Drek's eyes narrowed at Kyle and what he told him, the Lombax had gotten to him as night fell. So, they were underneath the ground, had an insider and all this equipment to keep them invisible. "Who is the insider?" Drek asked as Kyle slapped a file down before Drek. "Someone your not gonna like." Drek opened the file, reading the words before freezing, going rigid as he processed the words. No…he…why would he-?! Drek was standing straight and heading out of the room, fuming with anger at what he had learned. That boy would pay…dearly!

An hour later, Derek slammed against the back wall of a cell, grunting at the pain it caused. Shaking his head, he looked up and growled at the look in Drek's eyes. "How the hell did you-?" He froze seeing Kyle come up to Drek's side and he hissed at him. "You bastard! You betrayed mom and them?!" Derek hadn't realized the man had escaped. Kyle scoffed and leaned against the opposite cell doors, watching as he crossed his arms. "You are the traitor Derek." Drek hissed at his son, glaring at him.

Derek growled, brown eyes showing nothing but anger towards his sire. "Tch, this dimension was better off without you." Derek hissed at Drek, teeth barred in anger and Drek scoffed. "That, my boy, is where you are wrong." Metal clasps sprung from the wall and held onto him, making Derek yelp in pain as it tightened. "The boy can still be useful." Kyle said, grabbing Drek's attention and Derek paled…he knew what that meant. "Rilena still loves him, they've been meeting secretly with Ratchet. Send an announcement for a trade." Kyle grinned as Drek raised a brow.

Derek was about to say something but was silenced as the metal clasps zapped him, making him yelp in pain once more. "I'm listening." Drek said as he turned away from his son. "Trade Derek for Rilena." Drek hummed in interest. "You can always get another son, one who won't betray you. Have you finalized the serum that'll wipe her memories?" Kyle asked, yet Drek shook his head. "Not yet. The Blarg are useless." Kyle huffed, standing straight. "I can help you finish it." Kyle said softly, uncrossing his arms. "Make the announcement tomorrow so the Rebel's don't have a chance to disappear. They are most likely making plans to evacuate Veldin." The Lombax explained, making Drek nod.

Drek called in a few Blarg and robots, before looking at Derek. "Rough him up a little bit. Then keep him here under watch." His eyes seemed to glow in anger. "I will be making an example of him tomorrow." Drek left with Kyle, who smirked at Derek and disappeared with the older man. Derek growled as the metal clasps let him go and he dropped to the floor before hands were yanking him back up. The Blarg at the lead Carlos, smirked as he brought out a metal baton and Derek growled. "Alright, time to whip you into shape!" Carlos shouted and struck Derek across his ribs making Derek scream in pain.

He was about to realize how far Drek was going to get Rilena.

**(Next Day, Veldin, Morning; December 15th, Tuesday)**

Rilena was packing up the last box in their home, when Clink began making that odd whirring sound again. "Clink?" Rilena asked the small robot, unaware Riley's eyes went wide as a feeling grew in the young girl's gut. No…it happened, didn't it? "Commander!" Connor walked in, panting and Rilena looked at him. "Connor, what have I-!" "There's a world wide message airing!" He stated and her eyes went wide. "What?!" She shouted and Connor nodded.

"It'll be live in just a few minutes, hurry to the Command Center!" Conner was running off soon after and Rilena hissed, before putting the box down and grabbing Clink. "Come on everyone!" Rilena said and Ratchet got Clank on his back before picking Riley up. Ratchet Junior and Ragar followed their parents out and headed to the Command Center where a few others were. "Elaris, do you have connection up in the meeting room?" Conner asked Elaris over the computer and she nodded.

"We're set up here. Everyone who can't fit in there is here." The woman stated and Conner nodded as Rilena entered with a few others. "What's going-!" Rilena went silent, seeing the familiar logo to Drek Industries on the main screen. "What is-?" Rilena was cut off as the screen flickered to show Drek, who had a serious expression on his face. Kyle was off to his side, holding a device and something was behind Drek.

