Shell Shock Writers:
Rating: PG-RG
Warnings: Ratchet/Azimuth. Violence.
Disclaimer: We value our lives too much to even dare think about claiming Ratchet and Alister as our own. We borrow them for an RP, so don't worry. [Put the Wargroks back into your cage!]
Summary: Everyone's nightmare is to wake up in a cold, dark place without a clue where one is. Sadly, that's what's happened to us. What's even better, we have monsters and weird encounters to endure as well. And then there's them...
Lucky, right? If I ever get out of here, I will need some therapy sessions.
Chapter 38
Wiping his brow, Ratchet tiredly waved Zane goodbye. As soon as he was next to Alister, he sent the robot an unreadable look - at least to Ratchet, as Zane nodded almost unperceptively. "You know I didn't do anything," the robot whispered.
"I know." Azimuth turned away and walked towards Ratchet, a faint smile on his lips. "You look exhausted. Do you want me to pour you a drink?"
"Yes, please," came the rasp. Zane had been more insistent today, making him repeat the song over and over and over again while they trained the choreography.
The elder nodded and vanished in the kitchen. A few moments later he reappeared with two drinks in his hands, one of which he handed to Ratchet. Then he walked over to the couch, patting lightly on the spot beside him. He took that invitation by limbless plopping himself into place, and then drinking the whole glass in one gulp.
"Someone's thirsty." Azimuth offered him his glass, and at the refusal he simply waved it more insistently. "I wasn't the one singing and moving around the whole time."
His ears dropped as the green eyes that had been tracking the glass despite Ratchet's refusal, shone suddenly quite predatory. One half of his mind wondered if he should withdraw the glass until the younger had calmed down - the other, Lombaxish side, wanted to bet if Ratchet could open his mouth enough to fit it whole.
"Take it before you pounce onto me for it," he finally said under a chuckle. "I'll get another one if you want to drink more."
Snatching the glass at the last syllable, Ratchet tipped his head back, tipped the glass forward and let it all flow down without a swallow.
Widened eyes observed him quietly. Then the glass was taken out of the Lombax's hand and placed on the table. "Do you want me to fetch another glass?" he asked with slight amusement.
"If ya don't mind." Ratchet let himself back against the couch's back, wiping his mouth.
"All right, then I will-" The elder froze suddenly, ears flicking slightly. "... Oh. I remember now."
"Remember what?" Ratchet's ears perked forward with his rising head.
"How we ended up here." Azimuth rubbed the back of his neck and groaned lowly. "We landed here because our navigation systems were obscured; tried to figure out where we were. So, while we were here, we decided to explore the planet a bit." He turned to Ratchet. "Don't you remember too?"
"How should we have gone that off far even with- Ouch, my brain." Ratchet massaged his temple. It's feel like I've suddenly gained a muscle in my head, and that muscle is cramping. But yeah, I remember now."
"I didn't expect those Voligs to overwhelm us. They are so... tribal and... unadvanced. No magic forces either." Azimuth sighed. "They hit the back of our necks with that disgusting secretion of their skin."
"That was the mistake; we underestimated them." Both hands pressed now over his face. Ratchet's head had begun swimming, and he was glad that he was sitting already. It didn't feel like he was able to stand even in this moment. "They got us because we didn't expect it."
"And threw us down a pit for their god." Azimuth sighed lowly. "How wonderful that one system failure led to us ending up in this nightmare." A pause. "Then again, not all is bad."
That made Ratchet chuckle. "You don't have to retrack every time when you tell the truth about our situation."
"True." The elder smiled quietly before he cupped the other's cheek. A swift motion followed - and before Ratchet knew, he found himself lying on the couch with a smirking Lombax towering over him. "No need to retrack."
Ratchet burst now into a series of chuckles. "I get the idea that you like this position very much."
"Mhm." His tail swung vividly from side to side, almost like a cat's that had spotted an interesting prey. The smirk on his lips indicated such a sentiment as well. Only a few moments later he leant down and purred lowly, nuzzling against Ratchet's cheek. "Though this is even better."
"Are you going to eat me now, or what was that look for?" The joke came out as a purr on its own.
