Stick the Landing, Then Trip

The faint hum of the ship's engines was more felt than heard. With the exception of fingers dancing across keyboards and the acknowledging beeps from the computers, it was virtually silent. A rarity considering that Qwark was still in the captain's chair, but his interest lay in the graphic novel giving the riveting account of his life story. At present it was just the three of them on the bridge. He was monitoring the sensors for any ship that might be following them.

He took a deep breath when he confirmed that they were indeed being followed. Civilians from the looks of it, probably reporters.

He paused and took another deep breath. Then another. The air was, of course, fabricated and heavily filtered so there were almost no superfluous smells to distract Ratchet from Rivet's scent.

Wait, what?

Ratchet paused in the sequencing procedures and peered up at Rivet hunched over the pilot's station. More accurately, his vision was held hostage by Rivet's rear. He swallowed then glanced down, grateful that the fur made blushing an impossibility. Was the bridge always this warm?

"What's taking so long?!" Qwark moaned out. "I could be fighting space pirates right now, or giving campaign rallies, or giving a campaign rally to space pirates! I thought this was going to be a quick trip?!"

"Qwark we haven't even left our dimension yet."

"Exactly! Why can't we just go!"

"We're putting some distance between us and any habitable system. We don't want any bystanders getting sucked in with us and we don't want the paparazzi to follow us either."

"But I'm paying them to do exactly that! How can anyone know that I reunited you with your people if paid reporters aren't there to film it!"

Ratchet just groaned while Rivet paused in her ministrations and looked over her shoulder.

"So I take it we'll need to lose them?"

"Looks like it."

"Do we really have to?" moaned out a pathetic Qwark.

"Yes," they both said in stereo. It didn't even register to them that they had said it in stereo.

"It's a good thing I always bring spare cambots with me." Qwark muttered out.

Shaking his head, Ratchet glanced back at River to find her eyes already meeting his. A smirk adorned her face and it seemed to Ratchet to be different somehow. He wasn't sure what it was.

What are you going to do Ratchet? She's head over heels for you. Why didn't you notice before? Because you're an idiot. No, I just assumed she was more like me and wanted to focus on her own life! Maybe she is focused on her own life? She just includes you in it.

"Ratchet?"

His heart, as well as the rest of his body, leapt to the ceiling.

"Clank!? Sheesh, warn a guy before you sneak up on him!"

"My apologies." Clank's eyes narrowed. "Are you alright Ratchet?"

"What, me? Yep, never better! Ready to meet the Lombaxes, aren't you?"

Clank finished one optical sensor shutter cycle (blinked) before he responded. "The supplies have been secured. We simply need to optimize our endpoint coordinates for the dimensionator."

"I would've thought that you already had those coordinates chosen by now?"

"Indeed, but my original entrypoint didn't take into account that we would be flying a light cruiser. Kit thought it prudent to put some distance between us and any habitable planet so as not to raise alarm."

"Oh."

Meet the other Lombaxes and start a war. There's a cheerful thought.

Rivet, who still had one ear turned towards the conversation, jumped in.

"Where is Kit anyway?"

Clank glanced at Rivet but shifted his gaze downward and adopted a hunched over stance that was reminiscent of Kit.

"Kit and I … interfaced to share our navigational algorithmic processes. I believe she is still rebooting."

What!

"Oh, okay," was all that Rivet had to say on the matter. Breaking a brick over Ratchet's head probably would've caused less shock. His eyes were fixed on Clank, but he wasn't really seeing him. The wheel inside Ratchet's head was still turning but the hamster powering it had long since died.

He pulled Clank close and bent towards him, careful to keep the growl from his voice, he whispered, "Since when do you 'interface' with other bots so casually?"

Clank's lidded eyes took a downward slant, "I do not casually interface with other bots. This was the most efficient way of combining our computational processes."

"Give me a break, Clank! I don't need you catching some virus because you've been interfacing with strange bots! I need you right now!"

Clank shrugged Ratchet's arm off of his shoulder, "I haven't been interfacing with strange bots! I've been interfacing with Kit! Our antivirus subroutines have already been optimized so as not to create any unwanted programs during our interfacing."

