The Web's cold, coiling fingers stretched out from the swirling portal, wrapping around him, drawing him slowly closer to the dark inferno of cyberspace. Instinctively he tried to fight it, to pull himself away, but the battle with Matrix had left him weak, injured... As the portal seemed to open wider and swallow him like the maw of some great monster, he cried out, refusing to accept defeat when he had come so close to victory...
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

...but, it wasn�t over.

Every part of him felt as if it had caught fire. He couldn�t even cry out, the pain was so intense. Burning light stabbed at his eyes, and bit by bit, the Web�s violent energies began to eat away at him with agonizing slowness.

But it wasn�t over.
Not yet.

He later was unable to recall just how long he had spent floating out there, exposed to the ravages of the Web. Eventually the pain either subsided, or he simply grew used to it. Once he was able to think clearly again, his first thoughts were that he would certainly be deleted.

Those bleak thoughts quickly gave way to reason. He could---he would survive. Turning defeat into victory, wasn�t that what he did best? He hadn�t gained control of Megaframe by giving up. And hadn�t the Guardian survived this awful realm? Then he certainly could.

And he had a reason to, now, didn�t he. His mind clouded over with thoughts of revenge, of what he would do to those who had cast him into this pit once he freed himself from it...

Then he laughed. He wouldn�t have to trouble himself---the little surprise he�d left behind would take care of them. It would not be long now before the system crashed entirely, and all of his enemies would be erased. Anyone who had ever dared oppose him would be gone.

He would be free.

First things first, of course. What he needed now was some defense against the Web. At this rate he wouldn�t last a cycle without some kind of armour or shield. Such a shame that I couldn�t ask Bob just how it was he survived, he thought sourly, wincing as the burning sensation grew stronger.

The blazing light, to which his eyes were slowly adjusting, darkened abruptly. Moving was painful, but still he craned his neck, looking above himself to see what had blotted out the light. Something very large soared over him---followed by another, and another...

Web creatures!

Not the attack breeds he had battled before---these were obviously of a slower, dumber variety, herd animals rather than attack formats. But never mind that. That would actually be to his advantage.

Extending his claws, he reached out to one of the smaller creatures, pierced its armoured hide, and dragged it to him. The creature struggled, thrashing wildly, striking him in the jaw with its long whiplike tail.

He tightened his grip.

This was a grave risk, yes, but he didn�t have time to waste debating the issue. He had only one goal now---survival. The creature�s mind was weak...he should have no trouble controlling it.

He sank his claws deeper into the creature�s flesh. The monster bellowed in pain and fear.

It was over very quickly. His hands began to disappear into the creature�s form, then a flash of blinding light enveloped them both...and then...

Bitter laughter echoed across the fringes of the Web.

The lift jerked to a halt upon arriving at the principal office's main landing bay. Orderly rows of polished CPUs lined the deck, and dozens of fighters were docked overhead.

Mouse�s Ship, covered in rough black-grey plates of newly-added armour, stuck out like a sore thumb.

Phong wheeled off the lift and across the deck, with Bob and Enzo Matrix following closely behind. Letting out a whistle, Matrix gazed out at the perfect lines of gleaming ships.

"Looks like we never left," he noted, the beginnings of a smile creeping up his face---a face that looked as if it had spent a lifetime scowling, and was just now having to learn to smile all over again.

"Yeah," Bob said quietly. It didn�t seem like it had taken everyone else very long to get used to Mainframe�s restoration. They all seemed to be back to their old routines, just as it had been before Megabyte. For Bob, the adjustment was taking considerably longer.

But then, he had spent nearly a month in the Web. "How�re the shields holding?" he called, smiling, to the female figure standing underneath Ship�s armoured belly.

Startled, Mouse banged her head against the access hatch, and mumbled a few choice phrases under her breath. "Just fine as far as Ah can tell, sugah," she muttered, rubbing her head. "They sure don�t make this thing look any more attractive, Ah�ll tell you that." From the look on her face, Mouse felt the same way about her own new Web armour---the jointed black suit was close-fitting, but still rather bulky for her particular tastes.

Bob chuckled lightly, leaning an arm against the ship�s hull. The shields felt even worse than they looked, but it was a feel Bob was used to. His own armour had been made out of the same stuff. "Spend a couple seconds in the Web, and you�ll find out that looks are going to be a low priority." Just look what it did to me...

"Ah�ll take your word for it."

"You won�t have to," a thickly-accented voice spoke from behind them. Bob, Matrix and Mouse turned to see Raytracr�s surfboard float down to the deck. The surfer stepped off, kicked the board upright, and walked over. "You�ll get to see plenty of the Web for yourself, soon enough."

"Too soon," Mouse replied.

"Worried, Mouse?" Bob snickered. "That isn�t like you."

Ignoring him, Mouse turned to Ray. "What�d you find?"

"I tracked a tear out on the energy C, just outside Floating Point Park. It ought to do quite nicely."

"You will remember to keep in contact?" Phong asked, knitting his wiry gold fingers together. "After what Bob and Enzo have told us of the Supervirus, we cannot risk opening Mainframe�s ports to the Net again. You two will be our only contact to what happens outside of this system."

"Don�t worry, Phong," Ray reassured the old sprite. "As soon as we learn anything about Daemon, we�ll let you know." He turned to Mouse, the corners of his mouth curving into a small smile. "Are we ready?"

"Ready as we�ll ever be," Mouse grinned back, winking.

"Take care, you two," Bob smiled.

Ray extended a hand, gripping Bob�s in it. "Same to you, Guardian." After a moment, he stepped in and added in a whisper, glancing in Enzo�s direction, "And take care of Matrix while you�re at it. That bloke needs all the help he can get."

"I�ll try," Bob whispered back, grinning as Enzo folded his arms across his broad chest and scowled.

"Kidding, kidding," Ray chuckled, throwing up his hands defensively. "I know better than to get on your bad side."

"Does he even have a good side?" Mouse smirked, following Surfer up into Ship�s cockpit. Pausing, she glanced back over her shoulder at the Guardian. "Bob?"

"Yeah, Mouse?"

"Ah---Ah didn�t get a chance to say goodbye to Dot..."

Bob smiled gently. "I�ll tell her for you."

"Thanks. Keep an eye out for her, will ya? She needs it more than she�d like to admit."

"I�ll do that." The canopy hatch lowered and sealed shut. Bob took several steps back away from Ship as it thrummed to life, slowly lifting up off the deck and turning towards the opened bay doors. A flash of the engines, and Ship sped away, out over Mainframe, towards the energy C.

Towards the Web.

"Be careful, Mouse," he said quietly, waving after her. Their somewhat bumpy, off-and-on romance had long since cooled to friendship, but he still cared about Mouse. It seemed as if he�d known her forever. Long enough, he chided himself, that he should�ve known that she could take care of herself.

The fiery-haired hacker�s words came back to him. Keep an eye out for her...for Dot.

Dot...

He turned and walked back towards the lifts in the rear of the hangar bay, keyed the summoning button. The �lift purred up the shaft towards him, then clicked into place.

"Bob?" Enzo called after him. Stepping onto the �lift, Bob glanced back at Matrix and smiled. "I just remembered," he replied, as the �lift began to lower. "I have somewhere to be right now."

Even after as often as he�d been here, all the countless times he�d walked through these same doors without giving it a nano�s thought, this time, Bob paused in the doorway of Dot�s Diner.

It was the first time he�d been here since the restart three minutes earlier, although it felt like it had been a month. He�d seen this diner reduced to a pile of rubble, and watched it sink into the energy C as the system crashed around him. And yet here it was, standing.

It was like he�d never left. The Diner, Baudway, all of Mainframe had been restored, to just the way it had been before. Everything was just the same as he remembered it.

"Excuse me, sir." Cecil was glaring at Bob irritably, wiry arms crossed. "If you�re going to stand around all second, perhaps you could at least be so kind as not to obstruct the doors. Our paying customers need to use them."

