//------------------------------// // R/C: Quartu; Arena // Story: Ratchet and Clank: The Starlight of Solana // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// The journey to Quartu provided Starlight and Sunset, who were taking the cargo ship to the planet, with more than enough time to go over the various pages of spells that Sunset had been painstakingly gathered ever since she learned that she could use magic as well. She had made sure to copy the entirety of the Dragon Language and the various spells that she could use if she studied the material, which was why it was at the beginning of what she was starting to call her grimoire, or her book of spells. She had no idea why the Dragon Language and its associated spells interested her so much, but she decided that she would figure out the reasoning behind her interest once she and her siblings had defeated Chairman Drek. Starlight, on the other hand, was cross referencing many of the spells and abilities that her sister had found, discovering that nearly all of them had come from Old Earth. She was amazed by the amount of content her sister was able to find, especially when she turned to a certain page that displayed the same ability Sunset had used on Gaspar. The person who used the ability had been called 'Whitebeard' by everyone across the world, which was usually followed by people saying that he was 'the strongest man in the world'. She was amazed that the man, a giant really, could cause so much damage to one island in his old age, immediately making her wonder what sort of damage Sunset could do if her own powers mimicked this Whitebeard's own. She also spent time flipping through the various stories that Sunset had made notes to visit later on, to which she discovered some interesting abilities that her sister might want to attempt later on and created her own notes to go along with what they already had. She found several spells that caught her eye, magical missiles and devastating attacks that were developed by gathering one's own energy into a certain point, before she came across one ability that revolved around gathering energy into a blade for a few seconds before releasing it. "Getsuga Tenshou," Starlight commented, reading the name of the ability as she played a short video regarding the attack, to which she marveled at the sheer amount of energy the user put into each swing, "Yeah, we have so got to see if this move is even possible." "What are you looking at?" Sunset asked, putting down her Pilot's Helmet, now dent free and fully functional again, before moving to where her sister was sitting, "That's... definitely something I've never seen before." "Do you think that either of us can pull something like that off?" Starlight asked, curious as to whether either of them had the ability to use such a powerful move on their own. "We won't know until we reach Quartu," Sunset replied, smiling as she briefly browsed everything else her sister had found so far, "Drek is going to be in a world of hurt if we can use even a quarter of these abilities... but that doesn't mean we should stop searching. Keep looking for more powers that we might be able to use... and remember to buckle up the moment she arrive at our destination." Starlight grinned as Sunset walked back to her station so she could resume her own studies, knowing that with every spell each of them learned the more powerful they became. Starlight knew that she had a head start over her sister, but judging by how quickly Sunset was moving through the basics she had determined that, in some former life before this one, Sunset had to have been some sort of magic user and had somehow retained a piece of her knowledge regarding magic. She was fairly confident that her sister had used magic in a previous life and that her former abilities might be surfacing once more, though Sunset seemed convinced that this was all new to her. Starlight let out a light chuckle, because she knew that either way Chairman Drek was screwed six ways from Sunday now that there were two skilled magic users fighting against him. ------------------------------------------- When Ratchet and Clank landed on Quartu they powered down the ship and remained in their seats, letting the readings that Clank was working on finish while they waited for Starlight and Sunset to catch up. Ratchet had believed that he had flown to the planet at the same speed as the cargo ship, but considering that his sisters were an hour behind him he knew that he had to adjust to the speed of the new ship. Still, it gave him and Clank time to scan the area around the landing pad and see if there was anything of interest that they could use in their quest to stop Drek, without going anywhere near the mechs or the factory. "Is there anything we can do besides wait for them to arrive?" Ratchet asked, looking outside and spotting a robot patrolling in front of the factory, to which he wondered how to get inside without raising the alarm. "We could always take a swim through the nearby coolant system," Clank commented, causing Ratchet to look at him for a moment, "My readings indicate that there is something inside that plant that you may find interesting... and it would allow you to eat into the time you have to wait before your sisters arrive." Ratchet looked at Clank for a moment, wondering if he was actually being serious or if he was joking, before sighing to himself and opening the ship's hatch. He leapt out of the ship and looked around the immediate area, spotting several crates that he could loot for their bolts and another Gadgetron vendor that he could restock his ammo at. He noticed the area that would take him to the factory, and the additional path that lead to what he assumed was the area that the battle mechs were being built at, before turning his attention to the coolant system that Clank had pointed out. He had no idea what item or gadget Clank had found in his readings, but it gave him something to look for while he waited for Sunset and Starlight to arrive. "Might as well see what we find inside that building," Ratchet said, allowing Clank to reattaching himself to his back before closing the ship's hatch. He climbed the piping that would allow him to reach the opening that would take him inside the building, though when he reached the top and looking into the water he found three rings resting around in a circle. He also spotted what appeared to be a door of some kind, to which he assumed the three rings, when activated, would open the door and allow them to move on. He leapt into the water and submerged himself, though as he sank under the water his helmet provided the oxygen