Buzz, Digit, and the Cybersquad stood at the edge of the roaring waterfall, in complete, and dead, silence. Moments earlier a living creature they once knew had met his untimely death, and his body had been lost in the mist below. They feared that they would never have the chance to see him again.
"I can't believe it," Jackie said, sadly. "I just can't…"
"I never liked him," Digit sniffed. "I never liked him at first, but now I—I just can't—"
He stopped and hid his face in his wing. Inez put her hand on his shoulder as Buzz and Matt remained silent, and continued to gaze down into the falling water, as if lost for words or thoughts.
All of them didn't want to believe it. All of them didn't believe it. But belief didn't stop it from not being true. The creature was most likely dead, and even if they did find him in time, they feared that Dr. Marbles couldn't do anything for him.
Finally, Buzz said, "This is all my fault…"
"No it's not," Matt said to him.
"Yes, it is. I wasn't there at the time…When he needed me…I-I wasn't there…"
"No." Matt shook his head. "That wasn't it. It came back way earlier. As early as the incident, in fact. If it weren't for that stupid Cloneitron none of this would've ever happened!"
"But I was the one who caused it," Buzz said. "I was completely careless, and now look what's happened! He's DEAD! Dead, I tells ya!"
"Maybe the Doc can fix him if he's not as battered as he looked…" Digit looked up from his wing at Inez.
"I don't know, Digit," Inez said, sadly. "He was hurt pretty badly. I fear that there's nothing we can do for him…"
Digit looked up at Inez, grief in his eyes, then wiped a tear from his eye as he gazed down the cliff, into the mist clouds of the waterfall that took the dead being down into the deep.
FAITH LIKE A CHILD
By Grand High Idol
It had started as early as the incident at R-Fair City. Delete's clones owned the place by then, and Cy Clone, the famous Clone Catcher, and Matt were trying to keep things under control by capturing them. But since Delete kept sneezing, this proved a difficulty. Not only that, it also marked the creation of Blackjack.
Blackjack was Delete's 302nd clone, created with the others by one of Delete's sneezes. With each clone being made up of part of Delete's personality, this particular clone contained intelligence, the very little intelligence that Delete had, which meant that he was more agile, swifter, and smarter than the other clones. This also helped his escape from Cy Clone's clone…It seemed to have happened such a short time ago…
"Git back here, clone!"
Blackjack panted as he ran across the grounds of R-Fair City. He was being chased at maximum speed. He didn't really know how much longer he could keep this up; his side and chest were killing him.
He had stationed himself at a concession stand near one of the funhouses earlier and was just about to take money from a man when out of nowhere, Cy Clone's clone appeared. He fired at Blackjack, and nearly hit him, but missed very narrowly as Blackjack shifted out of the way, and the Delete clone, knowing at once what was going on, leapt off the concession stand and hightailed it, with Cy Clone's clone in hot pursuit, leaving the man who had walked up scratching his head in confusion.
Blackjack had run for the last 15 minutes, trying to lose the enemy clone. He checked behind him every five minutes but, seeing that the Cy Clone copy was still behind him, continued the chase.
He then saw a nearby dumpster and, without pausing, threw himself behind it. He stopped to rest then, panting heavily, with his heart (if robots have such a thing) racing in his chest. He listened for any noise, any noise at all, from through the dumpster.
When he heard nothing but complete silence, he was sure he was safe. He hoisted himself up, then walked out from behind the dumpster—only to see a pinkish blast of light coming at him. He knew he had seen that before, and wasn't going to take any chances.
He bolted out of the way, and the blast missed his body but managed to graze his left hand, not doing much damage to the body itself but scorching the part, where the blast had grazed it, black. He winced in pain, then, clutching his hand, looked up towards the spot where the blast had come from.
He saw Cy Clone's clone standing on top of the dumpster, his clone collection device armed and aimed directly at him. He swallowed hard, then leapt up and ran. The enemy clone jumped down from the dumpster and continued to pursue him. Blackjack ran until he finally leapt up on top of the roof of a ticket booth and, still shaking from the chase, looked down upon his chaser, keeping himself well hidden as so not to have the other clone look up and see him.
The Cy Clone copy had stopped and was looking around in places for him. Finally, he shook his fist and yelled, "You can hide, and run, but you can't keep it up forever! I'll capture you yet, clone!"
He then walked off to search for him in a different area. Blackjack didn't feel at all comfortable now; he knew he was safe for the time being, but the Cy Clone clone was right. He couldn't run forever. He could keep this up for a long time, yes, but sooner or later he would get himself captured and return as nothing but a strand of DNA. What he needed was a plan.
He sat on top of the ticket booth for who knows how long, planning on how to get the Cy Clone copy out of his way so that he could escape in time. His gaze finally turned towards the roller coaster nearby, and he smiled broadly; he knew exactly what to do now. He leapt down from the ticket booth and ran off in the direction where his chaser had gone.
The Cy Clone clone was still looking around for Blackjack when he suddenly heard a voice say, "Over here, old man!" He turned and saw Blackjack standing there, his arms crossed and a wily grin on his face, leaning against a trash can. The Cy Clone copy's eyes narrowed, then he aimed his device at the Delete clone and shot at him.
Blackjack again bolted out of the way, then, following as his plan ordered, ran off towards the roller coaster. He turned his head once to look behind him, and smiled broadly when he found that the Cy Clone clone was chasing after him. The plan was coming together wonderfully; all he needed was the Cy Clone clone to keep chasing him in time for them both to get to the roller coaster.
He didn't stop running until he reached the roller coaster, not even to catch his breath. He then leapt into the front car of the roller coaster, and, reaching over, pulled the lever that controlled the ride forward. The ride started instantly, and Blackjack turned to look behind him once more. The Cy Clone copy had leapt into the back car and was slowly climbing up the cars towards him. This was another part of Blackjack's plan, so he didn't really mind much, unless the Cy Clone clone decided to shoot at him again before he had the chance to perform the final step.
The final step happened as soon as they went over the first hill. Blackjack then slowly got up onto the edge of the car, then, much to the Cy Clone copy's surprise, leapt off the edge. He shot down towards the ground, targeting himself towards the exact same lever he had pulled earlier. He then managed to grasp it and yank it on his way down, stopping the ride and leaving his pursuer stuck on top of the hill. He hit the ground, then, panting more heavily than before, slowly got up and trudged off, a slight limp in his step. He needed to find refuge…There were still 308 more Cy Clone clones out there.
He finally found it in a nearby funhouse. Dragging himself up on one of the lofts, he collapsed from exhaustion and slept, feeling quite content, and knowing that nothing else would ever happen to make him have to run through something as tiring and pursuing as that. A single clone wouldn't make much of a difference to Delete, and he knew that they would sooner or later find the Cy Clone copy and return it to the real Cy Clone.
