Grimroth Razz wasn't the most amiable guy on Kyzil Plateau. He kept himself mostly confined to his workshop and had such a "no nonsense" air about him that not many could start a casual conversation with the guy. But they could all agree on one thing: the guy was a natural born mechanic.

Ships that hadn't been started in decades came of out his shop purring like factory fresh models. He was the miracle worker of the trade and Veldin was grateful to him for it.

Grim also wasn't too stingy in sharing a few secrets with any of the kids who had even a slight interest in his work. Some might even say he was almost fatherly in his interactions with the tykes. So when that fateful day came and a small lombax punk entered his shop, none were too surprised when Grim dutifully took the little furball under his wing. Things in the workshop became much more hectic from then on.

For one, the lombax named "Ratchet", was actually more a fireball than furball. The little guy had a serious lead foot as the local police found out when Ratchet had "borrowed" a hoverbike for a joyride. He also seemed to share Grim's magic mechanic touch… Alongside an insatiable urge to tinker with his mentor's customer's ships. Within a month of being Grim's apprentice, he had modified a cargo ship with a questionably legal accelerator that rocketed the ship's owner to the next galaxy. After a year he somehow got his hands on an absolutely illegal gravity repulsing device that blew up half the workshop. Grim was nearly at the end of his rope, Ratchet needed an outlet for his tinkering and satisfaction for his inner speed demon.

And now, finally, Grim seemed to have found a solution to both problems

…

"Hey Ratchet. Come on in here, I gotta show ya something." Grim called up to his apprentice.

A pair of curious green eyes stared down at him from Ratchet's "room" in the shop's attic. "What's up Grim?" Ratchet hopped off the lift and hurried up to the older mechanic. Grim offered him a tired frown.

"There's oil on your suit, what were you doing up there now?"

"Eh hehe, nothing really, just got done fixing that cruiser so I took a break to work on some prototype gadgets."

Grim sighed, hoping his "surprise" would pull the lombax's attention from whatever new insanity he was working on. "Well I just got back from the junkyard to get a few spare parts for us. And I think I might have found you a new project."

Ratchet's eyes lit up, his ears perked at the possibility of something, anything new to work on. "I'm listening."

The old mechanic led him out onto the sunbaked grounds outside the shop, his sight was drawn to a shape covered in a tattered tarp. Grim walked over and pulled off the cloth to reveal a rusted old hoverbike, one that Ratchet knew all too well. The lombax's jaw hit the floor.

"Grim! I thought you trashed this old thing years ago!" He gaped, rushing up to look over the bike from tire to handle.

Grim chuckled softly, "No, just had to make ya think that so I wouldn't have the cops hounding me for another speeding ticket. As long as you promise to stay in the speed limit, she's yours." He saw the sparkle in Ratchet's eyes and couldn't hold back the widening grin on his face.

"Yes! Wait… I don't think I have the tools to fix her Grim." Ratchet's gleeful smile dropped. He looked to Grim, confused as to why his mentor hadn't considered this. But Grim just shrugged.

"Well, no, ya don't. That's why I stopped at the yard." He nodded at the storage compartment of the bike, urging Ratchet to check inside. "And got that."

The lombax gave him a suspicious glance. But he swiftly hopped onto the bike and popped open the compartment. His eyes darted from the contents inside to Grim. "W-what? No way…"

Ratchet reached into the compartment and pulled out a rather large and sturdy looking wrench. The tool was half his size but light enough that he could lift, turn, and swing it with ease. The Lombaxes' tool of choice, it felt so good, so right in his hands. "An Omniwrench?! But I-… These things aren't even made anymore! How?!"

"Now will that get this old girl up and running again?" Grim inquired already knowing the answer before Ratchet could say anything.

"Grim… Thank you!"

Ratchet practically tackled him, he clung to Grim tightly, holding the wrench in one hand. Grim had a feeling his apprentice wouldn't be letting go of the tool any time soon.

"It suits ya."

…

Cora shot a glare at Ratchet as he finished dispatching the warbot that had ambushed them. He held a dented, scuffed wrench in his hand that he flourished proudly as he stood over their felled enemy. She scoffed, "Why do you still use that piece of junk anyway? You have plenty of ammo in all your guns."

Clank could feel Ratchet stiffen a bit. His friend treasured the old tool and while Clank had already tried talking him into using his guns more often, Ratchet stubbornly stuck to his wrench. The small robot had already given up that fight now.

"What? Did you see what I just did?" Ratchet quipped. "This guy didn't stand a chance! I don't think they're programmed for close range combat. I just took advantage of that."

"You almost got yourself killed." Cora snapped back, making Ratchet flinch.

Clank decided to intervene, "We must hurry, Drek's patrol will be on their way any second now. There is no time to debate this now."

Cora reluctantly dropped the subject and dashed ahead. "Just try not to fall too far behind me rookie."

Ratchet slumped over slightly as she raced off before he picked himself up and followed. Clank sat quietly on Ratchet's back.

His processor whirred softly as he ran a background check on the Omniwrench's history. And there was that word again, "lombax". "The Lombaxes' tool of choice"

If Clank had been able to breathe, he would have let out a sad sigh.

"Oh, Ratchet…"

Had to get this one out or it wouldn't leave me alone. I got onto a Ratchet and Clank kick today now that I have a working PS3 remote and some time off work. My little brother was watching me while I was playing the first game in the series and we were both sitting there talking and wondering where Ratchet got his wrench from.

Now I don't know if the PS4 remake is the new canon or just an AU of sorts within the series but this was what I imagined would have happened. Especially after seeing a few brave souls attempt the "wrench only" play style. So this little drabble pretty much wrote itself in under two hours and considering this is a subject I haven't seen tackled yet, I'd really like to hear a first game take on it eventually. I'm sure it'll be way better than mine but eh, if it ain't written already...

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my work! I'm going to try and tackle something that isn't a one-shot eventually.