I Will Always Hate You.
Summary: Two years after Cyberchase Jealousy, Matt and Slider haven't been the best of acquaintances, even on their day trip to
R-Fair City. But when Inez and Jackie get kidnapped by one of
their enemies and held for ransom, Matt and Slider must learn to
put aside their differences to rescue the ones they love.
Disclaimer: I don't own Cyberchase, only the plot of this story.
Chapter 1: Prologue.
With Hacker put in his place for about five years so far, Matt, Jackie, and Inez were not needed as much in Cyberspace, but would come and visit whenever they got the chance, mainly because Jackie's boyfriend, Slider lived in Cyberspace on the cybersite of Radopolis.
Villains such as Wicked and Baskerville weren't causing as much chaos as usual, which gave the three earth teenagers of the Cybersquad a chance to relax and relieve their brains from high school stress and drama.
Exams were approaching in about a month, which meant Jackie was organizing all her exam schedules, as well as her study notes and textbooks, accidentally misplacing her agenda in the process. Inez would lean against the wall on her head while studying, thinking it was the best way to memorize her notes. Matt just read one page of a textbook, and then watched one television show, and that process continued until he finished an entire textbook.
They all decided to plan a day trip to R-Fair City for a day to just chill out and hang out with each other. They figured it was going to be one of the best outings ever. Also, they had pocketfuls of snelfus to be spent on tickets and games that they were dying to use.
The day of their day trip to R-Fair City, Digit was at control central in his garage, double-checking his Cybercoupe to make sure it wouldn't break down on the way there or run out of gas. Fortunately, the gas tank was full and the engines were running smoothly.
In the driver's seat of the Cybercoupe was Matt, who was listening to his orange IPOD. He matured greatly over the years. He now wore a chartreuse T-Shirt, blue baggy jeans, and white running shoes. His red hair was still in the shaggy style.
Inez was leaning against the right side of the Cybercoupe, texting her friends on her skwak pad. She now wore a purple T-Shirt over a white long sleeve shirt, blue miniskirt over black fishnet leggings, and black combat boots. Her short brown hair went down to her shoulders and curled outwards, while her black glasses nicely framed her eyes.
On Inez's right side was Jackie, who was organizing her exam schedule on her skwak pad. She now dressed in a yellow tube top, white miniskirt, yellow knee-high socks, and white Mary Janes. Her silky black hair was in the usual upper bun at the back of her head, kept in place with a yellow silk ribbon.
"Ugh, so many exams, so little time," Jackie stated, clutching her skwak pad against her chest. "We could so use this break from studying."
"Okay, we're all set," Digit said, hopping into the back seat of the Cybercoupe. "Let's get going."
"Yeah, I'm ready to ride all the roller coasters until I puke," Matt added, switching off his IPOD.
Inez sighed. "I just wish there were more of us though. It would be much more fun that way."
"Don't worry, Nezzie," Matt said, calling his girlfriend by the nickname she finally allowed him to call her. "We'll still have the time of our lives."
Inez's face brightened, as a though ran through her head. "Hey, why don't we ask Slider to come with us?"
Matt stuck his head out the Cybercoupe in protest. "No, we can't."
Inez glared at her sometimes stubborn boyfriend. "Why not, Matt?"
Matt took a while to answer. Even after several years of knowing him, he and Slider haven't been the best of acquaintances. They always argued, even during the Mount Olympic Games, when they had to decide who was going to do the run part of the relay.
To Inez and Jackie, they would worship Slider like a god if he asked them to. He was intelligent, athletic, funny, and perhaps the best skater on Radopolis. Even though Matt eventually won Inez's heart two years ago, he was still upset that Slider was the first one to catch her eyes, not him.
"Well, because it should just be us," Matt answered, eventually coming up with a reply. "Today is supposed to be our day."
"I know, Matt," Inez replied. "But Slider is our friend, and he should come to R-Fair City with us."
Jackie nodded in agreement. "Inez is right, Slider should come with us."
Matt tried to protest again. "But – "
"Please, Matt?" Jackie asked, pleadingly. "He's my boyfriend and I haven't seen him in a month because we were studying for exams. I miss him."
Matt gave in to Jackie's adorable puppy-dog pout. "Fine."
Jackie squealed. "Thanks, I'll call him."
Matt watched, annoyed, as Jackie dialled Slider's skwak pad number and waited for an answer. When someone picked up on the other end of the line, she said, "Hey Slider, Jackie here. How fast can you make it to control central?"
Just then, the doors leading outside to Cyberspace opened and Slider slid in on his orange skateboard, his skwak pad in his right hand. He still wore his red hoodie with a yellow circle in the middle, over his white long sleeve shirt, green baggy shorts, and brown skater shoes. His brown hair was in the shaggy style underneath his yellow helmet.
Slider slipped his skwak pad into his right shorts pocket. "How's this for fast, babe?"
Jackie grinned, happily, running into Slider's open arms for a warm embrace. His arms snaked their way around her waist, while hers made their way around his neck.
Inez smiled. "Wow that was sure fast."
Slider chuckled, releasing Jackie from the embrace. "Well, I was coming to control central to ask Digit if he wanted to go to Solaria with Jake and I." (A/N: Jake Daniels is from the story that this sequel is to, titled, "Cyberchase Jealousy.").
"Come on, Slider, hop aboard," Digit said, hopping into the back seat. "We're going to R-Fair City to hang out all day."
Slider grinned. "Sounds great, I'll be happy to join you all."
Matt huffed, though Slider couldn't hear him, and prepared for takeoff. Inez seated herself shotgun. Slider and Jackie joined Digit in the back seat, placing Slider's orange skateboard by their feet.
