Lost Time: Redux

by ACleverName8

(REMASTER OF LOST TIME) Kaden lost everything when Tachyon attacked. His wife, his son, his best friend. Almost his life, too. He should be thankful he's still alive, but an unfortunate set of circumstances has left him separated from his son, who is stranded in another dimension, all alone. He swears that he will reunite with him one day, but when will that day come?

11. A Short Trip

"And that's why he's here and… Well… Not dead." Ratchet says as he finishes the long-winded tale of his father's whereabouts for the last two decades. "I honestly still can't believe it, though."

"…Indeed." Clank says, placing a hand on his chin to digest it, still resting on top of the table across from Ratchet, who preferred to stand after being stuck in a chair for the last hour.

"I mean, I thought he was dead this entire time! And to see him walk into that room, living and breathing, and feeling him hug me and hearing him talk to me is just… Just…"

He holds his hands up, trying to find a way to put his indescribable joy into words. But in his search, he glances over to Clank, and sees him looking back at him with a warm smile, making him realize that he didn't need to, knowing Clank perfectly understood how he felt.

Ratchet lowers his hands and opts to just return the smile as well.

"You get what I mean." Ratchet says contentedly. "And… Thanks, Clank. You were right."

Clank tilts his head a little.

"Right about what?" He asks curiously.

"About fixing the Dimensionator. If you didn't ignore me about not coming here to find the Lombaxes, I'd just be sitting around in front of the holovision back at home, fixing ships, or just doing whatever to waste time. But instead, you worked your ass off repairing that thing in secret so you could give me the opportunity to meet my dad. And I couldn't be any happier that you refused to listen to me."

Ratchet then walks up to the table and leans down to take Clank into a hug, which Clank returns gladly after a surprised moment.

"And you were also right about how it feels to find your family. It does feel great." Ratchet adds from Clank's shoulder. "I'm jealous that this is how you've felt ever since we found out about Orvus."

"And I am happy you got to experience it as well, Ratchet." Clank says with a chuckle. "Even though neither of us could have possibly anticipated this scenario, I could not be any happier for you."

"Thanks, pal."

But as they sit there, hugging each other, they hear the door suddenly open, making them turb their heads to see Kaden walk in before stopping for a moment, seeing them in their embrace.

"Oh, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Kaden asks worriedly.

"Oh, no, you're fine." Ratchet reassures him as he lets go of Clank. "I was just thanking Clank here for repairing the Dimensionator. Since if he didn't, I wouldn't, you know, be here right now." He says amusedly.

"Wait, you were the one who was responsible for that?" Kaden asks Clank, furrowing his brows.

"Indeed I am, sir." He says with a nod in a respectful manner.

"Well, in that case, I have to thank you, too." Kaden says with a smile, walking up to Clank to take him into a hug as well, with Clank noting that his grip was much tighter than Ratchet's a moment ago. "If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't have ever had the chance to see my son again. After all the pain I've been suffering for half my life now… I don't know how I can ever repay you."

"Oh, erm, please, there is no need for that." Clank reassures him, finding the hug unexpected, but not unwelcome. "I simply did it so that I could make my friend happy, and that is all the reward I need. I ask nothing in return, sir."

Kaden chuckles as he releases Clank from his grip that would've ordinarily smothered Ratchet.

"Please, you don't have to be so formal with me. Just call me Kaden." He says with a smile.

"Noted, then." Clank nods. "In any other case, it is a pleasure to meet you, Kaden."

"Likewise. It seems that you and Kipler—er, Ratchet, are close friends." He says, making sure to correct himself.

"Yep. He's never once left my side ever since I met him." Ratchet says as he leans onto Clank, propping his elbow up onto his head. "Well, except for the time he was kidnapped, but that's definitely a story for another day. And honestly, not having him around proved that I'm kind of helpless without him."

Clank chuckles.

"Indeed. To think that you were living off an exclusive diet of nutrient bars and prepackaged meals before I started to cook for you makes it a wonder how you managed to survive for so long."

"Hey, it wasn't just nutrient bars and Megacorp Megameals, for your information." Ratchet corrects him.

"The various diners of the Kyzil Plateau along with Ms. Perigee's cookies are hardly any better, Ratchet." Clank adds to his chagrin. "I'm not sure you've ever eaten a vegetable before I introduced them into your diet. You are lucky you had Ms. Apogee cook the occasional healthy meal for you."

"Shut up."

Kaden gives a small laugh.

"So, I guess I can thank you for my son's survival, as well?"

"There have been more than a few occasions where that was the case, yes." Clank affirms. "Even though he may be very stubborn sometimes, I always at least try and make him see reason."

"If he was anything like me back in my own teenage days, then you sure as hell got your work cut out for you, then"

"That I do." Clank chuckles.

Ratchet rolls his eyes at their conversation before taking his elbow off Clank's head.

"So, are we heading to the Center, or what?" He pipes up, wanting to change the topic. "This place sucks."

