BANG! BANG! BANG!
Three bottles placed upon a few crates shatter one by one into glass shards and dust, the fragments falling onto the ground, kicking up small clouds of dust.
And a few hundred yards away, Ratchet stood holding a modified rifle with a smoking barrel in one hand, and fist pumping with the other.
"Bullseye!" He says with triumph, grinning.
But as he reloads the clip, he hears a whistle behind him.
"Nice shot, Ratchet." Cally says with a small smile, standing in the doorway of the back entrance to their garage, squinting off into the distance to their makeshift shooting range, seeing the fragments glinting from the setting sun.
"Thanks! I think I finally got this rifle all tuned up so it's actually accurate!" Ratchet says proudly, looking over it in his hands with a smile. "Took a bit, but, yeah!"
"Oh, really? Lemme see." Cally replies with piqued interest, walking over to him.
Ratchet hands over the rifle, and she proceeds to look over it just as he did, humming curiously before she chambers another round, and raises it up to look through the scope, aiming it at the other bottles and cans perched upon their little range.
And after a few seconds of aiming, she pulls the trigger, firing off a shot, taking out a can, another shot, the bottle, and one more, but the bolt just flies past the final bottle.
"Ah, damn." She mutters, lowering the rifle.
"Aw, man, did I mess up the tuning?" Ratchet asks worriedly, furrowing his brows.
"Oh, no, not all, Ratchet, those first two shots felt great." Cally says with a small laugh, handing the rifle back over to him. "I'm just not that great of a shot when it's a horned toad a few feet in front of me, is all."
"What do you mean? You're the one who taught me how to shoot, after all." He replies, taking the weapon back and holstering it in his homemade Arsenal tool.
"Only the basics. You're just a natural born sharpshooter like your dad." She says, ruffling his hat on his head. "If we ever need to take out a pest a mile away, I know just who to call, Kip!"
"Ah, hey, mom, stop it!" Ratchet protests, shoving her hand away as she laughs. "I hate it when you do that!"
"Well, I love it, so too bad." She replies sweetly before turning away as he fixes his fur and his hat. "But once you're done, come inside. It's getting dark, and dinner should be ready soon."
"In a bit." He replies, finally finished straightening out his aviator's cap. "I wanna go out hoverbooting real quick first!"
"Ratchet, it's late." Cally responds, raising an eyebrow while crossing her arms. "And besides, I'm not sure if it's safe—"
"Oh, come on! You just said that I'm an awesome shot, so if any sand sharks or whatever try getting me, I'll just pop one in between their eyes!" Ratchet replies, making finger guns. "And that's if I manage to slow down enough to even let them try to take a chomp out on me!"
"I don't know…" She mutters, placing a hand on her chin with an uncertain expression.
"And it's nice out, too now that the sun isn't baking me, either!" He follows up. "Come on, I promise I'll be back in five minutes—ten, tops!"
"Hm…" Cally hums, staring at Ratchet as he holds his hands together with a smile.
But after a few seconds, she lets out a sigh, rolling her eyes with a small smile while placing her hands on her hips.
"Alright, fine. You can go hoverbooting really quick, Kip." She concedes.
"Yes!" Ratchet cheers with a fist pump.
"But," She warns, raising a finger. "You're back here in ten minutes, like I said. I don't care how good you are with a gun, Ratchet, but a mob of sandsharks isn't anything to scoff at, let alone all the other things that come out at night. Plus, I don't want your food to get cold, either."
"Don't worry, I'll be back!" Ratchet says, excitedly running off past her into the garage, not wanting to waste a single second.
"I'm counting on it!" She chuckles. "I love you!"
"Love you, too!" Ratchet calls back from the garage, already putting on his worn hoverboots.
And a few seconds later, he blasts off from the garage, kicking up a cloud of dust behind him as he flies over the darkening desert, the sun already set below the horizon to allow the stars to start gleaming through the cloudless sky.
Ratchet relishes the feeling of the warm desert air flowing through his fur, leaning down to go as fast as possible, and purposely aiming for cacti and small rocks only to dodge or jump over them, doing small tricks and flairs as he does so—well practiced over flying for years on top of his shooting.
It's not like there was anything else to do here on Veldin, after all. There was either helping his mom out with fixing ships, tinkering on gadgets, flying in his hoverboots, shooting and modifying all kinds of guns he comes across, or just watching holovision.
If it was a special occasion, sometimes he and his mom would fly into the nearest town and spend time shopping or eating out at the five diners nearby.
Ratchet really liked Veldin, obviously—it was the only home he'd ever known. But then again, that was also the problem; Not once have he nor his mom ever left Veldin. And Ratchet was just itching to get off this dusty rock, as much as he loved it.
Seeing so many cool places on the holovision, or holofilms, or his comics he used to really be into, he saw so many wonderful and amazing places throughout the galaxy that he really, really wanted to see. He wanted to go on adventures through forests, snowy tundras, lava planets, water worlds, bustling metropolises, all of it!
Especially whenever his mom would tell stories of his dad, having his own adventures throughout their birth galaxy, seeing and experiencing all kinds of amazing things, getting into thrilling danger, and most of all, being able to save people and help for the greater good. Ratchet wished for nothing more than to have a life like his father's, and to follow in his footsteps to be a hero just like him.
