Weekly Oneshot #2: The Real Ratchet

Ratchet squinted as he replaced a bolt in his robot companion's arm. He had to admit, the break was pretty bad, he was surprised that the robot wasn't writhing in pain. But Clank just sat there with a blank look on his face, watching the Lombax repair him. They were both silent. Probably because they were both trying to process everything that had just happened. They had just stopped an evil villain from destroying every planet in the universe and here they were, sitting in silence as if nothing happened.

A tiny click came from Clank's arm, signifying that the bolt was now back in place. Ratchet put his screwdriver down and watched Clank experiment with his now repaired arm. It was good as new, Ratchet was really good with mechanics.

"There, all fixed. Be careful not to break it again. N-Not that I'm worried, I just...don't want to spend my spare time fixing you," the Lombax said, not receiving response.

Ratchet tossed his screwdriver back into his toolbox, and the two sat in silence for a moment, wondering what to do next. Ratchet figured that, with his computer brain or whatever, that Clank would have had already thought of something. So, he leaned back on the workbench and glanced at the little robot.

"So...what now, Clank?" He asked.

"Hmm..." the little robot placed a finger on his chin. "Well, Chairman Drek has been defeated, and making sure of that was basically the reason I exist. Now that my objective is complete, there is no need for me to be here anymore. I will most likely see to it that I am destroyed."

A grim look came onto Ratchet's face, "D-Destroyed?! Wait a minute! So just because you completed you main objective, you think that everyone will be okay with you killing yourself?!"

"What do you mean 'everyone'? Everyone that I have met only wanted bolts or they needed something else. I have hardly made an emotional connection with anyone. I do not think that anyone would object to my destruction."

The Lombax gritted his teeth, then he got in the robot's face and poked him on the head "What about me, huh?! You think that I'm okay with you killing yourself?!"

Clank 'raised an eyebrow', Ratchet's sudden anger confused him greatly. "I do not understand. I thought that you wanted me to seize to exist? You said that after our adventure that you were going to sell me for scrap metal."

Ratchet backed up and broke eye contact with Clank and his ears lowered a little "I uh...I really shouldn't have said that. I was just...upset about the whole Qwark thing."

"So you do want me to continue living?"

"Well, yeah, I do."

"But, if I do decide to continue my life, what will I do? Where will I go? I am a robot with no directive or home."

Ratchet placed a hand on his waist. Those were some very good points. Clank was completely homeless. He couldn't go back to the robot factory that had produced him, who would want to live in a rundown factory? An idea was nagging at the back of Ratchet's head, but he couldn't quite tell what it was saying. So, he tried to think of some options for his robot companion. They could find him an apartment that he could live in. But, then again, his size would make it difficult to reach some appliances on a table or a kitchen counter or something along those lines. He could give Clank to one of those robot homeless shelters, but even Ratchet thought that that was kind of cruel. So what could they do for him?

Suddenly, the naggy idea went through Ratchet's brain, down his head, and through his mouth.

"You can stay here!" Ratchet covered his mouth after his sudden outburst. Where in the world did that idea come from?

Clank tilted his head "Here? You want me to stay at your garage?"

The Lombax rubbed the back of his neck "Well...I mean, if you want to...I don't care."

The little robot placed his hand on his chin again and thought about it for a moment. Surprisingly, he shook his head. Then he got down off the workbench, "No. I have already been enough of a burden already. You carried me on your back throughout the whole ordeal, and now it is time for me to finally get off." Clank slid off the workbench and onto the ground. He looked up at Ratchet, who was shocked at the offer denial, and nodded. "I am leaving now, Ratchet. But I thank you for assisting me in stopping Chairman Drek. I promise, I will never forget you or the deeds that you did to help save this galaxy. And before I go, I must apologize for accidentally leading you into Captain Qwark's trap. You were right, it was stupid. I leave you to your old life now, you do not have to worry about me getting in the way anymore. Farewell. Oh! And I never thanked you for repairing my arm. It is working perfectly, so thank you.I will get out of your hair...er, fur now. Take care, Ratchet."

And with that, Clank turned around and started walking out the open garage door. Ratchet couldn't believe it. Clank was really leaving? After everything they went through, he honestly thought that Ratchet didn't want him around anymore? Sure, the Lombax had made various threats about separating after the Drek problem, but now that the separation was happening...it just didn't feel right. He...he really wanted Clank around. He didn't want the robot to leave, he really didn't. But how could he tell Clank this? Ratchet still had some dignity.

"Uh...Cl-Clank, wait." The little robot stopped and looked over his shoulder and tilted his head. He had his attention. "Look...about Qwark's trap...a-and all the stuff I said...I..."

Keep your confidence.

"I um..."

Don't lose it.

"I...I-I don't..."

Emotions are below you.

"D-Don't...go..."

Oh well, he tried.

"Clank, please don't go! Look, I'm sorry about all the stuff I said! I shouldn't have been so mean! How were you supposed to know that Qwark had set up a trap? I had so much hatred towards Qwark that I took it out on you, and I'm a complete jerk for doing that! You said that you'll leave me with my old life, thinking that I would be happy, but I'm not! I don't want my old life back! Meeting you and going on a life risking adventure was the best thing that's happened to me! If I hadn't met you, I would still be stuck on this planet, unable to travel to different places because I wouldn't have a Robotic Ignition System!" Ratchet's ears lowered and he looked at the floor. "And I completely took you for granted. You took me on the adventure of a lifetime, and I repaid you by treating you like crap. And now that it's all over, I can't just let you leave with nowhere to go. I want you to stay here, Clank. I...I want to be your friend."

"..."

