One of the first things Ratchet notices is that he finds that the portal makes his skin tingle in an odd way.
But as they pass through, portal shutting behind them, Ratchet's breath hitches as he notices another thing; the giant metal walls of the city in front of him, able to hear the normal hustle and bustle of a large civilization just beyond it. A common experience for all of the urban metropolises he's visited in his countless adventures, but… This time… It was Lombaxes making all those noises, just out of sight.
Lombaxes, just like him.
And hearing the sounds of a living, breathing Lombax city after a lifetime of believing he was the only one, it truly began to sink in for him that yes. This was really happening. Right here. Right now.
He doesn't know how long he just stands there, frozen in awe and fear and anticipation, but he eventually manages to convince himself to snap out of his flurried thoughts, steeling his nerves as he shakes his head with a breath, demanifesting the Dimensionator in his hand back into his Arsenal tool.
"Well… Let's go, Clank."
"Of course. I will be here for you." He calmly replies from his back.
Ratchet starts walking toward the large gates they see, taking a few minutes as he distantly notes how this place looked an awful lot like Veldin, with the sandy, dry ground he stepped on, with not a cloud in a sky. He also noted the same when he first visited Fastoon—which this place must have also been, albeit in another dimension.
He also remembers how Talwyn explained to him that Lombaxes were creatures adapted to desert environments, which then made him later wonder if his father leaving him on Veldin was a deliberate choice to try and emulate what a 'normal' life on Fastoon would have been like. It must've worked somehow, though, as while walking here felt scary and nerve-wracking… It also felt… Somewhat comforting, reminding him of his actual home on Veldin.
As he gets closer to the walls, he realized he could see ships flying in and out of the city, making him note that they look very much like Aphelion, but… Sleeker. More modern. He knows Aphelion told him that her model was at least two decades old, even despite being perhaps the most advanced ship he's ever seen, and seeing that the Lombaxes—actual Lombaxes flying inside all of those ships—managed to improve on that blew him away.
He dimly realizes that in his haste, they probably should have brought her here with them, knowing that she's professed feelings of missing the Lombaxes, too. Maybe she could've been a bit of a tour guide, too, even despite the fact that she may be a bit 'outdated'.
Oh well, at least he can use this trip to see if they're worth visiting again, or—
"Halt!"
Ratchet freezes in his tracks as he nears the wall, startled by the sudden voice, and he looks around to see where it came from before finally glancing up at the gate before him, and as he does so, his eyes widen as his jaw drops.
Above him sitting in some kind of guard perch was a Lombax. An actual, living, breathing, actual Lombax, staring back down at him with an almost tired expression.
He had yellow fur like Ratchet, albeit perhaps a darker shade, and interestingly, with dark brown stripes that appear in a slightly more jagged pattern than his own. He looked to be wearing blue armor reminiscent of Alister's, but it looked… Simpler. In fact, it looked more like some kind of a standard uniform instead of 'armor' since it didn't look battle-ready by any means. In fact, he didn't look very battle-ready, as Ratchet noticed that the Lombax held a little chubbiness about his features, enough to make it unlikely that this Lombax was a soldier ready to run and gun like Alister was.
However, despite that, he held an OmniWrench in his hand, resting its head on his shoulder, but it wasn't of the double-ended Praetorian variety like Alister's. It was just a standard one-handed model like Ratchet's and his father's from his photo. Although, to be honest, he had to admit that he thought his own looked much better, as that Lombax's Wrench looked a bit… Cheap? No, more like standard-issue, just like his uniform, whatever it meant.
"Identification." The Lombax says in a gruff voice.
Ratchet, however, simply continues gawking, mouth open like an idiot as he marvels at the third Lombax he's ever seen in his entire life after Angela and Alister (maybe fourth if you count his father's picture), completely ignoring the guard's request.
And as he raises a slightly impatient eyebrow, Clank none too subtly clears his throat as he elbows Ratchet from his back, making him snap out of his thoughts as he shakes his head with a smile.
"O-Oh, I'm, uh, Ratchet!" He calls out excitedly. "And this is Clank, my partner!" He says, thumbing to his back.
"Hell kinda names are those?" Ratchet hears the guard mutter confusedly as he looks aside before rolling his eyes. "Love the enthusiasm, 'Ratchet', but what's your ID number? You know the deal." The guard reiterates tiredly.
"Huh? Uh… I… Don't have one of those?" Ratchet says, confused.
The guard sighs, hanging his head for a moment before frowning.
"Ha, ha, very funny. Stop joking around and just give me your number, kid. You know I can't let you in without it, and gate duty is bad enough with how boring it is without having kids like you bothering me." The guard says impatiently. "So, again, what's your ID number?"
"Wha—Hey! I'm no kid!" Ratchet argues with a frown, pointing up at him. "And again, I don't have one!"
"Really? Cause you look like one, shorty. How old are you? Shouldn't you be in the Academy right now?" The guard questions, raising a bemused eyebrow.
"I'm twenty years old!" He answers, crossing his arms. "I'm a fully-grown adult man!"
The guardscoffs.
"Sure you are, kid." He says. "Why not go the full mile and say you're twenty-one? Then you'd be able to score booze and stuff."
Ratchet throws his arms up at the man as he looks at Clank over his shoulder, gauging for his opinion on this. Clank only shrugs.
Ratchet then scoffs with a disgruntled breath, not expecting his first meeting with the Lombaxes to be arguing whether or not he's a literal child.
"Well, back where I'm from, I ain't a kid, alright?" Ratchet calls up to him. "Why can't you just let me in, now?!"
The guard laughs, making him frown.
"And where is that, huh? Your tree fort?" He asks amusedly. "Playing doctor and house and stuff with your other adults? Ha!"
"No, the other dimension, dick!" Ratchet says, starting to hope that not all the other Lombaxes were as blatantly rude as this guy.
The guard's laughter immediately ceases at his declaration, however, prompting him to shoot a confused gaze back down at Ratchet, furrowing his brows.
"Say what now?" He asks, sounding unimpressed.
"Yeah! I'm from the last dimension! The one you guys ran from when Tachyon attacked?" Ratchet answers with a smile, finally feeling like this argument will finally end as he manifests the Dimensionator into his hand, proudly holding it up. "See? I even have the Dimensionator right here, too! And now that I've proven I'm a grown-ass adult and not a child, how about you let me in so I can finally meet the Lombaxes?"
And as the guard leans over slightly to get a good look at the device in his hand, Ratchet holds a smug smile, always enjoying being able to prove a jerk wrong like this, and in such a blatant manner, too. Maybe this guy will actually apologize now, and stop calling him some stupid kid that plays in tree forts and—
"Yeah, nice try, punk. Very funny." The guard suddenly says, shaking his head as Ratchet's smile falls. "If you actually paid attention to your history class—which I think you should be in right now instead of bothering me by mouthing off about Tachyon and whatnot—you'd know it looks nothing like that. It was, like, a hat when we evacuated!" He argues, throwing a hand up.
Ratchet opens his mouth to ask him if he was actually serious right now, but Clank surprisingly beats him to the punch.
"I must say, you seem to be rather unprofessional!" Clank pipes up in an annoyed tone. "And this device looks different than the 'hat' version because the original was destroyed, and I had to make repairs—"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I don't wanna hear it." The guard cuts him off, waving his hand. "I know I should report you in to drag your ass back into the Academy instead of playing hooky and messing with me right now, but I honestly can't be bothered to deal with all of that right now. So, go ahead and just run off with your little toys now before you give me a headache. And don't come back until you're ready to give me your number, kid."
"What?! Hey, we're being—" Ratchet calls before the guard steps away, out of sight.
"…Serious." He groans with a slump before looking over at Clank. "Can you believe this? Me, a kid?"
