Ratchet and Clank: Lifeforce Chapter 13

Lifeforce Chapter 13:

That Moment After you Wake from a Nightmare

Ratchet found as they traversed deeper into the abyss created by the damp, dark caves, that the air around them grew colder and thicker; like fog. The chill was beginning to pick meanly at his skin as his fur stood on end.

Clank on his back was the only source of comfort and safety he had as he shined the lamp on the footprints. They had followed the crystals for some time; they provided a much needed break from the darkness- but not they were on their own. They'd grown fewer until none where left; and the purple glow had faded till it became pitch black.

Ratchet tried to tell himself he wasn't nervous; but his large ears could give no protection if a sheer drop or spike was about to hit them. All he had where this flashlight and Clank; both shed only a little light.

He followed the footprints.

Clank turned to look at the back of his head; he could see his tense posture and the way he bit his lip in concentration, keeping his eyes on his feet at all times. "Ratchet, I have calculated that we have been walking for over an hour...we should get close to something soon."

Ratchet did not reply. His mind, though on his feet and balance, had slid off elsewhere to the owner of the very footprints below him.

He glanced backwards. With the addition of his own footprints, it almost looked like Ickabar could have had someone with him. The thought strangely pulled at his chest that he'd been completely alone down here.

Ratchet hadn't had a good upbringing; a good childhood. He'd been alone. The only one of his race, children had singled him out as an outcast and a punching bag rolled into one. By the time he'd met Clank he'd given up on finding out why he was left on Veldin, who he was, who his parents was...everything. The galaxy, he thought, was simply too big to find these answers.

Then they came looking for him in the shape of a giant walking throne.

The lombax's brows twitched into a slight frown; creasing the smooth fur of his face. It was odd to imagine someone like Ickabar knowing Tachyon. They were like two different people from different realities- like story books. Ickabar would probably fit in a nice bedtime story with bright skies and starry nights; that cragmite belonged in a horror story. Or at least, a parody of a horror story.

That thought was enough to make Ratchet almost smile, but then he remembered bluntly what the cragmite was capable of, and what he'd done. Millions wiped out.

His steps grew slower. His father had died fighting, he knew it had to be true. Where was Ickabar? Was he still alive? If not, how did he die...?

Why did it concern him? He didn't know why, honestly, but it did. He didn't know what it was, he knew he wouldn't be able to explain it to Clank. But he felt like he knew him. Suddenly he'd gone from a vague background face to someone who mattered.

Ratchet suddenly felt bad. It wasn't just his father who suffered, thousands did. Parents who hadn't been able to save their children like Kaden had before the end. They did matter, and Ickabar mattered, too.

"...Ratchet. We will put an end to this."

Ratchet finally smiled. Seemed Clank, as usual, had sussed out what he was thinking, or along the lines of it anyway. "...I know. This time, it ends for sure."

"Exactly." Clank bobbed his head once, optics clicking as he gave a merry blink.

Ratchet focused on the footsteps. He suddenly realized there was a lot more light than before.

Slowly, he lifted his head. His pupils dilated and his eyes became wide at the sight.

Around them the narrow cave had opened to a cavern; round and rubbed smooth by trickles of water slipping out of the rock. The water appeared luminous as it sprinkled into small pools on the rock floor; small rivers trailing around in a ribbon-like curve. They glimmered in the darkness; the black popping out behind the pale blue.

In the centre of the chamber was a rock pedestal- and something had clearly been removed. A curved groove had been left in the rock where something had sat once; surrounded by blue crystals. Ratchet, staring starry-eyed, poked one of them. Clank shook his head at the childish action.

"I guess this is where he found that artefact..." Ratchet bent down, trying to think like Ickabar would. "Hmm..." There where...scratch marks, some sharp breaks in the rock around the hollow- it must have been broken off the pedestal...

"There should be..." He shined the torch closer, Clank hopping down to look with him. He squinted his eyes. There had to be something.

Then, he spotted them. More markings, like the ones on the walls. He grinned. This would have been an archaeologist's field day. Clank began taking pictures to examine later, clicking away.

Helpful as the strange old letters could be, Ratchet stood and looked around for something that could tell them what this was, and perhaps give them a clue of where Ickabar took it.

