The doors open with a hiss, and Nefarious stands tall and menacing just beyond the threshold. "Finally. After all this time, I'm finally going to win; for good! Bring her inside." Saros shoves her forward and she stumbles, glaring back at him before staring into Nefarious as he walks through a larger space filled with several screens, as well as an observation table. There's a nearby canister to the side, holding a stained knife in front of several readings Nova doesn't have time to try and read. 'So that's what the sample was for,' she thinks, before being interrupted by the shrill voice of her captor. "Take her into that room on the right. Don't you dare let her run off."

Nefarious turns to the left room, shutting the door behind him. "Now would be a really good time for the plan," Nova mutters to her friend.

"Gotta wait for the others," Saros whispers back. "Clank has your weapons. Had to split up."

"Others?" The lights in the room turn on before the question can be answered, revealing that the space the markazians are left in is empty; except for a large glass wall at their left and a set of chunky looking containers and consoles at the right. A dark circular platform lies slightly raised against the floor, right at the center of it all.

Nefarious' voice blares out through the speakers, addressing the young woman. "Stand in the center, and don't bother trying to run!"

Her heart thumps harder in her chest, her gut telling her that doing so would be going past the point of no return. Instead, Nova opts to close her eyes, concentrating on finding Clank again. His aura is slightly weaker, as if the vents suddenly took him in a different direction and he's trying to find a more direct path.

"Are you deaf or something?! Stand in the circle!"

Harshly startled from her thoughts, the markazian narrows her eyes at her captor. 'It's a miracle I'm not, with that horrid shriek you call a voice', she almost claps back, but decides to hold her tongue instead. It'd be more worth watching him squirm at her silence anyway. 'Orvus, grant me strength,' she prays, before complying with the order.

A holographic Nefarious appears in the room, circling her condescendingly. "So, this is where it all ends," he taunts. "Figures you'd give yourself up so easily; you hero types are way too predictable." The young woman doesn't even bother to look at him as he speaks, keeping a stoic, empty gaze glued to the wall.

As his hologram passes, she seems to look through him entirely. "How does it feel, knowing that you failed? Knowing you're completely at my mercy?" Nova doesn't stir, but Lawrence taps him on the shoulder. "What is it?" The butler whispers in his ear, and the news makes him groan in annoyance. "You've gotta be kidding me," he whispers back, gesturing towards the window."Now?! I'm in the middle of-"

A flash on Lawrence's tablet goes off, and he shows the doctor the camera footage. "Oh, of course he's here," he mutters under his 'breath'. Scratching at the space where his nose would be, Nefarious grumbles out an order. "Just-send some troopers and slow him down, I'll deal with Qwark later."

Nova's focus snapsto at the name, watching, waiting to hear more, yet she remains still lest the doctor see any reaction from her.

Recovering from the distraction, he continues. "Anyway, I assume you're wondering why you're here, asking yourself why you've been brought to this chamber." He waits for a moment, for some cue that his captive never gives him. "I think it's time I answer your questions, but first, I want you to tell me just what makes you tick. You see, I'm a man of science, but the occult, well, let's just say the Zonihave taught me that sometimes they go hand in hand. Your little boyfriend being a perfect example."

She stays as rigid as possible. Clank's aura is slightly stronger now, but still not close enough. There's the slight urge to smirk at Nefarious and mention she's been playing the 'Secret Agent Clank' intro in her mind to ignore him, but the thought is pushed down.

"You'll be part of a greater purpose, and most of all you'll be free." He leans in close, darkening his voice and lowering his gaze to intimidate her, and she doesn't move so much as her eyes. "Free from the burdens of…Hey! Are you even listening to me?!" A claw is waved in front of her eyes, and even snapping right into her face doesn't phase her. "Don't just IGNORE ME!"

There's a distant rumble from elsewhere, and startled yelps followed by the chattering of minions chasing a target. Nefarious eye twitches as something on another floor explodes, and his console updates him on what it was; a holovision and game console on the fourth floor he'd paused before he left for Quantos and fully intended on returning to.

The virtual Agent Clank on said screen was one mission awayfrom the final encounter, and Nefarious had been so preoccupied with his plans, he hadn't saved in hours.

