Hey Everyone! So this chapter's a but short, sorry about that x.x I had a really long day!
Anyways, thanks to those of you who've been reading, faving, following, reviewing and PMing me! It's nice to know that everyone likes this story!
There's an author note at the bottom, so please read!
Disclaimer's on my prof.!
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Ratchet talked animatedly about the H.A.L.O jump all the way back to his home. Alister and Clank allowed him to talk uninterrupted, though for different reasons: Clank, because he knew Ratchet would simply continued to talk, and Alister because he enjoyed listening to one so young be so happy.
They finally reached the Lode homestead, and Alister stopped outside the door.
"I need to go give my report on how the recruits are doing to my superiors, so I can't stick around." A paused, filled with hesitance, then, "You did very good today, Ratchet. Very good. While I somewhat hate that you're so used to H.A.L.O jumps, you're extremely impressive. I'm sorry about that one recruit who caused you some trouble, I'll make sure he gets the message to not do it again."
Ratchet grinned.
"It's fine. I gotta admit I'm proud of being able to impress a General."
With a chuckle, Alister patted the teen's shoulder.
"See you later." He looked to Clank. "Keep him out of trouble, Clank. I'm pretty sure that you're the only one who can keep up with Ratchet."
The little robot smiled while Ratchet huffed.
"Of course, General Azumith."
With a smile, the General left down the street while Ratchet and Clank went inside, tired after the days events.
Ratchet awoke with a gasp, bright emerald eyes snapping open as he sat up in his bed. His chest rose and fell harshly, heart hammering and his fur slightly damp with sweat.
His gaze darted about for a moment, and once he realized he was in his room, that his fear had been caused by a nightmare, again, he slumped with a sigh.
He despised nights like this, where his sleep was taken away by a horrid nightmare.
Slinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Ratchet buried his face in his hands, forcing himself to take deep breaths. Inhale...Hold...Exhale. Inhale...Hold...Exhale. Once his breathing had evened out and his heartbeat slowed, Ratchet carefully stood on slightly weak legs. He moved over to the desk, where his shirt, boots, head gear and gloves were.
Pulling the articles of clothing on, the teen then quietly took his wrench, hooking it to his belt before quietly leaving, shutting the door behind himself.
He silently padded down the stairs, rubbing at his tired eyes. He halted halfway down, though, when he heard voices. Kaden and Amira. What were they doing up so early? Had they had nightmares too? Or was something wrong?
Quietly walking the rest of the way down the staircase, he then paused outside the entrance to the sitting room, which was an archway, just like the entrance to the kitchen. He listened intently, hoping to understand why the two adults were up at three in the morning.
"Kaden, we need to get some sleep." Amira sighed, sounding tired.
"No." Kaden said firmly. "We've been putting this off, we need to figure it out now. He's been here for a few days now, he needs, deserves, to know."
Ratchet frowned. They were talking about him? He tilted an ear to better hear them.
"I know, but we can't just tell it to him as plainly as we'd talk about the weather! It has to be perfect!"
A sigh.
"Yes, Amira, I know. But he needs to know! If we don't tell him, it's as bad as lying!"
Ratchet felt his heart drop. He was being lied to? About what? He wanted so badly to go back to his room and forget about this, but he couldn't. He had to know what was going on.
Amira gave a sound of frustration.
"Well what are we supposed to do?! Just go up to him and tell him we're his parents?!"
Ratchet's eyes widened, pupils dialating, and he withheld a gasp. This...Was this really happening? Kaden and Amira, two of the kindest people he'd met...Were his parents? Why hadn't they told him?! Why had they lied?!
Turning, Ratchet forced himself to quietly sneak to the back door of the home. Once outside...He ran. He didn't know where to got, or what to do, but right now...Right now he just wanted to be anywhere but here. His tail, which he'd never learned to control, whipped wildly behind him, slicing the cold, early morning air. The streets were dimly lit with lampposts, lighting the teen's way. He didn't stop until he reached the empty city square, where he then dropped down, sitting on the curb. His breath fogged in the morning chill as he panted, trying to catch his breath and slow his heart.
