Birthday one-shot for shadowgirlzforever. I hope you enjoy it!

A Ratchet and Clank Fanfic

Genre: hurt/comfort

Warnings: some death and war scenes

Hope you all enjoy!

A New Father

Bombs and explosives could be seen going off everywhere. What was once a place of peaceful homes for skilled inventors and bright minds looked now like a warzone, which really was the perfect term for the set of current events. To help with, blood splatters and screams filled the air and battle ground.

With random Lombaxes running in various directions in a scarce, a certain Lombax was running as fast as his feet could take him. There were two things going through his mind as he ran. One was survival as he ran to avoid explosives and gunfire. Two was to get to his home. His wife. He needed to find her before it was too late.

Seeing his destination ahead, slight relief filled him, for he hoped to be reunited with his wife and son soon. Gaining on the house quickly, it did not take him long to get there. However, parts of the house were on fire.

Knowing it could be dangerous, he ran in regardless. Finding his family was the most essential priority, for his life would mean nothing without them. The inside of the house could be described as a maze; dodging random items in the house such as furniture and then also avoiding falling debris and flames throughout the house was quite a challenge.

The way the house was built, one would enter the house and end up in the living room. That's where the furniture was and most of the flames, since cloth can easily become inflamed. After that was the kitchen which was not too engulfed in flame but large smoke clouds covered the room. To the right was a hallway and a stair case at the end.

Not thinking twice, the Lombax ran up the stairs. Once he looked through all doors on both sides and saw nothing until he got to the last door on the left. What was seen was not pleasant. A blood trial lead to the bed and a female Lombax could be seen lying on its surface.

"Cara!" The male yelled as he ran into the room. He wrapped his arms lightly around her as tears started to run down his cheeks.

"…K…Kaden?" a faint whisper was heard.

Not much more was said between them before she passed. The female Lombax had explained how she had been outside taking care of the garden when the war ships and tanks arrived. She was shot quickly since being prepared for war was the last thing on her mind. Trying her best to forget the pain, Cara had gone up the stairs to get their son before falling on the bed. Somehow, he had remained asleep the whole time. Of course, he had not taken his nap yesterday so the baby slept a lot today.

Kaden was deeply wounded, he knew, but mourning would have to wait. The father took the baby from his wife's embrace before leaving the house.

It was painful, really, for when he was out of the house, it just fell to the ground. Turning his head slowly to fully capture the war brought so much sadness. All of his friends, family, and chances at new memories with them were gone. In the course of a few hours, he lost everything. The one person he had left was his baby son, Ratchet.

However, he could not just leave this war. He had to help defend the home and Lombaxes that he cared about deeply. What about Ratchet?...

Kaden then thought of an idea. Again, he ran as fast as his feet would take him while trying to avoid the horrors of the war. Who he was looking for just lived down the street some which was good since so there was less chance of dying during travel.

Once at the once white house, which now contained black burnt marks all over, he ran around the side of the house and went straight to the back yard. Just as expected, the Lombax he was looking for was getting his ship ready.

"Alister!"

The white Lombax turned to the sound of his name being called to see his best friend, well… once best friend.

"Kaden?" He inquired, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be leaving with the other Lombaxes?"

The yellow Lombax shook his head, "No. I'm staying here to fight the war."

"Kaden…" the general paused a moment, "Kaden, I'm so sorr…"

"Stop," Kaden interrupted, "You told me earlier and it won't change the anger I feel right now."

It was then his turn to pause. Kaden then continued, "Alister, I have a favor to ask of you."

His eyes widened in surprise, but regardless, he said, "Of course Kaden. I'll do anything."

A nod was done before the younger of the two walked over to the general. When standing in front of him, he lifted his son up slightly.

"I need you to take my son."

"W-What? But he is yours, and what about Cara?!"

"She's dead." Was stated bluntly.

Azimuth frowned before Kaden continued, "I'm going to stay and fight this war. I do not know if I will make it. Since you have been exiled and are not allowed to help us in any way, you would be the best choice for keeping my son safe."

