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Author's note: Many thanks to Threnody for the loan of Adena!
Time scale: nano = second | second = day | hour = month | cycle = week
Part One
by Alryssa
Green lightning crackled around the Tor. Bob watched the spectacle with unusually vague interest from inside the Diner as he nursed an energy shake. Enzo, sitting across from the Guardian, followed his gaze.
"What do you think MegaBreath's up to?" the young sprite asked. "It's been like that over there for three seconds!"
Bob shrugged, his eyes not leaving the scene.
"I don't know. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."
Enzo frowned. "What's wrong, Bob? I thought you'd be the first person to be go over there and see what he's up to."
"He hasn't done anything that I'm aware of, Enzo. I can't just go barging in. For all I know it's something short-circuiting... and with Hack and Slash around, I wouldn't be surprised." He grinned wryly.
The last few seconds had been unusually quiet in Mainframe. No Games, no Upgrades, nothing. And Bob was bored. If there were anything more stressful than a bored Guardian, it probably hadn't been invented yet, Dot mused, as she watched the two sprites start playing Frisbee... with a plate. Moving quickly, she managed to intercept the spinning projectile just before it reached Bob's waiting hand, snatching it out of the air with fierce intent, and followed it up with a hard stare at the Guardian.
"Bob, you should know better," she scolded, some small part of her enjoying the adult sprite's sheepish but apologetic look. She sighed. "Why don't you both go play jetball or something?"
"But we played jetball yestersecond! That's boring!" Enzo whined, slumping back at the table.
Dot sighed. "Isn't there *anything* you boys can do - and *not* get into trouble for?"
It was Enzo's turn to shrug. She contemplated assigning the two to washing up duty, but before her suggestion could be worded, the sky turned a familiar purple hue.
WARNING: INCOMING GAME. WARNING: INCOMING GAME.
Just this once, Dot actually felt relieved. Bob seemed to reflect that relief in his face for a moment, before he turned and shot out of the Diner with Enzo in hot pursuit.
"You're in charge here, Cecil," Dot called over her shoulder as she set off after them.
Cecil flailed his spindly arms in his usual windmill fashion.
"Of course, madame," he said. As the Diner door shut behind her, he turned to the kitchen and sharply addressed the slacking kitchen knives. "Come along now, you excuses for Ginsu's! Chop chop!"
* * *
Bob felt the crackling surge of energy as the Game Cube descended upon him, the moment of disorientation as it settled, the Game becoming the new reality; for now at least. He checked immediately to see who else had entered the game. Dot and Enzo had made it in with him. Good. He was about to assess the game stats with Glitch when he noticed that Dot and Enzo were staring at the scene right in front of them. Frowning, Bob followed their stare. He blinked. He looked again.
"What the... Mainframe?!"
* * *
Dot somehow found her voice as Bob and Enzo stared at the scene.
"I don't believe it. It's the Diner! And Baudway! And... " she trailed off, looking around, noting all the familiar things. Sure enough, there was the park... binomes going about their business... everything was identical to Mainframe.
Bob looked at Dot and Enzo, who both shrugged. He shook his head in disbelief. "This is *weird*."
"Guess we should get on with it, right?" Dot prodded, disturbed as she was by the situation. "The less time I'm here the less... creeped out I'll be."
"Right," Bob agreed. The three sprites tapped their icons.
"Reboot!"
Enzo looked down to see what he'd rebooted as, wondering for a nano that if this game was really like Mainframe, maybe he'd 'boot as a Guardian for a change.
Dot cautiously opened an eye.
"Nothing happened!" Enzo wailed. "I'm still me!"
"Same here, Enzo. Nothing. We're still us! Bob, just what is going on here?"
Bob looked just as confused as he consulted his keytool.
"Glitch - Game stats!"
Glitch chirped, its readout screen flipping up. Bob studied it for what seemed to Enzo and Dot to be forever. Around them, the duplicate Mainframe continued its 'business' as usual, completely oblivious to the three new arrivals standing in front of the Diner.
"Well?" Enzo asked, impatiently. "What are we supposed to do?"
"Uh..." Bob looked up from the readout, a worried expression on his face.
"This can't be good," Dot sighed. "What's wrong? Is Glitch broken?"
The Guardian looked mildly affronted at the suggestion.
"No... it just... can't seem to access any stats."
Dot threw up her hands in exasperation. "Oh, great!"
"I'm sure we can figure this out ourselves, Dot! We've done it before. We just have to think... logically."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Call me strange, but I like to have a plan of action."
"Uh, guys?"
"What is it, Enzo?" Bob turned to the young sprite, somewhat glad of the interruption.
"Well... this is Mainframe, right?" The two adult sprites nodded. "And what do we do in Mainframe?"
The Guardian's bemusement slowly turned to realisation.
"That's it! We play the Games!"
Dot frowned. "You mean we have to wait for another Game, within the Game?"
"Precisely! We just have to wait for one to come along." Bob folded his arms and managed somehow to look satisfied with that explanation, to Dot's intense annoyance.
"Bob, that could be nanos!" she protested, dreading the thought of sitting it out again, if only at the risk of another incident of plate frisbee. "We can't just wait around - the User has to be here somewhere!"
Bob looked around again at the unsettlingly familiar environment.
"Your guess is as good as mine, Dot." She could be right - but how would they know?
Dot followed Bob's lead and took in the Diner once more, watching the binomes inside socialising. Everything was the same... but not. She shuddered.
"So... we wait, then?" Enzo poked. He didn't relish the idea of waiting around on his ascii either.
"I guess I can try and scan everyone here, see if any of them are the User," Bob offered, "but it would take at least the better part of a second. I don't know that we have that much time."
"Better get started, then," Dot answered. "At least until this 'Game' arrives."
Bob looked at her helplessly, then shook his head and walked into the Diner.
"What - "
"Got to start somewhere!" he shot back over his shoulder. Enzo followed him inside, Dot close behind.
End Part 1