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“Okay, bring it down.”
At Dot Matrix’s command, the binome at the controls pushed a lever forward. The long mechanical arm of the crane descended, lowering the large, stylized letter ‘D’ into place.
Dot sighed. This was getting a little too familiar. This wasn’t the first time the diner had needed to be rebuilt; it was the fourth. Twice the place had been offlined by Megabyte, and then there had been the Web’s invasion. Now this: Sabotage by Daemon, in an effort to delete little Enzo at the behest of Megabyte himself.
On a recent visit to Mainframe, Chu, the previous owner of the Diner, had stated that ‘she couldn’t believe she’d sold the place to someone so irresponsible’. Dot had reeled at her words. She’d resolved to keep the place standing this time…..and reconstruction was finally finished.
“That’s it,” she told the construction crew. “We’re done.”
As the binome work force departed, Dot removed her organizer from her belt and dialed in a sequence of keys.
“ ‘Ello? Oh, Madame!”
“Hi, Cecil,” Dot replied. Though he seemed to be little more than a television set with arms, the dedicated server had somehow managed to survive every calamity that had befallen the Diner. This latest time, however, he’d suffered a bit more than usual. At first, he’d appeared relatively undamaged, but it soon became clear that this was not the case when cracks began appearing on his screen.
“How are you feeling?”
“I am feeling better zan ever! And I am ready to return to work at once!”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Phong suddenly rolled into view. “Dot, my child. Good to hear from you. I’m afraid Cecil will require at least six seconds in bed before he will be fit to return to work.”
“Zix zeconds? Are you mad?”
“Six seconds! Doctor’s orders!”
“But Madame cannot run ze dener for zat long wizout me!”
“It’s okay, Cecil. I’ll manage. I’ll just have to hire someone else until you’re better.”
“Hire someone else!” Cecil yelled indignantly.
“ That’s right. And until you’re better, they’ll be doing your job, and probably serving the wrong drinks to the wrong customers, breaking dishes, and smudging the windows.”
“Madame!”
“So you’d better get some rest, and work on getting well, so you can get back to work that much faster. Bye!” Dot broke the connection, hooked the organizer back onto her belt, and stood with her hands on her hips.
“Now, who’d be willing to work for what I pay Cecil?”
* * *
Electra stood off to the side, watching as the three Viruses converged.
Wearing his typical arrogant smirk, Megabyte approached the center of the dias. His cobalt blue skin glinted eerily in the ghostly light. He clenched his hands into fists, and six golden, mechanical claws popped free of their housings with a SNIKT. From his left, Hexadecimal took a step forward, her ivory mask displaying her most sinister face. Her claws were extended, as though she meant to tear the other two apart. To Megabyte’s right stood Lore, the golden triangle pendant around his neck glowing with an unearthly light. His mask, like Hexadecimal’s, was menacing, his long fangs bared. Though there was no wind, his wild, untamed black hair moved as though it had a life of it’s own.
The three approached each other, as though they meant to fight. But before they could, A Sprite appeared, facing Lore. He wore the body armor of a Guardian, dyed black, with golden bracers. On his left arm rested a Keytool, it’s circular screen glinting a shocking emerald green. As Megabyte and Hexadecimal watched, The Guardian began forcing Lore back, pushing with all his might, trying to keep him as far from the center as he could.
Lore was stronger. Hard as the Guardian tried, he couldn’t overpower the psychotic Virus. He was forced back towards the center. Upon seeing the triumph of their brother, Megabyte and Hexadecimal moved again to the center of the platform.
Glancing over Lore’s shoulder, the Guardian caught Electra’s eyes. Just as he was pushed into the convergence, he mouthed a single word.
“Help.”
The three Viruses joined, sparks and tendrils of violet light circled them. The light enveloped them and began to take form, growing taller, more slender, fading from a brilliant white-purple to metallic silver. In moments, there stood in the center of the dias a long, silver, snakelike serpent. The serpent leered down at Electra and opened it’s jaws, and there—in it’s mouth—stood the Guardian, trying to hold apart the fearsome teeth.
