//------------------------------// // Time: Vapedia // Story: Ratchet and Clank: The Starlight of Solana // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// Ratchet let out a sigh as the Hyperion exited the warp space and entered the Bernilius Sector, where he and the others heard the announcement of their arrival, which allowed them to get ready for whatever information came their way. They had no idea why they had come to this Sector of the Polaris Galaxy, but after finding that Orvus was just fine, and that the aspects known as Doubt and Despair were allies with them, he was beginning to think that someone had lied to them. Even Starlight and Angela agreed with him, because at the moment they had nothing solid to go on and it seemed that everyone was lying to them about everything. They had wasted time trying to ‘save’ Orvus, lost Searing to Hatred back at the Battleplex, and it seemed that Sunset Glider was constantly annoyed about what happened earlier. While he stared out at the various planets that rested near their location, and counted the number of potential races that Hatred could wipe out if she became the God of Destruction, he heard Azimuth open a communication line with them... which meant that he must have discovered something that might help them out. “Ratchet, Angela, Starlight,” Azimuth called out, though there was a short pause that indicated that he was waiting for them before he spoke again, “I just picked up a looping transmission on one of the emergency frequencies. Tell me what you guys make of this.” That was followed by a sound echoing throughout the Hyperion for a few seconds, though Ratchet’s eyes widened when he recognized it, because he had helped set up the distress call in case someone ever kidnapped him and he was able to call for him... just so he could come and rescue him with some reinforcements. “I... I don’t believe it.” Ratchet said, causing the others to turn to him for a few seconds, though they all knew that he already had figured out what they were listening to, “That’s a distress call with Clank’s signature! Which planet is the signal coming from?” “It appears to be coming from Planet Vapedia,” Starlight commented, though as she said that she looked over at Ratchet, which indicated that she already had information on the planet in question, “and, if the first pieces of information I was able to find are to be believed, its the new home world of the Valkyries... the people that assaulted us some time ago when we entered the last sector we were in.” “Which means that this might be a trap.” Azimuth stated, but as he said those words it was clear that he wasn’t worried about that thought at all, “I’ll meet you guys there.” Azimuth cut off the communication line before they could reply to him, though at the same time they all knew that a distress call was too good to be believable, which meant that this had to be a trap. That thought made them wonder if Hatred was behind this, so she could take out Sunset without having to try anything herself, but at the same time they all worried about the pegasus. Sunset was still in her room, no doubt staring at the ceiling like she had been doing before they visited the last planet, though they knew that she would be ready for battle when they reached their destination. One of the other things that they knew about was the fact that one of the AI seemed to be spending more time with the aspect, as the one known as Celestia seemed to be comforting her while she grieved. Ratchet had no idea why the AI was doing what she was doing, but Starlight speculated that their sister had originally created the white alicorn with some special commands installed in her that weren’t replicated with the other three... but if it made Sunset Glider happy, and not depressed, then he was happy as well. They didn’t get very far through space before another ship appeared on their radar, though after a few seconds they discovered that it was another of the Valkyries that they had seen earlier... and it appeared that she, and her force of fighters, were armed for combat. The group had to wonder if the Valkyries even knew who was coming their way, and the weapons that had been added to the Hyperion after Nefarious had tried to take them out back when he was trying to take over the Solana Galaxy, but they knew that their opponents would soon find out how much trouble they were in. “Bonjour, Monsieur Lombax,” the head Valkyrie said, though it was clear that she was focusing on Ratchet and absolutely no one else, which annoyed some of them, “I see that you and your friends have picked up our little signal. Unfortunately this is as far as you go! I, Carina, will ensure that you never reach Vapedia!” “I see that we’ve got a fight on our hands,” Starlight commented, to which she turned to Ratchet and Angela for a few seconds, “Ratchet, turn the Hyperion to the left until the starboard side, the right side if you prefer, is leveled with Carina and her forces, though Angela, you should prepare the cannons for a volley.” The cannons that had been installed inside the Hyperion were designed to fire specially crafted charges, which were dangerous elements contained in a sphere and wouldn’t detonate until they hit their target. Starlight and the others had installed them sometime after they had escaped Dreadzone and dealt with the man that was trying to create clones of Ratchet. After they had installed them, and made sure that they were fully functional, they never had the chance to actually use them in battle, which meant that this was the first time that they could see them in battle. As they turned the Hyperion in the direction that Starlight wanted them to move in, and primed the cannons, they sent Aphelion out and she took out the smaller fighters that were flying around them, which would allow the shots to reach their target without delay. A few moments later the sound of the cannons being