"I could do that, yes, now that you mentioned it." Kisses were placed along Ratchet's neck, first brief and fleeting, then lingering and teasingly slow.
The younger kept laughing lowly at their cheesy ping-pong, until it tapered off slowly. Ratchet closed his eyes, heart beating now even fast - but not because of Alister's actions. He pushed the elder up and away from him, searching his face.
I need to get the communication device.
Surprise was in the amber eyes. "Is something wrong, Ratchet?" The elder's ears flicked. Had he done something disagreeable or what was the reason for the sudden distance?
"Nah, just another part of nature finally making its call - namely calling for the bathroom."
"... Really?" The elder raised his eyebrow skeptically. "Are you sure it's only that?"
"Well, I wanted another drink, remember? But mostly-" How lucky he was that he really felt the need to go to the bathroom - he had totally forgotten about that, too, while practicing with Zane. He squirmed a bit on the couch with restless legs.
"Oh yeah, that mostly!" Still, he took the time to lean up for a short hug with Alister and a quick peck to his cheek. "Be right back. If you want, meet me in the kitchen." He cheekily winked before rolling to the side, then swinging his legs to the ground.
"... All right." Azimuth watched him vanish behind the door before he stood up and stretched his limbs. Then he approached the kitchen, wondering what he should do to prepare. Perhaps...
The hand that was clutching the device was shaking hard. Ratchet leant against the wall, trying to breathe calmly. Where had the calm gone with which he had distracted Alister or taken the communication piece?
He slowly clipped the device on his ear, while willing to calm down. When he was sure his voice wouldn't do anything he didn't want, he started the call.
"Nefarious, do you have a short moment of time?"
"What are you bothering me for?" The snide tone was expected, although the robot sounded curious in a way. "I hope it's something important, I-"
"I believe the electric shock did affect Alister despite my first opinion. You need to check on his vital systems, especially his brain. He's been acting not himself, and the change may affect his performance in his next fight where I can't back him up." "What?" Even if he improved, you don't know how long it'll last." "Well, then I can't help you." "Fine, then just don't come and whine that Alister changed back if it happens in the middle of a fight."
It still didn't change the fact, though, that he had to deal with an overly affectionate, and possibly unintentionally initiative elder Lombax whose situation was more than a simple issue which deserved little attention. No, there was a distinct problem for the younger as he could not, and would not exploit Alister's state of mind even if it seemingly voluntarily offered to act like this on his own accord. He knew it was not the case, and so he had to do something to keep the other at a certain distance.
This was a very hard task, especially when the elder had gently taken him by his hand and led to the table with a plate full of suspiciously bite-sized pieces of fruits.
Does he want to feed me? The idea didn't anger him as much as he thought it would, or rather, he would have thought before. It reminded him when his caretakers still babied him when he was 12, which was one of the reasons he left them pretty early to care for himself.
"I took the liberty to make some dinner," the elder remarked, "since we both had a tiring day. I hope you like it."
"Of course I like it. This all looks awesome. Thanks, Alister." He peered over the various fruit pieces and slices with obvious wide eyes.
"I wasn't sure whether you'd like something light better than a steak or something, though I can surely contribute to that." Azimuth looked at him with a warm smile as he played idly with his fork. "Or do you perhaps have something else in mind?" A tail tugged slightly at Ratchet's bush.
He didn't take that deep breath to calm himself, but he tensed for a moment. After all, Alister had surprised him so it wasn't suspicious.
"Na, fruit sounds perfect because I definitely like something light in the moment after that fight."
"So the training with Zane is as bad as a fight against a Shapeshifter?" the elder jokingly asked before picking up one piece of fruit and idly swinging it back and forth, "I would like to contest that."
"You know what I mean." And Ratchet snatched the piece and threw it into his grinning mouth.
"Perhaps." Azimuth looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but did not say anything else. Instead he picked up another piece, waving it slightly in front of Ratchet's face while his tail stroked over the other's bush.
"Something you need?" His grin only broadened as he leant forward, head sitting on both of his hands, but he was still a bit away from the fruit piece.
"No, no... Nothing in particular." Alister smirked warmly, his other hand cupping Ratchet's cheek fondly. Then he placed the piece of fruit in Ratchet's mouth and pulled the fork back.
