Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet and Clank or any of its characters. Mina belings to wherearetherobots of FFnet and Instagram. The tone switches in this part are going to be a lil all over the place, so a forewarning beforehand.

A Tragedy in Three Acts

Part 3: Ace Hardlight Proves Big Al Right

The day after Al was shot was one of the longest days in Mina's life.

Guilt weighed down her heart, and every so often, she'd have to leave the engineer's station to hang out with Clank. Any repairs Ratchet needed were done to the best of her ability, but Al's missing presence stalled her progress more than a few times. The urge to cry followed her around everywhere, and the ringing of the ambulance echoed in her mind every so often.

If she could go back in time and do anything to save Al before he got shot, she would have taken the chance in a heartbeat.

Later in the evening, as Ratchet and Clank were focused on finishing another campaign, Mina played with the tools absentmindedly on her workbench. Fingers spun the multipurpose screwdriver under her palm. The quiet of the evening filled the engineers' station with unnerving silence.

A sigh left her mouth as she straightened from her hunched-over position, and her hands pressed against her face. She dragged her hands down her pale cheeks, flopping her hands to her lap. "Al, I'm so sorry…" she murmured, another sigh leaving her as the guilt pulled at her chest.

"Uh… Engineer to Ratchet?"

Mina perked up, looking toward the entrance of the workstation. A small robot with a singular eye and a wheel for feet looked at her curiously. He waved his clipboard. "The other engineer that was in an accident is about to be wheeled in. We in the right place?"

Mina shot off her seat and moved toward the robot. "YES! THIS IS THE RIGHT PLACE!" she shouted, her head already craning around the robot as she jogged to the entrance. "Where is he?"

"Patience!" the little robot cried, and a small pang of pain bobbed in the wave of happiness as the little reminder of Al echoed in her brain. "We're just starting to unload him now, so it'll take a moment-"

Wheels squeaked against the floor as a white hospital bed came into view.

Al looked… different. The right side of his body from the waist up was replaced with robotic parts, and instead of an attachable microscope for his head, a blue optic whirred and clicked as it settled on Mina. Half of Al's head was gone, replace with shiny metal that reminded Mina too much of Clank.

But he was alive at the very least. And… frowning… scowling…

The robot attendant mimicked a sigh as he turned to the other robot wheeling the bed. "Come on, Jerry! What part of 'wait in the truck while I check the place' didn't you get?!"

Both robots wheeled off, arguing as they headed back to the ambulance.

Which left Mina and Al. Alone.

Mina threw herself on Al, wrapping her arms tight around his neck. "Ohmygod ohmygod, Al, you're okay!"

As she hugged him tight, her forehead shoved right against the unaffected side of his head, Al stayed quiet.

Mina leaned back, chuckling nervously as she tried to ignore the deepening scowl on her employer's face. "Soooo…" she drawled. A tongue darted out between her lips. "You're… also, like, part robot too now, huh?"

Al's glare deepened even further.

Mina's left hand moved, and her fist bumped the new robotic arm. "Twinsies?" she offered, her smile straining with each passing moment.

The other engineer stayed deathly quiet.

"Um…" Mina swallowed, moving her arm back to tug at her Dreadzone collar. "Al?"

Then came the sass.

"'Oh, come on Al!'" Al mimicked in a terrible, high-pitched imitation of her voice. "'You gotta admit, Ace Hardlight is kinda hot!'"

Her jaw dropped. "You… you got shot, and the first thing you say to me after you get back is a quote of my own words?!"

Big Al centered his glare full on her as he uncrossed his arms and pushed himself off the hospital bed. As his legs hooked over the side, he ranted on. "Was I right, or was I right?"

"You were right, you were right," Mina sighed, groaning as she slapped her hands over her face.

"What if I flirted my way into his good graces and bought us escape that way?! I really only want to do it because I want his money, but maybe I'll remember that we're prisoners!"

"ALLL!"

The owner of the Robo Shack shook his head as he steadied himself back on his feet. "This is what you get after lusting after that guy I told you would try to kill us. And don't think I'm not going to bring the whiteboard plan into this!"

An even louder groan left Mina as she dragged her fingers down her face. "You're not going to let me live this down, are you?"

"Nope," Al said, crossing his arms again. He looked the spitting model of a disappointed dad. "This is what you get for not listening to my advice."

A small smile grew on Mina's face as she looked to her friend. Of course, Al was the guy that got shot and lived only to come back and rub her bad ideas in her face.

Someone had to do it with her track record of absolutely terrible ideas.

Mina rolled her eyes. "Maybe the guys from the hospital haven't left yet. Maybe I could just call them to chuck you back in there."

"And leave you to do all the work? Absolutely not."

"Glad to have you back alive and well, Al," she chuckled.

Al softened, shaking his head as he matched her laugh. "I'm fine, and it'll take some time to get used to the new arm, but I'll be back to my normal self in no time." He straightened, looking to their separate workbenches. "Now, back to work…"

"You sure you aren't just your normal self already?"

"Well, maybe I am, so in that case…"

"AL, COME ON, LET IT GO! I DON'T THINK THAT BASTARD'S HOT ANYMORE!"

"You shouldn't have been thinking the guy holding us prisoner was hot in the first place!"

As their arguing reached the usual level, smiles decorated both their faces as they dug into each other, insults and ribbings in between each bit of work and clean-up the two did. The guilt from earlier faded from Mina's chest, and as she snarked back at her boss, she felt far better now that his usual presence was back in the workstation.

Even if he was never going to let her live it down, she was more than happy to have him back.

And honestly, how could she have thought that bastard was hot?

Song Inspo for all drabbles: "Two Ways" by Trey Songz.

I'm unsure about the tone shifts (there's a ton for three drabbles), but I hope I did a decent job at writing these all out. Al's the type of guy that likes Mina as a good friend, but my lord, if she has a bad idea, he'll never let her live it down. He's a massive voice of reason to her in the earlier parts of her life, and when Marin commed me on Kofi, I knew I had to do these.

Thank you for comm-ing me, Marin! I hope you enjoyed, and I hope that everyone else enjoyed as well! Mina's a fun character to write, and goodness, her string of terrible decisions doesn't end here. If you want to read more, check out "Minerva: Wandering Mercenary" on FFnet by wherearetherobots!

For now, thank you all for reading! :D

XD