This chapter was not easy to write. There's a lot of loose ends to wrap up, and I'd prefer to not dive too deep into unnecessary drama at this point. We are headed towards the ending though, so get ready for that!

A timely message - it is June of 2020 in America. COVID is getting worse, and our political climate is increasingly tense. Wear your masks, wash your hands, and treat others with kindness. Black lives matter. It's not a debate, it's a fact. Please do your part to end this pandemic and please be willing to open your minds and hearts to the people who need it the most.

On that note...

Enjoy the story and leave reviews!

Inez couldn't stop tapping her foot. She had gone through six different positions in her struggle to sit comfortably in the stiff chair until she finally gave up and succumbed to the discomfort. It wasn't like the situation could get any worse, right? The room was too small for the amount of people it held. A small man with a large mustache sat across the desk from her, reading from a script. A woman with dark green hair was crouched behind the video camera next to him to make sure it continued to record the scene. Matt stood in the corner, observing.

"Continuing on to February 17," the small man said in a high, sniveling voice. "Were you in attendance at the meeting between the Hacker and Mr. Razor?"

Inez picked at her nails. "Yes."

The man made a note. "Did Mr. Razor discuss engaging in any illegal activity in the past?"

She sighed impatiently. "Yes. He was running oil mines in the jungles of Eco Haven alongside the Zimbo brothers, just as I said when we talked about the Zimbos two hours ago."

The small man nodded and twiddled his mustache. "How would you describe your interactions with Mr. Razor?"

Inez willed herself to avoid Matt's eyes. She had said these words several times today, but it wasn't getting any easier. "I had sex with him to help sway him into signing the contract Hacker was proposing."

Matt looked down at the floor. It wasn't getting any easier for him to hear her say those things either, but he would rather push through the discomfort than leave her alone.

The man continued speaking as though Inez had just described the weather. "What did the proposed contract include?"

Inez bent over and ran her hands through her hair. "It said the exact same thing the other contracts did - if he agreed to help set up the channels and satellites that would connect power to the Northern Frontier, Hacker would give him a bunch of money and ownership over a site of his choosing. Can't you just look at the contracts yourself? They can't be that hard to find!"

"I'm just asking some basic questions." The man flipped his page over to begin another round of interrogation. "Did Mr. Razor have any associates attending these meetings with him?"

"Yes. He had bodyguards with him at all times. I don't know their names, but I'm pretty sure I saw them get arrested at the end of the battle."

"How many times did you witness Mr. Razor meeting with the Hacker?"

Inez shrugged desperately. "I don't know. Five? Six? It was years ago."

The man scribbled more notes. "Were you in attendance for all of those meetings?"

"Some of them, yes."

"Did you ever participate in their discussions?"

Inez shifted uncomfortably. "Sometimes."

The man looked up. "Did you ever assist them in their plans?"

Inez opened her mouth to respond, but Matt stepped in front of the camera before she could speak. "Hey!" he said forcefully. "She's not the one on trial here."

The small man looked at Matt with no emotion. "I'm just trying to get all the facts."

Matt glowered at him. "Yeah, well, I think you've asked enough about this Mr. Razor, whoever he is."

Inez stood and stretched. "I agree. He's a bad guy who signed a contract with Hacker agreeing to do a bunch of criminal activities to gain power and wealth. What more do you want?"

"Well," the small man fidgeted nervously. "While the contract is one of the stronger pieces of evidence, witness testimonies can be even more valuable in a court of law!"

"That makes no sense." Matt stared at the man incredulously.

Inez gathered her jacket and purse before turning to the man tiredly. "I'm taking a break for lunch. We'll continue after that, okay?"

"Fine," the man said grumpily. "But be back in an hour! Maintaining our schedule is of the utmost importance!"

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, Inez." Matt held the door open for her as she exited. He shot the man one last glare before letting the door slam behind him.

The fluorescent lights that lined the hall were too bright for Matt's liking. He and Inez walked down the hallway in silence. She kept her hands stuffed in the pockets of her jacket as she glared at the floor. Matt knew better than to ask how she was feeling. The interviews had been the hardest part of this week, and that was saying something.

