DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters I am not accepting money for this story. They are owned my MainFrame Productions and currently Cartoon Network. And even if they do sue me they will not get much out of it.
Summary: (note: Daemon does not exist, so there.) When the second Enzo came out of the Principal Office he created confusion. But what he was about to create was pure havoc. The restart causes side effects left over from Megabytes reign. A second Game Sprite comes to Mainframe and appearance of a new race ensures a very use full plot device.
Written by
Ebony Icon
Merger
Principal Office: Just After The Restart.
Enzo was just there, he knew where he was just not why he was there. And the whole thing was starting to scare him.
Then he felt it, a steely viciousness that filled his thoughts. His format felt different, changed, and he knew why. He was a Virus.
He started to panic this couldn't be happening the last thing he remembered was being scanned for a backup program.
Then it hit him he was the backup. This made him start to panic more. Then he started to relax. His new Viral instincts blended in with his Sprite instincts. His breathing slowed and his mind cleared.
Out, he had to get out. He bolted out the door of the main hall finding the next hall, it's door to the outside wide open. He also saw Bob, the Guardian. He cursed inwardly before the first priority of a Virus blinked into his mind.
'Preserve self', he immediately knew what to do. He yelled Bob's name and bolted down the hall and then bowled him over and spoke at incredible speeds. Then in the middle of everything he realized they were all staring. This was going to be interesting.
* * *
Mouse glanced down at the various windows that made up her hacking equipment. The readings were strange. Energy spikes littered the screens Bob was even having trouble figuring it out. He kept picking up viral energy signatures that were not Hexadecimal's. They were from a different category of virus, a new one perhaps.
"Ah just don't understand it." Mouse said sifting through the energy spikes. "Shouldn't we be able to pinpoint the virus from here?" Bob bit his lip as he concentrated on using his Glitch half. But it didn't help whatever was causing the interference was almost impossible to track.
"Yes we should but," He trailed off inhaling in concentration. Then he let out a heavy sigh. "But this is something new, we'll have to do a manual search."
They searched for seconds for the source of the disturbance until it just disappeared from the screens. The only trace of a virus was Hexadecimal the other signature had just vanished.
* * *
Dot was asleep in her room she was ecstatic that Enzo was back, in two forms none-the-less. The brother she had lost to a game returned and her little hyperactive brother sleeping safely in his room. She used to cry so much for Enzo, and Bob as well. She was just glad to have them all back.
But out in the hall Enzo was not safely asleep in his bed. He was instead standing outside of his sisters' still open bedroom door. It had taken him awhile to hide his viral signature under his Sprite signature, but he had done it.
He walked silently into her room standing by her bed. He gazed with interest at her. He wouldn't kill her or infect her for that matter. He remembered her as a protector and mother since his was gone. Matrix too was safe, the larger version of him could teach him many things. But if things got out of had with him Enzo could always use AndrAia to gain cooperation. But only as a last resort.
But the Surfer and Mouse could be problems, he couldn't just dispense with them, they were tied into Dot and Matrix too tightly. He would just have to be careful.
Then there was Bob. The Guardian would probably overlook any thing that was wrong. For a while at least, but as a Guardian he was a danger. There could be no dangers to Enzo's survival, ever. He would have to do something about that, but what?
He turned and quietly went back to his room. Frisket was already asleep on the bed, the large dog hadn't noticed what Enzo had become. Mainly because the boy used his Sprite codes to mask his viral ones, but that didn't matter. He climbed into bed and quickly fell asleep, a cold smile on his face.
* * *
One Hour Later
"WeeeeeeeeHaaaaaaaa!" Enzo whooped spinning on his zip-board. He had had seven energy shakes that morning and jittery energy filled him. At twelve hours old he was still a terror, he used his viral reflexes to stay on the zip-board. He looked down to see Frisket keeping easy pace far beneath him. He zipped down to the large dog and banked a hard left.
Enzo suddenly found himself in a vacant, dead-end ally. He didn't really care, instead he looked around in fascination not really noticing the building wind. He glanced around blinking rapidly as a windblown can smacked him on the head.
Still on an energy high he glared at the can before jumping off his zip-board to crunch it. Frisket whined as more of the scattered trash blew up into the air.
Then he did notice the growing winds and the new electric charge. The wind took on a dangerous velocity and Frisket got between Enzo and the direction the wind was coming from.
Enzo's father had long ago had theories on Game born tears. That the energy build up still inside the game could tunnel out of it's game and even the system creating primitive portal to a place with its energy equivalent. In which case a GameSprite or even a User could come out. (Hey I'm a Fan Fic writer, I can do what I want)
A blast of energy flowed in from nowhere and swirled into a funnel. Enzo shielded his eyes but could make out a small figure inside the swirling energy mass. Then a small girl dropped to the ground. The tear lost stability as the game it had originated from rose, leaving the GameSprite stranded.
That's when Bob showed up, the energy signatures had alerted him. He found Enzo crouched down by a strange female Sprite. She had yellow skin with bright blue hair and was dressed in a black shirt and a pair of black shorts. When Bob got there Frisket got in the way with a loud growl.
"Whoa, easy boy." Bob said slipping past the large dog. He knelt down on the opposite side of the girl from Enzo. Her face was much like AndrAia's when she was little; impish features and pointed ears. Small yellow feathers had been braided into the hair on either side of her face. A red upside-down triangle served as a shoulder patch on her worn garment. A thin golden chain linked the braided feathers and a small golden charm in the simple shape of a bird hung there.
"Enzo, where did she come from?" Bob asked, Enzo looked up blankly and then pointed upwards. 'Must be shock.' Bob thought. It took him a while to get the girl to the P.O. for a check up.
* * *
No one could believe it, another GameSprite outside of her game. More specifically called an Elfling. With incredible eyesight and hearing she was also quite feral having had little contact with anything beyond her game. But just like AndrAia, she learned quickly.
And what made it even stranger was that when the girl came too she and Enzo fell into the same 'puppy love' scenario that Matrix and AndrAia had as kids. Her name was Testla and was indeed an AI.
Things got better of course, but things were about to get far worse than anyone imagined. The cause of the mysterious viral energy spikes was still not found. Not even a trace of the strange energy had been located.
Yet.
* * *
Testla walked slowly down the halls of the Principal Office. She had her personal organizer under one arm; Dot had given it to her. After an hour of being in Mainframe her hair had gotten only a little longer and had exchanged her downy yellow feathers for longer sleeker one of the same color.
She opened a door and stepped in, no one watched her, security knew who she was. Once inside the room she moved easily through its dark and ill-lit corners.
"Enzo?" She asked tentatively. Her silvery voice echoed slightly.
"I'm here." A familiar voice hissed. She turned slowly and found that he was behind her. Few could sneak up on her, only a Virus could move carefully enough.
"Did anyone follow you?" He asked looking her over.
"No Master." She said, her voice intensely calm.
"Good." He smiled an odd and dark smile. "I have Virals, mostly Binomes from off the street, they shouldn't be missed."
"That is good Master." Testla said. He touched her face and smiled an actually genuine smile at her.
"Yes it is, isn't it?" He asked putting a light on the four Binomes that sat drowsily against a wall. The only proof of their infection was a small red up-side-down triangle on their shoulders.
He suddenly couldn't seem to bear to be too far from her. She stood passively and let him put his arms loosely around her and kiss her lightly on the cheek.
"You're so pretty, have I told you that?" He asked his voice lost its hiss.
