Skyla sucked in a breath as she crashed back into consciousness.
"Sky? Skyla!" a voice was frantically calling her name and she began coughing heavily, unable to respond. A weight lifted off her chest and she gulped down air, filling her lungs with life giving oxygen.
"Don't do that! You scared me," it was Maia's voice and Skyla had to make sure she was breathing properly before she assessed her body's state. The pain in her arm was gone leaving behind a numb feeling, and the rest of her felt similar, but healed. It was a different feeling to when Heryn had healed her with natural remedies, as if her body had been mended for her rather than encouraged to mend itself. Her eyes were functioning well after several blinks and she looked up to see Maia's face gazing down at her, hazel eyes wide with worry. The Cazar's expression softened when she saw Skyla was fully conscious and breathing properly.
"How are you feeling?" the Cazar asked gently.
"Sore...and numb," Skyla croaked in reply. Maia nodded sympathetically,
"You will be for a while." Skyla tried to move her limbs and all of them responded...except one. Her eyes widened and she tried harder but her right arm still refused to respond, she couldn't even feel it.
"I can't feel my arm," she told Maia, an edge of panic to her voice.
"The muscle was badly damaged when the chip was removed and many of your motor neurones were destroyed," came another voice and Skyla looked over to see the robot, Clank, beside her.
"Will I...can I...could I...?" the grey Lombax stumbled slightly over her words, wondering how she would be able to function properly with only one working arm.
"It is possible for you to regain the use of your arm in time," the robot informed her. Ah well, at least that was better than never working again. Skyla sighed heavily and, using her one operational arm, began levering herself upright.
"Take it easy, Sky," Maia cautioned her, helping her friend lean against something solid behind her. The grey Lombax looked around them.
They were in a cave, medium in size but big enough to hold them all in relative comfort. To her left the cave delved further into black, but to her right she saw the entrance, a jagged hole large enough for a small vessel to pass through if it was careful. A storm of some sort was going on outside and what looked like muddy brown rain was falling heavily, filling the air with a smell that had a tangy, almost bile-like scent. A small fire was going not far from where Skyla sat, the flames lighting up the cavern with an orange glow that cast shadows here and there. There was no telling what time of day it was.
"Where are we?" Skyla asked, addressing the robot.
"Planet Sarathos in the Shadow Sector of the Solana Galaxy," he told her.
"Sarathos?" Skyla repeated with a small shudder, remembering the incident with the viper venom.
"Yes," Clank confirmed.
"When will we be rescued?" Maia asked.
"I do not know," Clank admitted, "this sector is largely avoided by the government as it has many dangers. But the Galactic Rangers will be trying to find us as we speak. I am sure of it."
"Do we have supplies?" the Cazar enquired.
"We have some emergency rations - yes. But it is not much...enough to last you 3 days at the most. Ratchet is not very good at planning ahead when it comes to his own wellbeing," the robot said with something of an exasperated tone. It was then Skyla noticed something, the absence of said...guy.
"Where's the...the...the...h-he...him?" Skyla stopped and started as she spoke, finding she could not quite get her words out properly. Thankfully, they understood what she was getting at.
"Ratchet is out working on his ship, he said he will be back soon," Maia explained and Skyla nodded absently but made no reply. The Cazar turned to the robot,
"Have you and Ratchet been here before, then?"
"Yes, several years ago. It was not a pleasant experience, especially for Ratchet," Clank answered, frowning slightly as he remembered the Dreadzone and all that it had put his friend through, "he nearly died multiple times," he added. His words jolted a thought process in Skyla and her brow furrowed. She looked up at Maia,
"You're alive," she said simply. The Cazar gave her a gentle smile,
"Yes, I am." There was a pause and Skyla blinked once, then twice,
"How?" she croaked softly, "I saw the pod explode...I saw you...I...I thought you were d-dead," she finished, tears pricking her eyes as she remembered her grief. Maia shifted over and drew her friend into a tight hug. Skyla blinked furiously but eventually screwed her eyes shut against the onslaught of emotions that washed over her.
