Legal Stuff: The people at Mainframe made and own ReBoot. I just like playing around with their characters.
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The Best of Both Formats
By
The 18th Angel
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110- The Battle
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Matrix stood on top of the Principal Office, observing G-Prime through a pair of binoculars.
"It's too quiet over there." He muttered.
"You're putting a lot of faith in Megabyte, aren't you?" AndrAIa asked. "Just taking his word for it that she'll attack."
"It's not that I trust him, believe me." Matrix said. "But it would be just like him to turn Terabyte against Bob. I want to be ready if she decides to come here."
"Matrix, we have all our sensors on G-Prime. If a null moves in there we'll see it." She hugged him gently from behind. "Why are you really up here, Sparky?"
"Because I don't trust myself not to delete him." Matrix said quietly. "I...I know Bob's right. Living as a Sprite is the worst punishment for Megabyte. But every time I see him I...I just remember everything he did, all the misery he put us through, what he did to Dot... I can't even think about him without wanting to kill, there's no way I can be around him yet."
* * * * *
"I'm getting sick of this, Megabyte." Bob said. "I don't want you to spout off threats and insults; I want a specific answer. How big a threat is Terabyte?"
"Bigger than anything you've ever faced."
"Okay, that's is not a specific answer!"
Megabyte sighed. "Imagine a Class 5 Super Virus with all of Miss Matrix's cunning and foresight. Now imagine that she loves only one thing in the entire Net. Furthermore, imagine that she holds you personally responsible for her losing that one thing. How big of a threat is that, Guardian?"
"You made her, Megabyte. What's her weakness?"
"She's young." He said. "She's barely a minute old. Intellectually she's quite advanced, but she's still a child emotionally. You may be able to take advantage of that."
"Will she use the troops? ABCs, shock troopers?"
"She is Dot's daughter." Megabyte replied. "She will use anything at her disposal."
"Will your troops follow her?"
"In all likelihood, she now has control over them through inherited infection." Megabyte said. "If not, I'm sure she's frightened them into submission. Either way, I'd prepare for a rather substantial fight."
"Fine." Bob turned to go. "I may be back with more questions later."
"When she gets here, you will let me out."
"You're not in a position to give orders." Bob said.
"I know you're too soft to delete her, no matter what she does. And Matrix doesn't have what it takes to get the job done, as much as I know he'd like to." Megabyte said. "But that's all right. I'll be more than happy to do the honors."
"Get something straight, Megabyte." Bob said. "We're not deleting anyone!"
"I don't think you understand..."
"I understand that the only reason Terabyte is so angry is because of what you were going to do to her. I'm not going to let you delete a confused child just because she didn't turn out the way you wanted her to."
"She's not a person, Bob. She's not a Sprite; she's not a Virus. She's just a thing, another experiment gone awry."
Bob had to fight the urge to punch Megabyte right in his smug face. Instead he just shook his head. "Well I guess the rest of us value life a bit more than you do. Of course we've known that for a while now, haven't we?"
"How long are you going to keep me locked up in here, Guardian?" Megabyte called after him as he left the room.
"As soon as we take care of Terabyte, you can go." Bob said. "Until then, why not use this time to think about your life?"
"Why?"
"Well the whole 'Viral Overlord' racket isn't really open to you anymore. Maybe this is your chance to do something worthwhile with your life."
"What? Become a good and productive member of society? 'Mend and Defend' like you do?" Megabyte laughed. "Not likely. If nothing else, I'll do everything in my power to be as big a thorn in your side as I can."
Bob rolled his eyes. "Well that's a really childish attitude Megabyte; good for you."
* * * * *
"Enzo?" Dot called softly, hoping he was home.
"Hey Dot!" Enzo ran out of his room and hugged her. He had been a lot more affectionate since she got back from the Tor, understandably. When he first appeared after the Restart, no one knew exactly how to treat the 'new' Enzo. But for herself, Dot felt she had been given a second chance. If she couldn't protect the original Enzo from the hardship and pain that had turned him into Matrix, she could at least keep the same thing from happening to this Enzo.
Daemon had shot down that theory. In the end, the fate of the entire Net had been placed on Enzo's shoulders. And though he had stepped up to the challenge admirably, life wasn't through toying with Enzo Matrix yet. It seemed that whenever he was about to settle back into being a normal kid, something new came and ruined it for him. First Daemon forced him to fight again. Then there was the problem of two Bobs. For although he would never let anyone see it, Dot knew that Enzo had suffered just as much self-doubt as Bob, wondering if being a copy somehow made him less worthwhile than the original. And before he even had time to recover from that, Megabyte returned and tried to destroy everything they had worked so hard to rebuild.
