"Rosa… I…

"Stay with me, Bob." The innkeeper kissed him again, deeply, passionately. "Stay with me and build a life with me in this place. Stay."

Bob shook his head dizzily, the room seeming to spin around him. Game or not, the woman across from him seemed as real as possible in that nano. "I'm s-sorry, Rosa. I can't. Don't ask me to. It's just not an option."

"Ah – I see." The innkeeper sighed. "I do not please you, clearly. I am a bigger fool than you, I think!"

"No!" Bob hissed. "You… You please me very much. I've always had a thing for redheads, actually…"

"Indeed? Then why not stay with me, Pilgrim?"

"It's… In Mainframe. There's a woman there. I love her, Rosa. I'm sorry."

"Ah." Rosa smiled. "I am sorry, Bob – I should not-"

"No, it's all right." The Guardian sighed. "I never said anything. She's Enzo's sister – she's taken care of him since he was a toddler. It's our home, and we'll always go back there. You're a wonderful woman, beautiful, kind…"

"I am glad, Pilgrim. It is good that she is there for you. And the boy. So return to her – do not throw your life away in a foolish quest to save our valley!"

"I… I can't really explain it, Rosa. I have to do what I have to do. It's my calling, like I said. But I'll be careful, I promise."

"So go, then." The red-haired woman scowled. "Do what you will – no man ever listened to my advice in any case. Now clear out of my kitchen – the bread won't bake itself and the howling jackals will be here for their supper soon enough."

"Rosa-"

"Go!" she half-shouted. "Be with Enzo, see that he is well. Come down when it is suppertime. Off with you."

"OK." Bob sighed, rising. "Thanks for-"

"Enough!" the innkeeper spat. She turned her back on the Guardian and resumed pounding the bread dough on the table, a bit more fiercely than before.

Bob blinked his eyes open, momentarily puzzling at the feel of the hard wooden chair under his back. Than, in a rush, the memories came back to him. With a sigh, he rose from his chair, wincing as his stiff muscles barked a complaint.

The Guardian was momentarily surprised to see an empty bed, then noted the figure of a small boy standing by the window. "Enzo! What are you doing out of bed?"

"BOB!" the youngster beamed. He took a quick stride towards the Guardian, but his gait quickly degenerated into a stumbling walk. The Guardian reached out his arms as the boy fell against him. "Sorry…"

"Take it easy!" Bob scolded. "What-"

"Look – Rosa took my bandages off this morning!" Enzo panted, showing Bob his hands. "Isn't it alpha…numeric?"

"Cool!" Bob grinned, helping the boy back to the bed. "But you're gonna kill yourself if you don't slow down. You're sick!"

"Crash!" the boy huffed. "I feel…totally…better."

"Is that way you can barely talk?"

"Bob!" Enzo protested. "You're supposed to be on…my…side. Remember?"

"Yeah, well – Rosa isn't Dot and this isn't Mainframe. So I say you take it easy until you're completely recovered. Got it?"

"Sure, Bob – whatever!" the youngster grinned. He held up a pedal extremity. "See – she took the bandages off my feet, too. All my toes are still there!"

"Ugly ones, too." Bob chuckled. He grabbed the boy's foot playfully.

"Stop!" Enzo howled. "That still hurts!"

"Some big, brave Guardian you are." Bob laughed. "C'mere, you…"

"If I weren't sick I'd kick your bitmap!" Enzo giggled, burrowing against the Guardian's shoulder. In truly inimitable style his attention shifted in the blink of an eye. "This place is pretty weird, huh? But Rosa sure is nice."

"That she is, Tiger. In all the games I've played I've never met anyone remotely like her. Unless you count AndrAIa."

"Dude – it's so basic." Enzo said softly. "When this game is over she'll be gone, like she never existed. But she's a real person! Just like you and me!"

"I know it seems like that – but she really isn't. Not like you and me. She won't cease to exist, either – she'll just leave with the game and turn up in some other system."

"I don't understand, Bob. If Rosa isn't real, how come AndrAIa is? Didn't she come from a game, too?"

"And nowhere near as real as this one, either." Bob sighed. "I… I can't answer that, Enzo. I don't know the answer. I wish I did, but I don't."

"It's not just her, either." The boy continued. "It's everybody here - they all act just like regular people!"

"Yeah. I dunno, Pal – maybe Phong or Dot could explain it but I can't. All I know how to do is try to win games, and that's what I'm gonna do. If I start to worry about what any of it means... Winning is hard enough."

"I guess." The youngster sighed. "But what happens now, Bob? When are we gonna leave? And where do we go?"

A frown crossed the Guardian's face quickly, but he willed it away. "Don't worry about that just now. You've still got some rest and recuperation, Cadet."

"But… We still don't even know what we're supposed to be doing!" Enzo protested.

