The days and weeks following the emperor's defeat proved to be a massive blur of activity. Ratchet and Rivet quickly learned that their 'pit stop' in the lombax dimension would have to wait while they dealt with the after effects of his rule.

While his direct defeat had caused many worlds to rise in open rebellion against what remained of his armies, many still remained in the firm grasp of some pockets of heavy resistance. Breaking these worlds free came first and took more than a few weeks, even with both lombaxes splitting up to do double the work. Once that was mostly done, the liberated worlds needed some kind of governing body. Establishing some kind of temporary government was a job that Ratchet thought he could help along, bringing in officials from every inhabited world he could get in contact with and aiding them in setting up a representative democracy modeled on the one from his home galaxy in his dimension.

Then there was the massive P.R. campaign that was run on the pair as they traveled between all of the liberated worlds, made speeches, witnessed treaties and tore down more than a few Nefarious statues/monuments.

Rivet watched with tired satisfaction as the towering statue of the emperor in the bazaar of Nefarious City came tumbling down. She had intentionally saved this particular one for last, having walked under its gaze for far too long. The gold stayed in one piece as it hit the platform, sending a heavy shock through the whole thing, though both the lombax and her large robot companion kept their footing steady through it.

The crowd around them on hovering stands roared with a thunderous approval as it tumbled over the edge and plummeted into the abyss of smoke below. Rivet wasn't entirely sure what was down there, but had been told that the area directly beneath them had been cleared ahead of time just in case. It soon disappeared down into the swirling smog that concealed the lithosphere far below. A quick sigh slipped past her lips before she remembered all the eyes that were on her.

While the exhaustion of the past few months of post victory work weighed heavy on her shoulders, she still did her best to smile and wave for the cameras and crowd that swirled around her and Kit. The bright flashing lights of the photographers and flood lights for the cameras washed out her vision to the point that she couldn't even make out the sea of neon that she knew was beyond them. But at this point she was somewhat used to this, same as Kit who did as they planned and picked the lombax up before placing her on her own shoulder.

Rivet quickly found a hold that kept her secure before signalling to her partner that she was situated. With one last wave all around, Kit leapt off the platform with one massive heave, landing on an adjacent one where their ship waited for them. Back in the center, all eyes now turned to a podium in the center where the interim galactic president was set to make a speech. The pair already knew what the speech would contain, having originally been the ones planned to give it before the president had offered to take it from them, understanding that they were more than sick of the limelight at this point.

"I'd say that went pretty good, huh?" Rivet said as Kit helped her down before reverting her normal size. Once she was smaller the robot nodded in response.

"Quite. Though I would argue it was because they rejected your idea to use high explosives." The robot said. Rivet scoffed.

"Excuse me for wanting to send the last one off with a bang. I mean, we only pulled down what? About a hundred of those things?"

"Eighty-seven." Kit gave the specific number, though for all Rivet knew she had simply given one at random. She had quickly figured out that one of the problems with having a robot companion is that it was close to impossible to prove they remembered something wrong. "And the argument for doing so would have carried more weight if you had not advocated for doing so every time."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't make it less of a good idea." She offered in rebuttal before walking towards their ship.

Even though the restrictions on interstellar travel had been lifted for a while now, ships capable of making such trips were still few and far in between throughout most of Polaris. As a result they were still making use of one of the emperor's old royal starships. Upon reaching it, both hopped into the suspended seats and settled in as the canopy closed around them.

"So, what's next on the schedule?" Rivet asked. She was terrible at remembering where they had to be and when unless it was deathly important, so she mostly left that part to Kit. The bot paused for a moment before responding.

"We have no appointments or events scheduled. This was the last." She said matter of factly.

"Really? Not just the last monument, but the last appearance period?" Rivet asked bewildered. The bot nodded.

"The office of the president sent a message saying that we would likely be asked to make an appearance when the permanent government is established, but until then our help will no longer be required unless something drastic happens."

