The short walk to the ships should have been victorious or happy. It was neither.
The three lombaxes walked dejectedly towards their ships, not speaking for a bit. All three came to a stop in the landing area normally reserved for the empress and looked at each other, waiting for the first one to speak.
That ended up being Rivet.
"I take it that was the one from your universe, huh?" She asked quietly. The boys nodded slowly.
"I thought he was dead." Ratchet started, talking to his shoes with wide eyes. "I watched him fall into a black hole in a different dimension. I don't even know how he's alive, much less here."
Clank stepped over to him. "There is a chance he did not fall into the black hole and instead managed to catch himself and ride along on an asteroid. There were quite a few where we fought him."
"Even then, how did he get here? The odds that he would be trapped in this dimension specifically are slim to none."
"Stranger things have happened." Kit chimed in. "You two wound up here."
"Because brought us here. It wasn't chance, only him trying to win." Ratchet said more harshly than he meant.
"It doesn't matter how he got here or how he lived." Kaden cut in, keeping his eyes in the dirt. "What matters now is that we deal with him."
"I must agree." Kit said before she realized she had no idea who this new lombax was. "Who are you exactly?"
Clank looked up at his friend. "Ratchet, is this?..."
He nodded. "Clank, Kit, this is my dad. Kaden. There's a long story behind why he's alive."
The old man managed to raise his gaze. He tried to grin but it didn't entirely reach his eyes. "One that will have to wait unfortunately. Nice to meet you two. Especially you Clank, my boy's told me a lot about you." He knelt down and extended his hand towards the little bot. Clank took the handshake. "Thanks for taking care of him for so long."
Clank chuckled at him. "It has certainly been… unique, but also fun. And I must say it is an honor to meet you sir."
"None of that sir stuff. I may look worse for wear, but I'm not that old yet." Kaden said with a small laugh.
Rivet stepped up with Kit in tow. "Listen, I'm happy about this reunion too, but don't we have, like, a multiverse to save?"
"She's right, dad. We can't let him get the dimensionator again."
"Again?" Kaden froze and looked at his son. "What do you mean 'again'? Did he…?"
Ratchet realized what he had said. He had been afraid about coming clean about his failure to keep the device away from Tachyon, and now he had to do it with no preparation whatsoever. He looked away and massaged his palms. "I… I failed you dad."
"What do you mean?"
"Tachyon he… I couldn't keep him from getting the dimensionator."
Kaden's face sank, like all of his worst fears were suddenly realized. "So he was able to open it then? He chased after our people?"
Clank cut in for his friend's sake. "We managed to stop him before that happened. He did bring through a small army of cragmites, but they were all either killed or sent back to their dimension. That was when we thought he had died, but evidently we were wrong."
"I'm sorry dad." Ratchet still wasn't looking at his father, not wanting to see the disappointment in his face. "You gave up everything to keep that from happening, and I failed."
His father's hand landed on his shoulder, turning him to see the older lombax. There wasn't disappointment in his eyes though, just relief. "Did you try your best?"
"Wha- of course I did."
"Then that's all I could have ever asked of you and then some. Plus, our people are safe and that's what truly matters." He bumped their foreheads together, awakening a long buried memory in Ratchet of a lombax shaped head doing something similar. Kaden turned away from him to face the rest of the group. "And if we want them to stay that way, we'll need a change of plans."
"What do you mean?" Rivet asked.
"I can't elaborate too much right now, not when the walls might have eyes. All I'll say is we have somewhere we need to go." He jumped on top of his ship and opened the cockpit.
"And that is?" Rivet asked while moving towards Periapsis.
"Just stay on my tail and you'll see soon." Was all he said before he climbed in and shut the canopy. The other two lombaxes looked first at each other and then their companions.
"Guess we don't have much of another choice." Ratchet said and helped Clank up onto Aphelion. "Let's just hope he knows what he's doing."
They all agreed and climbed into their ships before taking off. Thanks to Kaden's hack still being in effect they had clear skies up through the atmosphere, and once they left that he reactivated the stealth tech. With the help of that they slipped out of the system with the fleet none the wiser. Once at the edge they locked their navigation computers to Kaden's and off they went, warping into the distance.