He began pointing the torch light around, looking for something. Anything. Ickabar's tracks had ended on the rock floor here; so they'd have to find a new lead. He groaned inwardly. They found something, but the leads where trying up. He couldn't find anything.

Well, grea-

The ground suddenly lurched beneath his boots and he stumbled, his arm lashing out to stop him from hitting the rock floor. The metal clunk of Clank's body hitting the floor sounded behind him as the trembling continued.

"What the..." Ratchet's ears twitched. He looked back down the way they'd come. Something was cracking, breaking- and it was getting close. Cave-in.

Ratchet turned and grabbed Clank as he sprinted to the next tunnel, his teeth gritted, eyeballs almost popping out of his skull, "We gotta get outa here!"

"Ratchet, I think that person who followed us-"

"Yeah, Clank, that's pretty obvious, but let's go!" Ratchet half screeched, practically flying into the tunnel as the chasm behind them began to collapse.

Abruptly there was a loud crackle- but this time it came from his pocket. Clank blinked and pulled it out. The communicator's signal was being scrambled, but something was happening.

"Ratchet..."

"Hellooo, Ratchet...cosy down there?" A smooth, sinister voice chimed from the device; one that neither of them recognised. There was a slimy, unsettled tone, the voice was unsteady in its pitch. Like the man- it sounded like a guy anyway- was going to burst into hysterics any moment and couldn't contain himself. But, along with that glee, was something rough and dark. "You don't know me of course, but everyone knows you...hnnnn."

That little noise at the end there did it. Insanity at twelve freaking o'clock. "Are YOU are?" Ratchet shot back, making it plain he wasn't in the mood for villains trying to play scary. He had three major ones to deal with; he didn't need some crazy-

"Oooh, you can give a shot at guessing when you see me, Chum." The voice replied casually, as if rocks falling and crushing the person he was talking to was no big deal at all , and they could have easily had tea and crumpets. But, the giggle afterwards gave away his true mocking tone.

"Could you stop screwing around?!" Ratchet found himself snapping as he dodged a falling rock. Clank narrowly missed the flying fragments that flew from it upon hitting the floor.

"The way you're running like a headless chicken reminds me of someone very much like you...Ratchet." The caller said his name in emphasize; as if the word would get to him. Ratchet felt nothing, and directed a faint scowl into the darkness. He allowed his sprinting to become absent- and tried to think about what this creep was telling him.

"Who are you talking about?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"You wouldn't have mentioned him if he wasn't important!" Ratchet's temper was reaching an all-time high as he ran, slowly outrunning the cave-in- or it was slowing down. "Just say what you came here to say!"

"Hmm, someone snaps to the point, eh?" Came a more subtle purr- perhaps he was finally getting serious- "How does it feel to walk in the footsteps on a man who was the brother to someone who-"

"He couldn't have known Tachyon was going to..." Ratchet blinked at himself, and he could see Clank watching him out of the corner of his eye. "Did he?"

"Oh, of course he didn't know. But at the same time, it came as no surprise. But we'll get to that little ditty later. For now you're trying to find clues that were never there and now you're trying to escape from a collapsing tunnel like a blind mouse and I thought I should tell you the exit is to your left coming up."

Clank frowned. "This is clearly a trap- we are not foolish enough to-"

"Zip it, tin can. I DARE you to go the other way." The caller gave an insane little giggle. Ratchet felt his stomach sink.

"I get the feeling we have no choice." Probably the worst judgment he'd ever hand.

He saw the tunnels suddenly- up ahead two stood on either side, left and right, just like the voice in the communicator had proclaimed. Both pitch black, and with the roar of the collapsing cave behind him, he knew there would only be once choice.

Clank watched the rocks fall behind them in growing alarm, "Ratchet, we cannot trust him!"

The seconds where ticking. Ratchet's breath racked his chest as he drew near. He'd have to make the leap. But which way?

He turned his head; the map was blurry in the light of the broken lamp, but the arrows specifically pointed-

"Wha..." A dizziness took hold of his mind. Clank was yelling now, and his legs where numbing with the lack of focus. The map pointed which-

To the left. He folded it; purple hands gripping the paper with a relieved sigh-

Left.

