Wild Boot: The Net Games
By David Farr
	
   Tenchi Muyo is copyright of AIC : Pioneer LDC, INC. ReBoot is the
property of Mainframe. Ranma 1/2 is copyrighted by Rumiko
Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc. All are used here respectfully for the
purposes of fanfiction. This story may be redistributed only if
unchanged and no fee is charged.
   The prequel to this story "Wild Boot", other parts of this story my
other works of fiction and a full list of copyrighted material used in
this fiction may be found at:
   http://www.homepages.co.nz/~djfarr/
Thanks to my prereaders: Jin Stormbringer, David Johnston,
Ammadeau and Shane Burton

*****

Ukyo: We live in the games,
	Travelling through cities and systems.
	Protecting, Repairing,
	And Searching...
	For home.

*****

v2.2.3: Cyber Crisis

	A single lilac hand reached out and pulled aside the rich green
fronds of the fern, revealing Ukyo's green and black smeared face.
About her the birds twittered and leaves rustled as non-existent
animals darted through the bushes. There was something to be said for
the atmospherics in this game, it covered the sounds of the three
gamers as they crept up on the User.

	It was a war game, the type where a single shot would kill you, even
from a fairly weak weapon. So the four had kept separate from the
local system sprites, letting those defenders run with an unusual
amount of efficiency and act as a diversion. Surprisingly they'd
managed to get the User on the run and cut down three of his four
characters. The last was now holed up at the end of a ravine, sitting
on top of an ammo dump. Getting to him was next to impossible.

	Thankfully Ukyo had rebooted as a sniper, and the User was just
barely in sight in the ravine below, standing with the impossible
stillness he was known for.

	"Is too-too strange," Shampoo murmured, attracting the attention of
the other three. She had lifted herself slightly above the line of the
bush and was gazing through a pair of binoculars down the ravine.

	"What is it Shampoo?" Ranma inquired, not moving.

	"Can see battle at other end of ravine," she reported. A few moments
passed as she fiddled with the knobs on her binoculars. "Is system
sprites, they fighting each other. Big blue metal sprites are shooting
binomes."

	Ranma turned his head back to Ukyo and failed to notice the slight
paling in her cheeks. "Ucchan, finish the user, then we'll see about
this."

	Ukyo nodded. Priorities were important, and according to Shampoo the
User would soon be able to signal for an airstrike. The losses from
that would be much, much worse. She turned back to see the User still
standing exactly where she had left him. Effortlessly she brought the
sniper rifle to bear, adjusting the sights for the conditions. In
moments she had the crosshairs on him.

	The User had started with four characters, a medic, a commando, a
demolition expert and a communications officer. The last, a scrawny
sprite carrying a large backpack, was all that was left of the team.
He was shifty looking, and given enough time he could summon in help.
Thankfully he was weak, meaning the bullet from the sniper gun would
kill him.

	Slowly and almost lovingly Ukyo squeezed the trigger. There was no
explosion, only the sound of something small ripping through the air.
In her sights she saw the User recoil, blood splurting from his head.

	"Game Over," a harsh system voice hissed, causing a shiver to run
down Ukyo's spine. Moments later the field of purple energy passed
over her, leaving her clutching empty air.

*****

	Both sides of the battle faltered as the game cube shot up into the
heavens. The ADCPU were the first to recover, renewing their attacks.
With their high-tech weapons and powersuits returned, the system's
defenders were more than capable of taking out the squad of bumas they
were facing.

	Detective Leon McNichol was a tall one binome with slicked back brown
hair. Despite the darkness of the system he wore a sunglass (like
sunglasses, but with only one lens) that went with his cool jacket.
His ADCPU icon hung loosely from the black leather as he swung on the
zero binome next to him.

	While Leon was the cool guy, Daley definitely went into the class of
"The Other Guy." The binome always wore the same purple suit and
string necktie over a pink shirt. It didn't bother him that this gave
certain impressions, as they were true and he was proud of it.

	"Daley, get the patrol units into the air!" Leon snapped, looking
down at him. "We didn't finish the game and the bumas sure as hell
didn't. If there's someone that capable, I want to find them!" Behind
him a powersuit pilot laughed as he let loose with an autocannon.

	Daley wasn't looking at Leon, his gaze was fixed on the rooftops
above. "I don't think that will be necessary."

	Spinning, Leon expected to see four suited female sprites standing up
there. They'd saved the butts of the ADCPU so many times it was almost
guarantied that it would be them, certainly Leon would have bet on it.

	It was a bet he would have lost. None of the four were wearing armour
and only two were female. One of the men stood stoically, arms
crossed, staring down at them. Next to him a purpled hared woman
glared down at them, a single eye glowing an angry red. The other two
figures both seemed less stand offish, leaning forward to watch.

	Seeing they weren't needed, the four turned and headed along the edge
of the roof. Leon and Daley watched as, unaided by powersuits, the
group cleared the gap between the buildings and vanished into the
darkness.

*****

	Ranma stared down. This system, whatever it was called, was badly
damaged. They hadn't gone far from the site of game before reaching
the rift. It was a chasm reaching all the way down to the lowest
levels of the system. No game had caused this, it was too irregular
and total. His knowledge of system repair told him that it was almost
impossible to repair without User intervention.

	A single shard of structure dropped towards the darkness below,
bouncing off cables and broken girders. Sighing, Ranma turned to the
thrower. "RyoGA, you have no idea what's down there."

	"Like I'm going to hit someone," the game sprite grumped.

	"ouch" came a weak voice from below.

	Ukyo, meanwhile, examined the city. Unlike Mainframe, Chicago or any
of the other systems they had visited the skydome was dark and unlit.
Still humming signs and lamps threw off enough light to see the main
features. Like the massive tower dwarfing the Principal Office. Still
gazing across the darkened city she felt something was wrong,
something that stirred a memory, although she couldn't put her finger
on it.

	"System is damaged," Shampoo reported. "Shampoo not make much sense
of diagnostics, keep getting garbled messages from Net communications
protocols. Web connection is online."

	"Spam, another failure," Ranma spat. "Well, record the web address,
we can catalogue it for later."

	Turning back to them, Ukyo sighed. "Not that gettin' back on the Net
would help much, remember Ranma honey, the Guardians isolated
Mainframe before we left." She walked back towards them.

	"We can worry about that later," Ranma pointed out, "for now let's
find out what we can about this system. I don't like the idea of
sprites purposefully trying to loose a game."

	"An' for that I'll need a term'nal," Ukyo added.

