His ears were perked up and alert.

"Okay...I'll give you one more chance to surrender," Ratchet, the last Lombax of this dimension, wandered through high snow armed with a snowball. A lot of time has passed since Victor's von Ion's return. The hero had decided to take a vacation on a snow planet, and of course his best friend Clank was along for the ride. So was the female lombax and his counterpart that he loved and the little yellow robot girl Kit, who was Clank's counterpart. At the moment, Ratchet was looking for Rivet, but her white fur allowed her to camouflage herself in the snow, which only made the orange one's search more difficult.

"I'll get you," both lovers had engaged in a snowball fight, and were dressed warmly accordingly. The rebel had retreated and was now hiding from her boyfriend after she had let a load of snowballs rain down on him. But then his eyes caught something interesting. Something was moving over a mound of snow, and it was something fluffy. Rivet's tail appeared and slowly wagged the snow dust away, giving Ratchet the sign of where she was, but the hero wasn't stupid and grinned a sly grin, "Oh, she must have gone somewhere else, then I'll look here."

He faked his retreat in response, which would prove successful.

Rivet lifted her head up from the protective wall she had erected in the short time. Her boyfriend said that he would look somewhere else now, but you shouldn't call it a day before it's too late. Quietly and curiously, she turned her head around, taking in her surroundings. In fact, Ratchet had disappeared, so the rebel retreated backwards to form new snowballs.

Then something cold hit her face hard.

Out of nowhere, Ratchet had stretched out and hit Rivet with his snowball, causing him to laugh and the rebel to gasp. "HAHAHA, bullseye," the orange lombax held his stomach with laughter, while Rivet knocked the snow off her face and then just stared angrily at her friend, "Oh...you're screwd now!"

"You'll have to catch me first," Ratchet ran off, and Rivet followed right behind. She hit his back with snowballs, but the hero laughingly countered with a few that he formed as he ran. This was followed by the fact that both were out of ammunition and the rebel now wanted to go physical. She closed in faster on Ratchet, who saw the white danger and also stepped up a gear, but the heavy snow under his feet made it difficult.

In the end, Rivet rammed into him with all her might.

Both lombaxes laughed as they wrestled through the snow, surrounded by the white cold and smashed it into each other's faces. Finally they both came to a standstill, where the rebel lay on top of the hero and the orange one had the white one in his arms. They both laughed heartily. They really needed this after the whole Heavy Vikings situation and the many other villains they had fought. A moment of peace and closeness. "Oh...well, I won," Ratchet then said cheekily.

"Are you kidding me," Rivet said with mock indignation, staring into the green eyes of the male lombax, "I wouldn't consider running away a victory. You've taken more hits than me!" Ratchet and Rivet stared at each other quietly for a moment before they both laughed out loud. As the moment came to an end, they both moved a little closer and a gentle kiss followed. "Oh... I love you so much," came a whisper from the orange one, which warmed the white lombax lady's heart, before she gave her familiar cheeky grin, "Shall we go and see how Bolts and Kit are doing?"

"We can do that. Quick, it's getting dark," only now did Ratchet realize how late it was. They had spent the whole day here sledging and doing all the other activities that can be done in the snow, so the sun had almost completely set. The night was going to be very cold, so both lombaxes set off hand in hand to meet the two little bots who were a little way off.

And then return to the vacation hut together.

"He turned out wonderful," Kit finished molding the belly. The two little robots had built a snowman with a classic look. Everything was there, the branches for arms, the carrot nose and the hat. Clank was also proud of his shared work with Kit, as the snowman stood before them in all his glory. However, both robots then heard a creeping sound from behind, which came closer and closer, "What is that?"

"I can hear it too," the two turned around, but nothing was visible. Did they just imagine the footsteps? The silver one turned back to the yellow one and had a smile on his face, "Don't forget when we're leaving tonight, okay?" "Of course not. I'm already looking forward to..."

"SURPRISE!"

Then the two lombaxes jumped out. They had hidden in the snow and were throwing snowballs at Clank and Kit, who were trying to protect themselves with their little hands. Ratchet and Rivet threw the last ball and then both had to start laughing, "You should have seen your face, buddy."

"Very funny, Ratchet," Clank admitted, only slightly annoyed, until his familiar giggle came out of him too. "We just wanted to pick you up now that it's getting dark," came from the rebel, who still had a snowball in her hand, "Don't worry, HE'll get it!" As a joke, she threw the ball at the snowman, but instead of standing firm, it fell over under the force and was smashed into a thousand pieces. Kit looked at the broken piece in horror, but Rivet immediately apologized, "Oh no...Kit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"We'll build you a new one tomorrow," said Ratchet gently, and led his friends on their way home.

But then something big landed on them.

