4-gotten: Victims
The four eagerly followed Susie's balloon, hoping to make it to the village soon. Twilight couldn't help but notice how...dilapidated everything appeared as they continued.
"It's not much to look at," Susie admitted, apparently anticipating Twilight's thought process. "Our last village was a lot nicer, but you know what ran us out of the woods."
"Umm...?" Twilight began, not entirely sure she was following what Susie was saying.
"I gotta go land my balloon," Susie replied, not noticing Twilight's confusion. "I'll be right back." With that, she took off ahead of the group.
The four moved onward along the only path in silence. Even the prospect of a new weapon available from Grummel-net - a Dopple-banger, an upgraded version of the Decoy Glove - didn't raise any spirits. The village itself was...a wreck. What huts were there were on the verge of falling apart, and the few civilians were struggling to keep life together. Three were trying to roast a creature over a spit, hoping it would cook well...and hoping it would agree with their digestive tracts.
"Is it done yet?" one asked worriedly.
"No idea," another replied. "I've never seen anything like it, so I have no idea how to cook it."
"Can...can we even eat it?" a third asked hopefully.
"If we can't, we starve anyway," the first grumbled. "I'll see what I can do to make it taste good."
"At least it'll taste better than the old shoe we split last week..." the youngest murmured hopefully.
Twilight simply stared at them for a long time, barely able to wrap her mind around the very idea of such desperation. Focusing her magic, she scanned the civilians and their catch. She then did a quick sweep of the area, and walked over to a nearby tree, ripping the bark off of it. She then quickly wrapped it around the catch. "The bark will leech the toxic elements from the meat," she explained. "When it falls off in ashes into the fire, the toxins will be gone and you can eat-" She paused in her speech as she saw Nefarious at the other end, stuffing some local grasses and mushrooms into the creatures maw.
"These should add some flavor," he explained. "I've made sure they won't cause any digestive issues with you, though I'd recommend not eating the grasses, and only the white mushrooms once it's cooked."
Alister, meanwhile, had knelt down near the youngest, pointing out various plant life. "Coloration plays a big part in identification of toxic plant life," he explained. "Avoid bright colors. The muted colors might not taste very good, but they'll be safe to digest."
Qwark had approached the oldest civilian, pulling out what looked like strangely configured binoculars. "Here," he said softly, handing them over. "Gadgetron scrounger goggles. Load up a sample of your DNA, and look through them at anything. It'll tell you if you can eat it without getting sick or poisoned. Use the button to snap a picture, and it'll print out how to prepare it."
As the four received their thanks and progressed on, all was silence. After a time, Nefarious noticed a few odd looks he was getting. "There's a difference between evil and heartless," he grumbled out.
"You've conquered before," Twilight pointed out. "The Fongoids of Zanifar?"
"Other than being locked up, did they look like they were under any hardship?" Nefarious countered. "Uncomfortable? Malnourished? Sleep deprived?"
Twilight thought back to Zanifar. "Hmm...now that you mention it...no."
"Still, I'm surprised their situation brought empathy out of you so quickly," Alister pointed out, jerking a thumb back towards the civilians they'd helped.
"I was a college student once," Nefarious replied readily. "Too well off for hardship scholarship, not high enough grades due to Qwark for a scholastic one, not physically fit enough for a sports scholarship."
"Ah," Alister replied understandingly, and said no more on the subject.
The group continued through the cobbled together village, hearing the complaints of the civilians, of the homes and memories lost, of the lives destroyed. All four grew more and more tense as they continued.
Before long, they heard Susie's voice again. "Initiating landing protocol! All cadets, clear the runway!"
All four paused, looking up to see the balloon coming in for a landing...only for a large Gravoid to grab hold of it and start carrying her off. Twilight spread her wings to race to her rescue, but warper minion bots appeared in the path, forcing the group to take the long way there...however short it was with Nefarious charging forward with his laser chainsaw extended, splitting any bot he came across down the middle. Twilight stayed close over his head, fully intent on obliterating anything that got in the way of her saving Susie.
Alister and Qwark raced along behind. "You get the feeling they don't really need us here?" Alister asked softly.
