//------------------------------//
// Nexus: Silox 
// Story: Ratchet and Clank: Family of Heroes 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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After clearing out the Destructapalooza, and earning a bunch of Bolts for later, Ratchet and Aphelion navigated their way to Silox, the planet that seemed to be the main one in whatever Vendra and Neftin were planning with the Nethers, all while Autumn and Starswirl simply rested. They knew the Twins were trying to find their family, that much was easy for them to see by just studying the audio journals, which Autumn was keeping as evidence to show people the truth, that the Twins were, in fact, being used by someone else for a much darker purpose. Mr. Eye, from what little they had learned of him, almost seemed like a conqueror and that this dimension might be the next target he was after, hence why he might have sent the Twins ahead of time to prepare the way for him and his army to invade this dimension after some time, especially with all of the armor the Nethers had prepared. They were positive about all of that, even with the limited information that they had on the situation, and Ratchet was sure that while Vendra was putting on her usual villainous face for the Thugs, the one most people were used to seeing, he also suspected that he and his siblings might be able to convince her and Neftin to turn themselves in at some point.

As they soon discovered Silox was a large oceanic planet that was already halfway covered in Nether energy, the lower half to be exact, and that there were large cities that dotted the landscape, where Aphelion found where the dimensional energy was coming from and landed on the outskirts of the city in question.

Hi Ratchet, I know you and your siblings are following me, Vendra said, speaking through their communicators for a few seconds, where it was hard to tell if Neftin was near her or if she was alone right now, but Ratchet could tell that they were right about one thing, her voice seemed split between pleased that they were here and saddened by that fact, Honestly, I'm not even surprised by that fact, rather I'm glad that you guys are here: we're about to change the face of reality and, well, I'd rather not lose people like you... maybe, if you lower your weapons and leave us to our operation, I could speak with Mr. Eye and convince him to spare you guys. I'd... rather not think about the alternative...

"Ratchet, she's totally crushing on you." Starswirl remarked, keeping his voice low so only his siblings and Clank could hear him speak, since they didn't want to give Vendra any ideas before she was done talking, all while his brother nodded, as he had come to terms with that after his first few talks with Vendra, before they heard Neftin in the background, no doubt in the middle of getting things ready.

When Nef and I first got here there were so many people... people who didn't go through the same hardships that we went through, so we scared them off. Vendra continued, though at the same time Ratchet understood the unspoken piece of her statement, she was going to mention him and his siblings, since they had grown up without parents or knowing where their respective races were located, All that's going to change soon.

"I've found the source of the dimensional energy, as it nearly matches the true Dimensionator's signature." Autumn stated, speaking once Vendra cut off the connection, even though she could see that it was located deep inside the city, not that any of them were surprised by this piece of information, causing her to sigh as they climbed out of Aphelion, who was scanning the planet and sending the data to the Great Clock, to aid Kaden in trying to repair this mess.

"Good, then let's get to them before they break reality... or set off the Dimensional Cataclysm." Ratchet said, as his father had put some emphasis on the term at one point and he knew that it was important, hence why he had avoided trying to put together the original Dimensionator until everything was back to normal, which would no doubt happen once they put an end to Vendra's plans.

After saying that Ratchet walked down the path in front of them and found that they had to glide over to an area that had an old grav-train station, not to mention a Vendor, where he, Autumn, and Starswirl walked over to the Vendor and found two more weapons to add to their arsenals. The first was the new and improved Plasma Striker, as it was far stronger than the one Autumn had made during one of their previous adventures, while the other one was the Nether Blades, a weapon apparently created by Vendra, the holo-plans stolen and integrated into what Autumn worked on, and improved to be a viable weapon. With both in hand Ratchet surveyed the area that they were in, finding that to move the downed grav-train out of the way one needed to find a Battery Bot, which might not even exist since it's been some time since anyone had been to this place, before locating some Serathoid nests, allowing them to test the Nether Blades on them. Ratchet quickly found that they sort of acted like the Buzz Blades, it fired a rotating blade out that bounced around and hit multiple foes before breaking, and it allowed him to locate the Battery Bot as his siblings smashed the rest of the crates that were in this part of the city.

