Ratchet and Clank: The Starlight of Solana

by Blackdrag-rose

Time: The Chamber

"So, what's next on our Temporal To-Do List?" Clank inquired, though as he asked his question he walked beside Sigmund, as they made their way through the Great Clock without a set destination in mind.

"Only one thing left on the checklist," Sigmund replied, to which he pulled up a small screen and pressed a few buttons, which displayed a checklist that he had been crossing items off the entire time they had been walking through the station, "test mnemonic station Iota."

"Mnemonic station Iota?" Clank asked curiously, though he recalled that the other mnemonic stations he had gone inside had names that were similar to the last one that Sigmund said they needed to check out.

"Yup!" Sigmund confirmed, a smile appearing on his face for a few seconds, almost as if he had a joke in mind at the moment, "As in, 'Iota test a mnemonic station'! Sorry, Orvus' sense of humor rubs off on you after the first thousand years."

"You've worked for him that long?" Clank said, though while he was surprised at first, which was why a confused look appeared on his face for a few seconds, but it quickly passed as he considered that Sigmund had to be telling the truth on this matter.

"Relatively speaking," Sigmund allowed sheepishly, though his motions made Clank wonder if he even knew what he was talking about, especially when Orvus had been missing for two whole years, "Quantum entanglement really screws with your internal chronometer, so it's hard to be sure... especially when we rarely deal with time linearly."

Clank guessed that he could understand what Sigmund had told him, but even then he had to wonder if something was wrong, as the caretaker was glancing around as he took a step in the direction that he had to go in. Before he could even move off of the platform that they were on, and turn the turrets into platforms he could use to reach the next building, Sigmund's communicator went off, to which he opened something and said that he had to report to Sector Nine. Clank had no idea what was in Sector Nine, but he assumed that whatever was happened had to be important for the caretaker to take time out of his schedule to deal with it, to which he left Clank alone to his own devices and disappeared into the distance.

Clank let out a sigh as he turned the turrets in front of him into moving platforms, by hitting their energy shots back at them with his scepter, before jumping on them and riding them up to the second obstacle, which was a pair of rotating rings that he had to slow down to reach the building. He also took a moment to repair the broken pieces of the Great Clock that he could see before he walked into the building, to which he found a complicated Time Puzzle sitting in front of him. This one required him to use four different pads, which meant that there would be four of him running around for a few seconds, but he slowly moved through the area and used his copies to observe what each button did before committing to a plan of attack.

After a minute or two of observing what the various buttons did, and formed a plan that would allow him to reach the door while the copies held it open for him, Clank smiled as he passed through the door, allowing him to see what else was in front of him. He used the jump pad to reach the platform that was far above him, though when he landed he found the small creatures that enjoyed eating quantum energy waiting for him. He quickly dispatched of them, and made sure that they had been completely taken care of, before walking forward as he thought about what sort of puzzle could be waiting for him... though instead he found Sigmund floating outside the building.

Oddly enough Sigmund was arguing with the computer that was giving him information, which in turn caused Clank to hear the computer's retort to whatever he had said... though that was before the door opened and Sigmund moved inside, to which he beckoned for Clank to fix the badly damaged mnemonic station. One wave of the scepter he was carrying was enough to restore the station to its former glory, which caused it to open like all of the other stations he had accessed since he had awaken in the Great Clock. Sigmund had him stop before he got into the mnemonic station, as he wanted to be sure that it was working properly by the short tests he could run from his tablet, but after a few seconds he nodded and beckoned for Clank to proceed.

Clank climbed onto the station, floated into place when the energy grabbed onto him, and closed his eyes, allowing himself to see whatever message his father had left for him... and, more importantly, whatever lesson he was going to learn about.

---

Where Clank expected to find a message or lesson from his father, which would have been reasonable considering what he had seen in the other stations he had been put into, he was surprised by what he actually found. It seemed like an empty space, what with the white walls with rotating gears, but there weren't any platforms anywhere and he couldn't find any message that might be from his father. He looked around for a few seconds, trying to determine what he was supposed to do in this mnemonic station, before he noticed a green pipe that had a few pieces scattered everywhere. His eyes widened for a moment when he recognized the hoverbike Ratchet and Starlight had finished before Tachyon's invasion, the helmet that Tachyon had wore before his death, and the Dimensionator.

