It had been at least one month since young Alister Azimuth had reunited with Ratchet and Clank. Not only did he find forgiveness from them, but he had found love. Ratchet and Alister were adapting into their relationship. It was a long struggle, but they've managed to work things out. One night, Alister was sleeping in his bed, tossing and turning from a nightmare he was having that took place in the Great Clock.
The elder Lombax was watching Ratchet and Clank for a minute before turning away. He had made it to the Great Clock after all of these years. His desperation to correct his mistake was too great. He wanted to bring home the Lombaxes and stop Tachyon. However, Ratchet would not allow it.
Alister had turned to Ratchet and Clank after they had hugged. "Wait! So, that's it?" There was disappointment in his voice. "But, what about the Lombaxes?"
"They're not in danger, they've just moved on and we'll find them." Ratchet assured. "But, the past stays where it is." He sighed and looked to Clank. "Come on, pal. I'll walk you in."
No! After all these years of searching, Alister was not letting his plans go in vain.
"Where are you going?" He asked, frustrated. "This is your responsibility! You can't just walk away!" He had hoped that got through to Ratchet, but it didn't. Alister's frustration was turning into anger. "The Lombaxes need us!"
Ratchet shot him a glance, shook his head, and kept walking.
"Don't walk away from me!" That was it. Something had snapped into Alister as he pulled out his OmniWrench. "I SAID STOP!"
A powerful blast came from his OmniWrench, hitting Ratchet directly in the chest. He should have felt remorse for killing his own best friend's son, but his anger and betrayal was strong. He just stood back and watched Ratchet die and fall off the ledge before trying to attack Clank.
A loud gasp escaped from young Alister's lips as he woke up. It was all just a dream. He was still alive and so was Ratchet. He thought being with Ratchet again would stop the nightmares, but he was wrong. Every other night, he would have the same nightmares. The attack on Fastoon, his banishment, Tachyon, and the Great Clock. They all haunted him.
A few hours later, there was a call from the Polaris Defense Force. They needed Alister, Ratchet, and Clank to help catch a dangerous criminal that was on the run in Stratus City. The three heroes had their equipment ready and they blasted off into outer space. Alister was in the backseat, taking a nap the whole ride. It was obvious that he did not sleep well last night because of that nightmare.
"Alright, Clank! Be ready for anything!" Ratchet said, looking at his robotic friend. "Alister, are your weapons ready to go?" He waited for an answer, but got nothing. "Alister?"
Clank turned in his seat and sighed. "He is asleep, Ratchet. It would be best if we did not wake him up right away."
"Yeah, guess you're right, pal."
Deep in his sleep, Alister was once again dreaming of his mistake at the Great Clock and the blast that almost killed him. He remembered waking up on a backwater planet and finding himself young, again. When he questioned on how he survived, a small Zoni had told him that the blast did not kill him, but froze and rewound his timeline. That was why he was young, once more. He was given a second chance in life and he decided that he would use it wisely.
"Alister? Alister, wake up!"
The red-and-white Lombax woke up to the sound of Ratchet's voice. They were already in Stratus City where it was dark and rainy. Clank reached into his little pouch and pulled out two rain coats for Ratchet and Alister.
"This is so that you two won't catch colds from the weather." He said, handing them their garments and getting out of the ship.
Ratchet was not risking on catching a cold from the rain, so he put on his rain coat and followed Clank. Alister, on the other hand, was not afraid to take a risk to look cool in front of Ratchet. He tossed aside the rain coat and followed them out.
Ratchet looked to Alister and his eyes widened. "Alister, have you not felt this weather?"
"Boy, I have been through wet weather without a rain coat during my military days." He said, crossing his arms with pride. "I'm used to cold and wet weather."
