The visit goes on, and the two heroes cherish every moment of it. Just as Ratchet moves to a new subject, a deep boom echoes from outside the garage. For a split second it sounds like a bomb, but there's a telltale hiss afterwards that tells him it's not a weapon. "Fireworks?"

Ratchet stands to move to the back window with a bit less grace than usual, as if the muscles are stiff from a lack of use. The entire experience is a bit disorienting, now that he puts thought into it; the way there's no bounce to his ears, the way her natural posture is different from his own body. Clank offers a hand, as expected, and he feels the chill of metal. He notices that the digits wrap around Clank's differently; Nova's hands are ungloved at the moment, and smaller than his own.

Peeking through the back window, the lombax can see the colorful explosions in the distance. "Wait, that's over your crash site."

"Those are to honor your memory, Ratchet," his old friend explains. "Our birthday is a galaxy-wide holiday now, if you can imagine it. Oh, I wish you could see the gifts citizens have left at the crater."

Sure enough, the fireworks have a shape to them; his own face, and Clank's. Brilliant hues that light up the darkening skies, filling the garage with soft color. "Really? People still care that much after all this time? And a whole holiday, when did that-actually, never mind. I bet Qwark pulled that one."

"He was always dedicated to making sure you were recognized for your accomplishments, even when you were still here. Remember the Festival of Heroes?"

"Yeah, I remember you telling me later that it was supposed to be a small shindig; just us, and our close friends. Qwark took over that one, but I guess it worked out alright in the end."

"I suppose it did." The two of them watch in silence as the fireworks show continues. Even after the display ends, Clank notices that Ratchet remains quiet. He knows that look, what it means when his tail mostly stiffens, except for the tuft of fur at the tip that twitches back and forth. A deep thought has attached itself to his friend's mind; one that won't quite leave and he's unsure how to bring up.

Luckily, the robot has always had a knack for pulling the conversation where it needs to be. "You seem distracted, Ratchet. Is everything alright?"

With a short nod, the lombax hums. "Yeah. I'm fine, but can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

His right hand lifts, and his fingertips gently tap against the windowsill. "I was fully prepared to stay, you know. I would have stayed if you'd asked me to."

"It would have been selfish of me to ask you to do so," the warbot insists.

Turning to face his friend once more, Ratchet's right thumb gently circles around his left palm. "That's not what I mean. What I mean is, do you, you know, regret asking me to go? I know that must have been hard for you."

Clank pauses for a moment, gathering his thoughts to best answer such a deep question. "When I made the decision, I believed that I was ready for you to leave, and rest with your other loved ones. I assumed that it would be what was best for you in the end. If I am being honest, however, seeing your body shut down, with no way to stop it...That was the most difficult thing I have ever faced in my life. I left for the Great Clock after your funeral, speaking to no one, and I never looked back."

"Were you doin' okay with Sigmund?"

The warbot paces the floor, moving closer to the chalk lines still laid into the concrete. He peers closer into the faint light in the designs, and the soft blues focus his thoughts. "As ironic as it sounds, maintaining time with him and the Zoni distracted me from the past. Of course, I never forgot you or the others. I always kept those memories close, but I could not leave the Clock to face the life we shared alone."

Ratchet takes his friend's words in, and sighs. "I never really left, you know. I've been watching out for ya, but I wish I had a way to contact you before now. I never wanted you to feel alone, and I wish it hadn't taken this long for you to have somebody."

"It is alright, Ratchet. The sentiment is what counts, and that alone is a comfort. If this had happened any sooner, I never would have met Nova."

"Yeah." The lombax rubs his hands together, looking for the right words to get what's left of the darker subjects off his chest. "By the way, I, um...I know about the six minutes. Alister told me, and time works differently on that side anyway. I swear he apologized for it every day for a year straight, and he still does sometimes." A thought reaches his mind, calling forth a short chuckle. "Dad did royally beat his ass for it, though. Mom cheered him on, and when I got there Tal took pictures of round two!"

Clank stiffens at the memory despite Ratchet's light tone, but decides to keep his words brief out of respect. "I did not want you to think less of me. Or Azimuth," he adds hesitantly. "It is not a memory I enjoy recalling, even if you remembered him fondly." The thought brings his fingertips together, tapping in uncertain rhythm.

"Well," Ratchet begins, "If it helps, Nova was right. You risked the Clock for me, and that was…a lot to take in. I can't say enough how lucky I am to have met you that day, on Veldin. I sure didn't deserve that kind of risk back then."

Clank's tapping stops, looking to his friend with caution in his optics. "So you are not angry that I kept such a secret from you?"

