Disclaimer: Don't own.

I'll be honest, I'm not really good with chapter names, so for the time being, I'll be naming them based on which planet the characters are on. if you guys have any suggestions for funny chapter names, just let me know. Thanks :)

Entering atmosphere of Planet Novalis…

Ratchet did his best to control their descent to the planet, but he was not, by any means, an experienced pilot and he wound up crashing into a rock face that, thankfully, wasn't far from the ground. With a scream, Ratchet fell from his ship to Novalis' rocky ground. He hit the ground with a grunt as all the air escaped his lungs. The lombax laid on his back with a huge bump digging into it.

Musta' landed on a rock, his dazed mind reasoned.

"Clank?" he whispered hoarsely as he struggled to get air back into his lungs. There was no answer though he could have sworn he heard a mumbling sound.

"Where are you?" he asked, his voice a little stronger. Again, nothing but that mumbling sound. The lump under his back started to move and Ratchet's eyes widened in realization. Whoops.

"Oh, sorry about that," he said as he sat up, allowing Clank to move. He dusted himself off as he looked at his poor ship.

"Well, we're not leaving the way we came in," he murmured sadly.

Five years of blood, sweat and tears down the freaking drain, he thought desolately.

"Perhaps we can procure a ship from one of the inhabitants," Clank suggested. Ratchet looked around at the destruction being done to the city.

"If there are any left," he responded desolately, partly horrified by what was going on and partly excited about being finally being off Veldin. Clank nodded grimly and the duo took off to the side where a Gadgetron vendor was selling weapons and ammo.

"Hi there, Fuzzball," greeted the green, frog-like alien. Ratchet bought some extra ammo for his bomb glove while Clank just watched. He was rather curious about watching commerce in action. The vendor only had one weapon to sell; a flamethrower called a Pyrocitor. Ratchet didn't buy it and when Clank asked him why, his response was; "If I had twenty-five-hundred bolts to throw around, believe me, I wouldn't be living in a garage." Clank didn't understand any of this but Ratchet clearly did.

Clank followed Ratchet as he took off for the yellow and black elevator that took them to the bottom of the crevice. Enemies awaited them when they reached the bottom; some of them resembling large bees while others looked like regular robots only they had cannons for arms. Ratchet had his wrench ready and easily dispatched the bee-like robots while Clank stayed off to the side, feeling completely useless. Ratchet ran forward to take out the larger, more dangerous robots. Clank, worried for his new friend, ran after him but it was hard for his little legs to keep up with the lombax. He felt like a child struggling to keep up with his father. Unfortunately, it seemed all Clank could do was get in the way. He had no weapon and no fighting experience so he may as well have had a bull's-eye painted on his back. It was most apparent when one of the larger, more dangerous robots snuck up behind him and almost destroyed him. Ratchet's green eyes went wide with fear.

"Clank! Look out!" he screamed. Ratchet threw his wrench at the robot like some kind of metal boomerang, tearing the robot's head from its shoulders before gracefully gliding back to Ratchet's hand. The exposed wires sparked before the body fell over.

"Clank," Ratchet panted. "I swear I'll make you stay on the ship if you get in the way."

"I'm sorry, Ratchet," Clank said sincerely. "I am unable to keep up with you." The lombax blinked in surprise.

Why didn't he just say so? he wondered. Ratchet sighed. Much to Clank's surprise, he was grabbed by the arm and pulled onto the mechanic's back-piggyback style.

Ratchet peered around the river, looking for a way across but there didn't seem to be one. He walked up and down the river side, thankful that they didn't encounter any enemies, but the only way across seemed to be the bridge above them. Ratchet growled in frustration while Clank looked around his environment. He spotted a grassy ledge followed by metal stairs that Ratchet could easily climb to get to the bridge. He told Ratchet about it and the lombax agreed, though he didn't know how he was supposed to climb up there with his hands occupied. Plus, there was an enemy waiting for them at the top.

"I will wait here while you climb up. You can then pull me up," Clank suggested without missing a beat. Ratchet nodded tightly. The plan seemed solid enough. Clank let go of Ratchet's neck, but he got stuck to the harness the mechanic wore. Impatient as ever, Ratchet unclipped the harness and set Clank down rather than waste time getting him unstuck. Ratchet scaled the ledge and the stairs before tossing an ion grenade at the enemy. With the threat gone, the mechanic returned to Clank who was still waiting for him. Ratchet pulled him up to the top of each ledge by the hand until they reached the top. Ratchet sighed in frustration.

