasm, Rivet was able to Phantom Dash at the Bishop, grab the Folding Drive and Phantom Dash back before he could do a thing.
While Ratchet kept pumping lighting into Samson, Rivet passed the Folding Drive to Segen, who grabbed and immediately started fiddling with one of his gauntlets, pulling out some wires from it and attaching them to the Drive's surface.
"Rivet! Does Segen have a plan!? I'm going to run out of juice eventually!" Ratchet yelled as Samson's enraged screaming and strenuous movements grated against her ears.
"I have a plan, I'm going to Fold us out of here!" Segen said quickly, glancing from his work to Rivet, his eyes widening. "Where's Kit!?"
A spark of fear ran through Rivet when she realized the last time she had seen Kit, the robot had a sword in her chest. The rebel then searched the room and quickly found Kit leaning against a wall, struggling to pull out Samson's sword, her fingers unable to grab the proportionally small weapon.
Rivet then ran and leaped to reach her friend, jumping onto her chest and grabbing the hilt of Samson's sword with both hands. With a strained grunt, she pulled the blade free, surprised by the sheer weight of it. Regardless, she focused, shouting at Kit over the sound of Samson and Ratchet's clash. "Kit! Shrink down, we're leaving!"
The little bot obliged after Rivet leaped off her body. Now with her friend strapped on her back Rivet rushed back to the fray, wielding Samson's sword.
Deducing Ratchet's Lightning Rod had run out of ammo, Rivet could see Samson bearing down on the agile hero, who was narrowly avoiding the Bishop's strikes by jumping and Dashing, but was growing more visibly tired by the moment.
And so, with all her might, Rivet jumped as high as she could, pulling the huge sword up in an overhead swing, before she crashed it against Samson's head, knocking the Bishop down on a knee, then Phantom Dashing away.
Samson growled, lifting his head to expose a cracked lense on his right eye as a noticeable scratch on his mask's side. But then, the Bishop raised an arm and outstretched his hand, and suddenly, Rivet found herself flying through the air as a powerful force jarred the sword forward.
She then found herself with Samson's hand wrapped tightly around the hilt of his sword, and around her own hands. Then, she felt Samson punch her in the stomach, driving the wind out of her lungs and making her empty stomach wretch. She felt she was going to pass out right there.
The next thing she felt was the ground rise to meet her. When she tried to lift herself off the floor, she saw Samson's boot coming down on her, about to flatten her head.
But before it could do so, she felt herself be tackled and knocked out of the way. When she was able to regain some of her senses, she realized Ratchet had gotten her out of harm's way just before Samson's boot cracked the stone floor where she used to be.
Helping her up by slinging one of her arms over his shoulder, Ratchet used his free hand to shoot a beam from his Negatron at Samson, giving them a chance to strafe around him and reach Segen.
"Segen, tell me you're ready with that exit!" Ratchet screamed.
"And… now!" Segen shouted before the world started spinning, swallowed by a purple flash.
When Ratchet stopped feeling like he had been spat out by Tyranoid, the first thing he did was remove his helmet.
A voice screamed at him not to do it, something about blowing his cover. But, seeing as his legs hurt from dodging Samson's attacks, all the ribs on his ride screamed in pain, sweat dampened his face, and his eyes burned from not sleeping properly for nearly two days, he felt like he just needed to take something off his list of discomforts, even if it was something as minor as an ache to his ears. Because even when he removed his helmet, that cursed smell of wilting flowers remained.
Ratchet then took a moment to notice his surroundings. He was on a rooftop somewhere, the dark purple and yellow sky swirled above him.
The hero was able to get eyes on Segen and Rivet. He then realized that Rivet had also taken her helmet off, which allowed the lombaxes to lock eyes, see the hints of worry in the other's eyes. But also the drive behind them as well, the determination to follow through on a task almost finished.
Their moment was cut short by Samson's voice. "YOU!" He roared, so loudly Ratchet was able to immediately find the man. "You… are lombaxes!?"
"Yeah, what's it to ya!?" Rivet snapped back.
"Oh, great. There goes all my inner conflict about killing you." Samson replied cheerfully, chuckling to himself.
"Oh, real ray of sunshine you are." Ratchet grumbled, getting his Omniwrench ready as Samson approached them. "Segen, get us out of here, man!"
"I'm working on it! This is the first time I've even held one of these things!" The technician said as he frantically worked the device in his hands.
Before Ratchet could say another word, he had to Phantom Dash out of the arching swing of Samson's sword. However, when he felt his feet touch the ground, he had to flail his arms about to regain his balance, having landed on the very edge of the platform he was standing on.
