Despite me having less time to write than usual, this chapter turned out to be the longest one yet!
I am not sure if I can get tomorrow's oneshot done in time, though: tomorrow I'll be done with school around 14:50 P.M. and I still have tons of work to do that has to be done before 5 P.M.
Also, I won't be home between 5 P.M. and 8 P.M. so as you all can imagine it'll be pretty late by the time I get home, but I'll try nevertheless. If I do have too little time to finish the oneshot on time, I will upload two chapters on Thursday. (If I can finish them both on Thursday, that is. Don't worry, though: I won't skip any of the oneshots I've planned because I've got too little time.
Reviews:
Max Chronicle: "Good job...Most certainly up to my expectations.
Ooooh boy...I am not looking forward to tomorrow.
HOW DARE YOU?
In other words, keep up the good work.
Max out"
Glad to hear you liked it and glad to hear I lived up to your expectations, I hope this chapter is just as good. I'm not sure what you mean by "HOW DARE YOU?" though. And don't worry, I will keep up the good work.
Jak Cooper the Lombax: "Awww! IT'S TOO CUTE! *Explodes with cuteness overload* I can't wait for more!
Whoa! Haha! Hey, explosions! Awesome! And wait no more, the next chapter is here. And trust me, you're going to love what I've got in store for Friday's oneshot... But for now, please enjoy!
echo333: "These just get cuter! I love how they decorated the tree, and met up in the middle of the ladder by accident. I also find it adorable that Clank likes hats :) Oh dear, I wonder how they'll handle a snowstorm!
Thank you! And yes, I can't help myself, I. Simply. Can't. Stop. The. Cute moments! So expect more cute moments up ahead! And that Clank likes hats, it's just a random thing that I threw in that I thought sounded adorable. Seems like it worked, eh? As for how they handle a snowstorm, you'll see in this chapter, so please enjoy!
zenith88: "Very nice one-shots. Sorry i couldn't refiew earlyer, but i somehow forgot about it."
Glad to hear you're enjoying the oneshots so far. As for your timing, don't worry, I, too, often review quite late. And by that I mean up to a week late. Anyhow, I hope you'll like this chapter too. Enjoy!
One-shot 5
Days until Christmas Eve: 8
The Snowstorm
Ratchet was sitting behind his computer, playing an online game. He smiled at his computer. It was hand-made. Okay, since Ratchet wasn't a computer hardware expert it wasn't hand-made, but he did assemble it once he recieved the hardware.
It contained the best of the best in computer hardware: the GammaRay StarScreen Z Graphics Card, the Magnetar StolarStorm G7-29520 octa-core processor and 128 GigaBytes worth of RAM-memory combined with the most advanced motherboard he could find.
It honestly was a dream come true for Ratchet. However, something caught the young Lombax' interest. He turned around and looked out the window.
A monster of a snowstorm was approaching, and fast. Ratchet bit his lip. If he'd leave, it'd hurt his rank, but if he kept playing and the power suddenly went out, it could damage his dream computer. He sighed, and turned off the computer. He got up, gave his computer one last sad look, and walked into the living room. Clank was, unsurprisingly, sitting by the fireplace, reading a book.
"Clank, there's a monster of a storm coming."
"I know, Ratchet. Didn't you see the weather forecast this morning?"
"...No. Are there any windows or doors I need to close?"
"No, I already closed off everything."
Suddenly, the fire went out. "Well, maybe not everything." Clank said, sounding a bit worried.
"Why are you sounding worried?"
"Because it is physically impossible for snow to get into our fireplace."
"Then why did the fire just die?"
"Perhaps a blast of cold wind. What bothers me though is that if it was indeed a blast of cold wind, then the incoming storm is far worse than expected."
"...How much worse?"
"Strong enough to damage some buildings."
"Darn. Well, be better get ready, who knows how much worse this can get."
As if on cue, the lights turned off. "Are you kidding me?!" Ratchet cried out.
"Hmm. It seems the sheer power of the storm and the amount of snow was too much for Metropolis' cable network to handle. I highly doubt we will have any power before tomorrow morning."
"What?! But we haven't eaten yet! How can I cook without power?"
"We will find a way, Ratchet. Otherwise, Lombaxes can survive without food for six days, so I highly doubt you are in any danger."
