"NO!"

Emidecimal's shout was too late to stop anything from happening. The Game struck the energy cannon and Hexadecimal's tortured "Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi!" pierced the air. Emi was powerless to help her as she writhed in agony. The unrelenting electricity ran over her body, sizzling and crackling. She cried out as bolts of white light poured from her eyes and her mouth, sending lines of charred black out over her mask. Emi flew over to her, scared to death, unable to just stand by and see her in such pain. There had to be something she could do!

She woke up screaming!

Emidecimal gasped....then looked around her room. She was having her electrocution nightmare again. Ever since she and Hex had escaped Megabyte, her dreams had replayed the horrifying scene night after night. What does it mean? she wondered.

Grid's exit from the Principal office had been less than mature. He had stormed out in a huff, taken a zipboard, and just flown out, with no real destination. What in User's name was he supposed to do now?

"Ohhh, Grid," he said in a mocking falsetto as he made an angry sharp right to avoid a billboard. "We can't let you stay here. You might turn on us. We think you might be basic enough to let the local viral force take over our stupid little city!"

"Who needs them? What is it they don't like about me anyway? I run a little errand for Megabyte, and it's get-thee-out! I help them out during their war at least as much as I help Megabyte, and ask nothing in return from them! And what do they do? Well if that's gratitude..." He turned his head towards the Principal Office and yelled at the top of his lungs, as if they could hear him "Then to the Web with ALL of you!"

Grid bit his lower lip and quickly looked around to make sure he had drawn no spectators with his outburst. Then he pulled the data pad from his sleeve. It was his payment from Megabyte.

"Well, I got it." he grumbled to himself. "I hope someone's happy..."

He took a new route each time, but his destination was always the same. Level 31. He had a delivery to make.

En-route, he opened the file that he planned to send to his superiors. He waited impatiently for it to load up, and sighed when the pad finally beeped. "Alright, now let's see what we have here…"

His eyes went wide, as he stared in shock at the flashing warning on the screen.

"Access Denied?! Megabyte!" he roared.

"I had this weird dream last night." Emidecimal sat down on her usual seat, a purple-seated black stool near Hex's throne.

"Really? Tell me."

Emi proceeded to tell every detail of her dream to Hex, from every wispy cloud in the orange sky to every sizzling wave of white-blue electricity enveloping Hex's body. "I couldn't do anything... same as it was before. I could only scream. And that's how I woke up, screaming bloody erasure like I did that same day."

Hex frowned. "This is odd... wouldn't you have had the dream while you were in the Tor or the Principal Office? Did this just start now?"

"Just a few nights ago..." Emi shrugged. "Well, do you think it means anything?"

"I don't know. To say it meant something would be my undoing... after all, I was nearly destroyed in that dream."

Emi sighed. "Maybe Megabyte will give me a second opinion." She stood up. "Off to the Tor, then. Goodbye."

"Do be careful, love," Hex cautioned. "You were, after all, his slave just a while ago."

"Yes, but I was the one who got us out of there!" Emi smirked.

Hex waved. "Buh-byee!"

"Catch!" called Mouse to Specks, tossing a hardcopy of the latest firewall readout.

Specks gazed worriedly through his enormous lens at the sheet. "Oh dear… shall I get Dot?"

"Ah… don't wanna disturb her right now. Ah saw her headed for Enzo's room again…"

Specks nodded, understandingly. "I'll get Phong up here right away. What in the net could Megabyte be up to?"

Mouse shook her head. "Ah'm not sure. If Ah didn't know better, Ah'd say he was tryin' to establish a communications chan- Specks? You alright?" Specks was shaking like a leaf, and looking over her left shoulder. She spun, and found herself face to face with the virus himself.

"Good day, Mouse." he said cheerfully, through the static-filled vid-window. "I just thought it only fair to let you know that we are quite close to breaking through this delightful firewall of yours. Please prepare the Principal Office for my arrival."

