Secrets unraveled

It was a nice summer's day as Ratchet landed with Aphelion on Fastoon. The Lombax had defeated the Zoni and rescued Clank. As the cockpit opened, a cool breeze enveloped the Lombax fur, sending a small shiver down his spine as he sat up trying to get out of the ship. Clank his metallic friend, his best friend actually came out as well. The duo stared at the ruined city of Fastoon as Ratchet made his way towards a small house not far from the courtyard. Much had happened since he had found Clank again.

Not only did he move to Polaris to learn more of his people but also he made a small home on Fastoon (with the help of Clank that is!). And yes every once in a while Qwark or Talwyn with Cronk and Zephyr came to visit. Not that Ratchet cared, he was happy to be with Clank once again and the same could be said for Clank but still something felt amiss for the Lombax, he just could not describe what!

"Hey Clank how is the power generator doing?!" he asked at the metal robot who had been trying to find out the cause of an energy problem. "As much as I like to ratchet I cannot concentrate if you are disturbing me." Ratchet gave him just a strange like as he cocked his eyebrow wondering if he would ever fully understand how that robot be so well Clank like. Then again who cares? He was Ratchet's best pall and buddy and nothing would change that.

In the time Clank was back Ratchet had found out a lot of information about his people. Not only how they had made the Dimensionator, but also other things like some of the Lombax history. He even learned a bit of Lombax whenever Talwyn was around. Ratchet was interrupted as a small noise began to rumble where Clank stood. The robot smiling as the generator came to live "You see Ratchet? Nothing to worry about." Ratchet could not believe his eyes! "SWEET!" he yelled "Warm water at last… No more cold showers or cold rooms! You're a genius Clank." Clank could only giggle at the comment had just made. But all of a sudden another beeping started, it wasn't the generator tough as ratchet tried to figure out where it came from. "Incoming call from Captain Qwark, Ratchet!" said Clank as he grabbed the holovision from within his chest. "Aahh Ratchet! There you are, you know it's not polite to not answer my phone calls. Those are expensive you know." Said the bumbling 'super-hero' as Ratchet just rolled his eyes. "Well I have great news! I have found something on Rykan V… It seems there was more in the lab then you guys had first discovered!" "Come on Qwark there is nothing there and you know it." Said the Lombax a bit annoyed as he really wanted to get back to work on his new house. "I mean it guys… it's HUGE!!! Trust me on this one or my name is not…" Ratchet began to growl as Clank began to move towards Aphelion. "Al right all right Jesus, one seems to have stepped with the wrong feet out of his bed." Qwark murmured as Ratchet broke the connection motioning to where had stood. "Uuh Clank?" he asked in awe as he noticed his friend had gone missing. "I'm already in the ship, Ratchet." Said Clank. Aphelion noticed that the Lombax had entered the cockpit so she closed the hatch. "Where are we of to this time?" she asked polite "Rykan V, Qwark thinks he may have found something there and whatever it is it seems to be huge…" Tough he did not let it be sensed to Clank nor Aphelion, but a part of him wanted for once that Qwark spoke the truth!

As they left orbit, Aphelion prepared her hyper drive to enter hyperspace. Something both of them had done a lot of times before! As a small gap was created in the existence of space itself the ship launched forward into the gap. What felt like mere cubits, were actually thousands of thousands of kilocubits they passed with ease. "Is hyper jumping not grand?....Hehehehehe." Clank laughed as Ratchet just shook his head once the emerged above Rykan V again. "Man I haven't been here since I bought the Gyro Cycle from the Smuggler. I wonder what Qwark was searching here anyway!" "I wonder that also, it is not like Qwark to be in a place like this!" Clank said with a tone of mistrust. Ok he was the more positive of Captain Qwark of the two of them, but still Qwark had a known record of being a wuss, wimp, jelly bone, coward, (let's just skip this shall we?). Qwark was standing near the entrance of the abandoned Lombax lab as Aphelion landed right next to him. As soonas they landed Qwark greeted them signaling to go inside the lab, he seemed to be very anxious to show them whatever he had found.

"Qwark there is nothing new here then the last time!" Ratchet sighed as he searched around. "Come on Ratchet do you really think that I, captain Qwark, would mislead you?" Both Clank and the Lombax gave a mild stare at him. "Ok so I helped Drek, caused the menace with the Protopets, chickened out with Nefarious…" "You forgot about when you teamed up with Tachyon to save yourself, or the time you attacked us during the period Emperor Otto wanted to create a Ratchet army or the time…" "Alright alright I get it but I have done good things to you know!" said Qwark irritated at Clank. He stepped towards a wall which had a certain Lombax writing on it. "Here I found this! I don't know what it means but it could be huge!" "QWARK!!!" growled Ratchet as banged his hand on the symbols. As soon as his hand had hit the wall they began to light, same as what had happened a year ago. The wall began to rise into the ceiling as a damp moisture air came out from behind it. "Aaw man that stinks!" waving his hand to try and get rid of the awful smell. "I told you I found something!" said Qwark triumphant as Clank just hit has head with his hand shaking it. Ratchet on the other hand was a bit terrified, not for what was inside the hidden room, but for what he might find! Who knew what secret lay inside that dark room, as he began to gather his nerve he set a step into the dark. It began to take his body over as the light faded away. "Clank can you help me here buddy?" he asked as Clank switched on his lights, the room showed to be empty like the original lab only in the center of it lay a table with on it a book. It was written in Lombaxian but the strangely it felt to ratchet like he knew what it was as he smelled heavily the air around it. "I… remember that… smell!" Clank just stood there as Qwark also came into the room almost pushing both the Lombax and the robot into the wall crushing them both. "Qwark you, don't get in here it's tight you know. "Euh hehehe sorry guys. I did not know." As he tried to get out of the room again. "We need to get this to Talwyn she can translate it better then we can!" Ratchet explained as both he and Clank made there way to the ship. Qwark wanted to know how he would get towards Apogee Station, "Well how did you get to Rykan V then?" shouted Ratchet as he left the planet with a hurry. "Well time to get in touch with my feminine side… AGAIN!" he said as he pulled out a blond wig and several other items.

