v.05.07 - The Council, the Sprite, and the Wardrobe
"Bob...is that who I think it is?" Turbo was starting to turn red in the face.
"Um, Turbo, meet Hexadecimal...as a sprite." Guardian 452 smiled meekly, his cheeks rouging slightly.
"Hi." She leaned over Bob's shoulder, waving and giving the Prime Guardian a warm smile.
"Bob, get her out now." It was evident that the yellow-haired sprite was going to explode at any nano.
"Oh, I'm sorry...I'll...I'll let you two...talk." The white sprite was gone from the room as fast as she'd come in.
There was a split-nano of calm before yelling erupted.
"Bob, do you realize how serious this is?" Turbo shouted. "You could lose your Guardian code for this! Of all the random, basic-"
"I couldn't just let her go, Turbo." Those words brought the Prime's rage to a peak.
"What? What! So I suppose you love her now, do you?" Turbo clenched both of his fists together so they were visible on-screen. "Are you completely random?!" He pointed his index digit toward the vidwin. "You will not be a guardian for much longer, my friend - and there is nothing that I can do about it. I don't make the final decision on things like this, 452. You know yourself that this goes to a vote amongst the members of the Grand Council."
"Yeah, I know Turbo." Bob replied sharply. "In case you've forgotten, I'm a member of the Council!"
The Prime Guardian shook his head.
"Bob, I have to go - I want you at the SuperComputer either this cycle or next." The vidwindow minimized, leaving Bob on the verge of tears.
He had made a miraculous discovery, and now he was going to be punished for it. This just wasn't fair.
Hex returned to the room, also ready to cry. She had done this. If she'd just stayed out of the way....
She sighed and went over to her guardian love, wrapping her arms around him and whispering in his ear how sorry she was. Of course, he denied that this was her fault, but that didn't console either of them much.
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"So you see...it's more of an upgrade really." Ms. Dos said, smiling slightly.
Ray was looking over a read-me file, nodding slowly.
Mouse just looked around the nearly empty conference room; only the three of them were in it.
"What's the recovery time?" The hacker asked dully, folding her hands together on the table before them.
"Um, approximately six cycles." Dos replied, checking the files on the table to make sure she was right.
The two women looked to Tracer for a response.
"Well, Ray, what do you think, Sugar?"
"Let's do it." He replied quietly. "Right now. Admit me to the hospital in the SuperComputer and let's get this over with."
"Really?" The two female sprites responded in unison.
"Yeah. Let's do it." He gave them a tiny smirk.
"Alright...just give me a few micros..." The golden surfr replied, leaving the room.
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There was a knock on Bob's door, and he reluctantly parted from Hex. Straightening himself out, he went over to answer the door, but just as he put his hand on the knob, the door began to swing open.
"Bob, we need to talk." Dot walked into the room, grabbed him by the wrist and began leading him into any room but the one with the former virus in it.
"Now, hold on." The Guardian stopped walking. "You can't just come barging in here like you own me, Dot."
"Bob, I love you, and I refuse to give you up." She said stiffly, looking into his beautiful brown eyes.
"Well Dot, it really doesn't work that way." Bob cleared his throat. "I don't love you." He hated to say it...to see the look on her face.
"No, Bob..." The green sprite's eyes turned to narrow slits. "You love me - I know it!" She slammed a fist on the table. "What do I have to do to make you see that you're wrong Bob? Because I'll do whatever I have to do!" She shrieked the words.
Hex came running into the room.
"Dot, you have to leave. Now." The white sprite said the words venomously.
"No!" Dot responded, and she sent a swift fist towards Hexadecimal's face.
Dot's opponent was quick to react, however, and caught her fist, twisting the arm so that Dot fell to her knees.
"Leave now, Dot, and don't return. You are not welcome here unless by personal invitation." Hex let her go, and she stayed on the floor with tears streaming down her face.
What had she done? This wasn't who she was. She never acted like this - not towards someone she loved. Bob would never forgive her.
"Bob, I - I'm sorry." Dot murmured as she got up and sped towards the door.
She couldn't even look at him.
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"An apartment?" Matrix had been completely stymied by the idea. "Sure, we...we could do that. Now, let's go see Enzo and tell him what's going on."
"Alright. Do you think we should let him live with us?" AndrAIa asked considerately.
"No." The renegade replied quickly. "I love him, but I can't live with him. I'd go completely random."
"But Matrix-"
"Besides, he'll probably want to stay on-campus, and get the full experience...you know, all that stuff."
The gamesprite was going to argue the idea, but had to agree that her lover was probably right about this.
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"Hey Enzo, how're you doing?" Matrix asked as he walked in through the door of his hospital room.
"Oh, hi Matrix. I'm feeling a lot better." The young sprite sat up in his bed. "The doctor said that I'm being released a cycle early!"
