Attack

Pelk quickly regained his composure. "You can't be serious…" he hissed.

Grid ignored him. "Are you going to use that glorified stick of yours, or will you need something else to take me?"

Unconsciously, Pelk twirled the staff in his right hand. "You wouldn't last a nano! Fine then. If you're that eager to delete, I'm not interested in talking sense into you. I have more important things to do." He held the staff in a ready position.

From the floor where she was being held on her knees, Mouse twisted and muttered in disgust to Dot. "Now that is one dysfunctional directory."

Her comment was rewarded with the butt of a rifle against the back of her neck. "Silence, witch!" the blond Avatar threatened.

Grid motioned to Kem, who disappeared outside, and then handed him a large, spherical object. "Good," he smiled. "I call the energy cannon."

Pelk's expression went from one of wariness to amusement. "Force over speed? I thought I taught you better than that."

"Sorry to disappoint," Grid shot as the cannon clicked into place on his shoulder.

Pelk heaved a sigh, and turned to his team. "I'm going to finish something I should have done megacycles ago. Take the Grid aliens outside, and make sure they don't cause any trouble." He glared at Grid. "This won't take long."

"Wait," Grid ordered as the Sprites were brought to their feet. He walked towards them.

"Grid…" Bob pleaded.

"I've got it under control, Bob. Sit tight."

Mouse raised an eyebrow. "Ah dunno what you got up yer sleeve, Grid… But Ah trust ya. And don't worry, Ah'll stay outta yer logging account while you're taking care of this null." She winked.

Grid nodded. "I don't doubt it." He approached the Matrix siblings.

"Be careful with that thing…" warned Matrix. "I hear it packs a wallop."

"I won't need to fire a shot," Grid assured him. He moved on without another word to Dot and opened his mouth. Then he hesitated. Apparently, he wasn't sure what he should say. Finally, he leaned in towards her. "Friend…" he whispered.

Dot frowned in confusion, but nodded… "Y-yes Grid. Of course I am…" She became even more confused when she saw the way his eyes glowed, and pleaded at her please understand. Pleasegetit Pleasegetit…

With that, the sprites were shoved roughly outside and out of sight.

>Grid turned towards Pelk. Their eyes glowed with an identical deep blue. Pelk waved the staff in his son's direction, and the energy cannon gave a quiet click and started to hum with energy.

Pelk set the staff upright and leaned unconcerned against it like a walking cane. "Well," he observed. "They're gone now. That's what you wanted, right?" He smiled. "Ready to come Home?"

The Avatars moved their prisoners to the back of the power center, where they wouldn't be out in the open. The blond Avatar seemed to have developed something of a fascination with Mouse, and passed his rifle to another as he sat down next to her.

"It's an amazing place, for such a primitive culture," he admitted. He made it sound like a compliment. "And there are more like this? How many?" Mouse stayed quiet and just fumed at the Avatar.

"None," Bob put in. "None that you'll ever see. And you can't even have this one."

The Avatar's eyes burned as his snapped his head around to look at Bob. "How do you figure that, silver one? We are destined to take the Grid, and make a new Home for our people! Who's going to stop us?"

"I am," Bob said, narrowing his eyes.

The blond man stood. "So you're the Grid's great warrior? Excellent," he said, dangerously. "You can be first against the wall."

"What makes you think I'm going anywhere with you?" sneered Grid.

Pelk shrugged. "Well, perhaps for a moment I thought you might actually have the sense to help us build a new life for Avatars… You may not have the files we want, but you've spent much time here. You're knowledge of the Grid would be invaluable. Especially now that we've discovered that we may have to exterminate its current inhabitants."

"Exterminate?!" Grid nearly choked on the word.

"It shouldn't take much. The Grid is broken into a network of cities. All we need to do is sever the connections, and clear them out one at a time." Pelk smiled. "Think of the power we'll wield Pelk… The Users can't reach us here."

Grid shook his head in disgust. "You want power? Is that what you're all after? Do you even know what that is? Do you know what real power is? Well let me clue you in, pop! Because I've seen it! I've felt it. I have it strapped right to my shoulder! And you know what? I never used it once. It was always using me."

