Finally, a chapter that's just people talking, my favorite to write!
"Alright, looks like we finally lost them." Rivet says, looking at her ship's sensor systems with Ardolis far behind her, showing no signs for any trailing ships nearby—except for one.
"And it appears that Ratchet and Kaden's ship are also successfully exfiltrated Ardolis, as well." Kit notes, looking at them alongside Rivet in the passenger seat. "I believe it is safe to say that we are finally in the clear."
"Hell yeah, mission success! High-five, Kit!" Rivet says, holding up her prosthetic hand with a large smile.
Kit looks back up at the hand in surprise, but it takes only a second for her to wash it away as she too smiles, returning the celebratory gesture as a small clank echoes through the cabin from their metallic hands colliding in a high five, eliciting a small giggle out of both them.
"Yes, I suppose it is a success, indeed." Kit replies, sitting back into her seat with a smile. "We set off on this adventure to find Ratchet's kidnapped family, and now we have him on a ship with his partner and his father, safely en route back to where they can hopefully return to their home."
"It feels good to have a mission end as successfully as this, yeah." Rivet responds with a nod, wearing a small smile of her own. "It's definitely been one of the more exciting ones, too, that's for sure! I mean, just a few hours ago, here I was, thinking I was the last Lombax in existence, then another one just casually walks into my life, tells me all about how there's an entire dimension of us just minding their own business, and he just kicks ass to boot! I mean, you see the carnage he did back on Sargasso? Or all those moves he pulled running out of Ardolis like that?"
"Yes, I was present for both, Rivet." Kit says with a chuckle. "And I was also present to when he stated that he won that impromptu competition of yours, as well."
"Hey, that was barely a win for him, he only got, like, five kills above me!" She argues, crossing her arms as she puts the ship on autopilot. "That's practically a draw with the numbers we both had on those Troopers and pirates!"
"Of course." Kit says plainly, rolling her optics.
"But… Yeah. I mean, with how much he's done for me even though we literally just met, between telling me all about the other Lombaxes, telling me that all my fighting does make a difference, getting us to try out this whole partnership, and helping me protect Sargasso and the Morts, just…" She gives a content sigh, wearing an earnest smile as she stares off to the stars ahead. "I'm glad he just sauntered into my life. It… Definitely feels like he's changed it for the better, somehow."
But after a few seconds of silence, Rivet's eyes widen as she registers what she just said, and she shrinks up a bit as she looks over to Kit with an awkward smile, the little robot simply looking back at her indifferently—but unable to help but notice how she acted just as strangely as Ratchet did when talking about Rivet, as well.
"Erm… Is that… Is that weird to say?" Rivet asks quietly. "Is that, like… Creepy, or something? Talking about him like that?"
"I… Do not believe so." Kit answers genuinely with a shake of her head. "As you just said, he has done quite a lot for you in such a short time for someone who is but a complete stranger to him. And if I thought it was strange, then I would be a hypocrite, as I too am glad to have met him after all that he has done for me. If I had not met him, I would still be on Savali, and feeling nowhere near as fulfilled as I am now." She says with a smile.
Rivet visibly relaxes at Kit's assurance, letting out a small breath of relief. "Alright, yeah, good. And… I'm happy for you, Kit. I'm glad you've been able to be a little happier with Ratchet's help."
"It was not all just Ratchet, though, Rivet." She replies earnestly. "You have been a great factor in that as well."
"I—Wait, really?" She asks with surprise.
"Indeed." Kit replies with a nod. "Ratchet helped push me out of my comfort zone and persuaded me that I can work with others and benefit from it, yes, but you… You are my partner, Rivet. You are the one who decided to take a chance with me despite my fears, and in spite of your own, as well, and it is a gesture that genuinely appreciate greatly."
Kit then meekly looks away, clasping her little metal digits together in her lap. "I understand that it must have been very difficult for you to initiate this partnership with me, knowing your very understandable prejudices against robots like me. Against robots who have regretfully worked under Nefarious like me. You had every right to abandon me at any step of the way, and I would have perfectly understood your decision if you so chose to."
And as Rivet silently listens to her in awe, Kit looks back over to her with an sincere smile.
"But you did not." She says thankfully and happily. "You decided to stay with me as a partner, being just as determined as I am to make this work, even after finding out who I was before you met me. You gave me a chance, Rivet; a chance to be a better person than I ever could be just living alone in exile on Savali. And for giving me that chance… Thank you. From the bottom of my heart."
"I… Um…" Rivet blinks, taken aback by the utter sincerity of Kit's words, not expecting such heartfelt gratitude from how she felt about their short time together so far.
But as surprising as it was, a warm smile slowly spreads across Rivet's lips. "You're welcome, Kit." She says sincerely. "And… Thanks to you, too. You gave me just as much of a chance as I did you, after all. You could've left just as easily after I tried to just ignore you and shove you off, or even just after all that talk I said about hating robots—erm, most robots, I should clarify now—but you didn't leave, either. You decided to stick with me, anyways."
She holds up her metal fist out towards Kit, still wearing a smile.
"So… Thanks, Kit. I'm glad you're my partner."
Kit looks back down to the extended fist, then back up to Rivet, and then gives a smile as she bumps her fist with her own, emitting a little metal 'tink' as she does so.
