A Shot In The Dark: Part Eight

"I hate this," Matrix muttered, searching through the various wardrobe upgrades. "Why are we doing this again?"

"Because you’re not wearing that-" Dennis gestured to Matrix’s clothes, "to your wedding." Dennis flipped through the upgrades. "Here, try this. Nothing fancy."

Matrix grumbled, but took the upgrade. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go scout a location for this thing."

* * *

"So, how do you think the boys are faring?"

"Knowing Matrix, horribly. He hates shopping," AndrAIa said over the top of the dressing room door. "What do you think of this one?" she asked, swinging the door open.

"Perfect."

"You think so?" AndrAIa asked, looking back in the mirror.

"It’s lovely. Definitely the best one yet."

AndrAIa smoothed the satin skirt of the dress and gazed back into the mirror. It wasn’t anything fancy, plain white satin with thin straps and a scooped neck and back, but she loved it. It all seemed unreal to her still. In a few short cycles, she and Enzo would be getting married... she smiled happily at the thought.

"Is this the one?" Perl asked, her reflection appearing behind AndrAIa’s in the mirror.

"Yes," she replied softly.

* * *

They left the store with the purchase carefully wrapped in a garment bag. "Where to next?" Perl asked, surveying the array of stores in Turing’s shopping district.

"I don’t know. We’ve been doing this for milliseconds. Maybe we should find someplace to sit for awhile."

"Ah-ha!" Perl exclaimed, finding the sign she’d been searching for. "It’s still there. Come on...this place has the best sundaes in the system. We can rest our feet and get a little gossip in while the guys are away."

* * *

"So we want something outside?" Dennis asked as he and Matrix zipped through the system.

"Yeah. I think AndrAIa would like that."

"Well, there are a couple small parks scattered through the system..." He snapped his fingers. "I’ve got it - how about something near the energy sea?"

"Sounds good...you have something in mind?"

"Follow me."

* * *

"He did what?" AndrAIa shrieked, giggling. The outburst earned glances from a few of the other customers, but the two sprites ignored them, huddled over the remains of two ice cream sundaes. "I can’t believe Dennis would do something like that. He seems so-"

"Straight-laced?" Perl laughed. "Don’t let him fool you. That’s just his ‘Mr. Command.Com’ attitude. He’s quite different at home..." she finished. "Your turn!"

"Well," AndrAIa grinned slyly and leaned across the table, whispering to Perl.

"No!" she laughed.

"Yes!" AndrAIa replied gleefully.

"Okay," Perl said, still laughing. "You win."

* * *

"Well, what do you think?"

Matrix gazed out at the energy sea and listened to the waves slap against the pilings of the boardwalk. The two sprites were standing on the wide observation deck, surrounded by a waist high wooden railing. A wood plank walkway extended far back to the shore.

"Perfect."

* * *

I am not going in there." AndrAIa planted herself firmly on the sidewalk, refusing to let Perl drag her into the shop.

"Oh, for User’s sake... don’t tell me you’re embarrassed!"

"No!" AndrAIa protested. "I just don’t - "

"Humor me," Perl said. "It’s not like you have to buy anything."

AndrAIa gave up her half-hearted attempt at a protest. "Okay..." she conceded.

"It’ll be fun," Perl laughed. "Honestly, I’ve never seen so much fuss over a little lingerie store."

* * *

"You nervous?" Perl asked around a mouthful of hairpins.

"My hands are shaking," she laughed.

"Hold still!" Perl reprimanded and stuck another pin into AndrAIa’s hair. "There." She stepped back and surveyed her handiwork. The majority of AndrAIa’s hair was now piled up on top of her head. Only her bangs hung down, sweeping across her forehead.

"Well," Perl said, "I guess that’s that. We should get going. Dennis left to get Matrix thirty micros ago."

* * *

Matrix leaned against the wood railing, fiddling with the collar of his dress shirt.

"Shouldn’t they be here by now?" he asked.

"Relax. This is the biggest cycle of your life. No need to rush it. Here they come, turn around!"

Matrix obediently turned to face the energy sea. A moment later, Perl’s quick footsteps sounded down the boardwalk. "Everything’s set. You can turn around now."

Matrix did, and his heart caught in his throat. AndrAIa walked confidently toward him with slow, sure steps. The slight breeze blew her bangs around her forehead and a radiant smile graced her face as she came to stand next to him.

"You look amazing," he whispered. Dennis cleared his throat and the two turned to face him.

