Nullbot Knows Best
By: Water Mist

Disclaimer: I don’t own ReBoot, Mainframe does.

Author's Note: This fic happens directly after Nullbot of the Bride and right before Crouching Binome Hidden Virus.

User-to-Sprite Time:
Nano = Second
Second = Day
Hour = Year

It was the most beautiful second Mainframe had seen since the Restart. The sky was a peaceful shade of blue.  The daisywheels were in full bloom.  It was as if the system itself was celebrating the marriage between Guardian Bob and its Command .com, Ms. Dot Matrix.  All seemed well, until the second’s events went tragically wrong.

Now Mainframe’s protectors were busy picking up the pieces of shattered dreams and crushed daisywheels, as they prepared for yet another battle.

Why did this have to happen? was the one constant thought on Matrix’s mind, as he sat broodingly on the steps of the Principal Office. He was staring vacantly at the sky, lost in his own neural net. Matrix was still in shock over what happened. The second’s “events” had shaken him to his very core.

Why in the net couldn’t he tell? And for that matter, Why couldn’t Dot?  It was wrong…all wrong, Dot, he, and Enzo should have seen it.  Every time something began to go right in their lives, something would just come along and crash their emotional drives again.  First it was their mother’s death, next the Twin City explosion, then Bob being thrown into the web, and the list just kept going on and on……

* * *

Meanwhile inside the Principal Office, Dr. Welman Matrix had decided to take a break and stretch his legs. It had been so long since he had them, at times it still felt weird walking around.  It was wonderful being able to move like a normal sprite again. Now, if only I could regain my sense of touch again, he sadly thought as continued to walk outside. He couldn’t even feel his daughter’s tears as he wiped them from her face with his robotic hand. There was no consoling the system’s leader at this point. She decided to go out and get some fresh air. Mouse, Hack and Slash followed suit, knowing what might happen with Megabyte still prowling the system.

Welman stopped short as he reached the battered staircase. For there, just a few feet in front of him was his son, Enzo seated on the steps. This was another issue he had to deal with. Phong had told him a quick recount of what had happened to his son or now “sons” during his absence, but it was still hard for him to believe.

He was standing there, staring at the back of a very large warrior, who was his son all grown up. This man was the same little boy, who used to be afraid of the dark and cried when he fell off his zipboard. That little boy was sitting right there in front of him, but the hours lost now stretched between them like an endless data sea.

  By the User, I’ve missed so much. How do I even approach him?

Welman hadn’t even spoken to this version of “Enzo” yet.  In a way, he was avoiding it, fearing how it would turn out.  Finally one thought prevailed, I can’t lose my son, either of him. Not now, or ever again.

It was time for them to talk. This game of avoidance had gone on long enough. He’d never get a better chance then right now.  He drew up his courage, stepped out of the doorway and walked down the steps that would lead him to his son.

* * *

Matrix was still starting at the sky when he heard a voice from behind ask, “Can I sit here?”

He knew that voice. He had known it for a very long time. But hearing it now, it made him feel strange. It reminded him of how he felt when he had seen Dot again for the first time after the games. He was afraid of how his father would judge him and a part of him still hurt from the abandonment he felt as a child. He knew deep down it wasn’t his father’s fault, but he needed closure. The kind only his father could give him.

Finally Matrix replied, “Uh… yeah, sure, go ahead.”

This is not going to be easy, thought Welman as he took a seat on the stairs next to his older and larger son. Welman tried to clear his throat but found it pointless due to the fact that he was a null. He then turned to his son and asked, “So….um…it’s a nice second, huh?”

Matrix turned to him with a perplexed look on his face. “You haven’t seen or spoken to me in hours and the first thing you say to me is ‘it’s a nice second?’”  

“Well just what do you expect me to start with, Enzo?”  

Matrix stiffened at the mention of his name. “Well I don’t know, something other than that. And… don’t call me Enzo, ok?”  

“Why not?”  

“Because I’m not that person anymore.”  

“Oh please, stop acting like a child.”  

With that Matrix turned fully to him. “I’m not acting ‘like a child.’” he stated sternly.

If there was one thing Matrix hated other than Megabyte, it was being judged. It just reminded him of that frightening dream with Hex and the search for number one. “You have been gone for over half of my life. You have no right to start judging me now!”

