Wild Boot
by Rarstarr

Reboot and Ranma 1/2 are the property of Mainframe Entertainment and
Rumiko Takahashi respectively and used here (respectfully) without
permission.

I'd like to thank my prereaders, Jin and David Johnston.

-----

Ranma: I come the net,
	through systems, peoples and cities,
	to this place,
	Mainframe.
	My format: Guardian, to mend and defend,
	to defend my new friends and family,
	their lives and honor,
	to defend them from,
	their enemies.

*****

Part 3: We'll Always have Jusenkyo.

*****

	The sword arced cleanly through the air, tumbling end over end. Slowly
it fell, past the highest level and down, down, down into the depths of
Mainframe. Deep in the bowels of Mainframe it fell, to a dingy alley and
behind a pile of boxes, it landed, point first, with a yelp.
	With a yelp?

*****

	"Yes, thank you for the report. I'll have Ranma stop by and fix it as
soon as he's free," Kasumi bowed to the vid window.
	"Yeah... well... there's... no... hurry," the one binome in the window
drawled. He wore a greasy apron and hat. His one eye blinked with an
amazing lack of speed.
	"I wish you well," Kasumi said to him.
	"Good... bye," the binome replied. Kasumi closed the window, and
immediately opened another. The new window showed the red-haired face of
Ranma-chan. Behind her the levels of Mainframe blurred downwards.
	"Oh, you're female again Ranma," Kasumi commented.
	"Yeah, that violent maniac you call a sister knocked me all the way down
to level 31. I hit an exposed power conduit and morphed," Ranma-chan
complained, pulling a face. "But you didn't call me to discuss my status,
what's processing?"
	"I just got a report of a tear in Al's Diner down on level 31," Kasumi
informed.
	"Ah, man, I was just there!"
	"Sorry Ranma,"
	"That's okay, you weren't to know."
	"Well be careful."
	"Function well." Ranma-chan signed off. The window popped out of
existence.
	Kasumi shrugged and turned back to her desk and busied herself keeping
Mainframe running smoothly. So much to do and so few cycles.

*****

	Ranma-chan pushed open the door and walked into the diner. It was a
grimy place, with a serving bar and a number of booths along the opposite
wall. At the far end of the room a jukebox sat quietly playing slow tunes
to itself. Most of the booths were inhabited by binomes, although in one
the numeral 7 sat alone, every so often taking bytes out of its burger.
	Behind the counter a waiter stood waiting. His clothes, like the rest of
the diner, were covered in grease. He slowly turned to regard Ranma.
"What... may... I... do... for... you... darlin'?"
	Ranma-chan bristled slightly at being called darling, then stepped up to
the counter. "Kasumi sent me to fix a tear."
	"But... Kasumi... said... the... Guardian... was... a... man," Al's
waiter said.
	"Don't worry about it, I'm Ranma Saotome, and I'm a Guardian. Show me
the tear and I'll fix it."  The binome was starting to wear his patience
thin. He talked like he was operating at half clock speed.
	"Right," the binome said. "AL!"
	"WHAT?!" A voice cried from the kitchen.
	"I'm... taking... the... Guardian... to... fix... the... tear," Al's
waiter replied.
	Ranma-chan slowly followed the binome through the employees only door
and into the store room. The tear fizzled and spat in the centre of the
room.
	"Looks simple enough," Ranma-chan commented. "Glitch, repair." Glitch's
parts slid around, reconfiguring themselves so that the disc became a
cone pointing at the tear. The cone emitted a stream of gold hoops that
encircled the tear, slowly shrinking it. Finally the tear exploded into
nothingness. "See, no trouble."
	"Thank. You. Guardian," Al's waiter returned slowly.

*****

	Kuno turned as the elevator arrived. The two robots, Sasuke and
Gosunkugi rolled off the platform, approaching him in silence. Neither
looked pleased to see their master, which put Kuno in a bad mood
	"Enlighten me!"
	Sasuke looked up at Gosunkugi. "You tell him!"
	Gosunkugi looked down and shoved his partner. "No you tell him!"
	"You!" Sasuke replied pushing back.
	"Don't-don't you think you should tell him?" Gosunkugi shoved back.
	"SASUKE REPORT!" Kuno roared.
	Both henchbots cringed away from the angry virus.
	"W-we couldn't find anything," the smaller bot stuttered.
	"Not a thing," Gosunkugi sighed.
	"No one knows her," Sasuke added.
	Kuno covered his eyes with one hand and groaned. "Nothing you say. Every
sprite in this system creates a data trail, and in all of Mainframe only
one sprite accesses them  all those trails. Bring me Ms Tendo."

*****

	The Nekohanten restaurant served the fastest food in Mainframe. Binomes
and sprites came from all over the system to partake of the digital
cuisine, including Mainframe's own Defender, Akane Tendo. She sat nursing
a quantum shake, just staring at the cup.
	The restaurant File Server slid up next to her booth. He was a white
box, with a pair of arms stuck to the sides and a golden rod attaching
him to a rail attached to the roof. On the front a depressed screen
contained his face and a pair of thick glasses hung from his "shoulders"
covering the picture of eyes. Beneath the screen a sticker proudly
proclaimed his name, Mousse.
	Mousse cleared his throat. "Excuse me miss, your mood is darkening the
room."
	Akane looked up. "Hmm, what? Oh, hi Mousse."
	Mousse started visibly. He had at least expected a comeback, if not a
beating. "Is something wrong Akane?"
	Akane shrugged. "Just feeling a little sorry for myself."
	Mousse moved closer to her. "Do you want to talk about it? I'd sit down
next to you, but that's a little hard when you don't have legs." He waved
at the empty space beneath his monitor.
	Akane smiled weakly. "Oh, it's nothing really."
	"Then it won't be any trouble to tell me about then."
	"Okay, okay. We've got a new Guardian in the system..."
	Mousse nodded. "I'd heard."
	"Yeah, well, father decided I should link with him," Akane explained
gloomily.
	"There'll be a lot of binomes crying themselves to sleep when that hits
the Usenet," Mousse commented sagely.
	Ignoring him Akane continued. "What's worse is, we went into a game, and
I had to be saved!" Akane slammed her fist on the table, causing Mousse
to bob away back. "Then he had the gall to embarrass me in front of my
sister and a whole lot of binomes!"
	"The scoundrel!" Mousse interjected.
	Akane was becoming incensed. "He thinks so much of himself, but he's the
one that turns into a girl." Mousse started in shock so violently his
glasses slipped off. He fumbled with them for a few seconds before
returning them to his face.
	"Turns into a girl?" Mousse repeated faintly. "Ah, excuse me, I've left
some, ah, energy Ramen assembling in the kitchen." Mousse zipped off
along his rail through the swinging doors into the kitchen.
	Akane blinked. "That was... sudden."
	"MOUSSE NO TOUCH!" A voice screamed from the kitchen, and Mousse came
flying box first back along the rail. He bounced off one wall and made a
circuit of the restaurant before coming to a stop. Akane shook her head,
that was one pair of sprites she would never understand.
	The door jingled as it opened, causing Akane and many of the other
patrons to look up. Mainframe's defender scowled and got to her feet. A
number of binomes glanced between the two, and sensing something in the
air, zoomed out the door.
	Ranma surveyed the room, and spotted Akane stalking towards him. He
opened his mouth to apologise even as she lifted her finger to wave
before her. At the same moment the kitchen doors banged open.
	"RANMA!" A happy - and very cute - voice cried. Before either sprite had
a chance to react Ranma felt something collide with him and wrap itself
around his torso.
	Akane and Ranma both slowly looked down, to find a sprite had glomped
Ranma and was smiling happily at the Guardian. Her skin was as blue as
Ranma's and her silvery purple hair was done up in a pair of pony tails.
She was almost as cute as her voice, Ranma reflected. Behind her a tray
crashed to the ground.
	A sudden shadow loomed over the poor male sprite, and moments later he
found his head slammed into the ground by Akane's mallet, the cute sprite
still attached to him.
	The newcomer popped to her feet. "Why violent Defender girl hit Ranma?!"
she demanded.
	"Shampoo, you! You! YOU DESERVE HIM!!" Akane screamed, stomping out the
door. Shampoo stood, hands on hips, glaring as she left.
	"Did anyone get the address space of the cluster that hit me?" Ranma
groaned from the floor.
	Shampoo immediately shot to his side, and started to help him to his
feet. "It Defender sprite, she very violent, hit Mousse all time."
	Ranma reached up and felt the back of his head. "Did she have to hit so
hard?"
	"Shampoo not see her so angry before." She started guiding him towards a
free table.
	Ranma looked at the sprite. "Shampoo what're you doing here? More to the
point, why are you speaking so strangely?"
	Shampoo frowned as she helped him into a seat. "Shampoo's parser not
compatible with Mainframe environment, so she sound funny. Command.com
try fix, but not able to do anything." She shrugged. "Shampoo live with
it."
	Ranma shook his head to clear it. "Okay, if you say --"
	The sudden slamming open of the door interrupted Ranma. A binome wearing
a biker jacket rushed into the restaurant. "Virals just grabbed the
Defender!" he yelled.
	Ranma leapt to his feet. "WHAT?!" he demanded.

