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"And if any sprite knows why Dot and Bob should not be joined together let them speak now or forever hold their peace…"

Bob and I charged out of that portal just in time. Bob's tones were angry as he marched straight to the altar. "I do."

I can understand why he'd be so mad, no one told US Dot and the other Bob were getting married. I was getting a little put off at the fact that they hadn't figured out the other Bob was a virus yet. Read my lips VI-RUS.

Dot turned surprised and not outwardly happy to see him. "Oh! Bob, you're okay!"

A growl echoed in his throat. "I'm pretty far from okay. How could you do this, Dot, I love you."

The other Bob clenched his fist. "I've had enough of this." Now that I was reading voice pattern again, this did seem a little more like Bob then the sprite I was attached to at that moment.

Virus Bob wound up and socked a punch across my guardian's face.

Okay! Nevermind! Not Bob!

Bob retaliated by bringing me up to face level with the cretin. "Glitch! Energy b-"

"Wait!" Dot interrupted. "Stop, Both of you!"

"But Dot-"

I took the moment to scan the other Bob. Trojan Horse virus, we'd determined that, but how is it that he seemed more like Bob in some ways than my Bob did? It was more than just grabbing a likeness of him and making a disguise. He had something else. I scanned my Bob in turn. He was missing code sure, but I assumed that it had been degraded in the Web, and most of what I'd been used to reading was there. Dot pulled close into Virus Bob. "I'm sorry, Bob."

"But-" I could sense Bob's heart breaking. It was something I wouldn't have noticed before the merger, but I could read it now. She was letting him go.

"I'm sorry."

Bob turned and walked me away from the group, passing little Enzo on the way. The young sprite spoke up. "But he has to be the real one! He's got Glitch!"

Good boy, I knew you'd amount to something someday! Well, something different than what you amounted to the last time, poor Matrix, but still that was something too. Takes a quick one to see real and absolute truth in all this randomness.

"It doesn't matter, Enzo." Dot said.

My figurative jaw dropped. I was totally with Enzo when he asked: "Why?"

"You wouldn't understand."

He wouldn't understand, my bitmap! He's understanding more than anyone here. I wouldn't be stuck on this guy's wrist if he didn't have a bit of my code and I didn't have a bit of his.

Hold the phone… that's what was missing. A bit of code… a bit of code that I'd never read before because it had belonged to me! And that virus's got it! I don't know how, but he must have gotten it out of me at some point, and I'm going to get it back!

I came off of Bob's wrist and took off for the other Bob. My guardian watched me go, a look of betrayal on his face.

It'll only take me a nano, Bob, I'll be Riiiiiiiight back.

I fastened onto the other Bob's wrist, seeping down into his code. This was how you get at a virus. Thankfully this Trojan knew nothing about keytools. He would have surely drop-kicked me if he knew I was about to steal from him. Attached to his wrist I could slide beneath his alias and read him for what he really was. Trojan Horse virus… with some Bob code… I tracked that down… and another strain I was familiar with. It was too eerily familiar to be a mistake.

Megabyte? How in the Net?…. or how in the Web rather? Well, we'll take care of you in a minute. Bob! Hold up! I've almost got all your code out of this thing!

Phong continued with the ceremony. "Now if there are no other objections…"

I've got objections! I've got lots of objections! Just give me a nano!

"..ah.. well then if either of you know any reason why you cannot be joined together, speak now."

Ahha! That's the code! I began the process of code exstraction, nabbing what was not rightfully his from the sprite that was not rightfully Bob. Megabyte winced. It must sting. It satisfied me.

Megabyte began to cry out in pain. He could no longer hold onto his foreign shape without the code I was now containing in myself. I picked up off his wrist and sailed back though the air.

Seeya sucker.

Bob turned when he heard the screaming and saw me bullet toward him. I latched tightly and began to transfer the code again, putting it back in the frayed places where it belonged.

"What are you doing, Glitch?"

I've got a present for you Bob.

A change took place in both of the blue guardians. Megabyte had lost his strength to maintain form. Bob was resetting himself to get the new pieces back into alignment. The two of them changed shape, Bob coming back to his whole and Megabyte showing us what he really was. Dot didn't take it well.

Mouse searched herself. I could read that she wasn't in war mode or casual mode but wearing a temporary format that didn't provide her usual tools of the trade. AndrAIa spread her nails. "I've got him."

"No!" Bob brought me up for the fight. "he's mine!"

"I missed you Guardian." Megabyte snarled darkly. "Welcome back."

The two of us sneered at him "Back and fully charged." Bob was revved for battle. "Let's do it."

They took off. I formed an energy shield at Bob's command. But it wasn't really a command, it was just like before when we were merged. He wanted me to and I read his intentions. We were working together better than we ever had before. It was even more satisfying knowing that we could cooperate this way without sharing the same body. Megabyte was going to feel our wrath.

I formed into a nightstick, manipulated organ pipes, pole-vaulted out of danger and blasted that sick dipswitch out of the PO. He lay at the foot of the steps as Bob and I sprung out, a figure of divine justice. "Why, Megabyte?" Bob demanded. "Why do this?"

The virus regained his feet with a chuckle. "It amused me."

Sick…twisted…

"Then laugh this off!" Bob said. "Glitch!"

Yes sir!

"Power Ram!"

You got it!

I sent a thick energy beam out toward the virus. It hit and carved a trench with him through the ground. Take that.

"Impressive." Megabyte said. "You seem stronger than I remember."

Why thank you.

Bob fell back on his healthy sarcasm. "I've been workin' out."

Megabyte waited for him to get closer then hit him in the eye with a venom spray.

No fair! When'd he learn to do that?

I tried to summon up some energy to wash out Bob's eyes but realized quickly that I no longer worked from the inside like that. I scanned the area, waiting for him to recover on his own. When he did, Megabyte was gone back inside the PO. Bob looked to Matrix. "You ready?"

He waited for Gun to get there, then turned. "Yeah. And Bob, welcome home."

Welcome home indeed.

"Let's do it."

We charged inside, the place was empty but I scanned diligently anyway. Bob held me out in front to give me better range. I knew Megabyte's patterns when he was Megabyte, but if he shifted again his code would look like whoever he'd aliased. I could tell Bob because of the bond we share, but anyone else, no matter even if I had a copy of the exact code handy, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Specky was on the floor. Bob spotted him as I did and ran over. He was out cold. Bob turned to Matrix, Dot, and the others, and told them. "Megabyte's been changed in the web. He's become a Trojan Horse virus."

Duh.

Matrix spoke. "So how're we gonna find him?"

Good question… Trojans could hide from just about anything. We'd have to get him in a hole, trap him and seal him tight so that he couldn't shape shift and escape. Bob stood up and shook his head. "I'm not sure."