"But Kaden…"

Interrupting once more, the yellow Lombax replied, "Please Alister. You are the only one who I feel can do this. Cara is dead. If I don't live then I will need someone to take care of him… If you are truly sorry, then do this for me, please. Even though I am angry with you, I know you did not mean for anyone to get hurt, let alone die. I still trust you despite your mistake."

Azimuth was speechless but knew he could not refuse, not his best friend. Ratchet was held up once more and Alister took him in his arms.

"I have to go. Please take care of him Alister."

The general nodded, "I will."

A sad smile formed on Kaden's face before he turned away and left. A single tear slid down the general cheek but was ignored as he finished getting the last of his belongings in the ship such as food and clothing. It did not take long to finish the packing process.

He then jumped into the ship. The white Lombax could not believe what he had done; both to his friends and his home. Another tear rolled down his right cheek. However, it was not felt long before something else was felt on his face.

Looking down, he saw a little Ratchet touching his face where the tear had been. Smiling, he knew what needed to be done. The ship was started and he took off.

The air was just as bad as the ground. He knew he had to get out safe… and alive. Readying his thrusts and blaster, shots were taken at enemy ships. Shots were fired back of course, but he had been driving ships for a long time so this was no problem when dodging. It was harder, however, since ships were everywhere and some of their shots were bigger than others. Regardless, he kept himself calm and fired away.

It was beneficial in the end when he finally left the atmosphere of the planet. The site was like a horror to him; being able to see all the explosives being set into the planet to destroy more and more cities. Tearing his eyes away, Azimuth left and started his travel through deep space.

The trip had been surprisingly quiet so far. Of course, Ratchet had been in and out of sleep; completely oblivious to what had just occurred. When he was awake, he would just start sucking on his pacifier to his heart's content, like there wasn't a bother in the world. It was quiet cute really.

Turning on the radio quietly, he turned through stations in hopes of hearing news about Fastoon but there was nothing. The reporters must not have made it yet, or had died while trying.

Alister stopped the channel surfing for a moment to avoid a meteor. When he was about to continue, he stopped because an idea occurred as he listened to the station.

"Hello all outsiders," the announcer greeted full-heartedly, "I greet you from the planet of Torren IV. As many know, this is what some may call a 'junk planet'. However, whatever one may discard, we will gladly take if there is no more need. After all, our saying here on Torren IV is that one man's junk is another man's treasure. For more information on how…"

The rest was tuned out as the general thought, 'One man's junk is another man's treasure. The junk planet Torren IV. Hm…' he then looked down at the baby Lombax in his arms briefly before lifting his eyes up to concentrate on his flying. 'That may be a good start. I may be able to figure out a place to stay at, and take care of Ratchet. After all, I am an exile and it will soon be known. I doubt many places would want to give me a decent place to live or even a job. It's the only chance I have.' Coming to a decision, Alister sets the coordinates and heads for Torren IV.

When arriving, he landed on a cliff. The purpose was because he saw a robot head while getting closer to the ground that might be a good place to live if done up right.

The ship was landed before Azimuth jumped out of the ship with a baby Ratchet in his arms. The hoover boots he wore were turned on and then he left the ship to explore the nearby robot head.

It was quiet large, and it also sat up on a cliff so and intruders could be seen on the ground and in the sky. The head itself had plenty of space inside of it. According to the looks and rooms present in the head already, it looked as if someone used to live here; such as the presence of a bathroom, bedrooms, and a kitchen were installed already. However, the place was covered in an inch of dust at least, so no one has been here for a few years at least.

Alister smiled and looked down at Ratchet. Though his eyes were sad, his smile was sincere. "This is going to be your new home. Though it doesn't look great now, it will." Ratchet just looked up with those big eyes of his and one could tell he was trying to smile without losing the pacifier. The general could help but chuckle and smile more. "I'm going to take good care of you Ratchet."

*Hey everyone! This is a birthday present for shadowgirlzforever. I hope you liked it! Sorry it was kind of sad but I tried to give it a good ending. Thank you to all who read it. I hope others liked this as well. Happy Birthday!