Disclaimer: Same as always...

* * * * * Queen of the Crashed By The 18th Angel (aka DaemonFan) * * * * *

* * * * * Chapter 1010 - My Enemy's Enemy * * * * *

Terabyte awoke in a small, dimly lit quarantine cell with the worst hangover she had ever had. Except she hadn't been drinking, so it couldn't be a hangover. Ever since her encounter with Exabyte, the pain she had been feeling had become a more or less permanent affliction. Though whether this was a result of the User's treachery or something that had developed on its own, she could not be sure.

"Feeling better?"

Looking out into the hallway, Terabyte saw the Destroyer, the one the Guardians had called Daemon. The petite virus was leaning against the wall across from Terabyte's cell, glaring at her coldly. Standing next to Daemon was another girl, a teenager with dark blue skin and golden hair. She wore regular black pants with a white halter-top, nothing like Daemon's armor. Yet she seemed just as much a person not to be trifled with. And next to her was...

"Mother..."

Terabyte turned her head, unable to look her mother in the eye.

"Why did you come back, Terabyte?" Dot asked.

"So after all this time, you've finally managed to lock me up." Terabyte said, testing the bars of energy that held her in. "To the casual observer, it might seem like you didn't trust me."

"You haven't been giving me many reasons to lately." Her mother replied quietly.

"I suppose not."

"Did Exabyte send you?" Daemon asked.

"Did Exabyte send me?" Terabyte laughed out loud. But her laughter quickly turned into tears. "She sent me, all right. Sent me away." She sank to the floor of the cell trying in vain to hold in her sobs.

"What happened?" Her mother asked. The voice she used almost made it sound like she genuinely cared.

"She didn't want me." Try as she might, Terabyte couldn't keep the words from spilling out. "She said I was a worthless half-breed. She hates me! Everyone hates me! And why not? I am worthless! I'm cruel, and perverse, and disgusting! All I do is hurt people; why shouldn't they hate me? I hate myself! I wish I'd never been compiled!"

"It's not too late." Her mother said, soothingly. "You may be part Virus, but you don't have viral programming. You can choose what to do with your life. There's still hope for you."

"You're wrong." Terabyte whispered. "There's no hope for me."

"How can you say that?"

Terabyte looked up into her mother's eyes.

"Because I think I'm dying."

* * * * *

The other three members of the Guardian command staff listened closely as Turbo outlined the events leading up to Exabyte's rebirth. They asked no questions, took no notes, and in all ways behaved as if Turbo was reading them the weather report, not spelling out what could be the doom of every Sprite, Binome, and Numeral in the Net. Bob had never been in the command chamber before, and he had never met the other members of the staff. Seeing them now, he wondered if they were always this detached. No wonder they had been able to so callously order Mainframe's destruction during the Web War. They didn't allow themselves to consider a situation as anything more than a problem to be overcome as expediently as possible.

"So this 'half-virus'..." One of the commanders began.

"Terabyte." Turbo said.

"Terabyte. You made a deal with her to release the boy in exchange for the Keytools, and this...decompression was a direct result of the failure of that plan? Is that accurate?"

"Not entirely." Turbo said. "We intended to capture Terabyte. We underestimated Exabyte's power."

"So you failed to prevent a creature you should have destroyed from awakening the most powerful Virus ever. And now, less than a second after asking us to authorize releasing Daemon from quarantine, you want us to pull all our Guardians from their posts and send them to Mainframe?" Another staff member asked.

"If not all, then as many as can be spared." Turbo nodded.

"Please try to understand how random this all sounds, Turbo."

Bob frowned. Being Prime Guardian did not give Turbo absolute authority over the collective. Any decision he made had to be approved by this council. The three members would vote. If the vote went in Turbo's favor, his request was approved. If not, a new course of action would be chosen.

"We are ready to make our decision." The first staff member, representing the System Security branch of the Collective, stood up. "Pulling Guardians off their posts would weaken those systems should Exabyte or any other Virus show up there. With no definitive proof that Exabyte will return to Mainframe, this is not an acceptable risk. System Security votes '0'."

