Rating: Let's give it a good, wholesome 'R'...
A bit of something disturbing that surfaced from the murky depths of my mind one evening...
Dot sighed in extreme contentment, her arms wrapped around the body above her. He kissed her forehead and settled in to one side so that he was leaning on one elbow and still above her. She closed her eyes and snuggled her head against his chest. As sleep began to overcome her, she noticed an odd shifting next to her. She opened her eyes, but in the darkness could make out nothing. She felt Bob pull away from her a bit, heard the light click on...
She opened her mouth but no sounds emmitted. She wanted to move or something, but the part of her mind making final decisions refused to believe what she was seeing.
Megabyte...Oh, no...No...
She managed a coughing sob, but remained frozen in place as the virus lay casually beside her on the bed, examining his nails. Great, long claws, now permanently extended. He smiled at her charmingly. "You appear to have lost the powers of articulation, Ms. Matrix. Or no, it's not 'Matrix' anymore, is it?"
She felt herself begin to shake, and she wanted to cover herself from him, but as she rose her arms to make herself less exposed, he grabbed her wrists in one hand. "No need for that, now." He purred. "I believe I've seen all there is to see."
She whimpered pathetically as the last realization clicked. With Megabyte... She felt violently sick to her stomach, she rolled over and rid her system of its past meal on to the floor. When she hung limply off the side of the bed, Megabyte turned her over again to lie face up. Her whole body shook and a tear made it's way down the side of her face. The virus caught it on one claw, then rubbed it between thumb and forefinger until it had evaporated. She gave another gasping sob and tried to calm her violent shuddering, to no avail.
"Now, Dot," Megabyte said conversationally. "I suppose at the moment, you're feeling rather confused. Among other things." He glanced at her face for a reaction, but she only whimpered. "You may even have gotten so far as to realize that your precious Guardian is dead. Deleted in a hospital room with no one to witness it but an indifferent doctor."
She hadn't made the connection yet, but once he suggested it, she gave a low groan that ended in a shuddering intake of air. Bob's dead...he died and I wasn't there...
Megabyte continued, seeing that his speech was having the desired effect on her. "In fact, you might even say you killed him. He entered the portal to split from his keytool to better rival me. He did it for you, because you ignored him." He paused again and watched her.
She made no more noise, only closed her eyes again and shook, her mouth turned downward at the edges and her chin quivering. Her breath was rapid, uneven and shuddering, and her fingers pulled anxiously at the bedcovers. Her ellated mood had crumbled around her.
"And so now," Megabyte said in a somewhat quieter voice, "I believe that you really belong to me." He opened a single claw with a threatening metal-on-metal scrape, and Dot sucked in a breath of air quickly. He lowered the claw to her chest, and she sobbed again when he pressed down and broke the skin. He began to drag his claw along her skin, leaving a trail of energy in his wake, and she squirmed and whimpered as the pain spread across her chest. He picked up his claw, licked off the drop of energy left on it, only to pierce her again on the other breast and continue with whatever he was doing. She cried out and actually began to cry outright, feeling him now slicing her sternum and then along the border of her ribs. At last, he ceased.
"Look." He commanded. "See what you bear now."
She obidiently tilted her head and examined her torso. A viral skull decorated it, with streams of energy running off the corners and on to her bedspread. The cuts were deep, and every movement stung. She threw her head back against the pillow and wept, no longer caring if he saw her weak and broken. She was weak and broken. No Bob...and Megabyte here again and having infected her despite her past evasion. She screamed hysterically at the ceiling, wanting just to die. To join Bob, perhaps. But then she felt the bed shift and a crushing weight settle on her. "Once more before I infect you. I rather like your personality."
And then she no longer cried. It wasn't worth her effort.