It took Ratchet and his siblings some time to catch up with Drek's fleet, since their target had a head start on them, but that didn't stop them from tracking down the fleet and spotted the twisted planet he had created, which was being pulled by one of the ships, though Clank located which ship they were supposed to land in and Ratchet headed for it immediately, while his siblings got ready for the battle that was going to unfold. The reason they didn't just blast the entire fleet apart was due to the fact that their ship, despite the modifications Autumn had made to it, had no weapons and no defenses, it was purely for travel between planets and stations, which would have left both systems to her and Starswirl, though there was no telling how much power they could pour out before collapsing from exhaustion. As such they had to land in one of the ships, find a way to jump from ship to ship, and just tear their way through the obstacles that were in front of them until they either found Drek or some information as to where he and the Deplanetizer happened to be resting, plus take any gadgets that might be lingering on the fleet, since they had found a few while exploring in the past. The only downside was that they had to hurry, as they were fast approaching Veldin and that meant they likely had a few hours, two to three at the most, before the laser was fired and the planet was wiped out, which would take out everyone that the siblings knew and everything they had grown up knowing, something that annoyed them a little as they climbed out of their ship and got ready for whatever was in front of them.
Before they got moving, however, Ratchet found a path in the water and noticed that it went backwards in the ship they had landed in, to which he took a minute to swim through it, as Autumn timed him while she and Starswirl studied what was left of the fleet, before he returned with a yellow bot, one who no legs and some prongs on it's head, which Autumn confirmed was a Codebot, something that would likely unlock the door back on Quartu if they wanted to see what Drek was trying to hide.
"Time to see what else Drek's fleet has in store for us." Ratchet remarked, taking a moment to dry off, as they didn't have much time to spare since they were rapidly approaching Veldin, even if it was possible that Drek was already on the planet as he positioned the laser, though as he said that he pulled out his Devastator and faced a teleporter that would likely take them to another ship, "Come on, let's take them down... stealth isn't necessary, as Drek likely knows we're here."
Autumn and Starswirl nodded their heads in agreement as they walked over to the teleporter, as one happened to be off to the side of where they landed, something that allowed all three of them to warp over to the next ship in the fleet, one that had a few robots that the Hologuise could be used on, where Ratchet took out the first one with a missile and left the fooling to his siblings, who opened the way to take out the second target after it lowered it's barrier for them. Of course it had been thanks to Autumn using her gadget to fool it, but her actions allowed them to move deeper into this ship, which was when they dealt with some of the robotic mutts that could actually see through a Hologuise's disguise, hence why they focused on simply lashing out at everything that was in front of them as they sought out the information they were after, or maybe Drek if he was resting up here. From there they found a teleporter that allowed Ratchet and his siblings to warp over to the next ship, where this time Starswirl stepped up with his magic when they raised the alarm, allowing him to use his magic as a shield so he could catch the incoming attacks as Ratchet and Autumn focused on clearing out every robot that happened to be in their way, before clearing out another room with mutts and a few guards. Ratchet, Starswirl, and Autumn weren't worried about that as they blasted and smashed their way through their enemies with ease, before they found their way to another teleporter that brought them to yet another ship in the fleet, this one needing the Swingshot to move through, so while Ratchet crossed over a gap his siblings provided cover fire that took out their enemies, giving him a chance to secure the area as they followed after him.
After that the siblings smashed and blasted their way the next room, just like they had done to the ones before this one, before finding another pad that took them over to what had to be the flagship, or at least they hoped so, to which they just stepped out through an air barrier and walked on a metallic platform, one that spun around and allowed them to walk on the outside of the ship, with another one firing at them, even though they found a chamber they could slip inside, one that had a fighter inside it. This time around Autumn and Starswirl didn't touch the ship in question, rather both allowed their brother and Clank to climb into the fighter before heading out to deal with all of the enemies that happened to be flying in the area around the fleet, hence why the pair stood on the metallic walkway outside and watched him deal with those who stood in his way. His main targets were a set of large turrets that happened to be firing at the rest of the walkway that they needed to walk down so they could enter the rest of the flagship, though he also gunned down every fighter in his way, all to eliminate potential problems before they were fired at once they had the information they needed, and not a couple of minutes later Ratchet returned to the hanger, with all of his targets taken out. With that done he caught up with Autumn and Starswirl before they headed down what was left of the path they were following and used a rotating platform to get inside the rest of the ship, before walking down a hallway, on a metallic path no less, that brought them to a chamber that was, without a doubt, the command center for the fleet.
