Shell Shock

Writers: Denny and Leila
Rating: PG-RG
Warnings: Ratchet/Azimuth. Violence.
Disclaimer: We value our lives too much to even dare think about claiming Ratchet and Alister as our own. We borrow them for an RP, so don't worry. [Put the Wargroks back into your cage!]
Summary: Everyone's nightmare is to wake up in a cold, dark place without a clue where one is. Sadly, that's what's happened to us. What's even better, we have monsters and weird encounters to endure as well. And then there's them…
Lucky, right? If I ever get out of here, I will need some therapy sessions.

Chapter 26

-

"Lawrence?"

"Quiet, Ratchet. Now, both of you are exempt from work today." The butler straightened his clothing shell and looked at them with heavily lidded eyes. "Do not leave the room on your day off, though."

Silence.

"… I see you have a question regarding that spontaneous change of circumstances?"

"Why, yes." Azimuth stepped closer to the other two. "Why bother come here and tell us? And why are we not allowed to leave the room?"

"There is a special occasion going on in these facilities today, and I am more than certain that you don't wish to be part of it."

"That still doesn't explain why we would need to be confined inside?"

"We have an unexpected visitor that you do not wish to meet." Before either of them could interfere, Lawrence widened his optics a little. "That is, if you do not have a certain suicidal urge to confront the Superiors."

"... The Superiors?" Cold waves rushed down his body, making him swallow with trembles. "What are they doing here?"

"I do not know, and even if I did, I could not tell you." Lawrence raised his hand before Ratchet could reply. "I did not mean that I would conceal information from you – which I actually would – but rather that their motives elude me."

"And they're going to be in this area - the only area safe from them." Oh stars, he added silently as he swallowed around a rock in his throat, cold sweat beginning to coat his palms.

Lawrence raised his hand, palm facing them as he corrected in a calm manner. "Not quite. Your living quarters are far away from the room the doctor is meeting them later. Even the Superiors can't detect you inside here, I have made sure of this."

"You know, I have always wondered how you can be so sure about this." The elder paused. "Actually, I have quite a lot of questions regarding our work here. They came up when I prepared our report."

"Oh, so you have noticed them too?" Lawrence looked at Azimuth with an approving gaze. "Splendid. As I have expected from you, even though I expected you to notice it earlier."

"Notice whom or what?" Ratchet flicked his gaze between the two, feeling frustrated at being left out of the topic.

"The fact that the Shapeshifters might get suspicious of you appearing out of nowhere and attacking them." The butler turned to Ratchet. "Furthermore, you shouldn't have any knowledge about safety zones in this facility unless you had received some form of information or aid from someone entitled to such confidential data. Thus the logical assumption would be that you should be without any support, any knowledge of the facility's layout, or any chance to hide from them after running into Shapeshifters. To add to the paradox is that I have handed you Shapeshifter-specific devices to which you wouldn't have access if you had no professional affiliation with us."

"Oh, that." His slumping posture went hand in hand with his dejected tone showing he was very aware of this problem - also very unhappy about that. "I had actually hoped you would have a solution to that but I always forgot to ask."

"My suggestion is that you move out of the facility-"

"What?" Azimuth's eyes gleamed in anger. "So you want to-"

"- but this would be unethical and take out the fun of hiding you from our lovely guards."

"Leaving undetected by them is nearly impossible if I guess right, right Lawrence?"

"I have to apologize for my clumsy phrasing. I implied that you should leave the safety zone and stay in a more endangered area, but that would be rude and insensible."

"Oh, uh, Iiii knew that." The grin looked sheepish.

With a stare that meant more than thousand words Lawrence turned away from Ratchet and faced Azimuth. "Were these your concerns regarding our procedures?"

"Not quite." The general tapped his mouth. "What about the formation with which we approach the Shapeshifters? They might grow suspicious of this."

"One of your most suspicious actions, I agree. One time they would rationalize you did so to have the element of surprise on your side - but if you did this now a third time, they are going to wonder why you don't avoid them. You certainly suffered in each fight, the most sensible would be to avoid the Shapeshifters at any cost." Lawrence rubbed his chin.