"Well… While I must admit you do act like one sometimes," Clank says to his chagrin, "That guard did not appear to be a nice person. But… What do you propose to do now? We do not have an identification number that we apparently need to gain access to their city."
Ratchet holsters the Dimensionator—or his 'toy'—into his Arsenal once more with a hum as he looks onto the wall going off in either direction.
And staring at it, he gets an idea.
"We find another way inside." He says, beginning to walking along the wall, taking out his OmniWrench—to Clank's worry.
"Erm… Are you sure this is wise, Ratchet?" Clank asks. "It would hardly be a good first impression to your people if you were arrested by the authorities."
"And what other choice do we have, Clank? They won't listen to 'some kid'." He repeats in a mocking tone of the guard. "I'd say first impressions were spoiled a bit ago, anyway."
Clank eyes him curiously.
"You really are disgruntled by his comment, are you?"
"Of course I am!" He says indignantly, throwing his hands up. "I didn't nearly die saving three galaxies, time itself, and beating Tachyon just to be insulted by some guy who probably sits on his ass all day!" He fumes. "I swear, if everyone else ends up being like that guy, then I'm leaving."
Clank just sighs with a shake of his head, but Ratchet meanwhile begins tapping on the metal wall with his Wrench as he walks along it, waiting to hear the tell-tale ring of a hollow spot behind the metal plating for him to enter through, hopefully being some kind of maintenance shaft. Whether or not it's big enough to enter, he'll cross that bridge when he gets to it.
Eventually though, after a few minutes of walking (and Clank trying to convince him to just try talking to the guard again, despite how rude he is), the wall rings instead of thuds as his wrench taps against it, making Ratchet stop.
"Bingo." He says with a smile, readying his Wrench for a swing.
"Ratchet—" Clank begins to chide him.
Before he can finish, Ratchet slams his Wrench into the wall, and a small rectangular panel folds in where the Wrench hit it, allowing Ratchet to easily pry it off to reveal a surprisingly spacious passageway just a little larger than him, prompting him to give a small fist pump. He walks into it and pushes onto the plate on the other side, finding the other half popped off easily, emerging into a small alleyway between a couple of buildings inside the city.
"Wow, for an advanced race, these guys suck at making walls." Ratchet says amusedly, stepping out of the shaft. "Who builds a hole into their walls? That was way too—"
"Hey!" He hears a familiar voice call out.
Ratchet freezes, and he slowly looks over to his side to find the guard from the gate standing a few yards away from him, looking very unhappy.
"You're just a real dumbass, ain't ya kid?" He asks. "Not only do you not know what a Dimensionator looks like, but you also don't know that the emergency exits have built-in sensors expressly made to keep idiots like you from sneaking in and out and breaking stuff?"
Despite the hot water he now founds himself in, Ratchet scowls, dragging a hand down his face before pointing at him.
"How many times do I have to tell you?! I'm not a kid, for crying out loud!"
"Shut your trap. You're coming with me so your parents can pick you up and put you in timeout." The guard says as he starts walking over to him, OmniWrench in hand. "Now just be a good boy and sit your ass there instead of annoying me even more."
"We should listen to him, Ratchet." Clank quietly advises him, strapped to his back. "It is best to not make enemies of your own people. This will give you an ample opportunity to calmly explain everything."
"Yeah, what your bot said." The guard agrees, getting closer. "Just make this easy for all of us, kid."
Ratchet scowls as he starts to slowly raise his hands in surrender.
Never had he felt so disrespected! He expects this kind of treatment from Qwark or Nefarious or any of the villains he's had to fight, but his own people? When was the last time this guy was in a fight for his life, huh? Probably never, judging by the sloppy way he held his Wrench. Just look at him! Ratchet could run circles around this guy any day of the week!
Wait… Running…
A mischievous grin slowly crawls onto his lips as that last thought gives him an idea.
Clank, however, notices it with concern.
"Ratchet?" He asks.
"So, you think I'm a kid, huh?" Ratchet asks the guard casually, hands still raised.
The guard scoffs.