"Are you sure about that? Because I am not going to be the one to design and build a new sisterboard to house that program!"

Clank's eyes were still slanted but nevertheless he nodded, "Understood. Besides, Kit and I are more than capable of designing a sisterboard in case of the aforementioned event."

"Well fine then!"

"Yes, fine."

Ratchet stalked over to the co-pilot's chair and plopped down. He immediately began typing away on the board, reviewing, and indeed undoing, the flight procedures that Rivet had already gone through.

"I've already stirred the tanks. Everything alright?"

"Peachy," he growled.

Rivet, raised an unimpressed eyebrow at his growling.

"The dampeners were engaged for a reason, we're at a comfortable cruising speed. We don't need engine thrust."

"Just trying to move us along."

He diverted primary control from her board to his then he threw the throttle forward.

Clank flew across the bridge at the sudden force, Qwark started screaming, but Rivet just braced herself against the pilot's chair.

"What are you doing?"

"Just losing the press."

The Phoenix blasted forward, leaving its pursuers behind in their space dust. This wasn't enough for Ratchet though. The shape of a M-Class planetoid filled the viewports as he adjusted the course of the ship. The barren lifeless moon grew larger and larger as they grew closer and closer.

"You're going to kill us," cried Qwark. Ratchet didn't acknowledge the simpleton but instead began to countdown.

"Five."

"Wait!"

"Four."

"There's still time, turn us around!"

"Three."

"Okay, I'll let the press stay behind! Just don't kill us!"

"Shut up! Two."

"Rivet! Stop him!"

"One!" both Ratchet and Rivet shouted.

The Phoenix banked hard right. The ship rattled and shook under the stress of the maneuver as well as the gravitational pull of the planetoid.

"We're in sequence with the orbit!" Rivet confirmed from her station.

"Engaging maximum throttle." Ratchet replied.

The Phoenix, now caught in the planetoid's orbit and aided by the engine thrust, accelerated to incredible speeds. As was usually the case with slingshots maneuvers like this, claxons blared, the ship rattled, and the ship's onboard AI shouted obscenities at them. They flew by the dark side and were hurled out of the orbit at record breaking speeds.

Ratchet checked the sensor screen and found that their pursuers were falling further and further behind.

Looks like they weren't expecting that.

The head slap that he received pulled him out of any more self congratulatory thoughts.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Warn a girl next time you want to pull a maneuver like that!"

"Bah, you were in your chair. You were fine."

"Clank wasn't."

Ratchet turned his seat around and confirmed that Clank was pressed against the wall on the other side of the bridge, upside down. Ratchet just rolled his eyes.

"He's been through worse. Besides, this is what happens when you aren't safe!" he yelled the last portion towards Clank for good measure. Clank narrowed his eyes and collected himself. Brushing off his chassis, he muttered something but Ratchet couldn't catch what it was.

Rivet eyed this exchange for a moment before asking, "I think you're being a little harsh on the guy."

"I'm being harsh? He's the one casually interfacing with bots."

Rivet rolled her eyes. "So he's interfacing. Big deal."

Ratchet chuckled mirthlessly at her naivety.

"Rivet it's never just interfacing. First it's interfacing, then they'll want a joint charging unit, then they'll want an upgraded one that has dual linked ports so they can interface while they charge, next thing you know they'll be monitoring a dozen developing programs in their own housing units!"

He shook his head and turned back to the controls, once again confirming that they had escaped the dreaded reporters.

"Is that a bad thing?" Rivet countered.

Ratchet's mouth opened on reflex but no words manifested. He had nothing. His eyes darted around the control panels, searching for a response or a distraction.

What do you say to that?

"Um … not exactly?"

She nodded, "What if that's what they want?"

He swallowed, "Then … um, it's okay?"

"Did you ask him if that's what he wanted?"

He huffed, "I've known Clank for years, I think I would know if he wanted to do something like this. Don't project your relationship with Kit on me and Clank."

Did I really just say that?

