Interlude: Memories
Ratchet sat back on the beach, watching worriedly as Twilight worked at building a sand castle with Clank's help. While there was nothing about the situation itself that should worry Ratchet, it was Twilight herself in general that Ratchet was concerned with. Ever since they were reunited after Vox's manipulations, she'd been rather clingy. She was only ever truly comfortable if Ratchet and Clank were both in sight, and if only one of them was present she tended to get nervous, constantly looking around for the other. Neither of them had dared to leave her alone once they noticed this.
Even at night, things weren't doing well. She tended to wake with nightmares several times during the night, often screaming. The only way she could sleep well was if she slept cuddled in Ratchet's embrace, with Clank in his sheep suit. Her old Qwark plushy - recovered from their Solana homestead - made a somewhat good substitute, as they discovered. She couldn't fall asleep comfortably with it, but it did work to keep the nightmares away if she stayed in Ratchet's arms.
All in all, it was plain that Twilight was suffering from what had happened, and Ratchet wished he could do more. "I wonder if the resort has a psychiatrist on staff," he murmured.
"It does," Barb said as she hovered into place beside him. "Clank's already scheduled her an appointment for evaluation so a treatment plan can be drawn up."
"Really?" Ratchet asked once he'd calmed down from being caught off guard. "Good old Clank. Knew I could count on him."
"The only problem might be that there's two evaluations," Barb explained. "Once with the parental figures present, once without."
Ratchet winced. "She's not going to like that," he murmured. "She's always hated being alone, and this is just going to make it even worse...as if that wasn't bad enough after Bogon..."
"Aside from all that, she seems rather well adjusted," Barb pointed out. "Highly intelligent-"
"Can't take credit for that one," Ratchet countered. "She was a genius the day she crashed through my roof."
"But you gave her opportunities to develop her intelligence," Barb pointed out. "You never held her back, pushed yourself to keep up with her, and encouraged her every step of the way."
A chuckle greeted this assessment. "Now you sound like Clank did back on Quartu, trying to convince me I was doing a good job being her father despite my worries," Ratchet reminisced. "Even said my worries were a point in my favor."
"She's certainly an unusual child," Barb agreed. "But it's not just her intelligence that speaks in her favor. She's kind, compassionate, generous, loyal, honest...such good qualities born of your raising her. It shows just what a good job you've done, despite all those hurdles."
"I had good starting material," Ratchet pointed out.
"I am certain Twilight would disagree with how little credit you give yourself for her well being," Barb sniped back.
"Not what I meant," Ratchet disagreed. "I...I've never known what I was doing. 90% of the time, I'm completely lost, scared of doing something horrifically wrong...convinced I'm going to fail her..."
When he didn't say more beyond that, Barb spoke up again. "How do you deal with it? How do you keep going?"
"When I reach a point of indecision, I ask myself one question...and act on the answer," Ratchet replied. "...What Would Nana Do?"
"...Nana?" Barb asked, her synthesized voice quavering.
"The nurse-bot who raised me back on Veldin," Ratchet explained. "I...I wasn't raised by her long, but she was the closest thing to a mother I ever had. If...If I've been a good father to Twilight, I owe it to Nana..." A choked sob caught his attention. "Barb? What's wrong?"
Barb rubbed at her optics, lubricant tears pouring from them. "Oh Ratchet...I...I'm so happy..." Without warning, she pulled him into a hug. "I had care of you for such a short time...but I could see your potential...I tried my hardest to give you everything you needed, so you'd grow up to be good...I...to know you credit your good work with Twilight to me...to say you're a good father...because I was a good mother..."
Ratchet tried to pull back, confused. "Barb, what are you talking about? We only just met-"
"You would sit still so happily when I braided ribbons into the floof at the end of your tail," Barb reminisced, her voice crackling. "You hated the ribbons themselves, so you shed them as soon as you thought I wasn't looking, but you loved the attention. As soon as you thought I wouldn't realize it was deliberate, you'd come back upset that they'd all fallen out, and I'd braid them in again..."
Ratchet's eyes widened, then quivered. He hadn't even told Twilight that story. "N...Nana? But...but how?"