And now Dot had to drop another bomb into Enzo's life. She didn't know how he was going to react, or if he would even understand the meaning of what Megabyte had done to her. But he had to know. Terabyte was dangerous. It wasn't her fault; she was alone, frightened, and confused. But until they could recover her, she was a danger to everyone, except perhaps Dot herself. Enzo had a right to know what might be coming after him.
"Enzo..." She knelt down to talk to him at eye level. "There's...something I have to tell you."
* * * * *
"I want all units to converge on the Principal Office from every direction. Distract them while I get inside. You are my decoys to occupy the main force. As such, I do not expect you to achieve air supremacy. Maintain the illusion that the CPUs can win the battle. DO NOT under any circumstance force them to retreat! I need the Principal office empty of soldiers while I access the Core."
The pilots saluted and made a run for their ABCs.
"But, but My Queen." The doctor said. "I thought ze plan was to retrieve Frau Matrix und..."
"There has been a change of plans." Terabyte said. Her hand drifted up to the jewel hanging from her neck. "I need the energy of the Core...for something very important. We can rescue Mommy once I'm done."
* * * * *
AndrAIa had finally convinced Matrix to put his binoculars down and join her on the ledge overlooking Mainframe. The system was beautiful at night, lit up like a blanket of stars. She sighed happily, leaning against Matrix.
"I've missed this." She said.
"Hmm?"
"Just sitting, not doing anything, not fighting. Remember those few cycles after the Restart, before we started going after Daemon? We used to sit up here all night."
"I remember." Matrix said. "I miss it too."
"Do you think we'll ever be able to do this again? For real I mean, without having anything to worry about?"
"I guess that's up to Terabyte."
"She bothers you, doesn't she?" He looked away, silent. "Hello? Net to Enzo?"
"What bothers me...is how I feel about her. It bothers me that I wish she didn't exist."
"What do you mean?"
"If this all works out, and Terabyte...If Dot can bring her back..." He shook his head. "I don't know how I feel about that. I just know that she's alive...because my sister was raped. Maybe not technically but...Megabyte took something from Dot that she didn't want to give him; that she never would have given him on her own. And Terabyte is the result. And I understand none of this is Terabyte's fault but even so...I don't know if I'll be able to look at her...without hating her as much as I hate him."
"I know you won't." AndrAIa said. "You're not the type to hate someone for something that isn't their fault. You know that, right?"
"If you say it, I believe it." Matrix said. "You always did have a habit of finding my good side."
She smiled and kissed him. "Well one of us has to."
* * * * *
Dot sat next to Phong's hospital bed. He was stable and the doctors predicted a full recovery. But he wasn't in any condition to talk. And right now, Dot desperately needed his advice.
"I don't know what to do." She said, more to herself than to Phong. "I thought if Terabyte could just see me everything would be fine. But after what she did to Megabyte... She's not the person I thought she was; not anymore."
"Uh...Ma'am?" She turned to see Specky standing in the door, looking frightened. "The sensors just picked up ABCs leaving G-Prime."
"How many?" Dot asked.
"It...it looks like all of them!"
* * * * *
"Are those ABCs?" AndrAIa asked.
Matrix bolted to his feet and zoomed his eye in on G-Prime. Sure enough, an entire fleet of ABCs was taking to the air. Out in front of the group flew an open-topped search engine. A young woman stood on the bow. Matrix had never seen her before, but he knew who she was all the same. The green skin, the red crest, the glowing green eyes; it was Terabyte, fully compiled and leading an army to the Principal Office.
His vision turned red as his eye slipped unconsciously into targeting mode. AndrAIa was wrong. Just looking at Terabyte made him want to kill.
"She's here."
* * * * *
"Break formation." Terabyte ordered her troops. "Surround the Principal Office."
At her command, the ABCs split up and took their positions around the dome shaped Principal Office. Terabyte nodded to her pilot, who angled the transport down to the main bridge that led up to the front door.
As the ship descended, she held up her family heirloom, staring into it's flowing surface. Her father had never understood the real reason he made her. Neither did her mother. But soon she would see. The entire net would see.
* * * * *
"They have us surrounded!" Specky cried.
"Commander, get your people in the air." Dot ordered. "Keep those ABCs at bay!"
