Annihilation
* * *
"Anything so far?" Ami leaned in the unlit telephone booth, bored after just 10 minutes of empty searching. She wasn't even wathing the action her navi was dealing with in the Cyberworld.
"Besides the Beetanks, Swordsman, Shielders and other assorted viruses?"
"You know what I mean. I wanna find those target navis. I bet we could take 'em all out before the other guys get close."
"As a matter of fact, I saw a whole slew of them walk buy a few minutes ago, but I didn't mention anything because you didn't ask."
Ami rolled her eyes. "Very funny, I'm just asking since there's nothing else to do."
"You could help me through these viruses. It's no challenge, but if you need something to do...hey!"
"Huh?"
"It's them! There's three of them. They're on a lower platform a few tics from here."
"Right on." At that, Ami sprung out of the booth, pulled on her visor and activated the motion interface. "Time for some real action! Let's go, Shan!"
* * *
Fortissimo and Necro flew over the eastern network. The sparse platforms were outlined by high level dumb cannons while lockon satellites and dash birds scattered the skies.
"Looks like this is WWW's defensive line." Fortissimo commented as he shot a barrage of buster shots at the sentry cannons.
"Their ability to control the viruses is astounding. And SciLab thinks they're the forerunner in network technology." Necro was Rick's navi and shared his operator's slender and agile physique. He looked like a masked, winged demon. He swept through the airborne enemies, impaling them all with his spear.
"I hear SciLab is actually looking into the virus controlling thing. Seems kinda hypocritical for the number one viral enemy to start using viruses. What the hell, better late than never." Fortissimo and Necro continued their conversation while they absentmindedly tore through the WWW's defenses. They eventually came to a continuous platfrom beyond the viral defense net and decided to touch down. "Alright Moe, what's the next course?"
"Follow the bridge on the left. It seems to lead directly to the estimated location of the base." A beeping from Moe's wrist prompted him to check the screen again. "Hold on, I'm picking up some weird fluctuations in the system fabric. It's the unstable system warning, but the abnormality is too small to be serious. It's almost as if-"
A loud tearing noise interrupted Moe as hole opened up in the middle of cyberspace in front of the navis. Fortissimo and Necro took defensive positions as two other navis emerged from the hole, which promptly closed. One of them was thin and orange with drill bits protruding from his limbs while the other was short and blue and held a small pistol.
The orange one spoke up in a deranged tone. "You two must be more of VI's invaders. You're all quite the nuisance to Lord Wily and he'd like you to leave right now. He has revenges to prepare for other than yours, you know. By the way, I'm Drillman, one of Wily's newest autonomous navis."
The other didn't look at all threatening, but certainly tried to by glaring and cursing at the intruders. "Likewise, I'm Bubbleman. Now unless you blubheads want to be blubbed through the blub until you blubbin' taste blub, you'll turn your blubs around and head back the way to blubbed in."
Necro grinned beneath his mask and advanced on the guardians. "Viral Infection is the least of your problems now. We were sent by someone else and I can't tell you who, because then I would have to kill you."
Fortissimo cracked his knuckles and stepped forward as well. "We're going to kill you anyway, but we're still not saying anything."
Bubbleman's face turned to a violent grimace as he loaded a harpoon into his pistol and took to the sky in a Bubblewrap barrier. "BRING IT ON, BLUB!"
Drillman transformed into a drill and disappeared i another hole in space. Fortissimo and Necro took flight as well and decided to try and take Bubble out before Drill could surprise them by popping up from behind. Bubbleman fired harpoons rapidly while Bubble Lead appeared between them, slowing the fighters down.
"We gotta switch to interface mode!" Rick shouted as he and Moe simultaneously took direct control of their navis. With their new agility, Fortissimo and Necro were able to easily slip between the bubbles and dodge the harpoons. They started attacking Bubbleman when Drillman decided to make a timely appearance beneath their feet, making them jump. Bubble fell back and recovered his barrier. Drill protected him with numerous holes between the fighters and Bubble, each spewing a Drill Missile. The fighters could easily dodge the drills, but couldn't get close enough to attack. Fortissimo launched a barrage of missiles to break through the defense while Necro moved in with his spear.