"I'm alive, little one...I'm alive," the Cazar whispered to the Lombax, stroking her hair as her friend choked quietly on her suppressed tears. When Skyla had composed herself a little better, she drew back and looked at Maia, taking her in. Maia was alive, her best friend, her rock, her sister...was alive. The light at the end of the tunnel had brightened just that much more. With Maia alive...Skyla knew things would be going their way from now on. The grey Lombax smiled through her tears,
"I'm so..." she began, but couldn't find a word to describe her emotions. Happy didn't even begin to cover what she was feeling. Maia smiled gently and tenderly tucked a stray hair behind the Lombaxes ear,
"I know, little one, so am I." Skyla caught the Cazar's hand, feeling its warmth, the blood that ran through her veins. The Lombax found herself smiling widely and tears of pure happiness began to run down her face. Pulling the Cazar to her, the friends embraced once again, sharing in the relief, the joy of finding each other. Together once again, the way they should be.
After a while, they drew apart and Skyla took a deep breath to get ahold of herself, wiping away her tears. She was fine with Maia seeing her cry, but didn't know what the robot would make of her tears. Thankfully, he had moved away to the other side of the cave, obviously sensing that the friends needed a private moment. Skyla was glad the other...Lombax wasn't here to see her in this state, she did not want to give him the impression she was a weak, emotional wreck...even if she was at the moment. Swallowing several times to get rid of the lump in her throat, Skyla looked up at Maia,
"How?" was all she asked. The Cazar took a moment to settle down beside her friend, her expression turning thoughtful as she recounted the events after their separation.
"I remember little of what happened after the pod was ejected into space, only that you weren't there with me. My pod must have gone unnoticed...I think it moved away too fast or something, but I wasn't caught by any of The Collector's men." Skyla frowned,
"But I saw a pod explode...I-I thought it was you." Maia's eyes narrowed in consideration,
"Yes...I remember seeing something similar...I thought it was you at first, but my gut told me it wasn't. Still...there was some sort of explosion near the ship, wasn't there? Wait...weren't there three pods?" Skyla's eyes widened as she remembered,
"Yes, there were! So...who was in the last one?" Maia shrugged,
"I guess we'll never know...I hope it wasn't that Novalian." There was a moment as the friends simultaneously came to the conclusion that it probably had been the Novalian in the last pod and thus met that...horrific death.
"The next thing I remember, I'm being arrested by the authorities," the Cazar went on casually. Skyla did a double take,
"I'm sorry, what? Arrested?!" Maia gave her a wry smile,
"I know. Apparently, they recognised my pod's signature as coming from Jaynwae's ship, so assumed I was a smuggler from her crew. Didn't take them long to figure out I wasn't a smuggler and I told them my story. They didn't believe me at first, but then I mentioned you and they became more interested. I had to retell my story under a lie detector so they knew I was being honest...then they called in Ratchet and Clank," Maia paused, as if searching for the right words, but then continued as normal, "I had to tell them my story all over again, but they agreed to help. I was convinced you were alive so we started searching for you on nearby planets, but with little success. Some were just too populated and others we couldn't scan properly for whatever reason. It didn't help that no-one had seen the cargo ship or The Collector's ships and we couldn't find any trace of the encounter. We were just preparing to do a deep surface scan on all the surrounding planets individually, which would have taken days to complete, when we received your transmission. Ratchet was incredible. He pulled together a small troop of Rangers and was on Eudora in record time...and you know the rest." There was a moment of silence after Maia finished her tale as Skyla took it all in. In any other circumstances, the grey Lombax might have doubted her friends words for the extraordinary miracle they had described, but the sincerity of them and all that had happened to Skyla recently confirmed they must be true. Someone up there was definitely watching out for her, watching out for them both.
The sound of running feet reached her ears and she glanced up to see a recognisable figure entering the cave. He shook his head violently, sending muddy water droplets flying everywhere and Skyla realised his fur was smoking ever so slightly, and there was a distinct smell of acid on him.
"I hate this planet," he grumbled, "damn acid rain..." He scooped up a pouch of nanotech from by the fire and squirted some onto his hands.
