After reaching the planet Rilgar, the first thing our heroes saw was how much of the planet's surface was covered with dark blue water. Looking across the horizon, you can easily count the islands and islets on the fingers of one hand.
On one of the largest archipelagos was the Blackwater city, also known as the Capital of Entertainment by most people in the galaxy. This is where tournaments and events related to hoverboard racing take place.
And it is also here that our heroes will find the next Scorn Baron.
After landing at the port, Ratchet and Clank went to the city. Everywhere there were neon signs, holographic posters, and inhabitants of different races living their own lives.
"So what's the plan?" Clank asked.
"We'll look for someone involved in hoverboard racing and ask around about Yaviks. Then we'll see what happens." Ratchet replied.
The robot agreed to this plan and he and his furry companion continued walking. However, less than five minutes passed and trouble found them.
"Amoeboids! Save yourself! Call the Exterminator bots!" shouted one of the civilians, who pointed to the green slimy creatures emerging from the sewers.
Ratchet quickly pulled out Sirocco and started shooting. The Thorn didn't like this choice of weapon, and it immediately started whispering into Lombax's mind, causing him to have a small headache. Despite this, however, our hero managed to stop the offensive of the monsters until the Exterminators arrived.
These black and yellow robots immediately got to work and started spraying the Amoeboids with a green spray that instantly killed them. When the situation was under control, the robots returned to the aircraft in which they arrived and flew back to their headquarters, and law enforcement officers began to deal with all this chaos.
The officers heard that Ratchet had slowed down the amoebas and thanked him for it, but also informed him that they still had to question him. The young man agreed to this, provided that they would give him information about the local Baron and her gang. When the policemen heard that Lombax was hunting the Scorn, they immediately let him go and showed him where to go. After a dozen or so minutes, our heroes reached the their destination, where they were greeted by
a humanoid lizard-like woman, dressed in a rather... skimpy purple jumpsuit.
"Hey, handsome! Welcome to Hoverboard Raceway Plaza! This is where we organize the most popular races and competitions on hoverboards. I'm Starlene and it's nice to meet you," she said.
When Ratchet saw what the woman looked like and what she was wearing, he secretly thanked the female mercenaries and smugglers from Kyzil town for teaching him how to remain calm and serious during such encounters. He then started asking about Yaviks, which immediately changed the woman's mood to a more gloomy one. She told how the Scorn and her gang ruined this year's competition and despite the city authorities' reaction, they are still running around. Ratchet immediately informed that he was here to get rid of the Baroness, to which Starlene did not hide her joy. She recommended using the officers' vehicles, but quickly remembered that they had recently lost all of their interception flying bikes.
Fortunately, someone was here to help.
"Ratchet! Look here, kiddo!"
Our furry hero and his companion turned around and saw that Grim and Mithrax, the Kell (the leader - added the author) of the House of Light, whose faction decided to live among other races rather than terrorize them, were heading towards them. Behind them, several Eliksni were pushing an object that was under the cloth.
"Grim? Lord Mithrax? What are you doing here?" asked Lombax, who approached the new arrivals.
Grim immediately took his grandson into his arms and started hugging him tightly, so much that the other one almost ran out of air. When the young man was released from his grandfather's clutches, he looked at Kell and bowed to him, which was reciprocated. Ratchet then repeated his question.
"We heard from one of the bounty hunters that there is a Scorn here. Knowing that she was still alive, we packed what we needed and flew here, hoping to find you. As you can see, we succeeded," Grim replied.
"I see. And how did you end up here, Lord Mithrax? I thought you were in the Lux city to discuss matters related to your faction." - Lombax asked.
"Yes, I was there and what was supposed to be done was done. Then I decided to visit the first place in this galaxy that willingly welcomed me and my brothers and sisters and pay respect to Clyde, may the Light protect him."- Mithrax answered
"I informed our dear Kell what was going on and what you were doing, then asked him for a ride. And so here we are."- Grim added
Just the mention of his parents made Ratchet feel sad. The constant knowledge that both of them were dead was still overwhelming him. However, he quickly came to his senses and remembered why he was here. Then he pointed to an object hidden under a layer of material.
"What is it?" he asked.
A smile appeared on Grim's face, as if he were a child who received a Christmas present. So he approached the said item and removed the cloth, revealing the contents.
"Say hello to Burnout, your very own Sparrow-class flying bike. 160 km/h, leather seat and handles, automatic pouch for all kinds of weapons that reload them and a radio with your favorite music. And one more small addition," said Fongoid, presenting the vehicle. The man walked up and started it, causing the Sparrow to float slightly off the ground, its front ablaze with fire and giving it a slightly devilish appearance. Grim then leaned against the vehicle and looked at his grandson with a smirk. "Impressive, isn't it? I was slightly inspired by your Ghost Rider's comics. The guy has style, I must say.
