Neither of them knew how long they were crying for, holding onto each other, but Ratchet and Kaden knew that it must have been a while already with how raw their throats were beginning to feel from the blubbering sobs between them, and how wet the fur of their cheeks were from all the tears shed in their embrace.
Kaden couldn't put into words the absolute, soaring happiness he felt, almost to the point of being numb, his mind still unbelieving that after so, so, so long, his son, his little boy was finally in his arms once again.
He had to admit that as happy as he felt, though, he also felt… Sadness. Sadness that the tiny little baby he left that night on Veldin was no longer that tiny little baby, but instead a grown, young man that has led a full life that he never got to see for himself. Just the thought of such was enough to send him spiraling on bad days, such as this morning in his office, thinking that no matter when or if he'd ever get to see his son again, it'd be too painful to bear.
But now, sitting right here, feeling the warmth and fur and tears of his own flesh and blood, he realized that no matter how old his son may be, no matter how much of his life he never got to see… This was still his son, goddammit.
And shedding tears in this embrace, he dimly realized that he never once thought about the upside of his son being all grown up would be the fact that he'd actually get to feel Kipler hug him back as tightly as this (well, as best he can with an arm still chained to the table next to them).
It felt… Wonderful.
Eventually, though, after however many minutes, the sounds of sobs slowly begins to die down, and after longer still, he feels Ratchet break away from the hug before staring at Kaden with what could only be described as a shell-shocked expression, eyes a little bloodshot from so much crying.
"I… I don't understand!" He says, swallowing, collecting himself to be finally able to speak coherently again. "I-I thought you were dead! No, I know you were dead! So, why… Why aren't you?! How did you survive Tachyon?!"
Collecting himself as well, Kaden wipes his eyes with a smile, looking back at him still with that wonder and amazement that he was staring at his long-lost son.
"Like I said, it's a long story." He says contentedly. "And don't worry, because it's a story I'll tell for another time, because right now I want to know all about—"
"No!" Ratchet interjects, surprising Kaden as he holds up a hand. "I… I need to know now!" He states firmly, looking back in his eyes.
Kaden blinks, now seeing a new expression in his son's face… Something that felt like…
Anger? Resentment? Confusion? Some strange combination of the three?
Whatever it was, it was enough to take Kaden slightly aback, quickly deflating his joyous internal celebration.
"I…" He mutters. "Why?" He asks dumbly.
"What? What do you mean 'why'?" Ratchet replies back, a small frown of frustration falling on his lips as he wipes his eyes again. "I grew up all alone back home without you, not knowing that I even had a family, and when I found out I did, I'm told that you were dead! But now, I show up here, and find that you've been alive this whole time?! With other Lombaxes?! For my whole life?!" He says, placing his uncuffed hand on his chest with a bit of a bite to his tone.
Kaden's fears of his son resenting him after all begin to seep back in as dread settles in his gut, making his eyes widen as he swallows uncomfortably, hoping that this was just some kind of cruel joke.
"I… But… I thought you were happy to see me…?" He asks quietly.
"I… I was! I am! But… What the hell?!" Ratchet cries out, throwing his arms up—with the chain of his cuff snapping taut as it holds one back halfway up. "I-I am happy to see you're not dead and that you're here, but… Just… If you've been alive this whole time, then… Then…"
His heated expression cools off as he trails off, his anger now turning to melancholy while he sighs deeply, hanging his head for a moment before looking back up to look at Kaden directly in the eye.
"…Why didn't you come back for me?" He asks sadly, sounding not like a grown adult who has saved millions of people, but instead like the hurt child that he was. "You've… You've been here this whole time, for twenty years, and… You never came back for me. Why? Did… Did you not want me? Were you ashamed of me? Just… Why?"
Kaden could almost hear his own heart shatter into millions of pieces, every word feeling like being shot in the chest as he's forced to see his son miserably asking him if he was even wanted by his own goddamn father, seeing the pain of a lonely and confused childhood clear as day in those green eyes that have plagued some of Kaden's worst nightmares.
You never came back for me.
Did you not want me?
Were you ashamed of me?
Kaden has had nightmares of being asked those questions, but hearing them in person devastated him far more than he ever thought they would.
So devastating, that he feels another round of tears begin to sting at his eyes as he's stunned into a silence, those words painfully bouncing around in his head as Ratchet just continues to stare at him, but then frowning as seconds pass without Kaden even moving.
"…You're not saying anything because I'm right, aren't I?" He mutters quietly. "You're only here now because it's convenient for you to actually meet your son now."
Kaden violently tears himself out of his thoughts as he shakes his head, and then lurches forward to bear hug Ratchet extremely tightly, enough to knock the breath out of him again with a rasp.
"NO! Don't you EVER say that, Kipler!" Kaden cries out, somehow managing to squeeze him even tighter. "I NEVER abandoned you! I NEVER stopped loving you! And I never, EVER stopped fighting with every fucking fiber of my being to come back for you, Kipler! Ever! I swear on the stars—I swear on your mother's life that there hasn't been a single day in the last twenty years where I haven't wished that I could give up everything—even my own life—just to hold you in my arms again, Kip! Please, believe me!"
"I-I… Okay!" Ratchet rasps out, rapidly tapping on his dad's back. "Just let go! I can barely… Breathe!"
Kaden reluctantly listens to him, allowing himself another couple of seconds of his bear hug before letting go of him, allowing Ratchet to gasp for breath as Kaden still maintains a grip on his arms, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks.
"Just… Please… Don't think I never wanted you." He says, wearing a firm expression. "That couldn't be any further from the truth."
Ratchet, now breathing regularly again, looks back at his father, and while still recovering from how deceivingly strong he was with that hug… He had to admit that he felt better about his doubts.
But there was still much left to be answered.
"Then… What is the truth?" He asks—but not with accusation. "What happened, then? If you've been trying to come back for me… Then why didn't you?"
