CHAPTER SEVEN
MAINFRAMERS AND MERCENARIES, PART 2
"Freenet's up ahead," Ray announced, looking at the map of the Net over Mouse's shoulder.
The hacker took another look at the codes, her eyes darting across them for any sign of a false address. It was all there, and when she finally took her eyes away, she couldn't help but smile.
Before them hovered a huge golden sphere, shimmering brightly against the dark green atmosphere of the Net. As Ship approached, Freenet seemed to fill the viewscreens entirely.
"It's beautiful," Ray said with a grin.
As they passed through the hazy bubble, Mouse's spirits soared. She leaned forward for her first sight of Freenet — and her core-com plummeted into her stomach, ripping through her insides.
Right in front of them, a huge, black crater stretched hundreds of feet. Mouse drew in a shuddering breath as the horrifying realization hit her like a sharp slap. The crater before them was all that remained of Freenet's Principle Office.
Beside her, she heard Ray utter a soft "No." Mouse's shoulders sagged, and she leaned against the console for support. Her former euphoria had fled. Now, deadened shock filled its place. Somehow, the Guardians had found this place and destroyed it. Hours ago, a sight like this wouldn't have bothered her — even now, she knew she shouldn't be feeling so emotionally attached. But it was the pure ruin around them — a murderous act that had been committed simply to destroy — that made her stomach clench, and her throat tighten painfully. She forced her fingers to work and bring Ship down. She landed Ship outside the horrible crater of the command center.
"Maybe there are some survivors," Ray offered, his voice sounding scratchy. He took Mouse's hand, and together they left Ship and carefully stepped through the rubble on the streets, completely avoiding the crater.
"Look," Ray said softly. Mouse turned in the direction he was gazing, and she saw a spot that resembled a child's playground. Ray looked behind them and saw the remains of a play structure, the paint peeling off the rusty metal. Two small swings, held up by chains, were motionless in the still air.
They continued on, passing silently through another sector of destruction. It seemed that the Guardians hadn't spared anything. All around them was unthinkable annihilation.
The husk of some sort of office building stood before them. Its many windows had been blown out, and soot ringed the window frames. Three of the walls had been torn away, leaving one lone wall crumbling. Inside one office, a few remains were left: a desk and two chairs, one with its cushion torn away.
"Ah don't get it. How could we have come here too late?" Mouse asked no one in particular. "And Galero — wouldn't he know if Freenet had been attacked?"
Her words hung in the dead air, and suddenly Mouse realized the truth. She whipped her head around and stared at Ray. His eyes locked onto hers, and then he understood.
"It's a trap," Ray said, if only to vocalize their realization. "The Guardians —"
A huge laser sang through the air and gouged the cement two feet from where they were standing. Mouse and Ray flung themselves to the ground and looked around wildly until they found the awful answer. They were being tailed by a Guardian transport — they probably had for the last half a microsecond.
The transport that had shot at them aimed for the two sprites again. They leapt up and ran as fast as they could. They ducked behind the one wall of the office building, and the transport's shot narrowly missed them. But soon the ship would come around the building and discover them.
Mouse peered through a window, trying to see the first sector they had landed in. She was met with the dismaying sight of two other transports surrounding her ship. A white beam from one had attached to Ship, holding it still.
"They've stop-filed it in place," Ray said, voicing her thought.
Mouse nodded. "Even if we can get inside, we wouldn't be able to get away," she finished. Her hands clenched into fists so hard that her nails dug into her palms. "Ah don't know about you, Sugah, but Ah'm not goin' down without a fight."
Ray smiled grimly. "Somehow I didn't think any differently. I'm with ya all the way."
Still watching the transport as it circled them, Mouse climbed onto Ray's Baud and linked her arms around his waist. "On three, we fly for Ship," she told him. "Ah know it's slim chances, but it's our only way out."
"Got ya," Ray said, and she could sense the unease in his voice. She heard him swallow, then: "Mouse, I —"
"Ray," she said quietly, placing her hand over his. "Tell me when we get out of this alive." She took a deep breath. "One . . . two . . . three!" Ray kicked off from the ground, and they sped around the side of the wall and toward Ship. They passed the first transport in a blur, but one of the transports guarding Ship swung their weapons around and shot at Mouse and Ray. A containment field surrounded the two of them and the Baud, freezing them in mid-air. The captured sprites clattered to the ground.
