Back at Borg Tower me and Cyrus got to work on the plan he had drawn out. Pixal stood by the main computer keeping the emergency generator's power going.
Cyrus worked diligently but without power to the system there would be no point. Zane had offered for us both to use his blue heart to power the network. I flat out rejected that idea because he needs it too.
However he was very persistent and I eventually gave in and connected the cable to his chest.
"I think we should put the main switch over here" Borg said as he placed the big red switch down "To keep it tucked away a little."
I helped him connect some more cables as we both worked together to get this machine working. "With a few more coaxial cables, we may be able to reboot the system with the Techno Blades and erase the digital Overlord for good" Borg murmured aloud to himself.
"I thought you said we needed the stolen hard drive to do that?" Jay inquired raising an eyebrow.
"It's possible that we can reboot it wirelessly with Zane's powers" I told them and gestured to the nindroid with the long extension cord.
"By the time we figure out where Lloyd is, it'll be too late to stop the Overlord from draining his golden power" Cyrus told the four.
"And escaping the Digiverse?" Nya asked and Cyrus nodded "But if we digitize the ninja and Techno Blades using my experimental technology, you could fight him on his own turf inside the diverse."
"What do you mean inside the Digiverse?" Jay turned to me and Borg curiously.
"Yes Jay, you're going to get put inside a videogame" I told Jay as the biggest smile was formed on his face.
"I know! I wanted to hear it again we're going inside a videogame! That's so cool!" He exclaimed holding my shoulders and shaking me in excitement.
"AaAaAaAa-" I exclaimed as Jay shook me.
Pixal frowned and decided to speak up "Mr. Borg, if anything were to happen to them inside the program-"
"Of course, there's a catch I'm afraid" Cyrus interrupted Jay's moment of pure joy as he stopped shaking me and I shook my head. "You know how in videogames you get multiple lives or do overs? It's not like that."
Jay looked up at the screen frowning as the light blue colors of the digital world came to life on the screen.
"Presto! We're up and running!" Borg smiled as there was a bang out the elevator doors.
"Aha! You see? Borg is holding out on us!" The mailman yelled to the crowd of people as they came into the room. "He does have power!"
"This is no time for more post-apocalyptic role playing, postman" Borg told the crowds leader as the people were being loud and rambunctious.
"This isn't a game anymore! We heard about the nindroid activity. What if they come back? We need power to defend ourselves and I wanna catch up on my shows!" The mailman roared as the crowd grew more restless and angrier.
They began to converge on Cyrus and Zane, growing angry and crankier by the second. All because a simple convenience has been taken away.
"Back up" I hissed and appeared in between the groups. I disarmed one of the civilians, taking their frying pan for myself.
I pointed the household weapon at the group in a threatening way.
"Just because you are distraught by the inconvenience and boredom, that does not give you the right to attack others" I finished and glared at the grown ups for acting so uncivil.
One of the angry citizens tried to step further than the boundaries I set out.
Pulling out my dagger I pointed it at them without pressing the button to turn it on. It's harmless unless I were to press the button to activate the laser blade. They gulped under my gaze and stepped back as I protected my friends.
They finally got my point and backed off, resulting in me lowering my weapons.
"Then how are we supposed to live without power huh?" The Postman crossed his arms with a deep frown.
Sighing I crossed my arms "If you really need power, I suggest getting more battery operated gear and maybe switch to a gas barbecue if you need to boil water or cook."
I addressed the entire crowd in a more civil fashion in an effort to ease their worries. "Give us more time and we'll restore the power in the coming days." I bowed my head apologetically.
The group of citizens shared a look, taking my words to heart. Satisfied to getting some answers that hasn't been easily accessible they left momentarily to let us work.
"Thank you Asteria, I thought they would never leave" Borg smiled gratefully "Now we can continue."
Turning to the genius my firm expression softened into a smirk. The moment was short lived as golden particles rose from the floor, into the air sparkling brilliantly.
"Where's all the power coming from?" Nya gasped as we all looked around at the lights.
"Golden power. It has already begun. The Overlord has started the transference" Cyrus muttered gravely.
Glancing outside, robots had sprung back to life after absorbing the golden power particles.
"Quick! We need to isolate the servers so he doesn't find out our plans to use the Techno Blades remotely" Cyrus called to me as he started typing away at the computer.
"They're already here! Initiate lockdown!" Borg exclaimed and I pushed the button that brought up the building's defense.
Everyone looked up at the monitor and I sighed as I pet Scout. Indie frowned as she lied down. Iris popped her head up around my shoulder and looked at the live footage. "Scary..." She muttered when she saw the now white scaled Pythor and his army.
