The Game 67

Edited by Karen Leigh

Driving back to Innobotics, Gross was far more circumspect about his route. He had gone to the compound in a panic, all his thoughts on Samantha. He had somehow forgotten an invasion was under way. Still, he reassured himself, single-minded focus in the face of danger was a hallmark of masculine thinking and of heroes in particular.

Preening himself, he nearly ran over a senior citizen in an electric buggy. Or was it? The aliens were supposed to be masters of disguise. Without hesitation, he primed a grenade and lobbed it unerringly into the old woman's lap, driving off with a squeal of tires from the blast zone. Grinning with pride and battle-lust, he screeched through the quiet, ominously normal streets, back to the Innobotics facility.

At last, signs of the war... The building was damaged; not reduced to rubble, thank god, but those inside could be injured. A helicopter was buzzing overhead coming in for landing in the large parking lot, but there seemed to be no other human response. No police, fire engines. With a gulp, Gross realized that these vital services must have been disabled somehow by the silent alien invasion. The solitude was eerie.

He parked his truck behind some low sheds and jumped out, taking with him rope, first aid kit and crowbar as well as his weapons. A rustle, and he'd fired before his brain had interpreted the noise, leaving a splatter of liquidized squirrel sprayed over the blankly gleaming shards of the ground floor windows.

He was jumpy; this was bad. The new routines that had been uploaded to him at the compound were maybe incompatible with the sleek, honed set his owner had thought adequate for an adventurer with nerves of steel. Gritting his teeth, he reminded himself of his purpose. Mr. Krycek and Agent Mulder could be in dire straits now, without him - and there were Jess and Sasha, too. And he'd been dilly-dallying.

It was getting towards twilight; the dull glow of streetlights was just becoming evident against the darkening sky. He threw himself on the ground and wriggled quickly and silently to the door where they'd found Samantha. He drew himself up into the shadows, and then peered inside. No one was in sight, though the air was full of dust and scattered paper and slivers of glass lay everywhere. Further across the lobby he could see that the doors of one of the elevator shafts bulged, twisted and distorted, from the wall. The fight was within as well as without, then. The enemy was in the building.

He found a stairwell and began to run up it. He hadn't gone far when he heard voices approaching. Slipping out round a door he held it open a crack and waited. With relief he realized that the party coming down the stairs must be from the compound and were searching for Jess and the others. Of course, it could be a cunning alien plan to trick him...

Taking a chance, he stepped forward, machine gun at the ready. The man in front smelt odd, like Jess. Another werewolf? It looked like Mr. Krycek - this must, therefore, be Baines.

The people brought him up to date with what they had discovered; an abandoned building, no sign of enemies so far and Gross's original companions were in the basement with Wraith and some others who sounded like *really* bad news. Assuring Baines and his friends that they could leave any of their surplus equipment in his truck for return to the compound, Gross bounded off down the fire stairs, visions of Mr. Krycek and Agent Mulder strapped to a sawhorse or dangling over a seething pool of piranhas curdling his electronic liver.

--[o]--[o]--[o]--[o]--[o]--[o]--

It would be all too easy, Wraith thought, to linger here, supported on two sides by companions he could trust while sifting through the systems for problems that could be dealt with remotely.

"The bunkers were gassed," Wraith announced quietly. "I've sent some units to begin clearing the bodies." Luckily he was leaning more in Tom's direction at the moment than in Marita's. She tensed, hissing under her breath. "Too many things need a physical response. There are no drones to spare to come down here." Wraith's lip curled up. Krycek. Perhaps a mishap while herding the intruders up and away from the sensitive projects down here. The fate of those projects was now his, Marita's and Tom's to control... Krycek and his companions had no business discovering the extent of what filled these lower levels.

Hobbes looked at Marita. Gassed? That meant... He shook his head. No, don't think about that. Maybe it was best so they wouldn't get injured later. Tom started to look around for some torches. He went to a cabinet and pulled some out. "Will these do?" he asked returning to Wraith.

