Girls' Night Out
(a satire of Cleopatra 2525)

By RoeBoot

Dot rushed to the Mainframe Central Disk Repair as soon as she received the message on her organizer. She attempted to remain as calm as she possible for someone who found out her boyfriend and her brothers had gotten in an bad accident. She thought a nice non school day called for taking little Enzo to Kits to do some Circuit Racing. They'd done it ten thousand times with no problems. What could have gone wrong?!

When see entered the emergency room, a disk doctor guided her to a large private room where they had taken all the crash victims. When she first came in, she wanted to laugh at the sight. Matrix laid on the biobed with his leg in a cast. AndrAIa was using a pen to write her name on it in very large letters. Bob sat on a second bed, his arm in a sling. He used his Glitch energy on the broken wrist to speed the healing. Ray Tracer sat right beside him with a bandage around his head. Mouse playfully kissed him to make it feel better. Little Enzo, to Dot's relief, only had a file patch on his chin.

"Enzo are you okay?" She kneeled down and hugged her baby brother.

"I'm fine sis. It's only a scratch. The doctor says it won't even scar. Want to see?" Little Enzo went to life off the patch.

"Not now."

"Mine hurts a lot more you know," Bob said.

Dot stood up and glared at Bob. The guardian looked sheepish as she demanded. "Explain exactly what happened and keep it brief."

"We crashed," replied Bob.

Dot waited for more but only listened to silence for a few nanoseconds. "That's all your going to say?"

"You said keep it brief."

"We were all going for the ball just as it was pulled out of play." Matrix told her. "None of us put on the breaks in time."

Dot's anger eased a fraction. How could she stay mad when Bob made those puppy dog eyes at her? She asked somewhat softer to Bob, "How bad is it?"

"I'll be able to heal this in another cycle thanks to Glitch's medical formats. Then I can help repair the others."

"No rush for that mate," Ray grinned as Mouse kept caressing his face. "I'm feelin' much better already."

"I guess it could have been worse," Dot's organizer beeped. She suddenly dreaded answering the incoming call. "Command.com. Dot speaking."

Phong was on the other end of the vid line looking more worried then she had been. "Uh Dot. Specky tells me long range sensors indicate we have a game coming."

"Cursors and crashes!" grumbled Matrix.

"No thanks. We just had one," joked Ray.

"Ray this is serious!" Mouse stopped kissing him. "Our best game players are in downtime."

"Not all of them," said AndrAIa.

"Phong? Where's the game going to land?" Dot asked.

"In Kits Sector. I have started evacuation protocols. We can get everyone out in time but we will loose a good sector when the User wins."

"My apartment," groaned Bob.

"Not one pixel of this system's going off line on my watch! According to the Mainframe operations handbook, I'm initiating emergency Security Plan number 9525. The next best available game players will access and play the game. I'm taking AndrAIa and we're going to protect Mainframe."

"I can play too!" Little Enzo persisted.

"No Enzo. It's going to be too dangerous."

"A good reason for you not to go," Bob said.

"We can do this Bob. You've asked me to trust you many times. Now you have to trust me."

"But its only going to be the two of you," Bob pointed out.

"No way sugah. It'll be the three of us," Mouse added.

"You love? Ya kiddin' right?" Ray wished.

"Nope," Mouse double tapped her hacker's icon. It switched to a standard black and white icon. "I've been hangin' on tah this for safe keepin' honey. In case there was a time I needed it. I guess the time is now."

"You never tested it," remembered AndrAIa.

"No time like the present. I made it work for you. It'll work for me. Times a wastin' Dot. Let's get game!"

"Dot. Take this," Bob unscrewed his icon and gave it to her.

"Bob! I can't take your PID. What do I need it for?"

He smiled. "You'll need it. Trust me. And if you gals find Frisket, take him with you."

"We will. Let's go ladies," Dot gave Bob a quick peek on the cheek and they headed for Kits.

* * *

Frisket had raced to Kits when the system computer began warning about the games arrival. The wall took its time descending allowing the girls to position themselves beside the dog. Frisket barked hello to Dot, AndrAIa and Mouse but whined when it noticed Matrix and Bob weren't with them.