"Be seated Ninja. There isn't much time" Cyrus urged as the four took their seats in the chairs.
Nya quickly left the room to head downstairs to rally the citizens that just left.
"Once we're inside, what do we do?" Zane asked as me and Borg helped adjust the seats into place.
"To put it simply, reboot the system. All source code travels through the heart of the mainframe. Follow it and you'll find a glowing activation port" Cyrus informed them as he set the headrest right.
"The Techno Blades are the keys to activate the reboot and erase all corruption from the system."
I helped put the Techno Blades onto their chairs as Borg instructed. "Uh, can you put it more simply?" Kai asked.
"Look for a big bright light, airhead, then put your weapon in it" Cole retorted.
"Okay, got it. I can do that" Kai replied relaxing a bit before jumping up in realization "Hey I'm not an airhead!"
"Remember I wrote the code, but he controls it. His turf, his rules" Cyrus reminded the four. "I'll do my best to keep you hidden from here, but the longer you go unnoticed, the better chance you have to succeed."
I pulled up the hologram interface in front of their chairs. "Stay safe and come back" I muttered under my breath loud enough for them to hear.
"Prepare for entry" Cyrus warned the four as I stood next to him.
"How do we know this is really gonna work, and won't disintegrate us instantly?" Kai asked unsurely.
"Hm I'm not sure..." Borg replied as he went over to the red button.
"It won't, I made sure of it airhead" I told them to try and be reassuring, but it came out wrong.
"Should I be worried?" Kai replied raising an eyebrow.
Raising an eyebrow I looked to Cyrus and made him press the button anyways. The machine activated and I watched on the screen as their minds were transported into the digital world.
I checked their vitals as moments passed by. "Their vitals look good" I told Cyrus as I watched the screen occasionally checking on Zane's power source.
"So far, so good. He hasn't detected them yet" Borg smiled with hope as he watched the four on their screen.
I shook my head "That won't last too long, they're all airheads" I chuckled to myself. It wasn't even an insult, more like a term of endearment.
Cyrus looked away from the screen to gaze at me. His gaze softening in admiration.
"But I guess I do owe a lot to them" I sighed deep in thought as I moved a piece of Jay's hair out of his face.
"I would've never found my heart" I turned to Borg shrugging "If that even makes sense."
"You must really care for them huh Asteria?" Borg trailed off as Pixal listened to us speak.
"Maybe too much" I hummed before turning back to the genius. "I also care about you Cyrus" I put a hand on his shoulder giving him a soft smile.
"That also includes you too Pixal" I said and Pixal looked up into my golden eyes. She tilted her head, processing what I meant before a small giggle played its way onto her lips.
~~~
Borg typed away at the computer saying "They're doing it. They're mastering the digital world. I must buy them more time."
Something shot out from the shadows and lunged at Cyrus, knocking him over.
My eyes widened and I whipped my head around as Scout barked. "My legs! They're back!" Borg exclaimed as I ran over to his aid, Scout, Indie and Sierra attacking the robotic legs.
"Pixal!" I called to the android as she pushed the robotic legs and ran over to me and Cyrus as she helped him back up and work at the computer together.
"The Overlord noticed them!" Borg exclaimed as I looked over at my two dogs and wolf, Sierra ripped out part of the wires in the legs and it fell over.
"Headless spider" I huffed and sighed as I leaned against the desk.
"We couldn't stop them! They're all coming up! This time, the Postman did not deliver!" The postman cried out on the screen as the nindroids marched up the stairs.
The four were about to be completely consumed. Borg was working as fast as he could but it wasn't enough. I stepped in and helped him overwrite the code as well. We worked perfectly in hand with one another as we bypassed some corrupted code.
The four were pulled out of the code muck by the giant crane inside the Digiverse. They looked around confused until Cyrus spoke "We temporally altered the corrupted code. Hurry we can only hold him for so long."
He handed the mic to me.
"Stop taking all the stupid and get rid of this bacteria" I huffed over the mic but I was almost joking.
"Thanks for the kind words Asteria" Kai replied but the world started to shake and turn around them. I sighed as I stood up straight.
My eyes glowed red and orange at the sign of danger as I turned around pulling out my dagger.
The elevator opened revealing Tech Wu and Pythor.
Borg grabbed a nearby pole and threw it in their direction to which Tech Wu easily tossed aside and kicked Borg's wheelchair over. Indie and Scout barked as they jumped in front of Borg, protecting the inventor. They raised their weapons above Jay and Cole's head ready to strike them down.
"Leave." I hissed as I lunged on top of them getting them away from the four. I knocked them both down swinging my dagger cutting their staffs in half.
I stood protectively between the four and Pythor.
