Lost Time

by ACleverName8

Kaden lost everything when Tachyon attacked. His wife, his son, his best friend. Almost his life, too. He should be thankful he's still alive, but an unfortunate set of circumstances has left him separated from his son, who is stranded in another dimension, all alone. He swears that he will reunite with him one day, but when will that day come? (AU)

25. Chapter 20 - Home Again

"So, you ready to head back to your home?" Kaden asks Ratchet, nudging him slightly as they walk through the Center's halls, heading towards the Interdimensional Division's lab, Clank mounted in his usual position on his back.

"I mean, as ready as I'll ever be." Ratchet answers with a shrug and small smile, looking back up to him. "How about you?"

"Same as you, I guess." He replies with a similar smile, albeit with a tiny hint of nervousness behind it. "I'm probably looking too much into this, but… this feels like a bit of a milestone, honestly. Other dads get to see their kid's first steps, first day at school, but here I am, taking my first visit to my son's dimension." He says motioning broadly with some amusement in his tone. "I admit that I wonder what it'd be like if I actually had a somewhat normal life sometimes. This is probably one of those times."

Ratchet gives a chuckle. "I know that feeling. There have definitely been more than a few days where I imagine what life would've been like if I just stayed on Veldin as a mechanic instead of being an intergalactic hero, especially if it's in the middle of a firefight. But, you know, even despite everything that's happened… I can't say I'd wish for things to be any different." He tells him with a smile, right before his eyes widen as he realizes what he said. "Erm, I mean, except for having you be there with me in my life, of course!"

Kaden returns a small laugh as he pats his shoulder. "Don't worry, I get what you mean. Although I have to admit that my last twenty years have been less than stellar, to say the least, hearing that you look back on yours with happiness is all I ever want to hear as a father." He says, flashing him a warm smile. "Except for an 'I love you' every once in a while, of course."

"Good to know." Ratchet answers gladly with a nod before he simply returns his attention back to the path ahead of them with nothing more to say.

However, after a few moments of fruitless anticipation, Kaden frowns slightly, and clears his throat with a very unsubtle 'ahem' while gently elbowing him, prompting him to laugh.

"I know, I know; I love you, dad." Ratchet finally tells him, albeit with a giant smirk.

Even though Kaden was unamused with his little joke, he couldn't help but smile as he rolls his eyes, and takes him into a quick side-hug as they walk along.

"And I love you too, Ratchet." He says warmly, giving him one more squeeze before letting go of him. However, he is sure to follow it up with a small punch on his shoulder, making Ratchet recoil back in surprise. "Even if you're a smartass sometimes." He says with a grin.

"Ah, hey, it's not like you're better than me when it comes to that!" Ratchet protests, rubbing his shoulder lightly.

"Hmm… true." He concedes with a shrug. "But I've got seniority over you, so I get a pass." He finishes with a smirk.

Ratchet scoffs, but instead of arguing, simply leaves it be, as he's learned by now that these small squabbles were pretty much unwinnable with his father. He could definitely see now where he got his wit from, but he could also see how more than a few people have said how annoying it is sometimes.

Nonetheless, they soon find themselves walking up to the door of the lab, and as it quickly slides open, they walk in to find Julie and Mags standing next to each other in front of the still-unfinished Dimensionator on the workbench, although visibly close to completion.

And currently—as per usual—they appeared to be in the middle of another argument.

"Just—Julie, no, the Dimensionator doesn't need a gun mounted onto it." Mags tells her tiredly, taking a moment to rub his eyes as he shakes his head.

"Why not? I've heard you tell me the stories about some close calls you had with some angry wildlife as you were hopping dimensions." She replies confusedly. "By the sounds of it, you could use a little protection out in the multiverse, and what better protection is there than a good gun?"

"Pepper spray!" He argues. "There's a reason that's what we use in our kits, you know, because it works. Don't fix what ain't broke, as they say."