"And I am glad that you are mine as well, Rivet." Kit says as Rivet retracts her fist. "And also, for that just now. I had never done a… 'fist bump', is it called?" She asks.
Rivet chuckles. "Yep! And, you're welcome! I hope you like doing them, because with me as your partner, we're going to be doing them a lot." She says amusedly.
"I do not mind at all." Kit says with a small chuckle of her own. "So, I am assuming you are a big fan of fist bumps, then?"
"It's a quick and fun way to give each other a 'good job' or 'nice one' or something like that, yeah!" Rivet responds, hands on the steering controls. "Well, those and high-fives, too, but, yeah!"
"I see." Kit says thoughtfully, nodding her head.
"Although, to be honest, I kinda default to fist bumps more now, though, since people have said that I high five them a bit too hard with my hand, what with it being metal and stuff." She comments, looking at her prosthetic palm with an awkward smile, clearly reminiscing about some times where she nearly injured her allies just trying to celebrate a mission success.
Kit tilts her head. "Could you not just use your other, natural hand, though?"
Rivet tilts her head from side to side. "I mean, yeah, but… I'm still kinda used to using my right hand for a lot of things, even after all these years. Even after I lost it." She says a little wistfully, letting out a sigh as she looks back to her prosthetic, flexing out the fingers, always activated by her mind simply trying to move what should've been muscle instead of metal. "Some old habits still die hard, I guess." She adds with a ghost of a smile.
Kit also looks at Rivet's arm with some quietness, especially with that look in her eyes that, although superficially content, held a small glimmer of sadness that would never leave, just as how she will never get her arm back.
Kit stares at her for a few moments longer, inspecting her arm and thinking about how casually Rivet seemed to talk about her lack of a limb, and a question floats up the forefront of her mind, one that had admittedly been marinating ever since they had met.
"Erm, Rivet?" She asks meekly.
"Hm?" Rivet hums, snapping out of her thoughts as she looks back at Kit. "Yeah? What's up?"
"Um…" Kit begins nervously twiddling her digits, averting her gaze. "Well… Could I… Ask you a… A question? If you would not mind?"
Rivet furrows her brows for a moment, questioning her nervousness before she looks back to the arm she was holding up between them from her inspection, and the dots connect in her head as a small, amused smile crosses her features.
"You wanna know how I lost it, huh?" She asks bluntly.
"I… Was not going to phrase it so frankly as that, but… Yes." Kit replies with a nod before she finally looks back to Rivet, still wearing an apprehensive look. "If… If that is alright with you, however. I understand if it might be too painful for you to recount for only my own curios—"
"No, it's alright." Rivet assures her, waving her hand. "I don't really mind. And, well, if we're going to be partners, you're going to have to know about it sooner or later, so… Why not sooner?" She asks with a small shrug.
And as Kit returns a thankful smile at Rivet trusting her like this, Rivet takes a deep breath, leaning back into her seat to collect her thoughts, resting her hands upon the steering controls again, staring straight ahead.
"Well… It was a few years ago, back when I was a teenager." She begins. "I was in the Resistance for a little while at that point, too long to be a green rookie, but not long enough to be its top agent like I am now. And I was a lot dumber back then, too. Too proud, too hopeful. I really thought that I'd be the tipping point the Resistance needed, and that it was me who would be the one to rescue the galaxy from Nefarious." She says with a frown, and a small hint of… Spite? Malice? Something like that, and aimed at her past self as well.
"And it was thanks to me thinking that I was this big ol' lone wolf hotshot hero like in the holofilms that I thought I could singlehandedly turn the tide against our war with the Empire with a dumb, stupid mission that I thought was brilliant; Break into Nefarious Tower, steal Nefarious' most secret info to give us the best targets to cripple his Empire, and maybe, just maybe, be able to take the bastard out myself." She says, her frown deepening into a scowl before she lets out a heavy sigh.
But as Rivet explains her story, Kit—listening with apt attention—begins to feel… Something as she goes on. Something bad. Not trepidation for what becomes of her and her arm, for she already knew full-well how this story ends having just to look at her metal prosthetic, but rather…
It was fear. Fear that spiked when she said Nefarious Tower, and that she journeyed there alone for her mission to infiltrate it.
But… Why?
"It was a stupid, stupid plan. I came up with it on the spot in an afternoon, and I didn't think to tell any of the Resistance about what I was doing when I flew to Corson V. Didn't think I needed any help, and that this was going to be a piece of cake, and that I'd be out of there in an hour or two, tops. And, I mean… Looking back now, I was definitely right on that last part, but… Not about the rest of it." She says quietly with a small shrug.
"It was raining when I got to Nefarious City, and I thought that was perfect for my mission, because hey, all those dumb troopers and robots couldn't hear my footsteps if it was raining and storming, right?" She asks rhetorically, holding up a hand. "That's what I thought, at least. But what I didn't realize then is that it also meant that I wouldn't be able to hear any of them coming, either. Not until it was too late." She says quietly, looking aside.
Kit feels a cold feeling sink into her robotic gut, however, now pinpointing what this strange fear she felt was; this fear that spiked at every little detail Rivet divulged, to her complete and utter dismay.
It was familiarity.
