Hello to all of my cyberchase fans. this is the final installment to the Cyberchase: Evil Within Saga. I guarantee there will be plenty of plot twists. Also, this is a bit of a cross-over as another tv show caught my eye. Huntik: Secrets and Seekers. But we will get to that eventually. All you have to know is a few elements from that show will appear in this story.

If you haven't read Cyberchase: A Black Heart, A Tortured Soul, or A Warrior Reborn (in that order) yet, I would highly suggest doing so. Also, as this is a collaborative effort with my friend and fellow Cyberchase writer, Kawaii Stella, I would highly suggest reading her material as well because a few elements, as well as at least 1 character will appear in this story as well. The stories I would suggest checking out on her end is the Tales of Infinity series and Picking up the Broken Glass.

I don't own Cyberchase. Max is mine.

Chapter One
The Mission

Previously on Cyberchase: A Warrior Reborn. . . .

The fight was over.

Dr. Marbles breathed a sigh of relief that whistled through his mustache. Now that Hacker was gone, he could locate the cure for Motherboard's virus in peace. But first, he wanted to enjoy this moment.

Max was fast asleep in her own bed as a cyborg. Marbles had gotten up early and went to Max's room to see if it was all a dream. It wasn't. Max had beaten Hacker. His tyranny was over. Master Pi had kept his promise and turned Max back into herself using mysterious Shangri-La magic.

For the first time in nine years, Marbles had enveloped Max in his arms. Her cyborg body fit in the crooks of his arms perfectly. And Max hugged him back.

The two had been separated for a long time, now. Nine years, Max and Marbles had been apart. Every night, Marbles wondered if his daughter was okay or where she was now. Now, the nightmares of wondering were over. Max and Digit were going to stay at Control Central and watch over Motherboard until Marbles' return.

Max lay on her belly, mouth open, with one arm across Digit's sleep-mode form. Marbles smiled. Then, with one finger, he reached out and touched a strand of unruly brown hair that lay over her nose. He remembered Max being alight sleeper and didn't dare touch her skin with his finger.

His lips, on the other hand, was another story. He gently kissed her on the cheek, Max's eyelids twitched and she swallowed a string of drool creeping out of the corner of her mouth.

Marbles gently patted her on the head.

"I love you, Maxanne." He whispered.

"I love you too, Dad." Max whispered back.

Marbles grinned as he turned to leave her room. He grabbed a saddlebag from outside the door.

"Take care of them, Motherboard. I shall return with a cure." He said.

"Will do, Dr. Marbles. Be careful." Motherboard said.

"I will." Marbles said.

And now, the conclusion. . . .

Dr. Matthias Marbles was up about an hour and a half before his daughter, Max, getting ready to head out again on a search for a cure for Motherboard's virus. For him it was odd to be up so early, time was of the essence for him. Usually, Max was up before him and was starting her morning routine of eating, meditating, and practicing her Hapkido in the Holodome. But Max seemed to be sleeping longer as of late and Marbles was beginning to wonder if something might have happened to her harddrive since changing back to a borg. Or, if there was something else.

He stood in the doorway of her bedroom, sipping at his coffee while he watched his seventeen-year-old daughter's still form. He wasn't big on drinking coffee, except in the wee hours of the morning when his attention was drawn away from his normal duties as Motherboard's Chief Engineer, as his attention was being drawn away from his normal duties today.

He remembered his father, Net, was a big coffee drinker. In fact, the borg practically lived on coffee, particularly in the later years of his life. He claimed the caffeine kept him going, but Marbles could help but wonder if maybe his father had drunk himself to an early grave as he tended to drain six cups of coffee throughout the day. Marbles only enjoyed one and that was only on the days when he needed to be up earlier than normal.

He took a sip of coffee and leaned against the doorway to his daughter's room. It had been months since Hacker's defeat at Max's hands and everyone in Cyberspace was now breathing a collective sigh of relief. Some had even stopped glancing over their shoulders for the ominous sign of the Grimm Wreaker; particularly those that had participated in dismantling the Wreaker for scrap. Others could only hope it was a dream . . . that Max hadn't destroyed Hacker in a gargoyle-against-gargoyle match. Those that wished it hadn't happened also happened to be the ones looking over their shoulders for signs of the Wreaker.

