I came to feed you all content!

I know you are eager! Enjoy the chapter!

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

[Ratchet]

It turns out that he was spending the next day with Kaden.

It's not that he wasn't excited to spend time with the man, Kaden was a really cool guy. It's just that he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong and out of place. Perhaps it was him? Maybe he was just overreacting, right? He probably was, considering he was the one with no memories of his past. It only made sense that he would be wary of everything.

But that did not change his rule :

Don't trust anyone

He watched as the man cleaned up after the breakfast they had, watching as Kaden went back and forth between the fridge and the sink. He sighed, Kaden and Phoebe seemed nice enough, however. He couldn't find it in himself to even think about being suspicious of them, or even disliking them in anyways. Call him soft, but they were really nice...and-

Yeah, he was too soft. But no one needed to know that.

Kaden turned around when he was done, sighing happily as he made eye contact with the boy, "Well, we have a lot to do today! We're gonna go to the garage to finish my project and then deliver it to my real workplace, the lab!" He seemed excited, Ratchet couldn't help but smile at the man's enthusiasm. "Sounds like a plan." Ratchet replied, "But are you sure I won't be in the way?". Kaden laughed good-naturedly, "Nonsense! Besides, I don't want you sitting in this boring house all day long. Think of it as making up for all that time you wasted at the Medcenter!"

Ratchet couldn't agree more with that statement.

He stood up, following the man to his garage. It was obvious that he was recently in there since most of the scattered blueprints and such were neatly stacked in piles. The papers that were scattered yesterday were nowhere in sight, presumably filed away. Kaden went out of sight for a moment while Ratchet looked around at the spare parts in a nearby cardboard box on the floor. Kaden pulled a tarp off his project, wheeling the table it was on near his work desk. "Okay, so I know this might be boring for you to watch, but maybe you'll learn a little something." Kaden glanced over to the boxes on the floor, which Ratchet was looking at previously, "Or you can fiddle with some things in there, I don't need them for anything."

Ratchet awkwardly looked around, glancing from the box, to Kaden, then back at the box again. Kaden looked like he began working on his...whatever the heck it was (Ratchet couldn't tell) and he didn't want to just stand around awkwardly either. He walked over to the box, looking over what was in it. It mostly looked like junk and spare parts that could never be used for anything. There were also some dead or broken devices in there as well (some even looked like they had been on fire once).

With his curiosity taking over, he got down to his knees, shifting some things around and seeing if he found anything of interest. A blue wire here, a fried red wire there, something that looked like a Holo-TV remote, and at the bottom of the box...alone oval-shaped object.

He reached in to pick it up, avoiding the sharp edges of other scraps that were in the box. He held it up to the light, analyzing the object.

It was a communicator...or a phone. One of the two, Ratchet really couldn't tell at this point, the thing looked half fried. Kaden looked over as he heard the noise come from the box while Ratchet was looking. "Oh, that thing-" he said, tightening a bolt on his work, "-is obsolete. It's an old communicator I used to use years ago. It does the job. Well, not anymore now that it's broken. You get what I'm saying."

Ratchet nodded absentmindedly. It was true, the thing looked super old. While it could fit in his pocket, whether or not it could ever work again was up for debate.

Inspecting it revealed that the corner of the screen was cracked, along with a few chips of metal on the casing gone. The small d-pad on the bottom of the screen to navigate the phone has some wear and tear, but not too much. He assumed that if you were to take all the dirt off the outer casing, it would reveal a maroon-colored casing. The logo, written in Lombaxian, has since faded, probably due to all its use and neglect over the years. There was no charging port, and if there was no wire, he had no way of charging it if he could fix it. All in all, it truly did look like a useless piece of junk. Even so, he stood up with the communicator in hand, "Can I fix it?"