Kit was marveling at the ship around her, and Rivet definitely understood why. She'd caught herself more than a few times doing much the same since she'd only had Peri for all of a few days by now. She realized Periapsis actually hasn't even said anything yet, so she probably didn't even know it could talk.
"Like the ship?" She asked her companion. The bot was shaken from her wonder and furiously nodded.
"It's amazing. Ratchet's ship was also great, but I didn't get to spend very long in it."
"I am glad you find me satisfactory." Periapsis spoke up, scaring kit bad enough that she dove behind Rivet for cover, making the lombax giggle.
"It's ok, that's the ship's AI, Peri." Kit poked her head out.
"My full designation is Angel class fighter Periapsis, but you may call me 'Peri' as you desire. It is a pleasure to meet you. Though, I lack a personality matrix so I cannot actually feel said pleasure, but no doubt I would if I had one."
Kit climbed the rest of the way out from behind her and back into her own seat. "Hello. I am KT-7461, but you can call me Kit!"
"Noted. Adding Kit to the list of trusted operators."
Kit looked at Rivet almost like she needed permission to be happy so she gave her a thumbs up and a smile. With that Kit did her best smile and giggled at the whole interaction before hopping up and looking out of the cockpit at Kaden out ahead of them.
"Ratchet's father is quite interesting."
Rivet scoffed. "I'd more say annoying and secretive with a sprinkle of self righteousness."
Kit looked at her, worried. "He did seem a bit reclusive, but I don't think he was self-righteous."
Rivet sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well, when I found out the reason I've been alone all my life is because he wanted it that way I couldn't help but come away with that impression."
"But, didn't you have the morts and the other members of the resistance?"
"That's not what I meant. Most of my life I've known one thing to be an absolute truth. I was the last lombax in the universe. Now I know that was a lie, and one he let me believe, and that's something I can't forgive."
"You forgave me, didn't you?" Was all Kit said, but it brought a deafening silence to the inside of the ship that neither knew how to break. Instead they let it hang over them for the rest of the trip.
Ratchet and Clank's ship was much more lively, with the lombax taking the time to regale Clank with all of the things he had missed out on during his capture. He told him about finding Periapsis and the journey to find who turned out to be Kaden. All of it right up until they had found them on the planet.
"Can you top all that Pal?"
"I do not believe I can. After we were taken we woke up on the empress's capital ship. We made an attempt to escape, but were captured. That was when I found out that Tachyon had returned."
Ratchet stared off into the distance at that, not speaking for a bit. When he finally spoke again, it was quiet. "Do you think I failed him?"
"Do you mean your father?"
Ratchet nodded. "Ever since we beat Tachyon, the only thing that kept me from thinking I really failed him was that Tachyon was dead. Now it feels like I've failed him all over again. I know he said it's ok, but…"
"That does little to change how you feel." Clank finished for him. The little bot hummed in thought. "I won't try to convince you that he is proud of you, that is something you must do yourself. I think the best thing we can do for now is stop Tachyon, and once that is done you and your father can work all of that out on your own."
"Yeah." Ratchet said with a sigh. "You're right pal."
"Of course I am." He replied with a chuckle. "That does beg the question of how we will stop him though."
"And of where we're going. Aphelion, do you know what our heading is yet?" He had asked that not long after they left Tyhrranosis but she needed more time to narrow it down.
"Highest likelihood is planet Fastoon."
"Fastoon? We're heading back there?"
Clank's hand rubbed his chin. "It makes sense now that he would not want to say that back on the planet. I imagine the cragmite forces are spread all across Polaris at this point and would be able to cut us off if they knew where we were headed."
"Still, we've got at least ten hours if that's really where we're headed."
"Do you wish to sleep?"
Ratchet yawned, the dip from all the adrenaline that had been pumping finally hitting him. "Just for a bit pal. A few hours, then I'm sure we'll have more to talk about." With that he leaned back in his chair and quietly slipped into sleep. Once he was sure Ratchet was out Clank chuckled.
Indeed. We'll have to talk about a lot before… Clank's thoughts trailed, stopping himself from following that train. Instead he busied himself with one of his usual busy works, cleaning up Aphelion's storage. Without the AI to properly do it itself, trash data had a tendency to pile up fairly ofte-
Wait a minute, who programmed this shortcut? He thought to himself. The timestamp on the data entry was recent, but had no ID on the interaction. Vocal shortcut 'Put my feet up' initiates a one way call to Periapsis. Strange. I'll have to ask Ratchet about that when I get the chance. I'll leave it for now just in case, though something tells me I know who did it. With another hearty chuckle he set himself back to work.