"There has got to be an easier way to do this," he grumbled to himself. Clank blinked in confusion and cocked his head to the side; looking more like a curious animal than a robot. Ratchet found it unsettling.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"This isn't gonna work," Ratchet explained more to himself than to Clank who still had the harness stuck to him. The mechanic pulled the harness off and he suddenly got an idea. He stuck the metal clip of the harness to Clank's back and, suddenly feeling like a little kid with a backpack, he pulled the robot onto his back. Clank, getting an idea of what his companion was doing, tucked his arms and legs into his body like a turtle with its shell. Ratchet twisted his body around, testing its movement with the new weight. It would have to do since he couldn't afford to babysit Clank if he was going to be fighting and this was the only hands-free way to carry the robot around.

The young lombax walked inside the yellow building with the arch-like entranceway, turned to his right and headed toward the bridge. The grassy floor tickled his bare feet which turned into a gritty feeling as he stepped onto the red stone bridge. Before he could cross to the other side of the river, a ship flew above them and shot three large holes into the bridge, tearing apart the railings on each side. The shots were followed by three robots that slowly hovered down to their location. The enemy robots spotted the duo, aimed their cannons and shot at them. Ratchet vaulted out of the way; the action awkward with Clank on his back. He cursed under his breath as he resorted to using his bomb glove on the robots which probably wasn't the best idea since the enemies were also using bomb weapons. Ratchet managed to dodge the bombs but one of them got a little too close. The blast was too weak to cause any serious injuries, but it still sent Ratchet, and subsequently Clank, over the edge of the bridge.

Luckily, Ratchet was quick and managed to grab onto the bars of the broken railing. One arm was holding onto the bar and the other held onto his wrench. The act of having to support not only his own admittedly light weight but also Clank's, was rather straining for Ratchet's thin arm. The golden lombax put his wrench between his teeth, freeing up his other arm and taking off some of the strain. Ratchet started to swing his wiry body a little to get some momentum-one, two, three – and he hauled his body up, getting his legs back onto the broken bridge, and shimmying back up. But the fight wasn't over yet. There was still one last enemy to take care of. Ratchet was breathing hard and as much as he wanted to just lay down and rest, he couldn't give up just yet. He got up onto his feet and threw his wrench at the remaining robotic enemy. With the adrenaline still pumping through his veins, Ratchet stumbled to the wall and leaned against it. He closed his eyes as the adrenaline left him, draining him of his energy and leaving him completely exhausted.

"Ratchet, are you well?" Clank asked worriedly. The organic's heart rate and breathing increased dramatically since attempting to cross the river. That could not have been a good thing, right?

"I'm fine," Rachet replied, his breathing slowing down though his heart was still pounding hard in his chest. "I just…I just need a minute."

"Very well." After a few more moments, Ratchet stood up and went through the archway. He walked down the grassy slope cursing the darkness of the small tunnel. They were attacked once again by those annoying bee-bots. Ratchet easily dispatched them. The lombax ran straight toward a small clearing where a ship landed, flanked by three yellow robots that hovered down to the ground. With three shots from his bomb glove, each of the enemies fell. After the fight, the door to the ship opened and an old, blue alien with a hunched back and a cane. An infobot hovered behind him, following him out of the ship.

"Don't hurt me; d-don't hurt me," the old man begged as he walked down the ramp. He took a couple of shallow breaths. "What are you; mercenaries, torturers…assassins?" he demanded fearfully. He looked behind him and gently pushed his infobot toward them. "I-I'll tell you anything. Here, take my infobot. It's all I've got left."

"Sir, we are not-" Clank tried to reassure the man before being interrupted.

"Hold on, let's see what he's got," Ratchet suggested. The infobot opened its screen and the video played.

The black and white image was of a man in spandex, a mask covering his face and an artificial antenna on his head, being approached by a large monster. He took out his blaster from God-only-knew-where, charged it and pulled the trigger. A look of panic filled his eyes as nothing happened. He looked at his blaster and the large beast went to take a large chomp out of the man. Before the man could be eaten, the image froze with the question, "Has this ever happened to you?"

