Author's note:

Back once again with another story. Sorry about the lack of update for Trouble Shooter, but I felt the need to finally get this thing published before I re-edit it once more. This is the second of three variants of a Ratchet and Clank story I've been writing on and off, as mentioned in the author's note on Trouble Shooter, and is more or less a straight character insert into R&C 1 with the intention of carrying on through the series. Though some of the elements and characters are similar to afore mentioned story, they are completely unrelated in terms of plot, and the only thing the main characters of both share is their name and personality.

I'm always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.

If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check my other stories once. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank evil Ratchet96 for the review and encouragement. Rest assured, a new chapter of Trouble Shooter is in the works.

Thank you all, and please enjoy.

- RevenantReaper337

[Addendum December 30th 2015]

Started going back over the story to fix grammar, spelling, and general formatting to make it both easier to read and fit in with the same style as the sequel. Those who have read this story before may notice that I've also tweaked and rewritten bits here and there to improve the narrative and make it flow more smoothly now that I've got a better grip on storytelling; hopefully raising both the overall quality and general readability. Chapters 1-13 have now been re-uploaded, with the rest to follow in the coming weeks.

[Addenum January 6th 2016]

Chapters 14-19 also fixed and re-uploaded.

[Addenum January 13th 2016]

Chapters 20-26 fixed and updated. Moved review replies for chapter 26 to its own page.

Disclaimer:

Ratchet & Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.

'Thoughts'

Flashbacks

"Speech"

Chapter 1:

Arrival

Scottish Highlands, Earth

Milky Way Galaxy

August 16th 2012

10:34pm GMT

The dew encrusted grass glistened in the pale moonlight as Ellen sat on the hillside, softly breathing in the still night air. In the eyes of her fellow students, Ellen was a fairly good looking girl, not that she particularly cared. Standing around 5'7", Ellen had a lithe, toned body with an athletic build; a result of her constant hiking and cross country jaunts. Creamy coloured, lightly flushed skin, taut musculature, and flowing curves neatly accented her figure. Her heart shaped face was framed by a shoulder length mane of dark red hair which curved inwards towards the tips, only serving to enhance her facial features. She had a small mouth with pink, thin lips, a small nose with a dusting of freckles which petered out over her cheeks, and a pair of entrancing pale blue eyes.

Her attire consisted of a mid-thigh length tartan kilt secured with a silver buckled black belt, and a black graphic T-shirt that encompassed her figure while being neither figure hugging nor too baggy. A pair of worn, brown hiking boots encased her feet as well as white mid-calf length socks. On her right wrist was a Timex analogue watch with a brown leather strap, and on her left a multi-coloured braided bracelet; a gift from Natalie, her best friend from secondary school, who now lived at the opposite end of the British Isles.

Ellen wasn't exactly your typical teenager. Numerous boys tried to hit on her, and several girls had taken exception to her attracting the attention of 'their men'. But Ellen simply brushed them aside while ignoring them as much as possible; having little to no interest in juvenile boys who looked down on her interests as 'nerdy' and 'boring'. Ellen loved to look at the stars; the constellations, the vast magnitude of space fascinated her. She had devoured volumes of books, spent hours on the internet, and camped out under the stars as often as possible in her pursuit of knowledge; not that she didn't have other pursuits as well. Thanks to her extended family she had a broad range of skills, ranging from basic engineering and computer hacking to mixed martial arts and cross country hiking, to name but a few. But all of that had suddenly ground to a halt. Drawing her knees up to her chest, Ellen reached down to the dogtags that hung around her neck; fingers gently caressing the imprinted metal beneath her touch.

"Simon... why?" Her words were wistful, tinged with a faint Scottish accent; the pain of loss evident in every syllable as she gripped the dogtags in a balled fist and stared off into the night sky. It had been three days since the family had received the news.

Simon Bryn Pearce; Royal Marine, loving son, and doting brother. Killed in action.

She had taken it so hard; locking herself in her room for two days straight and crying into her pillow, not leaving even to eat in her attempts to avoid all human contact. On the night of the third day she decided to get some air, and so after sneaking out of her bedroom window, Ellen began the trek to her favourite part of the glen near to her house. A small hillock provided an unrivalled view of the local loch, and on a clear night like this, with the moon and the stars shining down on the water, it created the illusion of a infinite field of light stretching for as far as the eye could see.

It was such a beautiful sight, and one that allowed her turbulent mind to wander to the fond memories she had of her sibling. The day he took her mountaineering up Ben Nevis' southern face. The precious days he spent with the family on what little leave he had. The cocky, confident tone Simon used as he sought to comfort her when she had been bullied at school. His surprise visit on her 17th birthday. Now, the memories were all she had left. Sighing, she looked to the heavens with trepidation. "God, if you're really up there, show me a sign. What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to move on?"

A flash of movement caught her eye, a faint smile touching her lips at the streak of light crossing the night's sky. A shooting star. When she was younger, Simon had told her that a wish upon a star would always come true if the person who wished was in great need. No one could replace Simon, but there had to be someone out there who could love her, understand her. Make her feel whole again. Closing her eyes and reciting her wish to the heavens, a dull rumbling reverberated through the air almost as soon as the words had escaped Ellen's mouth. Blinking her eyelids open rapidly, the redhead's brow contorted in confusion as the shooting star appeared to change course and suddenly seemed to be getting a whole lot bigger. Rooted to the spot, her eyes widened with panic as she realised the falling objects trajectory. It was coming straight at her.

