The storm lasted the rest of the day and through the night. The group spent the time lounging around the cave, resting and replenishing their energy supplies. Maia and Clank seemed to get on very well and they chatted animatedly most of the time. But between the two Lombaxes there was little conversation. This was mostly because Skyla was still trying to get her head around all that she had been told, letting it all sink in. There was a lot she could accept easily enough, like the fact the Lombaxes were gone, but some things took longer to acknowledge, like the brutal truth of how they had gone.

Ratchet could see Skyla was struggling so kept quiet for the most part, giving her time and space to adapt to this new knowledge. He himself knew what it was like to believe yourself truly alone. He'd known for a while he could well be the last Lombax in this universe, though it had taken several years for him to accept it. Growing up on Veldin, well, he'd never really thought of his own kind. Even when he'd met Clank and started travelling the galaxies, it hadn't fazed him. He simply hadn't been paying attention. Then he'd met Angela and he'd begun to think more about the Lombax race and why there were so few of them around. But when she'd disappeared...he'd dismissed all thoughts of the Lombaxes and almost gone backwards into self-inflicted ignorance.

Then there was Tachyon and his invasion of Kerwan. That was when Ratchet had really begun to think of the Lombaxes, and why there were so few and how he might be the last of his kind. When Tachyon had named him the last Lombax in the universe, he'd felt it in his gut that the Cragmite spoke the truth. The final blow came when he'd met Alister and found out exactly what had happened to the Lombaxes, how his kind had been driven from the universe, how his father had volunteered to stay behind, how he'd died to keep them safe, and how the Lombaxes were gone, perhaps forever. Alister had been his hope, for a while. The Elder had promised that he'd give Ratchet his family back, he promised he'd save the Lombaxes, he promised Ratchet he wouldn't be alone. But, the universe has a cruel sense of humour, and Alister's promises went unfulfilled. Alister himself had died and...that was it. Ratchet was the last Lombax, the final member of a once great race...destined to spend the rest of his life, alone.

Of course, he would never be truly alone. Heaven knew he would not be alive today were it not for Clank, his best pal. Clank had always been there for him, always been willing to help, always ready with a wise word here and there. Funny, for a non-organic being, there were times when Clank was more feeling than Ratchet. After Alister had died...life had been particularly difficult for the Lombax, and if Clank hadn't been there to see him through...he didn't know what he would have done. But he'd survived, and gradually learned to accept his lot in life and move on. He was the last Lombax, there would never be another – The End.

And now there was Skyla.

Just when he'd come to terms with his lonely existence, just when he'd begun to put the past behind him and look to the future, just when he'd pushed all thoughts of meeting another Lombax from his mind...along came Skyla.

Suddenly, his view of the universe was a whole lot different in the space of about two seconds. When Maia had told him about her, he'd been sceptical, his thinking being it was a ruse to get him to help. But the honesty in Maia's eyes had persuaded him to give it a try so he went along with it. And then he'd met Skyla. Even when he'd come across her, beaten and covered in blood, he knew exactly what she was. She was a Lombax – like him. Because she was alive, everything had changed. Because she existed, there was hope. To think, that all this time he'd been flying around the galaxies, visiting God knew how many worlds...there'd been a Lombax living in Solana, and a female Lombax at that. A female Lombax...a female Lombax...

Ratchet's eyes widened and he roughly shoved those thoughts aside. It was far too early to be thinking about that, if he should think about it at all! Well, he'd obviously think about it at some point, providing they got off Sarathos alright, especially since she was young, healthy, attractive...

Ratchet shook his head violently, what was he thinking? Those thoughts were unfair, on both of them! It wasn't right for him to going down that route...for now.

He scowled down at the Constructo Pistol he was playing with and angrily tugged the trigger, sending a line of laser fire to the ground where it left a glowing red scorch mark.

"Are you alright?" he looked up with a small start to see the Cazar, Maia, looking down at him. She looked a lot like Sasha except slimmer, with more delicate features and gentle hazel eyes instead of sky blue ones. She wore a soft smile that seemed to be permanently fixed about her face and he felt his heart warm almost automatically. She looked like someone you wanted to make happy, someone you wanted to be proud of you, someone you wanted for a friend, or a mother. Ratchet had no mother.