ready for fire sounded, while at the same time Ratchet finished moving the Hyperion into position, though they all smiled when they heard a shocked sound from Carina’s ship. Once they were all ready Starlight sounded the call and the cannons loosed their charges, to which the shots flew through the air and barrelled into the ship that Carina controlled... which exploded with a flash of light that temporarily blinded everyone for a moment. When the light faded they moved the Hyperion back into its original course, allowing Aphelion to chase the remaining Valkyries that decided to stick around before returning to the ship so they could reach the planet’s surface. When Ratchet and the others landed on the planet, in the area closest to the location of the distress signal, they found Azimuth waiting for them, though it was hard to tell if he had been scouting the area out or if he had simply waited for them to arrive before doing anything else. “Clank's distress signal is coming from somewhere inside the citadel,” Azimuth said, though at the same time he gestured towards the building that they were going to have to attack. “Great, which means that we’ll be fighting a horde of enemies to reach him,” Sunset commented, to which she shook for a few seconds, indicating that she was feeling something. “You okay Sunset?” Ratchet asked, not knowing if the pegasus aspect was feeling okay or if she was feeling the presence of Hatred, though if the dark aspect was here than they were all in trouble... if what had happened at the Battleplex was anything to go by. “N... no...” Sunset replied, though her eyes were locked on the citadel that everyone was staring at, which told everyone that she knew something that they didn’t know, “Despair, Doubt, and Hatred... I can feel all three of them hanging around this place... and, if what I’m feeling is right, there’s a fourth mysterious aspect hanging around as well.” Starlight’s eyes widened, because if Sunset was right about what she was feeling then the tenth aspect had finally revealed itself, which meant that something major was going to be happening in the near future. All five of the remaining aspects were on Vapedia, which meant that Hatred must have planned for them all to gather so she could claim Sunset Shimmer’s position as the God of Destruction... as well as the power that came with being reunited with the other aspects. Once they determined that the other aspects were on the planet, as well as stating how strange it was that Despair, Doubt, and Hatred had gotten here without a ship, Ratchet and Starlight grabbed the new Mag-Net Launcher that was available before they followed Azimuth as he advanced down the pathway that was in front of them. That involved them taking out a large group of the red beetle creatures that wanted them dead and using a hover station to reach an area that needed two of the battery bots so they could access an oil sample to get rid of the rust that was on the crank in front of them. Sunset, being bored of the ground at the moment, flew into the air and scouted out where the battery bots were located, to which she discovered that one of them was guarded by a pack of leviathans while the second was resting next to a launch pad. It didn’t take Ratchet and Starlight long to gather the two battery bots, get some of the oil, and then get rid of the rust that was preventing them from moving forward, to which they approached a building that the Valkyries were patrolling at the moment. As Ratchet and the others dealt with the hammer wielding enemies that charged them from the ground, and made sure to avoid the large hammer heads that were swung at them, Sunset remained in the sky and used the blades above her wings to cut the flyers to pieces, while avoiding the lances that they were throwing at her. When the enemies were taken care of they moved through the building and approached a bolt crank that was resting in front of them, to which Ratchet fiddled with it for a few seconds before connecting the two sides into the proper slots. That unlocked a large vehicle that they could all fit on, while Sunset flew around anyway, but even as they moved towards their next destination they knew that their enemies would be waiting for them and were no doubt gathering their forces for the assault. The only thing that disturbed Starlight was the fact that the sky directly above the top of the citadel was beginning to darken, almost as if a storm was beginning to form above them, but she could have sworn that she felt Dark Magic lingering in the air. When they arrived at their destination Ratchet switched some of the pieces of the bolt crank around and slipped it into place, allowing the platform to move around so they could advance into the citadel. Before they even reached the middle of the platform in front of them they noticed that there was a large Valkyrie standing on a floating platform and had a gun trailed on them. “Well, if it isn’t the galaxy’s favorite heroes,” the large Valkyrie called down to them, while at the same time keeping her gun pointed at them as her soldiers floated all around her, “No doubt you have come here to save your little friend?” “Yes, so hand over Clank before something happens,” Starlight replied, though before the Valkyrie could respond she pointed her staff at the sky, forcing the Valkyries to see the dark clouds that were forming above their citadel, “Despair and Doubt, aspects of Sunset Shimmer, the God of Destruction, are gathering above us as they prepare to do battle with a third aspect, the one known as Hatred... who destroyed the planet known as Fastoon a week or two ago. The three of them are going to rip this entire citadel to pieces and kill anyone that gets in their way, so just hand over Clank and we can all evacuate before they arrive.” “There is no escaping them...” Sunset commented, causing everyone to look at her for a few seconds, only to discover