The Daemon Conflict
By: LadyBard
Chapter 20 - Joining and Separation
As Bob
and Matrix entered the command center all conversation ceased. Dot and AndrAIa
were in the room. AndrAIa was at one of the workstations. Dot turned from the
console and smiled at them, "I was just about to have someone come looking
for you."
"Really?" Bob
approached her, "Didn't Desdemona tell you about that little group she
sent after us?"
"What?" Dot
turned to glare at the rebel leader.
"You may feel
content enough to let these two roam around the compound but I don't. I have my
people to think of."
"Desdemona --,"
"Ladies," a new
voice halted the beginning of the argument. Dom walked into the room. "I
think we have more important matters to consider."
He walked right up to Bob
and Matrix, "It's good to have you two back."
"Thank you,
Dom," Bob said.
"Ms. Matrix, I've
made the necessary adjustments to the communications equipment. You may make
your attempt to contact Mainframe now."
Dot nodded, "I'm
going to try and get the rest of our troops here. And see if Cascade and
Harddrive can spare additional forces."
"They have to,"
Bob said, "No matter what happens it ends here. If we don't defeat Daemon
now --,"
Dot nodded her
understanding and turned back to her workstation.
"Everything okay
Sparky?" Bob heard AndrAIa whisper behind him.
"More or less."
Matrix muttered.
"Dot," Dom
suddenly said, "I'm getting a message from our outer perimeter
guard."
Bob saw Desdemona's head
snap up to glare at him.
"What is it?"
"They're reporting an
influx of people heading our way. Refugees from the look of it. Guess the
Capitol is getting too hot."
"I guess it would be
futile to protest," Desdemona muttered.
"We can't turn them
away," Dom said, "Besides it like Bob said. It's all going to end here."
"If Daemon attacks
we wouldn't be able to --,"
"She's not going to
attack," Bob cut her off.
"And just how would
you know that?"
"Well for one, these
refugees. It's obvious that Daemon is taking measures to prepare for the coming
battle. She knows we're going to come to her. Why should she take the trouble
to send troops to us? As far as she's concerned, we're delivering ourselves
right into her hands." Bob didn't add that he knew Daemon was waiting for
him to return. Even though Hex had driven her away, a part of the super-viral's
presence still seeped into his consciousness. Daemon knew, as he did, that they
would end it here and now but not with the army behind him but face to face.
The Guardian decided it was better that he kept those thoughts to himself.
But as always, he
couldn't keep them from Dot.
She was looking at him
now and of course he realized, she knew what he was planning, to face Daemon
alone. She had known all along, although he had never said it out right, but it
had to be this way. He knew, as he looked into her beautiful violet eyes that
she would protest if she could but she wouldn't. They both had their roles to
play and they both had to do things on their own terms and Dot respected him
too much to interfere.
He was relieved when she
turned her attention to Dom, "Contact Mouse and Ray and have them take a
detachment to scout the perimeter. Those refugees will need their assistance
finding their way."
"Ray is with Enzo,
Dot."
"Oh," Dot
frowned, "Would you --? I mean, it's probably not a good idea to --,"
"Yes, I know,"
Bob sighed. "Matrix and I will both go. I want to be here when you contact
Phong."
"All right,"
Dot smiled a little sadly and he moved closer to her.
"Hey, it's okay, I
understand." And she smiled gratefully at him.
AndrAIa had moved back to
her workstation and Matrix stood nearby looking decidedly uncomfortable. Bob
motioned him over but he gave a quick negative shake of his head. At first Bob
couldn't see why, then he realized, he's wondering what Dot thinks of him. Bob
sighed, another encrypted file to access.
"All right, making
contact with Mainframe," Dom suddenly said.
The vid-window came open
and though the interference, Phong's face appeared, "Dot! I can barely
read you."
"Yes, Phong."
"By the User, we've
been frantic with worry here! What has been going on?"
"Wait, we'll try to
boost power levels," Dot nodded to Dom and the diminutive sprite went to
work. "Try on your end."
The picture cleared
somewhat and Bob felt an uncomfortable sensation in his core-com. What would
Phong think?