Reluctantly Wraith slid off the bed to his feet. A momentary dizziness passed quickly. "We have to deal with the problems down here ourselves." His toes and fingers all responded when he attempted to flex them. "I have to disassemble Phoenix while he's contained. I believe there are some arc welders down here somewhere. Removing his head would be a good start. We can take it upstairs for crushing."

Hobbes held one out to the man. He felt unsure of what he was about to do. Phoenix after all appeared to have living parts as well. Was he not as equal as everyone else. Could they not just... reprogram him or something. But then he remembered what Phoenix had tried to do... to kill everyone... to take control. Pinocchio was right, remove the virus before the healing can begin. That meant removing the cause. He had to think of Phoenix as the virus... us as the invasion would be as one as well.

"Let's get this over with before any of us have second thoughts," he said gravely heading for the door.

--[o]--[o]--[o]--[o]--[o]--[o]--

"Hold it, Mike. Where are we gonna go? I don't rush blindly into danger for you, or for anyone. I like my life. Got no desire to end it today. Gimme a plan. What do you have? I'll go if there's something concrete. Might I suggest that first we find out what's been happening?"

Turning, Vic led the way in search of One, and answers.

Pinocchio had just been going on gut instinct. He trusted it. It got him this far after all. But now he had someone with him that was his voice of reason. He looked the man over, feeling all weak inside though his exterior didn't show it.

"Lead the way handsome," he followed Vic, catching his eyes lingering on the man's butt before jerking his blues to pay attention on where they were going. "Okay, so who are we looking for and how can they answer our questions to what is going on?" He asked from behind the man, his strides as quick if not quicker than Vic's.

--[o]--[o]--[o]--[o]--[o]--[o]--

Sypher's mouth had dropped open when David had asked about concubines being disrespectful, then the slight gleam in his eye had been accompanied by a tender mental tickle as she realized he was only teasing with his next statement. Obligingly, she'd giggled a bit and nuzzled him lovingly through their link, but sobered quickly enough. Taking One's hand in her free one, she thought a long moment about her reply.

"Phoenix is a very dangerous adversary, I think, and he cannot be reasoned with at this time. His vision of the future can't be denied. He would set machines up as overlords to humans, rather than attempt to gain lasting equality between the two. Given our current state of disarray, the risk assessment is far too high. In either case, I don't think the decision is in our hands anymore. Wraith," she closed her eyes a moment, "is planning to disassemble Phoenix as we speak." A sharp twinge of pain accompanied her fellow cyborg's abrupt cut of their tenuous link. "We may have just missed our chance with him as well," she mused quietly.

One winced, as he too felt the sudden separation. It did not bode well. He doubted that Wraith could be controlled, however unobtrusively, by Marita or Hobbes. Then he thought of Sasha. "What of Alex Krycek and Mulder? They can no longer communicate with us either. I don't think they are sufficiently prepared to deal with what they may encounter there without backup."

"Sasha is currently following Baines' orders, and Leigh apparently feels that he and Jess would do the most good here. The biggest problem is that course of action currently leaves Alex and Mulder without a reliable way to communicate with us. I think Alex has his cell phone, but I'm not sure if it will work properly in Innobotics' territory. Gross is enroute back to them, leaving a serious amount of mayhem and destruction in his wake," Sypher shuddered at the image of Gross tossing a grenade out his car window. "He means well, but I'm not sure how stable he is at the moment--mentally or network-wise. I'm tempted to send another Mac out just to make sure that Alex and Mulder get back safely, but Sasha said that Agent Mulder was behaving very strangely, so I don't know if that's a good idea or not. Based on his past behavior and reactions, I can't say whether or not it would be an acceptable risk for whoever would be going, and I certainly don't want to push Agent Mulder any farther than is necessary on the Mac 27 issue right now. In any case, it's going to take them a while because I can't imagine Alex passing up the opportunity to check out Innobotics when it's right there in front of him. Who knows, he might find something useful."

One frowned, concentrating, but his weak and erratic link made it difficult for him to accurately pick up anything. But at least it was something. The sheer sensation of loss from the severed connection with Wraith made One feel quite resigned - and at the same time grateful that he'd not been severed himself.

