Flight of Power

by ipkloveyou

Well, this is my first story, or fanfiction, rather. The universe is always expanding, thus giving way to cosmic mysteries and encounters. This is a story about a character leaving her galaxy for universe she never knew existed.

17. Last Days

Chapter Sixteen

"Are you still planning to stop by anywhere in the Bogon galaxy, Ratchet? Clank asked his friend in the midst of their quiet travel. "We are not far out of the way. However, we are almost near the Solana galaxy."

"Huh?"

"Are you still pondering about your dilemma?" the robot said noticing Ratchet's inattentiveness.

The mechanic shook his head and blinked his eyes to gather back his concentration. He had been thinking this entire time. His mouth opened up to speak but a yawn came out instead.

"Sorry, pal. I'm just tired."

"Why not engage the autopilot? I can be the lookout for now. We have only three more hours until we reach the Solana galaxy."

"I'll be alright. If it's only a few hours, then I can handle it," he pressed but sighed with a shrug of his shoulders. "I was caught up in a daydream, I completely forgot about making a pit stop."

"I do not think Miss Femka will take it personally."

"Yeah."

Ratchet was disappointed in himself for having been so caught up in his thoughts but his self-cruelty would only last until the thing that was bothering him could be resolved. Typically, he wasn't a person who could be so hard on himself, but when there were other people he felt like he needed to please, then that was a different story. The Lombax felt how heavy his eyelids had become. He had been up for awhile now and still flying the ship for about seventeen hours. Maybe taking Clank's offer would be the best idea but he just didn't feel like it. His fingers would stay firm on the controls until it was time to land on Kerwan; his eyes would try to focus on the deep space in front of him in the meantime.

Femka opened her eyes after what only felt like a blink and yawned deeply realizing she was lying on her glasses. She situated her body upward taking her glasses out from underneath her and looking through them seeing the smudges that were covering the lenses. The young woman lain back down putting her head down on the pillow and leaving her glasses in her hand to fiddle with. Her thoughts cleared and her mind became more awake. She wondered if they were arriving to Kerwan yet. The ship still felt like it was in fast motion but it was hard to tell. Anyway, it didn't seem like it was slowing down. There were no bumps. Femka moved her body and lain on her back staring up at the ceiling. She took her dirty glasses and cleaned them with her shirt and put them back on her sleepy face. She softly sighed still feeling the heaviness of her current problem weighing on her chest. Well, there were a few problems she had in mind, not just one. But the biggest one kept her feeling uncomfortable. She forced herself to sit up and throw her legs over the edge of the bed; her palms firmly gripped the sheets lying flat. After a moment of staring at her feet she slid off of the bed and walked towards the small, metal door. It opened just a few inches in front of her and she saw from where she stood the entire inside of the ship. Ratchet was still sitting in his chair up front at the controls, Clank was right beside him typing on the computer, and Arlis was sitting in his seat off to the side having been awake for a little while now and thinking. Femka sat across from him and found her backpack forgetting that she had put it there earlier. She took out a small brush and played with it in her hands looking out the window at all the wonders of the galaxy before them. They had arrived in the Solana galaxy an hour ago, meaning that their trip was past twenty hours and they would be reaching Kerwan any moment. Femka slowly brushed her hair noticing frequently that ships were passing them by and likewise they were passing them. They went so fast. The woman yawned once more placing her brush in her backpack and resting into her chair. Arlis became conscious to Femka's presence and smiled to her. She gave him the same gesture but wondered what he was thinking of. She wondered if he had come up with the plans already for their hypothetical device. Her feelings would remain mixed about the idea until it finally was time. She still didn't want to leave… Well… She did. But it was more complicated than that. Nevertheless, there was silence for a little while until the two up front began talking.

"We are approaching Kerwan," Clank announced still typing on the computer's holo-keyboard.

"Making preparations for landing," Ratchet said with a yawn.

"Was he awake this whole time?" Femka thought hearing his yawn.

She placed her seatbelt over her lap and chest and Arlis did the same at once. The planet was visible and growing larger by the second. The sun was directly in their view as well; it forced Femka to squint and cover her eyes. The ship descended going away from the sun and down toward the planet. In Metropolis it was morning, the sun was just coming over the horizon. The young woman watched as the planet became wider than the ship and soon a big image of blue and green filled the view. The details became more and more clear as they approached the planet through the atmosphere. The feeling of gravity was the strangest sensation—second strangest to the feeling Femka got when she teleported at least. She could feel the ship going forward toward the terrain but eventually it straightened up. There were so many flying ships; it never ceased to amaze her. But this place was starting to look even more beautiful. There were no more bumps and the ship was perfectly stable and Femka could see all the buildings are things around them as they came closer to the city. The most distinct colors were the bronze and silver buildings and the green, lush plantation that sprouted around them. Even though the buildings were silver, the touch of sky graced them to be blue and faultless. The ship flew into a stream of traffic and around several buildings. Femka watched the people below and around them walking along pathways and even the Mag-Trains that transported them about. The woman gasped quietly fumbling around for her comm-link. She wanted to hit her head with her hand for not taking pictures sooner—she was just so captivated. Finally, her hobby was back in action and she tried capturing everything that she could. Arlis watched the woman with a smile and a single chuckle. She turned her head in his direction and smiled lightly knowing what he was laughing about. Her glance shifted to the window seeing that they were slowing down now. It looked like they were ready to land. Ratchet guided the ship to land on a bronze platform just below them. The vessel made a loud sound as it powered down and at last it stopped as the computers powered off. Ratchet undid his seatbelt and stretched his arms and legs out with a large yawn. The sun's premature glow attempted to shine on him through the buildings and he only grunted rubbing his eyes. Clank left his seat and walked past Femka and Arlis over to the side door.

"Good morning, Miss Femka," he said opening the ship's panel.

"Good morning." She smiled.

"Good morning, Mister Marlow," he also gave greetings to the old man.

"Good morning, Clank." His head nodded with a smile.

The three stood by the door as it opened and Clank was the first to step out. Arlis left the vessel watching his step and Femka looked at the ground and then back to where Ratchet sat wondering if he was coming or not. She let Clank and Arlis advance toward the building in front of them and went in the front of the ship to the controls seeing that the mechanic was fast asleep in his chair.

"Ratchet?" her voice quietly spoke.

"Hm?" His eyes opened a sliver and he then sat up straight turning his head about registering that he fell asleep in five seconds.

"Are you coming in?"

"Yeah," he yawned another with a stretch of his arms over his head. "But I'm going right to bed. I feel pretty jetlagged…"

The woman felt bad while she watched him tiredly stand up from his spot. He walked ahead of her and hopped out of the ship. Femka grabbed her things and went to the side door seeing Ratchet waiting for her. He helped her out of the ship and steadily made his way to the front of his abode. Femka turned her head in all directions as they walked. The city was impressive. The two arrived at the door and it turned, much like any other door, with a spiral-like fashion into the walls and revealed the inside of Ratchet and Clank's other home. Femka would always think of their style as unique. Their home was much like to one back on Igliak, just a different layout. Ratchet walked ahead of Femka and down a hallway.

"I'm going to bed, Clank," he called out to his friend before disappearing into another room.

The woman peered around a corner to the room that she stood in seeing Clank and Arlis in another room sitting down. Well, the little robot wasn't sitting at the moment. He seemed to be organizing some things. It must have been some time since they were back on this planet. Femka entered the living room (so to speak) and glanced at all the objects within it. Her eyes focused back on the small robot who was sifting through what she assumed was unread mail.

"Uh, say, Clank," she said uncertain, "could I use your bathroom?"

"Certainly. It is down this hallway and to your left. After you are finished, would you acre for something to eat?"

"Oh, that would really nice." She smiled gratefully. Her stomach was making noises already.

"And as for you, Mister Marlow? You are hungry as well?"

"I am a little on the famished side."

"I must sort through this mail and then I will commence making a meal for breakfast. I am certain that we still have non-perishables available here." The robot pondered and continued with his task.

Arlis remained in his spot on one of the chairs in the room. He offered to help the robot but he simply declined as the task wouldn't take very long anyway. Though, when he finished, he was appreciative of Arlis's help to make a meal. In the meanwhile, Femka did what she always did in the morning and freshened herself up in the bathroom, getting used to the new mechanics of the shower and sink, and cleaning herself. She ran into a problem when she remembered that all of the clothes she brought weren't clean anymore. Just like her first experience with a bathroom of the future, she would use the automatic dryer after hand-washing her clothes in the shower with soap. It worked fine for her. The easier way might have been to just ask Clank if they had a washing machine somewhere but she would be forced to either wait in a towel or in another pair of dirty clothes. It didn't matter anyway. When she was finished with her mission Femka looked in the foggy mirror at her reflection she saw that her hair was still the same blue and purple but her roots were turning brown.

