Hey everyone! I'm sorry I haven't updated in awhile, I've been super busy and had lots of writers block x_x
Thank you so much to everyone who've read, reviewed, followed and faved! I'm so glad all of you like this story! As always, I hope you guys will share any ideas you have for the story!
Disclaimer's on my prof.!
There's another note at the end of the chap, so please read that!
Thanks, and enjoy reading!
Ratchet and Clank watched as Amira moved about the kitchen while Kaden spoke quietly with Alister outside the arched entry between the kitchen and the foyer. Ratchet, although having a sharp sense of hearing, couldn't hear them.
"So," Amira spoke up, making Ratchet and Clank jump. "Today your father and I have work. So your godfather will be watching you and we'll all meet up for lunch-"
"Godfather?" Ratchet interjected, confused. Amira raised a brow at him.
"Yes, of course your godfather. I thought you liked Alister?"
Ratchet's eyes widened.
"Wait, Alister's my godfather?!"
Amira was surprised, then a look of realization crossed her face before she began to laugh.
"Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry! We forgot to tell you!"
While Ratchet pouted, his mother laughed, going over and hugging him around the shoulders with an arm. The teen huffed.
"It's fine." He muttered, poking at the remainder of his breakfast with his fork. With a smile, Amira returned to finishing cleaning up.
"Anyways, you'll be going with Alister, and then all of us will meet up for lunch later. Clank, I'd be very grateful if you helped keep Ratchet out of trouble."
The small robot inclined his head.
"Of course, ma'am. I always do try to keep him from jumping into things without thought." A dry look towards Ratchet. "Though, I am not always successful."
"Hey!"
Amira laughed once more while Ratchet frowned at Clank, and the robot smiled in return.
"Ratchet." Alister called, making the teen look up. "Are you done eating? We all need to get going."
Ratchet nodded hurriedly, standing. He was eager to have some time away from his...Slightly overbearing parents.
"Yeah, ready. What's on the agenda for today?"
Alister smiled slightly, patting the teen's shoulder.
"You'll just have to wait and see."
Ratchet quietly took in his surroundings as he, Clank and Alister walked down the wide pathways of the city. He still had yet to commit the many twisting and curling roads to memory, though was determined to have that recollection eventually.
It was in the middle of his mental map-making that Ratchet noticed something odd. The roads were very busy (more so than usual), and many Lombax were putting up...Decorations?
"Hey General?"
The older Lombax sent Ratchet a stern glance.
"You do realize you can call me Alister instead of General, don't you?"
Ratchet blinked, then grinned, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
"I...I didn't really think about it..."
Alister sighed, but smiled all the same as he shook his head good-naturedly. He gestured for Ratchet to ask the question on his mind. With an awkward expression that was a mix of embarrassment and confusion, the teen moved forward to walk beside the general, stride now matching the older male's.
"What's with all of the decorations and stuff? Is there something I'm missing here?"
A look of surprise flashed across Alister's face, followed by realization and then understanding. With a slight smile, the man patted Ratchet's shoulder.
"Ah, I can see why you'd be so confused, being more accustomed to holiday's and such celebrated in the Polaris and Solana systems."
At the quizzical expression on the teen's face, Alister continued.
"In two days is the 'Festival of Us'."
"'Festival of Us?"
Alister chuckled, seeing this only served to confuse poor Ratchet more.
"Yes. It's a strictly Lombaxian celebration, you see, which is why you haven't heard of it. The 'Festival of Us' is held once a year over a span of two days. It celebrates our people and our very lives. From our proud history to the children who will provide a proud future, our very instincts, even. There are many races who don't have senses like ours or share the same connection to the universe as we do."
The general paused when a recruit ran up and handed him a datalog. After being thanked, the recruit left and Alister looked over the information scrawled across the screen. Ratchet and Clank shared a look, and then Ratchet turned back to Alister.
"Connection to the universe?" He asked, the words so ominous that he felt a shiver race up his tail and spine. "What's that mean?"
Alister didn't look up, though one ear did flick back in Ratchet's direction.
"Well, unlike many other races, we are rather anthropomorphic, setting our roots close to not only intelligent, sentient beings, but also animals." The older Lombax began walking again, trusting Ratchet and Clank to follow. "Therefore, we have far more acute senses and instincts, such as our flight or fight response. Our bodies are also very expressive, allowing us to growl, our ears to flatten and so on, though control is easy to master."
