Chapter Four. Here's where things get interesting. We finally get to figure out what Gal'an means. The ending is kinda slick here too. I'm already working on the next chapter and i've already thought ahead to a chapter which may ore may not be emotionally costly to me. just to warn ya.
oh, a couple of things. 1, since this is a huntik crossover, i did a little research on the titans used in the show. you're also going to see pretty much all of the spells they used in the show except for, perhaps, darkvoid. as for the titans, i narrowed the list down from 154 to about 60. You'll know which ones i didn't pick just by looking. 2, i have included a couple of words for my "shangrinese" dialect. since i believe they will be difficult for you to pronounce, i have decided to try it here.
Vol'kahR- Vull (rhymes with full) car (roll the tongue on the r).
KolG'Gahr- Coal kk (heavy on the k sound) Gar (rhymes with car).
I don't own Cyberchase. Max is mine. Echo belongs exclusively to Kawaii Stella and her story Picking up the Broken Glass.
Chapter Four
Secrets of a Seeker
The Holo-dome was a mostly circular room. The floor was flat and covered with dark-green squares. The domed walls and ceiling were covered with similar squares. The spaces between each square were light-green – these were the holographic projectors.
Max used the Holo-dome to practice her Hapkido skills. She used to use it more often before her life as a borg ended and her life as a gargoyle began. Ah, those were the days. Though, Hapkido had not been much use to Max during her captivity, the practice had kept her relatively calm despite all the unknowns.
"Holo-dome, on." Max said, abruptly.
"Holo-dome activated. Welcome back, Maxanne Marbles." The computer said. "Awaiting further instructions."
Max sat on the floors. "Computer, search all language records. Specifically those involving both dialects of Shangri-La. Word is Gal'an." She said.
"Search inquiry accepted. Found 700 words." Said the computer after a few minutes. "Awaiting further instructions."
"You fail at life!" Max yelled at the speakers.
The computer didn't respond. Not that she expected it to. The computer wouldn't answer unless she gave it a direct order. Even then, it only repeated what she said . . . and then some.
You're a very wonderful conversation companion. Max thought.
"Computer, display only results from the Shangrinese dialects." She ordered.
"Display command accepted. Showing one result." Said the Holo-dome computer.
In big, glowing letters, Gal'an was displayed; spelled exactly as she had expected it to be. Max was not surprised. She had spent four years on Radopolis and lost some of her ability to speak Shangrinese because the Radopolians spoke a variant of English known as Rad-speech. Thankfully, Max never picked up on their lingo though it wasn't difficult to understand. The Radopolans didn't care if she spoke it or not. On Shangri-La, the situation was different. If you knew the language, you spoke it. No exceptions. Because of this, Max knew the alphabet and pronunciations and she also knew how to spell by listening to the pronunciations.
"Computer, translate." She ordered.
The word shrank a few font sizes and the definition appeared. The computer read it.
"Gal'an: Seeker. 1, a person who seeks. 2, a person who tries to find an object or person. 3, a person who searches for something. 4, someone who tries to find something. 5, a person who tries to aim for something. 6, a person who tries or attempts for something. Historically: a race of powerful cyborgs capable of using magic as well as the invocation of Titans. During the ancient war between cyborgs and gargoyles, Seekers were used as a means of controlling the gargoyles. In retaliation, the gargoyles annihilated any Seekers they found."
Titans? Max thought.
"Computer, define Titans." Max ordered.
"Titans. 1, Deities. 2, Any person or thing of great size or power." Said the Holo-dome computer.
"That explains so much." Max muttered. "Computer, how many different Titans are there?"
"Categories: Six. Levels: Eight. Size types: Four. Original number: 154. Present number: 60." Said the Holo-dome computer when it was done crunching numbers.
"Computer, why so few?"
The computer researched all historical resources before the answer was given.
