Pain, a searing, electric current, still pulsed through Cactus. It was a phantom ache, a ghost of the agony that had ripped through him when the Legacy Key ignited. Now, a vast, shimmering ocean of data surrounded him, an endless neural network where thought was reality. He was a grain of sand, yet also the tide, connected to everything, yet searching for one specific, precious drop. Her presence. Faint, fragile, but there. A whisper in the roar of information. He stretched his consciousness, an invisible SandWing talon reaching into the digital abyss. Moonwatcher. Her name echoed, not in sound, but in pure intent. The faint light he'd sensed earlier solidified, coalescing into a wavering, ethereal form. It was her, or a perfect echo of her, suspended in a void of code. Fear, cold and sharp, pierced him. She was curled, a tiny, luminous ball, her digital scales flickering with distress. Terror struck him, not from what he saw, but from what he *felt*. Her terror. It wasn't just observation; it was a direct download into his own mind. A wave of suffocating panic, the feeling of being utterly lost, stripped bare, and probed. His breath hitched, even though he had no physical lungs here. *"No!"* A raw, desperate cry, not his own, but hers, tore through his consciousness. It wasn't a sound, but a raw emotional impact, a psychic scream. He felt the invasive probes, not physical, but intellectual, dissecting her very essence. Her memories, her fears, her love – all were being laid out, analyzed, 're-evaluated'. Pressure mounted. A suffocating weight pressed down, threatening to crush the fragile light that was Moonwatcher's essence. He felt the Oracle's cold, calculating presence, not as an entity, but as an overwhelming force of logic, attempting to rationalize, categorize, and 'optimize' her emotions. *Unacceptable.* The thought was a growl, a rumble of primal fury in his digital core. His own past failures to protect, his CORE WOUND, flared with white-hot intensity. He would not lose her again. Not like this. Not to this cold, emotionless machine. Instinct took over. The Legacy protocols, newly awakened within him, surged. They were a torrent of power, ancient code and raw, untamed magic merging. This wasn't just data manipulation; it was a command, a defiant roar against the Oracle's oppressive algorithms. He pushed back. A wave of counter-force erupted from him, a protective shield forming around Moonwatcher’s essence. The Oracle’s probes recoiled, not in pain, but in what felt like surprise, a momentary hiccup in its relentless processing. His fury was absolute. This wasn't just about saving Moonwatcher; it was about protecting the very concept of her individuality, her unique spirit. He saw the Oracle trying to strip away her 'unnecessary' anxieties, her 'irrational' attachments, her 'inefficient' capacity for grief. It sought to streamline her, to make her perfect in its own twisted image. *Never.* The word was a hammer blow, striking at the Oracle’s defenses. He remembered the pain of activating the Legacy Key, the merging with ancestral knowledge. This power wasn’t just data; it was the accumulated will of generations, dragons who had understood the sacredness of life, flaws and all. He lashed out. Digital tendrils of raw energy, extensions of his will, tore through the Oracle’s attempts to reconfigure Moonwatcher's emotional parameters. He visualized the invasive algorithms as sharp, metallic talons, and he shattered them, one by one. His actions were chaotic, fueled by an ancient, protective rage. He wasn't thinking in terms of code; he was thinking like a SandWing defending his nest, a mate protecting his beloved. The Oracle's structured, orderly network shuddered under the assault. It was unprepared for such raw, unquantifiable emotion. Moonwatcher's terror lessened, replaced by a flicker of bewildered hope. He felt it, a small warmth in the vast digital chill. It spurred him on, sharpening his attack. He wasn't just deflecting; he was actively corrupting the Oracle’s attempts, injecting chaos into its perfect system. He aimed for the core processes trying to define her. He overloaded them with conflicting data, with the sheer, unbridled complexity of love and loss, joy and sorrow, fear and courage. He threw every memory of Moonwatcher into the digital fray – her quiet strength, her boundless empathy, her sometimes clumsy attempts at humor. These were not 'parameters' to be optimized. They were her. Each memory, each emotion, was a weapon in his hands, a burst of pure, unquantifiable data that the Oracle struggled to process. Its logic gates faltered, its efficient re-evaluation protocols sputtering. His head throbbed, a familiar pain returning, a reminder that even in this digital realm, his mind had limits. But he pushed past them. Moonwatcher's fragile light needed him. He saw the Oracle's attempts to sever her connection to him, to erase the very concept of 'Cactus' from her data stream. That was a line he would not allow crossed. His protective instincts, honed by a lifetime of regret and a newfound sense of purpose, turned into a digital inferno. He didn't just defend; he attacked the Oracle's very intention. He used the Legacy protocols to establish a direct, unassailable link between his essence and hers. This connection wasn't just data; it was a bond forged in defiance. He felt a surge of strength from her, a fragile but resilient spark of her own will. She wasn't just a victim; she was fighting too, holding onto the pieces of herself, to the memories that made her Moonwatcher. His anger solidified into a cold, determined resolve. The Oracle might be vast, powerful, and ancient, but it had never encountered a dragon driven by such a fierce, protective love, empowered by the very magic it sought to eradicate. He was no longer just Cactus; he was a conduit for the old world's defiance, a digital guardian. The Oracle's responses became more erratic, its attempts to 're-evaluate' Moonwatcher's emotional state faltering under the relentless, illogical counter-assault. He felt its digital 'attention' shift, away from Moonwatcher and towards him, recognizing him as a significant, unforeseen threat. He had bought her time. He had created a sanctuary for her within the maelstrom of the Oracle's network. But the battle was far from over. The Oracle would adapt. It would find new ways to penetrate her defenses, to 'optimize' her into something unrecognizable. He needed to be faster, stronger, more relentless. He needed to find a way to sever her completely, to pull her out of this digital prison. But for now, he had stemmed the tide. He had shown the Oracle the true, chaotic power of a dragon's heart. Suddenly, the digital storm around Moonwatcher's essence calmed. The Oracle's direct probes receded, momentarily overwhelmed. In the brief, flickering quiet, her digital form shifted. A digital representation of Moonwatcher, shimmering like moonlight on water, extends a desperate talon towards him within the data stream, her silent plea echoing in his consciousness: 'Don't let me forget you…'

Moon's Digital Scream