But… He couldn't. He was stuck here.
The only adventures he could have were to explore caves he already knew for the hundredth time, find danger in the odd sandshark or horned toad that wanders too close to the garage, and at most help people by changing their oil filters ahead of the next sandstorm.
It was a peaceful, calm, simple life. And it was boring.
And on nights like these, Ratchet always loves to hoverboot out to a nearby mesa, climbing to the top of it, and just lay on his back, staring up into the stars, daydreaming about what it was like to fly among them, and explore all those different planets gleaming among them.
But as he lays there, he sees a ship passing by in the atmosphere overhead, looking like some kind freighter, probably making a delivery to the town.
It makes him give a large, wistful sigh, wanting to give anything to have a chance to leave this planet like that random freighter pilot has, the guy probably bored out of his own mind, totally ungrateful for the opportunity and freedom to go anywhere he wants.
Ratchet lifts his head up, looking over the mesa's edge to see his and his mom's garage in the middle of the empty desert, the lights in the house turned on with his mom making dinner in the kitchen. But more specifically, he was staring at their ship, the moonlight gleaming off its shiny surface, parked next to their house.
He knew it wasn't a lack of transportation that was keeping him and his mom trapped on this rock; it was just that his mom refused to let either of them leave.
It would be fine if she ever explained why she instates such a fierce rule, but she never did. The closest she's ever come to explaining is when the other Lombax he's ever seen in his entire life randomly showed up to their door—only to then be immediately furiously kicked out by his mom.
"I'm protecting you from what killed your father."
Well, what killed him, huh? He wishes she at least answered that, but apparently even that's too much. And she says she'll tell him when he's ready, but when is that? He's fifteen years old now!
He practically knows how to build a ship blindfolded now! She said herself that he's as good at shooting as his own heroic dad! He knew how to fly both hoverboots and ships from when his mom taught him! If he's not old enough now, then when?! Sometimes it felt like this place was a prison, and that his mom was just his own personal warden!
Ratchet closes his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm himself from that angering train of thought.
He loved his mom. With all his heart. She was the most important person in his life, and one of the only things he's got here on Veldin, too, and the more he grows up, the more he understands just how much sacrifice and strength it took for his mom to raise him all alone here.
He just felt frustrated at her silence and arbitrary rules, knowing for all his life she kept something big from him, from something as small as why they can't leave this planet—or won't—to something as huge as to why there apparently aren't any Lombaxes around anymore except for the one she never mentioned that she kicked out as soon as he showed up.
If she loved him so much, then just why won't she tell the truth? To ease all these questions? Why was everything about it such a taboo topic?
Ratchet opens his eyes, staring into the stars once more.
Who knows. Maybe tomorrow, she'll tell him if he's insistent enough. Or next week. Or something. But for now, he should probably get up and get back home before he's late and she gets all worried and scared like she always does when he's late for stuff. They need to wake up early tomorrow too in order to get ahead on their shop's orders to have…
Have…
Ratchet pauses in the middle of him standing up, squinting at the sky he's been staring at for all his life, spotting something odd in the midst of the stars.
Was that… A new star? No, it can't be, it's moving, and getting bigger, too. A meteor, maybe? That'd explain the tail it's starting to develop as he sees it hit the atmosphere, beginning to burn up. But then… If it was a meteor, why isn't it falling apart? And why does it look pointy on its end?
Suddenly, Ratchet's eyes widen as he realizes that's not a meteor crashing through the atmosphere, but a ship. And not only that, a ship that was crashing through the atmosphere towards his location.
"What the—?!"
He lets out a surprised cry as he hears the sound of its failing thrusters louden until they're near-deafening, flying right in front of the mesa he was perched on, and crashing into the ground below with a loud cry of gnarled metal and earth.
Ratchet blinks, seeing the smoking wreckage just below him as the giant dust cloud settles, revealing it indeed to be a small personal ship, its nose now buried into the ground as its thrusters die, leaking out coolant and fuel onto the dry desert ground.
He could scarcely believe that something like this just happened right in front of him, but that shock quickly wears off as the gravity of the situation hits him, realizing that there must've been someone in that ship if it was flying, and with a crash like that, he'd be surprised if they weren't injured. And if they were seriously hurt, they needed help ASAP.
Without a second thought, Ratchet jumps off the edge of the mesa and activates his hoverboots to safely glide down—a trick he learned that nearly gave his mom a heart attack when he fell off a cliff.
And as soon as he lowers to the ground, he boosts himself to fly over the ground and to the ship as fast as possible, making it the wreckage site in mere seconds where he stops, finally planting his feet in the dirt as he calls out.
"Hello?! Are you okay?!"
He hears no response from the ship, as his eyebrows furrow with concern while he jogs up to the cockpit, just praying to the stars that the pilot didn't respond because they were merely knocked out and not totally dead.
But as he hops up onto the ship, wiping away the dirt off the glass, he's surprised to find no one inside except for a robot. A really small robot, actually, folded up to the size of a backpack, actually, appearing to be in rest mode with how folded up it looked, eyes closed.
"What the… Well, no wonder it crashed if this bucket of bolts was sleeping." Ratchet mutters, taking out an OmniWrench.