As the serpent’s lips curled upward in a sinister sneer, it brought down its fangs with a sickening crunch.
* * *
Electra awoke, drenched in a cold sweat. Her turquoise-black hair was matted and tangled, and she couldn’t stop shaking. As she brought one of her hands up to her head to brush some of the errant hair from her eyes, a sharp shredding noise told her that she’d had her claws extended. So much for the sheets.
Taking a deep breath, the Viral Sprite retracted her fingernails. She’d had nightmares before, but none of them had ever seemed so…real.
“C’mon. Get a grip, Electra. It was only a dream.”
But she still couldn’t stop shaking. She shot a quick glance at the chronometer; it was only 0500. But no way she’d be able to get back to sleep.
Rubbing her eyes, she threw the covers aside. If she couldn’t get any more downtime, then she might as well get out of bed. After taking another deep breath, she headed for the shower.
* * *
With a resounding Clang, Mouse’s katana clashed against Jareth’s. The two stood still for a moment, sizing each other up, then broke apart and began to battle in earnest.
The other sprites gathered in Dot’s Diner watched as Mouse quickly disarmed Jareth and stood with the tip of her katana pressed to his neck.
“I win again, sugah.” Mouse sheathed her sword.
Jareth switched to a chagrined face, then retrieved his sword. With a beep, Shark returned to his usual form and reattached himself to Jareth’s left bracer, sliding up underneath the sleeve of his coat. Once in place, the small Keytool fell silent.
“Next time, it won’t be so easy,” Jareth warned.
From her seat at the bar, AndrAIa clapped loudly. “Nice going, Mouse.”
“Yeah,” Enzo said seated lazily on the countertop. “That was awesome. You have to teach me that! It was so cool, you totally wiped the floor with him!”
Jareth switched to his ferocious ‘Vamp’ mask and snarled at Enzo, fingertip-claws extended. With a yelp, Enzo fell over backwards off the bar, and would have probably cracked his skull on the tile floor if Matrix hadn’t caught him.
“Knock it off,” Matrix growled, unamused, as Jareth calmly sat down at the nearest booth. “We’re not here to play around. We’re here because Dot wants to talk to us.”
“You are,” Jareth said. “I wasn’t invited.”
“Okay, people. Listen up,” Dot said, emerging from the kitchen and into the main part of the diner. “I need to ask a favor of one of you.”
“What’s up, Dot?” Bob asked, running his hand through his unruly mop of silvery hair.
“Cecil’s taking a….sabbatical from work for a while.”
“Him? Take a vacation?” Matrix asked, incredulous.
Dot smiled grimly. “Yeah. So I need someone to take his place.”
“Sorry,” Bob said. “Being the System’s Guardian’s pretty much a full-time job.”
“Oh, Come on, Bob,” Matrix said. “Now that Daemon’s gone, what do you have to worry about?”
“There’s more to being a Guardian that just fighting Viruses,” Bob defended himself. “I’ve got tears to mend, games to win-“
“I can handle the Games. And there hasn’t been a tear in Mainframe since—“
“So why don’t YOU take the job, Sugah?” Mouse asked with a grin, cutting him off. The thought of Matrix putting on a fake smile and greeting customers was laughable.
“Actually, I think Matrix might scare the customers away,” Dot said. “I was actually thinking of someone a little less….frightening.” Dot’s gaze wandered over to AndrAIa.
“I’d be happy to help you out, Dot, but I don’t think I could handle it all on my own.”
“Whoops!” Just then, Enzo, who’d been struggling to get back onto the counter, knocked over an empty glass that had recently held his drink. The container fell off the countertop, and plummeted to the floor….but, miraculously, stopped nearly a foot and a half from the tiles. Hovering with no regard for the law of gravity, the glass levitated back onto the countertop and came to a rest.
The sprites in the diner watched with considerable interest. Dot looked around for the cause…and her eyes came to rest on Jareth, his hand extended towards the glass.