"I'm fine, thanks," he replied with a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. The Cazar nodded, though he could tell she knew he wasn't being honest. She let it pass, however, and went over to the grey Lombax, fussing over her like a mother hen. Ratchet looked on with a pang of envy. He'd never had anyone to fuss over him like that, there was no mother figure in his life. Skyla was lucky she had someone like Maia to look after her.

That wasn't to say there weren't people for Ratchet too. He had people to love him and care for him, but it was a different kind of love. But it was still love. This thought soothed Ratchet to an extent and he felt a little more relaxed. It was comforting to know that both of them, he and Skyla, were loved by others. It gave them something, a security and a promise that it would never just be them. There would always be hope. Because, it is as they say - the loved are never alone.

A new day brought a final end to the storm, and Ratchet wasted no time in preparing to go out and see to Aphelion. However, there was a minor problem in the form of a stubborn Lombax.

"I'm going with you," Skyla announced. He raised an eyebrow at her,

"You've only got one working arm," her told her sceptically. The grey Lombax picked up her limp arm and looked at it for a moment, shaking it in an almost comical way, as if she hoped to jiggle it back into working order. It didn't work and her arm remained lifeless. She sighed irritably and dropped the limb, putting on what she hoped was a determined face,

"I'll manage," she said with a lopsided shrug. Ratchet's mouth twitched and he struggled not to smile.

"I think it's best if you stay here," he said lightly.

"I'm coming with you," the grey Lombax repeated firmly.

"Sarathos is a dangerous planet, miss, it is safer for you to stay here," Clank informed her. Skyla gave him a small bright smile,

"Call me Skyla, or Sky...and I'll be fine," she said to the robot. Ratchet looked at her incredulously,

"There are creatures out there that could eat you for breakfast and still have room for a whole troop of Agorians. You need to stay here...for your own safety."

"I can take care of myself," Skyla muttered in a low voice, her eyes averted.

"Still, I won't have you risking your life for nothing," Ratchet stated.

"I can help...besides, what about you? I suppose you'll be risking your life too?" asked Skyla with mild irritation.

"I've dealt with Sarathos before and it won't be for nothing. I need to fix Aphelion so we can get off this damn planet," Ratchet answered, his voice bordering on a growl. He didn't like her tone. Couldn't she see she was in no state to be wandering around Sarathos? The idea of any person with only one arm traversing across the creature infested swamps, armourless and weaponless was pure madness...let alone one of the last Lombaxes!

"But if I help then we'll get the job done quicker and be off in half the time," Skyla argued. Ratchet gave a short bark of laughter,

"No offence, but there's not a lot you can do to help me with one arm...it's best if you stay here."

"I'll manage...I can help," Skyla pressed on stubbornly.

"No, you can't," Ratchet insisted, beginning to get irritated with her, "you're staying here and that's final." Skyla's eyes flashed dangerously at this and she opened her mouth to make a harsh retort.

"Sky, be reasonable," Maia cut across her friend, stopping her from saying anything she would regret, "you're still recovering from life threatening injuries and your arm will be a hindrance to you. Let Ratchet fix Aphelion and then we can get off this planet...to safety," the Cazar implored her friend with something of a pleading tone, willing her words to get through the stubborn barrier of Skyla's mind. Skyla looked from Maia to Ratchet and back again, and her face contorted in confliction. She swallowed unconsciously. She knew they were right, that she was better off staying here…but she hated the idea of sitting around doing nothing while Ratchet went off, especially if Sarathos was as dangerous as he said it was. She'd just met him, for heaven's sake! And now he was leaving…?

Ratchet softened as he took in her expression, understanding her position well enough to know what she was thinking. He'd be feeling the same way, if it was him.

"Look," he began gently, "I'll only be a few hours...then it's goodbye Sarathos." The grey Lombax looked at him for a moment and he willed her to believe him. Every minute he spent on this planet had his skin crawling like Veldinian ants running over his fur. He hatedSarathos, and wanted to get off it as quickly as possible. Every second they spent arguing was time he could be fixing Aphelion, but first she had to believe him, she had to trust him.

