"Back away from the lombax!"
Ratchet froze at the familiar voice. The robot's sword lowered only an inch as he turned his head to see the owner of the sudden command. "And who may be askin'?"
A figure in the darkness, too blurry for Ratchet's vision, stepped into the light. It was then that he couldn't believe who he was seeing.
"The captain of the Starship Phoenix and the mayor of Metropolis!" Sasha called out, holding a lancer straight in front of her, pointing it at the pirate. "And if you don't lower that sword, I have a whole army of commandos ready to attack."
The robot glared at her, then back at Ratchet before pulling back his blade and standing up.
"Alright, Lassy." He replied, looking as if he had given up. He turned his head back to look at red eyes glaring. "If it's a fight you want…" He swung his knife straight at her, allowing it to spin in the air multiple times before planting itself into the wooden wall, only half a foot away from her face.
Ratchet's eyes widened as Sasha moved her closest arm away from the sword, leaning back. She shot the thrower angry stare, but yet was still in too much shock to act upon it.
"Tis a fight you will get!" He finished, putting his fingers in his mouth to whistle.
"Say, looks like we've got some company, do we boys?" A pirate appeared behind Sasha, punching his fist into his palm. Two other pirates stood on each of his sides, weapons in hand. They chuckled.
Sasha turned around as quickly as possible, eyeing the new enemies.
"Seems like it, Cap'ain!"
One of the pirates used his knife to try to slice off her head, but she flipped up into the air right on time, using her lancer to shoot him down. The cazar landed perfectly on her feet, using one hand to balance in front of her as the other held her lancer. "Anyone else want to try?" She challenged. Ratchet's mouth was agape.
Her question was answered as every pirate started to go after her.
"Sasha!" Ratchet called, trying to stand up. But to no avail, his wounds stung at the action and he fell forward onto his chin. He scrambled for a weapon, but all of his ammo was depleted.
"You know that waste of fur!?" Ratchet ignored the insult towards him as a shot from Sasha's lancer unintentionally destroyed a crate sitting only a few feet away. Ammo falling out.
Out of ammo, Sasha grabbed the sword from the wall, holding it up in front of her chest to block one of the pirates from slicing her. Their knives clashed as she was too preoccupied to answer the question. And too unaware to notice the other pirates about to make her a tasty snack for the sharkigators. Her ear twitched at the oncoming footsteps as one pirate was about to stab her head from behind. It was at the moment where she turned her head to see the sword raised high in the air, about to end her life single-handedly. Her eyes widened, and she let out a terrifying gasp before shutting them closed in fear.
A massive explosion was heard, and she opened her eyes. All of the robots fell at her feet, and she quickly looked down to see Ratchet on the floor, holding a plasma striker. He panted, settling the gun down onto the dirty floor.
Now that the pirates were gone, she dropped the sword and raced over to Ratchet.
"Ratchet!" She exclaimed, leaning down and raising his head with her hands on the bottom of his chin. The look she gave him was lifeless; the color drained from his emerald eyes. But he was happier than ever to see the cazar again. "What did they do to you?" Worry filled her voice. "We have to get you out of here."
The screen was filled with constant static, the sound drawing out absolutely everything in the garage. "Come on!" The lombax fidgeted with the wires in hopes that would fix it. Suddenly, as she was focused on adjusting them, she heard voices coming through the static. Finally, the blurriness started to fade, and she could finally see what had been recorded. She couldn't tell what was exactly going on at first; it seemed like a lot of enemies were running towards Clank. She switched to a different recording. More enemies. She switched again. And again. And again.
"I don't know, Clank."
She froze immediately. What was on the screen, she couldn't believe. She refused to believe. She bit her lip, forcing herself to continue watching.
An orange lombax appeared on the screen with a face and voice all too familiar to her. He was sitting on a bench, looking down at what looked to be a grey weapon. It had glowing yellow lights around the rim and sat on the floor next to many tools.
The lombax's ears were flat against his head, and his eyes were filled with sadness. The way he was hunched down, holding his wrist, made it appear he felt hopeless. "Maybe we shouldn't do this." He said. His voice shook slightly, but she couldn't tell if it was directly from him or the glitchy audio.
"What is the matter?" Clank asked. "We have come so far, do you no longer wish to see your family?"
The female lombax anticipated his answer.
"Of course I want to see them, Clank!" The other lombax exclaimed quickly, looking at that floor. The female lombax's shoulders relaxed at this answer.
"It's just…" he continued to fidget with his gloves. He sighed, freezing for a moment as he appeared deep in thought. "What if their not what I expected." He looked away to the right, as if there was something interesting there. The look in his eyes filled with pain. Wind blowed in his fur ever so gently, as if trying to comfort him. "What if…" He turned, locking eyes with Clank. It felt like he was locking eyes with her.
"What if I'm not what they expected?"
The screen buffered, shutting off.
"Oh, Dad…"
Ratchet's eyes blinked open. He took in a sharp breath as his chest stung. He looked down, realizing he was shirtless, with bandages that were wrapped carefully around his wound. He looked around, recognizing the place immediately. He was in one of the rooms of the Starship Phoenix. Suddenly, everything came back to him. How Sasha had saved him from imminent death by a pirate's sword. Him struggling for the ammo. How did Sasha even find him? He hadn't talked to her for years after she disappeared while he was stuck in Dreadzone. And what was she even doing in this dimension, whatever dimension it may be? The thoughts circled in his head, making him dizzy.
The doors to his room suddenly swung open, as Sasha came walking in. "Look who's finally up." The cazar gave a warm smile as she held a tray of food. It smelled absolutely delicious to Ratchet, who hadn't eaten in who knows how long.
"Sasha!" Ratchet said, in both disbelieve and relief. "So it wasn't a crazy dream, or am I stuck in a comma?" He joked, but a part of him may have thought he really was. "Where have you been…" He finished off his bad joke, his weak smile turning into a look of worry.
She set the tray down onto the bed next to him, sitting on the edge. Her outfit was nearly the same as when she had last saw him. The only difference was that her hair was a bit longer- but not by much. "That's a long story." She said. "But I suppose you need some form of entertainment, since you'll be stuck in that bed for a while."
"A while?" Ratchet asked, knowing he couldn't take that boredom. "I'll be back in shape this time tomorrow." He protested, trying to sit up further.
Sasha shook her head. "That'll only make it worse. What did those pirates do to you?" She asked, settling him down again.
"Nothing I couldn't handle." Ratchet said, trying to sound tough.
Sasha gave him a quizzical look. "You'd be dead if I hadn't showed up to rescue you." She stated the cold truth.
Ratchet couldn't think of a reply as that truth sank in.
She let out a soft chuckle. "You know, I've missed you, Ratchet."
"Then why did you leave." Ratchet stated bluntly, looking down at the bed sheets. "You know I liked you, and you just disappeared." He couldn't stop the last sentence from leaving his mouth. He immediately regretted it after it came out.
The look in Sasha's eyes saddened, now she was the one who didn't know what to say.
She shook her head. "I would never leave you intentionally.
"Then please tell me what happened."
Sasha sighed.
"Almost 20 years ago, while you were trapped in Dreadzone…"