With the Battery Bot returned to it's socket the train moved out of the way, revealing that they could walk on the rail, even if it meant fighting the Nethers that had followed Vendra and Neftin to Silox after their last experiment, though as the pair of Nethers fell they expected Vendra to be angry and noticed that she didn't contact them.

One thing the siblings discovered was that there were a few turrets that were still active, as one loosed a laser at a couple of Serathoids that were roaming the area, cutting through them with ease, but since the spotlight wasn't moving the three of them were able to avoid it without too much trouble and moved into another part of the city. After discovering a couple of turrets blocking the way forward Ratchet asked Clank to scout ahead, as in he activated his Helipack and flew above the spotlights, though upon his return he informed them that he found a Thug communicator that they might be able to use if he hacked into it. As such they decided to head down the path to their left, even though a Battery Bot was required for the nearby socket, which raised some Swingshots for them to use to make their way around the spotlights, before finding that a pair of Thugs were talking and one of them felt that this was a big mistake, summoning Mr. Eye into their world. It was a little odd to see mercenaries talking about how their bosses were doing something stupid, though after what happened in Bogon, during their second adventure, it seemed that the surviving Thugs had learned a bit and were now a little cautious about who they worked for.

Such a thing didn't lead to the siblings sparing them, rather they blasted the pair and the others that happened to be near where they had stopped, before gliding down to what seemed to be the Water Works of this city, where they discovered that it was partly flooded and Talwyn informed them of what needed to be done. Basically they had to find Battery Bots to activate the pumps and move the water from one spot to another, so while Ratchet focused on finding the little robots his siblings cleared out the area without wasting too much time, as there was no telling when Vendra would activate her plan and the makeshift Dimensionator. The fact that there were Grav-Tethers along the path they were following meant that someone out there knew of the path Ratchet and his siblings would be taking and outfitted it with the devices they would need to progress, meaning either the Plumber or someone else was behind this. Of course Vendra or Neftin sent more of the Thugs to stop them, or at the very least slow them down since one seemed to know that the Thugs were nothing when compared to what Ratchet and his siblings were capable of, but they blasted them into submission before moving deeper into the city.

There was a Bolt Crank that, when turned, started to pour more water into the area of the Water Works that they were in, to which the siblings raced up some new platforms to escape the rising water, though as they did so a few Thugs actually drowned off in the distance, causing them to shake their heads as they escaped the area.

After leaving the Water Works, by using a magnetic strip to escape the rising water, Ratchet found some Thugs in front of them that were talking, discussing how he and his siblings bested Nefarious with a Sonic Eruptor or how they took down some of the other villains they had encountered over the years. One thing was clear to them, some of the Thugs might be scared of what they were capable of, and sure enough some fled at the sight of Ratchet, Autumn, and Starswirl walking up to where the mercenaries were currently standing, allowing them to clear out those who wanted them dead. Neftin was, of course, amazed by how hard they were to kill as the Thugs reported their problems to him, where Ratchet was sure he heard Vendra chuckle a little, which their help would no doubt see as humor towards the Thugs getting wiped out, though he knew that she was pleased with what they were currently doing.

Not even the dropship that was brought to bare against them remained in their path for too long, as they crushed it with their skills and weapons, just like most of the enemies that decided to attack them, before reaching another area that had a number of Grav-Tethers and spotlights to avoid. Autumn studied the area and quickly determined how to get around all of them, tracking down a Battery Bot to use to open a doorway that was blocking the path, though her brothers and Clank weren't even surprised by this. As they did that Vendra called again and talked about Mr. Eye for a time, her tone similar to what she had used when the massive figure had talked to her back on Yerek, where Ratchet asked her not to do this, as he had a feeling that Mr. Eye was going to betray her and Neftin the moment he was on their side of the barrier, and while he got no rebuke for his words he understood that his words were bothering Vendra. It was all he could do right now, talk to her and try to convince the Twins not to pursue the path that they had set themselves on all those years ago, by listening to the whispers of Mr. Eye, while blasting the Thugs out of the way so they could progress.

