A/N Another new story. Jesus H. Christ, I'm on a roll here! Well, with To Hell and Back almost over and the Future Re-Written trilogy boring the ever loving shit out of me, I decided to move on to another story.

Hurray!

Hopefully you'll enjoy. I tried to make it not suffer from the immense boringness that the beginnings of all my stories tend to have. I think that I overcompensated though and now I've got a beginning that tries to get you too attached to characters within a few thousand words. Huh.

Anyways, Ratchet and Clank and all related crap belongs to Insomniac. My characters are mine though.

***

How it was all Lost

War is a mess. It tears lives apart, destroys their souls and has no sense of mercy. It feeds off of blood, screams and destruction. The excess is left to the survivors to make sure they suffer.

A Lombax held a hammer in his hand, standing defensively before another two of his kind. He had only just met them and yet he would not let anything happen to them, so long as he had strength in him.

There were no Drophyds in sight. He stepped out of the protection of cover and stared around, making sure it was safe to try and escape. All the destruction around him was horrifying. Buildings were crumbled to the ground, giant footprints evident among the debris. Dead bodies littered the streets, their horrified gazes stared at the Lombax with such a sense of finality, as though he would join them and share their glazed stares soon enough. The only thing to remind him he was alive was the smell of rubble burning and the black smoke stinging his eyes.

But there were no mechs. No Drophyds. No Tachyon. They must have left the area.

"Thank God." He sighed in relief. He waved to the other two, assuring them they were safe.

"This is all so awful." One of the other Lombaxes murmured as she caught a glimpse of what the first Lombax had just witnessed. She pressed the second Lombax, an infant child, closer to herself, as though to protect the youngest Lombax from what she and the other were forced to suffer through.

"At least it's over." The male Lombax stated, trying to raise the other's spirits.

"It will never be over. Not as long as we're here." The female muttered pessimistically. "Tachyon can come back anytime to sweep the city of survivors to make sure he can rid the galaxy of our kind."

"Well then, let's be sure to escape before that happens." The other suggested as positively as he could. He could see how hurt the other Lombax was and how it was affecting her. He wanted to help her, and the only way he could think to do so was by being positive.

"Do I even want to?" she asked, partially to herself and partially of him. "Why should I even bother living anymore? Look around! There's nothing left for us. Everything I loved and cared about is gone. Why should I even bother?" Tears stung her eyes. Her home was destroyed and her family had been killed. What was left for her?

The male Lombax pointed to the baby in her arms. "That is worth living for and you know it." He crossed his arms over his chest and exclaimed, "Of all the things you've lost, they can't be worth giving up what's left."

She nodded, knowing he was right. She held the child closer to herself, apologizing silently to the baby for the thoughts that had just burned their way through her mind.

"C'mon, we're finding a ship and blasting out of here." The male Lombax assured. He tightened his grip on the hammer in his hands, knowing it was his sole weapon to protect the others. He crept his way along the road, afraid that the smallest noise could alert the Drophyds of where they were, even if their foes were miles away.

"Where can we find one?" the female asked as she followed.

"In a house whose garage is still standing."

"How many can there be?"

"All we need is one."

The female nodded and continued to follow, trusting her ally to protect her.

Both kept their eyes peeled, searching for any sign of a ship they could use. She sighed, sure that they had searched the entire city without success. They had managed to find mangled fighter ships, but nothing they could fly in. She had begun to lose hope again and grew silent with thoughts of what she had lost.

She could see it all so clearly that she could have sworn that it was happening all over again. The footsteps had been loud, shaking the earth beneath the source's feet. She had rushed outside to see the cause of the commotion. They were giant mechs that were tearing apart buildings in the distance.

Suddenly a russet-furred Lombax stepped in front of her. "Go back inside." He commanded. "Take the kids and hide somewhere safe. I'll be there as soon as I can."

She listened to her husband without question. She ran into her home and dashed into her bedroom, scooping up the baby who was sleeping quietly in the crib inside. Another child ran into the room and cried, "Mommy, what's happening?"

"I don't know." She murmured honestly. "Come along, we're going to go play in the basement." She grabbed her child's hand and led her down the stairs, into the lower level. It was the safest place she could think to hide in at the time.

