Whew, this is the longest chapter so far...a little bit over 5,000 words (excluding author's notes)

Also, we get some new characters! About 3 main ones (kind of) to be exact. I wasn't entirely sure if I should add them to begin with but hey, you always need a couple of side characters. Even if you don't know what you're gonna do with them! :)

I hope you enjoy it!

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[Ratchet]

To say that the city was amazing was an understatement.

Ratchet has no idea how he forgot something this big, this beautiful, this cool! He followed close behind Kaden and Phoebe, who talked animatedly, occasionally looking back to make sure he was still following them. Kaden looked behind himself, chuckling as he saw Ratchet look up and around at his surroundings, "What do you think of the city?"

Before watching a ship fly by overhead, Ratchet turned to look at him. "I-It's amazing! I can't believe I forgot about this!" He said, "It's so cool~". He heard Phoebe chuckle quietly, he started smiling at the noise. He looked up once more, watching as the sunlight made the tall, pointed buildings shine beautifully. Ships whizzing by every so often just overhead. Rails and lights lit up the ground below. Casting a soft, yellow light on the ground, a sign that the sun was setting.

It felt like he never experienced this before. He felt like he should be elated to be here. But he knows that he has lived here, right? How else was he here?

Shaking his head, he quickened his pace a little bit to keep up with Kaden and Phoebe, watching them idly chat with each other. He looked around at all the different people around him, big and small. Children laughed as they chased each other, carefully weaving through some crowds, while others stood happily by their parents. He smiled at his observations, only stopping when Phoebe and Kaden stopped suddenly in front of him. He looked up, seeing a medium-sized, two-story house. Nothing fancy, but it sure looked cozy.

Kaden entered a passcode by the door, opening it to let Phoebe inside, he gestured for Ratchet to enter, "C'mon, Phoebe is eager to start dinner, I don't think you wanna miss that!" While the man obviously tried to ease his nerves a bit, he couldn't help but let the anxiety get to him a little bit.

He could do this, it was nothing. He'll be fine. Nothing out of the ordinary!

Kaden closed the door behind them as he walked in, staring up at the high ceiling above him, intricate gear-like designs etched into the wood. It seemed that they were currently in the walkway leading into the living room, which was cozy and spacious. He felt a gentle hand rest upon his upper back, jumping a bit at the touch. Kaden chuckled, "How about I give you a little tour while Phoebe starts dinner?" Ratchet nodded silently. He had to admit that he was a bit curious to see where he would be staying for the time being.

Kaden led him up the stairs, which were just ahead of them. Once they arrived at the top, there were two hallways to the left and the right. Kaden gestured to the left hallway, "Here we have our offices for when we work at home." he said simply, turning to the right and bringing Ratchet down the hallway with him, "To the left, we have a bathroom, and to the right, we have our two guest bedrooms, you'll be using the first one to the right." Ratchet nodded in understanding, Kaden continued, "At the end of the hall is our room. That is just about it for upstairs. He turned around, eyes lighting up with happiness. "I know something you'd like!"

Grabbing Ratchet's arm, he led him downstairs, past the kitchen where Phoebe stopped and watched on with a sweet smile, already used to her husband's actions. She sighed as he opened the door to his workplace in the garage, dragging the poor kit behind him, leaving the door open behind them. She set the pot down, and shut the door for them, shaking her head good-naturedly.

In the garage, Kaden dragged Ratchet to the middle of the room, opening his arms wide and turning back to the kit, "This is where I do most of my work! Feel free if you ever want to come in here and make something. I know how kits can be a bit more experimental with their inventions, so you might as well do it somewhere safe."

Ratchet nodded, looking over the room in wonder. Blueprints scattered about the room haphazardly, most of them pinned to a board on a nearby wall. Wrenches and tools of various kinds are spread out and left in random places. To the far end of the room sat something that almost looks like a piece of an engine or...something else. Either way, he could tell that Kaden was an inventor at heart. He sighed, a big smile painting his features. Kaden pulled him over to a table, going on and on about the blueprints that laid upon the table surface. Ratchet looked on in curiosity, feeling an odd sense of familiarity. Oddly enough, he understood the complicated equations and measurements on the blueprints. He could understand the mechanics behind them as well. He figured that it was just a common characteristic of the Lombaxian race, and let it go.

