Chapter Eight. It's a little long. Footnotes are there just like before. enjoy.

I don't own Cyberchase. Max is mine.

Chapter Eight
Start of a Nightmare

Max was slow waking up after being buzzed in the neck with an object she wasn't able to identify. Her head felt like little guys with mallets were running hanging pictures in her brain and her vision was fuzzy. She slowly sat up, groaning as her headache worsened, and leaned against the arching wall of a structure behind her. Max blinked several times, the blurriness alleviating bit by bit. She pressed her palm to her forehead as she looked around.

She was in a large hanger of sorts. A cyber-scooter in one corner and half-finished parts of a craft toward the middle of the hanger. From the size of the pieces, Max could only assume it was supposed to be a giant Cyber-coop – of sorts – capable of long-distance travel across Cyberspace. A craft that size could be useful for one thing and one thing alone: wreaking havoc and destruction all around Cyberspace.

"Oh, my head."

A moan dragged Max's attention over to the huddled form beside her. Digit! He slowly sat up and pressed a wing to his temple. A chain tied around his ankle made noise when he moved. Max looked and saw she had a chain similar to the one Digit was wearing and wondered why that was. Then remembered Hacker's visit to her room.

"What happened? How'd we get here?" he asked, looking at Max.

Max pulled him closer to her and draped a comforting arm over his shoulders. "What do you remember?" she asked as a way of answering his question.

"I remember falling asleep next to you. Then waking up when something grabbed me – oh circuit breakers! We're on the Northern Frontier!" Digit said. He momentarily forgot his headache and latched onto Max's arm with his wings.

Max reached across herself and stroked his head. She was relatively calm despite the bad situation they were in. She had no idea what Hacker could possibly have in mind for her – and she was certain it wasn't going to be good or pleasant – but her Shield-Maiden's training on Shangri-La had gifted her with a cool head. Fear, anxiety, and panic were things that clouded one's judgment and Max couldn't afford to have her judgment clouded.

"It'll be okay, Digit." Max said, gently patting him on the shoulder.

"But what if it's not? You have to know he's going to do something bad to you! How is that going to be okay?"

"Look Didge, I know this probably isn't going to end well for either of us. Particularly for myself and for Hacker. But I'm not going to let this get to me. I can't afford to have a mind clouded with fear – that's not the Warrior way.

"I know this looks bad. But the only thing Hacker wants is to punish me for doing my civic duty and protecting Motherboard. Believe it or not, I don't care about what he does to me. I made a promise to my father five years ago that I would protect and serve Motherboard to the best of my ability. If he wants to punish me for doing my job, so be it. But I won't apologize and I won't beg for mercy.

"I did my job that night. I protected Motherboard and I did it all without any thought of my own safety. I did it with a clear mind, a straight face, and a strong arm. And, I did it all with Hapkido. I did it just the way Jethro and Red taught me. I spent three years learning how to be a Shield-Maiden. Now I may not be a Shield-Maiden at the moment and I may not become a Shield-Maiden, but my training is still the same. I was in training so I could do more for Motherboard other than the maintenance work I had originally been programmed for. I did my job when I protected Motherboard and because I did it, Cyberspace breathed a sigh of relief and praised me for my quick thinking and actions. I can rest easy knowing Motherboard is alright now."

"How can you be so calm?" Digit asked.

"Because I'm a Warrior. Hacker is nothing more than a selfish coward. No matter what he does to me, it will only return to him ten-fold." Max said.

Digit leaned into her, his wing tightening over her arm. "But I'm not a Warrior. I've never been trained to be a Warrior. I was programmed to assist. What if he decides to punish me for telling you, for helping you? I'm not as strong as you, Max. I don't know what will happen!"

Max moved her arm out of his grip and tugged him even closer. "Then stick close to me. I'll protect you. For as long as you need me."

"Thanks Max." Digit said.

He laid his head down over her knees and she began slowly stroking his feathers while she hummed. She wasn't humming any song in particular. She just made a noise in her throat that rose and fell in tempo and made a half-decent song. Thankfully, Digit didn't have an ear for music so even Max's botched attempts to make music activated his sleep-mode. Max's soothing finger-strokes helped, too; straightening out feathers that had been ruffled when he was stuffed in the sack.

Max leaned her head against the wall. Even though she had said her speech about not caring for what Hacker was going to her and telling him about her Warrior's training, Max was actually somewhat frightened. She did, in a way, care about what he had planned for her. The fact she was calm was just a front to keep Digit from freaking out.

Max leaned her head against the wall and shut her eyes. She didn't like lying to Digit but she didn't want him getting all hysterical. Nothing good ever came out of getting hysterical.

Max felt something touch her foot.

"Hey! Wake up."

She opened her eyes and looked, hatefully, up at the borg towering above her. Hacker! He carried something that was covered by a large sheet over one shoulder, his green hand also covered by the sheet.

"You've slept enough today."

"I wasn't sleeping. I was just resting my eyes. Besides, I have reason to believe it wasn't a natural sleep, was it?"

Hacker grinned. "No it wasn't."

"You injected me with something. What was it?"

"Nano-droids. Very small robots that –"

"I know what Nanos are, Hacker. I'm not stupid."

"But you're not as smart as me."

"We have the same level of brainpower. We were just designed for different purposes, that's all."

"Yes. And your purpose has been nothing but a broken circuit in my side since I came online."

"Funny. I was about to say the same about your purpose. I'm surprised you would be willing to mess with those temperamental little things. Nanos are dangerous. You know you could have killed me?"

"I worked a long time reprogramming them to immobilize a target."

"I'm sure you have."

Hacker's grin widened. "What's wrong, Max? Is that a hint of jealousy I'm detecting?"