"Yes, much
better," Phong squinted through his glasses. "Dot - who is --?"
The elderly sprite's eyes
went wide and he didn't speak for a nano then, "Bob? Is that you?"
"Yes, old
friend," Bob smiled with much uncertainty.
"Thank the User!
When we heard you had been captured -- you gave me quite a bit of worry, my
son."
Relieved, Bob said,
"Sorry about that old friend. It's good to see you again."
"It is good to see
you too, my son," Phong said soberly. "And Matrix? Where is he? Is he
well?
Matrix stepped forward,
"I'm here Phong. But I'm not well."
Phong bowed his head,
"But for now you are safe and with us my son and again I am glad to see
you."
"And I you,
Phong."
"Phong, we need our available
troops and messages need to be relayed to Cascade and Harddrive," Dot
said.
Phone nodded and his eyes
went back to Bob, "Then it is time?"
"Yes," Bob said
gravely. All eyes in the command center were on him.
"Tell me what you
need, Dot."
As Dot made her requests
to Phong, Bob felt the venerable sprite's attention was still on him, despite
his conversing with Dot. Even through the distance between the vid-windows Bob
knew that Phong, like Dot, was aware of his intentions.
Bob realized many people
were depending on him. He had failed once. To do so again would mean disaster.
* * *
The refugees literally
poured in like flood waters for the next few milliseconds. Mouse and Ray
watched them from above, the flame-haired mercenary on a zip board and of
course the cocky search-engine on Baud. Mouse and Ray greeted the incoming
families and groups and using Dot's carefully laid plans, guided them to
various sections of the factory and helped them get settled in. AndrAIa soon
joined them in the preparations.
The mass exodus had been
a result of Daemon's troops forcibly pressing all healthy men, women, and
children into her service. The elderly, ill, and very young were being taken
away, never to be heard from again.
Unfortunately, word
spread quickly that the infamous General Dariem and Colonel Valadare were
within the compound. That information alone was enough to make some of the
refugees leave hurriedly, despite assurances that they were safe. Others, tired
and disconsolate, chose to stay, not caring what happened.
While Dot began
recruiting volunteers for the battle to come AndrAIa and Zif began to create
schematics for new and better weapons. They were fortunate enough to find that
one of the refugees was an engineer, which helped immensely.
Water wasn't too much of
a problem. There was a pond in the wooded area nearby, fed by a small stream,
but food was another matter. Dot came up with the idea of sending Matrix and
Gavin and his crew to infiltrate outlaying towns. Matrix guessed that it was a ploy
to keep him busy, but he didn't protest, since people ran screaming in fear at
the sight of him. Although stealing wasn't something he enjoyed doing either
but was familiar with since it was sometimes necessary during his game hopping.
They heard from Phong.
Cascade and Harddrive agreed without argument to send the remainder of their
troops, as they realized the situation as well. Phong was gathering their
remaining troops and as soon as Hexadecimal regained her full strength (driving
Daemon away from Bob and Matrix had depleted her power and she had been
resting) she would create a portal for them. The forces from their other
systems would travel the hard way.
Bob spent most of his
time with Enzo and Melissa. The purpose being two fold; Enzo seemed calmer with
him around and it gave Rose the opportunity to monitor her patients. Bob and
Matrix had to continually take the antidote to keep the viral infection from
reoccurring.
The second reason was Bob
attempted to obtain as much information as he could from the young she-virus.
Unfortunately Melissa still didn't quite trust him and he supposed he couldn't
blame her.
While Rose was nearby
monitoring her patient, Bob sat at the foot of Enzo's bed and watched his young
sprite friend playing computer blackjack, with Bob being the dealer. One of the
refugee children had brought it and had leant it to him. Melissa sat on her
stool as usual, keeping a watchful eye on the Guardian.
"Melissa, I wanted
to ask you something," Bob said, his eyes never leaving the game.
"About my
mother?" Melissa leaned over towards Enzo and said, "Hold."
"You sure?"
"Trust me."
"Okay, hold,"
Enzo turned the vidwindow to Bob.