"It was easy enough to reach the Tower itself from where I landed. Bunch of back alleys and whatnot. But breaking in was a different story." Rivet continues, oblivious to Kit's paralyzation in the passenger seat as she secretly wished for Rivet to stop talking, but to no avail.
"I found a side door, far from the main entrance, looked like a maintenance access or something. Out of the way, quiet entry point, and best of all, no surveillance as far as I could see. All it'd take would be a minute or two of breaking the lock, and I was golden. I was in.
"But…"
Rivet takes another deep breath, closing her eyes and pausing for a moment before she opens them again, tightening her grip on the controls—and with Kit internally screaming at her to refuse to finish the story, to move on, please, for both their sakes, and to let her live in blissful ignorance to keep from hearing the horrible, terrifying truth of Rivet's amputation.
But she was given no such mercy.
"I remember it all happening so fast." Rivet says, staring ahead with a faraway look. "I was almost done cracking the lock. About sixty seven percent, according to the tool Phantom gave to me a few months back. And then… Those red lights, shining around me as I saw my shadow against the door, and I turned around to see one of Nefarious' Warbots aiming its laser canon right at me, having snuck up on me over that thunderstorm.
"I remember it staring right at me with those giant, red eyes it had, and how empty they were… except for the intent to kill me right where I stood." She continues, still staring ahead. "And stood there I did, since I was… Terrified. Utterly paralyzed. When I turned around and saw it standing there… I thought I was going to die. I didn't feel so powerful like I thought I was anymore, and that it turns out that I was just a stupid teenager that realized right then and there that she wasn't as much of a badass that she thought she was.
"And then…" Another deep breath. "It fired. In less than a second, I was on the ground, clutching what was left my arm in pain, but I only stared back up at that Warbot, waiting for it to finish the job. But… It didn't. Even after five, ten seconds, it just stood there, frozen, not trying to move, not trying to kill me anymore. I don't know if it had a glitch or an order or what, but the shock wore off, and I just ran back to my ship, still too scared to look back at my arm and what happened too it. I jumped in, set course for Sargasso, and flew as fast as I could back to the Morts for help."
Kit still remains silent, not moving at all, simply sitting in her seat as she stares straight ahead, an unspeakable surge of fear, guilt, dread, anxiety, and a dozen other feelings wash over her, almost leaving her completely numb. If she was an organic, she would surely be having a panic attack right now, but her robotic existence only permitted her to remain deadly quiet and wish that this was just some sort of bad dream, but to no avail.
"I don't remember much after that, though." Rivet says, shaking her head. "The adrenaline started wearing off, and my arm started hurting, hurting bad. Bad enough that I apparently just blacked out from the shock and pain and… everything, I guess, and my autopilot took me the rest of the way home. And the next thing I know, I'm waking up in a hospital bed, and with one less arm. Too much dead flesh and not enough worth saving, doctors said. Just had to chop it clean off." She says, using her natural hand to make a chopping motion at her shoulder as she spoke.
"And… Yeah, that's about the gist of it." She finishes with a shrug. "Just all that boring and dull and long recovery afterwards, I guess. Waiting for the scars to heal, learning to deal with the phantom pains, the tons of prototype prosthetics I had to make, and learning how to use those too? Man, it sucked. But… At least it all worked out in the end." She says, finally cracking a small smile as she flexes her prosthetic once more. "And honestly, this hand is cooler than my old one in some ways, so hey, bright side to everything, huh?"
And as Rivet gives a small chuckle at that optimistic note, Kit was feeling very much the opposite. She wanted to simply jettison herself out the spacecraft, and to leave herself to float around forever in the cold, empty abyss of space where she belonged after learning that the random rebel who was her last victim was in fact her partner. Her friend.
And how… How could she live with herself, knowing that she hurt a friend?
"Erm… Kit?" Rivet's voice distantly asks, slowly dragging Kit out of her frantic thoughts. "Kit? You good? You're being a little quiet." She asks with some worry.
Kit looks back at Rivet, and sees Rivet looking back at her with concern, and shot a pang through Kit knowing that she was undeserving of Rivet's worry after what she had done to her.
"I, um…" Kit squeaks out. "I am just… Very troubled by your tale, Rivet. I am sorry." She says gravely.
"Woah, hey, it's alright, Kit! Like I said, it was years ago, and I've made good progress moving on since then, don't worry!" Rivet quickly assures her, reaching over to place a hand on her shoulder with a smile. "Although, I'm thankful that you really do care and feel for me, don't get me wrong, but there's no use fretting about the past and stuff. Especially with something that happened to me that you can't control, either. I mean, it's not like you were there back then to do anything to help me, after all, right?" She says with a chuckle.
If Kit had a stomach, she would have puked at that statement from the sheer magnitude of guilt and remorse she felt at this moment.
But, as a mere robot—a treacherous, destructive Warbot who hurts everything it touches—she could only at most turn her head away.
"I…"
A small pause, feeling like a long eternity as Kit closes her eyes, thinking carefully about her next response.
"I… Suppose so." She answers quietly.
"Yeah. See?" Rivet says amicably, patting her shoulder once more, oblivious to the complete and blatant lie Kit had just told her. "No need to get so hung up about it."
