Kaden opened the door of the interrogation room, still hopped up in a good mood with his parting hug that nearly suffocated Ratchet. And as he steps out, his mind is still grappling with the idea that after twenty long years, his son was alive, here, in this dimension, and Kaden couldn't wait to spend even more—

"Greetings, Councilman." A guard salutes him, suddenly appearing behind the now-closed door.

"Gah!" Kaden jumps back a bit, startled by his presence. "How long have you been there?"

"Ever since you dismissed Chief Wells, sir." The guard replies, placing his hand back at his side. "She ordered me to stand here, should you require any help or protection from the suspect."

Kaden dimly remembered her saying that there would be help right outside the door if he needed it. But he thought that she meant it by saying there were always officers roaming the halls for one reason or another, not by making some poor guy stand here for who knows how long they were in there.

"Do you require any assistance, sir?" The guard asks.

"Oh, erm, yeah, actually. Where is Chief Wells? I need to speak with her." Kaden answers.

The guard points down the hall. "Room 305, in Officer Pyle's office. Do you need me to escort you?"

Kaden shakes his head. "No need. And, you don't have to stand there anymore, by the way. The kid's not going anywhere, trust me." He says as he thumbs to the door next to them.

"The Chief ordered me to remain here, sir. I can't leave." He says steadfastly as he stands up straight. Kaden admired the loyalty, but behind that resolute exterior, he could see in his eyes that he really wanted to leave.

Kaden places his hand on his shoulder. "I'm on the Council. My word supersedes hers. You'll be fine, so just go."

The guard looks to the hand on his shoulder, and back at Kaden, internally debating with himself what to do. But then he breathes a sigh of relief, and his posture immediately relaxes.

"Thank you!" He says gratefully, dropping the steadfast soldier façade. "I was just going to use the bathroom, but Wells pointed to me and ordered me to wait for you, and she looked way too pissed to argue with. You're a lifesaver, sir!"

Kaden nods as he removes his hand from his shoulder, now feeling a little bad that he had spent so much time in that room. "No problem. And you're free now, so go ahead and take of care of that."

He nods happily while giving a salute. "Sir, yes, sir!" He then bolts down the other end of the hall, even faster than Kaden when he ran up here. It was honestly impressive.

Kaden proceeds to walk down the hall to where the guard pointed, looking for the room he said. After a few minutes of navigating, he finally finds it, and sees that the door was open. But as he approaches it, he could hear some clattering coming from inside, along with unintelligible grumblings.

He walks inside the door and sees that the room is mostly bare. On the floor were two large cardboard boxes sitting next to each other, in front of a large, empty desk. On the front of them was giant, angrily scrawled writing that said 'YOU' and 'ARE' on each of them, respectively.

Meanwhile, Wells stood in front of a shelf in the corner of the room, her back turned to Kaden as she places the last few items into a third box, pausing for a moment as she looks at a small trophy in her hand.

"Oh, looks like your kid won the spelling bee, Pyle. Good to know." She says as she haphazardly tosses it into the box without a second thought. "At least she won't grow up to be as goddamn stupid as you." She grumbles angrily.

"Erm, Chief Wells?" Kaden pipes up, a little worried he's caught her in a bad time.

She jumps a little and shoots back around, but then relaxes when she sees it's Kaden, looking at her with a perplexed expression. "Oh, hello, Councilman." She greets. "I'm assuming you're done questioning the kid, then?" She asks, closing the box back up as she finishes emptying the shelf.

"Uh, for now, yeah." Kaden answers. "May I ask, what are you doing, exactly?"

"Trimming the fat off my department." She states pointedly, taking a roll of tape and cutting a strip with her teeth before sealing the box with it. She then takes out a big black marker, and Kaden could see the rage in which she scribbled the letters onto the box, punctuated with what must've been an underline. What the letters were, he couldn't see, as her body was obscuring them.

"I… see." Kaden says, a little intimidated by the intense way she carried out her task.

She picks up the box and walks it around to the front of the desk, setting it down next to the other two. She then backs away, admiring her work next to Kaden, who finally realizes what she was doing. All three of the boxes spelled out 'YOU ARE FIRED', almost blocking the desk with their size.

"Perfect." Wells says with a self-satisfied smile.