The battle continued back and forth with Drillman shooting himself directly at the others while Bubbleman stayed behind Drill's holes and threw crabs and Bubble Lead. Fortissimo and Necro occasionally got an attack in but were very busy dodging.
At one point, Fortissimo grinned as Drillman launched out of another hole directly at him. Just as Drill reached him, Fortissimo leapt over and grabbed him on the way down.
"Your pattern is too recognizable, just think what you could do with versatility like mine." A couple of kicks later, Drill was imobilized momentarily on the ground, at that point, Fortissimo finished him off with his gun.
With Drillman gone, Necro was free to rush in and burst Bubble's bubble. A few rapid strikes with the spear later, Necro was about to finish him off, when Bubbleman suddenly threw down a smoke bomb, or rather a foam bomb, which gave him cover for an easy escape. His voice could be faintly heard as he vanished away. "You haven't blubbing seen the last of us! Every time I escape, I come back blubbing stronger than ever before!"
Moe and Rick removed their visors and disengaged the interface. "If that's the best security they have, this mission will be easier than we could have hoped." Moe commented, laughing.
Rick nodded, "I guess what we heard about their escaping ability is true. We'll have to be quicker next time."
Moe's wrist chimed, indicating an incoming message from one of the other groups. He brought it up and found it was a call from Olaf. Olaf's stern, concerned face delivered a hasty message. "Moe, Rick, head over to the west point. Ami ran into a pretty big problem." The transmission ended before they could ask what was going on, apparently, there wasn't enough time to explain.
When they reached the west point, Olaf and Trisha were already there arguing about something while Ami was just banging her head against the telephone booth. Moe asked what happened.
"The stupid bitch lost her navi." Trisha explained, giving Ami an evil glare. "The one thing we weren't supposed to do, and she does it. Now we're doomed."
Moe and Rick couldn't believe what they were hearing. They looked to Ami to see what she had to say. She stopped banging her head delivered her side of the story in an angry and exhausted voice. "Look, I didn't make any mistakes. I found three VI navis, I kicked their ass, then went deeper into the network, I found the two groups fighting, so I decided to take them all out at once, and I WAS doing fine, until the big green thing came at me from behind with a syringe-like weapon, stabbed me in the back, and the next thing I know I'm cut off from Shan, and the PET is spouting out some warning message about a Class-C Virus!" She finished her long sentence with a deep breath. Olaf finished up in a less frantic and more depressed tone.
"That means takeover and control of a program's functions. One of the strongest man-made breeds of virus. Shan is working for the WWW now."
"Can't we get her back?" Moe asked.
"We were just discussing that" Trisha explained, "Are Necro and Fortissimo still in the network?"
Rick nodded, "Yeah, we told them to move on ahead and just avoid any navis until we hooked back up."
Trisha continued, "Okay, it could be dangerous, and we can't get Shan back into her PET until the infection is flushed. We can still capture her if we can defeat her and then upload her fragmented data into someone else's PET before she's fully deleted. I'll work on the programming now. Overdrive, you're going to have to sacrifice some data so Shan's corpse can fit into our PET, okay?"
"No!" Ami protested. "You can't hurt Shan!"
"Actually, we have to. We have to be quick too. The most important thing is that they don't copy Shan's technology."
"No no no, I know what I have to do." Ami began talking more calmly, or so it seemed. "We're in big trouble already for this. The Officials will kill us even if we get her back. But I'm in the most trouble, it has to be me. I have to save her myself, it's the only way they'll forgive me."
Rick raised an eyebrow, "What exactly do you plan on doing without any navi to work with?"
"Who needs a navi? I'll do this in person." At that, Ami dashed off straight towards the building where the WWW was supposedly cooped up. The others tried to chase her, but it seemed her sprinting speed was one of the things that qualified her for the team in the first place. She yelled back as she ran. "Don't worry! I was kicking their ass just fine before! As long as there aren't any mind-controlling viruses in the real world, I can't fail!"
