Ratchet and Clank: Family of Heroes

by Blackdrag-rose

Rift Apart: Scarstu Debris Field

As they flew to their next destination Rivet explained a few things to them, a way of thanking them for telling her all sorts of thing before she reached Sargasso earlier, and it was all about the Resistance that she was a key member of, though the very first thing Autumn and Clank learned was that there was no leader. Rivet and the other high ranking operatives were, in a sense, the leadership of the Resistance, joined by an AI that usually spoke to them when they were out in the field, and, based on Ms. Zurkon's words, Ratchet and Starswirl had bumped into Phantom, their undercover black ops operative and hacker. The other names on the list were friends or aquaintences of hers, such as Quantum, who had joined the Space Pirates some time ago, Moydoy, a skilled operative who had also joined the pirates to fight the Emperor in another manner that he felt was more appropriate, and Clatchky, one of their most skilled pilots, far more skilled than she was. Even though two of them were no longer members of the Resistance they were still hounding Emperor Nefarious' forces and operations, so it made sense that the Emperor would have their names on his hit list and she felt it was appropriate to warn them, just in case enemies came after them.

The flip side to that was that Rivet asked Autumn several questions about Ratchet and his quest to find her, all of which she gladly answered since she had nothing better to do during the flight, though Clank remained silent during the flight, likely thinking about the dimensional crisis they were in right now.

"Clank, is something wrong?" Rivet asked, as she had noticed that he was the only one who wasn't talking right now, likely because he was considering something else right now, where she spotted him glancing out at the area they were flying towards, causing her to sigh for a moment, "Come on, you can tell us what's going on."

"He's just worried that this might be our fault... you know, repairing the Dimensionator and allowing it to be destroyed, all of which made things so much worse." Autumn replied, as she knew Clank better than Rivet did, which caused the robot to nod his head a little, though at the same time she counted themselves lucky that all of Nefarious' madness had brought all of them to the very dimension Ratchet was trying to track down.

Rivet tried to cheer him up a bit by mentioning that they were going to fix his communicator, which was something in her eyes, though while it didn't really do anything for Clank it showed that she was trying to get used to having a companion that was a robot. She turned her attention to the area they were heading to, a refueling station for all sorts of ships that also had a gastropub and battleplex attached to it, where she introduced it as 'Zurkie's Gastropub and Battleplex' as she landed in a vacant space on the outskirts. Autumn noticed that it looked like the one in charge of this place might be Mr. Zurkon, or Zurkie as he was called in this dimension, due to the fact that part of the design for the gastropub looked like the device turned weapon turned citizen in her home dimension. As they climbed out of the ship she also discovered that a few races were present, such as the Vullards, a couple of Morts, a number of Blarg, and several others she wasn't able to instantly recognize, just confirming that there were more differences between their dimensions than one might think.

Of course they stopped at a weapon stand, making Autumn wonder how Ms. Zurkon was able to keep up with them and Ratchet's group, and purchased a Lightning Rod, a weapon that shocked enemies, adding it to their arsenal before they entered the gastropub. What surprised Rivet was that the entrance to the structure had been replaced by a dimensional rift, one that happened to connect to the hallway leading inside, though as they walked down the hallway Autumn found a square shaped arena off in the distance with stands floating around it, the Battleplex of this adventure. When they walked into the welcome section of Zurkie's place the greeter, or whatever his official title was, actually claimed every weapon the two of them had, melee and gun, something Rivet admitted that she never remembered until this point, but they handed over their weapons so they could enter the gastropub. What the pair discovered was that there were all sorts of people in the bar area, space pirates, Morts, a Blarg or two, several of the other races Autumn had seen outside, and even a sheep of all things, who seemed to be sitting at the bar at the moment.

There was even a mechanical bull type machine in the center of the room, allowing patrons to enjoy themselves for some time, either when drunk or sober, though Rivet seemed at home as she walked over to the bar and undid Clank from her back for a time, setting him on the counter as she waved at someone.

"Namaste and peace be with you, Rivet." the Mr. Zurkon, or Zurkie as Autumn reminded herself, said, bringing his hands together for a moment as he bowed his head towards her, either because she was a popular customer or because it was part of the persona he had created in this dimension.

"Hey Zurkie, seems like you've been busy. Have you seen our favorite first mate around?" Rivet inquired, referring to the person she was looking for, or robot since she mentioned someone who would be part of a pirate order and might be in this very chamber, due to Autumn finding a familiar robot, only blue colored and more professional looking, standing near one of the pillars of the gastropub, "I need a signal booster and he's the one who can help me find one without going through the Emperor's channels."