"Yes Master, you have." She said tilting her eyes in a way that she knew made him happy.
"Good." He said before holding her closer. The patch on her shoulder glowed slightly. The Binomes got up and stumbled out of the room as they had been ordered to.
A small flash suddenly produced Hexadecimal in the room. Enzo glared at the female Virus.
"Ah, Enzo, I thought I would find you here." She twittered. Even with her mask de-fragmented and being registered, she was as crazy as ever.
"Hexadecimal, do you ever use a door?" He asked, he had long ago lost his fear of her. She was after all his sister, in a sense.
"I just wanted to tell you that Bob is on his way." Hexadecimal said peering at Testla.
"Why do you do this?" Enzo asked, Hex had often come to warn him of approaching trouble.
Hexadecimal merely smiled, pulling up her lips smoothly in a single motion.
"I do as I see fit Enzo, Megabyte, or whoever you are." She said. She then flashed back out. Enzo backed away from Testla and opened the door. If Hexadecimal had been speaking true Bob would be around. No need to arouse suspicion.
* * *
Four Hours Later
Bob was most definitely proud of Enzo. Matrix was even more so because the boy was living proof that he would have been a great Guardian. Enzo was now sixteen hours old and was a cadet at the academy. Now he was watching as Enzo and Matrix tried to outdo each other by shooting at targets in the almost snow bound shooting range.
"Come on and shoot already." Matrix said gruffly, Enzo smirked and took aim with the harmless weapon that the range rented out.
"Just relax Matrix, I'll get it." He said not taking his eyes off the target. He squeezed trigger and sent the shot straight through the bulls' eye. He sent three more shot through the bull's eye in quick succession.
"Nice shot." Bob remarked, he didn't take part in the little competition between them. It was how they dealt with each other without having to show emotion.
"Beat that." He said stepping away smugly even though he knew Matrix could outdo him still.
"Sure." Was all the large Sprite said before making Enzo look like a novice.
"Spam." Enzo muttered. He and Testla were only back from the Academy for spring vacation, and he still couldn't come near his older 'brother's' shot record. They had arrived back that day.
Matrix grinned and the two Guardians and one Renegade headed to Dot's Diner for a shake.
"Hey don't sweat it, I'm sure another year at the academy and you'll be better." Matrix said, Enzo rolled his eyes and pushed his way into the Diner. Bob was greeted with a toothy growl from Frisket who was next to the door.
"Eh, good boy." He sighed and shook his head giving a pleading look to Enzo and Matrix. They both smiled and shrugged before calling the dog away to let Bob in.
"Frisket just has this thing about you doesn't he Bob." A female voice said, the three turned to see Dot, Testla and AndrAia coming to them. The speaker had been AndrAia.
Dot wore a suite close to her old one but in dark blue and red. AndrAia wore her usual suit and Testla had changed out of her Guardian uniform in favor of a pair of shorts and a vibrant blue shirt.
"Yeah." Bob said letting Dot slid in beside him. Matrix and AndrAia sat across from them and Enzo and Testla sat across from each other.
"How is it at the Academy? Is eight fingers Aeen still in the Shop class?" Enzo held back a smile.
"It's fine, I like it." He glanced at Testla. "And for your information it's six fingers Aeen." Bob raised and eyebrow. "Oh, and seven toes too." Testla broke out in giggles and was followed by Bob and Enzo. The others just didn't get it.
* * *
The Next Day: Dot's Apartment.
Dot was humming tunelessly as she deposited a load of clean laundry in Enzo's room. She smiled seeing that his cleaning habits hadn't changed.
She then went down the hall a little to the old guestroom that was now Testla's room. The girl was a better housekeeper than Enzo. But she used to be totally wild, definitely less docile than AndrAia; she even used to howl at the moon. Her game had been harsher than AndrAia's and that had its consequences. But she toned down and learned just as fast as her 'sister' AndrAia.
Dot put down the second batch of folded clothes on the bed and glanced over at the plant-cluttered desk. Testla's organizer lay open. She reached over and minimized it and set it back down on the edge of the desk, it tipped and fell before she could catch it. The mechanism crackled and opened to a clip. Dot picked it up while the small clip was playing, what she was made her stomach freeze. She twisted the volume up to hear what was going on.
"Ok, Enzo, thumb claw is 3.2 inches, index claw is 3.3 inches." Testla said, she kept going but Dot wasn't listening. Enzo sat at a table with Testla measuring long claws coming out of his fingers, his hair was longer and slicked back, and he was breathing with a hiss.
"How much longer?" He asked around fangs.
"Not much longer." She answered. "I have to get this on record."
"Record, record." He said a bit annoyed. "I've got something else you can put on record." He retracted the claws and wrapped his arm around her waist pushing her against the table.
"Enzo!" She squealed accepting his nuzzle into her neck. He growled and pushed her onto the table pinning her down. He then moved downward making her giggle.
He moved quickly reaching under her uniform Testla seemed to enjoy it.
"Enzo it's still on." She said breathlessly, the boy didn't look up but merely pointed a finger at the camera and shot a small bolt. The picture went to static then was replaced by an upside-down, red, triangle against black.
"Oh User." Dot said horrified at what she had seen. She spun around and headed for the door. She swung open the front door and found Enzo leaning against the frame. She backspaced quickly, her fear rising.
"Hi Dot, what'cha doing?" He asked smiling coldly at her. "What's that?" He motioned to the organizer in her hand.
"Oh, uh, nothing, nothing at all." She stuttered trying to stay calm.
"Oh really? See I thought that was Tes's organizer." He said taking another step forward before he pinned her with a cold stare. "How much do you know?" His voice was harsh and dangerous.
"About what?" She asked, her voice cracked. He tilted his head regarding her.
"I think you know more than you need too." She shifted her weight nervously not meeting his eyes. "Fine, you won't talk, you come with me." He made a motion like Hexadecimal and Dot fell down a tunnel-portal. She swooned from the motion and realized she was not in her apartment but in a vast room. Testla was standing in the shadows.
"You shouldn't have done that." She said sadly. "It will be harder now." She shook her head and helped Dot up and took the organizer. Suddenly Enzo came out of the shadows and a light fell on a reclining chair. Dot looked at it horrified then realized they were going to put her in it. Four Binomes came into the light and strapped her down. She struggled but Enzo's cold eyes made her feel weak.
Her little brother, so dangerous, so deadly, she wanted to cry.
"Now Dot, this is going to hurt." He said then he nodded at one of the Binomes. It reached over to a table and picked up an IV line. The chair reclined and Dot struggled some more, watching as the needle was inserted into her arm.
"What are you doing?" She asked suddenly getting drowsy. Enzo's face came into her view.
"Oh this is a simple procedure Dot. You're going to become a very interesting creature when were done. A lot like me." He said, he disappeared, then Dot blacked out, but not before she felt the pain.
* * *
Three Binomes came in, the red triangle on their fronts, their eyes slightly glazed. They saluted Testla respectfully when they reached her.
"Your orders Mistress?" A zero asked.
"The Master wishes that Dot is treated with care, but do not leave her unguarded." The girl said to them, Dot looked at her blankly. She had come too on a couch and was still unable to understand what was going on around her. The Binomes nodded and surrounded Dot leading her away. She went silently, this whole thing had to be a nightmare it just had to be a nightmare.
The Binomes were silent, but they didn't prod her on, instead the guided her along. A one opened a door and allowed her in, two of them posted themselves outside the door, and the third one followed her in. He stood next to the closed door.