After that they reached an area were multiple Thugs dropped down into, along with one of the fighter ships that had been called in to bring them down, though Ratchet, Autumn, and Starswirl wasted no effort in covering each other as they tore through their enemies and escaped from the platform when the Thugs tried to sink it.

From there they navigated more of the Grav-Tethers and avoided the spotlights that happened to be in their way, before reaching the relay station that Clank had seen earlier, allowing them to ambush several Thugs in the process and clear the area of enemies, which allowed the siblings to set up a perimeter as Clank hacked into the terminal. Sure enough more Thugs rushed into the area to stop him from hacking into the terminal, mostly to confirm where Vendra was located and, more importantly, figure out what sort of obstacles had been placed in their way by the Thugs. The siblings opened fire on the ground and air reinforcements that rushed into the area, blasting whatever their enemies sent their way without any of them using too much of their energy or ammunition, and even then Ratchet left a Blazebot to his siblings. His reasoning for that was because Vendra called again, though this time around, even though she was trying to be menacing, he heard the other side at the same time, the side that suggested that she was listening to them, about using the makeshift device Pollyx had helped build to bring the Nethers into this universe.

It meant he might have succeeded in breaking through Mr. Eye's brainwashing, even though he hadn't known about that during their time on the Nebulox, causing him to push forward as they brought down another cruiser, clearing the area of foes for now as they returned to Clank's side.

In that moment he informed them that he had finished the hack and knew that to move forward their next task was to use three power stations to open the path through an aqueduct, which would bring them to the nearby Sky Train Station, the one that all of the dimensional energy was coming from. With that information in hand Ratchet and his siblings made their way over to where another Vendor rested, allowing them to restock their ammunition before spreading out to tackle all of their targets, as time was of the essence and there was no reason for them to waste what little they had. Of course such a thing caused the Thugs to be taken by surprise, as they were expecting Ratchet, Autumn, and Starswirl to fight together, just like they did during the days of their second adventure, but the siblings tore through the groups guarding each of the water pumps and returned all of the Battery Bots to their plugs. Such a thing allowed them to see that the city was partly damaged, as most of the structures were still intact, mostly for the Thugs to use as safe locations while waiting for Vendra and Neftin to complete their objective, though it meant that not much needed to be repaired in the future, for when those who called it home eventually returned.

With all three pumps restored the primary maintenance gate was opened and they levitated through it, heading into the aqueduct that would bring them closer to their target, though with the next door, on the right of the platform they stopped at for a second, locked they had to head down the path on their left. Fortunately there were also power cables for them to follow, even though Ratchet noticed that they through some fans that were powered down right now, which would likely be powered up once they tracked down the main power source in this section of the aqueducts. Of course there were Thugs in this part of the city as well, which none of the siblings were surprised by, though there was a smart one who seemed to like his time with the Terachnoids, as he was using big words and explaining things in a more scientific manner, so Autumn just tagged him with a teleport spell. When they attacked the group of Thugs, however, that one was warped out so they didn't kill such a prodigy, as he might become more than just a goon, and it wasn't long before the siblings were moving deeper into the aqueduct to find their target.

Once they found the main pump it took them no time at all to restore it's Battery Bot and activate it, causing the water in the area to rise as the siblings retracted their flight path and headed for the other door, before reaching another Bolt Crank that stopped the water from rising once it was turned.