"Eighteen - pretty
good, let's see," Bob hit, ten, then a two; unfortunately, his next card
was another ten.
"Dealer busts,"
the computer voice announced.
"Cursors and
crashes," Bob said, "So how much do I owe you?"
"Let's see,"
Enzo tallied up the total on the window, "Eighty thousand four hundred and
ninety-two units."
"Ouch," Bob
smiled.
"Units or credits?"
Enzo smiled.
"Will you take a
personal check?"
"Not even on a
bet," Enzo reset the game. "But I know how you can make it up to
me."
"Uh oh -how?"
"Teach me how to
play the guitar."
Relieved, Bob said,
"Easy enough."
"Another game?"
"Set it up."
Bob turned back to Melissa, "Melissa like I was saying, there was
something I need to ask you. You may find it kind of weird. When I was in your
mother's inner sanctum there was - something there --,"
"Tentacles,"
Melissa said. "It's a viral bug."
Bob expelled a breath,
"It's infected the entire Hall hasn't it?"
"Yes," Melissa
said. "All that black stuff, its secretions from the bug."
"How can I defeat
it?"
"Take a hit,"
Melissa said to Enzo. "You must strike at its heart. Completely erase it
from its core. Destroy any other part and it will merely regenerate."
Bob sighed it was never
easy. "What will work?"
Melissa shrugged. "A
high level blast of energy. I'm really not certain. No one has defeated
Tentacles before."
"Don't worry, Bob,
you'll find a way," Enzo said.
Bob caught the look
Melissa gave her friend. It was obvious to the little she-viral that Bob would
fail and that Enzo's belief was misplaced.
"You needn't worry
about defeating my mother," Melissa said after Enzo won his fifth game.
"Hex and I will deal with her."
"No."
Melissa looked at him,
"What do you mean, no?"
"I have to face her
alone."
Melissa laughed
derisively, "If you get too close to my mother she'll just take control of
you again. It's best to leave this to Hexadecimal and myself."
"Melissa, you and
Hex will need to help Dot and the army fight the Guardians."
"It would better
serve the interests of everyone involved if we went after our mother."
"Well you're not,
and that's final."
Melissa shrugged,
"You can't stop me, Guardian, and I won't have Enzo hurt because you
insist on throwing your life away on some foolish vendetta."
"Hey!" Enzo
broke in, "That's not fair, Melissa! Bob can do it if he says he
can." Then Enzo turned his violet eyes to Bob, "Can't you, Bob?"
"I'm going to try my
best, Little Man."
Melissa shook her head,
"Foolishness," she said.
"Don't talk to him
that way. You've been wrong before you know," Enzo shot at Melissa.
"I speak the
truth," Melissa shot back.
"Now just a
--,"
"Stop it, both of
you," Bob halted the argument. "You're best friends, right?"
"Yeah," Enzo
muttered.
"Yes," Melissa
said.
"Then don't fight
amongst yourselves. Enzo, Melissa is entitled to her opinion. Melissa, try
having a little more faith."
"I only speak the
truth," Melissa said. "I just don't want to see Enzo sad."
Bob smiled at the girl
virus; she really does care for him. "Would you believe me if I
promised to come back?"
"I would," Enzo
said.
"I don't know. You
should know better than anyone about unforeseen circumstances."
"Geez Melissa!"
"No Enzo, I told you
she's entitled to her opinion." Bob said. "But I'm going to promise
to come back."
"I hope you do, for
Enzo's sake," Melissa said.
Bob spent the rest of the
evening with the two young sprites. The next morning, Phong contacted them
telling them their troops were ready for portalling. Hex prepared herself. More
refugees came and Matrix and Gavin returned from a successful scavenging. Bob
went out with them the second time, since he was beginning to feel like a
piggyback file. Some of the towns they entered were ghost towns, the populace
having long fled and taking only what they could carry.
With their remaining
forces en route the only thing they could do, as Dot had said in the past, was
wait.
* * *
SiRCe continued to run,
not daring to look back but knowing that the guards still pursued her. It was
fortunate that she knew all the secret hiding places of the underground, for
she also knew if they caught her she was a deleted sprite.