Kit felt like a horrible person. Like the worst being to ever exist in the universe, even worse than Nefarious. She knew it was a terrible thing to lie to Rivet, especially after the promise they had made to each other to not lie any further about their pasts, and especially with this.
But at the same time… She understood that if she confessed to Rivet right now that she was in fact that very same monstrous warbot that taken her arm that night, this partnership may not survive. Rivet may even go so far as to eject Kit into space after all, and get her due revenge for what was taken from her. And knowing that—as well as the fact that Kit was just simply terrified to admit to herself, even—lying seemed like the obvious choice.
Kit justified this blatant affront to Rivet's trust by convincing herself that she would eventually confess when they got to know each other better, a chance to truly show Rivet that she's not that same monster Rivet met that night, and that Kit has spent too many nights thinking of those same few minutes as Rivet likely had as well, also wishing—begging—that she could have done something different that night.
But as of right now… They weren't ready for the truth. Neither Rivet, nor Kit.
"You know…" Rivet speaks up in a curious tone, placing a hand on her chin as Kit looked over to her. "I guess I've got a question for you, too, Kit."
Kit internally braces herself. "O-Oh?"
"You said you used to work for Nefarious, yeah, but you didn't really say how." Rivet explains, still in that innocently curious tone. "So… What'd you do back when you worked for that asshole, anyways?"
Injure and kill hundreds of innocent people with ruthless efficiency. Including you, Kit's mind screamed.
"I-I was… Erm… An accounting unit." Kit meekly replies, looking away, unable to look Rivet in the eye. "I worked directly under the Emperor, as well."
"Wait, seriously? Accounting?" Rivet asks, tilting her head with an amused smile. "That's all?"
"A… Lot of harm is still done even behind paperwork, Rivet. Like his taxes, for instance. His taxes that you have said has been making life for the Morts a financial struggle. I helped enforce such laws back then."
It was not a complete lie, as Kit most definitely enforced tax collection back in her day. And she enforced it well. Too well.
"Oh." Rivet mutters, clearly not immediately realizing the implications that someone who was in charge of the Empire's financials could indeed do a lot of damage, even outside a battlefield. "Well… When you defected from him, did you at least screw up his paperwork? Like, I don't know, making him buy millions of bolts' worth of useless furniture or something?" She asks with a shrug and small chuckle.
Kit shakes her head.
"No, I was silent when I escaped. I just had to run away, and make sure none of his forces followed me." She says somberly, still technically telling the truth. "I suppose things were in a bit of a disarray in my immediate absence… But I am sure he resolved them by simply replacing me with another unit. Everyone is expendable in his Empire."
"…Huh." Rivet idly comments. "Well… Guess it's a good thing we're working together to get back at him, huh?" She says a little more optimistically, lightly tapping Kit's shoulder with her fist. "Me and you, getting back at that asshole for what he did to us both, and kicking ass while doing it!"
Kit looks back to Rivet once again, seeing the happy smile plastered across her face—in contrast the expression of paralyzed fear that had been burned into her memory that fateful night.
But at her words, her sheer confidence in that statement that they would take down the Emperor together… Kit couldn't help but be a bit comforted by it. After all, even after what she had done, and what they had both been through… It was all the Emperor's fault. It was the Emperor who had built Kit to be a weapon, and it was the Emperor that had caused so much pain and grief in Rivet's life.
Kit may have thought herself a bad partner for what she had done to Rivet, and for continuing to lie about her true involvement with her accident… But she was still her partner. Her partner that would strive to help her wherever she possibly could, especially when it comes down to disestablishing the tyrant that ruined both of their lives.
And so, for the first time since their conversation began, Kit gives a small smile with a nod.
"Yes, I… I suppose you are right." She says contentedly. "I am sure that it is only a matter of time before the Emperor falls, and that we will be there to push him. Together."
"Together." Rivet affirms with a nod, bringing up her fist towards her.
And with a small smile, Kit returns the fist bump before they both turn back ahead, biding their time until they reach Sargasso, and each of them feeling equally anxious at the idea of reaching their destination.
Rivet was nervous about this entirely new idea of possibly meeting the Lombaxes after all these years, and she still didn't forget how Ratchet said Kaden almost definitely knew who she was—her true identity—and the way he looked at her back on Ardolis only confirmed it.
Kit, meanwhile, was just waiting to get out of this ship that felt more akin to a prison, confining her in a small space with her biggest regret, unable to escape.
It was going to be a long flight.
"And then they went and dragged us out of that cell and threw us onto that ship—right before they literally threw us off of that ship, too, as you saw." Kaden finishes, gesturing towards Ratchet. "And, well, you know the rest. You were there for that." He says with a smile.
"Man, you guys had one hell of a rough day." Ratchet comments with a chuckle, flying the stolen pirate scout ship with minimal effort, thanks to the autopilot—programmed to speak like a pirate whenever it did so, for some reason.
"That would be an understatement." Clank says with exasperation before looking back down at himself. "I am due for many repairs once we get back home, those Imperial forces damaged my systems quite badly in between their jammer and mishandling me."
"Assholes." Ratchet grumbles with malice.
"Now that's an understatement." Kaden says with a small chuckle. "I don't think I've seen a single one of their soldiers act close to being decent people—let alone to 'squishies' like me, apparently." He states with air quotes. "Who even says that, honestly?"
