Chapter Nine: Tension/Brotherly Love
The climatic tension that filled the upstairs hallway and rooms hung thick, like a dark fog. Dot sat at the desk, organizer in front of her, doing quarterly scans for the Diner, looking at files from Mainframe, anything to take her mind off of what was happening to everyone. Yes, it seemed Matrix and AndrAIa were doing fine ~she couldn't help but notice the large redish-purple mark on the game sprite's neck~ but with one reconcile, there was another decension, this time between her own boys. She just couldn't understand it. They had been so close before and now...especially now, she was seeing a whole new side to both of them. Kit was becoming arrogant, cocky, belligerent and Jet had almost shut everyone out. He was quieter, almost on the edge of brooding, secretive.
And that outburst today! Jet had never so much as raised a hand to a pesky bug, but he had cold cocked his brother as if he was his most hated enemy. There was so much anger there, at what, Dot didn't know and she knew she wouldn't be getting any answers soon. Kit was in his room packing, she had heard the argument between him and Dani and now Jet had stormed off to who knows where. Even Nikki, the one person who probably knew where he was, wasn't talking. Sighing, the commander pushed away the organizer, knowing she wouldn't be able to concentrate long enough to do actual work.
If she wasn't on trial, she'd leave too.
Suddenly, Dot felt very alone and out of touch with those around her. It was like she didn't know any of these sprites anymore. Her sons were completely changed from the men they had been, her daughter was now keeping secrets from her ~something none of her children had ever done before~ the couples around her, those that seemed indestructible to her, were suddenly fighting more than usual. Things she never thought could possibly happen, now were. Her head started to pound, the beginnings of a headache forming at the front of her head.
This was the same feeling she felt after the purge on her brothers. Helpless, loneliness...like something had been pulled from her, even though it was Matrix and Enzo who had suffered more. She knew Chip felt the same. She wondered if he ever felt the way she did, alone though she was surrounded by friends and family...helpless, though they now seemed to be in control...out of touch, though things seemed so close...she fought to hold back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. Sighing again, she wiped her eyes and went back to her task.
"You shouldn't work yourself to deletion."
Dot turned, startled, to the sound of the voice. She gave a sigh of relief, her hand to her chest. "Bob!" she exclaimed. "You're going to delete someone around here." she scolded.
"Sorry." he said, walking over and kneeling in front of her.
"I didn't know you in the room."
"I could tell." he whispered, wiping away a small tear on her cheek. "I was worried about you, so I came up here."
She nodded, rubbing her forehead absently. "Headache?"
"Of course." she said. Sighing, she closed her eyes, again trying to stop an onslaught of tears. "Where did things go wrong, Bob?" she asked. "When did we, as sprites, friends, family, parents...when was the second we did something so wrong that we're on trial for our lives? When did we make that mistake that has now suddenly turned our own children against each other. When...when was the precise nano that we did...whatever we did, to make things turn out so wrong?"
"I don't know, Dottie." he whispered. "I've been asking myself that this whole time."
She opened her eyes and looked at him. His head was turned away and even now, she felt out of touch with her own husband, one of her best friends. He had a hollow look about him, one of defeat, something she had only seen maybe once before. She ran a small hand through his hair, instinctually knowing was wrong. "What is it, Bob?" she asked.
The guardian sighed, then chuckled, if somewhat disheartedly. "I had a talk with Turbo before I came up here." he said. "He said things were up to me on how to handle this...whole thing."
"You mean about Sabrina?"
"Sabrina, Matrix, Enzo, Kit, Jet..." he spat bitterly. "It's a never ending list, isn't it? I swear, Dot, it's like trouble follows us where ever we go, like we've got a big target on our backs for trouble to aim at."
Dot watched him as his anger seemed to decrease. She knew being the head of the Collective was slowly taking a toll on him. It wasn't exactly a roll he wanted, more like one he was handed and forced to do. "So what do you do?"
"As head of the Academy and the Collective, I obviously fire Bri, strip her, Matrix, and Enzo of their icons, sit Kit and Jet down to find out what's going on." he rambled. "Now ask me that same question as Bob, father, brother, and uncle to those just mentioned."
"I'm afraid I might not like the answer." she joked.
"I don't even like the answer." Bob whispered. He stood up and started for the door.
"Bob?"
