"Augh!" Davic paused, and put one hand on his chest. "Caen—" The ogre took several deep breaths as his color grayed, flickered, then steadied.
"What is it? Is Wayne in trouble?" Bob asked.
Caen beeped, then buzzed.
"We're both in trouble," Davic panted. He swallowed, then bent to put both hands on his bare knees. "Wayne's hurt and tired. Caen's having a hard time holding off the infection and supporting his processing codes at the same time."
"And to do that it has to take more energy from you," Bob finished. "Listen, Davic, let's not take any risks we don't have to. You stay here, and I'll—"
"—go get into trouble and need me to save your ASCII," Davic interrupted. He straightened. "We've been through this already, city sprite. I'm fine. Caen just caught me off-guard. Let's move." He strode off, leaving Bob with no choice but to follow.
By the time they reached the village in the foothills, both Wayne and Mouse were stumbling with exhaustion. They traded Mouse's quiver for a night's accommodations at the village inn, including baths and food for both of them.
Wayne had settled down onto a straw-stuffed mattress laid on the floor, and was sound asleep when something cold and damp touched his injured shoulder. He woke in an instant, all four legs instinctively tucking beneath his body. "Huh?"
"Shh!" Mouse clapped her hand over Wayne's mouth. "It's just me, honey." She took her hand away, and dunked her fingers in a small jar. "Now hold still."
Wayne watched her smear a strong-smelling salve across the cut in his shoulder. "Phew," he whispered. "What is that stuff?"
"It was on a shelf behind the bar, and it's got a label that says "Heal" on it," Mouse whispered back.
"Do I want to know how you got the innkeeper to give it to you?"
"I told him I'd stop kicking his ale barrels over if he gave me the jar," Mouse replied.
"Nope, I don't want to know," Wayne concluded. He relaxed. "Thanks, Mouse."
"You're welcome, Sugar," the hacker murmured.
"What could be taking them so long?" Dot fretted, pacing the deck.
"Dear lady, you have asked that question many times over the last four microseconds," Captain Capacitor's single eye worriedly tracked the restless Command.com. "The answer has not changed."
"There are four Guardians in that Game!" Dot burst out. "They should have beaten it micros ago."
"Games end when they end, my lass," the captain said gently. "Worrying yourself to fragmentation won't make the time pass any more quickly."
Websong rang and echoed across the sky, and a pod of Web creatures soared past the Saucy Mare II as she lay at dock.
Dot raised her eyes and watched the pod go. She stopped and leaned against the far rail. "If only we knew what they were saying!" she bit out in frustration. "They might be telling us that the Web is clear, and that we can go—" she stopped as tears filled her eyes.
Captain Capacitor stumped across the deck. He put his hand on Dot's arm. "The moment the Web opens again, dear lady, I will take this ship through it, to any system you ask."
"The Supercomputer," Dot said fiercely. "They've got the best medical facility in the known systems."
"Aye, lass," Captain Capacitor agreed. "That they do. But are ye willing to risk your brother's life to wait until we can reach the Supercomputer?"
"He'll hold on, Gavin," Dot said. The tears were rolling down her cheeks. "He has to."
The morning found Wayne and Mouse already on the road. Clean, fed, and rested, they moved much more purposefully than the bedraggled pair that had collapsed into sleep the night before.
The salve Mouse had appropriated evidently had some magical qualities—the wound in Wayne's shoulder had closed overnight, though it was not fully healed. Wayne set their pace, moving at first with some care, then gradually shifting into a trot as his muscles warmed.
"Feeling better?" Mouse asked as she trotted alongside Wayne.
"Much better," Wayne confirmed. He grinned at her. "Thanks, Doc."
"Thanks, Doc." "Thank you, Doctor." "Thanks, Doc, you saved my buddy's life." Thanks Doc Thanks Doc Thanks Doc thanks doc…
"You OK?" Mouse's voice asked.
Wayne started, then blinked. "Yes. My mind just went on standby for a nano."
Mouse gave him a look that said she didn't believe him, but didn't press the issue.
"Come on, Bob, hurry up," Davic lengthened his stride.
"I am hurrying," Bob puffed. "My legs are shorter than yours."
"This isn't going to work, then," Davic declared. He stopped abruptly, and caught Bob as the centaur slid to a halt. "Be careful with my ears, OK?" He wrapped one massive hand around Bob's forelegs and the other around Bob's rear legs.
"Davic, what are you—whoop!" Bob threw his arms out and grabbed Davic's wrist for balance as the ogre lifted him into the air.
"We need to move faster," Davic explained as he settled Bob around his neck. "I can run faster than you can, so I'll carry you. Ouch!" He winced as Bob grabbed his earlobe. "I said be careful with my ears."
"Quit squeezing my legs and I will," Bob answered nervously. "Davic, are you sure you can stand the energy drain?"
"Wayne's better than he was last night," Davic answered. "Don't ask me how. Caen's readjusting the power draw. I'll be fine."
Caen, tucked into Davic's belt, beeped.
"Hold onto him, good buddy," Davic said.
Caen whistled, a tense, strained sound.
"I know, I know," Davic sighed as he started off again. "But we're in too deep to back out now."
A deep rumbling thrummed beneath Wayne's hooves, and he stopped, his tail twitching.
"Where's it coming from?" Mouse asked. She turned in the road, sweeping her eyes across the hills behind them.
"Right about there, I'd say," Wayne pointed, and Mouse looked.
At first, all that was visible was the swaying of the treetops as something passed. Then the thumping grew louder, and a visible shape loomed above the trees.
"Is that another one of those Passives?" Mouse asked, peering into the bright sunlight behind the figure. "'Cause if it is, I say we hightail it out of here."
"It's not a Passive," Wayne answered. "Worse. It's Davic."
The Guardian ogre burst out of the trees, loping across the rolling ground with Bob jouncing on his neck. Davic skidded to a halt, and lowered Bob to the ground. Mainframe's Guardian had a greenish tinge to his blue skin, and he reeled from side to side as he stood in the road, his eyes slipping in and out of focus.
"Come on, it wasn't that bad," Davic chided as he caught his breath. "What are you doing here?" he asked Mouse.
"Just testing a little upgrade I gave myself a while back, Sugar," Mouse answered. She stepped closer to Bob, and looked him over. "You ReBoot well, honey."
Bob gave her a look that spoke volumes, then swallowed and said, "You don't look too bad either, Mouse. Maybe you and Ray should go Game-hopping after we get out of all this."
"Mm, I don't think so," Mouse said coquettishly. "Playing by the User's rules really isn't my style. I think I'll leave the Game-playing to the full-fledged Guardians from now on." She shot Wayne a look, and he winced.
"How are you, Wayne?" Davic asked. "Caen's told me you got into some trouble."
"I did," Wayne confirmed. "I'm OK, though."
Davic lifted a shaggy eyebrow.
"Where's Turbo?" Wayne asked hurriedly.
Davic's face darkened. "He's not on our side anymore," he grunted.
"What? He joined up with the User?" Mouse exclaimed.
"No," Bob put in. "It's not possible for a system sprite to become a User avatar. What Davic means is that Turbo's going to stay with the Game."
"What!?" Wayne and Mouse exploded.
"Let's explain while we move," Davic interrupted. "Time isn't on our side." He almost unconsciously touched the glowing keytool at his belt.