Mouse snarled. "You just don't get it, do you Megabyte? We'll never let you take Mainframe-"

"Yes, yes, we've been through this. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm expecting a rather important call. Good day."

Mouse watched the window close, and stomped off to inform Phong.

Grid's fist slammed down on the data pad, and a small telephone appeared on the screen. It rang once, and was replaced by Megabyte's face. He smiled slightly, revealing at least one row of teeth.

"Why, if it isn't my dear friend the web sprite." intoned Megabyte pleasantly. "Really, you never call me anymore. I do worry so..."

"Save it!" grunted Grid. "You rotten back-stabber, these logs are password protected."

"Oh, really?" muttered Megabyte, who had developed a sudden fascination with his claws. "Must've been a mix-up somewhere. Oh, and by the way, I do apologize for the poor reception you may be getting. Firewalls can be something of an annoyance that way."

"I don't have time for this, Megabyte. Give me the passwords. I've done everything you've asked, and now it's time to pay up."

"Ah, but there's where the problem lies. You see, I can't for the code of me remember what they are." He leaned forward and allowed a triumphant grin to spread across his face. "Such a pity, don't you think?"

Grid tried not to shake too visibly with anger, and resisted the urge to smash the pad against the nearest hard surface. The virus had him exactly where he wanted him.

"Of course," continued Megabyte, now thoroughly enjoying himself, "you could always head to the Principal Office and have the hacker find a way around them. I know how highly your dear friends regard you..."

The web sprite's head dropped, and he slowly, painfully read the script that Megabyte was laying before him. "So what exactly is needed to... remind you?"

Megabyte chuckled softly. "Oh, nothing serious. Just a little unfinished business I'd like resolved. My beloved sister has become something of a thorn in my side. I need her... removed."

Grid had, of course, heard of Hexadecimal. He knew a little about her powers and what he knew made her out to be a tough customer. "Well, I'm quite flattered that you're 8-bit enough to overestimate my abilities like that, because I was under the impression that Hexadecimal is not done away with so easily. Or are we talking about different sisters entirely? Maybe you have a family PhotoShop album I could see..."

"Oh, just as I hoped, you've heard of her. I have no fear that you can deliver, Grid. You're such a clever boy, after all."

Grid sniffed in disgust. "Get yourself another stooge. Your little quarrels aren't my concern."

Megabyte's look suddenly changed from patronizingly pleasant to dangerously agitated. "Oh, I've found, boy, that it's amazing how fast one's 'concerns' can change when it suits their purpose." He leaned forward even more, so that now his whole face filled the screen. "Now do as I command, or our deal is off!"

The connection was instantly severed at Megabyte's end.

Grid groaned wearily. After a moment of imagining what could happen to him if he didn't get the information, he decided it would be best to take his chances with Hexadecimal. His head clouded with anger, he turned his board towards Lost Angles. Grid had never met Hex face to face, but he had no doubt he would know her when he saw her.

The web sprite looked down at the amazing structure known as the Guilded Gate Bridge, admiring it for a heartbeat. A moment later he wished he'd watched where he was going, as he slammed into what felt like a brick wall.

Emidecimal too cried out in surprise as she collided full force with something she wasn't even aware had been there. She glanced to the side to get a good look at it, but in doing so lost her balance and fell backward. Spam it, she thought, and I don't even know what I- Her thoughts were cut off as she splashed into the energy sea.

It took a moment for Grid to steady himself on his zipboard, and in a quick glance caught sight of a sprite-like figure in front of him, probably female. You dipswitch! cried his mind. Sprites don't fly! Suddenly it clicked. A female, with viral abilities... It had to be her! He watched in wonder as the virus spiraled out of the skies and land with a dull splash in the energy sea. "Wha… Is my luck that good?" he muttered to himself.