Kaden looked over incredulously, and sighed before rubbing the back of his neck, some oil getting in his fur, "Well, you can certainly try. I'm for sure never going to use it ever again. Knock yourself out!" He knew himself how curious kits were, he wasn't going to ruin Ratchet's fun by saying no anyways.

Not like he could when Ratchet looked at him with those puppy eyes of his.

Ratchet cheered internally, walking over to a small side table next to the box so he wouldn't be in Kaden's way. Popping open the back, he saw that most of the wires were still intact, except for two. A small copper plate sat in the middle of the phone to provide cooling, however, that seemed fried or...well after he touched it was covered in some nasty type of black sludge. Ew. Small copper wires ran along the edges, and a battery box was in okay condition. It was no Holo-Phone, that's for sure.

He looked back over to the box of scraps, leaning down to grab the discarded wires, hopefully he was able to use them.

He got to work, leaning over to take out the bad wires and replacing them with the scrap ones he found, bending over small metal bits in the casing to keep them in place. He looked around, reaching for a discarded rag nearby, popping out the small metal plate as he did so. He wipes the dirt off, taking his nail to chip off any stray chunks that stuck to it, before placing it back in. Giving the whole thing a final wipe down (including the outside casing, which did turn out to be a nice maroon color). He then shut the casing, hoping that the battery box still worked after all this time. Surprisingly, it wasn't corroded when he checked it before. Maybe it wasn't as damaged as he thought.

Lifting the communicator off the table and bringing it up to his face, he turned it to find any sort of button to turn it on. Once found, he pressed it.

Nothing

He tilted his head, pressing the button again and holding it down.

The screen then lit up, a white Lombaxian logo popped back up on the screen before it turned black once more, supposedly booting up. Ratchet smiled, proud of himself for being able to fix the device.

Kaden stood up, wiping the oil off his hands and straightening up. He grabbed an empty cardboard box off the floor before putting the delicate device he was working on inside. He closed it, starting to speak, "Well, are you ready to get going?" He paused, turning around to see Ratchet before he paused.

Ratchet stood a few feet away from the table he was working on, staring at the semi-fixed communicator in front of his face, a green and yellow glow lighting up his features as the screen booted up.

Kaden started incredulously before walking forward and looking at the screen himself. The screen was discolored, there was no doubt about that. Half of it was a discolored yellow while the other half was a light green. There was a small blinking white dot in the cracked portion of the screen, possibly a dying pixel.... Otherwise, it seemed like the d-pad itself worked, judging by the way Ratchet was moving back and forth between apps, highlighting each one as he passed. Kaden looked at him in astonishment.

"I-I never thought that thing would ever work again!" He exclaimed, before a blinding smile showed on his face, "But you did it! You fixed it! That's incredible!"

Ratchet, looking pleased with himself, replied "Yeah. To be honest it wasn't even that hard." He boasted, staring down at the device in his hand. Kaden reached up to ruffle the top of his head, "Good job! It's yours now I guess. Not sure what you can do with it now though." He patted his shoulder, going back over to the packed cardboard box he had, "Well, we better get going. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can surprise you with what I have planned!"

Ratchet perked up at this, immediately pocketing his new device and following Kaden out the door, reaching to turn off the light.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

The "Lab" as Kaden called it was actually in a very big office-looking building. It was tall and imposing with gears and such turning away, parts of which were exposed to the outside. Ratchet shielded his eyes as he looked up to the top of the building, in which two points jutted out from each side, making it look like two ears, a design added to represent the Lombaxian race. Kaden chuckled, "Nice, isn't it? I'm glad that I come here almost every day for work."

Ratchet nodded, "It's so cool~" He said, following Kaden inside the building. Kaden showed his badge to the woman at the front desk, who nodded with a smile, waving at Ratchet as he passed by. He pressed the button for Kaden to call the elevator, before looking around at his surroundings. Kaden sighs good-naturedly, "Wait until you see the view from the top!" Ratchet looked at him, surprised "The top?"

