"Any complications to report?" asked the voice from Grid's vid-window. It displayed little more than an icon, looking much like his own except that the outer triangle was gray where his was purple. The sound quality was poor, but it would do.

"Aww, isn’t that sweet? It’s so nice to know you still care." Grid’s quip was met with silence, so he cleared his throat and dropped the joking. "Well, as expected, I feel like a total wreck, and I’m about ready to fall over. That’ll will pass, at least. Also, as you anticipated, I seem to have lost a lot of my early memories. Can’t remember much about my childhood at all. I’ve also lost some more recent ones, but all in all, I’m in one piece, and I know my job."

"Good. I haven’t got time to chat right now, but I want you to write up a report and download it to me as soon as possible." There was a pause. "Sounds like you got off easy. If it helps to know, you were a damned brat. That’s all the memories you need. No big loss."

The window reverted back into an icon. Grid shook his head. "Right… no loss at all…"

Grid had been brought up to speed in a private meeting with Dot and Phong. Once he had heard how serious the situation was, he had agreed to do whatever he could to contribute to the war effort. Mouse knew this, and was confident she’d have at least one good opportunity to examine his icon. Now she could see him over on his terminal, apparently frustrated by something. She moved behind him, and watched over his shoulder.

"Trouble?" she asked.

Grid hadn’t heard her approach, and straightened in surprise at her voice. "Mouse. Hi. You’re just who I wanted to see."

Yeah, I’ll bet, she thought. "What’s cookin’?"

"Well, I wanted to do some research, you know, brush up on my history, but most of Mainframe's files have restricted access. I don't suppose you could call them up for me?"

Liar…

"I mean, if you’re not busy or anything."

Mouse examined his features, which confirmed what his voice had suggested. Mouse was an expert on lies and deceit. Everyone lies differently, but there are certain warning signs that can be easily seen... if you're willing to train yourself to look for them. She made one final observation. He was good. Real good. He had fibbed like an expert, right to her face. She chose her answer carefully. This could be her chance.

"Well hon, Ah would, but Ah don’t see the point. Ya see, most of it is only restricted to registered system citizens. Ah could getcha a new icon, and register ya in a nano if ya like. Then you could browse the archives all ya want." And I could hang on to your old icon, and keep it safe for you… "Oh… Ah mean everything that’s public domain, of course." She added the last bit, as if it were an afterthought, and watched his face. If he had a reaction to that, it didn’t show. He just shrugged.

"No, that’s all right. Thanks anyway. Maybe some other time." He nodded thoughtfully. "It’s just as well. I should take a quick tour of the system anyway. I could use the air."

"Would ya like me to show y’around?" asked Mouse, more out of politeness than anything. She knew his answer, and mentally played the now familiar phrase in her head as he said it.

"No, that’s OK Mouse. I can do it myself."

Mouse racked her brain for any excuse to keep him in sight. Finding nothing, and knowing he’d see through anything she made up, she just nodded.

Grid picked up a zipboard and headed out of the Principal Office without looking back. You should be able to read that little snot-nose like a book, she told herself. Quickly, she spun to two binome pilots who had survived the air assault, and were now enjoying some cocoa a few terminals down.

"Follow that sprite," she ordered quietly.

Grid knew that Mouse had been his best chance to get at the files he was looking for. Now, he’d have to try an alternative source. Of course, there was no guarantee of safety this way, but he didn’t have much choice.

He flew nonchalantly into viral territory, and then quieted his approach when he saw a group of three viral binomes with their backs to him. He got right up behind them, and stopped.

"Hey, what’cha up to, fellas? Nice day for an all out war, ain’t it?" The binomes spun in surprise. Grid smiled pleasantly. "Ciao!" He sped off.

It was a few moments before he looked back. Behind him were at least five ABCs, and several more binomes sharing zip-boards. "Not bad…" he commented. One of the armored cars was getting particularly close, but it suddenly appeared to stall, and fell right out of the sky. Grid shook his head and laughed. "Stupid ABC…"

He was almost entering G-Prime now. "OK fly-boys, let’s make this look good."