It wasn't because they weren't thankful Max had done it, Cyberspace had never been more peaceful since she stood up and performed her Shield-maiden's duty to defend their world, merely that they wished it hadn't been the teen borg.

Cyber-wide media had a field day when the fight was all over and done with. Of course, neither Max nor Marbles, wanted to discuss what Max had done. When the report was sent out all over Cyberspace, Max was forced to lay low out of public eye until the whole thing blew over. Thankfully, laying low also gave Max the opportunity to rebuild her life. The life she had before Hacker came and took everything she ever cared about away from her.

But laying low was also a bit of an annoyance for Max. She didn't like doing nothing and ended up spending her days in the Holo-dome brushing up on her Hapkido skills or running daily repairs on Motherboard, the leader of Cyberspace. She did the repairs with the aid of her friend, Digit LeBoid, who was more than happy to have his friend back in her borg body. In all actuality, he was happy to have her back, period.

But, for Max, there was something missing from her life. She was a Shield-maiden now, and so far nobody's called her out to do her Shield-maidenly duties. Not that it mattered since she didn't have her trade-mark Quarter-stave with her anymore.

Marbles looked up at the empty spaces above her bed. Five years ago, Max had asked him to take a few items from her room and put them in a large bank box with her name on it. Marbles had stayed on the Sqwackpad with her while he packed a few things away. Among those things was a gem-encrusted golden chalice, a scroll written in Shangrinese, a rope, a shield, a cane, and a rod. The only things he left untouched were her clothes and the leather roll-up of eight throwing knives. He hadn't been able to locate her quarter-stave and later learned Hacker had stolen that the same night he stole Max and Digit. Max told him "It's probably already been burned in the incinerator since he broke it over my back."

Marbles sighed as he took one more sip of his coffee, then went to sit on the edge of Max's bed. She stirred, rubbed the back of her hand over her dark-brown eyes, and looked over her shoulder at her father.

"Dad? You're up awfully early. Something wrong?"

He smiled, setting the heavy paper cup on his knee as his other hand came out to touch his daughter's back. "Negative, Max. I just wanted to say so long. I am called away to Cybersite Eureka. My colleague, Professor Ephraim Archimedes, has informed me he may have found the anti-virus code for Motherboard. He would like me to look into it."

Max adjusted her position on her belly so her head was facing the other way. She lay her cheek on her pillow and her dark-brown eyes softly closed. "I'm glad to hear that. How long will you be gone?"

"Undecided for the time being." Marbles told her. "Have you any plans for today?"

"So far, I have one. Master Pi contacted me yesterday saying he has a possible candidate for the next Sword-Thane. Red's the only Thane around at the moment and I'm surprised they haven't picked one yet." Max said without opening her eyes.

"What is this Thane's name?" Marbles asked.

"He's not a Thane yet. In fact, Red isn't even sure how he feels about this kid. His name is Lok. Master Pi says he's showing promise in some areas of their art but not in others. He would like to see this kid wear the Sword-Thane's colors. Red has so far pushed him back into the other apprentice ranks."

"So, what will happen to Linus if he isn't selected?"

Max shrugged. "He'll probably just be a regular warrior. Red and Master Pi want my opinion since I'm the only other elite warrior there is."

Marbles patted her on the back. "Be sure you look Linus over carefully before you make any decisions."

"I will. I plan to walk with him and have a cb-to-cb1 chat. Otherwise, Red wants me to pick from the other candidates. If that's the case, I'll probably be on Shangri-La for about the whole day." Max said.

"How many other candidates are there?"

Another shrug. "Won't know until I get there?"

"How soon will you be there?"

"Right when I'm done with my morning routine."

"Which will start when?"

Max opened one eye and scowled at him in a "When I wake up" look.

"You've been sleeping longer lately." Marbles reminded her.

"I'm making up for the lost hours of sleep when I was a gargoyle." Max told him, her eye closing.