*****

	The confines of the elevator always worried Madigan. It felt a little
like a cage, and there were tales of binomes who had stepped in to go
up to see the boss, only to be found broken outside the tower. Still,
her position was one of the safest in Genom, last vacated by a
deletion at the hands of the Knight Sabres' leader.

	Madigan thought she had all the attributes for success. Okay, so she
was a one binome, and thus smaller than the chairman, Quincy, but she
was forceful with those below her; respectful with those above her but
not obedient to the point of idiocy; she only allowed the best to work
for her, never allowing a lucky break to make someone's career; and
she paid attention, trying not to allow small details slip by her.

	Small details like the mov she had to show Quincy.

	The elevator stopped with a jerk, and then the doors slid open,
revealing the plush interior of the chairman's office. As usual the
lights were darkened and the chair behind the desk was turned away
from her, letting the old sprite gaze out upon the city below.

	"What is it Madigan?" Quincy's voice always sounded strange to her,
like a young man pretending to be old. In a perverse way it suited the
sprite, Madigan reflected as the chair swung around. He looked like an
old man pretending to be young, with lush hair that in no way matched
his faded green bitmap.

	"Something interesting showed up in the last game," Madigan informed
him in her thick Irish brogue

	"Yes, I noticed that the ADCPU managed to win that last one. Pity,
it'll put us a little behind in our schedule," Quincy mused, looking
at Madigan in a way that appeared harmless.

	"Actually sir, it wasn't the ADCPU, all deir units were still busy
dealing with our bumas," she tossed out the file folder, which popped
open into a large playback window. "One of our bumas relayed this
image," the window display Ranma, Ukyo, RyoGA and Shampoo viewed from
below. "Both the ADCPU and I believe that they are responsible for
finishing the game."

	Quincy leant forward, the most action Madigan had seen from the
chairman since the Largo incident, and that had been a buma. "Bring it
closer Madigan."

	Shrugging the binome slapped at the window, sending it floating
effortlessly through the air. It slowed to a halt before the older
sprite.

	"I thought so," Quincy said cryptically, leaning back. "Find them
Madigan. Use whatever resources you have to, this takes precedence
over all else. And I would like them alive. If possible."

	Madigan blinked, this she had not expected. "Sir? I don't
understand?"

	"They represent a danger to our plans. I want to find out why they
are here!"

*****

	"I want to find out why they are here!" Sylia Stingray emphasised,
tapping the window with her pointer. The image was the one taken by
the ADCPU after the game. Sylia surveyed the room. Four other people
sat watching with interest, the three other Knight Sabres and her
little brother.

	Priss, always the rebel, was barely paying attention and had probably
missed at least half of the briefing, but that was no surprise. Her
long legs had been slung over the arms of her chair and she lay with
her head resting on the other. Every so often she had to blow away an
errant lock of her brown hair as it slipped across her green face. She
was always casual, wearing a leather jacket proudly proclaiming her
own name and matching leather trousers.

	Looking much more interested was Linna. More of a planner than Priss,
she sat with a stylus sticking out of her hair band, glancing up and
down from her PADD. As the group's close combat specialist she needed
to be in good shape, and her standard system green bitmap was fine.
Her clothing was tight, allowing nothing to catch whether at work in
the gym or in combat.

	Next to Linna sat Nene. Cute as a button, her bitmap colour and hair
could only be described as pink. That was it, pink, it said it all. If
Priss was a rebel then Nene was an airhead. Neither was of course, not
really. Sylia simply wouldn't have included them in her fighting group
if they could contribute, but Nene was the least physically adept,
contributing more with her hacking skills and contacts inside the
ADCPU. She still wore her uniform, having hurried over straight from
work with the image.

	Mackie, the only male in the room was very distracted. It was always
a mistake to wear tight clothing, as Linna was, around him. The little
pervert couldn't keep his eyes off her, and didn't seem to mind that
everyone knew. Still, other than that he was a good boy, not exactly
handsome, and always willing to help, especially where Nene was
concerned.

	Finally there was Sylia herself. She had formed the Knight Sabres and
pretty much controlled them. As the only one who understood the
hardware they used she was necessary. Oh, Mackie could work on it, but
only Sylia knew all the ins and outs, thanks to a download from her
late father. Her experiences had left her a private person, preferring
not show her emotions. Many described to her as an enigmatic beauty.

	"Ah, excuse me," Nene's high-pitched voice interrupted Sylia's
thoughts.

	Smiling Sylia turned to the short sprite. "Yes Nene, is something
wrong?"

	"What's the significance of the gold Icon?" she inquired, pointing at
the picture.

	"I'm glad someone noticed it."

	"Well, you were only pointing right at it," Nene grumbled.

	Sylia suppressed the urge to glare at her and went on with her
briefing, now even Priss was paying attention. "The gold Icon is a
very old symbol. It is worn only by a group of sprites known as
Guardians. What's important to remember is that there hasn't been a
Guardian in Megatokyo since before the crash ten megacycles ago."

	"Big deal, so we've got someone who's decided to play vigilante."
Priss stretched out, her arms waving in front of Linna.

	"Knock it off Priss," Linna complied, slapping her arms away. "Do we
have any clues, Sylia?"

	Sylia looked at Nene. "Well?"

	The ADCPU shrugged. "Leon's working on something, he thinks he might
have found them."

	"Okay then. Priss, Linna you get out and see if you can find them.
Nene, keep track of the ADCPU, see what they can come up with. Mackie,
you help her," Sylia directed.

	"And what does that leave you doing?" Priss asked, sitting up.

	"I have a few other streams of inquiry to pursue," she replied
calmly.

	Priss leapt to her feet and paced out, her hands clasped behind her
head. "Well, I'll see what I can download from Leon."

	"Come on Mackie, let's go," Nene grabbed the boys arm and dragged him
out.

	Sylia looked at Linna, who had yet to budge. She was staring at the
image, her face a mask of concentration. Moments passed as the pair
simply stood there. "Is something wrong Linna?"

	"Huh?" Linna looked around then returned her gaze to the image. "No,
I just... there's something about the one with the silver arm, she's
familiar, but I can't place her."

	A glance at the image brought Sylia no such feelings, obviously it
was something Linna had encountered outside the Knight Sabres. "If you
can remember it might help. Maybe you should see if Nene or Mackie can
find something in the news archives."

	Linna nodded. "I'll do that."

*****

	Ranma sneezed. He held still for a moment, then sneezed again.

	Ukyo looked up from her computer console. "Hey Ranma honey, ya must
be popular." She returned her attention to her work.

	The small apartment seemed crowded. It had only taken them a cycle to
find somewhere to bunk for their stay in the system that had a
terminal, thankfully the system accepted Net currency. Still it wasn't
meant to hold four sprites and the four Pokemon.

