After blasting a path out of the dark cavern they were in, Alister led the way outside to a settlement of the same sophonts they'd encountered back on Torren IV...along with a great deal of Agorian bodies and wrecked ships. "What happened here?" Alister demanded, confused.
"I was bored!" Aphelion whined as she lowered down. "And the Agorians were attacking these guys who couldn't defend themselves, and that makes them fair targets. Sorry I didn't leave any for you...but you were taking so long!"
Alister swallowed a bit as he stared. "Are...are Aphelion's upgrades more of Twilight's work?" he asked worriedly.
"Technically, I did bring the Zoni to fix her," Twilight allowed. "All 117,000 of them..."
"...no wonder she's so powerful now," Alister muttered before looking around to determine which way to go.
"Hail great Sky Warrior!" one of the members of the settlement called out to Aphelion. "How can we thank you for saving us?"
"My companions need guidance to the Obsidian Eye," Aphelion replied. "Do you know where it is?"
"The Eye is in the Temple!" the resident proclaimed eagerly. "Follow me!"
The sophont guided them to the path in question, explaining that it had been sealed off ages ago due to an excess of tetramites, amongst other things, while also providing an Omnisoaker gadget in the hopes it would assist them. The Omnisoaker could absorb any nearby source of liquid before launching it, either to fill objects that needed the liquid or for other purposes. This proved quite useful in maneuvering around several badly placed tetramite nests throughout the cave.
Beyond there, they found their way to a Zoni Temple. Contained within was the Obsidian Eye. Unfortunately, the Fulcrum Star - the device's power source - was cracked, and there was no guarantee of a good signal. The system booted up successfully, however. "Stand by for system uplink," the computer proclaimed.
Clank was pondering what exactly to do next within the Great Clock when a screen activated behind him. "Mommy!"
At that familiar shout, Clank spun around to see Twilight, Ratchet, and a Lombax he didn't recognize. "Ratchet! Twilight! How did you find me?"
"You didn't really think we'd leave you out here all alone, did you?" Ratchet asked.
"Who is that behind you?" Clank asked curiously.
"Believe it or not, it's my Uncle...sort of," Ratchet replied. "General Azimuth's been helping us find you. Send us your coordinates, and we'll come get you!"
"Signal integrity 33%," the Obsidian Eye computer proclaimed.
"One sec!" Twilight called out. Levitating the Zoni vessel, she mixed her magic with the energies of the Zoni, and sent the combined reconstruction spell at the Fulcrum Star, restoring it to its pre-cracked condition by turning back its personal timeline.
"Signal integrity restored to 100%," the computer intoned.
"Very good, Twilight," Clank praised. "You're beginning to master time magic...which is rather unnerving, but reassuring as well. I need your help, all of you. Orvus is in trouble."
"We've been hearing that name a lot," Twilight replied. "Who is he?"
"My father."
As Ratchet and Azimuth's jaws both dropped, Twilight gasped. "Grandpa's in trouble? What can we do? We've got to save him!"
"You must go to Zanifar and confront Dr. Nefarious there," Clank explained.
"But Nefarious hasn't set foot on Zanifar since his station was completed two years ago!" Azimuth countered.
"Then that is when you must confront him," Clank replied. "Zanifar is currently experiencing temporal anomalies. I should be able to manipulate them from here to temporarily connect the present to two years ago, allowing you to confront Nefarious then...and with luck, save my father from whatever has happened to him."
"How will we get in contact with you again?" Ratchet asked. "We can't keep coming back to the Eye here..." His voice trailed off. "Twilight, I know that look..."
"Aphelion!" Twilight called out. "Can you enter the Zoni Temple?"
"On my way!" Aphelion replied as she dove in, hovering over the Obsidian Eye. "What is your plan?"
Picking up the Zoni vessel, she once more tapped the energy of the thousands of Zoni within, amplifying her analysis magic through her Pilot's Helmet...directing the energy at Aphelion and the Obsidian Eye. There was a blinding flash of light.
When the light cleared, the Obsidian Eye was gone, and Aphelion was floating there. "Obsidian Eye now installed within ship communications array," Aphelion stated bluntly. "But tell me next time you're going to mess with my internal circuitry like that, Twilight! That was freaky!"
"Can you maintain the communications link with the Great Clock?" Twilight asked hopefully.
"Affirmative," Aphelion confirmed. "The Obsidian Eye doesn't use spatial dimensions for its communication system, so once it is successfully installed, it automatically locks on to the Great Clock, no matter where it is."
"You never cease to amaze, confound, and terrify Twilight," Clank praised. "Clank out."
With the communications cut, Clank turned back to Sigmund. "Where are the temporal controls for planet Zanifar?" he asked. "We have a job to do, and a Caretaker to save."
"You're sure this will work?" Sigmund asked worriedly.
"Can you create a time portal on Zanifar using the anomalies?" Clank suggested.
"I...suppose if I used the oscilloscopic entanglement modulator to create a vacuum of negative energy, it could theoretically create a traversable wormhole," Sigmund replied, running rapid-fire computations on his attached console and inputting commands.
"Time rift stabilized," the Great Clock computer proclaimed.
"Twilight is going to love you," Clank stated with a smile.
With their new plan laid out and a new communications array installed, the group set their separate courses for Planet Zanifar.