Reflection - Chapter 3
09 September 2018 - tweaked it a bit, but not loads. Sometimes short but sweet is nice.
Solana Galaxy, present day.
The ship ride was quiet. Ratchet couldn't remember the last time he had done a large journey like this without Clank in the passenger seat beside him. The last time a ship ride had been this quiet was when the duo flew to Batalia after defeating Qwark's Snagglebeast three years previously. Ratchet had been absolutely furious at the robot's well-meaning naivety, and spent the next few journeys silently fuming, refusing to speak to him while he flew. Ratchet scowled at the thought of his old arrogant nature. Clank didn't deserve that treatment. The first adventure would have been something Ratchet could have been completely proud of. Telling Angela about Drek's defeat made him feel physically sick. He resented his 17-year-old self.
And he missed Angela. He missed her so much, his throat tightened and his chest ached. He missed her surprise visits after she finished her day's work at MegaCorp. Instead of returning to her home in the Tundor Wastes, she would pop into his and Clank's apartment, sometimes staying the night if it would be too late, and too dangerous, to return to Grelbin. He missed those nights, where she would rest her head on Ratchet's furry chest, and they would spend hours talking, instead of sleeping, about anything and everything: Angela's day, funny anecdotes, the meaning of life, their future.
They talked a lot about their future. Not the future of the Lombax race, as they both knew they were beyond preservation, but about their lives. Despite being together for a little under a year, they'd talked about where they would live, what they would do for a living, the possibility of marriage. They discussed it between them, and they both preferred having a small, quiet service. Given Ratchet's near-celebrity status, there was a high chance that his wedding would be a highly publicised event. Yes, they definitely wanted something private, a sweet moment they would share between them, and some close friends. They talked a lot about what kind of service they would have, and where they would have it. They talked about everything, thought everything through.
And that included children. They could both imagine it; three little fuzzballs running around their home, tinkering with various devices, showing Daddy what they had made, while Mommy, who worked as a 'creature scientist' at MegaCorp, showed them how to fix them correctly. They'd even discussed names, which ones they liked, which ones they didn't. They both knew that, no matter what, their kids would have parents who would be there for them. They would have the childhood their parents never had. It would be perfect.
Even though it would have been a bit early to ask her to marry him, he had even started planning the proposal, rehearsing how he would say "Angela, will you marry me"...
The ship's communication device beeped, startling the Lombax out of his daydreaming.
Ratchet answered and saw Clank rounded face appear on the feed.
"Ratchet," the little robot said, with a hint of anger in his voice. "What are you doing? You left during my hibernation period without letting me know where you are going."
"I couldn't sleep," the lombax replied sheepishly, "so I decided to have a quick fly around the galaxy."
The robot continued scowling, not believing his organic companion. "I do not recall flying as a method of aiding sleep deprivation in Lombaxes," he started, attempting to highlight the obvious lie in Ratchet's reasoning, "so I highly doubt-"
"It's... Angela..." Ratchet interrupted, knowing he wasn't going to be able to fool Clank. That robot was too perceptive for his own good. That, or he was persistent in pointing out contradictions contained within one's story. "I... couldn't stop thinking about Angela. Right now, everything seems to be a reminder of her, and I can't take it," he continued, his voice cracking slightly. The robot's expression quickly softened.
"You are not going to see her, are you?" he cautiously asked.
"Yeah pal, I am," Ratchet replied with a deep sigh.
"But she is in the Bogan Galaxy."
"I know."
"And you remember how things ended," the robot reminded Ratchet, in an attempt to disuade his friend from pressing on with his journey. He didn't want him to get hurt.
The Lombax froze. "I didn't end them, I left them."
Clank's Apartment, Megapolis, Bogan Galaxy, one year ago.
"Stay tuned for more Secret Agent Clank," said the deep male voice from the HoloVision screen.
Ratchet was disgruntled. He despised filming the stupid show. The final edit of every episode always made him look like an idiot, and he wondered how much more humiliation he could physically take.
"That was terrific!" Clank said enthusiastically.
"Yeah, great," Ratchet said curtly, unimpressed. "Change the channel."
"But the man said stay tuned," Clank protested with a small, uncertain shrug.
Ratchet, who was already in a foul mood from his companion's show, snatched up the remote and changed to a different channel. When he saw what was being broadcast on the news, his jaw dropped; a live report from Veldin. But this was no ordinary report, as plasma shots were darting across the screen, an explosion was heard nearby, and the news anchor, Darla Gratch, was slowly being swarmed by bipedal, tentacle-eyed creatures wielding blasters.