Ratchet looked up and saw that the robot had vanished. Clank was gone, most likely forever. The Lombax's ears lowered all the way and he dropped to his knees. He had finally opened up to someone, finally let his emotions out, and the robot left anyway. Maybe everything he had said to Clank during the adventure was too much to forgive. Either that or Ratchet must really be unlikeable. Or both.

So, with a heavy heart, Ratchet stood up and walked over to the front of the garage. He located the button on the wall that open and closed that garage door, and he pressed the 'close' button. The door started to lower, started to close him off from the outside world. But that didn't stop one more thing from coming inside.

Actually, make that two things.

Ratchet's Omniwrench suddenly came sliding across the ground, and into the garage right before the door closed. And sitting/riding on it was Clank, who had retracted his head so it wouldn't hit the garage door. He put his foot down and the Omniwrench stopped in its place, and the force of the sudden halt made Clank fall onto his face.

Ratchet was dumbfounded. His brain was still trying to process what had just happened. Within about ten seconds, a robot riding a wrench slid into his home and nearly crashed. As sudden as it all was, he could feel his mood lifting. Clank came back. He actually came back.

"Clank, wh-what are you doing? I thought that you were going to leave?"

"Yes, well, before I made my final decision, I realized that you left your Omniwrench at the place where we fell off of the Deplanitzer. So, as I went to go and get it, I took everything that you said into consideration."

"You mean what I said a few minutes or go...or all the stuff I said during our adventure?"

"Both, actually. Though your behavior during the mission was a bit unbearable-"

"A bit unbearable? Come on Clank, that's a major understatement. My behavior was horrible, and you know it."

"And that attitude right there is what made me change my mind. What you said before I left to retrieve your weapon told me that you are capable of growing. If we were still trying to stop Drek, would you have said those things to me?"

"Probably not."

"Exactly. I am not going to lie, I had my doubts about you when you were mad about Qwark's trap. I thought that that was who you were for real. But, when you opened up to me just now, you showed me that the Ratchet I traveled with was not the real Ratchet. It was just all of your anger talking. The anger that came from being alone for fifteen years, and the anger of being betrayed by your childhood hero. I was so focused on stopping Drek that I did not think about everything that you have been through, and I apologize for not understanding."

"Clank..."

"The truth is, Ratchet, I have wanted to be your friend for awhile now. But I want to be friends with the real Ratchet, not the one who hides his emotions in order to protect his dignity. I want to be friends with the Lombax who told me not to go, not the one who told me that he does not care if I leave or stay. Please, let me be friends with the real Ratchet, the one that was there the entire time."

Ratchet honestly had no idea what to say. The real him, that's who Clank wanted to be friends with. Maybe the robot was right, maybe it was about time to drop the dignity protecting attitude that he had held onto for so many years. It was true, he had developed a bitter personality over the years due to his loneliness and unknown origins. As far as he knew, he was the last one of his species, there was probably no one else like him. He thought that no one would ever feel so alone.

Then it hit him. Clank was the exact same as him. He had told Ratchet that he was a defective robot, so he wasn't built properly. There were no others like him, not one. He was as lonely as Ratchet. Both of them were one of a kind. They were both alone in the universe. But...maybe...they wouldn't be so lonely. They kind of had each other. But, if Ratchet wanted to keep this friend, he would have to straighten up. He didn't want to end up spewing another insult and chasing the robot away. That's the last thing he wanted.

Ratchet gave a small sigh. Changing his attitude was going to be a bit difficult, but he would have Clank there to help him. So he nodded, "Alright, Clank. If you want the real Ratchet to be your friend, I'll lighten my personality so you can. But, you need to promise me something."

"Of course," the little robot said.

"Don't try and go off into the universe by yourself ever again."

"You have my word," Clank said, raising his hand.

"And...one more thing."

"Hm?"

"You said that you have no home. Well...I want you to consider this place as your home."

The little robot smiled. He noticed how Ratchet was finally opening up to him. He wasn't saying that he didn't care if he wanted to call the garage his home, he genuinely wanted him to call it that. Ratchet was growing out of his old personality already. And the little robot was excited, knowing that he know had a place to call his home and a person to call his friend.

"I would be honored to call this garage my home."

"Honored? You just have to tell me that you're happy, pal. There's no need to overdo it like that."

Truth was, Clank wasn't overdoing it. He was flattered to call a garage his home. But he decided to just roll with what Ratchet said and rubbed the back of his head in pretend embarrassment. Then he walked up to Ratchet and looked up at him.

"So, what do we do now?"

"You know, I actually don't know. I guess we just hang around until the camera crews come and investigate the scene...and us."

Clank grabbed Ratchet's Omniwrench and climbed up onto the workbench, "Ratchet, what do you think about being a hero? Would you consider going on more missions?"

"Me? I dunno. Stopping Drek was fun and all, but I don't think that people are gonna ask me...I mean, us, to save the galaxy. The day that someone personally asks us to stop an evil villain is the day that I start going commando."

So I wrote this to show why Ratchet's attitude suddenly changes in R&C 2. He went from being completely full of himself to caring about others and we got nothing to show this personality change. So I wrote this fic to help people imagine why/how Ratchet suddenly changed. I wanted to help people imagine the transformation that Insomniac didn't provide for us.

Also, Imma start callin' the oneshot that I release every week the "Weekly Oneshot". I labeled this one as #2 because "Let Me Go" was technically the first one.

Oh, and I bought Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time! I'm getting near the end of ToD, so I should be starting ACiT soon. That's why i didn't update a main story last weekend...because I was playing ToD...sorry 'bout that. If it makes you guys feel better, Violet Eyes Chapter 28 is about 1/3 done. So hopefully I'll put it up this weekend.

Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!

This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!