Chapter Twelve. Not much to talk about here. a gargoyle's found on Cybersite Shangri-La. Three technicians are called in to patch her up. ah, hell with it. just go ahead and read it.
I don't own Cyberchase. Max is mine.
Chapter Twelve
Forever Scarred
The albino gargoyle no longer felt the pain of having lost her arm, leg, and eye to the horrendous goo fired at her from the Grimm Wreaker. The body's natural defense caused the surrounding area to go numb when she felt it for far too long. But, at the same time, her brain began failing from both fatigue and blood loss. Her wing joints hurt from flying too long.
Her time in captivity had not been an educational one for she had not been permitted to fly yet. Once she had decided it was time to fly, she had had to rely purely on instinct; letting her inner-gargoyle take over the flapping and propelling. Now, even that instinct was failing her and all she wanted was for it all to end.
Blood loss took its tole. Her wings stopped pumping and she plummeted down to a Site below; landing in powdery white snow, which would have felt good if she had been conscious enough to feel the cold against her maimed body.
Her mouth went slack and her tongue lolled out, unbidden. She was vaguely aware of the presence of borgs standing over her and she barely felt the gentle fingers of one of the borgs on her feverish skin.
"Some evil has been at work here." the diminutive borg said. He rose and signaled to the others to assist him. "Bind these wounds. Make sure the bandages are tight. Someone, patch her eye. I will ride with her and keep the pressure. Quickly, we do not have much time."
The Warriors scurried around her; wrapping the stubs of limbs with clean, white cloths. A stretcher was brought forth and laid close to the inert gargoyle's body. Then, they slowly rolled the beast onto the gurney – keeping her off her left side – and shouldered the lot. The diminutive Warrior sat on her neck, both hands pressed flat over her face to stop the bleeding.
The gargoyle had unknowingly landed on Shangri-La which couldn't have worked out better. The Warriors of Shangri-La respected gargoyles even to the point of caring for them as needed. This gargoyle was no different.
They carried her all the way to the walled city and carefully deposited her on the bed of the healing tent. Right away, they administered pain medication and cauterized the wounds with soldering irons. Once the blood stopped flowing, they rebandaged her wounds and sent for Master Pi.
The kindly borg stared down at the injured gargoyle, then tentatively touched the uninjured side of her face.
"How did this happen?" he asked his resident Sword-Thane, the Red Warrior.
Red shrugged. "We do not know, Master. We only discovered her in the snow and brought her here. It is the work of an evil borg."
"Yes it is." Pi agreed.
"What do we do, Master?" Red asked. "Surely, she will not want to live out her life like this."
"No, she will not." Pi agreed. "She must be fitted with replacement parts."
"But who would do it? There are not many technicians out there who would be willing to work on a gargoyle. The war between our kind and theirs has left a scar." Red pointed out.
"There is only one borg kind enough to do such a thing. I must contact Dr. Mathias Marbles. He would help."
0
At that exact moment, Digit had returned to Control Central where he was openly greeted by Dr. Marbles and Motherboard, both of whom were more than relieved to have the loveable cyboid back in their presence. But their joy was short lived when Mathias asked for the whereabouts of Max.
Digit's face fell and he moved away from the kindly borg. "Uh, Doc . . . there's something I need to tell you. Max suffered a lot of pain at Hacker's hands. He tortured her with all kinds of things. She wouldn't have been the same anymore."
Mathias gently seized Digit's shoulders. "What happened? Where is my daughter."
"Hacker invented a machine called a de – de – I can't remember the name. It has something to do with the binary code." Digit said.
"Dematerializer?" Motherboard asked.
"Yeah, that's it. Hacker invented a Dematerializer." Digit said, pleased to have remembered the bit about the binary code. But, as his gaze returned to Mathias' face, he realized now was not the time to be joyful. He bowed his head, solemnly. "I'm sorry, Doc. I'm afraid Max and I tried to escape and Max got the brunt of it."
Mathias released his friend, stood up, and took a few steps back. He looked as though Digit had slapped him. Mathias couldn't think of anything other than the fact his little girl was dead.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Marbles." Motherboard said.