He was just quick enough to duck under the second of Samson's swings, and just quick enough to Phantom Dash away from the man afterwards.
"You're pretty slippery, Cheesewedge." Samson spat. "Not just anyone can last this long against me, ya know. You should be proud."
Ratchet breathed deeply. 'Cheesewedge' was far from the worst thing he had been called, and Samson was clearly just trying to get a rise out of him to get him off balance.
The Bishop then hummed as if in thought. "Now that I get a good look at you," Samson pointed his sword at Ratchet. "There's something familiar about you, space rat. Could it be?" The Bishop leaned forward, eyes narrowed. Then, realization and recognition flashed brightly through his eyes and he stood upright. "Oh. My. Word! You're Kaden's boy, aren't you!?"
Ratchet felt the world slow at the Bishop's drop of his father's name.
"Oh yeah you are! I'd recognize those bushy brows anywhere!" Samson continued, before turning to Rivet. "Oi, I'd recommend you pick another one. Those things are a genetic curse. The kids are not gonna have a good time."
Rivet growled at the Bishop, drawing her Bouncer and lobbing a grenade at him. Samson responded by batting the projectile away with his sword, and charged at the rebel. Ratchet saw as she quickly switched to her hammer in an attempt to block the Bishop's strikes, but she was on the backfoot.
Ratchet had been stunned by Samson's words, but mentalizing himself to believe the Bishop was likely lying, or pulling some sort of trick, combined with the sight of Rivet in danger, he decided to shelf Samson's apparent knowledge of his father, shaking himself back to focus.
Ratchet thus switched to his Topiary Sprinkler, trying to buy Rivet some time to get away. However, when the weapon did its job and covered Samson in greenery, the Bishop simply roared and ripped himself free much too fast.
Ratchet then tried immobilizing the man with the Cold Snap, but Samson broke free just as quickly. Only this time, he threw his sword at Ratchet with blinding speed, tearing deep into the hero's arm before he could react.
Grateful it was not his wrench-arm that was damaged and riding the adrenaline through his pain, Ratchet jumped over the sword as it returned to Samson's hand and switched to his Drill Hound.
The mechanized projectile slammed straight into the Bishop's chest, but seemed to have no effect at all, since Samson was now primed for swinging his sword and splitting Ratchet down the middle.
But then, with a flash of purple light, the world started spinning again.
Rivet could have cared less where Segen had sent them. She did not wait for the dizziness to dissipate before she drew her Blackhole Storm and squeezed the trigger.
The kick of the gun rattled her into steadiness as she fired a torrent of purple bullets at Samson, staggering the man enough to interrupt the downward swing he had readied against Ratchet.
However, this turned the Bishop's attention to her, and so Samson strode toward her, glaring at her as he walked through the torrent of proyectiles that did not so much as slow him down.
Rivet quickly switched weapons to her Void Repulsor when Samson got too close for comfort and wound up his sword arm.
However, before his stroke fell, Samson seemed to freeze, slowly lowering his weapon and taking a look around. "I just realized," The man began, looking around casually. "You sent us to the Dolent Cliffs, Segen. And listen!" He yelled, putting a hand to his ear. "I think we just woke someone up!"
Rivet's ears flicked after picking up the shrill, inhuman screams of Aberrants in the distance.
"Man, I must say this is kind of a big concern off my mind," Samson continued. "For the longest time I kind of suspected you were just sabotaging us, being as worthless as you were, Segen. But now, seeing you play for the other team and fumbling the bag just as badly lets me know you are not malicious, you're just useless! Haha!"
Risking a look at the technician, Rivet saw how Segen was shaking, hanging his head and looking away from Samson as the Bishop kept laughing. Rivet felt a surge of anger course through her at the sight and blasted her energy shield right across Samson's face, faltering him back.
His laughter cut off, Samson readied another swordstrike, but before either of them could follow through with their attack, Rivet saw a group of Aberrants fling themselves onto the stony plateau they were all fighting on. Kicking and screaming and drooling, the Aberrants wasted no time lunging at the first person they could reach.
As such, Ratchet had to fend off a good five of them, blasting them with facefulls of his Enforcer, only for them to come back for more. Samson meanwhile was being swarmed from all directions, but a single swing from his sword cut three Aberrats in half at a time.
Rivet was soon in just as much trouble, with a huge Aberrant Bleeder barreling straight at her. The rebel reacted in time to put up her Void Repulsor's Shield and hold the beast at bay.
"Segen! Get us out of here!" She shouted as the cracks on her shield started appearing.
