Chapter Eight

Reunion

Through a void of swirling blue and white Ratchet was hurtled against his will. Till finally he reached a large white door which opened the moment his body approached it. Out it he was thrown. Then to horror he began to fall. He was falling! Falling far and fast. It didn't matter where he landed, it would be extremely painful. That is of course if it did not kill him. Below he began to see the dark waves of an ocean below. It came closer and closer. Then suddenly- SMACK! He hit the water with devastating force. His O2-mask broke and he felt a sharp blow to his head. His world went black as he slowly sank to the ocean floor, his lungs taking in water against his will.

Above, a commercial fishing ship was doing its daily rounds. Its great nets sweeping through the water picking up schools of silvery fish. And with them Ratchet's body as well. When the nets where emptied on the boats several lombaxes screamed as Ratchet's form appeared among the squirming fish. The captain grabbed a Holo-Phone and dialed the police. "Yes. Officer? Our fishing nets have accidently caught a dead body!" "He's not dead!" cried a crew member over by Ratchet, whom they had laid on the floor of the boat. The captain turned back to the Officer on the Holo-Phone. "Get us medics now!" He demanded. The captain hung up. Everyone turned there attentions to Ratchet. They tried to find ways to get him breathing again. One female even started doing CPR but find it hard to continue when she realized that his mouth was flooded with blood. To fix this they turned him over and allowed gravity to drain the blood out. The CPR was able to continue after that. But Ratchet remained unconscious and not breathing. Finally the Ambulance arrived aboard a fancy ship with flashing red lights. They took Ratchet and hooked him to various IVs. A mask that supplied oxygen was applied to his face. And with that they rushed him to the Hospital.

At the Hospital they went immediately to an emergency room. Ratchet of course was unconscious through all this and had no idea what was happening. Hooking him up to various machines they applied tubes down his throat and began gently removing as much water as they could. They stopped every few moments of doing this to give him oxygen. Then finally his lungs responded and his body went rigid as he coughed painfully. He fell back on with a soft thud. His head was throbbing and he was so week and sore he could barely open his eyes. Through his eye-lashes he saw figures standing around him. He wanted to get up and see if they where lombaxes, but his body felt too heavy. He lost all his strength again and his eyes closed.

The discovery of Ratchet had not gone unnoticed by the press. Soon dozens of interviews where being done with doctors and the crew of the fishing-liner. "How do you think he got there." a female reporter asked the ships captain. "We have no idea. What I think we should be asking his how he survived." was the captains answer. "Doctor? Can you explain the miraculous recovery this young male as gone through?" another reporter asked a doctor at the local Hospital. Jaque, who was lounging at home, had flicked through the channels looking for something of interest to watch and stopped dead on a news station that was showing film clips of the rescue of a lombax, discovered in the nets of a fishing liner. "Officials have no idea who this young male is." said the News Anchor. "He had no identification on him." It was at this moment that Clank wandered into the room with Ari. Juin had gone back to her own apartment. The anchor continued- "He is a male, quite young (early twenties in age) with gold fur, and green eyes. His stripes are light brownish-orange set in groups of three, except on his tail which has four stripes. His tail-tuff starts out gold and becomes white at its tip. The same effect his on his ears." "We have to go the hospital now!" Clank cried out. "What? Why?" said Jaque turning around on the couch to look over its back. "That was Ratchet!" Clank said. "Your sure?" Ari asked looking down with concern in her face. "Positive! I know Ratchet better then anyone and that description she gave of him was perfect." he told them. Ari and Jaque exchanged glances. "That settles it. Lets go." Jaque said, grabbing his keys and heading out with Clank and Ari behind him. They didn't have a vehicle to ride in and the hospital was several miles away on the other side of town. They grabbed a taxi to compensate for this problem.

