Ratchet and Clank: The Long Road Home

by ASmash5Lucario

Rivet's and Kit's dimension is finally liberated from the remainder of Emperor Nefarious' forces, and the two Lombaxes are finally about to go to the Lombax Dimension. But something terrible has happened in Ratchet's and Clank's dimension while they were away, and the 4 heroes will to need to rely on each other if they're to survive the long road ahead of them

3. Decisions

Decisions

Chapter Summary

The four heroes start their first day aboard the Phoenix with a quick rundown on the Alliance's operations.

Upon receiving a distress signal from a couple of old friends, the quartet embark on their first mission as Alliance Rebels.

But soon, we'll find one of our heroes posed with a series of difficult questions such as, if given the inescapable choice between sacrifice and the greater good, where do your priorities lie?

He was staggering to his feet in the middle of a large platform on which were many towers, suspended high over lashing, rolling waves, the sun low and red in the late afternoon sky. Salty water sprayed his face, catching onto the fur on his face, which was rough, standing on end, bloody, and singed in places. He shook his befuddled head, trying to clear it. How did he get here? Where was this?

Ratchet suddenly became aware of how light Clank had become… or rather, he was suddenly aware that his best friend was not where he could always be found.

Ratchet snapped around wildly, making stars pop in front of his eyes.

"Clank?!" he called, his voice echoing across the endless seas. " Clank, where are ya?!"

He stumbled forward, determined to find his best friend. His chest hurt terribly. Glancing down he noticed several deep gashes that had certainly not been there when he had gone to bed the night before.

"Wh-wha…?! R-Rivet? Anyone?!"

There was nobody around; the Lombax was completely alone. A large wave splashed over the platform on which he stood, causing him to fall to his knees. His head spun as he tried to catch his breath. Was it always this hard to breathe? Suddenly the noise of footsteps reached his ears, which perked up immediately.

"Clank…?"

There were figures ahead, blurry and darkened against the glare of the sun. Rivet and Talwyn, surely!

"H-hey! Guys! … Lend a hand?"

The figures drew nearer, growing sharper all the while. The shorter of the two came into sharper focus… It was not Rivet. His heart seemed to fail.

A glare of golden eyes, an insectoid body, pale, purplish scaled skin.

The figure raised something he couldn't see in the glare of the sun, emitting a bright flash of light and a deafening blast of sound –

Ratchet gasped, sitting bolt upright and his eyes snapping wide open in panic, the bedsheets falling off his bunk.

Clank was walking over to him, concern in his fluorescent green eyes, a glass of water on the small table in the kitchenette.

"Ratchet? What is wrong? You look as though you have just seen a Nether."

The male Lombax was breathing heavily, cold sweat dotting his forehead. He glanced down at his bare chest – there were no slashes, no scars. He felt his face – no singed fur, no cuts. He then looked over at his friend who now stood at his side.

"Yeah…! Bad dream, that's all…" He looked down and felt his chest again. The dream had felt so real…

Noticing Clank watching him in concern, he added – "Don't worry pal, just… Y'know, lots on the mind after last night."

He gave a chuckle as the fact of the matter settled in, but Clank continued to look at him, worried.

"Perhaps it would be best if you spoke to Talwyn?" Clank suggested. Ratchet's ears twitched. Talk to Talwyn? About this?

"I… I dunno Clank…"

Tal had been a source of comfort in the past, back when she and Ratchet had been closer. She had always been good at finding the right words - when he was angry, when he was worried, and so on. But she hadn't exactly been that lately – not for, he reminded himself, the past three years at least, ever since her schedule had become so full and her work hours later. She had been some comfort of course before the Festival of Heroes, but again, she had not showed up to the event at all. He was not mad about it, as he knew she was so busy with everything on her plate as the head of the largest defense force in the entire system, but it had been so long since they had had a heart-to-heart that the concept of going to her so suddenly with such a personally disturbing dream was not only uninviting but felt like it would be tantamount to telling it to a stranger.

He blinked as this final thought went through his mind. He shouldn't have thought that; Talwyn was in fact not a stranger – she had been his girlfriend for 7 years. She understood his feelings better than anyone… well, with the exception of Clank, his closest friend – the closest thing he had to a brother, or any sort of family.

His mind drifted to Rivet again. She on the other hand… she knew all about nightmares; she had confessed them to him and Clank during those cherished hours they spent together at celebratory parties, relaxing together before moving onto the next planet to liberate. The idea of the brave, strong, '(and beautiful)' leader of the Resistance suffering from nightmares would have been impossible to imagine before she told them how she had regularly endured those terrible visions… Yes, he could tell her… But he was… Ratchet. Could he really confess such things to anyone other than Clank?

"Ratchet, are you sure you are all right? Do you need anything?"

The male Lombax jumped. He had been silent for so long that Clank was looking much more worried now. He had been so absorbed in his thoughts he had lost track of his surroundings. His stomach growled loudly.

He stood up and stretched, releasing a grunt of satisfaction as his muscles and joints loosened. A shower and some food… That's what he needed now.

"Don't worry pal, I'm fine. But my stomach sure won't be if it goes another thirty minutes without something in it!"

He threw his pants and shirt over his shoulder and made for the bathroom, Clank watching him anxiously.

Half an hour later, the two were seated at a table in the mess-hall, Ratchet eating scrambled eggs enthusiastically… so enthusiastically in fact that Clank looked up from his plate and began to stare.

"Enjoying your eggs?" he asked, to which the Lombax merely nodded, his fork a silver blur.

"I have known you for ten years Ratchet, and I will never understand why you do not savor your meal. Somebody spent time and effort preparing a delicious-"

"Fffomeone fpent 'ime n' effort fishin fish food 'oo go innoo my fftomach!" Ratchet said, his mouth so full it was impressive he could articulate any form of speech at all.

"Need I remind you it is poor manners to speak with your mouth full?"

"Ffanks for 'ee remin'er." Ratchet said, continuing to shovel eggs into his mouth as though he hadn't eaten for days.

"Feel like saving some for us? We had to wait for the cook to make some more!"

Ratchet stopped eating abruptly, his eyes darting up from his plate. Rivet and Kit were pulling up a chair, their plates also loaded with eggs.

A bit of egg on Ratchet's face slid off and fell onto his plate.

"Ahh good morning girls," said Clank – "Perhaps the sandshark here will be on better behavior with you two at the table… Right, Ratchet?"

The male Lombax swallowed forcefully.

"Hey Rivet!" Ratchet said, his voice cracking and a little overly hearty. He felt his face burn. Why did his voice have to crack? It hadn't done that in years! And why, why did she have to walk up to him with eggs on is face? She must think he was repulsive…

Rivet looked at his plate, then at hers, a flame dancing in her eyes as a smile spread across her face.

"Betcha I can finish mine first!"

Ratchet blinked, then smiled back.

"You're so on!"

"Oh, why do I even bother…" Clank sighed as both Lombaxes began shoveling eggs into their mouths.

Kit watched curiously and a little put off at the sight.

"Is this… normal Lombax behavior…?" she asked Clank.

"If you are a Lombax who derives immense satisfaction from embarrassing and repulsing your robot companion, yes."

"GOOD MORNING ROOKS!" shouted a voice behind them, making all four of them jump.

"Locke don't shout! They're eating, you might cause them to choke!"

Talwyn had appeared at the side of their table, Locke and Derek flanking her on either side.

The two Lombaxes looked up - the two emeralds and the two sapphires wide, their furry cheeks puffed out and full of eggs.

Talwyn looked at the two Lombaxes, an eyebrow raised as she took in the sight.

"…Enjoying breakfast?" she asked, somewhere between amused and disgusted.

Both Lombaxes swallowed hard.

"H-hey Tal!", the male said nervously, but Rivet smiled.

"Morning Talwyn."

The Markazian smiled back, but Ratchet noticed there seemed to be something a little forced behind it. Derek then spoke up -

"You four better come with us – we got a few things to talk about!" Clank pushed his plate away.

"Very well; I do not think I could eat another bite anyway, after such a mealtime entertainment as these two just gave us."

His ears dropping down and a slight frown on his face, Ratchet stood up.

"Killjoy…" he whispered as Rivet and Kit also stood up.

The seven of them set off, passing through a smaller crowd of rebels dropping in for a late breakfast as they exited the mess hall.

"As our new head of Command, we've already given Madam Apogee the rundown of our operations here." Locke began as they walked the long hallway from the night prior - with doors

leading off to room and branching passages. This time however, they entered one passage which led to a set of stairs going down.

"It's pretty straightforward to tell the truth – don't die!" said Derek.

Ratchet and Rivet stared at him, Clank and Kit looking up from beside their Lombax friends, also staring.

"…That it?" Rivet asked after a moment of confused silence.

"Of course not! Well, okay so that is pretty important… in fact yes that's a lot of it summed up pretty well, actually." Replied the taller warbot. "We're losing this war, remember? Until we picked you rookies up last night, it was lookin' pretty hopeless for us, but now-"

Rivet grumbled quietly beside Ratchet. "Call me a rookie one more time and I swear…" "-now with a couple-a Lombaxes back with us, I reckon we got a chance."

"And we got two more bots!" Derek supplied, and Ratchet smiled, nudging his best friend's arm as they walked, pleased to hear Clank and Kit get some attention for a change.

"That's right! Now, we're gonna give you kids the general rundown of how we work." Ratchet's ears twitched and he felt a small flutter of indignation. "('you kids'…?)" They reached the bottom of the stairs and walked through a door at the landing.

"Other than not dying, we smuggle resources to strugglin' colonies, hijack important shipments, and-"

"-Which usually end with important resources we coulda used getting blasted to Kingdom Come and us escapin' by the skin of-"

"Hey, hey don't tell the rooks that! This is supposed-a be speech to motivate the newbies and raise morale!"

"My momma always taught me it was better to be honest! What did yours teach ya, you lying, no-good-"

"You're a warbot, you didn't have a momma you filthy two-faced hypocritical pile of-"

Clank and Kit face palmed as Rivet giggled, making Ratchet's heart flutter and his lips curl in an irrepressible smile, fortunately unnoticed by Talwyn who stepped forward.

"Knock it off you two! Remember what we agreed to last night?"

Both warbots stopped fighting at once.

"Ah… Y-yes, Madam."

"Apologies, captain."

Rivet and Ratchet stared at Talwyn for a moment while the two warbots collected themselves.

"Where was I? Ah yes…" said Locke.

He opened another door at the end of a narrow passage, which led into a large empty room, save for a number of recessions in the wall which were blocked off by green lasers which glowed brilliantly. All but one recession was empty.

