Chapter 5
Surprising tragedy
Rivet and Ratchet with Kit and Clank on their back, chased Boomer through Nefarious City. They dashed between the buildings and ran on rooftops until they reached Nefarious Square where a lot of people were there. Boomer flew to the Nefarious Statue and set explosives on it, he prepared his detonator. Ratchet and Rivet saw what he wanted to do and Ratchet reacted quickly, he took out his pistol and shot the detonator out of his hand. The detonator landed below him, but Ratchet shot it again, destroying it. The people noticed the events and moved away as far as possible.
"Hey, that hurts." shouted at Ratchet Boomer while he caressed his shot hand.
"That was my purpose, you jerk." said Ratchet and spread his arms in confusion.
"The two lombax who defeated the Emperor, what a surprise." said Boomer, flying a little closer to the lombaxes to inspect them.
"Why don't you leave me alone while I clean up this Nefarious mess, you don't even have to look at this anymore." said Boomer pointing at the statue.
"You hurt people with your clean up, stop it or we will stop you." said Rivet with a serious face while she stepped forward.
"Oh I want to see that." With that he picked up an explosive orb from the hoverboard and threw it at them. Both of the lombaxes phantom dashed away from it before it exploded. Boomer didn't stop with that he threw multiple explosive orbs at them. One of the explosives hit a building and started collapsing. Rivet saw what was happening and took off Kit from his back.
"Kit stop it." commanded her. Kit looked at the building, she nodded and immediately activated her warbot form and made her way to the collapsing building. Ratchet saw Kit holding the building but from the building no one came out. He took Clank off his back too.
" Buddy, look for survivors and help them." pointed at Kit and the collapsing building.
"Understood." he said and made his way to Kit. Building pieces from the rooftop fell to the ground which provided cover for the lombaxes. They tried to shoot his hoverboard but they barely hit it while they were under constant fire. Ratchet looked at Rivet, she held her ground and tried to shoot Boomer, she looked at him too and they both understood that somebody has to get his attention to have a chance. He nodded to her that he would do it, Rivet looked at him worriedly but she knew that they had to do it or they were gonna explode into pieces, so she nodded in agreement and started the action.
"Hey Firecracker, looks like you weren't training in targeting, we are disappointed in you." said Ratchet in a mocking tone. This caught Boomer attention who stopped throwing for a brief second.
"I'm gonna replace your head with my grenades, Lombax." said Boomer and picked up a bigger explosive but before he could throw at Ratchet, Rivet from her cover shot his hoverboard and he crashed to the ground. He was on the ground this time and this was the point when ratchet and Rivet had a chance against him. The lombaxes slowly walked near to him, they didn't want a surprise. When they saw him near the crashed hoverboard, he pulled out from his pockets a cube and he threw it on the ground. Nothing happened, the two lombax looked at each other in confusion and thought that he was just joking, then the cube started to tremble and flash. After a second the cube disappeared, from the flash robots started to appear. Boomer laughed maniacally at the lombaxes and started walking to the statue leaving his robots to deal with them.
"Good luck with my army fools." said while making his way to the statue.
Rivet and Ratchet looked at each other in worry but Ratchet had an idea which Rivet would love to do: Time to bring the big guns alive.
"I think it's time for showtime eh?" said Ratchet pointing at her back to the RYNO 8. Rivet looked behind and smiled at his almost forgot that she had a solution to everything She took from her back and targeted the robots in front of them. All the robot's eyes glowed red and they charged at them. Rivet charged her weapon and released it quickly. A portal opened above them and summoned objects that landed on the robots and destroyed them. Boomer heard the explosion and looked back, he couldn't believe it from his eyes, his army was just ash on the ground.
"No, no, no, NO!" said in a panicking tone. " Why are you still alive? Why don't you die with your own kind too?!" said now in rage. This made Ratchet and Rivet angry and they pulled out their melee weapon.
"You wish you would have never said that." said Rivet with a deadly tone and charged at him with her hammer. Boomer then pressed a button on his suit that activated his nanotech shield suit. Rivet and her hammer bounced back by the hammer's hit on the suit, but Ratchet caught her in his hands before she could reach the ground. He smiled at her and helped her get back on her feet. Rivet smiled back, but she had to focus on Boomer now. They watched him from a distance and tried to find any weakness in him.
