"Have you gone completely random?" Griffin demanded when Switchblade showed him Beta's organizer and outlined her proposition.

"Not completely," Switchblade replied tightly. "Look, it is possible that he is uninfected; you know as well as I do that there are bounties out on a few Guardians outside the Supercomputer that have escaped Daemon…"

"And the chances that Beta's son is one of them is how large?" Griffin snatched the organizer out of her hand and scowled at it. "If he could have helped us, don't you think Beta would have said something by now? He's probably infected and she doesn't want to admit it to herself."

Switchblade shook her head, sending strands of gray hair flying. "I disagree; like any mother, she probably just wanted to keep him out of this.."

Griffin snorted and threw the organizer onto his desk. "Beta's not like that; she gave everything for the rebellion."

"You obviously don't know much about mothers then."

Griffin scowled at her for a moment. "I'm not going to let you put the entire rebellion in jeopardy to chase this crazy idea of yours."

Switchblade threw up her hands, pacing away from the desk. "We're losing, Griffin, face it. We've been careful this far and it's gotten us nowhere. If we take this chance and contact him…"

"We could lose everything," he growled.

"We've got nearly nothing to lose!" she protested. "We've been losing people left and right, Daemon's getting better at tracking us. I'm not asking for anything but your blessing for me to contact them. Me. Not anyone else, just me. If anyone will be in danger, it will be me!"

"And through you, the rest of us."

Switchblade sighed, running her hands through her hair. "I know it's risky, Griffin, I do. But if it comes to that, I'll kill myself before I let myself get captured, you know that."

"That's what Beta said. We've gotten confirmation that she's been infected."

Biting her lip, the pale pink sprite turned away to stare at the wall.

"Do you really think I'd bring this to your attention if I hadn't thought it through? I can't see any other opportunity for us. We've got to take this now, take the risk that he isn't infected."

Griffin pursed his lips. "You're set on doing this, aren't you?"

Switchblade nodded, once.

"Very well then," Griffin sighed. "Contact them. But you are on your own, and should anything go wrong, we will not bail you out."

"I understand. And thank you."
 
 
 

AndrAIa was furiously typing commands into her keypad, aqua eyes deftly scanning the screen. Her whole body was tense and it was obvious by her entire stance that she was not happy with someone. Dot approached the Game sprite hesitantly; even after dealing with Megabyte and running the entire system, she didn't fancy the idea of bothering AndrAIa when she was in a bad mood.

"Andi?"

"What?" AndrAIa snapped, turning around furiously. Her posture relaxed when she saw Dot - the Command.Com had backed up slightly and her violet eyes were wide.

"This may be a bad time to ask you, but… have you seen Matrix?"

AndrAIa scowled and turned back to her console. "No."

"Do you know where he might be?"

"No."

Dot sighed heavily. Part of her wanted to pry and find out what the problem was, but just then, a VidWindow popped up in front of her.

"Gavin?"

"Dot, lassie, we've got another intruder down by the docks. She insists that she needs to speak with our Guardian about something; I thought it best to inform you."

"Thank you, Gavin." The VidWindow closed and Dot looked over at AndrAIa. The Game sprite's previous anger had melted away into professional calm. "Coming?"

"Of course," AndrAIa replied grimly.
 
 
 

Switchblade sat stiffly between her binome guards, fully aware that the one binome they had addressed as "Captain" kept shooting suspicious glances at her. The rebel swallowed nervously and glanced around at her surroundings. Off to one side, she could see the basic husk of a ship, with various vehicles surfacing from the energy sea with more pieces. It was apparent they were trying to reconstruct the wreck, although she didn't know why.

Looking back on it, she decided that it probably had been a foolish idea to come to this system - Mainframe - and attempt to recruit help. It was a small system by most standards; she was surprised they had rated a Guardian in the first place.

But she owed it to Beta to find out if her son was okay. She didn't know why, but she owed it to the elder woman.

