I really hope anyone who's got this far is enjoying it- I'm sorry if Dot comes off looking a bit funny, it's meant to be like that though- you'll see!
"You alright now,
babe?" Bob asked her softly, whilst combing a hand absently through her
hair. Dot lifted her head from its place on Bob's chest to give him a
disapproving look.
"Don't call me
that," Dot moved in an effort to make herself more comfortable. Bob gave
her a quirky smile.
"You worried I
prefer you with a tail?" Bob asked her, his face now a cheeky grin. He
yelped as Dot whacked him on the chest playfully.
"And why would I
care what you prefer?" Dot countered.
"There's just
something about you as a mermaid..." Bob went on, deliberately trying to
provoke her. Dot smiled, refusing to take the bait, then checked the time.
"User!
Look at the time! I've got so much that needs doing before tomorrow!"
"Dot,"
Bob took her shoulders before she got too carried away. "Calm down. I'll take
you home now and you can get an early start in the morning."
"But
what about- "
"Just
think about yourself for once will you? You can't run Mainframe if you can't
keep yourself awake tomorrow can you?"
"I
suppose," Dot agreed stubbornly. "Come on then." Bob caught her hand as she
began to walk away and turned her back to him.
"Wait,"
Bob grasped her other wrist, "Another couple of nanos won't matter, will they?"
The
darkness shifted again and the stranger chuckled silently to himself. The young
couple were still there, and the blue skinned one in the silver armour was at
it again.
'His
taste in women has changed though,' he thought as he stopped walking. He
watched in amusement as the Guardian pinned the beautiful sprite he was with
against the wall. 'Yes,' he thought lustfully, a cruel smile forming on his
face. 'She does look rather tasty.' He pondered whether or not he would have
time for a... detour... before completing his mission.
The figure slunk further
into the shadows when the dark-haired girl laughed as she escaped her
companion's grasp.
"Dot
Matrix get back here right now!" The Guardian moved like lightening, grabbing
her around the waist and lifting her up. A portal opened all of a sudden and
the young couple stepped into it, the woman still on his shoulder, screaming
and laughing.
In
the next nano, they, and the portal, were gone. The stranger smiled smugly. So
Dot Matrix happened to be the lovely sprite in front of him only a few moments
ago. His smile became a grin. Maybe this mission would be a lot more fun than
he had first thought...
A tall building loomed
in front of her, one she knew all too well. The navy under-belly of the snake
shaped tower had been replaced with gold and there were the navy coloured
letters M and F vertically engraved into the metal wall.
"Megaframe, Miss Matrix.
You'll learn to love it," Megabyte suddenly appeared in place of one viral
imprisoning her.
"I doubt that," she
heard herself say, trying to stand defiantly but failing due to the pain.
"My dear Miss Matrix,
are we missing our friends?"
Dot ignored him. She'd
been basic enough to check on Hack and Slash, who hadn't checked in when they
were meant to, and ended up further from base than she'd meant to be. But she
also knew that her capture had not given away the location of the base, so
Mouse and the others were in no immediate danger.
"Now, what do I do with
you?" Megabyte was beginning to sound eerily like his sister. He tapped a claw
against his mouth and looked at her. Dot had stopped fighting her restrainers-
she was too tired. The battle had been won. Her friends and family were lost.
Megabyte was ruler. Why bother?
"You know Miss Matrix,
you look all grown up in that black leather." By now it was as if Hexidecimal's
voice was coming from Megabyte's mouth.
"Don't patronize me,
virus," Dot shot back, then the effort caught up with her and everything
started to fade in and out in front of her eyes. The pain was unbearable now,
but the aching in her heart was still worse. The darkness seemed the most
welcome thing in the world just then...
Dot gasped as if in pain
as she tried to calm her racing heartbeat. Cold fear gripped her emotions.
Barely being able to remember the dream didn't matter, the feelings it provoked
were very real. Dot responded to her fear by pulling the duvet up more and one
side of the bed seemed warmer than the other...
