Ratchet felt much better now that he, Starlight, and Sunset had been reunited, especially after all the madness they had to go through with the various aspects that had been created after Sunset had departed from her laboratory in the Bogon Galaxy. He and Starlight were sad to hear that the Cores she had been carrying, Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, and Laughter, had gone missing before the separation, meaning that they had none of them at this point. Ratchet supposed that they really didn't need the Cores anymore, as they had mainly been used to trap Searing when she was trying to destroy planets, but he knew that they would eventually find out where they were taken.
As they left Vapedia behind they noticed that Sunset actually snacked on something, which was understandable considering how much power she had poured out of her so she could defeat Hatred and the power she poured out to regain who she actually was... but at the same time she seemed normal.
"So, there are no more aspects running around the universe?" Angela asked, taking a sip from the drink she had grabbed from the fridge, though at the same time she noticed that, out of the entire group, Azimuth was the only one that seemed concerned about something.
"That's correct." Sunset replied, smiling as she set down her fork and finished off the drink that was next to her, "The only aspects that were created were Ysmir, Ragenarosa, War, Doubt, Despair, Fear, Hatred, Purity, Searing, and Sunset Glider. Now that they have all been merged back into one form, and have quieted down at long last, I am whole once again... though this time I don't think we'll have to worry about any other emotions separating and trying to ruin the universe."
"Its nice to see you again," Ratchet commented, though the smile that was on his face hadn't left since they had departed from Vapedia, "especially since it wouldn't be the same to take out a villain without you being by our side. Nefarious is going to be in for quite the shock when we walk up to his space station with you behind us... he might just take one look at you and surrender."
"I honestly doubt that Nefarious would surrender the Great Clock that easily," Azimuth said, causing the group to turn towards him for a moment, to which he finally looked up from the drink he had been staring at, "He now has the potential to do whatever he wants to the timeline, even reverse his own defeat that he suffered by your hands, so there's no telling what he'll be planning. Besides, even if we go at him with the power you now command, which is purely amazing that so much destructive capabilities can exist inside one body, I doubt we would have any effect on him. Nefarious would surely have watched the timeline for any and all defeats he could possibly acquire at this point, which means he will have ensured that nothing can stop him."
"Listen, I personally don't know who you are, but my family and I have been able to overcome some impressive odds in the past." Sunset replied, to which she glared at the elderly Lombax, while at the same time wondering why he thought that Nefarious had full control over the Great Clock when Clank has been gone for not even a full day yet, "Besides, you now have the power of the God of Destruction backing you... and I am pretty sure that Nefarious remembers the last time we crossed paths. I bet he'll take one look at me on his security screens and surrender immediately, just to prevent himself from being erased from the universe... just like I did with Vox, all those years ago."
"E... erased?" Azimuth asked, though it was clear that he had no idea what Sunset was taking about, while at the same time knowing that it had to be deadly if the person it was used on was no longer around at this point.
"That's correct," Sunset said, to which she smiled for a few seconds, remembering what had happened to the man she had used that technique on, the technique that sealed her fate as the God of Destruction, "I held my hand out towards him, allowed my magical aura to surround me, and, while looking into his eyes, I said 'Destroy'... to which his very being unraveled before our eyes until he no longer existed. Basically it was the destruction of his very being, though I did follow that up by obliterating his space station and the prison planet he had been keeping people trapped on."
"Point is that we can simply walk up to the station, knock on his front door, and show him whose back," Ratchet added, causing Azimuth to turn towards his for a second, "By the end of the day we'll have control of the Great Clock, where Clank can tell us what we can and cannot do in terms of its operations. I know that one of the things that we'll want to do is figure out what happened to Orvus, but anything else will have to be run by Clank before we even attempt it."
"Even saving the Lombaxes?" Azimuth asked, to which he received several nods in return, where he groaned as he looked back down at his drink, "Fine, I'll wait until after the assault on Nefarious' space station to see what we can do with the Great Clock... because I stand by my opinion that the evil doctor won't give up, regardless of who we have with us."