"Just what did this guy do?" Kaden asks, looking at the unorthodox pink slip in mild fear.

"He's the one who let that little bastard you were talking with slip through the walls and have his little joyride around the city." She states bitterly. "Did you know that he knew he had a Dimensionator, and he didn't even think to mention that in his report? I've given this dumbass enough chances already, and oh boy, did he screw up this time. I'm surprised I haven't done this earlier, honestly."

Although Kaden agreed that this guy messed up pretty badly, he couldn't help but think this was a little harsh. But he could tell that it'd be unwise to tempt Wells' wrath, even if he was technically her superior.

Wells sighs and turns back to Kaden. "Anyway, what did you need to speak with me about, sir?"

"Oh, erm, right." Kaden says, tearing his attention away from the boxes. "About your suspect, I'm afraid that he confirmed my suspicions." He states, putting on his professional Councilman tone once more. "I'm going to have to have him and his robot come back with me to the Center for Advanced Lombax Research to investigate the case further with the rest of the Council. So, I request that you release them under my supervision."

"Damn, sounds like you're going to throw the book at him." Kaden watches with unease as a smile spreads across her face. "Serves him right! I wish I could see his face when you decide to lock him up for his little stint, especially after all that nonsense he spouted off to me. I mean, fighting Tachyon? Seriously?" She turns her head away with a frown before shaking it. "I'll go ahead and get some of my men to escort him—"

"That won't be necessary, Chief Wells." Kaden interjects. "All I ask is that you release him from his cuffs. I'll take care of the rest."

Wells looks at him with incredulity. "…And by that, you mean putting another pair on him to constrain him during his transit, right?" She asks.

He shakes his head. "No restraints of any kind are needed. Trust me."

"Wha—You're not seriously asking me to just let that punk go, are you?" She asks with a rising anger. "After everything he did today, causing chaos in the city, humiliating me and my department, and possessing a Dimensionator, you're just going to let him walk out of here?"

Kaden raises his hand. "I assure you, he will not get into any more trouble on the way there." He says in an attempt to defuse her. "And even if he does, he'll be under my jurisdiction, so it'll be my fault, not yours. I hardly see what you're so concerned about, Chief Wells."

"I'm concerned of what people will think when they see him just walking around town, not in a jail cell after seeing him plastered all over the news today!" Wells argues. "Because they're not going to look at the Council, they're going to look at me! And I already have enough on my plate already with trying to turn the City Guard around, and now I have to explain that? If you're going to make me risk letting that little bastard get away, which he will, then I at least deserve to know why!"

"No you don't, because this is Council business, Chief Wells." Kaden says sternly. "This doesn't concern you, so I insist you stop arguing with me and just do what I say."

"Like hell I will!" Wells fires back, unfazed by the threat. "I may be new, but I'm not like the last Chief, Councilman. I'm not here to just coast by and only do things when the Council tells me to, I'm here to do what's best for the City Guard and change things around for the better! It's because of that idiot that people think we're incompetent, and I'm sick of it! And after today, with what that little shit in my custody did, I'll be damned if I let our reputation slip any more than it already has!"

Before she opens her mouth to resume her beratement, a chubby guard starts to walk into the office, eating a donut, before stopping in his tracks as he notices the two of them, seemingly not hearing Wells' yelling on his way here.

"Oh, uh, hey, Chief." He greets with unease. "Why are you in my office?"

"Get the fuck out of here, Pyle!" She demands, snapping her finger towards the door while she glares daggers at him.

Pyle gives a terrified nod. "I-I'll come back later, then!" He meekly replies before quickly exiting the room, apparently not noticing the boxes bearing the notice of his unemployment.

"I don't care if you say it's Council business!" Wells continues, looking back to Kaden. "Because what you're asking me is going to make us look like idiots, which makes it my business, too. If he manages to escape, he's going to cause even more chaos in the city, and I'm going to have to be the one that everyone blames! So, I'm going to keep him locked up in that room until you give me a good reason why I should let him go!"

She crosses her arms and begins to glare at Kaden with a furious determination in her eyes. Kaden, meanwhile, was taken aback by the ferocity in her opposition. And to be honest, despite the inconvenience it posed… he respected it.