Losing his temper completely, the doctor throws up his arms in defeat with a furious scream. "FINE! We'll just SKIP TO THE END, THEN!" Throwing a switch, there's a roar of metal as a huge claw-like set of machine prongs reveals itself right above her head. The lights in the room change, lowering and leaving only tiny lights at her feet and around Nefarious' controls, allowing her to see inside the tiny space. The cuffs that once held her wrists deactivate, no longer needed as a force field surrounds Nova. Saros remains still, watching her punch at the force field to no avail, and fighting his every instinct to not break character before the time is right.

But as Nova watches his optics, she can tell that he truly didn't have time to read the details about whatever's coming next, Qwark should've been here by now, and this wasn't part of the plan.

"Are you done trying to fight light?" Nefarious takes great pleasure in watching her fear as he moves over to a dial at his console. "Here's how this is gonna go. You're gonna call Ratchet's spirit forward, or I'll do it for you."

"Go trip over a knife," Nova grumbles under her breath.

"Ha, it speaks after all! Sorry, wrong answer, squishy. Unluckily for you, I know what ties him to this world, and I know from experience just how to break it." His claw moves to a dial, and some sort of noise begins to pour out from the speakers above her head. It starts off slow, at first; a minor annoyance at best. It's a ring in her ears that scratches a part of her brain the wrong way. The markazian glares through the shimmer at her captor, eyes narrowed as the doctor returns the gesture with a knowing smirk.

He twists the dial to the off position, just for a moment. "I'll give you one last chance, girl. I want to speak to Ratchet."

"No."

"Very well, then." His claw gently taps the dial, slowly and carefully clicking it into the second position. The machine's hum gets a bit louder, and higher pitched.

Nova winces at the sound, but ultimately keeps her composure. "What is that?"

Beyond the ceiling, the station's air ducts shake slightly with Clank's presence. Thankfully, the commotion in this and surrounding rooms muffle his own sounds, and no occupant is any the wiser. He comes across a grate, a horrid noise that seems to disable most of his Zoni programming, and two very distinct voices that make themselves known. Carefully scrambling towards the noise, the warbot takes in the scene in horror.

"Sonic weaponry. This method is actually modeled after the glass chamber I used to destroy Orvus himself, you know. All Zoni are sensitive to sonic weaponry to some degree, and that's where he draws his power, isn't it?" The dial is twisted a few clicks further, and Nova's discomfort becomes harder to mask. She tries to shake the feeling from her head, squinting as she pushes through the sensation.

"You've had your fun," she glares at him. "Quit it."

"I'll shut it off…when Ratchet asks me to," Nefarious claps back, cranking the dial up once more.

Nova simply rolls her eyes, crossing her arms as she allows sarcasm to drip from her tone in a half-assed attempt at his accent. "Fine. Shut it off, Nefarious."

Sensing that time is quickly running out, Clank scans the room to improvise a new plan despite the noise that dizzies even himself. There's only one way out of here, with Saros and Ratchet in place and guards likely posted at the other side of the door. Nefarious and his butler are at the controls in the neighboring room. Given the layout of this floor, it wouldn't be long before they caught up to them, and Qwark can't fight them all alone. There's likely a button inside to call reinforcements as well, which really doesn't help matters. The best course of action is to deactivate the field to pass on Nova's arsenal...but how?

"Do you really think I'm an idiot?" The dial is cranked once more, harsher than before.

Saros shifts himself, able to hear and sense the lombax spirit in his inventory's own discomfort. Nova claps her hands to her ears, dropping her concentration completely and gritting her teeth in an immense discomfort that pushes to the edge of pain. "Stop it!"

The sight is oh so delicious, but not what he initially wanted. A claw taps the dial, a slow, steady beat that drives home just who's in control at the moment. "You know what? I'm feeling nice, so why don't I tell you what your pitiful little life amounts to?"

Nefarious shuts off the machine for a moment, allowing her time to think. A button is pressed, restoring the hologram of himself to stand over Nova directly once more. "You're nothing but a replacement. Just like this little cage, your only purpose is to hold Ratchet's spirit."

The markazian opts to spit at his feet, glaring at him with an intensity that could burn lesser beings to their core. "My name is Nova Albedo. My life is mine."

"And who told you that, hm? Clank?"