The room was neat, and average sized. She sat down numbly on a dark red couch unable to face what had happened.
Then her mind snapped into a separate mind frame as viral information leaked into her codes. She inhaled sharply, the Binome by the door cringed. She stood up viciously and roared.
* * *
The Net Ports
"Prime Guardian Turbo." Bob said saluting his superior. The older Guardian smiled a little.
"Guardi'an 452." He said returning the salute. "Good ta see ya agin Bob."
"Good to see you too Turbo." Bob said. "Um, do you mind if I ask why you're here?"
"I has to do with that young cadet Matrix." Turbo said.
"Enzo? What's the matter? Is he failing?" Turbo shook his head.
"Wish it were that simple Bob." The Prime Guardian said. "It's far worse than anyone can imagine." They climbed into a waiting CPU.
"What?" Bob asked.
"Three cadets at the academy were found with a half infection. There were others but they got away." Turbo said.
"Infected? How, and what does this have to do with Enzo?"
"One of the cadets was cadet Matrix's room mate. His name is Oxlyn, he was found making his way to a portal room with two others. Friends of a Cadet Game."
"Testla?" Turbo nodded, when Testla had enrolled she needed a last name, Game was what she used.
"We ran a Vira-scan on them and found a similarity. Copeland window #46235." He ordered his keytool. A vid-window opened showing a shoulder patch. It was an upside-down, red triangle.
"This was the similarity, pics of Game show that she has one as well." Bob nodded, he had seen the patch before.
"But Testla has always had that patch. It was there when we found her."
"Maybe so, but it's an infection symbol, simple, one color. You know as well as I do that level twos use simple shapes on their virals." Turbo said. That was true, level ones just used a color, level twos a simple shape and specific color, while level threes had a complex shape and color.
"So what does Enzo have to do with all of this? I know he doesn't have a patch."
"That's just it, he doesn't have one. Oxlyn was his roommate. The other two were friends of Cadet Game, one her roommate, the other was in most of her classes." He paused. "They hung around her like, well almost like bodyguards." The window cut off. "Then we ran the infection pattern against all other cadets, and found a match. Enzo is the virus."
"What!? Enzo isn't a Virus, he's a Sprite!"
"That's what a standard scan would tell you." Turbo said taking a small green cube from his belt. "But this will give a detailed description of a Sprite, Virus or anything in the known net." Bob regarded the cube.
"How does it work?" Bob asked.
* * *
Enzo and Testla were in one of the coffee lounges watching a small vid-screen when Bob and Turbo came in. Both teens stood at attention when Turbo entered.
"At ease cadets." The Prime Guardian said. They relaxed. "Cadet Matrix, a word with you." Bob noticed the glance that Testla gave to Enzo, but the boy remained facing Turbo.
"Yes sir?" Enzo asked taking a step forward. Turbo took out the cube.
"Hold this." Enzo looked at it skeptically before holding out his hand. Turbo tapped the top of the small cube and it glowed. Bob watched Enzo stiffen a flash of something in his eyes. The cube whirred then went dim. Enzo twitched and the cube flew across the room slamming into the wall.
"Auhg!" He cried stumbling back. Turbo picked up the thrown cube and activated the window for its results.
"What was that?" Testla asked going to Enzo who was shaking away the affects of the cube.
"It's a scan, three cadets at the academy have been found with infection." Enzo got up slowly.
"You scanned me?" He asked, the flash from before returned to his eyes.
"Infection?" Testla asked with a mask of genuine innocence.
"Yes, infection cadet. And you know it." Turbo said. "This just confirms it, you're a Virus." He glared harshly at Enzo.
Bob expected Enzo to immediately contradict him, but he only saw the hot glare he gave Turbo.
"You had no right." The boy hissed still glaring at Turbo.
"Ah had every right cadet. The collective was being infiltrated by a Virus, I had to find it."
Testla suddenly stepped in front of Enzo.
"Get out of the way." Enzo growled, but she didn't move.
"Go Master. They will not harm me." She said, and that was the truth.
He glared at both Bob and Turbo.
"Make no mistake Turbo, if she is harmed I will delete you myself." Then, keeping Testla between him, he made a spastic motion and a tunnel-portal formed. He disappeared before either Guardians could move.
Turbo regarded Testla, she stood quietly.
"Where did he go?" Turbo asked.
"To safety." She said simply.
Bob just stood there. All this time, a Virus, and he hadn't known it.
"How?" He asked looking to the yellow skinned girl.
Her elvish eyes were calm.
"Long before the restart the Virus Megabyte made certain that if anything happened to him that a backup would be accessible to his minions." She paused. "During the restart there was a problem. The Viral backup was incomplete. The system read this and merged Megabyte and Enzo in an effort to save the damaged file. Megabytes' backup held less information than the file Enzo was in. So Enzo had the most control and memory. Lack of full level three Viral codes produced a level two with portal forming abilities."
"How do you know all this?" Turbo asked.
"The process was saved in Enzo's main databanks. He told me." She said.
"When did he infect you?" Turbo asked pulling one of her hands forward and putting on a restraint.
"When I arrived in this system." She said, she didn't resist when Turbo imprisoned her other hand.
"Is this really necessary?" Bob asked
"Just until we can get her to a safe place. Who knows when he'll come back." Turbo said.
Testla looked directly into Bob's eyes, he couldn't see the normal effects of an infection. Her eyes were clear and filled with a free will, nothing but he small triangle patch could be seen.
Bob sighed and followed Turbo out of the room as they lead her to a cell.
* * *
Enzo roared his frustration and threw a table across the room of his lair. It splinted as soon as it hit the wall.
"Now brother, don't get too upset." A strangely soothing female voice said. Enzo glared at her from the corner of his eyes. "I'm still able to get close to the Guardian."
"Yes you are Dot." He said turning to his now Viral sister. "You get Bob and I get Tes back."
"And we both get a system." Dot said giggling.
Enzo smiled crookedly. Of course Dot would probably take Mainframe she had always liked it. But he had other plans; there was a system not far away that he was already in the process of infecting for his own. All he needed was to get Testla back.
"Good, then I'll go. Bob will want to inform me that my brother is a Virus. I want everything to be perfect." She spared a glance into a full-length mirror on a close by wall admiring her new full-body and sleek black armor suite. She double tapped her Icon and changed into more normal clothes.
"Go then sister. Make sure Testla isn't harmed." Dot giggled again before stepping through a portal she formed with her new abilities. When she was gone Enzo growled and threw a chair trying to rid himself of the last bit of his anger.
* * *
"Bob!" Dot called. Bob turned and felt the dopey grin spread across his face. It seemed that every time he saw her she became more beautiful.
"Hey Dot, you have a moment? There's something I have to tell you." He asked.
"Yes actually I do. But I need to get my purse from my office real quick." She flashed her violet eyes at him. "Care to join me?"
He gulped a little and took her arm.
"Of course."
They entered her office; Bob never heard the doors' slight click as it locked.
"Where is it?" He asked and suddenly realized that Dot was carrying her purse. "Oh." Dot just smiled up at him. He put his arms around her; she moved her hands over his chest. It wasn't till then that he noticed something was wrong. She had taken a hold of his Icon.
"Bob?" She asked flashing her eyes again. He only stared down. "Do you love me?" He nodded. "Then prove it to me." Her fingers lifted his Icon away. His breath caught in his throat as the icy cold filled him. "Prove it." She whispered again before he fell to his knees.
He looked up his eyes seeing only her. She smiled and replaced his Icon. Her other hand tracing the right-side-up, blue triangle on his shoulder.