She would mourn for Tan
and Em later. She was glad Zif was away with the other faction and that all her
people had found appropriate places to hide. Now she knew she must escape.
If memory served her, she
was somewhere underneath the West Keytool Tower. She had hoped this was the way
to enter. They needed Mistress Katiyana if she were truly there. SiRCe crouched
behind an ancient piece of machinery and listened for the telltale footsteps of
her pursuers. When all seemed silent, she moved cautiously from her hiding
place.
"There!" A
voice yelled and lights flooded the area. SiRCe turned and ran.
"That's her!"
"Don't let her get
away!"
"Colonel Valadare
will have our heads!"
Valadare! Oh AndrAIa, SiRCe thought, I'm so sorry.
SiRCe ducked around a
corner as another light was trained on her.
"She's trapped!
That's a dead end!"
With a cry of anguish,
SiRCe realized they were right. In her confusion and panic, she had made a
wrong turn and was now faced with a smooth stone wall, which she assumed was the
base of the tower itself.
She turned as the
footsteps drew ever nearer.
For once in her life she
wished she were a true viral. She wished she had the power to obliterate her
pursuers, or at least to teleport to safety. Now she would be deleted and she
would never know if her people were freed or if Daemon would be destroyed, but
worse yet, no one would ever know what had happened to her.
Lights filled the narrow
passage.
"There she is!"
"We have her
cornered!"
"Surrender!"
SiRCe gave an animalistic
cry and lunged forward. There was a bright flash of golden light, which blinded
her, and then she was tumbling into darkness and landing hard on her knees.
Disoriented, SiRCe
struggled to her feet. All around her was impenetrable darkness.
"Tracker, light."
The unexpected voice made SiRCe's core-com leap into her throat. A golden globe
now floated in the air to illuminate a tall lithe woman with long dark hair and
a silver face.
SiRCe went into a
defensive crouch, "Friend or foe?"
"Friend, I
hope," the woman said. "Or would you rather I put you back out there
with your pursuers?"
"Who are you?"
SiRCe straightened.
"Katiyana." The
woman turned and began walking into the darkness. "Come with me, there's
much work to do."
* * *
Bob slipped quietly into
the conference room where Enzo slept. He paused at the edge of the partition
and a sight smile played on his lips at what he saw.
Enzo was sleeping
peacefully, but what had him smiling was seeing Hexadecimal now sitting on the
stool with a sleeping Melissa in her lap. The Chaos Virus was slowly rocking
back and forth. In all the hours of his processing, Bob never thought he would
see something like this.
"Enzo is having
nightmares," Hex suddenly said.
Bob suspected she was
aware of his presence. He stepped around the partition, "What about?"
"Oh he's very closed
mouthed about them, " It was the quietest Bob had ever seen her, "He
won't even tell Melissa, but I think I know what they're about."
Bob walked over to her
and almost inadvertently, reached out and brushed back an errant braid that had
fallen across Melissa's face, "So how does it feel to have someone who
depends on you?"
Hex looked at him for a
moment, "Good."
"You know what the
nightmares are about? Enzo said Daemon did something to him."
Hex's mask became more
animated, "Oh yes, my mother is a master when it comes to sprite
suffering. I suppose she put a bit of Matrix into Enzo. Being someone you don't
want to be could drive you random don't you think, Guardian?"
"He said he had
Matrix's memories. How is that possible?"
"Well he is Matrix,
isn't he? Hex mused, "I suppose that would be easy for my mother."
Hex rose and gently laid
Melissa next to Enzo, "You still have a piece of her inside of you.
Melissa tells me you refused to allow us to battle our mother."
Bob was almost used to
Hex flying off on different tangents - almost, "Do you really want Melissa
to go?"
Hex didn't answer
immediately. She instead looked at her peacefully sleeping sister, "No
Guardian, I don't want her to go but she has to go just like you have
to go. Do you know what I'm saying?"
"I believe so
Hex."
"So go and face my
mother, Bob. I said it was important we be here and we are, but it's more
important that you stop her, understand?"