"Yes, in a little bit." Kaden answers. "I have some friends coming to pick us up soon, so we're going to have to wait a little while, still."

"Wait, what 'Center'? And why must we go to it?" Clank asks, tilting his head.

"Oh, yeah, I'm going to prison for a long time unless we get a pardon from the Council that's there, because of the whole 'getting arrested' thing." Ratchet explains casually.

But before Clank opens his mouth, Ratchet points to him.

"And no, I still don't regret running away, Clank. It was totally worth it."

Clank opens his mouth while raising a finger, but after a moment, he simply sighs in disappointment while lowering it back down.

"So, how long are we supposed to wait, then?" Ratchet asks, returning his attention to his father.

"Probably five minutes or so." Kaden says while taking a seat in one of the chairs at the table. "Depends on how bad traffic is today, and if they stop arguing who's going to fly."

"Five minutes? If the Center's that close, why not just walk there?" Ratchet asks.

"Because as a condition of releasing you, Chief Wells made me promise to transport you there discreetly. Everyone out on the sidewalk still thinks you're a criminal, Ratchet, and it wouldn't look good on the City Guard to have you out and about before your pardon." Kaden explains. "I'm sure you can't wait to get out of here, but you'll have to wait just a bit longer—"

Kaden is cut off as he feels his communicator vibrate in his pocket. He takes it out and sees with a confused expression that it's Julie again.

"Huh? Did they get lost or something?" Kaden mutters with furrowed brows as he answers the call, Ratchet and Clank looking at him curiously.

"Julie? Why are you calling me back so soon?"

"We're here, Kaden!" She replies excitedly, while Mags can be heard in the background loudly chastising her.

"What the—It's only been a few minutes since I called!" Kaden says in surprise, glancing at a clock on the wall. "I thought you said Mags was flying!"

"Well, we were going to take Centauri, but I thought if Mister You're-Not-Flying-My-Precious-Baby over here was so adamant about it, it'd only be fair to take my ship instead." She explains.

"Dammit, Julie! If I'd known you were going to fly like THAT, then I wouldn't have agreed to this!" Kaden hears Mags argue through the communicator. "I mean, you nearly crashed into that sign going twice the speed written on it! This is exactly why I ban you from touching Centauri!"

Kaden facepalms, rubbing his nose with a deep sigh.

"Julie, I told you specifically to not break speeding regulations to get here."

"Pssh, regulations, schmegulations," Julie dismisses him, Kaden clearly imagining her carelessly waving her hand around. "This is your son, Kaden! No rules are going to stop me!"

"I've gotta say, hearing you say that and knowing you're the head of weapons development doesn't exactly assure me about your work practices." Kaden replies.

"You know as well as I do that's exactly why I have my own personal QA team to deal with that stuff for me." Julie retorts. "But enough about that, come down here so we can finally see Kip!"

"I…" Kaden sighs. "Yeah, we'll be down in a minute here. Just… Try not to get into any more trouble in the meantime, alright?"

"Sure thing! See you soon!" Julie says before she hangs up.

And as Kaden puts it back in his pocket, Ratchet and Clank stare at him with amusement and confusion, respectively.

"So… I'm guessing we don't have to wait any longer?" Ratchet asks.

"Apparently not." Kaden says as he stands up. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

Ratchet smiles and gives him a nod before taking Clank and placing him in his usual position on his back. As he locks into place, Ratchet then follows Kaden out of the door and through the halls of the City Guard headquarters, noting the strange glances that were shot his way from the passing officers, but he just gives them a smile and a nod.

But as they're walking, Ratchet realizes something as his hand brushes against his side, noting a distinct lack of a certain device on his belt.

"Oh, wait, before we go, I need to grab something!" Ratchet says to Kaden.

"Huh? What is it?" Kaden asks, giving Ratchet a confused look.

"My Arsenal Retrieval Tool." Ratchet responds. "They confiscated it from me after I was arrested. We should grab it on our way out."

"Oh, well, in that case, let's—" Kaden stops as he realizes what he's asking, snapping his head towards him. "Wait… You're talking about all your weapons, aren't you?" He asks with a certain unease in his tone.

"What else would I be talking about?" Ratchet asks, as if it was obvious. "So, who do we have to see in order to get it back?"

"No. We're going to the Center first." Kaden says firmly.

"Wait, what? Why?!" Ratchet asks with palpable disappointment in his voice.

"Ratchet. Chief Wells hates the idea that I'm letting you go, even knowing you're my son. Asking for your weapons back will do nothing but piss her off even more, and neither of us want that. Especially you." Kaden explains, pointing at him. "Plus, you're technically still considered a criminal right now, so I don't think they'll even give them back if we did ask. I think it's best that we wait until you're no longer considered a criminal before we come back for them."

"But—"

"You should listen to your father, Ratchet." Clank speaks from his back. "Besides, I find it unlikely that we will have to require the need of a weapon while we are here."

Ratchet glances over to him over his shoulder, then back up to Kaden several times, and after sensing resistance from either side, he groans, hanging his head back.

