//------------------------------//
// Clank: Kerwan 2 
// Story: The Sparkle in his Eye 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

	With Swingshots in hand - or hoof, in Twilight's case - the group continued to make their way through the towering city of Kerwan.  While they were occasionally assaulted by rocket launching troops, bomb dropping bots, and the occasional swarm of robo-dogs, they managed to get through with only the occasional bump and scrape, until they reached a long bridge over which an attack chopper hovered.

"Hmm..." Ratchet mumbled, standing back to examine the situation.  "Say, Twilight, think you could throw something at the chopper to take it out?"

Twilight examined the situation for a bit, then shook her head.  "Even if I could, it would crash into the bridge, and then we wouldn't be able to get across."

"So we're going to have to dodge bullets," Ratchet grumbled, loosening his limbs.

"Or deflect them," Clank suggested.  "Twilight, the 'magic steps'...can you produce them with a vertical alignment?"

Twilight blinked.  "Sure," she confirmed, focusing her magic to create a solid plane of her magical energy floating in front of them.  "But why?"

"If it is solid enough to hold all three of our weights, it should be solid enough to deflect bullets," Clank explained.  "Can you move it forward with you as you walk?"

Twilight rubbed her chin.  "I think so.  I won't be able to shoot any attackers while holding my focus on the shield, though."

"Leave that to me," Ratchet confidently reassured her, pulling out his Blaster.

The strategy worked quite well, and they were able to make it past with few problems beyond temporary mental fatigue on the part of Twilight from maintaining a mobile solid projection for so long, although she seemed quite pleased at discovering that she could crush attacking robots by pressing them between a wall and her projections.

Shortly after, they reached Big Al's robot shack.  Ratchet attempted to break the ice.  "Say, you're that robot guy, right?"

"No, I build robots," the yellow skinned, hefty roboticist said from behind the counter.  "I, myself, am not a robot guy, per se."  He laughed nervously, as though afraid only he would find it amusing and desperate to be proven wrong.

"Nerd," Ratchet whispered in an aside to Clank and Twilight, only to quail from Twilight's glare.

"I like him," Clank replied.

"So now that we've cleared that up," Big Al continued, eager to get past the awkward absence of laughter, "what can I do for you?"

Twilight Sparkle stepped forward to take control of the conversation.  "We saw your broadcast with Captain Qwark.  We were hoping you could help us find him."

"Your logic is commendable," Big Al replied, "but I haven't seen Captain Qwark since we shot that commercial..."  His voice trailed off as he lifted his scope for a better look at who he was talking to.  He then gasped.  "Wait...are you Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight blinked in surprise.  "You've...heard of me?"

"Are you kidding?" Big Al proclaimed.  "Every scientist across the galaxy has heard of you!  Hired on to Gadgetron at the age of three and a half, and your name's been on every best selling product of theirs ever since!  Technical genius of that level doesn't come around every day.  Can I have your autograph?"  He quickly held out an autograph book.

Sheepishly, Twilight seized a pen in her telekinesis and signed her name in the book.

"Fascinating..." Big Al said as he watched the energy activity, lowering his scope for readings.  "It seems to be a standard gravimetric displacement field, but highly focused and biologically generated.  Not only that, it doesn't appear to use any known energy type.  Not to mention the neural input allows for much finer directed control than anything technology can do, save through having the controls being built into a robot's brain..."

As Twilight stepped back behind Ratchet, flustered by the close attention to her and her abilities, Clank took control of the conversation.  "It appears you cannot assist us after all.  We will have to look for leads elsewhere.  Our apologies for wasting your time."

Big Al waved his hand dismissively.  "Don't worry about it!" he replied easily.  "And I'd hardly call meeting my scientific idol and witnessing a completely undefined field of science in action a waste of time.  It's not like I have any customers today."  He then took a closer look at Clank.  "Say, do you run on standard XP-18 sisterboards?"

"Version 7.66," Clank added.

"Back at ya," Big Al replied eagerly.  "I may be able to help you out after all.  How does a Helipack upgrade sound?"