“Jareth? Did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Save that glass from hitting the ground.”
“Oh, that. Yeah. Why?”
Dot considered for a moment. “I’m going to regret this,” she muttered. “Jareth?”
“Yes?”
“Would you like a job?”
Every jaw in the Diner hit the ground.
* * *
“That’ll be 12.95, please.” AndrAIa typed the appropriate keys on the register, as the customer, a zero binome wearing a strage hat, swiped his credcard through the slot. “Thank you for eating at Dot’s. Please come again.” AndrAIa walked back into the kitchen to pick up the food order for the table by the window. There stood Jareth, calmly filing his nails.
“Jareth! You’re supposed to be working! Dot’s not paying you to stand around.”
“I AM working,” Jareth said, gesturing towards the sink. AndrAIa turned, and had to do a quick double-take. As she watched, the dirty dishes rose up out of the pile, scrubbed themselves clean, rinsed off, and deposited themselves in the dish rack, all seemingly under their own power.
“Oh,” AndrAIa said. “Umm…you want to wait the tables, too? “
“No, thanks,” Jareth said. He held his hand at arm’s length and examined his pinky. “I’m busy.”
* * *
“And how long have you been having these dreams?” Phong asked.
“Just the once,” Electra replied.
Phong considered the unique sprite reclining on his couch. Since her mishap in the Supercomputer, Electra had become more Viral than ever. Her usual outfit was gone, replaced by an aquamarine gown that moved around her constantly, as though she were underwater. Her hair still looked black if viewed from the correct angle, but from another it was a deep turquoise. But the greatest change was her face. The skin there was no longer a deep green, but bright, metallic gold. It wasn’t a mask like Jareth’s, but rather a face, similar to the one Bob had given to Hexadecimal.
“What do you think it means?” Electra asked, sitting up and turning to face him.
“It is…difficult to say. If it has only been the once, why did you think it necessary to some and see me?”
“It was just…so real. Like I was really there. I could see it like I was actually standing there. When the three…four of them merged, I could feel the heat from the flash.”
“And you feel this was…a premonition?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure. That’s why I’m here.”
“I see.” Phong rolled back to his place behind his desk. “My child, I think perhaps it merely stress. You have been through a great deal recently.”
“Well, yes…but…what if it’s something to do with what happened to me? The mask?”
“I have run a full compile on you. While I still do not fully understand what has happened, I am certain that there should be no such side effects.”
Electra slumped back down on the couch.
“You will be fine, Electra. Go and get some rest. If you have this dream again, or one like it, then come and see me.”
“Okay. I will. Thanks, Phong.”
Electra arose from the couch…literally. Setting her feet back on the floor, she walked over, gave Phong a hug, and left the room.
Phong sighed. His gaze wandered over to a picture on his desk, one of himself, Electra, Kit, Backslash, Dot, Enzo, and Jareth…the old gang, all smiling happily for the camera. Except for Jareth, of course…he had been dragged into the shot, and his expression showed it.
“Ah…the good old days.”
Suddenly, the security alarms came to life. Startled, Phong slapped his three-fingered hand down on the button that would deactivate them. Brining up a VidWindow, he quickly discerned the problem. “Oh, dear…”
* * *
Matrix flew down the streets of Mainframe on his Zipboard, closely followed by AndrAIa.
“Sparky, I don’t get it,” AndrAIa called as the two sped across the System. “Why can’t they get a lock on it?”
“Phong said they’ve never seen this type of Virus before. We’re just going to have to hunt it down. Phong’s going to contact Bob as soon as he gets out of the Game, and he’ll meet up with us. I just hope--”
Just then, Matrix was nearly knocked off his board by a small, pink object that flew across his path.
“What in the Net?”
Screeching to a halt, Matrix turned and followed the furry projectile. It led he and AndrAIa on a merry chase, dodging cars and signposts, knocking over pedestrians, until they finally managed to corner it down an alley.
