Chapter two is up! I've decided to take a break from writing my Ratchet and Clank story, since I need a bit of a fresh perspective when I get back to it. Anyway, now to reply to reviews! :)

KnightLawn: I liked this keep up the great work.

Reply: Thanks. And I will do my best.

Swalker2000: Aww, man, I love this! Keep up the good work :)

Reply: Thanks, I'm glad you like it so far. I'm new to writing these characters, so it means a lot to me that you're enjoying this. Hope you like this chapter as much as you did the previous. :)

The Smart One: I'm so thrilled about the idea of Dru and Edith having some free time together, especially with all of their similarities. I love your writing style and this story has great potential. Keep up the good work!

Reply: Thanks! :) It's sometimes hard for me to write, so to hear that makes me happy. I'll do my best to... well, do my best.

Onto the story now!

Note: There's a minor reference to Mythbusters in this chapter, so for those of you who are fans, keep an eye out for it! :) There are references to other media in here, so again, stay sharp. :)

. . .

Episode II: Direction and Magnitude, Part Two

In the facility…

Vector waltzed down the white corridor, a pair of Squid-Launchers in his hands. The young villain grinned evilly. "If only dad could see me now!" He rounded the corner and took out three more guards with his Squid Launchers. He left the guards to struggle with the squids and raced down the hall to a small door. It the side was a control panel.

"A six pass alpha-key encryption?!" Vector exclaimed. "Pah! This is easy!" He punched in a few keys and the door was open. Then he shot a couple of squids at the scientists who were in the room, working on the device.

While the scientists were busy trying to rip off the squids, Vector ran up to the table where the device was. It was a small, gold sphere with glowing light-blue markings running up and down its sides. A button was on the top of the sphere, presumably the "on" button.

"Don't touch that!" said one of the scientists who had a squid tangled about their abdomen. "We're still trying to fix it!"

"Fix it?" Vector asked, glaring at him. "What'ya mean, fix it?"

"It's a prototype!" the scientist said. "It caused some damage to the-!"

Vector narrowed his eyes with suspicion. "You're stalling!" He shot the scientist in the face with the Squid Launcher, shutting him up. The villain then pocketed the sphere and marched out of the room.

A few more minutes of fancy squid shooting and running around hallways, he was out of the base. As the villain rushed towards the town through the woods, he shouted, "In your faces, BI-"

As he spoke, a certain gold car came crashing through the woods towards him at high speeds. Vector jumped to the side and glared at the screaming occupants. His eyes widened at what he saw. Gru and Edith? "Gru?!"

Apparently the occupants didn't see him, as the vehicle just kept crashing through the woods. Vector frowned, staring at the back of the car as it disappeared into the trees.

"Since when did Gru have hair?"

And now… with the crazy driver and his equally crazy companion…

"Woohoo!" Edith shouted as the vehicle flew off the cliff into the water below. She plunged deep into the water, but by kicking her feet, she got up to the surface. Dru was floating beside her, a little stunned at the moment. Thankfully the car automatically transformed into a motor boat, or they'd be in big trouble.

Dru saw the young girl and quickly embraced her with excitement. "Dat… was… AWESOME!" Apparently he thought nearly dying in a sixty-five foot plunge was pretty fun too.

"I know, right?" Edith asked excitedly. "Let's do it again!"

"Now, now," Du said as he lifted Edith into the passenger seat. "Dat was an acceedant. And I promised your father I wouldn't let you geet hurt. So no more falleeng from cleeffs, alright?"

Edith sighed and pouted. "Okay… fine."

Dru got in the driver's seat and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey. We're goeeng to have fun together, okay? As much as I'd like to do dat again, I don't want you to geet hurt. You're my niece."

Edith nodded, looking down at her feet. "At least you didn't pee yourself."

"Um…" Dru grinned sheepishly. "I deed a leetle, actually."

Edith laughed. "Cool! 'Cuz I did too!"

Dru shook his head, chuckling, and steered the motorboat towards home.

. . .

"My, my, aren't you quite the mess," Fritz commented as Dru and Edith entered the mansion sopping wet. "May I ask how on Earth this happened?" Edith just stuck her tongue out at him in reply. Fritz frowned. "That's not ladylike."