A long time ago, during the war, the gargoyles were getting more and more out of control – shutting down anything and anyone they saw. In retaliation, borg factions hired groups of Gal'an to try and control them. However, no matter what those Gal'an threw at the gargoyles, the gargoyles threw it back with much more deadly force. The number of Titans dwindled, as did the Gal'an they worked with. Back then, it was fairly common to encounter a Gal'an and they were easy to identify. They always had a favorite Titan hanging by a cord around their necks and the remainder were stored in pouches at their hips or around their legs. Unfortunately, that's how the gargoyles were able to identify them, too. There was no information as to why or how the Gal'an were going to try controlling the gargoyles.
Max sat in silence, thinking about everything now being compacted into her memory card. It explained a lot. Why Lok hadn't chosen a weapon and why Pi wanted him to be a Sword-Thane – such a powerful borg would be a valuable asset to the warriors of Shangri-La and the best place for them would be in the more elite warrior ranks. But there was still something she didn't get. The fact he could use Titans was understandable. But even being able to use Titans didn't fully explain why Lok hadn't visited the armory.
"Computer, list the characteristics of a Seeker."
The projectors changed the image from historical events to three moving illustrations. A sandy-haired borg holding an amulet aloft and a Titan appearing. That same borg was shown running an obstacle course; leaping over hurtles, running up and across walls, and performing basic acrobatics on much stronger scale.
These kind of made sense to Max, particularly since Lok was trying to be a Sword-Thane. These kind of actions were expected. But it was the last block of illustrations that caught her attention. She stood up, enlarged the image, and asked for audio. The Holo-dome reverberated with a list of spells, each spell followed by an effective burst of energy.
She dismissed the illustrations and asked to see a list of the now-existing Titans. In return, the Holo-dome presented her with the image of a large block, divided into squares. Each square contained an active image of a Titan. Max was about to select the first image when the Holo-dome doors hissed open and Marbles stepped in. Max quickly saved the block and dismissed it. Then, he faced her father and stowed her thumbs into the back of her belt.
"Hey Dad. How'd it go with Echo?" She asked.
"Not so good." Marbles admitted. "It appears her presence here is more complicated than we originally thought."
"How so?"
"Well. I had to ask her direct questions about where she came from and such. Then I asked if she would discuss it with Motherboard and she refused. So I had to go to Motherboard and talk to her about everything Echo said." Marbles scratched at the back of his neck. "Poor kid has been through a lot, now."
"What's her story?" Max asked.
Marbles launched into a word-for-word account. She was a human from Scotland, Earth, and she was forced to come to Cyberspace by her step-siblings, who really couldn't have cared less for her. When she arrived on Sensible Flatts, she had to live in an orphanage where she was abused by the other orphans. When Max asked what it was about him that threw her off, he explained that a different Marbles – a Dr. Marbles Shovat – was the one who visited her often and finally adopted her. Marbles also said that Echo recognized this Digit because there was another one where she came from, but with Max and Digit doing their little dancing number in the kitchen, Echo couldn't get a word in edgewise regarding whether or not Digit knew her.
"Obviously he didn't." Max pointed out. "If he did, he would've either coward in fear or flown at her and tried to hug her in greeting."
"That is true." Marbles said. Then, he launched into the rest of the story. "Echo had explained that she had left the sanctity of Control Central due to a secret the other Marbles had been hiding from her. She went to Shangri-La because it looked peaceful to her."
"Shangri-La is peaceful. At least to outsiders. To a warrior, it's about keeping the peace." Max said.
"I know" Marbles said. His sides inflated and he blew out a sigh through his mustache.
"So, what secret did Marbles Shovat keep from her?" Max asked.
"She did not elaborate."
"Oh." Max said. They remained silent. Then, "So . . . where do you think she came from?"
"Motherboard suspects she came from a plane that resides parallel to our own." Marbles answered.
Max raised an eyebrow, skeptically. "A parallel universe?"
"It explains everything, Max; why she believes Motherboard and I should know her but we don't." He gave another sigh, obviously he had had a very stressful day. "I also happen to agree with Motherboard's hypothesis."
"Of course you do." Max said.
Again, silence.
"So, what'll happen now? To Echo, I mean?" Max said, to take the edge off her latest comment.
"We'll have to figure out how to send her home. She doesn't really belong here to begin with."
"Could we just send her back to the real world?"