The rest of the flight back to the lombax home planet, as that was indeed their destination, was uneventful. When Ratchet woke from his nap they took the chance to just aimlessly talk for a bit, something they rarely got the chance to do nowadays, as well as let Ratchet eat a bit.
Soon enough they dropped out of warp again, Fastoon right in front of them, still alone and desolate. Ratchet breathed a sigh of relief when he saw there was still no fleet over the planet. He wondered if Kaden would radio where they had to go, but instead he just flew towards it, presumably expecting them to follow. He and Rivet were floating close enough to see each other through their view ports, enabling them to exchange unsure looks and shrugs before doing as the older lombax wished.
All three flew in over the ruined and cratered landscape. It hurt Ratchet to see it like this every time he came here, but that pain must pale in comparison to what his dad was feeling at that moment. He couldn't even imagine that, to have seen this place at its height, then in flames, and then this. A desolate wasteland with barely anything that could be called varmints and scrub grass clinging to life.
They passed over the court of Azimuth and to the outskirts of what was once the planet's largest city, landing in a place that Ratchet didn't recognize even from his dimension. But then again he had never really spent much time doing anything like exploring what was by rights his home planet. He climbed out with Clank attaching himself to his back to keep up easily, Kit doing much the same with Rivet a few meters from where he'd landed.
Kaden had already left his ship behind and was walking up a nearby hill, only pausing in his gait long enough to make sure they were following him. Ratchet caught a look of deep contemplation, like he was doubting what he was about to do. But it was only for a moment before he walked on.
The other two lombaxes looked at each other, unsure. Ultimately their silent conversation led them to the conclusion they could do nothing but follow for now. So up the hill they went after him.
As they steadily and silently ascended the well worn path to wherever it was they were headed, both took a second to try and picture the world around them just thirty years prior. A time when ships like theirs crisscrossed the skies and shining towers of lombax architecture would've loomed over the horizon. Now as they crested a rise on the hill, that illusion they briefly crafted for themselves was banished, replaced by the reality of the crumbling ruins stretching out before them as far as the eye could see.
Anger welled in both when they saw it. A city in ruins, and a silent monument to futures lost reminding them of what Kaden had screamed at Tachyon about. They could never feel his pain, his loss. But they sure felt like they were coming close.
"Hey. Ratchet?" Rivet begged his attention quietly.
"Yeah?" He didn't look away from the expanse before them, but let her know he was listening.
"Fastoon looks like this in your dimension too right?"
He cast his memory back and layed the image over the one in front of him. "Mine's a bit worse I think. A lot more areas are craters or just rubble. There's not as many big buildings or solid ground. There's actually a fissure in the ground right-" he pointed to a spot near the court of Azimuth. "-there."
"I guess they all look like some version of this. Every home we could have in every dimension."
"There is the one." He reminded her. "One place where our kind are safe."
She nodded, a slow and shallow movement that he barely saw out of the corner of his eye. "If we had ended up there, on the other side of the portal together as babies. Do you think we would have still met? Found each other in a sea of trillions?"
He stopped short of speaking off the cuff. His heart so badly wanted to say yes, to tell her that he was sure that no matter what had happened, Tachyon or no, they would still find each other. But he knew that notion wasn't true. Practically impossible to be true once even a fragment of thought was focused upon it. But still… "I'd like to think so. That the universe meant for us to find each other, somehow, someway."
"Yeah." The back of her hand bumped the back of his, metal to leather with a soft tap. The moment was broken as fast as it happened though, as Clank coughed, reasserting the presence of bots on their backs. Rivet visibly snapped out of whatever stupor she was in. "A-and I mean that for all of us!
"I hope that we'd all find a way to end up, not quite here, but something similar." She stammered the words quickly, an effort to save face. Ratchet was about to ask her why she was so nervous, hoping to tease her a bit to take away some weight, when Kaden called from further up the hill.
"Are you four coming or not!?"
"Sorry dad! On our way!" He turned back to her. "Come on, whatever he's hiding must be close."