What do I do? This is innocent enough... But it's Alister's behavior and probably thoughts that will cause problems later.
"Apropos- what were you exactly up to when I practiced with Zane?"
At this the elder tensed up. He leant back and looked down at the fruits, picking a piece and idly circling it before placing it in his mouth. "Nothing special. I had a look around and wanted to see if Lawrence really wasn't there. The room we met him in is empty, so I assumed he really wasn't here."
"Needing a break from Nefarious, huh?" Ratchet asked empathically.
"You don't even know." Azimuth rolled his eyes and groaned lowly. "The doctor is a threat to the galaxy. We should get rid of him at some point."
"One mad entity after the other. We have more than enough on our hands with the Shapeshifters in the moment." Another piece of fruit vanished inside Ratchet's mouth, his expression tightened to a frown.
"We shouldn't wait that long anymore either, seeing how the amount of Shapeshifters is decreasing at a steady rate." Azimuth folded his hands, a peculiar glint appearing in his eyes. "We could make it quick if we do it well."
"To the two Lombaxes: Due to my gracious mood, and my generosity you two receive a special reward for your service to me. The privilege that each of you has his own room." The speakers crackled suddenly.
At this Alister straightened up, ears flicking nervously. "Ex... Excuse me? What is the reason for that?"
"Well, it's obvious that you both share the bed, because one of you would have to sleep on the couch otherwise. And I can't imagine either of you accepting, being the soft-hearted squishies that you are, despite the involved awkwardness for you."
No answer was given to that. Azimuth simply didn't reply, that perplexed he was. His gaze darted to Ratchet, indecisiveness in his eyes.
"Well, since you're silent, I take it you're in awe of my kindness." Nefarious sounded pleased. "All right, General. Move you and your belongings to the room designated on your map and-"
"Is that really necessary?"
"Of course. Although I'm entertained by the notion of you two being awkward, I know of the advantages of receding stress factors out of work time for the efficiency of workers."
"It isn't necessary." Azimuth replied. "There is no awkwardness-" Before he could go on, though, he felt a distinct kick against his shin, making him groan and bend over slightly.
"Don't agitate him." Ratchet looked up to the ceiling as if he could spot the speakers somehow. "I don't want to have the room for myself either, but if we refuse, then Nefarious could take that really badly in the moment." He continued whispering.
"Well, I don't care!" was hissed back, "I don't see why we'd have to conform his-ow!"
"We still can see each other, it's not like our rooms are on different ends of the facility! And if Nefarious is for once in such a good mood and offering a reward, rejecting him could send him off the deep end. Or re-think that he could deal with the remaining Shapeshifters by himself, and dispose of us."
"We're not here to become his allies for good!", Azimuth replied, but the next kick was enough to make him go silent for a long while.
"Hey, you squishies! What is your problem now?!"
"No problem." Ratchet grinned up with the assumption the cameras were up there. "Alister was just teasing me that his new room is likely even better than this one, and I'd be begging to swap after I'd have seen it. Your rooms here are awesome in general, Nefarious, so I'm inclined to believe it. Maybe." With that, he moved his grin to the other Lombax and winked at him.
"Good. Then move your lazy bum to the assigned room! Sheesh, there I am nice for once and all I get is a headache..." And with that, silence filled the room again.
A low growl escaped Azimuth. "Great job," he hissed, "Now I have to leave. This is ridiculous!"
In an instant, Ratchet was at his side, pulling his head gently against his chest. "Be sensible! I don't want this either. It should be our decision if we decide to stay in one room, but going against Nefarious's decisions now would give us only more trouble than the argument would be worth it."
"... Fine." Azimuth growled, though it suspiciously sounded more like a purr. He put his arms around Ratchet's waist and pulled him a little closer, all the while nuzzling against his chest. "Doesn't change that it's stupid, though."
"Of course it is. We just shouldn't tell that our neighboring mad scientist." The younger cheekily replied while he rubbed circles on the back of Alister's head.
It was now more than evident that the growl was but a purr; the elder closed his eyes and sighed lowly, ears flicking slightly all the time. "Even so, I don't have to leave this instant," he mumbled, before he pulled Ratchet onto his lap and looked up to him with a smug grin.
