The Past Recalled

Matrix stood above the city, watching as the inhabitants of Mainframe went on with their lives. Why shouldn't they? It was only five minutes since she had died, giving her life to insure their safety. He wouldn't be surprised if most of them even remembered, let alone cared.

He let out a defeated sigh. Bending down to one knee, he placed a bunch of Daisy wheels at the grave. It wasn't really a grave-let alone a memorial. It was here he had found the starfish, and here his life turned upside down.

After a few minutes of reminiscing, the big Sprite stood up and brushed off his knee. Turning around, he headed over to where a smaller sprite of about six was sitting on a park bench.

Seeing the big Sprite head towards her, she leapt off of the bench and ran to him, her small arms outstretched as she squealed: "Daddy!" Smiling sadly, Matrix swooped up his young daughter into his arms and hugged her. Anika had been too young to remember her mother; one of the many things Matrix regretted. He was not a good role model for a young Sprite...that he was sure of. He was often restraining himself from beating the living rams out of others while she was around, and he often caught himself threatening others while she was in the room.

Anika hopped out of her father's arms and tugged on his large hand. He followed her to the car, and she hopped into the passenger's seat, leaving him to the driver's side. Turning the ignition, he got the car flying, and on their way to the Diner.

Matrix was still getting used to their being two of him.

AndrAIa, sensing his uneasiness, turned slightly in his arms and placed a small hand on his chest. "What's the matter, Enzo?" she asked, looking up at him.

Sighing, the Renegade answered. "It's just...hard. Seeing my childhood everyday. It unsettles me to see what I've become...and what I used to be." He looked down at the ground, avoiding her eyes.

"Oh, Enzo. You two are not as different as you think you are."

Matrix gave her a confused look. "How so?"

The Game Sprite chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "For one, you are both very charming."

Matrix was about to reply when they both spotted a green blur rushing towards them. Knowing whom this was, Matrix reached out and grabbed him by the collar. In an exasperated voice, the Renegade pulled the small sprite so that they were face to face, "What do you want, Enzo? Why aren't you at the diner?"

Enzo, Matrix's small format, spoke in his normal hyperactive way. "Dot told me to come get you because she was getting annoyed that I kept on bumping into customers and thought this would get rid of some of my energy."

Giving a look to the Game Sprite that said: "I? Am like him?" Matrix set down the small Sprite.

"Why does Dot want me to go to the Diner?"

"Because she does." Enzo then turned to AndrAIa. "And she said it was time for your check-up."

AndrAIa's face paled slightly, as she clenched her fingers on Matrix's arm. Not wanting her to paralyze him, he gently pried her fingers from his arm, as he tried to comfort her. "It won't be that bad, Andi."

She absently nodded her head as she threw out her zip board. Giving the Renegade a peck on the cheek, she zipped off towards the hospital, her stomach tying into knots. She didn't like hospitals. She never did.

Matrix, after watching AndrAIa until she disappeared out of sight, turned and followed Enzo to the diner.

The instruments grew at odd angles. All around her were things straight from her deepest nightmares. User, this was worse than any game. Worse than getting nearly deleted by a web creature. It was even worse than being alone.

This was...the doctor's office.

She had feared hospitals for as long as she had been processing. In the Game, the doctor was the type who practiced new, unorthodox methods of treatment on his patients.

One of those methods had killed her mother.

Not even Enzo, to whom she told almost everything, knew just how deep her fear and hatred for hospitals ran. She nearly didn't survive the short time that she, Enzo, and Frisket had to spend in the Cybernetics Research Hospital, and almost went crazy when she discovered shortly after that the eye was a prototype, and had never been tested on a real Sprite before.

She sat on the table, waiting for the test results. During the examination, the doctor had been very kind, but AndrAIa couldn't help but feel overly tense. Besides, she didn't see any reason why she had to come. She was perfectly healthy! It wasn't like she was carrying a disease or anything.

Well...Okay. Maybe she has been feeling low-res for awhile. So she felt like tossing her cookies every morning at just the thought of food. So what? She had just been nearly deleted! The Reboot of the system hadn't helped either. She didn't see why the others had made her come...

The whooshing sound of the door opening made her jump. A nice looking doctor (Looks can be deceiving, CAN'T they?) binome waddled in. "Hello, Ms. AndrAIa." The doctor started.

Wary, AndrAIa gave the small one-binome a once over. "You are not the doctor who was here earlier."

The doctor gave a slight chuckle. "No, my dear, I am sorry. Dr. Cavali had an emergency to attend to at home. She is truly sorry about this." The doctor did her waddle over to the Game Sprite. "I am Dr. Grenier." Grenier held out her hand, which AndrAIa shook politely. (She would have paralyzed the doctor then and there and would have run off...but how would the others have seen that?)

Shuffling through the files that she held in her hands, the doctor looked up at AndrAIa.

"So Ms. AndrAIa. You say you've been feeling illish in the morning? Low-res most of the time?" AndrAIa nodded. "Okay then, I was just making sure." The doctor tapped a few buttons on a pad. "Here you go, then." She handed the small pad to the Game Sprite. "It's all in here, the information and such. If you have any questions, just Vid-Window me."

AndrAIa stared down at the pad, eyes going wide.

"Of course, you'll need to come back for the check-ups and some other things, which are all stated on the pad. Of course, that's to be expected and is merely procedure nowadays. So, any questions?"

