Ratchet

Chapter Two- Dinner Friday at eight

I really had to think about what Clank was saying. I mean, I liked Talwyn, but as a friend. Nothing more and nothing less.

The drive to my favorite food cart meant cutting across metropolis traffic and a mile long walk in a park. It was a beautiful park, winding pathways, housing massive trees that stretched into the sky, like everything else on metropolis. When I got my food, I realized I wasn't wearing my gloves. Or shoes. I really was in a rush.

As I sat there on the bench, relaxing, I heard a soft voice, "So! You must be homeless now, Ratchet."

I looked up. In front of me, was Talwyn. I didn't know it was her at first. She wasn't wearing any armor. She had a pair of gloves on, but other than that it was her usual outfit she wore in a fight. She had her hand on her hips. It had never crossed my mind once before, but I now noticed just now nice her…never mind. I mean I was never good at math, but her parabolas looked pretty nice too. How bout I stop?

"Almost didn't recognize you, Ratchet. I've never seen you show that much skin."

I covered myself with my hands jokingly. She chuckled. We walked around the park for a little bit, talking about rising prices, unemployment. Turns out Tal was in Metropolis looking for a job. I offered her something at the auto shop, but she wasn't interested. Cronk and Zephyr were still at the space station arguing about age. I hate to admit it, but I had considered asking out Talwyn before. But now that Clank supported the idea, it was growing in my mind. Talwyn didn't mention anything about the Lombaxes or her Dad, so I left the subject untouched. When we got to the overlook of downtown, we stopped walking. Talwyn was amazed at how vast Metropolis was. That's when I snapped. The way Talwyn stood there with her hands on the rail, her hair blowing in the breeze, I lost it. It had to come out.

"Um, Tal, can I ask you something?"

As I leaned against the rail, she turned. Her eyes shone in the setting sun. That was the last straw. I was going to ask her.

"Yes, Ratchet?"

"What are you doing this Friday?"

"I don't know. Sleeping. Job searching. Why?"

I swallowed my fear, "I wanted to take you to the Green Kerwanian Café."

Talwyn crossed her arms. "Really?" She rolled her eyes, "Who do you think you are Ratchet? I haven't seen you for over two years and all you want to do is take me to a fancy restaurant?"

I slouched, "Well, at least I tried." I turned to the path that led to my car.

Talwyn laughed, "Ratchet, let me finish."

"Why? You've already rejected me."

"Who said I rejected you."

"Um, you did! Like, just now!"

"Well, Ratchet, I like, would totally like, to like, go with you because it sounds like, so nice!"

I didn't know what she said for a second. At long last she grabbed my hands and looked me in the face, "Ratchet, I would love to go with you, okay? I want to get to know you better! You're such a sweet guy!"

If I could blush then I probably would be.

Talwyn brushed her hair behind her ear. "Sorry if I made you think I was gonna say no." She chuckled, "Pick me up Friday at eight, okay?"

I was dazed. I could barely say, "Yes, Tal."

"Alright! See you then!"

She squeezed my hand harder and kissed me on my cheek. I could have melted into her arms right then, but she took off. I barely remember walking back to my car and talking to Clank and Lilia when I got home.

Clank, with worry in the undertone of his voice, asked me, "What happened, Ratchet?"

I came back to reality, and smiled, "I've got a date with Talwyn Apogee."

I found myself saying that for hours. Getting ready for bed, "I've got a date with Talwyn Apogee!". Waking up, "I've got a date with Talwyn Apogee!". Cooking my meals, even working on my client's spacecraft, I found myself completely engrossed in the matter. Thursday night I couldn't sleep. I decided to take Friday off. I wanted to look nice for Tal, but I didn't want it to seem like I wanted to look nice. Unfortunately, the only thing I had acceptable for the Green Kerwanian was the tuxedo from the early days when I was Clank's Chauffer.

When it was time to drive to the restaurant, I decided to drop Clank off at his house. He and Lilia lived in a condo a few blocks from the auto shop. I frequently chastised him for it.

"C'mon Clank, why'd you have to abandon your best friend?" I joked en route.

Clank thought for a second, "Well, Ratchet, I figure it's time for a real talk now?"

I didn't know what he meant. "What do you mean by that, buddy?"