AndrAIa scratched Frisket's ears. "Just us gals this time fellow. Let's hope this one's easy."

"For Mainframe's sake," added Dot as she attached Bob's guardian icon to her wrist as the game wall shut.

When she looked up she saw a nighttime sky of tranquil stars overlooking the ruins of what appeared to be a bombed out civilization. Trees and other vegetation were overgrowing the area.

"I was hopin' for somethin' a bit more attractive for my first time," commented Mouse.

"Most games aren't," AndrAIa said. "This isn't one I've seen before."

"That's means we guess everythin'. And that will slow us down. We need a Glitch of out own."

"We have one," whispered Dot in amazement. She lifted her wrist up to show Bob's icon glowing a bright yellow. "He's linking to the game and feeding me the information! The game is called Termination. The User has to wiped out all the humans in the game to complete assimilating the planet. We have to stop him before he succeeds by locating a special weapon found in the lower chambers."

"I have a funny feelin' when we reboot we'll be the humans," Mouse figured.

AndrAIa shrugged. "Only one way to know. Just double click your icon-"

"And say the magic word!" finished Dot. She tapped hers. "REBOOT!"

The green wash of energy cascaded down and altered there appearances. Mouse had to laugh. Not only did the process tickle but what she wore wasn't too far off her taste. She had on warlike knee high boots, spandex black leather shorts with an armored silver top showing off her middrift and arm bands decorated with some form of electronic gizmos. AndrAIa's outfit also fit her previous attire. She had fill length sea wave decorated pants to go with her military style boots. The same pattern was in her top, which had one long sleeve while the other arm was bare. She had on similar wrist bands. He starfish now became part of her bodice.The reboot didn't reveal any more skin then she was used to showing. Frisket, now a German Shepard woofed and wagged his tail.

"I think Frisket approves of out attire," said Mouse.

"So would Matrix and Ray," believed AndrAIa. "All I need now is my own Surf Baud."

"Oh no," whined Dot. Her two piece outfit was made of bronze shiny leather cut to reveal much of her waist and a mini skirt cut high on her right thigh. She looked ready to tip over from the height of the wedge heeled thigh high boots on her legs. Dot stared down at herself in disgust. "I haven't felt this embarrassed since Malicious Corpses!"

Mouse shrugged. "I like the boots honey."

"I'd hate to see the look on Bob's face," Dot complained.

"And how's he gonna know sugah?"

"I always order interior monitoring of games so I'll know what's going on. If I were Bob I'd have asked Phong to route a vid hookup to Disk Tools. They're probably staring at us right now with their jaws hanging open!"

Mouse looked around a moment, turned, then called, "Hi Ray!"

AndrAIa took Mouse by the arm and pulled her towards the bombed city. "Let's start playing. And keep moving," AndrAIa touched her now round fin less arms, then felt her ears. They were round. "I guess we're human?"

"Yes," sighed Dot as they walked. "And we know won't have to look for the User. He's going to come looking for us. By the way, those gadgets on your wrists are your shields, laser weapons and something called a slinky line. I have only my sensors. No shields. Or weapons."

"Sound like we have to look afta' yah," Mouse examined the wristbands. "So will we know when the User's comin'?"

"I'll start screaming," Dot said sarcastically still jaded by her attire. She noticed her icon was now in her right wrist, while Bob's remained on the left. They were both bronze and black to go with her outfit. She smiled in spite of herself. She could feel something from Bob. As if he were there.

When they entered the ruined city, Frisket sniffed around the broken buildings until he found a hole in the ground of a bombed out home. The dog barked.

AndrAIa figured, "Frisket wants us to go down there."

"These sensors and Bob's prompts agree, " concurred Dot.

"Any idea where we're goin' Dot?" Mouse inquired.

The wrist band holding Bob's icon beeped. Dot heard a humming sound, she turned to see three small silvery robots flying toward them. They aimed a double barrel of laser weaponry at the sprites.

"Away from those things!" Dot screamed.

"Get inside Dot! We'll cover you! Go Frisket!" AndrAIa screamed. She raised her right arm and opened fire. The green laser rays were hitting the robots but only charring their surfaces. AndrAIa activated her shields to protect herself. Frisket whined to her and rubbed his nose. She yelled at him. "I don't care WHAT you smell! Get in there!"

