A/N: Yeah, I know it's been a while, but I finally, finally updated. This was a long chapter and it took a while to write, because there were a lot of ways I could go. Also, if you are going to review, don't be like "UPDATE!" I want to know what you like, what you don't like. Just so I can improve my writing style. Anyway, enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I own Kim, not Cyberchase.

Phase One

Daisyfan5534

Chapter 8


"Today's the day." Matt said tiredly.

"Matt, it's eight in the morning. Don't make today a bad day, already." Jackie said.

"That's not what I meant. We should get it out of the way, so we can make it a good day." Matt responded.

"It's not that it's a bad thing to get it out of the way, we just don't want to get sick and not eat breakfast." Inez said.

"I'll wait until after breakfast then." Matt said before taking a bite of cereal.

September 11th. It's been one long month since Kim's death. Soon, a month will turn into another month, then two months will turn into a year, then it just keeps on going. Matt, Jackie, and Inez planned to check up on Slider to see how he's doing. Maybe he finally accepted that Kim is dead. Then again, it's highly unlikely.

After the three just about finished eating ('Just about' meaning Matt finished and the girls were almost done), Matt decided to break the silence.

"What do you guys think it would be like if Kim was still here?" he asked.

"You wouldn't be asking that question." Inez said before eating what was on her spoon.

"Jax?" Matt asked ignoring what Inez said.

"She'd probably talk about home school." Jackie said.

"You don't think she would have home schooled us, do you?" Matt asked.

"No, I think Motherboard home schooled her, and Dr. Marbles when he was here." Jackie responded.

"It's going to be weird not going back to school." Inez pointed out.

"Well, at least we don't have homework." Matt said. "That's one bright side to living in Cyberspace."

"I have another one… School lunches." Jackie said.

"Oh, those reeked." Inez agreed.

"Hey, they weren't that bad." Matt argued.

"What about the time you accidentally got and drank expired milk." Jackie said.

"That was one time, and it expired that day!" Matt exclaimed.

"Matt, you got sick and went home early that day." Inez said while she and Jackie tried to contain their laughter.

"I missed out on the science test, though. I forgot to study for that." Matt responded.

"Since when do you study?" Inez asked.

"Since my mom said she'd ground me if I didn't bring my grade up in class." he responded.

"Hey, didn't Kim like science?" Jackie asked.

"Like? She loved science! If I knew about her back then, I would have asked her to tutor me." Matt exclaimed.

"Science isn't that hard, Matt." Inez said.

"Says the one who got third place in the science fair." Matt pointed out.

"Still, I agree with Inez. Science isn't hard, but it's not my favorite." Jackie said.

"See?" Matt said.

"Well you don't have to worry about science anymore, Matt." Jackie said.

"I know, but you know what I always wanted to do?" Matt asked.

"What?" Inez asked.

"I always wanted to make a volcano."

"How about we do that today?" Inez said. "I mean, Kim liked science, and it is a classic. Besides, I always wanted to do one, too."

"Alright, we'll do that after we visit Slider." Jackie said before she stood up.

The three of them were finished eating so they all put their dishes in the sink. It was Inez's turn to wash the dishes. While she did that, Jackie stayed with her to keep her company. Matt went to the living room to see if anything was on TV.

The girls talked about school some more, the sound of the television playing in the background. Matt was scrolling through the channels waiting for the girls to be done. Upon doing so something caught his eye while passing one of the channels. He went back to that channel and paused it after reading the bottom of the screen. He couldn't believe it.

Matt sprang up from his seat and ran around the corner to the kitchen, "Guys…" The girls looked at him with curiosity, the sound of Matt's voice scared them a bit. "You need to see this."

Jackie and Inez followed Matt to the living room. The first thing they saw at the bottom of the TV screen was 'Body found on Solaria.' It was still on pause, because they were too scared to hear the rest of the report. Matt pushed play anyway.

"-Ram here reporting from Solaria. As you can see, the people behind me is crowding around a body that washed up on shore this morning." Erica Ram said. "We have no word from officials that the body belongs to former Cybersquad member, Kim, who was pushed off a cliff exactly one month ago. We will keep the Cyberworld posted on new information we have. Now-"

Matt turned the TV off. Neither of them- the girls and himself- wanted to listen to the rest of the report. They found her. They finally found her. How could they say that there's a possibility that it's not Kim. She was killed a month ago. She drowned. A body shows up today, and no one knows if it her. Why?

It had to be her. Who else could it be? How long is this supposed to last? Why can't they have closure?

The three kids just stared at the black screen, letting the pain of Kim being found reach them. Like when they found out Kim was dead, only with less tears and more grief.


Meanwhile…. Somewhere in Cyberspace….

'It's been a month, suspicion should be off, you'll be fine. No, she's smart. She'll piece it together the moment I make any move. Still, why risk it? I mean- Wait...'

Ledge turned up the radio in his cybercoop, listening closely to what it said.

"-me is crowding around a body that washed up on shore-"

"Finally! About damn time she'd show up." he commentated. "Well, looks like I know what I'm doing next week."