Shortly after, there was a flash of purple, and the world spun round again.
Ratchet pulled the trigger on his enforcer all the way, knocking the Aberrants back. He then switched to the Cold Snap and froze the beasts in place, allowing him the time to switch back to the Enforcer and blast them to pieces, finally buying himself a moment's rest.
He was then able to see Samson cleave the last of the Aberrants surrounding him in half, before sighing and articulating his shoulder.
Rivet meanwhile, was getting hounded by a large Aberrant and was holding it back with her Void Repulsor. Ratchet then rushed over to her, Enforcer in hand, and fired a full blast on the monster's spiky back. Rivet followed up by firing her shield, knocking the monster out at last.
The lombaxes' relief was short-lived, for Samson was quick to pick up the slack.
Ratchet reacted by Phantom Dashing backwards, while Rivet reacted by jumping over the arch of Samson's sword, allowing her to stay in range to smack her hammer across the Bishop's face, before Phantom Dashing back.
"Ah, I guess there's a silver lining to you losing that arm," Samson said as he stroked the side of his mask Rivet struk. "I actually, kinda felt that."
"Shut your mouth." Rivet hissed. "I'm tired of your ugly voice already."
"Ohhhh, did I hurt yow feeweengs?" Samson mocked. "Well, I am sorry." He said, tucking an arm behind his back and bowing exaggeratedly. "Oops, sorry about that." He said, as he brought his hidden arm back to focus, releasing a wheeze afterwards.
Rivet growled like a feral animal and lunged at Samson, Omnihammer out. She swung her weapon with such strength that sparks showered every time Samson parried, even getting the Bishop to slowly give some ground.
"Oh come on, you can't be that mad yet! I haven't even gotten to all my Hangman jokes yet!" Samson jabbed as he performed a masterful riposte, deflecting Rivet's hammer and drawing his sword all along the rebel's cheek, just before delivering a kick to her gut that sent her staggering backwards, bleeding and wheezing breathlessly on the floor.
"Lay off her, you jerk!" Ratchet yelled, firing a blast of his Negatron Collider at the Bishop, only for the man to raise a hand and block it.
"Oh come on. What are yooouuu, going to to, Cheesewedge?" Samson spat, lowering his hand as Ratchet's beam died. "You gonna smother me with those eyebrows? Because I'm surprised you can even see through those; I mean, dang, I can barely see you behind those. Pretty trashy 'orphan's souvenir' for your dead ol' dad to leave you with, am I right?."
Ratchet had to bite his lip to steady himself. "He's just trying to upset you so you slip up." He told himself. And yet, even while knowing the Bishop's strategy, it was getting increasingly harder to keep his head cool.
Insults to his person he could take. But Samson ripping into Rivet and his own father was starting to make the blood boil in his veins.
"Enough!" Kit's voice roared, and Ratchet was shocked to see the little bot jump off a recovering Rivet's back to stare down Samson, eyes glowing red. "I will not let you hurt my friends anymore!"
"Yes, your transgressions will not be tolerated!" Clank followed up, jumping off Ratchet's back and running to stand at Kit's side.
Ratchet would have been moved by the display if his head wasn't spinning. But even amidst all his raging thoughts, he was able to note the two small robots' bravery.
Samson meanwhile, just snickered. "Really now?" The Bishop kneeled down patronizingly. "And how do you plan on doing that?"
Instead of replying, Kit powered down, shrunk, and then began expanding, growing larger and larger until she reached her imposing Warbot Form, the ground quaking as she did. Clank stood at one of her shoulders, looking down at Samson with narrow optics.
Samson did not look particularly impressed however, and Ratchet noticed that the ground kept shaking under their feet, even though Kit was standing still. "You need to work on your environmental awareness." The Bishop taunted.
The moment the grim realization flashed through his mind, it was too late to shout a warning, as a massive Breaker had appeared out of nowhere and shoulder bashed Kit, sending the yellow titan sprawling backwards and Clank flying through the air.
But just when he thought Kit was already in trouble, he felt the air bristling with electricity, before a deafening burst and a flash of green light attacked his senses. He then saw a blast of energy collide against Kit, leaving a black burn on her chassis and knocking right into the fist of the Breaker.
Ratchet whipped his head to the source of the inopportune blast and saw a second Breaker, this one featuring a deadly railgun instead of an arm.
"Well, I'd say we leave the big boys to sort themselves out, ey!?" Samson sneered, laughing malevolently as he switched his grip on his sword.
