By: RoeBoot

Part 6 - Binomes, Viruses, and Worms, Oh My!

Pixie wove in and out of the massive steal structures, trying to hide. The ABCs following her took a few pot shots at her whenever she came into view. Pixie drove her zipboard hard and fast until she saw two robots flying towards her in the opposite direction. One was red, the other blue.

"Halt!" said Hack.

"Stop!" said Slash.

"Hold it!"

"Don't move!"

"Hack and Slash," Pixie figured. She stopped in front of them. Putting her hands on her hips she reprimanded them. "Don't you gentlemen know proper protocol?"

"Proto-what?" Hack asked.

"You are obviously not protocol droids. Don't you know your suppose to let a lady pass?"

"Oh that!" Hack acted like he remembered.

"We forgot," Slash apologized.

"You're forgiven. If you'll excuse me."

Hack and Slash bowed and moved aside to let Pixie pass just as the ABCs came into view. They crashed into the robots, blowing them to pieces. Pixie winced. "Bob was right. Those two aren't the brightest bulbs in the Net."

An ABC rose up in front of Pixie, its rear hatch open with several viral binomes aiming weapons at her. Pixie had no time to stop. She flew inside. The ABC shuttered and bucked as a fight took place inside the cabin. One by one, the viral binomes were tossed out. The hatch shut as the ABC flew towards Silicon Tor.

Pixie sat in the cockpit, driving along, "Too green for this system Bobby? I don't think so."

But inside Pixie stomach churned from the new experience. She was nervous, even a bit scared if she could admit it to herself. She had never dealt with a virus. In all her hours as a Guardian, she had only fought one viral life form. And that had been the worst day of her life...

Flashback - The Super Computer

It was a beautiful day in Super Computer for a visit to Pathway Park. Bevel Jet sat on a park bench holding her infant daughter Reso in her arms. Her son Laser played with Retriever, a cyberdog used in file searches by the Guardians. He had been retired from active duty to have a family of his own. Retriever's mate remained at home with a new litter of pups to look after. Laser threw a ball which the dog ran to bring bring back.

Bevel's brother Chip, barely over 7 hours older then his nephew Laser, had to jump to one side to avoid being bowled over by Retriever as the dog ran back with the ball. Chip's lasso got all tangled around his boots.

"Ease up on where your throwin' that ball Laser," Chip complained.

"Sorry Uncle Chip."

"Don't call me uncle!"

"But I have to."

"Not in public!"

"Chip!" Bevel reminded him. "He is your nephew. He's not calling you by you name only."

"If any of the other cadets in my class were here, I 'd never hear the end of it."

"It could be worse."

"How?"

"Laser could be older than you."

Laser laughed and tossed the ball again. The throw landed in a sand box. Bob picked up the ball and threw it out, laughing. Bob returned to the sand castle he was making. He threw some of the sand up in air which landed al over his baby sitter, Pixelasha.

"Hey! My uniform!" The young teenage cadet Guardian stood up and dusted herself off.

Bob giggled. "Pixie took bath!"

"Pixel!" Pixie complained. "Call me Pixel. Say Pix-EL!"

"Pix-IE!"

"NO! NO! NO! Not Pixie! Pixel!"

"Pix-IE!" laughed Bob throwing more sand.

Bevel called to Pixie. "Don't worry Pixel. He'll learn to say in right."

"What if he doesn't?" Pixie whined.

"Then everyone will have to learn to call you Pixie," teased Chip.

"If that happens I'll call him Bobby! And maybe I'll call you Uncle Chip too!"

"Bevel! Pixie is threatening me!"

"Will you all behave," Bevel put her daughter in her baby carriage.

A siren went off. The system administration announced. "WARNING! VIRUS DETECTED!"

Bevel and Pixie were shocked. The Command Dot Com voice boomed an additional warning immediately after, "Attention! Guardians to Pathway Park! Guardians to Pathway Park!"

"Not here!" Bevel feared.

Pixie wondered. "How did one get in here?"

"Now's not the time to figure that out. We have to leave! Now!"

Pixie picked up Bob. He whined. "I don't wanna go!"

"We've got to Bob!" The child squirmed in her arms. "Please Bob! I'll give you some chips when we get home. I promise."