"-no word from officials that the body belongs to former Cybersquad-"

Ledge slammed on the brakes upon hearing that. What are they talking about? Of course it's her! What kind of officials are they?

'If her body had been in the water this whole time, then what would have happened to it?' Ledge hit himself in the head. 'Decay. She decayed… for a month… in the water… No, even with that amount of time in those conditions they should still be able to ID her. The fish might have taken a bite out of her. That probably helped. Wait, why am I waiting for it to be announced?'

Ledge turned his coop around and headed toward Solaria. If he hurried, maybe he could ID her, himself before they take the body away for an autopsy.

He should be getting ready to put his plan into action, making final adjustments, checking for any loopholes. Not making sure a dead person is dead. But to be fair, if there is a possibility that she is alive, then that would be a loophole.

Ledge knew Kim too well to know that she would do something to the extent of possible murder if his plan went on while she still was roaming around. Hell, she would have gotten to that extent if she found out that he was the one following her, but it was the only way to kill her.

Kim was smart, quick, and able to defend herself physically. Plus she had her six sense. Ledge was smart enough to make sure if the mirror maze plan went south, he could get away without being seen. His plan was to get her alone in the maze so he could subdue her with chloroform and kill her there.

The first part was easy. Kim and the rest of the Cybersquad got separated by themselves. The second part… was the one that he didn't think through. He had to chloroform her, and he thought that would be easy. One good whiff, and she would be out.

He didn't know how well she could defend herself, though. He got cut when Kim sent him crashing into the mirror behind him. Nothing serious that required stitches, but the kick that sent him into the mirror knocked the wind out of him.

He did try to chase Kim down in the maze. Once he gave up, figuring that it was pointless, the adrenaline went down and the pain from the kick settled in. He found a good-sized bruise on his stomach the next morning.

It was then he realized he needed a different strategy, he needed to get inside her mind. Ledge's first thought was to befriend her. Gain her trust, then rip her heart out… like when they were younger.

He thought befriending her would have been simple, he even had the perfect opportunity. Hacker was selling a power supply box for a price three times cheaper than what you'd get them for. Ledge couldn't believe he actually put it for that price. When he went to the Northern Frontier to get it, he saw a cybercoop parked by the hangar. It was a coop from Control Central. The Cybersquad beat him.

Not the Cybersquad, completely. None of them would actually go and try to get it unless it was Kim or the others tried to get it for her.

But by then he already settled with scaring the shit out of her. Ledge did consider to befriend her at that point. He knew a few guys he could frame easily, in case Kim suspected something. He could just waltz into the Grim Wreaker, grab the power supply box, taunt her a little bit, before proposing a trade. The box and the Cybersquad's freedom, in exchange for a date.

Knowing Kim, she would agree. Not for the stupid box, but to get to know her enemy. For the challenge of a trap in case he pulled something.

It was a good idea, but the urge to call her sweetheart if he was in the same room with her was pretty high. Kim would piece it together, and kick his ass.

So, befriending her was one of the ways to get into her mind. The other way was more fun, and what he thought would be more successful. Paranoia. Kim loved horror movies, so why not put her in one.

Ledge sent her on a wild goose chase that put her over the edge. With every note he sent and every stunt he pulled, he made Kim lose more and more of her sanity. All leading up to drugging her and pushing her off the cliff.

And now he's hoping that it's her body that washed up on shore.


Meanwhile…. At Control Central….

The three children ran to the landing bay with Kim's cybercoop keys in Matt's hand. He and the girls had to go to Solaria, they had to see the body. They couldn't wait for an identification, they could see the body for themselves.

Right before they got in the cybercoop, the three noticed another coop that was parked on the landing bay. It wasn't one of Motherboard's. Curious about the owner, they walked into the Control Room to see a cybersite owner talking to Motherboard and Digit.

"Lucky? What are you doing here?" Matt asked.

Motherboard, Digit, and Lucky turned their attention to Matt, Jackie, and Inez, sorrow in their eyes.

"I'm sure you kids have heard by now…" Lucky implied.

"Are you talking about the body on Solaria?" Jackie asked.

"I'm afraid so." Lucky said.

"So… Is it…" Inez trailed off.

"We still don't know." Lucky told her.

"How do you not know?" Matt exclaimed.

"It's not that simple, Matt." Motherboard said. "I'm no police officer, but I'm sure that it's not easy."

"Back to the body, are you saying that there's a chance that it's not Kim, Lucky?" Digit spoke up.

"I'm afraid to say it, but yes. There's a chance that it's not her." she said.

"Well, maybe we can see her?" Inez said.

"No, I'm not having you kids look at a body. Kim or not, it's quite a horrific sight. I saw it myself." Lucky said. "When Kim worked at the police station, I made it clear that she wasn't going see any dead body no matter what. I'm almost positive that didn't stop her from seeing at least one or two. We all saw a small change in her, she became more aggressive toward crooks and stubborn as hell."

"If you saw the body, how do you know it might not be Kim?" Jackie asked.

"Well for starters, the bottom half of the body is gone. Most likely eaten by a shark. So we can't identify if it's a male or female. The body has been decayed from being in the water and eaten by fish. Experts say that it's been in the water for two days minimum. Long story short, we can't identify it by the face." Lucky said.

