I've been told that in the last chapter, I mistakenly stated that Clank was originally a warbot defect from a factory on Quantos, when he is in fact a sentry-bot defect from a factory on Quartu. I knew I should've doublechecked which Q planet he came from, but I was in the zone in writing it and thought 'Eh, pretty sure I'm right.'

Guess not. Remember kids, do your research and don't be lazy.

"Approaching Fastoon." Aphelion's voice announces.

She was easily heard as the cabin laid completely silent, as it had been for the past ten minutes now. Clank and Kaden had reached an end to their lengthy conversation about the Great Clock, partially because they could only talk so much about how it works without some sort of visual aid or being there themselves, but it was mostly because Aphelion's announcement of an ETA to the planet had quieted him.

It gave him the chance to just sit and fully grasp that he was finally returning to his home after nearly two decades. A home that, according to Ratchet, was nothing but crumbling ruins. It didn't dissuade him or change his mind, of course, but the thought that the city that he had known and loved for most of his life and grown up in was now reduced to practically nothing was… off-putting, to say the least. And so, he spent the last ten minutes simply mentally preparing himself for that sight when they finally arrive, knowing all too well that it'd likely be pointless and wouldn't help one bit when they get there, anyway.

And now, hovering just above the brown the planet where he and millions of other Lombaxes used to live happy, peaceful lives, looking onto it for the first time in twenty years, he felt extra sure about that statement.

"So… you ready?" Ratchet softly asks from beside him, taking Aphelion's controls.

Kaden takes a deep breath, closing his eyes, but then turns his head to look over to him, and give him a nod.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

With a wordless nod, Ratchet turns his attention back ahead, and brings Aphelion down closer to the planet. Kaden watched as they penetrated through the planet's atmosphere, the dark blackness of space fading away into a softer and softer blue, flying through the clouds, and moments later, able to see the sandy surface of the planet itself.

And as they flew down lower, Ratchet could begin to make out the buildings in the sprawling metropolis of his former city, able to observe all the destruction from Tachyon's attack as Ratchet then begins to fly just above its skyline, slowly cruising through the city as Kaden stares out the cockpit window, flush with an odd mixture of sadness, nostalgia, anger, and helplessness over what had happened here.

"I remember when this place was bustling with people, living in all those homes and working in all those buildings." He mutters. "You could hardly fly down this road because it was always so full of traffic. The streets were filled with Lombaxes walking along, going about their day, and without a care in the world. But now… now it's just a ghost town."

Ratchet opens his mouth to say something in an attempt to reassure him, but he stops, as he doesn't know what to say. He didn't know what it was like to see the planet that you loved and grew up on reduced to all of this, being a shell of its former self that no one here except his father could ever fully understand.

"At least it looks better than it did in the middle of the Exodus." Kaden continues morosely. "The last time I saw this place, there was so much fire. There were corpses of Tachyon's victims everywhere. Explosions, too. Just… pure chaos."

With a sigh, he moves back from the window, sitting himself back down in his seat before looking over to Ratchet with a strong look.

"I'm glad you gave that son of a bitch what was coming to him. For committing all of this." He states with a frown, waving his arm out and around them as they fly among skyscrapers that threatened to fall over any day now.

"So am I." Ratchet utters in return, staring out of his own window, with all these ruins never failing to fill him with a sense of anger and sadness for what could have been.

A moment of silence falls on them as they rest on those feelings together.

But then, Ratchet shakes his head as he glances back to his father.

"So… where exactly is… our home, then?" He asks, feeling very strange to say that.

Kaden takes a small breath.

"…Right." He mutters before raising his hand, pointing near their left. "It should be in that direction, in the neighborhoods near the city center. If it's still standing, it'll be one of the only ones not completely destroyed on our block. And if it is destroyed, well… we'll just make another pass around and be extra observant, I guess. I'll let you know when I see it."

"…Alright, then." Ratchet replies, steering Aphelion towards the direction he pointed to, but unable to shake the uncomfortable feeling he got from the nature of those directions, of being able to find their home from the sheer fact that it wasn't bombed to oblivion like nearly everything else.

It is a quiet two minutes later that they arrive at the neighborhood Kaden was talking about, with roads of what were once houses sprawling out away from the tall, dozen-story buildings that marked the heart of the city. There were craters scattered throughout, obviously, each one marking one of the endless places that were targeted in the attack, just like the rest of the city.

But what made Ratchet and Kaden even more sickened and disturbed by these ones were the fact that these were solely targeting homes. Everything else destroyed in the densely-populated downtown was easier to stomach, knowing that they could have been bombed just for the purpose that they held some strategic military value for the Lombaxes defending against the Drophyds, but out here, where there laid nothing but the residences for hundreds of Lombaxes… it was clear that the intention here was to exterminate every man, woman and child that were unlucky enough to be sitting inside the comfort of their own home in the onslaught.

But as Ratchet is stuck in his thoughts, staring at those craters passing below them, he suddenly hears Kaden's breath hitch, and looks over to find him staring straight ahead, and give the smallest nod, swallowing.

