The Viral Guardian Series
Chapter 10: Water's Fall
Electra gazed sadly at the entrance to the Principal Office as Jareth strolled out, Viral once more. She'd just gotten him back, and now she'd gone and lost him again. Oh, well. Better an infected Jareth than no Jareth.
With a sigh, Electra turned and headed for her home. Once, she'd been able to fly effortlessly, or even teleport and be home instantly. But those powers had vanished along with her viral codes.
Though she could no longer teleport, the trip home seemed to pass in an instant anyway. She keyed open the door and strolled inside, looking around at all her possessions. Her eyes fell on the mantle: a picture of her and Jareth, taken at one of her birthday parties. Next to it, a golden mask, the one Daemon had created to replace Lore after Jareth corrupted him. It was that mask that had given her her powers to begin with....could it do so again? Last time, she'd been doused in some unknown chemical, and furthermore, her code had been mixed with viral programming taken from Jareth. She was an ordinary Sprite now...would it still work? Daemon had been about to use it on Turbo, and there was nothing viral about him, so maybe....
Electra siezed the mask from it's stand on the mantle and rose it to her face. Nothing happened.
Disgusted, Electra tossed the useless mask into the corner. Just her luck, the mask had been a single-use item. Oh, well. Maybe she could still get used to being normal again. After all, she'd been an ordinary Sprite most of her life. And it wasn't as if she had nothing. She still had her Keytool.
So quickly that she couldn't even think of reacting, silver tentacles snaked around her, binding her ankles, her arms at the elbow, and wrapping around her throat, restricting her air supply.
The three sleek, golden claws entered her from behind, tearing through her vital internal organs and emerging from her stomach. Shocked, Electra brought her hand to the wound, only to lacerate her fingers as well. She stared at the energy, disbelieveing, her fingers gradually going out of focus. With a shock just as wrenching as the first, the claws retracted, prompting a new welling of still more liquid energy. The tentacles withdrew, Electra collapsed, her energy spreading in a pool around her, staining the floor.
Megabyte smiled. The green viral skull on his chest was now rough and ragged-looking, his fingers themselves were now the razor-sharp claws. He was larger now, and everything about him seemed more imposing. Like Jareth and Hexadecimal, he, too, had been altered by the merger that had re-created Daemon.
The Virus leaned down and picked up the mask from where Electra had dropped it. It had struck the side of the stone fireplace, and deep cracks now ran all across it's surface, viscous blue energy leaking from each fissure. he looked from the mask to Electra, and, smiling sadistically, closed his fist, crushing the golden mask to fragments, letting them fall to the ground.
Her eyes blurring and her head light from loss of energy, Electra struggled to aim her Keytool. "BuBBleJet--Help."
* * *
Hexadecimal was gone.
Jareth sat in the spiderlike throne that his sister had once occupied, trying to come to terms with this fact. Gone. He'd never see her again. Mainframe was certain to get much more boring, now that she was no longer there. Not there. Not anymore. Gone. Well, one thing was clear: someone had to fill her shoes. Figuratively, of course, Jareth never could have fit into her stilletos, even if they hadn't been scattered along with the rest of her to the four corners of the Net. Did the net actually have four corners? That's what everyone said, but....
Jareth sighed. Even answering his own intruiging internal thoughts had lost it's appeal. It was as if his life had been a TV show, and that show was now no longer worth watching. Not without Hex.
A small object flew in through one of the Lair's windows, emitting loud bleeping noises. Jareth squinted at it. It was a Keytool, but not one he recognized. It's screen seemed divided down the center by a wavy line, just like Phong's Icon. The icon flew to him, and, to his surprise, settled on his right Bracer. His left bracer was already occupied, of course, by his own Keytool, Shark.
"Hello," Jareth said to the new Keytool. "What's your name?"
The Keytool didn't respond. It's screen glowed a depressing deep blue, as though it were sad about something, but it wouldn't talk to him the way Shark did on occasion. Oh, well...If it wanted to sit there and decorate his bracer, that was fine by him. It was pretty enough, and it did match his other one.
With a shrug and a sigh, the Viral Guardian rolled up his sleeve and put his head in his hands. He didn't manage to get much sulking done, however, before a VidWindow popped up alarmingly, as VidWindows are prone to do.
Electra had looked better, he decided.
* * *
"Are you certain, my child?"
"Yes, Phong. It was Megabyte who did this." Electra winced as the medical droid wound the bandage still tighter around her midsection.
"You were very lucky, My Child. His claws just barely missed hitting anything vital."
"Sure didn't feel like it."
"You have lost a great deal of energy," Phong continued, "but You should make a full recovery."
Phong turned to Jareth, who was standing alongside the medical platform on which Electra lay. "Are you the one who drove him off, my son?"
"Hmm? No, he was already gone by the time I got there. Just 'Lectra, lying in a pool of her own blood. Energy. Whatever."
"This is most peculiar. Why would a Virus attack, only to retreat from a dying victim?" The Medical droid, it's work done, retreated into it's alcove in the wall.
Jareth's mask switched to a curious expression. "'Lectra? Where are your Keytools?"
"My Keytools?" Electra rose her arms, but both bracers were bare. "Umm....."
"That must have been what he was after!" Phong exclaimed. "But why?"
"Maybe he wants to open a--"
"A portal to the net, of course! But a keytool would never obey a Virus! And the last we knew, Megabyte was in the Supercomputer. From there, he could access as many systems as he could ever want! Why return to Mainframe at all?"
Electra struggled to sit up. "Maybe he knew that Daemon would fail? Or at least suspected? After all, he's been up against Mainframe's defenses before. He knows how tough the defenders of this system are, even for a supervirus."
"And he wouldn't have wanted to remain in the Supercomputer once the Guardians were free from Daemon's infection. Makes sense," Jareth replied.
"We must find him, and retrieve BuBBle and Jet before Megabyte discovers a way to make use of their powers," Phong said. "If we fail, many systems will suffer."
* * *
Bob hovered in the sky above the Principal Office's ivory sphere, his polished chrome armor glinting in the daylight. His eyes were closed, and information from all over the System was pouring through his head. A small transfinite storage battery attached to his belt effectively eliminated the problem of draining his vital life force whenever he made use of his Keytool download....but it didn't seem to be helping his search.
Matrix flew up on his Zipboard. "Any luck, Bob?"
"None," Bob said, sounding worried. "The only Virals I can detect in the System are Jareth and Timesprite."
"Any chance he's already left the System?"
