Chapter 41

BackDoor flew with his arms tucked behind his head, his eyes closed as he was deep in thought. TimeSkip's flying was far from silent. His wings filled the air with a deep, droning buzz which was really beginning to grate on BackDoor. He snapped one eye open, fixing the odd onion-like android with a glare.

"Can't you fly more quietly?" he growled.

TimeSkip said nothing, fixing its blank eyes on the vastness behind him.

BackDoor turned his head to look over his shoulder, then looked back at the celebi.

"There's nothing there," he said. "Have you picked up another time pocket?"

Silence.

BackDoor narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth together. "All right, this has gone on long enough. I'm bored. Say something!"

The celebi stared blankly ahead, the only sound coming from its rapid wing beats.

BackDoor glided towards it, fixing his eyes on the celebi's emotionless bug-like, glassy ones.

"Hmm... not like you to disobey. I think you might have a problem," he said. "Run a full diagnostics."

The celebi fluttered before him, still not looking at him.

BackDoor let out a sigh and muttered under his breath. "I have to do everything, don't I?"

He reached behind TimeSkip and, clutching him under one arm, flicked the power switch with his free paw. He counted silently to ten then switched it back on again. The celebi flared to life, lifting its heavy head to look right at him.

"Feeling better?" BackDoor asked. "Gonna speak to me now?"

A spray of binary flew through the hoopa's head and he shook it sharply, raising a paw to silence the celebi.

"I don't want your life story," he said. "Run a full diagnostics then tell me what was wrong in a nutshell. 'Kay?"

The celebi fell silent and its glassy eyes went even more blank as its internal computer searched through every inch of its system.

BackDoor leant back on his arms and yawned. Given the celebi android's short life, it shouldn't take too long to search through its data banks.

He peered over his shoulder at the emptiness of System Sky. They were far away from any of the floating cities. Supposedly the perfect spot to search through time and space for a new System. TimeSkip hadn't found a single suitable time pocket. They'd all been dangerously prehistoric or a mere hundred or so years ago. Any other worlds had been either empty or toxic. Searching for somewhere clean for Socket and her select elite to retreat into had got off to a bad start, and TimeSkip's silence for the last... half a day?... had likely cost them some progress. He looked back over the celebi's shoulder and sighed.

"Don't think I can be bothered going all the way back to see what you missed," he muttered.

Binary filled his head and he snapped back to reality.

'Diagnostics complete. Ready to relay information.'

"Shoot."

'Detected and repaired damaged communication components,' said TimeSkip. 'Damage caused by passing virus on route to Download Database. Successfully quarantined all traces and irreparable data.'

BackDoor raised an eyebrow. "Passing virus? When did you pick up a virus?"

'Damage dates back to around six thirty AM.'

"Huh." BackDoor scratched his head. "That's about the time I got a headache. If it's been sent to Download Database, I'm gonna guess Yobi's used my network as a means to transfer it, and damaged you in the process. Maybe I should run a diagnostics on myself?"

A million voices filled his head at once and he clasped both paws over his horns. With a groan, he filtered them out to make some level of sense.

'P0ck3t f0uNd. L0c4Ti0N UNkN0wN. ReL4yiNG c0-0rDiN4T3ssssszz.'

He looked back up at TimeSkip as a stream of numbers registered in his mind. "Guess a diagnostics will have to wait." A large grin spread across his face. "Sounds like Zero Day have found another world."

'Affirmative.'

"I say we go play with them for a little bit, huh?"

The two androids doubled back then zipped towards the porygon-Z fleet's co-ordinates.

...

Macro gave a quick glance over his ship. Blue paint peeled back from the hull, and the metal was melted away in parts. A huge hole graced where one of the turrets had been positioned, revealing the intricate wiring and water pipes. Anchor had confirmed that one of the small wishiwashi had been torn clean away from the turret belt. There was no retrieving that. They'd have to have another one built, or repair the damage and make do with a missing turret. The damage this time was immense compared to previous damage. His heart sank at the sight of it and he felt himself break out into a cold sweat.

"I'll deal with this." Anchor dropped a heavy paw onto Macro's shoulder. "You go check on DL."

"You sure you can fix this?" Macro gestured to the wishiwashi's exposed innards.

