The people and creature of Hoven screamed in terror as the Starship Phoenix, or as it could be now called "The Battleship Phoenix", entered the skies. It casted a large shadow over the land, causing the once sparkling pearl grounds to be shrouded in a deadly darkness. The belly of the ship opened, deploying hundreds of Microdrones, all of which had only two targets: the Zoni Prince and the female Zoni. In the ship, Lucius Dukes smiled as he watched the people scatter about, while Wyre looked down below, locating an escape pod from the Phoenix. He chuckled, which sounded a bit unsettling, and narrowed his yellow eyes ("We got 'em now.")

Ratchet ducked inside the shelter, where an angry Sasha and frightful Clank and Circuit (mostly Circuit) stood. This was bad. How in the world did they find them? They couldn't have downloaded the coordinates, the only way to get them was to hack the terminal! Damn that Wyre...it looked like that they would have to fight their way through his little army again. Meanwhile, he had to do something with his Zoni friends. If they kept hiding in here, then they could easily be cornered by Microdrones since there was only one way out of the room. So, it looked like that they would have to use the only option left.

A Microdrone came flying down into the doorway, catching Ratchet's attention. He quickly whacked it with his wrench before it could alert its fellow drones, and it went spiraling into the chasm below. Ratchet turned to Clank and Circuit, "Clank! Circuit! You guys need of get out of here, now!"

"Ratchet, there a hundreds of Microdrones out there looking for us!" Clank said. "You cannot take on all of them by yourself, you will be killed!"

"I'm not alone," the Lombax argued. "I've still got Sasha and a few soldiers to fight with. We'll be fine, Clank, trust me. Now you and Circuit make a run for it."

"B-But...Ratchet-" Circuit started, but was startled by Ratchet hitting another Microdrone and yelling.

"NOW!"

"We'll be fine, Circuit," Sasha said, equipping herself with a Combustor. "You and Clank get to safety. Remember, it's you they want, not us."

"But..." She trailed off as Clank pulled his cloak's hood over his head and grabbing her hand. He yanked her over to the wall and peeked out the doorway. There were swarms of drones out there, but not many of them seemed too suspicious about this area. Ratchet told him that he had them covered as he held up his Omniwrench. Clank nodded, and then carefully pulled himself and Circuit out of the shelter and onto the icy cliff. Several drones located them and shot straight for them, only to end up being smashed by Ratchet's wrench. The Lombax told them to go faster as more and more drones seemed to have detected him, and Clank pulled Circuit quickly yet carefully among the cliff side until, eventually, they reached safer ground.

However, they found themselves facing a bigger issue than icy ground: the way that they went led straight to a dead end. There was nothing to escape to but a wall of rock (and a Roboshack, but Clank didn't want to drag Edwina into this). Clank looked over his shoulder worryingly; more and more drones were coming towards them, and Ratchet and Sasha couldn't keep every single one at bay. They had to get over this cliff, or else they would be in the hands of Wyre in no time. There was only one option at this point. He turned to Circuit, who looked about ready to blow out a wire or something. He couldn't blame her for being scared because, truth be told, he was pretty scared as well.

"Circuit, are your wings fully operational?" Clank asked.

"My wings? Umm...yes, they should have recovered from the accident by now," Circuit replied with a nod.

"Good. On the count of three, I want you to activate them and go straight up, and make sure that you stay behind me. I do not want us separating along the way."

Clank activated his wings, the emerald green not getting the chance to shine brilliantly due to the shadow that the Phoenix was casting, but Circuit did not activate anything. Instead, she tapped on Clank's shoulder nervously, "Clank...?"

"What-oh dear!"

Upon turning around, Clank discovered that they had been cornered by a gang of Tyhrranoids. Their creepy red eyes glared at them, and they spoke in their odd and somewhat unpleasant language ("Why is one of their words pronounced by passing gas?" "I do not know, and I personally do not want to know.") The The two robots looked over at Ratchet and Sasha and hoped that they could help them, but they were too busy fighting off other creatures. Clank and Circuit were all on their own drew closer; their options were running out fast. If they stood there, then the Tyhrranoids would run them over, but if they flew, the Tyhrranoids could easily toss each other at them. These things weren't smart, but they sure could take things down. The two robots looked over at Ratchet and Sasha and hoped that they could help them, but they were too busy fighting off other creatures. Clank and Circuit were all on their own.