Despite his intelligence, he was partly wrong.
A few weeks after the incident happened, and everything seemed to have returned to normal, Blackjack dubbed himself his name and, with nothing else to do, began wandering around R-Fair City, often just to look at the lights or to find something that would interest him. He knew all of the locals, and they didn't really look at him as a marauder but a wanderer. He was okay with that.
But, despite his sociality, somehow he felt completely useless, empty, and unloved. He didn't know exactly why, but the thoughts never left his mind. He continued to feel like this as the weeks passed, and this changed him from content to upset and nearly burning with anger. He discontinued to wander around and instead remained near the funhouse he had taken refuge in and sat in the dark, wondering where these emotions suddenly came from.
"It had to be something to do with what happened with Cy Clone," he muttered to himself. "It couldn't have been the old man himself, nor his clone, or I wouldn't have felt content when I got him out of my circuitry. But what, then? WHAT?"
He steadied himself, then thought it over for a moment, his eyes closed in thought. What could have made him like this—awkward and unloved? What was it? Maybe it was that the Cloneitron was poorly constructed. No…Wait…Maybe it was what he was cloned from that was poorly constructed…
Finally his eyes popped open and he bolted upright and hissed angrily, through clenched teeth, his fist cracking with the force he clenched it in:
"DELETE."
It was Delete that had made him like this! Because Delete was a robot, he had improper DNA for cloning, thus allowing all of his clones to be awkwardly made. The clones were sucked up right away before they could actually feel anything, but since Blackjack had survived; he had felt the awkward notions immediately after the incident had occurred. He was suffering from his own mind. He had no one to blame but Delete. Delete and his improper DNA. Delete and his stupid notions.
He growled angrily, then spat with disgust and slowly leaned backwards on his chair. Now that he knew that Delete was the one who made him suffer, he hated him more than anything he had ever faced. He didn't even care that it wasn't even fully Delete's fault. All he cared about was that Delete was to suffer as much as he was in mind right now.
"I need some way to make him suffer," he muttered, toying with a jackknife he had found in the dumpster out back; "but how can I? There has to be a way to make not only him suffer, but him and his friends both suffer as well, on account of I feel like being generous."
He then cast his eye on the knife in his hands, the blade glinting in the moonlight. Because of his awkward mind, the moon almost looked like white blood, remaining still on the knife…
Blood. That was it! He knew what he was going to do to Delete now. Something to make both him and his friends suffer, if he had any. And that way was to kill him. Kill him good and slowly. Destroy him from the inside out. THAT would make him pay. And the others would never get over it.
"The perfect crime," Blackjack laughed to himself, tossing the blade and causing it to stick point first into the wall. "And since I'm Delete's clone, I know exactly what to do to get there!"
The insane laughter that followed went on for many minutes before the dark form of Blackjack slipped out from behind the funhouse exit and started stalking towards one of the R-Fair City cars, grinning insanely…
"BUUUUUUUUZZZ!"
The short robot was jolted awake from his sleep, nearly falling out of his chair, by a high pitched scream from across the Grim Wreaker Ship. He sighed; he knew exactly who made a scream like that. He waited as Delete, sweating with fear, came running into the room he was in and, shaking heavily, threw his arms around him and said, his voice shaking, "I-I h-had the d-dream again."
"Darnit, Delete, what time is it?" Buzz asked the taller robot, his eyes now half closed.
"I d-don't know."
"Gah…It's still dark," he muttered to himself, looking out the window. "Delete, what happened in 'da dream this time?"
"It was the same thing I had last night, Buzz, and the night before that," Delete told him. "I'm standing in a peaceful field of grass when all of a sudden, it all dies and then—and then—"
He hid his face in his hands, shaking with fear, as Buzz continued blandly, having heard this a million times before, "And then out of nowheres a dark figure that looks just like you comes across 'da grass and stabs you. You bleed, you bawl, and then you scream and WAKE UP EVERYONE IN THE DARN SHIP!" He yelled the last line angrily. "You're darn lucky you didn't wake up 'da Boss this time!"
"Sorry, Buzz," Delete said, making a noise that sounded like something between a cough and a sob. "But that dream scares me, okay?"
"I know, I know. But ya have to admit to yourself that it was just a dream and that it could never happen in reality, okay?"
"But Buzz—"
"It WON'T HAPPEN."
"Yes, but Buzz, when a person has a dream over and over like that it usually means somethin'. And if that dream features me getting killed by a look-alike—"
"Listen, Delete, you won't get killed as long as you're on this ship. No one dares mess with 'da Hacker except 'dose Earth brats. And I don't think that they would kill yas."
"You sure?"
"Positive. Now go back to where you were before I change my mind."
Delete walked back down the hallway, and Buzz fell back asleep, muttering, "It could mean something, but I have no idea what to believe yet…"
"It appears we have a problem," Dr. Marbles said to the Cybersquad as they walked in through the shimmering portal that led to Control Central. "And I don't like the looks of it."
"What happened?" Matt asked.
"Yeah, what—Uh-oh," Inez said. "You don't think that Hacker got his hands on the REAL Encryptor Chip do you? Because that's not good at all!"
"No, it's a stalking act," Dr. Marbles said, shaking his head.
"A stalking act? You mean like murdering in the dead of night?" Matt asked.
"No, not many were hurt." The Doctor couldn't help but sigh with relief at this. "But they will be unless we do something soon."
"What's going on, first of all?" Jackie asked.
"Well, it appears that a look-alike of Delete is wandering cybersites and stalking anyone who looks suspicious. Then, after several moments of this, he jumps at them, pins them down, and holds a dagger up to their throat, and mutters something in Mirror."
"Mirror?" Matt asked. "Isn't that the language they used to write code in the alternate universe?"
Dr. Marbles nodded. "Someone managed to tell me a few words, but they were too sick with fear to tell me what exactly it meant."
"Could you tell us?" Inez asked.
"Sure," Dr. Marbles told them, "it went something like 'Ecapskcab em dnes', but I didn't fully understand it."
"I thought you knew how to translate Mirror, Doc!" Digit said.
"I do, and I did translate it," Dr. Marbles told him. "When translated it said, 'send me Backspace'."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Matt asked.
"Maybe that's why he can't translate it, Matt," Inez told him. Then she thought about it a while herself, her eyes closed deep in thought. Then she finally opened them again and said, "It could be Thesaurus!"
"The-Sar-What?" Digit sounded confused.
Inez laughed, then said, "Thesaurus. It's a whole collection of words that mean the same as one certain word."