"I can sure give it a shot," said Anchor. "I helped build the thing, after all. Pretty sure we can get the bits and pieces we need from Pulse City, if you're fine shelling out for it. Worst case scenario, I'll have to take a pod to the outskirts to gather scraps, and you'll be stuck in Pulse City for a couple of nights."

Macro scratched his ear and brought his bank balance up on his optical display. Just over thirty thousand credits. Thankfully the winnings he'd received from their game of farkle had cushioned it out nicely. Still... space pirates could charge a pretty credit for scrap materials.

"Have a hunt around." He closed his display and gave Anchor a wave as he turned away. "You know where to find me."

Macro marched down the street with Matrix buzzing at his head level. He cast the ribombee a sideways glance then tucked his paws behind his head.

"Part of me can't believe we actually took down that thing," he said. "If it weren't for the damage to my ship, I'd think I'd dreamt it."

Matrix shrugged and pulled out his small computer. "At least it's not posing a threat any more."

Macro snorted. "I dread to think what the pokemon living in the city below us are thinking right now. Because that wreckage will have obliterated it."

"It's Baud City," said Matrix as he thumbed his computer screen. "The damage is immense, and there's been over a hundred casualties. Twenty are confirmed dead."

Macro grit his teeth together and flinched. More accidental lives he could add to his list.

"But the damage is concentrated to the business district and coast line," Matrix explained. "The apartment blocks on its outskirts are still intact. The antenna connecting it to System's grid has received some level of damage, giving it a power outage for fifteen minutes. But that's back online now, so I wouldn't worry. The city itself is still intact. Somewhat."

Matrix popped his computer away, not a single look of remorse on his tiny face. Of course, that wasn't to say he didn't care. He was about as easy to read as a blank notebook.

"I'm gonna get to Moonlight Lounge," the ribombee explained. "I really wanna sink myself into Assassin Strike for a while."

Macro let out a small sigh and glanced away from him. "To be honest, I was hoping you'd come with me to Surge's apartment."

"What for?"

"I dunno. I... just don't really wanna be alone with her."

Matrix rubbed beneath his goggles and looked up at one of the passing billboards. "All right. I'll come with you for a few minutes."

"Make it thirty minutes and I'll buy you dinner."

"What?" Matrix raised an eyebrow. "You're being weird today."

"I just almost destroyed a city trying to save this one." Macro stopped in the middle of the street and spread his arms wide. "Pokemon have died because I tried to stop that creature potentially destroying Pulse City. Forgive me if I seem a little off right now!"

"Okay." Matrix stared at him until he started walking again. "But I dunno what almost destroying a city has to do with Surge."

"She's pushy," Macro explained. "I'm worried if she goes too far I'll end up doing something I regret."

"Like what?"

"I dunno. Shoot her?"

Matrix chuckled and paused to look over at Moonlight Lounge. "So if she gets too pushy, I get a free dinner? Guess I'm game."

Macro said nothing as he pushed the buzzer to Surge's apartment. The zigzagoon's voice came out from the intercom no sooner he took his claw off the button.

"Who is it?"

"It's Macro. Let me in."

He thought he heard her tut before the buzzer rang and the door opened. He exchanged glances with Matrix then slipped inside, making a beeline for the elevator. The precarious contraption rattled its way up to her floor, opening its doors and revealing its trip-hazard of a step up onto the carpet.

Surge was waiting for them at her door, a small frown creasing her cream and brown face.

"I see you brought your cute bodyguard," she said.

"Eh?" Macro froze slightly and his jaw went slack.

"I heard you from the window, moron." Surge turned and marched back into her apartment, leaving the door wide open for the two space pirates.

Macro followed behind her and his eyes went straight to the bed in the corner of the small apartment. DL lay on her back beneath the blankets, a long cable stretching out from the back of her head. The other end of which was attached to Surge's computer tablet.

"How is she?" Macro asked.

Surge gestured for him to sit down and he pulled up a seat at the kitchen counter. Matrix landed atop it and sat with his long legs hanging over the edge. The zigzagoon didn't look up from her computer, feigning interest in the contents of the screen.

"I ran a full diagnostics," she explained. "Her mind is filled with damaged files, and it's great enough to render her unconscious. I'd actually call this some form of coma."

Macro felt his blood turn cold. He looked over at the pachirisu, seeming so small beneath the sheets. His heart ached. What had happened? A lump rose in his throat and he tore his eyes away, instead staring at his black paw as it contrasted with the nicotine-coloured kitchen counter.