"I would suggest that you hide prematurely close to the next Shapeshifters' route. The facility has a detection scan for certain species which we only use rarely, so I would 'blow your cover' so to speak to pull their attention to you."

"That sounds fairly reasonable." Azimuth nodded contemplatively. "That doesn't stop the uncomfortable knowledge of Shapeshifters being close to us and within the safety area."

"You will have to suffer this discomfort for a while then. I have no intention of letting them know you ever stayed longer in the safety area than for a few hours, as you went directly on your way again to escape from the facility as soon as you had recovered from your chase by the Shapeshifters."

He sniffed. "Besides, this room doesn't exist so you can't be here either way."

"Thank you, we appreciate this." Azimuth nodded in approval, crossed his arms before his chest and looked down. After a few moments he turned back to the robot. "Say, Lawrence… You wouldn't know who of the Shapeshifters are coming?"

"I do. It is the Superiors."

"Nothing about a Shapeshifter wielding a double-headed scythe?"

"What?" Lawrence widened one of his optics. "Why would you ask something this specific?"

"… Nothing." The elder looked down again. "I… was just wondering."

Ratchet showed a different reaction. "You didn't see it yesterday? The Shapeshifter that took out the mutating Prideful?"

"I fear the sudden interference signal has prevented me from perceiving the entity in question," Lawrence answered. "I do recall, however, that a third voice was briefly present. I regarded this as a misconception, though, seeing how Shapeshifters are incapable of speech."

"He actually was. And he also gave us the collars after he had killed the Prideful." He shook his head when remembering the display, some little thought nagging at him he should know who exactly the Shapeshifter, or whatever, was.

"He?" Both Lawrence and Azimuth stared at Ratchet again, but only one did it with a less friendly expression.

For a moment long the young Lombax stared uncomprehendingly before he slapped his temple and grew annoyed at the others. "Yes, he. You said yourself it couldn't have been a Shapeshifter as they can't speak so it must have been a person. And going from his voice, I'm just guessing he was male although it was distorted enough I don't know if it was a robot or an organic."

"It was a Shapeshifter." The last word left Azimuth as a low hiss. "It killed the Prideful within seconds while we were literally getting beaten our dear lives out of us."

"I wouldn't assume anything in haste, general." Lawrence ignored the deadly glare thrown into his direction - strangely enough not out of disinterest this time, worry instead marring his face, distracting him. "Even though it might be that they are developing the means to speak – and if this is the case, it is a highly disturbing development."

"How come?" Azimuth narrowed his eyes. "Can't the highest Shapeshifters speak even the slightest?"

"I am afraid not. And I am afraid your memory is failing you with age already, general – I have told you that they have… Other ways to communicate." Lawrence folded his hands and sighed. "So many puzzling pieces of information, really… One as such is that odd development of the Prideful. I have not expected it to increase its energy exponentially; but then again, perhaps it gave up something else in exchange for this state."

"Like whatever it had left of sanity maybe?", came the disgusted quibble.

"I wonder if that was enough to cause such a difference in development." Lawrence narrowed his optics as he tapped onto his mouth. "So many things to consider, and so little time. Ah well. I shall take my leave now. Anything else you need?"

"I think we are fine. Do you have any idea what we would need, Alister?"

"Actually I do." The elder turned to Lawrence. "We need to get our armors repaired. Since we can't leave the room, I wondered if you could relocate one of the armor vendors here as long as they are needed?"

"If I could? Apart of the fact that I would just need to teleport the vendor, which even the Shapeshifters wouldn't be able to detect, they will be ecstatic." He sighed with a suffering tone. "You have no idea how often I have heard that Ratchet is their favorite customer - in all its variations."

"Oh god, please no euphoric shouting." Azimuth shook his head and buried his face in his palm. "Just one is fine."

"Believe me when I say I have no interest either to suffer this whatsoever." Lawrence lifted his arm to reveal the panel, typing in several codes and numbers. "There. They were notified, with the insistent request not to be loud or fear to be found by Shapeshifters otherwise."

"Good, thanks."

