Nova shuffles in her chair, rolling her heels into the metal bar behind her feet. Her fingers tap together, to the rhythm of some song she'd heard before that for some reason, sticks itself to her mind. "Straighten your head," Clank requests once more, and she does so. "I do not want to make this uneven, so try to stay as still as possible."

The markazian moves her eyes across the room, taking in the sight of Sigmund gathering readings of the Clock and addressing any of the Zoni's concerns. He notices her attention and stops, waving with a bit of a nervous smile. As she mirrors the gesture, he distracts himself with his work once more.

Qwark has mostly been talking about stories of his youth, and poor Saros has been pinned for a while. He shoots a glance to the young woman and her smaller companion, which the latter manages to notice before she does. It's obvious that he's got something to say, which is difficult to do when you can barely hear yourself over the celebrity's 'triumphant victory against the entire Cragmite army to evacuate the city while Tachyon disappeared'. "I am almost done, but if you would Qwark, could you check the perimeter?"

"Oh," he interrupts himself, "I was just getting to the best part! We'll finish this later, new fish." Puffing out his chest, Qwark gives Clank a triumphant grin in response. "Nefarious won't get past me!" The heroic pose shines for a moment, but gently begins to lower with his voice. "But now that I think about it, do you think he'd even bother to come here? I mean, you and Ratchet chased him outta here a long time ago."

"That's a good point," Nova answers, but leaves her gaze glued to one of the gears on the wall so as not to throw off Clank's positioning. "The Clock's not the time machine he wanted, anyway, so he doesn't have much reason to return. I'd absolutely throttle him if he tried, though," she adds bluntly.

"I agree, he has little reason to return. However…" Clank's voice trails off slightly, as he gently picks up a bit of hair, combing it out as he calculates the best angle to cut at. "Considering his reasoning now, it would not surprise me if he attempted such a thing simply to see what would happen. I do not want to take any risks on that, and so I will err on the side of caution." As Nova gives a short hum of agreement, his scissors slice through the curl, leaving it to drop to the ground and join the rest of the fluffy brown lumps around the chair's base.

Qwark nods in understanding. "Can do, little guy. Let me see when you're done, though!"

The rest of the crowd wave their goodbyes, and as he leaves there's a bit of a sigh of relief from all parties. Nova's the first to speak on it; "Thanks, my head was getting fuzzy there. I think I tuned out somewhere in the 'punched a Cragmite general to save a little kid'."

"I recognized that face," Clank gestures to Saros. "Qwark can be a lot to handle at times, but he means well."

"Thanks, Clank. I really needed an out." He straightens his posture and clasps his hands together, trying to find the words he's looking for. "It's just that, well, I've been thinking about something, Nova. He's filled me in, so I sorta know what's up with, you know, all this."

To this, Nova moves her eyes towards him to hear him out. "About what? What's on your mind?"

"Your name. How it's kinda fitting, in a way. I recently played this one game over the last semester break, and the ending had a sort of similar meaning." She seems intrigued; a raised eyebrow encourages him to continue. "You know what a supernova is, right?"

To this, Nova blinks as Clank continues working. "I know the word 'nova' means star, but I don't know about the 'super' part. What is it?"

"Well, a supernova is an explosion. The stars, when they grow old and explode, it's components scatter across the cosmos. Eventually, that material gets condensed into a point, and that point becomes a new star. And it kinda fits, doesn't it?"

Clank stops right before slicing into Nova's hair once more, seeing her turn her head in response to Saros' words. The taller bot continues, clarifying his thoughts. "How Ratchet passed on, it's kinda the same thing. When you came along, everyone sort of came back together, like some sort of cosmic stardust or something."

"Like the universe just...rights itself." For some reason she can't explain, there's this odd sense of something between nostalgia and deja vu. One of the Zoni floats by her field of view, and she can't help but lock her eyes to it, if only for a moment.

"Your purpose isn't to be some great hero, not if that's not what you want. I think your purpose was to bring everyone back together. To fix the relationships he left behind. We're all here now, so that means it's already fulfilled, right?"

"That.." Nova takes in his words, the sincerity in his face, and she can't help but smile. "Really means a lot to me. To hear that from you. Thank you for telling me."