The other Lombax was about to say something until their nav-units went off. The police were in hot pursuit of the armed and dangerous criminal in the downtown area. The three heroes looked to each other and nodded. Clank changed into backpack mode for Ratchet before the two Lombaxes engaged their Hoverboots. The criminal had hijacked a hovercar and was firing his blaster at the police cruisers behind him. Spotting a power pole, he shot at it and it landed on a police cruiser, making it crash and cause a traffic jam.
"Nice try, coppers!" He sang and continued to make his quick getaway. "Looks like I'm getting away today!"
Or, so he thought. Ratchet, Alister, and Clank were now in pursuit of the mad man. Looking into his rear view mirror and growled, making his hovercar go faster.
Clank took a minute to think about how they were all going to catch the criminal. "I suggest splitting up! Ratchet and I will continue to follow him. Alister, you try to find a way around him. If we trap him from both directions, the better chances we have to capturing him."
"Right! I'm on it!" With that, Alister kicked on his accelerator to get ahead of everyone.
He was starting to get cold from the freezing rain, but kept his focus on the mission. He sped past other hovercars, through alleyways, and over huge crowds until he made it to where he could surprise the wanted suspect.
It wasn't until he appeared before him, stopping his hovercar before he could hit Alister. The young Lombax smirked, crossing his arms with pride. The criminal tried to back up, but then stopped when Ratchet and Clank had caught up with him.
"Looks like we've caught you!" Ratchet called out, smiling at Alister.
Clank hopped off of Ratchet's back and glared at the criminal. "There is no point in keeping up this chase! We have you surrounded! Step out of the vehicle and surrender quietly!"
He glared at all of them and tried to shoot at Ratchet, only to find out that his blaster had run out of ammo. Ratchet pulled out his own Omni-Blasters while Alister had his Praetorian OmniWrench powered up and ready to fire if the criminal tried to get any ideas. He was shivering a little bit, but kept his focus. The criminal eventually gave up and surrendered himself over to the police.
The three heroes were on their way back to the ship and Ratchet couldn't help but notice that Alister was shivering from the rain. He gave him a disapproving look and shook his head.
"What?" Alister asked.
"We've warned you about the freezing rain and now look at you! You're shivering and chances of you catching a cold are high!"
"You worry too much, Ratchet…" Alister said, getting into the ship and wrapping the dry rain coat around himself for warmth.
On the way home, he was starting to not feel so good. His body temperature was a little high, he had shivers, and coughed a little bit. Ratchet looked back and sighed. Deep down, Alister would always be that old Lombax who wasn't afraid to risk a lot of things. He didn't show it, but he was actually starting to get worried. He just got Alister back and he didn't want to lose him ever again.
When they all finally got home, Clank returned with towels for Alister and Ratchet so they can dry themselves off.
"Whew… What a day." Ratchet said, looking to Alister. "Well, at least we caught that criminal, huh?"
"Yeah… I guess so." He sniffed and sat on the sofa. He didn't feel like talking much for he wasn't feeling too good.
"Alister, are you alright?" Clank asked with concern. "You do not look so well."
"Hm?" He asked, looking between the two. "Oh, I'm fine. I'm just tired."
"Yeah, I think we're all tired. We've had a long day and we should all get some rest." Ratchet stretched and yawned. As Clank went to his stand to recharge his battery in sleep mode, Ratchet stayed with Alister. "You sure you're alright?"
He sighed and shook his head. "I… I should have listened to you and Clank earlier." He coughed heavily and shivered.
Normally, Ratchet would have said 'I told you so,' but he didn't want to make Alister feel worse than he already did. He sighed and sat next to Alister, snuggling closer to him to try and warm him back up.
He didn't protest for he knew this would happen. He enjoyed cuddles from Ratchet. Real slowly, he was starting to warm back up a little bit, but the coughing didn't stop. Maybe a good night's rest would help him a little bit.
"I… I think I'm going to go to bed, now." Alister said, standing up. "I should be better by tomorrow morning."