It seemed like hours had gone by as they hid, waiting for the sounds of heavy footsteps, weaponry and screaming to die down from above them. At first her older daughter had been frightened, insisting to huddle near her mother for protection. But her attention span soon snapped out the sounds of the battle above them and she began to play with her toys. But her short attention span kicked in a second time and she grew bored. She started complaining, saying how she wanted to go upstairs to grab better toys.

Her mother refused until she realized that the footsteps had quieted down above them. It should have been a sign that they were safe at the time. But she was so afraid of the consequences if she was wrong that she didn't want to take the risk. She would wait until her husband came to assure them it was safe.

More time passed and he didn't come. She turned to her child and insisted, "Stay here. I'll be right back."

"But it's scary down here alone." The young girl protested. Her mother bit her lip, deciding whether or not to bring her daughter upstairs when she didn't know if it was safe.

"Just stay here." She decided, rathering that her daughter by frightened for a few moments on her own than being brought into danger. The little girl nodded, accepting her mother's choice. The older Lombax pressed her infant child closer to herself and dashed up the stairs to see what had happened. She slowly crept outside and scanned her surroundings. It had been so horrible to see. She had felt tears dripping down her eyes as she saw her home completely destroyed. Her neighbours' bodies were littering the streets.

The worst sight had to have been the body that was closest to her. The strong build and maroon fur of her husband. She ran up to his corpse and pressed a hand against his cheek, trying to assure herself that he was still alive. Instead she felt the ice cold touch of his skin. She pulled her hand away, shocked by the chill she had received. Blood managed to cling to her hand. She cried out, allowing a shriek to escape from her lungs. He had been trying to protect her, their family and he had died for them. It had hit her so hard, shocked her so badly. It was impossible for her to believe. So much so that she could only sit there on the ground, with her baby in her arms, staring at what was left of her husband. He couldn't be gone, could he?

She turned to look at her house. She hadn't realized that it had been damaged when the Drophyds marched through. Laser blasts charred her home, walls were cracked or broken through. But thankfully it was still standing.

Vibrations broke out again and her gaze dodged away from her home to Drophyds arriving in the distance. They were coming back! She tried to get back to her feet, but she felt so weak with shock. Laser blasts escaped from the mechs, taking out what was still standing in the city.

As the Lombax finally stood up, about to run into the safety of her home, a laser blasted through it, strong enough to make the building begin to crumble.

"No!" her daughter was hidden in the basement. If the building fell in then the little girl would be trapped. She ran to her home, but another laser blast hit the crumbling dwelling, causing it to collapse. She cried out her daughter's name, praying that the child could hear her.

She pressed her other child to her chest with one hand and started digging with the other. She was so desperate not to lose her daughter that she couldn't even see how hopeless her attempts to save the girl were.

The whirr of another laser blast shot through the air, but she couldn't hear it over the blood rushing through her own ears. Something dove at her, pushing her away from the rubble of her home as the attack hit what was left of the house. The debris shot up in flames. She could only stare in horror as her house burned away whatever chance she had to save her eldest daughter.

"C'mon! Are you waiting to get killed?" she turned to see her savior, a male Lombax with blue-gray fur around her age. He had risen to his feet, ready to go. "We've gotta hide or we'll never make it out of here."

So lost and afraid, she had followed him, knowing that because he was a Lombax, he would help her. He had kept her safe until now.

"Hey!" she was suddenly snapped out of her memories as the blue-gray furred Lombax shook her into reality. "I found a working ship! We're getting out of here!" he was smiling gently at her, trying to make her realize that they had succeeded and would be safe. He led her to the ship and dropped the hammer he was holding so he could help her climb in with her child. She was silent, her thoughts still focused on what she had lost. He shook his head, filled with sympathy for the other Lombax. He'd had nothing to lose, no family and no one to care for. He could not find the words to let her know how sorry he was for her.

He did nothing but shake his head again, realizing just how useless he was at helping her feel any better. He started up the ship and blasted off, heading into space, away from the horror they were forced to suffer through.

"Y'know, with all of this, I completely forgot something." He realized as he gazed over at the other Lombax.

"What?!"she asked, afraid that it was something they would need to return to the planet for.

"Your name. I forgot to even ask for your name." he explained, "Mine's Galen."

"Oh…" she breathed a sigh of relief as she noticed he was right. "I'm Moranno. She looked down at the baby in her arms and added, "And this is Raiken."

