Author's Note: So many fanfics have been written and so many stories have been told about what happened "after the restart." How did the Mainframers readjust to their lives and the very new circumstances once their home had been restored? Even though I've already written a fanfic concerning this plotline, I decided to take another stab at it; and why not give it a bit of a twist by putting it in musical form? After all, music is the best form of self-expression; and the Mainframers have a lot of expressing to do!

In some circumstances, I had to cut and paste parts of songs and sometimes modify lyrics to fit into the situations. With some songs, the lyrics had to be fixed, or they would be out of place in the specific situation. If I have offended anyone by changing the songs and maybe diminishing the original meanings, I apologize. (As for the songs, none of them are in any way mine, or by me, etc. You can find the song titles/artists in the songlist at the end of the fic.)

One of my beta-readers was wondering exactly why the Mainframers are singing out their troubles. Here's my best answer: There isn't a reason! It's a musical; they just sing, and nobody gives a damn. :)

After The Restart: A Season Four Musical Extravaganza!

By Trisana McGraw

The system was restored; everyone was happy. So what was Matrix's problem?

The others were enjoying the party in the Diner, but the renegade lingered outside, reluctant to join the celebration.

Of course he was happy to be home, he hastily assured himself — this was what he had dreamed of for twelve hours! But maybe that's the problem, he thought. I've gone so long trying to get home, and now it's not what I thought. That was an understatement: Matrix hadn't been expecting that he would feel so out of place in his home; that Ray would still be with them; that he would have a back-up to haunt him as he tried to adjust.

Matrix's problem was this: They had come home and saved Mainframe, but things hadn't shifted into place yet. They would never be the same.

Matrix felt a small yearning for the life he had had for what seemed so short a time. It embarrassed him, but it was there, and even stronger now that he saw Enzo, and how much he fit into life now.

Matrix sighed and looked up at the darkening-blue sky. From where he stood, he could hear the sounds of the party.

"It's so wonderful," AndrAIa sighed.

"Yeah, it's wonderful," Enzo agreed.

A few more replies of ". . . Wonderful"; then Dot's contented sigh:

"Isn't it wonderful now?"

Matrix leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. He swallowed once and began to sing.

"I close my eyes when I get too sad.

I think thoughts that I know are bad.

Close my eyes and I count to ten;

Hope it's over when I open them.

"I want the things that I had before

Like a Star Wars poster on my bedroom door.

I wish I could count to ten;

Make everything be wonderful again.

"Lost my mom and I lost my dad.

Lost my home; it made me so mad.

All my life I've screamed, and I always fight.

But when I get home it makes me wanna cry.

"Close my eyes when I go to bed

And I dream of DrAIa who makes me smile

I feel better when I hear her say,

Everything will be wonderful someday.'

"Promises mean everything when you're little and the world's so big

I just don't understand how you can smile with all those tears in your eyes.

Tell me everything is wonderful now.

"Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now," Matrix whispered, feeling his throat grow tight. He looked down at the ground and was silent.

Enzo quietly opened the Diner door and crept outside. He stopped short in surprise when he saw Matrix. Fascinated by the sprite who had been in their system for only a short while before the restart — that was what Dot had told him — he was even more intrigued to see Matrix's head bent with heavy emotion.

There's that strange sprite, he thought. I don't know a lot about him. He's always so unhappy; and he never smiles — what's up with that? Determined to figure out what was wrong with the sprite, Enzo remained in his spot to watch.

After a millisecond had passed and Matrix had made no movement, Enzo gave up. The boy silently sat down against the Diner's wall and hugged his arms around himself. What's Matrix's problem, anyway? Enzo thought. It's not like I have the easiest life, either. At his thought, memories surfaced in his mind, of times after the destruction of the Twin City. In those tough cycles, he had fought to act normal but found that he just couldn't fit in with the others.

"I go to school and I run and play

I tell the kids that it's all okay

I laugh aloud so my friends won't know

When the bell rings I just don't wanna go home.

"Go to my room and I close my eyes

I make believe that I have a new life

I don't believe you when you say,

Everything will be wonderful someday.'

