Part IV - Apologies are at Hand
Dot knocked on the door. "Mind if I come in?"
Enzo looked up from the file he was working on and shook his head. Dot came in and sat on the edge of his bed.
She watched him silently before speaking. "Enzo, I�m sorry. It�s been so long since I had to watch over my little brother�I mean, you�that I don�t know how you feel."
She waited for her brother�s reaction, and felt reassured when Enzo smiled. Dot had missed that smile that she never saw on Matrix�s face anymore.
"That�s okay, Sis," Enzo said. "I guess I can understand. But . . ."
"But what?" Dot asked.
Enzo avoided her eyes, looking down at his hands. "I kinda miss you, Dot. I mean, I don�t see you much anymore, what with everything you�re doing these cycles. I don�t mind if you�re with Bob part of the time, `cause I know you are, but other times you�re working, and I just never see you anymore." He looked up at her for the last words, and Dot saw an almost helpless older-sister need in his eyes.
She smiled and pulled him to her in a tight hug. "I�ll do that," she whispered, ruffling his hair through his cap. "I�ll see if I can get some breaks and spend more time with you."
Enzo grinned as well, and Dot felt as if her problems had vanished�at least, some of them. Pulling away from their hug, she sighed. "I need to talk to Matrix. I hope he�s half as accepting as you are." She started to leave the room.
When she reached the doorway, though, Enzo said, "Dot. I think that you should tell Matrix what you told me. I mean, he�s my older self, and you�re his sister. We�re all family. He�ll understand."
Dot laughed. "I can�t believe I�m getting sibling advice from my brother, of all people."
Enzo shrugged. "Hey, I am the younger version of Matrix." Dot realized that her brother was perfectly comfortable with the idea.
Dot blew her brother a kiss and went outside.
She knew that she had to be honest with both Matrix and AndrAIa.
Unfortunately, she didn�t know what to say. But as she thought it over, she finally came up with what she needed to tell them.
"I don�t know why we even agreed to come here," Matrix grumbled. "Dot probably just wants to yell at me some more." He put an arm around AndrAIa. The two sprites sat on a bench in G-Prime. Dot had asked to meet them here, but neither knew why she had chosen this spot.
Footsteps sounded behind them. Matrix and AndrAIa looked over to see Dot slowly striding toward them. The Command.com whispered a soft "hello", then walked over to stand some feet away from them, looking out over the vast stretch of land beneath them.
AndrAIa gave Matrix a "say something" look. He cleared his throat, but Dot spoke first.
"This is the spot where that Game landed, you know," she said, not looking back at them. "I remember that cycle�you were so enthusiastic, so sure you could win. Then, when the Game went up and I heard those words . . ." She swallowed hard, her vision beginning to grow misty. "It was horrible. Every cycle after�when Megabyte wasn�t coming after us�I would come here looking for your nulls . . . and they weren�t there. Mouse kept saying things, but I didn�t want to hope."
She stopped talking and turned to look at Matrix and AndrAIa. Tears had gathered in her eyes. "I missed you so much�maybe more than I did Bob. But when you came back, you had changed, so much." Her head drooped, and for a moment Dot lost her cool, leader-like calm.
Matrix was at a loss for words. Silently he stood up and approached Dot. He paused for a nanosecond, then suddenly pulled his sister into a massive hug. Dot returned the hug, feeling the last weight leave her shoulders.
"Hey, let me join," AndrAIa laughed, getting up off the bench and wrapping her arms around the two Matrix siblings.
"I�m sorry, Sis," Matrix whispered.
Dot laughed and wiped away her tears with one hand. "Apology accepted. Now, come on, let�s go to the diner. Everyone�s probably waiting for us."
Matrix nodded, and the three sprites hopped on their zip-boards and sped towards the sector.
In Dot�s Diner in Baudway, seven sprites sat, enjoying a round of energy shakes. Enzo hounded Bob for his stories of the Supercomputer and the Web, and Matrix and AndrAIa for their tales of the Games. Mouse and Ray discussed his further stay in Ship, and surfing compared to hacking. And Dot watched it all.
Everything had changed. Her brother had matured greatly, but he had found the love and companionship he needed. Her "littler brother" was back, and he and Matrix had formed a bond. And Bob was back�her beloved Guardian, carrying secrets of the Web but finally hers.
Somehow, everything had worked out. And, Dot reflected, it had been for the best.
Suddenly the doors to the diner flew open, and Mike the TV slid in.
"This update: a dedication to all our heroes performed by the Mainframe Strolling Players�it�s showtime!"
(If you didn�t know, Mike meant the �ReBoot Recap Song��and everything occurred before it.)