"Fine. But we are coming back for them." He says sternly, pointing to him. "Those are my prized possessions."

"Don't worry, we will." Kaden reassures him. "But let's just worry about your pardon first."

After a few minutes of navigating through the halls, walking down stairs, and going through the lobby, they eventually step outside of the headquarters, and into the city once more.

And as they walk out, Ratchet takes the time to marvel at the city's architecture and all the Lombaxes walking around, going about their day-to-day lives now that he isn't in the middle of a high-energy chase.

Sure, he's seen plenty of Lombax guards already during the process of his arrest, but just seeing normal, everyday civilians out of uniform and not carrying guns and wrenches really cemented the fact that yes, this was the Lombax dimension. This was his people's home, where any Lombax can live a normal life without needing to be a hero in some way or another, unlike every other Lombax he's met, including himself.

And these Lombaxes probably don't think of themselves as that, either: Lombaxes. Because why would that be significant here? To them, they were probably just people.

Normal, unremarkable people. And Ratchet realized that here, he was just a person like them. Not a Lombax, not the last of his kind, not a space rat, not a fuzzball, certainly not a kitty-cat, but just… A person.

And the fact that the famous Ratchet, the last Lombax in the universe, was now longer special just because of his race anymore, was a strange new idea to him.

But it was the kind of strange that he could certainly get used to, putting a smile on his face as he thinks about just how not special he was, standing in this dimension.

However, he suddenly feels a nudge and snaps out of his thoughts as he looks back to Kaden, who's giving him a small smile.

"Come on. They should be parked over here." Kaden says as he thumbs over to a large parking area on the side of the building, where there are over a dozen ships parked, most of which are embellished with the words 'City Guard'.

"Erm, right, lead the way." Ratchet says as he resumes following Kaden.

They walk through the parking area on the designated pathways between the ships and empty spaces, Ratchet gawking at all the cruisers they're walking past in the meantime, just imagining what it'd be like to fly these. Sure, he had Aphelion, and she was very advanced for a ship compared to everything else in Ratchet's dimension, but even then, he had to remember she was over two decades old. Lombax tech could only have gotten better in the meantime, right?

But before he can drool over the thought of what must lie in their engine compartments under their hoods, he starts to hear a familiar voice speaking ahead. Very loudly.

"Just what is WRONG with you?!" A certain brown-furred Lombax yells at a scratched, dinged-up ship. "If anyone would have respect for the law, I'd think it'd be someone that's on the goddamn COUNCIL!" Chief Wells fumes.

"So much for her not getting in trouble." Kaden mutters as they walk closer, shaking his head.

"Hey, it's a Council emergency!" They hear Julie argue back from the cockpit. "We are dealing with a very important matter—"

"Bullshit it's an emergency!" Chief Wells fires back, pointing back at her. "I know this is about that little punk, but that isn't an excuse for your reckless flying! I mean, have you ever flown before?!"

"Obviously! Why else would I have a ship?!"

"THEN DO IT BETTER!" She yells.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M TRYING TO—"

"Julie, just shut up before you make it worse for yourself." Mags suddenly pitches in, leaning over to grab her shoulder. "You can't meet Kipler if you're in jail, right?"

Julie falls silent as he says it, glancing between him and an extremely angry Wells for a few moments before hanging her head, loudly groaning in defeat.

"Okay, I'm sorry, alright? Just go ahead and give me the fine or whatever. It won't happen next time, officer." Julie replies tiredly, dejectedly holding out a hand out of the cockpit.

"That's Chief to you, actually." Wells grumbles as she quickly whips out a small notepad and angrily scribbles a ticket before ripping it out and snapping it over to the cockpit. "One thousand bolts." She says coldly.

Julie groans, but Kaden could see her take it anyways, prompting a curt nod from Wells.

"Next time, it'll be two thousand for a repeat offense. Learn to fly." She finishes before she turns and walks off, groaning as she rubs her eyes. "Just what is wrong with Councilmembers?" She mutters.

"Erm… Hello, Chief Wells." Kaden greets as Wells inadvertently walks in their direction.

She snaps her head up from her hand with surprise, and gives a frown as soon as she sees him.

"Kaden." She greets with little warmth. "Are you aware your escort—"

"Broke speeding regulations to get here? Unfortunately." Kaden says sourly. "Even though I explicitly told her not to, she went directly against my word. I apologize, Chief Wells, and I assure you, she will not be flying the way back. Ideally, never again, at that."

"She'd better not. She damn near killed Pyle landing that thing, and I'd be very unhappy if him getting fired got knocked down to the second worst thing that's happened to him today." She says bitterly before just walking right past them. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I've earned a break today."

"Oh, before you go," Ratchet speaks up, causing her to stop and turn to look at him with a tired frown. "Is there any chance you could give me back my—Ouch!"

He is cut off as Kaden swiftly elbows him, prompting Wells to raise her eyebrow.