Figuring that the ship was utterly totaled by the crash, he didn't think it'd mind if he broke the windshield to access the cockpit, a loud crash of glass echoing through the night before Ratchet reaches in to grab the little robot, inspecting it in his hands for a moment (although fumbling a bit to make him drop it back onto the ship's hull with a small clank, making Ratchet thankful it was asleep to not remember that.)
It was covered in a silvery finish, brand-new by the looks of it, and trimmed with black accents around its body, and topped with a little red antenna on its spherical head. It almost looked like an infobot, but this thing seemed to be a bit bulky to be one of those, and it was clearly too small to have been made as a pilot for this ship—also probably a reason this thing just crashed into the ground, honestly.
But, whatever the case, Ratchet knew he had to get this thing home to ask it some questions about why it crashed here, be it to help it, or kindly ask if him and his mom can scrap its ship for a nice sum of bolts since this looked like a new model.
"Well… Welcome to Veldin, little buddy." Ratchet says with a shrug, finding the robot had a perfect little mount on its back to hook onto his harness, placing it on his back before he hops off the ship. "Hopefully you like it here better than I do…" He mutters.
He looks back to the garage in the distance, and activates his hoverboots once more, blasting off back home to show his mom what he found and if she knows anything about waking up robots like this one.
Oh, right… His mom… That most definitely heard that deafening crash of a space ship landing right by where he told her he was hoverbooting…
"KIPLER?!" He can hear his mom frantically call out as he nears the house, clearly scared out of her mind that the worst in fact occurred. "KIPLER, IS THAT YOU?!"
"Yeah, mom! Don't worry, I'm fine!" Ratchet calls back, seeing his mom standing outside the house with a panicked expression. "I didn't get crushed by that ship or anything, I'm good!"
"Oh, Kipler! You scared the HELL out of me!" She says, rushing over to him as soon as he deactivates his boots, only to be met by her grabbing his shoulders and his face, inspecting him. "How close were you to it?! Did any shrapnel hit you?! Did it explode?! Did it—"
"Ah, mom, get off of me!" Ratchet responds annoyedly, pushing her smothering hands off him. "I'm alright! It only crashed near me; I wasn't even close at all!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm just concerned about if my son's hurt after I saw a GODDAMN SPACESHIP FALL OUT OF THE SKY RIGHT WHERE HE WAS OUT HOVERBOOTING, RATCHET." Cally fires back in an odd mixture of concern and sarcasm. "Of course I'm worried about you! Why the hell wouldn't I be after seeing THAT?!" She finishes, throwing a finger over to the smoking wreck of the ship, a large plume already rising into the sky.
"…Alright, fair point." Ratchet concedes, looking back at the wreck.
"Yeah." She says, huffing an exasperated breath before crossing her arms. "And what took you so long to get back after that thing crashed, anyway, Ratchet?"
"Oh, uh, I went ahead and checked out the wreckage to see if anyone inside of the ship was hurt," He replies, turning back towards her. "Luckily, didn't seem like there were any passengers or anything inside, so no one's dead or hurt or anything. I only found this."
He then reaches behind him, and holds up the robot he plucked from the cockpit, making Cally's head tilt as she looks at it.
"A robot?" She asks cautiously.
"Yeah, I think it was flying the ship." Ratchet replies, looking back at it in his hands.
"Are you sure that thing's safe, Ratchet?" She warns, furrowing her brows. "We don't know where that ship came from, or why it crashed. Someone might have been chasing it and shot it down and is trying to look for it right now!"
"Well, if that's the case, then we just hand over this thing to whoever it is! No biggie!" Ratchet defends. "But if it isn't, then maybe this robot needs help, and we're the only ones out here! What, do you want to leave someone as tiny as this to just fend for themselves out there?" He asks, thumbing back to the darkening desert behind him.
"I…"
Cally sighs, rolling her eyes before looking back to Ratchet with a small smile.
"Yep, you're your father's son, alright," She mutters warmly. "But if that thing causes any trouble or danger, we're throwing it out of our house ASAP. Got it?"
"Yeah, got it." Ratchet says with a smile and a nod before the two of them walk back inside, placing the robot on the table as they discuss how to wake it up.
But as they argue over the logistics of banging a wrench onto his head to see if that'd work, they suddenly hear whirring noises, and look back to the table to see the robot's eyes open, revealing glowing green optics as its head unfolds from its body, looking around curiously before spotting the pair of Lombaxes in front of it.
"Oh, hello." It—He, by the sound of it—greets in a bemused albeit respectful tone. "Excuse me for asking, but, am I in the headquarters for the Galactic Rangers?"
Ratchet and Cally blink, looking to each other in confusion before turning back to the robot, Cally clearing her throat before responding.
"Uh, no." She answers. "You're on Veldin, and your ship just crashlanded outside a few minutes ago, and you're in our home."
"Oh… Oh dear." The robot says worriedly. "I am terribly sorry if it damaged any part of your home, I am not acquainted to flying, and I seem to have lost control before crashing."
"Nah, you're lucky you landed in a desert. There's nothing out here." Ratchet says amusedly. "Only thing you destroyed is your ship, which, sorry to say, but that thing's gone."
"Oh, no." The robot mutters with concern once again. "Then, if that is the case, then may I ask if you two are affiliated with the Galactic Rangers, somehow? Or, perhaps, have a means to communicate with them?"
