Author’s note: This fic would probably make a lot more sense to you if you’ve already read my earlier fics "Abort, Retry Fail" and "Null and Void". I refer back to those stories a lot and some of this one might be a little baffling to you if you haven’t read those. Still, I hope you can follow the action if you haven’t and enjoy this story anyway.

Thanks to Annie, AndrAIa, System Angel and Avery who helped me a gigabyte with suggestions, hints and ideas for this fic.

 

 

 

PATCH

 

 

 

They were the same code.

The two sprites, one large, one small, sat silently underneath the large directory tree as the data stream leisurely flowed past them. They were alone, as only they could be – the rest of the net seemed not to exist. Neither sprite said anything for a long time. Neither had to. The smaller of the pair rested, his head against the large sprite’s massive arm, seemingly nearly as broad across as the small sprite’s entire frame as it enveloped him.

"What’re you thinking about?" Matrix said with a small smile after several long nanos of silence. "I’ve never heard you be quiet that long unless you were asleep!"

"Nothing." Enzo answered softly, closing his eyes.

"You sure? You know what Andri says about us, when we think too much…"

"Yeah." The youngster chuckled softly. "I know. And I just said how you make everything so complicated…"

"Well – keep this up and everyone’s gonna start calling you dark. And brooding." Matrix grinned. "What’s the matter with that boy? Always lost in his own intranet, never says anything, never runs around-"

"OK, I get it!" the boy sighed, elbowing his older self in the ribs. "Sorry. I guess I was just thinking how different it is, having you here. Like before – I dunno. It was like no one ever really talked to me. And now, it’s like I’ve got no secrets at all. You know everything about me."

"What do you mean? Bob and Dot talk to you all the time, don’t they?"

"Sure." Enzo said softly.

"What’s wrong?" Matrix prodded. "You can tell me."

"I know…" Enzo hesitated for a moment, picked up a pebble and tossed it into the data stream. "Bob and Dot are great. I…I – you know what I mean..."

"Sure."

"But sometimes it’s like they’re not even really there – y’know?" the boy whispered. "They’re really nice to me. But I’m still just a little kid to them, no matter how much they try to tell me different. They – crash it all! I can’t explain it…"

"I think I understand…" Matrix sighed, pulling the boy a little closer.

"I don’t ever wanna sound ungrateful – y’know?" Enzo said, meeting his older brother’s gaze for a nano. "Dot’s always done everything for me. I know she got sick of it sometimes. And Bob – he tries to include me in stuff, all the time. He’s great! He never wants me to feel left out. They’re both so alphanumeric…"

"Enzo…"

"I know they don’t think I know – when they talk about stuff, little secrets, with each other. And when they wish I wasn’t around so they didn’t have to worry about me. But I always know…"

"It’s natural, Enzo. They don’t mean anything by it. They-"

"I know they don’t mean anything." Enzo sighed. "Like I said – they’re alphanumeric. The best. But they don’t really understand what stuff is like for me. Not like you do."

"Well – how could they? How could anybody?"

"I know. It’s just... it’s just…"

"What?"

The youngster looked away. "I never had anybody to tell all this to before. I couldn’t tell Bob or Dot. I just couldn’t…"

"I know."

"I couldn’t tell anybody." The boy rasped. "There was nobody to talk to, Matrix – nobody! All the other small sprites are gone…"

"I know." The bearded sprite whispered, squeezing the boy closer. He felt like a small sprite again himself, the anger and frustration as fresh as though he’d experienced it that cycle.

"I was so lonely." Enzo whispered, wiping his eyes discreetly. "Bob and Dot didn’t understand why. They try, but they don’t understand! And there was no one I could tell! Nobody!"

"Well, now there is!" Matrix smiled, gently nudging the boy’s gaze upwards. "Right?"

"I tried so hard to be just like Bob, to show them I could. But I never could. I was still just a little kid. And I knew they didn’t understand. And I couldn’t explain it to them…" The youngster was trying to hide his face, ashamed to shed a tear in front of his older brother.

"Hey – you don’t have to do that." the big sprite scolded. "You don’t have to hide from me, Enzo – I understand. I always wanted to tell someone, and I never could. Not even AndrAIa – I couldn’t admit it to her."

"I’m sorry!" Enzo whispered, his face in his hands. "I’m so basic…"

"No – you’re not." Matrix wrapped the small sprite in his arms, trying to comfort him as he strove to hold back his tears. It was strange – the big sprite felt as though he’d been the one to unburden himself of something he’d been carrying with him, for a long, long time.

Enzo fought the larger sprite’s grip for a moment, then surrendered himself to his emotions, burying his face in Matrix’ chest. The relief at finally sharing the pain he’d held inside was too much for his resistance, and he stopped trying to fight it.

"Just let it go." Matrix sighed, holding Enzo’s head gently, marveling at how small the boy was – how small he’d been, so long ago. "I understand, Enzo. I understand."

Enzo tried to be embarrassed at crying in front of his older brother, but he couldn’t muster up the vanity. It felt so good, so right – like something he’d needed, since before he could even remember. Before he knew he’d needed it. The relief was overpowering – it was a gift, to be able to share his pain. Something he’d never allowed himself to imagine he could ever do. "Thanks!" he whispered, lifting his head and looking up at Matrix’ bearded face through a haze of tears.

The big sprite gingerly brushed the tears from Enzo’s face, only to see them quickly replaced by a fresh batch. He tried to smile. "Don’t thank me, Enzo. We both needed to do this, I think." The youngster squinted tearfully, puzzled. "Never mind. It’s not important."

Enzo wrapped his arms around Matrix’ neck, head resting on his shoulder, waiting for his seemingly endless supply of tears to dry up. "I’m so glad you’re here." He whispered hoarsely, feeling his throat burning, relishing the pain. "I never told anyone any of this. Never."

"I know." Matrix smiled, tousling Enzo’s hair softly. "You’re not alone anymore. I’m here."

"I never though I’d be able to tell anybody. I never thought there’d be anyone to tell…"

Enzo squeezed his eyes tightly, wringing out the last of his tears. He concentrated on the secure strength of Matrix’ grasp, feeling his breathing gradually slowing. He felt light, as if he’d float away if it weren’t for the big sprite’s strong arms…

"Feel better?" Matrix said softly, after a few microseconds.

"Alphanumeric." Enzo whispered, not opening his eyes.

"Pixelacious. You wanna go back to the diner?"

"Maybe in a nano." The youngster sighed, not lifting his head. "I kinda like it right here. Can we just stay awhile?"

"You got it, Little Brother." Matrix grinned. The few binomes scattered throughout the park paid the mismatched pair under the tree little notice, leaving them to their own concerns. That was just fine with them.

 

 

 

 

PROLOGUE

 

 

The Supercomputer was, as always, a bustling hub of activity – seemingly aimless, random, yet each vehicle, each sprite and binome with a task to be carried out, a destination to be reached, and always in a hurry. The silver-haired youth watched them from his window, chin on his hands. After a few nanos, he tired of his vigil and turned away. To a sprite from some backwater system all that activity might see exciting, but when you grew up in the Supercomputer it was just more of the same.

The young man – lithe, wiry –walked over to his desk and sat down. He reached for his organizer and clicked it on. There were reports to be written, assignments to be finished – and best to take advantage of his roommate’s absence while he could, to get some work done in peace. The Academy didn’t care about personal problems – when there was work to be done, it had to be done. Period. Game cubes didn’t wait for convenient times to drop, did they?

The boy had just opened a file on artificial intelligence when the door beeped. "Delete it, Ram – how many times are you gonna forget your access key?" he snarled. The door beeped again. "Maybe I oughtta just make you sit out there for a while. I’m trying to get some work done in here!"

There was no response from the far side of the door. The boy had hoped to hear a little begging for admittance, but apparently his roommate didn’t want to play. "I hope you brought some I/O distillate..." he muttered. With a sigh, he languidly strolled over to the door and released the file lock. It slid open to reveal a dashingly handsome sprite in a powder blue uniform. His rugged featured were topped with a close-cut mop of silver hair, much like the boy’s own, but flecked with white. "Dad!" the youth gasped.

"Son." The man smiled, clapping the boy on the shoulder firmly. "Aren’t you going to invite me in?"

"What’re you doing here?" the boy hissed, waving the man inside, where he sat down on the small bed in the corner. "Did you change your mind?"

"I came to take you with me." The man smiled.

"What? Dad-"

"Come on. Get your things together and we’ll be on our way."

"What? No!" the youth snarled. "I told you before, Dad – I’m not going. This is what I want to do. Nothing you told me is going to change that. I-"

"That’s a very good speech, Son." the older sprite said in a low voice. "But we both know you don’t mean it. What about your loyalty? To me? I’m your father-"

"I’m _here_ because of you!" the boy snapped. "I’m not giving up now! I’m not a quitter."

There was silence for a moment, both sprites staring intently at the other, neither willing to break eye contact. Finally, the older man spoke. "I heard what you said to me on the vidwindow, Son. I didn’t think you’d have the gall to say it to my face. I’m your father! I raised you! Doesn’t that count for anything?"

"Why are you doing this? The whole reason I came here was because of you – it’s all I ever wanted! And now you’re telling me it was all a lie? I don’t think so!"

"Son-"

"What about everything you told me – ‘To Mend and defend’! The good of the system and all that? You couldn’t ship me off to the Academy fast enough before-"

"Enough!" the older man barked, standing. "This is not an issue to be discussed. I’m your father. We’re leaving."

"I’m not leaving." The boy said softly. "I’ve worked too hard to get where I am, Dad. I still believe in the Collective, even if you don’t. You can quit if you want to, but I’m not going to."

"You’re a child, you don’t know what you’re talking about. This place – they fill your head full of propaganda, half-truth-"

"_I_ believe in it!" the youth snapped. "It’s going to be my life, whether it’s yours or not. So if you want to leave, then leave. But I have exams next cycle. I’m not going anywhere."

"If I leave, I’m not coming back. You know that."

"Fine." The youth whispered. "It’s your decision, not mine."

The larger sprite started at his son for a nano, shaking his head slowly. "If it’s what you want. Obviously, I’ve lost you. But don’t expect to come crawling back to me later on. I can’t stay on here, you know. Not now. You’ll be on your own."

"I’m ready." the smaller sprite replied. "I’ll finish my exams, complete the training. I’ll get a posting. I’m a man now, Dad."

The older sprite barked a laugh. "I’m sure the Prime Guardian will be very proud of you. I’m sure you won’t give him a bit of trouble."

The boy turned away and sat at his desk, back to his father. "I have work to do. I have to study. Unless there’s something else…"

"No. No, there’s nothing else." The man said softly. He stared at his son’s back for several nanos, but the boy didn’t turn around. "Stay frosty." he sighed, and let himself out.

"Stay frosty." the boy whispered. With an angry growl, he hurled his organizer onto the bed and returned to the window to stare out at the bustling activity below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART I

 

 

PRESENT

 

 

 

"Hey you two!" Dot called, carrying a tray into the living room where Bob and Enzo shared the couch, watching a vidscreen. "Anyone up for a sundae?"

"Alphanumeric!" the boy grinned, bolting upright and grabbing a glass off the tray. ‘Thanks, Dot!"

"Yeah, thanks." Bob smiled. "Your applet sundaes are the best in Mainframe, Dot."

"Naturally." she nodded, sitting next to the Guardian on the couch.

"Dot’s food is awesome – why d’you think everyone comes to the diner?" Enzo said around a mouthful of applet.

"Yeah – that’s why I started coming there. For the sundaes." Bob winked at the Command.Com.

"Very funny." Both Matrix siblings said in unison.

"Stop that!" Bob laughed.

"Now Enzo – you have to promise to go bed after your sundae, all right? Bob and I have things to discuss, and it’s getting late. He has to go home soon."

"Aww, Dot!" Enzo sighed. "It’s barely twenty-eight-fifty! Do I have to?"

"Well, considering that you always play games on your organizer for seconds before you go to sleep – yes!" Dot answered with a wry smile.

"You know about that?" Enzo frowned.

"You can’t keep any secrets from Dot, Enzo – believe me." Bob sighed. "Best not to even try."

"For once I agree with you." Dot chuckled, poking him in the ribs.

"But I wanna talk to Bob too! We barely even analyzed the game today. You shoulda been there – it was great! We-"

"That’s _all_ we talked about!" Dot laughed. "It’ll keep, Enzo. Even Guardians need to sleep, you know."

"Yeah, Enzo – lights out at the Academy is thirty hundred – no exceptions."

