Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart,
Dimensional Warriors.
Chapter 5.
Sargasso, June, 22th, 2021.
8:52 A.M.
A miracle had taken place. Alex wasn't dead. He did awaken however In considerable pain. Opening his eyes he felt pain lance through his skull. Closing them once more he instead focused on what he could feel.
"Sheet's. Blanket. I must be in a hospital." He heard voices and they sounded familiar.
"Rivet, I think he's coming to." The lombax rolled her eyes, her smile erasing the effect of her fained annoyance.
"You are a pain in ass you know that?" She said as her blue eye's scanned Axle's face seeing that he was still in some pain. He just smiled.
"All humans are a pain in the ass. It's our nature." He slowly opened his eyes and was greeted with a good look at Rivets fur. Seeing her so close was a bit of a shock. His eye's widened however when he saw that she wasn't wearing her usual suit. Instead she had on an oversized shirt. Not wanting to invade her privacy and also to keep his mind out of the gutter he just stared at her face. He let out a caugh and then began to look around his surroundings.
"Oh this isn't a hospital." He noted as Rivet chuckled.
"Uh yeah about that." Her face lit up as she thought about how to say this.
"Well you see, We weren't sure if you were going to make it, and you were taking up enough space for several others so they uh decided to let you go in my care." She smiled trying to hide her nervous laughter. Alex was apprehensive but soon he burst out laughing. Rivet was puzzled.
"You aren't mad?" She asked as Alex stopped laughing and let out a pained sigh. He then waved off her concern.
"Huh, no. If it was up to me I'd have probably done the same." Rivet was now even more confused.
"Don't you care if you die or not?" Alex thought about that question. Rivet saw the impact that it had, his face becoming solid and his gaze distant. He thought about it for a brief few seconds. Then as if a switch had been flipped he shook his head and smiled.
"Well I do but honestly if I was going to die I don't see the point in wasting resources on me." He brought a hand up to his face and flexed it, grimacing as the pain was still there. Rivet was shocked and still puzzled.
"Are you-" Rivet stopped herself and shook her head.
"Nevermind." She looked over to Clank who shrugged. She fixed Alex with a smirk and shook her head.
"So listen we've spent the past few days here but we can't stay much longer." She pointed out of her new window and Alex could see the dimensional cracks from here. He struggled to his feet which surprised Rivet, so much so that she forgot to protest.
"Ok then when do we leave?" Rivet seeing his toned chest flushed a little as she stammered a reply.
"You really shouldn't be out of bed," She made to push him back into the bed but he held out a hand as he looked around for his cloths.
"Rivet trust me I know I'm not in tip top shape but if I don't go out there and fight this." He pointed to a purple shattered rift just outside her house.
"Then I don't know what will happen to my universe."
He sighed as he sat down after failing to find his clothing.
"We aren't equipped to deal with something of this magnitude." He shivered as he thought of the worst case scenario.
"If this Dr or Emperor Nefarious gets to my world we won't have a single thing that could stop them." He thought about nukes but even then he didn't think they would be worth the use. Rivet gave it some thought, and then let out a sigh as she clapped her hands together.
"Ok, I can see your point," She held up a hand of her own. "You are going to come with me and bolts, on the condition that you do exactly as we say." Alex smiled as he nodded.
"Great but uh were can I find some pant's?" Rivet noticed that he was completely naked and spun around her face on fire as she inadvertently looked down to see his junk. She pointed to her bathroom.
"Uh Bill came by with a fresh set of cloths for you earlier today." Alex laughed as he headed towards the bathroom.
"How's he doing?" He asked as he closed the door behind him. Rivet got her heart under control as the heat left her face.
"He's uh, he's good." She said as she tried to think of anything else but dick. She scowled and shook her head.
"He's going to meet us at the Mort's factory." She though back to the other day.
"The Mort's managed to fix up my ship." Hearing the door open she looked over to see Alex walk out in a set of black bdu's, a nice gray under shirt was just hidden under a black button up long sleeved mercenary shirt, it's collar layed down. Alex struck a pose and held out his arms.
"How do I look?" He asked as Rivet could only see his naked body once more. She held a hand to her mouth and rushed past him into the bathroom.
"Ok then." He felt slightly out of the loop but he figured she hadn't seen one of his kind before so he figured he could be quite ugly to some people. A smile however made his way across his face as he thought about it.
"Well to each their own." He looked at his gauntlet and saw that it was still functioning properly. Snapping his finger';s he brought his sword to bare and gave it a few swings. He did the same for his mace, letting it go and then bringing out his Shatterbombs, dismissing those he felt his glove shift as it switched to his Mr Fungi weapon, with one last snap of his finger's he brought out his shotgun and inspected it.