From there it was a simple matter to fly through the next opening, bringing them to the courtyard of the building that held the Sky Train Station, where Ratchet and his siblings found more Thugs waiting for enemies to show up, causing them to open fire on Neftin's minions once more. Vendra, as per the usual, told them to come and get her, though Ratchet could tell that her voice was filled with doubt, as if she was seriously considering that this might be a bad idea and that she and Neftin could pull back before things got so much worse. As they fought yet another cruiser, which had to be the last line of defense for the Twins, Ratchet noticed that the barrier between dimensions was stretched rather thin in this area, just like Aphelion claimed according to her earlier readings, and he realized what was going on as his siblings tore down the ship. Both of his siblings weren't even surprised when he told them what he had discovered, in fact Autumn was sure he would have noticed due to the fact that his father worked on the Dimensionator and he was, likely, more attuned to it than they thought, but all of them kept quiet as they pushed onward.

As they entered the station Clank found another rift to use and entered it without delay, where it didn't take him too long to find a Nether and bring it back to shatter the opening for them, revealing the way to the control center so they could remove a ruined train and use the elevator to reach the building's highest point... right below a massive vortex of energy that was the result of countless years of experimentation and tampering.

"Can you feel it? Static electricity in the air... a side effect of constant transdimensional experimentation." Neftin remarked, walking out from one of the train alleys that would have been used when the city was populated, speaking as soon as he spotted the siblings arrive with the platform they had used to reach this point, "You see, we had to use a trick to reach this point in time..."

"Without the Dimensionator, the true one, you had to utilize multiple false ones that would slowly wear down the barrier between all of the dimensions." Ratchet said, as he had been paying attention to everything that his father and Autumn had to say about the powerful device they had rescued from Tachyon's clutches, especially the danger it posed with said barrier in the state it was currently in.

"Correct. I must admit, I took you for just a hero, but you are as smart as your sister." Neftin stated, where he walked out onto the circular arena that they were currently standing in, though as he said that Ratchet was sure that he and Vendra had talked about the calls she had been making while they were preparing for this day, "Of course, my sister is similar to you in some ways... can you imagine what she's been through, working so hard while her kind are right there, on the other side of a barrier, but impossible to reach?"

"Yeah, I can. Did Vendra tell you about my twin sister, Rivet?" Ratchet asked, noting that Autumn and Starswirl were just a little surprised that he had mentioned her to Vendra, though he did so to establish a connection of sorts with the prisoner, to see if they could gain any new information, or at least at first, but it had turned into much more, and he could see that Neftin did, in fact, know the story, "During our first adventure, where we reclaimed the Dimensionator, I had a chance to see her... one of the dimensional cracks my siblings and I have seen over the years revealed her to us, during a time when she was wounded and in need of assistance, and I did everything in my power to help her... I even pounded on the barrier until it shattered into a portal, but before I could do anything it sealed before I could rush to her aid. You two have been searching for your kind, while I have been searching for my twin sister... I understand you guys better than you might think when you consider everything I've been through."

"I... wow... I was not expecting that." Neftin replied, as he had understood what Vendra had told him earlier, but now, after all of this information, he realized something about Ratchet, he was, as he claimed, just like them, only he walked a path that was different from what he and Vendra had traveled down, "But still, you want to stop Vendra... I cannot allow such a thing to happen."

"That's admirable, but we don't want to fight... we just want to talk." Autumn said, as he noticed that Neftin had two flails that could be extended into larger forms, allowing him to transport them with ease and prevent his foes from seeing both of them until it was too late, and her words stopped Neftin in his tracks, though she was sure Vendra was listening before making her dramatic arrival, "You're right, using a makeshift Dimensionator will allow you to wear thin the barrier, just like you've been doing since you two put this plan into motion... however, the damage that's been done has reached a point of almost no return. If you use that Dimensionator to punch a hole in the barrier between dimensions, connecting this reality to the Netherverse to fulfill your plan, there's a good chance that you could set off what Kaden, Ratchet's father, calls the 'Dimensional Cataclysm', the literal end of reality."

