A/N: Two things quick, first, sorry my updates have been a little slow. Will try and update every 4 or so days. Work has been a bit of a bugger. Second, I neglected to mention this, but in the last chapter, Ratchet had changed the color of his armor so Clank wouldn't be able to recognize it. Part of Ratchet's plan is to stay anon for as long as possible, so changing the suits' coloring is an extra detail he was able to modify into it.

Chapter 14

Rebel's Newfound Patience

"Ready… set… GO!" The gunshot fired, sending all racers into fight or flight mode. Flight is the obvious choice as all slammed their heels into the propelling systems and shot forward. Trails of neon flames were left amongst dust as the crowd roared in pure excitement. Rivet raised her arms up to join in on the cheering. Clank and Kit exchanged glances as they looked at the device that showed everyone's virtual bets.

"Odd, I could have sworn the racer was the sky border I and Ratchet had met years prior," Clank observed while glancing to the racer that stood in the lion-faced man's place. "Racer number seventeen is clearly not this individual."

"Well," Kit summarized, "this 'sky boarder' has purple hair. This robot has purple armor, perhaps it is a represented for him?"

"That… is a logical conclusion." Clank agreed as he put a curious finger to his chin, watching the big monitor display all the racers going head to head. "Just cannot help but find that armor familiar…"

Back onto the track, Ratchet's body felt as light as air with the wind whistling past him. The sharp angles of his new armor proved to be more arrow dynamic than previously thought. Getting up close to the leading pack, he easily swerved past two of them. They galled angrily at the armor containing Ratchet while waving their fist at them. Ratchet chuckled behind his visor, like them shaking their fist was going to change their lanes.

But that's not why he was here. His visor quickly loomed over to his suspect rocketing ahead of the whole crowd. His board projecting much larger flame throttles that left almost the entire pack in the dist. Ratchet knelt lower to his board and tapped in a few codes onto his wrist pack. A secondary round of red flames was brought forth from his jetpack. Giving him an extra boost, he quickly maneuvered through the tight group of fellow racers. Combined with his burrowed board's projectors, he was on his suspect's tail in minutes.

The blue alien seemed to notice Ratchet's fast arrival, getting nervous by his feet started hitting the throttle harder. But this didn't sway Ratchet as he got closer and closer till they were neck and neck. They glanced at each other; his suspect gave an awkward thumbs up.

"You're pretty good!" He yelled over the wind.

Ratchet didn't say a word, leaving the challenger lost in silence. Till the disguised Lombax brought his gauntlets up and pointed at the creature.

"What do you do for a living?" He asked casually as if they were waiting in line at a supermarket. His suspect blinked at the random question, looking back to their boards flying at nearly a hundred and fifty miles per hour.

"Uh, I… work on computers?" He tried to press the throttle harder, but with every inch, he moved ahead Ratchet was quick to stay on him. "What about you?"

"Programmed for different functions," Ratchet said, his synthesized voice giving him an even more robotic approach. "Computers huh? You look like you'd be a good hacker, maybe… help with some problems? For people willing to pay."

This made the alien slow his board down a bit, which Ratchet followed suit. They were miles ahead of the other races, it was clear there was no need to rush. He ran a tentacled hand around his chin, massaging the beak. Red eyes darting around as if looking to see if anyone was listening. Ratchet fought the urge to roll his eyes like anyone was nearby to hear them.

"You need something… or someone… to vanish… yea, I could probably help ya out." He smirked and gave a humored wave. "Though my services aren't cheap, obviously you're a bit desperate… given you trying to ask this question during a race. Not particularly 'legal' though, haha."

Hearing that, Ratchet slowly turned his visor. A little red spotting laser ran over the alien's face.

'Facial recognition… match found.' Relayed his hidden AI. Though Ratchet already knew this was the guy from the photo, does not hurt to double-check. Once positive his suspect was found, the hidden lombax's visor started to glow a dangerous red.

This confused the alien as he slowed his board down even more, "Bro, if you're interested then maybe—"

He was cut off when Ratchet savagely slammed his board into the blue octopus-man. Swerving a bit till he managed to stabilize, the suspect gawked in horror. "Hey! What the hell you doing!" Ratchet ignored the angry comment and delivered another devastating ram. This time the shot was hard enough to send his target right off the track and into the dirt.

Once he was down, Ratchet drew his wrist forward and shot a small yellow blinking chip. It zipped through the air and latched onto his suspect's coat once he managed to wobbly get to his feet. Rubbing his head from having it bounce off the ground, Ratchet chuckled. With that tracker on him, he would be able to find this fool later. For now, he has a race AND a bet to win.