"Melee doesn't work, then maybe pistols?" asked Rivet.
"I think we should attack him with anything and look for anything that will help us." said Ratchet.
"Ok I'm with you." said Rivet pulling out her gun and nodded. They started attacking him with pistols. At first Boomer tried to defend himself with grenades but he was out of ammo fast enough and he only depended on his suit now. Ratchet and Rivet noticed that every time they continuously shot him on one side the suit turned red but disappeared a second later if they stopped shooting. It means that the suit had a cooldown and they needed to overheat it. They nodded that they had to shoot him at two sides and they needed to be fast. Ratchet went behind him and Rivet went before Boomer and started shooting him. Boomer couldn't do anything just take the shots and he felt the suit overheating but he couldn't escape from the shots. Also the lombaxes walked closer to Boomer to make sure they didn't miss every shot. When they stopped, Boomer screamed in agony and grabbed Rivet behind him and shoved to Ratchet. The suit was red like blood and smoked like a chimney, this meant that it would explode. Boomer took off it and tossed it as far as possible. The suit exploded when it hit the ground, leaving nothing behind it. Rivet and Ratchet got up from the ground and walked carefully to Boomer.
"In your place I would give up before we shoot you." said Rivet in a cold voice. Boomer was on the ground and just breathed heavily. When he calmed down he looked at Rivet with a sinister look.
"It's not going to happen." said Boomer and pulled out a detonator and activated it. Ratchet and Rivet were surprised by this and quickly looked around. Ratchet then heard a ticking sound from Rivet and he noticed that something red metal thing was on her back. It was a sticky explosive, she must have gotten it when she was shoved by Boomer. Ratchet acted quickly, he grabbed the explosive and tried to throw it away as fast as possible, but it exploded in his hands. Rivet after she saw that ratchet tried to throw away something she blacked out by the explosion. She was woken up one minute later and struggled to get up from the explosion's impact. When she shook her head, she saw Ratchet lying on his side on the ground not far from her.
"Oh no, no, no, no, NO!" she ran to Ratchet, feared by the worst scenario, she slowly crouched down and turned it on his back. Rivet gasped and stumbled back by what she witnessed, Ratchet had lost his right arm and she didn't even know he was alive, so she put her ear to his chest. She calmed down a little that he still had a heartbeat, but she needed to stop the bleeding somehow. She looked down at her red kerchief, she took it off and tied his arm with it. She knew that somebody had to help him but who? There are no doctors on this planet and will run out of time if she doesn't act quickly. She thought about an idea but she had to take him back to Sargasso. With that she picked up Ratchet and ran to the ship. Kit and Clank were busy with helping people but they managed to secure everyone out of the building. Kit went back to her smaller form and high fived with Clank.
"Good job partner." said Clank with a proud smile.
"Oh thanks partner." said Kit while blushing at Clank and his comment "partner". But they were interrupted by Rivet.
"Guys come with me, he lost his arm, we have to help him!." said Rivet crying with Ratchet in her looked at Ratchet who looked like he was sleeping but he passed out. They nodded and joined her. They arrived at the ship and Rivet laid him down on the back seats. She jumped into the pilot seat and took off fast from the planet. She hyper-jumped to Sargasso and quickly made their way to her home garage where Rivet put on a table.
"What should we do?" asked Kit to Rivet, who wanted to help her and Ratchet too.
"Bring the medkit from the kitchen." said Rivet to Kit who was glad that she helped her. Kit nodded and she went to her destination.
"And Clank, bring the tool kit from the armored cabinet." said Rivet to Clank who nodded and made his way to the cabinet.
Rivet then looked at Ratchet who was still unconscious, she didn't want to let him die, she didn't want to lose a good friend, a best friend, her dimensional counterpart. She caressed his cheek while she tried not to cry, but it was impossible when he was dying.
