I was talking with my friend KenyaPF ( PaxtianKenya on Twitter, check her stuff out!) and she showed me a drawing she made of Ratchet's mom as a fun little 'what if' of Ratchet's mom raising him on Veldin, and I instantly got such a vivid picture of what such a story would entail that I just had to write it.
The picture is the cover for this story, but if you want to check out the whole thing, see it on my Archive of Our Own (AO3) version of this story, and on Kenya's Twitter, too!
I hope you enjoy the story!
"No, no, no, faster, dammit!" Kaden curses at himself as he runs, trying to ignore the stinging in his eyes from the ash falling as Fastoon burns around him; his worst nightmare fully realized.
Just why did Alister have to be so STUPID to let that goddamn Cragmite get his claws on their technology? For the good of the galaxy? For the Lombaxes? How could he seriously believe that?!
If Kaden hadn't watched hundreds of innocent people die during the evacuation of the initial onslaught, he'd scoff and laugh at just how wrong Alister was to trust that cockroach. If he wasn't too preoccupied with making sure that everyone fully evacuated to the portal, he'd be sure to laugh right in his stupid face for doing something so asinine despite Kaden's constant protests against the very notion.
But right after everyone who made it got evacuated through the portal to the new dimension, one of those dirty Drophyds managed to pop a shot off to functionally destroy the Dimensionator, and while they were lucky it didn't cause a Dimensional Cataclysm, it meant that Kaden was unlucky enough to have gotten effectively exiled from his safe haven, just as Alister did.
And for that, he wanted to punch Alister in his stupid face for effectively damning him to death unless he manages to escape Fastoon and evade Tachyon long enough to repair it and follow everyone else through to their new home.
But that wasn't even the worst of it.
When Kaden was scanning over the crowd of panicking and injured Lombaxes funneling through the portal, he never saw his family.
So now, he was furiously sprinting to his home, broken Dimensionator strapped to his back, knowing that there couldn't possibly be anywhere else his wife and infant son could've been when Tachyon attacked, and praying to anything and everything that could possibly hear him that they were alright and safe in spite of all the dead bodies he was running past.
And if he found out that anything—anything —happened to either of them… Well…
He wouldn't just beat Alister for the stupid, STUPID mistake he made.
Kaden would kill him with his bare hands, if it's the last goddamned thing he does in this miserable bitch of a cruel universe.
Kaden at least felt grateful that the Praetorians fought back enough for Tachyon's forces to pull back to recoup for reinforcements, as it gave him a brief but necessary window for him to get home and get his family before they could escape the ruins that was now their home planet. Escape to where, he still didn't know, but anywhere but here, where the air was filled with smoke and ash and fire and stench of bodies of slain Lombaxes and Drophyds alike; littering the streets among crumbled buildings and homes. Anywhere but this living hell.
After what felt like an eternity of running, Kaden turns the corner of the road he uses to walk to work every day, seeing it devastated and littered with more bodies, and finally sees his home.
Or… What was left of it.
He stops for just a moment, seeing that the entirety of the second floor was nearly gone, clearly having been hit by a bomb that detonated nearby, as his neighbors' houses beside them were nearly gone entirely. He freezes, his mind assaulted with the split-second thought of his family's corpses laying inside, having been hit and stuck and having bled out, dying a lonely, painful death, their last thoughts being them wondering where Kaden was instead of saving them and letting them live instead of—
Kaden shakes his head to throw those thoughts away before sprinting once more, tears filling his eyes as a fierce snarl of determination contorts his face.
"No, they're alright! I'm coming!" He assures himself out loud, refusing to believe his mind or the icy cold feeling in his gut.
He runs up to the door, but doesn't bother wasting time opening it, instead charging into it and bashing it down with his shoulder, making it crash down onto the floor of his shaken living room while he nearly stumbles, frantically looking around.
"CALLIOPE?!" He cries out, eyes wide with both anticipation and fear, praying to everything that's holy that there'd be any response to confirm—
"Kaden!" His wife's relieved yet strained voice cries out from upstairs. "Q-Quick, we're in the nursery!"
He lets out a shaky, relieved breath at her response, not failing to notice that 'we' meant his son was alive, too.
"I'm coming!" Kaden calls out, rushing over to the stairs, shoving aside the fact that he could see the red and smoking sky above instead of the hallway like he normally could, able to hear his son's wails that brought even more relief to him, thanking everything that they were able to have been spared from this apocalypse.
