Motherboard sighed as she sat on the bed in the room Stumblesnore had so generously provided. She might have told everyone she felt better, but in truth she felt horrible. Her vision was spotty at best due to her pounding headache, every nerve ending feeling as though it had been dipped in acid. She hissed quietly as another shock raced through her system. Everything hurt so badly.
And the fever wasn't helping, burning through her core and making her feel incredibly warm even in the cool castle. She hated it. She hated consciousness at that point, but she was too anxious to sleep. That seemed to be par for the course lately though. When she wanted to sleep she couldn't and when she needed to stay awake she passed out. At that moment, and for the first time, she hated Hacker.
The thought, and more so the emotion itself startled her. She'd never once, in all her years, ever hated someone. Shaking her head to chase the thought away, and battling the nausea the motion caused, she stood, stumbling, and made her way into the halls, hoping for a distraction.
Exploring Frogsnorts was always fun, but this time Inez just couldn't fully enjoy it. She kept thinking about Matt, and about Motherboard. She'd said the potion had worked, so why did she feel like it hadn't?
Maybe because she still carried herself as if she were in pain. Inez hated seeing her that way, wished she could help somehow, but she didn't think the woman would appreciate being coddled like a child. She was a world leader for goodness sake! But she was also like her mom, and the extremely immature part of Inez hated seeing her mom so sick and wished the virus would just go away. She knew it wouldn't happen, but it didn't stop her from wishing for it.
Now if she could just get to the bottom of what was bothering Matt. She had a feeling it was more than just fear, but no idea as to what it could be. Maybe Jackie or Digit would know. She vowed to ask them later, at the moment focusing on the young dragon in front of them.
Sunset burned fiery orange as the kids headed back to the castle. Dunforth had gotten quite large in their absence, now roughly the size of a small building. They'd been surprised but excited when Shari offered to teach them how to ride him, though Digit chose to observe from the safety of the ground. Happy chatter flowed between them as they walked, momentarily forgetting their troubles.
"-and that loop was awesome!" Matt yelled, recalling a particular trick he'd managed to pull off.
"Yeah, Matt, we saw," Inez teased.
She hadn't forgotten the question she needed to ask her other friends, but she was content to focus on the calm they all felt, so different from the previous weeks. Shadows enveloped them as they entered the castle, the temperature dropping as they were surrounded by stone.
"Hey, guys, what's that?" Matt asked, pointing up the hall. They weren't close enough to see it clearly, but it was obviously out of place, the pale colors contrasting sharply with the gray of the stone. "Shari?"
The young woman squinted, adjusting her glasses, before shrugging helplessly.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what it could be. This area of the castle shouldn't have anything stored here, especially in the halls. Maybe someone dropped something on their way through."
"Well, let's check it out. If someone lost something maybe we can return it," Jackie said, resuming their path into the castle.
The bundle of colors became a little more defined as they ventured closer, and Inez felt her heart drop. Closer now, it didn't look like a pile of cloth or books or anything else one could expect to find in a castle. It looked like a body. And there was only one person she knew of who dressed in that color.
"Oh my gosh! Guys, it's Motherboard!" Jackie yelled.
They ran to catch up, gasping as they saw she was right. Motherboard was crumpled on the floor like a doll, completely unconscious, face twisted in pain. Matt wasted no time in dropping to his knees beside her while Jackie pulled out her skwakpad to call Doctor Marbles. Matt slid his arms under Motherboard's knees and behind her head, fully prepared to lift her as he had before she'd been uploaded into the body.
"Matt don't!" Inez yelled.
"Why not? I'm not gonna just leave her here!"
"If she's hurt and you move her it could make it worse." She crouched down beside him, laying a hand on his arm. "I don't like leaving her here either but I know we might hurt her if we move her. It'll be okay, Matt. Doctor Marbles is on his way, Jackie already called him."
Matt didn't move for a minute before giving a jerky nod, removing his hands. Inez gave him a sympathetic smile. Jackie and Digit joined them on the floor, no one quite knowing what to say. Shari, for her part, kept her distance, nowhere near as close to the cyberruler as the others. She bit her lip as she watched their wordless conversation, feeling useless to help.
Footsteps sounded faintly, alerting them to Marbles' arrival. They looked up as he rushed around the corner, panting. They'd never seen him move so quickly, not even the few times he'd been captured by Hacker. He frowned as he took in the scene before him, and the kids wordlessly got up and backed away to allow him access to the fallen woman.
"You couldn't just rest could you?" he mumbled as he bent down to examine her.
He felt the heat pouring off her, also noting how drawn her features were. He delicately felt for the hum of her CPU, pleased it was still functioning correctly if a little overworked. He could also feel her muscles giving little twitches and jerks, surely a result of the shocks she'd told him about. He sighed, standing up.