"Nice to know all of my gear is still here." Looking over at Clank he stowed his gear and gave the robot a smile.
"So still no-" He was interrupted however when Clank started hearing static over his comm line.
"He-lo -an a-y-n- -e-r -e?" Clank was shocked, the only person that had this frequency was.
"Ratchet?" The static stopped but soon resumed.
"Cl-nk -s t-at -ou -udd-?" Clank waved Alex over.
"Hold me outside the hole." Alex did as he was told. He picked up Clank and held him outside the window, where the signal got much better.
"Can you here me now?" Ratchet's voice came in loud and clear.
"Yes we can furball." Alex said causing Ratchet's voice to hitch.
"Alex?" Ratchet was genuinely shocked. Alex nodded and Clank just smiled.
"Ratchet listen Alex is here but so are some other friends of ours, when you land please exercise the utmost restraint." ratchet was confused but seeing as he was just outside the planets atmosphere he agreed to the strange terms for landing.
"Good, sending you landing coordinates now." Clank transmitted the landing pads location to Ratchet who gave a whoop of delight.
"Awesome, cant wait to see you buddy." Alex stood back and watched as Clank began to rattle off a list of all that had happened thus far, no doubt so he could fill Ratchet in once they saw each other. Alex's attention however was drawn to the door of the bathroom where a single blue eye peaked out from behind the door.
"Uh hey Alex can you help me out really quick?" Her voice drifted through the space and Alex smiled as he nodded.
"Sure thing fuzzball, What'cha need?" Rivet groaned as she pointed to a set of cloths sitting on a chair next to Rivets work desk. Alex went over and grabbed the worker outfit for Rivet and brought it to the door.
"I'm going to leave these at the door, ok?" He said, receiving an ok from Rivet as soon as he left she opened the door and brought her cloths inside, her face now red once again. She rolled her eyes however and tried to get her body under control.
"Come on! Your an adult, you've seen a penis before, get a hold of yourself!" Rivet looked at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath. Focusing on her breathing she gazed at herself and smiled.
"Ok go out there and be yourself, don't make things weird." Slipping on her cloths she took one last look in the mirror and smiled. "You got this."
As soon as she stepped out the door however her ears caught the tail end of Alex and Clank having a conversation.
"So why was I naked?" Her ear's drooped as she remembered why he was indeed naked. Sensing a panic attack coming along she cleared her throat. Both men stopped talking and gave her their undivided attention.
"So I heard some talking earlier?" Alex snapped his finger's, briefly bringing a shatterbomb into existence, he caught it and gave Rivet a chuckle as he put it away. Looking over to Clank he coughed and gave the robot a nod. Clank just sighed as he gave Rivet a smile.
"Ratchet was able to contact us and he's on his way." Rivet's face went from curious to thoughtful and then nervous.
"Oh, uh ok, yeah that's cool." She said as she felt her nerves come right back, this time however for a completely different reason.
"He's the lombax from your dimension right?" She asked as Clank nodded.
"Wow, another Lombax!" She broke out into a goofy grin at the thought of actually meeting another Lombax. But then her face fell once more.
"Is my fur ok? Do I smell funny? Oh I hop-" So frantic were her thoughts that she didn't look where she was going and ended up bumping into Alex with enough force to lose her footing. She didn't have far to fall however as she felt a pair of soft hands catch her. Looking up she found herself staring at Alex who had a mirthful smile on his face.
"Relax. You look and smell fine." Her face went bright red as she realized that she was talking out loud. Feeling Alex steady her on her feet again she let out a small giggle as he let her go and continued to walk off out the door of her house. She hung back however and had a single thought come to her mind.
"Why am I so nervous all of a sudden?!" Thinking back she remembered when Clank had first mentioned Ratchet. Her eye's narrowed.
"That's when all of this started." She scowled as she followed after Alex and Clank. After she locked up her blast door she followed behind the other's, her mind still lost in thought. Alex noticed and asked Clank if he could go on ahead.
"See if Ratchet is here yet." Clank gave him a nod and ran off down the swamp road. Alex stopped walking and let Rivet catch up.
"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked snapping her out of her mind.
"Huh?" She look ed at Alex and frowned. Then she let out a sigh.
"I'm just…" She trailed off as the two started walking again. Alex smirked.
"Nervous?" Rivet nodded.
"That obvious huh?" Alex nodded.
"Your ear's tell a lot about your mood." Rivet was surprised.
"You actually pay attention to my ear's?" Alex nodded.
"And your tail and even your eyes." Rivet blinked.
"You stare at my ass?" Alex stumbled as he was caught off guard, but Rivets laughter clued him in on her little joke.
