Deadlocked: Liberator Tournament
Ratchet and Starlight sat at the table that they usually sat at with Clank and Al, each of them watching the events unfold on Maraxus as Sunset discovered the weakness of the ghost army. Starlight, having heard that Vox might use the army against her sister, actually suggested that the station might have the ability to bring back the dead and that destroying it would wreck havoc among the ghosts. As it turned out she was right, as Sunset apparently figured out the same thing and promptly destroyed the station before it could produce more ghosts for her to fight. From there it was a simple matter of watching their sister finish off the rest of the army, wiping them out with a variety of spells and tactics that they were used to seeing, before teleporting back onto Ace's ship and returning to PX-17.
Once the battle was over they turned the screen off and looked at each other, because now that Sunset had secured the final metal they needed Ratchet and Starlight could enter the Liberator Tournament, where they would have to make their way through the toughest obstacles and gladiators that Vox had before they could face Ace in the arena. All they needed to do was sell the fight with Ace, beat him in front of all the viewers, and then put their plan into action when Vox's guard was down, though it was easier said than done. With the end of their stay in Dreadzone approaching Clank and Al made sure that they had complete control over several of the satellites that Ace pointed out to them, the ones that would warn Vox of incoming patrol ships.
Seeing how everyone was distracted by Sunset fighting, and thus were not paying attention to what the rest of Team Darkstar did, the four of them were able to contact a certain ship that had been on the edge of the Shadow Sector; the Phoenix. Apparently Ace had managed to send out a message to the authorities once he discovered that Ratchet, Starlight, and their friends were willing to help him bring down Vox and his precious Dreadzone. Sasha, having taken back the ship once they had been abducted, informed them that allies were on their way, indicating that Angela was also coming to their rescue as well. It was a brief message between Ace's ship and the Phoenix, but Ratchet and Starlight were able to make out Sasha telling them that the Order was coming, much to their relief and Ace's confusion.
As they prepared for the big day Clank and Al turned the necessary satellites offline for a moment, to be sure the command worked, and then turned them back on, leaving them offline for a very short amount of time that would be missed by whoever was keeping track of the various satellites that Vox had around the station. Ratchet remembered asking Ace about how he knew which satellites to take out and which ones they needed to leave alone, as well as all the commands to interact with them to begin with. That was when Ace informed them, rather quickly considering that he needed to get back to his chambers, that he had allies all over the station, which was how he was able to get away with all of this without Vox catching on.
Ratchet had to admit it, but he never would have suspected that Ace and his allies would have waited this long before trying to take out Vox, though then he assumed that they had been waiting for the right moment to put their plan into action. Once the plan had been put in motion, and they were sure that the Dreadzone station was secured, they would then go to PX-17 and release everyone that Vox had imprisoned there.
While Clank and Al worked on their commands, and the exact sequence they would need once the match with Ace started, Starlight made sure that their weapons were at their best, making sure that they were cleaned and full of ammunition. Ratchet, on the other hand, looked over the holo-plans for the prison that Sunset was contained in at the moment, memorizing the route they would need to take to reach the cell she was in. He didn't bother to ask Ace how he managed to get his hands on these, because he was sure that the answer would be more allies or something like that, so he simply sat with his back to one of the walls and studied the plans in front of him.
At one point his mind turned to Sunset and her other selves, Searing and Hatred, where he wondered when they were going to pull he trigger and merge back into one body. It was something that he was coming to terms with, the fact that one of his sisters happened to be a walking Goddess of Destruction, but he had to wonder what her full power was like. He knew that Starlight didn't like it when he wasted his time thinking about Sunset's full power, but he couldn't help but ponder how much destruction she could cause with her full potential backing her once more. At only eighty-five percent she and Searing were able to destroy an entire planet, granted it took longer than they might have been expecting, so it made him wonder how deadly they would be at one hundred percent.
Sadly he had the feeling that Vox was going to be the catalyst for that transformation, when the three versions of Sunset finally put their differences aside and became who they used to be... and revealing to the entire universe the full extent of their destructive powers. Ratchet then let out a sigh as he switched his mind back to what he was supposed to be doing, because tomorrow was going to be a busy day and he would need to know the routes pretty well once they reached the prison.