"I'm gonna go talk to Nikki." he said over his shoulder. "Try and find out where Jet is, make sure he's okay. Maybe stop Kit from leaving."
"Good luck." she said. "He's being very stubborn about the whole thing."
Bob stopped, turning back to her with a smile. "Now,
who does that remind you of?" he joked, ducking out the door as a file flew
at him.
"Well?"
"Things seem to be going as planned." McMillian reported. "My...sources say things are heating up in that little hotel of theirs and get this. Kit is leaving."
"Leaving?" Gain asked. "Are you sure?"
"Hey, my sources say he's packing as we speak." Vance replied.
"And who exactly are these 'sources' you refer to?" Packard asked, his eyes narrowing.
"That's for me to know and for you not to, Mr. Packard." McMillian said, coolly. "Just trust me on this."
"Exactly how will Kit's leaving be good for our plan, Vance?" Gain asked. "If you've forgotten, I do need him for my own personal reasons."
Vance smiled. "With Kit gone, that's one less sprite to deal with, right?" he asked.
"With Kit gone, that's one less of the elements I get." Gain shot back.
"Gentlemen, please." Packard spoke. "Arguing gets us no where. Back to this 'plan' and I do say it loosely, I have to agree with Mr. Gain. How will Kit's departure help us?"
"I say we destroy them all now." Gain replied.
"And I say you're both looking negatively at a good thing here." McMillian said.
"I say the plan was negative from the start."
"Gentlemen!" Packard exclaimed. "Now is not the time, but I will say this. If Kit does intend on leaving, that puts Jet on the forefront and I have a feeling he'll be an impressive force for the defense. I suggest that whatever plan we have in store be bumped up."
***
Kit continued to pack his bags, despite repeated attempts by Dani for him to stop. She had stormed out sometime later, cursing him under her breath. Right now, Kit just didn't care. His brother. His brother, of all people, had just fired him, told him he wasn't needed in this trial. Just who does he think he is? he thought. Yes, he was upset, but above everything else, he was hurt. He and Jet had been so close in the past, very close, and now they tried to beat the stuffing out of each other.
He already had everyone else doubting him this whole time, why did Jet have to take their side and herald the charge against him?
Sighing, he picked up his bags and headed downstairs. Coming down the stairs, he saw Jet and Nikki huddled around a new coffee table, files and the like surrounding them. Alex and Enzo sat across from them, watching as he descended. Jet turned, a large smile coming to his face. Kit braced for anything, taking the last steps and walking over. "I can tell by your smile, baby brother," he began, a smile of his own appearing. "You're either happy to see me or happy to see me leave."
"I'm actually happy to see you." Jet replied.
"Sorry to see me go, huh?" Kit asked. "Told you you'd feel bad."
What an ASCII, Jet thought.
Down boy, came his sister's retort.
"On the contrary," the teen said, handing his brother a file. "I couldn't let you leave without giving you this."
Kit took the file and looked at it, his energy starting to boil. "A supoena?" he asked, bitterly.
"I'm sure you won't be," Jet began. "But please be on time. Tardiness is a sign of rudeness."
"So is serving your brother a supoena." Kit spat.
Jet stepped up to him, glaring him in the eye. "I have no brother." he said. "At least as far as this trial is concerned."
"You little shit." Kit replied, advancing on him. "This has been some grand scheme of yours, hasn't it?"
"What?"
"Design everything to go badly, to make me look bad, so you can have all the glory." Kit continued.
"Is that what you...You actually believe..." Jet sputtered, his bluish-green face now turning purple. "I have never had the glory!" he shouted. "You're the glory-hog! And believe me, it will be my distinct pleasure of putting you on the stand tomorrow!"
The two stood there, staring each other down, until Kit stepped closer to the teen. "We'll see, won't we?" he asked. "We'll see who gets the guts and glory." Leaning by his ear, he whispered, "And we'll see who gets everyone's approval." With that, Kit grabbed his bags and headed back upstairs.
***
The next second came with slow, agonizing effort. The Mainframe defense was slowly crumbling and for three members of the spectators, things couldn't be any better. Jet and Nikki sat at their counsel table with their defendants, Kit being banned to sit behind them. All morning Jet had a smirk on his face. The prospect of revenge and vengance completely outweighed the fact that having his brother on the stand only hurt their mother and uncles chances. But Jet was on a mission, a mission to show everyone Christopher Lan wasn't the hot shot everyone thought him to be. That Kit had a talented brother who had to live in his older brother's shadow for so long, taken for granted with his accomplishments.
