"So, how have you been?" The doctor asks as he leans back on his seat, giving a tiny smile as he kept glancing at the notes he had on his lap and then back at me. I was sitting on the couch where the patients were usually lying down, but I did not feel like it, so I let my legs hang over the edge, while I kept my fingers crossed. I did not belong here.
"Fine, thank you." I responded calmly, the doctor being quite pleasant about my attitude. I did not like this man so much, but I tried my best not to show it.
"Have you been up to much lately?" He questioned as he rest his hand partly on top of the notes, ready to write anything I would say.
"Not really. Miss Apogee said I should take it easy and rest. I do not understand why, though." I commented casually, looking elsewhere. The walls intrigued me more than the conversation, even though they were plain white. Actually, now that I am looking at it more carefully... The walls have a hint of gray and "cream" colour, as the organics would call it. It was such a bizarre colour to me.
"Are you still residing in the Battleship Phoenix?" Another question. All the time, nothing but questions.
"Yes." I kept my answer short, in case my stay would be kept shorter. Of course, I should have known better since these sessions were always the same length; 55 minutes, with the seconds always differing from the last visit. The five minutes were usually extra time, where the doctor would keep telling me to take care of myself and such before I left.
"What have you been up to lately?" He asked, that kind smile still resting on his lips. It would not convince me, though.
"Not much. Just watching Ratchet play those holo-vid comics he loves so much." My response receives a nod and he begins to write. If I could growl like my friend did, I would.
"How is he doing?" He asks, and I begin to grow impatient.
"He is fine. He got really frustrated with one of the games, though. He just could not get through it. I told him to calm down, before he breaks the TV for it." I forced a smile on myself, still looking away. I just want to go home. Not back to Starship Phoenix, but HOME. Back to Ratchet's home. Back to my home. Back to Veldin...
"I'm assuming he did. He always listens to you so well." The doctor says with a soft chuckle. I could only nod, my thoughts firmly locked on Veldin. Why would they not just let us go back home? There are no questions asked for a while and we both sit there in silence. Well, I do, anyway. He is writing something in his notes that I care little to none for. I can hear him stop writing and he shifts on his seat, tapping the notes with his pen. He is hesitant in asking more questions, oddly. It wasn't the first time, but I usually never liked the results. "Where is he now?" He asked and I began to feel anger. Anger, that was somewhat new to me.
"He is in the lobby, waiting for me. We flew here together." I answer bitterly. Was he pretending to be blind now or was he just trying to mock me?
"Who was piloting? Him?" He tilted his head. Although I was not looking directly at him, my vision reached far. Even when I was narrowing my eyes and I could see his smile turn into a sad one when he noticed my displeased expression.
"No. He seemed a little weak. He has been more tired than usual lately. Maybe it is the lack of exercise. He does not do that so much anymore." I reply, receiving another blank nod. That's what he always did.
"Why is that, you think?" The way he asked this one ticked me off. Almost as if he had realized something or found something.
"He said he was retiring. He does not care if his figure goes, or something like that." My answer was not pleasing him in the least, and I felt a little joy in me for that. He would not be able to mock me this time around!
A small sigh escaped from the doctor. He tried his best to contain it, but I could hear it. "Well, Clank, our time is coming to an end." Finally! I jumped off the couch right after he said that, but I would not look at him. He was always making fun of me, so I did not want to. "I will be seeing you next week. Please do take care of yourself until then. You are always free to contact me, if anything comes up." He says politely, but it just angers me.
Still, I had my manners as well. "Thank you. I will see you next week." We both nod and I exit the room before he can say anything else. I didn't want to hear anything else. I just needed to get out of here.
I step into the lobby and look for Ratchet. He usually waits for me here, so where was he now? Maybe he went back to the ship? I sigh as I head for the exit, scanning the area instantly once I leave the building. I still could not see him anywhere. Nervously, I dashed for the ship, saddening a little when I did not see my friend. Where could he have gone?
"BOO!" A loud noise came from behind me and I jumped, falling down on the ground. Panicking, I looked behind me, watching the figure before with wide eyes. "Ha ha, you should SEE the look on your face!" Although I was giving him as angry of a glare I could, he still laughed brighter than ever.
"Could you NOT do that? I was worried for you!" I snapped, getting back on my feet. He still laughed, although he toned it down a bit.
