Disclaimer: Don't own Automan. (Boy do I wish I did, though! ) Don't own Tron, either. (Any "Tron"-like elements are a part of my very overactive imagination. ) For rest of my disclaimer see chapter one.
A/N: Sorry again for the late update. Busy-season work! A long chapter, but well worth waiting for:) Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I do. Without further delay, on with the story...
Ch. 9--Inside Auto's World
After Wally was digitized, he looked around him. He was on top of an open, stage like surface atop an enormous building surrounded by a cylinder of light that stretched up into infinity.
When Wally looked at himself, he found he was aglow, a being of light. Incandescent lines, resembling circuitry, ran over his torso and limbs, reminding him of the meridian lines he'd seen on acupuncture charts. He looked around, dazed.
Cursor and another program were swiftly approaching his position. Cursor still had the same spherical appearance he had in Wally's world--the reason Wally instantly recognized Cursor. The other program was humanoid in appearance with curly light brown hair and a luminescent body also lined with what looked like glowing lines of circuitry. Beyond them, Wally could see the walls, balconies, stages, and towers of an incredible complex. The whole set of buildings seemed to be filled with color he had only seen in some of the holographic games he had created in his spare time. The sight, although a bit bizarre and unsettling, was arresting, even gorgeous. He slowly turned around gaping. 'I made it!' thought Wally, excitedly.
Just before Cursor and the other program reached Wally's position, Wally quickly checked the equipment in the bag he had brought with him. After a cursory examination, Walter realized the devices all appeared to have made it through the digitizing process intact.
When Cursor and the other program arrived at his position, Cursor told him, "Walter, this is one of Automan's best friend's Zakzon."
Wally looked to Cursor amazed he was able to understand Cursor without the use of a monitor realizing that this must be what it's like for Auto to communicate with Cursor. "Hi, Cursor, Zakzon. I don't know if Cursor told you who I am."
"You're Walter Nebicher. Automan's Creator. Yes, he has told me about you and the reason you're here. He also told me of your friend, Terri, who will be helping us from your world. We must hurry. Automan is very weak," replied Zakzon with a sense of urgency.
Walter motioned for them to lead the way. Cursor and Zakzon guided Walter to Automan's location. After a short while of walking, the trio located Automan. A crowd of "people" of various shapes and sizes were around Auto. Wally looked to Zakzon and asked, "Who are all these . . . 'people'?"
"They're all programs that Automan has befriended," explained Zakzon simply.
"Why are they all here?"
"They're as worried about Automan as you are," replied Zakzon. He continued with a small smile. "They also know that Automan's Creator was coming, and they all want to get a chance to see Automan's Creator…" He paused for dramatic effect. "you."
"Me?"
Zakzon shrugged and said, "It's not every day that one of the Creators comes into our world."
As they got closer, Wally could hear the excited and awed murmur of the crowd as they all seemed to stare at him. He looked uneasily at the crowd trying to see through the throng of people for Automan. After a few seconds of fruitless searching, he turned to Zakzon. "I can't see Automan."
Within seconds, a path to Automan was created. Wally saw Auto lying on his back on the "ground" of the digital world semi-conscious and moaning in pain. There appeared to be open sores all over his arms, torso, and legs. The color of his body, which was usually bright with energy, was faded.
"Auto!" exclaimed Wally alarmed. He completely forgot about the crowd as he dashed the rest of the way to Auto's position and slid to his knees beside Automan.
Automan weakly turned to look at Walter before asking in a strained, pain-filled voice, "Wal...ter?" As far as Automan remembered, he was still in the digital world. How did Walter get here?
"Hang on, Auto," said Wally, worriedly. He could see agony reflected in Automan's eyes. The crowd grew quiet as he took the scanner out of the bag resting across his neck and left shoulder and ran it over Automan quickly locating the virus within Auto's chest. "Oh, my God. No," muttered Wally alarmed. The virus had become intertwined with Auto's system, which explained why it had been nearly impossible for Wally to originally find the virus. Extracting it was going to be excruciating for Auto and highly dangerous in terms of possibly killing him. Wally pressed the button on the side of his comwatch and said into it, "Terri, we've found Automan. I've located the virus and am about to extract it, but Auto is extremely weak and the virus has become entwined with his system. My actions are going to further disrupt his code even more. You will have to fight to stabilize his program."
"All right, Wally," replied Terri. "I'll do my best."