"Promises mean everything when you're little and the world is so big

I just don't understand how

You can smile with all those tears in your eyes

When you tell me everything is wonderful now.

"No.

No, I don't wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now," Enzo repeated.

"No.

No, I don't wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now," Matrix sang.

Enzo's hands balled into fists, and he whispered, "I don't wanna hear you say that I will understand someday. No, no, no, no," he hissed, frustrated.

Matrix's thoughts turned to his younger self. How could he ever have been like that — that weak, horribly naïve brat? Even now, the kid was pestering any sprite that breathed to tell him about what happened during the war. Dot was willing to tell Enzo some details, but Matrix had seen the conflict she faced — a conflict he shared — when discussion turned to the renegade and AndrAIa.

I wonder how Dot and Bob'll tell him about . . . him, and me, Matrix mused. Am I gonna have to talk to him? How would I talk to him?

He angrily growled, "I don't wanna hear you say,

You both have grown in a different way.'

No, no, no, no.

"I don't wanna meet your friends

And I don't wanna start over again.

I just want my life to be the same, just like it used to be.

"Some days I hate everything. I hate everything. Everyone and everything."

Without knowing, both he and Enzo sang, "Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now."

They finished together, singing, "I don't wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now."

Enzo sighed; it was getting cold, and he wasn't going to find out anything about Matrix tonight. He ducked back inside the Diner.

Matrix glared through the window. But even he couldn't stay sullen when a celebration was going on. After a nanosecond, he opened the door and came inside, to be greeted by his friends and family.

* * *

Another war. Another lifetime of loss and pain. Something inside Dot raged at the seemingly impossible situation they had been so unfairly dropkicked into. Why, why, why did they have to deal with the Daemon threat? Dot wondered. But it was a small, childish feeling that faded only a nano after she formulated the thought. Life was what it was; for some reason, the sprites of Mainframe had been saddled with the Daemon threat less than a cycle after they had barely survived the system restart.

Dot threaded her fingers through her hair as she studied her reflection in the mirror, but her eyes suggested that her thoughts were elsewhere.

Dot had done so well with letting all the emotions of the war against Megabyte slide over her skin. She had built up a shell around herself so nothing could get through. Dot was numb, unemotional. Now, her core-com ached with the knowledge of how much time she — all of them, her family and friends alike — would have to dedicate to defeat the seemingly all-powerful super-virus.

It was only a couple of seconds, she thought helplessly, standing in her office and staring herself down in silence. It took all of Dot's strength to hold back the almost overwhelming feelings of anger and sadness. If she let the emotions show, they would cause her to break down, physically and spiritually.

Caught up in her thoughts, she had been staring at her reflection for nearly a millisecond. She hurriedly smoothed a wrinkle in her jumpsuit and walked through the door that led into the War Room. Mouse and Phong stood in the room, and Dot flashed them a quick, tight smile, hoping she would appear relaxed – or, at least, all together.

However, Mouse fixed her with a look Dot knew all too well; the hacker could tell Dot was troubled and that she was trying to hide it. "Dot, are you okay?"

"Of course," Dot replied. Mouse fixed her with a disbelieving stare, and Dot quickly added,

"I'm not afraid

Of anything in this world.

There's nothing you can throw at me

That I haven't already heard.

"I'm just trying to find

A decent melody

A song that I can sing

In my own company."

Mouse shook her head and stared at her friend, her hands on her hips.

"I never thought you were a fool," she informed Dot,

"But darling look at you.

You gotta stand up straight,

Carry your own weight.

These tears are going nowhere baby.

"You've got to get yourself together," she continued to sing.

You've got stuck in a moment

And now you can't get out of it.

Don't say that later will be better.

Now you're stuck in a moment

And you can't get out of it."

Dot shook her head and argued, "I will not forsake

The colors that you bring;

The nights you filled with fireworks

They left you with nothing.

"I am still enchanted

By the light you brought to me," she sang to her friends.

I listen through your ears

Through your eyes I can see."

"And you are such a fool," Phong told her, gently but firmly,

"To worry like you do.

I know it's tough

And you can never get enough

Of what you don't really need now.

My, oh my."

