ALTERNATE REVOLUTION
Chapter IX: Overseas
Matt decided that if he was going to start anywhere, he wanted to find a reliable source. While Inez went toward the supply closet, and Jackie began searching through the scattered items on the floor, he instead went down the hallway and walked down, his hands behind his back, looking around him for any sign of something that may have proven as suspicious. When he found nothing, he sighed and was about to go back to the main control room and report to the others…
That was before he caught sight of the study room door. Having not seen this room before, being the curious soul that he was, he slowly walked over and cautiously looked inside (the door had been left ajar, so this was a seemingly simple thing to do). When he found that Hacker, nor Buzz and Delete, were not in here, he sighed in relief and walked in.
The room was neater than the main control room, but it still had that familiar feeling of desertion around it. Matt approached the Hacker's chair, looking around for any more traces or signs, but the most that he found around the coffee table was a stuffed dog—the boy guessed that it must've been Delete's (wherever he was now). Tossing the stuffed toy over his shoulder, he got down on his hands and knees and crawled behind the chair. He found nothing behind there, either.
Frustrated, he was just about to give up when he hit against the table, causing a book to fall off and strike him on the head, then land on the floor, provoking a light cloud of dust. Shocked, he yelped in pain and, rubbing his head, looked down at what had hit him. Growling, he picked up the book and was about to toss it to the side when he noticed the title:
Ancient Connections to the Wonders of Cyberspace.
Now that his interest was caught, he decided that he might as well open the book, seeing that it wasn't on the shelf—heck, if it hadn't been in its proper place it should hold some kind of information, if not the type he needed. Thumbing through the book, he immediately skipped most of the passages and went to the back, where, sure enough, he found a rather large appendix. Skipping through the letters, he found the sections listed under the letter "P" and began to run his finger down the worn and dusty page, searching.
"Portal…portal…" the redhead muttered, then his finger finally stopped on the word PORTALS. Listed below it, much to his surprise, was a large list of connections tied in with portals, and what page they fell on. Grunting impatiently, the boy searched through the list until he came across, sure enough, what he had been looking for:
PORTAL OF FORTY, THE; p. 231.
Quickly turning to page 231, he skimmed through the words and, sure enough, found what he needed to know. A determined gaze now on his face, he slammed the book closed, then tucked it under his arm and ran out of the study, back toward the main control room. The girls and Digit, along with their alternates, were still searching through the debris when Matt entered.
"Guys!" he called to them, running up to the table, the book still under his arm. "You can stop searching now. I think I've found what we needed to know."
The kids stopped what they were doing and walked up to the table, as Matt dropped the book on top of it and quickly turned to the page that he had found the information on. He then pointed at the passage and said, looking at Inez, "Inez, I need you to read this. I think that you may be able to decipher as to why no one's here if you do the correct research."
Inez looked back at him, then adjusted her glasses and looked down at the book's print for a few moments, her eyes quickly darting across the page. After a few minutes (the girl was apparently a speed-reader) she straightened herself back up, then said, crossing her arms, "You're right, Matt. This is a very reliable source."
"So, what can you make of it?" Matt asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The most I can say for the time being is that the Portal of Forty can be opened with the aid of a powerful spiritual force." She shook her head and placed her chin in her hand. "But I just can't think of where Hacker might've gone for that source…"
Digit was in a blank for a few moments as well, but, being one who was familiar with everyone and everything in cyberspace, the theory immediately snapped into his head. Jumping up on the table, he announced, "I've got it! Globus Jayon is the one we need to find…uh…" he looked around at the others, who were giving him odd looks. "Because, I know that she's a spiritual connector. She used to be a fortuneteller back in R-Fair City when I was younger…"
"Great, Didge!" Matt exclaimed. "You know where she is now?"
"Um…uh…I don't exactly know," Digit replied, shrugging. "All I know is that she's not in R-Fair City. She left there eons ago to go someplace more…private, let me say."
"Great," Jacqueline scoffed, crossing her arms. "A great lot of help that does us."