	RyoGA and Vulpix were sitting at the table, and for some reason
they'd gotten into a staring match. Neither seemed to be winning.
Shampoo stood next to the window, her cybereye watching outside while
her real eye watched the inside. Helping Ukyo at the computer was
Pikachu, offering the odd Pika of advice. Under the watchful "gaze" of
Starmie, Ranma had settled into a routine of kata, until his sneezing
fit had hit. Finally, on the kitchen bench, Pigeyot sat drinking some
energy and doing a marvellous impression of that bobbing bird toy.

	"Okay Ucchan, how are you doing?" Ranma asked, pacing over to the
terminal.

	"Well, I managed to find a backdoor into the ADCPU database, sugah.
They seem to be ah special division of the CPU. Originally they were
formed to play in the games, but when those blue things, they call
them bumas by the way, started showing up their role was expanded."
Ukyo paused for a breath. "Now though the bumas only attack in the
games, apparently the destruction left by a game loss is enough for
them."

	"So they want to crash the system?" Ranma hazarded.

	Ukyo shook her head. "No 'ope of that, ah company called Genom
immediately rebuilds the sector. O' course all of that could come from
the news servers, but what I have found is that Genom buys the sectors
before rebuilding them."

	"Cheap way of getting real estate," Ranma commented. "Any connection
between Genom and the bumas?"

	"Nice thinking sugah. None whatsoever, at least not at the level I've
managed to hack," Ukyo admitted. "Give me some more time and I'll try
to crack some ICE."

	Ranma nodded and cracked his knuckles. "This whole thing stinks of
viruses. We're going to have to be very careful, no telling how far
the infection spreads."

	"Vulpix!" the cute fox pokemon cried as RyoGA blinked.

*****

	The hallway was lit only by the flickering of a neon light. A single
window at one end shed light on the dark wall of the building beyond.
Rubbish cluttered the floor, especially between the doors and small
nulls whimpered in their disgusting homes.

	Leon looked across the door at Daley. Both held guns ready. Leon
nodded at his partner, who nodded back. A tip had led them to this
apartment, supposedly the current residence of the four strangers.

	Spinning, the one binome kicked at the door, sending it smashing
open. "Freeze POLICE!" Silence greeted them.

	Disdainfully a cat looked up from cleaning itself on the table. It
gave them a long-suffering glare then went back to preening its cream
and purple fur. It was a beautiful creature, not the type you'd expect
in slums like these.

	Leon stepped into the room, waving his gun about. The only other
occupant was a large red and yellow dog, a chain attaching it to the
wall. Belatedly it stood and started growling, stepping forward until
the chain went taunt. Daley was thankful that this left them half the
room to move about in, the mutt looked big enough to swallow him
whole.

	The sound of a running static shower reached the pair of ADCPUs. Leon
indicated the bathroom door with his head and Daley followed him over
to the door. Again they burst through the door.

	"Freeze P---"

	"EEEEKKK!! PREVERTS!"

	Leon had just enough time to take in the view of the red head in next
to nothing before the stool hit him square in the face. Amidst a hail
of smaller objects Daley dragged off his unconscious partner,
continuously apologising.

	As Ranma-chan closed the door Ukyo dropped down from the ceiling
above the door. "Well, it worked."

	Ranma-chan tapped her Icon and her uniform armour reappeared on her
body. "Told you so." She looked over at the animals. "I'm first for
the shower."

	Frisket growled.

	"Well, who's gonna turn it on for you dog-boy?" Ranma-chan joked,
walking towards the bathroom again.

*****

	Nene sat back, her face lit by the display hovering before her. Right
at the moment it was telling her that the image failed to match any in
the databases, or as it put it: "Matches search criteria found not".
That was almost as bad as: "Password is in the wrong."

	"Whoever she is she isn't from this system," the hacker told the only
other person in the darkened room still awake. Mackie had long since
dropped off, quite literally as he'd fallen from his chair as sleep
took him.

	Nanoseconds passed as Linna thought. "Have you tried precrash
databases?"

	"Come on! She looks about sixteen megacycles, she'd have to have been
little more than a kid precrash!" Nene complained.

	Linna whapped Nene on the head. "So, deage her face, then run the
search again!"

	"Okay, okay. I'll have to access the ADCPU database to get the
algorithms." The hacker's fingers started flying across the access pad
and a bewildering series of windows filled the display, only to vanish
nanoseconds later. "Huh?" She tried it again, with the same result.
"Some random phreaker is using my backdoor!" A look of anger passed
over her face and her fingers danced once more. "Whoever you are,
you've got a hound on your tail."

	Worry rose within Linna. "If you can't use the ADCPU--"

	Nene silenced her by waving her finger before her face. "Who says I
can't, no good hacker has only one way into a system!" Once more her
fingers ran across the keyboard, this time the windows appeared and
names started scrolling through them.

	It took a while, but they finally got an answer.

	"Two hundred and forty eight matches found," Linna read.

	"Busy six megacycle old." Nene selected and opened the first item. It
was a news article, ancient, but still valid.

	The pair read through it, their eyes switching between the words and
the accompanying picture. "SYLIA!" they chorused.

	"I wasn't looking!" Mackie cried, awoken by the shout.

*****

	"Crash it!" Ukyo slammed her fist onto the table beside the terminal.
Quickly she flipped off the switch and grabbed the four red and white
spheres on the table. "Pokemon, return!" All four of the creatures
vanished in a flash, zapping into their portable homes.

	The other three sprites reacted by collecting their equipment.

	"What's the matter Ucchan?!" Ranma asked.

	Ukyo pulled out her spatula, swung it, and then slung back into her
code pocket. "Someone set ah hound on me, they'll probably arrive any
nano!"

	"Then we'd better book," RyoGA commented, opening the door.

	"That bathroom, stupid game sprite." Shampoo pointed at the front
door. "This one go out."

	A soft growl slipped out of RyoGA's throat. "What am I? COMEDY
RELIEF?"

	"Yes," the amazon replied.

*****

	Shampoo glanced out onto the road. The only signs of movement were
from a bunch of punk binomes standing not far down the street and a
old info-cream truck making it's way down the road, merrily playing a
tune designed to attract young sprites.

	"Is clear," she reported, "nothing we can no handle."

	"Why can't we just use the rooftops?" RyoGA asked. As if in answer
the sound of a hovercar passed overhead.

	"Ever since our lil' appearance earlier, they've been up their
watching for us," Ukyo replied. "We've gotta stick to the alley's for
now."

