Disclaimer: the characters of reboot, are not mine, they are all property of mainframe entertainment…

HUNTING SEASON

By Chicketieboo

"The hunt has begun."

This is what Megabyte had announced just Nano seconds earlier...and now Mouse, Dot and AndrAIa were trapped, trapped in a hall, with viral police just micro seconds away, and Mouse couldn't hack her way through...

As all the commotion was going on...all the pain, terror, horror all Dot could think was; "Don't let him take Bob again..."

~ * * * ~

"Dad, what are you doing? Stop dad, put me down, please."

"The father you know is dead, young Matrix" Megabyte mocked lightly...

"He is now viral, there is nothing you can do." Megabyte added.

"Bob will stop you, he always did, what will change now?" Screamed Enzo defiantly

This seemed to anger Megabyte.

"Bob is useless! Nowhere near my capabilities anymore, oh young Enzo, why DO we argue so? I have always had fondness for you, it is in my code to spread...so why not spread my knowledge onto you?" Megabyte said touching Enzo's shoulder though Wellman was still holding Enzo back.

"I will never help or be like you, NEVER! Matrix or Dot, or BOB will not allow it."

"Who is here to save you? Really? Who? No one. Phong? Will Phong save you?"

Megabyte looked at the pile of data laying on the floor, the old, wise .com, seemed half deleted...fading in and out of not being so...and he was sure the was no way to save him.

Megabyte smirked
"Process the idea young Matrix...but not for too long, or I might change my mind."

~ * * * ~

Bob and Matrix were locked in the holding cells. Locked, from the outside.

Bob was leaning against the wall with his head in his hands; his blue fingers were entwined in his glimmering silver hair. He listened to Matrix who was beating on the door and cursing, introducing large dents into it. Bob assumed the Matrix's cursing was to help himself, not Bob or the door, which he was letting out his anger on.

"Megabyte, MEGABYTE LET US OUT OR I'LL KICK YOUR ASS..."

"MATRIX! stop!"

"But BOB that's our family, DOT, ANDRAIA, ENZO! my DAD!"

"You think I don't know that? I mean, I think you should give me more credit then that!"

It was true Matrix thought...he could sense these things. Bob and Dot had only been away from each other for Nanos and he could feel Bob's yearning for her. He knew how much Bob loved her, just as much as he loved AndrAIa. He knew that Bob would do anything for her, even be deleted...For the first time in a long time, Matrix took orders from Bob, and went and sat down beside him.

~ * * * ~

"Mouse! They're coming!"

"Listen shuga, as bad as everything is right now, we are as safe as we could ever possibly be."

"How could you say that?" Dot asked with a crack in her voice.

Mouse and AndrAIa had caught up with Dot, Hack and Slash.

Then the boys had gone to make sure that Megabyte's guards were not catching up.

"Dot, how long have I been working for you?" Mouse inquired

"Days Mouse, almost 4 now." Dot thought aloud.

"Exactly, and what was my job here?"

"To make sure that all our security codes were almost impenetrable, or as close as they could get."

"Exactly, and how many have gotten through?"

"Well, Bob, because he merged with Glitch, Daemon, only because you gave the codes to her, and Megabyte, because we had our guard down"

"Exactly shuga." Mouse said and winked

Dot began to take ease in this news, whatever it was to her, it helped knowing that Megabyte would take cycles, seconds, maybe even minutes to break these code, if he tried non stop, the would probably delete from loss of energy before he got to them. Now all he had to worry about is that Megabyte had Enzo, and her father.

~ * * * ~

AndrAIa held the trembling Dot in her arms, as Mouse worked on trying to break her own codes.

As much as she loved the bond between her and her sister-to-be one day, nothing was as close as she was to Matrix. No one really understood how deep their love went. After spending a lifetime together she could almost read his mind. She did know that he had calmed, she could sense Bob had told him something and he accepted that.
She was glad he did, she didn't want to have to worry about him trying to take Megabyte all by himself. She knew he was capable it was just that...

Well, she knew that no one knew how far her powers from being a game sprite extended, even Matrix. She never kept it a "secret" from him. Nor did she just blurt out she could read code.

She had read Megabytes code once, and learned of his plans before anyone else did. She knew that there would be mass deletion if he conquered mainframe, and maybe, the net.

No one really knew how powerful he really was. After the net, he had upgraded sufficiently...
He was now more powerful then Hex and Daemon put together. But yet, everyone believed he was just the same old Megabyte, no harm.

~ * * * ~

"One way or another, you ARE going to be infected my small friend."

Megabyte told little Enzo with a twinge of annoyance in his voice.

"I will put up a fight to the end, and even if you do infect me, Matrix kicked you out of mainframe once, he can do it again."

"Do shut him up Wellman?" Megabyte told Dr. Matrix.

The machine that used to harbor Wellman's essence now had become void, and as he put a giant hand over Enzo's mouth so that he could not bother Megabyte anymore, it seemed as though he was deleted, and all that stood there was an e.x.o. Skeleton.

~ * * * ~

"Bob, I know you told me to stop, but this is ridiculous, why are we just sitting here?"

"Because we have NOTHING to do…honestly, do you want to really get Megabyte?"

"Yes" Matrix said defiantly.

"Then we need a plan."

"Well then, that's all?"

"Yes, but there's only one problem," Bob said with a sigh.

"What's that?"

"Dot's not here, is she?"

~ * * * ~

AndrAIa promised herself she wouldn't allow Megabyte to take Dot, one way or another. She knew that once he had her, he would win. She would be his all- time achievement, and in a sick twisted way, he thought he deeply loved her.

~ * * * ~

All he wanted was to infect her, make her his bride, take over mainframe with her at his side, and then the supercomputer.

All these years he had wanted to. And the whole time he resented Bob. He knew that Bob and Dot loved each other. That the blue sprite would always own her heart. As long as he was there anyways. But they were stubborn sprites; they would not admit it.

He had hoped that when he had shot Bob up into the net, she would succumb, but he underestimated her power, which made him love her even more , now he knew the extent of her strategic ways.

When Bob came back, and he was shot into the web, it was then he got the idea…he knew that he had taken some of Bob's code…all he had to do was wait till someone programmed him to a Trojan virus, then he could return, and make her his bride.

It almost worked too, if it wasn't for that pestering fool.

"SIR! We unlocked Mouse's code to that area of hallway…our men are in position, What would you like us to do sir?"

"Bring miss Matrix to me, unharmed, have fun with the rest."…

To be continued…