"That's it."

Looking ahead, it was easy for Ratchet to distinguish which one he was talking about. Just as he said, it was the only house miraculously standing among the destroyed foundations surrounding it, looking just like nearly every other home he's seen on Fastoon, except for the fact that the second story appeared to have completely collapsed, save for a single wall on the front of the house, holding up a single round window.

Ratchet too felt a surge of emotion just looking at it. Knowing that this structure right in front of them here was his home that he lived in as an infant, with his mom and dad. This was the place that he would live out his childhood in, playing with other Lombax kids in their own Lombax houses in their own Lombax neighborhood. This is what he would have immediately thought of when he hears the word 'home', and not an orphanage on the Kyzil Plateau, or a small garage in the middle of the Veldin desert.

But instead, it was simply a crumbling ruin among dozens of others, destroyed far beyond the point of any repair, absolutely devoid of life.

Slowing down, he lowers Aphelion closer to the ground, approaching the building until they hover right in front of it, and gently touching down onto the decaying road running in front of it, kicking up some sand that had built up there over the years.

"Well, Ratchet… welcome home." Kaden comments dryly, staring at the house with gloominess written all over his features. "Or what's left of it, anyway."

"It… looks like it was nice back in the day, at least." Ratchet offers uncertainly.

"Yeah." He responds, still gazing at it. "It was."

Neither of them say or do anything for the next few moments, simply sitting in Aphelion and staring at the remains of their house, each lost in thought, and feeling more than a little reluctance of even stepping near the place, having the tiniest thought in the back of their minds to simply turn around and leave, having had more than their fill of this unpleasant sight.

But it wasn't enough to overpower Kaden's urge to ensure that his wife was properly laid to rest, nor Ratchet's urge to be there for him as he does it. And so, with a deep, albeit slightly shaky breath, Kaden finally breaks his gaze away to turn his head towards Ratchet, who does the same.

"Well… are you ready?" Kaden asks wryly.

"…Probably not." Ratchet answers with a small shrug. "Are you?"

"Probably not." He answers with a ghost of a smile. "But then again, I don't know if I'll ever be. Might as well be right now, though."

Ratchet gives a nod as he has Aphelion open her canopy, with it sliding out of the way from the top of them with a hiss as he turns back to Clank in the backseat.

"Do… do you mind if you stay here, Clank?" He meekly asks. "I don't want to sound like a jerk or anything, but… this just kinda feels like something me and my dad should do."

"You are not being rude for asking that, Ratchet, I fully understand and agree." Clank softly assures him with a nod. "I am more than fine with staying here with Aphelion. We will both be waiting for you. Take as long as you need."

Ratchet returns a small but glad smile. "Thanks, pal."

"No problem. I… wish you both the best of luck, although it might not be entirely appropriate to say in this context."

"No, don't worry, I think we'll need it." Kaden tells him, returning a smile of his own. "Thank you, Clank. We'll be back soon."

And with a final farewell, the two of them hop out of Aphelion, and start walking towards the open door of the house together, wading through the jungle that was the knee-high grass of their yard, broken only by the stone path laid down from the road to the doorway.

The door of which was simply laying down on the ground inside of the house, sending Kaden a small, unpleasant flashback of bashing it down with his shoulder, desperately looking for his family, and also the pain he felt that he only registered hours later, after all of the adrenaline and shock had worn off.

It made him take a pause, making it really sink in that yes, he was back here once again. Back to the place that harbored many good memories, but also a few yet powerfully intense terrible ones as well, ones that haunted many of his nightmares.

But as he stares at the door, he suddenly feels Ratchet gripping onto his hand, and turns his head to see him mustering a smile as best he could in an effort to reassure him. Although it looked like Ratchet was just as anxious as he did by the look in the eyes and the fact that his smile barely stretched his lips, it did wonders for Kaden, feeling glad in that he wasn't going through this alone at least.

He grips back onto Ratchet's hand in return, nodding with an equally unsure smile before turning back ahead, and resuming their walk through the door.

What met them was the sight of their living room. Or at least, what was left of it. All the dusty, moldy, and/or partially destroyed furniture was thrown about every which way, no doubt casualties from Tachyon tearing this place apart for clues as to where the Dimensionator could have been hidden. It sent a pang through Kaden's heart, remembering how nice this room looked back in its day, and how Marie worked so hard on having the utmost ideal arrangement of the chairs and couch that she spent a whole day fretting over, much to his then amusement.

But what really pained him was in seeing the pictures that were once on the walls strewn about the floor, in shattered frames lying among broken glass. And it was one of these pictures that Ratchet bent down to pick up, letting go of Kaden's hand as he instead grabs onto the frame. He stands back up, and upon seeing it was obscured by the spiderwebs of cracks, he simply turns it over, letting the pieces of glass shower onto the floor before looking at the picture again, depicting Kaden and Marie happily smiling as they wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders, with her appearing to hold the camera as her outstretched arm appears disappears just out of frame.