You...-handy..-w..i-.ou-...wrench

He turned abruptly, startling Kaden who stood beside him. "You okay?" the man questioned, looking at the kit worriedly. Ratchet looked back and forth, before turning to the man once more, "Yeah, I just thought I heard something." Kaden smiled, turning back to the table behind them, "Well alright then. I guess I could show you more of the house then. Phoebe will be done by dinner in an hour or so."

Ratchet nodded, following the man as he exited the garage. He gave the room one last longing glance before switching the light off and closing the door.

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All in all, the house was bigger than it seemed from the outside, the basement and all. Ratchet was surprised he remembered some of the layouts. It was obvious that Kaden and Phoebe were well-off individuals. If their house was anything to go by.

Nonetheless, dinner was done, and after they set the table, it was time to eat.

Until there was a knock on the door.

Currently sitting, Ratchet turned to look at the door, Kaden getting up from his seat to go answer it. He looked towards Phoebe who smiled at him, "We forgot to tell you, but there is another guest we have that will be joining us. You've met Alister, yes?" Ratchet rubbed the back of his neck, "I believe so, he was there when I first met Kaden." Phoebe nodded, watching as her husband entered the room, Alister, right behind him. "Hey Al, how was your day?" she asked sweetly. Alister smiled, "It was great." he looked towards Ratchet, "Nice to finally meet you. Officially, that is." He held out his hand, Ratchet taking it immediately, grip firm, "Likewise!"

The four sat down in relative silence, enjoying their meals as Kaden and Alister engaged in some small talk, Phoebe and Ratchet listening intently.

"I still don't understand. The Council knows that their security is the most advanced it could be. Hell, they even had me help develop it. There should be no reason for them to take caution like this." Kaden drawled, pausing to take a bite of his meal. Alister piped up, "I agree. Still, they have me training more and more recruits every day. It makes me wonder what exactly they want to achieve with this." he sighed, "Then again, better safe than sorry."

Ratchet looked down at his meal quietly. He felt like this was some inside information that he shouldn't be listening to, but he couldn't help it. He had so many council members come to ask him questions while he was recovering. He couldn't help but think back at those moments, going over the questions in his head, he thought

Was The Council acting this way because of me?

No, that couldn't be it. He was just a kid. A kid like him wouldn't cause the whole Lombaxian council to act this way.

Then again, he couldn't come up with a reason why they were acting this way to begin with. Did something happen in the past that caused them to be extra cautious in the future?

He sighed, that's a thought for later.

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After dinner, the house was quiet. Kaden and Alister talked at the table while Ratchet helped Phoebe clean. He dried the dishes absentmindedly while Phoebe hummed. She looked over at him, "Are you alright?" she asked quietly, "You've been pouting since dinner."

Ratchet reeled back, eyes widening, "Wha-what? I have not!" he hissed, but not in a rude way. Phoebe chuckled, "I don't know, you seemed like a kit who just got their candy taken away." she sighed, "I know we don't know each other that well, and you're probably going through a lot of things right now. But if you ever need me, or Kaden, or even Alister, we are here to listen." She resumed washing the dishes, Ratchet drying them silently. He furrowed his brows, taking the hand towel and drying off one of the remaining plates.

"Thank you. All of you, really." He said. Phoebe turned her head and smiled at him,

"No need to thank us! We love having you here."

Ratchet sighed, he supposes this place wasn't that bad.

So then why did he feel so out of place?

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It was late at night that Ratchet couldn't sleep. Yes the bed was comfy, and yes his eyes were heavy, but he couldn't shake this odd feeling inside of him. He turned onto his back, staring at the ceiling in silence. The moonlight from a nearby window allowed him to look at the slight details on the ceiling. He sighed, taking in the crisp air of the room as he shut his eyes, hoping to catch just a little bit of sleep.

But time dragged on.

He sat up in frustration, rubbing his eyes as he looked out the window. The moon was high in the sky, stars twinkling faintly as the sky seemed to mock him. He frowned, this must be what I get for sleeping in the Medcenter most of the time.