Two female sprites were approaching, their boots clicking on the planks of the docks. One was dressed in a modest beige jumpsuit, her entire manner emitting a no-nonsense attitude. The other…

Switchblade couldn't help but raise her eyebrows at the other woman's rather… scant apparel. Certainly, she had seen things like that before, but never on one of the apparent leaders of a system.

The Captain walked over to greet them, his gait slightly loping thanks to a pegged leg. "Miss Matrix, this is the sprite we apprehended."

"Thank you, Gavin."

Switchblade gave a small smile. The woman's voice suggested a sprite as equally competent as her appearance did. The grin faded as the cool violet eyes were turned on Switchblade herself. The green-skinned sprite took a few steps over until she was standing directly in front of Switchblade.

"I am Dot Matrix, Command.Com of system Mainframe. State your name and function."

Switchblade cleared her throat. This Dot Matrix sure knew how to inspire respect; Switchblade was usually not easily intimidated. "My name is Switchblade. I'm a… I'm from the Supercomputer."

Her simple words caused all the Mainframers within hearing range to freeze. "The Supercomputer?" Dot asked icily.

Switchblade sighed. So much for that idea. Attempting to continue where she had been cut off, she continued, "I am here to see Guardian 452…"

Dot stiffened. "For what purpose?"

Switchblade thought for a moment. She had a feeling that if she didn't tell the truth, they would notice; yet, if their Guardian were indeed infected, she'd be caught or deleted. The rebel took another look at Dot Matrix. Her air was not that of a fearful underling - more like a protective friend.

Switchblade decided to throw all her units in the pot. "I'm here to plead for his help."
 
 
 

Hexadecimal sighed, one hand trailing lazily off the armrest of her throne, as she stared at her mirror, bored out of her mind. Ever since the restart, Mainframe had been calm, peaceful, pleasant, and ever so awfully… predictable. It was driving her crazy. The virus waved a hand at the mirror, changing the scene from Floating Point to Baudway. Nothing interesting. Just like there was nothing interesting in any of the other sectors.

For a moment, she considered looking for Scuzzy again, but previous searches had all proved fruitless, and anyway, that was almost as boring as sitting on her throne watching Mainframe. Releasing a pack of nulls on the city would certainly make things exciting, but Bob hadn't been too pleased with her the last time she had done that. Normally, she wouldn't care what Bob wished, but if she annoyed him too much, he wouldn't come to tea.

Taping a slender finger against her chin, Hexadecimal changed the mirror image to Kits. "Nothing, nothing, nothing…" Hexadecimal paused in her muttered rant, examining the sky that was showing over Kits. "This is new…" she purred, watching as the sky darkened to a deep violet as the pleasant female voice announced, "Warning: Incoming Game."

Hexadecimal rose from her seat and glided out of the lair. "I've never tried one of THOSE before…"
 
 
 

"Wow, Bob, that was really alphanumeric! We haven't been jetbowling in so long; it was so much fun…"

Bob smiled down at Enzo, a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach - it had been longer than Enzo thought. "It's been a pretty long time for me, too."

Enzo paused for a moment, letting them walk on in silence - something that was rare for the usually hyperactive sprite. "I'm surprised you had time to come with me and all, what with this whole Daemon thing…"

Bob looked surprised. "How do you know about that?"

Enzo rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Bob, I'm not THAT basic. You grown-ups keep muttering about it when you think I'm not listening. If she's such a problem, why don't you just offline her?"

"It's not that easy, Enzo…"

"Seems to me like it should be."

"You'll understand when you're…" Bob broke off, aware of what he had been about to say. Enzo scowled at him.

"When I'm older, right?" The younger sprite sighed. "I just wish you would…"

"Warning: Incoming Game."

"Oh, great," Bob groaned, flipping out his zipboard. "Enzo, I need you to…"

"Oh, Bob, can I come in the Game with you? Can I? PLEASE?"

"Not this time, Enzo," Bob replied absentmindedly. "Go back to the Diner and wait there, all right?"

"But Bob…!"

"No buts, Enzo, just do as I say." Without another word, Bob zipped off, leaving Enzo standing on the sidewalk.