"What of Baines? They should get out of Innobotics and return, all of them. As dangerous as Phoenix is, it would be good to contain his remains. I just hope that Wraith disassembles him completely."

With a heavy sigh, Sypher said. "Baines will be returning with Jess, Alexei and Sasha as soon as he can reach them. Gross has assured me that he will bring Alex and Mulder back as soon as he possibly can. The wisest thing to do at this particular point is to round up everyone left in the compound and start giving them a quick and dirty course on guerilla warfare," she grinned savagely at David's bemused look, "it is a war, after all. We will also want to seriously consider changing our firewall now that our current one has been uploaded to Wraith. I have no problem with the possibility of negotiating an alliance with him and Marita Covarrubias; but until we can be sure of his intentions, his current inside knowledge of our systems status makes him a security risk."

She looked over at One, then leaned up to give him a tender kiss on the mouth. "We also have to decide how we want to proceed with you, love. Even though he is enhanced, our Demon's talents are being wasted in his current capacity. We need our intelligence analyzer back, and our master server as well," she moved to the door and took the massive tray of food from the Mac 27 that had brought it and set it on the conference table. "Thank you," she murmured quietly in dismissal.

In the meantime, problems aren't solved on empty stomachs. Eat up, boys, you're going to need it.

Dutifully, David poured himself some of the nutrient beverage and selected a rather large slice of German chocolate cake from the selection of foodstuff offerings.

"I will design an alternative firewall and transmit it," he offered, as he considered the other issues that Sypher had raised. Glancing at One, David sighed, squared his shoulders and said, "Perhaps we can agree that that will be my last official act as a primary server?"

He'd made it a question, but David doubted that there was much of a choice. Sypher wouldn't let him duck what she believed to be his duty.

One nodded, slowly, also helping himself to the beverage. "I would agree with you, except that until I am back online and possess optimum functionality again, I can't accept a transferal of that duty from you..." One's voice died away, realizing what David was saying. One exchanged a glance with Sypher, surprised at what David was implying. He turned back to David. With his usual self-sacrifice and adherence to duty, David was willing even to undergo that process he found so personally disturbing. But One could sense that David felt obligated to do so. He felt a distinct sadness sweep over him, which he dampened hurriedly, not wanting to distress either Sypher or David anymore than they had already had to bear. But One wished that he didn't have to press David to do this. He could see no alternative

Sensing David's distress, Sypher privately whispered, /baby, I wish there was another way to do this as quickly and precisely as we need to that didn't involve a physical hook-up. Hell, I wish that there wasn't a *need* for it under these particular circumstances--that it could be more about the love you share with One rather than just another duty to be performed. I wish we could do this more slowly, savor the experience, and go at our own pace.

What is it that the humans say? Wishes and fifty cents will buy you a cup of coffee?

I'd gladly take your place if I could do so, but I can't. I'm sorry. But I will be there with you all the way. You won't be alone, I promise. We'll both take care of you. We won't let you get lost./ She poked a finger into the sweet frosting on David's plate, and then popped it into her mouth.

At one level, David supposed that he ... appreciated the reassurances. It was an odd feeling, not altogether unpleasant.

/He loves you so much, Demon; but if it weren't for this, he would have never asked for you to join with him again. He would have wanted it to be *your* choice, and for it to be as beautiful for you as he could possibly make it. He deserves no less from us now.

Yes, ma'am."

It wasn't censure on her part and she wasn't telling him anything he didn't already know, but David was still very skeptical and slightly put out by what he perceived as a lecture. With a mental kiss to David's cheek, she continued. Okay then, think about this: the things we fear most are usually much less frightening when we actually go through them. Besides, you've done this with One before--same principle, reversed roles. You know something about what to expect this time. Knowledge is power, and you have your concubine at your side. Let me help you, beloved. This has to be done, butyou don't have to bear the burden alone.

It may be better if I can control it. I do not know, Sypher.