AndrAIa shook her head. "Okay then, you are free to go." The doctor shooed her out, yelling after her to take it easy.

AndrAIa slowly walked to the diner, reading the pad over and over again.

Matrix stomped into the diner, ducking so he wouldn't hit the doorframe. He came up to his sister, who was sitting at the counter with endless amounts of Vid-windows and charts open, and he plopped into the stool next to hers. "Why am I here?"

Dot didn't even bother to look up as she spoke to him. "I need you to help in the kitchen. Cecil is short on kitchen staff, and he needs someone to do the dishes."

Matrix groaned. "Aw, Sis! Why can't he do that?" he gestured over to his smaller format, which had just skipped in.

Dot looked over at her smaller little brother and smiled. "He's going to help you."

Enzo stopped in his tracks right in front of a Vid-window with a cheery little zero binome who was on hold. "Help with what?"

"You two are going to be doing dishes." She repeated to Enzo what she had just told Matrix.

"Aw, but Dot! Dishes are not my function!" Matrix folded his massive arms across his chest and scowled.

"Oh, come on, Enzo. I really need you two to do this for me. And when you two are done with that, you are free to go, but not a nano before." She then turned back to a call and tuned the two Enzo's out.

Matrix and Enzo both gave each other a look that asked, "How does she do that?"

Grumbling, the two walked to the back where the dirty dishes were located. Stacks upon stack of unclean dishes were everywhere. They both looked around with looks of sheer disgust. Matrix turned to Enzo, and said to him, "I'm drying."

Enzo looked up at Matrix with a look of disbelief. "But, my hands aren't big enough! I can't reach the nozzle! What if I fall down the drain, huh? What would happen then? And those knives!" Enzo stared at a large butcher knife.

"Fine, fine. I'll wash the dishes." Matrix grabbed the faucet and turned on the hot water. Pretty soon, the suds almost were overflowing in the huge sink, so he turned the water off. Scooping off the extra suds, he plopped them on Enzo.

The look on Enzo's face-a cross between surprise and anger-caused Matrix to chuckle. Enzo gave his older self-a defiant look as he took the hose and turned it on cold. Enzo turned it on Matrix, who had been too busy scrubbing a large pan that seemed to have been there since before zip boards. As soon as the water hit the Renegade, he let out a high pitched scream.

Enzo began to laugh uncontrollably at the sound of the scream, and was laughing to hard to fight Matrix off when he was thrown it the hot dishwater. Enzo took in a deep breath at the impact of the water. Looking up at Matrix, he gave a huge grin. "It feels wonderful. Better than being cold!"

Matrix scowled at the boy as he began washing the dishes. "A gun, a gun. My kingdom for a gun."

Enzo shut up then as he hopped out of the water to start drying dishes.

After a few nanoseconds of quiet washing, Enzo spoke up. "Matrix?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you suppose is wrong with Andi?" He asked as he dried a pan about half his size.

"I don't know. Maybe it's just a little bug."

"But what if it's not?" he set the pan down and picked up a small pot. "What if it is one of the viruses that attack you from the inside? What if it's one of those things that make you get all sick and you can't eat anymore and you die of starvation? What if-"

"Enzo, I'm sure it's nothing like that." He tried not to let the boy's over-active imagination get to him, but even after all these minutes, he too had the imagination. "It's probably some bug that slowly digests her insides until there is nothing left and she is a hollow shell of skin."

The sound of the diner door opening caught their attention. All the voices in the diner seemed to stop for a trillisecond and start back up, this time more hushed. The two Enzo's looked at each other and shrugged, continuing the dishes and occasionally splashing each other with the hot water, each trying to get the other to scream.

Enzo, with the help of his trusty hose and cold water, got Matrix to scream about two more times.

AndrAIa opened the diner's door and stepped through. The chattering around her stopped for an instant as the binomes all looked at her. Then as quickly as it had stopped, the chattering started up again. Feeling slightly out of place, the Game Sprite searched for Matrix.

When she didn't see the big guy or his smaller self, she decided that Dot was her next best choice.

Sitting down onto a stool next to the system's Command.com, AndrAIa fiddled with the pad that Dr. Grenier had given her. She pressed different buttons, which opened different files, and each made her more nervous than the last.

Dot looked up as soon as the call she was on ended and turned to the Game Sprite. "So AndrAIa. How was the visit? Did they find out what was wrong?"

AndrAIa nodded, still looking at the pad. "Yes, they found out what was wrong."

"May I see?" she asked, reaching for the pad.

The Game Sprite nodded as she handed the pad to Dot, not knowing how the over-protective sister might handle the news. "You know, doctors are sometimes wrong..."

Dot's eyes widened as she read the pad. She turned her head to the Game Sprite, her eyes wide. "You mean, you're... And Matrix... A baby?" AndrAIa nodded as she wrung her hands.

She gave a small shrug as she said, "Looks like it. I guess I'm a second along. That's what it says, anyway."

Dot took off her reading glasses. "When are you going to tell him?" she asked the younger Sprite.

AndrAIa shrugged. "I don't know where he is-" a high-pitched scream interrupted her. She laughed slightly as she continued. "Never mind."

Dot looked in the direction of the kitchen and sighed. "I sent them in there a millisecond ago. I'm surprised they haven't killed each other yet. The way they were carrying on earlier I almost sent Cecil in to check."

AndrAIa chuckled and was about to reply when the two Enzo's walked out of the kitchen. The smaller seemed to be more shiny and slick, while the larger seemed to be extremely wet. Both were covered with suds.

