Weekly Oneshot #7.5: Hoverboot Heartbreaks

Even though Clank was a very tolerable robot, there was one thing that he truly didn't like: Ratchet's hoverboots.

Clank understood that the boots were very important to Ratchet since they belonged to Kaden, his father, and were a gift from Alister. But he just got the wrong feeling whenever his friend used them. It made him feel...upset.

The day the the two were reunited after two years of separation was one of the happiest days of his life. When he hopped onto Ratchet's back, he was ready to unleash all of his upgrades once again so he could help Ratchet with his missions. The little robot became so excited to use his Heli-Pack and have Ratchet glide across a chasm they had came by, he had already been drawing out his helicopter blades when he detected the trench. When they got to it, Clank was expecting Ratchet to jump, and then he would glide them to safety, just like they used to. But then...something unexpected happened. Instead of telling Clank to use his Heli-Pack or Thruster Pack or Robo-Wings, Ratchet stayed quiet as he jumped and used his hoverboots to take them over the trench. The little robot's eyes were wide when they landed. The Lombax had not wanted to use the Heli-Pack, he used his hoverboots instead. Clank looked over both his and Ratchet's shoulder and he felt a little hurt when he saw a smile on the Lombax's face. Ratchet was really enjoying using those Hoverboots. So much so that he was using them instead of having Clank use his upgrades.

Clank still remembered that day, and he still felt sad about it.

In fact, Clank always felt sad whenever Ratchet took his hoverboots on missions. If the Lombax grabbed the brown boots before they left, the robot knew that he was in for an adventure full of neglect. It may sound like that Clank is overreacting to being upset about them, but something else happened when they were on a mission.

Ratchet had been speeding through the land with his hoverboots, Clank simply sitting there on his back. The little robot had not done anything yet, no Heli-Pack, no Thruster Pack, he felt more and more like just a simple backpack with every minute passing. Every now and then Clank would try to talk to Ratchet, but he was too busy making fun filled noises as he flew across the ground. At one point, a high ledge was coming up, and the Lombax squinted his eyes, preparing to jump it. He hit the acceleration and he burst forth, flying up the ledge and over it. Clank would have seen the landing, but, unfortunately, he had fallen off Ratchet's back. The second the Lombax had jerked his body in order to jump, the poor robot fell off of his harness, tumbling down the ledge and landing in a pile of dirt. After brushing himself off, he stood there and waited for Ratchet to notice the robot's absence and come back...but he didn't. Clank stood there for several minutes and he saw no sign of his friend. The Lombax must not have noticed that the robot was no longer on his, he must have been too absorbed in the hoverbooting. So Clank had sat down at a nearby tree and waited. Surely the Lombax would notice him missing soon. But, when an hour passed by, Clank had started realizing that Ratchet might never notice that he wasn't there, which made the robot extremely upset. He had pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them, hoping for his friend to come back.

After about twenty more minutes, Clank detected a life form heading his way at a rapid speed. Suddenly, Ratchet leaped over the ledge once again and stopped at the bottom. He had looked around for a moment until he spotted Clank. He had told Clank how sorry he was about not noticing that he had fallen off the harness, but Clank (reluctantly) forgave him. He jumped back onto his harness and they sped off...with the hoverboots again.

Truth was though, Clank was still a bit upset about the whole trip. It especially made him upset because of how long it had taken Ratchet to notice that he wasn't there. He really hated those hoverboots, he really did.

Today, Clank was by himself in the apartment, sitting on the couch and reading his latest issue of "Robo-Science Monthly", but he could hardly concentrate knowing what Ratchet was doing. Every once in awhile, Ratchet would take his hoverboots up to the roof and fly around. Sometimes he would even pass by the window of the apartment. Clank always expected the Lombax to wave at him or something, but he always ended up ignoring the robot, almost like he was unaware of his current existence. Normally, whenever Ratchet did that, Clank would be mad at him, but not at this moment. Whenever he was out hoverbooting, the little robot would take a bottle water up to the roof and leave it next to the door for Ratchet. Clank didn't like it when Ratchet was out flying, but he still wanted his friend to stay hydrated. He had seen the Lombax dehydrated before, it was horrible.

