"Rebels… ATTACK!!"

At Matrix's word, Mainframe's resistance launched it's long-awaited assault on the Principal Office. With Mainframe's Guardians finally home, and the crew of the Saucy Mare as back-up, they were ready to challenge Megabyte, and maybe even stand a fighting chance. But one of the Guardians was missing….

Bob, for his part would have been perfectly happy to join the assault, but he had far more pressing issues to deal with at that moment.

"I've been so bored." Lamented Hexadecimal to him from somewhere unseen. "But it will be so much more interesting… now that you're here!"

Soon, Bob found himself completely at the mercy of Hex's insanity, as she danced him around the Lair like a rag doll.

"Everything's been so disgustingly predictable ever since you left." Hex was saying. "My brother taking over the system, the User off-lining sector after sector, Ms. Matrix - if you don't mind my saying so - being an absolute crybaby… Honestly Bob, if it weren't for the hope of your return, that Grid child, and the occasional visit from Emidecimal, I just might have gone mad!"

She laughed heartily at this, and Bob managed to stammer out an "ulp" as she threw him into a dip.

"I don't bother going outside anymore, you see. Far too much destruction. The whole system's one idiotic shade of gray or another… so dull. So dull, my dear Bob…" She dropped her head for a moment, and sniffled quietly, before spinning him around a few more times.

Wonderful, thought Bob. All Hex's randomness needed was to be coupled with cabin fever. Perhaps this was why her little rodent was nowhere to be seen. He thought for a moment about Grid, whom Hex had mentioned. Enzo… Matrix that is, seemed to know him all too well, and Dot had summed him up as public enemy number one. And as for Megabyte… Bob promised himself that somehow, he would make him pay…

But one virus problem at a time…

Megabyte scowled in his throne. This wasn't going well at all. Somehow, that pest, Dot had acquired the firepower to effectively remove a great deal of his ABCs. The exact cause of the explosion that had claimed so many of his pilots, and compromised his defenses was still under investigation. It irritated him to say the least.

There was no doubt in his mind what had driven the rebels to choose this moment to strike, and although there was no sign of Bob yet, Megabyte felt certain he would show himself soon. He grinned slightly, and slowly scraped his claws on the arm rests, the horrible sound of metal against metal echoing through the chamber. If he could get his claws into Bob just once before escaping this dead system, it would all be worth it. This thought made him stiffen in surprise. He was programmed to corrupt, and conquer, and yet he now wondered if he might throw away the opportunity to take control of the entire Supercomputer just to satisfy his revenge.

He decided to walk down to where Herr Doktor should be taking care of Phong right about now. Yes… a good execution would help clear his head.

Matrix and AndrAIa stopped dead in front of a large door, clearly marked with Megabyte's viral symbol. Matrix's mouth went dry.

"AndrAIa?" he heard himself mutter.

"I know." She answered. "This is something you have to do alone."

Under any other circumstance, he may have turned to smile at her. Of course she understood. Somehow, she always did. Even after he had left, she looked on after him. At least she did until she felt a hand across her eyes, and another clamped over her mouth.

The Lair's walls seemed to spin menacingly for Bob, even after Hexadecimal had released him. All thoughts of forcefully getting away from her had long since vanished from his mind. Not because he was afraid, but because something was wrong. There was a difference between being completely random in nature, and suffering from silent dementia.

Much as he would have liked to leave, his Guardian protocols made that impossible. Hexadecimal needed his help, and right now, that was all that mattered to Bob.

AndrAIa reached behind her, and flipped her attacker forward. He landed with a satisfying crack, but immediately jumped back up, and spun to face her in a ready position. She squinted in the poor light. He was definitely familiar, and apparently was thinking the same thing about her. It was he who spoke first, a sly grin spreading across his face.

"My, my. They do grow up fast nowaseconds…"

That did it. She immediately placed the voice. The boy before her was the web sprite that had appeared in Mainframe just before Matrix had lost the game. The green tint to his eyes bespoke that he was certainly not here to help.

He continued to speak. "It's true, isn't it? That you're a game sprite?" She didn't answer. "Maybe I'm sick in the head, but as soon as I heard that… I wanted to fight you. I wanted to know how good you really were. I guess dreams really can come true."

Her eyes narrowed and she bared her teeth as she extended her spines. "Then allow me to be the first to wake you up."

