"Oh, my, it is quite a feeling to be flying in a living, breathing Lombax civilization once again!" Aphelion comments joyfully as Ratchet and Clank cruise her through the Lombax city amidst the traffic, having transported her over here with the Dimensionator to fulfill her wishes to finally see them once again.
"It's quite something, huh?" Ratchet comments amusedly, looking out the window and enjoying the view of the sprawling metropolis. "Although, I'm sure it must be pretty sweet for you, considering that that you actually got the chance to be with the Lombaxes before Tachyon showed up."
"Indeed it is, I never thought that I'd actually get the chance to see my creators again! Thank you two so much for the opportunity!"
"Why, it is our pleasure, Aphelion." Clank comments with a smile.
"And, hopefully, this makes up for me leaving you behind the first time I came here… right?" Ratchet proposes, raising his eyebrows at her primary console display.
"Well… while I still have to say that I am still quite peeved with you for that, Ratchet, I believe that I may give you a pass this one time." She replies. "But don't think I've completely forgiven you for that, mister."
"As long as I don't have to worry about you secretly plotting to eject me into space as revenge, then I'm satisfied." He responds with a chuckle, focusing back on the flight ahead of him, accelerating a little.
"Erm… Shouldn't you perhaps slow down a bit, Ratchet?" Clank cautiously asks. "I believe you are going slightly above the speed limit."
"Pssh, not by much, pal, calm down." Ratchet dismisses him, waving his hand. "It's not like I'm trying to go full throttle zipping this way and that between buildings like I usually do on my joyrides, so I don't see what you're worried about."
"The authorities, Ratchet." He replies tiredly, shaking his head with a sigh. "Especially considering our previous experiences with them."
"Yeah, our previous experience that I got pardoned for, remember?" He retorts, raising a finger with a smirk. "AKA, a previous experience that might as well never have existed, so we've got a clean slate!"
"Having your crimes struck from their records does not also rescind their memories or grudges they currently hold against us, you know." Clank states flatly. "And besides, us having a clean slate is only more incentive to respect the law, so that we may keep it clean. So, once again, I request that you slow down your speed, Ratchet."
Ratchet groans with a roll of his eyes. "Clank, we're good, the only reason we're going to get pulled over from speeding is if we happen to miraculously run into a City Guard that cares way too much about their job if they're willing to stop and ticket someone going a tiny bit over the speed limit. And, lucky for us, we saw for ourselves how little most of them care about it back at their headquarters the other day, so, again, we are going to be just—"
He is cut off as they hear a whoop of some sirens from behind them, and Ratchet leans to look from through his side of the cockpit to see flashing lights, making him slump with a defeated look as Clank simply crosses his arms.
"I appear to have just received a request to immediately pull over by order of the Lombax City Guard." Aphelion states pointedly.
"So, we are 'just fine' then, hmm?" Clank comments with disappointment.
Ratchet snaps away from the window to give him a scowl, and opens his mouth to argue something along the lines of 'don't you start now', but is cut off as Aphelion once again speaks up.
"I have received yet another request to pull over, and I suspect that it would be unwise to keep ignoring it." She says cautiously. "Should I pull over, then, Ratchet?"
He sighs, rubbing his eyes. "Yeah, go ahead, Aphelion. I think I can talk my way out of this, anyway." He says as she decelerates, lowering down closer to the ground, with the City Guard cruiser right behind them following suit.
"Really? How exactly are you going to talk your way out of this, then?" Clank asks skeptically, squinting at him,
"Easy; I just explain how my dad is a Councilman, and that he needs to see me for urgent Council business, and we should be good to go." Ratchet replies with a smile and a nod as Aphelion touches down onto the side of the road on the ground, next to the busy sidewalk. "Seems like everyone here falls for that excuse."
"Except for Chief Wells, as we have observed when Julie attempted to utilize that excuse when we first met her." He argues. "And besides, does it not seem dishonest to leverage your father's position on the Council for frivolous things such as getting out of a ticket?"
"Relax, pal, I doubt Wells is going to show up here, she's probably too busy yelling and shooting at her recruits than to waste her time ticketing joyriders. And, also, no, I don't think it's dishonest, considering that, again, Julie used it, and she's on the Council. So if she can do it, then why not me?"
"I have a suspicion that Julie is not exactly the most ideal role model for this, Ratchet." Clank says dryly.
