And so it begins. The final chapter. The end of this war. But is it really? Is something even worse about to arise?

Are you ready?

Chapter 11: The Beginning of the End?

Sasha's voice sounded over the intercom, "All units prepare for battle. We are heading out for Andromeda in one minute. Repeat, hyper engines will launch us to Andromeda in one minute."

Ratchet, whom was sitting on the edge of his bed, sighed. Talwyn was in the other room getting her armor and weapons ready. She came out wearing her Thermaflux armor. She smiled at Ratchet and sat beside him.

"You look good" Ratchet said with an almost emotionless face.

Talwyn retracted the visor and looked at Ratchet, "What's wrong?"

Ratchet just shook his head and shrugged, "I don't know. I just have a really bad feeling about this whole thing."

Talwyn had a worried look on her face, "What do you mean? The attack?"

Ratchet shrugged and tilted his head, "Kind of" he got up from the bed, "Max was decoding more and more of the intel. He told me personally that he had found something that would turn the tides of this war, make us lose. But he said he wouldn't say anything specifically because it would affect our chances."

Talwyn just chuckled, "Don't think anything of it then. If he's keeping it from us, then it's for the best."

Ratchet nodded, "Yeah" He still didn't like the idea of not knowing something with this much power.

He had a flashback to that day. Ratchet was on the bridge looking over it while Sasha was out on a meeting. As he was checking on the troops, Max called for him. Ratchet walked into the war room and found Max looking over files on a computer. He seemed very nervous about what he had to say.

"What's wrong, Max?" Ratchet asked as he walked over to the computer.

Max swallowed deeply, "I found something" he said.

Ratchet raised an eyebrow, "Found what?"

Max then pointed to the gridded table. Above it were models of new ships; ones that hadn't been seen before.

"What is it?" Ratchet asked as he looked at the incredibly advanced cruisers and fighters.

Max shook his head, "I'm afraid I can't say anything about it."

Ratchet looked at Max, "Why not?"

Max sighed, "It'll affect our chances of winning this war. If I say anything, then they would know. Besides, I'm still not sure if what I read is exactly what it is."

Ratchet was looking at the display, "So why'd you call me?"

Max shook his head, "Just be on the lookout for anything like this. If you see one, I want you to evacuate the galaxy immediately. Even if there is one ship, I want everyone out of there."

Ratchet was a little scared now, "What's wrong with these ships?"

Max shook his head, "I told you, I can't say anything."

With that Ratchet just walked out, confused and worried.

He shook himself out of his trance and looked over at Talwyn. He then walked into the back room. On his chest was a symbol. He pressed it and his armor beamed onto him. He also pulled out his new RYNO 7. The device looked absolutely horrifying.

(A/N: I understand the official RYNO 7 is nothing like this one. I made this one before Into The Nexus was released)

He then put it away and walked back out. He walked over to Talwyn and grabbed her by her sides. He leaned in and hugged her, ending with a soft kiss on the lips. Talwyn embraced and kissed back.

Ratchet released her, "Let's get going"

The two then walked out of the room. As they exited, several other Lombaxs with their suits on walked out as well. They all headed for the hangar bay and into the bridge shuttle. As they entered the bridge, they found the rest of the Lombaxs, J-31, H-22, and F-7 awaiting.

J-31 walked up to Ratchet, "Sir" he said "Well be arriving in Andromeda in a few seconds. We should head to the bay and load up in the drop ship."

Ratchet nodded and yelled so everyone could hear, "Alright everyone, let's head to the bay! Load up in the drop ship because when we enter near the planet, we'll be launching."

The Lombaxs all moved out of the bridge. Talwyn followed after them along with the three squad leaders.

Sasha and Angels walked up to Ratchet. Sasha looked him the eye, "Try to come back alive."

Angela added, "Try to bring everyone back."

Ratchet smiled and nodded, "We'll be fine" he then finished his sentence in his head, "I hope"

With that he walked out and entered the shuttle. They made it back to the hangar. Waiting for them were the three squads. H-22, J-31, and F-7 all went to their designated ones while the Lombaxs all boarded the transport.

Neil and Dylan sat next to Ratchet.

Neil spoke, "Are you ready?'

Dylan sighed, "Nervous as hell."

Ratchet chuckled, "You're not the only one."