"I will prove it to you." He said calmly. She smiled.
"Good." She said stroking his face. "Very good."
* * *
Testla sat quietly in her cell. She glanced out the barred doorway to see her guards. Two Binomes. Not much against her, she could have easily dispatched them and gone to Enzo. But she had to remain, he would come for her.
Footsteps alerted her. She stood to meet them.
The Binomes stood at attention when both Bob and Dot arrived.
"You may go." Dot said. "We'll call you as soon as were finished."
The Binomes exchanged glances then shrugged and walked away.
Dot smiled at Testla while Bob opened the cell door.
"It is good to see you Dot." Testla said stepping out calmly. "Does he expect an immediate return or am I to come later?"
"Immediate return." Dot said, she waved her hand up to start a portal. She suddenly fell to the floor wrapped in binders.
"NO!" Bob screamed rushing Turbo. The Prime Guardian fired a second binder on his friend. Teslta glared at Turbo.
"You can't do this!" She screamed. He stood solidly between her and the way out. "I have to get to him!" She hissed at him.
"No, ya don't." He said grabbing her solidly in a hold and taking her arm. She screeched and slashed at him before he injected the anti-viral command into her. She stiffened and gasped before going limp in his arms. He laid her on the floor before attending to Bob. Dot he would have to leave in file lock.
Testla groaned as she began to regain consciousness. She seemed to reach for something, grasping at thin air.
"Enzo." She whispered before falling asleep.
* * *
Enzo knew something was wrong. Dot had been captured; Tesla's infection was gone. Everything was going so horribly wrong. He could probably grab Tes and go to his system, no need to restart her infection. She was a willing infection she was truly his.
He stepped out of his portal and found Testla asleep on a small cot in her cell. He knelt down beside her she seemed so peaceful. He had seen her well at rest before, she had never attempted to reject his infection. He took her hand and attempted to wake her.
Her eyes fluttered open. He smiled and kissed her hand.
"Enzo." She said, her happy face turned afraid. A sharp pain lit up his head. Enzo turned around awkwardly to find Bob had fired on him.
"Get him!" Matrix yelled he had been laying low since he had found out about Enzo.
Binders wrapped themselves around Enzo. He fell growling and hissing, showing his more true Viral side.
"Bob! I'll get you! I swear it! What you did Guardian! I'll delete the both of you for what you've done!" He threatened, but even he knew they had him.
It took time but they eventually go the snarling teen hooked up to a file-split program. Courtesy of the Guardian collective.
It was more often used to disengage wrongly merged files, it had never been used for a Virus and Sprite codes. Unfortunately it was a painful operation, it would either separate Enzo from Megabyte, or delete them both.
* * *
The second wave of piercing energy swept through Enzo fiercely. He roared then screamed as the pain increased. As soon as it subsided he growled lightly.
"I'm sorry Enzo but his has to be done." Bob said Matrix was behind him.
"You think you will be able to watch Dot go through this?" Enzo asked as a small drop of energy rolled out of his nose. "She'll have to go through this to get back to her original form." He started to laugh then stopped laughing and tensed from a third strike of energy.
"A little longer and they should separate." Matrix said blandly. "Just a little longer."
"Yeah, a little longer." Bob repeated.
Enzo relaxed again and gasped for breath as the energy faded. He looked up from the chair he was strapped to his eyes were glowing green with red centers. Matrix looked away.
"What is it? You don't like?" Enzo asked, his voice had become deeper. His whole stature had changed, everything was sleeker and more dangerous. Thin and slightly curled clawed slid from his fingers then retracted again. "I thought you might like to see what I am behind my Sprite form." He flinched from the forming of Megabyte's file around his Icon.
"Almost through." Bob said casting his eyes away.
What Enzo had said about Dot made his heart ache. He remembered being infected by her, it had felt good just have her look at him. He had felt disconnected but still able to think clearly, he had actually been able to make his own decisions without her. He now knew how Tesla must have felt.
AndrAia was looking after her little 'sister' in another room. The elfling was constantly on the verge of crying since her infection had been removed.
Bob himself felt slightly emptied after Dot's was removed.
The last wave struck Enzo fiercely. His Icon flared and glowed while he screamed. It seemed to grow and bubble out till the second small disk holding the Viral file fell to the floor.
Matrix picked it up quickly and placed it in a small file-locker. Bob untied Enzo and found him unconscious but breathing. They both lifted Enzo up and put him carefully on a cot on the far wall.
"I'll go get Turbo." Matrix said going to the door. He paused and looked back at the prone figure of Enzo. If one didn't know him better one would say that he had the look of a dangerously haunted man rather than merely a haunted man.
Bob was alone save Enzo who was starting to stir. His violet eyes flashed open with alarm when he realized Bob was so close.
"No!" He cried pushing away at Bob, but he was weak from the split.
Bob settled him back.
"Enzo, you're safe now." He said. "You're clean."
For a moment Enzo just stared for a moment. He blinked a few times and sat up carefully.
"Where is he?" He asked looking around the room.
"In a file locker, there." Bob pointed to the green cube holding the Icon. Enzo stared at it for a moment then looked back at Bob. "He was planning to leave Mainframe. To another system." The teen Sprite said moving his legs over the side of the bed.
"I figured he would try something like that." Bob said giving Enzo a small glass of water. Enzo took it and stared down in it.
"You know Bob, there is just one small problem." Enzo said looking up.
"What?" Bob asked fishing through a small First-Aid kit for something to clean the energy off of Enzo's face.
"Megabyte wasn't the only one making the decisions." He said darkly before smashing the glass cup into Bob's head. Bob went down, energy seeped out of a small cut on his forehead. Enzo got up calmly and went to the table with the Viral Icon.
He deactivated the file-lock and put it over his own.
"Download." He said quietly feeling the slight burning feeling as it sank into his.
The door opened, Matrix went wide-eyed seeing Bob out and bleeding on the floor and Enzo turning back into his regained Viral form.
"What in the Web?" He asked Gun already in hand. Then AndrAia jumped him. Her nails were dangerously close to his neck as they fell.
"Hi Lover." She growled. "Guess what." She reached over his shoulder and ripped off his Icon.
Enzo watched in a bizarre fascination as she infected his older self. Like had had figured before, if Matrix caught wind of what he was, he could always use AndrAia to gain his cooperation.
AndrAia stood up and looked very satisfied with her work.
"We will have to alter him, or do you wish to keep him under your control?" Enzo asked her as he moved out into the hall.
"Oh, let me have him for a little while." She said stroking Matrix's head. "We can alter him later."
Enzo rounded a corner where Dot was waiting. Testla stood calmly beside Dot.
"I'm sorry Dot, but I seem to have harmed Bob." He smiled coldly. "Only slightly of course."
Dot glared for a few nanos before she realized that meant that Bob was still alive.
"Did you, deal, with Turbo yet?" Enzo asked stroking Testla's face. Dot took a few steps down the hall and answered him over her shoulder.
"Oh he's been dealt with brother. Hexadecimal his having the most wonderful time with him."
Enzo took very little time considering what that might mean. He quickly turned his attention to Testla. He passed his hand over her Icon and dug then ends of one of his claws under it to restart the infection. She leaned forward into him. After a few nanos she straightened back up.
"Are to go to your system Master?" She asked.
"Of course. The thirty-eight others I created in the Super Computer have dispersed as well." He said summoning the energy for a direct portal to the system he had chosen. "Soon I will alter you as well." He kissed her and they vanished into a tunnel portal.
