There was no pain.
A fourth simple thought. They no longer suprised him. The lack of pain did. For the first time in his run-time, he felt joy that did not come from amassing more power.
Slowly, his surroundings intruded on the joy of not hurting.
He tangled a dark blue hand in his spiky hair. He was obviously in the Principal Office's Med Sector; his chances of leaving unnoticed had just gone from slim to none. Of course, the fact that he wasn't deleting changed most of his assumptions....
Something nagged at him, but he ignored it.
He had no chance to escape on his own. Dot had some sort of monitoring system on this room, of course. They knew about his Trojan Horse abilities and his tentacles. He still had some aces up his sleeve, though, but he would need one of the sprites in here with him.
He sat upright abrubtly. The oddity which had been nagging at him had hit him with a wet fish; he was appalled he had ignored something so important.
Since when did he have hair?
He pulled his hand out of his hair and stared at it.
Since when did he have five fingers?
He sat very still, listening to the pulse of energy in his body. Why was he a sprite?
He had transformed, he remembered suddenly. He had dismissed it as a nightmare; it had been far too slow and painful to be a normal transformation.
However abnormal it was, he should not be a sprite. That infernal machine had removed the only sprite code he had acquired.
Curiosity got the better of him; he looked down at the body he was wearing.
***
A scream split the air. It was deep, male, and horrified.
Bob whipped his head around to stare at the inner door. He was vaguely aware of Phong and Dot doing the same thing.
As suddenly as it had started, the screaming ended.
The three of them stayed silent fer a micro, before Phong spoke.
"I believe he woke up. Perhaps you should greet him, my children." he paused to adjust his glasses. "I would also suggest that you introduce him to Matrix soon."
Dot nodded. "Good idea. Come on, Bob."
Bob followed her with a bounce in his step. Whatever trepidation he may have felt from that scream was gone. Megabyte was a sprite now. Sure, Megabyte was upset, but he'd get over it.
***
The Vidwindow was a welcome interruption. It popped up suddenly over the table between AndrAIa and Matrix and Mike and his camera crew.
AndrAIa gave a quick prayer of thanks to Neptune. Matrix had been ready to go for Mike's throat, and she didn't really want to stop him.
"Yes, Phong?" she asked politely, laying a hand on Matrix's arm.
"Dot has asked that the two of you return to the Principal Office."
"Wh-" AndrAIa started, before Mike turned the Vidwindow to face himself.
"Phong, my man, you can't do this! I'm still interviewing these two! The people have a right to know what happened during the Hunt! Tell Dot it can wait," Mike waved a hand carelessly.
"Unfortunately, my child, it is vital that they return."
Matrix shoved Mike out of the way. "What happened? Is Dot okay?"
"She is fine, my son. There is simply someone she wants you to meet."
AndrAIa kicked Mike away from the Vidwindow and grabbed onto Matrix's arm. "We'll be right over," she assured the old sprite.
***
Dot froze. Megabyte didn't look at all like she expected.
She couldn't judge exactly how tall he was, but he was at least as tall as Matrix. He was lean and well-muscled, not at all like his normal body. His bright green viral skull tattoo contrasted with dark blue skin and bright red hair.
He was staring at his hands like he had never seen them before. Which he hadn't, she thought wrily.
"Welcome to Mainframe," Bob said suddenly. She winced; that probably wasn't the best way to start this ordeal off.
Megabyte looked up sharply. "I am going to kill you all very slowly." His green eyes stared into her purple ones. This wasn't a threat. This was a promise.
Dot smiled coldly. She would never let him hurt her family and friends ever again. "Like Bob said, welcome to Mainframe."
***
Silver sighed in defeat. There was not a single hotel in the entire system.
Her options were clear: she could either rent an apartment until the mistress arrived or stay at the Principal Office.
While renting an apartment would be very expensive, staying at the Principal Office would bring her too close to the Guardians. It was bad enough she had to go there for her mission.
What was the name for that nice apartment building that she had mistaken for a hotel earlier? Oh yes, the Eight-Ball Apartments.
***
"Understand?" Dot said finally.
"Quite well. Stay out of your way and don't do anything to attract your attention," he replied insolently. That little speech had been much too long and boring; Dot really needed to learn the value of the direct approach.
She clenched her fists several times before relaxing them completely. Had she never learned to control her emotions?
"You need to get some clothes before we introduce you to Matrix," Bob piped up suddenly.
Dot grimaced. "Bob's right. You can use the Principal Office accounts until you get some money of your own. Have the tailors beam the outfit directly to your icon, and Vidwindow me when you're ready."
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "What icon?" he said with a gesture toward himself. He watched with amusement as Dot struggled not to follow his hand; she seemed determined to establish her dominance. Poor girl didn't understand that trying to dominate a virus was futile.
"I think Phong has it," Bob said cheerfully. Megabyte resisted the urge to roll his eyes again. Did Bob ever say anything useful?
"Good. You can get it when he comes by to take some scans, Megabyte." Dot left with as little fanfare as her arrival. He smirked, pleased that their little dominance game had not come out with any clear winner.
Bob remained there for a few more nanos, watching him, before following his fiancee out. This time, Megabyte did roll his eyes. How had that sprite ever defeated him?
Megabyte dismissed that thought; he needed to deal with the clothing issue carefully. And idea crossed his mind; planning it out in detail didn't take terribly long, only a few micros. He smiled evilly and Vidwindowed a particular shop on Level 31.
* * *
CONTINUED IN CHAPTER III: MEETINGS