Chapter 3: Shopping Mall Madness Zone
Meanwhile, in a nearby shopping mall. Void was running inside to search for a store where he can hide from Content Control who were patrolling the city. It was early in the morning and the stores were just about ready to open.
Leaving fate to chance, he quickly ran into the first store that opened it's doors.
Unfortunately for the shoppers and store owners, 3 armed soldiers from Content Control suddenly opened the front doors and went inside the mall to search for the blue robot.
Once inside the opened store, Void ran towards the electronics section of the store where hundreds of televisions were on display to showcase to customers. The televisions were showcasing football games, stunning wallpapers and desktop computer screens from the computers that stood nearby.
As Void walked passed the middle of the television displays, every single display had turned into static. Void approached the TVs with great caution.
Suddenly the news agency music began to play while the monitors displayed the 3D design that showed a spinning globe on a silver background, with red horizontal rings and a breaking news logo in maroon color appearing behind the globe. Void knew he was in trouble.
In the news room was MrDingo of Content Control, and he was ready to deliver the morning news to everyone who was tuning in. As Void began to discover the monitors being hijacked, he eventually came to a realization that every TV screen, every radio signal and every computer around the world was being controlled by Content Control.
"Good morning everyone. And welcome to the 11 o'clock news. I'll be your host; MrDingo of Content Control. Our top story at this hour, police need your help in identifying 3 fugitives who are wanted for suspicious activity." Said MrDingo as the news agency then displayed 3 snapshots of Void and the 2 girls he saw on the beach; Void was terrified when he saw the pictures.
"These fugitives are described as: a woman wearing a school uniform, orange hair and a wing pin in her hair, the other is a woman with a pink dress, light blue hair and cat ears. Finally, the 3rd suspect is a robot with blue armor, a blue cap and a yellow cape. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of these 3 suspects, dial 911 immediately. This is Content Control, signing off." Concluded MrDingo as the music began to play once again to conclude the news broadcast.
"And now, a look at sports!" Said a robotic voice that immediately followed as the music began to fade.
"I like ball!" Shouted the sports reporter.
As the broadcast continued, Content Control left the 3 snapshots of Void and the girls he saw earlier on the side of the screen. Terrified, Void began to panic. "Oh no!! It's those girls I saw at the beach earlier!!! Did Content Control seriously go as far as launching a manhunt on me and those girls?!!!"
Void was furious, he immediately thought of a plan to retaliate against Content Control, "Alright, no more games. Ladies, I'm very worried about the both of you. And I'm gonna do everything in my power to protect you both, but in return; I need you to help me find SNT."
Void then quickly walks to the computers as a small child and his mother were walking by the television displays to inspect the quality.
"Mommy mommy, is that the blue robot in the picture?" The child asked as he pointed to Void,
"Oh don't be ridiculous, robots don't exist!!!" The mother responded as she waved for an employee to assist her.
As soon as Void reached the nearest computer, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a USB stick. He then inserted the stick into the USB slot and said to himself, "But first, time to beat Content Control at their own game."
When the computer recognized the USB stick, Void opened up the command prompt on the desktop and typed in a command to play a video file on loop indefinitely. "Good thing I still have this abomination from elementary school..."
As soon as Void pressed enter, a video popped up on all the television monitors showing young Void Ranger dressed up as a princess and dancing with a hula hoop, while upbeat dub-step music was playing in the background.
Void stared at the embarrassing Halloween video that was taken during his childhood with a very angry look, "Welp, i'm immediately starting to regret this distraction. But if it can help buy us some time... then so be it."
But in his mind, Void was actually thinking about revenge, "Oh don't you worry robots, I still haven't forgotten about my revenge against your humiliating Halloween video idea."
Suddenly, another robot arm grabbed Void by his neck and began to pull on him. "Void? Void Ranger? Is that you? Get your a* over here right now!!!"
The robot grabbing and pulling him was slightly smaller than Void, had grayish blue armor and he wore an eye patch. The robot then dragged him in the back of the store and quickly shut the back door.
Nearby, the 3 armed soldiers from Content Control walked up towards the television monitors. They began to roll on the floor; laughing their a*es off.
When the grayish blue robot finished dragging Void to the back of the store, he let go of his neck; giving Void plenty of time to catch his breath.
"Ah, Clerk!! My old friend from elementary school, how may I help you?" Void asked as he was surprised to see a familiar face from his childhood.
But Clerk wasn't happy to see Void, "You can start by cleaning up this 'Content Controlled' mess!!!" he shouted.
Clerk then began to stock up the shelves in the storage containers. As he organized the shelves, he began to explain his troubles to the blue robot, "For months now, Content Control has been scaring away all my customers. All just because they claim that my merchandise isn't 'antique' enough."
Void looks to the side and places one of the small boxes in the storage containers, "Well, to be fair. Your only competition at the moment is the black market Ebay, since everything they sell is considered illegal by law."
