CHAPTER 1: The Backdoor

AndrAIa stood before the Gate Command, silently counting down the nanoseconds. The Game Sprite rubbed her swollen tummy as the baby within ceased its latest kicking spell and settled down. She smiled affectionately as thoughts of the future played themselves out in her imagination. Maybe it was the pregnancy messing with her processes, but the longer she carried her child, the brighter the future seemed to get. When AndrAIa reflected on the past, and the long, tumultuous journey they had all endured to reach the present, the more she felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. For the longest time, motherhood had been only a remote possibility. Now, she was finally getting the chance to put down roots with Matrix in the place they both loved.

AndrAIa looked down and said, "Now we just need to get you some cousins."

The Gate Command began to hum as energy fed its capacitors. The humming grew louder until a bright light filled the empty space inside the ring. The light faded after a few nanoseconds, replaced by an undulating field of energy that resembled a pool of silvery fluid. The figure that emerged out of the portal was sprite-like in appearance—it had arms and legs, hands with fingers, and a face beneath a sealed helmet—and clothed in a protective pressure suit. The portal disappeared, and the traveler undid the clasps on his helmet. Kevin Sawyer greeted AndrAIa with a warm smile.

"Welcome back, Kevin," AndrAIa said.

"It's good to be back," Kevin said. "You look as gorgeous as ever."

AndrAIa laughed. She doubted she looked that good. Her figure was not what it had been, and her maternity clothes were a far cry from her old wardrobe.

"You know what they say about pregnant women," she said.

"That they glow? They say it because it's true."

"Sweet talker," AndrAIa said with a chuckle. "I like the beard, by the way. When did you start growing it?"

Kevin rubbed his face and smiled sheepishly. "After I left last time. It hurt to shave while my face healed from all the bruising, so I just let it go. You really like it?"

"It's very distinguished," AndrAIa said. It wasn't the only thing about Kevin's appearance that had changed. He had let his hair grow long as well, the chestnut locks were shaped around his ears and swept back on top, giving his face an almost regal appearance. "In fact, you've made a few changes, haven't you?"

Kevin shrugged. "I just wanted to do something different."

"I see," AndrAIa said. "So it has nothing to do with you turning thirty?"

Kevin pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. "You've been talking to Vivian."

"It may have some up in conversation that you had a birthday while you were gone," AndrAIa said, her head tilted to the side, smiling crookedly. "Vivian made it sound like turning thirty is a milestone for most humans. And I wouldn't be much of a friend if I didn't come prepared to mark the occasion." AndrAIa held out her hand. Resting in her palm was a back-and-white icon.

For a nano, Kevin was speechless. "Mine?"

AndrAIa nodded. "I thought you were overdue." Kevin took the icon, holding it between his thumb and index finger. "You can't use it to reboot," she explained, "but I managed to program it with a clothing skin, and it has an active PID signature registered with the Principal Office."

"You mean…"

"That's right," AndrAIa said, "you're officially a citizen of Mainframe."

Kevin held the icon his hands like it was some precious treasure. "AndrAIa…this is…this is great. I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," AndrAIa said.

"How do I…?"

"Let me help," AndrAIa said. Kevin handed her the icon back. "Where do you want it?" she asked.

Kevin pointed to the left side of his chest. "Here."

AndrAIa pressed the disk against the fabric of the pressure suit. There was a click, and the icon spun clockwise, whirring mechanically. Kevin had seen how sprites changed clothing skins using their icons. He tapped his icon twice, holding it down on the second tap. His pressure suit vanished as a green wave covered his body from head to toe.

The top was something between a shirt and a military jacket with a standing collar, wide chest pockets, and shoulder straps. The sleeves ended just below the elbow where they disappeared inside polished bronze arm bracers that covered the length of Kevin's forearms, ending just above the wrists. A wide black belt with dual buckles wound around his waist. The pants were made from the same flawless white material as the top, and the legs were tucked into a pair of knee-high leather boots reinforced with bronze plates and plastic buckles.

