//------------------------------//
// Arsenal: Thran 
// Story: Ratchet and Clank: The Starlight of Solana 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

Ratchet had expected that he, Starlight, and Angela would go to Zeldrin, figure out if Qwark was alive and if anything had been left behind, and then check and see if they could actually figure out where the former captain ran off to... and he expected to do it without involving Searing at all. He hadn't been expecting Nefarious to lay a trap for the three of them at the crash site of the Leviathan, which had been detonated in an effort to get rid of them to begin with, nor had he expected to find an army of enemies waiting for them. He suspected that, if Starlight had run out of ammunition for her weapons, she would have switched to magic and shown Nefarious that Searing wasn't the only powerful magic user in their group.

He guessed that he should be thankful that Searing even knew that he and the others were in trouble, otherwise he would not be sitting on the couch in what used to be Qwark's quarters. They were heading back to where the Phoenix was normally docked in space, where they had left the Hyperion the moment Searing discovered they were in trouble. The moment they boarded the ship they gave Al the data disk they had uncovered, who seemed pleased to have a challenge with an omega class asymmetric encryption, though only Starlight, Angela, and Clank seemed to know what he was talking about. Starlight and Angela had, somehow, managed to get Searing to agree to a treaty of sorts between them; she would let them hunt down and find Qwark, without her interfering, and in exchange she would do whatever she wanted to the man when they found him, provided she stayed inside her cell until they told her where to find him.

Ratchet had been there when Searing agreed to the terms, because when the demon looked his way for a moment he could have sworn that she looked hurt at the thought of them sealing her back in the cell... almost as if it was Sunset who was currently in control and not the demon, but he knew that his mind was playing tricks on him. Despite how much Searing looked like the human version of Sunset they had developed for the Secret Agent Clank show he knew that the demon was still in control, thanks to the crimson colored skin and twisted colored eyes that she had.

Once Searing was back in her cell Ratchet headed into Qwark's quarters and ransacked the place, wondering if there was anything that the former captain might have hidden away in the various compartments. Qwark may have been an idiot for releasing Searing the first time, and Nefarious was in that same boat at the moment, but the man had his moments of genius and he had the feeling that there might be something he wasn't seeing. As he searched he dropped to his knees and tried beneath the bed, because it was one of the first places that people usually hid things underneath, though he was surprised when his hands brushed over something. Ratchet grinned and pulled the item out from where it had been placed, to which he discovered that it was in the shape of a box and was, oddly enough, the size of the vid-comics that he and the others had acquired.

He carried the box out to the couch, where he found Sasha waiting for him, but she seemed curious about the item that he was holding and beckoned for him to put it on the table. When he opened the lid, however, he was surprised to find a fifth Qwark vid-comic, which was apparently a fifth issue in Qwark's fight against Nefarious... and was also a comic that wasn't supposed to exist according to the back of the container.

"If this doesn't tell us anything new, then I doubt we'll ever find Qwark," Ratchet commented, gently removing the vid-comic from the box and slipped it into the machine that would play it, before grabbing the controller and taking a seat on the couch.

"I'm sure that you'll find something useful," Sasha replied, watching him boot up the final installment of the Qwark versus Nefarious saga, which was voiced by someone that wasn't the narrator for the other parts of the series, "If these things could restore Qwark's missing memory, then I'm sure that they have something for us."

The comic appeared to be Qwark escaping from Nefarious' hidden lair, one of them Ratchet mentally reflected, and running from some sort of liquid that he assumed would hurt or kill him in seconds. He acquired the weapon that was to be used on this episode of the series and blasted his way through the enemies that were waiting in his way, while collecting the various tokens he spotted along the way. He would have played the other three in the series, as he hadn't touched the series since restoring Qwark's memories, but he decided not to bother with them and get on with what he was playing the game for. Eventually he reached the end of Nefarious' lair, to which the credits of the episode rolled and told the rest of the story that Qwark didn't want people to know.

It was at that point that he and Sasha discovered that there was supposed to be a secret hideout in the Thran Asteroid Belt, which meant that they had someplace to check out in the future.