"I’m not a Guardian." Enzo scowled, wolfing down the last of his sundae. "Except when it’s bedtime, I guess."

"My poor, tortured little brother." Dot frowned sympathetically. "Do you want me to get Mike the TV over here to do a documentary on your life, Enzo? I’m sure it’ll be a real tearjerker…"

"Ha-ha!"

"Don’t worry about her, Enzo!" Bob grinned, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "She just loves to torture us, that’s all. It’s our lot in life, I guess. Better to just give in and make the best of it."

"If you say so." Enzo scowled, allowing the Guardian to lead him off towards his room. "G’night, Dot."

"Night, Enzo. I’ll stop by in a little while to tuck you in, OK?"

"Dot!"

"She just does that to annoy you." Bob whispered, grinning.

"I know!" Enzo sighed, sitting on his docking bay and kicking off his sneakers. "She only says it when you’re around. I don’t need anyone to tuck me in, you know. I’m one-zero!"

"I know." The Guardian laughed. "Don’t let her see she’s getting to you, or she’ll never stop! Believe me, I know…."

Enzo carefully removed the two silver pins from his collar and looked at them reverently for a moment. "These sure are alphanumeric, Bob…"

"Yeah." he smiled. "I’m glad you like them, Enzo. Just remember what they’re for, and you’ll be fine."

"The ideals of the Collective." Enzo whispered. "Cool… Thanks, Bob. You’re awesome."

"No problem." Bob said, sitting next to the boy.

Enzo carefully set the pins down on his nightstand and turned his icon, rebooting into his pajamas. "Do they really have lights out at thirty-hundred at the Academy, Bob?"

"They sure do. Well, they did." The Guardian nodded. "It’s a tough regimen, Enzo – they worked us pretty hard. You needed your sleep."

Enzo leaned back in bed, staring up at Bob wide-eyed. "D’you think the Academy’s ever gonna be back online, Bob?"

"I know it will, Pal." he smiled, gently tousling the boy’s hair. "I don’t doubt it for a nano."

"Cool." The youngster said softly, picking up the pins and studying them carefully. "D’you think I’ll be able to go?"

"I sure hope so – if you want to. We’ll just have to have faith, Enzo."

"Bob – if they do get the Academy back online, like you said – d’you think – well…"

"What, Enzo?"

"D’you think I’ll do… all right?" Enzo said softly. "D’you think I can do it?"

"I think you can do whatever you want to, Partner. You’re a Matrix." Bob grinned.

"Thanks! But it’s just… I’m not like Dot and Matrix – y’know? I’m just a little kid…"

"I don’t think that’s important. It’s what’s here that counts." Bob frowned, tapping the boy on the chest lightly. "I don’t think anyone’s tougher in there, Enzo. You’ve got the Matrix codes. You’ll do great."

"D’you really think so?" the boy whispered.

"Cross my heart. Don’t worry about being a little kid - we’re all little kids once. You just need to get a little older, that’s all. You’ll be ready for the Academy when the Academy’s ready for you. Don’t rush it."

"So – I’m doing OK, then? In the games an’ stuff?"

"You’re doing great!" Bob laughed. "Now get some sleep. It’s almost lights out!"

"Thanks, Bob." Enzo smiled. "D’you think there’ll be another game tomorrow?"

"Could be. We’ll need to be ready."

"OK. Night, Bob."

"Night." The Guardian grinned, squeezing the boy’s hand in his own. "See you tomorrow."

"OK." Enzo smiled, and the Guardian slipped out into the hall with a wink. Enzo stared at the pins in his outstretched palm for a nano longer, then set them down and deleted the light. He picked up his organizer and selected the ‘Games’ menu.

 

 

"Thanks!" Dot smiled as Bob walked back into the living room. "It’s not easy to get him to bed sometimes. He never wants to slow down…"

"I know." The Guardian joined her on the couch and kissed her cheek. "He’s in a big hurry to get where he wants to go. I have to slow him down in the games sometimes, too. He’ll learn to be more patient."

‘Where does he want to go?" Dot yawned, resting her head on Bob’s shoulder.

"The Academy, mostly."

"Maybe someday…" Dot sighed, blocking the thought out of her processor. "User, tomorrow’s going to be a long day. We’ve got that system backup, not to mention the analysis of the virus detects and firewalls…"

"Phong still doesn’t know exactly what Hexadecimal did. I wish we had Mouse here to help figure out just what Hex was up to…"

"Don’t talk about that." Dot frowned. "Let’s worry about what’s here, now. We’ll get to the bottom of it ourselves. You said yourself Hex is no technical genius. Phong implemented most of the changes himself."

"At Hex’s direction. But you’re right – we’ll figure it out. Even if it takes all cycle."

"Right… So – I suppose you’ll be heading back to your place now, huh?" Dot sighed.

"I guess I should… It’s late."

"You could stay here."

"Seems like we’ve had this conversation before!" Bob smiled.

"Maybe we have." Dot frowned. "So what?"

"I don’t have any of my stuff here – I’d just have to go back there in the morning-"

"Don’t you think it’s silly, Bob – all this running back and forth? This place is way too big for just Enzo and I – there’s plenty of room. And AndrAIa and Matrix could take your place – get out of the garage."

"I know, I know." Bob sighed. "It’s not like I haven’t been thinking about it. I love being here, spending time with you and Enzo…"

"So what’s the problem?" Dot whispered, nuzzling the Guardian’s neck.

"Mmm. That’s nice."

"It could get a lot nicer…"

"I know." the Guardian grinned, and they kissed for a long nano. "It’s just that things have been going so well for us… I really don’t want anything to change. You know?"

"I love you." The Command.Com said simply.

"I love you."

"Isn’t that enough?"

"It’s not that simple, Dot." Bob sighed. "I’ve lived alone for a long time. I think it might be... difficult. I have a lot of bad habits...""

"I’ll fix you, don’t worry." Dot grinned mischievously.

"I bet! That’s what worries me!"

"Come on, Bob – let’s not play these games. We’re both grown-ups here. You love me, I love you. I think we can agree on that. We hardly see each other during the day we’ve both got so much going on. We might be under viral attack at any nano. Let’s not waste time being scared about being together and just be together."

"When you say it like that, it does make sense…"

"Everything I say does." Dot smirked. "So what do you say?"

"What about Enzo?" Bob asked.

"What about him?"

"Is he ready? He’s had you to himself for a long time. He might not like having an outsider moving in-"

"Don’t be silly!" Dot sighed. "You’re no outsider. It’ll be an adjustment for him – for all of us. But he loves having you around, so he’ll love it even more if you’re around more."

"Really? Do you think so?"

"I know so." she grinned, wrapping her arms around Bob’s neck and kissing him passionately. "It just feels right, Bob – it’s what we both want. Haven’t we wasted enough time already?"

"Maybe we have." Bob whispered, once his breath returned. "Maybe we have…"

 

 

 

"’Circuits’", huh?" the tall, blond sprite mused, stepping through the swinging doors into the bustling interior of the club. "As good a place as any for a drink, I reckon…" The tall sprite slowly strolled across the length of the tavern, headed for the long bar along the opposite wall.

Ray Tracer’s skin crawled, just a little, feeling the unfriendly eyes of the place as they focused on him. He’d never liked the Supercomputer – always had to be on your toes, alert. There was always somebody looking to sell something to you, or swindle you, or just delete you for the hell of it. And always, they were taking your measure. Seeing what you were made of. It was a very tiring place to be – not like the vast emptiness of the web that felt like home to him.

"DRAMbouie, please, Mate." he said gruffly, bouncing onto an empty stool. The bartender, a nine binome, slid a glass of sweet and bitter smelling liquid in front of him, and Tracer tossed a credit onto the counter. The binome snapped it up wordlessly and walked away. "Friendly chap." The surfr chuckled.

"That’s as friendly as it gets around here, Pal." the sprite on the adjacent stool said softly, sipping his drink. "Get used to it."

"Yeah – spent a little time around these parts, Mate." Ray nodded, looking the man up and down. He wore simple, faded gray trousers and shirt, but there was a sense of formidable strength in his frame. His handsome, angular face, crowned by a mop of unruly white hair, wore the weathering of many a hard cycle. "Not exactly the United Workstations."

The other sprite didn’t look at him, instead finishing of his drink in a long swallow. "Here – lemme get you another one o’ those." the search engine offered. "I/O shot, is it?"

"That’s right." The man said gruffly. Ray waved his hand at the nine binome, held up two fingers and pointed to himself and his new ‘friend’.

"Down the input." Ray grinned, holding up his glass. The other man absently raised his fresh drink, then downed it in one swallow. "Slow down, Mate – gonna rot out your insides if ya ain’t careful."

"So where you from?" the man asked abruptly.

Ray frowned. "Here and there, Mate. Ray’s the name. I’m a search engine, so I cover a lot of bandwidth. Yourself?"

"Supercomputer written and compiled." The man smiled grimly.

"Didn’t catch your name." Ray said helpfully.

"No – you didn’t." the sprite replied. "Are you still buying, or is one your limit?"

"No – go ahead, ring ‘em up!" the surfr laughed, shaking his head. The older man raised his hand, waved to the bartender. Ray drained his first DRAMbouie and nearly spat it onto the counter as he caught a glimpse of the man’s sleeve. He coughed and spluttered a few times.

"If you can’t hold your own any better than that, you’re in the wrong place." The older sprite grinned. The smile disappeared when he saw the expression on Ray’s face. "What’s your problem, Boy?"

"Er – nothin’, nothin’ Mate." The search engine said hastily, returning his attention to his drinks. "Just went down the wrong input, that’s all."

"Yeah…" the man frowned. He finished his third I/O shot in a gulp and stood. "Thanks for the drinks. I’ve got places to be."

"Wait!" Ray said, grabbing the man’s hand. "Look-" he whispered. "That is a keytool under your sleeve - isn’t it?"

The older sprite jerked his hand free and looked around quickly. "Like I said, I’ve got places to be." He snarled. He started for the door at a brisk walk.

"Wait!" Ray hissed again, falling into step behind him. "Look – there’s someone I think you should meet. Hold up, Mate!" The man didn’t turn, but walked straight through the doors and disappeared. Ray watched the doors for a moment, eyes narrowed, then returned to his drinks, scowling.

 

 

 

"Cool!" Enzo laughed. "That’s nine-eight! Point game!"

"Bring it on, Sparky!" AndrAIa growled, patrolling her net. "I’m ready."

"We’ll see whose ready!" Enzo grinned. With a whiplash motion, he flung his jetball off the floor a few spans in front of the game sprite, where it ricocheted up, off the ceiling and behind her as she dove for it. The bell sounded as it found her net. "Ha ha! Game!"

"Good shot!" AndrAIa panted. "Got me again."

"Wanna go again?"

"Naw – that’s two-all." She smiled. "Let’s call it a draw, whaddaya say?"

"Cool." The two sprites exited the court and rebooted out of their hoversuits. "This new jetball cone is great – Dot really picked a good one! I think Bob must’ve told her which one to buy."

"Or Matrix told her. Good game, Guardian." AndrAIa chuckled. "It’s funny – you use all the same strategies that Matrix does! You’d think I’d have them figured out by now."

"Sometimes I think you let me win." The boy frowned.

"Never – I’m a game sprite!" the girl laughed as they emerged from the game center. "Winning games is our function! Wanna zip?"

"Naw – let’s just walk." Enzo answered. The two sprites strolled leisurely in silence, side by side, for several nanos. "Andri – you’re not really a game sprite anymore, are you?" the youngster asked, as they started towards Baudway. "I mean – you’ve been out here for so long…"

"I know – but its still part of me." She smiled. "It’s my code, just like being a data sprite is your code, and being a Guardian is Bob’s code."

"_And_ Matrix’." Enzo sighed.

"And yours too, someday – don’t worry." She said gently, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as they walked. "Don’t sweat it Enzo – you’ll be a great Guardian. I know."

"Thanks." The boy smiled, leaning against her. "And thanks for playing jetball with me, too. It was a blast."

"No prob. I’ve loved jetball ever since Enzo showed it to me when I was little. We never really got much of a chance to play it before – you know."

"Sure." The boy said softly. "So you really like Mainframe, huh? It’s a pretty cool place."

"It’s pixelacious." The game sprite laughed, as always making Enzo’s heart skip a beat. "I wish I’d never had to leave it. It’s the closest thing to a home I ever had."

"Yeah, me too." Enzo nodded, bringing another laugh from the girl. "Was it really bad out there – in the games, and everything?"