Bob shook his head. "Phong would have contacted me if any unauthorized portals had been opened. He must still be here....but where?"
A VidWindow opened in midair before them. There stood Phong, loking exited, but not concerned. "Matrix, my son...it is the most marvelous thing! Young Enzo was reaching into your father's tank, and...look!" Phong turned the Vidwindow on his side so that it faced a large, clear container. This was the tank in which they had been housing Nibbles, the small green Null that was all that remained of Welman Matrix. The Null was now perched on top of the tank, with Enzo leaning against it and frisket at his feet. Enzo's Icon seemed to have returned to normal, losing the red, black, and gold coloration that Hexadecimal had given it before her sacrifice.
The Null, despite not having eyes, seemed to look directly at Matrix.
"Matrix!" it said, in the warbling voice Welman had used before, when he had been composed completely of Nulls. "I have returned!"
* * *
"It is done," Phong said, tightening the last bolt on the large, golden automaton. It had four fully functional limbs and a torso, all it lacked was a head.
Wheeling over to the nearby desk, Phong gently picked up Welman the Null and placed him atop the mechanical body. The pliable Null assumed the form of a beaklike head, and began flexing his newfound limbs. "Thank you, old friend," Welman said, the circuits in the body stabilizing his speech so that it no longer warbled.
"Any time," Phong replied.
The doors slid open as Bob and Matrix strolled into the room.
"Hey, dad! You look great," Matrix said.
"Sorry, Phong. No sign of Megabyte anywhere in the System," Bob stated.
Phong bowed his head. "These are truly dangerous times, but it is difficult to feel sorrow when an old friend has just been restored to us."
The doors on the opposite side of the room slid open, and Electra entered, followed by Jareth.
"We did a complete search of the principle office, Phong," Electra reported. "Keytool sweeps and everything. No sign of him."
"Though I did find a keychain I lost back when I lived here," Jareth added irrelevantly. "Hey, who's the Null?"
"Jareth, this is Welman Matrix," Phong replied. "Welman, this is--"
"Dad! Nice to meet you at last," Jareth said, his mask switching to a grin.
"Don't call him that!" Matrix glared.
"I'm sorry?" Welman said, sounding a bit confused.
"When Daemon took your code, she did so in order to create a series of Viral offspring," Phong explained. "Jareth here integrated his own code with that of one of those offspring. Therefore, you are, in a manner of speaking, his father."
"I see. Well, then, it is a pleasure to meet you, Jareth." The mechanical limb shook hands with the Viral one.
"This isn't the time for this," Matrix scowled. "We have a Virus on the loose, a dangerous one. We should be looking for--"
Frisket's booming barks suddenly filled the room, and the large dog practically launched himself at Electra, fearsome jaws snapping, spittle flying. Matrix leapt forward just in time to grab the him by the collar and hold him back. As it was, the rows of teeth closed barely inches from Electra's face.
"Woah! Frisket! What's gotten into you?"
Electra took a large step back, looking quite worried, unsurprisingly.
"He's never acted this way before. Not to you," Jareth said.
"I know. I've known him for....for a long time...what do you think's wrong? Does he smell Megabyte on me?"
"Maybe," Matrix said. "If that's what it is, then he can get a whiff and lead us to him."
"Not if he eats me first!"
"She's got a point, Matrix," Bob said.
"Yeah, you're right. Frisket, down! Bad dog!"
Frisket whimpered, but backed down. But his hackles still rose every time he looked at Electra.
"Yeah, he definitely smells him on me," Electra said. Then she did a double-take. "Hey...what happened to his icon?"
"We are not sure exactly what Lens did, but my research into the ways of Codemasters indicates that the reward they most often give to those who have rendered them useful service is a wish," Phong replied.
"A wish?" Jareth asked.
"Yes, a wish. The icon holds the wish until it is used. Naturally, the wish cannot accomplish anything that a Codemaster could not accomplish, but it remains a remarkable gift. However, now is hardly the time to discuss such things."
"We need to find Megabyte," Bob agreed. "Matrix, can you have Friket identify his scent from Electra without tearing her apart?"
"Sure. We've done it lots of times before. He's never acted quite like this, though. Except one time....but that was when a Virus was disguising itself as a Sprite named Powerlock. He...."
Matrix broke off there, for Jareth was drawing a line across his neck. Jareth stopped abruptly when Electra, following Matrix's gaze, glanced back at him.
"I have an idea," Jareth said. 'Lectra, why don't we go and see Delk? Maybe she'll have something we can use to track Megabyte down."
Electra shrugged. "Sure, why not. I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?"
Several things happened at once. Jareth switched to a satisfied smirk. Phong's mouth fell open, and he wheeled back a few feet. Matrix and Bob exchanged glances, aware that something signifigant had happened but not sure what it was. Frisket let out an angry bark.
And Electra's entire bearing changed. "I see you've seen through my little act, Viral Guardian," Megabyte's voice said, coming from Electra's mouth, his inflection on Jareth's title making it sound like an insult. In a flash, the facade had been dropped, and Megabyte stood before them in all his Viral glory.
"You've gotten taller," Jareth commented.
Megabyte extended his tentacles and pinned Jareth to the wall. Matrix's Gun was in his hand, but with a single swipe of his arm, Megabyte knocked both him and Bob across the room, slamming them against the far wall.
Megabyte turned his attention back to Jareth. "I suppose this 'Delk' went offline some time ago? Or perhaps never even existed? No matter. I found I rather enjoyed making the lovely Electra's deletion slow and painful. No doubt yours shall be--"
Bob's blast of golden light blindsided Megabyte, knocking him away from Jareth, who slid to the floor, landing on his feet, a fireball forming in his left hand.
"Come now, Bob," Megabyte said, rising to his feet. "It's quite rude of you to interrupt a private conversation."
Matrix's gun was cocked, Bob's hands were raised, Jareth looked absolutely furious.
"Three against one are hardly sporting odds, either," Megabyte added. Rearing back his head, Megabyte spit forth a cloud of noxious green mist that stung everyone's eyes, blinding all in the room.
"Hey! That's cheating!" Jareth yelled.
"He's a Virus!" Matrix retorted.
Frisket let out a whimper.
The mist cleared, gradually, and so did the vision of the Sprites in the room.
"Whatever that was, it was very potent," Welman said. "It affected me, and I don't even have eyes."
"How did he do that?" Jareth asked. "How did he turn into Electra? And what did he do with the real Electra?"
"He said he deleted her," Bob said. "That explians why her Keytools were missing, he could never fool them. We were WAY off."