Words couldn't begin to describe Slider's expression when he saw his house. He walked through the building slowly. They had known Slider would be devastated, but the pure heartbreak on his face was gut wrenching. The clicking of his crutches was the only sound in the room as Matt, Jackie, and Inez observed him in silence. It was just as they had found it after Slider was kidnapped. Only a few days had passed since then, but it seemed like a lifetime. Slider opened the cabinets one by one, and felt new stabs of pain every time he saw another shattered plate, another vulgar phrase written on the walls. Why had they done this? What was the reasoning behind this kind of wanton destruction?

Matt thought back to a conversation he and Slider had had many months ago. They were sitting in the living room finishing off the last of a pizza while they watched an old movie on TV. It was a cheesy flick from Gollywood about some angsty teenager whose parents were getting a divorce. The boy was sitting on a rooftop with a girl who you could tell was going to be his love interest. She was trying to comfort him when he turned to her and yelled, "You have no idea what I'm going through!" He broke down sobbing as rain started to fall on them. "You don't know what it's like to live in a broken home. My life is ruined!"

Slider started laughing. Matt turned to him in confusion. "What's so funny?" he had asked.

There was no trace of sadness in Slider's voice as he shook his head with a grin. "It's just so ridiculous. You think your parents divorcing is tough, kid? Try having to raise yourself after your dad disappears."

Matt frowned. "I thought you and your dad were cool?"

Slider shrugged. "We are, but we never got back to how things were before he left. I was used to living on my own, and he wasn't used to being a parent. It was more of a roommate situation than a father-son relationship. As I got older, it became pretty clear that he wanted to do something with his life besides work in a garage with a teenager. He left to go work on animatronics for R-Fair City. We still hang out sometimes...but it's not the same. The truth is, he stopped being my dad as soon as he walked out on me." His voice sombered with that last thought.

The room was silent. Matt hesitated before he spoke. "But...he didn't want to leave you. He was trying to protect you from Hacker."

"Oh no, I get it." Slider reached up to stretch his arms. "His reasons for leaving were legit. But it still changed things. I spent years thinking he had abandoned me. He's still my dad, and I love him. But all those years of living on my own, running the garage by myself...that was my version of a broken home."

Silence fell. The movie continued, showing the boy and his parents reconciling, and ended with a shot of him kissing the girl on the roof. Matt glanced at the clock hanging on the wall above them. "Jackie should be home soon."

Slider leaned back to check the time. "Wow, that movie was longer than I thought."

"Uh huh. So…" Matt tried to keep his tone light and casual. "Is this home still broken? Or is it better now?"

Slider paused. He stared at Matt for a moment, then began to look around the room thoughtfully. There was a small stack of dishes in the sink waiting to be washed. Matt's work boots sat on the shoe rack by the door, right next to Slider's bag of tools for work. Jackie had left a bottle of purple nail polish on the coffee table, perched atop a stack of her fashion magazines. A framed photo of Slider and his dad was propped up on the bookshelf next to a picture of him and Jackie. An old group photo of the gang, including Inez, was tacked to the wall. Matt had stared at that picture longingly more times than he cared to remember. Just to look at her and pray that wherever she was, she was safe.

"No." Slider smiled softly and turned back to Matt. "This place is my home. And now...it's your home too."

The boys stared at each other. "Yeah?" Matt asked.

"Yeah." Slider smiled warmly at his friend. He held up his fist, and Matt returned the fist bump halfway. Cyberspace was his home. It had been for a long time. But talking to Slider that night, Matt had felt something stir inside him. He belonged here, in Cyberspace. Earth could wait. This was his home now.

Matt still wasn't used to the cameras. The Cybersquad had always attracted a fair amount of attention, but now that they were war heroes it seemed like they couldn't go anywhere without people taking pictures or asking them for autographs. Matt longed to join Slider and Jackie, who were hiding out in Radopolis while they rebuilt the house. But he knew that Inez needed him by her side right now.

Over a hundred criminals had been arrested after the battle. Most of them were lowly henchmen, but there were also high profile businessmen and villains whose faces had been on wanted posters for many years. The trials were expected to last for weeks, if not months. Inez had agreed to testify in their cases but refused to waste her time sitting through endless boring legal battles. Instead she was having her testimonies taped to be referenced later in court. There was one case, however, that she wasn't certain about.

They stopped at a café for lunch. After getting their food, Inez led them to a small table in the back. "Hopefully no one will spot us back here," she said with a rueful smile.