Retriever started barking, smelling something close by. The sand in the box exploded outward. Pixie was knocked to the ground. She absorbed most of the impact of the fall wanting to keep Bob from being injured. She looked up to see a snake like creature looming over her. Its dark silhouette was broken by the colors of a snarling mouth of white teeth and glowing green eyes. Two arms with sickle shaped claws were its only appendages the beast possessed. The worm focused on Pixie and seemed to smile. Bob was screaming in fear. Pixie had to get up and run but she was frozen by the sight of the virus.

Retriever attacked. The dog locked its mouth on one of the worm's spindling arms. The worm shrieked and thrashed around to break free. Retriever didn't let go.

Bevel screamed. "Pixie! Run!"

Pixie gathered Bob up in her arms and ran across the playground as fast as she could. Bevel pushed the baby carriage behind a park bench. Chip grabbed Laser to move the child out of danger. Laser kept calling for for cyberdog to come. The worm finally shook Retriever off and slashed him with his claws. The dog laid motionless on the ground. The still enraged worm looked around for his prey. The virus heard the sound of a crying baby. His eyes focused on Bevel a nano, but instead of going after the easy target, the creature slithered away after Pixie.

Bevel stood up shaking in fear. She didn't know what to do. Laser had run to Retriever and cuddled up against the dying dog, wanting him to move. Chip was furious. He said to Bevel, "I gotta go after it."

"No you don't!" Bevel insisted.

"It's gonna delete Pixie!"

Bevel heard a familiar voice shout her name. To her relief she saw Ram Jet, her husband fly up on his zipboard. He had been planning to meet her for lunch and his timing had been perfect. He was the first Guardian to arrive.

"Ram! It went that way! It's after Bob and Pixel! Hurry!"

Ram nodded and moved towards the trees. "Quark! Scan!"

* * *

Pixie jogged into a grove of B-trees and bushes thinking of what to do and what she was running from. A worm. Dark, segmented body. Small clawed arms. Known for burrowing into systems to cause severe damage by devouring its target before replicating itself to move into other systems.

Pixie stopped going over her classroom teachings and concentrated on her protocol. Mend and defend. She wove her way around the bushes, looking for a place to hide Bob. The little sprite whimpered and sniffled. Pixie hushed him, rubbing the top of his silvery haired head, trying to calm him down.

"Monster," he cried. "Bad."

"Yes very bad," Pixie whispered. "Be very quiet Bob or he'll find us. If only I had a keytool!"

Pixie spotted a hole in the base of a large B-tree. She bend down seeing it had enough room to shelter a tiny sprite inside. She quickly put Bob down. "Hide and seek Bob. Stay in here are be real quiet. I'll get the bad monster to go away."

Pixie pushed Bob in the tree. The child whined at little but became quiet when Pixie hushed him. The teen slowly got up and crept from behind the bushes. She looked around before running. The worm shot out of the bushes to her right, its jaws open to snap off her head. Pixie dropped to the ground, scrapping her hands to keep from being bitten. The worm sailed over her, stopped itself and turned around, ready to strike again.

A laser pointer targeted its chest. The beast looked down at it a nano before it got blown into two pieces by a high powered particle beam. Ram sighed in relief he had hit the target in one shot. He thanked his keytool. "Good work Quark."

"Ram!" Pixie was relieved to see her training partner. "I'm glad you weren't late for lunch."

"Quark reminded me to be on time. Bevel hates it when I'm late." Ram helped the teenager stand up. The pieces of worm were laying still on the ground. The shot had severed it just below its arms. Pixie thought she saw its tail move and ducked behind Ram. He tried to calm her. "It's all right Pixel. I got it."

Ram saw something next to the worms head. He knelt down and picked up a small round disk the size of his palm. Pixie asked, "What is it?"

"A revert command. It must have been attached to the worm but how-?"

"RAM!" Pixie screamed.

The half of the worm still having a head and most of its body had spontaneously grown a new tail in nano seconds. It propelled itself at Ram, stabbing its claws under his rib cage before he could utter a command to Quark.

Pixie backed away as the worm tossed Ram to the ground. The worm howled at his triumph before fastening his eyes on Pixie again. Ram barely made any sound as he deleted from the sudden attack. Quick fell off his arm as he vanished into cyberdust. Pixie shrieked. It had ended so fast. She didn't want to believe Ram was gone. The worm had her. Quark suddenly floated off the ground and sailed towards Pixie. She put her arm up as the keytool attached itself to her arm. Pixie sensed it sharing its code with her. She had a keytool!