Ratchet licked his suddenly dry lips as he stared at Rivet with wide eyes. Rivet, on the other hand, simply crossed her arms and frowned. She held his gaze for the briefest of moments before turning back to the controls.

Really acting like an adult here Ratchet.

He scratched the back of his head and adjusted his cap.

"Hey Rivet, I didn't mean it."

She looked over her shoulder at him with a blank expression. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to Ratchet."

"Look, Clank's fine. Me and him fight all the time. It's weird if we don't fight. I just don't want him to make a mistake and get hurt."

She turned fully towards him. "So starting a family is a mistake then?"

His face visibly blanched. "No. Of course not. But what if he gets hurt?"

"You seem really good at hurting him on your own Ratchet, I don't know if anyone could do much better."

His fur bristled at that comment but he choked back his initial retort. Saying the first thoughts in your head hasn't helped you today buddy. Think first.

"No, we fight but we don't try to hurt each other. We've always had each other's back when it mattered. But what if … what if he loses himself? He gets pulled into something that traps him forever? Then there's nothing I can do to help him."

She was frowning at him. Her eyes were flashing but also searching his eyes. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"You know what!? Good for him then! I think having a family is great and I wish that every good person had one! The only people who think otherwise are selfish or don't see what they really have going for them!"

Ratchet simply stared. Mouth locked tight and head slightly bowed in reproach.

"We all want something like that Rivet."

Rivet growled, "Yeah, but some of us are actually willing to take a risk for it."

Ratchet undid his safety harness and started to retreat from the bridge. At least he was. He quickly caught Qwark staring at him and Rivet. Popcorn and drink on either arm of his chair and his hand, full of popcorn, halted mid flight towards its destination.

"What? I like drama as much as the next overly ripped hero."

He heard Rivet scoff but he gave no response. He resumed his trek but when he got closer to Qwark, the faux-hero beckoned him closer.

"Psst! Ratchet! What's going on with you and Rivet?"

Considering that this was Qwark's fault, Ratchet didn't feel all that compelled to share anything with him. He frowned at Qwark, his body glued to the captain's chair, now covered in salty popcorn dust. The smell of butter reached Ratchet's nose making his gut churn. The more he stared at Qwark, the more his teeth gritted.

"What!? Looking for another election point! Big hero saves Ratchet's relationships. You want me to go on your tours with you? Tell everyone what big help you were. You're a pain Qwark. A selfish pain that doesn't care about anyone. You just use us for personal gain!"

Qwark just blinked at Ratchet. Then he gave a small smile before reaching down and placing a salt and butter encrusted hand on his shoulder.

"You know Ratchet, I think sometimes you take things far too seriously. Loosen up! There's no reason why we can't make this fun! Do I use you? Of course! But here you are using my ship and my peerless captain(ing) abilities! I think it's a fair trade don't you?"

Ratchet shrugged Qwark's hand off and wiped his hand down his face, "It's only fair if we consent to it Qwark. You just threw this on us!"

"And yet, here you are going with it! I think you secretly wanted this."

Ratchet just huffed and turned back to see if Rivet was watching. She was still piloting the ship, rear unfortunately planted on the chair. He continued to stare, hoping she would look back. He hoped she would smile and chime in on Qwark's mannerism. All he heard was more clicks and beeps from her station.

Qwark again placed his hand on Ratchet's shoulder.

I am not going to be washing off butter stains!

"You know Ratchet, have you ever considered running with me? My VP position is open. Think about it! We'd make a great team!"

Ratchet's eye was twitching from the sudden inertia of his brain crushing itself to death. The universe just didn't want him in his right mind when he met the Lombaxes. The universe was surely after his sanity.

I just can't catch a break can I?

"Look Qwark, thanks but no thanks. I remember how you treated the last VP and I'm not remotely interested in politics!"

"But you'd be a great Politician! You've already got the biting thing down, now we just need to get you a suit, maybe a fedora instead of that cap, and teach you the sacred art of exaggerating!"

"You mean lying?"

"Psfh, you call it lying but I call it skillful non-truths! Just think about it, Ratchet. You can't do this hero stuff forever, there's no harm in moving on to better things!"