"How is Aphelion, Ratchet?" Clank asked.
"She'll be alright. Thankfully the ground here's soft and we didn't fall too vertically. Her main engine wasn't badly damaged and her core is reasonably intact. Her warp engines and weapons will take longer, but we shouldn't need them any time soon if I get her Xulian Thrusters back online. Her nose is slightly crumpled and her right top wing had a chunk torn out of it, but I found it at the crash site and welded it back on. Obviously, there's only so much I can do at the moment, but I've done what I can and set a shield over her to stop the rain burning her shell," the sandy Lombax explained as he began rubbing the nanotech all over his bare fur. The smoking died down almost immediately and he let out a sigh of relief,
"That's better," he muttered. He set down the pouch and came over to them,
"How are you feeling?" he asked Skyla.
"Better, thank you," the grey Lombax replied with a small frown. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of him now that she had a chance to take him in properly. The Lombaxes were extinct. Yet here he was. The sandy Lombax noticed her frown,
"That's good," he replied a little hesitantly. Skyla realised she was staring and looked away.
"I still don't understand," she told Maia, "how...how...how?" she asked, glancing from the other Lombax to her Cazar friend and back again.
"It's probably best if Ratchet explains," Maia said, then got up, "Clank, shall we go for a walk? Explore the cave a little." She looked expectantly at the robot who for all the animation in his face, looked puzzled,
"But it is just rock, there is nothing to explore," he said.
"Then I'll rephrase. Will you come for a walk with me?" Maia asked with an encouraging smile and a subtle glance at the two Lombaxes. Clank finally caught on and nodded,
"Of course." The Cazar and the robot moved off, Clank handing Maia a torch he removed from his torso. Skyla watched them go until they were out of sight. She glanced at the sandy Lombax and his eyes met hers. Instantly, she could tell they were thinking the same thing – they did that deliberately.
Skyla broke the contact and looked down, suddenly feeling incredibly self conscious, a feeling that was almost alien to her. She'd never met another Lombax, never thought she would, but now that she had...she didn't know what to say, what to do. A silence stretched between them and she refused to meet his eyes again, even though she could feel his gaze on her. Inwardly, her mind was in turmoil.What do I do? she thought. What can I say? Say something! But what? Anything! Her mind yelled at her.
"You have a tail", she blurted, saying the first thing that came to mind as she caught sight of the snake like object lying beside him. It was the same colour as his fur with caramel stripes and a huge tuft on the end. The sandy Lombax looked at her,
"Yes, I do," he confirmed with a slightly bemused expression. Skyla felt her cheeks go red and she flushed (another thing she rarely did).
"Lucky," she mumbled to the floor. She felt his eyes studying her closely and her feelings of self consciousness rose. Part of her was angry at herself for getting flustered so easily, she never got flustered! She was above flustering. And yet, here she was, flustered and feeling incredibly self conscious next to some who was possibly the last person in the galaxy she wanted to see her as weak and unable to control their own emotions. Pull yourself together, she snapped at herself and forced herself to look up and meet his gaze. But as soon as she did, she regretted it. The way he was looking at her, with an undeniably curious expression, it was as if he wasn't quite sure what to make of her. Skyla swallowed, she could honestly say she hadn't ever pictured herself in circumstances like this, sitting in a cave on a swampy planet...with another Lombax. What was she supposed to do in a situation like this? What was anyone supposed to do?
"Where are you from?" he asked eventually.
"I...I don't know," Skyla replied truthfully, grateful that he'd broken the silence and interrupted her destructive train of thought. If he was willing to lead, then she was willing to follow...just this once. Feeling the need to elaborate more she went on, "my earliest memories are on Hoven, but before that, where I was born...I don't know." The other Lombax nodded,
"I don't know where I was born either, but I grew up on Veldin," he told her.
"Veldin? What's that like?" Skyla asked, her curiosity of other planets temporarily overriding her awkward feelings.
"It's not much. Pretty bleak, barren, rocky...hostile. But it's home," the sandy Lombax replied with a small shrug.