Pelk approached. "No! It's you that doesn't understand! This isn't about your bad breaks. We can't go on like we do! The Users-"

"Oh! The Users!" Grid ranted. "Of course, stupid me, what could I have been thinking? We should be more like the Users, right? Because the Users have power. Do I have to remind you what the Users do with that power? They take our people away, and use them! They kill for their own purposes! You want to be more like the Users? Well congratulations, because that's exactly what you're doing by invading The Grid!"

Pelk's eyes narrowed. "Don't you ever call them 'our' people again! You turned your back on us, you little null! You're not fit to call yourself an Avatar!"

Then, Grid did something totally unexpected. He smiled. "Well, then I guess that makes me a Mainframer." He took a deep breath. "I always wanted to go home… But I've been there all along."

The old Avatar made one last appeal. "Pelk... son. Please. You have to listen. I know what you must think of me... You've lived here for almost half your life... but we're dying back there." His eyes filled with sorrow as he remembered the last time he saw his Home. "Everything is falling apart! The Users... they're everywhere! Children are taken to the games faster than they grow up! The sects are out of control and everything is going to fall into chaos if something doesn't happen soon!" He scuffed his boot against the floor and lowered his voice. "The Council is expected to fall within the next few megacycles. Your mother... she was taken a long time ago... I don't think she's coming back. Do you remember her, son?"

Grid's face went red. After a long moment of silence, he collapsed to one knee and wept. "How could I?!" he demanded, his chest beginning to heave heavily. "You stole those memories from me when you sent me here!"

Pelk's mouth went dry, and after a moment he hung his head. "Oh no... I had no idea! I'm so sorry!" He held out his arms uselessly, then dropped them again. "But you must join us now! We have to survive somehow! Fear rules our Home and we need your help to make a new one here!"

"Not our Home!" Grid lashed out. "Yours! Not mine! Remember?"

"Son... look at me..." Grid raised his eyes to Pelk, who had dropped his weapon much to his surprise, and was slowly moving forward, palms facing him. "I love you..."

Tears streamed down Grid's face, as he struggled to regain his breath. Finally, he took a deep suck of air and did the best he could to talk. "Liar! You liar! Why do you always have to lie to me?!"

Pelk's eyes narrowed again. "We have a right to survive!" he said coldly. "No matter what we have to do!"

Grid's eyes were no longer full of hate, but fear. "I don't believe it... I was right. You have become like the Users! You're a maniac! You're just. Like. Them!"

The cannon began to whine as it charged with power.

Two Avatars lifted the struggling blue Guardian to his feet, as the blond one placed the end of his rifle under Bob's chin. "Know me," he announced, like a king addressing his underling. "I am Rove. Direct upgrade of the great peacemaker of Hova sect, Sattop, and next in line for the Council. You'd do well not to struggle, Grid creature, or I may just delete one of your friends as well." He turned to the other Avatars. "Watch them carefully… I want to execute this one myself."

"Bob!" shouted Dot.

"Touch him, and you'll wish you'd never compiled!" threatened Matrix.

"Enough!" Bob ordered. "If Rove thinks he can delete me… let him try."

Rove raised an eyebrow. "You really believe you're invincible, don't you?" He looked at the rifle in his hands. "You see this? This isn't some file-locking device… it fires a simple, solid projectile. Crude? Yes. Messy? I'd say. But you'd find it puts the fear of the User into those who would oppose our destiny far better than anything you might have at your disposal." He and Bob's captors began to lead the Guardian away.

Matrix struggled in his bonds. "Let him go! Bob!!"

Rove and his two henchmen led Bob around to the other side of the power center, but the blond man didn't stop there. He continued to lead them away, deeper into Kits as he spoke. "Imagine how beautiful it will all be when we're through with it. A world where we can live in peace, and safety! Imagine, because you won't be around to see it."

