Ratchet and Clank:
The Chosen One
I DO NOT OWN RATCHET AND CLANK, INSOMNIAC GAMES DOES! I OWN ANYTHING ELSE!

Chapter 14: Lunchtimes Like Primary School

A white Lombax had been pacing angrily up and down his headquarters for almost half an hour. His red cape lashed violently at the air every time he turned. Fire filled his dark eyes. He was waiting for his messenger to return; but his patience had run out. He simply asked to send an arrangement to an old friend on Planet Murlania.

His friend was a rare species. An Xpedia - master of stealth. He was one of the white Lombax's undercover men, who would listen on conversations around the galaxy to gather information about what's going on in the universe; it there is any new galactic rangers looking for him or if there is any word or sight from the other Lombaxes on Planet Volzar.

No one from the 'good' side have ever found his secret hideout since they discovered he was alive and in the Polaris Galaxy. However, now with that golden Lombax on their side, this might not last for long. The new Lombax might figure out who he really is, and ruin his plans. A grin formed across his muzzle. Not that he was going to let that happen. He would crush them low-lives into the ground at all costs. No one could beat him. No one could finish him. No one will take over his place.

A knock at his doors cut him from his thoughts. The white Lombax growled lowly. "Yes?" He grumbled, sitting back down in his red, leather chair facing the window. "Who is it?"

The door opened a crack and a tiny Lombax entered the room with caution. He was a timid young boy, who looked like he was seven or eight, that wore grubby, torn rags for clothing. His fur was clotted together in clumps of dirt that darkened his cream coloured fur. He had two brown stripes on his ears, and brown stripes over his eyes in the shape of diamonds. There was one brown stripe on each shoulder, and the end of his small tail tuff faded into a brown colour. The boy's purple eyes scanned the room for his master. "It's me, Jason, sir." He spoke quietly, but his voice echoed down the long, dark room.

"What took you so long, brat?" The white Lombax spat out harshly. His messenger was gone for almost three days. He would not have minded two days, but he couldn't waste anything at times like these.

The boy flinched at the older's words. "I-I'm sorry, master. I didn't mean to be so long." He straightened his back in defence. "Mr. Mikey was just playing games with me. And being stupid." He mumbled the last part under his breath, hoping for the other not to hear. He put his hands behind his back and shifted his bare, left foot on the floor in a sheepish manner.

"So, you're saying it was Mikey's fault now, hmm?" The Lombax asked, curiously. He then growled in frustration. In a flash, the taller Lombax was standing in front of the little boy with a disgusted look on his face. "Did you really just blame on of my men?" His powerful voice vibrated through the entire room. He snatched the boy around the neck and let him dangle from his tight fist. "No one, and I mean no one, talks about my men like that! Only a piece of filth like you would come up with something as ridiculous as that! Only to get out of punishment from being late."

He slammed the boy to the ground, ignoring the yelp of pain coming from him. "That's just sad. Things like you make me shamed of my race. Well, nevermind about that. Did he get the arrangements then?" He folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes to slits.

Jason covered his head with his bare arms when his master starting yelling out in anger. He was shaking like a leaf in the wind. He did it every time he saw the white Lombax. "Y-Yes, sir. He did. I-I told him everything that he n-needed to know, sir." He clamped his eyes shut for what could happen next. The other Lombax was an unpredictable, evil person.

Hmph. Stupid slaves. His arms felt to his side. "Good." He turned his back to the boy. "Now get out of my sight before I feed you to the War Groks."

Jason stumbled to his feet. "Y-Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." He quickly stepped out of the room and paced to his next chore in a rush.

"So, did you manage to catch Shade in the ending?" Ratchet asked Ryan as they cued up in the lunch line. The golden Lombax had been with his father a few hours ago. When they finished their little 'chat', Ratchet went off looking for Clank and Talwyn as Jasmine was busy with her duties around the building. He found his friends in the library, looking up Lombax History. They spent the rest of the morning in there before they got called for lunch.

"Oh, yeah. We sure did!" Ryan chuckled at the memory. "He was surely pissed off when he finally got him in the end. Made him do community service for the rest of the day for trespassing on private grounds. You should of seen his face." The orange Lombax moved up the line behind Ratchet, picking up a tray after the younger.

"Well, I could tell he isn't the brightest person in the galaxy from what I saw of him." He picked up a small bowl of red grapes and placed it on his tray before moving along. "Besides, he acted too cocky, so I wouldn't be surprised that you caught him in a matter of time."

The elder Lombax laughed lightly at the other's statement. "You got that right, Ratchet!" He chuckled. He chose a small bowl of salad and put it on his lunch tray. "I don't know why he keeps coming back to the place. He is either looking for something or is just up to no good."

Ratchet looked at the sandwiches that were on the lunch shelves. "How often does he keep returning to this place? And does he look in the same areas, or different areas each time he appears?" He decided to go for a chicken and bacon with mayonnaise filled sandwich. He also picked out a red apple, and placed the food onto his tray moving to the drinks section.

"Well, he come in like every few months or so, I guess. I don't keep a record of it, but I know he does it enough times to annoy us." Ryan collected a tuna and sweetcorn with salad cream filled sandwich. He picked a small bowl of fruit salad covered in yoghurt and putting it on his tray with everything else. He stepped up the line to the drinks like Ratchet. "The same areas? Hmm, I guess he does. I mean, he always runs up the same corridor but always goes into different rooms."