Ratchet waved Qwark off and proceeded off the bridge. He stomped out of the bridge, passing by the various vacant sections and empty rooms. His destination wasn't set, but he should probably get the dimensionator from Clank.

Well there's a happy reunion.

"Ratchet?"

He looked over shoulder, and found Kit emerging from a nearby room.

"Hey Kit, what's up?"

"Your blood pressure appears to have elevated, are you alright?"

Ratchet rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, I've just managed to pick a fight with everyone."

"You haven't picked a fight with me."

"Well, neither of us have a reason to fight with each other."

She nodded, head bowed down in what Ratchet perceived to be nervousness.

"It's about me and Clank isn't it."

The bulkhead suddenly looked very interesting to Ratchet, also the blast doors looked like they could use some scrubbing. Qwark really needs to keep a better handle on his ship.

"What!? No! You guys are fine, you can interface all day. I won't say anything!"

Kit just blinked at him.

"Okay, I might've fought with him a bit. But it has nothing to do with you and him interfacing! I just want you guys to be safe."

"Oh, we have been very safe. Clank has been very meticulous in his care. He always runs the appropriate diagnostics and even helps with rebooting and startup processes. He's quite the gentlebot."

Ratchet rubbed the back of his head for the millionth time today. This was a jungle of a day.

"I'm sure he is Kit."

"Do you have any objections?"

"What? Of course not!"

"You just seem uncomfortable. Are you sure you have no objections?"

He sighed, "No Kit, I've just been hit by one surprise after another today. I'll be in a better mood in the morning."

"Pardon my saying so, but what's so surprising? Me and Clank have been interfacing for a while now."

"Ah, let's not worry about that now. I need to find Clank."

"To apologize?"

"Well, to find the dimensionator."

"I think you should probably apologize too."

Ratchet looked at Kit reproachfully. Maybe it was how simple she said it, maybe it was because she wasn't scolding him, but whatever the case, he felt horribly guilty all of a sudden.

"Tell you what, you help me find Clank and I'll apologize."

Her mouth opened in a smile and her eyelids receded back into her head displaying the full luminosity of her optical orbs.

"That would be best! Thank you Ratchet. Despite the fact that you are fighting with everyone, I think you're a good friend."

He smiled down at the little bot. Don't oversell me here Kit.

"Alright, so where's Clank?

"I believe you will find him at the central computer."

Ratchet immediately set out, Kit shadowing him the entire time. The ship, though quite large, was still considered an S-Class Starcruiser and was built to be fairly condense. It had ample space and it was decked out in weaponry, but much of that space was devoted to necessary systems; precious little space was paid towards crew quarters with exception to the captain's grand suite. The Central computer room was easy enough to find.

Clank was indeed in the central computer, arguing with the ship's onboard AI, Chad.

"I see no reason why you can't perform the prescribed functions, it's really quite necessary."

"No can do, little dude! It's like, against my programming and stuff!"

"Does your programming include prioritizing the safety and security of the passengers?"

"Well, like yeah."

"Then this will maximize that system requirement."

"Okay, but if Captain Bro gets angry with me I'm going to tell him who's fault it was!"

"The captain will not be the one to be inconvenienced."

"Whatever, it's done dude."

"Thank you."

With that, Clank turned around to debark the room. He halted upon seeing Ratchet and Kit in the doorway.

"Ratchet. Kit," He nodded in greeting.

"Clank, buddy … I … well … I'm sorry pal."

Clank tilted his head at him but smiled nonetheless.

"Your apology is accepted and appreciated Ratchet. However, it is rather unnecessary I'm afraid."

"Uh, how's that?"

"Operation Retaliation is already in full swing. I'm afraid you will simply have to endure it's effects."

This is what Rivet and Kit don't understand, we don't hurt each other, but we do get even with each other.

He squinted his eyes at the expressionless hunk of metal that dared to call him his best friend. "What did you do?"

"You will see soon enough. I will clarify that the intention is to call into question a point of hypocrazy. However, that is all I will say on the matter."

"I'll get you for this Clank!"

"Ratchet!" Kit squeaked out.