He looked at the nearby houses, faint street lights illuminating the streets, while hanging light poles lit up the space above for passing ships. The world was silent, the streets were silent, but his mind wasn't, despite all the emptiness he felt inside of it. He felt clueless and vulnerable,

and alone...

He was told that no one came forward from his family, and even then, his DNA did not match anyone within the city walls. By all accounts, he is an oddity among his own people. But why? Why was he alone and why was he here? If The Council held so much power, they could have at least searched for his family, right? They could have done something.

Unless they knew something he didn't...Unless everyone knew something he didn't

He sighed. There was no reason to accuse anyone of anything. I could just be him looking for an excuse as to why, while in reality, no one has the answers to his questions. He laid back down, deciding to focus on the present, rather than the past. Not that he had anything to look back on anyways. He'll just have to wait.

But....the universe does not stop for those who wait

What now?

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In the morning, with only a few handfuls of sleep, Ratchet woke up to the sunlight streaming in from the window. He blinked his eyes tiredly, rubbing at the edges with his fists. He yawned, pausing as he heard rapid footsteps run up the stairs, was-

"Rise and shine!" Ratchet gasped, reeling back at Kaden, who stood in the doorway of the room, Kaden chuckled, "You're going to be joining Alister today, kid! Protocol since The Council wants at least someone to monitor your...condition I guess." he paused, watching as Ratchet stared at him in curiosity, "Oh, and don't worry! He won't bite, I promise!"

Ratchet chuckled, moving to stand up before Kaden interjected, "He'll be here in 10!" before rushing off. Ratchet stared at the space Kaden used to be in, tilting his head "What was that..." before shaking his head in disbelief, "I don't even wanna know..."

He got ready quickly, making sure he looked somewhat presentable before Alister arrived. He just finished when he heard the front door open, slowly making his way downstairs, being greeted by the General himself. To be honest, he was pretty intimidating in his armor, but that did not bother Ratchet at all. In reality, he thought that it made Alister even cooler than before. While he hasn't known Alister for that long, he could tell that he was a kind, strong individual that could probably take on a few enemies by himself. That said, he was excited to see what was in store for him today.

Alister smiled as he looked down at Ratchet, "Good morning Ratchet, I see that you are already ready to leave?"

Ratchet chuckled, "Yeah, Kaden came to wake me up and tell me." he smirked, "I guess you're stuck with me today, General." Alister sighed, shaking his head, "I suppose so, well, we better get a move on before we are running late."

Ratchet followed Alister out of the house, door shutting and locking automatically. Ratchet hurried up to match the General's stride. Man, does he walk fast-

"So, how does it feel to be out of that Medcenter?" Alister asked casually. Ratchet beamed, "Yeah! It was tiring just being in that room all day. I swear, my tail is gonna be cramped forever!" Alister chuckled, straightening up as they arrived at his place of work a while later, the training grounds.

Ratchet looked around his surroundings, the training grounds looked almost like an arena, with high walls and solid metal doors that had to lead to some sort of weapon caches. He was so caught up in his surroundings that he didn't see a man walk up to him and Alister, "Greetings Alister, who do we have here?"

Alister turned towards the man, "Hello Lucas, this here is Ratchet. I'm sure you've heard of him by now."

Said man looked ecstatic, looking over to Ratchet excitedly, "Oh, I definitely heard about you, it's nice to meet you!" he held out his hand, which Ratchet took readily, Lucas looked towards Alister "I have to stay, I hope you have him stick around. My boy is sitting in the stands as well, he could use a little bit of socialization if I do say so myself."

Alister smiled, "Well, that does it then. Ratchet you can stay and watch in the stands with Lucas' boy. Are you okay with that?"

Ratchet smiled excitedly, he would do anything if it meant that he could see Alister work from the stands. He was eager to see just what the General could do. "Got it!" He bid farewell, before heading away from the center of the arena, heading towards the stands that sat a little bit away from the center. He looked around, stopping when he saw one lone individual sitting at the top of the stands, playing on his phone quietly as the recruits could be heard walking out of the barracks below. He had a maroon, button-up shirt on with black jeans and red sneakers. His fur was a light caramel color with cream-colored stripes. Ratchet quickly walked up the stairs leading to the top bench, stopping as the kid looked up, startled. "O-oh hello! You came to watch the recruits too?"

