[03] Rusted Steel!

[Belle Hibiki]

Belle wished she could have said more to Kaden. Wished she could have told him what she really meant by what she had said. Not that she wouldn't mind if she started stammering like an idiot, but Kaden. If she were a girl - the mere thought was enough to make Belle queasy - she thought she would have prefered it if the person she liked said something stupid in the heat of the moment. At least then, no matter how foolish it was, it would be honest.

"See ya," Belle muttered as she watched Kaden disappear into the portal, feeling suddenly more alone than she had in a very long time.

How strange.

The pager in her pocket blipped, and a moment later the air in front of her opened up from a single glowing pinprick into a wide, yawning portal. Belle threw a final look around, took a deep breath, and stepped through the shimmering disk, shuddering as she felt the gateway seal behind her.

~+~+~+~+~

She coughed. She worked her tongue around and spat. But nothing she did seemed to get the taste of the air out of her mouth. It was foul, retilent of decay and disuse, of so many things packed into close quarters and ill-kept. It was exactly the kind of thing that Belle hated about cities; how once you got past the gleaming skyscrapers, all too often the beautiful facade of society collapsed by into this urban jungle.

The only new construction was a garage. Belle approached the steel door that bore her name with some trepidation. She hesitated, looking around at the others, and pressed the button. So much for keeping my identity a secret, she thought with some annoyance, glowering as the steel door rolled up. The dark space beyond was bathed by a floodlight overhead, singular eye focused on the vehicle that rested at the center of the room.

"You're kidding," Belle breathed, her eyes flicking over the cherry-red motorcycle. Even by her limited standards, its design was sleek and inviting.

"So glad you could join the hoe down, Miss Belle Hibiki," said a voice from within. It took Belle a moment to locate the source: a speaker that had been screwed into the wall.

She frowned. The voice wasn't Gamer's. In fact, it reminded her of... "Bess?"

A crackle from the speaker - a robotic sigh? "Almost, little darlin': Wess. Before you start shoutin'," Wess continued as Belle opened her mouth to object at the endearment, "head to your bike and put the plug you find there into your ear."

The comm crackled again before going silent. "Going to frigging kill you," Belle grumbled. She was loathe to follow instructions from a disembodied voice, especially Wess', but as with previous rounds, she was forced to swallow her pride and play along. There would be time for righteous ass-kicking later - preferably once she had secured her old body.

Belle approached the cycle and looked it over. The wheels were larger than she typically saw on city streets, and the seat sat farther back than she thought it should. Swinging one leg over the hog, she closed her hands around the handles and lowered her bottom into the leather. It was surprisingly comfortable, though she had to lean over to fit her body to the bike's contours.

A flesh-colored wedge of plastic about the size of a thumbnail dangled from one of the bike's handles by an elastic string. Belle plucked it up, pulled the securing band away, and - after a few seconds fumbling - pushed the device into her right ear.

"There, that's miles better, ain't it?" Wess' voice spoke as clearly as if he were next to her.

"Miles," Belle growled. "You want to tell me what the Hell is going on here, 'cowpoke'? I thought your boss was running the show."

"Oh, he is. Master Gamer has no idea that I'm talking to you right now, or he'd be headin' down to the saloon to take me apart. Sure as shootin'."

Belle frowned, looking around. "But... Can't he see us? Isn't this his computer?"

"Indeed. But you see, little missy - "

"Stop calling me that!"

"Stop?" Wess asked, bemused. "But I only called you it once, Daisy."

Belle seethed. "Stop talking like I'm a girl when you know I'm not!" she bit out from between clenched teeth, trying to keep her voice as low as she could manage, not wanting any of her companions to overhear her conversation from the nearby garages.

Another crackle. "It's a pity, that is," Wess said. "A cactus-kickin', sand-whippin' tomboy is so much cuter than a rootin'-tootin' bronco with gynephobia. That's why I chose that body for you."

Belle froze. "You," she started, anger flashing hotter than an exploding star. "You ... did this ... to me?"

"Yes."

Belle's hands clenched so hard on the rubberized handles that a gash split open. "You-?"

"Let me say my piece first, darlin', before you start plottin' murder. Simple fact of it is that I HAD to do it - it was the only way to fool The Gamer's computer system. See," Wess explained, "the master can track you and your friends because the computer knows what to look for. Everything about you was programmed into its databanks when you were plugged in. But, if someone were to change you without reprogramming the computer's matching parameters, well then, it'd be like trying to find a needle in a haystack when what you're looking for is actually a cherry."

"After I get out of here," Belle said slowly, ignoring the technobabble. "I'm going to find you and take you apart. Piece. By. Piece."

"Don't you at least want to know why?"

"I don't know. To screw around with me? To humiliate me?" Belle spat. "To see if you could get me to go crazy? Piss me off?"

"Nope, though those all sound like entertainin' distractions," Wess said, sounding amused. "Nah, the real reason why is because you're my, and my compadres', only hope for survival. We need your help."

Belle's anger momentarily blazed higher. Why would Wess ever think that she would help him now? But as she opened her mouth to say as much, the words died in her throat. She grimaced and swallowed her rage, the flames cooling - though only slightly. "What do you mean?" she asked levelly.

"We're not people to him -- to Gamer. We're disposable. After he finishes his games, he plans to recycle us -- starting with me."

