When brainstorming for ideas for this fanfic, I thought it would be funny if it was revealed at some point that Hacker had a will. Another chapter just explaining what's happened in the month that has passed, but with a bit of bait at the end to maintain interest. About another chapter of this, and then we'll be getting down into the real meat of the story.
4.
Hacker's Will
"Okay, are we ready to get things started?" Motherboard asked politely.
Digit looked up from the trinket he was fiddling with and Jackie glanced up from the papers she was skimming through. Both of them looked at the three cyborgs that were sitting in chairs in front of them. They were ones they knew well. They were Buzz, Delete, and Wicked. Delete seemed excited to be here, Buzz looked indifferent, and Wicked was impatient.
"Well, let's get on with it already." Wicked grumbled. "I have better things than to sit around Hacker's old hideout, you know."
Jackie looked around the interior of the empty hanger bay Hacker had built at the Northern Frontier, and mentally had to agree. There were better things she could be doing herself. But Motherboard had asked her to come, and here seemed to be the best place to do this at, considering Wicked was going to be here. Besides, no one had been here since the Grim Wreaker was destroyed a month or so ago, taking Hacker with it, so it only seemed natural.
"We will begin, then." Motherboard said from the portable screen that had been set up for her use. "I wish to resolve the matter of Hacker's will now rather than later, anyway."
"I can't believe Hacker had a will." Buzz said suddenly. "He never mentioned even putting one together."
"I know, it caught me by surprise, too." Digit had to agree as he took one of Jackie's papers and looked through it. "But when we were tracking down all of Hacker's possessions in the aftermath of his death, we found this will stashed away in a safe place."
"Yes, yes, I'm sure that the back story to all of this is very interesting, but let's get this over with." Wicked said.
"Okay." Jackie said, and picked up the first paper. "We'll skim through all the usual trademark legal stuff that Hacker has included in this will, as most of it no longer applies. The first benefactor Hacker lists is Buzz and Delete."
The two robots perked up at this part.
"Hacker apparently wished to leave this entire hanger bay to both of you." Jackie said, glancing at the two robots. "He says in the will that it's mostly because you two are going to need a place to call home as you're both two stupid to get your own lives."
She winced at that last part and wished she hadn't read it aloud immediately after she had said it. Buzz and Delete winced as well, but their eyes sparkled with interest, and Jackie could already see they were making plans for what they would do with the hanger bay. Jackie was pleased. The two robots had been through a lot lately, and in the process had earned the friendship of the Cybersquad. They deserved an award of some sort.
"What else?" Wicked asked, clearly anxious to get to the parts where it concerned her.
Digit picked up his paper now. "Well, this one's about Hacker's trophy collection." he said, reading the paper. "Apparently, it's going to Buzz, to do with as he wishes. Hacker noted that Buzz had taken a mild interest in it, and figured it had to go to somebody so it might as well be Buzz."
Buzz shrugged. "I'll probably sell 'em all." he muttered. "I only pretended to be interested."
"Yes, yes, I'm sure you did." Wicked interrupted. "Moving on to me now."
"Actually, Wicked, Delete's the next one." Jackie said as she studied the will. "Hacker apparently decided to leave him his spare cape, because he was of the opinion Delete needed a better sense of style."
Delete laughed at this. "The boss always did have a great sense of humor." he said, thinking it was a joke.
Buzz didn't look so sure. "Actually DeeDee, he might be right." he said. "Remember that formal dinner we all went to a couple of months back?"
Delete froze for a moment, and blushed in embarrassment at the memory.
"I do not believe wearing one of Hacker's capes will resolve the issue." Motherboard said as a matter of opinion. "Besides, it is Delete's choice to decide his fashion and not ours."
"Besides, that cape would be too long for Delete." Digit remarked.
"Can we move on, now?" Wicked interrupted again. "I'm next, right?"
"Actually, no." Digit said, looking surprised as he read more of the will. "Believe it or not, it's actually us who are next in the will."
"Really?" Jackie asked. "Hacker left something for us? What did he leave us?"
"Mostly a bunch of insults, vows, and lots of other un-nice things." Digit said, frowning as he read. "He also apparently left something for us in a safe box that's being kept at the Intersite CyberBank. Says it's our 'just reward.' Box's number is forty-four."
Motherboard winced. "I will have Dr. Marbles examine it and destroy it's contents at a later date." she said. "Let's proceed."
"Yes, yes, please do!" Wicked said, confident this was the part that concerned her.
It wasn't. Jackie had to double check to make sure she was reading this right, in fact. "It says here that Hacker wanted to leave the Grim Wreaker to someone named Bob." she said, furrowing her brow in puzzlement.
This drew a few blank looks.
"Who's Bob?" Digit asked.
"I've never heard of him." Wicked remarked, also furrowing her brow.