"Obviously. I mean, just look at you!" He stops as he points his Wrench up and down his body. "Not to mention you're pretty shrimpy, too. You should eat a burger sometime, kid, it'll stunt your growth."
"Then you should have no problem catching some kid, right?"
The guard furrows his brows.
"What are you—"
Ratchet immediately sprints off down the alleyway with a laugh, right past the stunned the guard, who takes a moment to register what was happening before he quickly scrambles for a communicator on his belt, beginning to run after Ratchet.
"H-Hey! We've got an intruder by gate seven making a break for it!" He hears the guard yell behind him.
Ratchet laughs at him, looking over his shoulder to confirm his suspicion that yes, this guard did in fact fail to run and gun as he predicted, looking like he was out of breath already from running for ten seconds.
But as he turns ahead, his eyes widen as he finds himself popping out of the alley, and making eye contact with a Lombax man who happened to be on the sidewalk in front of it, with his look of surprise being the last thing Ratchet sees before he tries to stop.
"W-Woah! Look—" Is all Ratchet manages to let out as he crashes into the man with a cry, sending them both down to the ground.
But as Ratchet picks himself up with a groan, looking up, he suddenly freezes and gasps as he now sees the full city in front of him, with shiny buildings all around, dozens and dozens of Lombaxes out and about that were all different colors, heights, and genders—some of which were walking past him and the Lombax man with confusion as they both laid on the sidewalk, with one even being a Lombax child pointing at them saying 'Mommy, look!'
At the same time, there were a few hovercars driving on the road next to him, Ratchet able to make out even more Lombaxes inside of them, and in the buildings on the street, able to see through the windows to see Lombaxes at work in their everyday jobs, manning cash registers, making food, typing away at terminals, or just otherwise going about their business.
And as Ratchet stares at it all, this whole world in front of him, seeing just a normal, everyday scene of a Lombax city… It evoked a surprisingly potent feeling of happiness as a smile of awe finds its way onto his face.
This… This was it, this was really it! His people's home!
After all those years of loneliness and pondering about where his people were, he is finally there—Here! All those nights spent staring at the night sky as a child, wondering which star belonged to his people's home planet, wondering if he would even be able to know who they were, let alone meet them, with that dream feeling further and further away as the years went by, but still lingering in the back of his mind no matter what.
But now, he didn't have to wonder anymore! This was it! This is where the Lombaxes lived! He could see a hundred right now! Men, women, children, going about their business, not as the only Lombax in the universe, but just one of thousands living in this city, right here! Just where was he going to start—
"Jeez, watch where you're going, kid!" The Lombax man he ran into says beside him as he too starts to pick himself up with a scowl. "There is literally traffic right next to us!"
"Huh? O-Oh, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Ratchet apologizes, quickly getting up while reaching a hand out to the man, who takes it as he helps him up—his mind not failing to scream at him that he was touching another Lombax, too. "I didn't see you!"
The man scoffs as he brushes off his clothes, looking very casual, and Ratchet seeing that his fur wasn't yellow or white, but grey, making him find it very odd to see.
"Yeah, well, try looking ahead instead of slamming into people." He says with a frown.
But before he could apologize once more, Clank grabs his attention.
"Ratchet!" Clank yells, pointing behind them from his back.
"Get back here!" The guard calls out from the alley, still running and panting, suddenly reminding him that he was still being chased.
"Crap! Right!" Ratchet says, immediately running down the sidewalk, and dodging Lombaxes who don't already get out of the way as the man he ran into just shakes his head with a huffed breath before resuming his walking.
"Ratchet, just what do you think you're doing?" Clank scolds him. "Just stop before you make this worse for you!"
"Hey! If he's gonna insult me like that, he's gotta earn it!" He replies, glancing over his shoulder to confirm that the guard was still chasing him down the sidewalk, and saying something into the communicator in his hand.
But as he runs, Ratchet looks down and smiles to see that he remembered to put on his hoverboots today, planning to go for a ride sometime before Clank surprised him with his 'project'.