Clank stepped in, "It's quite alright Kit. Ratchet is quite aware that I do not take insults with the same passivity that you find in most functioning AI."

"Whatever it is you've done, I'm going to do back to you twice as hard!"

"Interesting, perhaps you might wish you hadn't said that."

The intercom sounded and Rivet's voice was heard, "Uh, guys! We've got a problem."

Ratchet reached down and grabbed the two bots before darting off to the bridge. He growled down at Clank as they moved, "You're going to get it."

Clank simply chuckled.

Upon reaching the bridge they didn't see anything out of the ordinary. No alarms were blaring, nothing read out on the sensors, but Rivet's eyes were wild and she waved them over in a hurried manner.

"What's wrong? Pirates?"

"No, the internal decontamination protocols have just been initiated."

"What?"

"Yeah, the dormitory sections have just been flooded with radiation."

"Is the leak contained?"

"No leak, it just gave off a chemical and radiation bath. I guess the central computer thought there was a virus or contaminate or something."

Clank, I know what you're doing here and I am going to get you for this!

"Where does that leave us?"

"We'll vent the air, we have anti-rad solutions already sprinkling through the fire suppression system but it will be at least a week before the section is rated as safe."

"That's it?"

"All it really means is that we'll be bunking in the officers quarters. It's going to be a tight fit, only one shower and two side by side bunks. There won't be a lot of privacy or elbow room, unless you'd rather bunk with Qwark?"

He glared down at the smiling silver bot in his arms, obviously quite pleased with himself.

"Ha ha Ha, no."

"That's what I thought."

"So the radiation won't stop us from going transdimensional?"

Rivet just looked towards Clank still gripped in Ratchet's arms.

"No, the dimensionator should function perfectly, regardless of radiation distortion."

"Then what's to say we power that thing on and get going?"

"The destination has been locked and we're ready to commence."

With the coordinates of the Lombax dimension laid in, it was simply a matter of opening a rift gate. Ratchet's stomach twisted up in his gut and his blood felt cold. This was it. No more running from this, no more delays, just you and Rivet meeting your people.

Clank immediately pulled the dimensionator from his storage unit and placed it on the nearest station. The dimensionator sat on the navigator's board, waiting to be used. It seemed to hum in anticipation. Ratchet's knees felt weak. He felt something press against his hand.

He looked to his right and found Rivet's eyes meeting his own, his hand in hers. He gave her a light squeeze before picking up the device and holding it between them.

"Together?"

She released her grip and stepped precariously close behind Ratchet where she proceeded to fit her hand atop of Ratchet's.

"Together." She breathed into Ratchet's ear.

They raised the weapon.

"On the count of three."

"One."

"Two."

"Three," they said together.

They pulled the trigger.

The rift opened, large enough to fit the whole ship. They could see the blackness of space on the other side, but unfamiliar stars shone through the gate. Though the ship's course was unaltered, it now found it's destination changed as it barreled through the rift and into the unknowns of the Lombax dimension.

After the flashing lights, they were left with emptiness of space once again. In a way it was almost like they never left. Yet, Ratchet and Rivet both found their faces pressed against the viewing ports, eyes searching round this dimension that was the home of their people.

Surreal doesn't do this justice.

"The nearest habitable planet is directly towards our stern," Clank spoke up from the navigator's station.

"Sensors indicate civilization but …" Kit trailed off.

"What!?" Both Ratchet and Rivet yelped back.

"It doesn't appear to be very populated, nor very advanced. Perhaps we're still a great distance away from the Lomaxes."

"In any case, it stands to reason that they will have better navigational charts than what we currently possess. I think we should fly down and acquire them." Clank spoke with a certainty that Ratchet could no longer feel. The coldness in his blood felt like ice now and his stomach had twisted until it was completely upside down.

Something's wrong here.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back and saw Rivet but she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were staring off into a void. Her expression was unreadable to him but as he had just recently been made aware, he wasn't very good at reading her.

"Hey."

She turned to him, "Hey."

"You ready to get some answers?"

Her brows furrowed, "Let's do this."

