//------------------------------// // Tools: Aftermath // Story: The Sparkle in his Eye // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Ratchet slowly came to, blinking his eyes as he struggled to focus. He could see a dome of some sort over his head, but his vision was too blurry to see what sort of dome it was. A somewhat familiar blurry metallic figure entered his field of vision. "Ratchet?" Clank asked. "Are you alright?" Recognizing Clank, Ratchet shook his head a bit, clearing his eyes enough to see his surroundings. "Where...are we?" he asked, just before his vision became clear enough to recognize the Court of Azimuth. Clank smiled down at him as Talwyn, Zephyr, Cronk, Twilight, and Qwark crowded around him. Gesturing to everyone, Clank replied simply, "We are home." Ratchet managed a soft smile as he was helped up. While not what he'd intended when he'd told the Dimensionator to find home...he had to admit it was true. With family and friends around him...he was home. Once everyone was outside the Court of Azimuth, under a blue sky clear of any sort of battle, everyone began to relax. Qwark was hanging out with Rusty Pete, Ace Hardlight, and a few of the other pirates learning how to act the part better. He was having trouble getting the right attitude, accent, and dialogue though, much to Hardlight's amusement. Cronk and Zephyr were having fun 'reenacting' the fight between Ratchet and Tachyon, much to the amusement of the pirates who were watching and assisting in the reenactment. Talwyn was running around trying to keep everyone in line. Ratchet, Clank, and Twilight were sitting off in one corner on their own, decompressing. Twilight was sitting in Ratchet's lap, enjoying having her head and neck caressed, letting out a soft whinny that was almost a purr. Clank was sitting in front of them, analyzing the Dimensionator. After a time, Twilight spoke up. "Daddy...do you regret not going through that portal?" she asked. "It's...probably the only chance you'll get to be with Lombaxes again..." Ratchet shrugged his shoulders. "Not really," Ratchet replied. "I...don't think I'd fit well with other Lombaxes, for the most part. I mean...what do I know about my own people's culture? Society? Heritage? Evolution? Heck, even how they govern themselves?" He shook his head. "I mean, I have this vision in my head of them as a shining example to the galaxy...but I've seen enough to know that can't be all they were. And...I'm not entirely sure I want to learn what the rest of it is. I've got Aphelion and...Angela to give me whatever information I really want, answer any questions I really want answered. But actually leaving all this behind to go to my own people?" He let out a dismissive laugh. "Even the Dimensionator knew I didn't really want that. When I told it to find home, it brought us...here. To our friends and family." Twilight chuckled. "Yeah...I guess so." "If anything, I regret that it's no longer usable," Ratchet sighed. At the worried glance Twilight shot him, he stroked her cheek. "I mean...it could have found your homeworld, Twilight. Could have...helped me keep my promise to you." Tearing up a bit, Twilight nuzzled him. "Actually, I think it tried to," Clank spoke up, drawing Ratchet and Twilight's attention. "The Dimensionator keeps a record of the actions it takes or attempts, and that continues to function even if it ceases to function in other ways. It lists three actions for its last functionality. The first being taking the three of us out of the dimensional rift, the second being closing said rift. But on the third, there's an error message." "Error message?" Ratchet asked, pulling the Dimensionator over to him to read it from the small pop-up screen. "...Etheric quotient exceeds safety parameter Omega, can not open rift gates within 500 light years of mobile etheric source...quantum instability detected, contact Temporal Administrator Orvus for further assistance?" "Apparently, Twilight's homeworld is not at fixed spatial coordinates, and is a huge concentration of etheric - magical - energy," Clank explained. "Something that the Lombaxes apparently knew about and understood. In addition, it seems to be experiencing some sort of quantum anomaly, and this...Orvus...is the only one who can give the answers..." Clank's voice trailed off. "Orvus...that name...it means something to me..." At that moment, a massive surge of energy erupted above the gathered group, a swirling vortex of light visible to all. Three Zoni floated down, also in the visible spectrum, and Ratchet and Twilight - amongst others - were able to see them. They were tiny, robot-like creatures with relatively large heads, big blue eyes, and tiny arms and legs. They approached Clank. "We needed to be sure you survived," they spoke together, their voices echoing. "Now it's time to come home." "Wait, what?" Ratchet demanded as Clank seemed to go blank eyed. "Where are you taking him?" "Mommy?" Twilight called out worriedly. "Mommy?" Qwark echoed her. The Zoni surrounded Clank in a quantum field. "The time has come, sire...to learn who you are...and who you will become." "Leave my Mommy alone!" Twilight shouted out, charging her magic up and firing a powerful blast at the Zoni...only to gape as the blast froze in time before it ever reached them. "It is time to understand your purpose," the Zoni continued as Ratchet and Qwark both lunged in, only to bounce off the energy field surrounding them. "It is time to come with us." "Yes..." Clank muttered drowsily, plainly not fully functional. "Time to come with you..." "Clank!" Ratchet shouted painfully as he watched Clank vanish, along with the Zoni and the vortex. "MOMMY!" Twilight wailed, reaching for the empty space where one of the pillars of her world had vanished without a trace, tears pouring from her eyes. None dared speak up in the silence that followed, broken only by Twilight's sobs.