Dot tried to back away from Mouse and Phong, but they continued to follow her as she walked around the War Room. The binomes and CPUs (the police, not the vehicles) watched their leader and the other two sprites.

"You've got to get yourself together," they urged the Command.com.

"You've got stuck in a moment

And you can't get out of it."

Mouse took Dot by the shoulders and looked at her with concern.

"Oh love, look at you now," she sang.

You've got yourself stuck in a moment

And you can't get out of it."

Dot was uneasy. She tried to argue,

"I was unconscious, half asleep.

The water is warm 'til you discover how deep.

I wasn't jumping, for me it was a fall.

It's a long way down to nothing at all."

With a feeling of dread, Dot realized that her friends were right. She was concentrating too much on the restart, and Bob — but, though she didn't realize it, the doubts about Bob were only her own. She was the only one worried about Bob and their relationship, but now wasn't the time to ponder those things. It was time to plan for Daemon. She would deal with the other conflicts . . . later.

She joined in with the singing as she left the War Room and walked through the large hall, the binomes and CPUs trailing behind.

"You've got to get yourself together.

You've got stuck in a moment

And you can't get out of it.

Don't say that later will be better.

Now you're stuck in a moment

And you can't get out of it."

Dot paused before the huge doors of the Principle Office, her hand on the knob. She looked back to see her friends and fellow Mainframers, still singing.

"And if the night runs over

And if the day won't last

And if our way should falter

Along the stony pass."

She felt a strange comfort in their words. Dot sang strongly as she opened the doors and came out of the Principle Office.

"And if the night runs over

And if the day won't last

And if your way should falter

Along this stony pass

"It's just a moment;

This time will pass."

As Dot finished singing, she came down the steps of the Principle Office and ran right into Bob.

"Bob!" she cried, flustered.

"Hey, Dot," he said and grinned in that way that made her core-com melt. Right now, though, she just wanted to avoid Bob and his cute grin.

"Bob . . . uh, where have you been?"

"I was just checking on my apartment," he answered. "Everything's the same, except for my car. It's . . . different, to say the least." A look of puzzlement passed over his face as he recalled his entirely remodeled car. But the woman in front of him mattered far more than his car. "What about you, Dot?"

Dot shrugged and glanced aside. "Planning for . . . Daemon."

"Dot!" Bob laughed slightly. They were experiencing the first peace any of them had had for at least an hour, and he didn't want the sprite he cared about to bring even more stress on herself at this time. But at Dot's pained look, he quickly sobered. "Dot, we do need to plan, but you should relax a little, you know." He took her hands. Dot swallowed and tried to look away from his large, warm hands cradling her own.

"Dot," Bob continued softly, "you did great against Megabyte — but why don't you take a breather before the next big conflict?"

"Do you want Daemon to just come and . . . and infect us?" Dot emphasized her indignant question by pulling one hand free and waving it around.

Bob's brow furrowed. "Well . . . no, of course not. This has nothing to do with Daemon; it concerns only you." Even he surprised himself by the pure honest of his words.

Dot tried to pull away again, but Bob reached out one hand to brush her cheek. Dot stiffened at the more intimate touch. "Dot, I'm a little worried about you," Bob said. At Dot's frown, Bob sighed.

"When you need a friend, don't look to a stranger.

You know in the end, I'll always be there.

But when you're in doubt, and when you're in danger,

Take a look all around, and I'll be there."

Dot winced. It wasn't that she resented Bob in any way; but the look on his face was full of such dedication it scared her. A small part of her cried out, "Look at him — he feels everything for you that you feel for him!" Dot tried to ignore her feeling and look away from Bob, but he tilted her chin to look at him as he continued to sing.

"I'm sorry, but I'm just thinking of the right words to say.

I know they don't sound the way I planned them to be.

But if you'll wait around awhile, I'll make you fall for me.

I promise you, I promise you I will."

"Bob," she protested, but it was a very weak protest.

"Shh, Dot," he whispered, his eyes searching her face. He leaned forward, and no voice in Dot could convince her to move away. Bob was so close that she could feel his warm breath on her cheek when they were interrupted by the call of a loud, annoying voice that could only belong to Mainframe's own talking appliance.

