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"Turbo, sugah, Ah decided a long time ago that Ah had no desire to go back to Mainframe," Mouse drawled, planting her booted feet firmly on Ship's console.
The figure on the holo sighed. "Mouse. You're the only one I know of that could pull this off. The money's good…"
"Ah'm tellin' ya, hon, Ah ain't gonna be too welcome there…"
"I'm sure you'll find a way to make yourself welcome."
Mouse shook her head, looking down at her hands. Finally, she nodded slowly and looked up. "Fine. You've got yourself a sprite." She scowled. "You're just darn lucky that Ah ain't had many jobs lately…"
Turbo smiled wanly. "I knew I could count on you, Mouse."
Still regretting the choice she had made, Mouse slowly steered Ship into Mainframe's skies. Warily, she watched the city below her. "Huntin' a Web Creature, what has this world come to…" Her voice trailed off as she saw a huge monstrosity standing in the mouth of an alley, slowly stalking towards two sprites that were cornered at the end. "Well, if this ain't my lucky day…" Mouse said to herself, steering Ship towards the alley. It would be easier to get them to trust her than she had thought.
It had been a harsh slap in the face to realize that Turbo had intended to ruthlessly delete Mainframe because of the Web Creature. That had been one double cross too many and had somehow thrown her in completely with the Mainframers. Once Bob had been shot into the Web, Mouse had realized that she was irreversibly there for the duration - something in her, perhaps some long buried morality code - had loudly protested against the thought of leaving Mainframe now.
Even if she could have found a way to. The look of utter devastation on Dot's face as Mouse had gotten her away from Megabyte and Hexadecimal had sent shivers down the hacker's spine. She hadn't realized that Bob had meant that much to Dot - or to Enzo. Even she felt a emptiness in her stomach as she looked around the city, realizing that the Guardian that was supposed to be there was… gone. Her own reactions had shocked her the most; nothing that had happened should have made her feel so responsible for these people, so… connected with them. But there it was and here she was. The real blow came when Enzo and AndrAIa rushed off to a Game - and then didn't return.
"Game over. The User wins."
"Enzo… NO!" Dot's scream shot through the silence that followed that ominous announcement. Mouse almost didn't see her sink to the ground, tears running down her face, as her eyes remained fixed on the purple cube that ascended back into the sky. It was Dot's whisper that brought Mouse back to her senses. "No… Enzo…"Turning, the hacker saw Dot sitting on the floor, her hands covering her face. Swallowing, Mouse walked over to her, fully aware of the stares of everyone else in the room.
Gently, she helped Dot to her feet. "C'mon," she whispered softly. "C'mon, I know it's hard, keep it together until we're away from the troops…" Dot swallowed down her tears with forcible effort and nodded. Mouse led her past the staring binomes, past Phong, and out into the corridor. Once they were away from the prying eyes, Dot slumped again, but Mouse kept a strong arm around her waist, carefully leading her towards her room. Once she was seated on the bed, Dot's tears flowed down her cheeks.
"How…"
Mouse just shook her head, not knowing what to say. She felt tears prick her own eyelids and furiously blinked them away. The Mouse didn't cry.
"We can't have lost both of them," Dot whispered. "We can't… I can't…" She stared up at the hacker, her eyes red with the force of her sorrow. "I know… that I should be strong, but… what do I have left to…"
Mouse knelt next to her, putting a hand on her arm. "Sugah, you've got… you've got everything left to fight for. Everyone's depending on you. You can't give up now. Enzo and Bob wouldn't want you to…"
"No…" Dot sniffed, desperately trying to wipe her tears away. "No, they wouldn't have…" She met Mouse's eyes again. "I don't even know… why I'm telling you this. We haven't been the… best of friends…"
"Forget that," Mouse said roughly. "Just… put that behind us. From now on, we'll… we'll try to get along, at best, all right? It would be pure folly to be bickering when Mainframe needs us." Standing abruptly, she turned towards the door. "I'd… better go help the troops. Just… stay in here until you're ready to…"
"Mouse."
Mouse turned, warily looking at Dot.
"Thank you." Mouse nodded once and quickly walked out the door. Heading back to the control room, she couldn't help but wonder why she suddenly felt less… alone.
"I can't believe you left him back there!" Dot shouted, whirling on Mouse the minute the hacker had gotten her away from the lost Principal Office. "After all Phong's done for you, how could you just…"
Mouse grit her teeth and clamped one hand over Dot's mouth, the other resting heavily on her shoulder. "Sugah. We didn't have a choice. He WANTED us to go."
Dot broke away from Mouse, turning her back on the other woman. "But…"
Mouse glanced a few feet away at where the other rebels were milling. "No buts now, hun. You need to compile up and lead this bunch of ragtags. We're all countin' on you!"