"Don't leave us, you are strong I know, and too stubborn to die." She laughed at her last comment a bit, trying to ease the pain. Tears rolled down on her cheeks, but she tried to stop because she would have to focus on keeping him alive.
"Here it is." said Clank and held up the tool kit. Rivet took it and placed it on the table. Kit came too with the medkit in her arms. Rivet took that too and opened it to take out some painkillers in a tube. She took the injection and pulled it in the painkillers. Then she injected it into Ratchet's neck. After that she took off the kerchief from his arm, she saw that the bleeding stopped and she cleaned it with the disinfectant carefully. Then she opened the tool kit and started the procedure. Kit and Clank watched her from behind and they were worried about Ratchet and what Rivet wanted to do. Kit looked at Clank who was feeling miserable for his best friend, he wished that he would be there instead of Ratchet. He lost him once but he was able to bring him back, but this was different, and he was feeling alone. He felt a hand touching his hand and held it, it was Kit's hand and she offered him a hug. He gladly accepted her embrace, he felt the tingly feeling inside him, just like before, and he liked it. Kit wanted him to not worry about the situation.
"I watched him die once, but I can't lose him again." said Clank hugging her like a doll.
"You won't, she will do anything to prevent that." pointed out to Rivet who focused on keeping Ratchet alive at the table.
"I really hope so." said Clank and hugged her even more. They stayed there for a long moment and hoped that he would survive. Rivet used the tools and the infusion to stabilize him and work on his arm. She worked 3 hours without breaks and she even gave him her blood. Clank found out that they share the same blood type, so she gave him 1 litre to make sure he would not suffer from blood loss. After she finished stabilizing him, she sat down on the couch with Clank and Kit. She can finally rest after this exhausting operation.
"Will he be ok?" asked Kit with worried eyes. Clank was beside Kit and watched Rivet sitting down. They wanted to know what would happen.
"Rivet sighed in relief, looked into their eyes and answered them:" Yes, he will be." The two robots sighed in relief too.
"Now we just have to wait for him to wake up." said Rivet while looking at Ratchet on the table with sad eyes. She felt responsible for what happened, if only she could have been careful or spotted the bomb in time on her back, but that was just imagination. She fears that Ratchet will hate her for what happened to him or even worse, he will leave her forever. The two robots spotted Rivet looking down at the floor in worry.
"Rivet, are you ok?" asked Clank.
"No, I don't think so." said Rivet with a cracking voice, tears started flooding on her cheeks. "If only I was just a little careful, he wouldn't be there." said Rivet crying and feeling terrible for everything. The two robots exchanged glances and felt sorry for her, Kit went closer to her and laid her hand on her.
"Don't blame yourself for what happened, I'm sure Ratchet won't hate you for that." said Kit with reassurance. Rivet looked at her but she was not sure that Ratchet would understand, she was responsible for losing his arm and there was no denying. She wiped away her tears and took a big breath.
"I just don't want to see him like this." pointed out Rivet.
"Neither do we." pointed to Clank and herself Kit. Rivet calmed down a little but it was not a full reassurance for her. She was thinking about all the scenarios that will affect her if Ratchet wakes up, but she found none that will make her not worry or sad.
2 hours later
After some wait, Ratchet opened his eyes and started moving his head a little, he was feeling dizzy and especially hungry. He slept well and didn't feel any pain during the operation, thanks to Rivet's medical capability. He slowly remembered everything that happened to him before he passed out. He turned his head right where Rivet, Clank and Kit were sitting on the couch and talked to each other.
"Hey guys." said Ratchet with a dizzy tone. Rivet and the two robots looked where the voice came, their eyes widened, Rivet ran to him immediately. Rivet slowly helped him sit up on the table because Ratchet was still not 100%.
"Thanks Rivet." Ratchet rubbed his eyes, but he felt something strange metal thing too while rubbing his eyes. Helooked at his right arm, but it was not his arm, it was a yellow metal arm just like Rivet's, instead of his organic. Ratchet was confused and looked at Rivet who was broken and didn't want eye contact. She just looked down in shame, she was in a depressing mood, her ears dropped down.