A grapple came through the broken window and snatched up Borg, Scout and Indie barked as they tried to drag him back inside.
"Cyrus!" I called out to him switching my focus back and forth, Sierra panicked as well.
Cyrus looked at us as he was being pulled away "Asteria! I'm sorry! Protect the ninja!" He shouted as the ship flew away with him, Scout and Indie were forced to let go so they didn't fall out of the window.
"Pixal keep coding" I huffed as my eyes narrowed at Tech Wu and Pythor. Sierra snarled at the two as she stood next to me.
I was starting to get angry. No matter how hard I try to protect my friends, something always slips through the cracks of my defenses.
"Be careful love, wouldn't want me to throw this wouldn't you?" The white snake taunted as he held up the same elixir from our last encounter.
"What is that?" I demanded ready to pounce if either enemy makes a move. Scout and Indie came to my side as Sierra hissed at both enemies.
"Oh something I've brewed up from an old book I found. But it only seems to affect you and Lloyd, I wonder why?" He replied marveling at the small elixir in a bottle.
"That won't protect you for long Chumsworth" I glared as my eyes glowed a fiery red and orange and I teleported myself forward.
I had pinned Pythor down forcing him to drop the vial of whatever liquid was in it before he could splash it on me. I held his long white scaly throat within my hand, slowly adding more pressure.
Pythor choked and sputtered as a soft growl escaped my lips. He squirmed and pushed me off as I landed on my back, he smashed the bottle on the ground.
Scout quickly dragged me away from the fumes as Pixal fought the Anacondrai.
The elevator dinged and revealed a nindroid. I raised an eyebrow as it ran into the room and started to fight Pythor.
I ran to Tech Wu and picked him up by his feet, I spun him around and hurled him out of the window. "Sorry Sensei!" I shouted feeling bad for hurting Sensei Wu.
The lone nindroid revealed itself to be Sensei Garmadon in disguise. "Garmadon? What about your oath? You said you'd never fight." Pythor asked confused.
"When you took my son, all bets were off."
He lunged at Pythor but the snake was quick enough for having no feet. The Anacondrai jumped out the window only to land in a hovercopter and fly away. Me and Garmadon watched them leave from the broken window.
Garamond winced at the smell that permeated the room and my shoulders heaved. He looked at me, giving me a nod before leaping out the window to go take care of his brother.
~~~
"Scout! Now!" I called and he jumped up on his two hind legs as he pressed the switch. I looked at the four waiting for them to wake up. A soft smile formed on my lips as they slowly opened their eyes.
"Did you guys have a nice rest?" I asked as I sat on a chair wearily. Scout walked over to me with Indie and nuzzled my hand. I pet the both of them and smiled.
"We're back..." Zane muttered aloud as he sat up in his seat deliriously.
"Yep and it's good to see you knuckleheads" I softly smiled and got up from the chair going to Jay and gently hugging him.
"You did it!" Nya cried out as she ran into the room to hug her brother lovingly. Jay had his arms around me and his head in my shoulder "Uh Asteria..."
"Hm?" I asked. "Can you put me down...?" He asked and I looked seeing his feet weren't touching the ground. "Oh- sorry about that." I apologized and set Jay down.
"You all did it" I heard Sensei Wu affirm as he walked in with his brother right behind him.
Jay gasped "Sensei you're back!"
"So the system is completely clear?" Zane turned to me as I was already looking at the system details. "Everything looks as it did before. He's gone" I replied smiling a bit but something felt wrong in the back of my mind.
Garmadon's voice sounded through the cheers making my eyes widen in realization "But where's Lloyd?"
~~~
I pulled up the radio on the screen awaiting a response. "Lloyd are you there?" I asked into the microphone but received silence for a moment.
"I'm here, I'm alright Asteria!" He exclaimed as I sighed in relief coughing a bit still smelling that odd elixir in the room.
"Son?!" Garmadon exclaimed with pure joy and relief on his features.
"Dad?! You're alive!" Lloyd cried out "I'm not alone, I'm in a remote village."
"Stay where you are, we're picking you up" Sensei Garmadon reassured him.
"Good, cuz my golden power is uh, a little spent" the four collectively laughed as I chuckled.
I smirked to myself but I got up from my seat a bit weakened and found a completely intact purple elixir Pythor must have dropped.
Picking it up I inspected the contents curiously. How would Pythor know how to make something like this? I wanted to figure out what it was made of. Know why it effects me and not the others.
I entered the elevator behind everyone, my mind trailing off in thought. The events replaying in my head as I thought about Cyrus. If only I saved him in time...
Growing stronger, yet it doesn't feel like it is enough.
~~~
Author's Edit: Oct 12, 2023
~~~