Chapter Sixty Five

The dinner time bell rang out through Wildcard Gamma, snatching Macro out of a dreamless sleep. He cracked an eye open and licked his dry lips. Dinner. Why didn't he feel hungry? He shifted against his pillow, feeling the sticky wetness against his cheek, then it all came back to him.

DL. Those memories. That fire.

He let out a groan and pushed himself up, running a paw over his scar if only to wipe away some of the stickiness. The entire room seemed to stink. How long had he been in there? He staggered from the bed and made a bee-line for the shower. Hopefully that would make him feel a little better.

Anchor turned the corner from the cockpit and did a double-take.

"Cap'n!" he said. "I was just comin' to get you."

Macro mumbled something incoherent as he opened the door to the bathroom.

"Groggy, huh?" Anchor asked. "Yanno... Switch contacted me."

Macro paused in the doorway, not looking back at the granbull.

"They're safe on System Ground," Anchor explained. "Found some 'mon who can help them. So... they're not alone."

"Pirates?" Macro's voice cracked.

"Well... yeh, actually," said Anchor. "Sort of."

That was all Macro was willing to hear. He let the door close and switched on the shower, letting the lavender water wash away the previous night.

Lavender...

He reached for the switch and changed the setting without even looking at it. The scent of the water gained a citrus zing and he slumped against the wall, sliding down onto the floor. It wasn't until he opened his eyes again he realised he was still wearing his scarf.

Muttering under his breath, he tore it off and tossed it towards the sink where it landed in a citrussy puddle.

Pirates...

Macro leered at the scarf, watching as the water sloshed over it. Pirates hadn't been what he'd wanted to hear. Space Pirates weren't good pokemon. He should know. But... they did also hate Socket. And right now, all he wanted to do was pin her down and shove his laser in her face. That vindictive gothitelle had gone too far.

He pushed himself back to his trembling feet and switched off the water. Everything ached. He had no idea why. What had he done to ache so much? He gathered up his sodden scarf and wrung it dry as he stood beneath the fur drier. For much too long. By the time his scarf had dried, his entire body resembled a cutiefly hatchling. He tried to smooth out the static to no avail as he made for the cockpit.

Then faltered.

Everyone was in the kitchen, talking. The smell of pancakes danced before his nose, its efforts doing nothing to swindle him. In fact, it made him feel sick. He sighed and turned his back on the kitchen, taking his usual seat in the cockpit.

A seat that felt too small without DL's slender body taking up part of it. He'd instinctively pushed himself up against the right arm, and the space beside him felt so bare. A lump rose in his throat and he forced himself into the centre of the seat, kicking his feet up onto the dashboard.

It felt so wrong.

Anchor's heavy footsteps drove away any desire to let himself cry any further. Macro cracked an eye open as the granbull fell heavily into his own seat, still clutching a pancake. Or... was that a pancake sandwich?

"Thought I heard you come in here," said Anchor. "Not hungry this mornin'?"

"No," said Macro.

Anchor gave him a sympathetic look, but rather than voicing his concerns, he took a bite out of his breakfast and turned back to the controls.

"We'll be back at Cyan City in about half an hour," he said. "Took a detour so I could check on Surge's ship. Wanted to make sure it wasn't traceable, and unfortunately it is."

"What does that mean?" Macro asked. "Is she followin' us?"

"Fortunately, no," Anchor explained. "Jumper's got her locked up. I just wanted to make sure Socket wasn't tracing her. I destroyed the chip and chucked it. So if she had been tracking us en-route from Cyan City, she isn't any more."

"Fantastic," Macro spat.

"Cap'n..." Anchor's expression softened and looked at Macro face on. "She'll come to her senses. Give her time."

Macro stared blankly ahead, watching Cyan City's dome draw closer. Time... with all those Ultra Beasts being released into System, he wasn't even sure how much time they even had. His accident had cost them dearly, as had his expedition to Botnet City. If they were going to stop Socket, he had to box up his emotions again. He scratched beneath his horn and sighed.

"Forget it," he said. "Let's just get this training done and go after BackDoor. I'll deal with Socket later."

