Clank: Orxon 2nd Visit/Hoven

Landing on the toxic world once again, the trio could now disembark together, with the O2 Mask protecting Ratchet. The modified pilot helmet extended, now putting a face mask over Summer's mouth and visor.

"Alright," Ratchet declared, "Let's see if the Blarg keep records of where Drek is."

As the group explored Orxon, they came across several electrical fences, blocking passage. Or…they would, if the power sources weren't within arms reach.

"Little bit convenient, don't you think?"

"Sure, mom, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth."

"Also true."

The electrical fences weren't the only problem though. The toxic environment had mutated the wildlife, resulting in aggressive animals attacking them at any opportunity. Fighting through, they eventually came across an Info-bot. However…

"Hey!" Ratchet yelled, "Little guy's running!"

"Hold it!" Summer grabbed his shoulder, "This is Orxon. We shouldn't separate."

"Oh, like how you chased after-"

"That was blind rage, not the same!"

Clank rolled his optics, "Sure it was."

Summer narrowed her eyes, "If this water wasn't acidic…"

Chasing after the flying bot, the two came across a magnetic pathway, with vents, overtaxed from the factory, spewing literal fire.

"Mom, I'll follow this path, you look for where it ends, we'll cut it off."

Summer nodded, tracing the pathway that Ratchet would take. It led to an electrical fence. Throwing her axe, she teleported behind it…right into a pack of mutated beasts.

"Oh," she muttered as they work up, "Great."

It was short, but hectic, as the four animals attacked her at once, but she managed to deal with them just as Ratchet reached her, using a swingshot to get over the fence.

"Mom, where's the bot?"

Summer looked around, "Um…I may have had a situation."

Ratchet's shoulders slumped.

"Hey! It's not my fault! How was I supposed to know there were beasts behind the fence?"

Continuing the chase, battling even more mutated animals, they came across a powerful electric fence, requiring three power sources to manage it. Unfortunately for the Blarg, having all three on their side made disabling it easy. What wasn't easy was, as the Info-bot rounded a cliffside corner, a Blarg fighter came up from below, and opened fire on them. The group ducked out of the way, taking cover.

"Well, this is just FINE and DANDY! I can't get a clear angle to teleport."

"Don't worry. I've got this."

"You've got-Ratchet, wait!"

But Ratchet was already gone, having charged at the fighter. Ducking and weaving through the bullets, he fired several rockets, causing the fighter to bob and weave. Deciding to risk it, he tanked a barrage of bullets, allowing a quick use of the RYNO to render the ship into pieces. Summer looked on in horror and awe. She'd talk to him about it later, but, right now, they had a robot to catch, which just entered a silo of the factory.

Climbing up, they found the Info-bot had nowhere else to run besides back down. It attempted to, but Summer quickly hooked it with her axe.

"Alright, little guy," she grunted, "What do you've got to tell us?"

Seeing no choice but to follow protocol, it showed them the message. Drek was announcing to his people that his scientists had discovered the optimal place for their new homeworld. Unfortunately, there was another planet in the orbital path they've chosen. He did try to play off that the planet was barely inhabited, but he was going to destroy it for his own people's sake. Using the Planet Buster Maximus, they'll attach it to one of their most powerful warships, and use it to blow the planet into sub-atomic particles.

RWBY was horrified at the message.

"This guy," Ruby declared, "Is so determined to build a new home for his people, that, not only is he willing to devastated, and potentially destroy, dozens of other worlds, but completely blow one up just because it was in a spot he liked?!"

"That's," Yang growled, "That's like if I see someone parked in my favorite spot, so I trash their car to move it. It's completely stupid."

Weiss could imagine her father doing something like that. Granted, he'd evacuate the people before doing so, and then offer ludicrous deals to compensate for their loss (likely in his favor), but she could imagine him doing that.

"Quick!" Ratchet yelled, "What's that planet?"

"The coordinates," Clank read, "Seem to indicate planet Hoven."

"Great. We still have time. Drek's people are putting the final touches on their planet. I doubt they'll use the missile until then."

Summer nodded, "We can do even more. A warship like that is beyond expensive. That might be the only one they have, of that model, I mean."

"Which means, if we blow it up, Drek will be furious."

"And angry people do dumb things."

Following the path, they came back to their ship, and set a course for the frozen world of Hoven. However…

"Incoming fire!" Summer cried out.

"From where!"

"Scanners show artillery based weapon-fire coming from the planet's surface."

"Clank!"

"42 Degress to the longitude of the western hemisphere!"