Inez pressed a red button on the control panel to close the glass top of the Cybercoupe, sealing them inside. "Ready to go, everyone?"
"Yeah," Jackie replied, happily. "To R-Fair City!"
R-Fair City was the most popular cybersite in Cyberspace – home to many rides to be ridden, games to be played, and snelfus to be spent. No matter what time of year it was, the R-Fair City was packed with tourists from morning until night.
While planning their day trip two weeks prior to when they were going, they planned to attend some special events as well. They would play games of chance in the morning; have lunch with Lucky, watch a Glowla and Spout performance in the afternoon, and ride carnival rides until the sun went down.
Once they parked their Cybercoupe in a public parking lot in R-Fair City, Digit, Matt, Inez, Slider, and Jackie made their way towards the different booths filled with many games of chance, along with lines of people eager to take their chances.
"What game of chance should we play first?" Inez asked, looking around her surroundings.
"There's so many to choose from," Digit stated. "Grubby's Wacky Worms, Square's The Game, Balloon Darts – "
Jackie tugged at Slider's right arm, after spotting the cybersite's most famous game. "Can we go play Pure Chance? I want to win a day of free games."
Slider nodded. "Sure, I'm feeling lucky today anyway."
Jackie giggled, as Slider led her towards the Pure Chance machine. Inez and Digit followed. Matt went after them, rolling his eyes, since he didn't think Mr. Big Shot was so lucky that day.
What the five of them knew was that the Pure Chance machine was built with two doors. One door would lead them to a day of free games, while the other would shoot them right into Cyberspace. The problem was that the outcomes were different each time, meaning each door could lead anywhere.
"Well, which door are we going to pick?" Digit asked. "The red one on the left or the blue one on the right?"
Matt decided to make the decision. "Let's go with the red one."
"I say we go through the blue one," Slider said, heading for the door on the right.
Matt frowned. "You're right, if you want to be floating around in Cyberspace."
Slider turned to glare at him "How do you know you're right?"
"How do you know I'm not right!?" Matt retorted, clenching his fists in anger.
Inez stepped in between them before they even made contact with each other. "Guys, break it up!"
"But he's picking the door leading into Cyberspace!" Matt protested.
Jackie sighed. "Let's end this once and for all. I'm thinking of a number between one and ten. The one who guesses the closest will gets to choose the door."
Matt rubbed his chin with his right hand in thought. "Three."
"Seven," Slider said.
Jackie smiled at her boyfriend. "The number was six. Slider, the choice is yours."
Matt grumbled, as Slider led his girlfriend towards the blue door of Pure Chance, smiling proudly. Digit hovered after them. Inez gave Matt a hug, feeling sorry that he lost. He sighed, as he wrapped his right arm around her and followed the others.
Once the blue doors slid closed behind them, cheery yells and girly squeals were heard behind it, followed by light bells that constantly kept ringing.
Apparently, Slider was right – it was his lucky day.
After several hours of free games of chance, Inez's stomach rumbled, meaning it was about time to meet Lucky for lunch at the R-Fair City outdoor food court. They managed to catch a tour bus to take them there in less than five minutes.
Once they arrived, Digit managed to find an empty six-person table in the packed food court. While Matt and Inez went to purchase an extra large cheesy pizza and cheesy breadsticks for their lunch and Digit left to get their sodas, Slider took a seat at the table to wait for Lucky to meet up with them. Jackie sat on a chair next to him on his right side, hugging a furry yellow stuffed bear in her arms that Slider had won for her at one of the chance games.
Just then, Lucky appeared from behind all the crowds and headed towards them, waving in their direction in the progress. Jackie was glad to see him. They haven't seen him since they were catching Delete clones in R-Fair City.
"Hey, Lucky," Jackie greeted, smiling. "Long time no see, eh?"
"You got that right," Lucky answered, taking a seat across from Jackie. He turned his attention to Slider, raising a blue eyebrow.
Jackie realized that they had never introduced Lucky to Slider. "Oh, this is Slider, my boyfriend."
"Oh, you're the Slider that I've heard so much about," Lucky said, grinning at the brunette skater dude. "Cy Clone told me about you, but I'm glad to meet you in person."
"Thanks," Slider replied. "Nice to meet you too, man."
While Lucky, Slider, and Jackie were chatting up a storm, Matt and Inez stood at the front of long line in front of the pizza booth, waiting for their group's order. The scent of freshly baked cheesy bread filled the air around them.
Matt was leaning against the counter, his head in his hands, being supported on the counter by his elbows. He wore a frown on his face, muttering words to himself that Inez next to him couldn't even figure out.
"What's got you in the grumpy mood?" Inez asked him.
"Nothing," Matt muttered, untruthfully.
Inez shook her head, not believing him. "You know that I know you better than that, Matt. What's bothering you?"
"It's Slider," Matt explained, as his lover listened attentively. "He always thinks he's right, and sometimes he is. But how come you guys always take his side?"
"We don't do that, Matt," Inez answered, sympathetically. "Sure, he's cute and such an amazing skater, but we treat him the same way we treat you, especially me."
"Really?" Matt asked, unsure of her answer.
Inez nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. So, for once, give him a chance, okay?"
Matt shrugged. "I guess so."
Inez smiled, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Great, get the lunch and I'll go help Digit with the drinks."
Matt watched his lover girl walk off towards the soda stand, where Digit was hovering in front of the counter, waiting for the drinks to be ready. He sighed, turning back to wait for the pizza and cheesy bread sticks.
"Give him a chance for once?" he thought. "Easier said than done."
Prologue up! So, what do you think of this story? Please Read and Review!
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Your Cartoon/Anime Fanfiction Writing Extraordinaire,
TeenQueen661.