"Oh my user," she
whispered.
Next to her, sound
asleep, was Bob, one arm wrapped protectively round her waist and a leg
entangled with hers. Before she could think of what might have happened she
realised they were both fully dressed.
'Great,' she thought
sarcastically. 'Between this and being frightened to go back to sleep, how am I
meant to survive a sixteen micro second tomorrow?'
The timer window next to
her bed read 5:10 in the morning. Dot decided it would be better to spend her
time working than try to sleep. Rolling away from Bob proved to be a lot more
difficult than first anticipated though. First Dot heard him murmur something
and then her name, but she ignored it, knowing he was talking in his sleep, and
tried to lift his arm without waking him.
His dream caused him to
murmur something, this time sounding more urgent and along the lines of 'don't
hurt her'. Before Dot could stop him, he pulled her close and pressed himself
against her whilst mumbling her name.
"Bob, what the hell are
you dreaming about?"
Attempting to free
herself did no good and she was beginning to suspect he wasn't quite as asleep
as he should be.
"Let go! Let me up!" Dot
whispered, mainly to herself.
"It's too early to
work," a sleepy voice complained, making Dot jump a mile. She felt a nose brush
against her neck.
"And explain to me why
you happen to be in my bed?"
"You look gorgeous with
morning hair," Bob said as Dot sat up, still sounding tired.
"I need to get to work.
Now let go!" Dot demanded firmly. Her tone didn't affect Bob at all.
"I was having the nicest
dream...about you actually."
"Bob! Let me-"
"You had another
nightmare, didn't you?" Bob suddenly seemed wide-awake and serious as he held
her arm and sat up next to her. Dot stared at him, not sure whether to be
pleased or nervous about his prediction.
"It doesn't matter."
"Yes it does. What
happened?"
"I can't remember now.
It was nothing."
Bob sighed. "Do you have
to be so stubborn all the time?"
"Go back to sleep. I'll
see you in the morning." Dot forced her way out of his grasp and stood beside
the bed.
Bob gave her his best
wounded-puppy-dog look but she ignored it.
"Night!" Dot called over
her shoulder with a wave, as she left the room, leaving Bob to sigh and stare
up at the ceiling.
When Bob got up the
following morning, he found Dot curled up on the sofa in her dressing gown,
fast asleep. Her organizer lay on top of a vast array of papers that were
scattered over the coffee table. It was amazing how different she looked when
she slept. Her face was completely devoid of the tense, on-edge look she'd
accustomed herself to lately. Bob stoked her arm gently as she murmured something
incoherent in her sleep.
After about ten millis
Dot was still asleep, and Bob decided she deserved to rest- even though she
herself wouldn't admit it.
'She going to delete me
later,' Bob thought as he kissed her forehead and crept out of the apartment silently.
"Bob!" A vid-window
snapped open suddenly in front of him, just as he got to the stairs of the
apartment building. "Guardian, you are needed at the Principal Office
immediately."
"Okay Phong. Be there in
a nano." Bob replied. "Who else have you contacted?"
"Only you so far, my
son. I would like you to assess the situation before involving any others."
"Is it serious?"
"Potentially, but
nothing is certain yet."
Bob closed the
vid-window and hopped on to his zipboard. He passed over Floating Point and saw
Matrix and AndrAIa walking in the early morning bustle of joggers and
dog-walkers. Bob was tempted to inform them that there may be a problem at the
P.O., but decided he didn't know enough himself to involve any others, as Phong
had said.
Bob found his mind
wondering back to the night before, and hoping that Dot wouldn't change her
mind again about their relationship. And she was making a habit of falling
asleep on him, first at the party and then during a film Phong had asked her to
watch on responsibilities in the P.O.-it was no wonder she'd fallen asleep
really. But Bob hadn't trusted her enough to simply watch the video and then go
to bed, so he'd stayed and watched the tedious film with her, just to make sure
she didn't try to do anymore work that night.