Summary: (note: Daemon does not exist, so there.) When the second Enzo came out of the Principal Office he created confusion. But what he was about to create was pure havoc. The restart causes side effects left over from Megabytes reign. A second Game Sprite comes to Mainframe and appearance of a new race ensures a very use full plot device.
Written by
Ebony Icon
Merger
Principal Office: Just After The Restart.
Enzo was just there, he knew where he was just not why he was there. And the whole thing was starting to scare him.
Then he felt it, a steely viciousness that filled his thoughts. His format felt different, changed, and he knew why. He was a Virus.
He started to panic this couldn't be happening the last thing he remembered was being scanned for a backup program.
Then it hit him he was the backup. This made him start to panic more. Then he started to relax. His new Viral instincts blended in with his Sprite instincts. His breathing slowed and his mind cleared.
Out, he had to get out. He bolted out the door of the main hall finding the next hall, it's door to the outside wide open. He also saw Bob, the Guardian. He cursed inwardly before the first priority of a Virus blinked into his mind.
'Preserve self', he immediately knew what to do. He yelled Bob's name and bolted down the hall and then bowled him over and spoke at incredible speeds. Then in the middle of everything he realized they were all staring. This was going to be interesting.
* * *
Mouse glanced down at the various windows that made up her hacking equipment. The readings were strange. Energy spikes littered the screens Bob was even having trouble figuring it out. He kept picking up viral energy signatures that were not Hexadecimal's. They were from a different category of virus, a new one perhaps.
"Ah just don't understand it." Mouse said sifting through the energy spikes. "Shouldn't we be able to pinpoint the virus from here?" Bob bit his lip as he concentrated on using his Glitch half. But it didn't help whatever was causing the interference was almost impossible to track.
"Yes we should but," He trailed off inhaling in concentration. Then he let out a heavy sigh. "But this is something new, we'll have to do a manual search."
They searched for seconds for the source of the disturbance until it just disappeared from the screens. The only trace of a virus was Hexadecimal the other signature had just vanished.
* * *
Dot was asleep in her room she was ecstatic that Enzo was back, in two forms none-the-less. The brother she had lost to a game returned and her little hyperactive brother sleeping safely in his room. She used to cry so much for Enzo, and Bob as well. She was just glad to have them all back.
But out in the hall Enzo was not safely asleep in his bed. He was instead standing outside of his sisters' still open bedroom door. It had taken him awhile to hide his viral signature under his Sprite signature, but he had done it.
He walked silently into her room standing by her bed. He gazed with interest at her. He wouldn't kill her or infect her for that matter. He remembered her as a protector and mother since his was gone. Matrix too was safe, the larger version of him could teach him many things. But if things got out of had with him Enzo could always use AndrAia to gain cooperation. But only as a last resort.
But the Surfer and Mouse could be problems, he couldn't just dispense with them, they were tied into Dot and Matrix too tightly. He would just have to be careful.
Then there was Bob. The Guardian would probably overlook any thing that was wrong. For a while at least, but as a Guardian he was a danger. There could be no dangers to Enzo's survival, ever. He would have to do something about that, but what?
He turned and quietly went back to his room. Frisket was already asleep on the bed, the large dog hadn't noticed what Enzo had become. Mainly because the boy used his Sprite codes to mask his viral ones, but that didn't matter. He climbed into bed and quickly fell asleep, a cold smile on his face.
* * *
One Hour Later
"WeeeeeeeeHaaaaaaaa!" Enzo whooped spinning on his zip-board. He had had seven energy shakes that morning and jittery energy filled him. At twelve hours old he was still a terror, he used his viral reflexes to stay on the zip-board. He looked down to see Frisket keeping easy pace far beneath him. He zipped down to the large dog and banked a hard left.
Enzo suddenly found himself in a vacant, dead-end ally. He didn't really care, instead he looked around in fascination not really noticing the building wind. He glanced around blinking rapidly as a windblown can smacked him on the head.
Still on an energy high he glared at the can before jumping off his zip-board to crunch it. Frisket whined as more of the scattered trash blew up into the air.
Then he did notice the growing winds and the new electric charge. The wind took on a dangerous velocity and Frisket got between Enzo and the direction the wind was coming from.
Enzo's father had long ago had theories on Game born tears. That the energy build up still inside the game could tunnel out of it's game and even the system creating primitive portal to a place with its energy equivalent. In which case a GameSprite or even a User could come out. (Hey I'm a Fan Fic writer, I can do what I want)
A blast of energy flowed in from nowhere and swirled into a funnel. Enzo shielded his eyes but could make out a small figure inside the swirling energy mass. Then a small girl dropped to the ground. The tear lost stability as the game it had originated from rose, leaving the GameSprite stranded.
That's when Bob showed up, the energy signatures had alerted him. He found Enzo crouched down by a strange female Sprite. She had yellow skin with bright blue hair and was dressed in a black shirt and a pair of black shorts. When Bob got there Frisket got in the way with a loud growl.
"Whoa, easy boy." Bob said slipping past the large dog. He knelt down on the opposite side of the girl from Enzo. Her face was much like AndrAia's when she was little; impish features and pointed ears. Small yellow feathers had been braided into the hair on either side of her face. A red upside-down triangle served as a shoulder patch on her worn garment. A thin golden chain linked the braided feathers and a small golden charm in the simple shape of a bird hung there.
"Enzo, where did she come from?" Bob asked, Enzo looked up blankly and then pointed upwards. 'Must be shock.' Bob thought. It took him a while to get the girl to the P.O. for a check up.
* * *
No one could believe it, another GameSprite outside of her game. More specifically called an Elfling. With incredible eyesight and hearing she was also quite feral having had little contact with anything beyond her game. But just like AndrAia, she learned quickly.
And what made it even stranger was that when the girl came too she and Enzo fell into the same 'puppy love' scenario that Matrix and AndrAia had as kids. Her name was Testla and was indeed an AI.
Things got better of course, but things were about to get far worse than anyone imagined. The cause of the mysterious viral energy spikes was still not found. Not even a trace of the strange energy had been located.
Yet.
* * *
Testla walked slowly down the halls of the Principal Office. She had her personal organizer under one arm; Dot had given it to her. After an hour of being in Mainframe her hair had gotten only a little longer and had exchanged her downy yellow feathers for longer sleeker one of the same color.
She opened a door and stepped in, no one watched her, security knew who she was. Once inside the room she moved easily through its dark and ill-lit corners.
"Enzo?" She asked tentatively. Her silvery voice echoed slightly.
"I'm here." A familiar voice hissed. She turned slowly and found that he was behind her. Few could sneak up on her, only a Virus could move carefully enough.
"Did anyone follow you?" He asked looking her over.
"No Master." She said, her voice intensely calm.
"Good." He smiled an odd and dark smile. "I have Virals, mostly Binomes from off the street, they shouldn't be missed."
"That is good Master." Testla said. He touched her face and smiled an actually genuine smile at her.
"Yes it is, isn't it?" He asked putting a light on the four Binomes that sat drowsily against a wall. The only proof of their infection was a small red up-side-down triangle on their shoulders.
He suddenly couldn't seem to bear to be too far from her. She stood passively and let him put his arms loosely around her and kiss her lightly on the cheek.
"You're so pretty, have I told you that?" He asked his voice lost its hiss.
"Yes Master, you have." She said tilting her eyes in a way that she knew made him happy.