that part of it was designed to give. He also noted that Clank had some sort of modification added to his body, one he was sure that hadn't been there before, but instead of asking about it he decided to wait until they were at the end of the building. Ratchet used Clank's new underwater pack to swim through the three rings, opening the door and allowing them to move deeper into the coolant system. The small corridor that was opened had two spider bots walking on separate walls, a beam emitting from their backs and touching the wall opposite of them. Ratchet waited for a few seconds, judging how fast the robots moved in the water, before spotting a gap between the two of them and shooting forward, using the new pack to get through the beams before they could touch him. When he leapt out of the water he found another tank that had a button in the middle of the platform, though there was electricity moving through the water. He knew that if the electricity touched him while he was in the water that it would cut him down and fry Clank before they even knew what was happening. "I cannot believe that we're doing this," Ratchet commented, walking to the button and pressing it, turning off the electricity and allowing him to jump into the water around him. He swam into the open passage that rested behind the platform, dodging the three spider bots that happened to be in his way, before finding a roundabout that had three more rings. He made sure to swim through the rings and activate whatever door was in front of him, because he had no idea how long the electricity would be off and didn't want to be in the water when it activated again. The next corridor had four more spider bots moving about, giving Ratchet some difficulty before he came to an open chamber that had more of the little robots moving everywhere. It took some work to move around the spider bots, and avoid their beams, but in the end he managed to cross the chamber and enter the next tunnel, where he had to dodge even more of the little robots. Once he reached the end of that tunnel he found a room with more of the rings, to which he immediately swam through them so that the door would be open when he came to it. As the door opened he spotted what he assumed was the end of the coolant system, so he swam straight up and leapt out of the water, landing on the platform with seconds to spare as the electricity came on as he touched the floor. "I can't believe that we just did that," Ratchet huffed, deactivating the O2 Mask as he looked at Clank, indicating to the new pack he had equipped, "When did you get that installed?" "The Hydropack?" Clank replied, not really sure where the new pack had come from either, "I'm... not sure. It just appeared when we went underwater the first time." "We'll discuss this later," Ratchet said, picking up the item that Clank had seen on his readings, which appeared to be some sort of attachment that connected to his belt, "I wonder what this thing is." "That is a Bolt Grabber," Clank answered, studying the device before Ratchet attached it to his belt, "It increases the range of which you can pick up bolts." "Sounds useful," Ratchet commented, looting the crates that rested in the room they were standing in, before attaching Clank to his back and finding that they were near the ship. He leapt out of the opening he was standing in and flew down to where his ship was resting, though as he started to wipe off the remainder of the water that was stuck to his fur he spotted his sister's ship preparing to land. He watched as the cargo door opened and Starlight leapt out of the ship, igniting her magical steps as she descended towards the robot that patrolled the outside of the factory. The robot, and the robotic mutts that followed him, barely had time to register what was happening when Starlight collided with them, her weapons blowing them to pieces and clearing the area for the cargo ship to land. Ratchet smiled and threw his towel back in the ship, before crossing the pathway that he would have taken when his sisters arrived and approached the ship. His smile remained on his face when he spotted Sunset walking out of the ship, attaching her sword to her belt before locking the cargo door behind her. "Ready to deal Chairman Drek another blow?" Ratchet asked, knowing that Starlight was excited for the fight that was coming, though he was wondering if Sunset had spent enough time resting. "Yes, that I am," Sunset replied, though a light amber aura wrapped around her left hand for a moment, before dissipating completely seconds later, "Let's go blow those mechs to pieces." The three of them encountered a pair of robots that were the same ones that Ratchet and Starlight had fought back on the previous planet, as if Drek was merely copying what he had found on other worlds to protect his secrets. A bolt of lightning surged past Ratchet and Starlight, colliding with one of the robots and blowing it to pieces in seconds before the remainder of the charge curved around and tore the second one apart. At first Ratchet thought that Sunset had bought the Tesla Claw and immediately turned it on their enemies, but upon looking behind him he noticed that the lightning had come from her hand and not an actual weapon. This time Ratchet didn't say anything about her usage of magic, because he was starting to figure out that Sunset was a natural born magic user like Starlight, though the only difference was that Sunset had started much later than her sister. They engaged their swingshots and crossed the gap, landing on the platform that would no doubt take them to the person that had created the battle mechs. On their immediate right they found a group of robotic mutts, to which Ratchet and Starlight's Blasters took them out in a matter of seconds and allowed them to move forward. The moment the robotic mutts had been taken care of two more of the electric robots popped out of their hiding place and started to fire at them, though as Starlight threw up a shield to block their attacks Ratchet fired two Devastator missiles and took them out. They moved forward and found another group of robotic mutts waiting for them, but this time Ratchet and Starlight moved back as Sunset clapped her hands together, drawing in the air around her. Once all of the mutts had lined up Sunset released the spell she had been forming, blowing out a gust of wind that tossed all of the mutts backwards, giving her siblings time to shoot them down with their Blasters. They then round a corner and found six of the electric robots waiting for them, though as their enemies primed their weapons Ratchet and Starlight fell back to another