Digital Nexus Book 2: CPU in Lombax Space

Prologue

Location: Kyzil Plateau, Planet Veldin

(11:13 am local time)

(Here we see Ratchet working on a ship, before pressing his Gadgetron Helpdesk device)

Gadgetron Helpdesk: Final step - attach Robotic Ignition System. Thank you for using Gadgetron Helpdesk Technology.

Meanwhile, in a factory on a nearby planet…

(Robots are being produced by a machine, before a buzzer sounds and a small robot pops out of the machine. This is Clank. Clank sees an infobot and walks over to it, unknowingly being observed by an active robot guard. What Clank sees on the infobot shocks him and he stores the infobot in his chest compartment before noticing the guard right in front of him. With a cartoonish sounding running sound, he goes right between the guard's legs and runs to a slide leading to a ship. He flies the ship away while being chased by the robots in their own ships. One of the robots sees the TARDIS pop out of a crack in space-time and changes targets upon someone's command)

Location: TARDIS

Xoruxshy: Okay, sis. What's the reading on the monitor say?

IF: We should be nearing the time-space rift. Are you sure this is a good idea?

Xoruxshy: Well, it's not like we have any other options right now. We had our 1 year in Gamindustri.

(Cloister Bell rings)

Nicole Zwei: Warning! TARDIS targeted by incoming fire.

(Suddenly the TARDIS is hit, shattering windows, and sending books tumbling off the shelves. Explosions come from the monitor, and Xoruxshy is speared through the stomach by a flying piece of shrapnel)

Xoruxshy: (groans of pain) Shit… well that's not good… Nicole, land the TARDIS on the nearest habitable planet.

Nicole Zwei: Affirmative. Crash-landing on Planet Veldin. Activating distress beacon.

Xoruxshy: Well, nothing for it then. Geronimo!

(Cut to the TARDIS spinning out of control towards Veldin, colliding with Clank's ship)

Back to Ratchet…

Ratchet is working out what to do, when he sees the crashing ship and mysterious flashing object fall from the sky and crash. Seeing Clank in the distance, he decides to go investigate. Upon reaching the area, he discovers the bot and a Gadgetron Vendor side-by-side. Later, after carrying both things back with him, with the Gadgetron Vendor being surprisingly heavy for its size, Clank powers on and approaches Ratchet, noticing something off about the ship he's working on.

Clank: Interesting.

Ratchet: (surprised yelp)

Clank: You are quite handy with your wrench.

Ratchet: You bet. I built that ship with it.

Clank: Currently I am in search of someone who could be of assistance in saving the solar system. (Notices a poster of Captain Qwark) Do you know where I might find that fellow?

Ratchet: Well, he's on the radio every week. Other than that…no. Hey, what's with all this save the solar system stuff anyway?

(Clank is about to pull out the infobot, but stops when he notices the Gadgetron Vendor has powered on, but is displaying weird symbols. He and Ratchet approach it cautiously, but Ratchet with his curious Lombax nature, pokes and prods at it until pressing a mysterious button on the Vendor's screen, causing them both to fall in)

Ratchet: Yikes!

Clank: Woahh!

Location: TARDIS

Ratchet: Woah. This is incredible… Too bad it's in ruins though.

Clank: Indeed. The amount of engineering that must have gone into this device… Sir, I am picking up two life signs. One is fading rapidly.

Ratchet: Call me Ratchet. Hello, is there anybody here?

IF: *cough, cough* Over here!

Ratchet: (Sees a Fox Mobian with two tails standing over a slightly older Fox Mobian with two tails, with shrapnel piercing its stomach) Oh, crap! Here, let me get that out of her. (Ratchet carefully removes the shrapnel and applies nanotech, although it doesn't seem to be doing much) Come on, let's get out of here. This thing looks like it's on its last legs.

Back outside the TARDIS in Ratchet's garage…

IF: Thanks for helping me and Xoruxshy out of that jam.

Ratchet: Thanks, um, what's your name?