"I think you mean we will deal with Socket later," said Anchor.

"Sure." Macro let his eyes close and tucked his paws behind his head. "Of course I did."

Anchor clearly knew he hadn't meant that at all. Boxing up his emotions wasn't going to be easy.

...

The Analogue Isles sure were chilly.

Tracer hugged his trench coat around himself as he stood on Beta Docks, watching Cyph3r and N0ize work away at their ship. The sharpedo's windscreen was still shattered as the pair were more interested in the damage dealt to its jaws. Apparently the close range attack weapon was more important than 'keepin' a little grit outta your eyes'.

"You know," said Widget, "there was a time I often wondered why I never visited the Analogue Isles during my rogue days." He glanced up at the yellowed sky. So yellow it could make the air in the Meta City Outskirts look like a haven. "I take that all back."

"Well." Tracer tapped his claws on his arm, wishing deeply he'd thought to stock up on cigars before they took their little trip to Pulse City. "We'll be out of here soon enough, don't you worry."

The delphox glanced around at the docks. It was hard to see much beyond them, the smog was so thick. Oddly enough, he could see the coast line of the mainland quite clearly. Wave City's towering skyscrapers stood out on the skyline, and their lighthouse spun its light periodically in their direction, almost beckoning him to jump in the ocean and swim for shore. But he knew full well if he tried that, Cyph3r would snipe him with his railgun. And he'd already witnessed the magmortar in action to know he would not miss.

The incineroar lifted his head and fixed his no-nonsense eyes on Tracer and Widget. "Got a problem here."

"Oh?" Tracer cocked an eyebrow. "Ship lose a tooth?"

"Don't mess with me, fox, it ain't cute." N0ize folded his huge arms and leant back against the sharpedo. "Those spikes clean knocked out the jaw's bracer. Gonna need a new one, or we ain't flyin' anywhere."

"How, may I ask," said Tracer, "does one missing key element to your ship's weapon prevent us from flying?"

"No torpedoes," said N0ize. "We're out. If Sharkie here can't bite, then we can't defend ourselves."

Tracer sighed and ran a paw over his face. He caught Widget staring up at him, and once he'd got his attention, the eevee mouthed 'Sharkie?' then stifled a giggle.

Tracer turned back to N0ize and raised a paw in a shrug. "What do you want us to do about it?"

"I need you to go find me a bracer," said N0ize.

"Why can't you do it?" asked Tracer. "It's your ship."

"Because I can't leave her here unattended, and I'm not gonna leave you two here watchin' her. You might hop in and bail for all I know."

"He knows us so well already," Widget muttered. "I'd say somethin' about it being sweet, but it really isn't."

Tracer pretended he hadn't heard him. "Well, I'm afraid neither of us know what a bracer is."

"Shops do," said N0ize. "And correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I said you two are payin'. So go get buyin'."

"Really?" Widget asked. "You're trusting us to go and buy you a part for your ship, yet you won't leave us waiting by it? What makes you so sure we're gonna come back?"

Tracer's heart sank. Well, there went that escape plan before he'd even fully thought it out. He made a mental note to buy the eevee a muzzle.

"Well, let's think about that." N0ize had his back to them again, hidden inside 'Sharkie's' jaws. "I don't know how much you're aware of this, but the Analogue Isles have their own Kraken."

Widget swallowed audibly and looked up at the delphox. "I think he means one of them jellyfish things."

"Oh, it ain't a jellyfish." N0ize looked back over his shoulder at them and grinned. "Good luck out there, fuzz."

Tracer hesitated for a moment, staring at N0ize's back hunched over his ship. With a shake of his head, he turned and made his way deeper into Beta City.

"I don't like this," said Widget. "It isn't fun anymore. I wanna go home."

"You and me both," said Tracer. "I'm beginning to think taking on this mission to round up Annie was the worst decision I ever made."

"Really? 'Cause I think that part was pretty cool. My gripe lies in heading to Pulse City."

"Yes, remind me again why we went there?"

"To sell Socket's ship and buy a new one, so we looked the part," explained Widget.