Arriving at the hospital they where confronted with a wall of lombaxes. Cameras filming and flashing all around the entrance. No one was aloud to come in . Thanks to Clank's small size he was able to duck underneath the press. Carefully he made his way through the hospital, avoiding being seen as well as he could. Now he needed to find out which room Ratchet was in. Hiding behind the front desk he over-heard two doctors mention the press over reacting about the patient in Room 11. At last Clank new where to go. Making his way down the hallways he looked up at each door checking the large gold numbers written on each of them. He counted himself very lucky that no doctors came along as he conversed the hallways. Finally he reached a door with a large gold eleven on it.

Listening first to make sure no one was in the room, he gently pushed it open. It was small with large windows and white walls. Making the whole room very bright. In a bed, connected to various machines, lied Ratchet. Clank hovered up to him and set himself on his friends left side. Ratchet's condition frightened Clank. He was extremely frail and his fur was so thin Clank could see the skin underneath. "Ratchet?" Clank said nervously. Ratchet didn't move, but Clank swore he heard him mutter something. "Ratchet?" Clank repeated a little louder. "Clank? It could barely be heard but Clank new what had been said. "Yes Ratchet its me!" he said cheerfully. Ratchet's body began to stir, finding its strength again. His eyes opened, and Clank felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted off his chest. He put a hand on Ratchet's shoulder. "Ratchet you found me." Ratchet was barely awake, he turned his head to face Clank and upon finally seeing Clank his eyes went very wide. He didn't move or stir, and his constant staring made Clank very uncomfortable. Suddenly Ratchet lunged forward. He grabbed hold of Clank and pulled him close. Hugging the small robot to his chest, he held on with a death grip. He seemed terrified to let Clank go. Then Clank heard a strange sound, a whimpering broken up by the occasional sniffle. Ratchet's body trembled, and something wet slid down Clanks back. To Clank's shock he realized that Ratchet was crying. Never had he seen Ratchet truly cry. He had come close certainly, but never had he just let go of his emotions like this. "Ratchet? What has happened to you?" Clank asked with great worry.

Ratchet loosened his grip, and seemed about to choke an answer when the door suddenly flew open and in stormed the doctors. "Get out!" they demanded and Ratchet's grip on Clank got titer. "You're lombaxes." Ratchet said with wide eyes. "Yes- So are you." a Doctor replied with a puzzled look. Clank managed too turn around in Ratchet's arms. "Please, excuse my friend." he told them. "He has never seen another lombax before." The jaws of all the doctors and nurses dropped in disbelief. "Is this true?" said a nurse addressing Ratchet, who nodded and said "Please don't punish Clank." "Clank?" said another doctor, puzzled about the name. "You know this robot?" Ratchet smiled. "This robot-" he said. "-is my family, and the bravest person I've ever known." There was a note of pride to his voice. Clank suddenly felt very big for his small metal frame, and a great feeling was swelling inside him. With new courage he addressed the doctors and nurses, and told them about how he and Ratchet had been separated. When he finished the doctors made an agreement with him. Ratchet would have too stay for another week. After that he was free to go home.

Waiting for a week to let Ratchet come home to the apartment was like waiting for christmas to come. It did not feel like a week, it felt like a century. But it was a week and soon enough Ratchet, Clank, Ari and Jaque where all squeezed together in the back of a taxi heading home. Jaque was quick to take on a conversation with Ratchet. Jaque was quite the entertainer, he loved a good social event. Ari on the other hand had become painfully shy. She seemed uncomfortable to have a male lombax of her generation so close to her. Though granted at the moment Ratchet was anything but a stud-muffin. His fur was still thin, and his body frail. He had however gained some weight, and his fur had stopped shedding out.

Arriving at the apartment, Jaque made everyone dinner. It was made of left overs, but Jaque was able to make reheated food taste better. Ratchet, who obviously had not taken a liking to hospital food, scarfed it down like he would not never eat again. He finished long before anyone else, yet ate almost twice as much. Latter that night the couch in front of the television was revealed to have a fold-out bed inside it. A place to sleep was made for Ratchet, and Clank happily took the big cushy arm chair. It reminded him of the first few years he lived with Ratchet, where their only furniture was pair of armchairs. Ratchet fell asleep almost instantly. And Clank dozed of soon after-words.