Bob, Dot Matrix, Enzo Matrix, AndrAIa, Matrix, Mouse, Ray Tracer, Frisket, and Phong are all property of Mainframe Ent. They are not real people with real lives. They do anything that the writers and the animators have them do.

Ryan Quinn, Marc Peterson and Yvonne LeBlanc are people that I have created. They came out of my imagination and do not really exist.

Silv, Shay are real people and appear in this fic with their permission. Now! On with the fun!

Summary: You know what happens when Users visit Mainframe. What if it was the other way 'round?

Chapter One: The Exodus

SCENE: Mainframe Entertainment - Vancouver, BC

Ian Pearson walked quickly down the corridor towards the conference room. He was carrying a folder filled with new story ideas for the Shadow Raiders tv show. Ian had spent all night thinking up new plots for the new CGI program produced by Mainframe Ent. Mainframe Productions was doing excellently with its two new seasons of Beast Wars and Shadow Raiders.

The first CGI program had been ReBoot, a story that takes place in a small town within a PC computer. The first two seasons of ReBoot had been very successful and the third season had been fun to create, but the funding had dropped, so a fourth season was almost out of the question. Ian wasn't worried. They had two shows with strong ratings so they had lots to work with.

As Ian walked through the double doors of the meeting room, Gavin Blair greeted him warmly. "Hey Ian!" Then Gavin saw the exhausted look on Ian's face. "Whoa! You look really beat!"

Ian let out a small 'grunt...' with a hint of a smile and sat down next to his companion. "I hate those all nighties. I swear, I'll never do it again!"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll have plenty of them in the future." Gavin smiled evilly.

Ian smiled wearily. "That's what I'm afraid of."

One by one, more people began to file into the conference room and sitting in their usual spots. The meeting was going to be starting very soon, so Ian got up from where he was sitting and went to his place near the head of the long rectangular table.

After several minutes, everyone who had to be there had had arrived, taken their seats and prepared to present their ideas for the Shadow Raiders and how the production of the episodes were coming along. Soon the meeting was in full swing.
 
 

Ryan Quinn looked inside the PC monitor at the jungle of wires and switches. Wow! I can't believe that I actually got this job with Mainframe. This is incredible. Ryan had loved CGI ever since he had seen the movie Tron when he was six. It had seemed so real, so life like. Since then, he had watched computer graphics greatly improve and when ReBoot, the first CGI program came out a few years ago, he'd been hooked on Mainframe Entertainment Productions.

Ryan reached inside the monitor to find the problem in the wiring.

He missed his family back home in Halifax, Nova Scotia but he had travelled across Canada for this job. He wasn't going to quit because of homesickness. Mainframe had asked for a computer programer to program and repair broken machines; Ryan could do that! Here's my chance! he thought when he had first read the advertisement in an Animation Magazine and applied for the valuable position. "Well, here I am," he said so quietly that only he could hear. "Now let's try and fix this hunk of wire and plastic."

SCENE: System of Mainframe

"So what's wrong Phong? Why is the system all shut down?" Glitch Bob asked the old sprite.

"There is something wrong with the core..."

"What?!" everyone exclaimed.

"A core malfunction?!" Matrix shouted over the sudden commotion. "This is bad..."

Phong raised his hands to quiet the startled sprites. "Do not worry, my children. It is not serious. It in being repaired as we speak. Binomes are working around the clock to get the city back on-line. All we can do is sit and wait."

Matrix, who hated waiting, let out a deep breath and quickly strode out of the room. Little Enzo hopped off a stool and ran after him.

Matrix sat outside of the Principle Office, looking at the sky. What does the User look like? he thought. This question had been going through his mind ever since he was a young sprite. Younger than little Enzo. The thought had popped up in his mind more frequently when he AndrAIa, and Frisket had been game hopping. He didn't want to know what the User looked like in the Games, he already knew that. He wanted to see the one that was said to live outside the Net and input games for pleasure. No one was completely sure of this, but it seem extremely possible. Why else would the User keep doing it?

Matrix was so deep in his thoughts, that he didn't hear young Enzo quietly walk up beside him. "Um... Matrix?"

Slightly startled, Matrix quickly twisted around to see who it was. Seeing the younger, smaller version of himself made him smile. "Hey..." he said softly.

"Hey" Enzo repeated just as quietly. He smiled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Um... you busy... you know... doin' anything, well... important?"

Matrix's smile grew a little and gently shook his head. "No. Have a seat." he said as he patted the spot beside him.

Little Enzo sat down and began swinging his legs. There was an awkward silence for several nanos, then Enzo broke it with... "What are the games like, Matrix? I mean... game hopping, what's it like?"

Matrix looked at the young sprite in surprise. He hadn't expected that question. "What's game hopping like?" Matrix repeated the question while trying to think of a reply. "Well, it's like being in a strange place - say it's a Game - you defeat the User, then you're in another strange and different place."

"No," Enzo shook his head quickly. "I mean, what's it like living in the Games? Not living in a system."

"Oh..." Matrix looked at his back-up with a little more understanding. "It's hard to describe. When the Game leaves, it seems like the whole world disappears and you disappear with it." Then Matrix grinned. "It kinda tickles too." Little Enzo smiled back at his answer.

Matrix continued. "Like when your foot falls asleep, but it's only for a nano." Then he stared off into the sky again. "It feels like you're floating, half conscienceless." Matrix's gaze went back to Enzo. "Another thing is... you don't really have to eat, but you get hungry and thirsty in the systems really fast! Then the game starts again. Whether it's in the same system or not. Usually not, but there are some Users that would play the same game repeatedly." Matrix scowled and looked over the silent city. "That would get my back-up everytime!" A nano-second passed before Matirx realized what he had just said and he looked apologetically at his back-up. "Sorry. That just slipped out."

Enzo let out a small laugh. "It's ok. I have to get used to the idea that there's two of me too, and" a little quieter, "that I'm not the original."

"Don't worry Enzo. Actually, you are more of an Enzo Matrix than I am. I changed a lot after I lost that game. I wish I could go back and change things that I did. You still have your life ahead of you..." Matrix lowered his head as he let his voice trail off.

Silently, Enzo placed his little hand on Matrix's muscular shoulder and there they sat, side by side, sharing a comfortable but sad silence between them.

SCENE: Mainframe Entertainment

Ryan scratched his head and looked down at the tangled mess he had made with the circuit wires and plastic pieces that had been, a few minutes ago, a computer. "The new ones are so different to the ones I'm used to fixing, but there's nothing I can't do" he thought to himself. "Alright you dipswitches!" he said quietly, quoting his favourite of Bob's sayings, on ReBoot. "Prepare to meet your programmer... me!!" With that he began to reassemble the computer monitor.

Ryan sat back, and drank the last of his third mug of coffee. "Finally!" he shouted happily, inside his head, "Now you can take a nap." he thought jokingly to himself. He sat forward, and flicked the computer on.

SCENE: System of Mainframe

A deep low boom sounded as the system came back online. The sky brightened to the cyan blue from the mix of purple and orange. The information started flowing, cars and zip boards started working again, and the city became alive once more.