"Ha!" Digit said. He was already coming out of sleep-mode.

"bIjatih 'e' yImev, Didge." Max said in Shangrinese. Both Marbles and Digit knew enough of Shangrinese to know that meant "shut up". Or, better yet, "shut your mouth".

"Well, I was just saying that's funny coming from you. You used to sleep a lot aboard the Grimm Wreaker." Digit said. "And, what about the times when Hacker electrocuted you? Or when you lost portions of your left side. I hear you slept a lot then."

"Those times don't count! Those were near-death experiences that also included sedatives, not natural sleep. Besides, I spent about four years on the run – except for the few years spent on Radopolis – and I couldn't afford to sleep very long then."

"I see what you mean." Digit said. He sat up, stretched, and curled back up on his cushion. "You're still sleeping more than usual."

Max growled and Marbles laughed while patted her gently on the back. Then, as he tossed back one more sip of coffee, he noticed the screen on Max's Sqwackpad was glowing.

"It appears you have a transmission saved." Marbles told her.

Max sighed and sat up, taking the Sqwackpad off her bedside table while Marbles rose to make room for her. Rubbing her eyes, she scanned through the transmission records, surprised to see she had one missed call from last night and wondered why she hadn't seen it before.

1 missed call. Receive now?

Max hesitated. The last time she missed a call, it had a threatening message to it: Seven days. But that message had been sent by Hacker who was now deceased. Knowing this, she punched in 1 for yes and listened.

"Hey Max. It's Slider. I was hoping I'd catch you before the end of the day but I guess you're busy. Guess that's what happens when you turn into a Shield-maiden now, huh? Anyway, I just wanted to say the project you gave me to do is finished now. I hope it's to your expectations. We can discuss price and stuff like that when you come get it. Call me."

"He's done!" Max said, throwing up her hands, triumphantly in the air.

"Done? Done with what?" Marbles asked.

"Yeah, done with what, Max?" Digit asked.

Max glanced momentarily down at Digit, then smiled up at her father's anxious face. "I couple months ago, I asked Slider if he could make me a new quarter-stave. Something small, compact, and light. He's finished it and I can go pick it up."

"Couldn't you have just chosen another stave from the armory?" Marbles asked.

Max shook her head. "Already tried that. None of the staves fit me."

"I see. So you asked for a custom built one from your cousin." He reached out and ruffled Max's hair. "I can't say I blame you. Does Master Pi know about this?"

"Yeah. He said he was okay with it."

"As long as he's okay with it." Marbles said, taking one last pull at his coffee.

Max's dark-brown eyes suddenly fell to the paper cup in Marbles' hand, surprise registering on her rough features. "No . . . way! Are you drinking coffee?" She asked. "How long were you planning to be on Eureka?"

"As I said, undecided. Which is precisely why I required the caffeine." Marbles said. He dropped the cup in the incinerator by the door. "I suppose you plan to pay a visit to Radopolis before you head to Shangri-La."

It wasn't a question but Max treated it as one. She deleted the message and put the Sqwackpad back on her bedside table. Then, she stretched, got out of bed, and hunted for her clothes. It was getting close to her wake-up time anyway and after getting the message about her new stave, Max couldn't wait to get to Radopolis and try it out.

"Yep. Might as well let Master Pi and Red see it while I can."

"Just don't be late." Marbles warned her.

Max paused in the middle of checking a tunic to glance over her shoulder at her father. "Master said to take my time. They're in no hurry to name the next Thane."

"Even so -" Marbles began but Max interrupted him.

"Dad, if they were in a hurry, Master would have given me an actual time. He did not. He only said he wanted to see me in the afternoon. So, I can get going with my routine and visit Radopolis before I get to Shangri-La."

Marbles smiled at her. Max had turned out to be a most responsible young borg. Of course, she had always been responsible but her three years on Shangri-La had done a lot to build her character.

"Very well. Do you require a Cybercoop?" Marbles asked her.

"Yeah. One of the one-seaters or the two-seater would do, please." Max answered. "I promise to return it without a scratch."

