Hey there! Okay, yeah I know, working on two fics at the same time, probably not the smartest idea but this one is a bit different. It's set a few months after the Tikiville Turkey Day episode of Season 4 so the gang already know Shari and Slider. Plus, Cyberchase could use more stories don't you think?
Chapter One: A Visitor from the Future
Digit was giving Motherboard one of her regular checkups to make sure everything was running smoothly. After all, due to the virus she was infected with, it made things hard. He was almost finished when Control Central began beeping and flashing.
"Yoinks!" Digit cried. "Motherboard, are you okay?"
"Something…something is about to happen," Motherboard managed to say through her glitches. It was hard for her to properly communicate with this virus and the Cybersquad was still unable to locate the Encryptor Chip.
Digit blinked, and was about to ask what was going on when what looked to be a Cyberportal appeared—the only difference that it was larger and an electric blue colour. A tall figure dressed in brown robes stepped out of it.
"I'm sorry for the surprise visit," The figure spoke in a soft voice. "But it was necessary."
Digit frowned, putting his wings on his hips. "And who are you?"
The voice sounded familiar, too familiar, actually. but that didn't mean he would just trust whoever it was blindly. Especially with Hacker still trying to hurt Motherboard.
The figure slowly removed his hood and Digit's eyes widened. It couldn't be…
Matt, Jackie, and Inez were hanging out on Earth at a park, lying in the grass. Inez sighed, enjoying the fresh breeze that blew through her hair.
"This is amazing," the youngest breathed out. "It's been awhile since we've relaxed like this, hasn't it?"
"Well, things have been mostly peaceful in Cyberspace. Think Hacker's given up?" Jackie said, hoping that was the case. They had all formed a close bond with Motherboard, the ruler of Cyberspace. And thinking of the ruler, their Squack-Pads began beeping.
"So much for there being peace," Matt said, frowning and grabbing his Squack-Pad. "Hey, Motherboard, what's up?"
"Stranger, familiar stranger at Control Central," Motherboard said, glitches making it hard for her to explain the situation to the children. "Please come."
"Familiar stranger?" Inez said, her brows furrowing, unable to understand what Motherboard was trying to say and felt her glitches were making things more confusing than usual. "Any idea what that means?"
"Only one way to find out, Inez," Jackie replied.
With that, a cyberportal appeared, sucking the three of them in. As they arrived at Control Central, they tried to take in the situation. Matt's eyes widened, and he tried out stutter out something to say but couldn't seem to come up with the words for once.
Jackie stared at the person who looked like a slightly older version of Matt and was unsure of how to take it. She looked to their current Matt and then to the older version. The appearance was similar, although the older Matt looked as if he hadn't slept in days and had bags under his eyes to prove it.
"What is going on here?" Inez said, her eyes wide and confused. "Who are you?"
"I think it's clear who I am, Nezzie," the older Matt said with a small smile. Inez's eyes widened and the current Matt snorted. "It's good to see you. I am Matt, only from the future. Far into the future." He then bent down, placing a hand atop Digit's head. "It's good to see you again like this, Digit. Inez, Jackie, and I always care for you, Dige. Please remember that."
Digit looked confused at these words and the current Matt, Jackie, and Inez exchanged glances with one another. What was that all about?
"Motherboard," the current Matt finally managed. "Is this really future me? Or is this another plan by Hacker or something?" He was finding it hard to believe that his future self had come to the past… It just wasn't something that you saw happening every day.
"He seems to be," Motherboard replied. "Digit asked him questions only the real Matt would know. But what the question is here…" She conked out, her glitches starting up again and she went silent.
Future Matt frowned, his eyes flickering with worry for Motherboard. "So you haven't found the Encryptor Chip yet, have you?"
Matt shook his head. "Not yet. Dr. Marbles is still looking for it." His eyes widened, hope and excitement sparkling in it. "In your time, have you found it?"
Future Matt grimaced. "We were close, but that surprise party changed everything… I guess you guys never thought that Hacker would take advantage the way he did…but starting with Digit, I lost you all…"
"What are you talking about, Matt? I mean, future you," Inez grimaced as she realized this was going to get confusing real fast if they didn't find a way to distinguish. "This is going to get troublesome, we need a way to differentiate between you two."
Future Matt shrugged. "Just call me Matthew, then. I don't like it, but there are more important things at stake here than what I prefer to be called."