They regarded each other for a moment, before Grid tried a tackle. She easily sidestepped, and caught him in the back with her boot. He spun angrily, and they began to circle each other. She smiled. He was way out of his league. He had attacked her with skill and discipline that reflected his age. Before, she had been the child. Now, he was a good seven or eight megacycles her younger. She considered allowing him to come to her, and simply wear him down, but the rebels needed her help.

She reached back and pulled out her trident. One blow should be enough.

Grid was not amused. "So that's how you want to play it?" he spat. Quickly, he reached down, and pulled his file-lock sidearm from its holster, and leveled it at her. "Then I'm afraid it'll have to wait. Now drop that thing… before you put someone's eye out."

AndrAIa cursed inwardly. Apparently Grid had seen Matrix. The trident clattered to the ground, and Grid backed slowly into the door Matrix had entered moments ago. He left the trident behind.

That was a mistake. The first of three that Grid Run was about to make.

Inside, Matrix and Megabyte were already locked in a brawl. The virus clearly had the upper hand, but Matrix was holding his own. Grid dropped to one knee, and tried to get a clean shot at the Guardian. One was not forthcoming.

Suddenly, he was glad he had gotten low, as he heard AndrAIa call from behind him. A moment later, the trident whizzed past his head, taking all three of them by surprise. Matrix and Megabyte both ducked just in time to save themselves a nasty haircut. Matrix was the first to recover, and pulled the trident from the wall. Apparently, he had no lack of skill with it himself. Grid turned back to watch the fight.

That was his second mistake.

Within seconds, he felt himself growing dizzy, and he became aware of the game sprite behind him. "I'll let you know how it ends." He heard her mutter.

"For you, Bob? Anything…" Hex was saying, with a hint of a smile at her lips.

Bob had no time to reply, and he suddenly found himself engulfed in sparkles. They were taking him somewhere. He wasn't concerned. After dealing with Hexadecimal's tea and biscuits, he felt like he could take on a dozen Megabytes. I hope I'm not too late…He thought. Hang on Enzo… Hang on Dot.

AndrAIa's eyes turned to the fight between Megabyte and Matrix. For a moment, she considered joining the fray, but Matrix would never forgive her if she did. She noticed movement from where she had felled Grid only moments ago. He had begun to stir already. She was surprised by the amazing recovery, and assumed it was his viral state that kept him going. No time to deal with him now, AndrAIa thought as she followed the combatants to the roof.

When she finally caught up, she found Matrix standing over a defeated Megabyte, the trident hovering over his head. Then, in Megabyte's voice, AndrAIa heard something she'd never heard before. Fear.

"You can't do this!" he wheezed. "It goes against everything you stand for…"

As much as it sickened her, AndrAIa felt her heart go out to him at that moment, and actually felt pity for the old virus. She swallowed tightly, wondering if Matrix could find it in himself to do that same.

"You took away my life," responded the renegade coldly. "Destroyed my home. Caused nothing but pain, and suffering to everyone I held dear!" He raised the trident above his head, and brought it down with a clang… right next to Megabyte's head.

"Surprised?" asked Matrix, with a touch of amusement. "Don't be. You're not worth it. Mainframe will always endure! Remember this defeat! This humiliation! Remember that you can never win."

AndrAIa beamed with pride. Somewhere along the way, Enzo had become more than a warrior. He had become a man.

At that moment, her ears caught a sound behind her. She turned to see Grid making a mad rush past her, and towards Matrix.

"Enzo!" she cried. Matrix turned around just in time to see Grid leaping into the air with a viral roar… and ducked.

Three.

AndrAIa rushed to Matrix's side, and they watched in stunned horror as Grid's figure fell, seemingly forever, roaring in anguish all the way down. Megabyte, having no time for such concerns, used the distraction to push himself off the roof, and onto a girder below.

"No!" he shouted. "You remember, boy! How I turned defeat into victory! How I left you with a dying system!"

He pressed a command on his wrist-pad, bringing the now-stable tear down to his level. He limped purposefully towards it, savoring the energy it pulsed with. To the Web with this system anyway. To the Web with mindless slaves like Grid. To the Web with his sister. To the Web with bumbling doctors, and useless armies. The Supercomputer awaited him. All Matrix and AndrAIa could do was watch. Mouse, on the other hand, was in a position to do better.

"One last double-cross, shugah?" she offered.