Ratchet nodded in agreement and kissed Alister goodnight before going to his room to sleep. The red-and-white Lombax was in his bed, shivering from how cold it was. Getting up, he went into the hallway closet and pulled out two extra blankets before going back to bed. He sighed as his body was now warming back up. After a long hour, he was finally able to go to sleep.
In the middle of the night, Alister woke back up shivering and his nose was all stuffy, making it hard for him to breathe. He went into the bathroom to blow his nose with toilet paper until he could breathe, again. Now, he wished he had listened to Ratchet and Clank. If he had worn that rain coat, then he wouldn't have gotten himself sick from the freezing rain. He would go after cold medicine in the morning. For now, he just went back to bed and fell asleep.
Ratchet and Clank were already up the next morning, cooking breakfast while Alister was still sleeping. They didn't want to wake him up, knowing that he had woken up a few times. Clank was perfectly calm about him sleeping in while Ratchet on the other hand was worried. Alister was always the active type in the early mornings and he never slept in. His thoughts were then interrupted when he heard loud sneezing.
"Alister?" Ratchet called and went to check on him. "Alister, are you…"
When he entered, Alister was holding the blankets close to him, shaking and shivering. The white in his fur was whiter than the bed sheets and his eyes looked tired and sick. "A-Ah, Ratchet you're…" His sentence was cut off by a loud sneeze.
"You have a cold." Ratchet said as if it were obvious and crossed his arms. He and Clank did warn him about the freezing rain in Stratus City and this is what Alister gets for not listening to them. "Hold on and I'll go get the thermometer."
"You're ridiculous. I never get…" Again, Alister was interrupted by another sneeze. "…Sick."
Ratchet had returned with the thermometer. "Okay, open up."
He glared at the device and turned away. "No."
"Put it under your tongue!"
"I said no!"
Ratchet was not putting up with Alister's nonsense. After a good long fight, he finally got him to let him check his temperature. When the device beeped, his temperature was higher than normal.
"Yup, that's a fever."
Alister coughed, grumbled, and laid back down, going under the covers. "It's nothing."
"Well, looks like you're stuck in bed rest. We don't want that cold turning into pneumonia."
Alister knew that worried attitude from anywhere. Back then before the attack on Fastoon, Kaden always took care of him when he was sick, whether it would be during school or work.
"There you go, again." Alister said, peeking from under the covers. "Just like your father…"
Ratchet blinked in confusion. "Huh?"
He cleared his throat and sat up. "Whenever one of us got sick, we'd take… Take care of each other." As much as he wanted to tell more, his coughing and sneezing wouldn't let him.
"You can tell me more some other time." Ratchet said, laying him back down. "Clank and I are going to pick up some medicine, soup, and some Kleenexes for ya."
The red-and-white Lombax nodded and sighed. Obviously, Ratchet was not going to let this go. "All right. Just for your benefit, I'll stay here."
"That'd be great."
With that, Ratchet and Clank went to the market to pick up some stuff for a cold. The cart was full of cough syrup, cough drops, ten boxes of Kleenex tissue boxes, and at least twenty cans of chicken noodle soup. Clank thought Ratchet was just being ridiculous to by too many of these things.
"Ratchet, don't you think this is a little bit much?" He asked, placing his hands on his hips.
Ratchet was too busy reading the labels. He didn't catch what Clank had said.
"Ratchet!"
"What?"
The robot sighed and put ten of the cans back. "This is enough, Ratchet. It is just the case of the common cold. You are worrying too much."
"Yeah… I guess you're right."
Clank looked to the cart before looking back to Ratchet. "Alister will be fine, Ratchet. All we have to do is make sure he gets the stuff that he needs in order for him to feel better."
"Yeah… Yeah, you're right."
That being said, they went ahead to check out with all of the stuff they had to treat a cold. Meanwhile, Alister was having trouble falling asleep. He had problems breathing through his nose. His ears twitched when he heard Ratchet and Clank come in with medicine and a tissue box.
His tired eyes looked to the spoonful of cough syrup and he was quick to turn away. "No."
