Chapter Text
IN THE WORLD OF PATAPON.
A few days ago, an enemy squadron had settled on the planet, where they began constructing fortresses across the globe.
The enemy battalion believed this world would be easy to control.
How wrong they were.
The local population, despite being small and relatively undeveloped, was giving them trouble thanks to their numbers and tenacity, which even led to the destruction of some bases. Although they managed to win a good portion of the battles, the sheer number of natives made the soldiers' work difficult.
At one of the main bases, a Maestro was analyzing the reports. Recently, a depot had been destroyed by the natives. No matter how many times they were defeated, they always returned.
And with the new order, requesting reinforcements and resources was nearly impossible. Fortunately, the high command was finally able to give him something: It was still a prototype, but its immense firepower was staggering. With something like this, they could finally rid themselves of this plague.
Suddenly, alarms began to blare throughout the base, taking everyone by surprise.
The Maestro, startled, looked at the computer, which displayed an unidentified aerial vehicle in the airspace, followed by a heavy flying ship approaching.
Upon seeing it, the base commander calmed down. It was one of their own, and it was also the prototype that was going to be used to eradicate the local population. Although he was somewhat confused, since they hadn't been notified of its arrival and he couldn't contact the ship's captain.
Immediately, the alarms intensified, and he saw the cameras showing the ship aiming its weapons at them. Before he could give any orders, the ship fired, destroying the entire base with a single blast.
"Yooho! Eat this!" Rivet shouted from the command post.
"Holy cow," Marston said, speechless. "That was quite an explosion."
"Nice toy we've got ourselves," Raiden grinned. "It'll come in handy."
Rivet smiled as he settled into the captain's chair. "I want to see Ratchet's face when he sees the ship."
"I think our return will be delayed," Kit announced, examining a nearby outpost. "Apparently, there are a few bases scattered across the planet. I think it's best to eliminate them all to liberate the planet, taking advantage of the fact that they won't be able to call for reinforcements."
"That's a good plan," Rivet said.
Delsin appeared on the scene, looking somewhat disappointed.
"Nothing, I didn't find a single one," the young man lamented. "What do we do now?"
"To liberate an entire planet," the Lombax replied. "Gentlemen, everyone to your positions. We have a long job ahead of us."
The three men just looked at each other, and although they didn't know what to do, they simply sat down wherever they could.
"Kit, put down the coordinates of the other enemy bases. We'll have to do some cleaning up."
The ship began to leave, heading toward its next objective.
Below, among the trees, a group of black beings with one eye watched the ship depart.
They had been fighting these strange giants for weeks, beings worse than the Boneteh and Sasoritan tribes. They had even thought defeating them would be impossible.
But seeing this metal being destroy the invaders' base, they believed that the Almighty had finally heard them.
One of these beings, a kind of priestess, simply looked at her companions.
"Brothers Patapon and Zigoton! The Almighty has finally answered our prayers after so many moons! The giant enemy will finally be defeated!"
The little beings just began to celebrate, happy to see news from the Almighty after so long, especially in such a situation.
AT POLYGON BASE.
In a sort of gymnasium, the others were training a bit, waiting for the next mission.
Only most of them were there; some were elsewhere doing their own thing.
"Damn... They're heavy..." Drake said with difficulty, lifting a rather enormous weight.
"Don't you keep in shape?" Cole asked from beside him.
"In theory, I was retired," Drake replied, lifting the weight. "Although I knew I wasn't going to last long, I didn't expect the reason to be a dimensional war."
Cole just snorted. "At least you got to go on retirement. It seems I was destined to die, or at least that's how it felt."
"That's why being a hero isn't my style." Nathan smiled, replacing the weight and getting up, looking somewhat tired. "For me, priceless treasures and deadly adventures are enough."
Cole sighed. "And for me, being a poorly paid delivery boy would have been enough." Cole looked at his hands, which crackled with electricity and ice. "Being a hero sucks."
"Amen."
Ratchet and Clank, along with Jak, Daxter, and Sly, were chatting together.
"...And that's how we stopped an interdimensional invasion of pizza toppings." Ratchet finished narrating.
The others, except for Clank, started laughing, with Daxter laughing the loudest.
