Chapter IX - Kingdom of Shadows
They entered a system drained of life. The sky had dulled to a dark gray, interrupted only by flashes of lightening that spoke of a storm that never came.
The Super Computer stretched out before them in jaded splendor; a dozen Mainframes could have been easily swallowed in it. On any other megacycle, the streets would have been teeming with sprites and binomes, Guardians mingled here and there. Now the pathways and crystalline bridges stood empty, lacking the bits of debris associated with large cities. Even the nulls seemed to have vanished. Daemon had swept the system clean.
Zara gazed upon the system that had been her home for nearly half her life. She glanced at the blue sprite standing nearby. Bob�s eyes, his whole face, were cold.
Matrix stood in shock. He had expected a system swarming with people, viral or otherwise. Not this�empty husk. He glanced about and saw the others were shaken as well.
�Turbo never said anything about it being this bad,� Mouse said quietly, gaping openly. She reached blindly for Ray�s hand.
Presently Bob cleared his throat. He glided forward on his zipboard and descended into the system, knowing the others would follow. He led them down into lower levels, where the only sounds were the low droning of their flight and the dull throbbing of distant machinery.
Matrix reviewed their plan in his head. They would weave their way through the subsystems and levels. At the juncture where the sectors ended and the Principle Office stood, they would split into two parties: Bob, Matrix and Mouse in one, Ray and Zara in the other. Zara�s team would be heading for the power stations, where they would shut down the main and auxiliary generators, rendering nearly the whole system powerless. On the other side of the system, Bob�s team would be hacking into the defense grid - which would be the only sector left operational - and according to Turbo, through this they would be able to enter the Principle Office, where Daemon had situated herself.
It sounded like a well thought out plan perfectly capable of working.
Doesn�t it? Matrix had been wary of receiving any sort of help from Turbo, but he had not voiced his objections. It seemed Bob almost blindly trusted the Prime Guardian. It just didn�t seem right to balk at his hero�s plans. Too late now.
Bob signaled them to a stop. Matrix moved up beside him. �What is it?�
The silver-haired Guardian silenced him with swift hand motion. He stared blankly into the distance, as he accessed his Glitch functions. A moment later he hissed, �ABCs. Five at least.�
Matrix turned slowly. His eye glowed an eerie red as he scanned for heat signatures. There! �Ten, coming on fast,� he confirmed. �Behind us.�
Bob nodded curtly and quickly guided them into an alley to their left. Hardly a nano afterwards, ten ABCs glided by, each bearing Daemon�s emblem of a serpent coiled around a red and black icon. The sprites clung to the shadows, hoping to be only shapeless figures in the gloom.
Light abruptly flooded the alley. The sprites, nearly blinded, tried to withdraw further into the alley. �Halt, trespassers!� Someone was leaning out of the lead ABC, shouting down at them through an amplifier. �Daemon�s orders.�
Half-way panicking, Bob cursed and sped down the alley into the next street. Not bothering to whisper anymore, he called to the others, �I don�t know how they found us! Turbo said Daemon didn�t bother tracking anyone in the Super Computer.�
As they careened around a corner, Matrix muttered several obscenities that would have even made Mouse blush, had the situation been different.
Zara yelled. �More ABCs, dead ahead!�
They swerved around another corner and dashed into an empty building. The sprites watched warily, pressing themselves against the far wall, as searchlights stirred about on the streets, then moved on.
Ray let out an audible sigh of relief. His heart was thudding beneath his thick armor. �Well, that was fun.�
Bob scowled, though they could barely see it in the dim light. �I can�t figure how they managed to track us.�
Mouse nodded her agreement. Her hair glowed in the darkness, casting odd shadows over her face. �If Daemon had bothered, their scans couldn�t have found us. The Super Computer�s just too big.�
�Turbo,� the renegade muttered darkly. �Who else could have warned her about us?�
�Matrix�� Bob began.
�Who else could it have been!� he said a little too loudly. �He already tried to destroy Mainframe! User knows where his loyalties lie.� By now his hands were raised, fists clenched.
Zara placed a hand on the renegade�s arm. This argument was making her uneasy. �Matrix, this is not the time nor the place.� He grunted and shook her off.
Bob sighed. He might have known this would come up. �Now that�s over with-�
A monotonous klaxon quaked the system as purple flooded the sky. �Warning, incoming game,� the System Administrator declared in a deep booming voice,
�What!� Bob quickly made his way to a window, the others crowded around him. �Perfect, it�s coming down right on us.� He stuck his head out further. �And the ABCs are closing in on our sector like a noose.�
Matrix decided not comment on this, due to the glare Zara shot in his direction.
Mouse growled, baring her fangs. Perfect. This is just damned perfect.