The worm charged.

"Quark! Anything!" was the only phrase Pixie could say in time.

The keytool covered her in an energy shield. The worm bounced off the shield. It roared and prepared to attack again when a half a dozen laser pointers targeted its body. The worm was blown it several pieces this time. Several Guardians converged on the spot were the worm had been, all of them armed with beam rifles. One was Guardian Turbo, Ram's best friend.

Turbo ordered Copland, "Flame thrower!"

The Guardian charred the remains of the worm to keep it from replicating any pieces to make a new body.

"Quark! Disengage!" Pixie said to release herself from the shield.

Turbo heard Pixie's words and his heart drive sank. "Ram..."

Turbo looked around as if to hope to see Ram somewhere. He heard only crying. A Guardian trooper held Bob in his arms as the child sobbed.

Pixie was weeping too. Turbo put his arms around her. His comfort would do little to relieve Pixie's grief.

Ram was gone.

* * *

Pixie drove the ABC into the garage of Silicon Tor. She had to wipe tears of of her eyes to see as she parked. Pixie quickly got out and started creeping her way through the hallways towards Megabyte's thrown room. She evaded the notice of several virals patrolling the corridors. No need to make her presences known until needed. Pixie finally arrived at the lift leading to the elevated platform Megabyte used as his perch. The roof to the Tor was shut and it seemed more dark and quiet then it should have been.

It was quiet in the big Tor. Too quiet. Pixie thought to herself.

Pixie decompressed her zipboard and hopped on. She looked at Quick. The keytool chirped. She nodded. Pixie flew up. Floodlights turned on, the intensity bright enough to blind a sprite.

"Quark! Particle beam!" Pixie cried out.

The energy burst shattered the search lights, plunging the Tor back to darkness.

"Main power on!" Megabyte ordered.

The lights came on. Megabyte saw Pixie wearing a pair of shaded goggles.

Megabyte tried not to sound too angry. The virus smiled and asked, "How did you know?"

"A little keytool told me," Pixie removed the eye wear, folding them down and slipping them into a small compartment inside Quark for storage. "I never leave home without him."

"Ah yes. Home. The Super Computer. I assumed you enjoy living there?" Megabyte steepled his fingers and stared at her.

"Very much."

"Mainframe must seem quite small for someone of your talents."

"It seems quite a nice size. It suits Bob quite well."

"How is Bob?"

"Since I'm a qualified Disk Doctor, I'm allowed to keep my medical cases confidential."

"Multitasked are we? I'm very impressed."

"Shall we cut to the chase Megabyte? Where's my dog?"

"Why Miss Pixie-."

"Guardian Pixelasha! Pixie is a name reserved only for my friends."

Megabyte cocked his eyebrow. "I can see where Bob gets his flippant attitude."

"I taught him only the best manners."

"A doctor, teacher and Guardian. Is there nothing you can't do?"

"Get an egotistical virus to answer a simple question?" Pixie said deadpan. If Megabyte had been pricked by the comment, he didn't show it. He pointed up above him to a crate hanging on the end of a crane. The binome operating the machinery swayed the crane back and forth. Fetch squealed and whimpered. Pixie only glanced up a nano, not wanting to take her eyes off Megabyte too long. She asked, "I take it there is a price to pay for releasing him?"

"I doubt a portal to the Super Computer isn't considered a fair trade?" Megabyte assumed.

"Sorry. Too expensive."

"Then we have nothing more to discuss. A Search Engine dog will be quite a useful addition to my little army."

"Over my deleted bitmap!"

"I'll be glad to accommodate you."

Two dozen armed viral binomes mounted on zipboards floated out from hiding to surround Pixie.

This is not good, thought Pixie.

* * *

Bob struggled to keep steady on his zipboard. His ribs ached badly. He felt the sweat pouring down his face.

How can I help her when I'm like this! Even if I get inside-.

Bob felt a familiar presence. The one that make his hair stiffen more then usual. Hexadecimal popped into existence right beside him. He stopped so abruptly he lost his balance and started to fall off his zipboard. A gentle brush of Hexadecimal's powers held him up and set him back on.

