Disclaimer: ReBoot created and owned by the folks at Mainframe Entertainment. End Disclaimer

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Author Note: 'Firewires' was suggested to me by the very smart Ebehr. Thanks!

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Queen of the Crashed

By

The 18th Angel (aka DaemonFan)

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Chapter 10- Undeleted Memory

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      The User dropped his bow as Bob flew toward him. Reaching down, he grabbed a huge hunting knife from his belt. Despite his best efforts, Bob couldn't twist out of the way in time. The knife slashed across his arm. Bob fell back, grasping the bleeding wound.

      "Megabyte!" He yelled. "What are you waiting for? Shoot him!"

      But Megabyte remained still. He made no move to lift his weapon. He merely grinned as the User pulled a small pistol out of its holster and took aim.

      Bob kicked out with one clawed foot. The force of the kick knocked the User back a short distance. Looking furious, the User got up and aimed his gun at Bob again, this time from far enough back to be out of range of Bob's claws.

      Before the User could pull the trigger, the ground began to shake. A huge fist slammed into the User as he struggled to keep his footing. The force of the punch threw the User into the air, slamming him against the stone wall behind the altar. An instant later, his body vanished.

      Bob stood up and took a good look at his benefactor. A huge, purple monster stood before him. Each of its four hands ended in massive fists, and its feet looked big enough to shake the ground just by walking.

      "ARE YOU ALL RIGHT, BOB?"

      "Clash?" Until the beast spoke, Bob hadn't noticed the two Icons on its shoulders. "Where did you come from?"

      "WE WERE COMPILED BY KILOBYTE AND DOWNLOADED TO MAINFRAME BY MEGABYTE THROUGH UNNOFFICIAL..."

      "He means how did you get in the Game, you idiots." Megabyte said.

      "YOU BE QUIET!" Clash snapped. "WE WILL DEAL WITH YOU LATER!"

      "The question still stands though." Bob said. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but how did you get in here?"

      "WE SAW THE GAME CUBE COMING DOWN. WE JUST BARELY MADE IT UNDER IN TIME. WE ENDED UP ON THE EDGE OF THE GAME."

      "Shouldn't the game be ending now?" Megabyte asked. "The User is dead."

      "Multiple lives." Bob said. "We have to kill him one more time. And then you and I are going to have a long talk!"

*   *   *   *   *

      All eyes in the war room were focused on the Game Cube resting halfway between G-Prime and Wall Street.

      "I'll never get used to this waiting." Welman Matrix said, piloting his robotic body closer to the screen.

      "I know how you feel, my friend." Phong said. "But it is certainly better than the old seconds."

      "That's true."

      "What do you mean?" Enzo asked. "What did you do in the old seconds?"

      "There wasn't really anything we could do." Welman told his son. "None of us new how to win the Games. All we could do was get out of the way and then rebuild the damaged sectors as quickly as possible."

      "Really? That's seriously default."

      "You worried?" AndrAIa asked Dot quietly.

      "I don't like having Bob in there alone with Megabyte." Dot said. "He may be a Sprite now, but he's still dangerous."

      "Clash is in there too." AndrAIa pointed out. "Megabyte won't try anything with him...them...around."

      "I guess." Dot sighed. "I just wish Matrix had made it in too."

*   *   *   *   *

      "WHERE WILL THE USER GO NOW?"

      "Your guess is as good as mine." Bob said, pushing layers of vegetation aside as he led his companions through the jungle. Behind him, entire trees fell as Clash's huge body cleared its own path. "He knows the Time Staff isn't at the altar anymore, so he might go anywhere looking for it. Or he might go looking for the keys, but with seven key points, the chances of us going to the same one he does are pretty remote."

      "So where does that leave us?" Megabyte asked.

      Bob sighed. "We have to find him before he finds those keys." He looked down to the keytool on his arm. "Glitch, can you find this level's keys?"

      Glitch clicked and whirred briefly.

      "I know they're hidden." Bob said. "That's why I need you to find them."

      Glitch's lens expanded into a small screen. Bob studied the readout for a moment and nodded.

