Disclaimer: I don't own Reboot nor the song towards the end
Bob sighed again. There wasn't much else he could do. This wasn't the first time Scuzzy had ran back to Hex's Lair, and Bob knew it wouldn't be the last. Following the cat through the abandoned tower and the tunnels beneath it was becoming a normal part of his new routine, and it was getting harder and harder to not help the poor cat in his helpless attempts to find Hex.
At least with Scuzzy he had some idea as what was going to happen next. First three floors, under the tower, then back up to the kitchen for a snack. At least with only one virus to deal with Bob had enough time to make sure there was food there. When the tower had first run out, the guardian had tried just showing Scuzzy the empty cabinets. After finally seeing that he wasn't going to get anything, the cat went back to searching for Hex.
Bob wasn't sure why he kept going with Scuzzy. He really did worry about the cat being on his own while Megabyte was being tracked down. Megabyte had just barely managed to escape- everyone kept telling themselves that. Scuzzy had put up with Hex for who knew how long, but Hexadecimal and Megabyte were two very different viruses. Megabyte wouldn't hesitate to hurt the cat, but Bob couldn't help but feel that there was another reason he himself hadn't figured out yet.
Bob was tired. He was so stressed out. He wished he could just sleep, but he knew he wouldn't be able to. Night after night, he tried and failed and went out to search for signs of Megabyte or Hex. Day after day he helped the others and tried to act as though he wasn't distracted by memories of the wedding.
Scuzzy was heading to Hex's room now.
The first thing Scuzzy did was jump on the bed. When he saw that Hex wasn't there, he searched underneath it. Bob looked around the room. Scuzzy was probably going to check the closet, then open the lower drawer on her shelf. The smart cat was going to jump inside and pull open the next one. There were four drawers, and once Scuzzy was done with them he was going to get on top of the dresser and expect the guardian to get him down.
Bob always started off by telling him 'no', and by the time it was over, Scuzzy was going to have his way again. Then he would purr and rub against the guardian's legs, and Bob would pet him.
There had to be some way to end this cycle before Scuzzy could do the same thing to the nightstand and jump off of it onto Hex's bed. Bob knew that once that was over, the only place Scuzzy could check was the looking glass.
It never responded to the cat, no matter which recordings he played, but there was nothing left to loose and it couldn't hurt anything, so Bob decided to give it a try. He sat on the chair in front of it. He took a deep breath and gently grabbed it with both hands.
"Hex, I don't know if you're out there-I don't know how you could be- but if you are, please let me know." The guardian hesitated with each word that came next. "I need you. I miss you. I... I..." There was no point in denying it any longer. "I love you. Please, come home. Wouldn't you have come back by now if you could? Do you need my help? Just tell me what you need and I promise you, I'll find a way."
As if he had been teleported against his will again, Bob found himself in a new location. Something terrible happened to this system, and Bob could only imagine how terrified Hex had been as she probably panicked, trying only to defend herself from more sprites and binomes who were more afraid of viruses than ever after what Daemon almost did to the entire Net. There didn't seem to be single building still standing, and Bob got more concerned as he walked down the empty streets.
Then a beautiful sound graced his ears. Someone was laughing, and from the sound of it, she was young. Hex did say she loved children, and even if Hex didn't make a new friend, at least someone could tell him what happened.
It was only thing Bob could think of, so he ran in the direction it came from. It was off and on, and it sounded so familiar, but trying to figure out who's it was would only slow him down. He ran faster than he thought he could, scared that he would once again lose the woman he loved.
He turned a corner and stopped. He was at a park now. It had only suffered a fraction of the damage. There was a playground just a few meters away.
There was a young virus sitting happily on a swing set. Hex was pushing her. Bob felt tears flow down his face. Hex was being so motherly, and she looked so stunning in her simple red tank top and black shorts. It was a beautiful contrast to Daemon's frilly purple and white dress.
"She is my sunshine, my only sunshine." Hex sang in a monotone "She keeps me happy when skies are gray." The chaos virus brought the swing to a gentle stop and embraced the child who had almost destroyed their reality "She is my sunshine, my only sunshine." Daemon joined in on the song and everything faded into darkness. "Please don't take my sunshine away."
Bob found himself sitting in Hex's chair in front on her mirror and looked down at the cat who was affectionately rubbing his ankles again.