that she was looking at the sky above them, “two of them are already here.” Starlight turned her attention back to the sky and found that both Despair and Doubt were already floating above them, confirming her suspicions that the three aspects were going to do battle on this planet, to which she faced the large Valkyrie for a few seconds. “Two of the aspects are here, which means that the third isn’t far behind,” Starlight stated, though she enjoyed the fact that the Valkyrie had seen what they were referring to at long last, “just tell us where Clank is and we can all flee before they start ripping this place apart.” “Your precious little robot is at the peak of the citadel, though he should be waking up any moment now,” the Valkyrie stated, though at the same time her troops turned towards her, while she pointed at the two aspects, “Hatred is the bigger fish... and we aim to take her out.” Starlight watched as the insane Valkyries flew into the air and ascended towards where the two wraiths were waiting, wondering why they seemed to have a death wish considering that they had to know about Hatred’s powers. The dark aspect was responsible for obliterating an entire planet and nearly breaking the Battleplex when she and Searing dueled, so that should have been enough information to tell the Valkyries that this wasn’t a fight they could win. As the Valkyries moved towards their deaths Starlight and the others continued along the path that was in front of them, though each and every trap that they would have normally fought their way through had been deactivated and the doors were left wide open... as if the Valkyries were allowing them to find their friend without delay. As they moved through the citadel they all noticed that the sky was darkening at an alarming rate, while at the same time both Starlight and Sunset could feel Hatred’s power coming closer and closer to the citadel... until they could have sworn that she was right on top of them. Despair and Doubt cast a glance at the group that was moving though the citadel below them, before turning their attention to the cracks that were appearing in front of them, indicating that Hatred was coming. Sure, they had told Starlight and her family that they wanted to bring about Hatred’s downfall, but they knew that they didn’t stand a chance at actually killing her. The Valkyries that were gathering around them, on the other hand, were simply going to die the moment their foe appeared, despite the fact that Starlight had tried to save them... though their thoughts were interrupted when the cracks spread and a hand pierced them. That was swiftly followed by Hatred, in all her dark glory, tearing her way through the strange portal that she had created, though she paid it no mind as it sealed itself behind her and left the air without any cracks in it. “I see that I have a welcoming party,” Hatred commented, a smile appearing on her face as she tapped her sword for a moment, “and what do you know, the rest of the remaining aspects are on this planet as well. I find it odd that Purity would have been allowed to leave the safety of her ‘prison’, but it makes things infinitely much easier for me. All I need to do is kill the two of you, find and snap Purity like the twig she is, and then kill Sunset... maybe in the manner I used when I killed Searing.” “You don’t deserve the power of the God of Destruction,” Despair countered, to which she held her sickles out while Doubt swung her scythe as well, before they pointed their weapons at their opponent, “You will die here, of that you can be sure.” “Is that so?” Hatred said, though she chuckled for a few seconds as she drew her blade, before she pointed the tip at the wraiths, “I will make this as quick as possible for all of us.” Hatred burst into the air and soared towards her targets, though as the Valkyries tried to follow her, and lock their weapons on her, she crashed into Doubt and sent her flying into the top of one of the peaks that rested around them. The Valkyries opened fire on the shadowy aspect and several of their shots left small holes in her, though their joy was short lived when they noticed that the holes healed in seconds. That was swiftly followed by Hatred swinging her open hand towards them and releasing a wave of dark energy that literally cut everyone in half, or rather those that were unfortunate to be caught by the attack. Despair appeared behind Hatred and swung her sickles at her back, though her target spun around and planted her boot in her chest, knocking her backwards for a few seconds and stopping the attack in its tracks. She felt the wind around her change again and raised her sword to parry the attacks that were coming her way, though as she parried the attack she noticed a pair of wings that were beneath the blades. "Hello Sunset," Hatred commented, grinning at the pegasus that was staring at her with a look of pure anger in her eyes, "fancy meeting you here." "I'm going to enjoy killing you!" Sunset growled, though before Hatred could make a remark she spun around and planted her hoof in her chest, sending her flying through the air. Unfortunately Hatred corrected herself and stood back up, though she took a moment to study the people around them before zeroing in on where Sunset was flying at the moment. That was swiftly followed by the dark aspect grabbing onto her face and throwing her through the air, though before she could contact with anything she corrected herself and avoided the magical energy blast that was coming her way. As the peak behind her exploded she flew around the area, making sure to avoid the attacks that Hatred was throwing at her while trying not to hurt everyone else that was trying to kill the aspect. As she flew around she also noticed that Ratchet and the others were moving towards the area that they believed that Clank was being held in, though the distraction allowed Hatred to sneak