"She'll be fine as soon as she gets some rest. That fever does concern me though, so we'll have to try and bring it down," he said, glancing between the worried kids and cybird.
"But my potion…" Shari trailed off.
"You tried your best, but it appears Hacker's virus is resistant to its effects. Unfortunately, it also appears to have progressed once again. We'll need to move quickly now to beat its spread." He bent back down and scooped Motherboard into his arms. "I'll put her to bed now. Hopefully, with some rest, she'll be alright in the morning."
Motherboard groaned as she opened her eyes, the world swimming and fuzzy before coming into focus. She took a minute to gain her bearings, realizing fairly quickly she was no longer in the halls of the castle. Instead, it appeared she was in the room that had been provided to her, although she couldn't remember returning. She shifted and made to sit up, hissing quietly as her body protested with violent aches. A cloth fell into her lap and she picked it up, noting that at one point it had been wet.
Rather than force herself to sit up, she turned her head as much as she was able, just barely making out the lump in a chair by her bedside. Upon closer inspection, she could make out Doctor Marbles, slumped in what looked like a rather uncomfortable position and sleeping, though restlessly. Forcing her arm to move, which was surprisingly similar to lifting a block of lead, she reached out and touched his knee, startling him awake.
"Calm down, old friend. You just looked uncomfortable," she whispered, wary of scaring him further.
Taking a breath to calm himself he managed a smile, leaning further over the bed to better see her face in the low light of the room.
"I'm alright, I'm more concerned about you. How do you feel?"
"Like I weigh as much as ten cybersites stacked one on top of the other," she answered honestly. "And I ache all over."
He nodded, seemingly expecting such an answer.
"I'm not surprised considering the fever you've had the past two days, not to mention the tumble you took in the hall."
"Two days?!" she yelled, sitting up in a panic before yelping at the solid shock that rocked her CPU.
Marbles leaned over, wrapping an arm around her back to support her before she could collapse back onto the mattress. He shushed her, eyes glancing at something she couldn't make out through the tears that had come unwillingly.
"Yes, two days. As I said you had quite a fever for much of that time, which is what caused you to collapse in the hall. If the kids and Digit hadn't happened upon you I don't know how long you'd have lain there. As it is I don't know how long you were there at all, only that it was nearly sunset when Jackie called to inform me. Luckily there doesn't appear to be any external damage, but without proper equipment I'm uncertain of any damage you may have incurred to your circuits and nanites."
She sat stunned, much of her weight leaned against him as she processed this information. What had happened to cause her to pass out? And what's more, were the children okay?
"Are they okay?" she asked, frantic cerulean orbs locking onto his own.
"What?" he asked, baffled by her seemingly out-of-place question.
He'd expected her to ask about the Alganite and any progress made toward finding it, or her virus and its progression, not a "they".
"The children and Digit, are they okay? I can't imagine how upset this must have made them."
He simply pointed to the opposite side of the room, which until now she hadn't bothered to look at. She followed his direction, gasping softly when she saw the four of them curled together on a makeshift pallet sleeping soundly.
"They refused to leave your side. Stumblesnore offered them their own room, even one close by, but they insisted they stay in here. Digit flew in books from the library for them to look through, and when they weren't fervently researching they were working with Shari to try and find a potion that would work to combat the effects of the virus. Having said that, I'm afraid such a concoction has yet to be found."
Motherboard wiped the tears from her eyes. She loved these children so much, and once again found herself thinking how unfair it had been of her to pull them into this world and involve them in a fight that wasn't theirs. Which brought her back to the cause of the whole mess, Hacker.
"They're such sweet children. I truly do wish I hadn't brought them through that day, and if Hacker hadn't launched the virus I never would have needed to. I hate him!"
Marbles gasped, shocked the kind and selfless woman could say such a thing. However, he couldn't in good conscience deny that he understood the sentiment. He too had grappled with his feelings for the borg he once considered a son.
"Well it's true," she said with a sigh, sounding defeated. "I loved him as a son once. Never did I think on that day so long ago when you booted him up that this would be our future." She smirked a little, though it wasn't out of amusement or superiority, rather loathing and bitterness. "Who would have thought the child I so desperately wanted would try to destroy me?"
"I know how you feel. When he first tried to harm you and I banished him I often wondered what I could have done to prevent it, but as time wore on and he returned, each time with a more heinous plan, I realized that it wasn't my fault. And those feelings of paternal responsibility and love faded. It took some time, but I grew to hate him, too. Though I must admit, I never thought you'd feel the same."