"Well, I thought that I heard some rumor about that she moved to cybersite Nowhere a few years back, but I'm not exactly sure about that…" He shook his head, unable to think of anything else to say.
"Well, we've got to start somewhere," Jackie replied. "Let's just go to cybersite Nowhere and see what they know. If the fortuneteller isn't there, we'll try and get some information out of the other civilians. I'm sure that they've been around long enough to remember what happened to her."
"Good idea, Jacks," Matt replied. "Although that sounds like something I'd say…"
"What can I say, you rub off on me," Jackie replied, shrugging a shoulder as she began to head toward the door; Matt wasn't sure if he should've taken that as a sarcastic remark or not. Then again…maybe…he swallowed hard, then began to run for the door after her, the others closely following.
Buzz lay on the bed in the General's quarters, staring up at the high ceiling. From outside, he could hear several cheers and calls; he wondered what they were doing to arouse such uproar. Then again, perhaps he didn't need to know…he had overheard their conversation in the forest earlier about wanting to fight the Pompadorians, and retake over their site. Machinos had apparently gathered Delete and the rest of the remaining soldiers in the army together and was now persuading them to fight with him and for him.
He had been excused from the announcement due to his head wound, however, and maybe that was just as well. He really didn't want to know what the tyrant was shouting to them out there—and he didn't want to hear their responses to this either. Heck, now that he thought about it, he didn't even want them to attack Pompadoria in the first place. Sure, the Pompadorians had been merciless fighters, and may have very well killed him if the tall soldier hadn't of picked him up (not to mention stop the bleeding). But, they were also civilians, and they were only fighting as so to take back what had been rightfully theirs before. He didn't know what to think, even though he knew that choosing neutral would probably end up in death if anyone found out.
He heard another round of cheers from outside, and now it seemed to sicken him for one reason or another. Sure, he liked the soldiers—preferably Revel, who always seemed to agree with him for any reason—and he liked the fact that he and Delete were finally getting some respect…but most of all, and he felt a secret shame for this, he loved the power. He was a creature of pride, and had always wanted to be one of powerful rank, like he was now, but Hacker had always driven him down. He was forever stuck in neutral—he was tougher than Delete, but more recessive than Hacker. Well, now he was all power—he was the General, head of the army, an equal to the tyrant Machinos. He didn't want to give this all up that fast.
So why not attack Pompadoria? He thought to himself, as he stared up at the ceiling again, swinging one leg over the other.
The other voice that had nagged at him when he was given Machinos's test then returned. Because it's wrong. Machinos is evil, and you know it. By attacking Pompadoria you're only supporting that line of evil.
Buzz was silent in return.
You want the power, you say? You love the power, you sinful creature? Well, it's not worth the power. You'll be killing, murdering, slaughtering…some of those soldiers had done nothing to you. You don't even know them well enough.
What's that got to do with anything?
What I mean is, you're attacking them just for your own ego; just for your own pleasure. Your want for power will eventually be the downfall of you, you know. You're just ignoring this fact and feeding off of Machinos's dictatorship.
No, I'm not. I'm an equal to Machinos. You know that just as damned well as I do.
You're anything
but an equal to that tyrant. Machinos is pure evil, and you know that. Ruben Felinus trusted you upon fulfilling this task for him, and now look what you're doing…you're becoming a leech of power. As long as power is involved, for all I know, you'll remain here and remain treated like a piece of property for all your remaining days.Property?
Yes, property. That's all you are to Machinos. Property. You're of no more importance to him than that chair in the corner, or that painting on the wall. He wanted a new General, and you came along. He accepted you without hesitation, just because you were trustworthy. And for what, now?
No…you're lying…
And you're denying the truth, my friend. There will come a day when you fail to heed my words, and eventually it will cause you your death. I'm not responsible for that. I'm—
"Buzz?"
The voice shattered the second that his name was said. Still slightly panicked by what he had just heard, he looked over toward the doorway, in time to see Delete, standing there with his hands folded in front of him. He looked rather concerned, Buzz didn't know if it was for two reasons or for one.
"Oh, it's only you," he sighed, looking back up at the ceiling with a great sense of relief. "What do you want, Deeds?"
