Nether

General information
Members	Mr. Eye Vendra Prog Neftin Prog
Location	Netherverse

The nethers are a race of extradimensional creatures in Into the Nexus. Native to the Netherverse, they are ghostly beings composed of dark energy. Due to the differing physical laws of Ratchet's dimension, standard nethers cannot survive there without protective gear. Vendra and Neftin Prog are nethers who arrived in Ratchet's dimension at a young age; while this allowed their bodies to adapt to the new dimension, they consequently cannot survive in the Netherverse without protection.

Vendra and Neftin Prog thinned the walls between dimensions, causing images of nethers to appear in the Zarkov Sector of the Polaris Galaxy and forcing an evacuation. They hired Thugs-4-Less and abducted terachnoids from Pollyx Industries to assist in bringing the nethers into the universe. Ratchet and Clank fought against the nethers when these efforts succeeded.

History

Early history

The explosion of the Great Clock caused temporal disruptions that created dimensional rifts to the Netherverse, which appeared on planet Yerek in the Zarkov Sector.

Vendra and Neftin Prog emerged from the Netherverse through these rifts. Discovered in caves near Meero City on Yerek, they were raised in the Meero Orphanage. Because they arrived at a young age, their physiology adapted to Ratchet's dimension. Both were bullied as children. Vendra was eventually contacted through a dimensional rift by the nether leader, whom she called "Mr. Eye", who exploited her loneliness by offering friendship.

Mr. Eye taught Vendra and Neftin of their origins and encouraged them to find a way to bring the nethers into the universe. Vendra studied quantum mechanics and transdimensional tunneling to amplify the dimensional rifts. These efforts succeeded; twenty years before the events of Into the Nexus, Yerek and the entire Zarkov Sector were classified Alpha-9 and evacuated by order of the President of the Polaris Galaxy. Nethers haunted Weeblesnog City and Silox, leading to reports of residents being possessed by "demons".

Before the Nexus

Six months before the events of Into the Nexus, Vendra and Neftin Prog hired Thugs-4-Less to attack Pollyx Industries and abduct several terachnoids, including Pollyx himself, to construct a new Dimensionator in Yerek's Azeril Caverns. Vendra was subsequently captured and given a quintuple life sentence at the Vartax Detention Facility, while Neftin Prog instructed Thugs-4-Less to watch the terachnoids on Yerek. Neftin then organized a galaxy-wide crime wave and bribed elected officials to locate and free Vendra.

Into the Nexus

Neftin eventually freed Vendra from the Nebulox Seven Prison Ship. On Yerek, Vendra used a crude Dimensionator to summon some nethers and communicate with their leader. Lacking a fully functional device, she could not fully open a portal, only thinning the dimensional walls enough to admit a few entities. Vendra suggested moving the operation to Silox, where the dimensional walls were thin enough. Ratchet and Clank overheard this plan but fled after detection.

On Silox, Ratchet attempted to dissuade Vendra from her plan, but she remained steadfast. Vendra successfully brought Mr. Eye to the universe using her makeshift Dimensionator. Expecting to be embraced, Vendra was instead betrayed; Mr. Eye abducted her and sent her into the Netherverse. Neftin, realizing his error, allied with Ratchet and Clank to save his sister.

GrummelNet, observing Ratchet and Clank battling the nethers, developed the Nether armor, a concept suit engineered specifically to combat interdimensional threats. GrummelNet also used "legal-ish" methods to capture a netherbeast for their Netherbeast weapon.

Ratchet, Clank, Neftin, Talwyn Apogee, Captain Qwark, and Pollyx traveled to the Intergalactic Museum of History in Meridian City, Igliak, to recover the original Dimensionator and banish the nethers. The nethers launched a full-scale invasion of Meridian City, attempting to destroy the Dimensionator to prevent their expulsion. Clank freed Vendra from the Netherverse, and she assisted in banishing Mr. Eye back to his dimension. Following the battle, Vendra and Neftin surrendered to authorities.

Characteristics

Nature

Nethers are beings composed of materialized dark energies. In their home dimension, they resemble limbless, eel-like creatures. In Ratchet's dimension, they take on more humanoid forms, occasionally possessing wings. Due to their constitution, they require protective equipment (armor) to survive in the physical universe.

Vendra and Neftin Prog possess physical forms resembling biological beings because they entered Ratchet's dimension at a young age, allowing their bodies to adapt. Conversely, they cannot survive in the Netherverse without protection.

Abilities

Nethers possess a variety of supernatural powers. Similar to cragmites, they can decompile their physical forms into an energy state to warp around the battlefield instantly. Some winged variants are capable of flight. Although there were reports of nethers possessing residents of Weeblesnog City, this ability is not demonstrated during gameplay.

Stronger nethers, such as Mr. Eye, are capable of feats including optic lasers, gravity inversion, telekinesis, and dominating other nethers.

Vendra Prog, described as a "space witch", retains powers despite her adaptation to Ratchet's dimension. She is capable of telekinesis, which she used to force Mr. Eye back through a portal and to manipulate machinery on the Nebulox Seven. Neftin does not appear to possess these natural powers, relying instead on cybernetic enhancements.

Behavior

Mr. Eye speaks an alien language that only Vendra can understand, while only Vendra and Neftin Prog speak a language intelligible to the protagonists. Consequently, the nethers' motivations remain unclear. Mr. Eye urged Vendra to bring him to Ratchet's universe and sought to destroy the Dimensionator to remain there, but his ultimate goals beyond occupation are unknown.

Nether hierarchy appears based on size. Mr. Eye, the largest nether, serves as leader. The larger netherbrutes led the assault on Meridian City, commanding the standard netherbeasts below them.

Units

Netherbrutes are the largest combat units. These winged nethers utilize cannons on both arms. Their wings enable flight, and they can teleport around the battlefield.

Below them are the standard armored netherbeasts. These assume a bipedal form within their armor and are also equipped with arm cannons. Like netherbrutes, they can teleport.

Netherbeasts in their natural, limbless, ghost-like form do not fight in Ratchet's universe. However, they are encountered by Clank when he enters the Netherverse via the Rift Cracker, where they attack by biting.

Nether creature

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Netherbeast (elite)

Netherbrute

Netherbrute (armored)