Bob rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Cecil."

"Thank you. And it is Cess-il!" the prissy waiter corrected, before turning sharply and hovering away. Shaking his head, Bob moved away from the door. Everything was the same, all right.

Well, almost everything.

"How did I know I�d find you here?" Bob grinned.

Sitting in front of five open vidwindows, large round glasses perched on her nose, with her organizer in one hand and a laser pen in the other, Dot Matrix glanced up and smiled at him warmly. "Guess you just know me too well."

Bob slipped an arm around Dot�s shoulder and slid into the booth next to her, kissing her cheek. "What�s processing?"

"Oh, not much." Bob gaped at the array of windows and the information scrolling across each one. "That�s easy for you to say." If anyone could juggle the duties of Command.com of the system, while still finding the time to run what could�ve easily included every business in mainframe, it was Dot. Sometimes he wondered if there was anything she couldn�t do.

"So, are you ready for dinner?" he asked. Dot peered at him over the rims of her glasses and smiled sheepishly. "Almost..."

"Dot," Bob groaned.

"It�ll just take another nano!" Dot promised, launching immediately into her usual explanations. "I just need to make a couple calls, reschedule that meeting with Al for next second, check on the---"

Everything was the same, all right. Rolling his eyes, Bob ignored the usual string of excuses, took Dot�s chin in his free hand, turned her face to him, and pressed his lips against hers.

Dot slammed her organizer shut. "It can wait."

"Would the two of you mind terribly taking this outside?" Cecil muttered. "This is a public establishment."

Dot rolled her eyes and laughed. "We were just leaving," she grinned, following Bob out of the booth and towards the door. "Take care of the place for me!"

"Wait! Wait just a nano!" Cecil protested. "You�re not leaving me here to run the diner by myself?"

Bob was already pulling Dot out the diner doors by her arm, both of them laughing.

"�Bye, Cecil!" Dot waved. "Good luck!" "But---" Pausing midsentence, Cecil scowled at them both, folding his arms. "How typical."

Throwing his arms into the air, Enzo howled with delight as the bike turned a sharp corner in what had once been G-Prime. "Woohoooooo!" He closed his eyes, letting the wind blow through his short, rumpled black hair.

AndrAIa threw a quick glance over her shoulder at the small sprite, and smiled to herself, getting back to the bike�s controls. She�d found the ruined remains of the bike lying in old man Pearson�s dump two minutes ago, and with Matrix�s help, spent every spare nano since working to rebuild it---with her own personal modifications.

It lacked a lot of the finishing details, and hadn�t even been painted yet, but just this second she�d actually gotten it running. Now she was making good on her promise to take a certain, anxious little sprite for a joyride.

AndrAIa didn�t know whether being around this younger Enzo simply brought back fond memories, or made her long for the sprite that her lifelong love once was. The boy sitting behind her on the bike now was the person she�d followed out of the game that had been her whole life. During her first minutes in Mainframe, this was the Enzo she�d looked to and adored, her heroic Guardian, the only one who�d treated her like anything other than a confused little game sprite who was out of her league.

She still loved Matrix. But even she couldn�t find anything left of little Enzo inside him. Coming home to Mainframe had helped him, but he just wasn�t the same person anymore. Megabyte and the games had scarred him, changed him. And the scars still hurt, even if he was too tough sometimes to let it show.

"Hey, there�s Matrix and Frisket!" Enzo cried, pointing over AndrAIa�s shoulder a pair of figures far below. Matrix had stayed behind at the Principal Office, helping Mouse and Ray get Ship prepped for their journey into the Web.

Sometimes, AndrAIa got the feeling that Matrix felt a little strange about the time she spent with his younger self.

The bike set down on the side of the street, moaning and shuddering just a little as the wheels scraped the platform. Matrix unfolded his arms, a smile creeping up his scruffy, unshaven face. "Now that," he said admiringly, "is a nice bike."

AndrAIa smiled, lifting Enzo off the seat and setting him down on the platform. He hit the pavement running, tackling Matrix and pinning the much larger sprite to the ground. AndrAIa couldn�t help but laugh.

"I deserve this," Matrix groaned through a thin smile. "Matrix! Did you see us up there?" Enzo raved excitedly, waving his arms wildly. "Maybe next time, AndrAIa�ll let you take it for a spin."

"Over my deleted body," AndrAIa returned, only half-kidding. "Not after as much work as I�ve put into her." After a moment, she grinned wryly and said, "Enzo, I think Matrix would really appreciate it if you got off of him." At first she hadn�t tolerated the older Enzo�s request that she call him strictly by his last name---she saw it as a lame attempt on his part to make himself seem tougher, or to separate himself further from his former self. But now, she didn�t have a choice. It was the only way to distinguish between the two Enzos.

"Oh. OK!" Enzo hopped up, extending a small hand and helping Matrix to his feet. He shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry."

"That�s okay," Matrix smiled. "Old habits die hard. You�d better head back home with Frisket...you know how mad Dot�ll be if you don�t get your homework done tonight." He gave the small sprite a push.

"You both know," AndrAIa pointed out. The look on Matrix�s face as a reaction to that, was one she couldn�t decipher.

"Oh, all right," Enzo shrugged. "But only if we can go jetbowling again later."

Matrix winked his bionic eye at Enzo. "That�s a promise."

"Cool!" Satisfied, Enzo turned, gesturing for Frisket to follow. The dog trotted protectively beside the boy as the two of them walked off. "See you guys later!"

As Matrix looked wistfully after the pair, AndrAIa slipped her arm through his. "Hey Sparky," she smiled. "What do you say we head over to the Diner for a quick byte?"

It was a moment before Matrix responded. "Uh...sure."

"Hey. You okay?"

Matrix smiled again. AndrAIa was having to get used to seeing him smile all over again---not all that long ago, it would�ve been a sign for her to hit the dirt.

"Just fine, love."

The trip to Dot�s was a short one, but AndrAIa took the scenic route, to give Matrix a little taste of how the bike handled. He was suitably impressed, but he still seemed a bit distracted. His silence bothered her, but it didn�t seem odd. He�d never really been one to talk, even to her.

When they reached the diner, Matrix gave the bike another long, admiring look over. "When are we going to start painting it?"

"Next second," AndrAIa replied. "I�m thinking a nice, sparkly blue."

"And we�ll have to add some fins."

AndrAIa grinned. "Did you read my mind?"

They quickly found and settled into a booth inside, placing their order, which Cecil processed and promptly delivered. Setting the bowl of chips on the table in front of them, the maitre�d took a glance out the window, saw the bike, and could barely veil his disgust.

"What is that horrid thing?" he cried.

"Hey!" AndrAIa said, bringing her palms down on the table. She took personal offense at that snide little remark. "I�m still working on it."

"Ah. Well. Good luck to you, then," he recovered stiffly, his digitized mustache twitching. As he turned to leave, he added quietly, "You�re going to need it."

AndrAIa narrowed her blue eyes, but Matrix just snickered. "He�s always been like that," he told her, sipping his energy shake.

The two of them ate quietly. AndrAIa glanced up every so often at Matrix, who was just picking at his food, still silent. She held her tongue. If he wanted to talk about it, which he probably didn�t, he would. When he was ready.

"Did Mouse and Ray leave already?" she asked.

"They left milliseconds ago."

"Oh." AndrAIa chewed on her straw, then smiled slyly. "I was hoping I�d get the chance to say goodbye to Ray..."

At that, Matrix�s head snapped up immediately, and he had that look on his face that was almost always followed by the targeting mode on his bionic eye. AndrAIa laughed, and Enzo�s expression eased, but he still groaned. Loudly.

"Just keeping you on your toes, Matrix," she grinned, tossing a chunk of shimmering blue hair over one shoulder.