"The effects really are going away," she spoke to herself parting her hair. "I wonder what Alexander's gonna say when he sees my hair?" she thought with a small crooked smile.

She exhaled a dramatic sigh and stretched her arms up and to the sides. She fixed her clothes and left the bathroom taking her trusty backpack with her. When Femka walked through the living room Clank and Arlis were no longer there. She could her them making some commotion in the kitchen that was on the other side of the room. Her nose caught the smell that wafted through the home.

"Looks like Clank found something to fix for breakfast," she mentally gathered walking into the kitchen after tossing her stuff on a nearby chair.

"—and that's what I was thinking," Arlis said.

Femka entered the room in the middle of their conversation.

"Then you may use the garage as your workshop for the time being. It would seem that it has the sufficient properties to suit your needs."

"It does. I just need to think a little more, maybe draw out my plans."

The old man looked pensive as he sat at a table in the middle of the room. He greeted the young lady with a "hello" and a friendly smile as she took a seat across from him.

"Are you talking about your device?" she asked curiously.

"Yes. I've had a lot of time to think about it during our flight here and I think I've got everything straightened out in my mind. This might take awhile, though." He scratched his head. "Since your powers are fading, we'll have to use that necklace of yours—but that's just fine. I didn't want to use your ability anyway. I think it would've been too dangerous. Hmm…" The man continued to think.

"Do you want paper?"

"Hm?"

"So you can draw out your plans. I have a lot of paper." Femka shrugged pushing her tongue around her teeth.

"Ah, that would be nice. It's probably better to get my ideas out right now while they're fresh."

Femka nodded as to agree with the man and she left her spot to retrieve her sketchbook and bought it back with her along with a utensil for drawing. The woman placed them in front of Arlis presenting him with a clean page.

"Thank you," he smiled taking the pencil and immediately started writing on the paper.

The translator watched him work fast. She watched him write down in his language and then draw. It was fascinating for her. He was mostly writing notes, however; but that was the most interesting for her. She loved seeing languages she didn't know. And being on a whole new planet gave her that opportunity. Femka, in that instant, recalled her Kyzilian lessons. She felt the urge to keep studying it but it would be useless out of this galaxy and in her own.

"Do you mind if I use more pages?"

Arlis broke Femka away from her thoughts and the woman looked up at him and motioned her hand back and forth.

"Sure, go ahead. But," she paused. "When this is all finished and made, can I keep the blueprints in my sketchbook?"

"I don't see why not." He shrugged with a smile turning the page over to fill the other side.

Her smile beamed happy to hear his answer. Having that would be a nice keepsake as well with all the other things she wanted to take with her. Her head turned around when she heard Clank speaking saying that their meals were finished at last. The robot brought them over with a scamper of his tiny legs and placed them on the table, one in front of Femka and the other in front of the busy Arlis. The two expressed their gratitude and Femka instantly began eating her meal. She questioned in her mind how old the food was that she was eating remembering what Clank said earlier and also assuming it had been awhile since he and Ratchet were last on Kerwan. But it tasted fine. Maybe they mastered the art of preservatives. Arlis touched his food periodically as he would be writing in between bites. Clank sat down with them contently watching the old man write his notes. He pondered himself what all the writing meant and how well-thought out his plans really were. It seemed like he was on a roll, considering he only had a day or so to think about the project.

"Clank," he said suddenly as he looked up from his work, "could you show me the garage one more time? I want to see the equipment more thoroughly."

"Certainly," the little robot obliged jumping off of his seat. "Would you care to join us?" he directed his question to Femka.

"Umm, nah. I'll wait here. But before you go, can you show me how to work the holo-vision set?"

"Naturally."

Like said, Clank demonstrated to the woman how to operate the technology she requested before he and Arlis left to go to the garage. Femka would wait in the kitchen and eat the rest of her food while the two inspected what materials the researcher needed for his schematics. In the garage there were plenty of parts. Most of them were from ships and rockets, however. Arlis stood in the middle of the big hanger and looked about with a brooding, stern and concentrated face at all the objects that were there. He had brought Femka's sketchbook with him and looked through what notes and little drawings he had done and then proceeded to walk over to the scrap pile pushing some objects around and sorting through them.

"Is everything satisfactory?" Clank questioned standing nearby.

"Well, it's hard to say right now. I'm not entirely finished with my plans. I still need time to think. But from the looks of it I'll need some "components", let's say, that I don't think you or Ratchet would just have lying around."

"I see. Is it possible for you to maintain this project by yourself then?"

The old man clutched his hand around his stubbly chin with a mumbled sound of thought.

"I've always been good with designing and making layouts for my plans but I'm never the one who usually builds them."

"Then if you are confident that your plans will work Ratchet and I will build your device. You must simply let Ratchet know what you need. Hopefully we can obtain it on Kerwan alone."

"Hm, this is all theoretic," he motioned with the sketchbook in hand. "I think we'll have to build with trial and error…"

"As most things go."

"It's not a bother?"

"Why should it be?" Clank shrugged. "We all agreed that we wanted for Miss Femka to return home safely. If it takes more than one try, then it is worth the labor."

"Alright then." His head nodded firmly. "I'll keep writing out my ideas and plans and when I think I've hit the end then I'll tell you what we need. I'll stay in here and work for the time being, just so I know what I have to work with already."

"Very well."

Clank left the room as Arlis began his adamant note making once again. Femka was watching the holo-vision in the kitchen still. She seemed pretty content channel surfing. Why not? Everything was new for her even here. Clank walked past the room and into another to go about his own business. He sifted through all of their appropriate mail and found all of the bills that needed to be paid yet—he would tell Ratchet that news when he woke up.

Later in the day, about when the sun was ready to set, Femka had found herself in one room of the duo's home lying about and staring out the window. Arlis and Clank were present as well. The elderly inventor was taking a break from his work having been in the garage most of the day and Clank was taking to reading another one of his books. Femka stared captivated as always at the things that were going on outside. The buildings were tall but from where Ratchet and Clank's establishment stood she could see the sun coming down to the horizon. It was a beautiful sight. A sound took away her captivation from the outside. There was a door opening and closing from down the hall and footsteps that followed. The mechanic was finally awake but still half asleep as he walked past the room where the others were gathered and into the kitchen to look for food. Clank took his attention off from his book placing it on the chair he was sitting in and left the room to see his friend. The Lombax was sticking his head in the cabinets searching around from something edible. There were lots of things in there but they were also pretty old.

"Clank," Ratchet spoke with half of his body inside a cabinet sitting on a countertop, "we need food." He closed the cupboard door.

"I found items earlier that are adequate enough for tonight. Do we plan on staying here long?"

"Long enough that we should get edible food that isn't about to expire," he said sliding off of the countertop.

"Hm, by the way Ratchet, Mister Marlow has been drawing out and writing his plans for this theoretic teleporting device today but he will need our help in assembling it. Also in obtaining the materials."

"Sounds fine to me."

"It could get expensive," the robot worried.

"That's why I'll open up shop again," he shrugged nonchalantly sitting down at the table.

"Have you read all the mail?"

"No, but apparently you have."

Clank sighed shaking his head after watching his friend undo the bandages that were still around his head.

"C'mon, Clank, you worry too much." The mechanic touched the spot on his head where an injury once was. His eye squinted and his teeth gritted when there was still pain to found after he rubbed the area.

"I feel it is my responsibility to worry."

Ratchet placed his chin in his palm as his elbow rested on the table. He smiled seemingly somnolent but patted his friend on the head grateful for his companionship and company. He eventually stood up from his place and took what items Clank had placed out earlier that were safe to eat and decided on making something. He had been asleep for about fourteen hours and his hunger was nagging at him.

"I will ask Miss Femka and Mister Marlow if they would like something to eat as well."