"Well…you looked rather nervous for a few moments when I came in. Is something wrong?"
How like him to care about the thoughts of others
, Buzz scoffed; he then said, "No, Deeds. I'm just…well, 'da cut on my head is starting to get to me, now. I dunno if 'da bleeding has stopped or not…" He knew that this was a stupid excuse; the soldier who had brought him in had given attention to the cut at once, just as Machinos had commanded. It had been stitched to prevent further bleeding, then bandaged; thus, there was no way the cut could reappear unless someone made it.Delete didn't care, however. "Oh…" He looked down toward the floor. "Buzz, Machinos just made an announcement to the soldiers out there. He said that we were goin' overseas or somethin' like that to fight the Pompadorians. Do you have any idea what this is about?"
Buzz looked a bit surprised. "Didn't he tell you?"
"No, he didn't."
Buzz sighed, then replied, sitting upright, "You see, DeeDee, we were kind of…attacked during today's practice drill in 'da forest. A group of Pompadorian soldiers attacked us…'dey killed seven of 'da party and injured two, myself included. We managed to drive 'dem off, but it wasn't good enough for Machinos. He wants to fight 'dem because he thinks 'dat 'dey're trying to take control of what's theirs again."
Delete whimpered softly. "They killed seven?"
"Yeah, but let me tell yas, it's going to be nothing compared to what we're going to see during 'da battle itself. Hundreds, maybe thousands if 'da army is big enough—'dey'll all be killed, and all we can do is aid Machinos in doing so."
Delete shook his head in disbelief, his voice sounding frightened and broken. "But I don't wanna do that!"
"You won't have much choice, bro. I'm sorry," Buzz replied, looking over toward the other side of the room. He didn't want to tell his younger brother that he actually wanted to gain power over more civilians…more specifically, he wanted to attack Pompadoria, maybe get a few up into the death count. This was shameful, he knew, but he couldn't help but think it.
"Isn't there any other way?" Buzz really didn't like Delete's voice tone now. It was whiny and sounded very much like he was about to break into tears at moment's notice. The stouter robot shook his head.
"I'm afraid not. Unless you want to get killed yourself, 'dat is."
"Oh…" Delete looked down at the floor for a few more moments. "Which reminds me, I forgot to tell you what Machinos added in his speech. 'Member what I said about him sayin' that we were goin' overseas?"
"Yes…"
"Well, he said that we were leaving earlier tomorrow mornin'. The ships are quite a few miles away from here; he's got them near the riverbed…said it leads into the sea after a few hours of sailing, or something or another…"
"Oh, great…" Buzz stared up at the ceiling again. With this arrangement, he knew that he was going to have very little time to think this over. The Pompadorians were to be unexpectedly attacked afterward, and he couldn't do anything about it…what else could he do, rather than fight? He was the new general, after all. Besides, after what he had seen of Machinos it wouldn't exactly be the wisest decision to make him angry.
"Buzz?"
"Hmm?"
"You've been awfully quiet lately…this isn't like you at all. Is something wrong?"
"No, DeeDee, not at all. Take to mind 'dat I was recently cut on 'da forehead. I need time to recover, and, well…I also need time to think. I've never done anything like 'dis before; 'da boss usually doesn't go with 'da weaponry way."
"Okay…" The robot then emitted another small whimper. "I miss the Wreaker…"
"So do I, Deeds, but right now we have to focus on 'dis world," Buzz replied. "Now, I just want yas to leave and try to talk to someone else, so I can try to sort 'dis out. I really need some time by myself right now, okay?"
Delete, the look of sadness still on his face, nodded, then turned around and left down the hallway. Buzz sighed, then sprawled himself out on his back and looked over at the painting of the original general, Praefectus Bombilare, hung over the room's fireplace. Although it was only oil on canvas, the painting bore an expression of pride, the feeling Buzz had wanted for years. Hacker had never been pleased with anything he had done, thus he could never feel it for real. He was useless back in cyberspace. Here…well, he had power.
"What would you have done?" he muttered to the painting, which apparently bore no response.