To that, she simply raises an eyebrow and puts her hands on her hips. "Has it ever occurred to you that I can have an original thought every once in a while that isn't from Clank or Ratchet?"

"So I was right; he is there," Nefarious sneers.

"You really are an idiot, then," Nova mirrors back, crossing her arms as she looks away from him. "He isn't here."

"Oh? Then why are the room's scanners still picking up his frequency?" He takes immense satisfaction in the look that flashes over her face. "Let me remind you who's the real idiot in this room; the space rat is the only reason anyone looks in your direction. That especially includes Clank."

The markazian scoffs, and fully turns around to deny the thought."Shut up. He said I was irreplaceable," Nova defends.

Nefarious cackles at the very thought. "Ha! 'Irreplaceable'? Oh, that's rich! You're so caught up in playing the hero that you forgot what he said to you in the museum, oh so long ago."

At the doctor's words Clank freezes, stopping himself from breaking the grate mid-swing. Even he'd nearly forgotten; it felt like so long ago and such an insignificant detail. But it's enough that dread fills his circuitry.

The holo-Nefarious reaches for something, and an audio file stolen from the museum's security system begins to play:

"It has been one hundred years, but it is good to see you again in some form, my friend."

Nova shuts her eyes, not daring to meet Nefarious' gaze, and Clank's core grows heavy as memories move to the forefront of his mind.

Nova, when they'd first met. When he'd scanned her initially, he couldn't help but get stuck on the similarities between the two of them. He'd admitted this himself to her, but only now does the gravity of it set in. Every time she made a certain face, or said something in a tone vaguely reminiscent of the past, there was always this tiny voice in his mind that couldn't help but wonder. A voice that seemed to whisper 'what if?'

There would be this smile that would sometimes make him wonder 'Is he truly gone, when I can see it right there? Could he remember me, even now?'

But now, things are different. They're almost the same; Ratchet's back, and Nova's here too. She brought them together again of her own accord, and she's taught him to accept that new normal. Those old thoughts aren't necessary anymore, but things have happened so quickly that he never fully explained such things before now.

It doesn't matter to him anymore, but it has always meant everything to her.

"You've always been Ratchet," Nefarious drives home, getting right into her face and taking great amusement in the way she turns away from him. "Or at least, a cheap excuse for the real thing. You're Schrodinger's hero, alive and dead all at once, and that's all you'll ever be. Just a spineless little nothing that can't compare to the original, no matter how hard you try. So do me a favor and disappear!"

The dial is cranked to the edge, sending a sonic assault into the room. A shockwave of pain travels down Nova's spine that shakes her to the core, and taking in breath becomes a chore. The hands that once covered her ears clutch at her chest, and the static in her body struggles to stabilize itself.

Clank looks down at his companion's face, pain of so many kinds washing over her body, and his mind finally puts the pieces together.

He remembers every time someone, including himself, verbally compared her and Ratchet. It wasn't often, but at times there was this flash of fear. One of disappointment, of despair. He recalls the nightmares she would wake her from, the way her voice dropped when she explained her fears. How her heart skipped a beat at the Destructapalooza post-match interview, and how quickly she'd snapped at Qwark for his excitement to see Ratchet again during lunch.

'It is good to see you again in some form, my friend.'

He can sense the very second his own naive words, brought to the present by Nefarious, completely and utterly break her heart.

Clank raises a fist, shaking as he fights against the force of the sonic weaponry. 'Break the grate, you have to break through!' Despite his efforts, his body crumbles to the vent floor.

"You were too weak to stop me, so I'm going to create someone that's actually worth my time. I'm going to build my empire; A few survivors will remain, just enough to keep a shred of hope. Then I'll give them a hero. A real one." Nefarious' projection paces around Nova, taunting her as she does everything in her power to keep herself together. "You and your little friend over there were two parts of my tests."

Saros immediately shoots up in shock, listening in horror as the doctor speaks. "First, I needed to test the concept of planting artificial memories into a sentient being. Simple robots are easily programmed, but sentient AI or a living soul are far more complicated. The moron needed to be able to fight you somewhat confidently; he could barely even shoot straight before! Plus, the Biobliterator project needed an overhaul anyway."