"Good." He said before holding her closer. The patch on her shoulder glowed slightly. The Binomes got up and stumbled out of the room as they had been ordered to.
A small flash suddenly produced Hexadecimal in the room. Enzo glared at the female Virus.
"Ah, Enzo, I thought I would find you here." She twittered. Even with her mask de-fragmented and being registered, she was as crazy as ever.
"Hexadecimal, do you ever use a door?" He asked, he had long ago lost his fear of her. She was after all his sister, in a sense.
"I just wanted to tell you that Bob is on his way." Hexadecimal said peering at Testla.
"Why do you do this?" Enzo asked, Hex had often come to warn him of approaching trouble.
Hexadecimal merely smiled, pulling up her lips smoothly in a single motion.
"I do as I see fit Enzo, Megabyte, or whoever you are." She said. She then flashed back out. Enzo backed away from Testla and opened the door. If Hexadecimal had been speaking true Bob would be around. No need to arouse suspicion.
* * *
Four Hours Later
Bob was most definitely proud of Enzo. Matrix was even more so because the boy was living proof that he would have been a great Guardian. Enzo was now sixteen hours old and was a cadet at the academy. Now he was watching as Enzo and Matrix tried to outdo each other by shooting at targets in the almost snow bound shooting range.
"Come on and shoot already." Matrix said gruffly, Enzo smirked and took aim with the harmless weapon that the range rented out.
"Just relax Matrix, I'll get it." He said not taking his eyes off the target. He squeezed trigger and sent the shot straight through the bulls' eye. He sent three more shot through the bull's eye in quick succession.
"Nice shot." Bob remarked, he didn't take part in the little competition between them. It was how they dealt with each other without having to show emotion.
"Beat that." He said stepping away smugly even though he knew Matrix could outdo him still.
"Sure." Was all the large Sprite said before making Enzo look like a novice.
"Spam." Enzo muttered. He and Testla were only back from the Academy for spring vacation, and he still couldn't come near his older 'brother's' shot record. They had arrived back that day.
Matrix grinned and the two Guardians and one Renegade headed to Dot's Diner for a shake.
"Hey don't sweat it, I'm sure another year at the academy and you'll be better." Matrix said, Enzo rolled his eyes and pushed his way into the Diner. Bob was greeted with a toothy growl from Frisket who was next to the door.
"Eh, good boy." He sighed and shook his head giving a pleading look to Enzo and Matrix. They both smiled and shrugged before calling the dog away to let Bob in.
"Frisket just has this thing about you doesn't he Bob." A female voice said, the three turned to see Dot, Testla and AndrAia coming to them. The speaker had been AndrAia.
Dot wore a suite close to her old one but in dark blue and red. AndrAia wore her usual suit and Testla had changed out of her Guardian uniform in favor of a pair of shorts and a vibrant blue shirt.
"Yeah." Bob said letting Dot slid in beside him. Matrix and AndrAia sat across from them and Enzo and Testla sat across from each other.
"How is it at the Academy? Is eight fingers Aeen still in the Shop class?" Enzo held back a smile.
"It's fine, I like it." He glanced at Testla. "And for your information it's six fingers Aeen." Bob raised and eyebrow. "Oh, and seven toes too." Testla broke out in giggles and was followed by Bob and Enzo. The others just didn't get it.
* * *
The Next Day: Dot's Apartment.
Dot was humming tunelessly as she deposited a load of clean laundry in Enzo's room. She smiled seeing that his cleaning habits hadn't changed.
She then went down the hall a little to the old guestroom that was now Testla's room. The girl was a better housekeeper than Enzo. But she used to be totally wild, definitely less docile than AndrAia; she even used to howl at the moon. Her game had been harsher than AndrAia's and that had its consequences. But she toned down and learned just as fast as her 'sister' AndrAia.
Dot put down the second batch of folded clothes on the bed and glanced over at the plant-cluttered desk. Testla's organizer lay open. She reached over and minimized it and set it back down on the edge of the desk, it tipped and fell before she could catch it. The mechanism crackled and opened to a clip. Dot picked it up while the small clip was playing, what she was made her stomach freeze. She twisted the volume up to hear what was going on.
"Ok, Enzo, thumb claw is 3.2 inches, index claw is 3.3 inches." Testla said, she kept going but Dot wasn't listening. Enzo sat at a table with Testla measuring long claws coming out of his fingers, his hair was longer and slicked back, and he was breathing with a hiss.
"How much longer?" He asked around fangs.
"Not much longer." She answered. "I have to get this on record."
"Record, record." He said a bit annoyed. "I've got something else you can put on record." He retracted the claws and wrapped his arm around her waist pushing her against the table.
"Enzo!" She squealed accepting his nuzzle into her neck. He growled and pushed her onto the table pinning her down. He then moved downward making her giggle.
He moved quickly reaching under her uniform Testla seemed to enjoy it.
"Enzo it's still on." She said breathlessly, the boy didn't look up but merely pointed a finger at the camera and shot a small bolt. The picture went to static then was replaced by an upside-down, red, triangle against black.
"Oh User." Dot said horrified at what she had seen. She spun around and headed for the door. She swung open the front door and found Enzo leaning against the frame. She backspaced quickly, her fear rising.
"Hi Dot, what'cha doing?" He asked smiling coldly at her. "What's that?" He motioned to the organizer in her hand.
"Oh, uh, nothing, nothing at all." She stuttered trying to stay calm.
"Oh really? See I thought that was Tes's organizer." He said taking another step forward before he pinned her with a cold stare. "How much do you know?" His voice was harsh and dangerous.
"About what?" She asked, her voice cracked. He tilted his head regarding her.
"I think you know more than you need too." She shifted her weight nervously not meeting his eyes. "Fine, you won't talk, you come with me." He made a motion like Hexadecimal and Dot fell down a tunnel-portal. She swooned from the motion and realized she was not in her apartment but in a vast room. Testla was standing in the shadows.
"You shouldn't have done that." She said sadly. "It will be harder now." She shook her head and helped Dot up and took the organizer. Suddenly Enzo came out of the shadows and a light fell on a reclining chair. Dot looked at it horrified then realized they were going to put her in it. Four Binomes came into the light and strapped her down. She struggled but Enzo's cold eyes made her feel weak.
Her little brother, so dangerous, so deadly, she wanted to cry.
"Now Dot, this is going to hurt." He said then he nodded at one of the Binomes. It reached over to a table and picked up an IV line. The chair reclined and Dot struggled some more, watching as the needle was inserted into her arm.
"What are you doing?" She asked suddenly getting drowsy. Enzo's face came into her view.
"Oh this is a simple procedure Dot. You're going to become a very interesting creature when were done. A lot like me." He said, he disappeared, then Dot blacked out, but not before she felt the pain.
* * *
Three Binomes came in, the red triangle on their fronts, their eyes slightly glazed. They saluted Testla respectfully when they reached her.
"Your orders Mistress?" A zero asked.
"The Master wishes that Dot is treated with care, but do not leave her unguarded." The girl said to them, Dot looked at her blankly. She had come too on a couch and was still unable to understand what was going on around her. The Binomes nodded and surrounded Dot leading her away. She went silently, this whole thing had to be a nightmare it just had to be a nightmare.
The Binomes were silent, but they didn't prod her on, instead the guided her along. A one opened a door and allowed her in, two of them posted themselves outside the door, and the third one followed her in. He stood next to the closed door.
The room was neat, and average sized. She sat down numbly on a dark red couch unable to face what had happened.