"That's great!" AndrAIa commented as she strode into the room.
"The first thing I want to do is join the Academy." Enzo said eagerly, but with a new-found maturity.
"Taken care of." The renegade replied. "I knew you wanted in, so I registered you - you and I will be starting at the Academy in a few cycles."
"You're joining too?"
"Yep. I've decided that it's time for me to finish my training." Matrix unconsciously ran a finger over his icon.
"This is so cool!"
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Ray was clinging to Mouse's hand as they wheeled him through the hospital.
"I love you, Mouse."
"I love you too, Sugar. Now take it easy; everything's gonna' be fine." When she was forced to leave him behind, she gave him a quick kiss and waved good-bye.
Now, all she could do was wait...wait with Ms. Dos. It was going to be a long cycle.
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"How're you doing?" Dos asked, joining Mouse in the waiting room.
"As good as can be expected." The hacker replied, glancing at the female surfr.
"So, how did you and Ray meet, anyway?" Ms. Dos asked casually.
"Oh..." A small smile graced the purple sprite's face. "We meet just before Mainframe had a system crash. Instantly, we knew we loved each other, and from that point on-"
"Mouse?" AndrAIa walked into the waiting room. "I wasn't sure it was you when I walked past. What are you doing here?"
"Oh, Ray's in for a surgery, Honey, but don't worry...it's a minor procedure."
This didn't wipe the concern from the gamesprite's face.
"What's she doing here?" She asked, looking at Dos.
"I'm funding the surgery...it's one that I helped develop and had done on myself." Ms. Dos replied confidently.
"AndrAIa?" Matrix was roaming the halls. "Where'd you go?"
The aqua-haired sprite took a last look at Mouse. "Send Ray my greetings."
With that, she was gone to see her love.
"Ready to go home, Sparky?" She asked perkily, sliding an arm around his waist.
"Yep, let's go."
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Hex was pacing the floor.
"Bob, I'm coming with you to the Council meeting."
"What? Hex, you can't." The guardian got up and took her hands in his. "You're the whole reason they want me out of the Collective. How do you think they'll react when you come strolling through the door at my side?"
"Are you saying you're ashamed of me, Bob?" Hexadecimal put her hands on her hips.
"No, no, not at all, but-"
"Then it's settled! I'll go with you to the SuperComputer!" The former virus was grinning from ear to ear. "I'm going out - I'll be back soon."
Giving Bob a kiss on the cheek, she went out the door in a matter of nanos.
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The light was fading from the sky as Hexadecimal went out into the streets. She needed to go shopping. What would the Grand Council think if she showed up looking like this? She needed a new look anyway...this was the time to get it.
There was just one problem - she didn't have a clue where to start.
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"AndrAIa, I need your help."
The gamesprite, who had just gotten through the door with Matrix, was taken back by the sudden and urgent message that came over the vidwin at her.
"Um, Hex-"
"Oh, please! Bob and I have to go see the Grand Council and I need to look really good so-"
AndrAIa burst into laughter.
"Take it easy, Hex. I'll help you. Just drop by and I'll help you out."
The door opened behind the aqua-haired sprite.
"I was on my way as I was talking to you." The white sprite stated as she minimized the vidwin that was in her hand. "Good thing you can carry these like read-me files if you have to."
"Alright. Let's get to work."
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"I think this is the one!" AndrAIa exclaimed.
"What about my hair?" Hexadecimal was looking at her reflection and picking at the black curl on her forehead.
"We can do something with it if you want." The gamesprite said, flicking through her wardrobe of downloads.
"Can we make it longer?" The white sprite asked curiously.
"Yep...we can do almost anything you want."
"Oh my, this could take a while." Hex bit her lower lip. "Well, let's start with the downloads...I want something elegant, but something that can be worn on a cycle-to-cycle basis..."
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"Phong, I don't know what's wrong with me..." Dot was once again in his office, seeking his council. "I think I've gone completely random..."
"Tell me what happened child." Phong replied, carefully handing her a cup of java.
"Well, I went to the apartment..."
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Mouse was roaming the halls of the hospital. Should the surgery be taking this long? How long had it been anyway? She was going to start crying, and she knew it.
"Hey, want some chips?" Ms. Dos came up behind her and held the bag out to the hacker.
"No..." Her voice was shaking.
"Are you okay, Mouse?" The surfr asked, walking around and placing a hand on the purple sprite's shoulder.
"I'm so afraid he won't come out of this, Dos." She covered her mouth to stifle a sob. "I feel so basic...."
"He's going to be fine, I promise." Ms. Dos tried to comfort the woman, but didn't know where to begin - she didn't even know this sprite!
"But what if he's not? Dos, he's the only thing I've got in the net. He's the only sprite that will love me, no matter what happens. If I lose him...."
"You won't lose him."
"I hope you're right."