Welman stood up.  

“You are still my child. My son. I am your father. No matter what you say you that fact shall remain the same!” At this point Welman began to calm down, “Why in the Net are you acting this way? I’m not judging you. I’m trying to talk to you. Now tell me what’s wrong!”  

Matrix shook his head as he whispered, “You don’t get it. You don’t get it.”  

“I don’t get what?”  

“Do you even know what Dot and I went through? We watched you die and take half the spammed system with you!”  

Matrix stood with his voice cracking as he spoke, “You don’t remember, do you? The promise you made...the one to me!”  

Welman froze. “Promise?” he asked, fearing what his son meant by that. He could tell that Enzo was breaking down now. His son’s anger was now giving a way to his true sorrow.  

Matrix closed his eyes, How could he forget? The renegade hadn’t felt like this for a long time. The sorrow and disappointment he felt as a child was now coming to life once more. He could feel himself losing control. He wasn’t sure if he should pound something or cry. And for the first time in many hours “cry” was actually the action that came through.  

He was tired. Dear User, was he ever tired. He had been putting up a front his entire life and now it had reached its limit. Two barley visible tears leaked from the corners of his eyes which he furiously wiped away. He had nothing left.  

“Son?” questioned his father in a soft voice as the robotic hand of his father grasped Matrix’s shoulder.  

Matrix looked up at his father, deciding to tell him the truth.  

Welman could see the pain on his son’s face. But what shocked him were the two small tears that leaked from his eyes, which Matrix quickly wiped away. “Son?” he asked as he grasped Matrix’s shoulder.  

Matrix slowly looked up at his father and said, “When mom died, I asked you if you’d ever leave us like she did. And you promised me that you wouldn’t.”  

Dear User, he remembered now. It was after Iris’ death, Enzo had asked him that question one night as he put him to bed. He made the promise without thinking because he felt that Enzo was too young to worry about his father’s mortality.  

Matrix continued, “Then you left. Not only that but you took my friends and you destroyed what little family we had left! In one fall swoop, you took it all away! Now do you understand?!”  

It was then that Welman realized that his son hadn’t changed as much as he thought. Deep down he was still the same person. And what Enzo needed right now was his father to share and understand his pain. What have I done?

Welman grasped Matrix’s shoulder tighter and spoke, “I didn’t know it was going to happen, Enzo. I didn’t want you to worry about me dying too.”  

“But you lied to me.” Matrix stated,

“You said you wouldn’t. You promised me!” By now the large renegade’s frame was shaking. Welman pulled him into a brotherly embrace.  

“Enzo stop it. Don’t you see how hard I fought to get back to you and Dot? How I communicated with the nulls to let me speak to you. I didn’t leave son, I’m right here. I’m back and I won’t leave again. I’m sorry I broke my promise to you, Enzo. Please forgive me son.”  

Matrix released a large sigh, one that seemed to free him from much of his pain. And before he even knew what he was saying, he whispered, “I forgive you, Dad.” And all the pain in his heart fell away. And in that one brief moment he finally felt whole again.  As he began to recover, a familiar voice ring though his head, A gift young Guardian, so you don’t turn out like him.  

Matrix’s eyes when wide, then softened a bit as he realized Hex’s true intentions for infecting Enzo’s icon.  And in his heart he whispered, Thank you, Hex. I understand now.  

Welman let go of Matrix and asked, “You ok now?”  

Matrix nodded in reply as the two men retook their seats on the steps of the Principal Office.  

For a few nanos they just stared out into space. Then Matrix noticed his father looking at him funny. And needless to say, it made him a bit uncomfortable.  

“What? Why are you staring at me?” He gruffly asked.  

“I was just thinking about how proud your mother would be if she could see you now.”  

Matrix knew his mother was a sore subject for his father. It still hurt him a lot to talk about her. That’s why Matrix very rarely brought her up even when he was young.  

“Dad?”  

Welman turned away from his son and began to stare at the city bellow.  

“Your mother, Iris, she was always the warrior. She’d be proud to see that you turned out the same way.”  

Matrix sat there silently. He never knew his mother was a fighter.  

