Chapter 12: Knight in Volcanox Armor
Kryantixx Galaxy: Planet Evukar
It had been a day since Ratchet and Clank sped off once more to the distant Kryantixx Galaxy. Ratchet gripped the controls with a death-like snare. His eyes hadn't moved a milicubit from the glass of the cockpit. Clank noticed that his friend had also been eerily silent the whole trip. Where Ratchet usually talked up a storm, often retelling his grander conquests, this time the silence that hung in the air was suffocating. However, a beep from Aphelion broke both of their concentrations.
"ETA to coordinate location, 10 minutes." Aphelion said in her usual clear voice.
"Good." was all Ratchet had to say. Clank eyed his friend uneasily before also speaking up.
"Aphelion, have you had any luck contacting Miss Apogee or Erus?" Clank asked, hoping for good news, but somehow knowing that it wouldn't be.
"Negative. My sensors show that Apogee, Talwyn, has continued to move at space-flight speeds. Her Nav-Unit indicates no serious physical injuries, but reports heightened blood pressure and neurological function." Ratchet took a deep breath. At the very least she wasn't hurt...yet. But Aphelion's scans answered nothing in the means of why Talwyn hadn't answered any of their calls or where the heck she was going. "My sensors also show that this planet is not known to have electric storms"
Another lie from Erus. Ratchet let this information settle on his mind as he focused on not crashing as they entered Evukar's Atmosphere. Their landing went much smoother than last time, and the first thing that Ratchet noticed as he hopped out into the hangar was that Talwyn's ship was still there. Ratchet ran off to the entrance while Clank got out himself. He had tried this whole time to stay optimistic, yet when he saw Talwyn's ship sitting there, as well as Erus's, he knew that something was very wrong.
Ratchet ran to the door and knocked frantically, hoping that Talwyn would answer it and that the whole thing was just a big false alarm. But no, it seemed that Ratchet's unbelievable luck in surviving near-death situations did not apply today. Instead of being met with what he would assume to be an annoyed face, Ratchet was met with a still-locked front door. He pounded on the old frame again, this time calling out for Erus; still no answer. Shortly after, he heard his robotic friend come up behind him.
"Both of their ships are still here," Clank stated aloud in a quizzical voice. Ratchet turned and slumped on the front porch.
"Then why in a thousand Argonian HELLS is Talwyn HALFWAY across the GALAXY!?" he screamed before grabbing his ears in frustration. "I should've stayed. I could've stayed. I knew there was something off about that guy, I knew and I didn't say anything because she was just so happy about the whole thing and I didn't want to ruin it for her..." he continued to no one in particular.
"Ratchet..." Clank said, trying to get his friend's attention. "Ratchet!" he yelled, finally getting eye contact from the stubborn lombax. "You cannot focus on what you could have done. Only on what you can do now. And right now, Miss Apogee needs us, I am certain of it." Clank said, punctuating the last word by bringing one fist into his other hand. Ratchet suddenly got up and turned to the door once more. "Ratchet? What are you doing?" Clank asked, confused.
"Doing something," Ratchet responded before he took his wrench and smashed the ancient wooden door with it. "Now come on, let's see if we can figure out what happened here," he said walking into the darkness that was Erus's home.
Edge of Kryantixx Galaxy: 3rd Moon of Planet Glignak
Maa'jer's ship entered the atmosphere of the moon. Most of this sector is uncharted, and so planets, stars, and other bodies are only given numbers and coordinates, if anything at all, to distinguish them. The 3rd Moon was one such body. Much more than a moon though, this barren land housed a sustainable atmosphere much like a planet. It was due to the huge mass of the gaseous planet which it revolved which made the rock seem so dwarf-like.
The ship cruised along the surface until a large stone stepped platform appeared on the horizon. The top of the platform was flanked on each side with tall stone pillars, and there was a shallow dais that rose from the center. It seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, with no discernable markings or landmarks in any direction. Maa'jer approached a large steel blast door that was manned with several guards. He flipped a switch on his console which caused the doors to slowly open revealing a cavernous hangar. Maa'jer slowly maneuvered the ship into an empty spot among the rows of other vehicles and machines.