Saros can't help but notice that Clank nods at him, somewhat warmly, and that's the sign he needs to know that this was, for once, a step in the right direction to truly fix things.

The scissors take one final piece of hair as Sigmund turns towards them, taking a broom and dustpan from his personal toolkit to clean the resulting pile of hair scraps. "There, that should be even. Saros, hand me a mirror." Qwark returns from the hallway and gives his praises, Saros gently removes the tarp from her shoulders as the mirror is passed on, and Nova's offered a look at the results. She lets out a gasp, bringing a hand above her shoulders where the curls now rest. Clank watches her intently, putting away the scissors, and patiently waits for a response. "Do you like it?"

Nova carefully runs her fingers over her ends, genuinely surprised at the results. It seems to have more volume now, no longer weighed down by its length. "It feels so light now. It's bouncy, more than it's ever been. I…" Her voice trails off for a moment, grateful that she's still alive to have this moment. "Thank you. All of you."

"I think it suits you, Starlight," Saros encourages as he folds the tarp before handing it back to Sigmund.

With a smile, she puffs the curls once more. "Thanks, Ross. That really means a lot."

The metal markazian freezes, not expecting the nickname. "Ross?"

Everything about this moment just feels so right somehow. To this, she shrugs, a light smile spreading across her face. "Can't let you make up all the cool nicknames, can I?"

He sees it now, a warmth to her that feels entirely genuine and her own. Taking in the sound of the new name, he returns the gesture. "Ross, huh? I like it." He watches as Nova's gaze returns to the outward stars, and her posture straightens once more. "So, what's next?"

All around them, the Zoni hum along as their lights dance around the Clock, and Nova can't help but follow them with her eyes, tuning out his words despite her best efforts. One of them seems to hover towards another section of the station, and the young woman's friend gently taps her shoulder. "Hey, are you okay? You look distracted."

"Mhm. Just thinking." One of the Zoni seems to float behind the metal markazian, leading her to face him directly. She then locks eyes with him, studying his face with an intensity that seems to throw him off a bit.

Saros leans back a bit, and gives an awkward chuckle. "Is there, uh, something on my face or something?"

For reasons she can't explain, she gets an idea.

"Can I…show you something?"

He blinks in numbed shock at the blunt request. "Show me what?"

"Something important, but kinda, well, emotionally heavy," she specifies. "But it's something I want to explain. Is that okay?" Giving it thought, he eventually agrees. Nova turns her attention towards the Clock's caretakers with her, a bit nervous at their answer. "Um, Clank, Sigmund, is it okay if I show Ross something here? Not the Orvus Chamber, of course."

The two Zoni caretakers look at each other, puzzled by the sudden request, but the silver bot is the first to comment on it. "I do not see a problem with that, but I am compelled to ask what and why."

Nova brings her hands closer to her torso, unsure how to phrase things. "I want to take this step in fixing things, and explain everything. Just him, if that's fine."

Clank realizes where they're going. "...Are you going to be alright there?"

To this, Nova nods. "I feel okay. It was a one time thing, but I promise I'll turn right back around if anything changes. But will you be okay? If you don't want me to show him, I won't."

The assurance comforts him, as well as the consideration of his own stance on the matter. He scans them both, paying close attention to the metal markazian. There's still one last question: "Do you trust that boy with that information? About this place? About not just you, but me as well?"

She nods solemnly, and so he gives his blessing. "Then I trust you to honor the gravity of the conversation. Thank you."

Saros is caught off guard once more by their exchange, as well as feeling a hand suddenly wrapping around his own. The young woman leads him to the teleporter with a soft "Come with me," and he waits to see what it means.

They eventually reach a bridge, right before a grand looking door that's closed off at the moment, and Nova releases his hand. "What is this place?"

To this, she remains silent for a moment, finding the best way to frame this conversation. "This is where it all started. Where Ratchet…where I died. A long time ago." Slowly, she steps closer to a spot where the air almost seems thick with quantum energy. "I've personally stood here before and it didn't exactly end well, but that's not the story I want to tell you for now. Someday, but not now."

Saros watches the young woman, curious about what that other story is, but decides to leave it be. Another question is bugging him now, anyway. "Didn't Ratchet die of old age, though?"