"Well then, I had best gather the others," Ratchet finally said, setting the controller down on the table and getting back on his feet, "I have the feeling that we'll have to fight our way through whatever defenses that hideout has... and Searing needs to know that the three of us will be gone for some time."

"Hopefully this time she doesn't break out of the cell to come rescue you," Sasha replied, gently removing the vid-comic from the machine before turning to Ratchet, "Just be safe this time."

"We will," Ratchet said, letting out a sigh before he headed towards the room's entrance, "I'll call the moment we discover anything useful... or if we found where Qwark is hiding."

Sasha nodded her head and Ratchet moved through the Phoenix, using his communicator to tell Angela and Starlight that he had found something that might help them uncover if Qwark was truly alive or not. They were in the Hyperion when he contacted them, checking up on Searing and the progress that the Cores were making on restoring Sunset to her body once more. According to them there was no progress on restoring Sunset, which told him that Searing was definitely enforcing her will over Sunset's body until she got what she wanted... which was either the death of Qwark or the death of Nefarious.

Once the three of them were together again they climbed back into their smaller ship and took off for the Thran Asteroid Belt, where Ratchet used the journey to explain his reasoning for going there.





When they arrived at the Thran Asteroid Belt, which turned out to be a nearly frozen over planet that was hidden by the asteroids, they found a fortress like area that that seemed to be running on some sort of generator... though that was before Starlight noticed that one heat signature appeared when she scanned the entire building. The building was even painted green, which had been ravaged by the cold wind that was blowing everywhere, but they knew that they had to be in the right place.

"According to my scans there isn't a lot in the way of defenses," Starlight commented, making sure that all of her weapons were restocked thanks to the vendor that happened to be located nearby, as well as acquiring any new weapons for sale, "and yes Ratchet, I triple checked to be absolutely sure that there weren't any enemies hiding from us. Don't want to repeat Zeldrin."

Ratchet nodded for a moment, because they all knew that they needed to avoid giving Searing the excuse to break out of her cell and come here to rescue them... which would likely result in the planet's destruction if she figured out Qwark was hiding here.

Once the three of them had everything they needed from the vendor, and made completely sure that they were prepared for whatever was ahead of them, they walked onto the moving platform in front of them and let it take them to the beginning of the path that would take them to the fortress' entrance. Their first enemy appeared to be lawn gnomes that were wielding swords, which reminded Starlight of the former weapons that Megacorp used to make. Seeing how Qwark had been in control of the corporation for some time it made sense that he could have used their resources for more than taking out Searing... like upgrading his secret hideout's defenses without anyone knowing what was going on.

Angela, seeing the gnomes as they approached the group, activated both ends of her lightsaber and carved the first group of enemies in half, sending the pieces of the robots into the walls around them.

"Qwark stole weapons from Megacorp, despite the fact that they were decommissioned by Mr. Fizzwidget," Angela growled, turning to on of the walls and cutting a gashed line into it with her weapon, "I am so going to punch that man when we find him... and personally destroy all of gnomes before we leave."

Ratchet had seen Angela mad before today, considering that they had traveled together for some time, but he had never seen her this pissed off before. That seemed to be Qwark's special ability, making people mad enough to do something that they might regret... though he also knew he had a habit of annoying Searing to no end.

Once they had cleared the area out of the little gnomes Starlight had them stand back for a moment, which was followed by her grabbing them with her magic and teleporting them to the top of the platform that was in front of them. The instant they were up there Angela swung her weapon and cut into the gnomes that were approaching them, giving Ratchet and Starlight time to see what else was waiting in their way. That was when they encountered their next enemy, which happened to be a group of robots that looked like Qwark that attacked them the moment they laid eyes on them. Those robots were enough to tell them that they were definitely in the right area, because Qwark was the only person they knew that would have robots of himself installed in his secret hideout... it also didn't help that they were shouting his catchphrase at them from time to time.

It took them some time to cut their way through the first batch of robots, mainly because several of them refused to die until their head was severed from their broken body, but they eventually reached the next section of the fortress. They came to the electric barrier that was keeping them from moving on, not to mention the fact that it was protected by more gnomes, but Angela tore their enemies to pieces within a matter of seconds. The instant the gnomes were taken care of Starlight teleported them to the other side of the barrier, where they could restock their ammunition and take stock of what was ahead of them. It was a simple grind rail that they could use to access the island in front of them, but Starlight's scans indicated that there were more robots waiting for them down there... which was when she pulled out the RY3NO and primed it.