"No need. I'm only doing this so protect my own sanity." And with that the butler turned around and walked towards the door. "I will inform you as soon as you are free to walk again. Good bye." The door swished closed behind him with an air of finality, the hiss strangely ringing in their ears.

The elder stared at the door yet he did not see it. His fingers flexed, his ears flicked; his tail moved slowly back and forth. "Him, hm?", he mumbled to himself before he turned around and walked past Ratchet to turn off his armor.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing." Azimuth put his wrench back into the wardrobe.

"Alisteeeerrr." Arms crossed, Ratchet sternly stared at him, foot tapping. "I've heard enough 'nothings' in the past few days to know something is really bothering you so don't try acting-"

Amber eyes locked with his. Azimuth had turned around and looked at him, lips pressed together lightly, eyebrows slightly pulled together. His fingers flexed and loosened, his tail swung faintly behind him - but what caught the younger's attention was neither the lowered shoulders nor the body language as its own. It was this odd mixture of sadness, tension and – was that jealousy? - in the elder's eyes that puzzled him. For some reason he sensed, however, that the origin of this gaze did not lie with him, but rather with the general himself. The faint movement along Azimuth's lips, the light twitch in his eyebrows - it was like he was trying really hard to say something, but failed despite his efforts.

The irritation in his mind instantly vanished. Reluctantly he stepped closer to Alister, imploring with his eyes as much as with his words and voice. "What's wrong?"

"... I'm fine." The elder lowered his gaze and turned his head away. "There are just a lot of things going on in my mind and I have to sort them out." A pause. Azimuth inhaled and motioned to face the younger, but refrained from doing so. Lips that had parted to speak had closed again, fingers that had loosened formed tightly clenched fists again. The frown on his face spoke of frantic contemplations which he was not able to share.

Ratchet sighed. "... Okay." He tried to keep a disappointed frown from his face although he didn't know how much he succeeded. Turning away, he motioned to distance himself again-

It was then something tugged lightly at his tail.

Startled, Ratchet blinked and turned back around again. Surprise dominated his expression when he noticed the white tail that had loosely intertwined with his sand-colored one, almost as if it was not sure if it should or not. To find the answer for himself, the younger looked up to Alister.

The elder didn't return Ratchet's gaze. He stared down at the ground, fingers flexing nervously before he stepped away. His tail motioned to slip away from the touch silently just like its owner did, only for the other sand-colored one to tighten on his again. White ears perked when Ratchet spoke. "Stay, please."

Azimuth halted, but did not turn around. His head was still lowered, his fists now clenched.

A warm weight pressed then against his back, a pair of hands laying against his chest, fingers intertwining. "You don't have to say anything now," came the muffled mumble. "Just let me in at all. I worry about you and I hate that I can't help you."

Silence. The elder did not move, neither rejecting nor showing appreciation for the gesture; but after a moment he raised his hand hesitantly and placed it onto Ratchet's. "Thanks," he breathed as he lowered his head and closed his eyes.

The warmth vanished. "Could you please turn around? I want to look at you when we talk."

Azimuth hesitated at first, but then followed Ratchet's request. His gaze, however, did not meet the other's eyes.

"Well, and I want you to look at me."

The elder raised his head and looked cautiously into Ratchet's eyes. It seemed like he was beckoning the question why he had to.

Gosh, the elder wasn't a puppy. "Otherwise I would feel pretty stupid if you didn't even look at me when I talk. There are times when you don't have to look each other and others where you have to. A reason for the latter is this." A lithe hand gently grasped his chin to both tilt his head down and cut him off from escaping; then a soft pair of lips yielded against his.

Azimuth's ears flicked. A slight jolt of surprise went through his body at the touch, but to his surprise the faint grasp around his chin was enough to make him stay still.

A moment later the gentle pressure on his lips lessened. Without another thought he placed one hand on Ratchet's back, the other a bit lower. Then he leant forward and brought their lips together once more.

Ratchet made a little noise in the back of his throat before he opened his lips further, pressing himself tight against Alister's front.

The elder tilted his head to the side, closing his lips over Ratchet's. His hands held tightly onto the younger while he bent the other back a bit.