The eighteen-year-old approached the vehicle and began to look at it. A long nose connected to the handlebars by chains, handles like those from Harleys, and the engine looked like it was taken from a rocket. The whole thing was painted black, almost resembling tar, with occasional yellow spots. Overall, Lombax liked the vehicle.
"This is…wow. I don't know what to say," he said.
"Then why don't you use it to give that Baron a hard time, huh? Show her who's boss on the track," suggested Grim.
The young adult considered the offer for a while and eventually accepted it. So he got behind the Burnout's wheel and roared the engine loudly.
Yaviks was having the time of her life. Speed, destruction, fear and panic in the eyes of those she was chasing. She and her gang had been riding around the city's tracks and streets for months, harming or kidnapping anyone they came across.
Now she and her gang were chasing the person they had abducted before, whom they had placed on a flying motorcycle and told him to run away while they chased him on their vehicles. For Yaviks it was great fun and a reason why she forgot what her original purpose was for coming to this planet.
The Baroness was already slowly getting near her prey. So she took out her flail and prepared to attack.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, she heard a loud roar of an engine. She turned around and saw a figure riding a fiery flying motorcycle. In his hand he held a burning chain, which he twirled like a lasso.
It is unknown to her, but this sight terrified the Baroness, who ordered her subordinates to watch out for the mysterious newcomer.
This was to no avail, however, as the figure managed to hit every Scorn ,except the Baroness, with one well-aimed swing of his chain, burning them to a crisp and causing their motorcycles to form a pileup.
The gang leader did not let this stop her and avoided the obstacle without any problems. When she looked behind her, she saw the stranger, without any difficulties, tearing through the pileup like a battering ram and flying after her without any loss of speed. Yaviks quickly left the track and headed into the Blackwater streets, where she hoped to lose the chase. However, this plan did not work, because despite passing through many alleys, the stranger was still on her tail.
At one point, the mysterious figure dematerialized his burning chain and took a gun from its holster and fired several bullets. The bullets hit their targets and caused the Baroness to lose control of her vehicle. Despite her efforts, Yaviks eventually crashed into one of the walls and was imprisoned under the wreckage of her bike.
The Baroness tried to get out, but all attempts were in vain. Few seconds later she heard a vehicle park next to her, and then the steps of the driver walking towards her. She looked at the newcomer and saw that it was a stranger who was chasing her.
"Hehehe. Apparently even I can't chase away from death, hehe. I'm guessing you're responsible for the others' deaths, right?" she asked.
The stranger knelt before her and took off his helmet. The woman immediately recognized that it was Clyde's son, Ratchet.
"Ahhh, revenge then. Know one thing. You won't stop Fikrul and our master's plan. The Emperor will win in the end, hehe."
The Lombax didn't say anything, just stood up and then aimed the Thorn at the Baroness and shot her in the head, killing her instantly.
3 off the list. 5 remain.
When Ratchet returned to the Hoverboard Raceway Plaza, he saw that a large number of people had gathered there. And everyone cheered his victory.
"Oh yeah! Good job, boy!"
"You showed them!"
"Young and handsome! Do you want to go on a date?!"
The boy blushed slightly under his mask when he saw so many people. He didn't expect that so many people would congratulate him on his successful hunt. Ratchet suddenly felt Grim take him off his vehicle and then hug him tightly.
"HA HA! You did it, kid! I'm so proud of you! You showed that on Veldin we have the best riders!" Fongoid shouted happily.
After many minutes of celebration, only Ratchet, Clank, Mithrax, Grim and Starlene remained in the square. The gentlemen said they had to get back home. Before they flew away, Grim gave his grandson a device to summon Burnout and informed Lombax that Jack Malphur was after him. At the mere mention of this name, Thorn caused great pain in the boy's head, whispering how this weapon hated this family. Ratchet thanked him for the information and promised to be careful. After a while, he was left alone with his mechanical companion and the lizard-like woman.
"So...what are you planning now?" Starlane asked.
"Honestly? I don't know. Previously I was able to find information about the location of other barons, but now I am deaf and blind," replied Lombax. He sighed at the thought that now he had to start looking for clues about the location of the Scorn and Qwark. "By the way. Do you know where Captain Qwark is currently? We have important data for him."
"That Guardian? He's here in town," she said.
Upon hearing that the person they were looking for was nearby, our heroes asked for his exact location. The woman easily told where Qwark was.
Except there was a small problem here.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute. Are you telling me that because of the destruction caused by the Yaviks, the part of the city where the Captain is now has been cut off and the only way there is through the sewers?" Ratchet said.
