One
It was the second day into the Hacker's brief reign as ruler of Cyberspace and Digit was grieving. The sudden and unexpected loss of Motherboard had taken its toll on him. As he and the Cybersquad retrieved each piece needed for the Syncolator, all he could think about was how he had failed her. He had promised to take care of her when he first returned to her after betraying Hacker and he had failed her.
After buying the alpha deck and double-checking their change, Slider and the Cybersquad raced back to the Grim Wreaker and closed the ramp. Digit flopped into a nearby chair, exhausted.
"If it's alright with you guys, I think I'm gonna need to take a little nap for a while," Digit said as he yawned.
"You alright, Dige?" Jackie asked, concerned for the plucky cybird.
"Yeah I'm alright, just need a little break. Babysitting those little Poddles yesterday was exhausting! Can you fly the Wreaker this time, Slider?
"Sure thing Dige," Slider said, nodding. "I'll have Nezzie come wake you up when we get to Betty's."
"Thanks guys. I'll see ya in a bit."
Digit headed down the hall towards Delete's bedroom and collapsed on the bed. He really couldn't wait for this whole mess to be over. He'd worked for Hacker all those years ago, so he should have figured out that something was amiss. He sighed, closing his eyes. Maybe a little rest would help him take his mind off things...
He found himself standing in front of the doors leading into the main room of Control Central. Everything appeared to be as it was before Hacker took over, except the walls and floor were painted white. The pipe systems on the ceiling that typically varied in color were now a uniform gold. Even the doors had intricate golden patterns inlaid into the white paint.
"Either Hacker ended up hiring a really nice decorator or I'm dreamin'," Digit thought to himself. He took a tentative step forward and the doors opened. Everything from the catwalk to the central monitor was painted white and gold. The monitor appeared to be blank, so he quietly tiptoed into the room. "There's no way Hacker would let the decorator do this to the place. I must be dreamin'," he muttered to himself as he surveyed the room.
He was turning to leave when a familiar voice behind him whispered, "Digit..." He turned slowly back and there was Motherboard smiling at him, in her rightful place on the central monitor. Her ringed background was also white and gold instead of the usual blue and pink, but otherwise she looked the same as always.
"Motherboard...I thought you were gone! I thought Hacker forced ya out and-and..." Digit choked on the word 'and', a lump in his throat as hot tears threatened to spill out.
"Destroyed me?" she finished.
"Yeah! I can't believe I didn't see it coming! I should've have figured out what he was up to but I was too caught up in curing ya! I'M SORRY, MOTHERBOARD! I FAILED YOU!" Digit bawled, tears now streaming down his face. He put his head down on the console and continued to sob.
"You didn't fail me Digit. Remember, Hacker was programmed with the same intellect Dr. Marbles has. You had no way of knowing he was going to do that. And he hasn't destroyed me exactly, just compressed me into a zip file within the chip. You can still restore me," Motherboard said soothingly.
"Yeah... " Digit sniffed, "But he still has the power to destroy you!"
"Not with you and the Cybersquad on my side. Digit, you are a much stronger cybird than you give yourself credit always come through when in dire straits and you never fail to brighten my day. Even if I am destroyed, I will still be with you in spirit. You are a part of me and I am a part of you. We are one," Motherboard whispered.
"So I you really think I didn't fail ya?" Digit asked, wiping his eyes.
"Oh, I know you didn't fail me. You could never fail me, my beloved, brave cybird, " Motherboard said, smiling warmly. "Now wake, you'll be arriving soon."
Digit smiled at her and then suddenly awoke to Inez gently shaking him. "Dige, we're almost there. Are you okay?" she asked.
"Well...not right now, but I think I will be once we get Motherboard back where she belongs. Speaking of Motherboard, I just had this dream..."
They walked out of Delete's bedroom and down the hallway, Digit's voice echoing as he related his dream to Inez. True to his word, he would in fact be okay. He, Slider, Dr. Marbles, and the Cybersquad were able to restore Motherboard to her rightful place. Hacker's threat wasn't gone, but as long as they had each other, they would continue to triumph over him no matter what the odds.