The friction between their lips at the changed angle made Ratchet gasp. His fingers dug into Alister's shoulders as he pushed more into the kiss, groaning.

Azimuth did not object at all. Holding onto the younger, he sucked gently at Ratchet's lip before releasing and kissing him once more.

One hand had wandered to the strong neck which he languidly massaged while Ratchet held with the other still onto Alister's shoulder for what felt like dear life.

A low moan escaped Azimuth. He purred at the pleasant sensation that Ratchet's fingers elicited, and he certainly did not want it to stop. His arms wrapped around the younger a bit tighter, moving his lips over Ratchet's slowly.

Had Ratchet known that kissing could be so much fun, he would have tried it sooner and with more enthusiasm. Not that he could clearly grasp this thought with his mind all but swiped empty except the sensations on everything that was his mouth. Almost a tickling friction on his lips; the taste of Alister not only against his tongue but found now in his own mouth too.

Thoughts, reservations – gone for the moment. Regrets, accusations – rendered unimportant for now. Alister felt himself drown gradually in the sensations that took him captive, and by no means would he object this time. Oddly he found the idea of letting the younger go obscure, ridiculous even; his values had been pushed aside and left him to hold onto what he wanted.
Playing more with the younger's tongue, Azimuth deepened the kiss bit by bit. One of the elder's hands traveled down along Ratchet's back and pressed him a bit more against his body; the other hand cupped his head and pressed it gently against his own. If he could have Ratchet just for himself, mind focused on him and his mind on Ratchet, even if it was only for a few moments, then he would take it. No more coating, no more excuses – even if it was only for such a short time.

As much as he enjoyed the kiss, the short takes of air didn't suffice anymore for his body, not with his heart galloping in his chest. He drew back with a light gasp, "J-just a moment-" He moaned, startled, in surprised glee at the heated look two ambers shot his way. "Wow, you look so hot."

A faint smirk appeared on Alister's face. "Don't say that." A brief kiss on Ratchet's lips. "Or I might feel too embarrassed to continue." With that said, he placed their lips together again to some long kisses. The smirk did not vanish, though, just like the low purr that had slowly become audible.

The vibrations sung through the nerve ends inside Ratchet's mouth, nearly driving him insane as he lunged himself more into the kiss, pushing his own tongue now into Alister's mouth.

Surprised, a muffled noise left the elder that soon mellowed into a low moan, but let Ratchet continue. He slowly stepped backwards, holding the younger close, and lowered himself onto the bed.

The fall, though short, knocked slightly the air out of his chest. Luckily Alister made for a soft pillow to land on so the younger just needed to crawl a bit further up to get into proper kissing range again.

"My, aren't you eager." Azimuth could only smirk before his lips were sealed once more. A low hum escaped him; his hands smoothed along Ratchet's back, one resting between the shoulder blades, fingers splayed out and lightly pressing the lithe body against his. The other traveled down along the younger's side and below where it rested.

"Shut up." The mumble was nearly lost before Ratchet moved his mouth to that tempting neck, licking and nipping, purring at the smell.

"That... is difficult, I'm afraid," came as reply. Azimuth tensed up a bit, but did not stop the younger in his action. Whenever he felt Ratchet lave over his neck, fine shivers went through him; whenever the other's breath brushed over his fur, he halted his own in anticipation.

"I haven't said you can't make noises." A shiver went through the body below him as he growled this into the neck.
"Because I'm going to make you make a lot."

"I'd like to see that-" The rest of the words were lost when Ratchet bit him into his neck. Not deep enough to hurt him, but not like a fine lick either. A groan left him as he tensed up, unsure what he should think of the things he felt.

"You seem unsure if you like that." Ratchet sported a grin that spoke promises of sweet torture for the elder to come. "Maybe you need more 'examples' to have a reference point." And with that he began laving again, pointing here and then some slight bites which he then soothed with his tongue.

"Don't... try your luck, Ratchet..." Panting lowly, his fingers curled into the younger's back. His mind was clouded as he felt heat spreading over his body. "I..."