"Nothing. He said nothing." Kaden assures her with a warm smile. "Go and enjoy your break, Chief Wells, you deserve it." He quickly says in a friendly tone.

"I'll try." She says with a sigh as she resumes walking off while Ratchet rubs his now-sore side.

"Hey, what was that for?" He questions.

"You seriously saw her in that state and didn't think it a stupid idea to ask for your weapons?" Kaden scolds him.

"No, because by the looks of it, she's always in that state." Ratchet answers with a roll of his eyes. "And I didn't think it'd hurt to ask."

Kaden sighs.

"Well… Now you know that it does." He says as he gestures to Ratchet's hand, still rubbing his side. "Now come on, I have some friends I want you to meet."

They resume walking back over to the ship, which now that Wells mentioned it, they noticed was parked at a noticeably skewed angle, with the edges of the wings sticking out onto the pathways.

And as they get closer, they could hear the passengers inside talking.

"What do you mean you won't split it?" Julie asks indignantly.

"Because why would I?" Mags retorts. "You were the one flying!"

"Well, you were the one who was giving me directions, and navigating is like, half the work of flying!"

"Julie, when I say 'take a left', I mean 'take a left'! Not 'take a right, realize your mistake, turn around in the middle of traffic, and floor the accelerator to 'make up for the lost time!''"

She groans.

"Fine, I'll pay it myself, then. Dick. Thought I could count on a friend to help me out, but no, I guess he just doesn't care about me enough." She huffs, crossing her arms while snootily raising her head. "So much for twenty years of friendship."

"If you're trying to guilt me, it won't work. I'm happy just sitting here and watching you lie in that one thousand bolt bed you made for yourself." Mags says smugly.

"Same here." Kaden agrees as he walks up to the cockpit, seeing Julie crossing her arms while scowling at Mags.

However, upon hearing him, she suddenly whips her head around to face Kaden, and her scowl is instantly replaced with a grin.

"Kaden, you're here, finally!" She exclaims, planting her hands on the edge of the cockpit, looking around. "Where is he? Where's Kipler?!" She asks excitedly.

"Oh, he's right over—"

Before he finishes his sentence, Julie jumps out of the cockpit next to Kaden before looking over to where he pointed, seeing Ratchet standing there with a surprised look on his face.

And upon seeing him, Julie freezes with a gasp, looking over him with wide eyes as Mags more reasonably simply steps out of the cockpit on his side.

"Holy shit…" She mutters while staring at Ratchet. As she does, Mags walks up next to Julie, also wearing a shocked expression as he looks between him and Kaden, dumbfounded.

"…Wow. That is definitely your son, Kaden." He remarks. "He looks just like you! That's just… Wow!"

"I know, right?" Kaden beams with a wide grin.

"Uh… Hey?" Ratchet greets awkwardly with a small wave, a little uneased from the probing attention of the two Lombaxes. "I'm… Ratchet. And this is Clank." He says, allowing him to hop off of his back and walk next to him, also giving a small wave.

"Greetings, it is a pleasure to meet you all." Clank greets much less awkwardly.

"Wait, your name's Ratchet? Not Kipler?" Mags asks.

"I was raised in a different dimension, after all." Ratchet answers, shaking his head with a shrug.

"Oh… Right." Mags mutters before shaking his head. "Well, it's great to meet you regardless, Ratchet. I'm Mags, and this is Julie. We're longtime friends and coworkers of your father."

"Wait… So you're the ones who saved my dad from Tachyon?" Ratchet asks, recognizing the names from his story.

"Indeed we are." Mags says with a nod. "Caught some flak for it for sure, and it was a bit tough given the circumstances during the Exodus, but nothing we couldn't handle."

"I… Thanks!" Ratchet says earnestly with a smile. "If it wasn't for you two, I never would've had the chance to ever meet him!"

"You don't need to thank us. We couldn't just sit by and let him die, even if the Council told us to." He answers with a smile before placing his hand on Kaden's shoulder. "After the hell he put me through in mapping the multiverse before the Exodus, he wasn't going to get off that easy by dying." He says amusedly.

Kaden scoffs, crossing his arms.

"You say that like you didn't enjoy all that research you did for it, Mags."

"Oh, the research I loved, but the lack of sleep I had to endure to do it all in a year? Hell no." He says as they both chuckle.

"Erm… Pardon me, but is she alright?" Clank pipes up in the midst of their conversation, pointing to Julie, who has been stuck frozen the entire time. "She does not appear to be responsive."

Kaden and Mags both suddenly turn to her, and both give her a concerned look.

Kaden reaches over to shake her shoulder a little bit.

"Julie? You good?"

She suddenly shakes her head, snapping out of whatever daze she was in, and gives a very large grin as she suddenly rushes up to Ratchet and takes him into an unexpected hug.

"What the—?!"

"Oh man, it is so great to finally meet you!" She squeals with delight.

"Uh… Y-You too, I guess?" Ratchet returns as he looks back to Mags and Kaden for help, who look equally surprised as him. "What's with the hug? Are you supposed to be, like, my aunt or something?" He asks her, blindsided.

