Hello. I'm not sure if working with a betareader is working out too great for me so I'll learn as I go, I suppose. Maybe it's better given my schedule and all. But anyway, this is a Cyberchase fanfic and the gang is like four years older in this. So Matt and Jackie are 16, Inez is 15. You know before I had decided to give hints of all possible pairings, but seeing how underrated my pairing of Matt x Jackie is, I'm going to go with that with a side of Inez x Slider. I'm not sure about Digit yet but if anyone has a pairing for him, go ahead and suggest it.
Chapter 1: The Bargain
So close! They'd been so close to getting the Encryptor Chip and healing Motherboard permanently. Victory had been right on their fingertips.
But Hacker just had to get in their way…again…
The villain held the Encryptor Chip in his hands and laughed mockingly.
"Give it back!" Inez cried, clenching her fists as Matt and Jackie stood beside her. All three glared at Hacker, who simply laughed more.
"Ah, the sweet scent of opportunity! I'll return this to you for something in exchange!" he told them, pretending to survey the back of his hand. Matt, Jackie and Inez all exchanged glances and Digit let out a nervous gulp. This wasn't good. Was Hacker going to demand giving up Inez or another one of their team members again? Or was he going to ask for all their lives? Neither of the four knew but they knew if Hacker was asking for something, it couldn't be good.
"Us? What can we give you?" Jackie queried suspiciously, frowning. She had a sinking feeling about this and it was proven right when the Borg lifted a large, green finger and pointed at Digit.
"Give me that turkey, and I'll hand over the Encryptor Chip! Consider your options carefully, Earth brats: your turkey friend…in exchange for Motherboard's Cure-All!"
Matt moved protectively in front of his surprised cyboid friend, extending his arms to his sides to make himself an effective shield between Digit and Hacker. He had always been the closest to the little cyboid due to them naturally sticking together. He cared too much about him to allow this to happen. Inez moved besides Matt, taking one hand of his while Jackie took the other and both girls extended their free arm to the side to make themselves into living shields for their friend.
"No way, Hacker! We'll find another way!" Matt championed. He knew they were blowing a big chance to help Motherboard, but they couldn't just sacrifice Digit! He was their friend!
Which is why it surprised the Earthlies so when the 'guest of honor' spoke up. "I'll do it."
The Cybersquad did a double-take.
"Digit, you can't!" Inez cried desperately. Her heart was slowly cracking as if someone had taken a large sword and stuck it inside her. This was a worse pain than the pain that was gained from a battle wound. A lone tear cascaded down the young girl's cheek. This was not good. This was not good at all. This could not be happening…their victory would mean nothing if it was this half-hearted.
"Come on, Dige! We'll figure something out! We always do! Hacker can't have his way like this!" Matt proclaimed heatedly. He couldn't allow Digit to go back to Hacker, just for the Encryptor Chip, no matter how important it was. Heck, they were the Cybersquad for a reason! They had always done things together, always gotten through the worst kind of situations even when things were looking impossible, surely there had to be another way to do this without sacrificing someone so dear to them. They had won in Radopolis without having to sacrifice Inez and had saved Jackie from Mount Way Up There with the help of the Parallinis when things looked impossible so they could get through this as well.
"Have faith in us, Digit! We'll get that Encryptor Chip without a surrender, you'll see!" Jackie supported. They had always managed to do things this way before and they were so close, so she didn't want Motherboard not to be healed but at the same time, sacrificing her friend was not an option either. Cyberspace would not be the same without Digit and neither would Motherboard.
"They're right, Digit," Motherboard stuttered, weak due to the effects of the virus but at the same time, Digit meant a lot to her.
Digit sighed heavily, looking down at his feet. "I know you kids are really smart and all, but the truth is, we don't have enough time to come up with another plan. The virus has put Motherboard through more than enough, and this is a chance we might not get again." He offered a small, sad smile. "Don't worry. I'll never forget you guys or Motherboard, but I have to do this. Please...don't try to stop me. Think of it as my last request." He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to leave his little safe haven of his friends and Motherboard to be at Hacker's mercy but he had no choice. If Hacker was using him as the bargaining chip, then he'd do whatever it took to help his team succeed even if it meant sacrificing himself. For Motherboard, it was worth it.
"Digit...d-d-don't...—!" Motherboard attempted to say, her glitches starting up again. Digit simply looked away, unable to see her like this. When her glitches started up, it only furthered his resolve that his sacrifice really was the only way to help her even if it hurt him.
Matt clenched his fists, shutting his eyes tightly. How could he accept this? This wasn't fair! Digit did not deserve such a horrible fate. He knew the other had worked for the Hacker before but surely Hacker was planning revenge for Digit leaving him. Leaving his precious friend to such a horrible fate made him want to hit something. Was there really no other choice? It certainly seemed that Digit's words held weight in them. They had gotten out of tight situations before. If they could save Inez from being on Team Hacker, then why couldn't they stop this? What good were they?
Tears welled in Inez's eyes. She so desperately wanted to cry even though that wasn't like her. They couldn't lose like this even if they were gaining Motherboard's Cure-All, it wouldn't seem like a victory at all if they had to pay such a high price. She pulled Digit close, tears beginning to cascade down her cheeks as her entire body shook. She wanted to take him back to Earth with them and never return to Cyberspace where his life was at risk but knew she couldn't do that.