"Ah, that was from our first date together." Kaden comments contentedly, looking over Ratchet's shoulder, wearing a small smile as he looks onto her winking face, sticking out her tongue, able to vividly hear her laughter immediately after as he asked her why she decided to make a silly face like that. "I remember we took it just so that we could show Lorna and Alister that we were finally dating, so that we could tell them to finally shut up with all their teasing about us having crushes on each other. It didn't really stop them, honestly, but I'm pretty sure she just pitched the idea as an excuse for us to scoot really close together for the photo." He explains with a light chuckle.

Ratchet smiles as well as he gazes at the photo, and specifically, at his mother, who, going by Kaden's story, was only a few youngers than he was right now in this picture.

"She looks like she was a fun person to hang out with, at least." He replies.

"That she was." He responds, reaching over to grab the frame for himself, which Ratchet allows. He stares at it himself for a few more seconds before giving a small, saddened sigh, her face reminding him of why he was even here in the first place, and what was waiting for him in the backyard just outside.

But he elects to dismiss that thought as he gently removes the picture from the frame, and places it on a shelf hung on the wall next to the door, where it used to rest before whoever helped ransack their home knocked it down to the ground.

"I want to collect all these pictures before we leave." He tells Ratchet, turning his head back to look at him. "They're the last ones I have of her. Do you mind helping me out?" He asks, gesturing an arm to the rest of the frames either laying on the ground or hung on the walls.

Ratchet gives a stiff nod. "Of course I will."

Kaden returns a small smile. "Thanks."

And so, they spend the next five minutes simply looking through the living room, picking up frames and delicately extracting the pictures that laid inside, being very careful so as to not destroy the delicate decades-old paper.

Ratchet finds more photos of his parents, happily posing together in various situations at different ages. Some had them be more serious, as if they attended some kind of proper photoshoot, others had them being intentionally goofy, holding fingers up behind each other's heads or making silly faces, and a few seemed to be impromptu shots, with either one of them buys in the middle of something, seemingly oblivious to the camera as Kaden built some kind of gizmo or his mother standing at a stove. He already got a sense of the kind of person his mom was from Kaden's stories, but seeing a snapshot of it for himself in these pictures was just… amazing, to say the least.

But among all those pictures also included others involving Alister, either standing proudly with Kaden their Praetorian Guard garbs, or simply hanging out together, in the middle of joking around together. He makes sure to not look at those photos longer than he needed, the wounds still feeling a little fresh after the conversation they had on the flight here, and the fact that seeing this young Alister pained him, knowing what would become of him later in his life, becoming a guilt-ridden wreck that spent over half his life trying to correct a single mistake, no matter the cost.

But as he picks up one last photo from the ground, he glances at it, and sees not Alister nor Kaden, but instead his mother, smiling while standing next to another Lombax woman he'd never seen before, which made it all the more peculiar that he thought she looked very familiar, until his eyes widen in realization.

"Is this Lorna?" Ratchet asks Kaden a few steps away, gazing at a picture before he shakes his head to snap out of his own thoughts before turning to him. "Angela's mom?"

"Let me… oh, yeah, it is!" Kaden confirms. "I think that this one was taken back on Vapedia, where she and your mom went to college."

"I can see the resemblance." Ratchet comments, noting that she looked just like Angela, except for the fact that she had brown eyes, and that her fur wasn't yellow, but instead gray-colored, and also that she had her hair let down instead of tied up in a ponytail.

"Yep, I was honestly surprised that it didn't click with Mags that Angela was her kid until she tripped and fell over." He chuckles. "Interesting to see that clumsiness is hereditary, I guess."

"Yeah…" Ratchet mutters, staring at it for a few more seconds. "You know… do you think we should give this one to her instead, though? I mean, I'm not sure if she's got any pictures of her mom, after all." He suggests with a small shrug. "And I know this one has mom in it, too, but…"

"I think that's a wonderful idea, Ratchet." Kaden tells him. "And don't worry, we've got enough photos of Marie, I think we can afford to lose one for Angela's sake."

Ratchet smiles with a nod as he walks over and places it onto the small stack they've accrued in their scavenging as Kaden takes one more look around.

"Alright, I think that's all of them." He states, placing his hands on his hips.

"Really?" Ratchet asks, tilting his head. "Shouldn't there be more… well, upstairs?" He asks cautiously, pointing above them.

Kaden doesn't answer for a few moments as he looks back to Ratchet with reluctance, but then, he gives a sigh while hanging his head. "I… I'm not sure if there's anything really left up there. You saw how bad the destruction was when we flew over here. And besides, the only thing that'd be worth taking from up there is our wedding picture, but I made sure to grab the copy we had hanging down here." He explains, motioning over to the stack of photos. "Plus… I… don't think I can go bear to even look inside the nursery again. Not after what happened in there." He adds quietly, crossing his arms.

"I… see." Ratchet replies, rubbing his arm nervously. "So… I guess it's time we… go outside, then."

