Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction - Plot

Plot

In the midst of working on a hoverbike on the planet Kerwan in Metropolis, Ratchet and Clank receive a desperate call for help from Captain Qwark, which they respond to. They find that a large army of robotic commandos have laid a full-scale assault on the capital city, led by Emperor Percival Tachyon, crown prince of the Cragmites (Ratchet laughs at Tachyon because of his first name Percival). Tachyon reveals that he is after Ratchet, the last Lombax in the galaxy and wants to kill him because he is driven by hate for the Lombaxes. Outnumbered and overpowered, Ratchet and Clank flee. The two decide they must learn more about Tachyon and begin to search the Polaris galaxy for answers. During their investigation, Clank is visited by small robots called the Zoni that only he can see. The Zoni upgrade Clank and tell him that he is special, and that he must help Ratchet make a difficult choice in their current adventure. The duo also acquire the aid of Talwyn Apogee, the daughter of Max Apogee, a famous explorer who collected artifacts from the Lombax culture before he mysteriously disappeared.

As they travel from planet to planet, they learn from allies that during the Great War long ago, the Lombaxes had wiped out all of the Cragmites, and were considered heroes of the universe. Exactly how the Lombaxes had done so, however, was unknown, and that had become known as the Lombax Secret. Ratchet learns of the abandoned home planet of the Lombaxes, Planet Fastoon, and goes there to learn of the Lombax Secret which is revealed to be the "Dimensionator", a helmet that is able to open wormholes to other dimensions. The Lombax had used it to banish all the Cragmites to an alternate dimension, except for one. Tachyon was found as an egg after the Great War and was raised by the Lombaxes (as revealed by the Iris supercomputer that was on the same planet Tachyon was on). After learning what the Lombaxes had done to his species, and despising the fact that they had taken pity on him, he launched an all-out attack on Fastoon. The Lombaxes realized that the best solution was to send themselves to another dimension with the Dimensionator, attempting to fool Tachyon that he had destroyed the race. Two, however, were left behind: the Guardian of the Dimensionator and his son. Tachyon reveals that he ended up killing the Guardian but not before he could send his son to the Solana galaxy, and that his son is Ratchet.

Recognizing that Tachyon plans to use the Dimensionator to bring back the Cragmites from banishment, Ratchet and Clank recover it first. Unfortunately, Captain Qwark shows up and, in an attempt to take the spotlight, tries to destroy it himself. He fails and his blunder allows Tachyon to recover the device. As the duo confront Tachyon with his assembled army on Fastoon, (which Tachyon plans to remake as the new Cragmite homeworld), Tachyon tempts Ratchet by opening a wormhole to the dimension where the Lombaxes now live. However, with help from Clank's advice (based on the Zonis' warnings), Ratchet recognizes he must stop Tachyon completely or else the Cragmites will not only control this dimension but also the Lombax's dimension. Ratchet and Clank fight Tachyon, and are able to get the better of him. The Dimensionator is damaged during the battle, opening a black hole that Tachyon falls into, and while Ratchet and Clank are able to flee with the use of a 33⁄₄ cubits hexagonal washer given to them by the plumber, the device becomes irreparable.

As Ratchet and Clank and their allies gather to celebrate the victory, the Zoni show up, now visible to everyone. The robots tell Clank that it is time to come with them and that they are now going to bring him "home", to show him "who he is" and "what he'll become". Clank "willingly" goes with them despite Ratchet's protests; the game ends with the disappearance of Clank and the Zoni, with Ratchet stunned and helpless to stop them. The quest to find where Clank disappeared to continues in Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty.