The stars shine brightly in the clear desert sky, and the horned toads that once bounced around looking for an unsuspecting traveler to bite softly hum and gurgle in sleep. Inside the garage, Clank is neatly tucked into his backpack form, loosely wrapped in Nova's arms as his companion's soft breath fogs up his metal.

All is quiet, until a distant sound from behind the bedroom door pulls Clank from his own slumber. His systems run a quick scan of the immediate area, just to ensure their safety. The markazian beside him shuffles slightly at his change in position, but remains asleep. 'There are no other creatures present,' he notes. 'It must have been the garage settling.'

The robot lies back down, content with his findings, yet decides to stay awake anyway. He's got more than enough charge to get through the coming day after all, and there's something to be said for appreciating the scene around him. According to his internal clock, the dawn is still an hour or so off, anyway.

There's hardly a sound in the room now, except for the AC and his own ticking. Moonlight blankets the space in a cool, comforting glow, one that cascades over his partner's still form. She'd fallen asleep hours ago, to some older season of Lance and Janice she was curious about but was too exhausted to properly pay attention to despite her best efforts. Considering how much energy it must have taken for that spell, he's not surprised.

In that one moment, the gravity of it all sets in. Romantic partners aren't a new thing for him, not exactly, but the previous flings he's had were just that; temporary. Most of them were during the height of Secret Agent Clank's popularity, and always robotic partners too.

But now, everything's changed. The markazian at his side now seems to reject logic by her very nature, in a way that's exciting and new. And as his hand gently pushes a curl from between her eyes, Clank thinks of his father's parting words, echoing through the Clock's speakers before he left it for the first time. 'The universe truly does have a wonderful-'

The silence is broken for a moment, interrupting him as two distinct thumps stand out far too much. 'Footsteps? They do not sound metallic, and my scanners are not malfunctioning.' As much as he hates to disturb her, Clank gently shakes his partner's arm. "Nova, wake up. I believe we have company," he says, voice coated with suspicion.

Nova's eyebrows furrow inwards as she mumbles in sleep. "Mmm..no, you have to..put it in...bit at a time."

Clank blinks dumbfounded, his mind reeling at the implications of such phrasing. "E-Excuse me?"

The only answer he gets is a low hum, and barely coherent speech. "...the sugar...makes it hard to stir." A sudden, deep thud from another room makes the markazian roll out of bed with the shock, falling face first onto the floor.

Some faint, distant bout of laughter barely reaches Nova's ears, and her staff is quickly swiped from its place beside the bed. The stone immediately comes to life, filling the room with more intense light that sits poised at the ready to blast whatever caused that noise. "Alright, show's over, whoever you are."

Tiptoes carefully lead the way forward, and Nova slowly cracks the door open. Clank scans the premises once more, following his partner to the living room. "Show yourself," she orders more forcefully, "Unless you wanna get blasted!" Her eyes lock to the smaller omniwrench that now lies on the floor, its head glowing with the residual energy of its tether pin. "What the…"

Nova picks up the tool to inspect it for damage of any kind, and finds nothing as its glow disappears once more, laying dormant for now. There's no energy leaks, no loose parts, not a single scratch that hadn't already been on its metal long before she inherited it. "What could have thrown you off the wall? I know your stand is secure," she mutters to it under her breath.

The footsteps appear again, and Nova grips the wrench in one hand, whipping around her heels to launch a staff shot towards the noise with the other. The light travels through the air without resistance, but there's a slight shadow in the hallway. She lets out a disapproving hum, pouting at the lack of a clear answer.

Taking note of the suspicious glint in her eyes, Clank reports his findings. "Perhaps it was a false alarm," he suggests. "My scanners do not indicate any other organic or robotic signature nearby."

The uncertainty remains, but she can't deny he's right. "Maybe. I just…I thought I saw something. Heard something." Turning away from the spot, the woman puts the wrench back on display and yawns as she rubs her face. "Jeez, I'm tired. Can't sleep until I know we're safe, though." She walks into the bathroom, turning the light on and flinching at the sudden brightness with a groan.

Nova leans her weapon on the wall, then turns the bathroom faucet's dial, making quick work of splashing cold water into her face and scrubbing the sleep from her eyes. The water is turned off, and she grabs a towel to dry herself; just as the cloth leaves her face, her eyes lock onto the mirror and her heart drops.

A dark, ominous shadow fills the space behind her, and a chill runs up her spine.

The markazian launches herself backwards with a scream, slamming the space above her tail right into the doorknob and crumbling to the ground. In an instant, Clank is by her side to check in. "Are you alright?!"