"Well…" Bob winked. "I may have made a little progress on that front. I talked to Rosa and she told me some things…"

"What kind of things?"

"About this place. About that mountain out there. Let's just say I have some idea about what our goal is."

"Dude – tell me!" Enzo pleaded. "What did you find out?"

"Not as much as I'd like, but it's a start. There's some kind of evil force on that mountain, and I think it might be our job to defeat it. At least I hope so – otherwise I'm as clueless as I was the nano we came here."

"Evil force?" Enzo frowned. "The User?" It was the first time the boy could remember either of them using that word in cycles, which struck him as extremely odd.

"I don't think so." Bob said thoughtfully. "Not the User – more likely it's the quest. This may be a new kind of game but I don't care what kind of game it is, there's always a quest. If anything we have to get there before the User does."

"Basic…" Enzo's brain felt almost as weary and atrophied as his body – he could feel it resist as he tried to think in strategic terms for the first time since he could remember. "I'm ready to go, Bob. Whenever you say so."

"No you're not." The Guardian smiled gently, tousling his hair. "But that's all right – I'm not sure I am either. And I'd like to find out some more information anyways - anything to help us later."

"But-"

"No buts. Don't worry about that for now, Kiddo. Did you drink your tea yet?"

"But Bob – what if the User's already there? We've been in this game like- forever!"

"Seems that way, doesn't it? I think the User must have to go through a trial, Enzo – just like we did. It's the only thing that makes any sense. Who knows how long that could take? We could have microseconds or minutes – there's just no way to know."

"If you say so." Enzo said dubiously. "So what do we do now?"

"We drink our tea. You still need all the medicine – Rosa told me so. So drink it down, Cadet – that's an order."

"Yes Sir." Enzo sighed. "I'm getting sick of the stuff…"

"Not as sick as you were without it. Drink it down."

"Can we go for a walk after?" the youngster asked hopefully.

"A walk? I guess we can walk around the inn a little – if you finish your tea… But if you get tired I'm taking you right back to bed, got it?"

"Cool!" the boy grinned, taking a long swallow of tea. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve absently. "Bob?"

"Yup?"

"Have you, uh… Have you seen the cat around?"

"The cat?" Bob frowned. "I guess… Kinda an orange furry thing, right? Why do you ask?"

"Never mind." Enzo sighed.

"So – how are we feeling?" Rosa smiled, poking her head into the little room. "Breathing better?"

"Yeah – thanks!" Enzo beamed. "I feel awesome!"

"Such a strange dialect you speak!" the innkeeper muttered, shaking her head. She walked to the bed, knelt, and took Enzo's face in her hands. "Let me look at you, My Sweet. Are you drinking your medicine?"

"Yes'M." the youngster grumbled. "You two bug me about it, like, ten seconds a cycle! I drink it just to shut you up!"

"It's working, Rosa!" Bob winked.

"Such strange words… You feel nice and cool, Angel – I think your fever has broken. Your fingers and toes - do they hurt?"

"My feet hurt a little when I walk… But it's OK."

The innkeeper lifted the boy's tunic and gently palpated his ribs, prompting a giggle. "Something amuses you, Boy?" she grinned.

"That tickles!"

"A ticklish boy, eh? Just like my Grigory… Do your ribs hurt, Child? They were bruised rather badly."

"They're a little sore, I guess. Mostly I'm just tired."

"When you are tired, you sleep. That is how you get better. Your body knows what it needs, Child." The red-haired woman stood. "Bob – might I trouble you for a moment?" She nodded towards the hallway.

"Of course, Rosa." Bob frowned.

"Hey!" Enzo shouted hoarsely after the departing pair. "Is this about me?"

"It is not, Child." Rosa scowled. "Do you ask the sun that when it rises in the morning? Calm yourself – I'll have your Bob back with you in a moment."

"Rosa…" Bob whispered when they were outside, shutting the door behind them. "I hope this isn't about… What we talked about before. You're not embarrassed-"

"No." the innkeeper answered. "I have forgotten it already, Pilgrim." She looked at the door for a nano. "Your boy – he seems troubled for you to leave him even for a minute. Was he always this way?"

"No – I guess not. He's always needed a lot of attention – it's just his programming, maybe. But this has been a pretty scary couple of… days – for him."

"Indeed. Such a sweet child, so open… He hides nothing from you."

"He tries to, sometimes." Bob smiled. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Yes… Pesaj has returned from the village, Pilgrim. He told me of something strange, I thought perhaps it might be of interest to you."

"Strange? What?" Bob frowned, instantly focused on her every word.

"Well… You must understand, Bob – we are at a crossroads here. At one time our village was a center of trading, a lively place. Before the dark times came."

"And?"

"Patience! I tell you this for a reason, My Friend. Once it would not have seemed odd for strangers to appear in the village – it would have been a daily occurrence. But now – it is rare indeed. That is why your appearance at the inn caused such-"

"Strangers?" the Guardian hissed. "What kind of strangers?"