AndrAIa kicked the dog in. Dot dove in after him, screaming all the way down.

Mouse joined in the fire fight. She yell out a customary. "YEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAA!"

"Go Mouse!" ordered AndrAIa.

"You first! I'm havin' fun!"

"Games aren't fun! They're dangerous!" She heard herself say."And I have seniority here! GO!"

"Alright! I'm goin'!" Mouse leaped through the opening as one robot blew up. AndrAIa fired a few more shots at the surviving ones, before jumping down the hole after the hacker. She landed on top of Mouse.

"Ouch!" complained Mouse.

"At least it wasn't too hard a landing," moaned Dot.

"Because we all landed on Frisket," AndrAIa noted. "But what did he land in."

The girls saw they were in a sewage/garbage dump. They let in a deep breath and let out a collective. "EEEEWWWWWWWW!"

Mouse looked at Frisket. "What an interestin' smell you've discovered."

Frisket grumbled.

"Great! Now we have a smelly dog to travel with," Dot got herself up.

"Which way now sugah?"

Dot consulted both Bob's icon and her own game sensors. And started walking. "This way."

AndrAIa said, "Frisket. Take the rear. And no offense. If that smell doesn't come out, I'll make sure I give you a bath."

Frisket only complained in his own dog fashion at the thought of enduring a data wash and followed the girls.

* * *

As Dot figured, Matrix and Ray were watching the action going on in the game from a vidwindow hook up. They both hid their tension about being forced to only observe the game as the women they loved risked erasure.

"We never shoulda let them go mate," Ray said to break the silence.

"I know. Loosing a section of Mainframe isn't worth being forced to see this. Mouse isn't acting like its as dangerous as it is."

"Ain't Mouse's style to act like she's in danger. Neither does AndrAIa. She might be one thing ta get Dot an' Mouse out of there."

"And the other is Bob. Whatever he's done by giving Dot his icon is helping."

"I'm surprised he's not watchin' this."

"Somehow, I think he is."

* * *

Despite his injury, Bob had zipped over to the Principle Office to be beside Phong when the game arrived. Little Enzo had tagged along at his urging. The guardian feared the worst in the back of his mind while remaining confident the girl's would survive at risk to his own PID.

When the game began, Bob sat on the floor, crossed his legs and logged off speaking to the Phong and Enzo. The child was confused by his mentor's behavior. Bob had his eyes closed yet showing awareness of what was going on in the game.

"He is networked to the game my son," Phong explained. "By giving Dot his icon, he can read the game's purpose and relay to her what to do. Sort of like an inner voice."

"I never knew Bob could do things like this."

"Because of his unique nature since he downloaded Glitch, I believe many things will be possible for him."

"Phong...," Enzo tired to ask, "what will happen if... if Dot-"

"Bob will be affected more then by grief. If they loose the game, the shockwave will travel to him, causing sever damage or worse."

Bob interrupted their discussion. He didn't speak to them but to Dot in the game. He whispered. "Dot. You have to go in there. Whether you like it or not."

* * *

"We have tah go in there?" Mouse said in amazement. Mouse hadn't expected them to find a bunch of game sprites in a bar setting beneath the surface of the game. The sprites were anything but normal. They were a jumble of assorted freaks, creatures and mutants. Mouse smiled. "This is too cool!"

"Hmmm," AndrAIa looked around. "It reminds me of the bar Matrix met Turbo in. Only this time, I get to see the kind of people who were in it. Do you know why we have go inside?"

"The exit on the other side leads to the next chamber. We have to go there to find the weapon."

"Think we have time for a drink?"

"Mouse you have to take game's a little more seriously," scolded AndrAIa.

"Or yah end up in the Funhouse?"

"Trust me. You don't want to go there," Dot and AndrAIa said in unexpected unison.

When the trio entered the bar it got much quieter. The bartender, a mutant sprite with multiple tentacles instead of arms yelled at them. "Keep the mutt outside!"

AndrAIa aimed her laser at him. Mouse raise her arm also. "Wanna arm wrestle tough guy?"

The bar keep snarled. "I don't let weapons in my bar either!"