"I don't think that's possible, Max. See, she came from a parallel universe. Her Earth is not the same as the Earth our three friends are from. Aside from that, her family on Earth abandoned her – they want nothing to do with her – and her father is a drunk and her mother is flighty. Our only chance is to send her back to the plane she came from."
"How?"
"I don't know." Marbles admitted. He placed a firm hand over Max's mouth before she could come up with a snide remark. "Do not make fun of my genius. If you think you can do better, then help us figure it out."
Max pulled away. Very few could get her to shut up like that and Marbles was one of them that could get away with it.
"Okay." She said.
Marbles realized he had hurt her from his own remark. But he couldn't help it. While was he was glad she was living under their roof again, she seemed to be drifting away from him. That thought scared him. She wasn't the same borg he had known her to be. She had changed.
"Max, I'm sorry." He said.
"It's okay, Dad."
"No, it isn't. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that."
"No, you were right. I shouldn't poke fun at our brainpower. You know me too well."
"Which is precisely why I wanted to tell you something."
Max waited.
"If – if you ever want to discuss what happened out there between you and Hieronymus, don't hesitate to come to me."
Max gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Dad."
Marbles reached for her and Max went to him and embraced him around the middle. He squeezed her tightly, glad he had gotten that out of his system. But that was only the beginning. It would take a lot before she would crack.
"I'm here for you." He said, resting his chin on his daughter's shoulder.
"I know." Max said. "I'm just not ready to talk about it yet."
Marbles gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I didn't mean now. Just, whenever you're ready."
Max leaned away. "Thanks for understanding. You'll be the first to know."
"Hey guys! Supper's ready!" Digit called over the intercom. "Better get down here before I eat the whole loaf."
Max went to the wall where the intercom microphone had been installed. Marbles made the intercom system for inside the Holo-dome because Max used to lose herself in her daily practices.
"You won't eat the whole thing." Max said. "That whole loaf is bigger than your head."
"I hope you're challenging me to try because it looks good." Digit said.
"If you do say so yourself." Max said.
"I do say so myself." Digit answered.
Marbles laughed. "You know he would try to eat it himself."
"Yeah, I know. We'd best get down there before he stuffs himself bigger than a Thanksgiving turkey." Max said, grinning.
Marbles smiled, too, and the two borgs made their way down to the kitchen, arms on each others shoulders.
Supper, indeed, looked very good. Meatloaf nice and juicy, well-cooked and soft. Golden-brown biscuits in a metal, napkin-covered breadbasket – the sticks were shiny with butter. Refreshments of all kinds. Digit had peeled the cookies up and arranged them on a pyramid shape on a plate.
The cyboid cut the loaf into equal slices, and passed each slice off onto four plates, then passed the bread sticks around. He sat on his stool, removed his apron and chef's hat. Max and Marbles took their seats and grabbed their plates. Marbles moved a plate so it sat in Echo's vacant spot. The humanoid girl hadn't moved from the doorway since both borgs arrived.
"Here. Have something to eat." Marbles said, tapping the table.
Echo hesitated. Everyone waited, not touching their food. Their eyes were warm and welcoming and their smiles were equally so. Finally, Echo sat down and dug in. Bread sticks, butter dish, and a bowl of multi-colored corn was passed around and everyone took as much as they wanted. Then, conversation began.
"I stopped by the bank today and picked up what was left over of your stuff." Marbles said to Max.
Max perked up. "Really?"
"Affirmative. I left it on your bed." Marbles answered.
"Gee, thanks Dad." Max said.
Marbles turned his attention to Echo. "I set up a bed in Max's room for you. It will be a temporary set up until we figure out how to send you back to your plane." He said. "I'm sure my counterpart is worried sick about you."
Echo shook her head. "If he didn't care enough to tell me the truth, he doesn't care about me at all."
Max, Digit, and Marbles looked at each other. Digit was the only one who hadn't heard Motherboard's hypothesis yet, and he wasn't sure he understood it all.
"I'm sure he was giving you time to adjust." Marbles said, gently. "I did the same when I took Ava under my care."
Echo made no response. She put her head down and kept eating. Meanwhile, conversation continued between Marbles and Max.