Kaden sighs, at least relieved at seeing his son longer appeared to hate him as he was fearing, but lets go of Ratchet as he finally stands up instead of kneeling on the floor.
"The Council." The says with a scowl as he walks around the table to go pick up the chair that he knocked over onto the floor in his fervor. "They're the reason I've never been able to come back to you. I've tried everything to convince them, and hell, everything to go against them, but… It's never worked. And it's been like that ever since I woke up here."
"Woke up?" Ratchet repeats, tilting his head.
He grabs the chair, and turns around to walk over to Ratchet before setting it down in front of him and sitting down, the both of them now next to the table in the middle of the interrogation room as Kaden takes a deep breath, knowing this was going to be a long story.
"Yeah. Woke up." Kaden says. "After I hid you on Veldin, and the Dimensionator on Rykan V, I went back to our home planet, Fastoon, to face Tachyon. I… Well, to be honest, I went in fully prepared to die. After all, if the Praetorian Guard couldn't beat him, then neither could I. And I almost did die, lying on the floor, but… Just like everything else about the Exodus… It seemed the universe had different plans for how my life was going to turn out."
"And then… Well… I guess that brings us up to today." Kaden finishes as he leans back in his chair with a breath. "I hope that answered your questions. Well… Some of them, anyway. I know you've got much more if you're here in this dimension right now." He says with wry amusement, gesturing broadly around them.
Ratchet, however, doesn't respond as he looks off into space, gaze fixed on the floor processing his father's story. Kaden could practically see the gears turning in his head, and he didn't blame him, because there was a lot to unpack from his tale. If it was up to Kaden, he'd rather his brief summary of the last twenty years of where he's been and his fight against the Council be done in a more… Appropriate setting than an interrogation room in the Lombax City Guard, but today was just full of surprises. And more than anything, he knew that his son deserved an answer for why he had to grow up without a father.
But, even his recounting of his absence was a lot to think about, Ratchet's silence was beginning to unease him a little as time drags on. Kaden's only just met him, but in the short time they've been together, he could at least tell that he was far from the silent type, much like himself, which made his sudden quietness a bit concerning.
He was about to ask Ratchet for a response, if he was confused about some things, but before he could open his mouth to voice it, Ratchet finally looks back up to him, holding up a hand.
"So… Let me get this straight." Ratchet begins. "You were dying on the ground from Tachyon's… Heart-attack gun, or whatever it was called, but at the last minute, you fell through a portal and blacked out."
Kaden feels some relief at his response, but quickly brushes it aside as he simply nods.
"And when you woke up, you found out that it was because two of your friends built an illegal Dimensionator to save you, which were apparently banned by the Council, because they were too scared of Tachyon coming back."
"That's right." Kaden says.
"And the reason you couldn't come back for me was because the one they used broke, and the ban stopped you from making one." He says, waving a finger around to illustrate his thoughts. "And you tried to go against them, but you got caught and thrown in prison because of it, so now you have to talk to the Council every month to try and change their minds?"
Kaden nods again.
"And… You've been doing that for twenty years?" Ratchet asks with mild astonishment. "Every single month? Even though they've never listened to you? You just… Keep going?"
Kaden smiles with another nod as he leans forward in his chair.
"Now do you see why I'm just so goddamn happy to see you, Kip? For over twenty years, for over two hundred months, I've had to listen to those cowardly bastards tell me that you were just dead and gone, and that it was pointless to try and save you, and that I should just give up on you." He says before looking aside. "I'll admit, though… There were some days where I felt so defeated that I'd start to believe them, that maybe I should try to move on with my life and hope you were doing fine in yours. But… No matter what, I always found it in myself to remind me that I had to have hope. And just like that good-for-nothing bunch of cowards, I never listened, because I knew deep down that you were still out there, alive and well. And now, being to see that for myself is just… Just…"
He grins, then suddenly leans over to take Ratchet into another hug, letting his actions speak for him.
"This is the best day of my entire life." He replies blissfully from Ratchet's shoulder, full of warm love and happiness.
Ratchet, who is initially a little surprised from the unexpected hug, can't help but smile and return the hug, finding his father's touch to be very comforting in spite of having met fifteen minutes ago.
"I'm happy I have you back, too… Dad." He finishes awkwardly.
Kaden stiffens as his breath catches in his throat, but Ratchet doesn't notice his reaction as he instead sighs in embarrassment.
"Sorry, I've… Never called anyone that before. It feels weird to say." He explains, looking away in their hug. "Especially when it's to my dead dad who isn't—Oof!"
Kaden suddenly squeezes him even harder, almost suffocating Ratchet as he lets out a strained breath.
"You have no idea how much it means to hear that from you, Kipler." Kaden says with a grin, his voice nearly cracking with tears. "This really is the best day ever."
"Y-You're welcome?" Ratchet manages to say, struggling for air. "Geez, you're stronger than you look!"
"Oh, uh, sorry!" Kaden hastily apologizes, letting go of Ratchet with a nervous chuckle as he takes a few breaths.
"I-It's alright." Ratchet reassures him, lightly rubbing his now sore chest with a small smile before furrowing his brows. "But… Actually… I can't help but notice you keep calling me that."
Kaden tilts his head as he readjusts himself in his seat from their hug.
"Huh? Calling you what?" He asks bemusedly.
"You know… 'Kipler'. Or, 'Kip'." Ratchet replies with a shrug. "Is… Is that supposed to be my name?"
Kaden continues to give him a puzzled look, but then suddenly, his eyes widen in realization before he facepalms with an embarrassed groan.
"Why didn't I realize it?" He says quietly with some embarrassment. "Of course you have no idea what that means, you grew up in another dimension! Why have I been calling you that this whole… Ugh." He says, removing his hand from his face with a sigh.
He then looks back up to Ratchet, who is slightly amused by his reaction, but then gives a nod.
