Alright, so I'm back on FanFiction yet again and time and time, I've been planning on writing another fanfic involving Rivet and Kit, taking place after 'Rift Apart,' but in my AU version of 'Ratchet and Clank' 'Ratchet and Clank SYNC,' featuring Classic Tails. With Classic Tails tagging along with Ratchet and Clank, I thought why not contemplate how Rivet and Kit's story would play out in the AU, mainly how would Rivet have her own second sidekick similar to [Classic] Tails. Now this is the time for me to write a fanfic with an OC in it on here for the very first time (yes, Rivet's second sidekick is an OC of mine), and I'm going to have some explaining to do. This OC of mine you're about to read about is basically an "equivalent" to Classic Tails, therefore the OC is a Sonic OC and a fox, and is a female (most of my other OCs are female as well), to go along with the rendition of (interdimensional) counterparts in 'Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.' If you want to learn more about the OC, go visit my Deviantart page and look through my OCs gallery there. (And I tend to write exclusive stories on there when it comes to writing about my OCs, so I recommend you checking them out there, as I'm more active on there.) And my idea here is, if a Rivet and Kit spin-off will ever be made titled 'Rivet and Kit,' probably a spin-off series of them, then in my AU version of that, the OC will already be with Rivet and Kit in the entire "game" and there would be a secret ending/memory fragment of how the OC came to Rivet and Kit's universe (or dimension if you want to view it in Ratchet and Clank's/Rivet and Kit's perspective-I don't know how that's said) before the events of the "game," essentially like a prologue (like with the "prologue" of 'Ratchet and Clank SYNC' [the fanfic titled 'The Fox and the Mechanic,' which I wrote on here, as well as Deviantart and Wattpad]; how Classic Tails, Ratchet, and Clank met, except Classic Tails met them right after the ending of the original 'Ratchet and Clank' game), except that "prologue" appears as a secret for ending the "game" when every single secret collectible has been collected.

Now with that said, there's one more thing I need to put up. Even though this is an AU of 'Ratchet and Clank,' this fanfic will still contain some spoilers for 'Rift Apart' if you haven't played the game, yet to this day due to not owning a PS5, so please read at your own risk. Other than that, feel free to enjoy taking the pleasure to read this.

"Have you found one more Zurpstone, Kit?!" Rivet called out in the middle of the forested region of the swampland of Sargasso.

Kit came back to where Rivet was from the trees. The yellow robot shook her head and stared at her with her bright blue optics. "No, Rivet. None at all. I cannot appear to detect any other Zurpstone lying around."

"Darn it! We need thirty to feed enough to Trudi! Poor girl couldn't even afford any lesser Zurpstones than this much amount for her to stay active, and I cannot even bare to just leave her like that. Now how are we going to address to the Morts?" Rivet sighed in defeat. Who knew scavenging for some things that are needed for whatever necessity or emergency it is currently could be way too much of a hassle at times, especially with whatever fauna was out there looking for dinner out of the unsuspected? Surely she enjoyed being a delivery person as part of her passion of exploring out in the wild of her home, but there are other times where she wanted to be at her own pace and just chill in her hideout to rest all that energy of hers up in the case of whatever suspicion could be up somewhere on Sargasso or anywhere else. Not that there's much suspicion happening about at the moment, especially since after the defeat of the emperor ending her interdimensional adventure a while ago. (No more Nefarious Toopers to deal with now.) It was such a chaotic, yet thrilling experience, like it was the biggest chapter of her whole life.

"Perhaps we could find at least one at the other plants in the swampland once more or elsewhere...with Trudi's help," Kit suggested.

"Welp, guess we have no choice but to get Trudi to help us with the skies...if the Morts let us do so," Rivet replied.

"I am certain they will not mind. We have nearly collected thirty Zurpstones, and that much amount should at least keep Trudi energized for the time being."

"I hope so," Rivet nodded ever so slightly. "We need to hurry, though. It's getting late."

"Yes, you are right, Rivet."

