(Heh... look who's back again. 'S been almost four months now since I last published, and I've been really busy since then. That's kind of why this is so short. It's the only thing I can manage with school taking up a lot of my time.

Good news is that today is Clank's birthday! Whoo! I didn't think I was going to make a fic this year for his birthday, but two days ago I just wanted to write this story, and I rushed through the rest of my work to write this out. I shall go into more detail about the story idea at the end.

As for how I think I did... well, spoilers, there is a major character death in this [so if you cannot handle it, I would advise you to click off this story now.], but this is my first time writing tragedy... so I don't really know how well I did. I did the best I could on this, and I hope you guys like it. :)

Alright, onto the disclaimer, let's get this birthday show on the road.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet and Clank or any of its characters. But uh... *hands Reader a box of tissues* these are for if I did a good job on the story. *hands Reader a pallet of tomatoes* And these are for if the story is terrible...

Time's Up

The grey-furred hand shook as it weakly fell back down to the clean, white bedsheets. A raspy cough rattled out of the Lombax's throat, and the old, cat-like creature shivered as an icy chill crept into the room.

Clank sat on a small chair next to his friend's bed. His face was painted with despair, and even though the oil ducts behind his optics had run out many hours ago, dried brown streaks ran down the little robot's cheeks. His small, metal fingers tightly interlocked together, and every now and then they would separate, and one shaky hand would stretch toward the Lombax before slowly pulling back.

Another harsh cough forced its way out of the Lombax's throat, and he fell into a violent coughing fit as he struggled to catch his breath. Clank flinched, and the robot hugged himself, desperately trying to hold himself together.

There was absolutely nothing he could do. It… it was time.

Clank squeezed himself tightly before slowly raising his head back up to his sick friend. He could at least make it peaceful…

His legs shook and knocked against each other as he rose to his feet. His heart whirred in his chest, and the little warbot's jaw piece moved, yet no sound could make its way out. A hand reached out and laid itself gently on the Lombax's frail hand. A broken, strained name cracked out, finally cutting through the silent tension that had hung in the air since that morning.

"Ratchet…"

The grey-furred Lombax grunted and screwed up his face as pain wracked his chest. "No pal," he croaked out, his lungs burning as his chapped lips pushed out the words. "I'm not going. Not yet. Not today."

Clank felt a spark of anger shoot through his circuits before a stab of anguish bloomed from his heart. Emotions, both rage and hopelessness, tore at his chest and processors, and the robot was helpless in their grasp. A choked sound echoed out of Clank's mouth.

He could push Ratchet to finally pass on, to stop torturing himself with the obvious pain… but then he would lose his best friend forever.

Was it wrong and selfish to want your friend for a few more minutes before they were gone forever, even if it was causing them intense pain?

Clank steeled his nerves. "Rat-Ratchet," he stuttered, his voice so heavy with emotion it took everything in his power to not start sobbing again. "I need you to pass on now. Please stop this silly crusade of yours, you are in serious pain and it is not right for me to let you stay like this."

Ratchet scoffed as he forced his eyes open. Every now and again, his eyelids would droop, and at some points the Lombax was scared he'd never open them again.

"Like I said pal-" a large hand reached toward Clank, and the robot held onto the Lombax's palm with both shaky hands. The Lombax summoned a small smirk on his face before it dropped. "I'm not going just yet. Not today. Not on your birthday."

Desperation clawed at Clank's heart. "Please Ratchet-"

"No!" the Lombax cried out firmly, his hand weakly squeezing the metal fingers wrapped around it. "I'm not dying on the day you were born. I'm not gunna die on my best friend's birthday."

The Lombax forced his head to the side, and for a second, Clank could see a little fire burn in his friend's eyes.

How long had it been since he had last seen that…?

Ratchet sucked in air as another coughing fit overtook him, tearing at his lungs and weakening his sick body even more. Clank winced as he tried to look away from Ratchet.

How long had it been since he hadn't see that…?

The Lombax dragged in a deep breath, and exhaled slowly as his lungs calmed down. Six months of terminal illness really took a lot out of you.