In Dot's Diner, seven sprites enjoyed their free energy shakes. AndrAIa, Matrix, and Little Enzo sat in a booth together. Little Enzo, feeling slightly more comfortable with the older, larger version of himself, was rattling off question after question to Matrix. "How many games have you been in? What did the user look like? In each game? Can I go with you next time... if there is a next time?" Matrix could only smile and shake his head, Was I really like this? he thought.

Bob, Dot, Mouse, and Ray sat in another booth. They were telling stories, catching up on news, and listening to Ray tell of the different places and systems he had visited. The tales he told made the group roar with laughter.

After only a few stories, Dot's sides ached. "Ray," she sighed. "Please no more. I can't take it."

"You've 'aven't heard anythin' yet, Love. I've got lots more where they came frum." he grinned.

Bob took a sip of his shake, just as Ray told one his funniest anecdote yet. Bob had to stop himself from spitting out energy shake and spreading it all over the table.

"Ray, sugah, save some for later." Mouse giggled while holding her sides. They felt like they were going to burst if one more tale slipped from the surfer's mouth.

Bob agreed. "We have to think of a more pressing matter, "he said, suddenly turning serious. "like the Super Virus infecting the entire Guardian collective and in doing so, taking over the Net." The smiles disappeared from all of the faces of those who were sitting at the table and nodded grimly. "We have to think of a battle plan."

Matrix's ears perked up at 'battle plan', but not wanting to worry Enzo, he pretended he didn't hear it.

Dot was about to speak her mind on subject when a thundering crash interrupted her. It echoed around the system until it died down.

Dot stood up. "What in the Net...?!"

A vidwindow appeared in front of her. "Dot!"

"What is it, Phong?" she inquired quickly. "What's wrong?"

"The core!" Phong managed to choke out in his panic. "Power fluctuations. It is highly unstable! It going to crash!"

All of the sprites stood straight up. "We're on our way, Phong!" Bob said, peering sideways into the vidwindow. The vidwindow closed and all the sprites were outside.

Dot took out her zip board. "Enzo." she said sternly. Matrix and Enzo both turned and looked at her. Remembering then that she had two brothers with the same name, she turned to the younger one. "I want you to stay at the Diner. We will contact you.."

Feeling left out again, Enzo let out a disappointed "Awww..", threw up his hands in exasperation and began walking obediently towards the diner.

Matrix's eye followed him, sympathetically. "Enzo, wait." he called after him. Enzo stopped and slowly turned. Matrix turned back to his sister. "Let me look after him. He won't get in the way. I promise." A smile appeared on his face as he looked again at little Enzo.

Dot's gaze ping-ponged between her bothers and she made a face. Enzo, seeing that he might actually be able to go, folded his hands and walked toward Dot.

"Please Dot. I'll be on my best behaviour. You won't know that I'm there."

"Alright," she said slowly but finally and quickly turned to the others. "We've wasted enough time. Let's move it people!"

Enzo looked at Matrix who smiled and winked.

Everyone hopped onto their zip boards and headed towards the Principal Office.

Dot , Matrix and Bob stood bent over the system map of Mainframe, looking for any disturbances and further trouble. AndrAIa, Mouse, and Phong scanned the core, searching for solutions that just seemed out of reach at that moment. Enzo quietly stood out of the way, gathering what information he could get without saying a word.

"This is not good." Bob was worried. Nothing like this had ever happened before, but then again, he had never been in a system that was crashing before. There had to be a way to survive this. He looked at Dot. Her face was filled with concern, for the system and the ones she cared about - that meant everyone in Mainframe. Bob smiled. She made a terrific Command.com.

All of a sudden, the room rang with a shrill siren, warning that something else had just gone wrong.

"Phong..." was all that Dot could say.

"I am checking, my child!" Phong replied frantically as he typed with speed he had never accessed before. "Oh dear..." His voice was a frightened whisper. "The core is over-heating. There is nothing we can do."

Fear appeared on everyone's face. Nothing? The siren was deafening amongst the sprites' silence. There was no time to evacuate the system. Everyone was doomed to deletion.

Dot walked towards Bob and they held each other close. Matrix had his arm around AndrAIa's waist and squeezed. It wasn't exactly the end he had pictured, but the end comes when it comes.

Mouse and Ray held each others hands tightly. They had only known each other for a few seconds, but they had many things in common, so it almost felt as if they had known each other forever. Ray looked at the mauve sprite. She glanced at him, then got a certain look in her eye. This look had come into her eyes once before; when the system was crashing. She and Ray had kissed for six nanos. It was the first time they had kissed, but not their last. Ray smiled, he knew what was coming. He was ready for it. Mouse took him by the shoulders and held him in a long embrace.

Enzo looked down at his shoes. He had nobody to comfort him. He was alone again. This is what Matrix must have felt... he thought. Enzo let out a sigh and waited for the inevitable.

Matrix kissed the top of AndrAIa's head, heard Enzo's sigh and looked up. Seeing him on the control board by himself made Matrix sigh. At least he had AndrAIa now. Enzo didn't have anyone his age. "Enzo" he called quietly.

Enzo sadly looked up and saw Matrix making a motion to come beside him and AndrAIa. He got down off the control panel, hurried over to Matrix, grabbed his hand and squeezed.

Matrix smiled. This was like having a younger brother; something he had always wanted. Matrix looked down at Enzo, and squeezed back. Frisket ran into the room and bounded up to Enzo. He tilted his head and whimpered.

"Warning! Core temperature reaching critical levels" the system voice announced the oncoming doom.

Mouse finally let go of Ray and both of them walked out of the Core Control Centre to look over the system one last time.

Bob watched the group of three spites and a dog left across from him and Dot. Matrix had come so far; looking for Mainframe from across the Net, finding him in the Web and now this. And poor young Enzo; he was scared. In fact, Bob himself was scared. What was after this? He didn't have much time to think about it, because a blinding flash of light filled the room, consuming everyone in it.

SCENE: Mainframe Entertainment

Ryan sat in front of the computer screen, testing the former faulty program, when Yvonne LeBlanc walked up to him. She was an CGI animator for Mainframe from Ottawa, Ontario. He computer had crashed early that morning and needed to get back on it to continue working on the Shadow Raiders series. "Can I use my computer yet?" she smiled. "Or is it still out of comish?"

"I'm just checking it right now." He said without looking up. "Everything looks pretty good so far." He said more to himself then to Yvonne. "I think it's ready to continue animating." he said as he stood up and let Yvonne sit down in her chair.

"Thank you very much Ryan. Now I have to stay in a few extra hours to get caught up, but that's ok. I love it here!" She smiled warmly and started up Softimage to begin working again. Suddenly, her computer started to smoke, spark and all around noise making. "Aw, cripes! What's wrong now?"

Ryan's eyes widened. He grabbed Yvonne and moved quickly away from the giant fire hazard. Just then, Phil Mitchell rounded the courner with Gavin Blair. The meeting had gone well and they were just continuing the discussion and they were on their way back to their offices to finish up the work for the day.

Gavin saw the smoking terror first. "What in the world? What's going on?" He coughed from the ever accumulating smoke.