"Speaking of which, where did Qwark go?" Starlight commented, to which she pulled out her tablet and looked at it, where she discovered that there was a message from the captain and decided to open it for everyone to see, "Apparently he managed to, somehow, infiltrate Nefarious' forces and has a secret way inside the space station, but for it to work we might need someone to attack from space."
"Leave that to me," Azimuth said, tapping his wrench for a moment with a smile on his face, indicating that he was eager to pay Nefarious back for everything that had happened to him, whether or not it was the doctor's fault.
"We'll have to fight our way through several points around the station," Starlight continued, though she nodded to indicate that she had heard Azimuth's offer, "but we should be able to infiltrate the station with these blueprints and get in without Nefarious noticing... at least until it is too late to stop us anyway. Then we'll have to figure out where Nefarious is hiding and confront him, which may or may not result in the destruction of his space station."
Sunset nodded as they started going over the exact plan they were going to put into motion when they arrived at the space station, while at the same time noticing that Clank seemed unable to tell them something. It made her wonder if the robot doctor had actually turned over a new leaf after their last meeting, when he had angered Searing, but she decided that she and the others would find out soon enough. She was more than willing to take apart some robots while they figured out what was going on, which was sure to surprise Nefarious when he noticed that she was there again.
Sunset let a small smile appear on her face for a few seconds, as she felt good now that she had been restored to her full potential and her original form... and she was ready for some decent exercise in the near future.
When the Hyperion arrived at its destination the group found that there were quite a number of ships flying around the area, indicating that Nefarious wanted to keep his space station safe while he was either inside the building or when he was away on business. Azimuth determined that attacking them would be a wise course of action for him to undertake, as it would make them follow him until they shot him down, though he was confident in his abilities to out fly his soon to be opponents. Once he knew where all of the enemy ships were located Azimuth climbed into his ship and flew at the space station, where a few moments later the rest of the group noticed the enemy ships flying after him.
With that done the group climbed into their ships and departed from the Hyperion, to which they flew down to a suspiciously placed landing pad that had Qwark's logo on it, indicating that this was where they were supposed to land... though that made them wonder if Nefarious knew about the landing zone his most hated foe had placed on his doorstep. They also received a transmission from Qwark that indicated that he was somewhere inside the main perimeter of the space station, while at the same time telling them that he had a way inside the station. Once they were done with Qwark's messages they approached the weapon vendor and allowed Ratchet and Starlight to pick up any ammunition they needed for their weapons... though when they noticed that the Rift Inducer 5000 was in stock they decided not to purchase it.
The thinking behind that decision was now that Sunset was back they really didn't need to go overboard with all of the powerful weapons that Starlight could have made for them, as they wanted to enjoy saving the universe instead of feeling like they overpowered their opponent and forced him into submission.
The instant they were done with the vendor they followed the pathway that would take them around the station, and give them a chance to take out any guards that were waiting for them, and started moving over the asteroid fragments that formed a walkway for them. On the other side of the rocky walkway they found a sample of really cold water that would be useful in dousing the super heated plates that were blocking the way forward, for Ratchet and Angela anyway. Starlight gathered some in the Omnisoaker gadget and loosed several bursts of the liquid on the plates, allowing them to pass over the metal walkway, before they jumped on some of the jump pads that were in front of them.
When they landed on the upper platform they found a few robotic guardians standing in their way, to which Ratchet and the others opened fire on their targets, while at the same time noticing that some of them took one look at Sunset and chose to ignore her. Ratchet would have thought that Sunset would have been annoyed, but instead she merely sought out enemies that were brave enough to challenge her and fought them... which involved cutting them into pieces or shattering them with a swift punch to their power core. When the enemies were taken care of Starlight switched the water out for the oil that was in front of them, to which they moved down to the rusted bolt crank they had passed a few seconds ago and freed it.
With that deed done they activated the bolt crank and, after determining that Qwark had accidentally set up a decoy beacon that they had walked over to, they returned to their ships and used the swing shots to pass over the other pathway that was in front of them... to which they were attacked by the group of small robotic enemies that were waiting there. A pair of medium sized enemies, the ones with saw blades for arms, phased in and attacked them, but they were easily destroyed and allowed the group to ride a transport over to a larger area that had a lot more enemies waiting for them.