"Electra....," Jareth said.
"Oh, dear," Phong said. "Megabyte appears to have gained Trojan Horse abilities."
"Worse yet," Welman said, "In the interim we were all blinded, he could have become any one of us."
"Not so," Phong replied. "He could not have become YOU, Welman. Your body has no code, and therefore cannot be mimicked. You are the only person here who is above suspicion."
"Which means, it's up to you to decide," Matrix said. "What do we do, dad?"
"We find a failsafe way to unmask him. We know he is immune to our scans, And he is clearly an accomplished actor. The only mechanism that has successfully revealed him is--"
"Frisket!" Matrix said, grinning. "Sniff him out, boy."
Frisket lowered his nose to the ground and obediently began sniffing. After a moment, he crouched, his hackles raised and let out a low growl....directly at Bob.
"Me?"
Matrix raised his Gun, his (V) targetting lock directly over Bob's Icon. "The Jig is up, Megabyte. What have you done with the real Bob?"
"Probably the same thing he did to Electra," Jareth growled, his mask a vicious scowl of rage. "I say we barbecue him."
"But I'm not Megabyte!"
"Drop the act already! What have you done with him?"
"If he will not talk, then we shall simply lock him in the prison wing. Bob should revive the moment he drops his disguise," Phong said. He seemed as upset as Jareth at the prospect of Electra gone.
"And once we know where Bob is, we'll decide what to do with YOU," Matrix gestured with Gun. "Move."
"Matrix, it's me! I'm--"
A blast hit the wall just beside Megabyte/Bob's head.
"I said MOVE!"
He moved.
* * *
The gathering at the booth at Dot's Diner was a rather tense one.
"So Megabyte's a Trojan Horse now," Dot surmised. "As if he wasn't bad enough before."
"Bob should be okay," Matrix said. "Megabyte didn't have time to do anything really horrible to him. I just wish we knew where he stashed him. I mean, how many places are there to hide a full-grown Sprite?"
"There can't be that many," AndrAIa replied. "Has anyone tried searching the Principal Office?"
"We searched it for Megabyte, I guess we can search it again for Bob."
"Where's Jareth?" Dot asked. "We could use his help."
"He went to check Electra's house, to see if there was any sign of her."
"Electra's gone. He should just accept it," Matrix said. "Phong did a systemwide scan. No sign of her."
"She could be out of the System," Dot replied.
Matrix shook his head. "No signs of any portals opened since the one that brought Backslash and Kiren. Which makes me wonder...how did Megabyte get here?"
"He must have come with Daemon," AndrAIa guessed. "He's a Trojan Horse now, he could have been any of the people who came with her as her escourt."
"Back to the point: How can we find Bob if Megabyte won't drop his disguise?"
"Ray said he was bringin' a friend to visit," Mouse said. "Another Search Engine. Maybe he'll be able to help out a little."
"I think--" Matrix began.
"I thought I smelled something burning." Jareth materialized, perched on the countertop across from the booth.
"What are you doing here?"
"Who's Ray bringing?" Jareth asked, ignoring Matrix's unwelcoming inquiry.
"Someone he said he'd met in the Web," Mouse replied. "Said 'is name's Delta."
"Huh. New person. Sounds interesting."
"You have a reason for being here?"
"Just a thought. Meggy's caught, why doesn't he drop the act?"
"You'd know how a Virus' mind works better than we would," Matrix quipped.
"Damn strait, and here's what I've got: That's not Megabyte in that cell. It's the real Bob."
"Frisket pointed him out as being Megabyte."
"Maybe Meggy's getting better at that shapeshifting trick. Or maybe that goop he sprayed screwed with Frisket's nose."
"Or maybe you're just wrong."
"Maybe. There's an easy way to tell. Just go ask the Sprite in that cell a question only Bob would know the answer to."
Those at the booth traded glances. "That could work. But who--"
"Me," Dot said. "I'll ask.
* * *
Dot emerged from the detention center, her face trying to convey both concern and relief at the same time.
"It's him. It's Bob."
Phong raised an eyebrow. "Are you certain, my child?"
"Yes, I'm absolutely sure. Release him, Phong."
Phong rolled over to a console and keyed in the appropriate command, and moments Later Bob walked through the door. "Thanks, Phong."
"Say, what'd you ask him?" Mouse inquired.
Dot blushed. "Never you mind."
"Unfortunately, this leaves us back at square one," Phong said. If Frisket's sense of smell is not reliable, whhat else do we have?"
As if on cue, a shining silver orb appeared in the center of the room.
"There's your answer, Sugah."
Ray Tracer stepped out, Zurfbaud tucked under his arm, and after him stepped, to everyone's surprise, a strikingly attractive female sprite with lavendar skin and ridiculouly long, ridiculously yellow hair.
"Hello everyone," the stranger said. "I'm Delta. Delta Ree."
Mouse's jaw dropped.
* * *
"Wow. I've never seen Mouse give anyone that thourough a chewing-out before," Dot said, as she, AndrAIa, and Matrix left the Principle Office. Jareth followed, lagging behind.
"Me, neither," AndrAIa agreed. "How could he not have told her that Delta was a girl?"
"He said it never came up," Matrix defended. "Mouse never asked."
"Sparky, you don't just not tell something like that. Not unless you have a reason not to."
"What?"
"Why wouldn't Surfer tell her about that unless there were something going on between him and Ree?"
"Because it never came up."
"Oh, so if you had a female friend, and there was nothing going on between you, you'd tell me?"
"If you asked, or if it came up, yes."
"And if I didn't?"
"Then I probably wouldn't."
AndrAIa turned on Matrix. "How could you?"
"How could I what?"
"How could you not tell me?"
"Why would I not not tell you?"
"Because the only reason to not not tell me would be if there was something going on between you."
"What?"
"Female logic, Matrix," Jareth quipped. "It doesn't make any sense to them, either. Just smile and nod."
For once, Matrix couldn't argue.
"Anyway," Dot said, as the group continued walking, "I'll bet Ray was glad to get to work. It meant getting away from Mouse."
"Think he'll have any luck? I mean, if Keytools and scanners can't find Megabyte when he's in disguise...."
Dot stopped so quickly Jareth ran right into her.
"Dot? What--"
"I've got an idea." Dot removed her organizer from her belt and dialed up a pair of Vidwindows, one showing Surfer, and the other Delta Ree. "Okay, Search Engines, listen up. Megabyte can't be detected by any known scanner, so instead of searching for him--"
"Search for duplicate signatures of any one individual." AndrAIa finished, grasping Dot's idea.