His fists curl together, hard enough to shake. Everything that's happened between them was so carefully watched and planned. Both of them were just pawns in some silly little game they had no choice in participating in. Nefarious never cared. Deep down, he knew this to be true, figured something was off. But he had to protect himself, his family, and to see Nova so stressed, to see her becoming a different person entirely...it was all worth the risk if he could help her.

She was right from the start, and he curses himself for letting things reach this point.

"And this," the villain's projection says as he leans into Nova, directing her attention to the other side of the room. "This is where you come in."

There's a soft hiss as the largest container opens, releasing a small cloud of fog into the room. As it fades, Nova's eyes widen and her pupils shrink in horror.

A metallic lombax lies inactive in the storage unit, a one-to-one scale model that's an eerily accurate depiction down to the metallic finishes used to color it. It's similar in build to what the Biobliterator replica in the Intergalactic Museum of History would temporarily offer, according to one of Clank's stories.

"Perfect, isn't it?!" The holographic Nefarious walks over to the display, gesturing towards it almost like a child excitedly showing off a school project. "It's just missing one teensy little thing; the spirit of the only hero worth my time." Pure joy and wonder fills the doctor's voice as he looks upwards, picturing the scene in his mind. "Just imagine it; a new threat to my empire, one that I can shape and mold to my will like my own superior version of Lance and Janice! The details will change every season, of course," he shrugs, "But with a robot's immortality I've got to keep myself occupied somehow!"

"I can't..let you do that!" Dread fills her very soul with Nefarious' plans, and despair sets in with agonizing nausea and pain. Even with her eyes shut tight, Nova can see spots of light, and her head spins. Every inch of her body feels like a porcelain doll that lies just at the edge of shattering. "That's not why I'm here!" The markazian gathers the strength to squint her eyes open, and finds that such a feeling isn't inaccurate: glowing cracks spread from her fingertips down her arms, and into the rest of her body.

Unfortunately, she's wise enough in the dealings of Zoni magic to know exactly what that means.

Nefarious dissolves the projection, wanting to get a clearer look of the action. He takes note of these changes as he watches his captive with great interest; silent, and yet wary. He's been a witness to the Zoni's power first hand, after all, and it's not the individual one you have to worry about.

It's when the pipsqueaks have the focus to use that power that you really have to worry about what They can do. It usually takes a few Zoni to gather that kind of focus, but Clank is just one person and had access to time bombs when they fought all those years ago. It brings a very concerning question to the doctor's mind:

'Did I finally crush the space rat and his new meat suit, or did I bring a living atomic bomb into my lab?'

The doctor shakes such doubt from his mind, and begins tapping at a big red button to the right of the dial, encased in a plastic box. "So," he calls out to Nova as the box is opened. "Any last words, squishy?"

Nova fights through the pain, finding the last reserves of strength she's got and leans up to curse her enemy with her eyes. "Get bent."

"You first." The button is pressed, and a column of light comes crashing down, striking the markazian's body. A blood curdling scream echoes within the room, one that despite Nefarious' best efforts sends a chill down his own spine. The young hero's vitals, monitored by a small pop-up window next to the rest of his readings, begin to fluctuate as if desperately trying to hold her grip on this mortal plane.

Swinging once more, Clank manages to push through and call the holo knuckles, bursting from the ceiling. Nefarious is startled as a huge green fist punches through the door, tearing a huge hole into the space large enough for the rest of him to step through.

"What?! How'd you two get here?!" The shrill voice cuts through Nova's thoughts, calling her back to the present. Qwark and Nefarious speak to each other, but she doesn't hear any of what's said. In her haze, she barely makes out a blur of silver and yellow with a bright green light that ignores all else, tearing into panels in the wall. Looking for something, anything that'll deactivate the machine. Saros joins in now, completely breaking character to pull out her staff and strike at the wall of light with all his strength. "And how are you awake?!"

