Chapter 8 Masquerade
Mainframe the Principal's Office
They found "Enzo" in a small room just beside Dot's office. Bob signalled to the guards with him to wait just outside the door. The young Guardian walked up slowly to sitting form of Enzo. The boy was watching a very advanced read me file when Bob grabbed his shoulder and swung him around. The boy smiled nastily.
"Welcome Bob I've got a gift for you," said the boy in Megabyte's voice. The virus thrust out a two items: an organizer and a broken set of glasses. Both were covered in binome blood.
Cackling madly like his sister used to, the virus morphed into his true form and stood up. Bob instinctively formed an energy blade with his key tool. The sprite crouched down in defensive mode. Megabyte charged at Bob but the Guardian was ready for any attack. His blade sunk into Megabyte and the virus dispersed.
Bob screamed and swore like a virus. He contacted Turbo; "It was an alias, Megabyte's onto us. He could be anywhere and anyone. Meet me in the conference room with Hexadecimal and Dr. Chandra."
Mainframe The Conference Room
The last time Bob was in the conference room a mob of very frightened people filled the room and it stank with the smell of their collective fear. Now only six people were in the room but the place still stank with fear. The reason was the same as before, Megabyte.
Turbo got to the point very quickly, "Mouse is the communications array repaired? We don't have much time Megabyte could be anywhere and anyone!"
"Already done, what's your plan?" said Mouse.
"There's a purge routine that high ranking Guardians have access to in extreme situations such as this. It scans the entire system and eliminates any viral elements present in the system," replied Turbo.
"What about Enzo? Megabyte made him viral and Mouse?" asked Dot.
"My home is shielded against such attacks. We'll be safe there and I can recognize Megabyte in whatever form he takes," said Hex.
"Why am I not surprised? Very well Hex you go to your home and take Mouse, Enzo, Chandra and Apple with you. I'll personally tell you when we have the all clear," said Bob.
"How will we know if it's you," asked Chandra.
"Simple I'll have my key tool and one more thing," Bob then gave Chandra a hypo and trilled something in Webbish: a language both he and Chandra knew.
Mainframe and Lost Angles
Turbo discovered much to his relief, that the Guardian Headquarters had survived the riot that drove him and Hexadecimal away. At that very moment he spoke to his second in command a yellow skinned sour faced woman.
"Buttercup, can you by any chance activate purging routine 211?" asked the Prime Guardian.
"Yes but where are you anyway? The rioting stopped as soon as you left. What did you do?" she asked.
"I took the virus to Mainframe to help take in her brother but it didn't work. Megabyte is still free and has already deleted two people."
"Well what did you expect when you team up with a virus?"
"Hex tried to warn us but we didn't want to listen. Now activate the purging routine before any more people get deleted!"
A few nanos later a large metallic box shot down from the sky and landed nearby the Mainframe Principal's Office. It opened up revealing a cloud of golden light, which expanded rapidly. The cloud spread all over Mainframe and Lost Angles covering every inch of the system. Any time it encountered anything even slightly viral it wrapped around it and deleted it. As a result three innocent people died. Mouse, Hexadecimal and Enzo however, survived, protected deep inside The Lair.
Lost Angles The Lair
Dr. Chandra stood up from her small stool and stopped her sewing when she saw Bob walking up to her. She looked cautiously at his wrist. The key tool was there, deciding to trust him she spoke "I'm just making some clothes for Hexadecimal out of the socks I found. You can see her in the vid window."
"What's she doing? Where is she?" asked Bob.
In a vid window the girl sat in front of a large organ playing a dark and complex tune. It conveyed the sense of fear and dread.
"This is musical therapy. I find that by expressing themselves with music, my patients have a safe and acceptable vent for their feelings. It also makes it easy to diagnose their mental state. She's just behind these doors."
"Dr. Chandra, it's all over. Can you leave us for a while? I need to talk to Hex alone."
Behind the huge double doors was a huge dark cavernous chamber. There were several alcoves and in each stood a musical instrument of each kind except for woodwinds. There on the farthest alcove sat Hex playing on the organ. She stopped and turned around as soon as Bob closed the door.
'Don't get up, I have something to tell you," said Bob as he walked up slowly up the stairs to where the organ stood.