"Well, whatever, keep quiet, and let me do the talking." Ratchet says as he opens Aphelion's cockpit canopy, casually draping an arm out of the cockpit, using his other hand to brush down any stray fur on his head, looking over to Clank with a smile. "Just let me work my magic."
Clank gives a small scoff as he rolls his optics, leaning back in his seat as Ratchet adopts a more comfortable position, waiting for the officer, who, after a few seconds, appears as they walk up to Ratchet's side of the ship.
Ratchet turns his head, wearing a casual grin, but upon seeing the officer, it, along with the rest of his face, absolutely falls with dismay as he sees Chief Wells standing before him, wearing a disgruntles expression as she looks onto a pad.
"Alright, you know why I pulled you over to… day… sir?" She trails off as she finally looks up from her pad to see Ratchet staring back at her. And for a good five seconds, neither of them say anything, until their short silence is broken with her giving a very large groan, burying her face in her hand.
"Son of a bitch, not you again."
"Hey… Chief?" Ratchet greets back with an awkward smile. "Uh… how's it going?"
"My day was going a hell of a lot better before I ran into you, punk." She states grumpily, crossing her arms with a scowl. "Why can't I ever seem to escape you and your bullshit?"
"Well, why are you even out here anyway?" Ratchet asks, gesturing his arm around them. "Don't you have better things to do back at your headquarters?"
"Normally, yes, but I had to fire some dumbasses, so I'm having to cover some of their patrols until we can replace them." She explains before pointing at Ratchet. "But let's not talk about my job, instead, let's talk about your flying, punk."
"Ratchet." He corrects her with a frown. "For the thousandth time, my name's 'Ratchet'."
"Shut up, do you know why I pulled you over today?" She asks harshly, bringing her notepad up once more with her pen in hand.
"Oh, well… um… no, actually." He answers with an innocent shrug. "I was just going about my business before you pulled me over out of the blue, officer." He adds with a smirk, making Clank shake his head slowly beside him.
"Chief." She sternly corrects him with a scowl. "And secondly, I pulled you over because you were 'just going about your business' way above the speed limit, punk." She informs him, emphasizing with air quotes.
He scoffs. "Seriously? I wasn't going that much over." Ratchet mutters, right before he notices Chief Wells raise a suspicious eyebrow, prompting him to quickly clear his throat. "Erm, I mean, what do you mean? I wasn't going over the speed limit at all!"
"Lying to an officer of the City Guard is a punishable offence, you know." She states flatly. "Two thousand bolt fine and a night in a jail cell, for starters. But, because I happen to be in a nice mood today, I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that, so let's start again; Do you know why I pulled you over today?" She reiterates more coldly.
Ratchet sighs, hanging his head for a moment before picking it up to look back at Wells. "Alright, I may have been speeding tiny bit." He concedes, making her nod as she begins scribbling something down in her notepad. "But! I have a good reason!" He quickly adds, raising a finger, making her pause as she glances back up to him skeptically.
"Uh huh." She replies dryly, unimpressed. "And would you care to enlighten me on this supposedly awesome reason that I shouldn't hand this one thousand bolt ticket over to you right now, punk?"
"Damn, one thousand?" Ratchet asks before he quickly shakes his head. "I mean, yeah!"
"Ratchet, don't." Clank advises tiredly beside him. "Just take the ticket."
"Because, as you know, my dad's a Councilman for the Center." He begins with a smile, making Clank groan, something that Wells doesn't fail to notice, glancing to him for a split second before returning her incredulous gaze back onto Ratchet.
"And, you see, he has some very important business to attend to over there, and as luck would have it, he says that I have to be there as well, quite urgently, I may add, so I must have been in a bit of a rush on my way over there." He explains coolly. "So, you know, I think I can be excused for just this one time since it's very urgent Council business." He finishes with a grin, draping his arm along Aphelion's cockpit as well.
Wells doesn't respond immediately, instead opting to just stare at him, wearing a frown as she crossed her arms, but Ratchet's smile doesn't falter, and Clank watches on with apprehensive caution, unsure of who will blink first.
But then, Wells breaks the silence, bringing her hand up to her chin. "So… you think that I shouldn't give you this speeding ticket because your speeding was because you were trying to hurry up and get to some kind of urgent Council meeting or whatever, because your dad said that you had to be there ASAP."