"Yes. Kipler is the name your mother and I gave you." Kaden answers. "We called you 'Kip' as a nickname, too, and after thinking of you with that for all this time, well… It was just force of habit." He says with a shrug.
"…Huh." Ratchet mutters blankly, looking off onto the floor in thought. "Kipler…" He quietly repeats to himself.
"Erm… How do you like it, then?" Kaden asks, admittedly a little apprehensive for the answer—not failing to note how strange it felt to ask your child how they like their name they're hearing for the first time.
"It's… Weird, to be honest. But, in a good way!" Ratchet hurriedly corrects himself, holding his hands up. "It's just… I've always wondered what my real name was supposed to be if I actually grew up with my real family, and to finally get that answer after wondering that for my whole life is just… Surreal, I guess? I'm not really sure how to put it in words." Ratchet says while scratching the back of his head. "My mind's honestly a little frazzled over everything right now. Sorry."
Kaden huffs a small laugh through his nose.
"It's alright. I'm just glad that I'm finally able to tell you." He says contentedly before furrowing his brows. "But, erm… On the subject… What's the name you have now? Since, you know, I kinda forgot to ask earlier." He says with a nervous chuckle.
"Oh, uh, it's Ratchet!" He answers with a smile, sitting up.
Kaden opens his mouth to reply, but then just looks back at him with confusion.
"…'Ratchet'? Like… The tool?" He repeats.
"Yep!" He nods.
"Is… That a nickname?"
"Uh… Nope. Legal name and everything." He shrugs. "Only one I've known since I was a kid."
"…That's a… Unique name." Kaden manages to say, tilting his head. "But… How did you get a name like that?"
Ratchet chuckles, rubbing the back of his head.
"It's a pretty dumb story, honestly, but when I was a baby, Ms. Perigee left me in the nursery to play and stuff, but then she had to leave to go answer a call. Or… Wait, I think it's because she had to answer the door for a delivery guy, actually…" He mutters before shaking his head. "I don't know. Point was, she left me alone for a few minutes. And when she came back, instead of seeing me play with stuffed animals or toys like a normal baby, I was messing around with a ratchet that a visiting repairman left behind when he was going to the bathroom."
He then smiles as he looks off to the side.
"She swears to this day that I was trying to unscrew the vent on the wall even though I was only a year old. I don't know about that, but she did say that I threw a fit when she tried to take it away from me, and I didn't even glance at the toys she tried to bribe me with. And after she saw how much I loved that tool, she decided to just buy it off the repairman to appease me." He smiles warmly. "I do remember that ratchet being one of my favorite things as a kid, though. I think I still have it hanging around in my workshop somewhere, actually."
And as a nostalgic look washes over Ratchet's face, Kaden can't help but grin at seeing it, even if he was honestly still confused about why a woman would name a child after a tool.
After all, he left his son in Solana so that he would be able to grow up safe and happy and to live a life full of happy memories, and if that look was any indication, then it just told Kaden that he had actually managed to succeed. It made him feel a little less upset about not being there for Ratchet if he was able to look back fondly on his life despite not having his family, and that was the one thing Kaden wished most for him.
"It sounds like Ms. Perigee cared about you. I don't know if many others would buy a tool just to please a baby." He says amusedly.
Ratchet nods lightly, still smiling.
"Yeah. She was one of the only good things about Veldin when I was growing up. Even when she would grill me in her office for stealing scrap from the local junkyard to build random stuff, she would always give me a cookie afterwards. And they were homemade, too. Chocolate chip."
Ratchet sighs longingly, staring off as he warmly recalls those memories, but then holds up his cuffed arm while looking at it, where the chain constricting him to the table jingled.
"Guess I'm not getting a cookie after this one, though." He says blankly.
However, his comment about her being 'one of the only good things about Veldin' made Kaden a little worried, but him pointing out the chain made him suddenly realize that despite everything, his son was still technically considered a criminal right now after this morning's events. And speaking of, he also remembered that he had some other very pertinent questions to ask his son.
"About that—just how the hell did you manage to build a Dimensionator?" Kaden asks, furrowing his brows, resting an arm on the table next to him. "The Council and I made sure that we took everything we knew about it with us when we left the dimension to keep Tachyon from getting it!"
"Oh, uh, I didn't build it, actually." Ratchet replies, snapping his attention away from his cuff. "That was my friend, Clank!"
"Clank? Who's—" Kaden stops as he suddenly remembers the news broadcast earlier, placing a hand on his chin. "Wait… Is he that robot that was with you in your chase? I think that's what you called him when they deactivated him after you were arrested."
"Yeah." Ratchet answers, before he looks at him quizzically. "Wait a sec, how did you know that?"
Kaden gives him a flat look.
"You do realize that camera you were winking and waving at during your chase was a live news broadcast, right? Everyone watching the news this morning saw you. Including me."
Ratchet's eyes widen slightly.
"Oh. Huh." He says with little concern.
"You don't seem very surprised by that." Kaden states, raising an eyebrow.
"I mean, I knew someone was watching me with that camera, I just didn't know it was a news camera." He explains casually with a shrug. "I thought the guards were just using it to track me and stuff, which is why I decided to have a little fun with it." He says with a smirk.
Kaden recognizes that smirk, though, filled a sort of cockiness that said, 'I'm invincible!' He recognized it because a long time ago, it was the same exact one he always sported in his more reckless days. And to be honest, he doesn't quite know how to feel about that.
On one hand, there was a sort of pride and happiness in seeing his son pick up similar traits to his despite never having raised him—like father, like son, they say. But on the other, Kaden knew firsthand what kind of trouble that kind cockiness can get you in, this interrogation room being an astute illustration to that, and it made him worry to think about what other kinds of trouble he's gotten into throughout his life to hold such a nonchalant attitude to this whole ordeal.
"And… Why exactly was the City Guard chasing you, then? I mean, the news already said it was because you intruded the walls, but why didn't you just let yourself get arrested so you could explain everything without catching all this flak?"