"Can a body decay that fast?" Inez asked.

"Well, the fish on Solaria are cleaners. That's why the water on Solaria is so clear. If you throw anything dead in the ocean there, the fish will waste no time on to getting rid of it." Lucky explained.

"So, if you're not here delivering bad news, then why are you here?" Matt asked.

"I'm here for two things. One: Don't get your hopes up that it's not Kim. I'm almost positive that it's her." Lucky said.

"What's the second thing?" Digit asked.

"I was hoping Motherboard would know if Dr. Marbles took Kim to the dentist in the six years she was here."

"Yes, he did take her for check-ups before he left." Motherboard responded.

"Good, do you know where, or if the Doc has her files."

"Wait, what do Kim's teeth have anything to do with a body?" Matt asked.

"Thankfully, the fish didn't decay the body enough, because the only way we can identify the body now is to check dental records. We should know by tonight on if it's Kim or not."

"I want to know if it's Kim's body as much as the next person, but what about the law. How come you're allowed to do this?" Jackie asked.

"I knew Kim would tell you about that law sooner or later." Lucky said. "This isn't making anything we find on the body that could possibly lead us to Kim's killer not countable evidence. This is just helping out a friend for all she's done for R-Fair City and Cyberspace. So I've asked Motherboard for a suspension."

"I've put up a forty-eight hour suspension on the law, just in case we're able to arrest the criminal." Motherboard added.

"So, we're just supposed to wait?" Digit asked.

"Maybe we should tell Slider what's happening?" Jackie suggested.

The kids and Digit agreed on the idea and left to go to Radopolis.


Meanwhile….. On Solaria….

The beach was practically clear, mainly because everyone was crowding around a body. Ledge could see the siren lights from miles away. He had to hurry before they bag the body.

He eventually made it to the crowd of people and started pushing his way through. How many people were there? Ledge made it to the crime scene tape barrier and he could see what all the fuss is about.

"Oh, shit…"

He could see why they couldn't ID the body. It looked disgusting. The lower half of the body was gone. The rest of it was decayed to the point where it didn't even look like a body. The eyes were the worst. They were white, no color at all in them. They looked like they were going to fall out of its head.

If he knew that she would have ended up like this, Ledge would have held her head underwater and leave her on shore once she was dead. Sure she was a bitch, but this was cruel.

Officials finally bagged the body and pulled it into the medical coop. They were going to take it to R-Fair City for an autopsy. He can find out there.

Break in to a police station… That was going to be fun.

The crowd started to departure from the scene and start to crowd around Erica Ram. Most likely for another report. What are the chances the Cybersquad will be watching? But did Erica know something he didn't?

Ledge made sure he wasn't in the line of sight of the camera, he didn't want to cause suspicion to the Cybersquad if they saw him. Maybe he could play it off by saying that he always wanted to see a dead body.

"This is Erica Ram here with another report about the body found on Solaria. Officials have just taken it away for an autopsy report. Until then Motherboard has put up a forty-eight hour suspension on the law forbidding police to work with the Cybersquad, in hopes we can put Kim's killer behind bars."

Ledge slowly walked away from the news report and back to his coop. Forty-eight hours? If there's anything on that body that leads back to him, he's screwed. He had to break into the police station tonight to look at the autopsy before they announce it, or at least before it gets to the Cybersquad.

The stakes were high now. If he gets caught in the police station, he goes to jail and possibly have Kim's murder pinned on him. If there's anything on the body, he could hide out until the suspension is up. The Cybersquad would never catch him.

"The shit I do over Kim. Dead or alive." he muttered.


"Is that all we can do?"

"What else can we do, Sly?"

"I don't want to wait around for someone to announce that it's not her."

"We both know that it could be her."

"It's not Kim. It can't be Kim."

The Cybersquad walked in on the argument between the father and son. Coop turned his attention to the team after noticing them. Slider followed suit after his father focused on something else.

"Do you guys know already?" Digit asked.

"About the body on Solaria? Yeah. Found out ten minutes ago." Coop said. "I called Doc and he's running some calculations to see if it's her."

"And it won't be." Slider said.

"Slider..."

"Well, we came over to tell you guys that Lucky is looking into it." Digit said.

"Wait, Lucky?" Slider asked. "Why Lucky? She and Kim were never on the best of terms."

"What do you mean?" Jackie asked.

"I don't know, Kim always talked about how Lucky kept a close eye on her when she worked at the police station, like she was a criminal. As far as I know, she's not a crook." Slider responded. "Scratch that, she's not a crook without reason."

"What did she do?" Jackie asked.

"Steal. Nothing beyond that. She said it was for some project she was working on."

"Oh yeah, I've heard Kim talk about that a few times." Digit said.

"It's why she goes out in the first place. The parts she needs are hard to come by, and the people who have them aren't selling. So she has to steal." Slider said.

"What is she doing with the parts?" Matt asked.

"I don't know, she said that I'd want to help and that I'd get in trouble. She wasn't even close to being done the last time I checked." Slider responded.

"You know, for being her best friend, you don't really know a lot about her." Digit said.