"Yeah, sorry Doc." Digit said.
"Motherboard, I'll need some time alone, please, if you don't mind." Mathias said.
"Of course, Dr. Marbles." Motherboard said.
"I'll take care of Motherboard." Digit offered.
The doc nodded and went to his room.
He still couldn't believe it. Max was dead? Why? Why did she have to die like that? What was the point to killing her?
He sat in the quiet stillness of his dark room. His glasses in his hands and his vision fogged with tears. Max was dead and he had only himself to blame. That horrible truth hit him hard and he laid in a ball on his bed and wept. He didn't know how long he lay there. After several moments of alternating between crying and apologizing to Max, sleep-mode finally claimed him.
Mathias was awakened to a loud beeping from a communications console on his desk. He sat up, wiped his eyes with the heel of his palm, and went to the console. Motherboard's face filled the screen when he switched it on.
"Dr. Marbles, are you alright now?" she asked.
"No, Motherboard. I'm not alright. Max is gone – killed by the same monster I built. I have only myself to blame for her death."
"No, you don't, Dr. Marbles." Motherboard said. If she had arms, she would have hugged him. "You only have Hacker to blame. That is my final say on the subject."
Mathias scrubbed at his eyes. "Thank you, Motherboard."
She smiled. "Are you willing to accept communications today?"
"Communications? From whom?"
"Erasmus Pi for one. Ada Lovelace is the other."
"Tell Ada I'm not available right now. As for Erasmus, I don't want to see him either."
"Ada is coming here, right now. She asked for me to send her a Transportal."
Mathias was thunderstruck. "She's coming here? I can't let her see me like this!"
"She wants to see you, Mathias, no matter what you look like." Motherboard said.
"And, Erasmus?"
"He says it's urgent. He has a project he would like you to look into. He said he'll pay for everything. Parts, technology, the whole bit."
Mathias let out a sigh. "Very well, I will see him."
Motherboard's face was replaced with Master Pi's and Mathias suddenly wished it wasn't.
"Doctor." Pi said, nodding.
"Master." Mathias said, returning his nod.
"I have an interesting project for you. It will be a challenge, but I believe it will be right up your alley." Pi said.
"Erasmus, not to be rude, but I don't really feel up to doing anything right now." Mathias said.
"Oh?"
"I just found out today that Max has been deleted. Destroyed by Hacker."
"Ohhh." Pi said. He nodded solemnly. "My condolences. Shangri-La feels the loss, too. If you feel up to taking on the project, please let me know."
"What is the project?"
"We discovered a maimed gargoyle near the Bellowing Hills. She is missing some rather important body parts. Since few technicians would be willing to take on this project, naturally you were the first to come to mind."
"I'm glad you thought of me first." Mathias said. "However, I don't think I understand. What is the project?"
"The gargoyle is missing both limbs on her left side as well as her left eye. We were hoping you would build replacement parts for her."
"Replacement parts for a gargoyle, huh? Okay, I'll look into it."
"Excellent. We'll see you then." Pi said, logging off.
Mathias had shed his jacket before taking a nap. He grabbed it and put it on, then grabbed two dufflebags from beneath his bed. He filled one with extra clothes and toiletries, then headed to his workshop where he filled the other dufflebag with relevant files, records, drawing tools, anatomy books, and the like. Then, after dumping his tools in his toolbox, he hefted the lot and went up to the Control Center.
Ada Lovelace was already in the control room having a long conversation with Motherboard. When the doors hissed open, both women stopped speaking and looked at Mathias. Ada opened her arms to her beloved boyfriend. They embraced and Mathias sniffed and gently sobbed in her shoulder.
"Motherboard told me what happened. I'm really sorry about Max." Ada said.
"Thank you, Ada." Mathias said. He gently leaned away from her and rubbed his eyes.
"Dr. Marbles, are you planning on leaving?" Motherboard asked.
"Affirmative, Motherboard. Erasmus has requested my presence on Shangri-La. Apparently, he has a project that must be taken care of. At least, it will take my mind off Max." Mathias said.
"Can I come with you?" Ada asked.