"How were the recruits?" He asked.
"Fine. There were five. I picked two out of the lot as strong possibilities." Max said.
"Two? I thought you said Pi only wanted one!" Marbles said.
"Yeah!" Digit said.
"Oh, shut up, Didge. You were barely awake when we talked about this." Max said. She answered her father's questions. "Yeah. I picked two. Red and Master Pi are pushing for one. I said that if they'd allow two, I'll take one. So far, I'm hoping they'll give me Lok."
"Message error." Marbles said. "You want to train a future Sword-Thane?'
"Yes."
"But, you've only been a Shield-maiden for -" Digit began.
"Eight months." Max said. "Actually, eleven years if you think about it."
"You've had the belt and sash for eight months." Marbles pointed out.
"But Shield-maiden is an earned title. The belt and sash are just indicators that this is no ordinary warrior of Shangri-La. I've always been a Shield-maiden before I left Shangri-La that day. I just hadn't been giving the sash and belt yet." Max said.
"Excuse me." Echo said. "What the hell is a Shield-maiden and a Sword-Thane?"
"Elite warriors of Shangri-La." Max said by way of explanation. "See, on Shangri-La, you have five levels: Page, Apprentice, Warrior, Elite Warrior, and Master. In every fifty years, there can only be five elite warriors at a time and they can only be chosen out of the line-up of pages. Among those elites are one Shield-maiden and four Sword-Thanes. The warriors take care of basic problems in Cyberspace. The elites with their apprentices take care of the more hardcore problems."
"How many elites are there now?" Digit asked.
"Two. Me and Red." Max said. "There's supposed to be five but Shangri-La has been lax with that rule."
"Anyway! Max, should you really be trying to teach a boy how to be a Thane?" Marbles asked.
"Dad, I've actually got more experience fighting evil than Red." Max said. "Defeating Hieronymus actually boosted my experience points to about a ninety. Red stand at about seventy."
"You've also had more close calls with death than anybody else I know." Digit said.
"bIjatih 'e' yImev!" Max said, abruptly. The word startled Echo who gave her a what-the-hell look.
"What was that?" She asked.
"That was 'shut your mouth' in Shangrinese." Marbles said.
Echo nodded but was still confused.
"Shangrinese is the language spoken exclusively by the warriors of Shangri-La and the gargoyles of Cybersite Wyvern." Max explained. "It actually has two dialects – KolG'GahR and Vol'kahR – depending on how you view the person you're having a conversation with, you used one or the other. KolG'GahR is reserved for an enemy or an opponent – the gargoyles use this dialect a lot because they view everyone with disdain, including each other. Vol'kahR is spoken to a friend, ally, or comrade. The two are very different from each other and while the pronunciations are basically the same, KolG'GahR is harsher and requires a lot of guttural force when using it. Vol'kahR is softer and requires less force."
"So, which dialect does 'shut your mouth' come from?" Digit asked.
"KolG'GahR. Obviously you wouldn't actually tell someone you think very highly of to shut up, now would you?"
"I guess not." Digit said. Then, a thought spun around in his head. "Does that mean you don't think very highly of me?"
Max's face split into a pleasant and gentle grin. "Of course I do, Didge. I would just prefer you didn't bring up my numerous encounters with death. Nor should you contradict me."
She took a drink before continuing. "Shangrinese is a particularly difficult tongue to learn because there ware similarities in the two dialects. Mostly nouns and pronouns are the same. But there are just some words in one dialect you should not say in the other. To make sure that bridge is never accidentally crossed, Shangrinese was rewritten so only things you would say to a friend is in Vol'kahR and only things you would say to an enemy is in KolG'GahR. Only the neutral words – nouns and pronouns – can be found in both, but the pronunciations are different."
"What happens if the bridge is crossed?" Echo asked.
"Well, if you switch from KolG'GahR to Vol'kahR, then your enemy has become your friend and a comrade, honoring them. But, if you cross from Vol'kahR to KolG'GahR, then you insult your friend who has now become your enemy and he will turn away from you and you are banished from his home, sight, and presence."
"I see." Echo said.