Rivet and Kit began strolling through the swampland setting off back to the Gelatonium Factory where the Morts were waiting for them to bring the delivery over, with all the Zurpstones they had in their inventory. Shortly, Rivet stopped as soon as her ears perked up suddenly. Was that a noise she just heard? Kit then noticed her Lombax partner staying still and not even moving at this point, much to her wonder and concern. "What is wrong, Rivet?" she asked the silvery white Lombax as she gradually approached her in concern.

"Shh..." Rivet shushed the yellow robot silently as she gradually leaned forward and knitting her eyebrows in suspicion. "I think I hear something. Like...footsteps," she whispered. "It sounds like it's coming from behind the trees. There's probably something there."

"Rivet, it is perhaps a kind of creature that would belong out here. It is best we should continue carrying on and ignore it."

But Rivet didn't move along like Kit told her to. She still had some suspicion on her face. "No wait, I think it's following us or something. We can't let whatever it is on our tails when we get back to the factory."

"Rivet-"

"Stay here, and don't make any sound," as Rivet brought out her hammer and approached the tree that was nearest and she suspected it was where the sound was coming from. Even though it wasn't quite loud, with her big ears, it was loud enough for her to be heard. Rivet crept closer to the suspected tree, her hammer in her hands, and began to swing at it, but as soon as she was close to hitting the tree, mainly whatever could be behind it...

"Yah!"

A yelp came from behind the tree. It sounded like a youngster, so, much to Rivet's anticipation, someone was indeed following her and Kit. Rivet caught a glimpse of whoever let out that yelp. Though they were clearly running away from her, she could just about make out the appearance. The youngster had large, pointed ears, the fur color of the cloudy sky, and...a large tail.

Wait, was that...

Rivet froze and brought everything she saw together into a conclusion. Was that...a kid? Why would a kid be here in this swampland? On this swampland planet? She knew that she and the Morts were the (possibly only) known residents of Sargasso, but a random child here all of the sudden? There's just something odd about that. She never recalled seeing a single child on Sargasso before. Maybe that kid, whoever they were, was lost.

Rivet's mind began racing. Could that kid be... But it kept slipping off her tongue. Just who was that kid that was hiding behind a tree...and following her?

"Rivet, what is wro-"

Rivet gently placed her arm in front of Kit, preventing her from causing anymore distraction of scaring the kid away again. "I think I saw...a kid. I think they're lost." She then turned to Kit. "We should catch up to them. They probably don't know what's out here and might run into some trouble."

"Wait, Rivet, what about the-"

"I know, I know. But there's a kid out here and they shouldn't be out here. They might get hurt real bad or worse!"

Kit consequently gave in and accepted Rivet's objective. "Right."

Careful not to make too much noises, knowing that the kid could still be there and in fear of scaring them away for the second time, Rivet casually walked up to the rest of the trees further back from the tree she swung at where the kid ran from (with Kit trailing behind her) and somewhat called out, "Hey, kid! Are you here? Are you okay?"

The next thing she knew, the same youngster she briefly saw back at the other tree ran away again from another tree that was slightly farther from where Rivet and Kit were. "Hey, wait! I didn't mean to ambush you!" urging Rivet to run after the youngster. "Come back! I'm sorry for doing that!" But the youngster wouldn't stop running, no matter how hard the white Lombax tried to apologetically convince them. That kid was quite fast for someone at their age, reminding Rivet of someone else she knew. Soon after quite a long bit of running, the kid tripped over and fell to the ground, unable to have the strength to get up and running. Rivet witnessed this and let out a gasp, and ran up to them, with Kit catching up to the scene.

"Whoa! Are you OK, kid?" As soon as Rivet gingerly approached the child, the child was quick to react and tried backing up against the tree behind her, facing toward her and the yellow robot near her, fully enabling the Lombax to see the face up close, and she froze, confirming what, or who, she was staring at.

The youngster appeared to be a...fox who looked similar to the other fox who tagged along with her interdimensional counterpart Ratchet and Kit's interdimensional counterpart Clank. That explained the large, pointed ears that look somewhat similar to a Lombax's, fox-like muzzle, and the large tail instead of two like the other. The pair of bright, light blue eyes locked onto the other's pair of eyes-the color of sweet honeydew. ...And this fox was...a girl. A little girl.