Grid descended, until he was only a few feet above one of the buildings. He moved his left foot closer to the center of the board, and took a hard left, which caused him to "slip" and fall with a convincing *crack* to the roof below. He moaned in agony as the ABCs approached. Come on, he thought. I look like a sprite, and you’ve never seen me before. What’s the first thing you do?

"Megabyte! Sir!" he heard from behind him. "We have captured an unidentified sprite."

After a pause, the voice spoke again. "Take him to the Tor!… Wait, I’ve got another signal. It’s a damaged CPU! I want you, you, and you to intercept it."

Meanwhile, the two binomes in the rickety CPU suddenly jumped, startled as the three ABCs appeared directly in their path, leveling their huge laser arrays at them.

One of the binomes gulped. "Criky Binky! I think we’ve bought it!"

The hapless binomes bailed out as the CPU was blown to dust.

Megabyte sat on his throne, contently going over battle and advancement reports, when he heard the door open.

"Nice place… You decorate yourself? I love the whole green on blue effect, it just gives it a really commanding, yet soft-spoken touch-"

"Silence prisoner!" barked the familiar voice of one of his lieutenants. The virus allowed himself a bemused half-smile as he turned to face Grid.

"Ah, the new arrival, I presume? A fine young lad, if ever there was one. Welcome to my Tor," he said, motioning around them. "Make yourself at home, by all means. It’s so nice to see some more advanced life in Megaframe. Now tell me, what brings you to my humble home?"

"Similar traits." Grid announced smoothly. "We’re both ambitious. I want something, and so do you."

Megabyte smiled warily. "I’m listening…"

Megabyte had no intention of just sending an unknown sprite into the field and expecting him to obey orders. Still, the proposal was reasonable enough. Megabyte was to share certain files with Grid, as he called himself, who, in turn, would serve as Megabyte’s eyes and ears inside the Principal Office for a one-time operation. Long-term association, he decided, could be "discussed" at a later date.

Grid watched as Megabyte excused himself to talk with someone on a vid-window a short distance away. When the virus returned, he was smiling rather smugly.

"It has been brought to my attention, Grid, that a few of your dear friends have entered viral territory, apparently following you."

Mouse," Grid sighed.

"Yes, well her little spies have been captured. Would you like to see them?"

"Not particularly."

Megabyte’s eyes narrowed. "Oh, but I think you do. Follow me, if you don’t mind. You’ll enjoy this, I’m certain." The smile returned. "Trust me."

Grid followed closely behind the virus, as instructed. He didn’t much care to see whatever POWs Megabyte had come across. Mind you, it would make Mouse all the more suspicious if her lackeys never came home. But what was she going to say? "Hey Grid, where are those fellahs Ah sent to spy on you?" No, it would be a stalemate. But she would know.

Presently, they were approaching a door larger, and more heavily fortified than the others. As they passed by it, Grid could hear eerie screams emanating from the other side. He inquired about it to Megabyte, who simply muttered something about "A little family crisis". Soon, they reached the laboratory that Megabyte was looking for. As Grid entered, he saw two viral "one" binomes. One was attired as a doctor, while the other deformed one simply wandered around, making strange noises. He also saw two other binomes tied down to metal tables, a large laser-like device above each of them.

"This," Megabyte said, with great pride, "is our latest little toy. We can use it to cause a viral erase of recent memory in some of the lower forms of life here in Megaframe, with only minor chances of any irreversible side effects. You, Grid, I know are no stranger to amnesia, and are well aware that this can prevent them from revealing your actions. We can return them to their menial lives, without worry of loose lips."

The doctor binome grinned in evil glee as he turned to his accomplice. "Srrrrrow ze svitch!" he cried with great vigor. Grid watched as the lasers began to emit a blue ray that slowly moved towards the hapless binomes. He realized suddenly, that he had not been brought here for his own amusement. This was a demonstration.