"Um, Sis?" Matrix started, looking down at his toes. "We're out of soap." He looked down at his smaller format and laughed.

Defiantly, Enzo crossed his arms over his chest. "It's not funny." Dot and AndrAIa started to chuckle.

"Well, throw Enzo in the dish water. I'm sure there's some soap on him somewhere." Dot tried to stop chuckling but it was almost impossible. Somehow though, she managed. "Now back to work, you two."

Matrix looked up to complain to his sister, but apparently he saw AndrAIa for the first time. "AndrAIa! You're back!" he walked over to the counter and hopped over it so that he was right next to her. "How did it go?" His face was now worried as he looked down at her. "Is anything wrong?"

She slid off the stool and looked up at him. "Nothing's wrong." She gave him a reassuring hug, which he gladly reciprocated. She turned her head to the command.com. "May I borrow him for a few nanoseconds?"

"Sure. Borrow away." Dot turned to Enzo. "You, Mister. Back to those dishes."

Enzo's eyes widened with disbelief. "But Dot! I can't possibly wash those dishes by my self! They are too big! What if I fall down the drain? What happens then, huh? You'll need to call the plumber, and what if even he can't get me out? What if I am stuck there for all eternity? How would I eat? How would I go to school? You always tell me how important school is! If I'm in the drain, how could I possibly-" he was cut off by his sister, who had placed her finger over his lip.

"We will find someone to help you." Just then, poor Bob walked in, his silver armor making the room a little bit brighter. "Ah, Bob. Can you help Enzo with the dishes?"

Bob, looking Enzo over, stifled a laugh. "Sure, no problem. Come along, Enzo." The Guardian headed towards the kitchen, little Enzo in tow.

AndrAIa turned back to Matrix and motioned towards the door. He complied, and after the Game Sprite grabbed the pad, the two walked out of the diner, hand in hand.

They walked through the city hand in hand, not really paying attention to their surroundings. One or two binomes said hello, and AndrAIa nodded politely, giving a small wave.

The nicer buildings became fewer, and the young couple soon found themselves near Al's Wait and Eat. Matrix stopped near a corner and leaned against the brick wall, stretching slightly. AndrAIa stopped as well, and turned to face her since-childhood sweetie, and placed her pad inside the pouch that swung at her waist-something she had added to her wardrobe shortly after the reboot.

The Renegade grabbed her hands with his own, and gave her a small kiss. "What can I do to thank you for relieving me from dish duty?" he suddenly had a thought and looked worried immediately. "Are you sure nothing is wrong?"

The Game Sprite rolled her eyes and smiled softly. "Nothing is wrong, Enzo. I have a clean bill of health." She then muttered under her breath, "Although, what would they know, anyhow?" she shrugged that thought off as she turned and proceeded to walk, leading the big Sprite by the hand. "Although..." she started, before pausing slightly to gather her nerves. How should she tell him? How would he react? She has been with him for over half her life; his emotions were, even to her. But then again, he could also be reasonable at times.

Which, she had to admit, was not that often.

She then shoved the entire negative thoughts aside. So what if he got moody? This Sprite was Matrix, the epitome of irascible men. Besides, if he did get moody, she could always... slap some sense into him.

She felt a slight tug on her arm, and turned to see that Matrix had stopped, giving her a concerned look. "Although what?" he pulled her to a stop.

"Although... I have to go back in about two minutes." She gave a small grin and turned back around, and tried to continue walking.

She was tugged softly back. "How come?" his brows furrowed, searching her eyes.

Sighing, she turned completely to faced him. She took his face in her hands and kissed him gently. Pulling back, she looked into his eyes, not moving her hands. His eyes sort of melded together in a blob of a golden violet. "Enzo, I love you," she began. Sighing, she continued. "And... the doctor told me something that I doubt is false, because it all adds up. The way I've been feeling, the way I have been wanting to toss everything up that I have digested in the last fifteen minutes."

"AndrAIa, you're rambling." He cupped her cheek, and the worry in his eyes seemed to increase. "Just tell me what is wrong, Angelfish." He used the nickname that he had given her awhile ago, after they became more than friends.

AndrAIa had to smile. It had been awhile since he had called her that, and every time he did made her smile softly. "Fine, Enzo. You win." She closed her eyes for a brief second, then once she was composed, she opened them up to look at him once again. "I'm pregnant."

As soon as it hit him, Matrix dropped his hand. A look of shock crossed his face as he took a step back. "You're what?" His voice was a whisper, and AndrAIa couldn't tell if he was upset or just trying to comprehend all of this.

Suddenly, without warning, the big Sprite gave her a big bear hug, and gave a whoop for joy as he swung her around. He set her down, and began asking questions in a jumbled mess. "When? How long? Why didn't you- When do we- How-"

She cut him off and chuckled slightly. "Enzo, you're rambling." She mimicked his motions from earlier and cupped his cheek. "You are so cute when you ramble."

He blushed slightly at that, and grinned. "What I mean is, how long?"

"The doctor tells me I am a minute along." She gently took his hand and started to walk. "I'll tell you on the way back to the diner, okay?"

Slightly wary of going back to face the Pile of Dishes, Matrix was slightly hesitant to go. But when she looked back at him and pleaded with her eyes, he melted and followed, feeling suddenly brave enough to face even the most dirtiest and largest pile of dishes.