He rounds the corner, bolting into the doorway of the nursery he and Cally spent a whole month decorating and painting, reduced to rubble as all but a single wall was toppled over.
Rubble that was now pinning her to the ground, her bottom half buried beneath its remains as she looks up at him from the ground with her emerald eyes, clutching their crying child to her chest as blood covers most of her face, staining and matting her yellow fur and hair.
"K-Kaden, you're alright!" She says, tears streaming down her cheeks as she smiles.
"Cally!" Kaden cries out in shock, immediately rushing over to kneel beside her, placing one hand on her bloody cheek, and the other upon his son's head, staring at both of them with wide eyes. "Y-You're bleeding! Are you alright? Is Kipler alright? Is—"
"I-I'm fine, Kay, my face just got clipped by a piece of the roof, it's okay." She says, letting out a strained chuckle of relief as tears continue to spill down her cheeks. "A-And Kipler's fine, too, I saved him before the wall came down. It's okay, Kay, it's okay."
"But you're stuck! Can you even walk?!" Kaden follows up, looking over to the rubble pinning down her body before scooching over and trying to lift with all his might. "I-I'll get you out of here, Cally! Just hang on! I-I just need to—"
"Kaden, please, don't hurt yourself, it's too heavy for you!" Cally says as Kaden lets out grunts of exertion, not able to move the rubble a single inch. "Go down to the garage, grab one of my jacks! Use it to lift this off me, and I can crawl out!"
"Y-Yeah, sure thing! Just hang in there, Cally! I'll be back!" He says with a firm nod, scrambling back up to rush back downstairs, through the living room and kitchen, and bursting into the caved-in garage, leaving many of both his and Cally's projects utterly destroyed in the mayhem.
He didn't care, however, beelining straight towards a cabinet where he knew she kept the jacks, throwing everything out of it and clanging onto the ground before he finds what he's looking for, and runs back upstairs to the nursery.
He wastes no time in immediately kneeling by her, placing the anti-gravity jacks as far into the rubble as he could reach before activating them, and to his relief, he sees the giant chunk of concrete start to slowly hover off of her, aided by Kaden continuing to lift it, and watches as Cally shuffles herself out from under it until she's fully clear.
And as she sits back up, kneeling and starting to brush herself off, Kaden lets go of the rock and slides over to kneel in front of her, taking her into a tight hug with their crying baby in between them, both of them shedding tears.
"I-I'm so glad you came, Kaden! I-I thought me and Kipler were going to—"
"Don't say that, I would never let anything happen to you two—ever!" He says fiercely, tears streaming out of his closed eyes as he buries his head into her shoulder. "I'm here now, Cally, it's alright—you're alright. It's okay. It's going to be okay."
"Just… Kay, w-why is all of this happening?" She asks, her voice beginning to shake as she uses her arm to let go of Kipler to instead wrap it around Kaden, returning the hug with a fierce, comforting grip. "There were explosions and gunshots a-and screams and—"
"Shh, it's okay." Kaden whispers, tightening his grip onto her. "Everything's going to be alright now. I'm fine, you're fine, Kipler's fine… We'll get through this, Cally. Like we always do."
"I… I hope so, Kaden." She whispers back, their son's crying starting to die down from both his parents embracing him. "Because it just feels like we're in hell right now."
And for a few minutes longer, they simply sit there together, hugging tightly onto each other, grateful that despite the living nightmare they now found themselves thrust into, that they at least had each other. That they had been spared from the terrible fate many unfortunately suffered just outside, and that they were able to live and breathe in each other's arms.
But then, after a few minutes, Cally takes a deep breath, finally calming down a bit more as she looks into Kaden's eyes.
"Well… Shouldn't we hurry back to the escape portal to the new dimension?" She asks while she begins to gently rock Kipler in her arms. "Like what the Council was saying?"
Kaden, however, only frowns, solemnly looking down as he shakes his head.
"No." He says somberly. "The Dimensionator was hit in the evacuation. It's just a fancy hunk of metal right now." He says, reaching behind him to show the damaged device himself, the gunshot that sealed its fate still clearly visible upon its chassis.
Her eyes go wide with worry and realization, looking between the Dimensionator and her husband's morose face, the reality sinking in as a cold feeling drops in her gut.
"We're… We're stuck here?" She asks with palpable fear, unconsciously clutching onto her son even tighter.
"In this dimension at least, yeah." Kaden confirms with a nod, putting the Dimensionator on his back once more. "But not on this planet. We need to leave, now. Before more of those walking tin cans show up to finish the job." He says, standing up while holding out his hand.