"Sometimes. Did Matrix ever tell you about it?"

"A little." The youngster sighed, shivering slightly from the memory. "He doesn’t like to talk about it, though."

"I know. I think it was worse for him than it was for me, Enzo. I came from a game – I never knew anything else. Enzo – Matrix – he knew what he was missing. He had more to miss than I did."

"It couldn’t have been that bad – not if you were there." Enzo whispered.

"Thank you!" the game sprite smiled, kissing his forehead gently. "That’s a very sweet thing to say. I’m not sure Matrix would agree with you, though."

"I bet he would." Enzo sighed, struggling to keep himself from lifting off the pavement and floating away.

"Well - it doesn’t really matter. We got through it, and we made it home. And now we’re all here, together. Right?"

"Right!" Enzo grinned. They’d walked all the way back to the diner. "Wanna come in for an energy shake, Andri?"

"Naw – think I’m gonna head home. Matrix’ll be waiting. Say Hi to Bob and Dot for me, OK?"

"Cool." The boy whispered. "Stay frosty…"

"Stay frosty, Guardian." The game sprite hopped onto her zip board and zoomed towards Kits. Enzo watched her slowly shrinking form, unable to tear his eyes away.

The boy wasn’t sure how long he’d been staring into empty space when Dot’s voice cut through his reverie. "Well – are you going to stand there all cycle, or do want to see what it’s like inside?"

Enzo spun, feeling himself blushing. "Sorry, Sis! Just thinking, sorry…"

"Yes, she is very pretty – you’re right!" Dot smiled.

"Dot!" the youngster hissed. "I wasn’t thinkin’ that!"

"Of course not. Now come on inside, I fixed you some dinner. Unless you have other plans?"

"Real funny!" Enzo scowled, stepping past her and pausing to absently scratch Frisket’s ears as he walked into the diner. "Bob!"

"Hey, Enzo. How was jetball?" the Guardian greeted him from the counter.

"Totally cool, Dude! We split four games. AndrAIa’s an awesome jetball player. Not as good as you, though. Think there’s gonna be another game, soon? It’s been cycles! D’you think-"

"Enzo!" Dot interrupted.

"Yes?"

"Sit yourself down, Hotshot. Your dinner’s getting cold."

"Sure, Dot." The boy grinned, bouncing onto the stool next to the Guardian. Dot joined them at the counter. He shoveled java beans and franks into his mouth ferociously. "This is real good, Dot – thanks!" he said in a splutter of crumbs.

"Say it – don’t spray it!" the Command.Com laughed, sitting next to him. "And slow down – I know my food is fast, but it’s not going anywhere!"

"Sorry!" he smiled sheepishly.

"There’s something Bob and I wanted to talk about with you, Enzo." The green-haired woman continued.

"What is it? Am I in trouble?’ Enzo frowned in mid-swallow.

"No!" Dot chuckled. "Nothing like that. Enzo – what would you think if we had an… addition – around here?"

"You mean like – a pizza oven, or something?"

"No! Not like that." Dot sighed. "Something a little more important."

"Important ? Like what?" Enzo frowned. Bob watched bemusedly.

"Well – try to understand, Enzo. You know Bob and I love each other. Very much."

"Sure."

"And we love you very much." Dot continued, staring straight ahead, brow furrowed in concentration. "And because of that, we were thinking it might be nice if Bob – came to live with us. Now I know that might be hard for you to adjust to, Enzo. It’ll be different for all of us. But I’m sure with time-"

"Uh – Dot?" Bob interrupted.

"Yes?" the Command.Com turned to find Bob sprawled on the floor, Enzo straddling his chest. "Oh. I take it you’re all right with this, then."

"Dude!" Enzo gasped. "Is it true? You’re really moving in with us?"

"Looks that way, Pal." The Guardian smiled, pushing himself to his feet.

"Alphanumeric!" Enzo giggled. He wrapped his arms around the Guardian gleefully. "Oh, Bob – that is so totally cool! Awesome! High-res! Double-sided! I can’t even believe it!"

"I’m glad you’re glad, Enzo." Dot sighed. "I was hoping you would be."

"Are you kidding? This is the best! It’s gonna be so cool, you guys! Why in the net did it take you this long to decide?"

"Enzo!" Dot gasped. "That’s none of your business!"

"Oh, Bob – this is so great! We’re gonna have so much fun – we can watch vids together, and have breakfast every morning and you can zip to school with me – we’re gonna have so much fun!"

"Yeah, we are!" Bob laughed. "But it might not be as easy as you think, Enzo. It’ll be a big change – for you, too."

"I don’t care!" Enzo grinned, still wrapped around Bob tightly. "This is so awesome. I can’t believe it’s finally happening!"

"It was your sister’s idea."

"Dot! That’s so cool. Thanks! It’ll be great!"

"Yeah – I know it will." She smiled, meeting Bob’s gaze and patting her brother on the shoulder. "Just try not to wear Bob out too much, OK? He’s not as young as he used to be."

"Thanks a lot!" Bob scowled. "I’m already having second thoughts…"

"I can’t believe you guys waited this long. Everybody knew it was gonna happen!" Enzo grinned.

"Hmm. I’m not sure I like the sound of that." Dot sighed. "But it doesn’t matter. What matters is here and now. And you like that pretty well, huh?"

"You bet!"

"You bet!" Dot smiled, leaning over her brother and kissing Bob quickly.

"Ow! Quit it – you’re squeezing me!" Enzo bellowed.

"Sorry!"

"You guys are gonna do that a lot, I bet!" the youngster scowled.

"Yep!" Bob grinned, giving his cap a turn. "Get used to it!"

"It’s OK. That’s why you’re moving in, right?"

"Enzo!" Dot frowned.

"I’m moving in for a lot of reasons, Kiddo. That’s one of them."

"I don’t care. I’m just glad you’re gonna be here."

"Me too. Pretty cool, huh?"

"I’ve been dreaming about this cycle. For a long time." Dot said softly, wrapping her arms around the other two sprites. "For a lot of reasons."

"Yeah – me too!" Enzo beamed.

Dot met Bob’s eye and smiled, and they kissed again. "For a lot of reasons…"

 

 

 

"What did you say his name was?" the flame-haired sprite frowned, scratching her chin thoughtfully.

"I didn’t, Love." Ray Tracer smiled, leaning back wearily in the small berth that served as crew quarters in Ship. "He wasn’t exactly the talkative type – especially when the subject of names came up."

"You didn’t tell him your name – did you?" Mouse frowned.

"Darlin’ – I have spent a little time in the Supercomputer, you know. I wasn’t compiled yesterday – even if I do look dashingly young. All I gave up was Ray."

"Sorry, Sugar." The hacker chuckled, joining the surfr in the bed. "Can’t be too careful around these parts. Especially when sprites with keytools are walkin’ around. Yer sure it was a keytool?"

"Sure as salt, Love. Not a doubt in my mind."

"Damn – a Guardian, here? An uninfected Guardian? It don’t make sense, not to mention – why would a Guardian be stupid enough to wear his keytool out in public right under Daemon’s nose?"

"Dunno, Love." Ray sighed. "It wasn’t exactly in plain sight – it was under his sleeve.

If I hadn’t o’ hung around old Gloomy Drawers and Bob, I’d never’ve recognized it."

"Still – pretty deleted reckless." Mouse said softly. "Mebbe he’s workin’ fer Daemon – but if he’s uninfected, why would he be workin’ for her? It don’t make sense!" The hacker kissed Ray firmly for a long moment, and grinned. "You think you could find this guy again, Honey?"

""Hey – I’m a search engine." The blond sprite smiled. "I can find anyone, anywhere, any time. Why – what’d ya have in mind?"

"Nothin’ much, Sugar. Just thought this fella and I ought to have a little talk, that’s all. Might be right interestin’…"

 

 

 

 

"486 chip for your thoughts!" Dot whispered, legs drawn up on the sofa, head on Bob’s shoulder. "You’re awfully quiet."

"I don’t think they’re worth that much!" Bob grinned, squeezing the woman closer. "I was just thinking how bad this show is. Why do we even watch these things?"

 

 

"This is Mike the TV here again, bringing you another edition of "When Nulls Attack!" Watch closely now as our hidden camera follows the action…"

A pair of zero binomes, male and female, in safari hats sat in an open-topped vehicle, each grinning widely and carrying digital cameras.

"Look, Honey!" the male gasped. "It’s a tiger-striped filesucker! Hold my binoculars while I move in for a closer look…"

"Be careful, Dear!" the female warned. "He looks hungry..."

"Don’t be silly – they’re only nulls." The male said confidently. "Look, he’s – Aaaauugggh!"

"Wendell!" the female screamed, as the null secured itself to the binomes throat.

"My energy! He’s sucking my energy!" The camera rocked wildly for a nano, then the picture was lost in a haze of snow.

Mike’s face filled the screen again. "The terrible, awesome power of nature." He intoned. "So cruel, yet so breathtakingly beautiful. Come with us now to a small island in the heart of Mainframe-"

 

 

 

"Terrible!" Bob sighed. "What’s the name of this network again?"

"You could always turn it off." Dot smiled, running her fingers through the Guardian’s hair. "I’m sure we could think of something else to do."

"It’s weirdly fascinating, in a way. But not nearly as interesting as you are."

"Thanks – I think!" the Command.Com smiled, snuggling closer against him. "So how does it feel – first night in your new home page?"

"Nice! Weird, though." Bob smiled. "Gonna be a long cycle tomorrow, getting the rest of my stuff and all. Shoulda hired a file mover…"

"I think Matrix could carry most of it himself." Dot chuckled. "And you can fit some of it in your car. On the off chance that it’s actually running."

"What have I gotten myself into?" the Guardian sighed dramatically. "Now there’s no place to escape…"

"Hey!" Enzo called, tiptoeing into the room in his pajamas. "What’re you guys doing?"

"Just watching a vidscreen." Bob grinned. "Not a very good one, either. What’re you still doing up?"

"Cool – When Nulls Attack!" Enzo enthused. "Can I stay up for a while? Please?"

"Sure!" Dot smiled, patting the couch. "Just this once."

"Alphanumeric!" The boy veritably raced over to the sofa and squeezed in between his sister and the Guardian. "Thanks, Dot."

"Well – it’s a special occasion." The Command.Com said softly. "Did you finish your homework?"

"Sure!" the youngster nodded, sticking his tongue out in disgust. "Even the COBOL junk. Think we can do some more martial arts practice tomorrow after breakfast, Bob? Never know when there’s gonna be another Kombat game!"

"We’ll see." Bob laughed. "I have to get my stuff moved in tomorrow. You gonna help me?"

"Sure! Cool." The boy hugged his knees and leaned against the Guardian’s shoulder. "Hey – turn it up! This is awesome – the null practically eats his whole face!"

"Welcome to the family, Bob!" Dot laughed.

 

 

 

"Well, Lover – I guess this is a little more comfortable than the garage." AndrAIa smiled.

"That’s safe to say." Matrix nodded, snuggling deeper under the covers as the two sprites made themselves comfortable in their docking bay. "Still feels weird, though – this is Bob’s room! Y’know?"

"It’s our room now, Sparky."

"Yeah… Gimmee a little time to get used to that." The big sprite chuckled. "I spent a lot of time in this apartment when I was a little spite. Never dreamed in a million cycles that I’d be living here, though."

"Our first place." AndrAIa grinned. "And we didn’t have to go looking for it – it was right under our noses. Kinda exciting, isn’t it?"

"Any place would be home if you were there." Matrix said softly, wrapping her in his arms.

"Thanks." She whispered. "Still – it kinda makes it official, doesn’t it? We really are home now – for real."

"Gonna have to get some new stuff. Furniture and all. Most of this is going over to Dot’s."

"It’ll be fun!"

"You know how I feel about shopping." The bearded sprite sighed.

"You’ll learn to love it." AndrAIa grinned evilly. The game sprite rested her head on Matrix’ chest and closed her eyes. "I wonder how Bob and Dot are doing. I hope they’ll be happy…"

"They will be." Matrix whispered, stroking her aquamarine hair softly. "I always knew they’d end up together - even if they didn’t."

"Even when you were Enzo’s age?"

"Especially when I was Enzo’s age." He smiled. "It was like they were so close to each other that they couldn’t really see each other sometimes. I always could, though. It drove me offline when they fought. I guess it doesn’t matter, now…"

"It’ll be nice for Enzo." AndrAIa said softly. "Having Bob there. Don’t you think?"