"How's a Thesaurus supposed to help us?" Matt asked her, looking just as confused and unsure as Digit.
"The stalker is a look-alike of Delete, and he said 'send me Backspace' to anyone who looked like he or she might know something about what he was looking for. And I think I know what."
"What?" Jackie asked.
"Well, if you check a Thesaurus, you'll notice that 'backspace' means the same as words that mean to erase, like 'scratch', 'blot', 'delete'…"
"DELETE!" Matt suddenly shouted, startling the four near him. He saw that everyone was staring at him, confused looks on their faces, then he said, grinning sheepishly, "Um, sorry."
"What was that all about?" Jackie asked him, an annoyed tone in her voice.
"I don't know…Well, actually I do. That stalker is a look-alike of Delete, right?"
"Uh-huh," Inez said, nodding her head and glad to see that Matt was catching on to her theory.
"And he said 'send me Backspace' to everyone he threatened, correct?"
"Yep."
"So, he was using Thesaurus! 'Backspace' means the same as 'delete', which means that—"
Jackie gasped, then finished, "That look-alike is after Delete!"
"But why?" Inez wondered aloud. "If he's as evil as that, why wouldn't he come after us?"
"Well, whatever the case, there has to be a reason," Matt said. He reached into his backpack. "Hold on a second."
He took out his yo-yo and began to toy around with it, as he always did while thinking deeply. While he was doing this, Inez asked, "Dr. Marbles, what exactly did this character have that made him a look-alike, and what didn't? There has to be a difference."
"Well, he looked exactly like Delete, and you know what he looks like," Dr. Marbles told her. "Only the witnesses have reported that this stalker is a brilliant lavender color—every bit of his body is lavender except his black areas and his eyes."
Inez, deep in thought, nodded, then said, "This sounds familiar. Did he have any other characteristics?"
"Well, not much, except that one hand was scorched completely black. From some laser, I presume."
"Mm-hmm…" Inez sounded interested. She looked back up at the Doc. "I just need one more question, and I can figure this out. Where did this creature come from?"
"He was seen first in R-Fair City about three weeks ago."
Inez nodded, then closed her eyes again, still deep in thought. Then she suddenly gasped and turned to the other three standing behind her—Matt was still playing with his yo-yo. "Guys, that thing is Delete's clone!"
Matt dropped his yo-yo in surprise when he heard this. "Delete's CLONE!"
"The very same." Inez nodded her head.
"But that's IMPOSSIBLE!" Matt neglected. "We sucked up all his clones weeks ago! You remember that!"
"One of them must've escaped," Inez said. "I just can't imagine why he's after Delete and not us or Cy Clone…"
"Maybe he wants to return to the putrid string of DNA he once was," Digit said in disgust.
"No, if he did that he would've gone back to Cy Clone," Jackie told him. "And if he's got a dagger with him, I think he wants more than just to return to Delete."
"What do you suppose he's gonna do?" Digit asked.
"We'll just have to wait," Inez said in a determined tone, crossing her arms, "wait and watch."
"I hate waiting!" Matt groaned, breaking the moment of silence.
Blackjack had wandered all over three cybersites, asking people—in the only way he knew how—if they knew anything on where Delete's next travel was going to be. None of them knew, but yet he had decided to spare them, despite his growing insanity; in fact, he was flaring with anger so greatly that the pupils of his eyes had changed from a dull black to a bright red.
He stopped in an alleyway to rest, then ran his hand along the knife blade. It was still sharp and shining; not a drop of blood was on it. Proud that he had controlled himself with the victims he chose—and not murdered them so that he would bring up huge suspicion, he wiped the knife down and flicked it sideways, making its reflective surface show his face. The thought that he even LOOKED like his victim made him angry.
He growled, then flicked the knife back into his pocket. He would use it when the right time came…Which was going to be soon if he was as close as he thought he was…
"Get over here, you duncebuckets!" Hacker shouted at Buzz and Delete.
The two androids obediently came running over and stopped in front of their boss. Hacker looked at them as he continued, "Today we are going to try and take over the cybersite of Buttercup Fields. That'll be easier to do anyway."
"Buttercup Fields?" Delete said dreamily. "What a nice name."
"I don't CARE how nice its name is!" Hacker shouted at him. Delete, as he always did when Hacker shouted at him like this, cringed and shook. Hacker drew himself back up to his full height, then continued, "We're going to do something we haven't even thought of doing before—destroy its beauty. After that we'll be free to do anything we please with it!"
"Destroy its beauty?" Delete repeated.
"Youse know, burn the flowers, kill the grass, rip up everything, stuff like that," Buzz told him. "It shouldn't be 'dat hard."
"Kill?" Delete was suddenly reminded of the horrible vision he had been having for the past week. He gulped, then said, "Buzz, I don't know—"
"What's the matter this time?" Hacker said, sounding annoyed. "As if I care."
"Well—" Delete started to say something, but closed his mouth. He didn't think it was best to tell his boss, of all people, what he had been seeing lately. He shook his head.
"Good. Now that I see that there are no objections, let's head off! I've got a cybersite to destroy!"
He turned around with a swish of his cape and strode off. Delete waited until he had gone to the control panel, then said to Buzz, "Buzz, I don't want to go there."
"Why?" Buzz asked him, sounding puzzled.
"Because my dream showed that I was stabbed in a field. If we're going to destroy everything there, it means that the grass is dead. And after that—maybe—maybe that thing I dreaded will happen!"
Buzz sighed. "Again with 'da dream! Listen, D-D," he said, pulling the android's upper body down to his height so that his eyes met Delete's, "You are NOT going 'ta die. If youse do I'll eat my communicator. Now come on—" he let go of Delete's head—"let's go see what 'da Boss has planned."
"Buttercup Fields?" Matt said to Motherboard in surprise at the start of their next mission.
"Yes," Motherboard said. She became tracked for a while, then returned to her normal self. "Hacker—has planned to—destroy it. You must go and—stop him now."
"Buttercup Fields? Cool name," Jackie said. "It reminds me of an open field full of wildflowers, like that one scene I have on my calendar."
"Only if we don't stop Hacker, it won't be like that much longer!" Inez exclaimed. "Come on, guys, we have to get there, and quick!"
"Portal comin' through!" Digit shouted as another pinkish colored portal appeared. The three kids and the robotic bird jumped into it, then it disappeared. Dr. Marbles then came in, carrying a photograph of Blackjack in one hand and a tracking device in the other.
"What are you—doing now, Dr. Marbles?" Motherboard asked.
Dr. Marbles looked up. "I'm tracking the stalker using a photographic print and a location device. If he's as insane as he was last time I heard of him—threatening people with a knife—I'm afraid that he might threaten or hurt the Earth children as well. We can't let that happen."
