Time: Lumos
Ratchet smiled when Aphelion exited the warp system and entered the Korthos Sector, because it meant that they were getting one step closer to their destination and discovering where the Great Clock was located. Starlight, Searing, and Sunset were sitting in their respective seats, each doing something different with their tablets, but there was a reason that Angela was following with the Hyperion and Azimuth had chosen a different route. Ratchet was expecting some sort of ambush when they entered the sector, which Starlight agreed with considering who they were trying to beat at the moment, but they had prepared themselves ahead of time. Besides, with the combined magical power of Starlight and Searing they could potentially save themselves from having to deal with the ambush if their magic worked in space... though if it didn't they could either use Aphelion's weapons or wait until Angela caught up with them.
Their guess about an ambush proved to be correct as the moment they had crossed into the Korthos Sector, and passed a certain distance, some of the alarms started beeping.
""Warning." Aphelion declared, indicating that her scanners had picked up enemy ships, which caused the three ponies to stop what they were doing and started looking around the ship's exterior, "Hostile ships detected."
A few seconds later the communication screen shifted and revealed a trio of what Starlight could only describe as Valkyries, though they reminded her of their old friend Helga, despite the armor they were wearing.
"Well well well!" the first lady, who happened to be wearing golden armor, greeted warmly, though the group already knew that it was a front to make them lower their guard, "What do we have here?"
"Looks like this Lombax is lost!" the second lady, who was garbed in blue colored armor, stated a few seconds later, though her voice happened to be just as sweet as the first.
"What do you say, girls?" the third lady, wearing green colored armor, said in a more masculine voice, which only made the group raise their eyebrows when they heard her voice, "Should we help him find his way?"
It was at this point that Azimuth exited the warp system, in a different area than where Aphelion had entered the system, and started to move towards Lumos, to which two of the ships in front of them peeled off to deal with him. The third ship, belonging to the Valkyrie called 'Libra' by her sisters, remained behind to deal with Aphelion, though they were more than ready to deal with their new enemy. Libra opened fire on them as she moved around the entire area around them, to which Aphelion retaliated with her own weapons as Ratchet maneuvered them out of harms way. Starlight accessed the missiles and loosed some of them at the back of Libra's ship, dealing some damage to her target, but after a few seconds Libra activated a shield and called in reinforcements.
This went on for a few minutes, where they had to deal with the reinforcements and then get back to shooting at Libra, before she ended up repeating the same movements in an attempt to beat them. No one was satisfied when they eventually hit one of the fuel lines and caused the entirety of Libra's ship to detonate, taking out the Valkyrie in a flash of light. When the smoke cleared the reinforcement ships gathered the barrier they had set up to stop Aphelion from going any further and departed from the area, no doubt heading to where the other two Valkyries had gone off to so they could report what happened.
A minute later the Hyperion exited the warp system and the two ships made their way towards Lumos, though as they did so Angela had to ask about the floating ship pieces and discovered what had happened, to which she chuckled as they made their way towards their next destination. Angela informed them that Azimuth had mentioned that he suspected that the Obsidian Eye was located inside the Odin Caves in the Krell Canyon, which seemed to be a random guess to Ratchet and the others, but it was better than nothing. Starlight reminded them that at some point they were going to have to see what Qwark wanted from them, because they had received a message from him some time ago and they had yet to visit the arena he was apparently studying at the moment.
After a few more minutes they neared Planet Lumos, to which Angela hoped in her own ship and followed Aphelion down to the location of the Odin Caves, where they intended on meeting up with Azimuth and beginning the search for the Obsidian Eye.
Aphelion and Angela were able to find a decent spot to land in the area that Alister had landed in, allowing the entire group to climb out of their ships and meet up with the General, who seemed to be making sure that the coast was clear.
"Perfect timing!" Azimuth stated, a grin appearing on his face as he turned to face them, though his expression told them that he was either pleased to see them or had found something, "I've triangulated the Obsidian Eye's location to somewhere in these caves, though we'll have to search for it the old fashioned way. Come on, let's get the search underway."