Matrix advanced on the small, quivering object, his Gun drawn.
“Calm down, Matrix,” AndrAIa said. Then, to the unidentified object, “Who….or what…are you?”
“Yousa…not hurt me?” The thing said in a high, squeaky voice. It uncurled slightly, so that it didn’t quite resemble a furry pink basketball anymore.
“No. We won’t hurt you,” AndrAIa said. “What’s your name?”“Mesa name AOL,” the thing said. It uncurled fully, blinking up at them with a pair of ludicrously big eyes. Uncurled, it resembled a round, fluffy pink bird, almost like an owl, and so cute it should have been made illegal.
“Awww…he’s so cute!” AndrAIa said.
“I don’t like it,” Matrix grumbled. “Where’d it come from, anyway?”
“Mesa lost. Chased by mean thing. Yousa help me?”
“You see, Sparky? He…uhh….she…it’s just lost.” AndrAIa turned back to AOL. “You say a mean thing chased you?”
AOL nodded.
“That must be the Virus we’re after,” Matrix said. “You. What did it look like?”
“Mean thing! Big! Scawy! Mesa scawed.” AOL started to cower.
Matrix sighed, holstering his Gun. “He’s a big help.”
AndrAIa crouched down and held out her arm. “Come on, AOL. No one’s going to hurt you now.”
The small fluffy bird squealed with delight and hopped up onto AndrAIa’s shoulder. Grinning, the aquatic Game Sprite stroked it gently, causing it to purr contentedly.
“No, AndrAIa,” Matrix said. “You can’t keep it.”
* * *
“So…what is it?” Dot asked, peering at the cute, furry thing curled up in AndrAIa’s arms.
“Mesa Web Browser! Big help!” AOL replied eagerly.
“A Web Browser? I’ve heard of them,” Ray Tracer said, leaning across the booth to get a closer look. “They work with Search Engines. I’ve heard they can be a big help.”
“Big help! Mesa big help!”
“Never seen one before, though,” The Web Surfer continued. “I wonder if they’re all this annoying.”
“How can THAT help with anything?” Matrix growled from the bar.
“You know, Mate,” Surfer said, considering, “I’m not really sure.”
“It doesn’t matter. There’s a Virus loose in the System, remember?” Dot looked pointedly at Matrix.
“Don’t look at me,” he said defensively. “I wanted to keep looking. But AndrAIa insisted on showing everyone her new pet.”
“New pet?” Ray asked, looking curiously at AndrAIa.
“Well….yeah. if that’s okay, Dot?”
Dot looked down again at AOL. “I don’t see why not. But you’d better get going. I don’t want any Viruses loose in Mainframe.”
“What about Hex? Jareth? Timesprite?” Ray asked, taking a sip of his shake.
“My point exactly,” Dot replied. “We’ve got too many as it is.”
“All right. We’re going,” Matrix said. He scowled down again at AOL. “Better leave that here. It’ll just get in the way.”
“I’ll take care of it!”
Every head turned as Enzo entered the Diner. The small sprite had a knack for grasping entire conversations by hearing just the few words at the end.
“Okay. Here you go,” AndrAIa handed the small furball to Enzo, who took it eagerly. “Be careful with it,” she added, as she and Matrix left the Diner.
Enzo raised the Web Browser to eye level and immediately proceeded to engage it in a staring contest. “Cool.”
* * *
Electra soared over Mainframe, rolling Phong’s advice over in her mind. Could it really have been just a dream? It had seemed so real….more real, in fact, than reality had gotten lately.
Looking down at the streets below, she suddenly wondered whether any of them could be looking up her dress.
“Game over….”
Suddenly, the great purple Game Cube that occupied the next sector over shot into the sky, disappearing with a bang.
“Another win,” Electra said. “Good for them.” She turned, and was heading for home, when the Keytool on her left bracer beeped, trying to get her attention.
Raising BuBBle, she clicked on her communicator. “Dot? What’s up?”
“Electra glad I caught you. Listen, there’s a Virus loose in Mainframe.”