Dot nodded. "Right."
There was a pause as Delta closed her eyes, scanning the interior of the P.O. Ray, hovering in the skies overhead, was probably doing likewise beneath his goggles.
"I've got nothing," Ray said finally.
"I do," Delta said. "There are two of the same Sprite here in the P.O. One's wandering the halls; the other's not moving."
"Where is it? The stationary one?"
"In one of the medlabs."
"That's where Megabyte attacked us," Jareth offered. "Where we think he copied one of us."
"And the only place he could have stashed his victim in time," Matrix added. he flung his Zipboard to the ground, hopping on as it developed from it's collapsed state to full size. "Let's get to that medlab."
* * *
Delta, Phong, and Welman met them at the entrance to the medlab. Delta led the way, arm extended. Finally, she zeroed in on the signal, pointing to a small cabinet beneath one of the lab tables.
Matrix scoffed. "Come on. None of us could fit in there."
"That's where the signal's coming from," Delta said. "There's no mistake."
Jareth shrugged. "Maybe Meggy broke whoever it was in half first."
Delta grinned. "That'd do it."
Phong moved forward, grasped the handle, and, sincerely hoping that he'd find a whole Sprite inside, drew the doors open.
There, lying in what appeared to be a very deep sleep, lay Frisket.
"Frisket?!"
"Afraid so. The Frisket wandering around the Principal Office is your Virus," Delta said.
"Explains why he singled out Bob," Dot added.
"So where's he going?" Jareth asked.
"Where else?" Phong asked, more than a hint of alarm in his voice. "The Core!"
* * *
Megabyte diligently searched the halls of the Principle Office, his four legs keeping up a steady pace. finally, he came to what he was looking for: a long hall that ended in a seeming dead end.
Looking behind him to make sure he was alone, Megabyte dropped his disguise, transforming from red-and-yellow dog to massive, Cobalt-blue virus.
"Lemon Drop," he intoned to the wall.
Nothing happened.
Megabyte sneered. Of course, Phong had gone and changed all the passwords. And now that he'd dropped his disguise, he couldn't resume it without touching that flea-bitten mongrel again.
As if things weren't bad enough, red lights started to flash and alarms began blaring. The security systems had registered his presence!
A number of cleverly hidden mechanical doors slid open in the walls, releasing a series of small discs. The discs spun through the air, bounced off the walls, and began racing down the hall in his direction.
Pucks from Phong's inane game, Megabyte remembered. He had once set this very security system upon Bob, but the spry Guardian had weaseled his way through. Well, if Bob could escape this situation, then so could he.
Flinging his silver, pencil-thin tentacles down the narrow corridor, Megabyte grabbed several of the discs from behind and flung them in the opposite direction. They flew for a bit, then slowed, reversed, and finally turned about altogether and back towards him. That's right...energy-seeking.
Megabyte's eyes narrowed as the pucks approached, gaining speed, gaining momentum....then, at the last possible moment, he calmly stepped aside. Unable to stop or change direction in time, the pucks collided with the wall that blocked the entrance to the Core.
The explosion, while not terribly powerful, had a great deal of force when focused through the narrow hallway. Megabyte found himself thrown down the coridore, and was able to land more or less on his feet.
Before him, laid bare, was the Core Room.
"Megabyte."
Megabyte sighed. Only one voice in Mainframe was full of that much angst. He turned, and sure enough, there stood Matrix, his toy gun leveled at the Virus' head.
"Must we play this game yet again, Boy?"
Matrix fired. The energy blast shot forth, bridging the distance between them...and Megabyte caught it as though it were nothing more than a baseball.
With a backhanded swing, Megabyte flung the energy ball, which sailed through the air in the direction of Matrix's chest....only to splash harmlessly against a wall of blue force that sealed itself over the hall.
Behind Matrix, others had assembled. The Surfer was there, as was Bob, Jareth, and another Sprite Megabyte didn't immediately recognize, a purple one with yellow hair. Ray Tracer's hand was raised, glowing faintly blue. Megabyte turned and prepared to dive into the Core, to tap into it's vast energy, but found himself balked by a similar wall, this one purple.
"It's over, Megabyte," Bob said. "You've lost."
Megabyte smiled. "Oh, this is far from over, Guardian." The Virus opened his mouth and issued forth a blast of noxious green mist, just like before. This time it was contained by Surfer and Delta's force fields, but it effectively obscured the Virus' movements.
"What's he doing?" Jareth asked.
"Nothing good," Matrix growled. "Surfer, drop the wall."
The nimbus of blue light around Ray's hand faded, and his force field did likewise. The green mist had begun to dissipat.
"Gun -- projectile mode." Matrix strode forward, Gun raised, until he was lost in the fog.
"He's gone!" Gone again!"
Sure enough, Megabyte was gone.
As the last of the mist faded, Bob stepped forward. "How? We had him trapped."
Jareth nodded toward a corner where the wall met the floor. There was a sizable hole, apparently the wall and floor had been eaten through by some sort of acid. "That answer your question?"
"He's moving," Ray said, tracking him. "He's heading for...." Ray paused, then shook his head. "He's gone."
"And no sign of any duplicate signatures," Delta added. "Nothing ever works twice, does it?"
"Most things don't even work once," Jareth said. "He's a clever one."
Bob gazed at the etched hole in the wall. "And now, he's loose. Loose in Mainframe."
* * *
With uncommon patience, Jareth held the final piece of the golden mask in place, waiting for the glue to set. Finally, the mask was whole, or as whole as he could make it. A few pieces were missing altogether, either ground to dust or simply lost, and the entire surface was still covered with a network of fine cracks.
Frisket watched throughout the entire procedure, sometimes bringing him fragments that had found themselves on other sides of the room, sometimes simply staring, watching the glue set.
Finally, without making a sound, Jareth rose to his feet, strode over to the fireplace, and placed the mask carefully on it's stand upon the mantle. It glittered in the glow from the overhead lights, and was a beautiful work of art despite the cracks. Jareth let out a small sigh, then turned and left the house.
Frisket followed. He paused at the door, turned, at gazed forlornly at the mask. The large dog let out a small whimper, then he, too, left the house.
The lights turned themselves off automatically once all motion in Electra's house ceased, but a few flecks of light could still be seen from the mantle. A tiny blue spark travelled along each crack in the golden mask, the fissure slowly closing behind it as it went.
