DIVIDE, RENDER, CONQUER

By Trisana McGraw

Author's Note:

Before the fic, I must credit everyone and everything that made this fanfic possible. First, thanks to CeliaZ and CrystalStar, who both acted as beta readers and wonderful friends that put up with my ideas. CeliaZ also helped me a lot with sorting through all of my mixed thoughts, and she came up with some names (for chapters and sprites). Thanks also to Wrin, for being just a wonderful person to proofread the first draft of this. God bless you, Wrin! I must also thank LadyBard, who helped me in finding sources for names and appearances of my characters. I'm deeply grateful for the help from all of you.

In terms of inspiration, I owe a great debt of gratitude to The West Wing and their season-ender; without it, I would have had no big climax, and I wouldn't have been led to the nifty title. Thank you Aaron Sorkin — you are a genius! (Look for the base on the episode "Someone's Going to Emergency, Someone's Going to Jail" in a Game in Chapter One. Oh, and if you completely don't understand it, don't worry — it's just a pretty stupid nod to a funny episode.)

Thank you to Mainframe Entertainment for making ReBoot — without it, I would probably have no existence on the Internet.

No suing, please! The ReBoot characters belong to MFE. All of the characters that I created are mine — but, to keep some people happy, I add that though they are mine, the original ideas for sprites, binomes, etc. belong to MFE. So, only their names and appearances belong to me.

PROLOGUE

It was the darkest of night in the Supercomputer. The huge buildings, dazzling by day, had powered down — some of them, never to be lit again.

In the dark alleys of downtown, a dim circle of lights appeared out of the dark, bobbing up and down the empty streets as their holders made their way quietly to the large structure that housed the enemy.

Outside of the building, the group stopped and stared with disgust. What had once been the Guardian Academy was now a deformed place that radiated super-viral energy. Its gray walls were charred and marked with signs of the Infection, while an eerie green light glowed through the windows without end. Transparent green smoke rose from twin towers jutting from the top of the Academy, spreading across the Supercomputer's sky and blocking all sunlight, making the sky seem hazy all second and downtime long.

They couldn't attack it, not with so small a group. One second, when they had more allies, Daemon's infected Guardian Academy would fall. The rebel group continued on the streets to the houses belonging to nobility and rich sprites, stopping before an estate belonging to a rich resident who had recently fallen under Daemon's infection. Their meager machines had confirmed that her home held Daemon's newest power.

The leader of the group raised his lantern. Its meager light reflected off his face, casting a shadow on his hard brown eyes, firm jaw, and a long scar that ran from his left eye down his cheek to his chin. He held the lantern to the doorway, searching for any cracks. When he found one, he motioned to the others, and a few sprites stepped forward to help him open the door.

The great slab slid aside with a sound of stone scraping against rock, and the group hesitated, on the alert for guards. But none came, and they cautiously entered the building, holding their lights ahead of them to guide them.

Inside, the building stank of musty odors; dark vines highlighted with green veins clung to the damp walls. The sprites moved on, their feet making no sound as they sneaked down the long hallway.

Near the end of the group, a teenage sprite whispered to his friend, "I don't know why we have to be so quiet. There's no one here."

The lead sprite froze. Slowly, he turned and advanced on the sprite that had spoken. "I'll tell you something, boy," he growled, gesturing around them with his lantern, its light casting eerie shadows on the walls. "This entire place could be filled with infected sprites, probably Guardians, armed to the teeth. Could be. Maybe you're right; maybe this place is empty. But chances are, you're wrong. And if you make one false move — one -- we could all be finished." His eyes flashed. "Understand?"

The teenager nodded. Flinging long red hair out of his eyes, he murmured, "You don't need to make it all dramatic, Dad."

His father shook his head. "That's reality, Dean. Come on," he said, addressing everyone, "we have work to do."

The sprite resumed the lead, as they crept through several passages before they came to the inner chamber of Daemon. The sprites set their lights by the doorway and went to explore the room. A large, inanimate machine stood in the center, its screen blank and strange wires hanging by its sides. Further searching past the machine led to a side chamber. Some sprites went to see what was inside it. They returned a millisecond later.