A set of double doors stood before them. Mouse eased one open, and they were greeted by a muted roar that reverberated over a gigantic, dusty stadium. Thousands of game sprites were crowded into the stands, shoulder to shoulder, awaiting something. Entertainment.
�Gladiator game?� Matrix asked.
Bob used his Glitch side to access data from the game. �Battalia Machina.� He stumbled over the unfamiliar title. �Mech fighting game. It�s a new one I haven�t seen before.� The Guardian glared at something only he could see, lost in thought.
The others looked at each-other uncertainly, then raised their hands to their icons.
�Wait!� Bob yelled hoarsely, turning to face them. �Don�t Reboot.�
�What?� Matrix stared at him, fingers still poised over his icon. �Bob, we have to.� The need to release pent-up energy was strong.
�Matrix, no. Didn�t you see the ABCs? As soon as the game ends, they�ll be on us like ravenous nulls. Now, all of you� - Bob�s gaze fell on each of them, harder than steel, but not quite as cold - �will head out of the stadium about 200 feet, and wait for the game to end.� He raised a hand and shook his head before any could speak.
�When the game lifts, you�ll find a drainage conduit. It should lead out of the surrounded sector. From there, you�ll split and head to your respective positions and continue with the mission. I�ll meet Matrix and Mouse at the defense grid once I get past the ABCs. If I do.�
�Bob, you can�t, it�s not-�
�Mate, who knows how many troops Daemon-�
�No way you�re gonna pull this hero crap-�
�You need all the help you can-�
�Enough!� Bob had to raise his voice to be heard over his friends� objections. He lowered his voice as they looked at him, startled. �I have more of a chance than the rest of you to take on the ABCs, and whatever else Daemon throws at me. My safety is not what�s important; defeating her is.�
This sobered them, as he expected. This war might come down to the balance of one against many, and the lives of thousands of innocents couldn�t be put a risk for one man. But that didn�t mean they liked this plan.
�Bob�� Mouse muttered softly. Bob had picked up that maddeningly aggravating stubbornness from Dot, she knew it. Mouse nodded slowly, then tugged Ray�s arm. �Come on.� They began walking towards the lofty doors that marked the entrance. Zara and Matrix followed reluctantly. Their Guardian protocols told them to defend the system the game. They also made it all but painful to leave a fellow Guardian behind.
Bob heaved a sigh. At least the most difficult part was past, for the moment. He thought he�d never get the others to leave. He, too, would rather have them at his side. When it came to the games, he had learned it was well-nigh to have more than one player; Matrix and Zara could hold their own against most any User. Mouse was a fearsome fighter, and though the Surfer had yet to truly prove himself, there was steel in him.
Might as well get this over with. He tapped his icon. Now dressed in a loose, dark tunic and strangely comfortable leather pants, Bob strode to the row of mechs that stood at the far end of the stadium. He studied them for a moment, then selected a red and gray mech that towered over him. After clambering up into the pilot�s seat, he settled himself down, squirming to find a comfortable position. The hatch closed, and Bob slid his arms and legs into the bindings, flexing his hand. The mech mimicked his motions perfectly, wiggling its fingers.
Steam vented and hissed as the red and gray mech rose to its feet. Across the way, a gate swung open, and a completely white mech entered. The User. It spotted Bob walking to meet it, and charged.
Bob unsheathed a gigantic sword, and steel met steel in a shower of sparks that sent the User reeling. Righting itself, the User came fast again. Too fast. The Guardian easily dodged the blade, and struck as the white mech thundered past. Yellow liquid spewed from mech�s shoulder; the User switched its blade to the other hand, and came at him again, more cautious this time. Certain he was dealing with a newbie, Bob feinted to his right, then sent his sword plunging home. It was met with a squeal of metal and more spurting liquid as the User fell back and was still.
Matrix had found a bench and now sat back in it, restless. He tapped his foot, fingering gun with one hand and drumming his fingers on the bench with the other. Mouse, perched on the back of the bench, sighed as Matrix glared at a game sprite walking past. None of the game sprites had taken notice of them; she assumed it was because they hadn�t rebooted. Noticing the forlorn look in her eyes, Ray placed a hand on her shoulder.
Zara paced back and forth before them. It was seven steps from one end of the bench to the other, and when that grew tiresome, she found herself counting how many times she made that circuit. Finally giving up on that, she sat down beside the hacker and fiddled with her keytool, Presario.
Subsequently she tapped Mouse to get her attention. �Mouse, do you think you could hack into the game somehow, so we can see what�s going on with the User?�
Intrigued, Mouse dug out an organizer. �I admit, I�ve never tried it, but then, I�m not in the games too often.� Glad to have something to do, she eagerly set to work, while the others peered over her shoulders. Before long, Mouse had strung together several lines of code that allowed them to view the inside of the stadium through the game�s internal cameras.