Due to slowing down, the racers quickly caught up to him. Ratchet anchored his feet onto the board as the others quickly enveloped him. One large contestant slammed into his back, causing him to run smack into a smaller mouse-looking alien in front of him. All three swerved but Ratchet managed to find his grip and corrected his angle, straightening out as the other two crashed into each other.

"Phew, that was close," Ratchet thought to himself as put the pedal to the metal and shot forward. The trach led them down a sharp swirl that declined into a 90-degree drop. His artificial heart did a hypothetical backflip of fright as he fell into a free fall.

"Gosh dang it, what kind of race is this?" he cursed as he grabbed the board's nose with both hands and yanked it up. It quickly caused the flames to do a quick sideways jerk, spinning his whole body in a perfect axel role. Slowing the fall as a few other less-skilled racers failed to pull up in time and rammed right into the ground. All their equipment exploding upon impact as Ratchet took the lead once more with the last few surviving racers on his tail.

Back in the stands, Rivet checked the clock built into her yellow arm. "Where the heck is Ratchet?" she asked angrily while getting up from her seat. "Be right back guys, I'm going to go find him." Kit's hand grabbed her tail, preventing the rebel from walking off. Rivet looked back to her friend in bafflement.

"Rivet, you and Ratchet made this bet, you need to see the ending in order to claim your winnings." Kit got up, patting Clank on the shoulder with her other hand as she hopped down from her seat. "I will go find Ratchet; I am sure he simply got lost. This place is far from little."

"Yeaaa… I guess," Rivet huffed and sourly came back to her seat, arms crossed to show her frustration. "He better not be up to something, with all the scares he's been giving me lately. Ratch knows I'll beat his tail into the ground if he scares me again." Kit gave her an awkward thumbs up and ran to the stadium's exit to find the white lombax's date.

Clank watched Rivet, her eyes seeming to be frustrated, but he could tell by the slight shake in her elbows that fear was also present. Sighing to himself, he extended a hesitant hand and tapped her elbow.

"Rivet, um… there is… a minor thing I must mention to you. About Ratchet."

"What?" she asked, leaning forward till her elbows were propped against her knees. "Noticed he's been acting REALLY weird lately, not like he usually does…"

"Well… the thing is," Clank paused again, remembering his promise to not tell anyone. Sighing, he rubbed his hands together. "Ratchet has been… pushing it a little hard lately, a bit too… hard. I feel this is not the healthiest thing for him to be doing. He could get hurt, that's why I recommended us coming here sooner than planned."

This turned Rivet's complete attention away from the race, tilting her head with eyes squinted in confusion. "What… do you mean? I know he's been acting a bit weird lately, a bit more distant than usual. But—"

"I can't really explain it this second Rivet, but please try to be a bit more patient with him. He's having a hard time."

"Why didn't he tell me this?"

"Well…" Clank rubbed his head, twirling his hand about to explain it. "Ratchet is a bit bullheaded, especially when it comes to stuff he's done all his life. The thought of slowing down is not particularly 'easy' for him. I simply ask that maybe you help him find… other hobbies?"

"Yea, I mean I could do that, sure," she leans back in her seat, looking to the empty space where Ratchet should be. "Clank you're kinda freaking me out, what brought this on?"

"As said, I cannot explain this right now, it's a little complicated." Clank tried to choose his words carefully, wishing with all his might he could be more honest. But the promise he made to his best friend kept his metal tongue sealed. "So again, just go a bit easy on him."

"Of course, but later I expect you to tell me more when this…" she paused, bending her fingers to make an air quote sign. "Less complicated for you to explain."

Nodding to the female lombax, both turned their gazes back to the race. Racer number seventeen was really smoking the other races. Already an hour into the race and he was eighteen furlongs ahead of everyone. Eighteen racers all together and thirteen have been smacked out by #17 like he was swatting flies.

"Woo, Ratchet was not kidding, that sky border really knows his stuff! Or at least people associated with him," Rivet forced herself back into cheer mode as the racers made a complete circle.

Clank couldn't stop staring at the deep royal purple armor that adorned contestant #17. He and Ratchet had seen the lion-faced sky border, very tall in stature, much taller than this armored individual. Plus, this bot was very broadly built with a familiar visor and spiked shoulder guards.

"That armor looks a tad bit familiar," Clank mused.

"Who cares, he's going to win!" Rivet yelled out in a frenzy as the rest of the crowd bellowed along with her. "Come on man, move that board!"