H-22's squad then boarded along with F-7's and J-31's. The transport was full, with some rangers standing and others on the floor.

Ratchet stood up, "Lombaxs with snipers?" he said loudly.

Four raised their hands.

"Okay, when we land, you four will be taken up to the compound wall. Use any weapon you need to destroy the turrets and kill the enemy guards. Once you're done, tells us so we can start the breach. Once we're in, provide cover while we head for the palace entrance."

The four nodded.

"H-22's squad, you better be ready with those explosives." Ratchet then said.

H22 spoke up, "Don't worry sir, we've got 'em."

The ship then started to move. The pilot called from the cockpit, "Sir"

Ratchet then made his way up. The transport was now en route to a very grey and dull planet. Half of it was red, while the other dull grey. Ratchet looked at the distant sun and saw that it was nearing its end.

"My god, this is where they live?" Ratchet asked, "That looks awful. I mean that sun is about to die, this is just nasty."

The pilot hen started to slow the ship slightly, "Hold on" he said, "Those are enemy ships."

Ratchet squinted and saw three cruisers fairly close to each other. It looked as though they were guarding the planet.

"Hmm" Ratchet said, "Put up the cloaking now. We can sneak past them."

The pilot then entered a code, "Cloaking activated; now they shouldn't see us."

The transport grew closer and closer to the line. As they neared it, they saw more and more ships. They were all on the outside of the atmosphere, on guard.

Ratchet looked ahead at the planet, "They know we're coming."

The pilot nodded, "I figured that." He looked at the radar, "We're nearing the base. We should land in front of the entrance in about a minute."

Ratchet nodded, "I'll get everyone ready."

He got up from the seat and walked back to the loading bay, "We're landing in a minute. Everyone get their guns ready. Doesn't matter what you have, just don't go crazy if you haven't used it before."

The Lombaxs all got up from their seats and pulled out a variety of guns. Some with Blasters, others with N90's, and even some with Disk Blade's. Ratchet jumped down and made his way to the bay doors.

"Snipers!" he said.

Four Lombaxs walked up to him.

The pilot yelled, "We're over the wall!"

Ratchet looked at the four, "Good luck"

He then pressed a button. The doors slowly slid open. The compound was huge; the palace being in the center and some openings around it. The large structure was on a barren mountain; with chasms surrounding is on all sides. The four walked to the edge of the ramp.

"Dylan!" Ratchet yelled over the rushing wind, "Be on the lookout for anything suspicious!"

He nodded.

Dylan then looked at the other three concealed Lombaxs, "Jump!"

The four then jumped off. Ratchet saw them land safely on the wall an saw them open fire on the guards.

"Pilot! Get us low enough for a safe jump!" Ratchet yelled.

The ship then moved away from the wall. The large door that went into the base was visible. However the guards watching it saw the opening of the transport and began firing at the space near the unveiled space.

Ratchet looked back, "Everyone, jump!" he yelled as he ran and jumped down. The invisible ship was about 5 feet off the ground, so it was safe to jump. Once Ratchet landed, he pulled out his RYNO V and began firing at the guards watching the main entrance. The barrage of bullets and missiles caused the guards to duck for cover. The vehicles that were with them, however, were quickly destroyed.

Ratchet looked back and found all the rangers and Lombaxs landing. As soon as they landed, they opened fire along with Ratchet. He then put away his RYNO and pulled out his Dual Vipers. They fired a stream of energized bullets at a rapid rate.

Three Lombaxs with Nitro Disruptors and Mini Nukes ran up next to Ratchet. He ceased fire and pointed to three spots for them to fire some bombs. The three did so and quickly eliminated the guards hiding behind cover.

Ratchet then ran up with his N90 Hurricane and confirmed that they were dead. Once he gave the okay, the Rangers and Lombaxs ran for the large door.

Ratchet looked up at the immense compound wall and saw laser fire zooming past.

"Dylan, is everything okay up there?" He said over the comms.

Dylan came back quickly, "Yeah, the wall is already nice and clean. We're picking off a ton of baddies right now. Seriously, by the time you get in, most of these will be dead."

Ratchet smiled, "Good work"

H22 began yelling, "Alright ladies, get those bombs on the entrance. We're getting in even if we die trying!"