	The four sprites pushed open the doors and walked down the stairs to
the street, only to find themselves surrounded by a group of binomes.
They had simply melted out of the shadows around the base of the
stairs. Ranma looked them over, a varied lot, they certainly didn't
look they fitted together, a punk standing next to a mother and the
group led by what looked like a business-nome. The group totalled
sixteen.

	"There's a gent wants to speak to you," the one binome in front said.
"You're coming with us."

	Ranma levelled a piercing glare at him that would have made Nabiki
proud. "And if we don't?"

	"Then we'll have to get rough," the binome replied simply.

	A bark of laughter escaped Shampoo. "Oh, Shampoo just quiver in
boots." Everyone looked quizzically at the shoes she was wearing. "IS
JUST EXPRESSION!"

	Ranma settled into a fighting stance. "I don't think so."

	"The boss lady said they'd be trouble. Let's convince them!" The
binomes all took he-man "show off your muscle" poses. Expression of
agony filled their faces, then the skin of their bitmaps expanded,
tearing clothes and turning a strange blue colour.

	"AH, BUMA!" the driver of the info-cream truck screamed as he slammed
his foot to the floor.

	In a blur the buma attacked. Caught off guard by the swiftness of the
attack Ranma could only vault backwards, alighting on the stair
banister. Her four assailants immediately buried Shampoo, her gun
trapped at her hip. Meanwhile Ukyo was playing tennis, batting away
her attackers as they continuously rebounded. Worst off of the four
was RyoGA, who was stumbling about trying to strike out at the four
binomes hanging from his limbs.

	The short moment that Ranma had spent looking gave one of the binome
bumas the opening it needed. A zero barrelled into his chest, knocking
him from his perch onto the stairs below. Pain shot through him as he
landed on a corner.

	'Spam, they're fast,' he thought, striking out at another that was
falling towards him. 'Can't underestimate them!'

	Ranma rolled away, leaving a third attacker to shatter a stair.
Regaining his feet he blocked another flying leap, wincing at the
impact, then started jumping backwards. The four bumas that had
decided to pick on him just kept thrusting outwards, keeping him on
the defensive.

	"GET OFF SHAMPOO!" the amazon screamed from beneath the pile of
bumas. "Prevert blue binomes get PURGED!"

	"Ranma honey," Ukyo panted, raising her spatula to deflect another
attack, "tell me you have a plan."

	Before the Guardian could respond a blast of energy struck one of the
binomes, sending it flying away from Ukyo. "Knight Sabres," a strong
female voice cried, "its show time!" As one the remaining bumas looked
up to see the four suited figures of the knight sabres.

	All the figures were obviously female, despite the hardsuits. The
armour was designed to hug their forms, minimising the bulk and
increasing the agility of the wearing. In the lead was a figure in
light blue, with a dark blue faceplate, neck piece and shoulder pads
and grey around the joints and abdomen area.

	Immediately beside her was a green hardsuit with red trimmings and an
orange faceplate. Grey of the torso stretched all the from beneath her
breasts to her hips and groin, indicating the improved flexibility.
Ribbons attached to the helmet fluttered as she moved on.

	Standing to one side, wisps of energy rising from an extended arm
slightly darker shade of blue than the leaders. Pink racing strips
across the helmet were the only break in the colour scheme other than
the white highlights. Unlike the previous three this one had a pair of
white antenna sprouting from where the ears would be on a sprite.

	The final member of the knight sabres wore a bright pink and red suit
with blue and white trimmings. Her suit had been designed with
communications in mind with a half dozen pointed antenna sticking out
from the back and helmet like wings. However she failed to move with
the grace and precision of her three companions.

	Using the distraction Ranma switched to the offensive, spin kicking a
zero binome buma hard, sending it flying. As Shampoo burst free of her
captors the Knight Sabres joined the battle. Blasts, punches and
ribbons flew, hacking the binome bumas apart, leaving only shattered
remains and burn marks on the pavement.

	As Shampoo calmed herself from her rage, Ranma walked over to the
four hardsuited women. "Thanks for the assist. If you hadn't come
along, they would've worn us down sooner or later."

	The woman in the light blue armour stepped forward. "I must admit
that it wasn't for altruistic reasons, Guardian," Sylia told him,
looking down. He was smaller than she expected.

	Ranma stood, apparently relaxed, gently balancing on his toes. "You
know of the Guardians? And what do you want?" Shampoo, Ukyo and RyoGA
drew up beside him.

	"To talk." Sylia open a private comline to Nene, who was peeking out
from behind her. "Why is that one glowing?"

	"I'm picking up a massive energy build-up. He might be getting ready
to release it," Nene reported.

	Meanwhile Ranma observed their rescuers properly for the first time.
He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Ukyo. "Okay Ucchan, who are
they?"

	"From what I read on the Usenet, I'd guess they're the Knight
Sabres--"

	From her left Shampoo snorted. "Shampoo guess, moment they said it."

	"They're a mercenary group," Ukyo emphasised, continuing, "although
they also do some vigilante work against Genom."

	Ranma turned his full attention to the four women before him once
more. "Okay, you want to talk, talk!"

	"We are greatly interested in why you are here Guardian," she
indicated the reamins of the battle. "And obviously we're not the only
ones."

	"Don't give out info for free. Not to sprites that don't even show
their faces." Ranma gave her a quirky smile. "Good friend taught me
that."

	There was a pregnant pause, then Sylia slowly raised her arm and
gasped the front of her helmet. It was perhaps one of the hardest
things she'd done, trusting a sprite with this secret.

	"Sylia, are you sure?" Priss whispered, not taking her eyes off the
young sprites before her.

	"I think we have to," her leader replied, and pushed up the
faceplate.

	Ranma acknowledged her with a nod. "Shampoo, holster it. RyoGA, power
down." The pair reluctantly did as they were told.

	"Nene, Priss, Linna, faceplates up please." Equally reluctantly the
three Knight Sabres revealed their faces.

	Ranma stepped forward, covering half the distance between them
slowly. "Name's Ranma Saotome, Guardian number 698. These are my
travelling companions, Shampoo, RyoGA Hibiki and Ukyo Kuonji."

	"It is you!" Linna exclaimed pointing at Ukyo, and then covered her
mouth with her metal hands. She promptly found herself the centre of
attention. "She... she used to process here, in this system. She was
our shining star in algorithmics."

	"That's impossible." Ranma, as was his wont, leapt to his friends
defence. "Only system Ucchan's lived in crashed megacycles ago."

	Sylia looked from her friend to the shocked young lady standing
across the way. "This system did crash," she informed him calmly. "It
corrupted our net protocols beyond repair and took us off the net.
That happened ten megacycles ago."