"Yes Hex, I believe
I do." Bob said, "One thing I must know. The nightmares - will they
stop once Daemon is destroyed?"
"Such confidence!
Who can tell? Enzo had nightmares long before my mother came into the
gif."
"What's that
supposed to mean?"
His question went unanswered.
A commotion suddenly sounded outside in the hall. "Stay with them,"
Bob told her and hurried out.
People were running in
the same general direction - the command center. Fearing for Dot, Bob broke
into a run. When he arrived a crowd had gathered outside the door. For once,
tossing manners aside in his worry, Bob shoved his way to the forefront of the
crowd.
He saw Dot by her
workstation as usual, Dom standing opposite her. Matrix was at the far corner
of the room and AndrAIa stood whispering to a woman with a shock of static
yellow hair. Bob had never seen her before. Mouse and Ray were standing on the
other side of a second newcomer, also a woman. The rest of the command center
personnel were all standing and staring at them.
Bob's breath caught. The
regal woman stood before Desdemona. The rebel leader looked as though she'd
seen a ghost image. Bob knew that commanding figure, even though she stood with
her back to him, but that waist length royal blue braid was unmistakable.
"Katiyana?"
The tense silence in the
room broke as she turned to him, just as Bob remembered what he looked like. Of
course she had probably been told about him, but still Bob wasn't certain he
could stand a piteous look from her.
But there was none, only
a look of relief, she smiled at him. "Guardian."
Bob crossed the room
quickly and forgetting all protocols embraced her, "I'm so glad you're
safe."
He looked into her eyes,
then glanced away and couldn't help the flush warming his cheeks.
"Look at me
Bob," she said softly and he did. "Don't worry, we'll make it
right."
"Mistress --,"
Desdemona began.
"No," Katiyana
shot at her, "Not one word, do you hear me?"
"But Mistress - look
at them! Now do you believe me?"
Bob moved over to Dot and
muttered, "I take it Katiyana knows about Desdemona's little - error in
judgment?"
"She suspected,
although no one had actually said."
"There is much to be
told and done," Katiyana said. "All will be made clear in time but
there are things that need to be taken care of now. SiRCe?"
The yellow-haired woman
stepped forward. So that's SiRCe, Bob thought. He realized suddenly,
that Katiyana was speaking again.
"To begin,"
Katiyana said as SiRCe handed her a knapsack, "I want the truth,
Desdemona. Did you or did you not sabotage the machinery?"
"I did it for the
safety of our people --,"
"Yes or no! I didn't
ask you anything else!"
"Yes,
mistress."
"I see. Dom, you
know this to be true?"
"Yes,
mistress."
"Who else was privy
to this?"
A few others raised their
hands, whether out of fear for Desdemona or Katiyana, Bob wasn't certain.
"I see,"
Katiyana said. "Desdemona, you are hereby relieved of your duties as
second in command. Dom, you will assume her station."
Dom's jaw dropped. Of all
the things that could have happened, Bob actually hadn't expected that. Neither
had many others for the room erupted into protests.
"Mistress, you
can't!" Desdemona screamed above the rest. "Don't you understand why
I did it? I would never intentionally put you in danger but there was no other
way!"
"You will control
yourself, Desdemona."
"Has Daemon gotten
to you too, Mistress?" Desdemona said shrilly, "Are you now under her
control as well? Then we have lost! We have allowed the snake in our
midst."
"That is quite
enough!" Katiyana's voice left no room for further debate. "This is
finished, Desdemona!"
The look that twisted
Desdemona's face was one of random hatred. "No," she hissed.
"This is not finished, Mistress." The last word was said with
a bitter edge.
"That certainly
wasn't a threat to Mistress Katiyana, was it?" Bob stepped forward and
extended his claws. "Because I'll do whatever's necessary to protect
her."
"I'm sure you'd
protect your cohort, traitor." Desdemona hissed. "What will you do
now? Hold us prisoner?"
"No," Katiyana
said. "You will leave the Resistance."
Desdemona's smile sent a
chill through a good many people, "I see - we leave and you pursue us and
hunt us down like dogs? Is this some sick game?"