Ratchet chuckled, sitting a little bit away from the others, "More like I was told to go up here. But yeah, I am more than excited to see them in action." he sighed, holding out his hand, "Name's Ratchet." The kid held his hand out as well,

"Oliver!"

Both of them watched as the recruits lined up in front of the two Generals, Lucas barking out orders as Alister walked back and forth in front of the recruits, making sure that they were listening. Ratchet leaned forward, watching intently as the Generals went through tactical exercises with the trainees with their wrenches, some of them failing miserably, while others seemed to know their wrench like the back of their hands. Oliver leaned forward to whisper, "I don't know what they are doing but I am pretty sure they are not using their wrenches correctly." Ratchet laughed quietly, "That or they just don't know how it works"

The recruits went on to hitting training dummies, Ratchet leaning back, already bored of what he was seeing. Oliver piped up next to him, "Bored already? I know that feeling, these guys don't know anything about combat-" he paused, looking down at the game on his phone "-then again, the only combat I know is on my video games." he chuckled. "They won't know until they face what they are fighting against." He shook his head, "I just thought It'd be way more exciting."

Oliver sighed, leaning back "Well if-" he was cut off

"Well look what we have here."

They both looked to their right, watching as a calico-furred man approached them, orange eyes analyzing them critically. Ratchet sat up a bit straighter while Oliver hunched over, looking back down at his phone, but not doing anything, just listening. "Well, hello," Ratchet muttered, plastering a faux smile on his face as he watched the man sit down across from them. For some odd reason, he was very off-put by this man. His intuition told him that this man was up to no good if his dark, questioning eyes were anything to go by. The man chuckled, sitting casually on the bench, "Hello Oliver, I hope you're doing well. As for you-" he looked towards Ratchet, "How are you handling your amnesia? I hope it's not causing you too much distress."

Ratchet squinted, eyes alight with disbelief. Why the hell was this man asking this question? He didn't even give an introduction. Alarm bells rang in his head as he crossed his arms, feigning nonchalance, "Nothing yet I'm afraid, but I've been trying to jog my memory." He tapped his chin jokingly, "I wonder, maybe I just had no memories to begin with! That could be an explanation. Just a bolt in a sea of diamonds, I'm afraid." He chuckled at his own remark, watching as the man smiled mirthfully. "Ah, I doubt that very much. Only time could tell, I suppose." He looked over his shoulder at the center of the arena, watching the trainees attack the training dummies, wincing as some of them missed their targets. Ratchet sat back to analyze the man, trying to pinpoint exactly what made him feel uneasy around him. He looked towards Oliver, who shook his head, as if to say "Don't even try"

The man, sensing the scrutinizing gaze, turned around to face Ratchet with a smile, "Something interesting to you?"

Ratchet smirked, "No, but I'm curious as to why you were asking these questions. Am I supposed to know you?" he widened his eyes dramatically to cover his obvious suspicion, "Oh my! Did I forget you?"

The man laughed, "No, you never forgot me. Don't worry yourself none. I'm just a concerned citizen just passing by. Mostly everyone in this city knows about the kit that was found outside the city-" he paused, "-appearing out of thin air, mind you. It's worrisome, especially because you have nothing to identify you. Not even a family."

And here, Ratchet was one hundred percent sure that this man was an ass

"Even so, people here are really worried about you. So don't be worried."

Ratchet eyed the man critically, before smiling "Thank you. It means a lot to know that people here care about me so much." But not you, you're up to something that went unsaid.

The three watched the recruits continue to train, the two Generals barking orders as time went on. The man stood up after a while, turning to the kids behind him, "Well, I guess I'll be off. Don't cause any trouble now, you hear?" he chuckled lowly, but the kids before him stood silent. The man frowned, "Good day." and left the stands as quickly as he arrived. Ratchet glared at his back as he left before looking back at the center of the arena, trying to distract himself. Oliver huffed, "That's The Council for you. Always butting into people's business."