"She's gone insane!" Rick pointed out the obvious.
Olaf sighed, "Great, now they'll have both the suit and the navi, we practically just delivered the technology into their hands."
"We have to go after her before she gets killed!" Moe pleaded.
Trisha shook her head. "We should get Shan first, Ami may still come to her senses and turn back, and if not, it's too late for her. At least we're closer to getting Shan back, and every second is crucial. Now you three jack in and find Shan, I'll work on the cage."
After hooking up, it didn't take long for Fortissimo and the others to meet up at the entrance to the WWW's control area.
"Be ready for anything guys." Olaf's navi, Buffel warned his partners. "Shan shouldn't be too hard to beat, without an operator, she's not very useful."
Fortissimo gritted his teeth, "Whatever, let's just do this. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner the government doesn't eliminate us all for treason."
The operators shared these feelings, though their fate was less certain. The navis would simply be permanently deleted. But the humans had families and people that would know they were missing. They were threatened with severe punishment for betrayal. They didn't know what a loss of the technology after the first mission would mean for them, but they didn't want to find out.
The navis rushed through the portal and wound up on a large platform with complex equipment in the center and floating screens showing images of the rest of the network around the side. The page wallpaper of this sector had a dark atmosphere; the sky was pitch black except for the floating green W3 logos providing most of the illumination for the area. The central consoles acted as a beacon and the team could hear voices coming from the other side. They snuck up to the console and glanced around the side. There were five figures present. One was a long-haired woman in a black uniform, it was Shan. She stood still and silent with her head down, as if her soul was removed. The others were not familiar. There were two regular-sized humanoid navis, and two massive very non-humanoid figures. One of them definitely fit the "big, spiky, green guy" description that Ami complained about. The invaders had apparently been pushed back and they were discussing their plans.
"So what do we do now?" Necro whispered.
Buffel laid out the plan of attack. "We don't have time to waste. Shan looks out of it, and the big guys don't look too fast. Necro, you take the blue-haired guy. Fort, you take the red one with the mohawk. Keep to the air and try to lead them apart to keep the fights one-on-one. I'll take the big stone cube and try to stay clear of the big cheese there. Olaf, get the chips ready and lead us in."
On the real-world side, the operators nodded to each other and lined up their best chips. Trisha had just finished the capturing measures and jacked Overdrive back in. It would be a few minutes before she caught up, but that would be enough. Olaf gave the signal. "On my mark...go!"
The three navis burst out into the open leading off with the chips they just accessed. Fortissimo flew straight to Bombman while firing an Omega Spread at the larger group. Necro did likewise, heading for Jet while firing off a volley of Arrows. Buffel charged toward Stoneman while hitting the surprised WWW with a spray of rocket punches from a powered-up GoldFist. Shan was knocked out. The other navis recovered from the shock and took on their opponents. The only one unfazed was the Life Virus. All the bullets, lances, and fists just bounced off his aura. He also didn't look the least bit concerned by the surprise attack, just annoyed. Necro and Jet took off into a high-speed aerial battle and disappeared from sight. Bombman let loose a heavy barrage of artillery, but Fortissimo managed to out-maneuver and take him out fairly easily. Stoneman turned the platform into an obstacle course with his rock cubes, but Buffel's hammer broke through and crushed the massive navi just as fast. The two guardians were deleted within two minutes, then Fortissimo and Buffel turned to the Life Virus. The Life Virus remained still throughout the battle, simply shaking his head at the worthlessness of his soldiers.
"How's Necro doing?" Moe asked Rick, who's navi was still missing.
"This Jet guy's tougher, he's got an operator and he's fast. Could you back me up?"
"Sorry, I think Olaf and I will have our hands full with the big green guy."
As if on cue, the Life Virus made a surprisingly fast attack with his sword. The navis were knocked back with deep wounds. They recovered and attacked with howitzer bombs, but like their earlier attacks they were nullified by the aura. Moe tried setting up a Powered Cannon Advance and the shot shattered the barrier, Buffel then charged in with his hammer but the Life Virus grabbed him with his massive hand and constrained him.