"When the Thunder Soldiers destroyed me, the pirates they worked for salvaged and sold the pieces," she explained. "My CPU and Personality Core are hardwired together, so they had to be sold as a single item. And then...who should I be assigned for the last time as a Battle Bot but your daughter, Ratchet..."
Closing his eyes against the tears, Ratchet wrapped his arms around the robot who'd shaped his early life. "Nana..."
Over by the sand castle, Twilight smiled as she watched the reunion. She was glad she hand't told Ratchet flat out that her flame throwing Battle Bot was actually his old caretaker. It was good for both of them to discover the strength of their bond - and the reunion - this way. Inside, she felt a little bit of the pain of the Dreadzone fade, seeing some of the good that came of the experience.
Unfortunately, she was forced to look away. Even Barb's Dreadzone design brought back the painful memories...all the more painful because those memories should have been happy.
Noticing Twilight's reaction, Barb pulled back slightly. "I'm thinking of applying for a retrofit," she brought up. "Maybe get a job here on Pokitaru. They do have child care here for families who want to have some alone time for the parents."
"I could rebuild your original body, if you want," Ratchet offered. "I still have the specs."
Barb chuckled. "I'll just bet you do. How many times did you give me an unofficial repair job when I malfunctioned?" She nudged him teasingly. "Thanks all the same, Ratchet, but I need to start fresh. Besides...I like being Barb. I like the flame." She glanced at her flame throwers. "I'm thinking of asking for chef protocols, too."
"You were a pretty good cook back on Veldin, too," Ratchet pointed out.
"Flatterer," Barb taunted.
"Want me to help design your new body?" Ratchet asked.
Barb smiled at him. "I'd like that. Just don't let Twilight be a part of it."
"I'm not actually a licensed roboticist, either," Ratchet pointed out.
"Not that," Barb interrupted. "I just don't want to find out sometime down the line that she snuck a particle cannon or two or a heavy rocket launcher into my new chassis, 'Just in case'."
While Twilight enjoyed the sound of Barb and Ratchet laughing together, she couldn't help but feel the joke was on her somehow. Thus, when Clank started giggling, she pushed him into their sand castle and stuck her tongue out at him. That led to a rather enjoyable half hour of throwing sand at each other.
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Glad to see she's getting better, even if it is a very slow process.
It all could have gone a lot worse. At least the Nightmare didn't show up again.
6383137
It's gonna be a slow process. Twilight's what, ten? It's hard enough for older people to deal with such things.
Honestly... with Nana/Barb's history... a particle cannon or two in reserve probably would be a smart thing. Especially if she's taking care of children. Seriously... who turns down a free particle cannon?
6383169
I think she was ten when they met Clank for the first time. She's got to be at least 12 or 13 by now.
6383220
Actually, she was six in "Ratchet and Clank".
She's almost 11 now.
6383220
Ah, okay. It's been awhile since I re-read any of the earlier chapters.
Actually, I'm glad they're on Pokitaru now; I was getting real annoyed at how long that one was being drug out. Though it likely has more to do with the fact that I never played that game. Actually, outside Size Matters, the only ones I've played were the first ones. They had latter trilogy available on Playstation Store for a time, but the pricks took it off.
And yes, I'm pissed at that; I don't have the $30-to whatever I'd need to buy for each disk; they need a DLC bundle for it.
6383150
Yes, though I did want her to go Nightmare on Vox; kinda disappointed a little at that.
Next up, Size Matters I think; the only one that didn't seem to fit right with the rest of the universe.
6383206 really though, when it comes to the protection and care of kids, is ONE particle cannon even enough?
6383272
Well, as I commented at the time, the problem would be what Nightmare would do next, given that she'd have access to a entertainment network that could reach the entire galaxy. Dark Star psychically violating the population of an entire galaxy would be ... kind of a downer.
6383294
Yikes! That would be a downer.
6370937
The story description has a list of all of the planned arcs for this fic. The only one I haven't seen on the list is Secret Agent Clank.
Which makes sense, as that game was more of an in-joke of the universe. Kind of like fan service.
6383249 When is the next chapter coming out?
this was a great chapter! just the reader (AKA me) needed after something as heartbreaking as, well you know.
