Alright, so I finally have my laptop back and I can write – yay! For those of you who want the Earthlies back, hold onto your horses ok? I know it's taking me awhile to get to them but background is needed, you know? As for the Digit x Glowla moment, I always found them cute and wished it would have gone somewhere. Also I am not bashing Slider. I think he's awesome personally but I'm not going to change him and make him this immensely trusting character just because I ship him with Inez. Canon showed that Slider has trust issues.
Chapter 2: Hanging on the Edge
Digit didn't like the silence but it seemed as if no one knew what to say and Slider was stubbornly concentrating on the road ahead. He wished he was a better leader and would be able to do something to help Coop but what? Without the Earthlies, without Motherboard and Dr. Marbles, he felt completely useless, like there was nothing he could really do.
"Digit," Glowla's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he turned to look at the other.
"Yeah?" Digit replied, hoping she wasn't asking what they were supposed to do now because he really had no idea.
"Relax," Glowla said softly. "You shouldn't feel pressured by this responsibility. We're all here to support you with it and you're doing great so far."
"I couldn't save Coop," Digit pointed out, glancing at Slider who was stubbornly focusing on the road.
Glowla shook her head. "They were too fast for us. Who was she anyway? She looked like one of the Earthlies, but older than them."
Digit shrugged. "I'm not sure. But she looked powerful. We better find that portal soon."
"Only one problem," Shari said as they came to a stop. "Frogsnorts is a mess. It'll take forever to find Melvin or Merlin."
"We don't have forever," Slider said, harsher than he intended. "You have a magic wand, after all. Can't you do some hocus pocus and summon him here?"
"Magic is not hocus pocus," Shari said indignantly, putting her hands on her hips. "And we were just beginning to learn summoning spells so no, unfortunately we will have to search the hard way and just look for Melvin."
"Great, that should only take a day or two," Slider said sarcastically and Shari frowned at him, about to say something when Glowla cut in between them.
"Would you two stop?" Glowla said exasperated. "This isn't helping."
"Glowla's right," Scanner spoke up, having been quiet up until now and to the side. "We need to stick together against Hacker."
"Yeah, we can't afford to fall apart," Creech agreed. "Right Digit?"
Digit jumped and shifted a little. He had to say something right – or at least that sounded right. He didn't want to sound like he was siding against either Slider or Shari because that wouldn't help their unity right now. So he tried to do what he did best – he flew over to Slider's side.
"Hey, I get you're worried about your Dad, Sli," Digit assured gently. "I know it's frustrating to go on without the ones you care about but I don't think he'd want you to give up fighting just like Motherboard wouldn't want me to give up fighting. So please calm down? I know we can do this."
Slider bit his lip and nodded. "You're right, Digit. I'm sorry Shari. It's just…"
Shari shook her head with a small smile. "It's alright. We're all stressed out right now but Digit's right. We need to focus on Hacker, not fighting each other."
"How precious," The Grim Wreaker landed in Frogsnorts and everyone backed away next to Digit who tensed a little as Hacker stepped out.
"What do you want, Hacker?" Digit said, feeling more nervous than he sounded. Whenever he had gone up against Hacker, the Earthlies had been there with him and the truth was, without them, he felt rather vulnerable against Hacker. Gosh, he was pathetic. Was he really nothing without Matt, Jackie and Inez?
"I find it amusing you're following this Cyberturkey just because he was close to Motherboard and to those Earth brats," Hacker said simply. "Is that really enough of a reason to trust him?"
Glowla scowled. "He's always helped us stop you in the past. Of course it's enough reason to trust him!"
"Really?" Hacker said chuckling. "Then you'll be interested to hear. I'm the one who created Digit and he used to be my best henchmen before he betrayed me."
There were startled gasps and Digit felt chills run down his spine. He may have not wanted to be pushed into the role of the leader but he also didn't want to be hated or rejected for his past. Motherboard and the Earthlies had never judged him but he wasn't sure what the rest of Cyberspace would think.
"You're lying!" Creech finally shouted. "Digit has done nothing but good for Cyberspace! No way he could have worked for you! Inez would have told us."
"Digit am I lying?" Hacker asked the cybird who backed away from everyone, looking down at the floor.
Mattie, Nezzie, Jacks, where are you? Digit wondered, words being caught in his throat. He could feel Inez scolding him for calling her Nezzie but ignored that, focusing on the situation at hand.
"He's telling the truth," Digit finally said. "I'm not proud of my past but I left Hacker and joined Motherboard because he was in the wrong. He was hurting Cyberspace and he wanted to hurt Motherboard too so I ran away from him. Creech, Inez didn't tell you because I didn't want anyone to know. It took me awhile to open up to the Earthlies about my past and they understood that. I hope you guys do too."
"Still think we should trust him to be our leader?" Lucky said to Glowla bluntly causing Digit to flinch.
Glowla frowned disapprovingly at Lucky. "Hasn't Digit proved himself enough?"
"Borgs can change sides though," Slider said raising an eyebrow. "Maybe Matt, Jackie and Inez were just being naïve." He knew he had trust issues but there was no reason not to be cautious, especially now.