"Ha ha!" He replied as the two continued walking. Alex glanced over at Rivet and smiled.
"Feeling better?" She nodded.
"Yeah." Thinking about this conversation made her smile. It had been awhile since she actually had anyone else to genuinely talk to.
"Thanks Alex" He simply continued walking. "Your welcome Rivet." Alex grimaced as his injuries flared up once more but he held in the pain, he had to for his home, and his family. He took a deep breath and focused on the road ahead. Rivet had heard the change in his breathing and gave him a look of concern.
"Are you sure your ok?" She asked feeling a tad bit worried now. Alex gave her a thumbs up.
"Yup." He replied. Rivet decided to let him be, the conversation dwindled but soon the two made it to the Geletonium Factory, and standing there chatting up a storm with Clank was Ratchet. So engrossed was he that he didn't even notice Alex and Rivet walk up until Clank stopped talking.
"Alex!" Ratchet came up to him and gave him a fist bump. Alex for his part returned the gesture and then scooped the lombax up in a hug. This cought him off guard but he soon got used to it.
"Dang you look like you been kicked by a Grunthor." Alex laughed as he thought about the last few day's.
"Yeah well all apart of the job right?" He flashed a thumbs up, to which Ratchet nodded. Ratchets gaze however soon fell on Rivet who still stood a ways away from the group. As soon as their eyes met they were both transfixed.
"Another Lombax." Ratchet spoke as he walked over to Rivet. Her nerves were coming back, however she looked over at Alex and Clank. The robot was talking to Alex who briefly glanced at Rivet and gave her a smile, and a wink.
"You got this." His words coming back to give her a much needed confidence boost.
"Uh hey there." She let out a nervous giggle as Ratchet rubbed his neck in nervous laughter. Alex and Clank let the two talk as they continued to chat about quantum physics.
"So how does the Dimensional anomaly not get bigger and bigger?" Alex asked as Clank gave it some thought.
"My only hypothesis is that it is getting bigger but the anomalies are so far unstable and can't keep themselves open long enough to be useful." He then noticed the crystal gauntlet on Alex's arm.
"At least not without a catalyst like that crystal of yours to hold them open." He glanced at it and sighed.
"It must have a connection to this anomaly and the dimension that it came from." Alex glanced at his arm and smirked.
"I hope your right about that Clank." He sighed as he held his hand close. Looking around Alex saw that the anomalies had slowed down some. They were still popping up willy nilly but he had hope that they would fix this issue before long.
"Hold on guy's. I'm going to make it home." He held his hand up to a portal and clenched his fist. He suddenly felt very sick to his stomach as the air around him flew past. Looking around he saw that he was now a few stories in the air, then gravity kicked in and he began to scream. The other's all saw and heard the commotion, Ratchet grabbing Clank and getting ready to get into gear but they were beaten to it by a goon 4 hire of all people.
"I gotcha Alex!" Bill's engines roared to life thrusting him into the air and sending him on an intercept course for his friend. Alex felt his fall break as Bill plucked him from the air and turned the jetpack around. Alex caught his breath as he gave Bill pat on his shoulder.
"Thanks." He said as he was let down on the ground. Bill smiled and gave him a thumbs up.
"No problamo dude." Ratchet came over and was weary of the Goon, but seeing Alex be all buddy buddy with him gave him an assurance that he wasn't a threat. Bill spotted Ratchet and held out his hand.
"Ah and you must be Ratchet the Lombax we were originally hired to get a hold of." Ratchet looked over to Alex who nodded.
"Yeah, thanks for saving my friend." He grabbed Bill's hand and squeezed.
"Name's Bill by the way." Ratchet smiled at this, his nerves put at ease a little bit by the lax atmosphere. Alex meanwhile went and sat down on a nearby bench. He felt it creek and was surprised to see Rivet sitting there. He smiled however and relaxed a little.
"Shouldn't you guys be getting ready?" He asked feeling rather self conscious now. Rivet nodded.
"Yeah, but how are you doing?" She asked, causing Alex to reflect. He laughed a little.
"Honestly I feel like shit." He sighed as he rolled his shoulder around.
"But I have to move past this. Like everything else that's happened so far I just have to-" He stopped when he heard Rivet snicker.
"No I don't mean how are you philosophically." She gave his shoulder a punch. He cringed in pain but smiled all the same.
"How are you doing just in general?" She asked as Alex just let out a breath and smiled.
"Well in that case I feel like freeze dried, pre-packaged shit." This got a laugh from Rivet as the two sat there and talked while Ratchet got to know Bill a little better. All in all it was a much needed breather for everyone involved.