"But… Where?" She asks hopelessly, taking his hand to stand up as well—albeit a little shakily from being under that rubble. "Fastoon is our home… Was our home… Where else can we possibly go?"
"As far away as we possibly can." He says, turning towards her while placing his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "As long as we have the Dimensionator, Tachyon will hunt us down to the ends of the galaxy to get his dirty claws on it. Hell, even if we don't have it, he'll still try to find us, anyway. The point is that we need to avoid him and any of his forces by any means necessary, and that means we need to leave this place for good."
"I… Do we go to Vapedia, then?" Cally asks, quieted by the gravity of his statement, knowing that they were going to be hunted down just for having the gall to survive after failing to evacuate with everyone else. "I-I mean, I think I still have some friends from college that we could hide with or—"
"No. Too close. I don't doubt he'd manage to find us there in mere weeks." Kaden says, shaking his head as he lets go of her shoulders, instead turning back towards (what remained of) the door as she follows him, still cradling their baby boy. "We need to go further. Somewhere that will take him forever. Like… Another galaxy."
"What?!" Cally cries out, stopping in the middle of the living they were now in in shock. "Kaden, that's… That's… How are we supposed to live brand new lives in another galaxy?! Where can we possibly go?!"
"How are we supposed to live here?!" Kaden argues, throwing his hand around to the demolished home around them, the sounds of more crumbling buildings being heard outside amidst the smoke-covered sky. "Everyone we knew and loved are either in another dimension or dead, Calliope! And if we want a chance at joining the former without joining the latter, then we need to run and hide, because if the entire Praetorian Guard was no match for Tachyon, then neither will we." He says sternly.
Cally recoils a bit from his blunt reply as well as his raised tone, unconsciously tightening her grip onto their child who coos a bit in response to the contact. And upon seeing his wife's reaction, suddenly ashamed of blowing up like that, he sighs sadly while stepping over to hug her.
"I'm sorry, Cally." He whispers, closing his eyes with a frown. "I know this is all so sudden, and just terrifying as hell… But this is our life now. I'm scared, too. But I just want to make sure that you and Kipler are safe above all else. I love you both with all my heart, and I don't want to lose you." He says, tightening his arms around her.
Cally is a little surprised at first, but soon wraps her own arm around him as well, placing her head on his shoulder while closing her eyes, too.
"I know. I love you, too, Kay." She whispers back. "I just… Hate everything about this."
"So do I, but the universe isn't always a good place." Kaden returns, gently letting go of her. "But as long as we live in it, we have to make do. And that includes us finding a new home in another galaxy so that we can plan our next move."
Cally closes her eyes, taking a deep, shaky breath to calm her nerves a little more, trying to accept the reality as best as she can before she opens them again, looking into Kaden's eyes along with a solemn nod.
"Okay." She says. "So… What now?"
"Now… I guess we see if the ship managed to survive the bombing so we can get out of here." Kaden says with a shrug. "And if not, well… I guess we'll walk around until we find a working one."
Cally sighs again, hating how that plan just demonstrated the sheer catastrophe brought unto their world—their home—but is at least somewhat assured in the thought that soon, they would get to leave this place and all the ruins and death behind, however much it stung to do so.
She gives another nod as she steps beside Kaden, wordlessly reaching out for his hand before taking it into her own, holding it between them as they both walked towards the bashed-in front door, grateful for always feeling comforted by the small gesture of Kaden holding her hand during troubling times, silently telling her that no matter what life throws their way, she would always at least have him there by her side.
They would be able to get through this. Together, like he said. Like always.
Like always.
"A-Ah!" Cally winces as Kaden finishes up sterilizing the wound on her face, sitting across from him on the bed they rented from a motel situated on an asteroid a system over from Fastoon.
"Calm down, it's just a… Well, I was about to say 'little', but that gash is anything but." Kaden says wryly, cleaning up the rest of the blood from her face. "Although, considering that a whole roof fell on you, we should be thanking our lucky stars that cuts and gashes were all you got. I'm glad you and Kip were okay."
"I don't exactly feel okay, though." Cally says sadly, looking away as Kaden packs up the first aid kit he was using to treat her wounds now that they finally had a chance to rest. "It still stings pretty bad, honestly."
"Yeah, well, if you managed to get over that ship's carburetor falling onto your foot while fixing it that one time just fine, then I'm sure you can get over a few cuts." He replies with a small, amused smile. "And if it's hurting, then just do what you always do and yell out the most foul swears I'd ever heard in my life. Seems like your favorite medicine whenever you get hurt."
