I'm back at last! Sorry for the delay, everyone, I was finishing up another story (Epilogue 2, a Ratchet & Clank / Star Fox crossover) so I put all of my other stories on hold for a moment. Anyhow, I'm back now, and expect new chapter for both this story and Zoniborn. In fact, expect frequent chapters since I've regained my inspiration! Huzzah!

Reviews:

Desertstorm272: "Nice. I'm glad to see a real Ranger standing up for Ratchet"
I'm really glad you like it! However, I think you're mistaken, the man in white is not a Ranger... so the question is, who is he, and what are his intentions?

reddevil47: "Interested on how you will develop this, can't wait to read the next chap and always remember Mr. Zurkon is here to be your friend... sike! Mr. Zurkon only kills!"
I'm glad you like it so far! And wait no more, from now on this story will receive new chapters by the truckload, I'm already halfway done with chapter 3! And Mr. Zurkon, who doesn't love a robotic bodyguard that comes with free rude comments for your enemies? Although I do find Mr. Zurkon quite underpowered in the PS4 game considering enemies can destroy your Zurkon, so if you use him when you need him, when you're under heavy fire, he's quite useless because he'll be destroyed almost instantly. Therefore training Mr. Zurkon up to the highest level took ages! I hope Insomniac will either fix this or leave it out in the next game. Anyhow, enjoy!

Jadzia Kira Dax: "I tthink this is a pretty awesome story so far! Also, as for our mystery man, I have a very good feeling that I know who it is..."
Thank you, I'm really glad you like it so far! I plan on adding to the story though, and big time as well! I recall Insomniac promising three new planets in the PS4 game... and I'm still looking for them. So, I plan on adding them myself... Also, I have a very good feeling that you are correct. Although, of course, I can only say: read to find out...

Max Chronicle: "Dang...the start of another new story. I'll be back for more, count on it."
I'm glad you like it so far! I hope the future chapters live up to your expectations. Considering what I have planned though, I think you're gonna love it.

Ratchet and Clank yelled in fear as the surface of Novalis got closer, and fast. Ratchet couldn't believe what was happening. He would die, mere hours after the adventure he craved had started at last. It would've been funny in some way if it weren't so sad.

Ratchet's life flashed before his eyes: all those days spent at the garage, Grim teaching him how to fix a G-diffuser, showing off Mr. Micron's ship...

Wait, didn't that end with Mr. Micron getting shot out of the ship by the ejector seat?

Ratchet's eyes widened. He had one shot at this.

When they were about to slam into the ground, Ratchet activated the ejector seats, the two heroes getting shot into the sky while the ship slammed into the ground below them with an ear-shattering crash.

The force of the ejector seat plus the shockwave of something within the ship exploding completely neutralized the speed at which they had been falling towards the planet earlier, and thus when Ratchet and Clank landed, they were okay, although Ratchet had landed rather uncomfortably.

Ratchet tiredly stretched his back, hearing a satisfying pop. "Ergh, why did I have to land on a rock out of all things? Clank?"

Clank was standing by what was left of Mr. Micron's ship. The ship was a wreck, the dents making it hard to even recognize the ship.

"Our ship has been ruined!" Clank said.

"It's damaged, but, I've fixed worse." Ratchet said, hopeful. "Come on, maybe there's someone in town who can help us."

Ratchet and Clank took in their surroundings. They had crashed on a small area overlooking a huge, and I mean huge, crater. Two rivers ran through the valley, and a city had been built in the distance. To the duo's right was a cave system leading up to some sort of metal door in the wall, while there was also a path behind them.

"Wait, is that Raritanium?" Clank said, pointing at a silver rock near the cliff that had three shiny crystals sticking out of it. Ratchet smashed the crystals loose with his wrench before collecting them. "Yeah, it is."

"Hey, you!" a voice suddenly said, nearly giving both heroes a heart attack. The source of the voice turned out to be a Gadgetron vendor, a cyan box placed a few feet up ahead. Neither of the two heroes had even noticed it. The vendor spoke again. "Looks like you've got some Raritanium! Come see me and let's do some upgrades."