As the group tore into their enemies Sunset noticed that some of their enemies were spawning behind them, to which she turned around and attacked everyone that was behind them. It was actually the warm up she had been looking for, because it allowed her to remember some of the minor spells, those that wouldn't break the entire station that was around them, and used whatever she had at her disposal to tear apart the enemies coming her way. When the current group of enemies were dealt with Ratchet and Angela used their hoverboots to traverse the jump pads that were in front of them, while at the same time allowing Starlight and Sunset to follow after them with their levitation spell... or simply floating in Sunset's case.
They stopped in front of a second platform, one that mimicked the one they had just left, and soon they were repeating the same movements and engaging in battle once more. This time when they fought their enemies they noticed a few tank enemies phasing into existence, though when once phased into existence near Sunset it was quickly dismantled, as it never saw her coming. A pair of saucer enemies also joined the battle, though before anyone could do something Sunset pulled two sharpened pieces of metal into the air and threw them at the enemies, tearing the apart and destroying them within a few seconds.
Once that was done they rode another transport to reach where Qwark was waiting for them... to which they discovered that he was wearing a nurses outfit for some odd reason.
"Well what do you know, Clank's back!" Qwark said, to which he actually bent down and pulled the little robot into a hug, though the moment was stopped a few seconds later when he noticed who else had returned, "Sunset Shimmer... I, well, I really wasn't expecting you to be restored at the moment... that kind of blows my ingenious plan to pieces. We were supposed to infiltrate one of the trash chutes, sneak our way passed the deactivated motion sensors, use a conveniently opened air vent to scan Nefarious' body, and then use the disguise to infiltrate the main control room to destroy all of his reinforcements before his return... now, however, I think it might be easier to wait for his return and just detonate the entire station with a single explosion."
"Actually, I'm itching for an actual fight," Sunset replied, to which she stepped onto the platform that was waiting nearby, "Come on, let's go inside so we can give Nefarious a properly welcoming to the area."
Qwark and the others climbed onto the platform before it flew over to the side of the ship that Qwark had set it to before they had arrived at where he had been standing. When they reached the trash chute Sunset merely floated above the mess and looked at the two pistons that Qwark claimed were offline, as she fully expected them to come online and attempt to squish them. She pulled both her hands out from behind her back and pointed them at the two pistons, to which she flicked her pointer fingers up and a cluster of dark purple crystals burst out of the machines, silencing them until someone came to fix them.
With the deed done Qwark kicked at the door that was blocking their path until it fell out of its position and hit the floor behind it, allowing the group to leave the compactor area and continue onward... where they immediately encountered several saw blade enemies in the area in front of them. As most of the group raised their various weapons, to begin the battle, Sunset noticed that none of the robots were preparing themselves, to which she held up a hand and stopped her family, and Qwark, from doing anything rash. Once they understood that there might be something strange at work here, considering that the robots weren't attacking them, she stepped forward and stared at the group of robots, who seemed to be talking among themselves.
When the robots seemed to stop their conversation, and kept glancing at Sunset to check on what she was doing, a hologram of Lawrence phased into existence between her and the robots.
"Ah, Lady Sunset Shimmer, this is an unexpected surprise," Lawrence said, though even though her back was turned to the group, and she couldn't see the looks on their faces, Sunset knew that her family had to be shocked by what the robot was telling them, "Dr. Nefarious has been expecting your arrival for quite some time. One of our soldiers will direct you to the control room of the station, where Nefarious is waiting for your arrival, so you won't have to worry about being attacked by anyone... not that someone like you needs to worry about such a thing happening."
"Then I shall make my way to the control room," Sunset replied, though once the hologram nodded and faded from existence she turned back to her family for a moment, "See? I told you that my presence would change Nefarious' mind the instant he knew I was back."
"Yeah, you were right." Ratchet remarked, though he was somewhat surprised by what the robot butler had said, because it sounded like Nefarious had known that Sunset would be made whole again and would be visiting him shortly after, making him wonder if the doctor was trying to trick them or something.