"And who do we have here?" Mike the TV crowed, sauntering up to the two sprites. "Just who we wanted to see!" He spun toward the camera binome and announced, "Bob and Dot, Mainframe's sweethearts!" Turning back to them, he asked, "Can we get a word; an interview, maybe?"

"Mike," Dot sighed wearily.

"Come on!" the television pleaded. "You guys are two of Mainframe's biggest heroes — just spare some time for an interview, so the entire Net can learn of the your bravery in the fight for Mainframe!"

"Mike," Bob warned; at the moment, still holding Dot by the hand and so close to kissing her again, the war was the last thing he wanted to think about.

"Please," Mike wheedled, "just a few words! For instance, what are your thoughts on the upcoming fight with Daemon?"

"That's it," Bob hissed, and held out his hands. Golden keytool rays shot out of his palms and scorched the television's bitmap. Mike yelped and jumped from the spot on which he stood. He hopped off, calling, "All right, all right! Jeez — they defeat a virus and they can't spend time with their friend for an interview."

Bob looked back to Dot with a grin on his face, but at the look on her face he let the grin fall. "Dot —" he started.

"Bob," she quickly said, cutting off any more of his words, "I have to go. I'll see you . . . around." With that, she slowly backed away; but she couldn't miss the look on his face; he resembled a drowned kitten at that moment, and Dot felt guilty with herself. Even as she rushed back to the Diner, she berated herself.

Did Bob really feel something for her? Dot knew the answer was yes. And did she feel the same way about him? Of course.

Then what in the Net was wrong with her?

* * *

Funny how things turn out this way, Mouse thought while unloading her personal things. Now that they were going to fight Daemon, Mouse figured she might as well make herself at home. Looks like Ah'm gonna be stayin' with these folks for a little while longer.

Someone knocked on Ship's hull, and a nano later the voice of Ray Tracer floated through the ship. "Mind if I come in?"

"That's fine, Sugah," Mouse called. Soon, Ray came in, looking around him in interest.

"Why, hello, Mr. Tracer," Mouse said brightly. "What can Ah do for you?"

"I prefer Ray," the Surfr answered. He stepped forward and extended a hand, which Mouse shook. "And you're Mouse, I presume."

"The one and only."

Ray nodded. "I wanted to make sure I knew the name of the woman who gave me one of the most amazing kisses I've ever had."

"Oh, that." Mouse's grin held no trace of shame. "That was kinda a spur-of-the-moment thing."

Ray looked around at the boxes Mouse had been unloading. "Can I stay and help?" he asked.

She placed her hands on her hips and raised one fiery eyebrow. "Ya sayin' Ah can't do it myself?"

"Nothing of that sort," the Surfr answered. "I'd like to get to know you a little more."

"All right," Mouse answered. "Come ta think of it, Ah'd like ta learn a bit about you myself."

"An eye for an eye, then," Ray responded. "I'll tell you a little about myself, but I'd like to hear about you, too."

"Deal," Mouse grinned. "Now, pick up a box and start talkin'."

* * *

The hacker leaned back against a crate. "That's an interestin' history ya got there, Sugah," she commented with a grin.

"Back at you," he replied. With a smile, he added, "Of the few scarce details I got, that is." He looked around at their surroundings. "For one thing — calling your ship Ship? I don't know many girls who'd do somethin' like that."

"And Ah don't know a lot of men who are linked by code to a surfboard," Mouse was quick to reply.

"We're a pretty interesting couple, I must say," Ray commented.

Mouse grinned and ran a hand over his close-cut blond hair. "Ray — Ah hope you understand that Ah . . . Ah'm not exactly looking fer a serious relationship."

Ray smiled. "Of course. All I'm looking for is love."

His comment made Mouse extremely flustered inside, but all she let show was a skeptical arch of one eyebrow. "That's askin' a lot fer someone ya just met," she shot back in as calm a voice as she could manage.

Ray shook his head. "No, Mouse, you don't understand.

"I want love, but it's impossible;

A man like me, so irresponsible.

A man like me is dead in places.

