Yep, even I'm surprised that I managed to finish this chapter so quickly, too. Hopefully I finish the rest of the chapters just as quickly, too, and I just might finish this fic by the end of the week.
Very optimistic, sure, but hey, one can dream.
Aphelion's cabin was mostly silent at the moment, with the only thing heard being the gentle hum of her thrusters outside as they cruised through the inky blackness of space, broken only by Aphelion's infrequent, random flight checks as she flew, with Ratchet having set her on autopilot soon after they left Veldin.
Ratchet and Clank and Kaden were at first enjoying a healthy conversation together, with Kaden admiring Ms. Perigee's impressive cooking skills as he munched on her cookie, and Ratchet indulging him on some of his favorite stories from his childhood about her, like how she got him his very own toolkit for his ninth birthday, where—although it was very basic and small—was more than enough for him to tinker with things all he pleased, and has since easily counted it in the top ten best gifts he's gotten in his life.
And although the mood was jovial, their conversation soon simply tapered off into nothing after a good half hour. Kaden ordinarily wouldn't have thought too much of it, knowing that you can only talk for so long on these long trips before that lull eventually comes creeping in, letting everyone just sit in comfortable silence as they observe the stars, planets, and asteroids passing by, along with the odd traveling ship as well.
But Kaden could sense that this silence wasn't of the comfortable variety. He could initially sense trepidation from Ratchet when he decided they were to visit Fastoon, and throughout the conversation, he could also see that something was nagging at him from inside. And although he was able to hide it easily enough behind the small laughs and smiles as he recounted his stories, it was all too apparent now that neither of them were speaking.
Kaden looked back over at him from his seat, and could see Ratchet staring out of the cockpit window, propping his head onto his arm mounted on his armrest, mouth resting onto his fist as he scans the distant stars before them. At least, that's what it appeared to be what he was doing from the surface, but Kaden could tell that it was as if he was staring off into something that was resting far past those stars, lost in whatever thoughts have been swimming in his head since they began this trip, also indicated by how he was idly and anxiously rubbing his fingers on his other hand, resting in his lap.
Kaden turns his head even more to glance at Clank in the back seat, who appeared to be inspecting Ratchet as well, and with a slight hint of sympathetic concern. Kaden could reasonably guess that he knew whatever it was that was having Ratchet act so aloof right now, and also the fact that he was likely not saying anything because of his own presence with them.
He felt doubly confident about that assumption when Clank suddenly glances back at him, idly fiddling with his metal digits, and even through his plain, robotic optic, Kaden could see that Clank did seem to want to say something to break this uneasy tension that's befallen them.
It was clear that he wasn't going to be the one to do it, however, so, taking a small breath, looking back to Ratchet, Kaden decides that he may as well be the one to speak up.
"What's on your mind?" He asks softly.
Ratchet suddenly snaps out of his daze, turning his head, removing it from his propped fist. "Hm, what?"
"I can see that you've got something nagging at you." Kaden reiterates. "So… what is it?"
"Oh, uh, I'm… I'm good." Ratchet responds plainly. "Just staring out the window, is all."
Kaden raises an eyebrow. "Really?" He asks skeptically.
"Erm… yes?" He replies a little confusedly.
"Ratchet, I'm your dad." He says, unimpressed. "I might've only known you for a few days by now, but trust me when I say that us parents have a built-in sixth sense to tell when our kid's got something on their mind. Especially when said kid looks just like how their mother did when she was feeling the exact same way." He adds with a small smirk.
"Wait, really? What do you mean?"
"Marie always rubbed her fingers nervously just like that whenever she was feeling anxious about something, too." He explains, pointing to his hand.
Tilting his head, Ratchet looks down, and realizes that he was doing it unconsciously, and stops himself as he stares at his hand for a few moments.
"Oh. Huh." He mutters dumbly.
"Yeah." Kaden replies, huffing a small laugh through his nose. "So… What is it?"
Ratchet doesn't answer, instead just opting to continue to stare at his hand, once again having that look of deep contemplation return to his eye. Kaden knew not to press it, and simply gave him the time he needed to find the right words, and a few seconds later, Ratchet breathes a sigh.
"I… guess I'm the same as you as when we showed up to Ms. Perigee's." He answers, closing his hand as he looks down.
Kaden furrows his brows. "What do you mean?"