*****

	A blue fist rapped on the door. The hand belonged to a blue skinned,
blonde haired sprite in a jump suit with the words "Paul's Power Pizza"
on it, casually supported above her head in the other hand were six
boxes. She happily chewed gum while waiting, floating on her zip board.
	It was only a nanoseconds before the door was pulled open by a dark blue
zero binome. He looked up at the girl and blinked. "Yes?"
	"3P delivery, get your pizza hot or get it free." The girl told him in a
bad Brooklyn accent. "Got a delivery here for one Kuno." She blew a
bubble which popped, covering her face. A bit of skilful chewing pulled
the gum back into her mouth.
	"Master Kuno doesn't eat pizza!" the binome replied, and slammed the
door.
	"Damn!" the girl swore.

*****

	Kuno sat and watched as Gosunkugi and Sasuke approached carrying a bound
sprite. The sprite in question was wrapped in black cables from head to
toe, but hugged the prisoners form so well that it was obvious that it
was female. The two bots dropped their burden to her feet.
	"Remove her bonds." Kuno stood and paced over to the trio, then turned
away as the two bots started fiddling with the knots. "You are my enemy
Ms Tendo, but ever you consider yourself a business-sprite and I'm sure I
can offer you recompense that will cause you to put aside you feelings."
Kuno walked back to the chair. "All I require is information about this
sprite." Kuno reached out and touched a button on his chair. A window
popped up, showing a closeup of Ranma-chan. "Simply upload this data to
me Nabiki Tendo and I will..." Kuno's voice trailed off as he turned back
to look at the bound figure.
	Gosunkugi and Sasuke had unwound the sprite's head, to reveal a gagged
Akane glaring at Kuno. Kuno sighed deeply and covered his face. "While
the Defender's company is a delight, you have fetched the WRONG Tendo!"
	Gosunkugi and Sasuke glanced at each other. "Uh oh!"

*****

	Blue knuckles rapped on the door again. This time the girl standing
there was black haired, wearing a skimpy combat fatigues and carrying a
briefcase. Ammo belts crossed her chest and upon her head she wore a
beret.
	The door was again opened by the zero binome. "What do you want?"
	"I'm here to see Kuno about a shipment of arms," the girl replied.
	"Got an appointment?" the binome asked pulling out a clipboard.
	"Ah, no," the sprite admitted.
	"Can't get in to see the boss without an appointment." The binome
slammed shut the door.
	"What is it with this guy?" the sprite muttered before zipping off.

*****

	Once more the door was knocked upon by a blue hand. The third girl was
blue skinned with flowing blonde hair and dressed in an extremely cute
outfit. She smiled prettily as the dark blue zero binome opened the door.
	"Hi," she greeted in a chirpy voice. "I've got a singing telegram for
Kuno."
	The binome stared at her for a few nanos, before pulling back into the
room. Whispered voices could be heard inside. Outside the girl sprite
waited impatiently.
	The messenger sprite jumped when the binome suddenly popped back into
view. "Okay miss, we'll take you up to see him." The binome opened the
door wide.
	The girl blinked, she hadn't expect this lousy disguise to work. Keeping
in character she skipped into the Tor, waited till the door was closed,
then shot the three binomes inside with a file blocker. Inside the jade
blocks the three binomes wore looks that said, "but she was so cute!"
	Looking around the girl tapped her icon, restoring her clothes to their
normal Guardian armour and getting rid of the wig. Ranma-chan glanced at
the trapped binomes. "Idiots," she muttered, then hurried from the room.
	Outside the parts of a pair of black bots crashed to the ground.