"Nor did I," Motherboard confessed. "I'd always hoped there was some good left in him, but when he tried to use that frog to destroy my circuity and called me mom, I knew. Something in his tone gave it away. He truly was lost. It was then I was able to see past my own feelings and acknowledge those of the citizens. I suppose that's when I began to harbor less than pleasant feelings. But it still hurts."
"It always will," Marbles replied, using his support to hug her to his side, "but these feelings are valid. He's done more harm than good."
Both stopped speaking as one of the kids began to stir, the others soon following. Cool blue eyes watched in amusement as first one then another began to wake, accidentally bumping and jarring the others. Grumbling and protests floated over to the two, bringing a smile to her lips.
"Good morning," she called across the room, laughing as they all froze.
All four whipped their heads in her direction, not quite able to believe she was awake. Granted, she was leaning heavily against Doctor Marbles, but for the first time in two days she was conscious. Whooping with joy, they all quickly made their way to the bed, each taking a turn to hug her, voices overlapping.
"We're so glad you're okay!" Jackie squealed, curling close to Motherboard's right side.
"We didn't know what was wrong," Inez continued, taking the woman's left side. "The fever just wouldn't go away."
"It was scary," Matt added quietly from his spot at the foot of the bed.
Inez and Jackie shared a glance, remembering the conversation they'd had the night they'd found Motherboard in the hall.
Jackie, Matt, Inez, and Digit stared through the doorway into Motherboard's room. Doctor Marbles was fussing over her, attempting to bring down the fever that was raging through her system. Her eyes were ringed with dark circles, her face drawn as if in pain, and her skin was deathly pale. Sweat shone on her temples, a testament to how high the fever was climbing despite all Marbles was doing to help. Stumblesnore stood to the side, having been alerted by Shari shortly after Doctor Marbles moved her to her room, obviously concerned.
"Perhaps another potion would help?" the wizard suggested.
"Negative. The virus has rendered her system unable to accept its effects."
They tuned the men out, moving away from the door and further down the hall. The sun had set, bathing the corridor in soft moonlight, and they stopped by a window, slumping to the floor. No one said anything for several minutes, each consumed by their own thoughts.
"What now?" Digit whispered.
"What do you mean, Didge?" Jackie asked, though her tone was flat and somber, lacking any of her usual optimism or energy.
"I mean, what's gonna happen to Motherboard now? We haven't found anything on the Alganite and Shari's potion is no good! How are we supposed to help her when the virus keeps causing so much damage?"
"We...we just keep looking I guess," Inez said.
"But will we find it in time?" Matt asked the question they'd all avoided voicing aloud.
"We have to," Jackie said, and her tone left no room for argument.
"I wish this was simpler," Matt said, his head dropping back against the wall with a dull thunk.
"We all do," Digit said.
"I feel like I'm letting her down," Jackie whispered.
"I feel like I'm disappointing my mom," Matt whispered, but the quiet of the hallway allowed the others to hear.
"Matt, did you say you feel like Motherboard is your mom?" Inez asked. The boy didn't respond for a few seconds before he gave a quick nod, not meeting her eyes. "Is that why you've been so upset lately?"
"It's just, back home when there's a problem on the farm I can usually fix it. Sure it might take me some time and I might make a few mistakes but I get it done. Here, no matter what we try, it never seems to work." He curled in on himself, pulling his knees to his chest. "I just want her to get better."
"So do I," Inez said. "I know it isn't possible, or practical, but I've just been wishing the virus would disappear. I know it won't happen, but…" She looked up and gave a watery smile. "I can't help it. Motherboard's like a mom to me too, and it hurts knowing that what we're doing isn't helping."
"We know how you feel, Matt," Jackie chimed back in. "We all love
Motherboard just as much as you do. We all wish we could do more to help. It isn't something to be ashamed of. Right. Didge?"
"Right. Didn't you tell me once failure is part of success? Somehow this will all work out. Besides, you guys have a special bond with her, she knows you're doing all you can. She loves you guys too, swear on my hard drive," he responded, raising his wing. "Besides, it sounds like the doc is stumped too, so if even he's confused I don't think you guys should feel so bad."
"Thanks, Didge," Matt said. "You're a great friend."
Digit smiled, always happy to help. He had his own fears concerning the cyberruler, but he tried to keep them inside, knowing the kids were already pretty overwhelmed. Instead, he often spoke to Marbles in the early hours of the morning when everyone was asleep so he wouldn't upset them further. He didn't want to lose Motherboard either, but something deep in his hard drive told him they wouldn't.
"So we're all on the same page now, yeah?" Inez asked. "No more random outbursts or storming off?"
"No, sorry guys. I'm just not used to being so...useless."