"Oh yes." Tracer rubbed at his ear and sighed. "I'm still not sure how to break that news to her."

"Given how it ends, I say don't."

Tracer snorted and reached for a cigar... which wasn't there. He muttered under his breath and paused to take in his surroundings. Was it his imagination, or was the smog getting worse? He deeply wished he'd not left his mask on the government ship.

"Well, I don't know about you." Widget spoke oddly quietly. "But I don't see a single shop anywhere."

"Never mind shop, I don't see any buildings," said Tracer. "It's all docks and boxes."

"Deeper we go then."

Widget skipped on ahead, and Tracer caught up with him before he lost him in the smog. Eventually they came to the end of the docks, their feet finding tarmac as they arrived on one of the roads. The painted stripes and presence of stationary lorries reminded Tracer of how backwards the Analogue Isles were. The high roads taken by hover vehicles hadn't made it this far, meaning the ground was very much separated into pedestrian and traffic areas. For sake of rules, the two pokemon moved off the road to the concrete sidewalk. Not that there was a single moving vehicle taking up the road.

"Here are all the buildings." Widget squinted up at them. "What's left of them anyway."

Tracer finally tore his eyes off the stationary lorries to take in the skyscrapers. Huge chunks had been torn away, windows were smashed in, and doors were pulled clean off their hinges. Whatever had attacked them had left no debris on the ground. All the evidence of an attack was above their heads, as if something had swooped down and just eaten a piece of a building before flying off elsewhere.

Tracer's stomach tightened into knots. Given the creatures coming through, was it really unbelievable that one might take a liking to sampling System's various architecture? He reached for his stick and turned to head back to the docks, keeping one eye on the missing bricks above them.

"Nope," he said. "We are not staying around here, Widget."

"But we need to get the bracer," the eevee whined.

"Forget the bracer. We can get it somewhere else." Tracer began to make his way back to the docks. "With all this smog and the evidence of an attack, it just doesn't feel save here. Add to that the missing pokemon, and I think we have a recipe for potential death and demise."

"Huh, that would make a pretty good video game, actually." Widget skipped to keep up with him. "Guess we're gonna have to fly in an unprotected ship then, eh?"

"Yes, and I think you should be the one to break the news to our new friends."

"Why me?"

"Because you're the one with the silver tongue." Tracer paused and glanced down at him. "And the unbreakable skeleton."

"All right, fine," Widget sighed. "I'll be the bringer of bad news. Man, I should have been born an absol." He paused and looked around, one paw in the air. "Wait... where are we?"

Tracer followed the eevee's gaze. With all the smog, it had been difficult to gauge how dark it was. But it was suddenly very dark. The eevee's voice echoed slightly, and Tracer reached behind him for his stick.

"We appear to have inadvertently entered a building," Tracer explained.

"Funny," said Widget. "I was convinced we were heading back the way we came. But I suppose it is pretty hard to navigate here, given I can't see six feet in front of me let alone the stinkin' sky." He turned one-eighty and froze again. "How do we get out? I can't see a door."

Tracer turned on the spot, keeping his stick raised and ignited. It did little to light their way, reflecting off the glossy black walls and thick clouds around them.

"What kind of decor is this?" he scoffed. "Who in their right mind would paint their walls black?"

Widget chuckled and glanced back at him with a smile. "Remind me to tell you about this liepard I once knew."

Tracer shook his head and moved towards one of the walls. He placed his paw upon it and nodded to Widget to do the same.

"Come on," he said, "we'll use the wall as a guide. We're sure to find a door sooner or later."

"I can't even see any furniture," said Widget. "Why do I get the feeling every pokemon here just packed their bags and left?"

Tracer didn't answer. He felt eyes on his back, boring into him. A chill ran down his spine and he lifted his stick higher in a desperate bid to light up further into the dark building.

"Yo, Tracer, you listenin'?" Widget craned his neck back to look at him.

Tracer kept his ears fixed forward as he scoured the building. That feeling of being watched didn't leave him. Wherever he turned, it was on his back, unwilling to face him. Taunting, enjoying his fear.