"I get why you didn't tell me, but I wish I'd known sooner," he clarifies. "It must've been awful to keep that in for so long. And when Nova fell out like that, I'd never seen you look so terrified." The guise's ears droop in shame as Ratchet curls his fingers together. "You never should have been put in that position in the first place. I should have been paying more attention to Ali-"

"No," Clank interrupts with a stern tone that immediately makes the lombax's ears prick up. "You trusted him and could not have known he would turn on us. Do not take any blame for his actions."

Ratchet stops, smiling at his friend's words and releasing his hands. "You're right, it's all in the past. Just know that I never thought you were a hypocrite for saving me. The Plumber came through for you, and you thought about it first. I know you, Clank; you're not usually the type to just rush into things without a plan most of the time." A warm thought crosses his mind, one that brings forth a toothy grin and a chuckle. "That's my job."

In return, Clank gives a short giggle of his own. "Thank you, Ratchet. It is quite the weight off of my conscience to hear you say that."

"Good to hear. So!" Ratchet claps his hands, leaning in to hear everything Clank's got to say. "Leading back to the one whose body I'm borrowin', tell me about you meeting her."

The change in subject brightens his optics a bit. "Well, I was attending to my duties with Sigmund one day, and the Zoni granted me a vision of a ship in flames. I went to that ship, but I was not prepared for what it brought me; her. When I met Nova, she was terrified and alone." A twinge of shame fills his voice as he summarizes the rest. "Nefarious destroyed her village, and threatened the universe once more. I was reminded of our adventures, and a part of me longed for that excitement once again. In a moment of selfish weakness, I offered her your harness and my guidance."

"And she took it," the lombax confirms.

"I doomed her to the very fate I asked you to leave behind." Clank looks away for a moment, tapping his fingers together and gathering his thoughts. "Nova reminds me so much of you, Ratchet. She is brave, dedicated to her passions. Her eyes share the same spark that yours did. At the same time, that spark burns with a different light, if that makes sense. You were gone, but I believe a part of you lives on within her. I did not know how to face that. Part of me still does not know how to face it, but it has become easier with time. Her presence is both something beautifully new and painfully familiar."

Ratchet casually leans back, after taking in his friend's summary. "Actually, I kinda have to disagree with you on that one. I get where you're coming from, but the more I think about it, Nova reminds me more of you." Lifting his right hand, he begins to count off his reasonings on his fingers. "She was picked out of a wrecked starship, and had no idea how the world works. The kid's crazy smart when it comes to what she's into. Plus there's the whole, you know, Zoni-thing going on."

Clank takes in Ratchet's points, and the lombax can almost hear his gears turning a bit louder as he makes the mental connection. "I… had not considered those similarities until now."

Ratchet continues, nodding in confirmation. "Right? Oh, and don't worry about the whole 'hero' thing. You never forced anything on her, Clank. If anything, I did," he shrugs. "Orvus and I, well...we saw her and found someone who was perfect for the job. He opened that door and I jumped through without a second thought. Nova's spiritual powers, from Quantos and how she was born, gave me the perfect vessel to meet up with you again."

"You did not have to go through all of this trouble for me, Ratchet," Clank insists.

"Hey, I meant it when I said I wouldn't leave you out here alone. Not if I had anything to say about it. You built me into somebody worth looking up to, somebody worth being remembered by fireworks and holidays, and I can't thank you enough for it. But to be honest, I didn't think this far ahead."

"What do you mean? Your message in the time capsule said that reincarnation was in your plans," the robot reminds him.

"That's true, and I have your dad to thank for that," he clarifies. "But I'm talking about right now, buddy." Ratchet gestures towards the intricate chalk drawings beneath them, as well as the hologuise generator at his belt. "All of this was Nova's idea, not mine. The kid found a scruff of fur that was sealed in the time capsule, and took it to Al. He tuned the hologuise for her because she wanted to go that extra mile; so we could meet face-to-face again. She thought it would make you happy."

Optics blink, and he takes a closer look at the scene around him. Clank pictures it: Nova hunched over, the chalk in her left hand dancing across the ground and carving out the shapes around them.

He recalls her asking offhandedly a few days ago if there were unscented candles in the garage somewhere, unsure why she was concerned with power outages when he's got a flashlight attachment and there are wireless lamps in storage.

All of this; carefully hidden, carefully planned, and done right under his metaphorical nose. "She did all of this for me?"

"Absolutely, pal. This was all her. She thought of the idea, read up on the techniques, and-" There's a sudden waft of a warm, cinnamony smell in the air, and a ding loud enough to prick up Ratchet's ears. "Baked something? Did Nova leave something in the oven before she set this up?"

