Deep Down
By Silver Guardian

Disclaimer: I disclaim them. Everything except the evil creatures below Kits Sector, those're mine.

Bob lay on his back at Floating Point Park with his eyes closed. It had been a peaceful second in Mainframe, giving him some much-needed time off. He'd spent most of the afternoon daydreaming and was just about to drift off. Bob's eyes snapped open when he heard sounds of someone approaching. "Hello?" Bob asked quietly, sitting up. Dot suddenly appeared out of nowhere and sat down beside him, causing him to jump out of his skin. "Dot, don't do that! You scared me!"

"Sorry," Dot said, smiling and giving him a hug. "Sneaking up on you is

easier than I would have thought."

"Oh, that makes me feel better," Bob said as he put an arm around her. "Hey, don't you work?"

"Phong ordered me to take the rest of the second off, and I figured I owed you a little time," she said.

Bob was incredulous. "A little?! Dot, we've hardly spent a second together since I got back!"

"I know, and I'm sorry. It's not easy being the Command.com."

"You're forgiven. But only if we really do get some time together."

"Agreed," said Dot. "How about we go for a walk?"

"Sounds good." Bob stood and took her hand. "What did you do with Enzo?" he asked as he pulled her to her feet.

"I left him with Mouse and Ray," Dot said, leading them away from Floating Point. "He seems to find surfing quite interesting."

"Well, of course he does, he's Enzo."

"Hey, Bob!" a familiar voice called. Bob turned to see Matrix and AndrAIa walking toward them.

"Hey Matrix," Bob said, smiling.

"What're you guys up to?" asked AndrAIa.

Bob shrugged. "Just out for a walk. What about you?"

"Nothing special," said Matrix. "Is it okay if we join you?"

"Sure," Dot said. "I need to spend more time with all of you anyway. Why waste a perfect opportunity?"

"Great!" said AndrAIa. "So where were you headed?"

"Uh..." Bob said. He looked to Dot. She shrugged.

"I wasn't exactly paying attention to which direction I was heading," she said. "Just wandering."

"You? Not planning?" Matrix said as they resumed walking. "I think you've been hanging around Bob too long." He gave Bob a pat on the back, which nearly knocked him over.

Dot laughed happily. Bob felt a chill as he regained his balance and looked around worriedly. Matrix noticed his concerned expression and turned to him.

"Bob, what is it?" he asked, and the others stopped laughing.

"I don't know," he said. "Something's not right here." Bob took a step forward and felt the ground disappear from beneath his foot. Before he could yell a warning, the new hole in the ground spread and he was falling, and the others with him.

Bob didn't think he fell for very long, but the force with which he hit the ground told him it was long enough. He landed hard on his side and felt something crash heavily on top of him. He realized that it was Matrix as the wind was knocked from him.

"Are you all right?" Matrix asked as he rolled off him. Bob nodded, trying to get his breath back. He looked around frantically for Dot. He found her not far away, standing near AndrAIa, brushing dust off her and looking quite uninjured. She looked up at the hole they'd fallen through, which was several feet above their heads.

"Looks like we're not getting out that way," she stated. They were in what looked like a huge tunnel, and there were no walls near enough to the hole to climb out. "Where are we?"

"Somewhere below Kits Sector, I think," Matrix said, helping Bob to his feet. Bob started to take a step toward Dot, but a streak of pain shot up his left leg, causing him to cry out. Matrix caught him as he started to collapse. Dot was immediately at his side, helping support him.

"What happened?" she asked, alarmed.

"It's my leg," Bob ground out. AndrAIa bent to examine Bob's injury, touching it gently. Dot winced when Bob moaned in pain.

"It might be broken," said AndrAIa. "I can't really tell--"

Bob's head snapped up a nano before a strange, eerie skittering noise was heard. The noise was followed by a low growl from somewhere behind them in the tunnel.

"We have to get out of here," Bob whispered.

"What is that?" asked Dot.

"I don't know," said Matrix, "but I don't want to find out. Let's go." He slung one of Bob's arms around his shoulder, and Dot took the other. AndrAIa drew her trident and held it in front of her as she led the way down the tunnel, keeping herself fully alert. The darkness, though, almost prevented her from seeing the flurry of movement in the tunnel ahead of them. Almost.

"Hold on," AndrAIa said, stopping and squinting ahead of her into the darkness.

"What is it?" asked Dot.

