Chapter 25 Downloading

The world stood still as the Koopalings followed the directions. Larry rested in Roy's arms, a sight that brought up emotions Iggy had never felt, and for the longest time, hoped he would never feel. None of the Koopalings talked; they just kept marching forward. And Iggy, despite him being at the front of the pack guiding his siblings, had no idea what was in store for them at the end of the path. He was so nervous that he couldn't even pray.

The Koopalings arrived back in Lava Falls within no time, with the town standing just as still as the rest of the world. Iggy's heart pounded in his mouth, his breathing grew shallow. He looked behind him at Larry's body. He pushed back a tear, telling himself two different things at the same time. One of those was "Don't get your hopes up." The other? "Larry will be restored. Hopefully."

The seven siblings weaved their way around the buildings, with Iggy frowning as he looked over the directions. The only sound he heard was the footsteps of him and his family. The only thoughts he had, while numerous, all centered around the exact same, specific theme. He swallowed a lump before coming to a stop. He looked at the house that lay before him, so normal in all ways except in terms of what lay inside.

"Is this it, Iggster?" Roy asked with a twinge in his voice.

"It would appear that way." Iggy put his hand on the doorknob. He stopped before turning it, fighting back tears once again. It was incredible how optimistic he had been before the journey got started, only for that optimism to be extinguished by the thoughts he had. And those thoughts were back once again, threatening to choke him. He shook while he gripped the doorknob. He felt a million things, with the whole emotional spectrum being experienced right here.

"Iggy?" Ludwig asked.

Iggy let out a breath and opened the door. He stepped in, immediately wrinkling his nose at the stench of body odor. The house looked normal, if not a little messy. Iggy saw some orange stains on the otherwise white carpet, which he reasoned was possibly cheese puff dust. That was the least disgusting possibility, anyway. Iggy ignored that abhorrent sight and just continued down the path that Tec had laid out for him. He didn't look at any of the houses details, just kept walking forward as if he had been programmed with a single directive.

Eventually, Iggy opened one door. Blinking, he saw what appeared to be some kind of elevator resting on the floor. Made of metal, it had a circular shape and some guardrails, without any glass or walls that would potentially surround it. Exchanging looks with his siblings, they all walked over to this elevator-like contraption. Iggy noticed a keypad situated near the edge of the guardrails, only displaying buttons for up and down. He pressed the down button.

The room that the elevator led them to was so dark, so lifeless, so empty that it would make prison cells seem preferable. At least, that applied to regular prison cells. Solitary confinement was obviously still awful. And now that he thought about it, with how claustrophobic and anxious Iggy was starting to feel, he would say that this room was easily comparable to solitary confinement.

However, there was one thing Iggy saw that helped alleviate his nerves a little bit. That being, the light of a computer screen coming on. Iggy let out a breath of relief; that had to be TEC-XX. That would make the most sense. And after not only the long it took to get here, but also the last few days that had copious amounts of stress for everyone, Iggy could say he was glad to see TEC-XX. He had very little knowledge of what he was like, but he was still grateful to see him.

The Koopalings got of the elevator and stood in front of the computer screen. Iggy noticed the camera shutter above the screen opening and closing, and then a happy voice rang out in the room. "Ah. You guys managed to get here. I'm glad."

Lemmy stepped forward. "Are you TEC-XX?"

"Yes, I am. You can call me Tec though, for convenience's sake."

Morton stepped forward with a raised eyebrow. "So you're the supercomputer who got emotions from Larry?"

"Indeed." Tec's camera shutter opened and closed again. "Oh… dear!" Iggy turned to look back at the unconscious Larry (that being the thing drawing Tec's attention made the most logical sense). "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, I really am sorry. I owe all seven of you an apology."

Iggy let out a breath. "Apologies, while they would be appreciated, aren't our main concern at the moment." He looked up into Tec's camera, figuring that was the closest thing the computer had to a face. "You said in the email that you can bring Larry back?"

Tec sighed. "Well… I believe I can. I don't know for one hundred percent certain if this is going to work. HOWEVER, I have done calculations. It has an eighty-five to ninety percent chance of working. So… all things considered, it really is our best bet!"

Despite the optimistic tone, Iggy still felt uncertain. However, he reasoned that was more because of the stress from the few days bringing a damper on his mood, so he ultimately ignored those feelings. "Okay. If you're that confident, I will allow you to do it." He gave Tec a serious look. "After you explain the procedure."

"Yes, yes, of course." Tec made a sound that sounded a lot like someone clearing their throat. "Well, when Larry and I were in the Matrix together, I was able to develop emotions because I downloaded information from his mind, as I've explained in the email. Now, I'm wondering if the inverse is possible too."

"The inverse?" asked Wendy.

"Yes. What I want to do is hook Larry up to the Matrix and try to put the information I downloaded back into his own mind. Perhaps if I provide him with enough of this data, it'll bring back the sentience that Francis stole from him."

Iggy's heart rate picked up and he smiled. "I think that's a great idea!"

"I do too!" Roy said as he stepped towards Tec. "I mean, they're Larry's memories, right? It would make sense if putting them back in his head would bring him back."

"Hmm. Yes, I agree…" Ludwig gave Tec a furrowed brow. "But is this safe?"

Tec hesitated. "It's the safest method available to us at the moment."

"And that is more than good enough for us." Iggy gestured for Roy to set Larry down on the ground in front of Tec. He did so, and following Tec's instructions, they hooked Larry up to the Matrix via his charging port. Iggy could barely breathe as he stared at his brother's unconscious body, and he had a feeling everyone else felt the same. Tec even did what sounded like deep breathing.

