Ratchet and Clank: The Starlight of Solana

by Blackdrag-rose

Commando: Aranos, Escape

Ratchet moaned as he gently picked himself off of whatever he happened to be laying on, though when he looked at it he found that it was a simple metal bed that could only fit one person. The last thing he remembered was that they had figured out that the whole Mr. Fizzwidget visiting the Silver City had been a carefully designed trap to get him and his sisters. He was honestly surprised that they had all walked right into it without seeing anything to tip them off, just as he was surprised that neither Starlight or Sunset could resist the electricity and make sure that they didn't end up in prison.

At some point his hearing must have returned, because he was aware of someone running something over what he assumed was an energy wall of some kind, though when he looked he found that Clank was the one doing it.

"Hey," Ratchet said, stretching his body after being out for who knew how long, "Thanks for the annoying alarm."

"Sorry," Clank replied, dropping the metal cup he was holding as he turned to face Ratchet, "I awoke some time ago and decided to run some tests on our surroundings... and I'm afraid that there might be no means of escaping from our cells."

"What about Starlight and Sunset?" Ratchet asked, taking note that neither of his sisters had been locked in the cell that the two of them were currently standing in.

"Starlight is in the cell to our left," Clank answered, not surprised that Ratchet hadn't taken note of the fact himself, considering how much electricity the Thugs had used to knock them all out, "Sunset, on the other hand, is in the cell that's the closest to this area's entrance... though I am afraid that she might be in a worse situation than we are."

"Oh yeah?" Ratchet commented, wondering what would make Sunset's situation worse than what he or Starlight could have at the moment, "What makes you say that?"

"Because the Thugs-4-Less Leader left a repeating message for Sunset," a second voice said, to which Ratchet finally noticed that Starlight was merely sitting on the floor of her cell, "Apparently he's fond of pressing the 'Qwark Button', because the message is a constant reminder of her failure to kill both himself and Qwark the first time they met each other. What he fails to realize is that this action will only make her angrier and angrier... until she finally snaps and Searing takes over her body once again. Why can't we have an enemy that's smart enough not to anger Sunset?"

Ratchet was in agreement with Starlight, because the last time Sunset and the Thug Leader had been in the same area, back on Dobbo's moon, Sunset had demonstrated that pressing that 'button' wasn't the best idea in the world. Only a little bit of her anger had been enough to cause the moon's ground to quake, so he had to wonder what would happen if she released even more of her anger in the process of such an attack. There was always the possibility that Sunset's anger might accidentally release some of Searing's own power, which would be even worse if it came to that.

Even as Ratchet thought about their situation he looked passed Starlight and watched Sunset, who was squirming and twitching more than what he would have liked. He could tell that the message, and what was happening to them, was likely pissing her creature off, which was something they wanted to avoid at all costs.

"Then we had better figure out a way to lower the cell walls and stop whatever message Sunset's listening to," Ratchet said, sighing as he realized that they might not even be able to do that, "Otherwise I'm not sure what will happen to this ship if Searing takes control."

Before either Starlight or Clank could say anything one of the grates in Ratchet's cell burst open, to which a female looking robot, one that looked like the Infobots they had hunted for back in their home galaxy, entered the cell and beckoned for Clank to follow her. It was clear that they didn't have much choice in the matter, because Starlight had clearly made some efforts to escape her cell and had, somehow, failed to do so. Clank followed the robot into the vent she had come from, which he knew might very well have someplace where he could deactivate the power in the cell they had awoken in.

---

Once Clank had reached the end of the vent that the other robot had taken him through, and used some twists and turns, he found himself in an area that had a large number of platforms he could jump to before he reached the other side of the room he was in. He noticed that the room was also filled with dangerous liquid, so he had to time his jumps right until he was on the other side of the room. it didn't take him very long to reach his destination, though when he landed he had to punch two blue colored robotic chickens to pieces before he could release the large robot that happened to be caged to his left.

As he released the robot he discovered that it had a hammer, which meant that he could use the robot's abilities to remove obstacles that he couldn't remove by himself. He and the robot rode the nearby elevator up for a second and walked into the next room that he came to, where he activated the hammer function and let the robot smash the box that was blocking their path. The area that connected to the one he was in had another crate blocking the Hammer Bot's path, so he let the robot smash it to pieces before he approached what appeared to be a device that would launch him into the vents above him. He also took note of a locked door, where he assumed that the vent above him would eventually allow him to open the door he was standing next to.