Dot tried to mediate. "We need both for our safety."

"Being human you'd need it."

The bar patrons laughed. Dot suggested. "You keep our weapons and we'll keep our dog."

"Dot!" AndrAIa and Mouse said alarmed.

"It's the only way."

AndrAIa and Mouse gave up the lasers on their arm bands. Frisket's growls and pungent odor helped clear a path to a circular table in the rear of the bar. The girls sat down. They noticed some of the sprites were willing to stare them in the eye. Across from them were a strange pair of game sprites, both female. One looked like a she was made of rock while the other was a silvery cyborg. AndrAIa commented. "I'm getting this strange feeling of deja vu."

"Soooooo," asked Mouse, "exactly why did we have to give up our weapons?"

"We couldn't get to the exit for the chamber unless we did."

"Bob's directions?" Moused figured. "And what if someone in here decides we're fair game?"

"Don't worry I'm sure no one else in the bar is armed either."

"Like you've been here before."

"Mouse," AndrAIa said, "part of game playing is patience. Just keep alert."

A waitress looking like a oversized iguana came to the table and put three drinks down.

"What's the occasion?" AndrAIa inquired being suspicious of every sprite.

"The gentlemen issssss buying," she pointed her clawed hand towards a heavily muscled human sitting at the bar. He wore sunglasses over his eyes and had buzz cut blonde hair.

"Looks like a cross between Matrix and Ray," Mouse said coyly. "Is he tryin' to pick us up?"

The human's gaze intensified until his eyes glowed red. Dot stood up. "More like pick us off! That's the User!"

The User reached behind his back and took out a weapon. The bartender actually tried to stop him and got the first shot. It gave Mouse time to flip over the table and push Dot and AndrAIa down to take cover. Frisket wanted to charge the User, but AndrAIa pulled him back into hiding. The panic in the bar obscured the User's attempts to lock on his targets. He started firing, ever if game sprites were in the way. Several laser bolts tore through the table. The User came closer, firing two more salvos, turning most of the table to splinters. He kicked the table remains of the table away. The girls had disappeared.

He heard someone whistle and shout. "Hey bits for brains! Looking for me?!"

The User saw AndrAIa hop on the bar. She rearmed herself with her laser, activated her shield, and fired several times. AndrAIa saw the sparks fly off his cybernetic components beneath the exposed skin from the wounds she inflicted, but they were not effective at slowing him down. The User fired back. AndrAIa shielding held as she ducked back behind the bar.

Frisket whined to her in a bit of worry. AndrAIa asked him. "Have Dot and Mouse gotten out?" The dog nodded.

"Good!" The liquor bottles and glasses above AndrAIa shattered as the User tried to hit her. "Let's show this User a thing or two!"

* * *

Mouse and Dot ran along the passageway leading them closer to the weapon they needed. Mouse adjusted the laser on her wrist. "Glad I came after all honey?"

"As glad as I was all those minutes you helped us fight Megabyte. Your cut and paste tricks are the best way out of a bad situation."

"I hope Andy and Frisket will be alright facing the User without us."

"She'll catch up to us in nanoseconds. It's better off we keep going. WHOOPS!"

They stopped short when they saw a mutant game sprite from the bar standing in their way. He looked like the User from the Funhouse, only more frightening and dressed less silly. His grin was more then a little eerie.

"HEL-lo there lovely lady," the mutant cooed.

Mouse snarled at him. "I'm no lady!"

Before the hacker could attack, another sprite tackled the chaotic game sprite. The female mutant sat on the male mutant's chest the way Enzo did after bowling over Bob. She resembled a futuristic Japanese kabuki in the bright red kimono and silver go go boots. She had the traditional white face and high black hair with chopsticks for pins. She turned and smiled at Dot and Mouse. It wasn't too hard to recognized her.

"HEXADECIMAL!?!"

"Hi girls! Having fun? I know I am! Aren't we handsome?" She looked all love sick and fawning at the choatic game sprite. The clown faced freak screamed, shoved Hex off and ran away. Hex sighed. "He enjoys playing hard to get! Oooooh sweetie! Hexy wants a kiss!"

Hex lifted up her skirts so she could chase after her quarry easier.