The squad then ran for the door and began planting bombs.

"Sir, we'll need some cover while we arm the bombs!' H-22 yelled.

Talwyn then saw some enemy ships moving near their position, "Ratchet!"

She was stopped by Dylan's voice. "I'm seeing some enemy transports landing south of where you are!"

Everyone except for H-22 and his squad turned around.

Ratchet saw the ships land at the bottom of the barren hill.

"Shoot them down!" He yelled.

Several Lombaxs then ran to where the hill started to decline; they had Devastators and Annihilators. All of them began firing their missiles down at the enemy transports. Ratchet watched as they went up in glorious explosions. However out of the smoke came several troops running up the hill with their guns blazing.

The group ran back to the wall and dodged the laser fire. Using the cover used by the enemy guards, they waited for the few to come into sight. The rangers were lined across the road near the entrance, while the Lombaxs were behind their cover.

As soon as the troops made it over the hill bend, the Ranges opened fire; killing them almost instantly.

Ratchet nodded, "Great work!"

H-22 came running to where everyone was, "The explosives are ready!"

Ratchet then signaled for everyone to run down the hill. They did and when they were a few yards down, a huge explosion with metal chunks and debris flew out from above.

"Lets go!" Ratchet yelled with his RYNO 7 out in hand.

Everyone then ran back up the hill and right through the hole the Rangers had created.

"Dylan, we're inside the base!" Ratchet yelled over the comm.

The compound had an enormous opening that led to the palace entrance. On either side were buildings, mainly for military purposes. Ahead of the Rangers and Lombaxs were countless amounts of soldiers, all firing at the top of the wall. Somehow, they didn't notice the explosion that took the main entrance.

"Take them down" Ratchet yelled. The Lombaxs and Rangers all spread out and began firing their weapons at the clueless Paletans.

Neil, whom was using a Judicator Launcher, looked up at the wall. He noticed that Galactic Ranger ships started to fly over. "Hey, the rangers made it past the defenses."

Ratchet looked up as well and smiled at the sight.

Talwyn saw that the Paletans were now focusing their fire towards them, "Make your way up to the destroyed vehicles, use them as cover!" She said.

The Rangers and Lombaxs all did so and pushed up further. J-31's squad didn't have the room for cover and stayed in the open, taking the shots seamlessly and killing Paletan troops while doing so. Their armor was incredibly durable. The lasers that hit them didn't do much but make the Rangers flinch.

Ratchet then came out and hollered at the Rangers, "Get behind the cover."

Ratchet had his RYNO 7 in hand and had it pointing at the Paletans. He cracked his neck and spun the weapons barrel.

"Nighty night" he said before the RYNO spat out its destructive hell fire of everything. On his helmet HUD, his bullet count decreased rapidly as he held the trigger. Bullets, Missiles, Bombs, and fire spat out in front of him as he slowly walked towards the palace. As he was walking, the Rangers and Lombaxs came out from behind their cover and slowly walked behind Ratchet with their guns on standby.

F-7 was awestricken by the sight, "Holy… that thing is crazy!"

H-22 and J-31 chuckled, "Gadgetron makes some pretty epic weapons." J-31 said.

Ratchet then yelled over the comms, "I'm about to run out. Get ready to continue the fire!"

Suddenly, the RYNO 7 stopped firing it's hell and began to light up. Ratchet had forgotten about the final surprise.

"Oh crap, everyone get back to the cover!" Ratchet yelled out of fear for their safety. He didn't know how powerful the laser would be, so he took no chances. The Lombaxs ran back behind some more destroyed vehicles and awaited Ratchet.

The RYNO 7 then stopped charging and released a blue laser of pure death. The laser was small in length but immense in diameter. It was so large and immense that it made the Alpha Disruptor's semi charge BEAM look small. The laser, being as big as it was and fast as it was, disintegrated any soldier and vehicle in the path leading up to the front door of the palace. The laser, which was conveniently fired at an angle that matched the immense palace door, hit the door and exploded in a magnificent and fiery explosion. It was so big that the Lombaxs and Ranger shielded their eyes. The door was clean gone along with anything ahead of them.

H-22 saw this, "Everyone run inside the palace before reinforcements arrive."