She was willing to argue with a member of the Council for the good of her department, and not just blindly follow orders. Kaden knew that was a trait of a strong leader, and the Zoni know that's just what the City Guard needs right now. Because she was right, everyone looks at them like they're a joke, with the way they struggled to catch dime-a-dozen delinquents, and the generally poor performance of their guards.

And like she said, the last Chief didn't care, since he said that the city was safe enough with the newly bolstered Praetorian Guard protecting Fastoon as a whole. Kaden disliked the complacency he showed, which Kaden pinpointed as being his biggest problem with the Guard.

But after personally meeting Wells today, who he knew was only recently promoted a month or two ago, he saw nothing but a bright future ahead for them. It was clear that Wells hated that kind of complacency, too, her arguing with Kaden being solid evidence of that. And with the way she was taking things into her own hands, like interrogating Kieran personally and firing the guy whose office they were standing in, Kaden admired her drive.

And, well, he liked people that stood up to the Council for what they believed was right. Birds of a feather, after all.

"You're right." Kaden answers, breaking the tense silence between them. "You deserve an explanation."

"I—Wait, really?" Wells asks, a little surprised that she managed to convince him.

"Yes, really." Kaden confirms as he closes the door to the room. He locks it and draws the blinds in the small window, lest they have another intrusion. He turns to her. "But this never leaves this room, understand?"

She gives a stern nod. "My lips are sealed, Councilman."

"It's just Kaden." He corrects her. "I hate it when people call me that."

"Erm, right, sorry." She replies.

Kaden takes a deep breath. "Now, the truth is, I'm taking him to the Center to give him a pardon."

"Wait, what?!" Wells replies, anger returning to her features once more. "That's even worse!"

"But! I have a good reason!" Kaden hastily adds before she blows up again.

"What possible reason could you have to let that little shit get away with everything?" She questions him.

"It's because… well, this might be a little hard to believe, but, that kid sitting in your interrogation room right now is my son."

"He's what?!" Wells exclaims as she stares at him in shocked disbelief. "I… I mean, I think I see the resemblance now that you mention it, but… what?"

"I know, I honestly can't believe it, either." Kaden says with a growing smile. "But it's true!"

"I didn't even know you had a kid!" Wells responds.

"That's because I had to leave him behind in the last dimension during the Exodus, when he was just a baby." Kaden explains. "And he was stuck there for twenty years because the Council banned me from saving him. And because of that, they've just told everyone that he's been dead this entire time." He turns his head away for a moment as he grumbles. "Those bastards."

"Wait, so he is from the last dimension?" Wells clarifies.

Kaden nods. "It's why he has a Dimensionator. It's the same one I hid in the Exodus, too."

"I… Well… Shit, was everything else he was saying to me true, then?" Wells asks, feeling dumbstruck, but also a little mad that she was wrong about calling the kid a liar. "Fighting Tachyon, meeting Azimuth, being a holofilm star, all of it?"

Kaden raises an eyebrow. "He didn't tell me about that last one, but yes. He… he did beat Tachyon." He confirms, that thought not failing to upset him, however.

Wells doesn't speak for a moment, her mind still trying to process the bombshell that was dropped on her. Kaden doesn't say anything, either, opting instead to wait for her response, because it was a lot to take in.

"I… I guess I'm sorry about calling him all those names earlier, then." Wells finally speaks, now in a softer tone. "But… I still don't like that you're just giving him a pardon, though. Him being your son doesn't change the fact that he committed dozens of felonies today."

"Wells, he beat Tachyon." Kaden reiterates. "He avenged our people! He stood up to our people's sworn enemy and won! Don't you think that gives him the right to let this whole incident slide just this once?"

Wells goes to open her mouth but closes it as she wears a look of contemplation.

"And, at the end of the day, no one was hurt, right?" Kaden adds. "It's not like I'm asking you to let a serial killer go free, only a kid who made a few stupid decisions."

Wells regards him for a moment, but then sighs. "Alright, I guess if he is right about Tachyon… maybe I can excuse him just this once."

Kaden starts to smile, but she quickly raises a finger. "But my point still stands, if people see him walking out and about before his pardon, they're still going to think we've been too easy on him. Can't you at least have an escort bring him with you, so we can at least pretend he's in trouble?"

Kaden looks away to think for a moment, but then gives her a nod. "I can call a few friends to pick us up. Does that work?"

"As long as people don't see him outside of a pair of cuffs, I'm happy."

