A/N: Hello, sorry for the wait, work got a little crazy. Anyhow, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed this story and enjoyed its content. This marks the final chapter for Only Just a Dream, but do not despair, very soon there is going to be a sequel to this story. The next follow-up will go even deeper into Lombax history where Ratchet and Rivet's relationship will not only be put to the test in a more unique way but while also facing off the sins of their race's past.

Haven't thought of the title yet but be on the lookout for it. Until then, thanks to everyone who reviewed it! Your feedback and kind words have been much help!

And a massive special thanks to fellow author A5TRON4UTA who assisted me in working out the kinks for the next story and continue to work with me to deliver the best possible story ever.

Also, I have finally given this story a cover page! Be sure to check it out! Just uploaded it on the front of this story.

Chapter 26

Take Us There

Ratchet sat in between a worried Clank and baffled Kit while a steaming white Lombax whose face was tinted red with anger marched back and forth before them. It had been precisely one hour after the events that took place. Once the rebels had been freed from Aurora's trap and sent away after Rivet assured them all was fine, Ratchet was immediately caught by the ear and drug inside. Aurora was forbidden to enter the garage and sat outside on the patio, also awaiting her turn to be yelled at.

"So, in light of everything that has happened, I hope you understand how much you'll have to work to make this up." Rivet snarled while whiplashing a metal finger at Ratchet, making the male swallow a nervous lump. "I love you and I'm sorry it took me this long to say it, but you're going to have to prove to me you won't keep ANYTHING like this from me again, is that clear?"

"Transparently," Ratchet sweat dropped while twiddling his thumbs. Rivet stared at him for a few minutes before grabbing his shirt and ripped it open like a bag of her favorite candy. There, his massive scar now laid open for all eyes to see. No debate that this was indeed the thing he was trying so hard to try.

"Should've known this whole time that was the reason you refused to let me touch you, ugh…" she massaged her head and then shot an even angrier look out the door. Aurora immediately shot her head up in fright as the white lombax stomped out to face the dark-furred giant. "Now it's your turn for questioning, get in here!"

Aurora squeaked in fright as she slunk on all fours in a submissive posture while slinking in the direction Rivet pointed. The one-armed rebel let out an angrier growl, she HATED to be the one yelling at everyone, but this circumstance had to be done this way. This intruder that had nearly killed them had to understand the law Rivet was enforcing if she was going to allow her to stay even within ten miles of her mate and home. Once Aurora had taken a seat by Ratchet, the whole couch tipped from her extreme weight, causing the yellow lombax to clumsily slide against her. Rivet shot Aurora a darker look which the mutant lombax got the message and quickly sat on the floor instead.

Marching before them like a drill sergeant again, Rivet cracked her knuckles.

"First, I want you to understand that you're only still here because Ratchet insisted. But I have yet to agree," she crossed her arms, snout furrowing to show her little white fangs. "You better offer a damn good explanation to convince me otherwise… so have at it, I'm all ears. Reminder, it BETTER be good."

Lowering her ears, the big lombax breathed out an exhausted sigh, eyes nearly grey from depression.

"All that has transpired is true, but please… do not blame him for his choice of actions. I alone made him feel cornered… like he bore no choice." She massaged her forehead, feeling the dark circles beneath her stress-filled eyes. "Feeling trapped can drive one to do… things they typically wouldn't have done."

"I know Ratchet is not entirely to blame, but he still chose not to tell me about the wound YOU caused. But more on that later, right now you better explain why you hurt him, tried to take my arm, and used Kit to hurt me."

"I…" Aurora lowered her head, shoulders slumping even further. Oh, how she wished to just vanish into thin air and be forgotten, but the piper must be paid. "A—as said earlier… I… thought I wanted revenge, w—which is why… was drawn to… y—you, because… t—the one i—I wanted was g—gone. But… that night… when I heard your yells of pain… I…"

"You what?" Rivet growled, tapping her foot impatiently. "Had a stupid moment of pity for me because I always lost against the emperor? Or by using Kit to hurt me? Was that why? Well, spit it out!"

"My heart… couldn't bear the sound of a pained yell… as I thought it'd bring me joy. I… came when the Morts called."

Everything came to a screeching halt when Rivet raised an eyebrow, anger being replaced by befuddlement. "Wait, you mean the doctor that came and covered my eyes… was you?"