Matrix�s face softened even more. "You can call me Enzo." After a moment, he raised an eyebrow. "Do you think the Surfer can handle her?"

AndrAIa smiled over the rim of her cup. "I think he�s going to find out."

Throwing a quick glance sideways, across the cockpit at Mouse, Ray shook his head, and turned back to the controls in front of him. Ohhh, boy...

Admittedly he�d always had something of an eye for the ladies. He objected to being called a cad---he simply liked women, and he had noticed that, more often than not, they liked him back. But he never offered his affection to more than one lovely girl at a time, and when he did, it was almost always genuine.

Sometimes it was that sincerity that got him into trouble. Take AndrAIa. Drop-dead gorgeous, witty, intelligent, and definitely taken. She�d been flattered by his attention, but remained unwaveringly loyal to her slightly psychotic boyfriend, Matrix, who wasn�t too fond of Ray and had made the fact painfully clear.

And now, Mouse.

As Mainframe was crashing down around them, he could�ve left any time he wanted to. There had been more than enough available tears, and it wasn�t as if he could�ve really done anything if he�d stayed. He might�ve helped more just by leaving, by getting out of the way. But for some crazy reason he stayed.

Mouse was that crazy reason.

"Ah have to say," she sighed, glancing out the canopy glass as the unstable energy storms of the Web unfolded before them, "Ah�ve pulled a lot of random stunts before, been a lot of places most people wouldn�t dare...but Ah never thought Ah�d be trying to get into the Web."

"There�s a first time for everything," Ray grinned.

"Ah guess so." Mouse looked over at him with her warm brown eyes, and grinned right back. "Everyone has to be somewhere."

Ray definitely liked it right here.

Just up ahead, a small pod of Web creatures floated past. Mouse slowed Ship�s thrusters, steered them around the pod, chewing her lip. "Ah�ll probably never get used to those things," she muttered, memories of the not-so-long-past Web World War probably flashing in her mind.

"You won�t see any attack drones," Ray reassured her, "not here. These pods feed off the energy of other creatures---and since sprites are usually in short supply, they�ve developed a taste for the other higher-energy Web creatures. The drones are stupid, but they�ve learned to keep their distance."

"Ah suppose you have a lot to teach me about the Web," Mouse said, keeping her eyes glued to the flight path ahead.

"There�s a lot you�ll need to know just to stay alive out here." Smiling at her, Ray added, "But you look like you�re a fast learner."

"And you look like a very good teacher." She gave him a quick glance and flashed a smile, that dazzling fanged smile of hers that always made him wonder just what it was she was up to. He had to hand it to Mouse---she was the only girl he�d ever met who kept him guessing.

Mouse�s attention was drawn quickly back to the flight controls. "Looks like the seas are gettin� a bit rough," she noted. Ship was shuddering, gently at first, but the vibrations slowly grew more violent.

"Probably shock waves from a nearby storm," Ray nodded, glancing at the sensor readouts. "Yeah, there it is." Storm all right. And, from the look of it, a particularly nasty one. They were just skimming the outer fringes, but any closer in and the waves would likely tear Ship apart, rivet by rivet.

He rose from the copilot�s chair, reaching for his surfboard and a comlink. "I�m heading out...try to follow me as close as you can until we clear the turbulence."

"No need to tell me twice." Mouse bit her lip.

Smiling, Ray teased her, repeating the Guardian�s words from before: "Worried, Mouse? That doesn�t seem like you."

Looking up at him, Mouse winked and said, "Ah�m a whole lot less worried than Ah�d be without you around to guide me through all this."

"I do my best," Ray said. "Stay as close behind me as you can...it�s easy to get drawn into storms." He tapped his icon, activating his own Web armour, and headed aft towards the airlock.

The turbulence, Ray noticed, felt far worse without Ship�s metal hull surrounding him, and it was a great deal hotter out here, too, but it hardly bothered him. He was used to this. He quickly spotted a path out of the energy waves, and steered his board towards it. He glanced over his shoulder. Mouse was right behind him, matching him move for move.

"Mah sensors just went blank..." Mouse�s alarmed voice crackled sharply over the comlink, into his ear.

"Don�t worry, they�ll come back online once we�ve cleared the storm completely." Funny. I can�t even see very well, either. The cyberspace around both Ray and the ship seemed hazy, thick with a kind of virtual fog.

A strong current blasted the side of the surfboard, nearly tossing Ray aside. "Well, this looked like the way out," he muttered.

"Ah certainly hope you�re not getting worried on me, sugah."

Ray forced a smile. "Never." But the currents were getting stronger, battering at him and at Ship�s hull relentlessly. The heat grew more intense. Bolts of energy shot past, striking far too close to Ray�s comfort. He sped up, just a little. The sooner they cleared this storm the better.

A garbled shout pierced his ear painfully. He looked back to see Ship veer to one side, then straighten as Mouse regained control, somewhat. The port stabilizer had been blown clean off, what was left blackened. Blue sparks illuminated the damaged side of the ship.

"Mouse!"

"Ah�m all right," she said with uncertainty, then grumbled, "Ah wish Ah could say the same for mah ship..." The ship was listing to the side that was damaged, and Mouse was clearly having trouble keeping her steady.

"Just hang on. We�ll be clear of this storm in a nano." I hope. The haze was beginning to clear, just a little, as they came close to exiting the storm�s long-reaching spiral arms. The turbulence began to die down gradually. Once they�d made it a few klicks outside of the storm�s furthest reach, Mouse slowed Ship to a dead stop and powered down, stepping outside for a firsthand look at the damage. When Ray flew back around the ship�s damaged side, she was already cursing under her breath.

"Looks like it took out more than just the wing," she groaned, her voice even more tinny and distant-sounding through her helmet com.

And she was right. The blast had glanced across the ship�s belly, ripping through fuel lines and control circuits. Sparks sprayed from severed wires, and the smell of burning metal and plastic seared Ray�s nostrils. He tried not to cringe. "What�ve you got in the way of repair equipment?"

Mouse sighed. "Ah can patch her up enough to fly, but she�s leaking fuel...by the time we get the breach closed, we�ll probably only have enough to get us to the nearest tear and then into some safe system for repairs."

"That�s all we need. Although trying to find a safe port is going to be a pro---"

That�s when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw it. Only a shadow at first, a phantom, but when he looked again, it was definitely there, definitely real.

"Uh...how did the sensors make it out?"

"Don�t even ask. Why?" Ray swallowed hard, and pointed. "I was just wondering, what in the Net that is..."

In the dim glow of the Web, it was simply an ominous black mass, looming in the distance. The flickering lights of the storm�s instability allowed only a few details to be seen, and then only briefly. It looked like a massive citadel, floating in the midst of cyberspace, its black spires stretching upward like skeletal fingers.

At first Mouse gave no verbal response; there was only a sharp hiss over the comlink, a gasp. Then she said, very quietly, her eyes wide, "Could it be the Rider base...the one Bob mentioned?"

Ray shook his head. "No...too big." He peered closer. "But somebody had to have built that thing."

"Who?"

Ray squinted at the sight of movement in the distance. About two dozen far smaller, mobile specks appeared around the "citadel", grouping into a tight formation and flying directly towards Ship...alarmingly fast.

"I think we�re gonna find out."

"How's dinner coming?" Dot's voice called from the other room.

Staring at the hopeless mess that his kitchen had become in just the last millisecond, Bob bit his lip nervously. Both pots on the stove were boiling over, a minor problem which Mike the TV was attempting to contain, and a burnt smell was wafting from the oven, a sign that the main course wasn�t doing so well either. His bandaged thumb still throbbed, after he�d accidentally sliced it while chopping vegetables.

So he�d saved Mainframe countless times from viruses, defeated every User he went up against, survived the Web, and yet he couldn�t even prepare a home-cooked, candlelit dinner for his girlfriend?

