The flight from Savali to Cordelion, which was where they needed to go to make the new Dimensionator, gave Ratchet and Starswirl some time to think about what they had been through so far, or at least since Dr. Nefarious ruined the event that was supposed to be big for everyone in their dimension. Ratchet continued to wonder what Rivet, Autumn, Clank were up to, even though he knew they were seeking the Phase Quartz, and the fact that he had failed his father as the next Keeper of the Dimensionator, by allowing it to be taken and destroyed by one of their enemies. Starswirl, on the other hand, turned his focus to what they had barely learned about during their time on Savali, another dimension, possibly an entire multiverse outside of the one they were living in right now, that was so important that Kaden hid everything he and the Lombaxes knew about it in a special Lorb. It seemed strange to consider such a thing, especially after everything they had been through so far and everything they had learned since coming to this dimension to find Rivet, but once this adventure was over he was sure that they would return to figure everything out.
At the same time Kit, who sat in Starswirl's lap since there were only two seats available in this ship, informed them that this would be her first time visiting another planet, not counting her arrival on Savali, while preparing herself for whatever might be in their way when they reached their destination... a large water world with next to no land.
"This... is an ocean!" Kit remarked, pulling her attention away from what had been on her mind since leaving Savali, due to the fact that a lot of things had happened since the Troopers showed up and she didn't have a lot of time to think about all of it, where she stared at the water in awe, since she was used to the desert of Savali.
"It's pretty cool, right? And just think, when the dimensions are safe, you'll be able to see more like this." Ratchet said, as he knew there were other things in the universe for Kit to take in, especially when it came to the other dimensions that were out there, all while Starswirl nodded his head in agreement.
"Ratchet... how are you and Starswirl so unafraid of the future?" Kit inquired, because she had noticed that during her time with them, both brothers seemed unfazed by everything that was going on around them, especially with the barrier that existed between the dimensions cracking as they made a new Dimensionator, "Especially with all of it's unknowns?"
"Kit... you asked me many questions back on Savali, about the Lombaxes and my desires... including if I wanted to find the rest of my kind." Ratchet replied, recalling everything she had asked him, not to mention his brother since he was one of the most unknown figures to her, and the answers he gave her before they figured out how to get into the Archives and gain the information on how to forge the Dimensionator, "I've thought about it long and hard, especially after everything my siblings and I have been through, and I've come to realize that, after being reunited with Rivet, I would want to find the Lombaxes... but... the closer we got to such a thing the more I started to wonder 'what if they aren't what I expected' or 'what if I'm not what they expected'? After the destruction of the Dimensionator, well..."
In that moment both Kit and Starswirl reached out to him, Kit touching his right hand while his brother rested a hand on his shoulder, before he glanced at the area they were flying to, a small research station situated above part of the ocean, meaning it had an elevator for them to use. It had to be Kedaro Station, where they could find the forge needed to make the new Dimensionator, to which he pulled them in and landed on the lone platform that had a few components on it, no doubt items that would be taken into the facility at some point. Of course there were a few Troopers guarding this section of the facility, unaware that the targets they were keeping an eye out for were currently coming towards them, though he parked the ship and they jumped out of it. He had to admit that stealing a royal starship had it's perks, because it allowed him and his brother, Including Kit for that matter, to get close to their target without their enemies realizing what was going on, or at it sure seemed that way as Kit informed them that the Rubion Forge had to be somewhere in this facility.
With that in mind the brothers found themselves lucky that they had restocked their weapons back on Savali, as there was no sign of Ms. Zurkon out here, though that didn't stop them from using the nearby lift and ride over to the main section of the upper portion of the station. The Troopers were surprised to see that enemies were approaching, though as soon as the first shot was fired they activated a lockdown, sending the main elevator down into the depths, before even trying to fight the brothers, even though the elevator did return for a short while to dispense more enemies before disappearing for real, a bad sign for sure. Still, such a thing didn't stop them from blasting the remaining Troopers with their weapons, clearing the area of enemies for the time being, since there was no telling when reinforcements would arrive, and without a way into the the station the brothers could only head to the highest point. There was one more foe for them to take down up there, who was interested in what all of the noise was about, though with him taken care of the brothers discovered a pleasant sight, as Ms. Zurkon was waiting nearby and she likely had all sorts of weapons to give them.
