"This is the best day EVER!"

Lovelace smirked as she walked Ratchet around by the hand. They'd already picked up Ratchet's uniforms and books, and Ratchet himself now had a wand of crystalline blue rock candy that he was waving around like a baton. True to her word, the two of them now had the rest of the day to themselves, and hell or high water, she was about to give it to him.

She picked her son up, hefting him onto her shoulders. "Okay, Ratchik; where would you like to go? There's the park, or the shops out at the crag, or the waterfront . . ."

Ratchet thought for a moment, but then his eyes lit up. "Captain Hook's Boardwalk!"

Ratchet grabbed onto his Eema's ears for stability as she froze in her tracks. A moment passed before she regained her composure. "There's that great ice cream shop next to the boardwalk. Why don't we go there instead?"

"I want to go to Captain Hook's Boardwalk!" Ratchet peeped up again, a little louder this time. "You said we could!"

"When did I say that?"

"You said it last night! You said we'd have fun today!" Ratchet spoke up, before adding on, "I want to see it before I go off to school!"

Lovelace winced. "I'm sure it'll still be here when you get back . . ."

Ratchet grabbed a fistful of her hair, prompting Lovelace to wince. "But that could be YEARS! I'll be almost your age by then!"

"Not -ow!- quite that old . . ." She spoke, before picking Ratchet back up again. "Now listen here; if you can convince your father to take you there, then by all means . . . look, those eyes don't work on me . . ."

"B-but I don't get to come here that often . . ." Ratchet spoke, mewling. "I want to see the Boardwalk!"

"Look, I just don't . . ." Lovelace tried again, but before she could finish speaking, she finally caved in to Ratchet's baleful green eyes. "Well, then . . . Let's take my little captain aboard! Sails to the wind!"

"YAY!" Ratchet spoke up again, holding his rock candy out as Lovelace carried him through the town square, not even noticing the odd looks a few of the other adults were giving his mother.

Ratchet's eyes were lit up wide as he gawked at the long pier and the rides that seemed to snake around and under it. This place was HUGE, and it only seemed to get bigger as he went inside with his mother.

"Look!" Ratchet spoke up, noticing the tubes of fish that were swimming along and through some of the vendor's booths. "I didn't realize they made water that color! It's almost glowing!"

"That's because they're using black light to make them glow." Lovelace spoke, smiling just a bit.

The little Lombax blinked, then looked confused. "How can light be black? Black stuff is dark, not light!"

She snickered, then smiled down at him. "You're going to learn so much when you go to school . . ."

Ratchet's eyes remained wide as they walked through the crowds, just taking in the astounding sights, and even getting a little distracted as a roller coaster blew by over his head.

He tugged on his mother's skirt, pointing up at it. "What's making it stay on those tracks?"

"Watch it, kid!" A gruff voice shot back down at him, and the little kit let go of what he thought was his mother's skirt. Ratchet looked up, his jaw dropping as he saw the man's face above him scowling down. Almost as suddenly, however, the man smiled, his eyes aglitter as he looked down at Ratchet. "What's your name, kiddo?"

Ratchet blinked, his mouth snapping shut. He wasn't supposed to talk to strangers, and he wasn't even sure he was supposed to even tell the strangers he wasn't allowed to talk to them. He suddenly remembered his rock candy, though, and stuck it in his mouth, as though trying to make it clear he wasn't about to speak.

"Come on, I know you can talk . . . say, you really like that rock candy, don't ya?" The older man spoke, smiling at him still. Something about that smile didn't sit right with Ratchet — it reminded him of the sort of smile he'd have when he was about to eat.

Ratchet blinked, then hid the wand behind his back, thinking the man might take it. "Yeah . . ."

"Aw, come on, kid, I'm not gonna take your stick . . ." The man kneeled down, reaching out to take hold of Ratchet's arm and gently nudge the stick back into place, letting it rest near Ratchet's mouth. "It's a simple question. You like having questions answered, right?"

Ratchet paused again, still confused, and still not really wanting to talk. This man felt happy. Maybe even a little too happy. "Yeah . . ."

"So if it's good to have questions answered, then it must be good to answer other people's questions too, right?"

Ratchet's eyes were scanning out now, looking for his Eema. He didn't know this guy, but he knew a leading question when he heard one. "Yeah . . ."

The man pressed on, picking the boy off the ground, causing Ratchet's eyes to go wide. He didn't carry Ratchet like his mother did — both of the man's hands were down around Ratchet's hips. "So then you should answer all my questions, right?"

