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Author's note: This fic would probably make a lot more sense to you if you've already read my earlier fics "Abort, Retry Fail" and "Null and Void". I refer back to those stories a lot and some of this one might be a little baffling to you if you haven't read those. Still, I hope you can follow the action if you haven't and enjoy this story anyway. Thanks to Annie, AndrAIa, System Angel and Avery who helped me a gigabyte with suggestions, hints and ideas for this fic.
PATCH
They were the same code.
The two sprites, one large, one small, sat silently underneath the large directory tree as the data stream leisurely flowed past them. They were alone, as only they could be - the rest of the net seemed not to exist. Neither sprite said anything for a long time. Neither had to. The smaller of the pair rested, his head against the large sprite's massive arm, seemingly nearly as broad across as the small sprite's entire frame as it enveloped him.
"What're you thinking about?" Matrix said with a small smile after several long nanos of silence. "I've never heard you be quiet that long unless you were asleep!"
"Nothing." Enzo answered softly, closing his eyes.
"You sure? You know what Andri says about us, when we think too much…"
"Yeah." The youngster chuckled softly. "I know. And I just said how you make everything so complicated…"
"Well - keep this up and everyone's gonna start calling you dark. And brooding." Matrix grinned. "What's the matter with that boy? Always lost in his own intranet, never says anything, never runs around-"
"OK, I get it!" the boy sighed, elbowing his older self in the ribs. "Sorry. I guess I was just thinking how different it is, having you here. Like before - I dunno. It was like no one ever really talked to me. And now, it's like I've got no secrets at all. You know everything about me."
"What do you mean? Bob and Dot talk to you all the time, don't they?"
"Sure." Enzo said softly.
"What's wrong?" Matrix prodded. "You can tell me."
"I know…" Enzo hesitated for a moment, picked up a pebble and tossed it into the data stream. "Bob and Dot are great. I…I - you know what I mean..."
"Sure."
"But sometimes it's like they're not even really there - y'know?" the boy whispered. "They're really nice to me. But I'm still just a little kid to them, no matter how much they try to tell me different. They - crash it all! I can't explain it…"
"I think I understand…" Matrix sighed, pulling the boy a little closer.
"I don't ever wanna sound ungrateful - y'know?" Enzo said, meeting his older brother's gaze for a nano. "Dot's always done everything for me. I know she got sick of it sometimes. And Bob - he tries to include me in stuff, all the time. He's great! He never wants me to feel left out. They're both so alphanumeric…"
"Enzo…"
"I know they don't think I know - when they talk about stuff, little secrets, with each other. And when they wish I wasn't around so they didn't have to worry about me. But I always know…"
"It's natural, Enzo. They don't mean anything by it. They-"
"I know they don't mean anything." Enzo sighed. "Like I said - they're alphanumeric. The best. But they don't really understand what stuff is like for me. Not like you do."
"Well - how could they? How could anybody?"
"I know. It's just... it's just…"
"What?"
The youngster looked away. "I never had anybody to tell all this to before. I couldn't tell Bob or Dot. I just couldn't…"
"I know."
"I couldn't tell anybody." The boy rasped. "There was nobody to talk to, Matrix - nobody! All the other small sprites are gone…"
"I know." The bearded sprite whispered, squeezing the boy closer. He felt like a small sprite again himself, the anger and frustration as fresh as though he'd experienced it that cycle.
"I was so lonely." Enzo whispered, wiping his eyes discreetly. "Bob and Dot didn't understand why. They try, but they don't understand! And there was no one I could tell! Nobody!"
"Well, now there is!" Matrix smiled, gently nudging the boy's gaze upwards. "Right?"
"I tried so hard to be just like Bob, to show them I could. But I never could. I was still just a little kid. And I knew they didn't understand. And I couldn't explain it to them…" The youngster was trying to hide his face, ashamed to shed a tear in front of his older brother.
"Hey - you don't have to do that." the big sprite scolded. "You don't have to hide from me, Enzo - I understand. I always wanted to tell someone, and I never could. Not even AndrAIa - I couldn't admit it to her."
"I'm sorry!" Enzo whispered, his face in his hands. "I'm so basic…"
"No - you're not." Matrix wrapped the small sprite in his arms, trying to comfort him as he strove to hold back his tears. It was strange - the big sprite felt as though he'd been the one to unburden himself of something he'd been carrying with him, for a long, long time.
Enzo fought the larger sprite's grip for a moment, then surrendered himself to his emotions, burying his face in Matrix' chest. The relief at finally sharing the pain he'd held inside was too much for his resistance, and he stopped trying to fight it.
"Just let it go." Matrix sighed, holding Enzo's head gently, marveling at how small the boy was - how small he'd been, so long ago. "I understand, Enzo. I understand."
Enzo tried to be embarrassed at crying in front of his older brother, but he couldn't muster up the vanity. It felt so good, so right - like something he'd needed, since before he could even remember. Before he knew he'd needed it. The relief was overpowering - it was a gift, to be able to share his pain. Something he'd never allowed himself to imagine he could ever do. "Thanks!" he whispered, lifting his head and looking up at Matrix' bearded face through a haze of tears.
The big sprite gingerly brushed the tears from Enzo's face, only to see them quickly replaced by a fresh batch. He tried to smile. "Don't thank me, Enzo. We both needed to do this, I think." The youngster squinted tearfully, puzzled. "Never mind. It's not important."