Privately, One sent to Sypher, file://We will both need you, if David agrees to a forced reboot. We will need you there.// He smiled at her, fondly, file://To hold our hands - mentally as well as physically.//

I will be there, love. I promise. We just got you back, I want to make sure we keep you this time.

David regarded One and Sypher for a moment. It was unusual for them to communicate on a loop that didn't include him. Before he could comment or inquire, he received a transmission from a Mac 27 unit that an armed human and a clone were approaching.

Quickly realizing that his smile to Sypher might be misinterpreted by David who was unaware of their exchange, One quickly said, "Guerilla warfare? Baines has been trying to get everyone into training for some time now. This will be interesting."

"That's the most likely reason Baines is going to pull Sasha and Jess out of Innobotics. Which reminds me...," she sent an inquiry to Marcus and Johnny and got the equivalent of a 'do not disturb' sign back. "Weird," she muttered quietly. It wasn't like Marcus to shut her out so completely.

One turned to David. "We also need to find out how many of the clones and humans that have been involved contain the implanted chips. We must identify the chips' function and origin, and see if they might be removed without harm. It is safe to assume that many of the people here are being tracked and located by the aliens."

"Based on my research, I would assume that it would be very dangerous to do so. Agent Scully developed cancer at an alarming rate when hers was taken out, and was only able to avoid death by re-implanting it. The chips' tracking abilities are being dampened or neutralized wherever possible, and removal can be done at a later time," her mouth twisted wryly, "whenever we can spare the time to research the causes and effects of doing so properly. Say 100 years from now at this rate? But the one person we do know who is unaffected is Ryan, and that's significant. We really need to start checking into that, and figure out a way to get Luke back online soon. I think we make him nervous right now."

Just then, two people burst into the room--another clone and a rather wild-eyed military type with a machine gun slung over his shoulder. Silence reigned for a long moment as they all stared each other down, and Sypher took in the chagrin on the unidentified clone's face. Her mouth twisted a bit in distaste at the sight of the machine gun the soldier was carrying, but otherwise she showed no sign of having noticed it.

"Gentlemen, if you wanted to join us for dinner, all you had to do was ask," she said dryly, "but I don't allow toys at the table; so if you would be so kind as to lay it on that desk over there and introduce yourselves, I'm sure this would be a much more pleasant meal."

Vic started forward, his face set in a determined smile as he looked between the occupants of the room.

"Pardon me, lady," he said. "My associate, Mike, and I were looking for One. They said that we'd find him here. The thing is, Mike has a colleague that he's anxious to trace, and I'm trying to get him to do it sensibly. Also, there has to be a way that we can fit into the current organization. I figured that we should come offer our services and see what the best way to deal might be."

One wondered which human this was. He searched through his files and realized from the description and the image bank that it must be Victor Mansfield. Excellent. This could be fortuitous, with Mr. Mansfield's background; it made him ideal for the task One had in mind for him and his soldier friend.

David had put himself in a position to defend Sypher and One, but casually stepped away when the intentions of the two were stated. One's mental query as to his choice of assignment for the new arrivals was weak but David flashed back his agreement.

One supplied a name almost instantaneously: this one was Victor Mansfield, a former Canadian cop who'd been framed by his squad and was currently an agent for an elite, top-secret, world-wide crime fighting organization. Sypher had to hold back a snort as she mentally reviewed her information on him, wondering if he'd yet figured out that his current boss was the one behind his frame-up so long ago. She seemed to get most of her former law-enforcement talent that way--or the honest ones, at least, as the crooked ones usually found their way to her anyway if they stayed alive long enough. Sypher could see the point on one level--Mansfield's talents had been sorrowfully wasted in his former life--but decent cops were getting harder and harder to find. He'd deserved the respect of being given an actual choice. Oh, well...

"Sypher," she responded automatically as she held out a hand. "A pleasure, Mr. Mansfield," she turned her back to him as he frowned in puzzlement at her and flipped up her hair to expose her I/O port, "and based on my information, I'd say your companion would be one Michael Pinocchio--which means the 'colleague' he's trying to track would be Lt. Thomas Hobbes." A growl from Pinocchio had her grinning at him as she held up her hands.