"Well… going to Fastoon." He says with a shrug. "It's just... I'm kind of wondering why you want to go back there. Even after everything that happened."
"Oh." He responds, looking away for a second. "Well… it's because… it's where our home is. Just like what Ms. Perigee said. And I want to see it."
"But… wasn't it destroyed in the attack, though?" Ratchet asks. "Is there even anything there anymore?"
"I don't know." He replies, shaking his head. "It was mostly intact after I left it for the last time, though, and I'm confident that our architecture can survive at least two decades before starting to crumble from the elements. But… I know Tachyon paid a visit there in his search for the Dimensionator, looking all over the house, in every nook and cranny for any clue where I could've hidden it. And… that's exactly the reason why I have to go back there." He states firmly.
Ratchet returns an inquisitive look. "What do you mean by that?"
Kaden turns back to look at him, and Ratchet could see pain resting in his eyes, but it wasn't as surprising as the small but intense sliver of anger beside it. "When I fought him in the Court of Azimuth, he told me all about how he tore our home apart to look for any leads on where I hid it, and he said how he looked everywhere." He explains with a dull fury. "Including… your mother's grave." He finishes, looking away once more as he crosses his arms with a scowl.
"It wasn't anything special, sure, but I did my best under the circumstances. She didn't deserve to die, but she did at least deserve a proper burial. I wished it could've been something more formal and with a proper headstone instead of a piece of scrap from my workshop that I engraved, but it was something, and it was better than all the other victims in the attack got, left rotting on the roads, waiting to be simply disposed of by Tachyon's forces."
Ratchet, shocked into a stunned silence, sees him tighten his grip onto his arms. "But then, as I was kneeling on the floor, bleeding and broken from our fight, that filthy, depraved bastard had the gall to tell me that he desecrated it, digging it all up on the off chance that I hid something inside of it." He seethes. "And he taunted me with it, saying that he knew you were alive because he found only a single body in there, and not two. And to think that tiny, grubby little insect murdered my wife before my eyes, making me spend two long, torturous hours digging her body out of the rubble and burying her in the ground, all before he comes along and defiles it. Defiling her. And when I heard that, I was ready to murder that son of a bitch with my bare hands, even though I could barely walk!" He growls, contorting his hands into claws in front of him as he stares at them in pure anger, having to recall that painfully vivid memory once more.
But after a few seconds with Ratchet uneasily staring back at him, he relaxes his hands, dropping them as he exhales a deep breath, closing his eyes.
"I was close, too. Maybe if I was a tiny bit faster, or stronger, I could've ended his life right then and there, popping his head open like an egg with my wrench." He says more calmly, albeit with a hint of anger still present. "But I wasn't. He threw me against the wall, and told me our fight was over, and I knew he was right. That was when he offered me the choice to give up the Dimensionator and live with you, or die in that room where I stood. You know the rest of the story. But ever since that day, I couldn't bear to think about what he did to Marie. To her final resting place. And even though I hated it, I knew there wasn't a thing I could do with the Dimensionator ban, and I had to come to accept that I did as best I could to give her the proper respect, just like how I had to accept that I did my best at protecting you." He says, motioning a hand over to Ratchet.
But as he does, he finally turns his head to gaze back at him, looking into his eyes once more, filled with determination.
"Until now, at least." He states firmly. "That's why I have to go back, Ratchet. Even though there might not be a house there anymore, or that the city I've spent my life growing up in are nothing but crumbling ruins, I have to go back and make sure Marie gets the respect she deserves, and undo the cruelty that Tachyon committed against her. It's the least I can do for her." He finishes with a resolute nod. "Do you understand, now?"
"I… I do, yeah." Ratchet returns softly with a nod of his own, slowly looking back ahead of him. "A little too much, to tell you the truth."
Kaden raises an eyebrow at that, finding that statement more than a little suspect and concerning, especially considering that he once again had that distant stare in his eye again, nervously rubbing his fingers.
"How so?" He asks gently, sensing that this was a delicate topic to tread upon.
With a deep breath, Ratchet answers.
"I… buried Alister there, too." He mutters. "In the Court of Azimuth, after what happened. I figured that was the best spot, considering that it sounded like he had something to do with it. Am… I right in saying that?" He asks a little anxiously, turning his head slightly to look back at Kaden.