Mathias regarded her, uncertain whether or not he actually wanted her there. "I suppose I could use another set of eyes and hands for this project." he said, finally.
"What about me, Doc? What can I do?" Digit asked.
Mathias pulled a page out of his pocket and handed it to the ever-loyal cyboid. "Here's a list of things I was going to do these next few weeks. If you would be so kind as to complete them, I would be grateful. You are free to contact me whenever you please if there are any problems, of course."
He opened a bag and tossed Digit a SQWACK Pad. Then with Ada on his arm, the two of them headed down to the launch bay and selected a two-seater Cybercoop. They stopped at Ada's homesite and picked up a bag of clothes and supplies for her before heading off to Shangri-La.
1
Aside from their friendship with the gargoyles, Shangri-La was also known for its hospitable manner toward any guests it received. Mathias and Ada were immediately admitted into their city. A Warrior named Percival showed them to their room and waited for them to get situated. Then, Percival took the two to the Temple of Care where the two borgs were met by a grisly sight.
The gargoyle was big and white. Her great wings fastened to her body with strips of tape to keep her from flying off and her barbed tail peeked over the edge of the bed the Warriors laid her on. A sheet covered her from neck to toe and was quite limp in areas it shouldn't be. She was laying on her right side, leaving her left side exposed. Her face had a gauze patch fastened over it, which was sealed in place with a wrap that also covered her forehead.
When Mathias and Ada entered the room, the gargoyle stirred. Mouth moving, right paw clenched and unclenched around the sheets. Right hind-paw kicked the footboard of the bed, tail flicked around, and wings stretching against their bonds. Her ears twisted on their pivot points and her head moved in their direction.
"Dad? Daddy? Is that you?" she asked. "It hurts, Daddy! It hurts! Please! Someone! Stop the pain!"
The gargoyle tried to get up and the Warriors wasted no time falling on her and holding her down while Red injected her with a sedative. She relaxed and moved no more.
Ada's grip on Mathias' arm tightened. "Mathias, you didn't tell me the project was a gargoyle with half a face!" she said.
Mathias shrugged. "Slipped my mind, my dear." he said, gently. He had been quite shaken by these turn of events. The gargoyle had yelled for her father and she had used the same titles Max used to use.
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea." Mathias said. He turned to leave and found his way blocked by Pi.
"Please, Dr. Marbles. I have asked so little of you in the eons we have known one another. Please. This project is important."
Mathias looked back at the sleeping gargoyle, then back at Pi, then at Ada. "What do you think, my dear?" he asked.
"It's up to you, Darling." Ada said.
Mathias opened his dufflebag and handed Ada his drawing tools.
"Initiating repair sequence."
Mathias located his tape measure and Ada sat down with her notebook, ready to take measurements. Mathias first measured the length of the gargoyle's front leg, then width and diameter. Then, he measured her back leg. When that was finished, he looked at the gargoyle's face.
"How much of that portion is gone?" he asked.
"See for yourself." Red told him. He cut the bandage off and gently peeled the tape holding the gauze pad away.
Mathias blanched and Ada covered her mouth with her hand. Where the gargoyle's eye had been was a massive, gaping hole stretching from forehead to cheek.
The doc swallowed, took a picture of the hole with his SQWACK Pad, and measured the opening, then motioned for the Warriors to seal the hole back up. After that, the planning process began.
0
The task of making replacement parts for a gargoyle was relatively easy. Mathias called his friend, Professor Ephraim Archimedes in to help as well. Ephraim was excited about the project, but he was less optimistic about the idea when he found out it was for a gargoyle. Mathias told Ephraim he was going to continue with the project with or without his help and Ephraim jumped right in to help.
Ada left Shangri-La to pay a visit to the Cybrary, returning with a stack of books on prosthetic body parts. After hours of poring over the books, they made the discovery that prosthetic body parts were virtually the same internally. Ephraim made a few adjustments here and there on their blue-prints so the structure was more gargoyle-like.
The three technicians went to work building the internal structure and the Shangri-La metal smiths went to work making unbreakable metal which they molded into the shape of the gargoyle's paws and legs. A web of metal wire was pressed against the still-hot metal and, when it was peeled away, the end result resembled a scale-like pattern very much similar to the gargoyle's own skin.