"Upgrade?" Twilight asked eagerly, zipping onto the counter.

"Natch.  Since he's a seven-six-six, I could have the little guy flying in no time," Big Al explained.

"Oh, please show me!" Twilight begged.  "Ever since the cancellation of the RYNO project, I've been eager to learn anything I could about robotics, but because of that project I'm not allowed to get a roboticists license."

Smiling, Big Al turned to Clank, eager to impress Twilight.  "Okay, this won't hurt a bit."  Reaching forward, he grabbed Clank.

"Hey, wait!" Clank objected, but it was too late.  Before he had a chance to say another word, Big Al had gotten to work on the Helipack upgrade, an entranced filly watching eagerly over his shoulder and taking notes.  Before long the work was finished.

"There we go," Big Al said as he set Clank down on the counter, the helicopter parts of the upgrade springing from his head and arms.  "I also added some extra stabilizers and power to the boost jump function so he can carry both of you up a good height."

"Ratchet," Clank asked, "am I cool now?"

Ratchet chuckled.  "Yeah.  You da man, Clank."

Twilight was clapping eagerly at the notion of riding along, seeing there was even a grip brace for her on Clank's shoulders that would keep her under the head propeller...as long as she ducked.  "Thanks so much for showing me that!" she said happily, hopping up to give Big Al a light peck on the cheek.

Big Al sat back with a huge goofy grin on his face, rubbing his cheek.  "You're welcome," he said happily.

Out behind Al's shop, the three travelers got to test out the new Helipack to ascend some stacks of boxes.  Using the grips installed at the top and bottom of Clank's chassis, Twilight was able to ride up with him and Ratchet during the Boost Jump.  Twilight's running glide, however, proved to be able to give her more range and air than the Spring Jump gave Ratchet and Clank...once again, especially if she got a throwing start from Ratchet.  However, while the Glide function of the Helipack had a steeper angle of descent than Twilight's spread wings, it could get more distance overall as Twilight could only hold her wings at extension for so long before she had to drop.

After continuing to trek through the city with their new maneuverability, they eventually reached a sky train.  Hopping on, Twilight gasped as it began to pull out of the station.  "Wow!" she cried excitedly, eagerly glancing over the side.  "How is it moving without rails?  I haven't gotten that far in my studies yet!"

"We can read about it when we get home," Ratchet pointed out.  "For now, we should probably go investigate that infobot up by the engine."

"Right!" Twilight agreed, turning back to the matter at hand.

When they reached the front of the train - and coincidentally, the next station - the infobot attempted to fly off.  However, Twilight stopped it in its tracks by snagging it in a telekinetic bubble.  Once it stopped trying to escape, she drew it to Ratchet, and together the three of them watched it's message.  It contained a recording of a video conference between Chairman Drek and a robot Lieutenant, preparing planet Eudora for 'harvesting'.

"Drek is destroying another planet," Clank pointed out as he miniaturized the infobot for storage.

"Yeah," Ratchet countered, "but if that's the kind of help he's getting, I don't think we have anything to worry about."

"Do not underestimate Chairman Drek," Clank began.

"I think what Daddy means," Twilight spoke up, "is that, given what we saw of the progress, there isn't any immediate urgency for a direct confrontation with Drek's forces there."  She then pulled out the infobot she received from the Plumber back on Novalis.  "Besides, there are two people here stranded that need help, and we can do that quick, and that might get us some new equipment, or hints on where to go to find Qwark."  She then played the infobot, containing - amongst other things - coordinates for planet Aridia.

"Did you see that guy on the left?" Ratchet pointed out excitedly.  "That was Skid McMarx."

"The hoverboard champ?" Twilight asked in surprise.  "I'd heard about him.  If we save him, do you think we can get an autograph?"

"I suppose," Ratchet admitted.  "Don't see why you'd want one."

"However, Twilight is correct that he - or his agent - may have resources that can assist us in finding Captain Qwark."

Ratchet shrugged.  "Okay, okay...guess we're off to Planet Aridia next."  He smiled as he shook his head over Twilight's excitement.