Wally took out what he had dubbed "the extractor", the energy rods Terri had given him, and the virus container from the bag. He put the virus container beside him a short distance away from Automan. Shield or no shield, he wasn't going to cause Auto any more pain than he had to. He turned back to Auto worried that his next actions would not only severely harm his friend, but may kill him. "I am so sorry, Auto," apologized Wally lamenting his next move. Wally saw Auto's barely perceptible acknowledgement of his statement. Wally quickly prayed he wouldn't kill Auto while he was trying to save him before reaching into one of the sores on Auto's chest with the extractor quickly clamping down on the virus forcing it to release from Automan's system.
Automan's body instantly stiffened as he screamed in excruciating pain before going limp a second later.
"Automan!" exclaimed both Zakzon and Cursor, alarmed. The same sentiment went through the crowd surrounding them.
Trying his best to ignore the crowd around them, Wally quickly withdrew the extractor holding what looked like a squirming slug without antennae. He swiftly put the "creature" within the containment device he'd brought with him before depositing the extractor back into the bag. Wally looked back to Auto to find Auto lying unmoving on the "ground" next to him with his eyes closed. "Auto," he quietly said with trepidation praying Automan was simply "unconscious" having only passed out from the pain not dead.
"Terri, how's Auto?" asked Wally into his comwatch afraid that he had killed or permanently injured his friend. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he had.
"I managed to stabilize his program," reassured Terri, her voice a bit anxious as well from her fight to stabilize Automan's program. "but I don't know how much of his code I'll be able to correct from this end."
"Okay," replied Wally with immense relief. He looked to Zakzon and reassured him, "Automan's only unconscious. He just passed out from the pain." He heard Zakzon and Cursor sigh in relief before Zakzon turned to the crowd relaying the news. He heard relieved sighs throughout the crowd. He sighed himself. He hadn't killed Auto, but Auto was far from healed. He scooped up the virus container and put it back in the bag. Remembering the second comwatch, Wally dug it out of the bag and put it on Automan's left wrist.
"What's that?" asked Zakzon referring to the comwatch Wally had just put on Auto's wrist. The same hushed question was running through many of the programs that were close by that could see Walter put the watch on Automan's wrist.
"Since Automan needs energy to survive," explained Wally. "this device will allow Terri to closely monitor Auto's energy level. She'll be able to warn me if his energy level gets too low."
Zakzon nodded in understanding. He relayed the information into the crowd.
"Wally, the other comwatch just went online. I assume you've put it on Automan, then?" asked Terri over both comwatches, her voice filled with some concern.
"Yes, I just did," replied Wally. "What is it?" he asked a second later when recognized the concern in her voice.
"It's reading his energy level as dangerously low," said Terri, her concern revealed.
"O.K., Terri. I'll see what I can do from this end," Wally said into his own comwatch to Terri. He put his hand over the sore he had extracted the virus from on Auto's chest wishing there was some way he could help heal Automan's wounds.
A gasp of awe suddenly erupted from the nearby onlookers when they saw energy flow from Wally's hand into Auto's chest instantly healing the wound.
'What just happened?' wondered Wally. He stared in disbelief at his hand, which now glowed like a lantern. To find out if his senses were deceiving him, he placed his hand over a wound on Auto's shoulder.
Energy again radiated from his hand into Automan's body instantly healing the wound. Wally could hear the murmured question, "How did he do that?"
Wally gazed stunned at his sparkling hand. The sight of his hand reminded him of how Auto's hand usually looked. 'How did I do that?' he thought in bewilderment himself.
"Wally, more of Automan's code is simultaneously being repaired while I'm correcting different codes," said Terri with confusion over the communicator. "I'm also detecting a slight drop in your energy level and a slight rise in his."
"I think I'm somehow responsible," replied Wally into the communicator with wonder in his voice. His human origin, he concluded, gave him additional abilities in the System. "Somehow, I can intuitively transfer some of the energy from my body directly into Automan's correcting the damage done to Auto's system from within the computer healing Auto." In the background Wally could hear Zakzon relaying the information to the crowd.
"Well, you better be careful. You could dangerously deplete your own energy if you transfer too much power," warned Terri.
"All right. I'm fine so far," replied Wally. "Since what I'm doing is helping Auto, I'm going to continue. Warn me if my energy levels get too low."
"Okay."
Between Wally's efforts in the Digital World and Terri's efforts in the Other World, Automan was healed more and more. The open sores on Automan's body slowly disappeared, and his body became more and more vibrant. Walter heard many in the crowd closest to his position whisper, "It's working." A sense of excited fascination went through the crowd as word spread.