The girl didn't say a word and trembled with agitation as she was forced to look up at the white Lombax, not knowing what else to do. She was paralyzed with fright as though she was about to whimper, for small streaks of tears began to cascade down her cheeks. Rivet stared at her with a look of sympathy and pity. "Hey, there's no need to cry. Everything's OK. I'm really sorry for what I did back there."

The little fox still didn't respond. She just stared back with teary eyes.

"What's wrong? Can't you talk?"

"Mmm..." The fox wouldn't speak, but she had to as the other was talking to her. It was though she was something of a mute or an introvert. "Y...you're not going t-to...hurt me, are you?" she managed to let out several words from her whimpers.

"No! Of course not! I swear I didn't mean to do that," Rivet replied.

The fox nodded to herself, her agitation gradually beginning to subside the longer she locked her eyes onto the Lombax's eyes, as if they were full of blue innocence.

"Can you tell me who you are?"

The little fox hesitated at first, but she had to get it over it. "T...Taril..."

"Taril, huh? I'm Rivet," Rivet said, placing her hand on her chest as a greeting. She then noticed the little fox staring at the yellow robot near her. "That's Kit you're looking at."

Rivet... Kit...

Those two names echoed in Taril's head. They sounded like...bits and pieces of mechanics. Then, this new feeling rose in her. That could mean one thing: could it be that she... she...wanted to be...

"So..."

Taril was interrupted when she heard Rivet speaking with her again.

"Do you know why you're...here? Like are you lost?"

"Do you have anyone who looks after you, Taril?" Kit then asked. "Where are your parents?"

"Umm..." These questions that were being asked seemed to swell her, even overwhelming her a little. She could feel the tears wanting to come back out when she mentally answered the questions and stared ever so slightly down in a desolate demeanor. Noticing this, Rivet came to the concluding realization. "...You're homeless, aren't you? No wonder you look like you're lost."

Taril let Rivet's conclusion sink in her. It was true. She was indeed homeless...that meant she was an orphan, too.. "Yep... I've been lost for a long time, and now...I need somebody to live with... Since you are...here and..."

Rivet and Kit looked at each other, wondering what they should do with her. They can't just leave her here now, would they? Rivet turned back to Taril and said with a small smile, "You can come live with us."

Taril's ears perked up to what Rivet just said. Was she really going to let her come with her and Kit? Was this for real? But something still restrained her from coming along with them. She just stared up at Rivet's soft, silvery white face and switching between hers and Kit's yellow metallic face (with those big bright blue eyes of hers). "Huh...?"

Rivet kneeled down in front of the young fox and prepared to place a hand on her. "Look, I know we just met, but you're too young to be out here alone without anyone to look after you. You can tell me anything. Can you?"

Taril nodded, but didn't urge to get up, for her legs felt fairly sore.

"You okay, Taril?" Rivet said, noticing her uneased expression.

"M...my legs hurt. I could barely move. Can I...rest here for a time?"

More pity rose in Rivet as the young fox was still restrained. The Lombax sat beside her against the tree (while gesturing Kit to come near them as well). "Ohh, you poor girl..." she said silently as she wiped the nearly dried tears off Taril's cheek. "Let's just...start with this, OK? Are you from around here?"

"...No."

Huh. Just as I thought... Rivet thought. She knew Taril didn't seem like she belonged on Sargasso. "So you're from another universe, aren't you?" bringing up the conclusion that this young fox was just like another fox she knew.

"Yep. I never grew up with a family, or knew them at all. Then some kids that were living in a village I was living in bullied and insulted me for that, and the way I look. Even getting into mechanics and engineering didn't help me at all, so I just...ran away and lived on my own until when I went somewhere else and found this...purple quartz lying on the grass, and when I went to pick it up, everything went white and I was here, where I saw you guys and you found me."

