mendanddefend_archive | 4.02: You put de Glitch in de Guardian an' call me in de mornin'.

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daemonplot

4.02: You put de Glitch in de Guardian an' call me in de mornin'.

"Are you sure you'll be alright, sir?"

"Yeah," Bob mumbles as he staggers through the door to his apartment. "Just... need to access some energy. I'll be fine, thanks."

The CPU binome salutes, and the door closes, leaving Bob alone with his thoughts.

Something's wrong. Very wrong.

Bob knows this for a fact. He first noticed it during the Black Oil incident, when he and Matrix were fighting off the... whatever-it-was. He should have been able to keep up his attack longer--not much longer, but still. And since then, he's been running out of power more and more quickly, and it's been taking him longer and longer to recover. But it's never actually hurt, until now.

Whatever's wrong with him, it's getting worse by the cycle.

What can he do about it? Is there anything he can do about it? Bob wishes, not for the first time, that he could ask Glitch. The keytool never spoke much, but when it did, its advice was always reliable. It had been around a lot longer than Bob, after all.

But Bob can't consult Glitch now. He is Glitch... and at the same time, somehow he isn't. His body may have changed with the merge, but his mind hasn't, as far as he can tell. Aside from his new protocols and the occasional barely-glimpsed memory, Glitch seems to be completely gone.

Bob has a feeling that he knows why that is...

Before he can contemplate it any further, a fresh wave of pain washes over him, and he collapses on the floor.

On his left wrist, his synchronizer starts to blink.

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There's a GAME landing outside, and Bob hasn't been responding to ANY hails. So finds a Command.Com rushing into his garage as the sky outside flashes with purple lighting, spotting the Guardian prone right next to his car. His Synchronizer is flashing red

"Bob!" She kneels down next to him. Oh this is bad. Very bad.

Bob lifts his head feebly. "Oh... hi, Dot." He manages a small smile. "I don't feel so good..."

"We've got to get you outta here."

Dot speaks into the synchronizer on her wrist. "Phong, Bob's sick."

But it's not a picosecond later that the incoming game LANDS on the both of them.

SPAM.

The garage vanishes and is replaced by a piece of crumbling Egyptian architecture, lit with torches and lined with hieroglyphics.

"L-let's... do it." Bob struggles to his feet.

"Yeah, right. You're in no shape to boot. Look, can you download the game stats?"

"I-I'll try." He closes his eyes and extends his awareness into the Game's files (doing his best to ignore the twinges in his gut as he does so). It's a slow and difficult process, compared to how it should be, but he manages.

"The User is raiding this tomb... he's one level below. He wins by... reading from the Scroll of Life. It's just up ahead."

Dot put on her glasses and nodded. "Okay, sounds easy enough. Reboot!"

She double-clicked her icon. The burst of light put her into some sort of Egyptian Showgirl costume, wearing gold arm-bands and mummy wrappings. She felt around her sides as if looking for something specific.

"What's up?" asks Bob, puzzled.

"Well, I was hoping for a pair of 45's."

Bob smirks a little at that, then taps his own icon. "Reboot!"

Big mistake. Game code doesn't like interfacing with sprite code when the latter is damaged. His body rejects the download, painfully.

"Bob!"

The party you have called does not answer, as he is busy being unconscious right now. Please hang up and try again.

Dot can hear the muffled sounds of fighting and gunshots coming closer. She drags Bob to a mummy case, setting him inside where he should be safe, her back to a huge hole in the floor...

The last level had been a breeze to get through, and as he climbed up out of the hole in the floor, the User took a shot at the Mummy-Woman sprite. The shot missed and went off the casket lid just a scant hand's width away from his target.

Dot winces and looks back, the User's already here. She runs for cover behind some boxes as he takes several more shots at taking her down. She's going to need a plan, and fast.

...

Handy little quarterstaff there isn't it?

Just as the damned mummy dives behind the crate his ammo runs out. The craggy-faced User-sprite glared at his gun for a moment. The damn thing always choose the best times to stop working. He didn't notice the sprite peering up from behind the box, now holding a staff in her hands, as he tossed the gun away.

The user no longer has his ranged weapon, time for some close-quarters combat. Dot charges forward holding the quarterstaff to attack.

"My Turn!"

The User whipped out a large knife swinging it at her several times to force her to move back. As she jumped over the next swing onto several boxes she noticed a marking on the wall. A quick glance at her opponent and she jammed the staff down on the marking with an omninous noise that went, click. The wall thumped down revealing a gigantic eight ball that started rolling down the revealed hallway towards the User.