Time for a little joyride.
Ratchet hops up slightly and activates his hoverboots to start flying down the road next to him, dodging and weaving between the hovercars driving along. He has an eager grin plastered on his face as he flies down the street, ignoring the few drivers who lean out and yell at him to call him an idiot for blocking the road if they didn't already honk at him.
He takes in the sights of the buildings around him, awed at the fact that this is what Fastoon used to look like. Was supposed to look like. He couldn't believe this is what he'd been missing for his whole life! And at seeing such a prosperous city, he couldn't help but feel glad that he gave Tachyon what was coming to him, if this is what he took away from him and his people.
But as he marvels at the city flying past him in between checking the road in front of him, he notices some kind of a camera drone starting to follow him from above. He looks at it and gives an amused wave before Clank yells out once more.
"Ratchet, look out!"
Ratchet looks forward, and suddenly sees many guards like the one back at the gate begin to line up in the road in front of him, forming an impromptu barricade as they hold their Wrenches up defensively, preparing to stop him if he doesn't first.
"Halt! You're under arrest by order of the City Guard!" One of them calls out. "Stand down!"
"Don't think so!" Ratchet replies.
Ratchet quickly gives himself a quick boost to hop onto a parked hoevercar in front of them, and then boosts up onto the side of the building next to them before flying across the wall and passing right by them, giving them a salute as they gawk at him in disbelief.
He flips off the wall with a laugh and resumes flying down the road in his chase.
"How did he do that?!" He hears one of the guards ask in disbelief.
Ratchet laughs as he turns around once more, no longer having to dodge hovercars from the guards shutting down the road to form their barricade.
But up ahead, he could see another one preparing to stop him, but looking to his right, he sees a ladder leading up to the top of one of the buildings.
He quickly boosts sideways off of the road and grabs the ladder before scurrying up onto the roof, finding no one else on top of the buildings with him. He looks over the edge and sees the few guards down at the road begin to scramble to run for the ladder to chase after him, except for one who appears to be talking in a communicator.
"Phew, good, nice place for a breather." He tells Clank behind him as he rests his hands on his knees with a chuckle.
"You would not have the need for a breather if you only listened to me, Ratchet!" Clank angrily chastises him. "We have only been in this dimension for maybe ten minutes, and you are already making enemies!"
Ratchet scoffs.
"I'm not making enemies, Clank. Just having a little fun with the authorities. There's a difference!" He says pointedly.
"And what, pray tell, is the difference?" He asks with zero amusement.
"They're not shooting at me. If they really are an enemy, I'd be dodging fire instead of hovercars and guards who can't run!" He says, planting his hands on his hips.
But just as he finishes, they suddenly hear a door burst open on the rooftop across the street from them, and look over two guards funnel out and aim blasters at them.
"Stop running!" One guard yells out to him. "Or we will be forced to incapacitate you for your own safety!"
And as Ratchet blankly stares at authorities who were indeed about to shoot him, he need not to have looked to sense Clank slowly turning his head to squint at him.
"'Just a little fun', hm?"
"Oh, come on, Clank! They're not going to shoot someone they think is a kid! They're only bluffing to try and scare me so that I can—"
A shot suddenly whizzes by his head, making him yelp as they begin to open fire, prompting him to start running across the roof—to the dismay of the guards who finally made it up the ladder.
"How did you miss that?!" He hears one of the shooting guards yell to her partner. "He was at point blank range, standing still, and you missed him!"
"Hey, when was the last time we had to actually shoot someone, huh?!" He retorts. "I don't see you hitting him, either!"
"Shut up!"
Ratchet activates his hoverboots once again and starts hopping from rooftop to rooftop, dodging the guards' lousy shots. And luckily, with how many were flying right past him, Ratchet recognizes them as nonlethal stun bolts, which made him feel only a little better at being shot at by his own people.
"Ratchet, just surrender before you get hurt!" Clank tells him. "We have nothing to gain from fleeing!"