Once again, Kaden doesn't respond, instead standing silently in the middle of the room with a gloomy look on his face, staring at nothing on the floor in thought while Ratchet patiently waits for a reply. And eventually, he gets one in the form of a tiny, barely visible nod of his head.

"Yes." He confirms before picking his gaze up from the floor and instead up to Ratchet, with a steely look in his eye that was contrasted to the dismal expression of his features. "But I'm doing it. You can stay in here or go back to the ship. I understand if you want if you don't want to see—"

"No, I'm doing it with you." Ratchet cuts him off with a firm resolution.

Kaden furrows his brows. "Ratchet… are you sure?" He asks in concern. "I… I don't know what it looks like out there, about what's left of… your mother, after all these years." He explains, hesitating greatly on finishing that phrase, and grimacing as he said it. "I'll suffer this burden so that you don't have to see her that way."

"But what's the point if I do that? It's not like it changes the fact that I know she's just laying out there, even if I can't see it, and I hate the thought of you going through that alone, dad." Ratchet tells him earnestly, walking over to him. "You've already suffered enough for my sake as-is. Let me return the favor just this once for a change by letting me help you." He says as he places a hand on his shoulder. "Please."

Kaden was admittedly a little taken aback by his words and resolve to go through with this, and he'd be lying if it didn't make him feel proud of his son for being brave and selfless enough to even entertain the notion of helping to rebury his long-deceased mother, just so that his father wouldn't have to suffer all of the burden himself.

But even then, he still felt unsure about it, and with a sigh, he reaches over and places a hand over Ratchet's on his shoulder, looking into his eyes.

"Ratchet, are you sure about this?" He reiterates. "I don't want you to see something that you wish you never saw. I don't want you to think of your mother as whatever's waiting for us outside; I want you to think of her as what you see in those pictures over there." He states carefully. "Are you really ready to go through with this?"

Ratchet's firm look of determination falters for a moment as he mulls over his words, but Kaden doesn't release his grip over Ratchet's hand, waiting for his decision. But a few seconds later, Ratchet looks back up to him and gives a nod.

"I hate to say this, dad, but… I've seen plenty of terrible things throughout my life. Experienced terrible things. I'm not going to say I'm completely calloused to it by any means, but… I've learned to tolerate it better." He explains. "And I know that this probably won't like any of that—not by a long shot—but… like I said, I think it's best that we do it together. It'll be easier for the both of us that way. We'll deal with it together."

Despite his words, Kaden could still see a hint of doubt an unease in his eyes as he looked at him, a small part of himself that wanted to listen to him when he advises he simply stay behind. But that look was overpowered by the firm determination in the rest of his features, swallowing down that fear in order to do what must be done.

And although Kaden thought that it would be best if he was the one to have to suffer through this alone, he also knew that it'd be pointless to try and convince Ratchet to agree with him. He was his son after all, and he knows only too well how stubbornness can run in this family.

And besides… he actually felt a little reassured that he was going to be there to help him process it all right along with him.

So, with a smile, Kaden moves in closer to him to give him a hug. "Alright then. But just know that you're free to leave if it gets to be too much for you." He tells him.

"Don't worry. I won't leave you, dad." Ratchet replies, hugging him in return. "Promise."

And with one more squeeze, they break the hug, and Kaden looks back through a doorway through the living room, leading to the kitchen. He slowly walks over to it, Ratchet trailing behind, and finds that the room was just as equally trashed as the living room, cupboards open, broken dishes all over the floor, and the refrigerator pushed over to see if there was anything hiding behind it.

But Kaden hardly registers it, focusing solely on the backdoor that led to the backyard. He stops in front of it, more than a little fearful to open it, knowing what waited for him just beyond it outside. It was difficult enough to have to remove her body from all the rubble upstairs himself, feeling for himself just how lifeless her body was when he carried her down the stairs and into the backyard. But now, he was going to have to do it once again, but after she's been laying outside to the elements for two decades. Was there even anything left? And if there was, was he really prepared to see her in that state? The woman that he had known and loved, reduced to… that?

But as he struggles to process that thought, he feels Ratchet grab his hand once again, but squeezing even tighter than he did earlier. He glances over to see him return a small smile that he could muster up as best he could, but judging by how forced it was, along with the apprehensive look in his eye, it was clear that he was just as unsure to go through with this as he was, if not more.

But he doesn't attempt to reassure him nor try to tell him to stay behind once again, and instead opts to simply grip just as tightly onto his hand in return with a nod, an unspoken assurance that whatever they'll see, they'll at least go through it together.

With a deep breath, closing his eyes, Kaden mentally prepares himself for what they're about to do. He knew it was pointless, because how do you even prepare for something like this? But he did it anyway, knowing that something was better than nothing, and he needed all the comfort he could get.

Feeling assured with what little relief he got from his few seconds of trying to steel his nerves, Kaden opens his eyes once more, and looks down to the handle on the door. He slowly reaches over and rests his free hand onto it. And while very tightly gripping onto Ratchet's hand—that was gripping back just as tightly—he slowly turns it, hearing the mechanism inside unlatch the door, letting it crack open slightly. He then simply pushes it open, unconsciously inhaling a breath to brace him for the sight before him, and as the door swings open, revealing the backyard, it also reveals…

Nothing?