Skyla was torn. Part of her was angry she was wasting time by keeping him here, but the other part felt justified for the opposite, not wanting him to go at all. Sarathos was dangerous. Who knew what lay out there for the sandy Lombax?

"What if you get hurt?" she asked in what she meant to be a strong voice but which came out, to her embarrassment, as rather childish. Ratchet gave her something of a sympathetic look and exchanged glances with Clank. It was perfectly natural for her to worry for his safety, all things considered, but she honestly had no idea what he and Clank had been through...

"I'll be fine," Ratchet assured her simply, not wanting to go in depth at the moment. Skyla noticed his expression and the look he shared with the robot and couldn't help but feel she was missing something big.

"We will leave you with a com-link if that is what you want," Clank offered.

"That'd be great. Thanks, Clank," Maia smiled at the robot before looking pointedly at Skyla. There was a short pause, then her friend shrugged,

"Yeah, I guess," she mumbled, still feeling a little frustrated and confused by the whole situation. Ratchet saw the other Lombax's ears droop ever so slightly in defeat and against his will his mouth twitched slightly, curling into a small smile. His own ears drooped like that on occasion, as only Lombax ears could.

"Here," he took a step toward her, drawing something out of his back pocket and holding it out to her. Skyla looked at it. It was his gun, the one he'd been playing with earlier.

"Take it," he said to her. Skyla's eyebrows rose in surprise and Ratchet smiled.

"Take it," he repeated, "just in case." The grey Lombax looked up at him, a calculating look in her eyes. He could guess what she was thinking – was he giving it to her for his sake, or her own? He wasn't trying to patronise her, he just wanted to know she wasn't defenceless...and he also wanted her to know that he was on her side. She had nothing to fear from him.

This must have come across to her as she accepted the gun from him with her working hand.

Skyla held the weapon in her palm, weighing it up. She'd never held a gun before, not properly, anyway. It was medium in size, and just the right shape for her hand to curve around neatly. It was red in colour with a black barrel and handle. Sleek, but simple. Holding the gun like she'd seen the guards do, she pointed it out of the cave, imagining herself taking a shot.

"The safety's there, above the trigger," he pointed to it, "the light needs to be on or it won't fire. It's just on its default setting for the moment...don't want it accidently going off inside the cave when it's in ricochet mode!" Ratchet explained with a light laugh. Skyla nodded,

"Thank you," she said sincerely, letting the weapon fall to her side, tightly gripped in her hand.

"Here's hoping you don't have to fire it," Maia murmured and Ratchet gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry," he told her, "we'll only be a couple of hours. Just stay inside, don't do anything stupid and you'll be fine." Skyla pulled a face at this and Ratchet laughed again, strapping his wrench to his side. He looked over at Clank who had given Maia half of a com-link and was showing her how to use it.

"Clank?" he said when they'd finished. The robot looked up at him,

"Coming, Ratchet." With that the robot jumped, landing on Ratchet's back in his usual backpack position. Only Skyla seemed surprised by this, but she quickly hid it and made no comment. Maia pocketed the device she'd been given and smiled,

"Good luck."

"Thanks. See you later!" Ratchet called as he began to move away, his eyes just lingering on Skyla as he once again registered her expression. She looked a little lost and bewildered by everything, frustrated, too. She wasn't in the nicest of situations, stranded on a hostile planet with someone you thought wouldn't exist and then having to watch them go off across said planet...and not knowing if they'd make it back safely.

In his own way, Ratchet was loath to leave her here, even though he knew he had to see to Aphelion for all their sakes. If they had time, he'd sit her down somewhere and tell her...well, everything. Everything from his life he could remember, if only to wipe the look of bewilderment off her face and clear aside a few obstacles for her. But they didn't have time for that now, it would have to wait. Besides, he'd only be a few hours, and then they'd have plenty of time to talk…hopefully.

Sighing at the yet another damnable situation he'd been thrown into, he headed out of the cave with Clank, leaving the Cazar and the grey Lombax gazing after them.