Oh oh.
The sweet smell coming from the table gave him an idea. He picked up one small fork - ignored so far - and pierced a banana slice with it that he guided to the other's mouth, who readily opened his mouth.
If he fed Alister all of the fruits, that would hopefully take up enough time that the elder had to leave before starting anything on his own, and also that he could be affectionate to Alister in the meantime.
The elder purred lowly and flicked his ears. Then he opened his mouth again, winking teasingly as he waited for the next piece to come. It made Ratchet blush for some reason, but it simply went along with his feeding of a strawberry piece to the elder.
Azimuth pulled off the piece slowly with his teeth, all the while not looking away from the younger. His arms tightened a little around Ratchet's waist as he waited for the next piece to come.
So they continued. The younger would pick up a fruit piece with the fork, and the elder would smile when he swallowed the piece, fingers playing with either Ratchet's hip, the back of his neck, his side...
Eventually, though, Alister did not wait for him to prepare another piece. He pulled Ratchet closer, looking up with a smug smile. "Enough with the hors d'oeuvre," he whispered, fingers tapping slowly along the shoulder blades.
A comical eye brow was raised. "I thought this was all we'd eat for the moment?", he dead-panned.
"I wasn't referring to the food," was replied calmly. With heavy-lidded eyes he locked gazes with the younger, waiting for him to pick up.
"You sure are forward in the moment. I don't mind, but are you sure you're okay?"
The elder blinked at that remark, ears flicking in surprise. "I... I didn't notice. I do know, however, that I'm fine and there's nothing on my side to worry about..." For a second his eyes dilated, making him freeze entirely; but before Ratchet could say anything, Azimuth got ahold of himself once more and shook his head under a smile. "Thanks for caring, though." He gently gripped Ratchet's chin and tilted it down, waiting for a moment and simply looking into the younger's eyes.
"To the elder: I'm WAITING."
A low growl escaped Azimuth. "Damn it." He shook his head and looked up, a frown over his eyes. "Can it wait for a bit? I'm in the middle of some relations."
"You can continue to work at your 'relations' after you have moved to your own room. Now get going, or I will teleport your belongings right away."
"Fine. I'll be there in a minute." Azimuth sighed lowly before he looked at Ratchet quietly. "Always those interruptions," he whispered before he placed his hand on the other's neck and melded their lips together. When they parted again, he added nonchalantly, "Not that I will let them snatch my chances."
"Yeah," Ratchet stopped himself from licking his lips while he gazed into Alister's eyes. "Always those interruptions."
He ignored the guilty feeling in his stomach. Alister had kissed him, but it was chaste compared to their activities at other times. He wouldn't feel bad about that once he was back to his usual self.
Slowly he slid from his lap, reaching out a hand to him which was gladly taken by the elder. He stood up, smirking faintly. "I will see you later," he said and placed a kiss on Ratchet's forehead. Then he took his belongings, quickly transferred files from the computer onto his armor's hard drive and walked to the door.
Ratchet waved at him. "Later. I'm really curious if your room is different from this one."
"Why don't you find out later?", was the ambiguous reply. The elder grinned before he finally left the room, letting Ratchet sigh in relief and say idly, "I don't believe I'm saying this, but thanks, Nefarious."
"You're welcome." The doctor laughed at the surprised yelp the younger let out. "What, I never said I had cut the connection, now did I. You're in my debt now, squishie."
"I want a longer discussion about any 'debts' before you say I have one towards you. My lawyer gave me that advice."
"I got him off your back, didn't I?" A contemptuous sniff. "Even a room with a scanner so that I can see if his brain functions right. From what I've heard, it seems like the general has gotten some dents in his laser beam."
"Wh-" Oh, right. 'Straight as a laser beam.' The Lombax decided it wasn't worth explaining the nature of the relationship between him and the elder to the robot. If he didn't know about it now, it meant he hadn't spied on them in the last days, at least. Or at least not all the time.
"I'm less worried about his actions than how he'll feel later about them. But still," grumbling he shook his head. "Thanks. But don't get a big head out of it."
