You Make Me Feel Alive

Day 4 - Lombaxes

Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet and Clank or any of its characters. Ratchet Appreciation Week 2021 prompt list by weeksofrac of Twitter/ weeksofratchetandclank of Tumblr.

Mm... so this prompt didn't click with me like the others did (partly bc I have to substitute my own headcanons for the Lombax specie, and I don't do well working off of a lot of headcanons), but I did this as well as I could.

You Make Me Feel Alive

Day 4: Lombaxes

"And as of now, my dear boy, you've seen all the Lombax society has to offer."

Ratchet sighed, easing the tightness in his chest. He swallowed, pausing in his walk to take in his surroundings.

The leader's office was decorated close to how Talwyn's office was. Sparse, but littered with furniture that would serve a purpose: a few plush armchairs; a fireplace at the corner of the room that Ratchet knew would act as a backdrop for press conferences; a desk in front of large windows that looked out over the entirety of the Lombax metropolis...

Everything looked so official, like this was really the real deal.

Gartha, a white-furred Lombax just like Azimuth, stepped around his desk and gracefully sat in his chair. With a simple movement, he balanced his Dual Omniwrench against the desk's edge, the weapon ready to be grabbed at a moment's notice.

"What do you think, son? You, staying here, learning the Lombaxian ways?" The leader of the Lombaxes gestured to the city outside his office's window, letting Ratchet take a glimpse at the future that awaited him if he chose to stay. "We've got training yards for you to catch up on your Lombaxian combat techniques; tutors at the ready to aid you in learning our language; and a university to broaden that tinkering knowledge of yours. It's a good offer, considering all you've seen of our dimension..."

Ratchet stayed quiet, looking over Gartha to the window overlooking the Lombax society.

There was a lot awaiting Ratchet if he chose to stay with his race. A sense of belonging, something living in a universe without the Lombaxes couldn't give him, settled in his body. Thousands of possibilities awaited his fingertips...

But...

Ratchet met Gartha's brown eyes. "Thanks for the offer... but I want to ask—can any of my family come to this dimension?"

Gartha's smile fell, and a brow raised as a frown settled over his mouth. "Well, no, only Lombaxes are allowed in this dimension. We can't just allow anyone to come waltzing in here. What if Tachyon sent a spy through the dimensional gate?"

Orange brows furrowed. "I defeated Tachyon several years back," Ratchet said, wariness dripping into his tone. "In fact, if you guys wanted to move back to Polaris and Fastoon, there's nothing stopping you from doing so."

Gartha scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. "Preposterous! Like we would ever put ourselves in such a precarious position again!" He gestured to the window behind him. "We have everything we need right here, and if we stay, then nothing like what Tachyon did could ever happen to our people again."

"But then you're just living in hiding forever." Ratchet tilted his head, his wrench lifting to settle the head on his other hand. "And you're okay with that?"

Gartha rolled his eyes. "Of course, Ratchet. Why am I going to put our people in danger needlessly?"

A spark of anger burned in the yellow Lombax's chest. "And my family? Clank? Talwyn?"

"Like I said before," Gartha drawled, "no other creature besides a Lombax is welcome in this dimension." He brightened, plastering that same welcoming grin on his face. "Besides, we're all the family you need. You're with your people, where you belong..."

Something in his words stung Ratchet.

The yellow Lombax cradled his wrench in his hands, looking down to the brown, richly-woven rug at his feet. His mind whirred, weighing his options.

The Lombaxes, or at least the topic of them, had brought him nothing but pain in the past. Tachyon had done everything in his power to manipulate and break Ratchet with his past, dangling the answers over his head but pulling back the moment Ratchet got close. Azimuth was no better: not only had guilt for his actions driven him to give up reason and empathy, it had cost him his life. Ratchet had gained a father figure only to bury the same figure the same day.

Vendra and her actions went without saying. Cronk and Zephyr tied up... Talwyn's absolutely shattered face when he told her the news...

The Lombax idea had taken so much away from him, real people that he could have had a family with.

Clank and Talwyn slipped into his stream of thoughts. Clank's laugh, so happy and light, echoed around his mind. Talwyn's smile—something so bright and wonderful Ratchet could remember it perfectly without looking at her—took up the rest of his brain.

There were others too. Qwark, Sasha, the rest of the Q-Force, the Galactic Rangers... all of them loved him and gave him the greatest gift he could have ever received after growing up completely alone.

"I'm sorry, Gartha, but I can't accept."

The other Lombax looked shocked. "You... you don't want to stay with us?!"

Ratchet steeled his nerves and removed any expression on his face. "No. I can't. Not without my family. Either Clank and Talwyn come here, or I leave." Green eyes narrowed. "That is nonnegotiable."

Gartha leaned back in his chair, disappointment painting his frown. "You would really give up living with us—your people—to live with outsiders that could never give you the family you deserve?"

"They've already given me the family I deserve and more. They love me, and they would never abandon me. They've been with me at the darkest points of my life and sat with me through the best. It's more than anything you all have ever given me." Ratchet dropped the wrench head from his other hand. "If that's all, then I'm done here."

Gartha scoffed. Offense slipped into his tone, rising with the volume of his voice. "You're serious?! My boy, this is the opportunity of a lifetime!"

Ratchet turned around, walking back to the office doors.

"If you throw this away now, you'll be wasting the chance to live with us—YOUR PEOPLE!"

His hand stopped at the door handle.

There was something too familiar about those words, about that tone of voice. The last time Ratchet had heard it, Clank had pushed him out of the way of an energy bolt that would have hit him square in the chest.

And that was all it took for Ratchet to make his decision.

He turned his head, looking back to Gartha. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm not taking it. I'd rather spend the rest of my life with people that love me rather than people that expect me to do for them when they've done nothing but hurt me in return." Ratchet opened the door, keeping his eyes to the Lombax leader. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to make it to the next portal rift. My family still needs saving..."

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Song Inspo: "Shatter Me" by Lindsey Stirling (feat. Lzzy Hale).

I know this is kind of crappy. I wrote one word and my desire to work on this prompt shot out the window. Ratchet's got a connection to his people, but we know next to nothing about those people, so coming up with nonsense to fill the void wasn't that exciting for me. I do hope this was fulfilling in some way, and I am completely chill with taking a loss on this one. I can't win em all.

Nonetheless, I'm a lot more excited for the other prompts! Thank you all for reading and supporting! :D