"Easy, soldier--I'm an intelligence gatherer, it's my job to know these things. We're all on the same side here, which is why I just demonstrated good faith with you. Hobbes took off after Alex Krycek and is currently at Innobotics, helping to bring the situation there under control. My advice to you would be to hang tight and wait for him to return."

"In the meantime, allow me to introduce my counterparts," she flashed David and One thinly veiled smoldering looks as she all but purred the word and mentally nuzzled both of them briefly. "This is David, our intelligence officer, and that is One."

Vic stepped towards One. "Don't want to interrupt, but we should get some focus going as soon as possible. Things are pretty chaotic here.

This time, Sypher did snort. "Gee, whatever gave you *that* idea?" she asked good-humouredly as she winked at the still-frowning Canadian. "Considering the fact that we don't have a security or tactical officer, it's a wonder they haven't come in and picked us off by now, and we still have personnel trying to make their way here--both Mac and human. It would be so much easier if the three of us could get back to our original duties. You mentioned something about offering your services?"

Flashing a glance at David and then Sypher, One said, "I agree. We have need of a central point of operations, a war-room. We need it to be well equipped as well as defendable. We also need to have another look at the external fortifications of this compound - I fear we may be sitting ducks in the water, here, if the aliens attempt anything right now. We are unfortunately still vulnerable and ill prepared in the event of an alien incursion. I suggest that the both of you are ideally suited to not only set up a war-room where we can more formally conduct any planning and strategic analysis of our situation but also to create a training program."

"Everyone here will need a refresher course in field combat as well as self-defense and weapons handling. We are in a war, after all." One glanced at Sypher again with a grin.

One turned back to Mike and Victor. "Feel free to utilize what help from any Mac 27s that are here, of the house staff and technicians that remain. And indeed any resources, to equip the war-room. We will inevitably need to converge there, soon. And we need to prepare for the eventuality of an attack from above."

Nodding, David added, "Baines will be able to help with the training. He has had some tactical and strategic training as well."

"We should speak with him then, upon his return from Innobotics," One said.

"We need to see about eliminating a few of our enemies," David muttered grimly, eager to get back to his intelligence work. "We cannot win, if we have to fight on this many fronts. The aliens have to be our priority, but we cannot ignore other threats unless we neutralize them."

One shot a look at David. "Indeed. We cannot tell how the situation currently stands with Wraith or the rest of our people at Innobotics. We must find a way to regain some level of connection with that party. And perhaps we could make the war room our primary location for server function, as a communications area as well."

Pinocchio strapped his sub machine gun to his slide once more, back where it felt more comfortable. His blues looked from man to man and then to the woman. War room, defend, fortify... all terms he was familiar with... all terms Santiago uttered to him when he entered the Realm.

Pinocchio cleared his throat, "You guys don't know me from Adam but..." How was he to explain this? "I can help out with that. Done it once before... on a bigger scale than what you got here. This will be a piece of cake."

One regarded the soldier. Having come from the Realm and possessing the level of experience that he had, Pinocchio was a boon in their situation, as was Victor Mansfield. "Excellent. Perhaps you and Mr. Mansfield will accept the task of fitting us with a war room, then."

Pinocchio shifted on his feet, "As for your enemies... you better listen to that one," he gestured to David, "He's right. Too many fronts open will leave your backside weak. You better eliminate your enemies quickly, don't even hesitate. You do... you're S.O.L."

"I suggest you... get out of this compound. Find a more secure isolated place that is well fortified. Like an underground bunker...If you stay here, seal off all access, coming and going. Check all entering and leaving. Then seal off unused areas. And you're going to need weapons... hope you have a lot of those... if not... get some, get some really big and powerful ones too."

Pinocchio closed his mouth, one hand resting on his gun, the other, dangled freely. "But then... you don't have to listen to me."

"On the contrary," One replied, quickly, "we value your counsel and I think that the entire compound will benefit from your advice and aid in this."