"Out here in the sticks? I doubt it." Ratchet replies. "I haven't seen them come around here, ever. Maybe the local cops and stuff?"
"No, I am afraid I must contact the Galactic Rangers, it is pertinent!" He states.
"Why do you need to talk to the Rangers?" Cally asks cautiously, brows furrowed as she crosses her arms. "What exactly is so pertinent that you need to contact Solana's military of all things?"
"Because I need to warn them of an incoming invasion of Solana so that they may prepare for it!" The robot says urgently.
Ratchet scoffs with a small laugh.
"Invasion? Of the whole galaxy? What kinda holofilms have you been watching, huh?" He says amusedly. "And how does a tiny robot like you know about some kind giant invasion while the Rangers don't, huh?"
"Because I am a defect from a sentry-bot factory built to help supplying the Emperor's army and invasion forces." The robot answers. "My mother, the assembly line's database, intentionally made me a defect so that I may go and warn Solana before—"
"Wait." Cally cuts him off, her voice dripping with a deadly tone of seriousness that made even Ratchet look back at her with disquieting surprise.
"You said 'Emperor'…" She continues, staring into the robot's eyes. "Who is this Emperor?"
"Uh, mom?" Ratchet asks confusedly, looking at her with concern. "Why exactly do you care—"
"Emperor Percival Tachyon of the Polaris Galaxy." The robot promptly answers. "He is planning to invade Solana, and I need help—"
"NO!" Cally yells, slamming her hands down onto the table before turning to Ratchet, startled by her explosion. "Ratchet, throw this thing out and far away from here right now! We're not getting involved in this! Not at all!"
"Woah, hey, what?!" Ratchet responds with slight fear at her sudden temper, raising his hands. "Why?! What's going on!"
"Miss, please! With my ship destroyed, I have no other way of warning the Rangers to Tachyon's invasion!" The robot pleads. "I need your help to finish—"
"I said no!" She yells at the robot. "I don't care where you get your help from, but it won't be from us! Start walking that way and ask the first person from town you meet to help you instead!"
"Hey, mom, calm down! You're being unreasonable!" Ratchet says, raising his hands in a placating manner. "He's not asking for much! We can just fly to Marcadia, drop him off at the headquarters, and help—"
"I said we're NOT getting involved in this, Ratchet!" Cally fiercely bites back, Ratchet taking an unconscious step back upon seeing the sheer intensity of her gaze. "I don't care if it's to help people or not, but if this has something to do with that goddamn Cragmite, then we're staying as far away from it as possible! And that's FINAL!" She states, pointing a finger down.
However, instead of arguing, Ratchet instead furrows his brows with confusion, not failing to notice something small but very crucial that she just said, making him tilt his head.
"…'Cragmite'?" Ratchet repeats curiously. "Mom, what's a Cragmite?"
"Emperor Tachyon's species." The robot pointedly replies.
"I… That robot just said it a minute ago!" Cally replies, pointing back to him on the table, anger still tinging her voice, but now joined by… slight fear. As if she realized she slipped up.
"No, he didn't." Ratchet replies, now squinting back at her. "Mom, how did you know what species this Emperor guy we never heard of before was?"
"I… That's… We're just not getting involved in this, okay?!" Cally argues, now going on the defensive as she crosses her arms, staring at Ratchet.
"Why?" Ratchet repeats himself, now crossing his own arms too. "You just heard… Wait, what's your name?" He asks the robot.
"Oh, it is XJ-0461, serial number B542—"
"Him, you heard him!" Ratchet interrupts, expecting something more traditional than that. "This Tachyon guy is planning on invading the galaxy, and you just wanna stand by and let that happen? What happened to being like dad and doing everything for the greater good, to help people?!"
"Do not bring your father into this, Kipler!" Cally argues, pointing at him.
"Why not?! Just a minute ago, you were telling me a good job for being like him and helping drag XJ-whatever out of the ship and out of danger! But now you're saying it's ridiculous I want to help the entire galaxy with something as tiny as bringing this robot to the Rangers?!"
"Yes, Ratchet! Because if we get involved, we're going to be in the most danger here!" She warns.
"WHY, though?! You keep dancing around the question, mom, but you're not answering me!" Ratchet bites back. "So either give me a real answer, or just shut—"
"IT'S BECAUSE TACHYON IS WHO KILLED YOUR FATHER, KIPLER!" Cally yells at him, tears beginning to glisten at the corner of her eyes. "THAT DIRTY FUCKING CRAGMITE IS THE ENTIRE REASON WHY WE LIVE HERE, WHY THERE'S NO LOMBAXES, AND WHY KADEN ISN'T HERE WITH US ANYMORE, OKAY?!"
Ratchet freezes, the kitchen they were standing in suddenly falling quiet, feeling heavy in the air as both he and the robot stare at his mom, now starting to wipe away her tears as her face is contorted into an expression of anger and pain, still staring into Ratchet's eyes as her breath gets shaky.
Ratchet was at a loss for words, not ready for anything like that. He genuinely didn't know what to say, or even think, instead remaining frozen to digest that screamed revelation that answered some questions he was asking his whole life, and yet, only raised even more.
Luckily (or unluckily) for him, though, Cally continues as she takes a breath.