Further study of gargoyle anatomy revealed that claws on all four legs were retractable so they rigged a mechanism with four claws that could be sheathed and unsheathed at will. Only the dewclaw remained immobile. After wrapping the metal casing around the mechanical structure, the Warriors took the gargoyle into surgery to begin the fitting. A cuff was fitted around the stumps and the gargoyle's nerves were hooked to wires which, in turn, were plugged into receivers around a socket. The limbs both ended with a peg which plugged into the socket, received signals from the brain and moved the appropriate part.
When surgery was over and the gargoyle had awakened, Mathias sat in with her and told her which part to move. After a few mistakes were mended by simply switching a few wires around, Mathias deemed the parts workable. The arm and leg were working to perfection and the gargoyle reported the parts were also working at what felt like a natural speed.
"It'll just take some time get used to, is all." she said in a tone that surprised Mathias. Gargoyles were reportedly unreasonable and impatient. This one didn't act like a gargoyle at all. She acted like . . . like a cyborg.
Mathias reached up to fondle the leonine ear only to hesitate when she eyed him. Then, she brushed her head at his fingertips. The gargoyle tilted her head to the left and a purr of pleasure escaped her half-open mouth. Mathias smiled and ran his fingers through her mane, gently scratching at her skull. The purrs grew into a growl which did not sound threatening in the least. Mathias' grin widened, but when he saw the gauze patch over her eye, he stopped rubbing and scratching.
The design for the prosthetic eye had posed a hefty problem. Since the organic eye and the area surrounding it was gone, there was no way to set a fake eye inside the hole without there being something to hold it in place. Ephraim suggested just leaving a patch in place to prevent infection but Ada didn't think that was right and Mathias thought of it as a challenge. Ephraim wanted to stop the project because he wasn't sure if there was an optic nerve left – they couldn't see on in the SQWACK Pad image.
Mathias put his hands in his lap. The gargoyle stopped purring and stared at him a moment, then nudged his knuckles with the tip of her pink nose. An action that wasn't unlike a dog wanting to be petted.
"Is there a problem?" she asked, gently.
"Affirmative. We are not completely sure how to go about giving you a new eye. Normally, we would have made an eye and put it in the socket, but there was too much damage done to the socket. The eye would just slide further in."
"Why not make a patch that fit around the socket? That way, the eye would fit in the socket and could move and work like a real eye."
The gargoyle's suggestion startled Mathias. An intelligent gargoyle? The reason that response surprised Mathias so much was because gargoyles were listed as being the least intelligent beings in Cyberspace. They did no science. They had no technology to speak of. They did not do any drawing or designs. The fact one gargoyle would ever come up with an idea that made sense made Mathias question whether or not this was an ordinary gargoyle.
He gently stroked her muzzle, noticing how his fingers rolled off the quickly-forming scars ribbing her nose. "That could work." he said.
"I hope so. I sighted with my left eye." she said with a grin.
Mathias smiled, too. He liked this gargoyle and her spunk. She reminded him of Max.
Mathias stopped smiling. He didn't like thinking about Max. Her death left a hole in his circuit board.
A pink tongue gently touched Mathias' hand with a lick. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"I'm fine." he said. "Thank you for the suggestion. We will look into it."
"Okay." she said, letting his answer slide, though she looked like she wanted to know more.
1
Mathias, Ada, and Ephraim took the gargoyle's suggestion to heart. Ada drew up the design for the prosthetic eye on a sheet of blue-print paper and Mathias wrote down the dimensions. When it was finished, the page was passed off to the smiths who molded the metal to the exact measurements indicated. They even produced two small, half-spheres which would later be welded together.
Using information written in a section about prosthetic eyes, Ephraim – who was a genius when it came to micro-technology – constructed the entire inside of the eye. When he was finished, they inserted the technology into the two half-spheres, welded it together, and passed it all off to the Warriors who took her into surgery and finished with her face.