Or were they?

To the left of them, a blast of blue energy swept by in front of them, taking out multiple Tyhrranoids at once. Clank and Circuit, who nearly had heart attacks, looked to their left and saw several soldiers, one of which was Spark, standing outside the Roboshack, armed with their arm guns. Spark waved to the two and pointed up the cliff.

"We got these little punks, now get up the cliff! Stay safe, Circe!"

"Thank you, Spark!" Circuit called back, reaching behind her and unzipping the two slots on her jacket. Her purple Robo-Wings shot out of them. "I am ready whenever you are."

Clank nodded and turned his body back towards the cliff. He looked over his shoulder, giving Ratchet once last glance. His eyes narrowed in a slight sad position as he watched his friend fight without him. He hoped that he would be okay. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Clank gave a flap of his wings, Circuit following in a similar fashion. However, even though she had flown with them before, Circuit was still having trouble when it came to actual flying. So much so that she was falling behind...fast. She flapped her wings as hard as she could, but it only did so much for her. Clank looked down and saw her struggling. He called down to her.

"Do you require assistance?"

"No! No, I am fine-oof!" Circuit bumped into the cliff, nearly ripping her jacket in the process. She gripped the rocky cliff, attempting to stay up. "I-I am fine, trust me! Let me just..." The girl positioned herself and her wings so she was lying down in mid air, not going straight up. Maybe it would help when pushing her up. So, confident in the new position, Circuit took a useless deep breathe and flapped her wings as hard as she possibly could. She went up alright...but a little too hard.

"WAHH!" Circuit yelped as she shot up like a bullet. Clank's eyes went wide as he saw her come closer at a rapid pace. Soon, she ended up crashing into him, sending them both shooting upwards.

"I believe that you could use some lessons in aviation," Clank said, his voice cracking and his body hurting.

"Clank, there are a lot of good times to be witty, but while being in mid air during an invasion is not one of them," Circuit replied.

"Sorry. Where are we going to land, anyway?"

The two robots looked down and saw that they had indeed made it over the cliff, which was good, but they were also heading straight for a snow bank...a steep snow bank...which was bad.

Clank and Circuit quickly latched onto each other and yelled as they plummeted into the snow. The first landing was pretty rough, but it didn't stop there. The two robot slid down the snowy and icy slope, not letting go of each other. There were several rocks on the way down, but they managed to dodge them all...barely. The bumpy ride was about to come to a stop, but there was a giant snow bank at the bottom, and both of them were well aware of that. They hugged each other and yelled again as they crashed into large piles of snow, leaving Clank/Circuit shaped holes as they entered. It took a moment for both of them to recover. They felt dazed and dizzy, not to mention they were now freezing. Clank shook his head and set his optics straight and was about to ask Circuit if she was alright, but she burst out of the snow with a surprisingly happy face.

"Hahahaa! That was awesome! Can we go again?"

Clank gave her a certain unamused look before shaking his head, "You really are Ratchet's child."

The green eyed robot began brushing the snow off of his new cloak as he walked through the snow, Circuit following close behind. He looked around the area; it seemed like that this place was clear of Microdrones and Tyhrranoids, but it probably wouldn't stay that way for long. They would have to keep going if they wanted to find somewhere to lay low in. Circuit looked behind her and said that she hoped that Ratchet and Sasha were alright, but Clank assured her that they would be fine with the soldiers by their sides, and that seemed to ease her a bit. The male then grabbed her hand and kept leading her away from the Battleship Phoenix. The farther they were from that ship, the better.

The downside of the cliff was laced with slippery slopes and sharp rocks, making the area extremely dangerous, so Clank told Circuit to be very careful. She agreed and watched her footing carefully. The two robots walked for several more minutes, keeping watch in case any wolves or Tyhrranoids or anything came into view of even earshot, but it seemed that there was nothing around that wanted to cause them harm...or was there?