His apprehension and fear washes away instead to confusion as he lets go of Ratchet's hand to walk further into the overgrown yard, with Ratchet following shortly behind, just as perplexed as he was upon seeing nothing except for a piece of scrap metal sticking out of a small, grassy mound in the middle of the yard.

And as they get closer, they can see writing on it, seeing that it was a makeshift headstone, reading:

Marie

A strong woman, a caring wife, but most of all, a loving mother

You will be missed

"I… I thought you said Tachyon dug it up." Ratchet speaks up. "But… this looks like it's been untouched for years."

"He did," Kaden replies confusedly. "But… this isn't the piece of metal I used for her headstone. It was more jagged, and the engraving was more rushed, but this… took some care to make."

He then kneels down beside it, inspecting the memorial, knowing that those were the same words he put on his, but there was something else about the script written on it that seemed peculiar.

And as he leans closer to get a better look at them, his eyes widen in sudden realization, and he turns his head back to face Ratchet, brows furrowed as he stands there in confusion.

"This… is Alister's handwriting." Kaden breathes, standing up, glancing back to the headstone.

"Wait… what?" Ratchet responds in surprise. "You're… you're saying that he was the one who reburied her?"

He gives a slow nod. "I… think he must have seen her when he came here for my notes on the Great Clock." He speculates. "And when he saw her out here after Tachyon showed up… I think he finally put her to rest. And without Tachyon knowing that he was here… he must've been able to take his time to do a good job."

"I… huh." Ratchet dumbly replies, looking at the grave as Kaden stands next to him.

Neither of them say anything as they simply stand there, staring at the headstone marking her final resting place, both equally relieved yet disquieted. Relieved that they didn't have to do it themselves, but overpowered by the thought of Alister having to do it himself, only days after the Exodus happened, something that was painful for either of them to think about.

Having him slave away for what must have been hours, having to bury one his best friends, right after having been beaten by her husband after blaming him for her death in the first place. And knowing that he had to live with that for the rest of his life, fueling him in his obsessive drive to find the Great Clock to undo everything that ultimately culminated in his wholly preventable demise and near-destruction of the entire universe, with this grave standing as but one more attempt to make up for all that he did… it pained them.

They stood there for a few minutes, resting on that sobering thought before their silence is broken by Kaden quietly clearing his throat.

"I'm… glad to see that she was able to be laid to rest properly, despite what Tachyon did." He says somberly.

"Me too." Ratchet adds. "I can't imagine how hard it must've been for Alister to do it, though."

"It must have been hell, if I had to base it on my own experience. But… he did a good job of making sure this would last, though. Probably better than what mine would have looked like if Tachyon didn't come around the first time." He says with a small sigh, not failing to notice how the headstone was devoid of rust even after all these years, and the mound patted down properly so that it wouldn't become unsettled by any storm that would happen to pass by.

Ratchet wasn't sure how to reply to that. Reassure him? Agree with him? Both? Neither?

Whatever the answer may be, he didn't get a chance to find out, as Kaden instead continues to talk, much to Ratchet's small relief.

"You know… there's a memorial on Fastoon in the other dimension, with all the names of Tachyon's victims written on a wall." He speaks. "I always try to go there at least a few times a year, to look at your mother's name, and to mourn for her. Although, at first, it was every month, right after my appeal. I'd talk to her, let her know that I'm doing fine and trying to adjust to life as best I can, and that I was trying my damndest to make sure you came back home safe and sound, just like I promised her I would. And I always wished for the day to come where I can finally bring you to her in my arms, and show her that I managed to keep that promise after all.

"But... you know how that went." He says, broadly gestures out a hand with distaste in his tone. "And pretty soon, I started to visit her less and less. Mostly so I can better move on from her death, but partly because I hated going there to tell her that I failed yet again, and that you were stuck here all alone, and possibly even dead, if Tachyon really was right and managed to find you." He says with some sadness, dropping his arm. "I… started to accept the fact that you were just as gone as her as the years went on, though, and I made peace with the fact that I wouldn't ever be able to show her that I had you back in my life again, and that we wouldn't have to even question if you were alright, separated from you for what felt like was for good."

But then, turning his head over to Ratchet, he brings an arm around his shoulder with a smile on his face.

"Until now, that is." He says as he hugs Ratchet closer to him, looking back to the grave. "See? I protected him just like I said I would, Marie. You can rest easy now. Both of us can." He says contentedly.

And despite the rather grim situation, Ratchet could see happiness in his father's eyes as he looks onto his wife's grave. And even though he himself was still processing the idea of seeing his mother's final resting place in their destroyed home on their destroyed planet, he couldn't help but smile a little as well, so clearly seeing the love he still held for her even after all these years.

A few moments later, however, Kaden exhales a breath before he turns around, resting a hand on Ratchet's shoulder.