"Thank you." Kaden says. "And don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't get into any more trouble after this. You have my word."

"I'll hold you to that." Wells says as she walks back over to the door. "Because I don't care if he's the son of a Councilman, if he lands in my precinct again, I'll make him wish he stayed behind in the last dimension."

Kaden smiles. "Fair enough."

She leads Kaden back through the halls to Ratchet's room, much faster than when he had to find her, probably because the guards in the halls made sure to move out of the way for her, knowing she was on the warpath today. Kaden once again admired Wells' determination as Chief if she was able to command her presence like that. The last Chief was, quite frankly, a pushover, in his experience.

Wells then inputs the code in the keypad to the room, and opens the door before letting Kaden enter first, remembering the way he shoved her the first time she did this. Granted, he wasn't anywhere near as frantic as he was then, but she didn't want to risk it.

And as Kaden walks in, seeing the way Ratchet's face lit up brought a smile to his face.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I had to have a little chat with Chief Wells, here." Kaden says as she walks past him, a frown growing on her features as she looks onto Ratchet once more.

"It's alright, at least I'll finally get this cuff off my wrist." Ratchet says as he holds it up to Wells. "You guys seriously need to work on making these more comfortable. I can feel it digging in through my glove!"

Wells grimaces. "You want me to grab a pillow for the chair you're sitting on, too? Maybe massage your shoulders a bit while I'm at it?"

"I mean, it's the least you can do for yelling at me earlier." Ratchet answers back smugly. "Ow, hey!"

He winces as Wells snatches his wrist to unlock the cuff with her key. "Shut up before I change my mind about this." She says callously.

The cuff then pops off with a click, and Ratchet rubs his wrist, thankful for his newfound freedom, but not before looking back at his father. "You couldn't have told her to not be so rough about it?" He asks him.

Kaden rolls his eyes. "You're getting a pardon, Kieran. Just be thankful you're not going to jail."

"Wait, his name's Kieran?" Wells asks. "I thought he said it was Ratchet?"

"Aw, you remembered." Ratchet says to her. "I couldn't tell since you just kept calling me an idiot and a punk."

"I remembered because it was one of the stupidest names I've ever heard of, punk." Wells says with a glare.

"Oh, that's right." Kaden mutters, ignoring their little spat with each other. "Sorry, I'm just used to calling you that after all this time. I'm still trying to get used to your other name, honestly." He says, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, I don't really mind it, or anything." Ratchet reassures him. "I get it, I'm still trying to get used to calling you, well, dad." He says awkwardly. "That, and the fact that you're not actually dead."

Kaden chuckles a little. "Thanks. I guess this is something that we'll have to go through together."

Ratchet smiles. "Yeah. But I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too, Ratchet." Kaden says warmly.

"…Do I need to leave you two alone, or something?" Wells asks uneasily, uncomfortable with the suddenly intimate moment.

"Oh, right! Sorry." Kaden apologizes with a nervous laugh. "Can you return my son's robot, as well?"

She gives a nod. "He's in the next room over. Follow me."

Kaden and Ratchet follow her out of the room, Ratchet being right behind her, anxious to see Clank again. She walks up to the door next to the one they exited, and she knocks on it. After a moment, a guard opens it up.

"Chief Wells!" He greets with a salute. But as he does, he glances behind her, and upon seeing Ratchet, standing impatiently, he gives Wells a confusing look.

"Isn't he—"

"Yes, he's the perp from this morning, Niles." Wells answers.

"Why isn't he—"

"It's complicated."

"Uh… alright, then. But why are you—"

"We need you to release the robot, Niles."

"Why?"

"Because like I said, it's complicated. Just do it." She says tiredly.

"Um, yes, ma'am." He responds, giving another quick salute before turning around into the room.

The rest of them enter as well, and Ratchet sees that it is identical to the one he was in. But instead of being cuffed to the table, Clank sat in his folded, deactivated form on top of the table, with a cable connecting him to the terminal in the wall, displaying a bar labeled 'DOWNLOADING…' that was filled up about halfway.

"Why isn't all of his data downloaded yet?" Wells asks in surprise. "It must've been an hour since we've plugged him in!"

"He's got a lot of data in him, Chief." Niles replies. "I don't get how that's possible for a model his size, it must be some kind of custom design."

