One of the grunts makes the first move, slamming his hammer towards Nova. She rolls out of the way, and barely has the time to recover before another weapon is swung her way. "Well, well, aren't you guys late to the party!" She does her best to gain some distance between her and her attackers, never taking her eyes off the action, which proves to be difficult when the floor is littered with robotic bodies.
The young woman scans the room, looking for Clank's, and she locks eyes with it. One of the goons has picked him up by the head, and dangles him toward one of his buddies. "Got the little guy! Does the boss want em' both, or just the girl, or-"
A silver, domed plate cover smacks against the goon's face, ringing from the impact. The site is bright red, his eyes are crossed, and a chipped tooth falls from his mouth as he hits the ground in a daze.
"Too close. Need a weapon," she huffs. There's a nearby coat rack that's worth a try, so she runs for it. Another heavy hammer falls next to her feet as she sharply turns out of it's way. Thin fingers wrap around the metal, and the object is lifted in front of her. Most of the weight is at its base, heavy and unfamiliar, but it's better than a tiny knife.
The dense metal strikes the closest goon, knocking him back slightly, but a lack of experience with the weighted weapon leaves her open. One such enemy notices this, and uses his own weapon to knock her off her feet, pushing the air from her lungs. With a cough, Nova rolls away from another hit and grabs the coat rack once more. An axe slams down against it, ringing out as the pole blocks the blade.
"I have to get us out of here," she mumbles to herself. "Way outnumbered. Orvus, I wish I had a gun right now. Or my staff, or something." The device Nefarious dropped lies where it landed, and the markazian scoffs at it. "Stupid screen-thing of death. If it wasn't for you-"
The words are interrupted by an axe coming towards her face, but the swing meant for her finds an ally that was a bit too close to avoid it. Heels are turned toward the device, and with all her might, Nova swings at the screen that once held Nefarious' image. The display is cracked, but the device remains intact. "Not strong enough," she grumbles at her weapon.
The goons close in, slowly surrounding their target. "Come on, bros! Grab her already so we can get paid!"
With narrowed eyes and bared teeth, the young woman backs into the generator behind her, and is surprised to feel life within it. A very subtle rumble at her back, as well as a faint white noise in her ears. Glancing back at the machine behind her, she gets an idea. "Alright then, boys, come and take me!"
All at once, they rush towards her, whooping with feral glee. At the last second, the markazian ducks, rolling away from the clump of baddies. Their weapons, and their skulls, all crash right into Nefarious' device. The metal is dented inwards, damaging the main terminal's inner circuitry. It's humming stops.
…
"You idiots! Get back up and grab her! We gotta get paid!"
A gruff voice is the first thing Clank's systems register as they reboot one by one, and the room is nothing like he recalls. The ballroom is a mess, the organic guests seem to be out of sight, and he's currently the only conscious robot in the room.
Electromagnetic interference, perhaps? That must have been the purpose of Nefarious' device, he figures. Reaching into his memory banks, the last piece of uncorrupted data surfaces.
Someone threw themselves over him, so he never saw what Nefarious' pod did next. Searching the room for that someone, he picks up a markazian female signature. There are no traces of an explosion, so at least Nova is-
Currently surrounded by 8 Goons-4-Less grunts with heavy melee weapons.
His partner's dress is stained and ripped, bunched up between her legs. A stream of dried blood lies over her cheek, and loose hair strands stick to her face and fight through the hairstyle that once confined them. The young woman moves quickly, the dense coat rack in her hands clashing against much sharper weapons. Leaning back with all her strength, she manages to knock one of the goons' teeth away, sending the rest of his body stumbling back into his ally. One thing sticks out above all else; a look in her eyes that speaks of defiance, a stubborn refusal to fall.
Clank watches this, and every piece of information on her in his databanks falls into place. Their Destructapalooza match comes to mind. Specifically, the split second of footage he saw of her on that huge holo-screen. That one, he had saved to his memory banks, but was unsure exactly why at the time. At this moment, it all finally makes sense.
He thinks of Ratchet, of the silly smile he'd wear on his face as he would speak of Talwyn. Perhaps, he decides, Ratchet had a point when he mentioned her strength of body and character, her compassion, and her dedication to her research.
