Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time fanfic

Genre: romance, adventure, some mystery, humor

Warnings: Male slash, the rating is T, cussing, violence

Pairing: Ratchet/Alister, hints of Lawrence/Dr. Nefarious

Hope you all enjoy!

Only Time Will Tell Part 2

Ch. 7-Sanity?

Dr. Nefarious had been to three planets so far to look for a certain metal. This metal was one of the rarest but also of the most useful metals in the universe. The first planet they went to had given few leads except why the Doctor had gone to the exact planets that he had. The current destination now was Planet Damosel. This was also the next target in hopes of avoiding Planet Aquatos. When landing the ship, the two Lombaxes jumped out as soon as the ship was safely on the ground. They then turned their heads so their eyes could obtain more of their surroundings.

Ratchet, of course, had been here before. It was the second adventure he had been on with Clank. Megacorp had specifically hired him to get back an experiment that had been supposedly stolen. However, it was soon realized that was not the case and Ratchet joined forces with a female Lombax named Angela. It was also found out the Megacorp president was actually Captain Qwark in disguised. It was good that they had joined together and stopped everything that Qwark had started. This planet was one of the places visited when the Proto Pets had been on the market and started causing mayhem. Who knew how many of those things he had really fought, both here and in total.

Both Lombaxes walked away towards the cylinder room ahead of them. When they entered, they noticed that there were two ways to go. One was a grind rail path and the other was a transporter pad. Ratchet remembered there being quite a few grind rails in the city. Looking towards the transporter pad, he also remembered going to a neighborhood where civilians were scared and running for their lives just to get away from the vicious Proto Pets. It was awesome to think that none of that was taking place now. Those pets were vicious little assholes.

"Ratchet," the sound of his name took the younger out of his thoughts before turning to his companion.

"Yeah Alister."

"How about I go ahead and take the transporter pad and you take the grind rail?"

A nod was given before he answered. "That's fine with me.

"Now, we are looking for other places the Doctor may have gone, like on this planet or other planets as well, but should we try to find more information, like about the metal and what he could be using it for?"

"Yes, we definitely need to figure out what he may be doing with this metal. There's the possibility that he making some kind of machine or weapon with it, but the question is what device and what does he plan to use it for."

"True but I doubt we can figure all of that in one go unless we somehow kidnap his butler."

The general could not help but smirk at the sarcastic remark brought forth. Regardless, he decided not to say anything and replied, "I did not figure we could either but it does not hurt to try. Every little bit helps. Now, let's get going."

Both went to their agreed places before heading off to see what could be found.

*Location: Unknown*

Fingers tapped on a metal surface of a desk that was located in an office type setting but the room was darker than normal offices; the walls were a dark purple but the desk itself was bright silver. The desk was covered in messy piles of papers and discs. How anyone could keep this mess organized was a mystery. Somehow, though, the robot with tinted blue metal and a green clear cylinder of glass attached to his head managed to. It was probably due to the help of his trusty butler for locations and details to help keep his head on right, well, as right as he could ever be.

"Lawrence!" The one as Dr. Nefarious suddenly shouted out.

Not more than two seconds later did the door slide open for a robot that was shorter and more round than the Doctor. The butler known as Lawrence held no expression as he walked into one of the various offices that held Dr. Nefarious.

"What is it that you need sir?" the rounder bot inquired, "I did not think I would be called for at least another hour sir, for I have not even started the laundry yet, and your garments can take a while considering you always do your lab work in them, which may I say I wish you would…"

"Enough Lawrence!" the doctor yelled. He was fond of his butler due to his work capacity and loyalty but that did not mean he was not annoying every once in a while. It could be said that Lawrence felt the same towards Dr. Nefarious, only, instead of being fond of work capacity and loyalty, he was rather fond of the jokes and pranks he pulled on the Doctor. Though he did not notice the, half of the time, that did not mean he could not obtain personal enjoyment.

"What is progress of the experiment so far?"

Lawrence had been holding a thin electronic pad in his hands. Pressing certain buttons, he found the information the Doctor required and read him the information.

"So far everything is going according to plan. Only two things that may cause a problem; for one, a small amount of Celtron is needed to complete a few parts of the experiment. Then, we will also need a sufficient amount of energy to make the machine work. This type of machine will not simply work unless more energy is provided and if my calculations are correct, which they usually are, then we must find a stronger force of energy."