Enzo wrapped his arms around Matrix's neck, head resting on his shoulder, waiting for his seemingly endless supply of tears to dry up. "I'm so glad you're here." He whispered hoarsely, feeling his throat burning, relishing the pain. "I never told anyone any of this. Never."
"I know." Matrix smiled, tousling Enzo's hair softly. "You're not alone anymore. I'm here."
"I never though I'd be able to tell anybody. I never thought there'd be anyone to tell…" Enzo squeezed his eyes tightly, wringing out the last of his tears. He concentrated on the secure strength of Matrix' grasp, feeling his breathing gradually slowing. He felt light, as if he'd float away if it weren't for the big sprite's strong arms…
"Feel better?" Matrix said softly, after a few microseconds.
"Alphanumeric." Enzo whispered, not opening his eyes.
"Pixelacious. You wanna go back to the diner?"
"Maybe in a nano." The youngster sighed, not lifting his head. "I kinda like it right here. Can we just stay awhile?"
"You got it, Little Brother." Matrix grinned. The few binomes scattered throughout the park paid the mismatched pair under the tree little notice, leaving them to their own concerns. That was just fine with them.
Prologue
The Supercomputer was, as always, a bustling hub of activity - seemingly aimless, random, yet each vehicle, each sprite and binome with a task to be carried out, a destination to be reached, and always in a hurry. The silver-haired youth watched them from his window, chin on his hands. After a few nanos, he tired of his vigil and turned away. To a sprite from some backwater system all that activity might see exciting, but when you grew up in the Supercomputer it was just more of the same.
The young man - lithe, wiry -walked over to his desk and sat down. He reached for his organizer and clicked it on. There were reports to be written, assignments to be finished - and best to take advantage of his roommate's absence while he could, to get some work done in peace. The Academy didn't care about personal problems - when there was work to be done, it had to be done. Period. Game cubes didn't wait for convenient times to drop, did they?
The boy had just opened a file on artificial intelligence when the door beeped. "Delete it, Ram - how many times are you gonna forget your access key?" he snarled. The door beeped again. "Maybe I oughtta just make you sit out there for a while. I'm trying to get some work done in here!"
There was no response from the far side of the door. The boy had hoped to hear a little begging for admittance, but apparently his roommate didn't want to play. "I hope you brought some I/O distillate..." he muttered. With a sigh, he languidly strolled over to the door and released the file lock. It slid open to reveal a dashingly handsome sprite in a powder blue uniform. His rugged featured were topped with a close-cut mop of silver hair, much like the boy's own, but flecked with white. "Dad!" the youth gasped.
"Son." The man smiled, clapping the boy on the shoulder firmly. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"
"What're you doing here?" the boy hissed, waving the man inside, where he sat down on the small bed in the corner. "Did you change your mind?"
"I came to take you with me." The man smiled.
"What? Dad-"
"Come on. Get your things together and we'll be on our way."
"What? No!" the youth snarled. "I told you before, Dad - I'm not going. This is what I want to do. Nothing you told me is going to change that. I-"
"That's a very good speech, Son." the older sprite said in a low voice. "But we both know you don't mean it. What about your loyalty? To me? I'm your father-"
"I'm _here_ because of you!" the boy snapped. "I'm not giving up now! I'm not a quitter."
There was silence for a moment, both sprites staring intently at the other, neither willing to break eye contact. Finally, the older man spoke. "I heard what you said to me on the vidwindow, Son. I didn't think you'd have the gall to say it to my face. I'm your father! I raised you! Doesn't that count for anything?"
"Why are you doing this? The whole reason I came here was because of you - it's all I ever wanted! And now you're telling me it was all a lie? I don't think so!"
"Son-"
"What about everything you told me - 'To Mend and Defend'! The good of the system and all that? You couldn't ship me off to the Academy fast enough before-"
"Enough!" the older man barked, standing. "This is not an issue to be discussed. I'm your father. We're leaving."
"I'm not leaving." The boy said softly. "I've worked too hard to get where I am, Dad. I still believe in the Collective, even if you don't. You can quit if you want to, but I'm not going to."
"You're a child, you don't know what you're talking about. This place - they fill your head full of propaganda, half-truth-"
"_I_ believe in it!" the youth snapped. "It's going to be my life, whether it's yours or not. So if you want to leave, then leave. But I have exams next cycle. I'm not going anywhere."
"If I leave, I'm not coming back. You know that."
"Fine." The youth whispered. "It's your decision, not mine."
The larger sprite started at his son for a nano, shaking his head slowly. "If it's what you want. Obviously, I've lost you. But don't expect to come crawling back to me later on. I can't stay on here, you know. Not now. You'll be on your own."
"I'm ready." the smaller sprite replied. "I'll finish my exams, complete the training. I'll get a posting. I'm a man now, Dad."
The older sprite barked a laugh. "I'm sure the Prime Guardian will be very proud of you. I'm sure you won't give him a bit of trouble."
The boy turned away and sat at his desk, back to his father. "I have work to do. I have to study. Unless there's something else…"
"No. No, there's nothing else." The man said softly. He stared at his son's back for several nanos, but the boy didn't turn around. "Stay frosty." he sighed, and let himself out.
"Stay frosty." the boy whispered. With an angry growl, he hurled his organizer onto the bed and returned to the window to stare out at the bustling activity below.
End Prologue