With Ratchet's 'disguise' in place, the trio made their way into the Cobalia spaceport. Their first stop was the weapon vendor. Approaching the automated device, they discovered it was actually a remote uplink to a network.
"Welcome to Grummel-net's Weapon Shop," a gruff voice said through a communications grill. "Here you can buy ammo, upgrade your weapon, or purchase new tools of destruction. Go ahead, name your poison."
Ratchet and Twilight glanced at each other nervously. "Umm...do you take Gadgetron bolt cards?" Twilight asked nervously.
"Gadgetron?" the voice replied in surprise. "Huh. Didn't think anyone in the Polaris galaxy would know that name."
"So...do you?" Ratchet asked for clarification.
"Kid, Grummel-net is the Polaris branch of Gadgetron," the voice replied. "While regulations dictate we can't sell or deliver Solana weaponry to Polaris systems without written approval from Orvus Zoni-"
"Who?" Clank asked, the name ringing a chord in his programming.
"I dunno. It's just on the contracts," the voice replied. "But anyway, if you've got a Gadgetron account, I can sell you anything Grummel-net with whatever discounts and the like attached to your account. Just insert your card, and we can get right to the dealing."
Smiling, Twilight inserted her bolt card - and Gadgetron ID - into the indicated slots.
"Well blow me down!" the vendor proclaimed. "It's Twilight ruddy Sparkle! What are you doing all the way out here in Polaris?"
"Buying weapons," Twilight replied jokingly.
"Fair enough," the vendor agreed. "I'll just let Mr. Fixit know you've been located. He's had an intergalactic APB out ever since you vanished during Tachyon's attack on Metropolis."
"Well, let him know I'm doing just fine," Twilight requested. "So what do you have to sell?"
"Well, first there's the brand new Tornado Launcher and Plasma Beasts," the vendor began, going into his spiel as the weapons in question were displayed. "The Tornado Launcher, as the name indicates, launches a tornado disc which you can remotely guide to destroy your enemies. The Plasma Beasts, once launched, lie in wait until anything designated 'hostile' enters their range, at which point they launch themselves at the target and burst into toxic - and caustic - goo. Excellent for getting past shields and taking down groups."
"Oooh!" Ratchet crowed, rubbing his hands together in eagerness.
"We've also got some combat gadgets available, too," the vendor continued. "The Groovitron you started working on based on that spell you used in the final battle of Annihilation Nation - you know, the one you never finished because you had to take time off? - has been completed and ready for combat use. We also have the Leech Bomb, which will drain nanotech right out of your enemies to replenish yours."
"We'll take everything!" Twilight proclaimed happily. "How much will that put me out?"
"Barely a drop in the bucket, thanks to interest rates," the vendor replied. "Want to upgrade them, too? Ever since the development of upgradable weapons, your account's been credited a good amount of raritanium, too. For bonuses."
Twilight's grin was almost vicious. "Yes!"
A few minutes later, Ratchet and Twilight were each equipped with all available weapons and battle gadgets, fully upgraded. "Keep an eye out for the armor vendors!" the vendor called from the grill. "They work for us, too!"
Smiling, the pair continued onward through the port, looking for an available ship. Eventually, the came across a blue skinned, lizard faced sophont dressed as a pirate arguing with a huge headed and eyed parrot.
"Don't you lay this on me, you worthless sack of Kerchu sweat!" he was shouting. "You were supposed to watch the gel gauge!"
"AWK!" the parrot replied. "Blame the parrot! Always blame the parrot!"
"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked, stepping up.
"Nothing for you to worry about, little lady," the reptile replied.
"AWK!" the parrot shouted. "Imperial spies! Hide the bodies! AWK!"
Before anyone else could react, Twilight had her combuster at the parrot's face. "Go ahead," she growled out. "Associate me with that idiot Tachyon again. I'd love to see what these upgrades do."
The parrot stared at her for a time. "AWK! Can I have a cracker?"