"She has a fully functional anti-virus system installed," said Surge. "Which is sensible given the confidential information she's been installed with. The diagnostics found a lock on those confidential files, which blocks her from accessing them. With a bit of tweaking, I've manage to give her access to that again."

"I'm not bothered about that," Macro said through his teeth. "What's happened to her?"

"I'm getting to that," Surge growled. "I thought at first the lock might have done something. Like it had locked her out of her own consciousness. But it's not that. A bit more poking around revealed all the damaged files, most of which are memories tied with her self awareness and brain function. I believe those are contained on the second disk you installed. Her default could be likened to an android brain, only in data form and not physical in any way. My second suspicion was that they were competing and it had shut her down. It's not that either. What I did find is actually very interesting."

She turned in her seat to face Macro and showed him the computer screen. He couldn't make head nor tail of it, but Matrix leant forward on the kitchen counter to get a better look.

"Wow!" the ribombee gasped. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Depends what you think it is," said Surge. "It behaves in every way like a worm."

"A worm?" Macro looked up at her, meeting her eyes briefly before she looked back at her computer. "Are you saying DL has a virus?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Surge turned away from them again and pawed over the screen. "I had my doubts at first, but the anti virus she's been installed with can't detect it. It's as though it's been made specifically to override it. Automatic updates, even forced updates, won't give her any antibodies to fight this virus. I tried to get rid of it myself. I even tried transferring it to my own computer, but it won't budge. As such, I've had to quarantine it. To do that, I had to unlock her access to the Download Database and lock it away in there."

"Won't it destroy those files?" Macro asked.

Matrix glanced him out of the corner of his eye and wound his antenna in his paw. "Not if it's quarantined."

"Matrix is right," said Surge. "I've locked it away in one of the furthermost corners of that database. It's stuffed inside a redundant file and locked up. I don't know how it behaves, since I've not had enough time to study it. There's every chance it will eat its way free. But I've done my best. My only other option was to completely wipe her, Download Database and all. That would have meant wiping out all her memories, old and new. But part of me feels you wouldn't have wanted me to do that."

Surge cleared her throat and looked back up at the pachirisu.

Wiping all her memories, old and new... that would have meant she'd have no idea who Macro even was. Surge had avoided it. The thought left Macro feeling a little warm, yet worried at the same time. If that virus got free, the same thing could happen again. He bit his lip, fighting back the urge to ask her to just go ahead with it. Was he being selfish?

A heavy lump rose in his throat again and he turned in his seat so he was no longer looking at DL.

"There's an upside to this," said Surge. "Given I had to unlock Download Database, you now have complete access to it. If you want to fight back against it, DL is your weapon. You'll always be one step ahead."

Macro nibbled on his claw and gave Surge a sideways glance. "So what are you doing now?"

"Re-installing all her memories in hopes it will repair the damaged files," she said. "It's my home-run swing before I resort to wiping her completely and starting fresh. But I don't want to do that." She looked up at him over her shoulder briefly. "Could you imagine being stuck with all these mechanical parts in your head and having no idea why?"

"She currently doesn't have any idea why," said Macro.

"No. But with access to the Database she might be able to find out why she was created."

Macro's heart did a somersault. Were they really about to find out?

"I think I've worked out which disk is which," Surge explained. "I've not detected a virus on any of them."

"That's a relief," said Macro. "I was worried the recent disk had been tampered with."

"It definitely hasn't," she said. "I'm going to try and install the first two you did before we go for the most recent one."

Surge reached for one of the disks and slipped it into her computer. DL's eyes flew open and stared blankly at the ceiling. The antenna behind her ear flared to life, flickering as it received the information from the disk. Macro was on the edge of his seat, his heart pounding in his throat. He dared not breathe, watching as Surge removed the first disk for the second. Not a peep came from DL. It was unlike the first times they installed the disks. She'd been awake. This time... why wasn't she responding?

As the second disk uploaded its information, everything seemed to go by so slowly, but the clock on Surge's oven told him it had been merely ten minutes since they'd arrived and the first two disks had been re-installed.

When Surge removed the disk from her computer, the light behind DL's ear flickered and she stretched languidly, rubbing her paws across her eyes.

Macro leapt from his seat, balling his paws into fists. His heart was hammering in his chest. Had it worked? Did she have her recent memories?

She looked up at him and let her paw fall to her side as her chocolate eyes widened.