"Oh, you are right! I was so caught up in our reunion I had forgotten. She asked me what one of your favorite desserts was, to include your memory into celebrating my birthday, she claimed. Of course, with you here, I believe that they are directly for you."

"Guess we should grab it for her." The two of them move to the kitchen, and Ratchet grabs a pair of oven mitts. Upon picking the cloth up, his ears flick back as he notices the mitt stuffing's texture. Brushing the thought away for a moment, he opens the oven door and places the tray to the side. "Snickerdoodles? Wow, I haven't had these in so long. Be sure to tell the kid I said thanks. Didn't have to do anything for me."

"I will certainly pass on your message," Clank assures. "I assume that Nova is not conscious at the moment, but I know that she would have insisted on the gesture. She will be happy to know this visit has gone well."

Ratchet removes the oven mitts, and runs his fingers over the guise's palms. It's a bit off-putting, to see gloves but not feel the leather. "Do you, uh, think she'd mind if I turned off the hologuise for a sec? I don't wanna be weird or anything, but I want to see what she looks like."

"I do not think she would be upset by your curiosity. I can fetch a mirror, if you want."

"Thanks, buddy." With that, he watches the robot walk off. Clank returns with a makeup mirror, and hands it to him. With the click of a button, the hologuise dissolves.

The first thing he notices is that the eye color never changes, despite the hologram being gone. "Huh, that's weird. Side effect of the possession thing? Or is it a general magic sorta thing?" He freezes a moment, taking in the sound of a voice that's not his.

Clank does the same, noticing a very different tone attached to Nova's voice; a fairly strong Ratchet-ish accent. "I believe it is a 'general magic' thing. She has shown this sign before, in combat and in reading the history of objects," Clank explains.

"Oh, that's kinda neat. Try to keep her from digging too far into that stuff, though."

"I believe she taught herself that lesson recently, that is what is most important," Clank assures him.

"Good." There's also a bit more detail in reality than there was in the mind projection; Ratchet notices that she seems less pale, more well rested than he previously saw. The old hero brushes a hand over her cheek, and her arm. "It's so weird to not feel fur there," he mumbles.

Glancing over to the tray of cookies, the 'lombax' sees that the cookies have solidified a bit by now. The mirror is placed onto the kitchen counter, forgotten in favor of peeling a cookie away from the rest of the batch. He takes a bite, eyes wide as he soaks in the taste. "Holy crap."

"Ratchet?" The robot watches his friend in quiet fascination, seeing every bit of his old friend's typical body language through Nova's body. Widened eyes tear themselves away from him, back to the cookie in the markazian's hand.

The rest of the cookie, as well as a second, are shoved into an eager mouth. Though muffled by enthusiastic chewing, he manages to say "Dude, your girlfriend is a genius. They were good in the mindscape, but wow."

Clank looks away, his fingers tapping once more. "Nova is not my girlfriend, but I am sure she would appreciate the compliment."

A thumb wipes away the crumbs from the organic's face. "Would you want her to be? I've seen you two interact, but that doesn't tell me what you think of her. You seem happy, though. The way you look at her, I mean. Your optics get brighter, and you kinda emote a bit sharper."

"Well," Clank begins, "I am happy. Nova is, well...I find her strength remarkable, as well as the confidence that she has grown into. Her curiosity is always so fascinating to watch, and when she laughs, it brightens her entire face. At times she seems to hyperfocus on certain holoflims or hologames, and if you asked, she could ramble about it for hours. When that happens, it is...adorable to see her so excited and happy."

"I can hear the 'but' in there," Ratchet comments through a new cookie. "What's stopping you?"

The robot resists the old urge to tell his friend not to speak while eating, but ultimately lets it go when he considers how long it's been since he ate, well, anything. "I am not sure if getting into a romantic relationship is something Nova is ready for yet. The last time someone confessed to her, that person turned to Nefarious. She still feels guilt over that, I believe. Guilt, and frustration that Saros refuses to leave Nefarious regardless of the risks. A part of her believes she failed him because of that, feels that she pushed him away with her temper and fear of letting him close."

Ratchet pouts, considering his friend's points. "Oh, right. He's been a pain, from what I can see. It's a lot of drama, for sure, and I get the guilt thing, too. But, I don't think you have to worry about Nova, though. I mean, look at everything she's put together! This meetup, and the cookies-which are amazing by the way. I haven't had one this good since I was a kid." Another snickerdoodle is picked up, pointed towards Clank before being stuffed into Nova's mouth. "Pal, she'd move the stars themselves if she thought it would make you happy."