Chapter 10: Sending Help

One Week Ago. . .

Tiredness clouded his eyes as he stared at the computer monitor for hours. His fingers popped and ached as he typed on the keyboard, trying to resolve the issue. An issue he's been fighting and dealing with for months. Where thousands of players were trapped inside a video game from a virus. Now everything depended on Cyrus Borg and his partner, Neuro to try and release the trapped players. The question was one thing, how?

A sigh came from the man to push his keyboard and wheeled himself from his desk to turn to the large viewing window of his office. The sun was slowly descending in the city skyline, reflecting off the building windows as mirrors. It made him wince to the glares from the glass to press his hand on his window to have a control board appear in the window pane. He touched on the console to have the touch screen disappear and his windows tinted to reduce the sunlight in his office and returned to enjoy the peace and quiet. But Cyrus knew he couldn't relax with the trapped players in his mind and the media hovering over his head.

His head snapped to the sound of the elevator doors opening to turn and watched as his assistant, P.I.X.A.L, stepped out. He could see the look of exhaustion on her face to agree with her and pulled himself away from the window to wheel himself back to his desk. Who could blame her for the look? Even she has been working hard to almost exhaust her power source to ensure the game doesn't affect the players. Borg Industries has been taking a toll for the trapped players and media on them.

"Mr. Borg," the android began to meet at his desk. "I've finished checking today's server schematics and so far there's been no bugs or anything to affect the players." She handed her supervisor a glass tablet that displayed a holographic image of the reports. The man quickly skimmed it to sigh and gently tossed it aside. "But I take it something else is bothering you. Another painful interview with Channel Six News?"

"Oh you don't know half of it, P.I.X.A.L," the man said. "Had to deal with the critics of the angered people that have trapped loved ones and friends in the game as usual and had to deal with hard hitting questions. Wondering when the virus will be dealt with and the trapped players freed. It's been six months and there's been no progress." He removed his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. "Where's Neuro? I need to talk with him."

"He's on his way to see you. He had to stop into his office to deal with a phone call." The android grabbed her tablet to rest it into the holster on her hip and proceeded to clean the clutter on his desk. After she finished, she noticed he looked silent and distant to feel worried for him. "Sir, is something bothering you?"

Cyrus turned to the android he created to shake his head. He may look distressed, but he didn't want to worry her more. "It's nothing, P.I.X.A.L" he replied. He heard the elevator doors open again and watched as Neuro enter into his office. "Ah Neuro, there you are."

"I came as soon as I could. Had to deal with an annoying phone call." the man replied. He then sighed to take a seat across from him. "I know what you called for me and I'm still trying. But trying to get a player out without the virus knowing is hard work. I have to bypass the NeuroGear's motherboard and carefully creep into the player's brainwaves to carefully reactivate them. But due the virus, it knows what I'm doing to block me and destroy my system. I've even tried a back door, but he's onto us. There's nothing I can do at the moment."

Another sigh came from the man to ponder. But he couldn't think of anything to resolve the troubling issue. "It's been six months, Cyrus." he continued. "There's nothing we can do right now. We're just in deep water until something happens."

Cyrus had to agree with his partner. So much for hacking into the NeuroGear to try and reactivate a person to leave the game peacefully. That idea was tossed out now. "I agree, Neuro." he said. "We've tried everything and nothing helped. Sending in people to try and beat the virus but he wouldn't let them into the game. Trying to download the antivirus to delete the virus but he counters against it before we can get it into the game. And now this." He leaned back into his wheelchair to stare at the ceiling. "We need a miracle now."

Indeed they did. With the media pestering them all day and night, both Cyrus and Neuro couldn't be left alone and have been working nonstop to try and save the trapped players. They weren't sure if the Overlord wanted something to exchange for their freedom or wanted them to have a second life in the game. Either way, it was troubling for the company. Even with everyone demanding to get their loved ones out of the game. They've tried everything.

Neuro turned his head to the setting sun to sigh a bit and looked away to ponder with his partner. But his light blue eyes brought his attention to the finished NeuroGear he built for Cyrus in a display case to feel an idea bloom in his head. Was it even possible? If they couldn't send in people, could they send in someone else? It was one possible way. "You know, if we couldn't send in real people," he began to walk over to the case to remove the dome covering. "We could send him in."

Puzzled, he and P.I.X.A.L turned their attention to understand where he was going with this. But it dawned onto Cyrus. Neuro was right. But something worried him. "You think sending him into the game will help the players?" he pried. "He's been out of commission for years, not seen since his father passed away. I'm a bit worried for one thing." He turned to his assistant to see she looked worried. "Something troubling you, P.I.X.A.L?"