Buffel struggled to no end. Fortissimo flew up and charged his busters to try a strong enough attack to make the Virus lose his grip. Just as he was about to fire the shot, his arms were suddenly jerked aside and the blast energy was wasted on the ground. Fortissimo noticed his hands were suddenly bound by a strong black rope. His eyes followed the length of the rope down to the ground where it turned out to be Shan's whip. She had recovered from the original attack and was staring up at Fortissimo with a wicked smile.
Fortissimo tried to use his jets to overpower and lift her off the ground, but she was well anchored. The grip suddenly loosened and Fortissimo flew back several feet. When he looked back down, it turned out Overdrive had just arrived and cut the whip with her sword. She was ready to capture the infected Shan. Fortissimo realized she wouldn't need help and returned his focus to the Life Virus and Buffel. Buffel and Olaf had gone into interface mode and Olaf's wrestling experience made it easier to escape from the hold. He started delivering some fast punches while Fortissimo flew in behind with some buster shots. The Life Virus got irritated and released a pulse of energy while creating another Life Aura. The navis were knocked back and disoriented. The shock was especially bad for Olaf, who felt the force through his suit.
Olaf recovered while disengaging the interface. "Argh! We can't take him now. We just have to get Shan and then we'll have to escape."
Trisha looked nervous. "She's unusually skilled. She must have been reprogrammed along with the infection. Could someone just slow her down?"
Moe dug around for a Zapring and managed to hit Shan when she wasn't looking. "Okay, now!"
Overdrive ran up and grabbed the paralyzed Shan and Trisha activated the overload jack-out procedure. However, as Overdrive attempted to teleport out with Shan in tow, she was hit with a surge of bug energy. Overdrive screamed in pain as her image flashed with static and she was thrown back into a viewscreen, which shattered upon impact.
"Unauthorized host? Logout error? What the fuck!?" Trisha cursed the failure of her program. It could only mean one thing. Shan was re-connected with her original PET.
Fortissimo shook his head. "No, how could they get Ami's suit already?"
The Life Virus chuckled in a deep, menacing tone. "We got more than that. We got the operator it came with. Why don't you say hello to our newest recruit?" He then gestured to one of the nearby viewscreens, the image of an empty network was replaced by the image of a room in the real world with servers and other computer equipment scattered around. Only two people were on the screen, an old man who was facing them with a sinister grin, and a young man off to the side concentrating on his PET. The younger one was apparently Jet's operator who was still engaged in combat with Rick and Necro.
The old one spoke to the invaders in a confident voice. "Greetings, I'm Lord Wily. You must be the Officials trying to take us out as a first mission. You definitely tried to bite off more than you could chew. At least, one of you knows who the winning team is." He snickered as he stepped aside and introduced the 'new recruit'. Ami stepped onscreen loking perfectly calm and collected.
The operators sunk into despair realizing what was happening, what had happened, what would happen. Ami spoke and confirmed their fears. "Sorry guys, but this was the best solution, really. It's not like we had any hope going back, right?"
Moe was enraged. "What is wrong with you! This goes against everything we're about! You can't just join the enemy!"
Ami shrugged "Can and did. It seems Lord Wily is hurting for new recruits since his recent defeats. He offered me a very good job. I don't think it makes a huge difference. I'm just a fighter for someone else now. It's not like I was an Official long enough to become attached to it. It's just easier this way since Shan's alliance was decided for me."
Ami's morals, if ever existent, were gone now. Her former allies didn't know what to do now that retrieving the stolen property was impossible. They did the only thing they could do, fight.
Overdrive got up and attempted to destroy Shan, but with the combination of the error damage and the data she sacrificed to allow Shan to fit in her PET, she was no match and was quickly deleted. Buffel and Fortissimo were busy with the Life Virus who had turned to the offensive and was raining meteors down on their heads. Once Overdrive was gone, Shan turned her newly regenerated whip on Fortissimo, striking his wings and knocking him out of the sky. Moe interfaced with his navi and rushed Shan. Ami activated her own suit's abilities and the two faced off in a complex display of martial arts. The navis' energy levels fluctuated with the combination of pure digitial power and the unpredictable physical and emotional energy of human beings. Both fighters were filled with determination and doubt simultaneously. Moe's rage over her betrayal drove him to fight his hardest while his uncertainty over the future and the pointlessness of the fight held him back. Ami's ambition to prove herself both to her former allies and her new ones made her invincible while her lingering feelings of friendship made her vulnerable.