"I'm not the type to just let myself 'get arrested'." Ratchet scoffs with a roll of his eyes. "Especially not by some chubby guy who keeps calling me a stupid kid even after I told him at least three times that I'm twenty years old! And besides, I tried explaining that I'm from the last dimension back at the gate, I even showed him the Dimensionator! But no, 'that's not what a Dimensionator looks like, kid! There were no Lombaxes left behind in the last dimension, kid! Go run off back to your tree fort, kid!'" He speaks in a mocking tone before he crosses his arms with a huff. "I guess he can't catch a stupid kid like he said, after all, though, so there's that."
"Well… I guess I can't say you didn't prove him wrong. Even if you did do it in a stupid and reckless way." Kaden says with a shrug.
"No regrets." Ratchet replies. "It was fun."
Kaden can't help but crack an amused smile at his response.
Yep. This was definitely his son, alright. For better or worse.
"Well, finding that my son has about the same mindset as I did when I was his age aside, you still haven't answered me about the Dimensionator." He follows up. "So, if you didn't build it, then how did your robot friend do it?"
"Oh, about that, we didn't actually build it. Clank repaired it." Ratchet answers, raising his finger with a smile. "It's actually the exact same one you hid!" He says amusedly.
"I—Wait… What?!" Kaden gawks at him in surprise, blinking. "How… How did you manage to find it?! I left it in a completely different galaxy from you! How did you know to look on Rykan V?! Or, know about it at all?!"
"Oh, uh… Actually, we didn't find it on Rykan V." He replies. "I mean, we looked there, but by the time we did, it was gone."
"Wait, what?!" He exclaims in concern, eyes widening. "That's where I hid it, though! Where else could it have possibly been? And what do you mean it was GONE?!"
Ratchet nervously fidgets in place, now suddenly becoming acutely aware of how his dad was—is—the Keeper of the Dimensionator, with how increasingly concerned he was getting at hearing about it not being where he hid it.
And if he was this shocked at finding out that it left its hiding place of Rykan V… Then He was really not going to like the answer to his question.
So, Ratchet takes a breath, rubbing his neck as he braces for his father's reaction.
"Erm… It was stolen. By… Um… Tachyon." He says hesitantly, almost trailing off at that last part.
Even though he was prepared for it, Ratchet already regrets his statement as he sees a wave of dread visibly wash over Kaden's face, his eyes widening as his mouth hangs agape, just sensing how coldly his blood now ran upon hearing that the one thing he was supposed to prevent from happening did in fact happen. Despite everything.
"He… H-He STOLE THE DIMENSIONATOR?!" Kaden cries as he stands up from his chair, beginning to pace back and forth in front of Ratchet with a racing heart. "N-No, that's impossible! It has to be! I SPECIFICALLY chose Rykan because it should have been IMPOSSIBLE for him to find it there! And even then, he shouldn't have ever been able to gain access to the facility, only Lombaxes can open it! It's biologically coded to! And the amount of firepower that bastard needed to break into it would've destroyed the whole thing with the Dimensionator, too! Y-You have to be lying, because there is NO WAY that TACHYON could have—"
Kaden suddenly freezes as his racing mind somehow manages to parse something else about Ratchet's statement. Something that somehow seemed worse than the idea of that Cragmite getting the one thing he needed to finish his genocide.
He slowly turns to face Ratchet as his gut turns to lead. He feels his mouth has gone dry, making him have to swallow as Ratchet looks uneasily back up at him. He didn't want to ask the question, fearing the answer, but he had no other choice.
He slowly raises a hand, staring into his eyes.
"How did you know Tachyon had the Dimensionator?" Kaden asks him carefully. "If he had it… But you're here now… With the Dimensionator… Then… Does… Does that mean…?" He trails off, gulping, not bearing to voice the thought, hoping that Ratchet would call him ridiculous for thinking such a thing.
However, his stomach sinks even lower as Ratchet just gives a solemn nod.
"Yeah. I fought him for it." He confirms. "I had to. It was the only way to keep everyone safe from him."
Kaden just stands there, frozen, his blood running cold as he suddenly feels sick to his stomach, making him unconsciously step over to lean onto the table with one hand as he places the other on his head, those words echoing through his mind while he barely breathes.
I fought him.
His son… His child… He… He met Tachyon? He FOUGHT him?! That goddamn cockroach that tricked his best friend, killed his wife, destroyed their planet, and nearly killed him managed to find his SON?! AND HIS SON FOUGHT HIM?!
"He fought him…" He mutters under his breath, shaking his head slightly. "I… Marie… I never thought… I never…"
"Uh… Are you okay?" Ratchet asks worriedly, once again fidgeting in his seat as a heavy silence falls on the room, seeing his dad appear to have a mental breakdown in front of him.
Once again, he instantly regrets saying anything as his father suddenly snaps over to him, removing his hand from his head as he stares at Ratchet with anger and fear, honestly intimidating him as he throws up his hand.
"NO! NO, I'M NOT OKAY, KIPLER!" He yells, suddenly stepping over to grab onto his shoulders, staring into Ratchet's dazed and slightly fearful eyes. "EVERYTHING I did for you was to make sure that you wouldn't even have to HEAR of that son of a bitch, and you're telling me you FOUGHT HIM?! Why would you DO that?! Do you know how many Lombaxes he's murdered?! Do you know what he even did to your mother?! That… That MONSTER nearly killed me and our entire species, we had to abandon an entire DIMENSION to survive his genocide, and you FOUGHT HIM?! WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING SO FUCKING STUPID?!"
Ratchet shrinks under his assault, the intensity of a protective father being a wholly new feeling to him that makes him suddenly realize how such a thing can be so scary.
Swallowing, he weakly raises a finger.
"H-Hey, I won, didn't I?" He tries to assure him. "So… I mean… It's not that bad if I'm still here, aren't I?"