"So no dinner? Oooh, boy. My stomach is not going to like that."
"Trust me, Ratchet. I like it just as little as you do. However, we have been through far worse, haven't we?"
Ratchet's stomach growled. "Perfect timing!" Ratchet said with a voice filled with sarcasm. He sighed. "Yes, we've been through worse, but we've never found ourselves starving inside our own appartment, have we?"
"Ratchet, the situation is far better than you think. We can both survive for days without food, and I am almost certain the storm will be over by tomorrow. We just have to sit it out."
"But what if you're wrong? And trust me, there's nothing worse than me when I'm hungry."
"I can think of many worser things, and snowstorms can last long but not that long. If you really are as hungry as you claim to be, perhaps you can find something to eat that does not need to be cooked."
Ratchet's ears lowered. "Clank... I actually need to go shopping tomorrow. All we have left are some frozen pizza's."
Clank put away his book and got up. "Then I suppose we need to look for a way to cook those pizza's. Also, do we have any candles around here? It is already getting pretty dark and the worst has yet to come."
"What do you mean?"
"The epicenter of the storm is still approaching. The storm will get even worse in time."
"Uuugh, great."
Then a flash of lightning briefly lit the appartment, and unsurprisingly Clank was gone within seconds. Ratchet shook his head and walked into his and Clank's bedroom. Immediatly he noticed a shaking object on his bed, hiding underneath the blankets. He walked over to his bed, sat down, and pulled away the covers. Clank's bright green eyes looked up at him.
"What happened on Oltanis still haunts your mind, doesn't it?"
Clank nodded, eyes full of fear.
Ratchet sighed. "Pal... if I'm really honest... it haunts me as well."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I almost lost you. And what's even worse is that I almost lost you right after I stopped being such a douchebag. If you'd have died back there after I acted so hostile and mean towards you for such a long time, I... I... I don't think I'd ever have gotten over that. I'd have blamed myself infinitely, because, if I'm really honest, I was just so mad at the entire situation: the person I used to look up to not just betraying me but punching his betrayal into my face like that and some stupid Blarg wanting me dead, I was just so mad at everything and I took it out on you.
I was never really mad at you, you couldn't have known that Qwark was with the Blarg. You were only doing what you thought was the right thing, and there's no way you can blame someone for that. You were so exited with completing your special mission and saving the galaxy that it is completely understandable that you missed the signs showing that Qwark was up to no good. And, I was angry at myself for getting myself into that mess, but in the end, I'm so glad I did. And also, I'm so glad you're stil here, pal."
Clank smiled. He simply was at a loss of words. He had always suspected that Ratchet was not truely angry at him, but he never had any proof to back up his theory, and now that Ratchet finally told him, he felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Is there anything that helps you, y'know, get less scared by the lightning?"
"Light helps."
"Well, there are some candles in the garage... I think."
"Ratchet, I may have a good idea. A way for you to get the dinner you desire."
"Tell me!"
"Can you find two fireproof objects that are at least forty centimeters tall, as well as a large, flat fireproof object?"
"I've got some spare metal in the garage, will that do?"
"Yes. Shall we?"
"Yep, let's go." Ratchet replied. "Especially since the garage has no windows so you can't see the lightning."
Together the two heroes walked to their garage, Ratchet using the bright glow of Clank's brilliant green eyes to see where he was going. While Clank filled his chest compartment with candles, Ratchet grabbed a few sheets of scrap metal. "Clank, what exactly did you want to use these for? And in case you're wondering, we'll burn the food if we try to use my welder to cook it."
"It is like a basic version of an indoor campfire: something fireproof that supports a pan or a metal plate, and something that burns, and I think these candles are more than capable of warming those pizza's. I am just wondering what I am going to eat."
"Erm... I believe we've got some cans of high quality oil-soup left. Hang on, I'll make something out of these sheets of metal real quick."
Ratchet got to work, and in half an hour he had made a basic barbecue: a sheet of metal supported by a few metal struts. "Clank, since the struts are made of metal, I don't think it would be smart to use this thing in our living room with it's wooden floor. The garage, on the other hand, with it's concrete floor, is a much wiser choice."
"I completely agree with you, Ratchet."
