• Published 1st Sep 2014
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The Sparkle in his Eye - Tatsurou



Ratchet balances saving the galaxy with being the father to a purple alicorn foal. Adorable shenanigans and explosions ensue.

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Arsenal: Grief

As the ship returned to the Phoenix, Sasha, Helga, and Al awaited the return of the expedition group with bated breath. Ratchet climbed down from the ship slowly, gently setting the still unsteady Twilight down on her hooves. She spread her wings slightly to keep herself stable while Clank and Skrunch got down.

As they approached, Sasha ran forward, grabbed Ratchet by his ears, and planted a firm kiss right on his lips. "I-" she began when she broke the kiss, before seeming to come back to herself as she realized where she was and what she'd just done. "Well, we are all very glad that you made it back safely," she finished, plainly trying to deflect any inquiries regarding her personal pleasure at the return into group dialogue.

"Not...all of us," Ratchet said sorrowfully. "Were there...any other craft leaving the Leviathan?" he pleaded, hoping against hope that Qwark had somehow survived.

Sasha hung her head sadly. "I'm sorry Ratchet," she replied sadly. "We detected nothing." Seeing Ratchet glance guiltily at his hands, she rested her hand on his shoulder. "We heard the whole thing over the comm link," she told him. "You had no choice. You...made the right call."

Ratchet continued to stare at his hand. "Does that...make this any easier to live with?" he asked softly. "Knowing I made the choice...that cost Captain Qwark his life?"

Sasha shook her head. "Nothing makes living with those choices easier," she pointed out. "But...it helps to remember who forced those choices on you. Remember who created this situation. Remember what still needs to be done. And..." Her eyes trailed over to where Twilight was struggling to wipe her eyes. "Remember who still needs you."

Turning to Twilight, Ratchet nodded. He couldn't fall apart now. He had to stay strong. Taking a deep breath, he got his emotions under control. "Thanks," he said sincerely, managing to smile for Sasha.

She smiled back, then turned towards the bridge. "We've...prepared a funeral for him. It...it would be good if you could...say a few words."

Ratchet nodded. "...I'll try."


The funeral was calm, quiet, emotional, and reserved. It was also a military funeral, focused on inspiring those left behind. They'd even chained up robo-Skidd on the bridge to hear the speeches. Al had been first to speak, though all he was able to do was list off facts from Captain Qwark's bio. It was up to each listener to decide if it was because that was all he knew or if it was all he could process emotionally.

Skrunch had also given a deep, emotional, moving speech that tugged at the heartstrings and warmed the soul...but he was the only one present who spoke monkey.

Helga's speech was quite emotional, as she reminisced about happy times working with Qwark. "Und ve vould frolic in the fitness course until ze wee hours of the morning!" she managed through her tears before Ratchet was forced to gently push her aside before she short circuited herself.

Stepping up to the podium, Ratchet opened his mouth to give a speech about how heroic, brave, noble Qwark was...and paused. He knew that was the speech that everyone wanted to hear, the speech they needed to hear. But at the same time, towards the end, Qwark had been surprisingly honest about himself, both with himself and others. It felt like giving such a speech would be...betraying the man Qwark had been in the process of becoming, the man he died to be.

Ratchet closed his mouth, lowering his eyes. When he raised his head, he spoke as he felt that man would have spoken.

"Qwark was no hero," he began firmly, causing many a gasp, including one he did not hear from a distant location that was also listening in, and had been gloating up until that point. "He was a liar, an arrogant blowhard, a self-centered idiot, with a streak of vanity as wide as his much vaunted shoulders. He only cared about himself and how people saw him, and thought little of stepping on people to be what he wanted to be. This is the man Qwark was...but heroes are not born."

Every ear was craned to his words in confusion now. "Qwark wanted to be a hero. He pushed himself physically to be as strong and fast as powerful as he could be, so he could protect people, become a shield. However, at the same time, he was cowardly, unable to face up against true threats on his own. Fear gnawed at his soul, and turned him from a hero into a bully. This is the man Qwark was turned into...but heroes are not made."

At this point, even Ratchet wasn't sure where his words were coming from, but he knew he couldn't stop. He had to say them all. He had to speak for Qwark, say the words he would have said if he was here to say them, to Speak for the Dead. "But he faced down all of that, and when faced with the truth of who he had become, he chose to change that. On Planet Yeedil in the Bogon Galaxy, he made the choice to throw his life away on the chance he could save one he had greatly wronged." He glanced towards Twilight, who was now sniffling quietly, but managing to smile through her tears. "He survived that day, but he came out from it changed. He had cast aside his arrogance, his self-centered identity, his vanity, his ego. He had embraced his flaws, and was working to turn them into strengths. And at the last, he risked his life in the hopes of giving us one last advantage over Nefarious, who threatens the peace of the galaxy still. He died a hero's death, as the man he chose to be...because heroes are chosen."

The words swelled within him now, from the part of his heart that burned brightly when the Galactic Rangers looked to him for guidance, when Twilight looked to him for comfort, and when civilians looked to him for salvation. "Heroes are chosen. Whether by gods, or fate, or the needs of the galaxy, individuals are chosen to become more than an individual, to become the hero that the galaxy needs...but only if, in the depths of their hearts, they can choose to do so. Qwark chose, and was chosen. When Clank first crash landed on Veldin, Twilight and I were chosen...and in the end, we chose to act. And now, Qwark has chosen all of us." He looked from one face full of rapt attention to the next. "He gave us his symbol!" He pointed to the Q on his own uniform. "He chose us to be the heroes that Sollana needs! What will you choose?"