Still sore from the impact and plenty frazzled, Nova takes a moment to allow her breath to settle. "I'm okay; my pride's more bruised than I am," she assures him as she rubs the impact site. "Still, could've sworn I- '' The phrase is cut off as she looks closer into the mirror's reflection, and the dark figure within it remains. "...saw something." Picking up her staff, Nova brightens the glow outside the bathroom. The shadow's still in its proper place, and seems to have a shape to it. "What the…"

The apparition seems to watch her and Clank with interest, then moves away. "H-hey, wait!" Nova follows the shape, and her robotic companion sticks close by. Whatever it is, it leads the two of them to the living room. "Clank, can you see this thing?"

It's not logical, not at all. His sensors detect nothing, but Nova's not one for pranks. "See what, exactly?"

"This! This thing!" She points to an empty space, pacing a small circle into the ground as she does so.

Clank tries once more, adding in checks for any sort of cloaking technology just in case. Whatever it is, it's certainly got his partner upset. Unfortunately, he finds nothing. "I do not see anything, Nova. Are you sure that you are alright? You used a very powerful spell before; could it be giving you some sort of side effects?"

The markazian stammers for a moment, rubbing her face as the last bit of exhaustion reminds her of the current time. "I don't think so. I'm tired, sure, but I feel fine. I just…there's something here, I swear it."

"I believe you, Nova," the robot encourages. "I have run multiple checks; there is no direct threat, and the garage is locked. No intruders should be able to enter, and we can always investigate this more later, when you are well-rested." As soon as the request leaves his mouth plate, a nearby lamp turns on without being touched. "We really should remove the batteries from that lamp, as well."

The suspicion changes its tone, shifting from a feeling of danger to one of curiosity. "It's back on again? The thing must be shorted out or something; it was doing that before we went to bed." Nova turns the dial, and the lantern turns off. Only for it to turn right back on as if out of spite. "Come on, lamp," she grumbles in slight annoyance.

Nova turns the dial once, twice more, and the object absolutely refuses to comply. Light flickers on and off, faster now, and the markazian holds the lamp as far from her body as possible. "Uh, Clank? I know the guy tinkered a lot, but please tell me Ratchet didn't rig this thing to explode or something."

"Of course not," Clank defends, but putting a bit more thought to it brings uncertainty. "At least, not this particular lamp." The robot watches the scene carefully, trying to make sense of the strange phenomenon. His optics lock onto the light, trying to pick up something he can cross reference it with, Some meaning, some pattern…

Wait.

The pattern repeats. Long and short bursts of light. It's a start, but what does it mean? Clank's optics brighten, and a triumphant smile accompanies his antenna bulb blinking ever faster as he finds an explanation. "Nova, that is Morse code!"

"Really? What's it saying?"

"H-E-Y, N-E-R-D-S." As soon as Clank translates the message, the lamp's blinking stops as abruptly as it began.

"It said 'hey nerds'? But why would it—" The woman's question is cut off as the pieces fall into place. "Wait a second; Ratchet? Is that you? Blink the lamp twice if I'm right."

The robot and markazian slowly lean into the inactive lamp, watching, waiting for some kind of change.

Blink, Blink.

"Holy crap," Nova's soft gasp breaks the silence, and she shakes her head to go with this new information. "Okay, let's keep it simple for now; two blinks for yes, one for no. Is that good?" Two blinks answer her."Okay," she nods, humming at what she could ask. "How long have you-no, um…have you been messing with this lamp the whole time?"

Two blinks. As strange as this method of communicating is, Clank can't help but be intrigued by the idea and pipes up with his own question. "Hello, Ratchet. Were those earlier footsteps yours?"

A 'yes' calms the rest of Nova's tension from earlier. "So I assume this dark shape is you, and you knocked down the wrench. Is all this something you could do before?" This time however, only one blink answers her. "Hm, so this is new, then. Wait, did I give you that power?"

There's two blinks, although slower and with less certainty than before. "I think that means 'yes, but I am unsure of how'," Clank assumes, and two more confident blinks agree with him.

"Then that means...Sweet Zoni, you know what this means?!" Excitement brings stars to her eyes as she bounces her heels and practically vibrates with glee. "I'm the wizard."

"Perhaps a better term could be spirit medium, or space witch." Clank giggles. "Would you agree, my friend?"

The lamp blinks rapidly, as if celebrating. Nova grins wide, whooping with her own triumph as she lifts the lamp towards the skies. "I'm a freaking' wizard!"

"Heck yeah, you are!" A voice cuts into Nova's mind unexpectedly and she freezes, dropping the lamp.

"Huh?!" The markazian whips around once more, trying to pinpoint where it came from. "Ratchet? Was that you?"

"Yeah, over here."In response, Nova looks behind her. A ghostly presence solidifies in the room, looking at her with hands on its hips. "Finally. I've been trying to get your attention for hours! Sorry for spooking you earlier, but call it payback for shooting at me," he chuckles. His reincarnation simply blinks at him, dumbfounded as Ratchet paces around her, taking in every detail with curiosity. "You know, now that I see you clearer, in real life, you really do kinda remind me of Tal. Just, uh, shorter and with fluffier hair.'