"Huh." Rivet slumped back in her chair as the sound escaped her involuntarily. "I almost forgot what this felt like. To not have someplace to be, something to do." She stretched her limbs out, feeling more than a few satisfying pops from her overworked joints.

"Well, there is one. It only applied if there were no other pressing matters for you and Ratchet both." Kit said.

Rivet paused to think on what she said, not realizing what she meant at first. "Wha… OH!" She suddenly remembered. "The lombax dimension!"

"It might be best to call Ratchet and see if he finished his business in his dimension. If he has, then there is no reason for us to not go." Kit pointed out.

"Right! Did you and Clank get the interdimensional communicators working?" Kit nodded.

"It is only between Clank and I, but you and Ratchet may communicate through us as much as you would like. I can also make use of the ship's communication system to provide a video feed."

"Well call him then!" She said excitedly. Kit nodded once more before pressing a button on her torso. It was only as the screen descended for the call that she realized the bot had said video feed, meaning Ratchet would be able to see her as well. WIthout even really meaning to, she found herself straightening her fur and fixing her small tuft of hair near her goggles before reminding herself that it was Ratchet she was calling. She shook her head, undoing the fix she had just done and skewing her goggles a bit. If Kit had noticed her fussing over her appearance, she didn't acknowledge it.

The screen showed nothing but static for a bit before displaying a nicely furnished living room with a large window to one side overlooking a sparkling metropolis that she recognized to be… well… Metropolis. She didn't know that was actually where the other pair lived. The only occupant of the room was Clank who was sitting on a couch facing whatever screen was being used to project their own feed. Rivet couldn't help but feel a little sad that Ratchet was nowhere to be seen.

"Hello Rivet, Kit." Clank greeted them before both returned the gesture. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We just finished up everything on our end. We were wondering how you and Ratchet were doing." Rivet answered for them.

"We are fine. Most everything has been taken care of here." He answered. "Provided no other problems present themselves, we will be able to join you later today to finally visit the lombax dimension."

Rivet was feeling a little impatient by now. They already had to wait several months now. "What's left to do? Maybe we can help." She offered.

Clank seemed hesitant. "I do not think that wise. The only matter left is a personal one of Ratchet's and he should be returning from it shortly."

As if on cue, a door opposite the window opened to reveal the lombax in question walking in with a large box filled with what looked like assorted junk. "She actually threw out my old omniwrench!" He called out as he entered, the box preventing him from realizing what he was interrupting.

"I get being mad about a breakup, but to just toss a piece of history like that? I built a ship from scratch with that thing. Heck, I MADE that thing."

"Ratchet, I-" Clank tried to stop him from talking but was cut off.

"Not to mention my spare gravometric warp drive, and that prismatic phase thruster I was working on." He set the box down with his back to the screen before turning around. "I must have been dumpster diving for-" He stopped himself as he locked eyes with Clank and then Rivet and Kit on the wall. "Hours… Hey." He finished meekly.

Kit greeted him back, though Rivet was less quick to do so. Her mind was still processing what he had been talking about when he entered, though she had no idea why she was hung up on it. She thought that maybe it was because the thought of him being in a relationship while she never has been was odd, but that didn't explain the pit in her stomach. Shaking off those thoughts, she extended her greeting as well.

"They were calling to let us know that they are ready to go to the lombax dimension whenever we are." Clank explained.

"What? OH! RIGHT!" He had clearly forgotten that was the plan, same as her, and she couldn't resist a giggle at his expense.

"Whenever you're ready, we're here in Nefarious city." Rivet told him. "That is, if you still aren't too scared." She teased him with a grin.

Ratchet gave her a smile in return. "Not on your life. We'll be there in a few, c'mon Clank. Aphelion's already warmed up!" They all said their farewells before the feed went dead and the screen retracted. Rivet and Kit sat in silence for a few moments before the robot spoke up.

"Rivet?" The lombax turned to look at her. "What was Ratchet talking about earlier that could make a woman mad enough to 'throw out' things that were important to him?"