"Oh, yes we do!" Ratchet argue. "Their respect!"
"What?!"
As he flies along an especially long rooftop, a guard suddenly bursts out from a door in front of him, and Ratchet could see him ready his Wrench for a swing.
However, with his all-too perfected battle reflexes, he narrowly ducks under the swing and gives him a two-finger salute as he flips around before continuing his escape, making the guard just gawk at him, glancing between him and his Wrench, wondering how the hell he managed to dodge it.
With bolts still whizzing past him, now coming from occasional guards posted on the street below, Ratchet eventually sees that the line of buildings he was running across end, making him screech to a halt. The door to this roof slams open as well, and three more guards empty out onto the roof with him, all armed with blasters pointed at him.
"Just stop this already!" A guard yells impatiently. "You have nowhere to run! Just submit and no one gets hurt!"
Ratchet stares at them, his mind racing and his heart pumping, and then he looks over the edge, and luckily sees an array of pipes far down below going between some industrial-looking buildings.
Clank sees this as well, along with the grin beginning to grow on his face.
"Ratchet." Clank says sternly. "Do not."
Ratchet looks back to the guards, and calmly raises his hands, prompting them to slowly walk over, still pointing their blasters.
"Alright, don't move, or we will—"
"See ya!" Ratchet says as he backflips off the roof, making the guards rush to the edge in panic.
"HEY!" One cries out.
"Why did he do that?!" Another says in shock.
"Did he just kill himself?!" One asks in shock. "I didn't sign up for this!"
Ratchet switches into his Grindboots in the air, making him thank his lucky stars once again that he always keeps his Arsenal on him, and expertly lands onto the pipes, disdainfully cushioned by Clank's heli pack, grinding across them as he turns around to wave at the guards, who were still frozen in shock.
"Oh, yes," Clank says sourly, packing up his heli pack blades. "Because a kid would not do something so reckless like jump off a building. Flawless logic, Ratchet."
"At the very least, I want to show them I'm a kid with skills." Ratchet corrects him.
"Do not misconstrue my aiding you with your fall with me agreeing with your pursuit." He says bitterly.
"Duly noted!"
Down below, more guards appear and resume shooting at him, but Ratchet easily dodges them as he flips and jumps from pipe to pipe, wanting to show off a bit as he easily dodges their poor marksmanship.
"Who taught these guys how to shoot?" Ratchet laughs, looking down at them. "They're almost as bad at shooting as they are at building—"
"Ratchet, look out!"
He looks up just in time to see that the pipes end into the wall of a large building. Not having enough time to maneuver out of the way, Ratchet bails off the pipes with a cry and down onto the ground, his fall once again cushioned by Clank's heli pack.
Now face to face with a wall, he looks to his right, but sees no alleys.
He looks to his left and is met with the same sight.
He hears running from behind, and he slowly turns with a sigh to find at least a dozen guards pointing their guns at him, with even more coming down the road.
"Just… Surrender!" One guard calls out, nearly out of breath from running after him. "You've… Got nowhere … To run!"
"Ratchet." Clank says angrily. "I swear to the stars that if you try—"
"Yeah, yeah. They earned it. I guess." Ratchet rolls his eyes as he kneels and raises his hands into the air.
And as a guard cautiously moves in with cuffs as Clank sighs a breath of relief, Ratchet looks up to see that the camera drone from before was still following him.
It then flies a little closer to get a better look at him, and Ratchet gives it a smile and a wink as the guard slaps cuffs on him, making Clank sigh with a disapproving shake of his head.
As far as first impressions go, that could've gone a lot worse, if he did say so himself.
Writing this, I couldn't believe how sparse I made Ratchet's feelings at meeting the Lombaxes for the very first time, basically yada-yada-ing this defining moment of his life in, like, 2 half-assed paragraphs. So, hopefully it has a bit more weight to it this time around!
And rewriting this made me so glad I already have the action parts done, as 2 years later, I still hate writing action, so thanks, past me, for doing the sucky bits so I don't have to!