The Virus

Vexen checked the computer monitor and sighed in irritation. Or at least something that amounted to that emotion. The Nobody scientist was in a fit of what he called "Professor's Block." He couldn't think, he couldn't invent, he could only sit and drink bottle after bottle of Xigbar's cheap beer. With Larxene dead and gone, there was no one to raid his supply and the Freeshooter's guard was down. The Chilly Academic dropped into a swivel chair and rolled up to his desk. He examined the computer terminal that controlled the Kingdom Meter. He looked to see that it was indeed functioning at full capacity. The machine itself sat in the back of the laboratory. It hummed and burbled, waiting for the time when it would be fed another victim. It would destroy the Kingdom Heart's human form and reveal all the hearts within. "Oh, Zexion" said Vexen. "Why didn't you live to see the moment when we would be triumphant? Why did you have to be killed by an idiot reject from genetic experiments?"

"My thoughts exactly" said Lexaeus. He walked out of the shadows to where Vexen was sitting. "Mind if I sit down?" the Silent Hero asked. "Superior Xemnas is busy, so I'm waiting until he calls us again."

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Vexen asked. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm in a fit of Professor's Block. I'm absolutely miserable. I can't do a thing that I usually do with it going on!"

Lexaeus smiled at his friend. "Zexion could have done something about it, I'm sure. What do you think?"

"Maybe he could have" Vexen said. "I think however that it is foolish to talk of someone who is already---" the loud scream of a siren split the air with its trumpet.

"What is that?!" Lexaeus asked, looking around Vexen's lab. Machines hummed and made their odd noises, colored gasses fizzed inside glass tubes, electric spirals whirled and glowed in their force fields---all seemed as it should be. Yet, there was something wrong, or the warning siren wouldn't have gone off.

"It must be the computer" Vexen said, trying to concentrate through the mad wails of the siren. "Lexaeus, in that machine in the right corner—yes, the one with the glowing knobs---you'll find a blue button. That's the emergency override switch for this damn thing. I can't concentrate with it on. Turn it off, and I'll find out what's happening."

The Silent Hero made his way through the technical clutter on Vexen's floor, tripping over pipes and hoses that lay on the floor like bloated, dead snakes. He pushed the button and the siren stopped---and then grew even louder. The two Nobodies felt their eardrums vibrate with the noise. "Uh…Vexen---" Lexaeus began.

"Yes, I know! It's this damn Professor's Block; I can't think to save my nonexistent life! It's the red switch; the blue switch makes it louder." The Silent Hero hit the red button, and the siren died in mid scream.

"That's better" Vexen said and smiled. "Now, what's happening---" he choked off in horror as he gazed at the computer screen. His face pressed against the glass and he gave a hoarse cry of anger.

Worried, Lexaeus went back to the terminal where Vexen was. The computer screen had a red bubble floating in it. There was an incomprehensible babble of code on the screen that was scrolling over and over in a repetitive message. "What is going on in there?" he asked. Lexaeus wasn't good with computers, they confused him.

"A virus!" Vexen said, outraged. "A dirty….nasty…filthy….VIRUS is trying to invade my system!" he raged. He slammed his black gloved hands onto the control panel. "I can't believe that it would…" then he began to laugh nastily. "Oh my little virus making friend, you have no idea what you're up against. I designed the computer system for this Castle, and I have made firewalls that would take down an elephant!"

"What do you mean?" asked Lexaeus.

Vexen smiled, showing yellow teeth bared in a grin. "Not only does my firewall stop a virus dead in its tracks, it follows it home, launching a blistering counter virus into the sender's system, utterly annihilating it!" the Chilly Academic stood up from his chair and clenched his fists at the ceiling and began to laugh. "So good luck, hacker! Enjoy getting your system fried! Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Two hours previously:

Sora, Donald and Goofy walked into an amazing place. It resembled four glowing purple bridges that stretched over a massive black chasms all connected to a glowing nexus of energy that sparkled like a golden sun. Whiplashes of gold light sparked along these bridges. Streams of binary code whirled and revolved around the core of the golden light.

"Where are we?" Donald asked.

"I think we're in computer Heaven" Sora muttered.

"HOW AMUSING" said Marco. "NO, YOU ARE NOT IN HEAVEN. THIS IS THE JUNCTION OF THE PROGRAMS. THIS IS MY HEART. THE RADIANT BEING YOU SEE IN THE CENTER OF THE BINARY FEED IS ME. I CONTROL THIS SYSTEM FROM HERE. YOU SHOULD BE VERY HONORED. I HAVE NEVER SHOWED THIS TO ANYONE BEFORE, EXCEPT FOR MASTER CID."

"We are" Sora said, and elbowed Donald and Goofy.

"Sure are" said Goofy. "But what about the virus, Mr. Marco? We have to put it in the Organization's system before they get their machine going on Tine!"

"AH, THE VIRUS. I DID PROMISE THAT I WOULD GIVE IT TO YOU." The golden light opened and they could see even more streams of binary. A chunk of it broke off and began to float toward them. Sora caught it in his hands. It was a glowing blue ball of light. He looked closely at it and saw that it was really made of lengths of glowing code. It was from this code the light came from. It felt light and fluffy.

"DO NOT READ WHAT IT SAYS!" Marco's voice said. "FOOLISH USER, IF YOU DO THAT, THEN YOU WILL CONTRACT THE VIRUS INSTEAD OF THE ORGANIZATION'S SYTEM. AFTER ALL, A COMPUTER GETS A VIRUS BY READING AN INFECTED FILE. THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE HOLDING. IT IS THE 'DEGENERATOR' VIRUS, CREATED BY ENCOM DO DESTROY A COMPETETOR. IT IS THE COMPANY'S GREATEST SECRET."

"Thanks a lot, Marco" said Goofy as they began to leave the Junction of the Programs.

Sora turned to Marco. He looked at the glowing M.C.P. "I know you have some of Tron left in you" he said. "No matter what you say." He turned and left, following Donald and Goofy to deliver a deadly present to Organization XIII.