Everyone, without second guessing, began to sprint towards the palace. Paletan ships started to move in and airstrike the area. The buildings that were ahead of Ratchet when he began to fire the RYNO 7 were completely riddled with holes and gapping openings. Some were even leveled. When they reached the palace entrance steps, several troop transports containing exoskeleton bearing soldiers landed in the opening where the Lombaxs were. Ratchet was about to enter the palace when he saw this.

J-31 looked at Ratchet, "Keep moving ahead and find the two targets. We'll hold these guys back!"

Ratchet nodded and signaled for the Lombaxs to follow. Talwyn however stayed back with the Rangers, "I'll stay and give them some support."

Ratchet did not like the idea but allowed it, "Just be careful"

Suddenly, after the Lombaxs made it a few feet into the palace, blast proof security doors replaced the palace doors.

"No!" Ratchet yelled.

Neil looked at the silver metal door, "Looks like we're stuck in here."

It was oddly quiet inside. All they could hear were the muffled explosions and laser fire coming from all around the outside of the palace. The small hall had debris all over the floor. The Lombaxs continued walking forward to the fork in the path. Left and right were their choices.

The Lombaxs all looked down the halls. No troops, no security, no nothing besides light and a decorated hall.

"This is a bit odd." Neil said as he looked.

Ratchet thought about what to do. Seeing as he has the most experience and the most weapons, he would go one way alone and the Lombaxs go the other.

"Neil" he said "I'm going right. Take the Lombaxs and head left. If you find either Yun or Talon, eliminate them. Don't second guess it, just kill them." He said.

Neil nodded, "Got it" he looked at the Lombaxs, "You heard him, let's move."

The Lombaxs all started to run down the left hall, leaving Ratchet alone. He then turned and started to walk down the right hallway. As he was slowly walking with his Dual Vipers in hand, a voice came over an intercom system. It was loud and clear.

"You fool" the voice said. It was deep and scraggly, "You shouldn't have chosen to go alone."

Ratchet looked around while he continued his walk.

"I know a lot about you, Ratchet." The voice said, "My initial mission was to kill you, but that didn't turn out so well. I'll just handle you myself."

As Ratchet continued walking, he spoke loudly, "Who are you?"

The voice laughed, "Why, I am Talon, Emperor Talon to be exact."

Ratchet growled, "Why did you want me dead?"

The voice chuckled, "My higher ups ordered me to. A very powerful people indeed. But, I have lost my trust in them ever since I learned of their mistake. They led an ally into his own death. I will not allow that to happen to me."

Ratchet stopped as he reached another fork in the halls.

The voice laughed, "Here, let me held you with that."

Suddenly, the hall on the left was closed by a blast proof door. Ratchet started to get a very horrid feeling about going right. He swallowed and continued walking.

"Galactic domination is a dream of mine." Talon said, "Of course, I wouldn't be able to do it alone."

Ratchet shook his head, "Why are telling me this?"

"Simple" Talon said, "Ruin your chances of winning this war. Even if you kill me, which you won't, my ally will eradicate you in a matter of seconds."

Ratchet chuckled, "We'll see about that."

Talon was ignoring what Prometheus had told him to do. He saw Prometheus as leading him to his own doom so that his race could take the galactic neighborhood for themselves. Talon was not going to let that happen.

"Keep going a little further and you will find me, waiting." Talon said.

Ratchet then came across a pair of large doors. In front of them were two exoskeleton guards. The two the stepped forward once and pulled out their rifles. Ratchet put away his Vipers and pulled out his own weapon, the Shock Cannon. He aimed the large buster at the two.

"Come and get me" Ratchet said.

Talon's voice spoke very subtly, "Kill him"

The two guards then began firing at Ratchet. He jumped left and fired a charged blast at the ceiling. Debris fell and gave Ratchet some cover from the enemy laser fire. He jumped behind it and pulled out his Gravity Bomb launcher. The two guards stopped firing.

"Move to the either side." Ratchet heard one whisper.

He prepared himself. Ratchet jumped out from behind and fired a single bomb. The two guards were sent flying in the air behind Ratchet. After firing, he pulled out his Shock Cannon once more and charged it. He aimed it at the fallen guards and released the trigger; killing both of them.

A slow clap was then heard. It sounded slightly muffled.

