Dundunduuuuuun! A plot twist toward the end. i hope you like it. this one was a little long. seems the closer to the end of the story i get the longer the chapter. i just can't seem to stop. okay, i'll stop doing intros now. um, i liked max's conversation with hacker back at control central. okay, now i'm definitely going to stop doing intros.
I made a few changes to this chapter. in the Sensible Flatts episode, Sheriff Judy called Hacker "Hieronymus" and the cyberchase wikia also refers to him as Hieronymus Hacker. Therefore, in the places where max is calling hacker by his name, i changed it so she's calling him by his first name.
I don't own Cyberchase. Max is mine. now i'm done doing intros. i said that already but i can't stop. okay, i'm done.
Chapter Nine
Family Feud
Dr. Marbles couldn't believe his luck. Ever since Hacker came back into power, Marbles had done nothing except look for a cure for Motherboard's virus and avoid his black-sheep son.
He wondered if maybe his family was cursed to disappear and never be seen again. Or rather, maybe his family was cursed never to be together. First his father vanished, then he and Coop had a falling out, then Coop vanished. Max was kidnapped, tortured, and mutated, and maimed. Slider lived alone without a father to show him the ropes. And Marbles made himself a social outcast because everywhere he went, Hacker was there to take him away.
Marbles drew his knees up to his chest and stared through the bars of his cage at Digit who was acting like a guard – a position that was unnerving to Marbles and the kids who had long since considered Digit as their friend. Digit sat on a stool in front of the cage, wings crossed over his chest, dark eyes narrowed to dash away all thoughts of escape. Motherboard was busy searching the four corners of Cyberspace in case she forgot to curse someone with the Mean Green. Buzz, Delete, and Baskerville were nowhere to be seen.
Inez scooted closer to Marbles and touched his elbow – they had figured out they could move around the cage and they could talk to each other without upsetting Digit. Digit just made it clear they couldn't get near to or touch the lock.
"Are you okay, Dr. Marbles?" Inez asked.
Marbles gave her a half-grin. "My pride is the only injured thing here, my friend." He said. "Are you well?"
"We're fine." Inez told him. "I'm just worried about Max, is all. Do you suppose she's okay?"
Marbles gave her a long look. "I'm sure Max is fine. At least, I do hope she is." He gave a long sigh, removed his glasses, and rubbed at his eyes with one hand. "Max has always been fairly strong, Even when she was young, she didn't let anyone or anything get in her way. Except for herself. Otherwise, she never let anything evil get to her."
He put his glasses back on. "Max is strong. I know that she's okay. She wouldn't let Hacker get his way."
"I bet she's getting ready to turn him off right now." Matt said.
"Ew! I don't want to be here when she does turn him off." Jackie said.
"Max told me she doesn't want us here when she fights him." Inez said. "She told me it won't be nice and it's not something kids should see. She said it would be ugly."
"It will be ugly." Marbles said. "I have been on Cybersite Wyvern. I have seen how gargoyles fight. It is not something anyone should ever have to see."
"Where's Cybersite Wyvern." Matt asked.
"It is a site neighboring Shangri-La. The gargoyles have a government all their own. They do not concern themselves with the issues of Cyberspace. Nor do they care much for what we do." Marbles explained. "Cyborgs aren't supposed to go there as part of the agreement we have with them."
"So why did you go, Dr. Marbles?" Matt asked.
"I went because Max had spent a little bit of time with them. She wanted to learn what it was like living like a gargoyle. I went so I could better understand gargoyles and could, therefore, understand my daughter." Marbles said.
"Sounds like you would do anything for Max." Matt told him.
He smiled. "I would." He looked up at the cage ceiling. "When Max disappeared, I thought I had really lost her. I could have made another child, but there is only one Max." He gave a deep sigh. "Within moments of coming online, Max looked at me and called me 'Dada'. It was just – it was just so beautiful. You cannot possibly know how beautiful it was."
Jackie scooted over to Marbles' other side and gently squeezed his elbow. "I'm sure it was beautiful." She said. "Have you ever told Max how much she means to you?"
"I don't have to. Max knows how I feel about her. We don't talk about these things like that. We understand each other, even in silence."