Kaden chuckled, "Yep, my lab is on the top floor. Hope you ain't too scared of heights."

Ratchet smiled nervously, but for some reason, he was quite excited to be honest. He was itching to see the view from the top, maybe even see some passing ships while looking out the window. He hopped into the elevator with Kaden, watching as Kaden hit the floor number with his elbow,

Floor 50

It took a minute to get to their destination, and when they did, a small little ding could be heard throughout the small elevator, before the doors opened to reveal dark green floors and silver, metal walls. To the far left of him was a long window, with a beautiful view of the outside. Enraptured by the view, Ratchet completely abandoned Kaden and walked towards the window. Kaden turned when he heard the kit's footsteps get further and further away from him. He turned around, only to smile as he saw Ratchet place a hand on the window as if he wanted to touch the outside. "I see you like the view." he said, Ratchet turning to him at his voice, "Let me just drop this off in my lab and let the boss know. You stay there and watch the view."

While Ratchet wanted to see the lab, he supposes that watching the view at the moment was far more interesting to him. That little revelation surprised him.

"But I wonder-" he thought to himself, "In a city this beautiful. This amazing. How could I have forgotten it?"

He put his hand on the cool glass before he moved to open his pocket and removed his new communicator. The off-colored screen made his eyes hurt but he turned it on anyway, sliding his finger across the screen only to realize...

I can't understand...

The lettering, the Lombaxian was all gibberish to him. Blaming it on his failing memory, he tapped an icon that resembled an old-time camera, the screen turning an alarming black before it once again came to life, revealing his face, and taking a picture of that instead. "Ah, shoot" he then flipped the camera, revealing a photo of the view in front of him. He hoped his communicator saved it. He'll look at it later.

He looked over at the horizon, watching as ships of all kinds passed by in front of him, enthralled by their designs, their lights, their speed. Maybe that's why he was here, in a place he didn't know. Maybe there was a reason he didn't remember anything. Maybe, just maybe, he was meant to get off of this planet and find his home himself. But then again, that dream seemed too far-fetched for someone like him.

But...where was his family? Where was his place in the universe?

He didn't know...

Shrugging to himself, he turned around as he heard footsteps approaching him from behind, watching as Kaden walked up to him with a smile. "Well, how do you like seeing the city from this view?" Ratchet nodded, "It is stunning! I'll give it that. It's amazing how far the Lombaxes have come since Ta-" he furrowed his brows, what came from who?

Kaden's eyes widened at the statement, While it could be a very vague question, it sent his mind reeling. Come from what? That was the question. Before the whole event with...Tachyon (oh, how he hated thinking of the name) The Lombaxes just thrived like always on Fastoon. Even then, the technology from back then stayed relatively the same. During his time, technology hasn't changed at all. For a kit to be making such remarks is pointing to the fact that Ratchet knows about that whole...Tachyon incident that went down.

Looking at Ratchet, who was standing still, brows furrowed and eyes towards the ceiling. He made a startling realization.

He was at the right age, according to the scans that Yuin conducted. 19 years old. If he was born a bit before the incident, it could be possible that...

His family didn't make it.

Kaden took a deep breath. It makes sense. No family came forward, and no match was found in the database. Nothing. An orphan.

An orphan that nobody must not have been close with. An orphan that was the perfect target for someone to attack and leave outside the city. It was the perfect crime to pull with someone who had no ties with anyone, to begin with.

The realization made him choke up. If he was right about the kit standing before him (which he certainly thinks he is) then Ratchet's situation could only end in a very sad, unfortunate ending.

He cleared his throat, he would have to talk with Phoebe and Alister about this. It was too important not to.

Ratchet looked up at the man, seemingly startled by his voice, Kaden smiled sadly, "Did you- did you remember something?"

Ratchet sighed, "Well, to be honest." he looked down at his feet, "I don't even know what I meant. And I didn't remember anything." He brushed a hand through the fur on his head, "Blast. This is frustrating."