"I… erm, yeah. You're right." He answers after a brief moment of shock, caught off-guard by the reveal. "It… wasn't named after him, though, if that's what you were thinking. It was after his grandfather. One of the best Generals in Praetorian history, and it was built in his honor."
"Well, that's good, then." Ratchet replies with a ghost of a smile. "I would've been worried if I found out I laid him to rest in the wrong place. Not that I knew where else to go, seeing how he never really told me where he used to live and all."
"I… see…" Kaden mutters, not sure how to respond to that.
Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. He knew what he wanted to ask, now that this topic was brought up again; to ask him what he means by 'after what happened'. To have him finally tell him about what happened between him and Alister and the Great Clock.
Was it going to be a fun conversation? Hell no. Not by a long shot. But it's not like they were exactly in the mood to joke around right now, and they still had a long flight ahead of them. But most of all, he just wanted answers, partly to finally learn about the Great Clock, but most just so he can no longer feel helpless and confused whenever Ratchet becomes so despondent at the mention of his late friend.
He takes a deep, doing his best to mentally prepare himself before he speaks up.
"Ratchet… Can you finally tell me what happened between you and Alister?" He asks softly.
He sees Ratchet freeze up at that question, and from his peripheral, could even see Clank uneasily adjusting himself in his seat in the back.
"I… I don't know." Ratchet mutters, shaking his head, turning his head away as he crosses his arms.
Kaden gives a small sigh. "Look, I know you're a little reluctant to tell me, and I know why, too, but don't worry. I know you two were there at the Great Clock."
Ratchet suddenly lifts his head and snaps it over to Kaden in shock. "H-How did you know—"
"You let me record your memory of your first meeting with Alister when we first met, remember?" He says gently. "I saw you two talking about it, and about Clank, too. And when you were busy getting ready to run the course at the City Guard, I asked Clank about it."
"Wha—How much did you say, Clank?" Ratchet asks with some accusation, turning to look back at him in the backseat.
He raises his hands. "Ratchet, I assure you, I said nothing. Nothing that you haven't already told him yet."
"But—"
"He's right, Ratchet." Kaden interjects with a nod. "Clank refused to answer any of my questions when I told him you haven't said a thing about any of it to me. You have a good friend."
Ratchet visibly stands down, relaxing his stiff posture slightly, but with that expression of anxious unease still present on his face as he looks back at Kaden with trepidation. "I… alright, but… that still doesn't really explain—"
"I know because I'm far from being the dullest tool in the shed, you know." He says with wry amusement, flashing a very small smirk on his lips. "I've already put together most of your story from the bits and pieces that you've told me, and from the things I've seen. I know that the Great Clock is real, and that Clank is connected to it somehow, but that doesn't have much bearing given the fact that you and Alister ended up going there anyway. And if my theories are right—the ones I wrote down on the notes that I saw Alister had in your memory—then you two were there to turn back time so that you could prevent Tachyon's rise to power from ever happening. You'd save all those Lombaxes killed in the attacks, Alister would finally fix his mistake, and you'd get your family back. You both had every reason to use the Clock to undo everything that happened." He says, gesturing a hand over to Ratchet, stunned into a shocked silence as both he and Clank give him their apt attention.
"But then, for whatever reason, neither of you did that." Kaden continues, shrugging, being very careful that his tone wasn't accusatory in any way. "Something went down when you two went there. Something that resulted in Alister 'sacrificing himself to save the universe', as you put it when we first met. Am I right in saying that?"
"I…" Ratchet sighs, hanging his head once again. "Yeah. But… I…"
"I think I know what you're trying to say; you're hesitant to tell me the rest because you're scared that I might freak out that neither of you actually went back in time to undo all of Tachyon's damage even though you both had the chance in the palms of your hands." Kaden says, prompting Ratchet to look back up at him in surprise.
"Are you just a telepath or something?" He asks dryly.
"No, I'm just your father. Your father who's spent a lot of time thinking about all of this over the last few days." He answers, shaking his head.
"I… see." He mutters, looking away slightly.
But as he does, he suddenly feels a hand on his shoulder, giving a firm yet comforting grip, and he looks up to see Kaden leaning over from his seat, returning a strong look of reassurance.
"But, Ratchet, I do not want you to think I'm angry or upset or whatever at you in any way. I know that you're smart and that you always do the right thing, so believe me when I say that I completely trust your decision in not using the Clock to turn back time. Because if you didn't do it, then either all my theories are wrong and it can't actually do any of that, or it can, but you had a very good reason not to do it, and I'd believe you either way."