"I stopped the bleeding and replaced it with my duplicate, and I gave you my blood, after Bolts said that we have the same type to stop you from losing blood." said Rivet pointing to Clank while looking at his metal arm. Ratchet processed all information slowly and looked at the arm and then Rivet who still didn't look at him.
"This is the least I could do after I failed and almost killed you." said Rivet, almost choking on her words and covering her eyes from crying. Ratchet's ears perked up at her words, did she really think that this was all her fault?
"What makes you say that?" asked Ratchet with confusion. Rivet put away her hands and looked at him directly in the eyes.
"Because I was not careful and this is what happened to you." pointed out Rivet to his metal arm. Ratchet was still confused by all of this.
"And I am sure that you are mad at me, as you should be." said Rivet.
"Why would I be mad at you? Rivet, I would never be mad at somebody who saved my life." pointed out Ratchet. Rivet looked at him, she couldn't believe that he was not even disappointed or mad at her. She turned around, grabbed her hammer and went to the wood boxes and hit one of them, leaving tiny pieces of it.
"Rivet what are you doing? ratchet asked her, but she continued to smash the boxes. ratchet got up from the table and walked to her.
"Rivet, I want you to stop, NOW!" demanded Ratchet and stepped in front of her and stopped her hammer in the air before she could hit another box. Ratchet looked at her seriously but all he could see was her crying and nothing else. His look eased and asked her once again: " Please tell me what's wrong?" she looked at him and answered him.
"Why are you not angry at me? Why?" she asked him with a hurtful look. Ratchet just looked at her, she really didn't get it. She just only wanted to blame herself, like she wanted to decide to throw the bomb away, but it was his decision, he was responsible for this not her.
"Because I would rather lose my arm than any of my friends, you Dumbax." said with a cheerful smile and slowly started putting down the hammer. Rivet was taken back by his words, and saw that he would do anything for his friends, even sacrificing himself. She looked away in shame and looked at the boxes she destroyed. She lost herself for a second and this is where it got her, thanks to Ratchet she stopped just in time. Ratchet then hugged her, this caught her surprised but she gladly accepted it.
"I don't want you to feel responsible for anything, I decided and that was my responsibility to make sure you don't get hurt." said Ratchet snuggling in the embrace to make sure she calms down. She continued crying on his shoulder, Ratchet caressed her back, Rivet slowly gained her normal form back, she snuggled too in this warm hug she got from him. She realized that Ratchet didn't want any bad to her, he just wanted to be a good friend like always, she should have been grateful he was there for her, what if he was not there when the bomb was on her back, maybe she could have died, right? She pushed away that thought and felt bad about her behaviour, she was not herself.
"I'm sorry, I was not myself." apologized Rivet. She looked into his eyes, those emerald eyes made her heart beat faster, she knew what feeling this was, but she stopped it. She just wanted him to be nothing more than a friend.
"Hey, all of you are all right and that's what matters to me." said Ratchet looking at Rivet smiling and glad she stopped and ended the situation. He remembered that Clank and Kit are there too and he was worried that because of Rivet's behaviour they hid somewhere.
"Clank, Kit you can come out now. Everything's fine now." shouted Ratchet across the room. After a second they heard movement from behind the table, the two robots walked out in fear, Clank was behind Kit who slowly followed her.
"Is she not mad anymore?" asked Kit with a worrisome voice. She looked at Rivet who felt terrible for this.
"No, she is now the kind and cute Rivet we all know, our enemies will have the mad Rivet, right? said Ratchet with a cheerful smile and proud voice. He looked at Rivet who blushed at his words, Kit and Clank giggled at him. They smiled knowing that they are safe for now.
"I am glad we are not harmed and for Ratchet too, I was worried about you." said Clank.
"Pal, you should thank Rivet for everything, without her I would not have this beauty here." pointed to his new arm. "I cannot wait to punch the bad guys with this." said Ratchet clenching his metal arm into a fist.
"I would like to see that." giggled Rivet. She forgot all the bad things when Ratchet talks, it's just mood lightening when he does this. "Oh I almost forgot to show you guys what I bought on Corson V. I think you would love it, let me bring them here." with that she went to the ship.