Matt chuckled. "Yeah, let's hope." He munched on his sandwich happily. "You picked a good spot to eat."

Inez closed her eyes as she took a slow sip of her drink. "Their coffee is amazing." As she drew her lips from the cup, a layer of foam remained on her upper lip. Matt failed to stifle his laugh, and she frowned at him. "What?"

Grinning, Matt reached over and flicked some of the foam off her lip with his finger. He lightly brushed the foam onto his upper lip and grinned at her. "Now we match."

Inez's cheeks burned as she covered her mouth with a napkin. "Very funny."

Matt reached across the table to squeeze her hand. "You know I'm just teasing."

"I know." Inez reached across the table and delicately wiped the foam off of Matt's lip with her napkin. He felt his breath hitch when her fingertips ran along his lips for a moment. They locked eyes, and she shot him a confused smile. "What?"

He paused. "You're just...really beautiful."

Inez blushed and squeezed his hand. "Thanks. And thank you for being here through all this. It's...a lot, to say the least."

"No, I get it." Matt used his free hand to take a sip of his drink - a sweet frothy caramel mixture that was more sugar than coffee, a sharp contrast to Inez's cappuccino. "And hey, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I ditched you now?"

She grinned and sipped her drink coyly. "Boyfriend, huh?"

"Uh…" Matt paused nervously. "Is that okay? I thought we had kind of established…"

Inez laughed. "I'm kidding. As your girlfriend, I appreciate your willingness to sit through long repetitive interviews about the worst years of my life."

His smile faltered. "Are you okay? I mean, you seem okay. But it must be hard to get through all this stuff."

She shrugged. "It's tough, but hopefully this is the last time I'll have to deal with these people."

"What about the big one though?"

Inez paused. "You mean Hacker?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

Inez ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I still haven't decided. Hacker's trial could last longer than the others, or it might take less than a day. His track record isn't exactly a secret. The hope is to have him permanently imprisoned, or...you know."

"Killed." Matt frowned. "I don't support killing, but actually knowing someone who's so horrible, you feel like the world would be better off without them...I don't know. Back on Earth, I never supported the death penalty. But with Hacker, it's personal. I still don't know what the right thing to do is."

"I want him dead."

Matt almost choked on his coffee. "Wait, what?"

She regarded him critically. "Why wouldn't I? Give me one reason why I would want Hacker to still be out there, living in a prison that we all know he'll inevitably break out of at some point."

Matt frowned and looked down at the table. "I mean...you have a point. But it's up to the jury and the judge. All we can do is hope everyone can see what a monster he is."

"Oh, they will." Inez checked her watch. "You better eat fast, we have to get back soon."

They held hands for the entire walk back to the office where the interviews were being conducted. People whispered and took pictures, giggling about the juicy gossip they would soon be sharing. But neither of them cared. They had been through so much at this point that little things like that didn't matter.

Before they entered the interview room, Matt leaned down to give Inez a quick kiss.

She blushed. "What was that for?"

He shrugged. "Do I need a reason?"

Inez pulled him closer. "I guess not." She pressed her lips to his then pulled back, smiling sweetly. "Now come on - the world isn't going to save itself. Even if saving the world means boring as hell interviews."

Matt chuckled and held the door open for her. "Of course."

They developed a routine over the next week. Wake up, eat breakfast, go to interviews. Break for lunch, do more interviews. Return to Control Central, eat dinner, then attempt to relax until they were forced to go to bed. Slider and Jackie showed up for breakfast most days but didn't return to Control Central except to sleep. They insisted that they didn't need help with the renovations, saying that the hard part - moving all the broken furniture out - was already done. Matt wished he could join them but he knew Inez needed him more, even if she would never admit it. The day of Hacker's trial was approaching fast and she still hadn't made her decision.

Matt and Inez had started living together in her suite after the battle. Every night, they went through their nighttime routines and chatted before going to sleep. And every night, the same conversation came up.

"I just don't know if it's even necessary for me to be there." Inez sat in front of the mirror atop the dresser, combing her hair as she spoke.

Matt spat into the sink as he finished brushing his teeth. He walked back into the bedroom, wiping the extra spittle off his chin with his shirt. "I think giving your testimony over video would be fine."