Twiddling her thumbs, Aurora shut her eyes and slowly nodded.

"Then what happened…?" Rivet quickly pried, anger trying to return.

"T—the original plan was… to create more like me, so would no longer feel as the freak I come to realize that I am. But for it to work, needed many strands of Lombax DNA, b—because this was more advanced than mere cloning. Needed enough DNA to create LIVING individual beings. So, correcting my mistake by preventing your death but also received your DNA. It was… something needed for the plan."

"What about Ratchet then? You told him you thought he was me and attacked, why did you do that then if you never met to hurt me again?"

"That… was a lie I told him. To provoke him to challenge me, to see if his resolve would provide me with strong DNA. And… to keep him from involving you or your friends any further." Aurora shook her head, pressing her head deeper into her palm. Desperate to hide the shakes that stirred her gut up like an angry storm thrashing an ocean wild. "That night I shot him, i—I never meant to hurt him to… that extent."

Ratchet looked over to Aurora, eyes wide in sadness as he dared to reach a handout. Till Rivet cut him off and lightly smacked his hand away, warning him to stay out of it.

"Okay, and what if you had won? You would've killed more of us?"

"No… i… never wanted to TRULY hurt you. Y—yes that's… hypocritical because the nature of retrieving your DNA required… graver injuries. Was aware of that but thought… at the moment… it was the only thing I could do."

Lowering her body to show clear submission to Rivet, the beast dares not make eye contact.

"Was wrong, HORRIBLY wrong, I'm…" Aurora paused, braving up to glance up at Rivet's face. The anger fuming off her blue eyes, it was as radiant as a sun about to explode. About to apologize but knew any attempt to apologize might just anger the white lombax more.

Rivet shot Ratchet a look, who returned with an anxious glance. Growling, the female shot Aurora another look.

"Ratchet want's you to stay, I do not. Don't care about your excuses, what you did still hurt both of us. However…" she sighed and gripped her forehead. "If you truly mean to recompensate us somehow, then there is one thing you CAN do for us."

Aurora waited for the female to speak. Head titled a bit.

"You said you've been around other Lombaxes, meaning the homeworld. Our home. If that's where you came from, that means you can take us there."

Before Aurora could comment, Ratchet finally took a chance to speak.

"We'll need time to prepare though, as we've been searching dimensions for months. Still have yet to find any trace of any other Lombaxes." Then he paused and noticed the nervous look Aurora gave them. "Remember some days back you said our kind was going extinct and you were also trying to prevent that, can you define that?"

"Um, yes… I know the way to the correct dimension that houses what you seek. But, as many times I've been through, searching for… him… I never crossed another Lombax. My journey for many many years, moving through dimensions myself. In search of more DNA, did not discover anything. I had feared the ghost-like environment could mean only one thing. That they had officially died out, leaving us as the only ones left, or their hideout is far better hidden than I had previously thought."

"So, what you mean is… you have no idea." Rivet twitched her ear in frustration.

"Don't understand, have tried to trail them for many many years. I can take you to the correct dimension, but FINDING another Lombax, little lone a whole group is… will a new challenge within itself. Will require an even stronger sense of direction, tracking, and time."

Before Ratchet could question her further, Rivet jumped in. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there, what you're saying is, regardless of the challenges that await, you CAN take us to our homeworld?"

"Per your request, yes… I can."

"No tricks?" Rivet fought the growl that tried to exit her mouth. "Because I swear, if you try anything to jeopardize us, I will—" She was silenced by a dark paw raised before her. Aurora did not face her, but her words were as grey as her aging features.

"To reaffirm any doubts, will just say this. All that I have strived for is gone. There… is nothing left for me. To attempt anything at this point would be as worthless as a black sun void of heat for a frozen planet. In short, I don't even WANT to do anything. You have my word… I will oblige in any request you make before we part ways. Then you won't ever have to see me again."

Ratchet shot Rivet a fearful look, but the female ignored it and scratched her chin.

"You promise…?"

Nodding to confirm the agreement, Rivet sighed and shot Ratchet a look. "Okay, she can stay until we're ready." She turned back to Aurora, "But I am not dropping my guard for one second, understand? You will remain at a distance while we go over a game plan. Then, you will be our guide, take us to our home, then when your promise has been fulfilled, you'll leave and never return."