"Well, I'll go ahead and go back in to get those pictures back to the ship. I'll go poking around in my old workshop downstairs, too, since there's a few tools that I wish I brought with me to the other dimension if I'd known I'd survive my fight with Tachyon." He explains with some amusement. "But… I'll give you some time alone to yourself out here. Take as long as you need to, alright?"

Ratchet gives him a small nod and a thankful smile. "Alright."

With a nod of his own, Kaden gives his shoulder one last pat, and walks back inside the house, Ratchet watching him step through the backdoor, and lingering his gaze there before turning around, facing his mother's grave once more.

He wasn't really quite sure how to feel, honestly. There was the sadness of course, in just the plain fact that she wasn't alive and that he never had a chance to meet her for himself. But on the other hand, he had at last finally gotten a definitive answer as to who his family were; a question that's plagued him ever since he was a child.

Now, when he thought of the word 'mother', he no longer pictured some amorphous, vaguely Lombax-shaped blob in his mind, but instead, a woman with very light gold fur, a small tuft of fur hanging on her head, with blue eyes and a beaming smile, who was just as short as he was, and apparently, just as equally tired of his father's constant jokes about it.

So, while he was still saddened at the prospect of never being able to meet her or talk to her himself, Ratchet was still incredibly thankful that he ended up learning about her at all. And standing here now, in front of her final resting place… it felt like this was as close as he could possibly come to meeting her for himself.

He takes a deep breath before exhaling it slowly.

"Hey… mom." He speaks, a little hesitantly. "It's, erm, me, Ratchet. Or, wait… I guess you probably know me better as Kieran, huh?"

He wasn't really sure why he was even talking right now, knowing full well it's not as if he was going to hear any response. But even thought it did feel a little weird effectively talking to himself, standing in the middle of this yard… it still felt right, for some strange reason.

"Dad's told me a lot about you. How you two met, some funny stories like how you both got sick from not cooking those Fulgra beetle things right, and about how he always made fun of you for your height, just to name a few. He's doing it to me too, now, but don't worry, I'm getting tired of it for both our sakes." He says with a dry chuckle.

As expected, nothing is said in return as he simply stands there in front of the small, grassy mound. Nothing except for a slight, warm breeze that passes by, rustling the grass around him in calm waves.

"I've… been doing fine in my life, if you wanted to know." He continues. "I've had a bit of an eventful one, too. Being a hero, running around the universe, saving people from all kinds of freaks and baddies trying to cause chaos in some way or another. It's dangerous, sure, but, I like it, helping other people and exploring new places, even if I'm getting shot at half the time. Although… knowing how dad reacted to that when I first told him, I'm pretty sure you'd be freaking out a bit about what I get myself into, too, huh? Especially… considering what you did to save me when I was a baby." He says, unconsciously gesturing across the grave before him.

He pauses for a few moments before giving a sad sigh. "I'm… sorry about what happened to you. About what Tachyon did to you. If it wasn't for him, you'd be standing right here next to me right now, with dad, too, and I'd have grown up on this planet with all the other Lombaxes instead of all the way over in Veldin." He states as he crosses his arms with a frown. "But… that's not how it worked out. Instead, you died in order to keep me from getting crushed by a roof, making me live all alone in another galaxy while dad had to spend half his life grieving over us both. I'm glad that I at least avenged us when I took down that Cragmite, but it still doesn't change the fact that you're not here, or that I never got to meet you. And… I know I probably shouldn't say this, but… I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel at least a little guilty for your death."

He hangs his head with another sigh.

"I know, I know, it's silly to think that, given that I wasn't even a year old back then. But I know that if you just decided to leave me there, you could've saved yourself, and left with dad into the other dimension, and live your lives out peacefully, and happily ever after."

He lets a small silence fall over him once again as he rests on those thoughts, and distantly notes how eerie it was for a city to be just so quiet. It was one of the main reasons that he never liked to spend much time on Fastoon in his scant few explorations of these ruins, especially when it was just him and Clank without Tal tagging along.

But he dismisses those thoughts as he shakes his head a few moments later.

"Although… I guess I'd be wrong in saying that, anyway. I doubt that either of you would ever be happy if I was the one who died instead of you." He follows up. "If there's anything about you that I've learned from dad, it's that you were a great parent, and that you loved me with all your heart. You always wanted the best for me, and wanted to make sure that I grew up safe and sound, and that you'd do anything to ensure that. Even if it meant that you sacrificing yourself in order for me to make it out of that genocide alive.

"And, you know… when dad first told me about how you died in order to save me, I didn't really grasp it when he said it was because of how much you two loved me. I just kinda took it at face value." He explains with a shrug, still crossing his arms. "I mean, I didn't get the chance to grow up with parents, and seeing other people with theirs and all the stuff in the holofilms, it just told me that parents love their kids, and that's just a given, like how water is wet and fire is hot. It felt great to hear dad say it to me for the first time, don't get me wrong, but I didn't really, like, truly wrap my head around what his words really meant.

