IMPORTANT: I updated/edited chapter 9 earlier this week (1/13). If you haven't re-read it, go do that – there's some important stuff added at the end that you should probably read to understand the beginning of chapter 10.

Chapter X

As a result of living in the equivalent of a basement for the past five days, Matt and Creech had had no way of knowing what time of day it was outside. When they'd worked on their escape, they'd always been hoping it would be night when they finally broke through the ceiling. As Matt made his way up the side of the wall and through the large gap in the ceiling, to where Creech was waiting, he was happy to see that it appeared that luck was on his side for once.

The two of them had ended up in an enormous room, its impressive arched ceiling soaring far above them. Tall, slanted windows lined the room's stone walls, revealing a starry night outside. Dark green curtains hung from the windows, matching the squishy green chairs and sofas arranged in the center of the room, around a marble fireplace where a few glowing embers were visible from within, the remains of the room's latest fire.

"Wow," murmured Matt, gazing at the larger-than-life portrait of Wicked, suspended above the room's sole pair of double doors.

"Yea," remarked Creech softly, looking around uneasily, "Matt, we've gotta move. I dunno what time it is, and who says Wicked isn't going to come walking around in the middle of the night?"

"Yea, right…okay."

"So…what now?"

"Uh, we continue escaping."

"Oh, great plan."

"I'm not so good at this," replied Matt, whispering, recalling his last escape attempt.

"Yea but, you must've been here before…any idea where to go now?"

"Last time I was here I was just beginning to grasp the basic concepts of elementary math," muttered Matt, "But…I guess we should try those doors, huh?" He gestured to the pair of doors beneath Wicked's portrait, and Creech nodded in agreement.

The two of them walked quickly to the other side of the room, the expansive, plush green carpet that covered the floor muffling their footfalls. They opened the door cautiously, for beneath the doors they could see a small line of light, which mean whatever room they entered next would probably be well lit. Pulling the door open just a crack, Creech and Matt both peered through into the other room, anxiously. It was a hallway, a row of what looked like electric torches upon the wall illuminating the corridor.

"Is it empty?" asked Creech.

"I think…I have no idea how to get out of here, though," murmured Matt.

"Not like we can ask for directions."

"We've got to be on the ground floor, though, right?"

"Right…"

"So eventually we've got to hit a door that opens up to the outside. Or a window or something..."

Slowly, his eyes turning in every direction, Matt opened the door just wide enough so that he could slip out. In the hallway he remained standing still, continuing to search in every direction before waving to Creech, signaling that it was all clear, and then continuing down the hallway. They continued down the windowless corridor in silence, until Creech suddenly reached out suddenly and yanked Matt backwards.

"Ackgh!" exclaimed Matt, choking on the neck of his shirt.

"Sorry," whispered Creech, releasing her grip on Matt's shirt.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, massaging his throat.

"Here, I think we have to go through this door," she replied, jerking her thumb in to her left, where a closed door was positioned. Matt eyed her warily.

"How d' you know?"

"When they brought us over here…I think they'd mostly drugged us, but I sort of remember, like a dream, you know?" Matt said nothing. "Just, trust me, alright? I think we go through here."

"And then?"

"Well…we have to get past Wicked's moat outside. And then hijacking a ship shouldn't be too hard," she grinned.

"Mmkay not gonna ask," muttered Matt, moving towards the door Creech had pointed at.

The crack under the door was dark, indicating that there was probably no one in the room. When Matt opened the door though, he was shocked to see a group of three ogre-like cyborgs, sitting around a small screen in the middle of the room. The three of them looked up at the sound of Matt opening the door, and for a moment, nothing happened.

Then Creech, who had remained invisible to the guards up until this point, shoved Matt out of the way and strode forwards, her spine straight and her eyes cold, as she walked straight up to the nearest cyborg.

"Where's Wicked?" she asked evenly, arms akimbo. Matt remained standing in the doorway, confused.

