If someone had told Clyde a few years ago that he would be looking after a Lombax child, who had amnesia when his capsule hit the ground, he would have laughed out loud.

Oh how this life likes to surprise.

Currently, the man was spending another winter period on the planet Veldin in the Solana galaxy, where together with Lilith and Ratchet, that was the name they gave Lombax when they saw how he likes to play with tools, they stayed with Clyde's adopted father, Grimroth "Grim" Razz' and.

Grim, despite being a Fongoid, a humanoid alien race whose skin color varies between purple and black and has two round, horn-like blue ears on the back of his head and flat noses, he did not look much like his brethren. He had no tribal tattoos and had two fangs sprouting from his mouth, one of which was broken off. Because of this, the older man was not treated kindly by his kin.

Interestingly, he was not only different from them in appearance, but also in behavior. Fongoids are normally a peaceful species, but there are exceptions like Grim. He spent his early years as a gunslinger for hire, building a well-known reputation over the years. This made him highly respected in the Underworld community.

The whole family was currently spending time at Grim and Clyde's family home. They sat in the dining room, talking about what had happened all year, in Ratchet's case he was talking about how he spent this school year. Overall it was nice, family friendly and enjoyable.

But life likes to surprise.

Nights on Veldin can be very cold. This should come as no surprise as it is a desert planet with lots of canyons, deserts and floating islands. Nights like this can be hard to fall asleep to, but this is one of those nights.

Ten-year-old Ratchet awoke from his sleep to find it was still dark. Feeling thirsty, he went to the kitchen to drink some water. After finishing his drink, he returned to his room, full of toys and posters of a Captain Qwark, Solana's hero, and went to bed. Before he closed his eyes, however, he saw out of the corner of his eye that something was above one of the drawers. So he looked there and froze, then screamed.

Very, very loud.

So loud that he woke up the rest of the household, and they came running to his room, each holding a firearm.

"Ratchet! What happened?!" Clyde asked worriedly. The man saw that his adopted son was not looking at him, but at his dresser. So he turned his gaze there and then froze. The same happened with the others.

There was a ghost hovering above the furniture, the appearance of which reminded Clyde strongly of someone. Only after a moment did the man recognize the figure, and this made his face take a very angry expression.

"Yor," said the Awoken man with anger in his voice.

Rezyl Azzir, later known as Dredgen Yor, was a Lightbearer and Guardian who operated centuries ago. He was considered by many to be the Chosen of the Light, but his reputation was quickly destroyed. At some point, he began to kill his brothers and sisters, use the Black Magic of Hive, dark beings from an unknown galaxy, and pose a threat to civilians. Despite sending elite troops to eliminate him, the man always came out victorious. Until he suddenly disappeared from the surface of the galaxies.

And now his wraith, clad in heavy metal armor with spikes and a plume on his shoulders, is in young Lombax's room.

"What are you looking for here, monster? Wasn't it enough of the evil you've done in life?" Lilith said menacingly as she aimed her ghost shotgun.

But he paid no attention to her and just looked at Ratchet. The boy also looked at him with horror in his eyes, despite the fact that his family was right next to him with weapons in their hands.

Suddenly the specter pointed to the boy, then to the nightstand beside the bed. Everyone saw that there was a gun there. A gray, dirty and scratched revolver. The two Iron Lords recognized the weapon as the Rose, which Yor used when he was still a Guardian, and which he later defiled by his actions.

Clyde quickly ran to the gun, then grabbed it and picked it up. Or rather, he tried. The revolver lay on the table as if it had been attached to it with very strong glue. Nothing the man did would make the firearm move. Seeing that his efforts were fruitless, Clyde glared at the wraith and saw that it began to disappear, only to leave the room completely after a second.

No one knew what had happened, but one thing was certain.

Ratchet can not touch the Rose.

Two months have passed since the incident with Yor. After that day, Ratchet couldn't fall asleep on his own, which led Lilith to sleep with him, and he also started going to a therapist.

The calendar spring was now approaching, which meant that ships would start arriving in the nearby town. And that meant Clyde would have to go back to his job as sheriff of the nearby, and largest, town on the planet.

Yes, Clyde was a sheriff by profession, but not like in the movies. Yes, he kept order, but the guilds were providing more security. He himself was supposed to be more of a symbol that there was someone here who would kick everyone's ass without exception. This, of course, created slight conflicts with his affiliation with the Iron Lords, but Saladin allowed the members of the order to practice their professions. At most, they would get a notification that their presence in the temple is required.

So the Awoken man packed his equipment and was about to get into his speeder when his son accosted him.

"Dad, can I go with you? Please."

Clyde considered his son's request for a moment. Ratchet enjoys spending time with guildmates in Kyzil, a town of the same name like a plateau where it was. The Iron Lord was about to allow his son to join him, but he quickly remembered that Grim had recently been saying how he had accumulated jobs all winter long and was sick of it. So Clyde told his son that unfortunately he couldn't go to Kyzil with him today, and that he need to help his adopted grandfather in the garage. The boy, of course, objected, but quickly gave up when he saw that his father would not change his mind. And so they both went their separate ways.

"Ratchet, will you pass me key n.o 13? This engine is driving me crazy," said Grim

Old Fongoid and his grandson had been in the garage for a good 3 hours trying to repair the guild mercenary speeder. Normally this would have taken them less time, but the vehicle was in such a dilapidated condition that it cried out for vengeance to heaven.

Young Lombax complied with his grandfather's request and handed him the tool. He thanked him for his help and continued working on the engine. Seeing his family member working, Ratchet sat down on a nearby chair and began fiddling with his Omniwrench, which resembles a large adjustable wrench that apparently was used by Lombaxes. With a piece of his culture in his hands, Ratchet no longer felt as much regret about his past.