	"The right time," Ukyo whispered, ignoring the fact that everyone was
now looking at either her or Linna. She wandered over to the edge of
the roof and gazed out across the city. "Am I home?"

*****

	Deciding that the rooftops were not a safe place to have an extended
discussion, the Knight Sabres and the Gamers repaired to Sylia's
garage and the facility the mercenaries kept under it. After the
swapping of life stories only Ranma and Sylia seemed ready to trust
the others, with Ukyo still off in another little world. The two
leaders stood watching her from across the room where the others
argued.

	"You care about her," Sylia said. Definitely a statement, not a
question.

	"Yeah, she may be a rogue, a hacker and a thief, but she's also a
good and loyal friend. I never knew she lost her entire family at six,
not like that."

	"It was bad luck that had her out of the system on her own when the
system crashed. A terrible coincidence, but there's no way to tell if
her process would have been better." Sylia sighed. "Too many sprites
were deleted in that crash, we all lost family."

	"Ya know what's worse, we made her perform in an algorithmics
competition some time back. Must have brought back some painful
memories. Especially since she must have blamed it for her not being
here."

	They looked again across at Ukyo where she sat staring out the window
at the city beyond. "And you leave with the next game?"

	"That's the way we go. Can't risk there not being another one.
Mainframe's our home now and we swore to get back," Ranma turned his
gaze to the other's fighting over who would have won the rooftop
battle. "Gotta keep the hope up."

	"Keep throwing one liners like that and I might believe you." Sylia
smiled at the young sprite. "So what will you do while you're here?"

	"Well, I feel like throwing a monkey wrench into the plans of these
Genom bastards." Ranma's confident smile reappeared. "I don't like
people that delete innocents." Despite the change in topic, Ranma
still found his gaze sliding over to the girl sitting at the window.

*****

	Laughter echoed off the gleaming marble walls of the massive hall.
The little girl ran amongst the chairs, dodging and weaving, every so
often doing an impromptu series of flips. Her hair was short, to keep
it from getting in her way as she performed. Continuing to play those
games only the young are capable of she ran up to three sprites that
stood watching her.

	Two were humanoid, man and wife, and dressed in formal kimono. They
regarded the girl with a mixture of pride and sadness.

	"Isn't this place neat mommy?" the girl cried, skidding to a stop and
bouncing on her feet.

	"Yes dear, it is," the woman replied, her voice rich and formal. She
turned to the third adult in the group. He was a zero binome, wearing
a baseball cap and a sweater with the word "coach" emblazoned on it.
"You will look after our dear like Ukyo, won't you?"

	"Ah course ma'am," the binome replied. "I'll treat 'er like mah own."

	The woman returned her attention to the girl. "Now Ukyo, you be good
and do your best." She knelt and placed her hands on her daughter's
shoulders. "I'm sure you'll bring us back a nice big trophy." She
leant forward and gave the girl a kiss on the forehead.

	"I will mommy!"

	"I'll miss you little one," the father said from above.

	"Now, now, no need ta get all weepy," the binome fussed, "we're only
gonna be gone for a few milliseconds. Be back afore you know it."

	"Bye, bye mommy and daddy." The girl waved back as she was lead away
to the waiting ship.

*****

	The door to the hotel room slammed open, and a massive structure of
gleaming metal swayed hurriedly in through the doorway. "Look coach, I
WON!" the girl cried, putting down the trophy. "First in my age
category! Mummy's gonna be so proud!"

	Her joy was not mirrored in the face of the binome. He threw a PADD
onto the bed. "Ukyo honey, come here please. I have... some bad news."

	The girl sidled forward, subdued by the binomes expression. "What's
wrong?"

	"It... I... I don't know how to saw this sweetly, so I'm gonna be
blunt. Ukyo, our system's crashed."

	"Crashed? What about mommy and daddy? My friends?"

	"Gone. The entire system has been deleted. I'm... I'm sorry," he
couldn't look her in the eyes.

	"NOO! IT'S NOT FAIR!" Crying the little girl spun and dashed out the
door. If she heard the coach calling to her, she didn't listen.

*****

	"Ucchan." Ranma's soft voice and his hand on her shoulder startled
Ukyo. She looked around, realising she was back in the comfortable
apartment, with the Knight Sabres and the others looking on.

	"What is it Ranma?" she inquired, shaking the memories out of her
head.

	Ranma jerked his finger at the others. "We're gonna go give Genom a
little pain, you want in?"

	"Least I can do for my old system."

	The eight sprites gathered around a table window to view Sylia's
briefing. Calmly she called up an image of a large building, obviously
a factory. Immediately the window started a fly-by, showing the
structure in its totality, from the smokestacks to the loading bays,
and then started the sequence again.

	"This is one of Genom's research and production facilities.
Officially they build numerous home appliances there, but my sources
tell me the output is next to nothing. It's logical to assume that it
is more than it appears." Sylia tapped an icon on the window. The
first image vanished and a three dimensional wire-frame of the
buildings zoomed out. "I managed to get system plans for the building.
The heavy equipment and shielding on some of the labs," she pointed to
various spots on the map, "is unnecessary for appliances--"

	"Shampoo not so sure, you no see some of the appliances she has."

	Sylia spared the amazon a glare before continuing. "That aside, this
has to be one of their buma design and production facilities.
Unfortunately the security is tough, and the four of us were unlikely
to get in. Primarily my concern was hacking. Once we were inside we
would need to tie down two security nodes in order to collect the data
we need, and Mackie's loader would be incapable of reaching either
location."

	"But Ucchan is another matter," Ranma interjected, his friend nodding
her agreement.

	"Right. Beyond that, should we trip the security system, the main
computer would probably activate the bumas and neither pair would cope
with that." Sylia touched the window again, lighting up two spots. "I
suggest Nene, along with three others, heads to the research data
annex, while Ukyo takes the production area. While Ukyo runs shotgun,
Nene will download the data into her hardsuit's on board file folders.
Then the group in the production facility will do some structural
damage to disguise the reason for the intrusion."

	Ranma stood considering the map arms crossed. "A pair from each
group?" Ranma asked and watched the others acknowledge that. "RyoGA,
go with Ukyo, you're our heavy hitter and I'm sure you'll have so much
fun blowing things up." He turned to Sylia. "Who out of you're lot are
with them?"

	"Nene's team will require more stealth, so I'd best join you and her.
Priss, think you and Linna can get along with them?"

	"So long as I'm not on the bimbo's team, I'm fine!" The singer
sneered.

	"Shampoo no bimbo!" the amazon objected. "She just talk that way,"
she added grumpily.

