Act 2 Chapter 1

Act 2 begins! After selling my soul to my sleep paralysis demons, I finally got the motivation to continue this story! I had intentions of getting off its hiatus in March, but y'all know what happened in March hahahaaa… Then a bunch of other things kept piling up one after another. It's been rough but I'm hanging on just fine. No way in hell am I abandoning this project because I've spent nearly two years developing it XD There's a few things I will explain at the end of this chapter. But for the moment, please enjoy the continuation of this story!


Just one day after her arrival, Mina was preparing to leave her aunts' house. She got up early, before the sun rose, and before Ada or Colette were awake. The house was completely silent and cold. Floors creaked loudly from every foot step. Mina searched every room for any supplies she might need; maps of the galaxy, clothes, tools, and some of Ada's bottles of red wine.

Colette walked up behind Mina and placed her hand on her niece's shoulder. "Mina?" she softly asked. "Are you getting ready to leave already?"

Mina nodded her head without looking at Colette.

"Hmm… Okay. I understand that you have things you need to do. We just worry about you a lot."

"You don't need to." Mina was still looking through drawers for more supplies. "I have everything under control. I'll go to Quantos today, look for clues, then work from there. No big deal."

"Yes… Of course. I just hope you don't get into too much trouble." Colette inched closer to Mina's ear and whispered, "By the way, I recommend taking Ada's chardonnay instead. It's much better-"

Suddenly Ada appeared in the room while wearing a white bathrobe with matching slippers. She yawned loudly enough to gain attention from her wife and niece. Ada quickly wrapped her arm around Colette's shoulder and grinned, "How come nobody invited me to Mina's Going Away Party?" she said.

Colette shook her head. "You were too busy snoring and trying to kick me in your sleep."

"Well excuse me for being stressed and concerned."

"Mina's a grown woman. She can handle herself-"

"You're a grown woman but you need supervision sometimes, too."

Mina's eyes squeezed shut as she swiftly yet quietly closed the drawer. She shrugged her shoulders before spinning around with half a smile on her face. "I'm about ready to go now." she said.

"Are you sure?" Ada and Colette asked simultaneously.

"Yeah. I really should go-"

Ada used her fingers to count. "Do you have everything you need? Maps?"

"Yes."

"Clothes?"

"Yeeep."

"Tools? A name for your ship?"

"Yes, yes- wait, what?"

"Come on. You of all people should know that it's bad luck to fly a ship without a name. You built that thing yourself. Treat it like it's your child."

Hmm… I tried modeling it after the Aphelion… Aphelion… "Athena?"

"Sure. That works." Ada approved.

The trio came in for a hug, all of them having difficulty letting go. Ada used a finger to push Mina's hair out of her face and looked into her eyes. "We're here for you." She said.

Colette nodded in agreement. "And if you need any help, don't hesitate to let us know-"

Ada interrupted, "Does this mean you'll let me get out our armor and-"

"Absolutely not." Colette gritted her teeth and whispered, "Mostly because I'd rather not get involved."

Mina let out a soft laugh before she walked out the front door and waved goodbye to her aunts. They both made sure to let Mina know that they loved her as she walked out the door and closed it behind her. She shrugged in relief and packed Athena with the rest of the supplies. Mina flicked the radio on to search for various music stations before taking off and flying away. Ada rested her head on her wife's shoulder as Colette kissed her forehead and held her closer. They waited until Mina was out of sight before they went back inside their house.

Colette cleared her throat. Ada cocked her head, "What?" She asked.

"We really should stay out of it." Colette insisted.

"Honey, we used to be soldiers. We can easily handle whatever Mina is getting herself into. The last time we stayed out of trouble, someone else got to beat Tachyon's face in. I had been wanting to do that for years!"

"So have I. But this is different. You know, Mina reminds me an awful lot of you when you were her age."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Both."

Ada shook her head and breathed out a laugh, "I guess having no impulse control runs in my family, huh?"

Colette sighed and sat Ada down on their living room couch. She sat straight up while Ada hunched over and rested her hand on her chin.

The Cazar folded her hands on her lap and took a deep breath, "As I said, Mina is a grown woman. Let's just wait this out and let her learn on her own. Please?"

Ada grinned, "Don't give me that face. You know I can't say 'no' to that face."

"That's why I use it as often as I can."

During her flight, Mina kept her eyes forward and her mind on Clank. She had never been to Quantos before and had little idea of what to expect. Sure, the smart thing for Mina to do would be to call Ratchet to tell him where she was and where she was going. Hell, Mina needed to know where Ratchet was and what he was doing. Afterall, Clank had been missing for well over a year, Ratchet had to have found some kind of leads during that time.