What they discovered was that Drek, rather predictably, wasn't sitting in the chair that they approached, with the intent of smashing if he had been there, rather they found an Infobot that showed Drek just outside their home on Kyzil Plateau, a fact that annoyed them even more as Clank claimed the little robot and added it to their list, though with that done they found a warp pad and warped back to their ship, allowing them to take off and return to Veldin at long last... to the point where they landed just outside their shed, finding it unharmed, even if they were annoyed by the damage done to the rest of the colony.
"I hope Mayor Brook and the others are okay... I'd love to check on them, but we're on a time limit." Ratchet said, as he and his siblings really wanted to make sure the colonists were fine, given that Veldin was under attack and the last time Drek's forces had been here they had been planning on attacking the colony anyway, but right now both Autumn and Starswirl knew that Drek had to be dealt with first.
"Indeed. I wish we could have flown over this place, to find the laser, but this is for the best," Autumn added, given that she and the others were sure that Drek had defenses in place to make sure flyers were taken down before getting close to the weapon, though as she spoke some of her inner rage came to the surface, causing her to growl as she imagined finding their target and taking Drek down.
Starswirl, instead of saying anything else, headed down the path that they had taken when they tracked down Clank's ship, where they found a Gadgetron Vendor had been dropped near their shed and a number of toads were blocking the path again, something that caused Autumn to realize that some damage had been done to the barriers of the colony and that it was possible Brook and the others were under attack. Such a thing brought the rage out as her tail twisted into the flaming tail of her rage form, showing her brothers just how angry she really was, even if they shared most of her thoughts, where they found their way to the path and opened fire on their enemies, using their melee weapons on all of the toads so they could blast all of the Blarg soldiers with their guns, as there were many between them and their true target. One thing all of them discovered was that there were new dropships that were bringing in more enemies to deal with, though Starswirl saw to that as he extended his hand and crushed the vessels before they could depart from the area, or shattered those who still had enemies inside them, allowing them to open fire on the surprised soldiers before any of them had a chance to react to what happened. Normally Ratchet would be taken aback by what he was seeing, though based on what he had witnessed back in Umbris, and the awakening of a deeper power and advanced knowledge in Autumn, he knew this was nothing compared to what happened back then and that he didn't have to be worried about it this time around, but if the rage form showed up, well, that was another matter entirely.
The surprising thing was in what the Blarg brought with them, they deposited Bolt crates that they took great pleasure in seizing as soon as they discovered each and every one that had been brought with them, before Ratchet found a tank on the path that lead to Clank's crash site, where Autumn wasted no time in unleashing a volley from the RYNO and blew it apart so they could move forward.
As such they were able to reach the area that Clank crashed in, which Ratchet pointed out for a few seconds since the little robot didn't remember where he landed, before they moved further along the path that had to lead to Chairman Drek, or at least they hoped so since the twisted planet was getting closer and closer as time went on, before they found a brand new fence that looked like it had been installed by Drek's people. None of them asked why Drek bothered with this, since it needed a Trespasser to pass through it, hence why Starswirl and Autumn focused on wrecking their enemies as Ratchet used the gadget to open the way for them to move forward, though once that was done they struck down the foes on the other side, surprising the Blarg soldiers in the process. After that they found their way to a metallic surface that had been added to a structure Ratchet and his siblings had seen in the past, almost like Drek was expecting them to come home and search for him, so maybe they were walking into a trap when they finally found where he happened to be hiding, before all three of them made their way into the water reserve and found that it must have been modified by someone, as there was a button right in the bottom of it. Autumn pressed it as Ratchet drained the area with the Hydrodisplacer, opening the way for them to move down to the exit, even if Starlight had him replace what he had taken before teleporting them outside, allowing them to resume moving further along the path as they opened fire on their enemies, much to the surprise of the Blarg soldiers, like they assumed that the siblings would be taken out by the forces that had been overcome already, but it took them no time to clear out the next group before pressing forward.