Clank left the area and let Ratchet take to his cooking. The other two were still lounging about in the living room. Femka was sitting up but still satisfied with watching the sun go down. The horizon was a warm red and orange and above it in the sky was blue and purple. High above she could see the stars and constellations—what she thought of as constellations. She was making patterns in her mind. Both Arlis and Femka looked to Clank when he asked them if they would like dinner. Naturally, they didn't decline and the small robot returned to Ratchet to assist him in the creation of the meal. The young woman glanced over to Arlis who started writing in her sketchbook again. She wondered how far his plans had come along. She could see faintly that he used a lot of pages already. Femka stood up from the spot she had been long loafing on after several minutes and left the room. She ventured throughout the complex just to gratify her curiosity. Her feet took her down the hallway that Ratchet came from earlier, his room was at the end. Her inquisitive persona brought her inside the room. The light from the outside shined through several tall windows unto the bed and floor and other things around the room. Femka looked out through one of the tall windows. The glass opened inward up top and outward at the bottom. It seemed efficient; if it were to rain the water fall at the top and drop down not allowing it to enter the room. She recognized the design from her own planet—not from her country. She peered over the windowsill and stuck her upper body out to look down at the world below. There were plenty of flying cars or ships and even a railway right by their building. Femka couldn't see the bottom; it was covered by a thick blue mist. Her eyes watched the sun again as it hid further behind the horizon. Her hands reached for her comm-link so she could take another picture. She didn't know how much longer she would be here, so she wanted to capture every image before her. Femka daydreamt again while leaning into the ledge of the window. The others were already ready for supper. Arlis had finally taken notice to the young lady's absence when his head lifted from the sketchbook. He entered the kitchen thinking that she already went ahead of him to eat but only saw Clank and Ratchet. The two stared back at him and the man shrugged his shoulders not knowing where the woman was. Ratchet took a second to ponder and left the kitchen to search for Femka. He was halfway down the hall to his room after looking in other places and noticed his door was opened and there Femka was staring out the window. He didn't approach her. Instead he went back to the kitchen and grabbed something for her and himself and went to take it to her. He saw this as an opportunity to try and clear the awkward mess between them. Ratchet's actions seemed to lack hesitance but his courage was dwindling and his pride was being swallowed. He took a quick sigh before he entered the room and tapped the side of the door with his foot to grab Femka's attention. Her head quickly turned, almost startled by the sound, and she stared while the door closed behind him.

"I brought you something to eat," he spoke softly with a perk of his brows.

"Thanks."

Femka took her plate of food and sat down partially on the windowsill, Ratchet was nearby resting back against the wall. She held a piece of the food underneath her nose with her fork and ate it slowly. It tasted good, whatever it was. She couldn't help but stare down at her food the whole time she ate, though. There wasn't any conversation and that only made the atmosphere more discomfited for the both of them. The woman put her food to the side on the flat surface of the window and at last articulated her thoughts that harassed her this whole time.

"Are you mad at me?"

Her question took the man off guard and his eyes blinked while they both stared at each other. His head shook and he placed his food down elsewhere as well.

"No, no, of course I'm not mad at you. But I, um…"

He paused uncertain to continue. Femka followed his eyes that drifted to the side and down to the ground.

"If you're upset with me, then…"

"No, Fem… It's a little difficult to explain. I'm not good with these things." He scratched his ear. "I guess you could say that I've had something on my mind, too, like you, but I didn't really consider it until a little bit ago."

"What was it?"

"Ah, heh…"

His shoulders gently raised and dropped as a nervous laugh fell out of his mouth. He took his gaze back onto Femka and the woman stared at him puzzled until a realization fathomed in her brain. Her body perked and so did her eyebrows. He mouth was hung open a crack and she narrowed her eyes only a little and tilted her head as to ask for confirmation for what she was thinking. He was making that same face like he gave her back at the tele-station. Ratchet's eyes were big and innocent, his nose turning more pink.

"Have you been thinking about me?" Her face was full of hope and her cheeks of blush. "Oh…" She bit her lip and looked down when his head nodded slowly. "Can I confess something? I know I kept telling you that I'd been thinking about someone but I kept pushing it aside and making you guess and wonder."

"I know."

"…Do you know who it is?" Her thumbs twiddled.

She didn't look at him but his head nodded and his hands reached out for hers to pull them apart. He held each of them within his hands and rubbed soothingly her fingers with his thumbs. Femka's heart skipped a beat just by the touch alone. She felt shivers travel from her spine and swell in her cheeks on her face. Her shy eyes lifted to gaze back at him, her feet standing now on the ground and her height nearly matching his. She felt rapt by his stare; she wasn't sure of what to do and her heart kept beating fast. Femka did the only thing she thought was appropriate and walked in closer to him pushing her hands up his chest and around his neck. She looked at him for a second but promptly averted her gaze downward. She could feel the warmth of his hands sliding down her sides and around her waist. It forced a sudden exhale of her breath. The hairs on her neck stood on end when the soft pair of hands drifted from her sides and up to her shoulders reaching to her face. The pair was placed on either side of her face forcing her to look up at him. Femka swallowed the saliva that gathered in her opened mouth and boldly stared at the person's visage whose was less than an inch in front of her. Oh, she had wanted so badly for her dream to come to life but when the moment was there it made her anxious and uncertain. She'd kissed before some other guy a long time ago but the feeling it gave her then couldn't compare to what she was about to feel now. Femka closed her eyes before it happened—that's what everyone did when the kissed, right?—and the man that stood in front of her took it as another invitation, though he was just as nervous as she. Ratchet held in his breath when both of their noses met and softly pressed his lips onto hers. His eyes closed soon and he felt Femka's arms tense around his neck. Their bodies pushed lightly against each other and Ratchet kept his hands firmly on her face and pressed against her mouth more passionately with every kiss. Femka felt weak at her knees but yearned to make the moment last and followed his lead. He kissed her once more and took his lips away to gauge her reaction. The woman was breathing quickly but quietly and her eyes opened after his hands were taken away from her face. She stared at him longingly with a small smile that hid her lust.

"Please don't stop," she whispered, her hands trickling down his shoulders and chest. "I'm old enough to know what I want."

Her words alone were affirmation and feeling her hands and fingers run along his chest made it look like he was hypnotized altogether. Femka began to motion Ratchet backward toward the bed that was several feet behind him. It was evident to him what she had meant by what she had just said. He backed away from her taking a hold of her hands and sitting down on the bed behind him looking up at her as she stood there in front of him. Of course her heart was still pounding. What the woman said seconds ago didn't register completely but when she looked down at Ratchet she knew he apparently wanted it like she did. He rubbed her hands to encourage her and Femka slowly sat on his lap facing him and loosely wrapping her legs around him. Being this close to him made her blush so much. She placed her hands on his shoulders while he slowly slid his around her waist and down her thighs. Femka gasped when she felt his mouth kiss around her neck. She could see his tail swaying slowly behind him until his face obstructed her view and she was forced to look into his eyes once again. A hand of his came to push back the hair that had fallen in front of her shy face. She smiled bashfully pushing herself more forward, closer to him, until her chest was against his. Ratchet wrapped his arms around her tightly and she did the same for him. Her head rested on his shoulder and she sighed contentedly feeling such satisfaction being so close to the guy she admired.

"Ratchet?" she said softly.

"Yeah?"

"I want to be with you." Her eyes closed. "I know I can't have you forever but I want to have you tonight…"

She lifted her head and stared back at Ratchet who kept his hands firm on her arms. Before he answered her, he pressed his lips again onto hers and gripped her tight letting her know that he was all hers. A muffled sound left her mouth and soon Femka found herself on lying on her back with Ratchet on top and gazing down upon her.

"You've got me as long as you want," he whispered letting his hand glide down her chest and stomach.

Femka's eyes closed as she exhaled again a long, soft sigh. She let her body be ready for something she would never forget. The moments that were about to happen would be the closest things to her heart than anything else. Femka lusted after this more and more because of her fantasies from the dream she had. It wasn't just that alone, however. She didn't know why she felt so attracted to him. Maybe because he was different than anything else she had seen before or maybe it was just because he was nice. But her attraction to him was strong. She wanted everything that he had to offer and he wanted the same from her.

• • •

Her eyes flickered open seeing the blurred, white image of a pillow that consumed the side of her face. Femka was waking up. The room was bright letting the sunlight shine in. The air was cool today and drifted through the opened windows filling the spaces that weren't being occupied underneath the blanket. Femka felt the presence that had been with her the whole night close by her. The blankets were covering up to the woman's bare shoulders, an arm wrapped around her. Finally she was waking up more and remembering everything that had happened last night. Femka rubbed her tired eyes and yawned once looking back at the sleeping being behind her. Ratchet's face was buried into her neck. She could feel the breath he exhaled hitting her gently. Her face turned red as all the thoughts came back to her but she turned her body around and hid herself in him wrapping her legs around his. She slid her arm around him as well and closed her eyes.