"Alright Phong, what's
up?"
The gold Hoover-shaped
sprite turned from his console as Bob strode in. "It seems there was some
strange energy levels near Lost Angles yesterday evening."
"A portal?"
"That was my first
assumption also, my child. But there is no sign of an illegal entry even though
the levels seem to indicate that."
"Could it be a fault in
the system? Or maybe Mouse was-"
"Was what, sugah?" Mouse
appeared in the doorway suddenly, casually moving over to her usual workplace
in the war room. "Ah can assure you that ya will not find anythin' wrong in the
system either. Not ma style to work on second-rate equipment now is it?"
"Actually Mouse, I was
going to say experimenting with the Net ports again." Bob reassured her with
exaggerated innocence.
"Not me sugah. I was at
that damn tea party all night, remember? Which reminds me, Ah want to know
whatcha did with me best gal last night," Mouse asked, grinning, obviously
aware of his high spirits compared to the last couple of seconds. "And jus'
remember who carries a katana everywhere with her in case ya don't wanna answer
me." She added before Bob could reply.
"I might have talked her
round..." He replied vaguely, grinning happily.
"It's about time, sugah.
An' ya better treat her nice, Guardian or ya'll have me ta answer to," Mouse
warned him without looking up from where she was now working.
"I never would've
thought I'd hear you say that, Mouse- about anyone. How come you're so
protective of your 'best gal' anyway? Don't you trust me?" Bob pressed, only
half kidding.
"Bob listen, Dot's not
had the best time of it recently. Vulnerability is something she'd never admit
to, but she is. So look after her okay?" She'd turned to face him now, very
serious about what she'd said. Bob was taken aback. It wasn't like Mouse to
worry about her friends so much as that.
"I will, Mouse. You're a
good friend." Bob gave her a quick hug before she pushed him away irritably.
Bob ignored her and folded his arms across his chest and grinned mischievously
at her. "So you and Ray..."
"Don't go there,
Guardian. Ah can retaliate now cahn't ah?"
"I'm
going to delete that Guardian!"
She'd
said it so many times over the last fifteen milliseconds it was beginning to
imprint itself in her mind. 'I'll have to make sure I don't,' she thought with
a smile for the first time that afternoon.
By
the time Dot had gathered her Command.com papers from the night before, and
reached the diner, it was early evening. She had to admit she felt better than
she had for a long time. More alert, rested.
"Evening,
Madam," Cecil greeted her at the doors to the diner. The waiter didn't seem
at all bothered about politeness, as the sneer was evident in his voice.
"Hi
Cecil. Everything okay here?" Dot asked. Scanning the length of the diner, she
was surprised to see it was only half-full. But then again, it was early
evening, rather than early morning when she usually checked on the place. Dot
felt guilty that she was leaving Cecil to run the diner by himself so much
lately.
"Everything
is perfect, Madam," Cecil replied, then spotted some binomes who needed
refills.
Dot
ignored his attitude- he was a good waiter really. 'Maybe not so much on the
charming side though,' she thought as she remembered his dislike for nearly all
of her friends. The only exception had been AndrAIa, which Dot put down to her
patience and good nature.
Setting
down her papers and organizer at a table near the back of the diner, Dot got
straight to work, hoping to recover some of the lost time from earlier in the
day.
After completing a
mountain of paperwork concerning building upon one of the islands by Floating
Point, Dot looked to see Cecil clearing up and not a customer in sight.
"Hey," a voice greeted
her suddenly.
"Hi Andy. Sorry, I
didn't see you," Dot gestured for her to sit down opposite her.
"You working hard?" She
asked, and then thought better of it. "Oops, stupid question." They made polite
chatter for a while, as AndrAIa informed Dot that the two Enzos were engrossed
in a mini-circuit racing competition.
"They're both big kids
really."
"Well one of them has a
good excuse and the other sort of has because he's the same person. Something
like that!" Dot tried to explain.