Sunset walked at the front of the group as they followed the chosen soldier towards the elevator that would take them to the control room, where Sunset nodded to the soldiers that were staring at her. Those that knew her reputation either waved back in fear or bravely nodded back in return, while the few organic employees hid behind walls and structures. It was clear that there were differing opinions on Sunset at the moment, which was understandable considering what she had done with her godly powers, but she didn't let the soldiers bother her too much. She was sure that it bothered her brother and sister, but the reality of the situation was that she didn't mind letting them think whatever they wanted.
After a few minutes, and passing through a few checkpoints, the soldier brought them to the elevator and called Lawrence, to which the group was allowed to enter the elevator and rode it up to the control room... where they found Nefarious standing in the middle of a few Terachnoids, who were apparently making sure that the 'Hypernova Defense Laser' was online and ready to go. A few seconds later one of the Terachnoids noticed that the group had entered the control room, as the guards had moved the moment they noticed Sunset approaching them, which caused Nefarious to turn in their direction.
"Dr. Nefarious," Sunset said, stepping forward for a moment, while at the same time her family carefully spread out and looked around the room, leaving Qwark to watch the door in case things went sideways, "its actually good to see you again, especially after our last encounter."
"Lady Sunset Shimmer," Nefarious replied in kind, though he gave her a bow, which surprised Ratchet and the others, save for Clank and Sunset herself, "I am good to see that you are well, after being forcefully separated into ten aspects and forced to pull yourself together... though it seems that you have emerged victorious, and stronger than ever I might add. As for our last encounter... let's just say that I took our fights to heart, quite literally I might add, and decided that being your enemy wasn't worth it, so I decided to turn over a new leaf."
"Are you saying that we should accept that you suddenly turned good in an effort to protect the universe?" Qwark asked, though at the same time he was surprised that none of the guards turned their guns on him, as he knew that the doctor hated him and figured he's be in some trouble for that comment, "Especially when you plan on using the Great Clock to correct your defeat and ensure that you come out as the victor?"
"Which would, in turn, cause the destruction of the entire universe," Nefarious stated, though he smiled when he noticed the few looks of dread that had crossed the faces of Qwark, Ratchet, and Angela, as he had expected Starlight, Sunset, and Clank to know about the consequences of using the Great Clock as a time machine, "Look, Orvus told me about all the consequences that could have been caused by the action of using the Great Clock in such a way and I decided to make sure that no one used it like that... even going so far as to stop an alternate timeline version of myself from crossing over to get his hands on it."
"Azimuth isn't going to like this one bit," Ratchet commented, knowing that the general and the doctor apparently didn't like each other, though now he was thinking that Azimuth had overlooked an important piece of information.
"Speaking of which, why don't you invite him inside the station?" Nefarious said, to which he received several nods from the Terachnoids around him, indicating that he had done something before their arrival and the Terachnoids were confirming whatever that something was, "I have told the patrols to stand down at the moment and they are returning to the station, so he should be able to land without anyone shooting at him... though they might want to challenge him to a race, if these readings are correct."
Ratchet made the call and soon Azimuth was walking into the control room, though the look on his face indicated that he couldn't believe what was going at at the moment, even going so far as to glare at Nefarious as he entered the room.
"So let me get this straight; Nefarious is the good guy all of a sudden?!" Azimuth asked, to which he gestured to Nefarious with his wrench, while at the same time the doctor made no movements to tell his guards to attack him, "His soldiers terrorized innocent civilians and prevented them from knowing the peace that was taken from them, and he's suddenly on our side?"
"My soldiers never terrorized anyone," Nefarious said, to which two holograms appeared in front of everyone, though that was where the group noticed that one of the robots was colored in Nefarious' colors and the second was colored in Vorselon's colors, "Yes, I built the robots that Vorselon used on his ship and to attack people, but the difference between me and him is that my soldiers never actually destroyed anything while his simply crushed everything that was in his way. I made sure that the people that lived on all the planets I had an outpost on were safe from any sort of harm and could go about their lives without having to worry about being interrupted by the soldiers until an emergency happened. In fact my soldiers were told to 'capture' you instead of 'kill' you, which Vorselon's soldiers were set to, despite my opinions on keeping their original programming."