All of a sudden, Nova twitches. There's a gut feeling, a change in the air's thickness. A presence in the room that can only be described as home. A zoni-based aura, and a soft green light that reflects off of polished flooring. "Clank!"
Nova makes eye contact with him, then runs towards him. The robot notices a goon getting ready to pounce, gripping his weapon in anticipation. "To your right, Nova!"
Her eyes dart to that side, flickering to green, then she drops to her knees and slides forward, inches below a swinging axe.
What Clank doesn't see from that angle is Nova's horrified face reflecting in the blade, praying that her eyebrow doesn't get completely sliced off.
The blue eyed woman smiles at her companion and stands by his side. "You're okay! Wait, if you're okay, then that means..."
Nova raises her arms towards the group of enemies, adjusting her position to allow for the Enforcer to materialize in her hands. "You guys are toast. You ready for this, Clank?"
"Always," he nods, bringing his fists up away from his face and preparing for a fight.
Nova lets two shots fly at once, knocking the closest goons down. Behind her, the diminutive warbot calls forth holographic fists much larger than his own. She recognizes the sound, and watches as he jumps up to kick his opponent, then slams his fists down to knock them out. "Wh-I thought those were just special effects!"
"You have access to a larger arsenal, but I do keep some goodies for myself," he giggles. "Like the holo-knuckles."
Lifting her dropped jaw with a grin and shaking her head, she turns back to a goon moving towards her. "I swear, you are the coolest dang person in the universe." Another set of shells brings down the enemy for good.
"Why thank you, Nova. I should say the same for you." Clank ducks under a goon's legs, kicking them in the back and finishing the job by striking a pressure point. "Behind you!"
Heeding the warning, the markazian reloads once more, and two shells hit her enemy square in the chest. The last few get a Cryomine, and are stuck in place. "Thanks! Hey, now that I think about it," Nova asks, "How'd you wake up so quickly, anyway? Is that a Zoni thing or something?"
"Perhaps my Zoni half allowed my body to recover more quickly than a robot with no such lineage," he theorizes. "I am unsure, but that seems as good a guess as any. Considering all of the abilities I have gained in the past, that is not out of the question, I suppose."
"Well, you're okay now, that's what matters." With that, Nova kicks the frozen mercenaries towards the door. Waxed floors carry them towards the exit, and the doors slam open and shut.
The room's lights come on once more and the ceiling closes, allowing a softer glow to fill the ballroom. The organic guests, once huddled together in fear, slowly come out of hiding. Some of the other robots slowly come to, and the first thing they see is a markazian and tiny robot. They stand amidst unconscious mercenaries, and a thin trail of water that leads outside.
Qwark awakens with a groan, his head spinning as if he was organic once more and had partied too hard the previous night. "Oh man, what happened? Did the fireworks backfire or something? Is everyone alright?" The celebrity gets his answer as he looks to the center of the room.
Nova and Clank turn to the crowd as clapping reaches their ears. It quickly grows into full on applause, as well as whistles and cheers. As the sound bounces off the walls, one of them calls out her name.
Like a domino effect, her name spreads across the room with her companion's. The markazian waves to the others, a relieved sigh escaping her. "We saved them."
"I was unconscious for most of it, Nova. Whatever you did to take out that EMP saved all of us." Clank brushes against her unoccupied hand to fully grab her attention. "I told you things would work out in the end." She squeezes his hand in return.
Qwark's own applause rings out, a bit louder than the rest. "Do I know how to pick em' or what?! Give it up for our heroes, and their spectacular performance tonight!" He reaches out towards the two of them, and as they take his hands, he lifts them both high above the crowd.
The act throws Nova off her guard for a moment, but she quickly loosens up. "Heroes..." The word makes the gravity of what transpired hit that much harder. Nefarious sent a trap, sent a fight her way, and she stopped it. Clank, and all the others that were put in danger by the attack, they're okay.
A confidence fills Nova's very soul, one that's so much different from the silly wink she gave the Destructapalooza lobby. So much stronger than what was there for that victory speech.
She's reminded of Nefarious' earlier taunt, that one arena match victory means nothing. This moment, as the room looks to her not as a polite response to a ceremony, but with genuine gratitude, that means so much more.
In this moment, the young hero finally feels like she's earned that title.