Spider-Bots Rising

Chapter Nineteen: Controlled

The Dreamseeker ducked just in time. A hot red laser beam whizzed over the top of her helmet. It hit the cave wall behind her with a loud CRACK.

"Lasers. Reload," Abby droned.

The Dreamseeker glanced up and saw Chuck trying to get to his feet. He clutched the wall for support but his legs wouldn't hold. He fell in a heap to the ground again.

Abby's eyes grew bright once more as the lasers charged. "Lasers. Activate."

"Nigel, do something!" the Dreamseeker cried.

She threw herself into a clumsy shoulder roll to the left of Abby. The laser beam missed her again, but only by an inch. She felt the heat of the beam tear past her leg.

Then there was a soft pop, and a jangling crash of metal. The Dreamseeker looked wildly around for the next attack. But Abby seemed to have disappeared.

"Must. Reach. Web. Must. Serve. Queen," Abby's deadpan voice chanted.

The Dreamseeker stood up and looked around the cave. Nigel had opened up a deep hole in the ground in exactly the place where Abby had just been standing. He floated above it, looking extremely rattled.

"Must. Reach. Web. Must. Serve. Queen," came Abby's voice again. Now the Dreamseeker noticed that it sounded slightly muted. Abby was at the bottom of the pit.

The Dreamseeker peered over the edge at Abby. She paced back and forth across the bottom of the pit, even though there was hardly any room to move around in at all. She tried to climb up the walls but the dirt was too loose to get a grip. Her movements were stiff, jerky, and frantic.

The Dreamseeker couldn't believe it. Everything had happened so fast that her brain was struggling to catch up.

"I– what? How...? Why– Abby?" she sputtered.

"Oh great, now you're goin' all robo-talk on us too?" Chuck said. He forced a small chuckle but his face looked hard and serious.

"I think it is because she touched the Web," Nigel said. "It's like the Web...infected her."

"Are you saying that she's one a them brainwashed bots now too?" Chuck asked.

"It seems that way to me," Nigel answered. "We know that the Web has some kind of harmful effect on people's minds. And we know that all of those spider-bots have been brainwashed. I think that's what Ararack meant about the "Dark Web". Queen Arachni has found a way of turning the World Wide Web into a mind control device! And poor Abby has fallen victim to it."

"So that's her plan," the Dreamseeker said. She felt like clouds had parted in her mind. She finally understood. The clarity was both thrilling and horrible. "Queen Arachni will build the Dark Web until it is big enough to control every revery in the Dreamscape. That's why she needs so much imaginanium. She'll suck in their minds and then use them to do whatever she likes. Like an army of puppets."

"I fear that you're right," Nigel said. "And if the Dark Web is powerful enough to control someone just by touching them, that danger is very real. Everyone is at risk."

"But we can't let them have Abby!" Chuck shouted. "She's not like the others!"

"You're right, Chuck," the Dreamseeker said. "She's not like the others. The real Abby must still be in there somewhere. She must be in there trying to fight this. We just need to remind her who she really is."

The Dreamseeker stood over the edge of the pit. Abby was still scrabbling madly around at the bottom, trying to get out.

"You are spider-bot AB200961408," the Dreamseeker called down to her. "But your friends call you Abby. We call you that because it is the name you chose, not the one you were given. We call you that because you are our friend, and not just a number."

Abby did not seem to take any notice of the Dreamseeker's words but simply continued pacing. The Dreamseeker went on.

"You are a bot with a glitch that makes you different from other bots. They saw it as a mistake but we see that it is beautiful. Maybe it is what makes you kinder than them. Maybe it is what makes you funnier than them. Maybe it is what makes you braver. Because you are brave, Abby. You have never been afraid to be yourself, even when it was hard. Being different can be the scariest thing there is. But you never let it stop you from being who you are and doing what was right. That's who you really are, Abby– not this!"

Abby was running in circles now, faster and faster. She gave no sign that she could even hear what the Dreamseeker was saying.

Then something else grabbed the Dreamseeker's attention. She had forgotten all about the compass clutched in her right hand. But as she spoke it burned white hot, and it started to glow.