"There are others
who feel as you do?" Katiyana's critical glare swept around the room,
"Whomever feels as Desdemona does feel free to leave with her. You may not
wish to be here anyway since the final conflict is at hand. We have no room for
cowards and sluggards now."
"Just leave? No
provisions?"
"Take what you need
to survive and be gone by sunrise," Katiyana said. "I am deeply
saddened that you ended our friendship this way, Desdemona."
"I ended it?"
Desdemona laughed harshly, "Somehow, you'll fail Katiyana. Your evil
Mistress will not have control of the net or the web."
Desdemona turned,
"Who is with me?"
No one moved or uttered a
sound.
Desdemona made a noise of
disgust and strode from the room.
There was silence for a
time, then, "Now that that unpleasantness is settled," Katiyana said,
"and it is settled, now we must attend to business, but first
--,"
Katiyana laid the
knapsack down on the workstation surface and opened the flap. She drew out two
metal boxes, one small square, and one rectangular. "Matrix, come here,
please."
The renegade hesitated
briefly before moving forward. Still he didn't come as close as he could have.
"I have something
for you, Bob, you too, Matrix," Katiyana began to depress certain points
on the square box, "It was necessary to lock him in a dampening field to
keep the infected Guardians from tracing him, but I'm sure he'll be as glad to
see you as you will be him."
Bob stepped forward,
desperation and hope warring within him. Could she be saying --? Could it
possibly be --?
Katiyana lifted the lid
of the box and instantly, Bob felt the jolt of familiarity. A part of him
reawakened that he thought long deleted and a sudden need to re-join with the
source of his power seized him.
Katiyana turned the box
around to reveal Glitch suspended within a glowing stasis field.
"Glitch!" Bob
couldn't help but cry out as he held out his hand and the icon came to him. Bob
held it for a second, his eyes closed, taking a moment to reacquaint himself
with an old friend. Then Glitch resumed his customary place on Bob's chest,
settling nicely over the Guardian's core-com.
A collective breath was
held. Bob could see it throughout the room as Glitch suddenly exploded with
golden light, filling Bob with power. It started within the Guardian's chest
and blossomed forth, running like electricity through every nerve of Bob's
body. Bob raised both hands and the power leapt forth, forming the familiar
golden light and Bob gave a cry of triumph that was echoed by everyone within
the room. The plain clothes he wore were replaced once again by the glittering
silver armor.
Dot smiled brightly at
him then threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. His
face flushed but at that point Bob didn't care.
"Yes," the
Guardian finally spoke. "We're back in business!" Now they had a chance.
Now he was truly ready to face Daemon.
"It's not all on
Glitch, you know," Katiyana had moved close to him, so only he and Dot
heard her words, "It's all on you. Glitch is your guide, but you and you
alone can defeat Daemon."
Bob sobered a bit, "Yes
I know, Mistress."
Katiyana stepped away and
raised her hands for quiet, "And I haven't forgotten you, young
Matrix."
The noise level in the
room lowered as Katiyana picked up the rectangular box and repeated the
process, before handing it to Matrix. "I thought you might need
these."
Matrix looked at her
stunned, then down at the box, "No."
Hurriedly, the young
renegade opened the lid and gave a sharp intake of breath as he lifted Gun from
within, staring at the weapon as though it were his first time seeing it.
Another chorus of cheers erupted.
"How?" Matrix
asked.
"I have my
ways," Katiyana smiled.
Matrix's head bowed for a
moment and he clutched the weapon in his big hand. His icon was also inside and
Matrix replaced it, changing into his familiar clothing format before returning
Gun to its customary place at his side. Then the brawny sprite looked up at
Katiyana and whispered, "Thank you."
With the drama over, the
people went back to their duties or whatever else they did to occupy their
time. The command center personnel went about their affairs and Katiyana went
to speak with Dom about his duties and what needed to be done next.
Dot approached Matrix and
went to reach for him, but the renegade stepped back. Bob saw the action and
the hurt in Dot's eyes and frowned. "Matrix?" Dot asked, uncertain
now.
