Stories Between New Friends
(Ratchet and Clank's Tales part 2)
Ratchet, Clank, Talwyn, and Star Fox sat back around the campfire eating their food. Fox and Krystal were eating soup. Falco and Slippy were having beans. Ratchet and Talwyn had chicken sandwiches. After a few minutes eating Ratchet decided to continue his tales.
"So, back on Kerwan, Metropolis was suddenly invaded by Emperor Percival Tachyon, the so-called crown prince of the vicious Cragmite race." Explained the Lombax. "He was there to kill me, but we escaped on his private ship."
"We then ended up hyper sleeping all the way to the Polaris Galaxy, where we learned that Tachyon had already conquered many of its worlds. So we decided to learn more about him." Clank continued. "And it was during that time when I met the Zoni, inter dimensional creatures who travel through space and time. At first only I could see them, yet they gave me various abilities to aid us in our quest."
"Cool! I'd love to meet those guys." Said Slippy while he was eating his beans.
"As do I. They sound rather interesting." Krystal said.
"Anyway. During our mission, we visited my original home world Fastoon, only to find the planet deserted. But we did find a broken Lombax ship called Aphelion that we fixed and took as our own." Ratchet said. "We later met Talwyn and her robot friends, Cronk and Zephyr."
It was then that Talwyn spoke up.
"My father was an explorer and expert on Lombax tech and so I help these two heroes learn the mystery of what happened to the Lombaxes." Talwyn explained.
"Later I learned about the Great War, a conflict between Lombaxes and Cragmites that supposedly ended with the latter's annihilation. But it turns out they were banished to another dimension by a Lombax device called the Dimensionator. It's like a hat that opens wormholes." Ratchet explained.
"A hat?" Asked a confused Ironhide.
"Silly, I know. Anyway, after the War, miners found a Cragmite egg that was taken to the Lombaxes who decided to raise it as their own. That Cragmite was Tachyon. He soon found out about his origins and decided to take revenge on my people." Ratchet said then he shut his eyes as they began to water. "He wiped them out, killing almost everyone. Those who survived used the dimensionator to get away. But me and my father, Kaden, stayed behind to safeguard the Dimensionator from Tachyon. My dad sent me away to Veldin before he was eventually found and killed by the Cragmite. I was only a baby when it all happened."
A tear rolled down the Lombaxes cheek as Clank put his hand on Ratchet's lap while Talwyn put hers on his shoulder in comfort. The Autobots and Star Fox were deeply saddened by this.
"We're really sorry for your loss, buddy." Fox said.
"I can sympathize as well. I too know what it's like to lose your family and people." Krystal said.
"Darn Tootin. We Cybertronians were also forced to leave our home and are currently endangered." Ironhide said.
Optimus looked down and vented. He knew this experience all too well. Losing people he cared about, as well as Cybertron.
"After that we looked for the Dimensionator before Tachyon could find it and use it to find my people and finish them. After dealing with some space pirates we finally got it, until Tachyon reclaimed it and used it to free his people, the Cragmites, and unleashed them across the galaxy." Said Ratchet. "Our final confrontation took place on my homeworld of Fastoon where the Emperor offered to reunite me with my fellow lombaxes. But I refused and instead fought the damn Cragmite face to face. During the fight, the Dimensionator was damaged causing it to open a black hole which swallowed Tachyon. Me and Clank were able to fix the device and it shut down for good."
"But as we celebrated, I was taken away by the Zoni, who said that I was ready to learn my true purpose." Said Clank.
"Man, that nasty ass Emperor deserved what he got after what he did to your kind." Said Falco.
"Yeah. I would have loved to hang out with them. They sound really intelligent." Slippy said.
"At least justice has been done." Fox said.
"And I hope you find your people soon, Ratchet. They are safe to return now that the threat is long past." Said Silverbolt.
Bumblebee bleeped in agreement.
"Anyway, after Clank was taken, I went to get him back. So I went to the supercomputer IRIS for answers on how to locate the Zoni. Turns out a legendary space pirate named Angstrom Darkstorm was the only person who knew how to contact them. So Talwyn and I set out on the pirate planet Merdegraw to find him. But it turns out he was already dead for years." Continued Ratchet. "But we soon found the existence of the Obsidian Eye, a powerful telescope built by Darkwater to maintain a link to the Zoni home dimension. But to power it we needed an artifact called a Fulcrum Star, which was hidden by Darkwater before his death. With the help of a pirate and a still functioning head of one of my pirate enemies, Captain Romulus Slag, I faced before, I found the map to the Fulcrum Star hidden with Darkwater's body. Only to be backstabbed by my pirate ally and the latter attached Slag's head to Darkwater's body and the captain was brought back to life while sharing his new body with Darkwater's vengeful spirit. Slag then took control of Darkwater's ghost crew and fleet and set out to pillage an island. But I drove them back."