"I don't know, Gavin." Ryan replied through his shirt. He was using it as a smoke screen but it wasn't a very good one. "I just thought I fixed that thing and then it just went haywire!"

"Well, someone get that computer to stop!" Phil shouted over the noise. Suddenly, a huge white light exploded out of the top, sides and screen of the computer monitor. The group covered their eyes and prepared for the explosion. Then just as quickly as it had started, and the light was gone, the computer ceased to spew smoke and sparks.

The four humans opened their eyes and looked at the burnt mess. To their shock, six figures were standing beside the computer surrounded by smoke and they were coughing.

Ryan tried to peer through the smoke to see who had rotten to the computer. Two of the figures were really tall and seemed to be male, two others looks like female and there appeared to be a small child and a ...dog??!

The figures began speaking. "Where are we? Are we dead?" choked the tallest one.

Ryan paused. He knew that voice! But from where?

"I don't think so." said a female beside the tall one. "I think we'd know if we were completely deleted."

All four Mainframe employees looked at each other. "Deleted??" They said in unison.

The smoke cleared and standing in the room was ...Bob, Dot Matrix, AndrAIa, Matrix, Enzo and Frisket.

"Oh my..." was all Gavin could muster.

"What in the world??!" Phil exclaimed.

"This can't be...." Yvonne was stunned.

Then the five sprites saw the humans standing across the room, staring at them. Their eyes widened as well.

"What in the Net??!" Bob gasped.

Ryan stepped forward. "No... not in the Net. You're outside of the Net. And I have an idea that I'm to blame...."

"What's going on? Who are you and where are we?" the shocked Bob inquired.

Frisket glared at the four humans, bared his teeth and growled. Ryan backed up, fully aware of the damage Frisket was capable of.

"Please calm down." Phil Mitchel said raising his hands and taking a step forward, carefully watching the angry dog and the stunned sprites. "I think we can explain, it'll just have to take some time."

Dot looked at blue sprite. "What do you think, Bob? This place is definitely better than being in a core meltdown."

Bob took a moment to consider it, looked at Matrix who just shrugged, and turned back to the group of shocked humans. "Fine. Just tell us where we are first." he demanded.

"Fair enough. You're in a city called Vancouver and you're in our office building." Gavin Blair explained, not wanting to tell them the entire truth just yet; he would do that later.

"Could all of you follow us now, then we'll try to figure out what happened?" Phil requested.

The sprites looked at each other. Matrix was the first to begin to walk boldly toward Phil and the others. Little Enzo followed right behind, as to appear to be as brave as his older self.

Gavin turned to Phil and the others. "We'll take them to the board room. We won't be disturbed there by anyone. This must be kept as much of a secret as we can. The media must not get wind of this. Yvonne," he said, turning to the young woman beside him. "Go get some ReBoot episodes on tape. Be careful which ones that you pick, though. Don't pick ones like "Game Over" or anything dramatic like that." Yvonne LeBlanc nodded and headed for the storage room that contained all of Mainframe Entertainment's' finished episodes and productions.

"Okay, let's head for the board room now, and Ryan... could I speak with you on the way?" Gavin said as he turned and started walking in that direction.

Ryan cringed slightly and began walking beside Gavin while everyone else walked behind.

"What in the world did you do?" the Director of Operations and co-creator of ReBoot asked forcefully, keeping his voice down.

"I don't know exactly." Ryan answered just as quietly. "I thought I had fixed it. As soon as Yvonne began to start up Softimage, the darn thing went completely haywire!"

"You're telling me! Ryan, we have 3D animated figures, specifically ReBoot, walking behind us here at Mainframe Entertainment!" Gavin whispered loudly to show his emphases. Ryan said nothing. What was there to say? That he didn't know what he was doing with that new computer? That he couldn't do his job? That he had completely messed up? Ryan's gaze left Gavin's face and fell to the grey carpet.

Gavin placed his hand onto Ryan's left shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm not blaming you, although you did have something to do with it, I'm sure. We'll find out what happened and then you can fix it. "

Just then, Mairi Welman, head of communications at Mainframe, rounded the courner. "Oh Phil. You've got a call on line..." then she stopped as she looked at the six figures behind her friends. Her jaw dropped open and she lost grip on the portfolio of papers that she was carrying, which scattered on the ground.

"How...?" was the only word that escaped her lips.

Ryan bent down and began to help Mairi pick up the paper that had fallen.

"We're not quite sure," he said for only Mairi to hear. "But it's very hush hush. No one must know." Mairi's jaw was still wide open when Ryan stood up and handed her pages back. Mairi didn't move. Her gaze wouldn't leave the group of visitors. Gavin turned to find the sprites staring at the woman who had ceased to move.

Enzo tapped Matrix on his leg. Matrix looked down as Enzo asked "They didn't file-lock her, did they? Just for bringing that message?"

Matrix shook his head. "I don't think so. They aren't holding file-lockers anyway."

Phil turned around and quietly apologized to the sprites. "She's low on energy." he lied. "She's had a long day." He stepped up to Mairi, took her by her shoulders and guided her to the board room with everyone following silently behind. When they reached their designation, everyone took a seat around the table, minus Gavin and Phil, who were talking amongst themselves. Mairi, still not moving by herself, was positioned into a seat. The five sprites sat quietly, exchanging glances with one another.

Gavin took Phil to the courner of the room. Gavin looked worried. "How are we going to do this? How are we going tell these... sprites, that they don't really exist?!? And if they did go through what happened on the show, what are they going to do to us when they find out?"

Phil quickly glanced at Matrix and cringed. How would he react?

Yvonne quickly strode into the room and slowed as she saw everyone staring at her, except for Mairi, who stared at nothing in particular. Yvonne quickened her pace as she walked towards her employers. "I've picked out 'The Tiff', 'In the Belly of the Beast', and 'Talent Night'. I thought the first season would be the best to show."

Gavin took the tapes from the young animator. "Good thinking, Yvonne. Thank you."

Phil looked at the sprites then at Gavin. "I think you've kept them waiting long enough. Have fun telling them the news." he said and tried to make a bolt for the door. He didn't get far.

"You're staying right here with me and we're both telling them." Gavin replied as he began to drag Phil to the front of the room.

Matrix watched the images move across the screen with his eyes and mouth open wide. On the television screen that had been placed in front of them, was his first and only birthday party. Dot was rushing around as she used to before the web wars and Bob was keeping the 'Birthday Boy' occupied while the party was being prepared. Matrix remembered that day very well. Even though it had happened a long time ago for him; much longer than for Bob or Dot.

His eyes glanced over in the direction of little Enzo. He had never had this party because he was still 0-1. Enzo's face was filled more with awe than shock like the others. Matrix looked back at the screen. Was this true? Was he just a figure created for entertainment? And his exiting the Net was just an accident? His birthday, his problems, his struggles, his failures... his parents... never really existed?

No. He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't believe it! His electronic eye rotated and glowed red as his hand left the table top and moved towards his gun that was holstered on his right leg. Quickly, he grabbed it, stood up and shot the tv; something he'd want to do with Mike for the longest time.

"Enzo!" Bob's voice reprimanded him as if he was child again.

