Hot, hard sandstone burned underneath Ratchet's feet, a persistent reminder of the hostility of Gaspar. The heat that radiated up from the lava was a much harsher variety than the heat he was used to on Veldin, and they'd already had a few close calls regarding falling in. Now they had found themselves in the middle of trouble, as enemies seemed to be jumping out at them from all angles at the moment.

Ratchet was exhausted.

They had been running around here for hours since fighting through the invasion on Batalia, taking out the Blarg's docked ships one by one. Ratchet didn't know what they were even getting out of this anymore, but Clank kept pushing for one more. One more.

Even the satisfying sound of his blaster bullets connecting with those feral, robotic dogs did little to ease his frustration.

"Ratchet?"

There he goes again.

"Clank, just wait." Ratchet growled back at him. He didn't care what Clank had to say anymore. In front of him, there was a machine spawning what seemed to be endless amounts of dogs, and they were really starting to overwhelm him. He had to get to that machine.

Clank, facing the opposite direction, was currently widening his eyes at the sight of another spawning machine that Ratchet couldn't see. This one was spewing bombs, and they were coming in their direction even faster than the dogs. "Ratchet, look behind you!" Clank warned loudly.

A set of steel teeth almost clamped around Ratchet's leg. "Can you just shut up-" Ratchet shouted back sounding equally alarmed, not even turning to glance away from the robots he was already fighting his way through.

But the bombs were almost here. "Ratchet-" Clank persisted, but was cut off once again.

"-can you?! Leave it for one minute and let me-" 'BANG', a loud noise rang loud as a bomb slammed into Ratchet's side. Fire seared through his fur and skin, the impact knocking them both violently to the rocky ground. Clank winced as Ratchet cried out in pain at the burn, and his head smashed against the ground. Ratchet finally turned to see what was coming for them. That hadn't been the only one. A whole stream of bombs was still coming in their direction. Ratchet gasped in horror when he saw it, lifting his wrench in order to knock them away, but before he could move, another one slammed into his chest.

Another loud bang rang through his ears, and this time, they also picked up on a sickening sizzling sound as the remaining flames fed on his skin, eating through more layers than Ratchet cared to know about. He bit back another yell and quickly leapt out of the way of the next bomb, narrowly avoiding both another bad burn, and a hole in his head as one of the robotic dogs clamped its sharp, steel jaws on the air in the spot he'd just come from.

Out came the blaster, but the bullets did nothing to knock the bombs away. They had to go. So Ratchet ran as he shot at them, still keeping excellent aim, and one by one, they blew up. Whether by his shots, or their time simply ran out, he didn't know. It didn't matter. Finally, they reached stainless steel loading dock out of reach of the dogs. The horrible things retreated, and Ratchet sunk to the ground, breathless.

Clank let the lombax have the moment, and looked around. The blue light of the lamps mixed eerily with the red glow of the lava as the sun sank further into the horizon.

Ratchet was focused on getting his breath back, but the sound of his heavy breaths helped him to disguise the sharper gasps that came from pain.

Clank couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer. "Ratchet... Are you alright?"

"No." The response was simple and quiet, but it broke Clank's heart.

"...I tried to warn you, Ratchet." Clank added slowly, but it turned out to be the wrong answer.

"Don't you even start, Clank!" Ratchet yelled in an outburst, getting back up just to throw the little robot from his back. "You're the whole reason we're in this mess at all!"

Clank helicoptered to the ground with a thud, watching on with sad eyes as Ratchet began his search for some nanotech.

"Ratchet, I know what you are going to say- Clank began, but was shortly interrupted.

"No you don't, Clank, you listen to me." Ratchet turned back to the robot with equal parts of hurt and anger. "I'm done with this- all of it. I never signed up for any of this. All I needed was for you to start my ship. All I wanted was to get the hell off of that dust pile. You start my ship, I take you somewhere. That was our deal. But now it's out of hand, Clank!"

"Ratchet! You cannot blame all of this on me. I recall you wanting to come here for a helmet- this was your idea too. Besides, it is beyond all importance that we find Chairman Drek, and stop him. I warned you about the bomb, and if you had have only listened to me, you would not have gotten hurt!" Clank accused. He frowned disapprovingly at Ratchet's apparent offence at the statement.

"For the last time, I'm not stopping Drek for you! This is out of my control!" Ratchet scoffed. Then he paused. He took a breath, and Clank waited for him to speak.

