Chapter nine! :) Constructive criticism is appreciated. No flames please.

. . .

"Ship will self-destruct in twenty seconds. Would you like to compose your last will and testament?"

"Hurry, we're almost there!" Cora ushered Ratchet towards the shuttle pod.

The Lombax nodded in reply and bounded towards the shuttle as the seconds ticked down. The trio managed to get inside, and Ratchet started the engines. "Inputting station coordinates!"

Within seconds, the shuttle undocked from the warship and started heading for the Blarg station. It wasn't a moment too soon. The warship exploded, sending debris flying through space. That Blarg wanted the ship destroyed- that was precisely what happened.

The shuttle docked with the station, and Ratchet (after reactivating his helmet) stumbled into the hangar, panting. Cora followed suit, only she acted as though she hadn't broken a sweat. "Alright, c'mon slacker," she said, walking up to a door, equipping the Trespasser. "Let's get moving. We aren't finished yet." She stuck the Trespasser in the lock and started hacking it. Within moments, the door was open.

Ratchet and Cora walked inside and headed down a small corridor. Both equipped their Combusters, just in case.

"Oxygen levels are normal," Ratchet said, deactivating his helmet.

"Attention scientists!"

Ratchet jerked his head up and looked around, gripping his Combuster tighter.

"That sounds like Chairman Drek!" Clank exclaimed.

"Chairman Drek here. I just wanted to thank you for all your hard work these last few months. I may be your leader, but I am nothing without the tenacious Blarg here at this facility."

"How very touching," Ratchet said sarcastically.

"Hmm…"Cora halted, thinking.

Ratchet looked up at her, frowning. "What?"

"Just thinking," Cora replied.

"Yes, that's been happening a lot lately with pretty much everyone around me," Ratchet continued.

Cora ignored him. "C'mon, let's go."

Ratchet shrugged and followed her down the corridor into a small room with a forcefield leading to another hall. A little hacking with the Trespasser and they were on their way. Of course, Drek had to announce their presence. "It's been brought to my attention that we may have an intruder at the facility. If you come across anyone who is not a Blarg, please, feel free to kill them."

"Of course," Ratchet muttered.

"At least we are not being mauled to death by unsightly creatures," Clank pointed out.

The group headed down the hall into a larger room, with a set of platforms leading up to a Swingshot target.

Cora leapt onto the first platform, then the next, then another, and another. Ratchet followed suit. Then, by the end of that sequence of Swingshot targets, they landed on a platform where a group of Blarg soldiers were waiting for them.

"Kill the intruders!" the leader of the group ordered, equipping his blaster.

Ratchet threw in a grenade just as the Blarg started shooting at them. It was not a pretty end for the Blarg. Ratchet and Cora then ran past the incinerated bodies into another room. It was filled with lava, with rocky platforms above the surface of the boiling hot liquid.

"I am detecting –"

"Hey!"

Clank was interrupted by a voice calling from a metal platform set a ways away, high above the lava. A Blargian scientist stood there, looking down at the group. "Attention, intruder! You have entered the testing facility for a Blargian Snagglebeast! Chairman Alonzo Drek thanks you for your sacrifice!"

A Blargian Snagglebeast, which had been clinging to the rock ceiling above, leapt down in front of the group.

Cora let out a sigh. "Okay, I'm bored." She equipped her Warmonger and blasted the Snagglebeast with a bombardment of missiles. The Snagglebeast clutched its bleeding wounds and fell backwards off the edge of the rocky platform into the lava.

"The subject appears to have fallen into the lava, sir…"

The Blargian scientist looked at his colleague, who was shielded behind glass and standing in front of a console. "Stop being negative, Jim. He's not done yet."

Meanwhile, Ratchet stared at Cora, jaw dropped in amazement. "Will you marry me?"

Cora gave him a glare and Clank chuckled with amusement. The Blargian Snagglebeast wasn't done yet, though. It crawled out of the lava, hacking. Blood dripped from its gaping maw.

"How can that thing still be alive?!" Ratchet exclaimed in disbelief.

"Because we created him to survive even the heat of lava!" the Blargian scientist called gleefully. "Have fun, Lombax! Your father will be so pleased when you and your meddlesome Rangers have been dealt with!"

"He's… not… MY FATHER!" Ratchet equipped his Spiral of Death and went all out on the Blargian Snagglebeast. But even after he ran out of ammo, the Snagglebeast was still up and at it.

The creature snapped at Ratchet and Cora, forcing the two to dodge. Both Ratchet and Cora bombarded the Snagglebeast with their Warmongers' missiles. The Snagglebeast finally met its end, and backed into the platform the Blarg scientist was standing on.

"Eep!" The Blarg ran and jumped off the platform to the rocky ground below before the Snagglebeast could crush him. The Blarg's partner Jim wasn't so lucky, as the room he was in was smashed by the Snagglebeast, whose body now slid down the side of the platform into the lava.

Ratchet and Cora walked up to the Blargian scientist, who was on his knees, panting. He spotted them approaching and started panicking. "Ack! I yield! I yield! Please don't kill me!" The red reptile raised his arms protectively over his face.

Ratchet frowned. "Look, we're not going to kill you, okay? Just tell us why Drek is destroying planets."

"Hey, I'm the one who asks the questions here, Lombax!" Cora snapped.

Ratchet gave her a look that said "What the heck is your problem?", then turned back to the Blarg scientist, who seemed somewhat relieved that he wasn't going to die.

"Oh, oh!" The Blarg pulled an infobot out of his pocket. "Look, I don't know all what Drek's planning, but here, watch this infobot transmission! It's not much, but it should help you out a bit. Bye!" The Blarg then took off in a crazed panic.

A screen popped out of the infobot and revealed a face that Ratchet recognised immediately. "Wha…?"

The recording then started. "Greetings, Blarg imbeciles. If you are watching this infobot, you have been selected for the Beta trial of my latest invention… the XK-81 Jetpack. Though initial testing had a few setbacks, I am happy to report that I worked out all of the kinks. Now you can use your XK-81 Jetpack to traverse the sky, giving you an advantage over those morons on the ground! The XK-81 Jetpack. Come pick yours up at our base on Gaspar."

Then another voice said, "Doctor Nefarious is not responsible for death, dismemberment, or irreparable injury to your central nervous system."

Ratchet was frowning, in thought. Cora then asked, "How could he still be alive?"

"Say what?" Ratchet turned to her quizzically.

"Nefarious is supposed to be dead," Cora told him. "He was killed in a prison breakout! Witnesses proved-"

"Cora," Ratchet interrupted, "people will say or do anything for the right price. That's what my father told me, anyway."

"Yeah… about that," Cora spoke, glaring at the Lombax. "How exactly is your father tied into this?"

"He's not my father," Ratchet said. "He means nothing to me anymore. Not after he…"

"Not after he what?" Cora demanded.

"It doesn't matter," Ratchet replied evasively.

"It does matter if your father is involved with Drek!" Cora snapped.

"Just leave it!" Ratchet shot back. "Just leave it! I knew I shouldn't have come here! I should've just left this galaxy the second Clank was in your hands, but nooooo! I stayed and helped you out and now here I am being interrogated just because you think I'm the bad guy!"

"Please!" Clank interrupted. "If we are to stop Chairman Drek, we must not fight amongst ourselves."

Cora sighed. "He's right. Let's just go and check out Gaspar. Maybe we can learn something more there."

The group headed back to the hangar, where their ships were waiting.