"What is this place?" Kit asked, her head turning to look at all the recessions in the wall.

"Well y'see, all that stuff I just told'ja about is what we usually do. But we also do sabotage missions when and where possible. Anything important we find out there belongin' to the empire, we bring here."

"What is this?" Clank asked, gesturing up at the one occupied recession in the wall. It was small, black, and pyramidal in shape; it had thin, greenish, blue lights moving slowly throughout it, and it revolved slowly, suspended in midair.

"Ahh, that. Truth is, not a clue what it is. A blue feller with overalls and a beard gave it to us; said it came from the emperor's personal armory, told us one of our rebel friends needed it for 'his hottest day alive', then just meandered off, calm as ya please without another word."

Ratchet and Clank both glanced at each other, a spark of understanding passing between them.

However, they remained silent as the two warbots led them to a recession on the farthest wall, at which Locke and Derek paused, looking intently at Ratchet.

"Madam Apogee's told us all about you, rookie." Said Derek. Now everyone was looking at Ratchet. "Oh… Really?"

The sudden attention of everyone in the room in addition to the curiosity and slight worry he felt about what Tal might have told the two warbots made him feel distinctly uncomfortable. He chanced a glance at her. She had an odd look in her eyes – not the usual glitter that was usually there when she looked at him that he had once seen – and at one time in his life cherished. No, there was something… there was no other way to explain it – cold there.

"We've heard tales of the lombax named Ratchet before rook, but Madam Apogee let slip a new one for us - You fought this Tachyon fellow before. But not just that – you defeated him." Locke said, his voice serious and his gaze thoughtful.

"Oh." Ratchet said, a small break of relief pouring over him. "Yeah, I did… But I had help from Clank too!" Ratchet added quickly. "Couldn't-a done it without him."

Clank looked up at his best friend, slightly surprised.

"You are being modest, Ratchet… I am not the one who—"

"In any case," Locke said suddenly, "I think it goes without saying, given what you rooks've seen already, but the Tachyon today is not the Tachyon you fought and defeated when you were a whippersnapper fresh offa your trainin' wheels, sonny."

Again, Ratchet felt a flutter of indignation at these words. He was, after all, an inter-galactic hero – not some Lombax cub learning how to stand up to the bully at gradeschool!

"You already know darn well what he's after, don't you?" Derek posed.

"The Dimensionator?" responded Kit.

"Right! We've heard about how you bunch-a lunatics built ya a new one after the first was destroyed… We know ya did what ya had to, but that thing's gotta stay here now – where it's safe."

"Huh?!"

Ratchet and Rivet gasped, their voices chorused together and echoing in the silent chamber. Both opened their mouths to argue – didn't the two warbots understand how important a role the Dimensionator could play in the battles ahead? But Talwyn cut them off before they could begin.

"Look you guys, Locke and Derek are right; Do you have any idea what Tachyon could do with the Dimensionator? It was bad enough when he was only strong enough to begin an invasion and summon a few Cragmites, but now? When he rules an entire system?"

"But…!" Rivet began, but Kit interrupted her.

"Rivet, I must agree with Ms. Apogee. Think – there are barely any rebels left, and this Tachyon has taken over at least five galaxies. It is too dangerous for us to use the Dimensionator and risk the emperor discovering its existence. Remember Emperor Nefarious."

"Kit is right, Ratchet. They are all right… We must keep the Dimensionator hidden." Added Clank.

Ratchet struggled internally with himself for a moment. He knew the Dimensionator was too dangerous to use with Tachyon back, yet with it they could banish him and his forces to the void in one fell swoop. But on the other hand… Ratchet recalled seeing rifts opening on Reepor and watching as hordes of Cragmites – those violent, power-hungry, and honestly hideous creatures – swarmed forth and began to tear the galaxy apart as they had done in their rise to power before the Great War. Would he risk the safety of innumerable innocents, Clank, Kit, Talwyn, and Rivet for a chance at defeating them for good? He remembered Azimuth – how he had once decided to take a chance – a chance to make Polaris a safer place – a chance that ultimately cost not only Ratchet his mother and father, but resulted in the near-extinction of all Lombax-kind.

Ratchet sighed. "All right." He drew the Dimensionator and walked forward as Locke disabled the security lasers.

He placed the Dimensionator on the pedestal and, much like that curious pyramidal device, it began to float freely of its own accord.

Rivet stared at Ratchet, her ears down, and a mixture of surprise and disappointment on her face. He avoided eye contact with her; the look on her face as she stared at him made the Lombax feel slightly diminished and ashamed of himself, as though he had shrunken slightly. But she sighed, gave a single, barely noticeable nod, and turned away, Kit at her side.

"Good move, rook." Derek said. "That thing's too dangerous… Never thought I'd say that… Well, enough dark talk for now, it's time for second-breakfast! Think you whippersnappers can keep up?! I'll have you know I was THE pie-eating champion in Universal Common Era 496!"

Locke and Derek turned and began to follow Rivet and Kit out, but Rivet, sensing them behind her, froze and tensed up.

Ratchet saw her look down at Kit, a meaningful look in her eyes, and the former warbot took the hint at once. She leapt onto Rivet's back and the female Lombax resumed walking, and Ratchet

knew that Rivet wanted Kit's eyes on the two warbots behind her as they left.

Clank opened his mouth to say something to Ratchet, but Talwyn spoke up, making the Lombax jump a little. He hadn't realized she was still in the room.

"You did the right thing, Ratch." she said.

Ratchet spun around to face her; she had walked quietly from behind and was only a few feet apart from him.

"Mind giving us a sec Clank?" she asked.

"Oh... Of course, Talwyn!" The silver bot replied, and he hurried after Rivet and Kit, glancing back curiously as the door shut behind him.

Ratchet felt slightly uncomfortable; this was the first time he had been alone with Talwyn since… well, ever. The two of them had never had any sort of private moments together. He looked up at the Markazian – taller than he was, long black hair trailing behind her, her rat-like tail motionless, her arms folded loosely, and looking unusually serious.

"Uh… 'sup Tal?" he asked, lamely.

She didn't respond at first; she was looking at him intently, as though trying to read his thoughts. In fact, the thought struck Ratchet suddenly as he looked up at her in his uncertainty – could Markazians read minds? He had never thought of this before, and the idea did nothing to soothe his nerves.

"I know that was hard for you," she began, "… you spent a long time looking for that thing… you could easily use it to take the emperor out – though I'm sure you thought of that already, right? But now that you have it… you gave it up willingly, without a fight."

Ratchet stared at her. This felt like an odd subject to request privacy for… She still didn't look quite right, and Ratchet noticed her eyes still had that curious look in them – a look that felt cold and unusually shrewd, and he felt his stomach give an uncomfortable squirm.

"Well… it's just… like you all said, y'know? It's dangerous and… I thought about it. You're right, all of you. It's dangerous now that he's so strong… I… I can't take the chance… I won't make Alister's mistake."

Talwyn blinked once, and Ratchet definitely saw a flicker of something in her eyes – something much less distinguishable than the cold and shrewdness that was there.

"You're still just as brave as ever, Ratch." She said abruptly.

This was not an answer he had expected; it didn't even make much sense. But even more surprising was when she gave him a soft smile. His ears dropped an inch, his apprehension starting to grow. Something was off about her, very off…

"No need to look so worried!" she said with a soft laugh. It wasn't forced; it sounded genuine, but it did nothing to alleviate his confusion and growing apprehension. "I just wanted to probe your thoughts on the Dimensionator."

Now Ratchet's mind was racing into overdrive. "(They CAN read thoughts…!)" he thought wildly.

Talwyn gestured to him to follow her.

"C'mon, shouldn't keep the others waiting, they'll think we're up to no good!" she said, a note of amusement in her voice.

This comment jerked Ratchet from his preoccupied thoughts and he shook his head, blushing slightly. Not wanting Rivet to think those exact words Tal had just uttered, he dashed forward and joined her as they climbed the stairs.

They caught up with the other five just in time to see Locke and Derek begin shoveling fried tomatoes into their mouth with fierce competition in their eyes, a small crowd of rebels around them cheering them on, and Clank face-palming as he turned away.

Spotting the two, Clank gestured to Rivet and Kit to follow him. The female Lombax showed signs of wanting to watch the warbots compete over their breakfast, but slid off her seat as Kit gave her a nudge nevertheless.

But as the three of them approached Ratchet and Talwyn, the latter two were bowled aside by a Terachnoid who dashed into the room, his glasses eschew, a half-eaten slice of toast in his left hand, and a holopad in his right.

"Captains! Captains, urgent message!"

Derek and Locke looked up reluctantly, the cheers dying to silence as the Terachnoid approached, stopping short before them wheezing.

"What now, sonny? Derek an' I are in the middle-a something kinda important right now!"

"We… intercepted a… hold on… *wheeze*… I'm a bit… outta shape!"

The Terachnoid straightened up after a moment of catching his breath.

"Hoo…! Okay… We intercepted a message from two citizens – a distress signal!"

He placed the holopad on the table, and a video began to play at once, full of static, yet still just clear enough to make out two figures and a voice Ratchet knew well.

"Kkkrrsshhtt—all around! Could use a little- krshhhhh- We've been hit an—zzzzzzzzttttt—ou sure this thing's working, dude? Getting a lotta- shhhhhhhzzz "

A tall, green humanoid in a tie-dye t-shirt and a set of headphones around his neck was speaking to the camera, which was shaking continuously, the sound of a warning buzzer repeating in the background and a flashing yellow light illuminating his face as it turned on and off. Ratchet could also see blasts of laser cannons flying all around the exterior of whatever ship he was flying. The familiar voice and face was interrupted however by another voice – also very familiar.

"It's gotta be working, I built it after all! Come in, Resistance! Quantum, Pierre, Ri—shhhhhrrrrr- one! We can't shake 'em, we're gonna have to lan-"

"Skidd?!" "Phantom?" both Lombaxes said in shock

The video had cut off suddenly, and both Lombaxes stared hopelessly at the dead screen.

"Tell me you traced that!" the two Lombaxes chorused, and Ratchet's stomach did yet another pleasurable squirm, but now wasn't the moment to let his mind wander; he had to know Skidd and Phantom were all right.

"Yes! The Gedros sector – planet Theandris to be precise! That was the closest planet to them when we received that signal; It isn't far, less than quarter light-hour away!" the Terachnoid responded.

"Theandris, eh?" Locke suddenly became still and silent, the most Ratchet had seen him so far since they met the night prior.

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin' Locke?" Derek asked the warbot sitting across from him.

"Yes… I think I am…"

Both warbots stood up and, Talwyn following close behind, they left the mess hall.