"That's because it is." Ratchet says as he walks up to Clank and disconnects the cable connecting him to the terminal.

"Hey, dammit! You just corrupted everything we got on him so far!" Niles exclaims as the terminal reads 'ERROR'.

Ratchet gives him a confused look. "Weren't you about to do this, anyway?"

"No, I was going to end the session on the terminal and then unplug him!" He argues.

Wells facepalms. "How can you be this stupid? Did you learn nothing from last time?"

"How was I supposed to know it worked the same way?!" Ratchet defends himself. "Only an idiot would design a data transfer that erases everything the moment it's cut!" But as he says that, he suddenly remembers who designed it, and gives a nervous look to Kaden. "Erm, no offense."

"None taken. I wasn't the one behind that aspect, and I agree with you." Kaden says. "Someone definitely cut corners there."

Wells groans. As frustrating as it was to have the last hour wasted on trying to download the bot's memories, it wasn't like they were going to need to look at them anyway if he's just getting a pardon.

She looks back to Niles, who is still looking at Ratchet with irritation. "You're dismissed, Niles." She says wearily. "Just go take a break while you're at it, too. The Zoni know I need one after this, too."

"Wait, really?" He asks with surprise. "Erm, thanks, Chief! Have a good day, then." He says before he bids farewell with a salute.

"I wish it was." Wells says tiredly as he walks out the door.

Ratchet, meanwhile, has been inspecting Clank for damage, and is relieved to find none. And with that settled, he then manually turns him on, something he hasn't needed to do in a long while, which was clear with how it took him a minute to do so, trying to find the switch.

But once he finds it, he turns it on, and Clank's eyes begin to open as he unfolds from his box shape, sitting on the table as he blinks a few times to gain his bearings. Once he finishes his initial boot-up diagnostics, he looks up to Ratchet's smiling face.

"Hey, pal." Ratchet greets him. "How are you doing?"

"Ratchet? What happened?" He asks, a little confused from the gap in his memory banks.

"They deactivated you after I got arrested." Ratchet answers.

"Oh. Right." Clank responds, before he looks around a bit. "And I'm assuming we are in some sort of detention facility?" He asks with mild disappointment.

"Yep."

Clank crosses his arms. "Of course we are. All because you decided to participate in a harebrained chase across your people's city mere minutes after arriving in this dimension, endangering yourself recklessly, ignoring all of my protests and sensible advice, and all because a guard mistakenly called you a child." He chastises him. "Was it worth getting arrested, Ratchet? Being deemed a criminal by the race that you always wanted to meet?"

Ratchet grins as he nods. "You bet."

Clank sighs. "How is it that after everything we've been through, you are still hardly any more mature than when I first met you?"

Ratchet scoffs. "Oh, come on, Clank! Give me some credit, I'm way more mature than when I was 15."

Clank squints at him. "Then why are you so pleased with yourself about getting arrested, then? That hardly screams 'maturity' to me."

"Because, getting arrested meant I got to meet him." Ratchet says as he grabs Clank and turns him around on the table.

"What are you—Wait…" Clank pauses as he looks onto Kaden, who has been observing their conversation with amusement, their banter reminding him all too well of himself and Alister when they were younger.

Clank points to him. "You… you couldn't possibly be…"

"Yep!" Ratchet says happily as he walks around the table and next to Kaden. "Clank, meet Kaden, my dad who's actually been alive this entire time!" He says as he gestures to him.

Clank's metallic jaw drops as he stares dumbfounded at them, almost literally unable to process the information.

"I know, right?!" Ratchet says excitedly.

"It's nice to meet you, Clank." Kaden greets. "I can tell my son cares very much about you. And by the sound of it, you're his voice of reason, I'm assuming?"

"I-I… erm… I'm sorry, but I'm struggling to comprehend this." Clank states. "Tachyon boasted that he killed you himself! How are you alive?!"

"It's a long story, but I'm sure Ratchet will tell you everything. In the meantime, I'm going to arrange transport for our trip to the Center, so I'll be back in a moment." He turns to Chief Wells, who has been silently watching the entire exchange with mild confusion. "Why don't you join me, Chief Wells?"

She snaps out of her thoughts and gives him a nod. "Erm, right. Gladly."