"You two have a love that cannot be explained by any words in my format, yet I will try. You share the burdens, the decisions, the hate, and the passion of any love that has had True Love gaze her beautiful eyes upon it. As I watch you two, I see fear and joy mixing into one in your young eyes. Love, being a treasured, rare thing as it is, is something you must give to the other boundlessly. Share this treasure as you have shared your lives. Find this as a new game, a new adventure, a game that you can never lose. It will take you wherever you want to go. Which one of you is going first? Speak true to your heart, for that will let you win against any opponent or obstacle."

AndrAIa glanced from Enzo to Dennis.

"I’ll go."

She looked back at her lover. "Enzo," she began, her voice shaking. "You’re everything to me. You’ve been my best friend from the moment we met, and you’ve never once wavered in that friendship. We’ve fought at times, but you never once turned your back on me. And there's no one I’d rather spend the rest of my life with." She slid the wedding band onto his finger.

Matrix took her hand in his own and looked deep into her eyes.

"You’ve always been here for me. Through everything that’s happened, through all the dark times, you stayed by my side. And I want you to be there for everything that’s yet to come, good or bad. I’m nothing without you," he finished, voice tight. He slid the ring onto her finger with ease.

Dennis looked at the couple, their eyes shining with unshed tears of joy. He smiled broadly at them.

"By the power vested in me as the Command.Com of Turing System, I pronounce you Man and Wife. You may kiss the bride."

Perl stood silently to one side and wiped tears from her eyes as she watched the young newlyweds embrace in the fading light of dusk. Dennis walked up and wrapped a comforting arm around her waist, kissing her cheek gently.

"I never knew you could be so eloquent," she said softly.

"Neither did I. The spirit moved me, I guess. I see such a bright future ahead of them."

"So do I," Perl agreed. She reached out and took his hand in her own, leaning over to whisper in his ear. "What do you say we go on home and leave these two to their honeymoon?"

He smiled and squeezed her hand gently. "I think that’s a great idea."

* * *

AndrAIa lay on her stomach, hair fanned out over her bare back, sheet at her waist. Matrix lay on his side next to her, tracing idle circles over the scale like pattern that ran down her back with his finger.

"Did I wear you out?"

AndrAIa said nothing, letting the delicious tired feeling settle over her. After a moment she rolled over, pressing the length of her body against his own. Arms thrown over his shoulders, she raked his back playfully with her fingernails. His lips locked on hers in a smoldering kiss and they were caught again in the moment.

* * *

Perl leaned back and gazed at the slowly melting candles in the holders on the table. Dennis was wandering back and forth from there to the kitchen, cleaning up the assorted dishes left over from their meal.

"How lucky can one girl get? A man who cooks and does the dishes," she teased. "And here I thought they only existed in fairytales."

"What can I say?" Dennis laughed, leaning over her shoulder and kissing her on the cheek quickly, gathering up the last few dishes. "You bring out the best in me."

"You always get this sappy after weddings?"

"Not always. This one was... special."

"Because they’re our friends."

"Because," he said, sitting down across from her and taking her hand in his own, "They fought so hard to get where they are now. Lesser sprites would have given up hope. It takes a lot of determination to bear up under the sort of troubles they face. But then again, you know that already." He caressed the back of her hand with his thumb. "You’ve been doing the same thing your whole life." The details of her past were sketchy to him, but he’d known her - and loved her - long enough to know how troubled that past had been.

"You make it sound like a great accomplishment," she said, meeting his eyes with a haunted gaze.

"Isn’t it?" he asked softly.

"It’s called survival," she replied. "Living one cycle to the next. There’s nothing great about it. Some cycles, it flat out sucks."

"That’s not true. Not when someone manages the kind of happiness AndrAIa and Matrix have found, despite everything. Not when you’ve managed to make my life worth living."

She gave him a sardonic smile. "You always have given me more credit than I deserved. If I hadn’t come here in the first place, your sister would still be alive."

"If you hadn’t come when you did, we’d all be dead." His voice was firm, but not angry. "You know that. What happened to Johanna, we can’t change that. And we can’t let her ghost haunt us for the rest of our lives, Perl. I’ve come to realize that these last few cycles. I wish you would as well."

She swallowed, looking away. She was determined not to let him see her tears. "You don’t know.." she said brokenly. "You don’t know the things I’ve done. Johanna wasn’t the first-"

"I don't care," he said, gripping her hand tighter. "Past is past, Perl. Dead and gone. Leave it that way." He got up, never letting go of her hand, and pulled her up to meet him. With his free hand, he reached out and brushed a wisps of amethyst hair away from her charcoal grey forehead. "This is what matters now. You and me."