Cally gives a scoff, rolling her eyes, but unable to suppress a smile as she looks back to him.
"I was expecting you to be a bit less of a smartass than usual considering you had to save your wife and son from their collapsed home, but I guess the universe really can be cruel after all." She playfully returns.
"What can I say? It's basically just an unconscious coping mechanism at this point." Kaden replies as he places the first aid kit on the bedstand next to them. "And besides, if you didn't like smartasses, you never would've married one."
"You always have to pull that argument, don't you?"
"Only as long as you pretend you don't love it." He smugly returns, smiling. "Because I know you do."
While she would normally rebuttal against that argument for many minutes in an effort to not give him the satisfaction, being wiped out by everything from today's events leaves her with no energy to do so, prompting her to just simply roll her eyes once more with a nod.
"Yeah, you're right. I do." She says contentedly. "Love you."
"Love you, too." Kaden returns warmly, taking a moment to stare into each other's eyes before they lean in for a comforting kiss.
It is interrupted, however, as they suddenly hear their son start to stir and get a little upset laying on the bed next to them, prompting Cally to instinctively reach over to take him into her arms to comfort.
"Shh, there, there, mommy loves you, too, Kip." She says warmly, rocking him gently, but with a visibly tired smile that Kaden doesn't fail to notice.
"Here, let me hold him. You need to rest." He says soothingly, reaching over for their child. "It's been a long day."
"It's been a long day for you, too, you know." Cally weakly protests, albeit while handing over Kipler to allow Kaden to swaddle him in turn. "You need the rest, too."
"Yeah, but I'm not the one who had a house fall on them." Kaden replies, looking down onto their child. "Just lay down and enjoy the peace and quiet for the first time today."
"That I can't argue with." Cally returns as she scoots back from the edge of the bed to instead lay down onto it, Kaden in the meantime standing up and walking to the other side with Kipler so that he could lay down next to her, leaning against the headrest as he did so.
And for a few minutes, they do as he says; saying nothing and enjoying the silence, broken only by their little baby's soft cooing as he stirred in Kaden's arms, his mother and father looking at him with soft, warm smiles, never failing to enjoy how cute and utterly innocent their little baby boy was in moments like this—and also with slight envy at the fact he was completely ignorant to the catastrophic situation they found themselves in now.
And try as they might, they couldn't ever fully relax with that looming threat over them, causing Cally to give a deep sigh as she scoots over to snuggle closer to Kaden.
"So… What's the plan for tomorrow, then?" She asks softly. "I know we have to find a new home somewhere, but… Where? Bogon?"
"I haven't heard good things of Bogon, honestly." Kaden replies, shaking his head. "One of those galaxies pretty much run by a giant corporation. If we live there, we might as well be slaves to them."
"Hm. Shame. Lorna always said she wanted to go there sometime." Cally replies, reaching over to stroke Kipler's soft little ears.
"I was thinking Solana. Seems pretty similar to Polaris, and it's the Cazars' home galaxy." Kaden says. "Lombaxes aren't from there, so we don't have to worry about possibly being ratted out if Tachyon comes knocking, and Cazars and Lombaxes are similar enough that I'm sure they've got things we need there."
"I'll have to take your word for it. It's not like I'm exactly well-versed on things outside of Fastoon aside from Vapedia." She says. "Do you know where we'll go in Solana?"
"Somewhere on the outskirts, at least. Somewhere where not even Solanians would think to look for fugitives, let alone Tachyon, so the high-profile plants like Kerwan or Pokitaru are off-limits." He replies. "I know we're used to the city life, but… Until we find some way to get back with the rest of the Lombaxes, seems like we'll be living in some kind of rural community. Won't have as much luxuries, I guess."
"Well… I at least hear that the people in those places are nice, and the communities are pretty strong, too." Cally says before she turns her head to look up at Kaden's face with a smile. "And besides, I think the only one who'll suffer there is you, Mr. Bigshot Scientist. A mechanic like me will have all kinds of business from fixing tractors or land cruisers or whatnot." She says amusedly.
Kaden huffs a small laugh through his nose with an equally small smile, looking back down on her for a few moments before the smile fades, looking away.
"Yeah… I think you'll have to be alone for a bit, though." Kaden says solemnly. "In the beginning, at least."
"Wait, what?" Cally asks with sudden concern, propping herself up on her elbow instead of laying against him. "Why?!"