"Wow!" Kevin exclaimed. "It worked!"

"What do you think of the skin? I designed it myself."

"I look like a million bucks," Kevin said. "Thank you so much, AndrAIa."

"You're welcome, Kevin," she said. "And happy birthday."

Kevin and AndrAIa walked out of the Core Room, passing under a zoom-arch and out through a heavy vault door that hissed closed behind them as they exited. Kevin heard the sound of metal locks falling into place echo up through the hallway as they proceeded leisurely towards an elevator at the end of the corridor.

"When's the baby due?" Kevin asked.

"Not for a while yet," AndrAIa said. "It's a boy."

"Congratulations," said Kevin. "I'll bet Matrix is excited."

"Excited…nervous…"

"Have you picked out any names?" he asked.

"Chip is at the top of the list. We thought about naming him Welman, after his grandfather, but we decided to leave that open for Dot and Bob."

Kevin slowed to a near-halt. "You mean…Bob and Dot…?"

AndrAIa started to giggle uncontrollably. "No, no, no," she said. "Those two are still figuring out how to be a couple. Co-processing is the furthest thing from Dot's mind."

"Mainframe is Dot's baby," Kevin said, "and Bob needs equal attention."

"Truer words were never—ah!" AndrAIa's hands clasped her stomach as she came to a stop.

Kevin went pale. "What is it?" he asked.

AndrAIa waved her hand. "This kid has his father's temperament," she said. "He just won't stay still." She breathed slowly, exhaling through narrow lips.

Kevin put his hand out. "Can I?"

AndrAIa took his hand and placed it against her stomach. He immediately felt the baby kick.

"Wow," he said. "Little guy's all ready to get out and get started. He'll be fighting Game Cubes with his papa and uncle in no time."

"I think he'll need to learn to walk first," AndrAIa said as they continued on towards the elevator.

"By the way," Kevin asked, "where is Enzo?"

They reached the elevator, its doors parting as they neared. AndrAIa wore an odd, mischievous smirk when she replied, "Driving lessons."

"Clutch, clutch, cluuutch!" Bob screamed from the passenger seat.

There was a protest of grinding gears as Enzo coaxed Bob's old 262 convertible into third gear. The young sprite pressed down on the accelerator while simultaneously easing off the clutch, forcing the transmission to shift.

"Relax, Bob," Enzo said. "I've got this."

The teenaged sprite turned the wheel and pressed down, diving into a lower skylane above Kit's Sector. In the backseats were Welman and Matrix, both of whom kept tightening their seatbelts as Enzo weaved in between traffic.

"All that circuit racing is finally paying off, huh, Bob?" Matrix called out.

"If I'd only known the monster I was making," the Guardian replied. "Brakes, brakes, braaakes!"

Instead, Enzo hit the gas and pulled up, going over the top of a big rig. The driver blew his horn as the 262 overtook it.

"You forgot to signal, son," Welman said, his voice quivering.

"Thanks, dad," Enzo replied. "I'll remember next time."

"There won't be a next time if you get us nullified," Bob said. "I promised your sister I'd teach you how to drive, not how to break every traffic law in Mainframe."

"If you think I'm a bad driver, just say so," Enzo said.

"It's not that you're a bad driver, son," Welman said, "your enthusiasm is just…overwhelming."

"Thanks, dad!"

"That wasn't a compliment," Welman clarified.

Truly, Enzo wasn't a bad driver, but his need for speed outweighed his common sense, and what had started out as a harmless exercise had quickly escalated into a reckless joyride across the skies of Mainframe.

"If you get pulled over, Dot will throw you behind a firewall," Matrix said. "You know that, right?"

"She'll have to catch me first," Enzo said. "Not that it'll be hard in this hunk of junk."

The engine sputtered, and Bob rubbed the dashboard like he was stroking the fur on a cat. "He didn't mean it, baby."