It didn't take him long to order the Hammer Bot to launch him into the vent above them, to which he spotted four more of the robotic chickens running around and blocking his path. He made short work of his enemies, though once he was finished he approached the trapped Micro Bots and freed them from their cages. As he turned around, and spotted the next part of the path he needed to take, he spotted another set of four robotic chickens that weren't paying attention to him, to which he set his new minions on a rampage. The little robots tore the chickens to pieces, allowing him to approach an elevator that took the three of them down to a room that was behind the locked door he had spotted earlier.

He opened the door and allowed the Hammer Bot to enter the room he was in, though that was before he climbed onto the next lever device and had the hammer bot launch him, and his little minions, into the next vent system. He found a door that required the little robots to enter it, so he had then open the way forward and found another room that had a lot more enemies than what he was expecting. There were two more chicken robots standing in front of him, which he easily removed, but when he spotted the two spider bots coming his way he ran to the only available elevator and rode it to the top walkway. He then smashed the two chicken robots that were standing guard before releasing more of the little Micro Bots that would allow him to move forward.

Clank made sure to be careful as he fought the spider bots that were blocking his path, using himself as a diversion so the Micro Bots could tear his enemies to pieces. During the process of getting rid of one spider bot he came across two more Micro Bots, though once they had been released the remaining enemies didn't stand much of a chance. With the way clear, and the bolts collected, he approached another locked door, one that happened to require all four of the Micro Bots that he had collected so far, though when the door was open he spotted a button that he hoped would turn off the power where his friends were trapped.

He pressed the button and hoped for the best, because there was no knowing if the button was the one he was looking for or if it released one of the other 'inmates'.

---

Ratchet let out a laugh as the power that had been fueling both his cell and Starlight's cell was cut off, allowing them to freely leave where the Thugs had deposited them after they had arrived aboard the ship. His laugh, however, died when he noticed that Sunset's cell was still locked by whatever was powering it, telling him that the Thugs' Leader had deemed her more dangerous and had locked her in a cell with two power generators. It only annoyed him that one of his sisters was being treated like an animal, though before he could say anything to Starlight about breaching the cell walls he spotted some spider bots entering their area. Starlight seemed to notice their movements as well, because she summoned a shield to guard them as they regrouped by the weapon vendor and restocked their ammunition... which they both agreed was another dumb decision that the Thugs' Leader had made.

"Once we get rid of these guys we need to figure out how to release Sunset from her cell," Ratchet commented, still wondering where the second generator could be located.

"Agreed," Starlight said, priming all her weapons as she took a deep breath for a moment, though that was before she noticed something happening to one of the cell's walls, "unless its weakened to the point where she can release herself."

The two of them watched as claw marks appeared in the cell wall facing the walkway, to which the robots stopped attacking the shield and turned towards the cell. The energy holding the wall together started to fall apart before their eyes, though as Ratchet and Starlight watched what was unfolding they spotted something that reminded them of their first adventure; the feral state their sister took on when her anger overpowered her. The robot in front of Sunset didn't stand much of a chance as she used her claws to pierce its power core, causing it to shudder for a moment before she ripped its heart out. The other two enemies approached her at the same time, but Sunset wasted no time in tearing off one of their arms and then using them to kill their owners.

Before either of them could tell whether Searing or Sunset was the one in control at the moment, though they had their opinions on which one it was, Sunset stood up straight and coughed, telling them that she must have won in the end.

"How did you manage to overcome Searing?" Starlight asked, because if they knew how their sister was able to do that then she knew that they would have a method to help her relax whenever Searing came back.

"I told her to back off until we found the Thugs' Leader again," Sunset replied, a light smile appearing on her face, though she knew that her eyes still had the appearance they took on when Searing took over, "I was fairly certain that we'll encounter him again in the near future, so I basically told Searing to wait until we found him... though we all know what's going to happen when we find him."

"Well, he deserves whatever you and Searing give him," Ratchet said, somewhat surprised that his sister and her creature managed to agree on something for once, but decided that it was better than nothing, "You had better restock any weapons... something tells me we might be needing all the ammunition we can get our hands on."

"...why were we imprisoned with our weapons anyway?" Sunset asked, not bothering to move towards the vendor, though she drew her sword as she started down the path they needed to take.

Ratchet and Starlight looked at each other for a moment, because they had clearly missed that fact when the walls keeping them in their cells had fallen and their enemies had come for them. They also weren't surprised to find that Sunset didn't care much for the weapons she had acquired in the past, because it seemed like every time Searing took over, even if it was for a few seconds, Sunset focused more on magic and less on her weapons. Before they moved on Ratchet and Starlight quickly returned to the weapon vendor and looked for any additional weapons that they might benefit from having in their arsenal, though the only new one was a Shield Charger that summoned a shield for a limited time.