"We're not alone," he muttered. "Move it, Widget. We need to find that door!"

Widget nodded and turned, moving as quickly as he could along the wall. Tracer followed behind him, almost stumbling over the eevee's tail in a desperate bid to find the nearest door, window, or breakable wall.

"Do you not feel it?" he gasped.

"Of course I do," said Widget. "I'm just not a quaking wreck like you are."

"I think 'claustrophobic' is the term you're looking for," Tracer growled.

"Nah, that's not what I was goin' for. I was goin' for that thing where it's so dark you think someone's watching you. All psychological. Keep tellin' yourself that and you'll be fine."

Tracer let out a long breath but he refused to lower his stick. "Yes. Yes, I think you might be right. I'll try to calm down."

It was easier said than done. That feeling followed him, dragging every hair down his spine on end. He warred with the desire to look back and check his own tail, to search the dark for a face. Everywhere he looked he thought he saw a face. Icy eyes glowing in the distance that would vanish no sooner than he look at them.

Widget let out a couple of gasps and leant against the wall slightly. "I'm not finding that door."

"We've probably not gone the entire way around yet," Tracer explained, his voice barely a whisper.

"I dunno. I felt a corner a little while ago. Surely we didn't go that far into this building, right?"

Tracer glanced back over his shoulder, spotting those eyes again. Several. They vanished one by one, moving away from him. No... he wasn't mistaken. He really was seeing eyes.

He raised his stick and let out a flame thrower, lighting up the glossy black wall.

Bricks. The entire wall was formed out of bricks. Black bricks, uniform, not a window in sight. As for the floor, it was concrete. And tarmac. There was even a curb.

His mouth went dry and he cleared his throat. "Widget... I'm about to tell you something, and I don't want you to freak out."

"All right. Shoot."

"We're not inside a building at all." Tracer looked back up again and prepared his stick for another flamethrower. "We're inside a living creature."

"What? Pull the other one!" Widget scoffed. "How on earth does one just saunter into a living creature?"

His voice echoed wildly throughout the building, making Tracer flinch and pull his ears back. Each and every brick snapped around one by one, revealing row upon row of icy blue eyes. Each one trained onto the two pokemon, lighting up the smog with a pale blue hue.

Widget's ears drooped and he fell onto his haunches. "Oh snap..."

Tracer took a step back, struggling to focus on one pair of eyes. He kept his stick trained, ready to fight back.

"I'm open to suggestions, Widget," he said.

"I'm just gonna do what I'm good at," said the eevee. "Bust my way outta here by force."

He turned and bolted, crashing into the wall. His mechanical skeleton whined with the impact as he was launched backwards by an invisible force. Tracer aimed his stick at another wall, throwing out a flamethrower. It fizzled out before it could so much as lick the surface.

"Protect," he muttered. "So these things fight like us pokemon do, eh?"

Widget pushed himself back up and flipped onto his feet, shaking out his ruff.

"Then we fight back like pokemon," he said. "Sooner or later, it's gonna give up or faint."

Tracer let out a breath and readied another attack. "I like your optimism. Let's hope you're right."

He threw his stick forward, expelling another flamethrower. This one struck home, heating up the bricks until they lit up with a pinkish glow. The eyes span back away from the attack, protecting the lifeform's vulnerable surface. Yet it made no noise. Expressionless. No scream, no wince... nothing.

Then there was a creak. Not from any vocal chords, but from the structure itself as it shifted. Tracer aimed his flame in the direction of the noise enough to light it up, but the glowing eyes did most of the work for him. Beyond the eerie glow, he spotted a long pillar of slender bricks pushing against the ground. Daylight leaked in beneath the creature, bringing with it murky smog.

"Is it fleeing?" Widget asked all too eagerly.

Tracer said nothing, keeping his stick raised. There was every possibility they'd strolled inside it by accident, but it could just as easily have been a stealth attack. A way to trap its prey. But if its prey was fighting back, maybe it didn't think it was worth it?