"But as I got to spending more time with him over these last couple of days, catching up on all that lost time between us… I did." He says, a small smile creeping onto his lips. "I saw it when he cursed out that entire Council about how much he's fought to come back for me nonstop for twenty years. I saw it when he made breakfast for me the next day, and told me a good job for my performance out on the City Guard's training course. I saw it when we went hoverbooting together, and when he told me all about how the best day in your guys' life was when I was born. I saw it yesterday when I told him I couldn't live in his dimension forever, and that I had to come back to stay in this one, where he just gladly told me that he was happy that I actually had a life where people looked up to me and would miss me. And even just today, where he met Ms. Perigee, and I told him about Alister, he showed nothing but absolute, sheer love for me. And that's when I started to really understand just how much he means it when he says that."

Uncrossing his arms, he takes a few steps closer to the grave before kneeling down in the grass, becoming eye-level with the metal headstone before him, still wearing a smile as the corners of his eyes begin to glisten with tears.

"And that's when I started to understand how much you loved me, too, mom." He continues, a little more quietly. "If my dad held this much love for me even after all these years, with me gone from his life for decades, then I can only imagine how much you loved me if you willingly threw yourself in danger without a second thought, not caring one bit about your safety just for the sake of mine. And even though it made it so that we could never properly meet each other or spend time together, it doesn't change the fact that you're the one who gave me the chance to live out my crazy life that I've led so far. And even though a good chunk of that was filled with confusion and sadness and anger from being alone for all those years as a kid, finally meeting dad and the Lombaxes and learning all about you is just… more than amazing."

He blinks, causing a pair of tears to slowly trail down the fur on his cheeks, and he leans down to place his hand on top of the mound in front of him.

"So… thank you, mom, for everything you've ever done for me. I wish I could be able to tell you that myself, but I'll be sure to tell dad in order to make up for it. And don't worry, I'm going to tell him all about how thankful I am for all that he's done, too, and how I'm thankful that I have him back in my life again. And I know that this probably goes without saying after everything I just rambled on about, but… I want to say it anyway; I love you, mom. And dad. I love you both just as much as you two love me." He states with a firm nod. "Thank you for everything."

He continues to kneel there, resting his hand on his mother's grave, allowing his tears to fall freely as he gazes at the mound with a content smile on his face. To be able to say all of that was nothing short of therapeutic, and what little anxiety or awkwardness he felt when he first started rambling to himself minutes ago was completely gone as it was instead replaced with pure, unequivocal love towards his mother and father.

Was he still saddened by the fact that she was dead and gone, with the only thing left of her being this pile of dirt and makeshift headstone? Of course he was. But did that change the fact that he was still happy nonetheless for all that she did for the sake of his own survival and safety, and finally getting a chance to say it to her in a meaningful way after all this time?

No. Not by a long shot.

It's only a few minutes later that Ratchet finally decides to retract his hand, standing up from the ground while using his other one to wipe away at the tears in his eyes, but still looking at the grave.

"Well… it was nice talking to you, mom." He says contentedly. "But I've gotta go now, since dad's waiting for me back at the ship. Don't worry, though, because I'll make sure that I'll visit as much as I can. I promise." He states with a firm nod. "But until then… me and him still have a lot more memories to make and time to spend together. See you later, mom. I love you."

And with that, Ratchet finally turns away from the grave as he starts walking back inside the house, still wearing a smile. He didn't pay attention to the ruined state of his family's former abode, serving only as a reminder for what he had last, but instead, he focused on the path ahead of him, both literally and metaphorically.

A new chapter had just dawned in his life, finally having met the rest of his species after many years of uncertainty and mulling over the very notion, and in doing so, he had reunited with the father that he never knew he still had. It's only been a few days, but they've still shared some of the happiest moments in Ratchet's life together, and it just made him more excited to find out what the future held in store for them both.

He couldn't wait to spend more time with him, getting to know more about his family, about the Lombaxes, and getting to know his friends better. He couldn't wait for some of the adventures that'll surely come like they always have before in his life. He couldn't wait for the future that lied ahead of him, because now, his father was in it, and they've got a lot of catching up to do.

Ratchet steps through the living room, and through the open doorway leading outside, where he sees Kaden leaning his back against Aphelion, arms crossed as he has his head turned, appearing to be chatting with Clank about something as he's waiting.

But then, he glances ahead of him, and upon seeing Ratchet, he smiles, and after giving Clank a quick nod, he stands up from leaning off of the ship, and starts walking over to meet Ratchet in the middle of the front yard, where he rests a hand on his shoulder.

"Did you talk to her?" He asks softly.

Ratchet nods. "I did. Thanks for bringing me here, dad. And…"

He moves in closer to him, wrapping his arms tightly around him, catching Kaden a little off-guard, but Ratchet doesn't notice as he relishes the touch.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me. I love you, dad." He utters gladly.