Hexadecimal backed up as Bob came closer and closer. She couldn't make out the look on his face. He came right up to the girl causing her to press up against the keys. A clashing discord filled the room.
"You did it Hex, you're a hero. We were able to purge the system Megabyte is deleted," said Bob. "But there's something more Hex I need to talk about our relationship.
"All the time I've known you, I didn't realize how much I loved you. I always chased after Dot. No more I want you now," he said as he kissed her deeply.
She gave a small moan of pleasure. He kissed her again and again as his hands roamed her small body. She stopped him and asked, "Why?"
"You were willing to give up your life for me when I was down. Dot was weak Megabyte tricked her. You are most definitely not weak," by this time his hands had found her breasts.
"What about Mainframe and the rest of the Net?"
"I don't care about Mainframe. I care about us. As for the rest of the Net as far as they are concerned you are a hero. I want you Hex. I want you for my mate." He pressed up against the girl parting her legs.
"But I'm too young," she sighed as he kissed lower and lower.
"I can wait for you to become my wife but I can't wait for this," his hands went under her shirt getting ready to pull it off her.
She punched him causing him to fly across the room. He crashed through the doors. Bob shook his head slightly dazed.
The female virus loomed over him, shudder with rage. Her face set into a hideous snarl, "Megabyte you are a fool. Do you think I who have worn masks all my life wouldn't see yours?"
She kicked him viciously. At the far end of the corridor Dr. Chandra watched in horror at the fight. Bob's form shimmered and morphed, becoming Megabyte himself. The virus swung at his sister missing her. She pounced on him and started punching him over and over again like the virus she really was and not like the child she looked like.
Unnoticed by the battling pair the psychologist opened a vid window to the real Bob. "You better get down here now! Megabyte has found Hex and they are now fighting."
Megabyte somehow managed to throw his sister off of him sending her hurtling down the corridor. She landed beside the middle-aged sprite with a hideous thud. Dr. Chandra had to leap aside as Megabyte launched himself onto the girl. He licked his lips as he gripped Hexadecimal's shoulders ignoring the grey sprite. He should have paid attention to her.
Knowing full well that he could change form any time the shrink jabbed him with a needle full of tracer code. The virus screamed in rage and pain and he swatted Chandra aside as if she were a fly. He stood up and moved towards the doctor. Hex though dazed and weakened clawed at him trying to protect her new friend.
"Foolish old crone, I have killed countless sprites far stronger than you. I will make you pay for your impertinence. When I'm done with you you'll be begging me to delete you."
Just before Megabyte could reach Dr. Chandra Hexadecimal somehow summoned her aliases. They appeared surrounding Megabyte like they did with Mouse screaming and clawing at him. In the resulting confusion Chandra guided the distraught girl away.
A few micros later the Turbo, Bob and a small army stormed the lair. They found Dr. Chandra and Apple with Mouse, Hexadecimal and young Enzo locked in the infirmary. A long time ago Hexadecimal had decorated the infirmary in her own dark style but she wasn't basic. Which was good for Enzo for the boy lay on a cot surrounded by medical equipment all moulded in Hexadecimal's darkly baroque style. Obviously the boy couldn't be moved.
Turbo glanced at Hexadecimal rocking herself in a corner as Rom held the girl comforting her. She seemed dazed.
"What the happened here?" the Prime Guardian asked.
"Megabyte appeared as Bob and tried to rape Hexadecimal," replied Chandra.
"- And he kissed and touched me. I knew something was wrong but he told me all the things I wanted to hear," droned Hexadecimal. "Then I realized nothing ever happens the way I wanted it to." She withdrew into her own world continuing her horrible tale over and over again.
"I thought something like this might happen. Dr. Chandra did you mange to inject the tracer serum into Megabyte?" said Bob. "Yes? Good, then we can go with the next phase of the plan. All right men, I've given you each a homing device, which will allow home in on Megabyte. I want you to-"
"Sir! The signal's coming from right behind this door," said a binome guard.
Megabyte pounded on the locked doors trying to get in. The doors buckled and heaved inwards with each and every blow. Mouse unsheathed her katana. The soldiers pointed their guns at the door as Rom inched towards the back of the room. Then the pounding stopped as quickly as it began.