Marbles had no doubt she would. He took a set of keys out of his pocket and laid them on her bedside table. "Two-seater Cybercoop it is. Be careful and I shall see you later."

"Bye, Dad." Max watched her father leave the room.

While Max started rooting around in her dresser looking for clothes, Digit headed out the room; stopping only to ask Max if there was anything she wanted for breakfast.

"Surprise me." Max said.

Digit nodded and left.

Left alone, Max murmured a command to the lights and they brightened just a tad so she could see. Lay on her bed was a blood-red tunic and matching trousers, a black belt that circled her waist twice, and a red sash baring the sign of a Shangrinese Shield-maiden.

Max looked at her gi, marveling at the seamless changes made to it by her mother, Ada Lovelace. Her old gi set didn't fit her and was returned to Shangri-La in exchange for a larger, more permanent set. Max received permission to make adjustments as she needed and she sent the gis to her mother with a few ideas in mind. Among those ideas was to have a pair of orange straps sewn into the shoulders. On one end of each strap was a small, rounded buckle and from these she could hang a bag or her roll-up of throwing knives.

But the straps weren't the only modifications Ada made. Ada had also ripped the sleeves off the tunics and sewed zippers joining the sleeves to the armholes – Max was known for favoring tank tops on occasion and Ada thought this would make a nice change. However, tank tops were not permissible on Shangri-La so Max was forced to wear sleeved tunics. Off Shangri-La, she could remove the sleeves if she happened to get too warm. This was precisely what the zippers were meant for.

Master Pi had seen the changes and while he didn't seem to approve, he didn't ask for the modifications to be removed. Max was not like the other warriors he was used to teaching, after all, and being a Shield-maiden gave Max a lot of room to her own appearance.

Max stripped out of her nightshirt and slipped on her tunic and trousers, tied her black belt around her waist, and gently laid the Shield-maiden's sash over her left shoulder. Then, she sat on the floor and began meditating.

When Max first started her meditation routine with the other warriors, she didn't have the ability to sit still for the required two hours. Max was still unable to remain motionless for two hours but the amount of time she took meditating did help to clear her mind of all unnecessary thoughts and emotions. When she was finished, she found a small shoulder-bag and opened a plastic tub containing inventions she had created not long ago – Max still didn't have money to her name, now, and had to hope Slider would accept a new piece of technology instead – and stuffed it in her bag. Then, after lacing it through the right shoulder-buckle, she rolled up her knives and passed the strap through her left shoulder-buckle, and headed down to breakfast with the coop keys in her pocket.

Digit made a small breakfast of bacon, egg and cheese biscuits. As usual, he overdid it and made a whole batch of biscuits. Max grabbed two and ate them, drowning them with a glass of chocolate milk. Then, after writing down a list of things for him to do today, Max kissed Digit on the forehead good-bye and left.

1

"Hey Max. It's about time you showed up." Slider said.

"Yeah, well, you have exactly seven minutes of my time." She said.

Max had only just arrived on Radopolis when she caught up with her cousin, Slider, practicing a few skateboarding tricks on a nearby half-pipe. The fact he was boarding at all was not surprising to Max.. It was the fact he was already up and boarding that caught Max's attention. It was eight in the morning and Slider was not known for being an early-bird like Max was.

"Seven minutes, huh? Why? Are you on assignment or something?" Slider asked.

"You could say that." Max said. "Master Pi wants me on Shangri-La to check out the new recruits. One or two of them could be the next Sword-Thanes."

"Really? Cool! Who are they?" Slider said. Just as the words left his mouth, Slider knew Max couldn't answer him.

"Can't tell you, Sly. The warriors are all nameless to those outside their order."

"Mm . . . I hate that rule."

"I know."

Slider looked long at hard at his older cousin. She was dressed in her modified Shangrinese regalia: a small backpack hung from a strap over her right shoulder and her roll-up of throwing knives hung from a strap over her left. She looked ready for business, and ready to head off. Even her face was neatly composed in what Slider had come to know as the "warrior face". It was an expression that betrayed nothing. Particularly emotion. In her gargoyle form, Max had looked pensive when wearing this face. In cyborg form, it was just plain odd.