"I refuse to watch this, Bob!" Matrix snapped at the older sprite. "I refuse to believe any of it! Our lives, have been for nothing! Our whole existence has been one long story line created by Users!" he exclaimed, indicating Phil and Gavin, who now had their backs against the wall and very frightened expressions on their faces. "All the struggles, all the battles, all the danger: going to the Web, fighting Megabyte, the system crashing,  all of it! Our lives are nothing more than a story to entertain little children as a 'Saturday morning cartoon' as Phil put it...."

"Enzo..." It was AndrAIa's voice this time speaking. Her tone was quiet and calm. "Just think about it, Enzo. Yes, we were created for entertainment purposes and I'm a little shocked and upset about it too, but what else came out of it?" she asked softly as she stood up beside her love. She placed her hands on his arm, causing him to lower his gun. "If they hadn't created you, you wouldn't be here right now."

Matrix's face softened as that thought began to take its place in his mind.

"And if they hadn't created us, we would have never met and grown up together." She continued. She looked into Matrix's eyes with love. " 'No regrets.' "

The scowl on Matrix's face melted into a sad frown. What AndrAIa said was true and he did love her like no other. She had always been able to get him to calm down no matter how infuriated he was.

Matrix holstered his gun as his eye rotated back. He gently took AndrAIa in his arms and kissed the top of her head. "No regrets."

Dot shook her head. This was unbelievable. What Matrix said was true, but what AndrAIa said was true also. Dot's emotions were bouncing around with her thoughts. Everyone felt the same way; everyone except Enzo.

"This is totally Alphanumeric!" He exclaimed. Everyone is the room, both humans and sprites, stared at him.

"Enzo, how can you say that?" Matrix inquired.

Enzo shrugged. "Well, it is. We're not real, but we are! And we're not suppose to be here, but we are! We finally get to see and meet the Users and it turns out they're just like us! We can ask all the questions that we've always wanted!" the young sprite looked at his silent audience. "They may have made all those things happen, as you say and I don't know for sure 'cause I wasn't there, but it all turned out ok, right? I mean, Mainframe was restored, Megabreath is toast, Hexadecimal is good... kinda... and Hack and Slash are really cool!" Enzo stood up. "And now that we're just a story, the fact is that Daemon is too! She's not infecting the Net!"

"That's right." Gavin said, stepping forward. "The net is safe and Daemon isn't real."

"But you said that we weren't real," Bob chimed in "and here we are."

"You do have a good point, but we didn't design a Daemon character. She is only known by her name."

Enzo turned to face Gavin. "So, we're really from a tv show?"

Gavin smiled at the young sprite's enthusiasm. "Yes, you are, and a very popular one too. Thousands of children, teenagers and even adults watch it."

"But you said that it was a children's show." Dot spoke up. "Why would any grown User want to be interested in that?"

Gavin smiled. "It's hard to explain to you right now, but they do."

Matrix didn't quite believe the humans. It all seemed a bit too far fetched. His face must have been showing what he was thinking because Gavin volunteered Ryan to show him how popular the show was. The computer programer stood up and timidly walked closer to the green sprite. Matrix stood almost a head and a half over Ryan and the sprite's large build made
him look like a giant beside the human.

AndrAIa patted her lover's arm. "You go on. I'd like to look around..." she said turning to the Director of Operations of Mainframe, "...if that's alright."

Gavin nodded. "Sure. If you'd like, I'll take you on a tour of the building." he offered.

The sprites agreed and followed Gavin out of the room, leaving Ryan with the huge Matrix standing awkwardly in silence.

Ryan took Matrix into a small room with a computer. "I know you are from inside a computer, but do you know how to work ours?" he asked the sprite.

Matrix shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe, but I'd have to see."

Ryan booted up the computer and started up Netscape for Matrix. He gave Matrix a rough outline of how to use the web browser and then let Matrix try it out for himself. He learned quite quickly. Ryan told him about a chat that he went to in his spare time that was created by ReBoot fans on mIRC. He downloaded the program and gave Matrix instructions on how to work the chat. Matrix understood and wanted to try it when he was ready, but he wanted to check the Internet first, then the chat.

"What ever you want, Enzo, but I have to get back to work. I'll check on you if you want during my break." Ryan replied as he rose from his chair.

"No, I don't think that will be necessary. I can find my way around the web. I've done it before." he said with a grin.

"Ok, but if you need anything..." he pushed a black business phone closer into view of the sprite. "just call my extension and I help you with anything." He quickly jotted down this extension number, nodded at Matrix and walked briskly out of the room.

"I'm glad he's finally gone. I haven't been able to get by myself in seconds." Matrix typed in the web address of the search engine Yahoo!*, and typed in the word 'ReBoot'. If this show is so popular, then it should be on here. Ryan said I could access anything I wanted on here. Let's see what we've got. He pressed 'Enter' and the the screen displayed the search results. Matrix made a face. Only 31 sites?! I wouldn't say that the show is that popular.

The first link on the short list was "ReBoot [global.org]*" What in the Net?! and smiled at the irony of the question. Matrix clicked on the link. The page came up and showed an icon with the words 'ReBoot' on it, and several pictures of Dot, Bob and himself; when he was younger. Right at the top of the page read: "ReBoot" is one of the wittiest and most techie-clever animated series to come along. ABC aired it as part of its Saturday morning childrens lineup, but the show attracted an appreciative adult audience. The inside jokes were numerous and hilarious."

Matrix scrolled down and found episode guide, news group information, things called 'webrings', toys, and a large number of links to ReBoot websites. He saw one title which slightly amused him; A Minor Glitch*. A little smile appeared on Matrix's face as he clicked it.

As Matrix read though the fan's site, he made a face. What was this girl thinking? 'Buttons the Renegade Lamb'? 'A ReBoot Geek Test'? A picture of Dot's skull? He was almost going to go back, when he saw a section called 'WYSIWYG'. The sprite clicked on it just to see what it was about and when the page finished loading he saw a section called 'Enzo's Eye'. Seeing
it was about him, he clicked the mouse button.

As he read, and looked at the pictures that demonstrated the theory called 'Enzo's Eye conspiracy' analysing the idea that Mainframe Entertainment had planned for him to loose his eye. He leaned back into the office chair and exhaled deeply. Did Mainframe really plan for me to lose my eye since the beginning? Or IS it just a coincidence? Mental note: Ask Gavin later.

After 4 hours of "surfing", Matrix began to get bored. Maybe that chat that Ryan mentioned... and he started up the IRC program. Up popped an information window. 'Full name:' 'Enzo Matrix', 'Email address:' Matrix smiled. 'Don't have one' he typed. 'Nickname:' 'Matrix' and the last one was 'Alternative:' 'E_Matrix'. Matrix choose the Vancouver UnderNet server and connected. "Nick Matrix is already in use." Matrix was impressed, he smiled and waited for is Alternate nickname to connect him to the network of people.

Finally, a list of chat channels came up and Matrix typed into the top text box '#Reboot', then 'Join'. and waited, slightly nervous.

The chat window popped up and displayed the topic of the room for the time....
(the conversation went something like this....)