"I know her, I just don't know what secret stuff she's doing. If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if she did actually break a law." Slider said. "Anyway, Kim really had something against the whole Cybersquad-police law. She tried multiple times to get rid of it, but I guess you see that didn't work. Speaking of the law, how is Lucky able to help you guys?"

"Motherboard put up a forty-eight hour suspension on the law. Since Kim worked for the police, it was the least Lucky could do for her." Inez explained.

The phone rings and Coop picks it up. "Hello?"

"Coop, it's me."

"Doc, do you have the results?"

"Results? What results?" Dr. Marbles asked.

"It's me, my son, and the Cybersquad here right now. We were waiting on you."

"I take it that you are not alone."

"Yeah, the body was found this morning."

"Wait, you weren't joking when you said that you told Slider that I would run calculations on the body. Coop, you and I both know that Kim is alive."

"How do you actually know?"

"Kim is stronger than that, she wouldn't kill herself." The doc sighed. "Then again with her mental health, it's... Debatable. As for what to tell your audience, from my basic knowledge, I would suggest that it is likely- if not, highly likely- that it is her."

"Alright." Coop said before placing his hand on the receiver. "The Doc says that it's... Highly likely that it's Kim. I'm sorry, Sly."

"It can't be her!" The teen retorted. "It's possible that it's someone else."

"To be fair, Slider does have a point." Matt said. "I mean there are a lot of things about Cyberspace we didn't even know about, take that dumb law for example. Who knows what other kinds of things are out there."

"You guys want to find out?" Slider asked.

The kids and Digit followed Slider out of the garage, wanting to see some of the wonders of Cyberspace.

"They're gone now." Coop said into the phone.

"Great. Now Coop, we know that Kim is alive. If anything, that body is less than likely to be her. For all we know the person they found on the beach is Ledge." Dr. Marbles said

"She wouldn't kill him. That'd be low, even for her." Coop responded.

"To kill someone out of the blue, yes. Even if they threatened her, probably. But you and I both know what happens if someone threatens the people she cares about." The Doc pointed out. "To be honest, if Ledge wanted revenge on her for possible vandalism, I don't think he would go to the extent of murder."

"He'd probably give her a "round two" of what happened between them." Coop said.

"Yes, that's what I was thinking, but why wait nearly four years to do something?"

"A false hope of safety?" Coop suggested.

"Maybe... For all we know, Coop, Ledge finally got rid of her."

"Let's hope not, for my son's sake."


Meanwhile….. In the Radopolis Forest….

"So what did you want to show us?" Inez asked.

"Ever since there has been a connection with Earth, there have been what we call 'glitches' around Cyberspace." Slider explained.

"So what is a glitch?" Jackie asked.

"Basically it changes something in Cyberspace. Landscape, unnatural weather, people even." Slider added.

"Like snow in Sensible Flats?" Matt guessed.

"Bingo. Usually it's just in one, small area." Slider told the group. "Since Kim felt somewhat guilty for causing them to happen, she would go around Cyberspace to fix them. There would only be around two glitches every three to four months."

"So if you're showing us a glitch, how come it's still here. Why didn't Kim take care of it when she could." Digit asked aloud.

"Because she liked what the glitch did too much to fix it."

"So what happens if they aren't taken care of?" Inez wondered.

"No one knows, according to Kim, she said that it might lead to a black hole or a vortex to another dimension, most likely to Earth. But the glitches were harmless and Dr. Marbles said that they were easily disposable if they get out of hand."

"So how does she fix a glitch?" Jackie asked.

"Kim would use her laptop to hack into Earth's Internet then from there she'd hack into the glitch and fix the problem." Slider explained. "She mentioned that Earth's Internet is extremely hackable."

"Well, you guys live in our internet. Of course it's hackable for Kim." Matt pointed out.

"Fair point."

"Has Kim ever mentioned anything about Earth's government?" Inez asked.

"No, not that I know of. Kim taught me a bit about Earth, mostly about the similarities between our worlds."

"Oh yeah, Kim mentioned something about Earth and Cyberspace." Digit remembered. "I overheard her talking to herself about how Earth and Cyberspace would end up in a dimensional war. You know, if Earth discovers Cyberspace."

"My money's on Cyberspace, not because I live here, but..." Slider struggled to find the words for this. "No offense, but it sounds like Earth's government sucks. They would lose before the war even started."

"If Kim hacked into Earth's system, I just hope our government hasn't noticed." Inez added.

"Kim was always careful about hacking into Earth. A basic firewall here would be the same as Kim's firewall on Earth. Trust me, I doubt they have noticed anything." Slider pointed out. "Here it is."

Slider stopped in front of a big tree in the middle of the forest.

"Now I see what you mean by noticeable." Matt said.

The tree had a much wider trunk than the other trees in the forest and looked like it belonged in the jungle rather than a forest.

Slider walked up to the tree, pressing his hand against the stump, only for his hand to slip through. "Come on." He said as he walked through the tree.

The Cybersquad followed their friend through the tree leading them to a downhill slope. At the bottom was a platform, and from there you could see stars.

The sky shaded in a rainbow mix, with stars poking through them. It was gorgeous.