The next two seconds passed by quickly, and it was soon time for AndrAIa's appointment. She and Matrix had been busy- actually, Matrix had been busy, and he got this mortified look every time the Game Sprite picked up a box that wasn't for cereal, so she finally just gave up and took the position of management.

The first thing they did was move into a bigger apartment. Their last one-bedroom, two-person apartment was no place to raise a family. So, after many different options-and many different squabbles- they finally decided on a quaint, three-bedroom apartment that wasn't far from the diner. It was also slightly old, and very large, and needed touch-ups here and there, so they got a really good deal.

The next thing that they did was start planning on the baby's room. Matrix had surprisingly been a great help in this, and few complaints came from him. They only had the crib and a rocking chair, they decided they would get the rest later on, when they had an idea of what the little one would be.

Now, in their new apartment, Matrix faced his toughest battle yet. He was trying to get AndrAIa to go willfully to her appointment.

"Come on, Andi. You have to do this, and you know it." He placed himself beside her on the couch, which was currently attached to AndrAIa's arms.

"I am not going! You can go yourself!" she readjusted her arms so that she had a tighter grip, and gave her boyfriend a look that clearly said: "You want me to go, you'll have to drag me!"

"Andi, please. We already rescheduled. Twice." He got down to the floor beside her and placed his hand on hers. "We can't reschedule again."

AndrAIa gave him a pleading look. "Yes we can! We'll tell them that we were busy. Or that I was too tired. Please, Enzo?"

"Andi, you're going to have to go sooner or later. Why not make it sooner?"

"No, I will not go! You can't persuade me!" she firmly held fast.

Matrix sat back on his heals and thought for a few milliseconds. Then an idea struck him. It was a dangerous idea, and was a wild card only to be used in emergencies. He felt that this counted as such an emergency.

"I'll make you a deal." He could see her perk slightly at the word "deal", and he knew he had her attention. "If you go to the appointment," he paused, forcing out the words. "I'll take you shopping." Against his will, he cringed at the last word, the word that had been feared by all male Sprites since the beginning. The word that had caused most the most embarrassing moments in the history of Male Spritedom.

Intrigued at this thought, the Game Sprite lifted her head slightly. "Will I be able to go to any store I want? Buy anything I want?" Matrix nodded his head at each request, each time it took longer to get his head back up. What was he getting himself into? "Will you..." she paused, giving a slight smirk. "Try on clothes?"

At that the Renegade stood up fast. "No. Absolutely not! I refuse!"

She returned to the way she was, and held on even tighter. "Then I'm not going!"

Defeated, he once again sat beside her. "Fine, fine." Sighing as if he were giving up all his hard earned dignity, he continued. "I will try on clothes."

She released the couch and stood up. "There. That wasn't so hard, was it?" she walked towards the door, leaving behind a stupefied Sprite in her wake.

AndrAIa kept glancing behind her, as if the doctor would come out and tell her she needed some sort of untested treatment. To her luck, she and Matrix made it to the shopping center without any obstacles, except for the smaller Enzo.

Enzo had been coming home from school with his faithful poochy Frisket, when he had spotted his older self and the Game Spite. Not wanting to be left out- even if it was shopping- he had asked to come along. The two adults agreed, each for their own reason. AndrAIa, because she liked the little Sprite, and Matrix, who wanted another male to go through the same tortures he had to endure today.

In the store, it was brighter than a sunny day with Bob around. The three had to blink to get adjusted to the lighting, and when they had, even Matrix was awed by the complexity of such a building.

There were floors upon floors of stores, each next to a rival store, but somehow all were processing in somewhat harmony. There was a data pool in the center of the building, where little binomes were tossing in units for some organization. Immediately, Enzo rushed off towards a toy store, where the newest action figures from "Download" would be.

Knowing the little sprite would be in fine hands as long as he didn't break anything valuable, AndrAIa dragged Matrix into the nearest department store, who had been busy eyeing a new store "Midi Shack." With little resistance, the Renegade followed his girlfriend into impending doom.

Sighing downheartedly, AndrAIa looked at the clothes that used to fit her about a week ago. They were all just a little snug now, and she was currently wearing baggy clothes that were in no way her taste.

For one thing, the sweater had sleeves. Never, in her entire existence, had she worn sleeves.

Ruefully, she dragged Matrix through the clothing, eyeing a few that she would definitely come back for. At last, she saw what she had come for. Her revenge on Matrix for forcing her to go to the torturous cell that was in the hospital. Snickering softly, she took him over to the shoe section.

She reveled in the way Matrix tried to protest as he saw where they were heading. She turned and cut off his protests. "You promised me, Enzo. Now lets go." She turned back and headed off once more, Matrix grumbling behind her.

After choosing the perfect twenty pairs of assorted footwear, the Game Sprite sat down and began to try and decide which ones she would try on first. Deliberately taking her time, she sifted though the boxes, and tried on a pair here and there.

Matrix stood there, only commenting when she asked him if he like a certain pair. He looked around for a way to escape this torture. Shoes? When he went shopping for shoes, he just grabbed a pair of black boots.

A thump in his side broke him out of his thoughts, and he growled at the source. When he saw who it was, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Little Enzo lay on the floor, rubbing his head and giving the tall Sprite an icy stare. "Jeeze. It's like running into a brick wall." The small Sprite stood up and grinned at his older self. "I bet it wouldn't have hurt if I landed on your head."

"Of course it wouldn't. His skull is made of pure bone. Not a space of air from ear to ear." AndrAIa stood up and posed a pair of flats, giving the two a look that asked: "Well? Is it me or some old lady?"