"Hey, bucko. Does that kid look like he's yours?"

Both Ratchet and the stranger turned momentarily to see the calico woman glaring, with crossed arms. The stranger narrowed his eyes. "Mind your business."

"I'll mind whatever I want to mind. And I'm minding you." The woman spoke again, stepping forward with a metal screech in her step. "Now why are you giving me such trouble if you're not causing it?"

The next instant, Ratchet screamed as the man punched her, before darting off in another direction with Ratchet still in his arms. The little Lombax didn't know what was going on — but getting carted off couldn't have been good! "EEMA! EE-M-!"

"Shut up, kid!" The man hissed again, and suddenly Ratchet felt claws around his neck. "Shut up NOW if you know what's good for you!"

Ratchet froze in fear, seeing a new face on the man — he still had that dinnertime smile on his face, but his eyes were lit up with an evil glimmer, as though there were flames within them. Whatever this man wanted, it wasn't to be friends.

The man kept running, jumping half down a flight of stairs as he made his way to just below the docks, near where there were boats parked. "Almost there . . . I can almost taste you . . ."

Ratchet's eyes went wide, still too scared to scream.

It was a minor miracle he wasn't too scared to bite the man's hand and get a taste for himself.

"AGH! You little . . . " The man yelped, loosening his grip just enough for Ratchet to kick and launch himself out of the man's arms, tumbling onto the docks, scrambling to his feet. "Oh, I'm gonna take my time with you, brat . . ."

"Get away from me!" Ratchet screamed, running to put more distance between him and the man. He was running up a storm, but the fact remained that the docks dead-ended just ahead of him.

"I don't think so, kid. You should've just been a good boy . . . It'd hurt so much less than it's going to now . . ." The man spoke, picking up a nearby coil of rope from someone's tie-off. "Better say your Sh'ma now, 'cause your voice won't work after-!"

He didn't have a chance to finish that sentence as a dark mass of black and glowing blue leapt out of the water, blindsiding the stranger. His head hit one of the pylons with a sick thud, and just like that, he went still. Ratchet's eyes went wide, not knowing what to make of this odd, metal-tailed monster . . . or at least he didn't know until he saw the monster remove its helmet, and he saw the face of the calico woman again.

She glanced over, motioning with her flipper-glove for Ratchet to come closer. "Kit . . . it's okay, kitten. He's not getting up anytime soon."

Ratchet looked down at the man, fearful. "But he . . . Eema . . ."

"Shh. Don't worry, I'm one of the good guys." She spoke, before cocking her head and adding on, "Well, better than him, at least. I work for the Boardwalk."

Ratchet was still scared, and now noticing that he'd torn his outfit. He clutched at it, freaking out. " . . . I don't believe you."

"Kit, if you don't believe me, just check the signs." She spoke, before pointing with another mechanized flipper up to a poster.

Ratchet hesitated, staying still and only moving his eyes to notice the nearby posters for Captain Hook's Boardwalk. His eyes soon gravitated to the sight of an illuminated lady just beneath the water, grinning behind her helmet. The text underneath was as plain as day: 'The Mermaid of Veldin — She's Back and Better than Ever!'.

He turned, almost in disbelief. The lady certainly looked like the one on the poster . . . it was dark, but he saw the resemblance. "No way . . ."

"Relax, kitten." She purred, rolling onto her side so Ratchet could see the lit parts of her mermaid outfit better. "Let me take you up to the Staff's Daycare so you can spend a little time with my daughters while I go find your Eema, okay?"

Ratchet was nervous, and understandably so, but at least this woman seemed genuinely concerned. And besides, it couldn't be any worse than what the last man wanted. " . . . okay."

"Excellent. Let's go somewhere safe, then; the police'll be here to pick up your 'pal' shortly, but before then, I want to get you someplace where they can make sure you're okay." She spoke, her mertail receding just enough for her to be able to walk again, albeit in metallic legs. "My name's Merry. What's your name?"

He curled up, still scared. " . . . Ratchet."

"Ratchet? Cool!" She smiled, scratching him behind an ear as she walked. "I've got a daughter named that! Well . . . not exactly. But close. Real close."

The little kitten blinked, confused. "Really? What's her name?"

She chuckled. "Well . . . I've got two daughters, actually. I just came back here after giving birth to little Sudoku." She smiled, holding Ratchet close, even as he tried to curl up against her metallic halter. "But I know you should get along great with the other one. Jigsaw's always willing to put on a show."