When the morning of the big day finally arrived Ratchet and Starlight ate their breakfast with Clank and Al, going over their plan as quietly as they could without alerting the guards that were watching their cell at the moment. They wanted to be sure that everyone knew their part in the grand scheme, because if someone messed up Vox was going to zero in on them and put everyone on the station in jeopardy. Ace remained in his suite all morning, making sure that their allies knew what was going to be happening soon while preparing himself for the eventually fight that would take place in the arena. Everything hinged on Ratchet and Starlight putting on a show in the arena, because if Vox noticed something fishy then they were likely doomed to fail their operation.
Once they were done with their meal, and acting as if it was their final one for whoever was watching them, Ratchet and Starlight excused themselves, collected their weapons from where Starlight had left them, and approached the shuttle that would take them to the Battledome, so they could get this nightmare over with. When the shuttle arrived at the Battledome they overheard one of the announcers, Dallas to be exact, commenting on the fact that neither Ratchet or Starlight would be alive at the end of the day, to which his partner smacked him upside the head and claimed that it was too early to say such things.
The first thing they were tasked with was fighting an undetermined amount of enemies while their weapons randomly changed on them, though for the strangest reason the weapon was the same for both Ratchet and Starlight. At first they were forced to use the Arbiter, to which they loosed rocket after rocket at the little robotic minions that were coming at them, tough after a few seconds Starlight decided to change targets and started firing at the dropships that were depositing more enemies for them to fight. After killing a good twenty of the little guys, and blowing at least five dropships out of the air, their weapon shifted on them, changing to the B6-Obliterator, though that didn't seem to slow either of them down very much.
With the new weapon in hand they started to rain bombs on their enemies, including the flying enemies that got added on the second wave, and made sure that none of them got away from them. The third weapon they were forced to use was the Hunter Mines, one again allowing them to rain death and destruction on their enemies, leaving Ratchet to wonder what the show hoped to gain by giving them the weapons that could take out groups of enemies in a single use. When they cycled to their fourth and final weapon, the Leviathan Flail, Ratchet was beginning to suspect that whoever was in charge of choosing their weapons for this challenge was on their side... that or the random weapon function was on their side today.
Soon they were done with the first challenge and were declared the winners for the moment, because there was still more for them to do and they hadn't even reached Ace yet.
The second challenge involved them being in the middle section of the Battledome, the large platform that was actually two smaller platforms connected to each other, though Ratchet was placed on the platform closest to where the first challenge had been while Starlight was on the one closest to the Tower of Power. Their objective was to kill one hundred and fifty enemies each, as both platforms were actually stocked with that exact amount of enemies, though the gladiators, both living and undead, would be coming at them at an unusually fast rate in order to swarm and kill them.
The instant the challenge started Ratchet and Starlight pulled out their weapons and opened fire on the enemies that appeared on their platform, choosing the weapons that had dealt with the larger groups earlier so they could reach the end a lot faster. While they were busy fighting Vox dropped some crates into the mix, loosing a few of the leviathans they had previously fought while also calling in some dropships to fire missiles at them. Ratchet and Starlight had to dodge everything that their enemies were throwing at them, barely avoiding being hit several times, but in the end they both managed to clear out all of the enemies that they had been required to defeat.
Once they were done with the second challenge they were allowed to get back together and restock their ammunition, giving them a small window of rest before they were dragged into the arena once more. It was back to the first part of the Battledome, where they had been introduced to the whole of Dreadzone, though this time the area was much quieter than it usually was. Ratchet and Starlight knew what was happening immediately, as it was similar to what had happened when the Eviscerator flew into the arena and attacked them. This time the announcers said nothing as Ace Hardlight walked into the arena, though as he did so it also sounded like a ghost because his footsteps barely made any noise.
"Ratchet and Starlight Glimmer, I have been waiting for this day," Ace said, fully immersing himself in the persona that he had created to survive in Dreadzone for all these years, "You took out three of the strongest Exterminators I have ever seen, except for me of course."
