Let me start this off by saying that I have gone back and edited any and all chapters that indicated a specific year this story takes place. I originally had a specific time period set for this story but now, after re-watching certain episodes and catching on to things I hadn't caught before, I've come to realize that said time period might not be very accurate. So as of November 12, 2017 (the day I'm typing this), this story's time setting is up to interpretation. All I can tell you for sure is that it takes place before the year 2000, Earth time. Chapters that have been affected by this change include but aren't limited to: 22, 24, 33, and 45.
Also, I've brought the cyborg life expectancy down from 300 to 200. Both are pretty ridiculous, I know, but trust me there is a reason I've chosen to make them live so long.
Also from this point on I will be referring to Motherboard by her canon name.
And... action!
~Chapter Forty-Six~
Location: A Distant and Unknown Cybersite:
Sir Gregory grunted as he was thrown onto the ground after yet another beating. Days had blurred into weeks and weeks into months so that the duke had no idea how long it had been since his capture, but it felt like he'd been there an eternity. The whole time he'd been brutally tortured in numerous ways at spaced intervals, his captor determined to get answers from him. Answers that he did not have and certainly would never give out if he had them.
"We can stop this at any time Greggy boy," The red-eyed cyborg taunted as the prisoner lay panting on the ground, "There's just one thing I need from you."
"I've told you countless times Abaddon," Gregory said, "I have not been to Control Central enough times to know about their security system!"
"No you haven't, but you know people who do know," Abaddon sneered, "I know of your status in Cyberspace. You weren't runner up for the ruler-ship for no reason!"
"I'm not giving names away," he said, "I won't be held responsible for someone else's torture at your hands!"
Abaddon nodded. "I see... Well that's understandable. Admirable even. I suppose we'll just have to resort to... other methods..."
The prisoner weakly lifted his head up to see two cyborgs walking towards him with what appeared to be the type of wires and stick-ons that doctors put on hospital patients to keep track of their vitals. Only they weren't that at all. Gregory knew what they were, as they had been used on him numerous times since he'd gotten here.
"No! Please!" he begged, "Not again! Anything but that!"
His pleas were ignored as the cyborgs attached the wires to all of the most sensitive cyborg body parts.
"You leave me no choice," Abaddon said as he took a remote out of his pants pocket. He adjusted the settings and pushed the start button.
Sir Gregory screamed in agony as a surge of electricity shot through him. The pain was like that of being shot multiple times by a taser gun. Smoke emerged from the cracks in his skin as his circuits were slowly fried away. Gregory pried his eyes open to see Abaddon's two soldiers gazing at him from the shadows of his cell with what appeared to be pity, but he really couldn't tell as his sight was being affected by the excess electricity coursing through him. What he could see very clearly was Abaddon towering over him with a wide and frightening grin on his face. He was enjoying this, clearly. There was no sympathy in his red eyes, only pure glee. He had no problem continuing this until he got what he wanted and it was this realization that brought the prisoner to his breaking point.
"ALRIGHT I'LL TELL!" Sir Gregory screamed.
The torture stopped as Abaddon took one step towards the politician and forced him up to a sitting position.
"Speak."
"I don't know the ins and outs of Control Central," he began, tears of guilt streaming down his face as he knew what he was doing, "But I do know someone... who does."
"Who is it? Where do they go when they're not working and what time do they go there?" Abaddon demanded.
While the beaten and battered prisoner spoke, the two cyborgs that had brought in the wires talked among themselves.
"He seems to get more ruthless every day," said one cyborg.
"I know Kevin," said the other, "He's desperate now. He knows he's getting old and won't be able to keep up with it much longer."
"Honestly I wish he would just drop dead already," Kevin said, "Then we'd be free."
"Free to do what Kevin? Where would we go? We're part of the most despised group of cyborgs this century has ever known of. We'll never be free."
Their conversation stopped as they heard their superior's laughter.
"Thank you for your cooperation Sir Gregory," he said as he reached into his pants pocket once more, "Its most appreciated."
"Just let me go," the prisoner pleaded. Perhaps if he was released fast enough, he could warn everyone of the mad cyborg's return before things got too ugly.
"Hmmm... I don't think so."
Sir Gregory's eyes widened as he saw what the cyborg had pulled out.
"I know what you're thinking of doing," Abaddon said as he pointed the gun directly at Sir Gregory's H-drive (the cyborg equivalent of a brain and heart combined), "And I can't risk it. Its been fun Greggy boy. Good-bye."
Abaddon pulled the trigger and Sir Gregory's now lifeless body fell to the floor.
