Part III - Breakdown
Phong looked up as Bob and Dot walked into the room. "Ah, welcome, my children," he said. "Please take a seat."
The sprites did, and only a couple of nanos later, Matrix and AndrAIa walked through the door. They sat as well.
"Why did you call us, Phong?" AndrAIa asked, leaning forward expectantly. Dot noticed that the game sprite avoided eye contact with Matrix, glancing at him icily only once.
"Hey, ev�rabody!" Mouse called jubilantly from the doorway. "We�re here." She and Ray entered and sat as well. She assumed the same expectant expression as AndrAIa.
Phong steepled his fingers in the way he did when things were serious. "I have called you all together because we have a new threat to worry about."
Simultaneously Bob, Matrix, and AndrAIa said, "Daemon."
"Hold on, people," Dot said. "Who�s Daemon?"
"From what we know, a super-virus," Phong replied. He looked at the two game-hopping sprites. "I assume you know more, young Matrix and AndrAIa."
The game sprite nodded. "Yes. We encountered them in the last system we visited before the Web."
"They were after me, since I had Bob�s protocol," Matrix added. "They didn�t know what they were getting into."
"I gave them something to remember us�or at least, me�by," AndrAIa said with a smirk, studying her nails.
The sprites listened to the information, then Phong continued, "So far, Daemon has infected the Supercomputer and other systems." The sagely old sprite had spent some time in the Read Only Room with Bob, accessing all the information they could on Daemon. "She will come after Mainframe sooner or later. So, we must be prepared."
The others nodded. Dot asked, "Do we know how long we have?"
"Some time, fortunately."
"When the time comes ta fight �er, Daemon�ll regret ever bein� initialized," Mouse said, laying a hand on her katana.
Phong smiled and nodded. "I am sure. Now, I believe the meeting is over." He stood, as did the others. Phong nodded again and rolled out of the room.
Mouse and Ray left for somewhere; ship, they said. Dot couldn�t help but smile at the couple as they left; an hour ago, Mouse had been after Bob, and now she seemed to have found someone for her�a flirt as well, from what AndrAIa had said.
Bob put an arm around her waist. Dot sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. She liked being closer to him. "It seems like just after we rid ourselves of one threat, another pops up," she sighed.
Bob smiled. "Don�t worry. Like Phong said, we�ve got time before she becomes a definite problem."
"BOB!"
A small green, white, red, and yellow blur hit Bob full force. Enzo, home from school.
"Hey, Bob, you said we�d go jetbowling today, remember? So, can we go?"
"Uh, we�ll have to see what your sister says," the Guardian replied.
Enzo looked up at Dot. "Please, Sis? I did all my homework."
"Sure," she said, smiling. "You boys have fun."
Bob and Enzo left. Dot, AndrAIa, and Matrix were left.
"Gotta run," AndrAIa said. "I�m thinking about fixing up the apartment." She left as well.
Dot looked at her younger, yet so much larger brother. She sighed inwardly, thinking that it was time to apologize.
Matrix saw her open her mouth. "Don�t mind me, I won�t talk to you. It�s like I don�t exist, just like you wish," he sneered.
"Enzo . . ."
"Is there an Enzo here? `Cause I don�t see one!" Matrix raged. "Stop living in the past, Dot. You don�t want me as your brother, and I�m just fine with that. You�ve made it perfectly clear that you hate me."
Dot was taken aback. Tears gathered in her eyes, and she said though her lips were trembling, "I . . . don�t hate you."
"Then how do you feel?"
"I . . . I . . ." Dot�s voice faltered. "I�m afraid of you," she whispered finally.
Now it was Matrix�s turn to look stricken. Then, without a word, he turned on one heel and stomped out of the room, his footsteps echoing loudly down the hall.
Dot stood there. She couldn�t believe she had just said that to Enzo�no matter how grown up or angry he was, he was still her brother.
User, this is too much, she thought as she let the tears fall.
The apartment was dark when Matrix entered it. Instead of flicking on the lights, he walked straight to the bedroom. Upon entering, he saw that AndrAIa was asleep on the bed, having thrown her arm over the empty space beside her.
Matrix sat down and brushed sea blue bangs out of her face. "Andi?" he whispered.