Clank placed the candles underneath their hand-made barbecue. "I am going to get the food. In the meantime, could you light the fire?"
Ratchet grinned. "Sure!"
Clank nodded. He walked to the kitchen and took the three pizza's Ratchet was talking about, a can of oil soup, and a pan for the soup. When he walked back into the garage, Ratchet had indeed lit the twenty candles underneath their hand-crafted barbecue. "Careful, pal! That thing's hot!"
"Shouldn't it be hot?"
"I'm just giving you a heads up."
Ratchet chuckled. "From a snow-robot to cooking in the garage. So far, this has been one crazy Christmas."
Clank chuckled. "Indeed. Anyhow, shouldn't you be keeping an eye on your dinner?"
"Huh? Oh. Trust me, it's gonna take a while before that's done cooking."
"Hmm. I wish I could offer you some of my oil soup, but I'm afraid that hot oil will kill you."
"Yeah... yeah... it sucks that there's nothing for me to do in the meantime though."
"Hmm... Perhaps I know something."
Clank walked out of the garage, only to come walking back in a minute later, holding a wooden box of some sorts.
"What's that?" Ratchet asked.
"Chess."
{Ten minutes later...}
"So... what does this guy do again?" Ratchet asked, pointing at his queen.
"Ah, the queen. The queen can move in any direction, as far as you wish. This makes her the most powerful piece. However, it also makes her a target. Capturing the other player's queen can turn the tides with ease, so use her wisely."
"I see. I'll move my queen... here! Haha, didn't see that one coming, huh?"
Clank gave Ratchet a dry look and captured his queen with a rook.
"What?! Tha-tha-that's cheating!"
"Not at all, Ratchet. Also, perhaps it is time for you to start eating?"
"Huh? Oh, the pizza's! You're right!"
Clank chuckled and shook his head. While Ratchet ate his dinner (that would have burned to a crisp if it wasn't for Clank), Clank stared at the chessboard, trying to figure out what Ratchet's next move would be. Then he had an idea. He smiled calmly at Ratchet.
"You done, pal?" Ratchet asked. Clank nodded.
"Alright, lemme show you how it's done. Let's see... the rook goes here, and... check!"
Clank moved his king forward. "Check mate."
"Wha?!"
"Look closely."
"Huh... crud, you're actually right."
"Were you suspecting me of lying?"
"No, no, I just didn't believe it."
"Well, I presume you believe it now."
Clank rubbed his eyes. "You alright, pal?" Ratchet asked.
"Yes, yes, I am quite alright. I am merely tired."
"Then you should go to sleep. C'mon, give that processor of yours a break. I mean, with your intelligence, it's gotta be one overpowered processor."
"Come again? Oh, yes, it is indeed a heavy processor. In fact, I have not one processor, but multiple. Twenty-five to be exact."
"Yeah, that's gotta require an awful amount of power. C'mon, give that head of yours some rest."
"Alright."
Clank got up. When he was about to leave the garage, he stopped and turned around. "Goodnight, Ratchet."
"G'night, pal. I'll make sure all the lights are off. And by that I mean candles, since there isn't any power right now, so..."
Clank chuckled. The robot walked out of the garage and into his and Ratchet's bedroom. He climbed on top of Ratchet's nightstand and sat down on his recharge station. He retracted his limbs, closed his eyes, and shut down his systems one by one until the only ones still on were the cooling systems and the processor timed restart (that system would make sure that Clank would wake up again if the internal battery had been charged to 100%).
Ratchet came walking in fifteen minutes later. He stared out the window, at... well... the few things he could see outside. Instead of the usual streetlights far below and the calm, dim light of the other tall buildings, there was only darkness, the thick clouds hiding everything from view.
He smiled at the darkness, and listened to the howling of the wind. A few times a flash of lightning briefly lit up the room. "Yeah, storm. Come get some! Yes, gimme all you've got! 'Cause no matter how bad you are, I will never ever let you harm Clank ever again."
Alright, what's next?
Oooh, how about this: 'as the temparature drops below zero in Metropolis, lakes in parks begin to freeze. Even the giant lake in Metropolis' central park freezes solid, allowing the citizens of Metropolis to go ice-skating. And thus Ratchet and Clank decide to give ice skating a try as well. But if it all works out as planned...'