"I mean, you're 28 years old now. You need to stop being this spontaneous bachelor, or you will experience unhappiness for the rest of your existence. You and I are still companions, but that is because we have been through so much. This is why I suggested going on the date with Ms. Apogee. You and she have experienced a lot together. I don't mean to infuriate you, Ratchet, but it's time for you to start thinking about the future. Beyond the now. That's what the rest of us have to do."

I thought for a while, driving through the usual metropolis traffic. I finally replied, "I, uh. But, Talwyn and I are too chill to get serious. We're like, close friends, you know?"

Clank laughed, "Eh-he-he-he-he-he. This is what I mean. Start looking at things a little differently. Stop looking at the world with your glasses blurred."

"I don't wear glasses, though!"

"Oh dear." He sighed.

I dropped him off at his house. I didn't think much about what he said. I was more concerned about how Tal was dressed. I pulled up by the address she gave me. She lived in downtown, but still a ways away from the restaurant.

I knocked on her door and hit the call buzzer, "Talwyn, it's Ratchet. Can you let me in?"

It took a couple seconds for a reply to get through, "Yea, Ratchet. I'll be down in a second."

I opened her door. This was frightening. I hadn't been on a date in years. Her apartment was nicely decorated. Usual layout, almost like the suite I had in the Bogon Galaxy. There were accents of pink everywhere, pink vases, glass tables, and a rouge spiral staircase leading to the upstairs. I waited in the foyer. Then, I heard her call out, "Ratchet, I'm ready."

I checked my watch and turned around, "Alright, Tal! We have to move though; our reservation is in five minutes! Move you're a…ah…wow! You look…Amazing!"

"Aw, thanks!" She smiled. She fixed her earrings coming down her stairs.

"Hey, Ratchet, can you zip up my dress for me?"

"Wha..." I thought my knees were going to shatter.

She was wearing some designer strapless thing with all these sequins and jewels on the surface of the dress, and did I mention how tight it was? I felt kind of strange zipping her up. It's a little too intimate for a Lombax like me. Plus, "President" Qwark had failed to repeal a bill making interspecies relationships frowned upon. We were gonna get some fire for dating, especially here in Metropolis.

The drive to the restaurant was bleak; Talwyn and I talked mostly about the economy and the job crisis. Once we got to the top of the restaurant, though, it got more interesting. Getting an entire 360 degree view of Metropolis 5000 feet above the other buildings is something else. The host sat us right at a window seat.

"Would you like to order anything to drink?" He asked.

Talwyn ordered, "I would like, um, your biggest, cheapest, strongest drink."

I laughed, "Really, Tal? I'll have a scotch on the…wait, no. I'm sorry; I haven't done this in a while. We'll take a chilled bottle of your finest Markazian Chardonnay and two glasses."

"Alright, thank you. We'll bring it right up. What is your name, so I can streamline the order?"

"Put it under Ratchet."

"Any surname at all?" The host arched an eyebrow.

"No. Just Ratchet."

He rolled his eyes, "Okay, coming up then."

Talwyn laughed, "What do you mean you haven't done this in a while?"

I chuckled, "Last real date I went on I went on a couple months before I met clank, so I was about nineteen, so about nine years ago."

Talwyn giggled, "You must not have a good track record then with the ladies, no?"

"I actually have a pretty awesome track record. I usually can't get em to leave me alone."

The waiter brought our drinks right then. Talwyn took the first sip, and then said, "If you want them to leave you alone, then you must not want anything long term."

I tasted the wine myself. It was really good. "Not really. I've always been a bachelor. It's a part of me, you know?"

Talwyn sighed, "I guess. I know how you feel." She swirled the wine in her glass a little bit. "How come this tastes so good?"

"Ancient Lombax recipe."

"What? But, Lombaxes and Markazians were eons apart!"

I replied, "Not really. They were in contact for a little bit before the whole dimension thing. Lombaxes and Markazians were actually evolving side by side pretty much."

Talwyn gasped, "Wow, that's so amazing! How do you know this?"

I laughed, "It's in my genes."

She giggled. After a few seconds, she seemed a little concerned, "How come they haven't given us menus or anything?"

"Well, it's one of those restaurants where they only give you the five courses they serve every night. The food is too good to complain about, though."