"Yes, and no. You said Clank sort of explained things; what did he explain? So I don't go over what you already know."

"Well, he explained what the Zoni are. They're the guardians of Time, and this place is more of a heart of the universe than a time machine. Mentioned how you were raised around the fongoids and that your body has 'a higher tolerance for Zoni bioenergy', so you're a space witch. You theorized that Ratchet's a Zoni, or Zoni adjacent, but this place wasn't mentioned. Not surprised, if this is really where he died."

"That's all true," Nova confirms, and begins to elaborate. "And that gives me a good starting point. The Timekeeper isn't a time machine, but it's possible to rewind six minutes. Not a second more than that, and even then, the events afterward nearly collapsed this station. I don't think the Timekeeper could survive that a second time, and I don't want to find out."

"That day…" She takes in a breath. "Right where you're standing, Alister Azimuth shot Ratchet in the heart." Saros' eyes widen, and he looks down to his own feet and imagines the scenario. "A cheap shot when his back was turned and his armor was deactivated. When he was telling Clank goodbye."

Nova's body was pointed away from him, yet she now turns to face him fully. He's too stunned to interrupt, and there's more to the story anyway.

"That rewind cracked and split the timeline; in this one, Alister missed. Ratchet and Clank protected the Orvus Chamber, the room right there," she points to the door, "And in there, that's where Alister died. He tried to push the Clock back too far, and sacrificed himself to undo that mistake."

"And the other timeline…." Saros carefully adds, waiting for her to explain.

"Ratchet remains dead, and Clank, I assume stayed here. I assume that Alister was teleported off the Timekeeper entirely or something, or maybe he just banged on that door and screamed until his voice gave out, but I don't know. We haven't discussed it, so I don't know if Clank knows any details about the other side of that coin. I honestly…don't think I want to know. But it explains why Ratchet can sort of be two places at once chronologically," she sighs, staring into the space on the bridge he'd once fallen from.

"The part of me tied to him, the reason I'm here at all...this is it's origin point." Lowering her gaze, Nova brings her left hand to her chest, tapping it against the shirt's material with a tiny thunk. "Even now, I can feel it, like this weird tightness in my chest. It doesn't hurt, not really," she shrugs, "But it's like…I'm standing here and there's something about it that seems too familiar. Like..." Clutching her arms close, she shuts her eyes and shudders at her thoughts. "In the back of my head it feels like I can almost hear this faint scream that just sounds so…terrified and broken and I can't move to make it stop, and by Orvus I wish I could. And I don't want to think about what that could be. If that's his last memory...my last memory…"

Her gaze moves over to the edge of the bridge, but just as quickly the distance becomes dizzying; she turns away from a dark, yet faintly shadowy blip down below; faded like an echo. "I don't want to think about that."

Releasing her arms, she sighs once more, fluffing her hair out of her face. "I guess that doesn't really make much sense when you say it out loud."

The metal markazian slowly steps closer to her, unsure how to take it all in. "I know you said you wanted to tell me everything, and I appreciate the gesture, but…why show me this? Why show me this 'origin point'?"

One of the Zoni floats by, seemingly checking the lock on the Orvus chamber door before disappearing to another section of the Clock. Nova sits down cross-legged, and watches the Zoni fly by. Saros, at a loss for what to do or say, simply mirrors her. "I don't know," she eventually answers. "I can't explain it. I just…needed to show you. To talk about it to someone, I think. I can't talk to Clank about it. Not this. Especially with what happened last time I was here. It upsets him to think about this place. For good reason too; if it was me, just thinking about it would make me want to puke."

They sit for a long while, but Nova is the first to move again, scratching her scalp as she speaks. "Sorry to dump all that on you. It's a lot to handle, I know, but…I thought that full honesty would be best." Placing her hands in her lap, she fidgets with her palms before facing him once more. "You went to Nefarious for answers; I want to give you them first from this point on. So there you have it, for what that's worth now."

"That is a lot to take in," is the best response he can manage. "I…I can't imagine knowing that. Feeling that. Do you…feel any better? After talking about it?"

"Honestly…I think so. Like I said, I can't explain it. I just have this gut feeling that you needed to know."