The flight dragged on for several hours. Mina had to stop at various gas stations that floated around the sectors. After getting back to flying, she opened a bottle of the chardonnay that she had packed. Luckily, Athena's autopilot mode worked just fine, so Mina could drink as much as she wanted. A bottle and a half later, she powered down as Athena continued flying on the path to Quantos.

Sometime later, the monitor on Athena's dashboard had a red question mark icon flashing and beeping, which indicated unknown anomalies either inside or outside of the ship. The autopilot setting wasn't programmed to change course due to troubles on the outside. The ship was only told to go to Planet Quantos and that's what it was doing. Mina's own sensors alerted her of the noises and woke her up. She lunged forward in her seat, head bobbing side-to-side, and attempting to fixate on the monitor.

Mina looked out her windshield to see a blue and green planet and checked her maps; Planet Quantos was right in front of her. She turned her head around to see mysterious, fast moving waves in the sky. Without another thought, Mina turned the thrusters on as fast as they could go, trying her hardest to get to Quantos before the strange wave caught up. She was unable to keep her course straight, and ended up allowing the wave to hit Athena head-on.

Mina and her ship froze still in the blue wave. She couldn't move whatsoever, but her mind raced fast. She knew there was no way she was that drunk. Blue waves that freeze objects in their path? What in the galaxy was that? Suddenly the blue tone disappeared and Athena was back to moving forward once again. Mina's head buzzed and spun at the strange event. She shrugged it off and turned back on the autopilot.

At last, Mina had landed on Quantos. Everywhere she looked was full of luscious jungles that were crawling with wildlife. Yet no people were in sight. Perhaps this was a good thing. That way Mina could check out the supposed Zoni temple without causing a disturbance. Well, no more of a disturbance that these anomalies were already causing.

Many areas of the jungle had those same blue wave-like things, freezing everything in its area. Mina starred as whatever was touched by the waves would occasionally move, only to move back to whatever position they were in to begin with. Birds would fly backwards, then forward, then backwards again. Leaves that fell to the ground would float back up to their trees, only to fall back down once more.

Mina continued walking through the uncharted jungle as she heard rustling nearby. She clenched her fists, getting ready to punch whatever was on its way. The rustling got louder and Mina's grip got tighter. Appearing from behind some trees and bushes, was her old lombax friend. They both gasped loudly.

"Ratchet?!" She exclaimed, lowering her hands.

"Mina?! What are you doing here?" The lombax's ears and tail were puffed up from the sudden shock.

"What am I doing here?" She left out a huff, "I'm uhh, investigating this planet. Same as you. I figured it was about time I helped search for Clank."

"Well why didn't you call me?"

"Uh, you promised you'd call me."

"Okay, well, either way, we're both here right now."

Mina kept her eyes on Ratchet even as he looked off to the side awkwardly. He looked exactly the same as he did over a year ago when she last saw him. His eyes were as big and green as ever, except they seemed a bit bloodshot- as if he had barely been sleeping.

Ratchet shook his head and took a deep breath, "Nevermind that. Mina, you won't believe what Talwyn and I discovered; Dr. Nefarious is the one behind Clank's capture!"

The revelation pierced Mina's chest like a spear. She could've sworn she felt every mechanism in her body come to a halt. Her face turned white and her eyes went blank with shock. "What?... Nefarious has Clank?!" She exclaimed with a crack in her voice. Her hand clutched her chest as her vision and mind wandered elsewhere. How could Nefarious possibly have had Clank this entire time?! Mina could hear her thoughts at a much higher volume than usual, How did I not put the pieces together? Were there any pieces to put together? How could I have been so close yet so far? How could I- Why didn't I-

"Mina?" Ratchet held up his hand to signal Mina to calm down. "Are you okay?"

She jerked back into reality and saw the uncomfortable concern in Ratchet's eyes. "Why... Why didn't we just listen to him when we had the chance?" Mina asked.

Ratchet sighed and shook his head. "I don't know." He responded. "I think I'll definitely regret that forever. But right now, we need to focus on finding him and bringing him home."

"Yeah…" Mina looked away from Ratchet as she looked like she was close to tears.

The lombax tilted his head. "Uhh… What's going on with you?" he asked.

"What? Nothing." Mina folded her arms. "I- uhh, just missed you a lot. That's all."

Ratchet could barely tell, but he was certain that he heard some sarcasm in Mina's voice. He knew her well for her sarcasm. He decided to poke fun, "Aww. Were you worried about me or something? I didn't know you cared."

Light and warmth returned to Mina's eyes as her smile began to stretch. "Why are you asking? Are you worried about me or something? That's weird."

Ratchet let out a soft giggle and shook his head.

Mina turned and gestured forward, "Anyway, we should get going. My aunts told me about the clues to the Zoni on this planet. Let's get to it."

"Clues to the Zoni? Seriously?"

"Isn't that why you came here?"

"No. I crashed Aphelion because of these weird blue waves."