"Oh. Uhhh." She paused for a moment. "I can't be sure what he did exactly, but it sounds like he had a bad breakup with a girlfriend." There's that pit in my stomach again. She thought.

"That can cause that much anger?"

"Well… I'm not really an expert on the whole thing, I've never been in a relationship in the first place, much less had a breakup."

Kit hummed in thought to herself. "I suppose I shall have to ask Ratchet when I get the chance then."

Rivet was about to suggest that it might be better if she didn't, but a little voice in her head made her stop for just long enough to see a purplish crack form in the air above them. It was only there for a moment before it burst open and through came a long, slim ship with a domed canopy, split nose and wings tipped with what looked like some kind of laser. It had a mostly metallic silver color body with red-orange accents. Rivet thought the ship was actually quite beautiful as it glided through the air, settling on the landing pad right next to them, though it stayed hovering about half a meter over the ground. The canopies on both ships opened at the same time, and the occupants all hopped out.

Before anyone could even say hello, Rivet was going over the ship they had arrived in. She ran her hand along the body, feeling the almost nonexistent seams between the armor plates. "Is this a raritanium alloy?" She asked excitedly over her shoulder to Ratchet who was now right behind her.

"Most of it. She's taken so many hits at this point that I ran out of the spare plates I had, so some of it is a tungsten carbide filament that I had to use nanotech to install." He answered, now pointing to areas that were patched with the material. The difference was so subtle that Rivet could only feel it with her organic hand with the glove off. Her hand continued to glide until it found a plate along the top with odd symbols on it.

"What's this?" She asked. Ratchet moved in to be right next to her.

"The name of the ship. Aphelion." He said, and then pointed to the area near the canopy where another plate was. "And then that says angel, not sure why though."

"What language is it written in? And what do you mean you're not sure? Didn't you make this?" She asked, still marveling over the craftsmanship. Ratchet shook his head, though she only knew he had since they were practically shoulder to shoulder right now.

"I didn't make her, and it's written in lombax script." She peeled her eyes away in shock and locked with his.

"Then that means…" She trailed off, but Ratchet knew precisely what she meant and nodded. "She's a lombax ship." He finished for her. "Made a long time ago, during the height of their power."

She looked back at the ship as a quiet 'wow' escaped her. All her life she'd had practically no connection to her past, to her people. The only things she could ever know for sure was that she was a lombax and probably the last of her kind in the universe. Now she was standing next to someone just like her and touching a real, working piece of lombax technology. It was enough to take her breath away. Then it dawned on her that they were about to travel to an entire dimension, not just of technology like this, but the entire rest of their species!

"We're actually going there." She said quietly, then locked eyes with the other lombax before turning to face him. "We're really going to the lombax dimension."

He turned as well, his hand landing on top of her's where it rested on the ship. "Yeah. And we're going together." After a few moments of gazing at each other, they seemed to remember they weren't alone on the platform and looked over at where their robot companions were waiting for them. They found both the bots staring right up at them expectantly, waiting patiently for the moment to be done. That snapped the pair back to reality where they realized their proximity, as well as their incidental contact and quickly separated. Clank and Kit glanced at each other before both laughed at their friends.

Ratchet chuckled to himself before he hopped up onto the ship and reached into the cockpit, pulling out the dimensionator and propping it on his hip. He gestured for everyone to join him. "Everyone hop in. The old girl could use some repairs from someone who knows what they're doing anyway." Rivet helped the two bots get up before hopping up herself. She looked from Ratchet, who was still standing tall on top of the nose of the ship, down into the cockpit. Clank and Kit had found space behind the two seats for the pilot and co-pilot. It actually looked rather comfortable. Before she could jump down in though, Ratchet stopped her.

"Coordinates are all set. Would you care to do the honors?" He asked as he offered her the dimensionator. She looked at him skeptically.

"What? You really are still scared?" She responded, but took it anyway. He shrugged.