Other men feel liberated.

"I can't love, shot full of holes.

Don't feel nothing, I just feel cold.

Don't feel nothing, just old scars

Toughening up around my heart."

Mouse stared at the search engine in surprise; her eyebrows raised so far that they nearly disappeared into her hair.

Ray grinned at her surprise and sang:

"But I want love, just a different kind.

I want love, won't break me down

Won't brick me up, won't fence me in.

I want a love that don't mean a thing;

That's the love I want, I want love."

The music lulled, and Ray took Mouse's hands in his own. For her part, the hacker sighed and looked away. "Ray," she began gently, her voice solemn and sad,

"You're beautiful, that's for sure;

You'll never ever fade.

You're lovely, but it's not for sure

That I won't ever change.

And though my love is rare,

Though my love is true,

"I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away.

I don't know where my soul is,

I don't know where my home is.

(And baby all I need for you to know is)

I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away.

I don't know where my soul is,

I don't know where my home is.

(And baby all I need for you to know is)"

"Mouse, I understand," Ray said; "but you don't."

Mouse laughed quietly, but it was without mirth.

"Your faith in me brings me to tears

Even after all these years.

And it pains me so much to tell

That you don't know me that well.

And though my love is rare,

Though my love is true —"

Before she could continue, Ray interrupted her, singing heatedly.

"I want love on my own terms

After everything I've ever learned.

Me, I carry too much baggage.

Oh man, I've seen so much traffic.

"You have too, I can tell," he said, his voice barely above a whisper in its intensity. He pulled her close to him, his eyes watching behind his goggles for her expression at his motion.

Mouse's eyes bored into his as she repeated:

"I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away.

I don't know where my soul is,

I don't know where my home is.

(And baby all I need for you to know is)

I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away.

I don't know where my soul is,

I don't know where my home is.

(And baby all I need for you to know is)

"It's not that I wanna say goodbye," she urged him to understand.

"It's just that every time you try to tell me that you love me . . ." Ray could see the anguish on her face; he wondered if past heartache had brought on the pain he saw.

Mouse continued sadly, "Each and every single day I know

I'm going to have to eventually give you away." She paused and stared at him for several moments.

"And though my love is rare,

And though my love is true,

Hey I'm just scared

That we may fall through."

Ray shook his head and responded:

"So bring it on, I've been bruised.

Don't give me love that's clean and smooth." Mouse couldn't help but grin.

"I'm ready for the rougher stuff;

No sweet romance, I've had enough.

"A man like me is dead in places," he reminded Mouse.

"Other men feel liberated.

"I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away," Mouse tried once more. She was surprised that, this many milliseconds already, she hadn't pulled away from his arms.

"I don't know where my soul is,

I don't know where my home is —"

"But I want love, just a different kind," Ray answered.

I want love, won't break me down

Won't brick me up, won't fence me in. —"

"(And baby all I need for you to know is)

I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away —"

"I want a love that don't mean a thing;

That's the love I want, I want love." Ray had nearly convinced her.

"I don't know where my soul is,

I don't know where my home is," Mouse sang, but even she didn't believe herself anymore.

"(And baby all I need for you to know is)"

Ray's hand reached up to cup her face and gently brush strands of orange hair away from her face. "Ah just wanna warn ya," Mouse said softly.

Ray smiled charmingly. "Thanks for the warning, but I'm willing to risk things this time.

"I want love, just a different kind.

I want love, won't break me down

Won't brick me up, won't fence me in.

I want a love that don't mean a thing;

That's the love I want, I want love.

"Can you do that, Love?" he whispered. Mouse nodded, and found herself the one who was caught in a kiss, unable to speak.

* * *

Bob entered the Diner and took a seat next to Dot and Enzo. "Hey, Kiddo, what's wrong?" he asked the small sprite.

"Nothing, really," Enzo sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I just . . . everything's so different, and I still don't get what I missed. I mean, just look at all the sprites that are here!" he cried, waving his arms around for emphasis. "There were never this many sprites that I can remember, not since the Twin City."

"Well, it's true that some stuff happened while you were . . . well, things happened," Bob said, choosing his words delicately.