"I know what you mean."
AndrAIa laughed. "Anyway, I guess they'll both be fast asleep when I get back
so I'll make sure Enzo Jr. gets to
school in the morning okay?"
"Thanks Andy. I might
have to pull an all-nighter on this lot anyway."
They talked a while
longer, then AndrAIa realised the time and went home. Dot continued with her
papers, determined to finish them before going to bed.
The next time she looked
up, Dot read the time above the counter as half past midnight. Sighing, she got
up to get herself an energy shake, more out of thirst than lack of energy.
Sipping the warm liquid, Dot grasped her cup and went to stand by the full-length
windows so she could stare out into the pitch-black night. She smiled,
wondering if Bob's failure to appear that night had been down to him leaving
her asleep that morning. 'It's not like we arranged anything though,' she
reasoned quickly.
Looking over at the
stack of papers on the table, and seeing the diner half darkened now that only
a few lamps had been left on for her to work, Dot sighed again. Pressing her
forehead against the cool glass as she closed her eyes. 'It's going to be a
long night,' she thought, but smiled at the thought of her brothers both
playing with the mini car-racing track.
Dot opened her eyes and
screamed loudly as her gaze met a gleaming pair of eyes on the other side of
the glass, watching her. "Oh User!" She exclaimed, a hand on her chest, trying
to calm her racing heart. Forcing up courage, she turned to see whom the eyes
belonged to.
There was no one there.
No eyes. No figure. Nothing
"I've been working too
hard!" she said aloud, cursing her jumpiness. "I'm okay, I'm okay." Her back
now to the door, a shiver ran over her delicate frame, and she tilted her back,
breathing deeply.
'Right!' Dot thought,
making a snap decision. She set down the pile of 'finished' work on one side of
the table then started to gather the rest to form a separate 'half-done' pile.
Dot took the 'done' pile into the little room at the back that she so often
used as a second office. She came out of the room, rounded the bar and was
almost back at the table when she caught sight of the figure in black sitting
at the table opposite the one Dot had been working at.
He stood when he
realized Dot had seen him. She immediately recognized his black eyes as those
she'd thought she'd imagined only nanos earlier. The sprite stood over her,
almost a head taller, all in black- including a threatening looking trench coat
down to his ankles, but he had eyes that pierced the darkness with a harsh,
cruel stare.
"Hey there," his voice
came in a low growl as he advanced slowly.
"Who- who are you?" Dot
stammered, backing away but unable to break eye contact.
"Me? I'm Damien." He
answered simply, watching her try to subtly retreat to the back of the diner.
"You're not going to run away from me are you?"
"What do you want?" Dot
asked, keeping her voice even but still backing away.
"Now Dot, that all
depends on how well behaved you are. And how bored I get..." Damien replied
seriously
"I didn't tell-
how...how did you know my name?" Dot gasped. He smiled, pleased he was
frightening her. Dot continued to back off. He had got to be one of the most
intimidating people she had ever met, and he was cornering her, alone, in the
middle of the night.
"You're not the sort of
person who fades into the background, Dot. Especially in an outfit like that..."
The stranger leered at her, gesturing towards her black leather bodysuit, and
reached out to grab her. Dot jumped back quickly, but realised she'd misjudged
the how far away the end of the counter was as her hip hit the bar.
"Come here!" Damien demanded,
anger tainting his voice. He grabbed her by the waist and she screamed in fear
as she tried to struggle free.
"Shut up!" He hissed in
her ear as he covered her mouth with one hand and easily overpowered her
attempts to break away. "What a feisty one you are!" Damien stated, sounding
slightly impressed. "I've been told that you're quite influential round here. I
wonder whether they'll cope without you...?"
To
be continued....
Heya people! I know
first fics shouldn't really be unfinished but I kinda lost where I was going
with this. Anyways if anyone's got some ideas please send them to me!
Part 4 is half-way
written!