A ping in the doctor's computer distracts him from the others: the signal he's been watching, finally isolated and locked on. The metal lombax's chest panel opens, revealing a tiny, empty glass core in preparation for what's to come. If his calculations are right, as they always are…

"Hah! It doesn't matter now! You're all too late!" The base of the ceiling's metal prongs begins to spin as Nefarious throws a switch, priming themselves at the top of the chamber. They fully activate, once by one, pulling the charge upwards. Sparks begin to lick her body, spreading into harsh, sharp lines of light that bounce off of the walls, striking out at the villainous doctor. Nefarious steps back, not expecting the light show, but it reminds him why he's come so far in the first place. To his own surprise, the pull seems to bounce off of Nova's body, hitting Saros and bringing him to his knees. "What the-"

Grinding her teeth through the feeling of a thousand thread pullers digging into her body from the inside out, the markazian looks over, and she can feel Ratchet's charge being channeled through her body and upwards. 'No! He's too close!'

A ghostly frame seems to surround the markazian now, and Nefarious could swear a second voice emerges to echo Nova's cries.

If you'd asked him so long ago, or asked his royal pain in the neck of a dimensional counterpart, he'd probably say the scream was 'a delicious little note'. Something he wished he'd heard often, but as alarms begin to blare out across the room, and a crimson light begins to flash, doubt begins to seep back into the doctor's mind.

The feeling is pushed back as Nefarious watches carefully, the tiny core in his creation beginning to fill with the same otherworldly light that surrounds Nova. He should be ecstatic right now! His carefully cultivated plans are working! He's winning. It's everything he wanted, but…

Qwark watches in horror at the scene, but looks to the doctor and has known him long enough to recognize the uncertainty in his face. "Shut it down, Nefarious! You don't have to do this!"

"It's already in motion." The declaration holds excitement, as well as a twinge of fear that slightly shakes his voice. It's the spark of something new, an unknown variable; it's the burn of drama and scientific discovery, intoxicating and real, which mixes with the static electricity in the air. Pure wonder lowers his volume. "There's nothing anyone in this room can do now."

Clank is frantic now, searching the room for the force field's generator that'll set Nova free. A thin hand lies against the field, reaching for her friends. A voice fills the room, screaming through static and pain. Nova's voice. "Saros!"

He immediately scrambles back to her side, watching her as Clank instead searches for some way to free her. "Listen to me; get yourselves out of here! Run!"

Without hesitation, Saros strikes the field once more, her staff reacting to the static in the air. "Not without you!"

"For once in your life, just trust me!" The pressure in Nova's container builds and builds, and another wave of agony washes over her as the cracks in her body spread. "I-I have to finish this. My armor will protect you, but you have to take the others and run. Use the Dimensionator if you have to! Just go! Far away, where-"A harsh wave of light throws itself at her back, interrupting her. "Where Nefarious won't find you!"

Saros hesitates, watching as tears run down her face that evaporate upon touching a crack on her cheek. "Please," she whispers, her eyes harshly flickering green as she begs him. At that moment, he realizes the depth of what's being asked of him.

'I can't let you all die too,' he hears through that plea.

They share a nod, and in an instant, Saros scoops up Clank and hightails it out of the room with Qwark close behind.

Nova closes her eyes; she can still hear the warbot's furious protesting, and Qwark...he'd looked back. But it doesn't matter now; The others are safe, Ratchet's out of range now, and that's all that matters. "You're a good man, Ross," she mutters under her breath with a smile. The look quickly melts away into a glare as she turns to Nefarious, throwing off one of her gloves. With a pained hiss, she slides her palm against the sharp metal edge of the circle at her feet. Blood begins to drip from the wound, and she uses it to draw. Sparks lick her hands as all the energy in the air begins to react to her work; it's haphazard, shoddily drawn, and probably missing symbols, so she prays it's close enough.

"The Zoni can't save you now, you know!" Nefarious taunts to his captive over the chaos, regaining his more intimidating aura and watching with glee as the capsule in the metal lombax's frame nears full charge. "It's only a matter of time until you break!"

The young markazian lowers her face, raising her eyebrows as she chuckles at his words. "I'm not asking them to, you moron," she says, mocking his condescending tone and taking immense satisfaction in the look on his face.

Muttering a spell under her breath, a weak smile spreading on her face as she makes peace with her fate. "I may be a lot of things," she begins, watching as the spell comes together. "A baker. A daughter. A friend. Hell, a space witch."

"But no matter what it costs me," she declares, baring her teeth to the villain, "I refuse to be your puppet." Raising her left hand to the skies, Nova prays to the heavens in an old forgotten language with a furious cry.

