Busy busy busy! And lazy. And other 'z' sounding words too. Probably.
On with the story!
The night came all to fast for Ratchet, and though he wouldn't admit it, he was scared to fall asleep. Several hours passed as he lie awake, before realizing he was naturally tired, and not being forced asleep like before. Cautiously, his eyes closed, hoping to get a good night's sleep.
He heard the sound of the door opening. "Ratchet?"
"Yeah, Clank?" he responded tiredly.
"If you're having trouble sleeping, I can set up an appointment for you tomorrow-"
"I'm fine, buddy. I was just about to sleep when you came in," he assured.
"Oh. I'm sorry, Ratchet. Good night."
"Clank," Ratchet drawled. "I'm not mad at you. But good night to you too." He smiled as his friend closed the door, before laying back down, when the familiar feeling of being forced into sleep came again. "Come on..." he complained as he closed his eyes.
"Ratchet? What kind of name is that?" the woman's voice called out from the Starship Phoenix.
Ratchet turned around to face her. "It's my name. Speaking of names, what's yours?"
She smiled sadly at him. "Leianna. Leianna Revala. Lovely to meet you, Ratchet."
Ratchet stared at her for the longest time. "And...who are you?" Leianna shook her head with a smile.
"Someone you should trust. Where's Kaden?" she finally asked.
The male Lombax just stared at him. "Kaden? As in my father?"
She smiled lightly at this, as if she had confirmed a suspicion. "Yes, you look just like him."
Ratchet looked at her, an unreadable expression in his eyes. "My father's dead."
Leianna gasped as a hand reached her mouth. She shook her head as she stepped back and collapsed. "Are you okay?" Ratchet asked as he knelt down to her level. She was about his age, he figured, and something looked very familiar about her, but he could have sworn that he'd never seen her before.
She shook her head again. "What...what happened?"
Ratchet sighed as he sat down next to her, Fastoon's ruins now in view. "From what Alister told me-" Leianna flinched at his name, "My father sent me to Solana right after Fastoon was destroyed and went to face Tachyon, but was killed when he wouldn't reveal the Dimensionator's or my location. I never knew him."
Tears leaked out of Leianna's eyes as she revealed her face again. "And Alister? You mean Azimuth, right?" A nod from Ratchet. "What about him?"
"I met him a few months ago, he told me all about my father as we searched for my friend Clank, who was in something called the Great Clock-" a gasp at this, "and Alister was convinced he could use the Clock to reverse time and fix his mistake. But it wasn't a time machine, just a time keeper, but he refused to accept that until...it was too late. He gave his life to save the universe once he realized the truth."
Leianna nodded, trying not to show any emotion. "Are there any other Lombaxes?"
"There was Angela, but she's been missing for years now."
The female sighed. "Take care, Ratchet. I'll see you soon."
Ratchet opened his eyes, surprised to see that it was morning already. But once again, his body ached too much to move, but with a sudden wave of nausea, he ran to the bathroom and emptied his stomach.
"Ratchet! Are you alright?" Clank called as he heard the commotion and ran into the bathroom.
"Yeah, fine, never been better!" the Lombax called out crankily.
Clank frowned and shook his head. "I'm calling the doctor."
"Yeah, you do that..." he replied, his mind somewhere else though. Where had he seen Leianna before? His eyes fell on his pillow before collapsing back onto it again, hoping his dreams would show the mysterious woman once more if he tried hard enough.
Six days later
"Ratchet? The doctor's here."
Sighing, the Lombax turned around to meet an overweight man with the typical med-box in hand. "Alright, what do I do?"
"First, you can start by opening your mouth," the doctor ordered as he opened his case and pulled out a tongue depressor..
Ten minutes passed and the examination was complete, however, the doctor seemed somewhat baffled. "My diagnosis? Probably some side effects of some sort, you seem perfectly healthy to me. Good day." He got up after he gathered his things and left.
Ratchet stared at Clank. "Happy now?"
"Not quite," the robot declared. "Side effects of what? Have you been keeping something from me, Ratchet?"
"No, no, not really," Ratchet replied as he stifled a yawn. "It might have something to do with those dreams, though."
Clank seemed concerned as he asked, "What dreams?"
"Oh, you know, the usual-places you've been with some weird woman who seems to know you and asks all sorts of questions. I don't even know her, but for some reason I just answer them," he answered as he scratched at his ear. "Whatever, I'm off to bed."
"You're almost always in bed now, Ratchet. And I know you're not even sleeping half the time. Should I try contacting a...different kind of doctor?"
"No, no!" Ratchet replied quickly. "I can assure you, I am one-hundred percent sane." The lombax was met with a blank stare. "Fine...almost one-hundred percent sane. Could you do me a favor and hit the lights?"
Clank sighed before flicking the lightswitch off and shaking his head at the hero. "Good night, Ratchet. I will see you tomorrow-" he was cut off as Ratchet suddenly collapsed, thankfully onto his bed. Within seconds, Clank was by his side, trying to rouse his friend.
Ratchet glanced around at his surroundings, recognizing them as Clank's old apartment in Metropolis. Eagerly, he searched the room for the mysterious woman he'd come to expect in all of his dreams. One more glance behind him, and there she was, appearing to be studying him intensely.
"Hello again, Ratchet," she welcomed softly, though her eyes still scanned over him. Leianna circled once around him before stepping closer to him. "Well whaddaya know? My chin, and Kaden's eyes. And size, for that matter," she smirked.
Ratchet blushed and attempted to subtly stand up straighter, which Leianna chuckled at. "Wait..." Ratchet paused. "Your chin? What's that supposed to mean?"
The female lombax widened her eyes. "You would think being my son would have made you smarter than that"
Ratchet paled as he gaped at the woman, who now looked concerned at her son's wellbeing before the vision vanished.
Clank stood cautiously over the lombax, knowing from experience that his friend wouldn't wake up no matter how hard the robot tried. He took slight comfort in the fact that Ratchet always woke up after episodes like this before, but his worry far exceeded his hope. "Ratchet..." he called softly, when all of a sudden Ratchet jolted awake, sending Clank flying to the ground. "Ratchet, are you alright?" Clank asked relieved yet concerned.
Ratchet stared numbly down at his best friend, panting lightly. "Leianna..."
"Who?" Clank questioned. "The woman from your dreams?" The Lombax nodded slowly. "What about her?"
Ratchet stopped his panting for a minute before looking his friend in the eye. "She's my mother."
Clank's eyes did nothing to hide the shock that took over. "Your mother?"
"I...I think so. But..." he paused. "This doesn't make any sense," he groaned as he gripped his head in frustration.
Clank stared at his troubled friend in concern, before sitting down in front of Ratchet and saying, "Would you mind telling me how this started?" He was rewarded with a hesitant glance from Ratchet, before the lombax sighed and started explaining the last few weeks.
