//------------------------------// // Arsenal: Tyhrranosis // Story: Ratchet and Clank: The Starlight of Solana // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// When Ratchet, Clank, Starlight, Angela, and Skid returned to the Phoenix they found Al waiting for them by where they landed their ships, telling them that he was eager to get started on decoding whatever they had managed to get their hands on. Ratchet and Angela were also eager to see what they had uncovered, so the group followed Al back to the bridge, where they discovered that Qwark was nowhere to be seen. As most of their group gathered around where Al would be working, so they could be there the moment he uncovered something, Starlight walked over to where Sasha was sitting, who was currently staring out one of the windows. "Qwark never left the ship," Sasha told Starlight as she approached, knowing what the unicorn was going to ask before she opened her mouth to speak, "so Sunset should have gotten some decent rest while you guys were gone." "That's good to hear," Starlight said, a smile appearing on her face for a moment, knowing that Qwark would have done something to her sister if someone hadn't prevented the captain from leaving. "And I got tired of sleeping in that cell," a voice behind them said, to which Starlight turned around to see Sunset staring there, looking more like the happy alicorn that she was before Qwark had ruined her mood, "Searing is bound up once more... until our friend decides to say something stupid and annoy me again. So, how did the infiltration of Nefarious' secret base on Aquatos go?" Starlight spent the next half hour telling Sunset, and by extent Sasha, exactly what had happened during their trek through the underwater secret base. Ratchet came over to them and put in his parts, where he revealed where he and Clank worked together to get through the second half of the base by using the gadget that Angela had acquired in the arena. Starlight also mentioned the new weapons that had become available, causing Sunset to nod her head a few times when she heard what had a weapon was supposed to do, before they eventually reached the end of their tale. Once the tale was over Sunset explained that the two Cores they had recovered had blocked Searing from escaping, which was what they were supposed to do, and that she would likely be unable to perform her usual levels of magic for a day or two while she was recovering. That didn't mean that she would have to sit the next planet out, as she was eager to help her family save their home galaxy from whatever Nefarious had planned for them all. Ratchet and Starlight were glad to have Sunset back, though they both knew it was a matter of time until something happened that made her sit in the cell again. A few minutes later and Al had cracked through part of the information that Ratchet, Clank, and Starlight had taken from Nefarious' secret base, though it was also at that time that Qwark walked into the bridge. While everyone turned to see what Qwark had planned next for their against the evil doctor, Sunset turned towards the window and ignored the captain. Sasha and the rest of the Q Force knew why Sunset didn't trust the captain at all, considering that he was now trying to harness her destructive powers and use them in their fight to save the galaxy. Especially since they knew what had happened to the last planet that had suffered the wrath of Searing's powers, which had almost been the complete destruction of Yeedil. It was at times like this that Ratchet wondered why Qwark was even in charge of this mission, but then sighed as he knew that the President had no idea what had happened to Yeedil a year ago and who was responsible for the planet's near destruction. "Thanks to Al we know where our enemies, the Tyhrranoids, are coming from," Qwark declared, clearly getting ready to tell them his 'brilliant' plan that would remove one of Nefarious' forces from the table, "And I, in the span of a whole minute, have devised a brilliant plan to put a stop to this alien menace once and for all!" "So long as it doesn't involve using my power to blow their home to pieces," Sunset immediately responded, not even bothering to turn to Qwark when she made the comment. "Oh come on, Tyhrranosis has plenty of islands that aren't inhabited," Qwark said, clearly still attempting to get Sunset to use some of her power, something that Ratchet, Clank, Starlight, and Angela knew that wouldn't be happening anytime soon, "We can easily pick one, blow it up, and show Nefarious just what he's dealing with... and that will tell him that he had better cease his operations least the same happen to him." "Oh by the Maker, will you leave my power alone?" Sunset snapped, turning to the captain and growling at him for a few seconds, "Stop asking me to blow islands or planets to pieces... it will NEVER happen!" "Then onto the actual plan then," Qwark said, turning to the rest of the assembled Q Force, leaving Sunset to let out a sigh before turning her attention back to what was outside the window, "Once we arrive at Tyhrranosis Ratchet, Clank, Starlight, and Angela will all have to free fall from the dropship to take out the mortar launchers that will be used against us. Once the path is clear the rest of us will follow suit shortly after, while Ratchet and his family will head out and take out the four plasma cannons that are scattered across the main island. When the cannons are taken out we will spearhead an assault on the main compound, while the rangers take the dropship out to Kavu Island and deal with any other enemies that are on the island. With any luck Nefarious will be watching as his allies are taken apart and he'll reconsider attacking the rest of the galaxy with whatever else he's got in his arsenal." "And what will I be doing?" Sunset asked, knowing that she needed to do something other than keeping Searing locked up in her cage, otherwise she was sure to go crazy as she had nothing else to do... other than try and learn how to use more spells while she waited for her magic to return to her. "You will be overseeing the rangers that we send to Kavu Island," Qwark replied almost immediately, as if he had been expecting that