Dot and Mouse stared at each other totally taken off guard. Mouse commented, "Ever since Bob went off the market, she's gettin' desperate."

An explosion caused be a laser weapon made them start running again. Mouse glanced back to see AndrAIa chasing them. "It's Andy. Something is shooting at her."

Dot said, "Looks like the User's on our trail."

"Which way now sugah?"

"This way! Then we go-" The hallway opened suddenly to a vertical shaft. Dot stopped right on the edge. She waved her arms in a wide circle to try to keep her footing. She screamed as Mouse reached out and caught her hand to pull her away from falling.

Dot gasped. "Thanks. That's two I owe you."

"Add it to the list. Where are we goin' now?"

"Straight-" AndrAIa yelped and tried to stop but plowed into Dot and Mouse and they plunged into the shaft. "DOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNN!"

* * *

"Dot!" shouted Enzo. The child looked away from the vidmonitor to Bob.

The guardian opened his eyes only for a horrified moment before closing them quickly to reconnect to the link between him, Dot and the game. Bob mumbled. "Don't worry. Your going the right way."

* * *

The three girls were falling skydiver style lacking parachutes towards what should be splattering deletion. AndrAIa glanced at Dot and Mouse and hollered, "Sorry!"

"Sure! And when we hit bottom it's street pizza!" Mouse yelled.

"No! You can stop our fall! Use the slinky line!"

"We never tested it!"

"No time like the present!" smiled AndrAIa.

As they pasted a level two silvery flying robots came out of hiding and started chasing them. AndrAIa saw the robots coming. "Mouse! Our friends from the surface have found us! Flip over!"

The women somersaulted to face the robots and fired upward at the enemy tracking them. The return laser fire whizzed past Dot. She screamed. "I hate multi tasked Users!"

"So do I!" snarled AndrAIa. "These drones are meant to slow us down or erase us for the User."

Dot tried to keep her eyes on where they were going without fearing being shot in the back. A level splashed with green caught her eye. She flipped around as it passed by and pointed. "That's where we have to get off!"

"Let's stop this elevator right minus the elevator!" Mouse grabbed hold of Dot by her forearm. AndrAIa held on to Dot's other side. "Ready?"

"Set!" AndrAIa agreed.

"Just go!" Dot whined.

The girls fired off the slinky line. The rubbery strings shot past the robots chasing them and glued themselves to an overhang above the level they wanted to access. When the line pulled tight Dot thought her arms would be pulled from their sockets. As her head whipped forward, she saw the ground floor only feet away. Junk, garbage, dead bones of less fortunate travelers and very large mutant rats covered the bottom of the shaft.

She only had a second to take it all in before the slinky line snapped them back upward.

BOINK!

The robots went past them, their momentum too quick for them to slow down in time to avoid crashing on the ground.

Dot shrieked.

Mouse thought it was a bit much for the usually strong willed Command.com to be screamish. When the hacked looked down she saw a giant eight eyed rodent gripping onto Dot's leg, trying to crew her ankle off. Mouse kicked her heel deep in the rat's skull, knocking it off.

"We're here!" announced AndrAIa.

Mouse put her legs up to help put herself on the ledge and support pulling Dot up after her. In spite of the hazardous ride and Dot's sore and bleeding ankle, the girl's started laughing.

Mouse declared. "What a rush! I haven't had this much fun since Ray took me Net surfin'! But he was much slower." She paused and yelled, "No offense honey!"

"Game's aren't supposed to be fun! They're dangerous!" giggled Dot.

"Then why are yah laughing!?"

"To forget I almost got my foot bit off by ratzilla!"

"FRISKET!!!!" AndrAIa saw the brown cyberdog fall past them on the way down to his own deletion. AndrAIa stepped to the edge and fired the slinky line after him. Mouse and Dot held her to stop AndrAIa from toppling over from the sudden weight on the end of the line.

BOINK!

Frisket came up. He had his paws covering his eyes. The dog noticed he had bounced back up. Frisket peeked out to see the girl's staring at him.

AndrAIa yelled. "Bad dog-!"

Frisket fell down again.

BOINK!

"-I told you-"

BOINK!

"-to stay-"

BOINK!

"-and hide!"

BONK!