Bob looked daggers at Rove. "And after you've conquered the Net- the Grid? What then? Do you really think you'll be able to sit down and declare it all in a day's work? I doubt it. You're not the first who's wanted to reshape our home to their standards, and I know your kind. You're conquerors and little else. You'll never be satisfied with what you have… If you go to war with the Net, by the time it's over you'll be addicted to fighting… if you aren't already. Maybe that's what this is all about. You just need someone to fight other than each other!" He shook his head in pity, not without a trace of loathing. "You'll eventually collapse under your own weight, Rove. If your people follow the path you do, they'll end up destroying themselves and anything else in the blast radius. We'll never let that happen!"

The butt of a rifle slapped Bob across the face. "You Grid aliens don't know when to shut up, do you?" asked Rove. He leveled the weapon. "Goodbye."

*BOOM*

"Is that…" Grid whispered.

"A fully-functional displacement beacon. It's how we got here, and it's how we'll leave. We couldn't send a team of any size through the Web; that would attract too much attention. And it would take too much power to download an Avatar to the Grid. Besides, that would probably set off the alarms too. But this little gadget is powerful enough not only to physically hold us here, but also to disrupt any sensor devices this system may have… Thanks for warning us about those, by the way," he smiled.

"You! Then you're the one who's been interfering with the scanners and… the firewall!"

"And probably anything else around here… we haven't tested its long-term effects yet… I hope nothing unfortunate happens to this place after we leave." He paced, ignoring the fact that Grid had now stored enough energy in the cannon to level a small building. "You thought this was the invasion? Ha! We're just tying to tie up a few loose ends with our intelligence. Trust me, when we come… they'll know it!"

Grid gritted his teeth, and the cannon began to click in warning. Pelk laughed. "You can't be serious. You won't fire that thing in here. You'd only destroy the equipment. I could dodge a slow-moving energy ball without breaking a sweat. And while you're sitting there helpless, I'd finish you with one swing!"

Grid stared insanely at Pelk. His mouth twitched into a grin. "Oh… I'm not going to fire it…"

The explosion from behind sent Rove sprawling to the ground, as a large CPU slammed into the other two Avatars as Bob ducked out of harm's way.

"You sure know how to cut it close!" shouted Bob to the woman in the other CPU, who had interrupted Rove's execution.

AndrAIa smiled. "You have no idea. Where are the others?"

"Behind the power center. Come on, we have to get them. Oh- and Grid's inside fighting with Pelk."

"We'll pick him up when the Command.com is safe," AndrAIa said with a nod. "Hop in… it's a little cramped, but it drives like a-"

"Bike?" interrupted Bob with a grin.

"Just get in, Bob."

Mouse and Kem smiled wickedly at each other as they saw the shadows of half a dozen CPUs coming towards them. The Avatars didn't even turn around until it was too late. Caught off-guard, they were easily felled by the CPUs, and the two sprites.

Mouse loaded one of the rifles. "Ahright… Now let's take care of the one with the stick!"

"Hang on, Mouse," warned Bob. "We don't know what's going on in there."

"Whatever they're doing, it probably hasn't started yet," observed Dot.

"Yeah," Kem added. "If Grid had fired that cannon, we'd know it."

"He said he wouldn't have to fire a shot though…" observed Matrix.

Dot's eyes widened. "Say again?"

"Uh… He said he wasn't going to have to fire… What do you think he meant by that?"

Oh no… thought Dot. She had known when she accepted the position of Command.com that there would be times when she would have to make split-second decisions. She made one. "Everybody! Into the CPUs! Now!!"

Some of them leapt into a CPU, while others removed their zipboards and hopped on them. Dot led the way on hers. She gritted her teeth. "Grid, don't you dare!"

Pelk looked curiously at his son… He sounded serious. The cannon began to screech. "Pelk…" he warned. "What do you think your doing?"

"I'm 'displacing' you and your goons!" shouted Grid. "Permanently! Give the council my regards!"

"Pelk!!"

Grid's eyes narrowed to slits and began to blaze like blue flames. "Call me Grid."

*CLICK*

A white hot flash erupted from the power center. A dome of fire began to grow away from it, consuming all it came across, including the unconscious Avatars. A short distance away from ground zero, Rove groaned and lifted his head. His jaw dropped as he saw the wall of flames rumbling towards him. "Noooooooooooooooooooo!" he cried, covering his face with his hands. At that moment, he shimmered out of existence, no longer trapped within Mainframe by the displacement beacon.