"I’m sorry." She leaned into his embrace, pressing her head into his shoulder.

"There’s nothing to be sorry for." He smoothed her hair back and held her tight. "We have each other, and that’s all that matters."

* * *

AndrAIa stood at the window, staring out at the bright blue, unclouded sky of Turing with a pang of sadness. User permitting, she and Matrix would be leaving today. She was caught between two emotions; excitement at the thought of beginning the search for Mainframe again, and reluctance to leave the warmth and friendship they’d found here.

"You want to stay, don’t you?" Matrix wrapped his arms around her waist, following her gaze.

"Part of me wants to," she admitted. "But it's a small part. You know," she said after a moment, "I think we’ve been here longer than I was ever in Mainframe." Matrix said nothing, and after a moment of silence, she continued. "But I know Turing could never be home. You’d never be happy here."

"What about you?" he asked softly. "You’re always worried about making me happy. What about you?"

"I’m happy when you’re happy," she said brightly, turning around in the circle of his arms. She put her arms around his neck and leaned her head on one broad shoulder.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" he asked quietly.

"Must be your charm and amazing sense of humor," she said sarcastically.

"Be nice..." he said in a mock-warning tone.

"Or what?" she shot back playfully.

"Or I’ll do this!" He gave her a quick jab in the side with a finger, causing her to shriek.

"No fair tickling me!" she cried, darting away from him. She was fast, but not fast enough, and he cornered her on the couch.

"Since when have I been fair?" He had hold of both her wrists now, holding them above her head with one hand. He leaned in and kissed her.

"Dennis and Perl are waiting for us, remember?" she said after the kiss was brought to an end by the bothersome need to breath.

"This early in the morning? I don’t think so," he grinned. "We’ve still got plenty of time."

* * *

Perl muttered quietly to herself as the light lancing in through the blinds woke her from her sleep. She reached over to where Dennis was still sleeping soundly, grabbed hold of his pillow, and yanked it out from beneath his head and covered her own with it. She heard a mumbled protest from her lover and was soon engaged in a wrestling match over the pilfered pillow. Perl finally wrested it out of Dennis’ grasp and whapped him soundly with it before resuming her former position with the pillow clamped over her head.

"I know you’re not a morning person... but don’t you think this is a bit extreme?"

"Hrrrm....no," came her muffled reply.

"Aw, come on." He lifted up the corner of the pillow and peeked at her. "I’ll make you breakfast."

"Dennis," she muttered, "You know I don’t eat breakfast."

Dennis sighed and dropped the corner of the pillow again.

"Well, it never hurts to try." He untangled himself from the mess they’d made of the sheets during their pillow fight and began to get dressed. "They’re going to be waiting for us, you know."

Perl muttered something into the pillows he couldn’t quite make out. He sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, rubbing her back soothingly. "This is because you don’t want to say goodbye, isn’t it?"

Perl lifted up the pillow, turned to glare at him and buried her head again. "Go away." "You know, you don’t have to be ashamed. I don’t want them to go anymore than you do. It’s been nice having them here. But they don’t belong here Perl."

"I know that." She sat up and hit him with the pillow again. "Doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck. At least a little, anyway."

"I know," he replied, placing a supportive arm around her shoulders. "But it’s the way things are."

"Yeah." She climbed out of the bed and stretched before wandering off to the shower. When she was done changing, the two hopped onto their zipboards and headed over to the Principal Office. Matrix and AndrAIa arrived a short time later.

"Well, I guess this is it," Dennis said after a moment’s awkward silence.

"Yeah," Matrix mumbled. "Look," he glanced down at his feet, looking vaguely uncomfortable. "I wanted to say thank you. You guys did more for us than you needed to."

"Nonsense. I’m the Command.Com. Besides, you more than deserved it. You helped us get rid of those viruses once and for all."

Matrix glanced back up. "Okay. We’ll call it even then."

Dennis nodded. "It’s easier on everyone that way. None of that embarrassing feeling of indebtedness."

Matrix chuckled slightly, then slipped back into silence. AndrAIa sat down on the steps of the P.O. and stretched her legs out in front of her.