"This is one cool glitch." Matt said aloud.

Slider remembered the times Kim would come here. Lizzie would have found a way to humiliate her or bully her and she would come here to plot revenge.

Kim always came out on top. Whether it be the blonde serving up some hot karma, or Slider calming her down and convincing her not to tear Lizzie's pink hair out of her head.

The blonde really hoped that the glitch would never cause any problems, otherwise she'd have to get rid of it.

Slider remembered the times his friends would joke about him and Kim secretly dating behind their backs. He told them that they could ask her out if they wanted to, but all three of them never took up the offer. Mostly because they have too scared to ask her out. Besides, she was more of a distant cousin to them.

Kim always loved this view, just as much as any other view of the stars in Cyberspace. On Earth she would have to wait until nighttime to see the stars, but here she could see it all the time.

Slider sighed quietly. He could still remember the he first met Kim. He wasn't the biggest fan about hanging out with girls at the time. He was only seven. True, his father made him hang out with her that day and show her around Radopolis, but Kim grew on him. Slider was kind of sad when she had to leave.

When she came back a couple days later, he was happy. Kim was cool. She was willing to try anything new, hesitant, but still willing. The moment he introduced her to his friends, they were already singing the song about them kissing in a tree. Ironically, that's when they first met her.


Six years ago….

"It's been awhile, Doc." Coop greeted.

"Same to you, Coop." Dr. Marbles responded. "Hacker isn't here, is he?"

"No, I sent him to pick up some things in Sensible Flats." Coop responded.

"Great, I don't need him to know about the current situation at hand. With the way he's been acting, I'm not sure if he should know about this." Dr. Marbles replied.

"So you're not here for a check-up or a kryocide change?"

"As much as I want to catch up with you and your son of what's happening lately, I have a small problem and since you are a parent, I really need some advice."

"I don't see how me having a kid relates to your problem, Doc. But what is it?"

The doctor turned to his cybercoop behind him, gesturing to a child in the passenger's seat. It was a little girl, near the age of Coop's son. She had short, blonde hair and blue eyes. She wearing a white short-sleeve shirt with blue sleeves, jeans, worn-out black, converse, and a silver locket around her neck.

"I see." Coop muttered to the Doc. "Hey, Sly? Can you come here for a second?"

At that time, Dr. Marbles waved the little girl over to him. She hopped out of the flying vehicle and made her way to the man, and quickly came face-to-face with another man and a kid.

"Kim, this is my good friend, Coop, and his son, Slider. Coop, Slider, this is Kim." Dr. Marbles introduced before the father and son said hi to the child.

The blonde shyly greeted them back. They looked like they could be from Earth, but she knew they weren't. After seeing talking penguins, walking and talking morphed shapes, and cyborgs with antennas and wheels for feet, she knew better at that point.

"Kim, you wouldn't mind playing with Slider while I talk to Coop for a bit, would you?" the Doc asked."

She shook her head before looking at the boy whom she'd be hanging out with for a while. Slider stared at her, too before looking up at his dad.

"You can show her around the site, Sly. Test out the new scooter model." Coop suggested to his son.

Slider looked back at Kim, he didn't want to hang out with her. He'd rather hang out with his friends, not with a girl. Slider was given no choice, though. He grabbed the two-person scooter and two helmets, handing one of them to Kim before getting on the scooter.

"Have you ever ridden on a scooter before?" he asked.

"No." she responded.

Even worse, if she had never ridden on a scooter, there's probably zero chance she's been on a bike, roller blades, or a skateboard.

"It's pretty simple. Just hang on to me and you should be fine." Slider told her.

"Um… Okay, then…" She was scared, but she got on the scooter anyway, hanging on to Slider as he propelled forward.

"So, what cybersite are you from?" he asked. If he was going to be stuck with her all day, he might as well get to know her.

"I'm not from a… cybersite." Kim responded.

"Then where are you from?" he asked.

"A place called Earth. Have you ever heard about it?" she told him.

"A couple things. All I know is that it's in another dimension. and as far as we know, people from your world don't know about us. So have you ever heard of Cyberspace?"

"No, I never knew it existed. I don't think anyone else knows, either."

"You're the first person from Earth to come into Cyberspace. So how'd you do it?"

"I don't know, I just messed with some wires and computers of my friend who's a scientist and then a… portal, I guess… sucked me in and brought me here."

"When did you arrive?"

"This morning. Dr. Marbles has been showing me some the cybersites."

"Do you like it here?"

"It's interesting, but I think I do."

Silence fell between the two kids, as Slider continued to show Kim around the cybersite.

"So, where are your parents?" Slider asked.

"Gone." Kim spoke

Slider opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. She was alone. No family.

"I'm sorry." he managed to say.

The girl sighed before she spoke. "S-So where are we going?"

"I don't know, I think we might just ride around until we find something."

"Okay, so what do people do here?"

"Ride around, have fun. Stuff like that. We sometimes have skate-offs which are really cool to watch. And-"

"Sweet, apples!"

Kim jumped off the scooter and ran towards an apple tree on top of a small hill. Slider got off the scooter and dragged it over to the tree trying to catch up to the blonde who was trying to reach an apple.