"I am afraid that, at this present time, we must remain where we are, and we will have to make do with the weapons that we have," One replied. "Although I admit they are hardly paltry. However, we may yet find that our best defense will come in a most unorthodox and unusual form." His lips twitched with silent humor. "As for the aliens, it is easier said than done - the job of eliminating them may well prove to be insurmountable. The best we can perhaps hope for is to beat them back and ensure that they do not return."

He glanced between Victor and Pinocchio. "As I said, feel free to avail yourself of any equipment or resources necessary to fortify our defenses more appropriately. We are running out of time. And when Baines returns, we will reconvene in the war room and discuss the proper training and preparation of the rest of us in guerilla tactics as well as defense of this position. Please report back here and let us know when you have established us a central room of operations."

Vic looked at Mike. Where to start? That was the question.

"C'mon then. I suspect that we need to get a map of this place before we do anything else. Wonder if they have a cellar or anything." Vic took Pinocchio's arm and led him away towards the commissary, where he was hoping to find the information they would need. Food might be good as well, thought Vic.

"Mr. Mansfield," when the other turned back, Sypher continued, "you may want to consult with Youngblood and Wild Thing for the information you need. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to help you out. Check the computer lab first. You can't miss them," with a grin as they walked off, she turned back to her two companions. "Well, that's one hole plugged at least."

Pinocchio let Vic lead him by the arm; after all, he had been jerking the man around the place as well. And the information on Hobbes made him rest easier, though he just knew some how, some way, Hobbes was going to get himself into trouble... it never failed.

He threw a glance back at the woman as she spoke Vic. Youngblood? Wild Thing. He shook his head, well couldn't be any worse than Pinocchio at least. "Yeah, can't miss them, in a land of freaking clones?" Pinocchio snorted under his breath.

"Okay, map, see where the weak points are, then secure them or seal them off, best way right?" he said stepping up his pace to keep up with Vic. "Cellar would be good. As for the ammo situation... that has me uneasy. We're going to need more if they don't have much."

With a serious look at David, Sypher reached out to gently stroke his cheek. "How's the firewall coming, beloved? How close are we to having it up?"

"Almost there," David muttered, his eyes on Sypher while his processors worked at the problem from several different angles. "I am complicating the encryption and password protecting several modules. It will not be duplicable without massive computational effort and excellent information or luck the magnitude of which has yet to be experienced."

Sypher's nearly absent nod prompted, "Unless our renewed acquaintance is considered in the analysis of luck."

He'd startled her again. David did not understand his own emotions, but startling Sypher in certain ways pleased him greatly.

Sypher looked at David for a long moment. "David, do you understand the meaning of the word 'brat'? she muttered as his great pleasure at having caught her unawares yet again washed over her, but she couldn't begrudge him that small measure of satisfaction. With everything going on around them, there was little to be had. /Maybe I should be disciplining you instead of One?/ she purred suggestively. That earned her a very decisive 'No' and an image of him paddling her butt if she tried. /Ha! Fat chance!/ she snorted derisively, which only made him smile all the more.

Smiling in satisfaction, he continued, "I will only be a few minutes more in the design phase and implementation will be nearly instantaneous."

"Thank god for small favors. We need to move on to the larger ones post haste--we're running out of time."

One helped himself to a large slice of chocolate cake. He had a feeling that energy was going to be a requirement, and soon. He was experiencing a series of flashes, which, although they appeared to be little more than flickering light strobes in his inner sensors, could not be a healthy sign. Indeed, he could hear Sypher's and David's voices fading in and out strangely as if through a long echoing corridor.

One did not find the sensation pleasant - it was as if he was experiencing a gradual disconnection from the collective link. He couldn't hear anyone but those in closest proximity, a bizarre effect that happened to include Sypher and David, although he had a sneaking suspicion that this might have something to do with how close he felt to them emotionally...

It was with a sinking feeling of inevitability that he realized he would end up having to request this before David was psychologically prepared to handle it. Looking over at them, he said quietly, "I'm losing my connection. I may have to go off-line for a while. I'm unsure what this would mean considering the need for me to regain server function." One took in the dismay in David's eyes, which was reflected along the link they shared. It was so good to see David's humor; to remove it with these words was almost too painful.