They both exit the room as Ratchet begins telling Clank about his conversation with Kaden, the sounds of their voices cutting off as he closes the door behind him.

"I've gotta say, I like that robot better than your son." Wells states. "He actually sounded reasonable."

"I agree with that last part, too." Kaden says. "If I had to guess, he's the reason my son hasn't died from his hero business yet."

"Which is a miracle, considering the mouth he has on him." Wells says distastefully as she crosses her arms.

Kaden sighs. "I'm sorry for that, by the way. Seems to be one of my less-appealing traits that he inherited from me. Although, with any luck, he'll learn to grow out of it."

"He'd better also learn not to get into any more trouble too, because I'm serious. I'm not going to let something like this fly again." She says gravely.

Kaden nods. "I understand. And once again, thank you for this. I know you could have just taken him directly to the Center with an escort like you suggested, but I just want to spend some quality time with him first. And don't worry, like I said, I'll arrange transport so that I'll uphold my end to not embarrass the City Guard."

She gives a curt nod. "Good."

"But, there's one thing I want to tell you before you go." He adds.

She raises an eyebrow, internally preparing for some other ridiculous request.

"If there's anything the City Guard needs from the Council, just let me know. After seeing you argue with me and the way you command your men, I have no doubt you have what it takes to turn this place around, Chief Wells." Kaden says earnestly. "They need more people like you, and hopefully, you'll be the one to make that happen. I believe in you."

Wells gives a surprised expression as she's taken aback by the unexpected compliment. "I… um… thank you, Councilman." She says with a small smile, the most genuine one that Kaden's seen her give all day. "I-I mean, Kaden. Thank you, Kaden." She corrects herself. "It means a lot."

Kaden returns the smile with a nod, but as he does, he glances over her shoulder and sees Pyle walking across the hall, in the direction of his office with a new donut.

"I think you should go take care of that." Kaden says as he points to him.

"Take care of what?" She asks, confused as she glances behind her, but a little too late as Pyle walks out of view.

But a few moments later, they hear a shocked yell. "WAIT, WHAT?!"

"Ah. That." Wells states with satisfaction, placing her hands on her hips. "You know, that was an even better reaction than I was expecting. I can't wait to see his face."

She turns back to Kaden, with a grin on her face that honestly intimidated him a little bit. "And again, thanks for the offer. I'll be sure to take you up on it if I ever need to."

Kaden nods. "Don't mention it."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a dumbass I need to fire."

She then turns around and starts walking down the hall, but as she's halfway down, Kaden could see Pyle once again emerge from the other end, wearing a scared look.

"H-Hey, Chief, this isn't some kind of joke or anything, is it?" He asks nervously.

"Do I look like a fucking clown, Pyle?!" Wells fires back at him, fury returning to her voice as she continues her march unimpeded. "First was the time you left your cruiser unlocked and let some kids have a joyride around town, damn near killing themselves and a dozen others! Then there was the time you let Blackjack Benny get away because you didn't think to tighten his cuffs, wasting an entire month's worth of work on staking out his gambling ring, setting us back to square one! And then you let a kid just walk off with a Dimensionator without even reporting it?! You seriously think I was going to let that slide?!"

At this point, she was mere inches from his face, him paralyzed with fear as she screamed down onto him. She jams her finger down the hall in the direction of his office. "Take your shit and leave, Pyle! You're lucky I had the courtesy to pack for you so you could take your sorry ass out of my precinct even faster! Here, I'll even help you carry them! It'll save you a second trip!"

She then storms off out of sight down the hall, Pyle trailing right behind her, his tail between his legs as he begs her to give him a fourth chance. Kaden, meanwhile, shakes his head while exhaling a breath.

"Hate to be that guy." He mutters as he takes out his communicator to contact Julie. But as he waits for the call to connect, he sees Wells marching right across the hallway once more, carrying two of the boxes while Pyle follows behind with one, still desperately begging for his job.

"Kaden?" Julie asks eagerly.

"Hey, Julie." He greets.

"Were we right? Is that kid really Kieran?!" She asks eagerly.

Kaden grins. "He is, Julie. He's finally back home."

"Holy shit! Mags!" He hears her yell away from the communicator. "We were right! It was Kieran!"

Kaden distantly hears an excited holler, making him chuckle. He was thankful to have such supportive friends.