*** Now talking in #Reboot
*** Topic is '"Last night I played a blank CD at full volume. The mime next door went nuts.'
*** Set by Clearsky on Fri May 14 18:23:30'"
[WizardWOR] woo!
[WizardWOR] (boris) I am inlaggable!!
[Emidecimal] NEWBIE!
* Emidecimal whips out her rolling pin and turns the newbie into a biscuit!
* P-Chrome greets E_Matrix with a bucket of popcorn.

Turned me into a biscuit? What's popcorn?

[Clearsky] Hi Matrix.
[E_Matrix] Hello
[AnnaIsh] Two Matrix's?!
[_Matrix_] Hey! Wait a minute! That's my nickname!!
[Julia_Cat] It's a newbie!!!

Matrix smiled. Someone was using his name.

[E_Matrix] But it's my real name. My name is Enzo Matrix.
* _Matrix_ rolls eyes "Yeah right!"
[DeciCat] Sky: I don't think so. He never said so.
[E_Matrix] _Matrix_: It's true
[_Matrix_] Sure you are....
[AlsWaiter] Hie Pll!
[Clearsky] hi AW
[CyberCat] hey AW
[DeciCat] Hi AW
[AnnaIsh] AW!!!!!!!!!!! :D
[_Matrix_] E_M: You can't be the real Matrix. It's only a cartoon!
* AnnaIsh runs and bowls AW over
[Clearsky] Deci: It could've been a fluke
[AlsWaiter] Hi Milly! Nice to see you too! ^_^
[DeciCat] E_M: Have your medication adjusted.. because Matrix isn't real.
[AlsWaiter] E_Matrix thinks he's the REAL Matrix???!!! Cool!
[E_Matrix] I know it sounds crazy, but I came out of the computer a few micro seconds ago.
[MG] Who wants cookies???
[SnakeBGon] Now we have a pair of Matrixes.
[_Matrix_] ok....
* AlsWaiter raises hands "Cookies? I do!!" :9
[E_Matrix] I didn't expect any of you to believe me. I just came in here to met all of you.
* MG offers cookies around the room
[E_Matrix] What if I really was Matrix, what would you want to say to me?
* AlsWaiter takes a cookie, runs around the room and falls into the pool >splash<
[Juila_Cat] What was your favourite Game, E_M?
[Tora_Chan] Two Matrix's?
[AlsWaiter] E_M: That's nice! :)
* AlsWaiter watches his cookie get all soggy and turn into mush :_(
*_Matrix_ looks at Julia "You actually believe him?"
[E_Matrix] Favourite game? Games are dangerous. They aren't fun. Especially since I almost lived my whole life in them.
[Julia_Cat] M: Sure. Why not? besides, it's fun!
[Julia_Cat] E_M: Oh yeah. Forgot about that. *g*
[AlsWaiter] E_M: If you were real, I'd say... "YOU'RE MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER!"...
[Tora_Chan] E_M: You should have left poor Meggy alone.
[AlsWaiter] ...that's what I'd say... if you were real. :) But I have a wild imagination so.... *shrugs* *g*

Poor Meggy? Did this 'Tora' mean Megabyte? These humans are nuts! Matrix concluded. But Matrix stayed and chatted with them for a an hour and a half, learning about they're lives and about the User world, even though they didn't believe who he really was. It was kind of fun.

It was 8:00 pm when Gavin and Phil finally decided what to do with the sprites. Yvonne would take Dot and AndrAIa to her home, Ryan would take Bob and Phil would take Matrix, Enzo and Frisket. They would bring them back to Mainframe Entertainment the next day and try to get them back to their home; if it was even possible....

The florescent lights glowed within Mainframe Entertainment where Marc Peterson sat animating Weird Ohs. He growled in frustration as he attempted to get his day's work done. This had been Marc's worse day in recent history. Nothing was going his way; Softimage kept crashing on him, he had to re-animate the same five seconds of a scene three times and it still didn't look right and to make the end of the day perfect, his coffee was cold.

Marc let out a shout of anger as Softimage crashed on him once again, but this time, instead of seeing his Silicon Graphic's desktop, his screen was glowing blinding light. Sparks began flying and smoke spewed out of every nook and cranny. Marc cursed as he backed away from his work station.

Suddenly, the room was flooded with a pure white light emitting from the computer. Marc shielded his eyes and when the light and noise abruptly stopped, he sadly looked at his computer that had given him so much trouble that day.

Someone was standing in front of his terminal; someone very tall. The figure coughed and Marc noticed the voice had a deep, low tone to it. Then it spoke. "Finally, I'm out of that blasted place. The boy will pay for it; they all will! Now... where in the Net am I?"

Marc peered through the smoke. "Hello? Who's there?"

The silhouette turn to face the animator. "Who's that?" the voice demanded. It moved with lightning pace, grabbing Marc around his neck and pinned him up against the wall. "State your name and function before I dispose of you!" it demanded as it appeared to pull out three switch blades and point then all at Marc.

"My... my name is Marc Peterson and..." Marc swallowed hard. "...I'm an animator here at Mainframe Entertainment."

The figure stopped. "Mainframe?" the switch blades lowered. "This is Mainframe? I made it back?"

Marc, who was still pinned against the wall, nodded as much as he could. "Ok... yeah... sure." The smoke was slowly dissipating, but Marc was beginning to see his captor. He was about 6.5", dark in skin colour and very large in his upper torso and arms; he was also wearing a very strange hat.

"I can't believe it, that I made it back." Marc heard a smile in the man's voice. "This is Mainframe, but I don't remember any sprite named Marc and you are certainly not a binome..."

Binome? Where had Marc heard that before? Speaking of which, where had he heard that voice before? Just then the smoke finally cleared, revealing the tall stranger.

He wasn't black, as Marc first thought, but blue metal with bright green markings on his chest and sliver stomach.  His eyes were red of neon green and something that could only be described as hair, stood up on top of his head.

Marc looked at the creature in awe. "Wait... I've seen you before!"

The creature looked at him curiously. "Really? Where?"

Marc's eyes grew wide in sudden recondition. "You're that guy off of that Mainframe show... Megabyte is it?"

The creature nodded his head, wearily. "Yes, yes. True Tales of Mainframe. They really did pick a horrible looking binome to play my part. I'm really a better virus than they portrayed me."

Marc shook his head. "No. That's not the one I'm talking about. Oh... which one was it?" he asked, more to himself than the virus. The animator had seen only a few episodes of the show and hadn't really liked it that much. "Retry? Renew? ...ReBoot! That's it!"

Megabyte lowered Marc to the floor. "Reboot? What do I have to do with rebooting? Virus' do not reboot!"

Marc shrugged. "Well, that's the title of the show anywise."

Megabyte stood back and studied the animator. "What type of sprite are you?" It didn't look like any sprite he had ever seen.

"Sprite?" What kind of question was that? "I'm not a sprite. I'm a human."

"...Hu...man..." the blue virus said as if saying the word for the first time. "What in the Net is a human?"

"Well you know, a human. A user..." Marc began.

The virus' eyes opened wide. "Did you say a User? As in the User that inputs games and upgrades into Mainframe?"

Marc didn't quite understand the question. "I ...guess."