Why had they lied to him? He'd wanted so badly to know his parents, understand what it felt like to have a mother and father, but...Did they even want him? Did they only want him to think he was a friend, someone who would later fade away from their lives?
Hugging his knees to his chest, Ratchet buried his face in them.
What to do now?
Alister never enjoyed having the early morning patrol shift. But today...Today he was glad to have it when he reached the city square and found Ratchet, of all people, sitting off to the side, head tucked into his knees which were hugged to his chest.
The white furred form of Alister tensed, and then he was running quickly, worried about the young Lombax.
"Ratchet! What in the world are you doing out here?!"
Crouching down, Alister pulled the boy's arms away, searching for any sign of injury. Sad emerald eyes turned up to him, staring at him and making the teen appear so...Vulnerable. It was so unlike the boy, and was disconcerting for Alister.
"Ratchet..?"
A moment of silence, then then boy finally spoke, albeit hesitantly.
"Did...Did you know? About my mom and dad..?"
Surprise showed in the older Lombax's eyes, then realization followed by something grim.
"Ah. You found out?"
Ratchet frowned, looking down.
"So you did."
Alister grimaced.
"Yes, I...I did."
Silence fell once more, the gears in Alister's head turning while Ratchet stared at the ground, seemingly depressed. Finally, the General decided on a course of action.
"It wasn't my choice, I was asked to let them tell you first." Standing, the Lombaxian man offered a hand. "Come on. You look like you're freezing. I'll have someone take my patrol shift and you can come warm up at my place. I can try to answer your questions once I let your parents know you're alright."
He didn't miss the teen's wince at the use of the word 'parents', but he didn't address it, simply waiting. After a few seconds of thought, Ratchet took the offered hand, allowing Alister to help him up.
"Alright. Thanks."
The taller of the two smiled kindly, a hand placed on Ratchet's shoulder supportively as he led the teen away.
Ratchet looked around the room Alister had told him to wait in.
It seemed to be a training room of sorts, with a reinforced roof and thick wall, a holoprojector and training dummies. Along the back wall was a weapons wrack with a wide variety of wrenches, staffs and blasters.
Ratchet fingered the wrench at his hip, feeling the familiar itch that came with the excitement at the thought of battle. He glanced at the closed door nervously. Surely Alister wouldn't mind if he tested the support struts of the dummies..?
Well...It would take his mind off of things. He didn't want to think about what might happen, now that his parents knew that he knew the truth. Fighting practice would no doubt help.
Grinning to himself, the young Lombax unhooked his wrench from his belt, charging at one of the stationary dummies.
It felt nice, letting out all the spare energy that had been building up inside him since he'd first come here. The techniques that he'd learned and practiced for years now, easily came to the youth. Each strike made the dummy tremble dangerously on its support beam, making the whole thing rattle. Emerald eyes were lit up like fire, an excited smile pulling at Ratchet's lips. As he attacked the target, he never noticed Alister enter.
The General paused in the doorway, surprised when he saw Ratchet putting the practice dummy to use. He then looked thoughtful, going to lean on the wall beside the door, watching the boy's each move.
Ratchet, it seemed, had good speed and flexibility. While he couldn't deal crushing blows, he could be effective all the same, even in closed areas. He dealt damage to weak spots: the knees, the elbows, the neck. He knew the right places to deal an effective blow. He was smarter than many may think.
"Now I see what Tachyon was up against. He had no chance."
Ratchet yelped, jumping nearly a foot in the air and whipping around, eyes wide in alarm.
"Son of a Qwark! Warn a Lombax!" He exclaimed, scowling. Alister smirked, crossing his arms.
"I didn't think I had to knock on doors in my home."
Ratchet was obviously embarrassed, looking away with warm cheeks, no doubt blushing beneath his fur. With a chuckle, Alister moved over.
"I contacted your parents and Clank to let them know you're alright. They were worried when they realized you were gone."
