All is Not as it Seems

"Angela?" Ratchet said, still wide-eyed. The slightly taller golden-furred lombax crossed her arms and smirked. She had brown stripes, similarly to Ratchet, and a head of golden hair that was tied back.

"Oh, gee, Ratchet, you think?" she jested. Then, out of nowhere, she slapped him. Zander snorted, highly amused.

"What was that for?" Ratchet demanded as he rubbed feeling back into his left cheek. Angela placed her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows angrily.

"What do you think it was for? Certainly not for up and leaving me in Bogon without so much as a warning, so I can run halfway across the universe from a megalomaniac dwarf and thousands of armoured fish people who want to kill me just for existing!" Ratchet raised his finger as if preparing a comeback, but none came. He drooped his head, realising his guilt. Then, suddenly, Angela hugged him. "It's good to see you again, Ratchet" she said in a gentler tone, smiling at him warmly as she released her grip. At this, Ratchet appeared to cheer up a bit. "Same to you, Clank" she added, looking down the robot.

"It is good to see you alive, Miss Cross".

Angela then turned to Zander, looking him over as if judging him. "Zander is it? Welcome to the place where nightmares happen", she said cheerily. Zander was unsure to think of this particular line.

"Thanks, I guess" was all he could think of in reply. It did not help that he now found himself distracted by Angela's very presence. This was the first time he had seen a female lombax since his transformation, and he was, as much as he hated to admit it, drawn to certain features that he had never thought to be attractive before. He shook himself and tried not to look, attempting to regain a totally logical train of thought. Ratchet noticed Zander's shift in mood, and attempted to change the topic.

"You know, Angela, it's kind of because of Zander that we're here" he began. Angela looked at him inquisitively. Ratchet beckoned for Zander to continue. Zander took a while to realise this was his cue. After a brief pause, he explained.

"I was, uh… looking for you, actually" he said sheepishly, all the time avoiding eye contact. When Angela remained silent, he continued, gaining confidence. "To make a long story short, I'm not actually a lombax". Angela snorted.

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?" Zander smiled slightly.

"What I meant to say was I wasn't a lombax until…" he thought for a moment. "About five days ago". Clank interrupted.

"You are forgetting the six weeks of cryosleep, Zander". The black-furred lombax realised he was right. He had completely forgotten about the travel time from Solana to Polaris in the Phoenix.

"Almost seven weeks…" he whispered to himself. He felt like his previous life was disappearing much too quickly. He pushed the thought aside until later, then continued with his story. "I was previously a human, until I somehow appeared on Veldin and somebody thought it appropriate to pump five crates of nanotech into my body". Angela appeared to think for a while.

"So, because of my past in genetics, you want me to change you back", she concluded. Zander nodded. "I'm sorry, Zander, but I can't help you". He, not for the first time in his recent past, felt rapidly deflated. His hopes of returning to his previous life had been shattered once again. Angela, seeing how his shoulders had drooped, added; "Normally I'd be able to run a few tests, but around here I don't have any equipment to speak of. The best thing I've been able to salvage around here is a barely-working microscope. I'm sorry, Zander. I really am". She placed a hand on his shoulder to indicate her sincerity. After a while, she addressed everybody. "Come on. You guys heard Jerec. We need to head back to the settlement". With a gesture, she started leading them through the metal wasteland. Zander barely had the spirit to follow.

"No way. You and Jerec?" Ratchet asked Angela, astonished at her recent revelation. He did not pause in following her up a jagged slope.

"He proposed just yesterday", she replied matter-of-factly while she stopped to allow the others to catch up. Ratchet didn't know what to say. Angela never struck him as the romantic type. "When Max and I first got here, Jerec offered me a place in the Praetorian Guard, because of my past combat experience. He was the Chief Magistrate back then". Ratchet's thoughts wandered at the mention of the late Alister Azimuth's former position while Angela continued. "And after one training session a few weeks later, we were a couple. I can't quite remember how it started, really".

"What's he like?" Ratchet asked, secretly a bit jealous of the white-furred lombax. He had never seriously pursued Angela, but she was the only female of his own species he had ever known, and… well. He, like Zander just half an hour ago, could not hide his own feelings from himself.

"Jerec's possibly the most honorable, loyal lombax in existence. He takes his consulship very seriously. He might feel a bit… strongly… about certain subjects, but everyone has their flaws". Ratchet wondered what these 'subjects' might be, but he sensed it would be inappropriate to pursue the details with Jerec's fiancé.

Just as the party were about to top the rise, a siren carried through the atmosphere to their ears. Angela seemed to be highly alarmed. "Quick! We've got to get inside before they lock the settlement down!" she commanded as she ran the rest of the way up the slope and disappeared over the top. Ratchet made sure Zander and Clank were following close behind, then darted up after her.

What Ratchet saw on the other side of the rise was something he had not seen since his first visit to Igliak, and he never wished to see again. At the bottom of a long slope was a flat plain on which brooded giant metal structures. They appeared to be made from welded-together pieces of scrap, and lights dotted them. Some of the taller structured had two pointed spokes which reminded him of lombax ears. The structures themselves were not the source of the commotion, however. In the distance, a group of large shapes moved quickly towards the settlement while some smaller ones fled before them. Even from this distance, Ratchet could tell what the larger figures were. Ignoring the pain from his broken arm, he whipped out his constructo pistol and flicked its power to maximum.

Cragmites. The Great War had never really ended.

I TOLD you that there would be a few twists. Bet you thought Angela/OC meant Angela/Zander, didn't you? Oh and the last bit, well... it's not THAT big, is it? I must admit I feel a bit mean to the lombaxes right now. Stuck in an industrial wasteland without much tech and with their ancestral enemy knocking down their door...

*Dodges tomatoes*

Hey! I saw that! Yeah, you in the front row! Please do use eggs. Tomatoes are far too yummy.