//------------------------------//
// Tools: Rocks and Bots 
// Story: The Sparkle in his Eye 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

	As the group came in for a landing at the outer edge of the Asteroid Ring, they found a curiously configured pod.  "This must be the transport to the station," Ratchet pointed out.  "But how do we get the Launch Code?"

"We oughta warn ya that the owner o' that station ain't accustomed to visitors," Blue Shift called out as he approached, Red Shift flapping around him.

"Hey!" Twilight called happily, waving.  "What are you doing here?"

"Well, little lady, it just so happens that this place is a natural breeding ground for Leviathans," Blue Shift explained, gesturing to the massive creatures floating around the various larger asteroids.  "And some space pirates have commissioned me to get them some Souls...but I ain't that much of a fighter."  He smiled winsomely.  "But I do happen to have the launch codes for this here pod..."

"Which you'll trade for the Leviathan Souls you need for your commission?" Ratchet interpreted.

"Why that does seem like a fair trade, don't it?" Blue Shift drawled.

"Before we do..." Twilight began.  Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the holoplan.  "You wouldn't happen to have the parts to build this, would you?"

Blue Shift whistled, his expression a mixture of awe and terror.  "Miss...this here's the RYNO IV.  It's the most dangerous weapon ever produced..."

"I know," Twilight replied.  "That's my signature on the blueprint."

Blue Shift shivered as he saw that.  "Well, I do have the parts based on what this blueprint says.  If anyone can be trusted with this weapon, it's the one who made it in the first place."  Ducking back into his ship, he began piecing some things together.  "Here ya go, little lady," he stated nervously, presenting the weapon.  "The RYNO IV..."

Twilight smiled as she looked it over.  "Say...you wouldn't happen to have an etheric collector, energy converter, and a solar panel on you, would you?"

"Well, sure," Blue Shift replied.  "The first two are the major components used ta process Leviathan Souls.  Got a couple spares, and a bunch of solar panels.  They don't get used much anymore, but they make good salvage."

"Could I have one of each, please?" Twilight asked eagerly.

Blue Shift shrugged.  "Well, how about I trade ya them for a Leviathan Soul?"

Curious as to what Twilight planned, Ratchet handed over one of the Souls they'd collected.

"Pleasure doin' business," Blue Shift replied, handing over components.

Grinning widely, Twilight cobbled the components together, attaching a bulbous unit to the back of the RYNO IV.  "There we go!  Now to test it."  Turning, she sighted on a nearby Leviathan and held the trigger down.  The RYNO IV whirred to life before letting loose with its barrage.

The Leviathan did not last long under the onslaught.  As it burst apart, Twilight threw a switch on the component she'd added to the weapon.  The Raritanium and Soul the Leviathan left behind was drawn to her to be collected.  The weapon continued to beep for a time, then dinged.  "Yes!" Twilight crowed, throwing the switch back.

"So...what's that doohicky do?" Blue Shift asked.

"An ammo regenerator," Twilight replied.  "Since the RYNO IV uses energy based projectiles, the etheric collector, solar panel, and energy converter can change any ambient energy in the environment - including solar - into ammunition!  As long as I hold still while it recharges, it now has infinite ammo!"  Noticing the judgmental stares from Ratchet and Clank, she rolled her eyes.  "I'm not handing this design over to Gadgetron!  As far as I'm concerned, the only one to ever wield one of these babies is me!"

"AWK!  God help us all!"





Once Twilight and Ratchet had fully explored the asteroid ring, they traded some of the gathered souls for the launch code for the pod.  "Now be careful up there," he warned worriedly.  "Last I heard, the place is run by a pair of old war bots.  Don't wanna cross 'em if ya can help it."

"We'll be careful!" Twilight promised as they launched.

The transport pod carried them to the station's maintenance grid on a gravity cube, an obstacle course of laser fields and moving platforms, as well as curved platforms where gravity rotated 90 degrees.  "We should be able to find a way to enter the station from here," Clank suggested.

After traversing the grid for a time, the trio reached the maintenance elevator, and were able to use it to enter the station.  Just inside the station, the group was able to witness a massive natural preserve within a sealed dome.  "Wow!" Ratchet gasped out.  "Look at that terrarium!"

"It appears that whoever constructed this station wanted an oasis as well as a fortress," Clank commented.

Taking a closer look at how the terrarium connected to the rest of the station, Twilight let out a gasp.  "No...they wanted a sanctuary!"

"Eh?" Ratchet asked, confused.

"This place isn't about protecting something!" Twilight intuited.  "It's about protecting someone.  Someone precious.  The terrarium is there for them to live in, while the station itself is to keep them safe and hidden."

Staring out at what Twilight had noticed, Ratchet nodded.  "...I see what you mean," he murmured.  "This place was built by someone with a lot of enemies...as a place to keep their child safe, I'll bet."