"No, we can't," Motherboard agreed.
"Which is exactly why I'm doing so. But he wants more than just to threaten people, Motherboard," Dr. Marbles continued, "He's after Delete—I think he wants to kill him. As much as I dislike that robot, I cannot allow him to meet such an untimely fate."
"He wants to—kill Delete? What for?"
"I'm still not sure. All I know is, as long as that stalker seeks revenge on Delete, no one around him is safe."
"Where is he—now, Dr. Marbles?"
Dr. Marbles looked down at the tracking device. "He's—oh, no…"
"What—is wrong?"
"Motherboard, he's entered Buttercup Fields. That's the exact same place we sent the kids and Digit to!"
"We can't—let him—get his hands on them!"
"I greatly agree." Dr. Marbles set down the device and started heading towards the door. "I'm heading out there, Motherboard—I'll give you a signal to bring the children back when I find them."
Hacker and his henchmen arrived at Buttercup Fields about the same time that the kids and Digit left the portal and landed on the ground. Matt got up, dusted himself off, then looked around. He saw endless fields of bright green grass, with some wildflowers dotted here and there, and a waterfall nearby. All in all, it looked like a meadow where you'd expect lambs to romp around freely, but what was very queer was that there was no life here. There were several rabbits, but nothing else.
"Wow!" Inez said, getting up, "A whole open field of grass! Just like in Lassie!"
"I hope no one here has allergies!" Matt laughed, helping her up.
Jackie got up after Inez, then looked at her skirt. "Ew, ew, and double ew! I got grass stains all over my skirt! These will never come off!"
"I wouldn't worry about it right now," Digit told her. He used his tail to fly up, then placed his feet on the ground and softly landed. He then looked around. "I don't see Hacker anywhere, do you?"
"He's here all right," Matt said, "or else Motherboard wouldn't have sent us here. We just have to go further down the field and I'm sure we'll find him. Follow me."
He then ran off across the field. Inez and Jackie looked at each other, then ran off after him, with Digit flying beside them.
About halfway across the field they screeched to a stop as the Grim Wreaker ship landed, Digit pulling Matt back so that the ship wouldn't land on him, and as soon as it touched the ground the doors slid open, the usual platform appeared, and Hacker came striding out, followed by Buzz and a timid-looking Delete. The Cybersquad quickly ducked behind the large metal platform, as so not to let themselves be seen.
"Here it is, boys!" They heard Hacker say. "The cybersite of Buttercup Fields!"
"Er…Yeah, it's really nice, Boss," Buzz said.
"Yes, but it won't be much longer!" Hacker laughed. Inez looked out from behind the platform just in time to see Hacker pull a large flamethrower-like item from out of his cloak. He showed it to Buzz and Delete. "This, my soft-headed cyborgs, is called the SwordFlame. It can burn any cybersite to rubble with just a push of a button."
"Neat!" Delete said.
Inez quickly withdrew her head and turned to the others. "This is not good. This is not good at all!" she told them.
"What?" Jackie asked her.
"Hacker has a new flame-throwing device with him. It can burn an entire Cybersite with just one push. Heck, it could probably burn us too!"
"That ISN'T good," Matt agreed, nodding. "We have to get it away from him!"
"But how?" Jackie asked.
"Don't sweat it," Digit said in a sure-of-himself tone, "Just leave it to the Didge!"
"Alright!" Jackie said. "What's your plan?"
"Well…" Digit explained his plan to the three Earth kids, using his quietest tone possible. After he was finished, the three looked at each other, then smiled.
"Sheer genius!" Inez said admiringly.
"Thanks," Digit said, nearly blushing. He shook it off, then said, "Now let's go!"
He flew up to his position. Matt and Inez walked over after him while Jackie made her way up the platform. She slowly inched her way along the side of the large ship and stopped at the tip, right above where Hacker was standing. She would jump as soon as Matt gave the signal.
Matt and Inez slowly and casually walked to the spot where Hacker was standing. They stood there in the same calm notion as Hacker turned his head and spotted them. "You! What are you doing here!" he snapped angrily at Matt and Inez.
"You know what we're doing here," Matt said.
"I do indeed. Well, kiddies, looks like you'll just have to back off, because you're not getting this ingenious device!" He held the SwordFlame out of their reach as he continued, "And you can just watch as I destroy Buttercup Fields with one push of—"
Digit then gave Jackie the signal. Jackie nodded, then, taking a deep breath, jumped down from her perch and aimed for Hacker, knocking the device out of his hands as she landed. Digit caught it before it hit the ground, then Jackie quickly got up as the Cybersquad hightailed it. Hacker furiously turned to Buzz and Delete.
"What are you standing there for! Get them, you duncebuckets!" he shouted. Buzz and Delete quickly saluted, then shot off after the kids across the field. The sky had turned a dull gray and it was beginning to drizzle slightly.
The Cybersquad stopped to catch their breath when they reached the waterfall, which, they now found out, was dotted with large rocks near the edge. Digit, still holding the device, rested on a rock nearby, then turned to look behind him. When he saw Buzz and Delete pursuing them, he jumped, then said to the three kids, "We've got trouble!"
Jackie, who had been gazing down the waterfall, looked up. "Oh, no…"
"We've got to keep running!" Matt exclaimed.
"No, Matty," Digit said, panting. "I can't run—or fly—another five yards without my side starting to smart. I've gotta—rest for a little bit."
"Come on, Digit!" Matt said, tugging on his wing, but it was too late. Buzz and Delete were immediately upon them. Buzz leapt and grabbed hold of Inez, while Delete ran to get Matt and Jackie. Halfway, however, he gasped, then, shaking with fright, started to back up. Jackie and Matt looked at each other, then, seeing that it wasn't them that got Delete terrified, looked behind them.
A tall, thin and scarred lavender figure was slowly coming across the horizon, a slight limp in his walk. His eye pupils, even from the distance, were still visible, a blood red instead of jet black. In one hand he carried a dagger; the other seemed too blackened and charred to work at all. They then turned to Delete, who was backed up against a rock, breathing heavily, as if in horrible pain or fear. Their gaze then fell upon Inez and Buzz, who were staring at the figure on the horizon as well.
"Who's that?" Jackie asked, turning her gaze back to the figure.
Inez never took her gaze off of the figure, and as it came closer, she could make out several details. Her throat went dry, then she said, in a raspy, whispering tone, "It's the stalker."
They tried to keep still as the approaching figure drew ever closer to where they were standing. The light drizzle turned into rain, and the figure finally reared his head. His blood red pupils weren't fixed on anyone but Delete, who was against the rock, now whimpering. The figure's eyes flashed with anger, then he made a low growling noise in his throat. He started to advance upon Delete.