Ratchet walked over to the vendor. After a quick tutorial, Ratchet had learned that Gadgetron vendors accepted Raritanium and in return offered upgrades to Gadgetron's weaponry. Ratchet used the Raritanium he had to increase the maximum ammunition of his Bomb Glove. After restocking on ammunition, Ratchet noticed something.

"Pyrocitor? What's that?"

Ratchet opened the info tab. Apparently the Pyrocitor was a bulky, orange, two-handed weapon that fired a line of pure fire in front of the user. Unfortunately Ratchet couldn't afford the weapon, otherwise he would have bought it instantly. "I'll come back later." he mumbled to himself as he walked away from the vendor and regrouped with Clank. After Clank had attached himself to Ratchet's back, the duo used an elevator to lower themselves to the bottom of the crater.

It was quite clear why they had picked up a distress signal, aircrafts were dropping bombs on the buildings up ahead, and ground teams in the form of small yellow robots with sharp teeth and bulky yellow robots with a grenade launcher were destroying stuff on the ground.

As Ratchet walked past a few of the smaller robots, they jumped up with a loud, mechanical chirp and charged at Ratchet. The robots' faces were introduced to a wrench shortly after.

"Of course, they have to be hostile." Ratchet mumbled as he fired his Combustor at a few grenade robots. As they walked on, they came across a statue. Ratchet recognized the person immediately. "It's a Cora Veralux statue! She's the youngest recruit ever to be selected for the Galactic Rangers!"

Ratchet walked up a staircase, but was forced to run back down the stairs when two grenade robots came running out of the building ahead and opened fire. Ratchet returned fire with a few grenades of his own, Ratchet's Fusion Grenades proving more than capable of taking the two machines out. Moving on, Ratchet walked into a building on one end of a large bridge.

However, was he was about to walk onto the bridge, a plane swooped down from the sky and fired a few missiles at the bridge. Although the bridge was riddled with holes, Ratchet managed to get across, only to be awaited by three more grenade robots on the other side.

After the three robots had been dealt with, Ratchet took the stairs down to ground level and fought his way to a smaller crater up ahead. In the middle of the crater, a ship had landed, although the ship was being shelled by various grenade robots as well as a few... Blarg troopers.

Clank picked up a transmission coming from the ship, and immediately he told Ratchet what he heard.

"This is a transmission for the Galactic Rangers! Please, we need assistance! This is Aggnogg Buckwash, mayor of the Tobruk Crater of Novalis!"

"Mayor Buckwash will not last long without our help..." Clank added.

Ratchet nodded. Within minutes he had taken out the advance team with Fusion Grenades.

Clank picked up a Blargian radio transmission. "Someone's taken out our advance team! Bravo team, move in and execute!"

Immediately Blarg were teleported in. "We're gonna make a rug outta you!" one of them yelled. Ratchet frowned. "That's just gross, you know." he yelled as he dodged a few Blarg shots.

A gunfight with the Combustor followed, the Blargs soon found themselves completely outmatched.

A voice came from within the spacecraft. "Hello? Is it safe to come out?"

"Yes, you can come out now." Ratchet said. "The Blarg are gone."

A ramp in the back of the ship opened up and an old man came walking out. He had blue skin and his eyes had a slightly yellowish tint, while his irises were deep blue. A pair of glasses rested on his nose, and he had large blue eyebrows and a large blue mustache. "Oh, thank you, THANK YOU! I thought we were done for sure!"

"We are happy to be of assistance. Why is Drek trying to kill you?" Clank asked.

"It's my nephew, Skidd McMarx."

"Wait, Skicc McMarx, the pro hoverboarder?" Ratchet asked.

Mayor Buckwash nodded. He sent me this infobot from Aridia," he continued, pointing at an infobot hovering behind him, "and the Blarg have been after me ever since. Here, take a look."

The infobot hovered forward and opened it's television screen. It began to play a video apparently shot from a mobile phone. The video showed Skidd, who was holding the camera, who was standing in front of a building. The building was hard to make out because the camera was focused on the foreground, on Skidd. "Hey uncle Buckwash! Skidd McMarx here, you know, your nephew." Skidd said with a wink.