"But Dot won't tell me anything!" Enzo said, shooting his sister a glare. She sighed and sent Bob an unhappy look.

"Don't blame your sister, Enzo," the Guardian said. "Look, maybe we can explain a few things."

"All right," Enzo said, intrigued. He looked at Dot and asked, "What happened to Bob?"

Dot recovered quickly from the panicked look she wore a nano earlier. "He was sent into the Web; then he merged with Glitch."

Enzo was unfazed. "Mouse and the Surfr guy?"

"She's a hacker; he's a Web Surfr who helped me to get home," Bob replied.

"How about Matrix and AndrAIa?" Enzo beamed triumphantly as both Dot and Bob faltered. He had found a weak spot. "Well? Who're they, and where'd they come from?"

Dot recovered and answered, "They came from the Games and found Bob in the Web." She sighed in relief.

Enzo's features darkened, and he crossed his arms over his small chest. Caught without another question, he turned and silently went to his room.

Dot could feel Bob's questioning gaze boring into her back. She turned to look at him, the look on her face pleading, What was I supposed to tell him?

In answer to her silent question, he said, "You know you have to explain it all to him soon enough."

Dot bit her lip and looked down; Bob discreetly admired how beautiful she looked. "You're right," she sighed, and Bob was jerked back to reality. She looked up, her eyes filled with troubled thoughts. She had been through too much trouble already, the Guardian thought. "But it's just so difficult," Dot whispered, and it touched Bob so much that he considered enveloping her in his arms.

Just as he was working up enough nerve, Dot shifted her position, and Bob lost his chance. "It's hard for both of them: Enzo and Matrix," she said. "He and I haven't talked much since the restart. It's like he's a totally different sprite."

"Dot," Bob said, "you can't keep beating yourself up for this. What happened, happened. I mean, for all those hours in the Games, he turned out . . . okay."

Dot smiled at him, albeit weakly. Even after their awkwardness the other second, it made her feel comforted that she and Bob could still talk together as friends.

"Besides," Bob continued, "he had AndrAIa there for him."

Dot barked a soft laugh. "Yeah, he did have AndrAIa; but I wasn't there."

Bob stared at her unblinkingly, and Dot could feel the gentle reassurance his gaze had always held; she smiled gratefully. They sat together in contented silence for several nanoseconds, until Dot finally stood up.

"I have to be going," she said in an apologetic tone. "I'll see Mouse and Enzo; but will you tell the others that there's a meeting in the War Room tomorrow at 1350?"

Bob nodded and watched Dot go. Turning back to the bar, he raised a hand toward the maitre d'. "Hey, Cecil," he called, but of course he received no response.

* * *

Dot was the first sprite in the Principle Office's War Room. Looking around, she reflected that the room really did have personal significance: it was where they had fought their first war, and where they would win their second.

Dot looked up from her organizer when she heard the door whoosh open, and Bob stepped into the room. She quickly glanced down, but any chance of an awkward situation disappeared when Matrix and AndrAIa quickly followed Bob into the room.

Five millisecond later, Mouse and Ray entered the War Room, hand in hand and laughing together. They quickly dropped hands when they saw the other sprites; Mouse smoothed down her hair, which was more tousled than usual, and Ray adjusted his goggles.

"Is this everybody?" Bob asked, looking around.

"Not quite," Dot answered; "Phong should be here."

It was only a little while later that the former Command.com wheeled into the room, with Captain Capacitor and the pirates trailing behind.

"I'm sorry, my child," Phong apologized, "but I was showing our friends a map of the Net and the Web in the Read Only Room."

"All right," Dot said, "now we can start —"

The air shimmered before her, and Hexadecimal appeared– with Little Enzo and Frisket. Oh no, Dot thought, I don't want Enzo here. Yet, she knew she wouldn't be able to make Enzo leave without more questions. Besides, she had another problem, Hexadecimal.

"Hello," the registered virus grinned. "I hope I'm in time."

"Hexadecimal," Dot asked cautiously, "why was Enzo with you before?"

"Oh, it's all right," Hex assured her, but Dot didn't feel very assured. "The boy is fine, aren't you, dear?"