"What are you doing here? How did you get in the Net?" the astonished virus asked.

"In the Net? What? I'm not in the net, you're outside of the net. See?" Marc said, indicating his fried computer. Megabyte looked amazed at the smouldering mess for several moments, then turned back to the short human before him.

"I am in the User world?" he asked, not believing his good fortune. "Outside the Net? You are a User?" a sly smile spread across the blue tin face. "Really...?"

Marc, who had slowly begun to recall this character, was becoming more and more nervous, but he still answered the inquiring figure. "Yes."

"Indeed." The virus stated and started towards the office door.

Marc watched in horror as he followed the virus to the building exit. "Wait!" he called. "Where are you going? You can't go out there!"

"Just watch me, User!" Megabyte spat as he spun around to face the human. The virus unsheathed his claws and pointed threateningly at Marc. "Unless, you would like to try and stop me..."

Marc stepped back in fear and held his breath, not knowing what the creature was going to do.

The green lips of the virus moved up into a knowing smile. Megabyte chuckled. "Hmmm... just as I thought." he laughed again. "You are just as cowardly as the boy was when he was small... and almost as irritating." He turned back and pushed open the exit door.

Standing out side, he inhaled deeply. Finally, his luck was changing. Now, he had a whole new territory and world to conquer.

The User world.
 

"This is so weird!" Matrix and Enzo sat on Phil Mitchel's couch watching tv. Matrix had the clickers and was changing the channels every few seconds.

"What's weird?" Matrix asked his younger self without looking away from the screen. "That we survived a core meltdown, got pulled out of Mainframe in the User world and I was a User today?"

Enzo nodded. "That and that this tv isn't talking. You know, the way Mike always did."

A smirk appeared on the renegade's face and he chuckled. "I'm not missing Mike at the moment though..." he tuned to face Enzo. "How about you?"

Enzo hopped off the couch and lay on his stomach on the floor. "Not really."

Matrix continued to rapidly change the channels and then finally stopped. "It's nice to have a remote control again. I can actually turn this tv off."

Enzo laughed and leaned on his elbows; propping his head up with his hands. "Try and find something about the Users... er... humans." The child suggested. Matrix leaned forward, picked up the tv guide and began flipping through the pages.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Oh... life style, history, sitcom... anything!" Enzo replied as he turned around. "What's on?"

Matrix read for a while, then announced. "Okay... we could watch The History Channel, The Life Network, Home and Gardens, Space: The Imagination Station, The Family Channel, The Country Music Network, Woman's Television Network..." Matrix paused, looked at Enzo and grinned. "Woman's Television Network?" Both sprites burst out laughing.

"I wonder what's on that channel," Enzo said after he finally could talk again.

Matrix wiped a joyful tear from his eye. "I don't think I want to know." He let out a sigh and flipped the channel to A&E (Arts and Entertainment)

"What's this?" Enzo asked as a show began.

"It's called Biography. It's about a guy named 'Robin Williams'."

"What's a biography, Matrix?"

"It's the telling of someone's life. If the person themselves write it, it's called an autobiography. I once saw a biography on Emma Fee. Boy, she's lived a sheltered life."

Enzo smiled. "Maybe she was infected by BSnP at a young age."

"Maybe," Matrix grinned. After Biography, both Enzo's watched The History Channel; a special playing was on Earth's 19th and 20th century history.

Bob looked around Ryan's one bedroom apartment. "Cozy."

Ryan smiled as he took off his jacket, placed it on a hanger and hung it up in the hall closet. "Yeah. I like to call it home. Have a seat." he said indicating the couch in the living room. Bob sat down while Ryan walked into the crawl space that served as his kitchen. "Are you hungry?"

With all the days events, Bob hadn't noticed that he was hungry. "Yeah, I'm drained. Do you have any energy shakes?"

"Um..." Ryan stuck his head out of the doorway. "...no."

"Silicon chips? Quantum shakes? Anything?"

"Well I don't have any of those but I was thinking of ordering pizza; maybe two."

"Oh... okay." Bob's stomach growled.

Ryan walked into his small living room, studying the pizza flyer. "What would you like on it?" As Bob started rattling off his favourite toppings, Ryan made a face; the sprite was naming computer components and terms that were definitely not eatable. Ryan had forgot about the type of food sprites ate. "I'll see what I can do..." Ryan said slowly as he walked back into the kitchen and picked up his phone receiver.

Bob held the door open as Ryan carried the two large pizza boxes and on top, eight soft drinks, into the small apartment. (The pizza deal that Ryan got was that if he picked up his pizza, he would get eight pop free.) Ryan placed the boxes on the coffee table, walked to the kitchen and brought out a small pile of napkins. Both men sat down on the couch as Ryan picked up the remote and turned on the tv. "Want to watch some hockey?"

Hockey? Bob thought. I've played hockey! In the games...! "Uh... sure... I guess." he said out loud.

Ryan changed the channel to a Vancouver Canucks game; they were playing against the Montreal Canadiens. Ryan bent forward and opened a pizza box. The aroma of the pizza had been filling the room for the past few minutes, making two mouths water. Ryan picked up a couple of the triangular pieces, place them on a serviette and handed the package to Bob. The sprite took it hungrily - looked at it, sniffed it, picked at it - and asked "What is this? I thought we were going to have pizza."

Ryan stopped taking a bite of his supper. "It is pizza. Think of it as 'User Pizza'." Ryan began to explain the toppings. "...hmmm... Maybe I should have ordered plain cheese instead of combination..." he mused as he took a bite.

Bob shook his head. "I'm up to trying now things..." he took a bite; moving it around his mouth as he chewed. Ryan waited for Bob's final verdict on the pizza when the sprite swallowed. A moment later, Bob smiled. "Mmmm..."

"Glad you like it!" Ryan sat back and watched the hockey game on the tv screen. The television spectators were cheering loudly when a goal was scored.

Both men sat in silence until Bob broke it with "Do all Users like hockey?"

Ryan shook his head. "Not everyone, no. And not everyone is a user. Different humans like different sports and activities. For example, lots of guys love the game of golf..."

"Golf.." Bob interrupted with disgust. "I'm sick of that game. I've lost track on how many times I've played golf and had to win it... because if I lost..."

"...You'd get nullified," Ryan finished. Bob nodded. Suddenly Ryan got an idea. "Do you want to watch a movie or something instead?"

"Sure. Beats this game I've played too many times." the sprite said indicating the television set. Ryan walked over toward his tiny entertainment centre and pulled out his brand new copy of The Matrix movie.

"You're from a computer, right? This movie is kind of about the reverse. It puts a twist on human reality and you might be able to relate... a little..."

"Great! Put it in."

Matrix finished arranging the bed sheets Phil's wife had placed on the basement couch and then turned to fix his own on the floor. As Enzo quickly walked down the stairs, said "Your bed is ready, Enzo..."

"Aw Matrix!" the child whined, "Do I have to?"

Matrix sighed deeply. "Yes, you have to."

Enzo put his hands on his hips. "You can't tell me what to do... you're not Dot..."