So, the little robot hopped down from the couch and entered the kitchen area, getting a bottle of water from the fridge. Then he exited the kitchen and then the apartment, walking towards the stairs leading up to the roof. He could hear the amusing cheers of Ratchet having fun with his hoverboots. Every time Clank heard the Lombax having fun without him, it slightly destroyed him on the inside. Usually, Ratchet would want to do everything with Clank, and the little robot was happy about that, but now that he was having fun by himself, it was enough to make the robot feel depressed. He wondered how long it would take Ratchet to notice that Clank was gone if the little robot left. If the situation was anything like the hoverboot-ledge incident from before, it would take him one hour and twenty minutes to notice. And that did not make Clank feel good.

Clank hopped up the stairs and opened the door to the roof (which was difficult because of his height), trotting out into the sunlight. He looked around, no sign of Ratchet, he must have flown farther away. So, the little robot placed the bottle of water next to the door like he always did. He looked around for Ratchet once again, still no sign of him, then turned around to head back inside. But, he didn't go through the door because he was too busy being startled by the Lombax flying up the building and over the roof, speeding past Clank. Clank could almost feel the heat of the hoverboots at Ratchet flew by him, and he hated it. Ratchet stopped flying around and hovered a few feet above the roof, lowering down until he landed safely on the ground. He laughed.

"Haha! That was awesome! I freaking love these things!" Ratchet said, standing on one foot as he held the other, looking at the hoverboot. "I tell ya, nothing beats these hoverboots. Right, pal?"

Clank was surprised that Ratchet actually noticed him. He shook his head sadly, "Yes...right. There is nothing...nothing better than a pair of hoverboots..." He looked up at Ratchet, trying to keep a normal face. He pointed at the bottle of water. "I brought you your water, Ratchet. Please keep enjoying yourself."

The robot turned around and prepared to head back inside, but a hand on his shoulder turned him back around. Ratchet was looking at him with a face full of actual concern, "Hey, is there something bothering you?"

"No, there is nothing bothering me," Clank lied.

"You are a horrible liar. You're aware of this, correct?"

"Yes," the robot said, hanging his head.

Ratchet grabbed the bulb on Clank's antennae and pulled it upwards so Clank was looking at him. He frowned when he noticed how upset the robot looked. "Clank, really, what's wrong? I've barely seen you look this upset before."

"Well...I do not know how to put this, Ratchet. But...ever since you have received those hoverboots, I have felt rather...useless."

"Useless? What are you talking about?"

"When you got me back after the fight with the Valkyrie, I was excited to finally be on your back again and use my upgrades to help you. But, whenever you came across a chasm or some sort of trench that you would need me for...you would use your hoverboots instead. I have not used my Heli-Pack or Thruster Pack or even my Robo-Wings in a long time, because whenever I get the opportunity to use them in order to help you, you use your hoverboots. Ever since you got those boots, I have been of no use to you, I have just been a normal backpack."

"Aw, pal..." Ratchet said, his ears lowering slightly. "Why didn't you say anything before this?"

"Because you were having fun with them, and I did not want to intrude on your good time. But, I must admit...I do feel upset when I see you having fun with your hoverboots because you are having fun...w-without me," the little robot said with sad eyes.

Ratchet didn't know what Clank was talking about at first, but then he realized that Clank...was completely right. It was true, he had been using his hoverboots instead of Clank's upgrades, and he had never considered how Clank would feel about that. The little robot had spent five years helping him out with heights and gaps with his Heli-Pack and Thruster Pack, he never realized how unfair it was to Clank that Ratchet had started using something else to help him. He had been completely neglecting the little robot, even after two years of separation! And for what? Flying around with some rocket boots? Not to mention that he had left the robot behind on a mission because he was too absorbed in his hoverboots to notice that he had fallen off of his back. And it was even more bad because it took Ratchet nearly an hour to finally notice. Honestly, what kind of friend was he?