"Never trust a pirate." Falco said only to be elbowed by Krystal.
"Anyway, with the aid of the map and a smuggler, I sailed to where the Star was hidden. After many annoying ass tests set up by that damn dead pirate, I was able to access the vault, but the pirates got the Star and Talwyn." Ratchet continued. "After taking out Darkwater's first mate I went after the ghost fleet. I managed to save Talwyn and faced Slag and Darkwater, eventually taking him down, and recovered the Fulcrum Star. After using it to power the Obsidian Eye, I used it to see that Clank was damaged by Zoni energy, but that the Zoni had found a doctor to fix him. Only that doctor turned out to be my old nemesis, Dr Nefarious."
Everyone was wide eyed by that last part.
"Your best friend was in the care of your enemy?!" Slippy asked.
"Talk about bad luck." Said Falco.
Ironhide meanwhile looked at Optimus.
"Say, Prime? If I recall correctly, I heard about this crew of space pirates of our own people." Ironhide said. "What were they called, again? The Star Seekers?"
"That's right! I remember now!" Silverbolt said. "I heard they are the most fearsome pirates in our galaxy. It's said that their home was destroyed during our war and now seeks vengeance in their ship called the Tidal Wave, hunting down any Cybertronian they could find."
"Correct, my friend." Optimus confirmed. "Their captain is the infamous Thundertron. If we were to encounter him, he would surely cause trouble for both us and our friends."
"Anyway, yes. I was being held captive by Dr Nefarious on a Zoni space station called the Great Clock, located in the center of the universe, give or take fifty feet." Clank explained."
"Meanwhile, as me and Captain Qwark tracked down Clank, we ended up crash landing on a planet where Nefarious's personal assassin Lord Vorselon, captured its inhabitants while searching for someone named Alister Azimuth. After fixing my ship with the Zoni's help and freeing Vorselon's hostages, I looked for Alister Azimuth as I believed he could help me find Clank and stop Nefarious." Ratchet explained.
"Meanwhile, back at the Great Clock, I was befriended by a robot named Sigmund who informed me of my role: to maintain temporal normality across the universe. Then I met a digital copy of Orvus, a Zoni who created the Great Clock, and was also my father." Clank added.
"I eventually found Alister, who turned out to be another Lombax, and my father's best friend." Ratchet said, sighing. "We teamed up to find an Obsidian Eye so we could talk to Clank."
"Meanwhile, I learned that my father vanished two years prior after agreeing to meet with Nefarious." Clank said, and looked down sadly.
"And while searching for the Eye, Alister revealed he was partly responsible for my people's near extinction. He gave Tachyon the technology to create his army and was barred from joining the lombaxes to a new dimension. He then told me his plan to use the clock to undo his mistake and bring my family back." Ratchet said. "We managed to find the Eye and talk to Clank where he told us about Orvus being in trouble, so I went to try and save him."
"To do that, I had to use a time portal made by Sigmund to travel back where I found Orvus being tortured by Nefarious on how to access the Clock's central control room, but the mad robot only received warnings that the Clock shouldn't be used as a Time Machine before suddenly disappearing." Ratchet sighed.
Clank again looked down in sadness. But looked up to continue his side of the story.
"Back at the Clock, me and Sigmund finally accessed the Orvus Chamber, only to be taken down by Lawrence, Nefarious's butler, who was following us." Clank said.
"Then me and Alister followed a fake distress signal on a planet populated by female robots and finally rescued Clank. Afterwards, he warned us about misusing the Clock that would destroy time and space. So I abandoned my quest to bring back my family while Alister wasn't happy about it." Ratchet added.
"Afterwards, me and clank as well as Quark went to Nefarious's space station to destroy his armada so they wouldn't reach the Clock. It was there we found out he intends to use the clock to create a timeline where the good guys always lose while evil wins. But after a few mishaps we finally managed to beat Nefarious and destroy his army." Ratchet said. "We, alongside Alister, regrouped at the Great Clock where my buddy here chose to stay. But Alister still insisted that we use the Clock to save the Lombaxes, again I refused, but Alister wasn't having it and backstabbed us to use the Clock himself."