"I hope so." She said with a derisive eye roll. "The only time he's given us anything close to a direct answer was about what already happened. I'm getting sick of this whole 'secretive hero' schtick real quick."
They started walking on the path again while Clank spoke from Ratchet's back. "Everything we know about Kaden has suggested that he either operated alone or with Alister during every mission on record. I presume you have told Rivet about him at this point?"
"Who? Alister? Yeah, yeah I did. As it turns out…" Ratchet trailed off, looking sideways to ask for permission to keep talking. She met his gaze, and rather than have him say it opted to do so herself.
"Turns out I'm the daughter of this dimension's Alister. And while he's alive, we don't know where he is." She spat out the words like they stung her tongue while Clank hummed.
"Interesting. Regardless, he is likely used to working with an individual who is more 'up to speed' as it were, with knowledge necessary for the mission. Hence his more dubious treatment of us."
Rivet sneered. "Sure, and I'm actually Ratchet's sister. I'm not going to believe that this is just something he's 'used to.' This is on purpose, I just don't know why."
As she finished the ground started to level out, the occasional scrub grass that had lined the path up till now becoming fuller and greener.
"Looks like we're about to find out." Ratchet pointed out, just as they began to see beyond the hill's final crest.
There they found the older lombax, standing still in the center of what at one point had probably been a landing pad. He was facing away from them and towards a ruined structure on the other side of the pad. It was a dome shape, with a smaller tower coming off the top of it, though both parts were in partial ruins, crumbling like all the other architecture they'd seen. Ratchet felt a tug in him, something deep and buried that he didn't know was there.
It felt like his heart was being pulled in his chest, yanked towards the building while a mounting pressure built within his mind, memory dredged to the surface by it. But it felt less like one of his and more like one from a different life. An echo of something he was before.
He remembered a place like this, but covered in green. Lush plants cling to surfaces all over while a young lombax, not even able to walk yet, crawls through them. He chases after creatures only he can see, on adventures only he can know. He drifts and ranges far, but always under the watchful eye of his mother. He knew he could always return to her, would always return to her, by his will or not. One day he drifts farther than ever before, seeking to go beyond a forest of ferns and fronds that he thought was near endless.
To the boy it takes forever, a lifelong journey before bright lights pierce through to him. He had reached the other side, and popped his head and floppy ears out to see what mysteries it held, what his next adventure might be.
He didn't see adventure though.
He saw terror.
Metal boxes that brought his father and mother home, or friendly faces to come see him were raining light down on the city before him. He could hear screaming, and loud booms that he could feel from far away. His mother was calling for him, a name he didn't know yet but he knew to go to her. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew to be afraid and when he was afraid he called for her. He cried and wailed, drawing her to him.
As arms looped around the boy, his vision shifted. The place he knew as home was in ruins, his face stinging with needles from the heat of the fires all around. He cried while he looked up at his father, cradling him in soft but wet hands, red stains being left on the swaddle that encircled him. Tears streamed down his face while he looked on at the burning home before him, and at the body lying still in the center of it. A voice called them from behind, one he recognized more now then back then.
When Ratchet turned, there was no one but Rivet there, the memory that had been so real to him ended in an instant. Her mouth moved to talk to him but he couldn't hear it, her voice distant and muffled. He shook his head and dragged himself back to the present.
"What?" He asked.
"I asked if you were ok. You're crying." She said, and gestured towards his face. His hand came up and touched his cheek, coming away from it with wet fingers.
"Sorry." He apologized and rubbed his cheeks and eyes dry. "I just… got caught up in a memory."
"Looks like you're not the only one." She said, motioning towards Kaden who was still in his spot, unmoving. From the angle they were looking at him, they could just barely see a similar stream of tears staining his fur. Ratchet tentatively stepped forward.
"Dad?"
The old lombax took a deep breath. "I've been afraid to come back here. No one died in this house in this universe, but it still looks the same."
"So this version of you never even met mom?"
He shook his head. "Arneesa was what we called a 'unique dimensional variation.' That is to say that she was one of a kind across every universe. No copies, no other versions, just… her. That's why there's only one you. Only one son of Kaden." He took another deep breath, steeling himself and hardening his resolve before he motioned for them to follow him forward, stepping towards the building.