"That's strange according to my monitor Megabyte should be in the room," said the same soldier.
With a loud roar, Megabyte burst in through the air vent where Rom was standing and snatched the unfortunate doctor. Hex pulled at the doctor's ankles hauling him in, giving Mouse enough time to swing down her sword into Megabyte's arm. It bit deeply into the evil virus's arm. This time Megabyte howled with pain and let Apple go.
"That virus tried to delete me!" said Rom in a shaky voice.
"I'll take care of you my love," said Hex. Bob's heart sank a little when he heard this. He didn't know why but Rom replacing him in Hex's affections hurt. It shouldn't, he loved Dot. He should be glad that Hex had someone else to love.
By this time Turbo had formed a portal to the Mainframe Principal's Office. "None of us are safe here. Rom, do what ever it takes to move little Enzo safely into the portal. The rest of you follow! Move out! Lets go, Lets go, Lets go!"
Mainframe the Principal's Office
Little did they know that Megabyte followed them through the portal disguised as a common fly. He flew straight to the computer core and hid there biding his time. As a virus he could survive there.
Meanwhile in the battle room, Dot and Phong shot out orders to the staff to fortify as best they could the Principal's Office. When that was done Turbo turned to Mouse.
"Mouse get a fix on Megabyte, we'll bring out all forces and eliminate him once and for all," ordered Turbo.
Mouse's face blanched as she looked at the readings, "Turbo I've got bad news for you. Megabyte's gone, not even a trace."
"What do mean gone?"
"That's it gone, if he'd deleted or excreted the tracer signal, we'd still have a signal but we done even have that."
Bob swore under his breath, "Turbo, I'm taking Hexadecimal to Phong's office she'll be safe there."
A few nanos later, Bob led Hex in the office as Frisket and the kittens followed them in. The Guardian set her down on the couch. The room was decorated in orange and red tones in a rather funky ancient style right from the FORTRAN age.
" This is the safest place for you Hex. Here's some biscuits and cocoa. Frisket will protect you and you can play with the kittens. I'll lock the door behind me and I'll pick you up when it's all clear."
"How will I know its you?" asked the girl.
"Simple, Frisket will know me."
And so Hexadecimal played with the kittens awhile, ate five packets of biscuits and fell asleep. It spared her from some of the fear that was to come.
Giving the Guardians and their allies time to calm down, Megabyte reverted to his true form. He could survive there but not well. It was time to bring things to an end. Ruthlessly he smashed the power grid in the core cutting off the power to the Principle's Office. Now the hunt could resume.
All around the building sprites and binomes stopped their businesses and locked themselves away. At the battle room Turbo and Mouse passed out detectors to all the people capable of defending themselves. Dot stayed by her command consol to make sure that Megabyte would not be able to take over the building again.
In the infirmary Dr. Apple had a nurse to search for a light source while he watched over Enzo. He knew full well he could do nothing now for he had no light or power for his equipment.
Meanwhile Hex slept on the couch oblivious to it all. In the darkness Frisket stood on guard. A few milliseconds later she heard pounding on the door.
"Open up its me, Chandra," said the voice. "The power has been cut off I need a place to stay."
From the darkness Frisket growled.
"I'll open up if you answer one question. What's my favourite colour?" said the girl suspiciously.
"What sort of basic question is that?"
"Answer it!"
"Very well, red."
"Wrong answer, Megabyte! No way in Dell I'm opening the door for you."
Megabyte dropped his façade and roared in rage. He started pounding in the door. It wouldn't give. Hexadecimal slowly inched towards the back of the room. She tried using a vid window but there wasn't enough power. The pounding stopped as Megabyte tried to find an air vent to fly in through but Phong's room had filters to protect the occupant from any poisonous gases. It worked well for Trojan viruses too.
The pounding began again with more intensity. This time the door started to give. Frisket desperately searched the room for the switch to activate Phong's secret passages. Finally the dog found it. He pushed Hexadecimal to a wall panel, which spun round sending the girl into another room. This move bought her valuable time.
By the time Megabyte ripped open the door Hex was long gone and on her way to the battle room where Turbo and the others were holed up. So the Bat had left, well it appeared there was no way he could trick her. He needed to trap her. All he needed was bait and the virus knew just who to use.