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Clank has nice taste,"he teases, rephrasing things after Nova looks at him completely confused at the intent. "I think you're pretty, 'is what I mean. Not in a flirty way; just an observation."

"Oh, I see. Well, uh, thank you," she mumbles in response.

Clank watches Nova as she turns around, following the gaze of something only she can see. "Is Ratchet saying something to you?"

"He says I kinda look like Miss Tal," she relays, humbled by the very thought. "Which is one heck of a compliment, I mean, Miss Tal was so pretty! A lucky man you were, my spectral friend."

"Thanks, I really was." The ghost moves, waving a hand over his old friend and letting out a short huff of disappointment. "You really can't see me, buddy? Dang."

"Well," Nova squints her eyes at his shape, a vague body with unmistakable ears now that she looks closer. "He can't see you, but I barely can. You look kinda...shadowy." After processing that observation, his words from before catch up to her mind. "Wait, I forgot to ask you about something earlier, in the mnemonic station. You said I look like Miss Tal. Your wife."

"Yeah? I mean, I don't mean anything weird by it, if that's what you're asking. There's no blood ties in your families either, so it's not a distant relative thing. Tal's a badass, so it's a compliment, simple as that," Ratchet clarifies.

Nova's eyes harden in thought with a theory, then her face softens into a curious look. "Did you pick me, a markazian woman, to reincarnate just because you thought Miss Tal was cool?"

Ratchet's ears twitch in embarrassment, and the young woman smiles. "Oh my stars, you did. Aw, that's so sweet!"

"Well, that's not the only reason." Returning to her playfully accusing point, the lombax crosses his arms, gesturing toward her with air quotes to further the point. "And you're one to talk, Miss 'I Watch Secret Agent Clank For The Plot.'"

The markazian's jaw drops as her left hand raises to her chest, practically clutching her pearls as she's completely unable to respond coherently to the burn. "I-now you-the plot is really cool and it's really fun to follow and the suit is-" She ultimately bites her tongue, sighing in defeat. "Okay, you win."

Clank giggles hard at the exchange, not needing to directly see his face to imagine whatever the lombax might have said.

Sufficiently embarrassed, Nova's happy to move the subject along. "Alright, enough about me. If you're here then maybe I could…" The markazian runs off, heading to the bedroom to grab her brooch and snatching up her staff on the way back. "Ratchet, I've got an idea: I can see into the past with things tied to you in some way. You built this for me; if I charge it with energy, could you use that charge to maintain a stronger, brighter form?"

The shadow scratches its ear, considering the option. "It's worth a try. Might be nice to have a point to stick to and draw power from, actually. Don't wanna pull from you directly, either. It's kinda tiring to keep this up, and the lamp and the wrench…" Ratchet's voice tapers off, deep in thought.

Nova picks up on his change in tone, reaching out to his shape. "Are you okay?"

The shape's ears drop a bit, trying to find the right words. "It's weird to be like this," he begins, rubbing his hands together to find the rest. "I mean, I'm here, but I'm...not. I can't feel anything, physically. The wrench, I could nudge it with its power bank, but I can't so much as pick up a pencil on my own. Not unless I use your body and I won't ask you for that. Cause, you know," he says, gesturing towards her. "That's your digs."

"I don't mind if you borrow it once in a while, on special occasions or something, but I get what you mean. Thank you." Tapping her fingers together, Nova thinks on how to fix this. Eventually, a possibility comes. "Hey, it'd probably take some time, but would you want your own body? Maybe I could figure something out, or Al could help."

"A robot one?" His ears prick up at the idea, but further thought on it brings uncertainty. "I dunno. I'm not necessarily against that, but what would that do to you?"

"I dunno," Nova counters, "but I'm willing to start small if you are. Shouldn't take long." Light fills the staff in her hands, and she smiles as she taps the crystal to the brooch.

Clank simply watches the scene in shocked confusion. Logically, he knows that Nova isn't talking to nothing, but it looks so…strange. Fascinating, but strange. The moonstone trinket quickly reacts, and takes on a soft glow of its own that gradually grows brighter.

"Incredible." A quick scan confirms his gut feeling; explaining why the charge feels so comforting and warm. "This energy is a bit Zoni-like. The charge is less concentrated than a full Zoni body, but it gives off a very similar light."

"Zoni like…" The grin on Nova's face fades, replaced with an idea. "Clank, you said that there's no other organics or robots around, right?"

Blinking at the sudden shift in tone, he looks up to the young woman. "I did. What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that the Zoni are neither. Ratchet, try pulling from it now. Clank, try scanning for a Zoni signature this time."

The robot does so. There's an aura around Nova, like normal, but there's now a new presence. Squinting at that faint signal, he sets his scanners to search for a different energy frequency. With small adjustments, he stops in his tracks.