"That just makes me even MORE concerned! How in the hell did you WIN?!" Kaden responds, still squeezing onto his shoulders. "I couldn't stand up to him! Our entire military couldn't stand up to him! So how could you have possibly walked out of there alive?!"
"W-Well, he wasn't exactly the first psycho I ever had to deal with…" He explains, trying to shrug under his father's grip. "I mean, granted, he was pretty tough, but…"
Kaden opens his mouth to berate his stupid child for marching to a certain death, but then closes it for a moment as he furrows his brows in confusion, somehow feeling even more alarmed with that explanation.
"What do you mean by that?" He asks with dismay.
"Well… The thing is… Back in the other dimension, I'm a hero." Ratchet says with a proud smile despite the fear he felt from his father's wrath. "I've saved at least three galaxies from supervillains like him. In fact, I think he was… Erm…"
To Kaden's horror, he watches Ratchet raise a hand to silently count on his fingers, inaudibly mumbling names as he raises a finger, then another, then another, then another.
"…The fifth one I've fought up to that point? Yeah, fifth, I think that's right." Ratchet mumbles to himself.
"I… But… But… You're so young!" Kaden sputters, letting go to just wave his arms across his body. "When did you even start with this hero business?!"
Ratchet whistles, rolling his eyes, making Kaden frown.
"Let's see… It was when I met Clank, and that was with Chairman Drek, which would have been… five years ago? Five or six, yeah."
"Five—So you were FIFTEEN?" He asks in shock. "Y-You should've been in school! Dating girls! Building things! Playing pranks with your friends! Anything that ISN'T risking your life by fighting an intergalactic threat! I-I don't… Just…"
He grips his head, his mind reeling with these revelations as he has to sit back down in his chair just to process this all.
He knew he had a bad feeling when he saw how cool and focused Ratchet was in his chase this morning, getting shot at and acting like it was another Tuesday. And to learn that it was because it was another Tuesday for him filled him with anger, dread, and fear.
He was supposed to live a happy, but safe life in Solana. He wanted his son to grow up to escape the danger of Tachyon and Fastoon, and not to become a teenage hero who throws himself into that danger to risk his life for a living! Just… He FOUGHT TACHYON?!
He rubs his face with a deep breath, unsure if he should feel angry or happy towards his son for both finally reuniting with him and learning that he was a goddamn idiot.
For the millionth (or perhaps billionth) time in his life, Kaden cursed the Council with all his heart.
How could they have let this happen? If only they had listened to him once, just once at any point in the last twenty years to let him raise Kipler on his own, he would've been given a normal life. He would've been protected from all the dangers of their previous dimension, safe behind these city walls, and with a father who would've taught him better than to do something so stupid as to become some intergalactic hero that thinks getting chased by the City Guard is a fun activity.
Well… He probably would've taught him that, at least… But, still!
"…If it makes you feel better, I'm retired now?" Ratchet speaks up with a raised finger and nervous smile, growing unnerved from the silence yet again.
Kaden sighs, still rubbing his face.
"I can't say it makes me feel much better, because it doesn't change the fact that you've already risked your life countless times." Kaden argues, removing his hand to look at Ratchet with a frown, now too mentally exhausted to yell anymore. "I mean… You were fifteen for crying out loud! That is WAY too young to do something so dangerous! Do you realize that if you got killed at any point, I never would have been able to see you? Huh?"
Ratchet, however, tilts his head at his comment.
"Well, hey, didn't you win the Agorians' Gold Tournament when you were sixteen? I think that's pretty dangerous." He says with a shrug. "So… I mean… Can you really blame me if you weren't much better when you were my age?"
Kaden pinches his nose with a groan.
"That was different, okay? You can tap out of a tournament, but you can't tap out of a real—"
He suddenly removes his hand as he realizes something, looking back up at him.
"Wait a second, how did you know that about me?" He asks, perplexed. "You don't know your real name, but you know something your dad did when he was a teenager? Did you find some kind of record or something?"
Ratchet shakes his head.
"No, nothing like that. I… Erm… I was… Told." He says, suddenly remembering where he had learned it as he begins to shift uncomfortably in his seat, looking aside with a small frown.
Kaden furrows his brows.
"Who would be able to tell you something like that?"
Ratchet doesn't reply. An odd reaction, Kaden thinks, considering how he was so nonchalant about saying he had fought Tachyon of all people.
But before he could ask his question again, wondering what could possibly quiet him if Tachyon couldn't, Ratchet finally sighs, anxiously rubbing his wrist in his lap.
"I… I met Alister." He finally speaks, albeit very quietly. "He's the reason I know anything about you at all. He told me that about you."
Kaden's breath hitches in his throat as he utters that name.
He hadn't heard it in a long time, mostly because people tend to just call him 'traitor' or 'exile', and the last place he ever expected to hear it would be from his own son. And more than that… To learn that they had met.
"Alister?" He breathes, leaning forward slightly. "Are you talking about… Alister Azimuth?"
Ratchet gives a solemn.
"You… You actually met him? You're telling me that he's alive, then?" Kaden asks, a small smile beginning to form on his face.
Ratchet's face displays a look of pain at the question, wiping the smile away from Kaden's face just as quickly as it came.
"No." He says mutters. "Not anymore."
Kaden feels a pang of sadness shoot through him, and it was only amplified by the pain he felt at seeing the hurt he could see written all over his son's face as he looks at the ground, still anxiously rubbing his wrist.
"…Oh." He mutters, a moment of silence befalling them.
Kaden always assumed that he died in the aftermath, either by suicide like Tachyon suggested, or in a vain attempt to avenge their species. He preferred thinking the latter, despite everyone else wishing he did the former. It was more befitting of a noble Lombax like him to try and right his wrong, even if it'd end in certain death.
However, it was one thing to assume, and another to get a definitive answer. And to learn that he lived long enough to meet his son pained Kaden, as it meant that he had to live for years living with his mistake. And more than that… Spending the rest of his years believing his best friend wished that he was dead.