Ratchet nods. "Exactly."
"And, what is this meeting about, exactly?" She questions curiously. "Why would they need—or better yet, want—to do deal with a pain in the ass like you?"
"Because it has to do with me being from the other dimension." He replies without skipping a beat, internally patting himself on the back for his stellar performance so far. "I can't really get into the details, since it's all private Council business, you know, but there's important research to be done and questions to answer, I assure you."
"…And you're not making up some kind of bullshit story to possibly try and convince me to let you go and apologize for wasting yours and the Council's time since they're apparently waiting for you at the Center?" She asks.
"Nope, absolutely not." He says firmly, shaking his head.
Wells continues to stare at him, squinting with an incredulous, scrutinizing gaze while Ratchet steels his expression, not attempting to let her see through his façade.
And, luckily for him, Wells simply shrugs a few moments later. "Well, if that's the case, then, I guess I'll just let you go." She states nonchalantly.
"Wait, seriously?" Ratchet asks confusedly before he hurriedly shakes his head. "I-I mean, thank you, Chief Wells! I'll make sure this won't happen again!"
"I'd hope so. I hope your meeting with the Council goes well, then." She responds, turning around to walk back to her ship as Ratchet turns back to Clank to flash him a wink and a thumbs-up.
"Oh, wait a second!" She dramatically declares, stopping in her tracks, raising a finger as Ratchet turns back to face her. "I seem to have just realized that there's something amiss with your excuse!"
"Erm… and, what is it?" Ratchet asks apprehensively.
She turns to fully face him with a furious scowl, and throws her arm out to her side, pointing to the direction behind Ratchet. "The Center is that way, you complete dumbass." She says coldly. "Why in the hell are you speeding away from it if you're trying to get there ASAP?"
"Uh… I got lost?" Ratchet suggest with a shrug, right before he groans as Wells simply whips her pad back out to continue scribbling a ticket. "Look, can you be a nice person for once and just let this slide? Like I said, I wasn't even going that fast! It's not like I was trying to run anyone over or about to slam into other ships, I didn't do anything wrong!"
"…Excuse me?" She asks through gritted teeth, pausing once more.
"I mean, seriously! Who pulls people over for going a hair above the speed limit?" Ratchet continues. "I was just trying to show my ship around to see other Lombaxes, enjoying the view, but then someone trying way too hard at her job has to go and harass us for something stupid!"
"Erm, Ratchet," Clank speaks up, raising a finger. "I believe you should stop talking—"
"Like, come on! And why in the hell are those tickets one thousand bolts?!" Ratchet continues, completely ignoring Clank as Wells simply stands there with a scowl. "Are you just trying to pull over everyone who even smells like they're speeding just so you can steal their money for your own department? Why not make a fundraiser or something instead of pulling people over and fining them and being a giant pain in the ass, huh?"
"I am just doing my job." She replies coldly, glaring into his soul. "It's not my fault that you're the one who doesn't know how to fly properly, punk."
"Yeah, but it's your fault that you take your job so damn seriously!" Ratchet responds, gesturing to her. "Like, do you even know how to act like a normal person that doesn't eat, live and breathe the City Guard? Just learn how to relax sometimes and not be a complete asshole!" He finishes, crossing his arms.
And as he glares right back at Wells while Clank is burying his face in his hand and shaking his head, Wells instead glares right back at him for a few seconds before a smile creeps onto her face as she closes her notepad, putting it into her pocket.
"Well, good news for you, Ratchet, because I just decided to not give you a ticket." She says amicably.
Ratchet breathes a relieved sigh, relaxing his tense posture. "Thank you." He says in exasperation.
"Because I'm instead going to do something that I've been dreaming of ever since I met you." She says as she holds up a pair of cuffs with a beaming grin.
"You are under arrest by order of the City Guard for lying to an officer, speeding, and not complying with orders. Now step out of the ship before I yank your ass out of there myself." She states sweetly. "Or, you know, don't. I've always wanted to taze you, and having you resist an arrest is an excellent reason for me to do that."
"I told you that you should've just taken the ticket." Clank chides him as he steps out with Ratchet, wearing very disgruntled and defeated look as he lets Wells strap the cuffs onto him as she gleefully begins reading off his rights.