Back on the track, Ratchet pushed the throttle as hard as he could. Almost there, the finish line was just a mile ahead! With the speed he was going, he'd clear the end in about twenty or so seconds. The left-over racers were catching up, not giving in. But many refused to get close to him, trying to go around him by banking to the far outside. Beyond his reach. Ratchet was prepared for this as he gave another rev to his jetpack. Pushed beyond maximum limit, the board began to spark and mutter. Come on, almost there!

He tightened his eyes shut, praying for a smooth transition as he braced for impact. All suddenly went quiet as he turned his board sideways, kicking up dirt as he slid across the ground. Ratchet peaked through his eyelids, visor camera zooming in on the quiet crowd, the confusion arising. Till all irrupted into a searing roar.

"What a flawless victory to racer #17!" The announcer yelled as he turned the crane over the audience.

The racers slowed to a stop before Ratchet, some giving him a thumbs up while others muttered in less enthusiasm for their loss. Disbelief waned its head over Ratchet, he won, despite his condition of not only winning a race without struggle… he even managed to chip the suspect? Joy quickly started to override his prior sullen state, maybe his future wasn't completely on the fence after all!

Shaking in his boots, Ratchet snapped a quick few high fives. Then he noticed Rivet sitting up in the stands with Clank, but Kit was nowhere in sight. With his joy snatched up, Ratchet suddenly realized he had been gone for to long. He bolted away from the other racers before any further congratulations could be given. Off the track and to the barracks he ran like his tail was on fire. Nearby the front entrance he spots Kit walking around, obviously confused. Powering down his suit, the Lombax darted to greet his yellow friend.

"H—hey-oh Kit," Ratchet tried to catch his breath while casually leaning against the wall. Attempting to look cool and collected as the mini bot turned to face him. "What's up?"

"I was looking all over for you, we were getting worried, you missed the whole race." Kit sighed as she got his pant leg and tugged him towards the door. "Rivet is not very happy that you walked away like that."

"Well, you can rest assured I got an apology in the works. It should be enough," he beamed a confident smile while following Kit out the door. Deep down he was quite nervous, he didn't mean to be gone so long, but he couldn't let his suspect getaway. Ratchet sighed, oh how he hoped Rivet wouldn't be too sore at him.

When they both make it back to the stands, Rivet and Clank quickly shot their heads in their direction. "About time you showed up," Rivet shot hotly at him as she got up from her seat to approach Ratchet. The male lombax lowered his ears and braced himself to face the music. The surprise came when Rivet quickly caught him in a big hug.

"That's okay, you won't believe it, we totally won the race!" Rivet smiled in joy while hooking her arm around his shoulder. "Even though you missed the whole thing, that's alright, with all the bolts we won, we could easily do something else just as fun!" She flicked his nose, giving a sheepish smile. "Given you don't wander off and get lost again."

"Y—yea sorry about that, I just…" he paused, not quite sure how to explain himself.

"Ah, don't sweat it," Rivet waved her hand, trying her best not to pry him on where he was. But Clank's look reminded her to try and show the hero a bit more patience. "Let's just go and collect our winnings!" She got Ratchet comfortably back into her arms and tugged him to the front desks to collect their rewards.

"By the way," Ratchet started as he smoothed his hair back. Licking his front teeth to clean them, he smirked charmingly at Rivet. "Since this night turned out pretty good, how does a second date sound?"

"I don't think so."

Ratchet froze at the words, ears sticking straight up in alarm. "Uh, huh?"

"I mean…" Rivet crossed her arms and cut him a sarcastic look. "How can you ask me for a second date when we have yet to agree on this one? I mean, I understand you… going to the bathroom, but you were gone the whole time. Part of the deal…" she got the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer to her face, her whispers grazing his nose. "Where you do not pull away so much, and you didn't quite keep that end of the bargain. So… if you want a date, gonna have to try again."

"Oh, so… technically you're agreeing to a date?"

"Sort of, but not a second one, since you weren't really present enough to call this one a date." She laughed and ruffled his ears. "At least you picked the right racer to win, so that earns ya some bonus points!"

Smiling in relief to hear this, Rivet turned away and went up to the desk to collect their large number of bolts. He couldn't help but glance back to the track where his target was last seen whipping dust off his trousers. The tracker was extremely small and durable against many things, like weather and other environmental hazards. Ratchet felt no need to be concerned with anything at this point, all he needed to do now was treat Rivet to a proper date and then find the target.

He ran his hand over his chest, the wound was not burning. That surprised him a bit as he smiled up to the stars awaiting them. Hoping this was not just a moment of luck, but maybe it wasn't to far to bet that his job wasn't in danger after all.

Maybe he would be able to keep up with Rivet and their robot pals after all.