To be Continued in Chapter 11: Chu's Tale
Chapter 10: Water's Fall
Electra gazed sadly at the entrance to the Principal Office as Jareth strolled out, Viral once more. She'd just gotten him back, and now she'd gone and lost him again. Oh, well. Better an infected Jareth than no Jareth.
With a sigh, Electra turned and headed for her home. Once, she'd been able to fly effortlessly, or even teleport and be home instantly. But those powers had vanished along with her viral codes.
Though she could no longer teleport, the trip home seemed to pass in an instant anyway. She keyed open the door and strolled inside, looking around at all her possessions. Her eyes fell on the mantle: a picture of her and Jareth, taken at one of her birthday parties. Next to it, a golden mask, the one Daemon had created to replace Lore after Jareth corrupted him. It was that mask that had given her her powers to begin with....could it do so again? Last time, she'd been doused in some unknown chemical, and furthermore, her code had been mixed with viral programming taken from Jareth. She was an ordinary Sprite now...would it still work? Daemon had been about to use it on Turbo, and there was nothing viral about him, so maybe....
Electra siezed the mask from it's stand on the mantle and rose it to her face. Nothing happened.
Disgusted, Electra tossed the useless mask into the corner. Just her luck, the mask had been a single-use item. Oh, well. Maybe she could still get used to being normal again. After all, she'd been an ordinary Sprite most of her life. And it wasn't as if she had nothing. She still had her Keytool.
So quickly that she couldn't even think of reacting, silver tentacles snaked around her, binding her ankles, her arms at the elbow, and wrapping around her throat, restricting her air supply.
The three sleek, golden claws entered her from behind, tearing through her vital internal organs and emerging from her stomach. Shocked, Electra brought her hand to the wound, only to lacerate her fingers as well. She stared at the energy, disbelieveing, her fingers gradually going out of focus. With a shock just as wrenching as the first, the claws retracted, prompting a new welling of still more liquid energy. The tentacles withdrew, Electra collapsed, her energy spreading in a pool around her, staining the floor.
Megabyte smiled. The green viral skull on his chest was now rough and ragged-looking, his fingers themselves were now the razor-sharp claws. He was larger now, and everything about him seemed more imposing. Like Jareth and Hexadecimal, he, too, had been altered by the merger that had re-created Daemon.
The Virus leaned down and picked up the mask from where Electra had dropped it. It had struck the side of the stone fireplace, and deep cracks now ran all across it's surface, viscous blue energy leaking from each fissure. he looked from the mask to Electra, and, smiling sadistically, closed his fist, crushing the golden mask to fragments, letting them fall to the ground.
Her eyes blurring and her head light from loss of energy, Electra struggled to aim her Keytool. "BuBBleJet--Help."
* * *
Hexadecimal was gone.
Jareth sat in the spiderlike throne that his sister had once occupied, trying to come to terms with this fact. Gone. He'd never see her again. Mainframe was certain to get much more boring, now that she was no longer there. Not there. Not anymore. Gone. Well, one thing was clear: someone had to fill her shoes. Figuratively, of course, Jareth never could have fit into her stilletos, even if they hadn't been scattered along with the rest of her to the four corners of the Net. Did the net actually have four corners? That's what everyone said, but....
Jareth sighed. Even answering his own intruiging internal thoughts had lost it's appeal. It was as if his life had been a TV show, and that show was now no longer worth watching. Not without Hex.
A small object flew in through one of the Lair's windows, emitting loud bleeping noises. Jareth squinted at it. It was a Keytool, but not one he recognized. It's screen seemed divided down the center by a wavy line, just like Phong's Icon. The icon flew to him, and, to his surprise, settled on his right Bracer. His left bracer was already occupied, of course, by his own Keytool, Shark.
"Hello," Jareth said to the new Keytool. "What's your name?"
The Keytool didn't respond. It's screen glowed a depressing deep blue, as though it were sad about something, but it wouldn't talk to him the way Shark did on occasion. Oh, well...If it wanted to sit there and decorate his bracer, that was fine by him. It was pretty enough, and it did match his other one.
With a shrug and a sigh, the Viral Guardian rolled up his sleeve and put his head in his hands. He didn't manage to get much sulking done, however, before a VidWindow popped up alarmingly, as VidWindows are prone to do.
Electra had looked better, he decided.
* * *
"Are you certain, my child?"
"Yes, Phong. It was Megabyte who did this." Electra winced as the medical droid wound the bandage still tighter around her midsection.
"You were very lucky, My Child. His claws just barely missed hitting anything vital."
"Sure didn't feel like it."
"You have lost a great deal of energy," Phong continued, "but You should make a full recovery."
Phong turned to Jareth, who was standing alongside the medical platform on which Electra lay. "Are you the one who drove him off, my son?"
"Hmm? No, he was already gone by the time I got there. Just 'Lectra, lying in a pool of her own blood. Energy. Whatever."
"This is most peculiar. Why would a Virus attack, only to retreat from a dying victim?" The Medical droid, it's work done, retreated into it's alcove in the wall.
Jareth's mask switched to a curious expression. "'Lectra? Where are your Keytools?"
"My Keytools?" Electra rose her arms, but both bracers were bare. "Umm....."
"That must have been what he was after!" Phong exclaimed. "But why?"
"Maybe he wants to open a--"
"A portal to the net, of course! But a keytool would never obey a Virus! And the last we knew, Megabyte was in the Supercomputer. From there, he could access as many systems as he could ever want! Why return to Mainframe at all?"
Electra struggled to sit up. "Maybe he knew that Daemon would fail? Or at least suspected? After all, he's been up against Mainframe's defenses before. He knows how tough the defenders of this system are, even for a supervirus."
"And he wouldn't have wanted to remain in the Supercomputer once the Guardians were free from Daemon's infection. Makes sense," Jareth replied.
"We must find him, and retrieve BuBBle and Jet before Megabyte discovers a way to make use of their powers," Phong said. "If we fail, many systems will suffer."
* * *
Bob hovered in the sky above the Principal Office's ivory sphere, his polished chrome armor glinting in the daylight. His eyes were closed, and information from all over the System was pouring through his head. A small transfinite storage battery attached to his belt effectively eliminated the problem of draining his vital life force whenever he made use of his Keytool download....but it didn't seem to be helping his search.
Matrix flew up on his Zipboard. "Any luck, Bob?"
"None," Bob said, sounding worried. "The only Virals I can detect in the System are Jareth and Timesprite."
"Any chance he's already left the System?"