Kaden walked into the City Guard headquarters, wearing a confused and concerned expression as he beelines straight towards the reception, making the Lombax sitting there perk up his head from the papers he was currently writing on.
"Ah, hello, sir." He greets amicably. "What's your business here today?"
"Uh, yeah, hi." Kaden greets back with a quick smile. "Um, my son's been arrested, apparently, so do you know where I can go to meet with him?"
"Ah, right, yeah, the holding cell is right down that hall, third door on the right." He answers, pointing to a corridor behind him. "Chief Wells should also be meeting with him, too, so heads-up."
"Ah, great, thank you for the help." Kaden thanks him with a nod before he starts walking towards the hall as the receptionist returns back to his paperwork.
He was in the middle of putting the finishing touches on a design of his when he got a call from Ratchet explaining that he was arrested for no reason, and asked him to come to the City Guard to clear things up and bail him out, which was a very concerning call to receive, making Kaden immediately drop everything as he left to get here posthaste.
Although, the whole time, he was wondering what the hell Ratchet met by how he got arrested 'for no reason'. Sure, some of the City Guard might not like him for helping Wells train them the other day, and also the whole ordeal with humiliating them from his chase when he first arrived, too, but he was pardoned from that. Maybe there was an officer who happened to recognize Ratchet, but simply didn't get the memo that he was a free Lombax once again, and that his little chase was struck from the record?
Well, whatever the case is, Kaden was sure that he could clean up this mess and correct some misunderstandings, and he and Ratchet will be walking right out of here in five minutes, tops.
He reaches the door that the receptionist pointed to, and even from out here, he can hear Chief Wells. Bracing himself, Kaden takes a breath before he opens the door, walking in to find Ratchet and Clank sitting in a cell as she stands in front of it, yelling at them.
"I mean, seriously, why do I always have to deal with your shit?!" She cries out, throwing up her arms. "You literally didn't even exist in this dimension two weeks ago, and now, you're the biggest pain in the ass I've ever had to deal with after only a week of being here! How in the hell do you manage to do that?!"
"It's not my fault you're the one who's so easy to piss off all the time." He argues, crossing his arms.
And as she buries her face in her hand, Kaden takes the opportunity to clear his throat.
"Um, Chief Wells?" He speaks up.
"WHAT?!" She yells, turning to him with a furious expression, making him jump back in surprise before she realizes who it is, relaxing her features slightly. "Oh, it's you, Kaden."
"Erm, y-yeah, it is." He answers back, calming down from the sudden fright. "Uh, Ratchet here called me and said that he was arrest for… no reason?" He says confusedly, raising an eyebrow.
"Wait, seriously?" Wells asks in disbelief, looking back to Ratchet in the cell. "That's what you told him?"
"It's not completely wrong, you know!" He retorts, raising a finger.
"Yes it is!"
"Wait, so why is he sitting in a cell right now?" Kaden asks.
"Because that little bastard right there was caught speeding through the city and horribly failed to get out of it, so I arrested him for it." She says decisively, crossing her arms, making Kaden frown as he looks over to Ratchet.
"Seriously?" He asks with palpable disappointment. "Is she wrong, Ratchet?"
"…Not entirely." He concedes, looking away.
"She is absolutely correct." Clank adds beside him, making Ratchet nudge him with his elbow.
Kaden gives a large sigh as he rubs eyes before picking up his head to look back at Wells. "Can we step outside for a moment so I can have word with you, Chief Wells?"
"Sure." She says as they both begin walking out, but not before she turns back to Ratchet for a moment, pointing at him. "And you better not try anything funny while I'm gone, I'd be more than happy to keep you locked up in here for an escape attempt."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it." He replies annoyedly with a roll of his eyes as she and Kaden step out of the room, closing the door behind them.
"So, what happened, then?" Kaden asks tiredly, turning back to her as they stand out in the hall.
"Well, I was out on patrol, and then I saw him speeding, so I pulled him over." She begins. "I asked him if he knew, and he horribly lied saying that he didn't. Then I asked him again, and he said yes, but that he had the perfect explanation for why he was speeding."
Kaden raises an eyebrow, bracing himself. "Which was?"
"That you wanted him to get to the Center ASAP for some Council business or whatever, and that it makes him exempt from the law and utmost basic speeding regulations, somehow." She informs him with a scowl. "Didn't believe it, honestly, so I called him out on it, then he decided to run his mouth, insulting me, so I arrested him instead. And when I brought him here, he said that he was going to call you so you can bail him out."