"It's not a good idea to insult a warrior Shangri-La." Marbles said, pushing his clean plate forward. "Particularly an Elite and especially not a Master."
"Have you ever crossed the bridge from one side to the other?" Digit asked Max. Obviously, he hadn't heard about the rules of Shangrinese before now.
"A few times when I was learning it. Each time, it was to KolG'GahR and I had to conduct an apology in Vol'kahR before they would continue teaching me. It was a slip of the tongue, a mispronunciation of a pronoun and a noun, but they still treated me as one who should know the language."
Silence followed. Then, the table was cleared off and dishes were placed in the sink. Max filled the sink with water and soap, and began washing. Echo volunteered to help and was handed a damp rag to wipe off the table and countertops.
"How soon is Master Pi going to let you know his decision?" Marbles asked.
"I'll hear his answer within a couple of days." Max answered.
"He must be plenty special to have caught your attention like that." Marbles observed.
"If you met him, you'd understand." Max told him.
"Maybe you could tell me." Marbles suggested.
Max paused. Here's where the Shangri-La secrecy came in. Max never liked this law, particularly when she knew she could trust her father. Marbles had a good relationship with Pi and the other warriors. She sighed. Screw it!
"Master Pi gave me a word to describe him." Max said. "That's why I was in the Holo-dome. I didn't recognize the word."
"What is it?"
"Gal'an."
"What the heck is gallon supposed to mean? A gallon of milk? A gallon of gas?" Digit asked.
"Not gallon, Didge. Gal'an. It means Seeker." Max said.
It took every piece of self-control Marbles possessed not to drop his plate. "Seeker? Are you certain that's what it was?"
"Yes." Max said. She stopped washing just to look at her father. "Why? Have you heard of them?"
"They were very common a long time ago. Especially during the war between gargoyles and cyborgs. The last time any of them had been seen was during your great-grandfather Web's time." Marbles answered. "Your grandfather, Byron, used to talk about a prophecy on the Seekers."
"Do you remember what the prophecy was?" Max asked.
Marbles took a plate from her, dried it, and handed it off to Digit who put it away. "I can't recall the specifics, but I believe it said 'In a time of need, the Seekers will return and bring balance to a chaotic world. Together with their almighty Titans and their Shangrinese companions, wrong will be righted and harmony will return'."
Max was again silent as she thought through everything. Web was the son of Siren, Max's second-great-grandfather, who was known as the father of their time. Web's son, Net, was the one who created Marbles and his brother, Cooper. While Siren had been around for the beginning of the gargoyle/cyborg war, Web had seen the rest of the war which had extended even in the beginning years of his son, Net's, life. The fact he had lived through the war probably did much to explain why Net had been so grumpy. Marbles had described his father as been cold, distant, and elusive – unwilling to act like a parent to his two young boys, and unwilling to live up to his father's expectations of protecting Siren's legacy. Cooper and Marbles were the ones given complete control over how Motherboard was supposed to function. Both boys were also forced to look for a role model elsewhere. Cooper found it in the face of the previous king of Radopolis and Marbles found it in the face of his girlfriend's father, Lord Byron. As it turned out, Byron liked Marbles very much and even paid his way through school. When Byron's daughter, Ada, and Marbles began dating, Byron was more than thrilled.
Unlike Net, whose internal circuitry corroded before she was even born, Max had met Lord Byron a few times in her childhood before he, too, passed on. During that time, Ada had adopted Max as her daughter and Byron had been very pleased to call Max his granddaughter. In return, Max was only too happy to call him her grandfather.
"Did Grandpa Byron ever say anything else about the Gal'an?" Max asked her father.
"Unfortunately not." Marbles said. "They've been a fairly extinct race since the war. As far as I know, there are only a few Seekers in existence, and they keep themselves out of the public eye."
"Go figure." Max said.
With the dishes done, Marbles went to the main control deck to run a few last minute checks. Max and Digit led Echo up the stairs to their room. The room was a little more crowded than usual. Then, Max realized that not only had Marbles moved another bed into their room, but also a dresser. The bed was made with clean sheets and had a memory foam pillow at the head. A set of pajamas were neatly folded at the foot of the bed and Max suspected that Marbles had filled the dresser with some girl's clothing. Judging by Echo's body type, they were roughly the same size – though Echo was only a few inches taller than herself.