She opened her eyes to look at him. "Where have you been?" she asked, her voice fogged with sleep.
"Out walking," he replied. Matrix took her hand in his. "AndrAIa, I�m sorry for being such a jerk. You�re right; I never can be happy. I�m sorry."
"Oh, Sparky." AndrAIa sat up and took his head in her hands. She smiled. "I forgive you. You know I could never stay mad at you for long. You look tired." She patted the space beside her.
Matrix crawled into bed next to her and sighed, "I�m glad I was able to clear things up with someone."
The game sprite tilted her head to look up at him. "What happened now?"
Even in the dark she could see Matrix grimace. "Dot and I had a slight tiff."
"Define slight."
"I kinda yelled at her. But that was only because she said . . ." He suddenly stopped talking and sat up.
AndrAIa scooted close to him. "What did she say?" she asked, worried.
Matrix�s voice held the same low tone he had several cycles ago, in the park. "She�s afraid of me."
"Oh, Enzo . . ." AndrAIa reached out for him, but Matrix stood up and leaned against the wall. AndrAIa could see that he was tense.
A heavy sigh escaped him. "All I wanted was to come home�to my big sister, my hero, my life. But nothing�s the same anymore." AndrAIa was shocked to hear his voice was trembling. She got up and approached him.
Matrix pounded a fist against the wall, startling her. "Damn my life! Home isn�t home, and I�m like a stranger! No one understands what I�ve gone through!"
"Enzo, that�s not true and you know it." AndrAIa grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. "I went through everything you did, living in the Games. Home is different, but I love you and I�ll always be by your side."
"I know," he sighed, calmer now, voice quieter. Matrix looked down and then back up at her. His good eye was full of emotion. He had always shown anger, but now he looked sad, almost weak. "I know." He pulled AndrAIa to him and held her tightly, needing her.
Matrix tilted her head up so he could look into her marine eyes. He bent down and kissed her for a long time. When he broke away, the tiniest smile flickered across his face. "I don�t know what I�d do without you."
AndrAIa smiled back, feeling the familiar sense of security she did when she was near her beloved. "Well, you can keep not knowing, but I�ll always be here."
She wrapped her arms around her lover, and he did the same. The two embraced tightly in the darkness of the apartment.
AndrAIa woke up after realizing that Matrix wasn�t beside her. She sat up, blinking in the dark. Matrix was sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling on his boots.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
He looked up, seeing her awake. "I�m gonna pay a short visit to the diner."
"But Dot said not to go there."
He grinned slightly. "Since when has that ever stopped me?"
AndrAIa returned the grin. "All right. Wait for me. I�m coming too." She turned her icon, changing from the large t-shirt she wore to bed to her usual skin-tight outfit.
She linked her arm in Matrix�s as they went out the doorway. "It�s been a while since I had a good energy shake."
Cecil was making his evening rounds in the diner. Although there were no customers at that time at night, the server saw fit to keep Dot�s Diner a clean and organized eating establishment. Unfortunately, not many other Mainframe citizens felt the same way.
The maitre�d shook his head as he traveled along his circuit for the third time. Such fuss was being made between the sprites at all of the city�s changes, especially around the Matrix family, although he had to agree with Madame Dot�s ideas; her brother didn�t seem like the nicest type. Not that the younger format was the best to work with either. Handling people just weren�t part of his format, Cecil decided.
The doors opened, and Matrix and AndrAIa walked in. Cecil moved back on his cable, watching them warily. The two looked around the diner, having not seen it for hours, or however long they had traveled in the Games.
Cecil cleared his throat. Matrix and AndrAIa finally took notice of him.
"A seat at the bar, please," Matrix said.
The server remembered Dot�s wish. He cleared his throat again and said, "Monsieur, I believe Madame would not prefer you two to be seen around here."
A click was heard, and Matrix pointed Gun at Cecil. "I�m sure you can make an exception."
Cecil sniffed, acting in his normal attitude. "Very well." He moved out of their way as Matrix and AndrAIa sat down at the bar.
"Got any I/O shots?" the big sprite asked. AndrAIa gave him a disapproving look.
Cecil sniffed in the same manner. "I am afraid not, sir. Monsieur Al may, though."
"It�s all right. I�ll have an energy shake instead."