Countess Avina treated her guests with the greatest of courtesy. They were led to spacious, well-furnished apartments in Sector 6 and given individual rooms. As the sprites were settling in, they received a message from the Countess that they were also invited to dinner at the Principle Office.
"Quite the royal treatment we're getting," Bob laughed as they entered the Principle Office again. The building was more like an elaborate court than a cluster of offices. They were led to a huge dining room, in which a large group of sprites already sat. The six sprites took seats at the end of the table, keeping the Countess in view. She smiled politely at them, then turned back to a sprite she had been talking with.
The gloom Dot had been feeling over the last few cycles lifted considerably when her home system came into view. The sight of Mainframe, sparkling with new life, made Dot mentally thank the User.
Captain Capacitor stood beside her, gazing with equal admiration at the city. "Mr. Jimmy, send out a signal to Mainframe, so they know we're back," he called. Mr. Jimmy saluted and jogged towards the communications console to carry out the order.
The ship slid smoothly into place at the section of Mainframe's docks that hadn't been damaged when the unexpected surge had hit it a minute or so ago. Once the ship was safely docked, Capacitor and his pirates personally escorted Dot back to the Principle Office.
"Welcome back, Dot," Phong greeted her the moment she stepped inside the colossal structure. Dot hugged her old friend happily. Pulling away, she looked around for Enzo, wondering where he could be.
Suddenly, a portal opened to the right of them. Enzo tumbled out, followed by Hexadecimal and Tessa, who stepped out more smoothly. Phong coughed delicately and glanced away.
Enzo leaped up, unfazed by his fall. "Dot!" he cried and ran toward his sister, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Hey, Enzo, I missed you," Dot said with a smile as she returned his enthusiastic greeting. After a moment, she looked from Enzo to the other two who had come out of the portal, and she frowned, feeling suspicious. "How were you when I was gone?" she asked, looking down at Enzo again.
"Oh, we were fine," he answered nonchalantly. "I played with Tessa and Hex for awhile, when Phong was busy."
"Oh," Dot said, a little surprised. "That's . . . great," she quickly added.
"How was your trip, Dot?" Phong asked, wheeling up beside her again.
"Mostly all right, except for the last system, Hybris," she replied as the group headed for the War Room. "The other systems weren't all as inhabited as Mainframe, but they weren't completely empty, either. We spread the word through those systems, and they should do the same for any systems close to them that we may have missed. All that's left is to send a message to those systems."
"What about that last system?" Phong asked slowly.
Dread resettled in Dot's chest at the question. "The Command.com was infected by Daemon, and he sent Mouse and Ray towards another system. There could be a trap, but I couldn't warn them."
"We have no choice but to see how it works out," Phong said gravely.
Dot nodded somberly. She wished she had better news, but the impending danger for her friends prevented her from fully exulting in her successes.
Ray groaned as he hit the ground with a thump for the fourth time. He was conscious, though his processor was still moving sluggishly. Mouse's elbow dug into a bruise on his side, but thank the Net he was alive. Yet, he couldn't help thinking, What would the Guardians to do live captives?
He was lifted and thrust through a doorway, then herded down a poorly lit hall. Ray opened his eyes, hoping to see something, but he was still surrounded by near-darkness. He could make out shimmering orange hair beside him, and he grabbed Mouse's arm.
She hissed angrily until she realized who it was. "Ray —" she whispered.
"You're okay, right?" he asked, holding her arm tightly.
"Ah'm fine," she answered softly. "Are you —"
"Quiet!" a Guardian barked as their captors pushed the two along. Mouse and Ray were jostled roughly through darkness and finally pushed into a dim cell.
Mouse rolled over onto her side, her arms still bound behind her. Ray was in the same situation.
The guards cut Mouse and Ray's bonds, letting the sprites rub circulation back into their wrists and arms. Their feet were still bound, but Ray propelled himself at the cell door. The guards who held his Baud pulled it back before he could reach for it. They kicked it sharply, laughing derisively as Ray stumbled back, his body convulsing in pain. Finally, they stopped, and one carried the Baud away to be locked up.