"Well well well, we meet again my wee cherie." the robot pirate stated, where Autumn confirmed that she and Clank knew who he was, in their dimension anyway, all while finding that his right eye seemed to be crossed out, like an eyepatch, he had a fancy hat on and his appearance was more befitting of a first mate, "Did you follow me here? Another fruitless effort to win my affection?"

"Just give me the part, Pierre. I'm stressed for time right now." Rivet replied, because after discovering that she did, in fact, have a brother she wanted to speak with him and maybe converse for a time, before worrying about the next step in their plans to stop the dimensions from breaking after the destruction of the powerful Dimensionator.

The robot pirate went on and on about how his 'heart was taken', no doubt because he was a pirate and they had a code that all of them lived by, so he might be referring to all the treasure and other items that his crew lived on or for, like how the ones in Autumn's dimension loved to dance and drink their grog. Clank, however, put a name to the robot, calling him Rusty Pete as he was talking, something that totally ruined whatever sequence the robot and Rivet were going for, though Autumn found that her sister didn't mind, rather she was hoping to end this quickly. Such a thing spoke volumes on just how much time she had spent dealing with the pirates and them interrupting whatever missions she was on, or at least all those that brought them into the area she was in, along with the fact that they must have annoyed her to some degree, hence why she wanted to get this over with. The pirate then stated that Rivet's friend had a saucy tongue and introduced himself as Pierre Le Fer, pirate extraordinaire, and that he was a high ranking member of Captain Quantum's faction, yet more confirmation on what Rivet had said before they came to this place.

When Rivet stated that she and Autumn would fight Pierre for the part, something that drew the attention of the pirates and several of the patrons for a moment, Zurkie informed them that his domain was a violence free zone and informed all of them that if they wanted to fight they would have to take it outside, into the arena to be exact.

As Pierre stated that he was 'more lover than fighter', but always made an exception for Rivet, the duo grabbed Clank and walked over to the terminal that combatants used when they wanted to fight in the arena, where Autumn watched Rivet for a moment as she accepted the challenge. Such a thing caused the floor to open below them and dropped them into a dimensional rift that replaced whatever had been there beforehand, allowing them to drop into the arena with ease, but in that moment Autumn discovered where Zurkon Jr. was located, he was the announcer. Zurkon Jr. informed the crowd as to what was going on and seemed to be offering commentary on what was happening inside the arena, using a rather small platform to move around the arena, though Pierre, apparently being a coward, informed Rivet and Autumn that, in order to get to him, they had to go through his crew. The sisters were fine with that fact, as it would allow them to try out their new weapon and some of the upgrades they had purchased, again surprising Rivet with just how rich her family was, that they could afford so many weapons and enhancements, but instead of worrying about that they focused on Pierre's challenge and his robotic crew.

Autumn also noted that this Zurkon Jr. had a different voice than the one in her dimension, in fact the entire family seemed to follow that fact, and determined that he must have picked a cartoon character of some kind, likely a well loved one, but decided not to pay too much attention to it as the battle started.

Rivet opened fire on the enemies that emerged from the various dimensional rifts that were now opening in the arena, a fact that caused her to remark that they were always finding new ways to cheat and Pierre, while surprised as well, claimed that it was a true pirate signature, tearing through the fabric of space time. Autumn found it odd that there were a fair number of rifts in this place that were spitting out pirates for them to fight, including small spinning robots which looked like the blade bots from the Agorian Battleplex critters, but, once more, decided not to question all of this. With the Dimensionator's total destruction there was no telling what might happen or where these rifts might spawn, so she guessed it was possible that all of this was just a coincidence in terms of their recent placement, allowing her to turn her focus on their enemies as both she and Rivet blasted the pirates into submission. Due to their skills in combat Pierre had some interesting comments to say on the matter, like openly wondering if the weapons of his crew were broken or ordering them to fire on their targets, though the sisters simply turned him out as they blasted their enemies and tore down the waves coming at them.

What confirmed that he was a coward in Autumn's eyes was that, once all of his crew mates were defeated, he pretended to have a sprained ankle for a time, enough for Rivet to be rewarded with an armor sphere, likely a design anyone could wear, before stating that they would be fighting someone else. As it turned out his 'less attractive stunt double' happened to be one of the larger and bulkier pirates they had seen when entering the gastropub, the cannonball firing guys from when she, Ratchet, and Starswirl dealt with Slag's crew, only this one was colored blue, unlike the red she was used to, one who went by the name Francois. For the most part it seemed like Francois only had two types of attacks, the first being leaping from an area and using the force of him landing to use a shockwave to hurt his enemies, while the other was more of a bouncer ball, as in his cannon arm fired out decent sized bouncer spheres that separated into smaller ones that zeroed in on them, not that it mattered since they dodged with their Phantom Dash. Autumn had to admit that this addition was a worthwhile one, allowing them to fight better than ever before and not have to rely on magic, which she couldn't use in this situation thanks to all of the dimensional rifts that were opening, closing, or staying open around them, as it would have a negative effect on everything, a warning Kaden had given her and Starswirl many times in the past.