"We were up for awhile…," she thought to herself. "I still feel tired." Femka's lips curled into a smile.

Ratchet didn't fall asleep until later after Femka given that he had slept already most of the day yesterday. But he did ask to be woken up whenever she was. The shy woman opened her eyes again remembering the request. She took her face away from him and stared at the dreaming Lombax before running her fingers through the fur on his face.

"I'll feel guilty for waking him but that's what he wants," Femka thought with a shrug and shook the side of his face. "Wake up," she said in a raspy whisper.

There was a low crackling grumble and Ratchet's eyebrows twitched and furrowed. Femka wasn't satisfied with the results, so she continued to pester him, lifting one eyelid and blowing into his nose.

"Fem…," his voice mumbled with a shit of his eye and his head turned away to be buried in the pillow his head lain on.

"Are you awake?"

"Uuughhh," his groan muffled.

"Well, you asked me to wake you up." She played with his ear.

"I know…" Ratchet sighed out heavily and looked back at Femka speaking again after a moment of quiet. "It really is going away," he said pointing out briefly to her hair. His fingers sifted through the hair around her crown that was now brown. "Oh, I forgot."

Femka titled her head a tad confused by his gesture as she watched him turn around and reach out to a table to grab something. He returned to her holding her necklace out.

"You needed this back."

"You hang onto it for now." She pushed it away and let her hands wrap around his. "Arlis said that he'd need to use it for the teleporter when it was finished."

Ratchet saw her eyes drift down and he frowned at the motion knowing what she was thinking about just from experience. He pulled her in close and hugged her tight in his arms without saying a word. Femka bashfully held him back keeping her face near his and closed her eyes. The two of them were like that for a little while—neither of them wanted to move. After what was probably an hour of silence Ratchet spoke quietly causing the woman he caressed to open her eyes again.

"I should probably get ready. I did tell Arlis that I'd help him with his work and I also told Clank that I'd open up the garage again."

"Can I help? I don't wanna just… sit around like last time."

"Mhm," he smiled.

Ratchet had a feeling it was only an excuse to spend as much time with him as she could until it was time for her to leave. He could respect that. Besides, likewise he wanted the same thing. He kissed Femka's forehead tenderly giving her a smile and a pet to the side of her face. Reluctantly he left the bed to get changed and Femka was about to do the same but she stayed under the covers recalling something from yesterday.

"Um, Ratchet…" Her eyes shifted to the other side of the room as she pulled the covers over her chest when she sat up. "I need to wash my clothes… Yesterday I used that thing in the bathroom to dry them after I washed them with soap or with what I hope was soap. But I'd kind of like something more efficient…"

The mechanic raised his brow at her with a devious smile and snort throwing on a shirt when he did so.

"I'll wash them for you. You can take a shower while I do it. I'll get you a towel so you don't have to run nude to the bathroom." He chuckled again.

"Thanks," her voice said sarcastically.

Femka watched him make his way across the room while the pinkness on her cheeks began to fade away. He left through the door and it spiraled to a close behind him. Seconds later he came back with a towel tossing it at her.

"Besides the clothes on the floor, I guess all your other stuff is in your backpack?" he asked with another shrug of his brow.

The young lady shyly nodded her head slipping out of the comfy bed and put on the towel. She watched Ratchet pick up clothes off of the ground and then stared down at her feet. He approached when he was done and led her out of the room with him. Down the hallway was the bathroom, a short walk. Femka was still embarrassed, wrapped up like that in her towel. There were hardly any sounds coming from inside the complex. All the noise was coming from outside. She wondered if Arlis and Clank were already getting to work on the teleporter. Her feet stopped and she stood in front of the bathroom door that turned open upon her arrival.

"When I'm done washing your stuff I'll put it back in my room on the bed. It shouldn't take too long."

She smiled and nodded lightly and entered the room to go about her routine just as usual. When Femka took showers she always used it as means of relaxing and thinking. Something about a shower or a bath gave a person the right motives to simply think about everything and contemplate everything as well. The bathroom was a universal place of reflection. Femka took advantage of this and resumed her thoughts from last night. Oh, did she blush at the imagery that slipped through her mind again. She couldn't believe the accomplishment she made. However, it still made her sad at the same time. Femka was more than happy that she at last got her emotions off of her chest but because of that it meant that she was attached now. She clung to things she had and letting go of something like what happened last night would be a challenge. Her head shook while she stood in the shower stall.

"I'm not gonna think about that," she argued in her mind. "For once, I need to stop being obsessed with the future. I'm so happy right now; I'm not gonna ruin this for myself."

Femka tried to drive away any negativity while she cleansed herself. It was her "ability" to be easily distracted that helped her. When she finished with her shower the women hadn't realized how long she was in there. Though, she didn't have her communicator, she knew it had been awhile. The door opened after her towel was firmly wrapped around her body and the steam trailed out of the room with her. Her eyes squinted to the living room that was nearby and saw that it was empty. Her feet scampered across the cold, metal floor to Ratchet's room. Her backpack was on the bed already and so were her other things. She smiled seeing her glasses with the pile of clothes and her comm-link as well. Femka followed up with the rest of her routine and changed into a fresh pair of clothes and put on her glasses with a happy sigh. She took her communication device and checked the time seeing it was now past noon and hooked onto the side of her belt. Lastly she exited the Lombax's room and directed herself down the hallway to find out where everyone was. She peeked into a few rooms that were void of life until she remembered they were probably in the garage. She could some loud sounds coming from beyond the closed metal door. Femka leaned in when it opened and she could see the commotion from where she stood. Arlis and Clank were discussing something that undoubtedly had to do with the project and Ratchet was moving some heavier items out of the way to make room in the back—also probably for the project.

"I think I've finally got these plans worked out," the old Arlis said as he flipped through the pages of Femka's notebook. "I worked all last night…"

"May I see?" Clank asked taking the book when the man more than happily agreed.

Clank sifted through all the pages making several curious hums as he did so. Arlis practically filled that thing up leaving a few blank pages. Some pages he had written in were scribbled out as well. The designs were simple, however. It made Clank more curious. The drawings resembled something like a ring that stood upright and its power source would be Femka's necklace. All the other notes unfortunately weren't legible to the little robot, because of the Remilien language barrier.

"Would you mind explaining the ideas you have written here?" he pointed.

"Of course."

Arlis sat on the floor (with slow pace) and maintained an equal level with the tiny robot leaving the sketchbook open on the floor. Before he began he noticed Femka watching from afar and motioned his hand for her to join them. It was almost certainly vital for her to hear what was going on exactly. She hurried over to the two and stood above them looking down at the notebook after staring at Clank and Arlis for a second.

"I'm going to explain my schematics here. I think you should hear it." His head nodded to the side with a shrug of his shoulders. "Alright. This is how it theoretically works. We're calling it a teleporter for an obvious reason. We're also still assuming that Earth is in our universe. So, making a teleporter that can transport objects from one point to the next on the same universal plane is much easier than doing so between dimensions. In our technological time we have this ability, so making this machine isn't difficult. The difficult part is transporting someone somewhere where there is no sister teleporter, Earth, from the mother teleporter, Kerwan. The device should be able to act as a portal leaving a gate opened, however. I'm just not sure how long. Theoretically, we have the location and can send things there if it's uploaded to the computer that programs the device. We want to use the necklace that holds the Neroltrium as a power source, because we don't know how great the distance is between here and your Earth. Also, as an addition, I was told there was still some Neroltrium on Earth?" he glanced to Clank and Femka for clarification.

"Yep!" Ratchet confirmed now standing behind the man. "But I really don't know what happened to it."

"Well, the idea is that there's still Nerotrium there, so this point isn't really vital but it would just help in the teleportation process. Neroltrium always seeks out Neroltrium. It's a material that always acts on itself and acts on other things when they act on it." He cleared his throat hoping everything was still following him. "So, as a recap, we will design a normal teleporter, connect it with a smart computer, upload the coordinates, insert the stone as a resource and hopefully it'll work."

"Hopefully, huh?" Ratchet scratched his chin as his tail swaggered behind him.

"For the sake of error I have to say it like that."

"Perhaps we should test our device out when it is finished. Maybe enter coordinates from here and another destination not far away," Clank suggested.