"I don’t think. I know." Matrix replied, gently kissing her on top of the head. "By the Code, Andri – you’re so beautiful…"

"Matrix!" the game sprite laughed.

"C’mere!" he growled, sweeping her into his arms and kissing her firmly. "We’ve got the whole place to ourselves, Andri – our place. Does it give you any ideas?"

"We could play a game." She grinned. "I am a game sprite, after all…"

"Games, games, games! I have an idea for a new game." The bearded sprite leant over and whispered in AndrAIa’s ear.

The game sprite barked a laugh. "Matrix! I never knew you were such a – romantic…"

"Hey – it is our place!" he grinned. The big sprite kissed her again, and reached over and deleted the light.

 

 

On the vidscreen, Mike the TV was still droning on, this time about hard drive crashes captured live on film. The flickering light from the screen cast dancing shadows on the three sprites together on the couch in the darkened room.

"Is he asleep?" Dot whispered, a small smile playing across her lips.

"Yeah." Bob replied softly, not opening his eyes.

"Are you asleep?"

"Not quite." The Guardian grinned, yawning and finally looking down at the small sprite whose head reclined on his chest.

"I’m sorry, Bob – this isn’t exactly what I had in mind for your first night here." Dot sighed.

"It’s all right." The blue sprite whispered. "It’s really nice, actually. I think it’s the nicest cycle I’ve had since I can remember."

"I’m glad." The Command.Com leaned over her little brother and gave Bob a quick peck on the cheek. She reached for the remote and flicked off the vidscreen. "I think it’s time for all of us to get to bed."

"I’ll carry him." Bob smiled. He wrapped his arms around Enzo, but the youngster stirred and woke at the contact.

"Mmmf. What?" he mumbled.

"C’mon, Pal – time for bed. No more flesh eating nulls for tonight."

"No – I’ll walk." Enzo yawned. He stood up and stretched. "Why didn’t you wake me up?"

"You looked pretty comfortable." Dot chuckled.

"Walk with me, Bob?"

"Sure, Enzo." He turned to the Command.Com. "I’ll be along in a nano, Dot."

"Okay." The woman knelt next to her brother and kissed him on the forehead. "Good night, Little Brother. Don’t keep Bob talking too long – we’ve all got a busy day tomorrow."

"Night. Can I stay home from school tomorrow? To help Bob move? He asked me to help!"

"You can help. _After_ school."

"Cursors." The boy yawned, barely able to keep his eyes open. Bob grabbed his hand and Dot stood for a moment, watching them disappear down the hall, before rebooting into her nightgown.

 

"Sorry I can’t help you move, Bob." Enzo yawned, climbing into bed.

"That’s OK, Enzo. We’ll manage. I think between Matrix and Hack and Slash, we’ll be all right." The boy stretched and grinned a mile wide. "What?" the Guardian asked, bemused.

"It’s so cool – you’re gonna be here in the morning when I wake up! Every cycle! I can’t even believe it!"

"Neither can I. Pretty weird, huh?"

"Will you zip with me to school tomorrow, Bob? We can talk about game strategy and stuff."

"I think that might be arranged." The Guardian chuckled.

"Bob, did you think about it a lot - coming to live with us?" Enzo said softly.

"Sometimes. Don’t forget - I was gone for a long time, Enzo. Just like Matrix was. All I thought about was surviving out there. And coming home."

"Yeah." Enzo whispered. Unlike with his brother, he’d never mustered the nerve to ask Bob about his time lost in the web. "I bet you missed Dot, huh?"

"I missed her a lot." Bob smiled. "I missed you, too. I missed Mainframe. It’s the only home I ever really had, Enzo."

"What about before – before you came here? Didn’t you have a home then?"

"That’s a long story, Partner. It’s complicated. And it’s pretty late – we’ve both got to get some sleep. I’ll tell you about it another time, OK?"

"OK." Enzo frowned. "G’night, Bob."

"Night, Pal. See you in the morning." Bob tousled the youngster’s hair and turned towards the door.

"I thought about it a lot." Enzo said sleepily. "You coming to live with us. It’s alphanumeric."

"Thanks." Bob grinned, turning. "Sleep tight." The Guardian closed the door behind him and walked down the hall to Dot’s room. His room, now, too. That would take some getting used to…

"Alone at last." Dot smiled as he slipped into the room.

The Guardian joined her on the docking bay. "Did you miss me?"

"I didn’t even notice you were gone."

"Hmmm. This is bad…" The Guardian was interrupted as Dot met his lips with her own and embraced him fiercely. "Maybe not!" he gasped. "I’d hate to see what would happen if you did miss me!"

Neither sprite spoke for several nanos, content merely to hold each other in blissful silence. "Some things really do happen." Dot sighed softly after a moment. "The way they should."

"Hmmm?" Bob whispered.

"Sometimes it seems like nothing ever turns out right, you know?" the Command.Com continued. "All we ever do is plod along, hope for the best. Deal with things the best we can."

"That’s not so terrible, is it?" Bob smiled.

"No – it’s not." Dot whispered. "But it isn’t enough. Some things just turn out the right way. The way they should. Like this, Bob. It’s right! Can’t you feel it? You and I. Enzo. After everything that’s happened, with Enzo and AndrAIa lost in the games, you lost in the web. Megabyte, Daemon, all of it. The reboot. All the terrible things, all the good things. They were all worth it, because this is right. The three of us."

"The three of us." Bob echoed, a little taken aback by Dot’s passion. "I guess I never really spent as much time thinking about it as you did, Love. I just know I’m happy to be here, right now. That’s all that really matters."

"I love you." The woman smiled, kissing him again, a gentle, savoring touch. They held each other in silence for a long time, the city sleeping quietly outside the diner.

 

 

 

 

"You’re sure that’s him?" the flame-haired sprite whispered, squinting in the general direction of a scraggily dressed man walking a few dozen paces ahead of them on the busy thoroughfare.

"That’s him, Love." Ray Tracer answered confidently. "I never forget a man who owes me a drink."

"Weird – he sure ain’t dressed like a Guardian." Mouse frowned as they followed at a discreet distance.

"D’you know him?"

"Not sure." The hacker whispered. "Gonna hafta get a closer look. There’s somethin’ about him though – somethin’ familiar…"

"Through here!" Ray hissed, gesturing towards a darkened alley. "We can cut him off."

"Right behind you, Sugar." The two sprites trotted down the alley, towards the aisle of light on the far end that represented the streets of the Supercomputer. They’d nearly reached it when two muscular arms reached out from behind a recycle bin and grabbed the surfr by the throat. Mouse hissed like a cat, falling into a defensive crouch, her dagger poised in her left hand.

A shadowy figure held Ray firmly, his forearm poised at the surfr’s neck. "Back off, Girl. Your friend here knows what’s under my sleeve."

"How’d you get there so fast?" Ray gasped, fighting for breath.

"You mind telling me why you’re following me? Or should I just delete both of you now?"

"That wouldn’t be a good idea, Sugar." Mouse growled thinly. "You got no idea who you’re dealin’ with."

"Neither do you." The figure replied gruffly. "Don’t feel like talking? That’s a shame. Galileo! Autopistol-"

"Wait!" Mouse hissed. "There’s no need for that, Sugar." The hacker frowned and squinted as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. "Just a nano – come out here where I can see you…"

"I think not." The shadow growled, the shape on his forearm now an ominous looking cylinder pointed at the surfr’s throat.

"You!" Mouse gasped, taking a step, towards the shadows. "It’s you!"

"Who?" Ray rasped.

"Enough!"

"It is!" Mouse whispered. "Laser! I thought you were deleted minutes ago!"

"How do you know me?" the older sprite snarled. "I can delete you both any time I want to…"

"I was there! At the Academy. Of course! You don’t remember – I was just another cadet…"

"Who is this guy, Love? If you’re old pals, mebbe you could ask ‘im to let me breathe for a while?"

"The Academy?" the older sprite hesitated, relaxing his grip. Ray broke though his arms and dove behind Mouse, who still held her dagger poised. The surfr breathed heavily, forcing air into his lungs.

"Yeah." The hacker grinned toothily. "Until they kicked me out. This sprite, Sugar, was none less than Second Guardian. But I heard they kicked you outta the Collective, Old Man. And you ain’t been heard from since-"

"I left!" the older sprite scowled, finally stepping from the shadows, still pointing his arm at the others. "Wait a nano - expelled from the Academy, you say?"

"That’s what I said, Honey. Probably just as well, too – I wasn’t exactly Guardian material. Just too young and stupid to know it at the time."

"Of course!" A barking laugh escaped Laser’s throat. "Rebecca Postscript! I reviewed your case myself. Should’ve known by the hair…"

"Rebecca?" Ray said, arching an eyebrow. A smile played at the corners of his mouth.

"My name is Mouse!" the hacker snarled. She glared at Tracer. "And you’d be well-advised to remember that, Surfr. Do we understand each other?"

Ray held his hands up defensively. "Whatever you say – Rebecca. It goes no further than this alley."

"Ray Tracer. I’ll just bet." She scowled.

"Well – ain’t this fine." Laser grinned. "A couple of failures and outcasts meeting up for old times sake. Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend here?"

Mouse shook her head. "Surfr – this is Laser. Disgraced exile from the Collective. Disgraced exile – Surfr."

"Hey – I voted to reinstate you." The older man hissed. "So watch your tone. Your friend can’t hold his I/O shots, by the way."

"Hang on!" Ray protested. "What’d I do?"

"What’ve you been doing with yourself, Cadet?" the white-haired sprite asked brusquely. "Since that failed hack into the Supercomputer, I mean."

"User! Does everyone know about that? I might ask you the same thing, Old Man. Last I heard was when they booted you out, couple hours after I got expelled. Not a byte since."

"I try to keep a low profile." Laser smiled thinly, finally lowering his arm. "Galileo – reset."

"Is that right?" Mouse frowned. "Seems to me you got a funny way of doin’ that, Sugar – walkin’ around the Supercomputer with a keytool under your shirt? You wouldn’t by any chance be stalkin’ horses for Daemon now, would ya?"

"Funny – I was about to ask you the same question." The older sprite replied evenly.

 

 

 

 

 

"Be careful!" Matrix shouted, nervously eyeing the small sprite as he circled above the diner. "Watch out for that billboard!"

"I got it!" Enzo scowled, flexing his knees and holding his arms out for balance. "Just like a zip board!" he whispered to himself. The cursored thing was so sensitive! Every movement of his body, no matter how small, translated into a course change. It was incredibly difficult – but what a tool, if he could master it…

"Why don’t you come down now?" Matrix shouted up to him.

"OK, just a nano!" Enzo sighed. He circled out over Baudway in a wide arc, then swooped towards the diner and skidded to a hovering stop, arms flailing. Matrix reached out and grabbed him by the waist. "Thanks." The youngster panted.

"You say you find this enjoyable?" the bearded sprite asked dubiously.

"Sure!" Enzo grinned, hopping to the ground and wiping the perspiration from his brow. "It’s the best! You try it."

"Me ?" the big sprite chuckled. "I don’t think so, Enzo. I’m not built for that kind of transportation. Gimmee a zip board any time…"

"Aw, just try it! This once. It’s hard, but it’s so much better than a zip board! You can go faster, turn faster – it’s pixelacious!"

"Enzo-"

"Just try it!" the boy sighed, inwardly hoping that he’d never be as old as Matrix was. Bob would try it in a nano…

"Well – all right." The big sprite frowned. He stepped onto the board gingerly. "How do you make it go?"

"Those little pedals near the back, by your feet. The one on the right makes it go faster, and the left makes it go slower. Press down with your feet to turn yourself, and lean a little. Not too much!"

"OK…" Matrix delicately depressed the pedal on the right and took off like a shot. "User!" he shouted, scattering a small pack of binomes with shopping bags.

"Turn!" Enzo shouted, stifling a laugh, as the big sprite headed for a parked car. At the last moment, the board turned sharply to the right, unfortunately without its rider. Matrix flailed his arms and shouted, almost reaching the ground before the board swooped under him and caught him.

"That was awesome!" Enzo giggled, running towards the scowling sprite. "Are you OK?"

"Just watch it, Sprout!" Matrix snarled, pushing himself to his feet. "How did the board know to catch me like that?"

"I dunno." The boy shrugged. "You could ask Mouse – if she were here. She made it."

"Yeah." Matrix said softly. "Ray’s board did that too. Weird…"

"Wanna ride it again?"

"No!" the bearded sprite smiled ruefully, hopping off the board. "I’ll walk back, thanks. Wanna get an energy shake?"