*****

	Kuno paced back and forth, watched by the still gagged and bound Akane.
He swung his sword casually as he walked. "It pains me to hold you like
this my beloved," he announced glancing at the bound defender of
Mainframe. "I could send you to the PID extraction chamber, but that
would subtract from the fire of your code." He spun about and strode back
across the platform. "Why does uncertainly plague my mind?"
	"Mmfmaff!" Akane cried.
	"Pardon my dear?" Kuno asked, turning to face her.
	"An opening!" A female voice cried, moments before Kuno crashed to the
ground. Ranma-chan bounced off Kuno's back towards Akane. The blue girl
landed, sweeping the other sprite into her arms. "Miss me?" Akane glared
back at him.
	"Ah, my pigtailed goddess," rumbled Kuno, getting to his feet, "I seek
thee and thou comes to me as quickly as the wind. Not only that but you
gift me with your feather like touch."
	Ranma-chan raised her eyebrows. "Feather like?"
	Kuno covered he heart with his free hand. "Even the hardest punch feels
like the sweetest caress when backed by the force of love!"
	Ranma-chan looked down at Akane. "Is this guys serious?!" she demanded.
The defender nodded emphatically.
	Kuno raised his sword and held it at arms length, pointing at the pair
of female sprites. "Swear fealty to me, or face me in battle."
	"Huh? I have no idea what you just said, but I ain't doing anything a
virus wants!" Ranma-chan declared defiantly.
	"Then I must prove myself in combat!" Kuno proclaimed, charging forward,
sword swinging.
	Ranma-chan sprung out of the way, somersaulting over the virus' head.
"As much as I'd like to try out my skills, I've got my hands full at the
moment." The Guardian bounced across the room, holding Akane in his arms.
"Does this seem at all familiar to you?" she asked the girl in her arms.
	Kuno roared, twisting to chase the escaping pair. Ranma-chan reached the
edge of the platform and glanced over the edge. She turned to face the
virus, still holding Akane.
	"I have you now!" Kuno sneered.
	"I'll never give up to the likes of you!" Ranma-chan yelled and took a
step back. Akane's muffled scream faded as the pair fell from view.
	Kuno leapt to the edge and peered down into the darkness. "She sought
deletion over defeat. Ah she was truly the equal of the fair Akane and
would have made the perfect bride."
	"Such pretty compliments," Ranma-chan gushed from behind him. Kuno
turned to find the blue sprite hovering behind him on a zip-board, still
holding the bound Akane in he arms. "Bye-bye!" The Guardian smiled
sweetly and kicked Kuno hard in the chin. The virus flipped over
backwards and plummeted into the darkness.
	"Well that was easy," Ranma-chan commented as she floated upwards.
	Akane rolled her eyes and screamed into her gag. Her rescuer turned to
see Kuno soar back into view and land with a crash. The virus cut the air
with his sword and leapt again, soaring up towards the escaping pair.
	"Oh, boy!" Ranma-chan's eyes opened wide. She pushed down on one side of
the zip-board, swerving to one side, but not fast enough. One of Kuno's
claws snagged the zip-board, snatching it out from under Ranma-chan's
feet, leaving the two sprites floating on nothing.
	"AHHHHH!" Ranma screamed, looking down. Kuno crashed to the ground below
them. "Huh? Why aren't we falling?" Ranma-chan asked looking down through
empty space.
	"Shampoo want know how female Ranma get so heavy!" Shampoo complained
from above them. The cute sprite had caught hold of the back of
Ranma-chan's body armour and was hovering on her zip-board, holding them
up.
	Below Kuno looked up and roared.
	"Now would be a good time to get us out of here Shampoo!" Ranma-chan
cried, watching the virus. Akane nodded her agreement.
	"Shampoo trying," Shampoo replied, visibly straining, "but Guardian and
violent Defender girl heavy!" She was straining visibly as the zip-board
carried them higher.
	"Curse you Amazon!" Kuno shouted. "You will regret stealing my loves
from me!"
	"Shampoo quaking in boots," Shampoo returned flippantly.
	Akane finally managed to work the gag free from her mouth. "Ranma, YOU
IDIOT, USE GLITCH!"
	Ranma-chan blinked. "Hehe, sorry." He looped one arm around Akane,
holding her tight, then raised the other. "Glitch, rotor." Glitch
immediately changed shape into a large helicopter rotor, lifting Ranma
and Akane from Shampoo grasp.
	"Bye-bye Kuno!" Ranma-chan yelled.
	"I will have you Ranma, Akane, nothing you do will stop ME!" Kuno
screamed as they disappeared.

*****

	"So you two know each other?" Nabiki asked. She, Ranma, Akane and
Shampoo were sitting at a table at the Nekohanten. Ranma was sporting a
bandage wrapped around his head and a cute blue sprite attached to his
arm. Nabiki was doing her best to ignore her grumbling sister.
	Ranma nodded. "We met at Jusenkyo, Shampoo was working as a System
debugger there. It was part of her function to help pop and me fix the
tear."
	"Shampoo like Ranma from start, but when Ranma save Shampoo in
accident.." Shampoo sighed deeply. Akane groaned and rolled her eyes.
	Nabiki nodded knowingly. "Oh, so you were involved in that accident. So
what do you change into?" Nabiki inquired, smiling sweetly.
	"Who say Shampoo turn into something?" Shampoo returned a little too
quickly.
	Nabiki chuckled. "Okay Shampoo, I'll believe you." Her smile said
otherwise. She turned to Ranma. "It looks like you've got another sprite
attached to you Ranma, you really are in demand these days. So who do you
like better?"
	Ranma, suddenly the focus of attention for three women sprites and a
dozen or so eavesdropping binomes, shifted uncomfortably. "Uh..."

*****

	Peace finally settled over the Tor. The neighbours would have complained
about all the crashing and thumping, but the only person to complain to
was also the source of the noise. The peace didn't last long.
	"YOU DID WHAT TO MY PIZZA!"

-----

-----------
Rarstarr,
David Farr
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~djfarr/
djfarr@ihug.co.nz