Sigmund deserved a chapter...he's adorable in a neurotic, enthusiastic sort of way...
All things considered, Sigmund was pretty darn happy…and unnervingly calm, too, never mind the questions that contradiction inspired.
For a short spell, he hadn't been alone with the Zoni, anymore! That was over now, of course, but it sure had been cool while it lasted! He'd made a great new friend, been involved in some actual adventure, and he knew people on the outside, now, too! Was that incredible or what?!
Granted, it had been absolutely terrifying when that lombax had started tearing the place up…and the hypersonic brainwave scrambler had been a pain in the assembly-line, too…but he was glad that the monotony he'd been living in for the past few thousand years had been broken. How ironic was that? He lived in a clock, and he had absolutely no idea how long he'd been doing so.
But he had new responsibilities now, being senior caretaker and all. Yeah, that was right: Senior. Care. Taker. He actually got to use the Chronoscepter, not just look at it!
Vaguely, he pondered his own theme music, but was interrupted by one of the Zoni zooming past, dangerously close to his face. Half-heartedly, Sigmund shook one fist in its general direction, but was simply too cheerful to let it get him down. They'd been bizarrely active, lately, babbling on excitedly about how they had gotten to play in the outside world.
Once upon a time, (well, 'once upon an hour', really) Sigmund had wondered if they realized that they'd only upgraded a ship, and then waited around in a containment device until they could be brought home. When he asked about it, though, one being had cackled merrily and stated that it had gotten to play tag, and another had claimed that it had been involved in a game of hide-and-seek. Oddly, all those Zoni present at that time had stared blankly at one another for a nanosecond, then giddily cried "Wheee!" and zipped away, as though expecting Sigmund to follow them on a wild sandmouse hunt.
He suspected that it was the lombax's fault.
The smaller, more well-mannered one, that was; not the insane 'I-think-I'll-go-on-a-rampage-and-rip-time-into-tiny-shreds' one. Oh, right…Clank had called him 'Ratchet', hadn't he? It was an odd name for a lombax, really…but he'd sure been helpful, lending a hand in fixing up what the other had smashed, diced, blasted or otherwise ruined. Of course, Sigmund didn't know him well at all, but he could see why Clank would want to keep traveling with the organic being… he seemed nice enough, at least, and definitely entertaining. Not to mention that he'd tried to help Orvus… there was very little that could compete with that, in Sigmund's mind.
He was sad that the Clock's creator was gone…but to say that he hadn't assumed so would be a lie. Surely, Orvus would have returned home, were he able to. It still hurt, though; knowing that leader of the Zoni would never rant about the Clock's purpose or tell his favorite jokes again.
In a way, Clank had helped fill that void. There was no doubt that he was Orvus's successor; they were just so similar! The sense of humor, the intellect, the laugh… For a while, Sigmund had forgotten that the smaller robot hadn't been there all of his existence. Clank had inspired Sigmund in a way that he couldn't fully describe; he was filling the role of senior caretaker now, after all, something that he hadn't even dreamed of in the past. Thanks to the other mech, he'd gained a sense of self-worth and five kilocubits of confidence. Sigmund knew that he'd always be grateful for that.
But…he was alone again, now, with two-hundred-and-forty-one Zoni (forty of which were buzzing about broadcasting messages like "Tag! You are it!" or "Ready or not, I am coming for you!") and one smart-aleck computer.
…Maybe it would be okay to open a window into history? Just a window to view, not a portal to interfere… A hint of his former nervous disposition returning, he glanced around warily, then went back into the orientation room... Maybe, if he was lucky, he could find something about Clank's past…
Images briefly flickered over the monitor mounted on the wall, before one caught Sigmund's fancy…
"Wow, the complete Secret Agent Clank holovid collection…This guy's your biggest fan!"
"That is rather…disturbing…"
…Secret Agent Clank? Awesome!