Looking at each other, the two Sprites shrugged. "Um... Nice?" they asked in unison.

"Nice, eh?" she took of the shoes and shoved them back in the box. She grabbed another pair that she believed to be absolutely horrendous and put them on, then modeled once again.

"Um... Nice?" they looked at each other helplessly and shrugged, not knowing what else to say.

The Game Sprite groaned and shoved the shoes away. "I swear, Enzo...s. You never change."

The two puffed out their chests defiantly, and began to argue. "I am not him!" they both shouted.

Putting the shoes away, the Game Sprite stood up and raised her hands. "How about we take a lunch break? I'm getting hungry."

The Matrixes looked at each other and agreed, and the three headed towards the cafeteria.

In a small restaurant inside the shopping center, at a small booth in a corner, sat the three Sprites. Matrix was going over the small pad that AndrAIa had seemed to be carrying around where ever she went. The smaller Matrix, who was sitting across from his older self, was doodling with his straw wrapper, making small stick figures. AndrAIa sat next to the original Enzo, looking over the menu for the umpteenth time.

The two males had decided what they would order awhile ago- both a cheese burger-extra pickles-hold the mayo-tomatoes on the side and another side of chips.

As AndrAIa scrolled down the selections, Matrix scrolled down one interesting section of the pad. "It says here they can tell exactly when." His eyebrows furrowed with thought. "I don't remember that time..." he drifted off, a smirk spread on his face. "Oh yea. Now I remember!" he raised his eyebrows and nodded slightly, still smirking.

AndrAIa grabbed the pad and blushed, calling for the waiter. She swatted the Renegade on the arm, and cast a glance at Enzo. To her relief, the Sprite had been ignoring his older self, and was too busy fiddling with his paper figures.

The waiter came up to the table. He was quite unlike Cecil. For one, he was a short Binome. And second, he didn't have the accent. "Yes, Ms. AndrAIa? Are you ready to order yet?"

"Yes, I believe I am." She swatted at Matrix, who was reaching for the pad. "I would like your peanut butter sandwich, and a large milkshake." The waiter was about to leave when she called him again. "Oh, do you think I could get fish sticks on the sandwich?" The waiter nodded, but not before giving her an odd look.

When the waiter was away, the Game Sprite turned back to Matrix. "I'm going to go look around while he's gone. Scooch on out." He obliged, and was about to ask when she interrupted him. "I'll be fine on my own. You two stay here and do what you guys do."

When she was gone, Enzo turned to Matrix. "Fish sticks?" the small Sprite's brows furrowed, and he made a face. "I never did like those."

Matrix nodded slightly. He gave the small Sprite a wink. "You get used to the taste after awhile."

Enzo turned greener.

Matrix chuckled as he threw his straw wrapper towards the boy. Enzo gave his older self an indignant look and grabbed the wrapper.

The two sat silently for awhile, Enzo creating another critter while Matrix read the little cards that were on all tables in all the restaraunts every where.

Breaking the silence, the waiter brought over their food. The two dug into their burgers, taking time out only to breathe and sip the energy shakes. Pausing for a break, Matrix glanced at his half-eaten meal and then glanced at Enzo. The kid looked weird trying to get his mouth around the rather large burger, and all the insides were squishing out and plopping unceremoniously onto the plate below. Matrix remembered when he was like that, and couldn't help but laugh.

A piece of tomato fell into the young boy's lap and her shot daggers at his older self. "What are you laughing at?" he threw the tomato on the plate, trying to gather back his dignity.

Matrix continued to chuckle, and he was soon thwarted with a projectile chip. Slightly outraged, he grabbed several of his and chucked each right back. Soon, an all out war ensued. It could have lasted for nanoseconds, but it was soon stopped by a returning Game Sprite. She arrived just in time to save her sandwich from impending doom.

She gave the two food-covered Sprites an odd look as she scooped the lettuce from her seat and sat down again. "You two will forever and always scare the living daylights out of me." She placed her shopping bag on the table and bit into her sandwich happily.

While she was eating her delectable meal, Enzo began to go through the contents of the bag. He lifted out a beautiful starfish that had been specially made. She had ordered it awhile back, before she found out she was expecting. It was more deadly than her current starfish, although more attractive. She had also bought a pair of flats that wasn't too shabby, and was extremely comfortable.

Then he pulled out a pair of black silk boxers with little red hearts scribbled on. He took one look at his older self and busted into giggles. Matrix just stared at the shorts, his eyes widened with slight horror. The

Game Sprite had to hold back her laughter to keep from choking.

Grabbing and stuffing the shorts back into the bag, Matrix turned to give his girlfriend an incredulous look.

Smirking, she swallowed her bite. "Andi, why did you buy those?"

Smirking still, she turned to face him. "Because you'd look so cute in them!" she scrunched her nose slightly, giving him a slight wink.

Around him, a couple binomes chuckled, and then continued with their meals. Not wanting to cause a scene and have AndrAIa beat him to a living pulp later, he scrunched down in his seat, scowling.

"Oh, come on, Sparky. They're just boxers." She swatted at his slumped form, and turned back to her meal.

Enzo, who had been sipping his shake quietly and watching all this amused, suddenly snorted the drink that just barely missed anyone. "Sparky?" his laughing fit resumed, humored tremendously at the nickname.