The Bishop grabbed the near tip of his weapon's blade with both hands, a strange inverse of how the weapon was meant to be wielded in Ratchet's eyes, before he swung it in an overhead circle, the purple gem on its pommel glowing a bright purple. He then swung the weapon round again, and once more, laughing all the while, before bringing it down full force.
And when the pommel crashed against the floor, the world around Ratchet started spinning once again.
"KIT!" Rivet screamed when her surroundings came into view, and her friend was nowhere to be seen.
"CLANK!" Ratchet shouted as well, his voice thick with despair.
Samson was also able to Fold, Rivet realized with dread. She cursed herself for not thinking about the possibility since the Bishop had one of those strange weapons after all.
Rivet then turned to see a flabbergasted Segen frantically looking everywhere. She then rushed over to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Segen! You have to get us back there! The bots are in danger!"
"I-I can't!" Segen stammered. "I don't know where he sent us! I can't backtrack if I don't know the coordinates!"
"He's right!" Samson exclaimed. "Against all odds, he actually is right about something! Maybe some of those legendary Lombax smarts rubbed off on him! And here I thought those were a myth!"
"Do you ever. Stop. Talking!?" Rivet screamed.
"And deprive you of the sound of my wonderful voice? I'm not that cruel." Samson laughed, a sound like a murder of crows cawing.
Rivet started seeing little flecks of red out of the corners of her eyes.
"Anyway, I should probably give you a little background, seeing as this will be your final resting place." Samson monologue, putting his arms out in showmanship. "Welcome to the Tower of Heretics, heretics. The place where the scum of the multiverse is sent to die a nice, slow death by isolated starvation."
Rivet, now giving heed, saw their surroundings had once again changed. They were now on the very peak of an elevated tower. Rusty, dark metal made up the entirety of the structure. Thick pillars that seemed made from twisted rebar, wicked hooks and red lights emanated from the floor of the vast open platform, giving Rivet the chance to see the shape of a Ruined City in the distance, Vertical Forest standing tall, shining against the dark purple and yellow sky.
However, she was brought out of her observation when Segen suddenly exclaimed. "This is the Tower of Heretics!? Tha-That's great! I know these coordinates! I can get us back to Kit and off to safety from here!" He said with hopeful drive.
"Indeed!" Samson confirmed. "Which is why I have to do this!"
The Bishop moved with such an unexpected burst of speed that Rivet was unable to keep up. Samson dashed past her and Ratchet and grabbed Segen, wrapping his metal hand around the technician's head before lifting him off the ground as if he weighed nothing, only to slam him right back down, an ugly crunch of warping metal ringing out.
When Samson pulled his hand back and revealed Segen's unmoving body embedded halfway in the metal floor, Rivet feared for the worst.
"Oh, calm down," Samson sneered, likely having read her expression. "I've hit him waaaay harder than that. He'll live. Wouldn't want to cheat the Wardens out of their favorite toy, hehehe."
Segen was their transport. With him out of commission Rivet reached the dreadful realization they were going to have to finish this right here, right now.
"Now then," Samson cleared his throat and turned around. "Where were we?"
Rivet was more than eager to remind him via a Warmonger rocket to the face.
As Samson staggered backward, the black smoke from the Warmonger's blast vanished, revealing the result; Some of the feathers on Samson's mane had become singed, and the dainty leather hat on his head had been knocked out of place, now featuring a noticeable scorch mark.
The Bishop slowly collected himself, grabbing his hat and looking down at it. He then lifted his eyes to stare at Rivet, and although she forced herself not to show it, steeling her body and face, she felt a chill run up her spine at the loathing behind Samson's glare. "Now, it's personal." The Bishop hissed, putting his hat back on.
"You made it personal a while ago," She countered, switching over to her Buzz Blades. She could see Ratchet at her side, Drill Hound at the ready.
Samson switched his grip again, going to that stange inverted hold on his sword, aiming the now glowing pommel at the duo.
A beat passed between the three, before they all sprung into action at once. Samson swung his sword, his attacks feeling heavier from the displaced weight. Rivet ducked, jumped and Phantom Dashed away from the glowing weapon. The Bishop switched focus to Ratchet, who climbed over one of the nearby pillars to avoid Samson's swing. When the sword crashed against the pillar, a blast engulfed it in purple light, shaking the whole platform. Ratchet had been fortunate and quick enough to Phantom Dash away from the explosion, as nothing of the pillar had remained.
While Samson reeled his weapon back, Rivet looked over to Ratchet, who met her gaze. A silent understanding passed between them. "Let's kick his butt." They agreed.
Ratchet then switched to his Drill Hound, and Rivet returned to her Warmonger, both of them charging at the Bishop and unleashing a flurry of attacks.