"Fine, Matthew," Jackie said, causing the present Matt to scowl a little. "As Inez was saying, what party are you talking about that changes everything?"
"Yeah!" Digit chimed in. "I mean, parties are meant to be a good thing, right?"
Matthew grimaced once more. "Not when there are creeps like Hacker out there who only want to separate us. It was Digit's B-Day Party and you three wanted to give him a surprise party, so you pretended as if you had forgotten that it was his B-Day…" His voice shook a little and he reached out, pulling Digit close to him. He seemed to be unable to speak anymore, and the children were all puzzled to see tears in his eyes. Digit himself felt a little awkward seeing the tears in the young adult's eyes as he held him, but he forced himself to stay there. He patted Matthew's arm gently, trying to think of something reassuring to say but came up blank.
Inez looked over at Matt. "Your future self seems really sad…" she whispered. "Should we say something?"
Matt shrugged. "I'm not sure, Nezzie. I think maybe he needs some time to know that Dige is still here."
"I hope he—I mean, you'll—be alright," Inez said softly. "And don't call me, Nezzie!"
Jackie shifted, uncomfortable. "I thought Digit would like a surprise party for his B-Day… I wonder what happened…" She only got shrugs from her two friends, and finally Matthew was able to compose himself enough to speak again.
"I'm sorry," Matthew managed to say. "Just seeing Digit okay again, and being so close with all of you and one of us is an amazing feeling. You see in my time…" He looked away, unsure of how to say this. "He doesn't even recognize who I am. Nor who Inez, Jackie, or Motherboard are."
"What?!" Matt, Jackie, and Inez all cried at once.
"What happened that Digit forgot us?" Matt said incredulously. The four of them made up the Cybersquad, and he couldn't even imagine how their friend could have forgotten who they were. It was something he found hard to comprehend… What had happened at that party…that was something his future self wasn't clearing up.
"Did we cause this by that surprise B-Day party?" Jackie said, her eyes widening as she noticed Matthew had mentioned that. The thought of their cybird friend not recognizing who they were was alarming, and she didn't like it at all. It made her heart clench with sadness that this was their future. They had been through every adventure together, surely that was stronger than whatever Hacker had done, right? Clearly not, considering how Matthew was responding to Digit right now, and how emotional he was becoming at the simple fact that the cybird was there.
Digit squirmed, uncomfortable at the fact that he had caused such grief for his friends—no, his family, as he liked to refer them to. He wasn't sure what to say, but allowed Inez to pull him into a small hug, considering the girl was quite distressed by what they had been told.
"We're sorry, Dige," Inez said tearfully. "I don't know what happened, but I don't want us to lose you."
Matthew smiled fondly at Inez, hearing that. "We won't lose him, Nezzie. I won't lose any of you. Not this time around." His gaze stopped at Jackie, something flickering in his eyes before he looked back at Inez. "I've come back on a mission. To save those precious to me. But I can't do it alone. I need your help." He placed a hand on Inez's shoulder. His grip shook a little, but he managed to keep talking. "I will tell you the details of everything, however…" He sighed, the lines on his forehead creasing from how tired he felt. "I don't get much of a chance to rest in my time, so if I could spend the night, resting up a little it would be appreciated. Motherboard, may I?"
Motherboard managed a smile. "Of course, Matthew, you're always welcome here. Digit, why don't you arrange a room for him?"
Digit patted Inez's shoulder as she pulled away. "I'll do that, Motherboard. Earthlies, I'll be right back, ok?"
The three kids nodded, although none of them were sure what to say as they watched Digit lead Matt's future self out the door.
Digit didn't like the silence between him and Matthew so he decided to break it. "I'm sorry."
Matthew's head shot up, a little alarmed. "For what?"
Digit looked down. "I caused you so much grief in the future. You seem so different to our Mattie."
Matthew smiled a little. "It isn't your fault, Dige. It was our fault even then. We underestimated Hacker when we shouldn't have. I was reckless back then. Inez and Jackie were worried but I was impulsive and thought everything would turn out okay like it always does. But…" His expression hardened. "I'm not repeating the same mistakes again. Hacker won't lay a hand on you, Jackie, Inez or Motherboard. I won't let him. Not again."
"I hear ya Mattie," Digit said smiling now. "We'll do all we can to help." And that was a promise he would keep, for all their sakes. No matter what.