"Yes Sir, Ma'am!" The commander saluted and shut off the vidwindow.
"Okay Dot." Bob said. "Now what?"
"We need to find Terabyte." Dot said. "I have to talk her out of this...somehow."
Bob nodded. "Glitch: Map Overlay; Viral Energy readout." Glitch's lens projected a red dot onto the tactical map, right outside the Principal Office. "She's coming right up to the front door."
"Oh no!" Dot cried, running for the elevator. "Matrix!"
* * * * *
No one tried to stop Terabyte as she crossed the bridge to the Principal Office. The sky was full of exploding ships as the CPUs scrambled to engage her army. Terabyte stepped up to the huge doors leading into the Principal Office. Suddenly, she sensed a presence above her. The sound of something big sliding down the domed roof of the P.O. reached her ears. She leaped backwards just as a huge, green Sprite landed where she had been standing.
The Sprite stood up, towering over her and glaring at her with his one good eye. The other, a golden cybernetic implant, rolled around in its socket, revealing a glowing red 'M'. His hand drifted down to the huge gun attached to his hip.
"You're Terabyte. Aren't you?" He said quietly.
"I am." She replied. "And you must be Matrix."
The big guy seemed surprised that she knew who he was. "My late father had a rather extensive file on you." She explained. "You're arrogant, impulsive, bad-tempered, and you tend to see that gun of yours as the solution to all your problems."
"Hey, whatever works."
"Well by all means, Uncle; use your gun. I can tell you want to." She spread her arms. "Go ahead. I won't even dodge."
"I'm not gonna kill you." He said. "But I can't let you in there." He gestured to the P.O.
"Well that's a problem, Uncle Matrix." Terabyte said. "I have business in the Core; and nothing short of deletion will keep me out."
Matrix hesitated briefly before acting. "Gun!" The gun leaped into his hand. "Crowd control!"
A hard rubber slug shot out of the gun and slammed into her. An ordinary Sprite would have been knocked on her ASCII, and probably rendered unconscious, by the force of the slug. But Terabyte was no ordinary Sprite. The rubber bullet bounced harmlessly off her chest.
"You'll need to do better than that if you want to stop me." She said, giggling slightly.
"High Ex!" This was a real bullet, with an explosive tip. As it streaked toward her, Terabyte suddenly unlocked a new ability; one she hadn't even realized she had. Her skin ripped and fell away painlessly as dark blue armor grew out of every pore. By the time the bullet reached her, Terabyte was covered in a protective layer of metal.
The bullet exploded on contact, enveloping her in a giant fireball. When the fire subsided, her clothes had been burned away, leaving only her new armor to cover her. Relaxing a bit, she retracted the armor on her head. Her skin and hair grew back instantly in its place.
"Is that it?"
Matrix was getting desperate now. He raised the gun once again. "Spread-Focus Burst! Single Target!" Terabyte reformed her helmet as dozens of bullets shot from the gun. Each bullet exploded as it struck her, surrounding her with smoke and fire. But when the smoke cleared, there wasn't a scratch on her.
"That's strike three." She grinned. Before Matrix could react, she was upon him. Her first strike sent the gun flying over the bridge. She swept one leg out, catching Matrix just below the knees. a swift blow to the chest left him gasping for breath.
"I could delete you right now if I wanted to." She leaned over and whispered in his ear. "But you're family, so I'll let you live...this time."
She took a step for the door and paused. "And everywhere that Matrix went..." Stepped calmly to the side and dispatched AndrAIa with a kick right below the ribs before she had even landed. "His Game Sprite was sure to go."
It seemed those two were the only defenders the Principal Office had. Terabyte flung open the doors with a wave of her hand. A darkened hallway greeted her.
"All right." She said to herself. "If I was the Core, where would I be?"
She didn't notice Matrix sitting up painfully. She didn't hear him speaking. "Gun. Return." And she didn't see him aim the gun and place a red target on her back just as she disappeared into the darkened hall.
* * * * *
Dot ran for the main hall, but she knew she would arrive to late to stop whatever was going to happen. Sure enough, the main doors were open and the main hall was empty.
"Enzo!" She ran to the door. Matrix was there, on the steps, limping slightly as he helped AndrAIa to her feet. A huge, ugly bruise was forming on AndrAIa's abdomen. Matrix seemed to be favoring his right arm in addition to limping.
"What happened?" Dot asked.
"It's Terabyte." Matrix said. "She's inside."
Dot turned to run.