His dearest friend kneels before him as clear as day, with a hand over Nova's brooch. The yellows and oranges of his original form are replaced with an eerie set of translucent bluish tones, but his eyes remain as emerald green as they've always been. The spirit stands once more, looking at them both with a smile that just screams pride. There's a moment of stunned silence, then the lombax waves at him directly. "It really is you, my friend! Welcome home."

He can hear it now; a small chuckle to greet him.

"Glad to be home, pal." The words are slightly echoed, as if spoken through a filter, but light and familiar and so very Ratchet.

Nova grins at the sight of those two, but her gaze hardens into the distance as she makes a realization. "I think I get it now."

Distracted from Clank, the spirit turns to her. "Get what?"

"Why the Zoni are the guardians of Time and no other race." She paces the floor, her hands moving along as she gathers and shares her thoughts. "For something to watch over Time, something must exist that can't be touched by Time's flow. The Zoni, for example."

The lombax smirks, recognizing that look and tone. "You figured something out. Something really important."

"Time can't affect the dead. Ratchet, Orvus could send your spirit to this plane because he turned your spirit into a Zoni." Stopping in her tracks, Nova gestures towards him excitedly. "You're a Zoni now!"

"But if that was the case, wouldn't I look like a Zoni?" Ratchet asks. "Plus, I'm not hive-minded like one either."

"Neither am I, Ratchet," Clank adds. "For all of the time I have spent on the Clock, with direct exposure to the Zoni and their energy, I have never been part of the collective mind. The same goes for Sigmund, and he has been there much longer than I. Orvus has autonomy as well wherever he resides, but he is the one responsible for managing the Zoni."

The silver caretaker hums to himself. "I suppose that would be similar in concept to a queen bee, and most Zoni would likely be considered drones. According to Nova's theory, you and I are not Zoni drones, yet still retain Zoni attributes."

"Orvus never explained the details of how; he just, you know, sent me." Giving it thought, Ratchet shrugs, deciding that it wouldn't be completely out of the question. After all, stranger things happened in his life. "You might be onto something, kid."

The spirit medium smiles towards her less solid friend. "It's pretty cool, too. You kind of look like those ghosts from that space opera with the glowy swords."

Clank nods. "He does, I agree. That is a bit ironic, considering he could be a teacher of sorts for you!"

Ratchet smiles, the sound of his friend giggling at the comparison releasing any and all tension from his mind. "I've really missed that laugh of yours."

"I may have missed your company, but at least you will no longer shed!" Clank's laugh returns, and Nova snorts at the burn.

The lombax fluffs up a bit, and he scratches an ear. "Hey, I didn't come all the way out here to get called out by both of you guys." Recovering quickly, he hits back with his own quip as he crosses his arms in faked annoyance. "You know, I might just have to figure out how to shed some kinda weird ghost-light shedding just for that."

The young woman chuckles at the very concept of it, imagining what it would look like. Her gaze meets the warbot at her side. "I'm sure we can handle it. Right, Clank?"

"We most certainly can, Nova." Clank reaches a hand out, brushing his fingertips against hers, and his partner wraps her own hand around it without a moment's hesitation.

At the sight of the two of them together, Ratchet shakes his head with a smirk and a scoff. "I still can't believe it took you this long to fess up, kid." Stepping closer to his old friend, he moves to flick at the antenna, "And it took you this long to figure it out, smart guy."

As the finger phases through his antenna, Clank just turns his head, tilting an optic at him in curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"I've known this was coming since chapter 17."

"What?"

"Nevermind." Glancing over to Nova, he taps her shoulder to change the subject. "Hey, grab your phone. I have an idea."

The young markazian does just that, bringing the device into the living room. Before Clank has the chance to question why, he watches as the screen glitches for a moment. Then a song Nova had downloaded begins to play.

"~If you need me, call me. No matter where you are, no matter how far. Just call my name, I'll be there in a hurry. You don't have to worry,~"

Ratchet's spirit condenses into a glowing orb that spins around the two of them, singing slightly off key like he's back in a karaoke party from the good old days.

"~Cause, baby there ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough to keep me from getting to you!~"

Clank listens to the song with a smile, taking in the indirect words from an old friend. He watches as Nova smiles and laughs, dancing and singing along while Ratchet's light happily circles the both of them. It bounces across the room, tapping the lights and different pieces of tech to make them flicker to life like a conductor directing an orchestra.

The ball of light stops next to him, settling into the lombax's form which sits beside him quite comfortably. "You are going to have a lot of fun with this, are you not?"

"Oh, absolutely. You guys are stuck with me for life,"he grins to the two of them. "I told you before all this started; you're not getting rid of me that easy, pal."

Clank giggles to himself. "That, you certainly did."

…