Emi instinctively held in what breath remained in her and kicked violently up through the energy, bursting free in a white flash. She lashed out a long skinny arm and struck the water, making the same motion with her other arm, pulling herself through the water with long, powerful strokes. Swimming was something she had learned in the User World, an ability unique to Users. No cyber-denizen that she knew of could do it. She swam back toward the system and caught hold of the edge of it.

She hung there panting. "What in the Net was that I hit?"

Grid's mind raced. What he was witnessing, as far as he was concerned, defied the very laws of the Net. Why Hexadecimal hadn't been deleted in the fall was beyond his comprehension. He moved in for a closer look, and could tell now that what he was looking at was viral. He decided to play it safe, and just have a little... chat with Megabyte's (apparently much younger) sister. "Maybe I should teach her how to fly," he grumbled.

Emidecimal climbed up onto the system, shaking energy out of her hair. She glanced up and saw the figure on a zipboard coming toward her. Her eyes flashed with anger, and she glared at him as he pulled to a halt in front of her. "Who are you?" she demanded, a trace of a hostile growl in her voice.

"Someone who knows how to keep his balance, apparently!" he chuckled. "Maybe you should watch your airspace now and then, it'll save you a blow-dry!"

"ME?" she shot back. "You're the one who's so lost in his own stupidity that he can't even see where he's going!" She tossed her head, flicking a few energy droplets onto him.

Grid looked at the very visible spots on his shirt and took a moment to regain his composure. "Listen you little… I don't know who you are," I have a pretty good idea though… "but you stay out of my way if you want to process your next meal."

The virus laughed harshly. "If you don't get out of my sight this instant and stay out of it my next meal will be you."

Grid was certainly not about to challenge Megabyte's psycho sister to a one on one, but he was in no hurry to back off. "Well, sounds like you've used that comeback a lot. You must get plenty of chances. I've got better places to be right now, but here's a free tip. Get some flying lessons!" He zipped off back to Mainframe and called back over his shoulder "And a towel!"

Emi watched the figure take off towards Level 31, and began to shake her arms dry. "I didn't know Net denizens could be such klutzes...."

"So then he just said something about 'another call', and he severed the connection."

Phong nodded at the vid-window that was currently displaying a rather miffed hacker. "Ah… so Megabyte claims he can escape the firewall. I somehow doubt that, child."

"So do Ah." Admitted Mouse. "Th' question now is, what is he up to, and what does it have to do with the firewall?"

"My guess would be that Megabyte is trying to distract us from something. We cannot allow this. We must keep ourselves at ready for any unusual occurrences."

"What's that, Phong? Megabyte's up to something?" came a voice from behind the old sprite. He turned, and found himself looking at a new Dot. She was wearing a different colored uniform, and her face was set in a look of cold determination. She placed her hands on her hips. "I don't think so."

Grid took a deep breath before removing his icon. This was not going to be fun. The icon transformed into the small vid-window with the gray icon shimmering on the screen. There was a pause before he received any acknowledgement. When it came, it came in the same gravelly voice that it always did.

"Checking in so soon?"

Grid took another breath, and decided to dance around the issue. "You requested a report of what I found. I'm downloading it to you now." He tapped a few keys, and the vid-window began to whir quietly.

There was a pause. "Is that it? You know I can't get around to reading that yet anyway. At least tell me you got the files I requested. Or can you not even get that right?"

"That's actually the other thing we need to talk about."

An audible snort came from the other end. "I guessed as much."

"I can get the files," continued Grid, ignoring the remark. "it's just gonna take a little longer that I thought it might… and I need something."

"Already crawling to me for help, huh? What in the Net could you possibly need?"

Grid bit his lip for a moment. "An explosive charge." An uncomfortable pause followed. Grid continued. "Specifically a trip-mine of sorts."

"I won't ask," was the slow reply. "But do you have any idea how much juice a file transfer like that takes up? Including masking so that it can't be traced?"

"Do you want the files or not?" answered the web sprite, a little too quickly.

"Alright. Just this once. How much of a blast do you need?"

Grid's eyes narrowed. "I need something that'll create at least a small cave-in."