***

A young Lombax wandered through a lush forest. Her green eyes gazed at the blue sky above and the greenery before her. She loved wandering through the woods, admiring nature at its best. Her orange and white fur stood brightly among the trees and the Lombax proudly showed herself against the wild.

She ran through the wilderness, prepared for anything. Until she bumped into something larger than her, forcing her backward. It hadn't been a tree, it was much too soft. Besides the thing had moved in her way, and last she checked, trees didn't move.

She looked up into a pair of amber eyes locked directly on her. The unimpressed blue-gray furred face of a Lombax she recognized well. "Oh…" she muttered as she realized she had been caught, "Hi, Galen." She smiled sheepishly up at the elder Lombax, hoping that she wouldn't be punished.

"Don't you "Hi Galen" me." The male Lombax crossed his arms over his chest, clearly not amused. "You know it's dangerous to get too far from the hut." Galen had been with Moranno and her daughter, Raiken, for about eight years, thankfully managing to stay away from Tachyon. They had hidden in the forests on the outskirts of Tombli on planet Zanifar, knowing it was safe thanks to the Fongoids being unaggressive, but also providing little to no resources, requiring few visits from the Cragmite and even fewer searches for any potential Lombax survivors. That didn't mean that there couldn't be a visit once every so often from the Cragmite, or one of his underlings, which meant that keeping hidden was a must. Normally the Fongoids were very welcoming and many creatures throughout the galaxy were still loyal to the Lombaxes, despite Tachyon's propaganda, but you never knew who could want to turn them in for a few bolts from the bounty that the emperor had imposed.

Of course, trying to explain such things to an eight year old girl would never be simple.

"Raiken, come on back. You don't know who could be wandering around these forests." Galen insisted. Raiken had grown into a restless child, and one that was hard for the two older Lombaxes to keep tabs on. Ever since Raiken had learned to crawl, she had been wandering away from the safety of the other Lombaxes.

"You say that every time and I never find anyone else out here." Raiken pouted with complaint.

"Because you're lucky. Now let's head back." The gray-furred Lombax started walking away, expecting Raiken to follow after. Instead the young girl turned the other way and dashed, calling out, "I'll go if you can catch me!"

His amber eyes focused on to where the child was heading and dashed up to her as quickly as he could. He could not believe the persistence that one eight year old could have! Why couldn't she just listen to him instead of running off, causing trouble? But she was just as quick as Galen, dodging away from him whenever he was close enough to make a grab for her.

"I told you, only if you can-!" she heard a strange noise, almost like hissing air being over shadowed by a large motor. She stopped, giving Galen enough time to grab her arm tightly, making sure she didn't get the chance to run away again. The noise had distracted her, but only for a moment. She wanted to see what had caused such a sound!

She pulled away from Galen, who could only blink at how strong the girl was. Had he loosened his grip or was she just so able to break free from him? She continued running, towards where she had heard the noise from and noticed a large drop ship in the distance. Galen's eyes widened in horror.

The symbol of the Imperial Army, Tachyon's army, was stamped proudly on the side of the ship. The Cragmite was here, and they were running straight towards his ship.

"Raiken!!!" he shouted at the child. "Come back! Now!!"

But she didn't hear the serious edge to his voice, only the sound of a challenge, so she kept heading to the ship, knowing that Galen wouldn't catch up to her.

Adrenaline and fear pushed the gray-furred Lombax to lunge at Raiken and tackle her to the ground, pinning her down so that his greater weight kept her on the ground. There was no way he would let Tachyon discover them, they had survived for so long! He would not lose it all because of one stubborn brat! He glared down at her, panting from the effort of trying to catch up with her. He bent his head, hissing in her ear, "You and I are going back home. Now. You try and run away again and I won't be as nice when I try to catch you."

The heavy glare in his eyes and the threat were enough to frighten the girl. She nodded gently, letting the older Lombax know that she was going to cooperate. She didn't know that Galen could get so mean!

"Good." He got up off of her and helped her to her feet, holding on tightly to her hand. He started running, wanting to get back to safety as soon as possible. Raiken ran alongside him, forced to by the tight grip he had on her hand. He only hoped that they could get back before the Imperial Army gained suspicions.

Little did the two Lombaxes know that through the trees, a Drophyd's buggy eyes managed to catch the sight of their tails breaking into the cover of the trees and slipping away towards their safety.