The next member in line stood up, representing the Guardian Academy. "As the only Guardians who have had contact with Exabyte, the Prime Guardian and Guardian 452 are in the best position to judge what she might do next. And their reading of her suggests that she will return to Mainframe. Prudence demands that we pay heed to this warning or risk the future of the Collective. The Academy votes '1'."

Bob held his breath hopefully as the last member stood. The vote was tied, one negative and one positive. The last branch of the Collective was Anti-Viral. Surely they would vote in favor of fighting the First Virus.

The middle-aged Sprite in charge of the Anti-Viral branch sighed heavily. "This is not an easy decision to make. On the one hand, a defenseless system is like a beacon for Viruses. However, to defeat Exabyte, we will need as many Guardians as we can get to fight her when and where she attacks. But we do not know when that will be. She may or may not attack Mainframe, and even if we could say for certain where she will strike we cannot guess when." She shook her head. "I simply cannot agree to any course of action that relies on so many unknowns. The Anti-Viral branch votes '0'.

* * * * *

"Well Phong?" Dot asked while Terabyte rolled her sleeve back down and wiped a few stray tears from her eyes. She felt a pang of sympathy for her estranged daughter. The girl still couldn't stand needles. "What does the test say?"

Phong plugged the sample he had just taken of Terabyte's energy into the scanning unit. The screen immediately lit up with a reading.

"Well...there is a high blood-I/O level, and various chemicals consistent with the use of firewires, painkillers, and...Dust."

Dot glanced at Terabyte, who looked away, ashamed.

"Why?" She asked.

"I told you I'm disgusting." Terabyte replied quietly.

"There may be an actual reason." Phong said, examining the readout more closely. "Have you been in pain, Terabyte?"

"Yes." She nodded. "Ever since the Web."

"It is as I feared." Phong said.

"What? What did you fear?" Dot asked.

"Uh...perhaps we should...step outside for a moment."

"No." Terabyte said. "This is about me, you can say it in front of me." Her expression softened into one of pleading. "I need to know. ...Am I dying?"

Phong hesitated a moment, then nodded gravely. "Yes, my child." He said. "You are dying."

More tears sprang to Terabyte's eyes, though Dot had difficulty seeing them through the tears in hers. "How?" She asked.

"When you described the process of transferring Megabyte's energy into Terabyte, I began to suspect something like this could have happened. Megabyte's energy accelerated her growth to full Viral maturity, then began to boost her power. The more she used her Viral powers, the greater they became. But her Sprite half cannot handle that amount of energy. It is beginning to overload."

"Overload?" Terabyte asked in a small, scared voice. "What do you mean 'overload'?"

"It is unpleasant, you may not want to hear..."

"I don't." Terabyte said. "I don't want to hear. But I have to."

Phong nodded, laying a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. "When your Viral energy reaches a certain level, it will annihilate your Sprite code, without which your Viral code cannot survive."

"So I'll just vanish." She fought to stay in control.

The elderly Sprite seemed to be looking for the most delicate way to phrase his response. "Not exactly." He finally said. "When the energy reaction reaches critical mass, it will cause a...substantial detonation."

"How substantial?" All her former bravado gone, terabyte now seemed very small and very scared.

"Enough to completely erase an entire system." Phong said. "I am sorry, child."

With nowhere else left to turn, Terabyte sought the only person she could think of for comfort. Dot caught her daughter as the young woman fell against her.

"I'm sorry Mommy!" Terabyte sobbed. "I'm sorry for everything! I don't want to die!" No matter how old she seemed, Terabyte was still just a child. And right now she was scared and needed her mother.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Dot asked. "If she stops using her powers...?"

Phong shook his head sadly. "The process is too advanced. Her energy is now increasing on its own, whether she uses her powers or not. Stopping now will only delay the inevitable. If we...could have gotten to her sooner..."

Terabyte stepped back, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Well," she said, "at least there's one thing I can do to help now." She looked into her mother's eyes. "And I don't want you trying to stop me."

