We are getting near the ending of this series, with only three more chapters to go, this chapter being one of them. So, as soon as you all have finished reading this chapter, there are only two one-shots remaining. Christmas Eve and tomorrow's one-shot... whose theme I will not reveal yet. After this one-shot I will reveal what's up next.

Anyhow, reviews:

Max Chronicle: "Huh...so this was the RatchetxAngela chapter. Okay, okay.
Changing subject now...Shopping. (beat) Yesssss.
If I can offer something to the chapter, I would like there to be a joke where Clank buys some sort of sciencey-shirt and Ratchet would call him "...such a nerd."
Or maybe a sweater that says "Keep Cool And Be A Lombax" or something like that. These are just ideas, do whatever you want.
Almost Christmas, keep it up.
Merry Christmas...and Max out"
Those ideas... I'm not going to say anything. You'll just have to read and see...

Yes, it's almost Christmas! I'm so exited! And Merry Christmas to you too, my friend. And a happy new year, of course.

Alright, all reviews have been replied to, so let's get to the next chapter then!

One-shot 13

Days until Christmas Eve: 2

Christmas shopping

"Clank? Claaank? Come on, pal. Wake up."

Clank opened one eye. "No."

Ratchet laughed. "No time to act silly now, pal. We still have to go Christmas shopping."

Clank jumped up from the couch almost immediatly. "Why didn't you say so?"

"If I had known that this would be your reaction, I'd have told you that an hour ago, so be thankful: I gave you an extra hour of sleep."

"Thank you, Ratchet!" Clank yelled over his shoulder as he raced towards the door to grab his coat and snow boots.

Ratchet shook his head with a smile. He grabbed his own coat and boots, and half an hour later the two Lombaxes were walking to the entrance to the mall, through the fresh snow. When they entered the mall, they said "Whoa!" in unison.

The floor of the mall was made out of white tiles, and in the center of the shopping mall centre stood a mind-blowingly huge Christmas tree.

"Clank?"

"Yes?"

"You've got my old Gadgetron QuickSelect device, yes?"

"Yes, so I can pay for my purchases. Ironically, you just asked me if I forgot something while you are the one who is always forgetting things."

"Yeah, yeah..."

Ratchet glanced at his watch. "Clank, shall we meet up at the restaurant at 3 P.M.?"

"Alright. See you then, Ratchet."

"See ya, Clank!"

While Clank walked over to the electronics store to his right, Ratchet walked over to the Gadgetron gadget store.

Clank took his time browsing through all the items that were for sale. Suddenly, he walked past the games department. He decided to take a look, and to his surprise, he found at least a dozen games Ratchet was really exited about, but never bought. He grabbed seven of them. "Gift for Ratchet: check. Next: gift for miss Apogee."

After paying for the games and storing them in a bag (the guy behind the counter gave him a weird look when he pressed the games against his chest. It took Clank a second to remember that he was no longer a robot so he could no longer store stuff in his chest compartment) he walked over to a clothes store.

Clank had no idea what Talwyn would like, so he relied on his instincts. After browsing around for a few minutes he walked back out empty-handed (save for the bag with Ratchet's games) and walked into the Gadgetron Gadgets store. He remembered how Talwyn was as trigger-happy as Ratchet, so she might like a gadget from Solana. He chose a Gadgetron Flight Suit, a device worn like a backpack that could deploy a set of wings if commanded by the user and the user only. "Gift for miss Apogee: check. Next: gift for Captain Qwark."

Clank walked out of the Gadgetron Gadgets store and walked over to a toy store where he bought a real-looking Qwark action figure. He then walked over to a souvenir shop where he bought a "Number #1 Greatest Superhero" mug. "Gift for Captain Qwark: check. Next: gift for miss Phyronix."

Clank walked back out and walked into the clothes store once again. While browsing through the various clothing, he found a few shirts with science jokes on it. He bought three of them, and a purple scarf and matching gloves for Sasha. "Gift for miss Phyronix: check. Next: gift for Big Al."

Clank walked back out and walked back into the electronics store. The guy behind the counter gave him a weird look, probably due to the whole 'missing chest compartment' ordeal earlier. Clank shrugged it off and bought the latest computer processor for Al. "Gift for Big Al: check. Next: gift for Skidd Mcmarxx."