"Ha, ha, ha! What a story! What a story..." the weasel laughed. "What's a pizza?"
"I see you've had some crazy adventures since we last saw each other," Sly said.
"Yeah, all kinds, like that time we were poisoned and forced to participate in a deadly race," Jak said.
"Heh, heh, sounds like something that could happen to me..." Sly laughed.
"Mr. Cooper, what did you do?" the robot asked.
The raccoon's smile vanished. "Well... nothing interesting, I was just falling into a time portal before it appeared in the Spartan's world."
"Let me guess." Ratchet said. "You were fighting an enemy who wanted to use time travel to conquer reality or eliminate you."
"Exactly," Cooper replied. "Although I was able to defeat him, he begged for mercy, and I, being the kind-hearted person I am, helped him. In return, he stole my parachute and run away, and I was trapped in the time machine. I thought I was going to die or end up in another time, but it seems the universe had other plans."
"It's a classic. You kick the villain's butt, he begs for mercy so you lower your guard and he attacks you from behind. I've had experience with that before," Ratchet muttered.
Elsewhere, Cloud and Kratos were training.
Cloud was practicing with a dummy that, with each attack he landed, kept regenerating itself.
The dummy tried to attack, but the soldier stopped it and countered with a vertical slash, defeating it.
"Well done, kid," said Kratos, who had been watching everything.
Cloud turned to the other man. "Thank you... sir," he said, somewhat nervously. He had never seen a warrior like Kratos; he was both powerful and skilled, like HIM.
Kratos approached. "You're strong and skilled for your age. Where did you learn this?"
That question made Cloud uneasy. "Soldier training, in my world there's an energy company that trains enhanced soldiers. Although I could never make it into the elite, I was able to train and become strong."
Although he didn't know it was a "company," Kratos nodded. "Even so, you have enormous potential for being a 'Hoplitas'.'" Kratos raised his axe. "I'd like to test your strength."
This took the Soldier by surprise, who didn't know whether to accept the challenge or not.
"If you don't want to fight, I-"
Immediately, the Soldier raised his sword. "No, I want to test your strength too."
Kratos said nothing and got ready.
Cloud made the first move and attacked Kratos, who stopped the attack with his axe.
When the two weapons clashed, Cloud was nearly sent flying by the force, landing on his feet.
Surprised by this, the Soldier launched an Igni attack, which Kratos blocked with his shield.
The Spartan immediately charged at the soldier, who narrowly dodged the Spartan's axe.
The two began to fight, each able to evade the other's attacks, though Cloud was starting to struggle to keep up. Then, in a moment of weakness, Kratos knocked his sword away with a powerful blow.
Even more surprised by the man's strength, Cloud narrowly dodged a punch and, with incredible speed, landed several blows, though they seemed to have no effect on the Spartan.
Kratos, though not feeling the blows much, was amazed by the young man's reflexes and, with his axe, tripped him, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Cloud tried to get up, but the Leviathan's thread held him fast.
"You have potential, young man, but you still have much to learn." Kratos removed the axe from his neck and extended his hand.
Cloud only grunted, swiftly defeated and humiliated, almost as if it reminded him of his time on the Shnira.
"You're stronger than I thought." The soldier grabbed the Spartan's hand. "Where did you learn all this?"
Kratos almost grimaced. "From childhood, I was trained in brutal warfare; everything I learned was through experience in the field."
Kratos just lowered his gaze. Remembering his past only depressed him, though he also found solace in recalling the good times before HE made him his slave.
"Father!" someone shouted, and the Spartan saw his son, but he wasn't alone.
"Brother, how are you?" Mimir asked, but he wasn't in the young man's arms; he was in the air, inside a metal contraption.
"Mimir?" Kratos asked. "What is that?"
"Oh, this? It's a hoverboat, a very 'modern' invention. It allows me to move around on my own without anyone's help," Mimir replied. "I still have to get used to using it."
Kratos simply nodded and looked at his son, who was licking something.
"Atreus, what's that?" he asked, though he felt he'd seen it before.
"It's ice cream," the young man replied. "It's very sweet."
Sensing this, Kratos grew nervous. "And who gave it to you?"