"Maybe a little." He gave a laugh as he said it, but she could hear the nervousness in his voice. And to say she didn't understand why would be a lie. When Clank had first told her that her counterpart was scared to go there it seemed like madness, but now on the precipice of actually doing it, she felt her hands shaking. She powered through the feeling though and cranked the machine before firing in the direction the ship was facing.

The build up around the moment made her feel like something out of the ordinary would happen as the portal, that there would be more fanfare. Instead, the predictable happened. The projectile flew from the tool and impacted the invisible barrier between dimensions a few meters in front of the ship. As it shattered with its usual purple glow she caught her first glimpses of the world beyond.

She saw buildings, towering just as high as the ones around her, with tops who's shape reminded her of Ratchet's wrench. She saw a blue sky crisscrossed by the smoke trails of ships large and small, some of them bearing resemblance to the one she was standing on. The sight that took her breath away though was right in front of the portal.

It must have opened up on some terrace or walkway, because directly on the other side were dozens of lombax of every shape, size, and color, some staring at the portal in bewilderment while others that could see through saw them standing there. On them, she saw a mixture of confusion and fear as both sides seemed to be waiting to see what the other would do.

The pounding of her heart was deafening now as she locked eyes with them, more of her kind then she thought she'd ever see. Another wow escaped her as she nervously smiled at them, and some of them even returned it. She felt Ratchet's hand slip into her's, to reassure himself or her she didn't know, but appreciated it either way as he unironically mimicked her.

For those moments after the portal opened, it was like a spell had been cast over the universe, freezing time in its place as the pair looked at the others, truly reminding themselves that they were not the last, that they weren't alone.

A shame it only lasted that long.

A shame that what broke the spell was an explosion from the top of a nearby skyscraper. The neon signs that had clung to its surface flickered and died before plummeting down alongside the rubble of the building itself.

It was followed by more explosions all over, the entire city being lit up like it was the middle of the day from how many there were. Rivet couldn't see where the weapon fire was coming from, other than that it was from in the atmosphere, above the thick cloud layer.

"OH COME ON!" Ratchet cried out from next to her, letting go of her hand to gesture at the sky in exasperation. "TODAY OF ALL DAYS!?"

Rivet looked back at him, seeing that his face alone was saying how disappointed he was in that moment. So she slapped him. Lightly. Kinda. "We'll be lombax later, right now we need to be heroes again." She said sternly, though she did a bad job hiding her own disappointment.

Cradling his cheek, Ratchet nodded. "Here I thought we could be both." He looked from her to the portal where a sea of concerned faces looked back. "Close it."

Agreeing with his judgment, Rivet nodded and raised the dimensionator to do just that before his hand touched her shoulder. "For now." He said as she met his eyes, the unspoken promise given no time to linger as another explosion rocked the city.

She quickly closed the portal soon after, the concerned faces of their kind disappearing as though they had never been there at all.

"Right." Ratchet started. "Now we need to find out what's going on." He walked over and jumped into the pilot's seat. He started to connect the computer to the local defence grid, Kit climbing forward to help him when another missile broke through the cloud cover, this time followed by an unfamiliar warship.

The main body was long and tapered to almost a point. Just above that was what looked from a distance like a viewport. The wings spread out on either side were long and thin while curving inward like a large pair of scythes. The form and look gave Rivet a sense like the ship seemed kind of like Ratchet's own, but was far more massive and imposing.

Of more immediate importance though was the missile that had preceded it since it was heading directly for the platform they were currently on. "Look out!" Ratchet cried out on a reflex as it struck Rivet's ship, destroying it immediately and throwing Aphelion with everyone in it off.

As the ship was thrown off as it spun, flinging Rivet from it and the dimensionator she had been holding clear into the distance. The same almost happened to Kit, but Ratchet managed to catch her before closing the canopy and regaining control of the ship. He took off after Rivet, but she managed to twist herself and use her jet boots to direct herself towards a neon rail that she started to grind on, chasing after the dimensionator.

She radioed Ratchet as he pulled up alongside her. "I'm going after the Dimensionator! See what you can do about the invasion force!" She told him.