Talwyn's restrained body was jostled as the ship touched down. Her captor chuckled, chuckled! at her sounds of discomfort before going to the back where she was kept to retrieve her. He opened the loading door wide and Talwyn took her chance. She used her weight to throw herself away from Maa'jer, landing on the hard, metal floor. With a little effort, she was back on her legs and hobbling off in the opposite direction of the madman. Maa'jer merely sighed and slung a pack on his shoulders before going after her at a leisurely stroll.
Talwyn didn't look back as she made her mad dash. This rock looked deserted, but she learned after many years of traveling that no place truly ever was. However, her restraints were starting to take a toll on her. The usually spry Markazian was starting to stumble on her own feet. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Talwyn's reserve broke and she sneaked a peek behind her. She quickly scanned the horizon and it seemed that she had left her captor behind. However, as she turned around, she tripped on her feet and fell onto the hard, unforgiving ground. She frantically tried to get back up but she stopped when she felt two pairs of hands roughly pick her up.
"Now, now, my dear. None of this foolishness. You'd die of dehydration out there." Maa'jer said as he tied a chain to her cuffs and started to lead her along. "And I need you alive for what I have in store for this galaxy, for this universe even," he said in his same cold, calm manner.
"I'd rather DIE than help you!" Talwyn said as she struggled against the lead. However, she stopped short when she heard Maa'jer's next words.
"I can sew your mouth shut if you'd like. Or dismember you even," he said as turned back to the defiant girl. "I need you alive, but not in one piece. Now you can play along and be a good little disgusting Marukar and I just might let you live after this hmm?" he said with ice in his eyes. Talwyn stopped struggling, realizing that she had to buy time to think and outsmart her way out of this one. "Good, good," Maa'jer said as he caressed her chin. "See how easy it is to be civilized?" he asked snidely before once again facing forward and leading Talwyn deeper into the base of his operations. As she heard the hangar doors start to close once more, the markazian craned her neck to see what very well might be her last view of the night sky.
Kryantixx Galaxy: Planet Evukar
Ratchet ran through the dark halls of the old home until he made it to the guest wing. There he found the room that Talwyn had been staying in. He soon heard Clank's metal feet coming up behind him and shortly after that, the room was illuminated with Clank's ghost-like shoulder light. Ratchet clenched his wrench in his hand as he saw that her bags and tools were still there.
"Something's not right, Clank," Ratchet said in an even tone. If they hadn't been here not two days ago, they would have thought this place was deserted. There was no sign of either Talwyn or Erus. His friend's only reply was a silent nod. Clank had oh so wished everything was alright. But now seeing yet another bit of evidence of the opposite, his mathematical brain could no longer deny it.
"We should look for signs of a struggle." Clank merely said as the two searched the ground floor of the house. They came to the living room and saw the overturned furniture and scorch marks where Thraxx's stun shots had missed their mark. A sure sign of a struggle. The duo walked through the room, all manner of scenarios whizzing through Ratchet's mind. A dread started to fall over Ratchet, followed by anger. His eyes fell upon a red piece of fabric on the ground, and he stooped down to pick it up.
"Ratchet..." Clank started to say as he saw his friend pick up Talwyn's headpiece. Without a second thought, Ratchet tied the old bandana around his wrist before looking once more across the room.
"Come on, we need to talk to Erus," he said.
"But Ratchet, are you so sure that Erus knows what happened, or is still even here?" Clank asked as he tried to keep up with Ratchet on his little metal feet.
"Erus knows. I just...know it." Ratchet said, somewhat defeatedly. More than ever, he needed to believe that Talwyn didn't just disappear from his life. There was so much potential for the both of them, and he couldn't imagine losing yet another friend to the abyss of space. He soon reached the control room and was instantly alarmed as a whole console full of sensors was in the red.