In the real world, Rick let out a cry of pain. "Damn! Jet deleted Necro. It was a close one, he's got a lot a of rare chips. Look out for him he'll be coming to back up his allies now."
Olaf noted this and had Buffel stay clear of the Life Virus. "You softened him up for me, he shouldn't be too tough. But I don't think we have a chance to finish this, we should retreat."
Moe ignored this and continued his fight with Shan. He knew there was nothing to fight for any more except what he believed in. He put all his strength into a kick that sent Shan through a viewscreen and over the edge. Before she could disappear into the void, she was enveloped in light and turned into a beam that shot into the sky. Moments later, she teleported back onto the platform looking fully revitalized. She laughed, "Lose, jack-out, recharge, jack-in. Repeat as neccessary. It really helps to have the home-field advantage you know."
Moe realized that he couldn't possibly win as long as they fought in the WWW's core system. He didn't get a second to think about what would happen next. A loud explosion behind Fortissimo caught his attention. He turned around and saw the spot where Buffel stood was replaced by a smoldering crater. The Life Virus stood in front of that spot with his body glowing. In the sky, a small point of light in the distance quickly turned into the body of Jet.exe, who streaked into sight with amazing speed. All three WWW members faced Fortissimo and slowly advanced on him. Moe didn't want to retreat. Their laughter mocked his efforts. Olaf, Trisha, and Rick shook their heads in despair.
Moe and Fortissimo suddenly let out a scream of rage. A swarm of missiles flew out of Fortissimo's body and converged on his opponents. Jet and Shan attempted to dodge but were overcome but the sheer amount of explosives. When the final attack was finished, Moe and Fortissimo slumped to the ground in exhuastion. The platform was covered in smoke. As it cleared, it revealed the central equipment and all the viewscreens had been demolished, both Jet and Shan were nowhere in sight. But the Life Virus remained unfazed, and he hovered just a few feet from Fortissimo with the LifeSword raised.
"And so the heroic mission comes to an end. Never underestimate the power of a virus. Now have a going-away present."
Moe jacked out as the sword cut through Fortissimo. He cringed and shut his eyes as he heard the viral blade rip through his navi's form. He slowly opened his eyes and read the stats in his PET. Damaged File. Degenerative Infection. Unable to Reboot. A similar warning was left on Olaf's PET too. The Life Virus's attacks damaged beyond the actual battle. Moe shook his head and sighed. "We'd better go."
* * *
Hours later. The sun was coming up. Rick drove the van down the highway as the others were crouched in the back over their PETs attempting to undo the damage. No one had spoken for a long time. They were heading back to the base for lack of any other ideas. Trisha finally spoke up after successfully repairing both Overdrive and Necro. "So we're just going back? It's all over?"
Moe shook his head. "You can drop me off at my school. I'm not going to take their punishment just yet. Fortissimo and I have unfinished business with the WWW."
"You realize the Officials know where you live."
"Yeah, so I won't live there any more. I'll change my name, move, get a disguise and when I'm ready, return to the WWW with a vengeance. You guys are welcome to join me if you want."
The others stared into space and stayed silent for a long time, considering the concept of going AWOL on their lives on an indefinite vendetta. Rick answered first. "You're kidding, right?"
Moe was completely serious, "Maybe they were wrong to choose us. They were sure wrong about Ami. But I know I can finish this mission, no matter what it takes."
They all thought he was crazy. But in a way he was making sense. Ricardo answered again. "Alright, I'll drop you off at your dorm. Good luck with that. But I'm going back. I think they'll go easier on us than you think."
Trisha and Olaf seemed to agree with him. Moe was still sure of his path though. "Well, you tell me how it works out. Just look for Fortissimo on the net."
The End
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