"So what? You want us to stop, after everything we've done?!" Neftin declared, as he sounded unhappy about the idea no one had mentioned, even though the siblings were hoping that he or Vendra would see that they were here to help them keep themselves from doing something they might regret.

"To a degree. Do we want to preserve all of reality? Absolutely." Starswirl commented, where Neftin glanced at him while he glanced at the energy that was above them, as he and the others knew that someone else, likely Mr. Eye, was watching and observing them before the portal was torn open for him and his vast army, "However, we can offer you an easier way to carry out your plan: put down the makeshift Dimensionator and help us repair the damage you've done to the barrier between dimensions... I can guarantee you that we'll repair the true Dimensionator and open the way to the Netherverse so you can find your family."

"Do... Do you mean that?" another voice asked, where they found that Vendra, still holding onto the false Dimensionator, floated down to where they were standing, with hope in her eyes no less, something she and her brother hadn't had for a long time, at least hope provided by others and not made with their own hands.

"I do. With my parents and Orvus helping us, there's nothing we can't do... besides, you shouldn't trust that creature, the one watching us at this very moment." Ratchet replied, where everyone glanced up at the vortex and Vendra's eyes quickly widened as she noticed that Mr. Eye was actually staring down at them, which should be impossible since the device was offline right now, while he frowned at the creature, "Come on, break through the barrier... I know you've been using both Vendra and Neftin so you wouldn't have to waste your power on opening the way into our dimension... you wanted some pawns to do your work for you!"

It was a gamble if he was right or not, given what little they knew of the Netherverse, but in response to his words several Nether portals were torn open before their eyes, the forces of the other dimension surging into their reality as Vendra and Neftin looked on in sheer disbelief. Ratchet hated being right, especially in regards to things dealing with the barrier that existed between the dimensions and those trying to mess with it in some manner, but this just confirmed something for all of them, Mr. Eye was using the Prog Twins to open the door for him. Sure enough he found that the main vortex burst open and the terrifying monster that had been lurking on the other side of the barrier surged into their dimension, where they confirmed that he was wearing armor to make sure he survive in this reality. At the same time, however, Ratchet did notice that cracks were starting to spread out from each of the portals, confirming his fears about all of this, the damage was starting to spread and it was only a matter of time until irrepairable damage was done to the rest of reality.

In the following moment Ratchet's secondary fears were confirmed, some of the Nethers zeroed in on Vendra with a quick glance from their boss, to which he, aided by Starswirl's quick formed platforms, rushed into the air and swung his wrench at them, knocking them away from her as she dropped the false Dimensionator, though he caught her before pushing the both of them away as Mr. Eye crushed the device with a claw.

As Vendra and Neftin came to terms with the fact that Ratchet was right, that Mr. Eye saw them as pawns, the creature in question started to talk, where Autumn translated the message for all of them, that he was grateful for them being such great pawns in his plans to invade this dimension. Such a thing hurt the Prog Twins more than they were willing to admit, especially since they were learning that they had been deceived into believing that the creature was part of their family, or even a friend for that matter, and now wanted to kill them since they were the only ones capable of stopping him from his plans to take over this entire dimension. As the monster turned on them, however, Autumn loosed a large fireball into his face, blasting him backwards so they could descend to the base of the station with Neftin following them, while carrying a mentally hurt Vendra in his arms. The siblings weren't too surprised by that, especially since Vendra thought she had been doing everything right to find her family, and knew that it would be some time before she was ready to fight back, but as they departed from the building, however, Ratchet noticed that the Nethers were starting to depart and he had a feeling that he knew where they were going.

While they departed, however, Neftin asked the siblings to meet him and Vendra on Thram, as he had a plan and it was, at the moment, the best place for them to discuss what needed to be done, to which the siblings nodded before they let the Twins head off in another direction, allowing them to return to their ship and leave Silox without much delay.