Raindrops

XIII

Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet and Clank, Mario, the "Luigi's Mansion" series, or any of its characters. ...So that kinda gave away what this drabble's going to be about, but hey... um... *WARNING: some tiny spoilers for LM3. Nothing too big, only a ghost type you may come across in the first quarter of the game. And slight story spoilers if you didn't watch the trailers.*

Raindrops

XIII

It was a dark and stormy night.

Lightning flashed outside as the little robot jumped in fear, optics widening as sharp shadows crawled along the walls. Even though the hotel was finely decorated with non-threatening things, the dark hallway seemed to stretch on for miles, the perfect place for hordes of ghosts to ambush him.

Clank shifted the Poltergust G-00 on his back, unused to the weight on his back. Usually, he was the one on Ratchet's back, keeping watch and lifting the duo to new heights with his Hoverpacks. This time though, Ratchet was gone, trapped at the very top floor in the hotel by a mad king.

The little robot could still see the look of utter shock that had been on Ratchet's face when the Lombax had been captured into a painting. Rich yellows and greens had perfectly caught the wide eyes and open-mouthed expression, the hand already reaching for the Omniwrench that had been on his back colored in smooth browns and silvers.

Suddenly, a noise came from a decorative stand just ahead of him.

The drawers shuddered, the tiniest noise of laughter coming from them. As another lightning strike flashed and another clap of thunder rumbled through the space, the drawers knocked together, a loud crash and bang echoing out.

Clank shook himself, screwing up his form and steeling his nerves, before he tip-toed over to the drawers.

With a shaking hand, he reached out and flicked open the drawer.

A ghostly yellow face appeared mere millimeters from his own, and an ear-piercing roar came from a ghost that was easily double Clank's height. Fingers hovered close to the sides of Clank's head as wild white eyes widened just inches from Clank's optics.

Clank fell back, shock tearing through every circuit and wire in his body. His optics widened, a short yelp of terror coming from him as he fumbled for his flashlight.

The ghost, a shade of yellow very close to the shades on Ratchet's fur, leaned back as a billiard ball phased into its hand. Evil laughter cackled from its throat as it screwed its arm back, ready for the throw-

Clank hopped to his feet, pointed his flashlight at the ghost, and with a look of determination, let out a huge burst of light.

The ghost froze in place, blinded by the flash.

It was all Clank needed.

With a whooshing roar, the Poltergust kicked into gear, latching onto the ghost's tail. It screamed in horror, wind-milling its arms to try and escape the Poltergust's pull. Clank leaned back and the sounds of his trademark giggle lost in the sounds of the discord.

Then the Poltergust beeped.

Clank whirled the nozzle over his head, catching the ghost in an arc and slamming the being against the floor behind the robot. A circle of stars appeared around the ghost's head, but before it could register what happened, Clank whipped the nozzle back to the place the ghost had been in before, smacking the ghost against the floor once again.

With a pop, the ghost dissolved into particles. The Poltergust made quick work, sucking up anything that might bring it back.

A beat of silence settled over the space, and Clank took a moment to steady himself. He usually wasn't scared of supernatural things, something his systems were in constant debate over, but he usually was with Ratchet.

But Ratchet wasn't here. Captain Qwark wasn't here. Talwyn, Cronk, Zephyr...

The only things Clank had were the words of a crazy old scientist, a flashlight, and a backpack-vacuum.

Loneliness filled his chest compartment, and the little robot gazed longingly down the hall. If he had only woken up just a little earlier...

He shook his head. No, blaming himself for the past wasn't going to save Ratchet and their friends. If he wanted to get to his friends, then he needed to explore the rest of the floors and find the buttons he needed to get to the top of the hotel.

Clank gripped the Poltergust's handle, optics narrowing as a wave of determination swept through him. He could do this. He would find his friends and save them from being trapped in paintings forever.

And a large part of him knew that Ratchet would not hesitate to do the same if it had been the little robot who had been captured instead.

"Hold on, Ratchet," Clank said as another lightning strike flashed over the long, pitch-black hallway in front of him. He rushed forward, Poltergust bouncing against his back and flashlight rolling over every surface in front of him. "I am coming to get you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*finger guns* *laughs awkwardly* "Luigi's Mansion 3" is currently my free serotonin dispenser. :,D God I love King Boo and Hellen so much...

Some of you might have known this was coming since I've been on an LM3 kick. I've been a fan of that series since I was... three to four years old? I've always wanted to write something for the series, even when I was really young, so doing that now is really fun and a nice break from RaC and Miraculous stuff. Gives a nice mix to my new stuff, and new mixes and challenges are always what I'm looking to do. Plus the image of Clank wielding a Poltergust and flashlight was a really cute picture I wanted to put into words.

(Also sidenote, I may still not know about Maximalism so... I might have been wrong on the last chapter *shrug*. Nonetheless, there are different writing styles that writers use for different things.)

Last thing... again, a huge thank you to those that leave reviews! You guys really brightened up my day, and I can't thank you enough from the bottom of my heart for the kind words! I hope everyone enjoyed, and I'll y'all in the next chapter! :D

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