She scoffs. "Yeah, sure, you could use pepper spray if you're a wimp." She bites back. "But what if you end up in a dimension where they don't have eyes? How's that going to work out for you? That's right, it won't. But do you know what will work? A gun!"

"And what happens if I end up in a dimension where they're bulletproof?" He responds, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… then you're screwed." She answers back with a shrug, making Mags mutter something under his breath before she quickly raises a finger. "But, a gun will work for the other ninety-nine million or whatever dimensions where things aren't bulletproof, so just go ahead and let me—"

"The Dimensionator isn't a toy, Julie," Mags cuts her off, "It has the capability to destroy the entire multiverse if it gets damaged bad enough, and I can't think of a better way to do that than to attach a freaking gun to it, much less one of yours!"

"Hey, what does that mean?" She asks in an offended tone.

"You literally just told me how you gave Ratchet a gun yesterday that almost killed him because yours exploded after you shot it." He answers pointedly. "So, the last thing the Dimensionator needs is a grenade taped—"

"Wait, what?" Kaden speaks up, having stood behind them with Ratchet and Clank, being entertained by their conversation up until this point.

"Gah!" Both Mags and Julie visibly jump, with them knocking into the Dimensionator on the workbench as they turn around, but with Mags very quickly scrambling to catch it before it can tip over onto the floor while Julie utters a nervous chuckle as Kaden stares at her, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"H-Hey, Kaden! Ratchet! Didn't hear you guys come in!" She says, hiding behind a much-too-wide smile. "Erm, me and Mags were just, uh, working on the Dimensionator some more, and not talking about the fact that I almost killed Ratchet yesterday, no-siree!"

"Smooth, Julie." Mags comments dryly with a roll of his eyes, finishing up with re-securing the Dimensionator in its stand. "I'm surprised the Praetorians haven't recruited you into their espionage detachment yet."

"Screw you." She quickly utters to him, still holding her fake smile before she hurriedly looks back to a very amused Ratchet and conflicted-looking Kaden, who, after a few moments, simply sighs.

"Just… try not to kill my son next time you two hang out, please." He tells her in exasperation.

She breathes a sigh of relief and flashes him a more genuine smile along with a thumbs-up. "Will do!"

"And only let him use stuff that's been passed by Percy, too." He adds. "None of your 'totally awesome' prototypes that explode half the time."

"Wait, what?" She protests with a disappointed slump. "But they are awesome! Even Ratchet thinks so, right?" She argues, looking over to Ratchet expectantly.

"I've gotta admit that she's right, dad." Ratchet agrees with a shrug. "And besides, I've almost killed myself plenty of times before with more dangerous prototypes I've made, I wouldn't worry too much."

"I must also agree to that statement." Clank adds from beside him, having hopped off his back. "There's a reason I banned him from working on anything that involves nuclear power after the rocket sled incident."

"See?" Julie says to Kaden, raising her eyebrows as she gestures back over to Ratchet, shooting Clank a look that he only returns with a smug smile.

"Uh huh. I still want you to hold off on letting him test your prototypes, though." Kaden replies, crossing his arms with an unimpressed look.

She gives a large groan, hanging her head back before nodding her head. "Alright, fine. I'll keep Ratchet away from my prototypes, Kaden, I swear."

However, as soon as she says that, she looks right back to Ratchet, and with the tiniest shake of her head, mouths 'no I won't' with a wink.

"I'm literally standing right here, Julie." Kaden says. "I saw that."

"No you didn't." She retorts coolly.

He opens his mouth to argue against her, but after only a moment, realizes it'd be a losing battle, and decides to cut his losses with a small sigh instead before looking over to Mags.

"So, anyway, any word on Max showing up yet?"

"No, not yet." Mags answers with a shake of his head. "We were both just waiting for you and him to show up, actually." He says, thumbing over to himself and Julie.

"And why are you here, exactly, Julie?" Kaden asks. "It's not like we need your help with making a gun or something for this, you know."

"Well, while that point is still up for debate—"

"No it isn't." Mags clarifies.