David imagined that One's wince was a mirror image of his own. He was not ready for this, but it seemed that they might be running out of options.

"The timing is up to you, David," One gently said, obliquely letting him know that although the reboot was a requirement, One still had no intention of repeating the stressful, strained mistake of last time they had attempted this.

He knew the statement wasn't strictly true, but David appreciated the sentiment. Even now, hobbled and poorly functioning, One was trying to protect him -- to keep the promise he had made about not taking David anywhere he did not want to go

A private surge of guilt hit him, however. He tried to suppress it from leaking to David or Sypher but it could no longer be denied: he *had* wanted this for a long time. The desire to experience that closeness, that purity of shared being and flow with the essence that was his beloved David had been suppressed out of necessity, but had grown with the passage of time since that first unfortunate reboot of David's. To now force David yet again to experience something that he found terrifying and uncomfortable, distressing and invasive in its inherent intimacy, was an anathema to One. And it could be easily misconstrued that out of practical requirement One would finally find the opportunity to have his way.

David could sense One's conflict, but it was testament to how far below capacity One was operating that he could not determine its nature.

But time was against them, for One even now could feel the weakening of his connection from the network, could feel the separation occurring with each passing second. The fear of losing even the link he shared with Sypher and David was overwhelming. He quickly dampened his emotional responses; he did *not* want to influence David and make him feel pressured. Still, he could not help radiating a measure of anguish at the current state he was in.

One was afraid, but David was not sure of what. Despite what was necessary to restore it, David was becoming frustrated with the tenuous, fading nature of his connection to One.

One finally sent a private appeal to Sypher. If I do not reboot soon, I may experience complete system failure. I have been running with programming glitches and there is no way to tell how much more loss of internal functions may occur if I do not at least go off-line. But I do not wish David to feel forced. If I shut down completely, please reassure him that it is not my wish that he feel coerced either by me or from the necessity of our circumstances. I can wait until he is ready. But we will need you, Sypher! We will need you there both in a physical and connective capacity.

And One stiffened as even Sypher's inner link with him began to weaken.

Noting Sypher's increased alertness, David frowned. One had obviously decided to communicate something to her alone. He had not had time to go beyond mild discomfort before Sypher became agitated. Instinctively, David checked his link with One and found it to be virtually non-existent.

Demon, we're losing him, trying hard not to panic, Sypher started to strip the almost non-responsive android and felt the weakening fluttering of his link to them as he tried desperately to hold on to it. "Shhhh, baby, hush now. We're here. You need to relax now." She held his face between her hands and gazed straight into his eyes. "We've got you. Just hold on," she kissed One almost desperately after removing all of his clothes. "David, take him over to the gaming couch and lay him on his right side. I'm gonna need access to the port behind his left ear. If I can jack into it, that connection and skin-to-skin contact might be enough to keep him online until you can hook in. I'm hoping that his epidural sensor network is still functional--it's the best chance we have of maintaining contact with him because it's the largest continuous network on a Mac's body." David was staring at her a bit wide-eyed as she stripped down herself. "Demon! Baby, hurry...please. It isn't about duty or what any of us wants anymore. He's *dying* David, and you're the only one who can save him. What is his life worth to you?"

Grunting, David put the finishing touches on the new firewall and made it available for immediate uplink. To his surprise, One was unable to perform even that simple task within the context of his place in the Mac 27 network.

A sharp pang of fear permeated his order to units 67 and 68, the Mac 27s he had assigned to One in the role of secret service agents.Maintain your positions flanking the office door. Admit no one.

Taking a moment to collect himself, he turned to Sypher and murmured, "We do not have time to delay."

While David had done as she asked, Sypher pulled a jack wire from her jeans pocket, connecting it by feel into her neural net with nothing more than a pained hiss and a quietly muttered 'oh, fuck.' The rather short length of the wire forced Sypher to spoon tightly behind One on the gaming couch as she felt for a similar aperture behind his ear--which was fine with her as long as it kept One with them. As the jack slid home, she whispered, "hold on. I'm here." The result was that she could hear him better, but not by much.