Near the end of a slope, the sound of buzzing caught the attention of Clank and Circuit. As if by instinct, Clank grabbed his friend's shoulders and ducked behind a fairly large rock. Clank felt his heart pulse rapidly as he kept hearing the buzzing. Nothing on Hoven would make that exact sound, so it had to have been something of Wyre's, a scout of some sort. He was just glad that it wasn't growling; he didn't feel like dealing with another wolf. The green eyed robot glanced around one side of the rock while Circuit went to the other end and looked. They scanned the area for anything out of the ordinary, and their results came up fast. There was a small robot lying on the ground several feet away. It was squirming a bit and buzzed annoyingly. Clank's eyes narrowed in hate as Circuit tilted her head. It was just a lone robot making all of the noise, and it looked like that it was struggling to get up. Her eyes went a bit wide as she thought that something was wrong with it, and she also identified the robot's model.

"Oh...ohh, it is one of those Microdrones," Circuit said, recognizing the type of robot. She wondered why it was lying on the ground instead of hovering around with its friends. It was then that she realized that it was attempting to get up, but it couldn't for some reason. There were also several small dents in its small body. Circuit frowned, "Oh no, it is injured."

Circuit got out of hiding and walked towards the Microdrone, but Clank called out to her, "Circuit, what are you doing? Get back here, right now! Do not touch that Microdrone!"

The female ignored him as she came up to the drone. It looked up at her as she attempted to lay a hand on it, its one big digital eye narrowing in an angry position. It swiped at her with its metal claws, electricity flying between them with every attempt to strike. Circuit stepped back and placed her hands on her waist, giving the Microdrone a disapproving look. It tried to hit her again, but she ended up hitting it instead. She slapped one if its metal claws (not too hard or course), wincing a bit as she felt the effects of the electric shock. Then she pointed at the drone, "No! That is a bad Microdrone! Bad!"

Surprisingly, instead of getting angry, the Microdrone let its arms and claws fall to the ground and into the snow. It had its eye in a sad position now, and that made Circuit a bit sad. She got down on one knee and carefully placed both of her hands on it, making the drone jump. "No no no, it is alright. I am just looking at the damage." She observed the rusty red drone, and she detected the several dents in its body. The poor thing must have fallen down while being deployed. But...why did it fall? Microdrones were able to hover and fly with an Anti-Gravity unit located on the bottom of its body. With that in mind, Circuit scanned the drone, bringing up blueprints in it, along with a name. Interested in what it was, she read it out loud. "Aerial Robotic Extraction and Neutralizing Drone? So...Arend, right?" The drone shifted its body up and down in an attempt to nod. Circuit smiled, "That is a nice name. I like it."

Arend's eye then went into a position that made it look like that it was happy. Circuit smiled at it again before locating the problem. After checking the drone's scan, she located the issue, which was a damaged Anti-Grav unit. She looked at the unit itself, and sure enough, it was busted. Circuit patted Arend, "Your Anti-Gravity unit is damaged, that is why you cannot fly. I wish that I could repair it but...wait a minute...!" Circuit looked at the 'Upgrade' option in her system. Maybe, if she was lucky, she might be able to upgrade Arend's Anti-Grav unit. Then he could fly back to his ship and be properly repaired. Deciding that that was the right thing to do, she pulled up and selected her 'Upgrade' option, then she became surrounded by the familiar glowing light blue cylinder. However, before she could even have the options pull up, she felt a hand grab her arm and pull her back, dispersing the blue light.

"Circuit, what are you doing? Did you damage your CPU in that crash?" Clank asked angrily.

"No, it is still fully functional," Circuit replied innocently.

"Then why are you trying to repair one of Wyre's robots? If you fix it, it will go and alert its fellow drones and reveal our location!"

"You do not know that. Plus, I cannot just leave him here! He will die!"

"And this drone is different then all of the ones you just saw Ratchet kill how...?"

