Chapter Eleven. It's a little short. I contemplated whether or not I actually wanted to add onto it since I already had the last three chapters fleshed out, but i figured that was a good stopping place for now. don't worry, you'll get the next chapter in due time. maybe tomorrow. Footnotes are there just like before. enjoy.

I don't own Cyberchase. Max is mine.

Chapter Eleven
Run Away

Ever since Digit's first encounter with Max, he had to admit he had always considered Max as strong, resilient, and sturdy. In many ways, her gargoyle body was an improvement to her borg one. She was much more strong, resilient, and sturdy. And, she was a quick healer.

By the next morning, Max had overcome the effects of electrical poisoning. She was up before Digit, completing strange and elaborate stretches that defied any logical explanation. Then, the shaft above them opened.

"Come on up, you two." Hacker said, throwing down a sturdy ladder.

Digit climbed up first and moved out of the way to make room for the cyborg-gargoyle's massive form. Max completely ignored the ladder and jumped up through the opening of the shaft; landing on all fours with great grace. Together, the two prisoners followed Hacker onto the bridge.

The bridge was an elaborately designed control station with glowing panels and computer stations. Hacker's recharger chair was situated directly in front of a large view screen which was now pointing at Cybersite Valussa1.

Valussa was, fundamentally, a power-plant site. And, with the help of Hacker's tampering, it was completely pitch black. Hacker seemed overly proud of his most recent accomplishment.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"What do I think? I think this is an extremely heinous crime. To relieve Valussa of its power is the same thing as darkening all of Cyberspace." Max told him. She looked angry and appalled, but her relaxed stance told Hacker he was safe from a possible pounding.

"Exactly." Hacker said. "It's a superb plan for chaos and cacophony. And this is only the beginning. After this, I will spread more chaos all throughout Cyberspace and soon, everyone will know the name of The Hacker."

"Everyone already knows your name. Remember? You used to go to meetings with my dad." Max pointed out.

Hacker, though surprised Max wasn't being her usual mouthy self, shrugged off her point with a wave of his hand. "A minor technicality. They knew me then as Marbles' assistant. But, I shall make a new name for myself. One worth living up to. And one that will surpass even your own famous father's, for that matter."

Max plopped down on her haunches, her front legs gently straddling Digit. She didn't comment on Hacker wanting to make a name for himself and, instead, appealed to his ego. He, no doubt, wanted to talk about this triumph very badly.

"How did you do it, anyway? How did you turn Valussa so dark?"

He laughed. "It was quite easy, actually. See, Valussa's power runs completely off the rays of their moon. No matter what phase the moon is in – except for the new moon – the Site's lunar panels absorb the moon's rays to turn it into energy. The entire Site can run off a single night's charge for the entire day."

"I was aware of how Valussa gets its power." Max said, interrupting Hacker's tirade. "What I wanted to know was how you managed to take away its lunar energy."

"Oh that! Why didn't you say so, Max?" Hacker cackled again.

Max nudged Digit with a paw and he looked up at her. "Take note of this." she whispered.

"As I am sure you are aware, I had designed and constructed a tractor beam aboard this vessel which allows me to move whatever objects I so desire. In this case, the object was Valussa's moon. However, not only did I move it, I also moved it out of orbit."

"What would that do?" Digit asked.

Max already knew the answer to that one. "Valussa's lunar panels are around the Site's perimeter. Each panel can absorb only two hours worth of moonlight at a time. And, since the moon keeps a regular orbit, each panel gets a regular share of the lunar rays. However, there is a maximum distance in which the moon's rays can reach Valussa. If you move the moon even the smallest bit out of orbit, the rays won't reach the panels at all."

"Correct." Hacker said. "You've done your homework, haven't you?"

"It was just one of the lessons Dad taught me." Max said, simply.

Hacker didn't particularly like that Marbles actually taught Max something so he ignored that response.

"I'm going to leave you two here and marvel at this wonder of wonders. Maybe then you will know who really deserves to be ruler of Cyberspace." Hacker said. "Don't try anything funny." With that, Max and Digit were left alone.

Digit took a moment to stare out at the darkened Site, then looked up into Max's pensive face. "What do we do, Max?"

"We help the citizens of Valussa, that's what." Max said.

"How?"

The cyborg-gargoyle looked around the room, ears rotating on their pivot points for signs of Hacker's return. Then, she pointed to one of the computer monitors that looked like a communications terminal with a claw.

"Go over there and do exactly what I tell you to." she ordered. She had to speak in a whisper lest Hacker hear her.

Digit softly padded to the terminal and readied his pinions over the keys; waiting for Max's orders.

"Pull up a nine-square grid." she said.

Digit did as was instructed. A tic-tac-toe board appeared on his screen.

"Now, insert three letters of the alphabet in each square." She said, ruby eyes cutting in his direction. "If you only have two letters in the last one, that's okay since there are only twenty-six letters in the alphabet."

Digit did as was instructed. "Now what?" he whispered back.

"Now we work on a code to send to Valussa."

"Why a code?"

"Back in the days when villainy rained supreme and the Warriors of Shangri-La were forced to rise up and stop the evil, the Shield-Maiden and Sword-Thanes used to send codes back and forth between themselves, their allies, and the other Warriors. They used a simple code but only those with the charts could crack them. This code is a little simpler than that because we will be using a universal tongue and not Shangrinese. Only the Warriors know Shangrinese, even now, so the codes then were impossible to crack unless you knew the language."

"So, what should the code say?"

Max had very strong eyesight. With her eyes on the screen and one ear turned toward the door, she told Digit what to put in. This instruction also included how many lines to put in each word, what kind of square to put over each line, and what symbol (▼ * ▲) to put in each square.

"Now, tell me what that says." Max said. She hoped that if Digit with his low IQ could crack the code, the intelligent citizens of Valussa should be able to crack it as well.

"Move moon ray left two feet." he said.

"Good." Max said, allowing a genuine smile. That was pretty easy. "Now, send it to the Valussan mayor, Chech'ki."

No sooner had Digit pressed send than Hacker ran in and grabbed Digit by the wing.

"YOU INSIGNIFICANT MOPPET! HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME? I'LL TEACH YOU TO BETRAY THE HACKER!" the enraged borg shouted.

Max leaped up and charged at Hacker, ramming him with her lowered head. Digit broke free of Hacker's grasp just as Max grabbed a loose box with her paw and smashed the viewer window. Then, seizing Digit, she threw him out the window, too.

"Go! Return to Control Central! I'll be right behind you!" Max shouted.

Digit opened his wings and began flying. He heard Max taking off at a run and heard her wings snap open when her feet left the edge of the Grimm Wreaker.

Enraged his two prisoners were escaping, Hacker grabbed the one thing he had been dying to use, lifted it to his shoulder, sighted along the barrel . . .

. . . and fired.

Max's pain-filled roar gave Digit the extra thrust he needed to get away from this horrid place. Though he didn't know what he was going to tell Dr. Marbles.

1Cybersite Valussa – Cyberchase Webisode 1: How it all began