The reptilian alien couldn't help but laugh. "No need to be so hostile, little lady," he said graciously. "He don't mean no harm. We're just a couple of smugglers, is all. My partner's just a tad paranoid."
Twilight withdrew her gun with a smile. "I'm Twilight. What are your names?"
"AWK! No names! No tracks! AWK!"
"Well, I have to call you both something!" Twilight complained.
The Smuggler scratched his chin for a bit. "Well, how about you give us some nicknames, then?" he suggested.
Twilight glanced back and forth between them for a time, then grinned. "You're Blue Shift," she proclaimed, pointing to the smuggler. "And you're Red Shift," she finished, pointing to the parrot.
"AWK! Capital idea! AWK!"
Blue Shift chuckled. "Well, that's something to smile about today..."
"Is there a problem, sir?" Clank asked, walking up along with Ratchet.
"The imperials have shut down the Gelatonium plant," Blue Shift explained. "As a result, we can't refuel our ship."
"We'll turn it back on if you'll give us a lift off-world," Ratchet offered.
Blue Shift grinned widely. "Friend, you've got yourselves a deal." He pulled out a device reminiscent of the old Hydrodisplacer. "You'll need this Gelanator to pull the job off."
"Thanks!" Twilight said happily, eager to play with the new toy.
Progress through the Gelatonium plant was rather uneventful, although at times Ratchet did have to get firm about moving forward, as Twilight enjoyed bouncing on the gel cubes the Gelanator produced a little too much. Even the gel eaters weren't a problem, as Twilight was able to surround the gel cubes with magic walls that prevented the gel eaters from chowing down. Once the plant was fully operational, the trio exited the factory.
On the way back to Blue Shift, Twilight and Ratchet paused at the Armor Vendor to see about getting the new Blackstar Armor. They proved to actually have a model fitted to Twilight as well, which was quite surprising.
"Snazzy new threads," Blue Shift commented as they caught back up to him in front of his ship. "I'm heading ta Stratus City myself. That work for you three?"
"Sounds good," Ratchet agreed. "We'll figure out our own path from there."
"Then hop on in," he agreed, gesturing them inside.
Wasn't the Smuggler's name just Shift? Not that I'm nitpicking, it's just been a while since I've played Tools of Destruction. I remember the smuggler, but not his name... if he had one.
I'm really liking Twilight in this story, as I've said before. I'm an avid fan of badass!Twilight, but not a big fan of evil!Twilight. Unfortunately, those two tend to go hand in hand in a story. It's nice to see a good, badass Twilight.
6524363
Neither the Smuggler nor the Parrot ever had names.
Officially, they're dubbed "The Smuggler and his Parrot".
Bouncing on the gel cubes it's like chryssy and the bounce house all over again lolz
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
Never really liked the Tornado Launcher. Too awkward to control.
I'm enjoying how Twilight handles herself in these situations, she often made some rather stupid decisions back on Equestria, here she's fighting real smart, I think a lot this is due to the absence of Celestia, since she has often felt the need to obey Sunbutt blindly. Here, you see her show a level of intelligence that she could never show in the presence of the Solar Flank.
6511386 This wouldn't surprise me. At all.
6524480 To be fair, Celestia taught Twilight during a time of peace. She knew Nightmare Moon was coming, and made sure Twilight was ready to handle that, but as far as Celestia knew at the time that would be the only conflict Twilight went through. She had no real reason to teach Twilight how to think and act during war time.
Of course, after the Canterlot Wedding she should have realized Twilight seemed to a magnet for Divine level threats and began teaching her, but still.
I wonder how Equestria would handle this new Twilight, even if she just showed up for a brief visit somehow.
i swear, the cover image looked like twilight had a vaccinator. I wish i could read this fic, but I'm not caught up on Ratchet and Clank.
Nice going.
Onward!!!
........ seriously? no one? okay then....... "PFADOG"? "Purple Fluffy Alicorns Dancing On Gelatonium?"
*locks self in bunker*
6524625 I know jack-all about the games, and I'm still reading it, mostly because Tatsurou is the one writing it.
YAY an update!