"Basic Guardian," Enzo mumbled, kicking angrily at the ground as he sulked off, heading to the Diner like Bob had told him to. "I never get to have any fun…"
 
 
 

Al's waiter proved to be not much help towards Matrix, although he did listen sympathetically. In the end, however, he proclaimed in his slow, meandering manner that women just weren't worth it and ambled off to sit behind the counter and sleep.

Matrix idly rolled his glass between his hands, not wanting to finish it, because then he'd have to either order another or leave. He stood up quickly, however, when a voice echoed through Mainframe.

"Warning: Incoming Game."

The renegade was out the door in an instant, both his departure and the announcement of the game having awakened Al's waiter. The binome blinked once, slowly, before looking after Matrix. "Hey! You didn't pay for that!"

There was, of course, no answer, as Matrix was already long gone. Al's waiter sighed and stifled a yawn. "Oh, well, we'll just put in on your tab…"

"What!?"
 
 
 

The Game cube hit down in Kits sector just as Matrix landed next to Bob. The two Guardians found themselves standing in the docking bay of a large spaceship. Matrix sighed.

"Not another one of these basic science fiction games…"

"It gets worse," Bob said dryly. "We have to take that ship right there, fly out to a neutral technical base, and steal the plans for a space fortress before the User does."

"Who comes up with this stuff?" Matrix demanded of the sky.

"Let's just reboot and get this over with. We've got better things to do than play Games."

"Oh, like what?" a voice purred from behind Bob. Both the Guardian and the renegade jumped, turning quickly to find Hexadecimal standing there.

"Hex!" Bob protested loudly. "What are you doing here?!"

"Trying to alleviate my boredom," she replied tritely, innocently examining her fingernails. "I get so bored by myself… and you NEVER come to visit anymore."

"We don't have time for this," Matrix muttered. Tapping his icon quickly, he announced, "Reboot!"

"Looks like you're one of the troops," Bob commented as he clicked his icon. "Reboot!" Staring down at his clothing, he started. "But… who's the scout captain then?"

Hexadecimal's delighted laugh sounded and Bob closed his eyes. "Matrix? Please tell me I'm wrong."

Matrix said nothing and Bob slowly opened his eyes. Hexadecimal was dressed much like they were, but the marks that passed for insignia were displayed prominently on her collar. "Won't this be fun?" she purred. "I get to be in charge!"

Bob covered his eyes. "This is bad… very bad."
 
 
 

Enzo let the door to the Diner slam open, earning a glower from Cecil. Ignoring the maitre'd, the young sprite flopped down on one of the stools by the bar, dropping his chin into one hand.

"Hey," a soft female voice said as someone slid into the stool next to him. "Aren't you that Matrix kid?"

"Enzo, actually," Enzo muttered. "Matrix is the big, tall, ugly green one."

"Slight animosity there?" she inquired dryly. Enzo turned a bit to look at her, one eyebrow raised.

"What about you? Are you that other Surfr Ray dragged in here?"

"And such eloquence!"

Enzo rolled his eyes and turned away.

"Hey, just teasin' ya, kid. What's the matter?"

"You want to know what's the matter?" Enzo asked. "The fact that everyone thinks I'm just a dumb kid."

"No offense, honey, but you are."

Enzo glared at her. "I can do a lot more than they give me credit for! But they never give me a chance to prove myself."

The Surfr just raised an eyebrow at him, frosty lips curving into a smile. Enzo sprang out of his chair, facing the slender Search Engine with a scowl. "You can stop the cool act, you know. You're just being mean!"

She turned away, looking down at the counter and Enzo shook his head.

"They really don't call you Iceshadow for nothing, do they?" When she said nothing, he shook his head. "Oh, forget this. I might as well go do my homework, it's not like I have anything better to do!" Grumbling all the while, Enzo stormed downstairs.
 
 
 

"Ah don't care if she's your old friend or not," Mouse said vehemently as she and Raytracer walked into the Principal Office. "Ah don't trust her, Ah don't like her, and Ah'll be much happiah when she's gone."