Talwyn seemed a little confused, "Oh. Have you eaten here before?"

"Yeah, for Clank's engagement party."

"Oh. He got married?"

"Yup. He and his wife are already expecting kids."

"Aw, that's so cute!"

We talked for a little bit about our previous relationships. I wasn't paying attention to what she was saying, the way she looked, just oozed glamour. The simplicity of her dress, her hair, and those big Markazian eyes; plus, her smile always makes me feel a little happier every time I make her laugh.

Then I heard the biggest skater accent, "Dude, Ratchet! I ain't seen you in years! What's up? Saving the universe again I suppose?"

"Yeah, I suppose. By the way, this is Talwyn. Tal, this is Skidd, he and I worked together for a while."

She shook his hand and smiled, "So nice to meet you."

Skidd chuckled, "So, are you guys like, married or something?"

I yelled, "Oh, no!"

Tal rolled her eyes.

Skidd apologized, "So sorry. You, like know about the menu, right?"

"Yeah Skidd, we do."

"I was just wondering, because, this is, like my restaurant, you know."

Tal and I were shocked, "Really?"

"Yeah, other than hover boarding, food is my passion. That and stocking up."

"Stocking up for what?" I asked.

"Apocalypse 3.0 man. Solana galaxy is done for this time."

Tal tried to calm Skidd down, "Skidd, it's fine; you probably had just a little too much to smoke, and…"

Skidd shouted, "Hey, I've been sober for ten minutes! But seriously, Galaxy after galaxy is falling to some new army of the damned! Remember in history class hearing about the Milky way and Andromeda galaxies colliding 2 million years ago?"

Tal replied, "Yea. So?" I had no idea what was going on.

Skidd went on, "You see, the remnants of those galaxies drifted into the Talarian abyss at the edge of the universe. Ever since then, galaxy after galaxy has fallen with the point of origin at the Talarian abyss! And we're next in line!"

I asked Skidd, "So, other than that, why does this concern us?"

Skidd actually made sense in his rebut, "You see, man. I've been reading up on it. There was a militant warrior species called Homo sapiens that tried to take over the Milky Way before the galaxies collided! And if that's not enough, apparently the power supply to the dimensionater originated from that galaxy! I know you guys have been trying to figure out the past for a while now, and this is probably the chance! If that army gets to here, who knows what'll happen? Anyway, enjoy your meal, here's your food, peace out bros."

Tal and I just looked at each other. The food was pretty good.

Thing is, even though Skidd may have the intellect of a small child, he's rarely wrong. I decided to check the radar room at the old Galactic Ranger's facility after I dropped Talwyn back at her house. Maybe I could detect something on their trackers.

Eventually, the time came to leave. I could see Tal was shivering on the way to the car, so I gave her my suit jacket. I think she enjoyed it. I checked my watch, the face reading almost 12 at night. We had closed the restaurant. Talwyn was very tired. On the walk up the stairs to her apartment, she almost fell down the stairs, and I had to catch her every now and then. She tried resting her head on my shoulder, but that couldn't work since I'm so short. When we got to her room, she barely could speak, yawning between phrases and sentences.

"Ratchet, you can't head back to your part of town."

"Yeah I can! It's not that dangerous."

"No, I mean, just stay here, this once. Please?"

Talwyn offering me to stay with her late at night? No way. We just got off the first date.

"Sorry, Tal. But I want to go to the old Galactic Rangers facility to see exactly what's going on."

"Okay. Bye. Hey, I talked to Skidd; he says that all the other girls you've met say you're great with your hands. What's that supposed to mean?"

I could hear my voice crack, "I don't know. Bye?"

It was going to happen eventually though. On the way to the ranger depot, I reflected on all the zany adventures I had been on. For some reason, this one felt more dangerous, and more sinister. With Dr. Nefarious dead, and all my other enemies in hiding or dead themselves, this new enemy was prospecting to be a challenge.

I thought about what Alistair had told me. About the Lombaxes and my parents. I felt like, finally, something I would do in the process of saving my galaxy would give me purpose and a calling beyond being a mercenary. But, I had no more time to think, as I entered the Depot.

H22 opened the door and said, "Hey Sarge, we need you upstairs. Glad you decided to show up."