In just a moment, the lombaxes were lying under a lot of snow thrown by the yellow robot girl. She had transformed into her warbot form and formed a huge snowball and now it was up to the robots to hold their stomachs with laughter, "That's what you call revenge served ice-cold, eh Ratchet?" The two lovers crawled out of the white, breathless and coughing briefly, before they also had to grin, "Okay...we deserve that." So Ratchet got out first, pulling Rivet with him, and the friends made their way home to the vacation cabin.

It wasn't a long walk. In just a few minutes, Ratchet was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, which had a large bath and luxurious shower with a view of the mountains. It wasn't cheap, but the orange one had gladly paid the sum to give his friends and loved ones a treat and also to come down from all the saving worlds himself. The hero put on his bathrobe before leaving the bathroom last.

Rivet had long since finished showering and was waiting on the couch in the living room until her partner was ready. Ratchet got out relaxed and breathed out the air again before his nose caught a strange smell. It was a noble one, the kind you usually smelled at parties, but the lombax wasn't wearing it. Then, as he looked down, there was a shocked Clank, who for some reason was wearing a suit with a red tie. "Clank? What's with the outfit," his best friend asked, and before the silver one could come up with an answer, the smell hit the lombax's nose again, "Are you...are you wearing any perfume?"

"Uh...no, not me," stammered the little robot in front of him: "It's just...I'm practicing for..."

"Is that our cab...uh oh."

Then Kit suddenly appeared. She had a red ribbon on her head and came straight towards Clank before looking shocked at the lombax, who finally counted the signs, "...OHHHH, I see! No, right?"

"WE...are just...going out," came from both robots at the same time, before they heard a horn from outside. The hover cab had arrived, which would take them to the nearby town, "So, we're going Ratchet. Please don't burn down the hut!"

"Okay, hehe. Bye, lovebirds," Ratchet laughed and waved after the two bots, who then held hands outside and Clank let his counterpart into the vehicle. When the cab had gone, the lombax returned to his own girlfriend, who already had her eyes on the male lombax. "Did you know Clank and Kit are dating," the hero chuckled before the rebel spoke up, "Yeah, they have been for a long time. Bolts and Kit have been dating since we got back together... They wanted to keep it a secret." Rivet's answer came unexpectedly, and Ratchet then sat down with a gentle smile, "That means we're alone!" The white lombax grinned seductively as she caught the tone of the hero's voice, "Oh, you evil lombax!"

And while Clank and Kit had their date, the two loving lombaxes finally had their togetherness and were involved in another long kiss. "I love you," came from both of them as the kiss was briefly interrupted before their lovemaking resumed.

...Somewhere in cold space...

He wasn't nervous.

The word nervous or weak was not used among his people. Every youngling of that age had to take the legendary test. That's why they navigated through black space in the great ship to the planet where their worthy opponents awoke. He was not too young. His lifespan had already reached over a hundred years and so had that of the two other youngbloods next to him. Their long hair, like his, lay still on their shoulders, which were armored by armor. No weapons hung on them yet, the three Youngbloods would get to that part themselves, but first they entered the great hall of the ship.

There were many more of his kind there. Older and more experienced than the young hunter himself. They were also already wearing their own masks, while he and his two companions were still without them. Their yellow eyes shone with determination as they ran along the corridor and their mouths were closed by the mandible teeth that covered their mouths like a crab. The three young hunters had reached their destination and bowed to a fellow hunter. Not just an ordinary fellow hunter. This one was much taller, wore a red cloak and was much older than all the other hunters on the ship. He wore his helmet-like mask under his left arm, while his right carried a large spear. The chief now turned to the younger ones and stared at them emotionlessly. It wouldn't be hard if the elder was anyone of his race, but there was only one problem.

This elder was the young hunter's father.

It was now more important than ever for the hunter to pass the test and return to his father as a proud warrior. The elder silenced the other hunters. The growling and clicking that his mouth made could only be heard. Their language was unknown in the galaxy and therefore difficult to understand. Basically, it consisted partly of this clicking and growling. The eldest had examined the three boys carefully before his final speech to them went on, before they prepared for battle.

"Your test has finally come. On a planet colonized by primitive humans, the snakes have awakened. A perfect opportunity to test you so that you can finally claim the honor of your people. Remember that humans must not get their hands on our technology. Hunt only the strongest warriors, no defenseless or pregnant ones! Now go, prepare for battle!"

The clicking and rumbling came to an end and the three young warriors stood up again and departed. He stayed a moment longer, looking at his father, who only nodded to his son. A clear sign that the young man should set off and get ready. The younger man understood immediately and followed his two companions, who would also be taking part in the test. The son was more determined than ever. Not just because of his father, but because the time had finally come to prove himself. The snakes, as they called the dark creatures that jumped out of a host's chest, would be his last challenge before his kin could finally see him as a true hunter and warrior.

The son was ready. He would finally become a true Yautja warrior!