"Awesome." Enzo grinned, stowing the board under his arm. "I wish Ray was here to show me how to ride better. He was a cool guy."

"Yeah – he was all right, I guess." Matrix sighed. "I don’t know why you want to go anywhere near that thing – it tried to kill me!"

"Matrix!" Enzo laughed.

"Well – better you than me." The beaded sprite grinned as they entered the diner.

"Table for two, Sir?" Cecil asked brusquely.

"Why do you always do that. Cecil?" Enzo sighed, bouncing into a booth. "We’re ownership – remember? We can sit where we want! "

"Couple of energy shakes." Matrix chuckled, joining his younger self at the booth. Cecil tittered and sped off towards the kitchen. "You shouldn’t bust his diodes like that – he doesn’t know any better."

"I know." The boy grinned. "It’s fun, though."

Matrix rolled his eyes. "Where’s Dot?"

"At the P.O. with Bob. They’re still tryin’ to figure out what Hex did to the defenses." Cecil returned and wordlessly slammed two energy shakes on the table.

Matrix frowned at the mention of the virus. "Yeah. Bet they’re gonna be trying to figure that out for a long time. She and Bob getting along okay? How’s he like living here?"

"They kiss a lot." Enzo giggled.

"That’s a good sign…"

"It’s totally cool, Enzo! Bob bein’ here all the time. It’s great! I think he really likes it too."

"Yeah. Wish Bob had been living with us when I was a little sprite." Matrix smiled, slurping his shake. "That would’ve been pretty alphanumeric. I think I dreamed about it every cycle. You’re pretty lucky."

"You live with AndrAIa." Enzo said petulantly, and took a deep draw on his energy shake.

"Touché’." The bearded sprite nodded, raising his shake. "But it’s still pretty cool."

"Yeah, it is." Enzo agreed. "How d’you like living in Bob’s apartment?"

"It’s pixelacious. It’s still a little weird, though. I mean – I used to go over there and play all the time - since I was littler than you! Help Bob work on his car, all that stuff. It was my favorite place. And now I live there. Basic."

"Yeah, Bob’s place is totally cool. I’ll come over there and visit you sometimes, okay?"

"Sure!" the big sprite chuckled. "Our door is always open. Just wipe your feet – AndrAIa’s getting pretty protective about the place. She’s out furniture shopping right now…"

"Cool." The youngster took another slurp of his energy shake, kicking his feet under the table. He drained the glass to the bottom and looked down, as if trying to spot something hiding inside. "Thanks for listening to me the other cycle, Enzo. Sorry I was so basic."

"No big deal." The big sprite said softly. "And you aren’t basic, Enzo. I wish I’d told someone all that stuff when I was your age. I carried it around with me instead. I guess I had no one to tell…"

"That’s sad." Enzo frowned. "But I know what you mean."

"We say that to each other a lot, don’t we?"

"Yeah! Wonder why." The youngster giggled. He drummed his fingers on the table thoughtfully. "I guess there’s still nobody else around here… like me. Y’know? It felt great to tell you about it – totally awesome. But I’m still the only kid around here."

"I guess you are." Matrix said softly. "But at least you can talk to me about it, when it gets you down. Right?"

"Sure…"

"It wasn’t Dad’s fault – you know? He didn’t mean to do it, Enzo. He was trying to help – trying to save all those nulls. It’s better if you don’t blame him for everything."

"I don’t!" Enzo protested.

"Yes you do. I did. You can’t lie to me, Enzo – I was there. I was you. Remember?"

"Maybe I do – just a little." Enzo admitted, kicking the table. "But it still isn’t fair!"

"Fair doesn’t enter into it." Matrix sighed. "It wasn’t fair that I had to be on my own in the games when I was barely older than you. But I was. It wasn’t fair that Bob got shot into the web before he could train me to be a Guardian. But he was. Don’t worry about whether stuff is fair or not or it’ll drive you offline."

"I guess." Enzo frowned. "I just wish everyone didn’t think I was such a little kid all the time."

"Can’t help that. Only way to show ‘em – grow up."

"Matrix!" Enzo chuckled, punching his older self on the arm. "I’m serious!"

"That’s a switch."

"OK, OK!" the youngster sighed. He twirled the straw in his empty glass aimlessly for a nano. "I wish Bob treated me like a grown-up sometimes. He’s super nice to me, but he still treats me like a little kid. I want him to be proud of me…"

"I think he is proud of you. He takes you into the games-"

"I know." The boy interrupted. "But he’d never let anything happen. If he ever thinks I’m in trouble he bails me out. Like a little kid. I can do it, Matrix – I know I can! I can be a good Guardian…"

"He’s just doing his job, Enzo. Dot would bust his bitmap if anything happened. Besides – he’s training you. I wish he’d been around to train me. With no Academy, he’s all the training you’re gonna get."

"I know…" Enzo whined. "Matrix – can I see you icon?"

The bearded sprite frowned for a nano, then reached for his gold and black icon and handed it to the boy. Enzo held it reverently in his small hands, turning it over and over. "Does it feel any different?"

"Does what feel any different?"

"You know – this." Enzo said. "The codes. Bein’ a Guardian. Does it feel any different?"

Matrix scratched his beard thoughtfully. "A little. It’s hard to explain… It makes you do things. Like when the game cubes come, it makes you want to go. And act a certain why once you’re inside. But it’s not like it’s controlling you – it is you, sort of. It changes who you are."

"Wow…" Enzo whispered, staring at the icon, holding it up to the light and studying it.

"You’ll get there, sometime. It’ll happen." Matrix said softly. "You’ll even get to go the Academy. You’ll see."

"Maybe." Enzo sighed. He took a last look at the icon, then handed it back to its owner. "Goin’ to the Academy would be cool. Learning all that stuff, getting my own keytool. Bob and Dot would be proud of me then, I bet."

 

 

"WARNING: INCOMING GAME

 

WARNING: INCOMING GAME"

 

 

"Cool!" Enzo grinned. "Wanna come inside the game, Enzo?"

"Hey – gotta listen to my code." The big sprite sighed. "Let’s do it, Little Brother."

 

 

 

 

 

"Nice place you have here." Laser said gruffly, looking around the cramped interior of Ship. "Where’s the master bedroom?"

"Hey – I gotta have some way to get around the net, Old Man." Mouse scowled. "Speakin’ o’ which – how do you move around out there? Or do you pretty much hang around the Supercomputer and tempt deletion?"

"I have my ways, Cadet." The older sprite smiled thinly, sitting in the pilot’s seat and languidly hanging a leg over the armrest. Mouse frowned at him. "What’re you gawking at, Girl?"

"Nothin’…" the hacker said softly, sliding into the co-pilot’s chair. There was something about the man – what was it?

"Here ya go Mate – finest hospitality of the house." Ray grinned, handing Mouse and Laser I/O shots and taking a sip of his own. He sat on the console and winked at Mouse. "Kicked out of the Academy, huh?"

"Like I said, Sugar – they did me a favor." Mouse scowled. She turned to the older man. "Let’s cut to it, Guardian – just what the heck is goin’ on around here? You ain’t workin’ for Daemon. Why in the net are ya hangin’ around the Supercomputer right under her nose?"

"Why would I want to tell you anything? A failed cadet?" the white-haired sprite mused, sipping his drink. "How do I know you aren’t working for Daemon?"

"I been fightin’ viruses for a long time, Guardian. I ain’t infected, you can see that for yerself. You ever seen anyone work for Daemon willingly?"

"There’s a first time for everything."

"Why’d you leave the Collective, Old Man? What was it? You were Second Guardian. A heartbeat away. You had all the power in the net…"

"I thought we were talking about you." The older sprite smiled evenly. "My reasons are my own, Cadet. No business of yours. Or anyone else’s. Especially an expelled student."

"Fine." Mouse sighed. "I take it you know that there is no Collective now? And no Academy?"

"Nasty business, Mate." Ray added.

"I’d heard some rumors." Laser nodded. "So what brings you to the Supercomputer?"

Mouse and Ray locked eyes. "Let’s just say I’m keepin’ tabs on things, Sugar. For some old friends. You?"

The white-haired sprite raised an eyebrow. "Old friends, huh? Aren’t you the cryptic one? I was written here, compiled here. Maybe I was homesick. I’ve been gone a long time."

"How touching." Ray said dryly. The older sprite held up his glass, and the surfr refilled it, shaking his head. "That’s four you owe me now…"

"You know more than you’re sayin’, Old Man." Mouse sneered. "Just how bad are things out there?"

"Why are you so concerned? A renegade like you?"

"Remember those old friends I told ya about? Well, I’d lay down my code for ‘em, Sugar. Whatever happens out here is gonna happen to them, sooner or later. And that makes it my concern."

Laser nodded slowly. "Just where are these friends of yours?"

Mouse barked a laugh. "You must be stupider than you look!"

"Fair enough." The older sprite chuckled gruffly. "Maybe I have been keeping an eye on things – just for old time’s sake. And however bad you think things are, Cadet, I can promise you they’re far, far worse…"

 

 

 

 

 

The Guardian stood, arms folded, waiting patiently as the descending purple cube approached him. He scanned the horizon until he finally saw what he’d been expecting – two figures on zip boards approaching. With a frown, he realized that one of the figures wasn’t on a zip board after all…

"Hey! Nice of you to join me!" he called.

"Can’t go against my programming." Matrix replied, coming to halt in front of the Guardian. "Where’s Dot?"

"At the P.O., with Phong. She doesn’t do the game thing much anymore." Bob replied. "So – decided to surf on in this time, huh Cadet?"

"Hey – I gotta practice sometime!" Enzo grinned, bouncing with excitement as the game cube approached. "Think it’s gonna be a racing game, Bob? Maybe it’ll be Starship Alcatraz! Hey! Maybe it’ll be the Funhouse – you think?"

"Don’t even say that." Bob scowled. "We’ll find out soon enough…"

The energy washed over them as the game cube hit, the skin on the Guardian’s face and hand tingling as it always did. He opened his eyes and looked around. The three sprites stood in a large outdoor arena, it’s bleachers packed with spectators. The smell of freshly cut grass was in the air. "Looks like World Series 2100." Bob mused.

"Awesome!" Enzo laughed. "I love baseball!"

"Basic." Matrix sighed. "At least it isn’t golf…"

"This’ll be a blast!"

"It’s not so simple, Enzo." Bob frowned. "There’s nine players on a team – and only three of us. There’s more of this out of our control than I like. I just hope Matrix or I reboots as the pitcher."

Enzo scowled and kicked at the ground. "Or Enzo." Matrix added, winking at Bob.

"Sure." Bob nodded. "Sorry, Enzo."

"No problem." The boy sighed. "Is there any way to make sure?"

"Nope – we have to take out chances." Bob frowned. "OK gang – let’s do it. Reboot!"

"Reboot!" the two Enzos echoed, tapping their icons.

"Awesome – you’re the pitcher!" Enzo shouted, standing between second and third base in a white uniform with thin blue pinstripes. Bob stood atop the pitcher’s mound, similarly clad.

"Go get em, Bob!" Matrix shouted from center field.

The Guardian grinned, then looked down at his uniform. "Oh, no!"

"What’s the matter?" Enzo asked. "You’re the pitcher – that’s good, right?"

"Yeah – but this isn’t." Bob sighed, pointing to his uniform. "This is bad – very bad…"

"What?" Matrix shouted.

"We’re the Cubs! These guys never win. Looks like the User’s chosen the Yankees as his team. They always win. How basic can you get?"

"Well – they’ve never played us before!" Enzo scowled. "We can take ‘em!"

"That’s the spirit!" Bob grinned, shaking his head. He surveyed the binomes scattered at the other defensive positions as the first batter from the User’s team strode towards home plate. "You guys cover as much ground as you can – I’ll try to keep you as bored as possible out there. You can’t leave your actual position, but you can still cheat over a little. And watch out for mines!"

"Mines?" Enzo squeaked.

"Sure – this is World Series 2100. They’re mostly in the outfield, Matrix, so head’s up. They look just like gopher holes. Use your jetpads when you can. And keep your throws to first base nice and easy, Enzo – don’t expect a lot of help over there."

"Hey!" the first base binome protested. "I resemble that remark!"

"Got it, Coach!" Enzo grinned, pounding his glove. "Let’s play ball!"

 

"And now, batting first, for the visitors…" a voice boomed over the loudspeaker.

 

"Oh, no!" Bob groaned. "Not…"

 

"The first baseman – and isn’t he a strapping one, folks? Let’s put our hands together and give it up for… the User!"