"Well, I trust Digit," Fluff said firmly moving to the cybird's side. "He's always helped us out when we needed it. Besides, Motherboard trusted him and that gives me more than enough of a reason to trust him."
"I agree with Fluff," Jules spoke up. "I trust Digit too. Creech, what about you?"
Creech bit her lip. "I'm not sure. I know Digit's helped us a lot but…I just don't know if it's right. I'm sorry Digit, it's just…forgive me." She seemed more torn apart than anything and that made Digit's heart sink. Was his past really something worth blaming him for now?
Scanner thought about it. "According to my video games, it's better to be safe than sorry." He moved to stand next to Slider, causing Digit's heart to sink even further. As Inez would say, this was not good at all.
Shari knelt besides Digit. "Matthew trusts you. That's enough reason for me to."
"We both trust you," Dodi chirped happily and Digit managed a smile. At least not everyone had turned against him. He turned to glare at Hacker.
"Are you satisfied now?" Digit said to the cyborg. "Turning everyone against me, you may have somewhat won in that but you'd never turn Matt, Jackie and Inez against me."
Hacker scoffed. "As Slider here put it, your Earth friends are simply naïve. But no, that's not the only reason I'm here. I'd like all of you Cyberbrats to meet my four new allies. Introducing first of all, the Inventor – Henry James, straight from Earth."
A man stepped forward with curly black hair and icy blue eyes. He had a sinister smile on his face and it sent chills down Digit's spine, not even jumping as Glowla gripped his wing because while he was scared, her touch gave him comfort somehow.
"Nice to meet ya Cybermates," Henry said, popping bubblegum out of his mouth and smirking at them. "Respect yer new ruler mkay?"
"Then we have the Gamer, Talia Jane," Hacker said and the same woman who had captured Coop earlier stepped out and Slider almost stepped forward but Scanner grasped his arm and pulled him back.
"Hey guys!" Talia said chirpily. "Play a good game ok? Otherwise it'll be no fun, no fun at all!" She hopped around like a hyperactive kid on caffeine even though she was an adult.
"And finally we have Samuel Michaels, the walking encyclopedia who knows everything about well…everything," Hacker said and a man with short blue hair and hazel green eyes stepped forward. His eyes passed a steely gaze over the group before he shrugged his shoulders.
"Boss, you praise me too much," Samuel said shrugging dismissively. "It's us working as a team which has allowed us to dismantle this place's corrupted ruler and make you the new one."
"He's the corrupted one," Digit said angrily. "Motherboard was an amazing leader."
"Ah well," Hacker said sighing. "We don't have time to deal with you simpletons right now…lots of chaos to cause." He went back into the Grim Wreaker. Once Digit was sure that Hacker was gone, he turned to the others, even the ones who refused to trust him.
"Guys look," Digit said desperately. "I know all of you don't trust me…and I'm not forcing you to and all but don't you think we need to stick together now that Hacker's got stronger allies?"
Slider frowned. "It sounds logical…but how do we know you won't go back to him now that things are looking rough and Motherboard's probably gone for good?"
"Slider, what's your problem?" Shari said frowning at the way that Slider was speaking to Digit. "It's not like it's the first time that Hacker's gained the upper hand. Do you honestly think Digit is that weak? He chose to leave Hacker and he has never looked back before."
"All I know is Hacker used to work for good as well," Slider said crossing his arms. "It's how he was able to work with my father and Dr. Marbles. Borgs can change and Digit was created by the same Borg who did change. As far as I consider it, he can't be trusted. We can figure out a way to save Cyberspace without him. Come on Creech, Scanner, Lucky." He moved back into the craft, the other three following him.
"You're being ridiculous about this," Shari said frowning.
"It's ok, Shari," Digit said quietly. "Just leave it." He felt Glowla squeeze his wing but this time, it didn't bring any comfort. It didn't seem fair that just because he had been created by the King of Chaos, Slider was treating him like this.
"Digit, we all still trust you," Glowla reminded him.
"Why?" Digit said, voice shaking. "Slider's points are logical. Hacker created me and I worked for him. It may not be my fault but Slider thinks it is. I thought he knew me given how many missions we've been on together." It hurt that Slider and Cyborgs who were supposed to be their friends would abandon them like this. He had never before realized how vulnerable he was to hate and criticism despite all the good he had done. It was like none of it really mattered – because apparently, no matter how much good you do, the bad stuff always seems to win out.
"You're not Hacker's anymore," Jules said softly. "It's not about how you were then, it's about how much you've evolved. We all grow, Digit. Heck, I still remembered when I had no confidence and allowed other Cyborgs to push me around and scare me. It was Matt, Inez and Jackie who helped me conquer my fears and help save you. They helped me realise that I was strong too and then Matt and Jackie helped me perform a winning streak in the Jimayan Jam game when I didn't think I could. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, Digit. As long as you believe in yourself."
Digit looked up, unsure of whether Jules was right or not but it was all he had to believe in right now because everything else was too hard. "Ok…I'll try. Let's go find Melvin ok?" It still hurt a lot the things Slider had said, but he had bigger problems to worry about right now. So as Shari led the way, he simply followed, hoping they would find Melvin soon and get a portal to Earth.