"Right!" He answered before peeling off and engaging the fighters that were now streaming down through the cloud cover.


The dimensionator came to a rest on the back of a cargo ship as it tried to flee what was rapidly becoming a war zone as the explosions continued all across the city.

She moved from grindrail to grindrail in an effort to catch up to it while also doing her best to avoid the heavy weapons fire all around her. Small fighters constantly surrounded her but would be driven off by Ratchet before he moved on to take care of others. She silently told herself that she would have to compliment his piloting skills later, because he actually was really good.

Eventually, the cargo ship took a hard turn to avoid a collapsing building and the dimensionator slid off of it's top, landing in an open box on a rail car heading in a direction she couldn't follow as the neon rails she had been using came to a dead stop.

As she flew off, she aimed for and landed on a crowded platform a ways below her. She was about to radio Ratchet again when a deep voice called out from the other end of the rail station that occupied the platform. "There's the other lombax! Get her!"

She turned and saw large aliens that at first reminded her of reptiles with their scales, long jaws and cold eyes, but the legs that skittered like a large spider and how their joints moved made her think they had some insect mixed in there. They dumped out of the gunship they had arrived in and opened fire, barely giving her the chance to dive into cover.

"Ratchet, I'm pinned down at a rail platform." She said into her radio before she popped to return fire, taking down a number before ducking back down as the gunship now started shooting as well.

"I'm on my way!" He answered immediately, but she stopped him.

"NO!"

"What!? Why?"

"I don't have the dimensionator, it landed on a train heading towards the factory district! Go after it!"

"But you-" His voice was cut off by an explosion nearby, so she gave it back in kind with a warmonger shot to one of the gunship's engines, making it spin out of control and crash before exploding in a ball of fire.

"I'll be fine! I'll follow after it once I've dealt with these idiots."

"Fine, just stay safe!" He said before the radio cut off. She quietly returned the sentiment before she shouted at her attackers.

"Alright you idiots! You want a lombax!? You've got a lombax!" She yelled as she leapt over the cover she had been using and charged right into them, hammer and gun in hand.


Ratchet cut the radio, not wanting to betray just how worried he was about Rivet before redirecting the ship from the platform she was pinned on and after the trains heading in the direction she told him. As he flew he wove his way through panicked traffic, diving and spinning through collapsing buildings while firing on enemy fighters.

"Kit, do you have any idea who these guys are? Did something happen while we were gone?" He asked while keeping an eye out for the train carrying the dimensionator.

"No. These are a new force that I haven't seen before. And things have been fairly peaceful ever since the emperor was defeated." She said. She and Clank were too short to look out the canopy easily, so they couldn't help him find the device. Instead they were interfacing with the targeting computer to help his accuracy when he fired.

"Ratchet." Clank spoke up. "That warship was worryingly familiar."

"We'll worry about that later. Right now we need to get the tool that can tear through space and time!" He said right as he spotted it resting in a stack of broken crates. He dove the ship down after it, but was blocked by the warship from before as it flew in from another angle and cut him off.

Pulling away, he swung around a building while trying to follow after the train. The warship stayed on him on the other side of the row of buildings. After a moment it rolled on its side, showing its belly before opening fire with turrets mounted there, taking shots in between buildings.

Ratchet bobbed and weaved, avoiding the shots, but because of the other ship couldn't cut through. Up ahead he caught sight of more fighters forming a line, and his radar showed more coming up on their rear.

As they had a large building on their right, that left no direction but up, so he pulled back on the controls and gunned the engine. It was only a brief moment before they hit the clouds above, and another after before they broke through the other side.

From up here, they could see the whole fleet that was attacking the planet and to call it large would be an understatement. Ratchet counted at least five dreadnought class ships spewing out gunfire and fighters in equal measure. "Well that's not good." He said to himself before banking the ship hard to the left, diving right back down into the clouds.