"In case you didn't realise just then, I'm not invincible." Ratchet continued darkly. "I can't take this guy out. I can't win every fight I get into. You're acting like I didn't listen just because I didn't want to, but the reality is I've got enough on my plate. I'm meant it when I said I have my own problems. No doubt the Galaxy has problems, but I don't want to be the one who has to run around trying to fix it. You're just naive to think that this will work."

Clank's defences went straight up. "You are just like the rest of them." He sighed.

"The rest of who?"

"Everyone else that we meet in this Galaxy. They all want something in return for everything. They never give to help others. They are selfish, and that's why their solar system is being destroyed."

"Oh, so now I'm selfish for not wanting to risk my butt for them? I just don't want to die, Clank!"

Clank froze. What Ratchet was telling him was starting to sink in.

"I don't have that much to give! I'm sure as hell not giving my life when it's only just began, but I'm losing track of the amount of times we've both almost died for this stupid quest of yours. I'm sick of risking my skin for this!"

Ratchet hadn't intended it, but Clank's eyes were immediately drawn to the seared patches of skin showing through the charred fur on Ratchet's body. He noticed how low the young lombax's ears hung, how he struggled to hold himself upright properly. He realised that behind all the yelling, he was struggling to get air into him, and behind all that anger, he was hurt, and... also scared.

"...I" Clank was suddenly lost for words. Nothing was more important than the universe, but he finally understood what Ratchet was getting at. He would never put it the way Clank had deciphered it, but Ratchet was actually scared. The way Clank had been before he found Ratchet. "...I am sorry, Ratchet. I never meant for you to get hurt." He started. What else could he say? He eyed the hesitant lombax again, forcing himself to see the pain he had been allowing himself to ignore. Guilt washed over him. He was an empathetic being, and it hurt him to see others hurt. But he let his empathy guide his words.

"I never want you to get hurt." He repeated. "And I can see what you are saying... You have gotten hurt doing good, which was never my intention. But you are doing more good than you realise."

Ratchet's eyebrow went up, failing to process what the little robot was saying.

Clank continued. "I can not do this on my own. I don't think that you deserve to have to be the one to fix things, but if we don't do this, and Captain Quark won't do it, then I am certain that there is no one else who will. I understand what you mean. I had faith in Captain Quark when he was only a traitor. I appreciate it- a lot- that you got us out of that mess, and I will resolve to be more cautious in the future. But you cannot give up. I want to do my best to help the galaxy, and to help you."

"Wha- what do you mean help me? You only care about one thing! You don't care about me..." Ratchet accused, but Clank heard the hesitation, and the hope in his tone, and realised he hoped that Clank cared. He hoped, but he didn't know.

"I do care about you, you are just as important as the galaxy!" Clank exclaimed. The air went silent, Ratchet's ears perked despite his exhaustion, in surprise at this response.

They were engulfed in a sort of darkness as the sun finally sank below the horizon and left them behind.

"All I ask... Is that you try to help me, and realise that the galaxy is also as important as you. Drek is going to destroy it, and it's as important as our lives that we save it."

"So... you actually care..?" Ratchet's voice had a concerning rasp to it. He let his ears droop back down, and lowered himself to the ground once more to rest. "I don't know Clank, I just don't think I can do it..."

Clank's little feet clanked against the steel platform as he approached his companion.

"I would never have gotten this far without you, Ratchet. You already are doing it."

The look in Ratchet's eyes showed more pain the more the anger left his features.

"And from now on... If you feel that something is wrong, I will listen. If you feel you are reaching your limits, I will listen."

"I think uh..." Ratchet let out a hollow chuckle. "I think I've reached them for today..."
Clank nodded in understanding.

Then the lombax added; "How about we come back tomorrow."

If Clank had a heart, it would have skipped a beat. He nodded again with enthusiasm. "Yes. Yes, we can come back tomorrow." He agreed, careful to mask his feelings of surprise. "That sounds perfect."

Ratchet sighed, but this time he sounded relieved. He got back onto his feet, and held his hand out to Clank, and in one familiar motion, Ratchet lifted the happy robot back up onto his back.

Clank smiled, and made sure to keep a careful eye out for any further threats as they started back towards the ship. "I'll watch your back." He assured.

Ratchet smiled too, feeling somewhat looked after for the first time in a long while. "Thanks... I'll um. I'll get us home safe."