"What 'you'?", came the sing-song voice and a finger grazing down his side, much like he had done to Ratchet before.

The elder gasped, interrupted in his attempt to answer. The fine shiver that accompanied his breath could not be overheard.
"I...," he tried again, "I might lose... my reservations."

"Mmh, I think you said that once already during another time. You know what." Just for a moment Ratchet stopped his attack, pressing himself flush against the elder to pepper some kisses along the line of his jaw up to his ear. He blew over it, drawing a gasp, before he dropped his voice in a low-register whisper.
"I would really love it if this happened."

"It would be unfavorable, though, if I lost them and we were interrupted again," he answered, trying his best to sound coherent. "After all, we know that there is going to be a visitor soon..." His hand traveled up to Ratchet's ear and rubbed the base slowly. "And being interrupted at that moment... might be unfavorable."

This made him freeze for a moment. Then he let his head drop on Alister's chest with an annoyed groan. "No way. Can't we somehow seal the room with an own force field so the vendor can't come in now?"

"Wrong answer," Azimuth mumbled so lowly Ratchet didn't hear him clearly. Before the younger could say anything, though, he sat up and placed Ratchet on his lap. With a playful clash of their foreheads he closed his eyes and remained in that position. The smile on his lips wasn't as bright as before though. "I don't think we can seal the room from the inside, so we better not risk it, hm?"

"Ah man." Ratchet sagged. "That's so unfair."

Azimuth raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Even on a 'free day', there are always people interrupting us."

That drew a chuckle from the elder. "Well, to be fair, there were no people interrupting us before we woke up in this mess here."

"This seems almost an eternity ago..." A wistful note rung in Ratchet's voice. He had laid his cheek against the chest beneath him, sighing. "I feel guilty. I haven't thought about Aphelion for days. About Clank, but not about her. She and Perihelion must be worried sick."

"Most certainly they are, but we can't reach them." Azimuth looked up while he stroked over Ratchet's head slowly. "It is funny, though. Nefarious can't build a sufficient defense system in his other facilities, but this one here is so well guarded that is almost impossible to get out unscathed." A pause. "Why hasn't he brought the guards here to his other facilities? Not that I would welcome that, but if I were him, I would figure out how to control them and then use them efficiently."

Ratchet stared at him. "You are forgetting that Lawrence and Nefarious want us to destroy them because they can't control them."

Silence came over the elder. Then, as realization reached his mind, his ears drooped. "... Oh yes. I overlooked this fact, didn't I. But what if it was possible? What if there was a way to control these Shapeshifters, actually?" His eyes lighted up as a faint grin of curiosity and simple joy at theorizing came over him. "Perhaps there is a way, maybe they were just not smart enough to find the solution to it-"

"Whoa, you are serious." Ratchet scooted back to get a better look at him. "Even if there is a way to fully control them – every technology, every device, even the safest, can fail at one point or another and then the Shapeshifters would be free again to do as they please." He shuddered at the thought of the creatures wreaking havoc on other planets.

"And what if we can minimize the risk? What if there is a way to change their way of perception and their ideology? They would be the perfect, perfect defense for any planet, galaxy, no, maybe the universe in its entirety!"

Leaning forward, Ratchet grabbed around the elder's forearms, expression pleading. "You don't know that. They are neither robots nor organics. We likely won't ever understand them and even if we would – you can't simply change the mentality of a species like that. What about all the wars in the past started from suppressed robots breaking free from their forced programming?"

"And what if we implanted manipulative chips into their entities? They would be at our disposal without any objections!" Azimuth stared at Ratchet, unable to comprehend why he did not understand his point. "We would have the best kind of soldiers then. They are almost indestructible, and all they need is restorable energy supplies, then-"

"Did you even hear what I have just said? Technology can fail, no matter how good it is. Even if it was safe from failing on its own, there just needs to be the outright force and the Shapeshifters would be free again! Unless you'd find a way to completely change their base character, they will always stay a latent danger."

"Oh, please!" Azimuth shook his head and snorted lowly. "Even if that happened, by the time we reach the Great Clock and have access to it, those worries will be naught! We can prevent that disaster at any moment."