"Should've upgraded her thrusters. I told you they weren't going to last much longer." Mina looked up and down Ratchet, "I'm amazed you somehow didn't get hurt."

"There you go again; worrying about me."

"If you keep being mean to me like that, I'll start being mean to you, and we both know you won't like that. C'mon, I'll fly us in my ship."

Ratchet followed Mina as she began to lead them out of the jungle. Both of them showed symptoms of stress and tiredness; bloodshot eyes, shrugged shoulders, and slow speech. It was increasingly obvious that the duo was under pressure, yet each other's company helped lift the weight of all the anxieties. They kept up conversations to distract themselves from their own stress.

"So, how've you been?" Ratchet asked. "Staying out of trouble? Making good choices?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Working good jobs, paying off that debt, and being a loveable member of society." Mina forced a grin and the look on her face made Ratchet snicker.

Mina was the first friendly face Ratchet had seen in weeks, since he told Talwyn that he wanted to search for Clank alone. Then Ratchet began to wonder to himself as to whether or not Tal would feel hurt by him meeting up with Mina. Of course, Tal knew Ratchet and Mina were just close friends, and him bumping into her on Quantos was just a coincidence.

"Hey, how's Talwyn doing?" Mina asked, "Are you two dating yet? Where is she, anyway?"

Ratchet's ears perked up as he was caught off guard. It was as if Mina had read his mind. "Oh, no. We're not officially dating yet." He answered. "It's not the best time for that, ya know? And she's back at home. I figured that I'd look for Clank alone. After learning that Nefarious is involved, I didn't want Tal to end up getting hurt."

"Hmm, but I guess you're okay with me getting hurt. Not cool- Oh hey!" Mina could see Athena in the distance, and she started to run. The woman bent over on the hood of her ship and hugged it.

Ratchet caught up and looked at the ship with disgust and confusion on his face. He could easily tell that the ship was built with basically nothing but scraps. Every bit and piece was a completely different material, everything covered in rust and caked on dirt. He expected better from his highly skilled friend.

Ratchet's 'highly skilled friend' slapped the hood of her ship, "Meet Aphelion's unofficial little sister: Athena!"

The lombax tilted his head and tried to hold in a laugh, "Thanks! She's hideous."

Mina narrowed her eyes and frowned, before letting out a giggle, "This is the best I could do with what I had."

"I think I'm gonna get tetanus just from looking at this thing." Ratchet approached the ship and brushed his hand on the hood, then leaned over to look into the windows. The inside of the ship wasn't much prettier. Then again, Ratchet had plenty of messes inside his own ship. His attention locked onto the empty bottles that were placed on the passenger side floor. He raised an eyebrow, "Have you been drinking again?"

Mina blushed as her eyes wandered elsewhere, "Yeah?"

The lombax let out a quick sigh as he shook his head. He didn't know if Mina was drunk or buzzed while she flew, and he didn't want to ask. The driver side door opened with a slight tug, as it had been left unlocked, confirming that Mina wasn't in the right headspace.

"Alright. I'll fly us." Said Ratchet as he climbed in.

"But my ship's got- eh, okay." Mina crawled into the passenger seat and used her feet to push aside the empty bottles. She then opened the glove box to pull out a slightly crumpled piece of paper and handed it to Ratchet, "This is for you, by the way." It was the crude drawing of the lombax and his own ship. "I used it as a reference for designing Athena. Figured you think it was cute."

"Well, this explains a lot." Ratchet struggled to adjust the seat settings to his liking. As much knowledge of ships he had, he never prepared himself to fly a ship made out of garbage. "Jeez, Mina." He said as he looked down the side of his seat. "Did you seriously use duct tape to keep the seat in place?"

Mina reclined her seat backwards and rubbed her own neck. "I used duct tape and crazy glue. I'm not stupid."

Ratchet started up the ship as he looked around for all the buttons and switches. It didn't take long for him to figure out how to launch and take off. "I gotta say," the lombax kept his eyes out the windshield, "for a ship made outta mostly garbage, you did a really good job."

The woman let out a blissful hum, "Thanks."

Ratchet flew high enough that they were above all the trees, but low enough to see the ground. Before long, signs of civilization could be spotted; bridges and simple mechanisms to operate them, as well as stone dividers. It all looked fairly new as well.

"So, uhh, how are you siblings?" Ratchet asked, "What are their names again?"

"James and Norrie."

"Yeah, James and Norrie. How are they? And your parents?"

Mina tilted her head, "Oh, they're all doing just fine. Well, as fine as they can be. They're still mad at me about everything. Not that I blame them. Norrie's grades are higher than ever, and James went a whole semester without getting suspended. They've grown so much so fast. It seems like only yesterday they were both little kids."