They left the bridge to Qwark's (careful?) hands and marched to the hanger bay in silence. They wordlessly piled into Aphelion, no arguing over who flew and no discussion on which ship to take. They blasted out of the hanger at a controlled speed. Nothing outrageous and no fancy maneuvers.

The planet that filled the cockpit was a dustbowel. It might've been reminiscent of Veldin but Veldin looked like it had more bodies of water than did this world. In fact, the whole planet felt unnatural. Even from orbit, it looked like there were cuts and scars on the surface where bodies of water should be, but there was nothing. The clouds covered the atmosphere, but they seemed far too little in number.

Ratchet activated the transponder, broadcasting his signal to any ship in the area and anyone monitoring on the surface. He didn't want to alarm anyone and he sure didn't want to get into a fight with his own people. No transmissions or sensor sweeps were sent his way. They descended in silence and unmolested.

They breached the atmosphere and began combing over the dead landscape. Sand as far as the eye could see. Dilapidated buildings, ruined mountains, and broken streets. This was indeed the civilization that Kit detected but more incredibly it was still inhabited. On his second pass, Ratchet could see silhouettes scurrying about on the ground. He saw a great number of the dusty shadows form together into a crowd. He altered the ship's thrust and began his descent.

The crowd kept their distance even as they landed. Even through their hooded rags, Ratchet could see that they were not Lombaxes. They seemed to be more primate like in nature, short legs but powerful arms. They checked their 02 masks then they popped the hatch and stepped out. The crowd stirred and voices were carried but no one moved forward. Then one large individual stepped forward, a hand raised in greeting.

"Hail Lordship, what brings us the honor of offering you our hospitality?" The creature bowed after saying this, one hand held to his stomach the outstretched to the side. If it wasn't for the rags it might've looked elegant.

Rivet cleared her voice, "We're looking for the Lombaxes, do you know where we can find them?"

"The Lombaxes are no longer here, your Ladyship, they all died some time ago."

His blood chilled solid despite the desert sun, and his stomach exploded under the invisible grip that had been twisting it. He felt his knees buckling.

"Dead!" Rivet squeaked. "All of them."

The creature, not noticing or perhaps being polite enough to not question their reaction, simply shrugged. "At least the ones here are dead. But …"

He looked over his shoulder at the crowd and stared for a moment. Before turning back to the heroes. "Come."

He started to move back to the crowd. Rivet followed without preamble, Ratchet found himself stumbling after them. He was hyperventilating, and he felt like he was about to puke. But he followed. One step at a time.

The crowd parted and they stepped on through under the expressionless stares of the hooded figures. They marched towards one of the many ruined structures, this one appearing to be a ruined leaning skyscraper with a wrench-like roof on top. He knew that design.

They passed through a hole with a tarp over it that acted as the door. Inside were gadgets and devices. Computers that were aglow, and robots that shuffled back and forth, filled the room. Various members of this tribe were there, working on the tech and conferring with the robots. One by one they looked up and stared. The one they were following, the chief if Ratchet was to suppose, nodded at the techs but proceeded through without comment. They continued to follow, fighting down the growing dread. The familiar smells of oils and lubricants weren't as comforting to Ratchet as they normally would be. This was wrong.

Eventually, having traveled down a few flights, They came to a well padded room, rugs covered the floor, and robot and computer parts covered the rugs. On the other side of the room, seated on a chair was an elder creature of this race. He wore the same rags but his hair was sufficiently grayed compared to the brown hair that seems to be the norm of his people. He looked up at the trio and nodded.

"I received your broadcast. Thank you for letting us know you were coming."

All Ratchet could do was nod. His breathing was still heavy and his knees felt like they might collapse on him.

The elder grunted as he repositioned himself, "Why are you here?"

"We're looking for the Lombaxes," Rivet muttered.

He stared at them for a while. Too long.

"And where are you from?"

"We're from a far away place. There's no other Lombaxes where we're from. We're looking for the rest."

The creature shook his head. "You won't find them here. Here there are only the Urts, but I cannot speak for the rest of this galaxy. And I know nothing outside of this galaxy. I wish you luck on your journey."

Having said his peace, the creature grunted again.