up on her and kick her into another peak, to which she coughed up some blood as she looked at the aspect. At the same time both Despair and Doubt appeared on both the left and the right side of Hatred, where they swung their weapons at her... though the surprise was short lived as Hatred caught their weapons with her darkness and threw them into the peaks closest to her. As the two wraiths made contact with the peaks Hatred decided to get rid of them, as two large crystal spikes went sent flying from her hands, piercing the two wraiths in their chests. "I'm tired of you two, so you're free to become crystals and wait to be absorbed into my body," Hatred commented, her smile widening even further when she noticed that the two wraiths were already starting to break apart, which was followed by her lifting her sword into the air as she prepared to end this entire fight with one action, "Once I kill the last of the aspects I will acquire the power to ascend to my true form... which means that you need to die as well." Before Sunset could move she found herself pinned with her back against the peak that she had been thrown into, though at the same time she discovered that Hatred's blade was sticking out of her chest. She flashed back to when Searing had the blade pierce her own chest and remembered how quickly she had died, which meant that she was going to be joining her sister shortly. Though even as that thought crossed her mind she refused to accept it, because if Hatred won then she'd destroy pretty much everything around her, something that Sunset didn't agree with. It was in that moment that she wished that she had the power to stop Hatred, like the magical power that Searing had commanded before sacrificing herself to save her life... and in that instant she could feel eight beings reaching out to her, to lend her their energy. Orvus looked up from what he was doing as he felt a sudden change in the energy that radiating from the five crystals that represented the defeated aspects, which made him wonder if something had awoken them. He knew that something would have called upon the energy of the other aspects, when Sunset and Hatred had their fierce battle, but he knew that it couldn't be happening now. He turned his full attention to the crystal that housed Searing, the most powerful aspect among them, and watched as the crystal turned into pure energy and disappeared. His eyes widened in shock for a moment, though before he jumped to conclusions he turned to another crystal, the one containing Sunset's rage, and watched as it disappeared as well. "Its happening," Orvus commented, to which he beckoned a shocked Sigmund over to the main screen and tapped some keys, which made the screen zero in Vapedia, where Hatred was in the process of killing Despair, Doubt, and Sunset... to which he discovered that Purity had gone to that planet as well. "Wh... what's happening?" Sigmund asked, though he had the suspicion he knew what was coming and was only asking to see if Orvus had anything else to tell him. "One of the aspects are calling the others to her," Orvus stated, his eyes glancing between Sunset and Hatred, because they were the only two that could potentially do something like that at the moment, "which means that an epic battle is going to begin... and the Valkyrie Citadel is going to be destroyed in the process." Hatred could feel the energy in the air suddenly shift, though instead of all the power coming towards her, like what she would have expected, she noticed that it was heading towards someone else. The two wraiths were out of the question, as they were breaking apart and joining the stream of energy around them, which meant that the energy had to be going towards Sunset. She had no idea how such a thing was even possible, not when her blade had pierced the aspect's heart and would end her life in a few minutes, but it was the only thing that made sense. Even Purity was out of the question, as she had mainly been watching them and was a passive aspect by nature... which meant that all the energy was heading in Sunset's direction. That made her wonder what was going to happen with Sunset, because if all of her power poured back into her then she would have a tough fight to go through in order to gain the position she was after... especially since it would be two equally powered aspects fighting each other. She remembered calling Sunset weak and worthless, so that combined with her anger would make this an interesting fight... one that she would ultimately win, because Sunset's anger would make it harder for her to focus and eventually bring about her end. The moment that though crossed her mind the area around Sunset detonated, something that mimicked whenever she was changing from one form to another, which made Hatred curious about which form Sunset would be taking this time. When the smoke cleared Hatred raised an eyebrow as she looked at Sunset, as her form had been changed into the form she used when she had taken on the mantle of the God of Destruction, the form that was a cross between a humanoid and the pony she was. Hatred recognized the form, though the only different thing about it was the fact that Sunset's wings were still there, accompanying her horn... but that was before she noticed that the clothing Sunset was wearing at the moment was the attire that mimicked Beerus' attire. "You had better prepare yourself Hatred," Sunset said, staring up at Hatred for a few seconds, while at the same time snapping the sword that had been in her chest into pieces, "because I'm taking back what's mine... and your going to pay for everything you have done since you escaped." Hatred had the feeling that Sunset was being overconfident in her new abilities, but she was more than eager to show her opponent how wrong she was... as well as tear up the landscape for a few seconds, before becoming the God of Destruction she wanted to be.