Matrix grumbled and got out of the booth. "Where are you going, Enzo?" the Game Sprite asked.

"I'm going to go plan the deletion of my childhood." Stalking off, he left an eye rolling girlfriend and a whimpering small Sprite. The last thing he heard before heading out of the restaurant and towards Midi Shack was "Can he really do that, Andi?"

Sooner than they expected, it was time. It came surprisingly in the late afternoon, and a second early.

AndrAIa had been on the couch, reading an older copy of "The Mainframe Times" when she first realized it. Matrix was in the shower and she could here him sing. Sure, he was a good singer on his good days, but when he was in the shower, he couldn't carry a note in a bucket.

She attempted to get his attention by knocking on the bathroom door. When he didn't answer, she pounded, rattling the items on the wall. Again, no answer. Grumbling, she stormed in, and flushed the toilet. She was satisfied to hear his high-pitched scream.

He shoved the curtain aside slightly, his hair dripping water down onto his nose and too the ground. He looked frightened for a second, then seemed to calm slightly at seeing her. He then scowled slightly, a small pout finishing the look. "What was that for?" he demanded, sounding slightly hurt.

"Enzo, its time."

"Time for what?"

"Oh, you can be so basic sometimes."

Matrix's eyes grew large. "You mean its time as in... 'Its time'?"

Rolling her eyes and smiling slightly at his sometimes-stupid demeanor, she nodded her head.

The Renegades eyes widened slightly, and he hopped out of the shower. Grabbing her hand, he started to run towards the door, but stopped when he heard her laugh. He turned to her slightly, confused. "What is it?"

"Enzo, you might want some clothes on. Not everyone wants to see you parade around in your birthday suit."

Looking down, he blushed. "Oh, right. I was wondering why it felt so chilly in here..." he rushed back into the bathroom, and came out in a white tee and some loose fitting jeans. Once again, he ran towards the car.

"Enzo, slow down for crying out loud. I can't exactly run along with you, you know." She tugged slightly on his arm. Matrix slowed down and smiled apologetically at her.

The hospital was busy, and it took forever to get to the front desk. By that time, AndrAIa kept on squeezing his arms off every few nanos.

The nurse behind the counter sat there, chewing and popping gum boredly. "Take this form here, that form there, and that insurance policy form over there. Fill them out and we will get to you as soon as possible. Next!" the short binome motioned for the next person in line.

Slightly angry, Matrix slammed his fist on the counter. "Listen. My girlfriend's in labor, she's a second early and I had to get out of the shower without properly rinsing! Now, if you don't allow us to go now, I will shove these forms so far up-"

"Enzo, honey. No need to be so violent."

"Yea, I am doing my job. Now you two can sit and wait like the rest of them." The nurse motioned once more for the person behind them.

AndrAIa felt another contraction. When it passed, she had an urge to just rip the nurse from the stool and shove him through the laundry chute. She bit down the urge. "Um... I'm sort of in the middle now-"

The nurse got an exasperated look. "Listen chick. I got people here complaining about all sorts of diseases and epidemics. I have people here that have been here since this morning. Now if you will kindly wait your turn like everyone else, then we all will be happy."

AndrAIa, down to her last nerve, pulled the binome almost over the counter. She glared down at the binome, and he could almost see the red streaks in her eyes. "Listen, Bubba. I have been pregnant for eight nanos. So I have been waiting much longer than anyone here has. I didn't even want to come to this place, because it sort of raises some old memories that I don't want. As far as I am concerned, you can just shove this hospital so far up your ASCII that you'll have to visit the third floor to see your skull. No either you let us go in now or you will never have to see us again, but I swear this. If I, or my child, are harmed in any way because of this, I will personally seek you out for my own personal revenge."

By now, everyone in the waiting room was staring at her, and Matrix had inched back a few paces. The binome nurse had turned five times paler than his normal gray. He pointed his hand towards a hall that led to the maternity ward.

AndrAIa grabbed hold of Matrix's arm and pulled him in that direction. "Come on, Enzo. This kid's coming and nothing is stopping her."

Matrix gulped, realizing that things were about to get even more painful.

She yanked on his arm so that he faced her. Her hair was wild around her sweaty face, and she gave him a look that was meant to kill. "Enzo, if you do not get this kid out of me, I will make the rest of your compilation a living Game!"

"AndrAIa, sweetie. Please breathe..." the Renegade tried to soothe his girlfriend as she was attacked by yet another contraction, and gently tried to pry her death grip from his bicep. He was surprised she hadn't dug her nails in his skin yet, but he could definitely feel the pressure.

"You breathe! You try and pass something the size of a Wa-OoooH!" her grip tightened as another wave of pain ripped through her. The doctor, who had just gotten back from washing his hands, took a look.

"Ms. DrAIa, you seem to be doing fine. You are at five micros."

The Game Sprite maneuvered her head to glare at the doctor. "Only five? How much longer do you think this will last?"

The doctor thought for a nano, then looked back at the Sprite with no fear in his eyes. "I'd guess another two milliseconds."

"Milliseconds? Milliseconds?" She lengthened the nails on her unoccupied hand and aimed them towards the doctor menacingly. "You will get this kid out of me or else I will create a new Binome Pencil Holder!" She practically lunged at him, and the Binome backed up considerably.

Matrix gently took hold of her wrist and brought it back down to her side. "AndrAIa, sweetie. He's the only doctor available right now. It won't do you any good to kill him."