Buzz was abruptly, not to mention rudely, awoken by Revel the next morning. Revel had tried countless times to get him up the old-fashioned way, but when his results had proven to be unsuccessful he had apparently lost his patience with him. Whether he was general or not, Revel had grabbed the edges of the blankets and had pulled, sending Buzz spiraling around several times before eventually falling off the bed, his lower body still tangled in the sheets.
At first he was greatly shocked, but when he noticed Revel looking over the edge of the bed he sighed. "Revel, tell me again why you got me up like 'dat?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but you just wouldn't wake up," he responded, sighing. He then tugged on the blankets, as so to untangle Buzz. "Anyway, you'd best get up while you still can. Machinos sent a few of his soldiers out last night to ready the ships for today's journey, and now they're back. He wants the soldiers to arrive at the main loading dock before dawn."
"Before dawn?!" Buzz was shocked for a moment. "Are you meaning to tell me 'dat it's not even light out yet?"
"Yes, sir," Revel responded, walking over to the other side of the bed and helping him to his feet. "Early rise is a common procedure around these parts. I suspected that you'd be used to it by now."
"Well, it's not exactly common around where I came from," Buzz muttered, reaching over near the fireplace for his sword. "And I'm not in 'da mood. I was up half 'da night thinking…about things."
Revel smiled, apparently curious. "Things like what?"
Buzz sighed. "Oh, just…what we're planning to do," he replied, shrugging a shoulder as he sheathed his sword. "I'm not exactly a war veteran. I may have been able to take place in an ambush, but seriously, a true-to-life battle…"
"It's always like that for the new recruits at first," Revel responded, crossing his arms. "But you'll get used to it soon enough." He then turned around and began heading for the doorway. "C'mon, we'd best get moving before Machinos suspects more of us."
Buzz weakly smiled and began to head toward the doorway after Revel. Although the soldier certainly seemed trustworthy enough, he didn't exactly feel like telling him what he had been thinking last night, exactly. It was a moral dilemma and at the same time rather depressing. Did Machinos truly think he was a piece of property, nothing else? And if he ever decided to come back, as Ruben had suggested, would he still remain a Loyalist to the Machinos army or a Patriot to the remainder of cyberspace…?
One thing was for sure, he had to make a decision, as he knew that he couldn't remain entirely neutral…
"And remember, Jenhoussen, I expect you to keep the grounds entirely locked and protected while I'm gone," Machinos said firmly to the rough-looking creature standing in front of him. "God knows exactly how many soldiers they sent out here to ambush us, and they'll probably suspect it to be like me to leave the grounds deserted. Well, it's not about to happen, my comrade." His eyes narrowed further. "Do I make myself clear on that one?"
Jenhoussen merely grunted, then nodded and turned around. Machinos sighed and shook his head, then turned in the opposite direction and began to walk up the gangplank of the Bloodlust, a rather large and exquisite 1800s ship that he was captain of and undoubtedly took pride in. Upon first glance Buzz and Delete could clearly see why: the ship was one of the largest and most organized ones they'd seen in a long time during their travels in cyberspace. Then again, the only thing that they had come close to seeing of an old-world ship was Ivanka the Invincible's decayed pirate ship, so that somewhat made sense…
The Bloodlust wasn't the only ship on the private loading dock, however. Along the coastline were a total of three other, smaller ships, bearing the names the Infernal, the Unpeaceful, and the Misery. Buzz didn't exactly think that these were the more happier names for ships, but then again, Machinos wasn't exactly a joyous person, either. The Misery, the Infernal, and the Unpeaceful were for the remaining recruits, while the Bloodlust was for the higher ranks only. Apparently, this meant that Buzz, Delete, and Machinos would board the lead ship for the overseas journey.
Delete and Buzz, carrying nothing with them but their weaponry, slowly and steadily walked up the gangplank, curiously looking around at their surroundings. They had never seen a real loading dock before; the closest they had ever come to seeing one was at R-Fair City, and even then they never had time to take in the sights. This one, however, was much different. It was entirely deserted, for one thing, and it was in an older style—considering the fact that this entire world was probably set somewhere in the mid-1800s. It briefly reminded the two of the loading docks in the old gangster movies that they had seen in their earlier days.