"Why do you need my help?" Belle asked, her mind turning back to the short battle she had had with the robots. "You're not super strong, but it seems like you'd be able to escape, or whatever, on your own."

"Ya flatter an old ranch hand," Wess said. "But the security system the Gamer has in place is tighter and more deadly than a noose."

"You can't take it out?"

"Not from where I am," Wess admitted. "I would need to get at the computer mainframe to do that, and the security would take me apart long before I could get there."

Wess waited, and Belle realized a few seconds later what he meant. She blinked. "You mean ... me?"

"You're already in the system; you're the best bet we have."

Belle's mind was spinning. "Wait." She frowned as a sudden thought hit her. "How did you change me if you can't get into the computer?"

"I had a little time to fiddle with the system when we were hooking you up to the mainframe," Wess explained. "I remember you swearin' something at me. Remember?"

Belle had to search back in her mind for a moment, then the memory clicked. "That was when you put in ... whatever it is that's making this happen to my body?"

"Yep," Wess sounded irritatingly happy that she had finally gotten it. "And a little something else, too. I piggy-backed it to your carrier signal, but it had to remain dormant until it was past the firewall to avoid setting off any red flags."

"What is it?"

"A virus."

Belle frowned. "You mean like a cold?" she asked, puzzled. "I didn't know computers could get sick."

Wess laughed. The sound was strained and artificial - though Belle guessed that wasn't too much of a surprise, given the source. "Yes -- we can."

"So... Where is it?" Belle looked around. "I don't remember having anything when I got here." She paused, then asked suspiciously: "Did you infect me?"

"Aren't you just the silliest filly?" Wess gave an electronic snort. "Check your left thumbnail, darlin'."

Belle frowned and did as he asked, then blinked at her thumb. There was something there, alright - a small, silver disk pressed against the broad side of the nail. She hadn't noticed it in her previous panic, and Kaden must have been distracted, as well. There seemed to be a film over it, and she was able to pull the adhesive covering the disk away. "This is your big virus?" she asked, disbelieving. The disk was maybe a quarter of an inch in diameter, and she felt like it would break if she twitched her fingers wrong.

"That's the one," Wess confirmed. "To make it work, you have to place it inside one of the Gamer's AI actors."

"Okay," Belle rolled her eyes. "And what are THOSE?"

"I keep forgettin' that you're a new hand on the ranch." Wess seemed to mull over his answer, then continued: "Do you remember any varmints in your games that weren't other players? Like the sailors on the Maiden's Dream? Those things - they were computer-created artificial intelligences. Or... A.I. actors."

"Yeah. Okay." Belle eyed the disk with some doubt. "So you want me to put this inside a... person?"

"I don't think you'll have to worry too much about that this game. Lucky for you; I don't think you're the kind of girl that likes wetwork."

"I'm not a girl at all," Belle snarled. "Even though you did this to me-... And that's a problem, too. How am I supposed to do what you want me to?"

"What do you mean, doll?" Wess asked.

Stay focused, Belle ordered herself as she started to flare up again. "I mean," she murmured, her voice tightly controlled. "Well. I've got this body. A girl's body. I can't fight like this."

"Why not?" Wess asked, sounding genuinely puzzled.

She frowned. "Well, isn't it obvious? I mean, how could a girl - ... It's different. I'm not as strong."

"I think you might find you're stronger than you think. But you won't have to jump that particular canyon this game. Your fight won't be with your body."

Belle looked down. "The bike?"

"Yes indeedy."

"But I can't ride a motor bike!" Belle protested. "I can't even take riding in Master Long's stupid car!"

"Then I guess," Wess' voice dropped, "you'd better learn fast."

It took Belle the better part of a minute to find out how to actually turn the bike on. She closed her fingers around the appropriate knob, and waited as Wess instructed for the bike to register her fingerprint before turning. The motorcycle abruptly thrummed with life, roaring with what seemed like barely restrained enthusiasm at being awakened from slumber.

Belle gave the throttle a few experimental tugs. The vibrations grew stronger underneath her, pulsing up the length of her entire body from her seat. She felt a slight almost-tingle between her legs. It was all very distracting.

With Wess instructing, Belle kicked up the kickstand and goosed the hog out of the gate, feet brushing down and 'walking' forward. "How the Hell do people ride these things?" she suddenly demanded. "It's going to fall over the second I start!"

"If you think that, it will," Wess warned her. "It's as easy as, well, riding a bike. Just don't think about it too much, and put your weight on that pretty little behind. If you worry over every little thing, it's just going to be that much harder."

"Kill. You." Belle's hands clenched again and she gave the throttle a fresh surge of energy. "Stop talking about me like that."

"Why not? I bet everyone else around you is thinkin' it - even that Kaden boy. Wishin' maybe you weren't so masculine."

"I'm warning you," Belle growled. "I swear to God or Buddha or the Dragon or whatever rules this universe that I WILL let you guys die!"

"At least thank me for teaching you how to ride," Wess said gently.

Belle frowned, unsure what he meant, then realized that she had somehow covered an entire city block without touching the ground. She brought the bike to a screeching halt, looking behind her in disbelief, and then forward again. "You... Did that on purpose?"

"You're welcome," Wess said. "Now, as for your 'opponent'..."

Belle eased the bike forward again, a little more confidently this time, listening to the robot's instructions -- listening very, very carefully.