"What?" This answer threw Ratchet into confusion as he tried to decipher what he meant. "What are you talking about?"

"Time travel!" Alister looked at the younger with a skeptical stare. "We will prevent any disaster from occurring. The Shapeshifters won't be any danger, Tachyon won't be any danger, Nefarious won't be any danger! Everything will be all right. Nothing bad will happen ever again."

"But if we stop Nefarious, then the Shapeshifters won't come into existence at all."

"Then we won't stop Nefarious. But Shapeshifters couldn't break out of any control, we would have the perfect defense, and everything would be in order-"

"Are you nuts?" Ratchet couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe what he was hearing and neither did he truly hear his voice rising with each word. Alister had seen what the Shapeshifters could do, had been a victim himself and yet he planned actually to use them somehow? To endanger the universe yet again by letting them live, even at the risk this could horribly wrong if the Shapeshifters escaped or a worse event happened.

Not speaking about what he said of Nefarious.

"You would let Nefarious attack a galaxy, try to destroy all organic life, kill thousands of civilians, let him loose on yet another galaxy where he continues this madness and messes with the FUCKING GREAT CLOCK, causing rifts in time just to ensure you can maybe salvage some uncontrollable, psychopathic race and turn them into defense forces?"

"Without risk you cannot achieve!" Azimuth stood up and let Ratchet slide off his legs, "Without sacrifice you cannot advance at all! If you want something, you have to be ready to give up on other things. And even if some people have died, what is it against the value of the common good? So Nefarious would have killed people, and then?" The elder shook his head once.
"Sometimes some have to die for the greater good! What do you think you and I do when we fight? When we defeat, kill even our enemies? We do this for the greater good!" He slashed his arm to the side with his voice raised and his face displaying impatience. "Every war, every battle – without them, do you think we would have what we have now? Do you think that the universe would be a better place if there was no such sacrifice?" Eyes gleaming in rage, he stared directly into Ratchet's eyes.
"If you are going to question this, then you are simultaneously denying all that you have done until now!"

He felt like he had been punched in the chest. Had Alister really just said that? Ratchet tried to shove the thought away, focusing on the least controversial of the arguments. It still stung. "Questioning all what I have done until now? Aren't you doing that yourself? If we reverse time, we will make sure that Tachyon never had the chance to take over Polaris but you want to let another nut job do it for him? You don't even know if Nefarious would land here in the changed timeline, for frikking's sake!"

"Well, then we wouldn't have to think about this anyway!" Azimuth shook his head, unable to comprehend how Ratchet could be so terribly close-minded to all the possibilities. "If he doesn't end up in Polaris, good! If he ends up in Polaris, the Lombaxes wouldn't let him take over the galaxy! And if he builds this facility again, with all there is in here now, why not use it to our advantage? Why can't you see the opportunities of it all?"

Ratchet found his breath quickening during the tirade. He tried to swallow the retort down he felt that Alister deserved so much but when he came to Nefarious again, the pieces clicked together. It hurt – it hurt to realize the conviction Alister voiced to condemn countless other races to leave them in their old fate of invasion or war, while putting the Lombaxes-

"THIS." He ground out, pointing with his forefinger at the other Lombax. "Is the single most egoistic, selfish, self-centered jerk argument I've ever heard! Don't you care at all about the other species or is it only important to let the Lombaxes thrive on and over the misery of others?"

"I DO!"
The elder's voice seemed to linger in the room even when he had stopped. Breathing heavily, he then inhaled to continue. "Of course I care about the other races! Of course I care what else is happening in the universe! But you have to think about it clearly – right now, how could I know what the past will be like when the Lombaxes are back? How could I know if their return will change another galaxy's fate?" He shook his head angrily.
"Nefarious attacked your galaxy four years ago. The Lombaxes have been gone for much longer! Who knows if Nefarious would have even gotten as far if there had been a better communication between the galaxies! Tachyon has cut off all communication between Polaris and the others. So if this barrier was not there, if there had been a better communication system between the galactic forces, don't you think that we would have intervened if Solana had gotten into danger?" One of his hands clenched to a fist as he stared directly into Ratchet's eyes. "It is all connected; one problem would be solved by another, and any great damage of the past could be minimized if it cannot be prevented! But for this you have to get to the root of the complications! You have to tackle the beginning of it all!"