AndrAIa nodded absently as the pain passed, and lay back on the pillow. Her grip on his arm loosened, and for that the Renegade was thankful.

A few nanoseconds passed, both the Sprites catching their breaths. During this time, Matrix called his sister and told her what was happening.

He was about to say his goodbye when AndrAIa dug her nails into his skin once more, pain once again searing through her. "Enzo! I swear if you don't do something now I will delete you!"

The Renegade, who felt no threat from Viruses, Tears, or Games, looked over at the doctor, trembling with fear. "Is there anything you can give her, Doc?"

The doctor, who still regarded the Game Sprite with wary, nodded slowly. "Yes, there are some anti-biotics that should work. But of course, there is always a risk..."

AndrAIa once again unsheathed her long nails. "Should? RISK? You are NOT going to give me something that is not safe! I won't have it!"

Matrix glanced at the trembling doctor and shrugged, knowing that they now had to wait out the storm of this woman.

When Matrix thought his poor arm couldn't handle one more bruise, the doctor finally declared it was time to start the "hard work." Matrix had hoped that this had been the hard work...

"Alright Ms. DrAIa, I need you to push for me when I say. Now. No no, Ms. DrAIa. Don't push Mr. Matrix; push out the child. That's it."

The pain was definitely less, but she had had enough pain for one cycle without passing any along. Without realizing exactly what she doing, she dug her nails into the bed sheets and into Matrix's arm.

Matrix barley had time to register the pain as he slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Still holding onto his limp arm, the Game Sprite pushed, her face slightly contorted. She barely heard the doctor as he coaxed her, saying something about the head...

She threw her head back into the pillow, almost unable to take anymore. Taking a few breaths, she pushed again... and it was done...

A few minutes [passed, and the doctor brought over to her her baby girl. As she looked down at the small bundle, all the pain from the past few nanoseconds seemed to disappear...

As she was lying there, looking down at her daughter, she felt Matrix's large hand on her shoulder. The two sat there for awhile in silence, just being.

The small Enzo Matrix rushed down the hospital corridors, much to the dismay of the staff. His sister called after him, apologizing fruitlessly to the disgruntled and dazed workers, as she tried to catch up to her brother's speed that only the young possess. The Guardian, still at the beginning of the hall, just strolled carefully along, waving at the now confused staff. He smiled at the two Matrixes, glad to see some things rarely ever changed.

As Enzo reached the room that the receptionist had directed them to go to, he stared at the scene before him, suddenly dubious and apprehensive. He wasn't sure how to react now. His older self was sitting at what had to be an uncomfortable position over AndrAIa and a small bundle. He peered closer, creeping closer, and almost jumped when his older self turned to him. He almost ran when he saw his counterpart smile.

Matrix chuckled at Enzo's nervousness, and motioned for him to come over.

Up close, the smaller Matrix could see his baby cousin (Or would it be his daughter, in a kind of twisted way?) clearly. Her eyes were open, bright and violet just as the rest of the Matrixes, and what little hair she had was the color of her fathers, a deep forest green. She smiled up at him, and cooed softly.

Awed, the young Sprite asked her name.

"Anika Matrix." Replied the weary mother. The Game Sprite gently rocked her child, smiling softly, content.

Bob and Dot soon joined the three; both melted upon seeing the baby Sprite. Birth in this system was a rare thing, and the birth of a Sprite was rarer still.

The doctor came in, and was slightly appalled at the number of Sprites in the room. "People, please! Both mother and child need their rest. Everybody out, shoo!" he ushered them out. He then turned to Matrix. "This means you as well, sir." To cut off further protests from the tall Renegade, he held up a stumpy arm. "If she does not get her rest now, she will pay for it later."

The tall Sprite grumped on his way out, casting a look at his now sleeping girlfriend. Outside, he met up with the others who were standing in a corner, talking quietly. (Bob and Dot were, anyway. Enzo, on the other hand, was too busy playing Tarzan on the vending machine.

He stood next to his sister and the Guardian, looming over them both. They both stopped what they were saying, and smiled at the Renegade.

"She's beautiful, Enzo," his sister said, smiling.

A small smile crept over his lips. "Yea. She's almost as beautiful as her mother."

Bob's face turned serious, and he spoke to his friend in a businesslike tone. "Matrix, I think Daemon has discovered our location."

Matrix's smile disappeared as well. "What? How?"

Bob looked down slightly. "We do not know that. Perhaps she traced one of you back here." He turned back up to the taller. "Spies tell us she's heading this way, and that she's very close to our address."

Matrix cast a glance in the direction of AndrAIa's room. His concern for her and his new child must have been apparent on his face, because he felt the comforting hand of his sister on his arm. "Don't worry, Matrix. We'll get through this."

Matrix gave his sister an appreciative smile as he thought. He and AndrAIa had been going on throughout the pregnancy as if there were no outside dangers to be faced. They should have been planning...

He turned from the two, and headed down the hall to the nursery. They have been acting so irrational. Seconds of valuable time have been wasted...

All of his previous thoughts vanished when he reached the nursery, and saw his daughter. He decided that no matter what happens, he wouldn't change that time for anything in the web.

He made a silent vow, then and there, he would let nothing harm his family.

Looking down at her daughter, AndrAIa sighed, content. Only a few cycles ago was the child's day of birth, and already she has grown. Not much, but enough that one would take notice.

She rocked gently in the old rocking chair she and Matrix had bought from a small store on Baudway, humming an old tune her mother had taught her that had been passed down from generation to generation, seemingly by instinct.