"I've felt like a fourth wheel on a tricycle ever since Twilight first started trying to include me in the heroics," Qwark replied easily. "Ratchet, Clank, Twilight...between the three of them, there is nothing in the universe that can stand against them."
"Then...how come you're always so eager to go along?" Alister asked curiously.
"Who wouldn't want to be along on one of those adventures?" Qwark countered logically.
Alister glanced around at the world around him. "I...guess I can't argue with that." He glanced back towards the civilians they'd helped. "...not at all..."
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Okay... this was somewhat depressing. I've never played R&C, but this was a bit of a downer.
Dang, and I was just talking to someone about a similar situation as well.
It's also practical. Keep your prisoners well fed and with amicable living conditions, avoid making them desperate enough to revolt.
Thank goodness for my Bright Futures.
I believe a Doctor Wolf quote would be good here.
"It's good to be helping."
7225458
Pessimism?
The only complain was about what? tap water?
Eager little beavers, aren't they?
7225458 Time, effort, and lots of bodies will do that to a person overtime
7225458 Because they are. I mean honestly I doubt even Master chief could take them on.
7225504
As he quoted tats, you use eagerly twice in the first sentence.
7225543 There really doesn't need to be, One Punch man Proved that. Though if you want them to have a challenge, you could always ask Tats to have Twilight go against megacorp and try and turn Gadgetron into a universal vender spanning across the entire Galaxy. When your fighting skills become unchallengeable, the only foe that remains is restraint and running a company/country without becoming a violent and abhorrent dictator.
7225543
Regarding 'raising the stakes'...
When it comes to writing these stories with video game series, I stick to what appears in the game. When looked at from the perspective of an adventuring character, Ratchet alone could steamroll over anything by the third game of the series (I know, I checked. Played through the non-future games in chronological order, by the end of the second the challenge was only in the end-game portions and camera angles). It's the equivalent of playing the same character through several sessions as they level up, but gearing each session to a level 1 character leveling up, even when they've leveled up already. That's how the games work.
7225458 Because the entire point of the PWNY-verse is the make the displaced characters so stupidly OP that they quickly overcome all challenges and break the franchise they crossed over with?
I like that. Along with the fact that you're making Nefarious even more likable than he was in the game, you've managed to create a representation of Alister after A Crack In Time that feels just like he would if he didn't have to sacrifice himself to fix his mistake. It takes a good author to do something like that.
7225636 and in truth she isn't, without her tech and Gadgets, she's very crippled, To take out Twilight you would first need to do two things. First hit her with an EMP field to knock out any of her active weapons, then immediately follow with a magic dampening field to cancel her spell casting. and lower her to the basics of flying and using her omni-wrench via somewhat reduced telekinetic field. now Twilight is used to havin weapons of pure destruction so being reduced to the basics would destabelise her and give the needed opening to take her out. however any force doing this would need a full sized army and be able to get past her friends and guardians.
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
As Shirou Emiya once said, there is nothing wrong with wanting to help others.
Of course, as my little Elements of Harmony blurb on Heart of the Dragon General will tell you, there is a line you shouldn't cross when it comes to Kindness. It's far too easy to go from helping people with their bad luck, to invading their lives and taking over because you "know" what's best for them.
In this instance it would be a matter of giving a man food, or teaching him how to fish. The foursome here didn't give them money and food, that wouldn't solve the problem, but they taught them knowledge on how to gather food and prepare it properly, also giving them tools that would help them do so, It's not an instant fix, but eventually that knowledge will get spread around, and even built upon as they experiment, and suddenly these people will start to flourish.
... Er... I think I went on a bit of tangent there.
Either way, nice chapter, Tatsurou.
7225636
Um, what series have you been watching?
There is a reason the "Badass Twilight = Total Domination" group has been around for as long as it has. 
7225649 Yeah, Tats is right about that. The R&C games are not particularly difficult, and if Ratchet could carry over equipment like he would if the games were not artificially separated to prevent it then he would simply steamroll everything without issue. Even on their hardest level, the only time you're likely to die to actual enemy action rather than a stage hazard is if you get overconfident and rush in to take on enemies from all sides.