"Guardians of Chronos! I, Nova Albedo, release myself to the Cosmic River!"

As her palm slams against the symbols, the space begins to glow, and every light in the room angrily flickers.

Saros loses his grip on Clank, both of them knocked over by an explosive blast that vibrates the entire floor. All three robots immediately turn back, wading through the troopers currently scattering through sheer panic. Smoke and rubble fills the entrance to Nefarious' lab, and dread sets in.

Nefarious awakens with a groan, covered in broken glass from what used to be the observation room's window. He searches instead for a tiny core, knocked from it's frame by the explosion, that shines like a beacon in the fog despite a furious flicker. A bloodied hand in the rubble seems to be reaching for it, but was just barely too far away from it to touch it. A sharp claw hesitates for a moment before wrapping around the core.

He, Lawrence, and the metal Ratchet shell are gone before the smoke begins to clear.

"Nova!" Two green lights cut through the fires and the fog, ignoring the debris and climbing over it to search the wreckage and call for his companion. "Nova are you there?! Please, answer me!" Following Clank's voice into the deep smoke, Saros and Qwark search with him. Eventually, the metal markazian finds a pile of splintered, burning wood, and a lone hand under the rubble. Without a word he begins digging.

Clank pipes up at the sound of another figure; Qwark is right behind him, digging around in search of their friend. He seems to have found something, and sure enough his own scanners confirm it. "Nova!" A huge chunk of the ceiling presses against her chest, and he tries to lift the wreckage to no avail.

Without having needed to be asked, Qwark lifts the larger bits of rubble, but disturbing the space sends another chunk falling downwards. It destabilizes the green-clad robot's grip, but he grits his teeth and pushes through the added weight. "We'll get you out of here, cadet! Just hang on!" With the pressure no longer keeping her down, Nova lets out a weak wheeze from the release, yet doesn't stir. "Pull her out, hurry!" Saros leans into the space, carefully plucking the lone organic the rest of the way out.

The ceiling chunks are dropped to the side, and the group moves to a safer corner of the room. Upon closer inspection, she's chilled, with glossy teal eyes and pale as the sparks and the glowing cracks on her body remain.

"No…" Clank's hand shakes as he brushes a sticky curl from between her eyes. The faint breath she gives is almost an insult as she remains unresponsive; as if her very soul's been shattered beyond repair. He buries her face into his chest, optics flickering as his voice modulator cracks. "Please-do not-do this. Do not-leave me here, Nova! Please, wake up!"

"Is she-," Saros begins to ask, but the click of Clank harshly turning his way stops his words in his tracks.

Fury fills the Zoni caretaker's optics as he scowls at the other robot. "Do not say another fucking word."

The tiny warbot's voice is much darker than Saros ever imagined it could be. It carries within its tone a great and important presence, one far beyond his own years and status, as well as an old, deep pain he can't begin to understand. He watches as Qwark slowly lowers to pick up Nova, to at least carry her out of here. At that very moment, a faint spark fills his chest. More specifically, his internal storage compartment.

"Wait," he asks, and the celebrity hero follows the order.

He follows his gut instinct to pull out the spark's source; Nova's brooch. It shimmers in the light, flickering brighter and dimmer like a faint heartbeat. Out of other ideas, Saros presses the brooch to his own chest in prayer, as she likely would have done. 'What can I do to fix this?'

To his own surprise a noise reaches him, some otherworldly whir he can't explain.

"Break it."

His entire body shivers at the message, quiet and brief as if the sound was more of an echo than an actual voice. "Ratchet?" The question is a whisper, but as he stares into the light, it seems to brighten as if confirming that he didn't imagine the words. Without a moment's hesitation, Saros slams the trinket against a sharp piece of rubble as hard as he can, cracking the glass.

There's a slight pulse to the air, and with the way Clank's figure immediately stiffens, he must have felt it too. He moves slightly to turn back to the metal markazian, and sees the broken brooch in his hand. The three of them watch as the light inside almost behaves like a liquid; like Nanotech, yet even the healing nanobots that armors are typically filled with aren't this bright.

Slowly and carefully, he reaches closer to Clank, bringing the brooch to hover over Nova's body and allowing the light to pour onto her still form. All three robots watch as the light pools over her chest, then slowly sinks down and disappears.