	Ranma turned to Ukyo. "Ucchan, keep an eye on the RyoGA would you? We
don't him to go missing and have to search the system again."

	Suddenly Linna appeared next to them. "What's this?"

	"Game sprite have very bad sense of direction," Shampoo offered
helpfully.

	"Game sprite?"

	"Is long story."

*****

	Strangely, in a city as dark and dingy as Megatokyo, not a single
sprite saw anything out of place about the grey truck sitting a block
away from the factory. It was large, armoured, in one piece and had
yet to attract a single spot of graffiti. In this city, it should have
stood out like a shinning beacon, yet everyone just ignored it.
Perhaps their survival instincts were too refined. Or maybe it had
something to do with the disgruntled looking teenager leaning against
the side.

	RyoGA looked up in time to see Ranma stroll casually around the
corner. "What's it look like?"

	"Pretty standard. Once the security's down it should be a breeze,"
the Guardian replied. "Over the wall and in through the door, just
like Sylia planned. How are the girls going?"

	RyoGA jab his thumb over his shoulder. "They're changing inside."

	Accepting that with a nod Ranma leapt up onto the van's running
board. The young man sitting at the wheel recoiled in surprise. "Geese
don't do that!"

	A glance at the trunks control console proved... enlightening. "You
know, I don't think you sister would approve of you watching them.
Especially seeing as those soft suits aren't loaded on their Icons."

	Immediately the colour palette of Mackie's cheeks reddened. "Ah...
Umm..."

	"Just don't let them catch you." Ranma vanished once more.

	Many Nanoseconds later the back doors of the truck swung open,
revealing four hardsuited heroines and another two women warriors.
Shampoo and Priss were the first down onto the ground, followed by
Ukyo and Nene and then finally Linna and Sylia. Ranma and RyoGA joined
them, closing the doors as they went.

	"We hacked the security system Ranma honey," Ukyo informed him.
"It'll be down for approximately eight more nanos."

	"Then let's move!"

	Everyone nodded. "RIGHT!"

*****

	As Ranma had predicted, after Ukyo and Nene had performed their magic
over the security, getting into the complex was easier than feeding an
energy shake to a null. Once inside the group divided into two,
heading off after their particular goals.

	The team lead by Sylia stealthily made their way through a data
processing office. Dark windows and keypads hovered over desks,
awaiting the return of their operators at the beginning of the next
cycle. Every so often the four warriors scrambled for the shadows
within the cubicles as a security drone rumbled past.

	"Droids not smart," Shampoo commented as one trundled out of hearing
range. She knelt behind one of the partitions, her gun held up next to
her face.

	"No personality chip," Sylia replied, her voice masked by the suit's
synthesisers. "Genom may be powerful, but they're more than willing to
skimp on costs."

	Ranma looked back from his position on point. "That doesn't make a
lot of sense. Personality chips aren't that rare."

	"On the net, maybe not, but here we've had a strange shortage in
them," Sylia replied. "They've all been used in the bumas. Let's get
moving."

	Stealthily the four crept through the complex, coming at last to the
corridor that led to the data banks. Ranma glanced around the corner.
It was thin and long, with just enough room to walk one abreast, but
leaving no room to dodge, and lots of room to cover. He quickly jerked
back.

	"Okay, what's the readme on this one. It feels like a trap." He
looked to Sylia.

	"I'm sure there is." Sylia jerked her head towards the entrance.
"Nene, scan it."

	The hacker exchanged places with Ranma, positioning one of her "ears"
so it poked around the edge. A slight whirr accompanied it opening and
a small camera lens folded out. "There's a scanner at the far end, and
blasters arrayed all over the place. I think the process is
self-contained. Only weak point is the scanner."

	"Is shootable?" the amazon asked.

	"Nope, energy dissipater immediately under it. The bolt would just
vanish."

	Ranma glanced at the corridor entrance. "Any blind spots?"

	"About ten pixels at roof level."

	A big grin broke across Ranma's face. "That's all I need." Before
anyone could stop him he leapt upwards into corridor.

	"My god, I've never seen anyone move like that," Nene gasped, her
scanner still poking around the corner. "He's actually braced himself
against the walls and is inching his way down the corridor. I'd have
thought that was impossible!"

	Shampoo sighed. "Ranma always do impossible. Is why Shampoo love
him."

*****

	The heels of her boots rested on the console before her. She lay back
in the chair, hands cupped behind her head, watching the three dark
windows before her. There was no sign of any network activity; the
building was completely dead.

	According to Sylia, there was a minor hole in the database's security
protection. It was possible to confuse the system, allowing access to
files without a password. Unfortunately you could only take advantage
of that from the control chamber of the main factory, a place you
couldn't get the files from. And that was the main reason the Knight
Sabres hadn't moved on their own.

	The slight clank of metal on grill alerted Ukyo to a presence
approaching her from behind. "Where's your friend?" Priss asked, her
voice covered by a metallic ring.

	Ukyo shifted so she could see the blue suit out the corner of her
eye. "He decided to go take a look around. Linna's with him."

	"Hopefully they won't get into trouble." Priss stepped up next to her
and looked at the windows. "No word from the others?"

	"Not a peep, but they've got the hard part," Ukyo returned her gaze
back to the windows. "Be more security over there, information is
where the money really is when it comes to hacking."

	"You've been hacking for a long time."

	"Ten megacycles." A touch of sadness crept into Ukyo's voice.

	"Oh, since..." Priss left it hanging.

	The pair stood in an awkward silence for a while. It was a silence
that was finally broken by Priss. "Nene says she's ready and in
position."

	Ukyo slipped her feet off the console and popped upright. "Okay,
beginning obfuscation!" Her fingers started dancing as letters and
numbers flowed across the windows.

*****

	"Hi gang!" Ukyo cried as her window appeared in the database annex.
The four sprites were crammed into the small room, Shampoo and Ranma
at the door while Sylia stood over Nene at the console. The smaller
Knight Sabre had run wires ports on her chest-plate to the computer
before her. "You ready to start having fun?"

	"Is it safe to have an open vid window?" Sylia asked, leaning
forward.

	On the window Ukyo shrugged. "I needed a data stream and we might as
well use this. Don't worry about recordin's, I plan to spike this
system sooo badly that you won't be able to use it as a calculator!"

	Nene sniggered, then rested her hands on the console in front of her.
"Okay, you start shifting and I'll download."

	"Right, first stop is the register at oh-aye-six."

*****

	The ringing of metal on metal echoed off the towering shapes of the
hardware about them. Monstrous devices used in the creation of
artificial processes whose sole purpose was destruction. Linna let her
sensors range about, automatically pointing out possible directions of
attack, and keeping track of the unusual sprite she was following.