"We should all be counting on Phong," Dot whispered. "I can't believe we left him back there… for Megabyte…" Her voice choked up and her shoulders shook. "By the Net, Mouse, I can't do this. I'm losing everyone… First Bob, then Enzo, now Phong…"
Mouse grew silent. Every time she saw Dot display this much emotion - which was becoming more and more frequent, it seemed - she got a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't have a clue what to say to the other woman; she'd never lost anyone that meant that much to her, except Ferret… And even he hadn't provoked THIS much of a reaction in her.
"They… they wouldn't want you to just… give up…" Mouse said awkwardly. "They'd want you to keep goin'…"
Dot laughed bitterly, straightening up and swiping tears from her eyes. "They would, wouldn't they. Not that it really seems to matter much anymore…" Her voice trailed off and she looked up at the sky, her jaw clenching. Mouse had a pretty good idea of what she was thinking about.
Shutting her eyes briefly, Mouse swallowed hard before opening them again and placing a hand on Dot's shoulder. "C'mon. We'd bettah git away from here before Megabyte gits any bright ideas to come lookin' for us."
Weeks went by and the rebels managed to stay hidden, performing hit and run strikes on Megabyte's forces. Even their best efforts seemed to do nothing but annoy the virus and it was plain that everyone was loosing hope.
Dot and Mouse both struggled to keep up at least a façade of optimism, but it got harder with each passing day. Sector after sector was destroyed, and binome after binome was infected.
Mouse sighed and looked out at the dark and degrading sight of Mainframe.
Even when she hadn't really cared about the city, it had struck her as… well, beautiful. It had a comforting quality to it that she envied.
Maybe that was why she could give up her life for it now…
Shaking her head slightly, Mouse stepped out of her hiding place, slinking along in the shadows. She didn't have the time or the opportunity to stop and sort out her life right now; she had a job to do. The sooner she got it done, the sooner she could get back to the relative safety of the hideout…
"Well, Mouse, what a surprise it is to see YOU here."
Mouse leapt into the air and whirled about, her katana blade sliding into her hand. Her smile was forced and false, much like the emotion in her opponent's voice. "Why, Megababe, honey, Ah was just lookin' for you." Inwardly, she was cursing profusely; she couldn't be caught, not NOW.
"Come now, Mouse, is there really such need for toys like that around me?
Is that any way to treat an old business partner?" Megabyte carelessly waved at her katana, which Mouse just gripped tighter.
Smiling wanly, she replied, "It's because of that 'business' that Ah know bettah than to trust you any fathah than Ah can throw you."
Megabyte shook his head. "Such words, Mouse. And when I have a proposition for you…"
Mouse narrowed her eyes. "Ah don't want to hear anythin' from YOU."
"Really, Mouse, why do you stay with these rebels? They can't possibly be paying you more than *I* could…"
"It ain't about the money anymore," Mouse growled, backing up a bit. "It might have been once, but… it ain't anymore."
"I don't think you quite understand what I'm saying, Mouse. Either you join me, or…"
Mouse stifled a curse as viral troops slowly stepped out of the shadows, effectively surrounding her.
"Or I'm afraid I'm going to have to delete you."
Mouse paused for a moment before laughing heartily, noticing that she had her back to a literal wall. "You wish, sugah," she drawled before making use of her skills and leaving behind only the mouse scribble to mock her would-be captor.
"Where have you been?" was the first thing that Dot said to Mouse as she walked into the hideout. Mouse sighed heavily and flung herself onto a
chair, a tad out of breath from eluding Megabyte's henchmen.
"Megabyte decided to offah me a… position," Mouse scowled.
"And…?" Dot asked, a dangerous edge to her voice.
Mouse's head snapped up, glaring at the other woman. "What are you sayin'?" she snapped.
"I was just saying…"
Mouse got to her feet. "No, what are you sayin'?"
Dot was quiet.
"What is it goin' to take to get you to trust me?!" Mouse shouted. "What more am I goin' have t' do? March right up to Megabyte's door and…"
"Stop!" Dot snapped, cutting Mouse off with an abrupt hand motion. Every eye in the room was turned to the two arguing women and Dot grabbed Mouse's arm in a steel grip. "We are taking this outside," she hissed. "I will not argue with you in front of the troops."
"How very noble of you." Dot scowled and shoved her through the door to her office, slamming the door behind her. Leaning against it, she turned a dagger sharp glare on the hacker. "Where do you get off…"
"Where do YOU get off accusin' me of joining that… *virus*?" Mouse demanded, matching Dot's glare with one of her own. "Do you think Ah'm THAT shallow? If so, why in the Net have Ah been stickin' around this long? It's not like you are payin' me…"
"I was just asking what happened, you took it entirely the wrong way. You're the one who thinks I don't trust you! If I didn't trust you, would I keep giving you power in this…"
"Hopeless cause?" Mouse supplied caustically.
"If it's so hopeless, why don't you just LEAVE then? Nobody's forcing you to stick around here!" Dot snapped, storming over to her desk.
Mouse sighed heavily. "Nobody but myself…" she muttered and slammed a fist against the wall. "By the Net, Dot…"
"What?" Dot muttered.
"User… you're not the only one that misses them!"
Silence permeated the room and Dot stared at her. "What?" she repeated.