"Macro?" She looked around the room. "Where am I?"

His legs went weak. In his mind, he'd thrown his arms around her. But in reality he sank to the floor, clenching his paw so tightly his claws dug into his pads.

"Oh, DL..." He grit his teeth together and looked up at her so sharply she recoiled slightly under the duvet. "Don't you ever do that again!"

Tears welled up in his eyes and he screwed them shut, turning his face to the floor. He felt them break free and he whisked a paw over his face, letting them soak into his fur.

"What did I do?" DL asked quietly.

"You did nothing," said Surge. "Ignore him. He's a grump."

She reached behind her for the third and final disk.

"You're installing my memories again?" DL asked weakly.

"Yes." Surge looked back at her. "How are you feeling?"

"A little confused." DL blinked her huge chocolate eyes and stared at the far wall at the foot of the bed. "I don't know who you are, but I recognise Macro and Matrix. Also... I have some memories but it's as though I can't focus on them."

"That will be because of the virus. It's corrupted the files Macro recently installed into you." Surge popped the disk into her computer. "Brace yourself. If this works, they're about to become a lot clearer."

DL clutched the duvet in both paws and cowered back behind it. Then her eyes went blank as the third disk spewed its information into her brain.

Macro remained on his knees, gritting his teeth together so tightly it hurt. Part of him doubted it would work. The image of DL 'malfunctioning' was too crystal clear in his mind. He made a silent promise to her. If this failed again, he'd drop this mission. He'd let her have peace, and start afresh without those wretched disks.

Her eyes refocused again and she let the duvet go slack. Surge reached across her and removed the jack lead, opening her mouth to speak. But before words could leave her mouth, DL let out a pained, terrified scream.

Macro leapt to his feet and his paw flew to his laser. But it relaxed beside it as DL slumped forward, tugging the duvet up to her face.

"I know now!" she wailed. "I know everything!"

Everything...

That was the disk she'd been terrified of.

Macro crept over to her and perched on the edge of the bed.

"She did this to me," DL choked out. "She's a monster!"

There was nothing he could say. He reached out and pulled her into him, letting her head rest against his chest. Her paw wound itself into the fur of his shoulder and she let out a long, shaky sob.

"I trusted her!" Her words were muffled into his scarf. "I trusted her and she took everything from me!"

He fastened his arms around her and ran a paw over her back. "Well she can't hurt you any more."

"No, but she wants me back." Her words were interspersed with sobs. It pained him. "If she gets me back... she'll use me like some machine..."

"She won't get you back," he said. "I promise that."

"You don't know what she's done! What's she's planning!" Her entire body shook with violent sobs and coughs. "She's insane. Absolutely insane!"

...

No more than fifteen years old.

The young pachirisu sat at the back of the craft room, colouring in a recently drawn picture. The scene depicted was full of grass and berry orchards. Not that such scenes were prominent in System. She'd never been to System Sky. Never seen the orchards that grew in Cyan City.

Two years she'd spent in the orphanage, although her memory as to why was hazy. Her parents had died, that much she knew.

A small espurr shuffled over to her to grab a pencil box, his tiny paws barely reaching the edge of the table. She smiled down at him and plopped the pencil box gently into his outstretched paws.

"Thanks, Loop," he lisped before waddling over to the hatchling corner.

The pachirisu gave him a warm smile before returning to her drawing. She'd barely put pencil back to paper when the old door creaked open. She craned her neck around, her eyes falling on the lithe form of a furret. Behind her stood a tall, dark pokemon. Her body was covered in a frilly black fur, adorned with white ribbons. Loop's heart froze in her chest and her pencil clattered to the table, leaving a red scuff on the green grass of her orchard.

"This is her," said the furret. "Young Loop here has been with us for two years. None of her family are alive, so..."

"Such an odd place for an electric type," said Socket. "I thought she'd be in Botnet Orphanage. Not Meta City."

"Sadly they're full," said the furret. "After the accident-" her voice blurred, not coming into focus.

Loop placed both paws over her ears, cowering over the table. What did the mayor want with her? She could feel her icy eyes burning into the side of her head.

"I can offer her a home." The gothitelle's face melted into a warm smile. "I've been wanting a daughter."

Loop's young heart did a backflip. Was she actually getting out? And to live with System's mayor? Thoughts raced through her mind, not settling on one scenario. She'd made friends at the orphanage, but to have a normal life... go to a normal school...