Feeling distinctly put off at the sudden departure after learning such news, Ratchet hurried after them, Clank, Rivet, and Kit bringing up the rear.

"Mind sharing with the rest of us?" Ratchet said a little impatiently as he caught up. The longer they delayed, the slimmer their chances at rescuing Skidd and Phantom grew.

Locke paused and turned around, looking faintly surprised to see them there.

"Sorry 'bout that rooks! This is some big news, y'see?"

All four of them, and even Talwyn, looked at the warbot curiously, and Locke gave an exasperated sigh.

"Well, I'd best fill you rookies in. Theandris is the location of Craggsbreak Peaks, the highest and largest mountain range in the Gedros Sector – and home to what was once the central radio station for the entire galaxy. When the emperor recruited Valen, Craggsbreak Peaks became a cross between a watchtower and an imperial broadcast station where Tachyon an' Valen can direct and control their Heralds n' Gryphons from any sector in the galaxy."

"Gryphons…?" asked Kit, her head cocked a little to the side in curiosity.

"The large battleships we saw dropping Heralds on us in Havenon IV." Talwyn supplied.

"Lately, imperial forces've been takin' prisoners there as well. The cliffs are too sharp and there's no natural paths that lead up to the mountain peaks; no way to get up or down without the right gear, and a professional dare-devil license, y'see?"

"And the cries for help from the prisoners make for a powerful statement during the emperor's 'intimidation broadcasts'. Just another reminder of what becomes o'those who get on Tachyon's naughty list, but not naughty-enough-to-have-their-heads-lopped-off list!"

"This watch tower's been a real pain in the arse for the Alliance… If those two were shot down over Theandris, then I guarantee you they're prisoners by now. We're gonna have to do something about this soon, Locke; they'll eventually run outta room to keep people there and then who knows where they'll start takin' prisoners next..." Derek said, looking troubled.

Ratchet glanced down at Clank, whom he could sense was thinking the same thing he was. He looked to his side at Rivet, and their eyes met. Those deep blue sapphires were alight with the flame of determination – a flame he had seen now many times, and which he had grown so fond of in the last five months.

"I'm going after them." He said, facing the two warbots.

"You what?"

Locke and Derek jerked out of their preoccupied silences and looked down at the male Lombax surprised. Talwyn's head snapped towards Ratchet, looking worried.

"I'm going after them." Ratchet repeated, "And…", he added, sensing Talwyn about to interrupt, "…I'm taking out that watchtower."

The incredulity on the warbots' faces intensified as they stared down at the Lombax. Did he not understand how dangerous, and foolish, that he sounded?

"I appreciate the enthusiasm rook, but ya gotta understand, this will need planning and-"

"Look, you just said this place's been a 'pain in the arse'…" Rivet interrupted, marching forward and pointing up at Derek. She mimicked his southern accent and pulled a face as she quoted the warbot, an imitation that was, quite frankly, very poorly done, yet Ratchet admired her all the more because of it.

"-so it's time somebody did something about it, right Kit?"

Kit looked a little surprised at being asked for her input so suddenly. She thought for a moment, clearly going through a brief internal struggle, before saying – "Yeah… I mean, yes! That's right!"

Kit dashed forward, in front of Rivet, and looked up at two older warbots, who towered over her.

"I will not stand here while the emperor uses this tower to spread his wicked influence across the galaxy, nor will I allow your friends - ", she looked up at both Lombaxes, " – to suffer at his hands."

Clank gazed upon the diminutive yellow bot for a moment, then his lower eye shutters raising upward as they always did whenever he was smiling, he too spoke up -

"Well said, Kit. I too will join in this effort."

"Besides - " Rivet began, and the two warbots and Talwyn turned their eyes on her again. " – Phantom is the best hacker for a thousand galaxies; with him aboard the Phoneix, the Alliance will make huge steps toward reclaiming this system from the emperor… he's not too shabby in a fight, either." She added as an afterthought.

Talwyn took a step toward Rivet, looking unconvinced.

"Rivet, I'm still not sure about this; it's too dangerous for the four of you alone, we need time to plan for this, and besides even if—"

"I know what you're gonna say!" Rivet interrupted, holding up her metal hand and looking suddenly fierce.

The Markazian broke off immediately, her eyes wide and surprised.

Ratchet felt a twinge of foreboding as Rivet walked straight up to Talwyn, stopping just a few inches short and glaring up at her.

Tal's eyes flicked to Ratchet, who looked away hastily, avoiding eye contact and preferring not to comment or watch what happened next.

"'We have the Terachnoids – the smartest creatures in the universe; what more can an Aridian

add', right? Well listen to me – Phantom's a friend of mine, no less than this 'Skidd' is a friend of Ratchet's. Would you wait and risk they get taken somewhere we'll be lucky to learn about when we know at this moment where they are!?"

Unable to resist the temptation, Ratchet turned to look at them both – the tall Markazian staring down, her face a little flushed and looking quite caught off guard, and the short female Lombax, a fierce look in her eyes.

His gaze softened irresistibly as he looked at Rivet. Her determination to act now and save both their friends as well as her confidence at rebuking Tal's hesitancy made him feel just as elated as it did awkward.

"D'ya think I was too harsh…?" Rivet asked Kit suddenly, her ears drooping.

It was now mid-afternoon; The four of them were aboard a B-33 storage ship hijacked by the rebels some weeks prior, and which would look much less suspicious being flown into Theandris' atmosphere than a starfighter. Rivet was flying, with Kit as co-pilot. Another argument on who would fly had broken out between the two Lombaxes as they prepared to depart, and which had only been broken when Clank had the genius idea of suggesting one of them fly to their destination and the other pilot the ship on their way back. They had been given the all-clear to attempt a rescue-and-destroy-the-tower mission shortly after Rivet's outburst.

Ratchet, who had been watching the Phoenix shrink to a small pin-prick as they sped away, looked around.

"I… personally would not have accused her of not caring about your friends." Replied Kit, "But I think it was good that you and Ratchet were so insistent; Whatever they say to the contrary, Locke and Derek are much too indecisive."

"I agree." Clank chimed in. "Their… counterparts were not so indecisive, I must say… we would have been on this ship an hour ago had they been the ones to see that distress signal."

"…Perhaps being made leaders of the Alliance has made them feel they need to be more cautious?" Kit suggested.

Rivet sighed, looking rather despondent. It was odd to see her this way; while Clank had seen it a handful of times during the dimensional cataclysm, Ratchet however never had before. The sight of her looking so downcast made a curious urge come over him – the urge to say or do something comforting.

"Sorry for being rude to your girlfriend, Ratchet."

"Huh?" Ratchet said sharply, his ears perking up at being addressed. He had been staring at Rivet, lost in thought and trying to think of something good he could say to make her feel better. "('Girlfriend?')" Who was she—

But something suddenly clunked back into place in Ratchet's mind.

"Oh! No, you're fine Rivet, y'don't gotta apologize… You were right back there; Tal can be a little… over precautious at times."

He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should explain about Cronk and Zephyr. Ever since they had been killed, Tal hadn't been quite the same. In fact, he reminded himself, it was shortly after this and when he and Clank had sent the Nethers back to their dimension with the help of the Progg twins that Tal had started seeing less of him… He decided he would not go into detail right

now.

"A little precaution can… sometimes be good," Ratchet continued hesitantly, glancing sideways at Clank, but the silver bot nodded eagerly in agreement. "But at times like this you gotta step up and take action… like you did back there to Locke, Derek, and Tal... Gotta be honest, even I sometimes struggle to do that when I've disagreed with Tal."

Rivet snickered suddenly, her ears flipping back up.

"What?" asked the male, confused.

"Nothing! Just hard to believe that Ratchet, the intergalactic hero that's slain snagglebeasts, stopped the Blarg from destroying planets, beat Dr. Nefarious a hundred times, and survived frickin' DreadZone is scared of a female Markazian that's only two feet taller than him!"

Ratchet felt himself beginning to blush as Clank chuckled.

"What…?! Nononono, I'm not scared of her! I-i-i-it's just… You know, she's… and I've never, had to… th-there's also the fact of all the… Right?"

Clank and Kit stared at the Lombax, Kit turning in her seat to look at him. Rivet however, laughed.

"Suuurrre, hotshot~" She smiled as she faced forward again. "Getting ready to jump to warp-speed. Strap in guys!"

Ratchet sat stunned for a moment. He had never stumbled over his own sentences before. What happened just then? Rivet probably thought he was starstruck with Talwyn now… or an idiot. Both thoughts made his face burn red hot and he felt distinctly ashamed of how he had handled the situation… Though on the plus side, Rivet now wore a cheerful smile. Whether it was from what he had said or from his stuttering, he wasn't sure… What he did know however is that he had cheered her up, and on that thought, his spirits rose substantially.

After a short time, their ship exited warp-speed, showing them an approaching planet – mossy green in some parts with the occasional mixture of blue that indicated bodies of water, but covered largely by clouds and brownish-gray, indicating high-rising mountains.

"Imperial starfighters ahead-", Kit began, "-but I am sensing no immediate threats or alarms; it would appear using a cargo ship was the right call."

"Good. You or Clank able to pick up any traces of Phantom's distress signal? It'd be good to land closer if possible." Rivet said.

Ratchet however, having unbuckled and approached behind Rivet's seat to look out the front window, pointed.

"There –", he said, pointing.

Just visible through the clouds of the planet they approached, was a dull, slowly flashing read light that resembled a radio tower.

"-that's the place, I'll bet you anything."

"Ratchet is correct; I am detecting traces of an encrypted SOS signal from the tower ahead."

"That's Phantom for sure! All right, here we go…"

Rivet took the ship lower, and the stars around them faded away as the black stretches of space transitioned into orange; it was clearly late afternoon - early evening here. They sank into the clouds, their vision becoming briefly obscured by mist and there was a period of silence in which they were rocked occasionally by minor turbulence.

At last, they emerged from the underside of the thick clouds.

"Ho-ly…" Rivet said quietly, her eyes widening.

Spread before them was a vast mountain range of sharp, high-rising cliffs. Along the sides and scattered among what little flat ground there was, were dozens of large structures, interlinked by bridges, tunnels, and hovering platforms, armed with tesla blasters, ion cannons, and other weapons Ratchet had never seen before. Construction cranes were scattered about, some clutching onto various building supplies and vehicles – girders, pipes, starships, blocks, and crates in which was who knew what.

"Where we gonna land this thing? Any of you see someplace big and flat enough? You'd think, given all this construction, that there'd be a place big enough for shipments to be put down!"