The Battle Room
"Sir I'm not getting the tracer code but I am detecting a virus coming right for us," said a binome.
"Men get your weapons ready and fire on my mark," ordered Turbo. He signalled Bob to open the door to let in the virus.
When he did a white and purple form streaked right on in. It was Hexadecimal.
"Men hold your ground. Do not fire. I repeat do not fire. Hex what the Dell is going on?" said an angry Turbo.
"Megabyte tried to trick me again, He tried to break into Phong's office but I escaped," replied Hexadecimal.
"That's it I'm tried of hiding and running," said Matrix. "I'm going down to the power core and turn the power back on!"
"Matrix wait! You'll need back up," cried Bob. The Guardian than ran off to catch up to the renegade.
When Bob had finally caught up the renegade he discovered a terrible sight. Several soldiers had looked for Megabyte when the power went off. They had found him and Bob saw what was left of them lying on the corridor walls, their blood splashed on the corridor walls. That was not the most worrisome site.
By the ripped open core door Matrix looked dispassionately not in the least affected by the sight before him.
"Bob, Megabyte obviously hid here then destroyed the power grid. I can't go in it's too hot in there you need to go and repair the grid," said Matrix.
It took quite a while to repair the grid and when Bob was done the effects were immediate. The entire building light up and machines revved up and they came back to life. Some binomes tentatively poked their heads out wondering if it was now safe, those that did found out otherwise.
"Okay let's go back to Turbo and the others while we still can," ordered Bob.
"I can't believe you're so afraid. I'm not. I am going to hunt down and delete Megabyte myself!"
"Matrix don't be a fool, Megabyte's more powerful and ruthless than ever. Not even Turbo's is going after him alone and he's the most powerful Guardian I know. Come on, Hexadecimal is obviously the target Megabyte will come for her and when he does we'll be waiting for him."
The Infirmary
Rom heard a knocking at the infirmary door. Motioning to his nurse to open the door he asked who was it.
"It me Bob, we have to get to the battle room right away. Megabyte is on the loose you're not safe here," said the Guardian.
Through a crack in the door Apple looked down at Bob's key tool. Deciding to open the door he asked, "You'll have to help me move Enzo, I'm not leaving without him."
The crack was just large enough for the other man to stick his hand through and grab Rom's throat "Oh I think you will," he said in Megabyte's voice.
The Battle Room
"We've rounded as much as we could but there are several people missing, Enzo and Dr. Apple are among them," reported a binome.
""Sugah Ah've got even worse news. Megabyte's coming straight at us," reported Mouse.
"Mouse activate the highest level firewall around the battle room and men have all guns ready," ordered Dot.
"Doing so now, Megabyte's ten metres away, six meters, two, one, strange he should be in the firewall now," said a perplexed Mouse.
The main flaw with the scanners were that they tracked in two dimensions but there was another flaw as well in the firewall that Mouse set up it stopped at ground level. Megabyte in the form up a giant black skinned viral worm burst out from the ground into the battle room. He smashed the equipment, tore down walls and slashed at the survivors in his present form. The guards dared not fire he held Dr. Apple as a living shield with his many short tentacles. Turbo hurriedly took Hexadecimal's hand, ordered the men to fall back and ran out the battle room.
Megabyte reverted to his true form still holding a frightened Rom by his neck. The virus called out to no one in particular, "You know it's strange, you Turbo, are supposed to be the most powerful Guardian in the Net you held off Daemon herself but you cannot deal with a simple class 5 Trojan virus like myself, ironic."
Bob inched towards Dot on the other side of the room as Megabyte continued speaking.
"And another thing that I find ironic my sister, the basic little Bat was able to see through my disguise and even more surprising was able to keep her legs crossed too and after I gave her everything she wanted. Dot did you tell Bob about our prenuptial celebration? I didn't think so."
Tears streamed down Dot's face. Bob looked in disbelief at her. He shook his head as Dot tried to reach him tried to explain. She backed away to a safe corner Bob did not follow.
"Finally the Great Bob himself is a mere copy and a former mental patient. Maybe that's why my sister was attracted to you, a kindred spirit as it were, enough for now. Hexadecimal come out or I'll delete your new boyfriend
.