Inez bit her lip. "Yeah, but what if I accidentally leave something out and the jury doesn't charge him the way they should?"

Matt stood behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. Their eyes met in the mirror. "I don't want you to have to be in a room with Hacker ever again. The jury has more than enough evidence against him. Even if you didn't testify, we know he's going away for a long time."

"No, I have to testify." Inez put down the comb and moved to sit at the foot of the bed. "If I don't, he won't be charged with the things he did to me. The judge will only be charging him with treason and shady business stuff."

Matt sat down next to her. "Look, I'll support whatever you decide. I just don't want you getting hurt again."

Inez smiled softly. "I don't think Hacker could hurt me anymore than he already has, Matt."

Inez decided on a compromise. Her testimony was on tape, and she would attend the trial if needed, but that was it. An entire day was set aside for her testimony on Hacker. It was the most grueling eight hours of Matt's life. He knew that Inez had suffered unspeakable horrors while she was under Hacker's control, but hearing her describe the acts in visceral detail had his stomach twisted in knots. She revealed things he never could have imagined, from torturous experiments to horribly violent sexual experiences. When they stopped for a lunch break, Matt and Inez skipped eating and instead sat quietly in a nearby park. He wished there was something he could say that would make her feel better, make that glassy stare of hers go away, but it was pointless. It was like Inez had said - it was something she had to do.

The one bright spot in that week was Buzz and Delete's trial. Theirs was the only trial Inez attended in person. Between her vouching for them and the testimonies Buzz and Delete gave against Hacker and his cronies, the two bots were sentenced to many years of probation and community service. They were also put into a witness protection program that would give them new identities, allowing them to get a fresh start in life.

Hacker's trial lasted for three days. It was a closed courtroom, so there was no way of knowing what was happening until the lawyers reported back to Control Central at the end of the day. The first two days were dedicated primarily to presenting all the evidence against him. The lawyers were confident that justice would be served but Inez tossed and turned every night until the sentencing was made. Finally, the night of the sentencing came. Matt and Inez were eating dinner when Digit zipped into the room, flapping his wings excitedly.

"It's time!" he yelled. "Come on, you've gotta see this!"

Matt and Inez immediately abandoned their meal to race after Digit into the main room. The large screen that usually served as Motherboard's display was now showing a news broadcast. Slider and Jackie stepped through a glowing portal nearby.

"Digit!" Jackie exclaimed breathlessly. "We came as soon as you texted! What's going on?"

"Look!" Digit pointed to the screen.

The courthouse where Hacker's trial had been going on was shown with a mob of protestors and newscasters outside. The scene was lit with flashing lights as Hacker was escorted out of the courthouse by a wall of police officers on either side of him. The sight of the chains restricting his movement was a relief to see but also a jarring reality of how real this was. This wasn't a madcap adventure, this was a formal legal proceeding. Inez breathed in sharply when Hacker shot a nasty glare at the camera, and Matt slipped an arm around her waist.

"It's okay," he murmured quietly.

She nodded, her eyes still glued to the screen. "I know."

The newscaster's voiceover drowned out the screams of the crowd. "After much deliberation, the criminal known as "the Hacker" has been sentenced to the death penalty. The Hacker has been convicted of treason against Motherboard, multiple counts of aggravated assault, racketeering, kidnapping, domestic violence, rape, disorderly conduct, robbery, arson, forgery, and more."

"Did he really do all that?" Slider asked, eyes wide with shock.

Jackie nodded. "They charged him for all his past crimes. That list doesn't cover half of the stuff he's done over the years."

The newscaster continued. "The Hacker will be held at an undisclosed maximum security prison for the next week until his execution by the electric chair."

"The electric chair…" Inez's voice trailed off.

Matt frowned at her. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yeah, I just didn't think it would happen so soon." Inez frowned as she watched Hacker be led into the van that would transport him to the prison. "You don't think he'll break out, do you? A lot can happen in a week."

"I assure you, Inez, nothing of the sort will occur." Dr. Marbles entered the room, hands clasped behind his back. "This is a historic day for Cyberspace. Soon we will be rid of Hacker for good and we can enter a new age of peace!"

Jackie smiled as she looped her arm around Slider's and rested her head on his shoulder. "That does sound nice."

Digit flew around the room in circles. "The Hack will never be back! This calls for a party!"