"Nefarious." Both Ratchet and Clank answer with tired irritation.
"I cannot believe there is a dimension where he is a ruler." Clank comments. "Quite frankly, I am far from fond of this dimension already."
"Oh, yeah, this dimension's Nefarious sucks. He doesn't scream like our Nefarious does, but he's just… Evil. A complete psycho, too." Ratchet says distastefully with a frown.
"Wait, what? How do you know that?" Clank questions, squinting at him.
"Oh, yeah, I met the guy. Twice, actually." He responds casually with a shrug. "Do not recommend, by the way."
"You what?" Both Clank and Kaden ask in surprise.
Ratchet chuckles at their reaction. "You're not the only ones who had a busy day today, you know."
"Yeah, no shit." Kaden responds with a roll of his eyes. "Well? How was it, I guess?"
"Filled with incredibly stupid and dangerous acts, I can guarantee." Clank answers pointedly yet smugly.
"Well, obviously." Kaden agrees.
"Hey!" Ratchet argues, looking between them both with an offended look.
"Am I wrong, Ratchet?" Clank asks, simply looking back at him with a smile.
Ratchet crosses his arms, staring right back at him with a frown as Kaden glances between the two.
"…No." Ratchet answers.
He then uncrosses his arms as Clank gives his signature chuckle, all the while Kaden merely gives an amused smirk, always enjoying seeing how close the two partners were by means of poking fun at each other—always a sight that harkened back to the good ol' days with Alister.
"Well, you being predictably reckless and dumb aside, what did you do this whole time?" He asks, leaning back into his seat, placing his hands behind his head.
Ratchet rolls his eyes at that little jab, but he begins anyway.
"Well… Right after you two called me and got kidnapped, Kit pointed me in the right direction after I started freaking out about where you guys went, or who kidnapped you, or where to start looking in this dimension." He explains, gesturing broadly around them before looking back to the both of them. "Erm, Kit being that little yellow robot that was with us earlier, Gary's assistant."
"I see. Continue." Clank says with a nod.
"Yeah, well, turns out that she used to work for Nefarious years ago before she realized how much of a monster she was, so she knew that you guys were being taken to his capitol after hearing he wanted to talk with you guys. And after some convincing, I managed to get her to come along with me to Nefarious City on Corson V as my little temporary partner until I could get you guys back. "
"'Nefarious City'?" Kaden repeats a little distastefully, raising his eyebrow.
"His headquarters is called 'Nefarious Tower', too." Ratchet says flatly.
"It seems narcissism extends even beyond dimensions for Nefarious." Clank says with a shake of his head.
Ratchet sucks in his teeth. "I don't know, I'd say this one takes the cake. I mean, while I was there, I saw at least a dozen giant golden statues of the guy—hell, four of them were in his office! It was just… Creepy, eugh." He says with a shiver, remembering how uncomfortable their inanimate gaze felt on him during his thankfully short time in that office.
"Wait, his office? You went inside his office?" Clank asks. "Of a galactic emperor? Just like that?"
"Basically. Kit still had access codes, we snuck right in." Ratchet says, gliding a hand forward for emphasis. "So, yeah, broke into his office, looked at his computer, saw that your guys' transport ship didn't make it because you two staged that breakout. So, having no idea where you guys could've gone, we were out of leads.
"That is, until we found… Rivet." He says with a small, warm smile, contentedness filling his voice as he stares ahead for a moment, remembering how it felt first seeing her picture appear on that terminal screen, feeling like a beacon of light in his apparent hopelessness.
Kaden and Clank, however, don't fail to notice the odd way he said her name, and exchange a quick, subtle glance to each other, recalling their conversation back on Ardolis concerning her and Ratchet… And the strangely close relationship they've developed over such a short time.
"Hm." Kaden hums indifferently, not betraying his thoughts. "So… I'm assuming you went to find this Rivet girl, then?" He asks casually.
"Oh, uh, yep!" Ratchet affirms with a nod, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "I mean, we kinda got caught by the Emperor himself on the way out, but, we pulled through easily enough. And after that, we headed to her apparent hangout spot according the file we pulled on her from his computer, some pub called Zurkie's. And when we got there, that's where I found her." He says, that same warmth befalling his tone once more—And with Clank and Kaden acutely aware how he said 'I' found her, and not 'we'.
"Found her?" Clank asks. "Found her… Doing what?"
"Fighting." He responds, wearing an unconscious smile. "You should've seen it—which, actually, I guess you have when we busted out of Ardolis, but—it was crazy. They had this big ol' battle arena there, and she was just tearing stuff up. Shooting, smashing, punching, dodging, running, flipping, and it was all so effortless, too! IT was like she was water—water that packed one hell of a punch. She was smiling and laughing, too, trash talking back at their announcer, you could see that she was just thrilled by all of it, just like how I get when I fight. It was just so cool."
"Yeah… I'm sure it was cool seeing her like that." Kaden replies, unable to crack a smirk as he glances back at Clank in the backseat, of whom rolls his optics before looking over to Ratchet.
"Well, her obvious combat prowess aside, what else happened?" He asks.
"Oh, uh… We talked." He says with a shrug and small smile. "A little bit back at Zurkie's there, and a bit more on the flight to her home on Sargasso, and a little bit more in her hideout."