Ratchet's stomach turned as Mina spoke about her family. He was still coming to terms with the fact that he had lost his own long ago. As little as he thought about it, Ratchet couldn't quite understand how Mina willingly alienated herself from her own family so easily. Then again, maybe it wasn't so easy for her. He couldn't have known. "And you've been staying with your aunts?" Ratchet asked again. "What are they like?"

"Crazy."

"Go figure."

The duo continued to make small talk as they flew above the jungle. Ratchet made sure to avoid any more anomalies as he couldn't look away from them. Mina also stared out at the strange time anomalies. She stuck by her theory that the supposed 'time machine' must have had something to do with it.

Then her mind shifted to Nefarious. The thought of him having a hold of Clank made Mina feel nauseous. How could she have missed something like that? She stayed within Nefarious' employment for so long, and yet didn't notice a single correlation to Clank's disappearance. Mina was still in disbelief that she agreed to work for the tyrant in the first place. Without warning, the sickness in Mina's stomach lifted away and was replaced by the discomfort of that butterfly feeling. Her face burned bright as she blurted out, "Hey, Ratchet? I've got a bit of an odd question for you."

"Go ahead."

"Have you ever... had a crush on someone you never thought you'd have feelings for? I mean, maybe that person is someone you shouldn't have feelings for, but you do anyway? Why does that happen?"

Ratchet's eyes popped open as he furrowed his bushy eyebrows. "Uhh…" he scratched his head and felt his chest tighten a bit, "I wouldn't say I 'shouldn't' have had feelings for certain people. But, ahh… I guess you like someone because you share a lot of things in common with them, and have similar personalities- that helps to create chemistry. So even if you 'shouldn't' like someone, you end up liking them anyway for those reasons. I think?"

"You 'think'? You know more than me when it comes to dating. You've had more girlfriends than I've ever had boyfriends."

"That's because you were always too busy having flings."

"Hey, it's not my fault I could never find anyone good enough to keep after the first night. Huh… I guess old habits really do die hard, don't they?"

Before Ratchet had the chance to ask a follow up question, he looked down to notice a Fongoid woman frantically running away from little angry purple creatures. The lombax had to circle the ship around to land safely. Ratchet and Mina stepped out of Athena and headed over to the scene.

The Fongoid woman yelped in fear as the aggressive little creatures attacked her and her three children. Mina and Ratchet quickly stepped between the Fongoids and the creatures and began to fight back. Ratchet shot at them with his blaster and Mina kicked them out of the way. One jumped at Ratchet's face with intent to bite before Mina caught it in a firm grip and chucked it in the other direction. Ratchet shot it dead before it could reach the ground.

The Fongoid children huddled around their mother as she embraced them. "Oh my gosh- Thank you so much!" The woman exclaimed.

"No problem." Said Ratchet.

"What the heck are these things?" Mina asked.

"Zyphoids. They're mutated viruses, but we haven't seen them on this planet in years!"

Ratchet and Mina looked at each other before looking back at the woman and her children, who started walking past them. "We have to get back to our village. But there's still zyphoids around. Can you help us?"

One of the Fongoid children looked particularly frightened as he shook and quietly whimpered. Mina squatted down to sit on her knees and look at the little boy in the eyes. "Hey, it's okay." She said. "My buddy and I have fought all sorts of monsters and such. These weird toothy mushrooms are no match for us. We'll get you all home safely." The little boy smiled at Mina's words and kept his eyes on her as she stood back up to her feet.

Ratchet and Mina continued to lead the Fongoids through the jungle, fighting off any zyphoids and eventually making their way to a large stone door. The door opened, revealing the Fongoid Chief. The Fongoid woman called out, "There's Zyphoids everywhere! There must be something wrong with the Timekeeper!"

The Chief shushed the woman before letting everyone inside. He introduced himself as Cheif Alpheus and guided the group through the village. The Fongoid villagers all watched Ratchet and Mina as if they had never seen a non-Fongoid before. Their stares grew quite uncomfortable as Chief Alpheus began to vaguely explain how the Zyphoids were attracted to quantum energy. Mina hardly paid attention as she was too busy scanning the village for any sign or information about a time machine. She did remember how the Fongoid woman said "Timekeeper" and wondered if that's what she meant.

"Here, we have a Zoni vessel in this temple, nyeh!" The Chief's words finally captured Mina's full attention. He continued, "I can allow you in if you promise to keep its secrets."

The group entered the temple and Ratchet started to head in deeper. Mina gently touched his shoulder, "Hey, Ratchet?" She asked. "Is it okay if I go in instead?"

"Huh? Sure, I guess." Ratchet stayed standing still on the switch to open the door to let Mina in.

The large stone doors closed behind Mina. For a temple, it was oddly empty. Only a few fire beams and traps could be seen. All the walls and floors were overgrown with vegetation, and there was no sign of any cave paintings or writing that Mina hoped for.