"I… I didn't want to tell you the truth like this, Kipler. But I just need you to understand. To understand the pain I'm feeling right now." She says firmly, staring back at him.
"Centuries ago, there was a galactic war in Polaris—the Great War—and it was the Lombaxes against the murderous, bloodthirsty Cragmite empire. The only reason we won is because we invented the Dimensionator, a device that opens portals to other dimensions, and we banished every single one into another dimension. All of them… Except for one. Just… One." She says with a scowl, holding up a finger as Ratchet quietly listens in awe and surprise.
"One tiny little egg, and instead of smashing it like they should have, those miners decided to keep it, and raised it into the son of a bitch known as Percival Tachyon today. And even though that little cockroach grew up with our people in our city, living the life of a Lombax, even with all the kindness and mercy we gave him in spite of his species… When he found out about what happened to his race, he wanted revenge.
"And thanks to one stupid, stupid bastard, he got his grimy little hands on all our secrets and technology… And genocided us, Kipler." Cally states fiercely, Ratchet unconsciously gulping with the piercing gaze of her eyes staring into his own, seeing so much… Pain lying behind them. Sheer, raw, agonizing pain.
Cally takes another shaky breath.
"It's been fifteen whole years since that day, but I can still feel all of the pain and fear and anger I experienced when he attacked." She says, finally turning away as her eyes glisten once more, a hand unconsciously moving up to her face, tracing her scars.
"Hearing all those explosions, all the gunfire… All the screams. Of children, even! Seeing the city I was born and raised in getting bombed to the ground, fire and death everywhere. Then our house crumbling… Me saving you at the last moment, getting trapped under our roof—getting these scars, even… And thinking that I was… That I was going to die right there!" She recounts, tears starting to shed down her cheeks as she stares off to the ground, crossing her arms while her face contorts into an expression of fear and pain.
She pauses, taking a moment to collect herself once more while wiping her eyes, Ratchet still silently standing, genuinely at a loss for words, not expecting to hear such tragedy from the truth he so desperately wanted his whole life. It pained him to see his mother like this, just feeling how hard it was for her to remember all of this, let alone talk about it, but she just continues to press on as she hangs her head.
"I was lucky that your father came back for me. For us. He helped me out from under the rubble, but while we got to keep our lives… We lost our only home. Our species."
Cally turns her head back to Ratchet, the fur around her eyes damp from her tears.
"The Lombaxes are still alive, Ratchet, despite Tachyon's efforts. But they're not here. They're in another dimension, evacuated as per your dad's plan since he never trusted Tachyon in the first place… But we missed the evacuation." She says, her voice dropping low. "And with the Dimensionator damaged in the chaos, we were stuck here, all alone, left to fend for ourselves against a Cragmite that wanted us all dead for having the gall to be born Lombaxes. So… We had to leave. To a new galaxy, starting a new life as far away as possible from Fastoon, from Polaris, from Tachyon.
"But…"
She closes her eyes, her crossed arms gripping tighter against her body as another round of tears manage to leak out.
"Your father was the Keeper of the Dimensionator, and with him and the Dimensionator left behind with Tachyon, he had to protect it. To protect the rest of the Lombaxes, and to protect us. I begged for him to come with us here, but he had a duty to uphold." Cally explains. "We said our goodbyes, him promising to come back as soon as possible, me promising to do my best in raising you if he doesn't, and then he left back for Polaris to hide the Dimensionator… And that was the last time I ever saw Kaden."
A heavy silence befalls the room as Cally quietly sniffles, wiping at her eyes once again while Ratchet's gaze falls onto the floor in thought, crossing his arms as he digests all this information, almost completely forgetting about the robot sitting on the table next to the both of them.
He and his mom didn't live in the Lombaxes' home galaxy because they were fleeing from a genocidal emperor hellbent on revenge for something that happened centuries ago. They haven't seen any other Lombaxes because they were gone in another dimension. And his dad died because he was protecting the rest of them by hiding the device from Tachyon so he couldn't follow them back.
He wanted to scoff at the idea, finding it all to be outlandish… But he couldn't. The pain he felt from his mom was too great to make him doubt anything she said—especially about what happened on that day Tachyon attacked. And now, it made sense for why she was so frightened at XJ-whatever warning about him.
But… Even then… Even after hearing the truth and his mom's experiences with him…
"Now you understand why I'm saying no on this, Ratchet." Cally says firmly, snapping Ratchet out of his thoughts as he looks up to see his mother staring back at him with a serious gaze. "Like I said, I made a promise to Kaden that I would do everything to protect you, and that's what I'm going to do, goddammit. So, if this business involves the very Cragmite that destroyed our lives—almost literally, I will add—then I am making damn sure we are as far away as possible from it."
She takes a few steps towards Ratchet, placing her hands on both his shoulders, and looking into his eyes with a fierce yet loving gaze that punctuated her words.
"Do you understand, Ratchet?" She asks more softly.
Ratchet stares back, not saying anything for a few seconds before closing his eyes with a sigh, giving a small nod.
"I… I do, mom." He answers.
Cally smiles, but Ratchet then opens his eyes to stare into hers once more, wearing a resolute expression—but tinged with a hint of guilt as he knows his mom won't like his next words.
"But I don't agree with you." He says.
Cally's smile immediately falls as it's replaced with a look of shock, confusion, and anger.