Inez leaned against Marbles, something that startled the kindly borg, but found he was grateful for the contact. Max used to lean against him like that too. Jackie laid her head on his shoulder. Marbles stared at both girls a minute, then stretched his arms over his head only to slide them down the sides of the cage until they came to rest on their shoulders.
"What do you think happened to Digit?" Jackie asked.
"I'd say Hacker reprogrammed him." Marbles said. "At one time, Digit did belong to him. Hacker made him to be an assistant. I considered Digit to be lucky he didn't get Hacker's personality."
"How could he do that? Why did he do that?" Inez asked.
"It is quite simple to reprogram something, Inez." Marbles said. "It is all a matter of removing an HHD, running it through a machine, and readjusting the programs within. Once you're done with that, the person or thing can be changed to do whatever you want."
"I don't like the sound of that." Matt said.
"You are not supposed to like it, Matt." Marbles said. He looked at Matt like the boy was speaking a foreign language. "It's a dangerous procedure known to completely change the personalities of the intended target. Motherboard had long since decided it should be illegal. Of course, Hacker has never considered the consequences of doing illegal things."
Marbles sighed. "I have no doubt that when Max discovers what Hacker has done, she will fly into a rage."
"That is precisely what I'm hoping for, Marbles." Hacker said, strutting into the room.
He stood in front of the cage with his hands behind his back; leering in at his four prisoners. Digit hopped down off the stool to join his new boss.
"You mean you reprogrammed Digit just to provoke Max into coming after you?" Jackie said. "That's just so . . . so . . . mean!"
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm the meanest borg in all of Cyberspace." Hacker pointed out. He patted Digit's head with one hand. "This is the way I figure it. Max is out to destroy me, right? Well, I do not want to be destroyed. So, to be sure Max does not destroy me, I have to destroy her. I've spent a long time looking for her but then, I thought to myself, why should I go hunting for a disfigured, albino gargoyle when I can have that reptile come to me? Then, I got to be wondering how I should get her to come to me. I realized, without much thought on my part, that Max is very close to Digit here and I know how she feels about you, Marbles. All I would have to do is threaten you two and she would come running to the rescue."
"You're wrong about that, Hacker." Marbles said, standing up. He grabbed the bars of the cage and pressed his face close to the space between the bars. "Max is not as careless as you think she is. In fact, she is the most clear-minded and resourceful gargoyle I've ever met. You would do well not to underestimate her."
"And you would do well not to underestimate me." Hacker said, shoving a hand hard against Marbles' chest; causing the older borg to stumble. "I had already taken that into consideration. That was why I had Motherboard infect every Cyber-leader with the Mean Green. If Max will not willingly come to me, then I have others out to get her."
"She'll avoid them, Hacker." Marbles said. "Remember, she's been trained by the warriors of Shangri-La. She knows all the tricks to staying out of trouble."
"She can't avoid them forever! Eventually, she will be caught or she will come to me. I don't care which happens. I just want her! And once I'm through with her, I'm going to dump the four of you into the deepest, darkest, blackest black hole I can find and I'm going to wave bye-bye to each of you." Hacker said.
"Once again, Hacker, you are underestimating your little sister. You should know better than to do that." Marbles said.
Hacker's eyes grew dangerously cold. He reached into the cage and grabbed Marbles by the front of his shirt.
"I told you once, Dr. Marbles, never to call her my sister. Next time I have to tell you, I won't wait until I get through with Max. I'll tip you into a black hole right away. Have I made myself clear?"
"Perfectly." Marbles said. He did not look the least bit frightened by Hacker's threat.
"Good." Hacker said, dropping his creator onto the floor of the cage. "You'll do well to remember it. I do not make idle threats."
Just then, a voice came over the sound system.
"HIERONYMUS! I'm talking to you, Hieronymus! Answer me!"
"Max! Is that you?" Hacker asked, looking up at Motherboard's terminal where Max's voice was coming from.
"Yeah. It's me, Hieronymus." Max said.
"Where are you?"
Max snorted. "Like you actually expect me to answer that. Don't even try to back-trace me either. I'm on a secure network. No amount of tampering will ever find me."
"What do you want, Max?" Hacker asked.
"Everything you took from me. My freedom, my life, my place in Cyberspace. I want it all back and I want it back now."
"Then come and get it."
"Nah-uh. You're going to have to come to me. I know you want me, Hieronymus. I know you want me bad. So I'm calling you out."