"There seem to be some sort of pods in there," one of them reported to their leader. "See for yourself."

The sprite took a step into the side room and studied a small, translucent pod — much like what a baby Web creature was born in. To the others, he announced, "We don't know what these are; they could be dangerous. Destroy the entire chamber."

"Hey, Dad!" Dean called from the main chamber. The sprite grimaced and went to reprimand him; but when he reached his son, he saw that he had found a small disc — a black and white icon. The sprite took it and studied it for a nano. "This belonged to Isna Radius," he announced. Isna was the most recent abduction they had witnessed by the Guardians, and the owner of the home. "Maybe this will tell where she is."

The sprites searched the chambers, but there were no more rooms, and they had found all there was. The leader lit a torch and threw it into the side room, then helped others to close the door.

"Let's go," he commanded, with a nod at the other rebels. "We need to get away before the entire place is destroyed."

They regained their lanterns. As Dean picked his up, he felt a cold limb coil around his wrist. He froze as a small, black creature hopped onto his arm.

"Ah, Dad?" he called faintly. "There's something on my arm —"

The sprite turned back. "Dean, quiet," he hissed. When his gaze rested upon the creature, though, his eyes widened, and he said, "Throw it away."

"I can't," Dean whispered, terrified. The creature had dug sharp claws into his forearm, and he felt weaker, as though his energy was being drained.

A woman stepped forward. "What is that--?" she started to ask, bringing a lantern up, when the creature raised its head. Its black eyes reflected in the light, as its fangs gnashed.

The woman shrank back. "A baby Web creature," she whispered, answering her own question.

The energy was quickly being drained from Dean's arm. He tried feebly to shake the Web creature off, but it clung fast. Suddenly, its head snapped up, and it gave a long, loud screech that echoed throughout the entire chamber.

The sprites listened breathlessly for several nanos; then a roaring sound began from faraway, growing louder as it approached.

The leader of the rebel group shouted, "Run!" just as a sea of data exploded in the room. It collided with the door to the side room, and that room burst open, as fire and data traveled towards them. The sprites ran towards the doors, but several were carried away and slammed into the walls, while others were quickly drowned. Dean's father grabbed his arm and pulled him ahead to safety. The Web creature detached from his arm, and the sprites ran as fast as their legs could carry them toward the exit, followed by a few others.

The silence of the night was broken as Isna Radius' extravagant home crashed to the ground, data seeping from the ruined walls and running down the streets. The crash of the building opened up several tears; a few turned to weak portals that closed in a few milliseconds.

A few residents looked up at the wrecked building; but they soon looked back down. Destruction was not uncommon anymore, now that Daemon had conquered, and turned many to her infection. It was, rather, a normal second in the Supercomputer.

Inside, the baby Web creature sailed through the air over to the small icon that had been dropped. It picked it up in its jaws and made its way over to a hidden doorway, where a sprite stood. The sprite Isna let the creature rest on her arm as she replaced the icon on her belt. She surveyed the disaster area with grim satisfaction; her pupils glowed a green as deathly as the veins that pulsed at her temples. She left the destroyed chambers, walking briskly toward another. She had already forgotten the trap; Daemon was using her host's quick mind to process another plan for the destruction of all whom opposed her.

CHAPTER ONE

THE SURGE

Dot Matrix sighed and closed the last VidWindow. She had recently re-opened her Dot's Diner business, and orders and meetings had swooped in, like it had been before the war. It gave her a sense of security to work again, to feel like her old entrepreneurial self.

It had taken one and a half minutes after the system reboot for everyone to fall back into his or her old lives. Dot worked at the Diner again; Enzo (the little one) returned to school — not that he felt he had ever been gone — Mouse worked in the Principle Office on the security systems, with Ray to help her; and Bob, Matrix, and AndrAIa acted as protectors of Mainframe by playing the Games.

Dot looked up as the Diner doors opened, and in came her "older" brother and AndrAIa. The game sprite waved. "Hey, Dot," she called as they approached.

Dot smiled at the two. "So, have you guys found a place to live yet?"

Matrix shook his head. "There's nowhere that's free; but if we have to stay at the P.O. for another minute, I'm going to go random."