Seconds, minutes, hours, passed while the two friends waited in the cave for the Lombax and the robot to return. Maia did her best to occupy her friend, playing games they'd used to play at the facility, even singing a few songs quietly. She found out Skyla's side of the story after their separation, and though she had never met the Enyd, she felt their loss through the Lombax's pain. They'd obviously meant a lot to her friend, despite the short time she'd been with them. But after Skyla had finished speaking, she'd slipped into a silence, her ears twitching like they had a tick. Maia was a little at loss, there was only so much she could do to entertain a fidgety Lombax with one arm.

Skyla held out for as long as she could, but was eventually forced to give into her boredom. It had been over two hours and there was still no sign of Ratchet. She got to her feet clumsily. She had to do something, anything other than sitting here twiddling one thumb. She looked longingly out of the cave and glanced at her friend. The Cazar shook her head,

"No, Sky, it's too dangerous."

"Please, I won't go far…and we have a gun, remember?" the grey Lombax waved the weapon in the air for emphasis. Maia gave her a look,

"That's hardly going to be much use against what's out there."

"Please, Maia…I've never been on Sarathos before."

"It's a gaseous planet, Sky, there's not much to see," the Cazar replied.

"Two minutes. That's all I ask, just two minutes…please?" Skyla let one of her ears drop slightly as she spoke and tilted her head slightly. She knew from experience that this made her look 'cute' and almost always worked with the Cazar. A smile danced across Maia's lips as she recognised the look and its meaning, and she knew what Skyla could get like confined to one space for a long time…so what harm could two minutes do?

"Two minutes," Maia repeated with an air of finality, giving Skyla a hard look for emphasis. The grey Lombax beamed at her friend, her whole face lighting up.

"Thank you," she said honestly and turned to leave.

"Wait," the Cazar called after her and Skyla turned. Maia got to her feet and dusted herself down, "I'm coming with you." A brief look of uncertainty passed over the Lombax's face, but then her grip around the gun tightened and she nodded.

"Sure," she smiled. The two friends left the cave together, going no further than a few metres from the mouth.

Outside in the open, Skyla got her first good look at Sarathos. Needless to say, she was disappointed.

All around them had a dirty green tinge to it from the gases given off by the many swamps dotted about. The air had a distinct smell to it, akin to that of a sewer reaching the final stages of rot and decay. The ground was mostly composed of mud and rock with sparse vegetation scattered her and there. The only sign of life around were the grotesque plants and the swamps themselves, their surfaces bubbling up into mounds before bursting, releasing more gas into the atmosphere. The whole planet felt putrid and uninhabitable, but there was oxygen enough to breathe.

Skyla and Maia's nose wrinkled in disgust at the smell and the Cazar clamped a hand over her mouth in an effort to keep it out.

"What an awful smell!" Maia exclaimed, her voice muffled behind her hand. Skyla nodded in agreement,

"It's a swamp planet alright." The grey Lombax moved further away from the cave. The landscape was fairly flat, with a few hills and shallow mounds. She could just see a burst of colour not too far away from them, which she took to be Ratchet's ship from the size and shape of it. From what she could see, Ratchet was still hard at work.

"Don't go too far, Sky," cautioned Maia, hanging around the mouth of the cave. There was a swamp that nearly reached the entrance, like a tendril of some alien reaching towards them, looking to ensnare them and drag them into its foul depths. Skyla smiled at her friend,

"I'm fine, Maia." The Cazar pursed her lips,

"Be careful, I really don't like this planet…"

She got no further.

Completely without warning the swamp nearest them erupted like a volcano, a great form leaping out from the deep. Skyla's eyes widened in shock; it was big, and resembled a scorpion with a long tail curling over its back, tipped with three very sharp looking prongs. A line of faintly glowing spikes ran down its spine and at its front three glowing orbs that Skyla took to be its eyes glared fiercely at them. It had four legs that were dripping with swamp mud, ending in dagger like points, and vicious claws at least the length of Skyla's arm protruding from its head, with smaller fangs visible underneath. But there was no time to even shout a warning as the thing lunged towards Maia, grabbing her around the waist with its claws. The Cazar gave a cry as she was pulled off her feet and dragged steadily towards the swamp.

Spurred into action by her friend's outcry, Skyla raised the gun in her good hand, turning the safety off as she did. Pointing it at the forms tail, away from her friend, she fired three successive shots. Two of them missed completely but one clipped the bobbing tail, but it did little damage. She fired another three shots to no avail. The creature was strong and all too soon Maia gave another cry as her feet touched the swamps surface.