"Dot." Matrix stopped her. "Take Gun."
"I'm not going to shoot her!" Dot said.
"I know. I put a target on her. It'll lead you right to her."
"Thanks." She took Gun from him.
"Dot." AndrAIa said. "She's completely lost it, she might even try to hurt you. Be careful."
Dot nodded. "Gun; tracking." She let Gun lead her back into the Principal Office. She ran into Bob coming the other way.
"Dot! What are you doing?"
"Come on." She said. "We're going to find Terabyte!"
"I thought she was outside."
"Not anymore!"
* * * * *
"You know you don't really need to be here, I'm restrained quite securely."
Mouse pretended not to hear Megabyte, pretending instead to focus on her laptop. She was only playing solitaire, but Megabyte didn't need to know that.
"Are you listening to me, hacker?"
"You wouldn't believe how much Ah'm not."
"You know, it's rather pointless for you to be here guarding me when the real threat is out there."
"Maybe so, but for some reason we've gotta keep you from gettin' yourself killed tryin' to kill Terabyte."
"Mercifully, she was saved from further conversation when a portal opened next to them. Ray stepped out, Enzo right behind him.
"What are you doin'?" Mouse demanded. "Don't go bringin' him in here!"
"His Dad asked me to." Ray said. "This is the safest place right now."
Mouse sighed. "Fine. Whatever."
"Don't worry Mouse." Enzo said. "I'll be quite."
"See that ya do, sugah." She smiled. "Things could get intense here."
"Yeah." He seemed to notice a fourth Sprite in the room for the first time. "Hey, who's the big ugly blue guy?"
Before Mouse could answer, Megabyte rose up out of his chair and grabbed Enzo, delivering a quick punch to Ray's Surfbaud in the process. The Surfr crumpled and Megabyte took Enzo by the neck.
"Hey!" Enzo cried out in alarm.
"Let him go Megabyte!" Mouse yelled, drawing her sword.
"Megabyte?" Enzo gulped. "You're...Megabyte?"
"Back off Hacker." Megabyte ignored his hostage and glared at Mouse. "I broke through the handcuffs, I assure you I could snap the boy's neck quite easily!"
"What are you doin' Megabyte?"
"I'm taking responsibility for my actions. Isn't that what Sprites are supposed to do?" He sneered. "I made a mistake, and now she's heading for the Core. Since none of you are willing to dispose of this mistake, the task falls to me."
* * * * *
The Core chamber lay before her. She could feel the energy surging just on the other side of the door. She had met no further resistance since the front door. Now she just had to get into the Core. She wasn't a registered system resident, so the door wouldn't open for her. But she didn't need access to get a door open.
Raising her hands in front of her, Terabyte concentrated on her fingers. As she watched, the armor on her fingertips pulled back as her fingernails thickened and lengthened into razor-sharp claws. Two quick slashes ripped the heavy door off its hinges.
A blast of energy struck her. She drank it in like a woman lost in the desert. She could feel the power surging through her already and she hadn't even gone inside yet. The jewel around her neck seemed to sing to her, drawing her forward, closer and closer to the core.
* * * * *
They arrived at the entrance to the Core chamber, and not a nanosecond too soon. Terabyte was stepping toward the core itself. At least, it looked like Terabyte. She was covered in blue armor, like Megabyte used to have, but her head was uncovered. The red metal crest rising out of a mass of dark green hair convinced Dot that this was her daughter. Looking closely, she saw Matrix's target on Terabyte's left shoulder.
"We have to stop her, Bob!"
Bob nodded. "Glitch: Lockdown!" Glitch's lens flew off and turned into a wire mesh that glided past Terabyte and surrounded the core, blocking its energy. Terabyte spun around to face them, fury in her eyes.
"You!" She yelled, staring straight at Bob. "Get away from her!"
"Terabyte, please stop this." Dot said. "Bob didn't kidnap me, he helped me."
"No!" The girl screamed. "He took you away from me! And then father... He tried to kill me!"
"I know." Dot began. "He..."
"You knew?" Terabyte whispered. "You were...part of it too?"
"No." Dot said. "I wasn't."
"You're lying. You knew...all along."
"Listen to me Terabyte." Dot said. "I knew...but there was nothing I could do. I wasn't in control of myself."
"So...you never wanted me either. You only loved me because you were infected."
"No. That's not..."
"That's entirely correct." Megabyte stepped around the corner, his arm around Enzo's neck. "I forced her to care for you."