particular question to come up, though something about the way he said it made Sunset worry that he wasn't telling the whole truth, "The assault will being in a few hours, so you had best prepare yourselves." Qwark had been true to his word when he said that the assault would take place in a few hours, as the moment that Ratchet and his family had returned to the Phoenix the ship had begun its journey in the direction of Tyhrranosis, as if Qwark had believed that they would be heading that way before even knowing. To pass the time Angela and Sasha had gone to the training room to practice with sparring weapons, nothing too lethal while they tested each others skills. Starlight, Ratchet, and Clank went over the part of the island that they would be free falling down to, making sure that they knew where to go before they even touched the ground. Sunset, on the other hand, had taken the four rangers that would be falling with her family to the Hyperion, which was traveling alongside the Phoenix, where she modified some of their armor and gave them new weapons and personalities. The rangers, in their original forms, would never be able to survive the battle that they would soon be a part of, so she had taken it upon herself to at least give them a fighting chance... and give them some new armor to make sure that they survived the assault. When they finally arrived at their destination, and the two starships stopped just outside the planet's atmosphere, Sunset returned the four rangers to the dropship, keeping them hidden with some cloaks so that no one would be able to tell what they looked like before they finished their descent. "I can't wait to see what you did to those rangers," Qwark commented, looking at the cloaked figures for a few seconds before turning to the assembled group, "Well then, you know what you need to do." Ratchet gave the captain a nod, more so that he knew that they would get their job done, as the door of the dropship closed and they began their descent towards the drop point, where they would begin their assault on the Tyhrranoid forces. After a few minutes the ship came to a stop at its destination, where the door opened and the cloaks that had been covering the rangers came off, leaving Ratchet to stare at them for a moment. Sunset must have gone overboard when she had been working on the upgrades, because these four rangers looked nothing like the rangers that she had taken onto the Hyperion. They looked more like dragons than the rangers they had been, though their colors were all different, leaving Ratchet to wonder what else had been changed. The first one, a blackened dragon-ranger, cracked its clawed hands and charged out of the dropship, unfurling its metallic wings as it began its descent towards the area they were supposed to be landing in. The second ranger, baring a grey colored suit of armor, let out what Ratchet assumed was a sigh before following the lead robot out of the ship. The other two robots, one red colored while the other was dark green colored, took a second or two to take in what was happening before they followed the other two out of the ship. Ratchet looked at Starlight and Angela for a moment, wondering if they even needed to make the jump, but decided to get it over with and began his own descent towards the stronghold beneath them. As he and the others followed the rangers down towards the ground he noticed that none of the missiles got anywhere near them, but when he looked at Starlight she shook her head and pointed at one of the rangers in front of them, to which he watched as the grey one blew every missile out of the air. "I am AL-DU-IN!" the black dragon-ranger shouted as he landed, slamming his fist into the first group of enemies that he came to, causing an explosion that mimicked the Nitro Launcher bombs. "Do save some for the rest of us," the red one commented, shooting a nearby enemy in the head with an N60 Storm shell, while the green one loosed a swarm of minions that tore into the other enemies in front of them. The grey one remained silent as the four of them continued their assault on the building that was in front of them, while Ratchet and his family followed along so they could clean up any enemies that they might miss. They soon realized that Sunset really went overboard with the upgrades, because the four dragon-rangers were decimating their enemies until they reached the area where they met up with the dropship again. There they found a vehicle that they could use to get around the island, so while they determined where to go next the empowered rangers took the fight to the plasma cannon to their left. With the help of the new rangers Ratchet, Starlight, and Angela quickly cut their way through the enemies that they found when they went to deal with the plasma cannons that prevented the dropship from getting close to the main part of the stronghold. It took them an hour to fight through all the Tyhrranoids that had been stationed on Tyhrranosis, which only told them that Nefarious must have been expecting an attack on this planet and had prepared accordingly. Eventually they cut through the hundred or so enemies that had been waiting for them and dealt with the last of the cannons, allowing the dropship to fly in and blow the door to their main building wide open. As Ratchet, Starlight, and Angela made their way into the main building, so they could deal with the leader of the Tyhrranoids, Ratchet couldn't help but wonder if he had missed something in the briefing, because the only readings he was getting from the dropship were that of his sister and Qwark. "Ah, there it is, Kavu Island, a hive of Tyhrranoids that needs to be dealt with," Qwark commented, staring down at the island from the dropship, while his companion wouldn't look at him or the island, "So... what price do I have to pay to get you to reconsider unleashing your destructive power and use it to destroy this island?" "What part of no don't you understand?" Sunset snapped, glaring at the captain as the dropship came to a stop above the island, "I'm not a destroyer, despite the fact that you think I am." "And what does Searing think about the fact that you don't want to destroy anything, be it a landmass or your