And they wait.

The sounds of alarms, as well as the voices of incoming troopers, begin to grow louder as reinforcements make their way closer to inspect the commotion.

A faint cough turns out to be louder than any of it.

Without a moment to lose, Saros carefully turns Nova to swipe the harness around her chest, clipping it onto himself. "Come on! There's no time!" Clank takes the hint, hopping onto his perch as Qwark scoops up the mostly-dead markazian into his arms.

Saros sprints as fast as his legs can carry him, taking the group straight to the docking bay. Sprinklers have activated throughout the halls, containing the fires from the lab's explosion, and the water that drips onto Nova's still form seems to evaporate upon touching the cracks. Guards aimlessly scatter, with various cries of self preservation that mostly ignore the escape in progress. Tapping into Nova's quick select from his own inventory, Clank pulls out an omniblaster, emptying the clip as the other runs and mowing down the few guards that notice them in the chaos and decide to give chase.

Nova's faint, rattled breath is all the three robots care to hear clearly as they make their way to Aphelion, who Clank had summoned for their original escape plan and arrived just before they entered the room. Qwark carefully shifts Nova into the passenger seat as the cockpit opens, with Saros looking to Clank for guidance once more. "Where do we go?"

Clank gives out the coordinates, the only place he can think of that could save her now. "The center of the universe."

…

As Aphelion approaches, a dozen lights envelop them; an unspoken answer to a distress call there was no time to send. The doors are swung open for Clank, Saros, and Qwark, and a group of Zoni watch over them as they enter.

Sigmund rushes forward, letting out a shriek at Nova's condition. Mere moments ago, the Zoni had granted him a vision to explain, but he'd never imagined it'd be this dire. They lead the way for the caretakers as Sigmund carries Nova to the nearest teleporter and disappears.

Qwark stays behind, both unsure if he should follow and too frightened to face whatever horrible fate Nova's met. It's a tactical point, he convinces himself. He's keeping watch in case any of Nefarious' goons follow.

He shudders, knowing how dramatic Nefarious has always been and what that could mean for the future.

The metal markazian leaves him and moves to follow Clank, but freezes in his tracks right before the teleporter. "Wait." The intensity of the silver caretaker's gaze seems to press into his very soul, leading him to hesitate to find the right words. "I wanna make sure she's gonna be okay, but...This is a holy place to her, isn't it? I shouldn't be here. Not now."

"No, you should not." Green optics stare into his own, and the warbot's tone seems to pulse with the same energy he felt from before. "Normally I would not permit you to be here, and she certainly would not either. However, as the son of Orvus and heir to the Great Clock, I order you to follow me. I order you to remember every time Nova and I warned you about Nefarious, and watch the suffering your foolishness has caused her. Suffering you are powerless to stop, because only my people can save her now."

…

The very air in the room is thick with Zoni bioenergy, wisps of light that gently wrap around Nova's body. She's suspended in the air, at Clank's height, and a warm glow lies at her chest. Voices echo against the walls, both the collective Zoni's and Clank's, and they speak to each other in a timeless language Saros doesn't recognize. Dozens of the floating creatures pour in, staying hard at work for hours as they carefully put Nova's very essence back together and bring her back from the brink.

Shame fills the metal markazian's circuitry at the sight, and the scene back in that lab plays back endlessly in his head. The screams of agony he had the misfortune of being conscious to hear. As Clank's words echo in his mind, he looks back to his last days before being biobliterated. Every warning Nova gave, her eyes filled with disappointment and anger, as well as a twinge of worry. His attempts to court her that led nowhere.

As a memory plays, one where he was bold enough to kiss her cheek, he sees that very spot on her face. Specks of light dance from beneath her skin as labored breath is sucked into her lungs and released. There's a sliver of life to her eyes again, but they still lack the intensity and focus they should have.

He'd give anything to take back that kiss, now.

"I'm so sorry."

Clank snaps back to glare at Saros, to scold him for daring to so much as whisper such a thing and distract him, but decides against it.

Despite sitting beneath a metallic shell, the sorrow in the young man's voice is genuine. There's too much anger to forgive, not now, but the silver caretaker decides that it's best tackled later.

When Nova is alive to give her input on what to do with the fool.

