Chapter 4

Ratchet scratched his finger against the dark stain on the wall, a sound of disgust echoing from him as bits of it flaked off and landed at his feet. "We really have to do something about this wall, or at the very least these weird patches of god knows what". The lombax stepped back and glanced over at Clank who was currently equipped with inspecting and cleaning the floor.

It was quite an easy task for the small bot; being a natural at cleaning thanks to his many experiences from living in their last apartment and the ones before that.

Clank placed the rag in his hand back into the bucket of soap and water. He then proceeded to move it around a bit before wringing it out. With the cloth in hand he turned his head towards his friend and spoke. "Hmm, some 'Blargian Extra Strength Stain-Be-Gone' should solve the problem. I heard it could clean the galaxy's most toughest stains. It also came quite in handy when I had to rid the apartment of those 5 month old pizza stains you left on the living room wall". The robot sounded slightly annoyed at the mention of this past incident.

Ratchet never was one to care about the cleanliness of his surroundings. Dishes would be piled up sky high and the floor would be covered in dozens of past sticky messes. He did not even want to think about the state of Ratchet's bedroom.

If Clank had not taken up the personal job of head housekeeper to the lombax, there was no telling how long it would have taken before his best friend would begin driving out their neighbors because of the wretched stench. Not to mention it was very bad to Ratchet's welfare.

Ratchet gave a sheepish grin, rubbing his head. "Yeah, sorry about that. I did mean to tell you but...I kinda forgot". The lombax leaned against a wall that luckily wasn't covered in odd stains and sighed. "We don't have any of that Blargian stain stuff, now do we?".

"We do not". Clank answered flatly.

Ratchet put a hand over his face and groaned loudly. Looks like I'm going to have to make another trip to Meridian. Won't that be fun...

The hand fell away and settled limply by his side. He set his eyes on Clank. On all fours, the robot's small hands moved back and forth as he scrubbed away at the ill kept floor. For several minutes the lombax was silent, somewhat mesmerized by his companion's movements. These actions reminded him of not long ago when they were back at their cozy apartment in Metropolis. Even back then, Ratchet's eyes would almost always wander to his friend who would be busy doing some sort of act. Whether it be cleaning, cooking, or just one of the bot's other usual hobbies.

Clank had felt the pair of eyes on him, and although they did not cause him to falter in his movements, his face grew slightly warm as he blushed at the attention Ratchet was giving him. He paused his movements, blinking at the spot on the floor that he had been busy cleaning. It had taken almost half an hour but he had finally managed to break through all the grime and dirt.

Perhaps some stronger floor cleaners would make the job a lot easier?

Clank sighed quietly to himself, and slowly stood up to face his lombax friend.

"Ratchet, this task would be a lot less tedious if we had the proper-".

The sentence was left unfinished as Clank noticed that Ratchet was no longer in the room with him. "Ratchet?". His friend's name hung in the air for several seconds before a familiar voice called from downstairs.

"I'm going out for a few things, Clank. Don't wait up!". There was a sound of a door slamming, and then silence. Looks like Clank was on his own again.

A few hours had passed since Ratchet left. Unlike last time, Clank didn't waste his time just sitting around and waiting for the lombax to return, no, instead he had went back to the task at hand. A task that after a few hours had become rather boring. And Clank didn't get bored easily.

The small robot yawned, stretching his limbs upward. As he did this he set his eyes on the part of floor he had thoroughly cleaned. "Normal soap and water would not have been my first choice, but at least it managed to get part of the job done".

Clank stepped forward, glancing into the bucket of water. It was a swampy brown color and had bits of gunk floating around inside of it. Clank made a face of disgust. To think he had his hand in there just a few minutes ago. A shower suddenly sounded really good right now.

Even though the home had been abandoned for nearly two decades the plumbing seemed to be almost fully intact. There was only the matter of installing a power generator to bring it up to functional order. Fortunately Ratchet had thought ahead and had purchased one while on his shopping trip in Meridian. But the question was, had he even gotten around to installing it?

Clank let a small sigh escape his metal lips. After going over Ratchet's actions yesterday, he had concluded that Ratchet had in fact not installed the generator. This was due to the fact that he had been too equipped with setting up the living room for entertainment purposes.

Perhaps I should have reminded him that basic needs are more important than a functional holovision and gaming setup.

Not having much else to do, the pint sized robot scanned the room while trying to figure out a way to entertain himself until his furry companion returned.