As far as if he didn't have tech....you're partially right, but it's different character archetypes. Jak is a warrior, he fights with whatever is available which means his own body if there isn't a weapon to use. Ratchet is a gadgeteer. If he doesn't have tech with him, he'll make his own until he can at least build an omniwrench. The same with Daxter and Clank. Hell, Clank's simple presence would be enough. He would likely voluntarily allow Ratchet to reconfigure him to have the firepower needed to escape a situation where they didn't have access to other tech.
7225649 I do remember Ratchet got Martial Arts training early in the series, even though the games only say it in a cutscene. Too bad that never got implemented into the gameplay outside of the leaps and dodges.
7225842 You've got an obvious bias there. Eco is something that doesn't exist in the R&C universe. That's like putting an unarmed D&D fighter against an unarmed wizard at level 17+. The only one you're actually limiting is the fighter. In order to actually state that one would be better than the other, you'd have to have them equally limited. So Jak would have all his eco abilities locked out, as well as his transformations, with neither of them with anything beyond basic melee abilities. Jak's eco abilities are the same at Ratchet's tech, since they are what fuel his firearms.
.... those are my heart sting, not a harp, please stop playing them when I can't actually do anything to help...
other then that, great chapter.
7225821
Before I answer that, a question: Do you consider Superman to be a Mary Sue?
Nefarious on Bad Guys and Monsters.
Wait. Nefarious is a robot. He is heartless, but he's not core-less.
7226059 Ratchet has been shown to be exceptionally agile, moreso than Jak could ever hope to be, so even if Jak has a more diverse skillset for melee combat, it won't do anything if he can't even land a single blow. Sure, Ratchet can't Long or High jump without Clank, but he's still capable of the same double jumps that Jak can do, along with the fact that, well, he's feline. That itself lends him absurd reaction speeds and flexibility.
Even Evil Has Standards.
This chapter had plenty of feels to it
7226126 i couldn't resist
7226059 7226441 Nah, Jak probably is a bit more agile than Ratchet (based on the games, a supposed feline nature for Lombaxes notwithstanding), but knowing more combat moves does not guarantee victory, either. At the same time, Ratchet appears to be a bit stronger. Also, with neither green eco nor nanotech available, they both tend to function in-game as one-hit-wonders, which is badly misleading because it's needed for gameplay. I suspect that neither of them would win a clear majority of fights if they were pitted against each other. Jak may pull slightly ahead, but it'd be within a margin a luck that could go either way. Jak would likely take an early lead, but as mentioned before Ratchet fights more with his head. The final outcome would probably be damned close to even.
7227969
Seriously!?
Eh, whatever. I'm not arguing any further. Obvious bias is obvious, and you have no intention of even looking at possible middle ground.
7226039
I've been stuck on how to respond to this post all day, so I'm going to try to hash this out and hope something sticks. Technically, I agree with you, but my focus is more on conflict than on combat. An OP God-Tier character such as Twi or Ratchet (or, so I am told, One Punch Man) can still be challenged by the narrative, even as they carve through enemies like a Lightsaber through molten butter.
7226638 Side flips and backflips are more than enough to counter Jak's straight line punches, uppercuts, and spin kicks. And don't forget, while Jak went into the past to train, Ratchet underwent what essentially amounts to special forces training, and before you even START on that "It wasn't shown" bull, notice the difference in his demeanor before the training and after in the second game. And don't forget, Jak uses his bare hands. Ratchet uses his wrench. One hit from Jak could probably Hurt Ratchet. A strike from Ratchet could outright kill Jak in one, and if not, cripple him for the remainder of the fight.
Another enjoyably read.
There is one thing I can't figure out how I feel about and that is shipping Twilight with Nefarious. 
Because I am perfectly okay with Shipping Twilight with the likes of King Sombra and Discord sorta. But I understand Twilight's action but and I have nothing against Nefarious personally but I still can't get comfortable with him and Twilight. .
I know this is just my own personal biases. But I can't figure out why I feel this way about it.