The eye, itself, had posed a particular problem as it turned out she had an optic nerve but it was too short to join with the eye. Ada came up with a slew of tiny wires wrapped together in an anti-biodegradable rubber. She joined the wires with the eye and topped it with a small cap which they joined with the optic nerve.
Then they wrapped her face with gauze and returned her to her room. Two days passed before the gargoyle was allowed up and out of her bed. She wandered around Shangri-La, getting a feel for her new limbs. The eye was still out of commission, at least until the skin around it was no longer red and inflamed from the soldering iron. The Warriors suggested she try to fly just to test out the structure inside her paws, but she said she wanted her eye before she would try that.
On the third day, they unwrapped her face. The three techs, together with Red and Pi, held their breaths.
The eye was perfect. They had shaped the patch to fit over the gap, overlapping it so it stretched into flesh and bone. The eye was shaped like a little, round ball and worked just like a camera, but it could also rotate inside the hollow socket in perfect synchronization of her other eye. A pair of shutters were incorporated to act like eyelids, and the shutters were, at the moment, closed.
Mathias slowly approached the gargoyle and touched her just behind the leonine ear. She rumbled in her throat but made no move to shake his hand off. He had a sneaking suspicion she actually liked having his hand on her head.
"Are you alright?" Mathias asked her.
"Yes." she said, nodding.
"Excellent." he said. "Now, this prosthetic eye has a simple mechanism which should act like your biological eyelids."
"Should?"
"Will."
"That sounds better. But I'm still worried about what I'll see." she told him.
Mathias rubbed the ear, automatically going with the scales lest they tear the skin off his hand. "If we did this right, you should be able to see just fine."
"There you go with that 'should' word again. Remember, Mathias, this is about getting me well enough to roam Cyberspace again. Words like 'should' won't help me." she said.
Mathias stared at her. "How did you know my name is Mathias?" he asked.
"You'll be surprised by the things I know." she said.
Mathias wanted to press her with more questions but decided to hold off until later. "Anyway, if we did this right, you will be able to see just fine."
"That's better." she said. "Can I open it now?"
"If you want to." Mathias said.
They waited and the shutters opened. A yellowish light appeared where the lens was and focused on everyone in the doorway.
"Whoa!" she said.
"What? What do you see?" Ada asked.
"Everything." the gargoyle responded. She raised her left arm and examined it. "Everything."
"Eureka! It was a success!" Ephraim said, in his thick, highland accent.
The gargoyle smiled at him. "Yes it was. Thank you, Professor Archimedes for helping. And thanks to you too, Lady Ada Lovelace and Dr. Mathias Marbles. I would still be unwhole if you three hadn't come along."
"It was our pleasure." Ada said. She approached and touched the gargoyle's other ear. The gargoyle responded with a purr.
"Would you like to fly now?" Red asked.
The gargoyle nodded and strutted past them to an open field. They followed her out and watched as Cyrus, one of the quiet, tall Warriors cut tape from her wings. She sat on her haunches and experimentally stretched her wings; flexing them and tested the way they flapped. Then, she turned to Mathias.
"Want a lift?" she asked.
Mathias stepped back. "No thank you." he said.
"I won't let you fall, if that's what you're worried about." she told him.
Mathias thought about it. He looked at his two partners. "What do you think?" he asked.
"Better you than me." Ephraim said. "I can't hold on like you."
There was a lot of truth in that. Ephraim was shaped like a levitating pyramid with no legs. His arms and hands were long, thin, and not very strong. He had pale skin, bright eyes, and a mop of blondish hair. He was dressed in a blue lab coat over a green shirt.
"Whatever you want to, my dear." Ada said.
Mathias looked at the gargoyle. "Let's proceed." he said.
She lowered herself onto her belly and he leaped aboard; straddling her neck with both knees. He looked at the mass of white mane and spiraling horns in front of him.
"What do I hang on to?" he asked.
"Horns are a good bet. But if you want to, you can weave your fingers through my mane." she said.
Mathias knotted the long mane around his knuckles and held on. "Like this?" he asked.
"Yep. You an squeeze as hard as you want . . . I don't care." she said.
