Part VIII
Dot watched as Enzo and the dorky User with the glasses dove towards the little gold ball. She bit back the urge to call out a warning. What if they should collide?
Then a small, dark shape came whizzing out of nowhere. It thudded into the User's broom. It veered sharply, throwing the User off. Laughing, Enzo grabbed the ball.
"GAME OVER."
As the cube rose into the sky, AndrAIa and Mouse rushed toward the crumpled figure of Zipp. She was conscious. Partly, anyway.
Mouse helped her to her feet. "Zipp, you all right? That was a nasty hit."
Zipp smiled weakly. "Did I delete the Guardian?" she asked, her voice slurred. She blacked out.
Mouse and AndrAIa exchanged confused glances. "Delusional," AndrAIa declared.
The following day, Zipp stood outside the Tor, gazing into the tear she had just created. It would be such a relief to just get out of Mainframe. How could she stay, after what she had done? After what she had planned on doing?
Zipp felt so stupid. She should have listened to Mouse. Of course Bob wasn't responsible for Vi. She knew that now. She had always known it, but had never realized it. Being crushed by a game cube had really knocked some sense into her. Not to mention a lot of pain. Phong said it was amazing she could move around. And leave.
With a sigh, she transformed the tear into a portal.
"Zipp!"
Zipp turned around to see AndrAIa and Mouse running towards her. She forced a smile. "Oh. Hi, guys."
AndrAIa glanced at the portal. "You're leaving?" It was more of a statement than a question.
Zipp nodded. "I'm sorry I stayed as long as I did. I'm sorry for what I did to you all. It's just that...oh, I dunno...I don't know what I was thinking. I was so upset when Vi was deleted, I guess I went a little random. All I could think about was revenge."
Mouse smiled. "Maybe you inherited some of Hex's insanity."
All three girls laughed at this. It broke the tension. Zipp burst into tears. "I'm going to miss you two so much! AndrAIa, I guess any chance for us to be friends is erased."
AndrAIa smiled. "I don't know. I really liked you at first. It was nice to have a girl my age around. But I sort of panicked when I found out you were half-viral."
Zipp laughed dryly. "I totally blew it at that part. You weren't supposed to know what I was. But then Mouse was blamed; what could I do? Then I started talking about Vi, got upset, and I think I then snapped into total villian. I felt horrid about kidnapping Enzo. But I was just so angry, I couldn't think straight. I wanted Bob deleted so much... you will apologize to him for me?"
"Sure thing," Mouse replied. "And I don't think I'd be processing correctly either if I were in your place."
"Same here," agreed AndrAIa. "If someone deleted Matrix...I don't know what I'd do."
"Probably not what I did," said Zipp. "Then again, you're not viral." She stepped toward the portal. "I should go now. I really need to sort things out."
Mouse gave her a hug, followed by AndrAIa. "Please say you'll stop by if you ever pass Mainframe. That is, if you don't try to destroy us all."
"I can promise you I won't," said Zipp.
"So what are you going to do now," asked Mouse. "Hunt Guardians?"
Zipp stepped into the portal. "I dunno. Maybe Turbo." She smiled wickedly. AndrAIa and Mouse cringed.
"I'm kidding! Goodbye! Thankyou so much!" She disappeared, the portal closing behind her.
Mouse and AndrAIa waited a few nanos before leaving.
"You know," said AndrAIa. "I'm going to miss her. She really livened things up around here."
"Agreed, sugah," said Mouse.