Max sat on her bed and dumped out the contents of her bags – the one she had taken with her to Radopolis and the one Marbles used to get her things from the bank box. While doing so, she pointed out the parts of her room.
"Over there's the bathroom. You can take a shower, brush your teeth, or just wash up. You're welcome to use my soap, shampoo, and toothpaste. I'm sure Dad has a toothbrush in there for you as well – he thinks of everything. Towels are in the linen closet behind the door. The shower knob has a temperature setting so you can make the water as hot and cold as you want it."
Echo nodded.
Max pointed to a large, blocky machine in the corner. There was a two-foot long slot with an eight-by-four-inch top. There were no buttons, switches, or knobs.
"That is a replicator1. It's voice activated. You just tell it what you need – from food to supplies – and it gives you exactly what you need. There's no artificial flavorings or preservatives in the food or drinks either. You might want to be a little specific with what you want, though." Max said.
"Like what?" Echo asked.
Max went over to the replicator. "Is there anything you want right now? Like a snack or something like that?"
Echo shook her head. After that dinner, she was rather full.
Max shrugged. "Fine." She cleared her throat. "Computer, peanut butter . . . creamy . . . two tablespoons."
Much to Echo's amazement, a glob of peanut butter appeared in a small cup on the slot's surface. A plastic spoon lay nearby. Max took the peanut butter and ate it. Echo stared at her, open-mouthed.
"I meditate in the morning before I get any breakfast. The peanut butter helps hold me together until then." Max said.
Echo nodded.
Max finished her peanut butter cup, took it to what appeared to be a trashcan by the door, and dropped the empty cup and dirty spoon in. There was a pfumf! and the cup and spoon were gone.
"Incinerator." Max said, by way of explanation. "Do not drop anything important in there. You will not get it back."
Echo nodded again.
Max went back to her bed and began removing a few things. Echo watched her. She took her new quarter stave out of its buckle, extended it, and hung it on hooks above her bed. Then, she tugged on the strap over her left shoulder and the bundle came away. She unbuckled the strap that held the bundle together and unrolled it before hanging the lot on a pair of hooks by her bed. After that, she rummaged through the contents of the other sack, putting things away where they had been before she was forced to leave the life she had lived before Hieronymus took her away.
Echo had drifted closer to Max's wall ornaments. Her face awestruck by all the things she saw there, especially the double-edged throwing knives.
"What's with all those?" She asked, reaching out to touch one of the handles of Max's knives. Her fingertips barely brushed the rubber grips when the borg's hand came out and grabbed her gently by the wrist. Echo recoiled from the contact and Max immediately let her go.
"Please don't touch." Max said. "You can look but no touchy."
Echo nodded.
"When you first start out as an apprentice, you get to choose your weapon and, in doing so, you also choose your own fighting style. On Shangri-La, there are five different fighting styles: Judo, Jujitsu, Aikido, Hapkido, and Kick-boxing. We also study Tai Chi, so there's actually six arts but Tai Chi doesn't actually qualify as a war-art form on Shangri-La." Max said.
"So, which art did you choose?" Echo asked after a moment's pause.
Max pointed to the artificial quarter-stave. "I picked the stave. Usually that would've meant I would be assigned to learn Aikido, but Master Pi believed my skills lie in Hapkido – which is a combination of the other four. These other weapons – the knives, cane, rope, sword, and rod – are part of that art form as well."
"Are you any good?"
Max pointed to a spot on the wall. "See that spot?" She asked.
The spot turned out to be a fly. Not a very big one, but still annoying.
Echo nodded.
In a flash, Max had a knife in her hand and, with a flick of her wrist, she sent the knife flying toward the fly; neatly impaling it on the tip of the blade. She did it without looking and the movement was so quick, Echo wasn't sure if she had actually seen it happen. Even Digit was slow looking at Max's target.
"Wow." Echo said.
"She practices all the time in the Holo-dome." Digit said, proudly.