Bob shielded his eyes from the flash, a safe distance away with the rest of his friends. "Spam…" he quietly muttered. "Med-teams to Kits Sector power center, immediately!"

They all ran towards the site of the blast. When they arrived, Matrix shook his head at the wreckage. "What a disaster…"

"This sector's unstable," warned Bob. "Watch yourselves."

"Grid?" called Kem in vain. "Can you hear me?"

Dot knelt down where the power center once was. She began to run her hand near the ground, careful not to touch the smoking rubble. "Mouse?" she called. "I think you'll want to see this…"

Mouse knelt down next to Dot. In the Command.com's hand was a charred, triangular icon. Purple. "Grid…" she covered her mouth. "Fool boy! What a waste! Why in th' net would he pull such a-"

"Mouse…" interrupted Dot, offering her the icon, sadly. "I think you've looking for this for a while."

Mouse's mouth went dry. She stared at the icon. Somehow, it suddenly seemed so small and insignificant to her without the young man it was once attached to. All the things she wanted to learn about it didn't seem to matter now. "No Dot… It ain't important no more." She pushed the icon away.

Dot nodded and stood, tapping it three times. "Then… That's it." The design popped off the base in obedience, and almost with gratitude. "We…" Dot began. She faltered. Then, she felt Matrix's hand on her shoulder.

"Go ahead, sis," he prompted. "We're listening…"

Dot nodded. "We… every one of us… are all simple energy." The other sprites stood, giving her their full attention. She smiled and continued with new conviction. "We may break apart in the wind at a moment's notice. Made from simple energy, we become much more. And when our time here ends, we become energy once again, to begin life anew."

She spun the design, and gave the icon a final tap. It burst into thousands of pixels, and shot in all directions. "Goodbye, Grid…" whispered Dot.

"Take a look at this," Bob called. He came forward with another icon. It was almost identical to Grid's, except in color. It was gray.

"Pelk," observed AndrAIa, spitting out the name.

"Dot?" Bob asked. "Would you like to do the honors?"

"I would," Dot nodded angrily, and took the icon from Bob. She stared at it for a moment, then tossed it on the ground and crushed it under her heel.

"So I guess the question now," commented Kem bitterly, "is did they get what they were after?"

AndrAIa shook her head. She, Mouse and Kem were returning to G-Prime to begin the undesirable task of clearing out Grid's home. "No way to really tell… The blast didn't leave much behind. I doubt any of the Avatars made it out in time."

Mouse shook her head. "Ah still don't believe it… He shouldn't've done it. Not for us. It was just some lousy logfiles…"

Kem halted, and sighed. "Maybe… maybe it wasn't so much for us as for himself… or maybe even for someone else." He stayed behind as the two women continued on. Extending his hand, he allowed the File Corrupt command to materialize. "I will not be afraid…" he promised. "For you Taaz… I'll do anything. Daemon's going down!"

Phong could feel Dot approaching his dim room inside the Principal Office long before she rang the chime. "Please enter, child."

Dot slipped in and allowed a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She couldn't even clearly make out the sage's figure, which sat a distance away. "Have you heard?" she asked.

There was a pause. "I have."

Dot sighed. "Phong… I don't know how much more of this I can take! First the game, then Karta, the nulls, Avatars and I still have Daemon to worry about!" She dropped her arms uselessly. "I-I don't know what to do anymore! I don't know why you made me Command.com, but I can't handle it anymore!" She pleaded quietly. "I need you…"

"Dot…" Phong intoned slowly. "I have seen all types of sprite, binome and virus in the known Net. I have watched Mainframe grow, decay and be reborn to thrive once more. For megacycles, I devoted my life to maintaining my home, and keeping it as beautiful as it was the cycle I first saw it. I did not choose you as my successor because I thought you were the best choice, child. I chose you because I knew you were the best choice.

"I don't deserve the faith you have in me…"

"It is not faith, Dot. Faith requires no evidence. What I have is trust in your abilities to keep Mainframe safe as I did for so long."