"I thought I saw something. . ." AndrAIA took a step forward, trident ready. She stopped abruptly when she saw two red, glowing eyes ahead of them. Matrix saw them too. He rotated so that Bob and Dot were behind him and raised his gun. As he prepared to fire, the eyes suddenly blinked out.

"It's gone!" said Dot. "What was it?"

"What I want to know is where it went," said Matrix, keeping his gun raised. He made sure Dot had a good grip on Bob and walked up to stand beside AndrAIa. Keeping his gun pointed ahead of them, he used his right eye to scan the area ahead. "I don't see anything," he reported.

Suddenly a loud roar sounded from behind them. Matrix and AndrAIa spun around to see a large, dark mass with the red eyes they'd seen before launch itself toward Bob and Dot. Dot yelled and ran forward, dragging Bob with her. The creature narrowly missed them and fell to the ground. Dot and Bob reached Matrix and AndrAIa and turned back to see what had jumped them. Dot grabbed a small flashlight from her belt and turned it toward the area where she and Bob had just been. When the creature rose to its feet, they saw it clearly for the first time. Below the red eyes was a mouth full of very sharp teeth. The creature stood on four powerful legs with long, curved talons on the paws. The massive body gave way to a long, thrashing tail that ended in a large double fin. The creature stared back at them for a long microsecond, then growled and began to walk slowly toward them.

"I think we should go," said Matrix. "Now." When they started to back away, the creature leapt again.

"Move!" shouted Matrix, pushing the others into a run and falling in behind them. Dot was half dragging Bob, who was limping heavily on his injured leg and barely able to keep up. He looked over his shoulder and saw the creature gaining on them. He gasped as he saw it spring toward Matrix.

"Look out!" Bob cried. He raised a hand and fired a bolt of energy that knocked the creature to the ground just before it found its target.

Matrix looked at Bob gratefully. "Thanks," he said, relieved. He kept the group moving quickly away from the downed animal, unsure how fast it would recover from the blast. He was sure they'd escaped from it when he saw two red eyes appear to their side and a large paw swiped at Bob's bad leg, the large claws digging into it. Bob cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

"Bob!" Dot yelled helplessly.

Bob groaned and turned onto his back. He looked up to see one of the beasts standing over him, eyes glowing menacingly. He tried to back away, but with his injured leg he wasn't fast enough. The creature pounced on his chest, slamming him forcefully back to the ground. Bob winced as his head hit the hard, unyielding surface and he saw stars. The animal's claws dug painfully into his chest as its tail whipped toward him, blindingly fast. He yelped in pain as one edge of the fin cut into his side.

He barely saw Matrix's boot slam into the creature's head, knocking it off him onto the ground.

"Eat this, scumball," Matrix declared as he fired his gun. The bullet hit the creature between the eyes and it slumped to the ground, unmoving. Matrix went quickly to Bob's side and pulled him into a sitting position. Dot fell to her knees at his other side. Bob tensed as his body briefly turned transparent.

"Bob, how bad are you hurt?" asked Matrix. "Can you walk?"

"I. . .maybe," Bob gasped.

Dot gripped his hand tightly in hers. "You can do it, Bob," she said, fighting tears. "We'll help you."

"We have to find a way out of here fast," said Matrix. "There might be more of those things, and they're probably able to smell energy." He looked Bob in the eye. "Are you ready?"

Bob glanced at Dot. "Yes," he said faintly.

Matrix once again put Bob's arm around his shoulder and pulled him slowly to his feet. Dot took her place at Bob's other side and put his remaining arm over her own shoulders. With AndrAIa still in the lead, they moved together slowly but steadily through the dark tunnel.

* * *

Enzo entered Dot's Diner with Mouse and Ray behind him. He looked around confusedly, then turned back to Ray and Mouse. "Where is everybody?" he asked, throwing up his hands.

Mouse scanned the diner. "Ah guess they're out somewhere," she said.

Enzo frowned and folded his arms. "I was gonna ask Bob if we could go jet balling."

"They'll be back in a while, honey," Mouse said, patting him on the head.

"Now why doncha have a seat and I'll fix ya an energy shake."

"Okay!" Enzo said, hopping onto a stool at the bar. He pushed on the counter and spun around in the stool at dizzying speed. Cecil saw him and was immediately in front of Enzo.

"Misseur Enzo! Please do no spin in ze chairs! Zey are not toys!"

Enzo glared at Cecil but stopped spinning. Ray just smiled and leaned against the counter.

"Would ya make that two shakes, love?" he called to Mouse.