Bob poked his head through the doorway. Out of her military jumpsuit and into a sleek black dress, Dot was sitting on the sofa, legs crossed, smiling. "Are you sure you don�t want any help?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

If the smell wasn�t enough to tip her off, the look on his face certainly did. But still she wore a patient smile.

Bob had been promising her this date for a seconds, but it wasn�t the food she�d been looking for. It was the chance for both of them to finally spend more than a few nanos of quiet time together.

"Nah, I can handle it," Bob smiled nervously. "It�ll be ready in a nano."

Dot shrugged, laying one arm across the back of the sofa. "If you say so."

"Trust me. I�ve got everything under control," he lied through his teeth. Who am I kidding? "You just relax. This is my treat, remember?"

He shut the kitchen door, and glanced back at dinner for a damage assessment. "Mike!!" The TV had struck a fighting stance on top of the stove, wielding a spoon and attempting to fend off the contents of one of the bubbling pots---which he, in his narrator�s tone, claimed had come to life.

Mike immediately turned around and dropped the spoon. "What?" he asked innocently.

Bob groaned, slumped against the wall and slid to the floor, holding his head in both hands. "I�m doomed," he moaned, combing his fingers through his hair.

Hopping down from the counter, Mike walked over, offering a helpful smile. "Want me to take over?"

Not knowing whether to laugh or start crying, Bob just smiled and shook his head. "No, Mike, thanks...but I�m in it deep enough already without your �help�."

Mike didn�t give up. Not that Bob had really expected him to. "But I can access over fifty different cooking channels!" A brief sample of the programs flashed across Mike�s screen, too fast for Bob to count, but it seemed close to that number. "And besides, look at it this way---how can things get any worse?"

Bob sighed. "You�re right there..." Pushing himself up off the floor, he gave the kitchen another look over. A thin veil of grey smoke was beginning to hang from the ceiling. It really couldn�t get any worse. And, who knew...for all his annoying traits, Mike could turn out to be a master chef."

Are you sure you can---"

Mike was already pushing Bob towards the door. "Sure I�m sure. I�m always sure. When have I ever let you down?"

Bob opened his mouth to launch into the list.

"Never mind," Mike interrupted hastily. "Now get out there with that girl of yours and don�t worry about a thing."

"Okay, b---" The door had already shut in Bob�s face. He sucked in a deep breath. With Mike, how could he do anything but worry?

He turned around to face Dot. "Uh...dinner�ll be out in a nano," he smiled, walking over to her. "It�s...taking care of itself right now."

As soon as dinner was ready, Bob had made sure Mike made himself scarce. Now, he felt almost bad about kicking the TV out so abruptly---it had turned out to be the best meal he could remember eating since he left the Supercomputer. Back before he�d ever come to Mainframe...

He could thank Mike later.

For now, it was just him and Dot.

It was dark outside, and Bob had turned the lights down to a soft glow. Outside, Mainframe glittered with thousands of tiny pin-points of light, a sea of artificial stars that cast an icy radiance across the walls and floor of the apartment. Dot�s eyes and earrings sparkled in the near darkness.

Sighing, she curled up closer to him on the sofa, her head pillowed against his shoulder. "I needed this," she said quietly. Her eyes dropped to her comlink headset, lying---switched off---on the table in front of them.

"Don�t even think about it," Bob warned her jokingly, slipping one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulder.

"I�m not," she smiled. "I was just thinking that it�s the first time I�ve turned that thing off since before Enzo..." Her voice trailed off, her smile fading, and she glanced away. The wounds of the last month were still new, and they still hurt. Her brother and Bob had come back, but she still felt the pain of losing them both.

His wounds hadn�t yet healed, either. Sometimes it hurt just looking at her, because he could still vividly remember what it felt like to wonder if he�d ever see her again.

"I missed you, Bob," she said quietly.

Gently Bob pulled her closer. "I missed you too." Dot sighed, her shoulders shrugging. "It�s been such a long time. It�s as if I have to get used to living, being happy, all over again. The only thing I had left was the rebellion. I forgot how to feel anything other than angry." She shook her head. "Now it seems like all of it was just a bad dream. Like none of it ever really happened."

"Trust me," Bob told her bitterly, "it happened."

"I know." She slid from his arms and sat up, facing him. "I guess everyone just wants to forget it. We won. After so long fighting, we won...Megabyte�s gone, everything�s back the way it was before he ever came. I don�t think Mainframe�s been this peaceful since I was a small sprite." She paused, seemed to be looking for the words.

"It�s almost too peaceful to be real," Bob said for her.

Dot�s dark lashes fell halfway over her tearless eyes, blank from all the war and sadness. "Like I said...it�s been such a long time."

Bob took her face in both his hands and kissed her lips.

For milliseconds they just talked. Lying against him on the sofa, she buried herself in his arms and told him everything. About the war, about all the feelings of emptiness and pain she�d had to put aside as selfish before now. And he told her about the Web. It was the first time since the restart that the two of them had really talked like this.

Actually, now that he thought about it...it was the first time ever, since they�d met.

She listened to him silently. Every so often, he would feel her nod, feel her head moving against his chest, but still she said nothing. She only listened.

It felt so good to tell her all of this, it almost hurt.

"I never really stopped telling myself that I would find a way back," he said quietly. "I guess I just stopped believing it after a while. All along I think I knew, deep down, that it was hopeless, but I didn�t let it in. I couldn�t...wouldn�t let myself give up. I couldn�t let Megabyte win." He drew a ragged breath, leg it out slowly. "I didn�t want to live with the thought...that maybe the only reason I hadn�t gone home, was because I stopped trying."

Against his shoulder he felt her smile, just a little. "I�m glad you didn�t."

"They told me..." Bob paused, working down the lump in his throat that was choking him. "The other Riders said that it would get better. That I�d heal. They all had. And, eventually, I did forget about some things. I had hated Megabyte for a long time, and after a while, that died. But I couldn�t forget about you---"

Again, she smiled.

"---or the others. Wondering what had happened to all of you. I kept expecting the pain to fade, but it never did."

"I don�t think it ever would have. It didn�t for me." She reached up and brushed a strand of black hair out of her eyes. "I regretted a lot of things. Like how I was always arguing with you, or..."

"How we�d had all that time, to tell each other how we felt, and we never did?"

Dot nodded. "At night, when it was quiet and my mind finally cleared of all the battle plans, I�d relive all the times when we were alone, and I could�ve said something to you, but..." Her voice flawed as she finally said, "I always thought we�d have plenty of time."

Plenty of time.

"Shh. I know," Bob said, softly. "That�s what I thought, too."

Plenty of time...

For the last few minutes Bob had lived differently than he ever had before---with a sense that maybe not everything in his life was permanent, that maybe he didn�t have plenty of time. He�d made mistakes the first time, and now he�d been given this miraculous second chance. A chance to make things right.

He didn�t intend to waste it.

"Dot..." Bob sat up on the sofa, holding one of her hands, knitting his fingers with hers. "There�s...there�s a reason I asked you here."

She pushed herself up and looked at him. "Yes?"

Well...here goes nothing... "Dot," he said, grasping her hand tightly in both of his, "I need you. I�ve been without you for too long. And I..."

A loud chime sounded---a chime Bob knew all too well. The light outside dimmed even more, and a purplish glow washed over everything. He squeezed his eyes shut. Oh no. Not now...!!

"Warning...incoming game..."

"You were saying?" Dot smiled wryly.

Before Bob had the chance to reply, Dot gave their surroundings a quick glance over and mused, "I don�t recognize this one." This game setting was different than most others she�d seen---a dense forest, lush and alive. It was dark, but not frightening. Eerie globes of soft light seemed to float on the air. Sparkling stars peeked through the gaps in the forest canopy. "Do you?"

Bob shook his head. "But then, I�ve been out of it for a while...it�s probably a newer game."