"There is a hanger, but it is of course too risky to land there. No, not here either," Clank began, as Rivet flew lower, "There are too many hostiles in this area as well. We must set down someplace more remote."

"I'm not disagreeing, but I think our options are kinda limited, Clank." Ratchet said as he turned his head left and right, looking for anywhere that wasn't jagged, treacherous, or already taken by hostiles or imperial cargo.

"That will have to work - that place there." Kit said, pointing at a relatively flat, but still rocky, offshoot of the mountainside. "Do you agree, Clank?"

"Yes, it will do fine; that tree growing off the side of the mountain – it will block the ship from view of the windows above, and - I cannot believe I am saying this - it is also dangerous. Nobody will come this way without very good reason to do so."

"Good. Putting 'er down then."

Rivet took them lower and lower, descending slowly and trying to keep them level. At last with a bump, the ship became steady and still, and Rivet disengaged the engines.

The doors hissed then swung outward, letting a cool breeze permeate through the still air within the ship.

The two bots leapt onto the Lombaxes' backs and together, they exited the ship.

It was silent, save for the sound of the wind whistling through the mountains and the distant hum of what sounded like a generator as well as the occasional sound of a power tool whirring or clanging.

Kit's eyes rotated once, her shutters closing and focusing briefly as she turned her head from one direction to the next.

"I am tracing the origin point of the SOS signal we detected… Oh dear… It is coming from the central tower." she said, sounding worried.

Ratchet looked at Rivet, again experiencing a prickle of fear for her. He knew this was going to be

dangerous before they set out, but he hadn't expected Skidd and Phantom to be held in the central tower, which would undoubtedly be the most-heavily guarded structure in the entire base. He shook it off however. '(gotta focus… gotta focus…)'

"At least six-hundred hostiles detected. I calculate odds of survival from a direct encounter at twenty-two point six percent." said Clank. "Our best chance at rescuing Skidd and Phantom and destroying the central tower would be a covert approach."

The two small bots looked at each other behind their friends, and both exchanged without words their anxieties over how most if not all their attempts at stealth ended in catastrophe, though admittedly in Ratchet's and Clank's case it was usually because Qwark was utterly devoid of skill in the art of being inconspicuous.

"I think we'll have to…" Ratchet said after a moment's thought. "I can see two Heralds from here – on the opposite cliff; no way we're getting passed them without being spotted."

"There's a fissure in the side of the cliff over that way-" Rivet began, and she walked along a narrow path on the side of the cliff towards it. She looked in, and her tail flicked around behind her in satisfaction. "Hey! It leads to a pathway behind the rocks; We could sneak into the base through here."

Ratchet's ears perked up.

"Sounds good to me. I say we do it."

With a nod from Clank, the quartet squeezed into the fissure and began making their way through the twisting and turning miniature valley at the top of the mountain. The first few minutes were uneventful, with their biggest worry being Rivet's bushy tail catching onto some barbs still wrapped around the stump of a tree, cut down no doubt by the Valen or his Heralds as they set up base.

The sky turned gradually from orange to indigo as they walked, and stars began appearing once more. The breeze became gradually cooler, and the sound of insect life gradually fell on their ears as night began to fall.

"Wait-", Clank said, suddenly.

They had reached the end of the fissure in the mountainside and were looking out onto a construction zone crowded with Heralds.

The four looked all around the site, searching for a shadow they could hide themselves in, a path through the armed and working Heralds. The central tower was close – just passed a large crane towering across from them, large steel pipes in its claw.

Ratchet touched the communicator in his chest harness.

"Tal, we've arrived at Craggsbreak Peaks and we're on a cliff overlooking a construction site. Don't suppose you got any advice do ya? I can't see a way forward."

Talwyn was a second in answering, then spoke up at last. "*sigh* 'Fraid not… from what Locke and Derek have on Theandris, the construction site at Craggsbreak is new. There's gotta be something though, there always is. Try looking around."

"Time to improvise?" Clank asked Rivet, who smirked.

"Time to improvise…"

She looked around, this time taking in their full surroundings.

"Lights on the ground… shadows above… shadows in that unfinished building… There!" she said, pointing, and Ratchet directed his attention skyward in the direction of her pointing finger.

There was a crane close by – close enough in fact that they could swingshot up to the arm. Now that Ratchet looked, the other cranes were oriented just perfect to allow them to leap from one arm to the next, or at least to their loads.

Taking lead, Ratchet fired his swingshot up to the arm and was lifted at once high into the air, and Rivet followed swiftly.

"Leaving me behind?" she teased, to which Ratchet hastily blurt out a denial – perhaps a little too hastily, for Rivet looked a little taken aback.

"Sorry… Just a little tense y'know? Heheh…" He smiled at her awkwardly.

She looked confused for only a second, then gave a slight smirk and shook her head as she continued to follow after him, much to Ratchet's relief.

Ratchet swung from the first crane to the next, the dull thunk of the rubber soles of his boots on the metallic frame of the crane masked by the dull whistle of the wind. He ran along the crane's arm to the incomplete structure Rivet had pointed out, and after getting Clank to confirm it was free of Hostiles, he leapt into its window. He paused, looking down at the construction site below and waiting for Rivet and Kit to join him.

"Gimme a light will ya?! Lord Valen is coming to check on our progress tomorrow and I don't care what he says, we don't got the strength to break apart solid rock without tools! If one-a you slugheads leave 'em on the top floor and we fall behind one more time it's your head the emperor will be launching into space!"

Ratchet swore under his breath as the sound of heavy metallic feet began stomping around on one of the floors below.

"Those things can talk?" Clank whispered in wonder.

"Talk? There's a Herald coming upstairs and you're worried about them being able to talk?!" Ratchet hissed back.

Rivet leapt into the room and, quiet as they could, they dashed to an opening where the Heralds had not yet erected a wall, and together they jumped onto the nearby crane's load. They dashed across the bundled steel pipes leading to the final crane's arm.

A flashlight began shining around the room they had just vacated, and they paused, keeping as still as they could to try and avoid drawing its attention. After what felt like ages, the flashlight began descending the stairs and Ratchet saw the light appearing on lower levels. He breathed a sigh of relief and hurried on, leaping onto the arm of the final crane.

TINNNGGG!

"Ssshhit!"

A loud, metallic snapping sound, a gasp of fear, and an exclamation of mingled anger and shock

behind him. Ratchet whipped around to see Rivet swingshotting onto the arm of the final crane, the large bundle of steel pipes falling to the earth below, spinning and clanging together as they went.

With a deafening crash below, the steel pipes smashed into the ground, crushing a Herald and destroying several crates.

Roars of shock from below rent the air, and Ratchet threw himself onto his chest, extending his arm to help pull the female Lombax and the former warbot up to safety.

Lights flared below, and the quartet shielded their eyes as what seemed to be every light in the construction area pointed directly at them.

"There are too many! We must run!" Kit shouted.

They didn't need telling twice. The two Lombaxes sprinted up the arm of the crane as shots of plasma began flying up at them, and they leapt off the arm and along a nearby cliff, vaulting over a guardrail and dashing along a bridge.

"So, how long 'til backup arrives?!" Ratchet shouted, ducking as enemy fire was directed toward the bridge from the construction site.

"I'd say about two seconds!"

Rivet shouted back before Clank could respond as the door they were running to burst open from within and three Heralds dashed out, armed and ready to fight.

Ratchet threw himself back, sliding beneath a mag-net blast from one Herald and underneath its legs, jumping to his feet inside the room the Heralds had just vacated. As the creature spun on the spot, Ratchet swung at the foul thing with his Omniwrench. The tool smashed through the glass helmet and collided with the side of its head, and glass and fangs mingled with green blood flew everywhere. Rivet had leapt into the air, dodging fiery blasts and throwing a shatterbomb at the feet of the remaining two. The explosion blasted the two Heralds off the bridge, which crumbled at once, and Rivet grabbed onto the ledge, heaving herself up just as more shots from the construction site flew toward them.

"Whadda we do now?" Rivet asked hurriedly.

"Ratchet, over there! What are those?"

Ratchet turned. There was a window looking out over the construction site from here, as well as a long station on which was a console and controls, which appeared to Ratchet to be used to operate the lights and cranes remotely.

"Remember how the Vullard used flashing light to temporarily stun the Heralds on Havenon IV?"

Ratchet's mind raced, and then he remembered. Without pausing to think he dashed forward and Clank leapt off his back.

"C'mon, c'mon, work your magic Clank!" Ratchet said urgently as plasma shattered the glass and hit the walls and ceiling around them. Swarms of Heralds were racing toward the control center, and as he spoke a lone trooper smashed its way in through the opposite door, redirecting the Lombaxes' attention.

"I am trying! This system is-"

"'Trying'?! The hell do you mean 'trying', it's a light controller system for gods' sake!" Ratchet bellowed as he deflected a vicious swing from the Herald. Which had brought a shovel from the construction site with it.

"On the contrary, it is a multi-purpose control center that we can use to stop the alarm from being broadcast and control the lights! The system is therefore understandably encrypted, and will take some time to break through!"

Kit hurried to Clank's side.

"I will do what I can to help; You two – hold them off as long as you can!"

"Right! No problem!" Rivet shouted, as she crushed the lone Herald's skull with a fierce downward swing with her hammer and the room they were in shook with the force of a bomb striking the roof.

"I got the right, you take left!" Ratchet shouted.

He hurried to the open door, checking his ammo as he ran. Remembering how the Heralds could crawl up walls, he knew it was only a matter of time before they got around the obstacle of no bridge. Sure enough, the thought had barely finished processing when a set of clawed fingers grasped onto the ledge and the beast pulled itself into the room – its yellow, slitted eyes bulging, its vertical mouth revealing a set of fangs bared. But it had barely let loose its roar of mingled delight and fury before it was silenced by a blast from Ratchet's Enforcer, sending glass, bone, blood and bits of brain flying in every direction. The headless beast fell back out the door, and Ratchet heard the corpse fall into another one, knocking it down as well, judging by the fearful scream that pierced the night air.

Rivet kicked the opposite door open and was greeted by the sight of two Heralds who were knocked back at the force at which the door swung open, rolling backward down the stairs leading up to her. The female Lombax drew twin Vipers and opened fire down at the approaching alien-machine hybrids, but so numerous were they that the few she killed were quickly replaced by several more. Rolling backward into the control room to avoid the shots now positively spraying up at her, she registered, in the fraction of a second that she was facing upward, loose rocks from all the construction work. She tossed another shatterbomb at the cliff, and the resulting explosion caused a cascade of boulders to fall and crush at least twelve of the creatures, and blocking off the rest… for now.