"I'd like to see you try and take us out Ace," Ratchet replied, gripping the handle of his wrench for a moment, waiting for Ace to come at them and start the battle, "Its two on one... the odds are in our favor."
Ace smiled and pressed something on his right wrist, to which he seemed to phase out of existence for a moment before returning to normal, though that was followed by a second Ace appearing next to the original. It was his special ability, where he could create clones of himself to aid him in battle, though usually he created around seven of them whenever he was actually fighting someone in the Battledome. Considering who his opponents were, and their own skills in battle, he had decided to go with one clone, though this one would survive longer than the others thanks to the fact that he wasn't splitting so much energy between so many bodies. The two Aces than pulled out their weapons, one of which was the signature multi use blaster that the fans knew about while the second weapon was something that they couldn't have seen coming, a lightsaber with a red tinted blade.
The two Aces split from each other and zeroed in on their chosen targets, to which the original Ace when for Ratchet while the second Ace moved in on Starlight, though while they moved apart from each other a barrier appeared in the middle of the arena, effectively making sure that it was a one on one match for both Ratchet and Starlight.
Ratchet immediately pulled out the Vipers as Ace approached him, though he opened fire on the Exterminator as he moved away from the middle of the already shrunken area he had to fight in. He could see Starlight doing the same thing on her side of the arena, though instead of using a gun she was choosing to use her staff for this fight, as she had modified it to be resistant to a lightsaber's blade. She also had her magic to fall back on if she needed it, which was why he knew that she wouldn't be using any of her actual weapons unless it was absolutely necessary. Ratchet than jumped out of the way as several blasts came at him from Ace's gun, though he noticed that they left small dents in the side of the arena where they landed, which told him that he had to be careful against this opponent.
As Ratchet moved away from Ace, and switched to the Leviathan Flail, he noticed two small metallic spheres land in front of him, to which they released a wave of energy that would likely hurt him if he allowed himself to be touched by it, which was why he leapt over the waves and watched as they simply disappeared when they touched he barrier. Ratchet then used the flail to inflict as much damage as he could onto Ace, though with the ball that he had to throw it was becoming harder to actually hit his target and deal some damage. Eventually Ratchet decided that enough was enough and clicked a button on the flail's handle, to which the ball and chain collapsed into the handle, only to be replaced by a blade that appeared to be made out of lightning.
Starlight had modified his weapon for this moment, as they both knew that Ace would be more focused on a melee fight rather than a ranged one thanks to their plan, so this would allow him to deal with the Ace that was in front of him while Starlight finished off the one she was fighting.
On the other side of the barrier Starlight jumped into the air and summoned a walkway that she could use to get near the Copy Ace's back, though every time she tried something like that her opponent would realize what she was doing and prevent it from happening, leaving her at square one again. She could have thrown in a teleportation spell to aid her in this fight, but Vox had no idea about the collars being deactivated and using such a spell would tip him off. They needed to make sure that the man believed that he was in control at the moment, over all of them, so she had to play this out and see if she couldn't come out on top.
After another failed attempt Starlight returned to the floor and merely charged at the copy that was standing before her, dodging its attacks while trying to use her own weapon to damage his armor. Whenever she got too close she would jump back and try a different approach before the copy managed to hit her, though after some time she began to wonder if magic might be the answer to her problems. It took her a moment to think about that, during which she mainly focused on dodging the attacks the copy threw at her, before she decided on what to do next. She summoned her magic around her and turned the floor on her side of the arena to ice, intending to make the copy slip and fall so she could get a good shot at it, but in the end the copy merely stood its ground and came at her.
She mentally slapped herself for not realizing that Ace might have experience in that sort of environment, so instead of focusing on the ground she turned to attacking with spells again, though she decided to continue with ice magic at the moment. She dodged the attacks that were coming her way some more, studying how the copy moved in relation to how the actual Ace moved, and then felt a small grin appear on her face as she came up with an idea to best the copy. Starlight charged forward and blocked the swing that was coming her way, though instead of backing up she raised her back hooves and struck the copy in the chest, causing its attention to shift towards itself for a moment. That was swiftly followed by a series of ice spikes erupting from the icy floor and impaling the copy where it stood, though after a few seconds it finally went still and allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief.