"Just—We're so excited for you, Kaden!" Julie says as she returns to the call. "But, what now? I don't think we ever planned what to do if we ever got this far."

"That's actually why I called you. I need you and Mags to come and pick us up from the City Guard headquarters here and take us back to the Center."

"Sure thing! We'll make sure to use Mags' ship, it's faster than mine."

"Wait, what?" Kaden hears him ask from the other end.

"Kaden says I need to fly, too. We need to pick him up pronto!" Julie explains to him.

"Like hell he did! I just got a new paintjob on Centauri, and I'm not letting you ding her up!"

Julie scoffs. "Oh, come on, she's got a top-of-the-line AI autopilot, I doubt she'll let me crash even if I wanted to!"

Kaden chuckles. "Just let Mags fly, Julie. Last thing we need right now is another reason to piss off the City Guard with you breaking speed regulations. They're not happy that I'm having them release Kieran as is."

Julie sighs. "Fine. But I am going to fly her one of these days, Mags, mark my words."

"Over my dead body."

Kaden rolls his eyes. If he didn't know any better, he'd think Mags and Julie were siblings with how often they bicker about stuff like this. "Alright, I'll see you two in a little bit. And like I said, no breaking speed regulations! We're in no rush!"

"No promises." Julie replies. "And, again, we're super happy for you, Kaden. I can't wait to meet Kieran, too!"

"Same here!" Mags chimes in.

Kaden smiles. "I can't wait, either. Just let me know when you guys get here. I'll see you soon."

Kaden hangs up the communicator and puts it back into his pocket. But as he does, he feels something else resting inside of it, and takes it out with a curious glance. But as he does, he realizes it was just the picture of their family portrait, almost forgetting that he even brought it with him amid his excitement. He unfolds it once again to reveal the cheerful family inside. And as he stares at himself holding Kieran in his arms, he felt happy that they were finally reunited once again.

But then he looks back to Marie, resting her hand on his shoulder with that beaming smile she always wore. Kaden gives a wistful sigh. The only way this day could get any better was if she was here, too, celebrating Kieran's return along with him. He wondered how she would have reacted to seeing him all grown up. Probably something about how he looked damn near identical to his father, if he had to guess. That, and the way he seemed to inherit her height.

He smiles as he idly rubs his thumb over her beautiful face, getting lost in those blue eyes of hers. It was something he always did back when she was alive, too. And whenever she would try and regain his attention, he would always explain that he was 'stranded in the sea of your soul.' She would then give him a shove and tell him how stupidly corny that line was, but he could tell she liked it by the way she smiled and laughed.

"I hope you're happy, Marie." Kaden says quietly. "I protected him for you, just like I promised. We can both rest easy now."

He brings the photo up to his face and gives it a small peck, not caring about the passing officers that were giving him a curious glance. He carefully folds the photo back up and returns it to his pocket before turning back to the room that his son was sitting in right now.

Kaden smiles. For the first time in a long, long while, he felt eager about the future. Because now, Kieran was in it.

No longer did he have to dread about coming home to an empty house, wishing to anything that would listen to give him his son back. No longer did he have to sit and count the days until his next appeal while lying awake at night trying to come up with a new way to convince the Council to change their minds. No longer did he have to anticipate living a life without his family, accepting that Kieran was gone forever.

No longer did he have to worry about any of that. Now, his biggest concern was in deciding how he and his son were going to spend their time together.

And that was a problem he couldn't wait to solve.

Man, this chapter was fun to write. And I didn't even anticipate writing this much, either.

In fact, in my first unpolished draft of this story, this entire goddamn chapter was originally two sentences to 'yada-yada' Ratchet's release:

"Chief Wells was initially refusing in letting Ratchet go, based on his lengthy rap sheet from his chase, but Kaden managed to persuade her with his position in the Council and the fact that Ratchet never hurt anyone in the end. She made him promise that she wouldn't get in trouble from this, and Kaden was more than willing to take any blame."

And that was basically when Wells disappeared from the story. But as I got to writing this one, I decided to give her a little more character, and add a few other things as well, like Pyle, which was very entertaining to write.

I'm definitely going to have to bring her back at some point, and I already have a few ideas how. But before that, I should get back onto writing the part of the story that this chapter was supposed to be in the first place. See ya!