~This is the final chapter. Warning: There will be described character death. This chapter is going to be really graphic and upsetting. Sorry, I felt like I had to move the rating up due to this chapter.~
Motherboard was reluctant to tell about Hacker murdering Erika on live tv, but she knew that she had to. picked up right away after she called.
"Hacker is out of control, Erika the reporter tried to do an interview with him and he drained her energy. I'm going to put out a full CyberAlert; but please make sure that he doesn't find you or Digit." Motherboard reported as objectively as she could.
"Motherboard, I am not overly comfortable with you being in Control Central alone. Maybe I could come back or you could ask someone to come over." Marbles replied.
"Perhaps I should consider having someone over, but I still believe that Digit should stay out of Hacker's reach." Motherboard replied.
"Motherboard, no where is safe from Hacker, he managed to get to Earth. Fortunately, everyone is fine, but I fear that the worst is yet to come." Marbles replied.
"I understand, perhaps it's best if we meet at Control Central when Matt and Jackie return from the hospital to plan our next move before Hacker decides to return." Motherboard planned.
"Alright, I will inform the children of the plan upon their return." Marbles agreed. When he ended the call with Motherboard, he turned to Digit and Inez.
"When Jackie and Matt return from the hospital, Motherboard requests our presence in Control Central so we can discuss our next action against Hacker's cruelties." Marbles explained. Inez and Digit nodded. Soon, Matt and Jackie arrived in the old truck that Matt's dad used.
"We have to go to Control Central to discuss the problem with Hacker. He is getting worse by the minute." Marbles explained. Matt and Jackie nodded and they went though the portal, Jackie being careful not to land on her broken arm, that was now in a cast, upon landing.
"Thank you all for coming." Motherboard greeted the team.
"No problem, Mother-B, but how could Hacker be any worse that he was with Buzz and Delete?" Jackie replied.
"He's been draining the energy of many others, all over Cyberspace." Motherboard replied. The news was left on and it shown a re-run of what happened to Erika before another reporter reported that dozens of other citizens of Cyberspace have been killed the same way. Digit shuddered, Matt glared angrily at the screen and Inez and Jackie gasped. All too soon, there was banging at the door.
"Let me in, Motherboard!" The all-too-familer voice of Hacker called.
"Jackie, maybe you should find somewhere to hide," Digit whispered, "Hacker might try to take advantage of the fact that your arm is broken."
"No way, we're a team, we'll face Hacker together." Jackie whispered in reply. The Earthlies stood in front, since they couldn't have their energy drained like the others could. Hacker forced his way into Control Central with the charging machine. He laughed when he saw the kids protecting their friends.
"You think you're any match for The Hacker!" He yelled. He climbed into the charging station.
"Just you wait until I finish being fully charged, you won't stand a chance." Hacker sneered as the machine began to work. Matt tried to run up and turn off the machine, but there was an electrical field around it.
"He's overcharging." Marbles observed, horrified. "The electrical field you observed is a result of the excess power." Everyone looked concerned at Hacker.
"What are you talking about, I'm fine." Hacker replied as the energy began to make his skin glow.
"Hacker, please, you must stop this for your sake!" Motherboard cried. Hacker began to feel very warm. Maybe Motherboard is right. This doesn't feel like the other chargings I had. Hacker thought. No, maybe Motherboard just wants me to stop so I don't drain their power as well. Hacker began to feel like he was burning. Gasping, he realized that and Motherboard were right. He tried to turn off the machine but since it was overheated by the exchange of energy, it didn't work. He tried to pull himself free to no avail.
"Help me!" Hacker cried to them. His voice was more of a staticy growl at this point. They each tried to pull Hacker free from the machine but there was too much energy for them to even get close. The air began to feel warm in Control Central as the heat from the machine heated the air around them. Hacker cried out in pain as everyone watched in horror. At some point, Digit hid behind Matt.
While everyone was watching Hacker in horror, they forgot about the two borgs that were in the hospital, Buzz and Delete. After making sure they were properly cared for, had offered them to stay at Control Central until they managed to stop Hacker from stealing the energy from others. When they entered Control Central, they gasped in horror at the condition their boss was in.
"Buzzy, what's happening to him?" Delete cried.
"He's overcharging, it's dangerous to get to close!" Inez called to them while still staring at Hacker. The room became stifling. It was hard to breathe in it, but none of the kids dared to speak up; even Motherboard's coolant struggled to keep up with the increase in temperature. Everyone in the room was gasping for breath. Hacker looked defeated. Suddenly, there was a bright light, then all went black as everyone became u from the explosion.
"Is everyone alright?" Motherboard asked as she woke up.
"I think so." Matt said, though he, like all the others who witnessed the explosion of the device had many cuts from the energy slicing them. This didn't help Jackie's arm any; she grabbed it in pain. Everyone slowly woke up, with the exception of Buzz and Delete, who were still recovering from the energy drain. The survivors inspected the damage and noticed that everything in Control Central was burnt, though the front of Motherboard's computer needed a lot of restoration, but fortunately her circuits weren't damaged.
"We're lucky to be alive." Jackie breathed out. Inez was the first to notice that Buzz and Delete were still unconscious and rushed to them. She wiped a tear that was forming from being her glasses.
"They're dead." She managed to get out. As Matt stepped forward to comfort her, he stepped on a piece of Hacker's arm. He cried out in alarm and disgust and jumped back.
"I always thought we'd be able to defeat Hacker, but I never managed for it to happen this way." Jackie said, crying. Digit just shook and looked down, not being able to look at the hideous scene that lay before him. Motherboard closed her eyes and fell to the ground in shock.
"I always held on to the hope that he could redeem himself. That's why I didn't completely drain his power all those eons ago, now, he will never have the chance." He said, shock masking the emotions in his voice. A deep silence filled the room.
When Inez went home after everything that happened she just laid on her bed and stared at the celling, too tired to even cry.
When Jackie went home, she climbed into her bed and cried over everything that happened.
When Matt went home he went to the field near his house to practice baseball, sports was always how he chose to deal with his emotions.
Digit spent more time with Widget, it made him feel better to have someone around, someone who wasn't dealing with this as harshly as the others
Motherboard spend more time reflecting, often going hours without speaking.
was as silent, or maybe even more so than Motherboard. He often went out, claiming to be looking for an encryptor chip to defeat Motherboard's virus, but both Motherboard and Digit knew that he needed time to deal with the guilt of how he couldn't convince Hacker, his creation, to see the error of his ways.
Before long, all of Cyberspace learned about Hacker's fate. All of Cyberspace took on a solemn air. It took a long time, but eventually they learned to move on. None of the cybersquad, including and Motherboard ever forgot what had happened. It settled as an unsettling lesson of too much of a good thing.
~Alright, I hope you enjoyed the story. I hope it didn't upset anyone too much.~