There's a shift in the air, and the Zoni cease their work at last. "We have done what we can, Sire. Lady Nova must rest now." The warbot nods, a wordless thanks for their efforts as the map in his memory banks lights up, informing him of which room she'll be in. With a flash, the Zoni teleport away, taking Nova with them and into a spare room with a bed. Sigmund senses the tense vibes still in the air, and quietly sneaks out. He needs to check on Qwark and make sure he's trustworthy anyway.

The moments pass in silence, with neither Saros or Clank daring to speak to the other.

Finally, after who knows how long, the taller robot is the first to break the tension. "I-"

"Stop," Clank snaps, buying time to find words to express his thoughts in a productive way, one that won't end with him blasting the other out the window and into open space somehow. It's decided, however, that the words he's looking for aren't his own. A yellow arm reaches up to his chest, playing back an audio file.

"He made his choice, but I wish I knew what Nefarious told him that made him hate me this much."

"What?!" Saros stammers, taken aback by the sound of Nova's voice. She sounds so defeated, and it almost seems out of character. It reminds him of their time in that restaurant, the way she looked out the window with mourning on her mind. "I never hated her. I promise you, I just-"

"Listen," Clank orders as he skips forward a bit, and Saros bites his tongue.

"I want to have faith in that nerdy guy I saw that movie with and talked about holo games with. I want to believe he's still in there somewhere. And that's so, so hard to do when...I just wish I knew how to fix this."

The recording ends. "She has lived with the pressure of her spiritual origins for so long, and yet one of her biggest concerns was your fate," the Zoni leader explains. "You were the only bond she had left that was not tied to Ratchet, and you threw that away. Tell me, what lie did Nefarious give you? What did he offer you that was worth her life?"

"I…" Saros chooses his words carefully, knowing how ridiculous it sounds. Honesty, he decides, is better than saying nothing at all in this case. "I was told Nova was being smothered by Ratchet's presence. That she could only be free if he was gone."

"Thatis what he told you?"

"Yes."

"And you truly believed him?"

"Yeah," Saros mutters, staring at his feet in shame. "It was dumb, I know that now."

He's not sure how to take the knowledge that his lie detector confirms the young man's sincerity. Ultimately, there are other things to worry about now, anyway. "Then you are officially the most foolish person I have ever met in my life, beyond even Qwark. As am I, for not seeing her individuality from the moment we met."

Clank steps forward to a nearby teleporter, addressing Saros without bothering to turn back. "You seem to be the one that is free now, so I will offer you this final warning. If you ever threaten her life again, indirectly or otherwise, her opinion of you will cease to protect you from me. I speak from personal experience; the Zoni have their own particular way of making things disappear. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes."

…

Saros paces the floor, waiting just outside the room yet unsure if getting closer yet is wise at the moment. His gaze lowers, and he notices that his footsteps seem to be scratching the glass and metal at his feet. Taking the clear sign that he's been at it for hours, he moves to a new position, leaning his back against the wall. The metal pentacle that saved his mind pops into his hand and he spins it between his fingers, wondering if the trinket will somehow give him a sign on what to do next.

A voice, Clank's voice, grabs his attention from beyond the door. Staying as silent as possible, he peeks through the doorframe to check on them both. The silver caretaker has stayed by her bedside since they spoke last, watching for any sign of movement. Nova's heart beats on and her chest moves, but she still remains unconscious. "The truth is, Nova, I have always admired you. Your life, the ways you were raised, they are so vastly different than the situation you were thrust into. Despite your fears, you embraced it all. Always willing to learn, open to change despite the struggles it brings."

The warbot pauses to find words, watching as a few Zoni float by just outside the window. "Perhaps…I am a bit jealous of how quickly you embraced such change. I spent so long cowering in the steady tick of the Clock that I had forgotten how quickly the universe can shift, for better or worse. There is a beauty in that, and I can see it in your eyes."

Turning back to his companion, his voice lowers. "I want to see that look in your eyes again. I am not ready to lose you, Nova." He squeezes her hand, praying that she can feel it. "I do not think I ever will be."

The door slowly shuts, and Saros waits outside. Turning the pentacle in the light once more, he stares into the metal. "I'll bring that movie over, and I'll give this back when I do. You just gotta wake up," he prays to the trinket.

…