"Saros!" The young woman frantically shakes the phone, denying the 'Call Ended' notice on the screen that seems to mock her. "No, come back! Answer me!"

"I believe his phone was destroyed, Nova," Clank says solemnly, his eyes tilted.

The young woman's breath hitches as she stares at the phone screen, now displaying a black screen from being left idle too long. Fury swells up as her hands shake, and she slowly lowers the device. "He's gonna pay for this. All of it."

"I'm so sorry," Ratchet adds, his ears drooped as he puts a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll make this right. He said something about a Quantos raid, that's gotta be where Nefarious is going."

"Saros gave his life to help us." The young hero stands up tall, brushing her thumb against her cheek, reflecting on fonder memories. "No matter what it takes, I won't let that sacrifice be in vain." She quickly scoops up Aphelion's key, as well as a hair tie, throwing her head forward as she wraps her hair into a tight bun.

"Nefarious is going down."

…

Nova's entirely silent throughout the drive, allowing the ship's gravometric warp drive to carry them to the edge of the quadrant and only deactivating it when Aphelion's sensors warn of nearby enemy troops. Ratchet's spirit glows from within the holoflux's chest piece, the light inside brightening as it shimmers, itching for a fight.

"We are too late," Clank announces in horror as they approach their destination. "Quantos is already surrounded!"

"Not for long," Nova growls to herself, harshly turning Aphelion into range of the nearest enemy. She locks onto her target with a terrifying precision, opening fire on one of the ships.

The enemy comms blare out immediately, alerting the rest of the squadron. "Contact, we have contact! All units, take out their ship!" In response, the lombax ship effortlessly rolls out of the line of fire. Circling the squad, it begins to give off the glow of homing missiles primed and ready to strike. One of Nefarious' outer ships isn't fast enough to dodge it, and the others begin to scatter. "Attack from all sides, don't let them land!"

Nova huffs, scoffing at the new formation. Taking in a deep breath, Nova closes her eyes. Pulling forth every bit of her focus, she draws on her power, opening her eyes to find them moving slower. At first, she takes them out one at a time, watching as their numbers begin to dwindle. Half are taken out, but at the corner of her eye she sees reinforcements. 'Too many, need more time' she thinks, feeling her head spin a bit as bullet time threatens to fade.

Pushing through the discomfort she digs deeper, extending her window of slowed time. It's worth it in the end as she finds an opening; a nearby asteroid to be exact. She flies above it, tethering to it and tossing it into the center of the enemy ships. Equipping Aphelion's proton cutters, she fires straight at the asteroid. Cracks form around the object, spreading further and further until it bursts.

As time catches up to her, Nova's power fades and the asteroid shards hit their targets, taking out most of the squad all at once with the shrapnel. The few ships left break formation in panic, immediately retreating and flying towards Quantos. "Crap, fall back! Get to the ground, don't let them reach Nefarious!"

Her armor's chest piece shimmers as Ratchet praises the feat. "Nice shot, Nova!"

"Well done," Clank adds. "Your powers are growing."

She responds with a low hum and nod, keeping her eyes ahead as she boosts towards the planet. "Clank, see if there's some sort of news from the surface." The silver warbot returns the gesture, surfing Aphelion's channels until he finds what they're looking for.

…

"Just over an hour ago, Dr. Nefarious' main flagship began to orbit Quantos' skies. An unmarked pod was dropped onto the planet's surface, which cracked open and released a dozen smaller drones. These pint sized needles seem to attack organic life forms, who upon contact, begin the biobliteration process."

The scene in the background is utter chaos, with local wildlife being scattered by the tiny devices. A somewhat large bird gets chased down, eventually getting pricked by a drone. It only struggles for a moment, and is quickly coated in metal. It then rushes back into the fray, a silver bullet that chases another creature and harshly pecks at it to share its curse.

"These new-age biobliterator victims seem to be able to spread the infection to others as well, and as a result, all of Quantos is expected to be robotic in a matter of hours. This is Darla Gratch, Channel 64 news."

…

As the broadcast cuts off, the markazian's eyes glow with rage.

Quantos quickly grows in size, and it's worse than they thought; as they fly ever closer to the surface, the sight of an all too familiar village in flames once more brings a deep seated nausea and guilt. "That bastard. They didn't even have a chance to rebuild."

Clank can see the leather stretch and shake as Nova's fists curl around Aphelion's controls. Placing his own hand on hers, he does his best to center her. "We will stop this invasion. When the smoke has cleared, we will help you restore your home."