In addition to the weapons Rivet and Autumn had purchased they got a few others, such as the Cold Snap, a freezing bomb launcher, an old weapon in the form of the Pixelizer, and the Bombardier, a device that hovered and rained death on their enemies, though with their arsenal upgraded the brothers moved and discovered something new.
"Blizon, on this planet?" Starswirl inquired, as at the peak of the station they found a large purple crystal that was floating in the air with several instruments reading what was going on with it, where he could tell that it was packed full of dimensional energy, almost to the brim after everything they had seen so far.
"Indeed, it is a common element for storing energy... too much dimensional energy, on the other hand, causes them to just explode." Kit said, though she studied the material for a moment as Ratchet and Starswirl stood there, clearly waiting for her to tell them what she knew and what her guesses on what was happening might be, "If we were to hit it we would either shift into another dimension, or explode and take the whole area with it."
Ratchet sighed for a moment, as it was amazing how often they got into situations like this, before he and Starswirl struck it with their melee weapons, where they found that they were pulled into a new dimension, a snowy and offline version of the one they had just been in. As Kit studied the changes in question the brothers headed outside so they could see if they were lucky, because if the elevator was up here in this dimension than luck was on their side, even if it meant sliding down some of the slick ramps thanks to the ice that had formed with the falling snow. Fortunately the elevator was up here and, as odd as it seemed, it was still operational with nothing for them to work on to fix it, allowing Ratchet and Starswirl to step inside before the elevator took them down into the station. While they rode it down into the depths Kit told them that she was just like them, she had never met her family either, though in the grand scheme of things the Emperor was the worst of them all, so she figured the Lombaxes and Starswirl's kind would be far better than her 'father'.
As the brothers thanked her, however, Ratchet came up with an interesting set of ideas, either they could track down the Rubion Forge in this dimension and use it to forge the Dimensionator, thereby eliminating some of the risk associated with this mission, or they could track down some Blizon to return to Rivet's dimension. Starswirl had to admit that both ideas, in their own ways, were possible to pull off, as even with the damage the station in this dimension had suffered he was sure they could find some way to restore the forge and utilize it, though for now he felt that the Blizon option was the best, with using this dimension's being the backup in case things went south. With that in mind the brothers carefully explored the rest of the station after the elevator came to a stop, finding that most of the Troopers were dead, some machines were broken, and there were a few pools of water, no doubt from broken pipes that no longer worked, as the tubes and windows of the underwater station seemed to be mostly intact. After checking the area around the elevator, finding nothing of use, both of the brothers headed down the hallway, as it was the only path forward right now, and discovered a few cylinders that had been broken by something else, though both of them were sure the scientists here weren't researching plants, given what they had learned of the Emperor so far.
Ratchet was surprised to find that there were still amoeboids in this station, after everything that had happened to it, but that didn't stop him or Starswirl from firing on them, especially since Kit asked them to hurry and eliminate them, as she didn't want to be devoured by the slimy creatures. They discovered something very interesting as they engaged the groups of amoeboids, the Cold Snap could trap most of them with a single blast and allowed the other brother to use another of their weapons to wipe them out, allowing the brothers to make good time as they carefully explored the station. The other thing they noticed was that coral and plant life, those found underwater anyway, were starting to grow in certain places in the ruined station, as if they were reclaiming it from those who invaded the ocean in the first place, which was ignored by all of the amoeboids based on what they were seeing. After tearing down another group of enemies they found their way over to a locked door, which was perfect considering the nature of this place, before recalling that there was a room just a few steps backwards and that it might hold something to help them get around the locked door, like a keycard.
"Juicy!" a voice cried out, as if welcoming a friend or something, which turned out to come from a red Helper that just so happened to have a cracked glass dome over it's eye, or his since it used a male voice, though his outburst caused Ratchet and Starswirl to ready their weapons, causing him to move his antenna hands quickly, "Sorry, sorry, sorry! I thought you guys were someone else, but you are not... haha. Anyway, where you looking for me? Because that would be great!"
"Well, I'm Ratchet, this is Starswirl, and this is Kit... and no, we weren't looking for you." Ratchet replied, where it was easy for them to tell that the robot must have been lonely, save for this 'Juicy' he mentioned, making him wonder how he could have survived for so long after the downfall of the facility, "We're looking for some Blizon."
