Where had Clank been for so long?

Ratchet was still sitting on the couch. It seemed as if he hadn't moved from it yet today. The hero only got up a few times, either to use the bathroom or simply to get supplies for his frustrating meal. At the moment, the lombax was going through all the channels on the holo-TV, nibbling away the last remnants of a bag of potato chips and grumbling to himself. He wondered where his best friend might be and what was keeping him so late that it was already evening. "I wonder if he's left me too," the orange one growled to himself, "He can stay outside for all I care if he doesn't want me anymore..."

But suddenly his TV flickered.

"Do I have no reception or what," before he could get up, a bright light came on, blinding Ratchet. As it faded, he saw a familiar masked face on the screen, its red optics meeting his green eyes. "Ratchet," Victor had hacked in and his voice could be heard loudly, "You and I have unfinished buisness! Go on, speak up. I can hear you!"

"...What do you want from me," the hero stared darkly at the robot, who immediately got to the point, "Let's finish it. And let's do it where it all started...come to Quartu and face me!" The rebuffed one raised the camera he was speaking into and his eyes then began to glint darkly.

"Oh, and to give you a good motivation..."

He was now filming his two victims. Clank and Kit were both tied to an electrical pole on Quartu, the planet where Clank was built. The yellow one was on stand-by, but the silver one was still in tact, looking desperately into the camera. He had bumps and scrapes on his small body and scratches were also visible. Ratchet finally opened his eyes. His hands were shaking as if changed and he came closer to the television at the sight of his tortured friend, "...Clank...Kit..."

"Go on you two, call for your hero," Victor's mocking voice came from behind him, but there was no movement from the little bots. The former general flashed his grimace at the camera again and finished his call, "I give you three hours to get to Quartu. Fight me, and try to save your friend!"

And one last time, his optics scowled at the lombax, "And Ratchet...don't keep me waiting!"

The call ended, but the lombax thought he heard a saw, as Victor turned off the camera. Ratchet stood in front of the holo-TV with trembling hands and for the first time that week he felt something other than sadness or hatred. His heroism came back stronger than ever. His best friends were in the clutches of the Heavy Vikings and he didn't know how long they would last. Now it was finally time to pull himself together.

The lombax ran into the bedroom, loudly opened the wardrobe and rummaged through his things. First the shoes he always wore, then his familiar orange shirt and finally his omniwrench. He no longer had a blaster or other weapons, but he still wanted to face the battle with his trusty weapon. But before he could start running, reality hit him again. He would not be able to defeat the extremists on his own and even if his heart still ached at the thought, he desperately needed it against the villains.

He needs help... he needs her.

By now it was evening. Ratchet ran through the streets and finally arrived at the building where his actual apartment was located. He couldn't deny it any further. He would need Rivet's help to defeat Victor. She probably never wants to see him again, but if he could manage to explain what happened without arguing, then perhaps the rebel would put aside her resentment for this brief moment. The lombax stepped inside and immediately into the elevator that took him upstairs. Once on the floor, he immediately found the door to his former apartment and hesitated briefly before knocking on the door.

He wondered if the other lombax would hear the knock.

Inside the apartment, Rivet sat alone at the kitchen table. She lingered quietly, waiting for Kit, who for some reason had not yet returned, even though it was late. Still with sorrow in her heart, the rebel just wanted to go to bed until she heard a heavy knock on the door, followed by a familiar voice.

"Rivet! Rivet, please let me in!"

The female white lombax heard correctly. Her ex was standing at the door and asked her to come in like a wild man. Was he out of his mind? Rivet simply remained seated and then gave an emotionless answer to the knock, "Go away!" Ratchet, on the other hand, didn't stop knocking. He absolutely had to tell her exactly what had happened, but if she wouldn't let him in, he would have to fight Victor alone. But then came a flash of realization. His best friend always hid a spare key card under the doormat in case the orange one lost his. He quickly picked it up and breathed a sigh of relief. Rivet had not yet discovered it and thrown it away, as if he was using it to finally get in.

The beeping of the door was then clearly heard by the rebel.