	"What are you looking for?" Linna asked, moving up next to him.

	RyoGA stopped and looked over one of the machines. "Best places to do
damage," he replied. "That is the reason I'm here."

	"Oh." She looked around. "What are going to use? Explosives?"

	RyoGA turned and started walking again. "Nah, I thought I'd just hit
a few points with an energy blast. With a little planning I could
probably bring down the roof."

	"Well, don't do that, we'll still be under it!"

	RyoGA stopped suddenly. "What is that?!" He pointed to a massive tube
resting not far away. A soft glow pierced the covering, illuminating a
large figure held inside. The two sprites stepped up to it and found
themselves staring up at a shape over double their size.

	Linna took another step forward and wiped away the film of beaded
energy covering the surface. She looked up and in, trying to look in.
"Uh-oh, we may have a problem."

*****

	"Another one?!" Sylia's exclamation brought the attention of both
Ranma and Shampoo.

	Over the hardsuit's comm Linna continued. "Yes, it looks just like
that red superbuma that had the magnetic generator installed in it,
down to the colour of its armour. Only it's much, much bigger."

	Sylia turned to the pink Knight Sabre before her. "Nene, do a search
for information on this new superbuma."

	"WOE THERE PARDNER," Ukyo exclaimed from the window, her body still
twitching as she typed hurriedly. "This download is hard enough, we
can't go searching the data. I'm pretendin' we're just doing routine
system maintenance, and yah just don't do that any method but
sequentially."

	"So, drop the download and search for the info, it may be more
important," Sylia commanded.

	Ukyo shrugged. "Then there's nah point in stoppin' the download,
gonna take us just as long as a sequential search. What's the problem?
We'll get the data, it'll just be later."

	"The last one of these we fought almost destroyed us, and it wasn't
as big. I want to know what this one is capable of!"

	"An' patience is a virtue," Ukyo replied. "This ain't somethin' you
can hurry."

	"She's right Sylia, we can't do it any other way."

	"What superbuma?" Ranma interjected, appearing beside Sylia.

	Sylia turned her head to look at him. "Your friend and Linna have
stumbled on what looks to be a prototype of a new weapon Genom is
compiling up."

	"Is it active?"

	"No."

	"Then we can wait." He vanished back to the door.

	"Infuriating, ain't he." Ukyo grinned from the window.

*****

	Linna found it disturbing to be watched by the young sprite. He
seemed... impatient, yet calm, not a nice combination. It reminded her
of holding ticking delete command and being unable to read the timer.
Finally Sylia came back with an answer.

	"We're going to wait until they've finished the download before doing
anything," Linna replied.

	RyoGA acknowledge with a nod. "Tell them to signal us when they're
ready. I'll blast this thing first."

	"Right!"

	The long nanoseconds drew out and it wasn't long before Linna felt
the need to break the silence. "So, why are you doing this? The game
jumping I mean."

	The silence settled back in again as RyoGA just stared off into
space. "If you asked Ranma he'd say he wanted to get home, but me, I
wanna see Akane again."

	Linna cocked her head to one side. "Akane? She's your girlfriend?"

	A look of anger passed over RyoGA's face. "Nah, she's going to be
linked to Ranma."

	"I thought either Shampoo or Ukyo had something for Ranma."

	The other sprite snorted. "He cares as much for them as he does
Akane. Not a bit!"

	"I find that hard to believe," Linna commented. "You all seem at ease
taking orders from him, and you can't earn that without at least
respecting those under you."

	"Oh, he's a great leader, good at fighting and ideas. But he's also a
JERK!" RyoGA's vehemence caused Linna to recoil. "Thanks to HIM I'm
stuck with a corruption! Not to mention I'm more lost than EVER!"

	"Ummm, okay." It occurred to Linna that she really shouldn't have
started this discussion. Thankfully she was saved by another
communication. "Nene and Ukyo are finished. We can start the
destruction whenever you're ready!"

	A feral grin replaced the anger on RyoGA's face. "Great." He
stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles. "Let's have some fun!" He
took up a stance that, to Linna, didn't look very suitable for an
attack. His legs were parted, feet solidly on the ground, as if to
steady himself and he was gazing down at his hands cupped before his
stomach. Slowly his form was covered by a soft purple glow, the same
one she'd seen on the rooftop and, she realised, every time she saw a
game cube.

	"SHISHIHOUKODAN!" RyoGA cried, shoving his hands outwards towards the
tube. The glow turned into a massive column of energy, pulsating like
a game cube, that stabbed through the air and smashed into the tube.
Hissing the top of the tube fell away, sliding off the edge of beam.

	"Wow," was all Linna could manage, then; "Uh-oh."

	The superbuma was still standing there. Only now, it was looking at
them.

*****

	"LINNA, LINNA, what was that!" Sylia's stance yelled her worry, even
if they hadn't been able to hear her voice.

	"What's the matter?" Ranma demanded.

	"She said something about the superbuma, then got cut off."

	"Jamming's active, something is cutting off all communication
protocols in this sector," Nene reported. "I think they might have
tripped something."

	"I vote we drop subtle, let's do direct!"

	Sylia nodded. "That may be best. Nene plot the quickest route."

	"Shortest distance between two points is straight line," Shampoo
said, lifting her gun. "We shoot our way through."

*****

	A flash of light and the two long stands wove themselves around the
massive arm. With a quick jerk of her head Linna caused them to
constrict and... fall straight off. "SPAM!" The superbuma's fist
plowed straight into her stomach, smashing her back into a pile of
crates. Winded she paused for a moment amidst the shattered remains
and watched RyoGA charge the thing again.

	The game sprite's fist struck out, hitting the massive humanoid bot
straight in the back of the knee. It was a sucker punch, but RyoGA
wasn't above using it. However as his strike collided he felt no give.
A sudden sense of doom caused him to dive out of the way, just as the
thing's fist impacted on the ground.

	Ignoring the large dents in the floor the pair launched into the
attack once more. Linna sprayed it with shots from her palm cannon
which harmlessly dissipated on its armour while RyoGA drew his sword
and struck out at the buma's ankle.

	The air filled with screeching as structure part and RyoGA held up
the hilt of his sword. "It broke my sword!" An open palm blow
collected him and sent him flying into Linna.

	Struggling in a pile the two scrambled up, until RyoGA realised that
his hand was rest on the breast of Linna's hardsuit. "Hehe, nice
armour," he commented lamely.

	"Get off me!" Linna shoved him away.