An explosion overhead and debris littered the room which filled with dust. Coughing, Both Lombaxes turned to see two more Heralds fall into the room. They redirected their attacks at once

– Ratchet latching onto the arm of one with his Omniwrench and giving a fierce, merciless jerk, causing a sickening CRACK to tear through the room and the creature to roar in pain as its arm broke. The Herald cradled its broken arm which hung at a sickening angle, its blaster flying high into the air, and which the Lombax caught before sweeping his leg under the best, making it fall to the floor before Ratchet promptly shot it in the face, the heat from the blast peeling away its flesh and revealing the thing's repulsive skull beneath.

Rivet, who had just deployed a Bombadier to guard the doorway, threw her robotic arm forward and grasped the second Herald's weapon with such force that she crushed it into a tangle of useless metal. Her other, good fist flew up and broke through the creature's helmet and collided hard with the side of its head, and she felt its jaws crack before the creature collapsed unsensible to the floor.

She pulled her fist back, gritting her teeth in pain and shaking her hand fiercely; she sometimes forgot that, though strong, her good arm and fist still had natural feeling in it.

"You two done yet?!" Rivet called, rolling to the side to dodge a shot that had just sailed through the open door.

"Almost got it! Almost… GOT IT!"

The two bots shouted the last two words simultaneously, and the brightness of the lights from the construction site grew exponentially as they spun toward the control room and pulsed rapidly, flooding it and its surroundings with blinding white light that flickered on and off.

The approaching Heralds faltered, shouting in pain as they threw up their hands to shield their multiple eyes, and the two Lombaxes capitalized on their foes' helpless state.

Without a word, both knew immediately what to do. They sprinted forward, leaping through the shattered glass. Dashing into the middle of the crowd of aliens, Ratchet and Rivet began throwing shatterbombs in every direction, hurling their melee weapons at other targets and catching them as they returned.

The explosions and the sound of the Lombaxes' weapons striking their comrades only intensified the dazed and confused state of the creatures, who spun around blindly and began firing indiscriminately in every direction in an attempt to take them out.

Ratchet and Rivet dove behind cover and sat motionless, breathing hard covering their large ears, and screwing up their faces at the mingled sound of the Heralds' roars of fury and confusion, the myriad of weapons firing, and the sound of shots finding their mark.

At last, the noise died to a ringing silence and the flashing construction lights returned to their original brightness. They peaked around the corner to check their surroundings. All the Heralds lay dead around them, having slain each other during the confusion.

"Hahh… Well… that was a… piece of cake!"

Rivet gasped.

"Yeah!... Hah… Nothin' to it…!"

They stood up and she looked him up and down, a smirk appearing on her face.

"A bit of scruff doesn't look so bad on ya hotshot, haha!"

He blinked confusedly, then smiled, fighting the growing heat in his face at what she had just said and that adorable laugh of hers.

"So, how's the damage? Do I look like a Blarg?" she asked, still smiling.

He looked at her, and even with the blazing white light shining upon them, she still seemed to shine brighter. Her normally snow-white fur was dirty and there were scratches on the side of her face, but no dirt or scratches could ever hope to hide such beauty and perfection from radiating forth more powerfully than the brightest lights in the universe… No wait, it was her condition that was unaltered, not her beauty! Yes, she still appeared to be just as fine as she ever was outside a few scratches, how beautiful she looked wasn't what mattered or what she had-

"Ratchet! Ratchet, Are you all right?!"

"Rivet! Answer me!"

Ratchet gratefully allowed the worried cries of their best friends to yank him back to the present.

Turning back to the control room, he shouted "Yeah! We're great! Just great!"

"All clear you guys, you can come out now!" Rivet called.

The two bots hurried out and dashed up to their friends, Clank reaching Ratchet first.

"Oh, thank heavens! When you ran out here and didn't come back-"

"Were ya starting to miss me pal?"

Clank looked up into the male Lombax's eyes, and after a second, gave his usual chuckle.

Ratchet smiled and, after turning around, Clank leapt onto his back.

Kit ran up to Rivet and hugged her leg, being the highest point of her that the bot could easily reach, and the female Lombax jumped slightly.

"Kiiit… I'm fine, you don't have to-"

"I was… worried." The yellow bot said softly. "…That is all."

Rivet looked a little embarrassed, but after a moment's hesitation, she gave a weak smile and awkwardly held out her robotic fist.

Kit looked at it, a little confused, but then giggled as she bumped her fist to Rivet's. "So, Clank… are we good? There's no enemy ships on their way, right?" Asked Ratchet. "Correct; Kit and I were able to stop the alarm from broadcasting." The two Lombaxes gave a sigh of relief.

"Awesome… Well, at least now we don't have to worry about staying outta sight so much. C'mon."

They made their way back in the direction of the crane they had so recently crossed and made their way back up the cliff, behind which the large radio tower-like structure loomed, piercing the heavens, its dull, slowly flashing red light at the top dim and blurred through the mist.

The heroes passed through a camp – undoubtedly where the Heralds who worked at the construction site slept, then crossed over a bridge linking the mountain to another high-rising cliff atop which was a watchtower.

"Anybody up there Clank?" the male Lombax asked.

"No, it would appear the bulk of all nearby forces rushed to the construction site during our entrance… But curiously, I sense no other hostiles in the vicinity."

This news, while welcome, nevertheless slightly increased their sense of foreboding. This was supposed to be a critical location for Tachyon and his empire. It seemed odd that there weren't more soldiers, more patrols… The quartet knew they had not defeated all six hundred hostile forces that Clank had told them of when they had arrived… where had the remaining forces gone?

They pressed on, keeping silent as they went. They passed through the watchtower, checking for

supplies and restocking on ammo.

At last, after several tense minutes of growing silence, they reached the base of the radio tower.

Again, there were no guards. Not even when asked could Clank or Kit sense any hostiles.

"Right… Let's see if they left the front door open." Said Rivet.

Sure enough, the metallic double doors swung forward at Rivet's touch. No alarms, not even any lights were turned on.

Ignoring the growing sense of foreboding and mistrust at the lack of security, Rivet looked back at Kit.

"So, where's Phantom and Skidd?"

Kit was silent for a moment, then –

"Level two; we are on Level three right now."

"I hope they are all right… Who knows what Tachyon and Valen have said to do with prisoners if there is a disturbance…" Clank said anxiously.

"They'll be all right." Said Ratchet, trying to sound confident.

They proceeded through the apparently empty tower, moving through the halls, checking the branching rooms, and searching for an elevator or set of stairs, noting the collection of weapons, computers, and an assortment of large crates. They paused briefly in their search to inspect them, looking for plans in the computers' files, curious as to what could be in the crates, which appeared, judging by the first crate, to be nothing more than explosives. Finding nothing but patrol schedules, shipment dates, broadcast hours, and illegally downloaded episodes of Lance and Janice on the computers, the four resumed their primary mission in finding and rescuing the Aridians.

They finally found a set of stairs leading both up and down in the back of what looked to be a storage room, and they gratefully began their descent into the even darker first level. It was exceptionally quiet, increasing their tension and worries. Hadn't Locke and Derek said that the cries of the prisoners could be heard during some of Tachyon's intimidation broadcasts?

No sooner had the thought passed through Ratchet's mind than a hand reached around a corner and jerked the Lombax around, lifting him off his feet and pinning him to the wall. A cry of shock and a second thud told Ratchet that something similar had just happened to Rivet.

Reacting instinctively, Ratchet kicked hard against his attacker who was knocked away, stumbling as he tried to regain his balance.

A flare lit in the attacker's hand, and Ratchet saw a towering figure in an orange jumpsuit, the upper half of his face and head obscured by a raritanium helmet and visor with red lenses.

"Phantom wait! It's Ratchet!" the Lombax cried.

The Aridian eased up, lowering the flare in his fist which filled the room with a reddish flickering light.

"Hey, hey ease up lady!" Ratchet turned at the familiar voice. Skidd was on his stomach on the ground, his arm twisted behind him and held fast by Rivet, her fangs bared. But she began to relax as she realized whom she had pinned down. She hastily jumped off Skidd's back, who pushed

himself up and got to his feet, wiping the dust off him.

"Well, look who it is!" a smile appeared on what little Ratchet could see on Phantom's face as the Aridian walked forward. He grabbed Ratchet's hand which hung loosely at his side from the shock he was still recovering from, and shook it vigorously. He looked over at who had pinned down his counterpart, and his smile widened as his eyes fell on Rivet.

"Rivet! It's been a hot minute!"

"Phantom! It's so good to see you're okay."

They walked forward and bumped fists.

"No, it's fine! No apology necessary or anything!" Skidd said a little indignantly. And then he saw Ratchet and Clank.

"Heyyyy, Ratchet, Clank! How are ya little dudes!?"

Ratchet smiled as Skidd walked forward and the two high-fived.

"So, what're you guys doing here? Gonna send this emperor guy a message before bringing his tower crashin' outta the sky?" Phantom asked.

"We… are here to rescue you, actually." Clank began, "How did you escape? What happened to the Heralds?"

Phantom gave a short laugh.

"Hah! These amateurs don't know anything about security; I cracked our cell open within minutes of getting tossed in."

"As for where everyone went… No clue." Skidd added. "Phantom an' I were trying to free the other prisoners when we heard you dudes comin' down the stairs; thought you were the enemies comin' back."

At this mention of the other prisoners, Ratchet felt a determination rise in his stomach.

"Where they at?" he asked.

At a gesture from Phantom, the group dashed up the passageway, Phantom's flare the only source of light.

He pushed open a door, and both Lombaxes blinked rapidly as the unexpected light poked them hard in both eyes.

Blinking rapidly, the room came into focus and Ratchet saw, to his horror, a room full of undersized cages stacked one on top of the other, and full of people of various races.

"There's… gotta be at least a hundred people in here…!" Ratchet gasped.

"Got that right; we overheard those – what'd ya call 'em? Heralds? Yeah, we overheard 'em talkin' about how they were runnin' outta room before they left us here." Skidd said.

Ratchet thought quickly. There was no telling where all the Heralds had gone to, nor when they might return. They still needed to plant the explosive charges around the tower before they left, but with so much uncertainty regarding the enemy, they had to act fast.

"Right, here's what we do-", he began, "We gotta get these people outta here, we gotta blow this tower, and we gotta move fast. Rivet, Phantom - you two have more experience from your time as Resistance Members in blowing things up, am I right?"

Rivet nodded curtly and Phantom mimicked her.

"Good, good. You two should plant those charges; Kit will be able to tell you the best places to plant 'em. Skidd - ", he turned toward the Aridian beside him. "- You, me, n' Clank will free the prisoners; Clank'll be able to help us crack open these cages, right?"

