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Megabyte didn't only have the creepiness factor going for him, the minute he was in control of the PO he opened the doors and let all of his viral troops in. Matrix, Bob and I ducked into the shadows of the corridor system of the lower levels, attempting to hide. Bob looked to me for a readout. Forty troops on this level in squads of five. Two were headed our way from opposite directions. Arrival in proximately ten nanos. The War Room held Megabyte and the fifteen binome staff members, most likely infected. I could read Enzo, Wellman and Phong among them, but no news on their state of health. Dot was in an adjacent hall with Hack and Slash. Mouse and AndrAIa were over 100 feet away from her. I reminded him of those approaching squads and he nodded. I closed down the scan.

"We've got to get up a level." Bob whispered hoarsely to Matrix.

The renegade got Gun ready. "Then let's do it."

"No, there're virals coming." Bob bade. "We'll go in a nano."

The two squads marched past. I could identify the infected code easily. These individuals had been viral before. The Neo-Virals from the protest actually. No real surprise. The ten of them met in the middle of the four way junction we were facing. Bob and Matrix squeezed behind the extended archway in hopes of fading into the walls.

"Any sign yet?" The leader of the first squad asked his fellow soldier.

"No. But we haven't checked the side corridors yet."

"You go do that." The first instructed. "We'll take this passage and meet up with Squad 2."

"Right."

The two parties split and moved off. Luckily they neglected to head down our hallway. Bob pulled up my readout again. "We need to do something about all these guards."

"We should find Dot first." Matrix said, commandingly. "If they've infected her I swear I'll –"

"Don't worry, Matrix, she's the Bob assured. "Her format prevents her from being infected by a virus at Megabyte's level, even with his new powers."

"But Daemon –"

"Daemon was different." Bob insisted. "She was a super virus capable of infecting anyone. Guardians are immune to viral infection and you saw what she did to the collective."

Matrix growled in frustration.

"But you're right about one thing, we need to find Dot first." Bob resolved. "We'll make sure our friends are alright, then we'll work together to force Megabyte out."

"I'm not worried about AndrAIa and Mouse." Matrix announced. "Its Dot being taken care of by those two idiots…How do we get up there?" He was growing impatient.

Bob watched my readout. The hall behind us was clear. A squad of virals were moving perpendicular to it but they moved slow enough that their paths could be well predicted. "We'll just have to pick our way along." Bob gave me a command. "Glitch, locate the nearest elevator." I did so… if the floor was broken into blocks, it was three down and two to the left. Or any permutation of zigzagging roundabout. Bob was satisfied. "Follow me."

We dashed down the hall, I tracked the soldiers ahead and alerted Bob when they would be within range of sprite perception.

'Bob! Duck left!'

He followed my orders and led Matrix into the left hand hallway. The virals turned into our previous passage and ignorantly marched in our direction. They'd reach our new hideout in nanos. I scanned the adjacent hall, a set of binomes were moving down a parallel corridor a block to our right. They were facing away and gaining distance between us. Bob made the judgment and dashed down the hallway. He slowed when he hit the hall the troops occupied. There was no harm in caution. I alerted him that a squad had just exited our lift and was marching up another hall. They'd come out right in front of us in five nanos. Bob snuck down the hall closest to us on his left. Sprite legs moved much faster than binomes' and we reached the mouth of our passageway at the same time the retreating squad did. There was no way of telling which direction they were going to turn once in the intersection. We could have been caught in an instant.

Bob's will nudged me to scan beyond a door behind us on the opposite wall. It was clear of guards. The three of us ducked in quickly to evade the troops.

"This is so basic." Matrix snorted once we were safely inside.

Bob shushed him. "Keep it down."

"We shouldn't be sneaking around our own PO, let me delete them all! It'll make things a lot easier."

"No, Matrix," Bob warned, "no deleting."

"You know, I'm getting really tired of you."

Bob waited for my scan to read the all-clear. "Okay, lets go."

We made it to the lift without much hassle.