Familiarities,

by Guardian Collective

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A/N: The time conversion chart I use goes as follows: second/nano, minute/milli, hour/cycle, day/second, month/minute, and year/hour. Also, this story takes place after the Restart and before Daemon Rising, and breaks S4 continuity.

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CHAPTER THREE

Matrix, Frisket, and AndrAIa swam precariously, keeping their eyes open for either Enzo or the User as they went.

"This is just great," Matrix growled, irritated by their current situation. "Not only do we have to find the User, but we have to find the copy as well. When we get out of this Game..."

"Relax, lover," AndrAIa coaxed him. "I'm sure little sparky can take care of himself. I mean, you did the first time around, and ended up meeting me. Now look where we are."

"I guess you're right, but still, if he remembers being in this Game because of my memories, it's going to be hard on him if you, I mean she, doesn't come out with him," the renegade informed her of his thoughts. "And even then, I'm thinking of you when I say this -- how hard is it going to be on you to see her? I mean, whenever I see him, it brings back feelings and memories of being insecure, weak, scared, powerless, lost, confused. It also reminds me of the Games, and the systems. I know how it feels, and I just don't want you to go through the same."

"It's okay, lover," she told him, putting her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him. "We have each other now, and whatever bad feelings or memories come to us when we see them together, we'll get through together." She waited for him to nod, and then continued, saying, "Now let's go get the User so we can get home."

With that, the three of them took off in search of the User's submarine.

--**--**--

After a few impatient millies of looking for his lost friends, Enzo began to aimlessly wander the Game, watching as schools of fish swam by. He was getting bored and was ready to start shooting the submarine's torpedoes at random, but then saw a shark-like submarine nearby.

"Holy User, it's the User!" he exclaimed, nearly jumping out of his seat. "What do I do?"

He quickly decided that he should shoot the User down, so he started aiming the torpedoes, but then something else caught his attention -- a young, female Sprite popped out from behind a clump of rocks, and much to his surprise took a starfish from her hair and threw it at the User's submarine. The starfish pierced through the submarine's one side and went out the other, and then returned to the girl's hand of which she threw it.

"Holy Dell! That's the most high density thing I've ever seen!"

He continued watching, anticipating the Sprite's next attack, when the User turned and shot at the girl, hitting her with a number of its green energy balls. It then launched a dozen torpedoes, all heading towards her dormant body.

"I have to help her!" he screamed, steering his submarine in her direction at full speed. He activated the submarine's "mouth", and just nanos before the torpedoes hit the girl, she was sucked into Enzo's submarine, lying unconscious. "Better steer away from the User," he told himself before steering into a nearby cave.

He got up and made his way to where the Sprite was lying on the floor. "Funny -- I'm the only kid Sprite in Mainframe. I wonder how she got in the Game?" he mused. He was about to ponder why and how, but was struck with the same feeling he had received earlier. "Do I know her? I think I do."

Just then, the Sprite opened her eyes and sat up, hissing. She raised her hands, and long, pointed fingernails extended from the tips.

"Wow, you're okay! I thought the User had offlined you for sure! Hey, cool spines! Are they acid or poison?" After saying that, Enzo experienced a déja-vu, having said the exact same thing in the exact same scenario hours before. "Wait a minute," he said before she could respond to his question. "Is your name AndrAIa?"

"Yes, how'd you know?"

"It's me, Enzo! Don't you remember?"

"No, I don't. I'm a Game Sprite, and I've never seen you before," the female Sprite explained, not having the same memories the older AndrAIa had, for she was merely a backup made before she had met Enzo. "I like your name though."

"Thanks! I'm a Guardian, you know," Enzo boasted, now being able to fully remember 'his' previous encounter with the Game.

"A Guardian? What's that?"

"I protect systems and the Net from Viruses and other evil things like that," he explained.

"That sounds dangerous."

"It is, but I don't care -- I'm Guardian Matrix, and my friends are always around to back me up."

The young AndrAIa looked around, curiously. "I don't see any friends."

"Well, that's because we were separated when we entered the Game. But I'm looking for them now, and you can help so we can defeat the User, and you can come back to Mainframe with me!"

"Okay, that sounds like fun," AndrAIa said, not really understanding what Enzo was saying, but going along with him because she thought he was cute.

"Alright!"

So, they turned the submarine around and left the cave, and searched for Matrix, Frisket, and the older AndrAIa, and it wasn't until they got to the last level when they saw the three racing the User for the treasure chest.

"Enzo?" AndrAIa started, turning to face the young Sprite. "Do you really want me to go back to Mainframe," she carefully pronounced the word, "with you?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I? You're so cool!"

"Okay, then this won't hurt a bit," she said, extending one of her fingernails and pricking the Icon on his hat.

"What are you doi-" he started, but collapsed halfway through, paralyzed from the Game Sprite's nail.

AndrAIa then copied the coding from Enzo's Icon and merged it with her own, which would make the Game think she was a real Sprite, and not one from the Game. She then watched as Matrix, Frisket, and the older AndrAIa beat the Game.

--**--**--

"Game over," the familiar monotone voice bellowed. "Game over."

"Wow, that was high density!" Enzo shouted, forgetting about the younger AndrAIa for a milli. "You guys totalled the User!"

"Uh, AndrAIa?" Matrix said, leaning in to his girlfriend.

"Yeah, lover?"

"Have you noticed our little visitor yet?"

"No, why? Who is i-" she stopped, looking at her younger self. "Oh my User, it's me."

"What do you mean, 'it's me'? You are you, and I am me, are we not?" the younger AndrAIa questioned.

The older AndrAIa smiled and said, "Don't worry about it. Everything's going to be fine."

"Oh wow, it worked!" Enzo exclaimed, noticing the younger AndrAIa, and running over to and hugging her. "Alphanumeric!"

She happily hugged him back, while Matrix and the older AndrAIa watched, and hugged each other themselves, lost memories of the good old seconds floating back into their heads.

"I love you, Matrix."

"I love you too, AndrAIa."

THE END