On the other side, they popped out over the rail tracks once more. He didn't see the warship but quickly found the train again dove down towards it, shooting at the fighters that had redirected to stop him. But for every one he destroyed, it seemed like two appeared. Eventually he was forced off course and he leveled out.

"We're taking way too much fire. We won't be able to stop long enough for me to pick it up." He said over the radio.

"I just got on the rails to chase after it, but they're pretty damaged from the fight up there. It'll be a bit before I can catch up." Rivet responded.

Kit disconnected herself from the computer and stood in the seat. "I think if you drop me off, I can defend the dimensionator until Rivet arrives."

Ratchet was going to protest the idea, but couldn't think of a more viable option so he relented. "Alright. Brace yourself, we're gonna come in hot." He warned as the ship dove once more.

Speeding up and firing every gun Aphelion had, he broke through the line the fighters had made and sped towards the ground, followed quickly after by the ships he hadn't destroyed. None of them could match Aphelion's speed and Ratchet's skill though so he got out in front quickly and pulled up alongside the train amid a hail of bullets. The canopy opened and Kit quickly hopped out, transforming into her larger form as she did.

Once her feet hit solid ground, she opened fire while Ratchet peeled away, resuming his dog fight with the throngs of enemies. Even between the two of them though, the onslaught of ships didn't seem to abide.


Rivet got off the radio and gunned her jet boots as she ground on the train rails, dodging oncoming traffic and fighters that had picked up her position.

After a minute of this, the warship that had destroyed her ship earlier flew into view, its turrets already charged and ready to unleash beams of deadly energy. "You again!?" She cried aloud as the turrets fired, forcing her to play the dodge game some more, moving from rail to rail and making not infrequent use of her swingshot as she made her way further down rail.

Soon though, she was out of rail to dodge to, there only being a straight shot left. Up ahead she could now see Kit unleashing barrage after barrage of missiles into the air as Ratchet flew in erratic patterns all over, both claiming many ships the entire time. The warship lined up in front of her now and prepared to unload another round on her with no chance of escape.

"I don't think so!" Ratchet called out as he swooped up from below, landing a missile of his own right on one of the turrets as he flew past at what must have been near the speed of sound. "Keep going, I'll take this one." He said as it went to follow him, firing the lasers it had charged in his direction.

"Thanks." She answered back before giving her boots one more boost that brought her right up to the train itself. Jumping with all her might, she landed on the top of the very last train car.

Up ahead Kit was doing a marvelous job of eliminating enemy aerial units, but those that actually managed to land on the train were beginning to pile up. Luckily though, she was right behind them and more than happy to clear 'em out.

She plowed through them in short order, proving that there was no easier way to fail than to be caught in the rear by a heavily armed and very angry lombax. On the other end she was finally reunited with Kit.

"How ya holding up?" She called up to her friend.

"Much better now that you dealt with the ground forces." She said, not letting up on her assault for a moment. She pointed into a pile of crates in the next car. "The dimensionator is there."

Rivet didn't hesitate as she dashed forward and jumped into the open car. She couldn't immediately see where the dimensionator had ended up, so she just started breaking through the wooden crates in an effort to find it. (And found more than a few bolts too)

At the bottom, she finally found it and said as much over the radio. "I've got it!"

"Good!" Ratchet answered. "Now you two get off the train! They blew out the track ahead!"

Rivet looked up at where Kit was and saw the giant extending a hand down towards her. "Please climb on, I have an idea." Not wasting the time questioning it, she climbed into her friend's hand.

"Whatever it is, make it good!" She told the robot as she placed her on her back. The only thing she did at first was poise herself as though she was about to jump forward from the back of the car, bending her knees and readying for the right moment. She waited. And waited.

Soon Rivet could see the front cars start to drop off the edge of the track one after another. "Uhhh, Kit?"

No response. The break was a few cars away.

"Kit!?"

No response. The break was two cars away now.

"KIT!?"

"Please trust me." The robot whispered as the front of their car went over, shifting the whole thing's weight with it. As it tipped, Kit jumped as hard as she could, adding in the force of the car essentially throwing them. The whole way, Rivet clung onto Kit's back for dear life, the dimensionator holstered on her back.