"Sorry, Pal. I won't do it again." He grinned, watching me get on the ship. Like I would let him help me get inside it after that.
"Yes, you will." I commented, waiting for him to get on board before closing the hatch. I pressed the buttons, commanding the ship to take off. The sooner we got out of here, the better.
"I still don't get why you don't wanna fly Aphelion." Ratchet commented as he leaned back, looking pretty relaxed now that he didn't have to fly the ship.
"She is... Talkative." My reply received a very heavy sigh from the lombax.
"You really need to stop pushing others away so much." He said in a worried tone, looking at me in concern. Somehow, I could not afford myself to look at him directly. There was not much I could think of to say after that. I wasn't pushing them away, they were just being too... Proximal. Every minute there would be someone asking if I was alright or if I needed help. There was nothing wrong with me, so why did everyone keep on insisting on it? To my eyes, everyone else lost their minds. After I started going to therapy, which I don't even understand why, they became more careful and started giving my own space. They never act normally as they do. They just act like they feel sorry for me. What on earth happened to us all?
Finally, we made our way back to the Starship Phoenix that was, at the moment, ran by Sasha Phyronix. She was now the mayor of Metropolis, but had taken on a mission that required her to stay on the ship for the time being. For a reason or another, she would not explain the reason that clearly to me and even stranger, Ratchet and I weren't even assigned to do those missions. She said that our mission was to stay in the ship. That was highly questionable and I did question, but the response would always be the same: "You don't have to worry about it. Just relax." Still, if that was the command, then I would obey it, even if I didn't know what it truly meant.
"I'm gonna go play." Ratchet said with a grin as he walked to the lounge room, while Clank stood still for some time. He just watched after Ratchet, but for some reason, was unable to move his legs and follow.
"You're back." He then heard another voice, letting out a faint shudder. He didn't want to talk with anyone at the moment. "How was the... Session?" She asked, smiling faintly.
"You're here." I said sharply, less friendly then I usually would. The tone made the female markazian shift in her place, making her look rather uncomfortable to be standing before me. Once again, I could not bring myself to look at her's, or anyone's, face.
"Yes. I wanted to see how you are doing." She asked, her arms crossed in a way like she was cold.
"I am fine, Talwyn." I replied, staring at the direction where Ratchet left, empty. Why was it that I felt this empty? Why so suddenly? I can't even bring myself to remember why I became this cold towards my friends. Even towards... Him.
"How is, uh... Ratchet?" She asked hesitantly, biting her lower lip. I instantly turned my head to face her, giving her an angry glare. She let out a surprised, maybe even a scared gasp.
"Don't try to be friendly with me. I still remember what you said about him." I spoke lowly and she grew nervous, taking two steps back away from me.
"Clank, I-I'm sorry." She apologized, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I didn't mean to-"
"I am tired. Leave me be." I simply said, disregarding her words as I began to finally follow Ratchet's trail. I heard Talwyn sigh in a very upsetting manner, but I had no time to think about her. I couldn't think about her.
The room was silent when I entered, as if no-one was there. The room wasn't any different from what it had been around the time when we fought against Dr. Nefarious, almost like the ship had got lost in time. It was a little eerie to me. I walked over to the couches, noticing Ratchet lying on the couch, smiling.
"I thought you were going to play games." I stated in a slightly questioning manner.
Ratchet laughed as he sat up. "I thought I'd wait for you." He pointed at the machine. "Start it up for me, will ya?" He asked with a grin.
"Sure." I nodded, doing as he asked. I took the controller as well, as he would require that as well. He jumped on the couch, offering the controller to him, but he just shook his head with a grin. "Why not?"
"I wanna play together!" He said happily.
"Again?" I couldn't contain the deep sigh. "Are you really having fun doing that?"
"Aren't you?" He asked a bit sadly. Shaking my head, I faintly smiled back.
"It's not that." My voice got nervous, but he wouldn't comment on it. "Don't you want to play yourself? You know how bad I am..." Technically, a lie. I wasn't too bad at playing games, but he was better than I was.
"I don't care. Come on." He motioned me to move over to him. I scoot over, stopping between his legs, sitting at the edge of the couch. I held the controller and he placed his hands on mine, letting out a chuckle. His touch is gentle and faint, and cold. His hands seemed to freeze so easily these days, I chuckle to myself.
Despite being able to spend fun time like this with Ratchet...
Why did I still feel so empty?