Dot halfway expected him to glance at his wrist, at Glitch, the keytool that wasn�t there anymore, and call for the game stats. Of course, he didn�t. Glitch was a part of him now.

There were a lot of things Dot was still having to get used to. "It�s an adventure game," he said. His half-lidded brown eyes seemed to focus on something in the far distance. "�The Rings of Thera�. The User has to collect all seven rings to win the game---they�re being kept underground, in a catacombs."

"How many does he have so far?"

"Four. There are three levels, and three rings, left in the game."

Dot looked around. The forest seemed unusually quiet, still. They seemed to be alone. "Is anyone else we know in this game?" she asked quietly.

"I can�t tell." Bob�s eyes opened again, and one corner of his mouth twisted into the beginnings of an irritated smile. "Although I�ll bet Mike�s in here, unless he actually did what I told him and got lost."

"Not much chance of that, I don�t think." Dot looked up at him and smiled, gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Hey. You ready?"

Bob sighed, but he tried to smile. "As ready as I�ll ever be." He placed two fingers over his icon, hesitating, but only for a moment.

"Reboot!"

It had actually been a long time since Dot had been in a game. Just before Enzo had---left---she�d been forced to let her brother, the young Guardian, go at it alone, and besides she�d had enough to deal with at the time as it was. After that she simply avoided them. Games didn�t drop often during the war, probably due to the ruined state of the system, and the few that did, she stayed out of. Since the restart, there was really no reason for her to go, with Bob and Enzo back. All the warning signal ever did was remind her of the game that had taken her brother.

This time, however, she hadn�t had a lot of choice, seeing as the game dropped right on top of her.

Giving herself a quick look over, Dot noted that it was easier when she booted as a remotely sprite-like character. Creatures like this took some getting used to. She folded and unfolded her shimmering wings experimentally, getting adjusted to the muscles which moved them. Her black hair was tousled and shorter than normal. The light, filmy silver tunic she was wearing made her feel suddenly self-conscious---the uneven hem just barely brushed her upper thighs.

She glanced over her bare shoulder at Bob and grinned. "What do you think?" she asked, posing, her wings spreading to their full span.

If Bob had been able to see the almost dopey look on his face, he probably wouldn�t have been smiling. "You look fantastic," he told her, genuinely meaning it.

"You don�t look so bad yourself," she smiled, arching an eyebrow. Clad in gold scale armour over a leather tunic, laced calf-high boots, and armed with a sword and shield, Bob had a heroic look to him. His long pewter-colored hair blew around his face wildly. She shrugged it off. "All right, so what do we have to help us?"

Bob glanced down at his weapons. "I think this is about all I�ve got. But you can fly, and you have shape shifting abili...Dot?"

"Right here." A considerably smaller Dot flitted around Bob�s face, perching herself on the tip of his nose.

She grinned as his giant brown eyes crossed in an attempt to see her. "I get the feeling this may come in handy."

"Do you mind?" Bob looked like he was resisting the temptation to swat her away like a pesky insect.

Dot laughed, flicking her wings. "Sorry." Giving him a tiny kiss, she dove away from his face and returned herself to normal size with a snap of her fingers. At least she didn�t have the embarrassment of being stuck that small.

"Come on. The entrance to the catacombs is this way..."

The crypts were endless, and unpleasant. Dot had noticed herself giving off a pale glimmer of opalescent light, illuminating the caverns, but she wondered if the place wouldn�t have been less foreboding in complete darkness. The silvery light only cast an eerie glow over the stone carvings of skulls and gaunt human faces.

"Ever wonder who dreams this kind of stuff up?" she asked.

"I try not to," Bob grinned, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. "Hurry, the User�s already way ahead of us!"

A few turns later, the cavernous tunnels opened into a wide and seemingly bottomless gorge, lined with reliefs of somber robed figures. Stretching from the open cave mouth across to another entrance, was a narrow rope bridge, lined with wooden planks that looked to have suffered years of rot. Gingerly Bob stepped onto the bridge and glanced over.

"Well?"

"There are more bridges like this one, each level down," he noticed. "If we could skip a level, we could get ahead of the User...but the next bridge down is too far to jump."

Dot leaned next to him and looked down. He was right. There was no way to drop from this level down and catch the bridge---at least, no way to do it, and survive. "You could fly down," he suggested.

"What about you?"

He glanced back out across the bridge, looking uncertain. "I could try to catch up to you. All I need is for you to slow the User down a little." Dot looked at him and hesitated. "Look, we don�t have a lot of time to debate this. Just go."

"All right," Dot reluctantly agreed, unfolding her wings and beating them rapidly. Flying down over the edge of the bridge, she reached out for Bob�s hand. "Just be careful."

Bob smiled down at her over the railing of the bridge. "Trust me."

Turning away from him, down towards the next level, Dot shook her head. How did she know he was going to say that?

Her bare feet had just touched the planks of the next bridge down, leading to the next level of the catacombs, when she heard a horrific shriek from above. Not Bob---whatever it was that made that sound, it wasn�t a sprite. The cry was followed by animalistic snarls, and a sound that Dot guessed to be giant, leathery wings beating against the still, dry air.

Then she heard Bob shout.

Craning her neck, she saw his dark form standing in the center of the bridge above, sword drawn and held out in front of him, aimed at a larger, darker form hunched over him. Sharp talons scratched against his shield, swung at his head only to be caught on his blade.

"Bob!" He made a quick jab with his sword, catching the monster in the shoulder. It bellowed in pain, rearing back, distracted just long enough for Bob to strike a fatal blow to the creature�s neck. Another low rumble, as it flailed its monstrous wings in painful death throes. One massive wing slammed into the railing, and a single curved talon sliced cleanly through one of the ancient ropes. The rope snapped, the bridge tipped entirely to one side.

The creature�s body dropped heavily from the bridge, and, letting out a cry, Bob fell after it.

"Bob!" Instinctively, Dot sprung from the lower bridge, darting up towards the both of them. As he dropped past her, she quickly grabbed him, throwing her arms around his waist, holding on tightly. The dead creature plummeted into the dark pit below.

Both of them let out a puff of air from the sudden stop. Slowly opening his eyes, Bob found himself hovering steadily in Dot�s arms, just above the next level. Stunned, he looked her in the face. "Going my way?" she winked.

Bob gaped at her in disbelief. "How..." His voice trailed off, and he just smiled nervously at her. "Uh, thanks."

"Don�t mention it," she grinned, gently floating down to the bridge. They both set down at the mouth of the next level tunnel. "So, where to now?

Still a bit dazed, Bob sheathed his sword and squinted, glancing down the tunnel. "The, uh, User still hasn�t finished the level we just left. This way. The chamber with the sixth ring is just up ahead."

The caves on this level were wider, and washed in a dull red glow that blotted out Dot�s light. Ancient runescripts and images decorated the walls. "Perfect," Bob said with a grin, "the User�s just now gotten the fifth ring, and the chamber is right---"

He paused mid-sentence, as the tunnel came to a massive stone anteroom. Four menacing marble statues, each just a little taller than Bob, armoured and holding up pole arms, guarded both entrances to the hall---the one from the tunnel, and the door which led to the ring chamber. "What is it?" Dot whispered. "I don�t know," he said quietly, drawing his sword and walking very slowly into the hall. "But I have a very bad feeling about this."

Cautiously they approached the ring chamber entrance, a carved wooden door with no visible handles or knobs. Bob gave it an experimental shove, but it wouldn�t budge. "How do we open it?" he shrugged.

Dot kept glancing nervously over her shoulder, back at the statues. She didn�t like the looks of them. Turning back to the door, she noticed a small panel on the wall beside it---the carvings on it were a minute copy of those on the door itself, and in the center was a small, rectangular opening.

"It needs a key," she frowned.

Bob rolled his eyes. "Great. Something we don�t have. It must have been on the level we just skipped."