"That flaming head weirdo. Apparently, he was surprised when I found out I'd never eaten anything like that—"
"I don't want you going near him again, especially not alone," Kratos said coldly.
Atreus, somewhat surprised, simply nodded. "Right, Father."
Cloud was also somewhat surprised by Kratos's tone of voice, calm yet threatening at the same time.
Suddenly, a sound emanated from Mimir, drawing everyone's attention.
"Mimir, what's going on?" Kratos asked his companion.
Mimir simply opened a window in front of him and began to read.
Immediately, Polygon Man appeared, along with the others.
"What's going on? An attack?" the purple-headed man asked.
"The radars have just detected a massive enemy fleet heading toward another universe," Mimir announced.
This news took the others by surprise.
"What? Didn't you say they wouldn't attack other universes for a while?" Ratchet asked.
"Maybe they've already recovered," Clank theorized. "Or it could even be an unplanned attack."
"Whatever it is, those jerks think they can get away with anything," Polygon Man said, somewhat annoyed. "Only I can do it!"
That last comment made the others glare at him.
"Let's not waste any more time! EVERYONE TO YOUR POSITIONS!"
"But what about the others?" Drake asked.
"I'll warn them. Besides, I don't think they'll be that hard; we've kicked their butts every time, and we'll do it again," said Poligon Man.
"Um, Mr. Poligon?" Clank interrupted. "It's not very wise to underestimate the enemy, besides—"
"EVERYONE GET READY!" Poligon shouted and looked at Ratchet. "Furball, do you know how to fly a ship?"
ON AN EARTH IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE.
In one of the many variations of planet Earth, a desolate world where humanity was ravaged by its own creations—machines of many kinds that nearly drove them to extinction.
Despite everything, war still raged in this world.
On a battlefield, the same mechanical beings that had seized control of the planet were fiercely battling another, more modern type of machines, though the two sides seemed to be at a stalemate.
Somewhat distant from the battlefield, a group of people, led by a young woman with red hair, were climbing to a high point, admiring the massive battle from there.
And they weren't the only ones.
From the sky, another group of people, floating in the air, with a more futuristic appearance than those below, didn't seem pleased with this renewed attack, especially their leader.
The group began to descend, and the leader noticed them, especially one person.
"Ah, I knew she was involved in all this... Like the rat she is." The leader glanced at the man beside him, his right arm nodding as he pointed a weapon that had formed from his arm, firing at them.
The young woman, noticing the approaching attack, took refuge among the rocks, as did her companions.
One of them, a somewhat elderly man with dark skin, went to one of his companions, a robust man, and began assembling a kind of bomb that the latter carried on his back.
"Sylen, the Zeniths are coming." The young woman told the old man. "Can we deactivate their shields?"
"I'm activating it. It won't be long, Aloy." The older man replied as he continued assembling the device.
"This fight is pointless, failed clone." The leader spoke as he and the others landed on Earth. "You worms have lived here for far too long, a land that awaits us. While you fought and lived like cavemen, we have fought for the future of humanity, true humanity."
"By the sun, does this guy like to talk?" the other man grunted, trying to maintain his composure.
"You have no idea, Erend," the young woman replied.
"...But I would still be willing to let you live. Give us Tidas; I know she's hiding. Hand her over, and you and the other worms can 'live.'" The man couldn't help but laugh sadistically.
Aloy just groaned; she knew this was all a lie. She wanted to eliminate that worm, but until those shields were active, it would be impossible.
"Sylen?" she asked the other man.
"Just a few seconds..." the man replied, almost finished.
Receiving no response, the leader simply snorted.
"Nothing? Good..." He glanced at his men. "Everyone! Fire—"
Suddenly, a loud rumble startled everyone, even the machines on both sides stopped, somewhat stunned.
The humans, surprised, began to notice something in the sky.
"By Do..." The other woman in Aloy's group simply said, terrified by what she was seeing.
It was some kind of machine, or so they thought. It was enormous and unlike anything they had ever seen before; not even the titans they had encountered on their journey reached the height of this machine in the sky.
But those most surprised were the Zeniths, who, despite the rude and grotesque style, recognized it as some kind of spaceship, and it was larger than their own.