"Five minutes." Max reminded him.

"Geez, in a hurry to get somewhere, aren't we?" Slider teased. He picked up his board and carried it to the garage. Max followed him and waited.

"Okay." He finally said, laying out a tray on his bench. The tray was covered with a cloth and lump raided the middle. "It took me a while to get it right, but I think I got it. I just hope you approve of it, is all."

Max said nothing. She remained in full Shangrinese warrior mode; dark-brown eyes on the lump in the middle of the tray.

Slider swallowed and whipped the cloth off the tray.

"Ta-da!" He announced, proudly.

"It's so small." Max said.

On the tray was a round, metal, cylinder that was nothing like the quarter-stave she had once carried. The stave measured two inches in diameter and was only seven inches in length. Max began to wonder if trusting Slider with this now or not. She loved her cousin but felt she had taken her request for a stave that was "lighter and more compact" a little too seriously.

"It's in travel mode." Slider said. He gently lifted the rod and held it out to his cousin. "See, the middle of this rod has a heat sensor and pressure plate. Only a squeeze from you will activate it."

Max took the stave and squeezed it. Immediately, it lengthened in her hand to a full thirty-eight inch stave. She tested the balance, and the heft, then nodded in approval. She liked how it felt in her hand and, even though it looked too flimsy to be used in an actual fight, just by feeling it, Max knew the materials used were harder than tempered steel. Perhaps even as strong as the material used for the skeletal structure and outer shell of her prosthetic arm and leg when she was a gargoyle.

Max let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding. Slider had pulled through for her. "Thanks, Sly. I knew I could rely on you." She said.

"Good. Now, as to the price . . ." Slider began.

Max squeezed the stave back into travel-size, reached over her right shoulder and tugged the backpack loose. She set it down on the bench and opened it, pulling from its depths a pair of gloves decked out in hardware and wires.

"These are for you. I don't have any snalfus to speak of so I was hoping this would have to do." She said.

"Jeepers creepers! They look awesome, whatever they are!" Sly said.

"These are called Hack-Tech gloves. It's major function is to enter or invade programs with only a thought. And, it works about the same as the tech in my left arm way back when I was a gargoyle."

Slider took the gloves and put them on. They were designed to fit the hands of any, average built borg. He flexed his fingers inside the gloves, getting a feel for the mesh fabric and how the wires across the back stretched and relaxed. The tips of each finger was topped with a black cap with a blue LED.

"Just a thought, huh?" He said.

"Yep. Dad and I were working on a full line of Hack-Tech projects. Those gloves are the first of their kind, straight off the conveyer belt. These are not prototypes, they're the real deal. I used them on Motherboard a couple days ago to test it out. So far, it's amazing."

"How does it work?"

"Well, the finger caps link with your system syntax via your internal circuitry. All you have to do is think what you want and the gloves do the rest. The LEDs also project holograms of what's going on inside the program you're hacking. You can even move through programs with a wave of a single finger, or type anything with a holographic keyboard."

"Cool! I don't usually take tech for jobs, but since it's you, I'll make an exception. . . . this time."

"Good. I have to go, now, but I'll see you soon." Max said, taking her bag and new stave.

As Max lifted off for Shangri-La, Slider waved good-bye and went into his garage to test out his new Tech.

0

To the outside world, Shangri-La was best known for its warriors, dragons, and its way of peace. Outsiders dearly enjoyed the serenity, solitude, and quiet. To Max, Shangri-La was much more than that. Indeed, it was a place of serenity and quiet, but it was also the place where her life as a Shield-maiden began.

Max was admitted into Shangri-La when she was three. There, she began training under a warrior named Jethro in the art of Hapkido, then was passed off to the resident Sword-Thane, the Red Warrior, for an extended training exercise. Max had decided she didn't want to be a Shield-maiden yet and left. Ten years later, she returned to Shangri-La and accepted the colors.