The younger Urt that they have been following stirred, "Father, we should tell them of the boy."

The elder fixed his son with a stare but said nothing for a spell. "You are the chief, do as you will. He is not my responsibility."

His son nodded and moved past the elder and into a different room. This room was overwhelmed by both robots, computers, vehicle parts, starcraft parts, and virtually any other mechanical or electronic device. The shuffling of parts were heard and so were the occasional clangs. The chief took in a deep breath and cried out, "Crash!"

"What!" came back the muffled voice, somewhere hidden in the junk pile.

"You have guests!"

"Huh!"

"Come here."

More clangs followed, then a ground shaking crash.

"I'm okay!"

"Come here!"

"I'm coming!"

Rounding the corner came a small creature wearing the same rags, except no hood covered his head. It's hair was short and yellow with reddish brown streaks, its ears were far too big for something so small, its five digit hands were cradling a power converter, its big green eyes were wide with shock. It dropped the converter.

Standing in Ratchet's vision was a small Lombax child, covered in sand, oil, and sludge, wearing rags not fit to grease a turbine with, and having a left ear with the tip missing. The child shifted his head between Ratchet and Rivet, back and forth, but it said nothing.

The chief stepped forward and bent forward to meet the child at his level, "Crash, these are your people. They've come to take you to your home as we have often told you they would. You will be like a prince to them, one of opulence and opportunity. Please remember us and remember our care for you. And one day, perhaps you can share that same fortune."

The child, Crash, simply nodded, having been captured by the chief, now shifted back to Ratchet who had no idea what was going on. What do you say to any of this?

The chief turned and placed a powerful hand on Ratchet's shoulder. The chief's expression was serious but held no cruelty. His grip had the simultaneous effect of keeping him in place whilst propping him up straighter.

"None of you are safe here. Take the boy and leave. They've probably already intercepted your transponder and will be here to investigate. They will not harm us, but only if you are not found with us."

"What's going on?" Ratchet finally managed to ground out. "Who are you talking about?"

The chief tilted his head, perhaps in confusion. "The Hunters. The ones that are trying to kill you. You must leave and hide."

He looked over his shoulder at Crash, before turning back to the pair and sizing them each with a look. "I have cared for the child like he was one of my own, but to a chief, the tribe are his children. Care for the boy. Protect him. Bring him into your house and God will bless you. But if you don't, then I renounce all oaths of hospitality and curse your descendants to the end of your line!"

Rivet reached up and placed her own hand atop of the chief's. "We'll do it!"

Her eyes met with Ratchet's.

"Then I bless you." he reached down and kissed Ratchet on the cheek before placing a hand on Rivet and doing the same. Rivet took it in stride, but Ratchet was already too shocked to consider that he was just monkey-kissed. The chief stood to his full height. "There's nothing left for you here. Now leave."

"Wait, do you have any star maps? Anything that we can use to find the other Lombaxes?

His face was empty when he muttered out, "Please, leave. Before it's too late."

Rivet slapped Ratchet on the arm to grab his attention. Startled, he shared another look with her. Her brows were furrowed and her mouth was set in a grim line. Now was not the time. They'd find out what was going on later, now they had to move.

He fixed the child in his stare, "Hey pal, I'm Ratchet. You ready to get out of here?"

The kid mutely nodded, his eyes fixed on the male Lombax. Ratchet reached down and picked up the kid, earning him a surprised yelp but no struggle. He turned to apologize but found that the kid had already wrapped his arms around him and was burying his nose into his neck. He carefully patted the back of his head, before he turned back to Rivet.

Her aura hadn't lost any of it's grimness but her expression had taken to a different form. He honestly didn't know what to call it. Before he could find a name for it, it was gone. She growled out, "Let's roll."

Then they were off.

A/N: Your eyes don't deceive you! It's an update. The name of the child is indeed a reference to another videogame character. I'll let you guys figure out whoever that could possibly be. I know it's a difficult puzzle, but I believe in you! One more comment, thanks for all the reviews thus far, you guys are the best! I honestly thought this was going to be a short chapter but here we are. Anyway, be well!

Karl,