“Just one?”
“A new one…we’re not sure what class it is, or where it’s hiding. We can’t get a lock on it. I’ve got Matrix and AndrAIa out searching, but give me a ring if you find it first. Okay?”
Electra shrugged. “Sure.”
“Great. I’ve got to call Bob…Talk to you later.”
“Bye.” BuBBle’s screen returned to normal size, and went blank. “Just what this System needs. Another Virus.” BuBBle beeped again…this time as a warning. “Hmm? BuBBle—System Scan.” BuBBle complied.
“Unidentified Virus…yeah…and a portal?” BuBBle clicked, whirred, and beeped yet again. “An unauthorized portal. Never a good sign. Okay,” Electra said. “So much for getting any rest.”
* * *
Jareth spun the spatula in his hand, twirling it around in an impressive display of dexterity. Moving with remarkable speed, he deftly flipped a number of burgers onto their buns, added fries, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, and placed the completed meals onto the countertop.
“That’s very impressive, Jareth,” AndrAIa said, picking up the orders.
“But do you think you could get the food to me without splattering the walls with mustard?”
“Erm…maybe.”
“Please try.” AndrAIa walked away, taking to the food to the customers in the diner.
“Please try,” Jareth mimicked, moving back to the grill. He began to flip burgers again, but was momentarily distracted by the sudden appearance of a portal just above the counter.
Out stepped a skinny Sprite that looked a great deal like an upright grasshopper. He carried in his hand a long, lethal-looking staff. His feet looked as though they were folded in half, and the knocked over a number of condiments as the portal closed behind him, leaving him standing atop the stainless steel counter.
“Uh…hello,” Jareth said, a displaying a puzzed mask.
The sprite examined Jareth. “You are….Virus. No…you are…Guardian.”
“I’m both, actually. And you’re-“
“I am Lens. A Codemaster. I come from the Net.”
“You’re-“
“I am searching for a Virus. You…” Lens scowled. “You are not he. The Virus I seek is incredibly powerful. Already he is spreading throughout the net, taking systems over, consuming their memory, making them useless.”
“You-“
“I have followed it, searched through Systems, cities, peoples... To this place. Mainframe. I have been here before.”
“You-“
“Yes?” Lens looked at Jareth, as though daring him to speak.
“You’re standing in the ketchup.”
* * *
“I’m actually glad you’re here, Lens,” Dot said, as the Codemaster wiped the ketchup from his scaly foot. “We haven’t had any luck at all finding this Virus.”
The bell over the door rang as Electra entered the diner. “Hey, guys, I detected a portal-“ She stopped short as she saw Lens. “Oh. It’s you.”
“You know this guy?” Jareth asked.
“You don’t?” Electra asked.
“I haven’t had a chance to introduce them yet. Jareth, Lens has been here before. Last time, he was trying to find another Codemaster, one that had run away. He destroyed most of Mainframe looking for him, but in the end he let him go.”
“It is fortunate that the guild has never learned of that.” Lens said.
“And where was I?”
“In the Lair with Hex, doing whatever it is that you two do all the time,” Electra said.
“Don’t ask,” Jareth said.
The bell above the door rang again, signaling the entrance of Matrix and AndrAIa. “We’re back,” AndrAIa said, a defeated tone in her voice. “And no, we didn’t find it. We searched the entire city, street by street,”
“You did not have me to help find it,” Lens said, standing.
“What are YOU doing here?” Matrix asked, his eyes narrowed.
“He’s here to help find the Virus.”
“Yeah? Get this,” Bob said, walking into the Diner, causing the bell to ring yet again.
“That bell is really starting to annoy me,” Jareth said.
“Kit’s Sector is completely sealed off,” Bob continued. “It’s like there some sort of barrier surrounding it. Nothing can get in or out.”
“This is the Virus’ work,” Lens said, snarling, gripping his pike. “That is how it operates. First, it begins sealing off parts of the System. Soon, it will be impossible for anyone or anything to function. And finally, those trapped within the sealed-off sectors will begin to degrade, slowly, and very painfully.”