"I'll use a short burst of ammunition and take out the initial group of enemies," Starlight commented, gathering more of her magic in her horn for a moment, indicating that she was preparing to teleport over to the other platform, "then you two can take care of any other robots that happen to show their faces."

Before Ratchet could say anything to dissuade his sister from her set path she disappeared, only to reappear at the end of the grind rail and unleash the RY3NO silo that she promised them that she would use. Ratchet then sighed as he slipped his wrench over the rail, to which he rode down to where Starlight was standing and watched as the missile silo tore through the robots that were standing there. Angela followed him a few seconds later, though as they both prepared to do battle with the robots they were surprised to find that the group that Starlight took out was the only one. The three of them looked at each other for a moment, as they were expecting more enemies to show up the instant the first group had been taken care of, but then let out a collective sigh before they moved on once more.

They climbed the nearby ladder and faced their next obstacle, which appeared to be a pair of swingshots that would drop them off in an area that looked like a prime area for an ambush. Starlight teleported them over to the next platform and they opened fire on the robots that burst out of the glassy containers they had been placed inside. Angela carved her enemies into pieces, venting her anger for Qwark through the robots that he had installed to protect his fortress, and then let out a sigh as they finished off the last of their enemies. The door that was originally blocking their path lowered and allowed them to progress further, though Starlight merely levitated them over the icy water and dropped them at the end of the platform.

Angela carved up the gnomes that were waiting for them at the end of the platform, before allowing Starlight to grab them once more and drop them off at the next platform. The moment they landed on the icy platform they were assaulted by a group of four robots, though they proved to be no challenge for the three of them. Ratchet was somewhat surprised that they couldn't handle an army of soldiers back on Zeldrin, but now were suddenly able to deal with the mindless robots that were protecting the fortress. The instant the robots were taken care of they advanced into what they assumed was the final section of the fortress, where the rest of the defenses were waiting for them.

Starlight smiled as she leveled her RY3NO with the host of enemies that were guarding the door at the very end of the path they were on, eager to figure out if Qwark was alive or if they were wasting their time on a random goose chase. She pressed the trigger and let loose a rain of missiles that tore through the Qwark robots, the lawn gnomes, and the small cannons that occasionally loosed more gnomes. By the time that she used up half of her RY3NO ammunition the entirety of their enemies had been dealt with, giving them a direct path to the room that they had seen the moment they landed.

Instead of walking down the path, and triggering a trap that could lock them out of the room, Starlight engaged her magic and teleported them into the room, surprising the person that had been sitting on the bed the entire time.

"Oh... its you four again," Qwark commented, staring at the four of them as Starlight's magic faded, before he let out a sigh, "I was hoping to never see any of you again, especially considering our history. Where's Sunset?"

The moment those words left Qwark's mouth Angela took a step towards him and punched him right in the jaw, knocking him back onto the bed and causing him to rub his chin. He seemed surprised that she had struck him for a moment, as if he had been thinking that Ratchet or Starlight would have done the deed first, but then calmed down and took his seat once more.

"Based on how your acting I can only assume the worst," Qwark said, touching his chest for a moment, in the exact spot that he had been struck by Searing, "My 'death' has upset the demon and now she's on the loose... which means that you wanted to make sure that I was alive so you could hand me over to her."

"Actually, Nefarious was the one who released her this time," Ratchet replied, noticing that Qwark seemed surprised by that statement, "He used your death to blind Sunset, giving him the chance to unleash Searing's rage... and in the process he caused the destruction of Metropolis. Then, in order to save his own life, he handed you over to her, revealing that you were alive and giving her the chance to kill you herself, but she doesn't know that your here."

"Normally I'd say that Nefarious wouldn't be stupid enough to do something like that," Qwark said, staring out the open window that Ratchet and the others were standing in front of, "but, considering how much I poked his ego before the incident on the Leviathan, I guess even the smartest villain in the universe is bound to do something stupid. I guess I should be glad that he hasn't realized that I stole something from him... something that the three of you will definitely find interesting. Its in the panel near the entrance you teleported through, though you need not worry about a combination lock or anything... I never got around to installing one."