"You shouldn't do that." Slider told her.

"Sorry, I'm just hungry. I haven't eaten all day." Kim responded as she tried to jump to get an apple.

After failing, she took a step back from the tree, taking a good look at it. She then walked over to a lower branch and started climbing.

"Hey, get down!" Slider called as she started to climb higher.

"The best apples are the ones up the highest!" She said back.

"My dad will kill me if you get hurt!" He yelled.

"Then come and get me!" Kim yelled back.

Annoyed by the taunt, Slider started climbing the tree after the girl. He finally caught up to her once she reached up and grabbed an apple. She sat down on the branch and started eating it.

"You climbed all the way up here for an apple?"

"They're always better when you get them from a high spot." Kim responded. "You know, despite my sister leaving me, today isn't a bad day."

"You have a sister?" Slider asked.

"Yeah, a twin sister. It was supposed to be us against the world, today. We were the last ones in the orphanage and it shut down today, so we had to be sent out of town to another one."

"Why did she leave you?"

"I don't know. I thought she was my best friend, but after I found out that she got adopted without me and tricked the owner into thinking I was adopted with her, the orphanage shut down and I was left alone. Out of all the days, it had to be today. The one day we were supposed to spend together."

"It's not your birthday, is it?" he asked.

"Ironically, it is." she admitted.

"This sounds like it came from a book or something." Slider pointed out.

"Yeah, it does." Kim said. "So enough about me, what about you?

"Well, it's just my dad and I. We build and fix skateboards, bikes, rollerblades, but my dad does some kryocide changes for cybercoops."

"Do you think you could teach me?"

"Teach you what?"

"How to ride a skateboard?" Kim asked.

"I don't know. Not to be mean, but I don't want to be seen around girls." Slider responded.

"What's wrong with girls?" She asked.

"Girls are boring." He said.

"Well, from my perspective, boys are boring. We all want to believe one side is better than the other, but there is no way to prove that."

"So who do you think is better."

"Honestly, it doesn't matter. We are all people, aren't we. It's how we act and treat each other. That's all that matters, right?"

"You're pretty weird for a girl."

"This coming from a guy from another dimension."

"You're from the other dimension."

"You got me there."

"Hey, look! Slider's got a girlfriend!" A voice yelled.

The two looked down to see three boys at the bottom of the tree.

"Slider and some other girl, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." They sung.

"She's not my girlfriend. I just met her." Slider called back.

"Who are they?" Kim asked him.

"My friends." He responded. "Are you done with that apple?"

Kim handed him the apple core and he threw it at his friend hitting one of them in the head.

"That's why you should wear a helmet." Slider said to him as he started to climb down.

"Touché." His friend responded. "So who is she?"

"My dad's friend brought her. She's... New and I had to show her around." Slider explained. "The day she's my girlfriend, is the day I fall off my skateboard."

"Can I get that in writing?"

"Yeah, right after you beat me in a skate-off."


His friends never got it in writing, even when they beat him. Kim just became part of the group. It didn't matter if she was a girl, she had more things in common with the guys than with the girls on Radopolis.

It was one of the things Slider liked about Kim. One of the amazing things about his best friend, who is now gone. The one friend that depended on him to save her life.

Slider can still hear her screams when she was pushed off the cliff. He couldn't save her in time, and now he's paying for it.

He wants to believe that she's alive, but it's been a month and they found a body. He just needs to know if Kim is alive or if it's her dead body they found. Slider needed closure.

"She's gone, isn't she?" he asked aloud.

The kids and Digit looked at him, surprised at what he said. Slider believed that all this time that Kim was alive, and now he's saying that she's dead. He for once wanted Kim to be confirmed dead, and this was the chance. A body has been found.

"What's the possibility that it's not her?" Slider asked.

Digit flew up in the air and over to his 'sister's' friend, resting a hand on his shoulder. "I… I think it's her."

There was a brief silence before Matt shook his head to himself. "Honestly, why couldn't it have been poison?"

"Matt!" Inez shouted in shock to what he said.

"Or some other way, so she didn't end up like that! Sure, Kim may have lied, cheated, and stolen all over Cyberspace, and who the hell knows what else she did, but she didn't deserve it!" Matt said in defense to explain himself. "Why did they have to throw her off a cliff and let her drown? Why did her body have to end up like it did?"

"You guys saw her?" Slider asked.

"No, Lucky wouldn't let us." Jackie told him.

"Then how did she end up?" the teen asked.

"Lucky said that the body was decayed and the bottom half was eaten by a shark." Inez explained.

"So they really don't know…"

"They should be running calculations now." Inez said.

Slider turned away from his friends and back to the rainbow, starry sky of the glitch. It wasn't long before his eyes started watering. He closed them as he bowed his head, bringing a hand to his face to hide it. Kim was dead, and he finally was able to accept that.

Digit hugged him, soon Matt, Jackie, and Inez joined in too. They lost their friend a month ago, and now she's finally been found.


He just had to breathe. That's all. Just breathe. It's not like he's risking everything he has worked for, over an old friend.

Oh, yeah. He is.