Turning to her companion for a moment, she gives him a soft smile in return. Her fingertips wrap around the controls once more, and she shuffles in her seat. "Right. Let's kick his ass, guys."

"While I am more than happy to assist in such an ass kicking, I do not believe there is an area suitable for landing," Aphelion announces.

The biting nausea in her gut is pushed down in favor of pure determination, and she equips her staff. "Gravity is my bitch," she mutters to herself. Through gritted teeth, Nova gives the order and the Holoflux's built-in helmet activates. "Prepare for a HALO jump."

The cockpit opens, a spring launches them both into the air, and Clank is quickly flicked to Nova's back.

The sound of rushing air blends with missiles and synthetic voices, and the markazian falls right through the skies. Fury is nearly overtaken by anxiety as her eyes lock downwards, and her heart beats harder in her chest. The ground is getting way too close, way too fast, and a missile is headed straight for her face. Nova screams, sharply flinging her weight to the side and causing both Clank and herself to spin with the force. The nausea returns, but not out of anger.

"Spread your arms, Nova! Distribute your weight!" Heeding Clank's quick order, the markazian straightens out to face the ground once more. With gritted teeth, she looks away-

Only for the wind to get knocked out of her as Clank's helipack activates. The two of them glide to safety, using the cliff side as cover. Although her feet touch the ground, Nova's legs turn to jelly and she struggles to stand. Clank feels the vibrations from his nook at her back, and gently taps at her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah. I just...first time for everythin—whoa!" A stray bullet pulls her attention away, and more follow. A shield pod is thrown into the fray, and Nova dashes forward into its safety.

A Glove of Doom capsule is tossed to the dirt, and five tiny bots emerge and await their orders. The glove's fingers flick towards the enemies, directing the agents to their target. Five silver blurs rush toward the first Nefarious trooper, and they all start to bite dents into its body. One of them backs off, getting a running start before jumping for its face and exploding.

A second and third trooper keep firing through the rest of the detonating bots, cracking the shield in front of Nova. Buzz Blades slice into the enemies, bouncing off of each other and slicing their wiring. Three more troopers charge forward, ignoring the smoke left by their decommissioned companions. One prepares bladed arms, and the other two provide cover fire.

Time slows once more as she ducks under and between the shots. A volley of Shatterbombs is tossed before they can think, much less have the chance to spread out and flank her. It isn't long before only one trooper remains on the path.

Before he has the chance to run away, the markazian seems to move impossibly fast, and he's met with the eerie glow of a staff right in front of his optics. He slowly backs into the wall as the organic's eyes narrow, green like an unnatural fire staring at him through her eyebrows in quiet fury.

A tiny trickle of red flows from one of her nostrils that he doubts she cares to notice.

Bringing his hand to where his collar would be, as if adjusting it to give himself more room to breathe, he squeaks out a response. "J-just head down the path, to-to the center of the village, you'll find him!" To his surprise, the terrifying figure before him backs off.

"Thanks," she grumbles. Hoverboots kick off, sending dirt and smoke flying behind her and into the grunt's face. Fear of the young hero and her mystic weapon prevents him from following, but then again, perhaps Nefarious' ire is a more dangerous beast. The lone trooper crumbles to the ground, frozen and unsure which one would be worse.

Used for generations and usually well hidden, the path to the village is far too open for Nova's taste; a tunnel of charred trees and vines that leads straight to the Temple of Zahn. Dozens of troopers spread out, causing more destruction over a wider area. There's the urge to follow them, stop their rampage, but a far more dangerous sight locks her eyes elsewhere; Flying in the center of it all is Nefarious himself, cackling maniacally as his minions work.

"Hey! Over here, you lime-brained scrap heap!"

"Eh?" The laughter stops, and the doctor turns away from the destruction to face the markazian who screamed at him. "Oh, it's you! I was hoping you'd show up eventually. I'm running out of things to level, you know. This crumbling old temple might even make a decent vacation home, with a bit of remodeling."

Fists curled tight enough to shake, Nova bares her teeth to him. "Why don't you come down here and say that to my face so I can stretch that crack of yours back open?!"

"I have a better idea. You've worked hard to get this far, why don't I give you what you've earned?!" Nefarious' claw moves to his mouthpiece, curling as he whistles to call for something. The ground begins to shake, and a huge spider-like mech begins to emerge from the deep ravine below the temple. Eight glowing lights act as eyes, with the largest two being translucent windows, and the leg joints light up to match with a bright, sickly purple.