"We eventually stopped him, but not before activating the Clock that threatened to tear apart space and time." Clank said.
"Realizing the error of his ways, Alister gave his life to undo the damage." Ratchet said, looking down.
The Lombax then took out a locket containing a picture of his father and Alister. Ratchet sighed. Then put the locket back in his pocket.
"After the battle, I changed my mind about staying as caretaker of the clock as Ratchet means more to me than anything, so I made Sigmund caretaker and I rejoined my dear friend to embark on new adventures." Said Clank.
Again, Star Fox and the Autobots were astonished.
"Man, another Lombax. One that just wanted to rectify his mistakes." Fox said.
"And if it weren't for the risks, I would have used the Clock to bring back Cerinia." Krystal said.
"As would I to prevent the war on Cybertron." Optimus said.
"That clock though, sounds like a marvelous piece of work." Slippy said.
"That it is, my friend." Clank responded.
"And what happened to Orvus really?" Asked Silverbolt.
"Honestly, we really don't know. He just vanished. But wherever he is, he'd be proud of my pal here." Ratchet said, patting Clank on the back.
"Well, I have one more adventure to tell before letting you guys tell yours." Ratchet said.
"Some time later, we joined the Polaris Defense Force and we, alongside Cronk and Zephyr, were tasked to escort a criminal named Vendra Prog to a remote prison when she used her psychic powers to damage the ship, putting the crew at risk. But when we fixed the damage, Thugs 4 Less mercenaries led by Vendra's twin brother Neftin showed up and rescued his sister. In the process, they blew up the ship, and Cronk and Zephyr with it. We managed to escape, but just barely." Ratchet said.
Talwyn looked down in tears as she thought of her dear friends. Cronk and Zephyr, who she knew since childhood, who took care of her after her father disappeared, both gone.
"As we pursued the Progs, we encountered a scientist who once worked for Dr Nefarious. It turns out he was kidnapped for his research on the Netherverse, an alternate world inhabited by beings called Nethers." Clank said.
"We eventually found Vendra talking to the leader of the Nethers named Mr Eye. They spotted us, but Captain Qwark came to our rescue and gave us our old ship Aphelion. While Quark kept an eye on the Progs, we went to compete in a tournament organized by Thugs 4 Less mercs to win a jet pack upgrade for Clank." Ratchet continued.
"And I must say, it worked wonders for us during our quest." Clank said.
"We eventually found the Progs, who opened a portal to the Netherverse using a device that looked like a copy of the Dimensionator. As the Nethers came, Mr Eye revealed he's betrayed the Progs and banished Vendra to their world. We managed to escape and Neftin told us to meet him at his hideout." Ratchet continued. "There he told us that the device used to free the Nethers was modeled after the Dimensionator and that the latter was the only one that could breach the Netherverse. I agreed to bring it to him on one condition: that he and his sister turn himself in after the crisis is over."
"We then got the Dimensionator where it was displayed in a museum just as the Nethers started invading. While Pollyx, Quark, and Neftin fixed up the machine, Clank and I fought off the bad guys. I personally went toe to toe with Mr Eye in a one on one battle." Ratchet said grinning.
"And with the Dimensionator, Neftin sent me to the Netherverse to rescue Vendra. Once I accomplished that, the Progs combined their powers to banish Mr Eye and the Nethers back to their dimension. They then surrendered to the authorities." Clank said. "Later I took the Dimensionator to see if I could repair it to locate the Lombaxes, despite Ratchet's insistence that he already had everything and everyone he needed."
"And where is this Dimensionator now?" Asked Fox.
"It's somewhere safe. I'm taking a break from it before looking for my kind." Ratchet replied.
"If only I could take a look at it. Maybe I can even make some upgrades or modifications on it." Slippy said. "I always wanted to travel to different dimensions."
"I would not recommend it. It's a very complex device and there have been risks tampering with it." Clank explained.
"Well, either way I hope you find your people, one day, Ratchet." Said Krystal.
"Thanks. Now that I've told my stories, let's hear yours, Star Fox." Ratchet said.
Everyone listened in as Fox and his team prepared to tell their tales.
Yay! That's it for the Ratchet and Clank stories. I'm saving Rift Apart for a later time.
But now it's time for Star Fox to tell their stories.
This is MergingEmperor7, over and out.