The boy suddenly heard someone enter the garage. As he looked towards the door, he saw that three Snivelaks, humanoid reptilians whose skin color varies between blue, green and purple, they have sharp, carnivorous teeth, and they have three fingers and toes, were standing there. The men were dressed in leather armor, encased in magazines, grenades and knives, giving the impression that they were getting ready for a big fight.

"Hello gentlemen. How can I help you?" Grim asked, walking away from the vehicle.

The lizards didn't think long and drew their pistols and aimed at Fongoid.

"Give me the money, old man, or we will turn you into swiss cheese!":

"Hehe. You told him good, bro."

"Oh, be quiet dude. Mother always knew you were brainless."

Seeing that these gentlemen were a threat, Ratchet quickly began to flee to his room, as his parents advised him to do. On the way there, he dropped some tools, causing the two bandits to run after him, leaving Grim alone with the remaining lizard.

"Heh. Your brat probably won't live long. I wonder how much we'd get for him on the black market?"

Grim saw the world in red when he heard that. With a quick movement of his hand, he knocked the gun away from him and began to hit the bandit with his fists. Despite the fact that he has many years on his neck and a large belly, he can still be a dangerous warrior. This surprised Snivelak, who was having a hard time dealing with the old man.

As for Ratchet, he made it safely to his room. He locked the door and hid under his bed. Then he listened for the bandits to approach. They stopped at the door to his room and tried to open it normally at first, but seeing that it didn't budge, they forced it open. Then they went inside and started searching the room.

To say that young Lombax was afraid is to say nothing. He was shaking all over and had tears in his eyes. He begged any god in existence to let his parents come to his rescue. Suddenly, he noticed a gun next to him. It was the same revolver Yor had pointed out.

Rose.

Even though the boy remembered how his dad forbade him to touch that weapon, now he didn't care. He grabbed his gun and held it tight in his hands. At the same moment, he felt someone grab his tail and pull him out from under the bed.

"Look bro! I have a little one!"

The bandit did not enjoy his prey for long, because immediately a revolver barrel was put next his head, and then the sound of a shot was heard throughout the room. Purple blood splattered everywhere, staining furniture, curtains, and baby Lombax.

"What the… Brother!"

Before the other lizard could react as well, Ratchet fired another bullet at his head, killing him instantly.

The boy was sitting on the ground with a gun in his hands, breathing heavily. Adrenaline in his body was at the highest level available. But after a while he realized what he had done.

He killed someone.

He took someone's life.

Ratchet immediately started shaking and breathing rapidly. He looked at his room, his clothes and fur. Everything was stained with purple blood. Then he looked at Rose and saw blood stains on her as well. Someone's blood. Frightened by all of this, the boy threw the gun as far as he could and started screaming loudly, then crying. He grabbed his head and didn't stop. Thoughts began to run through his mind.

I am a murderer.

I killed someone.

What Mom and Dad will think of me.

After a second Grim ran into the room. His body was also stained with purple blood. The man did not hide his surprise when he saw the corpses of the bandits, but he quickly ignored them when he saw his crying grandson. He ran over to the boy, then took him in his arms and began to calm him down.

They were both so preoccupied with the situation that they didn't see how two dark puffs of smoke flew out of the bandits' corpses and then absorbed itself into Rose, changing her appearance. The dirty gray color disappeared, and a new, dark black appeared. The barrel thickened slightly, and two small green glowing spots appeared at the end of it.

Today has become one of the darkest days for the Razz family.

On the planet Corson V in the Polaris galaxy, a young Lombaxian child ran through the streets. In her hands she held a bag with various groceries, such as bread, fruit and vegetables, and mechanical law enforcers followed her.

"Stop! You violate the law!"

Seven-year-old Rivet, because that was the name chosen by the girl with gray fur with blue stripes and a bushy tail, was not going to stop. Instead, she took one tomato and threw it at the robot's face, hitting it perfectly. This of course made him angry and he started to run faster.

Seeing this, Rivet sped up as well. After a few minutes of the chase, the girl managed to hide from the robots in one of the empty chests in the port. Seeing that she had managed to escape, Lombax began eating food from the bag as if there was no tomorrow. Spending two years on the streets because she had escaped from her horrible orphanage made any food she found a gourmet dish for her.

When Rivet was taking care of her trophy, she didn't notice that the lid of the chest she was in was open and the owners of the chest were watching her.

"Ekhem."

The girl interrupted her feast and saw that she was being watched by the Morts, small humanoid creatures whose bodies were covered in fur in colors ranging from fiery orange to light brown. Each of them send her an unpleasant look.

"Tasty, young lady?" one of them asked.

Rivet swallowed her food, then curled up in the corner of the crate. She was afraid of what they might do to her. Seeing the fear in the child's eyes, Morts calmed down and gently began to ask the girl to come out of her hiding place. But she didn't flinch.

At some point, one of the female representatives of the Morts, who by the way looks the same as the male representative, approached Lombax and sat down next to her.

"Hey darling. Everything's all right? What are you doing here?"

The woman decided to approach the situation gently. She didn't know why the child was hiding in one of the chests, but she suspected that she might be an orphan.

Hearing the woman's gentle tone, Rivet replied that she was hungry and had nowhere to go, having escaped from a horrible orphanage. Hearing this, the Morts felt sorry and stupid for how they treated the child. But they couldn't leave her in that box. After quite a long brainstorming, the leader of the Morts decided that they would take the girl with them and give her a home, food and a warm bed, and in return she would help them. Rivet immediately agreed, as she had nothing to lose.

She has not regretted this decision in the next few years.