Bob shook his head. "Phong would have contacted me if any unauthorized portals had been opened. He must still be here....but where?"
A VidWindow opened in midair before them. There stood Phong, loking exited, but not concerned. "Matrix, my son...it is the most marvelous thing! Young Enzo was reaching into your father's tank, and...look!" Phong turned the Vidwindow on his side so that it faced a large, clear container. This was the tank in which they had been housing Nibbles, the small green Null that was all that remained of Welman Matrix. The Null was now perched on top of the tank, with Enzo leaning against it and frisket at his feet. Enzo's Icon seemed to have returned to normal, losing the red, black, and gold coloration that Hexadecimal had given it before her sacrifice.
The Null, despite not having eyes, seemed to look directly at Matrix.
"Matrix!" it said, in the warbling voice Welman had used before, when he had been composed completely of Nulls. "I have returned!"
* * *
"It is done," Phong said, tightening the last bolt on the large, golden automaton. It had four fully functional limbs and a torso, all it lacked was a head.
Wheeling over to the nearby desk, Phong gently picked up Welman the Null and placed him atop the mechanical body. The pliable Null assumed the form of a beaklike head, and began flexing his newfound limbs. "Thank you, old friend," Welman said, the circuits in the body stabilizing his speech so that it no longer warbled.
"Any time," Phong replied.
The doors slid open as Bob and Matrix strolled into the room.
"Hey, dad! You look great," Matrix said.
"Sorry, Phong. No sign of Megabyte anywhere in the System," Bob stated.
Phong bowed his head. "These are truly dangerous times, but it is difficult to feel sorrow when an old friend has just been restored to us."
The doors on the opposite side of the room slid open, and Electra entered, followed by Jareth.
"We did a complete search of the principle office, Phong," Electra reported. "Keytool sweeps and everything. No sign of him."
"Though I did find a keychain I lost back when I lived here," Jareth added irrelevantly. "Hey, who's the Null?"
"Jareth, this is Welman Matrix," Phong replied. "Welman, this is--"
"Dad! Nice to meet you at last," Jareth said, his mask switching to a grin.
"Don't call him that!" Matrix glared.
"I'm sorry?" Welman said, sounding a bit confused.
"When Daemon took your code, she did so in order to create a series of Viral offspring," Phong explained. "Jareth here integrated his own code with that of one of those offspring. Therefore, you are, in a manner of speaking, his father."
"I see. Well, then, it is a pleasure to meet you, Jareth." The mechanical limb shook hands with the Viral one.
"This isn't the time for this," Matrix scowled. "We have a Virus on the loose, a dangerous one. We should be looking for--"
Frisket's booming barks suddenly filled the room, and the large dog practically launched himself at Electra, fearsome jaws snapping, spittle flying. Matrix leapt forward just in time to grab the him by the collar and hold him back. As it was, the rows of teeth closed barely inches from Electra's face.
"Woah! Frisket! What's gotten into you?"
Electra took a large step back, looking quite worried, unsurprisingly.
"He's never acted this way before. Not to you," Jareth said.
"I know. I've known him for....for a long time...what do you think's wrong? Does he smell Megabyte on me?"
"Maybe," Matrix said. "If that's what it is, then he can get a whiff and lead us to him."
"Not if he eats me first!"
"She's got a point, Matrix," Bob said.
"Yeah, you're right. Frisket, down! Bad dog!"
Frisket whimpered, but backed down. But his hackles still rose every time he looked at Electra.
"Yeah, he definitely smells him on me," Electra said. Then she did a double-take. "Hey...what happened to his icon?"
"We are not sure exactly what Lens did, but my research into the ways of Codemasters indicates that the reward they most often give to those who have rendered them useful service is a wish," Phong replied.
"A wish?" Jareth asked.
"Yes, a wish. The icon holds the wish until it is used. Naturally, the wish cannot accomplish anything that a Codemaster could not accomplish, but it remains a remarkable gift. However, now is hardly the time to discuss such things."
"We need to find Megabyte," Bob agreed. "Matrix, can you have Friket identify his scent from Electra without tearing her apart?"
"Sure. We've done it lots of times before. He's never acted quite like this, though. Except one time....but that was when a Virus was disguising itself as a Sprite named Powerlock. He...."
Matrix broke off there, for Jareth was drawing a line across his neck. Jareth stopped abruptly when Electra, following Matrix's gaze, glanced back at him.
"I have an idea," Jareth said. 'Lectra, why don't we go and see Delk? Maybe she'll have something we can use to track Megabyte down."
Electra shrugged. "Sure, why not. I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?"
Several things happened at once. Jareth switched to a satisfied smirk. Phong's mouth fell open, and he wheeled back a few feet. Matrix and Bob exchanged glances, aware that something signifigant had happened but not sure what it was. Frisket let out an angry bark.
And Electra's entire bearing changed. "I see you've seen through my little act, Viral Guardian," Megabyte's voice said, coming from Electra's mouth, his inflection on Jareth's title making it sound like an insult. In a flash, the facade had been dropped, and Megabyte stood before them in all his Viral glory.
"You've gotten taller," Jareth commented.
Megabyte extended his tentacles and pinned Jareth to the wall. Matrix's Gun was in his hand, but with a single swipe of his arm, Megabyte knocked both him and Bob across the room, slamming them against the far wall.
Megabyte turned his attention back to Jareth. "I suppose this 'Delk' went offline some time ago? Or perhaps never even existed? No matter. I found I rather enjoyed making the lovely Electra's deletion slow and painful. No doubt yours shall be--"
Bob's blast of golden light blindsided Megabyte, knocking him away from Jareth, who slid to the floor, landing on his feet, a fireball forming in his left hand.
"Come now, Bob," Megabyte said, rising to his feet. "It's quite rude of you to interrupt a private conversation."
Matrix's gun was cocked, Bob's hands were raised, Jareth looked absolutely furious.
"Three against one are hardly sporting odds, either," Megabyte added. Rearing back his head, Megabyte spit forth a cloud of noxious green mist that stung everyone's eyes, blinding all in the room.
"Hey! That's cheating!" Jareth yelled.
"He's a Virus!" Matrix retorted.
Frisket let out a whimper.
The mist cleared, gradually, and so did the vision of the Sprites in the room.
"Whatever that was, it was very potent," Welman said. "It affected me, and I don't even have eyes."
"How did he do that?" Jareth asked. "How did he turn into Electra? And what did he do with the real Electra?"
"He said he deleted her," Bob said. "That explians why her Keytools were missing, he could never fool them. We were WAY off."