Inez looked around the room. "Hold on, guys. Like I said, a lot can happen in a week. Let's wait until he's gone for good before we celebrate, okay?"

Matt smiled down at her. "Come on Nezzie, we won! That deserves some kind of celebration, even if it's not a party."

"I have just the thing!" Digit zipped out of the room and returned a moment later with a triple tier cake. "I was saving this for when the trial ended. Dig in!"

Jackie gasped. "Oh Dig, it's beautiful!"

Digit smiled proudly. "I try. Inez, you get the first slice."

She blushed. "Oh, I couldn't!"

Matt pushed her forward gently. "You're the real hero here, Inez. The least you can do is enjoy some cake."

And so they did. They stayed up half the night eating cake and celebrating Hacker's upcoming demise. Matt and Jackie pushed the group into dancing, and Slider pulled out some champagne. Even Dr. Marbles joined in. At the end of the night, Inez slept peacefully for the first time in weeks. Maybe this time, the battle really was over.

Jackie stayed at Control Central for the next few days while Slider took a trip to visit his dad. The two had been attached at the hip for the last few weeks, so it was strange for him to be gone. But it was also a welcome change for the three of them to be hanging out again. It had been too long since the "earthlies" had spent time alone together. They sat in Inez's suite listening to Jackie babble excitedly about redesigning Slider's house.

"I'm thinking we should go for a really sleek, modern aesthetic, but I can't decide on a color palette!" Jackie sat on the floor of Inez's bedroom with half a dozen home decorating magazines spread out around her. "I'm feeling the blue and grey, but I think Slider gives off more of an "earth tone" vibe, you know?"

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah. Totally." He was settled on the bed reading a book while Inez wrote in her journal next to him. Sometimes she would kick him out when she needed a moment with her thoughts, but sometimes she was just writing down the minutiae of her day and didn't care if he was around.

Inez looked up from her writing. "Shouldn't you be asking Slider all this stuff? It's his house, after all."

Jackie sighed. "I know. It's just...part of me wishes it could be our house. Like, long term."

Matt frowned. "You want to live here full time?"

"We already do." Jackie turned to face them fully. "Matt, when was the last time you went to Earth? Do you even have a cover story for the last day?"

He paused to think. "I went back...two months ago? Yeah. There was a book I wanted to grab from my room. I left a note for my mom saying I was going to the park, so that should cover me for a while."

"We can't keep this up though!" Jackie stood up from the floor and sat cross legged at the foot of the bed. "It's been a week on Earth. Matt, you and I have been here for half a year at least. Inez, almost seven years. How are we going to explain that to our parents?"

Inez closed her journal and set it aside. "Well...do you want to go back?"

"We have to." Jackie looked between the two of them. "We have to, right?"

Matt grimaced. "Yeah, we do. It's not like we can just disappear and leave our parents to think we were kidnapped or murdered."

"Yeah, that would be pretty screwed up." Inez said lightly. "So you guys are going to go back to Earth then?"

Jackie turned to stare at her friend. "Aren't you?"

Inez pulled at a piece of lint on her shirt. "I know I should, but...it's been a long time. Is there even anything there for me anymore?"

"Inez, it's been a week." Jackie sounded desperate. "Your parents haven't seen you in a week of Earth time, and I know they're worried because I've been the one making excuses for why you haven't been around."

Matt put his hand on Inez's thigh. "She has a point. Your parents would be really happy to see you, even if you have changed. And honestly, I wouldn't mind going back to Earth for a while."

Inez closed her journal and set it aside. "I know. But how do we even start to explain this? We all look different, I've aged almost six years since they saw me!"

"I've been thinking about that," Matt said. "And unless we want to track down a time machine, we're just going to have to bite the bullet and tell our parents the truth."

Jackie gasped. "Tell them about Cyberspace? We can't!"

"Why not?" Matt asked, looking between the two girls. "Really, why not?"

"What if they tell someone?" Jackie demanded. "Or try to come here on their own? What if they don't believe us and lock us up in a mental hospital? No offense, Inez."

"None taken," Inez said dryly. "Look, I understand we need to go back. But it's not just our parents we have to think about. Jackie, it's obvious you want to stay here with Slider. But if you do that, you'll be dead by the end of the year on Earth. Spending a day here once or twice a week was fine when we were younger, but we have lives here now."