"Maybe Bob will let you stay at his apartment," Dot offered.

Matrix shrugged. "We'll see."

As they started to go, Enzo came from the downstairs level of the Diner. "Dot," he said, "can you help me with my homework?" He glanced up at Matrix and unconsciously took a half-step back.

Dot looked up with a sad, apologetic look at Matrix. Even after a minute and a half, Enzo was still afraid of his older self; and Matrix showed no wish to talk to his counterpart. Dot wished they would get to know each other; it made her sad to see her brother — no, brothers — in such a state.

AndrAIa glanced towards Matrix as well. "Come on, Sparky, we'd better go." The two left the Diner and zipped towards Kits Sector. Before they reached it, though, the sky darkened.

WARNING: INCOMING GAME. WARNING: INCOMING GAME.

They changed their path and flew towards the spot where the Game was landing.

"Enzo, AndrAIa!" a voice called. Bob appeared beside them. He grinned. "Need another sprite?"

"Bob," AndrAIa started, "we've been meaning to ask you: Could we —"

She was cut off as the Game landed, and they found themselves on a ship hovering over a dark planet. The ship took a steep nosedive into the ground, causing the three to lurch. AndrAIa grabbed Matrix's arm, and Bob supported himself against the hatch as the ship ground to a halt.

The hatch opened; dust swirled around it and settled to the ground. The rugged terrain stretched as far as the eye could see, and in the distance, large mountains jutted up.

"Reboot!"

Matrix, AndrAIa, and Bob tapped their icons. The green light washed over them; and when it cleared, they were wearing bulky armor and dark helmets, and they carried various ammunition.

Bob's voice crackled over the com-link. "I've seen this Game before: Roughnecks. The goal is to defeat the bugs and get to Base across there." He waved his rifle at the mountains. "Then we need to find the Queen bug and delete her."

"Alphanumeric," Matrix muttered.

AndrAIa focused with the extra-vision that came with the helmet; and she could see the openings of caves carved into the mountainsides. She glanced below them, and swallowed. "Ah, boys," she warned, "it looks like we've got company."

Approaching them was a horde of murderous-looking bugs, with high, arched tails bearing large stingers. Some gnashed their dagger-sharp teeth.

"Right," Bob said. They jumped from the ship and stood on the desert; the bugs were still yards away. "Wait until they come close enough, then shoot."

The bugs approached with slow confidence. There was nowhere to run or hide.

"On my count," Bob said tersely. "One . . ."

The bugs were within ten feet.

"Two . . ."

A bug lunged for Bob without warning. Matrix swung his Gun around and shot down the bug. Bob ducked as another sailed over his head, and he deleted it in mid-air.

The bugs attacked as one, a sea of tearing claws and poison barbs. Bob, AndrAIa, and Matrix fought, shooting them down, dodging bites. Still, the bugs swarmed in to attack.

"Okay, maybe this wasn't such a good idea!" Bob shouted into his mouthpiece.

"Look over there!" AndrAIa yelled. On the other side of the ship were three skiffs. Bob and AndrAIa ran toward them with Matrix following, delivering accurate shots at the bugs. They jumped on the skiffs and tore across the desert, with the bugs in hot pursuit, screeching angrily.

They reached the mountains; the three jumped off the skiffs and ran inside one of the caves. The bugs rushed by; after they had gone, Bob, Matrix, and AndrAIa leaned against the wall in relief. They looked around their small hiding place and saw that it branched off in exactly three passageways.

"Good, very good," Bob murmured to himself. "Now all we need is something to fry these bugs. . . ." As he spoke, he searched through his pack and came out with a handful of bombs. "Perfect." Matrix and AndrAIa had also found bombs.

"All right, we need to set these at different places, each one for ten milliseconds," Bob said, "and find that Queen. Matrix, you go down the right tunnel; AndrAIa, you take the left; and I'll go this way. Let's make a little mischief," he laughed, sounding like the Guardian he was before the war.

The two nodded and went their separate ways. Bob shouldered his gun and started down the center tunnel, wary for anything.

Mouse stood up from the console she had been working on. One panel was split open, and wires spilled out. She sighed and wiped a hand across her forehead.