"That's not a bad idea. If it really does end up working without a sister pad then we'll keep experimenting with the distance," Ratchet agreed.

"I see." Arlis pondered again. "Good then. And your thoughts, Femka?" He looked up at the woman somewhat sympathetic. "After all, this is entirely up to you."

"Well…" She rubbed her arms trying not to imagine all the bad possibilities that could happen. "Yeah. Let's try it."

"We won't use live objects until we know it's safe," the old man said standing up with a wobble in his knees.

"Okay." Femka sighed and nodded.

It was kind of a scary thing to think about; the dangers of teleporting. But Arlis tried to assure the woman that everything would work out fine if the tests were a success. What if they weren't, though? What happens when they go completely wrong? What happens next to Femka? She often focused on the bad but she remembered what she told herself earlier in the shower again.

"How long do you think it would take to make something like this?" she bothered to ask.

"I've actually never built a teleporter by myself—"

"—Oh, that's reassuring—"

"—but since I've got Clank and Ratchet to help out it can't take longer than a couple weeks."

Femka bobbed her head lightly and looked over to Ratchet with a small smile. He returned the notion with a wink and walked back over to the objects he was moving beforehand. The whole place needed to be organized again if the mechanic intended on getting back to work. The last time he and Clank were on Kerwan was probably over a year ago, since they had been spending so much time in Polaris.

"Mister Marlow," Clank began, "do you need to make anymore modifications to your schematics or are you ready to commence with the preparations?"

"I think they're ready. There's only one way to find out, I suppose."

"Then let us review your plans again and decide what materials we will need."

"Alright."

The two wandered off to a nearby table where Clank decided to stand upon and Arlis decided to sit at. Femka's eyes coasted back to Ratchet who was digging through a crate of spare parts and joined him at the section of the garage.

"What're you doing?"

"Seeing if there's anything interesting in here," his voice echoed off of the metal container.

"Is there?" her voice perked.

"Hmmm… Nope." Ratchet lifted his head out of the box and rested an arm against it. "It's been a good while since Clank and I were here. I thought this was the box where I put all my interesting stuff in. I can't find it. Oh, well. I need to open this place up for business anyway." He stared out to the end of the hanger and sighed through his nose turning his view back to Femka who blinked her eyes at him. "Did you still wanna help me?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Good."

The smile that he gave her almost worried the young woman. She was capable of helping but only so much. She didn't really know what tasks he'd be giving her. Femka would come to find out later on in the day what she really needed to be doing when Ratchet decided to get things up and running for the "business". Clank was right about the costs of the materials that they would need, since not everything was presently lying around the place. Teleporters were a common thing but they weren't an inexpensive thing. When the shop was opened in the evening Femka was surprised that people were already stopping by. She didn't know too much about Ratchet's job other than what she saw him do on several occasions on Igliak and what he told her. Judging by the people that came she could safely assume that he did his job well. Femka managed to help out as well but was mostly the person who handed the mechanic the stuff he needed to proceed with his job. When they were done for the day, Arlis and Clank had completed the item list that they would need to start the teleporter project. At the table in the kitchen all of them reviewed it. Every item was obtainable in Kerwan, so they all settled on getting things started first thing tomorrow.

Come that night Femka found herself in Ratchet's room lying on the bed after the sun had gone down and staring up at the ceiling above her. The Lombax wasn't present in the room with her yet. The woman daydreamt in the dark quiet about everything she more often than not did. A light from the door opening drove her thoughts away and she stared at Ratchet when he entered. A light smile formed on her pale face and the room went dark again leaving only the light from the outside to shine in through the partially closed windows. The cat-like alien joined her on the bed having done his rituals for the night and laid next to her pushing his head beside hers and keeping her close with his arm wrapped around her. She smiled softly again rolling into him. Femka loved how soft he felt. It made him chuckle how she nuzzled her face into, burying it like that. The woman yawned keeping her eyes closed and her hands clutching onto him. He could tell she was about to fall asleep when her grip on him loosened up after a moment.

"Good night, Fem," he said closing his own eyes.

"Night," she sighed back.

• • •

The next morning was followed directly to what the plans demanded. When Ratchet woke up he immediately found his friend and got started. Arlis was already awake at the crack of dawn ready to go. The machine was finally about to be built—the theoretical teleporter, that is. Femka was woken up from her sleep early as well. It was difficult to manage a business and help Clank and Arlis build a rather large device all at once. The woman was quickly put to work since she gladly agreed the other day to help. The wise Remilien had said that their project could take a couple weeks or more and that would definitely be the case. The items that were already in the shop were laid out and stored in the back of the garage where they agreed the teleporter should be built. Some things would have to be measured and welded into new shapes to fit Arlis's drawings. The only good thing about the whole project was that it was a simple design to build. The hard part would be programming the computer and getting the teleporter to function properly. Ratchet felt adequately reassured after finding a "How-To" guide on the holo-net which showed the accurate instructions on how to program your own teleportation device. Seemed easy enough. But they would follow Arlis's plans first no doubt.

It was fascinating for the young lady to watch the three at work. There wasn't much in her expertise that she could do—she could only watch instead—but they seemed so astute to the job. After the first day so much had already been made. Well, not necessarily made just yet. Most of the things they needed were had and the frame of the device was being established. The components they needed specifically were parts for the computer and a cell for the necklace. It was vital to find something that wouldn't surge the machine when the Neroltrium was placed inside. The ex-scientist seemed to have everything in order, though. Hopefully the plan really was flawless. Femka's life depended on it.

By the end of the second day things were starting to get done with the teleporter. There was a terminal by the work area that would act as the computer for the machine. The only problem with the computer was that it wasn't a smart computer. It wasn't retrofitted with artificial intelligence. That was something Arlis said they could worry about later. Instead, the three worked steadfastly on the portal's body. Come the fourth day it was obvious to Femka that all of them truly knew their stuff—or so it looked. The frame of the device had been successfully built. Actually, because they would work so often it was being built much faster. Once again, that was the easiest part of their endeavor. By the end of the week most of the teleporter was finished. It was looking pretty bare. Many of the components were visible and there were wires sticking out of it from every angle it appeared. But they couldn't venture any further until they managed to get the computer working correctly with the device. The day after the first week Ratchet was trying to connect the teleporter with the computer as previously they didn't have much luck. Femka stood nearby and watched confused feeling the whole thing to be out of her element. She watched him as he sat on his hands and knees fumbling with some wires and then standing up and pressing some keys on the terminal in front of him only to sigh and return to the ground again.

"So, what exactly are you doing?" the curious translator bothered to ask.

"Like Arlis said, in order for this thing to work it needs a computer so it has a platform from where a command can be sent and the thing receives it. This computer doesn't work well enough, though."

"What's wrong with it?"

"I dunno." He stood up with a heavy shrug. "I'm not really good with computers."

Femka's brows furrowed.

"Then why are you—"

Ratchet only shrugged again with his palms out now facing the puzzled woman.

"Thought I could try it out anyway. I guess if I was to say it in my own words: this computer is too stupid."

"What're you gonna do then?"

"Well, Arlis told me that he wasn't really a guy who was into programming or software engineering, and Clank's level computer tech is just about as savvy as mine. I do know one guy who could help…" He rubbed his chin drifting his eyes to the corner.

The mechanic started out of the room and Femka loyally followed. During the week that passed she had been around him constantly. Her affection for him knew no bounds. She worried at some points if she was even bothering him but he always seemed like he didn't mind. When she caught up to him he smiled letting her enter through the door first as it spiraled apart. Ratchet guided her with his hand at her hip to another room which, lo and behold, had another computer. Femka let her eyes travel curiously at the screen that was in front of them. The Lombax took a step before her pressing some keys on the horizontal board that lain before the screen.

"Is this a smart computer?"

"Not exactly."

"Then what're you doing?"

"Calling that guy I told you about, err, briefly mentioned."

Again Femka pondered tilting her head slightly and pushed up her glasses as she observed the screen in front of her turn on and show a funny symbol in the middle of the display that turned about like it was loading something. After a second there was an apparent dial tone and the screen opened up to a picture of some alien who wore a black hat on his head that covered his eyes with goggles. He seemed like he was working on something but noticed the screen as his small ears stuck up taking notice to the signal. The chubby creature stared at the screen with an almost an annoyed expression.