"Hm… I see" Dr. Nefarious mumbled to himself. He pressed a button underneath the desk that allowed for a visual transparent computer float in the middle of the room. Going to use it, however, the Doctor just spoke.

"Computer, bring up the files Lawrence saved for the experiment."

"Yes sir," was replied in a feminine tone before various files popped up on the screen.

"Really sir, if you could have just brought the information up, then why ask me here? I could have the laundry started by now."

As if ignoring the comment, Dr. Nefarious continued, "Computer, find a reliable energy source to guarantee the succession of this device."

"Yes sir."

While the computer started searching it's databases for the answers, Dr. Nefarious stood up from his seat before walking around his desk to then stand by the butler which was in front of the computer.

"I asked you here to ask your opinion. Once the search is done, I am sure there will be multiple results and considering I want to keep this as confidential as possible, I wanted your opinion to see what you thought would be best. In most cases, I do not care if others know small amounts of information but this particular subject is… tricky."

"Results found." The female voice pitched in before showing images and information on possible solutions.

"Odd…" The butler mused, "It appears the only option is to obtain these 'power cores'. I am sure we will only need one or two. However, that is subject to change since the information on the device so far is not, as some organics say, 'set in stone'."

"Yes…" Dr. Nefarious agreed, "For now, we will focus on finishing the device and then go from there to see if the results change or if the amount of power cores needed vary."

His back turned towards Lawrence as he headed back to his seat before sitting at his desk once more. He looked up at his butler and was then followed in silence.

"Very well sir. I shall let the employees on this project know to keep going as planned. If that is all you need, I shall be on my way."

The butler turned on his heel, but, a little too quickly, and result with having his back towards the other robot. He then walked to the door. However, before he could escape the Doctor's presence, he heard the Doctor's voice.

"Lawrence."

Stopping dead in his tracks in front of the door, he slowly turned to face his employer once more. "Yes sir?"

The feeling of worry filled both robots but for various reasons.

"I wonder if this device will help me," he mused out loud, though the statement was meant for himself then the loyal companion standing by the door. "It is odd how this has happened. And it makes absolutely no sense!" He practically yelled before jumping out of his seat.

This sudden movement surprised the butler greatly but he made no movements to show such thing.

"I do not understand. One day, everything is normal and makes sense, but then these strange events begin to occur. They make me question myself. I begin to wonder who I am. Sure, what I see in those flashes of mine are not too different from now, but things still are different."

Lawrence knew what he was referring to, for he had confided in the butler when this first started to happen. Though there were no details on when these 'flashes' occurred, that did not mean that the Doctor did not know more than he let on. Despite this, however, he did not push the subject and let his employer/creator tell him what he wished him to know and that be that.

"It starts to mess with me and I wonder what is real and what is not. I don't just see, but also feeling whatever is being felt in those stupid things. I know they must stop before I lose my sanity."

Usually, this would be a time where Lawrence would make a joke but he said nothing and the Doctor thought nothing of it.

"Go. Tell the workers they must continue with their work and I will let you know if anything changes. Keep me updated Lawrence." Dr. Nefarious just sounded suddenly exhausted.

"Yes sir."

Lawrence left not a moment later. Once the door slid closed and he was further down the hall, he stopped abruptly and placed a hand on the wall. His mind started to wondered towards the subject moments ago. The Doctor truly was starting to worry about what he may consider to be reality and not. Most thought he was crazy already but for anyone who knew more of the details of this project deepened their concerns over their employers' insanity. He would usually joke and would probably have worried secretly about this as well. However, not everything was as it seemed.

The hand currently hanging at his side started to form a fist in the feelings of uncertainty and nervousness. He could not question the Doctor when he felt he was not too different himself. He had also started to see 'flashes' that made no sense and seemed too real. Yet, nothing was said to the Doctor. Sure, Dr. Nefarious had his own to worry about, but some of the images shown in his head made the butler question if saying a word would be a smart idea or not.

Lawrence feared what this project may bring. If his flashes along with the one Dr. Nefarious had were somehow intertwined, then this brought even more of the feeling of fear to the butler. If somehow these were connected and somehow true, then that could mean that him and the doctor were more than just employer and employee, and this thought scared Lawrence greatly, though he would never admit to such feelings.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he pushed off the wall before continuing to let the others know what was to be done for the project presently.

*Hey guys! Thanks for reading! Sorry I took so long to write this. I tried a bit of a different writing style with this, not too different but a bit. I hope you guys liked the chapter. See you in the next chapter! :3