"Absolutely." Clank replied.

"Great! Now let's get to work, we don't know how much time we got, but we definitely don't have much. Meet us back on level three when you guys are done!" he called, as Rivet dashed off, Kit on her back, and Phantom bringing up the rear.

"So how're those talents of yours, Skidd? Ready to break a few locks?"

Ratchet and Skidd dashed in separate directions. It had been several years since the Aridian had exercised the skills he had picked up during his short spell as a member of the Q-Force, but he soon clicked back into it nevertheless. Within minutes, he successfully opened his first cage, freeing an assortment of prisoners, all of whom looked weak, stiff, and fearful from their incarceration.

Clank and Ratchet meanwhile had taken separate cages of their own. Not skilled in lockpicking or decrypting locks electronically on his own, the Lombax resorted to smashing the locks with his Omniwrench. Clank however swiftly broke through each electronic lock with ease, noting how weak the security was, just as Phantom had.

Meanwhile three floors above, Rivet and Phantom were dashing in separate directions, each having taken different targets from Kit, who had pinpointed the weakest areas in the radio tower after a quick scan of the structure's integrity, among which were the crates of explosives they found earlier.

"Couldn't these captains of this 'Alliance' come up with a better detonator? I don't need to remind you how flawed a short-ranged manual remote is, right?", Phantom asked as he and Rivet returned to the collection of charges.

"I know…" Rivet said, "But it's like I told you – the Alliance is short on members and supplies; this was the best they could give us for this mission." She looked up at the Aridian squatted down beside her – a towering figure by comparison to the Lombax, even while crouched. "We could really use those skills of yours. Nobody else can find things of value or find weaknesses in security systems quite like you can."

The Aridian smirked.

"Heh. Well I'll tell you what my furry friend – we get outta this alive, and I'll join your Alliance. Whadda ya say? Deal?"

"Uh, yeah, deal." Rivet said, picking up a charge and dashing off. "('if I don't die, I'll join'. Good to know he hasn't changed in the last five months… )"

Five minutes later, Ratchet and Clank, followed by Skidd and the crowd of prisoners, dashed back upstairs to level two.

"Charges set and ready to arm. Just gotta get outta here first." Rivet said, breathing heavily and

holding up a crudely designed remote.

The plan was, relatively speaking, a simple one – The prisoners were to split into groups, armed with the weapons the Heralds had left laying around upstairs. They would then make for the hangar, once Clank or Kit had found it in the computer systems, and make for their homes, or return to the Phoenix aboard enemy ships, which Phantom would tag as friendly so that the Alliance would recognize them. Once all prisoners were gone, Rivet would trigger the explosives and lastly they would leave before reinforcements could arrive.

"Great! Okay, so you guys know the plan. Clank, find that hangar fast, we gotta move before-" "Oh? Are you lot going somewhere?"

The prisoners gasped collectively, and some gave cries of fear. It was that same, smooth voice – the one they had heard over their ship's radio when they had escaped Havenon IV – the voice of Lord Valen, echoing through the silent station.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you? You fools were so quick and jubilant at the 'ease' of the situation you never paused to think that 'surely, Lord Valen in his genius design would have ensured a silent alarm were installed within each and every cell we opened!'"

Phantom winced at this revelation, and Ratchet could tell he was inwardly cursing himself for not thinking of this possibility.

"I must say, you rebels are quite the troublemakers! Do you not realize just how hard my Heralds have been working to get this base up to His Brilliance's standards? If your pathetic plans to destroy our tower were not enough, you went and killed half our workforce! I'm afraid to say he will not be pleased; No, not at all!"

A low rumble was beginning to sound, growing steadily louder. Ratchet and Rivet dashed to the window as a large ship rose slowly from below the clouds – higher and higher, with lights ablaze and cannons directed straight at them.

"I do apologize for having nobody here at our fine facility to greet you sooner, but after all the commotion at the construction site, I knew the occasion called for a very special sort of annihilation, so I had to order my troops to fall back while I prepared it for you!"

The prisoners all gave collective shouts of fear, some backing away from the windows. Neither Ratchet nor Rivet displayed any sign of fear however, seeing through their foe's bluff.

"Huh. Well, your call." Said Ratchet, shrugging. "I'm sure 'His Brilliance' will be totally cool with you blasting the most important imperial station in this galaxy outta orbit just to kill a couple rebels. Sounds like a fine idea to me!" He wasn't entirely sure that Valen could hear him, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity to mouth off a little, just in case.

It seemed that Valen could hear him however, for after a short pause he gave a laugh – a cold, high-pitched laugh that sounded more insane than amused.

"My, you are a sassy one aren't you? AND rather astute as well! Maybe you're not as stupid as you lot seem. Now please excuse me a moment, I must run a bioscan. Never fear, it's all quite routine!"

Ratchet froze up at these words, which shocked him much more effectively than Valen's threats. A bioscan?! He would learn that at least one of the occupants of this tower was a Lombax; Rivet would become a high-priority target…!

A thin, greenish blue light shone from the large Gryphon in the distance; it filled the room, pulsed once, and vanished. There was nothing any of them could do to hide from it.

"Very good! Now let's just see… Ah yes, Aridian life readings… You must be the guests I was informed of that were brought in this afternoon! Are you leaving already? We haven't even met yet! I'll have to teach you some manners later! Oh dear… You broke all of our guests from their chambers too?! Tsk, tsk, from bad to worse. And… noooo, surely NOT!"

Valen gave a highly exaggerated, theatrical gasp.

"My fine rebel friend…! Did you know that YOU are a Lombax…?!"

Ratchet looked around at Rivet. 'A Lombax'… 'YOU'… singular… So there was a chance he didn't know there was more than one…

"Well… WELL, this changes things!", Valen said, his voice now punctuated by cruel amusement, "Did you know, Lombax, that the Great Tachyon has deemed your species a threat and a menace that must be exterminated?"

There was silence as Ratchet's mind raced. Everyone here was in danger because of him; he had to get them out of here, fast.

"Yes, indeed! Oh, my dear Lombax, I must introduce you to my pets! They do so love their big-eared, furry friends; in fact they've already become quite acquainted with several of your kind! Well, I will be hanging up now, I'd hate to keep you waiting; I know you're just dying to meet them!~"

There was a loud SNAP and a series of clunks, followed by a string of cursing. It sounded as though Valen had thrown the communicator down and in his jubilance crushed one of his fingers.

"Yo, Ratch and lady!" Skidd shouted, pointing out the window. The Lombaxes turned and saw a number of… things coming from Valen's ship and flying toward them at startling speed.

"Uhh, Kit? What are those?" asked Rivet, sounding anxious as she and Ratchet began to back away from the window.

"Heyyyy, Clank? How's that hangar lookin' buddy? It's right next door, right?!"

The things were coming closer – Ratchet could see tendrils flailing behind the creatures like a propeller, carrying them through the air.

"The hangar is not far, but there is only enough starcraft there for the civilians! We will have to fight our way back to our ship!"

Ratchet looked back out the window and felt a trickle of fear. They were close now – single, milky-white glistening eyes, stubby, fingerless, pointed arms resembling spear-tips, and emitting a rasping, rattling sound from gaping mouths lined with razor-sharp teeth that seemed to spin rapidly like a garbage disposal. They had no choice – it was either wait here or make a break for the hangar.

"FOLLOW ME!", Ratchet bellowed, and without waiting another second, he picked up Clank and slung him on his back as he bolted for the door, leading the way.

The prisoners tore after him, Skidd dashing alongside them, Phantom near the back, and Rivet and Kit bringing up the rear. The creatures smashed through the window, screeching and hissing, their

tendrils waving horribly. They pelted toward the female Lombax, who hurled a fistful of tesla spikes at her attackers with a growl of mingled disgust and exertion as she slammed the door. The electrical weapons temporarily immobilized the beasts, giving everybody a chance to put some space between them and Valen's creations.

Ratchet sprinted up a dirt path, following shouted directions from Clank, turning left, then right, between two towers, through an abandoned security gate, glancing back over his shoulder at every turn to make sure everybody was still behind him, hearing the shrieks and roars of those monsters mingled with the cries of fear from the civilians and the blasts from Rivet's and Phantom's weapons as they held the creatures off.

At last, they ran onto a large, flat platform with an even larger structure with starcraft parked around it – they had reached the hangar.

"RATCHET!" Clank shouted.

The Lombax looked up as a screech rent the air – one of those things had separated from the swarm and was diving toward him, it's mouth open wide, big enough to engulf his entire head.

He threw himself to the side and rolled along the ground. The creature landed on its feet, orienting itself to land with unnatural precision. It lunged at the Lombax, who ducked under it. As it flew over his head, he wheeled about, grabbing one of the tentacles along its back and swung it with all his might against a nearby wall, cracking the stone. The creature staggered to its feet, dazed, but still deadly, its singular eye bulging with rage. It pounced forward with a roar, and the Lombax brought his Omniwrench up to meet it, striking it hard between its legs and deflecting it over his head and into a vehicle behind him, which rocked from the force of the impact, and the beast bounced off and fell into an oil drum. It leapt back out, hissing fiercely, oil dripping to the ground, and Ratchet had a sudden idea. He drew out the Pyrocitor he had purchased so long ago and squeezed the trigger.

The creature gave a horrible scream as it was engulfed in flames. It fell to the ground, rolling and flailing its tentacles in agony, its eye bulging. It began to swell and Ratchet, his eyes wide, threw himself behind a crate just in time as the beast exploded with a horrible squelching sound, splattering the walls and the path in intestines and emitting an utterly repulsive odor.

"Clank, whatthefuck!?" Ratchet shouted, his heart racing and his nerves shot. He had never seen anything like this creature – the way its teeth spun, the flailing tendrils, the pointed arms, that milky, staring eye, and the way it continued to get back up after suffering injuries that would have crippled most other beasts he had tackled. It was unnatural, almost otherworldly.

"We can worry about what later, we must ensure the civilians are safe!"

Ratchet leapt to his feet as the prisoners dashed passed. Rivet came last, turning on the spot and opening fire briefly at the crowd of those things as she ran before facing forward and breaking into a full sprint once more.

"Nice one hotshot! You just gave me an idea!" she shouted as she flashed passed him.

They dashed into the hangar, Ratchet attempting to count the prisoners as they hurried aboard the starships, but losing track as he was forced to engage, turning on the spot and firing blast after blast from his Enforcer at the swarm of monsters.

"All civilians accounted for!"

"Okay, great! All right Phantom do your thing!" Rivet shouted. "Leave these things to me!"