"I still want to check this out anyway, interdimensional stuff is cool!" She explains. "It's not every day you see a portal open up into another dimension, after all!"

"Oh, you know, speaking of which, do you guys have the Dimensionator on you right now?" Mags asks curiously. "We might as well get it set up while we wait."

"Oh, yeah, I've got it right here," Ratchet answers, retrieving it from is Arsenal, manifesting it into his hands with a smile. "And my dad says I get to keep it, too!" He states proudly.

"Erm, I know? I remember how he said that yesterday while we were talking with Max and Angela." He says a little confusedly. "Why do you sound so excited right now, though?"

Kaden chuckles. "He's not just talking about keeping it for himself, Mags, he's talking about Keeping it." He clarifies with emphasis. "I'm going to ask the Council to make Ratchet an official Keeper of the Dimensionator, just like me." He announces, placing an arm around his shoulders with a smile.

"Wait, really?" He returns with surprise.

"Yep!" Ratchet happily confirms, placing his free hand on his hip as he holds up the Dimensionator with the other.

"You guys saw for yourself how he fought Tachyon head-on to keep it safe, and with his skills as a hero—along with a little extra teaching about its workings from me—I think Ratchet here is the perfect candidate to be a Keeper." Kaden says proudly, looking to him with a wide grin, which Ratchet returns with a smile of his own, getting that fuzzy feeling within him once more before Kaden looks back to Mags and Julie. "And, well, if there's going to be two Dimensionators, then it's only natural there should be two Keepers, too. So, what would you guys say your vote would be on the matter?"

"Hell yeah!" Julie answers, stepping next to him to take him into yet another one of her side-hugs, which he's learned to just simply accept by now. "Now I get to say that my nephew is a Keeper!"

"Obviously, I'd have to say yes, too." Mags answers with a smile and a nod. "He seems more than capable for the job, and he definitely has your tenacity. So, yeah! Early congrats on the honor, Ratchet!"

"We should throw ourselves a little celebration party tonight!" Julie excitedly proposes, letting go of Ratchet to look between everyone with an eager expression on her face. "There's a confetti cannon that I designed that I've been dying to try out!

"Erm, actually, shouldn't we hold off on that until he's officially made a Keeper, Julie?" Mags asks. "And—secondly—why in the hell did you design a confetti cannon?"

"Because it's still technically a weapon if it has cannon in the name, which let me cover it under our budget, and I thought it'd be a fun project." She answers pointedly, like it was obvious. "And besides, even if he's technically not a Keeper yet, there's nothing stopping us from throwing two parties, you know!"

"Oh, well, actually, there kinda is." Kaden corrects her with a small chuckle, scratching the back of his head.

"Huh? What do you mean?" She asks confusedly as she and Mags looks to him.

"Well… the thing is, Ratchet here has to go back to his dimension with Max to check in if everything's alright back home." He explains, thumbing over to him. "And, well… I'm going to be joining him." He says with a small shrug. "So I'm afraid you're gonna have to hold off on that party for tonight, at least."

"Wait, you're both going into the other dimension with Max?" Mags asks in surprise, glancing between them.

"Yeah." Ratchet answers simply with a nod. "I mean, to be honest, there's a nonzero chance that my friends think I'm dead right now since me and Clank kinda hopped dimensions without telling anyone where we were going. So, we better go back and assure them that we're, you know, not dead." He says with a small smile.

"And I want to tag along to meet some of his friends and see his home, too." Kaden adds. "And as long as Max needs a ride back, we can kill two birds with one stone."

"And how long are you guys going to be there, anyway?" Julie asks.

"Probably just for the day, so we'll be back tonight. Maybe tomorrow if things get really busy over there somehow, so don't worry." He assures her.

"Huh." Mags mutters, staring off in thought before he looks back to them with an amused smile. "So… just a good old-fashioned father-son interdimensional road trip, then?"

Kaden chuckles with a nod. "Pretty much."

"Ooh, can I join?" Julie asks enthusiastically with a grin. "I wanna go to a different dimension, too!"