"That sounds like… Quite a bit of talking." Clank responds.
Ratchet chuckles. "I guess it was, but it was nice! She's a really fun person!"
"I'm sure she is." Kaden says with a chuckle, still smirking. "So… What'd you two talk about then?"
Ratchet lets out a breath. "Well… At first, it was just the basic rundown of my situation with her. You know, new to this dimension, came from the Lombaxes, you two getting kidnapped, and how I thought she could help me out somehow. Then, after that, she asked me a bit about the Lombaxes, because as it turns out, she's just like me: Grew up her whole life thinking the was the only one until I happened to stumble into her."
He then turns to look back at Kaden. "And it just felt like… A connection. You know? Like, we perfectly understood each other, even from completely separate dimensions, living the same life, knowing exactly how it feels to be the last Lombax—and a Lombax that tries to do the best they can to make a galaxy a better place. She was a hero, just like me, even if she didn't really think so." He states with a warm smile, looking back ahead.
"A… Connection, huh?" Kaden repeats curiously, already having a strong hunch for another word for this connection that happened to also start with the letter 'C'.
"Yeah. Even when we just looked at each other. There was just this… This thing between us, you know?"
"Oh, I know, alright." He says with a chuckle, getting major déjà vu from how he felt when he first met Marie just listening to Ratchet.
"Yeah!" Ratchet says happily, still oblivious to Kaden's insinuation. "And then when we got to Sargasso, I met her parents—a lot of them. She was literally raised by a small town of little furry Gelatonium workers, all of them named Mort, all of them obsessed with lemons for some reason, but—off topic." He says, waving a hand.
Kaden whistles. "Wow, met the parents already?" He asks with surprise.
"Kaden." Clank says simply, keenly aware of the game he was playing.
"I… Erm, yeah?" Ratchet says confusedly, furrowing his brows. "Why's that surprising? We literally had to go through them to get to her hideout. And, she met my parent, too, so I really don't get how it's weird?" He says, gesturing to Kaden.
"Oh yeah, I guess she did, huh?" He says, placing a hand on his chin before shrugging. "Guess you guys got that sorted out, then." He adds, smiling once again before reclining back in his chair.
"I… Guess we did?" Ratchet says uncertainly, glancing around before shaking his head. "Well, whatever, she used her equipment she got in her hideout to hack into the Empire's communications to try and track down the ship you guys escaped with. And while we were waiting for that, she showed us around her place, and she showed me a bunch of her old prosthetic prototypes, too! It was so cool seeing how inventive she is, being able to make those things out of nothing but scrap, and from scratch!"
"That does sound impressive." Clank comments thoughtfully. "It looked sophisticated from what we have seen of it."
"Right?" Ratchet says, looking back at him with a smile. "Even her ship is super modified! I spent a whole five minutes looking all over it before we left Zurkie's!"
"I see." Kaden replies casually. "Sounds like you two got a lot in common in the whole 'inventive mechanics' department, huh?"
"I guess we do, yeah!" Ratchet says with a chuckle. "But then, anyway, after we found you, all of a sudden, Nefarious' goons showed up, snatched me out of her hideout and tried to lock me up like they did you guys, but I got out of there easily enough—what with them forgetting to confiscated my Arsenal. Or even close my cell." He says with an amused shrug.
"Sure, you're lucky enough to have you kidnapping from this Empire be that pleasant." Kaden mutters with a roll of his eyes.
"I mean, I still had to fight an entire outpost of them, dad. By myself." Ratchet points out, raising his eyebrows.
"Still."
"You're just jealous of my skills." He says with snicker, prompting another roll of Kaden's eyes before Ratchet continues. "But then, Rivet and Kit came in to finish the last of them with me, made sure the rest of Sargasso and the Morts were safe enough for us to track you guys down, and then that Pierre Le Fer guy came in saying he had you two. So, we followed him to Ardolis to get you guys, have Rivet pretend to be his girlfriend to get close enough to break you out, and you know the rest." He says with a shrug. "So… Yeah. That was my day."
"Sounds like a busy day." Kaden says with a chuckle.
"Eh, I've had busier. Right, Clank?"
"Unfortunately so." He replies with a nod.
"Well… Knowing all of that," Kaden speaks up, "Do you happen to have a plan for when we get to Savali, seeing how you told her to meet us there?"
"Yeah; We get back to the Archives, grab the Dimensionator—and the rest of the stuff we came here for in the first place, too, obviously—then we get back home. With Rivet." He answers with a smile, right before it falters for a moment upon realizing something, raising his finger. "Erm, Kit, too! Of course!"
"Hmm…" Kaden hums, placing a hand on his chin, remaining silent for a few seconds before he shrugs. "Well, sorry, Ratchet, but we can't bring her home with us. She'll have to stay here, and you probably won't see her again." He says matter-of-factly.
"Kaden?" Clank asks in surprise.
"Wait, what?!" Ratchet asks with extreme shock, looking back at wide eyes. "No! Why the hell wouldn't we, dad?! I promised her, I can't just leave her here after everything I told her about the Lombaxes and visiting my dimension and—"
Before he can finish, Kaden erupts into laughter, making Ratchet stare at him in bewilderment as Clank does the same, albeit with some tiredness, having learned today how much Kaden likes to joke around.