"Could-" Samson was hit by Ratchet's Drilhound. "-You-" Rivet's Warmonger. "-Cut-" Ratchet's Negatron. "-That-" Rivet's Bouncer. -"Out already!?." The Bishop shouted, cut off by a shower of Blackhole Storm and Burst Pistol fire.
The man then took a moment to catch his breath, something the heroes mimicked. "I mean, come on! You're still going!? Really!?" Samson yelled exasperatedly. "Have you been paying any attention throughout this whole fight!? You. Can't. Beat. Me!"
"Shut up!" Rivet yelled, a futile attempt to get Samson to stop making her want to go deaf.
"Witch-" Samson pronounced, putting a hand over his face. He then inhaled deeply, held, and exhaled. "You've hit me with how many weapons you've pulled out of I don't even wanna know where, and achieved… what exactly?" He asked derisively, gesturing at his unharmed self.
"I've beaten worse than you," She roared. "We've beaten worse than you!" She gestured at Ratchet. "You're just some religious nut with a bad mouth! And an even worse taste! You should just drop that ugly hat already!"
"You are going to come at me about looks and taste!?" Samson bellowed, pointing accusingly at Rivet. "Your hair looks like a wad of toothpaste that was left to bleach under the sun for a week!"
"Hey!" Ratchet stepped in suddenly. "Say something like that again and-"
"Oh, don't get me started on you, Cheesewedge," Samson cut him off, jabbing his finger at him. "You look like someone decided to carve a statue of the world's most misshapen fox out of cheddar cheese and gave up halfway… You know, kinda like your dad actually. Are you actually his kid? I'm having trouble believing Kaden actually got it on with someone. You might be like some… time-travel shenannigans version of him."
Rivet could see every muscle tensing under Ratchet's skin, an enraged tremor running through him. The sight set something off within Rivet, a deep anger she had seldom felt before.
"Alright, that's it." The rebel said.
Rivet changed to her Doom Glove and threw a round at Samson. And while the Doom Agents burst out of their egg, already chomping at the Bishop, Rivet threw a second round, and a third, and a fourth. Soon enough, Samson was on his back, roaring and cursing and covered by dozens of biting robots.
"Thanks," Ratchet sighed. "Appreciate it."
"Any time, hotshot. You'd do the same for me." She said sincerely. "Besides, I like hurting this jerk." She chuckled, getting the same from Ratchet.
"Alright," Ratchet breathed in again. "Alright, we need a plan. Kick me in the knee later for saying this, but he's got a point. That armor of his is practically unscratched, even with all we've thrown at him. Any ideas?"
Now that she put her mind to it, she did recall something. The one hint of damage she had seen Samson's armor show, was the cracked lense and slash mark on his mask, from when she had hit him with his own sword.
The realization made her ears perk up and her eyes widen. "I know how to beat him." She uttered, looking right at Ratchet. "I know how to beat him." She repeated enthusiastically.
"Alright, what do I need to do?" Ratchet replied without missing a beat.
"I need you to slow him down for me, just a second at a time is enough. After that…" She paused, looking over to the still struggling Bishop. "We might have to-"
"-Improvise." Ratchet finished for her, a smile appearing on his weary face. "Like always."
"You know it." She added, smiling despite the pain, soreness and ignoring the sweat on her brow.
And as if on cue, Samson rose from a blaze of exploding Doom Agents. His fists were clenched and he was breathing erratically, a hateful shadow over his eyes. He raised his sword at Rivet and spoke in a growl. "I'm going to skin you alive."
"You're gonna try." She muttered, holstering her weapons. She was going to need free hands for this.
Rivet got on a tense stance, body low to the ground and arms spread out. She then sprung into motion, running straight at Samson with determination in her eyes, unflinching trust in the certainty that Ratchet would have her back.
And after Samson wound up his sword and swung it forth, intent on decapitating Rivet, the rebel saw an icy projectile hit the Bishop, freezing him solid in a split second. And so, willing herself to move faster than she ever had before, pushing past all the hindrances her body sustained, Rivet managed to leap up and take hold of two of the fingers Samson was using to keep a grip on his sword.
She then bent them backward as far as they would go, the disgusting crunch that followed indicating their fracture.
River leaped back with flawless fluidity, just as Samson brute-forced his way out of the Cold Snap's effects, with now only three fingers holding onto his weapon. But just as the Bishop broke himself free of the ice, he found himself encased in vegetation, courtesy of Ratchet's freshly deployed Topiary Sprinkler.