A low sound, like either the soft howling of the wind or a person wailing, echoed quietly but noticeably through the hall. "I think the sooner we get out of here, Dot," Bob said, his eyes widening in fear, "the better."

Two of the statues were slowly shifting, and moving straight toward the two sprites, halberds raised, their mouths open as the wailing sound grew louder.

"I think I can fit through here!" Dot cried, examining the keyhole.

"Then go!" Bob held out his sword, drew his shield up to protect himself. "I�ll hold these guys off!" Without another word, Dot morphed to her smaller size, disappearing to no more than a glimmer of light that flitted around the keyhole and vanished.

The lock�s workings were complex, but once inside, Dot quickly identified which mechanisms needed to be pushed in order for the door to open. She bit her lip. This wasn�t going to be easy. Determined, she planted her feet firmly, set her back and arms against the lock mechanism, and pushed. Hard.

"Dot?!" Bob�s voice was strained, and barely audible over the sound of steel crashing against stone.

"I�m trying..." Dot clenched her teeth together and pushed herself against the gears with more force. Slowly they began to give way, if only a little. She turned around, placing both hands palm-down on the workings and giving it another fierce shove, beating her wings to add more thrust. Again, the stone budged a bit. Not all the way, but she could hear the wooden door outside slowly creaking open.

"How�s that?" she yelled loudly, hoping that Bob could hear her. Another crash, this time followed by a howl of pain---not Bob, but one of the low, wordless voices. "Good enough...come on!" the Guardian cried.

Dot didn�t need to be told twice. She flitted out of the keyhole, over Bob�s shoulder as he backed through the narrow crack in the doorway into the ring chamber, slashing at the statue monsters to keep them at bay. He slammed the door shut, barring it.

Tiredly he slumped against the door, which vibrated from the force of the two statues trying to break through it. "I think I�m getting rusty," he grinned wryly.

Now full-sized, Dot was leaning against the small marble pillar in the center of the chamber, twirling the sixth ring around her index finger. "Which way to the final level?" she smiled.

As with most games, the final level was the most treacherous. The path had been difficult to find, as the corridors ended and the only way left to travel to the seventh ring chamber was down through a series of trap doors and secret passages. More than once Dot and Bob found themselves seemingly trapped in a room with no exit, until one or the other came across a secret switch or hidden door.

The deeper they went, the more game sprites they encountered---mostly chaotics, monsters like the one that had attacked Bob earlier. Giant venomous spiders seemed to be the main opponents this level. They lurked in every passageway, in the shadows, springing out only when Bob had his back to them.

Near the end of the level, the tunnel they were following split off into three directions. In her smaller form, Dot had flown cautiously through each---two were connected, each leading her back to where she started, and the third was a sharp drop-off, a tunnel down. They�d decided that it had to be the third one, but Dot had a tight grip on Bob the entire way down...in case it ended up being the wrong choice, and they needed to fly out.

It dropped them into the hallway, "right outside the final ring chamber," Bob said, glancing at the two identical carved metal doors.

Dot rolled her eyes. "Oh, no. Not again. Which one is it?"

"Which door will they choose?" an all-too-familiar voice blared. "Is it door number one, or dooooor number two?!"

"Mike!!"

Sheepishly, Mike zipped his mouth---literally---and shrank back away from Bob and Dot, who exchanged looks and groaned loudly. "Well, nice to see you guys, too!" the television muttered, frowning. He appeared to have gotten into character himself, wearing fur and a pair of pointed ears attached to the sides of his screen, carrying a wooden staff at his side.

"We don�t have time for this," Dot sighed. "Let�s just pick a door and find out."

Bob raised an eyebrow, then grinned in Mike�s direction. Mike, for one, definitely did not like the look on the Guardian�s face. "What are you looking at me for?" he said in a tiny, fearful voice.

"I�ve got an idea. Why don�t you go, Mike?" Mike raised an eyebrow right back, eyeing Bob suspiciously. "Why me?"

"Let�s put it this way," Bob said, flipping his sword over in his hand, then placing the tip of the blade under Mike�s chin. "Do you really want to argue with me?"

Gazing down at the gleaming sword, Mike smiled uneasily. "I see your point." Bob withdrew his sword. Swallowing hard, Mike turned to the two large doors, and gazed intently at them both for a few nanos. Finally, he tiptoed to the right cautiously, reached his hand around the handle, and pulled. He glanced back at Bob and Dot, then walked through the door.

And let out a horrible scream. "Aaaaaghh! Noooo, no...it�s horrible! Save me! AAAAGHHH!"

"Mike!" Instinctively, without really thinking, they both rushed over to the still-open door and peered in. There stood Mike, completely unharmed and in no visible danger---and, in fact, standing in the final ring chamber, between another pair of solemn statues, laughing himself silly.

"Made you look!" Bob clenched a fist, looking like he was ready to knock Mike back to the first level. "Oh, just forget it," Dot grumbled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We�ve got a game to win, remember?"

"Right." The tension in Bob�s muscles eased. "Come on, the User�s catching up pretty quickly." The final ring chamber posed a challenge that none of the others before had---it was guarded. Not by those pushover statues or spiders. By a dragon.

"This is bad," Bob whispered, ducking behind a marble pillar.

"Very bad," Dot agreed. The dragon was coiled around the platform displaying the seventh ring, tendrils of black smoke pouring from its great nostrils, its massive chest rising and falling. Its red scales glittered like rubies in the dim, flickering firelight. It didn�t seem to notice them---it even looked like it might be asleep.

Of course, that didn�t last long.

As Mike mindlessly slammed the door shut behind them, the dragon�s giant, glassy gold eyes snapped open, and it let out a roar that shook the ancient stone walls. Claws scraped against marble as the creature brought itself to its feet, spreading its wings to their full impressive span.

"Ohhh, boy," Bob muttered, pulling his shield closer and gripping his sword.

The dragon was astonishingly fast for its size, snapping at Bob with giant trap-like jaws. He jumped back, slashed at the dragon�s snout. The sword bounced right off its armoured scales with a clang!

"Dot...get the ring!"

Disappearing in a flash of light, Dot beat her wings, trying to dodge the dragon�s thrashing tail and claws. At this size, she should have gone completely unnoticed by the beast, which seemed to be too preoccupied with fighting Bob to notice the tiny flickering light dart past it, towards the seventh ring.

She had grossly underestimated the dragon�s sight, and its alertness.

The giant spiked tail swung through the air at her. She was able to dodge it, but just barely. The razor-sharp spines that lined its tail just narrowly missed piercing and tearing her wings. Again the dragon thrashed the muscular tail at her, swatting at her as if she were a fly.

Looking at it from here, the seventh ring seemed impossibly far away.

The dragon let out a shriek. It had backed Bob into a corner, snapping its massive jaws at him, gleaming teeth like giant needles. He managed to slice one tooth cleanly out of the dragon�s mouth, causing it to bellow in pain, but it recovered quickly---and was angrier than ever.

It made a final lunge for Bob, jaws wide. The Guardian, panicked, threw his arms up over his head and squeezed his eyes shut. Dot, paralyzed with fear, didn�t even see the giant tail whipping towards her once again.

Suddenly, a flash of red light engulfed the room, and the dragon let a pained howl, before collapsing heavily onto the tiled marble floor. A scorch mark trailed all the way from its jaw, down its neck, to its shoulder. The burn was still smoking.

Bob glanced to the doorway to see the source of the blast---a tall sprite-sized character, dressed head to toe in red robes decorated with golden runes, grasping a scepter crowned by a blue crystal ball. Its face was hidden beneath a full cowl.

The User!

A raspy voice beneath the cowl spoke, as the User reached out a bony hand. "I seek the rings."

Bob�s eyes narrowed, and he held out his sword challengingly. "Not without a fight, you don�t!" he snarled, rushing at the cowled figure.