Mainframe the Principal's Office
They found "Enzo" in a small room just beside Dot's office. Bob signalled to the guards with him to wait just outside the door. The young Guardian walked up slowly to sitting form of Enzo. The boy was watching a very advanced read me file when Bob grabbed his shoulder and swung him around. The boy smiled nastily.
"Welcome Bob I've got a gift for you," said the boy in Megabyte's voice. The virus thrust out a two items: an organizer and a broken set of glasses. Both were covered in binome blood.
Cackling madly like his sister used to, the virus morphed into his true form and stood up. Bob instinctively formed an energy blade with his key tool. The sprite crouched down in defensive mode. Megabyte charged at Bob but the Guardian was ready for any attack. His blade sunk into Megabyte and the virus dispersed.
Bob screamed and swore like a virus. He contacted Turbo; "It was an alias, Megabyte's onto us. He could be anywhere and anyone. Meet me in the conference room with Hexadecimal and Dr. Chandra."
Mainframe The Conference Room
The last time Bob was in the conference room a mob of very frightened people filled the room and it stank with the smell of their collective fear. Now only six people were in the room but the place still stank with fear. The reason was the same as before, Megabyte.
Turbo got to the point very quickly, "Mouse is the communications array repaired? We don't have much time Megabyte could be anywhere and anyone!"
"Already done, what's your plan?" said Mouse.
"There's a purge routine that high ranking Guardians have access to in extreme situations such as this. It scans the entire system and eliminates any viral elements present in the system," replied Turbo.
"What about Enzo? Megabyte made him viral and Mouse?" asked Dot.
"My home is shielded against such attacks. We'll be safe there and I can recognize Megabyte in whatever form he takes," said Hex.
"Why am I not surprised? Very well Hex you go to your home and take Mouse, Enzo, Chandra and Apple with you. I'll personally tell you when we have the all clear," said Bob.
"How will we know if it's you," asked Chandra.
"Simple I'll have my key tool and one more thing," Bob then gave Chandra a hypo and trilled something in Webbish: a language both he and Chandra knew.
Mainframe and Lost Angles
Turbo discovered much to his relief, that the Guardian Headquarters had survived the riot that drove him and Hexadecimal away. At that very moment he spoke to his second in command a yellow skinned sour faced woman.
"Buttercup, can you by any chance activate purging routine 211?" asked the Prime Guardian.
"Yes but where are you anyway? The rioting stopped as soon as you left. What did you do?" she asked.
"I took the virus to Mainframe to help take in her brother but it didn't work. Megabyte is still free and has already deleted two people."
"Well what did you expect when you team up with a virus?"
"Hex tried to warn us but we didn't want to listen. Now activate the purging routine before any more people get deleted!"
A few nanos later a large metallic box shot down from the sky and landed nearby the Mainframe Principal's Office. It opened up revealing a cloud of golden light, which expanded rapidly. The cloud spread all over Mainframe and Lost Angles covering every inch of the system. Any time it encountered anything even slightly viral it wrapped around it and deleted it. As a result three innocent people died. Mouse, Hexadecimal and Enzo however, survived, protected deep inside The Lair.
Lost Angles The Lair
Dr. Chandra stood up from her small stool and stopped her sewing when she saw Bob walking up to her. She looked cautiously at his wrist. The key tool was there, deciding to trust him she spoke "I'm just making some clothes for Hexadecimal out of the socks I found. You can see her in the vid window."
"What's she doing? Where is she?" asked Bob.
In a vid window the girl sat in front of a large organ playing a dark and complex tune. It conveyed the sense of fear and dread.
"This is musical therapy. I find that by expressing themselves with music, my patients have a safe and acceptable vent for their feelings. It also makes it easy to diagnose their mental state. She's just behind these doors."
"Dr. Chandra, it's all over. Can you leave us for a while? I need to talk to Hex alone."
Behind the huge double doors was a huge dark cavernous chamber. There were several alcoves and in each stood a musical instrument of each kind except for woodwinds. There on the farthest alcove sat Hex playing on the organ. She stopped and turned around as soon as Bob closed the door.
'Don't get up, I have something to tell you," said Bob as he walked up slowly up the stairs to where the organ stood.