The Lombax felt horrible about all of this, he really did. Clank saved his life on multiple occasions, he even tackled him to the ground and out of the way of the energy blast that Alister had fired at him at the Great Clock. Ratchet could have easily died from the blast. If it wasn't for Clank...he would be dead. And how does he repay him, by basically replacing the robot with a pair of shoes. And that was one hundred percent not okay.

"Clank..." Ratchet said quietly. "I...I am so, so sorry. I didn't even think about how you would feel about the hoverboots, and I didn't even bother to look at you while I used them to get a thought about how you felt. And you didn't even speak up because you wanted me to have fun, but you should have. If I had known sooner that you were upset about me using the hoverboots, I would have stopped using them immediately, and I would have used the crap out of your upgrades. But no...I was too busy having fun by myself...and not including you. I've...I've been neglecting you. I managed to get you back after being separated for two years, and now I'm neglecting you. Oh my god...I'm as bad as who I was during the Drek mission!"

"Now, Ratchet you take that back! We both agreed not to talk about your old self because it will trigger bad memories in our heads. Besides, I have forgiven you for everything that you said or did to me during the ordeal with Drek...even though you keep apologizing. Every single day for the past seven years actually."

"I want to make sure that my old self is completely forgiven...Oh, and uh, sorry about my attitude during the Drek mission by the way."

"Ratchet, for the two-thousand-six-hundred-seventy-fifth time, I forgive you. Please stop apologizing."

"Mm...no," Ratchet replied with a smile, poking Clank on the head. But then his face got serious. "Anyway, I really am sorry about the hoverboots. It was stupid of me to use them instead of you. But I want you to know that you're my best friend, and nothing can ever replace you. Can you forgive me, buddy?"

"Yes, I can," Clank said with a nod. He was going to say something else, but it looked like that Ratchet was eager to start flying again. So he gave out a nearly inaudible sigh. "I will leave now so continue."

Ratchet gave a sad face as Clank turned around and started walking through the door. There was no way that he could let his friend just sit in the apartment by himself while he flew around. No...he had to do something. Clank deserved better.

So, the Lombax grabbed Clank's hand and swung him onto his back, the robot extremely startled. After a taking a moment to process what had just happened, he looked at Clank over both of their shoulders.

"Ratchet, what are you doing?"

"Get excited, pal. We're goin' for a ride."

"Ratchet, I am not in the mood for you flying me around with your hoverb-huh?"

Clank looked confused as Ratchet bent over, then his eyes went wide when he saw the Lombax holding his hoverboots. He tossed the boots over his shoulder, letting them fall to the ground. "You don't get it, pal. I'm not taking you for a ride, Clank. This time, you're taking me for one!"

The barefoot Lombax ran across the roof and threw himself over the edge. Clank, who finally understood what Ratchet was doing, activated his Robo-Wings, their green and silver coloration glistening in the sun. It had been forever since Clank used these with Ratchet, and it felt great for him to fly with the Lombax again. And by the happy look on Ratchet's face, he felt the same way. Even he had to admit, flying with Clank was the best thing ever. And he was never going to make the mistake of flying with something else ever again. He would never again neglect the robot, not in one thousand years. He looked over his shoulder and smiled at his friend, who offered a smile back.

As they soared through the air, the Lombax yelled.

"Whoohoo! I was wrong! Nothing beats my best pal! Hahaa!"

50TH STORY! WHOOOOOOO! I've written 50 fanfictions within the two years of being on this website! I hope you guys are proud of me...because uh...no one else is.

Anyway, I've been wanting to do a oneshot like this, but for some reason I never did it until now...huh.

Yeah, so if some of you are confused about the whole "7.5" thing, I felt bad for posting two movie prediction oneshots two Weekly Oneshots in a row, so I promised that I would post another oneshot to make up for it. If you haven't read the new prediction oneshot, it's called "His First Minutes", and it's a guess at what happens at the beginning of the movie.

Make sure to leave a review while picking up your fifty complimentary toasters! (Yes, you have to take all of them. You can never have too many toasters.)

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