"Oh, I won't." Nefarious laughed lowly. "Just remember that the next time we're facing each other as enemies, and not comrades-in-arms." Finally, the connection was cut, leaving Ratchet all to himself.
It was some minutes later that Ratchet found himself in front of Alister's quarters, knocking on the door. A surprised elder greeted him, eyebrows raised and ears flicking. "That was quick. I thought you'd wait for a bit longer to come over."
"I wanted to see how ya were doing." He ducked under an elbow, and inspected the room. "And what sweet room you maybe got."
Sweet would have been an exaggeration of the room, but nonetheless quite neat. The interior design was simple, clean, almost minimalist. One could see that unlike Lawrence, Nefarious had more of an eye for the utilitarian style rather than comfort and relaxation. Perhaps he assumed that the General felt the same way, considering that he was usually always on alert and could not afford much comfort to begin with. Or he simply wanted to show his dwelling enmity towards the elder. Like Ratchet's room, there was a kitchen and a bathroom; a small desk, a closet and a bed. The lighting was colder, almost of a bluish tone, but a few adjustments showed that Azimuth could change the hue at wish.
"Different taste from Lawrence, but still good." He pecked him on his cheek.
"I need to clean up the kitchen, so I need to go back for a while. See you later?"
The disappointment that the younger wouldn't stay was visible on the elder's features, but a smile graced his lips at the last three words.
"Definitely. I'm looking forward to it."
-
Amber eyes opened slowly. Slight haze numbed the elder's mind as he regained his orientation. It was quite intriguing how quickly he had adopted to their room to be his home, even if only temporarily so. Waking up somewhere else seemed so out of place to him now.
A low groan. He stretched and rubbed his head, vision hazy. Something was nagging him in the back of his mind. A stinging sensation, almost like a needle probing him. Edging him on to attack enemies immediately, to do it with as much efficiency as possible. This was a good urge, he felt, especially with Shapeshifters; but the stinging feeling became stronger and stronger with every moment passing.
Growling, he pulled the blankets off his body and stomped to the bathroom. He opened the tab and put in on 'cold', then splashed the icy water into his face. The effect settled in fast; only a few moments later he felt soothing silence, safe for the sound of the running water, filling his mind.
"Azimuth!", suddenly screeched from the ceiling, "What are you doing in your room, wasting all that water?! My systems are alarming me of overuse in your room! Now turn off your taps, that liquid is too expensive to be wasted like that!"
The elder frowned. What was that robot's problem? All those days he had not complained about showers and washing up and all those things, and that had been so much more water used. Or maybe Nefarious just wanted to terrorize him.
"Alister?"
The Lombax whirled to the open bathroom door. The battle haze left him as he realized who the voice belonged to, but he needed to will his right hand to unclench after it had gripped after his wrench that he had left in the main room. It helped when he thought about Ratchet's face. The throbbing in his head subsided as he imagined greeting the younger.
It was still odd and suspicious he hadn't heard him knocking, despite that he had been occupied with his headache.
"Hello, Ratchet," he greeted calmly and smiled at the younger. "How are you?" As fast as his hostility had gone his delighted state of mind grew dominant. "I thought you would be sleeping late today, seeing how it is your day off."
"I wanted to spend time with you before you have to go." The younger looked him up and down as if searching for something before his eyes lit up.
"Do you want to eat breakfast together?"
"With pleasure." Azimuth smiled warmly and stepped closer, placed a kiss on Ratchet's forehead and then headed to the kitchen.
"How much time do you have until the fight? I'm wondering because I thought that Nefarious or maybe the Superior has changed the schedule."
"I should have a few hours. After all, I got up so early I could have disassembled all of my tools and checked them-" His gaze fell on the clock on the wall, making him gasp in shock. Apparently he had been wrong about the time; he had only roughly an hour left to prepare. "What...", he muttered, "I thought I..." Quickly he shook his head. "Well, then it will have to be a quick breakfast."
Alister had overslept? Just another sign of worrying signs Ratchet had to add to his list.
"If I help you, it'll go faster making it. Then you have more time for preparing."