Max had expected to receive a mission of some kind. But she had only been a Shield-maiden going on eight months now and she hadn't expected to be called out for her opinion. She sucked in her pride and decided to laugh it out when she got there.

She parked on a flat patch of grass outside the city. Then, hopping out of the coop, she grabbed her roll-up of knives and her new stave and attached them to her back. Then, after beeping the coop locked, she made her way up the long staircase to the gates.

Thaddeous, one of the tall, quiet warriors was waiting on the parapet overlooking the gate. When he saw Max, he hailed her in Shangrinese and went down to let her in. The two greeted each other in Shangrinese, then Thaddeous took her to Master Pi and the Red Warrior.

"Welcome, Max." Pi said in Shangrinese, bowing his head in respect.

"Master." Max said, bowing in return. Then, she addressed Red. "Sword-Thane Red." She slipped into Shangrinese since warriors did not speak in plain tongue to one another.

"Shield-maiden Max." Red told her. "We are pleased you came."

"I was happy to come." Max said. She politely indicated they should start moving. "I just don't understand what the rush is to name a new Sword-Thane or why none was named before now. Aren't there usually four Thanes at a time?"

"There had been no reason before now to name a new Thane." Red said. "But we feel another Thane will help."

"Help with what?" Max asked.

The two masters looked at one another. Then, Master Pi answered Max's question.

"Dark times are coming, little one. A shadow is stretching across Cyberspace and there isn't enough people to protect it. Not enough warriors to monitor the world and not enough elite warriors to make critical decisions."

Max looked around. "Why not choose from the other nineteen warriors? Surely it would be easier than training a new, young apprentice."

"The other warriors have become accustomed to their lowly positions. All are equally as talented and well along in eons to learn something new." Said Red.

"I see." Max said. That made sense. It was always easier to learn new skills while still a child. But, there was something troubling her about what Master Pi said. "Master, you mentioned 'dark times'. What did you mean by that?"

"The days of peace are drawing to a close." Pi said. "We believe it may have been drawing to a clsoe since you destroyed Hieronymus. We fear our world will be in terrible danger if the shadow stretches farther and farther into Cyberspace."

"But . . . I thought I got rid of the evil when I destroyed Hieronymus. Now you're telling me I only made things worse by destroying him!"

"Max." Red began. "Do not think we are being offensive. We do not mean to blame you."

"Indeed, we do not blame you. Cyberspace has never been more peaceful since you destroyed Hieronymus. But, there is always evil that comes to destroy peace." Pi said.

"Always?" Max asked.

"Always." Pi confirmed.

"So, what is this evil that is coming? What are they after?" Max asked.

"We do not know." Red told her. "We are merely being prepared by selecting a new Thane, as we should have long ago."

Max said nothing to this. Yes, they should have chosen long ago. Traditionally, there were supposed to be four Thanes and one Maiden protecting Cyberspace at a time. Before Max came and accepted the sash, Red was the only Elite warrior, but he seldom ever left Shangri-La except to mediate problems that required a more firm hand.

Now that she thought about it, she realized that besides herself and Red, there hadn't been many Elite warriors in a while. Even during Hacker's reign of terror there was only Red. For Pi and Red to feel the need to bring another Thane into being left Max feeling concerned. Just how bad was this evil?

"Who are the prospects?" Max asked.

They came to a shelter built into the side of the wall. Underneath the shelter were five boys who were sitting in a meditative position. All five were built basically the same as the other warriors, but were considerably much younger – Max placed their ages to be around seven to nine.

"These are Zeke, Lok, Nathan, Solomon, and Levi. They are the prospective Thanes." Red announced.

Max was impressed. Neither boy moved or gave any indication their names had been mentioned at all.

"Why so many?" Max asked.

"We like to have variety." Pi answered. "You may choose only one."

"Alright." Max said, straightening out her shoulders. "I will speak with them one at a time . . . with your permission of course."

"Granted. Who would you like to speak with first?" Pi said.

"Which is the most likely candidate?"

Red pointed. "Levi."

"He'll be first, then."

"As you wish." Pi said. He looked relieved Max was using her head. He touched the boy's raven head and motioned for him to go with Max.