"Because like I said, Tachyon will hunt us down for the Dimensionator." Kaden answers, using a free arm to gesture to the broken device sitting on a chair next to them. "As long as it's still with us, we won't be safe. And as a Keeper, I need to keep it away from him at all costs to protect everyone else. So… While you and Kipler go off to find ourselves a new home, I'm going to have to make a few stops here in Polaris before I can think of joining you two."
"Wha—Kaden, no!" Cally says sternly, now fully sitting up while placing a hand on his shoulder with an urgent expression. "I was already goddamn terrified that I lost you back in that hellscape on Fastoon, and with everything happening now, I can't just let you leave us and put yourself in danger like that!"
"And I can't put you two in danger, either." Kaden rebuttals calmly with a frown, looking to her and then the child in his arms, gazing back up at him with his curious green eyes, chewing on his own tail. "As long as the Dimensionator's with us, we aren't safe. I need to hide it from Tachyon until we get ourselves back on our feet, let this all blow over, and then come back after it's fixed in the facility I'll hide it in to go back home."
"I… But… Kaden, I don't want you to go, Dimensionator or not!" Cally argues, leaning in to hug him tightly. "I don't care if you throw the damn thing in a black hole to destroy it and strand us here forever, because all I want is you here with me! Because with Fastoon gone, you're the only thing I have left in this universe!"
Kaden's a little taken aback by the sudden embrace, but he gives a sigh while wrapping an arm around her in return.
"That's not true. You still have Kipler, and your life, too." He replies softly. "And I want to make sure that remains the case. I can't in good conscience put you two in any more danger than you already are by throwing all my responsibility as a Keeper to the wind. This is for your good—our good, Cally."
"Don't say that. You sound like you're not coming back." Cally replies, closing her eyes as a tear rolls down her cheek.
"I'm not saying that, Cally. I intend on coming back, and I'll do everything I possibly can to make sure of it." Kaden assures her. "I won't even be gone for too long; only a few days at most. Just until I make sure we're safe enough to not worry about Tachyon ever finding us."
"Where are you even going, then? Because it sounds like you're thinking of going back to Fastoon—the most dangerous place in the universe we can possibly be, Kaden."
"I can't tell you. The less you know about what'll happen to the Dimensionator, the safer you'll be if—if Tachyon ever finds you. I was already scared out of my mind at the idea of you two already being gone when I ran to find you, and I don't ever want to have that same fear again. That's why I'm doing this, Cally. To ensure your safety." He states firmly, tightening his grip onto her even more. "And no matter what, I promise I'll be as careful as I possibly can so that I can hold you two in my arms again without fearing losing you. I promise."
Cally doesn't immediately respond, still hanging onto him as she sniffles, remembering the terror she felt while under that rubble of thinking that not only was she and their son about to die from this sudden apocalypse, but the idea that the love of her life had fallen victim to one of those gunshots or explosions she heard outside their destroyed home. It was a feeling she never, ever wanted to experience ever again, and hearing Kaden say that he'll have to leave to go into what might as well be a hornet's nest was bubbling that fear up once again.
But the idea that Tachyon will still hunt them down to the ends of the universe to find the Dimensionator in their possession… What he might do to them—to Kipler… It terrified her even more. Try as she might, she couldn't argue that despite the inherent danger, hiding the Dimensionator away from themselves was the best thing they could do to ensure their safety in this calamitous time.
She takes a deep, shaky breath, letting go of Kaden slightly to instead cup her hands onto his cheeks, staring into his eyes to see that behind the determined resolve he always had that made her fall in love with him, was also the same deep fear she had of him not returning.
"You promise?" Cally asks, deadly serious. "You won't try to be a hero, or be the cocky bastard you love to be, or anything like that? You will do what you need to do, and get the hell back to us safe and sound?"
"I do." He says resolutely with a nod, not skipping a beat. "I swear on my life, Calliope, that I will come back to you two. I promise."
"You better." She says before quickly leaning in to give him another sudden hug. "Because if you don't, Kaden, I swear on the stars, I will somehow find a way to beat your ghost into another death." She says, burying her head into his shoulder.
Despite the gravity of the topic, Kaden can't help but smile as he rests his head on her own shoulder as well, returning the hug.
"Don't worry. If it somehow came to that, then I deserve every bit of your beating." He says with some slight amusement. "I'm sorry I have to do this, Cally, but it's because I love you and Kipler with all my heart. I just hope you understand that much."
"I do." She whispers. "I love you, too, Kay. That's why I'm so scared of you doing this."
