Who Was Number 1?
That does it. Matrix thought. Since he and the others went into the game cube, his day had gone downhill. Oh sure, he had found Mainframe, inside the game. And Bob was there too, for all that mattered, but the strange joy was short-lived. When they rebooted, they turned into the villains that they hated, and Bob, Dot and Phong wouldn't believe that they were not what they seemed. Then Matrix had been found guilty at a trial in some kangaroo court, and found himself forced to delete his friends and sister (likenesses of them, at least) or face execution, while AndrAla got lost in the role of Hexadecimal and disappeared, leaving him alone to face,… he wasn't sure exactly who, or what. It must have been that number one character Bob was talking about. First he took the form of Megabyte, then that of Matrix, and Matrix had been able to beat them both easily, but then he took the form of Enzo, and claimed that Matrix liked being in the games more than Mainframe. After protesting, Number One tossed a golf ball that grew big and engulfed Matrix. Naturally, Matrix was not at all happy.
"So much for the mighty renegade." said Number One, as he turned away from Matrix's prison. Then he heard the sound of fists beating against a wall. They were coming from inside the ball. After a really loud pound, he saw a hand break through the sphere. He started to back away, just as Matrix escaped from the sphere.
"That does it!" Matrix yelled. "I have had enough false accusations from you and everyone else, Number One. This ends now!" He pulled out his gun.
Number One turned to run, but stopped when he noticed a red M appear on his shirt.
"Move, and I'll shoot." Matrix said as he walked up to him.
Number One looked scared. "What do you want?" He asked.
"I want out of this game," Matrix said, "and I figure if you're the User, or the equivalent of one, this is the only way to end it. Gun, prepare to-"
"STOP!" Number One yelled. "It's over. You've proven yourself." As he said this, he started to grow, and his skin and clothes changed to the color blue. He had turned into Bob.
"Bob, is it really you?" Matrix questioned, looking shocked.
"Yes, Matrix, or should I say Enzo, it is me." Bob said. "For real." He added.
"But, but how? Why?" Matrix asked.
"Matrix, don't you understand? You've faced the darkest part of yourself, and triumphed. You are worthy of being a guardian." Bob said to him.
Matrix felt an enormous feeling of relief flowing over him. "Bob, where are you?" he asked.
"Help me Enzo Matrix, you're my only hope." Bob said in a monotone voice.
"Bob, where in the Net are you?" Matrix asked.
"Help me Enzo Matrix, you're my only hope." Bob repeated, as he started to drift away.
"No, Bob! Come Back!" Matrix cried as he chased after him.
"Help me Enzo Matrix, you're my only hope." Bob said one last time before disappearing. Then there was a bright flash, which caused Matrix to shield his eyes. After the flash, he looked around, and found himself in what looked like a golf course.
"Matrix!" he heard a voice say. He looked behind him, and there were AndrAla and Fristket.
"AndrAla!" Matrix cried. They ran over to each other and hugged. Frisket came up and whimpered, and Matrix responded by petting him.
"Matrix…." AndrAla said, "What in the name of the net just happened?"
Matrix thought about it for a moment, then answered. "I, I have no clue. But I know one thing. The search for Bob, and Mainframe, begins now."
"Now?" Andrala asked. Matrix looked around, and saw a tiger, a shark and a sombrero, all holding golf clubs (except for the sombrero, whose golf club was floating beside it in the air).
"As soon as we finish this game." Matrix said.
"Allow me." AndrAla said. "You've already won a game today; the strangest and possibly the most difficult game I've ever seen, and if it weren't for you… I don't even want to think about it. So just relax. If I need you, I'll call. Reboot!"
AndrAla touched her icon, and with a flash she turned into a golfer.
"One last question AndrAla," Matrix said. "How and why did you get so good at being Hexadecimal?"
AndrAla paused, and said "I don't know. It was like, the game was brainwashing me, turning me into Hexadecimal. I think that's because it wanted you alone, for whatever reason. Now I've got to go. Games like this usually take a long time, so the sooner I start the sooner I can win and we can restart our quest."
"Okay." Matrix said. After AndrAla walked away, he sat down, laid on his back, put his hands under his head, and, as he watched Frisket chase a butterfly, he fell asleep.
*****
"My lady." said a blue, robed male sprite holding a staff as he entered a great big chamber.
"Yes, Daecon." said what looked like a young female sprite with a French accent, sitting on a throne.
"Your plan worked. The hard part was locating them, but after that, we were able to hack the game using the device which you so cleverly designed and powered." Daecon said.
"Ze device was designed to produce a game level based on ze thoughts of zose in ze game. It was specifically designed to get Matrix alone, have him face his fears, and plant ze thought in his mind zat Guardian 452 is out zere somewhere." The woman said.
"Yes, aside from Turbo, he is the last Guardian to not have heard the word." Daecon said.
"Turbo may have escaped, but I still touched him. It is only a matter of time before he succumbs to ze word." the lady said.
"Although some elements of the game got mixed in with our program, we succeded." Daecon said. "Now, Matrix and AndrAla will search for Bob and, if he is still out there, find him."
"Zen he will become my messenger and all of ze net will hear ze word." The woman said. "Is zat all?"
"Yes, that is all." Daecon replied.
"Zen you are dismissed." The woman said.
"Yes, Daemon." said Daecon as he walked away.
Daemon smiled. "All is going according to plan." She said to herself. "I have plenty of time left, yet I must not waste any of it. Before my time comes, ze entire net will hear ze word." She smiled as she finished.
Author's Note: I was so loving the episode Number 7, up until it was revealed to have been just a dream. What a way to ruin a perfect episode. So, after I saw Daemon Rising and it became my favorite episode, I came up with the idea that Daemon was behind it all. And since she was referenced to for the first time in the next episode, I figured it would be perfect. I don't think I'll write anymore Reboot stories, since it's a perfect series for me, and this is the only episode that I would have changed (Except for Talent Night, which I would have deleted.).