"It's okay, Matt. It's rough for us too," Jackie said, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. "But now we know how you feel and we can help you when you get overwhelmed. Right guys?"
"Right!"
Motherboard frowned at how upset the boy sounded. Movement still hurt but she raised her arm to beckon him closer, pulling him into her lap once he was close enough. Matt blushed, unused to physically expressing affection, especially to Motherboard. However it didn't stop him from tucking his face against her neck as he shyly clung onto her torso, much like his friends. Doctor Marbles watched with a smile, though it was tainted with sadness at what they had all been through in the past forty-eight hours.
He hated seeing the children so scared and upset, and of course seeing Motherboard in such a state. She still looked absolutely exhausted leaning against the headboard of the bed, and he could tell it still caused her pain to move, but he knew the moment of reunification was just as important to her as it was to the squad. Digit had perched himself by her legs, close as he could be without pushing one of his friends aside.
"I'm alright. It appears I just pushed myself too hard in the search for the Alganite. I should have known better, or at the very least listened to Doctor Marbles when he suggested I rest," Motherboard said, looking at the children she considered hers.
"We'll find it," Jackie said, voice surprisingly full of conviction.
Doctor Marbles sighed, drawing everyone's attention to him. As much as he didn't want to crush their hope, this last episode had convinced him they truly were fighting against the clock...and losing. He glanced up at his friend as he prepared himself to speak, and he saw the resignation in her eyes. She knew what he was about to say, and she knew it was the truth.
"I'm afraid we might have to face the possibility that we won't locate it in time," he said.
"But-!" Matt began to protest, sitting up from where he had been laying against the cyberruler's chest.
She shushed him quietly, coaxing him to lie back once more.
"Marbles is right, Matt. The virus is progressing very quickly without my firewall to stop it. I'm only going to get worse, and we don't have any concrete leads on where this miracle might be."
"Well, actually about that…" Inez trailed, not meeting the woman's eyes.
She raised an eyebrow, curious as to where this was going.
"We think we may have possibly found a site where it could be," Jackie finished when it became apparent the younger girl wasn't going to.
"And where might this be?" Marbles asked, leaning forward in anticipation.
"One of the books mentioned similar crystals and where they grow, the properties they entail, and the conditions necessary for them to mature. We figure only a few sites meet those criteria," Jackie explained.
"Only three, right earthlies?" Digit chimed in.
"Right, Didge. Corsario, Calamore, and Synchromia," Matt finished.
The adults sat stunned. How had they missed such important information in their own research? Nevertheless, they were quite proud of the four of them for so vastly narrowing their search. Three sites were definitely more manageable to investigate than thousands.
"Corsario...didn't you already venture there once a few months ago?" Motherboard asked, shifting and adjusting the kids to make them all more comfortable.
She winced as she moved, and the squad moved to get up, but she pulled them back to her side, not quite ready to be separated from them just yet, knowing her future was still uncertain. She wanted to spend as much time with her little family as possible before she was forced to face the end.
"Affirmative, but when the volcano exploded it destroyed any trace of Magmalux, so I focused my attention elsewhere."
"But if Magmalux forms there, wouldn't it make sense that Alganite could too?" Inez said.
"It does. I'd forgotten about that particular mission if I'm being honest," Motherboard said.
"It's alright, I've had many failures while attempting a cure, you can't be expected to remember them all."
"Well, now that we know where to look, where do we start?" Matt asked, pulling their focus back to the matter at hand.
"Calamore is the closest, though I'm reluctant to suggest a search there," Marbles said.
"Why, Doc? It's important to look at all the sites right?" Digit asked.
"Well yes, but it is a very...cold site. I'm just not sure how wise it would be."
His eyes met Motherboard's and she knew he was referencing the new symptoms of the virus. But she also knew that if there was even the slightest chance the crystal could be on that site a thorough search was necessary. The whole of Cyberspace was on the line here, not just her, so she would endure.
"We must go there. If there's even the slightest chance…" she trailed off, holding his gaze.
He sighed, well aware this was an argument he wouldn't win, just as he hadn't all the times before.
"Very well. I'll speak with Professor Stumblesnore about possible provisions and acquire a map of the site."
The important things now would be to continue to stay under Hacker's radar and keep Motherboard as stable as possible. Neither would be easy.
AN: Hey everyone, long time no see. Sorry for the ridiculous time between updates, I just wasn't really into writing for a long time there. I was re-reading my old stuff a week ago and when I got to this one and finished chapter 9 I surprised myself by thinking "It can't end there!" So here we are. I hope this chapter holds up since it has been so long since I've written for this fandom. Hopefully I can get another chapter or two out soon before the will to write abandons me again. Please just have patience and res assured this story isn't abandoned! Thanks for the continued support. -Alice