It had been two years since Hacker had won. Everything had changed drastically. No one was the same. Laws (absolutely ridiculous and cruel) laws had been set into place.
No one could question these laws. No one could question the ruler, The Hacker. And no one could speak of those "Earth brats" in a good way. They were still at large, and The Hacker was still looking for them. Anyone who was found to have helped them was being thoroughly searched and then thrown into Bernie's Black Hole.
Everyone was afraid of The Hacker, and wanted him gone. There was no doubt in anyone's mind about that, even though no one dared come out and say it out loud. Therefore, in a small, rural village in the outskirts of Cyberchase, in a little place called Smallsville, no one ever said anything about three new citizens, and their pet bird.
They were a small family, claiming to have been relocated from their previous home by the Great Hacker. Michael "Mike" Chase, his wife, Jessica "Jessie" Chase, and their sweet little girl, Irene Chase, now lived on a farm a while away from downtown Smallsville, with their rather strange little bird, Donald.
Mike finished up checking on the pigs. He paused just before going back into his house, however, and stared up at the sky. It was blue and sunny – almost perfect. It made him smile to think that not even The Hacker could control the weather.
He knew that he absolutely shouldn't, but on days like this, he couldn't help but think back to before The Hacker. He thought back to Motherboard. Mike wondered where she was now. In her last burst of energy, before Hacker had completely forced his control, she'd used her powers to change him, and his friends. Now, he was about twenty years old. If someone passed him down the street, they'd never have recognized him to be who he was.
Motherboard had altered his appearance, but he liked to think that if he had been given time to grow, he would look the same. He was tall now, and muscular. His red hair was fluffier, but still short. He had a splash of freckles across his face, and his skin had tanned nicely from days under the sun. He wore overalls most of the time, although he had a few nice suits for when The Hacker demanded meetings about how wonderful he was. He worked on the farm, tending to pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, and horses.
His "wife," Jessie, had also changed. She was also about twenty years old now. She was just a few inches shorter than Mike, and her black hair had grown out to halfway down her back. She was just the fashionista as ever, although she spent most of her time in simple jeans and a T-shirt. She was the village seamstress, and it seemed like she never had a break. Someone always needed something mended. It brought in extra money, though, so they could pay The Hacker's constantly rising taxes.
Their "daughter," Irene, had changed the most. She was four years old. Mike couldn't help but think that Motherboard hadn't been focusing on what she had been doing too much, or else Irene would be the same age as her "parents." Still, she was definitely a cute kid. Her brown hair curled around her face, and she had lost her glasses, but gained 20/20 vision. She was just as capable as the rest of them as facing what had happened, but Mike and Jessie liked to pretend she was innocent. They liked to pretend that she really was just a little kid.
Last but not least, their "pet" bird, Donald. He flapped around often, mostly playing with Irene. She had been the one to name him after all, and only Mike and Jessie knew the name was after a Disney character.
Mike wiped the sweat off his brow and walked inside the little cottage he now called home. It was purely by accident that they had found it, but since no one really knew what to do with it anyway, the little village was quite content to let them have it.
"Hey, Mike. How are the pigs doing?" Jessie called from upstairs.
"Doing good." Mike replied.
"Doing well." Irene corrected from the kitchen.
"Sorry, the pigs are doing well." Mike stepped into the kitchen to see Irene and Donald, both eating cookies.
"Hey, you two. Dinner's going to be ready in a half hour." He scolded halfheartedly. "Put those cookies away."
Irene offered him one and he took it. "Well, just make sure you still have an appetite for dinner."
Bribery was usually pretty sweet in this household.
Jessie appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. She'd gotten better at doing that ever since she'd figured out she was going to be a mom. "Put those away! Mike, are you eating one? You are setting such a horrible example."
Mike snorted. "For who? Donald?"
Jessie rolled her eyes and picked up the tin, ignoring Irene's indignant squeal.
"Hey! I was eating those!"
"Well, now you're not." Jessie snapped.
Mike grinned and plopped down next to Irene. Donald fluttered onto the chair beside him. "So, Reeny, what'd you do all day?"
"Don't call me Reeny." Irene grumbled. "I read. You know, like I usually do?"
"Oh, come on. I'll take you to the library tomorrow if I have time." Mike offered. He hated seeing Irene so upset, but she was usually bored all day. She was too young to be of any help around the farm, and too inexperienced to help Jessie sew. She liked to read, but after a while even that becomes boring.
"I wish you guys would let me go to school." Irene whispered. It was a subject she had broached many times, but it always got shot down.
"Oh, sweetie, you know why we can't do that." Jessie sighed softly. She pulled out some dishes and started serving lamb stew, or in other words, dinner.
There was a small school in the village for some children who had the time and inclination to learn. It was completely overrun by minions of The Hacker, and was deemed too dangerous even before stepping into it. Every school in every cybersite was the central station used to communicate with The Hacker, or one of his henchmen, Buzz or Delete. If one got particularly lucky, they might even get to talk to Wicked.
Irene heaved a sigh and hopped off of her chair. "I'm not hungry."
"Sit back down, Irene." Jessie ordered. "You know you're not supposed to eat cookies before dinner. How many did you have?"
"Fourteen." Irene said.
"She's lying; she only had two." Mike rolled his eyes. "You only made, like, twenty, right Jess?"
"Yeah, you're right." Jessie quickly glanced over the remaining cookies and did the math. "You had one, and Donald must have had one, so Reeny only had two."
"Don't call me that." Irene whined, sitting back down.
No one said anything as dinner was handed out. Irene picked at her food, Jessie told her to finish eating it. Donald got his beak stuck in the soup, Mike helped him untangle it. Dinner was usually a quiet affair.
A knock suddenly resounded through the house. Jessie and Mike exchanged a worried glance; who would come around during dinnertime?
Mike excused himself from the table and hurried to answer it.
He opened the door to find a lone soldier, dressed in The Hacker's military uniform. His stomach tied in knots, but he tried for a nonchalant smile.
"Hi, can I help you?"
Then he looked at the soldier's face, and his resolve nearly crumbled. The soldier…this soldier was someone he once knew – someone he thought had died.
"Mike? Michael, who is it?" Jessie called from inside.
She received no answer.
Michael Chase was looking right into the face of twenty year old Slider.