In the end it wasn't long before they brought down Francois, who staggered before breaking into a pile of scrap, causing the crowd to cheer for the excellent battle that had taken place in the arena, and Autumn was pleased to see that Pierre was just surprised by the scene in front of him.

"A... defeat?! But now?!" Pierre stated, almost like he was acting out some sort of scene, as his movements suggested such a thing as Autumn focused on him for a time, especially since he changed his stance to show the crowd that, which he might have lost, he was being a good sport about it and already had plans for the future, "Eventually, and dramatically, I will have my revenge! But here, take your part!"

There was a large smile on Rivet's face as she caught the signal booster, as she loved putting on a show like this, before she and Autumn left the arena, allowing her to guide them to a seat so she could open Clank's insides for a few seconds and slip the device in, all while pausing for a few seconds, due to him giggling, before completing her work.

"Eureka, she's gone it!" Rivet said, the smile lingering on her face for a moment as she finished installing it, which was easier than creating an entire arm to replace her lost one, while Autumn sat nearby in the spherical booth that patrons used, as she didn't feel like standing while they talked to Ratchet, "You should be able to contact Ratchet now."

"Ratchet? Starswirl? Can you hear me?" Clank asked, making sure to activate the function he was trying to use, and not make a fool of himself in the process, while at the same time noticing that Rivet was hoping for good news, especially since she had now accepted that she had a family and two of them were still looking for her.

Clank! Are you guys okay? We saw you guys take off in Nefarious City and have been trying to catch up to you for some time now. Ratchet replied, as there wasn't much delay from Clank asking his question to the response, meaning either Ratchet or Starswirl must have input the signature that was assigned to their friend and had been scanning for any and all communications that might be coming from him, Is Rivet okay?

"You bet I am... brother." Rivet answered, where it was easy to see that it wasn't easy for her to say such a thing, likely due to all the years she had spent as a single child in a galaxy that was on the verge of being conquered by her Nefarious, even if she had called Ratchet her brother while speaking with Autumn and Clank, "Oh, Clank and Autumn are fine as well."

I'm relieved to hear that. Ratchet said, where they could hear him let out a sigh of relief, meaning he must have been worrying about all three of them since he had watched them run off, though at the same time Rivet understood that he and Starswirl must have claimed their own royal starship to leave Nefarious City.

We have news: Dr. Nefarious has just crowned himself Emperor of this dimension... whether it means he's standing in for the real one or purely taking over, we don't know. Starswirl stated, as there were things they needed to talk about, now that the connection had been established between both groups, because with this development they needed to form a plan of attack to put things right.

"Oh no... I have my hands full with my own Nefarious!" Rivet remarked, though she wasn't too surprised by this sudden turn of events, because after everything she had seen in Clank's memories of Dr. Nefarious she suspected that this might have been his desire from the very beginning, "We have to do something about him!"

We will, but... in order to fix everything, and get him out of here, we would need the Dimensionator, and dad's back in our own dimension. Ratchet said, showing them that he had been thinking about how to deal with the events that were going on right now and, sadly, none of his plans would work without the very device that allowed them to find Rivet in the first place.

"I'm afraid that we'll have to build a new one." Clank replied, where he could see that Autumn and Rivet were worried, as one knew how dangerous the device was and the other only had a slim idea of what they would be getting themselves into if they did this, all while Autumn noticed a white robot, about Clank's size, floating near a table with a menu, but quickly decided not to pay it too much attention, "While we were on Sargasso I dealt with a dimensional anomaly and was able to meet a Prophet from Savali named Gary, who said that he had access to the Dimensional Archives, which I'm sure are an ancient Lombax artifact left behind in capable hands... if anyone would know what to do, I'm positive he's the one to ask."

We're only a couple of sectors away from Savali, so we can check in with him when we get there. Starswirl stated, as it meant he or Ratchet must have checked the coordinates of themselves and the planet in question, discovering that they were closer to the planet than they must have thought, and, if Autumn knew Ratchet as well as she thought she did, he was likely changing direction right now.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Rivet asked, because she didn't want to sit around and do nothing while the rest of her family, at least her brothers, went out into the dangers of her galaxy to face whatever trials stood between them and remaking the Dimensionator.

"Do you have the planet Blizar Prime in this dimension?" Autumn inquired, as she had learned much from Kaden during the months of working on repairing the Dimensionator and restoring it to it's original form, just as Clank and Vendra had, so her question was to help them track a specific item down.