Azimuth came one step closer. "Of course I care about the other species! Of course I care about the god damn fate of other galaxies! But I cannot tackle everything. I cannot keep everything in mind when I know that one solution might change the situation in its entirety! Yes, I don't know how everything will change or if Nefarious will ever create the Shapeshifters without destroying half of Solana. I don't know if he will ever come as far as to Polaris or if he will be struck down long before that. I don't even know for sure if the Lombaxes can handle any of the problems, but what I know damn well is that bringing them back, preventing Tachyon from rising to power will open opportunities to save not only the Lombaxes, but the other species as well!"
Another step. "Don't you think that I would have thought it through? Don't you think that I would try to get the most out of this? So I want to bring the Lombaxes back. I want to get them back no matter what before all else. And why? Because I BELONG TO THIS RACE!" He lashed out with his arm. "So of course I will focus on them! Of course most I will say about this will revolve around them. It's because they are what formed my home! But by no means, by no means would I disregard the other races! By no means does my desire to bring the Lombaxes back mean that I would leave the other races behind! So don't," he yelled, pointing at Ratchet with his index finger, "DON'T you EVER say again that I would not care about other races!"

"Even if I don't say it, it won't change the fact that you are speaking like a supremacist, discriminating bastard who won't see his own stupidity!"
Silence broke over them. The elder glared into Ratchet's eyes, mouth open in shock, holding his breath and unable to form any retort. When he did not answer, the younger went on.

"YES, you are an idiot who can't see his own mistakes! YES, you are an idiot who doesn't realize he is repeating his actions! But before everything else," The younger stepped forward and stabbed Azimuth with his forefinger.

"You are a god damn idiot who made the mistake to want power, lost his ENTIRE home instead and is about to do the same thing ALL OVER AGAIN!"

All of his anger left him at once. He didn't realize at first what it was as there was only emptiness, before he stumbled backwards, swallowing heavily.

Idiot. Fucking. Idiot.

"I'm, I'm sorry, I don't know why I said- Just, it's-" He bit his lip so hard he was drawing blood, not that Alister likely could see it with how Ratchet was bowing his head.
"Just forget I said anything at all. I was-" With that, he escaped to the bathroom, tearing the door open and closed. He leant his back against the frame, panting while his thoughts raced about the stupidity of what he had done.

A shiver went through his chest. Others added from his legs and arms, culminating in his chest trembling that shook the whole body around its core, making him slide down. He hugged his knees and buried his face in them, trying to control his breathing.

Outside, Azimuth did not even move an inch. His eyes widened, ears fallen, all he could do was to stare into space while not perceiving anything. Everything in his mind replayed Ratchet's words over and over again, like a broken record that intensified in volume with each repeat. Hearing the younger cuss out those words at him hurt, yes – but it were not the furious phrases alone that pierced him; neither was it the cold truth that he knew already.

It was the fact that they revealed what Ratchet really thought about him.

Slowly his arms were raised as he simultaneously lowered himself back onto the bed. Ill, almost mad thoughts rushed through his mind as this realization burned itself deeply into his conscience. Of course, Ratchet had to feel resentful towards him – after all he was responsible for destroying his family before he had a chance to even live in one. He was miserable because he had been exiled, a punishment that was fit for him; and foremost Ratchet had to be disgusted by him because he had, even if only in theory, considered recommitting the gravest mistake in his life all over again.

He had not learned anything over all these years.

It was then a slash of air hit the elder when what one could not describe in any other way than a loud, enormous POP made the room vibrate. Which had nothing on the too cheerful, too excited voice booming glee into their tension-filled temporary home.

"HERE I AM! WHERE'S THE FAMOUS RATCHET? Oh my GOD, CAN I GET AN AUTOGRAPH?"