"Julie, no." Mags says tiredly, shaking his head. "Did you miss the part where we literally just said it's a 'father-son' thing, and not a 'father-son-adoptive-aunt' thing?"

"I… But…" She sighs. "Fine, but I still wanna check out Ratchet's dimension, too. Promise me you'll let me visit sometime, okay?" She asks, looking to him expectantly.

"Erm, sure, I guess?" He tells her with a slightly confused nod.

And as she celebrates with a small fist pump and quiet 'yes!', they all hear the door open, and they turn to see a tall stack of suitcases walk through, ducking down slightly so as to not knock over the ones on top, and after walking a few steps, turns to reveal Max behind them, wearing a beaming smile as he looks onto them.

"Ah, seems like everybody's already here!" He announces happily, walking closer over to them before he places the suitcases down onto the floor with a solid thud before brushing his hands. "Are we ready to send me back home, then?"

"Yep, ready when you are!" Ratchet says with a nod, right before suddenly realizing something. "Oh, wait just a minute, we got to put in the coordinates really quick. Erm, do you mind, pal…?" He asks, handing the Dimensionator down to Clank.

"Of course, I made sure to memorize the coordinates to our home before we left." He assures him, taking it from his hands before beginning to input the numbers into its small screen.

"No worries, Angela should be right behind me with the rest of my things, anyway." Max tells them, thumbing behind him towards the door, right before it opens once more, prompting him to turn around with pleasant surprise. "Ah, speak of the devil!"

"How many books do you have in here, Max?" She asks, carrying just one of his large suitcases in her hand, leaning over heavily to balance out its weight, while also appearing to hold something else in her other arm, although it was obscured from their point view. "This thing weighs a ton!"

"Nonsense, it's not that much, it's just the first dozen volumes about the history of economics in Lombax society. Illustrated, even!"

"How do you illustrate—never mind." She responds with a shake of her head as she drops the suitcase onto the ground with a thud.

"Say, what do you have there, Angela?" Kaden asks curiously, pointing to the thing in her arm.

"Oh, right!" She says happily before holding it out with both her hands to present it to them. "It's—"

"Gah, protopet!" Ratchet cries out fearfully, instinctually reaching down for his Arsenal to pull out a blaster and aim it at the fuzzy blue creature in her hands in nearly an instant, making his companions next to him jump in surprise from his sudden battle stance. "Get away from it!"

"Woah, woah, woah, calm the hell down, Ratchet!" Angela shouts at him, turning her body to shield the creature. "Why'd you pull a freaking gun on Protey?!"

"Wait, Protey?" He asks confusedly, lowering his gun ever so slightly.

"Yes, Protey! He's my pet!" She informs him, brushing his head as he looks back at Ratchet with fear, shrinking back into her arms. "He's not going to hurt anyone, Ratchet, so just… put the gun away and don't shoot him, okay?"

"I… well, sorry." He apologizes, hesitantly holstering it away as everyone looks at him in surprised concern, save for Clank, who simply facepalms. "But I think I deserve a little slack given that the last time I saw one of those things, it tried to eat me after they took over Bogon!"

"Wait, that's one of those protopets you were telling me about the other day?" Kaden asks confusedly, pointing at it. "By the way you described them, you made them sound like some kind of unholy, bloodthirsty spawn that was terrifying to even look at! And this thing is… well… kinda cute, if I'm being honest." He says with a shrug.

"Aw, he really does!" Julie agrees. "Just look at his fuzzy little face!" She coos, pointing at him.

"I know, right?" Angela says with a smile, lightly pinching one of his cheeks while he vainly tries to pull away from, before she appeases him with a pat on his head.

"Why do you even have one of those things?!" Ratchet cries in disbelief, throwing his hands out to her. "You've seen what they did! What they're capable of!"