"I'm fine,
Dot," Matrix muttered, the renegade turned away from her.
Bob went to move forward
but felt a hand on his arm, "No," Katiyana said, "This is
something they must work out for themselves. This is not the time to pursue
this. Be with your love and comfort her."
Bob nodded and walked up
to Dot, placing his arms on her shoulders. "It's all right Dot. Matrix is
just --,"
"No," Dot
turned to look at him, "he hasn't come near me since he's returned. Does
he think I've stopped loving him? That I'd reject him?"
"I thought you
might," Bob whispered.
Dot turned, "You
think I'm that shallow? Does he?"
"No, of course
not!" Bob said, "It's just that we - we've been through a lot. I know
I haven't told you everything that's happened."
"You'll tell me in
your own time Bob, I'm not going to force it, nor am I going to force things
with Matrix. Now is not the time."
"Yes, Mistress
Katiyana said the same thing. He's just afraid and a little ashamed." Bob
lowered his head. "We both were."
"Dot," Dom said
called, "Message coming in from Mainframe."
"Like you
said," Dot smiled, "Back in business."
Bob took the opportunity
to approach AndrAIa and SiRCe. When SiRCe noticed Bob approaching she looked
decidedly uncomfortable. Bob could hardly blame her.
"What happened with
Matrix?" AndrAIa said, "Where's he going?"
"He still has some
issues to deal with," Bob said, which caused AndrAIa to sigh with
exasperation.
"I'm pleased to
finally meet you, SiRCe." Bob smiled at the woman.
SiRCe didn't speak
immediately, "I'm sorry AndrAIa. I can't do this."
"SiRCe --,"
"I know you said he
was well but - I can't just let go what he did to Tan and Em."
Bob briefly lowered his
eyes, then raised them to face her, "I won't make excuses for what I did.
It was terribly, horribly wrong and I'll never forgive myself for my actions
when I was that - thing. I can't change the past SiRCe. All I can do is tell
you how sorry I am and hope that you'll find it in your core-com to forgive
me."
"Maybe," SiRCe
said quietly. "It will take time."
"Then I'll be
satisfied with that," Bob said.
"AndrAIa, you said
Zif and many of my people are here?" SiRCe turned to her friend. "I'd
like to see them."
"I'll take you to
them," AndrAIa said, "and I'll talk to Melissa like I promised."
"Bob?" Dot's
voice distracted him before he could ask why AndrAIa needed to talk to Melissa,
then it was too late as both women had exited the room.
The vid-window, which
drew Bob's attention, showed Phong's grave face. "Our forces are ready
here, my child, we merely need Hexadecimal to open the portal."
Hack and Slash appeared
behind Phong suddenly.
"We're ready!"
"Yes, we are
ready!"
"Definitely,
ready!"
Phong shook his head,
"Did you want Hack and Slash there?" There was an almost hopeful note
in Phong's voice, which Hack and Slash completely missed.
"No, let them stay,
you may need help in rounding up any miscreants that escaped after the
battle."
"Yes, a fine thing
for them to do, I'll send them out right away," Phong said.
"We're ready!"
"Yes, we are
ready!"
"Definitely,
ready!"
Phong shook his head
again and Bob was hard pressed to keep a straight face. "I'll inform
Hexadecimal."
"As you wish my
son," Phong said, "However, I should inform you Dot that Captain Lynx
was one of the volunteers."
"Now that's just
perfect," Dot muttered.
Bob gave her a raised
eyebrow look.
"Let's just say,
he's somewhat of an annoying enigma." Dot said by way of explanation. To
Phong she said, "Any idea what his plan might be this time?"
"Unfortunately
not."
"We'll just have to
wait and see, won't we? Anything else?"
"Yes," Phong
stared at them gravely. "Good fortune to you all, may the User protect
you. I await your speedy return home."
Silence descended on the
room as the vid-window closed.
"Yes," Katiyana
broke the silence. "Let us take a moment to offer a prayer to the User.
May we all return safely home."
Bob couldn't have agreed more.
He slipped an arm around Dot's waist and gave it a reassuring squeeze, but it
was more for him.