"Well… Strange strangers." The innkeeper answered. "Strange beyond the mere fact of their arrival. They wore dark cloaks and rode dark horses, and spoke to no one. That is if the fool boy's eyes are to be trusted."

"They? There was more than one?"

"Four, the whelp said." The red-haired woman rested a hand on Bob's arm. "Tell me, Pilgrim – what is it? Do you know the meaning of this?"

"Users. Multiple Users." The Guardian whispered.

"More strange talk! Tell me in my own language, Fool. What does it mean?"

"It means I may be running out of time on my… My quest." Bob sighed. "Did he say where they went?"

"They rode towards the mountain, without speaking to anyone."

"Of course. Of course they did…"

"Hey!" Enzo interrupted, poking his head into the hallway. "When's somebody gonna talk to me? What's going on?"

"What are you doing out of bed, foolish boy?" Rosa demanded.

"Bob promised me we'd go for a walk around the inn if I finished my medicine!" The youngster held out an empty cup. "See?"

"So I did… Are you sure you feel up to it, Tiger?"

"Yeah!" the boy replied, walking slowly into the hallway.

"All right." The Guardian answered with a forced grin.

"I do not like this, you should be in bed… Do not leave the upper floor, do you hear me? No stairs! And if you get tired-"

"I know, I know – back in bed!" Enzo scowled. "Can we go now?"

"Very well." The innkeeper cuffed him on the ear gently. "And watch that smart tone of voice, Boy. Respect your elders or I'll get my switch and teach you to respect them!"

"Switch?" the boy frowned, puzzled.

"Never mind." Rosa sighed. "It is talk only, Child – I never lifted a hand against my own Grigory or any other little one. And I never will, truly. Go then – walk! And back in bed when you weary." The innkeeper folded her arms and watched the pair of sprites as they inched their way down the hall.

"What were you guys talkin' about?" Enzo whispered suspiciously.

"Rosa wanted my advice about something. Don't worry – it was nothing to do with you!"

The boy's senses detected another layer to Bob's words. "Bob, what-"

"How do you feel? Are you breathing OK?"

"Yeah!" Enzo frowned. "My feet hurt a little, that's all. And all my muscles feel like they were tied up in knots. But I'm cool."

"Here – lean against me." Bob smiled, supporting the boy's weight with his arm.

"Thanks. I thought this place was bigger, somehow – y'know?"

"How big do you want it? We walked two cycles just to get here!"

"No! I mean the inn!"

"I know, Kiddo!" the Guardian laughed.

"Bob! I'm serious – I there was more to this building, I guess. It's so small!"

"Well, all you've seen is the inside of that room, pretty much. You were out cold when we carried you upstairs. Rosa doesn't have much, Enzo. This place is her whole life."

"Her life? But – didn't you say she was just-"

"I know, I know. Hey - you're already starting to breathe hard!"

"No…I'm not! I'm fine…" the boy protested.

"Poor kid. C'mon – let's get you back to bed. Let's go…"

"Bob, I don't wanna go back to bed! Just let me rest a nano, OK?"

"OK… In bed! You heard Rosa – don't you trust her after everything that's happened? We'd be deleted without her help. If she says you need to be in bed you need to be in bed."

"All right." The boy surrendered, admitting to himself that the idea actually didn't sound so bad. His legs ached something awful…

"Grab on." Bob smiled, kneeling. The boy wrapped his arms around his neck. "That was a good start, Pal. Little steps at a time…"

"Bob?" Enzo whispered. "What's gonna happen with the game, you think?"

"I'm working on it." Bob answered. "I'm thinking about it, I promise."

"What were you guys really talking about?"

The Guardian lowered Enzo gently onto the bed. "I told you – she needed my advice about something. She thought it might be something I needed to know. For our quest."

"Was it?" the boy asked, wide-eyed.

"Maybe."

"What does it mean, Bob? For the game?"

"I dunno." Bob smiled. "Like I said, I'm working on it. Just lie still and catch your breath, OK? I'm working on it…"

It was a time that called for a firm decision - that was much was obvious. Snap decisions had always come easily enough to the Guardian before, especially in games. He saw a problem, he analyzed it, he acted. As simple as anything could be.

As he sat and stared at Enzo's small form in the pale evening light, however, no decision seemed acceptable to Bob. No matter what he did he'd be wrong – the certainty tortured him. It was a feeling that the Guardian didn't enjoy one byte, he was dead sure of that. Apparently all of the other feelings – they joy, the pride, the love – came with a stiff price.

As the night inched on his processor pushed Bob inexorably in the same direction, as he'd known it would. All the logic in the net pointed towards one course of action, one path that he had no choice but to take. But how could he possibly take that path? How could he follow that course and live with himself?