Hexadecimal backed up as Bob came closer and closer. She couldn't make out the look on his face. He came right up to the girl causing her to press up against the keys. A clashing discord filled the room.
"You did it Hex, you're a hero. We were able to purge the system Megabyte is deleted," said Bob. "But there's something more Hex I need to talk about our relationship.
"All the time I've known you, I didn't realize how much I loved you. I always chased after Dot. No more I want you now," he said as he kissed her deeply.
She gave a small moan of pleasure. He kissed her again and again as his hands roamed her small body. She stopped him and asked, "Why?"
"You were willing to give up your life for me when I was down. Dot was weak Megabyte tricked her. You are most definitely not weak," by this time his hands had found her breasts.
"What about Mainframe and the rest of the Net?"
"I don't care about Mainframe. I care about us. As for the rest of the Net as far as they are concerned you are a hero. I want you Hex. I want you for my mate." He pressed up against the girl parting her legs.
"But I'm too young," she sighed as he kissed lower and lower.
"I can wait for you to become my wife but I can't wait for this," his hands went under her shirt getting ready to pull it off her.
She punched him causing him to fly across the room. He crashed through the doors. Bob shook his head slightly dazed.
The female virus loomed over him, shudder with rage. Her face set into a hideous snarl, "Megabyte you are a fool. Do you think I who have worn masks all my life wouldn't see yours?"
She kicked him viciously. At the far end of the corridor Dr. Chandra watched in horror at the fight. Bob's form shimmered and morphed, becoming Megabyte himself. The virus swung at his sister missing her. She pounced on him and started punching him over and over again like the virus she really was and not like the child she looked like.
Unnoticed by the battling pair the psychologist opened a vid window to the real Bob. "You better get down here now! Megabyte has found Hex and they are now fighting."
Megabyte somehow managed to throw his sister off of him sending her hurtling down the corridor. She landed beside the middle-aged sprite with a hideous thud. Dr. Chandra had to leap aside as Megabyte launched himself onto the girl. He licked his lips as he gripped Hexadecimal's shoulders ignoring the grey sprite. He should have paid attention to her.
Knowing full well that he could change form any time the shrink jabbed him with a needle full of tracer code. The virus screamed in rage and pain and he swatted Chandra aside as if she were a fly. He stood up and moved towards the doctor. Hex though dazed and weakened clawed at him trying to protect her new friend.
"Foolish old crone, I have killed countless sprites far stronger than you. I will make you pay for your impertinence. When I'm done with you you'll be begging me to delete you."
Just before Megabyte could reach Dr. Chandra Hexadecimal somehow summoned her aliases. They appeared surrounding Megabyte like they did with Mouse screaming and clawing at him. In the resulting confusion Chandra guided the distraught girl away.
A few micros later the Turbo, Bob and a small army stormed the lair. They found Dr. Chandra and Apple with Mouse, Hexadecimal and young Enzo locked in the infirmary. A long time ago Hexadecimal had decorated the infirmary in her own dark style but she wasn't basic. Which was good for Enzo for the boy lay on a cot surrounded by medical equipment all moulded in Hexadecimal's darkly baroque style. Obviously the boy couldn't be moved.
Turbo glanced at Hexadecimal rocking herself in a corner as Rom held the girl comforting her. She seemed dazed.
"What the happened here?" the Prime Guardian asked.
"Megabyte appeared as Bob and tried to rape Hexadecimal," replied Chandra.
"- And he kissed and touched me. I knew something was wrong but he told me all the things I wanted to hear," droned Hexadecimal. "Then I realized nothing ever happens the way I wanted it to." She withdrew into her own world continuing her horrible tale over and over again.
"I thought something like this might happen. Dr. Chandra did you mange to inject the tracer serum into Megabyte?" said Bob. "Yes? Good, then we can go with the next phase of the plan. All right men, I've given you each a homing device, which will allow home in on Megabyte. I want you to-"
"Sir! The signal's coming from right behind this door," said a binome guard.
Megabyte pounded on the locked doors trying to get in. The doors buckled and heaved inwards with each and every blow. Mouse unsheathed her katana. The soldiers pointed their guns at the door as Rom inched towards the back of the room. Then the pounding stopped as quickly as it began.