That was before he noticed that the Plumber, the man that had helped him and the others in their various adventures in one way or another, was pulling something out of the pipe, which made sense considering that his job was to fix things... even if the thing he was fixing was in someone's mind.

"Hello?" Clank said as he approached the mysterious Plumber, as he had no idea what he was going in his memory banks, if the pipe was to be believed, but he had the feeling that he'd come to understand what was happening... in time.

"Oh, it's you!" the Plumber said, to which he gave Clank a smile as he turned around to face him, though one hand remained in the pipe for a few more seconds, "I've been expecting you for some time now."

"You have?" Clank asked, as he had no idea if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but he decided not to voice his thoughts as he waited for the Plumber to tell him what was going on.

"That's correct," the Plumber replied, to which he pulled his hand from the pipe, revealing a photo that was Clank with Ratchet and Angela on the day of their wedding, though in the background was Starlight and Sunset, "Mostly I came here to remind you of what is important to you, while at the same time making sure you know that new responsibilities will be coming your way... one day anyway."

"What is that..." Clank started to say, though that was before the area around them seemed to change until they were in some sort of shrine like area, one he had learned about in his reading before Tachyon attacked them, and wondered what was happening now, "supposed to... mean? Okay, where are we?"

"In one of my peaceful memories," the Plumber said, though as Clank turned back to look at him he noticed that the clothing that the man had been wearing had been replaced by something else, which happened to be a light blue colored suit that had a orange colored trim and a pair of strange pants, "I occasionally come here to have tea and talk with my friends... though you might know one of them."

Clank noticed that there happened to be a square table in front of him and that he happened to be sitting in a chair that was opposite of the Plumber, though there was an empty chair to both his left and his right. A few seconds later the air shifted and the familiar form of Red, complete with the parrot known as Blue, appeared to his left, though he was also dressed in the same clothing that the Plumber was wearing. Oddly enough Red wasn't carrying any of his weapons at the moment, making Clank wonder if this was all in his head or if someone was messing with him while Sigmund was running the tests on the outside.

"Howdy Clank," Red said, though as he bowed his head a little bit Blue flew off of his shoulder and landed on a bird perch that was sitting next to the chair that he took, "fancy meeting you here. I take it the Zoni finally brought you to the Great Clock and your learning what you need to know to replace your old man, when he finally decides to retire from his position?"

"Yes, the Zoni came for me a few days ago," Clank said, somewhat disturbed by the fact he had no idea how much time had totally passed since he had been taken to the Great Clock, "though I'm not sure that he's going to retire... he was on Zanifar two years ago and suddenly disappeared, so I can only assume the worst."

"Clank, your father is just fine," Red commented, causing Clank to look towards him, giving him his full attention, "besides, I'm sure the universe would have shuddered or something if the Supreme Kai of Time was killed by someone."

"Umm..." Clank stated, as he had no idea what the smuggler was even talking about at the moment, though he had the feeling that someone would tell him what was going on.

"Red, he has no idea who, and what, we really are," the Plumber said, to which the parrot laughed at his companion as Red rubbed the back of his head, though that was before the Plumber let out a sigh, "Clank, there are some things that you should know about us; Red and I are Kais, or World Kings if you prefer the definition of our titles, though seeing how there are two of us at the moment Red watches over the Northern and Eastern sections of the universe, while I watch over the Southern and Western sections."

"Am I correct in assuming that the Solana and Bogon Galaxies reside in your domain?" Clank inquired, remembering where he and the others had seen the Plumber.

"That is correct," the Plumber replied, nodding his head for a few moments, which indicated that he was pleased that Clank was understanding what he was being told, "and before you ask why I was in the Polaris Galaxy, I'll tell you the answer; Red invited me over, shortly after your arrival, and we talked for some time before I went to Sargasso to tell you what Starlight figured out. Orvus is the Supreme Kai of Time, basically the God of Time if you really wanted to know, and he's been watching over both the universe and time itself since he came into being."