Skidd's skin was yellow in color and he appeared to be wearing some sort of headgear that he could move in front of his eyes, like safety goggles. He also had three spikes on the back of his head, no hair, black eyebrows and a small black beard. He then panned the camera to another Rilgarian. This Rilgarian had green skin and purple tinted glasses. "My agent and I are at the awesome grand opening of the McMarx Sports Shack here on Aridia, and boy has it been a trip!"

Skidd then focused the camera on the building. It was made of metal plating, and two golden statues of Skidd stood in front of the door, giving each other a high five. Skidd appeared on screen again. "I've gotten to meet all kinds of people!"

Skidd then showed a few pictures. In the first image, he was standing next to two male Rilgarians with white skin and one female Rilgarian with green skin. "Fans..."

Then, for a brief moment, it showed an image of Skidd at a party with a Galactic Ranger robot in the background waving at the camera, while the reporter Darla Gratch could be seen in the background with her hands in front of her face to prevent being photographed. "Celebrities..."

The next image showed Skidd standing next to four eerily similar looking men while giving the camera a thumbs up. "My Gadgetron sponsors..."

The last image showed Skidd sitting behind a desk, signing some sort of paper while three Blarg waited in line. "I even got to sign autographs for these odd-looking creatures called 'the Blarg'. I guess they're doing something here on Aridia."

The images then showed the first Blarg in line giving Skidd a tablet, then Skidd and the Blarg giving the camera a thumbs up while the tablet was lying on the table in front of Skidd. "Wait, hold on a second..."

The video then showed the world from the perspective of the camera of Skidd's mobile phone. The camera was pointed at the tablet that had been lying on the table in the images, apparently Skidd had absentmindedly grabbed it, figuring that it was his. The tablet showed schematics of a ship pulling along several tanks. "Hyyyyydrooooo-harrrrrrvester, Super-Illegal Water Displacement Apparatus."

The camera then showed a nervous looking Skidd. "Uhm... I don't think I was supposed to have this."

"Stop him! He's got the schematics!" a voice barked in the background. Immediately all hell broke loose, plasma bullets shot past Skidd as he ran away. "Help! Someone, call my agent! Call my publicist! Actually, don't call either of those people, call someone who cares about me!"

The camera was hit by a bullet and was shot out of Skidd's hand. As the video ended, they could hear Skidd yell as he ran off. "I don't wanna diiiiiiiiie!"

"Sounds like Skidd McMarx is in trouble, we've got to get to Aridia!" Ratchet said as Clank hopped onto his back.

"Agreed, but we must first repair our ship." Clank said.

Once they got back to the ship, they decided to explore the cave next to their ship. Ratchet stepped into the water, but was immediately knocked off his feet by the stream. Moving on to a different tactic, Ratchet used the rocks to climb further into the cave, before he found a gap in front of him.

Apparently that's when a Blargian bomb hit the surface nearby, for a few large boulders came falling from the ceiling. "Look out!" Clank said.

Using the boulders as stepping stones, Ratchet was able to reach a set of oddly placed pistons that seemed to have a platform on top of them. Using them as an elevator, Ratchet was able to reach the door built within the rocky wall. Once they were inside, they took a look around. They were in a metallic room, with machinery built into the walls. However, mechanical chirps snapped Ratchet out of his thoughts. Four of those small, yellow robots from earlier were charging at him.

Luckily, they still were no match for the OmniWrench. After they had been dealt with, Ratchet reached the door up ahead by jumping from wall to wall. He wondered what imbecile had come up with the layout of this facility, it could hardly be more impractical.

Ratchet walked into a larger, circular room, with a gap in the middle of the room. Ratchet jumped to the other side. "Ratchet!" Clank warned. Ratchet immediately dropped to the ground, and a plasma bullet shot through where his head had been. He quickly got up and rolled out of the way of another bullet before returning fire.

After the Blarg that had been hiding behind a large pipe had been dealt with, Ratchet jumped onto another 'piston-elevator' to reach the next hallway. The door at the end opened up and a Blarg came running in, although a bomb to the face made him fly back into the room he came out of.