He still remembers the resentment he felt toward Alister in the Exodus, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't still feel some of it now. But after having all these years of relative loneliness and reflection about what could've been and all that he's lost, Kaden began to understand that he wasn't entirely to blame for the genocide.
Growing up, it was obvious that Alister was determined to do what was best for Lombaxes. It was a trait that he and Kaden shared, being one of the foundations of their friendship—their brotherhood—and it was what drove them to rise through the ranks of the Praetorian Guard. Alister was always looking for new ways to bolster their military, being astutely aware of the increasing dangers of the galaxy, and when Tachyon showed up with his promises and inventions, it was as if he was handing them a solution to their problems on a silver platter.
It shouldn't have been no surprise that Alister gave him what he wanted, then. And honestly, thinking back, if he still trusted Tachyon despite Kaden's (correct) fears and prejudices about him being a Cragmite, then Alister was a better man to look past them and truly believe that Tachyon wanted what was best for them.
And in the end, even if Alister refused him, Tachyon probably would've found another way to carry out his genocide anyway.
Maybe it was because he opted to believe that, or because Alister was his childhood friend and brother-in-arms, or maybe just a simple combination of both… But Kaden ultimately forgave him.
In truth, he began to miss him, just as much as Marie and Kipler. And the worst part was that he had to keep it to himself, because if the Council caught wind that he sympathized with one of the most hated Lombaxes in history, then it would've thrown out any slim chance of saving Kip out the window. After all, now they would have to fear him growing soft and being tempted to bring The Exile to the society he was banished from.
And to hear that he's been alive all this time… Was alive…
"…How did you two meet?" Kaden finally speaks, breaking the silence, glancing back up to Ratchet.
"Oh, uh… It was on Torren IV." Ratchet says as he drifts out of his own thoughts. "I was following a lead on Clank's kidnapping—erm, long story—and it pointed to some rebel named Alister Azimuth living there. When I first found him, he threw a grenade at me and pinned me by my neck against the wall with his Wrench, thinking I was some kind of assassin out for him."
The thought of Alister almost killing his son put a sour taste in Kaden's mouth, but he had to admit that living in a galaxy controlled by a maniac hellbent on Lombax extinction definitely warranted such paranoia. He couldn't really blame him that much for it.
"When he looked at me, though… He realized that I was your son, and then he told me all about you." Ratchet says as he digs into his pocket.
Kaden's eyes widen in shock as he sees what laid in Ratchet's hand, recognizing it instantly, even after all of these years.
"Is… Is that…?" He breathes, pointing to it.
"Yeah." Ratchet confirms. "His watch."
Without another word, he holds it up to Kaden, who just stares at it for a moment, but then slowly reaches for it, letting Ratchet drop it into his palm to let him inspect it.
He lightly brushes his finger against the bronzed surface, seeing that despite the wear and tear of the years, it was still just as he remembered. He remembered the day Alister got it, absolutely ecstatic as he showed Kaden, his father passing it down to him as something that may become an heirloom, should Alister find himself a family of his own, someday. Kaden thought it was honestly kind of gaudy at first, especially with how often Alister found an excuse to whip it out to check the time, but he came to appreciate it.
It's a shame it never became the heirloom that Alister's father suggested, though.
Clicking the button on the side, Kaden opens the watch, and his catches in his throat as gazes upon the photo inside, with himself and Alister proudly standing together as newly promoted Generals of the Praetorian Guard. Somewhere in his old, destroyed home on Old Fastoon, Kaden had his own copy of this picture, too.
And upon seeing this photo after so many years, it throws him back in time to the day they were both promoted as they took this picture. To a happier time. A time where they didn't have to worry about a genocidal maniac rendering their species extinct, to have one of them forever exiled and branded as a traitor to their people, and the other left without a family for nearly half of his life.
No, the only thing they had to worry about back then was who was picking up the tab at the bar they went to celebrate their newfound statuses as Generals, and suffering Marie's scolding as she flew their unruly drunk asses back home.
…Did Alister really keep this, after everything? Even after Kaden beat him to the ground and shattered his heart, blaming him for Marie's death? Yelling at him that he wished he was dead, and that he'd kill him with his own hands if they ever saw each other again? Telling him that he was directly to blame for all that death and destruction they both had to suffer through on that day?
Even after all of that… How did he bear to even look at this picture? After all the pain?
"…I'm sure he said some horrible things about me." Kaden says morosely, closing the watch, no longer able to bear being reminded of a life that was long since dead. "I doubt many of them were lies."
Ratchet tilts his head, giving him a puzzled look.
"Wait, what? No, he never said anything like that." He answers. "He always talked about how you were the greatest Lombax he's ever known. About how smart you were, and how brave and… Well, pretty reckless, too, actually, but… To be honest, I think he respected you even more than himself."
Kaden looks back up to Ratchet with surprise, not expecting that answer.
"…Really? He said all those things about me?"
Ratchet nods, but he furrows his brow in confusion.
"Yeah? And… Why wouldn't he?"
Kaden looks back to the watch resting in his hand, rubbing its surface with his thumb, and gives a sigh.
"…Our last meeting together was right after your mother died. Minutes after, even." He explains soberly. "…I punched him. And kicked him. And screamed at him. And if wasn't for the fact that you managed to live… I know I would have killed him where he stood with how furious I was at him. I blamed him for everything that had happened, including your mother's death. I told him that I never wanted to see him ever again, and if I did, that I would kill him. He mumbled an agreement, then I picked you up, grabbed the Dimensionator… And walked away. Without even looking back. And that was the last time we ever saw each other."
He sighs deeply as he closes his eyes, handing the watch back over to a speechless Ratchet, who hesitantly takes it from Kaden.
"And to think that after all I said… He still thought of me as his best friend." He says mournfully. "He really was a good man, then. A good man that only made a stupid mistake."