Ratchet felt a mixture of fury and disbelief rise within him. He knew what he had to do. He leapt off the sofa.
"We're going home," he growled.
An hour later.
After finally fitting the gravimetric warp drive to his ship, Ratchet was prepared to go, until a stray thought hit him like a weight suddenly dropping on him.
Angela! I have to go to Solana now, but if I don't come back, it'll crush her.
He knew what he had to do. He dashed back inside Clank's apartment and retrieved a pen and some paper. After a deep sigh, he began writing. He wondered how long it would take before he would stop hating himself for this. Years, probably.
Later that evening.
Angela was exhausted. It was absolute chaos at the labs today, and she was in a foul mood. The new employee, a young man barely out of his teens, damaged an incredibly important, and incredibly delicate piece of equipment. Angela had been waiting months to spend time with it, having booked a slot six months ago. She was supposed to use it today. And now, her work was going to be held up, and she knew she was going to get into a lot of trouble with her supervisor, a grumpy, grey, and unreasonable woman in her 50s.
She felt the need to blow of some steam. She knew she needed a workout, a hot drink, and her man. Ratchet always knew how to cheer her up, no matter how angry or upset she was. She felt a smile creep over her face. The thought of Ratchet cheering her up cheered her up.
As she walked up to the door of Clank's apartment, she noticed that it was dark inside.
"Weird," she murmured to herself, "they're always in at this time." Before leaving work, she had called ahead to let Ratchet know she was coming over. Except there was no answer, so she left a message instead. Seeing the darkened apartment made her feel uneasy inside. Then she noticed Ratchet's ship wasn't in its spot.
Where could they have gone?
She opened the door and let herself into the apartment. She reached over for the light switch, and watched the room illuminate. She looked around, and was relieved to find the place fully furnished. There was even a Galactic Chess board on the coffee table. She saw a Blargian Snagglebeast piece in checkmate, and knew Ratchet had been beaten by Clank, yet again.
At least they haven't been evicted!
Then she saw the paper beside the chess board. A small, folded piece of paper with 'Angela' written across it sat on the table. It sparked her curiosity. She walked over to the coffee table, but stumbled slightly as she tripped on her foot. She looked at the note for a moment before hesitantly scooping it up. She examined the writing. It was Ratchet's scrappy handwriting. She unfolded the note and began to read. Written inside were four words:
It's over. I'm sorry.
Suddenly, Angela felt her life come crumbling around her. Their plans, their home, their future children, destroyed by two sentences. Not verbal sentences, sentences in a stupid letter, which now lay in pieces at Angela's feet, like her heart. But tearing it up was of no use: Ratchet's handwriting was burned into her vision. When she closed her eyes, she could see the writing clearly, as if etched on the back of her eyelids. She collapsed on the sofa, and began to cry, hot tears filling her eyes, her sobs echoing in the empty apartment.
How could he do this to her? Not only had he stomped on her heart, he had done it in the most cowardly and cruel way possible. She never dwelled on the possibility of Ratchet breaking up with her, but Angela always expected him to show her some respect and do it in person. The more she thought about it, the more it pained her.
She was angry, but she didn't hate him. The fact that she loved him made this hurt all the more. She wiped her eyes, picked up the HoloVision remote from the table, and turned it on. The news came on, and she sat there, absent-mindedly watching the weather report, with Ratchet and his note in the back of her mind, the words replaying in her mind again and again.
It's over. I'm sorry. It's over. I'm sorry. It's over. I'm sorry.
Then it switched to a live report from Veldin. Angela sat up and watched as the Galactic Rangers were being thrashed by strange, creepy-looking, tentacle-eyed creatures, which the report referred to them as 'Tyhrrannoids'.
Then it all made sense. Ratchet and Clank had gone to Veldin. Ratchet broke off their relationship so Angela wouldn't be destroyed if something happened to him, but didn't have the time to wait until she returned from work. After all, who knew how much damage the Tyhrrannoids were capable of dealing in a short space of time? And if they did pull through? She recalled how the boys' new-found celebrity status in Bogon caused them to get sucked into staying. Chances are the same thing would happen again in Solana.
And if they didn't? Their picture would be all over the news for a week and then they would fade into obscurity.
She then realised that the possibility of her never seeing Ratchet again was very real. Angela started crying again, sat alone in the empty apartment. She didn't even get to say goodbye.