Then her mind snapped into a separate mind frame as viral information leaked into her codes. She inhaled sharply, the Binome by the door cringed. She stood up viciously and roared.
* * *
The Net Ports
"Prime Guardian Turbo." Bob said saluting his superior. The older Guardian smiled a little.
"Guardi'an 452." He said returning the salute. "Good ta see ya agin Bob."
"Good to see you too Turbo." Bob said. "Um, do you mind if I ask why you're here?"
"I has to do with that young cadet Matrix." Turbo said.
"Enzo? What's the matter? Is he failing?" Turbo shook his head.
"Wish it were that simple Bob." The Prime Guardian said. "It's far worse than anyone can imagine." They climbed into a waiting CPU.
"What?" Bob asked.
"Three cadets at the academy were found with a half infection. There were others but they got away." Turbo said.
"Infected? How, and what does this have to do with Enzo?"
"One of the cadets was cadet Matrix's room mate. His name is Oxlyn, he was found making his way to a portal room with two others. Friends of a Cadet Game."
"Testla?" Turbo nodded, when Testla had enrolled she needed a last name, Game was what she used.
"We ran a Vira-scan on them and found a similarity. Copeland window #46235." He ordered his keytool. A vid-window opened showing a shoulder patch. It was an upside-down, red triangle.
"This was the similarity, pics of Game show that she has one as well." Bob nodded, he had seen the patch before.
"But Testla has always had that patch. It was there when we found her."
"Maybe so, but it's an infection symbol, simple, one color. You know as well as I do that level twos use simple shapes on their virals." Turbo said. That was true, level ones just used a color, level twos a simple shape and specific color, while level threes had a complex shape and color.
"So what does Enzo have to do with all of this? I know he doesn't have a patch."
"That's just it, he doesn't have one. Oxlyn was his roommate. The other two were friends of Cadet Game, one her roommate, the other was in most of her classes." He paused. "They hung around her like, well almost like bodyguards." The window cut off. "Then we ran the infection pattern against all other cadets, and found a match. Enzo is the virus."
"What!? Enzo isn't a Virus, he's a Sprite!"
"That's what a standard scan would tell you." Turbo said taking a small green cube from his belt. "But this will give a detailed description of a Sprite, Virus or anything in the known net." Bob regarded the cube.
"How does it work?" Bob asked.
* * *
Enzo and Testla were in one of the coffee lounges watching a small vid-screen when Bob and Turbo came in. Both teens stood at attention when Turbo entered.
"At ease cadets." The Prime Guardian said. They relaxed. "Cadet Matrix, a word with you." Bob noticed the glance that Testla gave to Enzo, but the boy remained facing Turbo.
"Yes sir?" Enzo asked taking a step forward. Turbo took out the cube.
"Hold this." Enzo looked at it skeptically before holding out his hand. Turbo tapped the top of the small cube and it glowed. Bob watched Enzo stiffen a flash of something in his eyes. The cube whirred then went dim. Enzo twitched and the cube flew across the room slamming into the wall.
"Auhg!" He cried stumbling back. Turbo picked up the thrown cube and activated the window for its results.
"What was that?" Testla asked going to Enzo who was shaking away the affects of the cube.
"It's a scan, three cadets at the academy have been found with infection." Enzo got up slowly.
"You scanned me?" He asked, the flash from before returned to his eyes.
"Infection?" Testla asked with a mask of genuine innocence.
"Yes, infection cadet. And you know it." Turbo said. "This just confirms it, you're a Virus." He glared harshly at Enzo.
Bob expected Enzo to immediately contradict him, but he only saw the hot glare he gave Turbo.
"You had no right." The boy hissed still glaring at Turbo.
"Ah had every right cadet. The collective was being infiltrated by a Virus, I had to find it."
Testla suddenly stepped in front of Enzo.
"Get out of the way." Enzo growled, but she didn't move.
"Go Master. They will not harm me." She said, and that was the truth.
He glared at both Bob and Turbo.
"Make no mistake Turbo, if she is harmed I will delete you myself." Then, keeping Testla between him, he made a spastic motion and a tunnel-portal formed. He disappeared before either Guardians could move.
Turbo regarded Testla, she stood quietly.
"Where did he go?" Turbo asked.
"To safety." She said simply.
Bob just stood there. All this time, a Virus, and he hadn't known it.
"How?" He asked looking to the yellow skinned girl.
Her elvish eyes were calm.
"Long before the restart the Virus Megabyte made certain that if anything happened to him that a backup would be accessible to his minions." She paused. "During the restart there was a problem. The Viral backup was incomplete. The system read this and merged Megabyte and Enzo in an effort to save the damaged file. Megabytes' backup held less information than the file Enzo was in. So Enzo had the most control and memory. Lack of full level three Viral codes produced a level two with portal forming abilities."
"How do you know all this?" Turbo asked.
"The process was saved in Enzo's main databanks. He told me." She said.
"When did he infect you?" Turbo asked pulling one of her hands forward and putting on a restraint.
"When I arrived in this system." She said, she didn't resist when Turbo imprisoned her other hand.
"Is this really necessary?" Bob asked
"Just until we can get her to a safe place. Who knows when he'll come back." Turbo said.
Testla looked directly into Bob's eyes, he couldn't see the normal effects of an infection. Her eyes were clear and filled with a free will, nothing but he small triangle patch could be seen.
Bob sighed and followed Turbo out of the room as they lead her to a cell.
* * *
Enzo roared his frustration and threw a table across the room of his lair. It splinted as soon as it hit the wall.
"Now brother, don't get too upset." A strangely soothing female voice said. Enzo glared at her from the corner of his eyes. "I'm still able to get close to the Guardian."
"Yes you are Dot." He said turning to his now Viral sister. "You get Bob and I get Tes back."
"And we both get a system." Dot said giggling.
Enzo smiled crookedly. Of course Dot would probably take Mainframe she had always liked it. But he had other plans; there was a system not far away that he was already in the process of infecting for his own. All he needed was to get Testla back.
"Good, then I'll go. Bob will want to inform me that my brother is a Virus. I want everything to be perfect." She spared a glance into a full-length mirror on a close by wall admiring her new full-body and sleek black armor suite. She double tapped her Icon and changed into more normal clothes.
"Go then sister. Make sure Testla isn't harmed." Dot giggled again before stepping through a portal she formed with her new abilities. When she was gone Enzo growled and threw a chair trying to rid himself of the last bit of his anger.
* * *
"Bob!" Dot called. Bob turned and felt the dopey grin spread across his face. It seemed that every time he saw her she became more beautiful.
"Hey Dot, you have a moment? There's something I have to tell you." He asked.
"Yes actually I do. But I need to get my purse from my office real quick." She flashed her violet eyes at him. "Care to join me?"
He gulped a little and took her arm.
"Of course."
They entered her office; Bob never heard the doors' slight click as it locked.
"Where is it?" He asked and suddenly realized that Dot was carrying her purse. "Oh." Dot just smiled up at him. He put his arms around her; she moved her hands over his chest. It wasn't till then that he noticed something was wrong. She had taken a hold of his Icon.
"Bob?" She asked flashing her eyes again. He only stared down. "Do you love me?" He nodded. "Then prove it to me." Her fingers lifted his Icon away. His breath caught in his throat as the icy cold filled him. "Prove it." She whispered again before he fell to his knees.
He looked up his eyes seeing only her. She smiled and replaced his Icon. Her other hand tracing the right-side-up, blue triangle on his shoulder.