Ledge was considering everything, listening to the radio in his cybercoop in case they release a statement about the body. It's late, people on the other side of R-Fair City were enjoying the rides and games or whatever people were doing on a Tuesday night.

But him? No, he's weighing his options, while parked outside the police station. If he went inside to look at the autopsy for himself, and someone caught him, he wouldn't have an excuse for why he was there. And because of the law suspension he will get arrested.

There was always a chance that it's not Kim, but there wasn't any reports of any missing people on Solaria. Not any that he knew about. Still, what if he goes in for nothing.

But it had to be Kim, right? And if it is, would there be anything on her body that went back to him.

Ledge sighed at his stupid plan and got out of his coop, walking towards the police station. Once inside, he started to scan the lobby for a water jug. Preferably one that's full.

What he needed to do to get past the cops at the front desk, who are dealing with parents who lost their kids, and get to the elevator undetected. Along with that, he needed to be able to walk around the building without drawing attention and find the video room so he can erase any footage that he was here.

Ledge was walking on thin ice with this plan. One wrong move would send him into cold water. Speaking of which, he did find a water jug that was full. He made his way to it, picking up a small paper cup before getting water. Once the cup was a third filled, he pulled a tiny bottle out from his pocket and poured the contents in. Now all he needed was a victim.

"Can I help you, sir?"

Ledge turned around to come face to face with a woman.

"No, I'm just waiting for my uncle to get off work."

"Oh, what's his name? I can get him down for you."

He saw the badge on her lab coat. She works here, perfect. "It's okay, he messaged me saying he'd be down in about a half hour. I can wait."

"Alright then. Are you done getting water?"

"Oh, here." Ledge handed the woman the cup in his hand to her before getting another cup

"Well aren't you a gentleman." She responded before she started to drink the contaminated water.

Ledge turned back around with his own cup of water just in time to see the woman start her coughing fit from the drug he put in the water that she drank.

He immediately set his cup down to help her.

It wasn't long before he called for help from the other people in the building as the woman's coughs became more violent and Ledge laid her down on the ground. Soon a couple paramedics in the building came to the woman's aid.

In that moment while everyone was distracted, Ledge slipped by towards the elevator to the upper levels of the station, with the woman's badge in hand.

He felt bad, though. He doesn't like hurting the ones who haven't done anything to him, but it had to be done.

After swiping the card to the elevator, the teen entered going up the the second floor. After all, it's where all the bodies and autopsies were. The elevator finally arrived at the second floor and the doors opened up, Ledge immediately made a beeline to the janitor's closet.

He took a minute to breathe, the adrenaline rush came down and started to hit him. He was in too deep, and this was insane. If someone were to come in right now, he would be in jail.

What was he to do? He should have just waited, but there was risk of that too. Not a lot he can do from here. There had to be a way to get everyone out of the building, then Ledge saw the fire alarm. No, it was too cliche, besides you can't just pull it and be done, if it were to go off it would have to be a wire failure.

Wait, he was in a janitor's closet, full of chemicals for cleaning supplies. He just needed the right ones.

After carefully making his own science experiment in an empty spray bottle, he pulled out his pocket knife and made a slit in the wire casing. He pried the hole open a bit more before placing the nozzle of the bottle in the hole and squeezed the handle.

Within seconds the alarm went off and Ledge could hear the footsteps of everyone leaving the building. Once it sounded clear, he quickly exited the janitor's closet and scoured the floor for the autopsy room. And of course, it had to be at the end of the hall.

It wasn't long now, he just needed to find the report on the body. And finding that was not that was not long. It was kind of obvious with the half eaten body on the table, still disgusting even now. And right next to it was a clipboard with the autopsy report on it.

The moment of truth. Time to see who this really is. Ledge picked up the clipboard and flipped through the papers. He stopped at the dental records, he saw Kim's records and the record the belonged to the body.

Kim had a nice smile, it was always warm and happy. But as of now he wasn't sure by looking at the records.

"Damn it!"


They all were waiting. Thinking, wondering about the body that showed up this morning. Jackie was pacing, Matt was playing with his yo-yo, Inez was on her head, Digit was going through Motherboard's system. They were getting impatient, Lucky called about forty-five minutes ago saying they were finishing up the autopsy and she'd deliver the news to Control Central as soon as she had an answer. So there they were, in the control room. Not a word breaking the harsh silence.

It was almost too much for them to handle, they hated waiting. Suddenly, the doors of the control room opened. Everyone turned to see Lucky stroll through. It was over, and the results were in Lucky's head.

Lucky sighed and the squad prepared for the worst. "The body found on Solaria… wasn't Kim."

"What?" Matt said in disbelief.

"Are-are you sure?" Jackie asked.

"We ran the test multiple times, but Kim's records didn't match the body's. To add to that, we were able to determine that the victim was male and a lot older than Kim." Lucky informed them.

"Well, if he's not Kim, then who is he?" Inez asked.

"We don't know, he's a John Doe at the moment, but we're trying to see if we can get any DNA off of him. His own or Kim's if he is her killer, but I doubt we'll find anything." Lucky explained. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you, anyway, Lucky. You have a nice night." Motherboard said.

