Purity of Essence - Chapter 3 - Faith
Purity of Essence
By Wrin Chikaya

Chapter 3 - Faith

"No, I can't be tied down with a girl who wants to be tied up.."

AndrAIa threw the napkin across the table, it landing squarely on Matrix's chest, peeling off, then crumpling on his lap.

"This is ridiculous," she spat. "This is absolutely ludicrous. You pussyfoot around like a thief for a few seconds and you don't expect me to be angry with you when you won't say what's going on." She snarled inwardly, feeling anger clutch her chest with the force of her words. Matrix stared at her blankly. She twisted inside.

"Well, do you have anything at all to say? Say for yourself, say for anybody else, what? What's been going on?" Silence. AndrAIa bellowed at him, more forcefully this time. "What are you hiding from me, Matrix?"

Matrix shifted in his seat, looking as if he was trying to find a spot on the floor suitable for staring at. AndrAIa fumed quietly. Obstinate sprite, she thought to herself. Ridiculous.

"Fine, I'm going home."

Matrix finally spoke. "Isn't this your home?"

"Not like this, Enzo, not when you won't speak to me, not when you thrash around in your sleep in a fashion I've only seen you do in the games when we were on the verge of losing. Not like this." She rambled slightly, her anger carrying her away on an intense wave of gripping frustration.

Matrix's mouth dropped open.

"What, you don't think I've been able to figure out something was wrong? What in hell's name has had you so worked up? I can't, for the life of me, understand what would rile you up this badly and you wouldn't bother to--"

Matrix met her steel gaze. He blinked at her, sighing in a shuddering way. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish, or someone who was almost afraid to speak. He closed his eyes, almost in a childish manner of protecting himself.

AndrAIa sensed this was the moment to stop ranting at him. The shell would peel away now, her cracking words would have taken their toll.

Matrix inhaled, and breathed only one word. "Megabyte."

"What about Megabyte? You mean, you've had nightmares about Megabyte? ... You destroyed him though, didn't you?" AndrAIa raised an eyebrow.

"No, ... no, apparently not."

AndrAIa chewed on this thought for a moment, then looked him squarely in the face. As stubborn and obstinate as he was, this was not the time to leave him on his own. She sighed. "Okay, lover, what do you need from me?"

He leaned forward, burying his face in his hands. He didn't speak for a long time, dragging his right hand through his hair in what had become a nervous habit. "We'll take care of him," he breathed, then corrected himself. "No, I'll take care of him."

AndrAIa eyed him with a curious gaze, somehow sensing this was all the informatino she really required for now. "You'll need help, Enzo."

He sighed. "I know..."

"You've got Bob, right? Bob knows, right?"

"Yeah, he knows."

"Does Dot?"

Here, Matrix sighed again. In truth, Dot didn't know. And how to tell her was, well, a mystery to him. "AndrAIa, could you do me a favor?"

"Of course," AndrAIa breathed, pausing only for a moment to think.

"Could you tell Dot? I'll.. I couldn't do it."

AndrAIa nodded slowly, stalking over to the other end of the apartment for her zipboard. He didn't move a muscle as she made preparations to leave for Dot's. She pressed a button at the door, feeling a rush of air as it slid open.

"Andi?" Matrix mumbled, head still bowed.

"Yes, Enzo?"

"I love you."

AndrAIa closed her eyes. "I love you too, Enzo."

The apartment door slid shut with a finality that made AndrAIa uneasy.

-

The buzzer at Dot's rang loudly, Bob snoring on the couch. Dot cringed, hoping it wouldn't wake him up. She opened the door to AndrAIa, surprised.

"AndrAIa, wh.. what brings you here?" Dot's slight surprise at seeing AndrAIa on her doorstep, alone, was difficult to hide.

"I need to talk to you, has anything seemed amiss?" AndrAIa brushed past Dot into her living quarters, spying Bob asleep on the couch. She restrained a chuckle. Men, she thought.

"Uh, nothing, really." Dot's eyebrow remained raised. "Why?"

"Matrix's seemed very .. off lately. He's been very quiet. He's spent some time with Bob, I was curious if you knew what was going on," AndrAIa was having difficulty organizing her words. How does one inform somebody that the one who nearly succeeded at killing them isn't dead after all?

Dot raised the other eyebrow. "He's been very quiet lately."

"Matrix just asked me to tell you this, as a favor today.." AndrAIa wrung her hands.

Dot leaned forward, slowly, narrowing her eyes. "AndrAIa, there's something you're not telling me."

"Megabyte's alive."

Dot's eyes widened and her eyebrows went up. "Well, that certainly is news," she said, then added as an afterthought: "I can understand why Matrix was so reluctant to tell me himself..."

AndrAIa nodded. What to do from here on in had yet to be decided, but ultimately, Megabyte would pay. She was confident of that.

Dot receeded into herself, arms crossed, leaned back on her chair. AndrAIa stood up slowly, leaving the apartment as the system crossed into night. She sighed slowly. This was bound to be a ride.

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