"Crikey, Binky!" began one binome. "I think we-"

"Oh, do latch up, sir!"

Megabyte brought Grid outside after the awful scene had finished. "Those CPUs disappointed me. You’ve just seen what one of my toys can do. I have many other toys for people who disappoint me. Is that clear, boy?"

Grid met Megabyte’s gaze defiantly. Eventually, however, he lowered his eyes. "Perfectly clear. What’s the job?"

Megabyte smiled triumphantly. "Oh, quite simple really. And once it’s completed, you’ll receive your payment."

"In full?"

"Really Grid, one would almost think I didn’t have a trustworthy face. Would I try to cheat you?"

Grid answered this by repeating his first question. "What’s the job?"

"The young Matrix boy, the pretender. He can be of great use to me, should he fail to perform his Guardian duties properly. We don’t have the sophisticated equipment to determine where a cube will land, and I can’t afford to put all my troops on alert all over Mainframe at present. The Principal Office, however, can spot an incoming game a second away." Megabyte stopped when he saw Grid’s eyes glow a dark blue. Before clearing again.

Grid turned to him. "An incoming what?"

Megabyte wearily explained the concept of games to Grid, who looked not only confused, but also shocked. Eventually, though, he seemed to get it.

"So I’m to inform you when and where the next… game cube will land?"

"Precisely," said Megabyte, who chuckled quietly to himself.

Dot caught Grid reentering the Principal Office, and got more than a little nosey about his absence. Not very trusting people, these Mainframers… If all had gone according to plan, the two binomes had arrived back here some time ago, having no idea why they had left in the first place and annoying Mouse to no end. He risked a glance at her, but her face betrayed nothing. Soon, he had convinced Dot that he was just doing a little sightseeing in his new home, and it was his turn to ask her a question.

"Enzo mentioned something earlier about Megabyte having ‘family troubles’," he lied, "what’s that all about?"

"Oh, well, when the virals attacked, Megabyte had his sister with him, but she was deleted around the same time you got here."

Didn’t sound deleted to me… thought Grid, shuddering as he remembered the screams.

"At least… we think she was deleted. And we don’t know what happened to the other one…"

Other one? But Grid remembered that he probably didn’t have time for this just now. "I’ll be outside if anyone needs me. Don’t worry, I’ll stay by the Principal Office this time."

Dot wandered over to Mouse. "He seems a lot more energetic today, if anything. Starting to act a little more like himself?"

Mouse sniffed, disdainfully "Ah hope not. If he IS himself, then ‘himself’ is a royal pain, with a big mouth."

"I see. Any news about-"

"Hold up sugah. Ah’ve got an energy reading. We’ve definitely got us an incoming game."

Grid was vid-windowed by Dot, who warned him about the falling cube briefly. When Grid asked her where it would land, Dot hesitated, but gave him the coordinates, with another stiff warning not to approach the game. Grid politely thanked her for her concern, and closed the window quickly. He then sent the message to Megabyte, who watched delightedly as his screen was flooded with precise landing coordinates, and relayed the information to his troops.

"I want all available units around that area. The boy is not to play any more games until I say so."

He was interrupted by Herr Doktor, who fumbled in with another readout. "Pardon zee intrrrrrusion, mein grossen bitter, but vee have zee rrrresults of our scan."

"Ahh, good. Such a shame our new associate only stayed still long enough for a passive scan, but it will do. Now, Herr Doktor, let’s see what makes this… Grid… tick."

Herr Doktor nodded, grinning, but then something caught his eye. "Oh… vait… I’m sorry, zees can’t be right…" he laughed nervously. "Everything appears normal, except for a major-" Megabyte snatched the pad away. He read it carefully, until his eyes suddenly went very wide indeed.