"Citizen's of Solana Galaxy, have I not been generous?" Drek asked, feigning hurt, tone slightly mocking. "Have I not responded to the needs of you all when it was asked?" Drek asked once more and Rilena scoffed. "As if blowing up several planets was needed and generous." She whispered to herself when Drek sighed. "I never suspected you all would have been helping my enemy. Especially you…Derek." Drek moved aside and everyone gasped, eyes going wide at seeing how beaten Derek was.

Derek had a busted lip, black eyes and his breathing was ragged. His shirt was torn in multiple places and one of his arms hung at his side limply, a slight twitch at the hand. His fur stood on end and a few patches were burnt. His hair was a mess and as he opened his eyes to stare at Drek, they were filled with pain but also filled with defiance. "So my citizen's," "DON'T TELL HIM ANYTHING!" Derek shouted, lifting his head just the slightest, only for a Blarg to punch the boy in the stomach. "DEREK!" Rilena's eyes went wide, even as Ratchet Junior and Ragar looked at one another and nodded, before sneaking away. Riley watched and hissed silently. DAMMIT! DIDN'T THEY KNOW BETTER?!

Drek looked at his son and rolled his eyes with a groan. "As I was saying, I am willing to offer a trade. Specifically to you, Rebels." Rilena tensed as did several others. "If you want your traitorous son, Derek, to live. Turn yourself in, or…" Kyle took out a combustor and held it to Derek's head, making the Leopardis hybrid hiss, eyes darting to glare at Kyle. "Derek dies." Rilena held her head, eyes wide as she tried to figure out a way around this. No, no, no, no, NO! This couldn't be happening! She knew Drek would want Derek dead but she didn't think it'd be this soon! How close was the Flagship to their home planet for Kyle to get there? His escape pod…those don't come with warp drives!

"You have two days to give me a response. Those who bring you to me will get Derek in return as well. I am a GENEROUS ruler after all." His smirk was all smug and confident, oh how they all wanted to tear it off his face. "Until then…your son's life hangs in the balance Rilena. Will you abandon him like you did me?" He mocked and Derek growled. "Mom, don't worry about me! Just get to safety!" He shouted before Kyle hit him with the barrel of the gun, making Derek spit out blood. "No!" Rilena shouted, before the feed was cut and she felt weak. Her arms dropped to her sides and she fell to her knees, staring at the blank screen.

"Mommy!" Riley struggled in her fathers arms and he let her down, dropping beside Rilena. "Rilena?" Ratchet asked his wife, green eyes showing concern as Clank dropped down, hurrying over to her as well. "We still have time to come up with a plan to prevent this. To save Derek and keep you safe!" Clank said as Conner looked over as well, nodding. "I agree, we can't lose hope yet!" Conner said when Clink made the odd whirring sound again. "Clink?" Rilena questioned, feeling something pull her eyes toward the small robot. Why did it keep making that sound lately? Suddenly the small robot's eyes glowed a bright blue, a blue glow surrounding the robot and Clank froze as he recognized a familiar energy coming from Clink. "Wait…I know this energy." Clank said with surprise, yet also joy…when a familiar being left Clink's body. "What the-?!" Rilena's eyes were wide, as was everyone else's.

A…A ZONI?!

It was small, smaller than most Zoni were, yet it seemed…lost…sad even and they knew why. Zoni were hive-minded creatures…with this being the last one, it was quite obvious it didn't know what to do without orders. Even those at the Great Clock had been destroyed…Drek had made sure of that. "You're…still here?" Rilena held out a hand to the Zoni and it floated over to her, seeming to understand her predicament. "We still have hope." Riley suddenly said, grabbing everyone's attention as the girl seemed unfazed seeing a Zoni. "Riley…did you know?" Rilena asked her daughter, in which Riley nodded slowly, seeming to understand this shocked them all. "I was always aware that Clink had a Zoni within him." She explained and Clank tilted his head, doing a scan of Riley.

"You…" Everyone looked at Clank as he spoke, "you are much smarter than your age. I detect Zoni energy around you." Riley smiled softly, the wisdom in her eyes making her look older. "As to be expected. The Zoni have gifted me with the ability to see the future, as well as imparting me with much wisdom." Everyone's eyes went wide. "Wait, what?!" Everyone shouted and Riley turned to look at her mother. "I can explain later but we don't have much time. We-!"