"A place you might have built for Twilight, had you the resources and need," Clank added.

Nodding, Twilight put the RYNO IV away.

As they began to make their way into the station, a crotchety voice blared out over the loudspeaker.  "Attention intruders!  This is Lieutenant Commander Zephyr of the Apogee Space Station!  Lay down yer weapons, and prepare for a whuppin!"

The robots that appeared to attack them, however, were...somewhat disappointing.  Ratchet and Twilight were able to take them out with just their Omniwrenches.  Continuing onward, another message played from Zephyr.

"This is your final warning!  Lay down your weapons so you can receive your aforementioned whuppin!"

After another wave of pathetic security bots, another robotic voice blared over the speakers.  "Intruder alert!  Intruder alert!  Intruder!  Am I doing that right?"

"Stay in character ye darn fool!" Zephyr countered.

"Alright!" the other replied.  "Intruder Alert!  Intruder Alert!"

The trio continued their way into the station, listening to the two robots - identifying themselves as Cronk and Zephyr - proclaiming how they were sending more and more advanced robots after them...although the robots sent continued to be the same quality of opponents, merely steadily increasing in numbers.

At one point, the Zoni showed up to give Clank another upgrade.  In this case, a Geo-laser which could be used to locate and drill through weak points in geological structures.  Before Clank actually made use of it, however, Twilight managed to retune her communicator to access the station's channels.  "When was the last time you two updated this places defenses?" she demanded.(1)

"Huh?" the pair of robotic voices said in shock.  "Miss Apogee?"

The sealed door popped open, and two ancient war bots - one tall with a faded blue and white paint job, the other hunched over with a faded red and white paint job - came rushing out, tripping and falling down the ladder.

Twilight walked up to them, looking over them in concern.  "Are you two alright?" she asked worriedly.

"Sure thing Miss Apogee!" the taller one, whose voice was recognizable from the comms as Cronk stated.  He blinked as he caught sight of Twilight.  "Umm...when did you turn into a pony?"

Twilight blinked in confusion.  "Umm...I've always been a pony?" she offered in confusion.

"That's odd," the other bot stated, its voice recognizable as Zephyr.  "I could have sworn yesterday you were a Markazian yesterday."

"Markazian?" Twilight asked in confusion.

At that moment, a Markazian female - a mostly humanoid race with sharply pointed ears and whip-like forked tails - floated in on her jetpack.  She had black hair and green eyes, and was wearing a green, brown, and black outfit.  "What do you two think you're doing out of the control center?" she demanded of the two robots, her tone somewhere between angry and concerned.  As she turned side on to Twilight and Ratchet, Twilight noticed from her profile that she was relatively young, and definitely slim.

She's probably about Daddy's age, she thought to herself...only for her eyes to light up in excitement.  It was only when everyone was staring at the woman that Twilight realized something else as well.

"If this were Tachyon or...or the pirates again..." the woman continued before her voice trailed off, noticing no one was really paying attention to her words.  Turning, she caught sight of Ratchet, Clank, and Twilight.  "...what?"

"Twilight?" Ratchet and Clank asked together in confusion, glancing between Twilight and the Markazian.

"Yeah Dad, Mom, I know..." Twilight replied.  Her voice and this woman's were uncannily similar.  The only real difference was that Twilight's voice sounded relatively younger.

The woman glanced between Twilight, Ratchet, and Clank.  "Dad?  Mom?"

"Adopted," the trio chorused together.

The young woman chuckled.  "Unusual family...not that I can say otherwise."  She glanced fondly over at the two warbots.  "Anyway, I'm Talwyn.  Talwyn Apogee.  And these two rust-for-brains bots are Cronk and Zephyr."

The two robots attempted to strike dramatic poses as their names were given, but their age showed through as each lost the outside arm relative to the pose.  Talwyn rolled her eyes and giggled...only to pause as she heard an identical giggle coming from Twilight.

The pair stared at each other for a time.  "Weird," they murmured simultaneously.  Both went wide eyed as they realized what happened.  "Hey..."  They once again spoke simultaneously.  "Hey!  Stop that!"  Both started glaring at each other as they continued to speak in perfect synchronicity.  "Stop that!  Stop copying me!  ME?  I'm not copying you, you're copying me!"

Ratchet glanced back and forth between them, struggling to figure out how two being of completely different species could sound so alike.  Eventually, he turned to Clank.  "Any ideas?" he asked, hoping for an explanation.

Unfortunately, Clank could only shrug.  "I have...nothing," he admitted finally.

"I have popcorn!" Zephyr offered helpfully.

Shrugging, Ratchet accepted the offered snack as the four sat back to watch the unusual argument between Talwyn and Twilight.









(1) The following scene was heavily inspired by this comment.  Thanks, The_Whovian16.