"Sure thang, sugah." Mouse had barely spoken when the sky turned dark and an all-too-familiar low ringing sounded.

*Warning. Incoming Game. Warning. Incoming Game.*

*

Bob lifted his head wearily just as the warning sounded.

"Oh no," groaned Matrix. "Where's it gonna land?"

Bob shook his head. "Nowhere near us."

"What do we do?" asked Dot.

"Hope that Mouse and Ray try to catch it," said Matrix. "And that Enzo's not with them."

*

"This is so cool! Dot never lets me go into games!" Enzo said excitedly as he waited with Mouse and Ray for the game cube to land.

"Well, if she gets upset, you just tell her it was my idea, sugah," said Mouse.

Enzo shrugged. "Okay."

The game cube landed, and they found themselves on a green hillside before a castle.

"Uh. . . either of you ever played this game before?" asked Ray.

"How hard can it be?" Enzo said with optimism. He tapped his icon. "Reboot!" His appearance became that of a medieval knight, with a chainmail hood and a white tunic with a red cross. "Alphanumeric!" Enzo said. "It's even got a sword!"

Mouse and Ray looked at each other and shrugged.

"Reboot!"

When the light faded, each wore similar outfits to Enzo's, except Mouse wore no hood and Ray had a crown.

"How do I look?" Ray asked, turning to Mouse and showing off his new headpiece.

Mouse grinned. "Kingly."

"Mind if I join you?" Hexadecimal asked as she floated down beside them.

"Hex, how did you get in here?" asked Mouse.

Hex pointed to her chest. "I have an icon now, remember? By the way, how does it work?""

"It's easy," said Enzo. "Just tap it twice and say 'reboot.'"

"Oh," she said. "Reboot!" When the light disappeared, Hex looked down at herself. "What am I now?"

"You're a knight, just like us," explained Enzo.

"So. . . what do we do now?" said Mouse. As if to answer her question, a loud *chung* sounded and a giant wooden rabbit came hurling toward them, launched from the castle.

"Run away!" yelled Enzo. The four dove out of the way, narrowly avoiding being squashed by the giant rabbit.

"Oo, that was fun!" said Hex.

"You wouldn't happen to know what our goal is, do you?" Ray asked of Hex.

She thought for a nano. "I believe we're supposed to be looking for some kind of special cup."

"Great! We almost got erased by a giant bunny rabbit because of a cup?!" exclaimed Enzo.

"Let's just find the darn thing so we can get out of here," said Mouse.

"Hex, which way?"

Hex put a finger to her lip and looked around. "This way!" she shouted triumphantly, leading them away from the castle.

"Well, anything goes," Ray said, and followed her, Mouse and Enzo close behind.

*

Matrix looked over his shoulder again, still seeing nothing but the empty tunnel they'd just been through. "See anything up there, AndrAIa?" he called.

"No," she answered. "Not a thing."

"I think we lost 'em. There's nothing back here." Over the last few micros, Matrix had noticed that Bob was having more and more trouble keeping upright. "Maybe we should stop and rest," he suggested. He helped Dot ease Bob to the ground against a wall of the tunnel, then walked to AndrAIa.

"I'm not seeing any way out of here," she said quietly, worry showing in her voice a little.

"I know," said Matrix. "We seem to be going down instead of up. But we know those things are back there, so we should just keep going and hope we find a way out soon."

AndrAIa nodded, then glanced over her shoulder. "How's he doing?"

Matrix sighed, concern written on his face in the darkness. "Not good. And getting worse. He's lost a lot of energy. If we don't get out soon. . ." he trailed off, not wanting to voice his fear.

AndrAIa put a hand on his arm. "We'll find a way out, Sparky," she said reassuringly. "Bob will be okay. He's been in worse situations than this."

Matrix smiled a little. "I guess you're right."

"Besides, the others are sure to notice we're missing soon and come looking for us."

"Once they get out of the game," Matrix added.

"Well get out," she said firmly, looking him directly in the eye. "All of us."

Matrix looked at her gratefully. "Thanks, AndrAIa." He turned back to Bob and Dot. "You thing you're up for another walk, Bob?" he asked.

Bob winced, but nodded. "I just want to get out of here," he said painfully.

Dot and Matrix helped him to his feet, which he gained with difficulty, and they continued on their way through the ominously quiet darkness.

*

"This game is so cool! Killer rabbits, pyromaniac wizards, and knights who say ni . . . whatever that means!" Enzo ranted. "What's next?"