IF: My name's IF, CPU Candidate of Mobius.

Ratchet: CPU…

Clank: Candidate?

IF: That's my sister, Xoruxshy, also known as CPU Mobius Heart, goddess of the planet Mobius, and a Keyblade Wielder, as well as a Time Lady.

Clank: Time Lady? My records indicate the Time Lords were all wiped out.

IF: Not wiped out, from what my sister says, just dimensionally challenged.

(Xoruxshy starts glowing golden, before getting up and opening her eyes)

Xoruxshy: Thank you for that explanation Iffy, but I would appreciate it if you would all stand back a bit, I'm about to regenerate.

Clank: I suggest we do as she says, Ratchet. We are about to witness something amazing.

(Cue The Song of the Doctor)

Xoruxshy: (hers fur glows golden as she examines her hands letting regeneration particles fly off before looking back at IF) I'm not ready.

IF: Nobody is…

(Xoruxshy tears up and nods before looking straight ahead before suddenly shooting her head straight up and her arms out as a flood of regeneration energy blasts holes in Ratchet's garage walls and ceiling. Her fur color changes to black, with a bowl-shaped hair cut, and the Phantom Ruby embedded in her chest glows white, before the Regeneration ends)

Xoruxshy: Whoo! That was a rush! Anyone got a mirror?

(IF pulls out a mirror salvaged from the remains of the TARDIS)

Xoruxshy: Let's see, ooh, still a fox, that's great. Still got two tails, I would have hated to lose my flight capabilities. Black fur, oh, that's a new one, well considering this is my first regeneration, of course it's new. Oh, blue eyes, and a bowl-cut. Why a bowl-cut? I look like a female Rock Lee.

Ratchet: Excuse me, but hello?! The holes in my ceiling and walls?

Xoruxshy: Oh. Sorry…

Clank: Excuse me, but the world is in danger. I have an infobot explaining the situation in more detail.

(Infobot plays)

Drek: Hello, Citizens of… (A picture of the planet Novalis appears before cutting back to Drek) My race, the Blarg have a small problem. Our planet has become so polluted, overpopulated and poisonous that we are no longer able to dwell here. But I, Chairman Drek, have a solution. We are constructing a pristine new world using the choicest planetary components available. So, what does this mean to you, you might ask? Using highly sophisticated technology, which you couldn't possibly understand, We will be extracting a large portion of your planet and adding it to our new one. Unfortunately, this change in mass will cause your planet to spin out of control and drift into the sun where it will explode into a flaming ball of gas, but, of course, sacrifices must be made. Thank you for your co-operation.

Blargian Director: CUT!

Drek: And if you don't like it, you can take your whiny snivelling snot nosed populations, form a line behind me and you can kiss my- (pauses) Are we still on? Well turn it off, you idiot!

(Infobot shuts off)

Ratchet: The people on those planets are hosed! Well, good luck getting Captain Qwark to help you.

Clank: Actually, you three could help me. If you could use Ratchet's ship and Xoruxshy's TARDIS to take me to the coordinates contained in this infobot, I might be able to gather further information there.

Ratchet: Even if I wanted to, I can't. I'm missing a crucial component of the ship.

IF: And the TARDIS interior was destroyed.

Xoruxshy: Actually, now that I've regenerated, the TARDIS should've done so as well. Why don't we take a look?

Location: TARDIS

(Upon entering the TARDIS, they see it has entirely changed on the inside. The bookshelf where the books are stored has been transformed into a stone bookshelf with glowing carvings. The books themselves have been repaired, and Nicole Zwei is back in one piece)

Nicole Zwei: Welcome back, Lady Mobius Heart.

Xoruxshy: Thank you, Nicole.

Ratchet: Wow, a physical AI.

Clank: Interesting.