"Your face!" Kaden says, wiping a tear from his eye.
"Wha… Was that a joke?" Ratchet asks irritably.
"Yep!" He says with a grin, looking back at him. "Just wanted to see how you'd react if I said you'd have to leave her behind. And it looks like I got the reaction I was expecting!"
"I—Wait… what? What do you mean expecting?" Ratchet questions, raising his eyebrow. "What reaction?"
"Before I answer that… Tell me more about what you meant just now about having her visit your dimension." Kaden counters, raising his own eyebrow with a smirk. "Did you really promise her a trip to your home?"
"I… Erm… Well, not my home home like on Veldin, but… Yeah?" He responds with a shrug, still wearing an odd look.
"Promising her to visit and meet the Lombaxes as a fellow Lombax who grew up without them like you, I can understand. Hell, I was planning the same thing, even." Kaden explains before pointing over to Ratchet. "But inviting her to a completely different dimension, to your home? Someone you've only known for a couple hours? Seems a little odd, doesn't it?" He asks knowingly.
"That does sound somewhat interesting, now that you mention it, yes." Clank adds, placing a hand on his chin while looking over to Ratchet.
"I—How is that weird? I mean, she said yes to it, at least!" Ratchet argues, feeling strangely defensive for this unexpected line of questioning on what he though was an innocuous thing.
"Oh, now this is even more interesting, isn't it?" Kaden responds with a smirk, looking back to Clank, placing a hand on his chin as well. "She said yes."
"Indeed." Clank answers with a nod.
Ratchet squints as he glances between the two, finally understanding that there was something going on that they knew with him being completely unaware of.
"Why are you guys talking like that? What's interesting?" He questions incredulously, pointing between them. "Is there something I don't know?"
"Seems like it." Kaden says amusedly before he glances back to Clank again. "You wanna say it, or do I?"
"I have said it twice before already. You can have the honors." He affirms with a nod, gesturing to Kaden.
"Said what before?" Ratchet asks.
Instead of answering, he suddenly feels a hand on his shoulder, and looks back to Kaden in surprise, seeing him stare back with a goofy smile, looking right into Ratchet's eyes.
"Ratchet." He states. "You have a crush on Rivet. You're into her. Big time."
Ratchet's eyes widen as his jaw drops, Clank slowly nodding in agreement from the backseat.
"What?! I… That's not… I don't… I don't have a crush on her, dad!" He says frantically, snapping out of his disbelief as he crosses his arms, trying to put on an expression of resolve instead of shock—to little success.
"Uh huh. Sure you don't." Kaden says with a roll of his eyes. "You only just ranted about how she's such an amazing person that you think is really cool, has so much in common with you, and that it sounded like you spent most of your time just talking with her, and how you sounded totally infatuated with her when talking about how she fights." He answers pointedly, raising a finger on his hand for every argument.
Ratchet remains silent, arms still crossed as he stares at Kaden with a frown, the latter of whom simply grins back.
"I—"
"And the fact that you for some reason invited her over to your dimension despite there being no logical reason for her to do so if you can both just hang out in the Lombaxes' dimension." Kaden cuts him off.
Another silence, filled with staring.
"She—"
"And the fact that you said, in your own words, that you felt a connection to her the instant you met—which is exactly how I would describe what it felt like meeting your mom." Kaden says smugly.
"That's—"
"AND the fact that I saw the way you looked at each other as we were leaving Ardolis, Ratchet, and as someone who was married for years, I know that's the look of someone who is totally into the other person!"
"It was nearly identical to the way you once stared at Sasha and Talwyn as well, Ratchet." Clank pointedly adds, raising a finger.
"Shut up, we weren't talking to you!" Ratchet says crossly, pointing at Ratchet as Kaden begins to laugh, of whom Ratchet then points a finger at, still wearing a frown. "And you shut up! None of that means that I have a crush on her, dad! I just happen to think that she can be a really good friend, and that's it! Got it?! First was the Morts telling us that we were dating, and now you?!"
"Oh, so even her parents agree with me!" Kaden says, still laughing before lightly punching Ratchet's arm. "Why are you so worried about this then, Ratchet? You got their blessing! I remember it took a few weeks for Marie's parents to warm up to me, but you've got a free pass from the get-go!"
"I don't have a free pass for anything, because NOTHING'S happening between us except having us help each other with our current situation right now!" Ratchet says, slicing both his hands down in emphasis. "At this rate, maybe I should've left you with those pirates after all if you were going to act like this! She is just a FRIEND, dad!"
"Sure, just keep telling yourself that, Ratchet." Kaden says, still grinning as he rolls his eyes. "But once she turns into your girlfriend once you snap out of your denial because of the crush you absolutely have for her, then I get to say 'I told you so'!"
"Oh, so you think just because of the way we may or may not have looked at each other means that we are for some reason totally into each other, dad? When it was strictly platonic?" Ratchet questions, crossing his arms.
"When you made goo-goo eyes like that, then one hundred percent!" Kaden says with a nod.
"Hm." Ratchet hums simply, staring into his eyes. "Then if that's the case, then why the hell do you insist that you don't have a crush on Chief Wells back home after I called out the way you looked at her over that one dinner, hmm?" He questions, a smirk crossing his lips.