Inside was what Ratchet might have at one point called a normal living room. A big table in the middle surrounded by chairs with couches and other furniture hugging the walls. On the other end was a short hall through to a kitchen and stairs up to a second floor. A small somewhat cozy home at one point, now it lay in ruins. No furniture had survived the invasion or the test of time, nor had the structure itself with part of the domed ceiling caved in. Everything was covered in a thick layer of first ash and then dust, both kicking up into the air with every step.
The place felt dead, in the air and the mood it exuded. The younger lombaxes looked around, curious for a peak into the past while Kaden strode through towards the small hall in the back. He turned to the wall opposite the stairs and started looking at it intently. They approached from behind right around when he found what he was looking for, removing his glove from his living hand and pressing it against a panel. It glowed a dull blue for a moment before there was an electronic chime. The wall slid down with a hiss and a mechanic whir, revealing a staircase leading down, dimly lit by dust covered lights. He turned to them.
"Lombaxes only from this point forward. Sorry."
"What!?" Rivet exclaimed. "We went to all that trouble to save them and now you want us to leave our friends behind?"
"She's right dad, there shouldn't be anything you can show us but them."
"I know, but my hands are tied on this. There are scanners that will atomize not just them but the both of you if you try and take them. This is a very important place, and it has the security it deserves." He at least had the sense to look apologetic.
"What is this place anyway? Where are we headed?" Ratchet asked.
"All in do time son." It was clear that was the only answer he would offer.
"I still don't like this." Rivet reasserted, though Kit cut in to talk her down.
"We'll be fine Rivet, I am sure you won't be long."
"I concur." Clank said. "We will wait here for you to be done, then we can go and stop the cragmites together."
Ratchet and Rivet looked at each other, and nodded with a sigh while they released the robots from their backs. They turned around towards their companions. "We'll be right back. Don't wander too far."
Rivet's warning to Kit was echoed by Ratchet before they followed the older lombax down into the dark. Leaving their partners to do nothing but sit and wait for them to return.
Their descent into the dim darkness of the staircase was a quiet one, the only sound being the clacks of their boots against the stairs. They walked for what felt like hours in the featureless shadows until they eventually hit level ground, a short hall leading to a heavy and sealed door. Kaden strolled straight up to a console just to the side of it. Rather than a keyboard or a screen though, there was just a slot on a slanted face. "Stay there you two. This is the scanner I mentioned."
They stopped as he told them to and waited. Once they were still, he pulled out one of his wrenches. Closing the head, he pushed it into the empty slot. There was a deep clunk as it sunk into place, followed by a robotic voice.
"Wrench I.D. verified. Welcome keeper. State name, dimension of origin and how many you bring with you."
"Kaden Kuiper, Prime dimension, two."
"Scanning."
A burst of orange light came from the top of the door, running over everyone present. It felt warm, almost uncomfortably so as it did. A few passes and the voice chimed again. "All claims verified. Welcome back Kaden."
The door groaned and jumped as the joints slowly recovered from years without use or service. Dust puffed and moved as the air pressure changed and the door slowly opened to reveal…
A blank wall.
"Uh, dad?"
"Give it a second."
Moments of silence passed, but that didn't mean nothing happened. It seemed like the air around them was becoming charged, their fur standing on end while everything felt like it was silently humming. This feeling built and built, soon accompanied by a sound reminiscent of a charging weapon. Or more aptly, a dimensionator about to fire.
In a flash of purple light, the empty space of the door was filled by a portal. Glowing purple shards of the dimensional boundary danced around them in the enclosed space, and the hole they left behind showing a metal landing platform.
"This can travel dimensions?" Ratchet asked, gesturing towards the door.
"Only to one place, and the portals that lead to it can't be opened from the other side." Kaden walked in front of the portal. "It'll leave it open until we come back through."
"And where exactly does this lead?"
"You'll see." He said with a self assured smirk before stepping through the portal. The younger two only sighed at the continued dodging of their questions. The only way they'd continue to get answers is if they follow, so through the portal they went.
That part felt the same as usual, the barrier feeling like they were walking through a paper thin wall of jelly. Then the air pressure and gravity changed, prompting their magnet boots and breathers to activate automatically. They saw Kaden's mechanical helmet had done much the same.