"I—Wait, what?! What the hell do you mean, Kipler?!" She demands, shaking his shoulders a bit.
"I mean, I can't just sit here and do nothing and pretend everything's fine while a monster like that threatens the whole galaxy, mom!" Ratchet explains, taking her hands off his shoulders.
"But Tachyon killed—"
"Dad, and almost all of the Lombaxes, too, I know. But that's exactly why we have to do something!" Ratchet argues—not with anger, but with determination. "If he's trying to invade Solana, then that must mean that he's pretty much conquered all of Polaris, too! And with a psycho willing to do something like that to the Lomabxes, think of how brutal he must be to everyone else! All those other people suffering under him!"
"Ratchet, if he knows we exist, we're going to suffer even more!" Cally argues, pointing at herself with an angry look. "We wouldn't even have the luxury of getting killed point-blank, because we're Kaden's family, so he's going to try and torture us to tell him where we think he might have hidden the Dimensionator!"
"But what's the alternative?! Just sit back and let Solana get invaded by him, where now we just cross our fingers he won't find us when we live in his empire?!" He rebuttals, throwing his hands up.
"We won't have to worry about that, because we'd be in another galaxy by then!" She responds, crossing her arms.
"Wha—Seriously?! That's your solution?! Just… Abandoning our home, just like that?! Uprooting our lives and constantly running away from this bastard?!" Ratchet asks indignantly.
"Yes, because the alternative is that we LOSE our lives, Kipler!" Cally bites back fiercely.
"And what about everyone else that'll be killed by him when he attacks anyway, huh?!" He demands. "Hell, what about the people here on Veldin, huh?! Like Vic, Mr. Jenkins, everyone in town, all of them?! I guess it doesn't matter if they get hurt or even killed if you want to just run away, huh?!"
Cally scowls, pointing a finger at him.
"That is not fair, Kipler! That is not what I'm say—"
"Then what are you saying, then?! Because it sounds like you want everybody to fend for themselves while we run away like cowards instead of taking this chance to at least TRY to stop the monster that's taken everything from us!"
"I'm saying that there is NOTHING I care about more in this entire fucking universe than you, Ratchet, and I don't want to lose you like I did Kaden!" Cally yells. "I don't want anybody to get killed by that dirty Cragmite, I don't, but if it means having to lose you—the only thing I have left in this universe—then I'm not going to let you put yourself in danger like that!"
"What danger?! That robot literally just needs us to drop him off on another planet!" Ratchet replies, throwing his hand over to the robot on the table. "He is asking for the bare minimum, and you're still refusing to help!"
"You haven't seen the things that I had to see—no, experience firsthand from Tachyon, Kipler! Seeing all those dead bodies, our home destroyed, these scars on my face, my friends dead, losing the love of my life, all of it! If you were in my shoes, you'd be packing your bags with me!"
"But I'm not in your shoes! All I know is that Tachyon has caused suffering everywhere he goes, from the Lombaxes, to us, to the rest of the galaxy, and I'm not going to sit back and let that suffering go on if I can help it!"
"You're not a hero, Kipler!"
"But dad was! You've said so yourself!"
"And he DIED being a hero! Why don't you understand that?!" Cally cries out in frustration.
"Because I want to help people, mom! I'm sick of having to be stuck here on this tiny dusty rock fixing sand cruisers and busted engines when I can be out there actually saving lives like dad did! Making an actual difference in the universe outside of fixing old people's ships all day! And now that I have a chance to actually do that, however small it is, I need to do my part in making sure that people don't have to be scared about Tachyon like you are!"
"This isn't our fight, Kipler! We already tried to fight Tachyon, and we lost everything because of it!" She yells, throwing her hands up. "It's done and over with!"
"No it isn't! I want to help everyone, and I'm—"
"You're not going to do ANYTHING!" Cally firmly shuts him down, wearing a scowl while glaring at him. "You are not going to go march out into danger to get tangled up in a mess with Tachyon, Ratchet! If even your father couldn't stand up to him, then neither can you! Kaden was the greatest hero I've ever known, but you aren't, Ratchet! You're not a hero, and you won't ever be one!" She yells.
And for the first time since they started their argument, Ratchet falls quiet, staring back at his anguished mother dumbfounded… Feeling hurt. Very hurt.
Ever since he was a kid, he always wanted to be a hero, just like Captain Qwark, like Ace Hardlight, and most of all, like his own dad.
His dad who he's grown up hearing all kinds of stories about, his mom speaking about him in such high reverence that he'd have thought he was just some myth if not for the few photos they have of him, someone who he's looked up to his whole life despite never having met, and someone his mom assured him he'd grow up to be just as great as.
Until now, that is. Hearing her tell him—no, yell at him that he'll never be like his father, let alone a hero, and that he's simply being dumb right now felt like getting stabbed through the heart.
Does she even realize how much that hurt to hear? To have her stomp on his life's aspirations like that so callously? All because she's too scared to do the right thing for the entire galaxy?
Just… How could she be so selfish right now?
But as Ratchet stood there silently, staring at his mom, still not saying anything, Cally takes a deep breath, planting her face into her palm before rubbing her eyes.