"Electra....," Jareth said.
"Oh, dear," Phong said. "Megabyte appears to have gained Trojan Horse abilities."
"Worse yet," Welman said, "In the interim we were all blinded, he could have become any one of us."
"Not so," Phong replied. "He could not have become YOU, Welman. Your body has no code, and therefore cannot be mimicked. You are the only person here who is above suspicion."
"Which means, it's up to you to decide," Matrix said. "What do we do, dad?"
"We find a failsafe way to unmask him. We know he is immune to our scans, And he is clearly an accomplished actor. The only mechanism that has successfully revealed him is--"
"Frisket!" Matrix said, grinning. "Sniff him out, boy."
Frisket lowered his nose to the ground and obediently began sniffing. After a moment, he crouched, his hackles raised and let out a low growl....directly at Bob.
"Me?"
Matrix raised his Gun, his (V) targetting lock directly over Bob's Icon. "The Jig is up, Megabyte. What have you done with the real Bob?"
"Probably the same thing he did to Electra," Jareth growled, his mask a vicious scowl of rage. "I say we barbecue him."
"But I'm not Megabyte!"
"Drop the act already! What have you done with him?"
"If he will not talk, then we shall simply lock him in the prison wing. Bob should revive the moment he drops his disguise," Phong said. He seemed as upset as Jareth at the prospect of Electra gone.
"And once we know where Bob is, we'll decide what to do with YOU," Matrix gestured with Gun. "Move."
"Matrix, it's me! I'm--"
A blast hit the wall just beside Megabyte/Bob's head.
"I said MOVE!"
He moved.
* * *
The gathering at the booth at Dot's Diner was a rather tense one.
"So Megabyte's a Trojan Horse now," Dot surmised. "As if he wasn't bad enough before."
"Bob should be okay," Matrix said. "Megabyte didn't have time to do anything really horrible to him. I just wish we knew where he stashed him. I mean, how many places are there to hide a full-grown Sprite?"
"There can't be that many," AndrAIa replied. "Has anyone tried searching the Principal Office?"
"We searched it for Megabyte, I guess we can search it again for Bob."
"Where's Jareth?" Dot asked. "We could use his help."
"He went to check Electra's house, to see if there was any sign of her."
"Electra's gone. He should just accept it," Matrix said. "Phong did a systemwide scan. No sign of her."
"She could be out of the System," Dot replied.
Matrix shook his head. "No signs of any portals opened since the one that brought Backslash and Kiren. Which makes me wonder...how did Megabyte get here?"
"He must have come with Daemon," AndrAIa guessed. "He's a Trojan Horse now, he could have been any of the people who came with her as her escourt."
"Back to the point: How can we find Bob if Megabyte won't drop his disguise?"
"Ray said he was bringin' a friend to visit," Mouse said. "Another Search Engine. Maybe he'll be able to help out a little."
"I think--" Matrix began.
"I thought I smelled something burning." Jareth materialized, perched on the countertop across from the booth.
"What are you doing here?"
"Who's Ray bringing?" Jareth asked, ignoring Matrix's unwelcoming inquiry.
"Someone he said he'd met in the Web," Mouse replied. "Said 'is name's Delta."
"Huh. New person. Sounds interesting."
"You have a reason for being here?"
"Just a thought. Meggy's caught, why doesn't he drop the act?"
"You'd know how a Virus' mind works better than we would," Matrix quipped.
"Damn strait, and here's what I've got: That's not Megabyte in that cell. It's the real Bob."
"Frisket pointed him out as being Megabyte."
"Maybe Meggy's getting better at that shapeshifting trick. Or maybe that goop he sprayed screwed with Frisket's nose."
"Or maybe you're just wrong."
"Maybe. There's an easy way to tell. Just go ask the Sprite in that cell a question only Bob would know the answer to."
Those at the booth traded glances. "That could work. But who--"
"Me," Dot said. "I'll ask.
* * *
Dot emerged from the detention center, her face trying to convey both concern and relief at the same time.
"It's him. It's Bob."
Phong raised an eyebrow. "Are you certain, my child?"
"Yes, I'm absolutely sure. Release him, Phong."
Phong rolled over to a console and keyed in the appropriate command, and moments Later Bob walked through the door. "Thanks, Phong."
"Say, what'd you ask him?" Mouse inquired.
Dot blushed. "Never you mind."
"Unfortunately, this leaves us back at square one," Phong said. If Frisket's sense of smell is not reliable, whhat else do we have?"
As if on cue, a shining silver orb appeared in the center of the room.
"There's your answer, Sugah."
Ray Tracer stepped out, Zurfbaud tucked under his arm, and after him stepped, to everyone's surprise, a strikingly attractive female sprite with lavendar skin and ridiculouly long, ridiculously yellow hair.
"Hello everyone," the stranger said. "I'm Delta. Delta Ree."
Mouse's jaw dropped.
* * *
"Wow. I've never seen Mouse give anyone that thourough a chewing-out before," Dot said, as she, AndrAIa, and Matrix left the Principle Office. Jareth followed, lagging behind.
"Me, neither," AndrAIa agreed. "How could he not have told her that Delta was a girl?"
"He said it never came up," Matrix defended. "Mouse never asked."
"Sparky, you don't just not tell something like that. Not unless you have a reason not to."
"What?"
"Why wouldn't Surfer tell her about that unless there were something going on between him and Ree?"
"Because it never came up."
"Oh, so if you had a female friend, and there was nothing going on between you, you'd tell me?"
"If you asked, or if it came up, yes."
"And if I didn't?"
"Then I probably wouldn't."
AndrAIa turned on Matrix. "How could you?"
"How could I what?"
"How could you not tell me?"
"Why would I not not tell you?"
"Because the only reason to not not tell me would be if there was something going on between you."
"What?"
"Female logic, Matrix," Jareth quipped. "It doesn't make any sense to them, either. Just smile and nod."
For once, Matrix couldn't argue.
"Anyway," Dot said, as the group continued walking, "I'll bet Ray was glad to get to work. It meant getting away from Mouse."
"Think he'll have any luck? I mean, if Keytools and scanners can't find Megabyte when he's in disguise...."
Dot stopped so quickly Jareth ran right into her.
"Dot? What--"
"I've got an idea." Dot removed her organizer from her belt and dialed up a pair of Vidwindows, one showing Surfer, and the other Delta Ree. "Okay, Search Engines, listen up. Megabyte can't be detected by any known scanner, so instead of searching for him--"
"Search for duplicate signatures of any one individual." AndrAIa finished, grasping Dot's idea.