"That's strange according to my monitor Megabyte should be in the room," said the same soldier.
With a loud roar, Megabyte burst in through the air vent where Rom was standing and snatched the unfortunate doctor. Hex pulled at the doctor's ankles hauling him in, giving Mouse enough time to swing down her sword into Megabyte's arm. It bit deeply into the evil virus's arm. This time Megabyte howled with pain and let Apple go.
"That virus tried to delete me!" said Rom in a shaky voice.
"I'll take care of you my love," said Hex. Bob's heart sank a little when he heard this. He didn't know why but Rom replacing him in Hex's affections hurt. It shouldn't, he loved Dot. He should be glad that Hex had someone else to love.
By this time Turbo had formed a portal to the Mainframe Principal's Office. "None of us are safe here. Rom, do what ever it takes to move little Enzo safely into the portal. The rest of you follow! Move out! Lets go, Lets go, Lets go!"
Mainframe the Principal's Office
Little did they know that Megabyte followed them through the portal disguised as a common fly. He flew straight to the computer core and hid there biding his time. As a virus he could survive there.
Meanwhile in the battle room, Dot and Phong shot out orders to the staff to fortify as best they could the Principal's Office. When that was done Turbo turned to Mouse.
"Mouse get a fix on Megabyte, we'll bring out all forces and eliminate him once and for all," ordered Turbo.
Mouse's face blanched as she looked at the readings, "Turbo I've got bad news for you. Megabyte's gone, not even a trace."
"What do mean gone?"
"That's it gone, if he'd deleted or excreted the tracer signal, we'd still have a signal but we done even have that."
Bob swore under his breath, "Turbo, I'm taking Hexadecimal to Phong's office she'll be safe there."
A few nanos later, Bob led Hex in the office as Frisket and the kittens followed them in. The Guardian set her down on the couch. The room was decorated in orange and red tones in a rather funky ancient style right from the FORTRAN age.
" This is the safest place for you Hex. Here's some biscuits and cocoa. Frisket will protect you and you can play with the kittens. I'll lock the door behind me and I'll pick you up when it's all clear."
"How will I know its you?" asked the girl.
"Simple, Frisket will know me."
And so Hexadecimal played with the kittens awhile, ate five packets of biscuits and fell asleep. It spared her from some of the fear that was to come.
Giving the Guardians and their allies time to calm down, Megabyte reverted to his true form. He could survive there but not well. It was time to bring things to an end. Ruthlessly he smashed the power grid in the core cutting off the power to the Principle's Office. Now the hunt could resume.
All around the building sprites and binomes stopped their businesses and locked themselves away. At the battle room Turbo and Mouse passed out detectors to all the people capable of defending themselves. Dot stayed by her command consol to make sure that Megabyte would not be able to take over the building again.
In the infirmary Dr. Apple had a nurse to search for a light source while he watched over Enzo. He knew full well he could do nothing now for he had no light or power for his equipment.
Meanwhile Hex slept on the couch oblivious to it all. In the darkness Frisket stood on guard. A few milliseconds later she heard pounding on the door.
"Open up its me, Chandra," said the voice. "The power has been cut off I need a place to stay."
From the darkness Frisket growled.
"I'll open up if you answer one question. What's my favourite colour?" said the girl suspiciously.
"What sort of basic question is that?"
"Answer it!"
"Very well, red."
"Wrong answer, Megabyte! No way in Dell I'm opening the door for you."
Megabyte dropped his façade and roared in rage. He started pounding in the door. It wouldn't give. Hexadecimal slowly inched towards the back of the room. She tried using a vid window but there wasn't enough power. The pounding stopped as Megabyte tried to find an air vent to fly in through but Phong's room had filters to protect the occupant from any poisonous gases. It worked well for Trojan viruses too.
The pounding began again with more intensity. This time the door started to give. Frisket desperately searched the room for the switch to activate Phong's secret passages. Finally the dog found it. He pushed Hexadecimal to a wall panel, which spun round sending the girl into another room. This move bought her valuable time.
By the time Megabyte ripped open the door Hex was long gone and on her way to the battle room where Turbo and the others were holed up. So the Bat had left, well it appeared there was no way he could trick her. He needed to trap her. All he needed was bait and the virus knew just who to use.