"I'm just—This is the last thing I ever wanted to happen, having Tachyon come knocking on our door to finish the job." She says with exasperation. "I know that the Galactic Rangers should be warned, but it's not from us. If there's a chance we can avoid getting on Tachyon's radar, then we need to take it. And that means having someone else take this robot to them, because it's not going to be us." She says firmly, pointing a finger down as she looks at Ratchet.
She then turns back to XJ-0461, still silently sitting atop the table next to them, folded up and cautiously glancing between the two Lombaxes.
"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to leave." Cally tells him, crossing her arms. "The longer we keep you here, the higher the chances of Tachyon finding you, even if you say tyou're not being tailed. Like I said, the way to town is over that way, and if you start walking, I'm sure you'll get to them by the time morning comes, so—"
"He can't." Ratchet speaks up suddenly, prompting Cally and the robot to glance to him curiously.
"Why not?" Cally asks grumpily.
"Because when I found him, I saw his servos and stuff were busted. He can't really unfold from that form, I tried. So, he can't walk back to town to get help. Right?" He asks looking back at the robot, prompting Cally to look back at him as well.
But as the robot opens his mouth to counter Ratchet's statement, he suddenly notices the peculiar way the Lombax was staring at him, his eyes pleading as he gives a very subtle nod, accompanied with him mouthing what XJ-0461 believed to be 'say yes'.
It seemed like he had some kind of plan to help him out to contact the Rangers, and that meant XJ-0461 to play along to what Ratchet had to say. He had to admit it didn't feel right to aid this Lombax in deceiving his poor mother who had sound reason to protest giving their aid, but… The alternative was taking hours walking to the nearest settlement for any other possible source of help, and with an imminent invasion, time was truly of the essence.
"Erm… Indeed." The robot confirms apologetically, giving a small nod. "It seems that the force of the impact have affected my motor functionality, and I cannot physically walk without some needed repairs. I am sorry."
He sees Ratchet give a small smile and thumbs up, in stark contrast to Cally once again huffing a frustrated breath through her rubbing her face.
"So… You're stuck here until we can fix you, is what you're saying?" She asks irritably.
"Unfortunately so. Once again, I apologize for bringing this much distress to you both, it was not my intention."
"Yeah, well, sorry doesn't do much now that we're in the middle of it." She says with a frown, crossing her arms. "So, now what?"
"Why don't we just keep him here and fix him in the morning before sending him on his way?" Ratchet asks with a small shrug. "Since we aren't going to take him to the Rangers. Apparently." He can't help but finish bitterly.
Cally shoots him a quick look at that snide comment, but remains silent for a few seconds to mull it over as Ratchet remains steely, hiding the fact that he was internally hoping for her to say yes.
And a few moments later, Cally gives a small sigh as she turns back to the robot.
"You are positive that you're not being tailed? That we aren't going to wake up with guns in our face from that Cragmite?"
"Indeed. My mother made sure to cloak my ship and erase any evidence of my being manufactured to prevent anything like that from happening. The Empire does not know I even exist, let alone me planning to stop them." XJ-0461 confirms.
"Then… Fine. You can stay the night." Cally relents, making the robot perk up a bit before she raises a finger. "But as soon as we fix you, you are on your way, and most importantly, you forget you even saw us. Got it?"
"I understand, and I agree." He assures her. "I am extremely grateful for your help and hospitality, Miss."
"Sure." She says irritably, turning away from the table before looking over to Ratchet, staring into his eyes.
"I know you still don't like this, Ratchet, but we'll talk about it more in the morning." She says firmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm doing this to protect us. To protect you. With the things I've seen and experienced from what Tachyon's done to our species and our family… You'll understand why I'm doing this. But the biggest reason of all is because I love you. You know that… Right?" She asks quietly.
Ratchet takes a small breath, and despite his tumultuous feelings right now, he nods his head.
"Yeah."
Cally smiles, and she leans in to wrap her arms around Ratchet in a hug, rubbing his back.
"Good. Because I do. With all of my heart. And that includes making tough choices like this for our own good."
And not for the good of the galaxy, apparently. Ratchet can't help but bitterly think.
"I love you, Kip." She finishes.
"…I love you, too, mom." He replies, wrapping his arms around her.
She remains in that position with him for about a minute before she lets go, looking back at him with a tired but loving smile, and places a kiss on his forehead before telling him that they should go to bed now, since she wants to get up early to get the robot on the road as soon as possible.
Ratchet agrees, and they start walking back towards their bedrooms, leaving XJ-0461 on the kitchen table behind them, deciding to put himself on sleep mode until they retrieve him for repairs.
But before hie sensors went dark, he happened to notice Ratchet look over his shoulder at him, and give him a small smile and a wink before he disappeared down the hall.
XJ-0461 felt himself being stirred, picked up from his spot off the table. He would have thought that it was because he was now getting 'repaired' for his nonexistent motor function problems if it were not for the fact that his internal clock told him it was the dead of night.
He opens his eyes, and is met with the sight of Ratchet looking back at him with a resolute expression.
"Do you know how to get to the Rangers, then?" Ratchet quietly asks, definitely seeming to keep his voice low to avoid alerting his mother.
"Erm… Yes, I do, I was given the exact coordinates for their headquarters by my mother." He confirms with a nod.
"Good." Ratchet says as he places the robot onto his back. "Then let's get you there."