"Thanks, but I'll manage." Azimuth took a moment to smile at him. "Just sit down and wait for a bit; I will be done in a minute." And done he was soon: With steady steps he approached the table and put down two plates as well as some bread and side dishes. It wasn't as elaborate as the breakfasts he would normally make for them, but still quite agreeable. Another round, and the glasses were prepared, then the cutlery, tissues...
"Uh... Alister?" Ratchet got ahold of the other Lombax with a more than skeptic look on his face. "Aren't you overdoing it? I mean, you'd just need to bring out candles and we'd have the right decoration for a candlelight dinner, and I'm kinda sure that's not what you were going for."
"... Oh. Yes." Azimuth blinked for a second before an apologetic smile appeared on his lips. "I suppose that my nerves are getting to me a bit. My subconscious wishes to distract me, it seems."
"Let's just sit down and eat, okay? Maybe having something in your stomach'll help you calm down a bit." He gently led him at the wrist to the chair where the elder sat down. With slight reluctance the elder followed the younger's directions and began eating, all the while a slight frown over his eyes.
"This is going to be glorious," he said idly, "It's the second time I have to confront a Shapeshifter on my own. I can't say the first time went well, though." He sighed and took another bite. "Well, time to overwrite the bad experience with a good one."
"I won't say that you'll win easily 'cause that'd be a lie." Ratchet laid his hand on top of the other Lombax's for a moment. "But you are a brilliant fighter, and as long as you keep your senses out, you'll kick its ass."
The elder looked at him quietly for a moment. Then he laughed lowly and replied, "Thank you, Ratchet. I will manage. As for you..." He tugged at the hand and pulled him closer, only a breath away from the other's face. "Don't die from exhaustion when Zane comes."
"You mean after he left." It was meant to be teasing, but the proximity and that thumb rubbing over his knuckles provoked a hitch in his voice. It brought a smile onto Azimuth's face as he looked at him with heavy-lidded eyes, before he lifted Ratchet's hand and brushed his lips over the finger joints.
"Either way you should try not to exhaust yourself," the elder whispered, "It would be a shame and a questionable feat if a bit of singing and choreography drove you to your limits."
"'A bit'? Zane could keep up with any drill sergeant in regards to repeating the same motion over and over again."
"You haven't met me." Azimuth's smirk indicated a certain confidence in his words. "Zane is quite soft compared to how it went about with the special task groups I commanded."
"I think I can take your word for it." Ratchet grinned back, quickly pecking on his cheek. "But I didn't say you were included in 'any' drill sergeant."
"Touché." A quick motion and their lips brushed over each other. "Good to see you are staying sharp even in quiet moments."
"I've got soldier and combat training, remember that. Not to mention Dreadzone, although I could have done without the awful advertising. That's where most of my sharpness comes from - if I didn't want to get caught on camera while stripping, I had to be quick." The light tone about Dreadzone even surprised him, but why should he always feel weighted by it?
"I see." Azimuth chuckled lowly and held Ratchet's hand between his. "Well, as long as you can still wind down, I don't mind it." He leant his forehead against the younger's and looked at him with heavy-lidded eyes. "For instance, now."
"As long as you can do that, too, we'll be both fine." Gently, Ratchet pulled back, smiling. "I don't want to be a killjoy, but we need to finish at least, and I don't want to take longer finishing breakfast when you have to leave so early."
"I hate it when you are right." Azimuth pulled back and sighed lowly before resuming his breakfast. "Well, then I will just do my best to finish early." With few and quick cuts it was much easier to eat his food - and as he was done, he immediately took his plate and brought it into the kitchen before he changed into his battle suit and sat down again. "I still have half an hour," he remarked and proceeded to watch Ratchet quietly.
"And what about calibrating your weapons?" He laid his head on his hand, arm propped up on the table.
"All done yesterday after you left." He reached for his wrench that had lost some of its luster, but no deeper remaining damage of the preceding fight. "This one here is fine too. I had to make sure the junction coils were intact, though."
"'Junction coils'?" Now that was a part he hadn't expected in a wrench, even one used a weapon. Rounding the table, he asked, "Can you show me where they are and what they do in your wrench?"