Thinking of the song instantly made her think of her mother. It wasn't often that she did this, for her family had always taught her not to dwell on the past. Although when she was younger, late at night, she would remember her mother. The way she often smiled, the way she would sing, the way she would never allow any User to harm her or her family. Even when she had turned ill, she would put aside her feelings of queasiness to protect whomever she could from the User and the other Game Sprites not AI associated.

When the new "miracle" doctor had come, everyone believed he would help cure them of their various ailments. Turned out that any official healer never approved all of his methods, and that most were harmful, and those, in most cases were deadly.

The treatment he had used on her mother was one he had concocted shortly before, and preformed it without tests or stable research. Within the next cycle, she was sea foam floating and tossing with the waves.

Anika's soft whimpers broke the Game Sprite from her reminiscence. Hushing her child, AndrAIa stood up and walked softly through the room. "What does it take to keep you quiet, huh?"

Anika cooed up at her mother, causing the older Sprite to smile as she placed her down in the crib. "Well, my little Tadpole. Your mother needs her rest." She reached down and ran a finger over the soft skin of the child's cheek. "But your mother will always be there when you need her."

As soon as the baby was asleep, the tired Game Sprite walked back into the bedroom. Sitting on the bed, she saw that the great fearless Matrix was snuggled against his pillow, looking uncannily like a large kid. Chuckling to her self, she shifted his bangs away from his eyes. "Now I have two kids to care for, I see."

Yawning, the Game Sprite reached over and pulled out the book she had been reading. It was an odd device, this book. She had to manually flip the parchments to continue with the story. At first, she had found this an irrelevant waste of time, but as she continued, she found that books were most enjoyable. She was now reading a very strange story called "Moby Dick."

After reading just a few sentences, AndrAIa yawned again. She slid the bookmark in before starting chapter twenty-one, and placed the book on the nightstand. Pulling the thick blanket over her, she snuggled down deeply, smiling at the sleeping Renegade lovingly before falling asleep, unconsciously weaseling her way in place of the pillow.

***

Matrix woke with a slight start. At first, his senses were dulled from sleep, and for a second he had forgotten where he was. Then, as his body and mind woke up, he noticed his AndrAIa snuggled in his arms. He smiled softly, and brushed away a piece of unruly hair from her eyes, and was rewarded by a contented sigh. He kissed her gently on the forehead and settled back down, when he heard Anika's soft cry. Apparently that had been what had woken him up, and was slightly surprised that AndrAIa hadn't already been awake. Her hearing was far superior to his own and even the slightest noise had always made her nearly jump out of bed on several occasions.

He quickly dismissed his confusion as he noticed just how exhausted she looked, even asleep. The poor thing had had little sleep since Anika's birth, and it was certainly taking its toll on the weary mother.

As gently as he could, the big Sprite disentangled himself from her embrace, and watched as she settled back down, replacing him with the pillow. He chuckled softly and tiptoed into the child's room.

As he approached the crib, he noticed not for the first time how like her mother the baby looked. Except for the hair and the eyes, the two were so similar-right down to the adorable freckles- that it often startled him.

When the small child saw her father standing over her crib, her cries softened a little. She had come to enjoy these rare moments when this tall Sprite was present, and though he was possibly a hundred times her size; she felt at peace and protected when she was in his arms.

Matrix lifted Anika out of her crib and cradled her softly. He wasn't as awkward as he was the first time he held her. The first time, he almost held her upside down, her little legs wiggling in the air. Now, holding her seemed like a second nature, his right arm holding and supporting her small frame, leaving his left hand free for her to gnaw on.

Secretly, he was relieved that all she wanted was to be held. He still couldn't get the hang of changing her. The last time he had gone through four diapers, a whole bottle of powder, and finally a roll of duct tape. (Even the tape-which was supposed to fix everything, couldn't quite hold.)

He decided to leave that stuff to her mother.

He began to bounce his daughter as he paced the room, speaking in low, nonsense syllables. Her face practically changed to a bright, toothless grin at this, and cooed with glee.

His mind turned to the pressing matters that were at hand. Their days of peace were almost over, and soon the Super Virus would make her debut. He and Bob had made several advances to the small amounts of weapons they possessed and to the shields of the Principles Office. They had also begun to train the CPUs vigorously. They still were not ready. He had spent countless number of nights working late to see if there was anything else he could do, but every time they seemed to get somewhere, hey came upon a dead end.

*Looks like we'll be flying by the seats of out pants again,* he thought to himself, sighing. One day he knew their luck would run out, and someone would get hurt.

A delicate hand on his shoulder almost made him spin. He broke out into a grin when he saw a groggy Game Sprite standing there. "You should be asleep, Andi," he scolded gently, placing his previous worries aside for the time being, not wanting to place more stress on the Game Sprite.

A smirk played across her tired face as she retorted. "Your lack of snoring woke me up."

"If it makes you happy, I'll make snoring sounds on the baby monitor. Now go back to bed." When she seemed about to protest, he gave her the best puppy-dog face he could muster. "Please?"

Rolling her eyes, groaning, she relented. "Alright, alright. I'll go. Just stop with that face."

Grinning, he gave her a gentle kiss before shooing her once more. She stopped at the door to say something, but thought better of it as she watched the 'heartless' Renegade's eyes widen when his index finger was squeezed by the bundle with incredible strength. Smiling, she watched for a few more minutes before heading back to bed.