The base crashed back down to the floor, shaking the ground. Rubble flew towards them faster than Tracer could raise his arms. Widget hissed with pain as the jagged rocks struck his flesh, then he shook out his ears and bared his canines.

"That's it!" the eevee roared. "Now I'm mad! Prepare to taste pain, villain!"

The small pokemon rocketed towards the creature's walls, striking it with such force the eyes almost seemed to flinch. They span away from him, the bricks whipping harmlessly at his fur. A few cracks spread across the surface, and the entire structure lurched, rising up onto four spindly legs. That's when Tracer heard it. A deep, mechanical groan that resembled a roar. Every single eye turned red, reflecting off the glossy surface. It flew into the air and aimed the nearest wall above their heads.

"Widget, move!" Tracer roared.

The pair shoulder-rolled to the side, dodging the creature's attack.

"Heavy slam?" Widget whined. "Aww, man! I've been wantin' to learn that since I got this skeleton put in place. But would they teach me? No. Why? Because I'm little!"

"This is no time to be envious, Widget," said Tracer. "This thing wants us dead."

"Yeh, and we're still inside it." Widget cleared his throat and looked up at the delphox. "Why, exactly, didn't we roll out into the city to safety?"

"Not enough room or time. We'd have been flattened."

Tracer aimed his stick and waved it, creating a blue wisp of flames. They struck the creature, lighting up a burn across the surface. It jerked away from them, scraping along the ground like claws over slate. Rubble flew in their direction, but Tracer was able to throw up a protect in time. Widget, however, took the attack head on. He narrowed his brown eyes and threw himself recklessly at the creature. More cracks appeared in the bricks as the eyes spun away from the impact.

A roar.

Another rear up into the air.

"All right, this time, let's roll out of the creature!" Widget barked as he took off past Tracer.

The delphox turned and tucked his stick away, launching himself through the rapidly narrowing gap. The beast fell to the ground with an almighty crash, clipping his bushy tail. He yowled and tugged it away, tearing the fur and skin from the tip. But there was no time to examine the damage. The eyes flicked around so they were on the outer surface, lighting up the smog with a nightmarish red glow.

"Yup." Widget's tail slumped down behind him. "I know when I'm beat. Let's book it."

Tracer scrambled to his feet and raced after the eevee, moving away from the monster. It clattered up onto its spindly legs and trotted after them. The sight would have been comical if it weren't for the massive threat it posed. Widget ducked into an alley and Tracer squeezed in behind him, dodging overflowing trash bags and haphazard trash cans. Sticky slime coated up to his ankles as he clambered through unidentifiable sludge to come out of the other end. There was no way it could follow them through there. But it did mean they ended up even more lost than they had been previously.

"This way!" Widget took a sharp right.

Tracer didn't need telling twice. He scrambled after the eevee, trying in vain to ignore the pulsing pain in his tail. The wounded limb found its way into his paws, rendering balancing a difficult act. Through the smog, he could just make out a tall mast. The decorative flag that marked Beta City's docks. His heart lurched into his throat, and he released his tail to catch up with the vanishing eevee.

N0ize looked up as the pair raced towards him. He opened his mouth to speak, but Tracer waved him off.

"Get back in the ship!" he roared.

"What's the problem?" N0ize asked. "Run into that Kraken?"

"You could say that." Widget glanced over his shoulder.

All eyes went to the hulking monster as it crushed its way between the buildings. N0ize's jaw dropped and he ushered Cyph3r onto the ship. The two space pirates rushed ahead of the detectives, but not before the magmortar fired a shot at the creature. The railgun's hidden bullet struck the brick surface, punching a hole through it and bringing the beast to a halt.

The ship's door began to close before Tracer was even fully on board. He scrambled between the door, clutching his tail in one paw. Sticky blood clung to the fur of his paws and matted his tail, but he was more interested in the creature. It hadn't completely stopped. It reared itself up for an attack, crashing back down as the ship rose into the air. Rocks rained down towards them, striking the ship's hull harmlessly.

"Huh." N0ize scratched his nose. "Persistent thing, ain't it? It ain't what were described to me, either. How many are there?"