The portal suddenly changed, and darkened. Where the Supercomputer had been now were tentacles, reaching through to drag Megabyte into the Web.

A pair of blurry hazel eyes opened, much to the amazement of the young sprite attached to them. Before the cobwebs cleared, before he even remembered why he hadn't expected to wake up again, a single word came to his lips, and escaped out of instinct.

"Taaz?" Kem managed to get out.

Slowly, he began to right himself, eventually managing to get into a sitting position. Memories came flooding back. The sudden evacuation of the ship they had stowed away in, the discovery of the explosives, the penguin… who was that bird, anyway?

He turned, and saw Taazki lying face-down on the pavement, her zipboard nowhere to be seen. She hadn't fared as well as he had. He scrambled to her side as she began to stir. He rolled her over to see a nasty cut over her right temple, but other than that, she didn't appear to be injured in any way.

"Where-?" Taazki muttered as her eyes refocused. "Kem? What… where are we? I remember the… the explosives."

"We were on a ship. There was no one else there. We found the explosives, that's right. Do you remember leaving the ship?"

She shook her head after a moment. Kem sighed. "We searched the ship for zipboards, and when we found them, we tried to get away… I guess we didn't quite make it far enough."

She smiled weakly. "But we're alive."

"You and your optimism…" he chortled with disgust mixed with relief.

"So, where are we?"

"I'm not sure yet. Wherever those pirates were headed… here we are. Must be their home system. And from the looks of it, it could use a face-lift."

Taazki didn't get a chance to answer that, because the ground began to shake violently.

"Now what?" Kem asked.

"I don't know. Can't be good though. Come on, we'd better find the Command.com."

"You sure you can walk?"

"You sure you can keep up?"

"The city!" shouted AndrAIa over the din. "It's shutting down!"

"Megabyte's legacy," observed Bob, venomously.

Matrix shook his head. "What we need is a plan."

Hack and Slash's babble broke out behind them, and they all turned to see that the two bumbling 'bots had joined them on the roof of the Principal Office. Dot was with them.

"I couldn't agree more."

Matrix oversaw the evacuation of the city into the Principal Office. AndrAIa was on her way back with Old Man Pearson. Everyone else should either already be inside, or in line to get in. Matrix had considered vid-windowing the ex-Codemaster, but he decided sweet reasoning wouldn't do much good, and AndrAIa had been sent off to collect him instead. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were missing something. He opened a vid-window and found himself looking at his sister's back. She turned to him.

"How's the evacuation going?"

"Not too bad, sis. Listen, could you do me a favor, and scan the system again?"

Dot frowned. "Last we checked, everyone was accounted for except for Mr. Pearson, and AndrAIa was bringing him in."

Matrix shook his head. "No, no, I mean scan for any unregistered signals. Like the pirates. I know once they're in the Principal Office, they're safe, but… I just have this feeling."

Dot nodded after a moment, and turned to Specks, who went to work immediately.

"That's odd…" he muttered. "Ms. Matrix, I'm reading multiple signals. Two are registered system signals… AndrAIa, no doubt… but there's also another group nearby." He pressed a few more buttons. "Confirmed. It's Captain Capacitor. Looks like he's headed this way, too… wait… I've got two more unidentified signals. Looks like… It looks like sprites this time!"

Dot's eyes narrowed. "Stowaways?" She turned back to the vid-window. "Looks like you were right, Enzo. Be on the lookout for two unusual sprites. We don't know their intentions, but whoever they are, they'd better get in here quickly where it's safe."

"I'll send Mouse and the Surfr right away-"

He was cut off by a sudden explosion of light behind him. He turned to see tears. Purple tears, opening all around him. "Cancel that…" he heard himself mutter.

"Kem!" shouted Taazki over the chaos around them. "Is this what I think it is?"

Kem spun to see his counterpart a ways behind him, holding a small object. He moved closer for a better look. His face dropped. "Yeah… an icon. Not like any one I've ever seen, but I don't think it could be anything else." They stared at it for a moment in sober silence. An icon all by itself could only mean one thing. "User knows how long ago this one deleted."

Taazki nodded. "Well, we can't leave it here. The Command.com will probably want to give it last rites…" A deceased sprite, or even a binome, will often leave behind their icon when they delete, and vanish. It was customary in most parts of the Net to dispose of the icon in a certain way to show respect for the departed.