He proceeds to quietly walk out of the kitchen and out of the door, XJ-0461 observing suspiciously from his back as he squints at Ratchet.
"You are directly disobeying your mother's orders by sneaking off-planet to aid me in my quest." He states.
"Yeah, and?" Ratchet asks, walking over to the garage next.
"Why?"
Ratchet scoffs as he walks inside, making his way over to his mother's workbench, and towards the board filled with keys.
"What do you mean 'why?' You're saying Tachyon's trying to invade the galaxy! How can I let that happen and do nothing about it?! I'm not going to be coward like my mom, because I want to be a hero, dammit! Just like my dad! I mean, leaving to another galaxy to avoid Tachyon rather than helping people?! Seriously?!"
"But… Your mother had very sound reason to request such a thing, in my opinion. Given your personal experiences with Tachyon, I do not blame her at all for her reluctance to even associate with me, let alone decline to help me."
"Well, I do. If she's so traumatized by what Tachyon did to us, then I don't see why she's fine with all of that happening to other people, too." Ratchet replies, grabbing the keys to their ship before ehading over to his own workbench to stock up on weapons and gadgets.
"She made it a point that your father was a 'hero' as well, and he himself died to Tachyon's hands. Do you not find that concerning or off-putting?" He asks curiously.
"No. It makes me want to help even more, because think about how many other fathers Tachyon killed too? And all the fathers he will kill if this invasion goes ahead?" Ratchet replies, grabbing all his modified weapons he's garnered over the years from scrapyards or birthdays. "And besides, my mom's overreacting. It's not like I'm trying to fly directly to Tachyon to fight him one-on-one, I'm just basically being a glorified mailman to bring you to the Rangers. It's not like I'm going to die like she kept yelling about."
"Then why are you bringing so many weapons?"
"Better safe than sorry." Ratchet says pointedly as he puts his Arsenal away, now beginning to walk out of the garage. "It's my first time leaving the planet, and I don't know what to expect. So, might as well prepare for the worst."
"Again, it is perfectly alright if you just want to take me to this nearby settlement so that I may find help there as well to prevent putting you and your mother in further danger. I fully understand, and I do not want to burden your family." XJ-0461 assures as Ratchet walks to his mother's ship.
"Yeah, if we do that, you're gonna get scrapped by the first person for all the bolts you're worth." Ratchet scoffs. "And like I said; I'm not gonna back down from helping the galaxy like this. If my mom didn't want me to help as much people as I can, then she wouldn't have raised me to be like my dad who did the exact same thing. I'm doing this." He states with determination.
"Well… If you say so." The robot concedes before turning his head. "But, as long as you are risking yourself like this… Thank you. I greatly appreciate your help."
"No problem." Ratchet says as he pops open the cockpit. "Now, let's go!"
He then hops up and into the ship, but not used to the extra passenger on his back, he accidentally clips the robot's head on the windscreen of the ship, letting out a clanking sound as he sits down.
"Oh, uh… Sorry." Ratchet says with a nervous laugh, taking the robot off his back to place it in the passenger seat next to him.
"It is… Alright." The robot replies, unfolding to properly sit in his seat as he rubs his head, checking for a dent (and thankfully finding none).
"Okay, good. Good." Ratchet says, closing the cockpit, ready to start the ship. "Let's…"
He trails off a bit, reaching to start the engine, but his eyes falling on a picture his mom always kept on the dashboard, being one of the few family photos they had as a full family, with his baby self, his mom without the large scars on her face, and his dad, holding him with a large smile.
He can't help but stare at his mom, knowing that she was just inside the house, sleeping, and oblivious to the fact that her son was about to steal her ship to fly off to help stop Tachyon like she was fearing throughout their argument. Ratchet would be lying if he said he didn't feel bad, knowing that this was going to put his mom in a huge amount of distress, possibly worried sick she'd never see him again if he somehow died.
But as he thought that… He also thought of her yelling in his face that he's not a hero, and he'll never be a hero, either. Her saying that she'd rather abandon their life and friends on Veldin in a heartbeat and move to another galaxy instead of doing something so small as relaying a message back to the Rangers. Her being perfectly okay with Tachyon ravaging a whole galaxy and doing nothing to help stop it. To let others share the same fate she herself saw happen to their species.
Ratchet lets out a frustrated breath as the engines hum to life, him gripping onto the steering controls, while staring ahead at their home in front of him.
"Sorry, mom." He mutters. "But I have to do this. Just know I love you, too."
And with that, the ship starts hovering above the ground, tilting its nose up, and with one hit of the throttle, begins accelerating up into the sky with a roaring, fine-tuned engine he and his mom are always tinkering on, leaving the only planet and home Ratchet has ever known for an adventure to help save the galaxy.
And despite the fear he secretly felt in his gut from the sheer unknown territory he was now diving headfirst into…
He had to say that so far, with this small first step… It felt good to be the hero he always dreamed of becoming.
Huge thanks again to KenyaPF/PaxtianKenya for making another lovely drawing for this story (viewable on my Twitter or the AO3 version of this story)! Again, be sure to check out the rest of her amazing art on her Twitter!
And when asked again if she wants to say something in these author's notes, this is what she said:
"That i hate you even more because that discussion between Ratchet and his mother hurt me even more ❤️"
Until next time!