The group walked across the rails that were in front of them, which were sturdy enough for all of them, before Ratchet and Starlight stopped at the weapon vendor and purchased the Plasma Striker that was in stock, which reminded them of all the rifle weapons they had used in the past. The only difference was that this weapon could actually seek out the weak points that their targets had to maximize the damage they could cause, which would allow them to end fights a lot faster. After they picked up the newest weapon, and Ratchet praised Starlight's ability to come up with weapons like these, they caught up with Azimuth, who was standing near a ledge and was gazing down at a bolt crank that would restore the walkway they needed to cross.
"This will be easy to overcome," Starlight said, though that was followed by her engaged her magic and summoning some magical platforms, to which she jumped from one to another until she was at the bottom.
Starlight looked around the area, just to be sure that there weren't any enemies in the area, before sticking the end of her staff in the bolt crank and moving it until the platform was in position, to which she levitated herself back up to the others and they resumed their mission to find the Obsidian Eye... until Azimuth spotted something that made him call for them to stop.
"Hold up," Azimuth said, to which he gestured towards a large black nest, which had a swarm of small creatures with one eye and a large mouth swarm out of the nest and retreat back into it, "See that nest over there? Tetramites. Stay close and, whatever happens, don't let them touch you."
"What happens if they touch you?" Angela asked, though at the same time she extended the blade of her lightsaber, knowing that the beam could help them at this point.
"Let's just say they can digest anything," Azimuth explained, though his tone indicated that he had seen the creatures eat things in the past and didn't want them anywhere near the group, "Just remember that they hate water, so if we can get to the other side of that creek we'll be fine."
Starlight studied the area in front of them as she glanced at the creatures that were waiting for them to make a move, so they could leave their nest and try to devour all of them in the blink of an eye, before an interesting idea came to mind. She accessed her magic again and created a walkway that would allow the group to walk above the Tertamites, meaning that they wouldn't have to worry about them and could easily make their way to the end of the area that the nest was in. Azimuth was surprised by the skill that Starlight was showing, in being able to use her magic in such a manner, but Ratchet and Angela laughed as they moved forward, promising the General that they would show him what she was truly capable of one day.
With Starlight's magic they were able to completely clear the Tertamites until they came to an area that was safe for them to stop using her magical walkway, to which they stepped off of it as Sunset flew down next to them... though that was before they all were being levitated down into an area that Azimuth insisted that they needed to investigate. When they landed in an area that was illuminated by Azimuth's flares, however, they learned that the General knew that they would have questions regarding the disappearance of the Lombax race, thanks to the Dimensionator, and why he wasn't with them... though he had a pained look on his face as he stared at them.
"I... I made a mistake," Azimuth explained, to which he sat down against the rock wall that was behind him, "After the Great War, Polaris was a dangerous place. Even with the Cragmites gone, I knew steps needed to be taken to protect the galaxy."
"I take it not everyone agreed at the time?" Angela asked, remembering how hard it was to create the Jedi Order all those years ago, until someone argued that someone worse than Nefarious could come knocking and they needed all the defense they could get.
"No," Azimuth confirmed, shaking his head for a moment, which meant that he was trying to get rid of the memories that were coming back to him, "Both of your parents, despite the fields they worked in, didn't like the idea of developing weapons technology further. I... had quite a few heated debates with Kaden over that, though it make things even harder when an opportunity came knocking on our door."
"Opportunity?" Starlight inquired, though she had the feeling that she knew exactly who Azimuth was going to mention, to which she noticed that Ratchet and Angela had the same idea in their heads.
"One day, we were approached by an inventor with incredible ideas," Azimuth explained, though his eyes indicated that he hated what came next, "Technology light years beyond of what we were using! The inventor was someone... someone Kaden warned me not to trust..."
"Percival Tachyon." Starlight, Angela, and Ratchet said at the same time, causing Azimuth to raise an eyebrow at them for a moment, to which Starlight spoke up, "What? He had to get the technology he used to conquer the Polaris Galaxy from somewhere... you telling us this only helped connect the dots."
"Yes... and he got the technology from me." Azimuth said, hanging his head downwards for a moment, as if his sorrow was too much for him to bare at the moment, "I granted him full access to our technology, because I thought that his weapons could be used to help keep the entire galaxy safe... but instead he helped himself to the whole galaxy. We were his first targets. Most of us took refuge in the Court, but Kaden refused and said there was something he needed to take care of. I know that he went back to your mother, but from what I was able to tell from the radars you had already been sent off to a safe place... one where Tachyon would never be able to find you unless he really looked hard enough."
