|| Fifth ☄ ||

[guardiano_perduto]

--uh.

[Oh hey there Ratchet, where've you been? Stuff happened on the ship while you were gone.

...but something about the Lombax just doesn't look quite right. His fur's a bit bristled and it doesn't look like he's been sleeping very well at all. Scorch-marks cover some pretty broad sections of his armour, notably his hands. But he ignores all that and tries to address Cambot with as casual a demeanor as he can manage.

Which isn't that good.

Something's definately bugging him, other than their current predicament.]

I was gonna say something along the lines of how the heck I got tossed back and forth like this but, ah...

Could someone tell me why there's a talking dinosaur plastered all over the place?

Comments

[optimistickey]

All right! I'm up on the cafeteria deck.

[guardiano_perduto]

Tryin' to get a little exercise outta me, huh? Alright, alright I'm comin'.

[optimistickey]

[And Sora is waiting in the cafeteria, with a couple of milkshakes from the synthesizer ready in case Ratchet feels like one.]

Hey there.

[guardiano_perduto]

[Oh, Sora, you're a bro and Ratchet's so, so lucky to have you as a pal. Because who else would talk about the impending end of existence over milkshakes? It's the start of a sense of normalcy, and one that's desperately needed.]

...

What is this, a date?

[Yes, that's how he thanks you.]

[optimistickey]

[That's some way to say thanks! Sora responds with a facepalm.]

Hey, come on! I was already getting one, thought you'd like one, too. Everyone likes milkshakes!

[guardiano_perduto]

Wellll... okay. I mean, you did get two.

[At least it gets a small smile from the Lombax, and he sits across the table from his companion.]

...seriously, though. Thank you.

[optimistickey]

[All right, a smile is what Sora was after. Now he's satisfied. He stops to take a sip from his own.]

It's no problem.

So...what's up?

[guardiano_perduto]

[...right. That was what he'd come here for in the first place, hadn't he?

Both of his hands rest on the cup of the milkshake, so he's fighting the urge to grasp at his wrist as the memories suddenly come flowing back, as real as the day it had all happened. But there is a sudden, pained look in the young Lombax's face, meeting Sora's eyes for just a moment, before they're averted.]

I... went home, I guess. And I met a guy I never thought I would.

Maybe I shouldn't have.

[optimistickey]

[Sora looks worried...he doesn't remember Ratchet ever looking quite this bad. Something really awful must have happened with him. Why did this keep happening whenever they got dragged back home?]

Well...who did you meet?

[guardiano_perduto]

...General Alister Azimuth.

He...

He was a Lombax, too. And a good friend of my dad's.

[optimistickey]

[That doesn't explain as much, except that maybe this Alister had done (or tried to do) something bad.]

Something bad happened with him, I guess?

[guardiano_perduto]

...he wanted to help our kind come back. He was obsessed with it, and nothing we said could convince him to change his mind. He--

[That much gets him to cut off, suddenly choking back a soft sob. Fingers move to pinch the brim of his nose tightly, the Lombax now leaning over the table.]

He wouldn't stop. It just got worse and worse.

[optimistickey]

[Okay, it looks like something bad is a given now. Sora doesn't know what to say for a moment. Maybe it would be best not to pry further into details now.]

I'm really sorry...

[guardiano_perduto]

[Jeez, what a break. He knew he had to get it out in the open somehow, but this wasn't quite what the Lombax had envisioned.

Biting back tears, his hand moves to rub against his nose once, finally managing to look back up at his younger companion. Maybe... he couldn't feel what he was feeling, but that was alright. Nobody should ever have to go through the loss of a loved one.]

...what am I supposed to do? Clank... he tells me these things happen for a reason, but what reason? Why couldn't we just move on and be happy?

Why does he have to be gone, Sora?

[optimistickey]

[Sora's never been much a fan of the idea 'everything happens for a reason,' even if for him it pretty much always ends up true. He thinks for a bit.]

I...I don't know.

If there's a reason, maybe you just don't know it now, or won't for awhile. But, if you're still here...then I think that's gotta be for a good reason.

[guardiano_perduto]

I need to fight for those who can't.

But... what's the point of that if I'm just going to make things worse, anyway? If he hadn't met me, maybe... he'd still be alive.

[optimistickey]

I don't think you'll make things worse! You don't know how things would go if you weren't there. I mean...you're here, so there's still good you can do. Fight for those who can't, like you said.

[guardiano_perduto]

...you're all heroes here, aren't you? So you know what you're doing. What difference does it make if I just sit out a few rounds?

[optimistickey]

[Sora scratches at his head.] Well...I dunno if everyone is! And that doesn't mean we know what we're doing all the time.

Sometimes it can make all the difference for other people.

[guardiano_perduto]

[He knew he shouldn't just sit back and let bad things happen to others. It just never sat with him well. But if it was going to happen anyway, did his involvement even make any difference? Clank understood his decision, so why couldn't Sora? Why wouldn't anyone else?

Maybe because they hadn't seen what they'd seen, firsthand.]

...I'll think about it.

[Not that he hadn't already. Even now, they needed to find some way to get out of this dimension before things got any worse.]

But I've also been thinking of retiring from anything 'heroic', kid. I've been doing it for years - isn't that enough?

[optimistickey]

[Truth be told, Sora just wants to go home and be with his friends, too. So that sentiment, he understands a little. But at the same time, he also knows he can't stop fighting as long as someone needs him.]

I guess...when it comes to heroic stuff, you can stop whenever you want to. But if you don't feel comfortable just ignoring the bad stuff and letting someone else do it...then you can't 'retire.'

[guardiano_perduto]

...before Tachyon came into the picture, I really did think it was that easy. A supervillain would come, we'd beat 'em, and the day would be saved. We could stop that whenever we wanted to because someone else could be capable of doing the same thing.

Things got harder after Clank was taken away. Everything was so much more confusing, and... with the General, it felt like my life was really going to start making sense. We found Clank, and we were all gonna go home as a family.

I... just...

I never had a real family before, Sora. I didn't grow up with a mother or father. Tachyon killed them before I got a chance to know them.

[optimistickey]

[Sora still doesn't know what to say all that. He knows that's all really hard to go through...but he can't make decisions for Ratchet.]

I'm really sorry...

[guardiano_perduto]

...I'm sorry. I think I'm getting a little carried away.

I... I don't know what to do with myself anymore. It used to be so easy.

[optimistickey]

Well...maybe having a bit of time here will give you some time to think it over. Figure out what you wanna do, right?