Chapter 13 The Execution
The verdict came as no surprise - guilty but it still shocked Turbo anyway. Hex just stood there silently as Phong read out the sentence death. The crowd cheered lustily.
"So much for gratitude," thought Turbo bitterly.
Only a handful of people in the audience seemed remotely upset. The binome family that Hexadecimal helped grieve knew enough not show their displeasure. Hack and Slash cried with the knowledge that they had failed their client and Bob looked angrily at Dot his lips pressed firmly together.
Not everyone in Mainframe was at the trial. Ray Tracer sat in Al's diner with Dr. Chandra and little Enzo. Chandra was tending to her newest patient whom she did not want to be hurt anymore and the surfr, he was just plain disgusted with the whole thing. They heard the verdict while drinking Al's famous energy shakes. A vid window popped open. Inside was Mike in a disgustingly cheerful mood.
"Goood Morning Mainframe the news you've all been waiting for is now out. Hexadecimal the virus who terrorised us all has been sentenced to death. That's right Next morning cycle she'll be taken to our newly rebuilt viral deletion chamber and fried like a fish. It'll be a private affair but we'll be there getting witness accounts and-"
The surfr shut down the screen in disgust. "Bloody well figures, ungrateful wankers."
Enzo far from crying, merely had a cold hard look in his face and said coldly, "I have to be there."
"Enzo I don't think that's wise Hex will be dying and I don't think you'd want to watch," said Chandra soothingly.
"I don't want to either, but Hex deserves to have a friend around," the boy replied.
Ray said in a falsely jovial voice, "Enzo how about you come with me. I can teach -"
Enzo shot him a look that could freeze ice. The look of determination on the boy's face made him look far older than he actually was.
Mainframe the Next Morning
They woke Hex from her cell as Megabyte watched laughing. Hexadecimal did not respond. She merely looked straight ahead as the guards marched her down the corridor to the deletion chamber. Though she was frightened she carried herself like a queen. In her oversized prison uniform she reminded Turbo of a tragic child heroine in a vid movie he once saw.
On either side of the hall coming into the chamber stood all the important sprites in her life. She paused only to look at young Enzo, the boy she had helped heal. The child raced off the corridor somewhere not wanting to watch the death of the only person who saw behind the Megabyte form the boy was forced to endure.
Mainframe's most prominent citizens and the Guardians gathered in a small observation room just in front of the deletion chamber. The chairs were small but comfortable and were angled so that everybody would get an unobstructed view of the proceedings, just like a sports stadium.
Behind a shield of protective glass Turbo, Bob and his friends watched as the guards strapped her to the chair. Turbo observed with dismay that despite the young virus's small size the chair fit her perfectly. Turbo frowned as he saw Dot smirk when they placed the electrodes on Hexadecimal's skin.
"We lost, we tried so hard and we lost," cried Hack.
"I'm sorry Hex, we screw up everything," cried Slash.
"Yeah, we lost our one chance at respectability," moaned Hack.
To be honest the two idiot robots did surprisingly well and did a competent job of defending the girl. They were the best lawyers she could have hoped for not only for their efforts but the fact they were nearly indestructible.
"This is so unfair," fumed Bob. "She was FAQing poisoned no legitimate court would have held her responsible. She suffered so much."
And now she'll suffer some more, filthy virus," spat Matrix.
"Any last words?" said Dot.
The virus looked and saw no compassion in Rom's eyes.
"You know not what you do," said Hexadecimal.
Safely behind the glass Dot Matrix threw the switch. The prisoner stiffened and strained against her bonds. Energy sizzled and crackled around Hex's form. She let out a hideous cry as the air around her glowed and sparked.
Dr. Chandra shut her eyes and repeated a mantra, "It's better this way, it's better this way."
Turbo stared at Hex's body as her clothes flapped and billowed. He owed her that much to watch till the end.
Her face stiffened into a mask. Something was wrong. The energy wasn't destroying her at all. It was rejuvenating her instead. The mask peeled off her face and from the gaping hole left there vomited dozens, no hundreds, of masks. Each one of then had a different expression just like her old masks.
"Sir Ma'am somehow she's tapping into the core," reported Peters frantically.
"Cut off the power -now!" ordered Dot.
"I can't. Sir ma'am the cut off command won't respond. The core's power has been physically rerouted," replied the Sergeant.
Dot desperately shot orders to the guards to find the source and cut off the power. She tried to maintain a semblance of control.
The illusion shattered when thousands of nulls poured in from every nook and cranny to the deletion chair. Hexadecimal broke her bonds and stood up as the nulls swarmed all over her. The onlookers fled the observation chamber and everybody; even Megabyte evacuated the Principle's Office. Turbo had to drag a distraught Bob.
"What the Dell is happening?!" shrieked a terrified Mouse.
"Justice," said a young Enzo quietly.
By this time nulls had completely covered the building. The building buckled and heaved. And then it exploded.