With a direction in mind, Ratchet began to dive towards the planet, dodging the literal ship size blasts coming from the planet surface. Eventually, they reached a landing pad at the outskirts of the loading bay dock. All three exited the ship, out of breath despite not having done any physical exertions.

"Okay, we knew that, sooner or later, Drek would figure out this ship is no longer Qwark's. But MAN, I wasn't ready for that. I was ready for a space battle."

"I agree," Summer nodded, "It SUCKS when you face an enemy you can't hit back!"

"But…we landed. And now…Um, I didn't actually think this through. How are we going to do this? Do we take out the warship, or the missile?"

"Wouldn't taking out the missile…you know, blow us up as well?"

"I do not believe so, Mrs. Rose," Clank retorted, "It would be highly unlikely that Drek would have the warhead itself be attached to the missile current. If we destroy the missile, they'll have to rebuild it."

"Alright," Ratchet commented, "So, we reach that missile, tear it apart, and, hopefully, destroy any blueprints on how it was made."

After purchasing a new Drone Device, capable of creating a ring of exploding bots around Ratchet, the trio headed for the docks…only to be bombarded by waves of Blargs.

"Take cover!" Summer cried out, ducking behind a building while Ratchet went behind one on the opposite end of the street.

"Man," Ratchet exclaimed, using his Blaster to take some blind shots, "Drek's not messing around."

"RYNO time?"

"No. Despite how powerful it is, I don't want it to be a crutch."

"Good thinking, but that doesn't fix our situation."

"If I may," Clank offered, those caves lead into the mountains. Perhaps we could lose them in there-"

"Then double back, bypassing them. Great thinking Clank."

'Not my idea, but that works too.' Clank thought.

"We'd have to get through them, first."

Summer then noticed the angle of the cave. "Ratchet, can you reach me? I don't think I have an angle where you are."

Ratchet pulled out the RYNO, "For a quick run, absolutely."

With that, Ratchet unleashed a single volley of the RYNO, devastating a quarter of the Blarg soldiers, while running to Summer's position. Once there, she threw her axe at the entrance to the cave, high above, and only reachable by a platform. When the axe landed just at the edge of the rocky cliff, she teleported all three of them.

Once on the cliffface, Ratchet quickly climbed up, but Summer struggled, having just teleported three people. Luckily, as the Blarg began to turn to open fire, Ratchet helped his mother up.

"Ratchet!" Clank cried out. The teen turned, seeing Blarg in the cave!

"Open fire!" Summer cried out. Acting on instinct, as Summer fired her weapon, Ratchet Requiped the Walloper, and just started punching. Each one sending the targeted Blarg straight into a wall, dead.

Yang smirked, "See, Ruby, even someone like Ratchet could get good at hand to hand combat."

Ruby pouted, "Yang, that doesn't count. I mean, I'm sure I could be good at it, if I had a tool that could send people flying by just punching them."

With the last ones dealt with-

"RUN!" Clank screamed. Turning around, it seemed the hordes of Blarg outside decided to join in. In waves of ten or more, they were taking the hoverpad up the cliffside, and pursuing them.

"Too many, listen to Clank!" Summer cried out, not even waiting for a response, as Ratchet tossed out a few Agents of Doom to buy time.

"You just left me!"

"You always say you wanted to fight your own battles!"

"That was against HORNY TOADS!"

The group jumped down a nearby shaft, plunging into water. As the Blarg fired down at them, they swam into the next room.

"Ratchet," Summer yelled, climbing up and readying her gun, "Figure this place out, before I run out of bullets!"

Ratchet nodded, pulling out the hydrodisplacer, as Blarge jumped down, starting a gun fight between them and Summer. With no cover, Summer's only 'cover' would be her Aura, but that wouldn't last long against ten Blarg, and rising!

Ratchet ran to a nearby water vein pump, and drained what water he could. Nearby was a dispenser that went straight into the ground.

"Please be good, please be good." Ratchet pleaded as he connected the two. The room suddenly rose rapidly with water, catching everyone off guard.

"Ratchet?" Summer yelled.

"I need more water!"

"Well, hurry up, cause they're swimming now!"

Sure enough, the Blarg were still chasing after them, using their own O2 masks to try to chase after them. Though, being underwater, and unable to shoot back, they were easy pickings for the axe weilder. Ratchet continued to find more water pumps, using them to raise the water level of the cave higher and higher, nearly filling the entire place. Once near the top, the duo quickly ran out, reaching a small, out of the way shop. Before the owner could greet them, Summer shot the controls, slamming the door shut.

"So…what was that about doubling back?"