"I'm not a lady!" Edith protested.

Dru laughed. "We just took a leetle speell, dat's all. Nothing to worry about."

After changing their clothes, Edith and Dru sat down on the living room couch. Dru picked up the remote and asked, "You want to watch some cartoons?" Edith nodded. Dru switched on the TV, and flipped through channels, trying to find the cartoons. As he did so, he saw something on the news channel that caught his eye.

MYSTERIOUS VILLAIN STEALS EXPERIMENTAL DEVICE.

"Does this look like a cartoon?" Edith asked somewhat rudely, looking at Dru with a raised eyebrow. Obviously it wasn't a cartoon, but she felt inclined to ask anyway.

"Hush," Dru said dismissively. He turned off the mute (it was on for whatever reason) and listened to the blonde female reporter as she talked about the incident.

"—64 news. Earlier today, a mysterious villain broke into the laboratory outside Freedonia Village and stole a top secret experiment," the reporter spoke. "Witnesses say he was using a… am I reading the right? A squid-gun. Like anyone is going to take this seriously. Ahem. Two of the guards say that this villain calls himself Vector. Vector? Isn't that the guy who stole the pyramid of Giza last year? Or was that the year before? Huh. Anyway, again, coming to you live from Channel 64 news."

Dru heard Edith let out a cry. He jerked his head towards her and saw her run out of the living room. He quickly followed her. Edith raced into her bedroom and slammed the door shut.

Dru walked up to it, unsure of himself. "Edeeth? Can I come in?"

The only reply was the sound of crying and sniffling. One of the minions happened to walk by at that moment. It was Lance.

"Psst!" Dru caught the minion's attention. Dru continued, "Lance! Can you help me?"

Lance just frowned in confusion. The problem with him was that he was partially deaf ever since he decided to see what would happen if he shot a lit candle with a fart gun. You can guess what happened after that.

"Ka takan wry to," Lance said.

Dru sighed and repeated, "Can you help me?"

"Pluka louder!" Lance was getting annoyed.

The feeling was mutual. "Oh, forget eet," Dru muttered. He turned his attention back to Edith. "Edeeth?"

"Go away," came the angry reply.

Dru opened the door and stepped in. He closed it softly behind him. Edith was sitting on the floor next to a chair, crying softly.

"Edeeth… what's wrong?" Dru walked over and knelt down beside her.

Edith sniffled a little bit before responding. "I-it's nothing."

"Eet doesn't sound like eet's notheeng," Dru replied.

Edith sighed and leaned against Dru's chest. The sound of his heartbeat calmed her somewhat. She bit her lip and thought. Should she tell him what happened?

"Vector… he kidnapped us," Edith spoke. "Me and my sisters. We almost died. If dad hadn't come to rescue us, I wouldn't be here right now. Neither would Margo or Agnes."

Dru hugged Edith. "Hey, notheeng bad ees goeeng to happen to you. I promise."

"You can't make a promise you might not be able to keep," Edith told him.

"Maybe not," Dru replied. "But no matter what happeens, I'll do my best to protect you. Okay?"

Edith looked up at him and smiled through her tears. "Okay."

"So what happeened do dis Vector guy anyway?" Dru asked. "Deed my brother keeck hees butt?"

Edith laughed. "More like the moon did that for him."

"What do you mean?" Dru asked, confused. Say what now?

Edith grinned widely. "Have you ever heard of the Nefario Principle?"

. . .

Meanwhile… location unknown…

Vector trudged into his living room and threw his Squid Launchers on his couch. The villain then flopped down beside his weapons lazily. He picked up his laptop off the table in front of him and turned it on. Within moments, he was surfing the internet.

Why was Gru here in Freedonia? He had to find out.

"VEEEEEECTOOOOOR!" It was his mother. "WHY IS MY SQUID TANK EMPTY?!"

"I DON'T KNOW, MOM!" Vector lied. "AND I DON'T CARE! I'M TRYING TO WORK HERE!"

"OH I SEE HOW IT IS! YOUR WORK IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR OWN MOTHER?!"

Vector let out a growl of annoyance. "I hate my life…"