"Just me? Alone?" Ratchet asked, remembering the size of the pod he and his sisters had been found in, which only lead to his confusion when Azimuth nodded, "Then where did my mother and father find Starlight and Sunset? We were all in the same pod when we landed on Velden all those years ago."
"I don't have an answer for that one," Azimuth said, though at the same time he looked up at Ratchet as he began to finish his story, "For my crimes, in giving Tachyon the weapons necessary to take over the whole galaxy, I was forbidden from joining the Lombaxes when they left... and so I have lived in exile ever since. With the Great Clock we can fix the greatest tragedy that ever happened to the universe... and then we can put your family back together."
Before anyone could say anything, or tell Azimuth that Ratchet's family was Angela, Starlight, and Sunset, the elderly Lombax slammed the head of his wrench into the wall behind him and caused it to blow apart... to which they discovered that the Vullard settlement that rested outside the Odin Caves was under attack.
"Outsiders! Please, you must help us!" one of the Vullards cried out, running up to the group as they exited the cave system they were in, before pointing at the ships that were flying over the settlement, "The Agorians have launched a full-scale assault on our settlement, and our kind have locked themselves in their homes! We know you have come in search of the Obsidian Eye, which resides in our temple, so if you save us from the Agorians I'll show you where its located."
The moment the words left the Vullard's mouth another ship came by and blew out the bridge that was near them, though that really didn't matter in the long run considering that they had Starlight's magic on hand. Ratchet and Azimuth used their hoverboots to jump over the ruined bridge, while Starlight grabbed herself, Searing, and Angela before following after them, where they left Sunset to follow in the air. Azimuth called out to them and indicated that the people they needed to take out where the Agorian Riders, which were the commanders that were riding the large beasts that had two tusks, though if they took them all out they might have a chance at forcing their new foes back. Ratchet and Azimuth attacked the Rider that was in front of them, while the rest of their group spread out and targeted the other four Riders that happened to be in the area.
As the two Lombaxes started attacking the Rider in front of them Ratchet heard several explosions in the area, though based on the noise he was hearing he could tell that some of them were magical explosions, indicating that Starlight and Searing had engaged their targets. He already knew that those two would take down their opponents within a few minutes, because their magic seemed to be stronger than anything he had seen, though he suspected that Sunset would be finished with her target shortly after the two unicorns. As Azimuth commanded the attention of the Rider in front of them, and directed it around the area around them, Ratchet pulled back and whipped out the new weapon he had picked up... to which he used the sniper weapon to put several holes in his target and his mount.
The moment all the Riders had been taken care of the Agorians called in a pair of Hydra Tanks, which were apparently tanks that had three heads that fired electric blasts at their targets. Ratchet would have been concerned about their chances, had Angela not charged at the one closest to her and sliced into an area that would have activated the tank's defense system, allowing everyone else to open fire and dismantle the tank in front of them. Searing, who had gone off to deal with the remaining tank, returned to them a few seconds after they took out their Hydra Tank, though that was followed by an explosion detonating behind her... and the broken heads of her target landing behind her.
"You know, back when we had our first adventure I used to think having magic was cheating," Ratchet commented, causing Starlight to glare at her brother while Searing walked up to them, "but now I'm actually glad that you guys can decide when to detonate a powerful magical charge to obliterate whatever your targeting."
"Talons are inbound commander." a voice called out over the communicators, indicating that the Agorians didn't care who overheard them, "Enter attack formation and destroy the rebels!"
"Oh this is going to be fun," Sunset said, to which she tapped on the middle of her suit for a moment, where her tablet glowed as she apparently changed some settings on it, "I didn't get to use this when we went to war with Fear's forces, but its better late than never."
Starlight watched as the armor seemed to shift for a moment as the color turned dark purple, while at the same time the pieces that were covering her hooves opened just a bit and revealed some wicked looking metallic claws that seemed to spark with electricity every now and then. A protective barrier appeared on the back of Sunset's wings as the wingblades sharpened on the edge, where the electricity crossed over them as well, while the armor itself seemed to harden into a metal that was harder than what she was currently wearing. A visor came out of her helmet and formed around her head, giving her some addition protection while giving her a more menacing look than what her original armor gave her.
"Okay then," Sunset said, a smile appearing on her face as she flared her wings, "Let's get this show on the road!"