"Yup."
The young man sighed at the thought of having to fight his way through the Amoeboid lair. However, he gritted his teeth and thanked the girl for her help, and then he and Clank went to the sewers.
Once there, Lombax wished his race didn't have such a good sense of smell. Every time he took a breath, he could only smell the stench of this city, sometimes making him want to puke.
"If you're going to empty your stomach, please don't empty it into me," Clank said.
"Take it easy, buddy. I will aim at the enemies."
At one point, the holes opened and slimy monsters crawled out. Additionally, a large amount of water started leaking out of them.
"I hope you can hold your breath for a long time, because according to my calculations, these canals will be completely underwater in a few minutes!" - said Clank.
Hearing this, Ratchet quickly started running towards the exit from the sewers, eliminating the monsters he encountered along the way. However, as fate would have it, the guys couldn't completely avoid the water rising to its maximum level. Fortunately, they were close to the exit and it took them seconds to get there. When they got out of the sewers, the first thing they saw was a trailer with the Captain Qwark logo and a muscular security guard of the same race as Starlane, who was standing by the door.
"Hold up, brudda. Where do you think you are going, hmm?" the man asked.
At this point, it was Clank who got off Ratchet's back, giving Lombax time to catch his breath, and decided to explain the reason for their visit.
"We have important information for Captain Qwark. Is he here?" the bot asked.
"Sure, but I won't let you in. Do you think I'll let some strays who literally came out of the sewers meet a celebrity? You can dream."
Upon hearing that they would not be allowed in, Ratchet pulled out his Thorn and aimed it at the security guard.
"Let us in or you'll go to sleep with the fishes, brudda."
When he saw the gun pointed at him, the security guard squealed like a little girl and ran away with his tail between his legs. When our heroes saw this, they just shrugged and went to the trailer's door and knocked.
"I'm coming, I'm coming. There's no need to rush."
After a while, the door opened and the person our heroes were looking for came out from behind it.
Captain Copernicus Leslie Qwark. A muscular man with white skin, three fingers, an antenna on his head and a green skintight jumpsuit.
"Hello, my dear fans! Nice to meet you," the man greeted.
Upon seeing the Captain, Clank also greeted him and immediately began to explain the purpose of their meeting.
Ratchet, on the other hand... felt strange. Having spent many years in the Iron Temple and around the Lightbringers, he was able to sense their Light.
There was no such thing with Qwark. Only something that resembled bottomless hunger. As if he was a walking black hole.
However, the young man decided that these were probably his imaginations and then greeted the Captain himself. The man informed our heroes that he had no idea about President Drek's exploits and would be happy to help them. However, before this happens, he wants to see who he will cooperate with.
And so Qwark and our heroes went to the desert planet Umbris, where the Captain located his headquarters and training center.
Many days have passed since Rivet found out who her biological father was. All this time, the young Lombax avoided contact with her mother and others. The only way to see her was when she took food from the nearby canteen and took it to her room. During these few days, the girl thought about everything Anna told her.
That Alister blames himself for her disappearance.
That he and Jill were no longer married.
That despite all these years, he wouldn't stop looking for her, even if it was her skeleton.
With all this in mind, Rivet wondered what to do next.
Should she just ignore the fact that no one told her about it?
Should she just accept people into her life who, even though she has known them for a long time, are still to some extent alien to her? Even Jill, despite spending so much time with Rivet, was never called a mother.
With all this in her mind, the girl groaned and buried her face in the pillow.
'If only the Morts were here to advise me.'- thought the girl. Just thinking about her furry friends from Sargasso made her feel happy. She remembers perfectly how a few days after waking up after her body surgery she had a holo-conversation with the Morts, who not only scolded her for joining the Militia but were also happy to see her. The girl promised that she would communicate with them more often.
At some point, someone knocked on her door. Rivet got out of bed and opened it. On the other side stood Alister in casual clothes.
"Hello…Rivet. I came to check how you are feeling," the man said.
There was a real storm of thoughts going on in the girl's head. She didn't know what to do. Close the door? Let the man in? Yell at him?
Ultimately, the choice fell on another option.
"Everything is OK. I feel good, and the implants and prostheses are working well," she said.
"That's good. Even very good. I will let Dr. Nefarious know that his another surgery was a success."
After these words, they both stood by the door and didn't say anything, occasionally whistling or looking anywhere.
After a few seconds, Alister's communicator began to ring, which signaled to the man that he was needed. So he said goodbye to Rivet and went his way. The girl closed the door and lay down on the bed again and did nothing but looked at the ceiling. With one thought in mind.
'What should I do now?'