The image changed to one with colour. The spandex wearing man was standing in front of some buildings instead of in a pit of death.

"Hi, I'm Captain Qwark and believe me, there's nothing worse than staring down a Blargian Snagglebeast-" The camera closed in on his masked face. "From the inside; and knowing your equipment isn't functioning properly." The camera focused on a green logo with the words; "Big Al's Robo Shack" written in large yellow letters. Captain Qwark suddenly walked in front of a table and a pudgy yellow alien who was trying, unsuccessfully, to get in the shot.

"That's why I come to Al's Robo Shack for all of my electronic needs," he said. "Al has been the exclusive repair shop for all of my super-electro gadgets since I was knee-high to a sand mouse." Qwark made a gesture with his hand held straight at his knee. "If Al can't fix it, it's not broke; right Al?"

The pudgy yellow alien stared wide-eyed at the camera, completely speechless now that he actually had a chance to talk. "Uh…" he mumbled.

"You said it, pal," interrupted Qwark. The camera focused on the Captain once again. "So if you're fighting crime, or just fighting grime." Qwark let out a small chuckle at his failed attempt at a joke. "Come to Al's Robo Shack in Metropolis for all your robotic repairs."

Big Al's Robo Shack flew into the screen in big, yellow letters.

"Al's Robo Shack…it's Qwarktastic!"

The infobot shut itself down as Clank grabbed it and placed it inside his compartment. He looked up at his lombax companion, filled with excitement. They knew where Captain Qwark was. If they could just get to Metropolis…

"Ratchet, do you know what this means?" Clank asked.

"Yeah," Ratchet snorted derisively; thin arms folded across his furry, unclothed chest. "Captain Qwark really sold out."

"No, it means that Captain Qwark is on Metropolis. We could tell him about this invasion," Clank argued.

"If we can find a ship," Ratchet reminded him, cynicism clear in his tone. The teenager admired Clank's idealism, but it had no place in this universe. This universe and its cruel sense of humour.

The elderly blue alien coughed and stammered to get their attention.

"A ship?" He questioned. "What, you're not going to torture me?" Ratchet raised an eyebrow.

"Duh," he said as thought that should have been obvious. Oh, sure, he didn't say that he wouldn't, but that was just to get the infobot. Sometimes, a good bluff was all you needed. The older alien let out a sigh of relief and nodded in satisfaction.

"Well, as planetary chairman, I could arrange for you to borrow our courier ship!" Ratchet blinked in surprise, not expecting this total stranger to make such a generous offer.

"Cool!" he said with a grin.

"You count on us, sir," Clank added with a chivalrous bow. Ratchet raised an eyebrow at Clank's weirdness. The lombax shook his head with a small smile at Clank's sincerity. It was quite ironic, he thought, that the nicest person he had ever met in his life was a robot.

"Right…" he drawled. "Thank you, Your Chairmanshipliness." The two walked off without another word, crossing a small black bridge to get across the river and hopped onto a small yellow platform to get up to the top of the cliff where the courier ship was.

As they got to the top, Ratchet spotted a path next to the ship was totally new. It went uphill with water, most likely from the river, flowing down from the top of the hill. There were rocks to act as platforms and machines were still running. Ratchet grinned as he looked at Clank.

"Hey, Clank, where do you think this path goes?" he asked him excitedly.

"I am uncertain," Clank replies curtly. He was standing by the ship, ready to leave. "Another part of the city I imagine."

"Let's check it out," Ratchet suggested. Clank frowned in confusion.

Why would Ratchet suggest such a thing? He wondered quietly. Did he not see that they had greater priorities?

"Ratchet, we do not have the time for that," he replied slowly, as though speaking to a young child. "We have a galaxy to save." Something about Clank's tone really grated against Ratchet's nerves. Oh, he did not like being talked down to like a child. He did not like it one bit. Especially not from this naive little toaster.

"We…" Ratchet murmured with a mirthless chuckle that held no humour. "You have a galaxy to save. I am just here for the adventure." The way Clank looked at him made his stomach twist in a way that he had never experienced before. Before Ratchet could really think about it, he grabbed Clank by the arm, put him on his back and ran up the path with Clank's protests falling on death ears.

Author's Note: I know it's been a while but I felt like continuing this fic. It is a fun story to write and I hope you guys like it. until next time.

~ Darth Synkka