enemies?" Qwark asked, noticing a change in Sunset's eyes that lasted a few seconds before vanishing, "As I thought, I can tell that she's annoyed about not having the opportunity to exercise her powers..." "You are lucky that I can't use most of my magic, otherwise I'd be tempted to just obliterate you and blame the Tyhrranoids," Sunset growled, turning her gaze away from the idiotic captain for a moment, "Let's just head back to the mainland, pick up the rangers and my family, and then you can watch the defeat of the Tyhrranoids." Qwark remained silent for a few seconds, as if he was thinking about his actions and how best to apologize to Sunset for wanting to use her powers in such a manner. Sunset, on the other hand, didn't trust the silence that was emitting from the captain, though that made her wonder if he was planning something while her back was turned. She wouldn't put it past the man to try something to awaken Searing from her slumber, which he would be crazy to think was just fine, but Sunset knew that letting the demon out was the last thing the galaxy needed at the moment. "Then you leave me no choice." Qwark said, pulling something out from behind his back and slamming it into the back of Sunset's head, giving her little time to think about what was happening before she was knocked out cold. Qwark waited for a few seconds, to which he dropped the hammer like object that he had crafted in the few hours that Ratchet and his family had been on Aquatos, but for a moment he wondered if he had made a mistake. Based on his previous experience with the demon, of which there were two, he knew that Searing could be awakened by pure emotions or something overpowering Sunset's own powers. It was a gamble, to smack Sunset unconscious and expect the demon to take over, but at the moment he needed Searing's powers so he could show Nefarious what he was up against. That was until Sunset picked herself up and shook her head for a second or two, before turning to where Qwark was standing and opening her eyes. Qwark felt his heart skip a beat when he spotted Searing's eye color had replaced Sunset's own, telling him that the demon was definitely in control at the moment. "Ah, so you let me out of my cage again," Searing commented, once again twisting Sunset's voice into a hollowed version of itself, while a smile appeared on her face, "So tell me Qwark, what do you desire most; your death, or destruction?" "I need your power to teach an old enemy of mine a lesson," Qwark replied, beckoning to the island below them, to which Searing turned her head towards the landmass, "I would like you to destroy this island, where my enemy's troops have built a base so they can further their attack on the rest of the galaxy..." "And why should I care about what's between you and your old rival?" Searing asked, not snapping at Qwark like Sunset would, something that would no doubt confuse the man, "What could I possibly gain from helping you deal with something that is clearly your problem?" "Because I know where the third Raritanium Core is located," Qwark replied, causing Searing to turn her eyes towards him for a moment, "Help me make sure that Nefarious sees that he can't win this war of his, with you at our side... and I'll make sure that Sunset's family can't use the other Cores to put you back in your cage." It was the ultimate bargain and Qwark knew it, because he was basically telling Searing that if she aided him, and helped him either change Nefarious' mind or destroy him, then she would be free to roam the universe with nothing to stop her. He was well aware that he could potentially unleash a greater monster on the people that they were supposed to be saving, but he was hoping that Searing was willing to listen to some degree of reason. "I don't believe that you can stop them from using Generosity and Honesty against me," Searing retorted, letting out a sigh as she unfurled her wings, "but I will take you up on your offer... so long as you keep the rest of them away from me." Before Qwark even had the chance to nod his head, or do anything for that matter, Searing leapt out of the dropship and soared through the air as she rapidly descended towards where her enemies would be waiting. Qwark watched as Searing neared the ground and started throwing magic at them, dropping magical charges that exploded when they impacted either the ground or an unfortunate Tyhrranoid. Then Searing landed before one of the mechs and swung her hoof at it, cracking the air and shattering the machine in seconds, which was rapidly followed by the ground cracking just a bit. Nefarious' forces moved out of their hiding places and attacked Searing, who summoned a shield as the attacks came at her for a few moments before shattering the air in front of her once more, sending Tyhrranoids left and right as they were blown off their feet. It went something like that for a time, where Searing tested her powers now that she was back in control and drove the Tyhrranoids back with every step she took. That was before she reached the base that the creatures had built, to which she channeled more of her power into her hoof and swung it at the building, shattering the front of the structure with ease as the rest of the island quaked under the pressure of her attack. Once she was sure that her enemies were sufficiently scared for their lives, and that Qwark was pleased with her progress, she flew into the air and looked down at the island for a moment, before she extended her hoof and began to gather her power. She waited a few seconds, to be sure that she had enough power in the attack, before she grinned and loosed the sphere of energy at the island. An explosion rocked the entire area around the island as the landmass was consumed by the energy she had unleashed, though when the smoke cleared there was no trace of the island. "Come on then," Searing told Qwark, returning to the dropship as it was being recalled to the Phoenix, "I'm eager to see what else there is to destroy... before I'm caged once more." Qwark hoped that Nefarious had gotten the message that he needed to stop his war, otherwise he might have ensured that the mad doctor would continue his quest until one of them was dead.