"Hey!" Matt shouted at him. "What do you think you're doing!"
The figure didn't answer, but turned his head towards the 11-year-old boy with a look of both anger and disgust. Matt stopped in his tracks as the figure's eyes now fixed on him; their glowing red tone seemed to have frozen him.
The creature turned around, then said in a low, menacing tone, "You dare question Blackjack?"
"I think that's what I just did!" Matt snapped back, trying his best to hide the fear in his voice. It was indeed Delete's clone; it had his distinct voice, only it was much more evil than Delete's was. He tried to back up, but found that he was frozen with fear. He couldn't move a muscle.
Blackjack snorted, then reached into his back pocket. "I have a special something for the people who dare to interfere with me…" He drew out a gleaming dagger, about 15 inches long, the blade still shining and sharp, and growled, "And you're the first to receive it."
He then leapt at Matt with the dagger. Matt screamed as Blackjack pinned him to the ground as quickly as a cat does to a mouse, then raised the knife over his head, preparing to kill the kid.
He then stopped. Was killing him really worth all the effort? Did he want to wear out the blade even more by having it enter the boy's chest? He shook his head and decided not to, but still, if he wanted him and the others out of the way he would have to do something.
He then decided on another option and brought the knife down, slicing through Matt's jeans and cutting his leg. Matt yelped in pain, then clutched his leg as Blackjack arose, wiped the blood off on the grass, then turned his back to him and slowly started to walk away.
"Matt! Are you okay!" Jackie said, running towards him. Buzz, who had been busy staring at Blackjack with shock, had forgotten about Inez and had let go of her, so she didn't have much trouble escaping to confront her wounded comrade.
"Matt!" she shouted, accompanying Jackie, "Are you hurt?"
"What does it look like?" Matt snapped. He had managed to pull his upper body up, and was clutching his injured leg. It was cut deep and was bleeding badly; his hands, which he had used to help stop the flow, were stained red, and blood was still leaking through the cracks in his fingers. His jeans were just as badly stained as his hands were. He moaned in pain, then fell back onto the grass.
"Matt, you'll be fine," Jackie said to him. "We just need to—"
"You won't be doing anything anytime soon," a menacing voice said from behind them. The two girls turned around just in time to see Blackjack, the knife once again clean and raised at them. They screamed as Blackjack slashed at them with the knife, not killing them but cutting them pretty badly. Jackie's arm had been sliced open, and Inez's was no better. The two whimpered in pain as they sank to the ground beside Matt.
"You can't do that!" Digit shouted angrily. He ran towards Blackjack, then leapt at him, but the Delete clone was not stirred. He caught Digit by the tail with his good hand, then swung him around and threw him without so much as moving an inch. The bird crashed into the side of a large rock, then slumped down and lay still, knocked out.
Blackjack scanned the surface for anyone else he may have missed, but he could find no one. Buzz, in both fear and deceit, had darted behind the rock that Digit had slammed into and tried not to move. One move, he knew, would stir Blackjack into coming after him too, and he didn't want to be cut just yet.
Blackjack, certain that he had taken care of everyone, began advancing on Delete, still shaking and looking at the kid's and Digit's wounded bodies. His gaze then met Blackjack's. His clone then began speaking in a taunting tone:
"Well, well, well, if it isn't my DNA original. We meet again, Delete."
"Why are you doing this?" Delete said, a large amount of fear in his voice.
"Why am I doing this?" he laughed. "WHY AM I DOING THIS? You know darned well why I'm doing this, duncebucket. Because of you, my life is a complete and total wasteland. I'd never been loved, nor even paid attention to, nor even had a glance at. Why? Because my own mind is slowly destroying me from the inside out, causing me to plunge into the horrid hell of insanity. And why is that? Because of YOU."
"But w-what did I d-do?"
"Don't be an idiot!" Blackjack hissed. "You know darn well what you did. You created me with your horrible improper DNA. The other clones didn't suffer; they were sucked up long before they began to feel it. But now—AAH! I don't even want to THINK about it anymore!"
"B-But it wasn't m-my fault—"
"I'M SICK OF YOUR EXCUSES!" Blackjack roared, his eyes blazing a brighter red than ever before. He raised the dagger above his head. "IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO DIE!"
He leapt at Delete swiftly. Delete bolted out of the way, but not in time enough for the dagger to slice itself into his arm. He winced with pain and clutched it tightly, but already the blood (or, oil or battery fluid, I should say, as Delete's a robot) was starting to leak from the wound. Blackjack landed with agile force on the ground, then, without pausing, leapt at Delete again.
Delete managed to duck the swing this time, but as he leapt back up and ran from Blackjack, he thought, What is he doin'? He's tryin' to kill me for no good reason…But why is that? WHY?
He bolted to the side as Blackjack swung at him again, and missed. Blackjack growled in anger and frustration, then bolted after him again, this time slashing vertically. Delete managed to leap aside, narrowly avoiding being sliced in half—but just barely. He landed on the ground, then, panting and sweating with exhaustion and fear, ran from Blackjack again.
"This guy just isn't giving up…" He muttered to himself as he ran from Blackjack. "He won't stop until he's gotten rid of me—Whoop!"
He jumped aside as Blackjack sliced at him again, then, as soon as his feet hit the ground, he ran again. Blackjack of course continued to chase him, then leapt again and swept the knife at Delete vertically again. Delete leapt aside again, but he couldn't make it in time to avoid being cut. The sharp blade sliced through his leg this time, cutting it almost wide open, the wires inside of him sparking. Tears of pain falling from his eyes, he landed awkwardly on the ground, which was now muddy from the rain that was pouring from the heavens. It didn't make his bleeding any better; it was beginning to trickle down and stain the grass.
He then slowly got back up; he knew that if he lay still in the mud for just one more second, Blackjack would be able to get a good swing at him. His leg pained him greatly but he continued to run on it, thinking to himself, This was what the dream meant…It was true…
He didn't look behind him but still heard Blackjack's footsteps as he continued to run, and as they both ran Blackjack screamed, fury in his voice, "THERE'S NO USE RUNNING! YOU CANNOT ESCAPE AND YOU NEVER WILL!"
As Delete continued to run, Buzz looked over the rock, and watched as Delete, cut harshly in two places, ran from the very same creature that he had created. He wanted to help him, but he couldn't; He could have, possibly, but Blackjack was much more agile and powerful than he would ever be. And that knife…Its sharp blade stunned him…
Delete looked in front of him and, gasping, screeched to a stop, the waterfall at his feet. He turned around and saw Blackjack coming towards him. He looked to the side, in hope of finding a chance to escape, but there was none; steep rocks blocked it. He gulped, then started breathing heavily with fear as Blackjack, fuming with anger and looking exhausted, advanced on him, the blade point up, flashing through the carpet of rain, and his eyes blazing.