"Home," Skyla echoed. The very word tasted sweet on her tongue, as freedom did too. Home...the facility was not a place she would have called home until Xavier had mentioned about home being where you were loved. The facility was only a 'home' while those she loved lived there, but not for long. She could see herself with a proper home now, not at the facility, but in some remote part of the galaxy, away from all civilization, with Maia and possibly Xavier and Cornelius. Home...where she would be surrounded by those who loved her, her family. Her eyes widened, family!
"Did you...do you have..." she tripped over her words, a strange excitement building in her. The other Lombax looked at her expectantly and her mouth opened and closed several times before she finally got out, "family?" she said quietly, her voice shaking slightly with emotion. How could she not have thought this before? If he was here, if he existed, then maybe there were others! Other Lombaxes, living somewhere, somehow...
"No," came his short reply, "I grew up alone."
"Oh," Skyla tried to hide her disappointment but quickly gave up. For a moment, she'd thought she'd seen a light at the end of the tunnel, a bright shining light...but it was nothing. Her ears drooped ever so slightly, "I thought...that...that..." she trailed off, unable to finish.
"There would be more?" he offered. There was a short pause, then she nodded. He shook his head sadly,
"No, I'm sorry. It's just me." The sorrow and grief in his voice made Skyla look up and into his eyes once again. As she stared into his bright green orbs she saw past them and into his mind. Here was another creature who had believed themselves to be the last of their kind, who was all too aware of their solitude in the universe. Her heart when out to him - she knew exactly how he felt.
"Not anymore," she murmured, more to herself than him, but he heard.
"I guess so," he smiled at her and after a moment, she returned it, if a little hesitantly. There was another moment of quiet.
"How...how did it happen?" she asked slowly.
"How did what happen?" he asked softly, though it sounded like he knew what she was referring to.
"The Lombaxes," she clarified with a small wince. Did she really want to know what had happened to them? Did she really want to know the truth? Did he even know the truth? Something told her he did.
Ratchet sighed heavily and sat upright, legs crossed as he remembered. The grey Lombax, Skyla, looked at him, her blue eyes wide and full of unspoken emotion. Her expression was expectant and curious, but at the same time, there was a hesitance behind her gaze that told him she was pretty much ignorant and inwardly wondering how much she wanted to know. He could see the loss in her eyes and knew she was well aware of the lack of Lombaxes in the universe, but maybe not as well acquainted with how and why. She would find out soon enough...and he was the best person to tell her. Now was as good a time as ever, but did he really want to add to the torment of someone who already seemed pained enough?
"It's a long story," he told her, giving her the chance to back out or go ahead. The corners of her mouth twitched into a sad smile,
"I've got time," she murmured. His own mouth curved slightly, that was certainly true, they weren't going anywhere until this wretched storm had passed. Still, where was he supposed to begin? He wasn't a good story teller, and this wasn't exactly the easiest story to tell.
"What do you know?" he asked her, deciding he could build on her knowledge rather than start from scratch. It was easier for both of them that way.
"Well..." she chewed her lip in thought, "I know that the Lombaxes...left the universe in the face of some great enemy, many years ago. But where, when, how and why...I don't know." Ratchet nodded, it wasn't much, but it was a start.
"There was an enemy, a Cragmite and self-proclaimed Emperor. He forced the Lombaxes to flee into another dimension for their own safety. The Cragmite's name was Tachyon..."
And so, Ratchet began to tell Skyla all that had happened nearly two and a half decades ago that had shaken the galaxy to its very core. He kept it as simple as possible, leaving things open for questions, but for the most part, his audience remained quiet. He told her about the Great War between the Lombaxes and the Cragmites, the invention of the Dimensionator and the consequential fall of the Cragmite Empire. He told her of the Lombaxes discovery of Tachyon's egg on Kreeli Comet and how they brought him up as one of their own. He told her about Tachyon's discovery of his origins and the fall of his race at the hands of the Lombaxes, and how he vowed to wipe them out and bring back the Cragmite Empire. He told her how Tachyon had tricked the Lombaxes into sharing their technology before turning on them with an eye for revenge. He told her how the Lombaxes had no choice but to flee before Tachyon and his vast army, escaping into another dimension via the Dimensionator. He told her how Tachyon had then rampaged through the galaxy, destroying every Lombax he met and stealing their technology, effectively eliminating all trace of the Lombaxes one step at a time.