"Alister, you need this." Ratchet said firmly. "You wanna get better, right?"
"I can manage without that." He coughed and sniffed.
"Not open for discussion!"
He forcefully shoved the spoon of cough syrup into Alister's mouth and made sure that he downed it all. The sick Lombax's head shook rapidly from the bitter taste of the medicine. He hoped that this would be the only time of the day he would have to take that.
"And, we're leaving a box of Kleenexes in here for you." Clank said, putting the box on the bed side.
Alister gave them a weak smile and sniffed. "Th-Thank you." His eyes widened for he was about to sneeze. Ratchet quickly backed away as Alister sneezed heavily.
"Bless you." That was all he said before leaving the room with Clank.
Alister watched them leave the room and sighed, laying back down. The cough syrup had suppressed his coughing long enough for him to go back to sleep. Every now and then, Ratchet would check up on Alister to make sure he was breathing alright. He figured that while he was sleeping, he would fix him some chicken noodle soup so whenever he wakes up, it would be ready for him.
"Hey, Clank. Am I doing this right?" Ratchet asked, not sure if he was making the soup right.
"Hm…" The robot hummed, examining it. "You are on the right track, Ratchet. All you have to do now is warm it up for two minutes."
"Right."
About an hour later, Alister woke up and walked into the kitchen with a blanket wrapped around him. Clank helped him into a chair and gave him a glass of water while Ratchet placed the bowl of chicken noodle soup on the table for him.
Alister gave both Ratchet and Clank a smile. "Thanks…"
That was all he said before he downed anything that was thrown at him. He was starting to feel better just a little bit. It had been too long since someone had taken care of him whenever he was sick, besides the Vullards from when he lived on Torren IV. He was normally not used to anyone doing anything for him, but he was quite glad to have both Ratchet and Clank look after him.
Ratchet had to admit that Alister was quite cute, even when he was sick. He smirked and sat across the table, watching him. Clank chuckled and left the two alone, knowing what was about to happen. Alister looked up from his soup and raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"You are cute." Ratchet replied. His tail flicked from side-to-side. "Don't even say you aren't."
Alister rolled his eyes. "I'm not cute. I'm manly as hell."
He snickered at that and shook his head. "Uh-huh."
Alister just shook his head and stood back up, feeling tired and dizzy. Ratchet was quick enough to support him with an arm.
"Okay, back to bed with you." He said, helping him back in bed and going back into the kitchen to find a cold pill.
Alister groaned when he returned with it. "I don't need any of that stuff."
"I'm not risking on letting you catch pneumonia." Ratchet countered harshly. "Don't make me make you take it down the hard way!"
"Ratchet, I don't need any of that stuff!" He shoved his hand away before laying back down.
The gold-and-brown Lombax groaned in annoyance before he came up with an idea. "Okay, then… You left me with no choice." Ratchet put the pill over his tongue before grabbing Alister's shoulders and forcefully kissing him.
Of course, Alister was shocked at this, but became flustered when Ratchet brushed his tongue against his. The cold pill went into the other Lombax's mouth and he was forced to swallow it. Ratchet pulled away with a smirk while Alister just stayed there. A serious blush had graced his face.
"Aw, what's the matter, Alister?" Ratchet teased. "Your face is all red. Is your temperature back up, again?"
Alister's face turned redder and he sat up, flailing his arms around. "Ratchet, what in the name of Orvus was that all about? Are you trying to take advantage of a sick person?"
He laughed and crossed his arms. "At least you took the pill."
Alister was left speechless. Ratchet was indeed just like Kaden. They were both sneaky little devils when they had their moments. He just sighs and lays back down to go to sleep for a little while longer.
"You and Kaden… I swear to Orvus." That was all he said before conking out.
Ratchet just smirked and walked out of the room. He jumped when Clank stood there in the hallway with his arms over his hips.
"So, how did you get him to take the medicine?" He asked.