"I'll have my PA deal with the paperwork," Socket told the furret.

"That's not... ordinarily..." The furret backed down from Socket's stare and nodded briskly. "That's fine. I know you're busy, and being the Mayor and all..."

Before she knew it, Loop found herself being bundled into a sleek, black limo. A tiny chingling looked back at her from the driver's seat, beaming through the bullet-proof glass separating him from the back seats. Driving was almost unnecessary. The orphanage was only a ten minute walk from the mansion.

The first thing to greet her were a pair of intimidating pidgeot guards. Their beady black eyes watched her every move as Socket led her up the small staircase to the large, ornamental doors.

"I'll show you to your room." The chingling flopped past her, his internal bell ringing with each small movement. "Socket's a busy 'mon."

"That won't be necessary," said Socket. "I'll show my new daughter to her chambers."

"Seriously?" The chingling looked a little taken aback. "I don't get this kind of treatment."

"You don't need it. Now get back to work." Socket stared at the back of the chingling, watching until he vanished around a corner. She then turned back to Loop and waved a paw for her to climb the stairs. "Come with me. It's just up on the second floor."

The plush carpet cushioned her feet as she clambered up each luxurious step. Two flights and she found herself surrounded by closed doors. Socket led her a little way down the corridor and paused beside one of the identical doors, throwing it open.

Loop's breath was taken away. The room was just as ornamental as the rest of the mansion. A huge bed perched at one side, surrounded by four posts. The bed had its own curtains to match the ones over the window. Blue and white, trailing down to the smooth, polished wooden floor. She could almost see her reflection in the wood as she stepped inside. Her first instinct was to examine the wooden desk by the window, pulling out the little drawer.

"There's a pencil set in here," she said.

"Of course," said Socket. "You like drawing, don't you? I don't want to deprive you of that."

She looked back at the gothitelle, all previous anxieties washed away. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll leave you to settle in." Socket stepped back from the door and began to pull it closed. "Oh. One more thing. Dinner is at seven. I'll send Tweak to get you."

"Of course. I look forward to it." Loop smiled as she watched Socket vanish behind the closed door.

Almost three years went by, the first of which was pure bliss. Loop attended school and was picked up promptly each day by Tweak. Socket involved her in her work on Saturdays, showing her the ropes of being a mayor. The promise was one day Loop would take over, and she took it very seriously.

Drawing was soon replaced by studying the laws of System until they were emblazoned in her mind. Air cleanliness, water dwellers, space pirates, prison sentences, crimes... her mind span. Once she'd finished school, she went straight into law.

When she came home during her first break from Binary College, she couldn't wait to relax in her own room. Being the Mayor's daughter had been met with hostility and sleepless nights. She made her way to Socket's office and knocked softly.

"Come in." The reply felt cold. Unwelcoming.

She pushed the door open and shot one of her beaming smiles to the gothitelle. "It's me. I'm back-"

"Loop, finally." Socket leant back in her seat and waved her paw towards a huge holoscreen display. "Meet my genius in science, Yobi."

Loop stepped into the room, looking warily up at the screen. The chubby face of a sparksurfer raichu peered curiously down at her.

"So this is the young pachirisu I'll be working with?" he asked.

"Of course," said Socket. "I expect good work from the both of you."

Loop turned her head to look at Socket and her paws went to her chest. "Science? I thought I was pursuing law."

Socket waved a paw. "Forget that. I need you to team up with Yobi. I have huge plans for System, and they don't include law. Not at this early stage."

"But-"

"No buts. I've already handed your notice into Binary College. You won't be going back."

Loop's heart sank. Part of her thought she'd be happy to see the back of Binary College. But no longer pursuing law... something she'd poured two years into...

Little did she know her new direction of science was the start of a nightmare.

Yobi's lab was filled with all kinds of niknaks, from screws and bolts to robotic limbs. It was like a cybernetic morgue. He talked her through mechanics and computer coding, none of which made sense. What did stand out to her the most were the technicalities of dimensional travel. History books were thrown at her. Well... he called them history. To her, it was all mythology. Books on pokemon legends such as dialga and palkia, pokemon believed to control time and space. Celebi, hoopa... they came next. Glowing gateways into different worlds all made little sense to her.

She voiced her concerns many times to Socket over dinner - it was becoming the only time they ever spoke - but the Mayor merely waved it off and changed the subject.