"Mike!" Bob shouted. "This game just got a lot harder…"

 

 

 

 

Laser blinked as the interior lights on board Ship clicked on, triggering by the slow onset of the night cycle in the Supercomputer. "User, Girl! Isn’t there any way to turn those down?"

"Computer – reduce interior lighting 25%." Mouse said softly. The cabin dimmed noticeably.

"Voice control – very nice." Laser nodded approvingly.

"I’ve learned a few things." The hacker sighed. "By the code, Old Man – if things are as bad as you say out there-"

"They are."

"So her infection’s netwide, then?"

"Netwide and maybe more. I’m pretty sure she came from the web originally, so I can only assume she’s spreading pretty fast out there too."

"Worse than I thought." Mouse frowned, locking eyes with Ray for a nano. "There’s more – something you may not have heard about, Sugar. She’s infected the games, too."

"What? That’s impossible!" the white-haired sprite protested. "What do you mean – infected the games?"

"Just what I said, Honey. Daemon’s found some way to infect the game codes, or somethin’. My friends ran into an infected User in a game a few cycles ago."

"This is bad. Very bad." The older sprite sighed.

"What’d you say, Sugar?" Mouse hissed.

"What?" Laser frowned, puzzled. "What’re you on about, Cadet?"

"Never mind…" the hacker replied dubiously. "Just a weird thought in my head, that’s all. You were sayin’?

Laser arched an eyebrow and continued. "Can you trust these friends of yours? Are you sure they know what they’re talking about?"

"No doubt about it, Guardian. Let’s just say they know their stuff. If they say they had an infected game, they had an infected game."

"I can vouch for ‘em too, Laser. They’re a good lot." Ray agreed. "We went through a lot together, and they’ll always watch your back."

"Damn." The older man sighed. "I can’t explain it – it doesn’t seem possible. But in all my years in the Collective, I never saw a virus like this one. I guess anything’s possible now. But it sure sheds a new light on things…."

"Help me out, Mate." Ray frowned. "Mouse says you were kicked out of the Collective, right?"

"I left the Collective, Boy."

"Sorry." The surfr chuckled. "You left the Collective. You said yourself you ain’t been back to the Supercomputer since I was knee high to a binome. So what’s all this got to do with you? Why are you here?"

The older man looked at Tracer for a long moment, impassively, then sighed. "I’ve made some mistakes, Son. More than I care to admit. Maybe I was thinking I could make up for a few of them now…"

 

 

 

"You got ‘im, Bob!" Enzo shouted from his position at shortstop. "No batter!"

 

"The tension is just unbearable here, folks. Two out, top of the eighth. The Cubs are clinging to a 2-1 lead. Runner on second, power hitting right fielder T. User is up at the plate, three balls, two strikes. What will Bob throw in this pressure situation? This make or break pitch is brought to you by A-1 Compressed Air. A-1 – it reaches all the places you can’t reach yourself! Here’s Bob, going into the stretch…"

 

Bob rolled his eyes and squinted towards the plate. The binome playing catcher flashed a sign, although the Guardian had been throwing whatever pitch he’d felt like for the course of the game anyway. He suppressed a scowl. "A fastball – here? I don’t think so…" he whispered. He shook his head quickly.

The Guardian slipped two fingers onto the seams of the baseball and reared back. With a grunt of exertion, he fired a slow, looping curve ball towards the plate. The batter waited back on the ball, swung, and sent a screaming line drive towards left center field.

"Use your jetpad, Enzo!" Matrix screamed from the outfield. The boy took a quick step to his left, hopped onto a small white disk on the outfield grass and bounced high into the air in a puff of smoke and fire. At the apex of his leap, several times his own height above the field, he reached out his mitt and snared the baseball. He hit the ground with a

thud, and found himself back in the dugout.

Ho-ly cow, sprites and binomes! A game-saving catch by the scrappy little shortstop, Enzo Matrix! With a little help from his jetpad, of course! What an effort! And he’s being mobbed by his teammates out there as the Cubs take a one run lead into the bottom of the eighth!

 

"Great catch, Enzo!" Bob shouted, slapping the beaming youngster’s hand.

"Thanks, Bob!" the boy panted. "Just like you taught me!"

"Nice job, Kid." Matrix chuckled, patting the boy’s back. "But we need a few more runs.

The User’s only down by one."

"That pitcher of theirs is tough." Bob frowned. "Grab a bat, Enzo – you’re up third this inning."

"Right, Skipper."

"And be a little more patient up there, all right? You’re swinging at too many bad pitches. Make him throw you a strike!"

"You bet!" the boy scowled. "I’m gonna hit a home run, Bob – I’ve got this guy’s number! You’ll see!"

"Just get on base, Enzo!" Bob grinned. "Don’t worry about the rest of it."

The first two binomes at bat struck out – a distressingly common occurrence – and the boy strode towards the plate.

"He doesn’t lack for enthusiasm, does he?" Bob chuckled. "But neither did you."

"Nope." Matrix smiled. "But enthusiasm won’t win this game. We need some runs."

"Thank the User you hit that home run or we’d be in real trouble." Bob sighed. "Pitching nine innings is hard work. I’m gonna need a few energy shakes when this is over."

"What’s that?" Matrix frowned, squinting towards first base. The crudely drawn User figure was shimmering and flickering in the game sunlight.

"I dunno. Looks like a substitution, maybe?" The User blinked out and was replaced after a nano by another figure. "What the-"

As Bob and Matrix leaned out of the dugout to stare at the first baseman, the pitcher on the User team delivered a high fastball, and Enzo took a mighty swing and missed. "Cursors!" he spat.

"Bob! He’s infected!" Matrix gasped.

"Is that it? What you saw before?" Bob hissed. The figure at first base was emitting a pulsing green glow from his neck.

"That’s it –exactly the same!" Matrix nodded. "But what – how-"

"Enzo!" Bob screamed. "Don’t swing!"

"What?" Enzo shouted back, puzzled. "But I wanna hit a home run!"

"The User! At first base – he’s infected! You can’t get on base – you have to stay away from him!"

Enzo turned to stare at the infected User, mouth agape. "Basic!" he gasped. "Bob – what – what should I do?"

"Strike out!" Bob shouted. "And get your bitmap back here!"

"Shoot!" the boy sighed. "All right…" He stepped back into the batter’s box, only to dive out of the way as the pitch arced towards his head. "Hey! What was that?"

"Ball one!" the umpire shouted.

"He’s trying to hit you! To get you to first base! The User must have corrupted the game function, somehow. Just swing at everything, even if it’s headed straight towards you!"

"OK…" the boy said dubiously, digging in again.

"I don’t understand, Bob – why now?" Matrix hissed. "Why not at the beginning of the game? And why aren’t all the User’s players infected?"

"I’m not sure…" Bob frowned, as Enzo swung wildly at a pitch headed straight towards him. "Maybe it’s not that easy to override game programming. And the rules of the game – the User is only allowed to play one character. Maybe the virus can’t override that."

"But it’s controlling the pitcher – he’s trying to hit Enzo!"

"The pitcher isn’t his character – it’s part of the game code. Maybe the virus can manipulate the codes to that extent – enough to warp the game function. But not enough to override the character restrictions. Like not leaving his position." The Guardian winced as Enzo dove out of the way of a fastball, unable even to simulate a swing.

"I don’t understand." Matrix scowled.

"Me neither – but this is all new to me. I’m guessing." Bob sighed. "We’ve never seen anything like this before. But if that infected User has any contact with us at all, it’s lights out."

"What do we do?"

"We still have to win the game. We just have to do it without having any contact with the infected User. Which means no baserunners. Come on, Enzo, you can do it – strike out!"

Enzo crouched low as the pitcher uncurled, delivering a missile towards his back. The boy leapt straight into the air and swung the bat wildly as the ball missed him by a thread of his uniform. "Strike three!" the umpire growled.

"Good boy!" Bob shouted, and found himself back on the pitcher’s mound.

 

 

"I tell ya folks – in all my seconds of broadcasting I’ve never seen a duel like that one. And I hope I never do again. We go to the ninth inning now, with the Cubs ahead 2-1. And the Yankees bring the heart of the order to the plate, needing just one to tie, two to take the lead. Can Bob gallantly hang on, preserving the lead in spite of his fatigue? Can the Yankees snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, thereby dooming all of us to certain nullification? Can someone please get me a bag of peanuts already?"

 

"Mike!" the Guardian shouted. "This is hard enough as it is. Stick a jumper in it!"

"What now Bob?" Enzo asked, pounding his mitt nervously.

"We win the game and go home." Bob said with a confidence greater than he felt. "No problem."

"But what about the infected User? What if-"

"Hey – he can’t leave his position on the field. Even if he hits, he can’t do anything if he doesn’t get on base. And I don’t intend to let that happen."

"But that means – if he does get on base, and he’s running to third… I can’t leave my position either! What-"

"Don’t worry, I got it covered." The Guardian smiled reassuringly. Naturally, it would be Enzo in harm’s way. It wasn’t a pleasant prospect. He gripped the ball as the first batter stepped to the plate.

With the strength of desperation, Bob hurled six fastballs past the first two hitters, relishing the feeling of the adrenaline as it coursed through him. He stood, panting, as the User’s final hitter appeared in the batter’s box.

 

"And now batting for the Yankees, first baseman I. User. He’s their last hope, sprites and binomes! And what a towering figure he is – although to my eyes he looks a little green. A few too many sunflower seeds maybe. When I’m feeling like that, I pop a few Gut-Balms. Gut-Balm – when your guts feel like they’re gonna explode."

 

The User stepped into the batter’s box, a toothy grin on his crudely drawn features. An eerie green glow surrounded him, filling Enzo with the same sense of wrongness that he’d felt when he first saw Sideshow Bob. The towering figure spat a huge wad of brown liquid into the dirt at his feet.

"Ick – that’s gross!" Enzo scowled.

"I say, Sir – it’s a virus! Right here in the game!" the left fielder gasped.

"By jove – you’re right!" the right fielder agreed. "Crikey, Binky – I think we’ve bought it!"

"Hardly seems, well – cricket – does it Sir?"

"Quiet out there!" Bob growled, wiping sweat from his forehead. He reared back and fired a smoldering fastball, right down the middle.

"Strike one!" the umpire shouted. The User smiled a grisly smile, and pounded his bat in the dirt.

Bob took a deep breath and firmed his grip on the baseball. With a grunt, he uncurled and sent another screaming fastball past the infected User. "Strike two!"

"You got it, Bob! One more!" Enzo grinned, pounding his mitt.

"Why isn’t he swinging?" the Guardian whispered to himself. The User stepped away from the plate and lifted his bat. With a sneer, he slowly turned it until he was pointing it directly at shortstop. Enzo trembled a little, in spite of himself.

"You gotta hit it first!" Bob snarled. The User grinned and stepped back into the batter’s box. Bob exhaled deeply, and slipped two fingers directly onto the seams of the baseball. "Stay frosty!" he hissed.

The Guardian launched a pitch that started at the User’s eye level, then dove sharply as it neared home plate. The bat left the infected User’s shoulder at last, and impacted the ball with a loud "thwack!" The ball sailed in a high arc towards the center field wall, as Bob watched in shock.

The User dashed towards first base and rounded it as Matrix started back, gingerly stepping around the mines that had already eliminated several binomes. Enzo watched his older brother for a nano, then turned and saw the User approaching second base, an evil grin on its face. The boy realized, with a shock, that he couldn’t move more than a few steps - he truly was locked into his position. And the User was getting closer…

 

"It’s a long fly ball, deep center field! Way back there! It might be… It could be…"

 

"No!" Bob shouted at the top of his lungs. The infected User was bearing down on Enzo, and the boy, wide-eyed, was powerless to escape his path.

Matrix reached out with his hand, felt the firmness of the wall behind him, wishing there were jetpads on the warning track. The ball was finally descending, after a seeming eternity. He coiled his knees and planted his hand atop the wall. With a great scream of effort, he pushed himself upward with his legs and hand simultaneously, and stabbed his glove skyward.

Enzo cowered back as the User bore down on him, hands reaching out for him, teeth flashing sickly green as he grinned. The hands reached for his throat, just as the diseased figure flickered and disappeared.

 

"Oh, what a catch, sprites and binomes! And the crowd goes wild! Cubs win! Cubs win! Surely, the apocalypse is nigh…"

 

Enzo blinked, scarce believing his eyes. The stands and field popped into nothingness before him.