As Phantom opened a panel on the side of each starship and began doing… whatever he needed to that would ensure the starships would be tagged as civilians, Ratchet wheeled about to see the female Lombax hurl a full oil drum at the approaching swarm.

Momentarily stunned at her display of strength, he was brought back to earth by Kit who shouted – "Get back!"

The female Lombax aimed her Burst Pistol at the oil drum and, her teeth gritted as if about to do something highly unpleasant, she fired several shots as Ratchet dove backward.

A colossal explosion went off in the entrance to the hangar, shaking the foundation and making their ears ring. Flame and spark flew in every direction, as did bits of flesh.

Ratchet lowered his arms, having lifted them to shield his himself from the bright flash and sudden blaze of heat, and stood back up. Every one of the creatures had been blown into a thousand pieces from the fiery explosion, their guts still aflame and scattered all over the platform on which the hangar stood. There was a moment of shocked silence.

"Yooohohoooo, that was SWEET!" Skidd shouted finally, punching the air. "Can't believe we got outta that one!"

"Everyone clear! These ships are ready for takeoff!"

Ratchet and Rivet turned. Phantom was backing up hastily as the engines of the four starships roared to life. They rose from the ground and hovered steadily out into the open before blasting off into the sky.

"Where are they headed?" Clank asked.

"I sent 'em to the Phoenix; used the coordinates Kit gave me. This way we can ensure they all made it safe and sound… If they don't wanna join the Alliance, we can send 'em off then." Replied Phantom, gazing after where the last starship had vanished.

There was a short silence during which the six of them breathed a sigh of relief. But their moment of reprieve was short-lived.

"Ohhh, bravo my dear rebel friends, BRAVO!"

Lord Valen's voice was echoing over the PA system once more.

"You actually did it! You defeated my Cherubs! I've finally met rebels that make life interesting!" Valen gave another high, cold laugh. "I must admit, Lombax - I had grown to not expect much from your kind after that pitiful display on Havenon IV, but YOU… Oh goodness yes! Your display was terrific! Much, MUCH more akin to the stories I heard of the strength and the will your race possesses! However, I'm afraid this is where your story ends!"

"Ratchet…!" Clank gasped.

From all around, Heralds were emerging from the darkness – chuckling sinisterly and their weapons drawn.

"Where… Where did they come from…?!" Kit asked, shocked. Neither she nor Clank had picked

any of them up on their sensors.

The six of them backed into the hangar, drawing their weapons and preparing to fight. Ratchet could feel Rivet's good arm pressed against his, could feel her muscles tensing up, and for a fraction of a second his heart seemed to swoon from the sensation before he mentally shook himself; Now was not the time!

"As fun as this was, His Greatness did make your existence a capital offense! I won't pretend; I will miss you Lombax… No seriously, this is the most fun I've had in months now. Part of me wants to spare you so we can do this again in a few weeks, you know, sort of like that old high school friend of yours that you haven't seen in a few years, do you know what I mean? Buuut…" Valen gave a long, sad sigh, "His Brilliance's word… is law. Tah-tah!~"

The six heroes threw themselves to the ground as enemy fire sprayed into the hangar – shots that littered the wall behind them and striking several more oil drums and causing another colossal explosion, larger than the last, and which knocked all of them off their feet.

Ratchet flew through the air, all sense of direction lost as stars and the endless expanse of space spun below him, fire and asphalt above, the shouts of his friends and the roars of the Heralds echoing through the night.

He landed hard on the metallic platform and rolled several feet before finally coming to a stop. He turned his befuddled head left and right as he looked for Rivet, Kit, Phantom, and Skidd, and with a powerful wave of relief saw them stumbling to their feet a short distance away. Further back he could see the hangar, now little more than a mass of twisted steel and burning flame.

Closer still were the Heralds, who were slowly pushing themselves up, their eyes crossed and their heads rolling on their metaphorical shoulders.

Not wasting another second, Ratchet jumped to his feet, making stars pop into view in front of his eyes and with a shout to the others, they tore off once again, this time in the direction of their ship.

They had reached the construction site before enemy fire reached them again. Looking over their shoulders, the heroes saw the crowd of Heralds racing after them, blasters firing from every direction, and leaving glowing reddish-orange burns that faded to black at their points of impact.

"Clank, Kit! Is it worth attempting another light-show for these guys?!" Rivet shouted from behind.

"No! It is highly likely Valen has engaged a remote lockdown on all control systems in the base by now!"

They dashed on, putting some distance between themselves and the Heralds who thankfully were slower due to their bulky frames. At last, their ship came back into sight, miraculously in one piece. Phantom and Skidd hopped aboard, Ratchet standing by the open door and waiting for everyone else to get in before he and Clank boarded themselves.

"Wait! I still gotta blow this thing!" Rivet called.

She skidded to a halt a few feet short of their ship and took out the remote detonator she had shown Phantom back in the central tower.

She pressed the button to arm the explosives, but it gave a dull buzz that indicated an error. "Uggghh! C'mon you stupid…" She glanced back at the tower, then turned and ran back up the

path.

"Rivet! What're ya doing?!" Ratchet shouted in panic. She was growing smaller, running as hard as she could up the path, toward the on-coming Heralds.

"It is a short-range remote detonator Ratchet! She is trying to get close enough for the signal to work!"

"She's killing herself is what she's doing!"

Rivet was now some hundred feet away from the ship. The Heralds were steadily closing the distance between them. The female Lombax dove to the side as shots started flying toward her, and Ratchet could not bear it!

"Skidd, Phantom, power this ship!"

"Ratchet wait!" Clank began, but the Lombax tore from the ship after his counterpart.

"Rivet, we are excessively outnumbered! We must be fast!" Kit shouted as the rock they were crouching behind sustained shot after shot and bits of pebble and dust were blown up all around them.

"I got it, I got it! Charges armed and ready! Just gotta-"

But she was cut off as a shatterbomb, thrown by a Herald, decimated the rock she and Kit had hidden behind.

Ratchet's heart seemed to fail as Rivet was blown away, Kit giving a cry of mingled shock and pain as they flew through the air. The female Lombax rolled across the dirt and rock, sliding just short of the edge of the cliff, her eyes pinched shut and her teeth gritted in agony as she rolled over and began to crawl.

Ratchet sprinted toward her, disregarding Clank's shouts of caution and the shots of plasma flashing all around him; he would not lose her, he would not! A shot directed at him grazed the side of his arm. Burning pain flared at the point of contact, but he fought it off. He saw another shatterbomb flying through the air, but he shot it down at the peak of its arc. Phantom and Skidd were yelling something behind him, but he didn't make out the words. Nothing mattered anymore, nothing, except that he save her – his friend, his savior… his beloved Rivet.

He slid underneath a series of shots and stopped short of her. Blood trailed behind her from where she had crawled; a sharp fragment of rock had embedded itself into her thigh. Ratchet glanced hastily in the direction she had been crawling. The detonator had been blown out of her hand and landed up the path, but there was no hope of fetching it without sustaining injury or worse.

"R-Ratchet! What… What are you doing?!" Rivet's words came out slightly muffled through her clenched teeth. Ratchet had bent down and lifted her into his arms.

"No…! Ratchet, we gotta-!" but her words were cut off as she gave a growl of pain. "It's not worth it, Riv! We're leaving, NOW!"

He sprinted back down the path toward their ship, dodging left and right at Clank's cries of direction. To his relief, the engines of their ship were alive. Skidd appeared in the doorway, firing shots over their heads at the Heralds behind them as the Lombaxes and two bots approached.

Ratchet leapt into the cargo ship, the door slamming shut behind him, which was promptly pelted with dozens of shots from the Heralds, sending a cacophony of thunks and clanging throughout the hull.

Ratchet raced to a double seat and, once Kit had jumped down, laid Rivet down gently, who was still breathing heavily and wincing in pain. He sprinted to the cockpit, leaping over the chair as Clank sprung from his back and into the co-pilot's seat.

Ratchet strapped in and stomped the accelerator, and they were thrown back in their seats as they were launched forward in a burst of sound and light, carrying them at warp-speed away from Theandris, the army of Heralds, and the imperial radio tower.

The sudden cessation of noise from plasma blasters and roars from the Heralds pressed hard against their ears, and for a while nobody spoke.

The silence was broken as Rivet gave a roar of pain, making them all jump. Turning in his seat, Ratchet saw, with a mixture of shock and admiration for the resolve she possessed, that Rivet had pulled the shard of rock out of her leg and was in the process of healing the wound with nanotech.

Her breathing eased up as the wound closed, and she tested moving it gingerly.

"Well… that sucked." She spat after a while. She sat up straight and placed her head in her mismatched hands, her ears drooping. "Couldn't destroy that tower… Almost got us all killed…"

Kit hesitated beside her, then said, tentatively –

"You are being too hard on yourself. We are all right Rivet, and we rescued all those hostages, in addition to Skidd and Phantom…"

But Rivet merely mumbled into her hands.

Clank looked at Ratchet who was staring straight ahead, his expression blank, but his ears also drooped.

"Ratchet…?" he said uncertainly.

Ratchet merely continued to stare blankly into the multicolored lights that flashed passed as they hurdled through space, his mind coursing with a thousand different thoughts.

A hand touched his shoulder and he jumped.

"Sorry…" Ratchet sighed, looking down at his small robot friend.

The Lombax put in coordinates for the Phoenix then set the ship on autopilot as he unbuckled.

He left the cockpit and walked hesitantly up to Rivet, who was now gazing out of a window, her head resting in her robotic hand.

"So uh… h-how are ya?" he asked.

Rivet snapped around and stood up so fast that Ratchet jumped slightly.

"Why did you do that?" she demanded, taking a step closer. "The detonator was right there, Ratchet! I coulda had it if you had helped Skidd and Phantom hold those jerks off! We were this close to completing our mission and instead you had to get all heroic and carry me back to the ship like I was some helpless newborn Tetragnome!"

Ratchet, who had taken a half-step back as she moved toward him, stopped at once and stood fast, his ears flaring up in his incredulity.

"Wait, are you telling me I shoulda let those freaks kill you? There's no way you were gonna survive that!"

"Not if you had done as you were supposed to and cover me!"

"Oh right! I was supposed to know what you wanted me to do and let you get toasted, how could I have been so stupid!"

"This is a war, Ratchet! Sometimes you gotta be willing to sacrifice for the greater good!"

"The Alliance's lost too much and the Lombaxes are on the verge of extinction! I don't care if we tear down a THOUSAND imperial outposts, your life isn't expendable to me, Rivet!"