After some time, Terri informed Wally, "Wally, 95 of Automan's code has been corrected." After a few moments, Terri warned, "You're energy level is also getting dangerously low. You'd better rest."
Although Walter did feel tired, he said into the communicator, "I'll be okay, Terri. Automan's programming should be able to self-correct the remaining damaged code, but I'm really worried. Auto should have woken up by now, but he hasn't. I'm going to transfer just enough energy to bring the percentage up to 98. That way Auto's programming will have less code to correct expending less energy. After I've done the transfer, I want to observe him for a while--without transferring any energy--until he does he wake up." Wally could see the improvement in Automan's body, but he was still apprehensive about Auto's condition. Auto was still unconscious.
Wally initiated the energy transfer; a process he could only partially control and barely understood. "O.K., Wally. 98 of Automan's code has been corrected," Wally heard Terri say over his comwatch a couple seconds later. Concentrating, Wally was able to stop the energy transfer. He felt too drained to risk transferring any more energy into Auto's system. Automan would have to come around on his own now without any more help from Wally. 'Come on, Auto,' silently implored Wally, concerned. 'Wake up.'
A short while later, Automan's eyes blinked open.
A cheer went up in the crowd and shouts of "He's awake!" and "Automan's Creator did it!" could be heard.
Auto slowly raised his head woozily looking around for a second and quickly realized he was still in the digital world. He saw a crowd of his many friends still circled around him. He focused on the people immediately surrounding him. He first recognized Cursor, then one of his best friends, Zakzon, and finally, most surprisingly, Walter. "Walter? How did you get here?" he weakly asked, confused.
"It's a long story, Auto. I'll tell you about it later. How are you feeling?" asked Wally, concerned.
"Completely drained." The last thing Automan could recollect was screaming at the excruciating pain he felt in his chest just before passing out. He realized the pain he had previously felt in his chest, stomach, arms, and legs was gone and briefly looked down to his body to find that although his body was still weak and depleted, it was whole. There were no more open sores on his body. He looked back up to Walter and weakly asked, "What happened?"
"You were infected by a nasty virus. I managed to remove the virus from your system and have contained it so it's no longer a threat to you or anyone else. Between the efforts of Terri and myself ... "
"Terri Fuentes?" broke in Automan, even more confused.
"Yes. I'll explain later. I promise. She corrected the damage done to your system by the virus by correcting the degraded commands from my world while I found I was able to transfer energy directly from my body into yours and instantaneously heal/correct some of your coding from here." He paused as he glanced around himself at all of the amazing buildings he could see over the crowd around him before adding with a small grin, "Wherever 'here' is." Wally paused to let the information sink in.
Automan lay there absorbing what Walter had just recently told him. A look of sudden concern came into his eyes and he looked to Walter and asked, "You were able to transfer energy directly from your body into mine?"
"Yes," confirmed Wally. He grinned before adding, "and don't ask me to explain how I was able to do that. I can't tell you. I'm still trying to figure that one out myself."
The concerned look still hadn't left Automan's face. He said with some worry, "Walter, while in my world, your body requires that energy to 'survive'." He paused before apprehensively adding, "You could have--and may still have--seriously depleted your own energy." He paused again before stating with some distress, "Walter, you could have killed yourself trying to help me."
Wally shrugged and said, "Auto, it was a risk I was more than willing to take to help you. And if I had to do it again, I would still take that risk." He paused and looked down to his hands which were gently resting on his knees unable to look Auto in the eye. With electronic tears brimming in his eyes at how incredibly close he had come to losing Automan forever, Wally quietly admitted, "I couldn't lose you." He cautiously looked into Auto's mesmerizing blue eyes and gave Auto a small grin before saying, "Besides, I know you would do--and have done--the same for me." He saw Auto gently rest his left hand on top of his right hand. He looked to Auto's face to see Automan giving him a small smile of reassurance at his acceptance of Walter's decision and his gratitude. Wally smiled back at Auto and said, trying to change the subject and lighten the mood a little, "Terri and I are going to backtrack the source of the virus from it's code. Once we've backtracked the code, we'll destroy the virus."
"I would like to help you backtrack the code," said Auto shakily sitting up.