"Is that so?" Clank asked, though even as he said those words he knew that there had to be some truth to them, because it would make sense considering that both Red and the Plumber knew more than they let on at times, which could be explained by their friendship with Orvus.

“Yes, though there are more to your future responsibilities than what you know at the moment,” Red added, though it was clear that the two of them were confusing Clank, “Don’t worry Clank, both the two of us, along with your father and Sigmund, will help you learn what your position in the universe actually is... but first you need to head to the Orvus Chamber, meet your father, and figure out how to restore Sunset to her former form. Then, and only then, can we begin to put everything back together.”

Before Clank could say anything, and question what Red was telling him, the area around him shifted and he was suddenly thrown back to the waking world, leaving both the Plumber and Red behind.

---

“So does it work?" Sigmund asked, though he waited until Clank had floated out of the chamber and landed on the walkway before asking his question, "I picked up some odd neural readings there for a bit.”

“I... encountered some unexpected people in my head,” Clank replied, not really knowing how to explain what he had seen, and what little he had learned during the conversation.

“Oh... I assume that you are referring to Red and Itar?” Sigmund said, though he seemed to nod as he floated over to the other opening of the building they were in, “You know, I knew that they would be properly introducing themselves to you, but I had no idea that they were project themselves into your mind and speak with you for a few minutes.”

“Itar?” Clank asked, though he was thankful that he could somewhat understand what was happening, otherwise he was sure that his mind would have broken at this point.

“Right, he doesn’t use his actual name these days,” Sigmund commented, though he moved to the side as Clank walked up to the next time puzzle that was in front of them, allowing Clank to solve the puzzle as he explained what he knew, “Itar is the Plumber’s real name, something that he decided not to use for quite some time, though I don’t know why he suddenly stopped using it. He and Red have been given pieces of information from Orvus and myself for the last, oh, hundred to two hundred years at least... maybe more, but as I explained earlier its hard to keep track of how long its been. The two of them have been searching the universe for powerful people that could help defend everything, such as Starlight for instance, though they were tasked with keeping an eye open for anyone that could become something, well, more than what they were.”

“You mean like Sunset Shimmer?” Clank asked, making sure to time his jumps right as the time clones worked to solve the puzzle alongside him.

“Exactly.” Sigmund said, nodding his head, both towards Clank understanding what he was saying and towards the puzzle being solved at the same time, “They also kept their eyes and ears open for anyone that could become Kais like them, or Supreme Kais if they were extremely powerful, though for the longest time they couldn’t find anyone... until they came upon a special world with powerful beings calling it home. This world is the one where Sunset and Starlight came from, though it took a thousand years for several more powerful beings to be born, which pleased Orvus, as it meant that we might finally witness the creation of our God of Destruction.

Then Starlight and Sunset came here, to the Solana, Bogon, and Polaris Galaxies, where they have gone through their adventures and defeated enemies that could have damaged the universe in the long run. What we didn’t expect was Sunset being separated into ten aspects, much less one of them declaring that she was the true God of Destruction and destroying at least one planet during her existence. Orvus, Red, Itar, and I have been coming up with a way to help Sunset regain herself, while stopping Hatred at the same time... though you’ll find out what I’m talking about when we reach the Orvus Chamber.”

Clank nodded and made his way through the enemies that were standing in his way, making sure that the quantum eating creatures were taken care of before moving onward. He eventually came to a door that was sealed at the moment, but as he stood on a pressure pad in front of it, one designed to react only to his unique body style and the scepter that he was carrying, the symbol on the door started to move until a representation of his head was staring back at him. Sigmund seemed happy when the door opened in front of them, though Clank had no idea what to expect at this point, considering that everything he had seen in his time at the Great Clock had shifted his thinking of the universe in one way or another.