Dot nodded. "Right."
There was a pause as Delta closed her eyes, scanning the interior of the P.O. Ray, hovering in the skies overhead, was probably doing likewise beneath his goggles.
"I've got nothing," Ray said finally.
"I do," Delta said. "There are two of the same Sprite here in the P.O. One's wandering the halls; the other's not moving."
"Where is it? The stationary one?"
"In one of the medlabs."
"That's where Megabyte attacked us," Jareth offered. "Where we think he copied one of us."
"And the only place he could have stashed his victim in time," Matrix added. he flung his Zipboard to the ground, hopping on as it developed from it's collapsed state to full size. "Let's get to that medlab."
* * *
Delta, Phong, and Welman met them at the entrance to the medlab. Delta led the way, arm extended. Finally, she zeroed in on the signal, pointing to a small cabinet beneath one of the lab tables.
Matrix scoffed. "Come on. None of us could fit in there."
"That's where the signal's coming from," Delta said. "There's no mistake."
Jareth shrugged. "Maybe Meggy broke whoever it was in half first."
Delta grinned. "That'd do it."
Phong moved forward, grasped the handle, and, sincerely hoping that he'd find a whole Sprite inside, drew the doors open.
There, lying in what appeared to be a very deep sleep, lay Frisket.
"Frisket?!"
"Afraid so. The Frisket wandering around the Principal Office is your Virus," Delta said.
"Explains why he singled out Bob," Dot added.
"So where's he going?" Jareth asked.
"Where else?" Phong asked, more than a hint of alarm in his voice. "The Core!"
* * *
Megabyte diligently searched the halls of the Principle Office, his four legs keeping up a steady pace. finally, he came to what he was looking for: a long hall that ended in a seeming dead end.
Looking behind him to make sure he was alone, Megabyte dropped his disguise, transforming from red-and-yellow dog to massive, Cobalt-blue virus.
"Lemon Drop," he intoned to the wall.
Nothing happened.
Megabyte sneered. Of course, Phong had gone and changed all the passwords. And now that he'd dropped his disguise, he couldn't resume it without touching that flea-bitten mongrel again.
As if things weren't bad enough, red lights started to flash and alarms began blaring. The security systems had registered his presence!
A number of cleverly hidden mechanical doors slid open in the walls, releasing a series of small discs. The discs spun through the air, bounced off the walls, and began racing down the hall in his direction.
Pucks from Phong's inane game, Megabyte remembered. He had once set this very security system upon Bob, but the spry Guardian had weaseled his way through. Well, if Bob could escape this situation, then so could he.
Flinging his silver, pencil-thin tentacles down the narrow corridor, Megabyte grabbed several of the discs from behind and flung them in the opposite direction. They flew for a bit, then slowed, reversed, and finally turned about altogether and back towards him. That's right...energy-seeking.
Megabyte's eyes narrowed as the pucks approached, gaining speed, gaining momentum....then, at the last possible moment, he calmly stepped aside. Unable to stop or change direction in time, the pucks collided with the wall that blocked the entrance to the Core.
The explosion, while not terribly powerful, had a great deal of force when focused through the narrow hallway. Megabyte found himself thrown down the coridore, and was able to land more or less on his feet.
Before him, laid bare, was the Core Room.
"Megabyte."
Megabyte sighed. Only one voice in Mainframe was full of that much angst. He turned, and sure enough, there stood Matrix, his toy gun leveled at the Virus' head.
"Must we play this game yet again, Boy?"
Matrix fired. The energy blast shot forth, bridging the distance between them...and Megabyte caught it as though it were nothing more than a baseball.
With a backhanded swing, Megabyte flung the energy ball, which sailed through the air in the direction of Matrix's chest....only to splash harmlessly against a wall of blue force that sealed itself over the hall.
Behind Matrix, others had assembled. The Surfer was there, as was Bob, Jareth, and another Sprite Megabyte didn't immediately recognize, a purple one with yellow hair. Ray Tracer's hand was raised, glowing faintly blue. Megabyte turned and prepared to dive into the Core, to tap into it's vast energy, but found himself balked by a similar wall, this one purple.
"It's over, Megabyte," Bob said. "You've lost."
Megabyte smiled. "Oh, this is far from over, Guardian." The Virus opened his mouth and issued forth a blast of noxious green mist, just like before. This time it was contained by Surfer and Delta's force fields, but it effectively obscured the Virus' movements.
"What's he doing?" Jareth asked.
"Nothing good," Matrix growled. "Surfer, drop the wall."
The nimbus of blue light around Ray's hand faded, and his force field did likewise. The green mist had begun to dissipat.
"Gun -- projectile mode." Matrix strode forward, Gun raised, until he was lost in the fog.
"He's gone!" Gone again!"
Sure enough, Megabyte was gone.
As the last of the mist faded, Bob stepped forward. "How? We had him trapped."
Jareth nodded toward a corner where the wall met the floor. There was a sizable hole, apparently the wall and floor had been eaten through by some sort of acid. "That answer your question?"
"He's moving," Ray said, tracking him. "He's heading for...." Ray paused, then shook his head. "He's gone."
"And no sign of any duplicate signatures," Delta added. "Nothing ever works twice, does it?"
"Most things don't even work once," Jareth said. "He's a clever one."
Bob gazed at the etched hole in the wall. "And now, he's loose. Loose in Mainframe."
* * *
With uncommon patience, Jareth held the final piece of the golden mask in place, waiting for the glue to set. Finally, the mask was whole, or as whole as he could make it. A few pieces were missing altogether, either ground to dust or simply lost, and the entire surface was still covered with a network of fine cracks.
Frisket watched throughout the entire procedure, sometimes bringing him fragments that had found themselves on other sides of the room, sometimes simply staring, watching the glue set.
Finally, without making a sound, Jareth rose to his feet, strode over to the fireplace, and placed the mask carefully on it's stand upon the mantle. It glittered in the glow from the overhead lights, and was a beautiful work of art despite the cracks. Jareth let out a small sigh, then turned and left the house.
Frisket followed. He paused at the door, turned, at gazed forlornly at the mask. The large dog let out a small whimper, then he, too, left the house.
The lights turned themselves off automatically once all motion in Electra's house ceased, but a few flecks of light could still be seen from the mantle. A tiny blue spark travelled along each crack in the golden mask, the fissure slowly closing behind it as it went.
To be Continued in Chapter 11: Chu's Tale