"Uh. . ." Hex pondered for a moment. "The Bridge of Death!" she roared.

"What's that?" Ray asked.

"I haven't a clue," admitted Hex, "but it sounds like a lot of fun!"

"Ah guess we'll find out," said Mouse.

"Step aside! I'll lead the way!" declared Enzo, and ran around Mouse.

"Oh, no ya don't," Mouse said, grabbing Enzo by the back of his tunic and hauling him around behind her. "You stay back there. Ya know your sister'd kill me if anything happened to ya."

"Aw," Enzo said, but he knew Mouse was right. Besides, they were almost to the Bridge of Death.

A grizzled old sprite stood in front of the bridge, leaning on a gnarled wooden cane and cackling maniacally to himself as he watched the band approach. One eye was glazed over, and the other didn't look much better. But what really stopped the four dead in their tracks was the state of the bridge itself. Sure enough, it appeared to live up to its name. The ropes were frayed, most of the boards either rotted or gone completely. And despite this, it was guarded. The bridgekeeper spoke in a scratchy voice. "He who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three! Ere the other side he see."

"What happens if we don't?" yelled Enzo.

"You shall be cast . . . into the Gorge of Eternal Peril!" the bridgekeeper yelled, laughing insanely.

"Oo, I want to go first!" said Hex, making her way to the crumbling bridge.

"Stop!" said the bridgekeeper. Hex stopped. "WHAT . . . is your name?"

"Hexadecimal, the Queen of Chaos!" Hex shouted proudly, waving a finger in the air.

"WHAT . . . is your quest?"

"I seek the Holy Grail," she answered.

"WHAT . . . is your favorite color?"

"Blue!" she said, somewhat dreamily.

The bridgekeeper nodded over his shoulder. "Right! Off you go."

Hex turned to where Enzo, Mouse, and Ray were standing. "Come on! It's not that hard!" she called. Enzo grinned and dashed up to the bridge.

"Stop!" yelled the bridgekeeper. Enzo skidded to a halt. "WHAT . . . is your name?"

"Enzo Matrix of Mainframe."

"WHAT . . . is your quest?"

"What she said," he explained, gesturing toward Hex.

"WHAT . . . is the password?"

"Uh . . . swordfish?"

"Right. Off you go," he ordered, and Enzo went to stand beside Hex in front of the bridge as they waited for Moue and Ray. Mouse walked up to the bridgekeeper, fingering her sword.

"Ulp. . . WHAT . . . is your name?" the bridgekeeper asked.

"Call me Mouse, sugah," she drawled.

"WHAT . . . is your quest?"

"Ah'm with them."

"WHAT . . . is your favorite color?"

Mouse grinned, showing her fangs. 'Blue."

"Right, off you go."

Mouse then joined Hex and Enzo as Ray walked up to the bridgekeeper.

"WHAT . . . is our name?"

"Ray Tracer, Web surfr."

"WHAT . . . is your quest?"

"I seek the grail."

"WHAT . . . is the answer to life, the universe, and everything?"

The three by the bridge caught their breath in anticipation. If he didn't get the question right, they might lose the game. And Ray.

"I believe that would be . . . 42," Ray said confidently.

A loud, collective sigh of relief sounded from near the bridge.

"Right! Off you go," said the bridgekeeper.

"Let's see if this thing will really hold up," Ray said as he began to lead them across the rickety bridge.

"Wait for me!" a voice called, carried by the wind over the hills.

"Eh?" said the bridgekeeper.

"Oh, great," Enzo groaned. "What's he doing here?"

Mike the TV bounded across the ground toward the bridge. He wore a minstrel's costume and carried a lute. 'Wait for me!" he called to the four on the bridge. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"Well . . . here we are," Enzo said.

"Stop!" the bridgekeeper yelled and held up a hand when Mike tried to join his comrades on the bridge. "He who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three! Ere the other side he see."

Mike looked around, hoping to find another way across. There was nothing. "I don't suppose you'd be interested in a bribe," he suggested.

"He who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me --"

"All right! I'll do it. But keep it easy, I'm only a TV."

"WHAT . . . is your name?"

"Mike the TV, long-time companion to Bob the Guardian, and--"

"WHAT . . . is your quest?"

"To sell somebody this Bucket-O-Nothing! Only 99--"

"WHAT . . . is the air-speed velocity of an unlaiden slug?"

"A slug? What is that, like a null?"