"Ah cain't just leave," Mouse admitted softly. "Ah've gotta… cursors, Ah've gotta make Megabyte pay for what he did. What he's doin'."
"I did just want to know what happened," Dot said softly. "I know that I didn't trust you before, but I should think that by now we can…"
Mouse smiled slightly. "If it means anythin', Ah told him no. But Ah think Ah made him mad."
Dot looked up at her, a smile touching her own lips. "Isn't that all we've been doing?"
"Just wish we could do more…" Mouse said, her gaze darkening. "Have you seen the city lately?" She shook her head. "Even if we win… how are we goin' to fix THAT?"
"I don't know…" Dot sighed. She dropped her head into her hands. "I'm not sure I know much of anything anymore." She closed her eyes tightly and let out a heavy sigh before looking at Mouse. "Isn't there anything left?"
Mouse shook her head slowly and Dot bit her lip. "If only Bob or Phong was here…" Mouse said bitterly. "Seems like a silly thang to wish for, but… they always seem to win…" Aware of what she had just said, Mouse quickly looked at Dot. "Ah'm sorry, Ah didn't…"
Dot shook her head. "No…" she said softly, looking at Mouse with a sad smile. "I don't know if it's good or bad, but… it's starting not to hurt so much anymore." Her smile turned bitter. "Maybe we're just loosing the ability to feel anything, Mouse. Megabyte's legacy indeed…"
Mouse idly looked up from her work as the door slid open and Hack and Slash entered. She very nearly turned back to her things until she caught sight of the two sprites following them. One was tall, green, and unfamiliar - although there WAS something about him that made her wonder if she did know him after all… - but the other…
Her datapad clattered to the ground and her jaw dropped. Bob saw her staring and walked quietly over as Hack and Slash hurried over to present the green-skinned stranger to Dot. "Hello, Mouse."
Mouse worked her jaw a couple times, trying to force something out other than incoherent sounds. "Bout… time you got home, Guardian," she gasped out, struggling to maintain her trademark wit. "We've been workin' pretty hard while you've been slackin' off in the Web!"
Bob chuckled and shook his head. "I see some things never change."
Mouse shook her head, still at a loss for words. Finally, she said, "You certainly know the right time to come in and save the day. Ah swear, Bob, Ah could just kiss you…"
"I don't really think that's necessary, Mouse…"
The hacker didn't let him finish before she tackled him, swinging him down and kissing him abruptly on the mouth. When she finally let him up, Bob was gasping for air. "It's… nice to see you too… Mouse…"
He turned around and turned a rather nice shade of purple as he noticed that Dot and Matrix were staring at him. Saying the first thing that came to mind, he exclaimed, "Dot!"
Mouse shook her head as she watched the couple awkwardly greet each other. *Blast it, Dot, you don't shake hands with somebody that you've been missing for nearly a year…* Mouse thought with a sigh. Then again, it probably wouldn't look too good for them both to kiss him. *Whoops.*
It was awhile later that Mouse, Dot, Bob, Matrix - Mouse had been
quite surprised to learn that THIS was Enzo, but managed to take
it in stride - and some of the higher-ranking binomes were
gathered around some maps and data, trying to figure out the best
way to counterattack Megabyte. Mouse wasn't sure what triggered
it - perhaps somebody said or did something - but abruptly, Dot
stood up and, without a word, walked into her office.
Mouse only paused a minute before following her. Swinging open the door, she said, "All right, sugah, what do you think you're doin'?"
Dot looked up abruptly, wiping tears from her eyes. "Oh, Mouse, I was just…"
"Can the fearless leader routine. Ah want to know what's goin' on between you and Bob! If you're still mad about that little kiss Ah gave him…"
Dot hesitated for a minute and Mouse wondered if she had hit it head on. "No," Dot said finally. "No, it's not that…"
"Then what in the Net IS it?"
"I can't face him," Dot said plaintively. "Not after what I did. I gave up HOPE! I didn't think he'd ever come back." Her tears strengthened, running rivulets down her cheeks. "I stopped believing in him."
"Sugah…" Mouse said softly, kneeling down next to the sobbing sprite.
"We've all lost hope, all changed. One thang's still the same though - your love for that sprite out there and his love for you. Go to him."
Dot sniffed and wiped her tears away. Looking at Mouse, she said, "You think so?"
Mouse smiled. "Ah know so. C'mon, girl, you didn't cry yourself to sleep every night he was gone just to avoid him when he got back."
"It wasn't every night," Dot grumbled, her old control coming back.
Mouse raised an eyebrow and chuckled. Standing up, she said, "We'd bettah get back out there before they wondah where we went."
"Yeah… Mouse?"
Mouse looked at her. "Yeah?"
"Thank you." Dot took a deep breath. "I know this is going to sound sappy, but… I'm really grateful to you for… sticking around. You helped me get through a lot." Laughing nervously, she looked at the ground. "Who would've thought."
Mouse grinned a bit and gave Dot a sisterly half-hug. "No problem, sugah."