Julie gasps and lets go of Ratchet to snaps back around and look at Kaden with what could only be described as childlike wonder.

"Can I?!" She asks, as if she was child begging for a candy bar.

"…I mean… It's not like I'd be able to stop you even if I wanted to." Kaden replies with a shrug, exchanging a bemused glance with Mags, who shrugs.

"Hell yes!" Julie says in triumph as she pumps her fist before placing her hands on Ratchet's shoulders. "I am going to be the best, most fun aunt you've ever had, Ratchet!"

"Well, you kinda win that by default since I've never had an aunt before." Ratchet replies uncertainly.

"But now you do! And this is going to be awesome!" She replies excitedly.

Ratchet gives Kaden a questioning look over her shoulder.

"Should… Should I be worried about this?" He asks, given what little he's seen and heard of this 'Julie'.

Kaden thinks for a moment (something that didn't assure Ratchet very much if he had to think about that question concerning a friend he's known for years) before shaking his head.

"Honestly, you two seem like a perfect fit for each other." He says before speaking to Mags. "How long until my meeting with the Council today?"

"Oh, erm… About a half-hour." Mags replies, glancing at the clock on his communicator. "Why? I mean, isn't your appeal very moot right now if he's literally standing right here in front of us?"

"Damn, seems like we had a little less time than I thought." Kaden mutters. "Alright, come on, Julie, you can harass Ratchet on the way back to the Center. We've gotta go."

"Sure thing, Kaden!" She replies before turning back to Ratchet. "Wanna see a cool trick I learned while flying over here?"

"You are not flying, Julie." Kaden states before thumbing to himself. "I am."

"Oh, thank the stars." Mags breathes with profound relief, placing a hand on his chest.

"Wha—You can't fly!" She complains, snapping around to angrily thumb to herself to Kaden. "It's my ship! That's the rule!"

Kaden rolls his eyes and simply leans into the cockpit to grab the piece of paper sitting on the dashboard before holding it up to her.

"And isn't this your ticket for your flying?" He asks dryly.

Mags snickers as Julie pouts while crossing her arms, all the while Kaden just stares at her, holding the ticket.

But then, she loudly groans.

"Fine. But I get to sit next to Ratchet here." She replies, swiftly taking Ratchet into another unexpected side-hug, prompting him to look at Clank, who only shrugs with an amused look.

"I don't care as long as you don't touch the flight controls to kill us all. Let's get going." Kaden says as he tosses the ticket back inside while climbing into the cockpit.

They all then pile into the ship, Kaden manning the pilot seat with Mags riding shotgun, and Julie and Ratchet taking the backseat. Ratchet notes that this ship seems a little roomier than Aphelion, but not enough to not have Clank sitting on his lap. He was thankful he was able to fold up in a smaller form to make it more bearable at least.

Kaden then takes off with the ship, and Ratchet watches out of the window to see the rest of the city come into view as they rise above the nearby buildings.

And as he does, he finds that it reminds him much of Metropolis, being a giant urban sprawl, with bustling city traffic soaring through the sky, of which Kaden promptly enters as they begin their transit across the city.

"So, how'd you get a name like 'Ratchet', then?" Julie asks from beside him with an inquisitive smile.

"Oh—Uh, nothing exciting, if that's what you're wondering." Ratchet responds as he takes his attention away from the window, shaking his head a bit. "I just really liked playing with one as a baby, and my caregiver decided to name me after it."

"By that logic, nearly half of all Lombaxes would be named after tools, then." Julie chuckles. "Hell, I'd probably be named 'Hammer' if that were the case!"

"Why doesn't it surprise me your favorite tool as a baby was a hammer?" Mags comments from up front, rolling his eyes.

"Probably because it shouldn't. You know me well enough, Mags! And I'd say I know you enough to know that your favorite tool was probably… A screwdriver!" She proclaims, pointing at him with a smile.

"Nope, a wrench." He replies smugly, looking over his shoulder.

"Ugh, of course it's something boring like that." She says while rolling her eyes. "Unoriginal, too."

"Hey, you can't beat the classic." He shrugs.

"So, uh… What exactly do you guys do?" Ratchet asks, noting their scientific-looking uniforms they wore, bearing an insignia of a Lombax head silhouette, reminiscent of the old tapes he and Tal found in their search of the Dimensionator.

"Oh, I'm the head of the Center's weapons development division!" Julie answers enthusiastically, pointing to herself.

"And I'm a co-head of the Interdimensional Division with Kaden here." Mags answers, thumbing over to him. "Well, before the Council decided to basically render it obsolete after the Dimensionator ban, that is. Now, I just help wherever I'm needed with these two, but I also research the odd anomaly or theory that pops up every once in a while. But how about you? What have you been doing by yourself back in the old dimension?"

"About that—" Kaden speaks up, cutting Ratchet off before he could even open his mouth. "It's why we're heading to the Center right now. We're getting him a pardon for getting arrested this morning."