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Location: Cyber Grand Tower:
"We are currently doing all we can to locate Sir Gregory," Motherboard said into the microphone on the podium, "His ID code has been inputted into Control Central's supercomputer and is being tracked as we speak. No results have been found at this time, but we are not giving up."
It had been exactly three months and five days since Control Central got the call from Happily Ever After-ville about the Grand Duke going missing. The report went that his bodyguards had all been knocked out cold and awoke later to find the doors broken in and the politician nowhere. The news hit media outlets quickly and a cyber wide search was put out. It had been ages since someone of such high status had gone missing for so long and it was causing great panic, especially for citizens of his home site. Now Cyberspace's leader was addressing the issue for the second time since the news first came out.
"Motherboard," a reporter shouted amidst the cameras and flashing lights, "Rumors have started that you and your associates may have played a part in this. What do you have to say to that?"
For a brief second, one could see her shock at the accusation, which was replaced quickly by anger and even more quickly by calmness.
"Those rumors are false and I refuse to entertain them," she answered as her fiancee stepped in front of her.
"That will be all please ladies and gentlemen," Antoine said as Cyberspace's leader was escorted backstage.
"Did you hear what they just asked?!" Motherboard exclaimed once backstage.
"I know love. It was awful," said Ada, "I was so hoping you wouldn't find out about those rumors."
"How long have they been saying this?" asked the twenty five year old.
"Since the news first came out I'm afraid," the younger cyborg answered.
"Don't worry about it Motherboard," said Antoine as he joined her backstage, "You know how the press is. They'll say anything to get people reading their headlines."
"If we could just find him..." the ruler said.
"I'm sure we eventually will," her lover assured, "For now though let's just get going. The judge of Sensible Flats says she has a case that she can't decide a verdict for. She's asked for you to hear it."
"Now?" Motherboard asked in bewilderment. She had yet to be called upon this short of notice.
"She said as soon as possible."
"Very well then," Motherboard said with a sigh, "Ada will you be joining us?"
"I might as well," the younger cyborg answered, "I think there's enough workers at Control Central today to take care of things without me being there to help."
Location: Sensible Flats:
"He was sentenced to seventy-five years behind bars for attempted murder," Judge Trudy explained to her guests as she handed Motherboard the court records, "He's pleaded innocent since day one, but all the evidence is against him and he has a pretty shady history on other cybersites. He's now eligible for parole and I had every intention of giving it to him until he back-talked me in court the other day."
"That seems like a very minor offense Your Honor," said Ada.
"Not so Ada," said Antoine who was more experienced in this category, "That's contempt of court and she is well within her rights to keep him behind bars for that."
Motherboard silently read through the court transcripts as Antoine explained the judicial system to her friend. Indeed, the witness testimonies all pointed the man out as guilty. Very guilty.
"What is his history on other cybersites?" the cyber-ruler asked.
"He's gone over the speed limit several times in Gollywood, been caught selling illegal drugs, and had been gambling illegally for ages."
"I see," Motherboard replied as she read over the next witness testimony. So far she wasn't seeing any reason to think he was innocent of the crime. According to the testimony, the man had always had a violent streak. It wouldn't surprise her if he had tried to kill someone.
"How has his behavior been since he was first sentenced?" she asked.
"Pretty good actually," the judge answered thoughtfully, "He's been keeping his cell really clean and always follows the rules."
"I'd like to hear his side of the story," Motherboard said as she stood, "Can you bring us to him?"
"Darling," Antoine argued, "I'd rather you not be in the presence of a criminal. Besides his testimony is in the court transcripts, isn't it?"
"I'd like to hear from him firsthand."
"I agree," said Ada, standing with the older cyborg.
"Alrighty then," Judge Trudy said, getting up and walking towards the door, "Come with me."
The judge called out for her sister, Sheriff Judy, and the latter lead the three visitors down the dusty, un-air-conditioned prison hall. Motherboard pulled her hair back into a bun and all three rolled their sleeves up as the heat threatened to choke them.
"Sheriff Judy," the leader said, "I'd like to see that these cells have better living conditions."
"These good-for-nothing criminals don't deserve no better," the sheriff said.
"Regardless of their crimes these conditions are intolerable," Motherboard stated, her tone becoming more stern and commanding as she assumed her role as the superior, "Tell Judge Trudy to have a climate control system installed immediately."
"Got it, ma'am," Judy said as they continued walking to the cell of the prisoner.
The four cyborgs reached the very last cell where the inmate was sweeping the floor.