"OK then, it comes with us. But now we'd better get moving, or it'll be our funeral." Kem suddenly saw the look of shock on Taazki's face. "Taaz? What is it?" Taazki just pointed.

He turned around to see two purple tears behind him. Out of each one stepped a small creature dressed in ceremonial clothing with pointed ears, each wielding a bow and multiple arrows.

"Users?" choked Kem. Taazki was at his side in moments.

"Undeleted RAM. This place in worse shape than I thought. Come on! We have to finish them off quick. The system is getting more unstable by the nano!"

Matrix leapt at the giant tank-headed T-Rex, and brought the misshapen game character down with a crash. An instant later, he was saved from a sword-wielding knight by a low-flying motorcycle. AndrAIa landed a short distance away.

"Thanks AndrAIa," said the winded Guardian.

AndrAIa smiled mischievously. "Now that is a nice bike. So, you been having fun without me?"

Matrix nearly grinned. "Never." He was interrupted by the sound of a girl calling from behind him.

"Hey! Look, people! Hey! We're over here! Can you help us?"

They both turned to see two young sprites waving their arms a block away. The Surfr and Mouse were already heading over to pick them up. "I guess we found our stowaways," observed Matrix. "Let's get inside."

The six sprites followed Frisket into the Principal Office. Kem seemed absolutely fascinated with Matrix's story.

"But, how? How were you able to become part of the game, and then leave it?"

As a demonstration, Matrix tapped his icon, which adjusted accordingly. Kem's jaw dropped halfway to the floor. "Game Sprite mode… Hah! Genius!"

"Enough about us." AndrAIa interrupted. "Why did you two sneak onto the Mare?"

"Well uh…"

Kem was interrupted by a growl from Frisket, who dashed farther away from the group. They followed him, and rounded the corner to the command center. When they got there, they found Dot and the others battling leftover Users. Frisket had pulled one off of Dot already. The Users were quickly cleared out, and order restored.

"Thanks guys…" breathed Dot. "Who are these two?"

Ray looked around. "Never mind them for now. They've requested asylum. They can answer questions later. Right now, where's that Bob fellow?"

"Bob? Oh no… Bob!"

When Bob returned from powering down the city, Phong was the bearer of the bad news that Mainframe was still dying. Without power, they could not repair. But if they powered up, the system shutdown would begin again. They couldn't hold out much longer.

Then, a game fell. Matrix was set to enter it, but to his surprise Bob, of all people, stopped him.

"A lost game could push Mainframe over the edge! The system will crash!"

"I know." Answered Bob, obviously in pain with the idea of what he had to do. "But if the system goes over, I think it could force a restart!"

Despite further protests from Matrix, the game landed without contention.

"What have we done?" uttered Matrix.

Phong hurriedly pushed aside his fears. They would have to wait. "We must move quickly!"

"Yes…" agreed Dot. "We must make sure all active PIDs are accounted for. That means you two." She indicated the two stowaways. "I take it you plan to stay here?"

Kem shook his head. "What choice do we have?"

Taazki nodded in agreement. "I think what Kem means to say is 'thank you'. If there's anything we can do, just let us know." She paused a moment. "Wait… I almost forgot. Here, I think you'll want this." She reached into the small pocket at her waist, and produced an object. Mouse all but bowled her over, and barely restrained herself from grabbing it out of her hands.

"Izzat what Ah think it is?"

Phong sped over to the surprised Taazki, and adjusted his glasses. "Grid Run's icon?"

"He… kind of fell off the roof of the Principal Office," offered Matrix.

"How does one 'kind of' fall off a roof?" inquired Specks.

"I don't understand," interrupted Taazki. "Who is- who was Grid Run?"

"Grid Run is, as of now, one less problem we have to deal with," responded Dot slowly. Then she noticed the odd look on Phong's face. "Something wrong, old friend?"

Phong hesitantly plucked the icon from Taazki's palm, much to the irritation of Mouse. "This icon has been modified. I do not forget such things. Dot, these are Megabyte's markings. I believe that Grid was acting under viral control. Against his will."

This caused Dot to pause. That had always been a distinct possibility, but the assumption had been that Grid had joined Megabyte willingly. This new information changed a lot. Dot nodded. "I see… It looks like we may have judged him unfairly. The least we can do now is give him a proper send-off."