"Oh shit!"

Ellen scrambled to her feet, her tan-coloured satchel with matching shoulder strap thumping against her waist as she took off in a flat sprint. Chancing a look over her shoulder, she saw that it was practically on top of her; legs burning with the strain as she pushed herself further still in a last ditch effort to avoid being flattened. Busy as she was trying to survive, the redhead didn't notice the peculiar tendrils of energy snaking forth from the meteorite as it burned up in the atmosphere; several surging forth just before it could impact the earth and enveloping her form. Ellen convulsed in shock as the energy lanced through her body, an excruciating pain tearing at her heart, and then nothing.

Nothing but darkness.

When she didn't return that night, Ellen's worried parents called the police. An extensive search turned up next to nothing aside from her boot-prints leading to the smouldering impact crater left by the meteorite; seeming as if she had been vaporised or vanished into thin air. When a detective finally came to bring the bad news several hours later, Ellen's father sought to comfort his distraught wife. "Don't worry, my love. Wherever she is, she's safe now, with Simon watching over her."

The poor woman broke down in tears, and he didn't feel far behind. First Simon, and now Ellen.

Their baby was gone.

Kyzil Plateau, Veldin

Solana Galaxy

G2.16.738 Galactic calendar

11:13am local time

Ratchet stretched lazily with a grunting sigh, leaving the cool confines of the garage that doubled as his home and into the harsh sunlight outside. Just another day on a backwater planet called Veldin, the galaxy's equivalent of the middle of nowhere. 'But not for much longer...'

A slight smile crept across the Lombax's face as he resumed the task he'd spent the entire morning working on. He'd really lucked out this time. Months of preparation, hard work, and saving every bolt he could from his job as a rocket mechanic had finally yielded what he'd always dreamed of. His very own space ship; his ticket to finally getting off this rock. Granted, it wasn't exactly top of the line; in fact, it belonged on a scrap heap more than anything else. But it was his.

Hopping up on to a crate he had dragged into place to make up for his relatively short stature, Ratchet proceeded to use his wrench to adjust the guidance system inside the currently exposed panel on the front of the ship. After tweaking it just right, he stood back to admire his handy work in silence before pressing a glowing blue button on his left glove; a calm, feminine, monotone voice springing forth from unseen speakers in the device. "Final step: attach robotic ignition system. Thank you for using Helpdesk technology."

'Damn it. Where am I gonna get one of those?' Ratchet could only sigh in frustration, knowing that he was that much closer, yet still unable to realise his dream of exploring the galaxy.

Now that he had nothing to do, he began to reflect on his life so far. He didn't exactly have many friends beyond the occasional visitor to his garage to ask him to fix something for them, and that was more acquaintances than true friendship. Thanks to his obsessive work ethic of late, he had little time to form relationships or socialise with others his age. Being on a sparsely populated dust ball of a planet probably didn't help. As for girls, he could just forget it. Ratchet snorted in amusement, for the one thing Veldin did not possess in abundance was hot and available lombax girls, and the few females he had met of other species didn't think he was dating material.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen any other lombaxes during his short life so far. Maybe they were out there somewhere, on other worlds; there had to be somebody who knew. Ratchet closed his eyes in thought as his heart sank. For the first time in years, he felt truly alone. What good was traversing the stars if there was no one to share it with him? He wanted- no, needed companionship more than he had ever known. The lombax's eyes turned to the azure sky, his mind picturing the stars beyond. Somewhere out there was the adventure he craved. Somewhere out there was someone who could relate to him for who he was, rather than what he was.

All he needed... was a sign

A deafening roar caught his attention, eyes widening at the sight of the burning ship as it streaked overhead before ploughing into the ground; causing the very earth to shudder under the impact. Gripping his wrench tightly, Ratchet eagerly took off towards the crash site; the distant trail of smoke guiding the way as he bounded over the rough terrain and cleaved through both hostile robots and indigenous life that stood in his way. 'Finally, something interesting on this dustbowl.'

After dispatching the last of the robots around the crash site with his Bomb Glove, Ratchet carefully approached the charred remains of the mangled spaceship. In the middle of the crater lay a single figure; motionless, dirty, yet otherwise unmarked. Turning the body over, he quickly realised that it was a female, though not of any species he recognised, and that she was still alive. Unconscious maybe, but still breathing. 'How is she still alive after a crash like that? I'd better get her somewhere safe.'

Heaving her up in his arms bridal style, he stooped to pick up a weird metal thing that looked salvageable before beginning the trek back home. Looking back down at her peaceful looking form, he couldn't help but smile.

If this was a sign of things to come, then life was about to get that little bit more interesting...

So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Need improvement?

As I previously mentioned, this is the second of three Ratchet & Clank stories I have been writing, and as such I'd like to know whether it's worth continuing with or if you'd prefer one of the other variants. It just helps me decide which one I should concentrate on, though knowing me, I'll probably end up writing for all three anyway.

Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they're posted.

Thanks for reading

- RevenantReaper337