Ratchet looks at the watch in his hand for a moment, reflecting on his own experience with Alister before placing it back into his pocket with a sigh.
"…I like to think that, too." He says quietly.
"…How did he die, if you don't mind me asking?" Kaden follows up gently.
Ratchet freezes as he hears the question, hand still in his pocket from putting the watch away, and a tense silence falls on the room.
And as the silence begins to grow, Kaden starts to regret asking such a tough question, already seeing how pained Ratchet was talking about him, so of course it'd be insensitive to ask him to explain how exactly Alister died. He was already dealing with a lot from finding out his dead father wasn't dead, and being grilled for the (idiotic) life he chose as a hero, and he seriously asked that so soon?
Kaden opens his mouth to assure Ratchet that this can be left for another time, but before he could say anything, Ratchet speaks while looking at the floor.
"He… Sacrificed himself. To save me and the rest of the universe." He says sadly. "I… I don't really want to talk about it anymore right now, though. I'm honestly still trying to deal with it."
Kaden nods, but… He can't help but be puzzled by 'saving the rest of the universe'. Just what kind of situation were they in where the entire universe was at stake? And aside from that cryptic statement, he also simply wanted to learn more about what Alister was up to during their time together, but… Those were questions for another day.
"I, um… Of course." He says softly before sitting up, taking a breath to collect himself from the surprisingly gloomy mood. "And I think that's enough catching up for the moment now, anyway. It's about time we finally deal with your predicament right now."
"I, erm… What predicament?" Ratchet asks, mildly confused as he too shakes himself from whatever thoughts he was having concerning Alister.
Kaden, with a flat expression, wordlessly points to the cuff on Ratchet's arm, and his confusion disappears into a dull realization.
"Ah. I'm still going to prison, right." He says blankly. "Or execution, as that grouchy Chief lady kept telling me."
"Not if I have anything to say about it." Kaden says, placing a hand on his chin. "I'm on the Council, so I'm sure I can at least let you out of here under my supervision, but still technically apprehended. In order to deal with your crimes—especially concerning the Dimensionator—we're going to have to get the Council to give you a pardon."
Ratchet tilts his head.
"How exactly are we going to convince them to give me a pardon? Don't they just… Ignore you, like you said?" He questions. "By what you've said, they don't exactly seem like the listening type."
"Only when it comes to my appeals." Kaden answers pointedly as he stands up. "And this time, they'll have no choice but to listen to me and give you a pardon, if they have any self-respect left."
"And why is that?" Ratchet asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Because the entire reason they banned Dimensionators was to avoid Tachyon." Kaden says, walking over to the MemoReader terminal before turning around. "And… As much as I hate to say it… You took care of him, right?"
"Well, yeah." Ratchet says with a shrug, once again making Kaden feel unnerved by how casually he said it. "But how would the Council even believe me about it? These guys barely believed I had a Dimensionator despite having the damn thing, so I don't really see how these Council people will believe me about Tachyon. I don't really have any solid proof like the Dimensionator."
"Actually, that's where you're wrong." Kaden says as he walks over to the MemoReader terminal, slapping his hand on top of it with a solid, metallic thunk, unable to suppress a small smile. "You've got your memories!"
He then begins rapidly typing into the terminal, even faster than Chief Wells when Ratchet saw her messing with it, making him raise an eyebrow.
"Wait, do you know how to use one of those things?" Ratchet asks, pointing to it.
Kaden pauses for a moment to look over his shoulder and display a proud smirk, something Clank would have recognized as identical to Ratchet's if he were here.
"Do I? I invented it." He states proudly before resuming his typing. "I made it years ago in an effort to convince the Council to let me go back for you. I figured if they saw for themselves how goddamn painful it was for me to leave you on that doorstep, they'd change their minds."
He then gives a noise that was partly a sigh and partly a groan.
"But then someone ordered that I show them my memory of fighting Tachyon, and it scared them into doubling down on the ban. Hell, I lost two votes because I made this thing!" He exclaims as he waves his arms over the terminal indignantly. "At least it's streamlined interrogations and questionings. Now we can prove what accused suspects did in ten minutes instead of talking to them for hours and maybe getting the truth. So, you know, there's that, I guess."
With a final tap of the keyboard, he finally turns back to Ratchet, who looks back at him with a dumbfounded expression that his own father apparently invented a machine that reads memories—and for him, no less.
"There, the Reader should be set up now. You can put it on." Kaden says, motioning to the headband still sitting on the table in front of Ratchet.
"Oh, uh… Right." Ratchet says as he snaps out of his admiration.
He takes the headband and places it onto his head again, feeling that same tingling near his temples once more, finding that it was weirdly pleasant now that he knew it was harmless.
And after Kaden sees the 'RECORDING' on the screen, he gives a satisfied nod and takes his seat in front of Ratchet.
"Alright. Now, I'm sure that the Chief didn't say this, but the limitation for MemoReaders is that they can only read memories that you explicitly talk about." Kaden explains. "It helps the program pinpoint where in your brain the memory is when you have to actively speak about it. It's the only way to get accurate readings, because if the thing synthesized every place where your brain is lighting up, it can't tell the difference between 'memory' and 'regular subconscious thought that runs your body'." He says with air quotes.
He then gives Ratchet a playful smile while raising a finger.
"Although, believe me, in the early prototypes, the visuals it got from those were wild. With the patterns and colors and stuff it came up with, you could just stare at it for hours, and it was like you were watching a dream unfold before you, it was amazing." He says amusedly. "Sometimes I wish I kept at least one of those prototypes for fun. It'd be an entertaining way to spend boring days."
However, as he says that, his brows furrow as he turns his away in thought while placing a hand on his chin with something dawning on him.
"Or… Wait, I guess I can just make one, I think I still remember the design well enough. And I could specifically build it for those subconscious thoughts to really get those effects, and maybe tweak the visuals a bit, too. I mean, who wouldn't want to see what dreams look like? Oh, maybe I could even make it a holodisplay, so that it could be three-dimensional, like you're actually living in—"
He stops ranting as he hears Ratchet huff a small laugh through his nose, looking over to see him staring at him with amusement.