The air around them seems less thick now, as if a great weight was released from both of their spirits. Gently, Saros reaches a hand to her shoulder. As she turns to face him he smiles warmly, although Nova can still sense something that's not quite pity, but instead quiet understanding. "Thank you for telling me," he says. "For trusting me with that."

"Thanks for listening," she mirrors, before turning to watch the Zoni fly by once more. "Thank you, for explaining your end. I was so caught up in my end of things…" Her gaze lowered, she rubs her palm with her thumb. "I was scared for you. And angry at you, and myself. I felt like I failed you. I said such horrible things to you, and you just wanted to protect me. To protect your family, and I respect that."

Saros blinks, stunned as her apology processes in his mind. "Thanks, Nova. I can't and won't apologize for protecting them," he begins, noting her giving him a short nod in agreement; an unspoken 'I won't ask you to apologize for that.' Rubbing his shoulder, the metal markazian stumbles on the phrasing. "I'll admit, a lot of it was me, uh, having a crush on you. But aside from that, I really appreciate you saying that. I have a lot of respect for you too. You threw yourself into a whirlwind of a life, for sure." Raising his arms up, he directs the organic's attention towards their surroundings, and the Zoni flying all across the Clock. "I mean, we're literally standing in the center of the universe, surrounded by time bending god-beings! I don't think I could be in your shoes."

"Why would you need my shoes?"

He stops in his tracks, caught off guard by the derail in the conversation. "No," He chuckles, shaking his head as he recovers. "What I mean is, I think you're really brave, to be embracing all this."

"Really?" The idea of it completely baffles her, and shame sets back in. "But I..I ran away. Then, and now. I ran from Nefarious the first time. Then I met Clank and you, and Qwark, and Big Al. Then I ran from you too. I..I tried to shatter my own soul, Saros. I time-locked myself because I thought it'd protect you. All of you."

The young woman completely curls into herself. "I gave up our future," she says emptily.

"I don't blame you for feeling that way," he offers gently. "I don't blame you for feeling like you didn't have a choice; there's a lot on your shoulders now. But the important thing is that we still have a future. So let's fight for it, you and me."

A sigh of relief loosens Nova completely. "You're right," she smiles.

There's a soft glow as Saros' personal inventory is activated. "This, uh, may not be the best time, but here." His palm opens to her, and in it is a fluffy, silvery satin hair tie. The stitches holding it together aren't the cleanest, but Nova's eyes widen at the gesture anyway. She takes off her gloves and turns it in her hands, rubbing her fingertips over the ridges.

"When you were in the cell, I couldn't help but overhear you say you wanted one," he explains sheepishly. "So I asked Sigmund if there was material to make one here, and he showed me how." The hair tie has the same smoothness of the cloth from the Clock's bedsheets, and she can feel every single one of Saros' stitches. "It wasn't that hard, but I, well...Don't really have practice with that sort of thing, though, so it's not the best one out there. But I've heard these are better for curls anyway; softer on them."

With a shrug, the young man rubs at his neck with a nervous chuckle. "I guess it doesn't really help you much now, huh?"

"No," Nova says, shaking her head before placing the tie in her mouth to hold it. Her thumbs hook a layer of hair right where her ears begin, pulling the curls around her face back. Grabbing his gift with her left hand, she uses it to tie that layer back before smiling at him. "It's perfect, Ross."

With that, the young woman puts back on her gloves and brings herself to her feet. Saros says nothing, but outstretches his hands to offer a hug. She takes it, firmly gripping his frame as if some force in the omniverse is telling them both that everything's going to be okay.

They stay there, not knowing how much time passes, but eventually the task at hand makes Nova pull them apart. Ready to lead the way back to the others, she outstretches her hand to the metal markazian, then she gestures back to the teleporter. "Come on, let's end this once and for all."

…

Nova and Saros blink back into existence, greeting themselves before continuing on with more important matters. "Thanks for waiting. Back to business; first, Qwark. What do you know about this place?"

The green hero blinks, caught off guard by the question. "Uh, not much. Sigmund explained that it's important, though."