Ratchet looked at him, surprised, "He was a member of The Council?"

"Yeah, couldn't you tell? A bit overbearing, yeah?"

Ratchet looked down thoughtfully, frowning as he thought about what he was just told. He tapped his chin absentmindedly, making his decision,

I can't trust The Council

. . . .

I can't trust anybody...

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[Clank]

He understood what living beings meant when you will feel better looking back on the good times when you've lost someone dear to you. The problem was, Clank didn't want to remember. He wanted to forget. All the good, the bad, everything.

Unfortunately, robots like himself didn't have the luxury of forgetting or suppressing memories, not unless they decided to completely erase their memory files. Even then, does he want to forget his dear friend? No. No, he did not. Then why did it hurt so much to remember?

It was certainly uncommon for robots like himself to dream. To do so, one would have to willingly search through their memory banks and whatever they pleased. However, doing important system updates and upgrades was more important. For those reasons, and more, Clank decided that dreaming was insignificant, and never took part in it. It was normal for him, to go the nights in stasis mode or just recharging, It was nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, looking back on it, Ratchet always told him about his dreams at night. He missed those conversations.

He recalled asking Ratchet one night at three in the morning, watching a "dumb ass comedy" (or so Ratchet described it as) and chilling on the couch. Ratchet stared silently at the holo-tv, while Clank watched the screen intently. While it was not his preferred genre of movies, it was a nice treat all the same. He looked towards Ratchet, who started to nod off, and tilted his head in curiosity,

"What is it that makes living beings want to dream?"

It was completely off-topic and irrelevant to the conversation, but Ratchet always seemed to be shaken up by his dreams, or "nightmares" as he called them. Clank did not understand. But this reason is why Ratchet was up at three in the morning to begin with. Ratchet looked down to stare at him, before smiling tiredly, "We can't control when we dream pal. If we could, I would be dreaming of sunny beaches and crystal clear oceans all night!" He chuckled lowly, "But, still, we can't control anything. And now, if I could-" he sighed, shaking his head, "-If I had the option right now, after everything we've done, I would turn off my dreams. And nightmares"

Clank's optics narrowed, arm coming up to tap on his robotic chin, "But I thought dreams are supposed to make living beings happy. To give them a reason to achieve their long-term goals?"

Ratchet chuckled, "Wrong type of Dreams, pal. These are different."

"Then what do you dream about, if I may ask?"

Ratchet stilled for a moment, seemingly thinking long and hard about the question. Clank, at the time, could not fathom why it would take Ratchet that long to tell him about his dreams. Clank sat patiently until Ratchet leaned back to stare at the ceiling.

"Well, not all dreams are good, and not all are bad-" he paused, looking over at Clank,

"-but before I met you I used to dream of having a friend. Or a family. I used to dream of having people there, with me, in that lonely place in Veldin. But do you know what? Those dreams I had, even if they left me depressed more often than not, they actually came true." He smiled at Clank,

"I met you! And pal, let me tell you, it's been a hell of a ride since then but I would do it with no other robot, or living being. Ever." He reached out to flick the antenna on top of Clank's head

Clank smiled as well as he could, letting Ratchet flick his antennae, even if it annoyed him to no end. At least, at the time, Ratchet was happy. That was all that mattered to him.

And now Clank sat here alone. In this damaged Great Clock on top of a cold metal table, just thinking. He had all the time in the universe to think. There were no more adventures or conversations at three in the morning. There were no sudden wake-up calls when Ratchet eloquently fell out of bed at night. No catching his friend in the act in the middle of the night eating cookies from the almost empty cookie jar Ratchet always insisted on having. There was nothing of his friend left, except for the memories.

(but Clank was wrong, for once. The Universe itself knows that Ratchet lives on in the posters and magazines scattered throughout Polaris. He lives on in the new recruits that have just joined the guard that has been inspired by his heroics. He lives on in the many beings that he met along the way. And, most importantly, The Universe knows that Ratchet lived on somewhere else, having his own adventure, But Clank didn't know this, nor did Ratchet himself. The Universe knows that they are both stuck and alone. So what was next? What would they do? What would Clank do without his friend? It was all just part of a cruel game that the Universe was playing. Nothing more.)