Ray lay on his side, gasping quietly. Mouse crawled over to his side and stroked his shoulders. "Oh, Ray. Are ya all right?"
He took a steady breath and slowly pushed himself to a sitting position. "I've been better," he replied, wincing as he took another breath. He rubbed his aching chest for a few moments.
Mouse took his hand and held it in her own. Her eyes locked with Ray, whose gaze was grim. "We're in trouble here, Mouse," he said quietly.
She sighed and nodded, then returned to looking around them. Her eyes scanned the room, searching for a way out.
It would be hard to get past the guards, she realized first-hand. They were all bigger and most likely a match for her, if not stronger. The thought of reasoning with them had been erased from her list of options as soon as she saw how far into the Infection they all were.
Once more she gazed at each of their eyes for the sprite inside, a sprite that resisted Daemon's control. But each pair of eyes was clouded over by green veins.
Then, her eyes locked with a pair of blue ones that were clear, without the veins. She studied the sprite more closely. He was a young Guardian, roughly her age, with pale blue skin and neatly cut bright dark brown hair. Mouse felt her pulse quicken as she recognized the sprite, and she whispered a name.
"What'd you say, love?" Ray whispered with a frown.
The brown-skinned Guardian roughly kicked the younger sprite, who had begun to daydream. "Stand straight, Soldier!"
"Yes, sir," the Guardian muttered, changing his position. He didn't meet Mouse's gaze again.
Dinner had been as normal an affair as any. Avina was slowly becoming accustomed to her daily routine, and her duties as Countess and ruler of Azrael. After all, she was used to guards standing around her grandfather when he had been processing as Count, so the appearance of the six mercenaries didn't bother her.
Those six sprites trailed behind her and Ferias now, as they started upstairs to her room. She glanced over her shoulder once and confirmed that all six were behind her. Avina couldn't help thinking that these sprites might be taking their job a little too seriously, escorting her to her room when she had her own personal bodyguard. Nevertheless, she put it out of her mind as she arrived at her room.
Her hand on the doorknob, she called back to the mercenaries — what had they called themselves, The Net's Something-Or-Others? — "Good night. I'll see you in the morning." She turned the knob, and she and Ferias stepped inside. Before Avina knew what was happening, the other six had followed her inside her room. One sprite shut and locked the door, and Avina's core-com stopped in a moment of panic.
"What are you doing?" Ferias demanded. Avina slowly turned to face the six visitors, and she was relieved to see that they held no weapons — though the large green sprite always carried that gun. . . .
"We have to talk to the Countess," said Eide, who was the leader of the group.
"We won't hurt you," one of the other sprites added.
Ferias barked a laugh. "I've just met you, and you've locked the door to the room. I don't know how easily I'll believe you."
"It's all right, Ferias," Avina spoke up haltingly, and all eyes turned to her. "These people don't mean us any harm." As she said the words, she knew it was true. Avina could sense the nature of individual sprites; and from these people, all she felt was protection.
"Thank you," one of them, who had spoken before, said. This man, blue-skinned and silver-haired, suggested, "Why don't you sit down, Your Grace?"
Ferias, watching the others sharply, quickly sat beside the Countess on her bed. Avina folded her hands in her lap and asked, "What is it you need to speak with me about?"
The blue man sat on a chair facing the Countess. He took a deep breath and began. "Your Grace, we came to Azrael to protect you from any possible threats. But it turns out, you're in danger right now." Ferias' hand hovered over her blaster.
"Not from us!" the man quickly said. "There's a super-virus, called Daemon, who is slowly taking over the Net. I don't know if you've heard of her" — the Countess slowly shook her head — "but she takes hosts." Now Avina looked blank.
A woman with blue hair knelt by the Countess and offered, "Let me explain. Daemon takes bodies of deleted sprites and preserves them. Then she fills them with her own code, so that she can communicate through that form."
"What does this have to do with me?"
"So far, Daemon has only taken rich female sprites — young ones, if she can — as hosts," the blue-haired woman answered. "So, we immediately assumed that Daemon might come after you, as this is the richest system we've ever come across. Do you understand?"
The Countess nodded. "Slowly, yes."
"Who exactly are you all, then?" Ferias asked.