Kaden suddenly sits back up and clears his throat, but not before shelving that idea in his mind for later.
"Ahem. Like I said, you talk about the memory, it reads the memory. Simple enough." He states coolly, clasping his hands on the table in front of him.
"Now I see how Clank feels when I start to go off about my inventions." Ratchet says with a smile.
Kaden smiles as well, happy to hear that his son has apparently indulged in their shared love of inventing that was common among Lombaxes. But as much as he wants to learn about what those inventions were, they had more important things to do.
"Alright, let's get started, then." Kaden begins before taking a breath. "First things first. How did you… Meet Tachyon?"
Ratchet places his hand on his chin as he looks up to recall the memory, exhaling a breath.
"Let's see… Well… Me and Clank were responding to a distress call in Metropolis, on Kerwan, when these fish-looking things attacked us out of nowhere. Later found out they were Drophyds. They chased us for a while through the city until they cornered us, and that's when Tachyon decided to introduce himself. Told me all about his plan to become 'Ruler of the Universe!', or whatever." Ratchet says in a mockingly high tone while raising a fist, imitating him, before scoffing and crossing his arms in his seat. "Didn't seem all that threatening, honestly."
Contrary to Ratchet's opinion, it instead sends a chill down Kaden's spine.
He was hoping deep down that he was just lying about Tachyon, but if he knew how to impersonate him like that, with that goddamned screeching voice that cockroach had… Then he was telling the truth. The silver lining was that he actually lived to tell the tale, and hopefully, it'll get him that pardon.
It didn't mean he still had to feel good about it, though.
"…Right." Kaden says, wanting to move on. "And… What happened when you… Fought him?"
"Well, he got his hands on the Dimensionator, and we went back to Fastoon to take it back." Ratchet says firmly. "He taunted me about how he killed you, and gave me a chance to run away, but I stood my ground. Even if I walked away, everyone was in danger as long as he had it, so I knew I had no choice but to fight him. So, I did. And, well… I won." He says with a proud smile. "I mean, I almost died, since the Dimensionator malfunctioned and almost sucked us into a black hole with him, but I lived. Been through worse."
"I… See." Kaden says with audible unease, furrowing his brows.
He really didn't like the casual way he said that. In all honesty, he was a little scared to actually see these memories for himself. To see Tachyon again, let alone fighting his little boy.
But unless he wanted to bond with his son through the prison's visiting hours, he knew that he had to tough through it.
"…Alright, I think we have all we need to convince the Council now."
He stands up and begins to walk over to the MemoReader to end the session. But just before he starts typing away, he realizes something.
He turns back to Ratchet.
"Actually, while we have the MemoReader on… Is it alright If I ask you one more thing?" He asks a little apprehensively. "I… Want to see something for myself."
Ratchet gives him a perplexed look, but he thankfully gives a nod.
"Um… Sure, I guess. What is it?
"Could you… Talk about Alister, again? When you first met?" Kaden asks. "I… Just want to see how he was doing."
Ratchet hesitates for a moment, clearly conflicted. Kaden half-expects him to say no, knowing how diffcult it was for Ratchet to talk about him during their discussion a few minutes ago.
But thankfully, Ratchet instead gives a nod with a sigh.
"Like I said, it was on Torren IV." Ratchet begins. "I managed to find him, I had to chase him for a little bit, and he almost killed me. But then he introduced himself and told me about you and where to find Clank. Is that enough?"
Kaden gives him an earnest smile.
"It is. Thank you."
With that, he returns to the MemoReader terminal and starts to type away at it once more, and after a few final taps, a small holotape is ejected from the machine, and Kaden places it into his pocket after a brief inspection.
"There. I'll go and get Chief Wells to release you in a minute here, then we'll head back to the Center together. Sound good?"
"Sounds good." Ratchet confirms as takes the MemoReader headband off. "But don't forget about Clank, he's coming with me." He makes sure to add, pointing at Kaden.
"Don't worry, I'll get him off the hook, too." He says with a nod before walking over to the door.
But just before he presses the button next to it to open it, he stops. And a few moments later, turns back to Ratchet.
"Actually… There's something I need to tell you, before I go." He says.
"Huh? Um… What is it?" Ratchet asks with confusion, tilting his head.
Kaden doesn't answer, instead just walking over to an increasingly bemused Ratchet, furrowing his eyebrows. His father than just stands in front of him, looking down at him for a moment, but then suddenly leans down to take him into a tight hug.
"I love you." He whispers.
Ratchet freezes, those words hitting him like a freighter. Kaden feels him stiffen under his arms, making him start to think that he broke his son somehow.
But a second later, Ratche recovers from the shock to tightly return the hug.
"I… I love you, too, dad." He returns, not caring how strange it felt to be able to say those words. Only how surprisingly good it felt to say it.
Somehow, Kaden manages to squeeze him even harder as his breath catches in his throat, suffocating Ratchet once more.
"Yep. Hearing that feels even better than I imagined it would." Kaden says, Ratchet practically hearing the smile on his face.
Well, that, but also his own strained breath as he tries and fails to get air into his lungs.
"T-That's great, but could you ease up a bit?" He struggles to say. "How are you so strong?!"
"Nope. If you can survive a fight with Tachyon, then you can survive a hug from your dad." Kaden replies smugly, starting to squeeze him even harder. "Consider it your punishment for doing something so stupid."
And as Ratchet tries to break from his unrelenting grip with unheeded protests, Kaden—for the first time in forever—started to feel like a real father.
And it felt… Amazing.
I honestly don't really like this chapter with how exposition-y and info dump-y it is, but when I wrote this I never could find a real better way to go about it. So, hopefully I managed to make it somewhat more bearable to read this go-around.