"Not here," grunted one of the other cyborgs. Creech turned her gaze towards him.

"Oh, really?"

"'Fraid so," the Cyborg's eyes narrowed, "What business you got with 'er, anyways?"

Creech raised her eyebrows, "What business is it of yours?"

"Well, we're sorta in charge of this place while she's gone," replied the cyborg, beginning to stand up, his two companions following his example, "No one's s'posed to be let in while she isn't here. 'Fact, there's only one way to get in here, and those doors are all locked and barred," he grunted, moving slowly towards Creech, who continued to glare at him, "I shut it all up m'self. So I'm wonderin', then, how'd you get in here in the first place, eh?"

"Him," replied Creech calmly, gesturing towards Matt. All three cyborgs turned their heads towards Matt who, until this moment, had been sort of willing himself to melt into the doorway. At Creech's mention of him, though, he made more of an effort to appear as if he was completely and totally aware of what was going on, as opposed to the oblivious feeling he was experiencing.

"By all means, keep on staring," said Creech lightly, as the cyborg she was conversing with had continued to keep his gaze on Matt, as if he was trying to remember something, "It will only further provoke him."

At this, the cyborg turned his eyes back to Creech, his brow furrowed, "Who's he?"

"Just an acquaintance. That's all you need to know, assuming you value your neck's attachment to your shoulders," she replied coolly, "Moving back on topic, when will Wicked be back?"

"Dunno. Whenever she feels like it, I s'pect. You want me to tell her you dropped by?" the cyborg grinned wickedly.

"That won't be necessary. If you're so eager to assist though, I wouldn't mind an escort out."

"What, can't your fancy little friend remember the way out?"

"We had a guide here. He informed us that Wicked would be here," she continued to glare at the cyborg, "Evidently, he was wrong."

"Really, 'n who was that?"

"You think I bother to learn the name of every simpleton that I cross paths with?" snapped Creech.

The two of them glared at each other, the cyborg towering over Creech by at least a foot. Neither one seemed to be backing down, until the cyborg finally grunted and, without breaking his gaze, gestured to one of his companions, "Show 'em the way out."

Creech nodded towards the cyborg, and then gestured to Matt, who shuffled over to her side. Another cyborg left the room, and the two of them followed after him. He looked over his shoulder only once as he began to lead them out, but an icy stare from Creech quickly prompted him to keep his eyes directed forwards. Matt said nothing, and Creech kept up her stoic expression as they were led through the corridor, into another hallway, through a series of other rooms and then, finally, into an enormous entryway, a pair of gigantic, double doors marking the entrance, a series of bars arranged in front of it, making it impossible to enter or exit. The cyborg moved off to the side of the room, withdrawing a card from a pouch at his belt, which he then slipped into a small slot in the wall. There was a loud screeching noise, and then the bars in front of the doors began to slide back into the wall, until they had disappeared entirely. Still keeping his eyes forward, the cyborg quickly moved over to the entryway and, gripping one of the handles, began to pull the left door back until it stood completed open. The first thing Matt felt was the air, the first fresh, outside air he had felt in a while, and he couldn't help but stand still for a moment, breathing it in. Creech, though she had been absent from the outside for a much longer time, was not about to delay their newfound freedom waiting for Matt to savor the air.

"C'mon! Let's get out of here," she grumbled to Matt, pushing him forwards a little. He stumbled forwards a little, then moved to follow her out the doors.

"Thank you," she said to the cyborg at the door, who mumbled something in reply, but kept his gaze on the floor.