Ratchet looked around. It wasn't from the intercom system. As he was looking around, he heard a loud creaking noise. He turned around and found the door opening slowly. Out from darkness that was the other room came a tall Paletan. He was walking slowly out with his head tilted down.

"Goooood work" he said slowly, "Very skilled fighter indeed."

Ratchet looked at the man with his Cannon pointed at him.

"Allow me to introduce myself formally." The man said. He looked up at Ratchet, "My name is Talon Silas, or Emperor Talon."

Ratchet growled from behind his helmet, "So you're the one who's hunting us down like animals. How does it feel to be on the other end?"

Talon hissed at him, "You are not the hunter."

Ratchet chuckled, "Really? Cause we came for you."

Talon growled, "It does not matter. What does matter is that this fued ends here and now." He pulled out his Katana Blade, "Fight me like an honorable Lombax. No guns, just melee."

Ratchet retracted his helmet, "Fine then, we'll see if you handle a trained Commando." He put away his Cannon and pulled out his Omniwrench.

Talon chuckled, "Likewise"

He then charged for Ratchet with his blade up.

At the first slice, Ratchet jumped to the side. He brought his wrench up and deflected Talon's downward attack. Holding the blade on his wrench, Ratchet pushed Talon back. He spun around and landed a hard hit on Talon. The hit was so hard that it knocked a piece of the plating off.

Talon snarled, "You little rodent!"

He charged once more, this time with his blade on fire. Swinging in various combos, Talon attempted to hit Ratchet. However he was only deflected each time by Ratchet's wrench. Talon jumped back and then spun, bring his blade from his upper left.

Ratchet brought his wrench once more and deflected the attack. Talon, however, swung too hard and was throw off balance by the deflection. Ratchet then jumped and slammed his wrench onto Talon's chest; knocking the wind and mode armor plating off of him. Talon then kicked Ratchet off and jumped back up. Ratchet landed but quickly got back to his feet. Holding his abdomen, Ratchet raised his wrench. The blade was too fast for him and it was tiring Ratchet out from trying deflect the attacks.

He pressed a button in the hilt and activated the Omni Tether. He then jerked his wrench forward, sending the head flying towards Talon. He didn't expect this and couldn't move fast enough. The head grabbed the blade. Once it did, Ratchet yanked it back and ripped the blade from Talon's hand.

"Cheat!" Talon yelled. With that, he grabbed his rifle that resided on his back and began firing at Ratchet.

Ratchet dove to the side behind a large chunk of debris. He was breathing heavily and could hardly move.

"Come on think" he said to himself.

Talon yelled from his spot, "Coward, come on out."

Ratchet continued thinking, "There has to be something."

Talon began to laugh, "You pitiful Lombax. Can't even fight!"

Suddenly, Ratchet got an idea. He one major weapon he had yet to throw out. He then pulled out his biggest and heaviest weapon he owned; the R.Y.N.O. He tried to hold it up slightly, but he was so weak that it fell to the ground. Still laying on the ground, Ratchet decided to risk it. He moved into a kneeled position with one hand on the grip and the other on the trigger.

"Oh" he said, "I can keep a fight."

Ratchet then jumped up with the RYNO in hand and pointing at Talon. He pressed the trigger and sent the barrage of 10 missiles at him. A soon as he fire, the immense gun brought him back down behind the debris chunk.

All that Ratchet heard was a laugh and several explosions.

"You think that will stop me?" He heard Talon yell.

Ratchet lowered his head in defeat. He couldn't kill him.

"You truly are a disgrace!" Talon yelled.

As Ratchet laid behind the debris, he heard an engine whirring closer and closer. He looked peeked over and saw that a large hole was blasted in the side of the hall, revealing the outside battle.

"You missed" Talon said.

Ratchet slowly got up and saw something out in the distance, it was the old Dropship. Ratchet looked at it and back at Talon.

"I may have missed you," Ratchet said with his hand on his side, "But he didn't."

The dropship forward door then opened, revealing a single Lombax in Thermaflux armor. He was holding a Splitter Rifle. It was Dylan!

Talon looked back and saw the Dropship near the large opening, which he stood next to.

Everything looked slow motion. Ratchet watched Dylan raise his rifle and aim it right at Talon. He pulled the trigger and sent the beam of anti-matter spewing at Talon. Just as Talon processed the situation he was in, the beam ripped right through his abdomen and pushed him to the ground with a hole in his stomach. Time seemed to resume to normal once more.