"That… is the agreement."

"Alright, then it's agreed." Rivet waved her paw, gesturing the big beast to the door. Which she was quick to abide by and rushed out. Ratchet then suddenly got her arm, his eyes wide with shock.

"How could you say such a thing, to just send her away when we're done with her? That's not right!"

"Are you freaking stupid?" Rivet snapped, anger resurfacing as she yanked her arm away and got Ratchet in her grip instead. She hated to behave this way, but she just CAN'T forget the past events that led up to the scar that now sliced across his chest. If Ratchet refused to keep his guard up, then she'd just have to be the bad guy if it meant protecting him. She couldn't lose him, not again, just the mere thought felt like a death sentence.

"Did you freaking forget what happened just a few hours ago?" Her fur stood up on edge, fury burning bright in those dark blue eyes. "You're still in deep trouble for leaving me in the dark, now you expect me to befriend the thing that tried to kill us? Hear those words Ratchet, she tried to kill us. In what universe does that thick head of yours justify forgiveness?"

Ratchet fell silent, not daring to argue with his girlfriend while she was in this fragile state of anger. It was a miracle she let the beast lombax stay. Maybe pushing her point of view for future events should be kept in the dark, for now.

"If you want to forgive her, fine, have at it. But that does not mean I have to. We are NOT her friends, even if she fixed what she did, it still doesn't change what she DID do, Ratchet. If it means keeping you alive, then I'm not sorry for saying any of this. I DO apologize if I hurt your feelings, but I just can't let you go soft here. She could very well be playing us! The fact I'm letting her stay is enough for now. Now drop it."

Sighing, Ratchet nodded as Rivet got his arm and dragged him in. "You're sleeping in my bed tonight by the way," her strength jerking him into a rough tow. "I'm exhausted, frustrated, and need to blow off some steam…" she gave him a testy look that also gave a hint of want. "Consider this a start for regaining trust, and also a way for me to keep an eye on you."

"Ah sure, um," he rubbed his scar nervously. "Are you sure we don't want to talk about this more?"

When she cut Ratchet a good long stare, he sweat dropped and gave a nervous laugh.

"O—of course, we can discuss this stuff tomorrow." He quickly followed along, getting her to loosen her vice grip. "But I won't have to be watched every—"

"You're not going out of my sight for a second unless Clank or Kit is with you." She said while swishing the door open that led into the primary room. "Actually, we should probably talk about you moving in here for the time being."

"Sure i—wait what?"

"I told you, not letting you out of my sight. Besides, if we're really going to do this and…" she looked at her hand grasping his own. "Make 'us' work, I think it'd be best for you to move in."

"You already thought about this?"

"For a minute yea, but as said, we'll discuss everything needed to be done tomorrow." Getting his shoulders, she pushed strands she already ripped away and locked lips with him. "Best give me you're a game tonight…" she smirked and pulled off her boots.

"I won't disappoint," he chuckled while also tossing off his boots. Thankful this evening was over, and he could finally be entangled in her arms again. No guilt weighing him down now as he was ready to really show her what he was made of.

As they did this, Aurora sat outside gazing up at the moon. The giant planet reflecting in her one good eye.

"Oh, how I hope this is enough to make up for what I've done."

As Aurora slowly laid down in the grass to drift off to sleep, a pair of blood-red eyes glowed in the distance. Beneath the large trees and thick shrubbery, a shadow that rivaled even Aurora in size moved quietly. Yellow fangs dripping green slime as the silhouette of an angry snout sneered at the female beast lombax that laid before the garage.

"Soon… you failure. Soon…"

The eyes then blinked a few times before vanishing into the shadows…

….

…

END

STAY TUNED FOR THE SEQUEL

NOTE: Super sorry if Rivet came off a bit jerkish, but after everything that happened, Ratchet almost dying, being lied to, facing off with the culprit, then her boyfriend trying to defend said-culprit in exchange for allowing her to hang out? I think it's understandable for her to be angry and aggressive by establishing a new law of boundaries for everyone to follow. This stuff JUST happened, it'll take a while for her to calm down. That's all.

Again, hope you enjoyed it. Keep an eye out for the follow-up!