Even if Drek had been expecting them to arrive, to try and stop him from blasting Veldin to pieces, it was odd for him to have an army waiting for intruders, especially since he was planning on removing this world in the next hour or so, though as they thought about that Ratchet noticed something odd, the twisted planet was far closer than before, as it was resting near Veldin, so once their planet was destroyed it could take it's place in no time.
"He must have received word of our arrival and had his forces speed things up," Starlight commented, seeing the planet as well, though it was annoying since it meant the time they had was now far less than what they had before this point, since they had been planning on saving their world before Drek's arrived, but there was nothing that any of them could do and it meant taking their frustrations out on all of the enemies in front of them.
Ratchet and Autumn nodded as they smashed and blasted their way through the enemies that were in front of them, only to reach some Swingshot targets that brought them to another locked barrier, to which Ratchet unlocked it within seconds and allowed them to move onward, though in Ratchet's eyes the elite forces of the Blarg weren't that great, since he and his siblings were able to take them out in due time. One thing that all of them were happy to see was that this part of the colony hadn't been damaged yet, even if new additions had been made in anticipation for their arrival, though they used a Swingshot to reach a pipe that brought them to some more enemies, an area with a lot of dropships and soldiers waiting for intruders to show up, just like their boss had told them to do most likely. As such Autumn stepped forward and pulled out the RYNO again, where she opened fire and struck down the enemies that were in front of them, where Ratchet noted that she was still pleased with the power of the potent weapon, one her boss let her keep despite the fact that it was one of the more dangerous ones, before they resumed moving once she was sure that all of their enemies were taken care of, for the time being anyway. After that Ratchet found a newly added expansion platform for Clank, not that they needed it since Autumn had taken care of their enemies with ease, and made their way through an empty section of Veldin, in terms of people since it looked like Brook and the colonists had been chased out before Drek set his forces up, before they found their way to a bowl shaped arena that seemed important in some manner.
It was in that moment that they discovered that Drek had been waiting for them, as he descended towards them in what looked like a battle mech, one sized to match Clank's giant size, and it was black colored, like his heart no doubt, while also having a large blaster as it's right hand, meaning he had been expecting them to arrive and wanted to fight them before he blasted their world to pieces.
"You imbeciles!" Drek stated, where he seemed to find the situation they were in funny, as he chuckled as his mech came to a stop so he could stare down at them, though Ratchet, despite his anger, knew that Drek was in trouble, given what he would soon be dealing with, but all four of them remained silent for a time as they let their foe speak, "After all the trouble you've gone through you're about to die right where you started! It's... it's so poetic."
"Shut up, Drek." Starswirl snapped, where he snapped his fingers and his energy, manifesting as darkness this time, where Ratchet assumed it was due to the mist around his eyes, that formed chains that restrained the mech and brought it down to where they were standing, chest against the ground with the hands pointed off in the distance, meaning Drek was now facing him and his siblings with what might be a look of fear in his eyes, "Thanks to you and your schemes, my siblings and I have been rushing across the galaxy for some time, where we have had our fantasies destroyed and have seen the worst of what the galaxy has to offer... and right now, we're far too angry to let you off the hook... especially since you could have taken a barren world, of which there are plenty across our galaxy, and terraformed it to match a world for your people, if you actually cared about them anyway."