"Gerald, what the hell is that?" His right arm asked, alarmed and surprised.
Gerald simply said nothing. It wasn't possible that those savages had a spaceship, especially one like that, and Nemesis shouldn't have arrived so early. "Who were they?"
Aloy remained speechless at the appearance of that ship, being the only one, along with Sylen, in the group who knew what it was. Suddenly, she felt her Focus begin to go haywire.
"Aloy!" A voice came from the same device. "What...is this...Hap-"
The unknown ship began to open fire, targeting the Far Zenith base, bombarding it.
"Activate the shields!" Gerald ordered immediately, but before they could do anything else, his group was hit by the bombardment, scattering them.
Aloy's group was surprised by this, though somewhat relieved to see that it wasn't the Far Zeniths; they felt that the machine wasn't even with them.
And their worries became real when a projectile was heading straight for them.
"Run, everyone!" Sylen shouted, and without hesitation, the group started running, just in time to dodge the blast, although the force of the explosion sent them flying some distance.
"Guys!" Aloy cried as she was thrown to the ground.
The ship began an orbital attack, deploying its troops on the field, who began fighting fiercely against the machines, thus restarting a new battle.
Aloy, lying on the ground, stunned by the impact, began to regain her sight. She saw humans, but with distorted features and of many different types, fighting all the machines.
"YOU!" someone shouted, and Aloy saw that it was Gerald, still alive and very angry.
Seeing him approaching, Aloy got up and, grabbing her bow, prepared to defend herself.
But before the two of them could do anything, they were surrounded by the Soldats and Assaulters, cornered.
The two humans simply turned around, shoulder to shoulder, guards up.
"Who are these people?" Aloy asked Gerald, her bow ready.
"How should I know?!" the man replied, summoning his weapon from his right arm. "They don't look like they're on your side too."
"Don't tell me," she replied sarcastically.
The enemies began to close in.
Gerald just grunted. "Truce?"
Aloy, surprised by what she heard, just snorted and, with her bow, fired an explosive arrow at a Soldat. Upon impact, it exploded, affecting those nearby.
Gerald began firing at the enemies, managing to hit some.
The Assaulters began charging at them. Gerald transformed his weapon into a sword and began fighting them.
Aloy barely dodged an Assaulter's sword, responding with a heavy blow from her bow. She then used her spear to stab another and send him flying.
Gerald tried to use his plasma rifle, but anAssaulters surprised him, causing him to miss. Luckily, the shields protected his arm from being Amputated.
Gerald growled, converting his weapon back into a sword and slashed the Assaulter in two. But before she could do anything else, a Berserk kicked him, sending him flying.
Seeing the giant, Aloy began firing arrows, but the Berserk was unfazed and started moving toward her.
Just as he was about to attack, an axe struck his head, splitting it in two.
Shocked, Aloy thought one of her friends was responsible, until she saw the axe return and, turning around, saw a muscular man with a beard as the weapon returned to his hand.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Aloy couldn't answer because the soldats began firing at them. Kratos was quick and, stepping in front, stopped the fire with his shield.
It didn't last long, though, as the group was caught in Pyramid Head's red wires.
"Who... are you?" Aloy asked.
"There's no time to explain," the Spartan replied. "We can only say we're allies." Kratos hurled his axe at the trapped soldiers, decapitating them instantly.
Aloy, confused, simply grabbed her bow and prepared to fight. She didn't know who he was, but she knew he and that weird 'man' weren't the enemy, unlike those grotesque humans.
Somewhere in the distance, Gerald was getting up, dazed from the blow. Some Soldats saw him on the ground and prepared to finish him off, until lightning struck them.
Gerald, who witnessed the scene, was surprised, even more so when he saw a hand in front of him.
"Are you alright?" Cole asked.
Gerald, somewhat surprised, simply rejected the help caustically. "Who the hell are you?"
Cole couldn't help but sigh. "Just an ally. The guys who just arrived are the real problem."
More enemy troops began to arrive, armed to the teeth.
"I hope you know how to fight." Cole activated his powers. "Because we'll have a lot to do."
The other man, surprised to see Cole's powers, just grunted; his plans were more compromised than ever.