With her window newly opened, Rivet jumped right back in, and took two more of Samson's fingers and broke them as well, causing them to emit another meaty crunch.
When the Bishop broke free of the Topiary's effects, he had somehow managed to keep his grip on his sword using only his thumb. But the scream of indignation and pain died in his throat as he was frozen solid once again.
And in a quickly mastered song and dance, Rivet jumped in, took Samson's finger and broke it, getting herself out of range before the Bishop could free himself.
When the ice broke, Samson's sword fell to the ground as the Bishop screamed in rage and pain, holding his mangled hand. All five of his digits were bent in unnatural ways and his injured hand was shaking, but the deep, erratic, sonorous breath of the armored man indicated he was more pissed off than hurt, as he tried reaching for his sword with his working hand.
Only that his sword was now out of reach, since it was Rivet who was wielding it.
"It's okay, it's not that heavy." Rivet thought to herself as she tried getting a good grip on the oversized weapon, keeping the business end aimed at a rather taken aback Samson.
"Well, I gotta admit," Ratchet's voice came. "That's some pretty solid improvisation." He quipped, still holding his Cold Snap. "This is the last round I've got for this one. Let's make it count."
Rivet quickly got his meaning, and an idea flashed in her mind. She slid her hands over the sword, holding it in the same inverted grip Samson had used, now pointing the glowing pommel of the sword at the Bishop.
She noticed Samson's eyes going wide at that, and took it as a pretty good sign. "Not so chatty now, are you, punk?"
Without delay, Rivet charged as she heard Ratchet's icy weapon fire. Samson had tried to dodge to no avail, and his frozen figure was now perfectly positioned for Rivet to hit.
So, planting her feet, twisting her upper body, and throwing her arms out, she struck the cursed Bishop with the mightiest swing she could muster, the sheer momentum of the massive two-handed weapon nearly brought her off balance, but the energy of the ensuing blast served as a counterweight.
In spectacular fashion, Samson was consumed by a burst of purple light and was then sent rocketing toward a distant metal pillar, warping it on collision and falling roughly on the ground afterwards.
Rivet had no plans to give the Bishop a single second's rest, and judging by how Ratchet had broken into a sprint just as she had, neither did he. She noticed the hero had switched weapons, now wielding the Headhunter. "Oh yeah, I like the way you think, hotshot." She smiled. "Let's make this hurt."
Before Samson could even get up from his knees, Rivet lunged forth, diving the sword's tip into Samson's chest. The Bishop was fast enough to catch the blade with his functioning hand so as to stop it from impaling him, but the purple blade had run clean through the purple armor's plating, and blue liquid dripped from the wound.
Samson roared like a beast, pulling the sword out and trying to wressle it back from the rebel. But as Rivet grit her teeth and kept her iron grip on the weapon, Samson was made to let go when Ratchet fired a Headhunter round perfecly at the brand new chink in the Bishop's armor.
A gush of blue and yellow splattered out from the wound, and Samson faltered back, gripping his chest.
But Rivet was far from done, and far from giving mercy. While Samson was reeling, she swung for his closest knee, rending the armored knee pad wide open, allowing Ratchet to use the Headhunter to kneecap the Bishop.
Samson screamed as he fell to his knees. He then growled again before trying to swipe his clawed metal hand at the lombaxes. Rivet countered by slashing at the inside of the Bishop's elbow, blocking the strike and opening up his armor there. After another splatter of blue and yellow and a pained scream, Samson's arm hung uselessly at his side.
"Only have one bullet left." Ratchet whispered.
"Let's make it count then." Rivet replied, as she raised the sword over her head, and silently measured her strike. "Say your prayers, jerk." She spat at the loathsome Bishop, before bringing the sword down.
Rivet aimed for the very spot she had struck at the beginning of the fight, the side of Samson's mask. The new strike cracked open the crystal lense and part of the golden mask, and the weight of it caused Samson's head to ragdoll down.
And then, when the Bishop groggily recovered and raised his head with a groan, getting it level with his weapon's barril, Ratchet pulled the Headhunter's trigger.
The cling of the weapon's cartridge emping, the wet smack of the bullet connecting, and the sound of Samson's body falling backwards to the ground. For what felt like minutes, those were the last sounds Rivet heard.
A moment passed, and then another, and the Bishop stayed motionless on the ground.
Then, she let out her held breath and slumped to her knees. Before she could fall further down, barely having the strength to stay kneeling, she felt herself bump against a shoulder, a fluffy, yet damp and sticky shoulder. Ratchet's shoulder.