Nova's feet lock in place as the mech skitters about, and her eyes snap to where the doctor was floating before. "Wha-he's gone! Get back here, coward!"

The mecha-spider's speakers crackle to life, and an all too familiar laughter begins to emanate from it. "Make me, hero!" Spindly legs scamper towards Nova, the speakers blaring out the driver's cackling, and she immediately bolts in the other direction to create space between them. Clank takes this time to begin a thorough scan of the new entity, and it's rear spits out pods that drop smaller spider-drones. They're smaller than a Gadgebot, but move in a single unit of dozens at a time.

A clump of them manages to sneak around and come in front of Nova, and in a panic, she equips her Pyrocitor and burns them to ash. An unoccupied stone hut provides decent cover as she catches her breath, dropping a Mr. Zurkon to keep any stragglers at bay. "Spiders," she gasps, outstretching her hands to the skies. "Why'd it have to be spiders?!"

"Come on out, little hero!" Nefarious chides. "You can't hide forever you know!" One of the nearby huts is completely crushed, and the mech crawls ever closer to her.

"Nova, I believe I may know of a potential weak point," Clank offers after a quick scan. "The leg joints, do you see them?"

The markazian throws her head out of cover for a split second, and her face contorts in disgust as she shakes her palms to push the dread to the back of her mind. "I really wish I didn't, I really-Orvus I hate this thing!"

"Focus!" The snapped order seems to work so he continues quickly, watching as the mech gets dangerously close. "There appears to be a shield around the head, but the glowing joints give off a similar signal to a swingshot tether point. If you can slingshot up to the top, there is a space at the back of the head that I believe holds the shield's power source. If you destroy it,"

"I can take out Nefarious! Okay. Deep breath. One, two-"

The countdown is interrupted as a sharp metal leg stabs down into the ceiling, landing right beside Nova and Clank. With another panicked scream, the young hero flings the first bomb she has equipped straight at it and closes her eyes.

Said eyes shoot right open as techno music begins to play, and the leg removes itself from the rubble. Stepping out into the open, the duo watches as the mecha-spider begins to sway back and forth in its own little dance. Even the handful of mini-bugs below it join in, and Nova uses this opportunity to make a run for the closest leg.

Whipping out the plasma cord, the markazian pulls hard and allows the momentum to slingshot her into range. Upon landing, she runs up the mech's back, sending a handful of Peacemaker shots into a glowing green power core right where Clank said it would be.

The canister begins to crack, but the main body shakes Nova off. As she gets back up, Nefarious straightens the legs in defiance and reorients his weapon to face his opponent. "You really think I'm gonna let you do that twice?!"

Nova stiffly stands in place, looking away from the scene and back to him. Shrugging off the comment, she raises her eyebrows at him with a nod. "It would make things more convenient for both of us, yeah."

"WELL, THINK AGAIN!"

The spider's eyes begin to charge, and a set of smaller lasers is set onto a lit target at Nova's feet. For a moment, Nova's eyes flash and Ratchet's projection manifests next to her to see what's going on. "Oh, crap," they both breathe out.

Nova runs straight through Ratchet, causing his form to dissolve and float back into the trinket from which it came. Maniacal laughter fills her ears as she circles the metal spider, feeling the heat of a much larger laser just at her heels. Grappling onto a leg joint once more, the young hero swings onto the larger back portion of its body. Dual Omniblasters are equipped when a trio of Nefarious troopers teleport onto the platform.

Nova glares at the new opponents, digging inward once more and earning little more than a splitting headache for the attempt. Time seems to stutter for a moment, like a skipping record trying to find it's place in a song. She lets out a frustrated curse as the metal spider suddenly makes a hard turn, heading straight for the temple. Her magneboots are activated just in time as the behemoth springs into the air, latching onto the building. It's dizzying, stepping back and forth to dodge and shoot while the spider circles the crumbling walls.

Ratchet senses the shift in her power, and checks in. "You alright?!"

"I can do this, I'm fine!" She tries once more; the ice pick in her brain digs deeper, throwing off her balance as she dodges a shot. "Dammit!"

Clank hears as her helmet's knocked offline with a second shot. "You must be careful!"

"I know!" One of the troopers rushes forward, taking advantage of her lack of stability and moves in for a punch.

"Oh no you don't!" Ratchet's light bursts from Nova's armor, moving in to clock the sucker in the face—and is surprised to see his fist phase through the trooper's body. There's a harsh pull as he tumbles towards it's center, one that he's too shocked to fight.