The robot, who introduced himself as Junk Bot, informed them that he knew where to find one of the crystals and could, in fact, help them out, though to open the door he needed his access arm, which had fallen into the water that was in this very room, so now he needed to drain it and he had no idea how to do that. Junk Bot was so starved for attention that he apparently gave anything and everything nicknames, as he tried a few while Ratchet and Starswirl used a few rafts, which had been deployed in the water, to safely make their way over to a terminal that had to be linked to the systems that were in this area. Ratchet also informed their new friend that they were hoping to use the Rubion Forge in another dimension, causing Junk Bot to inform them that his was offline, due to the lack of power and a virus that had infected the machines in question, so, for the time being, their plan shifted to using the forge in Rivet's dimension. A few moments later Ratchet came to a stop in front of the terminal and showed Starswirl that he had learned some things from watching Autumn work on her projects, he was able to hack into the system and engage the pumps, draining the water so Junk Bot could claim his access arm.
With that done they returned to where they met him and followed the robot through the now opened door, allowing them to head deeper into the station before finding a ruined room off to their left, where some sort of vicious scaled creature, with spikes on it's back and scythe like blades for claws, jumped near the door and freaked Ratchet out, causing Junk Bot to close the door before anything else happened.
"Wha... What was that?" Ratchet asked, as that was the first time he had seen something like that, in fact it seemed much scarier than most of the creatures he and his siblings had faced over the years, far more than the ugly Cragmites for sure, though he accepted Starswirl's hand as he pulled him back onto his feet.
"That... is Juice... my best friend. He tries to kill me from time to time, but he's a great listener." Junk Bot said, as if there was nothing wrong with what he had just said, something that worried all three of them since it meant the monster might come after them at some point, even though the robot seemed more interested in something else.
That 'something else' happened to be the fact that they might become friends with Juice, going on about nicknames as he unlocked the remaining doors that were in their way, though as they did so Ratchet, Starswirl, and Kit noticed one of the rooms had a glass wall and Juice was walking behind it. Such a thing confirmed that he was hunting them, in fact he had to be a meat eater and this was likely the first time he had seen something worth eating, if there were no exits to the outside of the station, meaning they had to be quick since there was no telling when he'd catch up with them. Junk Bot ended up bringing them to a large chamber that had an elevator that would take them down to where the Blizon was located, but as he reached the elevator terminal he discovered that the power was out, even though he thought his device was broken at first. With that in mind the brothers carefully explored the chamber he had brought them to, finding that there were more groups of amoeboids waiting for them, even though it ended with the brothers firing on all of their enemies, freezing them solid so their other weapons could break the slime creatures into pieces.
In no time at all they found the terminal and Ratchet hacked into it, restoring some power to the area, enough to use the elevator and head down towards the area that Junk Bot said the Blizon was resting in, though as everyone stepped inside they got a nasty surprise as Juice appeared behind the glass and slashed into it, doing nothing to it as they headed down into the depths.
"Aw, I've never seen Juice so playful before... usually he just moseys around the station, doing his own thing while silently listening to what I say." Junk Bot said, though it was clear that he was thinking about the situation, or something else, while the brothers and Kit were regaining themselves after seeing Juice suddenly appear once more, before he decided to focus on something else entirely, "Anyway, it seems he's actively hunting you guys... I am jealous."
The brothers and Kit said nothing to that as the elevator came to a stop, revealing another partly flooded room that had a piece of Blizon, so they bid Junk Bot farewell before using the platforms around them to reach the crystal's position, as it was time to head back to Rivet's dimension. A whack later they were no longer in the ruined dimension and reappeared in what appeared to be a laboratory full of equipment, though a number of science bots were surprised by what happened, as they happened to reappear behind them. When asked about where they had come from Ratchet just told the truth, as it seemed so unbelievable that anyone listening to it would take them for a pack of fools, and, sure enough, one bot told them to tell 'George Bot' that he had better watch his back, showing that he didn't believe their answer. Kit informed them that the Rubion Forge had to be straight ahead of their current position, meaning they were so close to reforging the one device that could stop the Dimensional Cataclysm, they just had to fool the guards somehow.
As they walked into the main chamber, which had a large circular forge that was creating the components that went into making the Troopers and the Juggernauts, and whatever else Emperor Nefarious tasked his workers with making, a new and old face intercepted them, a pristine Junk Bot.