Before anyone could stop her, and tell her that it was dangerous for her to challenge the Agorian flyers alone, she burst into the air and slammed into the bottom of one of the ships, to which her new claws tore through the metal with ease, though the electricity caused an explosion a few seconds after she flew to another target. Starlight then let out a sigh as Searing levitated herself into the air and targeted some of the ships that were close to them, using her magic to tear her targets apart before they could hurt the Vullards. Angela shrugged as Azimuth returned to his ship and took to the skies, where he opened fire on the Agorians that were away from where the two ponies were fighting... so he didn't get caught in the crossfire.
The rest of the group waited as the three fighters tore apart the invading Agorians, though once the invaders called for a retreat, and made good on what they said, the Vullard that had asked them for help called them over and told them that he was ready to live up to his side of the agreement. Azimuth, Searing, and Sunset rejoined the rest of the group outside the entrance of the 'temple', where they gained a device called an Omnisoaker that could help them inside the cave. Instead of worrying about the new gadget, and risking all of their lives in case it failed, Starlight summoned the bridge and moved them through the area, where she stopped when they needed to turn a bolt crank or when they actually needed the new gadget to progress further into the cave.
Their journey came to an end when they found the Zoni Temple that had been hidden inside the cave, though in the middle of the temple was the Obsidian Eye that they had been searching for... though after a few seconds of examining it Starlight determined that they were ready to use it, where the image of Clank appeared before them.
"Clank!" Ratchet said, causing his old friend to turn towards whatever screen he was standing near with a look of surprise on his face, but then it seemed to disappear when he noticed that everyone else was present.
"Ratchet! Starlight! Angela!" Clank replied, calling the names of the people he personally knew, while shamefully hiding the fact that he knew something about the other two ponies that were standing behind them, "How did you find me?"
"You didn't really think we'd leave you out here all alone, did you?" Ratchet asked, though at the same time Clank noticed that Sunset Glider's armor had changed, but decided to pay it no attention at the moment.
"No, I knew that you would have started searching for me the moment I disappeared." Clank stated, a smile appearing on his face as he looked at the other Lombax that was standing next to Ratchet, "Who is that next to you?"
"General Alister Azimuth," Ratchet replied, a smile appearing on his face, because despite what had happened in the past he knew that the elderly Lombax would appreciate the change to save the future of the entire universe, "He's been helping us look for you. Send us your coordinates and we'll come get you!"
That was when Starlight and the group heard that the signal was at thirty-three percent, due to the crack that was in the star that was used to power the Eye, but Starlight had a way around that. She had noticed that the lost Zoni that were floating around the previous sectors they had visited had followed the siren call of the vessel that she was carrying at the moment, which was why the number of Zoni in the container was constantly growing whenever she wasn't looking at it. A few seconds later she pulled out the container and used her magic to direct the power of the Zoni into the star, restoring it to its prime state within a few seconds, though the odd thing was that she noticed that she had used the power without even having to try... making her flash back to the one Zoni calling her a 'Time Breaker'.
Everyone raised their eyebrows for a moment when she restored the signal back to one hundred percent, though Ratchet and Clank chuckled for a few seconds before they got back to the topic at hand.
"Ratchet, Starlight, Angela... I need your help. Orvus is in trouble." Clank explained, knowing that Sigmund was likely listening to the conversation, "You must go to Zanifar and confront Dr. Nefarious."
"Zanifar?" Azimuth asked, sounding confused for a moment, before shaking his head, "Dr. Nefarious hasn't set foot on Zanifar since his station was completed two years ago."
"Then that is when you must confront him," Clank replied, knowing that there had to be some way to use the anomalies on the planet to their advantage, which meant that he needed to have a brief conversation with Sigmund later, "I should be able to manipulate them from here to temporarily connect the present to two years ago, allowing you to confront Nefarious then... and with luck, save my father from whatever has happened to him."
"Then we'll chart a course for Zanifar," Ratchet said, to which he and Azimuth left the temple to plan out their next move, leaving Angela and the others near the Eye for a few minutes.
"Angela, Starlight," Clank said, stopping the duo in their tracks for a few seconds, "there's something else I feel that I should tell you about; Hatred is hanging out at the Agorian Battleplex. I don't know what she's planning, but it cannot be good if you take the other creatures into consideration."