A jolt of fear and adrenalin shot through Skyla and she took aim once again, her desperation causing her to shoot closer to her friend then she would have liked. She aimed for the creatures eyes and prayed for a miracle as she pulled the trigger.

Someone up there must have heard her as although she didn't hit the biggest orb, she hit a smaller one next to it.

The creature gave a guttural hiss and its grip on Maia loosened allowing Skyla to rush forward and pull on her friend, yanking her hard in an effort to free her. But the scorpion beast recovered quickly and tightened its claws around the Cazar, causing her to cry out again in pain.

Fury coursed through Skyla's veins and she lashed out at the monster, driving her foot into what might have been called its chin. The creature's grip on Maia lessened once again and Skyla wasted no time in heaving on her friend, pulling her back with all her might. The sudden force took the beast by surprise and Maia was jerked from its claws, the two friends falling away from it and landing heavily on their backs. The Lombax gave herself no time to recover and, ignoring her groaning bones, leapt in front of her friend, using her body as a shield from the monster.

"Maia, get back!" she cried as the creature let out a tremendous roar of anger. Her Cazar friend scrabbled backwards but hesitated a few feet away. Skyla kept her eyes locked on the creature, watching for when it was next going to strike. It retreated slightly, as if assessing the situation.

Skyla risked a glance back to make sure Maia was decently out of harm's way before turning back to face the monster. Its tail tip was glowing bright green and it fired it like a gun, laser fire heading straight for the grey Lombax. Skyla just managed to dodge the blasts, but felt the heat of the lasers zipping by her, far too close for comfort. The creature had its own biological weapons. Great.

Knowing where to aim now, Skyla jumped left to avoid more laser fire before taking aim and firing in the direction of the monsters eyes. Some of her shots missed completely while others glance off the creature natural body armour, but the glowing eyes remained unharmed. Cursing loudly, Skyla dropped to the ground and rolled away as a laser beam shot from the scorpion's tail, missing her by millimetres. She tried to get up and take aim again but was forced to dive to the side as more lasers swept passed her. But her luck was running thin as one of the shots breezed over her calf, ripping her trousers and tearing off the fur underneath as well as several layers of skin. Hissing, Skyla stumbled forward slightly and tried to turn to fire once again, but the creature seemed to have anticipated this as it lunged forward with surprising speed, jabbing its tail in her direction. The grey Lombax tried to evade the barbs but she was too slow.

A cry of agony escaped her as one of the barbs caught her in the thigh, ripping downwards in a sudden jerk motion. She collapsed to the ground, the gun sent spinning from her grasp as the creature dug its tail deeper into her side, using it to pin her to the floor. Its claws descended on her and she would have been impaled a second time had her hands not shot up to catch the claws, wrestling with them to keep them away from her body. As she struggled with the claws that snapped away inches from her torso, she felt the barb in her leg begin to heat up and realised what it meant a millisecond later. Yanking the claws up she gave her leg a brutal tug, rolling away as she did. She let out another cry of pain as the barb was roughly ripped from her thigh. A second later several lasers shots hit the spot she had just occupied, scorching the ground and leaving it smoking.

Skyla caught sight of the gun not far ahead of her and she began frantically scrabbling towards it. Reaching towards it, her fingers were just centimetres away when the creature roared again. She felt the ground shake as it jumped towards her and landed practically on top of her, its front leg impaling the gun, rendering it useless with a few sparks and a fizz.

Her attempts to crawl away from it proved futile as it pinned her down once again with its other front leg. She let out an 'oomph' as the air was forced from her lungs, and the pressure continued to build. Spots appeared before her eyes and she could feel the gash in her leg bleeding heavily, her blood soaking into the ground around her.

The grey Lombax lay defenceless on the ground as the scorpion towered over her, making loud guttural sounds of victory as it gnashed its claws together in anticipation. Skyla blinked up at it, feeling her ribs begin to cave in under the weight of the creature. She knew she should move, but she couldn't. It had her trapped and there was nothing she could do. With the creature bearing down on her, its deadly claws glistening in the sunlight, she could only lie and wait for the end.