As he narrated, he could see Skyla growing angrier and angrier with each passing minute, her ears lowering down to her skull in rage. Secretly, he was pleased by her reaction, but didn't want her to explode on him.
"He's dead," he said quickly as steam began to pour out of her ears. This seemed to bring her up short,
"Dead?" she echoed, blinking in surprise, her rage subsiding ever so slightly.
"Yeah," Ratchet confirmed, "I killed him," he added. Skyla's eyebrows rose in surprise,
"You...killed him?" Ratchet nodded and proceeded to tell her all that had happened between him and the Cragmite not that long ago. He told her about Tachyon's attack on Kerwan and how they'd escaped to the Polaris galaxy and the consequent race for survival that had ensued. He told her about their search for the 'Lombax Secret' and finding out that it was the lost Dimensionator. He told her, briefly, how Tachyon had brought back the Cragmites and the battle they had had on Fastoon. He told her how he'd fought Tachyon, and defeated him, trapping him forever in another dimension. He failed to mention how Tachyon had offered him the chance to join the Lombaxes in their dimension and how he had declined, he wasn't sure how Skyla would take that news and while he thought she'd understand...he wasn't ready to tell her just yet. Neither did he tell her about Alister Azimuth, or the events that had occurred at the Great Clock. That could all wait, for now.
When he'd finished, there was a small pause as Skyla frowned in thought.
"So...they're gone...forever? The Lombaxes, and the Cragmites...?" she asked.
"Yes, all the Dimensionators were destroyed and there's no other way for us to go to the Lombaxes or even contact them. I'm sorry," he added, meaning it with all his heart.
"Don't be...it's not your fault," Skyla said without thinking, then stopped abruptly. She glanced up at the sandy Lombax, an array of emotions flooding through her. Was it his fault? Was he partly to blame for their isolation from their race? He certainly wasn't telling her everything, what was he hiding? Almost as soon as that thought had sprung to mind she dismissed it immediately. No, she would not let herself go down that route, not now...not ever. Ratchet's tale was authentic and the sadness in his voice as he recounted the loss of the Lombax race was genuine. He was just as distressed as she was by their absence and she got the instinctive feeling that if there was something he could have done to save them or bring them back, he would have. She would not hold him accountable for the fall of the Lombaxes, not when that responsibility fell to Tachyon. And Ratchet had disposed of Tachyon, so there was little more to it. He had killed the one who had killed the Lombaxes, he was a Hero.
Skyla looked up at Ratchet who was watching her carefully, as if sensing her trail of thought and was nervous as to what her reaction would be. In his eyes, there were so many things she knew he had to tell her, but now was not the time for it all to come out into the open. She would have to be patient, they were in this together. She smiled at him, a small smile that she hoped conveyed at least some of what she was feeling, and he returned the gesture, his whole face lighting up with relief and gratitude.
Laughter reached their ears the two Lombaxes looked over to see Maia and Clank returning. Both seemed in good spirits and Maia was smiling widely and Clank seemed to be doing the same, though it was more in his optic sensors than his metallic mouth. The Cazar looked between Ratchet and Skyla, taking in their expressions. To her joy, all had gone well, she could tell from the identical look in their eyes. The look of two creatures who knew loss of the greatest and most painful kind, two creatures damaged seemingly beyond repair...but having found another of the same heart could now share in a loss, a loss they no longer had to carry alone.
Maia resumed her former position beside Skyla and gave her friend a small smile. The grey Lombax smiled back and Maia allowed her a small, inward nod of satisfaction. It may only be the beginning, but already she had a good feeling about the ex-slave and the Hero and trusted her gut when it told her that the end result would be ultimately good for both of them. The healing process had begun.