The man who had first tried to explain said, "You might know who I am. I'm Guardian 452, Bob."
The Countess' eyes widened in surprise. "Yes, I recognize you," she said. "I mean, I've seen pictures, but you look different from those. Now that you mention it, though, I see the resemblance."
Bob gestured to the two sprites who stood beside him, the green man and the blue-haired woman. "This is Matrix, and this is AndrAIa. The three of us are from the system of Mainframe. We've been fighting Daemon for some minutes now. When we discovered that she might come after you, we came here."
"But — what about the mercenaries my grandfather hired?" Avina asked.
"We are the mercenaries," Eide replied, indicating herself and the two other men. "There were six of us, but the three Mainframers came here in place of my other comrades."
The Countess rubbed her temples wearily, trying to absorb everything. She finally looked up at the sprites, her expression solemn. "But how will we know if Daemon is here?"
"Trust me, we will," Eide answered.
AndrAIa laid a comforting hand on Avina's shoulder. "This is a lot to take in. Why don't you get some sleep now?"
The Countess nodded, gathering her thoughts and expelling a deep breath. She stood up, Ferias rising with her. She extended a hand to Bob and said, "Thank you — I think. We'll discuss this further in the morning." The six sprites left, leaving Avina alone to quietly sort through this new threat to her life.
Mouse and Ray had to wait for the Guardians to leave before they had a chance to talk freely.
He scooted over to her, working at the ties securing his legs. "Who was that bloke, anyway?" he muttered, loud enough that she could just hear him but not so loud that the guard in the front of the room picked it up.
Mouse glanced down. "His name's Ethan Hertz. He was — an old flame, ya could say," she answered in an equally quiet tone.
Ray's eyebrows shot up, and he glanced the way the young Guardian had gone, with the others. He looked back at Mouse, and she could guess the reason for his stare. "Is it just me, or do you have some sort of thing for blue Guardians?"
"`Course not, Honey," she laughed, swatting playfully at him. "Ah'm with you, aren't Ah?"
"So . . ." Ray prodded her.
"So . . . Ah met `im in the Supercomputer, a while before Ah knew Bob. We were only together fer a short time, then we broke up and never saw each other. Ah didn't forget him, though, but I hadn't really thought about him `till Ah saw him, just before."
Ray was about to say something, when Mouse spoke up again. "Ethan said he wanted ta be a Guardian in some faraway system — lots of young Guardians were like that, wantin' ta be important in places where no one knows their name. Anyways, Ah bet he made it there — then Daemon crushed his dream."
Ray saw the mix of anger and sadness on her face, as her voice didn't betray it. He put his arms around her and held her close. "It's okay, love. I wonder if he could help us?" he volunteered.
Resting her head against Ray's shoulder, Mouse looked back at him. "Ah think he could," she said. "Really. Ah saw his eyes — he's not as infected as the others. There may still be hope."
Over the last few seconds, Tessa had begun to feel . . . strange. She had no idea what was wrong with her, but that it was far different than anything she had felt in Mainframe so far.
The first time it happened, she was sitting beside Hexadecimal in her lair, when her hands started shaking uncontrollably. Tessa looked down and gasped in horror. It looked as if her skin were flashing different colors. She stuffed her hands in her lap, scared. When she dared to look again, her skin was back to normal.
It happened a few times a second. She could never tell when it happened — and the strangest thing was it didn't hurt at all. She knew it should, but she felt nothing but a little tickling.
It was as if she were changing. The thought left Tessa puzzled, but she couldn't think of any other reason for the strange mutation of her code.
The darkness in the cell had became blacker, so Mouse assumed that it was getting to be nighttime. A guard came to bring them food, but Mouse turned her back and stared grimly at the thick stone wall.
"You gonna turn me down?" a familiar voice questioned near her ear, and Mouse gasped and jumped, banging her head against the bars of the cell. Growling under her breath and rubbing the bump on her head, she turned around to confront the Guardian. "Ethan," she whispered, feeling a twinge in her core-com.
His smile was barely visible in the darkness — or was he even smiling? "Mouse," he replied in kind, reaching between the bars to clasp both her hands in his own.
Mouse squeezed his hands tightly and was content to just crouch there, until she heard Ray, who had been resting, mutter, "What's going on?"