"Okay," Tec said. "I'm going in."

…

Once Tec entered the Matrix, he gasped. Freezing goosebumps formed all over his arms, and they only grew more pronounced when he saw Larry a few feet away. He was still asleep, with his perfectly still body floating in midair. Tec let out a breath and approached him. He cringed as he looked at his face, so dormant and unresponsive.

"Alright." He took a deep breath. "Time to see if this will work." He placed one hand on Larry's chest, and the other on his forehead. He closed his eyes, squeezing his eyelids extra tight. "Download starting now."

And with that, Tec poured all the information he gathered from Larry into the Koopaling. Or at the very least, tried to. Part of the reason why Tec was able to develop emotions was because he downloaded A LOT of data. A lot. Putting it all back into Larry was sure to take some time.

"Come on, come on!" Tec squeezed his eyes shut even more. As he did, he imagined what this could possibly look like from the Koopalings's perspective back in the throne room. Was anything happening to Larry's body? Was he moving in anyway? Or was nothing happening, thus contributing to the Koopalings's anxieties?

"Please…!" Tec pressed his hand even harder on Larry's chest before pulling back and gasping. As he panted, he looked at Larry. He still lay just as unresponsive as when this whole thing started. Well, no matter. Tec could still download more data into him. He just needed a break, that's all, and that's exactly what he got.

Gritting his teeth, Tec walked up and placed his hands on Larry again. "Come on, Larry, I know this can work!" He put more data into him, more data than he thought possible. He wasn't going to stop until it was all in its rightful place. At least, that was what he told himself. Unfortunately, something happened that forced Tec to come to a premature halt.

"OWW!" He pulled back, feeling a burning sensation all over him. "Wh…what's happening?" His mind raced, trying to find out the answer. He thought long and hard before, to his terror, a possibility popped up in his mind. A possibility that made him more scared than ever before. A possibility he considered before, but had foolishly dismissed as not worthy of being a concern.

It was possible that some of Larry's data intertwined with Tec's data. It would kind of be like a retrovirus replacing DNA from a host's cell with its own DNA. If that was the case, Tec would be in some serious trouble. If he wanted to get Larry back, he would have to give up some of his own code. And depending on how important said code was, such a practice would result in… in…

Tec whimpered and dried his eyes. He stood in place, thinking about and analyzing everything. He wanted to get Larry back, but was he willing to die for him? Was he willing to sacrifice himself for this one Koopa?

Was he willing to sacrifice himself for his friend?

Tec thought about this some more before gripping his hands into fists and putting on a serious face. "Don't worry, Larry, we aren't quite done yet." He went forward and placed his hands on Larry again. "Download restarting…"

And with those words came the worst bout of pain that Tec had ever felt. He actually screamed, which was something he had never done before. But he could take it. He would take it. Pain was part of being alive, after all. And despite everything, it was a good pain. It meant that his plan was ultimately working.

"Larry!" He shouted. His eyes and hands burned, but he didn't step away from Larry. Instead, he pressed down harder. "AHHH!" He wasn't going to stop. A blinding blue light filled the Matrix, but he ignored that The data was almost completely transferred. Eighty-five, eighty-six, ninety, ninety-six…

One hundred percent complete.

Tec gasped and collapsed to the floor. He looked up at Larry. He didn't even bother looking down at himself, as he knew the sight would be too horrific to stomach.

"Now…" he lifted his hand. "To let you wake up in the real world…"

…

"Ugh…" Oh man! Larry felt so strange! Everything around him was fuzzy, the sounds that surrounded him sounded like they were in the water. He groaned some more, turning his head this way and that. He heard more sounds. They almost sounded like… voices.

"What's going…" Wow, his speech had never sounded so slurred before. He tried to open his eyes, but that required way too much effort. He instead focused on the sounds, the voices. Maybe if he figured out what they were, what they were trying to say to him, may be he could figure out what was going on.

"Warr… Larry? Larry, are you in there?"

Larry's heart stopped. Was that his siblings? No, no, it couldn't be! They had been separated!

"Larry, are you okay?"

Larry's heart stopped. Oh. My. God. Those were his siblings! They were here, they were actually here! They were talking to him, they were trying to get him to wake up!

"G…guys…" that word was much quieter than he had hoped, so he tried again. "Guys!" He finally managed to open his eyes. The room he was in was pretty dark, but even still, the outlines of his siblings were visible. "Guys! Wha… what are you…"

"LARRY!" Roy shot forward and wrapped his arms around him. Larry gasped, and his shock only grew more pronounced as Roy started to cry. "You're back! You're actually back!"

"Larry…." Larry's other siblings surrounded him and hugged him as well. All seven of them were now in a huddle, a hugging huddle. Larry would've felt good about this if it weren't for the fact that right now he was terribly confused.

"Guys… what's going on? How are you… why are you here? How did you even get here? Where's Francis?"

The Koopalings pulled themselves out of the huddle. With misty eyes and a relieved smile, Iggy started explaining. "Francis unfortunately managed to reprogram you, but Tec found a way to restore you. He put all the data he downloaded from your brain back into you, and now… here we are."

It took a minute for all that to sink in. "No… no way!" Tears fell from his own eyes. "So it's over? This whole nightmare is over and I get to go home? I… I can't believe it!" Unplugging himself from the charging port, he bounced to his feet, all while crying. "After everything… I thought I'd never see you guys again! This is great!" He laughed before turning to look into Tec's camera. "Thank you so much, Tec!"

Tec didn't respond. Larry waited for a minute. When Tec still didn't respond, Larry's heart skipped a beat.

"Uh… Tec?"

AN: One more chapter after this, so stay tuned.