Jackie looked down sadly. "I can't leave Slider. Before all of this, he was only seeing us once or twice every few years. We can't maintain a real relationship if we're only together a few days of the year on Cyberspace."

"God, this is all so crazy." Matt shook his head in wonder. "The fact that we didn't know the differences between Earth time and Cyberspace time is unbelievable."

"It's pretty surprising we didn't get it until now," Inez commented. "Growing up, we never questioned how Hacker was able to have a new, intricately planned plot to take over Cyberspace every day."

"I always assumed there was a time difference," Jackie admitted. "Considering how we could be away in Cyberspace for so long and have so little time pass on Earth. But we never tracked our time in Cyberspace, so there was no way to make a comparison. Plus, we were never here long enough to age so visibly."

Matt groaned and rubbed his temples. "We really dug our own graves here. But seriously, what are we going to do?"

"We do need to decide sooner rather than later," Inez admitted.

Jackie nodded in agreement. "Time might move slower here, but we've been putting this off for long enough."

The three sat in silence for a moment. "So…" Inez looked between her friends nervously. "What do we do?"

Jackie volunteered to be the one to approach Dr. Marbles. She knocked on the door to his study quietly. When no response came, she opened the door and stepped inside. The room was a large oval shape, with silver walls and a pale blue floor. Dr. Marbles sat at a sleek desk in the center, poring over one of the many books he kept in his study.

"Dr. Marbles?"

The doctor jumped in surprise. "Jackie! You startled me."

Jackie closed the door behind her. "Sorry, Dr. Marbles. I just really need to talk to you."

"Of course." He closed his book and focused his attention on her. "How may I help you?"

She swallowed hard and took a breath to calm her nerves. "I want to apologize. I shouldn't have been so angry with you the night before the battle. It was a stressful time and I was really worried about Slider but I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I know you were just trying to protect us. I'm sorry for blowing up at you."

Dr. Marbles smiled gently. "It's perfectly fine, Jackie. I understand you were in a high level of emotional distress."

Jackie smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Dr. M. There is something else I wanted to ask you though. Matt, Inez and I had a talk last night about Earth."

"Earth?" Dr. Marbles sat back in his seat and crossed his arms. "I must admit, I do not know much about Earth aside from the obvious organic differences between our worlds."

"That's what I wanted to ask you about." Jackie sat down on a stack of books nearby. "We've been debating going back to Earth. We've all aged, especially Inez. She's almost six years older than she was a week ago on Earth. We can't explain that to her parents. We've established lives here in Cyberspace, lives that we don't want to give up. But we can't live in one world without sacrificing our lives in the other."

Dr. Marbles twiddled his mustache. "It is quite the predicament. I will look through the research I have conducted over the years on the time dilation that occurs in the digital reality warp between our worlds. But be warned - most of these solutions will come with some level of sacrifice on your part."

Jackie nodded. "I get it. We know it's going to be tough, but we all agreed we've been putting this off for too long already."

The doctor took a moment to think. "I have some ideas. Let's reconvene as a group tomorrow night."

"Thanks, Doctor M." Jackie said gratefully.

The meeting was not going well. Part of the issue was that no one could understand half of the technical jargon Dr. Marbles used in his explanations, let alone the fact that none of them could agree on one solution.

Jackie rubbed her temples and squeezed her eyes shut. "Okay...explain time dilation to me one more time?"

Dr. Marbles sighed. "Time dilation in this instance means that because of how fast our worlds progress, our times move differently. Consider internet use on Earth - in just one minute, millions of people are using their computers, more specifically their internet. For all those actions to happen in the course of one day here would be overwhelming. So, our time moves slower. That way, the digital world's progress is more measured and well paced on our world. A hundred thousand actions in one minute on your world is spread out to take hours in our world. If not for this difference in time, our universe would be overwhelmed with the constant actions sent to us by Earth."

"And one day on Earth is equal to one year in Cyberspace," Matt said. "Right?"

The doctor nodded. "Correct. I'm not sure who designed the details of our universe, but they designed Cyberspace to progress at a rate that could be tracked easily from Earth."

Inez drummed her fingers on the table impatiently. "Okay, but we know that already. What do we do now?"

