Chapter Text
Ratchet gives a wave and a smile to the floating robot as he hovers around the glittering blizon, “Well, I guess this is goodbye then. Heh. Thanks for all your help, Junk Bot.”
“It was my pleasure, Rah-rah and Kitty,” Junk bot bobs in the air, before simply hovering back and staring at the blizon.
Ratchet raises his wrench to hit it, bracing for the oddly striking yet not form of dimensional travel.
“Wait!” Kit exclaims.
He blinks, lowering the wrench, “Uh- okay?”
“We are about to enter a forge directly controlled and operated by the Emperor,” she starts, “Do you have any form of disguise? The security is not likely to welcome you.”
Ah. That… makes sense. He hums, opening up the armory screen on his holo-display to check. No… hm… Definitely not that one… No- wait. Robot Disguise Armor? He doesn’t remember picking the whole set up, but alright.
“I think I got something, Kit,” he smiles, glancing over his shoulder at her.
As he taps the display, swapping out his armor for the disguise, she nods, “That is good.”
It materializes over him rapidly, small parts of his current set- a mishmash of a few different full sets- for the disguise. After a second, the HUD boots up, displaying his ammo count and current nanotech reserve. He briefly wonders if it has anything else, being a full-head helmet. He flicks his tail, checking that it didn’t catch on any of his fur. He’s never liked armor covering his tail, even before Dreadzone.
“How do I look?” Ratchet asks, bouncing on his feet to test the mobility of it.
He blinks, not expecting the helmet to have a voice changer in it. Whoever designed this thought it through, that’s for sure.
Kit hops off his back, looking him up and down. He does a small spin, deciding to have some fun with it. They have a moment to spare, after all.
She nods again with a small smile, “You look robotic. We will be able to delay any initial conflict.”
“Alright!” he holds a hand out to her.
She takes it, and he lifts her up onto his back once more. Adjusting his grip on his omniwrench, he whacks into the blizon hard- but not too hard. A small shockwave flows through him and Kit, but as soon as they feel it it’s gone, and their surroundings appear significantly less dilapidated.
Next to them, a bot dressed like a scientist startles, “Gah! Where did you come from?!”
“Uh, another dimension?” he shrugs.
“Yeah, very funny,” the science bot huffs, “Tell George Bot he better watch his back tomorrow.”
The bot then turns away, resuming… whatever it is he was doing. Ratchet shrugs, turning away from the bot and taking a look around. He’s clearly in the same station, just an active version. The people, the lights, the cleanliness, everything the other dimension’s forge lacked. It’s a striking difference.
“The Rubion Forge should be just ahead!” Kit adds from behind.
He nods, trudging ahead.
Ratchet lets out a large breath as the elevator starts moving. Jeez, he has not been working out enough in the past year for this.
“We did it, Ratchet! We built the dimensionator!” Kit exclaims, hopping off his back with joy.
He smiles, leaning against the elevator wall, “Hahh… I guess we did!”
He chuckles, looking over to Kit. The armor’s HUD highlights her in green, for some reason. While he isn’t too sure what the HUD is doing, he can take a guess that the green is meant to mean an ally or friend. It’s weirdly comfortable to wear with how much tech is in the thing.
“Hey,” he nudges Kit with his elbow, “Being a team isn’t so bad, after all!”
She looks down, mouth… thinning? The robot equivalent, at least, “But we haven’t saved the dimensions yet.”
“But we will!” Ratchet quickly follows.
He offers his best supportive smile to her, entirely forgetting that she can’t see it currently. She returns it, though. He hopes what he’s been doing has helped her. She’s certainly helped him so far!
This elevator is taking a while. It’s… not that far, right?
“What will you do when you meet the other lombaxes?” Kit seems to not like the quiet hum of the elevator, either.
This again.
He hums, not quite sure how to answer. He’s still not sure if he ever wants to go. He’s scared of the unknowns, yes, but… he’s mostly worried he knows exactly what to expect there. He’s already voiced his concerns about not knowing what to expect, not living up to their legacy, not wanting to risk his life, but… Well, his good life is already at risk right now. And it’s not like he couldn’t simply come back .
He’s worried they’ll all be like Angela and Alister. He’s worried Rivet is like them, too. Three years deep into retirement and both the lombaxes he’s met still feature in his nightmares. They’re not the only ones, of course, but… Ratchet will never forget watching Clank be tortured by Angela simply to get him to show up. He dreams of dying, which is odd given he hasn’t died, obviously, but regardless he dreams of Alister killing him.
He’s afraid that what Alister said in their fight is true. That the lombaxes- his father - would be disappointed in him.
But he’s not going to voice that to Kit. He just met her, and he hasn’t even voiced those thoughts to Clank or Talwyn .
Instead, he answers, “I’m not sure.”
“Would you not look for your family?” she blinks, tilting her head.
He exhales, shaking his head with a somber smile, “Don’t have any to look for, there.”
“Oh.” Kit looks around.
Before he thinks of something to say, the elevator comes to a stop. The doors open, and the outside of Kedaro Station welcomes them. He pushes off the wall, walking towards their stolen ship slowly. Making sure Kit can keep up.
He looks at her, “We’ll have to set a course for Zurkie’s so we can meet up with Rivet and Clank when they’re done.”
Kit pauses for a second, “Oh…” she blinks, “How do I meet… someone?”
“What are you talking about?” he shakes his head, “You met me, and it went great!”
“I fell off the archives in front of you,” she deadpans. He opens his mouth to retort, but she continues “And I screamed. A lot.”
He holds a finger up, hesitates, then lowers it, “True…”
She looks up at him, and he thinks for a second, gaze hovering on Kit.
“I dunno,” he shrugs, “Just be friendly and open. And don’t overthink it.”
Kit nods, jaw held firm as she looks to the ground in front of her. Ratchet smiles. Clank will get along with her, he’s sure. She reminds him of someone, but he’s not quite sure who yet. Maybe… maybe he should go find the lombaxes. Kit’s logic is right, she left her good life to help him. Maybe he should give it a try. If his fears are true… nothing is stopping him from just leaving .
The apprentice looks back up at him, mouth opening clearly about to say something. Then, she pauses, stopping her walk on the spot. Her eyes widen.
“Ratchet, stop!” she exclaims, waving both her hands toward him.
What?
“What do you me-” he starts, hesitating just one step too long before stopping.
He didn’t notice it, but a rift opened right in front of him, interrupting the path to the ship. His foot, halfway over the edge already, does nothing to anchor him as he takes that one step too many.
He falls.
The ground feels both forever away, and all too close. He doesn’t register much of where he falls. He grasps that it isn’t Kedaro Station. And it looks… sandy?
Then his face, his chest, all of him is hitting the ground at a speed way too fast from a height he shouldn’t fall.
The last thing he notices is the HUD, displaying his nanotech reserve emptying in a mere moment.
And then he’s out like a light.