"Not," Ratchet breathed heavily, "Not the time, Clank."

"Make note of that, students," Oobleck commented, "Just because you could easily mow down your enemies, doesn't mean that they can't overwhelm you with numbers. Even the weakest Grimm can overwhelm you if in enough numbers."

"In trouble with the 'guests'?" The owner, a woman with a metal welding mask on.

"You could say that."

"Well, better take the teleporter. I don't want anymore trouble with them than you're bringi-" She took off the mask, her eyes wide, "Oh, my, goodness."

The owner quickly grabbed Clank.

"Aren't you just a little angel."

Clank chuckled, "Actually, I am a little robot."

The woman laughed, "You're funny, too."

Ratchet raised an eyebrow, "It's not comedy if it isn't intentional."

The woman glared at him, "Spoken like someone uneducated in the finer arts."

"Hey! I know the arts just fine. Just not the art of comedy. Now-," he stopped himself, then muttered, "Nevermind. It's not worth it when we got an army right outside."

"How have the Blarg been treating you?" Summer questioned.

"Well, so long as I give them a 75 percent discount, they leave me alone. Though, if you don't leave soon, I may have to bump that even higher."

"Can you afford such a discount?" Clank replied.

"Pfff, of course, little guy. I've got plenty of savings. Now, before you leave, I think I got somethin' special for you. How about a Hydropack upgrade?"

"That would be quite helpful for swimming underwater."

"Would help you and Ratchet," Summer retorted, "Not so much me."

"Hmm, I can work on something."

With a nod, Ratchet bought the upgrade, with the owner taking not only Clank, but also asking for Summer's new Grindboots. After a moment (and the slowly approaching sounds of the Blarg, she came back.

"There you go, sweetie," she commented on Clank's new hydrojets, "You look so handsome. And for you, little lady-"

"Little?" She muttered.

"I've installed some hydrojets into your Grindboots. They won't activate unless completely submerged in water, and are touch sensitive."

"How sensitive?"

"You have to actually be swimming, not walking, to turn them on."

"Thank you, Miss," Clank complimented, "Your craftpersonship is excellent!"

"If you three are through." Ratchet interjected. Clank turned with a smug look.

"Jealous?"

"No, but-" The banging on the door emphasized his point.

"Ratchet's right," Summer agreed, "We've overstayed our welcome."

"Quickly, through the teleporter," the owner exclaimed, "And you, little robot, can come and see me any old time."

The trio took the teleporter (one at a time), and ended up back at the entrance to the cave…with not a single Blarg in sight.

"Hah!" Ratchet cheered, "Looks like we gave them the slip."

"Don't speak too loud." Summer taunted.

The trio exited the cave, and began heading into the docks. Encountering more Blarg soldiers, attack choppers, minefields, and the local wildlife, they fought their way up the docks, in an attempt to reach the dreadnought. Reaching a final building, filled with Blarg, they quickly cleared the room. Noticing a terminal, Summer ran to it.

"Cover me!"

Ratchet nodded, using his rocket launcher to deal with the rest of the soldiers. "What are you looking for?"

"Blueprints. Anything that could-AHHA! We still have a chance."

"What did you find?" Clank exclaimed.

"The warhead isn't actually armed. The payload is offworld, and will be attached once they leave. All we need to do is destroy it."

"That won't stop them from building another one."

"Which is why, Clank, we'll be boarding the dreadnought. It contains the blueprints."

Ratchet slumped his shoulders. "Great. Let's hurry."

They exited the building, watching as the gangramp to the ship retracted.

"No." Summer muttered.

"We're too late," Clank yelled out, "The ship is leaving."

"With the warhead attached."

"How are they going to win this one?" Weiss commented, "It's a giant warship. And they don't have a fighter jet like before."

"And I doubt Qwark's ship will be much better." Blake added.

Ratchet was whipping his head around, looking for anything, when he saw a rusted out turret.

"No wayhehey," Yang laughed, "He's not."

"Hang on! There's an old defense turret over there," Ratchet smirked, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"He is!" Ruby cheered. Everyone else was in disbelief.

"That…is the most hairbrained scheme he's come up with."

"I must concur, Miss Schnee," Oobleck added, "I'm not entirely sure of an equivalent to us Remnant standards."

"It'd be like a rusted knight faced off against an Atlesian Paladin."

"AH, that'll do, Miss Belladonna."

"I hate that I'm agreeing with you." Summer said.

"And I hate that I'm starting to get used to these plans." Clank commented.

The group ran to the turret, with Ratchet taking control. As soon as he opened fire, the cannons on the dreadnought returned fire, leaving a barrage of hellfire.