In that moment Ratchet discovered something, Autumn, with no warning, had shifted into her rage form and stood behind him, though she seemed to be in control somewhat as she had formed what appeared to be a bow of magical energy, one that had a red energy arrow attached to it, though in that moment the beast also seemed to be crying, like she was in pain for the planets that had suffered due to Drek's cruelty. Starswirl noticed that as well and walked over to his sister, where he placed a hand on her right shoulder and the arrow became infused with a bit of darkness and his own magical power, or at least that was what Ratchet and Clank thought as they noticed what was going on, something that caused them both to walk over as well and join the pair. Sure, neither of them had magic like Starswirl and Autumn had, but this allowed the pair to support whatever was going on right now, though as that happened a rush of energy surrounded the arrow as it took on a rainbow coloration, but this time Ratchet wasn't about to question it as they focused on Drek, who was trying to flee his mech and appeared to be failing thanks to a bit of damage it had taken. Not a few seconds later Autumn, ready for what she had planned, loosed the arrow and they watched as it raced through the air, smashing through the glass dome of the battle mech like it was nothing as it pierced Drek and enveloped him in a cloud of smoke for a time, one that Ratchet and Clank couldn't see through, before disappearing in a few seconds, revealing a white sheep with Drek's clothing resting around the floor of the mech.
Ratchet found it to be highly amusing that such a thing happened to Drek, though as soon as that was done Autumn and Starswirl made their way over some rock platforms as they spotted the Deplanetizer resting some distance away, to which he and Clank followed after them, though while they did that he found that Autumn seemed to be asserting herself over the rage that was left in her heart.
"So, what are we going to do with this and the twisted planet?" Ratchet asked, because they couldn't just leave the key to activating the Deplanetizer alone, nor could they leave the planet that Drek had created in Veldin's orbit, the latter having the potential to knock their world out of alignment and send them into the sun, or maybe something else would happen, hence why he was looking at his siblings.
"Hm, with some rewiring and a few modifications, plus one or two of Starswirl's spells, we might be able to do something wonderful with this weapon," Autumn replied, where she glanced over the platform in question and realized that to do a bit of work they needed to flip the weapon around so that the laser was pointed at the sky, to which she sighed and had Starswirl take Clank over to the enlarging platform, who returned moments later after bypassing the fallen mech that they had left Drek in, before their giant friend did his part to help them, "Now then, let's see what sort of systems we have to work with and what we need to add to make this work... or if it's even possible in the first place."
Ratchet watched as Autumn went to work, even though her rage form seemed to be on pause to boost her power, or that was his thoughts on the matter, opening a panel to see what was inside so she could scan it and come up with a plan of some sort, though it wasn't long before she found a way to do whatever was on her mind, where she modified the laser to shatter Drek's planet. What that means wasn't that they were going to blow the planet up and wipe out the fragments that had been stolen from the other planets of their galaxy, rather she was redesigning it to blast the twisted planet apart so all of the fragments would be separated from each other once the beam hit it, though of course that also posed a problem, as she knew that the fragments could fall to Veldin as meteorites and do some serious damage to their home. To counter that particular problem she needed a few things, namely the gyroscopic stabilizer, which was a component of Clank's new giant form, and two spells from Starswirl, where the first spell was his strongest teleportation spell and the seconds was his reconstruction spell, the latter used to fix things that were broken in their home, since for a time none of them had the Bolts to pay for new stuff and such a spell had been needed to keep things together. Her plan was simple, they were going to hook Clank up to the laser, giving the beam a supercharge from his gyroscopic stabilizer that would combine with both of her brother's spells, creating an attack that would break the twisted planet back into the pieces that formed it, which, if her math and estimates were correct, and they generally were when it mattered, would send each fragment back to the planet it had come from, since none of them had destabilized yet, and put each one back where they belonged.
At this point in time Clank wasn't even surprised by Autumn's intelligence, though it wasn't long before they had set up all of the components and activated the Deplanetizer, where the beam tore into the twisted planet and shattered it, granting them a chance to see the fragments disappear as they were claimed by the teleportation spell, until nothing was left of the twisted planet... of course the force of the blast destroyed the Deplanetizer platform and powered down Clank, though Autumn smiled as they observed her work, each feeling pleased with themselves as they headed back to their home, so they could rest before seeing the effects of their hard work, with Clank joining them.