"Well, I...I do not uh...I-I umm...I-I do not know! But I do not want to just leave him here, I have to fix him. I cannot explain it but...I just see the good in him. I know that he will not tell Wyre! Please Clank, please let me fix Arend! He will not tell, I promise!"

Clank placed his hands on his waist, his green cloak swishing slightly, and looked down at Circuit. Her eyes were big and pleading (and very purple). The robot sighed. As much as he wanted to shoot her a disapproving look, he guessed that he would trust her judgement, and pointed to...'Arend'. "Please try to do this quickly so we do not attract any attention."

Circuit smiled happily and thanked Clank (when he felt his face becoming a bit warm, he pulled his cloak hood over part of his eyes, which made Circuit giggle), then she remade the blue cylinder. She shifted back towards Arend who was looking a little tired. But he became a bit more awake when he saw was Circuit was doing. She gave a warm smile, "Do not worry, this will not hurt. Though part of you will glow for a second or two, but just stay calm, alright?"

Arend nodded and laid there as Circuit pushed him up a bit and scanned his Anti-Gravity unit. The scan showed up in the blue light, then it shrunk down into a small rectangular button that said 'Gadgets'. It placed itself right next to the 'Weapons' option. Circuit was excited now. Not only could she upgrade weapons, but she could upgrade, or at least repair, gadgets as well. She reached over and selected the 'Gadgets' section, then hit 'Anti-Grav Unit'. Using her finger, she pinpointed the location of Arend's unit, and then it told her to release the Zoni energy to complete the process. Circuit sighed, here comes the hard part. The purple eyed robot put both of her hands forward and pushed with all of her might. A must misty light emitted from her arms, hands, and fingers, and it flowed to where she was aiming: Arend. The misty light went into Arend and his Anti-Grav unit began to glow with it.

After several seconds of pushing, Circuit put her hands down as the blue light around her dispersed once more. She nearly collapsed and her eyes became a bit dim as she recovered from losing so much energy at once. Upgrading stuff was great and helpful, but it really took it out of her. Clank helped her get back on her feet while Arend used his metal claws to push himself off of the ground and he hovered a few ground off of the ground. Circuit smiled as life started filling her eyes again.

"It really did work. Do you feel better, Arend?" The Microdrone bobbed its body up and down in order to mimic a nod. "That is great. Now you must go back to the Phoenix and get properly repaired before the Zoni energy runs out. What I upgrade does not stay upgraded for long."

Arend nodded again, then hovered over to Circuit and nuzzled the side of her head, making her giggle. Then she nodded to the Phoenix, "Go on now, before your friends start to worry."

Circuit patted Arend on the head and watched as the Microdrone took off and turned into a tiny dot in the distance. A slightly sad look then came onto her face. She hoped that Arend would be alright. Clank tugged on her jacket and told her that they should keep moving, and she obeyed. As they began moving again, Clank adjusted his cloak and looked at his friend. "Circuit, put up your hood. It is getting colder and I do not want you catching anything."

Circuit gave him a strange look before putting her hood up, the plush Lombax ears standing up. Her tail swished back and forth a few times before she said, "I put my hood up but...what exactly am I going to catch? I am a robot, Clank, I cannot catch a virus like an organic."

"Oh! Right. Hehehehe," the male said, rubbing the back of his head with embarrassment. "Sorry, I am just so used to saying that to Ratchet when we are in a cold area. But keep your hood up anyway, I do not want you getting cold."

"Heh, alright."

The next few minutes went by in silence as Clank and Circuit made their way through the deep snow. Every once in awhile, Clank would narrow his eyes and look back and forth, checking the area for any dangers, and Circuit would looked over her shoulder, wondering if her Microdrone friend was alright. She hoped that the Zoni energy was still at a decent amount in his Anti-Grav unit. The thought of it running out and Arend falling to the ground was enough to make her optics lower sadly. She needed reassurance. The small robot reached forward and tugged on Clank's cloak.

"Yes, Circuit?" Clank asked.

"Umm...Clank? Do you think that Arend will make it to the Phoenix alright?"

"I am sure that he will be fine," Clank said, with the slightest hint of irritation in his voice, which made Circuit's eyes go a bit wide. What was his problem? Was he still mad that she helped the Microdrone?