Kaden frowned. He didn't want to tell Ratchet about his revelation. Not right now. Not while he is still recovering from what happened to him. Perhaps he was just thinking too much and jumping to conclusions. Yeah, that had to be it!

But then again...it sounded like the kit almost said his name

Shaking his head, Kaden clapped suddenly, startling Ratchet out of his stupor "Hey, it's okay. You're not gonna remember everything in a day. Remember that surprise I told you about? How about I take you there, does that sound good?"

Ratchet perked up at this, "Oh blast! That sounds awesome." he smirked, "Now tell me what it is!"

Kaden laughed, "That takes away the meaning of a surprise, kit."

They entered the elevator, quickly pressing the button to make their way down to the ground floor. Kaden had a bitter taste in his mouth the whole way down.

Just how is he going to go about this?

.

.

.

How will Ratchet take it when he finds out that...in all reality....maybe someone wasn't waiting for him to remember them. That, quite possibly, he could've been alone?

He sighed, he would do anything to change that. But at the moment, he felt powerless. For once, Kaden Callisto did not know what to do.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

They walked towards the city square, chatting between the two of them while Ratchet observed his surroundings. That was until Kaden stopped in front of one of the buildings, a small, two-story building that had big, wide windows showing off the inside. One could compare it to a bank, or small Pharmacy. However, it was different from what Ratchet expected.

Kaden led him inside, bringing him to one of the desks towards the back.

"Now I know this might seem weird, but this is mostly a gift from the council-" Ratchet's fur bristled as the man continued, "Al and I pulled a few strings here and there, and the council is willing to give you a form of identification so you can go around on your own." he paused, "I'm sure one of the workers will be here shortly to give it to us."

Ratchet looked up at him questioningly, "Why would I need a form of identification just to walk around?"

Kaden sighed, "At first. The council wanted us to keep an eye on you. But since you can take care of yourself, the council brought it upon themselves to do that for you. Think of it as some form of protection and reassurance that if anything arises, people will be there to help."

Ratchet shook his head, "Well, that doesn't make sense. Aren't you guys doing that already?" Kaden sighed, shaking his head silently. Ratchet huffed, pouting to himself, "So, you guys were told to keep an eye on me?" He accused, voice low so no one would hear. Kaden immediately straightened, "No! Not at all! Phoebe and I decided to take you in. The Council never forced us to do anything."

Ratchet thought to himself quietly, before speaking up once more, "So it's a tracker? I don't know why I need it."

Kaden huffed, "You are a kit. One that was found outside the city, injured and barely breathing. You have no family to speak of and nothing to your name. The council wants to help you. That's it."

Kaden immediately regretted the words that came out of his mouth when Ratchet looked down, eyes wide. Before he sighed and crossed his arms. Kaden whispered out, "Hey kid, I didn't mean it like that. It's jus-" and he was cut off by a short Lombaxian woman, who greeted them before handing Ratchet a card, already knowing what to give him when she saw Kaden enter the establishment. Ratchet silently took the card between his middle and pointer fingers before flipping it over to examine it. He let out a meek little 'thank you!' before pocketing it. He turned to Kaden silently, eyes defiant, "Thanks for taking me here. I really appreciate it!"

And Kaden could tell that it was a lie

The walk back was quite uneventful. With Ratchet walking diligently behind the man, his posture rigid and cold. One could probably mistake him for a soldier if he were to ever wear armor. Kaden sighed, perhaps he could still save this day. He looked around at the shops they passed, eyes scanning along each and everyone before stopping suddenly, turning to Ratchet, "If you don't mind, I will be heading into that store there. You can wait outside if you want?"

Ratchet was silent, before he nodded. Kaden smiled, "Okay then, well, don't go anywhere! I will be right back!" and then he was off. Ratchet waited outside the store, slowly taking out his communicator, trying to figure out more about how the device worked, deciding to finally try and change the settings on into something that would fit him. He fiddled around with it until he was startled out of his concentration,

"Hey, Ratchet!"