Matt and Creech walked outside and onto the cobblestone path that led from Wicked's castle to a lowered drawbridge, which hung suspended over a silent moat. The night was still in place, and Matt nearly tripped over his own two feet as he walked, his eyes soaking in as much of the night sky as he could; it was the first time in seven years since he had seen the starry worlds of Cyberspace, and as his eyes roamed over the galaxies and cybersites in the sky, he could even feel a little tug in the back of his mind, as if it was a small part of his brain finally coming awake and whispering to himself Shangri-La…you remember that, don't you? Where the Master Pi took you in, and you and Inez and Jackie mastered the game with the dragons? And Castleblanca…Hacker took it over once, that day Jackie and Inez got into a fight, but you all outsmarted him, didn't you? And the Cybrary – there! You can see it, that small little green speck. That's where Mrs. Fileshare is, you can't have forgotten her. Eureeka, Ecohaven, Gollywood, Sensible Flats, Poddleville, Mount Olympus…

Matt…

Matt!

"MATT!"

He almost tripped over himself again – Creech was standing next to him, yelling in his ear, "Hello, earth to Matt? You in there?"

"Sorry, sorry," muttered Matt, shaking his head. "Just uh, a little caught up I guess."

Creech grinned, "Yea! Haha, your face back in Wicked's castle…priceless, Matt."

He smiled, relieved to see that Creech hadn't remained the stony-faced figure she had played back in the castle, "Yea, you were pretty good! I was ready to just run."

"Assuming you didn't start spacing out again, right?" she laughed, "Did you hear any of what I said before?"

"No," replied Matt, looking over his shoulder to see how far they had come – they were over the moat and into the capital of Happily Ever After, although the city itself was far from how he remembered it. The streets were deserted, and even the houses seemed deserted with their black and silent windows.

"It's different, right?"

"What?" said Matt, turning to Creech, who giggled.

"Do you think you could maybe stay with me for just a minute or so?" she smiled.

"Yea, sorry," he grinned awkwardly, "So, what were you saying?"

"That it's different, right? From how you remember it?"

"Well…it's been a while."

She nodded, "Right. Well…it shouldn't take us too long to find a ship around here."

"Yea but we don't have a key or anything."

Creech shrugged, "That shouldn't be too much of a problem."

They continued walking in silence, with Matt falling into step with Creech, who seemed to be leading the way. It wasn't long before she led them both down a narrow alley, which brought them both to a small enclosure where a small row of ships were lined up. Creech smiled.

"How did you know about these?" asked Matt softly as he followed her to the nearest craft, a sleek spaceship with a glossy black surface.

She shrugged, "I recognize the signs."

She examined the ship briefly, before moving off to the side where a small assortment of crates and boxes were piled together. One of them contained a wide array of tools, which Creech told Matt to stock up on. He lowered his trusty pack, which he had managed to retain this whole time, and began to load it up with as many tools as he could, while Creech grabbed something that resembled a screwdriver and went back to the ship. Once he'd filled his bag with as many tools as he figured he would be able to hold without telescoping his spine, he shouldered his pack again and turned to find Creech standing in the open doorway of the ship, a wide grin stretched across her face.

"How…?" asked Matt, walking over towards the ship.

"How do you think I've managed to stay ruler of Tikiville all this time?" asked Creech, still smiling, and Matt then recalled how their leaders were always elected every year in an elaborate car race, "Hardly any ship or car out there I can't get into and work."

"Haha, nice."

Matt climbed up the small set of stairs set up next to the ship, ducking into the craft that more resembled a mini-jet than the coupe he was used to flying around with Jackie and Inez, back in the day. Inside, Creech had already strapped herself down in the pilot seat, and was examining the control panel. Matt turned behind him and reached for the door to shut it, but Creech beat him to it.

"No, wait – I'll get it," and she pushed a small button at the top of the dashboard, and the door slowly began to lower before sealing itself shut.

Impressed, Matt moved up to the front of the ship, taking the seat next to Creech. "All ready then?" he asked.

"Ye-up…prepare for take-off!" She had hardly stopped smiling since they'd finally left the castle's grounds. She reached above her head and flipped a few switches hanging above her seat; the ship began to hum, and Matt could feel his seat vibrating.

"Alright! We are out of here!" She yanked on the throttle next to her seat, and then placed both hands on the ship's wheel as the entire craft jerked forwards suddenly, and then blasted off into Cyberspace.