“What’s this Virus called?” Dot asked.
“We do not speak its name.”
“That’s helpful,” Electra said.
“Enough,” Dot said. “Bob, Matrix, AndrAIa, go with Lens and search the city again.”
“But we just got back,” Matrix complained. “And do we have to go with HIM?”
Dot gave him an icy glare.
“All right,” he said. “We’re going.”
* * *
“I sense nothing,” Lens said.
“Of course not,” Matrix said. “I’ve already told you, we’ve searched the city, top to bottom.”
Bob let his eyes fall half closed, calling on his Glitch powers to scan the air around him. He rose slightly off the ground as he did so. “I can’t sense anything, either.”
The small group was standing just outside the barrier that sealed off Kit’s Sector. It was thin and filmy, translucent, almost white. Beyond it, they could see the very concrete of the streets dissolving, the signposts beginning to turn to dust. Within, Binomes crawled about the streets, acting as though they were suffocating. Sound could not penetrate the barrier, but it was obvious that they were screaming in agony. Their very skin was beginning to peel off, falling in clumps to the ground only to shrivel like burning tissue paper.
“We’ve got to stop this, Bob,” AndrAIa said.
“The only way to end this destruction is by destroying the Virus,” Lens replied without feeling, examining the end of his pike.
“But how can we do that if we can’t even find it? Why CAN’T we find it?” Matrix asked.
“I think we’re dealing with some kind of Trojan Horse Virus. Something that can take the shape of anything it touches. I’ve read about them, and they’re supposed to be undetectable to sensor scans,” Bob replied.
“The Virus we seek is no Trojan Horse,” Lens said. “It is simply a Virus that masquerades as a harmless program. It—“
“Could you please just tell us its name, already?” Matrix interrupted.
“I told you, we do not speak its name.” Lens snapped. “It is against tradition to invoke the name of such a monster.”
“How bad can one Virus be? After Daemon-“
“This Virus has wreaked havoc on countless Systems! If you thought the damage done by Daemon was bad, it is nothing compared to the atrocities committed-“
“Alright, alright.” Matrix sighed. “Then could you at least tell us what it looks like?”
“Very well,” Lens agreed. “It is very small, round, and covered with pink fur. Disgustingly cute creature.”
* * *
“Sit up,” Enzo said.
AOL complied, squatting on his hind legs and raising his from paws into the air. He seemed to be enjoying this game as much as Enzo. Mouse watched from the couch as the two played on the rug of her living room. Since AndrAIa and Matrix’s house had been destroyed, the two were bunking with her…at least until their own house could be rebuilt. Enzo was part of the package, the couple had adopted him as a sort of younger brother/son. This was fine, it kept him out of Dot’s hair, and gave Enzo someone to play with, namely, AndrAIa. Now it looked as if he’d found another new friend.
Frisket lay curled up in the corner, growling softly. He hadn’t taken too kindly to being ‘replaced’ by a ball of pink fluff, but that hadn’t stopped Enzo from admonishing him for trying to eat it. That really hadn’t been fair. Frisket hadn’t wanted to eat it, all that fur would have given him indigestion. He’d only wanted to chew it up into little pieces and listen to the noises it would have made. But instead, he had to be content with the fact that it wasn’t doing all the tricks properly.
“Okay, roll over.”
AOL jumped about a foot into the air a performed a somersault.
“No, no, no. That’s not how you do it,” Enzo said. “Hey, Frisket, come over here. Show AOL how to roll over.”
“Me sure mesa got it right,” AOL complained.
Frisket growled.
“Oh, come on., Enzo begged. Suddenly, he grinned. “Or can’t you do it, either? I don’t believe it. My own dog can’t even roll over. Even Scuzzy can do that.”
Ouch. Frisket shot Enzo a glare, then quickly rolled over once, just to show that he could. He then continued growling quietly at AOL, who was careful to keep his distance.