"I think you just invented the slinky dog," chuckled Mouse.

BOINK!

"Grab him!" ordered Dot.

The three ladies caught Frisket on the next rebound. Now feeling the exhaustion and the pain in her foot, Dot pleaded. "Can we please try to finish this game."

"Which way now?" asked AndrAIa.

Dot pointed. "This way."

She limped along. Mouse put her arm around the Command com's waist to support her. Mouse looked at AndrAIa. "Did you slow the User down enough?"

"Between me and Frisket we shot and chewed some good size holes in him, but it's only impairing him. And the User's little add ons aren't helping either. This one is high end and multi tasked."

"Please explain. I'm new here."

"It means the User consists of several components. The small silver robots and the human User are all tied together to fulfill the task of destroying us before we can delete him."

"So we can run into more little tricks meant to kill us off before we fine a way to finish him?"

"Yes. But if we reach the goal of finding this weapon to wipe him out, all his add ons will off line with him and we'll be out of the game."

"Over there Mouse," Dot gestured to the vaulted door ahead of them. "I think we've found what we're looking for. Shall we?"

The trio grabbed the door's lever and yanked. It hardly budged. AndrAIa groaned. "Now I really miss Matrix."

"Me too," agreed Dot.

"One more try. PULL!" Mouse heaved.

The sprites managed to inch it open after a few attempts. They quickly went in. The large room was cast in a soft white glow from electric light bulbs in the ceiling. They saw a layout of work tables, computer consoles, dozens of gadgets on racks and walls in different stages of disrepair and covered by layers of dust and cobwebs.

"The lights must have turned on when we came in," suggested AndrAIa.

"What is this place?" inquired Mouse.

"A laboratory," pronounced Dot.

"A lab behind a vaulted door?" Mouse felt skeptical. "Next thing you'll tell me a kid runs the place doin' experiments."

Dot attempted to walk but her foot seized up with a spasm. She stumbled. Mouse caught her and helped her over to a medical table. It had a buried out skeleton as a previous lab occupant. Mouse shoved it saying, "Sorry. She needs to borrow this."

Mouse sat Dot down. AndrAIa found a piece of shredded sheet and wrapped the ankle. "This will have to do until we get you out of this game."

"It's suppose to be the other way around."

"Funny. I thought it was a group effort," Mouse said.

"It is," Dot grinned as her sensors beeped. Frisket sniffed around the room and snarled at the same moment. "It's the User!"

"He's here already?" Mouse raised her laser weapon to fire at the door.

"Not exactly."

Pieces of metal, circuits and fiber wire started crawling out of the corners of the lab. The mass came together to form a skeletal machine creature much larger then the humanoid cyborg the girls encounter at the bar. AndrAIa and Mouse opened fire. They were blowing holes in the cybermonster but it simply regenerated itself every time with more parts from the lab. It raised its arms, both possessing laser weaponry likened to the silvery robots that pursued them most of the game. The weapons discharged. Mouse noticed that their shields were barely protecting them.

"AndrAIa! This thing is trying to cut though our shields!"

"It's adapting to our shield harmonics!" AndrAIa warned.

"Then let's make sure they he knows our resistance ain't futile!"

AndrAIa somersault over to a computer console to hide behind. Mouse ducked and rolled under a medical table. She found herself laying next to the skeleton. Mouse sighed. "Excuse me. I forgot you were hiding here."

Dot had ducked behind a computer panel. She shrieked when pieces of it were blown off around her. She clung to Frisket to both keep him from going after the User and have something to hold onto as security. She admitted, "I think this game character needs more guts and less screaming."

"Dot!" cried AndrAIa. "You have to find the weapon!"

"We'll keep you covered!" Mouse added. "And remember you don't have any shields!"

"How can I forget!" whined Dot as a shot came very close to her head.

"Hey freakaziod! Let's dance!" AndrAIa back flipped to another control panel firing a few more shots.

Mouse rolled herself like a tumbleweed and ducked behind the terminal AndrAIa had hid behind. She launched a volley of lasers at the metal beast. "I don't think he knows the steps Andy!"

The robot pivoted to aim at Mouse, when AndrAIa jumped out and fired again, dashing behind the medical table. "He just can't keep up with the routine! Let's double time!"