"Clank, there is no need to sound so irritated-"

"I am not irritated."

"Yes you are."

"No I am not."

"I can read the tones of your voice like a book. You are mad."

"I am not."

"Yes."

"No."

"Look, if you are still worried about Arend, do not be. You saw what he acted like, he was harmless! Besides, if Arend was going to tell Wyre that we were over here, then Wyre would have been here by now!"

The next voice that came made both of the robot's hearts stop.

"Yes, I suppose that I am a few moments late." Clank and Circuit jumped badly as Wyre's voice suddenly came up. They turned around slowly and saw the doctor robot standing behind them, several wolves standing alongside him. An evil smile came upon his face, "Hello."

"Circuit, run!" Clank cried out, pushing Circuit forward. The two robots made a run for it, but Wyre was prepared for that. He heaved a gun out from behind him and fired it, stopping the Zoni in their tracks as a blue orb formed around them. An electrical current ran across the blue barrier. Clank gasped, he knew what gun that was, and it was not a good one. Circuit whimpered a bit, frightened of their strange prison.

"Aww, what's wrong?" Wyre asked. "Mag-Net Launcher got your freedom? Well, maybe I can be of assistance, right after you two assist us. Gamma, Beta, Omega, bring them back to the ship. And be gentle. I heard that Zoni can be frail creatures."

Clank grunted in frustration, attempting to fight against the Mag-Net's hold, but it had him in solid suspension, he could barely move at all. Meanwhile, Circuit could feel her heart rate increasing at a very unhealthy rate. She was well aware that she didn't need to breathe, but she found herself hyperventilating. This wasn't happening...this wasn't happening! She yelped as a few wolves picked up their prison and started running, not walking, but running off with them. They were going away...away from her parents! She was being kidnapped! Circuit hyperventilating seemed to increase as memories of Nefarious and his base flashed before her violet eyes. No! No, not again! Next thing she knew, she was yelling out.

"R-Ratchet! RATCHET, HELP! SASHA! HELP!"

"Hey! Shut the hell up!" Wyre said angrily, glaring at the robot. Then he folded his arms and pointed a finger at his wolves, "Or else I'll be feeding my wolves early. After all...we only really need one Zoni."

Circuit looked down at the wolves below and saw their sharp teeth and hungry expressions. Their yellow eyes seemed to pierce her very soul. So, not wanting to be torn apart by robot wolves, Circuit closed her eyes tight and tried to control her non-needed breathing and heart rate. Then she nearly jumped out of her metal casing as she felt something brush against her hand. But, upon opening her eyes, she found out that it was just Clank, who was attempting to grab her hand. However, the Mag-Net was making hand movement very difficult, so he could just offer her a face. A face that told her that everything would be okay and that he was there for her. She wasn't alone. But this face wasn't enough to calm Circuit down. How could she calm down in a situation like this? She was being taken away again...away from Ratchet again.

"Mommy...daddy...help," she muttered to herself, closing her eyes once more.

Well...things just took a turn for the worst now didn't it?

Now, before I start any of my Author's Notes antics or anything like that, I'm actually gonna warn you guys about next chapter. This is when that Rated T rating is gonna start kicking in. Because there's uhh...well, though I don't want to spoil anything...there's gonna be torture scenes in the next chapter. Nothing over the top or too gruesome, but it's still, you know...torture! So go into Chapter 27 prepared, alright?

On a lighter note, Wyre finally captured Clank and Circuit...wait, that's not lighter. That's not lighter at all! Let me try this again-

On a darker note, Wyre finally captured Clank and Circuit! And Ratchet and Sasha don't know...so this is bad. Very bad.

Also can, like, someone leave a review on Chapter 24? Cause that chapter didn't get any reviews and it's bothering the crap out of me!

In fact, this story seems to be really lacking in reviews lately. Either my regular reviewers aren't around right now, or they've lost interest in the story...I really hope it's the first one. Anyway, yeah, if we could get some more reviewers flowin' in here, that would really help me!

Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!

This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!