"No, I'm not Dot; I'm you, and what I needed when I was your age was sleep. Hey... you don't want to be tired tomorrow; you'll want to be awake for..." Matrix searched for a reason and not finding one, finished with "...whatever we're going to do."

"Oooo... good reason, Matrix," Enzo said sarcastically with a smirk.

"Log off," Matrix scowled teasingly "and get into bed."

Enzo turned his icon, changing his day clothes into a plain white T-shirt, red shorts and white socks; his pyjamas. With his hat gone, Enzo placed his icon onto an end table at the edge of the couch and climbed in-between the sheets. Matrix pulled up the sheets to cover his back-up. "You too warm?"

Enzo shook his head. "I'm fine. Frisket!" he called. The red and yellow dog bounded down the stairs and jumped onto the couch.

"Hold on, Enzo," Matrix cautioned. "Frisket," he said now to his dog. "do you have to go outside?" Frisket cocked his head to one side, listening then shook his head, indicating that he didn't. Matrix walked to the stairs and flicked off the lights. "'Night Enzo." he said softly.

"Good night, Matrix." came the quiet reply, followed by a small whimper from the sprites' four legged companion. Matrix smiled.

"Yeah, you too boy." with that, the renegade made his way up the stairs.

A tall figure walked down the dark streets alone. The sound of his footsteps were heavy and metallic. His eyes glowed with a strange light and the smug smile he wore remained hidden in the shadows. Megabyte looked around at the buildings looming over him. I wonder how big this User world is... he mused. Where should I begin infection?

As he rounded a corner, he nearly bumped into two young females.

"I can't wait 'til the tour tomorrow, Silver!"

"I know Tora! Finally, we get to see the six... foot... Mega..." The girl stopped speaking; she was staring at the virus. Both girls mouths dropped open in amazement.

Megabyte spoke. "Excuse me ladies, but do you know where the largest Super Computer is?" Neither girl moved. Megabyte cleared his throat. "Well... do you?"

One of the girls tapped the other on the arm. "Tora, do you see and hear what I do?" she whispered.

"And what is that?" the other asked.

"Megabyte - asking if we knew where the Super Computer was," was the reply.

The other nodded. "Yup. That's what I thought and yes I did, Silv."

'Silv' stepped forward. "Excuse me..." was all she said then poked the virus in the stomach.

"How does it feel?" Tora inquired.

"Solid. So our ReBoot marathon that we just watched rules out hallucination."

"Beg your pardon," the virus spoke again, "but why did you do that?"

"To see if you were real," Silv said plainly.

"Indeed?"

Tora's face lit up. "Quick! Get your camera, Silv!"

A huge smile spread across Silv's face. With lightning speed, she put her shoulder bag down, shuffled through it's contents and pulled out her camera. "Umm..." she looked around. "Who'll take the picture?"

"Just get someone!" Tora began to look around as well. An innocent pedestrian named Rick, was suddenly grabbed by two girls.

"Take my money!" he cried. "I don't have much, but take it anyway!"

"We don't want your money, but we'll take it if you really want us too." Silv grinned.

"All we want is for you to take a picture for us." Tora added.

 "Oh..." the young man said, calming down and feeling a little embarrassed.

Silv showed Rick how to use her camera and then she and Tora and herself placed themselves next to the bewildered virus. Both girls took an arm each and linked elbows. "Smile!" Rick said as he raised the camera up to his face and looked through the sight. Both girls smiled and tried not to grin like idiots. The flash lit up the three in the front of of the camera then the light faded, leaving them in semi-darkness.

"Thanks very much!" Silv retrieved her camera from Rick.

"You know..." Rick said thoughtfully. "I've never seen that statue there before. I'd think it should be in front of the Mainframe building; he's from that show, isn't he?" Both girls eagerly nodded. "Oh well," Rick said as he walked around Megabyte, "Have a good night."

"Thanks! I bet we will." Tora called as she grinned at the blue virus; Megabyte just looked back at her. "How did you get out of the Net?" she asked him, her eyes sparkling.

Megabyte shook his head. "I don't know. One nano I was floating in the Web, the next I'm standing in a room surrounded by smoke."

"I'll be your slave!" Tora said quickly.

"Beg your pardon?" Megabyte wanted to be sure he had heard right.

"I'll be your willing slave. I'll do what ever you want me to do!" she answered.

Megabyte raised an eyebrow. "Indeed?"

"I'll follow you around!" Silv joined in the fan adoration.

Users being slaves to a virus? The idea has merit. But I wonder if I can infect Users... the virus mused. I better not chance it, I'm not exactly sure what they are capable of... he concluded. Besides, I don't have to infect these two females... they already ready to obey any order I give them. "Yes," he said out loud, "I will keep that in mind, but now could you please tell me where the Super Computer is?"

"Well..." Tora stopped "There really isn't any super computer," she explained.

"Oh," the virus' face fell in disappointment.

"But there is a superly huge computer company though." Tora said, trying to make the virus feel better.

"Oh?" Megabyte's face lit up. Tora nodded.

"Yeah!" Silv agreed. "It's absolutely huge!"

A pleased smile spread across the virus' green lips. "And where is this 'superly huge' computer company based?"

"Near Seattle."

"And how would I get there?"

"Hold on! I'll be right back!" With that, Tora ran into the closest corner store. Megabyte and Silv just stared blankly after her.

"Well, personally," Silv said to her blue tin companion. "I don't know how to get there but I have a feeling that Shay does, Meggy."

Megabyte looked down at her. "Meggy?"

Just then Tora ran out, gasping for air, and holding a road map. "Here..." she choked out. "I'll show you where it's based..." Breathlessly, Tora highlighted the highways and state that Megabyte had to take to get there.

When the virus had memorized the interstate numbers and directions, he graciously thanked the girls. "Is there any way I can contact you for your... services later?" Both girls squealed with delight at the question. Silv dropped her bag and began searching desperately for a pen and paper. Frantically, she wrote down her street and e-mail addresses, her phone number, and any other information he might need to contact her, then handed the sheet to Tora for her to do the same.

Megabyte smirked. Watching these two girls was amusing. They  could be useful in the future... After the girls were finished, he took the addresses in one hand, the road map in the other and politely thanked his two new employees. "I will be sure to contact you in the future." The two girls giggled with excitement.

"Could I take another picture of you, Meggy?" Silv asked bringing out her camera again.

"Certainly." he said.

"Could you do an evil pose?"

Megabyte raised an eyebrow. "An evil pose?" he asked.

"Yeah." Silv grinned. "Slyly look at the camera and steeple your fingers or something."

"Like this..." Tora said as she demonstrated the pose that Silv had just described.

It was a strange request to the virus but he decided to humour them; they were, after all, his faithful followers. Megabyte struck the pose a Silv took two pictures; one for her, one for Tora.

"Thank you very much ladies, but I must be on my way to this computer company that you have so graciously told me about."

"Awww!" Both girls pouted at this news.

"Please stay!" Silv said dropping to her knees and she grabbed onto his leg.

"I am very sorry, but I can not. I must obey my function." he explained. "And please do let go of my leg." Reluctantly, Silv stood up.

"But how are you going to get there?" Tora asked the virus. "You have no transport."