"Okay, gotta find something about a time machine." Mina said to herself as she navigated the temple. "That lady said something was wrong with the 'time keeper'. Was she talking about the time machine? I guess Nefarious is already screwing around with that thing. Nice going, genius." She squeaked and jumped when fire puffed from the wall. Stepping away, she continued through the temple.

Mina's communicator on her watch began to beep as Ratchet was calling her. She answered the call and Ratchet spoke, "Are you doing alright in there?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just trying to avoid getting set on fire so that I don't lose my body and- oh wait."

Ratchet huffed out a short laugh, "Be careful, and let me know when you find the vessel."

Mina's gloved hand grazed the surface of the wall as she headed deeper into the temple. She searched high and low for any further information on the Zoni or the 'time keeper'. She avoided the traps just fine, as they weren't very well put together anyway.

Mina began to grumble as loud thoughts plagued her mind, How can a Zoni temple have nothing to tell about them? The Fongoids must really want to keep it a secret. Which makes sense. Why am I even bothering with looking for clues, anyway? It's not like I can tell Ratchet, because then he'll wonder how I know about it. She flipped her hair out of her face and wiped sweat from her forehead. Mina leaped from a giant, slowly turning cog to make it to another ledge.

The woman used a flashlight on her watch to go through a hallway that was completely darkened. She began to speak out loud to herself, "How did Nefarious find out about all this? Do the Fongoids know that Nefarious used the Zoni to capture Clank? Maybe the Zoni are also evil. Wait, am I evil? I'm pretty sure working for a villain makes you evil. Kissing a villain probably makes you evil, too-" Mina harshly brushed her fingers through her bangs and blurted out, "Ugh, stop thinking about that already!"

The end of the temple came into sight. A long, lit path led to a giant statue of a wide-eyed creature wearing a hood, the Zoni vessel sat right beneath it. Mina bent down to grab the vessel and looked back up at the statue, "Hmm… Well, don't you look important?" She turned her head to see two Zoni flying around the room, smiling at the adorable sight. Mina reached out and was able to grab them both and place them into the vessel. "Hey, can either of you tell me where Clank is? No? Didn't think so."

Mina called into her communicator, "I've got the vessel, Ratchet. And I caught two Zoni!"

Loud rumbling noises could be heard on the other side of the call as Ratchet stammered, "Good job, Mina. Uhh, you better get back out here." Loud, distant screams came through the communicator before it immediately cut off. Mina ran through the temple and out the entrance as fast as she could.

Outside of the temple, a large ship hovered over the village as Fongoids scattered in fear. The Chief exclaimed that it was Lord Vorselon's ship, and that everyone must head into the temple for safety. Mina quickly shoved the Zoni vessel into Ratchet's arms while staring up at the ship.

Ratchet took out his blaster, "Ready to kick some more ass?"

Mina stretched her arms and grinned, "Do you know who you're talking to? Of course I'm ready-"

Suddenly a large robotic creature appeared out of thin air, "AZIMUTH!" It was none other than Vorselon himself.

Mina shrieked and jumped backwards as all her hair stood up.

Vorselon circled around Ratchet, "I believe Dr. Nefarious was clear as to the repercussions of leaving your hovel. The clock is ours."

Ratchet tilted his head, "Wait, who?"

Mina stood between the two of them and looked the cyborg in the eye, "Excuse me, but Nefarious, and anyone who associates with him, has no business here. So get lost, goldfish."

Vorselon glared at Mina, then looked down at her left wrist and noticed her watch. "Ah, if it isn't Minerva Oxford; the woman I was hoping to find." He said.

Mina cocked her head in discomfort and confusion, "Sorry, but you're definitely not my type."

Ratchet buried his face in his palm in embarrassment. Suddenly, Vorselon caught Mina in a large, electric bubble that carried her back to the ship. Mina could do nothing except stare down at the ground with utter confusion and shock. She could barely see Ratchet fighting off an army of robots that looked identical to the ones that Mina worked alongside months ago. She continued to watch the battle until her bubble made its way inside the ship.

Mina was transported into a small cell in the detention wing, where all she could do was sit against the wall and once again, be alone with her thoughts. Mina spoke aloud, "Oh, nice. Looks like Nefarious somehow found another robot who used to be organic. You sure that's not why you hired me? You sure you weren't just lonely being the only organic-turned-robot in existence?" She began to mock Nefarious' voice, "'No, I just hired you because you're a good engineer'. Uh-huh, sure, Doctor. Sure."

Troopers walked past Mina's cell, giving her dirty looks, which she responded to with dirty looks of her own. Seeing the robots she not only worked with, but robots similar in design to her old friend, Roger, made Mina's heart race faster. Mina's watch lit up; Ratchet was calling. She picked up and turned the volume down as low as possible.

"Mina? Can you hear me?" Ratchet asked.

"Yeah, I can hear you."

"Are you doing okay? Why did Vorselon know your name?"