"Hex!" Bob was surprised to see her. "You're better!"

"A little," Hex had on her frowning mask. "I found out what happened. Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Pixie's in danger. I have to get to the Tor."

Hex looked towards G Prime and then back to Bob. Her mask changed to a smirk. "You're at the Tor."

With a snap of her fingers, Hex teleported Bob to the Tor.

* * *

Bob materialized in the shadows of the main thrown room right next to the crane. The viral binome was having fun swaying the crate holding Fetch, making the poor puppy squeal. The Guardian flew up to the cockpit door and knocked the operator out with a quick punch. Bob moaned at the pain it caused but climbed inside to take the controls before anyone could notice.

Pixie kept her ground, ready to use Quirk to get herself out of the situation. The binomes started to move in closer when the crate holding Fetch lowered right in front of Pixie. Pixie jumped on and the crate instantly was lifted back up. Megabyte cocked his head up to watch as the binomes fired. The virus warned, "Don't hit the dog you idiots!"

The crane continued to swing back and forth, turning Pixie into a moving target. Fetch yapped for help. Pixie called him. "Hold on Fetch! I'll get you out."

Megabyte saw who was in the crane's operation booth. Megabyte ordered, "Get Bob you fools!"

Bob had Glitch form and energy shied to protect himself as he strained at using the crane's controls. Pixie picked off a few binomes using her keytool's energy beams before giving Quark a new order, "Quark! Cutters!"

She bent down, letting the saw blades do the work needed. Once the hole was made, Fetch all but leaped into her arms. Quark disengaged as he received an incoming message from Bob. "Pixie! I'm going to get the drop on Megabyte! Bail out!"

Pixie jumped off the crate as Bob released it. It fell right for Megabyte. The legless virus managed to get out of the chair as the crate smashed on top of it. Pixie commandeered a zipboard from a pair of binomes. She asked Bob, "What's the quickest way out of here?"

"I'm working on it," Bob pressed several buttons in the cockpit before finding the right one. The roof of the Tor opened. Pixie ascended straight up as Bob flew out after her to escape. Megabyte had found his legs and put them on. He ordered, "Get every ABC in the air after them! Have the ABC with the "bomb" head for the Principal Office immediately! The Guardians want to play hard? So can I!"

* * *

Despite being safely away from the Tor, it didn't take long for Pixie to start yelling at Bob, "What in the Net are you doing here!?"

"Rescuing you," Bob said with a pained look on his face.

"I had the situation within my control. You've likely aggravated your injury."

"You could tell huh?"

"How in the code did you ever get inside the Tor?"

"I had a little help."

Hexadecimal popped into existence in front of them. "Hello!"

This time Pixie almost fell from her zipboard. Hex set her right. Fetch squeaked then snarled at Hexadecimal. Pixie cuffed her hand over the puppies mouth. Pixie faked a smile. "Hex! What a surprise to see you out and about."

"I had to come to see how Bob was," Hex grinned. Pixie thought of how fake Hex's smile was too. It's a good thing she can't read minds. Fetch kept snarling in spite of Pixie's attempt to stifle the sound. "Now Fetch! Mind your manners! You'll have to forgive him. Viruses scare the wee thing. Being kidnapped didn't help."

"Oh he is so cute! Can't I hold him?"

Bob interrupted much to Pixie's relief. "Hex? We got a bigger problem right now."

A dozen ABC's were heading for them. "Oh Pish posh! And I'm not up to full power yet."

The sky suddenly turned purple. The thunder sounds rolled across Mainframe as the system administrator chimed, "WARNING INCOMING GAME! WARNING INCOMING GAME!"

"Oh! Can this get any worse?!" Pixie said.

"I'll go blow Megabyte a kiss. You two run along."

"Thank you Hex. I'll owe you one."

"I'll put in on Bob's tab," Hex giggled.

Bob hated to think what that might mean as Hex processed to send fireballs towards the ABCs. One broke away from the group and started towards the Principal Office. The Guardian's began to chase the lone ABC. Pixie said, "One of us has to play the game."

"It won't matter." Bob said. They saw the ABC crossing right under the Game cube's path. The driver wasn't going to get out of the way in time. Both Guardians and the ABC disappeared within the game.

Read Part 7 | Back to the Changing of the Guardian