Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet & Clank, or any of its associated characters and lore. That right belongs to Insomniac Games.
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Practicing the Inbuilt Charms
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End of the Captain Qwark Fitness Course, Metropolis, Planet Kerwan, Solana Galaxy
Having been in charge over the Fitness Course associated with her dear friend and client, Captain Copernicus Leslie Qwark, for a long time, Helga von Streissenburgen, a large fitness trainer wearing Qwark's logo on her black shirt and whose appearance matched the Valkyrie type of robots, was used to seeing abysmal performances from those who took the Course in hopes of receiving prizes, but what she witnessed from the two newbies was something else. As far as she was concerned, they were the worst.
Team-ups were fine and dandy, but how could the shortest of the two, a grey robot with a red antenna and green eyes, prove that he could be a manly machine, if he strapped himself to the back of his partner, and let him do all the work? It was just sheer laziness.
In regard to the robot's partner, a yellow-furred felinoid that had the same eye color as his littler friend, who only wore a pair of long pants, a harness on his chest, and a brown cap on his head, Helga could almost say that he had potential, if he was not so evidently scrawny. She had seen a better figure in the form of Galactic President Phyronix.
"If it were up to me, you would drill, drill, drill for the rest of the day," she practically screamed her frustrations at the uncertain yet deservedly spooked pair, but quickly remembered that Qwark had sent her a memo about the two from indirectly watching their display, prompting her to add, "But somehow you managed to impress that fool Captain Qwark!"
That drew the little robot's attention as he asked, "Captain Qwark knows about us?"
"He certainly does," Helga confirmed in a tired manner before revealing the most heinous part of her ordeal then. "And worst of all, he wants me to give you a prize for that ridiculous performance!"
Her last sentence seemed to have got the felinoid's interest as he then grabbed his robot friend and whispered to him in a way that Helga found incredibly suspicious. Before she was about to snap to the duo that they would have to pay her for the Swingshot, the robot drew away from his friend and he then said to her, "I can only imagine how frustrating you must feel. Surely, a remarkable fitness trainer like yourself should only expect the best of the best, and we could have done better."
Momentarily stunned by the runt of a robot's compliment, Helga did what she could to take it in stride, halfheartedly agreeing, "Oh, ja, little one! Good to know that you can recognize your own faults."
The small robot nodded in a seemingly eager fashion as he smoothly replied, "I can also recognize feminine beauty when it comes to you, miss."
Touched by the robot's appreciation for her good looks, bold as it was, Helga could not restrain a giggle and ultimately sighed as she took out the Fitness Course prize, which she then handed over to the felinoid, saying, "All right, against my better judgement, you can have your Swingshot with no charge needed. I trust you will know when to use it."
"Don't worry," the felinoid replied as he took a look at the gadget in his hands and then added, "I've seen the Gadgetron commercial."
"Good," Helga remarked before turning her gaze to her shorter fellow robot and picking him up with her hands as she seductively said, "As for you, Helga von Streissenburgen will be expecting you to come around these parts again in the future."
Planting a long kiss on the little robot's head, Helga eventually allowed the latter to land on the ground as she then made her exit on a nearby air taxi, exclaiming to the duo as she parted, "Auf Wiedersehen!"
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Watching as the air taxi carried Helga away from their location, Clank immediately turned to Ratchet as soon as he was convinced the former was out of hearing range, saying in frustration mixed with disbelief, "I cannot believe I did that, Ratchet! Much less listened to your advice to do that in the first place!"
As Ratchet fiddled with the Swingshot they acquired from Helga, he dismissively replied, "Eh, it's fine, Clank. I'm sure that Helga lady won't take your flirting too seriously the next time we see her. If anything, it was a win-win. We've got the prize we fairly earned and you had your first experience with flirting."
Thinking his unlikely friend's words over, Clank ultimately conceded with a nod. "You raise good points." He then thought of something that drew his curiosity and proceeded to ask Ratchet, "Do you have much experience with women yourself, Ratchet?"
The Lombax's eyes widened in surprise and he immediately twiddled his thumbs before finally answering in embarrassment, "Well, no. Not as much as I'd like, to be honest."
Clank then formed a smile on his metallic face as he offered, "I can give you lessons on how to interact with females after this is over then."
The two shared a good laugh at that remark before they decided to move on to Al's Roboshack, where they hoped to find a lead to Captain Qwark's whereabouts.
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As much as I can see Helga getting "cozy" with Captain Qwark as much as Big Al, or even Captain Quantum, I admittedly liked the idea of Ratchet & Clank getting the Swingshot from the original game free of charge via the latter flirting with Helga, which made for a funny yet sweet depiction.
In addition, the Qwark-bot from that same game can also mention its template appearing for the Blackwater City Hoverboard Race, which offers up an interesting idea for mixing things compared to how the 2002 game did it.