A bolt of lightning sprang forth from the User�s staff, lancing out at Bob, striking him with such force that it threw him up against the wall. He landed with a groan on the floor, obviously hurt but forcing himself back up onto his feet.

In a panic, Dot glanced around hurriedly. Bob couldn�t hold the User off by himself. She had to do something. If there was just some way to slow the User down, pin him in one place while one of them made a break for the ring...

She looked down at where the User was standing---near the two guardian statues, these ones obviously not alive, but still menacing and tall. The User was almost directly under one of the statues. She watched another of the forceful lightning bolts shoot from the scepter.

An idea sparked in her mind.

Darting down, she flitted behind the statue, then transformed back to her normal size and shouted at him, "Hey, Merlin!" The User�s cowled head turned away from Bob, to her. She unfolded and flicked her wings to get his attention. "Yeah, you! Looking for this?"

Between her thumb and forefinger, she held out the sixth ring. The only one, thus far, that the User had failed to capture.

Peering at it, the User snarled and held out a claw-like hand. "Give it to me, faery."

Dot narrowed her violet eyes and set her jaw. She ducked further behind the statue. "Come and get it."

Almost casually, the User responded, "Very well." He struck his staff against the marble floor three times, and again, an arc of blue lightning bolted across the chamber towards Dot.

At the very last nano, Dot shrank herself again and darted away from the incoming bolt. It instead struck the base of the statue, shattering ancient stone, cutting through the statue�s ankles. Slowly, the stone figure began to lean, and toppled over.

Right on top of the User.

The cowled character moaned---he had not been deleted, but he couldn�t move. His staff lay halfway across the room, far out of his reach.

Pulling himself up, Bob rushed over to the ring platform. "Dot!" Settling down near him, Dot returned to her full height. "You did it," he smiled, taking her by the arm. His deep brown eyes were filled with admiration.

"It was easy enough," she grinned, echoing the words she�d so often heard him speak, a long time ago. Her eyes flicked to the seventh ring, still lying on the platform, unclaimed. The gemstone set in its band glowed blood red in the fiery light. For some reason, gazing at it prompted her to ask again, "So what were you going to ask me, before we were...interrupted?"

A glimmer of remembrance sparkled inside his eyes. "Right!" Stepping back, he took her hand gently in his. As he moved his armour glinted in the light.

"Dot...the time I spent in the Web, thinking that I might never see you again, felt like forever. I can�t stand the thought of ever being apart from you again. I love you. And I...I need you. You complete me. And I want to be with you forever."

He sheathed his sword, reached over for the seventh ring, and grasped her hand. "Dot Matrix...will you marry me?"

Dot didn�t even have to think to answer. "Yes!" She cried it loudly, throwing her arms around his neck, laughing.

He slipped the seventh ring onto her finger. She spread her wings to their full span, folding and unfolding them, framing her face in a pale opalescent glow. The globes of soft light that had soared on the forest air earlier filled the ring chamber, as Dot and her champion---her heroic Guardian---kissed on the platform, wrapped in each other�s arms, glowing wings and shining armour.

"Game over..."

AndrAIa took a few steps back, holding her chin in her hand as she examined the bike�s new, shimmering blue paint job. This was the last finishing touch---she and Matrix had spent all night the previous second attaching the new fins over the rear wheel, and repairing the last bug or two in the engine.

After this, it would finally be finished. She held the paint program control window in one hand and looked thoughtfully at the colour palette. Matrix stood nearby offering a second opinion---not that he was that great with colours, anyway---and Enzo sat in a tall chair near the toolbench, kicking his legs back and forth, watching intently. Frisket had curled up by Enzo�s feet, and by now had fallen asleep.

"Hm," she mused. "Still needs something---"

Leaning over her shoulder, Matrix glanced over the control window, then pointed to a shade of magenta. "How about a few stripes of that along the fins...there..." He dragged his finger across the window, and the color appeared on the bike�s rear fins, along the spines. "And there." They extended all along the main body casing.

AndrAIa nodded in approval. "Perfect. What do you think, Enzo?"

It took the two Enzos a moment to figure just which one of them she�d been addressing. Even Frisket glanced between the two of them, confused. "Oh, me!" the younger sprite realized. "It�s awesome!"

Grinning, AndrAIa set aside the control window. "You know, Enzo, your problem is that you never show any enthusiasm."

Her sarcasm apparently flew right over the small sprite�s head. "Well, I like it," he said, looking up at her. "It matches your hair."

Hearing that, Matrix�s head whipped around and he shot his younger self an odd look, which he quickly masked. He turned back to the bike, not seeming to notice AndrAIa narrowing her eyes at him. What was that all about?

"I�m glad you approve," she smiled, glancing around the garage of her apartment. "I�d like to think it was worth all this mess..." Various tools were scattered around, stray parts they hadn�t used littered the floor, and grease spots stained just about everything. "Ah, don�t sweat it," Matrix grinned, "we can get this place cleaned up again." His eyes wandered around the room slowly, getting probably their first real good look at the garage�s state since they�d started putting the bike together. With a doubtful look, he added under his breath, "Eventually..."

Frowning, AndrAIa jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. "Just remember you�re going to have to help me clean up."

"We can always clean up later," Enzo complained, leaning on the handlebars. "C�mon, let�s head over to the Diner. This is cause for a celebration...and besides, I�m hungry." He crunched his face into a mock pout.

"Me too," Matrix agreed. AndrAIa rolled her eyes. "You guys both. You eat like Frisket." From his comfortable spot on the floor, Frisket opened his eyes again, looked at her and flattened his ears in irritation. "Sorry," she apologized.

"Why don�t you and Frisket go ahead," Matrix suggested to his younger self. "AndrAIa and I�ll catch up."

There was an exchange of glances between the two Enzos that AndrAIa didn�t have a hope of understanding. She peered closely at the way two sets of the same eyes---well, a set and a half---flickered in some silent code she could not grasp.

Maybe one simply had to be a Matrix to understand. Maybe one had to be an Enzo Matrix.

Young Enzo seemed to pause for a moment, looking curiously at Matrix, then his violet eyes made some kind of acknowledgement. He smiled happily. "All right. I�ll meet you guys there!" He stood up away from the bike, whistling at Frisket. The dog obediently sprang to his feet, snuffled a response, and trotted behind Enzo as the boy made his way out of the garage. "See ya!"

Slanted blue-grey eyes, the color of the seawater AndrAIa had once lived in, narrowed. "What was that?" she asked quietly, laying an arm over the handlebars of the bike.

"Nothing," Matrix said, obviously lying. He glanced away, pretended to examine the bike�s glittering paint.

"Matr---Enzo," she corrected. His eyes snapped level with hers. Mentally she laughed. She was right---that had gotten his attention. "I know something�s bothering you. You can tell me."

Although Enzo was already long gone, Matrix cast a glance towards the door he�d left through. "Enzo..." he began, but his own voice seemed to fail him. He didn�t look back to her as he finally asked, "Does he remind you...of me?"

That was the question she�d hoped he might never ask her.

"He...he reminds me of when I was small and I first came to Mainframe," she said slowly, carefully, measuring each word before she spoke it. This was a delicate subject, and it would be all too easy to say something that might upset him. "He reminds me of innocence, what things were like before the games."

Her eyes shifted up to him. "What we were like, before the games."

Gently Matrix clasped a hand over hers. "Do you ever wonder what it would have been like, if it had never happened?"

She shook her head. "It doesn�t do any good to think about it. It happened, and it can�t be changed. I...I

Sighing, this Enzo eased himself onto the bike�s seat cushion, his broad shoulders slumping. "For a long time, neither did I. There was nothing to remind me, so I didn�t think about it. But then we found Bob, and I..."

AndrAIa slipped her fingers into his.