"I am sure something will pop up." Megabyte answered. "If not by itself, then I will make it pop up." The girls smiled at the comment but were sad to see the virus go.

"Good night ladies." Megabyte called as he walked further down the street. "I will be sure to contact you."

"Bye MB!" Silv shouted after the quickly disappearing virus.

"He's awsome..." Tora sighed dreamily.

"We better get back to our hotel room; it's getting late and we are going to the Mainframe building tomorrow for the tour." Silv said as she took hold of Tora's arm. Shay only nodded, her gaze not leaving the spot where Megabyte was last seen.

The sun slowly rose over the Mainframe building as Phil Mitchell, Matrix, Enzo and Frisket got of the car in the parking lot. Slowly they strolled up to the impressive structure, through the doors and into the lobby.

Matrix took a sip of his hot Tim Horton's "double-double" coffee. He could still taste the chicken salad sandwich he had just finished; it had been good. He took another sip and looked at Enzo. Enzo held in one hand a sticky Boston Cream donut and in the other he held a plastic cup of peach juice.

Like he needs more sugar... Matrix thought.

The Mainframers congregated together for their third meal in the User World. During the morning they had been watching different morning shows, the news, sports scores and some talk shows. They all wanted to learn as much as they could about humans. They also wanted to know about the "beings" that they would be talking to after the tour; what they liked, what they didn't, what their society was going through and to have some sort of knowledgeable connection with them.

In the lunchroom, the five sprites sprites sat around a circular table, and a large dog sat on the floor beside his master. Matrix and Enzo were testing their chicken noodle soup, Dot was trying a potato salad, AndrAIa was enjoying a BLT sandwich, and Bob was quickly eating his french fries and hamburger. Frisket ate the crackers that Enzo dropped for him.

Dot and AndrAIa were talking excitedly about something, so Bob inquired. "Oh we're just talking about movie that we watched last night with Yvonne on WTN." Dot explained.

"WTN?"

"Woman's Television Network" AndrAIa answered.

Both Enzo Matrix's had to stop themselves from spitting out their soup with laughter. Enzo ended up choking between his chuckles and Matrix managed to swallow before he laughed deeply. AndrAIa looked that them.

"What so funny? Did we miss the joke? Or is it just between you two and do you wish to share?" Both Enzo's shook their heads and just grinned at each other.

After lunch Mairi told the sprites to act the way they normally did, so it would appear as though they were just actors hired for the special occasion.

"So let me get this straight," Enzo spoke up, "I'm suppose to pretend to be a kid who's pretending to be me?"

Mairi smiled and nodded. "You got it."

Enzo gave the thumbs up. "Coolness!"

Ten minutes later the group was lead into the conference room. After the Mainframers had entered the room, conversations of animation fans grew louder. The Beast Wars, Shadow Raider and Weird Ohs fans complained as to why characters from their favourite shows weren't there; the ReBoot fans were ecstatic. As the sprites took their seats at the front, Dot overheard some of the conversations from the audience. "It's Bob! Look, it's Bob!" "He's so cute!" "They've got Frisket!" "That's doesn't look like Matrix..." and so on. Dot laughed.

The Q&A session was almost coming to a close when a look of realization spread across Tora's face. She whispered something into Silv's ear something about Matrix on #reboot yesterday. Both girls suddenly realized something; the sprites at the front were real. They were real just like Megabyte was the night before.

"We have time for one more question." Mairi announced. Silv put up her hand. "Yes?" Mairi asked, pointing to Silver.

Silv stood up and cleared her throat. "I was just wondering if Bob or Dot or Matrix know where Megabyte is." She sat back down.

Bob answered without hesitation. "The Web and probably deleted." Both Silver and Tora glanced at each other and smirked. Matrix saw this and raised an eyebrow. What did these two girls know?

The Conference Room was emptying, and Mairi plus the sprites were watching them go. Matrix searched the crowd of humans with his cyberoptic eye. Where were they? The way the girls had looked at each other and smiled had made Matrix uneasy. They knew something, he could feel that.

AndrAIa saw the look of determination on Matrix's face and that his right eye was turned. "What is it?" she asked quietly.

"That girl who asked about Megabyte. I'm looking for her and her friend."

"Why?"

"I want to ask them a few questions."

"Enzo," AndrAIa said warningly. "I don't think that would be a good idea. The humans don't think that we're real. Ian asked us not to-"

"Forget Ian!" Matrix snapped. "I'm going to talk to them... if I can find them." With that said, Matrix walked away from his girlfriend and began politely picking his way through the crowd. AndrAIa shook her head and turned to talk to one of the ReBoot fans.

Matrix scanned the lobby in search of his two targets. Mainframe fans were trying to engage themselves in a conversation with the Renegade. Matrix tried to ignore them but they persisted.

"Excuse me."  Matrix had to say repeatedly trying to be as polite as he could without exploding in a rage. He pushed through the dispersing crowd and into the gift shop.

There they were, buying two Megabyte action figures... each? Matrix exhaled, attempting calm his raw nerves. He walked up to the two girls and tapped them on the shoulder. They both turned simultaneously and looked at the sprite. Matrix frowned.

"What do you know?" he asked in a low tone.

"Excuse me?" Silv asked.

"What do you know about Megabyte? Where is he?" he demanded.

Tora smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know," she said and turned away.

Matrix grit his teeth. These girls were not going to give the information easily. Matrix grabbed both girls but the arms and pulled them protesting outside. "Listen," Matrix growled quietly as to not draw attention. "I'm not a very patient sprite, as you know. Why don't you just tell me what I want to know, and I'll leave you alone."

The girls crossed their arms determined to protect the location of the virus Matrix stood back in frustration. These girls were not budging, and threatening then with his gun would be disastrous, not to mention childish.

The renegade cross his arms and thought. Something that he had seen the day before surfing the internet popped into his head. The WBE. The Worshipers of Bob's Eyebrows. Maybe these were Bob fans. "Would you tell me if Bob was here?" he asked.

Silv just laughed. "'Course not!"

Matrix frowned again. They weren't giant Bob fans. Matrix was desperate. "Alright, what if I got you a bunch of Megabyte merchandise, would you tell me?" Tora and Silv uncrossed their arms and looked at each other.

Tora glanced back at the green sprite.

"How much stuff?"

Matrix felt tired, but he was glad he was getting somewhere. "All you want. I'll put it on my tab." The two girls returned glances again, half smiling.

Silv shot Matrix a look. "You have to promise that you won't delete Megabyte."

Matrix exhaled deeply. "Fine, I promise I won't delete Megabyte."

"Or Bob. Bob can't delete him either. Or AndrAIa. Or Dot. Or..."

Matrix rolled his eyes. "Alright. Fine, where is he?"

The pair of girls finally relented. "Megabyte is out of the computer just as you are." Silv explained.

"And he's headed to Seattle." Tora added.

Matrix's eyes opened wide. "He's not in the Web?" The girls shook their heads. "He's out of the Net and now out of Vancouver?" The girls nodded. "This is bad." Matrix growled. "He has to be stopped!"

"So..." Silv interrupted the Renegade's audible musings. "When do we get our stuff?" Matrix just looked at her.