Any snickers from Kaden immediately dies down as the grin falls off his face, making Ratchet smile even wider as Kaden points to him.
"Hey." Kaden says with sudden seriousness. "That is completely different, Ratchet! Like I told you, mature adults like us don't get crushes, and that whole dinner was a completely platonic rendezvous for me to apologize for all the havoc you've caused her when you showed up in our dimension!"
"Mmhmm." Ratchet replies innocently, nodding. "Then what was up with that second dinner you took her to? The one to the fancy restaurant?"
"That was also completely platonic, because she was having a hard day and I thought she could use a little reward for how hard she works in making the City Guard a better place!" He argues, crossing his own arms with a frown.
"Dad, you seriously haven't taken me to one of those fancy restaurants back home, but you take the lady that's thrown your own son in jail? Twice?" Ratchet argues in an accusatory fashion, raising his eyebrow. "How is that not a crush?"
Kaden scoffs. "You almost puked drinking Citricerbic juice when I had you try it, Ratchet! You don't have the palate for high-end Lombax cuisine, and that's why I haven't brought you to one of those fancy places!"
"And why did you bring her to a fancy place then, huh? I mean, dropping all those bolts for someone who's 'just a friend' where your relationship is 'purely professional'?" He says with air quotes, smiling as he does so.
"I get a discount as a Councilman there!" Kaden defends himself.
"Or the fact that she let you be on first-name basis with her? I mean, I literally have yet to see anyone call her 'Alice' like you do!" He counters—albeit straining a bit at saying her name like that, still uncomfortable at the idea of the lady who nearly choked him out having that name, and hearing his dad actually use it.
"Because she calls me 'Kaden' instead of 'Councilman!'" Kaden argues, thumbing to himself.
"Or how at that dinner at our place, you kept stuttering and acted nervous while telling her how good she looked? I mean, 'wow, your body looks so fit, Alice! You have such a pretty outfit, Alice!''" Ratchet mimics Kaden, still straining a bit on using her name instead of 'Wells' or simply 'her'.
"T-Those were mere compliments, Ratchet! And she said the same thing to me! It's basic etiquette!" He defends himself. "And I was just stuttery and stuff because my mind was frazzled from cooking that big dinner and standing in the heat between the sun and stove all day! That's all!"
"Or the way you sounded really interested when I told you about how she told me she actually likes hanging out with you and thinks you're funny and stuff? Like, weirdly interested for someone who says he doesn't have a crush on her?"
"That's… That's just because I was just merely surprised that she was that open with you, is all!" He says after a very brief pause, crossing his arms as he looks away in a haughty manner. "It absolutely does not mean anything!"
"Oh, but I thought you said that something as little and dumb as me and Rivet looking at each other for a few seconds means that we are totally into each other, what do you mean that you taking some monster out to dinner twice and being on a first-name basis with her when she tazes her own men for breathing wrong means nothing, huh?" Ratchet argues.
"You literally just admitted that you and Rivet felt a 'connection!'" Kaden rebuttals, pointing back at him. "How does that not sound like a crush, Ratchet?!"
"And you literally flirted with Wells while inviting her to dinner at our house and made goo-goo eyes at each other right in front of me!" Ratchet counters, pointing right back. "How does that not sound like a crush, dad?!"
"Because it isn't!"
"Well, neither is mine!"
"I am going to shove it in your face so hard once you and Rivet get together, you won't believe it, because whatever's between you two is not platonic at all!" Kaden states with finality, crossing his arms.
"And once you and that grumpy hardass hook up, I'll shove it in your face so hard since whatever's between you two isn't platonic, either!" Ratchet responds in a similar tone, crossing his own arms as well. "After the trauma of you choosing her of all people passes of course—but still!"
"Not a chance." Kaden replies, staring at him.
"Ditto." Ratchet returns, staring back as well.
And as they stare at each other with steadfast expressions, laying their feet down that their own respective relationships are absolutely, one hundred percent platonic with no undertones whatsoever, a tense silence befalls the ship as the seconds tick on, neither of them moving or breaking their stares, waiting for the other to crack.
However, their standoff is interrupted as Clank loudly groans in the backseat, shaking his head, prompting both of their attention to look back at him.
"Idiots, the both of you." He says tiredly before he picks his head up, glancing between them with a flat expression. "It is a miracle that either of you managed to attain a previous partner if you are both this hopeless when it comes to romance."
"Shut up, Clank." Both Ratchet and Kaden respond in unison, rolling their eyes with a frown as they turn back ahead, Ratchet regaining the steering controls while Kaden lounges back into his seat.
"Like father, like son." Clank mutters with a roll of his optics, but wearing a slight smirk as he does so, internally wishing them both luck on their respective attractions—even if they both adamantly deny the existence of their plainly obvious crushes that they both frankly need to accept they most definitely have.
I admit this is probably one of my favorite chapters I've written so far, lol, and I'm glad I was able to write a bit more of Chief Wells after so long—even if it was technically just a small cameo, lol.
Also, if you're confused about the whole dinner with her Ratchet's talking about, check out my other story, 'Times Like These', where you can read it for yourself!
Until next time!