Clank walked back in (getting another weird stare) and bought a headset for Skidd. And (Clank didn't know why an electronics store would have those lying around) a safety helmet, even though, deep inside, he knew Skidd would never wear it. "Well, in that case I tried. Anyhow, gift for Skidd Mcmarxx: check. Next... I believe I am done. Thank goodness, these bags are getting heavy."

Clank looked at the time on the old Gadgetron QuickSelect device. "Oh, no! It's already 3:13 P.M.! Ratchet must be getting worried!"

Clank ran over to the restaurant as fast as he could. He looked around inside, and thanks to Ratchet's big ears, he had no trouble finding the orange Lombax.

Clank sat down across from him and put down the bags with a sigh. "Christmas shopping is much more exausting than I thought."

Ratchet was eating a hamburger. "Yeah... Anyhow, what did you buy for me?" he asked, reaching for Clank's bags. Clank pulled away the bags. "No, no, you will have to wait until Christmas.

"Hey, hotshot!" a voice said behind Ratchet. Ratchet choked on his hamburger in surprise. Sasha patted him on the back. "I see you're still no fan of eating like a civillized being."

Ratchet glared at her. "Not funny, Sash!"

Sasha burst out laughing. "It is, actually. Anyhow, what are you two up to? And where did you find that Lombax? I thought Lombaxes were very rare."

"Eh, he used to be on my back until a bunch of Terachnoids made a big mistake and did something they shouldn't have done."

"Wait, you mean... Clank?!"

Clank nodded. "Hello."

Sasha stared at Clank in disbelief. "Ratchet, not funny."

"This isn't a joke! I wish it was!"

"...You're serious?"

Ratchet simply stared at her with a raised eyebrow. Sasha laughed. "Relax, Ratchet. No need to get your tail in a knot."

She noticed the bags next to Clank's chair. "I see you two went Christmas shopping."

"Yep."

Sasha raised an eyebrow. "I see Clank's got lots of bags, but I where are your bags?"

Ratchet gave them a sheepish grin. "Well... you see... there was a demo of Galactic Warzone Seven, and I..."

Sasha sighed. "You haven't bought anything, have you?"

"Well, I bought one thing, take a look at this."

Ratchet reached inside the only bag he had with him and pulled out a white shirt with the text "Keep cool and be a Lombax"

Sasha chuckled. "I see why you bought that. Still, Ratchet..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know! I'll go shopping right away!"

"Hey hotshot, need a hand?"

"Huh?"

Sasha rolled her eyes. "With picking out gifts. I'm female, I know how girls think."

Ratchet smiled. "Yes please."

Clank raised his hand. "But what can I do in the meantime?"

"Erm... how about we walk over to Aphelion first so you can put your bags in the cargo space?"

Clank nodded. "Yes, please."

"Let's go then." Ratchet said getting up.

"Ratchet, who is Aphelion?" Sasha asked.

"Aphelion? Oh, Aphelion is an old Lombax ship that I found on the abandoned Lombax homeworld of Fastoon. She was pretty damaged but I managed to fix her."

"Her?"

"Yeah. She's got an artificial intelligence program. That ship's practically a person."

"Ooh, I have to see that."

Together the three friends made their way through the snow, towards Aphelion. They helped Clank carry his bags, they just couldn't let the grey Lombax carry it all alone. However, while placing the bags in the cargo space of Aphelion, Clank lost his grip on a bag. Sadly, it was the bag with his science shirts... and Sasha's present.

Sasha picked up the scarf and gloves. "Clank, for who did you buy these?"

"Erm... Uh..."

Ratchet immediatly understood that that was Sasha's gift. "For his girlfriend!" Ratchet quickly yelled.

Sasha's eyes widened. "You've got a girlfriend?"

"N-no-erm I mean y-yes-no, no-"

Sasha smiled. "Relax, Clank. You tell me when you're ready. They're really nice though."

Clank sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Ratchet picked up Clank's shirts. He read the text on them, and laughed. "You're such a nerd."

Clank poked his arm. "Ratchet!"

Ratchet laughed. When Sasha was busy placing the last bag in Aphelion's cargo area, Clank glared daggers at Ratchet. "Really? A girlfriend?"

Ratchet gave him an innocent smile. "What? It worked, didn't it?"

Clank sighed. "You are always giving me such a headache."

"Well, someone's gotta do it!"

Clank facepalmed. Together the three friends made their way back inside the mall. "Alright, who do you still have to buy something for?"