Buzz and Delete just shrugged.
"In this case it does not matter." Motherboard said. "The Grim Wreaker has been destroyed, and there is nothing left to leave Bob, whomever he is."
"Good point, Mother B." Jackie said.
"Okay, moving on." Digit said. "Wicked, this part deals entirely with you."
"Yes!" Wicked cheered.
"For starters, Hacker wishes to leave you his entire library." Digit went on.
Wicked nodded her head in content, but Delete frowned.
"But the boss kept his library on the Grim Wreaker." he objected. "It was still there when the Wreaker was destroyed."
"In other words, she doesn't get the library after all." Buzz said.
"Hacker also left you his entire stash of Solarian Cheese." Digit went on.
"Most of which was on the Wreaker, and the rest was kept here, where it's gone bad." Buzz said.
"He also left you all of his evil plans..." Digit continued.
"Destroyed with the Wreaker." Buzz said.
"...everything of yours you had given to him..."
"Destroyed with the Wreaker."
"...the turkey dinner he was keeping frozen to save for a very special occasion between you two..."
"Destroyed with the Wreaker."
"...and whatever birthday present stashed away in the closet that he hadn't given you yet."
"Also destroyed with the Wreaker."
Wicked narrowed her eyes in frustration. Buzz and Delete were trying to stifle their laughter and weren't succeeding too well.
"So in other words I get nothing?" Wicked said. "Why am I even here, then?"
"Comic relief?" Digit asked innocently, sending Buzz and Delete into another fit of laughter at Wicked's expense.
"Actually, there's one last item Hacker has on his will." Jackie said, reading the end of the will. "It's for all of his benefactors."
"Minus us, the good guys, of course." Digit noted, reading over Jackie's shoulder.
"'To be spilt evenly among them,'" Jackie read, "'I, The Hacker, leave three million snelfus to each of them?'"
"Three million snelfus?" everyone else repeated, all standing.
"You mean to tell me that Hacker had three million snelfus stashed away somewhere for all this time, and he never gave me a cent of it?" Wicked asked, indignant. "Why that little cheapskate!"
"Hacker never said he had that kind of money lyin' around!" Buzz said. "In fact, he always acted like he was very short on funds!"
"Well, according to this, Hacker had been saving an extra snelfu from his funds into this private account until it started adding up." Jackie said, reading on. "It was to be saved for emergencies and nothing else. He decided that his death counted as an emergency, then."
Wicked had started pacing, thinking this through. "So, we all get an even share of this three million snelfus?" she asked. "Spilt among the three of us, how much do we each get?"
"Spilt among the four of you, you mean." Digit said. "Don't forget Bob."
"Whoever he is." Jackie said, as she ran a few numbers through her SKWAK pad.
Motherboard, however, was a step faster. "Seven hundred fifty thousand snelfus apiece." she replied.
Wicked's eyes sparkled greedily as she thought about what she could do with that much money.
"There is, however, one problem." Jackie said. "Hacker left a note at the very end, a hastily scrawled one, leading me to believe he added this very recently before he bit it that due to circumstances beyond his control, Wicked would not be getting her share of the snelfus."
"What!?" Wicked cried in anguish.
"He wrote it with a very angry tone." Jackie added.
"Guess he was mad at you for something." Digit said with a grin.
"I have just checked the account containing the money." Motherboard announced as well. "Wicked's share is, in fact, missing. Hacker apparently disposed of the money before he died. For what reasons, I cannot say, but Jackie is right. It was done fairly recently. I would presume you did something to displease Hacker so much, Wicked."
"But...but..." Wicked stuttered.
"I guess you really don't get anything, Wicked, because that's the end." Jackie said, collecting her papers back together.
"But...but...oh, hang it all!" Wicked cried, and angrily stormed out of the hanger bay, leaving Buzz and Delete laughing their heads off.
Once they had everything wrapped up and settled, Jackie, Digit, and Motherboard prepared to leave.
"Well, glad we got that over with." Jackie said, taking the will and throwing it aside carelessly. "May we never have to worry about anything Hacker related ever again."
Digit grinned. "I think that's a safe bet Jax, what with Cyberspace being at peace again." he said. "So Motherboard, you working on making a portal for us?"
Motherboard, however, had a distracted and puzzled look on her face at the moment and did not reply.
"Mother B?" Jackie asked. "Is there something wrong?"
"I do not know." Motherboard admitted. "But there is certainly something out of place. I have just detected on my long range sensors an unknown object entering the boundaries of known Cyberspace. It is moving very quickly and is emitting an energy signature I cannot say I have seen the likes of before."
Jackie and Digit glanced at one another. "What is it?" Jackie asked.
"Again, I cannot say." Motherboard admitted. "But whatever the object is, it has laid in a direct course for Cyantis."