"Unauthorized access has been detected. Ship dock."

Rilena looked around, going pale as she realized the twins were missing. "RJ! RAGAR!" Rilena shot to her feet and Riley hissed. "Crap! I thought I still had time before they broke the code!" Riley snapped, growling like her mother. "What the-?" "Ratchet, the twins!" Clank stated and the Lombax growled. "Conner!" Rilena shouted at him, seeing he was already at the panel. "I can't stop the launch, Commander! They've overwritten the codes!" Conner responded, bringing up cameras in the ship docking area.

It showed Ratchet Junior and Ragar getting into the ship, one of the smaller pods and it showed Ragar with a portable device, allowing him to overwrite the codes. "No, no, no, no, no, no…" Rilena was chanting the word as she brought up the communications of her com-glove. She hoped she could talk them out of this while she had the chance. "Junior! Ragar! Please don't do this!" Rilena begged over the communication, yet they smiled on the main screen.

"Sorry mom but we don't want you sacrificing yourself." Ragar said softly. "Yeah! We can sneak in and grab Derek and bring him back. Don't you worry!" Ratchet Junior stated, a confident grin on his face and Ratchet growled. "Kids! This isn't a game! STOP THIS!" Ratchet shouted, fear for his sons plainly seen on his face. "We know dad, we're not kids anymore. Haven't been kids for a long time." They were only sixteen, having matured at younger ages but they were still teens! They didn't realize what they were getting themselves into!

"Junior! Ragar!" Riley called out to them but the twins gave small smiles, before connection was cut as the ship launched, too far away to keep connection up. Seeing they launched, Rilena collapsed once again to her knees, tears streaming down her face. "Everything's falling apart…" The Leopardis muttered sadly, unable to stay calm. Derek was on death row, Riley was chosen by the Zoni to try and guide everyone and her two sons have launched on a suicide mission to save Derek.

"Pull yerself together sugah!" Takeria shouted, kneeling down to Rilena and grabbing her shoulders. "We still got our plan! We'll just have to execute it earlier!" Takeria explained, making Rilena look at her, lost, confused, unsure of what to do and Takeria didn't like seeing that look. It was the same look Rilena had when they were told Ratchet was gone. The same look when it was believed Leon wouldn't survive the first night. The same look when she was rescued after her first capture. The black Leopardis did NOT like seeing that look on her friend's face, not at all.

"Sugah, listen to me closely. RJ and Ragar can help. We can keep them safe and save Derek." Takeria stressed the words, making sure Rilena listened closely as the Leopardis' ears perked towards her a bit. "RJ and Ragar can help me escape with Derek, since that was the plan. You saw the boy, he's been beaten bloody! He ain't gonna be able to hold a gun sweetie." Takeria cupped one of Rilena's cheeks, wiping a tear away. "That plan will no longer work." Everyone looked at Riley as she spoke. "What do you mean?" Conner asked, making everyone worried. "RJ and Ragar will be caught within the hour, the Blarg have increased their presence on the flagship." Riley froze as she looked up.

"Ships will be descending on Veldin upon their capture. Only one person can get to the ship safely and rescue them all without being caught." Riley looked at Ratchet when she said this and he jerked in surprise. He had planned on going anyway but…going alone? "Having Clank with you should help." Riley stated, as if reading his mind and he tensed a bit, even as she smiled. "As I said, the Zoni have parted me with a few gifts." She explained, before turning serious eyes to the others. "With ships landing on Veldin, mother will have to stay here to give Commands." That was true, Rilena was the only one any of them listened to now-a-days, not even the Rangers had that level of respect from the Rebels. Yes, they had respect…but not enough for everyone to listen to them.

"The Rangers will have to be outside the planet, helping General Zigas with keeping the Blarg at bay, causing enough of a distraction for Ratchet to sneak in and save his sons and Derek." Riley explained and Rilena sighed, holding a hand to her head to try and get a grasp of the situation. Saving the boys would require a stealth mission…Drek's death would come later. Right now, her priority was getting her sons back. "Alright…we'll do that." Rilena hissed, her sons were getting a tongue lashing, there was no way they were getting out of it this time.