Looking around they were a bit awestruck at the place they had walked into. They stood on a raised metal platform with a gate-like device housing the portal they had come through. This whole assembly was perched atop a floating rock, barely a few dozen meters across at its widest point. All around them, floating through a swirling blue and black void were hundreds of similar islands, though all of their portals lay quiet and dormant. There were no stars in this place, only churning colors like they were swaddled in a nebula on all sides.
Slowly they stepped forward, noticing a towering structure that they had come out facing. A skyscraper curving toward what should have been a point, but instead there was a wrench shape crowning it. Nestled in its crook was a small artificial sun, providing most of the light and casting long shadows all around them. Ratchet's mind was racing with possible explanations, trying to think of what exactly this place could be.
"What is this place?" He finally asked, coming up dry.
"This is the single greatest secret of our kind, and the epitome of dimensionology as a study. This, is the Nexus. An entire dimension, crafted by lombaxes."
"A crafted dimension!?" Rivet exclaimed. "Wha- How?"
"It was what we considered the final step, the last hurdle of our understanding of dimensionology. It was only through a combined effort from visionaries across nearly every dimension, same as with the dimensionator, that this place could be made."
Both the other lombaxes were too wowed, too awed to even speak to that effect. Kaden continued, though beckoned for them to follow him as he walked towards the ledge closer to the tower.
"The Nexus was meant to be the beating heart of the protectorate. A place where lombaxes could live, grow and prosper, making sure we never infringed on other species while we grew more powerful in an effort to keep the peace. A place with limitless potential and resources that one day would have allowed us to maintain an eternal peace that stretched across all realities." He reached the edge of the island they were on, but rather than pause for some kind of platform to come and retrieve them he just kept walking. Swirling light coalesced beneath his feet to form platforms that he walked on towards the tower.
The other pair reached the same boundary, and with a confident but still careful step RIvet walked out into that void, held aloft by light. Ratchet had half a moment where he mentally compared her to an angel, but couldn't ruminate on the thought before he worried about being left behind and followed after them. Kaden continued his explanation.
"That was the long term goal, but in the short term it was made to house and act as a place for Keepers to speak and share information on potential threats. Unfortunately, that was the only purpose this place would ever see thanks to Percival. Had this place been completed in time, we could have retreated here rather than just another dimension."
"Why are we here though? This place is amazing on so many levels, but you still haven't answered that." Ratchet asked as he caught up.
"Because, this isn't just where Keepers meet." He half turned back to them, and Ratchet could hear the grin even though he couldn't see it through the mask. "It's where they're made."
"You're going to make us into Keepers?" Rivet ran to catch up to him. "How? Why?"
Ratchet ran up as well, not wanting to miss a moment of the explanation to come. All three now walked side by side towards the tower, now almost to the large island it rested on.
"Keeper is nothing more than a position, a designation. And one that was designed to be passed down as time went on. Eventually, I, and all my versions, would be past our prime, meaning we would need to appoint a new generation of Keepers to safeguard the dimensions. So when that happened, we would each choose a successor to take our place. So now, I plan on choosing my own son to succeed myself, and you Rivet will have to take up the mantle your version left empty.
"As to why this is necessary, Tachyon's return has made me realize that no matter what we do, they will keep trying to bring back the cragmite empire and launch every dimension into another great war. They seek the death and destruction, not just of the lombaxes, but of everyone who could ever stand in their way. So that leaves me with no choice but to consider a final failsafe that was built into the dimensionator to make sure the cragmites could never return."
"You're not about to suggest we destroy the cragmite dimension are you?" Ratchet asked, hoping his father wasn't about to attempt speciside. They finally reached the island as he asked, a grand archway leading into it a few dozen meters ahead.
"No. As cruel as they may be, we can't hold that dominion over them. We are not gods with the power to judge others in such a manner."
"What are we going to do then?"
"We're going to lock the cragmite dimension, forever preventing anyone from traveling to or from it with any dimensionator ever built. Dimensional locking was a failsafe we built in incase the cragmites never changed or we came across other threats in the near infinite dimensions. It requires at least two Keepers and a council member to approve it. So three different lombaxes have to think it's the right thing to do."
"And you're already a member of the council. So if we're Keepers, all we'll need is the dimensionator. Then they'll never be able to bring back the cragmites?" Ratchet surmised.
"Correct. The only drawback is that it can never be undone. Once they're locked in the dimension, that's it, no more second chances."