"You do realize Dot made us use your car because she didn't want me driving her jeep," Enzo said.

"Dot's jeep is an automatic," Welman said. "I've always said that if you can drive stick, you can drive anything."

"So, how's my driving?" Enzo asked. "Do I get a passing grade?"

"You drive like you're in a Game Cube," Matrix said.

"Thanks, bro," Enzo said.

"That wasn't a compliment, either," Matrix retorted.

As they neared the ports, Enzo noticed a ship enter the system. It was a beauty: double decks, triple masted, and engines big enough to outrun any ship in the Guardian Armada.

"Is that who I think it is?" Enzo asked.

Bob peered through the windshield and nodded. "It's Captain Capacitor. That must be The Saucy Mare's Revenge. Dot mentioned that he'd started running cargo again."

"Alphanumeric," Enzo said. "Let's go say hi. I haven't seen Gavin since the wedding."

Enzo floored the accelerator and the 262's engine sputtered and moaned in response, but it complied nonetheless.

Bob patted the dashboard affectionately. "Easy girl. Just hold together a little longer. I promise I'll never let the crazy teenager sit behind the wheel ever again."

Enzo rolled his eyes. "Relax, Bob, I've—"

"If you say 'I've got this' one—more—time—"

"Here's our exit," Enzo said quickly, "hang on!"

He made a hard left and angled the nose of the car downward again, passing in between another big rig and a corvette on the way down. That time he remembered his turn signal.

Dot was in her usual place in the War Room, at the center station on the balcony level. She turned and smiled as Kevin and AndrAIa entered. Then, in a display of warmth that took Kevin completely by surprise, Dot gave him a hug.

"It's good to have you back," Dot said. "Tom and Vivian kept us informed while you were recovering. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I took a whole month off to take care of myself," Kevin said. "I'm a hundred percent. Seriously, it'll take more than a supervirus to kill me."

"Glad to hear it," Dot said. She tapped his new icon. "And by the way. Happy birthday. I hear turning thirty is a big deal where you come from."

Kevin turned to AndrAIa and whispered, "Does everyone know?"

At that moment, Specky walked by and handed a vidpad off to Dot. "Happy Birthday, Dr. Sawyer," he said. "Nice to have you back. Congratulations on turning thirty. I heard that's a big milestone for humans." He returned to his station on the lower level of the War Room.

"I will have my revenge," Kevin whispered. "It will be swift, and no one will see it coming."

AndrAIa suppressed the urge to burst out laughing, Kevin tried to look menacing (and failed), and Dot frowned at whatever she was reading on the vidpad.

"Well, it looks like we're going to be overclocking this second," Dot said.

"What's the problem?" asked AndrAIa.

"Specky just did a scan of the Archives," Dot said. "Looks like he's found an anomaly."

"What kind of anomaly?" asked Kevin.

"It's an inconsistent signature," Dot explained. "The contents of the file doesn't match the hash. Usually that means a corrupted file, but we've never had a bad file in the Archives that wasn't tampered with."

"Could it be a system error from the incident last minute?" asked Kevin. "The whole system was transformed into a Game Grid."

"The restore function would've fixed any problems in the Archives," AndrAIa said. "This must be something new."

"Or old," Dot added. "It could be a corrupted file held over from the restart. Either way, we'll need to do a visual inspection of the Archives."

"Dot, that could take all cycle," AndrAIa said. "There has to be a way for us to narrow the search."

"If Mouse were here, she could probably modify the sensors in a nano," Dot said.

"So Mouse is gone?" asked Kevin.

"She and Ray left Mainframe almost two cycles ago," Dot said. "He took her surfing in the Web."

Kevin felt an uncomfortable weight slip off his shoulders. He had dreaded seeing Mouse, even though the hacker had made it clear that there were no burned bridges between them. "Y'know, I happen to be a decent programmer myself," he said, cracking his knuckles.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Dot asked. "Enzo wanted to take you jet diving for your birthday."