He squeezes his shoulder as he continues to look in his eyes. "So… please. Tell me what happened between you and Alister. I don't want you to be scared of telling me if it's just because of that stupid Clock, because I couldn't care any less about it. I care about you, and I hate seeing you in this much pain whenever we mention Alister." He says, using his other hand to gesture towards Ratchet and his gloomy demeanor. "I just want you to know that I am here for you, and I always will be. I just want to help you, okay?"
Ratchet looks back at him with hesitance, glancing between him and the shoulder on his hand, and to Clank in the backseat as well, doing his best to give a supportive yet reassuring expression. Kaden doesn't attempt to say anything more, instead simply waiting for Ratchet to say something, giving him all the time he needs.
And after a long minute of reluctance—and growing unease from Kaden—Ratchet finally looks back at him with a tiny nod.
"Alright." He says quietly.
Kaden gives a nod and a small smile in return as he lets go of his shoulder with one last squeeze, happy and grateful that he decided to open up to him.
Ratchet takes a deep breath, setting himself back into his seat, hanging his head slightly, collecting his words.
"Well… you're right. You've already got most of the story down." He begins. "I met him because he was the best lead I had in getting Clank back after he was kidnapped. He told me all about you, and the Great Clock, and how Clank was connected to it all. And… you're right. He did want to use it to change back time, to undo his mistake, and bring back all of those Lombaxes whose deaths he blamed himself for, especially you." He explains, waving a hand over to Kaden, still not looking up.
"It was all he talked about on our adventure. Everything had something to do with getting closer to the Great Clock, and that was going to be our ultimate mission above everything else. And I believed it, too, starting to get happy to have the chance to grow up with a normal life, with a normal family, with the rest of my species instead of being all alone. He also said that I'd never get to meet Clank if we did actually manage to do it, but even then, I decided that it was going to be worth it to have you and mom back." He says sadly.
With a deep breath, he turns his head, and looks back at Clank in the backseat, patiently sitting there, and doing his best to muster a smile in support upon seeing Ratchet rest his gaze on him.
"But then we finally found Clank again." He states with a small hint of happiness. "He was missing for two years, you know. My life felt pretty empty without him right by my side like he usually is. And when we finally saw each other again, he told me all about what he was up to during that time, and all that he learned, and it was… well… a lot."
"Like what, exactly?" Kaden asks gently.
"Well… as it turns out, Clank's half-Zoni." Ratchet answers, gesturing a hand over to him. "And he was gone because the Zoni took him to the Great Clock himself."
"Wait… you are?" Kaden asks, staring back at Clank in disbelief. "You were built by the Zoni?"
"That's… partially correct." He clarifies with a raised finger. "I was built in a standard warbot factory on planet Quantos, but I was in fact designed by them, and imbued with a Zoni soul, as well. For you see, my creator—and more accurately, my father—is Orvus."
"Orvus…" He mutters, recalling his research, trying to figure out why it sounded familiar before it hits him like a freighter, eyes widening. "Wait, Orvus, the leader of the Zoni?"
He nods. "Correct."
"You're the son of Orvus, then?" He reiterates. "You are… a real Zoni?"
"I suppose I am, yes."
"That's… well… huh." He mutters, leaning back in his seat, not quite sure to do with that information.
"I was quite surprised myself when I found out as well." Clank continues. "And to learn that I, a robot, had a father, much less one that is the leader of an entire race of powerful, nigh-mythical beings was… enlightening, to say the least."
"No kidding." Kaden says dryly, huffing a small laugh through his nose before turning back to Ratchet. "But… what happened then?"
"Well… he told us about why he was brought to the Great Clock." Ratchet continues. "Orvus was the one who built the Clock, and he built Clank so that he can take care of it, too. Clank here is the Senior Caretaker of the Great Clock, as it turns out." He says with some amusement.
"Although I have since given that role to a trusted friend there, but I digress." He adds.
"That's… something." Kaden responds, dumbfounded. But then, he shakes his head to keep from lingering on the idea that he has spent the last week casually hanging out with a Zoni after all of the research he's done on these beings whose mere existence was debated on, much less one whose task was to watch over the Great Clock of all things. "Alright, then. But… that's not everything, is it?"
Ratchet breathes a sad sigh, shaking his head.