"Why aren't they targeting us?"

"Warships like that can't aim properly in the atmosphere," Summer yelled, taking cover behind the turret, "Might be our only shot at taking this beast down."

A Blarg helicopter rose up from beneath them.

"Ratchet, focus on the warship, I'll cover you!"

Though Summer took out the chopper, more would come to take its place. Ratchet continued to open fire, when the entire engine section of the ship collapsed.

"What the-What happened?!"

"The weight of the missile," Clank answered, "Must be destablizing the warship. Sustained damage could cause whole sections to be destroyed."

"And the reason it's still floating!?"

"Its in-atmosphere gravity stabilizers must be keeping it afloat. Without any knowledge on where it's located-"

"Right, just blow the whole thing up!"

"What your mother said, Ratchet."

The turret faced the dreadnought, even as more choppers began to swarm them. After two more sections of the warship fell to the icy water, the choppers began to circle them.

"Ratchet," Summer yelled out, taking several more bullets, "We're getting surrounded!"

"Working on it!

A fourth section blew off.

"Alright, just the bridge is lef-CRAP!"

Ratchet ducked, as the top section of the turret took a direct hit, ripping a chunk off. Ratchet looked at the targeting screen, only to see the reticle disappear.

"Targeting computer got fired from that hit. Need to fire manually."

The turret fired, missing wildly before focusing on the bridge. The trio were getting surrounded, as, despite Summer's best efforts, couldn't shoot them down fast enough.

A beeping sound came from her axe. When she looked at it, she cursed.

'Damnit. Five rounds left.' "Ratchet…"

"Working on it."

Summer fired a bullet into the rotor, taking a chopper out.

The turret and the dreadnought aimed fully at each other, becoming a pillar of bullets.

"Ratchet…" Summer fired two rounds, taking out a pilot, and causing the chopper to spin out, hitting two more. But then another got a clear line at her.

"Ratche-!" She was interrupted when the chopper fired at her, knocking her to the ground, but getting one last shot from the Huntress, being destroyed.

Ratchet watched as his last barrage tore through the bridge of the warship, causing it to fall down into the icy river. Due to the narrowness of the valley, the warhead crashed into the sides, falling apart from the sheer weight. Instantly, Ratchet turned the turret, and opened fire on the remaining choppers. There wasn't a need to fire accurately, as the force of the turret's bullets ensured that he'd only need to hit them once to blow them up. When the skies were finally cleared of Blarg, Ratchet jumped out of the turret, checking on Summer.

"Mom?"

Summer got up, rubbing her shoulder. "I'm alright, Ratchet. Just…I think my arm's going to be sore for a few hours."

Ruby and Yang high fived each other.

"That's our mom!"

"And brother, don't forget about him, Yang."

"True, but he'd be cooked if mom didn't keep the Blarg off him."

Ratchet then saw something behind Summer. Tapping her shoulder, she turned around, seeing an Info-bot coming out of the building they were just in. The bot approached them, and played the message. It detailed Drek's plan to attack a new world from their newest moon base, giving them his exact coordinates.

"We have to get to that moon base," Clank declared, "And stop Drek."

"Hold on, Clank," Summer retorted, "Something doesn't…feel right."

"In what way?"

"We've been trying to track down Drek this entire time. And now we'll be getting the drop on him? Not to mention that this plan of his seems…to evil to be believable. It's almost…"

"Convenient." Ratchet answered.

"Yeah."

"You think it's a trap?"

"Well, if you weren't aware it's a trap, would you be going there?"

"If Drek's actually serious about attacking Gorda, then we have to go."

"Then, yeah, I think it's a trap."

Ratchet smirked, "Is it really a trap if you know it's a trap, but still go into it."

"No, that just makes you either arrogant or stupid. Which, given who raised you, I'm debating on which one we are right now."

Author's Notes: Now, just to be clear, when Blake said 'rusted knight', she meant A rusted knight, not THE rusted knight.

Now, you may be wondering 'Colva, you said you were done writing for the month to play Frostpunk 2'. And that was my intention. However...My PC can't actually handle the game. Definitely time for an upgrade. Which, actually, brought me to an interesting thought.

I've been considering forming a Pa-tr-eo-n. I'd have only one entry level, being 5 dollars, and you'd get access to chapters early. I'm curious how many people would actually be interested in that. (Laughs to myself) If enough people signed up, maybe I could make writing fanfiction a more full time thing, instead of a past-time hobby.

But, don't mind me rambling. As always, leave a review, fav/follow, and I'll see you all next time.