"Ratchet...what was it again that Erus said he was working on?" Clank asked, though was ignored. Ratchet scoured the monitors and sensors, which all seemed like a blur of red, flashing lights.
"There," he said, pointing to what seemed like a map. "See where all these red lines converge Clank? That must be where Erus' project is." Ratchet said, Clank nodded in confirmation, and in just a few more minutes the duo were in the mess that was Andromeda's room.
"What happened here..." Ratchet said to himself as he scanned the mess of wires and lights that were now disconnected. Not to mention underneath it all were relics of a little girl's room. He then saw the large empty capsule in the middle.
"Clank," Ratchet said, his voice unwavering. "What do you suppose was in this thing here?" He asked, knowing that it was a crucial piece of the puzzle.
"Well, judging by the other equipment here, it looks like some sort of life support station might have been here," Clank said, his mind spinning to think of other options.
"Wait-a-minute." Ratchet said as his mind fired through his memory. "What was it that Erus said? That he and Tal's dad made a system that would keep organisms from aging." Ratchet said. "What if Erus was hiding someone here, in suspended animation, and whoever was after that person came here?" Ratchet asked. Just then, a beep from his Nav unit got his attention.
"Ratchet, this is Aphelion. I am notifying you that I have lost Apogee, Talwyn's nav-unit signal. I can give you her last coordinates. Then it appears that deep space interference is scrambling the location." Aphelion finished.
"Aphelion, give me Erus's last coordinates," Ratchet said with a determined look on his face.
"Errr, what are you doing Ratchet," Clank asked, worried for his friend now. He knew what that face meant, that Ratchet was not going to stop until he got what he wanted.
"We're going to get answers," Ratchet said as the new coordinates were sent to his Nav-unit. At first, Ratchet was surprised, it seemed like they were right on top of Erus. But then he remembered that the old man had gone underground. "Wait a second. The basement!" Ratchet exclaimed as he grabbed Clank and started running towards the access stairs. The lombax practically fell down them at how fast he was running. Clank's still active light bounced wildly off the walls but soon settled as they reached the bottom. Ratchet made his way to one of the doors that had been previously closed and tried to pry it open.
"Locked," he stated before he smashed it open. As the dust settled, his eyes found what seemed to be yet another set of stairs. The lombax started towards them before his previously silent partner spoke up.
"Ratchet, are we sure this is the best course of action?" Clank asked, worried that it seemed Ratchet was opting for a head-first plan of attack. "We have no idea what could be down th-".
"Talwyn could be down there," Ratchet said, cutting off Clank. He knew that it wouldn't be so, her last coordinates were off halfway across the galaxy, but he did know that some clue, some piece of information that would bring them closer to finding her would be down there, and that was enough for him. Clank nodded, knowing that his concerns were a lost cause. The metal robot jumped up onto Ratchet's back before they descended into the darkness.
The minutes had ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace for the past few days, but now Erus was staring at the ten-year-old face of his beautiful Andromeda. She was just as she was all those years ago. She was young and her eyes were fresh and sparkling with wonder. Though right now they seemed a bit frightened.
"Pa..pa? What's...going on?" Andromeda asked, the words coming off her tongue thick and syrupy as her mind hadn't formed the syllables in over 40 years. She still had her mother's accent and mannerisms, which both elated and pained Erus. "Is ma-ma…gone?" she asked, not sure what to think of the emotions on Erus's face.
"Oh, my Andromeda. Yes, I'm afraid so. They took her." He said, giving her a tight hug. "But we will be safe down here until it is time."
"Time...for what?" Andromeda asked.
"Time for you to cleanse the world," Erus said, a glint in his eye. His hands enclosed her small, porcelain-like ones. They seemed so perfect, even if one of them was a cybernetic. "You will bring light into the darkest reaches and bring an era of peace," he said, hope in his voice for the first time since the accident. Erus kissed the top of her head. "And no one shall ever hurt you again my dear."