What he received as answer was stifling silence. Azimuth looked up, eyes oddly indifferent and even slightly jaded. His ears flicked only faintly as there was little to no reaction to the sudden appearance of the vendor. "I fear he is not available right now, but will be in a moment."

"Awww," the vendor slumped, pouting up to the slouched Lombax.

"Since you're here, I will request your services." Alister pointed at some torn parts of his armor. "We encountered enemies whose attacks were a bit more… piercing than expected. It did a number on our armors."

"By Orvus!" The gasp was strangely devoid of any dramatic overtone but instead with genuine shock. Floating over, the vendor plucked out a set of goggles from his shell and peered through them at the Terraflux armor's damage.

"These are from Shapeshifters, aren't they?" The tremor, as light as it was, rung still audibly to the elder Lombax.

"I thought you people didn't know about them?"

"Well, I think you are referring to my colleague outside the facility. Of course he doesn't know, but I do. I have to stick within this horrendous place!" The Grummel-clone shook his head lightly. "My, my, we can't have that. Our customers getting hurt? No, this is just awful. I will file a request to accelerate the development of the Hyperflux—Whoops!" The vendor covered his mouth. "I'm sorry, dear – sensitive data."

"No harm done." Azimuth smiled faintly. "Either way, can you fix the damage?"

"I would think so! As unfortunate as my position here is, I'm never out of materials and those being of top quality. So while I can't provide you with a new armor yet, I can repair your Terraflux AND raise its shielding by 20 %."

"Oh really?" Azimuth raised his eyebrow. "And it won't increase the armor's weight in the process?"

"Fear not." The vendor winked. "While it will, the increase is so marginal you won't even feel it. We're speaking about a pound, at most. That brings me to another topic, however. Since Ratchet isn't here yet, I'd like to ask you how bad the damage to his armor was. One never can't be too cautious with anything coming from Shapeshifters."

A slight jolt went through the elder as he turned away. Voice falling to a lower pitch, he answered, "Worse than mine. His arm was penetrated, and the last Shapeshifter has shredded his chest area."

"Orvus…" With a shake of his head, the vendor repelled the mental image – he hadn't met the younger Lombax yet, but knew his picture from Holo-TV and from the picture for their customers' data files his colleague had made when outfitting Ratchet with the Terraflux. He didn't have the mass of the elder, and if the old files of his predecessors working for the species were correct, Ratchet was actually even lither in build than the common Lombax. Note that his former colleagues hadn't equipped every single Lombax in the universe but that was beside the point.

"We also need much stronger helmets. Don't forget that one of them smashed you into the head, Alister."

The elder did not even do as much as to flick his ear at hearing Ratchet's voice. He left it to the vendor to react who did it quite vigorously.

"Oooooooh, hello there sweetie!" The vendor wiggled with his bottom part as he scooted closer to the younger Lombax. "My, my, the descriptions certainly lied – you look much better than any of them could state." A squeal of delight left the Grummel-clone. "A dream for every armor vendor, that is for sure!"

"Hi back." He weakly waved, the smile feeling more genuine than he had thought he was able to. Maybe it was because of the way the vendor flirted with him for business but still was honest with the part about being a favored model and acted thus like a child in a candy store.

"Well, well, I can see your armor is quite damaged. Roughly handled, hmmmmm?" The vendor giggled and patted the Lombax's shoulder. "Shall I mend the broken parts, then?" He pointed at a pad that he put on the ground for the fitting cabin.

"Yeah, that would be nice. Just, don't forget to reinforce the helmets too?"

"Of course not! What a Grummel-vendor would I be if I did this?" As Ratchet moved to step on the pad, a hand crossed in front of his chest to stop him.

"Ah ah aah! Don't you want to have a look at the changes at first?" A holographic image appeared in the air, the data image the former vendor had taken of Ratchet in his Terraflux armor.

Azimuth rolled his eyes before he took off his helmet and stood up. "Call me when you're done with repairing his armor." With that said, he turned past them into the kitchen, letting the doors slide shut to block out both, no, Ratchet's voice. As he sat down and looked up, a low sigh escaped him.

"I really haven't learned anything," he mumbled. "Nothing at all."