Within seconds, the tiny, blinking object was in his hands. "Don't screw this one up. I mean it this time," threatened the vid-window, which immediately severed the link, and reverted back to Grid's icon.

He sped off towards Lost Angles again, this time making sure there was no one else around. He hovered over the spot he thought the Lair might be, until a gaping hole in the ground opened below him. Grid smiled. Phong had been right. He moved away, letting the hole close, and flipped the trip-mine like a coin right where it should open again, the next time Hexadecimal went in or out of her Lair. He sighed. Sometimes it was just too easy.

Emidecimal flew disappointedly away from G-Prime. Megabyte didn't seem to want to chat, and she wasn't in the mood to go up against a firewall at the moment. Instead, she decided to check back on Hex.

It had been a lousy second, she decided at last. "I swear, if just one more thing goes wrong this cycle, somebody's gonna be digital-flambé…" she growled to herself.

"Step into my parlor…" muttered Grid, with a grin, from behind a fence where he could keep an eye on the lair entrance. The flying figure was approaching, as he had expected. With more than a little irritation, he shook the fifth null in as many nanos from his leg. "Code-suckers. Where did you all come from?" Lost Angles seemed to be full of the leeches. Perfect company for the little pushover, thought Grid with only a twinge of guilt for what he was about to do.

The virus descending towards the Lair hesitated for a moment, then casting a look towards the Web sprite's cover. Grid froze. There was no way she could see him, was there? After a micro, she turned back towards the entrance, and flew in. Grid plugged his ears.

No explosion came. Grid had to bite his tongue to keep from shouting in exasperation. He dashed towards the opening, and skidded to a halt just before it closed. He poked his head in. The bomb's trip mechanism stared back at him, the word "ACME" written in bright red letters on it.

*CLICK* *BEEP*

The exact amount of time Grid had to idly wonder what precisely it was that the entire Net had against him was too finite to calculate.

"Well…" came the less than impressed voice of the young virus. "Look what the nulls dragged in. Do come in."

"Unghfff…" answered Grid wittily.

He felt himself being slowly lifted off the ground, and opened his eyes. Seeing nothing, he looked down to find the viral was holding him in the air by the collar with one hand, and threatening him with the claws on her other hand.

"I've made a decision." choked Grid. "I don't like you. I mean I really don't like you. I've also decided that I like your brother even less. Neither of you viruses have any sense of fun."

The viral snarled and tossed him to the ground. "Well, I don't like you either! One, my brother's not a virus and two, Hex always said I knew how to have fun!"

Grid blinked. Uh oh… "Excuse me? Uh… you mean… you're not Hexadecimal?"

Emi blinked as well. In amusement. "No. Sorry to bust your bubble, klutz-boy."

>Grid couldn't stand it. "How many viruses does this system have?" he cried. "Megabyte's gonna have my code for this! I'm supposed to delete Hexadecimal, not you!"

Emidecimal's eyes widened. "Delete Hex? Now I really don't like you!" she stalked closer to him. "Now listen very carefully, because I'm only gonna say this once. Then repeat it slowly so that you can understand it. I'm in a really lousy mood right now, and getting caught in a cave-in did not help. So you're going to tell me everything, or tonight, I go bowling with your head."

"None of your business."

The virus smirked, and extended her claws again. "You're dealing with Emidecimal, dahling. It's everyone's business."

Grid sighed. "Alright, fine. Do you think I like being a hired gun? I happen to have Megabyte's word that he'll give me what I want once I pop off your little friend. That's all you need to know."

"Well, you'll just have to ask for it for Christmas," growled Emi threateningly, advancing on Grid with the intention of sending him straight out of the Lair. Third class.

"Ooo!" came a cheerful voice from behind her. "We have company! How lovely!"

"A new skylight!" gushed Hexadecimal, surveying the wreckage around her Lair. "Oh, Emi, you shouldn't have! Am I blushing?"