"Thank you, Motherboard. If we find anything, you guys will be the first to know." Lucky responded, before she and the Cybersquad exchanged their goodbyes, and the site ruler left.

The whole room went back to silence again, none of them knew what to say. Kim was still MIA, and they don't know how to cope without closure.


He should just tell his son. Coop knew that. Kim was alive and he's not saying anything because of a deal he made with that same girl a few years ago. After Hacker sabotaged his helmet with magnetite and forced him to leave his son at the worst possible timing when Slider needed his support, he thought Kim was dead. That was until she found him a year later, almost beating the shit out of him with a pipe she had for defense, something he'd never expect her to do. But with what happened to her, Coop could see why her personality changed.

He made Kim promise to not tell his Slider where he was, and now she's making him not tell Slider where she is. Oh, how karma's a bitch.

Motherboard called and told them that the body wasn't Kim, which forced Slider up onto the roof to sit and look at the stars. In that time, Coop just wanted to say that Kim was alive and well, sort of. As Doc said, her mental state is debatable.

The father made his way up to the roof to join Slider. No teen should have to go through this, but all Coop could do was try and help him through it. He sat down next to him, deciding what to say, but Slider already had something planned.

"That one." he said, pointing to a blue star in the night sky. "That was Kim's favorite. She thought it was Aquarium, because it was blue."

"What are you thinking, Sly? About today, about the body? I don't know how to help, unless I know what's going on." Coop asked.

"I don't know where she is, and I can't help her. Dead or alive, I just don't know, and I don't know how much longer I can take it." Slider explained.

"You know Kim better than anyone, Sly. She wouldn't give up, and with what happened today, I don't even know if she's dead."

"You're finally siding with me that she could be alive?"

"I guess so."

Slider smiled slightly. "Thanks, pops. It means a lot."

Coop was happy he could be of help to him. "Come on. Let's go to bed."


"You really scared me today, you know."

"Yes, big brother. I know."

"Still, Kim. You choose a bad time to disappear for a day."

"Yeah, it was, but it was for the greater good of the band. Thanks for helping me clean up, Miles."

"Well, I assumed that I was taking your shift so I doubled up with you. And don't call me your big brother."

It was late. Everyone had left the food joint, so it was just the bouncer and the newbie.

"I'll try, but it suits. Plus you've done a lot for me and-"

"K!"

Kim was surprised by her band hugging the shit out of her, nearly pulling the black wig off of her head.

"I'm happy to see you guys, too. Now get off!" Kim said, getting a bit smothered.

"Sorry, just with the body and all…" Ethan said as the band let her go.

"So, where were you?" Oliver asked.

"Sensible Flats." Kim responded.

"Why? What made you decide to up and leave to Sensible Flats, and not tell us that you are alive?" Jerome exaggerated.

Kim was taken aback by his outburst, but she knew how to defuse it very quickly. "I had a meeting with a producer."

"Still you can't just- A producer? What kind of producer?" Jerome asked.

"A music producer."

"Are you serious?" Oliver exclaimed.

"He wants to meet with the rest of the band tomorrow at seven about what we want and how we want to grow. Then by around one we might be on the radio."

"Bullshit!" Ethan yelled in happiness.

"I'm telling the truth!" Kim said in excitement.

"Kim, you're amazing!" Jerome picked her up in a hug.

The five of them took a moment to celebrate, before Kim had to go back to helping Miles close up.

"So, K. You have any ideas for tomorrow?" Jerome asked before he and the other boys had to leave.

"Yeah, I got one in mind." Kim said with a smile.


The Next Day…..

Now that the report of the body was officially a John Doe, Cyberspace went back to being normal. Digit was trying to work around Hacker's virus while working on Motherboard, Slider was working on some new skateboard models, and the Cybersquad finally got around to building the volcano science project. They are the few people who had their minds on Kim. They had no idea where she is, or if there will ever be a possibility of closure for them. All three groups were listening to the radio, because of the missing blonde, but one song lifted their heads. Just a little bit.

You're not alone
Together we stand
I'll be by your side
You know I'll take your hand

When it gets cold
And it feels like the end
There's no place to go
You know I won't give in

No I won't give in

Keep holding on
Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Just stay strong
Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you

There's nothing you can say
Nothing you can do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth

So keep holding on
Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through

So far away
I wish you were here
Before it's too late
This could all disappear

Before the doors close
And it comes to an end
With you by my side I will fight and defend
I'll fight and defend

Yeah, Yeah

Keep holding on
Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Just stay strong
Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you

There's nothing you can say
Nothing you can do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth

So keep holding on
Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through

Hear me when I say, when I say I believe
Nothing's going to change, nothing's going to change destiny
Whatever's meant to be we'll work out perfectly
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

La, da, da, da
La, da, da, da
La, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da

Keep holding on
Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Just stay strong
Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you

There's nothing you can say
There's nothing you can do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth

So keep holding on
Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through

Keep holding on
Keep holding on

There's nothing you can say
There's nothing you can do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth

So keep holding on
Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through*


A/N: And here is the end. Hope you enjoyed the new chapter. So sorry it took so long to get out, but I'll see you on the flip side.

*- Keep Holding On by Avril Lavigne