"You got visitors sir," said the sheriff.
The prisoner looked up.
"Ah you're the lady that's in charge now!" he said in a strong country accent as he walked towards the cell bars.
"She sure is," Judy said, "So ya better show her some respect!"
"Will do m'lady," said the prisoner before returning his attention to the young leader and offering a hand to shake, "The name's Zack."
"You've been charged with high treason Zack," Antoine said as fiancee shook hands with the prisoner.
"You here to rub it in my face?" Zack spat threateningly.
"We're here because I would like to hear your side of the story," Motherboard explained calmly, "Would that be something you're against?"
"Alright... So it all started one day in Gollywood..."
As Zack told his story, Motherboard carefully examined every gesture and behavior he exhibited. She was very wise beyond her years, one of the main reasons she'd been elected, and she could tell when a person was lying or, at the very least, bending the truth. She noted the way he would constantly glance to the left and the small inconsistencies in his story. Everything in her was telling her that the cyborg was guilty, but Motherboard continued to listen just in case she may be proven wrong. Until...
"What's that?" Ada asked, interrupting the prisoner.
"What Ada?" Motherboard asked looking in her direction.
Ada crouched down and picked something up off the floor, next to one of the cell bars. It was covered in dust but she could still tell what it was.
"You've been trying to escape, haven't you?" Ada asked the prisoner.
Zack paled, his eyes wide as he looked at the four cyborgs in front of him, thinking of something to say to defend himself. But the cyber leader could see right through him. He was a criminal.
"This meeting is over," Motherboard stated plainly as she walked away.
"I told y'all he was guilty," Judy said as she and the other two visitors followed Motherboard out of the jailhouse.
"Still its only fair to hear both sides of the story," said Ada.
"Sometimes I wonder why I even bother," Motherboard sighed as they walked outside.
"I know," Antoine said in agreement, "They always seem to turn out guilty."
Both Motherboard and Antoine had done jury duty many times throughout their college careers and were speaking from experience. They had seen criminal after criminal on trial and many seemed to have no regret other than being caught.
"I still don't think parole is pointless though," Ada argued, "Anyone can change."
"Of course Ada," Motherboard said, "But its still rare."
"To say the least," Antoine remarked.
Motherboard was about to reprimand him when the whistling and hollers of a group of cowboys on their horses caught the group's attention.
"Howdy there ladies!" shouted one cowboy to Motherboard and Ada, "Y'all lookin' mighty fine today!"
Ada and Motherboard both blushed but waved back, as the other cowboys winked and gave similar remarks. Antoine wrapped an arm tightly around Motherboard's shoulders and glared at them.
"Antoine," she whispered harshly, "You don't need to get possessive!"
"Are you sure about that?" he whispered back.
There was one thing about Antoine that had been getting on Motherboard's nerves for years now and that was his jealous side. It had first emerged during her career as a Cyber Congress member and had even been severe enough once that the couple had gone their separate ways for a few months.
"They're merely passing by. I'll likely never see them again," she said.
"Hopefully," he said.
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Location: Control Central:
"So why do all the deliveries here go by Earth time?" Dr. Marbles asked Richard, who was performing a routine upgrade on the supercomputer.
"I don't know," the technician answered as his assistant handed him a tool, "They started doing that during the Great Cyber War as some sort of 'secret coding' procedure. Shift Key wanted to throw off the enemies or something. His reasoning is probably in storage somewhere in our databases."
"Do you guys need any help?" said a high pitched voice from overhead.
"Not right now Bill," Richard answered.
"I'll let you know if we do," Marbles said.
"Okay."
Motherboard had remembered her cybird friend from the Forest and hired him as an assistant technician when she was sworn in. The yellow cybird worked in areas that were too small and cramped for the technicians to reach. When he wasn't needed, he acted as a sort of messenger between the workers.
"Did Beta finish boxing that stuff Motherboard wanted sent to to the spy base?" Richard asked. It was mainly out of curiosity as communicating with the spy team wasn't part of his specific job.
"Uh-huh!" Bill nodded, "She said PC is probably gonna head over there today anyway to visit her cousin, so she'll send her off with it."
"I hope those spies are able to find out soon what's happening to the money at Gollywood Bank," said Dr. Marbles.
"This'll make it the third 'missing money' scenario since Gerald's term began," Richard noted.
"Do ya think the owner is keeping it all for himself?" Bill asked.
"Not for a moment," Richard answered with certainty, "I knew that family growing up and they're honest, hard-working individuals. They'd never steal!"