Kaden slumps. "Seriously?" He asks, embarrassed. "He tried to get out of all of this just because I'm a Councilman?"
"Ee-yup." She answers, making Kaden bury his face in his hand once again with a groan. "So… what are you going to do about him, then?"
Kaden removes his hand from his face, staring at the ground in thought as he instead rests it on his chin, wearing a small frown while she looks back at him expectantly. And after a few moments, he finally picks up his gaze to meet her own, raising a hand.
"How about this?"
Ratchet sits up from laying down bored out of his mind on the bench in the cell as he hears the door open once again, seeing Wells and his father walk back in, thankfully cutting off Clank in the middle of his lecture about not listening to him and wondering how in the world they managed to find themselves in jail again because Ratchet doesn't know how to not be reckless.
"Alright, you're free to go." Wells states as she inputs a code on the keypad onto his cell, allowing the door to slide open, Kaden standing behind her, arms crossed.
Ratchet smiles smugly at Clank as they both stand up and start walking. "See? Told you it'd work."
Clank scoffs. "That does not mean it was an unwise thing to do."
"Whoop-up-up, not you." Wells states, holding out an arm to keep Ratchet from leaving as Clank simply walks past them, albeit confused.
"Wait, what?" Ratchet says in surprise. "But you just said I'm free to go!"
"He's free to go." Wells corrects him, motioning over to Clank, now standing beside Kaden. "He wasn't the one flying or mouthing off to me, so you get to spend the night here instead to serve out your sentence."
"Wha—why?!" Ratchet cries out in disbelief, looking back to his father, who is crossing his arms.
"Because what the hell makes you think I'm just going to bail you out willy-nilly for stupid stuff like this, Ratchet?" He replies sternly, crossing his arms. "Just because I happen to be a Councilman doesn't mean that you can take advantage of that to do whatever you want and get out of it scot-free. I mean, do you know how embarrassing that is for me when I heard you tried to do that with Chief Wells here?" He asks, gesturing over to her as Ratchet shrinks back a bit from the firm look he was giving him. "Plus, I was actually in the middle of doing something at Center before I dropped everything to come here and get you, only to find out it was for something stupid. So, consider this a punishment so that you can learn your lesson about trying to use me as a get out of jail free card."
"And for breaking the law and running your mouth off to me." Wells quickly adds.
"Yes, and also for speeding in the first place and insulting the Chief here." Kaden corrects himself.
"I… But… She…" Ratchet sighs in defeat as he mopes over to the bench, taking a seat as he crosses his arms in embarrassment. "…Fine."
"Good. See you at home tomorrow." Kaden says with a nod as he turns around, walking out of the door with Clank in tow, who can't help but feel some vindication at this turn of events as Wells closes the cell door, wearing a grin that was even more smug than the one Ratchet held just a minute ago.
"So, how's all that working out with you being a daddy's boy, then, hmm?" She asks in complete satisfaction, crossing her arms as Ratchet silently glares at her.
Meanwhile, out in the hall, Kaden and Clank are walking towards the exit together, where Clank turns his head to look back up at him. "I must thank you for convincing Chief Wells to let me go, Kaden, I appreciate it."
"Hey, I figured it'd be unfair for him to rope you into his mess that he caused, even if that's how most of your adventures seem to go, by the sound of it." He replies with a chuckle. "But, don't mention it, she didn't mind letting you go at all."
"And I am thankful to hear that. But… won't Ratchet have a little more trouble around here now that he has been officially arrest and now has a criminal record?"
"Nah, he doesn't." Kaden responds casually.
Clank tilts his head. "What do you mean?"
"Well, because I agree it'd be a bit of a problem for him to have a criminal record, so I respectfully requested that she keep this little incident off the record."
"Wait, really? She agreed to that?"
"It took some convincing, but, yes. I figure that Ratchet would learn his lesson about not doing stupid things after all of this, and I promised her that she can absolutely keep him in jail for the night." He replies. "And, well… we don't have to tell him that it's off the books, right?" He adds with a smirk.
Clank chuckles as they walk outside, and towards Kaden's own ship. "No, I suppose we don't." He amusedly agrees.
It is way too fun writing Chief Wells; she is easily one of my most favorite characters I've ever created.