"No. Because when me and Alister were talking with Clank, Alister was eager to learn how to use it to save the Lombaxes. But then, Clank told us what the Clock really does." He says, turning his head away once more with melancholy. "It does have the ability to turn back time, yeah, but it shouldn't. It was built in the first place because, apparently, the Zoni gave the Fongoids the ability to travel time, but then they abused it, and ripped a hole in the space-time continuum. So, Orvus built the Great Clock to patch it up, and to keep the universe from collapsing in on itself. So… in other words, the Clock was built to keep time. Not to alter it."
"That… explains a lot of my research, then. Especially the Fongoids…" Kaden mutters, resting a hand on his chin. "So, it does manipulate the space-time continuum like I thought."
"Yes, but only by maintaining it." Clank carefully points out. "My father left me many pieces of advice of how to care for the Great Clock, and that heavily included completely understanding its vital purpose and how it works. It is the only thing keeping time itself from falling apart and destroying the universe, and when it's used to change back time, it simply rips it apart."
"But Alister refused to accept it." Ratchet continues, prompting Kaden to turn his attention back to him. "I trusted Clank when he told us that, and I agreed with him when he said we shouldn't try to use it to turn back time. I saw firsthand the kind of danger that could come from messing with something as dangerous as that after everything that happened with the Dimensionator, and I tried to tell Alister that he should listen. But… he didn't." He says, hanging his head.
"He just left us, probably to go and find it himself while me and Clank left to go stop Dr. Nefarious, who was trying to use the Clock, too, in order to make it so that 'the heroes would never win', and all that nonsense." He says with a wave of his hand. "It was a little tough, I admit, but with Clank back again, it was actually kind of nice. It felt like the old times again. And eventually, we won, and we stopped him in his tracks. Alister even came back to help us at the last minute, and he flew us to safety as his space station exploded." He explains with a small smile, before it falters back into a frown.
Kaden watches as Ratchet crosses his arms, anxiously gripping onto his arms as he almost appears to shrink up in his seat, with a pain in his eye that made Kaden's heart hurt.
"But then, we had him fly us back to the Clock to drop Clank off so that he could finally fulfill his duty and be the Caretaker. Alister tried to convince us to bring back the Lombaxes one more time, begging, yelling at us, but we refused. We knew the danger was too great. But then, as we started walking away from him, heading into the Clock, he… he…"
He takes a deep, shaky breath, closing his eyes. "He shot at me." He utters miserably.
Kaden blinks. "He… he what?" He asks in quiet disbelief.
"He shot at me with his Omniwrench. He tried to kill me." Ratchet repeats, still keeping his eyes closed. "The only reason I didn't die right then and there is because Clank pushed me out of the way. I couldn't believe it when he did that, but I didn't have time to dwell on it, since he just ran right past us into the Great Clock, not even giving me a second look. We followed him in, trying to stop him, but we were too late. He pulled the lever that controlled the Clock, and set it to prepare to turn back time."
He finally opens his eyes once more, and in his shock, Kaden could see that they were filled with tears as his breath starts getting shakier, the grip on his arms becoming even tighter as he recalls those awful memories.
"We tried to tell him to stop, but he didn't listen. So… we had no choice but to fight him. And even then, he still wouldn't listen, not even as the Clock was falling apart all around us, trying to take the rest of the universe with it." He states, wiping away at the tears in his eyes, only for them to be quickly replenished moments later.
"He never pulled any punches, or went easy on me. I asked him why he was doing this, and he just said 'I'll kill you now, and save you in the past'. And no matter what I tried to say, begging him to stop, he just didn't listen. All he would keep saying was that I was an embarrassment. That I was a coward, a traitor to our species, and that I was a shame. That he was disappointed in how I fought, and that you could do better than I ever could." He explains miserably, now letting the tears fall freely down his face.
"I don't know how short or long we were fighting, trying to kill each other for the fate of the universe, but eventually, I won." He says in a pained tone, which would have otherwise sounded like he lost if not for his words. "I ran up to the lever, and tried to pull it back to shut down the time shift, and Alister yelled at me from the floor to stop. But the lever was stuck, and it just snapped off, right when the Clock was on the verge of getting completely destroyed. And when Alister saw that we weren't going back in time, and I was hammering into his head that the Clock wasn't even designed to do it in the first place… that was when he finally realized that he was wrong."