For a few seconds that felt a lot closer to an eternity for them both they flew through the air before landing quite forcefully on a factory's receiving platform. Kit's impact in her large form had the potential to damage the platform itself, so she reverted a moment before landing.

That didn't mean that either hit the ground gently. Kit bounced away several times before landing in a pile of crates all her own. Rivet's squishy body though absorbed a great deal of her impact, making her land with a more resounding thud than her partner. This knocked the dimensionator loose from the magnet that held it in place on her back and sent it skidding away towards the edge. She scrambled up to chase after it.

"Nonononono not again!" She said as she dived in hopes of catching it but was just a hair short as it tipped and went over.

Just as defeat washed over her, Aphelion came up from below with the canopy already open. When it came to a rest just above her, she saw Ratchet climb out of the cockpit and prop the tool on his hip. "Drop this?" He asked cockily.

She grinned wide but didn't get the chance to respond as the sounds of fighter engines surrounded them in moments. She looked over at the crates where Kit had landed and didn't see any signs of movement, so she armed herself and took aim. The fighters only surrounded them though, clearly keeping their weapons trained on both of the lombax but not firing.

In mere moments there were far more than they could hope to escape from unscathed, even with Kit's help, and they blocked every path to freedom she could think of. Then the warship from earlier arrived, though it was smoking from parts of it now, no doubt the result of its fight with Ratchet.

It hovered just above the platform, doing the ship equivalent of limping along, before it lowered its landing gear, including a ramp from the front.

"Oh. This is uncomfortably familiar." Ratchet said above her, but she paid him little mind, instead training her gun on the ramp to aim at whoever disembarked. Soon she heard what was almost like a skittering sound as a figure started to slowly move down the ramp. It was similar in shape to the aliens she had fought earlier, but where they had been fairly average in size, this one was massive, even compared to her and Ratchet. Its arms were long and very muscular with a torso to match. The arms were tipped with the very same claws that the others had, but they also seemed to have some kind of attachment on either side that looked like it would give the creature more fingers.

The creature looked first at her with glowing yellow eyes that seemed exceedingly cold and hollow, and then at Ratchet above her. After it had gotten a good look its eyes flashed a deep purple before it instantly dissolved into a thousand little particles that moved in a swarm to a spot not far from the bottom of the ramp. Once there, they reassembled into the form of the creature which raised both of its clawed hands which emitted their own blue glow now.

At first nothing happened, but then Rivet felt a strong tugging sensation, first on the gun in her hand, then on her entire arm as what was most certainly a very powerful magnet did its work. She stowed her gun, prioritizing making sure her arm stayed in place. Glancing up she saw Ratchet desperately hanging onto the dimensionator as his entire ship started to tip from the magnet's force.

She didn't know what grinning looked like on this new species, but she imagined it probably looked like whatever this thing was doing right now as both lombax worked hard to stay in place. Just as her footing felt like it was about to fail, she heard a robotic 'Whoah' from above her and heard Ratchet cry out Clank's name as he rushed past her and straight into the waiting claw of the creature. The other claw was soon filled in a similar manner by Kit as she flew from the pile of broken crates.

The creature looked at the robots it had acquired before shrugging. "Not what I was hoping for, but they'll work." It said in a deep tone with a good deal of treble in it, to the point that it almost sounded digital. It regarded her and Ratchet one more time, shaking their friends wildly about though only Clank was awake to attempt an escape.

"Drop your weapons and hand over the dimensionator. Then be good little pests and die like the rest of your kind soon will." It commanded, but neither were about to comply, something that Rivet was more than happy to vocalize.

"Not likely, you oversized snake-roach." Not the best insult, but she didn't really have a lot to go on. Even still, either it or their insubordination got under its skin and it gave a weird growl like noise in anger as a response.