Ray Tracer looked up from the other control panel and grinned. "I hope you're not going to leave it like that?"

Mouse grinned back. "Ah'm just takin' a break, then Ah'll finish up so we can go." She walked over and wrapped her arms around Ray's neck. "But first . . ."

"Hey," Dot called as she walked into the room, interrupting their kiss. "Breaking?"

Mouse smiled impishly. "Maybe. Ya know, this is the last kiss we'll have in Mainframe."

Dot smiled too; but it was replaced with a serious expression. "I hope you find information on Daemon."

"Count on it, Honey. With mah excellent guide, we'll have the Web mapped out and ev'ry system visited before y'all can twitch an eye." Mouse returned to the console and began rearranging wires.

Dot nodded. "When Bob, Enzo, and AndrAIa return, we'll all say good-bye." Unconsciously, she glanced out a VidWindow at the looming purple cube in Kits.

Mouse saw her worry. "Don't worry, Dot; the three of `em are great Game players. They'll be out in no time."

Dot nodded again, and she briskly walked out of the room, but her thoughts were on Mouse and Ray's departure, and the Game.

Matrix walked slowly down the tunnel, Gun out and ready. He had finished setting his bombs, and now he was searching for the Queen bug. The damp floors masked the sounds of his boots, giving him stealth — but also keeping any bugs' approaches silent, he thought.

He rounded a corner and found himself in a dark chamber. He walked forward several steps, holding Gun out, but nothing attacked. He turned to go when he heard a faint scraping against rock. Matrix spun back around, but he couldn't see anything in the darkness. He focused with his cybernetic eye and his helmet, and he picked up a shape.

Something flashed at the edge of his vision, distracting him. Matrix jerked to the side, but there was nothing visible in the dark passage. Then it was there again, fluttering just out of sight every time he turned his head.

Something struck him in the arm, and Matrix whirled around with a cry. His eyes narrowed as he saw the small shape of a drone, tiptoeing along on its spindly legs. The drone was holding a small gun that it leveled at him. Matrix shot at the drone, but it dodged the shot and skittered away

Matrix suddenly remembered the thing that had struck him. He picked at his arm and finally pulled out a small object, which he flung away. Matrix rubbed his arm vigorously, feeling a stinging feeling that was slowly fading, not noticing the slight glow of green veins that lasted for only a nanosecond. He felt no injury as far as he could tell, but he realized that he was bleeding slightly, and he held his hand over the cut.

Matrix swore under his breath, feeling thoroughly confused, as well as vengeful. He went for the way out, but in the dark he was lost. He fumbled in his pack for a light, and came up with a small glow-rod. He snapped it on and held it up so it could illuminate the chamber, and he slowly made his way out.

In the passageway, he found Bob and AndrAIa, having just come from the other tunnels.

"You all right?" Bob asked. Matrix nodded, lifting his hand to check his arm.

"You're bleeding!" AndrAIa exclaimed. "Let me see."

"It's nothing," he protested, even as his girlfriend wiped the energy off his bicep.

AndrAIa glanced back at the dark chamber. "What was in there? Was it the Queen?"

Matrix thought, then shook his head. "It wasn't the Queen. It looked like one of those drones — like Daemon's, from that system where we encountered the Guardians."

AndrAIa's eyes widened, and she looked from Matrix to Bob. Bob looked at the passageway Matrix had come from, and he said, "We have no idea where it went, so we can't follow it. It'll get deleted when the bombs explode."

"Speaking of, we have to get out of here," AndrAIa said. "We've got less than ten milliseconds." She started to say something else, and then she stopped, listening to something. Bob and Matrix strained to hear, and they picked up a faint clacking sound from down the passage. The clack-clack grew louder — as if whatever was making that noise was coming closer.

Suddenly, the walls began to tremble. A large shape pushed its way through the small opening Matrix had come through earlier. The giant bug stood five times taller than any of the others, with six razor-sharp legs and a bulging abdomen. It used its long, poison-tipped tail, as well as its legs, to carve an opening through the rock, as bits crumbled away. When the Queen bug was through, she turned her fiery red gaze to the three armored sprites, and she gnashed her teeth hungrily. They turned and ran quickly into a small alcove, as the Queen followed. When she realized she couldn't reach them through the small opening, she screamed in open rage but stayed watching.