"Eh? I don't know that . . . AAAAIIIIIEEEEE!!!!!"

Three sprites, a former virus, and one hyperactive tv watched, amazed, as the bridgekeeper was suddenly lifted into the air and flung into the Gorge of Eternal Peril.

"Whoa," was all Enzo had to say.

"Well . . . Ah guess we should get moving," said Mouse. "Come on, Mike."

INTERMISSION

The tunnel seemed endless. On and on it went, twisting and turning toward they knew not what. Every few micros, Bob would stumble and nearly collapse with exhaustion, but Dot Matrix held him firmly upright, refusing to let go. Matrix continued to mutter reassurances, but whether they were for the others for for himself, none of them knew.

There was a fait sound behind them, no louder than a whisper, and Bob lifted his head wearily, straining his ears. "I hear something," he said breathlessly.

"AndrAIa, wait," Matrix said softly, and all four of them stopped and listened.

The silence was deafening. No one dared to even move or breathe. Behind them, almost inaudible, was a quiet scratching sound.

"Is it them?" Dot whispered.

Matrix listened for a moment longer. "I'm not sure," he said at last. "Maybe."

"Maybe it'll go the other way," AndrAIa suggested. Silence again. The scratching stopped. Bob let out a small, shaky breath and relaxed just a little. The others let out tensed breaths as well. But the relief was short-lived. The sounds started again, louder this time. It was coming towards them, getting closer.

"Let's move," whispered Matrix. Bob gave a muffled moan as they began to move again, his strained muscles tensing.

They moved as swiftly as they could manage through the dark halls, but the noises kept growing louder. Whatever it was was chasing them. Bob risked a look back over his shoulder, shivering when he glimpsed several pairs of glowing red eyes a distance behind them. Dot looked back as well.

"Matrix. . ." she said.

"I know, he replied. "Just keep moving." He grabbed gun and fired behind them, hitting one of the creatures, its shriek echoing through the tunnel.

But the rest did not back off.

Ahead of them, AndrAIa suddenly stopped short as she ran into something solid. Using her hands, she felt along the wall to one side. When she found it connected to another wall, she felt back the other way, silently praying that the tunnel turned sharply. Her hands hit solid material.

"What is it, AndrAIa?" Matrix asked.

"Dead end," she said. "We're trapped." AndrAIa moved around them and brandished her trident.

"How many?" she asked Matrix.

"I can see six, but there may be more." Matrix helped Bob sit down against the wall, then stood beside AndrAIa with Gun in his hand. Against the wall, Bob raised an unsteady hand to place a weak shield around himself and the others.

"Whatever you're going to do, do it," he wheezed. "This won't last too long." As if to prove his point, his body flickered briefly and he gasped. Dot put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

The creatures, for the moment, hung back a short distance, pacing and swinging their finned tails as they glared at Matrix and AndrAIa with their piercing red eyes. One of them tested its limits by stepping closer. Matrix fired at the creature, the shot hitting it in the head. The creature slumped, lifeless, and the others backed off a little.

"AndrAIa . . . look," Matrix said, indicating the dead creature. AndrAIa shifted her attention away from the pack and looked where Matrix was pointing. Her eyes widened. The creature Matrix had just killed was slowly sinking into the ground as if it were quicksand. AndrAIa briefly tested the ground they were standing on to make perfectly sure it was solid.

When the creature had completely disappeared without even a mark on the ground, Dot turned to Bob. "How did it do that?" she asked.

"Don't look at me," Bob said as he struggled to keep his shield up. "These things weren't in the Super Computer."

"What are they doing now?" Dot said to Matrix.

"They're just standing there." He sounded confused. Then, in unison, the eyes all blinked out.

* * *

"What?" Enzo exclaimed. The boatkeeper cleared his throat and repeated himself.

"He who would cross the Sea of Fate must answer me these questions twenty-eight!"

"Hey nullbreath, why don't you answer my sword?"

"Listen, mate, do you really want to spend the whole second asking us these questions?" asked Ray.

The boatkeeper shuffled his feet. "Well, not really, no."

"Well, why don't you let us borrow your boat for a few micros?"

"I suppose it's all right. . . "

"Great! Thanks a bunch, mate." Ray slapped the boatkeeper on the back as he went past. Once in the boat, it didn't take long to cross the Sea of Fate to the island on which stood the Castle of Aarg. As they reached the shore and approached the castle, however, they were verbally assaulted by a knight on the wall.