* * * * *

"I can't believe it," Bob said. "How could they... I mean after everything that's happened."

"They're only doing what they think is right," Turbo said. "In a way, I can see their point. We don't know that Exabyte will strike Mainframe first."

"Trust me, she will," Bob said. "She'll want to finish the job. But she won't do that until she's strong enough to be sure of victory. We have a few seconds, I hope."

"But without more Guardians we don't stand a chance against her. Even with Daemon on our side, assuming she really is, the smart money's on Exabyte," Turbo said.

"We'll think of something," Bob said. "We always do."

The communicator on Bob's wrist began beeping with an incoming call.

"Go ahead," Bob said into the wristband, wondering how long it would take him to get used to not having Glitch.

"You guys had better get back here fast," Matrix's voice came from the communicator. "We've got a bit of a situation."

* * * * *

"This is crazy," Dot said.

"Which part?" Matrix asked, "The Guardians not helping, having Daemon on our side," he pointed to the girl in the middle of the war room, "or trusting her?"

Terabyte glared defiantly at the assembled Sprites, studiously ignoring the Virus guarding her. She might be their ally now, or at least no longer their enemy, but that didn't mean she had to like them.

"Actually I was referring to this so called 'plan'."

"It's the only way," Terabyte said.

"No," Dot shook her head, "there has to be another way."

"I'm dying," Terabyte said. "A when I go, I'll take this entire system with me, unless I'm not here. Since I'll be leaving anyway, I might as well do some good. I can get near Exabyte and maybe take her with me when it..."

"No," Dot said adamantly. "I won't let you sacrifice yourself."

"I'm already dead," Terabyte insisted. "At least I can take that bitch out with me."

"If it works," Welman said, "And we have no way of knowing if it will."

"It's the only chance you people have!" Terabyte growled. "I'm not asking for your approval, I was just letting you know my plan."

"I don't know," Bob said. "Sounds to me like you want validation."

"What?"

"You think a suicide act now will make up for your past crimes," Daemon said. "And you want us all to appreciate the effort. How very selfish."

"No," Terabyte said, "that's not it. That's not why..."

"Then prove it," Dot said. "Stay. Help us fight Exabyte."

"I can't," Terabyte said quietly, "I can't fight her."

"Alone, no, you can not," Phong said. "Alone, not one of us is a match for her. But all of us together might be enough."

"Please Terabyte," Dot said, "all I'm asking is that you try to do it our way. I'm not ready to give up on you yet."

"What is the matter with you people?" Terabyte yelled. "After everything I've done, why are you still so faqing determined to make me one of you?"

"She makes a good point," Daemon said.

"It's not that," Matrix assured them both. "It's just that after everything you've done, you owe us a little, don't you think?"

"You're still forgetting something. At some point I'm going to explode!"

"Phong's monitoring your energy levels," Bob said. "We'll know long before...anything happens."

"Fine," Terabyte relented. "You all want to put your ASCIIs on the line, who am I to stand in your way? What exactly do you want me to do?"

"For now, we need you to work with Daemon. You're the only two who have really fought Exabyte, we need you to see if you can figure out any weakness."

"You've gotta be spamming me!" the girl yelled, "I'm not working with her!"

"Afraid of getting hurt again?" Daemon taunted.

"Hardly. You got lucky last time."

That comment got Daemon genuinely mad. "Really? Care to try your 'luck' again?" She said, taking a threatening step toward the younger virus.

"Anytime. Anywhere." Terabyte replied, refusing to back down.

"Knock it off. Both of you," Bob said. "Daemon, we have an agreement, remember?"

"Of course I remember."

"Well this is part of it. And Terabyte, if you really want to do some good like you claim, then you'll work with Daemon."

"Fine," both viruses snapped in unison.

* * * * *

"This is all kinds of random, Bob," Matrix said, watching the main screen apprehensively. A map of mainframe showed to dots, one green, one blue, moving around Lost Angles. The first part of strategizing a plan to fight Exabyte was cataloging all of Terabyte's powers. To that end, Daemon and Glitch were running her through drills on the abandoned island. Every now and then, the entire city would shake as a particularly violent power was unleashed.