"Sure. Look here." He pointed to the head of the wrench, lining the blue energy indicator in the middle and continuing to the inside of the head. "You know how my wrench charges up, right? When it is fully charged, the head detaches parts of itself slightly to free the energy. When the blast is shot, the junction coils are needed to link these parts together again." A glint of excitement was in his eyes as he continued. "Without this, my wrench would be just another trade-in tool; but it is not. It is my pride and treasure."
"Could you implement this modification on your own or was it already built-in when you received the wrench back then?"
The elder chuckled and motioned to reply; but instead of words only silence came from him. It took a few moments before he actually answered. "That... is something I will tell you later on," he said and smirked at Ratchet. Then he stood up and kissed him on the forehead. "I feel like I should go now," he quietly mumbled against the soft fur before he pulled away and walked to the door. "I will see you afterwards." And with these words he left his room and headed as quickly as possible to Nefarious. He was certain that this fight would be one hell of a punch to take, and he certainly wouldn't let it surprise him.
Ratchet followed behind, not really discreetly, but also not alerting the other to his presence. Even if he didn't fight today - as long as the Superior wasn't in the same room, he could watch from somewhere, couldn't he?
Doors sliding open, the elder was greeted by Nefarious with a short "It was about time". It seemed like he was especially concentrated today, not even remotely speaking. If anything, the doctor was focused on a report - or message? - in his hands. Azimuth knew better than to ask about it and headed straight to the holographic blueprint of the battle site.
The first thing he noticed was that it was a completely different room - of course, given the extent of damage the last room had received, it was implausible to use the same venue again - and, while longer, a little bit more narrow as well. Few tubes were visible around it, and so far away as well that the elder doubted them to be a valuable asset in the fight. The Wrathful would have to purposefully dig for the pipes to reach them.
A moment of unease. The thought of fighting alone suddenly seemed so distressing. Odd for him, considering that he had fought alone for decades - but then again, Ratchet and him had synchronized very well to each other, and to add to it, those Shapeshifters were anything but easy targets. They were not like Vorselon, or Agorians; that he could handle himself, if need be. No, Shapeshifters had a vile and fast style, a mixture between melee, stealth and long-range. It was a terribly efficient style to deal with any sort of opponent, and certainly none he hoped to encounter outside the facility. At the same time, though, he could not imagine anyone without their attributes to be capable of such a fast style.
"Your little bodyguard is trailing after you." Nefarious remarked off-handedly. "He's just two cubits away from the door to this room."
"Send your worker to him, then." Azimuth glanced only briefly at the doctor. "I am certain he appreciates the singing lessons as a break from work as well." He zoomed into the hologram; now that was not the most favorable position at all. If the Wrathful played it right, it could make evasion more than difficult. At the same time, though, it could give him some advantage to counter; and if he timed it adequately, he would get out unscathed...
"Keep the destruction and recklessness on a minimum today." Nefarious glared at him quietly, only to receive a questioning stare.
"Why?", the elder inquired, "Not that I have the intention to do so to begin with. It would be the Wrathful's fault."
"Lawrence returns today." The doctor turned away and focused on his holopad once more. "I don't know when or where; so we better get this over with quick. I don't want him to see the destruction."
As the conversation went on inside, Ratchet was stroking his chin. He looked at the door in thought - should he or should he not? But trying to listen in was moot, actually. Nefarious had seen him already on his cameras.
It was then a hand laid down on his shoulder; a scandalized shout followed, and to Ratchet's surprise, his fist was stopped right before it found its target. "Watch where you are hitting, Ratchet. I am not keen on losing my visor as well."
The Lombax slumped. "Then don't sneak up on me. My nerves have gotten better, but I still react badly when surprised."
"Well, you shouldn't expect a loud greeting if you are not even supposed to be here." The robot's visor displayed rolling eyes. "Nefarious texted me. He told me to tell you the following." A pause as Zane cleared his voice processors.
"DON'T YOU DARE EAVESDROPPING ON ME, YOU STINKY SQUISHY! Yes, that. Now..." The robot stepped behind Ratchet and pushed him into the direction of his suite. "Stop worrying about the old Lombax and get on with yer part of today's schedule. He may be old, but his build shows he's damn good at fighting." A smirk.
"Besides, what can go wrong? It's almost routine for you guys anyway now."