Dot wasn’t too thrilled about how quiet the viral force had become within the last few nanos. She called over her shoulder to Mouse. "Give me an estimate as to how long we have until the game gets here." There was a pause. She turned and looked up at Mouse’s station. "Mouse? The game?" Mouse gave no indication that she had heard her. Dot marched up to where Mouse was working and peeked over her shoulder. "Something you care to share with the whole system, Mouse?"

Mouse looked up, caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Huh? Oh… Hi Dot, sorry…"

Dot peered at the window Mouse was ineffectively trying to close. She frowned as she recognized the familiar PLA logo. "Personal logging accounts? Mouse, how could you? What in the Net are you doing hacking into…" That’s when she noticed the account Mouse had requested. "Grid Run?" Her eyes narrowed, and she looked dangerously into Mouse’s eyes. "I don’t recall authorizing anyone to give Grid a logging account."

To Dot’s surprise, Mouse actually backed down. "Well, y’see… It’s like this Dot, hon, Ah figured if we gave the little liar an account, and told him it was secured…"

"Then you could crack his passcode and find out whatever it is that you think he isn’t telling us."

Mouse became pleading. "Dot, Ah know you must see it too. He’s hiding something. We have to find out what it is. You couldn’t do something like this, ‘cause you’re a system commander. You’ve got this moral code y’wanna stick to, but if someone were ta do it without tellin’ ya, and then you… happened across the info… Don’cha see Dot? Ah was doin’ it for Mainframe! For you."

Dot shook her head. "I can’t believe I’m hearing this. Mouse, this kind of paranoia is dangerous! My suspicions have nothing to do with it. Grid has agreed to help us beat Megabyte. Whether he’s registered or not, that makes him a citizen as far as I’m concerned. Grid has a logging account, all right, fine. I can deal with that. What I can’t deal with is anyone who would invade the privacy of any Mainframer under my command. Mouse, you are not to access any of Grid’s personal files or belongings, and I don’t care what you claim your reasons are!"

"But-"

"Furthermore, as soon as I have the time, I’m altering the schedule so that whenever you’re on duty, Grid isn’t. I can’t have two people working together who can’t get along." Dot turned to leave.

"So you’ll take me off duty when you’re here too, Ah suppose?" Mouse shot after her.

Dot halted in mid-step. She didn’t turn to face Mouse. "Get out of here." She whispered harshly. "You’re dismissed for the rest of the second."

"Yes sir!" Mouse sneered, as she stormed out of the command center, stopping only to kick a chair out from under a binome. "Oops." she muttered.

Phong shook his head helplessly. "Dot, my child. Please follow me." He led her into her own office.

"Phong, I’m sorry about Mouse. I’ll try to keep her under control-"

"That is all well and good, child, but I was more concerned about you. I am afraid you may be… letting your personal loss cloud your judgement."

Dot was about to protest, but his words had some truth to them. She hung her head. "You’re right of course, old friend. I try not to let it get to me, but it can be so hard not to…" her voice stuck in her throat, and she found herself about to break down again. Phong nodded sympathetically.

"I know child. But you must remember that you are not the only one who feels pain over the loss of our Guardian. We all share your loss, and are behind you whatever you do. We trust you. And to show how much I trust you, I will tell you something I have told no one else. When we mem-scanned Grid, I was able to scan his code, briefly."

Dot looked up at this. "What did you find?"

Phong shook his head. "He does not resemble anything we know. His code is much like that of a normal sprite. However, his energy level is at least 70 times that of any of us.

"What?! That’s insane! What in the Net would a sprite do with all that energy?"

"I have absolutely no idea. There does not appear to be any way he can access this energy, or utilize it. So I decided it might be best if we not tell him about it. If he has lost his memory, and he is not aware of it, then there is no danger."

Dot nodded. "And if we don’t tell anyone else, they won’t worry about it."

"Precisely." agreed Phong. "We must find some classification for him. We cannot have the entire city referring to him as ‘it’ for the rest of his life."

Dot thought for a moment. "Well, let’s give him a temporary classification as a Web Sprite."