"From what I've seen and you two told me, they've had their chances to change and haven't. Now they need to face the consequences." Rivet's cold gaze pierced through her visor and into the boy's eyes, letting them know how serious she was about this. All three nodded in agreement before proceeding through the grand archway of the tower.
Inside was a large domed room, the walls covered in monitors and displays, though they all showed nothing but static. Across the floor were hundreds of small circular raised platforms, about a meter across, all organized in rows and columns leading to what almost looked like a stage.
"Once upon a time, we called this place our watchtower. Through it we had news feeds and reports from every dimension we were linked to, and the ability to spread and share information at an unprecedented pace." His hand ran across one of the platforms, and came back with dust caked on his glove. He sighed at the sight before turning back to them, pulling out both his wrenches. He held out one to each. "Take it and pick a platform near the stage. Put the head into the slot like I did earlier and be ready to say your names when asked."
Both nodded and did as asked while Kaden proceeded to climb the stage, accessing a console near its center. He tapped away for a few moments, not saying anything. After a bit the platforms Ratchet and Rivet were standing on glowed from the sides, a bright blue that washed out the rest of the room.
"Ordinarily I'm sure they would try and make this some big event, filled to the brim with pomp and circumstance. We don't have that luxury. Instead I'll just ask you two to make the same oath I did when I was made a Keeper. Left hands on your wrenches and raise your right." He told them, and they did just that.
"Now repeat after me: I, say your name, swear to uphold the peace in every dimension. To always live in service to a greater good and in dedication to that pursuit. To always put others and our people first, and yourself second."
"I, Ratchet Kuiper, swear to uphold the peace in every dimension. To always live in service to a greater good and in dedication to that pursuit. To always put others and our people first, and yourself second."
"I, Rivet, swear to uphold the peace in every dimension. To always live in service to a greater good and in dedication to that pursuit. To always put others and our people first, and yourself second."
"With that vow, you take your positions as Keepers from those before. I grant my position as the prime Keeper to my son, Ratchet. And in my counterpart's absence, I grant the title of A-03 Keeper to you, Rivet. Do you accept?"
"Yes."
"Yes!"
"Then you are now Keepers!" There was a massive flash from beneath both of their platforms, taking that blue glow to a blinding light. They covered their eyes on a reflex, though their visors automatically dimmed to prevent eye damage. When it faded, standing in front of both of them were holographic projections of themselves, arms at their sides and standing at attention. The holograms then left them and hovered up into the air above their heads.
As they ascended, they merged with a new hologram, and one they both recognized. A dimensional map formed and idly spun above their heads, the countless points of light drifting along. Ratchet's came to rest on the brightly glowing point in the center, spinning above it as one of Kaden faded from view, while Rivet's stopped above one not too far from him.
The young lombaxes gazed up and looked at the display as though it were their names being written amongst the stars themselves. No, if anything it was better than that. They were now inscribed as a part of their peoples history in a way that neither could have ever dreamed possible. Their names and faces carved into a dimensional map until their duty was done.
Kaden stepped down from the stage to speak to them. "Congratulations you two. There's just a few things I have to explain before we go back."
The pair came down from their own platforms and joined him. "Firstly, this place must remain a secret for now, even from your friends." Rivet raised her hand to argue, but he continued before she could. "When this is all said and done and the tachyons are beaten you can go ahead and tell them. Until then, this place has both a dimensional map, but also portal technology that can be used and exploited. By the vows you just took, you cannot even entertain the idea of these things falling into their claws. Make sense?"
The pair looked at each other, exchanging a silent conversation before nodding in agreement. Kaden sighed with relief. "Good. Now secondly, this dimensional lockout that we're going to use has to remain a secret as well. If people knew that lombaxes had invented a way to lock dimensions, they might suspect we have a way to destroy them too. We aren't conquerors, we don't lead through fear and we can't let people think that's what we want to do. Putting in the lockout failsafe already pushes on a level of authoritarianism that most already couldn't condone. It was only made at the last minute in secret."
Another silent conversation. Another silent agreement. They were less ok with this one, each could see it in the other's eyes, but like everything up till now they were left precious few options if they wanted to save the universe. With their agreement nailed down, joy finally supplanted the grave seriousness in Kaden's voice. "Alright then. Let's go save the universe."