"I'm a little busy at the moment," he said in a strange voice. "If you don't mind, call me back in…"

His mouth shaped into an "o" fashion when he recognized who was on the other side of the screen. His three fingers lifted the goggles away from his eyes and above his head and a jolly smile came about his visage.

"Oh, Ratchet, it's you! Long time no talk. I see you're calling from Kerwan."

"How does he know that?" Femka thought, inspecting the weird-looking man on the display.

"Hi, Al. Yeah, well, I thought I should finally stop by. Also," Ratchet started with a scratch of his head.

"Hm, I sense a request?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Does Clank need his sister boards looked at? Perhaps an update on your computer system? It's been a long time since you've been to Kerwan. You're completely behind schedule." Al pondered aloud.

"It's actually for something else."

"Hm?"

"Um, in a roundabout way of saying this, Clank and I have been working on a big project with the help of a guy named Arlis. We've built a teleporter."

"A teleporter?"

"Uh-huh but the whole… A.I. thing…"

"Mhm, mhm." His finger tapped against his chin gently. "I take it the computer you're using for your teleportation device isn't up to date with the right software. Ratchet, that's an easy installation." His hand swatted whimsically apparently accepting the challenge.

"Yeah, of course…"

"Why exactly are you building a teleporter at your novice proficiency?"

"It's a long story." His eyes narrowed. "Will you help out or what?"

"Hmmm… Let me stop by and see what you've got so far. I'll be the judge of your teleportation device and make the call then."

"Fair enough."

"I'll make my stop by tomorrow. Good thing you're already in the Solana galaxy," he snorted, "otherwise you'd be on your own. I'd say you're pretty lucky to have me around. Oh, I gotta go. I have a customer!"

The screen blacked and Ratchet shook his head gently with a peculiar smile on his face placing a hand on his hip. Femka stared at him and grinned back holding her hands together behind her.

"Well, that's taken care of; guess there's not much we can do until Al comes tomorrow."

"Do you need me to help you with the other stuff today?"

"I actually don't have anything else. Funny how that worked out."

"So, we finally have the rest of the day to be free?"

Femka sighed happily when Ratchet nodded answering her question.

"Guess it has been a pretty stressful week." His hand rubbed the back of his neck. "I feel kinda bad. We've been concentrating on this whole teleporting thing and you haven't even left the premises since you got here. Don't you feel cooped up at all?"

"A little bit… It'd be nice to go outside."

"Then let's go do something outside. I can show you Metropolis—oh, well, some of it. Anyway, let's get out of here."

His eyes rolled lackadaisically and he took the woman's hand leading her out of the room. She smiled brightly and followed carelessly with him down the hallway and past the area where Clank and Arlis where and into Ratchet's bedroom. He released his grip on her to change quickly from out of the clothes he was wearing and into something more comfortable. Femka sat on the bed and waited for him while watching the interesting movements that were going on outside through the window. As Ratchet finished he looked up seeing Femka zoning out and crawled on the bed behind her swiftly wrapping his arms around her and blowing on the side of her face with a suction of his lips. She gasped attempting to swat at him for having scared her, again, but his grip didn't subside and neither did his laughter. His head nuzzled into her neck and his arms stayed hooked around her waist.

"I'll get you back, you just wait," she declared sucking one side of her mouth.

"Oh, yeah? I doubt it."

Ratchet's grip around the stubborn woman loosened and her space was further invaded by his lips pressing onto the side of her cheek. He slid off of the bed and stood before Femka noticing the perpetual grumpy expression on her face and couldn't keep back another fast snort of laughter. He extended a hand out to her and she grabbed it afterwards being forced up from her seat and brought into a tight hug. The tenacity for his prank went right out the window when he held her close and a calm smile was placed over the frown she wore instead. He must have known that what he did would have done the trick. Femka looked up at him after a moment of getting lost in his warmth and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Are you ready?" Ratchet's smile was unrelenting.

"Hmm, yeah, I'm ready."

The Lombax kept his fingers locked around hers and the two stepped out of the room together once again walking past the area where Clank and Arlis were lounging at. They were engaging in some game together, really. Maybe chess? Femka turned her head to see what they were doing while she walked by and the Remilien and the little robot both turned their way as well upon hearing the two pairs of feet make noise across the metal floor yet another time.

"Are you going somewhere, Ratchet?" Clank asked from the comfort of his chair.

"Yeah, I was just gonna show Fem the city. Why, did you wanna come?"

"Negative. I am currently preoccupied with Mister Marlow in this rather intensive competition of Cazarian chess… He has never played before, however he does very well."

"I try," the old man said with a considerate grin.

"Oh, yeah, I talked to Al just a minute ago and he said he'd hypothetically help us with the teleporter tomorrow."

"Excellent. Then our device shall be en route to completion in no time."

Ratchet's head nodded to his small companion who was now looking back at the chess board with a concentrated stare. Arlis wondered at that moment who exactly this "Al" person was but he would just have to wait to see for himself tomorrow—that, or he'd ask Clank later about it.

"Enjoy your game. We'll be back later," Ratchet said with a wave of his hand while the other took Femka along.

"Bye," Femka waved as well.

The two at their seats acknowledged the others that left with a wave of their own hands and without delay carried on with their game.

There was a small gust of cool wind that blew back Femka's hair when she stepped outside. The sun was being blocked by a group of obstinate clouds, though the weather would say that the day was fair. The Earthling's glasses adjusted to the light and a small thought drifted through her mind with a smile to accompany it. It was good to know that even in such a technologically advanced universe the simple concept of glasses was still just like how it was on Earth.

"Where're we going first?" Femka inquired pushing hair out of her mouth.

"Anywhere. I think aimlessly walking around sounds like a good plan." He smiled.

"That's fine with me, just as long as we don't have to use anything that teleports…"

"We probably will."

"Great…"

Her cheerful expression turned dull and unenthusiastic at the thought of traveling through one of those teleportation chambers. It gave her chills but her mood wouldn't last long. Ratchet kept her close by him entangling his fingers within hers and the two started off on their directionless adventure. After being in this universe for about three months seeing all the flying cars and space ships felt more regular for Femka but there was still the sensation of novelty that overwhelmed her each time she watched them zip by and travel up high into space. Like all times before (at least recently) the woman brought out her comm-link to capture the visuals that she saw. There were again different species of aliens on this planet than that of Igliak. Each galaxy was home to millions (and more) of intelligent life. She recognized a very popular species again that resembled her but only had three fingers—opposable thumb included—instead of five. She also noted aliens that had some similarity to Ratchet or a Lombax rather. Their fur was dark brown and their ears were a little smaller. It was strange to think that Ratchet was the only one of his kind left now. Femka watched the dark, furred alien go on his way and then glanced back at the man beside her while they walked along a transparent path. After some time Ratchet became aware of Femka's stare and his eyebrows lifted when she didn't turn away.

"I have a question," Femka said stopping.

"Okay." Ratchet stopped walking as well letting the people pass them along.

"From all the stories you told me, all the stuff you've done with Clank, you've made lots of different friends—or enemies—and lots of people know you."

"Mhm."

"How come while we're walking no one is stopping you or talking to you? I mean, you saved this galaxy, the other galaxy, another galaxy and this one again, right? And you're the last Lombax! Doesn't anybody care?" He hands rose to shoulder height and her palms lay flat out until her fingers curled slightly.

"Well, I do have some memorials of myself on a few planets." His finger and thumb pushed on his chin. "Ah, the point is, people know me, they know I exist, but there's one problem." Ratchet clasped onto Femka's shoulders. "Its name is Qwark. And it's been stealing my thunder since I was fifteen years old."

"How do you put up with him? I would've decked him for taking credit for the things I've accomplished."

"I did once. It was nice. But," he sighed. "Even though Qwark is a cowardly idiot, and a spotlight ranger, I don't do things to be recognized. I've done what I've done in the past because it was the right thing to do and it wasn't just me who could benefit, it was for everyone who needed it. Sure, it can be inconceivably frustrating when you work really hard at something then somebody else takes the credit, but it doesn't really matter in the end anyway." His smile was resolute but gentle. "Besides, I'm in more than enough good company to never feel dissatisfied or unwanted."

"You must have a heart of gold, Ratchet."

"I have a lot of people to thank for that disposition."