"Then I'll work until he gets here," Kevin said. "Speaking of Enzo, I heard something about driving lessons. Who'd you recruit for that job?"

Enzo landed the 262 by the docks, and the engine gave a final sigh of exhaustion and died. Bob immediately leapt out and popped the hood, inspecting the car's innards. Welman stumbled, holding to the side of the car for support. The gyros on his nullsuit needed to be recalibrated after suffering through Enzo's aerial acrobatics.

"Am I ready for the road, big me?" Enzo asked Matrix.

"You'll be lucky if Bob ever lets you drive his car again," Matrix said. "I think you killed it."

"That thing's been brought back to life more times than Frankenome's Monster," Enzo quipped.

Matrix chuckled. "C'mon, kid. Let's go say hi to the pirates."

The Matrix brothers approached the docking port where The Saucy Mare's Revenge was anchored. Capacitor's new ship was bigger than her predecessor and every bit as elegant. From the poop deck, a crimson-cloaked binome called down to the docks.

"Ahoy, there," Capacitor said. "Be that the renegade Guardian Enzo Matrix?"

"Aye, it is," Matrix shouted. "Permission to come aboard, captain?"

"Permission granted, sir!" replied the Crimson Binome.

Enzo and Matrix climbed the gangplank to the main deck. The new Mare looked like she had just rolled off the assembly line. Her decks were polished to a high shine and barely had a scratch on her anywhere.

"Who's that with you, Matrix?" asked Capacitor, accompanied by his right-hand binome, Mr. Christopher. "He looks familiar."

"It's me, Captain," Enzo said. "Little Enzo."

Both binome's eyes went wide with surprise. "By the code, lad!" exclaimed Capacitor. "What do they feed you Matrix boys?"

"It's a long story, Gavin," Matrix said. "I'm glad to see you're back in business. Hauling cargo?"

"Aye, m'lad, and business is booming now that the Guardians have relaxed those trade restrictions imposed by Daemon."

"Didn't Dot have something to do with that?" Enzo asked.

"Your sister helped negotiate a new intersystem trade agreement," Christopher said. "Thanks to her, we have access to more systems than ever before."

"Where is your lovely sister, boys?" asked Capacitor. "Tiz been a long while since I last saw Dot."

"You know Dot," Matrix said, "always busy. She's—"

"Look out below!" someone shouted.

Enzo had just enough time to look up and see someone come swinging down on a rope. The sprite must've meant to come to a skidding stop on the main deck, but her trajectory was off just enough to send her plowing into Enzo. The young sprite had the wind knocked from his lungs as he went flailing backwards, hitting the deck with a solid thud. All his pain and discomfort seemed to vanish as his eyes focused on the girl who had collided with him.

She was thin with strong, wiry limbs. Her golden yellow hair was cut pixie-style, and her skin was bubblegum pink. She pushed herself up, straddling Enzo.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to do that. You make a nice cushion, though."

"No problem," Enzo hissed breathlessly.

She wore a black leather motorcycle vest and baggy buccaneer breeches that were tied off just below her knees, displaying a pair of sculpted calves. The sleeves of her shirt were loose and frilled at the cuffs, the front split open halfway to the chest and held together by a single crisscrossed string. If Enzo wasn't already breathless, he would've had his breath taken away.

The girl stood up and offered him a helping hand. "I'm Zoe."

Enzo recovered enough sense to take it and get to his feet, grinning lopsidedly as he did so. He was a full head taller than her, and they looked to be about the same age. He swallowed the lump in his throat and introduced himself. "I'm Enzo. Enzo Matrix."

"You were the one driving the convertible, weren't you?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, that was me."

"You've got good taste," Zoe said. "The 262 is a classic. How long have you had it?"