"Yeah," Enzo added, "I was playing at Lost Angles. It's cool." Dot sighed; but at least Enzo was all right.

Since everyone had arrived, Dot decided they were ready. After giving a short greeting, she prepared herself to get down to business. "Hey, guys. What've you got for me?"

"Not a lot of news, unfortunately," Bob replied. "We only know the basics about Daemon: she's a super-virus, she wants to take over the Net, and she's infected almost all of the Guardian Collective."

"Ouch," Mouse commented. "Another power-hungry virus, like Megabyte."

"Or so we think," Matrix responded. "From the attitude of her Guardians, yes."

"Do we know how long she's been around?" Dot asked.

Matrix shrugged. "From what Turbo said, she's been in the Supercomputer for a while."

"She probably started taking over when I was in the Web, and En — Matrix and AndrAIa were in the Games, and the others in Mainframe were fighting Megabyte and Hex," Bob interjected, stumbling over the way he addressed Enzo. Fortunately, the younger Enzo didn't notice.

"And," AndrAIa added, "if she's already infected most of the Guardian Collective, like you said, she's got to be more powerful than Megabyte was." Dot nodded distractedly and typed notes of their discussion into her organizer.

Looking up again, Dot stared fixed her gaze on the renegade. "Matrix, you've had the most interaction with Turbo, right?"

"Yeah," the youth replied, "but I didn't get too much information out of him; just what I told you."

"All right," Dot sighed. "We've got to face this Daemon threat just like we did Megabyte," she announced to the others. "But we won't make the same mistakes. First: we need to know more about her."

"Got that covered, lovely lady," Ray immediately answered. "I bet me and the Cap'n can check out the atmosphere."

"Aye! That we can," Capacitor added with a bow towards Dot. "Me crew and I would be happy to help out."

"Thank you, Ray, Gavin." Dot grinned. "Okay; that means we need to figure out where you'll go. Mouse, can you help Ray and the pirates set up a safe route through the Net?"

"Sure," the hacker replied. "But before that, Dot: Ah was thinkin', Ah could prob'ly use some of the same codes from the previous war ta lock up Mainframe, keep us safe." She frowned in contemplation, then suddenly snapped her fingers. "That's it! Remember the firewall we used to ward off the viruses?" She didn't wait for Dot to nod. "Why don't we use them to shield the system?" Her statement was received by unanimous nods.

Dot went on with instructions. "We also need to know which systems Daemon has infected, and how many. Do you have any idea?" she asked Matrix. He shook his head despondently.

"We can find out, though," AndrAIa said. All eyes turned to her, and she continued, "Matrix and I can go through systems and find out what the situation is. We know the Net better than anyone, and we're already used to inter-system travel. You up to that, Sparky?" she grinned at him, and her eyes flashed mischievously. Matrix returned the challenge with a grin.

"I can help with that," Bob spoke up. "With my Glitch powers, I can open portals, so I can ferry you guys from here to other systems."

Dot opened her mouth to speak, but at the last moment, she realized she had nothing to say that would sway the decisions made. She knew, however grim, that they needed Matrix and AndrAIa to scout out the systems, regardless of her own worries for them.

"Hey, Dot," Enzo suggested, "maybe I could skip school for a little and stay in the Principle Office with you guys!"

The Command.com cast a glance at her younger brother. "I can't let you do that, Sweetie," Dot said, biting her lip.

"Dot!" Enzo groaned, embarrassed. "I wanna help!"

"Typical," Matrix groaned. "You're too young," he told Enzo.

"What would you know about it?" Enzo retorted.

"More than you could imagine," Matrix growled back. A look passed among the adult sprites except for Ray, who didn't quite understand. Everyone stared at the two Enzo Matrixes.

"Hey!" Enzo cried. "What is going on with you people? Is there some big secret I don't know about?" No one replied, and Enzo whined, "Come on, tell me!"

Matrix grumbled under his breath at the nagging, but still no one supplied Enzo with an explanation.

"Is that everything?" Dot asked a few moments later. At the nods from the others, she smiled and said, "Meeting adjourned."

* * *