When the boards of the gangplank turned to the boards of the Bloodlust's floor, the two abruptly stopped walking, then turned around and looked down at the scenery below them for some more time. Several more soldiers—Delete and Buzz recognized one of them as Revel—came onto the ship before Machinos finally barked a command at several of the other soldiers to raise the anchor.
The two robots heard an incredibly loud CHIINNNKKK sound as the anchor was raised from the side of the ship, then the sails abruptly fell and the Bloodlust was slowly taken from the dock. It was a windy morning—especially for a day in mid-August—and thus it took very little time for the ship to leave the loading dock behind entirely. Looking up, Delete could see the other three ships closely following behind.
For a moments' time, he could only stare at them, hypnotized by their beauty, despite the fact that he knew very well that they were pure evil. His elbows placed on the rail and his head in his hands, he gazed dreamily out into the sparkling waters, wondering in truth what may lie ahead for him…other than the fighting, of course.
After a few moments' time he felt a hand on his shoulder. "It's lovely, isn't it?"
Delete craned his neck to see behind him, to find that it was Revel, yet again. He smiled; he was beginning to really enjoy the soldier's company in the time that he'd been here. "Yeah, it is. It would be even better if we weren't about to go out and fight someone…"
"Yeah, but, we can't really do anything about it," Revel responded, walking over next to him and leaning forward against the edge. "This entire thing was Machinos's idea, after all. And it's come right down to the part where what Machinos wants, Machinos gets. There's really no stopping him once his mind's made up."
"I know, I know," Delete sighed, looking down at the water yet again. For a few moments both robots were silent, then Delete suddenly froze, for Revel's hand had moved over to his left hip; he had now wrapped his fingers tightly around it. Feeling uneasy at this gesture, Delete quickly tore away, then said, staring at him, "What was that all about?"
"Hmm?" Revel suddenly realized, then quickly responded, "Oh, I'm sorry about that. I just saw something on your side…I wanted to make sure that it wasn't anything serious."
"Oh…that?" Delete looked down at his side; he thought he had concealed that dark brown stain in his uniform with aid of the belt. "That's just from last night. I kinda stained it and I didn't want the boss—uh, I mean, Machinos to find out that I ruined his uniform."
"I see." Revel nodded. "I just thought that it was blood or something…"
"It isn't, trust me." He sheepishly tucked the stained area under his belt yet again, hints of a darker teal in his cheeks. For some reason, Revel made him uncomfortable. He didn't know why, exactly; Revel indeed was nice to him, but that gesture…he suspected something other than just checking for blood. It made him wonder…was he really a nice guy, or did he really want to find out more about him in order to report his further plans to Machinos…?
Revel seemed to notice that he was suspicious, for he immediately left the rail and walked over down the platform toward the captain's quarters. Delete sighed as he left, then looked back out at the waters again. There really was nothing that he could do…except try and get to know most of the other soldiers, but then again, who would communicate casually with the head of the militia? Not the lower ranks, that was for sure.
Buzz, in the meantime, had decided to get a better view of the seascape and had attempted to make his way up the mast, as so to get a better view from the area where the sails were connected. His first few attempts were unsuccessful, but with help of the net and his sword he managed to pull himself up onto the lower part of the sail. Relaxing, and at the same time telling himself not to look down, he looked out at the water before him, and, like Delete, was hypnotized for a few moments. The only time he had seen the dawn catch on the water like this was in nature specials or paintings—never in real life. He tallied this up as another thing that made this dimension what it was.