Hmm. Wait, what about that holopic I discovered yesterday? As the thought went through his mind, he placed a hand on his chest compartment. He had yet to reveal the holopic to Ratchet, concluding that he would keep it hidden until he figured out what was so peculiar about its contents. Speaking of peculiar contents… Clank set his optics on the closet in the far corner. The contents of the box that Ratchet had found were also a mystery in itself. His best friend did mistake the engraving on the one of pieces of jewelry as the deceased lombax general's initials after all.

After taking a moment to ponder, Clank decided that the box was indeed worth a second look.

The box itself was located on the closet floor. Ratchet put it there for easy access just in case one of them wanted to explore its contents again without having to reach unnecessary lengths to reach it. How convenient. Clank responded, giggling his signature giggle.

The box was not very heavy and deemed very easy for Clank to carry.

Now, hopefully I can solve this little mystery.

Clank set the box down on the coffee table with a gentle thud, before opening it however, he decided it would be wise to first inspect the box itself. It was made out of a type of wood that was brownish-gold in color, the latch concealing its contents; a silver colored metal. What really struck Clank's curiosity though, wasn't the metal latch, but what was located on top of the box. On the very top of the box (more specifically its lid) was a slightly faded phrase written in lombax.

"Hmm, interesting". Putting a hand to his chin, he attempted to decipher the text, but to no avail.

If only the lombax language were more well known in this galaxy.

With careful hands, Clank resumed his actions. Upon opening the box, the few pieces of jewelry inside gleamed weakly in the sunlight. Clank drew his hand towards his chest again, opening his compartment to retrieve the holopic.

Clank's eyes shone brighter as he carefully studied the image.

They do appear to be quite familiar.

The lombaxes in the photo were pressed close together, overjoyed smiles on both of their faces. Both lombaxes shared similar fur color, sandy colored with brownish stripes. The location of each of their stripes were rather different though; the one on the left had stripes on their face, while the other did not. The one on the left also had long hair done up into a long ponytail laying on their shoulder.

What is that?

Clank's eyes lowered a bit, taking in what appeared to be a small bundle of some sort in the female lombax's arms.

The bundle was wrapped up in a grey blanket, and upon closer inspection, he could faintly make out a small set of ears poking out from it.

Of course, that would explain the nursery upstairs. Clank's optics dimmed. The nursery…

Ratchet had been mentally unprepared to witness what was inside. The robot could tell just by the tearful look in his friend's eyes when they cast upon the lone abandoned cradle. The tattered toys and the possibly bloodstained wall had not helped the matter either.

Clank shook his head away from the memory, focusing back on the holopic instead.

No, I have to focus on the matter at hand. The most important task right now is figuring out the identity of these people.

Had he met them in the past, then surely he would remember. Maybe being in a coma-like state for over a year at The Great Clock had corrupted his memory somehow.

The bot rubbed his head and closed his eyes.

The ponytail on the female...The striping on the male…

He silently pondered, mental images forming in his mind of the couple in the holopic. Thinking over it some more, the female was noticeably taller than their male partner; who was similar to Ratchet's height. The male actually resembled Ratchet in quite a few ways.

A tall...female lombax...wearing a ponytail…

Another image formed in his mind, this one featuring the same tall lombax wearing a flight suit; their friendly blue eyes looking out at him.

Clank's optics suddenly opened, quickly glancing down at the holopic, he then turned his gaze over to the box with the jewelry inside. Even though he knew for a fact what the name written on the bracelet was, he wanted to be 100% correct. Swiftly, but carefully, he moved his hands over the bits of jewelry inside, until he finally found what he was looking for.

The familiar faded bracelet that him and Ratchet had seen yesterday.

It sat still in Clank's palm, the metal bolt shaped charms glinting ever so slightly.

Angel. It read, just like before. Clank could not help but smile at the discovery he had made.

How did I not figure out this sooner?

Clank laid the bracelet down on the table beside the holopic, its metal charms still reflecting off small glints of sunlight. As he sat there, the smile on his metal features slowly faded into one of sorrow.

Angela...

Well this is quite the surprise, I actually finished this chapter. Looks like I am not a total lazy bastard after all. Anyway, I have been thinking of an alternate title for this fic for awhile now. If any of my readers have any suggestions on an alternate title or anything else, feel free to tell me in the reviews.

Ratchet and Clank, along with any other canon characters from that universe, do not belong to me.