He looked up, trying to pinpoint who said it before a familiar Lombax came into view.

"It's nice to see you again!" Oliver stated excitedly. "After yesterday I couldn't find you when we both left the stands. I was going to have my dad ask Alister where you were but didn't get the chance to!"

Ratchet eyed him wearily, "Why would you be looking for me?"

Oliver looked at him in surprise, "W-well I thought that-well you were-uh..." he rubbed the back of his neck, "I-it was fun hanging out with you, even i-if we didn't talk much and well." paused, looking up shyly, "Look, I don't have any friends on this blasted planet and you don't either and I thought you were pretty cool when I met you so..." He stopped, before he saw Ratchet was still staring at him, "I know what it feels like to be alone. So I figured that you'd want someone to hang around with. Not just watching stupid trainees hit dummies hundreds of times, or meeting mysterious people from the council." he winced, rubbing his neck, "I'm sorry if this is awkward for you, I-I probably shouldn't have even approached you."

At this, Ratchet relaxed his posture. He shook his head, "It's not awkward at all. And if I were to be honest with you.." he sighed, "It's nice seeing another familiar face." He smiled, watching as Oliver relaxed, "I have felt lonely while being here, since I lost my memories and all. While I know some people truly care about me.." He paused, choosing his next words carefully,

"You are probably the first real friend I made here." he paused, before adding "Even though we didn't talk much at all." He chuckled, Oliver laughing along with him. The slightly shorter Lombax looked around suddenly, pulling out his phone and checking the time, "I better get going soon. My mom is expecting me home. But before that. Do you have a phone?"

Ratchet looked down in his hand, holding it out to Oliver, "Hah...I only have this.."

Oliver looked at him in surprise before he took the communicator from him, gasping when he say the logo, "Wow! This is an oldie! Probably one of the last ones in existence." He looked a bit closer, "While communicators are slower than modern Holo-Phones, they serve their purpose. They are probably more durable as well, looking at how they are made..."

He swiped at the screen, before looking at it quizzically, "Whoa, what kinda language is this? Whatever, things are probably a bit broken anyways. At least you can tell by the icons what's what." He tapped away at the screen, before handing the communicator back to Ratchet and pulling out his phone. Ratchet heard a tiny ping come from his device. But before he could look at it, Oliver started jogging away, "Text me later!"

And there, highlighted on the screen

*[New Message]*

[Ollie] This is Oliver. You just acquired a new friend! ╰(*°▽°*)

He smiled, before putting his communicator away. Planning to get back to him later. He sighed, it was odd. Making a friend so suddenly, but he wasn't opposed to the opportunity. He assumes that it was good to have someone in your corner that would (most likely) understand you a bit better than adults do, even so...

He kinda felt bad for the way he acted when receiving the council's "gift". It's not like Kaden could do anything about it. No matter how influential he might be in Lombaxian society. Considering his situation, and choices, it is probably better for him to roll with it. Especially since he didn't hold any power in this situation either.

"Gotta play it smart though" He mentally reminded himself, "There's still something going on that I don't know about. I know it."

Still, a big part of him knew when he was in the wrong, and that he should apologize to the man when he got the chance. It was only fair.

He waited in his spot a little longer, watching the people pass by every so often. Thankfully there were not a lot of people out today, at least at this time. He really did not want people staring at him or trying to talk to him. Considering that he was the talk of the town, at least, according to that weird council member guy from yesterday. In truth, he would rather keep to himself about his situation, thinking about what to do. At this rate, he wasn't getting anywhere. He was startled out of his thoughts when Kaden walked right up next to him, holding a black shopping bag in his hand. The man smiled at him, "Well, are you ready to head back? I got something we can do before we start dinner. I thought we could surprise Phoebe later."