Well, no longer.
Jet was going to take the null by the horns.
"Mr. Lan, the floor is yours." Riley replied, blowing out a sigh. What he wouldn't do to have this trial over and done with.
"Thank you, your honor." Jet responded, standing up with a confident air about him. "Defense calls Dr. Christopher Lan."
Kit stood, fixed his suit, and walked towards the gate. Jet gave him a menacing glare as he walked past, but was rewarded when Kit pushed the gate hard into his brother's nether regions as it swung back. A low tatic, but Jet would not be persuaded. It was war. "State your name and relationship to the defendants."
"Christopher Lan." Kit said. "Doctor Christopher Lan. I'm the son and nephew of the defendants."
"Mr. Lan..."
"Doctor..."
"Mister Lan," Jet began again, not bothering to hide the smirk on his face at Kit's irritation. "The character of our family has been poorly represented by the prosecution. Perhaps you can shed some light on a few things. First of all, please explain to the court the circumstances of Alexander Gain's injuries."
"First of all," Kit began. "Alexander Gain should be charged with perjury. The intent of his arrival in Mainframe was to systemactically destroy us and the system itself."
"Why, Dr. Lan?" Asked one counsel member. "What would Mr. Gain hope to achieve by riding the Net of Mainframe? The very system who saved the Collective from Daemon, I might add."
Kit shifted in his seat and even Jet cringed slightly. Neither had taken account of the fact that their powers could be exposed by addressing the viral takeover. "Let's just say, his motives were purely selfish and would be the catalist for the takeover that happened in Mainframe." Kit explained. "It was Gain's purpose of revenge that caused him to infect both of my uncles, thereby causing the strange behavior we all noticed later on, which would carry over into the very event we speak of."
"That doesn't answer your brother's question, Dr. Lan." Riley reminded. "He asked what was the role you played in Gain's attack."
Kit glared at his brother before answering. "I won't deny that I was involved in the attack of Alexander Gain," he started. "But I am neither ashamed or guilty for it. Alexander Gain nearly deleted us. His goal was that of Net domination and we stopped him from it. In retaliation, he infected my uncles."
"What about the claim of murder on your part, Dr. Lan?" asked another member. "And your time in the UFL?"
"I was kidnapped and placed in the UFL by Vance McMillian and his henchmen." Kit replied. "My actions during that time were in order to survive and are in no way part of who I am."
"I have no further questions, your honor." Jet said.
"Mr. Peters?"
Peters stood and said, "I have no questions at this time, your honor."
Kit stepped down from the stand and started to walk back to his seat. Before reaching it, he stopped and looked Jet dead in the eye. "Get all your answers?" he asked, sneering at his brother.
"Only the ones I needed." Jet answered, not showing any signs of backing down. Kit took his seat, still glaring at Jet, as the younger sprite replied, "I want to recall Alexander Gain, your honor. As a hostile witness."
"Objection." Peters said. "Mr. Gain has already answered any and all questions..."
"Not where I'm concerned." Jet shot back.
"Genetlemen," Turbo interrupted. "I want to get to the bottom of everything mentioned in this trial. Gain takes the stand."
Gain once again limped to the stand and took his seat. "So before I have this tribunal charge you with perjury," Jet began. "Why don't you tell us the real reason you were attacked?"
Gain sat back and smirked. "Do you really want me to tell?" he asked. "Tell this court about...that certain thing I came looking for back in Mainframe."
"Objection!" Nikki called, stunning her twin.
"What're you doing?" Jet whispered, walking over to her.
"What're you doing?" she chastized. "Have you flipped your motherboard? You're gonna stand there and you're gonna let him tell these complete and total strangers about our powers, the very thing we said we would never tell anyone who was not living in Mainframe about?"
"It's gonna come out anyways, Nikki." Jet reminded her.
"Not if you don't start anything about it." Matrix added.
"You're going to land us in more trouble than we already are, dipswitch." Kit reprimanded.
"You shut the hell up." Jet shot back.
"Is defense going to continue questioning or are
you going to have a leisurely conversation at the taxpayers expense?"
Riley asked, sarcastically.
"Just a slight disagreement on questioning, your honor." Jet apologized.