"Bad enough we have to trust Daemon, but Terabyte too?" Matrix continued. "She's a loose cannon, in the 'maybe I'll just delete everyone' sense. How can we be sure she'll stick to our side?"

"Not to mention she's still wanted for murder," Turbo added. "If the Collective found out."

"The Collective has already chosen their part in this. They have their heads firmly planted in the sand," Bob said. "I hate it as much as you do Sir, but they're not even paying attention to us. Meanwhile, we're the ones who will have to fight Exabyte and I intend to have every possible asset available to us when that time comes."

"So Terabyte is an asset now?" Matrix asked. "Don't let Dot hear you talking like that."

"You know what I mean. We need her help. And as for her switching back, I don't think she will. She hates Exabyte too much. Besides, what's really keeping her here is Dot. Terabyte still loves her. As long as she thinks staying here and helping us will help Dot, that's what she'll do."

* * * * *

Late that night, when everyone else was asleep, Terabyte stood alone in the read only room.

"Begin recording," she said quietly.

"This message is for my mother. I know I said I would stay and fight with you. And I'm sorry that I have to let you down once again. I was never meant to be a freedom fighter. I can't mend and defend. I was programmed to destroy. So that's what I'm going to do. Once I'm in the Web I can track Exabyte's energy. When I die, so will she. Regardless of what you or anyone else think of my motives, I am doing this for you Mother. Maybe if I wait here we can fight Exabyte, maybe we can even win. But people will get hurt, people will get deleted. I don't care about that, except that one of those people might be you. It's better that Exabyte never gets a chance to come back here. Before I leave, I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for I couldn't be more like you. I'm sorry for the people I've deleted. Most of all, I'm sorry I put you all in this situation. I'd like to think that given another chance I would do things differently, but I can't really believe that. I can't change the past, but I can clean up the mess I made. Maybe Daemon's right. Maybe I do want people to think well of me when I'm gone. If nothing else, I know I want you to remember me. Remember that I always loved you, the best parts of me come from you. Problem is, the rest could never live up to them. But if I can destroy Exabyte, then maybe that will mean a little of the good in me got through all that was rotten.

"Pretty speech," Daemon's voice startled Terabyte. "A little long winded for my taste, but then I've always operated under time constraints."

"Finish recording," Terabyte said, "Delete final 6.10 nanoseconds, then send to Command.Com."

"Suicide note?" Daemon asked.

"More like an explanation. I owe her that."

"You owe her an explanation, but not your loyalty? And here I thought you loved her."

"Can we get on with it?"

Daemon didn't seem to be listening. "I myself am not programmed to love as you can, but I know it takes a great deal of love to defy someone so important to you when you know they are wrong."

"Huh?"

"Having you here is too dangerous. Your plan was the better one, selfish though it may be."

"Was that a 'yay' vote? I thought you were here to stop me."

"Not at all," Daemon said. "I actually stumbled upon you quite by accident. I do not sleep as much as Sprites and I find that wandering the corridors here is quite calming."

"So you're not going to try to change my mind?"

"What in out time together has indicated that I care enough for you to do that?"

Terabyte smiled. "At least you've always been honest with me. In a way, I appreciate that."

"You had better be heading out," Daemon said. Terabyte nodded and began opening a portal.

"If you fail, I will destroy Exabyte," Daemon said. "Your mother will be safe."

"Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?"

"When you get past the whining, you have many of the qualities I seem to admire in my own kind. You are clever, resourceful, ruthless... In other circumstances, you could have made a splendid Virus."

"Thank you."

"I speak only the truth."

"You'll keep her safe?"

"If it is within my power to do so."

Terabyte nodded. "Then goodbye." She stepped into the portal, which closed behind her leaving Daemon alone.

"Until we meet again, child," she whispered. "Until we meet again."

* * * * *

TBC

* * * * *