Ratchet smiled, stopping the man before he could step forward, heading back to his house. Kaden raised a brow, looking at him questioningly, Ratchet took a deep breath in, "L-Look, I don't think I was ever good at any of this apology stuff but I figure..well, I owe you one." Kaden's eyes widened in surprise, "I didn't mean to sound rude, y'know. I didn't mean to take it out on you because of the whole card business." He scratched the spot behind his ear, "So, I'm sorry. But don't tell anyone I said that, okay? Really hurts my pride."

Kaden laughed at his remark, shaking his head, and smiling slightly "Kid, I don't blame you for acting the way you did. Hell, if I got that when I was your age I would hover boot away at a moment's notice." he put a hand on his shoulder, "Just. Understand that there are people here that want to help you. Okay?"

"No, that's not okay...especially when there are a select few that seem to be hiding something from me." Ratchet thought, but he smiled nonetheless.

"I know. Thank you."

Kaden nodded before walking away, gesturing for Ratchet to follow. "Now let's get back. You're probably hungry, and I could go for a snack myself!"

As they walked away, they failed to notice a set of eyes watching them leave, frowning to themselves before turning away.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

After a light snack, Ratchet sat alone on the couch, mindlessly watching the news channel that Kaden put on beforehand. The man went to do...something. Ratchet doesn't remember what he said but he wasn't in the living room.

While a commercial came on about some weird product to minimize the occurrence of greying fur, Kaden walked into the room and went to stand in front of Ratchet. Said kid looked up, eyeing the man curiously as he held something behind his back. Kaden smiled, "Now I know that our day took a bit of a turn but I thought I would get us something that we would both enjoy. Think of it as spending some time together before you regain your memories."

The man revealed what was behind his back, showing it to Ratchet. It seemed like a box of some kind, with the design of a ship on the front, with different little metal gears and such around the pictures. Everything else he looked over before he stared up at the man in confusion. Kaden looked elated, "I got a little kit for us to build when I have free time. Once completed you could display it in the spare room until you leave. Well, that and-" a trailed off a bit, thinking about his next words "I just thought it would be nice to do something together. We just started to get to know each other. And since you're here, I figured this would be the best thing to get you acclimated here with Phoebe and me."

Ratchet looked stunned for a moment, eyes widening. Before looking back at the building kit, "I-I don't think I've ever done one of those before. I think that is a great idea! I would love to!" and he was genuinely excited.

Kaden beamed, before going to put the kit away in his workspace. "I will be busy tomorrow, Phoebe and Alister as well. And now with that card of yours.." He winced to himself, sorry that he brought up the topic, "You're free to go wherever you please." he watched as Ratchet's face lit up. "But-" Kaden interjected, "Be back before sundown."

Ratchet nodded quickly, giddy to finally go and explore. Before turning around and smirking,

Or, he could finally find out more about himself...and the council too, Perhaps something could remind him of who he once was.

"Well, why don't we get started on making dinner for Phoebe?"

Ratchet smiled, before joining the man in the kitchen. Happy to help and be included in something other than awkward interactions and anxiety-inducing situations.

Needless to say, the tired smile that Phoebe had on her face while walking through the door made Ratchet and Kaden's efforts worth it.

He could get used to this...

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Before Ratchet knew it, the clock just struck midnight while he was looking through his communicator, trying to get the thing to work properly. The screen still flashed faintly in the top left corner, where it was cracked. Not to mention the weird notifications that popped up and went away at a moment's notice. He sighed, this made him wish he had a Holo-Phone on him when he was found outside the city. The damn device in his hand was so slow while loading, that it made him want to pull his fur out.

Nonetheless, he tried to make it a bit better for him to at least have some other form of amusement. And maybe also get the GPS to work, he didn't know his way around the city at all.

*Ping!*

He looked at the screen curiously, before a notification popped up. He read it,

*[New Message!]*

He tapped the notification immediately, eyes widening as he saw the message :

[Ollie]  Hey! U still awake?