"Uh… Alright?" Mags replies, furrowing his brows. "But—"

"What's that got to do with what Ratchet's been up to for all this time, though?" Julie cuts him off, bringing her arm around Ratchet, who begins to wonder if Lombaxes were just a touchy-feely kind of people with all the hugs he's gotten today.

"Because… It's…" He sighs. "Both of you know that he's also arrested for having a Dimensionator, and you also know that the Council isn't going to forgive him for that unless he has a good reason. And… well… he does." He finishes uneasily.

"…What reason is that?" Mags asks, apprehensive of Kaden's trepidation.

"I killed Tachyon." Ratchet says proudly.

"You WHAT?!" Both Mags and Julie exclaim in shock, the latter of which removing her arm from his shoulders as she gawks at him, along with Mags.

"Could you not have said that a touch more delicately, Ratchet?" Clank asks from his lap, squinting up at him.

"What? It's basically how I told my dad." He shrugs.

"And you damn near gave me a heart attack." He comments dryly up front.

"You killed Tachyon? YOURSELF?" Julie exclaims. "What the hell, I'm supposed to be the dangerous one in this aunt/nephew relationship! Now you just threw off our whole dynamic!"

"That's your concern, Julie?! And not the fact that he's just a kid?!" Mags asks her. "I mean… Just… How were you able to DO that?!" He asks Ratchet.

"Because it's what I do." Ratchet states plainly. "I'm an intergalactic hero, and he was just another bad guy I had to take care of. The fifth one, actually."

"Fifth?" Clank asks, looking up at him.

"Yeah, because there was Drek, Qwark and his Protopets, Dr. Nefarious, Vox and DreadZone, then Tachyon?"

"Ah, yes, I suppose that lines up with my memory." He says, placing a hand on his chin.

Julie and Mags just stare at him in dumbfounded shock, silence befalling the whole ship for a solid five seconds before Mags turns to Kaden, thumbing towards Ratchet.

"He's lying, right?"

Kaden shakes his head with a sigh as he produces a holotape from his pocket, holding it up.

"He's not. We used a MemoReader, and it's what we're going to use to convince the Council. And while I haven't seen his memories for myself yet, just believe me. Having fought that cockroach myself, with the things he said…" He takes a breath as he places it back into his pocket.

"It's true. My son killed Tachyon himself." He says soberly.

A tense silence falls as Julie and Mags start to stare at Ratchet in disbelief once again, who begins to shift uncomfortably in his seat at the probing attention.

The only sounds filling the quiet are the gentle hum of the thrusters and the whizzing of passing ships as they fly to the Center as they process the information. Ratchet looks down at Clank in his lap for an answer for what to do in this situation, but is only greeted with a shrug.

"Well… At least you have one hell of a story to tell at parties." Julie finally speaks, breaking the silence.

Mags groans.

"Seriously, Julie?"

"What?! It's not like there's anything we can do to change it!" She defends herself, throwing her hands up. "At least it explains how he was so good at running away from the City Guard, and why he had that Arsenal Retrieval Tool on him and stuff! Which, by the way, looked nice." She says to Ratchet, who is thankful that someone isn't completely appalled by his profession. "Do you have it on you? I so want to look through it."

"Oh, uh, no, actually." Ratchet says with some disappointment. "My dad won't let me get it back until I get that pardon."

"Wow, Kaden, you meet your son after twenty years and one of the first things you do is ground him?" She says with a mockingly chiding tone.

"He's not grounded, Julie." Kaden replies. "I just didn't want to piss off Chief Wells any more than I needed to."

"Wait, wasn't she the one who gave me that ticket?"

"Yes. And believe me, you got off easy compared to the guy I saw her fire earlier." He says before staring off a bit. "I'm pretty sure I've had drill instructors in the Praetorians that were nicer than her."

"Well, I would have gotten that Arsenal back, anyway." Julie remarks, snootily raising her head. "You can't just separate someone from their hard-earned weapons like that, Kaden! And I got a feeling that Wells lady is always angry, so it's not like making her angrier would be a big deal anyways."

"Hey, she gets it!" Ratchet says. "It wasn't easy getting those RYNOs, after all!"

"Wait, wait, wait, you have a RYNO?" Julie asks in awe.

"Yep, series I through VII!" Ratchet says proudly.

Julie gawks at him for a moment before throwing her hands over to him while indignantly snapping her head towards Kaden.

"What the HELL, Kaden?! You seriously didn't let him bring it so I could see one for myself?!" She exclaims before turning her attention back to Ratchet. "Are they seriously as powerful as people say?!"

"Nope, they're even better." He shakes his head with a smile. "I was able to wipe out a whole squad of Drophyds in seconds with the RYNO IV. They're illegal for a reason!"

"Oh, ho, man, I NEED to shoot them as soon as you get it back!"

"Totally! And did you know that the RYNO VI is actually a mech suit?"