Raytracer put a hand on Mouse's arm, turning her so she was facing him. "Just give her a chance, Mouse, please? She's got it hard, she and Sundance were close…"

Mouse scowled. "That don't give her an excuse to act so basic around the rest of us. Ah frankly don't care if she's lost her brothah, her fathah, and her next door neighbors pet wotsit - she should be more grateful to us. We COULD have just kicked her out."

"The concept of charity is lost on you, isn't it Mouse?" Mouse rolled her eyes and continued walking. Raytracer followed her, hands on his hips. "I think you are just jealous."

"Jealous!?" Mouse demanded, whirling around again. "Ah am not jealous of that obnoxious lil' basic…" She trailed off, narrowing her eyes as her lover raised a skeptical eyebrow at her. "So maybe Ah am slightly jealous… For cryin' out loud, Ray, she just started cuddlin' up to you! And don't you dare try and tell me that was because she's worried about her brothah."

Raytracer raised his hands, trying to calm her down. "Mouse, Mouse. Please don't get onto that again. I told you that I explained to her that I have no interest in her anymore…"

Mouse sighed. "Look, just forgit it. Y'all know Ah don't like her - just don't expect me to bail you out when she causes some trouble."

Raytracer just sighed and shook his head, following Mouse into the Command Center. Phong was hovering by the large map in the center of the room, monitoring the Game along with Specks. Mouse smothered a smile. Even though the elderly sprite had handed control of Mainframe over to Dot, it was apparent that he wasn't quite ready to just slip into retirement.

He looked up as they entered. "Ah, my children, it is good that you are here."

"Why?" asked Mouse, stepping closer to the map, sweeping a gaze over it. "Is there somethin' wrong?"

Phong paused before replying. "I… am not sure."

"Did somebody get into the Game?" Raytracer asked.

"Yes, yes, of course," Phong assured them quickly. "Both Bob and Matrix made it in with time to spare. However… it appears they were not alone."

"What do you mean?" Mouse pressed.

"Hexadecimal is in there with them."

Mouse and Raytracer exchanged a look. "Hexadecimal?"

Phong bridged his fingers. "I am hoping that things will go smoothly, but it cannot be certain with a chaos virus in there."

"Does Dot know about this?" Mouse asked, leaning over the map to look closer at the position of the Game.

"She does not need to worry herself with that now, young Mouse," Phong assured the hacker. "Dot has enough things on her mind as it is - young Gavin encountered another intruder into the system. Dot and AndrAIa went down to the docks to take care of it."
 
 
 

Dot stared at the sprite in front of her. "Plead for his help?"

The sprite that had introduced herself as Switchblade looked down at her hands. "I'm a member of a rebellion against Daemon - yes, we do exist, not all of us wish to bend over and willingly accept her rule," she said, answering Dot's unspoken question. "As of late though… we've been losing. Daemon's getting stronger and we aren't keeping up to speed. We need help."

Dot crossed her arms, unwilling to let the sprite get away that easily.

"And why - or how - did you come to find Bob?"

"I…" Switchblade faltered. "That is something I would prefer to tell him to his face."

Dot pursed her lips and studied the sprite. She seemed honest enough, but… Looking over her shoulder, Dot raised an eyebrow at AndrAIa.

"All her words sound honest to me," AndrAIa replied softly, her acute hearing more adept at picking up a tremble in a voice should it's owner be lying. "We might as well trust her for now; I'm fairly certain that if she causes any trouble, we can take care of her."

Dot turned back to Switchblade, who was looking up at her with clear green eyes. "Very well then. I'm afraid you are going to have to wait; there's a Game in town and he's most likely in there. But you may come with us to the Principal Office until then."

Switchblade stood up slowly and walked carefully over to the Command.Com.

AndrAIa paused in front of the rebel for a moment, holding a slender finger in front of her nose. "Don't try anything," she warned softly. "We won't have any qualms about killing you if need be."

Switchblade gave the Game sprite a wan smile. "How comforting."
 
 

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