"You're calling me out? The illustrious Hacker! You have the gall to demand a fight with a genius of my magnitude?"
"Yep. I've run from you long enough. Now, I've set my brakes. I'm the rock that cannot be moved. Now, either you come to me, or I'll tell everyone in Cyberspace that you sleep while sucking on your thumb."
"That's blackmail!" Hacker said, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one else heard that.
"So? What's your point? You blackmail people all the time! Why should I be any different?"
"Because I'm a genius borg and you are a ridiculous-looking reptile! That's what the difference is!" Hacker snapped.
"Hey, I may not have a borg body anymore, but I'm still a borg. So, I'll make you a deal."
"I don't make deals!"
"But I think you'll like this one. It's a winner take all, loser lose all. It's right up your alley."
Hacker thought about it. "Fine. What is it?"
"You come to me on Cybersite Radopolis. There we'll figure out who is the better borg. This is what it's all about, right? Finding out who's better than the other?"
"What do I get out of it if I win?"
"Easy. You get to take my life and keep the throne of Cyberspace."
"And if you win?" Like that'll ever happen!
"Then I turn you off for good and Motherboard gets her throne back."
Hacker stood there in silence, contemplating everything Max had just told him. It was risky, that much he knew. Tangling with a gargoyle was never a good thing to do. But Hacker didn't care. He had waited for far too long for the title of Supreme Ruler of Cyberspace to be his.
"Deal."
"Good. You can bring as many people as you want and anything you need to beat me. By the way, if you so much as cheat, you'll lose everything. Understood?"
"Yes." Hacker said after a moment's pause.
"Good. I'll see you in Radopolis in ten hours."
"Ten hours? That's not nearly long enough!" Hacker said.
"How long do you need? Or are you too cowardly to answer?" Max said, her voice teasing.
Hacker considered it. "Okay." He said, sighing in resignation. "Ten hours it is. And you had better be there, Max. Otherwise, I will hunt you down and destroy you like I should have long ago."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about me not showing up. But you had better hope, for your sake, that I don't."
"I'll be there." Hacker said.
"Good. I look forward to seeing you there." Max said. With that, she disconnected.
Hacker grumbled indiscernible under his breath while he rubbed at his chin with his fingers. Then, he turned back to Digit. "Watch them." He ordered.
Digit saluted. "You got it, Boss." Digit said. He went back to his stool and sat down with his wings crossed over his chest and a stern glare set on his once, homely features.
Marbles was no longer paying attention to his former friend. He was, instead, staring at Motherboard's terminal. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Max had not only called Hacker out and demanded he meet her on Radopolis, but she also called him by his name. Max never called Hacker by his name. For her, it just wasn't done. Max hated Hacker too much to even acknowledge he had a name. Not to mention, she pretty much attacked anyone who said it.
When Max was a kid, she had refused to even acknowledge Hacker's existence by calling him by his name, usually preferring to call Hacker him. After her time spent under his thumb, Max's venomous attitude toward her "brother" had only grown worse - not that Marbles could blame her after he had seen everything Hacker had done to her. Marbles only assumed that her use of pronouns was her way of distancing herself from him - a way of growing unattached to her enemy.
Marbles couldn't help but feel shocked his daughter had even used the name. Not only that, but she had said it four times, a clear sign Max was getting serious.
Marbles reclined against the cage and draped his arms over his knees. He didn't like this. Not one bit. He knew Max had taken up the life as a mercenary bent solely on taking Hacker out. But Marbles hadn't expected that day to come so soon. He had hoped he would have a few more years before Hacker and Max duked it out on a battlefield.
Marbles suddenly felt dizzy. He clapped both hands to his temples and pushed; tucking his head between his knees, he breathed deeply.
Inez rubbed him on the back. "Hey. Are you okay, Dr. Marbles?" She asked.
"Negative." Marbles said. He didn't want to look at her. Inez reminded him too much of Max at that age.
"What's wrong?" The human girl pushed. "Is this about Max? Are you worried about her fighting Hacker?"
"Positive." Marbles said. He still didn't look at her.
Inez went from rubbing to patting. Much to Marbles' amazement, it was kind of comforting. "Don't worry, Dr. Marbles. I'm sure she'll be okay."