...Holy shit.

The User jumps back down just before the 8-ball wedges itself into the hole in the floor with a solid thunk.

"Eight Ball, center pocket." Dot blows on the end of the staff like it was a gun. Not bad. But not done yet.

It's only a few pixels more to the Scroll of Life now. All Dot has to do is touch it and the crashing Game will be over and she can go back to getting Bob some help...

She doesn't notice the door opening in the side of the passageway until the User rushes at her weilding that same knife again.

It's a quick dodge, but it gives her the chance to spin and kick him in the back.

There's more than one way to the Scroll of Life, any game-player with a byte of sense would know this. All it takes is time, patience and a little luck in fighting to get to the prize.

Unfortunately, that same goddamned mummy-woman got there first. Is she supposed to be the end boss or something? If so, they did a hell of a job programming her. She's fast. The User is knocked to the ground, his knife skittering away across the floor tiles.

Dot's really getting sick of this guy, but this makes her job SO much easier. While she was wandering the passages, she found a nifty little ability.And lucky, LUCKY User.... You get to see how she'll suck the life out of you!

The mummy grabs the User by the head lifting him up before he can reach that knife. Then her eyes and mouth light up with an unholy glow that snakes into his mouth.

Unfortunately, this particular User has encountered that ability elsewhere in the game, and knows exactly how to counter it.

He reaches up to one of the bandoliers strapped around his chest and pulls out a tiny silver ankh, which he presses against the mummy-woman's forehead.

Oh spam.

Dot's entire body freezes, this is not good. There's a ripple of energy in the air like that of a heat mirage... and then? Dot begins withering away, becoming a descicated, wrinkled old woman and blown back against the wall.

It's over by the time she hits, Dot can't even get up or fight back. She's helpless to groan as the User makes his way to the Scroll.

A mummy case on the wall opens and mummy all red and white strides out. She grabs the User by the throat and lifts him off the ground. She opens her mouth and starts to take his life force in a stream of light.

The User's skin turns gray, his hair falls out, and finally he vanishes in a shower of sparks.

"GAME OVER."

Oww... Whatever that was it did a number on her. In front of her, someone...wearing white highheel boots and wearing a white cape stands facing her.

Dot's allowed to gape now. "Hex...what in the 'NET???"

Hex looks at herself in her new form, all the white bows and gold skin. Her face was more normal than it was before, but of course she could not see it. She looked like a sun goddess but of course she doesn't know this either. All purity and light, Oh dear a Sprite.

The New Hex was astonished.

"Oh, my goodness," she said.

"What happened to my father? The Null Cocoon?"

Dot may have other priorities in mind, but when she's got a free nano rest assured, she -will- go heisenbug on this.

The crazed glaze face of Hex was confused.

"What null cocoon?" she asked.

When Bob woke up, he was in a broom closet. He can't remember how he got there, but he knows he has a job to do.

"The... portal..." he croaks as he staggers over to where Dot and Hex (why does Hex look like that?!) are standing.

Oh Dear User. Dot catches Bob as he stumbles again, oh this is bad...

"Hex, I need your help."

Yes. She said that.

"You need my help?"she asked perplexed.

Yes Hex. Your help.

"Just take Bob to the portal generator. I've got to get to the War Room."

Dot hands Bob over to Hex.

Hex takes Bob by the arm and tries to poof or fly, and can't. She opens her eyes astonished.

She has lost her powers, how can this be?

"Please, Hex! I know we've got our differences, but I need you to do this!"

"But... but I've just tried and we're still here. And I can't fly. Dot, I've lost my powers! How do I get in there?" the worry deepening on her face.

She was close to panic, where were her powers?!!!

At the wheel of Bob's car Hex is trying to dive. Almost succeeding but not really. They arrive as the tear is released. The car is bobbing and weaving erratically, go figure.

It's certainly not helping Bob get any less dizzy...

"Hex--just stop. This is fine."

"Okay, now what?" Hex asked honestly not knowing how to act without her powers.

Bob's lying sideways across the back of the car. He struggles to sit up--I've got a job to do, got to bring them back--but he's not strong enough. He drops back down against the car chassis, flickering again.

Hex shook her head worried now even more than before.

"Not good. This is not good," she said. Oh User what should she do now! Unconscious Bob, Hex with no powers, what else could go wrong?!!!!!!

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4.02: You put de Glitch in de Guardian an' call me in de mornin'.

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Hex can't drive.

Re: Hex can't drive.

Re: Hex can't drive.

Re: Hex can't drive.

Re: Hex can't drive.