"That wasn't the Kraken?" Widget gasped. "What on earth was it then?"

"Got me," said N0ize. "Thing they described to me were some black dragon with a mouth in its gut. Eats buildings."

Tracer's mind went back to the huge chunks missing from the buildings. That explained the distinct lack of pokemon. They'd likely fled, or met a horrendous fate.

N0ize looked down at the detective and frowned. "What on earth happened to your tail, fuzz?"

Tracer gingerly touched the wounded tip and hissed. That was going to need some quick treatment. Maybe even a course of antibiotics. Goodness knows what got into it as he scrambled through that alley.

"Here." N0ize reached into his dashboard and pulled out a black scarf with a neon green trim that closely resembled the chipboard tattoo around Widget's eye. "Get it bandaged up. It's enough you're gettin' grime on the floor, never mind blood. Now... dare I ask if you got that bracer?"

Tracer's muzzle creased into a frown and he turned his attention to binding up his skinned tail tip.

"No, we didn't," said Widget. "We were kinda pre-occupied with that monster."

N0ize scoffed and swivelled on his chair, kicking his huge feet up onto the dash. "Well, good job we patched up the broken one then, eh?"

"What?" Widget squeaked. "How'd ya do that?!"

N0ize grinned from ear to ear over his shoulder. "Gotta love duck tape."

...

Cyan City looked no different. Macro wasn't sure why he'd even expected it to, they'd only been away for two days at most. Maybe it was merely the awareness that Surge was held captive in the city, giving him a sense of unease.

Heatsink, Floppy and Torrent stood at the docks waiting for them, the dome wide open to greet the huge ship. Once it was inside, it closed behind it narrowly missing the wishiwashi's tail rudder.

"'Bout time you came back!" Floppy barked as Macro clambered off his ship. "Had Jumper in a right worry."

"I can look after myself." Macro regretted the words no sooner than they left his mouth.

"Really?" Floppy appeared rather taken aback, his ears almost pulled back against his head. "And what about your assassin, eh? We've got her apprehended behind bars, and I'm gonna bet every credit I own that you had no clue she was even here!"

"Come off it, Floppy," Heatsink scolded him. "If she's as good as her reputation says, of course he wouldn't know she was here."

The vaporeon glanced back at the empoleon then fixed a pleading look on Torrent. The quagsire diverted his eyes to the glass dome and began whistling a nonchalant tune.

Floppy sighed, turning back to Macro. He cocked an eyebrow as he looked between him and his ship. "Where's the pachirisu?"

Macro said nothing, moving aside so Anchor could clamber off the ladder. When the silence had gone on for longer than ideal, the granbull cleared his throat and gave Macro a sideways glance.

"I'll tell you everythin'," he said, "so long as you lend me a paw draggin' what's left of Surge's ship outta the cargo bay?"

"What's left of it?" Heatsink's beak fell wide open. "What happened?"

"Long story," said Anchor.

"But we can tell it in five minutes," added Matrix.

"Come off it!" said Anchor. "You just want to get to the arcade."

The ribombee didn't look up from his computer. "You know me so well."

"Go then," said Anchor. "These kind pokemon will help me, while you burn out your retinas with another VR game."

Matrix buzzed over their heads towards the city.

The police force's eyes lingered on Macro for a moment, then moved past him towards Anchor as he fumbled around Wildcard Gamma's jaws to open them. Macro gave the granbull a nod, then left his ship at the docks and went straight to the police station. He wanted to get to the bottom of what was going to become of the zigzagoon. Part of him wanted to make sure she stayed exactly where she was, that way he'd know she wasn't tailing after him. But there was also the unnerving possibility she'd break free and hunt him down while his back was turned.

He marched into the town hall, giving the blastoise on duty a curt nod and receiving one in return. Jumper's office door was wide open and he looked up with some surprise.

"Macro!" he said. "I saw your ship coming in but I didn't think you'd come-"

"So what's gonna happen to her?"

"Who?" Jumper glanced over the mawile's head to the door then back at him. "Surge?"

"Yes." A lone canine poked out between his lips.