"Father?" Terabyte whispered. "But...how...?"
"You didn't think you could delete me did you?" Megabyte sighed. "As disappointing as ever."
"What are you doing?" Dot demanded.
"Ah'm sorry, Dot!" Mouse said, running up behind them. "He broke the cuffs!"
"The girl deserves to know the truth, My Dear." Megabyte said. He turned to Terabyte. "She never loved you any more than I did. How could she? Who could ever love you?"
"Stop it!" Bob yelled. "Why are you doing this?"
"Fine." Terabyte whispered. Tears filled her eyes. "Then you'll all die. AND THE NET WILL DIE WITH YOU!" She grabbed the jewel hanging from her neck and ripped it off. She held it up so Megabyte could see it. The Ex-Virus's eyes filled with dread.
"You know what this does, don't you father?" Terabyte hissed. "You're all going to learn the price of betrayal!" She reached out a hand. Bob suddenly fell to his knees, gasping for breath. "Unlock the Core!" Terabyte yelled, tightening her psychic grip.
"Please..." Bob gasped. "...Don't..."
"DO IT!"
"...Glitch..." At his word, the keytool began to return to its normal shape. As soon as the core was unlocked, Terabyte released Bob, not realizing that he hadn't finished his command. "Tear Generator!"
Glitch's lens hadn't even made it back to Bob yet. At his command, it changed again, pulling energy out of the core and forming it into a tear. Terabyte was pulled into the tear. She screamed in pain as the tear energy burned her.
"No!" Dot screamed. "Don't kill her!"
"Key!" Bob yelled. The tear resolved into a portal, leading to the quarantine cell. Amazingly, Terabyte resisted. She dug her claws into the wall next to her, refusing to be pulled into the portal.
"NO!" She yelled. "You won't imprison me! I have a job to do!"
"Please, Terabyte." Dot said. "We don't want to hurt you. We just want to help you."
"You're lying!"
"I have never lied to you!" Dot yelled. "You're my daughter. I love you." She held out a hand. "Please let me help you. We can make things better, I swear."
"You...love me?"
"Yes." Dot said, without hesitation. "I always loved you."
"I just...wanted to get you back." Terabyte said.
Dot smiled through her tears. "I'm right here. We're together now."
Terabyte smiled back. "...Mommy..."
"Bob, let her go." Dot said. "It's okay now."
Bob nodded reluctantly. "Glitch..." Before he could finish the command, however, the portal changed. It faded from silver to hellish orange, crossed with flowing bands of light. Terabyte screamed again as the portal began pulling her into the Web.
"Bob!" Dot screamed.
"I didn't do it!"
"Make it stop!"
"Glitch; Return!" Nothing happened. "GLITCH; STOP!" Nothing. He looked into her eyes, helpless. "I can't."
"Mommy!" Terabyte reached out as tentacles erupted from the portal, wrapping around her and dragging her back. "Help!" She swatted helplessly at the tentacles. "Let me go! PLEASE LET ME GO! NO!"
Dot ran to grab her but Bob held her back. Anything she did to help would only get her pulled into the Web as well. Terabyte's last scream echoed through the core long after the portal had enveloped her completely and collapsed. Dot sank to the floor, weeping.
"Glitch; return." Bob said quietly. With the portal gone, Glitch returned to normal form immediately. He couldn't figure out what had happened. A portal couldn't just change like that.
"Well, that was easier than I imagined." Bob turned to see Megabyte standing by the control panel, still holding Enzo by the collar. "I used to think you really accomplished something when you did that to me, Mouse."
"You...you did this?" Dot whispered. She stood up. "Why?" She sobbed. "How could you do that?"
"Well it was rather easy." Megabyte said. "There's this dial here that controls the frequency of..."
"Get out!" Dot yelled. "Get out of here before I kill you!"
Shaking his head, Megabyte dropped Enzo and headed back to the main hallway. Bob hesitated a moment, then crossed the room to where Dot knelt. Tentatively, he put his arms around her. Dot responded immediately leaning against him and burying her face in his chest.
"It's not right..." She sobbed. "She deserved...so much better."
"I'm sorry." Bob whispered. "I'm so sorry."
They stayed like that for several microseconds. Bob held Dot until all her tears were spent. Then they stood up and left the Core. Dot stopped at the doorway, casting a final glace behind.
"It shouldn't have been like this." She whispered to her daughter, beyond hearing in the depths of the Web. "I'm sorry."
* * * * *
TBC
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