"Skylight..." huffed Emi. "Yeah, you can thank klutz-boy here for that."

"Uh… excuse me, my name's Grid."

"Shut up, klutz-boy!!"

"Hoooo-kay."

Hex appeared next to Grid in a white flash. "Grid! So nice to meet you, I'm Hexadecimal." She shook his hand with great force, and smiled an impossibly huge smile.

Grid was taken aback. "Uh… hi."

"Of course you've already met Emi here." continued Hex, gesturing towards the fuming girl. "Say hello to the nice young man, love."

Emi stomped a boot in frustration. "Spammit, Hex! Klutz-boy is the one Megabyte sent to delete you!

Hexadecimal's smile didn't vanish as she turned to Grid, but it took on a more devious look. "Oh, I don't think we have to worry about that now, do we?"

Grid sighed. "No. Forget it. It's not worth it anyway. Besides, I wouldn't want to step on Emidecimal's toes." He added sarcastically.

This time, Emi smirked. "Then don't. It's a pain to clean these boots even with all the trouble I get into each cycle. Besides, I'd hate to think what you've stepped in.

Grid turned on his heel and marched off to look for a way out. "Wonderful. At least three virals in this city, and I end up trapping myself with the smart-ASCII. Megabyte was right. He really is the only one I can trust around here."

He was suddenly cut off as Hex's face jumped in front of him, quickly followed by the rest of her. She had her arms on his shoulders. "Megabyte, you say?" She asked, with interest. With a flash, she was gone again, but reappeared a moment later with a long pointer stick, and a graduation cap. Tossing the cap at him, she waved the stick majestically. "My dear Grid, you've got a lot to learn." She smiled wickedly. "But luckily for you, class is about to start!"

"Energy buildup!" announced Specks.

"Another game?" asked Mouse, from her station.

Specks shook his head. "No… some kind of explosion! Pinpointing the location now…"

Dot frowned. "Megabyte has to be behind this somehow. He's trying to throw us off. Maintain watch on the firewall, but dispatch a team to check it out. What are those coordinates?"

Specks punched a few more buttons. "Alright, I'm getting a reading. Explosion originated in… Lost Angles…"

The command center went silent. Dot shook her head. "Not good. This is not good."

Grid slammed his fist in his hand. "That dirty cheat! He was never planning to pay up, even if I had deleted you."

"Well, I certainly doubt he would have," agreed Hex.

Emi sat, observing all this from her stool. "Eventually you learn it's best to negotiate with Megabyte by beating him senseless."

Grid nodded, thinking of what he'd do to with that virus if he ever got his hands on him. "With what he did to you two, I'm surprised you didn't nuke his Tor."

Hexadecimal's head snapped to attention. Grid watched her. "What?" he asked. He turned to see Emidecimal getting to her feet, a grin on her face.

"What do you think, love?" Asked Hex.

"I think klutz-boy has potential."

The vid-window opened, displaying a smiling Megabyte. His smile vanished when he saw the three figures who were calling.

"Grid! What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

The Web sprite chuckled happily. "Well Megabyte, I was chatting with your sister and her friend and.. well.. we decided I have more in common with them than you. See.. none of us like you very much."

Megabyte slammed his fist down. "Traitor!"

Grid continued to laugh. "What can I say, sir? The hours were better."

Emi butted in. "Hi Megabyte! Long time no chat! Say, since your lackey made such a mess of Hex's place, we thought we'd return the favor!"

Megabyte's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare…"

Hexadecimal pushed the other two out of the way, and reached out, and if to choke the life out of her steamed sibling through the window. "No longer will I wear you shackles, brother! Now it is my turn to rattle your bones!!"

Megabyte kept his gaze level for a moment, then swiftly began putting his forces on alert, and shutting the vid-window.

Grid smiled. "Now, see that?" he indicated where Megabyte's face had been. "That was fun!"

The two viruses nodded, and laughed as they made their way towards the distant Tor.