As he took in another slow breath, the Lombax spoke up again. "I'm not dying on your birthday Clank. The day you were born was the greatest day of my life, and the universe was blessed when you came into existence. I'm not going to soil this happy day."

Clank shook his head quickly. "No, please! Ratchet, you are obviously in pain, and I cannot let you keep this up-"

The Lombax interrupted him. "What time is it Clank?"

The robot fell silent, his jaw piece trembling. He shook as he looked on the nightstand at the other end of his friend's bed. The clock on the nightstand showed the current time in blocky, blood-red letters.

"It is currently 11:55 at night."

Ratchet tried to scoff, but another cough ripped through his throat and the Lombax viciously coughed as his body continued to weaken. Clank squeezed his eyes shut as another choking sound uttered out of his mouth.

"Heh," the Lombax murmured as he settled back down. "Then I'm definitely not quitting now. Qwark can go shove it where the sun don't shine."

Clank felt his heart catch in his chest, and the robot was seconds away from falling apart. He looked Ratchet in the eye, and spoke the words he didn't want to hear at this time.

"Ratchet, Captain Qwark is not here right now… He passed away ten years ago…"

Ratchet looked at Clank with a dazed expression on his face. He blinked slowly, so slowly it was clear the Lombax was fighting his heavy eyelids. "What… do you… mean pal…? He's… right over there… Right next to… Sasha and Tal… And Cronk… and Zephyr…"

The empty room grew colder, and Ratchet shivered as warmth continued to leave his body. His eyes drooped, and the Lombax used all his remaining willpower to keep them open.

"Clank… if I could… celebrate your birthday… what would… you want…?"

The robot squeezed the furry limb, and shook harder as his heart whirred with despair. "I would want you to be better. I-"

Ratchet watched as his friend choked on the words. "I want to reverse time and never have you get sick in the first place."

Ratchet gave a breathy laugh, barely at the volume of a low whisper. "Com'n… now Clank… Time's not… supposed t'be… messed with…" His words began to slur, and the Lombax couldn't even keep his eyes fully open anymore.

Time.

Time, the one thing that his father had protected and cared for, was now punishing Clank for being a creature it couldn't touch.

He was a robot after all. Robots lived far longer than an organic could, a being blessed with numerous centuries of life. Cronk and Zephyr had been made around the time of the Great War, and IRIS had mentioned that the Great War had taken place eons ago. So, at minimum, they had been thousands of years old when Ratchet and Clank had met them.

And then, there was his soul. His Zoni soul. The thing that couldn't age his robotic form after a certain point, the thing that could give him far countless more eons of life because of the immortality of the average Zoni…

Sigmund was an example of this. He didn't have a Zoni soul, however the Senior Caretaker had been gifted a vast lifespan after he accepted working at the Great Clock with Clank's father. He had already lived for thousands of years, and there was no doubt he would live for thousands more.

But with a Zoni soul… Time had gifted Clank with youthful life for an eternity.

An eternity without the best friend who he would give anything to spend it with.

Broken sobs, more like harsh coughing since the little robot couldn't breathe, echoed out of Clank's mouth a few moments later. He fell to his knees, still holding onto Ratchet's weak hand, and laid his head against the limb. His oil ducts were completely dry from earlier, but his eyelids creaked as the plates were squeezed tightly together.

"Clank… pal…"

Clank lifted his head slightly, still on his knees. Ratchet was breathing so slowly, the robot felt fear fill his chest with every slow exhale the Lombax made. He looked so pale, and Clank didn't need his health-scanning programs to tell him-

"It's time… I… gotta go now…"

"No! Please!" Clank clutched Ratchet's hand tightly and pulled it to his chest. Pale green optics met dim green eyes as desperation filled the robot's body. "Please. Please… please… I-I do not want to let you go. Not now."

Why couldn't he use the lever now?