Kaden's initial surprise at the hug quickly washes away as he instead wears a wide grin, and returns the embrace just as tightly, closing his eyes. "I love you, too, Ratchet, but you don't have to thank me. I was just doing what I had to do to make sure you could have the best life you could."

"I know, but I still want to thank you, anyway. I already did for mom, and I told her I'd tell you, too."

Kaden huffs a small laugh through his nose. "Then I guess my hands are tied, then. You're welcome, Ratchet. And… I'm glad that you said that to her."

"Me too, dad. Me too." Ratchet replies blissfully.

They hug each other for a few seconds more before giving one last, strong squeeze before letting go, both of them wearing large smiles on their faces, gazing at each other adoringly, mutually glad for the thousandth time that they were finally back together again.

"So…" Kaden speaks up, "You ready to head out, then?" He asks, thumbing over to Aphelion behind them.

Ratchet gives a nod. "You know it."

"Alright, then. Let's get going." He says draping an arm around Ratchet's shoulder as they both start walking back to the ship, Ratchet wrapping his own arm around him as well, all the while Clank sits in the backseat, looking out of the cockpit, and feeling nothing but pure joy for his best friend.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, after 200K words, 8 months, and more than a few dedicated readers throughout, that is finally a wrap on this story.

To think that this all just started as a throwaway, self-indulgent prompt of Ratchet meeting Kaden that I banged out in a couple hours to get it out of my system is more than crazy to think about for me. Hell, I didn't even intend on publishing this story in the first place, or developing it more than the few pages it originally started out as.

But then, it just kept nagging at me, and I decided to write a little more onto it. Then a bit more. Then a bit more. And still a bit more.

And before I knew it, I had over 30K words written down, and I had a funny notion in the back of my mind that other people would want to read this thing, too, so after a bit of polishing, I ushered out the prologue and first couple of chapters unto the world.

I wasn't expecting much when I did that, really, just more of a 'Well, here's my dumb little story, in case anyone actually cares.' And to my gigantic surprise, I saw that some people did actually care about my dumb little story. Then even more people were coming in and saying they liked it, and yet even more were joining in as well. And the thought that there are actually other people out there actually looking forward to some random guy's story about interdimensional space cats on the internet was nothing short of amazing to me.

I never did write this story for the intention of letting other people enjoy it, nor did I really care if people didn't. This was purely for my own enjoyment and self-indulgence, and if this fic was just left to rot, unnoticed and forgotten among the servers of AO3 and , then so be it, it wouldn't have stopped me.

But upon seeing all of these people start to favorite, follow, kudos, bookmark, comment, and review this as the weeks passed by, it made me incredibly happy in knowing that I was actually entertaining other people and making something that they can genuinely enjoy. And even though I said that this fic was for me first and foremost, I'd be lying if I said it didn't start to become for other people, as well, and it was in knowing that there were others who wanted to find out what happens next in the story that gave me excellent motivation to break out of my lulls of writer's block and procrastination.

So, whether you've been with me since day one, just picked it up today, or are maybe even possibly reading this thing entire years from now, I want to thank you so much for joining me on this wild ride, and I'm glad that I was able to make your day a little better with my story.

But for the rest of us here in the present, who will hopefully be saddened by the fact that this had to end, if I did my job right, don't worry, because I have a lot more planned for this AU.

Firstly, there will be an epilogue I will post shortly for this. And knowing that, yeah, that would probably be a better place to plop down this mushy thank you and reflection over these last 8 months, but I felt as though that this chapter marked an excellent end put a bow on the main story proper, while the other is more of a nice anecdote, so, yes, this is the officially titled last chapter.

Secondly, now that I have now established the status quo of 'Ratchet has his dad back and met the Lombaxes', I am now free to write all kinds of short stories/oneshots within this AU now that I've gotten all of that boring 'context' out of the way, and I already have a few ideas to start all that off. So, be on the lookout for those to see some more hijinks and adventures with some of our favorite characters. And if you're from the future, well… I guess you can go ahead and just mosey your way on over to those right now without having to wait. You lucky bastard.

And, finally—drumroll please—I am writing a sequel for this! (Gasp!)

It should be fairly obvious as to what that sequel will entail by now, given a distinct lack of certain characters that a few have pointed out, but naturally, it's probably going to be a little bit before I actually start to publish anything concerning that sequel. I've experience firsthand with this fic and multiple writer's blocks as to what happens when you don't at least plan an utmost basic roadmap of your story's plot, so I still need to work out a few kinks for that before I can really get going on it.

So, yeah, be sure to look out for that, too. And if you're still reading this, future person, then go ahead and read that right now since you're all so high and mighty with having the absolute luxury of not needing to wait and suffer like the rest of us have.

Although, if I ever do abandon the sequel in the middle of writing it for whatever reason, then this will probably hurt more for you knowing what eventually happens and what could have been, but… just call that my revenge of being jealous of your ability to read the things I haven't even written yet. So, haha, take that!

But, yelling at people in the future aside, that is all.

Once again, thank you to everyone who's been reading/has read this dumb little story of mine, and I hope you enjoyed it.

Until next time!