His smile was infectious and Femka found herself hugging around his neck seconds later. He responded just the same wrapping his arms around her tightly lifting her off the ground. Her body slid down after their moment and her grin seemed to stay when they linked hands again and finally continued their promenade. Femka needed to stop every thirty feet in order to take a picture of something but it didn't bother Ratchet. It did make their outing last longer than intended. They started around noon and it was now evening, the sun ready to set. Though most of their day was spent wondering around the city it was enjoyable for Femka. She also managed to avoid any teleportation devices. As they walked back together she could feel her legs getting sore but her distractions were plentiful yet. Since the night was coming it changed the whole scheme and hue of the city. Even standing in front of Ratchet and Clank's home did the place look different as the sun poured its colors onto it. The young woman stared up into the sky trying to look at the stars that were coming out.

"Can you see any planets from Kerwan?"

"From here, not really. At least I don't think at the moment." Ratchet scratched his head. "That's probably a question for Clank."

"When we were on Igliak we could see Jasindu pretty clearly from Meridian. Doesn't it worry anyone that a planet is so close? Could they ever collide with each other?"

"It's possible."

"Could anybody ever do anything about it?" She stared at Ratchet. "Would anybody ever do anything about it?"

The mechanic snorted a laugh at her response.

"Yeah, somebody could do something about it, and hopefully they would. I just hope it's not me," he mumbled.

"Would you?" she smiled.

"Well, if it was crashing into my planet, I guess I'd do something about it. I'm not a superhero but then again I wouldn't leave it up to you-know-who, so yeah, probably." His eyebrows rose up then down quickly with a sardonic expression.

"See, I knew you had a heart of gold." Femka nudged his arm before resting her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes feeling his arm around her. "We should go inside. I might fall asleep standing up." Her body rested against him.

"Don't fall over when I start moving."

When Ratchet did start moving Femka just walked right behind him still resting her head and upper body against him. She was literally right on his tail while they walked inside the complex. The rooms were dimly lit and it seemed like the only active place was the living room where Clank and Arlis where earlier. They did leave their spots but they happened to be in the same place again by the time Ratchet and Femka returned just doing something different this time.

"Welcome back," Clank greeted as he stacked one card on top of another. "Did you enjoy your afternoon?"

"Yeah, it was pretty nice. I see you're still in the living room."

"Sometimes it's good to be in one place all day," Arlis commented as he sat comfortably in a chair letting out a yawn.

Consequentially Femka released a yawn as well still propped up against Ratchet's back. His head turned around somewhat looking at the tired woman behind him.

"Ready for bed?"

"Uh-huh…"

"We'll see each other tomorrow morning. G'night," he said leading Femka down the hallway.

"Good night," the two replied simultaneously.

By the time they entered through his doorway Femka was ready to roll onto the bed. Her eyes were full of water from yawning so much and her legs were tired from walking all day. She sat down instead and found her night clothes lying on the floor near her. She tiredly picked them up and began changing from where she sat. She wasn't embarrassed about doing it around Ratchet at this point and he was doing the same thing on the other side of the room. She had lain her body against the soft bed and closed her eyes. When Ratchet joined next to her he took of her glasses and placed them on the stand adjacent to him. The Lombax acted like a magnet to her and she rolled into her keeping her face under his chin and him keeping his arms around her tight and secure.

"Ratchet," Femka said half-asleep.

"Hm?"

"Can I tell you something funny?" Her voice lagged.

"What?"

"Remember when that thing happened in the alley and you took me home and then you stayed with me until I fell asleep?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"I woke up once before you, because I was spooning you. I didn't wanna tell you, because it was embarrassing."

Ratchet opened his eyes and smiled shamelessly.

"I can't believe I was asleep for that." His smile turned into pensiveness.

"I'm pretty glad you were," she sighed out. "And remember on Pokitaru, you asked me if I was thinking about you? I said no but I actually was."

"Are you some font of truth when you're half-awake, Fem? What else have you been hiding?"

"The same night I was spooning with you I had a dream that I was making out with you. I liked that dream. It was a really nice dream." She yawned.

He smiled and lightly laughed stroking down her hair.

"You can go to sleep now, Femka."

"Okay…"

• • •

Come morning both Femka and Ratchet were already to go. Arlis and Clank were up at the break of dawn and all had met each other in the common area known as the kitchen (and sometimes the living room) for breakfast. Al didn't specify a time that he'd arrive at but it was good to be ready at all times in case. Everyone had eaten (save for the smallest robot) and gathered into the garage to start their day. Ratchet went to fixing a ship with Clank by his side. When Al finally did show up the alien brought several things with him carried by two hovering helper-bots. The "robot guy" entered the garage as the mechanic was still working on the ship near the entrance. Clank spotted the familiar presence and greeted him promptly and tugged on Ratchet's pant leg to get his attention.

"Wait just a minute, Clank…"

"Ratchet!" Al yelled out.

The Lombax quickly lifted his head up only to hit it against a piece of the ship with a thud.

"Aaahhh…!" He grabbed his head noticing Al standing there. "Oh, hi…"

"Hmm…" Al scrutinized the hanger with a finger under his nose and saw the teleporter in the back. "Aha! So that's your project?" He started walking towards the creation and examined it along with all of its parts and especially the computer. "Hmm…"

Ratchet rubbed his head slowly making his way to Al.

"Whaddaya think?"

"Hmm…"

"Hmm?"

"Seems pretty outmoded."

"Well, could you "in-mode" it?" He watched as the chubby brainiac began typing away on the terminal.

"I said before it was an easy fix, but this computer is pretty despicable. We'll have to make a few adjustments before I install an A.I."

He summoned his two helper-bots that carried all the tools necessary for the project. The two set down a heavy bag with relief and opened it up to reveal his tools.

"It's obvious what you're trying to accomplish here but what's the story?" Al bothered to ask putting on his goggles that rested on his head.

"We needed to build a teleporter that could send a friend of mine back to her galaxy. It's not possible to fly there…"

"On slightly possible," Clank added.

"Yeah, slightly possible, but anyway, her galaxy isn't really around here and we wanted to find a quicker way to get her home. This seemed like a pretty good idea."

"Mhmm…" Al pondered and continued with his work taking out one of his tools and hooking it up to the computer.

Ratchet watched him work steadily and noticed that Femka was peeking through the doorway across the garage. He motioned with his hand for her to come over, though she seemed reluctant about it. Her feet carried her to Ratchet where she quickly joined at his hip and she, too, watched Al get to work.

"Where's Arlis?"

"He's coming."

Surely enough, the old researcher came into the large room with the others and noticed the stranger working intensively on their device. He stood by Ratchet and watched Al curiously.

"Does he need any help?" the old man asked.

"Nah, we'd only be interfering with his mojo. Right, Al?"

"Sssshhh, I'm working!"

"Al is very well adept in computer skills and robotics," Clank informed Arlis.

"So I can see."

They continued to watch until Al appeared to have come to a breakthrough. He lifted the goggles away from his face and fixed his glasses placing his hands on his well-rounded hips with a proud smirk.

"There!" he said.

"Did you do it?" Ratchet's voice rose in a curious tone.

"Of course I did. Your teleportation machine has now been retrofitted with a modified artificial intelligence core."

"That's amazing," Arlis spoke out surprised. "You didn't even need to see my schematics or anything."

"It's a piece of cake," Al waved out his hand in modesty. "But you should probably test it out first to see how well it works, not that I have any doubts, though."

Ratchet stepped over to the portal and pressed one of the buttons on the panel to the side of the circular device and a compartment opened up. He reached around his neck and took off the necklace that he'd been wearing for the past couple weeks and slipped the stone into a small holding slot pressing the same button again. There was a loud humming sound and the computer that was hooked up to the large portal reacted to the Neroltrium inside.

"Sufficient power source detected," the computer's voice spoke.

The Remilien was biting his tongue the whole time Ratchet stood over there and sighed relieved hearing the computer say its words. Al had a brooding expression after seeing the choice of power they were using and watched as the portal glowed a pale, blue light in the gate.

"Interesting," the alien said. "Now, input the coordinates you need."

"Okay. Let's try something simple." Ratchet thought. "How about putting in the coordinates for Kerwan's Planetary Defense Center? It's not that far."

Al stood by the computer and input the correct numbers for the location. The computer recognized the number and confirmed it through its speaker. The next step was to decide who would go through it. Everyone looked at each other apprehensively.

"I will go," Clank stepped forward. "It will be safer to test it on something that is not living first."

"Are you sure, Clank? I mean, we could send something else, like a rock, a book, Qwark…"

"I will be fine, Ratchet."

"Alright," he said hesitant.

"Be careful." Femka worried as well.