Jackie just looked down at the floor with a desperate, sorrowful expression on her face. This could not be happening. This was some bad, bizarre dream and she'd wake up any minute and be laughing about it with her friends. She pinched herself in the cheek and winced. The dark-skinned girl bit her lower lip. This was no dream. This was reality crushing down on their very existence. A reality that might in the end destroy them all. Including Motherboard considering how close she was to Digit. And for god's sake, where was Dr. Marbles right about now? He should be the one to cure Motherboard but no one had heard from him in months.
Finally, Matt opened his eyes, certain to be glowering at the villain. Inez wanted to scream for her friend to stop, but Digit touched her arm and shook his head. This caused more tears to fall from the Latino's eyes as she looked at Matt pleadingly not to say anything but he wasn't looking at her.
"It's a deal," the redhead forced himself to spit, unable to believe he was accepting. It was the last thing Matt wanted to do. If he could, he'd take his friend somewhere far away from Hacker where not even the Borg's shadow could reach them.
Hacker, silencing his innocent whistling, smirked evilly and moved forward to grab the cyboid, but at the last minute the winged creature seemed to panic, clutching closer to Inez who was still holding him. "Wait!" The Borg stopped and raised an eyebrow. Had the fool changed his mind?
"Can I have a few minutes? Please? I mean, I'm never gonna see 'em again! I have a right to say goodbye, don't I?" Digit pleaded, his voice slightly shaky. Tears prickled down his own cheeks that made Inez hold back tears, trying to give him some courage knowing if she cried any more, it'd make things harder for him.
Hacker cackled briefly. "Fine! You have two minutes. Buzz, Delete, make sure they don't try to double-cross me!" With that, the green villain went outside, and his two henchmen stepped back a bit to allow the group of friends some privacy. Delete sniffled, unable to help but feel somewhat sorry for Digit. Inez hesitantly let him go and he jumped down, turning to face his friends, well-aware that he may be seeing them for the last time.
The bird cyborg opened his inner compartment, taking out Widget and handing him to Matt.
"Take care of the little guy for me. The Hacker can get pretty nasty, and I don't want him getting hurt. Plus, Widge looks just like me, which'll help you guys not miss me as much…" Digit said, ignoring both how his voice broke at the last part and Widget's protests against the decision. Widget was jumping up and down in protest. He clearly did not agree with this.
Matt took Widget before dropping down to his knees and hugging Digit, Inez and Jackie soon joining him, all crying despite their best efforts. Buzz and Delete, observing the scene, began tearing up themselves.
"It's so sad DeeDee" Buzz wailed throwing his arms awkwardly around Delete.
"I know Buzzy" Delete wiped a tear.
"We'll miss you, Digit. Nobody can ever replace you. Here," Inez said, reaching into her pocket and taking out a whistle necklace, which she draped around Digit's neck. At his confused look, she explained, "Do you remember the time we were entering that dark, scary cave, and since you couldn't, the rest of us whistled for you so you wouldn't be afraid?" He nodded. "You can think of us while you use it whenever you feel frightened." Inez gave a small smile, but couldn't help it when another tear rolled down her cheek as she looked away. She couldn't cry again as it might make Digit lose the courage he had gained to do this for Motherboard.
Hacker's jolly voice came through the door. "Only thirty seconds left!" It made the Cybersquad want to teach him a lesson although they couldn't because the ball was in his court for once.
Ignoring his own helplessness, Matt quickly took out the yoyo he always played with and gave it to Digit.
"To make sure you don't forget me," he tried to joke, though the sadness in his eyes clearly showed he was breaking inside. He knew Digit would never forget him. He just wanted to give some encouragement to the cyboid that was pretty much his best friend. He could tell Digit was scared even if he wasn't showing it.
Jackie pressed into her friend's wing a picture of the four of them.
"Keep this safe, Digit. No matter what happens with Hacker, never give up hope. Use our friendship to remember what an amazing friend you were." Tears rolled down her cheeks as she hugged Digit. The cyboid embraced all of them one last time. They held him as close as they could, not wanting to let him go. Matt whispered encouraging words in his ear to try and keep him thinking positive.
At last, their two minutes were up.
Once inside, Hacker handed Matt the Encryptor Chip, grabbed Digit, and strode triumphantly toward the exit. Inez tried to run after them, but Matt stopped her and held her when her sobs became more insistent. Inez clutched tightly onto her friend, soaking his green shirt in tears. Matt felt his own eyes become teary at that but he tried to comfort her with little courage he had left. Jackie, on her knees on the floor, was in much the same state. Would they ever see Digit again…? Matt and Inez reached out for simultaneously and she clung to them, sobbing as Matt rubbed her back rhythmically trying to calm her down.
When the three had mostly composed themselves, Matt pulled away from Inez and Jackie to insert the Encryptor Chip in Motherboard. The screen fizzled out, then back in minutes later, and Motherboard reappeared.
"Motherboard, how do you feel?" Inez asked, wiping the tears from her eyes and cheeks, trying to give the woman she considered a second mother a warm smile despite being broken inside herself.
"Better than I've felt in years! Thank you, Cybermates!" the computer-woman said with a minute smile. Matt sighed, but managed a like response, trying to force himself to be happy that they had gotten some victory even if it didn't feel like one.
"Don't thank us, Motherboard. Digit was the one who paid the biggest price..." He peered over at a sad-looking Widget, who was searching for his partner. It wasn't right seeing one without the other just like it wasn't right seeing the Cybersquad without their fourth member. They felt incomplete somehow. All of them and now they might always be.