“There you go,” Enzo said. “Now you try.”
“Me not sure mesa can,” AOL replied. Then he shrugged, an impressive achievement for one with no shoulders. “Oh, well. Maybe mesa try anyway.” The small, fuzzy owl flopped onto it’s back, and proceeded to try to roll over. It didn’t get very far.
“Hmm…maybe we need to work at this a little.”
Just then the front door slammed open.
“Enzo!”
“AndrAIa?” Enzo propped himself up on one elbow to look at AndrAIa as she ran into the house. She looked very worried.
“Are you okay? Did it hurt you?”
“Did what hurt me?”
“Get away from AOL,” Matrix said firmly, walking in behind AndrAIa, Gun drawn. “That thing’s a Virus. The one we’ve been looking for.”
Jareth and Dot walked in behind Matrix, followed closely by Lens.
“AOL? A Virus? Don’t be ridiculous.” Enzo turned to the ball of fluff, which was still trying to roll over. “You’re not a Virus, are you?”
“Of course mesa Virus,” AOL replied.
Enzo was shocked. “What?”
“I said, ‘Of course mesa Virus.’”
“But…but I thought you said you were a Web Browser!”
“Mesa both.”
“How can you possibly be both?” Enzo asked, incredulous.
“Makes perfect sense to me,” Jareth interjected.
“You lied to me!” Enzo cried, jumping to his feet. “I thought you were my friend!”
“Mesa never lie. Mesa never say, ‘AOL not Virus,’” The furball replied, finally flopping back onto it’s feet. It gazed up at Enzo with its ridiculously big, adorable eyes.
“You said you were running from the Virus,” AndrAIa remembered.
“Mesa never say that. Me said mesa was running from big mean thing.” AOL now caught sight of Lens for the first time. “Eep! You brought Big Mean Thing right to mesa! Mesa run away!” AOL rose into the air, curled into an even rounder ball, and went flying out the window as though thrown from a catapult, shattering the glass to smitherines.
“After it!” Lens cried. “We cannot let it escape!” the Codemaster then vanished into a portal of his own creating.
Everyone else used the door.
* * *
After a long chase, Lens cornered the adorable Virus down a dead end street. The Virus cowered against the wall as the Codemaster approached, Gibson Coil Pike held at the ready. “Are you prepared for your deletion, Virus?”
“If mesa say no, you go away?” the furball asked hopefully.
“I’m afraid not,” Lens said. You have led me on a fine chase, AOL,” he said, finally calling the Virus by name. “But the chase is over.” Lens lowered his pike.
“No!”
The pike, affected by some unseen force, flew from Lens’ hand and struck the nearest wall, falling to the ground with a loud clatter. Lens himself followed, but stayed pinned against the wall. AOL rose from the ground, hovering at eye-level. He opened his beak, revealing for the first time no less than three rows of razor-sharp teeth, and his eyes began to glow a deep scarlet. “Yousa not hurt me! Mesa mad now! Make you go away!”
“Erg…you…cannot…win, Virus!”
“Mesa win! Mesa get rid of you, Big Mean Thing!”
Lens struggled against the invible force that held him, but his efforts were futile.
“You go away now.” AOL said. “Bye-bye.”
“I don’t think so.”
AOL turned, just as Bob’s energy blast caught him right across the beak, knocking him against the wall. The shard of glass fell the to ground and shattered.
Lens slid to the ground. “Guardian! He must be destroyed! Now!”
Bob raised his hands to fire again, but quickly found himself cut off from the Virus by a paper-thin, filmy wall of energy. Bob banged against the wall, but not even the sound of his fists could get through. He looked around frantically, but the wall had completely encased him, forming an impregnable prism that held him in place.
It was getting hotter. Bob found it harder to breathe, and he realized that only his Guardian code was preventing his skin from cracking and peeling. But even with that protection, it was only a matter of time before….
“Bob! Lens!” AndrAIa’s voice rang out. Bob turned to look, and there, standing in the entrance to the alley, was the Game Sprite, along with Matrix, Jareth, and Electra.
