Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet and Clank or any of its characters.

Me: "I like to write fluffy stuff to keep me happy."

Also me: "Let me just write as many angst drabbles as I possibly can these two weeks."

((Trigger warning: major character death))

Parallelism

Drabble 4: Battle Wounds

Chapter Summary: TW - Character death. They all thought she had been the one to be hit by Vox's laser. They all thought that Vox had cruelly snatched her life away, leaving them without one of their most optimistic and supportive members.

The truth was that she hadn't been the one that was hit.

Her fingers tore at the wall of rubble in front of her. Tears wet her cheeks, and choked sobs mixed with her calls.

"NEFARIOUS?! NEF?! NEF, PLEASE, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Silence echoed around the area of destroyed flooring she called to.

Above her, through the large hole she and Nefarious had fallen into, the raging battle between the villain and the Rangers drew on. Cora's screams of fury intermixed with Brax's, and even Captain Qwark couldn't keep the rage out of his shouts as he desperately tried to keep the Rangers united.

They had all thought it had been her. They all thought the blast had hit her and damaged her body beyond repair. They all thought she had been the one to catch Vox's shot, that she had been the one to take the shot and break the spirit of the Galactic Rangers.

The metal body that slammed against her as the floor fell away said otherwise.

"NEF?! NEF?!" Breath caught tight in her throat as she climbed over the pile of shattered floor. Her fingers fumbled with the rocks, fear and adrenaline loosening her grip around the pile's rugged incline. "Please! I know you're out there! Where are you?!"

"'L… ari… ris…"

It was faint. It was full of static. It barely gave any indication to where the robot supervillain was.

But it was just enough.

Wild strength and determination flooded every limb of her body. The pain her body had been in since the fall washed away as the adrenaline rush took over, aiding her climb over the rubble. Booted feet scrambled against the jagged side, finding all the right places to lift her higher, and in an instant, Elaris vaulted over the top of the pile.

There, at the bottom of the other side of the pile, laid Nefarious.

More than half his body was nothing more than a mangled mess. Everything from the waist down was unsalvageable, and his chest was so broken that the mimicked breathing motions it did were shaky and barely noticeable. His head was tilted back against the rock, mouth open.

"'L… ari… ris…"

She was already moving before her name fully left his mouth.

Rubble ruptured under her boots as she slid down the side of the rubble pile. Her legs gave out under her just as she reached the robot, and her knees thwacked against the floor next to him.

Tears blurred her sight so much that she could barely see Nefarious' dim optics.

His head rolled to his right, and that's when Elaris saw the deep gash on the bottom curve of his head. Damaged wires sparked, and even without her advanced knowledge on robotics, Elaris knew that he wasn't going to last much longer.

She heard sobbing, so heart-broken and raw that it seemed to come from somewhere else entirely.

A small, sad smile stretched across Nefarious' mouthpiece as his optics settled on her. "Hey… Ellie…"

Words stalled at the tip of her tongue for the longest stretch of time, nothing more than mangled and jumbled sounds cut in half with stuttering coughs.

"You… You didn't have to…" Elaris finally choked out. Her fingers lifted up to cup the side of his face, and a soft hum left the robot as her thumb massages the area where his cheek used to be.

"It… was either… you… or me…" The soft smile grew a little wider. "Vox… already knew… you were… my… weakness… anyway…"

Elaris tilted her head, careful to match the angle of her head to the angle of his. A strangled laugh bubbled out of her mouth. "I'm… I'm kinda surprised you hadn't backstabbed him yet…"

Nefarious' head lifted and his chest stuttered, mimicking a snort. "Was 'bout to… til you and… the morons… showed up…"

Above them, the roar of the battle blanketed the space. Gunshots and rocket blasts drowned out the shouts from the Rangers, and Vox's worried cries about the condition of his mech mixed with the thunder of several Devastators all activating at once.

And yet, nothing was louder in Elaris' ears than the sound of her crying.

"It'll… be okay… 'Laris…"

She forced herself to look down at the broken robot under her. "There's- There's no way I can fix you in time, can I?"

A dreamy expression crossed the supervillain's face. "No…" Before Elaris could say something in response, Nefarious spoke up again, his voice fading fast. "I'm just… glad I'm not… alone…"

She couldn't see him anymore.

"Nef-"

"I wouldn't… let… you get… hurt…" The red in his optics flickered, and as his optics closed, his mouthpiece moved. "I… love you… Ellie… Thank you… for… being in my life…"

The bright red turned completely dark, and Elaris finally gave in to the mess of emotions in her chest.

When the fight with Vox was over, when the rest of the Rangers finally looked down the hole in the floor to try and find their fallen technician, they found Elaris wrapped tight around Nefarious' mangled body, shaking as she tried to talk to the robot.

And for the longest time, the only thing that the Rangers heard her say was, "I love you too… Please, please don't go…"

Song Inspo: "Ashes" by Celine Dion.

I wanted to give one more angsty one before moving on to other fluffy stories, and I'm glad the next two will give me some happiness to focus on!

Onto the next drabble! :D

XD