"I know." He says quietly, rubbing her back.
A minute of silence passes between the two, Kipler tucked in between their hugging bodies before Cally speaks up again.
"…Can we just spend the night holding each other like this?" She asks, not breaking the hug. "I know you promise to come back, but…"
"I was going to ask the same thing." Kaden replies with some amusement, letting go of her so that he could lay down in a more comfortable position for the night, Cally following suit as they each lay on their side, facing the other, and with Kipler snuggled on the bed in between them as they scoot closer to hug once more, savoring the other's touch.
They knew Kaden meant every word when he said he was going to come back from his mission to hide the Dimensionator, but the single yet horrifying thought of this being their last night together as a family was enough to scare them into savoring every single moment with the other in their arms, trying to make the best memory they possibly can, should the worst come to pass.
Nearly everything in their lives has been lost in just a single day, but at least they still had the most important thing in the entire universe: their family.
Snuggled together on a bed, their cute and sweet little child in their arms, the both of them beginning to softly speak about their favorite memories they've shared together:
Their first meeting at the Academy. The little pranks they pulled on each other. Their first date and all the clumsy awkwardness that came with teenage love—especially their first time together, as they both chuckled about. Cheering the other at their respective graduations—Kaden as a new Praetorian General, and Cally from a vocational college of mechanics on Vapedia—and them celebrating their big nights away, long into the night. Their wedding day, seeing the other dressed up so pretty and fancy and beaming with love, and most of all, the day they first laid eyes on the little bundle of fluff that was now sleeping in between them, now able to call themselves the proudest parents in the whole galaxy, just as they always wanted.
And as they continued to talk about their best, loving memories together long into the night, they couldn't escape the mental and physical exhaustion from the living hell that was today. Their conversation slowly begins to dwindle, eyelids falling heavy, and scooting even closer to each other before they let sleep take them, both scared of what the future may bring them starting tomorrow, but at least assured that for tonight—Just this night…
Things were okay.
"So, you know the plan?" Kaden asks as he and Cally stand outside their ship at the motel—thankfully having found that it survived the initial attack after all—placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Me and Kipler go to Solana and try to find the best, most remote place we can and call you to let you know where our new home is." Cally recounts with a nod. "And in the meantime, you hide the Dimensionator, and get your ass out of this galaxy as fast as possible so you can come back to us in one piece, making damn sure to call us when you do." She finishes particularly strongly, raising a finger to point at him as her other arm carries Kipler.
"That's right." Kaden replies with a nod and an amused smile, but having it quickly fade as he takes a hand off her shoulder to instead gently lower her pointed finger. "But you're missing something."
"And…"
Cally gives a deep sigh, looking away with a frown.
"And… If we don't hear you call in a week… It means you're… You're…"
She gulps, physically unable to say the word, absolutely refusing to entertain the possibility of that happening, but she doesn't need to as Kaden places both of his hands over hers with a sigh of his own.
"Gone." He finishes solemnly. "I know it's something neither of us want—me especially, obviously—But I want to make sure to emphasize it so that if—if the worst comes to pass, that you won't spend the rest of your life tormenting yourself about the false idea that I'm still alive. Or, even worse, have you try and look for me, and endanger yourself in the process, too. You understand that, right?"
Cally doesn't immediately respond, still looking away, but soon picks her gaze up off the ground and into Kaden's eyes, giving a small nod.
"I know." She whispers, tears beginning to glisten in her eyes. "But… I just hate that all of this is happening, Kay. I hate the idea that I can lose you like this, all because of some goddamn Cragmite who should've been crushed as an egg!" She cries, suddenly stepping over to take him into a tight hug.
Kaden's eyes also begin to fill with tears as he tightly wraps his arms around her, cherishing every single moment, the feel of her and Kipler's bodies against his own.
"I hate this, too, Cally. With every fiber of my being." He replies in a shaky voice. "I don't want to do this, either, but it has to be done if we want to live safely and with a chance of returning to everyone back in the new dimension. If we get through this catastrophe, then we can get through anything."
He hesitantly lets go of her just enough so that he could place a hand on her chin, lifting her head up a bit to give her a smile as they stare at each other through teary eyes.
"But what's most important is that you can get through anything, Cally." He says confidently and full of love, in stark contrast to the tears rolling down his cheeks. "Whether I live or not doesn't matter, as what does matter is that you'll live through this despite everything that's happened. You and our son. If I don't come back, I know it's going to be an absolute living hell for you at first… But you'll power through it and recover, just like you always do when times get tough.