With the weapon added to both of their arsenals they followed Sunset along the walkway that they hoped would take them to wherever their ship was, because they knew that if they had been left with their weapons then they could assume that their ship had to be somewhere aboard the flying lab.

They found a platform that had three more spider bots waiting for them, but Ratchet would have none of whatever they were planning as his Plasma Coil tore them to pieces and allowed them to progress onward. Once they were all on the platform they rode it towards the next walkway, where three more spider bots lowered themselves into the group's line of sight, as if they had no orders to protect themselves. Starlight moaned as she repeated what Ratchet had done to the previous group, using her Plasma Coil to clear the way once more, though it was plainly clear that she was getting annoyed with how easy some of their enemies were to kill.

Once the area was clear they rode another platform to a walkway that stopped before a set of walls that they would have to jump up, though while Ratchet did the jumping Starlight and Sunset merely teleported to the top. They then found ten more spider bots blocking their path, though it was shameful when Ratchet and Starlight's Plasma Coils tore through them like they were made of paper. Ratchet then spotted another jump area that would take them to the top, so he jumped onto the floating platform and kept doing so until he was on the side of the room. He then turned his Plasma Coil on the robots that were standing in his way, though once they were gone he beckoned for his sisters to join him and they teleported up to him.

As they pressed onward Ratchet hoped that Clank was okay on his own, though he had the feeling that his companion was more than able to protect himself from whatever enemies he discovered in the vents.

---

Clank watched as a lift rose up above him, though he could tell that Ratchet and his sisters were on the move and that the button he had pressed had been the one he needed. He nodded his head and moved along the vent that he had to move through, though when he came to the end of it he noticed that he was in another room that was filled with dangerous liquid. He carefully made his way to the middle of the chamber, where he jumped the rest of the way until he was definitely on the other side where he found a Bridge Bot waiting trapped in a cage. With the robot released he had it build him a bridge, though that was when he spotted three robotic chickens that started walking across the moment the bridge was created.

Clank smiled as he ordered the Bridge Bot to retract its bridge, dropping the three robots into the dangerous liquid below them the moment the floor beneath them gave out.

With the way clear he reengaged the bridge and crossed over the pool of dangerous liquid, before he retracted the bridge and rode the elevator to the top of its shaft with the Bridge Bot beside him. He found four more robotic chickens waiting for him, though he made short work of them before they could get behind him and destroy the robot that was following him. He approached the edge of the path he was on and spotted a cluster of cages on the platform below him, to which he ordered the Bridge Bot to build a bridge that expanded halfway between him and the other platform. With nothing else to do he ran across the bridge and glided down to the platform, where he released the Micro Bots and a second Bridge Bot from their cages.

With the new Bridge Bot in hand he crossed the next gap and entered a room that had two spider bots guarding a caged Hammer Bot, where he allowed his Micro Bots to tear them to pieces. Once they were taken care of he released the three robots he found, as there happened to be another trapped Micro Bots in the room, before he had the Hammer Bot start smashing the crates that were blocking his way. When the crates were out of his way he spotted another crate that happened to be sitting where he assumed the Bridge Bot had to go, along with one more Micro Bot. The puzzle was easy for him to work around, as all he had to do was have the Hammer Bot shatter the crate and have the Bridge Bot form the bridge, before he and the four Micro Bots crossed over to the other side of the room they were in.

Once Clank was on the other side of the room he had the four Micro Bots enter the door, to which it moved out of the way and allowed him to pass through the passage that was open for him... to which he appeared outside the building he had been in and spotted Ratchet's ship nearby. He had the feeling that his companions would be here soon, so he decided to wait by the main door, because he knew that it was the only place they would be coming out of.

---

Ratchet and his sisters walked off the elevator that they had ridden, though before they could get very far they noticed that there happened to be a floating wrench waiting for them.

"Would you look at that, another wrench." Ratchet said, picking up the new wrench, which had to be more powerful than the one he found on Tabora, before turning to his sisters, "So, who wants the other wrench?"

Starlight looked at Sunset for a moment, who merely shook her head for a second, before she sighed and accepted the weapon from her brother, to which she wondered what she would do with two of them. She guessed that she could always combine the two in some manner and increase the power of her staff, though she knew that it would take some time to make a weapon like that. She also wondered why there happened to be a wrench on Angela's research ship, though she could easily assume that it had been left by one the Thugs as they had departed from the ship.

