Angela and Clank might seem a tad OOC in this chapter. Sorry if they are. Clank is a little tough to write for me, and I haven't played Going Commando in for goodness knows how long...

Planet Grelbin, Tundor Wastes
3:28am local time

Angela awoke to the frigid Grelbian wind. Shivering, she stood up and took stock of her surroundings. The last thing she remembered was the ice beam from the leviathan hitting her and Clank... Clank! Frantically, she looked around for the little robot, but he was nowhere to be found. Feeling very alone, she moved toward the valley, knowing that she would be more sheltered from the wind there. The lombax looked down into it, expecting to see the ruined buildings. Instead, there was only more snow.

Where was she?

Somewhere else on the tundra...
3:30am local time

Clank took stock of his surroundings. He was on the crest of a snowdrift, where he wasn't sure. Angela was nowhere to be seen, although her Lancer was laying in the snow nearby. He picked it up, trying to hold it as well as keep his balance. Then, he walked in a random direction, hoping to find either Angela or the village.

Preferably Angela.

Somewhere else on the tundra...
3:32am local time

Angela tried to calm herself. But she knew, having lived on Grelbin for nearly her whole life, that if someone was on the tundra and had no shelter, then they were as good as dead. Clank would be fine for a couple days, at least if the YETIs left him alone. But an organic...

She moved down into the valley, pulling her Quantum Whip off of her belt - the only weapon that she had left. She had barely activated it when a giant furry paw swiped it from her hand, its claws slashing her side. The whip went flying, deactivated, as she screamed in pain, holding her side where the YETI's claws had hit her. It growled, moving cautiously forward a few steps. There were burn marks on its chest, waist, and legs, as well as a bright red one on the top of its head. This was the YETI that she'd almost killed earlier, and now it was back for revenge.

Somewhere else on the tundra...
3:32am local time

Clank stopped after hearing a scream.

A female's scream.

Angela.

He sprinted as fast as his little legs could carry him toward the sound, stopping on top of a snowdrift. Angela and a YETI were in a valley, the YETI approaching the injured and defenseless lombax. Clank charged the Lancer, took aim, and managed to get the beast on its lower back. With a moan, the huge creature crumpled into the snow, dead. Apparently, it had already been wounded. Discarding the Lancer, Clank ran down the hill as Angela sat down hard in the snow, holding her side. "Clank!" she shouted, seeing him.

The little robot virtually flung himself on her, happily shouting, "You are all right!" They sat there for a while, hugging each other. "You are hurt." Clank said matter-of-factly.

Angela nodded. "I know." She tried to move but moaned when the pain level shot up. Clank looked over her belt, trying to find her container of Nanotech. But it was gone, lost with the rest of Angela's weapons. Carefully, the lombax leaned against a hill. "You've gotta go get some help. There's no way the YETIs won't smell me bleeding..."

"No."

Angela was startled at Clank refusing so blatantly. "Clank, I need Nanotech. There's no way you'll find any out here."

"Perhaps. But if I leave, I will need a weapon. Your Quantum Whip was destroyed when the YETI attacked you, you will need your Lancer for protection, and your other weapons are nowhere to be found." He folded his arms stubbornly. "The only way I am leaving is either on your back or by your side."

She was touched by his loyalty, but she knew it would be his death. She was already as good as dead, now she only wanted Clank to be safe. "Clank, you must-"

"I'M NOT LEAVING YOU HERE!" he shouted.

Angela jerked back, surprised immensely. It was probably melting snow, but she thought she saw a tear slide down his metal 'cheek'.

"I am not leaving without you." He whispered fiercely. "I am not."

"Clank..." Angela said slowly, "You used a contraction..."

Now he looked just as surprised as her. "I did?"

"Yeah." She opened her mouth to argue with him again, but thought better of it. Instead, she gave a tired smile. "Well, if you're not going anywhere, come and keep me warm."

Carefully, so as not to touch her injured side, Clank allowed himself to be held by Angela. "Curl up." He instructed her. "It will conserve your body heat and allow my heat to spread to your legs."

Angela did as Clank told her and closed her eyes, the contented smile still on her face. She fell asleep like that, the little robot held tightly against her chest.

Later...
5:19am local time

Clank was worried. Angela was getting colder by the minute. And so was he. Once his own body heat ran out, Angela wouldn't last another hour. He was about to prod her awake when she spoke. "...Clank..." she murmured.

He froze. "I am here." He said cautiously.

She was silent. Clank tried to wiggle out of her grasp, deciding she had been dreaming. "...I love you..." she murmured.

Clank froze again, eyes wide. She what?!

"...Ratchet..." she finished, shifting in her sleep.

The robot relaxed and squirmed out of her grasp. But he felt a pang of some strange feeling. Jealousy, perhaps? "Angela." He said softly, shaking her slightly. "We must try to move."

She groaned and tried to move, but yelped in pain. "My side..." she said, teeth clenched. "It hurts..."

"You must try. You will not survive here."

She tried to get up, but fell back into the snow. "I can't feel my legs, Clank." She said in a small voice. "They're numb."

The little robot moved beside her long legs. He sat on one and rubbed the other to try to warm them up. He looked at the area where she had been slashed. The three cuts were mostly scabbed over, but the skin around them was blue.

Frostbite.

"Angela," he began, choosing his words carefully, "Can you feel everywhere else?"

"No." She admitted. "My back is numb too. And my nose and ears are getting there." Then she gasped. "What are you doing?"

Clank stopped pinching her leg. "I am trying to distinguish the frostbitten parts of your leg from the healthy parts." Immediately he regretted saying that.

"...Frostbite." Angela said, her voice betraying no emotion. "Well Clank, you might as well just leave now and try to find a village." She laughed emotionlessly. "A lot of help that'd do me." She added bitterly.

Clank was silent.

Angela sighed. "Come here."

Obediently, he rose and moved to her side, looking up at her face. She gathered him up in her arms, positioning him so that his back was to her chest. She hugged him to her for a second before releasing him. She smiled sadly, leaning her head on top of his. "Listen Clank, I won't make it. There's no way now. But if you leave now, you might find someone and you can come back for my..." she took a deep breath "...my body."

Clank returned her smile, even though she couldn't see it. "I am not leaving, Angela. You will have to chase me."

Angela snorted. "And Ratchet told me that you didn't have a sense of humor."

"I have my moments." Silence. "Angela?" Clank twisted around in the lombax's grip to look at her face. Her eyes were closed and she was still. Too still. He breathed a sigh of relief when her eyelids flickered in response. "You cannot fall asleep... You may not wake up..."

"...But I'm so sleepy..."

Suddenly, Clank did something he never thought he'd do.

He slapped her.

Angela jerked back, eyes opened wide.

"Stay. Awake." He said fiercely. "I am not going to lose you."

Maybe it was the fact that she was nearly asleep from the cold, maybe it was because she figured that she wouldn't be alive in another half hour, or maybe it was for some other reason, but whatever the reason was, Angela wasn't exactly sure of why she did what she did.

She kissed him.

A few seconds later, they looked up at a roaring sound. It was a ship. And it was coming toward them.

The ship landed close beside them and the pale yellow lombax that Angela had saved earlier leapt out. He gathered her up in his arms, smiling reassuringly.

They were saved.