Dot shook her head. "I don't want to let you down, Phong… But I need your experience. You could do a better job at this than me."

"I do not believe so, my child. I am old-"

"And very wise, and experienced-!"

"And I do not have the strength to hold an entire city upon my shoulders anymore!"

Dot's protests were silenced. How could she have been so selfish! Phong had done more for Mainframe than anyone she knew. Now he deserved a shard of peace.

"Dot…" Phong began again, more quietly. "You know I will always be here for you when you need me. I love you, and I will do anything for Mainframe… But now is not the time to turn to me for guidance. You can do this, Dot. I know you can." He paused again. "For now, child… please. I am very tired… Let me rest."

Dot nodded, and moved to slip out the door. "Of course, Phong… and thank you."

As the door slid open, a beam of light played across Phong's pale figure. He sat with his fingers pressed together, looking downward at the floor. As Dot exited, she thought she heard him repeat his last request to her. "I am so tired… Please… Let me rest…" It wasn't until she was halfway to the Diner that she began to wonder whether or not he had been speaking to her.

Matrix had been following Bob from a distance for quite some time. Finally, the older man stopped outside the Diner, and focussed his attention on the sky. He seemed very troubled, and Matrix couldn't help but be concerned if even Bob had been rattled by recent events.

When Matrix finally approached him, Bob gave no acknowledgment of the renegade's existence. He simply continued staring blankly upwards. Not at the game cube that still towered ominously over the city… Just upwards. Matrix had no idea what it was he wanted to say to his mentor, but he knew that he needed to say something.

"AndrAIa used to do this." He began awkwardly. When Bob offered no reaction, he continued. "She always thought that… the sky was really amazing, and endless, and blue, and…" He trailed off, realizing he wasn't getting anywhere. He joined Bob in watching the soft, azure texture slowly dim into night mode.

"So why" he muttered quietly, after a long silence "is it that when we look at it, all we see is trouble, Bob? What did we ever do to make ourselves the target of every virus, lowlife, and warped kind of sprite on the Net?" He sighed sadly. "Bob?" Once again, the Guardian didn't answer. "Bob?" he repeated.

"Dialup," stated Bob, never taking his eyes off the sky.

"Say what?" blinked Matrix.

"Dialup," he repeated. "That was her name. The one who had the top scores on the final exam."

"Oh…" answered Matrix, unsure what that had to do with anything. He idly wondered if Bob had heard a single word that he'd said. Finally, he bit his lip, and asked the Guardian the only thing on his mind at that moment. "Bob? They're coming, aren't they?"

Bob still wouldn't turn to face Matrix, but he softly began to chuckle to himself. The chuckle grew into a laugh, but it was a hollow, sad laugh. Matrix felt a shiver grow up his spine as he listened to it. Bob's eyes closed, as he slowly shook his head at Matrix's terrible understatement.

"Ohhhhhhhhh yeah…" he responded in despair.

END PROGRAM?

The weary figure of Dot Matrix wandered into her old room in the Diner. It had been a long time since she'd spent the night here. Not since the war had destroyed the old Diner, and even after the restart, she'd only been in long enough to pack a few belongings. Her place at night was always next to Bob, and she wouldn't give that up for anything. Still, as she silently turned the lights on, to find that nothing had been disturbed since the nano she had moved out, she found herself feeling more safe, and welcome than she had in a long time. Yet at the same time, part of her wondered why she had come back here. A good part of her life - one that was long over - was in this room. Was it wise to dig up these old memories at a time like this? Why were the fates playing with her, and why had they led her here tonight?

The kids were in bed by now, weren't they? Had she left the Principal Office well guarded? Would Bob know to get a decent dinner without her there? She chuckled at her own absurdity, and got a funny mental image of Bob, completely lost in his own kitchen. The kids were fine, and after today's events, everyone would be on their guard. She had no reason… no excuse to leave.