Two Warriors came forward with a length of rope. They looped it behind her forepaws, knotted it around Mathias' ankles, and tied it around her neck.
"Ready?" the gargoyle asked.
"Ready." Mathias said. He sucked air and held it in.
She took off at a run. Her powerful legs pounding the grass and she released a rhythmic grunt with each footfall. Then, at the sixth stride, her wings opened with a snap and she flapped her way into the sky. She circled around in the sky, wings beating to keep altitude and Mathias relaxed.
"What do you see?" he asked.
"The sky. The sand. All the Warriors below me. Ada and Ephraim. It looks like they're all waiting to hear some good news."
"Yes, I'm certain they are." Mathias said. He leaned close to her. "How did you know the names of my partners, anyway?"
"You'd be surprised at what I know."
"You said that already."
"I know."
They were silent. Then, the gargoyle spiraled into a landing and ran a distance; slowing to a stop. The Warriors rushed forward and untied Mathias from the gargoyle's back.
"You should try it, Ada my dear." Mathias said to his girlfriend. "It is a wonderful experience."
"I'm sure it is, Mathias." Ada said. "But I dislike heights. Maybe another time."
"Whatever you say." the gargoyle said. She flattened her wings to her body and looked around at the Warriors watching her. "Anyone else want to try it?"
No response.
"Okay then. Good night."
"Please wait." Pi said, gently. "There are things I would like to discuss with you. Alone."
"Of course."
With that, the two of them made their way apart from the crowd and began speaking low in Shangrinese – a language known only to the Warriors of Shangri-La and the gargoyles who resided on the neighboring Site, Wyvern1.
"I suppose we should prepare to leave." Ephraim said.
"Good idea." Ada said.
They returned to their rooms and packed. As Mathias was putting things away, there was a knock at the door. Ada opened it to reveal Pi standing there.
"May I enter?" the mysterious master asked.
"Certainly." Mathias said.
Pi entered and faced Mathias. "I have learned a great deal from our guest. One of these is she was a prisoner of Hacker's for some time. In an attempt to escape, he turned a weapon on her called a Dematerializer. That was why she was so badly deformed."
"Oh." Mathias said.
"So, what will happen to her now that she's whole?" Ada asked.
"I have given her a task in return for our help. One I do not think either of you – or Motherboard – will approve of. She is to destroy Hieronymus Hacker." Pi answered.
"What?" Mathias said. "Why would you have her do that? That's like saying its okay to murder!"
"It will not be murder, merely the ending of a corrupt evil. She has assured me her killing spree will end there." Pi said.
"How can you be sure?" Ada asked.
"Because I trust her, as should you."
"Translation?" Mathias said.
"You will soon find out."
"Translation?" Mathias repeated.
Silence.
Mathias folded the last shirt and put it in his duffle. He didn't like the feeling Pi was keeping an important secret from him but there was no way he could persuade Pi to explain his meaning. The Warriors were a mysterious and secretive lot and Pi was the most mysterious and secretive of them all.
"Where will you go from here?" Pi asked.
So, it's okay for him to ask us questions but not for us to ask him questions? Where's the justice in that? Mathias thought. He considered not telling Pi anything but realized that would be rude. Besides, Pi probably had a very good reason why he wouldn't explain his reasons for trusting a non-borg guest.
"Home. But first, I must locate Max's final resting place. I require closure." he said.
"You will not like what you find." Pi said.
"I'll take my chances." Mathias said.
He shouldered both bags, took Ada's hand in his, bade Pi good-bye, and left. On their way to the Cybercoop, they encountered the gargoyle who looked like she was fixing to fly off.
"Hey, Ada . . . Mathias. Thanks again for your help." she said.
"Our pleasure." Ada said.
Mathias nodded but said nothing. He didn't like the way she kept calling him Mathias . . . like she was used to saying it.
"Are you taking off?" he finally said, looking for an icebreaker in the conversation.
"Yeah. Stuff to do out there. People to see. Things to learn." she said.
"Be careful." Mathias said. "We don't want to have to patch you up again."
She grinned. "Will do." With that, she took off.
1Wyvern – reference to Castle Wyvern in the TV show "Gargoyles"