"Are you crazy," she stood up angrily and glared at the male lombax, who threw up his hands in surrender, "Listen. I know I'm the last person you want to see. But please listen to me...it's about Clank and Kit!" "What," she stared questioningly at the orange one, who finally lowered his hands, "It's Victor! He got them both. I have three hours to fly to Quartu to fight him or Clank and Kit will die. I can't win against him alone...I need your help." Ratchet hoped to make the rebel realize that the situation was serious.

But instead of Rivet exhaling in shock, the look on her face only got angrier.

"You really are the worst," the rebel suddenly announced, causing the hero to raise his eyebrows questioningly, "Do you think you can get away with making me forget what you've been doing to me lately? Do you think I'm that stupid?" "Rivet, it's the truth, I swear it," Ratchet tried not to let the situation escalate without making any noise, but unfortunately to no avail.

Their last argument was imminent.

"Get out," Rivet pointed to the door, "You're nothing but a lying asshole." "I'm the asshole here," now the orange one got angry too and raised his hand, "Now please keep your cheeky mouth closed and listen to me!"

"I've heard enough from you," the rebel crossed her arms angrily in front of her chest while her ex clenched his fists, "You made me fall in love with you...then break my heart...I don't want this anymore. I should have stayed alone. The way you've treated me the last few days has been the last straw."

"You weren't the innocent either," the male lombax replied, "How many times did you let me down? How many times did you want it when I wasn't in the mood? Was I just a toy for you when you felt like it, or what?" But that only made Rivet angrier, so the lombax lady threw her arms down, "Don't blame it all on me now, mister! YOU were out late getting drunk, YOU insulted me, YOU made out with your ex when we were together...if anyone's to blame and not honest, it's you!" That was the final blow. Ratchet had finally had enough, "Okay...should I be honest? Sometimes I think back to the discussion in Zurkies when we fought the Emperor. Where you accused me of being too scared to look for the other lombaxes and said your fear made sense...I should have said *then go back to your swamp hole*!"

Then silence fell, and Rivet wore only an emotionless look, "Can you repeat that?"

"YOUR STINKING. FUCKING. SWAMP HOLE," Ratchet yelled again.

It was completely silent again. Ratchet had loudly insulted Sargasso, Rivet's home since childhood, and you could see her knuckles trembling slightly. Immense anger was building up in the rebel and it seemed as if Ratchet had also reconsidered his words. He had crossed a line and the orange hero raised his head again, "Rivet...I..."

And then suddenly someone jumped at him.

Rivet clung to his body with her legs and struck wildly with both fists at the lombax, who tried to tear his ex away from him. Finally he went down and tried to block the blows that the rebel was unleashing on him. The pain factor was heightened by the iron prosthetic also clenching into a fist and Ratchet slowly let his guard down. With a quick move, he jerked both feet up and kicked Rivet against the kitchen table with full force. The white girl didn't care, however, and got straight up and ran to the kitchen shelves.

She opened the drawers and threw all sorts of things at the hero that could hurt him. Glasses, tupperware and small pots flew at Ratchet, who put his back up to protect himself. Glass shattered and his shouting for her to stop ended the parade of throws. Both lombaxes stared at each other, stunned and hateful. Like wild predators, they waited for their opponent's next move, which Ratchet finally made. He slid over the kitchen table and wanted to go for the tackle, but his ex evaded him at that moment. Instead, he banged on the fridge and held his shoulder for a moment, cursing.

Only for Rivet's roar to upset him.

She knocked him over and the two of them tumbled into the living room like a big ball of hair, where the rebel sat back down on the hero. Once again, Ratchet was hit with fists, which he barely managed to block until he counterattacked. He rolled Rivet over onto the ground and was now on top, where he went on the attack. The hero hit the blocking Rivet a few times, who suddenly rammed her knee against his torso and the orange one flinched.

The rebel scrambled away from him and grabbed his skull. Now the white rebel slammed Ratchet's head against the ground several times and he was unable to free himself from her grip. Then Rivet stopped and wrapped her iron arm around his neck and her legs clamped around his waist. In a chokehold, the hero in orange stood up, gasping, while his ex clung to his back like a spider monkey. She used to do this in her fun training sessions back on Sargasso, but this time Rivet was really trying to squeeze the air out of her ex, who was stammering to free himself. Several times he rammed his back with her on it against the couch, some walls and even against the big holo TV, but Rivet didn't let go.

The next wall battering ram even caused the wall to crack.

The violent impact actually loosened Rivet's grip and this was Ratchet's chance. With all his strength, he threw the pretty rebel around his shoulder against the cupboard opposite, which collapsed in the process. It took a moment for the orange lombax to open his eyes in shock and walk over to the breaking point. But the look would prove to be a mistake, as Rivet hammered him directly over the head with a wooden plank, causing Ratchet to stagger away from her. The rebel then got up again herself and threw the wood away and by then Ratchet had regained his composure. Panting, bruised and scratched, both lombaxes stared angrily at each other and nothing seemed to stop the fight. What followed was a loud yell from Rivet directed at Ratchet.

"STUPID ASSHOLE," she screamed.

"OH THANK YOU, THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO SAY," came back sarcastically.

They both ran towards each other again, wrestled with each other and then broke the small living room table. Back on his feet, Rivet's left fist rammed into Ratchet's face, to which he also responded with a punch to hers. She was the tough one, he thought to himself. Then she should take it if she can dish it out. But then the rebel kicked his stomach again and rammed her elbow against his back, causing the lombax in orange to go belly first to the ground. This was the chance for the white lombax lady and so she lifted him up again, rammed his face against the wall and her knee against his back so that he couldn't get free.

And with her prosthesis, she pulled violently on his lion like tail.

The pain was extreme. It almost felt like it was about to be ripped off and Ratchet frantically tried to stop himself from thinking that might even happen, "ARGH...STOP...DAMN IT STOP!" But Rivet didn't think about stopping, instead she pulled even harder, making her ex's agonized screams even louder. The orange one waved his arms backwards. He struggled to find a way to stop the rebel. Finally, his hands reached the shoulder of her prosthetic arm and then it happened.

He detached her from the rebel.

Without thinking, the hero turned around on the staggering Rivet and then struck her head with her iron arm, sending Rivet to the edge of the couch. The force, however, also brought the male lombax to the floor, before some shelves hanging above him fell on his head and broke. Surrounded by wood, he painfully shook off the dust and stared over at his Rivet. Only now did he realize what he had done. Shocked, he looked at his hands, where the prosthesis still lay, and then back at the rebel, who had some blood on the corner of her mouth and was even starting to cry now. Ratchet immediately threw the arm at her feet and tears began to form in his eyes.

What did the two turned into?

"What have I done," he whispered to himself, sobbing, and came closer to Rivet, who was holding onto the stump and pressing her face against his left shoulder, "Rivet..." "Go away..." came quietly at first, until all at once the rebel shouted loudly at the hero, "GET AWAY!" Ratchet flinched backwards until both lombaxes gave free rein to their grief and remorse. Both sobbed out loud until the orange one collected himself a little, "I'm so sorry, Rivet..." She listened to him, but said nothing. Ratchet put his hands against his face briefly before being honest with her again this time, "I love you..."

""DAMMIT RATCHET...I love you too, but how am I supposed to live with myself if I continue this," Rivet said. Their relationship had reached a point where they were both unsure whether it could be saved at all. The male lombax collected himself again and then continued, "Rivet... I'm not lying. Clank and Kit are in danger...Victor has them...I can't do it without you. You are far more important to me than anything else." The rebel lifted her head up and glared at the hero, but then he made a suggestion, " I'll tell you something...please help me just this once, and when we've saved them both...then I'll get out of your life if this is what you want. Just one word from you and I'll go...but please help me save our friends."

He swallowed hard and wiped his tears, "They shouldn't pay for this because of us!"

Rivet's eyes had looked into Ratchet's green ones again. That look on the hero's face really said he meant it. And if Kit and Bolts were really in danger, then she would have to do something. What kind of partner would she be to Kit then? "Okay...I'll help you one last time..." the rebel stood up and tried to reach for her prosthesis, but then Ratchet was quicker. He picked it up himself, straightened up and reattached it to its companion. When he was finished, he rested his forehead apologetically against her arm and got back to his feet, "Thank you. Let's go!" It was decided. Rivet would help the orange lombax one last time and finally put an end to these Heavy Vikings. Victor should finally pay for all his deeds and after that only the future can tell what will become of the two lombaxes who were supporting each other to the door.

"Ouch...you really kicked my ass," came the orange lombax with a slight grin.

But Rivet also said something about that, "You know, Ratchet...you kicked mine too..."