Ratchet's nose wrinkled slightly.
"Control?"
A sigh.
"Yes, you know, over our tails and such. Quite useful to have a third appendage that can act almost like an arm, wouldn't you say?"
Ratchet frowned, halting suddenly. Alister was quick to stop as well, looking up from the datalog in his hand with confusion.
"Ratchet?"
The teen was looking at him as though he'd grown a second head.
"I have no clue what you're talking about."
Amber eyes widened, flickering to Ratchet's tail. The furry appendage freely swayed about in a mostly content way, though twitched now and then in agitation.
It hit Alister then like a ton of durasteel.
Ratchet had lived alone all his life, so clueless about his own kind, that he couldn't even control his own tail. That was a lesson all Lombax mastered at a very, very young age. Yet here before Alister was a teenager who knew nothing! Oh, how hard it must've been for Ratchet, being unable to keep his tail still or, in his early years, be at a loss as to why his instincts to hunt shadows or sniff at the ground for scents.
"General?...General?...Alister!"
The Lombax man was drawn from his grief-stricken thoughts by the impatient voice of Ratchet. Sunset colored eyes met Ratchet's spring green gaze. It was then that Alister realized he had been standing still as a statue, his tail lashing about in distress. Ratchet was looking at him with a mixture of irritation, curiosity and concern while Clank looked simply worried about the general.
"Are you unwell, General Azumith?"
Alister quickly shook his head.
"No, I...I was just thinking."
Ratchet and Clank looked at each other, shrugging while the general turned on his heel and strode off down the road, leaving the two to catch up.
Alister had to fight to stop his tail from its wild movements (he didn't want to accidentally hit someone with the powerful appendage after all) as he continued down road after road. He didn't know why this information left him so distraught, he knew the teen didn't learn what other's his age had learned! So why was this so much worse?
Because it was such a simple need Ratchet had been denied. That was why.
They finally came to a cluster of buildings that were surrounded by several training yards. By the gates waited a Lombax, a female that was middle age with dark brown fur and sharp blue eyes. Along her ears were stripes of white, contrasting to the rest of her fur, and her hair was white as well, short and pulled back from her face. She was dressed in guard attire, similar to Alister's own uniform. The woman waved.
"Alister! You're late, the meeting's about to start and-...Who's this?"
The woman regarded Ratchet with curiosity and wariness. Alister offered a strained smile.
"Ratchet, this is General Lana Bronzewerk, leader of the tactical division of the Praetorian Guard. Lana, this is Ratchet. I'm sure you've already read the report."
Bright blue eyes flashed, and Ratchet froze as the woman now looked at him with realization.
"Kaden and Amira's boy..."
"Uh...Y-yeah, that's me." Ratchet replied, managing an awkward grin.
He glanced nervously at Clank when the woman inspected him with a slight frown. She took in the wrench at the teen's hip, the Manifestor on his hand and the clothing that could only be from the Polaris system. She could see the blatant lack of height and weight, and seeming to know this was what she noticed, Ratchet's cheeks heated slightly in embarrassment.
And then suddenly, the woman smiled. She offered a hand, which Ratchet took.
"Well, Ratchet, I've read good things about you." As she firmly shook Ratchet's hand, she offered a dangerous smile. "Hope the stories aren't just tall tales."
Alister felt a slight spark of worry rise in his chest. Lana was not known to be the friendliest, and more often than not could say words that stung like acid.
But then...Ratchet smiled, returning the shake just as firm.
"Depends on the story."
Lana gave a bark of laughter, crossing her arms and looking at Alister.
"I like this kid! Does he get to sit in on the meeting?"
Alister shrugged.
"I thought he could hang around in training room seven. He has...Trouble when it comes to sitting still."
While Ratchet looked properly offended, Clank laughed. Lana smirked.
"I see. Why not let him use holo-training room four? No training is scheduled for it and it'll give the kid something to do."
Alister glanced at Ratchet and Clank unsurely.
"I don't know, if something happens...I'm supposed to keep Ratchet out of danger, not put him into it."
"I am more than capable of ensuring Ratchet's safety." Clank piped up. Ratchet nodded eagerly, tail lashing about excitedly.
"Yeah! C'mon, Alister, it sounds like fun! You've said so yourself, I've got enough skill to take care of myself if push comes to shove!"