"It’s just a matter of waiting then, I guess," she said. "Are you guys going to join us? I’d hate to say goodbye like this. It doesn’t seem right." In truth, she was feeling slightly nervous. She hadn’t played a game since she’d recovered her sight, and she wanted to know if she’d lost any of her edge during the long absence.

"Dennis glanced over at Matrix. "I don’t know... do you think you can handle another game with me?" He laughed.

Matrix smirked. "I’m sure I’ll manage."

"Perl?" Dennis glanced over at his lover, trying to coerce her with a gentle smile.

"Why not," she shrugged. "Beats staring at the game cube after it’s fallen. Besides, this way we’ll know you two haven’t gotten yourselves deleted." The last comment was obviously meant as a joke, but came out slightly flat.

As if on cue, the blue sky above them darkened, and Turing’s automated voice rang out over the System.

"Warning: Incoming Game."

"Talk about timing!" AndrAIa laughed as the four of them hopped onto their zipboards and raced towards the game.

* * *

When the cube dropped, they found themselves standing a square courtyard. Perl and Matrix immediately took stock of the surroundings.

"I’ve played this one before. It’s a tournament style fighting game with a twist. The User has the chance to play as a series of characters. There are six minor warriors we have to defeat, and then one of us faces the Shogun. The twist is, after the shogun is defeated, we have to retrieve the enchanted sword before our time limit runs out. The longer we fight, the less time we have to get the sword."

"Okay. Let’s do this then," Matrix replied. "ReBoot!"

Everyone double-clicked their icons and found themselves wearing ninja costumes of assorted colours. The first warrior stood in the center of the courtyard.

"Well, I guess I’ll go first." Perl, now dressed in red, stepped into the ring.

The first match went quickly. Perl’s opponent only managed to land a few hits before she took him out with a quick kick to the head. She jogged back to the sidelines as they waited for the game to load the next opponent.

"Dennis, you should probably take this next one. The further into the game we get, the harder the matches are going to be."

Dennis, now clad in a deep emerald green, nodded. "Got it." He sprinted out into the ring and faced down his opponent. His match lasted longer and he took quite a few hits before he managed to knock his opponent to the floor and dispatch him. He limped back to the sidelines.

"Are you okay?"

"I’ll be fine," he said, smiling wanly at Perl. "Don’t worry about me."

AndrAIa took on the next fighter. This far into the game, the fights got tougher, and both fighters were equipped with razor sharp swords. everyone held their breath as AndrAIa faced off against the other fighter.

The two combatants danced around each other for a few moments before the enemy fighter lunged unexpectedly. AndrAIa dropped to the ground and rolled to safety, preparing for the return attack. She slashed her opponent across the stomach but the stroke was shallow and only slowed him down marginally. His return stroke clipped AndrAIa in the shoulder lightly before she could dodge away. AndrAIa sank to her knees, feigning a more serious injury and waited for her attacker to move in for the kill. When he was just within range, she spun around and slid the sword cleanly into his abdomen.

"Well, that was easy enough," she commented, pushing her hair out of her face.

She bent over and ripped two strips of cloth from her outfit. She used one to tie back her long hair, and the other she used to bandage the shallow cut on her shoulder. "Who’s up next?" She asked with a grin. After being out of commission for so long, she had to admit it felt good to get back into the action. After all, playing games was what she was programmed for.

"Matrix, you go next," Perl said. "I’m counting on you to take on the shogun, so AndrAIa and I will take the last two warriors."

"Good strategy," Matrix agreed, and headed into the ring. Perl watched him fight with a fair amount of awe. He was handling the warrior with no difficulties. In fact, she would have been surprised if he’d even broken a sweat. "He’s good..." she murmured under her breath.

"He is, isn’t he?" AndrAIa replied with a grin.

Perl laughed. "Well, I know Dennis isn’t much of a fighter, but I love him anyway."

"Hey, I heard that."

"I know, love. That was the point."

The verbal sparring was brought to an end as Matrix finished off his opponent and rejoined the group.

"My turn again. Wish me luck." She gave Dennis a quick kiss on the cheek before heading out to face the next opponent.

Perl could tell immediately that this fight was going to be more difficult than the last one. She circled her opponent slowly, sword drawn and at the ready. As the match started off, her opponent matched her stroke for stroke, not giving an inch. Time and again she had to retreat a few paces and start another offensive, all the time painfully aware the clock was ticking. She made a lunging attack, trying to catch her opponent low, but at the last moment found herself sprawled on the ground. Her opponent had taken advantage of her off-centered attack and now had her pinned to the ground, sword at her throat.