Ratchet tossed himself into the left tunnel as the boulders crashed into the ground, barely missing his ankle, and he toppled down a sloping tunnel. The splash of cool water was welcome against his throbbing head- and he slid on his stomach down the water-fall like slide.

Clank stood on his back, "Ratchet, did it happen again...?" He asked. Ratchet's eyes slid tiredly up to look at him.

"Yep."

Then, Clank's round optics widened and clicked as he looked up- and Ratchet followed his lead. His nose discovered it first- he smelled fresh air; dusty, but with a soft breeze. Up ahead was a cave opening into a small stream; the sun had risen on Berrick and shined through the gap in a welcoming manner.

Ratchet dragged himself up as the slope ended and he flopped into the stream. He trudged to the side and fell onto the dusty brown rock, his stomach growling but his limps asking for sleep.

He gave a gasping breath, head and heart pounding in his ears. Clank patted his back- as he had done all of the running and deserved a break.

"Quite an escapade, Ratchet..." He chimed pleasantly. The furball chuckled faintly to himself as sleep slowly claimed him.

...

"Hellooooo?"

Ickabar heard his own soft call in the darkness. It was unnerving that the quiet made his own voice sound alien to him; almost like someone else was cheering the quiet words. His camera bumped against his chest as he walked, his shoulder belt shining bright in the darkness.

"I wonder if this is what a glow-worm feels like." He commented. He looked down, his foot narrowly missing a rock. He noticed it was alone on the smooth path, almost deliberately so.

"Get outta my way..." He said quietly, shifting it aside with his foot. Perhaps future travelers would be spared the agonizing hit of the rock thanks to him. The random yet comforting thought made him feel a little better. He laughed nervously to himself, jogging wobbly down a small slope. His helmet threatened to slip in front of his face as he looked around; his head-fur felt it shift.

He slowly reached the end of the slope. His nose caught a whiff of dampness- a river. If it was flowing it must lead to the way out...

Then, he had an odd feeling. A soft prickling at the back of his neck, as if something was blowing on it, like a smooth breeze...but it was cold. Bitter cold. Colder than the water nibbling at his boots.

Ickabar, in the darkness, with the abyss pressing in around him and his flashlight aimed ahead, not behind, told himself it was nothing. But it was blackness all around. His hands were shaking and dread was twisting his chest and his stomach, clenching his throat. He suddenly realized he was holding his breath, but his lungs refused the noise of a breath.

He tried to continue walking; his legs stiffly slid across the stream bed. Out of the corner of his eye, something stirred. Something moved.

It was nothing. It was nothing.

He kept going, but it was so cold. It bit at his legs.

He slowly turned around, his gaze swirling with him- and where struck by the sight of a wide, thin eye, pointed in the middle like a diamond with arms stretching out to him-

Blazing, they stared into him, and the cold and fear was unbearable.

Wake me up.

...

Ratchet awoke to everything shaking- or rather, him shaking. Clank's small hands where grasping his shoulder and tugging at him, jostling him out of his nightmare. His legs and arms felt numb and bloodless. "C-Clank?!"

"Ratchet!" The small robot now looked incredibly concerned, "What happened?"

"D-dream." Ratchet coughed, his lips dry. He struggled to sit up, though Clank was trying to get him to lie down.

"Ratchet, you are weak- you must rest..."

"N-no..." Ratchet, in his tiredness before, had forgotten about the guy on the radio. "That guy that was following us- he could still be nearby..." He breathed in, trying to focus. His head was spinning. He forced his legs to stand and swayed a bit. Slowly, the world focused around him. He dusted himself off, "Alright...uh, where are we...?"

"Just outside the caves. They have collapsed behind us; whoever was falling could not possibly have gotten through that way." Clank mused, rubbing his 'chin' thoughtfully. Ratchet chewed his lip, thinking. That would give them some time.

"Well, we found the markings- maybe those guys back at the base can make something of them." He was disappointed, though- they hadn't been able to find clues to where Ickabar would have taken it.

"That person that contacted us seems to know Ickabar." Clank said, staring at the now collapsed tunnel opening behind them, "...Strange. It is like he wants us to find out."

"He sounded like a total lunatic, Clank, only not as bearable as Croid..." Clank frowned at his words, as if vaguely remembering something but it slipped away from him before he could grasp it.