"I…ah…" Enzo was keenly aware that he was being watched by his older brother, Capacitor, and Mr. Christopher, each of whom knew that the 262 belonged to Bob. For a moment, he teetered on the knife's edge, unsure of whether to err on the side of caution and tell the truth or fib to impress the girl. He decided it was more important to impress the girl. "Not long. My friend and I work on it together in our free time. It's kind of a clunker, but it gets me from A to B."

"Shiny," Zoe said.

Matrix shook his head and rolled his eyes as he recalled his first encounter with AndrAIa. What wouldn't a Matrix boy say to impress the girl?

"The boy's digging himself a hole with both hands," Capacitor said.

"Who is she?" Matrix asked.

"Zoe is from Proxima, one of the systems on our trade route," Christopher said. "This is her second voyage with us."

"She's a good lass," Capacitor said. "Headstrong. Reliable. She has a reputation as a bit of a rebel-rouser in her home system, but she hasn't caused us any trouble."

"In other words, she's a female version of Enzo," Matrix muttered. "Like throwing fuel on a fire."

He watched the two interact out of the corner of his eye, saw the sparks flying, and Matrix wondered if Enzo was really ready for girls. Physically speaking, he was compiled enough that showing interest in the opposite sex wasn't strange, but Enzo had skipped a couple of upgrades, and Matrix had to wonder if his little brother was mentally ready for romance.

Looks like Enzo's life is about to get even more complicated, Matrix thought.

"Greetings, Dr. Sawyer," Phong said. "I'm glad to see you've recovered."

Kevin was seated at a console on the lower level of the War Room. Before him was a set of vidwindows filled with lines of code. "Thanks, Phong," Kevin replied. "I'm glad to be back."

The drawer in Phong's torso opened, and the old sprite produced a single cupcake from within its transfinite depths. It had a single candle. "Happy belated birthday. May your best cycles always lie ahead of you."

Kevin smiled and took the cupcake. "I appreciate that, Phong. Thanks."

"How's that new scanning algorithm coming along?" asked Dot.

"I'm finished," Kevin replied. "I just added the new feature to the sensor array. Beginning deep scan now." He pressed a button on a nearby console and the scan progress appeared on the large main vidwindow above the floor map. Within nanoseconds, the scan returned a single anomalous entry.

"Bingo," Kevin said. "I think I've found what we're looking for, and it's not a corrupted file."

"What is it?" asked AndrAIa.

"It's a hidden file," Kevin said. "I can't tell what it is."

"Guess we'll have to physically go down there after all," Dot said. She opened a vidwindow and contacted Bob. The feed showed the Guardian bent at the waist, leaning over the open engine compartment of his convertible. "Hey, Bob."

Startled, Bob jerked his head and banged it against the hood. "Ow."

"Oops. Sorry," Dot said. "Engine trouble?"

Mainframe's Guardian rubbed the back of his head and frowned at the vidwindow. "More like Enzo trouble."

"What happened?" AndrAIa asked.

"Enzo put the old girl through her paces. I'm afraid she just couldn't keep up."

"Bob, I asked you to teach Enzo how to drive," Dot said, "not how to outrun the Superhighway Patrol."

"Teaching him to drive isn't the problem," Bob said. "Teaching him how to separate driving from joyriding is."

Kevin joined Dot and AndrAIa at the vidwindow. "Sounds like the kid's got a lead foot."

"That's putting it mildly," Bob said. "Glad to see you're back, Kevin. When did you get in?"

"Just a few microseconds ago," Kevin replied.

"Kevin's detected a hidden file in the Archives that we can't identify," Dot explained. "We need you and Matrix back at the Principal Office."

"But my car…"

"Don't worry," Dot said, "I'll call a tow. And I promise to have a talk with Enzo when I see him."

"That may be a while," Welman said as he stepped into the visual range of the vidwindow. "I think someone new has caught Enzo's attention."

"Someone…?" AndrAIa prodded.

"So what do you do for fun around here?" asked Zoe as they walked together. "Besides working on old cars."

"Actually, I was going to take a friend of mine jet diving for his birthday," Enzo replied. They reached the end of the gangplank.