***

The next day, Raiken didn't dare head to the woods. Galen's threats had been enough to frighten her the other day, and she wasn't going to be jumped on and tossed to the ground again. And when she had tried to gain sympathy from her mother she only received scolding, telling her she was wrong. For what? Playing?

Instead she sat on the floor of the small hut that the three Lombaxes had made their home, bored for the life of her. She didn't even dare leave for fear of being yelled at and lectured again.

Her mother was running around busily in and out of the hut, while Galen was tinkering with the engine of the ship that they had, and yet never used. That had always bothered the youngest Lombax. Why have a ship when her family never even left a few meter's radius away from their home? And why bother fixing the ship's engine when they were never going to use it?

Suddenly, through the thin walls of her home, she heard the same noise as the other day when she was in the woods, but this time it was louder and Galen seemed to hear it too. "Stay here." He ordered. He left the hut while Raiken got to her feet, wondering whether to disobey him or not. She was still upset about the severity of how Galen had treated her yesterday and almost wanted to spite him. At the same time she didn't want him to act out on his threat. She decided to wait inside.

Galen walked outside and saw that Tachyon's drop ship had landed in the middle of the forest they were hidden in, completely toppling over trees without any care for them. He was so close to their home. Had he been looking for them? Tachyon never came back to Zanifar two days in a row. He rarely even came in person, usually just sending a minion to deal with the diplomatic arrangements for him. But out of the large ship, Galen could see the throne of the Cragmite.

There was no doubt in his mind. Someone had seen him or Raiken the other day. Tachyon had discovered them.

Moranno ran over to him, frightened. He could see that she was thinking back to the attack on Fastoon. To when half her family had been killed by this monster. He could easily guess the thoughts flooding her mind. This time, the Cragmite was going to finish the job.

"What do we do?" she asked fearfully.

"Get back to the hut. And hide." Was the only answer that the gray-furred Lombax could grant. He had no clue what they could do. None of them could fight and Tachyon was too close for them to try to escape, even with the ship. He would just tail them throughout the entire galaxy. They were trapped.

Moranno was shaking beside him and he had to take her hand to get her to run into their home.

Raiken looked up at the frightened faces of the older Lombaxes and asked, loudly, "What's going on?"

"Shh. No talking. Just be quiet." Galen commanded. He prayed that, for once in her life, the child would listen to him. Perhaps Tachyon hadn't seen them. Maybe he wouldn't find the hut, maybe-

"Ah, little Lombaxes hiding with their tails between their legs." the Cragmite's high pitched voice was loud as approached the hut. Galen growled as he realized that the monster was taunting the Lombaxes. "These pathetic creatures never change, do they?"

Raiken's tail did sweep between her legs, she was so frightened by the booming voice. Galen had been right, people did come to these forests. And finally she got to see one. Little did she know the first stranger she'd ever meet was one that he wanted her dead.

The roof of the hut was suddenly knocked off and the female Lombaxes screamed, frightened. Galen only glared through the falling debris up at Tachyon. "Crap." He growled as the emperor stared down at them from his seat in his mechanical throne.

"Look at them, cowering in fear. Such a disgrace these creatures are. I'll be glad to rid this planet of them." Tachyon grinned evilly at them.

Raiken hid behind her mother's leg, staring up at the Cragmite's giant mech in utter terror. Had this been one of the people Galen had always warned her to stay hidden from? She looked up at the gray-furred Lombax and saw the look of pure dread on his face.

He knew that there was no way they could escape from Tachyon. He looked at Moranno, then down to where Raiken was giving him a desperate look. He had managed to keep them safe then, eight years ago when the emperor had destroyed Fastoon. He had kept them hidden until now, making sure the Cragmite didn't know about them. Now they had been discovered.

Now they were going to die. There was no way for him to protect them this time.

One of the legs of the mech reared back and Galen forced the two female Lombaxes out of the way as it swung forward, barely missing the three. The only one who'd received any damage was Galen, who had a nick in his back from the sharp metal.

The whirr of a laser charging made Galen turn to see Drophyds had arrived to help Tachyon kill them. He moved his way over to his worktable where the engine he had been tinkering with now sat. He picked up a hammer and tossed it at one of the Drophyds, smacking the encasing for the fish-like creature's body. The glass cracked and the Drophyd fell out onto the floor, wreathing uselessly out of water. The mechanical body tottered over on top of the creature. Galen smirked, amused by the Drophyd's death. Use a machine to get stronger, only to get squished under it.