"You really should be a little more organized, Mr. Lan." Riley said. "I would hate to know that you contributed in ruining your own defense."
That stung. Jet grimaced at the harsh tone of Riley,
his insecurities hitting him all at once. "Sit down." Nikki said,
pushing her brother towards the chair. "Never send
a sprite to do a woman's job. Mr. Gain," she began, stepping over Jet
and making her way to the floor. "Have you always
been a virus?"
Gain looked at Nikki in some slight confusion, but answered slowly. "Yes..."
"And in all that time of being a virus, where did you live?" she asked. "Did you take over systems and call them home?"
"My family and I were cast out into the Web." he said.
"Really." Nikki nodded. "So, while in the Web, did you seek help from the Net or did you seek help from the Web Riders that reside out there?"
"Objection." Peters said. "What does this line of questioning have to do with anything?"
"If you sat there and kept your big trap shut,"
Nikki retorted, turning towards him. "You'd find out." Looking at the
counsel, she asked, "May I continue?" Turbo motioned
her to do so.
"Answer the question, Mr. Gain."
"We didn't..." Gain started, but was quickly interrupted by Nikki.
"Did you know that almost the entire Web Rider tribes
have been wiped out?" she asked. "Isn't that incredible? I hear
there was a lot, in my understanding. Tragic, no?"
"No, it isn't." Gain spat. "Those bastards deleted
my family and were going to delete me as well. Just ask your father
about that."
"Yeah, I don't think my dad's on the stand right
now, is he?" Nikki quipped. "So we're just gonna have to deal with you.
So, with that answer, I take it you had something to do with the entire
genocide of the Web Riders. You know, in some
circles, that's considered murder. So before you say
anything about my family having some 'deleter's instinct', perhaps
you should have a little talk with yourself, huh?
Yeah. I think so." Before Gain could responded, Nikki quickly began her
questioning again. "So besides being a virus bent on revenge for savage
acts that only you have to be liable for, why don't you tell the court the
real reason for you being Mainframe?"
Gain smirked. "The real reason I was in Mainframe was to gather the five elements of power," he said. "The very elements that..."
"Could you tell us what those are, please?" Nikki asked, sweetly.
"They enable a virus complete and total power when gathered together." Gain answered.
"For like a...viral takeover, maybe."
"Yeah." Gain said. "Something like that."
"No, I think it is like that." Nikki said. Taking a step further towards the virus, she said, "You arrived in Mainframe with the sheer purpose of taking it over once you found the elements, isn't that right?"
"Yes."
The umpteenth uproar started in the court.
"And when you couldn't achieve that, you infected my uncles, who in turn infected my mother, so they could carry out your sick and twisted scheme..."
"It was revenge!" Gain shouted. "Your father deleted my father!"
"Can you prove that?" Nikki asked.
"What?" Gain huffed.
"Can you prove that?" she repeated. "Do you have any evidence that indicates my father in that deletion?"
"I was there, spam it!"
"Was this before or after you murdered that Web Rider tribe?"
"Why you little..."
"Someone's getting testy." Nikki said, with a smile on her face. "I think you need a nap. No further questions." Nikki strolled back to her seat, saying, "That's how you question Alexander Gain." to her brothers as she sat down.
"Dude," Sabrina said, giving her cousin a high five. "Nikki's on fire. Why isn't she leading our counsel?"
"FAQ you, Bri." Jet and Kit mumbled in unison.
"Touchy." she replied. "I think we know where the processor ended up in this family."
Jet spun around to look at her. "How bout I put you on the stand next, Bri?" he asked. "Then you can tell everyone your roll in Gain's beating. I'm sure Turbo would love to hear that story."
"Jetison Patrick Lan, knock it off." Bob said sternly. "You have one job and one job only and that's to clear your family of any wrong doing. At this rate, you're going to put more blame on us than we really need and I can assure you, Jet, that is something you do not want to happen."
The three offenders sat back, collectively silenced by the Prime Guardian. They were being petty and in some recess of each of their processors, they knew it. But on the forefront was the very reputations they had to keep for themselves and their very careers. Sabrina couldn't afford to have any bad press against her, especially when it would just come back to her uncle. Kit was moving up in the Net and he certainly couldn't afford to have his past come back against him. And Jet...poor Jet had a lifetime of achievement that begged to be noticed and unfortunately, it was taking the low road to do it.