Maybe this isn't the worst thing in the world
, he thought to himself as he casually leaned against the mast, placing his hands behind his back. For the time being, I don't think I should worry my pretty little head…or whatever. Besides, I was up half the night; I deserve more than just five hours of sleep…The setting was indeed peaceful (despite the name of the ship), and within a few moments he had drifted off into yet another peace of mind state. He didn't care about the battle. He didn't care about the ambush. And he certainly didn't care about that nasty voice in the back of his head…
Within a few hours, however, Delete was not feeling at all well. The saltiness of the air and the constant swaying motion of the ship had apparently gotten to him; he had paled and was now standing near the galley, one of his hands clapped over his mouth, making loud gagging sounds. He wanted more than anything to vomit, but he didn't want to do it now…not all over the floor…
Desperate, he quickly ran over to the edge of the ship, then bent down, stuck his head through the gaps, and allowed his innards to empty themselves of their contents. Everything he had eaten last night—which was, unfortunately, a lot for him—was brought up and lost to the water. This continued for quite a few precious moments before he finally gave one final gasp, then drew his head away, one hand to his throat, the other to the area between his chest and stomach.
Shakily getting to his feet, he staggered back over to the galley, then leaned against the door—just as it opened. The robot fell forward, nearly losing his balance in the process, then looked up in time to see, much to his surprise, Abigail standing there. She was currently wearing mesh gloves and had her head wrapped in a bandana, which Delete thought looked rather fitting for her.
"O-oh," Delete stammered, leaning against the side of the door, still feeling rather sick. "H-hi."
Abigail cocked her head. "You okay?" she asked, reaching out and feeling the area around his head. "You look kind of sick…"
"I-I r-recently th-threw up," Delete replied, still trying to get the nasty aftertaste of the vomit out of his mouth. "W-what are y-you doing here, A-Abigail?"
"Oh, I'm just the cook around these parts," she sighed, removing one of her gloves. "When it comes to things like these, usually a woman has to do the job…" She shook her head. "Sexists." She then drew her attention back to Delete. "You're probably just seasick, is all. Is this the first time you've been on a ship before?"
"A m-moving one, y-yes."
"Then that has to be it." She pondered for a moment. "Tell you what. Come in here and I'll get you some water. That might help to cool your senses a little bit before I can find an actual remedy for it…"
"O-okay."
Abigail smiled, then ushered him through the door, slamming it behind her. Delete looked around: the galley was a small, cramped area, and it stank dreadfully of rotting fish. The only source of light were a pair of kerosene lamps hanging in the back, over a rather bloody colored cutting table and several arrangements of knives. To the left was a stove; to the right a fireplace. The cat creature guided him to a stool, then set him down in it before hurrying over to the stove and taking a glass down from a varied arrangement overhead.
"So, I heard that you're going to fight the Pompadorians," she said casually, as she handed him the glass. "Figures that Machinos wouldn't settle with their one-on-one deal. He always tends to betray people like this…" Her gaze became cold as she turned off to the side. "I learned that from experience." Her gaze then softened and she continued, sitting on another stool across from him, "Anyway, I don't want to pressure you, so I'll just tell you not to worry about it."
"But Buzz said that when he was ambushed by the Pompadorian soldiers, they killed seven of the drill party. Seven of them were dead. An' then he said that there was gonna be a lot more blood than what he'd seen…I admit, I'm a bit scared…" He fidgeted in his seat and looked down nervously at the floor.
"Well, that bit was true, but you know that you're going to have to put up with these things in order for everything to fall together…according to plan, that is." She looked over toward the cutting table for a brief moment. "So, did you tell your brother about what we're planning on doing yet?"
Delete shook his head. "Uh-uh. I figured that he was too panicked from the ambush to want to know about it…I wanted to tell him, but he said that he needed some time alone…I don't blame him, but he's been so…so quiet, lately…"
"He's probably just as pressured as you are," Abigail responded, shaking her head. "I'm sure that once this thing blows over, you'll be able to break it to him better than what you were trying to do earlier. He just needs to unwind and get this over with, is all."
"But, what if we lose?" Delete asked worriedly. "The Pompadorians will probably chase us down…then they'll kill us…and then we won't even get to do what we were intending to do in the first place…it's scary, it's really scary…"
Abigail was silent for a few moments as she stared at him. Then she finally slowly shook her head, her expression becoming dead and solemn. Delete was wondering why this was; perhaps it was something he said, for she finally replied, in a voice that was rather cold, even for her:
"Machinos never loses, dear."