Matrix leveled his Gun at AOL. “Gun, Command Line—Full Delete!” Squeezing the trigger, Matrix fired off a single shot…but as the bullet neared AOL, it slowed, as though it had been fired through a sea of molasses. The very air around it rippled as it came to a stop inches from the pink, fluffy Virus’ beak…and fell to the ground.
AndrAIa leaped into the air, extending her trident as she did so, but before she could connect, she found the weapon ripped from her hand, and was slammed hard against the wall. Lens followed, as did Matrix, his Gun dropping to the floor. The force released them, and they slid to the ground. Before they could rise, however, they found themselves pinned, encased, smothered by a filmy layer of paper-thin energy.
“Is it our turn yet?” Jareth asked, turning to Electra.
“Yep,” Electra rose into the air, and brought her hands together, forming a large ball of ice. Thrusting her hands forward, she launched the ball at AOL. As it struck the Virus, it expanded, encasing him, freezing him.
Jareth raised his arms, and fired twin beams of golden sparks from his hands. The blasts were meant to connect, and shatter the frozen ball of fluff into innumerable fragments, but instead the beams bent, warping around AOL’s frozen form, as though they’d been refracted. Suddenly, the ice shattered, and AOL emerged much angrier than he had been.
Like the others, Jareth and Electra were thrust against the wall. “Oww!” Jareth tried to free himself, but this Virus was to strong even for him, stronger than even Daemon had been.
All of the windows in the alley suddenly shattered, raining the sidewalk with slivers of broken glass. These long shards hovered into air, turning their sharp points to face the helpless pair, like so many lethal arrows. “Yousa say you were AOL’s friend. But now Yousa attack him! Yousa no friend.”
“Hey, I never claimed to be your friend,” Electra said.
“Me, either,” Jareth added.
“Mesa no care! Yousa bad peoples! Mesa finish you!” The shards of glass shivered, preparing to launch themselves…But then a streak of red and gold flew past, knocking the small pink bird from the air. The glass arrows fell to the pavement and shattered, and the suffocating envolopes that held the other sprites faded.
Pieces of pink fluff flew everywhere.
* * *
“Good boy, Frisket,” Enzo said, scratching the faithful dog behind the ears.
“Yes, indeed,” Lens said. “Thank you…er… Frisket,” he added, stumbling over the concept of talking to a dog. “It is not often that a Codemaster’s life is saved by a dog.” Lens brought his pike around and aimed it at Frisket’s collar. A stream of emerald green light poured from the tip, and in an instant, the dog’s Icon had been transformed. No longer the black-and-gold Icon of a Guardian, the Icon was now blue, and seemed to glow from within. Strange, wavelike patterns seemed to swim psuedoinches beneath its surface.
“What did you do?” Enzo asked in amazement. Frisket looked rather anxious to know, himself.
“A gift, worthy beast,” Lens said. He waved his pike again, and a portal appeared on the other side of the Diner. “Use it wisely.” With that, the Codemaster strode across the room, stepped into the portal, and was gone.
“Wow,” Enzo said.
The bell above the diner’s door rang, and was instantly blasted off of the doorframe by Jareth.
“Err…have I come at a bad time?”
“Not at all, Phong,” Dot reassured him. “What brings you here?”
“I am glad I was able to catch you all together in one place,” Phong said, rolling into the room. “I have an announcement to make. As you all know, many things have happened in the last few minutes. Viral attacks, wars, the loss of loved ones, the transformation of others…it has all been too much.” As he spoke, Phong turned to face each of the sprites in turn. “In light of the last battle with Daemon…” here Phong looked at his three-fingered hand. Unlike the rest of his body, it shone a bright silver, having recently been replaced. “I have decided…I am simply getting to old for this. Some rest would be most welcome.”
“Phong…what are you trying to say?” Electra asked.
Phong looked her squarely in the eyes. “I am leaving, my child,” he said. “The time has come for me…to retire.”