AndrAIa and Mouse kept leaping from one place to another, not giving the robot time to home in on them. It spat smoke and sparks mostly from its ears but it showed no sign of giving up or self destructing from the beating it took.

Dot bolted from her hiding place to a wall full of assorted gadgets and weaponry. She started picking up stuff at random. She shouted, "Come on Bob! Which one is it?"

A laser beam hit only a few feet away from her. Frisket now had his own chance to attack. The cyberdog rushed the mechanized maniac and grabbed it by the leg. Distracted by having to aim at AndrAIa and Mouse, the robot let Frisket chew on itself. Frisket managed to rip the leg free. But even disconnecting an entire limb failed to slow it down. Frisket discovered the leg kicked him harder when severed. Frisket whimpered but refused to let go. AndrAIa pleaded. "Frisket! Let it go! Let go!"

Frisket wouldn't obey. The removed leg kicked the dog hard in the ribs. Frisket fell over, still holding on. AndrAIa came out of cover, giving the robot a more fixed target to aim at. Her shield was weakening fast. Knowing AndrAIa was keeping herself as an open target to help Frisket, Mouse stepped out and kept firing too. The hacker cried out, "Dot! We're running out of time! Where's the ammo!?!"

Dot kept picking out different items on her left. Then she realized Bob's beacon was signaling for her go to the room's left, not her left. Another laser beam came far too close to putting a hole through her hand. She ducked down and found the nozzle of a fire hose. Bob's icon glowed brighter when she touched it.

Dot laughed. "This is it!? This is the weapon!?! Bob! Are you random?! This is a data hose!"

"DOT!" screamed AndrAIa and Mouse.

When Dot looked behind her she saw the User from the bar enter the room. He looked like a buried out metal zombie. Most of his flesh had been incinerated or blown off him, exposing silvery metal and circuit chips under the skin. It's glare displayed more then a minor fragment of rage.

The User kicked Frisket off its symbiotic crony's leg. The dog lay wounded as the User stepped around him and opened up point blank on AndrAIa and Mouse. The girls both fell over, their shield power gone and dazed from the attack. The metal robot's hands produced tentacles of fiber wires that seized AndrAIa and Mouse to constrict there breathing. The User calmly walked by them and headed for Dot.

Dot frantically turned on the main valve for the fire hose. The hose filled with liquid as she fumbled to activate the spigot. The User aimed his firearm. "You are terminated!"

* * *

Bob's face was bathed in sweat. He reached out further then he dared to go and thought possible for his powers. He gasped before saying, "Glitch! Energy shield!"

* * *

A golden shield enveloped Dot. The User's barrage ricocheted off of Dot's head and hit him in the chest, knocking him on the floor. The Command.com smiled, her eyes teared up and she whispered. "Thank you Bob."

* * *

Phong stood beside Bob. The guardian had fainted from the strain of the link. The old sprite ordered Enzo, "Call for a med vac. He must be brought to the hospital."

"What about Dot?" worried Little Enzo.

"She is on her own now."

* * *

AndrAIa and Mouse were being strangled by the User's madder half. Dot turned the nozzle on full. The high pressure water stream hit the machine freak in the chest. As before with the laser weapons, it tore a hole in its structure, but because the water shorted out its components, its ability to repair itself malfunctioned. Its arms fell off, allowing AndrAIa and Mouse to pry themselves free of the tendrils around their throats. The water reduced the robot to a pile of sparking circuits.

Dot turned off the hose and waited, expecting the game to end. Then AndrAIa and Mouse saw the User get up. They pushed Dot out of the way and took defensive stances on either sides of him. Mouse growled. "The tinkertoy still wants to play!"

"So do I!" AndrAIa said furious. She spun around and kicked the User in the abdomen. Mouse then gave him a right upper cut to the jaw before clothes lining him to the floor.

Dot stood over him and turned on the hose. The water poured onto the User. The cyborg flayed around as his systems started overheating. Dot giggled. "Hasta la vista baby!"

"Uh Dot," Mouse noticed many of the computer panels in the lab were smoking. "I think yah got carried away usin' that weapon of yours."

