Ratchet and Clank: The Iron Devil(Discontinued)

Chapter 24

A month has passed since Rayla "Rivet" Azimuth-Ordo finally accepted her parents and they became a family again. Throughout this entire period, the young girl spent every free moment with her parents. She also decided, after many requests and Alister's final submission, that she would join Master Teshin's military training.

Despite being the daughter of the leader of the Alliance, Rayla did not have an easy time there, quite the contrary. Teachers expected more of her, train her harder, and every mistake was pointed out. This did not discourage the young girl, but in fact it motivated her. She also wasn't alone in this, because Kit decided to join in as well.

However, the young Lombax did not know that she would become a pawn in the conspiracy.

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Another day of torture/training, another day of sparring and another day of bruises. That's how Rivet could define her day. The girl had just returned from training to her apartment, which she and Kit had managed to buy together from the money they earned, and the first thing she did was take a warm bath. After washing off all the sweat and dirt from her fur, Lombax left the bathroom and went to make herself something to eat. Normally there would be a meal for two, but since Kit was asked to help move a heavy shipment using her Titan form, Rayla decided to eat simple toast with baked cheese.

After eating her "culinary masterpiece," Rivet decided to spend the rest of the evening watching the news. Apparently some famous Guardian turned into a monster during a duel and was killed there. The girl didn't care much, as Light users are not very popular in her Polaris galaxy, mainly because of the Warlords who use their Light to wreak havoc and harm innocent people on many planets.

Suddenly Rayla heard someone knocking on the apartment door. She walked up to them, wearing her blue and white pajamas, and then opened the door.

On the other side stood Lady Nox.

"Rayla Azimuth! How nice to see you, my dear. It's a beautiful evening, isn't it?" said the woman.

All Rivet's senses screamed to her to close the door, hide somewhere and inform her father about this. However, her body refused to obey and stood like a statue, still staring and shaking slightly at the sight of the Dark Council member.

"Can I come inside? A great host should not talk to their guest through the door, right?" asked the woman, making a few waves of her hand.

Rivet stepped aside, allowing Nox to enter. She didn't do it on her own free will, but rather something forced her to do it, like invisible force. When the young Lombax closed the door behind her and sat down at the table with the older woman, only then did she feel control over her body return. She quickly wanted to summon her gun, but she remembered Anna telling her that Nox was able to kill anyone with a weak will with her own mind alone. So she didn't want to take any risks.

"How can I help you?" Rayla asked. Her polite tone was forced, but it was better than nothing.

"I would like to have a cup of tea first. It's not appropriate to receive guests without a warm drink, right?" the woman replied.

Anger flashed across the young girl's face, but she did as Nox asked, mostly because she was still aware that one wrong step could end her life. After brewing and pouring the tea, Rayla sat down at the table again and stared at her "guest". The woman didn't say anything, just sip her drink, enjoying the taste as long as possible. Moments later, Nox drained the entire contents of the cup.

"Thank you for the tea. It was really very good. Bought from a market or from your own garden?" Nox asked.

"My own. Captain Jaalk brought me some herbs from his last trip. Some from exotic planets." Rayla replied.