"I'm fine. And uhh, beats me. Anyway, if you're on your way to come get me, you better hurry. I've learned that I really don't like being kept in a tiny cell."

"Don't worry. I'll get you and the fongoids out. Can you turn on your nav unit?"

"I never installed a nav unit- wait, fongoids were captured, too?"

Ratchet groaned, "Dammit, Mina-"

Before Ratchet could say anything else, troopers walked closely past Mina's cell. She turned off the call and hid her hand behind her back. She decided to get up to try and coax the troopers over to her. "Hey! Hey you! Roger's brothers or whatever!" She shouted. The troopers ignored her. "I just wanna talk to Vorselon. Take me to him! Please?" The other bots shook their large heads and lowered the containment field of the cell. Mina stepped out slowly and walked up to the troopers. As tempting as it was, Mina knew she couldn't fight her way out this time. One trooper whacked her in the back, making her grunt and almost fall forward. "Move it, Squishy Wannabe." said the trooper. Mina glared in response.

The troopers lead Mina to the other side of the ship, where Vorselon was waiting. As the troopers and Mina walked through the halls, Mina kept her eyes off the robots and stared down at her feet. She could feel all of them watching her every move. I wonder what this guy wants… Hmm… What did Nefarious do with my old arm? I'm not sure I wanna know.

The group made their way to a wide-open chamber of the ship, with Lord Vorselon standing at the very end. He had his back turned until he knew for sure that his troops had brought back his prisoner. Vorselon slightly turned his head to look at Mina, who was too busy scanning his height.

"Minerva Oxford…" Vorselon spoke, "The Markazian cyborg who foolishly deceived the highly exalted Dr. Nefarious. You wished to speak with me?"

Mina held up her hand, "I'm sorry, the 'highly exalted'?" She cringed, "Is that what Nefarious makes you call him?"

Vorselon clapped one pincer hard and loud enough to make Mina literally bite down on her tongue. "SILENCE, you irritating little creature!" Vorselon squinted his eye and quietly grumbled with anger at Mina's attitude, which Nefarious had warned him of.

"The Doctor has informed me of your betrayals, and has very special plans for you."

Mina stared silently at Lord Vorselon's massive pincers, then back up at his eye.

Vorselon continued with a pleased expression at Mina's discomfort, "Yes... He plans to have you locked up inside his torture chamber, where you will endure hours of unimaginable agony!"

Mina's eyes and ears twitched as she thickly swallowed. She twiddled her fingers as Vorselon walked closer, "Soon, you will learn what happens when members of Nefarious' employment double-cross him! Unless…. Pause for effect," Vorselon clamped his pincer once more, "You tell me the location of Alister Azimuth. Only then will you be granted your freedom, and perhaps, bolts. Nefarious told me you have a thing for bolts… How does 50,000 sound? How about even more?"

Mina's throat went dry at Vorselon's words. She stuttered once before snapping back to her normal speech, "Seriously? Nefarious is trying to make a deal with me? Listen, I don't know who Alister Azimuth is. Why does Nefarious assume that I do? Even if I did, I wouldn't agree to tell you in exchange for bolts. That would mean I'd basically be working for Nefarious again. And in case he didn't get the message, I really don't want to be his employee anymore." Her voice started to crack, "He really had the nerve to hire me while holding Clank captive?! He knew I was a friend of Clank!"

Vorselon became increasingly angered by Mina's tone, glaring and gritting his jagged teeth at her, "He's a villain! What else did you expect?! And yet you're 'friends' with the heroes? Perhaps you're deeply confused. How pitiful."

"No, I'm not!"

Vorselon bent over to meet Mina's eye level, "If it weren't for Nefarious demanding to kill you himself, I would throw you out the airlock and watch your disgusting body decompress and explode! And I would enjoy every second of it!" His yelling made Mina lean her head back as her sensors rang loudly. Vorselon walked away and continued talking without looking back, "Nefarious told me he wishes he took your pathetic life when he had the chance… It's a shame your stubbornness will cost you your life!"

Mina squinted her eyes as she pondered to herself. She didn't think another second before letting more words slip from her mouth, "Out of curiosity, what else did he tell you?"

Vorselon growled before going back to his composure, "He told me you allowed an innocent trooper to die a gruesome death just so that you could escape by yourself with stolen weapons. Such a vile act of evil if I do say so myself. It's a shame you no longer wanted to be a part of the doctor's forces. You would have accomplished so many great things. Ah, but instead… you will be the next one to be ripped apart and melted down into scraps!"

Mina's hands balled into fists and shook against her sides. She glared directly at Vorselon while quietly growling. She could feel her eyes starting to burn and twitch.

Vorselon gestured to the surrounding troopers, "Take that thing back to her cell. Dr. Nefarious will be very pleased with her arrival…"

Mina growled and spoke inside her head, Yes, please. Take me away from him before I throw a punch at his stupid floating head.

