Ratchet's P.O.V

When I instinctively hugged Alister it made me relize I was desperate for companionship. Clank would always be number one but, I knew Clank wouldn't be able to stay with me forever. He had responsibilities to attend to and I understood that but, despite him being just a call away I could feel that void already making itself known every time I thought about mine and Clank's eventual separation.

We've been through so much together and we both figured we'd be companions till the end but, it seems it was not meant to be. One of Clank's main goals had been achieved after eleven years of friendship and I wasn't going to hold him back from his actual destiny if he wished to take up his dad's mantle. I want to take comfort in knowing I'm not the only lombax but, even so there are only three lombaxes if I include Angela in total in this universe but, I haven't seen her in years and she's fallen off the grid.

Everything is starting to look up but, its going to be a while before I get some sense of normalcy especially sense I will no longer be able to fight as much as I used to and will likely be set to be part of the side lines if I get to battle at all that is. This all happened because I decided to make myself a lightning rod to stop the destruction of time. That made me upset that I couldn't fight like I want however, I wouldn't want to change the current outcome because of what I did. Everyone was safe and the clock had been updated to make it impossible for a time shift by anyone that was not associated with it like Clank, Sigmund and the Zoni.

This trip was meant to distract us from all that and yet it followed me and Alister as my burns were flaring up and felt very sensitive to touch or when the burn slightly rubbed against my shirt. I had blatantly avoided letting Alister know but, being as keen as he was I wasn't surprised to see Alister had some sort of burn relief ointment in his hand when I broke from the hug before saying "sorry about that general." He had replied with a chuckle before responding with a gentle smile and saying "it's ok Ratchet no big deal however why didn't you say anything about your burn flaring up? That's something we need to keep an eye on." "Your healing abilities have been slowed because of what happened and I don't think we want to deal with infection as you'll end up in the hospital if it gets too bad and you'll likely be in there a while"

I knew Alister had a point but, I hadn't wanted to worry him. That's why I stayed quiet about it. He's already got enough on his plate he didn't need more. Alister's entire life had been one of respect, leadership and unfortunately because of one mistake exile and now reconciliation by being there for me and trying to fix what mistakes he could.

He was honestly starting to show his age though he obviously had a lot more fight in him then most would think. Some of the stunts he pulled while we were out were risky though being part of the now gone Pratorian guard I shouldn't of been so worried.

He had been trained for years along side my dad to get to the amount of expertise he has now. To me Alister was the father figure I never got to have even if he wasn't a blood relation. My dad trusted him enough to consider him a close friend and to let alister know when he had become a father was likely a great honor. I didn't know my dad but, every time I heard stories about him or found traces of where he had been in the past honestly made a sense of longing rise in my heart despite knowing I would never see my dad alive and suddenly I felt a warm thumb on my cheek and concerned golden eyes staring back.

Alister's P.O.V

Seeing tears form in Ratchet's eyes instantly made me concerned as I though his injuries were hurting him to a unbearable level and the way Ratchet's eyes became a dull green didn't help my concern. As I gently rubbed a tear away Ratchet's own eyes stared back before he got a look of slight anger at himself before rubbing at his eyes with his bandaged arm and which made the bandage come loose exposing the healing cuts underneath from the shattered glass.

I should of known like many others Ratchet didn't want other people to see his vulnerable side despite having every right to be upset and show his feelings openly. The card he was dealt was much crueler then my own. Unlike Ratchet I got to be amoung other lombaxes and actually got to be with family. Ratchet didn't get to have any of that and had lost his mother and after being sent away by his father who was on his last legs and likely killed by Tachyon's troops shortly after. I didn't get to see Kaden's final moments which I was both relieved but also regretful about knowing he died alone and his life he once knew was gone.

I asked Ratchet if I could tend to his injuries and he had nodded but, requested that I did the burn first to get it over with knowing it would be the most painful one to work on. When he meantioned that I knew he was correct and so I suggested laying on the bed as it may help if he was a little more comfortable and Ratchet had nodded before grabbing the bandages we had and numbing nanotech to try and take some of the edge off before applying the burn ointment.

To say that tending to the injuries was a walk in the park would be a terrible lie. Even with the nanotech Ratchet let out strangled screams and had damaged the blankets under him to force himself from escaping from the pain as the ointment worked on getting rid of the infection that had starting in. After the ordeal Ratchet had passed out from exhaustion while I had to leave the room to try calming myself. Hearing Ratchet's screams sent metaphorical daggers into my heart and I wanted nothing more then to stop Ratchet's pain. Nanotech can only do so much and doubling up on using it will decrease the effectiveness.

Despite my increasing age, hearing any sort of pained sounds brought me back to that terrible day several years ago and always gave me what felt like a mini heart attack and left me shaking. It's gotten a little better after months of finding a decent copeing mechanism which was usually to leave the room and pace the halls or in this case patio area sense we're in a hotel. Now I just had to stay out here till my shaking subsided. Hopefully in time treating Ratchet's wounds won't be so nerve wracking though I can only hope.