"Now I just look at him, and think about what I let myself turn into," he whispered. His one real eye seemed close to tears---as close as it had been in a very, very long time. "He doesn�t know anything about hate, about real anger. For a long time that was all I knew. The worst thing he�s ever done is skip a class, or tell Dot some little white lie...he never..."

"Shh.

Both his eyes were closed, his mouth a tight, grim line. "I�ve tried to find something of him left inside me, some place where maybe I�m still the same person that he is. But I can�t...I can�t find him. Even my own sister didn�t recognize me." He sucked in a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

She squeezed his hands in hers. "You�re right," she said quietly, evenly. "You�re not the same person as he is. You�ve both had different pasts, and you have different futures. But I love you for who you are, not who you were. I�m not exactly the same sweet little game sprite anymore, either, if you�ve

A faint smile creeped up his face, but it faded quickly. "Sometimes it just feels like I got a second chance, but I have to stand by and watch someone else live it." His voice sounded choked.

AndrAIa kissed his forehead gently. He wasn�t the same person as little Enzo anymore---but he wasn�t even the same person he�d been just minutes before. He would never have talked to her, to anyone, like this before now. His anger was fading. Now he was just healing. And now that they were home, that Megabyte was really gone, he would, in time.

They both would.

"Come on," she smiled. "You�re waiting for us."

As they walked out of the garage, arm in arm, Matrix looked at her sideways and grinned. "Enzo seems to think you�re pretty sweet."

"Oh, that." She almost laughed, wisely choosing not to. "What can I say? You�ve always had good taste."

"Sugah, there's no other way."

Crouched behind one of the many small asteroids floating on the edges of the datastorm, Mouse and Ray hid in the darkness, as the Web�s volatile energies flickered around them, threatening to illuminate their hiding place and betray them to their pursuers.

Ship was all but completely destroyed...the Riders had seen to that. They appeared to be the very same warriors Ray had encountered during the journey to Mainframe, only changed, somehow. Darker. They hadn�t seemed to recognize him. Or, if they had, their attitude towards him had changed considerably in just the last few minutes.

Violently Ray shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "I don�t believe in the no-win scenario."

"Listen to me...we can�t stay out here forever, hoppin� from asteroid to asteroid. Not only will they eventually find us, but we�ll start to degrade too." Her brown eyes, hazy behind the viewplate of her helmet, locked with his. "This is the only way."

"Let me go," he insisted, seizing her gloved hand. "You go back and warn them."

Mouse sighed. "Ray, you know you�re the only one who could ever make it back. Even if Ah could get past these Riders, get to a tear, Ah couldn�t convert it. Not with Ship gone. Only you can do it."

"But---"

"Look, honey, we haven�t got a choice, or a lot of time to argue about this!" she pressed. "Ah can buy you some time, distract them long enough for you to escape. You know how to get back to Mainframe---"

He knew she was right. But every part of him ached with wanting her to be wrong, wanting there to be some other way. There had to be. His mind raced, trying to think of some other option, and of some way he could convince her not to do this.

"You�ll never survive."

Thinly, Mouse smiled at him. "Ah�ve heard that before, sugah. Hundreds of times. Ah�m not that easy to delete."

"I---" He stared at her. "I won�t leave you."

"Please."

He�d never heard this tone of voice from her. Never heard her beg, plead. But that was what she was doing right now. All the cockiness had melted away from her, leaving only the serious, self-sacrificing warrior that the war in Mainframe had changed her into. "Please, Ray---"

Damn. He couldn�t help it. This girl got to him. Hanging his head in defeat, he nodded quietly. "I know. There�s...there�s no other way."

Mouse�s face washed over with a look of overwhelming relief. "Thank you," she told him in a whisper. She squeezed his hand, and he leaned in, silently kissing the cold viewplate, wishing it weren�t in the way. Mouse mimed a kiss back. The digital, ringing shouts of the Riders could be heard, approaching fast.

Reaching to her side, Mouse drew her sword. "This oughta keep �em busy for a little while," she said uneasily. "Now go..."

"Mouse---" His voice faded, as he turned to leave, zipping away as fast as his board would allow. Those Riders would be right on top of Mouse any nano, and if he didn�t get out of here now, they�d be on top of him, too.

He threw a last glance back at her. As if she could feel his gaze upon her, she turned, and looked at him. Her eyes were calm, as if she accepted and resigned herself to her fate.

"I�ll come back for you." The words sounded melodramatic as they rang back to his own ears, but he meant them. "I swear it."

She smiled at him sadly, silently, raising a hand to wave goodbye to him. For what would likely be the final time.

It felt like he barely knew her, and she was already gone.

Swallowing hard, he turned and sped away. This time he did not look back. The last thing he heard from her, was a shout over the comlink, and then static as the storm�s energies severed the transmission.

He trudged forward. The Riders weren�t following him---they hadn�t even seen him. He was on his own. Back to Mainframe.

He would come back for her.

The Riders didn�t delete Mouse, as she�d fully expected them to. She�d gotten in a few swings with her sword, nailed one and maimed a few others, then one of them had whipped out a blaster. Taken aim at her and fired. The blast was the last thing she remembered.

Before coming to, on her knees against something hard and cold, her arms twisted behind her back and held there by rough, giant hands. Ringing sounds pierced her ears, and it was a moment before her vision cleared. But she was alive.

"My," a deep baritone, a faintly familiar voice, declared, in a tone of carefully-controlled surprise. "Isn�t this intriguing. It seems I finally have my chance to repay you..."

Mouse tried to clear her fogged brain, to place the voice, to attach it to a face she knew. It sounded raspier than she remembered, with a hollow, tinny quality to it. An almost otherworldly echo haunted every word.

But it was still unmistakable.

She struggled to raise her head against the lingering effects of the stun blast, gazing up at the dark form which stood over her, eyes glowing red in the dim light of the Rider�s citadel interior. Though also altered, the silhouette before her was equally unmistakable.

"You!" she cried aloud. "But...it�s not possible..."

"I assure you," the twisted form that had once been Megabyte said, flashing her a chilling metallic grin, "that it is."

It seemed that the entire city had turned out for the wedding of their Command.com and their Guardian. The Principal Office had not been this crowded even as every war survivor had crammed into its walls for protection from the system crash. Vidwindows across the city displayed the images for those few who could not attend in person, but they were very few. A barrage of gifts and flowers had piled up outside the P.O., so many it would take minutes to sort through them all.

So much, Bob thought wryly, for a "small wedding".

He fidgeted and glanced anxiously over at Matrix, who just flashed a silent, supportive smile that said, You can do this. After being used to the older Enzo�s usually scruffy appearance, seeing him like this---all dressed up---was quite a shock. He�d even shaved, which AndrAIa still couldn�t believe. She stood beside him, in a floor-length gown of aquamarine that matched her watery hair.

Between the two of them was the littler Enzo, the happy ringbearer, and Frisket, wagging his tail happily. Old Phong stood at the head of the large chamber, his hands folded, with a smile on his face. The binome crew of the late Saucy Mare stood in the front row of guests, all of them having politely removed their hats. Flashes were going off in every corner of the chamber, as reporters tried to capture holos of the event from every possible angle.

Then Dot entered, and Bob sucked in a deep breath.

Here goes...

In shimmering white, she seemed to glow as she had in the game, radiating a soft light in her joy. He couldn�t remember ever seeing her this happy, her deep violet eyes sparkling brightly as they never had before.

Swallowing hard, he reached out a hand to her. She took it, smiling at him. Both obviously nervous, they held each other�s hand tightly through Phong�s speech and their vows. They kissed amidst cheers that roared throughout the entire city, surrounded by a flurry of thrown flower petals and confetti.

At that moment, Bob felt he�d been made whole. The future was still uncertain. There were still battles to be fought, hidden enemies that threatened them. But he would never have to face it alone again.

Whatever happened, they�d be ready for it.

To be continued in Daemon Rising: Part One...

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