But Clank curled in on himself, retracting his arms and legs inside his small, metal form. His optics dimmed quite a bit. If he sorts through his memory banks, perhaps he could find out what dreams are about. Perhaps he could learn more about his friend. And quite possibly, feel comforted by his ghostly presence within his memory banks.

He shut his optics, sorting through memory playbacks one after another. None of them were titled or filed under anything, except for one. From the very beginning of his virtual memory bank files,

[VMBFILE 1 . 110402 - RATCHET] -----> [Proceed to playback] or [Delete]

Accessing data banks....Processing....Playback of VMBFILE 1 . 110402 complete! Playback commencing...

His optics opened to reveal what looked to be a dusty terrain with little to no plant life below him. His optics scanned the surrounding area, and looking forward, he could see one living being, seemingly trying to work on, what looked to be, a small makeshift-looking ship. He got up off the ledge he was perched on, and walked directly beside the living being in front of him. He was quite surprised that they didn't hear him considering the size of the ears they have and their enhanced hearing. He wasn't exactly quiet with his small metal footsteps either. He looked at what they were doing in curiosity.

"Interesting." He said, resulting in them falling off the crate they were standing on. They yelped as they landed on their tail, "You're quite handy with your wrench." He stated bluntly, watching as they stood up, brushing themselves off,

"You bet! I built that ship with it."

Clank stopped the playback. This wasn't new to him, of course, but it was still hard to see his friend alive and well. Even if, at the time, Ratchet could probably care less about him. All he cared about was getting off that planet. While their friendship started off on some sort of verbal contract, they came out the strongest of friends after that. Clank would never regret going with Ratchet on that journey to save the solar system. Never.

He went through his files once more, playing back bits and pieces of memories that were in them, Ratchet's voice filtering through his processors as he went on

Look, the plumber's crack!

This isn't the real Captain Qwark, you numbskull! It's a robot!

Son of a Quark!

I smell something, and it's definitely not drama...

Clank smiled as the memories played back, simply enjoying the bittersweet feeling that consumed his processors. He cut the playback and opened his green optics. It was still nighttime, as he looked at his internal clock. Almost midnight to be exact. He spent almost 2 hours going through his memory bank, playing back all his cherished moments. He shook his head sadly,

If only dreams could come true

But then he sat there, thinking about his words. He thought about what Ratchet said when they talked about dreams when he looked back on his memories before, "Those dreams I had, even if they left me depressed more often than not, they actually came true."

Ratchet was a mere living being. Incapable of accessing his past memories at a moment's notice. He couldn't perform many of the things that Clank was capable of and yet...He worked harder than anyone to make his own dreams a reality. Whether they were big or small, Ratchet knew how to get what he wanted. And when he didn't, he settled for what he could have.

Could Clank make his dreams a reality? Could he-

He shook his head once more. No. He couldn't do that. But then again, the thought was very intriguing...

...

He made his decision. Hopping off the bench, he headed to the cacophony of scattered books that lay about the room (after falling from the many bookshelves during the incident) and started siphoning through the countless books. He learned that there are countless books about the living and non-living beings in the universe. Surely they had to teach him something.

Surely they could help him obtain his...slightly unattainable dream, and help him make it a reality.

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Somewhere, dimensions away,

A lone Lombax lay in his bed. Tossing and turning without any rest. He wished he could just fall asleep, and dream of what was missing.

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Sorry but I am having too much fun putting Clank through the wringer I'm sorry-

It's just interesting delving into the topic of robots and emotions, and how one would come to understand the complexity of human emotions whether they are living beings or not. How would a robot go about it? I don't know but I'm gonna make Clank find out, that's for sure :)

Even so, I'm very curious. What do you all think is gonna happen with Clank/Ratchet? What would you like to see, or what are your ideas? I want to see what people think about what is happening, (even though most of this story is mapped out already. I just find it interesting to see what ideas people come up with!) :)

Sorry for any spelling or grammar errors, I will come to fix them later if there are!

See you next chapter!