With the copy of Ace Hardlight taken care of Starlight turned her attention to the barrier that separated her from her brother, to which all she could do was watch as Ratchet battled the real Ace.
"It seems that my copy has been defeated," Ace commented, his latest attack being parried by Ratchet's impressive new toy, "It appears that I have underestimated your sister."
"There are a lot of people that do that," Ratchet replied, a small grin appearing on his face, because now that the copy was defeated they could finish up their fight and put their plan into action at last, "then again, people do that with me and Sunset as well."
"Oh really?" Ace said, jumping backwards and beckoning for Ratchet to come at him with his free hand, "Come then Ratchet, either show me that I underestimated you or say your prayers."
Ratchet charged forward and slammed his weapon into Ace's, hard enough that sparks jumped from his lightning blade to Ace's lightsaber and then struck the floor around them, cutting small gashes into the metal. The two of them then pulled their weapons back for a moment, pausing to see what the other one did, before they swung their blades and connected once more. That was rapidly followed by Ratchet wildly swinging at Ace, which would normally be a bad idea considering he had next to no skill with a bladed weapon, and most of the attacks were simply dodged because of their poor aim. The only reason Ace had put up with it up until now was because they had been putting on a show, though now it was time to be serious and he was showing how skilled he truly was.
Though Ratchet was expecting Ace to be overconfident in his ability to dodge most of his attacks, which was why he aimed a kick right at Ace's chest at the end of his last swing. Ace, expecting an attack from the lightning blade, moved to avoid what he assumed was coming his way, though the kick managed to reach its destination and staggered him for a moment. It was at that exact instant that Ratchet lunged forward with his weapon and connected to the center of Ace's suit of armor, allowing the blade to pass cleanly through his body and come out the other side. The moment that happened, and appeared on the screens for everyone that was watching, Ratchet heard many of the fans scream in agony as they realized that Ace had lost the fight.
Ratchet, Starlight, and Ace knew that the chest piece had been altered with Starlight's weapon in mind, as she was the one that had modified both of them, and that there was actually no damage to Ace's body seeing how the chest piece took the blade's energy and moved it to his back to give the illusion that he had been mortally wounded... but they weren't about to tell the fans or Vox the truth.
"I should... have known that... I'd be beaten one day," Ace said, coughing out the words as he faked the whole scene about him being wounded, with fake blood and everything to make it more convincing for Vox, "Good luck... Ratchet..."
Ratchet pulled his weapon out as Ace fell to the ground, though as he collapsed on the floor, and went completely still, silence fell over the people that had been watching the fight, as most of them assumed that Ace would win the fight between them and were no doubt shocked to see that he had lost. Ratchet let out a sigh as he pressed the button to switch the flail back to its original form, though at the same time the barrier turned itself off and Starlight walked over to where he was standing. They stared at Ace's 'corpse' for a few seconds, just to make sure that everything had gone the way they had planned, before they bowed their heads and left the Battledome behind.
Now that Vox's champion was 'defeated' it was finally time to activate their plan... one that he wouldn't see coming now that the man was likely devastated by what had just happened.
Vox was both furious and shocked at the same time; he was shocked that Ace Hardlight, the best Exterminator he had, was defeated by Ratchet and Starlight, while at the same time he was furious because Ace couldn't even damage either of them before his demise. He had been watching the fight between them the entire time, fully expecting his champion to win, though now that he was dead, like the rest of the Exterminators, he was out of people that could kill Ratchet and Starlight. Now that they had won it was only a matter of time until they came asking for the release of their sister, because he knew that they would never join Dreadzone and kill other heroes. That left Vox with only one available option, one that he had created in case an event like this actually came about and forced his hand... one that he had hoped that he would never have to use.
He was going to have to purge all the contestants from both Dreadzone and the prison on PX-17, though he hoped that he could kill Sunset himself while his soldiers cleared out the remainder of the heroes he had captured... though he eventually let out a sigh and pressed one of the buttons on his intercom, to which an image appeared on his screen.
"Yes Lord Vox?" the robot in front of him, Commander Stone, asked, as he was the head of the soldiers he kept around in case things ever went south for Dreadzone, "How may I be of service today?"