With the wrench issue solved Ratchet noticed that they were at another jump area, so he sighed and leapt on the wall before he touched the platform. He then continued along the path that opened before him, jumping between all the platforms that appeared before him, until he was at the top of the walkway and beckoned to his sisters. As they teleported in behind him Ratchet moved along the walkway he had found, to which he walked outside the ship for a moment and spotted two spider bots as they came out to fight him. He smiled as he used his Minirocket Tube to get rid of them, but as he took a step forward he spotted a Plasma Coil charge that slammed into four enemies that he hadn't noticed.

Starlight grinned as she and Sunset joined their brother, to which the three of them continued along the outside of the ship until they were forced to enter the ship once more. The chamber they entered had seven more of the spider bots waiting for them, but the combined charges of both Starlight's and Ratchet's Plasma Coils destroyed all but one of them. Sunset charged forward and tore one of the robot's arms out of its body, much to the surprise of her siblings, before she swung the arm around and used the weapon attached to it to carve her enemy's body to pieces.

Once the enemies were dealt with Ratchet leapt along another floating set of platforms that took him to the top of the room, with his sisters not far behind him, where they found a door that allowed them to finally exit the building they had been locked inside. They found Clank waiting outside the door they walked through, to which he informed them that they needed to get into the building across from where they were at the moment if they wanted to get into their ship. Ratchet immediately spotted the door that they would need to open so they could get into the building, without using his sisters' magic that was, and sighed when he noticed that he would need to actually hack into the terminal next to it if he wanted to move on.

It took him a few tries to open the door, as this one was actually harder than the previous ones he had accessed, but once it was open he noticed that he would have to use Clank's wings if he wanted to reach the end of the building. Starlight and Sunset elected to stay near the ship until he had reached the main building, though Ratchet knew that it was because Starlight wanted to keep an eye on Sunset and be sure that Searing had retreated for the moment. He couldn't blame Starlight for worrying, because he always worried about his sister whenever the creature showed itself and took over, but he was confident that Starlight would be able to keep things under control until they could figure out how to bind Searing permanently.

Ratchet waited until the dangerous liquid was at a low level before engaging Clank's wings, to which he flew through the tunnel that was now open and made sure to reach the next platform before the liquid could touch him. He followed the walkway for a moment and found another pad that would allow him to use Clank's wings, so he took off and moved closer to the end of the building. He made sure to avoid the electric beams that were along the walls of the passage, because he was sure that they would knock him into the liquid if he was touched, before he landed on a platform that had a third pad waiting for him. He let out a sigh as he moved through the next passage, making sure to avoid the electric hazards that were in his path until he reached the definite end of the building.

Once he and Clank had reached the main control room he beckoned for his sisters to join them before he touched anything, to which they teleported in behind him before they started searching for the button that would release their ship. The screen in front of them turned on as Angela appeared, to which she informed them that she was transmitting from the Thugs fleet, leaving them to wonder how she had managed to do that. Apparently she had found something out, but before she could tell them what that something was the Thugs' Leader walked by where she was hiding and she sneezed, to which the Leader realized that she was there. The transmission ended with the Leader ordering his underlings to capture Angela and take her to their headquarters, though the four of them now had the coordinates for wherever the fleet happened to be at that exact moment.

Sunset growled as energy flickered across her body, because this just gave her one more reason to hate the Thugs-4-Less Leader, on top of all the stupid things he's already done.

"Set our course for Planet Gorn," Sunset said, just as the field covering their ship was disabled, "Let's show the Thugs that no one messes with our friends or family and gets away without suffering our wrath."

Ratchet agreed with his sister, because he figured it was time to finally get rid of the Thugs completely... and their Leader was basically giving them the invitation they needed. He also wanted to save Angela, though that was more because he sensed that there might actually be something between them once this adventure was over.

Comments

[Sonata Blaze]

Both Sunset and Searing are eager to fight the Thugs Leader... and I have the feeling that we'll see something interesting in the next chapter.

[Vigilant of Stendarr]

Okay, so the Thugs Leader is basically asking for Sunset and her family to kill him... and I do believe that what's to come is going to be bigger than what happened on Gaspar.

[Aria Blitz]

The Thugs-4-Less Leader is going to die, that much is a given. The next chapter is going to be interesting.

[tana1100]

I always read gorn as gom the first time.. than I correct my self!