The final words of Ratchet's last statement echoed through the hull of the ship. Everyone was staring at the two Lombaxes, Skidd's mouth was half open, and Phantom turned to look out the window, pretending he couldn't hear anything.

Ratchet and Rivet were glaring into each others' eyes, breathing hard, their faces hot. Ratchet suddenly realized what he had just said, and he also became aware that he was leaning forward, his shoulders squared and standing on the balls of his feet. He eased up at once, taking a step back.

Rivet's fists unclenched and she too stepped back a pace, the sharp glare she was giving him softening as the impact of his words crashed over her.

They both looked away. Now shame was setting in. He shouldn't have yelled at her. In fact he was even now cursing himself for how he had acted – squaring up as though ready for a fight. Really? A fight with Rivet? With that… wonderful Lombax that made him so happy just by being with her? The woman he was so happy to have met? And who could easily kick his ass six ways through Monday?

As this final thought crossed through his mind, a part of him was glad his face was still flushed from his recent anger.

He looked up, and her eyes met with his, all traces of anger gone.

"Sorry…" they chorused.

"Ratchet… Are you um… All right?" Clank asked.

It was late. The six heroes had returned to the Phoenix a little over an hour ago, and the two Lombaxes and robots had returned to their neighboring rooms. Locke, Derek, and Talwyn were displeased at the news of their failure, though the two warbots cheered up slightly when they saw that Skidd, Phantom, and a hundred others had been liberated. Talwyn's look was still suspiciously cool as she had looked at the Lombax however, and the memory of that gaze of hers made him feel slightly ashamed, though admittedly not nearly as much as he felt about his and Rivet's argument which, despite both apologizing still made Ratchet hate himself.

He was sitting on the edge of his bed, in naught but his boxers as he always slept, his hands clasped over one another in front of him and his head bowed, trying to work out his feelings for Rivet and Talwyn. The voice of Clank jerked him out of his preoccupied state and he took a deep breath, his head still bowed.

"Y-yeah… I'll be fine, thanks buddy…"

"Ratchet, you are a terrible liar."

The Lombax looked up at the bot, who was sitting in a chair by a lamp and had, until seconds ago, been reading a paper.

"…As usual." Clank added, hopping down and approaching his organic friend.

"Does this have anything to do with Talwyn?" he asked Ratchet.

Ratchet's ears flickered.

"Well… Not exactly… Okay, maybe a little but… that's not it, mainly…"

"This is about Rivet, then? You are still worried about how you spoke to her?"

Ratchet stared at Clank before he exhaled sharply through his nose in a half-laugh.

"And you're just as perceptive as ever…"

Ratchet took a deep breath and sighed.

"Yeah… It's just that…Rivet is… I wanna be a good rep of our kind for her, y'know what I mean? She's never meet a Lombax until we ended up in her dimension... Annnd… Y'know, Rivet's so… she's…"

Ratchet faltered. He wanted to discuss his feelings for her, but he couldn't; not now at least. He trusted Clank with his life, but… He hadn't felt like this for anyone before, not even Talwyn of all people, and he had gone to some serious lengths for her in the past, a past that was feeling more and more like it belonged to somebody else, whose name was not Ratchet.

"You are worrying too much… She thanked you for saving her, did she not?"

This was true. Some twenty minutes prior after eating dinner in a desultory silence, he had gotten up from the table in the mess hall and proceeded towards his and Clank's room alone, before Rivet had stopped him.

"Oh. Hey Riv… What's up?" he had said.

She had kneaded her hands together as she always did when she was nervous or uncertain, her eyes slightly averted.

"I just… I'm not too good at this sorta thing… but I wanted to say something…"

She had swallowed, looking as though it was taking her a lot of effort to do whatever it was she had stopped him for.

"T…thank you… For uh… for not letting me die back there…"

Her white-furred cheeks had flushed a little when she said it, and she had again averted her eyes as she spoke.

He remembered how the heat in his face rose as he had replied, stupidly – "Oh… Well, sure! It's… Y'know… What I do!"

His voice had cracked on the final sentence, and her tension had broken at the sound.

She laughed softly, emitting a small snort and causing the male's head to spin in a flood of dopamine.

She had looked into his eyes at that moment, and he momentarily saw the admiration and wonder there that he had seen the night they met before she wished him a good night and headed off for hers and Kit's room. He had felt a surge of joy at that instant, but it had been masked almost at once as he remembered Talwyn, throwing him into the emotionally confused stupor that he had remained in until Clank had jerked him awake.

Ratchet now looked down at his companion.

Clank was gazing intently at the Lombax, his round, glowing, fluorescent green eyes not blinking. Ratchet wondered if he was putting two and two together regarding his feelings and his confusion. He wouldn't doubt it; Clank was, after all, the smartest and cleverest person that he knew. His anxiety went up a notch however as this possibility occurred to him.

"(All the more chances Tachyon will learn about her… )"

Clank seemed to read his thoughts. Ratchet saw it in his eyes as they rotated slightly, back and then forward. But he did not appear concerned or offended. He placed a metallic hand on Ratchet's folded ones, and the Lombax looked down, a little surprised.

Clank didn't say anything for a moment, but eventually smiled slightly.

"She will be fine, Ratchet. And rest assured, she will not think any less of you, I promise… Especially after what you said to her tonight."

Ratchet blushed a little, but was unable to push back the slight smile that twisted the corners of his mouth.

"Much better." Clank said.

He climbed up the ladder to his top bunk.

"It has been a busy day, and we are all alive thanks to you. Please, get some rest. Sleep well, Ratchet."

Ratchet looked up at the underside of Clank's bunk from whence the bot's voice emanated.

"Yeah… thanks pal… you too."

He brought his legs up into his bunk and pulled the blankets over him as he lie down.

The lights went out, but he lay awake for a long time. His body was tired and ached, but his mind was still buzzing with activity.

("Tal's been your girlfriend for seven years, Ratchet.")

("But we've barely spoken in the last three, much less seen each other...")

("Should that matter? She's still your girlfriend.")

("Is she though? I barely know her anymore. The way she looks at me, the way she talks to me – it's nothing like she used to … I feel… uncomfortable around her now. Rivet on the other hand-")

("Don't be stupid, you've known her for five months.")

("So what? Lots of people get together in a hurry, it isn't that weird.")

("You have too much in common. Besides, she's just you from another dimension.")

("That's not true; there's loads about her that's different. Besides, having stuff in common isn't bad! We're… we're closer now than Tal an' me.")

("You would pick Rivet over Tal?")

("I… I don't know, but-")

("'But'? You will have to make up your mind eventually.")

("It's… It's not that easy, y'know! Have you ever had to choose someone? I can't just make up my mind like that.")

("If you ask me, it sounds like you already have made your choice.")

Ratchet pressed his pillow to his face and groaned. His mind reeled as these arguments repeated in his head over and over again. He didn't know what to do or to think. The Lombax forced himself to lie still and tried to empty his mind and reflect.

He saw the two girls in the dark. The Markazian's dark blue eyes still with that oddly cold, shrewd look in them, the Lombax's eyes, sapphire blue, a flame of adventure and justice burning in hers. As he watched in his mind, the look in Rivet's eye changed; he saw again, that look that had blazed in them when they had first set eyes on each other – that excited, joyful look yet also slightly nervous as she met her first Lombax – him.

The memory of that look in her eyes made his heart leap, and as it did, he recalled with immense ease the way he had felt when he had turned around and laid eyes on her – that soft, white fur, those bluish-gray stripes, the tuft of hair-like fur just above her forehead, those stunningly blue sapphire eyes, that bushy, fluffy tail, her soft voice, that powerful physique, those small, round, and utterly gorgeous—

He stopped himself abruptly, his face hot, and a curious warmth in his chest as his heart purred. He had never had thoughts like that for anyone before. What came over him? Okay, so yes, he had scanned her figure when they first met, but it wasn't like that at the time; it was strictly out of fascination at meeting another Lombax, that was all. She had surely done the same to him, it was only natural after all! Yes, it was completely normal, on that first meeting, to check her ou—

He stopped again, his face hotter, and his eyes now wide open, his heart thudding warm and hard against his chest. He had to stop this, it was…absurd! He couldn't be feeling… whatever this was for her, it was too… out of character for him. Yet the way his heart thumped as the image of Rivet lingered in his mind's eye… he would be lying to himself if he said he didn't like the way it felt, as though a glowing sun was swelling inside him.

Ratchet rolled over, closing his eyes once more, trying hard to convince himself that his feelings for Rivet were nothing more than a concern for her safety and as a friend.

As though it had been waiting, a scene played out in his mind like a holofilm.

It was her and him; they were quite alone, sitting on a sofa on the porch of Ratchet's and Clank's

apartment in Corson V, watching the sun set and the stars blossom into being in the indigo sky. The two bots were out on an errand, leaving the apartment for the two Lombaxes. Rivet had her head on his shoulder, her left hand stroking his chest, a ring on her third finger that glowed gold in the sun. Ratchet had an arm around her, holding her warm and surprisingly soft body close to his, a glimmer of gold reflecting off his own finger.

She looked up at him and he looked back, a loving smile on her face. They closed their eyes, their faces inching closer together…

CLINK!

Ratchet's eyes snapped open and he sat up straight. He was still in his bunk, the sheets pulled half up his body. Clank must have accidentally knocked his metallic hand against the railing of his bunk as he rolled over in his sleep.

The Lombax sighed, disappointment flooding his body… It had felt so real.

His heart purred warmly again as he remembered how Rivet had held onto him in that wonderful vision, how they had inched closer together, how she had a ring on her finger…

He felt a small drop of melancholy as he reminded himself that the Rivet he knew would never be caught dead snuggling up to anyone.

As he sat there, a less pleasant memory flashed across his mind – Rivet injured, crawling along the ground.

It was as though a flame burst to life inside him, licking at his insides and flooding him with a fierce anger for the creatures that had done that to her. He would not let anything happen to Rivet again. He would fight for her and protect her with every fiber of his being, no matter the cost.

As this powerful emotion crashed over him, he realized in a blast of realization that he couldn't pretend or suppress these thoughts or feelings anymore. Yes, he had at last made up his mind. He loved her.

"(I'm… I'm sorry, Tal… Dear gods, she's gonna kill me…)"

Ratchet sank back onto his pillow, his mind once again flooding with uneasy thoughts as he imagined how, when, and where to explain to Tal that it was over… And trying hard not to think about how she would react.

His mind wandered back to Rivet, and the storm of uncertainty and fear in his mind eased a little, his heart purring again as he allowed his mind to once more visit that wonderful fantasy he had experienced only a short while ago.

He would worry about tomorrow when tomorrow came…