      "It's this way." He said, changing directions and leading them deeper into the jungle.

*   *   *   *   *

      "Well those guys certainly did their jobs well." Bob said, searching through the thick vines and bushes that covered the forest floor.

      "Yes, and then they went and hid so we can't ask them where they put it." Megabyte said. "Things are looking rather grim here, Guardian."

      "Well I could take this moment to remind you that you had a chance to take out the User with one shot and you passed on it; but you know me, I don't like to nag." Bob said.

      "MAYBE IT IS UP IN A TREE."

      Megabyte rolled his eyes. "Brilliant thought. Tell me, how tall would a Binome have to be to reach even the first branch of any of these trees?"

      "Megabyte, either start helping us look, or shut up."

      "I was only pointing out the flaw in the big oaf's plan."

      "You're being a nuisance." Bob said. "Now either help, or zip it."

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      "How's it going?" Dot asked.

      "They seem to have reached an impasse." Phong said. "The Game's energy level appears to have stabilized."

      "What does that mean?" AndrAIa asked.

      "It means that neither team is doing anything that will bring the Game closer to an end."

      "In this case, I think no news is good news." Dot said. "At least it means all our people are safe."

      AndrAIa frowned. "Yeah but how long can they stay in the Game without doing anything?"

      "As long as it takes." Phong said.

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      "I can't believe they buried it." Megabyte said. "What were they thinking?"

      "Actually, it was a great idea." Bob said, brushing the last of the dirt off of the key. "Look how hard it was for us to find it, and we knew the general area to look in. The User might not have found it at all."

      "If you say so." Megabyte replied. "So now we just go stand somewhere and let him come to us, hmm?"

      "That's the plan." Bob nodded.

      "And how do you plan on getting his attention?"

      "Simple." Bob said. "We're going to overload your gun. This level is small enough that he'll hear the explosion no matter where he is. Then we wait and ambush him."

      "AND THEN WE TAKE HIM OUT." Clash finished for Bob.

      "Wait." Megabyte said. "My gun?"

      "Why not?" Bob grinned at him. "You gave up your chance to use it."

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      Megabyte stared at his weapon in dismay. Bob had dismantled the gun, no easy task with his thin, clawed fingers, and hooked the power cell into the beam emitter. As soon as the trigger was pressed, an endless loop of energy would run through the impromptu circuit, with disastrous results.

      "How long will this take?" He asked.

      "It's a standard energy weapon. Average power output at the maximum setting." Bob said, doing some quick calculations in his head. "It should only take a few nanos for the feedback loop to blow out the power cell."

      "THAT WILL NOT GIVE YOU VERY LONG TO GET AWAY." Clash said.

      "Don't worry. All this will really do is make a loud noise. The explosion itself is fairly small."

      Megabyte had already moved out of the way. Clash reluctantly joined him. Bob knelt down and pressed the trigger. A thin, electronic whine arose from the weapon, rising in volume and pitch as Bob turned to run. Before he made it three steps, the sound reached its apex and the gun exploded with a deafening *BOOM*. The explosion turned out to be slightly larger than he had planned. Bob was thrown through the air and slammed into the ground, knocking the breath out of him.

      Even before he began struggling to his feet, Bob heard the User approaching. He had to get up, because any nano now, the User would be in firing range.

      He didn't even notice the ball of blinding energy hovering over the spot where the gun had been, swiftly growing.

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      "What in the Net...?"

      No one had an answer for Dot. The largest power spike anyone had ever seen had just erupted inside the game.

      "What was that?" Welman asked.

      "Some sort of explosion." Phong said.

      "Was anyone hurt?" Dot asked.

      "It is impossible to tell."

      --WARNING! GAME CORRUPTION!--

      "Oh no!" Dot cried. "Not again!"

      "What is it?" AndrAIa asked.

      "An Infinite Data Else/If Loop." Dot said. "The whole game is about to collapse!"

      "So what happens to the people inside the game?"

      "If they're lucky, they'll have something heavy to anchor themselves on."

      "And if not?" AndrAIa demanded.