Ratchet sighed a sigh of relief. Dylan had the dropship land in the hole. He jumped out and ran over to Ratchet.

"Dear god, are you okay?" Dylan asked as Ratchet limped out from behind his cover.

Ratchet nodded, "I'm fine, don't worry."

Suddenly, Neil came over the comms, "Ratchet, this is Neil. Our mission was a success. Commander Yun is dead, repeat, Yun is dead."

Ratchet smiled and began to laugh, "It's… over." He paused, "It's finally over!"

Dylan nodded, "Neil, get your asses back to the main entrance. H-22's squad was able to blast it open. Regroup with the squads and head back to the Phoenix." He stopped and looked and Ratchet, then over at Talon, "We won this war."

Dylan then grabbed Ratchet and supported his walk. As they passed by Talon, he let out a breath of air. The two jumped at the sudden movement.

"Ratchet" Talon said as he was fighting for air, "Come…. Here"

Ratchet looked at Dylan and walked over to Talon.

"Listen… to me… closely." He said, "My…ally will not… stop because of…this. They… they are moving in to… take the failed galaxy. A previous… ally failed to take it, but you… must stop them before they can overrun… it."

Ratchet was confused, "You're helping?"

Talon slowly nodded, "I will… not… allow these fools… to control the entire galactic… neighborhood."

Ratchet lowered his head.

"You must… go… to the…. Milky Way galaxy… and stop them. They are targeting… one person… there." Talon said, "You must stop… the… the… Yu… Yuthans."

Ratchet, wanting more info, frantically spoke, "Who? Who are they targeting?"

"A… boy… named… K… Ke…" With that, Talon drew his final breath.

Ratchet lowered his head and sighed, "We're not done yet."

He then ignored his pain and got up. He walked quickly back to the Dropship. He turned back and saw Dylan still standing over Talon.

"Dylan!" He yelled, "We're not done with our mission. Let's go!"

Dylan then ran back into the dropship. The door closed and the pilot began to pilot back towards the Phoenix. On the screen, it showed a camera feed of the base. The two watched as large lasers began to bombard the compound. Explosions and debris flying everywhere.

Dyaln shook his head, "I can't believe there's more."

Ratchet, with a stern look on his face, nodded slowly, "I agree with Talon. We need to help this galaxy."

The drops ships slowed down and the main door opened. They were already docked with the Phoenix. As soon as the door was open, he ran for the bridge shuttle. He passed the Lombaxs who were exiting the other dropship. They all looked at Ratchet as he ran, sam did the Rangers.

Dylan ran up over next to Neil.

Neil looked at him, "What's wrong with Ratchet?'

Dylan shook his head slowly, "We're not done."

Ratchet burst into the bridge and found Talwyn, Max, Sasha, and Angela at the front.

"Sasha!" Ratchet yelled.

Max looked at Ratchet as well as did Angela and Talwyn.

"Whoa, hold on, what's wrong?" She asked.

Ratchet was breathing heavily and fell to the ground in pain. He slowly got back up with the help of Talwyn. Suddenly, the Lombaxs and Rangers all ran into the bridge.

Sasha looked at Ratchet, "Now, what's wrong?"

Ratchet panted and looked around the room at everyone who was watching.

"We… are not done." He said, "There is another threat. And we need to stop it."

Sasha looked at him, "Where?"

Ratchet looked to his side and out the window. In the distance was a faint light, almost like a star. However, it was not a star.

It was a galaxy; a large spiral galaxy with several extensions moving towards the center. In this galaxy were two peaceful systems. They were united by a war that had ravaged both.

In one on a particular planet, was a man. A white skinned boy of about 19. He stood in the bridge of a ship, thinking and starring out in space. The ship was flying out of orbit and heading for somewhere.

A red fox creature came in and spoke, "Kevin" the being said, "We got ourselves a mission."

The boy turned around, "It's about time Pepper gave us something to do."

END...?

Are you ready? My biggest project is to be posted soon.

Be on the lookout for the crossover of these two franchises; where they will both fight against this enemy.

Star Fox: Rise of the Ancients

All updates on blog

I suggest you read it if you did not read Crossed Paths or Time of Peace.