"Hmm, strange." Ratchet hummed in thought. He placed a bottle of water on the tray and got out of the line, waiting for the orange Lombax. "Maybe you are right. Maybe he is looking for something. Or he could be listening out for information that he could find useful."

Ryan chose the same drink as the younger, and headed to a table with the other. "Maybe. But lets leave that for now and eat." He smiled.

They both walked over to a table where some familiar faces were. Ratchet didn't recognise anyone apart from Ryan, Scar, Max and his father on the table. There were three other Lombaxes that he didn't know. One of them had dark blue fur with yellow stripes. He had eyes similar to Alister but instead of brown there was red. A small stripe lined the left side of his jaw, and he had yellow fur growing on top of his furry head. He had two stripes on each of his ears, and three stripes on his tail. The Lombax looked in his late 30's, but Ratchet wasn't too sure. He wore a red shirt with a green triangle on the right shoulder, along with light grey trousers followed by red hoverboots.

The second Lombax was another male. He had black fur with white stripes. He's eyes were like the blue Lombax's: red and yellow. Three white stripes were on his ears while two stripes were on both sides of his cheeks. One is right ear, two big chunks were missing. He had two scars over his face: one on his forehead and one across his lips. He had a robotic left hand that was made out of a yellow-grey coloured metal. He was missing his tail tuff like Ryan did. He looked in his late 40's. The Lombax wore a forest green shirt, with red-brown trousers held up with a grey belt finished with yellow and red shoes.

The other Lombax that Ratchet didn't know was also a male, who had yellow fur with black stripes. He had a set of three stripes over his long ears and cheeks. A black stripe was on his chin as well which made him look slightly older than what he properly was - similar to Ratchet's age, maybe a little older by four years. He had five stripes going down both arms, and had similar markings as Jasmine on his tail. He had light blue eyes like Jasmine too. The Lombax wore a red buttoned shirt with dark blue jeans held up with a brown belt followed with black shoes with white laces.

Ratchet sat down in between Ryan and his father placing his tray on the long wooden table. "Ah, Ratchet, Ryan. How nice for you to join us." Kaden smiled as both Lombaxes took a seat. He placed a spoonful of fruit salad into his mouth and chewed.

"Oh, so this is your son, Kaden." The black Lombax said happily. "He looks just like you."

Kaden swallowed his food, and faced the Lombax directly from him. "I told you so!" He chuckled before looking at the younger. "Oh, Ratchet there are some other people that you should meet." He gestured to the black furred Lombax. "This is Patrick Emberson. Ex-Praetorian Guard who still loves to come in and help any time."

Patrick held out his right hand to Ratchet. "Pleasure to finally meet you, boy." He smiled gently. "You're father has told me a lot about you. Keep up the good work." He pulled back.

Ratchet's ears perked up when he was brought into the conversation. He turned to his father when he started to talk to him, but then faced the black Lombax and shook his hand. "He has?" He blinked. Great, who else was going to know about him? "Oh, t-thank you. Will do, sir." He grinned.

"Alright." Kaden said. He mentioned towards the yellow Lombax. "This here is James Vitalis. Brother to Jasmine, who you know Ratchet. And son to the chef of this place, Edward Vitalis."

James smirked at Ratchet. "So, you're the one and only Ratchet, huh? Seems good enough to me."

Ratchet frowned lightly at the Lombax. If no one would have told him that he was Jasmine's brother, he would have never guessed it. They look nothing alike apart from the tail markings and blue eyes. He didn't really take a liking to this Lombax. He acted too cocky like that Shade guy did. He forced a smile. "Nice to meet you."

Kaden noticed the tension in the air so he decided to carry on. He gestured to the blue Lombax at the end of the table. "That there is Zain Coba; Alice's twin brother. Smartest Lombax on the planet who can make a weapon in thirty minutes flat."

Zain didn't pay much attention in what was going on in the conversation, but when his name was said he looked up at the small group. He nodded his head towards Ratchet and carried on eating his food.

The younger was a little surprised by the blue furred Lombax's reaction. It was like he didn't want to know or have anything to do with the conversation. Had he always been like that? Or was he just not in the mood to speak with anyone at the time?

The group of Lombaxes talked as they had lunch until some of them had to finish off to get to duties. The dinning room slowly grew empty as the time passed. Kaden stood up, collecting his tray at the same time. "Well, I have things that need doing." He patted his son on the back. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

Ratchet looked up at his father. "Yeah, will do." He replied. He watched the elder smile and walk towards the door. He placed his tray on a trolley and stepped out the room. Ratchet sighed. He crossed his arms on the table and rested his head on them. If I'm so important; then why hasn't anyone told me the truth of who I really am. He thought.

Something light hit him on the side of his head. He lifted his head up and saw a small paper plane sitting beside his arm. He raised an eyebrow. What the...? His emerald eyes scanned the room to see Jasmine make a small wave towards him on the other side of the room before walking out the door.

Ratchet uncrossed his arms, and picked up the paper. He unfolded it, and saw writing. His eyebrows knitted together as he read the short note. It read:

Meet me in the town centre at 2pm today.
- Jazz xxx

Finally an update for this story! Sorry for the long-ish wait, but I was busy with bits and bobs ^^; Hope this is good enough to keep you peeps happy! :D

Ratchet, Clank, Kaden, Talwyn, Alister, Lombax species (c) Insomniac Games

Rage, Jason, Ryan, Scar, Max, Jasmine, James, Zain, Patrick, Edward (c) Me

Shade (c) A friend of mine