So Yobi's lessons went on.

Why he was forcing this stuff into her head, she had no idea. She was beginning to wonder if Socket had hired a lunatic.

Until one morning.

Violent paws shook her awake and her eyes flew open. It was still dark, but the gothitelle's blue eyes were glowing fiercely. She found herself lifted to her feet in a bubble of purple energy.

Paralyzed.

"What are you doing?!" Loop screamed. "Put me down!"

"Not yet. You're a part of this." Socket lugged her down the hallway, leaving the pachirisu to thrash inside her bubble prison. "Besides. If I told you where we were going, you wouldn't obey."

Tossed into a car and driven to the other end of Meta City. Her shouts fell on deaf ears as Tweak steered them through the busy streets. Once again, she was lifted into the air and lugged after the Mayor, to be dropped unceremoniously onto Yobi's laboratory floor.

The room was dimly lit, casting the lab in shadows reminiscent of a nightmare. Murky light reflected off a glistening metal trolley behind the raichu, lighting up sharp scalpel blades and needles.

"It's time," said Socket. "Make it quick."

Yobi stuttered and rubbed his paws together, looking from Loop to Socket and back.

"I still don't understand," he said. "Isn't she your daughter?"

"Yes." Socket folded her arms. "I've told you repeatedly - that's how it's meant to look. Pokemon have seen me with her, almost every day. I think it's safe to say we've eluded their suspicions."

Yobi rubbed the back of his ears and stared down at the trembling pachirisu. "If you're sure there's no one else-"

"There's always you." Socket's voice was laced with ice, freezing Yobi to the spot.

"No, no. I can work with her," he stuttered.

"Good. Now get that database uploaded into her and let's get on with our job."

"But... it's a delicate procedure," he said. "I've not got all the kinks worked out yet. It could spell disaster."

"You've been working on this for a year," Socket spat. "Are you telling me you can't download an entire database into a brain?"

"Oh, I can... I've got the device made and everything. But-"

"But what?"

Loop's heart was almost hammering its way out of her chest. She scurried backwards across the dusty floor, only to be stopped by another psychic bubble. Tweak's grinning face stared back at her from the other side and he swung his whole body around, sending her back to the Mayor's waiting feet.

"Well, the thing is..." Yobi wrung his paws together. "She's a bit of a... how do I put this... a strong personality. Do you really want all this confidential information uploaded into someone who could turn rebellious?"

Socket scratched her chin. "You've mentioned this to me before. Several times, in fact. My answer remains the same. You can upload information, so why not remove it, too?"

"And I told you that's murder! You're removing her very essence! You're the Mayor, you can't just take someone's life away."

"What?!" Loop tried to climb to her feet, but it was like moving in a vat of glue.

"Be quiet!" Socket waved a paw, silencing Loop's voice in her throat. Then she turned back to Yobi. "She'd still be alive."

"Look. See it this way." Yobi spread his paws. "What makes a pokemon is their personality. Without their memories and personality, they're just... vegetables. You're asking me to turn her into a vegetable. At least try to think up a legal loophole. How about I... I dunno... try to save all her essence to a disk? At least then, she's still got it. It's just... downloaded elsewhere."

"Fine. Download everything, save it, then upload Download Database. I want her wired to the BackDoor network before dawn tomorrow. Then we can get looking for a new world."

New world? Loop's heart was hammering inside her chest. All that information. Hoopa, celebi, palkia and dialga... it hadn't been for nothing.

Socket strolled from the room with Tweak in tow. As the door closed behind her, Loop was released from her bubble. She stared up at Yobi, trembling from ear to toe.

"Sorry." He trapped her in another bubble and reached behind him towards the metal trolley. "I promise you won't feel a thing."

...

DL's sobs lessened off, but the fur over her cheeks glistened with tears.

That awful nightmare of a story filled Macro's mind with vivid, horrific images he wished to lock away in a tiny box in the corner of his mind. Who would do that? Trick a child into a lie of security, just to use them as a tool in a warped, vindictive plan?

DL's trembling breath tickled the fur on Macro's chest, and as she shifted against him the scent of lavender filled his nose. It left him feeling physically weak, but a fire ignited deep within him. His grip slackened and he let his claws trail over her fur as he fixed the headboard with a piercing, violet leer.