"Anyone got any bombs left?" AndrAIa asked.

The two shook their heads, and AndrAIa sighed. "And anyway, the ones we did set have a while to go off. We've got to shoot her, then. But in this close quarters, it's going to be hard."

"I'll do it," Matrix volunteered. He raised Gun, but Bob stopped him.

"Gun's no match," the Guardian said. "We've got to use something bigger."

Matrix bristled. "What do we have?" he retorted.

A sound made them stop arguing. They turned to see AndrAIa grin and heft a shoulder cannon. "This thing's got two shots," she explained, "and enough power to delete our Queen. The problem is, we need to do it without deleting ourselves in the process."

Bob took the cannon from her. "Looks like it's my job," he mused. "Let's lead her out."

They jumped out of the cave. Matrix fired a shot at the Queen's head. It bounced off, but it was enough to distract her. Bob aimed the cannon; but at the last nano, the Queen screeched and swatted him, and his shot went awry. He stumbled and accidentally shot again; this time it hit, but it only disintegrated three of the Queen's legs. She stumbled and fell with a crash that shook the mountain.

"Come on!" Bob yelled. "Let's get outside!" He, Matrix, and AndrAIa ran from the mountain, with the Queen in limping pursuit. She buzzed, and swarms of other bugs appeared. The three speeded up.

They emerged into the glaring sunlight, and immediately ran for their skiffs. When they boarded them, though, the skiffs' engines groaned and went dead.

"Of course," Bob muttered to no one. He, AndrAIa, and Matrix turned to face their enemies. The bugs were steadily approaching, buzzing in united fury. Their Queen was at the rear, hissing in pain as green liquid seeped from her broken limbs.

"The cannon's got no more shots!" Bob shouted in frustration. "We can't shoot them!"

The bugs were fast approaching. AndrAIa glanced at the two men. "Any ideas?"

"Wait!" Bob shouted.

"Now what?" Matrix asked tightly.

"The bombs are about to go off," Bob said. He stood still and waited, even as the bugs came closer. Matrix and AndrAIa stood beside him tensely, their energy pounding in their veins. Bob counted silently, "Three . . . two . . . one. RUN!" he screamed.

They ran for the ship as the mountain exploded, and fiery rocks were hurled at the army, setting the bugs on fire, and the fire spread across every bug until it reached the Queen and burned her, too. Green energy splattered the dry desert ground, and anguished screams faded in the hot air.

GAME OVER.

Dot sighed in relief. "They won."

"And just in time," Mouse said, closing the panel on the console.

"You doubted we could?" Bob retorted, walking into the room, followed by Matrix and AndrAIa. "Dot, I'm hurt."

The Command.com grinned at the Guardian and leaned over to kiss him.

After the kiss, Dot turned back to the others. "Well, I guess . . . I guess this is good-bye," she said with a forced smile. "I can speak for everyone when I say Mainframe won't be the same without you. At least, not until the war is over."

They stood in sad silence, until Mouse said, "Whassa matter with ya all? Ray n I are just takin' a little vacation; it's not like we're leavin' foreva. We'll be keepin' in touch with any info we find out about her viral highness. But," she added with a grin, "we won't get a chance to leave if we don't finish with good-byes."

"You're right," Dot said. She looked to the side, though, and her smile turned to a frown. "Where's Enzo? Oh, right — I sent him to the docks to wait for the pirates. Matrix, please go find Enzo."

He rolled his eyes and looked as if he were going to say something, but he decided against it and started out the door.

Dot smiled apologetically. "Sorry. I just wanted my little brother to be here to say good-bye."

Mouse shrugged. "It's fine. We'll find somethin' ta amuse ourselves."

AndrAIa came over to talk with Mouse over something technical, and Bob came next to Dot. He put an arm around her waist, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"It's tough to let friends leave," Bob said in a reassuring voice.

"I know," Dot sighed. "I just wish things could stay the way they were when the system rebooted; no more changes."

"I know," Bob whispered, and Dot wondered if he was thinking of something other than Daemon. "I know."