 

 

GAME OVER

Matrix felt his legs strike hard ground and looked around him. His breath left him as a weight thudded into his chest and arms wrapped around his neck.

"Matrix!" Enzo grinned. "That was a totally awesome catch, Dude! You saved my bitmap! Where’d you learn to do that? Can you teach me?"

"Thanks!" the bearded sprite chuckled, setting the boy down. "A little too close for my tastes…"

"Everybody all right?" Bob shouted, running over to them.

"Fine." Matrix sighed. "For now."

"This is not good." Bob scowled.

"Aw, we can handle ‘em!" Enzo beamed. "We’re an awesome team! We can handle any User – even an infected one!"

"Maybe so, Enzo." Bob smiled ruefully, slapping the youngster on the back. "But I’m not so sure we can chalk this up to coincidence anymore..."

 

 

 

"The boys should be back any nano." AndrAIa smiled, stretching in feline fashion. "I could use a break."

"Me too." Dot yawned. "It seems like we’ve studying these codes for seconds."

"By the User, Children – I may have inputted these algorithms myself, but I have no idea what most of them, well – do. The ways of viruses are indeed strange…"

"Well – hopefully Hex is as scared of Daemon as we are." The Command.Com frowned. "Because we may never figure out just exactly what she did."

"I believe I will pay a visit to the research lab, Children – Hugh Branch is working on a new diagnostic algorithm that may be of some use to us. If you will excuse me?" Phong asked politely, bridging his fingers.

"Of course, Phong." Dot smiled. The old sprite whirred off, leaving the two women alone in the command center. "My code, I’m tired. It seems like every time we finish one job, another one pops up. Peace is hard work."

"Beats the alternative." AndrAIa replied.

"I suppose. Meanwhile, the boys were off in a game, as usual – having fun, no doubt."

"You sound like Enzo!" the game sprite laughed.

"Well – we are family. Maybe we like to complain a little too much… Maybe it’s in our code."

"Funny – I never heard Matrix complain once, the whole time we were in the games!" AndrAIa chuckled. The teal-haired sprite yawned and sat languidly against a wall. "You really did make Enzo happy, you know – letting him go into the games with Bob. It means a lot to him."

"I know." Dot smiled wearily, leaning against the console. "It wasn’t easy, believe me. But I know how hard things can be for him, sometimes. With no other little sprites around. Especially – well… Especially since you’re so much older. This time."

"Yeah…" the game sprite said softly.

"If that’s what Enzo is, if it’s what he wants – I have to support him. No matter what happened before. Considering everything he’s been through, he’s always managed to stay pretty positive."

"Thanks to you. He’s pretty lucky to have you to take care of him."

"Thanks." Dot sighed. "Does Enzo – Matrix – still feel that way about the games, sometimes? Like Enzo does?"

"Not very often. He’s got the codes, and he still wants to enter every game cube that drops. But he doesn’t get a lot of joy out it anymore. I think he’s seen a few too many games already."

"That’s sad." Dot whispered. "You should see the look that Enzo gets in his eyes when he talks about a game. Like nothing else. Your Enzo used to get that look too."

"He’s still your Enzo…"

"Maybe." The Command.Com smiled, sitting down next to the girl. The older woman leaned back and closed her eyes. "You know, AndrAIa, I never told you, but I… appreciate... everything you did. For Enzo. Matrix."

"What do you mean, Dot?" the game sprite frowned.

"It’s nothing. I just think sometimes about… Enzo. How I wasn’t there to take care of him. He would have been all alone out there if it weren’t for you. And Frisket of course. And he was just a baby, too. He would’ve been all alone…"

"It wasn’t your fault!" AndrAIa protested. "It was Megabyte’s, no one else’s. He-"

"No – I know." Dot sighed. "But I still think about it. And I’ll always be grateful."

"I didn’t do anything I didn’t want to do. I loved Enzo from the first time I saw him. I never would have wanted to be anywhere else."

"I think he loved you too." Dot chuckled softly. "He was never the same after your game. After Atlantis. I think both Enzos loved you from the first nano."

"It’s mutual."

"I know." The older woman smiled and patted AndrAIa on the hand. "I suppose you know he loves you like crazy? Little Enzo I mean?"

"I might have had some idea." The game sprite answered. "It was so strange, Dot – as soon as I saw Enzo that first time, after the reboot – it was like I was a little sprite again! All the feelings I had then came back like they’d never gone. It made me remember why I fell in love with Enzo in the first place. I’ve been in love with him so long – sometimes I forget."

"Well, he never had a chance. Neither of him. I could see it in their eyes. And Little Enzo’s crazy about you." Dot sighed. "That’s not going to be the easiest situation in the world, is it? Especially in a few hours."

"I guess not. I love him too, Dot – he’s the sweetest thing in the net to me. I’d never do anything to hurt him…"

"Never. I know. But I think it’ going to be pretty hard for him when he gets older. When he understands things a little better."

"Maybe he understands now." AndrAIa sighed.

Dot was silent for a nano. "Maybe he does, Sweetie. I suppose there’ll be plenty of time to worry about all this later. You can’t worry about everything all at once." The Command.Com smiled wearily. "So - how do you like living in Bob’s apartment?"

"It’s pixelacious." The game sprite grinned. "It’s a little weird for Enzo, I think it still feels like Bob’s place to him. And anywhere he is would be home for me. But it’s still nice to have a place of our own. I’ve never really had that."

"Got your new furniture picked out and everything?"

"Well, I was helping you could help me with that." The younger woman giggled. "Enzo doesn’t seem to enjoy shopping very much, somehow…"

"Yeah – even when he was a little boy, he never liked it. He still doesn’t like it. I’ve always had to drag him kicking and screaming…"

"Some things never change. So – how do you like living with Bob?" the game sprite grinned mischievously.

"It’s nice. Between the games and this place, we’re not home that much – and when we are, Enzo’s always around. But I don’t mind. It’s been wonderful for Enzo, having Bob there."

"I bet!"

"I’ve lived under the diner for a long time, AndrAIa." The Command.Com continued softly. "Almost right after my parents were gone, I bought it. I thought it would be better for Enzo, you know – to start fresh. No sad memories. But it never really felt right until now. It’s like you said about having a place, a home. Something was always missing. Until now."

"Hey." Bob said softly, leading the two Enzos into the command center. "Where’s Phong?"

"What’s the matter?" Dot frowned, standing along with AndrAIa. "Did everything go all right in the game?"

"Well – we won."

"Kicked their ASCII!" Enzo added.

"Enzo! Language!" Dot scolded.

"Sorry!"

"So you won – but?" AndrAIa prompted.

"Infected User. Again." Matrix sighed. "That’s the second time."

Dot depressed a button on the console, opening a vidwindow. "Phong – you better get down here."

"What is it, Child?" the old sprite asked, a puzzled looking Hugh Branch at his side.

"Problems. With the game." Dot said grimly.

"I will be there in a few nanos."

"Thanks." The Command.Com turned to Bob. "So what happened exactly? You saw it this time?"

"With my own eyes. It was pretty much what Enzo described from the last time – I don’t think there’s any doubt."

"You saw it again?" she frowned at Enzo. "Are you all right?"

"I’m fine." The boy replied brashly. "We handled it, no problems!"

Bob chuckled and shook his head. "It’s not quite as simple as that – but he’s right, Dot. We were never in any real trouble."

"So you say…"

"What game was it?" AndrAIa asked, throwing an arm around Matrix’ waist protectively.

"Baseball." The bearded sprite answered. "Pretty routine – until the eight inning."

Phong hurriedly rolled into the room. "I apologize for my absence, Children. Now, Guardian – Dot said something about a problem? With the game?"

"You could say that, Old Friend. Infected."

"Oh, dear. Again?"

"I’m afraid so."

"Well – thank the User you are all safe and well. But this is indeed troubling news. Did this manifestation differ from the last one?"

"Well – I wasn’t there the last time." Bob sighed. "But judging by what you’ve all told me about it, I think the basic notion was the same – the game codes were corrupted, and the virus manifested itself in the User’s form. Not good."

"Indeed, Young Guardian. It is not a vision that I shall soon forget…"

"Me neither." Enzo added. Matrix rested a hand on his shoulder.

"I _did_ see some interesting things, though…" Bob frowned thoughtfully. "This one seems to be different in a very important way. From what you’ve told me, the User was corrupted for more or less the entire game sequence last time, right?"

"That was my impression." Matrix scowled. AndrAIa nodded in agreement.

"That doesn’t seem to be what happened this time. It wasn’t until the game was almost over that we saw any evidence of corruption. I don’t really know – I’ve never seen anything like this before – but I think it must be pretty hard to corrupt the game codes sufficiently to actually take over the User. That might be to our advantage."

"Or there could be little Daemonettes in other games – and we just never see them." AndrAIa said softly.

"You’re right, AndrAIa. We just don’t know." Bob nodded. "Maybe the virus infects lots of games, and it’s dormant in most. Maybe it causes more severe symptoms in some games than in others for some reason. But the bottom line is, this has happened twice now in a matter of a few cycles. It may be much more widespread across the net than we’d realized."

"Or it may be that she’s closing in on us." Dot scowled. "You said yourself, Bob – maybe they knew where we were, this was all a specific attack on Mainframe. On us."

"Maybe." The Guardian sighed. "There’s no way to tell for sure. I think we’re in the same place we were before – keep our eyes open and be prepared every time a game drops."

"Is there any way for our virus protection to smell this out? Before it happens?" Matrix asked. "All these new files that Hex threw into the mix?"

"No, Young Matrix." Phong answered. "We do not have the ability to scan a cube before it has landed. And once the cube has landed, even if we were able to detect the presence of a virus-"

"It’d be too late to do anything about it!" the big sprite growled. "Crash it all!"

"It’s ingenious." Bob said. "I almost have to admire it in a way. Games are the perfect carrier for a viral infection. They go to almost every system, and the slip underneath the protection protocols. They’re free agents in every system they go to. But to infect a game – it must consume incredible amounts of energy. I’ve never seen anything like this before – it’s a whole new file."

"Well, if they try anything in Mainframe, we’ll be ready!" Enzo sneered. "They don’t know who they’re dealing with! Right, Bob?"

"Right." The Guardian smiled at the boy. "But it won’t hurt to be extra careful. And extra alert – every bit of information we learn from one of these encounters can help us the next time."

"The next time." Dot sighed. "Why don’t I like the sound of that?"

 

 

 

 

 

"How’s she look, Love?" Ray asked, gently massaging the kneeling Mouse’s shoulders as she studied the myriad of components spread out beneath her.

"Right as rain, Sugar. ‘Course, I’ve never actually built a portal generator before – no way of knowin’ if it’s gonna work until we test it. But I think it’ll get us where we need to go."

"Doesn’t seem like there’s much keepin’ us here then, does there?" the surfr said softly. "I think maybe we found out more than we had a right to expect."

"You don’t much like this place, do ya Honey?" Mouse grinned, stretching.

"Not much." Ray admitted. "Too many sprites around for my tastes. A fella can’t catch his breath. Doesn’t seem to bother you though."

"I spent a lot of time here – guess I got used to it. Well, don’t worry – once I get the generator installed we can bust outta here whenever we feel like it."

"Right. But where to, Love?"

"I don’t rightly know, Surfr. I reckon that’s somethin’ we’re gonna have to decide."

"That’s not all we have to decide. What about Laser? What he asked you? Do you trust him, or not?"

The hacker frowned and fell wearily into the pilot’s seat. "I don’t know if I do or not, Lover. Never really got a chance to know the guy when I was at the Academy. But he was kicked out of the Collective…"

"If you used that as a basis for trusting people-"

"Yeah, yeah – I know Sugar." The flame-haired sprite scowled. "I get it. But I spent a lot o’ time making sure nobody was gonna be able to find Mainframe-"

"Unless you wanted them to." Tracer interrupted. "What this guy was talkin’ about – it makes sense. He wants to finally do somethin’ about Daemon, instead of just sittin’ around. And he was Second Guardian-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know." Mouse sighed. "And he’s still got the protocols. And maybe he’s sincere. But there’s somethin’ about him that bugs me. Like I said, Sugar – I spent a lot o’ time and effort hidin’ Mainframe so deep you’d need a map just to find out you were lost."

"Well – we’re gonna have to make up our minds about it before we leave, Love." The surfr said softly. "We ain’t got no choice. And if we don’t help him-"

"There is another way, Honey. We can help Laser without havin’ to trust him. It’s a lot more work, but it might be the only way."