Ratchet hesitated a bit before replying...

[Ratchet]  Yeah, why are you awake?

[Ollie]  Video Games. duhh. Gotta get a high score! ᕙ('▿')ᕗ

[Ollie]  Then again, why are u even awake?

[Ratchet]  I could not sleep. And I am trying to fix my communicator.

[Ollie] Ohhh. Yeah that thing is shit. You should get a new one!

[Ollie]  I know! Let's get u a new one tomorrow!

[Ratchet] Can't. I have no bolts :(

[Ollie]  Ah, beans. Maybe we can steal one! (ง︡'-'︠)ง

Ratchet rolled his eyes...

[Ratchet]  I highly doubt that.

[Ollie]  Oh, come on dude! Have faith!

[Ollie]  I'm kidding. I was hoping we could play video games tho." ;(

[Ollie]  That's it. Meet me tomorrow at the city square!

[Ratchet]  Where

[Ollie]  Wym where?

[Ollie]  Oh yeah u can't remember shit, u dummy

[Ollie]  I will send u my location when I get there!

[Ollie]  That way u won't get lost.

[Ratchet]  Okay, first of all : that hurt.

[Ratchet]  Second of all : Have faith.

[Ollie]  Won't believe it till I see u there, memory boy

Ratchet sighed, he'll prove him wrong. He will...or else his pride will suffer

[Ollie]  Who knows! Maybe something will jog ur memory!

[Ratchet]  Yeah maybe!

[Ollie]  Okay! Tmw. City square! Be there, don't get lost!

[Ollie]  Sleep time.

[Ratchet]  I thought you wanted to get a high score?

[Ollie]  ....

[Ollie]  Yeah...

[Ollie]  Sleep is for the weak anyways

[Ollie]  Anyways. see u tmw. Traveler!

[Ratchet] : Yeah see you tmw, Oliver.

Ratchet sighed, he just needed to check one more thing before he fell asleep...

He navigated out of the texting app, before using the d-pad to highlight and click on the photo app. Looking at the view from Kaden's lab building, admiring the picture he took. He was glad he did, almost wanting to save it as his background picture on his communicator, if he even could.

Before clicking off the app, he looked at the accidental selfie he took of his face at the tower before he turned the camera. He clicked on it to delete it after he zoomed in on it, but paused.

There is no way...

While his startled face took up most of the screen, it was the figure behind him that caused him to stop, staring at the photo wide-eyed.

Right there, behind his left shoulder, in the distance, looking around a corner was a set of familiar orange eyes. The same eyes from yesterday that the mysterious man was the owner of. The small blur of fur giving it away. The Council Member

 Ratchet smirked, a knowing gleam in his eyes, saving the picture for future reference. There was only one thought in his mind...

Ha! I got you now...

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Yeah, no Clank segment this time. I figured I would leave that for the next chapter since it becomes pretty heavy in the feels department and I wanted to give you all a break from the depressing stuff :) and also because I plan for Clank to do...well actually I won't tell you! You'll see in the next chapter! hehe >:)

ALSO : A few little notes/facts that I wanna explain...

-In the last chapter, Clank's first memory file (VMBFILE 1 . 110402) the 110402 segment is actually the date of the 1st game's release. I thought is was a nice little Easter Egg to add in :)

-In this chapter, Ratchet changed hiscommunicator'ss default language (Lombaxian) to "Veldish" Since he did grow up on Veldin (not that he knows this himself, but he assumes it is normal). I don't think this term is ever mentioned (or even exists) in the game (if it is, I don't remember). I figured it would be a nice characteristic that may or may not come into play in later chapters.

As always, sorry for any spelling or grammar errors! I will come back to fix them if there are any!

See you next chapter!

OH BTW : Thank you all for over 200 Reads! I appreciate all the support! Thank You! :)