"Well," Dr. Marbles shuffled through his notes. "One option is to contact Lady Lovelace and ask to use her time machine. You would then travel back in time to prevent Inez from being taken by Hacker, creating a new timeline in which Inez stayed here with us instead. The only flaw in this plan is that I am uncertain as to where - or when - Lady Lovelace is at this moment. It could take some time to track her down."

Matt frowned. "If we did that, wouldn't we lose all our memories too?"

"Well, yes." Dr. Marbles continued to look through his papers. "Creating a new timeline would erase your present selves from existence. None of your experiences in this last week in Earth time would have happened."

Jackie looked to Inez hesitantly. "What do you think, Inez? You have the most to lose...or gain, from this."

Inez took a moment to mull it over. "I've thought about this before. Erasing all that pain and hurt could be amazing...but it's made me who I am. Reverting to my naive fourteen year old self is unimaginable. Plus, what if we succeed in preventing the trade only to have something worse happen in the new timeline?"

"That's true," Matt said. "I think time travel should be our absolute last resort. It might fix the initial decision that started all this, but I don't think it's worth the risk."

"Plus," Inez continued, "It was my decision to leave. I regret that decision every day, but I would rather learn to accept it and move on with my life than go back and erase who I am today."

Jackie looked to Dr. Marbles. "We have other options, right?"

"Well…" Dr. Marbles shifted in his seat. "I do have one other idea. But it is highly experimental!"

"What is it?" Matt asked.

Dr. Marbles reached into his pocket and placed a small square device onto the table. Inez squinted at it. "A microchip?"

"Yes, a microchip." Dr. Marbles withdrew a paper filled with diagrams from his notes. "This device is designed to provide a direct link between your consciousness and the digital world. This would negate the need for a physical entry into Cyberspace via portal."

They stared at him in utter confusion. Matt spoke first. "Uh...can you translate that into normal person talk for us?"

Dr. Marbles sighed. "If this device works, you will be able to enter Cyberspace through your mind instead of your body. Instead, you would inhabit a digital avatar."

Jackie frowned. "So...we wouldn't actually be here?"

"No, you would be here." Dr. Marbles sifted through his notes. "This is difficult to explain because frankly, I am incredibly uncertain as to whether or not this will work. This is highly experimental technology. In theory, this device could allow you to live full lives on Earth and in Cyberspace without the limitations of your accelerated aging in Cyberspace."

"What if it doesn't work?" Inez asked nervously. "The damage could be irreversible!"

Dr. Marbles spoke grimly. "If the project fails, then your minds will be lost in limbo forever, leaving your bodies an empty shell in reality."

A dark silence fell. "Well," Matt said lightly. "We won't know until we try, will we?"

Jackie held her hand out. "Together?"

Matt and Inez placed their hands on top of hers. "Together," they said in unison.

Dr. Marbles observed the three of them with a proud smile. "Shall we, then?"

"Ow ow ow!" Jackie winced as Dr. Marbles made the incision into her neck.

"I thought the anesthetic was supposed to numb the pain?" Matt asked, already feeling his stomach lurching into his throat as he watched droplets of blood trickle down the back of Jackie's neck.

Jackie hissed in pain as Dr. Marbles slowly slid the microchip under her skin. "It's fine, I can handle it."

Matt glanced back at Inez. Her long hair was tied up, showing the bandage on her neck. The procedure was fairly simple. Dr. Marbles cut a slit into the back of their necks then inserted the microchip. Supposedly, the chip would then imprint onto their nervous system and connect to their brains. Matt examined the bracelet in his hand closely.

"So all we have to do is put these on when we're on Earth and we'll go to Cyberspace?" he asked.

Dr. Marbles began to stitch the incision on Jackie's neck shut. "That is the gist of it, yes."

"Huh." Matt turned the bracelet over in his hand. He noticed that his name was inscribed on the inside of the metal band. "Nice touch, putting our names in here. It looks cool."

"It's not just for looks!" Dr. Marbles placed a bandage over the wound and stepped away to admire his handiwork. "Each of those bracelets is linked to an avatar designed specifically for you. So don't mix up whose bracelet is whose, or your cells could get very scrambled!"

Matt gulped. "Scrambled cells. Got it." He ran a finger along the edge of the bandage on his neck. Getting a minor surgery from Dr. Marbles wasn't much of a concern, but the next part of this experiment was more than a little terrifying.