"The computer display says that you'll have five minutes to enter through the portal and to enter back," Al read with his eyes squinted at the screen.

Arlis walked over to the portal with Clank and was ready to press the final button when the little robot was also ready. There was no telling where the portal would open. Though, the location was specific, it didn't guarantee that Clank would be walking on ground or even in the ground. He took a deep breath and nodded his head to Arlis. The man pressed the button and the machine hummed again with the blue glow swirling and looking like moving water.

"Here I go."

The tiny robot braved through the portal slowly as everyone watched the light consume him until he was gone. He didn't come out the other side and that proved that the machine partially worked. They waited for him to return hoping that he didn't end up some place he really shouldn't have. As Clank left through the portal he could see the city visibly from where he stood. And where he stood was on a platform right outside the Planetary Defense Center. Clank gasped with surprise looking at his hands and seeing no distortion. He turned around quickly to see the portal there appearing like it was a part of the wall to the building.

"Hmm…" The robot tapped his chin. "It appears to have worked just fine, though I cannot say it will always be this convenient."

Clank walked back through the portal and returned to the garage all in one piece. Ratchet was the first to be the most relieved when he saw his friend come back.

"It works!"

"Indeed. However, my exit was attached to the wall. It may be that this machine will give us a gamble if the coordinates are not precise."

"Fascinating," Arlis commented bemused.

"Should we try another destination?" Clank proposed.

"Oh! I have a good one. Try the coordinates for the garage back on Veldin." Ratchet's tail wagged slowly.

"Entering data for Kyzil Plateau…" Al spoke aloud pressing the buttons on the computer. "There."

The same procedure as before happened with the teleporter. It hummed loudly at first and then quieted down to a dull drone. Clank stepped up to the device and Arlis stood by ready to press the button again. The silver robot gave the signal and the button was pressed. The boldly braved another walk through, closing his eyes and opening them when he reached the other side. The portal had opened several feet off of the ground and as Clank stepped over he tumbled to the ground.

"Hmph." Clank brushed the sand and dirt off of him when he stood up. "As I said…"

His grumbles ended when he could see their old garage in front of his eyes just a little bit ahead. His eyes widened again astounded that the teleporter was close in precision with the destination. Clank didn't spend too much time gawking over the sight and went back to the portal lifting himself up in the air with his helipack and entering once again in the garage. Everyone stared at him in anticipation.

"It was successful."

They all expressed their joys in a group "Huzzah!" until something happened with the computer. Al turned his direction to the screen as it flashed a warning.

"Overheating, please shut down," the voice said.

"Uh-oh… Better pull the plug," Al advised manually shutting down the computer.

Arlis who was already by the gateway opened up the compartment where the Neroltrium was and took it out immediately as the system shutdown with a low hum that eventually faded.

"What happened?" Femka stared over at Arlis and then to Al.

"That power source you're using is most likely too much for this thing to handle," Al stated.

"It's essential for the machine, though." The old man bit his lip in thought. "I suppose we'll just have to be very careful next time. I'm just grateful that the thing works. You're a genius, Al."

"I get by." The "genius" shifted his glasses with a self-effacing smile. "Well, I believe that means my work here is done."

"Thanks, Al. You're a big help." Ratchet smiled appreciatively.

"Since you're finally in Metropolis, make sure you stop by my shop soon to give Clank a tune-up." He inspected the robot at his level carefully. "I can already tell he's way overdue."

"Sure thing."

With that, Al and his helpful assistants were on their way out through the large door leaving the others to themselves and their homemade teleportation apparatus. Femka looked over at Ratchet wondering what they would do now. It worked (so it seemed) and the only thing next was to test a living, organic object with it. For now, the machine would take a break but it didn't keep the woman from thinking about what would happen next. Her stare was still on the mechanic who soon looked back at her. He could tell what she was thinking and smiled with half of his face knowing what needed to happen later. Her head looked down at the floor and she frowned.

"Um…" Ratchet frowned as well scratching his shoulder awkwardly.

"I guess this means that I'll be going home soon now."

The reality of it all had finally arrived and it didn't feel good at all for Femka. She was homesick for Earth but that drastically changed ever since she confessed her feelings the other week. Her heart was starting to sink and Ratchet grabbed a hold of her hands and lifted up her chin to look at her. Her frown was unrelenting and the Lombax pulled her in to hug her. Femka's head sat on his shoulder and her arms rested around his neck. Clank saw the depressing look on the woman's face from his position and could only feel bad. Arlis felt the same as well as he stood by the machine holding her necklace in his hand.

"You don't have to leave right now," Ratchet spoke softly.

"I know. But I have to leave soon. I'm gonna miss you." Her voice was a quivering whisper.

"I'll miss you too but you're not leaving yet." He pulled her out in front of him. "We can still spend time together, we all can."

Femka viewed the two who stood behind Ratchet after staring at him disheartened. All their faces seemed to mimic hers. She never really thought that they'd be just as heartbroken as she was. She rubbed her nose with her hand and looked down at her feet uncertain of what to say.

"I think what I really want," her voice spoke up, "is just to have one last day with you guys."

"Then what about tomorrow? We can all do whatever you want."

"I'd like that."

The mechanic smiled only remembering that he still had other things to do today. It was a few hours past noon and naturally there were things that needed his attention to fixing.

"Femka, Fem, I still have to work on that ship over there, will you help me?" His ears parted outward off to each side.

Her head nodded gently and she was taken by the mechanic's side over to the ship as his helper for the rest of the day. Arlis watched the two and stared down at Clank who was fixing the antenna on his head.

"Clank, you wouldn't suppose I'd be getting in the way tomorrow, do you?"

"Why would you think that?" he retorted confused. "I would believe that your company is much appreciated."

"I just wondered." He smiled.

"Ratchet will need our help now. Miss Femka may be his chosen assistant but I believe there is much he has to do. If I know Ratchet, and I am ninety-seven percent certain that I do, he has probably taken more work than he can keep track of."

"Ninety-seven?"

"I must leave three percent open for error."

The small robot began to walk off to another section of the garage. The old man chuckled with a gleam and followed him to assist in whatever he needed.

Clank was right about his assumptions of Ratchet. It was only midday but there was a lot to be done. If the Lombax was available then someone probably had something wrong with their rockets or ship and needed a repair. With the four of them working all day most of those things were accomplished what needed to be. Femka tried her best to stay happy for the rest of the day but her situation still bothered her noticeably. Come night she didn't even want to sleep. She wanted to make her moments with everyone last as long as she could. But she knew that wouldn't work. As she sat on Ratchet's bed when night came at last she kicked her legs over the edge waiting for him to come back from the bathroom. Her eyes observed all the goings-on outside and she released a heavy sigh.

"Tomorrow's my last day. I can't be sad," she talked to herself. "I'm gonna miss everything."

Her head turned fast to the door that opened and soon closed after letting the fuzzy, yellow alien in. He smiled at her and took a seat next to her with his hands on his lap and stared out the window with her.

"Did you think of what you wanted to do tomorrow?"

"Not exactly."

"Hmm." Ratchet's tail swayed behind him while he thought. "Well, if you can't think of anything off the bat, is there anything that you've always wanted to do that you couldn't back on your home planet?" His gaze turned on her.

"I think I've done just about everything with you and Clank that I couldn't on Earth." She smiled amusingly. "I've been in space, flying in a spaceship, something I've dreamed my short life to be able to do. I was almost assaulted by aliens, I was kidnapped, I almost died."

"Yeah, uh, those ones you probably could've done without…"

"Probably." She smiled again looking at her lap. "I guess it doesn't really matter what we do tomorrow; I'll just be happy knowing that in any case I can be with you guys."

The Lombax stared at her for a moment while she looked down at her lap and shied his eyes away feeling some regret that he couldn't show her the places he intended to earlier. If they had more time he would've gladly taken her to another planet but tomorrow wasn't enough. Femka peeked with her eyes to Ratchet and smiled taking his hand and wrapping her arms around his arm rubbing her face on his shoulder. He quickly embraced her back falling backwards onto the bed letting her remain on top of him as she smiled and giggled. She lifted her always blushing face from his neck and scooted her body forward to kiss him. Femka knew this was one thing she would miss the most. Her thoughts made her conscious feel greedy and shameless because of it. This was her last night, though. She wanted to make the most of what she had—and he did say she could have him as long as she wanted to. Regardless, the woman pressed on with her feelings and her "lover" did so as well. It was another night she would never forget.