Survivor by David Fullam If you could look into the Web, you would be presented with a great number of varied sights. A host of truly unusual cyber life forms exist in the lawless zone, life forms who boggle the mind and defy description. But on occasion, you might see something more familiar, like a visitor or two from the Net. A famous System Guardian named Bob was once exiled to the Web (mind you, against his will). He was liberated by a friend named Matrix and the crew of the legendary pirate vessel, The Saucy Mare. Game Sprites and Search Engines have also come and gone through the Web and the list doesn't end there for at one time a virus was trapped in the Web. He had been the one who trapped Bob there and now found himself a prisoner. he didn't have too much time to contemplate his lot. he was too busy trying to survive. But survive he had so for the first time in a long time, he sat down and lost himself in thought. Megabyte sat on the bronze colored surface of the little planetoid that was now his home. It was a calm little oasis in the midst of chaos. His bright blue colerazation had faded a great deal as had the royal red plume on his head. He was garbed in a heavy suit of bio organic armour, a necessity if one wished to surf the electronic ether of the Web and survive. Beneath it was a body that had fought in more than it's fair share of battles while imprisoned here. But they weren't the only wounds he carried. The damage he received at the hands of Enzo Matrix had healed over leaving large scars that strangely enough, he was now rather found of. They were a reminder of what he was working toward, escape and revenge. Escape from his imprisonment and revenge on those who had trapped him there, the citizens of Mainframe, his former empire. When he had been trapped, Mainframe was tearing itself apart, the legacy of a virus. Yet he knew, somehow he knew, that Mainframe had survived. Call! it an intuition, a feeling. But deep down, the virus was 100% certain that the little system had bounced back from the edge of destruction. That's why he needed to leave this place. He had unfinished business, scores that needed settling. He turned the train of his thought to other areas and remembered the events that brought him here. He remembered how Enzo Matrix had been lost in the games much like Bob had been exiled in the Web. But little Enzo returned from the game cubes as a man and that man had bested Megabyte in hand to hand combat, breaking his the blades of his right hand, cutting him open, scarring him forever. The shattered yellow blades of Megabyte's right hand extended out as far as they now could. He looked at how they were now jagged and rough but were still very deadly. He decided that this would be the hand and the weapon that would take Matrix's head. "That would truly be poetic justice" he thought to himself. He had already used the damadged hand to good effect here. It was after all the tool that killed his first Web Rider, one of a number of hearty warriors who rode the web and herded their bizarre animals. Megabyte remembered how the jagged blades had dismembered the Web Rider, slicing his form into several pieces. It was that rider's restored armour that the virus now clothed himself in. It was also a rather exhilarating experience he found. The experience of killing another with one's own hands. Although he had been the cause of much pain and suffering in Mainframe, Megabyte had never actually killed someone on his own. He had left that up to his underlings but here he did it to survive and did it himself. He soon found it strangely pleasing and could hardly wait to return to Mainframe and practice his new skills on his enemies. He retracted the blades of his right hand. Yes, they would be what he would use to kill matrix. Slowly so the moment could be enjoyed. But there were ! others as well. Although he didn't know it for sure, he was under the impression that the one who had turned his portal to freedom into a portal to a prison when he attempted escape was the hacker, Mouse. This is what he believed and he was right. She was the only one in Mainframe with the skill to do it. She had also hidden Mainframe's location from the Web to avoid another invasion from that hell. This of course meant that Megabyte could not find his way back but he took this as a challenge not a defeat. He would one day rediscover Mainframe's location and upon returning would delete Mouse. Very slowly and very painfully. "Too many double crosses my dear Mouse. I have much to settle with you as well" the virus decided. He thought of seeing her in pain, the glowing red of her hair slowly going fainter as she began to fade. Would she be defiant? Would she resist? Cry in pain? Grit her teeth? The thought of what her reaction might be made Megabyte more determined than ever to return to Mainframe. Perhaps he would "play" with Mouse. As he had "played" with another before his exile. That thought made him think of another female he had left behind. And a wicked smile crossed what passed for his lips. "Oh my dear sister Hexadecimal, how I have missed you. I wonder, do you feel the same of me?" he said. Megabyte remembered her with a laugh. He laughed at what he had done to her. He thought back to how she had begged him not to press himself against her, how she fought back but with no success. She had brought him great pleasure, perhaps (if she was still alive he thought) she could do the same a second time. Megabyte then let out a deep throaty laugh at the thought but just as quickly, he turned serious. Had the incestuous union produced a child? He rolled the possibilities around his mind. If so what would he do with this new factor of the equation? Perhaps he would find an ally, an heir he could mold to his satisfaction, one who would carry on in his footsteps. maybe he would find another foe to crush beneath his feet or perhaps he would find nothing. He wanted to know. More than anything else, he wanted to know Now more than ever he was determined to return home. There were others of course. Dot Martrix, Phong. He was certain that they too had survived mainframe's corruption. "But not for long" Megabyte whispered. He decided to compose a most exquisite torture for Ms. Matrix as she had been a thorn in his side for a long time and as for Phong, the Command.Com, well this time he would take more than his secrets. This time he would take the old sprite's life. There was so much to do when he returned home. So much to look forward to. All those dreams and hopes to crush for a second time. "Agony, most exquisite" Megabyte proclaimed. And he was happy. Megabyte's train of thought was interrupted by a rustling behind him. He turned and saw his Web Mount, a creature that (if one could use human terms to describe such a beast) looked like a small, toothed whale with wings like an insect coming in for a landing. Megabyte nodded at the beast and muttered something to himself. It was now time. He placed the bio organic, form fitting helmet on his head and mounted the creature. The insect/whale lifted off into the air and together they disappeared over the horizon. It didn't take them long to reach their destination, a small hill overlooking a valley that the creature landed on. Megabyte remained in the sadle and looked down at the floor of the valley. Again he nodded and again he smiled. he looked at them taking them in. Ten thousand blue colored viral Web Riders stretched out before him. His soldiers, standing in formation. He lifted his arm in a form of salute and they returned the gesture. Ten thousand strong. Before deleting Mouse, Megabyte thought he would thank her. She believed she had sent him to Hell. She had actually sent him to the land of opportunity. Soon, the virus and his army would sweep across the Web, infecting more and more until this wild, lawless place was his. Then he would return home with his warriors in tow. And Mainframe and her citizens would beg for mercy. Mercy that they would not receive. This wasn't a prison after all. It was a deliverance of opportunity. "Mainframe, agony most exquisite" the virus said. "Indeed." The virus and his army lifted off and moved outward toward the red sky. If you could look into the Web, you would be presented with a number of varied sights such as blue colored virus and his ten thousand warriors riding off to destiny. And if you were smart, you would tremble. Dedicated to Hannah, who suggested the central idea. -David Fullam- ----------------------------------------------------------- davfull@attglobal.net -----------------------------------------------------------