The Battle Room
"Sir I'm not getting the tracer code but I am detecting a virus coming right for us," said a binome.
"Men get your weapons ready and fire on my mark," ordered Turbo. He signalled Bob to open the door to let in the virus.
When he did a white and purple form streaked right on in. It was Hexadecimal.
"Men hold your ground. Do not fire. I repeat do not fire. Hex what the Dell is going on?" said an angry Turbo.
"Megabyte tried to trick me again, He tried to break into Phong's office but I escaped," replied Hexadecimal.
"That's it I'm tried of hiding and running," said Matrix. "I'm going down to the power core and turn the power back on!"
"Matrix wait! You'll need back up," cried Bob. The Guardian than ran off to catch up to the renegade.
When Bob had finally caught up the renegade he discovered a terrible sight. Several soldiers had looked for Megabyte when the power went off. They had found him and Bob saw what was left of them lying on the corridor walls, their blood splashed on the corridor walls. That was not the most worrisome site.
By the ripped open core door Matrix looked dispassionately not in the least affected by the sight before him.
"Bob, Megabyte obviously hid here then destroyed the power grid. I can't go in it's too hot in there you need to go and repair the grid," said Matrix.
It took quite a while to repair the grid and when Bob was done the effects were immediate. The entire building light up and machines revved up and they came back to life. Some binomes tentatively poked their heads out wondering if it was now safe, those that did found out otherwise.
"Okay let's go back to Turbo and the others while we still can," ordered Bob.
"I can't believe you're so afraid. I'm not. I am going to hunt down and delete Megabyte myself!"
"Matrix don't be a fool, Megabyte's more powerful and ruthless than ever. Not even Turbo's is going after him alone and he's the most powerful Guardian I know. Come on, Hexadecimal is obviously the target Megabyte will come for her and when he does we'll be waiting for him."
The Infirmary
Rom heard a knocking at the infirmary door. Motioning to his nurse to open the door he asked who was it.
"It me Bob, we have to get to the battle room right away. Megabyte is on the loose you're not safe here," said the Guardian.
Through a crack in the door Apple looked down at Bob's key tool. Deciding to open the door he asked, "You'll have to help me move Enzo, I'm not leaving without him."
The crack was just large enough for the other man to stick his hand through and grab Rom's throat "Oh I think you will," he said in Megabyte's voice.
The Battle Room
"We've rounded as much as we could but there are several people missing, Enzo and Dr. Apple are among them," reported a binome.
""Sugah Ah've got even worse news. Megabyte's coming straight at us," reported Mouse.
"Mouse activate the highest level firewall around the battle room and men have all guns ready," ordered Dot.
"Doing so now, Megabyte's ten metres away, six meters, two, one, strange he should be in the firewall now," said a perplexed Mouse.
The main flaw with the scanners were that they tracked in two dimensions but there was another flaw as well in the firewall that Mouse set up it stopped at ground level. Megabyte in the form up a giant black skinned viral worm burst out from the ground into the battle room. He smashed the equipment, tore down walls and slashed at the survivors in his present form. The guards dared not fire he held Dr. Apple as a living shield with his many short tentacles. Turbo hurriedly took Hexadecimal's hand, ordered the men to fall back and ran out the battle room.
Megabyte reverted to his true form still holding a frightened Rom by his neck. The virus called out to no one in particular, "You know it's strange, you Turbo, are supposed to be the most powerful Guardian in the Net you held off Daemon herself but you cannot deal with a simple class 5 Trojan virus like myself, ironic."
Bob inched towards Dot on the other side of the room as Megabyte continued speaking.
"And another thing that I find ironic my sister, the basic little Bat was able to see through my disguise and even more surprising was able to keep her legs crossed too and after I gave her everything she wanted. Dot did you tell Bob about our prenuptial celebration? I didn't think so."
Tears streamed down Dot's face. Bob looked in disbelief at her. He shook his head as Dot tried to reach him tried to explain. She backed away to a safe corner Bob did not follow.
"Finally the Great Bob himself is a mere copy and a former mental patient. Maybe that's why my sister was attracted to you, a kindred spirit as it were, enough for now. Hexadecimal come out or I'll delete your new boyfriend
.