"Me too," said AndrAIa.
Cecil brought the shakes and then slinked off. He stared at the sprites in obvious disdain as they drank the shakes. They were content to sit there in silence, reliving memories, it seemed.
A sound from the right made them turn around. Enzo sat in the corner by the door that led downstairs. An organizer was open on his lap, and the small sprite seemed to have been dozing off. Now he stood up and went to the bar, muttering about something. It wasn�t until he hopped onto one of the barstools that he noticed Matrix and AndrAIa.
"Cecil, an energy shake, please. Oh, hi," he said with his usual energetic smile. "You�re Matrix and AndrAIa, right?"
AndrAIa nodded. "And you�re Enzo."
"How�d you know that?"
"Dot talks about you a lot. She�s very proud of you."
Pondering over why two sprites he didn�t know would know his name, Enzo took a sip of the shake Cecil had brought.
"Hey, what�s on the organizer?" AndrAIa asked.
"Oh, just something for school." Enzo picked up the organizer and studied the file for a nano. "I�ve got a big test tomorrow on Ancient Languages. I�m trying to study, but it�s so basic! COBOL, FORTRAN, they�re�"
"Dinosaurs?" Matrix finished with a slight smile.
"Yeah," Enzo laughed. "How�d you know?"
"Call it intuition."
Another smile appeared on his small face, and then it was replaced by a frown. "Do you guys only come here in the night?"
AndrAIa laughed. "No. Actually, we don�t come to the diner often."
"How come?"
Matrix hadn�t talked at all during this time. Now AndrAIa nudged him, and he replied to Enzo�s question, "We just go back and forth between places."
"Oh. That�s cool."
AndrAIa watched Enzo and Matrix with interest. The younger sprite didn�t know about Matrix, and he was uncomfortable around his younger self, but the two of them were getting along perfectly well.
"Enzo?" a voice yawned from the doorway. Dot stood there, clad in a bathrobe over her sleep clothes. She rubbed her eyes with one hand, still groggy. Suddenly she noticed Matrix and AndrAIa, and her face grew troubled. She forced her gaze away from the two sprites and said to Enzo, "You need to get some sleep."
"Aww, Dot . . ." he complained.
She shook her head firmly. Reluctantly Enzo hopped off the stool and started downstairs, giving Matrix and AndrAIa a small wave.
Dot watched him go, then turned her gaze back to the bar. When she did, though, all she saw on the counter were two finished energy shakes, and a few units on the counter.
Dot sighed tiredly and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Handling the responsibilities of Command.com that Phong had handed to her was exhausting, and she also had to manage work at the diner.
"Hey, Sugah!" Dot looked up to see Mouse come through the doorway. The lavender-skinned hacker sat down on the edge of Dot�s desk.
"Hi, Mouse," the other woman replied tiredly. "How are things for you?"
"Couldn�t be better," Mouse grinned. "That Surfr boy�s pretty hot. Ah wonder now what Ah saw in Bob. But Dot. . . . Ah can tell yer mixed up, honey, and lemme tell ya, ya don�t think well when you�ve got problems."
Dot sighed. "Let me guess�you want me to talk about my brother. I mean, brothers." Another sigh. "I don�t know what I�m supposed to do to talk to them."
"Then why don�t ya let the Mouse give ya a bit of advice, honey. . . ."
A loud knock sounded on the door, breaking the silence of early morning.
Matrix groaned and lifted his head from the pillow. Withdrawing his arm from around AndrAIa, he got out of bed and slowly started for the door. He wasn�t one for early awakenings, and intended to tell whoever was at the door exactly that.
When he opened the door, however, he got a surprise, because there stood Enzo, wearing his normal jersey, jeans, and hat.
Matrix frowned. "What�re you doing here, Kid?" he asked.
Enzo bristled a little at the name. He looked up at Matrix with wide innocent eyes. "I need to talk to you."
The large sprite sighed. "Does Dot know you�re here?"
"No," Enzo replied uneasily, "Dot doesn�t know, and I�m not gonna tell her. There�s something we really need to talk about." He was trying to act as serious as he could.
"All right. Come in." Matrix ushered the small sprite inside and closed the door.