Just then, Digit hopped down off the stool and strolled to the cage. "Nobody can stop Hacker and his plans to rule Cyberspace." The cyboid said.
Marbles lifted his head and glared at Digit. "There was a time when you would have agreed with us, Digit. However, it appears you do not know my daughter any more." Marbles crawled close to the edge of the cage where Digit stood. "Don't you remember Max at all? Don't you remember anything about her?"
There was a spark of recognition in Digit's eyes. "Max?" He said, as though remembering. Then, the spark was gone as soon as it appeared. "It doesn't matter. She'll be gone before you know it." He returned to his stool.
Marbles leaned back against the cage again. Fear crept into his body as he tried not to think about all the horrible possibilities to come.
0
When the ten hours were up, Hacker loaded his henchmen, prisoners, and partner - the Wicked Witch - onto the Grim Wreaker. The prisoners were shoved into the prison deck where Digit and Baskerville was sent to watch over them. Thus began the short trek to Radopolis, made all the more longer to Dr. Marbles by feelings of dread.
The stands at the Radopolian sports arena was jam packed with spectators waiting to see an awesome battle. Many - at least the ones not effected by the Mean Green - were wondering how Hacker planned to get out of this situation because there was no way he could stand up to a full-grown female gargoyle and hope to survive. The others that were effected by the Mean Green remained stoic, waiting to receive orders from their new ruler of Cyberspace.
Hacker was the first of the contestants to arrive. He strutted into the arena, chin held high. Wicked strode beside him, waving at people as she went. Buzz, Delete, Baskerville, and Digit were quiet. They didn't smile or wave at anyone. Their job was to keep the prisoners in check.
"Where's Max, Hacky-poo?" Wicked asked, looking around; expecting to see the disfigured, albino gargoyle to suddenly materialize out of the crowd.
Hacker shrugged. "Never you mind. She'll show up." He grumbled. He grabbed Wicked's wrist in a tight grip. "You just do what you're supposed to do. Got it?"
Wicked gave him an endearing smile. "Don't worry, Hackey-poo. I know what I'm supposed to do."
Just then, a roar from above caught their attention. Everyone turned to look up at the clouds. There, they saw Max coming swooping out of the sky, flipping onto her back to perform proper landing technique, finishing it off with a nice stopping run. Max halted directly in front of her foe. Slider, who was on her back, untangled his legs from beneath the wing joints and rolled off her shoulder onto the ground.
"Hieronymus." Max said, giving him a nod.
"Max." Hacker said, not returning her nod. "It's about time you showed up. It's a pity, really. I was looking forward to hunting for you."
"Sorry to disappoint you." Max said with a toothy grin.
"You don't disappoint me, Max." Hacker said, his dark, greedy eyes suddenly on Slider. "Especially when you bring someone like that little nuisance with you."
Max shifted herself so she was between Hacker and Slider. She didn't like the way he was eying her cousin. Hacker frowned.
"How do you want to do this?" He asked, abruptly.
Max ignored him and looked, instead, at her father and friends. "Dad? You guys okay?" She asked.
"We're fine, Max. You just be careful." Marbles said.
Hacker didn't like being ignored. He swatted at a loose strand of mane dangling in Max's face. "Hey! I said, how do you want to do this?"
Max gave him a long look before responding.
"Before we do, I want to add a couple more things to our bargain. First, I've noticed you had Wicked infect Motherboard with the Mean Green spell. Through her, all the heads of the Cybersites have also been effected."
"What's your point?"
"If I win, Wicked must reverse the spell on everyone including Motherboard. Got it?"
Wicked smiled, sweetly. She tucked her wand up her sleeve. "No can do, sweet-pea." She said.
Max growled and advanced upon the witch who backed up, slowly; all insolence gone from her face. "It's either that, or I target you for the next fight."
"Fine! I'll do whatever you say." Wicked said.
"And the other thing?" Hacker put in.
Max backed up so she was between Slider and Hacker again. She didn't trust her foe with her cousin. "I don't want the kids here. I don't want them to watch this fight."
"No can do." Hacker said. "If I let them go, it will take forever for me to find them again. I have plans for them. Just like I have plans for Slider and his dead-beat dad."
Max felt Slider's hands ball into fists. She touched him, gently, with her barb, willing him to be still.