plan as a shield sprung up in front of them. Ratchet grinned as he pulled out his Visibomb Gun, to which he loosed a missile that he steered right into the middle of their enemies and blew them all up. As they drew closer to the building on the opposite side of where they landed their ship they encountered another group of robotic mutts, which were destroyed seconds later thanks to the Blasters. Though as Ratchet and Starlight moved into the building, and started clearing out the remaining robotic mutts they found, Sunset stood in front of what she assumed was a locked door. She was still a novice when it came to magic, but she was feeling something powerful behind the locked door, though as she pulled out her tablet to take a picture of the door she noticed how the lock looked; it appeared that there was an eight sided shaped key that would open it... something that they didn't have at the moment. "We'll be back for whatever is in there," Sunset told herself, putting her tablet away as she rejoined her siblings, just in time to meet with the scientist behind the creation of the battle mechs. "Hmm... was it pi over infinity or..." the scientist said to himself, as if he was completely unaware that people where standing behind him while he was staring at the device in front of him. "Do you need help fixing that?" Ratchet asked, causing the scientist to turn to them for a moment. "Actually, I'm trying to destroy it." the scientist replied, slamming his hand into his fist to illustrate his point, "I was contracted to re-engineer my enlarging machine to create huge, heavily armed, mechs. Had I known that Drek was behind this I never would have done it." "Is there anything we can do?" Clank asked, causing the scientist to think for a moment before responding to them. "Well," the scientist started, indicating to the machine while he spoke, "if you will volunteer to be enlarged, you may be able to stop those mechs long enough for me to sabotage this machine." Clank immediately thought that it was a ridiculous idea for him to be enlarged so he could fight the battle mechs himself, as he was fairly confident that either Starlight or Sunset could take them out without him. He then recalled how much destruction Sunset alone had caused when she had entered that feral state, though he dreaded to wonder if hand to hand combat might bring that creature out again. He cast a look at Ratchet for a moment, to get his input on the matter, but all he got from the lombax was a nod, to which he sighed and entered the machine. In a matter of seconds his body expanded, becoming bulky and packed pull of missiles that would allow him to take out the battle mechs, though he was surprised by how tall he was. Before he could say anything Starlight teleported herself and her siblings up onto his back, which told him that it was time to get underway and see to the destruction of the battle mechs. "Clank, I have only one comment," Ratchet said, staring down at the route they had taken and spotted more enemies filling their path, "CRUSH THEM ALL!" Clank rolled his eyes as he walked forward, his massive feet crushing whoever was unfortunate to be standing in his path while he used his massive fists to crush the barriers that were blocking his path. Ratchet, Starlight, and Sunset remained where they were standing, watching out for the battle mechs that were no doubt getting ready for their arrival. Starlight held the RYNO out as they drew closer to the arena, determined to use her best weapon against any mechs that would be standing behind Clank so they could clear the arena much faster. When Clank stepped into the arena the battle mechs entered moments later, rapidly descending into the area while he started punching at those that got close to him and his passengers. Ratchet, spotted choppers joining the fight, pulled out his Devastator and started firing missiles, taking out those that got too close so Clank didn't have to worry about them. Starlight trained her RYNO on the mechs that attacked from behind, using the massive payload to blast them back and, in some instances, completely wreck those that were unfortunate. Sunset, on the other hand, remained where she was standing, gathering magic into herself as she determined when battle mech she was going to strike down. The opportunity presented itself when she spotted one descending towards the arena, to which she moved her hand out and a mass of lightning appeared in the air, striking the robot in rapid succession until it exploded. Clank had to admit it, he was somewhat thankful that the three of them had been riding his back the entire time, because he had underestimated how much damage the battle mechs could take before they exploded and how much power each of them had packed. Once all of the mechs were down for the count, and he ensured their heads were smashed so the bodies didn't get back up, Clank left the arena and circled around to the machine that had enlarged him. Starlight put away the RYNO and teleported the three of them back to where the scientist was standing, allowing Clank to step back onto the machine and shrink down to his original state. The scientist thanked them for destroying the battle mechs, and giving him the opportunity to re-calibrate the machine to work for Clank's specific design, before handing them an Infobot. It revealed a commercial that showed off one of Gadgetron's latest inventions, another one of Starlight's rejected ideas that actually made it to production, that was called the Hologuise. It was a device that would allow the user to take on the form of a robot, one that appeared to be the same model that Drek used to guard his factory, to which Ratchet commented that with the device in hand they could finally catch up to Drek and put an end to this fight. Starlight and Sunset, on the other hand, had the feeling that Chairman Drek might be launching an attack on Gadgetron headquarters, seeing how there were some of his robots in the commercial. They wouldn't put it past the villain to take out the company that opposed his destruction of the entire galaxy, so once the Infobot had played its message the two of them were already heading back to the cargo ship. Ratchet didn't blame them for wanting to visit Kalebo III and make sure that their employer and fellow employees were safe from their enemy... though he wondered if they'd even find any of Drek's soldiers waiting for them at the headquarters for Gadgetron. Still, the three of them were determined to show Chairman Drek that he was wrong and that money couldn't buy him everything... not to mention that destroying the entire galaxy was wrong in the first place.