"I will prove it to you." He said calmly. She smiled.
"Good." She said stroking his face. "Very good."
* * *
Testla sat quietly in her cell. She glanced out the barred doorway to see her guards. Two Binomes. Not much against her, she could have easily dispatched them and gone to Enzo. But she had to remain, he would come for her.
Footsteps alerted her. She stood to meet them.
The Binomes stood at attention when both Bob and Dot arrived.
"You may go." Dot said. "We'll call you as soon as were finished."
The Binomes exchanged glances then shrugged and walked away.
Dot smiled at Testla while Bob opened the cell door.
"It is good to see you Dot." Testla said stepping out calmly. "Does he expect an immediate return or am I to come later?"
"Immediate return." Dot said, she waved her hand up to start a portal. She suddenly fell to the floor wrapped in binders.
"NO!" Bob screamed rushing Turbo. The Prime Guardian fired a second binder on his friend. Teslta glared at Turbo.
"You can't do this!" She screamed. He stood solidly between her and the way out. "I have to get to him!" She hissed at him.
"No, ya don't." He said grabbing her solidly in a hold and taking her arm. She screeched and slashed at him before he injected the anti-viral command into her. She stiffened and gasped before going limp in his arms. He laid her on the floor before attending to Bob. Dot he would have to leave in file lock.
Testla groaned as she began to regain consciousness. She seemed to reach for something, grasping at thin air.
"Enzo." She whispered before falling asleep.
* * *
Enzo knew something was wrong. Dot had been captured; Tesla's infection was gone. Everything was going so horribly wrong. He could probably grab Tes and go to his system, no need to restart her infection. She was a willing infection she was truly his.
He stepped out of his portal and found Testla asleep on a small cot in her cell. He knelt down beside her she seemed so peaceful. He had seen her well at rest before, she had never attempted to reject his infection. He took her hand and attempted to wake her.
Her eyes fluttered open. He smiled and kissed her hand.
"Enzo." She said, her happy face turned afraid. A sharp pain lit up his head. Enzo turned around awkwardly to find Bob had fired on him.
"Get him!" Matrix yelled he had been laying low since he had found out about Enzo.
Binders wrapped themselves around Enzo. He fell growling and hissing, showing his more true Viral side.
"Bob! I'll get you! I swear it! What you did Guardian! I'll delete the both of you for what you've done!" He threatened, but even he knew they had him.
It took time but they eventually go the snarling teen hooked up to a file-split program. Courtesy of the Guardian collective.
It was more often used to disengage wrongly merged files, it had never been used for a Virus and Sprite codes. Unfortunately it was a painful operation, it would either separate Enzo from Megabyte, or delete them both.
* * *
The second wave of piercing energy swept through Enzo fiercely. He roared then screamed as the pain increased. As soon as it subsided he growled lightly.
"I'm sorry Enzo but his has to be done." Bob said Matrix was behind him.
"You think you will be able to watch Dot go through this?" Enzo asked as a small drop of energy rolled out of his nose. "She'll have to go through this to get back to her original form." He started to laugh then stopped laughing and tensed from a third strike of energy.
"A little longer and they should separate." Matrix said blandly. "Just a little longer."
"Yeah, a little longer." Bob repeated.
Enzo relaxed again and gasped for breath as the energy faded. He looked up from the chair he was strapped to his eyes were glowing green with red centers. Matrix looked away.
"What is it? You don't like?" Enzo asked, his voice had become deeper. His whole stature had changed, everything was sleeker and more dangerous. Thin and slightly curled clawed slid from his fingers then retracted again. "I thought you might like to see what I am behind my Sprite form." He flinched from the forming of Megabyte's file around his Icon.
"Almost through." Bob said casting his eyes away.
What Enzo had said about Dot made his heart ache. He remembered being infected by her, it had felt good just have her look at him. He had felt disconnected but still able to think clearly, he had actually been able to make his own decisions without her. He now knew how Tesla must have felt.
AndrAia was looking after her little 'sister' in another room. The elfling was constantly on the verge of crying since her infection had been removed.
Bob himself felt slightly emptied after Dot's was removed.
The last wave struck Enzo fiercely. His Icon flared and glowed while he screamed. It seemed to grow and bubble out till the second small disk holding the Viral file fell to the floor.
Matrix picked it up quickly and placed it in a small file-locker. Bob untied Enzo and found him unconscious but breathing. They both lifted Enzo up and put him carefully on a cot on the far wall.
"I'll go get Turbo." Matrix said going to the door. He paused and looked back at the prone figure of Enzo. If one didn't know him better one would say that he had the look of a dangerously haunted man rather than merely a haunted man.
Bob was alone save Enzo who was starting to stir. His violet eyes flashed open with alarm when he realized Bob was so close.
"No!" He cried pushing away at Bob, but he was weak from the split.
Bob settled him back.
"Enzo, you're safe now." He said. "You're clean."
For a moment Enzo just stared for a moment. He blinked a few times and sat up carefully.
"Where is he?" He asked looking around the room.
"In a file locker, there." Bob pointed to the green cube holding the Icon. Enzo stared at it for a moment then looked back at Bob. "He was planning to leave Mainframe. To another system." The teen Sprite said moving his legs over the side of the bed.
"I figured he would try something like that." Bob said giving Enzo a small glass of water. Enzo took it and stared down in it.
"You know Bob, there is just one small problem." Enzo said looking up.
"What?" Bob asked fishing through a small First-Aid kit for something to clean the energy off of Enzo's face.
"Megabyte wasn't the only one making the decisions." He said darkly before smashing the glass cup into Bob's head. Bob went down, energy seeped out of a small cut on his forehead. Enzo got up calmly and went to the table with the Viral Icon.
He deactivated the file-lock and put it over his own.
"Download." He said quietly feeling the slight burning feeling as it sank into his.
The door opened, Matrix went wide-eyed seeing Bob out and bleeding on the floor and Enzo turning back into his regained Viral form.
"What in the Web?" He asked Gun already in hand. Then AndrAia jumped him. Her nails were dangerously close to his neck as they fell.
"Hi Lover." She growled. "Guess what." She reached over his shoulder and ripped off his Icon.
Enzo watched in a bizarre fascination as she infected his older self. Like had had figured before, if Matrix caught wind of what he was, he could always use AndrAia to gain his cooperation.
AndrAia stood up and looked very satisfied with her work.
"We will have to alter him, or do you wish to keep him under your control?" Enzo asked her as he moved out into the hall.
"Oh, let me have him for a little while." She said stroking Matrix's head. "We can alter him later."
Enzo rounded a corner where Dot was waiting. Testla stood calmly beside Dot.
"I'm sorry Dot, but I seem to have harmed Bob." He smiled coldly. "Only slightly of course."
Dot glared for a few nanos before she realized that meant that Bob was still alive.
"Did you, deal, with Turbo yet?" Enzo asked stroking Testla's face. Dot took a few steps down the hall and answered him over her shoulder.
"Oh he's been dealt with brother. Hexadecimal his having the most wonderful time with him."
Enzo took very little time considering what that might mean. He quickly turned his attention to Testla. He passed his hand over her Icon and dug then ends of one of his claws under it to restart the infection. She leaned forward into him. After a few nanos she straightened back up.
"Are to go to your system Master?" She asked.
"Of course. The thirty-eight others I created in the Super Computer have dispersed as well." He said summoning the energy for a direct portal to the system he had chosen. "Soon I will alter you as well." He kissed her and they vanished into a tunnel portal.