All three started walking out of the structure, the younger two joking and shoving, reveling in their excitement while Kaden looked on fondly. He remembered the days when he was much the same, cajoling not just Alister but other versions of himself in these very halls.
Just before passing across the threshold and back out into the void, he turned and looked up at the dimensional map one last time. Pride welled in his chest at the sight of Ratchet in his place atop the map's beating heart.
But he also felt a creeping dread, because he knew something about this map that his younger guests didn't.
The map didn't only display new Keepers, it displayed all living Keepers.
And right now, across every dimension on the map…
There were only two.
The party trekked back up the stairs, Kaden explaining that his wrenches were theirs now, functioning as their I.D.'s as Keepers. Figuring that he ought to have some weapon to fight with, Ratchet ended up giving him his old omniwrench that he'd used up to now, all the while Rivet murmured to herself about finding a way to turn it into a hammer.
After a whole three hours spent apart from their friends, they finally reemerged in the ruined home. There was some anxiety about what they would come back to, or if they would come back to find anyone at all, but thankfully they found the robots just as they had left them.
They had actually started playing holographic chess while they waited.
"Teaching her how to cheat like you pal?" Ratchet called as they emerged.
"How many times must I explain the allergies of Blargian Snagglebeasts?" Clank retorted, before making another move that won him the game, said snagglebeast breaking a robot over its knee in a display of victorious glory.
"As many times as it's still a dumb rule." He responded, prompting laughs from the others present.
They ended the game and stood from where they had sat on the ground. Kit ran up curious. "Did you all find what you were looking for?"
Rivet gave a big smile. "Darn straight we did! You're now looking at the two newest Keepers of the dimensionator!"
Kit's eyes went wide with surprise while Clank simply stood shocked, looking to Ratchet to see if this was true. When he nodded he displayed an equal joy. "Congratulations then you two."
Kaden slipped past them and produced the shards of the pyramid. "With that business done, it's time to find out where the thing you're Keepers of is. This data pyramid should have its location, and I'll transmit you the access code."
The robots nodded and first plugged into each other and then a deployed scanner field that suspended the pyramid shards. Between the both of them running in parallel, it was only a few minutes before they had the information they were after. Using projectors in her eyes, Kit showed a hologram of their destination.
A ringed terrestrial planet with bands of color ribboning across its surface like cascading waves. Ratchet and Rivet as well as their counterparts all drew blanks, none of them having seen the planet before. "Was there no name or coordinates for it?" Ratchet asked.
Clank shook his head. "All the data we could recover was this image."
"Lucky I know where that is then." Kaden said. "And it's a good hiding place too."
"So where is it then?" Rivet asked impatiently.
"A lombax military research planet, and a top secret one at that, called planet Auros. It's nestled inside a nebula, so it doesn't show up on scanners or maps unless you know what to look for and where to look for it. In my dimension it was actually the last place that I evacuated."
Rivet grabbed Kit with a smile and locked her in place on her back, already walking towards the exit. "Auros it is then boys! Let's go!" With that war cry she was gone.
Kaden huffed a laugh through his nostrils. "What a catch you found." He muttered to his son before following after her.
Ratchet stiffened as he said that, and Clank took notice. "What was it your father said?"
"I'll-uh. I'll tell you later pal. For now, let's catch up to the others." He tried to brush off the question with a nervous smile and picked up Clank, running out of the ruins after the others.
In orbit over Corson V, Imperial flagship
The holographic display in the center of the bridge showed the whole of the Polaris galaxy, a pair of lines leading from the galactic edge to a point clearly labeled Fastoon. Two radically different sized cragmites watch the map with satisfaction.
"Your plans continue to pay off, little morsel." The Empress coos to her Emperor.
"Of course they do, my dear. These lombaxes are as predictable now as they were decades ago." He grinned with malicious delight. "Now all we have to do is wait, and then our empire will span entire dimensions, with our progeny at the helm."
The hologram displayed a feed of a planet back in Solana, showing a field sheltered within a building. The ground was covered with a massive web of organic slime, keeping thousands of eggs standing straight up, some pulsing with life while caretakers attended to them.
There were dozens of facilities on that planet alone, and dozens of planets that looked much the same. A burgeoning empire already, with the next wave of hatchlings they would become unstoppable.