Forgot your opening quotation mark here.
Doesn't help that one of our Story Approvers/Moderators/Well-known-person-but-I-forgot-what-they-were-again is also named Blue Shift. I always knew he was... Shifty.
6524531 Okay look, to be honest, I think she should have started training, not just twilight, but the element bearers as a whole the moment they all got together and saved Equestria from Nightmare Moon. They literally have the worlds biggest superweapon at there disposal, and any terrorist organization, military country, or any other high-tier foe is going to literally see a freaking target right where the damn cutie mark is supposed to go. It's a miracle they don't see as much combat action as it is...
I thought of Pirates of the Caribbean Almost expected her to go "What did the bird say!?"
6524693 *Bangs against the bunker door like an enraged Tank zombie*
and soon we shall see... DA GROOVE
6524824 okay, laughed at the statement the first time, but your comment broke me.
6524790
*Crickets chirping*
*tumbleweed passes by*
*general sounds of silence*
6524693 We demand that somepony make this
6524804 You're right. She should have at least given them basic training. But, again, I feel I must stress my point of them living in a time of relative peace. You don't build armies and provide advanced training for civilians in a time of peace, especially if they wield artifacts of near unmatched power.
I'm not saying you're wrong. The training would have saved the Mane 6 a lot of trouble down the road, but providing said training would only really be reasonable during a prolonged war. Nevermind the fact that most of the Mane 6 have lives and responsibilities that, during peacetime, prevents them from taking the time to participate in advanced tactical combat training.
6525267
She could have at least sent Twilight a few text on combat magic. That would have been perfectly reasonable.
6525044 It's something you only really understand when you can translate terrible accents. Ratchet & Clank is notorious for naming its characters like that.
6525280 Of course. Twilight's talent is, after all, magic in general.
On the whole named Smuggler thing, I think it was a later game that just straight up called him Shifty and that's it. The parrot was never named to my months out of date memory (when I watched a full run through of all the games at once). So, as far as I am aware, you are naming them ahead of schedule. Any way, Twilight needs to stop being so good at making weaponry to sell. She keeps breaking the bank for galaxies every other time she goes shopping for new gear to save one of them.
6525396
According to the official Wiki, they are unnamed.
6525407 Neat. So I guess that was just something for the characters to call him if it was ever written anywhere.
For a moment I thought that said "Plasma Breasts"...
6525457
6525121 A tumbleweed? That's not a pirate thing!
Not too surprising, actually. I am quite sure those things are custom made on site. (Basically Rarity in a kiosk.) Better still, Grumblenet is an arm of Gadgetron. As such, Twilight's measurements and physical requirements are already on file.
6525044 If I remember correctly, the name is Ivanna Fixit?
I wanna fix it.
6525545
Ivanna Splodeya, actually.
I wanna explode ya.
Fixit was Eiken Fixit, head of Gadgetron.
6525557 Ehhh. The only R&C game I played was Deadlocked. I was taking a wild guess since just about every name in this story is a pun.
6525591
Yup. That's deliberate on my part for those characters not named in canon.
6525457 kinky
6524480 You're right! Celestia was Twilight's limiter.
Well, will Mr. Fixit pass on Twilight's location to Sasha so she can come in guns blazing at some point for some Star Destroyer Diplomacy????
Awww, that's a adorable!!!
6524693 Genius!!!!
6524697 Same here!
6525531
Who said it had to be?
6526338
I'm pretty sure that was a Mythbusters reference, because Adam says that exact line when he is interrupted by a tumbleweed during a pirate myths themed episode.
6525902
I really hope so.
6526338 ...
Mythbusters, pirate special. Tumbleweed.
6526746
I got the joke, alright?
6524430 The TORNADO launcher sucks.
The TEMPEST launcher is one of the best remote-control weapons in the series.
remember the dynamo...the one you controll whit SIXAS ....its fucking anoying to control and fight
Look what I found!
6533932 Ugh. Choices, choices, choices...
That was fun, may I have another? Looking forward to more.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.