The hero had crumbled to his knees as well, breathing hard, eyes almost closed. And leaning on her for support, much like she found herself doing with him. Each one was falling down, but each one held the other up. It was funny, in a post-battle haze kind of way.
She chuckled, sending a searing shot of pain through her devastated ribcage, causing her to groan. Ratchet had mimicked this process to the letter, but then proceeded to wrap his arm around Rivet, and the rebel, far too drained to protest, decided to just go with it, shamelessly nuzzling into the touch.
"Let's never fight one of these psycos again," Ratchet whispered, putting his chin over Rivet's head. "I'm way too old for this."
"You're twenty something, you're not that old." Rivet countered, her eyes growing heavier. "And hey, we won."
"Barely, hehe. Every inch of me feels like it's on fire."
Before she could chuckle again, Rivet forced her eyes open when she heard a familiar voice groaning nearby. She willed her body to move, taking notice of Ratchet keeping his hold of her, and turned to see none other than Segen, sluggishly standing from the crater Samson had smashed him into.
"Wha-What happened?" The technician asked, rubbing his head, optics calibrating. He eventually focused on the lombaxes, and his eyes went wide. "Oh, rats! Are you okay!? Did you-" He trailed off when he spotted what was behind the duo. "Did you… Did… Is he…"
"Yes, Segen," Rivet answered softly. "We got him."
Segen gasped and jolted, as if he had just woken up from a dream. He stared right at Samson's motionless body, and Rivet could have sworn she heard the technician sniffle. He even seemed to try and wipe his eyes, even though they were hidden behind his mask.
However, Segen groaned and sniffled once more, before standing straight. "Kit." He said. "I have to help Clank and Kit."
Rivet nearly jumped at the realization, her body too weak to allow such a sudden motion.
Kit was still who knows where, fighting two Breaker's at the same time, with no idea of where they were. Thankfully, Segen worked away at his gauntlets, one of which still had the Folding Drive attached to it, and then spoke aloud. "Kit? Kit, can you hear me?" The technician called.
To Rivet's surprise, the response was almost immediate. "Yes, I can hear you!" Kit's voice replied. "Where are you? I saw you vanish along with that monster!"
"We're okay, Kit." Segen assured her. "How are you and Clank? Are you safe? Are you fighting?"
"We're alright!" Kit announced, rending a wave of relief through Rivet. "I am currently airborne and scanning the area for you."
"I'll send you our current coordinates. It's not that far." Segen quickly tapped away at his gauntlet's screen and waited for a response.
"Coordinates locked in, en route now." Kit stated. "I'll be arriving shortly."
"Can't wait little buddy, can't wait." Segen sighed, letting his arm fall limp as he released a heavy sigh. "I can't believe this is almost over."
"Yeah, that could have gone a little smoother." Ratchet chimed in finally, slowly standing up, pulling Rivet along with him. "What happened to always making good plans?" He joked.
Segen actually snickered at that. "Yeah, yeah, alright. I guess there is… some value in improvisation after all."
"How long do you think it'll be before Kit gets here?" Ratchet asked Segen. "We seem to be quite a bit away from the city." He said, looking off to the distant outline of the Vertical Forest.
"Eh, it's only a few dozen miles. Shouldn't take too long." Segen replied as he walked over to Samson's sword, kneeling down to it.
"What are you doing?" Rivet questioned with a tilt of her head at the sight of Segen extending one of his arm-mounted blades and starting to shimmy with the purple gem on the sword's pommel.
"Almost… got it!" Segen yelped as he separated the gem from the sword. He held the gem up proudly and took hold of the one connected to his gauntlet as well. "Ahhh, it's always good to have a spare." He said, stuffing the spare in his pocket.
Eventually, the technician's gaze returned to Samson, and his eyes and voice grew somber. "I can't believe you actually did it. I… I thought it was impossible. I've never even heard of a Bishop dying."
Ratchet quirked a brow. "You mean dying in battle, right?"
"No, I mean dying at all." Segen shook his head. "I used to think they were immortal."
Rivet turned to look at Samson's body, a silent dread building up within her. "Huh, that's…"
Samson sat up.
Silently and in one fluid motion, the Bishop was back up on his knees and facing the trio.
Every instinct in Rivet's body flared up at the same time. She sprang away as her arm, moving of its own accord, went to draw her Omnihammer. Ratchet had done the same, while Segen flinched further away than either of them.
Rivet ran her eyes over Samson, noticing that all the blue blood that leaked from the Bishop had dried up, and that the wounds they had made now appeared closed. And when the man raised his head, Rivet saw the eye Ratchet had shot a Headhunter bullet into was now intact.