"Yeah, though I've never had a reason to go there. Why do you ask?" Rivet replied, where she was interested in what sort of plan the family was putting together before her very eyes, as it looked like they knew exactly how to go about saving the dimensions from the danger that was threatening all of them.

"Kaden told me that the Phase Quartz used to power the Dimensionator can be found there." Clank replied, where Rivet instantly put two and two together, that while one group went and forged the new device another would have to do and claim the power source, so they could then regroup, put the two together, and save the dimensions, "If my calculations are right, we should be able to reforge the device and save the dimensions in no time."

"Hey, quick question: you guys aren't going to leave once the Dimensionator's made... are you?" Rivet asked, as while she knew that the device was important, especially given what she had learned about it so far, she also knew there was a slim chance that she'd be fighting her battle on her own after it was complete.

No, we aren't. We're going to save the dimensions and bring our Nefarious home for imprisonment... once that's done, and dad confirms the barrier is safe, we'll be right back. Ratchet replied, where Autumn could tell that his response put a smile on Rivet's face, as it meant she'd have a chance to speak with her brother about things, and whatever else she was thinking about right now, just like it put a smile on her and Clank's faces, After seeing what you're dealing with, there's no way I'm leaving you to fight Emperor Nefarious and his forces on your own... I'm sure our siblings and Clank would also agree with me on this fact.

Rivet was happy to hear that and wished Ratchet and Starswirl luck in figuring out how to forge the Dimensionator, which allowed Clank to stop the transmission for the time being, though Autumn found that her sister wanted to check out the rest of the challenges in Zurkon Jr.'s Bronze Cup. Apparently fighting Pierre's crew and trashing Francois counted as two of the five, as usually he made them so that there were five challenges for his 'fiends', as he liked to call people seeking battle that, to tackle in their quest to sake their thirst for battle. The third one was actually far more challenging than Autumn or Rivet thought it might be, it was one where they could only use a single weapon, the Enforcer, against a group of Goons who were either using jetpacks or just standing on the platforms, as Autumn also discovered that the arena changed to fit whatever fight was going on. As such this time it was four squares in the four corners of the arena, one main platform, and a few items to help them move from point to point, the walls that utilized the addition to their gloves, small circular jump platforms, and even rifts that required their Rift Tethers to use to get around their enemies.

Even while dodging attacks and blasting their foes, once more showing that these Goons had greater accuracy than those Autumn had faced in the past, she and Rivet bested them after a time, allowing them to claim the reward before returning to the battle terminal. The next challenge was more of a single person challenge, it was a Speetle course through several rifts, causing Rivet to tackle it and speed off as soon as she climbed onto the critter's back, where Autumn found that the various rifts connected to the underside of the gastropub's exterior, Nefarious City, and Sargasso. Rivet, as she suspected, won the challenge and regrouped with her before seeing what the fifth and final challenge might be, where Zurkon. Jr. told all of them that the individual in question once ruled the swamps of Sargasso ten squillion years ago, allowing them to find that it was an undead Grunthor named Sue. Sure enough, true to his word, a skeletal Grunthor, joined by packs of what had to be skeletal Sandsharks, emerged to fight the sisters for a time, where he had gotten one they had no idea, but both focused on the familiar fight and hit it with everything they got.

Since it seemed to be an identical fight to what they did on Sargasso, with not changes at all, Rivet and Autumn emerged as the victors and collected their reward, more Bolts and an armor container for the Carbonax Advanced boots, which was just another collectible for Rivet. With all of the challenges done, and Rivet confirmed that after a few moments in front of the screen, the sisters headed for the exit, collecting their weapons from the robot in charge of greeting visitors as they left the gastropub at long last. Rivet made a stop at Ms. Zurkon's shop to inform her that Ratchet and Starswirl, who were her brothers as she recently discovered, were on their way to Savali, mostly because she knew the robot would want to sell some more weapons and this was the best way to tell her where they were going, since Rivet now knew that her family could afford anything and everything that was offered. In addition to that she got a call from the Morts back on Sargasso, as Trudi was in need of assistance and they were calling to see if she could spare a moment to help, where she said that they'd be there in no time, before telling Autumn and Clank that it was on the way to Blizar Prime, causing them to nod for a moment as they climbed into their ship.

That came with a message from Dr. Nefarious, where he was offering a clearly fake amount of money, also fake, for Rivet and Ratchet, deeming them more important right now, effectively putting a bounty on their heads while informing the rest of the empire that they were heading to Blizar Prime and Savali, where they said nothing as they blasted off at long last, all while hoping Ratchet and Starswirl were able to figure out what to do next on their end.