"Enough of this foolishness!" he yelled. He raised the blade over his head. "Your life ends now, Delete!"
Before Delete could have a chance to react, Blackjack brought the blade down, and it struck its mark, slicing Delete in a diagonal gash through the stomach. Sparks flew, blood poured, and circuitry snapped. Delete couldn't scream, he was in too much pain, and instead fell to the ground and clutched the wounded area, not wanting to look at the grisly sight that awaited him. Blood continued pouring through the wound and made puddles on the ground as he breathed heavily, trying to keep himself alive for just a few more moments—every nerve in his body was screaming—Every part of his body tensed with the horrible pain—
Blackjack laughed, then said, "It's too late for you now, Deletey. That wound is fatal. You will suffer from pain in body just as I did from pain in mind. And at last, we'll be even…We'll be even…"
Delete didn't speak, but collapsed down on the ground, feeling a horrible exhaustion overcoming him. He had never been in this much pain before. Was this what it was like to die? Did you have to suffer from such things if you died naturally?
His breathing became shallower as a dark curtain of blackness began to overshadow him. He knew what that curtain was. He tried to get up, but couldn't manage the strength to do so. His stomach and chest continued to bleed horribly…The area was getting darker…
What am I doing…I'm done for, I know it…
In spite of this message, he opened one eye. Though his vision was becoming blurred, he could see Blackjack's figure striding off—and he was still carrying the knife. Delete wondered to himself. Why didn't he just toss the blade aside? He had done all that he wanted…He thought…
He managed to raise up his head a bit, with the strength that he had left. He then saw that Blackjack was slowly walking towards Digit and Buzz. Digit had stirred—he could see him moving—and Buzz had come out from behind the rock for some odd reason or another. He glanced up and saw that Blackjack had the knife raised as well.
So that was it. He wasn't only just going to kill Delete, but, in spite of himself, was going to kill everyone else in the area. Buzz, Digit, Matt, Jackie, Inez—all of them would die. Blackjack had injured them; now he was going to finish them all off once and for all.
I can't let that happen…I can't…
Though blood was beginning to come to his throat, and he was growing weaker by the second, he managed to cry out to the blurred vision of Blackjack, almost begging, "NO!"
Blackjack stopped in his tracks, and turned his gaze to Delete, who was struggling to pull himself up, as so that he could be heightened with his foe. He only managed to pull up his upper body, but he was still shaking violently with the weight he put on his arms, one of which was nearly gashed open. He extended his hand in a gesture to reach someone, as weakened people did when they were pleading or wanted someone to stop, and Buzz and Digit, who had been staring at Blackjack, stopped to stare at him.
"Don't hurt them," Delete pleaded to his clone. "It's me you wanted. Do whatever you want with me—" He began to sob heavily—"J-just l-leave them out of this…"
He fell back down again. Blackjack stared at him, still glaring, the knife still clasped tightly in his hand and dripping with Delete's blood. Seeing that Blackjack's gaze was turned away from them, Buzz once again leapt behind the rock, dragging the weakened Digit with him. Digit didn't argue; he didn't want to be sliced up as badly as Delete had.
"You mean nothing to me anymore," Blackjack said darkly to Delete. "I've done all I ever wanted to do with you. Now that you're dying, I have more important things to tend to. Such as the murdering of your little 'friends', which I shall enjoy doing as much as when I sliced the blade through you. Now lie down and die, you horrible WRECK!"
In anger, he plunged the knife down again into Delete's back. The android finally, after being injured so badly, screamed—but it was not the usual scream Delete did so often. It was a high, deafening, horrible scream, the same scream a horrified woman or man makes. It echoed through the mist of the waterfall and the rocks surrounding them; and it pained both Buzz and Digit. The scream was that horrible.
Blackjack stared down at Delete, who was bleeding more than he ever had and was lying still. Blackjack, thinking that he killed him once and for all, nodded and pulled the knife out of his back, then walked away.
Delete was in horrible pain, and was bleeding most horribly now, but he didn't want to die. He knew that if he died without doing something about Blackjack first, his clone would kill everyone else who dared to cross his path. It wasn't worth that. It just wasn't…But he was too weak to fight Blackjack. He couldn't do anything…Could he?
Through the curtain of blackness and blood, he saw, lying by the most three feet away from him, the SwordFlame, the device his boss had had earlier. Hacker had planned on burning the Cybersite with it, but Delete decided it was needed for something more. Reaching out a shaking, blood streaked hand, he slowly took the device in his hand and pulled off the razor-sharp part that emitted the flame…
Blackjack was walking away with the knife, and was still angry at Delete for allowing Digit and Buzz to get away while he did his little "begging" speech. He snorted at this, then pulled the knife out of his pocket and slowly started making his way up the rock.
Delete, who was less than three yards away, slowly hoisted his aching body up, barely able to support himself. He knew that he only had one shot at this. He didn't want to, but he had to. He drew the sharp, flaming edge back and threw it with all the remaining strength he had, targeting Blackjack.
The blade, sure enough, struck its mark just as clearly as Blackjack's had, digging into his back and burning him from the inside out. He screamed, then fell on the ground, writhing, jolting and kicking around in pain; frothing at the mouth; yelling bloody murder—
Finally he stopped and lay still, the rain pouring on him and emitting smoke from his circuits. Delete slowly limped over and felt him.
Blackjack, sure enough, was stone dead. The blade had burned through his central circuits and had shut him down. He would suffer no more.
And maybe, just maybe that was just what he wanted in the first place.
Delete then looked down at his own wounds. Sure enough, the blood was still leaking out of him, and he felt too weak to stand anymore. He tried to call Digit and Buzz, as he had seen them go behind the rock, but he couldn't. He gagged, and blood started to at last leak out of his mouth. He didn't even bother to wipe it off. Nothing mattered anymore.
But he knew that if he died like this, Buzz and Digit would see what a horrible condition he had been in before he died. He didn't want that; they would probably be scarred for life.
He then turned and saw the waterfall. Getting one last idea, he staggered over to the edge of the waterfall where Blackjack had sliced him open in the first place, then looked down. Yes, it was indeed a steep drop to the bottom of the waterfall; half of it was lost in the mist.
Before the battle against death was over, he made one last action.
He drew back, then threw his body over the edge of the waterfall, his arms spread out exactly like a bird. He felt the wind blowing on his face as he leapt, then started falling. Knowing that the battle of death had finally ended, he drew his last breath, crossed his arms over his chest, then his world went completely black as his body disappeared into the mist below, but not before he muttered, staring up towards the top of the waterfall:
"Thank you."