Welman laughed at the surprised look on his son’s face, “What? You never knew that? Your mother was the Head of System security and the greatest marksman in the whole Twin City. No wonder you have Gun… your mother always carried around two plasma pistols, one on each hip.”  

“Really?”  

Welman nodded and said, “Oh yes, she was always the planner too. She’d always come up with the most creative ways to catch the bad guys. No sprite ever stood a chance against her, especially when they made her angry. Boy, did your mother ever have a temper. It increased her strength four fold when she unleashed it.”  

He laughed, “Many people called her random. She’d just flip her violet hair and respond, ‘I prefer the term sanity challenged, thank you.’”  

“I…I don’t remember mom being like that.”  

Welman laughed again, “That’s because she was a different person around you and Dot!”  

Then Welman’s voice took on a somber tone, “She always loved you both with all her heart, but she was especially fond of you. You were her youngest and also because she…” With that Welman stopped.  

But Matrix needed to know now, so he asked, “Because she what, Dad?”  

Welman turned to his son with the sorrow inherent in his voice, “She’d…hate me if I told you this, but I think you have a right to know.” With that Welman sighed, “She almost lost you, son.”  

Matrix was stunned. “What?”  

“She didn’t know she was pregnant. She was tracking a bar code murder with her squad. She took a hard fall after being grazed by a plasma blast. They were running the tests in the hospital, when they discovered she was pregnant. If the impact from the fall would have been a little more to the left, you’d be dead right now.”  

Matrix sat quietly and allowed his father to go on.  

“Iris never forgave herself for that. And she swore she’d never allow anything harm you again.”  

Welman turned to Matrix. “Do you remember her at all, Enzo? You were only 0.4 when she died.”  

Matrix sighed. “Well I remember bits and pieces. But the one memory that stands out in my mind is of her holding me and singing to me to sleep.”  

“She loved doing that.”  

Matrix looked at his father. They were on the subject, he might as well ask the final question on his mind.  

“Dad…you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to…How…how did mom die?”  

Welman’s steel framed body tighten as he replied, “She jumped into the core.”  

“WHAT?! WHY?”  

“It was a virus. No one could even stand against it, except for your mother. It was the first real virus we had ever encountered. We had bugs and other viral programs before, but not a full fledged virus. And it was because of its presents here, I began to theorize about the existence of the Net. But your mother had other things on her mind, like how to delete it before it harmed any more people.

It tried to drain the energy from the core and some how she locked herself in with the virus. They fought, your mother knew she couldn’t win. So as her last desperate attempt, she tackled the virus, sending them both into the heart of the core. It caused a sudden power surge that not even the virus could absorb. They both were deleted instantly.”  

Welman let out a great sigh. “I loved her with all my heart. We were almost complete opposites, but we made one another whole. I’ll never forget her last words, ‘Take care of them. I love you.’ And then she was gone.”  

“Wow…” whispered Matrix, “I never knew any of this dad.”  

“Yeah, I know son. I wanted to wait to tell you until you were older. Then the explosion happened and…” Welman shook it off and changed the subject. “You know, both you and Dot remind me so much of her. Dot got her planning and leadership skills. And you got her physical strength and fighting skills.  And you both inherited her emotional strength, iron will, and that spammed temper!”  

Both the Matrix men began to laugh at that point, knowing that fact was very true.  

Finally Matrix spoke up, “Thanks for telling me all this, Dad. It made… me feel like I belong a little bit more.”  

Welman put his arm around Matrix. “You’ll always belong, son. I love you and nothing in the Net will ever change that.”  

Matrix smiled. “I love you too, Dad”  

At that point Little Enzo came barreling out of the Principal Office. “Dad! Matrix!” he called as he skidded to a stop. “Bob wants to see you guys! He said he found something in one of Mike’s TV cameras that might help us find Megabyte!”  

Welman turned to Matrix and asked, “So… you up for another battle, renegade?”  

“Always.” Matrix replied with a smirk.  

The two men stood up to leave. And Welman picked up Enzo and put him on his shoulder.  Then Matrix gave Little Enzo a noogie to which the young boy protested to beginning given. And with that the three Matrix Men went back into the Principal Office with renewed hope.  

The End