"That sounds pixellicious!"

"You should come," Enzo said, feeling his heart skip with excitement.

"I don't wanna be a third subroutine," she said.

"Hey, it's supposed to be a party," Enzo said, hoping to persuade her. "The more the merrier."

"Wellll," Zoe began. "First I have to help download all our cargo. That'll take the rest of the second."

"That's fine," Enzo said, "we can meet up at my sister's diner after you're done…" Then Enzo felt his heart sink a little. "…unless, you leave right after you're done?"

"We'll be docked for a little while as we take on new supplies," Zoe said. She turned and cupped her hand next to her mouth. "Hey, skipper, are we at liberty?"

"Not while The Mare's Revenge is still full of cargo, lass," replied Capacitor from over the rail of the main deck. "But after we've made our delivery, you can have all the liberty you want."

Zoe turned to Enzo and smiled. "I'd better get to work, then," she said, slowly backing up the gangplank, hands clasped behind her. "I'll see you later?"

"Great! I mean…yeah, cool. Dot's Diner in Baudway. I'll see you there."

"K," Zoe said, smiling. "Bye." She turned and ran back up to the main deck.

Enzo stood at the bottom, watched as she disappeared, and remained standing even after she was gone.

Matrix, from his vantage point above, watched as his young backup—He's your little brother, Matrix thought. You can't think of him as a copy anymore, can you?—spun on his heel and meandered back towards the car, his face stuck in an idiotic grin.

"The boy's got it bad," Capacitor said with a knowing smile.

"I'll say," Matrix said. "Look at him. A Game Cube could come crashing down, and he wouldn't even care."

"Ah, to be young again," Capacitor said. The old binome removed his hat and wiped his brow. "And all the growing pains that come with it."

"Hey, Matrix," Bob called, "Dot needs us at the Archives."

"I'll be right down," Matrix replied. He turned to Gavin and the two old friends shook hands. "I'll make sure Dot finds time to visit, Captain, don't you worry. And if you're going to be in Mainframe for a while, be sure to drop by the diner. I know there's always a seat open for you."

"Aye, my boy, I'll do that. Take care, now."

Matrix decompressed his zip-board and flew away, headed in the direction of the Principal Office.

"He seems much more pleasant than last time," said Mr. Christopher.

"It's good to see the lad has mellowed," said Capacitor. "Life's far too short to be angry at its unjustness. Let's just hope it sticks, eh, Mr. Christopher?"

"From your mouth to the User's ears, sir."

The Crimson Binome placed his hat back on his balding head and returned to the business of unloading the hull of his beloved ship. "Look alive there, Mr. Edwards! I'm not paying you by the millisecond!"

Bob and Matrix landed outside the entrance to the Mainframe Archives and compressed their zip-boards. The two sprites approached the reinforced metal door until a vidwaindow popped open in front of them.

"State name," said the automated voice of Mainframe.

"Bob, Guardian 452," Bob replied.

His voice pattern was analyzed and the automated voice responded with, "Access granted," in its predictable monotone. The vidwindow disappeared and the layers of physical security between them and the Archives parted one after the other, finally revealing the long concrete hallway beyond.

Matrix and Bob opened up their zip-boards again and glided down the corridor, entering the vast, endless space that was Mainframe's Central Archives. The room had transfinite parameters, a complicated term that simply meant the room was bigger on the inside than on the out. The voluminous space was filled with vidwindows in all directions. Beyond, there was only darkness, the boundaries of the room being so far away as to be invisible.

"Haven't been in here in a while," Matrix said.

Bob opened a vidwindow to the War Room. "Matrix and I are in the Archives, Dot."

"Stand by," Dot replied. "I'm sending you the file signature now. You should be able to scan for it with Glitch."

Bob tapped his keytool's cogwheel face and saw a green progress bar followed by a green checkmark. "Got it," he said. "Glitch: active scan."