"Well..." Jumper cleared his throat and motioned for Macro to take a seat. "I have you know that while she stays here in my custody, no harm is to befall her."

"So she's still here? Then you won't mind me havin' a little word with her." Macro turned to the door.

"Wait!"

Jumper's voice froze him in the doorway.

"Macro, I need to tell you something," he said. "She wasn't working alone here, so if you'll take a seat, I can tell you what I know."

Macro looked back at the frogadier over his shoulder. So she wasn't working alone? Cyan City suddenly felt a lot colder. He silently marched over to the offered chair and climbed into it, prompting Jumper to explain himself with a look.

"I don't know what's got into you," said Jumper, "but I won't have you just marching about like that, like you own the place."

"I had a bad trip," said Macro. "I don't really wanna talk about it. And knowin' she's here, causing problems-"

"I understand that." Jumper gave him a sympathetic nod. "But like I said, she wasn't working alone. We've got the conspirator locked in another cell, so he won't be causing any issues for you. But I can't say the news hasn't caused a little unrest. I'm not sure how many pokemon are going to be willing to hand you over to Socket here now, and I'm trying to hammer down some laws. Hopefully having this individual locked away will make a statement. You and your crew did save this city, and I expect a little gratitude from my citizens."

Macro sighed and rubbed his scar. "And she caused that?"

"She was a catalyst," said Jumper. "But I am given to understand she contacted Socket while she was here. Sent her some information."

Macro looked up slowly and narrowed his eyes. "What kind of information?"

"From what she told me, it was evidence that DL was in this city. Apparently Socket was meant to have shut her down."

"Then she lied to you."

"Lied?"

"Yes. Lied." Macro slid from his seat. "Surge was the one who revived DL, so I don't know why she'd have told her that. I reckon she's up to somethin', and given Socket's stuck a price on her head it gives me a bad feeling. Let me speak to her."

"You think you can get the truth out of her?"

"Don't know. But I can try."

Jumper nodded and followed Macro out into the square towards the police station. Due to the pleasant weather, the doors were wide open.

"You said you had a bad trip," said Jumper. "Did you manage to get what you were looking for?"

"Oh, I got it all right," said Macro.

"That's good."

"Depends on your perspective on 'good'."

Macro stopped by the cells and folded his arms, waiting for Jumper to unlock them. But the frogadier stared down at him, mouth agape.

"You gonna let me in?" Macro nodded at the door.

"Macro, what happened?"

The mawile waved him off. "I said I don't wanna talk about it."

"Macro..."

"Socket screwed me over!" Macro snapped. "Made it very easy. Turns out that memory disk made DL very aware of who I am. You ever hear about what happened in Botnet City?"

Jumper's mouth flapped open and closed like a goldeen gasping for air. He snapped it shut then cleared his throat, diverting his gaze from the steaming mawile.

"I am so sorry..."

"Forget it." Macro waved a paw then crossed his arms again, leaning heavily against the wall.

The frogadier scanned him into the room then stood aside. "I'll be waiting right here if you need me."

Macro said nothing, marching into the cells. Most of the glass cells were empty save for a few miscreants. They fixed leering eyes on him as he strolled past them, scouting out the zigzagoon. He found her huddled against the back wall of her cell, and her pale brown eyes lifted up to his as he paused in front of it.

A dry chuckle left her throat and she shifted so she was sitting more casually. "Here to bail me out?"

"Not on your life," he scoffed. "At least if you're here, you're not gonna be pointing a laser at my back."

"Pity. We'd make a pretty good team." She folded her arms and glanced behind him. "Where's your shadow?"

Macro clenched his jaw and rapped the glass to drag her attention back to him. "Forget about DL, it's me you're talkin' to. What information did you send to Socket?"

She sighed and looked back at him. "Did that little frog send you in here to do his work for him?"

"No, I'm here because my latest memory rescue plan went a little too easily." He leant forwards so his nose was almost touching the glass. "And I have a sneaky suspicion you had somethin' to do with it."

"What makes you think I had a paw in it? You're the one who stole Download Database."