"And he's very right," Nova explains, and her serious tone and body language make it clear that she's not saying any of it lightly. "I know you've changed a lot; Clank speaks well of you, but I need you to understand that after we leave, you can't tell the press about anything. I don't care how small the detail. And while you're here, you're not to touch anything, especially the Orvus Chamber. I say this as a friend; it's my duty to protect the Timekeeper, and that includes from you or anyone else. If I can trust you to understand that, you can stay here for as long as Clank and Sigmund approve of it. They're the ones that have called this place home, after all. Anything you ask about this place or the Zoni goes through them first, and that's final."

Qwark nods, but can't help but gulp at the serious tone and face she wears for that last bit. "You got it."

Her face softens into a smile, and she nods in return. "Good. I know you've got connections; We'll need all the allies we have to take on Nefarious, so if you know anyone that can help, call them." With that confirmation, he leaves the room to make said call, and Nova turns to Saros next. "Second; Ross, that little speech absolutely applies to you as well. But on other subjects, do you still have my armor?"

Saros nods in complete understanding, knowing deep down that she's not bluffing. "I do." He then hesitantly pulls out the holoflux generator, offering it to her. She opens it's casing, finding the cracked brooch within. There's an attempt to remove it; successful, but not without pricking herself once or twice with a hiss. "There was a voice," he explains, "Ratchet's, I think. He told me to break it, that that would help you."

Holding the trinket close, she absorbs the fact of the matter. "Ratchet..."

"Wait," he interrupts, an idea crossing his mind. "There was a light in there too. When I broke it, it just..disappeared into your body. Then you kinda came back a bit."

"Disappeared?" Blinking at the claim, Nova's face slackens, and her gaze focuses onto one of the cracks. "Wait, but that could mean…"

After she slammed her palm into that spell, she doesn't remember a thing. She expected this of course, knowing what she was walking into. Despite this, a memory flashes in her mind.

Complete silence, complete darkness, and the feeling of weightlessness. A deep purple glow pulsed around her, one that felt strangely familiar, but hostile. Whatever it is, it pulls her downwards, and pressure begins to build as if she were underwater, but then...there was this faint light. She could sense the Zoni, as well as a golden light that she couldn't help but reach towards, and as she grew closer to it, Nova found a gloved hand reaching out towards her that pulled her out of that dark water.

Turning to the crimson caretaker, she holds the broken brooch. "Sigmund, Is there any way I could use the mnemonic station one more time?"

"Uh, sure," he shrugs at the request. "But why? Didn't Nefarious take Ratchet's spirit from you?"

The young markazian lays the cracked trinket over her heart, closing her eyes as she takes in a breath. "I can't explain it, but I've got a feeling that Nefarious is really disappointed right now," she smirks.

…

"What do you MEAN, only 70% complete?!" The doctor slams his claws into the console, furious at the third attempt to charge his new creation.

"Perhaps your machine didn't complete its cycle before exploding, sir," Lawrence deadpans as he reads over the reports.

Nefarious growls at the news, glaring daggers into the mechanical lombax before him. "Where'd the rest of it even GO?! I need Ratchet's FULL CHARGE! There's no point in making him my pawn if there's some part that's still-"

The villain freezes, recalling the look on the girl's face as she drew on the ground, her palm soaked in blood just before the explosion. "Lawrence! Did any camera footage survive?!"

Lawrence pulls out a tablet from behind his back, filtering through the uncorrupted data. With a curious hum, he pulls up a tab to research his findings. Their security system, wired with the doctor's modified bioscan program, draws a clear line straight to the ship docking bay before disappearing entirely from the map. The butler suddenly chuckles at his screen, content in knowing that their game's not over yet. "If there is anything you should be used to by now sir, it is the sheer stubbornness of lombaxes and markazians."

"Let me see that!" Snatching up the pad, Nefarious' eyes widens with rage as he sees the symbol and its lethal purpose, as well as the signal that those goody-two-shoes took with them.

That witch snatched his victory, the very split second he'd earned it.

The tablet screen cracks, crushed by sharp claws as the doctor reaches his boiling point.

"NOOOVAAA!"

…

From the Great Clock, the markazian at Clank's side stops in her tracks on the way to the nearest mnemonic station as her ears prick up at nothing. "Are you alright?"

The group watches as she simply looks out the window and gives off a short chuckle at the question, quite pleased with herself as she mimics the accent of a space opera character. "I felt a great disturbance in the stars, as if a single shrill voice cried out in fury, and was suddenly silenced."