"Then who else could it be?" Bill asked, scratching his head.
"Well..." Richard said thoughtfully, "Gerald and I both thought the first case was Abaddon and his crew. But now that they're gone... I'm not sure who else it could be..."
"Maybe Ann Arky?" Dr. Marbles suggested.
"Ann Arky is just one cyborg Marbles," Richard argued as he finally came up from under the kryoxide tank, "Unless she's found a way to clone herself I highly doubt its her."
"Well whoever it is I'm sure our spies will be able to find them with the help of Motherboard's new inventions here," said an additional female voice.
The three turned to see Beta, one of Motherboard's political advisors, carrying two large boxes in her arms. She was young, for a cyborg, at a hundred cyber years and had long black hair and brown eyes. She wore a white shirt with a black blazer and matching pencil skirt and looked like she was going to drop her boxes at any moment.
"Would you require some assistance Beta?" Dr. Marbles said coming to grab the larger box from her.
"I was hoping one of you would offer," she said with a sigh of relief, "I guess I'm not as strong as I thought I was."
"Bill here was just saying that you were gonna send PC off with the inventions," Richard said, "Is that what's in those boxes?"
"Sure is," Beta said, "I'm taking them out to her now. You coming Marbles?"
"Apparently," Marbles said gesturing to the box he was holding.
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"Don't try to carry it all by yourself," Beta told PC as she and Marbles loaded the back of the girl's cyber-coupe with the large boxes, "Trust me, I speak from experience."
"Believe me I wasn't planning on it," PC said as she put the keys in the ignition, "I'm sure one of the guys will help me."
"Alright," Beta said, "Tell your cousin I said hi."
"I will. See you guys later," the pink haired cyborg said as she drove off.
PC turned her radio on to a classics station as she drove to Cyberspace's main spy base. While some spies worked at home, most preferred the professional setting and advanced technology of the base and PC's cousin, Cron, was one of those spies. The two had been so close their whole lives until Cron got his job as a spy and had to be away so often. Time together became even more scarce when PC got her job in Control Central. The last time they had seen each other was over a year ago and she was looking forward to seeing her cousin again. Cron was a lively and vibrant cyborg who always knew how to make her smile, even on her worst days.
"Maybe he'll tell me what these new inventions of Motherboard's do," she thought, glancing at the boxes in the back seat.
Everyone was always curious as to what new inventions Motherboard or Dr. Marbles would come up with. Dr. Marbles was constantly updating the skwak pads and his symmetrizer had been such a huge success, a whole factory had been built on a previously uninhabited cybersite, one that ran exclusively off the machine's creations. Meanwhile, though one had to get special licensing for it, Motherboard's portal software had made travel time so much easier for many cyber-government employees. She had even managed to create constant portals in certain locations that would bring the traveler wherever they wanted. There was one in a cave on cybersite Proportiona and another one that PC herself was now driving into as a shortcut to the spy base. PC never ceased to marvel at the spectacle of the vortex. She was like a child in that way, even though she was well near seventy cyber years.
The portal spit PC out a few feet away from the spy base hangar bay and she quickly slowed the coupe down to park it. Getting out of the coupe, she made her way to the entrance when suddenly someone grabbed her from behind. Before she could scream, a gun was shoved violently against her chest.
"Make one sound and I won't hesitate to pull the trigger," was whispered in her ear.
Scared out of her wits, PC only nodded in submission.
"I've got her!" the cyborg yelled, "Is the bomb planted?"
"WHAT?!" PC began to shout before her mouth was gagged by another cyborg and she was violently dragged to a large cyber-coupe and thrown into the trunk.
"Just did it!" a cyborg yelled back as the other two shut the trunk, "Let's get out of here. Quick!"
PC punched at the roof of the trunk and began to scream, only for the sound to be muffled by the rag. She panicked as she felt the coupe turn on and then lift itself from the ground. She was thrown to the side of the trunk by the force of the coupe racing into Cyberspace at an alarming speed. Soon enough she heard a loud explosion, followed by the cheers of the cyborgs in the vehicle with her.
"Success!"
So, just so everyone has a general idea, Bill is about the same size as Widget and pretty much sounds like him too.
So that's chapter 46! New episodes of the show are coming in just a few weeks and I'd like to possibly celebrate with another update, but if I do the chapter will probably be very short. Like maybe 1000 words at most.
Please review! Let me know what your favorite part of the story has been so far and definitely let me know who your favorite OC is. I've worked hard on all of them and would love some feedback!
See ya in Cyberspace!
