A/N: Hi guys!
This is just a small one-shot based around the comic series when Ratchet thinks Talwyn died on Zogg's ship.
That was probably the only spoiler...
I hope you like it! :)
"Target destroyed. Have a wonderful day!"
The machine sounded.
Ratchet fell to his knees.
"It's over space rat, we have saved the universe!
General Glahm shouted victoriously.
Without looking back, he left the building, leaving the Lombax with his head resting in his hands.
Ratchet heard four small clicks and the weight on his back lightened. He moved his hands from his face yet continued to stare into nothingness.
"Ratchet?"
Clank called.
"Ratchet, what is wrong? Are there no suitable spaceships?"
He heard the small bot scramble to an upright position and he stood next to him.
"Is everything alright?"
"No."
Ratchet uttered.
"Talwyn's dead."
The next few hours were torture for the grieving Lombax. He wanted nothing more than to scream and shout and cry and punch a wall but he did nothing of the sort.
Instead he sat in silence, staring at the ground thinking about how it was his fault.
It was his fault that Talwyn was dead.
He could have stopped General Glahm, but all he did was tell him 'no'.
He could have wacked him across the head with the Praetorian wrench, sure Glahm would have probably over-powered him like he had in prison, but at least he'd be distracted;
At least Talwyn would be alive.
And it wasn't just that either, he shouldn't have left in the first place, if he'd stayed, she would have, too.
She died because he wanted time to himself.
Now the guilt was worse than ever.
Talwyn was dead.
Dead. Dead. Dead.
No matter how many times he repeated it in his mind it still sounded so wrong, it would always be wrong.
He could feel Clank's gaze burning into the side of his head but he didn't look up.
Clank had wrapped a blanket around Ratchet and built a fire in front of him, Clank didn't think it was his fault but Ratchet knew otherwise. He didn't deserve to be cared for like this.
He deserved to be freezing.
He deserved to be dead.
Ratchet heard the sound of snow crunching under feet.
"Ratchet!"
The familiar voice called his name but he didn't react.
"Ratchet?"
It was Sasha; her voice was softer now with a tone of concern.
"He has not spoken since it happened."
Clank approached her.
"Since what happened?"
Sasha questioned.
"Zogg's ship was destroyed..."
There was no need for the little robot to continue.
"And Miss Talwyn was..."
Cronk's voice faded off.
"That's terrible."
Sasha sat down on one side of Ratchet, Cronk on the other.
"I should have called her."
Ratchet spoke for the first time in hours, his voice raspy.
"After Veldin, I should have-"
"She knew how much you cared about her, Rookie. We all did."
Cronk cut in.
Ratchet put his head in his hands.
"When I told her I was leaving Polaris, she said she understood. But when she went back into her room, I heard her- ...I heard her crying. And I still left. What kind of person does that?"
He let his hands drop.
Sasha rested a consoling hand on his shoulder.
"There isn't a single citizen in this universe who doesn't know what you've been through these past few years. If anyone understood why you needed to get away, it was Tal. She wasn't crying because you were leaving her, she was crying because she knew you were right to go."
"I could have asked her to come with me."
He almost whispered.
Sasha removed her hand and held them both in between her legs.
"She would have said no. You and Clank needed to get away from the pressure the universe put on you. She wanted you to be happy again. She knew you'd come back when you were ready."
A galactic ranger stood at the entrance.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but the temperature is dropping. We need to get going now."
Sasha stood up.
"Come on, Ratchet. We can still save Veldin."
Cronk followed suit.
"Miss Talwyn would want us to."
Ratchet shrugged the blanket off his shoulders and stood up, shard in one hand, Alister's Praetorian wrench in the other.
"I'm ready."