      Dot grimaced, but said nothing.

      "Dot!" AndrAIa pleaded.

      Phong spoke up. "If they cannot anchor themselves, they will be recycled along with the Game Data."

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      Bob tried to stand up, but he was still having trouble drawing breath. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a little voice was telling him that something was very wrong, above and beyond the User's imminent arrival. As soon as his head cleared, he intended to investigate this feeling some more. Just a few nanos to catch his breath...

      "BOB!" Clash called out. "LOOK!"

      Bob turned slowly and saw a huge, glowing orb floating over the wreckage of Megabyte's gun. As he watched in horror, the orb began to grow, drawing in energy from the Game in huge waves. Each wave doubled the size of the glowing sphere.

      --WARNING! GAME CORRUPTION!-- The System Voice, with its monotonous lack of emotion, couldn't begin to reflect the seriousness of the situation.

      "Guys." Bob said quietly. "Run!"

      Megabyte and Clash didn't wait for an explanation. As one, they turned and headed away from the quickly expanding Error as fast as their legs would carry them. Bob turned and headed after them, catching up in no time.

      "Head for those rocks!" He yelled, pointing to an outcropping of vine covered stone up ahead. "Hurry!"

      Behind them, the Data Loop had flattened itself from a perfect ball into a donut shape and now began to rotate with increasing speed. Small rocks began to drift toward the spinning disk. As the speed of rotation increased, larger rocks and boulders began flying through the air into the Error, where they were instantly vaporized. Eventually, the Loop gathered enough force to rip trees up by they roots. The entire Game world was being drawn into the singularity.

      Bob hunkered down behind the rock next to Megabyte and Clash. He took some small pleasure in the look of fear on Megabyte's face.

      "WHAT ABOUT THE BINOMES?" Clash yelled above the howling winds.

      "They probably hid in the mountains after they moved the keys! They'll be fine!" Bob yelled back. "I hope." He added quietly.

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      "The Game Cube is collapsing!" Phong said, pointing to the main screen. As they all watched, the Game Cube seemed to implode, folding in on itself, shrinking down to nothingness. Where the cube had been, on the roof of Megabyte's skyscraper, stood two sprites, a war bot, and half a dozen Binomes.

      "Casualties?" Dot asked, relief that Bob was safe flooding her voice.

      Welman checked the computer readout in front of him. "All system inhabitants accounted for." He said.

      Dot breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the User."

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      "Everyone okay?" Bob counted the Binomes around him, relieved to see that no one seemed to have been deleted. Everyone muttered affirmative responses; most of them still seemed to be in a state of shock.

      "Well." Megabyte said. "Good show all. I think I'll retire now."

      "Hold up, Megabyte." The ex-virus turned to him. Bob beckoned him back. "Come here a nano."

      "Going to have our little chat right now, are we?" Megabyte asked, walking over to where Bob stood. "Can't it wait a few..."

      Bob's fist lashed out and caught Megabyte across the chin. Megabyte's head snapped to the side but, to his credit, he remained standing.

      "Fine." Megabyte said. "I suppose it could be said that I deserved that, but..."

      But Bob wasn't finished yet. Reaching back, he threw a second punch. This time, Megabyte staggered backward a few steps, grasping his jaw. He looked up, furious.

      "Now that was just uncalled for..."

      Bob balled up his fist and slugged Megabyte yet again, finally sending the big Sprite to the ground. He stepped back, rubbing his fist lightly.

      "You want to try to get me deleted, fine. I'm used to that." Bob said quietly. "But if you ever find yourself in a Game again, you will not jeopardize our chances of success. Am I making myself absolutely clear?"

      "Crystal." Megabyte replied, wiping a trickle of energy from the corner of his mouth.

      With a nod, Bob hopped on his Zip Board and sped off toward the Principal Office with Clash and the Binomes in tow.

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      Megabyte watched Bob and his followers fade into the distance. He rubbed his aching jaw, glaring at the tiny figure of the Guardian.

      "You'll get yours, Bob." He muttered. "Sooner or later."