"Those were the old protopets, Ratchet, before we fixed them with the Helix-o-morph, remember?" She answers back with a raised eyebrow. "I put a lot of work into developing these things to make them safer and not murderous, and even though Qwark pretty much killed their production with his stupid stunt, I still decided to keep li'l Protey here after everything. I even took him with me when Max was saving me from Tachyon's empire and brought us to this dimension, and he's been staying with me ever since."

"Just… don't get that thing close to me." He replies, still staring at him as if he's just going to jump out of her arms to eat his face any second now.

"Why'd you bring him here, anyway, if you don't mind me asking?" Mags asks.

"Is it so you can let us pet him?" Julie eagerly follows up. "Please say it's so you can let us pet him."

"Oh, yeah, go ahead, he's friendly!" She assures her, making her give another small 'yes!' before she quickly walks over, where Angela lets her take Protey out of her hands as she takes him into her own arms, where she starts eagerly petting him, to which he begins to snuggle up closer into her arms to her delight.

"He's so soft and fluffy!" She says, becoming completely enamored with the small creature, with Kaden looking amused by the sight while Ratchet still stares at it in trepidation, getting very uneased with how close she's putting her face to him as she starts asking him who's a good boy.

"I brought him with me because he wanted to say goodbye to Max, is all." Angela explains, looking back to Mags. "They've become real buddy-buddy over the past couple of years, wouldn't you know."

"That we have." He agrees with a chuckle, walking over to Julie, where Protey perks up as soon as he notices him. "He might be an annoying little bugger sometimes, especially if he manages to get a hold on one of my books, but he has a way of making you forgive him."

And as he starts petting him, Protey suddenly jumps out of Julie's arms to her surprise (snd disappointment), and lands on Max's broad shoulder, nuzzling against the side of his face as he chuckles, patting him. "I know, I know, I'll miss you too, you little monster."

"Monster is right." Ratchet mutters.

"Settle down, Ratchet." Clank tells him with a roll of his optics.

"Well, anyway," He says, taking Protey off of his shoulder before giving him to Angela, "Are we ready to send me back home, now?"

"Yes, we are, I have the Dimensionator configured to the right coordinates on Veldin." Clank tells him with a nod.

"Why Veldin?" He asks curiously, tilting his head slightly.

"Oh, right, well, the three of us are going to be going to the other dimension with you, Max." Kaden explains, gesturing to himself as well as a Ratchet and Clank. "We've got some business to do over there."

"But don't worry, the first thing we'll be sure to do is to get you to Tal over in Polaris." Ratchet assures him with a nod. "Hopefully she isn't busy on a mission right now, but hey, I'm sure once we call her that you're back, she's going to drop everything to see you again."

"Ah, well, the more the merrier, then!" He says happily. "I'm ready when you are!"

With a nod, Clank hands the Dimensionator back over to Ratchet before he walks to the empty space in the middle of the lab, with his companions following shortly behind him.

Max goes to pick up his stack of suitcases again, but as he does, Angela rests a hand on his shoulder as she wears a smile.

"Well, it was nice knowing you, Max." She says earnestly. "I still owe you my thanks for helping me escape Tachyon, and also bringing me here to my home to meet my people. Even if it did kinda strand you away from your daughter, too."

He returns a smile of his own as he leans over to take her into a side-hug. "Don't mention it, Angela, I have to thank you for giving me a roof over my head while I was here, too. And don't worry, I'm sure we'll see each other again soon." He says before turning his head back to Ratchet. "Right?"

"Well, I'm probably going to be bouncing back and forth from this dimension and the other one from now on, so… yeah! Just let me know if you want to join me in one of my visits, and I'd be happy to give you a ride. Or, portal. I don't know, you know what I mean." He finishes with an awkward shrug.

"See?" He says, looking back to Angela. "I'll be sure to keep in touch with you and Protey here, it's the least I can do after having you support us both for all that time."

"Sounds good to me." She nods with a glad smile. "Now, go on and get out of here so you can finally see Talwyn again, old man."

He gives a laugh in return as he picks up all his suitcases once again. "Will do! Although, erm, could one of you get that last one?" He says as he nods his head towards the one that Angela carried.