AndrAIa said. "Let's make some free space between us and this place! Frisket!" AndrAIa pushed the remains of the robot's leg off the dog and helped him to stand up. Frisket wobbled and grimaced from the painful blows. Mouse and Dot aided AndrAIa in holding the injured animal and carrying him out the door as the walls started to explode. The User blew up taking most of the lab along with him. The shockwave from the blast sent the ladies and Frisket falling down the shaft but this time they heard the system administrator say. "GAME OVER."

WHUMP!

The three sprites and their dog hit the pavement right outside Bob's apartment complex. They let out a collective moan. Dot passed out.

* * *

Dot woke up feeling dull aches all over her body. She remembered trying to stop herself from hitting her head on the ground but failed. She touch her hand to her face, finding a small file patch attached to her chin. She noticed Little Enzo standing beside her bed. He leaned over her and smiled at her. "Hi Dot. Don't worry. The doctor says your cut won't scar. And your ankle isn't too badly hurt either."

"Enzo? Where am I? What happened?"

"You crashed," She heard Matrix say. She looked to her left and saw her bigger little brother on the biobed beside her. She grinned. The rat had bit her on right foot. Matrix had broke his right leg. An now she got a file patch on the chin to almost match Little Enzo. It was so ironic!

She stared at Matrix. "But...where is..?"

"I'm on this side," whispered Bob.

Dot looked to her right. Bob laid on another biobed put very close to hers. Bob looked as exhausted as a drained battery and appeared pale as well. Dot tried to sit up, however her head still buzzed from the spill at the end of the game that caused the bump on her chin. She reached her hand out. He found some strength to put his hand in hers. She smiled. "My guardian angel. How are you feeling now?"

"Worse then before," he conceded, "but I'll be back on line by the end of the cycle. No energy drain and busted wrist will keep me down timed. But can you promise me you'll never use Security Plan 9525 again?"

"As long as you stay available for game playing," Dot passed him his guardian icon, "so I'll never have to borrow this again. So where is the rest of my team?"

"I'm right here Dot," AndrAIa walked over to her biobed. The game sprite had her arm in a sling. "I sprained my shoulder when we exited the game."

"Mouse?"

"Right here honey." The hacker waved to her from across the room. Mouse showed no major injuries from her ordeal in the game. "Soooooo, when do I get to play again?"

"Your not goin' in any more games without me love," insisted Ray.

"Yah afraid somethin' bad's gonna happen sugah?"

"No. Only jealous of the competition," Ray cocked his eyebrow and smirked. "It's kinda hard ta compete for best thrill ride with a game. I resent being called slow."

"I said it was not offense sweetie, but if yah want to prove your better...?" Ray took her by the arm. As they left the room Mouse called out, "See yah later sugah. And don't wait up for us."

Bob snickered. "Ray is feeling better."

Dot asked."What about Frisket? Is he okay?"

"His ribs are badly bruised from the kicks he received but he'll recover in no time," answered AndrAIa. "However, the disk doctors treating Frisket aren't having an easy time."

"I understand. Enzo? Go pick up Frisket. I'll still be here when you come back."

"Okay sis," Little Enzo scampered out of the room.

A vidwindow opened in front of Dot and Bob. Phong addressed them both. "I hope everyone is feeling better rather quickly."

"This better not be another emergency Phong," Dot pleaded. "We're fresh out of game players."

"Well, yes and no. I have found Hexadecimal-"

"Good. I want to talk to her," Bob found some strength to rise up and lean on his elbows. Dot saw he was annoyed. "Games are for experienced game players. Not for trying to pick up a date. Where is she?"

"At Dot's Diner. She's sharing tea with her new boyfriend."

A second vidwindow opened showing Hexadecimal sitting at the bar. Cecil poured her a fresh cup of tea. Her "boyfriend," the clownish game sprite, sat tied up on the stool beside her. He said several explicative things about her current file state forcing Cecil to stuff a napkin in his mouth.

Hex greeted them. "Hello Bob! Did Dot tell you I went in the game? Look at what I caught! Can I keep him?"

Bob and Dot glanced at each other then back at the screen. Dot asked him. "How...did she DO that!?!"

"I have no idea," Bob replied, "and I'm going to hate having to find out."

The End