Mouse turned her head and called softly, "Ray, Honey, Ethan's here."
"Ethan —" the Surfr muttered as he pushed himself to his knees and crawled over to them. The nano he saw Ethan, his expression became alert. "Oh."
The smile on Ethan's face receded into a blank stare, and he dropped Mouse's hands. Mouse looked between the two men, and after a moment of silence she prodded, "Ethan, what're ya doin' here?"
Ethan looked back to her and smiled warmly. "I saw you earlier, but I couldn't go to you then, or Daemon would know that I'm not under her control. I convinced the Guardians to let me guard you two tonight. The other guard is knocked out," he added.
"Who's to say you're not infected?" Ray demanded.
Ethan turned a withering glare on the Surfr, but Ray returned it with full force. Ethan finally looked away and dug a hand into his boot. He came up with a small piece of metal that glinted pure silver. "I'm to say I'm not infected, since I'm getting you out of here," he retorted, tossing the blade to Mouse. She easily caught it, and Ethan explained, "It's a special knife; it can cut through anything."
The knife sliced through the tight bonds on Mouse's ankles as if through butter, and she whistled approvingly before passing the blade to Ray. He had his chains off in less than ten nanoseconds and grudgingly returned the blade to Ethan.
"Now, keep quiet," Ethan instructed. "I'm going to open the bars. Then, follow my lead." He punched in a code, and just as he said, the bars rose with a creaking sound. Mouse and Ray slipped out and followed Ethan out of the dungeons.
"The exit is this way," Ethan said. "Your ship should be docked there." As they were jogging toward the exit, Ray called, "Wait!" Mouse turned around, and after a moment, Ethan did too.
"I need my Baud," Ray explained. "Where is it?"
Ethan shrugged, his eyes dark with irritation. "How should I know?" He sighed and closed his eyes in thought. "It might be in that room, adjacent to the dungeons," he said, pointing. "You go get your board-thing, and Mouse and I will start up the ship."
"Look it, buddy," Ray said, "I care a lot about Mouse, and I don't know if I trust you." It was too dark to see, but Mouse's face flushed at his words. "Do you think I'm basic, to let her stay with someone who is infected?"
Ethan pulled his hair away from his forehead. Bright green veins marked his forehead, but they pulsed only around his temples. Ray couldn't deny that he'd seen Guardians with veins covering their entire faces. "See this? I'm not fully infected. I can fight her Infection, just like Turbo."
"Turbo was deleted," Ray replied flatly.
A panicked look flashed across Ethan's face, as if he were surprised that they knew that information. He recovered and said gruffly, "Look, you can trust me and get out of here, or you can be tortured and infected. Believe me, the latter is not a fun ride."
"Ah trust you," Mouse said. She looked to Ray and shrugged. "Ray, he's all we've got."
Ray reluctantly nodded and set off at a run for the room Ethan had indicated. Sure enough, his Baud lay among a pile of junk. He climbed on and hurried back toward the exit. The sprites were nowhere to be seen. Ray smashed through the doorway, wincing as he acquired new bruises. He could slow down when he had caught up with Mouse and Ethan, he told himself
A long platform stretched ahead. Looking up, Ray saw the familiar shape of Ship rise into the air and turn toward him. He crouched low on his Baud and rushed toward Ship.
Suddenly, he was aware of loud, blaring sirens. Ray risked a glance behind him and saw that Guardian transports had risen silently from behind the compound and were now headed for him. But how could they have known? Perhaps Ethan had set off some silent alarm when he was freeing Ray and Mouse.
Maybe Ethan had triggered an alarm purposefully.
As Ray hurried out onto the platform, he saw Ethan running alongside him. Both sprites hurried toward the ship.
In front of Ray, Ethan paused for a nanosecond. In the blink of an eye, a spike came out of the end of the Guardian's boot, and he gouged it into Ray's surf Baud. Ray choked on his scream and flipped off his Baud, his Baud clattering to the ground beside his body. The spike was gone in the next moment, and Ethan continued on as if he hadn't noticed Ray fall.
There was no time to ponder Ethan's betrayal. Ray jumped up and, clenching his teeth against the pain, hopped back onto his Baud and sped after Ethan.
