The Nethers were ghostly creatures that were native to the Netherverse.[1]
Clank lured them into his dimension so that Pollyx could study them. When entering the ordinary dimension a Nether would explode. They caused the planet Yerek to appear haunted.[2]
The Nethers are mentioned to adapt to living in Ratchet and Clank's dimension at a young age, but fully-grown Nethers could not stay without protective gear.
History[]
Background[]
These dimensional rifts were created long ago by the explosion of The Great Clock.
Pollyx, ItN
Eons ago, the Fongoid race had been entrusted with time travel by the mysterious Zoni race in the hopes it would improve their lives. The Fongoids; however, abused the gift of time travel, which resulted in an event that resulted in the destruction of 83 celestial entities and created rifts between their universe and the Netherverse, particularly on planet Yerek in the Zarkov Sector. These rifts allowed very limited travel, though mostly it allowed communication between the two dimensions.
First Breach[]
Sometime around around or after these events, the parents of Vendra and Neftin chose to interact with Ratchet's reality for the sake of their children. Finding a sizable breach from their dimension sending them through to said planet, to a place now known as the Meero Ruins. Their children were able to adapt to this new existence due to their young age, eventually winding up at the Meero Orphanage, but their lives were far from happier ones due to the cruelty of both their peers and its handlers. Isolated and alone the two would comfort one another the best they could while going spelunking in the caves were they were found. It was then and there when another small incursion occurred, where the mysterious Nether Leader made first contact with the twins through rifts in the caves.
As time passed Vendra and Neftin would come under the influence of this outer entity, empowering the former of the duo with otherworldly attributes who would then go onto biotechnically augment the latter using jury rigged nether engineering they either scrapped together or were provided by their powerful benefactor.
When told they could not return home due to having spent too long within their adopted dimension, Vendra opted to bring her people to their side of reality. Studying up on every conceivable way to widen the gaps between the two alternate worlds as her patron steadily warped her mindset, taking her desires to their ultimate extremes when she and Neftin plotted to drive out the entire occupying star system through their cross-dimensional experimentation causing the uninhabited galaxy to appear to be haunted.
Prolonged Invitation[]
After a prolonged period the nethers would steadily become more impatient with Vendra's progress, pressuring the duo into more extreme actions to facilitate their freedom. Becoming more and more desolate and uncaring in her pursuit for the family she never had, Vendra's actions became more pronounced and exceedingly ruthless along the way.
All culminating in the assault on Pollyx Industries kidnapping its CEO and many of his executives in order for her to acquire an extra intellect needed to perfect her own experimentation, e.i. the completion of her very own Dimensionator. When word had traveled of her criminal exploits the inter-galactic hero team of Ratchet & Clank moved to intercept her, freeing all the Terachnoid's she had captured and eventually bringing the gifted criminal genius to justice. After half-a-years time, the other half of the nether duo would hire Thugs-4-Less in a successful prison break to spring the brains of their outfit.
After which they retreated back to Yerek with Pollyx in tow in order to complete their experimentation in cross-dimensional migration. Eventually all their hard work culminated in success moments after the heroes managed to catch up with them. Using a makeshift Dimensionator of Vendra's own design, while not able to breach dimensional barriers, it was able to achieve its intended function widening the rifts between realities enough for some to slip in.
Overjoyed at her initial success, the jubilation is interrupted by the angry protests of Mr. Eye who is still displeased that he cannot yet cross over. Vendra reassures him that plans are underway to release the rest of their kind into her reality, after realizing they'ed been eavesdropped on Vendra ordered the few nethers who slipped through the portals to attack their pursuers. The nether hunting party looses them during a cave collapse, they then accompany the twins to their home base on planet Silox; the focal point for all of their space-time experiments.
Hello New World[]
Back at the hub of their operations the criminal genius welcomes their two heroes to their humble home just as they are about release the rest of the nethers upon their universe. On Silox their constant probing of the trans-dimensional fields had weakened its barriers the most enabling for mass exodus of the rest of their species into the current reality, while the siblings made ready for the final incursion between worlds Mr. Eye would probe his charge for information regarding the young Lombax and his companion.
Government[]
Apparently, according to the different sizes of Nethers and health depending on size, it is clear that the ruler of the Nethers is the largest Nether, such as Mr. Eye. It is also shown by how the unarmored netherbeasts are the smallest and weakest compared to the boss type netherbrutes, which are large and strong enough to have their own boss health. It also appears that the nethers are ruled by an autocracy, as Mr. Eye is the sole ruler of the nethers, and is shown to be a dictator.
Biology[]
When the twins came into our reality, they were young enough for their bodies to adapt. These Nethers need protective gear to survive. Without it… they are in grave danger.
Pollyx, ItN
Nethers of their home dimension appear as beings composed of materialized dark energies with their own bipedal physical form. Starting out in a smaller, weaker semblance they appear to be able to grow and adapt a larger bulkier frame over time. Firstly come in the form of eel like apparitions to eventually growing and sprouting arms, legs and a larger constitution with progress, after that they grow larger still eventually losing their lower extremities replacing them with ghostly tails while gaining a much, much larger if not grotesque physique in the case of Mr. Eye.
Nethers bodies have a unique constitution that prevents adults from surviving outside of their native dimension without special protective gear. It would appear that this constitution is brought about due to exposure over a long period of time, resulting in heightened sensitivity to the conditions of other dimensions. Newborn nethers lack this sensitivity and can safely be brought to different dimensions, enabling them to adapt to those respective conditions. However, the sensitivity also applies in reverse. As Nethers who adapt to the conditions of other dimensions are then unable to withstand those of their home dimension. Nethers that adapt to the conditions of Ratchet's dimension develop more humanoid traits than their domestic kin.
The nethers posses a unique slew of odd supernatural powers all their own, similar to cragmites they have the ability to decompile their physical forms to an energy states in order to warp around a battlefield most spontaneously to confuse enemies. Some of the more advanced nethers develop the ability to fly unaided after having shed their legs for more powerful forms. Stronger nethers like their leader are capable of a wide variety of feats ranging from optic lasers, gravity inversion, mind over matter, domination of other nethers, etc. It can be assumed that as a nether grows it gains new abilities in the cycle of their lives even being capable of transferring some of its powers to other willing recipients.
Trivia[]
- Despite adapting to Ratchet's dimension and losing the appearance of a normal Nether, Vendra and Neftin Prog still possessed wings, akin to Netherbrutes. Thus, it is possible that the twins were originally Netherbrutes.
- Nethers were also supposed to be in the arena, but were taken out due to storyline change.