"You may have to raise our son alone, on a new planet in a new galaxy, all alone while trying to build a safe home for him, but you'll do it, goddammit. You're the strongest, most resourceful, most dedicated, and most stubborn woman I've ever had the pleasure to meet, Cally, and it's exactly why I married you, and exactly why no matter what happens, you'll be the greatest mother in the entire universe." He continues, not breaking eye contact, nor dropping his smile, still holding on to her chin.
"I already made you a promise that I'll come back safe and sound, but I want you to make me a promise, now; That if I don't return to you and our son to wherever you'll call home… That you'll prevail. That you won't lose hope, and that you'll do anything and everything you can to rise above what else this universe will throw at you, and raise our son with as much dedication and love as you put with everything you do in life, and raise him to be a man that we both can be proud of. And, most of all, that no matter what… I will still be in your hearts, and that I will always, always love you two with every single iota of my being.
He lets go of her chin to grab her hands once more, squeezing them tightly.
"Can you promise me that?"
Cally blinks, taken aback by his heartfelt request, dripping with warmth and love and every positive emotion Kaden could ever muster in any kind of argument. And beside the dark reality that he was saying all of this with a firm belief that there is a chance he will die and be gone forever… Cally couldn't help but be encouraged by his words, giving a tearful nod as she too smiles.
"I promise, Kaden." She answers with a shaky breath, tears spilling down her cheeks as well. "I love you, too."
They both instinctually lean in to share one last long, passionate kiss together, Cally wrapping an arm around his neck, and Kaden's arms around her back, neither of them able to remember a kiss so emotional and passionate since their wedding day—with not even their first kiss as husband and wife holding a candle to the one they were having now. Full of love and desperation, wanting to give their all in showing the other just how much they loved them, as if Kaden ends up dying after they part here, then they want their last kiss together to be the best damn kiss they've ever had in their entire lives.
It only lasts for about a minute, but it felt like an eternity with how neither of them wanted to break away or let go, knowing that it could have been the last time they ever could. But, as with all good things, so too must this come to an end, lest they resign themselves to stand outside in this parking area forever.
Leaning away, breaking the kiss, they stare into each other's eyes for a few moments more before Kaden looks down, reaching into his pocket.
"Before I go, I at least want you to have this." He says, producing a folded paper, handing it to Cally.
Curiously, she opens it, and finds that it was one of their family pictures, with her and Kaden standing side by side, wearing happy grins while holding baby Kipler in between them, of whom was curiously looking into the camera—something Cally remembered being very glad about with how difficult it was to make him do so.
"I always kept it on me since we took it, so that no matter what, I always had you two with me wherever I went." He explains. "But if I'm gone… Then I want you to keep it so that you two always know that no matter what, I'm always with you, too, so that it comforts you like it did me."
"…Thank you, Kay." Cally says gladly, giving him a smile as she places it into her own pocket. "But it'll comfort me even more when—not if, when I give it back to you after you come back to us. Got it?"
"Loud and clear." He replies with some amusement, giving a quick salute before looking down at the little Lombax in her arms, leaning in to gently grasp his hand in between his fingers. "Don't worry, Kip. Daddy will be back to see you soon. I promise. Just try not to give your mom too much hell while I'm gone, okay?"
In response, Kipler only gives a giggle as Kaden shakes his little hand, making him huff a small laugh through his nose.
"Good. I love you, Kipler. I'll see you soon."
Kaden then plants a kiss on his forehead before leaning back up, looking into Cally's eyes once more, giving her a smile as well while placing a hand upon her cheek.
"And I'll see you, too, Cally. I love you." He says warmly, using his thumb to wipe away the tears on her cheek.
"I love you, too, Kay. Be safe." She replies, leaning in to give him one more quick hug.
"You too. I'm sure you'll pick a great home for us." He says, returning it.
"I hope so." She returns, finally letting go of him before taking a deep, shaky breath. "…Goodbye, Kaden. I'll let you know where we are."
"And I'll be looking forward to it." Kaden says with a nod and a smile, his eyes still misty. "Goodbye, Cally. Kipler. I'll let you know when I'm coming back."
Cally gives one more affirmative nod, and turns back to the ship behind her, opening its cockpit and placing Kipler in the baby seat, securing him into place for the long flight, thankful that their ship survived and all the baby essentials they made a point to keep in it for emergencies, although never anticipating one such as this.
She too then climbs into it, getting seated in the cockpit and strapping herself in, instinctually flipping all the necessary switches and buttons for preflight checks as the cockpit closes, thrusters beginning to hum from the engine.