Rivet comprehended what Taril had just explained to her. She had a tough time going through childhood, and it was so merciless and unbearable. But one question remained in her head. Purple quartz? she mentally said to herself. Did she mean...Phase Quartz? "I...I'm sorry to hear that, Taril. I couldn't imagine what you had to go through." She was kinda like her. Rivet herself never knew her family, either, but she never recalled being scorned before, since she lived with the Morts, and they were like a family to her. "But I have to hand it to you. You're too smart and brave for that, you know? I appreciate that."

"I'm brave...?" Taril said, bemused about the "brave" part. The "smart" part, she understood, as she was brainy for a child at her age, but "brave?" "No way. You look like you're braver than me," as she shook her head slightly.

Rivet gave out a small hearty laugh. "Well, you can still have a chance to prove worthy of yourself and put that into use for the benefits, even yours. I mean, there is a time where you just gotta change the way you were. I never knew my family, either, but I had someone-er, friends that looked out for me my whole life, and I wasn't a normal child, either. Just like you. Now I changed entirely from those things that had happened with me, and for that, I'm giving you that chance for yourself. Don't let anything bad assimilate you, you got that?"

The young fox was baffled and stunned about what the other had said to her. Maybe she was right. Maybe she should...change the way she was. "Rivet, I... Thank you so much..." she said as she gently placed her head on her shoulder, closed her eyes, and smiled thankfully.

Rivet and Kit smiled at this young girl's etiquette. She seemed so sweet, timid, and innocent. It was as if she could be a good...little sister to her.

Sister...

That word provoked in Rivet's head. She was finally going to have...another sidekick just like her interdimensional counterpart. She patted her on the back of the other's head. But she and Kit still had some unfinished business to take care of than just settling in the middle of the forested swampland with this familiar-looking nobody fox. However, she told her that her legs hurt. Nonetheless, she should be at least okay enough to move around a bit.

"So what were you and Kit doing out here?" The white Lombax heard the cloudy fox said.

"We were...scavenging for some things out in the wild."

"What kind of things?"

"Something called Zurpstones. They're these purple plant-like things. Basically food for a kind of animal," as she brought out a Zurpstone from her inventory and showed it to Taril.

"Wow, that looks nice."

"Tell me about it. Anyway, we were trying to find one more of these. Tell you what. You think you could help us look for one?"

Hearing this, Taril looked at Rivet with ever so slightly bemused eyes.

Since they may have to look for another Zurpstone on higher places she couldn't normally reach, Rivet thought of one possible thing about Taril. Since she was a fox like the other fox Classic Tails, she had to ask her this. "Can you fly?"

Taril's face brightened. "Yes," as she began spinning her large tail and flew around the area where she, Rivet, and Kit were at in the fashion of a helicopter.

"You can fly, too!" Rivet complimented. She was indeed like Classic Tails!

"'Too?'" Taril said as she landed, wondering why the word "too" was said.

"Don't worry about that. We'll talk about it later. Right now, we need to finish some unfinished business, and we could use a little help from you," Rivet said with a nod as she and Kit got up. "You coming?" she then turned to Taril with a grin.

Taril's eyes moved down to the ground, but she quickly moved them back up to Rivet, trying her best not to let her bashfulness overwhelm her, so she nodded and grinned back at her.

Rivet's grin evolved into a smile as Taril joined her. "Alright, girls, let's get back into business!" As Kit and Taril trailed behind the Lombax, resuming the duo's (now trio) search for the last Zurpstone.

As for Taril, the young fox couldn't believe what had just happened with her: she had finally made a few friends, and this Rivet, she seemed like...a good big sister to her. Maybe this new path of hers would be a fun one, probably even a far cry from her old, alienated life.

So there you have. My first FanFiction fanfic featuring an OC of mine.

Sorry for the lame title, but that is the best I could do. I haven't written a story for a while, and I feel like I'm back to square one again (I still suck at writing -_-). Anyways, here is how my OC Taril met Rivet and Kit. I tried so hard to make it heartwarming and sweet.

I also have some plans for writing another fanfic/one-shot involving Taril, Rivet, and Kit (primarily Taril and Rivet), but I need a break from that for the time being. I hope you guys enjoyed the pleasure to read this fanfic regardless.

Taril the Fox belongs to me

Rivet and Kit belong to (c) Insomniac Games