"Its time to initiate the Purge Protocol," Vox replied, noting a look of what could have been joy appear on the robot's features, only for it to disappear seconds later, "I want the bulk of your forces to remain here and purge every hero they find until they are all eradicated... and that includes Ratchet and his annoying unicorn of a sister."
"And PX-17, sir?" Commander Stone inquired, as if it enjoyed the idea of running Sunset Shimmer through with one of its blades, though it was only doing its job and was making sure that the prison was to be included as well.
"I want a small detachment to meet me at the prison," Vox stated, reaching into his desk and pulling out a small vial of vile green liquid, to which he noticed the smile return to Commander Stone's face, "and that includes you. Together we'll kill the 'Goddess of Destruction'... and then we can rebuild Dreadzone for next season with you as the new Head Exterminator."
"It will be as you command," Commander Stone said, cutting off the communication between them, though Vox knew that he would be preparing for the purge.
Soon all of the heroes he had captured over the last few years would be dead and he would be free to start over with a whole new batch of heroes, as there were plenty of fresh fish to catch in the Solana Galaxy after the defeat of Dr. Nefarious. He would just have to do his research better this time and capture someone that would eventually grow to replace Ace, which he could have done with Ratchet if his sister wasn't around him all the time. Vox let out a sigh as he pulled a small lever and watched as the right wall of his room, which was covered in boxes, pulled itself apart to reveal a small shuttle he had placed there so long ago. He could use that to get to Commander Stone's ship in no time, then it was only a matter of reaching PX-17 and killing all of the inmates he had imprisoned there... including Sunset Shimmer.
Even as he climbed into the shuttle he felt as if something horrible was about to rear its ugly head at him, though he assumed that it was his nerves talking and brushed the feeling away... as nothing could possibly go wrong once he reached PX-17.
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Seriously, Vox is stupid to think that common soldiers can beat Ratchet and Starlight... though its even worse when he thinks that he's got someone that can kill Sunset.
At least the Dreadzone arc of this story is coming to an end.
Vox is stewed.
7916428 Aye, and it's shaping up to be a real blast.
7916690 I think we might have found the catalyst that gives birth to the Goddess of Destruction.
7916710 Possibly, though it would probably be a long term thing. Vox is just the start. The next couple of arcs should be real interesting.
7916717 Yeah, though I wonder if Sunset will stick around once Dreadzone is over. I mean, if she becomes a fully powered God of Destruction she could just obliterate anything that fights her family. She's likely going to disappear once she's done with Vox, but that's just my guess at the moment.
7916750 I doubt it. Remember, the other two are vehemently opposed to fusing, for different reasons. Searing may agree, but Hatred WILL have to be defeated to fuse.
7916938 That is true, unless the author comes up with a way around both of their feelings. I mean, why would the author give Vox a vial of poison?
7917037 It's probably what'll get Searing to fuse. After all, unless I miss my guess, her and Sunset are pretty much sisters at this point. Searing is afraid to stop existing after the fact.
7917057 After that point its only a matter of convincing Hatred to rejoin them... which might not happen for a while. That's assuming something terrible doesn't happen in the next chapter.
7917065 My guess is either something goes wrong and Vox actually has something up his sleeve that will force the fusion, or everything goes right and Sunset and Searing will eventually fuse to beat Hatred further down the line. I'm still hoping for little Searing though. Maybe that's what takes Sunset out of the game.
7917344 Only the author knows... though a thought came to me.
The universe Equus (and Ratchet's galaxies) are located in has to be Universe 13.
Sunset is, without a doubt, the God of Destruction for that universe.
So, who is the 'Angel' that has to watch over her and who are the 'Kai'.
7917485
That. That is a good question. Bet the author knows.
7917645 I'm willing to bet that the 'Kai' for Universe 13 are the alicorn's of Equus, not counting a certain filly that was added in the latest season. That would give Sunset four 'Kai'... I'm just trying to wrap my head around something that only the author knows.
Still... the 'angel' problem I cannot figure out.