"And why would you care about me?" Azimuth asked, while at the same time he glared at Nefarious, choosing to ignore everything else and focus on his intended target.
"Because I know that, given the proper motivation, you could be a hero to the people of this galaxy," Nefarious replied, to which Azimuth actually had a look of surprise appear on his face, "besides, there are only three Lombaxes left in the universe... and I would actually hate to see them disappear, especially when your race are revered as protectors of the universe. How about this; come with us to the Great Clock and introduce yourself to Orvus... I'm positive that he'll have a proposition for you, one that might be too good to pass up. And if that's not good enough for you, then I have a personal offer to add to the table."
"Really?" Azimuth said, though it was clear that the mention of Orvus, and a mysterious proposition, had actually shocked him back to a state where he was easier to talk with, while the personal offer interested him, "And what is this mysterious item or favor that you are offering to give me?"
"Attention Nefarious Space Station," a voice said, one that Ratchet and the others immediately recognized the moment it came over the intercoms, "this is Lord Vorselon. I have scanned the surrounding area and discovered that Ratchet Cross, his wife Angela Cross, and the renegade Alister Azimuth have been spotted in the area around your station. I request permission to teleport myself and my troops onto the station so we can kill the last three Lombaxes in the universe, before discussing the matters of using the Great Clock."
"He's right on time," Nefarious commented, to which he turned towards Azimuth, who was caught between thinking that this was a trap or that there was something more that he wasn't seeing, "Alister Azimuth, what I am offering you is the chance to eliminate the one person that had been a blight on your existence in the Polaris Galaxy... and save the universe from his evil at the same time. All you would have to do is take the controls of the Hypernova Defense Laser, which is already pointed in the direction Vorselon's ship will be coming from, and fire when your ready."
Azimuth looked at the controls that were in front of him, the ones that the Terachnoid had moved away from and was beckoning towards, before looking out the window and noticing that Vorselon's ship had exited the warp system, to which it was approaching the station at a decent speed. He stepped up to the controls and recounted everything that he had seen since his arrival in the Polaris Galaxy, focusing on who was the real enemy and who wasn't... before he let out a sigh, touched the controls for a moment, and pressed the button that was waiting for him. The group, both Ratchet's and Nefarious', watched as the Hypernova Defense Laser fired at Vorselon's ship and heated it up under the intensity that the laser commanded.
That was swiftly followed by the engines exploding and causing widespread destruction across the entire ship, to which the group heard Vorselon cry out in confusion, by Nefarious' betrayal, before he was consumed by the destruction. As the ship exploded, and the pieces went flying in every direction, the Terachnoids did some brief scans and indicated that no one had escaped the ship, to which Azimuth let out a sigh of relief when he realized that it was finally over.
"Now that we have taken care of Vorselon, and there are no immediate threats, I do believe that its time to return to the Great Clock." Nefarious commented, to which everyone turned towards him for a moment, "Orvus will want to go over any and all questions that you might have for him, which we're sure there will be a fair number of, and there is something that he needs to tell you, Lady Sunset Shimmer. From what I can gather he needs to tell you and Starlight about the world that you came from... as well as explain the importance of the six Cores that you collected over the years."
Sunset smiled at the thought about meeting Orvus and bringing an end to all the mysteries that were in her life, though at the same time she knew that Ratchet and the others were excited to hear anything about the world she and Starlight were actually born on. She was also curious about the purpose of the six Cores, especially after everything she and her sister had used them for over the years, so she was more than willing to follow Nefarious for the sake of answering all of the unanswered questions that were running through her head. She knew that this would be the perfect chance to understand everything that didn't make sense in their lives, as well as get some knowledge on the strange memories she had.
Sunset was excited to meet with Orvus now, because they were one step closer to uncovering the truth behind where she and Starlight came from... as well anything else that was plaguing their minds.