Ready to go, Cally then looks out the window, seeing Kaden still standing there, smiling at her, and he gives her a small wave in farewell, his tears still visible despite his grin.
And even though her throat was burning, wanting to sob, jump out, and forcefully shove Kaden into this ship with her instead of letting him go off to his own potential doom, Cally returns a wave with a smile of her own, tears flowing down her cheeks as well.
And after a few moments of staring into each other's eyes through the thick glass of the cockpit, Cally forces herself to look away to engage the thruster, letting the ship start to slowly hover off the ground, angle upwards towards the sky, and blast off towards the Solana galaxy.
And leaving behind her was that somewhat decent motel they had to spend the night after everything. Fastoon, the only home she ever knew, reduced to ruin, death, and destruction, as well as any semblance of her past life. And, most of all, Kaden; the first and only love of her life, her husband, the father of her child, and bravest, most courageous Lombax she's ever known, dedicated to one last mission to protect his entire species and his entire family with a mission that may very well spell his doom, however much she hated it.
And as she slowly begins to let the bottled up sobs start to leave her along the long journey, her mind desperately clung onto Kaden's promise of making it out alive to join them so that they can live as a happy family once more in their new home, wherever it may be, as well as his final words to her;
"I'll let you know when I'm coming back."
They were the words she was waiting for after a whole day of flying around the galaxy when she arrived there, visiting various information booths and checking out random planets before settling on Veldin; a planet whose desert climate was just as Fastoon's to allow for some sense of familiarity, while also being sparsely populated and unknown enough to be the perfect hiding spot from Tachyon.
They were the words that Kaden promised again once she called to let him know that she found a new home on Veldin, in what appeared to be an abandoned garage by how dilapidated it was, Kaden assuring that she got the skills and know-how to fix it up, and that with his help, they'd be able to turn it into a mechanic's shop with her skills in no time flat once he's back, still needing to accomplish his mission, and that he couldn't wait to see them soon.
They were the words that she repeated to herself when she never received the call on the next day.
Or the day after that.
Or the day after that.
Or the day after that.
Or the day after that.
Or the day after that.
They were the words that her mind desperately yelled to herself on the seventh day as she quadruple-checked that her communications were working in tip-top shape, looking up local weather patterns to see if any solar flares or lighting storms interrupted and scrambled the signal of his call for whatever reason, but finding no such thing.
They were the words that she was telling herself as she called him over a dozen times from numerous different devices, but getting nothing but static or failed receptions, not even a dial tone.
They were the words she told herself as she was sure that Kaden would land right in front of the now rudimentary mechanic shop she managed to whip up to make bolts to live and support her and Kipler, even though it had been weeks since the deadline he told her to expect had passed, and failing to be able to contact him at all.
They were the words she deluded herself with as she often cried herself to sleep for the ensuing month, hugging the photograph he gave her, wanting to see his face in person again, and not on a piece of paper, wanting to feel his warm body against hers again.
They were the words that she finally began to understand would never ring true, the passing months confirming that Kaden had broken his promise of ever coming back and letting her see him again.
They were words that, like everything else about Kaden, the love of her life… Would only remain as a memory now.
Never again would she be able to see him again. Hear his jokes. Feel the warmth of his love. Taste his kiss on her lips. Smell his sweet aroma every morning she woke up with him.
Now… All she had left was Kipler, and the promise she made to Kaden to do her damndest to raise him as she possibly can, if not for her sake, then for Kaden's.
After everything this bitch of a universe has taken from her—her home, her friends, her husband—it'll have to kill her if it even thinks of taking her child as well.
And now, she at least had some comfort knowing that with Kaden gone from this world, he has moved on to the next, and just as he said when he gave her his photo—the last piece of him she had left—he would always be with them both, watching over them, and loving them with all of his heart.
And with that thought, Cally fully dedicated herself to this new life as a single mother, running a humble mechanic shop out of a dilapidated Veldin garage as the last Lombaxes in this entire dimension, because for as long as she and her son are still alive, she'll be damned if she breaks the promise she made to Kaden the last time they ever saw each other.
And, well, if she somehow manages to find a way to commune with his ghost along the way, too… She also promised that she was going to beat him into another death if he ever broke his, after all.
So as long as he was watching over them, Cally doing all she can to make him proud, that spectral smartass had also better watch his back, goddammit.
In case you were wondering; Yes, I did in fact hurt myself writing this, lmao.