"That reminds me, I need to practice it in the morning." Max said. She got up and took the knife out of the wall; wiping the dead fly off the tip with a tissue she had retrieved from her bathroom. Then, she went back to her bed and slipped the knife back into its sheath. "By the way, when I'm in the Holo-dome . . . don't go in there. You can use it if you want to, just now when I'm practicing."
"Okay." Echo said.
The human girl looked around the room. Then, she spotted a workstation where a computer was set up. A terminal, monitor, keyboard, and mouse were all connected. The system was currently off.
Max saw what she was looking at. "You can use that, too, if you'd like. I'd just have to open a profile for you first."
"Okay."
"It's not that I don't trust you – I barely know you, and all – but I just have a lot of stuff on my computer that has something to do with Shangri-La. It's all secret stuff that no one outside the order should ever see."
"Okay."
Max clapped her hands. "Well, I guess that's everything. If you should need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Even if it means waking me up in the middle of the night. I'm a real light sleeper. All you have to do is touch me and I'll wake up."
"Okay." Echo said.
Max smiled at her, then sat cross-legged on her bed; fingers joined at the tips in her meditation state2. She heard Echo take her pajamas into the bathroom. There was some shuffling sounds as the human looked for a towel and washcloth. Then, the scrape of the door opening and closing and the water turned on.
Max took a breath and began to meditate.
1
The hulking guards made one last sweep around the four cell blocks, making sure the prisoners were in their places and behaving themselves, before shutting themselves inside the guards' quarters. It was then that the Wicked Witch made her move.
Standing by the door, she waited until she heard the last guard enter his room and shut the door, before removing her wand from inside a slit in the underside of her mattress. The guards had missed the very small tear – not on purpose, of course, as Wicked had to whisper a small incantation when a guard had noticed it – when checking her room for contraband. With the wand in her left hand, she touched the lock with the other.
"Poisonhand." She whispered.
A glob of green, toxic slime spread from beneath her palm across the lock. Immediately, the lock melted away and, with a soft click, the door opened.
Wicked made her way across the tier and down the spiral-staircase to the ground floor. Her escape when on without a hitch, until she reached the door leading out of the East Cell Block.
"Hey! How'd you g -" A guard said.
"Simplemind." Wicked said, looking the guard in the eye.
His eyes went blurry and out of focus and the witch was able to walk past him. She opened the main doors with Poisonhand and slipped out; sneaking past the one-eyed drones. She made her way across the plain to the fence.
"Hyperstride!" She cried. A bluish light formed around her legs and she mounted and ran up the wall. Once she reached the top, she jumped.
"Featherdrop!" Immediately, her fall slowed and she gently landed on her feet.
"Nimblefire!" Her speed was amped to superhuman and she crossed the remaining fourteen acres before she saw it.
A massive, purple ship – large enough for a family of five to live in, comfortably. The ramp was down, and the boy stood waiting. Two robots and a cyber-hound were with him.
Wicked stopped, eying the familiar ship with awe. She heard it had been torn apart piece by piece and the parts were melted down to slag. Wires were scrapped, glass melted down for use on other projects, and other usable parts salvaged. Yet, here it was. Standing on its four legs as though it had never been touched.
Who is this kid? She thought.
Her eyes went to the two bots and the cyber-hound. She knew all three of them but she wasn't sure how she felt about all this. Buzz and Delete had been sent off to work in a factory which manufactured cybercoops. The cyber-hound, Baskerville, had been put in a low-security prison for only two months.
Ledge smiled at her. "I see you got out, okay." He observed.
"Of course." Wicked said. "Did you have any doubt?"
Ledge's smile deepened and Wicked suddenly received a chill down her spine. This kid looked much more sinister than her Hackey-poo had ever been.
"No. I was sure a clever witch like you could make it out." Ledge told her. "Are you ready to get your revenge?"
"Boy, I was born ready." Wicked said.
Ledge nodded, reprovingly. "Good." He said. "You'll start teaching me magic in the morning."
1 Replicator- Star Trek
2 Mediation state – based off of Shikamaru Nara's thinking position in Naruto and Naruto Shippuuden.