Enzo was about to speak when he noticed the sleeping AndrAIa in her and Matrix�s bedroom. "Should we wake her?" he asked.
Matrix nodded. Walking over, he said, "AndrAIa, wake up."
She opened her eyes. "What is it, En�" she began, then stopped when she saw the little sprite standing off to the side. "Matrix," she finished. "What�s going on? You didn�t bring him�" She indicated Enzo.
Matrix shook his head. "No, the kid came by himself. Said he had something important to discuss."
AndrAIa sat up. "All right, then. What�s up, Enzo?"
The youngster sat down on the bed with them. His small face was strangely solemn. "I want to know the truth about you two." Seeing their surprised looks, he sighed. "I�m not basic, you know. You guys have something to do with the war, but Dot won�t tell me. Every time I hear about you guys, Dot gets this weird look and changes the subject. So what�s your secret?" Enzo stopped for a breath and stared expectantly.
AndrAIa looked at Matrix. He looked back with a "What am I supposed to do?" look. "It�s your story," she said. "Tell him."
"Fine," Matrix relented with a sigh, half-wishing that it hadn�t turned out like this. He turned to Enzo, who frowned curiously. Matrix took a deep breath and began.
He told Enzo the whole story. He told him everything, from the Web creature�s arrival to the Games to the Web. Enzo listened breathlessly, not daring to interrupt. When Matrix did stop at the part about stopping Megabyte, Enzo finally asked, "Who was fighting Megabyte?"
"I was," Matrix replied.
"Didya delete him?"
"No. Mouse put him through a Web portal instead."
Enzo was silent for several milliseconds. Matrix and AndrAIa looked at one another worriedly, wondering about how he would react after being handed such interesting news.
Finally, a large smile spread across his face. "You�re me? That�s so cool! I mean, once you were me, then you and Andi grew up�deep."
Matrix actually allowed himself a small laugh. He�d thought that he would have been frustrated and angry at his backup�and he did feel that way, a bit�but he felt relieved to have explained everything to Enzo. And the kid took it so well. Matrix almost couldn�t believe it.
AndrAIa smiled, seeing both of the sprites in good moods. To Enzo she said, "We should get you back to the diner before your sister worries too much."
Enzo frowned a little, but he nodded. "Yeah." He hopped off the bed. Matrix and AndrAIa, after rebooting into their normal clothes, joined him on the way to Baudway.
Dot paced around the diner, worry written clearly on her face. Bob put a hand on her shoulder. "Don�t worry, Dot. I�m sure Enzo�s just in one of his usual places. He�ll be fine."
"But I don�t know where his normal places are! Bob, I can�t help but be worried."
Mouse and Ray entered the diner just then. Seeing the worried couple, Mouse asked, "Hey, Bob, Dot, what�s shakin�?"
"Enzo�s missing," Dot replied. "Has been since early this morning."
The doors opened, and Enzo walked in with Matrix and AndrAIa. The little sprite was excited. "Hey, Dot, I just found out the coolest thing!"
"Enzo!" Dot cried, hugging him. Pulling back, she said, "Why did you run away?"
"Dot, I had to talk with Matrix and AndrAIa�"
Dot looked up at the couple and back at her brother. "Enzo, you know I said never to just run away from me. And you know I don�t want you seeing . . . them . . ."
Enzo frowned. "Dot, I had to talk with Matrix and AndrAIa because you wouldn�t tell me what was going on." His excitement vanished and was replaced by hurt and betrayal. "Why didn�t you tell me that Matrix was me?"
"Enzo, I didn�t think you were old enough to understand."
"That�s what you always say. I�m too young for this, I�m too young for that. I think I should know if the problem is with me!" Enzo�s voice had risen the way it did when he was throwing a tantrum. He fought to keep it normal. "I can�t believe you wouldn�t trust me." Before Dot could respond, Enzo ran downstairs.
Dot stood shocked, staring after her brother. "Enzo, wait!" she cried. She looked back at the others, lost, then started down the stairs after her brother.
Matrix didn�t say anything when the others looked at him. He merely stared coldly ahead. The other sprites stood still, looking at one another. They could all feel the tension in the air, and somehow knew that they were all thinking the same thing: They may have managed to brave Megabyte and a system crash, but the smaller things seemed to be what was knocking them down.