"Now then." Dr. Marbles handed them each a small packet the size of a playing card. "These are the user instructions for these devices. Make sure to follow them to the letter after you get to Earth."

A swirling pink portal opened up next to them. Matt and Jackie automatically stepped towards the portal, but Inez hung back. "What's wrong?" Matt asked her.

Inez looked fearful. "What's going to be on the other side?"

"It's just my bedroom." Jackie held a hand out to Inez. "It won't be scary, I promise."

Matt held Inez's other hand in his. "Come on. Let's do it together."

Inez closed her eyes and allowed her friends to lead her to the portal. Just when she felt her panic beginning to overtake her, she opened her eyes and was engulfed by the light of the portal. Even though her body was being hurtled through space and time, the experience itself was surprisingly nice. Familiar. She did this every day for years, didn't she? Inez loosened her grip on her friends' hands and allowed herself to float freely. Before she knew it, she was laughing. Inez looked over to see Matt grinning at her.

"This is amazing!" she yelled. He only smiled back at her.

Their entry into Earth was not as smooth. They tumbled to the ground in a heap, banging elbows and knees against the floor and each other.

Jackie sat up and rubbed her head. "Okay, maybe we should start going through one at a time."

Matt massaged his bruised knee. "Yeah," he groaned. "That's probably a good idea. You okay, Nezzie?"

They looked back to see Inez lying spread eagle on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. "We're on Earth." Her eyes were filled with wonder, slowly revolving to drink in every detail of Jackie's bedroom. "This is Earth."

"Uh, yeah." Jackie stood and stretched. She looked around at the purple and white decor, the bedspread with stars on it, the stuffed animals on her pillows. "God, it feels weird to be here."

"I know what you mean." Matt looked down at his hands and frowned. "Is it just me, or do we look more...real? I don't remember seeing all these little lines in my skin when we were in Cyberspace."

Inez examined her own hands. "This is so cool." Everything looked different.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Jackie ran to the full length mirror she kept propped against the wall. "Our clothes are different! It looks like we're back to whatever we were last wearing on Earth."

Matt looked down at himself and gasped. "You're right!" He checked out his reflection in the mirror. "Oh man, that jacket was new! You think it'll still be there when we get back?"

Jackie pouted. "I hope so. I liked those earrings."

Inez sat up and pulled at the shirt she was wearing. "I forgot I owned this." She was wearing a pink T-shirt with a pair of jeans that hung loosely off of her hips. Matt and Jackie stared at her in amazement. It was so strange to see her wearing her old clothes. The sight of them brought back memories of the horrible day they had lost her.

"Our hair is still the same, and Inez still has her tattoos." Jackie observed. "I guess only material possessions like clothes got left behind."

"Our bracelets are still here though," Inez commented. "It must be something Dr. Marbles did."

Matt checked out his hair in the mirror. It was still the same style that he had gotten at the hairdresser in Radopolis. Had that really been only a few weeks ago? Matt turned back to his friends. "Okay, enough stalling."

Inez opened the tiny instruction booklet. "Most of this is just information about charging the bracelet and instructions for what to do if there are signs that the microchip is acting up. Otherwise, it looks like all we have to do is put the bracelets on and activate them."

"We need to make sure our bodies are safe too." Jackie tossed her throw pillows onto the ground. "We should spread out just in case."

Matt lay down on the floor and positioned the pillows around his head gingerly. He still wasn't quite sure what was about to happen. "On three," he said to the room.

"One." Jackie forced herself to sound certain.

"Two." Inez stared up at the ceiling, wondering if this would be her last sight of Earth.

Matt closed his eyes tightly. His heart was pounding so fast he could barely breathe. He pushed the button and said a silent prayer. "Three."

Good lord this chapter was hard to write. Lots and lots of plot to cover.

I'm sure people wanted to see the court battle with Hacker, but it felt redundant to dive back into the usual banter of him trying to manipulate people into forgiving him. Maybe I'll post a oneshot of the trial, if people are interested. As for his punishment - like Matt, I'm not a supporter of the death penalty. But in this fictional universe, Hacker is a constant liability. He always escapes, that's his thing. The characters won't be able to fully move on with their lives unless he is truly gone.

There's one more chapter after this, then the epilogue. Stay tuned for more, and leave reviews!