On the sidelines, the other three sprites held their breath as they saw Perl go down.

"Come on," Dennis whispered, "You can do this."

Perl closed her eyes and swallowed, feeling the blade against her neck. Why hadn’t he struck? He was gloating, she realized, and used the pause to her advantage. She struck upward with both feet, causing her opponent to topple backward. Perl sprang to her feet, the advantage now hers, and quickly ended the match.

"That was close," she murmured as she rejoined the group. "This User is good. AndrAIa, be careful out there. We need to finish this last match as quickly as possible so Matrix has plenty of time to face the shogun before we have to get the sword to end the game."

"I think I can handle that."

She was true to her word. Within nanoseconds, the last warrior lay in the ring, a set of paralyzing spines protruding from his neck. All around them, the scenery flickered and faded away, to be replaced with the interior of a temple lit by the light of hundreds of candles that lined the outer edge of the floor. The shogun - the User’s final incarnation - stood in the center of the ring of light, arms crossed, twin sword blades gleaming.

"Good luck," AndrAIa whispered into Matrix’s ear. "And be careful."

"I will," He affirmed. She embraced him quickly, then stepped back and watched him begin the match.

No matter how many times she watched him put himself in harm’s way, she could never get used to it. She had the utmost confidence in his abilities, but that still didn’t quell the tiny pang of fear. The memory of the game they’d lost, of Matrix’s battle with Zaytan, came unbidden to her mind’s eye and she reached down with one hand to rest on Frisket’s massive head for reassurance. She closed her eyes and swallowed, willing the memories away.

Seeing the shaken look on AndrAIa’s face, Dennis walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

She nodded quickly. "Yeah, I’ll be fine."

"All right." Dennis moved off again to where Perl was watching the Match. 'Probably analyzing every move,’ he thought. He was always amazed at the transformation that came over her when she entered a game, It was as if the woman he knew, the cynical hacker, dropped away and all that was left were the Guardian protocols that still existed within her, despite her efforts to prove otherwise. "How’s he doing?"

"Good..." Perl murmured, not looking away from the two combatants. "The User’s quick, but Matrix has him on the defensive now."

Matrix pressed his attack again. The User was good, but he’d managed to force him into a retreat. He knocked one sword away from the User, then ducked low and swept his opponent's legs out from under him. The User hit the floor hard and stayed down, knocked unconscious by the impact.

"Let’s go," Matrix called out to his companions. A panel in the wall had slid back to give them access to the rest of the temple.

"We’ve got to hurry. The User still has one last chance to get the sword before we do. This way."

Perl led them through the twisting hallways, relying on her memory to lead them. Twice they hit dead ends and had to back track quickly to get onto the right path again. Finally, they arrived outside the room which contained the enchanted sword.

"Well, looks like this is the end of the road," Dennis said. "You ready?" he called over his shoulder to Matrix and AndrAIa. The pair gave each other a quick glance then tapped their icons, changing them to game sprite mode. AndrAIa bent down and did the same to Frisket’s icon.

"We’re ready," she said, straightening back up.

Dennis opened the doors to reveal the glittering weapon resting on a stand in the center of the room. "Good luck, you two. I hope you make it home soon." He shook both their hands and stepped back.

"Come back and visit us some time, if you can," Perl said quietly.

"We will," AndrAIa replied, giving Perl a quick hug. Matrix shook her hand.

Perl glanced over at Dennis. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s win this thing."

Dennis stepped into the room and lifted the sword from its holder.

"Game Over."

* * *

Dennis and Perl found themselves standing back in the small park the game cube had fallen on, their eyes lingering on the blue sky.

"Good luck my friends." Dennis said softly, and took Perl’s hand in his own. "Let’s go home."

* * *

Matrix and AndrAIa found themselves in a small, deserted courtyard of a sunny, tropical system. At least it seemed deserted until the quiet was broken by a barrage from a marketplace across the square. AndrAIa gave Matrix a puzzled glance, and he just shrugged. He reached down and pulled Glitch from his belt.

"Glitch, Scanner." The keytool hummed for a moment, then let out a loud beep. "Yes!" Matrix cried and swept AndrAIa up off her feet.

"Whoa, Enzo," she laughed, surprised by his enthusiasm. "What is it? What did you find?"

"AndrAIa, we’re in a system with ports to the 'Net." He shifted her so that she was now cradled in his arms. "Alphanumeric! We’re going home. We’re going home!"

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