"I'm not suggesting you send them back to earth." Max said. "If it would make you feel better, you can put them in a nearby building until this fight is done. Either way, they aren't going to watch this fight."
Hacker considered it. But he still didn't like the sound of it. "How will I know they won't escape?"
"Send a couple of your henchmen with them. I don't care what you do, just get them off the field." Max said.
"Where will you put them?" Hacker asked.
"You can use my garage. It's not that far." Slider said by Max's shoulder.
That sounded better to Hacker. "Fine. Baskerville, Digit, take the prisoners to Slider's garage. Watch them, make sure they don't do anything funny."
"Yes, my liege." Baskerville said, bowing.
"You got it, Boss." Digit said.
Max looked at Digit. Surprise registering on her face. She looked up at her father who gave her the smallest of nods. Max nodded back in understanding.
"So, you reprogrammed Digit?" Max said. She glared at Hacker. "You had to know I wouldn't like that, right?"
"Who cares what you do or do not like?" Hacker demanded. "Digit is my creation, after all. That's all there is to it."
"He's still a living being and you had no business changing him like that." Max said.
She remained as calm as possible and it surprised Hacker that she hadn't started mauling him yet. If Max hadn't started mauling him yet, it meant she wasn't angry. If she wasn't angry, that meant she wasn't provoked into attacking. If she wasn't provoked into attacking, that meant this would be a long day.
"He's my property to do what I please with." Hacker said.
"No. He stopped being your property when he came online. You can't just make a cyborg or a cyboid and expect them to be your private property. It just isn't done. Not here anyway."
"Max, I am the Supreme Ruler of Cyberspace. I can do what I like with anyone and anything I put my mind to."
"So, I guess that means I have to defeat you in order to turn everything back to the way it was, huh?"
"That's right." Hacker grinned.
"I was hoping you would say that." Max told him. She looked over her shoulder at Slider. "Sly. I don't want you here either. You should probably go with them."
"Nice of you to consider helping me." Hacker said. "This way I won't have to hunt Slider down either."
Max's head whipped around, lips curled over sharp teeth as she let out a hiss that caused him to take a few steps back; the sneer gone from his face.
"bIjatih 'e' yImev."1 Max spat. Shut up. "This is more of a self-service on my part because there is no way in hell I will ever help you." She jabbed him in his barrel-like chest with a sharp claw. "You'll only get them over my dead body, and that's a fact."
"Come on, Max. It's not like I haven't seen you fight before." Slider said, gaining Max's attention back to him.
"I mean it, Sly. I don't want you to see this. I don't really want the people in the stands to see this either but I was only appealing to Hacker's ego. Besides, you'll only distract me." Max told him.
She gave him a look that put all future arguments to rest. Slider nodded.
"Okay."
Max nuzzled him and whispered in his ear. "Besides, I need you to help my dad reprogram Digit."
Slider immediately caught on. "Okay." He whispered back.
"Let's go!" Baskerville said. He made a swipe to grab Slider who windmilled his arm out of the cyber-hound's grasp.
"Don't touch me!" Slider snapped as he want to be with his uncle and friends.
Just as the two henchmen started shepherding the prisoners away, Marbles cried out.
"Please, Hacker. Let me have a few moments with Max. Please."
Hacker regarded his creator, severely, then waved a dismissive hand. "Make it quick." He said.
Marbles broke away from the group and went to Max. Max lowered her head and he threw an arm around her neck and buried his face into her thick mane.
"Please, Max. Don't do this. You don't have to do this." He said. He cupped her chin in both hands and lifted her face until she was eye to eye with him. "Please, Max. Nothing good will come of this."
"Actually, you're wrong about that, Dad. I do." Max told him. "Some good will come of this, I promise. Cyberspace will finally be free of him. That's the only thing I can promise."
Marbles ran his hand down Max's muzzle; his fingers rolled over the scars stretched over her nose. "I wish it didn't have to be you, Max. Really I do. I don't want to lose you. I just don't."
"You won't lose me, Dad." Max said, nudging him gently with her nose. "I promise."
"But what if I do? We've been apart for nine years, Max. Don't separate us again." Marbles said.
"Dad, you're just going to have to trust me. That's all. I'm not that easy to kill."
"That you aren't." Marbles agreed.