"Regardless, sales have gone down 45%. If this keeps up, Content Control will have my company on a silver platter; and we will all be arrested." Clerk argued,
Void quickly looked left and right to make sure no one was listening before he began to whisper to the young ranger, "Alright Clerk, listen to me. I'll help you out the best I can, but I need your help in return."
Void then reached for a bag attached to his belt and uncovered Minister Avira; the coconut out of a cloth and showed it to him. "In my hands, I have Minister Avira. One of many anti-viruses who recently became a victim of Content Control's censorship scheme. He's just been transformed into a brain dead coconut, and I need your help to transform him back into the anti-virus robot we anti-viruses know and love."
Clerk took the coconut and began to closely inspect it, "Tell you what, I'll give you 12."
Outraged, Void gave Clerk a back hand to the side of the head, "Clerk; you fool!! I'm not here to sell Avira, are you nuts?!!! I intend to make a bargain with you and I expect to see it through, can you please help me?!!"
"That depends, what's in it for me?" The young robot asked curiously,
"I'll help keep your store from going under. What say you?" The blue robot responded,
Clerk thought about it for a moment. Eventually, he bowed his head in sadness, "I'm afraid not... if Content Control discovers what we're doing, it'll be curtains for all of us. And because Content Control is now searching for you, I do however have some friends who are hiding in the tech support room. Maybe they can help." Clerk responded as he took his keys and placed them inside the lock of a nearby metal door.
"Please Clerk, take me to them." Void said as he watched Clerk unlock the door.
Unbeknownst to the pair, a couple began to walk into the storage unit looking for supplies, "So, let me get this straight, what were we looking for again?" The husband asked,
"You said you needed oil to power up your drill!!! Now don't just stand there, GET MOVING YOU DOOFUS!!!" Shouted the wife as the husband began searching the storage room for some oil.
Back at the metal door, Clerk was still trying to unlock it to enter the tech support room.
Once Clerk finally opened the door, he and Void walked inside the tech support center. Void was very surprised to see who was operating the computers.
A pink armored ranger wearing yellow glasses and an orange armored ranger wearing a green visor were both operating their respective computers. It was Hacker and Virus,
"Wait? Hacker and Virus?!!! Who knew that these long time rivals would finally team up for the very first time." Void thought as he was excited to see them again.
When Hacker saw Void approach him, he quickly grabbed his aqua colored quantum blaster, and aimed it at Void's head. He clearly wasn't happy to see him. "Stop right there!!! You are in violation of trespassing. Leave immediately!!!"
Void slowly put his hands in the air and cautiously approached him, "Hacker, take it easy! Please!!! It's me, Void Ranger."
"Oh yeah? What's Void's favorite non-alcoholic drink he enjoys whenever he goes to the bar?!!!" Asked Hacker.
Void looked back at Hacker unimpressed, "A dry tonic... Anything else you need to know about me?"
Hacker lowered the quantum blaster and ran to give Void a big hug. "Forgive me Void, we thought you were one of those Optical Illusions clones who recently joined forces with Content Control, we just had to make sure you weren't an impostor."
"Safety first Hacker, safety first. Also, nice to see you again Virus." Said Void as he walked up to Virus and shook his hand,
"Likewise, although I'm still wondering why Hacker and I have teamed up in the first place?" Virus responded, "Could it be, because we have all have one enemy in common?"
"Possibly, but besides that. I'm gonna need your help once again. In my hand... is what's left of minister Avira." Void responded as he took the coconut from Clerk's hands and handed it over to Hacker.
Furious, Hacker aimed his quantum blaster towards the coconut; "Minister Avira?!!! The same damn minister who broke my 2000 laptop back in high school?!! HAND HIM OVER, I WANNA SLICE THAT SON OF A B*H IN HALF!!!"
Void ranger pulled the coconut away from Hacker; looking shocked, "Wow Hacker... I didn't know you and minister Avira had history together."
Hacker slowly lowered his blaster once again.
"Hacker... please, you should learn how to control yourself. Now isn't a good time to use up all your animosity against the U.A.V, especially when we have bigger problems on our hands." Void said as he cautiously placed his hand on Hacker's shoulder.
Hacker took a few steps back and bowed before the blue robot, "So be it... So what the hell happened to Minister Avira?"
"I was just talking to him about SNT and those girls that were seen in the wanted posters. And then Content Control stopped by and censored Minister Avira by transforming him into a brain dead coconut. I need your help to change him back." Void said as he carefully gave the coconut to Hacker once again.
Virus carefully thought about it, "Tell you what Void, we'll do it. But under one condition." Virus responded as Clerk went outside the tech support room to continue stocking the shelves. "If anyone finds out what we're doing here, it's your head that will be vaporized. Do I make myself clear?"
"Loud and clear, now lets do this!!!" Void said as he clenched a fist with a determined look.
Suddenly, they heard a scream coming from the other side of the room, "HALT!! INTRUDERS!!!" Shouted the wife who was spying on the rangers this entire time.