(Upon further inspection of the TARDIS, the TARDIS Console has been changed to a stone version, with glowing buttons with swirling mist. The display screens have become floating butterflies that react to touch, and the chairs have changed to log stumps with cushions. Finally, there's a Gadgetron Vendor nearby and a blinking light on one of the butterflies. Upon Xoruxshy touching the butterfly, it becomes a display with Tails on it)

Tails: Finally! Xoruxshy, we've been trying to contact you ever since your distress beacon went off. The Nexus Station has been transported to your current universe, and the Reincarnated Fake CPUs have created weapon businesses for you. Here's a sample weapon for you to try called the Bloomblaster. Anyway, you should probably get going. (A digital printer produces the Bloomblaster from the TARDIS console as well as a new Sonic Screwdriver, the previous one being destroyed in the crash)

Ratchet: Anyway, I'm missing a crucial component of my ship, so it can't fly.

Xoruxshy: Well, let's take a look at it.

Back outside the TARDIS…

(Clank scans the ship)

Clank: The Robotic Ignition System.

Ratchet: How did you know that?

Clank: I, Ratchet, happen to be equipped with the latest in Robotic Ignition Systems. My programming allows me to start any ship I choose.

Ratchet: Now we're talkin'. So I agree to take you to this…wherever it is… and you get my ship started for me.

Clank: That is what I am proposing.

(Suddenly the ships that were chasing Clank and shot down the TARDIS land on the planet in front of them)

Ratchet: Deal! We'll see you guys there.

Xoruxshy: Right!

(The groups separate and enter their respective vehicles)

Location: TARDIS

Xoruxshy: Okay, set a heading for Planet Novalis.

(Upon landing on Novalis, they exit only to find the remains of the crashed ship and Ratchet & Clank standing by the landing pad)

Ratchet: Sorry, I forgot to bring in the landing gear and we crashed on re-entry.

Clank: Perhaps from now on, we should fly in the TARDIS…

Ratchet: That, or get a ship from one of the people on this planet. If there are any left.

Interview with Verity on the Bloomblaster (Emerald Arsenal)

Interviewer: Welcome, Verity! Today, we're here to discuss your latest creation, the Bloomblaster. Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind it?

Verity (Smiling): Hi everyone! Well, as you know, Emerald Arsenal is all about creating eco-friendly and sustainable weapons. I wanted to design something that packed a punch while still honoring nature's beauty. That's where Bulbasaur, the adorable Grass-type Pokemon, came in!

Interviewer: Interesting choice! How does the Bloomblaster function?

Verity: It uses a combination of geothermal and solar energy to fire concentrated blasts. The flower bud actually serves as a miniaturized power core! And the "Vine Snare" feature utilizes a harmless energy field to temporarily slow down enemies, giving you a tactical advantage.

Interviewer: That's very creative! Is the Bloomblaster still under development?

Verity (Chuckles): Definitely! It's still a prototype. I'm working on increasing the ammo capacity and adding new features, like an explosive seed pod launcher. But hey, even in its early stages, the Bloomblaster is a reliable companion, especially for beginners.

Interviewer: Excellent point! Speaking of beginners, what would you say to someone considering the Bloomblaster as their first weapon?

Verity: Go for it! It's easy to use, eco-friendly, and perfect for those who prefer a more strategic approach. Plus, with a little effort, you can upgrade it and unlock its full potential!

As a seasoned warrior, I wouldn't call the Bloomblaster my most powerful weapon. Its limited ammo capacity and modest damage output force a more conservative combat style. However, for a starter weapon, it's not bad. The "Vine Snare" ability is a helpful tool for crowd control, and the potential for upgrades is intriguing. Verity seems to be a bright young inventor, and I have a feeling this little "Bloomblaster" might surprise me. Besides, a weapon inspired by such a cute Pokemon can't be all bad, right?

A/N: So, this is something new I'm going to do. At the end of each chapter, when a new weapon is revealed, I'm going to write an interview with one of the creators of the weapons, who you will no doubt recognize as the reincarnated Fake CPUs from my previous story. Anyway, if you guys would like to send me a review on this story or the previous one, please send it to joeyblast gmail . com