"What are you doing here?" Junk Bot, or more like Manager Bot given his attitude, inquired, where it was clear that he was annoyed by their sudden arrival in what was the most secure section in the entirety of Kedaro Station, though as Ratchet and Starswirl opened their mouths he waved his antenna for a moment, "I was not talking to either of you, squishies. I am talking to your owner. Can you tell me how you and your steeds got in here? Because we're in the middle of a lockdown."
"I... am inspecting your facility. How white it is... and orange... for I am an Interior Decorator, First Class." Kit replied, as she had read a few things in the past and decided to study the area while the newcomer was talking to her companions, all so she could have some sort of idea on what to say to him, "And the Emperor wanted this redecoration to be a surprise for you and your team... but now, you've ruined it!"
Manager Bot took the blow exactly as Kit planned, he rushed to tell her that he'd never do such a thing and that the three of them should consider his words towards them deleted so they could get to work, allowing Kit to take her place once more as they studied the chamber. In order to avoid drawing any unnecessary suspicion she quietly suggested that they take some time to listen to the other Helper Bots, which were the Emperor's science bots, as they were going to make it look like they were creating a new design while listening in on whatever they were planning. There was a chance that they might stumble upon some information that might prove useful in the future, like where some of the Emperor's weapons were being stored or what he was planning after he finally stopped the Resistance and the Pirates. What they discovered was that most of the robots were loyal to the Emperor, even when he forced them to work nonstop and without a single break, before learning that he also had them make something that was over a hundred stories tall and fired lasers of pure destructive energy.
Once Kit was sure they had spend enough time pulling the wool over the eyes of their enemies they made their way up to the controls of the forge, where she input the blueprints of the Dimensionator, set to be deleted after their mission was complete, and Ratchet spied something nice. That was the fact that there were two green buttons for them to use, where one had to be the main power button and the other had a skull and crossbones on it, the self destruct button in case the forge was ever compromised by their enemies, and an idea formed in his mind. As he executed it, by pressing the main power switch, blue sparks erupted from the forge as Manager Bot rushed up and informed them that they had run it with auxiliary power only, making the brothers wonder why the main power button was labeled with a skull and crossbones, as it seemed stupid. With the forge falling apart, which was what Ratchet had planned after getting the Dimensionator, they rushed down another passage that opened up and blasted the Troopers that were coming to apprehend them, though at the same time Kit was cross with Ratchet until he explained his reasoning, causing her to sigh as she realized that it did make sense with the information in front of him.
As they retreated the brothers agreed that now was the time to enact their second plan, using the other dimension's forge to make the Dimensionator, so while Dr. Nefarious got a status report on what was going on right now, which had to piss him off, Ratchet and Starswirl tore through the Troopers. While that happened the Rubion Forge tore itself apart, in the sense that it would no longer be usable, allowing Ratchet and Starswirl to flee through the other passages, blasting many of the Troopers into pieces as they tried to take them down. After a few moments they discovered an area that seemed to be a dead end, at least with everything that was around them right now, though there was a container with a Blizon crystal floating in the center of it, causing the brothers to open fire on their enemies to secure the Boltcrank that happened to be in the chamber. While that happened a few dimensional rifts opened, causing some angry puffer fish, like those from their first adventure on Pokitaru, to jump through and attack the Troopers that were coming at them, so they wiped out both groups of enemies and opened the way for Ratchet to open the container.
With that done, and before any of their enemies knew what was going on, they struck the crystal and disappeared within a few seconds, reappearing in a ruined version of the same chamber, meaning that, for now, they were safe, to which they quickly made their way through a short tunnel and found Junk Bot hanging out near the forge. Sure enough he was totally surprised to see all of them again, since he assumed they would have gone to another dimension and not come back, but before he got distracted Ratchet asked him about all of the problems he mentioned with his Rubion Forge. Part of it was that they had lost the power source, though even if they had access to that they would need to deal with the foul virus it had been infested with, a Zeta Virus to be exact, to which Ratchet pulled Glitch out and sent her inside to do her work, as this was totally something she could deal with. It took her some time to cut through the virus that had infested the console and was stopping them from using the forge, but when she finally emerged Ratchet and Starswirl found that Glitch did her dance as the virus was eradicated entirely, causing Junk Bot to be joyful as well.