The keytool made several computational chirps and its cogwheel face expanded, the screen displaying the location of the encrypted file in relation to the entrance.

Bob pointed off into the distance. "This way."

While Dot, Kevin, and AndrAIa tracked Bob and Matrix's progress through the Archives, Enzo and Welman entered the War Room.

"After today, I don't think you'll be getting behind the wheel of any vehicle, young man," Welman said.

"But I already promised Bob that I'd pay for replacement parts," Enzo said.

Dot's hands went to her hips as she spun around and locked eyes with Enzo, a frown on her ruby red lips. "And you'll pay for the tow I had to call, too. That's at least two cycles worth of dishes at the diner."

"That's a total tear," Enzo whined. "Bob's car barely runs. It could've died because the wind was blowing the wrong way."

"Wanna make it three cycles?" asked Dot.

Enzo threw up his hands. "Fine, three cycles. But you have to talk Bob into letting me borrow the car."

Dot went from upset to flabbergasted in 0.9 nanos flat. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow quizzically. "You just volunteered to work an extra cycle at the diner. Because you need to borrow Bob's car?"

"Do you think you can convince him?" Enzo asked.

"Why do you need Bob's car?" asked Dot.

Enzo looked from Dot to AndrAIa to Kevin, and quickly realized he'd said too much. "Heyyy, Kevin. Glad you're back, man. Up for some jet diving later? My treat on account you turned the big three-oh while you were gone. Does that make you old or something? By the way, nice beard. It makes you look…" Enzo tilted his head back slightly and stuck out his chin.

Kevin smiled, seeing the boy's deflection for what it was. "What's her name?"

"What's whose name?" Enzo asked, feigning ignorance.

"C'mon, Enzo, you're still blushing," Kevin said.

Enzo's hands went to his cheeks, but he dropped them after he saw the grins spreading among the adults. He rolled his eyes. "How'd you know?"

"A teenaged boy wants the car for the weekend," Kevin said, tapping his chin. "I think I've heard this story before."

"Enzo's got a girlfriend," AndrAIa said in a sing-song voice.

The young sprite blew air through compressed lips, his cheeks reddening.

"Aww snap," Kevin said. "The secret's out."

There was a bout of laughter at Enzo expense as he shuffled his feet and shook his head, hands perched on his hips. "I hope you're all bitten by nulls."

Dot placed a comforting arm about Enzo's shoulders and spun his baseball cap. "We're just teasing, sweetie," she said, her irritation now dissolved.

"So…what's her name," AndrAIa asked, "and how did you meet her?"

"Her name's Zoe," Enzo said, "and she's a member of Capacitor's crew."

"Gavin?" Dot asked. "Oh, no! I can't believe I forgot The Mare's Revenge was coming in today."

"Relax, Dot," Enzo said. "Matrix told me to remind you. He gave Gavin an open invitation to the diner."

"That's perfect," Dot said with a smile. "You can invite your new friend, too."

The teenager froze, petrified at the thought, and tried to clear his throat. "Uh…sure. Sure, I could do that. Or, counter proposal: how about not?"

"What's the matter Enzo?" asked Dot. "Afraid we'll cramp your style?"

"C'mon, Little Sparky," AndrAIa said. "We wanna meet her. We know she must be special."

Enzo was spared further embarrassment by Bob. "We've found the location of the encrypted file," he said. Everyone turned their attention to the live feed coming from the main vidwindow.

Thanks, Bob, Enzo thought. You just bailed me out big time.

"There's nothing here," Matrix said.

The vidwindows within the Archives were arranged in a layered, spherical pattern with the entrance in the center. Each layer was staggered, and Bob and Matrix had moved in between the spaces separating the layers, and they now faced a gap where a vidwindow should have been, but wasn't.

"This is where the unknown file signature is coming from," Bob said.