"We had better get back to the ship, then. I have a feeling we have no time to waste." Clank hopped onto the harness on his back. Ratchet sighed quietly and turned, beginning the long trek through the canyon area back to the ship.

...

Back on the Asteroid Base, Cronk and Zephyr watched the security cameras like hawks- or rather, owls in the daytime. Cronk slowly sneered.

"Hey, I'M watchin' that screen! Keep to your side!"

"We're both watchin' them all, there ain't no..."

"For the love of God, shut up."

Trisby's frustrated bark silenced the two aged robots in a blink. They leaned back in their chairs to catch a glimpse of her near the control panel at the end of the platform. Though of course, they weren't prone to long silence.

"Oh yeah, what're your doin that's so important?" Cronk called in his gruff voice, lacing his tone with his own annoyance. She frowned, peering around back at them.

"Just watch the screens..." She looked...tired. Almost strained by something. Zephyr, being the less rash of the two noticed first, trying to lean even more on his chair to see her better.

"Hey, Miss, has that possessed furball been botherin' ya again?"

"Scumbag, pickin' on woman, for shame-" Cronk began behind him, only for Trisby to cut them both off with a sigh,

"He's nothing I can't handle. BUT he's trying to get through the security and if he does we're all pretty much pâté on a plate. So, watch the screens..."

She turned away, arms folded. She glanced tiredly up at the screen, her face an unreadable mixture of anger, frustration, and tiredness. The two warbots got the message and went in a tense quiet behind her.

Abruplty, the Base jerked to one side and Trisbey stumbled back, hair standing on end. Cronk and Zephyr leaped up like jack in the boxes as all the screens turned to that of Tachyon, sitting smug and sly in his throne. He, akin to the army commercial, raised his head slowly and smirked.

"Greetings, inferior beings of this base. It appears your defences are slowly running out. I give you this once chance- surrender." His expression darkened, though his fingers tapped together in hidden glee. "Do this and SOME of you may survive."

Trisby's scowl slowly deepened as he went on, "Fail to do so, and everyone in this infernal place will receive horrible torture until they reveal all of their knowledge. Then, you will die."

He cackled in high-pitched malice as the ships closed in around the weakening shield of the Base. Trisby stared up and around. She needed a plan, and quickly.

...

"What are you doing- I told you not to talk to 'im!"

"It's that weird kid again..."

"Can't even build an engine, he's such a freak!"
"He's nice enough, good manners and all, but he does...loom."

Ickabar sat alone. It felt like the dark of the night was closing in all around him, his tears mixing in with the sand where he lay. Pale blue eyes watched the night, feeling the cold of the desert when the sun was not bright.

When he was alone, the cold was always there. Without Percival, and without Raymas, without anyone, he would be trapped in this place that wasn't physical nor in his mind, really. Like that moment when you awaken from a nightmare; you can't quite feel your body right, you aren't yourself. Your memories are all faint, so much so that they feel like they aren't there at all.

All there is, is you, and the nightmare. But Ickabar never woke up from it, not when he was alone. He was even more aware that he was different, not the same, not in sync. He didn't...fit.

Slowly, he sat up, dust sticking to his purple fur, as if trying to tug him back down to where he once lay. His shape in the sand, like any other lombax, seemed to mock him with its plainness. He sobbed quietly, wrapping his arms tighter around himself, wishing for that embrace he'd never hand.

He remained there for a very long time. Then, as he stood up, his bottle of water spilled and fell into a small pothole nearby, the water draining out into the sand-rock. A small puddle remained in the night. Ickabar moved over to it, and in its reflection he could only see his eyes, pale and blue, no colour that would be associated with his species' colouring.

He stared. When he was alone with no one around to be compared to...they didn't look so bad. He looked at his arms, the purple, bruise-like shade lit in the moonlight. It wasn't so bad, really, when the natural earthy colours weren't around him. He smiled faintly.

His tears tried on his cheeks, and he laughed softly at the odd sense of lightness in his chest. Then, that strange moment of relief, like the one you have when you realize the nightmare is over, not real, and you are relieved. That moment afterwards when you close your eyes again, not quite yourself just yet, was over, and he was Ickabar again.

He heard Fergus calling for him. He wondered if Fergus had ever woken up from his nightmare- whatever it was that made him so bitter.