**(Drek Industries Flagship)**

Ratchet Junior and Ragar were cautious as they traveled through the vents, looking through the grates every now and then to make sure they were passing by the Blarg. None looked up but…there were so many! "RJ, are we at the cells yet?" Ragar asked his brother, who looked at his com-glove, bringing up a map. "Doesn't look like it…we take a right up here though." Ratchet Junior said, making Ragar nod as they moved through the vent, still making sure to not make much noise.

"...ammit!" They heard a faint voice and their ears perked, heading through the vents to reach the sound better. "I should've known Drek would've figured me out sooner or later! Especially since he had an insider!" Derek kicked the bars again, growling when they didn't budge. 'Raritanium. Great!' Derek thought sarcastically, unaware Ratchet Junior and Ragar were above his cell, looking through the grate. "That one leads into the main hall then." Ratchet Junior said, looking to his left and seeing the grate.

"I'll open it." Ratchet Junior moved to the side, allowing Ragar to get around him and open the grate. Once it was opened, Ratchet Junior slid over and dropped in, Ragar following him. "Wha-?" Derek kept his mouth shut tightly, doing his best to not shout. He did not want to alert the guards that he wasn't alone. "What are you two doing here?!" He hissed out instead, fur on end as he shuffled over to the bars, even as Ragar looked around while Ratchet Junior headed to the bars.

"What do you think? Jailbreak." Ratchet Junior joked, looking the keyhole over and frowning. Either Ragar finds the keys…or they force a Blarg to open the cell. "Why though?" Derek hissed out, trying to stay calm. Didn't they know how dangerous this was?! "Because your our brother." Ragar said as he found the keys, throwing them to Ratchet and heading to the doors, blaster at the ready. "And we don't leave family behind." Ratchet Junior stated as he opened the door, allowing Derek out.

"Guys, this is suicide!" Derek snapped out, brown eyes wide in a mix of anger and surprise. He was somewhat touched they came for him…but it was suicide to come alone like this! "Did mom allow this?" Derek asked, yet when the twins looked at one another sheepishly…Derek understood their mother's frustration with the twins. They did stupid stuff like this! "You two are impossible. I thought you two were the older ones!" Derek was younger than his brothers but five years, he was eleven while they were sixteen!

"We are, which is why it's our duty to save you." Ratchet Junior said as he lifted a blaster and Ragar walked over to them, letting Junior watch the door. "How's your arm?" Ragar asked, pulling a device up. It was a portable healing device, it had not been field tested yet but Ragar figured now was as good a time as any to test it. "Broken." Derek hissed, glaring at his left arm. Ragar nodded, holding the device up. "Put your arm on the device." A thin, glass-like plate came up, blue light gently coming from the glass panel. With a bit of wincing, Derek was able to place his arm on the glass panel, allowing Ragar to activate the device.

It took a few seconds but it did begin glowing brighter and Derek sighed in relief, feeling a pleasant warmth fill his damaged arm. He felt a few bones snap back into place, making him wince and hiss, not having expected that. It was almost like the warmth was to make it easier. "That should do it." Ragar said as Derek flexed his hand and he pulled the device back. He shut it down, allowing the glass-like panel to fold up and disappear back into a square and he put the device away. "Let's go, guards are changing shifts." Ratchet Junior said and Ragar handed a combustor to Derek, before they opened the door and headed off down the hallway.

They were unaware they had been watched the whole time.

"Carlos…take care of our rodent infestation."

*Slams head against wall* Why am I so mean? I feel like I'm mean. Was I too mean to Rilena? ...Eh, it is what it is. I had always had it written down that the twins would literally forget everything their mother and father told them and decide they are old enough and go save Derek. Nah kids, it ain't that easy. -.-# I ain't that nice, otherwise the story would end quickly. So, here we have Drek, KNOWING what was going to happen and deciding to take care of the problem. I was going to have another announcement where Drek reveals he's captured her sons but Riley already kinda revealed they were gonna get caught...so...yeah. And yeah, the Zoni are still around...though only one...or is it? XD

Also...rodent infestation. The whole cat joke is overused, so I had Drek be more insulting by calling his own son, and RJ and Ragar, rodents. Well, we're almost finished you all. Stay tuned!