"N-No sir," she replied, rubbing her arm nervously. "It's just that. . .I've actually talked to him before and I'm worried about him too. I understand that Julien used to be your old partner, but I'm worried about him in the game and. . .become trapped as well."

They had to agree with her, but they had no other choice. This was their only chance they had left and it's something they had to go with. "I understand then," Cyrus said to relieve her. "But with the troubling times we're facing, I know Zane can do it." He wheeled himself to the case to grab the NeuroGear and made his way to the large computer monitor of his to take a deep breath. "I would like both of you to step out and give me some time. I need some peace to work on this."

Neuro nodded to this to bow his head. But the android stood there nervously but had to follow his command. "As you wish, Cyrus." he said to head for the elevator. "Come along, P.I.X.A.L. If you need me, I'll be doing some errands. Give me a call if you need anything." Both of them entered the elevator and left to let the man begin his work. Cyrus took another breath and plugged the NeuroGear into the monitor to begin typing.

The lights were bright in the white sterile room of the hospital. Silence was all around except for the occasional beep of a heart rate monitor going off when tracking a patient's heart beat. A teen laid down a sterile sheets of the gel layer bed with a blanket over him. Only he wasn't sleeping, more of consciousness as he had a headpiece on his head and over his face. A NeuroGear, a device where the user can immerse themselves into a virutal world where thousands of players are trapped. This player was one of them.

Two teens sat in the room with the trapped patient, glancing at the teen back and forth and return to watching the television in the room. Both knew they were wasting their time waiting for Lloyd to wake up from the game. But they had hope he would exit out soon and be the first people to see when woken up to. Their parents were still busy with running a company, but they still visited their son and nephew. That's what Lucas Wu and Laurie Garmadon kept doing, visiting Lloyd.

The burent sighed quietly as he studied his cousin lying in the bed to study him. Catheter tubes injected food into his body and remove any waste with IV tubes giving him the essential vitamins and water to his body. The heart rate monitor kept check of his heart and a special computer in his room monitored his brainwaves as he played in the virtual world. And the NeuroGear made Lucas think of a alien movie he watched when the parasite attached itself to its victim's face. Seeing his cousin in this, worried the teen. He wondered if it worried Laurie as well.

A loud knock on the door startled both teens from their train of thought to have Laurie answer it. Both were surprised to see Neuro on the other side to see his sheepish smile and wondered what he was doing to visit Lloyd's room. "Hi. . .hope I'm not disturbing you guys and Lloyd here." he said, quietly. "But I figured I come and visit you guys since I figured you'd be here."

"Um. . .no you're fine," Laurie replied to let the man enter in. "We're just sitting here and enjoying each other's company really." She glanced at her brother's limp form in the bed to sigh. Six months and this was still antagonizing to her and her family.

"I see." Neuro said to shrug and walked over to the bed. All of his work with the NeuroGear, now being used as a prison to these people. This was humiliating to his creation. For now, he pushed the thought away. "Anyway, I came by to check on you two since you've been pestering me a lot and thought I'd return a favor."

A small chuckle escaped from Lucas as it was true. Since day one of the accident, he and his cousin have been with Neuro to try and help him free the players. But all weren't successful. Payback had to happen. "It's fine." he said. "Just hope he can leave the game soon. Knowing him, he's a good gamer. But still, my family and I want to see his face beneath that mask." Neuro glanced at the two to nod as he wished the same and not see the NeuroGear hide their face. He hoped that Cyrus finished his work that could finally eradicate the virus for good.

Fingers typed quickly in rhythmic work on the keyboard. Eyes were narrow as he focused his attention on the large monitor in front of him. Time was on the assents now. Cyrus needed everything to go his way now and not the virus'. This was his final push to take siege in his game. His late partner's creation was the final push to break into the game and help the trapped players.

Different schematics and files filled on the screen to have him continue his work and turned to the NeuroGear next to him. Everything was ready now and he took a deep breath to turn back to the screen. It was all ready now, the antivirus protocol and artifical being ready to launch. He didn't know what the consequences would be, but this was their chance they had left. He typed on the keyboard again to initate the download into the NeuroGear.

A loading bar appeared onto the screen and Cyrus watched hesitently as everything was slowly being downloaded. It was all onto someone else's shoulders, but he had hope to his partner's creation. The loading screen paused for a moment to make the man sit on the edge of his wheelchair, worried. A minute passed and the download finally loaded into the NeuroGear to make him sigh in relief as it worked. "Your father created you to protect those that can't protect themselves." he said, quietly. "It's time for you to do what you were created to do, Zane. Please, you're the only hope we got left to save everyone."