It was a long while before Inez, Matt, and the others stirred. Still feeling a bit dizzy and sick from blood loss, Inez got to her feet, then clutched her arm again. It was scabbed over by now, but still in a lot of pain. She whimpered a bit, then shook it off as Jackie got up beside her, rubbing her ripped sleeve where her arm had been gashed.
"Ow…What happened?" Jackie asked. "Was this some odd dream?"
"I don't think so," Inez said. "It seemed amazingly real if it was."
Matt then made a slight groaning noise, and hoisted himself up. He then reached his hand out. "Guys? A little help here?"
"Sure thing, Matt," Inez said. Both girls grabbed hold of Matt's arms with their good hands and hoisted him to his feet, as so not to hurt him, but he still said, painfully:
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Watch the leg! Watch the leg!"
They finally managed to get him to his feet, then Inez sighed and clutched her arm again, then looked up at the others. "Come on, we've—gotta find Digit."
"Good thinking," Jackie said.
The three kids headed off across the field where they had been earlier before Blackjack unexpectedly came, near the rocks. The first thing that they saw was Blackjack lying on the ground, bent out of position, with a scorching blade in his back. Matt jumped a bit at this, but stopped when he thought of his leg.
Inez walked up and felt the android's body, then looked up at the others and said, "Guys, he's dead!"
"He is?" Matt couldn't help but sound a bit happy at this.
"Yep. It looks like he died about a half-hour ago. The blade's still hot."
"Thank goodness," Jackie said.
Inez then cupped her hands to her mouth and called, "Digit! Where are you?"
There was a moment of silence, then Digit came scrambling over the rock, followed by Buzz. "Right here, Nezzie!" he said, sliding down and landing beside them.
"Oh, thank goodness you're okay!" Inez said, giving him a quick hug. "And, don't call me Nezzie, okay, Didge?"
"Sure thing."
His gaze then fell upon Blackjack. "Hey, Blackjack's dead! It's a miracle!"
"No, I don't think it was that, Didge," Jackie told him. "It looked like he was hurt physically with something…But it looks awfully familiar…Ugh! My head hurts!"
"Probably still dizziness from blood loss," Inez told her.
"Yeah, that's it. I could usually think up something by now."
"So, what is this thing?" Matt asked, staring at the smoking blade.
"That's 'da SwordFlame!" Buzz informed them, a tone of surprise in his voice.
"So it is," Digit said, rolling his eyes.
"Shut it, boid," Buzz snapped. "Or I'll nail you so bad!"
"I'd like to see you try!"
"Guys! Guys!" Jackie said. "Let's not get into a fight now, okay? We still need to find out who killed Blackjack; we already know now what he was killed with."
"Let's examine the scene," Inez said. She got up, then started to back up. She looked around. "Well, there's nothing here, except a bloody blade and—"
She gasped. Matt and the others came running over to her, wondering what she had found, and Inez stopped them and said, "You don't need to look around. You only need to look down. I-It's all over the p-place…"
Matt and Jackie stopped in their tracks, stared at her for a few seconds, then finally looked down at the ground beneath their feet. They gasped too, for blackish, shining blood was spilled all over the place. It was greatly puddled in some areas, and sprayed on others. Matt and Jackie thought that they were going to be sick, but didn't say a word.
Digit knelt down and ran his wing through it, then rubbed it on his fingers—or feathers, perhaps I should say. He shook his head, then turned to the others and informed them gravely, "It's an oil-battery mix. Whatever bled here was a robot, not an Earthlie."
"But—everyone is here—I think—" Inez said.
"Let's just do a short roll call and find out," Jackie told her. "Let's see…I'm here, Matt's here, you're here, Inez—and Digit, you're here too, and so is Buzz, and—" She put her hands to her mouth and whispered, "Oh, no…"
"What?" Digit asked.
"Delete's missing!" she said. Then she gasped and said, "You—you don't think that he might've—"
"I don't know, Jackie," Matt said, shaking his head sadly. "I don't know."
"But he's the only one missing!" Inez said. "He must've been the one that bled!"
"Maybe Hacker came here and fought Blackjack," Matt suggested.
"Are you nuts!" Digit told him. "Hacker wouldn't try to fight a maniac like Blackjack; he supports evil, remember?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot."
"Besides, unless he was in the Grim Wreaker he couldn't have possibly made it here in time. We were about a mile away from that spot," Jackie added. "And I don't see any wheel landing marks, do you?"
"But if Delete WAS the one that bled here, where is he now?"
"I don't know," Inez said, shaking her head.
"Well, while you're figuring this out, I'm gonna go near the waterfall and—YOIKES!" Digit shouted when he came to the two rocks.
"What?!" The kids came running over, fearing Digit was hurt, followed by Buzz, just for the heck of it and because he wanted to witness what Digit had screamed at.
"Look at this!" Digit said, pointing down.
The kids looked down, and saw a large puddle of black and sparking blood, along with a couple of bolts and a set of footprints. They were light and surrounded by blood, and near the edge of the waterfall they dug into the mud, as if someone had jumped there.
Buzz recognized the footprints at once. "Those are Delete's," he said worriedly, looking down at them. "I told him to stay away from 'da waterfall—I TOLD HIM—"
Inez examined the footprints. "Yes, they are Delete's," she said. "I've seen them before. And it looks like he jumped off the edge."
"Why would he do that?" Digit asked her.
Inez shook her head, then put her hand on Digit's shoulder and said sadly, "Oh, Digit…I fear the worst."
Digit gulped, then said, "But—"
"Digit, you SAW him earlier when you stirred," Buzz informed him. "He was bleeding in 'tree places! He was completely wrecked."
"But—I didn't know—"
They stopped completely and stood at the edge of the waterfall, staring down, for quite a few moments, the wind blowing, and the rain continuing to pour down…
"We can at least search for his body," Inez said after the moment had passed, a great deal of sadness in her voice. "He should be given a proper burial if the Doc can't fix him, and if he can we should find him as it is."
"Good idea," Matt said. He got down and slid himself down onto the rock, which was easy due to the wet ground. He landed on his injured leg, winced in pain, then shook it off and called to the rest of the group: "Come on!"
The five looked at each other, then Jackie went down after Matt, taking care not to damage her arm more. Inez followed, then Digit and Buzz came down after her. Digit had recovered well enough to walk, but his tail and one of his wings were broken where Blackjack had smashed him into the rock.
They made their way down the waterfall rocks, stopping every now and then to ease the pain in their wounds, and finally landed on the soft grass at the bottom of the waterfall, near the creek. Jackie and Inez got down first, then helped the other three down, taking great care not to hurt Matt. Inez looked around, then said, "I don't see it, but it should be here if our theory was true."