"I take you care little if I reduce these two to crumpled heaps of scrap then?" It said as its grip tightened on their friends. Kit remained inactive, but Clank renewed his attempts to struggle for freedom to no avail. "Or maybe their lives matter more."

It made a grand gesture, motioning to the area around them as they looked past the line of fighters that had them pinned in place. They saw once more the burning buildings and collapsed sections of the city. They're destroying the city just to get to us. She thought. "Ratchet." She called up to him. "We can't give it to them, but we can't stay here."

"I know." Was all he said at first, clearly looking for a way out. The stand off continued until finally Ratchet spoke again from behind her, this time calling out to his companion. "Clank! Did you and Kit finish that project?" He asked, but she had no idea what he was talking about.

The robot ceased his struggle and looked back at him. "Yes, but it is not possible to activate it like this." He responded.

"Alright then." The male lombax sighed out. He took a deep breath as Rivet looked up at him before whispering 'I hope this works' to himself then shouting: "Alright you poor excuse for a cragmite." He knows what these things are? I'll have to ask later. She thought.

"You want this?" He held up the dimensionator. What is he…? Was as far as the thought got before he suddenly fired it, the portal opening the same as before.

Then he did something stupid.

He threw the dimensionator through the portal.

"Then go get it."

Rivet's eyes went wide in shock as what was likely the most valuable tool in the omniverse went right into the portal to who knows where, before it closed right after. A quiet tension settled over the entire platform in the wake of what he had just done, and what seemed like a lifetime of quiet stillness passed before it was finally broken by the (apparently) cragmite that held both their friends.

"What. Have. You. DONE!?" It screamed, and in its fit of rage threw both the bots off to the side. Kit continued to remain inactive, but Clank recovered his footing quickly, standing up. And up.

AND UP

Clank grew in size in a way that Rivet thought only Kit could, soon matching her transformed height before going well past it. In moments he dwarfed even the large warship, easily coming in at twice Kit's grown size. He produced missile launchers of his own and let loose dozens in a rapid fire, destroying many of the ships and drawing the fire of the rest.

Rivet was watching the destruction when she heard Ratchet's voice behind her. She turned and saw he had once more gotten into Aphelion's cockpit. "Get in!" He called to her. "We need to get out of here."

Nodding, she jumped up and into the co-pilot's seat.

"I'll get us close, then y-" He was cut off by a missile striking right next to them. Looking to get away from the fight for a moment, Ratchet took the ship up a bit but left the cockpit open.

"Clank! Shrink and we'll grab you and Kit!" Rivet called down to the robot. He looked back up at them, eyes filled with determination.

"No. You must get away." He returned his attention to what was going on around him.

"What!? That's crazy!" She called back to him.

"No it's not." Ratchet answered. She whipped her head back towards him. "What?" She asked, bewildered.

"We are the only key left to another dimensionator now, and he knows it, same as that cragmite probably does."

"WHAT EVEN IS A CRAGMITE?" She asked pleadingly.

"I'll explain later I promise, but right now, if we stay the only thing that will happen is more people get hurt." Was the only answer he gave.

Rivet looked down at the fight going on below as Clank did his best to keep the enemy ships away from them, then looked out to the rest of the city where the orbital bombardment was still going strong. Fires blazed on the horizon as she watched entire city sections get pounded into dust.

"Okay." She said quietly.

As she said that, the canopy slowly closed around them and the ship pitched up, moving to break through the atmosphere. As the image of the burning city vanished in the clouds, Ratchet placed his hand on her shoulder.

"We're doing the right thing." He told her, but she only stayed silent. Watching out the side as they easily blew past the fleet in orbit and Corson V behind.


Clank trembled under the heavy munitions fire and shrunk back down to his regular size as Aphelion disappeared into the clouds above. As the severe energy draw of his giant form took its toll and he started to shut down, the large cragmite from before returned and loomed over him.

"He certainly didn't mention anything like that when he spoke of you, accursed little robot." It picked him up quite roughly. "I'll have to be sure to treat both you and your friend over there with the utmost care."