"And you're the one who crawled in over your head taking on my job to hack into Socket's computers which - lo and behold! - she found out about. Now you're tryin' to save your skin. Am I right?"

She stared back at him, unreadable. "You make it sound like you're the reason I'm scrambling for my life." A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. "Feeling a little guilt there, cutie?"

He flashed his canines and hammered his right paw onto the glass, creating an almighty clang. The zigzagoon's fur stood on end slightly, but she tried to hide it by keeping her eyes fixed on his, unshaken.

"Just answer my question!" he barked.

She sighed and shifted her weight against the wall. "Good grief, no need to yell. Fine, I did send her some information. I thought I should let Socket know, given she's DL's adoptive mother, that her daughter was all good and well in Cyan City."

Macro's jaw went slack. "How did you know about that?"

"It was all over the files I hacked," she explained.

"And you never thought to tell me?"

"It was irrelevant given the circumstances."

"It was incredibly relevant!"

"How? Because she included her daughter in some nightmare of a scheme? Come on, Macro. The only important facts were that she turned a living being into a computer. Whether or not she was adopted was completely irrelevant."

"If System finds out their Mayor turned her own 'adopted daughter' into a mindless computer, she'd be thrown out of power for sure!"

"Bit late for that, hon. She's already bailed on System, leaving us fighting an alien invasion. Which, let's face it, you came out of pretty badly."

He flashed another canine but shrugged off her comment, turning to leave the cell. "So... you ratted out her location. I guess that wasn't what twigged Socket off into basically giving me that memory disk."

"Just gave it to you, huh?" Surge leant forwards on her knees, scanning the area behind Macro again. "Hmm... I'm guessing that went pretty badly too then? Otherwise, you wouldn't be here barking at me."

He froze and looked back at her. Clearly she was hiding something. He could tell by the way she nervously combed her claws through the fur on her head. He narrowed his eyes and stifled a low growl.

"What did you send her, Surge?" He tried to keep his voice as calm as he could, but a small snarl still slipped out as he said her name.

"I already told you."

"I'm beginning to think it was a little more than just a phone call. I also hear you weren't workin' alone."

"Okay, you got me," she sighed. "I had a little spy take some photos."

A chill ran down his spine and he fixed her in a violet glare. Words failed him.

"Let's just say," she said slowly, "that Socket is pretty aware of you two." Another smirk. "All snuggled up on the bench by the lake-"

Macro's paw flew to his laser and he fired straight at the glass. The green beam seared his fur as it ricocheted off it and struck the cell behind him. It bounced back and forth down the corridor like some crazed, out of control laser show until it struck the door, leaving an ugly black mark wherever it had hit. Panicked voices erupted from the criminals as they scrambled around their cells. His shoulders rose and fell as he tried to calm himself, and he let his laser clatter to the floor.

Surge let out a bitter chuckle. "Pity the glass is there, huh?"

He caught her eye just beyond the seared glass.

The zigzagoon shifted and a smirk crossed her muzzle. "I'd rather die at your paws than Socket's."

Macro was speechless. His legs trembled so much he had to lean against the wall to stop from falling over. It wasn't meant to be a head shot. Just a warning shot. But the position of that mark, if the glass hadn't been there, he'd have shot her head on. He finally sank to the ground, retrieving his discarded weapon.

"What's going on in here?" Jumper strolled between the cells, eyeing the burn marks on the glass. Then his eye fell on Macro's laser and his face fell. "Macro, really-?"

Macro popped his laser back in its holster. "Let's just say I found out exactly what I needed to." He gave Surge another glance before moving past the governor.

It had been her. She was the reason Socket had tricked him into taking that disk. It had been some elaborate ploy to get DL out of his paws, and whether or not Surge knew the severity of the situation was irrelevant.

But it had been intended. Socket had wanted to split them up. She'd wanted them both vulnerable. DL out of his paws and an easy target, and as for Macro...

He stared down at his laser. One shot. That was all it would have taken to kill Surge in the heat of his anger. Yes... Socket had wanted to break him, and she'd succeeded.