Mouse brought Ship in and let it hover over the ground. Ethan grabbed hold of the hatch and swung himself up. Mouse waited several nanoseconds for Ray to catch up. Seeing him weaving sluggishly toward her, she frowned and tapped her foot impatiently against the console.
Ray could hear the transports gaining behind them. He waved his hands at Mouse and screamed, "Go, I'll catch up! Go!" She understood, and quickly lifted Ship up, closing the hatch as she did so. Ray `booted into his websuit and crouched low on his Baud for speed, following Mouse's retreating ship. He could barely move for the pain; Ethan must have put some . . . something in that spike. . . . His thoughts were already dimming. Up ahead, he saw a portal open in the sky. Ray strained to fly up toward it, but his strength was fading fast.
"Come on," Mouse muttered. "Ray, what is going on?" She looked from the slow-moving surfboard to the Guardian transports, and in a flash she knew that the Surfr wouldn't make it before he was recaptured. Her chest constricted painfully, and her hands twitched over the controls, about to turn back and rescue Ray. She brought Ship to hover anxiously at the edge of the portal. Ray was crawling toward her. "Come on, come on!" she pleaded, knowing in the back of her mind that he couldn't hear her.
Ray's knees buckled, and his unconscious body shimmered back into his Baud as it wove back and forth uncertainly. Mouse's knuckles whitened as she gripped the controls and watched helplessly. "Ray —"
Ray's Baud twisted back and forth, until it bucked once and took a steep dive.
"NO!" Mouse screamed. One of the transports caught the Baud, and they continued toward her and Ethan in Ship. All the guns were pointed at the runaway prisoners.
Ethan grabbed her hand. "Mouse, get us out of here!" he shouted, breaking through her grief.
She numbly turned the controls, guiding Ship back through the portal. Ethan slapped a button, and the portal closed behind them, encasing the Guardians in their own system.
Mouse slumped into her chair in shock and a sudden exhaustion. She used to thrill for near-deletion experiences, but the sudden loss of Ray had carved an emptiness into her core-com. Ethan was congratulating her and talking about where they were going, but she didn't listen.
"Bad little Surfr," a Guardian chortled as he and his companion carried the unconscious sprite and his Baud back inside the compound. "Trying to escape, eh?" and he laughed again.
"We need to get the hacker," another Guardian reminded the first. "She's part of the Mainframe movement."
"So is this one," the first Guardian replied, smacking Ray's head. "Plus, Our Lady Daemon could use a Web Surfr to get around the Web better. This one's going to the Supercomputer."
Dumping Ray unceremoniously onto a cot, they bound his hands and feet again. He moaned and turned his head, but he didn't wake.
The second Guardian contacted two others who manned a ship outside. One of them entered the compound, took the Surfr's prone body, and loaded him into the transport. The Guardian jumped back into the ship, and they flew away, headed for Daemon's base.
"This system has beautiful sunsets," AndrAIa admitted, leaning her head on Matrix's shoulder. Three seconds into their stay at Azrael, Avina had accepted these sprites as her protectors, and she continued to rule her system, though now fearing for her life.
Countess Avina smiled. "Thank you. It is a lovely place." She, her bodyguard, and the three mercenaries and three Mainframers all sat on top of Azrael's Principle Office. The entire system stretched out on all sides of them, tinted gold, pink, and blue by the setting sun. Avina wore a casual sky-blue dress, her hair curled around her shoulders. Ferias sat beside her, her knees drawn up to her chest. The fading light was caught in her crystalline hair and reflected a kaleidoscope of colors.
The Countess picked at the elaborate thread design on the hem of her dress. "This super-virus — is she powerful?"
"Yes," Bob answered grimly, and Avina shivered.
"I will be all right, won't I?" she asked, displaying an uncertainty that her subjects had never seen in her but was true to every sprite's nature.
This time it was AndrAIa who replied, "We will protect you from Daemon, Your Grace. You will be safe."
A bald Guardian with orange skin stood facing a VidWindow. There was no image, but the Guardian knew he was facing his mistress.
"My Lady Daemon," the Guardian said. "We have spotted system Azrael. It is just as you have said; it is ruled by a young sprite who will make a perfect host."
"Good," the voice of Daemon said — female, yet so many voices at once, old and young. "Attack."