He takes one more deep, shaky breath. "The rest of it happened so quickly. The Clock announcing that there were thirty seconds left until it was destroyed, Alister picked himself off the ground. He looked all around him, then at me, realizing all the damage he's done, apologizing for everything. I tried to run up back to the lever, but he stopped me, and said that he'd do it. I tried to stop him, but he simply walked up to it, his wrench in hand, and looked back at me with a smile, and said, 'Take care of yourself, Ratchet.'"
He vainly wipes the tears away from his face before he closes his eyes, allowing one more round of tears to spill down his cheeks, dripping onto his lap. "Then he jammed his wrench into where the lever was, and managed to shut it down, but not before the Clock released a wave of energy that killed him right where he stood."
He opens his eyes once more, and uncrosses his arms to look at his hands, "And it's just… he was the only real connection I had to my people. He was a Lombax, he lived with them, he knew you and mom, he taught me so much and… and he was gone, just like that. And it's because… because I killed him." He says sorrowfully, closing his hands into fists as he hangs his head, having to choke down a lump in his throat.
"No, no you didn't, Ratchet." Kaden speaks up firmly, reaching over to grip his shoulder, making him turn his head over to him in surprise to see a firm yet comforting look on his features. "You were doing what you had to do to protect everyone else. If anyone killed him, it was himself. You shouldn't blame yourself for his mistake. Not like how I did."
"I…" He swallows, hanging his head once more as he wipes his eyes. "I know you're right, but… I can't help but think that I could've done something more to make him stop, if I tried even harder to change his mind, that he'd still be alive right now."
"That's…" Kaden sighs, still hanging onto his shoulder. "Ratchet, I am so, incredibly sorry that you had to go through this, but… I was in the same boat as you once. I tried to tell Alister that he was wrong about Tachyon when he first came to us, and that we should never have trusted him, but he never listened. He said that we were doing what's best for the Lombaxes—the rest of the galaxy—by accepting his protection. I tried to reason with him, saying that we can't trust a Cragmite like him, and that our technology was too dangerous to put in an outsider's hands, but he never listened.
"And when that cockroach finally attacked us, we all blamed him. We exiled him from coming back with us, and we thought that was the same thing as a death sentence, leaving him with that maniac. I agreed with them, and he didn't argue. I didn't have the time to process it, though, after what happened to your mother, and forcing me to decide to sacrifice myself to protect you and the Dimensionator. I thought I was going to be dead, and that it didn't matter, but after I was saved, and had to start living life again… I had the time to process it."
He shakes Ratchet's shoulder lightly, prompting him to look back up at him amidst his wallowing in misery.
"I was just like you, Ratchet." He tells him. "I was angry at him for putting me and everyone else in that situation, but even then, I still missed him as my best friend. I wanted him to be there with me still, instead of laying dead on Fastoon like how I and everyone else thought he ended up after we left. And there were far too many times in those first few years where I started to blame myself for what he did, for not trying harder to make him change his mind and see the error in his ways. I tried my damndest to convince him otherwise, but it didn't work, and I thought that was my fault.
"I… I know that your situation with him was different, but I can tell that you feel the same way. But let me tell you that you are wrong to blame yourself, Ratchet." He says firmly, squeezing his shoulder in comforting reassurance as he continued to give him his quiet, apt attention. "Because the things he did is on him. He was the one who ultimately decided to misplace his faith in Tachyon. He was the one who stubbornly tried to misuse the Great Clock. And most of all, he was the one who refused to listen to you or me. We did our best to get him to change his path, Ratchet, but it wasn't enough, because it was his decision to stay on it, and not ours. So, believe me when I say that you shouldn't pin his mistake on yourself, Ratchet. You did all you could." He finishes with a nod.
Ratchet continues to gaze at him, seeing his father return a strong, sympathetic, yet caring look, and he could practically see the pain deep down that also rested behind his words. It assured him just a little bit, he had to admit, knowing that he wasn't entirely alone in feeling this way. But even then…
He sighs. "I know I did." He mutters. "But… it still hurts to think about. Even though I know you're right."
"And I'm not saying it won't. It will." Kaden assures him. "But I don't want you to make the same mistake that I did, letting you hurt yourself with those thoughts for years before you realize that you shouldn't. And unlike me back then, who had to bottle up my feelings that I missed the exile who everyone else thought of as a traitor, you have someone here with you to help you along the way."