After that he directed them down another tunnel, one that connected to some stairs that brought the brothers down to a button that activated some security doors, three for one button, something that worried them more than it should, as it meant the power source had to be somewhat dangerous. In that moment Starswirl had to wonder if Juice was, in fact, the thing he and Ratchet were looking for, as they headed through a dark passage and found a ruined chamber that had to be where the energy was generated for the forge, with ruined Troopers resting all over the place. As they discovered that he and Ratchet did, however, come up with the same idea, they could return to Rivet's dimension and steal the power source from Emperor Nefarious' station, provided it wasn't Juice since that would make things more complicated for them, given what they saw previously. Kit, while agreeing with their idea, clearly thought they were insane for wanting to go back to a dimension where an entire station was hunting for them so they could deliver all three of them to their precious Emperor, but she said nothing as they carefully made their way through the rest of the ruined tunnels.
At the end of a tunnel Ratchet found Juice at the edge of a room, slurping at some yellow liquid that was in a number of cylinders, which Kit identified as Slurpion jelly and realized why Juice had been hunting them earlier, he was hungry and this seemed to be the only thing around, or maybe it was more convenient than hunting. With that in mind Starswirl did a quick check of the dimensional energies that were on this planet, gauging whether or not he could use magic, before using a bit of his power to lift a container and hurled it at a wall, causing it to shatter and spill jelly everywhere, drawing Juice to where it landed. While he did that Ratchet opened the next doorway and they slipped through before the creature even noticed them, though knowing Juice they were sure that he would track them down at some point, so this was more like a head start for the group. In the following chamber the brothers discovered something else, there were two paths and two switches that needed to be activated, though instead of splitting up they stayed together and tackled the one on the left first, finding that it brought them to a large room with an access terminal and some computer screens.
As Ratchet hacked into the terminal Starswirl blasted some amoeboids down with his weapons, clearing the area so his brother could work without being interrupted, before Kit found a video from Junk Bot, labeled as 'trash', that displayed a day where he observed Juice in his natural habitat as the other robots shocked him into submission. A few seconds later a window shattered and the beast himself burst into the chamber they were in, causing them to carefully move while Juice followed them, either eying them hungrily or out of pure interest, allowing them to escape through his opening. After that they quickly headed for the other doorway, finding that it brought the brothers to a room with a Boltcrank and a pair of small rifts that their tethers could use, to which Ratchet got to work as Starswirl kept an eye out. Sure enough Juice burst into the room without delay, showing that he was clearing interested in them, though as soon as Ratchet was done both of them waited for Juice to leap at them before using the rifts to escape, breaking more of the canisters as they quickly headed through the door they had opened.
A few moments later the brothers reached the end of the tunnel and discovered a button that was keeping a door shut, though this time around, due to the water that was slowly pushing through the door, Starswirl suggested putting on their O2 Masks and Ratchet followed his lead.
Sure enough it was the right call to make, as the moment Ratchet stepped on the button the door opened and water just rushed into the chamber they were in, while at the same time the one they had unlocked sealed itself, so Juice was stuck in another part of the ruined factory, for now. In addition to that Ratchet and Starswirl used their Magneboots to walk along the surface that was in front of them, as the tunnel on the other side of the door was shattered, as in the rest of the station had been broken, either by juice or by someone shooting the wrong thing. While they carefully walked along the depths of the trench the station had been built in, where the brothers were thankful for Autumn's modifications to their masks, Kit had a few words to share with Ratchet, as she had liked her life on Savali and had been afraid to join them after everything that had happened. It was a direct link to his worry about the Lombaxes, about how he'd be perceived if he went looking for all of them, and she informed him that she could be the one who believed in him now, causing him to sigh and thank her as they dealt with a few more crabs who were guarding the way into another part of the station.