"I might have a notion of what you’re talkin’ about, Lovely Lady." Ray grinned. "You won’t get any complaints from me – this place wears me out. And I don’t have any appointments to keep."

"I thought you might feel that way." The hacker chuckled, holding out her arms. "Now why don’t you get your pretty little bitmap over here and join me? It might be a while before we’re alone again."

"If you insist." The surfr smiled, joining Mouse in the chair. "Computer – dim interior lights 70%…"

 

 

 

 

 

"And then what happened?"

"Dude! Bob pulled the pin and threw the grenade right into the tank! Blew the User into a gazillion pieces!" Enzo laughed. "It was the funniest thing I ever saw!"

"He makes it look pretty easy, doesn’t he?" Matrix grinned.

"He’s the best, Matrix. Nothing ever shakes him up. It’s like he always knows what’s gonna happen. I wish I was as good in the games as him…"

"So do I!" the big sprite nodded in agreement.

"Yeah – but at least you’re a Guardian." The youngster scowled.

"Maybe you’ll be as good as Bob someday, Enzo." AndrAIa smiled. "If you work really hard and watch what he does. He can teach you a lot."

"D’you really think so?"

"Sure. If you believe in yourself."

"You’re lucky, Enzo – I never had Bob to teach me all that stuff." Matrix added. "I had to learn everything on my own."

"You did pretty good." The boy frowned. "Didn’t you?"

"He did great." AndrAIa grinned, standing from the table and gathering plates. "Are you still hungry, Enzo? There’s more pizza in the kitchen-"

"No – I’m cool. Thanks, Andri." Enzo said shyly. "Maybe I should go home – it’s getting pretty late…"

"Why don’t you stay awhile? I don’t think Bob and Dot will mind." The game sprite answered, winking at Matrix. "You’re our first dinner guest, after all. Wouldn’t do for you to leave without dessert! Besides, there’s a really good vid on in a few milliseconds – real bloody."

"Awesome!’ Enzo grinned.

"Cool. I’ll go and get the ice cream, then. Sit tight, Guardian."

Enzo stared after her for a nano. "Why does she call me that?" he asked softly.

Matrix stood, stretched, then walked over to the couch, Enzo at his heels. "That’s what she called me when she first met." The big sprite said, sitting. "I think you remind her of you. Of me, I mean. You know what I mean…"

"Why did she call you that, then?" the youngster queried, planting his bitmap next to his older self.

Matrix blushed and smiled sheepishly, an expression Enzo never recalled seeing on the older sprite’s face. "I may have told her I was a Guardian, when we first met. In the game. No big file…"

"You did what?" Enzo laughed.

"All right - laugh it up, Sprout!" Matrix sighed. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. But you know what’s alphanumeric? Bob never told her. I always wondered if she knew, but if she did she never let on."

"Dude – he never told her? No way!"

"Yeah." The bearded sprite smiled at the memory. "Then, when he made me a cadet – well… It was pixelacious. The proudest cycle of my life. I was so happy, I couldn’t believe it. I thought we were indestructible…"

"Wow…" Enzo whispered. "Can – can I look at your icon again?"

"Enzo-"

"Please?" the boy pleaded.

Matrix sighed deeply and removed his icon. "Okay, Kid."

The boy held the black and gold disk in both hands, a faraway look in his eyes. "Bob must’ve totally thought you were awesome, Matrix. He made you a Guardian. That’s so cool."

"I… I guess he didn’t have much choice, Enzo. Things were pretty bad…" The big sprite looked up and locked eyes with AndrAIa, who silently stood over them, holding a tray.

Enzo sighed and offered the icon back to his older self. "Thanks, Matrix."

"Uh – you wanna hold onto it for a while? There’s no rush-"

"Naw. It’s yours." The youngster said, dropping the disc into Matrix’ palm.

"Ready for some ice cream?" AndrAIa grinned, joining them on the couch. "Triple RAM chip!"

"Pizza and ice cream. Dot’ll be thrilled. Some kids have all the luck." Matrix smiled, punching Enzo on the shoulder. "I won’t tell if you won’t."

"Cool." Enzo smiled weakly, taking a bowl. He stared straight ahead, eyes far away. Matrix sighed and re-affixed his icon above his heart.

 

 

The room was dimly lit, the two figures on the sofa barely visible in the ambient glow from the fire crackling on the vidscreen. Dot snuggled closer to Bob, head on his shoulder, and sighed. "There’s nothing quote so romantic as a fireplace screen saver, is there?"

"Nope." The Guardian grinned, kissing her hair gently. "Not when the company’s this attractive."

"Compliments will get you everywhere." Dot giggled. "This was a lovely evening, Bob. It’s nice to finally be alone together. No games, no infected Users, no friends. Just you and me."

"I’m glad you approve."

"The others will be back soon." The Command.Com said softly. "Mmm. It’s so nice having you here, Bob. Being together, finally. Enzo was right – what did take us so long?"

"There was a little matter of me being shot into the web, as I remember..."

"Very funny! You know what I mean."

"What’s the difference?" Bob sighed. "It’s all in the past. Now is all that matters. All that’s important is that we finally got it right – right?"

"Right." Dot whispered. "I wish I could forget about the past that easily. I think about it a lot. The future, too. And they both worry me..."

"Now is all that matters. We’ll deal with the future when we get there."

"You sound more like Phong every day!" Dot giggled. Footsteps sounded outside the door. "Looks like everybody’s home." She smiled, standing up and turning on the light.

"Hey, you two." Matrix nodded, stepping through the door. "Have a nice evening?"

"It was lovely, thank you Enzo." The Command.Com kissed her brother on the cheek, then knelt and kissed her other brother on the forehead. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah." Enzo grinned. "We had dinner and watched a cool quicktime movie. Did you have fun?"

Dot rolled her eyes. "It was fine, thanks. Everyone sit down. Want some cocoa, or java or something?"

"Naw." Enzo yawned. "I’m pretty low-res. I’m gonna go to bed."

"Look at the time!" Dot replied, surprised. "I didn’t realize it was so late. You’ve got school tomorrow. "

"Yeah yeah, I know!" Enzo sighed.

"Sorry we kept him so late." AndrAIa said with a wink at Dot.

"That’s all right. You ate your dinner, didn’t you Enzo?"

"You don’t have to tell him twice!" Matrix laughed. "All health food too – right Sprout?"

"Don’t call me that!" the boy yawned.

"Looks like we wore you out!" the game sprite grinned.

"It’s cool. G’night AndrAIa. Night Matrix. We’re circuit racing after school tomorrow, right?"

"Sure." Matrix chuckled.

"I’ll be along in a little while." Dot said. "Make sure you brush your teeth-"

"OK, OK! Y’don’t have to tell me every cycle! Night everybody. Night Bob."

"Sleep tight, Cadet!" Bob grinned, as the boy disappeared down the hall.

"Thanks, you two. We had a lovely evening. I hope Enzo wasn’t too much trouble -"

"He was fine." AndrAIa replied. "We had fun. He was an angel all night. We’re happy to take him anytime."

"Well..." Matrix muttered.

"Enzo!"

"Well – thanks just the same. Would you like some java?"

"I’m fine." Matrix said. "Andri?"

"I’m good. Guess we should head home and turn in ourselves. Big day of shopping tomorrow, right Lover?"

Matrix sighed deeply. "Sometimes I miss being in the games..."

The game sprite elbowed him sharply. "Very amusing. You’re a regular Johnny O’Binome. Now come along – let’s leave this little family to their nest, shall we?"

"Actually..." Matrix frowned. "I’ll catch up with you in a nano, Andri. There’s something I wanted to talk to Dot and Bob about."

The game sprite raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah. Won’t take long. I’ll be right behind you."

"Well, if you say so." AndrAIa shrugged. "Good night, you guys."

"Night AndrAIa. Thanks again." Dot smiled. The game sprite shared a grin with Bob and exited. "So – what did you want to talk to us about, Enzo?" Dot asked, a little warily. "Is something the matter?"

"No – everything’s alphanumeric." Matrix shrugged, walking over to the large chair that faced the couch in the little living room.

Dot joined Bob on the sofa. "So what’s processing?" the Guardian asked. "What’s the big mystery?"

"No big mystery." The bearded sprite smiled. "Just something that’s been nagging at my processor."

"What is it, Enzo?" Dot frowned.

"Well – I’m afraid you’re both gonna thing I’m crazy. Gone offline or something..."

Dot and Bob shared a puzzled glance. "I’m sure we won’t think that, Enzo. Just tell us. Is something bothering you?"

The big sprite scratched his beard thoughtfully. "I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. And I know it sounds basic, especially coming from me of all sprites. But... I think you ought to download the protocols to Enzo. You know – make him a cadet."

"What?" Dot gasped.

"I must say - I am a little surprised, Enzo." Bob said, leaning forward to meet the big sprite’s gaze. "You’ve always been dead set against it – at least as far as I can tell. What’s changed your mind?"

Matrix smiled sheepishly. "It’s hard to explain, Bob. I – he - ... Let’s say I saw things from his perspective. I know what it means to him-"

"That’s all well and good, Enzo – but that doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do!" Dot protested. "He’s just a little sprite! Even you were older when – when..."

"I know." The bearded sprite sighed. "It does sound basic."

"Why now, Matrix? What’s the rush?"

"Bob, I ... Look – it’s hard to explain. Enzo – he sees me, with my icon. He sees AndrAIa and me together. Do you have any idea how that makes him feel? How left out?"

"I take him into the games with me." Bob frowned. "I teach him – or at least I try to. It’s not like he isn’t part of the team-"

"I know. But he knows that you look after him, make sure he doesn’t get hurt. And you should. But he stills knows it. So it isn’t really real to him, somehow. Do you understand?"

"I’m not really following this, Little Brother. This doesn’t sound like you talking. What brought all this on?"

The big sprite ran a hand over his face wearily, buying a nano to choose his words. "You guys are great to Enzo. The best. Just like you were great to me. But no matter what you do, he’s still different. He’s a little kid. There’s no one else for him to measure himself against, so he has to measure himself against you two. And now me, maybe..."

"Enzo-"

"That’s hard. Since you guys are the best, it’s really hard. And no matter how much you try, he knows you don’t really respect him. You love him, but you don’t respect him."

"That’s not true!" Dot protested. "Of course I respect Enzo! But he’s a child – that’s a fact."

"I know." Matrix sighed. "Dot, don’t take this wrong. He’s not mad at you, and it isn’t your fault. But he knows how you look at him, and it drives him offline. Believe me – don’t you think I’d know? Me of all people?"

"I never intended him to think that..."

"Of course not." Matrix smiled. "So now, here I am – I’m a Guardian. Enzo knows that Bob downloaded the protocol to me, and he hasn’t downloaded the protocol to him. That makes him feel like he doesn’t deserve them."

"Matrix, the situation was different! There was a war on. And I fully intended to upload you to the Academy as soon as it was over."

"I know..."

"And then there’s the Academy. Don’t you think it’s unfair to make Enzo a cadet when there’s no Academy to attend? Wouldn’t it be better to wait – once we’ve settled Daemon, things are back to normal-"

"I never went to the Academy." Matrix said softly. "But I’m still a Guardian, aren’t I?"

"Of course you are." Dot sighed. "But look what you – had to go through... Was it worth all that? Would you want Enzo to have to go through that?"

"It’s not fair to make Enzo deal with the consequences of something that happened to me. I have no regrets. I’m a Guardian, and I’ll always be a Guardian. Thanks, Bob - it’s a gift you gave me, and it’ll always be part of who I am."

"You deserved it." Bob smiled sadly.

"You know what? I think I did." The big sprite chuckled. "But so does Enzo – he’s worked hard. He’s trying to learn everything you can teach him, no matter how hard it is for him."

"What about the Academy? There’s only so much I can teach him, you know."

"The Academy would be nice." Matrix said softly. "But we don’t know if there’ll ever be an Academy again. We don’t know what’s gonna happen tomorrow. Daemon could blow all of our ASCIIs off the net-"

"Don’t say that!" Dot hissed.

"But we don’t know! So why wait? Don’t you see? Let’s assume there is an Academy again, someday. Maybe there will be. But Enzo wants to be a Guardian because of you. Both of you. He wants to share it with you, not with a bunch of sprites he doesn’t know. He wants you to see him in his uniform, be proud of him. Why wait until he has to leave Mainframe before you give him that?"

"I never really thought of it that way..." Bob sighed.

"Enzo... What you’re saying – is this all stuff that... that you thought? About us?"

"Some of it. Like I said – I think my being here makes it even worse for him. When I got the protoc