"Vérité Fausse"
by ChaosPeacecraft


DISCLAIMER: I hold absolutely no rights over ReBoot characters, events, slang, or references-- we all know it's owned by Mainframe Entertainment Inc.
AN: OK, people, I DO NOT write accents (ahem, Mouse and Ray) and never will. And you know why? 'CUZ IT ANNOYS THE BLASTED CODE OUT OF ME!! *glowers* On a lighter note... This one's set closely after Meggy takes over the P.O., but I'm not sure whether I'll keep to it and make it a full-fledged fic or just a DxB one-shot later on... See, the main reason I'm writing it is cuz I wasn't particularly overjoyed when WebBob returned to his Seasons 1&2 state (Null-bot of the Bride, v4.07)... This is just a little theory of mine... I highly doubt it'll go this way in future eps, though... Oh, and yes, I know this is awful and it shouldn't even be here, but I just had to. You know how it is when you've got something in your head and you just HAVE to write it down!


Chapter One


A muffled voice called his name, from the doorway.

He flicked the thin pillow over his head and moaned. Couldn't they just give him one night of--

Wait. Were those nearing footsteps?

Adrenalin bubbled up in his system, rendering him fully on-line.

Cursors! It could be--

"Bob? You awake?"

He gasped and sat up, reaching for his icon on the bedside table. But he saw the intruder, now, and his body relaxed.

No Megabyte.

A familiar green-skinned sprite towered in front of him. Bob sighed. "Matrix, what are you doing here?"

Oh User, of all the nights... Basic! He was pure basic!

"Dot's called a meeting in a few nanos. I just, uh, came to tell you."

Bob nodded. "Thanks. "

Awkward silence.

"Bob..." The Guardian cadet scrutinized the scale-like scars on the older sprite's forehead and neck. They reflected the existing light in the room and appeared even more pronounced against his blue skin. The scars spread down his shoulders and into his upper torso.

Bob shut his eyes for a split nano. "I know, Matrix."

"But I thought Glitch had restored your code." He narrowed his brow. "We all saw it correct the degradation."

Bob tapped his icon over his bare chest and rebooted into Guardian uniform. "Glitch restored my full code," he said, standing up. "But the Web scars..."

Glitch whirred and flew up to its Guardian, coming to nest on the silver bracer.

"They're scars, Matrix. They don't erase."

As he spoke, Glitch whirred again and the degradation disappeared, leaving a clean azure surface in its place. Bob's long, stringy, metallic-grey hair regained its silicon luster and instantly shortened.

Matrix stared at his mentor. He'd just witnessed the same transformation Bob had undergone at that blasted wedding... Well, a similar transfer, at the least.

"But... how, Bob?"

Glitch whirred as if to answer.

Matrix looked from the keytool to Bob. Glitch had been upgraded-- it was still unknown what its new features were and what they could do... "It's a holofile!"

The now youthful-looking Guardian opened his mouth to speak but reconsidered, embarrassment dominating his face.

"Glitch created it with data from your code." It was more a statement than a question. What Matrix wanted to know now was why. It didn't make sense to waste Glitch's energy-- because it must have been draining its reserves --on a useless task. This wasn't like Bob, he had never been vain, never cared this much about appearances.

Bob saw the disappointment on Matrix's face. "Matrix, you don't understand. It's--"

A vidwindow popped up. "Dot!"

She glared at the Guardians from her makeshift headquarters. "What are you two boys doing just standing there? Did you forget about Phong and Enzo already? I want you both down here now! Get moving!"

With that the vidwindow closed as suddenly as it had opened.

Bob smiled and shook his head with a laugh. "Our fearless leader..."


End Chapter One