Starlight glanced at the others for a moment, wondering if they could trust the former captain after everything he had done to them, before she walked up to the panel in question and used her magic to remove it from the wall. What she spotted on the other side of it was a familiar blue crystal, though that was seconds before she recognized the Raritanium Core that they had found on Aquatos... the same one that they had left behind so Nefarious wouldn't know they had been there.

"The third Core," Starlight said, gently removing the Core from where Qwark had put it, a smile appearing on her face as she realized that they could use it to bind Searing, "Well then, this certainly makes up for everything we've been through for the last few days."

"So Searing doesn't know I'm here?" Qwark asked, as if he was curious as to how much time he had before the demon descended from the sky and obliterated his entire fortress.

Before Ratchet or Angela could answer the question, as Starlight was occupied by staring at the Core she was holding, one of their communicators went off with a message from Sasha. Generally that meant that the rest of the Q Force had found something that would aid them in their fight against Nefarious, which was either another lead on where his robot factory was or, and definitely more important, his main base of operations. Ratchet sighed and opened the channel between him and Sasha, though it was clear that they were all wondering what Al had found on the data disk.

"Ratchet! The Phoenix is under attack!" Sasha called out, though now that they knew the Phoenix was under attack they could see that there was static between them, "Whatever is on that disc has Nefarious worried..."

Ratchet and the others watched as Sasha's expression turned from concern for the people that were on her ship and transformed into one of pure horror. There was only one thing that would worry Sasha more than Nefarious attacking the Phoenix, because it was something that Ratchet and the others feared as well.

"Ratchet, enemies... aboard the Hyperion..." Sasha said, the static ruining the message, but they knew what was coming, "They're going after Searing..."

At that point the message cut out completely, but it was more than enough to get Ratchet and the others moving back to their ship, because Nefarious was about to repeat his mistake. Even with the gravimetric warp drive he had no idea if they would be able to make it in time to stop the soldiers from waking the demon, but they had to try.





"There she is ladies," one of the robot ninjas said, tapping on the magical cell for a moment and noticing no movement from the person that occupied the cell, "the so called 'Goddess of Destruction'. Open the cell and let's finish the job."

It had been quite easy to board the Hyperion, because there weren't many defenses in place as the emp that Nefarious had given them managed to put almost everything out of commission for the moment. The main part of their forces were dealing with the Rangers on the Phoenix, keeping them distracted so the five of them could slip into this ship and assassinate the one creature that their master feared. Without the precious AI that were controlling the ship, and the defenses that had been put in place, Searing was a sitting duck, one that they could be rid of within seconds.

The leader of their group smiled as he pressed a few buttons and watched as the cell came undone before their very eyes, though before he could approach the demon he heard the sound of something cutting through metal. He turned around and watched as a black robed figure, with a crown of thorns on his head, used a red lightsaber, in the same fashion as Angela carried, and carved two of his soldiers in half before they even knew he was there. The other two soldiers swung their weapons at the man, but the person sacrificed his robe to blind them of his movements and cut them down as if they were made of butter. Then the man turned to the leader, who started to back up and passed into the cell of his target, though his eyes never left the man that was merely staring at him.

That was before a clawed hand tore through his chest and pierced his heart, though he knew that he had met his end at the hands of the one thing his master feared.

"So, you have come to 'rescue' me..." Searing commented, looking up at Maul as he sheathed both ends of his lightsaber, "To what do I own the pleasure of your company?"

"Nefarious... sent them..." Maul replied, pointing at the robots for a moment, before pointing at Searing, "Kill you!"

That was followed by Searing tearing through the binds that would have normally keep her in the cell, but thanks to the robots the connection between the Cores and the cell was inactive. She was now free to do whatever she wanted, though there was only one thing on her mind at the moment and she grinned at the thought of finally being able to complete her promise to Nefarious.

"Its time I show Nefarious just what I am capable of," Searing said, walking out of the cell and working her magic around them, "and purge whatever world these soldiers came from!"