	Meanwhile the superbuma had taken this time to extrude its laser from
its mouth. The pair of sprites danced away as lances of energy struck
out at them.

	"STARMIE! Quick attack!"

	"HUP!" A blur flew from the darkness, and across the superbuma's
stomach, sending sparks flying. The ten-pointed star bounced away its
tips glowing red from heat.

	"OH MY..!" Ukyo stood not far away, atop one of the machines. The
superbuma had escaped the attack untouched.

	Laser blasts lanced out, and Ukyo leapt upwards, pirouetting out of
the way. She landed next to Linna. "How are we supposed to beat this
thing!"

	"Last time we used the knuckle bombers on the things neck, after we
decapitated it!"

	Meanwhile Priss was carefully taking aim from the shadows. Mentally,
she carefully squeezed the trigger and a blast shot from her palm gun,
stabbing out at the buma's head. Energy exploded, consuming the head
and sending the robot stumbling backwards. "SPAM!" she swore as the
light faded, the head remained intact.

	Ukyo screamed, sending a brace of mini-spatulas arcing through the
air, only to bounce noisily off the buma's chest. Ignoring the attack
the superbuma spun on Priss, lashing out. The heavy weapon's
specialist just had time to leap away before the machine she was on
crumpled beneath the onslaught.

	"We could use a miracle about now!" Priss cried, landing and firing
off her three needlers. Once again the needles simply fell away from
its armour.

	Suddenly the wall exploded outwards, showering the area in shards of
structure and filling the air with random bits of energy. "Never fear,
Shampoo here!" The amazon sprite stepped out of the fading blast, gun
held at the ready

	"Stop showing off and blast that thing!" Ranma exclaimed leaping from
the hole, and onto the battlefield.

	Back in the corridor beyond Sylia turned to Nene. "Find the plans for
the superbuma and locate a weak spot. We'll keep it busy!"

	"I'm already on it!" the pink Knight Sabre whined.

	Back in the battle Ranma was hopping around the creature punching at
critical points on its body. His blows were only serving to infuriate
the buma more.

	Grunting RyoGA lifted a large metal crate above his head. "That thing
is impervious!" He threw the crate, which shattered on the buma's
body, causing it to stagger.

	"Watch it dog-boy, you could've have hit me with that!" Ranma
directed another quick series of punches into its face.

	Using Ranma as a distraction Linna leapt forward, a flick of her head
sending her ribbons snaking out again. This time they wrapped about
the hip joint, but once again slipped free without leaving a mark.

	"Listen up everyone!" Nene called. "There's a weak point under the
armour leaves below its chest. If you can cause the back to arc you
can shove a knuckle bomber up and blow the whole chest off."

	Without acknowledging Nene's help Sylia moved forward to join the
fray, a soft whine accompanying the powering up of the explosive domes
on her fist. Her sudden arrival caught the superbuma by surprise and
she quickly found herself presented with the superbuma's back. She
looked beyond, watching for the time to strike.

	Priss was extracting herself from a pile of crates, moving with
exaggerated care. Obviously her wounds kept her out of such a risky
manoeuvre. Shampoo, Ukyo and RyoGA were immediately discounted as they
were outside of range and didn't have knuckle bombers anyway. Only
Ranma and Linna were within the buma's reach.

	"Linna, you take the front. I'll hit the small of the back. Get ready
to hit." Sylia leapt forward.

	As her outstretched fist approached its target, things seemed to slow
down. First she saw Ranma land before the thing's legs, then what
seemed like a nano later the superbuma's forearm collected Linna,
sending her flying off into the darkness. Sylia's fist contacted metal
as energy poured explosively out. Sure enough the superboma back shot
forward, leaving the weak point exposed.

	A look of determination crossed Ranma's features and he leapt into an
uppercut. "YAAAAHHH!!" For a moment Sylia could have sworn she saw
silver lightning crackling about his fist as he rose, then the blow
slid beneath the armour and the system exploded in blinding white
light.

	An instant later a blow to the back snapped Sylia awake as she struck
the wall. She collapsed forward, leaving the wall with a spider's web
of cracks. Across the battlefield a red-haired girl picked herself up
from amidst the wreckage of hardware.
 
	"I gotta remember how to do that punch." Ranma-chan swayed groggily
as she stepped forward.

	In the centre of the ruins of the factory stood the smoking remains
of superboma, it's upper torso gone. One of the arms had been thrown
clear across the factory and now lay imbedded in the wall of the
control room. As they watched the legs teetered forward and collapsed
to the ground.

	Ukyo and Shampoo appeared at Ranma's side, helping him to stay up.
"Is airen okay?" Shampoo inquired.

	"Yeah Ranma honey, that was some blast yah took."

	"Just give me a few mom--"

	An alarm klaxon whooped, interrupting Ranma. Its source wasn't the
security system, which Ukyo had already dealt to, instead it came from
outside the factory.

	"Warning: Incoming Game." The harsh voice hissed again.

	Ranma snapped out of his daze and spun on Shampoo. "Where's it
landing?!"

	Shampoo gazed about, squinting with her cyber eye, before stopping
looking straight up. "Here, on this factory."

	Another feral grin took over Ranma's face and he turned to Sylia.
"Are you girl's capable of getting out from under the game?"

	Quickly accessing the state of her comrades, Linna and Nene seemed
fine and were helping the injured Priss, Sylia nodded. "Yes, why?"

	"I don't feel much like fighting the User, so I thought we'd just
hole up somewhere and ride the game out. Kill two nulls with one
stone, kinda thing."

	Understanding Sylia nodded. Losing the game would mean the
destruction of the factory. "Good luck finding your system." The four
Knight Sabres limped away, leaving the others to their game.

	Ranma turned to Ukyo. "Are you sure you don't want to stay? It is
your home."

	The hacker gazed after the four hard suited warrior women for a
while. "No Ranma, that system quit file ten megacycles ago.
Mainframe's my home now!"

	A purple wall of energy passed over them.

*****

	Sylia stood atop the building, watching the ADCPU swarming about the
base of the pulsating purple cube. Thankfully they'd arrived too late
to enter the cube.

	"Game over. User wins."

	The game shot into the sky, leaving behind a massive hole cut deep
into the system and carrying the gamers off to another adventure.
Somehow Sylia knew she hadn't seen the last of those four.

-----

Author's Notes

Well this is the last of the "filler" episodes I'm going to write for
a while, from here on in its mainly plot.

Next episode, Kuno enacts a plan that will forever alter the balance
of power in Mainframe!

-----------
David Farr
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~djfarr/
djfarr@ihug.co.nz		katsuhito@planetjurai.com