Just then, Clerk ran in the tech support room and slammed the doors shut. He then picked up a chair and barricaded the doors. "Everyone, listen to me!!! Red alert, we just got snitched by a couple, and guess who's at the door? It's Content Control!!! They just entered my store, and we have to evacuate immediately!!!"
"But what about Minister Avira?!!!" Void asked looking shocked and terrified,
"THERE IS NO TIME!!! WE MUST LEAVE QUICKLY!!! If those spies know we're hiding back here and report to Content Control, we're done for. Finished. We'll all be executed!!!" Clerk argued,
"Does anyone have an escape plan?" Asked Virus as he looked at both Void and Clerk.
Hacker turns to Virus, "I may have one. Virus; you, Clerk and myself will stay behind to hold them off. Void, take Minister Avira and get the hell out of here while you still can!!! WHY ARE WE STILL STANDING HERE?!!! LET'S MOVE!!!" Hacker ordered as Void took the coconut and ran, while Hacker, Virus and Clerk continued to barricade the doors.
Clerk and the U.A.V programmers each picked up a crate and attempted to stack them in front of the metal door.
But just then, the 3 armored soldiers broke down the door and broke the crates in front of the door. They then began to fire their Stuxnet capsules with their KA57 pencil guns towards the trio.
As the soldiers slowly approached the incapacitated allies, the couple slowly followed the soldiers to stare down at the injured robots.
"Wow. I must say, i'm very impressed with your sleuthing skills. And we of Content Control are very proud of you both." Said one of the soldiers.
Suddenly, the soldiers turned their attention to the couple and aimed their pencil guns at them. "Proud enough to say, you violated the law. You're both under arrest for trespassing on private property."
Shocked and terrified, the couple quickly raised their arms in the air, "Umm, can we please talk about this?" The husband asked as his body trembled in fear.
Meanwhile, just outside the mall; near the front door. Void quickly ran towards the parking lot with the coconut in his hand. Upon reaching the corner of the mall, he stopped running to catch his breath.
"Wow, good thing Minister Avira and I managed to make it out alive!!" Void said as he was breathing heavily.
Funny enough, next to him stood a payphone which was conveniently installed next to him. As Void continued to catch his breath, the telephone suddenly began to ring. "Hmm, of all the times to call someone, why now? And what's with the public payphone?"
Looking worried and fearing for his friends' safety, he slowly picked up the phone and answered the call. "Hello, this is Void ranger, who is speaking?"
The voice on the other end was very sinister. It was a voice that only Void could recognize too well.
"Ah, Void ranger, delighted to hear from you again." Answered Webroot.
"Dammit, it's Virut." Void thought to himself,
"What the hell are you doing in this frequency?" Void shouted as he placed the coconut on the stand within the payphone.
Webroot chuckled, "Isn't it already obvious Void? I sent Content Control into the shopping mall to chase after you. I instructed Content Control to launch a manhunt for you and those 2 girls for suspicious activity."
"You hacked their emails, did you?" Void thought to himself,
"And you did all of this, just because you wanted revenge after last year's incident between you, me, the U.A.V and team 182?!!!" Void shouted,
"But of course. You see, Content Control has already done so much for Optical Illusions." Webroot chuckled, "Thanks to this détente bill, our lovely viruses can finally roam free across the galaxy without the fear of being deleted."
"But you do realize that incapacitating the U.A.V will still make computers vulnerable to malware attacks? Right?!!" Void said as he tried to change his mind.
"Indeed, but in our defense. All we ever wanted from the United Anti-Virus movement was for viruses to be let loose into our world. In doing so, the U.A.V won't have to worry about any virus infestations." Webroot argued, "Besides, Total AV himself did agree, that the U.A.V can resume operations once their academy has been rebuilt.
But heed our warning. If we ever hear reports from Content Control, that any virus was either attacked by the United Anti-Virus movement... Or if any Content Control moderator was attacked by content creators or viewers, rest assured... This... means... war!!!" Webroot growled,
"Well then. In that case, i'll see you in hell!!!" Shouted Void as he slammed the phone back into the handle of the payphone. Void then turned his attention to the coconut.
"Lighting your ass... on fire with a match... is a lot of fun..." Said Minister Avira in slow motion.
"MINISTER AVIRA!!! SHUT THE HELL UP!!! IF YOU HADN'T INTERFIERED ON THE BEACH BETWEEN ME AND CONTENT CONTROL, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TRANSOFRMED INTO A COCONUT IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!" Void shouted in anger towards the coconut.
He then slowly calmed himself down for a few seconds before coming up with an idea.
He quickly picked up the payphone again and pressed the 0 button to speak to an operator, "Hello operator, get me the principal of Robosoft elementary school please. I need some assistance... Thank you."
He then hung up the phone and looked into the sky; wondering if he will ever escape from Content Control's sights.