"It's a WHAT?!" She asks excitedly.

Julie and Ratchet then thrust themselves into an engaging conversation about the RYNO's specs, both gushing over the components used, the explosive yield, their rarity, and a slew of other characteristics, quickly filling the ship with a steady background of weaponry chatter.

All the while, however, Kaden flies up front, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut about hearing how his son seem so excited about using weapons of mass destruction.

"Seems you were right about them being perfect for each other." Mags remarks to him, with Ratchet and Julie being completely oblivious to them now. "I can't believe there's someone who can keep up with her when she starts rambling about guns like this."

"Yep." Kaden sighs, staring ahead as he flies.

Mags raises an eyebrow at his curious response, glancing over to him.

"You don't seem too thrilled by that."

"Mags, are you listening to what they're saying?" He asks, nodding to the duo behind him, now having transitioned from RYNOs to talking about Mr. Zurkon weapons. "Julie's interested because she builds guns for a living. Ratchet's interested because he uses them for a living. Against Tachyon, no less, and whoever else that he considers that monster 'just another psycho he has to deal with', as he put it. It's just… I can't help but be uneased by it, Mags."

"Hey, look, I can't deny that the fact Ratchet here stood toe-to-toe with a monster like Tachyon makes me uncomfortable too, Kaden. But Julie's right. Surprisingly." He says softly, reaching over to place a hand on Kaden's shoulder with a small smile. "There's nothing we can do to change that. The important thing is that he's here at all, and he could have done worse things with his life. I mean, by the sound of it, he's saved a lot of people being a hero, right? That has to count for something."

Kaden tilts his head from side to side, clearly conflicted.

"I… Guess you're right about that, but… I just wish he did something a little safer, not risking his life all the time." He sighs. "I mean—"

Mags snickers a little as he removes his hand, making Kaden look at him with mild confusion and irritation.

"What's so funny about that?"

"Kaden. You were the youngest General of the Praetorian Guard when you were not so older than Ratchet right now. You risked your life nearly every day, even while you had a pregnant wife at home! You fought Tachyon yourself so you could protect the rest of the Lombaxes, and that's not to mention you managed to win first place in the Agorians' blood sport when you were only sixteen."

Kaden frowns a little.

"So?"

"So, what I'm saying is that you're a pot calling the kettle black." Mags states with a small smile. "He grew up to be as reckless yet selfless as you, and I doubt having you raise him would have changed that. In fact, I honestly think you'd encourage it."

"And what makes you say that?" Kaden raises an eyebrow at him.

"I remember when he was born, you were asking me if five years old is too young to learn how to fly with hoverboots, even though most people wouldn't even think about teaching their kids that until they're at least twelve." He says with a smirk.

"Okay, that was because—"

"And there was the time you argued with Alister about who'd be better at teaching him how to fight with an OmniWrench, even though you only have to learn that if you're planning on going into the Guard."

"We were—"

"And there was the time you told me Marie yelled at you for going on a high-speed joyride with him in his baby seat because he liked it when you did barrel rolls through town."

"I—"

"And I remember Julie telling me about the time you came to her to ask for recommendations on what an ideal first blaster would be for a kid. And from what I remember, you were not not considering a rocket—"

"Alright, I get it, Mags!" Kaden says in defeat, holding up a hand. "Maybe I wouldn't be the best parent if I wanted him to live out a quiet and peaceful life. But at the end of the day, that's what I am: his parent. His parent who's had to wonder if he's been dead or alive for the last two decades. It's only natural for me to be worried about him, especially when I hear he ran into the monster that killed his mother and almost myself."

"I'm not blaming you for that, Kaden." Mags reassures him. "I'm just telling you that you should be proud of him, too, and don't worry about what could or couldn't have been—just like what we've been telling you all these years. He's here now, safe and sound, and you should just focus on spending time with him instead of lamenting about what you could or couldn't have done years ago. Because it doesn't matter if he's an intergalactic hero that killed Tachyon, he's still your son, and I can tell he missed you just as much as you missed him. The last thing he needs is you scolding him or thinking you're disappointed in him because he did the exact same stupid thing you did." He finishes with a smirk.

Kaden doesn't speak for a moment as he mulls over Mags' words, Ratchet and Julie still having a lively conversation about their favorite weapons, meanwhile, completely unaware of their conversation.

After a minute of contemplative silence, he sighs.

"You're right. I… I guess I should be thankful that son of a bitch is gone, anyway." He says quietly.

"Exactly." Mags says, giving a smile and a nod.

"But it's going to take some getting used to, though."

"I didn't say it'd be easy to digest, Kaden. This is a lot for all of us, but all we can to do is just take it one step at a time. And don't worry, because if me and Julie have stuck with you for this long, then we sure as hell aren't going to leave you now. Especially her, considering this… 'Aunt Julie' thing she's suddenly got going on." He mutters, looking at her in the back before shaking his head and turning back to Kaden. "We'll do this together, though. I promise."

Kaden looks over to him and gives him a smile.