"Apogee Station, home to the famous Marcadian Max Apogee and his daughter Talwyn Apogee… A high-tech station covered with the newest gadgets and gizmo's along with state of the art defenses and…" said Zephyr before being interrupted by Talwyn "That's enough! Really you two need to know when to stop talking drives me crazy!" she said as all three of them walked to the hangar. Ratchet had phoned her he would be there shortly with something very interesting!! And if Talwyn knew the Lombax then it must be something very very interesting to say the least!

"Hiya Tal, Cronk, Zephyr how are things going?" Ratchet asked as Talwyn hugged Clank something Ratchet found funny, it was like she digged robots instead of organic life forms. Not that it bothered him he was not the one to fall for "naked" girls who had "guardian" robots protecting her 24/7. "So you had something important to show us?" she asked at him "Ooh yea this, Qwark found it on Rykan V" "But we searched that planet already!!" she said with a high pitched voice as if it was impossible that Qwark found anything! As she grabbed the book she began to read with sometimes a few mhhh then oooh's and then wauw's. It wasn't until she had reached around halfway the book that her mouth fall open as if it she had just found out she won the Polaris Lottery. "Ratchet this…this…. I can't believe it!!!" everyone was surprised, but mostly Ratchet as he wanted to know what was so great. "This book here tells us about your people's history!! From when they started as a small civilization, up until the time Tachyon invaded Fastoon. After that…" her voice becoming more sorrowful "…well there it stops. But that was not the most interesting! It refers to your father!!" "WHAT?!" everyone gasped at what the had heard. "You got to be kidding me! My dad?! HOW?!" "Well he was the guardian of the Dimensionator it seems this was his log! And so it was for every Lombax before him who received the book, to write down there history." Ratchet was shown the page where it stood. His father had written down everything from the day he received the book up until he sended ratchet back to Fastoon. That was how Talwyn found out, the description of an infant Lombax with green eyes who was send to Solana. Ratchet gazed over every page trying to deceiver as much as he could until he reached a small section that he could not translate. "Tal what is this?" asked the green eyed Lombax to the Marcadian as she bowed over she began to read. "There stands:

At

Cois

Bathis

Liachild

Niddeh worm far slienep ehs unsty allit allash tile ht aiy ful fath

the Last Lombax!

… That's all." she said "What does it mean?" Ratchet asked scratching the back of his head. "Oooh I love riddles! Let me see here." As Clank began to ponder what it meant Ratchet was confused. "Wasn't I the last Lombax? I mean it does say Last Lombax!" "I have no idea Ratchet, Cronk Zephyr you guys have any idea on what it means?" she said towards the two battle bots. "Sorry miss Talwyn, I have no idea.. Same for Zephyr here." Said Cronk as he was not happy at all, he was a renowned expert at Lombax history yet he did not know how to translate that darn book! But after a while Clank joyfully jumped into the air. "I found it!" "What Clank? Did you find out what it means?!" "No, but I do have a theory! Lombax technology reacts on there DNA does it not? Then why not touch the book! It might work." Said Clank as he pulled Ratchet towards the book. As the Lombax stood above the page he began to feel second doubts. "What if something happens? I mean this isn't your average book!" he said gulping a little. As he reached his hands out towards the page of the book, he bagen to hope that this was a bad dream, but at the same time he could not, no he would not back down no matter what would happen. He needed to know this not only for himself but for his people. There was a reason that there stood the Last Lombax and perhaps it was meant for him! It did make sense as he was the son of the Lombax that guarded the Dimensionator! His hand touched the book, but nothing happened. "See I told you tha…" before he could finish his sentence the book came to life as if it had gotten a will of it's own. The letters on the page began to swirl around reforming themselves towards new sentences, new meanings and a new text. Talwyn gasped when she read what was on the pages now.

At Cobalia

Is this child

Hidden from war in sleep she shall stay until the faithful day

the Last Lombax!

Talwyn had not even finished telling Ratchet what was on the page, as the word Cobalia waw enough for. "Let's go Clank Cobalia here we come!" he said in a very happy voice. He grabbed the book even with protest from Talwyn who got confused at what just happened. "Ratchet what do you expect to find on Cobalia? There is nothing but swamp there and the gelatonium factory that is!" Clank exclaimed as he was looking in the Lombax eyes, searching for a glimpse of anything which could give Clank insight in that head of his.

Ratchet stared at Clank as he entered Aphelion "We are going to search the Last Lombax!"