"Please…"

Small tears, the little water left in Ratchet's body, ran down his cheeks as he stared at his best friend and the greatest being in the universe. "Pal… 'm… so sorry… but… I don' think… I can keep… doin' this… for much… longer…"

Clank felt all energy leave his body. "So… now is the goodbye? Will-" he blinked, and he felt the words catch in his mouth. His jaw piece moved, and Clank struggled to make a sound for a minute. "Will I ever see you again Ratchet…?"

The Lombax gave a weak smile, only the corners of his mouth turned up. "'Course… Clank… I'll… be… waitin'… for… ya…"

Now was the time.

Clank pushed out the words as best he could. "Goodbye Ratchet. May my father guide your soul on a safe passage to wherever it may go."

The Lombax's eyes shut completely, and he drew in a long, shaky breath as he lifted the corners of his mouth. "See ya Clank…"

Time froze, and Clank felt his heart seize in his chest.

"And Happy Birthday pal…"

A long breath left his throat, and the hand in Clank's hand fell completely limp.

Something snapped inside Clank, and the little robot fell apart completely. Harsh, coughing barks, loud sobs, rose from the robot's throat as Clank fell against Ratchet's body. His chest filled with a sort of depression, and he shook as he held onto his friend's body, hoping in pure vain that this was just a dream of some kind. Some nightmare he could just wake up from.

Glowing blue light, now in a liquid-like form, trailed down Clank's cheeks. Pain erupted within the little robot, and even though he felt like he was being crushed between two rocks, he continued to pour his soul out to the best friend he would not see for an empty, lonely eternity.

Time slowed, and when Clank finally wrestled his sobs to a somewhat manageable level, he looked toward the clock on the other side of Ratchet's bed. It felt like hours since he had heard Ratchet's last words, hell, it could have been days or even years.

He shouldn't have looked at the clock.

As his optics settled on the numbers, the little robot broke down again, and cried harder as he mourned the friend he lost forever.

12:07 A.M., October 27.

Ratchet had kept his word and hadn't died on Clank's birthday…

And not even six minutes could bring him back now.

Okie dokie, I should probably explain how this idea came about. (Original prompt: Ratchet is dying on Clank's birthday, and while he fights his own body shutting down, Clank is torn at the loss of his best friend in the universe.)

So, for those that don't know, Amberdiamondswords hosts a Ratchet and Clank Fanfiction server on Discord. There are some people already there, and if you ever want to join, just type in "Discord" into the Google search bar, and "Discord: Chat for Gamers" or something like that is what you're looking for. It's pretty easy to make an account, so if you ever want to chat with users like Amberdiamondswords, TheWhiteGuardian, TurquoiseLombax, KayXClankForever, superlegend, or myself, don't be afraid to hop on. :)

Right, story idea. Like I was saying, one day on the fanfiction server, the topic of Clank needing more appreciation came up, and someone mentioned that Clank's birthday was coming up in a little less than two weeks. One user, TurquoiseLombax, volunteered to write a fic, but needed some ideas to get her creative mind flowing. So, in an hour, I came up with a list of 5 Clank prompts... that I cannot put here because it's a little too long for the author's notes. I'll need to put it up on my Deviantart page if anyone wants to see them. And yes, I got myself a DA account, along with Wattpad, Archive of Our Own, Amino, and Discord accounts (I don't really use my Tumblr account much anymore though), and you can find all the different usernames on my profile page. Heh, it's been so long since I did some self-promoting...

I should also preface a few things. I plan to write something for the 15th anniversary, but with my homework schedule, I don't think I'm going to make it in time. It's planned to be extremely long yet easy to read, but the 7th is coming up fast and my school workload is starting to push down on me. I know this sounds pathetic of me, but if I don't make it in time... I don't know if I can finish in time, and while I can only really publish it on that day... could I even publish it at a later date? There's no rule about publishing, but at the same time, I feel it would lose its uniqueness and purpose if it was published later in the month, or even in December when I'm off for break. I don't know, but I shall do my best to finish it on time. I can't promise it, but I will so the best I can. :)

I hope you guys enjoyed the story, and I shall try to get something out soon. Until then, see you guys later!

XD