Phong looked agreeable to this, but the conversation was cut short.

"WARNING: INCOMING GAME…"

"Oh NO!" cried Dot, as she rushed out of her office. "The game! I forgot all about it!"

She followed Enzo, who was already dashing out of the Principal Office, zip-board in hand. She caught up with him halfway to the game, but only because he slowed down.

"Trouble?" she asked.

Enzo just pointed. In the distance, standing between them and the game, were countless ABCs. They were coming towards them.

"How did they get here so fast?!" stammered Dot in disbelief. "Let’s get out of here before we end up Megabyte’s next meal!"

But Enzo did not look ready to retreat. He looked ready to rush the whole armada. Dot’s jaw dropped. "Oh no you don’t!" she said, as she grabbed him off his board, and held the struggling Guardian close, trying to console him. "It’s alright little bro, let’s just get out of here." She proceeded to do just that.

Dot re-entered the Principal Office, and was greeted by a host of concerned faces. Phong hurried to her. "Dot! We heard about the viral attack force! Are you hurt?"

AndrAIa’s eyes were darting around, panicked. She looked worried sick. "Where’s Enzo?! Is he alright?"

Dot knelt down, and hugged her. "Enzo’s fine AndrAIa, don’t worry. He… he just wants to be alone for a little while, okay?"

"Why?"

Dot paused a moment before answering. "Well… because he’s very frustrated. We both are."

She stood up, and looked around the gloomy command center. She put on her bravest face. "Hey, come on, don’t look so down everyone. The reports of our deletion have been greatly exaggerated. The ABCs didn’t even fire a shot." She didn’t get the cheerful reaction she was hoping for, and soon, even her forced smile vanished. "But the people in the game… without a Guardian…" she didn’t have to finish the sentence.

Phong spoke for her. "Megabyte will pay for this!"

Mouse chose that moment to step back in. She looked hopefully at Dot, who nodded. "Take your station Mouse. Let’s win us a war."

Mouse smiled, albeit briefly. "Locked, loaded, and ready ta cook, sugah." Then she became solemn again. "Dot? Ah wanted to apologize."

Dot shook her head. "So do I, Mouse."

"Thank ya hon. and… Ah promise Ah’ll try to be more of a team player from now on. We’re all in this thing together, and Ah wanna do my part."

Dot allowed herself a smile. Maybe this day wasn’t such a disaster after all. "Alright people, the number one objective now is to monitor the game. Let’s also try to find out how Megabyte knew where it would land. He has equipment that can predict games, but not nearly as powerful as ours and certainly not effective enough to give him time to amass a fleet right next to it. It’s almost as if he used our own information." She saw Mouse stiffen out of the corner of her eye, but she remained silent. "I’ll be in my office. Tell me when Enzo gets back."

Mouse followed Dot with her eyes until she disappeared behind the door. She was about to follow, when Grid came back in. He looked out of breath.

"I heard… Mouse, are they okay?"

Mouse decided that maybe Dot had been right. She should give the toad another chance. "Dot and Enzo are fine, sugah. Much to the relief of everyone here. ‘Specially her." She pointed to AndrAIa, who was sitting, patiently awaiting her friend’s return. "She went right flipped out when we heard the rumor that they’d been attacked."

Grid stared long and hard at AndrAIa. "I don’t know about that kid… It’s like she doesn’t really belong here. She just looks out of place."

Mouse nodded. "There’s good reason fer that. She’s not from here. She’s a game sprite…" Mouse paused, and her eyes narrowed at Grid, the intense suspicion returning with a vengeance. "Oh no ya don’t. I saw that!"

Grid was taken aback. "What? What is it."

"Don’t gimme that look! Yer good, but Ah’m better!" Mouse suddenly became aware of all the eyes that were now on her, but she didn’t care. "Ah saw your code skip a beat when Ah said that! Ah even saw yer eyes go weird, just like Enzo said! Ah thought you said you didn’t know nothin’ about games, so why does that freak you out?"