"Thanks, Mags." He says earnestly. "Have I made sure to tell you enough how much I'm glad I have you guys?"

"Only for the last twenty years." He returns amusedly with a shrug.

But as Mags relaxes back into his seat, looking ahead, he immediately drops his smile as he bolts upright, pointing forward.

"Woah, Kaden, look out!" He yells.

"Huh?" Kaden looks ahead and finds they're about to fly into the side of building from being a little distracted by the conversation. "Oh, shit!"

Kaden violently swerves the ship to dodge the building and rejoin the traffic, throwing everyone else around a little bit before he stabilizes the ship, all the while getting frustrated honks and beeps from passing ships for nearly crashing into them.

"Damn, Kaden, and you say I'm the bad flier?!" Julie says, resituating herself in her seat.

"Erm, sorry, my bad, just got a little distracted is all." He says with a nervous laugh, gripping the controls a bit harder from the close call as Mags catches his breath from the scare.

"Don't worry, happens to me all the time." Ratchet reassures him.

"And I keep advising you that you need to work on that." Clank scolds him. "There is only so much autopilot can do, Ratchet."

"Yeah, well, you also say I need a pilot's license to fly, and yet, here we are." He returns, crossing his arms.

"…Remind me to not let you fly while you're here, then." Kaden adds.

"Oh, come on! It's not like I can't fly! I've never crashed before!"

"You have crashed. Several times before, in fact." Clank corrects him tiredly.

"Only because I was shot down, alright? And even then, they got lucky! I am great at flying." He finishes as he crosses his arms. "If I can survive an orbital dogfight, I can survive a cruise through Luminopolis, pal. So suck it."

Mags can't help but give Kaden a smirk at that statement.

"Yep, he's your son, alright."

"…That he is." Kaden replies—but somehow unable to suppress a small, proud smile from his face.

"Just try not to ding up my ship, alright?" Julie tells him, pointing at him. "I paid a lotta bolts for it!"

"I doubt you'd even notice with how scratched up it already is, Julie." Mags says to her as he motions to the wings outside the window, almost looking like this ship is one of a very decorated war veteran with battle scars. "I mean, would it kill you to at least paint it a little?!"

"Well, sor-ry that not all of us treat their ship like it's their firstborn child, Mags." Julie replies, holding up her hands. "I'll be sure to read it a bedtime story and give it a kiss goodnight when I get home later, too. Maybe even get it some fresh oil in a sippy cup, as a treat."

"I'm not asking you to do that, I'm just asking that you give your ship some attention, because it's painful to look at all those marks tarnishing such a beautiful cruiser!" He says, throwing a hand out to the window in emphasis.

"It's not that bad, you big baby." She scoffs. "It just needs a little bit of elbow grease! Calm down!"

Kaden is heard loudly sucking in his teeth in skepticism.

"Are you sure about that?" Ratchet asks, looking out of the window to see the multitude of scratches and dents on the wings. "I'm pretty sure I've seen ships in better condition in the junkyard I get my scrap from. And those things go through some nasty sandstorms, too."

Julie crosses her arms in a pout, loudly groaning.

"Ugh, sorry, then! I just haven't found the time to get it in the shop, alright?!"

"Or… You're just a bad flier and know that it's pointless to fix all those scratches since you'll only add more." Kaden replies pointedly. "Seems kinda smart, actually. Why waste the bolts on fresh paint if it's just going to get ruined a week later?"

"Hey, screw you, asshole! I'm not a bad flier!"

"Taurus." Mags states simply, yet powerfully, prompting Ratchet and Clank to exchange a confused glance on what the significance of that word means.

"HEY!" She yells, angrily pointing at him. "THAT WAS YEARS AGO! I'M TALKING ABOUT NOW!"

In wordless response, Kaden grabs her ticket she gained mere minutes ago from the dashboard and holds it up between him and Mags with two fingers, clearly presenting the '1000 BOLTS' angrily scrawled across it thanks to her parking that was more akin to a controlled crash landing.

"Fuck you guys." She grumbles as she snatches it from his hand, eliciting snickers from him and Mags. "Are we there yet? You assholes?"

"Yes, actually." Kaden says as he pulls out of the traffic stream and towards a large complex of buildings, dominated by a central tower that seemed to overlook the entire city.

He flies over to the top of one of the higher buildings right next to the tower, of which Ratchet could see was designated 'COUNCIL PARKING ONLY' by giant letters on the surface of the parking area. Kaden deftly positions himself above an empty spot, and gently lowers the ship onto the ground, the hum of the thrusters fading as the ship powers down.

"So… What's the plan, then?" Mags asks. "I'm guessing you're hijacking your appeal to instead ask the Council for a pardon for Ratchet if you asked earlier, right?"

"That I am." Kaden says. "And trust me, it'll be a meeting they'll never forget."

He then turns around in his seat to look back at Ratchet, who raises an eyebrow at the smirk he sees across his father's face.

"So, ready to come back from the dead?"