Levi was tall and gangly. He wore the red gi of an apprentice and he carried a long sword over his shoulder. His narrow eyes regarded Max with no emotion. Max half-turned and extended her arm to Levi. The boy measured his paces and walked alongside the Shield-maiden.

Max took him far away from the others before speaking with him.

"Levi. Do you know who I am?" She asked him, continuing in the Shangrinese tongue, though her English-speaking nature rebelled against the continuation of the harsh words.

Levi's dark eyes met Max's, then darted to the sash over her shoulder, then back up at her eyes. "Maxanne Marbles, Shield-maiden of Shangri-La." Levi said.

"Correct." Max said. "Do you know why I am here?"

"You are here to choose the next Sword-Thane. Right, Shield-maiden Max?"

Max waved off his response. "There is no need to use such titles with me. Just call me Max."

"But . . . you are an Elite warrior-princess. To speak with you plainly would be an insult to you and everything you represent."

"I am not like other warriors. I was made in Control Central and I was meant to be a daughter and assistant to Dr. Matthias Marbles. The title of Shield-maiden was a dream of mine I had achieved through hard-work. The title is enough. I will not hold it over others. Therefore, call me by my name. Max. Nothing more."

Levi hesitated. "Very well." He said. "I will do as you say."

"Good." Max said.

She led him around Shangri-La's city, plying him with questions which he answered curtly and quickly. She learned Levi couldn't are less about his existence as either a plain warrior or as a Sword-Thane. He explained his one desire in life was to serve his leader and world to the best of his ability. Though, so far, his skill with a blade was impressive to say the least, judging by the brown belt around his waist. In a few short months or eons, he would be a black belt.

Truthfully, Max couldn't see Levi as being a plain warrior. Plain warriors did not have as many of the freedoms as a Maiden or Thane. However, since Levi did not seem to care about those freedoms, Max put him aside as an improbability.

Ne, she spoke with Zeke. Zeke was rambunctious and wild. He reminded Max a little of herself . . . on caffeine. He carried a scythe over one shoulder and when he tried to display his ability to use it, he tripped and fell because of his over-eagerness to please. She wrote him off as a flat-out no and called Nathan.

Nathan was a much more promising prospect. In many ways, he was like Levi, but unlike Levi, Nathan was a little more excited about the idea of being a Thane. The green belt around his waist and the lightning sticks hanging cross-wise over his back told Max he had a promising future ahead of him. She filed him away as a likely candidate and wondered why Levi had been viewed as most likely.

Solomon had less promise than Nathan and was only a tad more promising than Zeke and Levi. He carried a stave with him which had the ability to control the elements. But he had a huge problem with authority. Max immediately wrote Solomon off as a definite no when Solomon began using profanities not at all acceptable in either dialect.

Then, it was dear Lok's turn. Max spent a little more time with Linus than with the others. In one way, Lok was like herself though he struggled to be recognized for his talents while still living up to the expectations of others. But while Max had excelled at and most of what was placed in front of her, Lok was still struggling with that, too. In a way, Max could understand why Pi and Red were disagreeing over Lok's fate. He would benefit from being a Thane, but would Cyberspace benefit from having him?

Unfortunately, Max's musings were cut short when she heard a yell and a splash. She jumped up and ran off; bidding Lok to stay put. She ran as fast as her feet could carry her, straight to the reflection pond. There, she saw a young woman floundering around in the pond. Without thinking, Max allowed her lower-torso to change – legs turned white and grew scales, knees reversed directions, feet forming into paws, and a barbed tail thrust itself out of her backside.

She ran alongside the pond – shedding her new stave, roll-up of knives, and sash – until she was far enough ahead of the woman. Max lowered herself onto the bank, tail threading itself through a root and back claws digging into the turf; she reached out and grabbed the girl by the back of her shirt and hauled her up onto the bank.

"You know," She said to the coughing girl. "there's this wonderful thing called swimming. You should try it some time."

1Cb-to-cb – Circuit board to circuit board; cyborg equivalent to heart-to-heart