Grid didn’t look angry at her evaluation of him, in fact he looked about ready to cry. "I… I don’t understand! What are you talking about?"

"And speakin’ of rumors," she continued relentlessly. "Ah’ve heard my share about you lately. Seems there’s a nasty one goin’ around now about you sneakin’ off to Level 31 every few nanos for ‘unknown reasons’. What’s that about?"

"Mouse! I…"

"And just how did Megabyte know about that game?!" she demanded, building to a fortissimo.

"MOUSE!" shouted a voice from below. "That is enough!" It was Phong.

Mouse looked at Grid’s horrified face, for a moment, unsure if it was false or not. She realized she’d just stepped over the line. Big time. "Ah… Ah’m sorry Phong… Ah don’t know what came over me…" She walked over to Dot’s office door. Just as she was about to enter, she glanced in Grid’s direction one more time. He was still staring intently at AndrAIa.

"Mouse, come in." smiled Dot.

Mouse wandered in and sat down. "Uh… Dot? Ah know how Ah said Ah’d be more of a team player, and… well Ah think Ah should come clean with you ‘bout somethin’."

Mouse explained everything to Dot. About how she had sent spies after Grid, about how he had been in all the right places to be the security leak, about his suspicious behavior. Everything.

Dot didn’t seem angry with her, and that was a start. She still, however, refused to label Grid the culprit. "We don’t know much about him. He’s easy to point the finger at, but we have no proof. I’ll tell you what I told Enzo. I’ll keep my eye on him. And by the way, we’ve categorized him as a Web Sprite."

Mouse nodded. "Yer right, hon, Ah’ll try to keep an open mind. But just remember this. Ah’m almost never wrong about these things." With that, she left.

When Enzo returned, he was not in high spirits. Shortly after that, the announcement they had feared boomed through the system. The User had won. Mouse eventually offered to accompany the young Guardian into the games from then on, and AndrAIa volunteered too.

This required Mouse to reconfigure AndrAIa’s icon, along with her own, so that they could enter games. She offered the same to Grid, who simply said "No, that’s okay Mouse. I don’t need to". Foiled again…

Grid’s mysterious trips into Mainframe were becoming more frequent, and the rumors were flying. Grid was said to be everything from a virus in disguise, to another dangerous Web Creature. Even Mouse tried to silence some of the more ridiculous ones. One way or another, he was certainly becoming unpopular among Mainframe’s forces.

Enzo, on the other hand, was becoming something of a local hero, and his title was finalized when he helped to trap Megabyte inside a firewall. Shortly after this, however, all of Mainframe suffered another terrible blow. One game exited the system, and left no one behind. Dot's horrified screams echoed throughout the Principle Office, and Grid silently cursed, although it was for a different reason. AndrAIa had been in that game. He hadn’t even had a chance to talk to her alone. Now he would never get the chance to ask his many questions.

The next big news was that Hexadecimal, Megabyte’s sister, had escaped his clutches, and returned to Lost Angles. Again, there was talk of "another", but Grid never found out to whom they referred to.

Dot sat in her office, mulling over reports she could hardly see through her tears. She had lost everything. Her best friend whom she had come to love, her last living relative, and, if Megabyte had his way, she would soon lose her home.

Mouse stormed into her office, dropped a notepad on her desk, and walked back out.

Dot, who had barely noticed her, picked up the notepad and examined it curiously. It opened into a .mov. She quickly realized that this was apparently taken from Mouse’s ship, while it was laying the firewall cylinders. It was a shot of the Tor. The short clip played, and looped back again. Dot was puzzled, but then she saw a small speck moving near the Tor. She enlarged the section and played it again. It was Grid. He was on a zip-board, and flying towards the Tor. She gaped, perplexed, and as the clip finished, another text window opened next to it. It read as follows:

Dot slammed the window shut, murder in her eyes. It had been Grid. All this time. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but one thing was certain.

There would be hell to pay.