7917717 Actually, and please bear in mind I haven't watched Super, there was only three levels not counting Old Kai: King, Grand and Supreme. So that would be Twilight, Cadence, and Luna, respectively, leaving Celestia to be the "angel". (Even if Luna is best princess)
7918901 I don't think the levels of Kai changed in Super... but I could be wrong.
I wonder what Celestia would think if she became Sunset's 'angel'.
7919096 Well, it depends on how you see their relationship. She was Sunset's teacher, and some leave it at that, but there are those who see it as a mother-daughter relationship. Either way, I think Celestia would be thrilled.
7919102 Well, the whole Teacher-Student is usually how I've seen it.
Out of curiosity, why do you think Celestia would be thrilled?
7919111 Because either way, the lost soul will be home. By pretty much every interpretation I've read, including the comic, kicking Sunset out was one the hardest things Celestia ever did. Now, they can reconnect.
7919119 Oh, that makes sense. Celestia would be in for one heck of a surprise when she listens to Sunset's stories as a whole and comes to understand the level of power that she'll have.
7919125 Good thing she respects the crown, huh?
7919129 I don't think that Sunset will bother with a crown... though I think Celestia would respect her her a lot more once she hears what her former student actually is now.
7919148 I meant Sunset still respects Celestia's authority. Probably should have specified that.
Though I don't doubt Celestia will definitely have some respect for Sunset, especially the hardships she's had.
7919153 Yeah, I have to agree with you.
And, unfortunately, I keep imagining Sunset finally meeting Beerus... that's going to be epic when it happens.
7919159 I can't wait for that. I hope she takes a pin to his ego.
7919160 Depends on how Rainbow and Applejack change him first.
7919169 Good point. If nothing else, maybe he'll stop threading to destroy world's just because they couldn't entertain him.
7919172 Like that last planet in the dbz story, the author wrote that he wasn't even excited for destroying the world.
Imagine how Beerus will act after an unknown number of years of watching over Rainbow And Applejack.
7919178 In private, probably very different. In public, probably not too much change. He's going to want to maintain his image, after all.
7919184 True, I forgot that he likes to maintain his image at all times.
Still, it will be interesting to see how he reacts around Sunset. I sense good times coming.
7919192 And good laughs. Especially since Universe 13 belongs to Sunset, he can't destroy anything without her permission, which he won't get.
7919196 That is another good point that I hadn't thought of. Now I can see an argument between them because Beerus wants to blow a planet up and Sunset keeps telling him no.
7919208 And the fight ends abruptly when Rainbow and Applejack ask him not to. Pretty sure he won't be able to tell his little girls no at that point.
7919213 Yeah, I have the feeling that you are right in that regard.
Though thinking of Beerus reminded me of Champa, his brother. Do you think we might see him in the dbz story?
7919222 Probably. Though, I don't know what to expect.
7919234 Time will tell... though, if the author plays true to the canon story, Beerus won't be happy to see him.
7919244 No, but the girls will want to meet their "uncle".
7919251 I can agree with that.
7917344 What if Vox uses the poison to mortally wound Sunset, thus forcing both Hatred and Searing to set aside their differences and fuse back together with Sunset to save her life?
7919283 That's my line of thinking, but even then, I doubt Hatred will agree to fuse.
7919285 Even if her disagreeing to do so results in Sunset's death? We have no idea how lethal that poison is, so if it was lethal enough to kill someone in a matter of minutes, and is known to have no anidote, the only way Sunset could survive is if both Searing and Hatred fused with her.
I guess in Hatred's mind it would be a matter of dying either way...
7919308 Or maybe Searing is enough to stop it. We really won't know until the next chapter.
7919312 True. I guess I might be a little impatient in wanting to see Sunset ascend to being the true God of Destuction for Universe 13... exspecially since the author's working with Beerus now.
7919325 Trust me, you're not the only one.
7919333
Onward to destruction! 
7919347 There shall be many explosions, with great fire and destruction! And we'll start with one most deserving.
7919347
7919354 And maybe the destruction of an entire planet!
As nothing could possibly go wrong once he reached PX-17.
That thought, right there, should have told him that something was going to go wrong.
Gee i do believe he just ask the universe to buck him in his bumhole