Nova regains her balance, blinking at the Nefarious trooper that freezes, glitching for a second before staring at her, just as confused. The spirit watches as the nosebleed he hadn't seen before flows to her lip and trickles down onto her chin. Before either of them can process the situation, the markazian catches sight of an enemy behind him. "Look out!"

Quick to react, Ratchet spins around to give his new opponent the satisfying punch he'd been holding onto for Orvus knows how long. It's a clunky affair at first, adjusting to the new sensations and options of movement, but eventually he finds the gun attached to his borrowed body.

Nefarious turns his attention to the scene, growling at the markazian as she recovers from the hit she took. "You morons are USELESS, you-" Anger turns to bewilderment as he takes a closer look. "What?"

One of the troopers opens fire on the new wave of enemies that just teleported in. The girl's speaking to it. They're fighting in tandem, and making quick work of every single one of his troops. The traitor's optics; they're green. "I don't BELIEVE THIS!"

'Curse that resilient little furball!' Nefarious cries out in rage; that's got to be cheating, right? He's the villain, that's his job!

Eventually, all good things must come to an end. As his host's body runs out of power, Ratchet is forced out of the shell, retreating back to Nova to regain his bearings. The drained trooper tumbles to the ravine below, and Nova turns tail for the head once more. Another round of Peacemaker shots are launched into the shield's core, and the device explodes. The shockwave knocks Nefarious off balance, and the film of energy surrounding the spider's head dissipates.

"You irritating little squishy!" Growling in frustration, the doctor shakes Nova off once more and watches as Clank helipacks them to the bridge in front of the temple. "You're too much like the furball for my comfort!"

With fury in her eyes, the markazian points her staff to the mech's face. "And just like my predecessor, I'll be more than happy to take you out!"

Nefarious stands there in his window for a moment, dumbfounded by the phrasing. "What?"

Even Ratchet pulls himself from the brooch to turn his head, raising his eyebrows at her and he and Clank both give their own "What?"

"What? What'd I say?" The markazian stops, bringing her weapon closer to herself and tilts her head, just as confused. In an instant, her face contorts with shock and she immediately recoils. "Oh. OH. Oh gods, Orvus, no. Not in this or any lifetime." Embarrassment leaves her, replaced with a very neutral tone. "You're a really tall gremlin man, and very evil, and to be honest, not my type anyway regardless of our history."

Nefarious' jaw drops at her initial disgust, then the bluntness in her voice, and growls at such squishy insolence. "Well then, now that that's been established; FALL ALREADY!" The mech's systems are overclocked, making it twice as fast as it chases it's target down.

To make up for the speed, Nova kicks on her hoverboots and activates the main thrusters. "It's too fast! Can't you hack it or something like that trooper?"

A soft light fills the brooch within her armor, and Ratchet's spirit speaks through it. "Don't think so; too big! Best to take it out, try to get closer!"

Nova dodges a chunk of rubble, flung her way by Nefarious' mech kicking up everything in its path. "How am I supposed to do that?!" The air seems to thicken at her request, Ratchet seemingly lending her a bit of power, and the world seems to slow down. Green eyes dart around the village, and she smirks with an idea.

The world reverts to its usual speed, and Nova heads straight through the patches of burnt crop plots. "Oh no you don't!" Nefarious' threat is ignored, and the markazian's hoverboots glide along to avoid the fast approaching mech. Dodging the lasers sent her way from behind, she snaps her fingers and points to a crumbling tower right in front of where Zahn Gribnack's statue once stood. "Up there! Clank, give me a boost!"

At her signal, the warbot activates his helipack, allowing them to land safely at the top. Nefarious' mech skitters closer and closer, sending vibrations through the ground that nearly cause the tower to topple beneath Nova's feet. With a quick heel turn, her boot kicks off of the last crumbling bit of stone, launching them into a long jump that leaves them right in front of their target. Equipping her staff, the young hero charges it with light and turns it gem-down like a javelin. With a cry of fury, the weapon is launched towards the metal spider's eye window.

Inside the mech, Nefarious screams as a flash of cerulean light pierces through the glass. Sparks fly as Nova's staff sticks straight out of the main control panel, sending a wave of alarms and crimson lights into the room.

The resulting explosion flings the two heroes away from the metal beast, just before the temple's staircase, and the spider curls up right in front of their eyes. Smoke billows from within the head, and all is quiet.