Sighing, and making a mental note to have her head examined, she began to rummage through the mess… messy by her standards anyway. The room was spotless, but the drawers were unorganized, and the lampshade was crooked. The old Dot Matrix would have recoiled in horror to see her chambers as such. After a few hours of living with Bob, however, she found that a little bit of confusion and disarray now and then just makes life all the more interesting. She was still thinking along these lines when she reached into the bottom drawer of her old cedar chest, and her hand met what she hadn't even known she was looking for.

She pulled the two objects out of the drawer, and immediately found herself biting her lip. Pictures. These were pictures she had kept of her parents. The first showed them at their wedding. Dad was so young, and mother's dress… It was the almost identical to the one she had worn to her own wedding… That was why it had looked so familiar. She moved the first picture aside… There it was. The last Matrix family photo before the Twin City accident. Her father's arms were on the shoulder of his two children, and her mother was beaming with pride, and… oh, User, Enzo. He was so small… she was so small. She noted, with a touch of bitterness that this one had been taken at Floating Point. The place where so many lost lives, and lost dreams seemed to wind up, lately.

She knelt down beside her untouched bed, and placed the second photograph on the ground, looking into the eyes of her parents. "Now I know why I came here tonight." She whispered. "I need you… I need to talk to you."

Her fingers touched the image softly. "Dad? You promised I could always come to you if I needed help. And Mom… You still have all the answers, don't you?" Unconsciously brushing at her damp eye, she continued. "I don't want to complain. I have everything in the Net. If you asked me what I was missing in my life, I'd have to say nothing. But… Sometimes it's just… very, very, very hard… Things keep happening…" she paused, and tried to regain her voice. "It never gets any easier, does it? No matter how long I wait, there are always going to be a hundred new problems that I have to face, huh? Sometimes I wonder how I'm going to get through the next second, and sometimes… Sometimes I wonder how I even got this far."

She choked back a sob. "No. No, I won't cry. I won't cry in front of you. And I can already hear you answer both my questions. You'd say to me, 'Dot, you got through it because you're strong, and because you had your friends. And you'll get through all your problems, with their help. Friends who care about you, friends who l-lo-'"

Somehow, in that moment, it didn't matter if she cried in front of her parents. Laying her head against the bed, she closed her eyes, and kept telling herself over and over that she still had her friends…

She had her friends…

Her friends… "Friend…"

Dot's eyes shot open, and she did a quick mental count. Then, with a flourish, she pulled out her organizer, and let her hands fly over the keypad.

Dot held her breath.

I'll be damned.

Grid had indeed used the very last combination of six characters that anyone would have ever thought to try for his passcode. Dot watched in astonishment as entry dates flooded her screen. He hadn't forgotten about his account at all. Here it was. His entire life in Mainframe, logged and carefully organized… For someone else to see someday… Dot suddenly became aware of the flashing popup on her screen.

Dot hesitated a moment… but Grid had trusted her. He had deliberately given her access to this. He wanted someone to see it.

Dot Matrix didn't go home that night.

---------------------------
And even though the moment passed me by
I still can't turn away
I saw the dreams you never thought you'd lose
Tossed along the way
Letters that you never meant to send
Get lost or thrown away

And now we're grown up orphans
That never knew their names
We don't belong to no one
That's a shame
You could hide beside me
Maybe for a while
and I won't tell no one your name
I won't tell them your name

Scars are souvenirs you never lose
The past is never far
Did you lose yourself somewhere out there?
Did you get to be a star?
Don't it make you sad to know that life
is more that who we are?

You grew up way too fast
and now there's nothing to believe
And reruns all become our history
A tired song keeps playing on a tired radio
And I won't tell no one your name
I won't tell them your name

I won't tell them your name
Mmm…
I won't tell them your name

I think about you all the time
But I don't need the same
If it's lonely where you are
Come back down
And I won't tell them your name

- Name
"The Goo Goo Dolls"
---------------------------

The User scowled at its opponent, who had ducked behind a gravestone. "Groooovay…" it growled menacingly, revving the chainsaw attached to its arm. It heard the heavy breathing as it approached its next hapless victim.

The sprite was in no mood for these games. Enough time had been wasted. She placed a palm over her icon.

"Avatar," whispered Taazki.