Neither brother was surprised when Juice, in all his glory, dropped down near the Blizon crystal that was in the chamber just beyond the entrance, waiting until the water was drained before showing up, though the brothers avoided him and struck the crystal, returning them to Rivet's dimension. From there they found that they were near the chamber that contained the power source, though with Ms. Zurkon resting nearby, neither of them were about to argue with her presence, they quickly restocked on their ammunition before heading into the next chamber. Sure enough they found some Troopers talking about them, referring to them as interior decorators even though that had been proven to be a total lie, and one was worried that his prized possession, a signed autograph from the Emperor, would be stolen, while his companion said that even if such a thing happened he could likely buy a new one at great cost. The brothers simply waged war on the Troopers, surprising the robots in the process as one called for more reinforcements, but neither of them cared about that too much as they fired on all of their enemies, tearing them down and opening the way for them to reach their target.
Of course they were surprised to find that the power source was none other than Juice himself, confirming what Starswirl had thought of earlier when they entered this part of the station, and it explained why he was so angry all the time, he had been tortured by the Emperor's forces for a long time.
With that in mind Starswirl tore down the enemies that were coming their way as Ratchet accessed the Boltcrank, which did mess with the machine that was shocking Juice and draining him of his own potent energy, drawing back all of the rods so he wasn't in pain anymore. Once the machine was in a standby mode Juice seemed to understand what was going on and was quick to tear his way through the glass in front of him, causing an alarm to sound as more Troopers entered the chamber, one even claiming that the power source wasn't scheduled to have hope today. It just made Ratchet dislike Rivet's foes even more, that the Emperor was willing to destroy innocent species to build his weapons of war, and made him want to tear all of them down with her, but for now he focused on fighting with Starswirl and Juice as several Juggernauts came in to restore order to the station. Juice was a formidable force, he slashed through the robots that dared to challenge him, while at the same time trusting the brothers to take care of some of their other enemies, and Ratchet could hear the voice of a robot just booing at them as they tore through all of their foes.
A few moments later they escaped through another tunnel, Juice following them and freeing the Blizon crystal that allowed them to return to the ruined dimension, where they found Junk Bot at the mercy of his own friend, but this time neither of the brothers had to do anything. That was because their new friend jumped out of the hallway and landed nearby, which caused both versions of Juice to look at each other for a time as they circled around part of the area that the forge was in, as if a fight was about to go down, before they nuzzled each other and their spikes turned purple, which had to be a peaceful color for them Ratchet guessed. As Starswirl guessed that they were two different members of the same species, and not the same one like they had originally thought, the two creatures summoned their energy powers for a time and stabbed the forge's base, not to destroy it, like one might suspect, but to power it up. Such a thing caused them to spring into action as everything came online, Kit uploaded the schematics for the Dimensionator once more, Starswirl checked the readings to be sure nothing else was damaged or in need of repair, and then, once they were done, Ratchet pressed the skull button and activated the forge, which got to work on the device.
Eventually some energy was released from the forge and everything stalled, allowing the creatures to pull back as Ratchet, Starswirl, and Kit approached the base, something that caused a smile to appear on their faces as Kit pulled out the newly forged Dimensionator, which she handed to Ratchet without delay.
"Thanks for all your help, um, Junky." Starswirl said, as they couldn't have done this without Junk Bot telling them what had to be done to repair the forge, even though the virus part had been easy to see as soon as they entered this chamber, and it seemed to put the robot in a good mood as he tended to his new friends.
As Junk Bot wished them well, and said they could come again since he had fun hanging out with them, the group used a nearby lift that, according to their new friend, would take them back to the surface, though as they did that Ratchet gave Kit the signature of Clank and called him immediately, who picked up without delay.
"Clank, Rivet, Autumn, we've got good news: the Dimensionator's been reforged." Ratchet stated, as their family needed to know that part of the mission had been completed, which meant that all they needed now was the Phase Quartz and to put the two items together, before using it to end the dimensional damage that was going on.
We knew you would succeed. We have obtained the Phase Quartz as well. Clank replied, which only made their smiles widen as they heard it, because with both items in their possession it meant they were in the clear, as there was no way Dr. Nefarious knew how close they were to putting the Dimensionator back together.
Yeah, ugh... meet us as Zurkie's and we'll put the pieces together. Rivet said, where it sounded like she had something she wanted to say, or maybe she was just worried because of the fact that this was the first time that anything was going so well, given the state of the Resistance.
As Ratchet confirmed that fact they cut off the call and used a Blizon crystal to return to Rivet's dimension, though as they returned to their ship Kit asked what to do when they encountered Rivet and the others, causing the brothers to fill her in on how to meet someone as they blasted off, as it was time to set things right at long last.