Taking in the pure joy on Ratchet's face, Alister looked to Clank. The little robot nodded, silently agreeing with Ratchet's statement. With a sigh, the general's shoulders slightly sagged.
"Alright, alright, just quit looking at me like that! While I'm in the meeting you can try the holoroom on for size. But! No going over level seven on the projector, is that understood?"
An eager nod, and Alister rolled his eyes before turning and leading the way into the tallest building before them, Lana matching his stride while Ratchet and Clank walked a few feet behind, talking animatedly.
Ratchet was so excited with trying out the holotraining room that he had completely forgotten to ask Alister what his 'meeting' was about. But, figuring it was of no consequence to him, the eighteen year old didn't give it more than a minute of thought as he looked over the holoprojector in the room.
Clank stood nearby, watching his friend...Or rather his legs and feet, as the rest of the Lombax's body was hidden in the machine as Ratchet studied the inner-workings of the mechanism.
"Ratchet, I do not believe this is what was in mind when General Bronzewerk suggested you visit this room."
A hand waved at the robot absently.
"Ah c'mon Clank, what's the point of using a holoprojector when I don't even know how it works?" The teen came out, rubbing his grease-stained hands on his pants. "Who knows? Maybe I can make one like this when we go back to..."
Ratchet faltered, eyes falling to the ground and his lips turning down. Clank watched, concerned.
"When we go back to our dimension..."
Clank moved forward, placing a small metal hand on Ratchet's knee.
"Ratchet?"
Bright green eyes turned to the little mech.
"We're gonna have to go back to our dimension eventually...Aren't we..?"
Clank blinked, surprised, then grimaced.
"I suppose so."
Ratchet shifted, sitting crosslegged, hands in his lap as he looked at his palms.
"Everyone's probably really worried by now...And if there's trouble, there aren't many hero's in the Polaris system..."
There was a long moment of silence, and then Clank moved a bit closer, small hands placing themselves atop one of Ratchet's own furred hands.
"It is your choice to make, Ratchet. Not mine, and no one else's. But until we are aware of the location of the Dimensionator, there is nothing we can do."
Another few seconds of silence, then Ratchet nodded.
"Yeah...Yeah, you're right. Just...Nothing about this to mom or dad or anyone, okay? Not a word."
Clank inclined his little helm.
"I understand."
The air was still tense, filled with a palpable feeling of loss and confusion. Wanting to help in any way possible, Clank decided a distraction would do Ratchet some good.
"Why not try one of the simulations on the holoprojector? Releasing any pent up aggression and energy may aid in calming you."
A half-hearted smile was given in reply.
"Sure, buddy. Why not."
Standing, the Lombax shut the access panel and turned his attention onto the controls. After a few minutes of fiddling with the controls, Ratchet finally had the projector working.
With a slight, tense smile, the youth turned to look at Clank.
"What'cha think? Level seven? Or should we kick it up a notch?" A disapproving, exasperated expression, and Ratchet's thin shoulders lifted in a shrug. "What? We both know I can handle a higher level."
"No, we do not know that."
"Well, we will soon!"
Clank sighed, facepalming (a rather organic reaction for one so mechanical).
"What have I gotten myself into?"
Hey! So, liked the chap? I hope you guys did! Now, I need some help!
For the festival, I have a couple of ideas, and need some input! Would you rather read...:
(a) Ratchet see's a small competition in which anyone can compete, where they fight without weapons to see who is the fastest, strongest, and most intune with their senses and instincts! In this, Ratchet would show a more feral side of himself, a part that most other Lombax would hide or lose over time.
(b) While exploring the festival, a group of raiders for another planet -this is a new dimension, so their will be other races and planets- attack the city, and Ratchet helps drive them out! In this, he would show off leadership skills, as well as his intelligence.
So, which do you prefer? Do you guys have any other ideas for this? Please tell me in a review!
Also, I need help with what should happen concerning the Dimensionator and Ratchet's predicament! This won't be until later chapters, so you've got time to tell me which idea you prefer, or if you have your own idea! Ideas are...:
(a) Ratchet eventually convinces the city to return to Fastoon.
(b) Kaden, not wanting Ratchet to leave, refuses to let Ratchet get the Dimensionator and hides it (destroys it?) and/or doesn't let Ratchet out of his, Amira or Alister's sight.
(c) Ratchet decides to stay
Please tell me which ideas you like! Thanks!