"Sure, I've got it." Kaden agrees as he walks over to pick it up, but nearly stumbles over as he's caught off guard by its weight. "What the—How is this thing so heavy?! I didn't even know you can write this much on something like economics!" He says as he waddles over to join the rest of them.

"Neither did I, but am I glad they did!" Max replies enthusiastically. "There's so much to learn!"

"So… you guys ready, then?" Ratchet asks, looking to everyone else.

"Yep, go for it, my boy!" Max responds, with Kaden nodding as well, having placed it on the floor to minimize how much carrying he needs to do.

"Alright, then." He mutters, looking back to the Dimensionator in his hands, then to Clank beside him with a small smile. "Crazy to think how much happened since the last time I held this thing, huh?"

Clank chuckles. "Indeed it is. Go ahead, Ratchet, all you need to do is crank it and pull the trigger."

"Sure thing." He says with a firm nod.

Taking it into a firmer grip, Ratchet grabs the handle and cranks it a few times, hearing a hum from the device, and after taking a small breath, pulls the trigger , shooting a small purple beam ahead of them before it splits the air, opening a portal in the middle of the lab, with the familiar sight of Ratchet's garage appearing before them.

"Man, I forgot how cool that looks!" Julie comments, standing aside with Mags and Angela, albeit with Protey back in her hands, unable to get enough of him.

"I can't wait until we finish building ours." Mags adds. "Have fun, you guys! Try not to get stranded over there, or I'll come back looking for you!"

"Don't worry, we won't!" Kaden returns, looking back as they walk through the portal. "See you guys tomorrow!"

He sees all three of them waving back at them, to which he returns with a smile before he takes a few steps through the portal, where it closes behind him, replacing his friends with a desert landscape before him instead.

It awakened a strange, albeit bitter sense of nostalgia in him, he had to admit. The last time he came to this planet, it was to leave his son here before he flew off to what he thought would be his imminent demise to fight Tachyon. And for years afterward, the sight of those buttes and mesas and distant city he gazed upon at the orphanage plagued his nightmares, having to relive and remember that night he saw his child for the last time.

But now, he was back. And unlike then, he wasn't leaving his son, but instead, joining him, finally getting a chance to see for himself what the life he gave him with his sacrifice led to. And as he turns around, seeing his admittedly modest (if not slightly in need of repairs) home before them, he could already tell with a smile that it was completely worth it.

Ratchet, meanwhile, holsters the Dimensionator into his Arsenal before turning back around, broadly throwing out his arms with a grin.

"Well, here we are, home sweet home!" He declares. "Sorry in advance for all the dust on Veldin, it gets everywhere."

"Well," Kaden mutters, inspecting his garage some more before looking back to him. "It doesn't seem like you were lying when you said my home's nicer than yours." He comments with a chuckle.

He shrugs. "Well, what can I say? It just has a lot of character. All it really needs is some tidying up here and there, maybe a fresh coat of paint, and it'll be in tip-top—"

He is suddenly cut off, however, as they all hear his communicator going off very rapidly, pinging dozens of times in mere seconds, and with a confused look, Ratchet brings it out of his pocket.

"Oh, huh, must be messages I couldn't get while I was in the other dimension." He comments. "I usually get a few from spams and telemarketers and whatever, sure, but this is ridiculous! Just what is… oh. Oh, crap."

"What is it, Ratchet?" Clank asks worriedly.

"It, uh… it looks like Tal's called and messaged me over sixty times since we left." Ratchet mutters, scrolling through increasingly panicked barrage of messages of 'WHERE ARE YOU?!'

"Wait a second, isn't that Talwyn's ship parked over there?" Clank says, pointing to a Polaris Defense Force cruiser sitting in front of his garage.

"…This isn't going to be fun." Ratchet mutters, placing the communicator in his pocket as he stares at the spacecraft. "Well, here's hoping I don't get murdered within a minute of coming back home."