He gently pulls on Ratchet's shoulder as he leans over, and Ratchet offers little resistance as he too leans closer, allowing Kaden to embrace him with both of his arms, pulling him into a tight hug.
"Again, I wish that this never happened to you in the first place, Ratchet, and I'm sorry it did." He tells him, closing his eyes. "But there's no use wishing for anything like that if we can't change the past. I'm sorry that you had to learn that the hard way with Alister, but as long as it did, just know that I'm here for you." He finishes in a soothing tone.
Ratchet doesn't respond for a few moments, admittedly finding the sudden hug a little surprising, but as he hears his father's reassuring words, punctuated by the tight grip he held him in his arms… he also had to admit that it made him feel a little better.
Closing his eyes, he brings up his own arms, and wrapping them around Kaden, holds onto him in return. "Thank you, dad." He whispers. "I'm glad you're here with me."
"Me, too, Ratchet. Me, too." He whispers back contentedly.
And as they continue to hold each other, neither of them daring to break their embrace anytime soon, Clank simply observes them from the backseat, feeling both happy and relieved at the sight with a small smile. He was truthfully more than a little worried how this discussion would play out, given how traumatic it must be for either of them, having to recall their own unpleasant memories of him.
But to find Kaden taking it surprisingly well—along with understanding the Great Clock's restraints—and not only that, but being able to further comfort Ratchet with his own experiences even better than he himself had previously attempted made him incredibly grateful. And seeing them hold onto each other, comforting the other in their shared grief, it made him equally happy that he was able to help Ratchet finally find his own family so that he could connect and heal with him in a way that he could never hope to.
But as a relatively comfortable silence befalls the cabin over the course of a few minutes, with Ratchet and Kaden relishing their hug, Ratchet finding his touch soothing, he couldn't help but give a small, forlorn sigh.
"I… I know it's probably stupid to ask now, after everything, but… there's always been something that Alister said to me that I could never shake from my mind." He says quietly, a hint of coyness in his tone.
"What is it?" Kaden asks, releasing his grip just enough to lean back slightly to look back down to him, thankfully finding that his tears were finally drying up.
"Well… He… He said that by refusing to go back in time to save everyone, that you'd… be ashamed of me." He mutters, looking away. "That you'd call me a coward and a traitor just like he did. I always told myself that he was just trying to hurt me to get me to stand down, and that it was never true, but since he was the only way I've ever heard of you… I couldn't help but think if there was at least some truth to it. But… that's not true, is it?" He asks, picking his gaze up from the floor and instead to Kaden's face, wearing a surprised look.
But then, he quickly dismisses it with a strong shake of his head as he renews his tight grip onto him, hugging him closer to him once more.
"Absolutely not, Ratchet. What you did was the opposite of cowardly. I'm proud of you for doing the right thing, even if it was one of the hardest things you've ever had to do in your life." He tells him resolutely.
Ratchet smiles a bit in his arms, feeling assured and taking comfort in his words, but it doesn't stay for long as another question floats through his mind.
"But… aren't you upset at me for not taking the chance, anyway?" He asks hesitantly. "For not taking the risk to bring back our people? All the Lombaxes that died? To bring back… mom, even? And to be able to raise me yourself for all these years?"
Kaden doesn't immediately answer him, and Ratchet could feel his grip on him falter slightly as well, which began to instill him with a great sense of unease that he was right in assuming that.
But after a few anxious moments, beginning to dread the answer, Kaden finally takes a deep breath before speaking up.
"I just want to know one thing, Ratchet." He says softly. "Are you… happy with the life you have?"
It was Ratchet's turn to relax his grip in order to lean back and look up at Kaden, wearing a content expression as he patiently waited for a response. "Erm… what do you mean, exactly?"
"Well, are you happy with the life you got, despite everything that happened?" He clarifies. "All the friends that you made, the adventures you had, the sights you've seen, the things you've experienced, all of it. Are you happy with it all?"
"I… I am, yeah." He answers with a nod.
"Then so am I." Kaden tells him with a smile. "Have the last twenty years been a living hell for me after what Tachyon did, wishing that I could change the past like you had a chance to? Without a doubt. But as long as you were having a blast, living life to its fullest just as I hoped you would when I left you with Ms. Perigee that night, then I'd gladly suffer through twenty more years of pain if it was for your sake, Ratchet. Because like I always said to your sleeping self back then, being a parent is all about making sacrifices for the sake of their child. And while the ones that I had to make were probably greater than what most others have to go through, it doesn't change the fact that knowing you grew up happy because of it makes it all worth it."