"Your mother's 8-bit!" Enzo retorted, clumsily waving his sword. He was pushed aside by Mike.

"Let me handle this, Enzo. I'm a professional." Mike strummed his lute once, then began to sing very loudly. And not too well.

"There was a knight on a who called us names
From high on a castle wall,
But his attention was elsewhere and his balance was off,
And we stayed to watch him fall!"

The others took their hands away from their ears and looked up at the wall.

The knight had disappeared.

"Well done, Mike," said Mouse. "Ah knew you'd come in handy one second."

Hex pulled the door open. In the middle of a great room, floating over a short podium, was a grail. THE grail. They hesitated at the door.

"What if this is a trap?" said Enzo. "I mean, stuff like this happens all the time."

Ray shrugged. "There's only one way to know." He walked into the room.

Nothing happened when he approached the podium. He reached for the grail. As soon as he touched it, he heard a voice.

*Game Over. Game Over*

The five appeared in the street as their normal selves. Mouse looked around. "Now that's odd," she said.

"What?" asked Enzo.

"We never ran into Matrix or Bob," she said, concern starting to show in on her features. "Or anyone else. Something's not right."

Hex, who had been staring into space, a blank expression on her face, spoke up. "That's because they couldn't," she said softly. "I know where they are."

* * *

The eyes must have been gone for only a nano, but for the four sprites it seemed like an eternity. When they came back again, they were no longer red.

"What's going on?" asked Dot, confused.

Bob's shield failed and he slumped back against the wall, flickering slightly. Dot steadied him.

"The eyes . . ." said AndrAIa, ". . . they turned white."

Suddenly Bob gasped sharply and his head snapped up.

"Bob!" cried Dot. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head slightly, as if trying to clear it. "They're . . . speaking. In my head."

"What are they saying?" Matrix asked without taking his eyes off the creatures for a nano.

"They want to know . . . what we're doing here."

"Can they understand us?' said AndrAIa.

"I think so." Bob winced as he flickered again.

"We fell down here," said Matrix. "It was an accident."

"They want us . . . to leave," said Bob.

Matrix shook his head. "We can't do that. We can't find a way out."

There was a moment of silence, then the eyes blinked out again. Bob's breath came out in a whoosh and he fell back.

"What just happened?" Matrix asked, pointing his gun toward where the eyes had just been.

"They broke contact," Bob said. "They said . . . we can't be allowed to stay. I think this is very bad."

As he finished speaking, the eyes reappeared yet again, this time as a burning yellow. The four sprites could do nothing as a low, steady hum began and the cavern started to vibrate. The vibration turned into a rumble. Small pieces of the roof of the tunnel began to fall to the floor. Matrix and AndrAIa dove for cover and Dot threw herself across Bob to protect him. The hum grew louder and the tunnel shook harder. Then the ceiling exploded.

Dot tensed, waiting for the roof to come crashing down on her. When it didn't, she carefully looked up. What she saw made her jaw drop.

The ceiling, instead of falling down onto them, was flying upward. Dot squinted at the sudden brightness as light streamed into the cavern. Behind her she heard several animal shrieks as the creatures also reacted to the light. Above them, the cause of it all, was a very angry-looking Hexadecimal.

A gold and purple blur shot downward to land between the sprites and the creatures, katanas in hands. One of the creatures leapt at Mouse's head. There was a flash of steel and the creature fell to the ground, dead.

"Who's next?" Mouse asked, baring her fangs. The remaining creatures slowly backed away into the darkness, growling at her.

After regaining her senses, Dot looked down at Bob. He was unconscious and flickering steadily. "Bob?" she said, trying to wake him. Hex floated down next to him. "Hex, help him, please," Dot said, tears in her eyes.

Without a word, Hex bent down and picked up Bob in her arms. She straightened, smiled gently at Dot, and disappeared. Dot kept staring at the place where Hex and Bob had been until a hand appeared in front of her. She looked up to see Matrix standing before her. She took his hand and he helped her to her feet. Ray was at the opening of the new hole in the ground, lowering a rope. "Who's first?' he asked.

Deep down, deep down, da de da da da do da da
Deep down, deep down, da de da dam
I wanna click, I'll click to your heart
I hyperlink into you
Don't need a modem to connect to your mind
No search engine to find you
I wanna click, I'll click to your heart
A hyperlink to go in side you
Deep down, deep down, da de da da da do da da
Deep down, deep down, da de da dam
~ from Hyperlink (Deep Down) by Eiffel 65