Phong nodded, understanding what she meant. "I would like to scan the icon and be certain first," he said. Moving over to the table, he stopped and regarded Dot for a moment. "My child, you must begin to work on the PIDs. We have very little time." He watched Dot turn back to her console, and ran a scan of the small, purple, inverted triangle.

As expected, Grid had indeed been under viral control for most of his time in Mainframe. A shame, thought Phong. But then another reading demanded his attention. "Impossible…" he breathed. "This icon is still being sustained by viral energy!"

Bob was at his side, along with Ray and Mouse in a micro. "What? Why in the Net would viral energy be sustaining Grid's code?" demanded the Guardian.

"There would be no reason to include such a failsafe with a viral infection" concluded Phong… Unless… "Unless… Grid was deleted before Megabyte infected him."

"In which case, an artificial support system would be needed within the new viral code to keep him processin'." Finished Mouse in awe. "Megabyte really wanted control of Grid. An' unless Ah miss my guess, it had somethin' to do with that energy cannon Grid had enough excess power to run."

"Phong?" Bob asked. "Would it be possible to revive him, using the support code?"

Phong shook his head. "This is not my area of expertise, my son. He requires the viral support system to live, and I am not prepared to revive a virus! He would need to be brought back immediately after the infection is removed, and I could not do that."

"Well, I know someone who could," answered Bob, shifting his glance at Mouse.

The hacker looked upset at this. "Uh, listen, Ah dunno if Ah could do that-"

"Mouse, I know you wish to study that icon," interrupted Phong. "But a citizen of Mainframe is about to die along with the system. You have a choice to make. You can learn what you wanted from the icon, or you can try remove the infection, and revive Grid. I doubt there is time for both, my child. His life is in your hands now."

"Almost there…" muttered Mouse as her hands flew over the keypad. A small column of blue light held the icon spinning next to her. She could feel the Surfr at her side, and smiled slightly.

"You know, I could take you away from all this…" he began.

"Thanks sugah, but Ah've stuck with these folks too long to back out on 'em now… Must be goin' soft." She chuckled at this. "You don't hafta stay though."

Ray shrugged. "Everyone's gotta be somewhere." He flashed her his best lady-killing smile. "I particularly like it right here."

With a flourish, she made the final keystroke. "Got it! One more dinner y'all owe th' Mouse." She plucked the icon out of the blue casing, and flipped it over to Phong. "Register that. With any luck, it'll give ya no trouble. Let's just hope it didn't degrade none while Ah was restarting him."

Phong picked it up, and turned to Kem and Taazki. "You have done well, children. Grid owes you his life." He quickly registered the icon. "There. All PIDs are accounted for."

Dot sighed. "All we can do now is wait."

She was nearly blinded by the sudden flash, which left two figures smiling pleasantly next to Phong and Bob.

"Ooo! What are we waiting for?" asked Emidecimal gamely, rubbing her hands together.

"Is it a surprise?" Hex chimed in. "I like surprises!" She turned to an astonished Phong, and pulled a fancy looking plate from behind her back. "I brought biscuits!" she announced proudly, as if speaking of a cure for cancer.

Phong swallowed hard. "Ohhhh dear…"

The icon he had dropped in the confusion began to glow. Grid Run's form faded into existence on the floor.

"You know Hex, they say revenge is sweet." observed Emi through mouthfuls. "But these are delicious!" Turning to the sprawled out Web sprite that lay unconscious at her feet, she gestured to another biscuit. "Want one?" she offered. Predictably, Grid didn't have much to say. Emi frowned, and began to growl. "I asked you a question!"

"Uh… Emi," said Bob cautiously. "I don't think Grid can hear you right now. His code is still restarting. You should probably leave him alone for a few nanos."

Emidecimal gave the Guardian a dangerous glare, communicating to him that she would have a conversation with anyone she damned well pleased. Comatose, or otherwise. After a moment, however, she shrugged, and went back to admiring the biscuits.

"Registering viruses…" Phong grumbled. "Madness! Absolute, utter madness!" He produced two standard icons, and hesitantly handed them to Hexadecimal.

"Emi will have to wear the icon until we can integrate the new files into her necklace." Dot warned Hex.

"Oh, thank you Phong." Hexadecimal gushed, enjoying the pained look on his face. "Now… where can I pin it?…"

"GAME OVER: THE USER WINS…"

System Mainframe held its breath.