The next room was large and rectangular, with two gaps in the floor with water running through them. Ratchet noticed two Blarg and a yellow grenadier robot, and quickly got to work.

Three minutes later, only one Blarg remained. Ratchet got out of cover and fired the Combustor, but he got back into cover with a loud hiss when he got shot in the arm. "Ouch... that hurt."

"You're gonna die, Lombax!" the Blarg yelled. Ratchet got up and fired his Combustor again. "Lead the way." he growled as the last Blarg was defeated.

Ratchet reached down into the water to clean the wound on his arm. Clank noticed something though. Placed in the corner was a glass box with a shiny, blue ball of energy inside of it. "Ratchet!"

Ratchet got up and turned around. "What's wrong?"

"Do you see that box in the corner?"

"Yeah?"

"That box contains Nanotech."

"Nanotech?"

"Nanotech is a revolutionary substance, mineral water that contains special microscopic robots named Nanites. They have the unique capability that, once they find themselves inside someone's body, no matter if it is a robotic or organic body, they will rebuild it from the inside out."

"...That sounds a bit gross."

"They basically instantly heal any injury detected. However, every Nanite has limited healing capabilities, more severely injured people may need more Nanotech."

"That's more like it." Ratchet said as he smashed the box with his wrench. Immediately the glowing blue ball shot at him and vanished in a bright flash when it touched Ratchet's skin.

"What is happening now?"

"Check your arm."

Ratchet did as he was told, and to his surprise, the wound was gone. "It's gone! Not even a scar!"

"Indeed, Nanotech is extremely accurate."

Moving on, Ratchet used another set of piston-elevators to reach a set of catwalks hanging from the ceiling. The catwalks lead to a door, but when Ratchet was about to reach the door, it slid open and more yellow robots came charging out.

However, one grenade sent them slamming against the wall with a loud 'KLANK'. As Ratchet walked down the hallway, he could hear a voice coming from behind the door at the far end. "Consarn it! These darn Blarg have jammed the transmission! Who's gonna save us now?!"

Once the two doors slid open, Ratchet was introduced to a rather... awkward sight. A man was standing a few feet ahead of him, leaning forward and apparently working on some sort of machine in front of him. The leaning forward part, however, meant that he gave everyone walking in through the doors behind him an unwanted view of his behind.

The man turned around. "Oh, hello there! I'm glad you're here. I've been... heyyyy, have we met before? 'Cause I'm getting a touch of the ol' deja vu."

The man had blue skin and was wearing a white shirt and brown overalls. He had three spikes on his shoulders and one on his forehead, along with black eyebrows and a black beard. The glasses completed the look, and the wrench he was holding indicated that the man was a plumber.

"I don't think so." Ratchet said, confused.

"Huh, guess the ol' think tank could use a good plumbin'!" the plumber said with a laugh as he tapped his wrench against his head. "Anyhoo, I've been trying to get a distress call to the Galactic Rangers ever since Drek's forces showed up."

"The entire region is overrun with Blargian drop ships. We need to get you outta here." Ratchet said.

"Oh, I can't go anywhere until I get (the plumber noticed the infobot he was looking for behind him. He quickly grabbed the robot and showed it to Ratchet and Clank) this here infobot into the hands of Captain Qwark."

"We were on our way to speak with him when our ship was shot down. Perhaps we chould take a look?" Clank offered.

"Oh, sure thing. I swiped it from one of those Blarg soldiers." the plumber said as he pressed the 'play' button on the infobot. "Here you go."

The screen showed Chairman Drek in his office. "Oh, hello there! I'm Alonzo Drek, chairman of Drek Indurstries. Many of you may be wondering,"

The screen turned to a camera feed showing a large, red warship. There were rows after rows of warbots walking up a ramp into the warship. "Why are 300 heavily-armed warbots marching ominously toward a class G dreadship?"

The screen then showed Drek on some sort of small, hovering vehicle flying past a hologram of the Blargian emblem. "The answer is simple, friends: progress!"