He then heard a whine of a laser and noticed that another Drophyd was charging an attack and had it aimed at Moranno and Raiken. He grabbed a wrench and tossed it at the Drophyd, missing and allowing the mech to fire its laser.

Moranno ducked down, wrapping her body around her daughter to protect her. Galen dashed as quickly as he could in front of the two females, taking the blast for them. He crumpled over as the laser hit his chest. He pressed a hand to his torso, feeling the injury. Blood matted into his gloves. He could no longer hold himself up, falling to him knees. But even they gave way, forcing him to fall forward, unable to get up.

Moranno blinked in horror, realizing she had just lost someone else important to her. She had relived the attack on Fastoon over and over again, thinking of ways she could have saved her husband and daughter. But now it wasn't just her imagination. It was happening again. She had lost someone else equally important to her.

The man who had saved her life, and cared for her just as much as the husband she had loved. "Galen!!" she cried, tears pouring from her eyes as she let go of Raiken and ran to the male Lombax.

His amber eyes locked on hers. They were brighter than ever as they stared into the depths of her own eyes. "I guess we were lucky to make it this far." He smiled at her. He let out a shudder of pain as he muttered. "I'll see you on the other side." His eyes shut and his body grew limp.

"Galen! Galen!! You're not going anywhere! Galen!!!" she shook him fiercely, trying to wake him up, but to no avail. He was gone. Moranno blinked up at Tachyon, realizing that she was soon to follow. She turned to Raiken, saw the poor girl with nothing but fear in her eyes. Fear that Moranno had tried to protect her from for years. She had failed. Everyone that Moranno had ever cared for had died, and she was always useless to defend them.

She threw herself onto Galen's body, weeping quietly to herself. "I need you Galen. I would have never survived Fastoon without you, and there's no way Raiken and I are going to make it now." She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself as she realized how soon her end was. "Please. I need you. Or at least take me with you."

"Would you like to join him?" Tachyon mocked, looking down at her with a malicious smile on his face. "I can make it possible." Moranno saw the Drophyds moving forward. Whether she failed now or not, she needed to protect her daughter from this monster and his minions to the best of her abilities.

She picked up one of Galen's tools and charged at the Drophyds, swinging the tool like a weapon. She struck the clawed hands of one Drophyd, snapping the metal. The broken hand was sharp, like a broken bottle. The female Lombax dodged away, not noticing the whine of an energy blast charging. She turned quickly to see Tachyon with a laser from his mech pointed directly at her.

She didn't have time to scream, time to run or time to protect her daughter. Her eyes widened as she was engulfed by the blast of energy and knocked to the ground, dead.

Raiken was alone, staring at the dead bodies of the older Lombaxes, wondering if she would meet the same fate. She pressed herself up against the nearest wall of her home and cringed in fear before Tachyon.

The Cragmite had a smug grin on his face, clearly enjoying watching the girl suffer. She could only whimper, unable to defend herself from the emperor or his forces.

The Drophd mechs made their way toward her, each eager to fulfill his master's commands. Raiken didn't scream, she didn't try to run, nor did she cry. She just stared at the creatures who held her fate in their hands and hoped that any of them had a sense of compassion. But then her eyes locked on Tachyon's and she saw the hate in them. His gaze was overflowing with the most cruel emotions she could imagine. She knew that sympathy would not be won tonight.

The Drophyd with the broken claw came forward and held the broken mechanical appendage to her chest, barely piercing it. The young Lombax cried out in pain as she felt the blood well from the injury. The Drophyd ran its hand up to her neck and tightened his grip around her throat, intending to suffocate her.

Raiken could feel her lungs screaming as she kicked at the Drophyd, wanting it to let her go so she could breathe. She felt the loss of blood making her lighter, her head growing dizzy. Eventually her kicking got slower, she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. The little Lombax opened her mouth in a silent wail before falling unconscious in the Drophyd's grip.

***

A/N Huh. I just realized that in my stories I have a nasty habit of killing off adults brutally and making children suffer. It's kinda funny how that works XDD

No, I totally don't have issues. I dunno what you're talking about!