Kaden gives him one more squeeze as he hugs him. "I love you, Ratchet."
Ratchet smiles as well as he gladly returns the hug. "I love you, too, dad."
And with that, they finally break apart from their embrace as they get themselves situated back into their seats, giving each other beaming smiles with pure love and adoration in their eyes.
But as they do, Kaden notices Clank out of the corner of his eye, smiling at both of them from the backseat.
"Woah, erm, sorry for making you sit through all that, Clank." Kaden tells him with a nervous chuckle. "Honestly forgot you were back there."
"Oh, it is quite alright, I don't mind." He assures him with a nod. "I understand that this was a conversation best said between just you two, I didn't want to be an unnecessary interruption."
"Hey, don't sell yourself short, pal." Ratchet says amusedly, looking back at him as well. "You're just as important as either me or my dad, don't worry."
"Although, I'd argue that you're probably more important than either of us, since I'm pretty confident that 'Caretaker of the Great Clock' supersedes 'Keeper of the Dimensionator'." He adds. "Which… do you think I could, I don't know, visit that place someday?"
Clank returns an uneasy look, and raises a finger while opening his mouth, but before he can speak, Kaden quickly raises a hand, cutting him off. "I'm not going to try what Alister, did, alright? I fully understand and believe the both of you when you say that the Great Clock shouldn't be used to travel time. I mean, I suspected as much anyway when I asked you in the first place, knowing that you two didn't do it." He says with a shrug.
"Erm, I do believe you, Kaden, and I wasn't doubting it." Clank replies, albeit caught a little off-guard by his interjection. "But I was actually more concerned as to the idea of you sharing information about the Great Clock with your colleagues, and what they might think about that prospect." He clarifies with caution.
"Oh, don't worry, I fully agree with you on that concern." He responds, waving a hand across for emphasis. "I don't want to imagine what the Council would do if they found out the Great Clock is real, it'd be a huge mess, to say the least. The only person I've talked to about my suspicions about you guys and the Clock is Mags, but don't worry, because I made him swear to keep his mouth shut, and you can trust him to keep a secret. Hell, even after all these years, no one on the Council knows that he was the one who helped me build that illegal Dimensionator that got me thrown in jail." He says with a smirk. "And you have my word, too."
"Well… that's reassuring, then." Clank replies.
"But… why exactly do you want to visit the Great Clock?" Ratchet asks curiously.
"Because I've spent a lot of time researching about it." Kaden answers pointedly, glancing back at him with a smile. "Although a good ninety percent of that research was just about if it even existed in the first place or not, but now, I hear that it's real, and it sounds fascinating and exciting to get a chance to look at it myself. So… how about it?" He asks Clank, looking back to him again.
"I… suppose we could arrange a visit sometime, yes." Clank answers with a nod after a brief moment of resting his hand on his chin. "Although, it'd likely have to wait for some other day. I trust that I must notify Sigmund there that a new guest is coming to visit so as to not make him completely panic, especially if it's another Lombax. I believe Alister and Dr. Nefarious have… well, soured his perception of guests, somewhat."
"As long as I get to see it eventually, it sounds fine to me." Kaden gladly replies. "Thanks, Clank."
"It is my pleasure, Kaden."
"But, until then, do you mind if I ask you a few things about it and how it works? I wanna see how accurate my theories were." He says eagerly.
He chuckles. "Why, I'll do my best. I was only Senior Caretaker for a few days at most, but I believe I would be a reliable source of knowledge on the subject nonetheless."
Ratchet gives a small groan. "Great, I'm about to hear a bunch of nerd talk about 'quantum actuators' and 'temporal chrono-stabilizers' and all sorts of jargon like that, huh?"
"Yep!" Both Kaden and Clank respond in unison before they both chuckle at having jinxed each other, making Ratchet roll his eyes.
He decides to take Aphelion out of autopilot in order to give himself something to do as they continue flying towards Fastoon, quickly losing track of the enthusiastic conversation between Kaden and Clank as they happily converse about the Great Clock's workings and inherent properties.
But even then, he smiled, feeling glad that they were clearly having a great time discussing that nerd stuff, even if he didn't understand it one bit.