Ratchet and Clank: The Iron Devil(Discontinued)

Chapter 3

It's been four years since Ratchet killed those thugs that attacked him and Grim. Four hellish years of therapy, panic attacks and nightmares. Young Lombax often woke up in the night covered in sweat and fear in his eyes. Only thanks to the help of doctors, the boy was able to function in some way.

This, however, created new problems.

Ratchet, despite Lilith and Clyde's rising him to be a good person, became aggressive. Not in a way that he wanted to hurt every person, but when someone make fun of him or bully him, he could show his fighting skills. Only Radegast managed to teach the boy how to control his anger.

Now fourteen-year-old Lombax has become more active in the guilds of Kyzil Town. As he was kicked out of school for breaking a bully's nose and yelling at a teacher who didn't protect students from bullying, the boy decided to earn money early, which made Clyde very proud of his adopted son.

As mentioned previously, the Kyzil town is the largest and also the most important settlement on the planet Veldin. What is the reason for this? Well, this is the place where  Bounty Hunters, Mercenaries, Pirates and Smugglers guilds have their headquarters. Outside the control area of ​​Solana's Galactic Government, Veldin has become an outpost where the more honorable members of the underworld can function in peace. However, there were certain rules here.

No fighting between guilds. If there's a problem, solve it diplomatically or by duel like in Westerns.

No people trafficking. Violation of this rule results in execution by the sheriff.

Rapists, pedophiles and similar trifles are to be eliminated on the spot. With no exception.

There were other rules, but they were mostly purely logical.

And that's the kind of community Ratchet grew up in. From the Bounty Hunters, he learned how to recognize the target of a bounty. From smugglers how to recognize stolen goods (Clyde remembers a situation where one of the captains brought Ratchet to his father after he tried Spice, which is a known drug in three galaxies. The boy was grounded for several months.), and from Pirates how to lead a crew or carry out boarding (This is where Captain Slag, Robotic Pirate and the terror of many planets helped the most.). Overall, Lombax has learned a lot over the years.

Still, life likes to surprise.

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Another day, another transfer of the loot from the pirate ship to the warehouses. This is how Ratchet spent this week. The teenager was asked by Slag to help the crew unload the crates. It was hard work, but it paid well, and there was a chance he'd get something cool, like an egg-shaped thing made of bronze-like metal with strange symbols carved into it. Although Lombax was not a crew member, the pirates treated him as their own, which sometimes led to bizarre situations, such as trying to give him rum to drink.

In the present moment, Ratchet was trying to put one of the smaller chests on top. He had to climb over other crates to get there. Having previously arranged a makeshift staircase, the teenager continued to perform the task entrusted to him.

As fate likes to sometimes be an asshole, one of the crates shattered into pieces and destabilized the entire structure. Because of this, Ratchet lost his footing and began to fall.

"Ratchet!"

The boy heard the scream of his father, who was talking to the captain, and must have noticed that his son was falling. Clyde quickly turned on his Light powers and preparing to save the teenager. Before he could jump, something strange happened.

 The boy's body was entwined with white energy, which then turned into a rope and shot towards the ceiling. It stopped the boy in place and saved him from the painful contact with the ground.