Ratchet went quiet as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Long story, but hey. I finally got him to swallow the pills. Come on. Let's play some holo-games and we'll let him sleep."
Clank nodded in agreement and rather than play a game with Ratchet, he just pulled out his Physics book and started reading. "Hmm, very interesting…"
Alister was still sleeping in his bed, having another nightmare of him killing Ratchet back at the Great Clock. The words he said that day still circled around his head. He gasped wide awake and coughed heavily. A sharp pain hit his chest after the cough. He grabbed a Kleenex to blow his nose so he could breathe properly before getting up and going into the bathroom.
He washed his face and looked at himself in the mirror. His regular color was returning and his eyes were not as tired as they were. However, Alister did not see himself as a regular Lombax. He saw himself as a monster who committed the most inexcusable crime. He growled lowly and punched the mirror, leaving a small crack.
"Alister, what are you doing?" A voice called from the door way. That loud crack in the glass had woken up Ratchet. "What's going on with you?"
"I, uh…" Alister looked at the mirror and slowly withdrew his hand from the broken glass. "I thought there was an intruder in front of me, but it was just my reflection… I'll pay for a new mirror, I promise."
Ratchet stared at him for a good long while before walking over to treat his bleeding hand. Luckily, the wound wasn't deep. All it needed was a little Nanotech and a bandage. Alister watched him treat his hand and looked away.
"There you go. Good as new." Ratchet said, smiling brightly at Alister.
"Thanks…"
The smile went away. "Are you sure you're okay, Alister? Is it the cold, again?"
He shrugged. "I've… been having trouble sleeping. That's all."
"I see." Ratchet rubbed the back of his neck nervously, not sure what to say. "If you want, I can make you some more chicken noodle soup?"
Alister nodded at that and smiled. "I think that would be nice."
"Okay, come on."
With that, he led Alister into the kitchen and warmed up some soup for him. Alister sat down with the soup and rather than use a spoon, he just drank it all up. Ratchet watched him from the counter with cautious eyes, making sure that he did not choke on the soup.
Alister noticed that and sighed. He really owed a lot to Ratchet this time. "Thanks, Ratchet."
The other Lombax blinked. "For what?"
"For taking care of me today…" He said, looking into his green eyes. "You're really a charitable soul."
Ratchet shrugged and reached down to kiss Alister, not caring if he would catch his could. "I care about you, you know. I don't care what happened in the past or if anyone says anything about you, I still care."
Alister looked speechless. "I… Thanks." He was about to say something else until he started shivering, again. He needed to go back to bed if he wanted to get fully well.
"Okay, come on." Ratchet helped him stand up and get back in bed. He was quite surprised to see how many blankets Alister had on his bed. By the looks of it, he must have had the chills really bad. "Are you sure you're going to be okay, Alister?"
He sniffed and nodded. "I'll be fine. I just need some rest… Thank you, though."
Ratchet looked unsure by that. Shortly after Alister laid back down, he followed him into bed.
"Ratchet, what are you doing?"
He looked to Alister and shrugged. "I dunno. Going to bed?"
He face-palmed at the sassy remark. "That's not what I meant… Don't you have your own bed?"
"Well, yeah." He said, raising an eyebrow. "But, you've been shivering and had the chills really bad. I figured I'd keep you warm for the night." That being said, he snuggled closer to Alister and smiled.
To be honest, Alister found it very comforting and he was not shivering as bad as he was earlier. He could also tell that Ratchet was dead set on taking care of him overnight. The Lombaxes' arms wrapped around each other and they both snuggled closer for warmth.
Alister's eyes opened real fast. There was something he wanted to say before he went back to sleep. "You really are a lot like your father, you know that?"
Ratchet snickered at that. "Yeah… I guess I am."
Alister went back to sleep while Ratchet stayed up for a little while longer, watching his Lombax lover sleep peacefully before going back to sleep. Alister was forever his and not even a cold or villains can say otherwise.