The teen grimaced, looking down.
"So...I guess they're coming to pick me up?"
Alister smiled slightly.
"Actually, no. I convinced Kaden and Amira that you needed some time. I told them I'd watch over you for the day, and then take you back tonight so that you all can talk. I sent Clank the directions to here, and he is on his way. He was very worried about you, you must be very close."
Ratchet looked gratefully at the man.
"Yeah, he and I are like brothers. Thanks for, y'know..."
"Giving you time to sort things out in your head?"
Ratchet nodded.
"Yeah."
The General chuckled, patting Ratchet's shoulder.
"It was no trouble. Now, why don't we spar?"
Yellow ears perked up slightly.
"Spar? I've never really done that..."
"Well, better to learn late than never." Alister replied cheerfully. "Do you know hand-to-hand?"
"Not my first choice for combat, but yeah."
Alister kicked off his boots (he didn't want to kick the teen and accidentally give him a concussion, which would be likely with his heavy boots). Then, setting aside his staff, he moved to the center of the room.
Ratchet followed his example, his own boots tossed into the corner and his prized wrench carefully leaned against the wall before he went to the middle.
"How heavy should contact be?" Ratchet questioned.
"I'd say light to medium contact, just to be safe."
A nod.
"Alright. Let's go, then."
Ratchet flopped down with a huff, sitting there as he caught his breath. Alister sat beside him, slightly in better shape but still breathing a bit hard.
"You're better at combat then fully-trained soldiers." Alister stated, seeming surprised but also happy and even proud.
Ratchet gave a slightly breathless laugh.
"Not too bad yourself, General. I've never met anyone who fights like you."
Alister chuckled.
"It's a standard form for all those trained to be in the Praetorian guard. You, though...Your style's a mix of so many different things. You've traveled a lot, yes? You've learned by watching how others fight..."
Ratchet grinned slightly.
"There's lots of planets around Solana and Polaris. I've managed to learn on the move."
"I can tell." With a grunt, the General stood. He then offered Ratchet a hand. "Come on, up you get. You need some food and probably some rest."
Ratchet took the hand, letting the Lombxian man pull him up.
"I could go for some food, but I don't need anymore sleep. I feel like I've been slacking, sitting on my tail for days."
"Oh, of course, it isn't like you did a H.A.L.O jump or anything." The General replied dryly. Ratchet laughed.
Ratchet watched Alister move about the small kitchen, searching for something to eat.
"Ah, I'm not too good a cook and I haven't gotten any food recently.
"It's alright, General. I've got some nutrient bars stashed in my Manifester."
Alister looked disgusted.
"Nutrient bars? They're more garbage than food."
Ratchet smiled lopsidedly.
"I know, but I've been living off them, I can stand them one more time."
"Nonsense." Alister snorted. "I'll send for something. I don't think a half-hour will be too bad a wait, and you can tell me more about your adventures."
A laugh.
"You want to hear about a teenager who stumbles through crazy scenarios?"
"You have to stumble to learn how to walk." The General replied, sending a knowing glance towards Ratchet. The teen sighed.
"You're trying to help keep my mind off my troubles, aren't you?"
"Is it that obvious? I'm usually good at hiding my intentions."
Ratchet folded his arms on the counter, resting his head atop them.
"I've learned to read people. I've gotten pretty good, or at least that's what Clank says."
The older Lombax chuckled, nodding.
"He's right, then. But I really do want to learn more about you."
The boy sighed.
"Alright. What would you like to know?"
That chap was short x.x sorry again for that!
If it seems a little strange, how Ratchet seems to be fine when he's with Alister, here's what I'm thinking!: He likes Alister, he's a person who Ratchet feels he can trust, and so he feels safe! The training helped him release the stress he was feeling, and so having been able to release that stress and pain in the company of someone he trusts, so that's why he seems to be so much better!
If any of you have any ideas on how it should go between Ratchet and his parents when Ratchet returns to the house? Dramatic approach or heartwarming? I need help DX
Thanks for reading!