The screen then showed an aerial view of a factory spewing out tons of poisonous gases into the atmosphere. "Years ago we were driven underground by pollution that," Drek came flying into view on the vehicle "May or may not – but most definitely was – caused by my father's company."

The screen then showed Drek in front of a hologram as he teasingly dropped his pen before his robotic assistant could take it from him. "Since then we've shifted focus from robotics..."

Then the screen showed Drek standing next to a hologram of a planet. "To planet-building!"

The screen then showed... Victor doing some aerobics with the warbots? "Now that our project is nearing completion, we must do everything we can to stay on schedule. In this case, it means our friendly army of warbots must vanquish those who would seek to stop us."

Drek then popped up amongst the warbots walking towards the warship. "The good news? They don't know we're coming!"

The screen then showed Drek in his office again. As Drek started talking the screen got smaller, moving into the background as various images of Blarg, warbots and planets moved past before the screen showing Drek shot forward and filled the infobot's screen again. "So! Sit back, relax, and take comfort in the knowledge that Drek Industries is working for you!"

As Drek stopped talking the screen seemed to freeze while the Blargian logo appeared and a man quickly said "Drek Industries is not working for you."

However, it was revealed that the screen wasn't frozen but that Drek was just standing there like a fool when his eyes twitched for a moment, looking off-screen for a split second.

The plumber, in the meantime, had walked over to what appeared to be an open sewer pipe on the right side of the room. As Ratchet and Clank walked over to him, he spoke up. "I see you're having a little transportation trouble. Why don't I meet you by your ship? We'll get you squared away and ready to fly!"

The plumber jumped into the water and immediately the water dragged him down the pipes. "Geronimoooo!" he yelled as the angle of the pipe ahead made him vanish from view. "Did that guy just slide down a sewer pipe?" Ratchet asked, baffled, as he and Clank walked closer. Clank frowned and reached down into the water. "My scanners indicate no presence of bacteria or any kind of organic waste products. The water is clean."

"Then what kind of pipe is this?" Ratchet wondered out loud before shaking is head. "Well, it does look like the fastest way down. Let's give it a shot." he said as Clank hopped onto his back. Ratchet tried to carefully drop down into the water, but the strong current dragged him with it the moment Ratchet's feet touched the water.

Ratchet and Clank screamed – Ratchet in excitement and Clank in terror – as they shot through the pipelines before suddenly finding themselves sliding out of the same cave that they had entered earlier, coming to a stop a few feet from their ship. Or, what was left of their ship.

The plumber was already waiting for them. "Alright, let's see what we've got here."

As Ratchet and the plumber got to work, Clank made a scan of the ship to check if the software was still functional. After a good few hours of work, the ship was good as new. After saying goodbye to the plumber, who still had work to do in the city inside the crater, Ratchet and Clank discussed where to go next. "I think we should go rescue Skidd."

"I do not think that that is wise, Aleero city-"

"When will that attack take place?" Ratchet asked, having noticed a date in the top-right corner of Drek's video.

"Tomorrow."

"Then why don't we go rescue Skidd first, he's in danger right now while Aleero city isn't."

"A fair point." Clank said as he climbed into the ship and sat down on the passenger seat while Ratchet sat down behind the controls and entered the coordinates of planet Aridia. As they flew off, however, a figure was watching from one of the hills, standing in the shadow of a tree. "Interesting..." he mumbled as he watched the duo fly off.

Alright, now before I sign off, I need to inform you all of something: next week is my final test week for this year, next Friday is my last test. Until then I'll be focusing on learning, I plan to give it all I've got one last time, I mean, they're the last tests after all.

Furthermore, last Monday I've started uploading Ratchet & Clank videos on my YouTube channel, you should be able to find a link at my profile. The video I've uploaded so far is my playthrough of Pokitaru, and as always, stupid things happen. Ratchet stays breathing though, don't worry. No Lombaxes were killed in the makings of the video. Clank wasn't harmed either, for that matter. Next up on the videos list is a video filled with weird and often hilarious glitches I've encountered in the game.

Anyhow, (hopefully) see you all in the next chapter!