David was engaged in multiple server functions, but he only seemed able to watch Sypher move into position behind One. The outward intimacy of their juxtaposition was buried beneath Sypher's fear and One's resignation. Despite himself, David responded to both -- he didn't want Sypher to be afraid and resignation to a fate of non-sentience was unacceptable for one such as One. As a consequence, David moved without being completely aware that he was doing so.

She fiddled around in the vicinity on One's navel, until she heard the quiet snick of the port popping out. "David, your clothes," Sypher reminded him firmly as he made to lie facing One fully clothed, with only a gap for the port access, "you have to take them off."

Sypher's previous words about skin-to-skin contact replayed in David's head as he moved to comply with her suggestion with hands that were strangely uncoordinated.

Eyes closed, she reached out to blindly stroke his soft hair as she felt his weight sink onto the normally roomy game couch. The piece of furniture wasn't designed to fit three people on it.

Why is the feel of her fingers threading through my hair soothing?

Then there was a series of clicks, and she was holding David's hand tightly as it rested on One's naked hip.

I'm going to drown, David murmured, holding onto Sypher's hand for dear life when he moved the male connector into position over One's abdomen. He is so much more than I am.

No, he isn't, she whispered to no avail. He's only different, beloved. Not quite the same thing. She tried to soothe David by mentally nuzzling against him, but he refused to be comforted.I'm here. I'm right here, she reminded him forcefully, and I won't let you drown. I promise. I need you too much to allow it, lover. But the memory of her earlier upload and David's inability to reach her for a good portion of it stood fresh in her mind as she said it. Sypher kept her fears to herself for both David's and One's sakes. The reboot needed to happen, or One would be lost.

"Goodbye, Sypher," he whispered as he made the direct connection between he and One and forced One's system into a reboot. David's thoughts fragmented and he could no longer feel Sypher, even though he was bruising her hand with his.

Relief so great it was almost a shock flowed through One at being reconnected to David. He could hear him again, taste the wonder that was David's mind

Sypher's heart thumped hard in her chest as she suddenly found herself outside of the connection, alone in the dark. David was practically crushing her hand with his grip and she feared for her bones, but there wasn't any way to free herself now. She simply told the nanocytes to shut ff the pain receptors at the wrist and decided to worry about it later.

Humans, David decided, would liken the experience to riding a roller coaster. A slow steady build up, the gathering of potential, signified that the reset of One's systems was taking place. They, David and One, teetered at the top of the hill for a long, tension-filled moment, green eyes staring into green eyes. One's thanks and acceptance endeavored to overcome David's fear and the curiosity about the descent to come that David himself had deemed morbid.

One desperately wished there was something he could do to allay David's worry, wished he could deny that he wanted this as much as he did. The slide into the mergence of their consciousness began and One could not help but love it. Oh, David. Want you. Need you. Need this. My soul, my twin, my heart...

Balance lost, they plummeted with ever increasing speed toward a darkness so complete as to epitomize the absence of light. Close, closer, entwined limbs allowed skin to taunt skin, temptation mutual. Seduction on every level was both possible and offered as compensation, as validation, as verification.

Suddenly, there were no boundaries. One was David. David was One. Together, they were an entity unto themselves, a sum of both. And more. And less.

David had no voice with which to scream.

Darkness...complete pitch-blackness surrounded her and Sypher felt her fear growing exponentially. This was so much different from the way it had been when they were trying to reach her earlier. David *was* drowning and he was scared; he needed her and she couldn't reach either of them at the moment. She could feel the sensations from their connection whipping around her, and the sudden memory of being freed from the Matrix was upon her. She had been swallowed up in darkness like this then as well, and it had scared her immensely. She had been a child inside, but had emerged into the real a fully-grown adult completely unprepared for her destiny in life. What would this new darkness bring?

--[o]--[o]--[o]--[o]--[o]--[o]--

On to Game page 68

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