The troopers harshly led Mina out of the chamber and proceeded to walk her back to her cell. She spoke aloud in her signature sarcastic voice, "Aren't you just what the doctor needed? A big, dramatic jerk who gets his points across by yelling. And yet Nefarious thought I had an attitude problem. I bet you and him are such great friends. I bet he thinks you're perfect for him-" a trooper whacked Mina on her back once again, forcing her to stop talking.

Mina was placed back in her cell and left alone with her anger. She felt every muscle in her face twitch and cramp as she desperately tried to process all of her thoughts. Suddenly, her watch began to light up. Thinking Ratchet was calling, Mina excitedly checked her notifications. Instead, it was the reminder that her monthly payment towards her debt was due. Tears began to stream down Mina's face as she stared at her watch. She put her hand over her mouth and gripped tightly as she began to sob.

Mina sat on the floor before completely breaking down. Her hand moved from her mouth to her forehead, where she dug her fingernails into her skin even tighter. Each cry she let out was followed by a groan that was deep yet quiet enough so that no nosy trooper could've possibly heard her. "Mina?" Instead, someone else had heard her cries.

Mina aggressively rubbed the tears off her face and brushed her fingers through her short hair. She peaked out her cell's containment field, "Ratchet?" she whispered.

Sure enough, Ratchet found his way into the detention wing. He was startled by Mina's reddened face, "Whoa, are you okay? Were you hurt?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No, I'm fine. I'll be even better after you get me out of here."

Ratchet used his kinetic tether on his wrench to break the containment field on Mina's cell. She lunged forward with her arms held out then immediately pulled back before touching Ratchet. "Alright, let's go get the Fongoids." he said.

"Oh, yeah, right. They're here, too."

Ratchet shook his head and sighed, "Before we go, let me help you install a nav unit." Within just a minute, Ratchet updated Mina's watch and made sure to turn her location on to test it. He checked his own nav unit and nodded in accomplishment, "See? Easy."

Ratchet started leading Mina to a different area of the detention wing, hoping to find the other prisoners. "So, what's up with this Vorselon guy? Do you know what he wants?" Ratchet asked.

"Apparently he wants to know the location of 'Alister Azimuth'"

"Who is that?"

"I don't know. Some rebel, I guess?"

"Well, if he's an enemy to Nefarious, then he might be a friend to us. Also, the fact that Vorselon knows your name is pretty sketchy. I think that's something worth looking into-"

"No!" Mina jolted, breaking eye contact after seeing how uncomfortable Ratchet was. "I mean, that's not important right now. Let's just rescue the Fongoids and ask them about this 'Alister' person."

Ratchet gave Mina a confused expression even after she had already looked away. He shrugged it off and kept going.

After carefully treading through several security traps, the duo found where the Fongoids were being kept. Chief Alpheus exclaimed, "It's the lombax and the Markazian, nyeh! We're saved!" The little boy Fongoid was especially happy to see Mina, jumping up and down with a wide smile. Ratchet pulled out the plug to the containment field and released everyone from their cells. He looked up and down at a blocked door to see if he could find a way to open it.

"Okay, now it's my turn." Mina walked in the opposite direction of the door and put one foot back, "I've always wanted to try this-"

"Mina, NO!" Ratchet shouted out.

Ignoring her friend, Mina ran full speed at the door, head butting it and breaking it down without a sweat.

Immediately after the door crumbled, an alarm blared through the ship with red lights flashing brightly. "Whew! I needed that." Mina said.

Ratchet knew he had no time to scold her. He pulled out his blaster and motioned for the group to follow behind him. The Fongoids huddled together and stayed behind Ratchet and Mina.

The lombax fired multiple shots at all sides, defending the group from enemy fire. "Be careful, Mina." He said, "I want you to protect the Fongoids and let me handle this."

"Oh come on, Ratchet." She rolled her eyes as she ran to keep up with him. "You know I'm no stranger to fighting. Hell, you and I have fought before."

"Have we? I don't recall that ever happening."

"Al's New Year's Eve party a few years ago? Close to midnight?"

Ratchet nodded his head while continuing to shoot Nefarious' troopers. "Okay, yeah. I definitely remember that. You wrestled me for a bottle of tequila and then tried to throw me out a window."

"Sorry about that, by the way. I hope you realize I'd never hurt you on purpose."

Ratchet had to hold back a grin, "Y'know, they say if you do something while drunk, that means you wanted to do it sober."

"I don't remember ever wanting to fall asleep inside Al's washing machine, but alright."

The Fongoids could only stare awkwardly at the duo while they kept talking while also fighting off so many deadly robots. Regardless of the strange behavior of these individuals, the Fongoids knew they had to keep their heads up and run for their lives.