He then begins walking over to the garage, dreading whatever's going to be waiting for him there as Kaden and Max follow behind, exchanging a curious, albeit amused glance to each other from his visible trepidation.

Ratchet reaches the door to his home, and upon opening it, walks in while his companions are still walking behind him outside.

"Erm, Tal? You here?" He calls out uneasily.

"Ratchet?!" He hears a surprised shout come from the workshop. And within mere seconds, he sees her emerge from a doorway, and freezes upon seeing him, standing there with a nervous chuckle.

"Hey, I'm… uh, home?" He tells her, gesturing to himself.

"Ratchet!" She calls out, running over to him to nearly tackle him into a very strong hug. "Thank the stars you're safe! We all thought you just disappeared and got yourself killed somehow!"

"N-Nope!" He breathes out from her heavily constricting hug, hardly able to give one in return. "Still alive!"

However, after a few seconds, Talwyn suddenly lets go of him and swings a very hard punch into his shoulder that makes him stumble back with a cry. "Ow, what was that for?!"

"For making us think you disappeared and got yourself killed somehow!" She yells, throwing up her arms indignantly. "Seriously, where the hell were you?! I came here two days ago to visit you, but you weren't here, so then I called you, and messaged you, but you weren't answering! And when I started asking everyone else, they said they hadn't even seen you, and Aphelion was still here, so we had no idea where you went! We thought you were kidnapped again, or even murdered! So, again, where were you?!" She demands in a strange mixture of anger, relief, and confusion as she sternly crosses her arms.

He gulps, shrinking back from her assault as he rubs his shoulder. "So, uh, funny story, actually; I was in another dimension." He answers with a nervous smile.

"What?" She answers back in bewilderment. "What do you mean you were in another dimension?!"

"Erm… I mean just that? That I was in another dimension?" He repeats confusedly, right before raising a finger to cut her off from the visibly furious argument she was about to unleash on him. "Hey, but! I know you're angry, but I brought back a little something that I know will completely make this up to you!"

"And what is that?" She replies, unimpressed. "Because it's going to take a lot for me to let you off the hook for this one, Ratchet."

"It's nice to see you're still just as fiery as the last time I saw you, sweetie." Max comments warmly, standing just outside the door next to Clank and Kaden, the latter of whom was clearly observing Ratchet's chewing-out with too much amusement.

Talwyn freezes as she hears his voice, any anger on her face instantly vanishing to instead be replaced by shock and disbelief. She looks over, out the door, and finds Max standing there, wearing a beaming smile on his face with his suitcases haphazardly placed aside in the dust.

She stares at him for a few seconds before swallowing a lump in her throat, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"D-Dad?" She breathes. "Is it… is it really you?"

He nods as tears of his own begin to form. "It is, Tal. I told you I'd make it back for dinner, didn't I?" He says with a dry chuckle before he looks over her, wearing a wide grin. "My, how you've grown. You look just like your mother."

Talwyn doesn't respond, however, instead opting to rush out the door to embrace him with cries of happiness, taking Max slightly off-guard, but not enough that he doesn't bend down to take her into his arms, practically enveloping her entire body with his broad frame as he lets tears if his own fall freely, hardly able to keep his composure any better than her.

"I… I thought… I thought you were…" She chokes out through her cries.

"Shh, it's okay." He whispers, closing his eyes with a smile on his face. "I'm here now. And I've missed you so much."

"S-So did I." Her muffled voice responds as she buries her face deeper into his chest, tightening her grip. "I… I love you, dad."

"I… I love you, too, Talwyn." He swallows down a sob as best he can. "You have no idea how badly I've wanted to say that to you again."

And as they hold onto each other tightly, absolutely overwhelmed with emotions as they both utter sobs of relief and elation, Kaden stands next to Ratchet, both just outside the doorway, and draping an arm around the other as they look onto the scene with pure happiness, fondly recalling their own reunion, and feeling nothing but delight for them both, knowing firsthand what it's like to finally reunite with a lost loved one after many, many years.

And even now, days later, they both knew it was a feeling you could never get enough of.