"It could've been washed down the river by now, Nezzie," Matt said to her. "I don't even see why we should look for it in this area."
"The water's too shallow for him to be swept down, and DON'T CALL ME NEZZIE!" Inez snapped at him. Matt backed up, nearly tripping over a log, then said:
"Well, I suppose we should search for it, then."
"Correct."
The three kids and the two robots looked around everywhere. Digit went in the water to search for anything, but his results were unsuccessful, while Jackie and Inez headed down the bank, thinking it had hooked itself on a branch. They found nothing of the sort. Matt and Buzz checked the rocks. When they found nothing, Matt said, "I think that he didn't even come here. We've searched for the last half hour and haven't—WHOA!"
He then slipped and fell backwards into the space behind the waterfall, landing hard on his back. He groaned, not wanting to get up, but did so anyway, as Buzz entered after him. Matt slowly got up, then rubbed his head and looked up at Buzz. Buzz looked at him oddly, then turned his gaze up towards the shallow water at the back of the waterfall. His eyes then grew wide, and he stuck his head out from the waterfall and shouted to the others, a slight tone of fear and sadness in his voice:
"Hey guys, we—we found 'im!"
"Found what?" Matt asked, still in pain from when he fell, but he sooner or later knew what Buzz was talking about when Inez, Jackie, and Digit came running through and stopped.
"Where is he?" Inez asked.
Buzz pointed towards the edge of the space. Inez and the others turned up their heads and looked over, then Jackie and Digit gasped.
Sure enough, it was Delete. Only they hardly knew from what condition he was in. He was bleeding heavily, one of his arms was nearly dismantled, one of his legs was bent back at a funny angle, he was covered head to foot with shining black-ish blood, his jaw was half off, the cord in his back was ripped and severed, there were dents in his body, and his neck was cracked. Blood was still leaking out of his cuts and into the water.
Jackie stumbled, then ran over across the water towards Delete's body. Digit and Buzz looked at each other, then followed her, while Inez and Matt waited, not wanting to go near it for fear of that they would be scarred emotionally forever. They reached the body, then Jackie bent down and touched him. He was stone cold, even for a robot. She turned to Buzz and asked, her voice shaking, "Is he dead?"
Buzz looked at her. He knew he didn't want to, but he had to. He sighed, then reached his hand over towards one of Delete's eyelids. He braced himself, then slowly pulled it up and looked. It was black, dead black, and he immediately closed it and, to Jackie and Digit's surprise, hollered, "DELETE! YOU TINHEAD! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GO AND BE A HERO! YOU HAD IT COMING! YOU REALLY DID! BUT YOU HAD TO DIE, DIDN'T YOU! YOU IDIOT! YOU STUPID METAL IDIOT! WHY? WHY?!"
He smacked himself, a great look of anger on his face, then stopped, made a slight coughing/sobbing noise, then said, putting his hand to his face and shaking his head, "I'm fine."
Jackie and Digit glanced at each other, knowing that this wasn't true, but instead of protesting Jackie sighed, got up, and said to the other two, "Well, let's get his body out of here, at least—"
"Earth kids! Digit! Are you alright?"
Digit perked his head up and looked over towards the waterfall. "That's the Doc!" he declared, then called, "We're back here, Doc!"
There was a moment of silence, then Dr. Marbles came through the waterfall. He shook his head, then said, "Digit, thank goodness you're okay. Are any of you hurt?"
"My leg is cut, the girls had their arms slashed open, and Digit's tail and one of his wings is broken, but other then that we're all fine," Matt informed him.
Dr. Marbles bent down and examined the cut on Matt's leg. Then he looked up at him and said, "Who did this to you?"
"Blackjack," Inez said to him.
"Who?"
"Blackjack, the stalker," Jackie said. "He came here and injured us and Digit."
"I know, I tracked him down here," Dr. Marbles said. "If I knew he was going to come here earlier I never would've sent you."
"It's cool, Doc," Digit said. "Hacker would've destroyed Buttercup Fields if we hadn't of come."
"Yes, indeed. Speaking of Hacker—" He glanced around—"What happened to them?"
"Hacker was left near the Grim Wreaker when we hightailed it," Jackie told him. "We ran a mile before we came to the waterfall. Buzz is slightly shaken, but not injured that badly—"
"What about Delete?"
All of them remained silent for a moment, not wanting to speak. Then Buzz made another sobbing noise and said, "He's—He's dead, Doc."
Dr. Marbles looked up towards Buzz. "He's dead?"
Buzz nodded sadly, then said, "He killed Blackjack but died in the process. His body's right 'ere."
He then stepped aside, revealing Delete's broken body. Dr. Marbles gasped, then said, "How did this happen?"
"We don't know," Inez said. "We were unconscious, I think."
"We saw a part of it," Digit said. "He was cut up badly, Doc."
"Yes, I was wondering what the blood all over the ground meant," Dr. Marbles said. "Well, it's best I check him over."
He got up and walked over to Delete's body. Buzz slowly stepped aside as he knelt down and opened up Delete's data storage system. It sparked for a while, then fell still. Dr. Marbles looked it over for a few moments, the kids watching, and said, finally, closing him and getting up:
"He started dying about an hour and a half ago. How long was it when Delete was injured like that?"
"About an hour ago, Doc," Digit said, "But we aren't sure."
"Well, I think your data might be entered incorrectly," Dr. Marbles said, "because if the wound was as bad as it looks now, he should've died within a five minute range."
"But he didn't," Buzz said. He made a choking sound, then said, "I-I witnessed 'da whole thing."
Dr. Marbles thought, then shook his head sadly, saying, "That was a noble act…"
"What, Doc?" Digit asked.
"He fought against death for nearly an hour. That's the one thing that's the most difficult for anyone to accomplish. He didn't want you to die, most likely."
"D'ya think you can fix him?" Buzz asked.
"I don't know," the Doc said. "But I shall try. If Delete can battle against death, I can battle for life."
He then knelt down and picked up Delete's body in his arms, then turned to the kids and Digit. "You can't come with me, as there's only room for two in the Cybercoupe. I'll have to send Motherboard the signal so she can get you a portal. Buzz—" He turned to the remaining android—"You have to go back to the Grim Wreaker for the time being. Until I can revive Delete, there's nothing you can do."
"Gotcha," Buzz said.
"Very well then. I'll start heading back," Dr. Marbles said, then started to walk away, muttering, "I still can't believe he fought that long…"
It's because he had faith, Digit thought, staring after him, Faith like a child…
The two of them—the dead and the living—disappeared into the rain as Digit bowed his head in mourning.
To be continued…
Main Chapter Two