"Time's up, you bumblesome-bubblehead." Hacker said, seizing his creator by the back of his jacket and hauling him away. "I have some business to attend to with this reptile. I'll get back to you five later."
"Be careful, Max." Marbles said just before he was hauled out of her hearing range.
"I will." Max hollered back.
"Okay, let's get started." Hacker said with a wide grin.
1
"Keep moving." Baskerville snarled, shoving his hand into Matt's back.
The boy stumbled and glared over his shoulder at the Cyber-hound. "Hey! Stop pushing!" He snapped.
"You heard, Baskerville. Keep moving." Digit shouted, pushing at Matt's knees.
Slider kept his face forward; features expressionless to give nothing away. "How long have you guys been serving Hacker?" He asked.
"A long time." Digit said, proudly.
Slider didn't like that answer. Obviously Hacker had fooled with Digit's memory banks, too.
"I have been serving my liege for a few months at a time." Baskerville said.
"Oh." Slider said.
Marbles slid a look to his nephew. What are you planning, Sly? He thought.
Slider slid a look to his uncle. Watch me.
"So, if you've been serving Hacker for a while, how loyal are you to him?" the teen borg asked.
"Shut up." Digit said. "Keep walking."
"Okay." Slider said.
Instead of walking, Slider started running. His boots pounded the ground and his hood streamed out behind him.
"Get him!" Digit ordered.
Baskerville yelled and charged after Slider, but Slider wasn't easy to catch. Especially when he didn't want to be caught. He ran in a zig-zag pattern, thoroughly confusing his pursuer. Then, Slider stopped, turned, and ran at Baskerville. He dropped into a slide, pushed himself up onto one hand, and thrust his foot into the underside of Baskerville's chin. Dazed, Baskerville fell to his knees then flopped onto his belly. Slider's quick fingers located Baskerville's offswitch and pressed it. Baskerville went still.
While Baskerville had begun chasing Slider, Marbles had snatched Digit up and flipped off his switch, too.
"We haven't got much time." Marbles said to the astonished kids. He turned to Slider who was now dragging an unmoving Baskerville. "We must get to your garage and repair the damage done to Digit, quickly."
"No problem, Doc." Slider said. "Follow me."
The four of them wordlessly followed Slider to his garage. There, he shut and locked the door so they could work without interruptions. The kids watched as Marbles selected a screwdriver off the wall above Slider's workbench and opened a panel on Digit.
"What are you doing, Dr. Marbles?" Matt asked.
"We're going to reprogram Digit." Marbles said. "It's considered illegal to reprogram anything against what they had originally been planned for."
No one had anything more to say to that, so the three kids sat in a corner and watched.
Marbles quickly located Digit's battery pack and unplugged it. Then, he found Digit's HDD, removed it with a jeweler's screwdriver, and set it aside. "Slider, I require a Program Modulator." He said.
"You got it." Slider said. He disappeared into the backroom and returned only a few moments later with a blocky-looking object. There was an angled view screw and a small keyboard on the top of the machine. A wide slot spanned the front of the machine like a gaping mouth. Slider set the Program Modulator down on the workbench by Marbles and plugged it in. "Here you are."
"Thank you." Marbles said. "I'll need peace and quiet while I work. This is a delicate procedure, requiring full concentration."
"Okay, Doc." Slider said and he went to sit on the hood of a half-finished cybercoop.
He switched the PM on, waited a moment while the machine booted up, then slid Digit's HDD into the slot. Strings of code appeared on the view screen.
.HACK/26492087/Program_Modulator.
Maker: Cooper_Marbles/ID:266097
Primary Function: Search_and_restore_damaged_programs
System: On
Found Device: Hard_Disk_Drive/Series_ID: 2672045/Model_ID:2672040/Species_ID: Cyboid/Code_name: Digit_LeBoid
Select_function_option: Search_for_errors/Repair_errors
Marbles selected Search for errors and waited for the PM to finish with its function.
.Hack/26492087/Program_Modulator/Search_for_errors: complete/errors_not_found
"Damn!" Marbles said, banging his fist on the table top.
Everyone jumped. Marbles never swore.
"What's wrong, Doc?" Slider asked.
"I can't reprogram him. At least, not without the original program code." Marbles said in frustration.