7229105
7229060
I would like to point out to both of you that a YouTube channel known as ScrewAttack has created an unbiased battle series, focused solely on characters from different fictional works and universes. Recently, they pitted Ratchet and Clank versus Jak and Daxter. This channel is a li- A lot sponsor happy, but their battles are perfectly objective. They analyze the weapons, armor, and tactics to see who would win. To put a simple, objective end to this seemingly pointless argument, here is the video.
7229748 Well, sir, there is no reason to be so hateful. I was polite. Yet, for some reason, you felt the need to be excessively rude. Please reign in this foul behavior.
I have played all of Jak and Daxter games, and most of RaC. Honestly, I prefer Jak over Ratchet, and going in, I thought his abilities were far superior to Ratchet and his tech. I thought the video was slanderous at first, but over a couple of days (and maybe one or seven rewatches), I felt particularly inclined to agree. Ratchet has done things just as impressive as Jak. I would say that without his armor and N-Tech, he is just as durable as Jak without active or passive Eco abilities. Green Eco matches the armor and N-Tech, and some of the other Eco types counter a large amount of Ratchet's arsenal. I personally think that the RYNO V or greater could almost match Jak on his Dark Eco form. Clank and his Zoni abilities save Ratchet from Light Jak. Couple certain scenario-weapons like the Groovitron or the Cryo Bomb Launcher, and you have a certifiably dead Jak. Daxter... Let's be honest, he's kinda pathetic. Neat, interesting, and funny, but of virtually no combat use. Clank and his Chrono Scepter, however, allows him to stop time and reflect enemy projectiles. They are also inclined to go towards the crit spot on an enemy. Let's be honest. Going off of current science, if Jak was shot through the right part of his head (which is most of it), he would lose his memory irreparably. Memories are merely electrical impulses. They CANNOT be recreated (as far as we know). Even if Jak could outmatch Ratchet in sheer power and arsenal (and I really doubt that last bit), Ratchet's agility and tactics would allow hm to win.
Please refrain from yelling. I would be more than happy to have a civil discussion with you, but not you just screaming that I'm wrong.
7229790 Absolutely. Would you prefer to send the first, or should I?
7225649 It's less that Ratchet is a Gary Stue and more that the games themselves are rather limited in their challenge. Indeed 9 times out of 10 I'll end up dying only because I'm NOT using the best possible weapon, because I level all of them one by one and stop using guns that have maxed out. Twi and Ratchet in this story ALWAYS use the big guns/best guns whenever they can, and as we can see that cuts the challenge to almost nil. This leads to the Story/Gameplay Segregation, where you are forced to flee/surrender/whatever against a force that if you actually fought in game, would get utterly owned by you.
I won't get into the Ratchet vs Jak debate as far as who is better, but I will say your statement is FLAWED. Yes Jak fights without tech, however he does get what is effectively space magic instead. Jak is a badass compared to everyone else in his setting because he's learned how to use the innate space magic of the setting to fuel his full contact magic fighting style. Jak is only as durable as he is because of green eco, he's as fast as he his because of blue, and as strong as he is because of red. Even when not supped up on an external eco source, Jak ALWAYS has eco in his body. He will literally die without it. Jak may not rely on tech like Ratchet, but the furry lombax can kick serious ass without magic powers given to him by the 'gods'.
Like Jedi and the Force, Ratchet and Jak MUST have their respective crutch, tech and Eco respectively, or they would be useless. That being said, of the 3 examples, Ratchet is the best off. Jak literally dies without Eco, Jedi are worthless fuckwits without the Force, but Ratchet would need to be actually dead/dying to take his crutch away from him. Ratchet is a gadgeteer genius. Give him a cave and a box of scraps, and he will give Tony Stark a run for his money. The only way to really remove tech from Ratchet is to put him into a situation that would almost certainly kill him anyway, ie tossed into an empty void/left to die in an empty wasteland full of nothing but sand.
If he was still organic at this point I'm guessing he at cup ramen every day.
7225649 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKoeSRhF1nc
this part doesn't make sense, tats.
7745641
That was the end of a segment where all four had shown compassion to the victims. Qwark was just last on the list.
Nefarious, however, was the only one whose actions caused confusion.