"We'll be sure to tell Ratchet about this," Angela replied, wondering how Clank could even know where the other aspect of Sunset was hiding, but she wasn't about to sneeze at the news, "thanks for giving us the heads up."
Clank nodded and the communication between them and the Great Clock stopped, but thanks to Starlight's quick thinking they could always come back and use the Eye again if they really needed it. Angela knew that Ratchet wasn't going to like the news that another aspect of Sunset had shown her face somewhere, but it was better than not knowing about her existence... though she couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was going to rear its ugly head when they reached the Agorian arena.
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Cool chapter. Guess we're getting close to the end, and another aspect rears her head. Will she go down as easily as the second time? Probably not.
Anyone else thinking Sunset likely has a Varia Suit knockoff stored somewhere?
8175283 Hatred is one of the more powerful aspects, considering that her power combined with Sunset and Searing is what allowed Sunset to ascend to godhood. The problem is that we have absolutely no idea what she's planning... though I have the feeling that she might have a trap in store for the gang.
8175283 I have the feeling that Hatred has something planned, as she did state, before she merged together with the others, that she was going to do something if they separated from each other. I guess we'll be figuring out what that something is in the near future.
8175291 Either Sunset's current armor is supposed to be like that suit of armor, or there's one hiding somewhere.
8175319
8175295 Well, she is apparently waiting for them at an arena, so I'm guessing we are going to have a more magic-based Ysmir fight. I wonder if Hatred will recognize Searing for what she really is. Although, I'm also wondering if Hatred was the one who destroyed the planet that was being ripped apart by the Dimensionator in the Polaris System?
Speaking of Hatred, didn't Sigmund say in the previous chapter that Hatred told the individuals at the Great Clock something about Purity? Wouldn't that mean that they had already captured Hatred at one point, and that she broke free from the Great Clock?
8175337 Either Hatred broke free from whatever cell had been designed to contain her, or she was willingly let go under the assumption that Sunset, Searing, and Starlight could beat her themselves.
8175319 Bet Samus would be jealous that Sunset's can fly.
8175355 I bet she would be. Though the next chapter is going to be a good one... we get to see Hatred again.
8175501 And her revenge plan. This should be interesting.
8175534 Considering how Hatred knew something about the other aspects, as we discovered thanks to Clank asking about it, I have the feeling that she'll take one look at them and declare war on them.
8175539 And at the moment, that's a war they can't win. And now that I think about it, this might just be the first time an enemy actually forced them to run away.
8175579 Hatred has to be the one that destroyed Fastoon, which means that she had to be the first aspect created. I think that Hatred might have taken most of Sunset's godly power in order to take over as the God of Destruction, but at the moment she's not at that level yet. Sunset and Searing won't be able to take out Hatred just yet, which is kind of sad, but its the way things have to go at the moment... I just hope that the dark aspect doesn't kill either of them.
8175593 Nah, I think they're fast enough. Though with the gut feeling that Starlight has...
8175618 Something bad is going to happen next chapter... of that you can be sure. However, I can see Hatred going after Sunset and Searing... she really didn't like either one of them before their fusion.
8175337 I think its safe to assume that Hatred was behind the destruction of Fastoon. Hatred and Purity seem to be the first two aspects created when Sunset shattered herself, which means that she likely took most of the power for herself and fled with it... meaning that Sunset and Searing are in trouble when they meet up with her next chapter.
On the topic of Hatred being in the Great Clock, however, I think someone decided that they couldn't contain Hatred's powers and decided to let her go, which wouldn't be the best idea in the world.
8175593 Considering what happened to the other aspects, Searing and Sunset would just turn into crystals. And if Hatred destroyed the crystals, I don't think she would be able to exist for much longer. I mean, the other aspects have not truly DIED, and I think the only reason the aspects can exist separately is because as they all balance out Shimmers full power, and if one of is completely destroyed, the others will cease to exist.
8175940 I have to agree with you on that. Besides, if memory serves I believe that Hatred said something about believing that she was the real Sunset or something similar. Hatred might be having Ratchet and the others do her dirty work so she can be the last aspect standing, save for Purity, so she can take over without anyone to oppose her.
Plasma Striker, upgradable to a Plasma Slayer. Plasma Stalker is the upgraded version of the Plasma Beast bomb glove.
We were all in the same pod when we landed on Velden.
Them.