Samson was silent, he was not even looking at the group in front of him. Instead he turned to the hand Rivet had mangled, raising it up to his face. The fingers were still all bent, but as the Bishop calmly stared at them, the armored digits began to subtly shake. Then, all at once, they clenched into a perfect fist, snapping bones and flesh realigning. Samson then extended and retracted his fingers, testing them.
"Well, I'll admit it," The Bishop started, still looking at his repaired hand. "You are the first people to make me taste the pavement." He scoffed, finally lowering his hand, turning to look at them. "Not a fan. Not a fan at all."
Rivet then tried to raise her Omnihammer, but her limbs felt heavy and even though she managed to point the weapon's head at the Bishop, her arm was shaking, begging her for a rest.
But before more fighting could ensue, a voice came. "Why?"
Rivet saw Segen shuffle past her, his fist clenched. "Every day, I- I prayed for you to die. And now, when I thought that my prayers had been answered," He glanced at Ratchet and then Rivet, sniffling as he did before looking back at Samson. "You just had to get one more kick in my teeth, didn't you?" He paused, his body rattling. "So tell me!" Segen screamed. "Why won't you die!?"
Samson just stared at him with half-lidded eyes, a thick silence settling before he answered. "Because I don't deserve to die." He uttered simply. "Because I've lived my life in Alterra's grace." He threw his arms out and looked up to the sky. "All my life I've done nothing but punish those deserving of it. Including you." He pointed straight at Segen, his voice dripping with hate. "To this day. To this day I have no idea what Lanari said to the Cardinals to convince them into letting her keep you, but it doesn't matter. The greatest sin I carry is that I was unable to give you a heretic's death years ago. And that is a sin I intend to remend."
The two Ruined stared at each other in silence, the disdain they had for each other was palpable and made Rivet feel like the air was thick. However, Samson had one more thing to say.
"And also, Segen? This is my last try at imparting at least some wisdom to you, ya know, to keep my ledger clean, say that I tried, and whatnot. When you want someone dead, you don't pray for it to happen." He said matter-of-factly. "You make it happen." He finished, dead serious and glaring at Segen, his clawed hands twitching.
Segen just stood there, perfectly quiet, perfectly still. Then, he breathed in and exhaled. "Okay."
Rivet then saw Segen extend his arm-mounted blade and stab the Folding Drive, cracking the smooth surface, before throwing the damaged device at Samson.
The ensuing blast lit up the dark sky of Misericordia like a long forgotten sun. Rivet, Ratchet and Segen were all sent flying backwards as the bright light swallowed Samson whole.
When the ringing in her ears faded and her eyes recuperated from the cataclysmic flash, Rivet lifted herself off the ground and stared in awe at the results of Segen's actions.
The many metal pillars on the platform were now flattened. The already dark metal of the structure was now burnt into an even darker shade. Embers and purple flames littered the whole platform. And finally, at the center of the blast's crater, was the singed, soot-covered remains of Bishop Samson.
His mask was now smoking, covered in soot. His hat and feathers turned to ash. His body, now exposed by the absence of his armor, was charred and incomplete. What little remained of the horrible man, was not something he could come back from, unexplained regenerative powers or not.
As she gawked at the aftermath, a memory in the rebel's mind began to surface. Something Segen had said. "Folding Drives just explode when you mess with them. They explode extremely, exceptionally violently, but they just explode."
"Yeah, he wasn't kidding." She thought to herself, still more than a little shocked.
But as Rivet's eyes wandered the battlefield, she saw something on the horizon. A familiar yellow shape was approaching fast, trailing blue-tinted smoke behind it. Relief washed over the rebel as she saw her friend landing on the tower's platform, Clank holding onto her shoulder. Although Kit looked like had sustained quite a bit of punishment, her body covered in dents, scorch marks, and sparking in several places, the robot remained standing.
"She's one tough cookie," Ratchet stated, smiling proudly at the bot.
"She sure is." Rivet agreed, admiration blossoming in her chest.
Kit then seemed to take notice of the lombaxes. "Rivet! Ratchet!" The yellow bot squeaked. "You are injured! You need Nanotech immediately!"
"Yup, you're probably right," Rivet conceded. "Mind getting us out of here, Kit?"
"Of course. Should I chart a course to Segen's apartment?"
"Not yet," The technician stepped up. "Samson put quite a number on you two, and I don't have the Nanotech to heal you both." He said. And yet, he did not sound all too worried. "But I know who does. What say you guys we go visit the Vertical Forest?"
Rivet raised her brows at that. "You can get us in?"
"Sure I can," Segen assured her. "My mom owns the place."
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