Wally noticed how weak Auto still looked and said, "Are you sure you're up to it, Auto? It took a lot of energy to heal your wounds. Maybe you should rest a while." Fighting his own fatigue to make sure Automan would be alright and make sure Auto recharged, Wally continued while trying to keep the weariness from showing on his face or in his voice, "You admitted yourself that you felt drained. After you've had a chance to recharge, we can find who did this to you."
Auto admitted he did feel drained, laid back down, and closed his eyes.
Zakzon, who had been keeping the multitude of programs from crowding around Walter and Automan, looked back to see Automan once again lying with his eyes closed. Fearing that Automan had somehow relapsed into unconscious, he yelled out, "Automan!"
Auto opened his eyes startled.
Wally put a reassuring hand on Auto's shoulder--without transferring any energy--and gently told him, "It's okay, Auto. Relax." Wally turned to Zakzon and told him that Automan was just sleeping/recharging and he would be fine.
Auto relaxed and fell asleep/recharged.
No longer able to fight his overpowering fatigue, Wally suddenly swayed as he was swiftly overcome with sheer exhaustion before collapsing beside Automan unconscious.
"Walter!" exclaimed Zakzon and Cursor simultaneously. A shocked, concerned reaction went through the crowd as well.
Automan immediately awoke at Zakzon's and Cursor's sudden exclamations. He followed Zakzon's gaze to find Cursor hovering next to Walter, who was lying on the "ground" next to him unconscious. He quickly, albeit a bit unsteadily, sat up and carefully passed his hand over Walter scanning Walter. He let out a brief sigh of relief. "Walter will be all right," reassured Auto to not only Zakzon and Cursor, but to all of his surrounding friends. He was touched by their concern for Walter. "He just collapsed from exhaustion and is currently sleeping/recharging. He must have transferred too much energy dangerously depleting his own energy supply."
Relieved that nothing was seriously wrong with Walter and seeing the tired look on Automan's face, Zakzon recommended, "I suggest getting some rest yourself. Cursor and I can watch over Walter. We will wake you if anything problematic happens."
Automan nodded and laid back down moving closer to Walter--almost as if he were protecting Walter. He closed his eyes quickly falling asleep/recharging.
Zakzon quickly reassured Automan's many friends that Walter and Automan were both just recharging and would be all right. The crowd quietly started to disperse. Zakzon sat down near Automan and Walter, starting his unwavering vigil over Automan and Walter, knowing both Automan and Walter wouldn't wake up for quite a few microcycles. Both of their energy levels had run dangerously low. He couldn't help noticing how close Automan had laid next to Walter--almost as if he were subconsciously guarding Walter from any harm.
Through his brief interaction with Walter, Zakzon had started to consider Walter a friend.
He was beginning to understand why Automan was so protective of Walter. Thinking of Walter brought a question to Zakzon's mind. He turned to Cursor, "Cursor, why does Walter call Automan 'Auto'?"
"It is Walter's nickname for Automan," replied Cursor. "Since Automan responds to the name, it sort of stuck. Automan has used the nickname to his advantage in Walter's world."
"Oh? How?"
"In Walter's world, he goes by the name 'Otto J. Mann'."
"'Otto Mann'; 'Automan'. A simple yet ingenious way of keeping his true nature a secret," replied Zakzon with admiration. He also saw how Automan was almost a reflection of Walter in some ways and began to understand why Automan was always willing to risk his life in Walter's world to save Walter. After seeing Walter's obvious concern for Automan and his willingness to risk his own life by transferring energy directly from his body into Automan's, Zakzon almost envied the close relationship Automan had with his Creator. He wondered if he would ever have that close a relationship with his Creator--probably not.
Quite a bit later, Walter woke up realizing Automan was already awake and standing. He glanced around realizing that the crowd of other programs was gone as well before he unsteadily got to his feet.
Automan saw Walter get unsteadily to his feet and quickly went to Walter's position. He placed his hands on Walter's shoulders steadying him. "Thank you, Walter," said Auto, with a thankful smile.
Wally could see the immense gratitude in Automan's eyes. He could also sense himself becoming stronger as well. After Auto released Wally, Wally realized that Auto had transferred some of his energy back to Wally. Wally just nodded and gave Auto a grateful smile of his own. He was elated Auto was going to be okay.
"Wally, I just picked up a small energy drop in Automan's system and a small energy spike in your system," informed Terri over the comwatches with some concern.
"It's okay, Terri," reassured Wally to her over his comwatch. "Auto and I are fine. Auto's
just . . . returning the favor." Auto smiled reassuringly.
"Welcome to my world, Walter," said Auto, smiling.