      A whole hour had gone by without incident. Games were seen by some, including the Guardian, as an almost welcome respite from the boredom of peacetime. Megabyte knew that Bob was becoming lax, overconfident. He was young, newly married, and full of himself. All these things put him off guard. If Megabyte didn't delete him, something else would come along to do the job for him. The Net was larger and more full of truly nasty things than Bob could begin to imagine, and sooner or later, he would run afoul of one of them.

      But for himself, Megabyte hoped that he would find a way to dispose of the Guardian first. It was as much a matter of pride as vengeance for trapping him in the form of a Sprite. Megabyte had had Bob in his crosshairs since the second of his birth. And when Megabyte set his sites on someone, they deleted. Period.

      And they stayed deleted.

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System of Powercell

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      Gray ran down the darkened alley, stumbling over his own feet in his panic. It wasn't very Guardian-like to turn tail and run, but his pursuer was more powerful than anything he had ever heard of. She didn't match any of the Virus profiles he had learned in the Academy or any of the new ones from the latest update. She wasn't behaving like a normal Virus either. She didn't seem interested in controlling the System or spreading her Code. She just wanted to delete Gray. And he couldn't imagine why. He hadn't done anything to the Virus, except for being a Guardian. He'd never even met her before!

      Pausing for a moment to catch his breath, Gray listened for the sound of approaching footsteps. The alley was silent. Maybe the Virus had lost his trail. Gray leaned back against the wall, trying to slow his breathing. There was a new Virus in the wild. None of the System's safeguards recognized it, and every method he had tried to isolate it proved ineffective. As an old friend from the Academy would have said, this was bad. Very bad.

      The sound of a match being struck drew Gray's attention. He gasped in shock. It wasn't possible, he had been alone, he would have heard footsteps. But the Virus was there nonetheless, her face illuminated eerily in the light of the match. She calmly lit a firewire, took a long drag, and shook out the match before turning her attention on Gray.

      "Running away is against the rules." She said, blowing a cloud of smoke in his face. "But then, you Guardians are a bunch of cowards, so I shouldn't expect too much."

      Gray stood his ground. If he couldn't get away from the Virus he might as well go down fighting.

      "Navi; Energy Ram!" His keytool extended a brilliant beam of energy. Gray swung with all his might, striking the Virus across her pretty face. Her head snapped to the side. The energy ram tore a small strip of skin from her cheek, revealing dark blue metal underneath. As Gray watched, the wound sealed itself, leaving flawless skin behind, with no trace of injury.

      "You're not strong enough to destroy me." She said. "It's a shame really. I've been itching for a good fight."

      "Navi! Viral Cocoon!"

      The Virus, was too fast for him. She leaped out of range of the deadly cocoon and came back at him with fists flying. Gray managed to knock her back with the energy ram, but he wasn't doing any damage. He needed to find a weak spot. The Virus looked like an ordinary teenaged girl, except she had no Icon. The only possible weak point he could see was a strange black jewel hanging from a chain around her neck.

      "Navi; narrow beam!" The beam struck the black jewel dead in the center. And the jewel absorbed it! He couldn't believe it, but the Virus was actually draining the laser's energy.

      Grinning ear to ear, the Virus stalked toward him, even as Navi began to run out of energy. She reached out and grabbed him, crushing his arm in her powerful grip.

      "Now don't go running that thing out of energy." She scolded him. "I'll be needing it."

      So that was it. That was why she wanted to kill Gray. She was after Navi; for what purpose, he couldn't begin to guess.

      "Navi; awa-"

      "Don't you dare!" She slapped a hand over his mouth before he could finish the command. She grabbed Navi and pulled her forcibly off of Gray's arm. "I'll just keep this someplace safe." She said, tucking Navi into the pocket of her jeans.

      "Now what shall I do with you?" The Virus wondered aloud, lifting Gray off his feet. "I know I could infect you. But I don't know if I could stand having a Guardian working for me."

      She lifted her free hand, grinning as razor claws erupted from her fingertips.

      "I guess we'll just have to go with plan 'B'."

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TBC