"Dot said it was hidden," said Matrix. The renegade Guardian circled around the space on his zip-board until he saw something appear between himself and Bob. It was like a sliver of metal, barely there, and reflecting just enough light to be noticed by the trained eye. "It's not just hidden. It's compressed, too." Matrix grabbed the sliver and pulled, revealing a tall vidwindow. Someone had modified the window so that it was visible in only one direction!

It displayed the two-dimensional image of a riveted metal door.

"Is that what I think it is?" Bob asked.

Matrix nodded. "A backdoor. Question is: where does it go?"

Dot led Kevin down the access corridor into the Archives, followed by a team of CPU troops. The human cybernaut gazed around him in open wonder, unable to process how a room could be physically bigger on the inside.

"It's a TARDIS," he mumbled. "Their basement is a TARDIS. Why not?"

He followed Dot on his zip-board and met up with Matrix and Bob.

"Glad you could join us," Bob said.

"I brought along some backup, just in case," said Dot.

"Good idea, sis," Matrix said. He had Gun in his hand, ready to pour hot lead into whatever waited on the other side.

"Who made this?" Kevin asked. "It's obvious none of you knew it was here."

Bob positioned himself in front of the door. "There's only one way to find out." The Guardian double tapped the vidwindow and the metal door popped out slightly, becoming three dimensional.

"Wow," Kevin whispered.

Bob turned the knob and push the door open. On the other side was a dark room. Light from the Archives spilled through the doorway, creating indistinct shapes in the gloom beyond the threshold. Bob led the CPUs through the backdoor, Glitch raised. Flashlight beams illuminated the space, revealing the industrial floor of a large factory. Robotic welders stood motionless and frozen above half-completed Assault Binome Carriers on an assembly line. Spare parts, derelict and rusting, laid strewn about, and there were rows and rows of metal shelves everywhere.

Hanging from the scaffold ceiling was a banner, the green viral skull against a black background.

"Megabyte." The name left Matrix's lips with a hiss.

"I always suspected he had a secret base hidden somewhere in Mainframe," Dot said. "It was the only way he could've armed his followers so quickly after he returned from the Web. But I never knew where to look."

Kevin ran a finger along the edge of a metal shelf and blew away the dust. "Doesn't look like anybody's been home for a while."

"I'll take that as a good omen," Bob said. "Somebody find a light switch."

The CPUs spread out while Kevin remained with Bob, Dot, and Matrix.

"Glitch: locator beacon." The keytool chirped and a red blinking dot appeared on its circular screen over a map of the system. "We're in G-Prime sector, right beneath where Silicon Tor used to be."

"Figures," Dot said. "This place is probably his original weapons factory."

"How is it even still here?" asked Matrix. "I thought the User's virus scan decompiled everything with a viral signature after the restart."

"Megabyte was in the Principal Office for a long time," Bob said. "He could've partitioned off a subsector and filed a backup in the Archives. That must've been the backdoor we found."

"And a virus scan of Mainframe wouldn't read a separate partition," Dot finished. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Megabyte always was tricky." Dot opened a vidwindow to Phong in the War Room. "Phong, I need you to send a team of lab techs to catalogue and inventory every piece of equipment in here. I want it all in Quarantine before the end of the second."

"A wise precaution, my child. It will be done."

Kevin borrowed a couple of spare flashlights from the CPUs, handing one to Matrix. "Megabyte was the worst doomsday prepper I've ever seen. Are those Scud missiles in the corner?"

"No wonder Megabyte raised an army so fast last time," Matrix said.

"Well, it won't help him now," Bob said. "Maybe we can put some of it to good use."

Kevin decided to go exploring on his own and peeled away from Matrix, headed in between two sets of tall, metal shelves.

Matrix called after him. "Hey, Sawyer." Kevin turned around. "Welcome back."

"Thanks, Matrix. It's good to see you, too."

Matrix nodded and then disappeared behind some shelves. Kevin resumed exploring the weapons lab but halted again when he heard Matrix call out, "And nice job making it all the way to thirty or whatever."

Kevin closed his eyes and sighed.