When the smoke finally cleared Matrix rubbed his eyes in disbelief. There before them stood hundreds of confused sprites each wearing one of Hex's masks.
"Whoa, Dre," he said. "This reminds me of that party we went to while game hopping."
Mike filled in the rest of Mainframe, "Ladies and gentlemen, Hexadecimal has left us a legacy. From what I can see, somehow she brought back the sprites of Lost Angles. Somehow in an attempt to kill her life was returned to our beloved citizens. Why did she do it? Are they okay or are they as mad as Hex was? And most importantly what are we going to do about them? All these questions will be answered ."
"I can tell you what happened," said Enzo as people stared at the milling sprites. "Hex and I had the power switched so she could feed herself the core energy."
"You could've got us all deleted," accused Dot.
"We would've deserved it," shot back Enzo. "Hex had been bending over backwards to earn our respect saving us at least three times and you try to delete her!"
Dot raised her hand to strike Enzo but Phong stopped her.
"Not now my child, we must greet our old friends."
Dr's Apple and Chandra were already at work attending to the sprites. Matrix whooped for joy as he found his father and hugged the confused sprite.
From a distance Bob and Turbo watched the reunion. Then Turbo felt a nudge as Enzo handed him a note. It was written by Hexadecimal.
Dear Guardians,
It is ironic that the dearest friends that I ever had are Guardians, those who quite rightly should have destroyed me. Through the time I got to know you, you have always defended me and for that I'm grateful. Bob once when Dot accused me of being responsible for the destruction of Lost Angles you comforted me and said I was not responsible. In fact in a way I am. When I was born I absorbed them and they became a part of me. They gave me life. Each Mask that I wore was a sprite and now that I, we are about to die I give them back their lives. The truth is I don't know if I am anymore than just a mere collection of masks but when I bring the sprites within me back we'll find out.
Goodbye Bob and thank you for the dignity.
Hexadecimal.
"She may still be alive, Bob help me look for her," ordered Turbo.
The pair of Guardians desperately scanned the crowd and ruins for any signs of the virus until they spotted a familiar figure.
"Bob," cried Dixon Green." What the Dell has happened?"
She ran towards him stepping on a pile of shifting rubble. The former Guardian stopped as a pale white hand shot up out of the rubble. It was Hex digging herself out. She looked like a pale lily as she raised herself up. She swayed slightly and crumbled back to the ground as a shot rang out.
"Justice is served!" said Matrix as he held the smoking gun.
The verdict came as no surprise - guilty but it still shocked Turbo anyway. Hex just stood there silently as Phong read out the sentence death. The crowd cheered lustily.
"So much for gratitude," thought Turbo bitterly.
Only a handful of people in the audience seemed remotely upset. The binome family that Hexadecimal helped grieve knew enough not show their displeasure. Hack and Slash cried with the knowledge that they had failed their client and Bob looked angrily at Dot his lips pressed firmly together.
Not everyone in Mainframe was at the trial. Ray Tracer sat in Al's diner with Dr. Chandra and little Enzo. Chandra was tending to her newest patient whom she did not want to be hurt anymore and the surfr, he was just plain disgusted with the whole thing. They heard the verdict while drinking Al's famous energy shakes. A vid window popped open. Inside was Mike in a disgustingly cheerful mood.
"Goood Morning Mainframe the news you've all been waiting for is now out. Hexadecimal the virus who terrorised us all has been sentenced to death. That's right Next morning cycle she'll be taken to our newly rebuilt viral deletion chamber and fried like a fish. It'll be a private affair but we'll be there getting witness accounts and-"
The surfr shut down the screen in disgust. "Bloody well figures, ungrateful wankers."
Enzo far from crying, merely had a cold hard look in his face and said coldly, "I have to be there."
"Enzo I don't think that's wise Hex will be dying and I don't think you'd want to watch," said Chandra soothingly.
"I don't want to either, but Hex deserves to have a friend around," the boy replied.
Ray said in a falsely jovial voice, "Enzo how about you come with me. I can teach -"
Enzo shot him a look that could freeze ice. The look of determination on the boy's face made him look far older than he actually was.
Mainframe the Next Morning
They woke Hex from her cell as Megabyte watched laughing. Hexadecimal did not respond. She merely looked straight ahead as the guards marched her down the corridor to the deletion chamber. Though she was frightened she carried herself like a queen. In her oversized prison uniform she reminded Turbo of a tragic child heroine in a vid movie he once saw.
On either side of the hall coming into the chamber stood all the important sprites in her life. She paused only to look at young Enzo, the boy she had helped heal. The child raced off the corridor somewhere not wanting to watch the death of the only person who saw behind the Megabyte form the boy was forced to endure.
Mainframe's most prominent citizens and the Guardians gathered in a small observation room just in front of the deletion chamber. The chairs were small but comfortable and were angled so that everybody would get an unobstructed view of the proceedings, just like a sports stadium.