... What, no hardlight-ex-machina?
... Yet....
How about a beam saber??? Chain guns??? Rocket punch??? Are those valid addons???
Yay for family moments! Will Twilight start calling Barb Grandma now???? And I can totally see Barb using her flamethrowers to roast a whole cow or the space equivalent in seconds.
6383289 Nope. Especially if there are kids of important people coming to the resort, she might need to go bodyguard mode.
And here we have it folks. All the elements of harmony in magic!!!
I cant believe I didn't see this sooner... Ratchet and clank universe/mlp crossover?! INSTANT FAV!! Will read now!
6383556 next up will be Size Matters, according to the List
I'm gonna be honest with you. As much as I'm looking forward to that sequel we talked about, this may just be my favorite of your stories. So much character development went into it that it's palpable. Not only that, but you captured Ratchet so very well. Somehow, you made him a da** good father, and still be the Ratchet we all know and love.
I'm really looking forward to A Crack in Time and how the General and Twilight react to each other.
That, and Gun-nut Twilight is freakin' hilarious.
6383397 Saturday. Or Sunday, depending on where you are.
Twilight is recovering remarkably well considering what happened. Then again, I don't think she will ever completely recover. She will always subconsciously need to have either Ratchet or Clank around to allow her to be "normal". The stuff Ace made her may one day become a sort of intermediary so she can function without Ratchet hovering over her, but until she has grieved for him, it will just be more painful reminders of her time at Dreadzone. Which is why I still think that Vox got off lightly with being shot in the head.
Another enjoyable chapter. Well done.
6383397
6383839
Friday, actually.
6383556 Tools of destruction as I recall.
6383654
6383556
Oops. Forgot about that one.
I do not know why, but I'm unable to click the picture representing this story - every time I want to see the picture larger, it just diverts me to a page talking about missing/wrong coding.
Its good to see that twilight is recovering from her ordeal at dreadzone. I also want to say: THANK YOU ACE HARDLIGHT FOR KILLING THAT BASTARD VOX, YOUR SACRIFICE HAS EARNED YOU A PLACE IN MY HEART, THANK YOU.
Awwwwwww...
6383206
She already has a flamethrower.
Damn son, this story is powerful!!!... and not over... so how many of the games were you going to put in here before Twi's inevitable return to Pony Planet? Whatever the number, I cant wait! Seeing this all take place in my favorite console game universe, it's officially my favorite of all the displaced stories. Ever. Period. End of Story. Infinitely. Eeyup. (Although the others are really good too. Keep up the amazing work!)
You give us a cliffhanger. The next chapter is an interlude. You cruel, cruel person.
Aww such cute
"Actually, as you would go back to take care of children, any hidden weapons would bw non lethal. "
I hope Owlicious has a more owl-like body... if he changes it.
Is there any thing wrong with me jumping right over the deadlock arc during my rereads(went throught during first)
Here's my problem:
A good hundreds of millions watched this sh**
Not one person recognized Twilight as Spark
Nobody noticed Secret Agent Clank went on hiatus
Their movie director didn't call once to help search for them
Not one of the higher-ups thought of turning on a public goddamn broadcast that was already known to contain celebs against their will to find either of them
WHY WEREN'T THEY RESCUED SOONER?
8039824
Because it took as long as it did to locate the Dreadzone.
"She's certainly an unusual child," Barb agreed. "But it's not just her intelligence that speaks in her favor. She's kind, compassionate, generous, loyal, honest...such good qualities born of your raising her. It shows just what a good job you've done, despite all those hurdles."
and with the power of friendship you get harmony.
The Dreadlock arc brought me to tears in some spots, but not nearly as much as this here interlude.
8039831
A perfectly simple and fitting explanation, and probably canonical, too. I wondered once when I played Dreadlocked why no one was finding Ratchet and Clank after they and Al had vanished. Quark was an idiot, but knew them well enough with a certain level of suppressed respect, Sasha had a thing for Ratchet, even if it wasn't always obvious, and they had loads of other fans and friends. But the Dreadzone actually being hard to find explains why it had never been found before Clank got in there with Al and figured out a way to bypass Vox's efforts to contain the heroes inside.