The group continued to rush through the ship to try and find a way to escape. Multiple troopers, big and small, kept antagonizing everyone in the group. Mina used herself as a shield for the fire power, as her skin would heal back anyway. The group was about to turn a corridor before Mina decided to stop quickly enough to show her middle finger to a nearby security camera.

Finally, a dock was found with an escape ship just big enough for Mina and the Fongoids. Everyone hopped on board while Mina was the last one to go in. Ratchet put his hand on her shoulder, "I'll take care of Vorselon. You get the Fongoids to safety."

"Anything for you, best bud." Mina ran into the escape ship and fastened her seatbelt. All the Fongoids patiently sat on the floor of the ship while breathing heavily. Mina started up the ship and waited for Ratchet to open up the airlock, allowing her to fly out.

The Fongoids mostly kept to themselves, whispering amongst each other. Mina couldn't tell what they were saying; all she heard was the occasional verbal tic. Many minutes passed as they all flew through the sector on their way back to Quantos. The indistinct chatter was uncomfortable enough to make Mina bite her lip and grip the wheel tighter. She finally spoke up, "Okay, you don't have to talk to me right now." She said. "But Ratchet and I need to know about Azimuth so that we can figure out why Vorselon and Nefarious want him. We will make them pay for what they did to you-" Mina's watch lit up to show that Ratchet was calling her.

Mina answered the call to hear Ratchet panting on the other side, "Hey, are you all still in one piece?"

"Are you?" Mina asked.

"Barely. I beat Vorselon but he'll be back for more later. By the way, I want to talk to you about what you did."

"You mean about how I helped us escape the detention wing? You're welcome."

A slight growl could barely be heard through the call. "Mina, I'm serious. You could've gotten us all killed."

"I got us out, didn't I?"

"Yeah and alerted the entire ship about it. You can't just hijack every situation you're in. You have a terrible habit of doing whatever you want without thinking about it and causing chaos everywhere you go."

"Wow. Since when do you give lectures?"

Ratchet's voice grew increasingly angry, "Ever since you've been a troublemaker. Which is almost as long as I've known you."

Oh, as if you're not a troublemaker? "Okay, okay. I'm sorry."

"Don't tell me you're sorry. Tell the Fongoids you're sorry."

Mina turned her head to the Fongoids, who all quickly looked away as if they had been staring the whole time. "Sorry I set off the ship's alarm and almost got us all vaporized by Nefarious' troops." Said Mina.

Chief Alpheus nodded, "Apology accepted, nyeh! All is forgiven. At least we're all safe now. And we can tell you about Azimuth-"

The little boy Fongoid jumped up excitedly, "Ooh! I wanna tell her!"

Mina smiled at the kid and pointed her left wrist towards him, so Ratchet could hear better. The little boy spoke up, "Alister Azimuth is a rebel who lives on the planet, Torren IV! He lives all by himself!"

Ratchet responded, "Hmm… Torren IV… Got it. Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Hey, Ratchet?" Asked Mina. "Thanks for keeping me grounded."

"Someone has to do it. I'll contact you again once I land on Torren IV. Just hang tight until I get there." Ratchet hung up and Mina continued her flight back to Quantos.

After landing the ship, Chief Alpheus stepped out first then the rest of the Fongoids went after him. The little boy thanked Mina the most out of all of them. She made sure that they all made it back to their village safely. Once they did, Mina walked back through the jungle to find her own ship.

Mina found her beloved Athena and crawled inside to recline the seat back and lay down. She held her arms above her head and closed her eyes. Before she could fully relax, her watch lit up, reminding her about the debt again. Mina rolled her eyes and groaned before putting her seat back up. She sat still for a few seconds before she made up her mind. Starting up Athena, Mina flew off the planet.

In the middle of the sector, Mina came across the ship being flown by the familiar face she was looking for.

"Well, now. If it ain't the Markazian cyborg. What brings to this here sector?"

Mina smirked, "Oh, no reason. I'm just out of bolts and was looking for anyone who might wanna help. Do you have any work for me?"

The Smuggler mirrored Mina's expression, "As a matter of fact, I do."


Okay so I feel the need to explain this really quickly because I'm afraid of giving the wrong implications: My character does NOT replace Qwark in the overall story of A Crack in Time XD She only replaced him for this one particular sequence! Our favorite captain will have his time to shine when he's ready. Also, I do not plan to make any further chapters this long because holy crap I thought this was going to kill me, oof… Anyway, I hope you're as pumped for this act as I am! I promise the rest of the chapters won't take a hundred years for me to upload. I'm just trying to get back into the writing groove. I'm also interested in remastering the first act because, well, my writing has improved a lot since then and the first act's writing kinda makes me cringe XD I suppose that's normal for several fic writers, though. It's too soon for a remaster, though. For now I'll just keep updating this and other projects of mine. Thanks for reading!