Behind a shield of protective glass Turbo, Bob and his friends watched as the guards strapped her to the chair. Turbo observed with dismay that despite the young virus's small size the chair fit her perfectly. Turbo frowned as he saw Dot smirk when they placed the electrodes on Hexadecimal's skin.
"We lost, we tried so hard and we lost," cried Hack.
"I'm sorry Hex, we screw up everything," cried Slash.
"Yeah, we lost our one chance at respectability," moaned Hack.
To be honest the two idiot robots did surprisingly well and did a competent job of defending the girl. They were the best lawyers she could have hoped for not only for their efforts but the fact they were nearly indestructible.
"This is so unfair," fumed Bob. "She was FAQing poisoned no legitimate court would have held her responsible. She suffered so much."
And now she'll suffer some more, filthy virus," spat Matrix.
"Any last words?" said Dot.
The virus looked and saw no compassion in Rom's eyes.
"You know not what you do," said Hexadecimal.
Safely behind the glass Dot Matrix threw the switch. The prisoner stiffened and strained against her bonds. Energy sizzled and crackled around Hex's form. She let out a hideous cry as the air around her glowed and sparked.
Dr. Chandra shut her eyes and repeated a mantra, "It's better this way, it's better this way."
Turbo stared at Hex's body as her clothes flapped and billowed. He owed her that much to watch till the end.
Her face stiffened into a mask. Something was wrong. The energy wasn't destroying her at all. It was rejuvenating her instead. The mask peeled off her face and from the gaping hole left there vomited dozens, no hundreds, of masks. Each one of then had a different expression just like her old masks.
"Sir Ma'am somehow she's tapping into the core," reported Peters frantically.
"Cut off the power -now!" ordered Dot.
"I can't. Sir ma'am the cut off command won't respond. The core's power has been physically rerouted," replied the Sergeant.
Dot desperately shot orders to the guards to find the source and cut off the power. She tried to maintain a semblance of control.
The illusion shattered when thousands of nulls poured in from every nook and cranny to the deletion chair. Hexadecimal broke her bonds and stood up as the nulls swarmed all over her. The onlookers fled the observation chamber and everybody; even Megabyte evacuated the Principle's Office. Turbo had to drag a distraught Bob.
"What the Dell is happening?!" shrieked a terrified Mouse.
"Justice," said a young Enzo quietly.
By this time nulls had completely covered the building. The building buckled and heaved. And then it exploded.
When the smoke finally cleared Matrix rubbed his eyes in disbelief. There before them stood hundreds of confused sprites each wearing one of Hex's masks.
"Whoa, Dre," he said. "This reminds me of that party we went to while game hopping."
Mike filled in the rest of Mainframe, "Ladies and gentlemen, Hexadecimal has left us a legacy. From what I can see, somehow she brought back the sprites of Lost Angles. Somehow in an attempt to kill her life was returned to our beloved citizens. Why did she do it? Are they okay or are they as mad as Hex was? And most importantly what are we going to do about them? All these questions will be answered ."
"I can tell you what happened," said Enzo as people stared at the milling sprites. "Hex and I had the power switched so she could feed herself the core energy."
"You could've got us all deleted," accused Dot.
"We would've deserved it," shot back Enzo. "Hex had been bending over backwards to earn our respect saving us at least three times and you try to delete her!"
Dot raised her hand to strike Enzo but Phong stopped her.
"Not now my child, we must greet our old friends."
Dr's Apple and Chandra were already at work attending to the sprites. Matrix whooped for joy as he found his father and hugged the confused sprite.
From a distance Bob and Turbo watched the reunion. Then Turbo felt a nudge as Enzo handed him a note. It was written by Hexadecimal.
Dear Guardians,
It is ironic that the dearest friends that I ever had are Guardians, those who quite rightly should have destroyed me. Through the time I got to know you, you have always defended me and for that I'm grateful. Bob once when Dot accused me of being responsible for the destruction of Lost Angles you comforted me and said I was not responsible. In fact in a way I am. When I was born I absorbed them and they became a part of me. They gave me life. Each Mask that I wore was a sprite and now that I, we are about to die I give them back their lives. The truth is I don't know if I am anymore than just a mere collection of masks but when I bring the sprites within me back we'll find out.
Goodbye Bob and thank you for the dignity.
Hexadecimal.
"She may still be alive, Bob help me look for her," ordered Turbo.
The pair of Guardians desperately scanned the crowd and ruins for any signs of the virus until they spotted a familiar figure.
"Bob," cried Dixon Green." What the Dell has happened?"
She ran towards him stepping on a pile of shifting rubble. The former Guardian stopped as a pale white hand shot up out of the rubble. It was Hex digging herself out. She looked like a pale lily as she raised herself up. She swayed slightly and crumbled back to the ground as a shot rang out.
"Justice is served!" said Matrix as he held the smoking gun.