"She'll have to kill me before she can ever lay her paws on you again." The words left his mouth before he'd even had time to process them.

His paw faltered over her spine, but he didn't take his eyes off the headboard. Her sobs had become a snuffle and she was stock still, her claws wound into the fabric of his scarf. He pulled away from her but she didn't relinquish his scarf. She clutched it in her paws, her wide, glossy chocolate eyes flying around the room and settling on anything but him. They trailed over the wall, Matrix, Surge...

Surge cleared her throat and rose to her feet to head towards the kitchen. Macro looked from the zigzagoon's tatty tail to DL's terrified eyes. His heart clenched in his chest and he let himself fall onto his bottom on the floor as he wiped his face dry.

"I think we need to give... Loop, I guess?... time to come to terms with things," said Surge.

"Don't call me that," DL hissed. "Don't you ever call me that."

"But it's your name, isn't it?" Matrix wound his antenna in his paw thoughtfully.

DL gave her head a violent shake. "No. No, it's not! The last pokemon to ever call me that was her. I don't want anything to do with her. That name died that night."

"She's right." Macro stared down at his paws as he straightened out his scarf. "Nothing wrong with having two names. I do it."

"Yes, but your alias is to throw other pokemon off your scent," said Surge. "If someone were to find a dead mawile, your chip would say 'Macro', am I right?"

He snorted and waved the zigzagoon off. "Anyway. Let DL use whatever name she wants. I don't blame her for wanting nothing to do with Socket. That mad Mayor has just given me another reason to see her fall."

"What's all this about looking for a new world?" Matrix asked.

DL trembled and fixed her gaze on the wall. "I'll tell you later. I'm still coming to terms with it. Some things are blurrier than others. Like... I don't have any memories prior to being in that orphanage. None at all. No idea what even happened to my family. But the details concerning her plan... I'm sure they're in the database, but my own memories of them are hazy. Like I've repressed them."

"You probably have," said Surge. "Give it time."

DL nodded and leant back against the wall.

"Anyway," said Surge. "Who wants tea? You've not told me about your fight with that monster yet, Macro. I could hear the commotion all the way out here."

"What monster?" DL's voice wavered and she looked over at the mawile.

"I don't even know," said Macro. "It was like some weird jellyfish thing. But it's gone now. We took care of it." He paused and scratched his scar. "Anchor's currently repairing the damages."

Surge chuckled. "Did it wreck your ship?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Monsters... So much has happened. I feel like I'm missing something." DL shook her head then looked over at Surge. "I'm still unsure who you are. Is this your apartment?"

"Yes, but I'm sure Macro can explain everything," said Surge. "I'm just a helpful mercenary who's expecting a fat paycheck after this."

"A paycheck for what?"

Surge wiped her hands on a tea towel and turned back to DL. "You had a virus afflicting your memories. I dealt with it, and I don't work for free."

"In that case, if we're all done here," said Matrix, "I'm gonna go play Assassin Strike for a bit."

"Hey, you promised me thirty minutes!" Macro barked.

"Well, if Surge's paycheck is as fat as she hopes it will be, I doubt you'll be buying me lunch." Matrix buzzed to the door and paused to wave over his shoulder. "Glad to see you up and about, DL. Buhbye!"

The door slammed shut behind him, shattering Macro's confidence. He cleared his throat and pushed himself to his feet.

"Well." He climbed back into his seat at the counter. "Guess I'd better explain everything, then?"

DL shook her head. "No need. I actually think I could use a walk."

She clambered to her feet, her legs trembling as she struggled her way towards the door.

"Wait." Macro lifted a paw to stop her. "Don't go alone. I'll come with you."

"No..." She fixed one eye on him over her shoulder. "I don't want to be a burden."

Her words stabbed him through the heart. He flinched and looked away from her. "You're not a burden. Just wait by the elevator, and I'll be with you as soon as I've paid Surge."

DL pursed her lips together and slipped through the door, letting it close softly behind her.

Macro slid from his seat and reached into his pocket. "I have some cash, if-"

Surge grabbed him roughly by the shoulder and backed him into the wall. He looked up with a start, opening his mouth to speak, but his words were silenced as she brushed her lips against his. He jerked his head back, but all that came from his throat was a feeble choke as something cold pressed against his chest. He glanced down, and his eyes widened slowly as he spotted the glowing rim of a laser right above his heart.

Red.

Red for fire.