The screen of the organizer flickered then cleared. A red and gray mech stood with sword in hand over another mech, a white one, that lay inert in the dust. The red and gray mech glanced around in apprehension, gripping its sword edgily.
�That must be Bob,� Ray intoned.
�But if that�s User,� Mouse said quietly, pointing to the white mech, �Why aren�t we running for our lives?�
�Wait! Mouse, pan the camera to the right,� Zara commanded. Mouse tapped a key. �I saw something. There.� Two gates were opening in front of Bob, each revealing a mech. Mouse tapped another key, and the view switched to reveal three more mechs approaching Bob from behind.
�A multiplayer game�� Zara mused. �He�s outnumbered.�
�But�he�s Bob,� Matrix said quietly. �Top of his class. Turbo�� The renegade said the Prime Guardian�s name like a filthy vulgarity. �Turbo said he�s one of best in the Net.�
�Bob may be the finest Guardian the Net�s ever seen,� Mouse murmured, �but he�s the same as we are: sprite.�
A multiplayer game� How come I missed that? Maybe I�m losing my touch�?
There was little time for thought after that. The two mechs came at him, and he barely brought his sword up in time to block them. Bob stumbled, and rolled aside to avoid a blow from a third mech. It seemed to glare at him, even without eyes, raising its mace and swinging it over his head.
Trying to avoid turning his back on the other two Users, Bob edged along the wall of the stadium, gripping his blade with two hands as the first two Users treaded towards him. This time, they attacked separately, one coming from his right and left. He struck one on its head, the other gave him a blow that sent the Guardian spinning away towards the middle of the stadium.
Head reeling, Bob saw the now familiar yellow liquid gushing from his shoulder. Though it was the mech that had been damaged, it seemed wetness and pain touched his shoulder as well. He struggled up, and leapt aside to escape the ax of a fourth User. A sense of things gone deadly wrong was creeping upon the Guardian. He was in over his head deep, and the bank was not in sight.
The four of them winced as Bob�s mech took yet another blow. They watched with bated breath as the red and gray mech faltered, then cheered quietly as he sprung up to give one of the Users mechs a killing stroke.
�Two down, three to go,� Ray said. However, there yellow liquid flowing from various places on Bob�s mech, and he was now favoring his left leg.
�He�s still outnumbered,� Matrix growled. Now he was the one pacing back and force, glancing at the organizer�s screen every-time he passed.
Zara and Mouse cringed as Bob�s mech took yet another hit. The hacker agreed with Matrix. �He�s not doing too well out there.�
Strangely enough, the Surfer sided with Matrix as well. �Shouldn�t we do�something? I�m getting as anxious as the jolly green giant just sitting here.� Matrix shot him a glance, but seemed pleased.
�Zara?� Mouse prodded.
The pink sprite chewed at her lip. �Bob said�� She glanced at Matrix, who was eyeing her warily, then at Ray and Mouse.
�Screw it!� Zara threw up her arms in mock disgust. �Bob can be pissed off at us later.�
Bob�s breath came in labored gasps. His mech was damaged in over a dozen places, and he could hardly feel the fingers on his right hand. He had little breath to spare, but in his head, he screamed curses at himself.
FAQ it, how did I get myself into this mess? I really must be losing it.
Sweat was stinging his eyes. He parried yet another sword thrust, and managed to stab a blue mech in its side. It spun away, stumbling, taking his sword with it. Bob looked up to see two mechs bearing down on him. Oh shi-
Something charged past his left at incredible speed, another something to his right. They smashed into the mechs in an explosion of dust. Steel rang, yellow splattered, and as the dust cleared, it revealed a purple mech wrenching its blade from the blue User mech. It pulled Bob�s own blade from the User and tossed it casually to the Guardian. The other mech, green with white gilding, gave him a wave, then directed its aggressions on the other Users, where it was joined by two more mechs.
The purple mech�s helm slid open. �Thought you might be needing that,� a ferociously grinning Matrix said.
Bob slid open his helm as well. �Matrix! What do you think you�re doing?�
�Saving your ass.�
That earned the Renegade yet another nasty glare. �I did not need saving. You and the others are supposed to be out there!� Bob pointed to the gigantic doors.
�A living leader is much more useful than a dead one.� Closing his helm, the Renegade turned and charged into the fray, pursed by a rather chastised Guardian.
Sita: There you have it, another chapter. I�ll get to the rest of the fic. Eventually. *sweatdrop* (ducks to avoid frozen chickens)