"You mean, without this?" Slider reached into the kangaroo pouch on the front of his hoodie and held up a jumpdrive hanging on a string.
Marbles took the drive. "Where did you acquire this?" He asked.
"Max gave it to me. She said it contained Digit's original program. She created a ghost file that contains everything that makes Digit what he is. She asked me to hang onto it in case something bad happened to Digit. I guess she was right." Slider said.
Marbles inspected the drive. It was a small 2-gigabite jumpdrive. He recognized it as the one he had given Max for her third birthday and he was glad he had given it to her. He hadn't known he would need it for something like this and was also glad Max had thought to keep it.
"Affirmative. This will work quite well." He said, removing the cap and jabbing the drive into the USB slot. Then, he waited.
.HACK/26492087/Program_Modulator.
Found_Device:Universal_Serial_Bus/Serial_ID:54789/Model_ID:14987/Capacity: 2000_Mb/Used_capacity: 78%/Free_space: 22%
Select_function_option: Scan/Repair/Copy
Marbles selected Copy. And waited.
.HACK/26492087/Program_Modulator/Function_Copy_complete
Select_Function_Options: Copy_to_program/Write_over_program
Marbles selected Write Over Program and waited.
.HACK/26492087/Program_Modulator/Function_Write_over_program_complete/Errors_repaired/ Hard_Disk_Drive_Series_ID: 2672045_Model_ID:2672040_Species_ID: Cyboid_Code_name: Digit_LeBoid_repaired
Marbles wiped perspiration from his brow and smiled. He then removed the HDD and inserted it back into Digit. After screwing the HDD back into place and plugging in his battery pack, Digit opened his eyes.
"Doc?" The befuddled cyboid asked.
"Digit? How are you functioning?" Marbles asked him.
"I'm fine but . . . why are you looking at me like that?" He looked around. "How did I get into Slider's garage?"
"You mean you don't remember anything?" Slider asked.
Digit looked at him. "No. Should I?"
Marbles picked up the screwdriver again while he explained. "You have been reprogrammed to serve Hacker. Now, Max and Hacker are preparing to fight."
"What?" Digit said in surprise. "Max is going to fight Hacker? I mean . . . I knew this day would come but I didn't expect it to come so soon!"
"Neither did I, Digit." Marbles said. He hung the screwdriver back on its peg and allowed Digit to sit up. With Digit reprogrammed, Marbles felt there was something else he had to do. "You five remain here. I'm going out to the arena. I have to stop this fight."
"But Dr. Marbles. You can't go!" Inez said. "Max told us to stay here! She said she doesn't want us to see this fight!"
"She said she didn't want you four children to see this fight. She did not say anything about me." Marbles corrected.
Before anyone could protest or stop him, Marbles slipped out the door and ran back to the arena. But he was too late. The fight had already started.
0
"Choose your weapons." Max told her foe. "Remember you can't cheat. This will be a fair fight. At least as fair as possible considering the circumstances."
Everyone but Max and Hacker had left the arena. They stood across from one another; Hacker in a wide-legged, wrestlers stance and Max in a very relaxed stance.
"You want fair?" Hacker asked. "Here! Here's fair! WICKED!"
Wicked rose out of the bleachers and waved her wand.
"Twist the bones and bend the back.
Trim him of his baby fat.
Give him hair as black as black.
Give him claws like a wildcat.
Give him horns like a goat.
Give him wings so he may float.
Give him scales like a shield.
So to his power his foe may yield.
Sharpen his tail into a spike.
Just. Like. This."2
A burst of yellow light exploded from Wicked's wand and surrounded Hacker. Once it dispersed, there was an enormous, male gargoyle in the place of the ruthless cyborg. He was a near-perfect image of Max in every way, with only a few key differences.
Aside from having the bear's head, goat's horns, bat's wings, barbed tail, and panther-esk body, Hacker's scales were green, just like his borg's skin, his eyes were obsidian with no sign of pupils, and his mane was black. His horns were thick and spiraled around the leonine ears. He was also bigger and much more muscular than Max.
But that didn't seem to phase the youthful cyborg-gargoyle who only grinned with satisfaction.
1"bIjatih 'e' yImev" - literally, shut your mouth in Klingon
2Wicked's spell is a modified version of the first spell used in Hocus Pocus; first three lines and last line are the only unchanged lines.