"Erm... Talwyn, Qwark, Al, Skidd..."

"In short: a lot of people." Sasha sighed. "Clank, you know about technology, like Al. Can you find a good gift for him?"

"I'm on it." Clank said, walking to the electronics store.

Sasha sighed. "Let's pick something for Qwark first, then Skidd, and last but not least Talwyn, okay?"

"Sure. Let's see... if I'm really honest, Qwark is very full of himself, so probably an action figure of himself or something."

"I already bought an action figure for Qwark." Clank said.

"You're back already?" Sasha asked.

"Yes. I bought the latest GPU for Al."

"Huh, you're fast. Anyhow, in that case, perhaps a mug with 'Number #1 Hero' or something?"

"I bought that for Captain Qwark as well."

"I see. Well, you're certainly not making this easy for me. Erm... let's just walk though a few stores, perhaps we find something nice."

{Twenty minutes later...}

With gifts for Qwark, Al and Skidd bought, only Talwyn remained. "Talwyn... I don't know her, Ratchet. Could you describe her?"

Ratchet described Talwyn. Sahsa listened. "Hmm... I think a few good holodisks would be the best choice."

"Well, off to the electronics store then."

The three friends walked into the electronics store and walked over to the holodisks, and started to look for holodisks Talwyn would like. However, someone left a screw lying around, and unfortunately Sasha found out the hard way.

Time seemed to slow down as Ratchet heard a loud yelp. He turned around and saw Sasha fall backwards. He dove forward and managed to catch her before she hit the floor. "Careful, Sash!"

Sasha brushed some dust off her coat. "What imbecile left a screw lying around here?!"

"I dunno, but he better stays away from me."

Sasha looked at Ratchet's frown. She suddenly had a mischievous idea. She leaned forward and planted a kiss on the Lombax' nose. Ratchet froze completely, and his cheeks turned red.

"For the save." Sasha said. Deep inside, she was laughing hysterically at Ratchet's blush.

"Sash, not funny."

"Very funny, actually."

Ratchet then had an idea. He suddenly kissed Sasha on the nose. Sasha froze and stared at him. "Revenge!" Ratchet said.

Sasha smiled, and poked his arm. "Come on, we've got a few holodisks to pick."

{Ten minutes later...}

The three friends were walking towards the exit of the shopping mall, towards the exit. "Wait, look!" Ratchet said. "A photo booth!"

Sasha smiled. "Ah, why not."

The three friends walked in. A few seconds later. They closed the curtain, and the lights went off. They waited in the dark, until the camera flashed suddenly and took them by surprise. Therefor on their first photo Clank was gone (he'd ran out of the photo booth in panic) and Ratchet and Sasha were holding onto each other for dear life. The Lombax and Cazar stared at each other. "You can let go now..." Ratchet mumbled. Sasha realized what she was doing. "Oh! Sorry, Ratchet."

"Ah, it's okay. Heh, this brings back good memories."

"From what?"

"The whole ordeal with Nefarious. Don't ask me why, but I suddenly had a flashback."

"Yeah, that was quite an adventure."

"Yeah, I still remember arriving back at the Phoenix with the news about Qwark. You did something... odd."

Sasha blushed. "Please don't."

Ratchet smiled mischievously. "Oh, now I have to ask: why did you kiss me there all of a sudden?"

"Erm..."

Ratchet's ears lowered. "You don't have to tell me, Sash. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"No, no, you deserve to know. I... I really had a crush on you back then. When I heard the explosions, I thought that you had... died. I was so relieved when I saw you again, I... well... lost control. I also was very worried during Dreadzone. That I informed you about the show was also because I was concerned for your safety."

Ratchet's ears perked up. "Is that the honest truth?"

"Yes."

"Well... I'm not gonna lie. Not on Christmas. I... I had a crush on you as well. Actually, I still d-"

Ratchet was interrupted by Sasha kissing him. At that moment, the camera snapped another picture. Clank was standing outside the photo booth, smiling. It was him that had pressed the 'snap picture' button when the Lombax and Cazar weren't looking.

That photo would always be an image of the start of a beautiful relationship between the Lombax and Cazar.

And that was the Ratchet/Sasha one-shot. Next up is gift wrapping (kinda like a 'sequel' to this one-shot, they wrap the gifts that Ratchet and Clank bought in this one-shot, but the Ratchet/Sasha pairing didn't happen)