Twilight was the first to step forward. "For Qwark!" she proclaimed proudly.

"For Qwark!" Sasha added, saluting.

"For Qvark!" Helga proclaimed through her tears.

"Mk-mqwak!" Skrunch proclaimed.

"For the Captain!" Al added.

"For Qwark!" the Galactic Rangers said in unison.

There was a crash as robo-Skidd burst from his chains, smashing a clenched fist into a metallic palm. "Tear Nefarious limb for robotic limb and feed him his own servos!" he proclaimed, the synthetic quality of his voice failing to hide his genuine rage. "For Qwark!"

Everyone stared. "Did..." Ratchet began. "Did I just break Skidd free of robotic mind control...with an inspirational speech?"

"It...it sure seems that way," Al replied, checking the data his scanners were giving him on Skidd.

"You said heroes are chosen, Ratchet," Sasha pointed out. "And Qwark chose you to take over in his place should anything happen to him." She smiled proudly up at him. "He chose well."


In another location, unknown to those aboard the Phoenix, a certain robotic villain who had been prepared to gloat over the fall of his nemesis was instead bawling his optics out, much to the embarrassment of his butler and prisoner. "No~ho-ho-ho!" Nefarious wailed. "Why did Qwark have to die?"

"But...you killed him, sir," Lawrence pointed out.

"I kno-ho-ho-ow!" Nefarious wailed. "I feel so horrible!"

"But...he was your nemesis," Clank added.

"And absolutely horrible to you through your schooling years and your first conflict with him, sir," Lawrence elaborated.

"And now he's gone!" Nefarious bawled. "And it's all my fault! QWAAAAA-"

His circuitry sparked as it always did when he shouted Qwark's name thusly. However, unlike every other time, the listeners were not regaled with the sound of old space soap operas. Instead, the mournful tones of a bagpipe dirge regaled them. Lawrence was frozen in shock, unwilling to bring himself to interrupt the tribute.

"-AAARRRRRK!" Nefarious finished as the music ended, falling back into his chair to continue to cry. After a time, he regained control of himself. "Well, Qwark seems to have inspired his Q-Force to come against me," he said softly. "As my nemesis, I suppose I owe it to him and his memory...to give them a battle they will never forget!" His laugh was once more maniacal. "At least...one the survivors won't forget."


Much later, Ratchet was in the combat simulator, venting the emotional turmoil inside of him by taking his Omniwrench to as many mass-produced holo-bots as he could handle. Although he knew it wasn't healthy, he let his rage drive his strikes, visualizing Nefarious' head on each bot as he smashed it to bits. However, letting his rage drive him was rapidly wearing him down, as well as weakening his reflexes and acrobatics. At one stumble, one of the robots lunged up as per programming to attack him.

At the last moment, a beam of purple energy bisected the bot. "This isn't exactly healthy," Sasha scolded as she leaned over, helping him back to his feet.

Ratchet shrugged as he stood up. "Better then smashing things in front of Twilight. She's with Al going over the data on robo-Skidd, trying to see if Skidd breaking free of the mental control is a good sign as far as reversing the process."

Sasha nodded. "Last I saw, Al'd left her playing the Qwark vid-comics. Guess she's trying to deal with her grief in her own way."

"Could be," Ratchet admitted. Then he whistled. "Nice weapon!"

"Oh this?" Sasha asked, holding up the double bladed energy saber. "Just a standard issue Cazar beam saber. Nothing special."

"The standard issue sabers have only one blade," Ratchet pointed out. "And they don't come in purple."

Sasha grinned in embarrassment. "I may have...tweaked it a bit."

Ratchet grinned widely. "You don't say? Well, let's see how it holds up."

Both of them then began carving their way through more holo-bots. However, now that it was a competition, Ratchet was able to let go of his rage and really show his stuff. Despite this, Sasha was able to keep up quite easily, and her beam saber was at least as effective as Ratchet's upgraded Omniwrench.

Just as they were both getting into it, however, Twilight burst in. "Dad! Captain Sasha! I know where Nefarious is going next!"

"You do?" Sasha asked quickly. "Where? And how do you know?" She, like Ratchet, struggled to hide her annoyance that their 'exercise' had been interrupted.

"Psychology!" Twilight proclaimed. "This all began between Nefarious and Qwark when Qwark stopped Nefarious from destroying Metropolis. Now that Qwark's...well, anyway, now Nefarious would feel compelled to prove himself to have truly beaten Qwark by succeeding in what Qwark stopped him from doing all those years ago!"

"It's as good a lead as any," Ratchet confirmed. "Clank, Twilight and I will head there and check it out."

"The Phoenix will be right behind you," Sasha promised. Once Twilight had left the room, however, Sasha ducked up beside Ratchet and planted a light peck on his cheek. "Good luck, and stay safe," she said simply before rushing to the bridge.

Ratchet stood there befuddled for a time, then shook himself before rushing for his ship before Twilight took off without him.

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