The large room the two of them entered was what would be, to the untrained eye, a command center of a time machine, but as Clank looked around he noticed that there were a few odd things in the room. The first was that some of the screens were zeroed in on an odd planet that, if he watched closely enough, would have the sun and moon move around it, instead of the planet orbiting around the sun. The second was that Orvus, who Clank recognized from his memories, was floating around some sort of anomaly that was floating in the middle of the chamber, though it appeared that he was studying whatever was on the other side. The third odd thing was that both Nefarious and Lawrence were standing near Orvus, though while Nefarious was taking notes on whatever they were observing his butler was minding his own business.

The three of them only stopped what they were doing when they noticed that Clank and Sigmund had walked into the chamber, which made Clank guess that everything he had gone through was some sort of test... especially considering that he would have thought that his father would have gone through a lot of effort to protect the inner workings of the one thing that kept time flowing across the universe.

“Ah, its good that you have joined us Clank,” Orvus said, beckoning him and Sigmund forward, while never taking his eyes off of the planet that he was observing, “there is something that Nefarious and I need you to do in order to make sure that the proper timeline is followed.”

“And that would be?” Clank asked, though at this point he was beginning to think that he knew nothing about keeping time flowing, but he was more than willing to learn... when Ratchet and his family was done with their current adventure.

“We need to get you to Planet Vapedia so you can start transmitting a distress call for Ratchet and his family to pick up,” Nefarious stated, causing Clank and Sigmund to look at him for a moment, “A few minutes ago we detected that Hatred will be heading there, no doubt chasing after the aspects called Despair and Doubt, but we need Ratchet, and potentially Azimuth, to head there and deal with the remaining Valkyries that call the planet home. At the moment they pose no threat to the universe, but we need Ratchet and the others to make sure that the three aspects don’t get into a fight... four if you count Sunset as well, which is why we need your help.”

“Are you sure that putting Sunset Glider near the evil aspect is a good idea?” Clank inquired, knowing that the two of them would likely attack each other the moment they were in the same area and knew that the other was there as well.

“No, its a terrible idea, but its a necessary action we need to take if we want to restore Sunset to her true form.” Nefarious replied, though he looked back at one of the screens that was behind him, as if he was remembering something that happened before Clank and Sigmund had arrived, “Clank, when you reunite with Ratchet, if you decide to help up, you’ll have to pretend that you don’t know what I’m planning... and pretend that you didn’t see your father floating beside me. For the stability of the timeline we need to make sure that Ratchet doesn’t do anything different, only until you guys defeat Hatred and save the universe from her evil.”

Clank let out a sigh, because he knew that, in the end, he would agree with Nefarious and be allowed to be taken to Vapedia so Ratchet and the others would come for him, while at the same time allowing them to interfere with Hatred and whatever she was planning. While Clank thought about it he determined that the doctor was worried about something, especially if he had seen something during the time he had been in the Great Clock, though that worried Clank that the doctor might not have left the clock at all. Clank only hoped that nothing bad happened when he was transported over to Planet Vapedia, because with the aspects of Sunset Shimmer he was beginning to understand that even thinking about hoping that nothing bad would happen would, in some odd twist of fate, make something bad happen.

He only prayed that whatever was going to be hitting Vapedia in the near future wasn’t as bad as a planet ending event, otherwise he and the others would have another reason to want the downfall of Hatred to come that much swifter.

Comments

[Ze1a7in]

Welp, my theory was busted. Should have guessed as to the positions the plumber and red held.

Also, I just realized that at the end of every chapter, the characters are basically tempting fate.

[Nova Blaze]

8216660
Huh, you're right. Can't believe I never noticed.

[Ze1a7in]

8216692
About the tempting fate part? They know not to say what’s the worst that can happen, but they still haven’t quite figured out that Murphy’s Law applies to thoughts as well.

[HB_DS2013]

Everyone SURE loves invoking Murphy in this fic... Ugh, it's like they're immune to him or something!

[HeartfireFirebrand]

"Clank, there are some things that you should know about us; Red and I are Kais, or World Kings if you prefer the definition of our titles, though seeing how there are two of us at the moment Red watches over the Northern and Eastern sections of the universe, while I watch over the Southern and Western sections."

Orvus is the Supreme Kai of Time, basically the God of Time if you really wanted to know, and he's been watching over both the universe and time itself since he came into being."

These two things make so much sense.