"Thanks, Auto, but I can't stay," responded Wally with regret in his voice as he briefly glanced around himself at all the amazing sights around him. He would have liked to have seen more of this mysterious, wondrous place. "I need to get back to my world. Neither of us are safe as long as Tilson is still free to attack us again."
Automan nodded in understanding before saying with some regret himself, "You're right, Walter. We have to stop Tilson before he strikes again." Auto would have liked to have shown Walter around, but he knew Walter was right. Once Tilson realized he had failed to kill him and Walter, Tilson would invariably try to get rid of them again. "Let me guide you to the entry point."
Wally silently nodded. He again glanced around before looking at Auto and asking, "Uh, Auto, what happened to the other…" He paused as he tried to figure out the best phrase to use to describe the various programs he had seen surrounding them before continuing, "programs that had been here?"
"Since you were both going to be okay and were just recharging, they left," replied Zakzon instead.
"They left?" asked Wally, confused.
"In my world," explained Automan. "recharging is very similar to when you sleep, Walter. They did not want to disturb us."
"Oh," replied Wally not totally understanding but not really wanting to explore the topic further. Not having been originally from the digital world, Wally let Auto lead the way. He was just glad Auto was able to be up and about.
Wally couldn't help but gaze around him as he followed Auto, Cursor, and Zakzon back to his entry point trying to take in as many of the wonderful sights of Automan's amazing world as he could not sure if he'd ever be back to this wondrous place again. He also noticed that Automan never seemed to stray very far from his side even when Auto was leading them to the building Wally had originally arrived in.
Automan glanced at Walter every so often as they all walked back to the entry port. He smiled as he watched Walter stare around himself trying to take in as many sights as he could before he left with eyes as wide as a child's.
After a short while into their walk as they got closer to the entry point, Automan kept a wary eye out for anything that might possibly pose some kind of danger to Walter as they got closer to the building Walter had arrived in. He wanted Walter's brief visit to his world to be as pleasant as possible. He glanced to Walter with some anxiety. Walter had strayed from his side as Walter stared around at the various sights. "Walter," Automan called out with some worry.
Wally stopped walking but continued to gaze around him at the gorgeous sights around him as he distractedly replied, "Yeah, Auto?"
"This way," gently chided Automan with an amused smile when he saw Walter turn to look at him with an embarrassed grin when he realized he had strayed from the group.
Wally walked back to the group with an embarrassed grin. He looked up at Auto and mumbled, "Sorry."
Automan smiled and said, "It's okay. Just stay near me. I don't want you getting hurt or lost. Okay?"
"OK," replied Wally chagrined. He smiled before saying as he again looked around in awe at the sights, "Your world's just so . . . amazing."
Auto's smile grew wider and he replied, "Thank you, Walter." He paused before saying, "Come on. We're almost there."
Wally nodded and followed Auto, Cursor, and Zakzon. He made sure to stay near Auto as he continued to take in as many of the beautiful sights of Auto's world as he could.
Before long, they had reached the same enormous building Wally had initially appeared in. Auto turned to Wally and said, "We're here." He held up his left wrist with the comwatch on it and said, "I won't be needing this anymore." He carefully removed the comwatch and handed it to Walter.
"Wally, Automan's comwatch just went offline!" exclaimed Terri over Wally's comwatch, alarmed. "Is he alright?" she asked, worried.
"Yes, Terri," reassured Wally into his own comwatch. "Auto's fine. He just took off his comwatch. He says he won't be needing it anymore." Wally put the comwatch in the cloth bag.
"All right. Almost ready to come back?"
"Almost. Just give me a minute," replied Wally. Wally stepped towards Zakzon knowing this would probably be the last time he would ever see Zakzon. "Thank you. Without yours and Cursor's help, I never would have found Automan in time. Thank you." He shook hands with Zakzon when words became inadequate to express the gratitude he felt towards Zakzon for his help in finding Auto in time.
"You're welcome," replied Zakzon. He was glad Automan was cured and felt fortunate to have gotten to know--albeit briefly--Automan's Creator, Walter Nebicher. "You better get going, though. Automan's right. You two have to stop Tilson before he can harm either of you again."
Wally nodded and stepped away from Auto, Cursor, and Zakzon. He said into his comwatch, "O.K., Terri. I'm ready." A brilliant beam of coherent light enfolded Wally. For a moment, Wally's appearance wavered, like that of a poorly received television picture. Then he was gone.