"In. Your. Dreams."

His grin vanished and he hefted the object laying over his shoulder. "Don't mess with me, Max. Remember, I almost eliminated Motherboard. I will not hesitate doing the same to you."

Max carefully moved Digit off her lap and stood up, her chain jangling. "You wanna go toe-to-toe with me, pretty boy?" she asked.

"Go for it."1 he said.

Her eyes darted to the object on his shoulder. "What's that?"

"Oh, just insurance you'll do what I want."

Max snorted. "I doubt it."

Hacker whipped the blanket off his shoulder, revealing an enormous gun. It resembled a grappling gun with a four-pronged tip.2 He waved the enormous weapon under her nose.

"Do you see this? Do you know what this is?3 This is a Dematerializer and I will not hesitate using it on you!"

Max stared at the weapon. "Dematerializer, huh? How'd you make it? The material to make that stuff are highly unstable chemicals. I'm surprised you were able to construct a weapon capable of withstanding the acidity of the chemicals."

"That's just the thing, Max. It took me a while to figure out how to store the chemicals in this gun without it deconstructing on me. But then, I accidentally discovered if the chemicals are frozen, the deconstructing process is placed in suspended animation. However, since the chemicals are highly unstable, as soon as it leaves the barrel, it thaws out . . . and deconstructs everything it touches."

Max stared at him through her bangs. "You're really too smart for your own good." she said.

"So are you, sometimes." Hacker pointed out.

He thrust a hand against her chest, pushing her back on the floor next to Digit. Digit had already slipped out of sleep-mode when Max started asking about the Dematerializer. No sooner had Max landed next to him on the floor than he grabbed her arm in both wings and squeezed her tightly; panic showing on his face. Max remained stoic, slowly reaching across herself to touch Digit on the head in a comforting fashion.

"I'm going to explain this to you only once, so listen closely. You will do what I say when I say it. If either of you refuses, you will be punished." Hacker said, strutting back and forth in front of his two prisoners.

Max's eyes darted to the Dematerializer still on Hacker's shoulder. Hacker's smile widened and he showed far too many pearly-white teeth.

"No, not with this. I have no desire to delete you . . . at least not yet. This is only assurance that you will cooperate with me."

"In your dreams." Max repeated.

"Watch it, Max." Hacker warned. "That smart mouth of yours will get you in trouble some day."

"That's what I hear."

They glared at each other, neither one wanting to give any leash to the other.

"I consider myself an even tempered borg. It takes a lot to get under my skin, but congratulations, you just won the solid-gold Kewpie doll."4 Hacker said. "But, if you continue to try my patience, I will be forced to eliminate you. Let me remind you that I will dance over you grave when you're nothing but a pile of ones and zeros."

"I should say the same about you." Max said.

Hacker knew he was getting nowhere with Max. He laid the Dematerializer down and reached over his right shoulder. He pulled out something long, thick, and heavy. With a forceful swing, he caught Max on the side of the head with the object and she fell over, holding her temple with one hand. She didn't cry out or yell in pain. She just lay there, waiting for the numbness to set in.

Hacker held the object in his right fist and grabbed Max by the front of her nightshirt with the other; pulling her upright.

"That was just a warning. Any more smart comments like that will result in something much worse. Do we understand each other?"

"Perfectly." Max said in a harsh tone. Her eyes left Hacker's face and went to the object he hit her with; her temper flaring when she saw it was her quarter stave. "What are you doing with that?" she asked.

"This is part of your punishment, Max." Hacker said. He released her and held the stave in both hands. "You defeated me with this little trinket and, for that reason, I have decided you no longer deserve to have it."

"Is that the only reason?"

"Not quite. The night you defeated me, you used it to knock the neutrons out of me. I've seen you with this stave. You seem to treasure it over all your other weapons. And since you treasure it, it seems only fitting I should come into possession of it. Don't you agree?"

"Not really."

"I didn't think you would. That's another reason why I have come into possession of it. If you badmouth me again, I will not hesitate using it on you. Same goes for disobedience. I will also not hesitate using it on either one of you. Particularly you, Max. I look forward to beating the neutrons out of you."

"I bet you do."

Hacker raised the stave to hit her again. Max never flinched, her eyes locked onto his. Hacker knew he couldn't intimidate Max into doing what he wanted and he realized she simply didn't care what he did to her. Her loyalties will always lie with Motherboard and that annoyed him.

"In time you will accept my authority over you. Just you wait." He returned the stave to its sheath.

Max stood up. "It does not matter how long you beat me, I will never accept you as leader of Cyberspace. You got that? Never! Neither will anyone else, for that matter. So, you can beat me, hit me, punch me, turn me into spare parts, or dematerialize me – it doesn't matter. You will never be leader of Cyberspace and I will never bend to your will. That's a promise."

She nodded at the Dematerializer on the floor and spread her arms out. "Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I suggest you pick that thing up and use it on me."

Hacker shoved her down again. "I'm not going to use it on you yet. But I will. Once I have no more use for you, that is." He leaned down until they were nose-to-nose and eye-to-eye with each other. "So you had better hope you are still useful to me. The alternative would be very, very . . . unfortunate."

1"You wanna go toe-to-toe with me, pretty boy?", "Go for it." - Avatar: Legend of Korra, episode 105

2Design copied from Arc Welder in Star Trek Voyager Single Player and Holomatch

3"Do you see this? Do you know what this is?" - Partial quote of Eric Cartman, South Park episode 1104, The Snuke

4"I consider myself to be a patient [borg]. It takes a lot to get under my skin, but congratulations, you just won the solid-gold Kewpie doll." - revamped quote from Atlantis: The Lost Empire; original speech by Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke.