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| "Just what do you think you're doing?" Robert blew up, banging Nalia's bedroom door open. She looked up at him, surprised, sitting at her desk. She quickly turned off the vid-connection before he could have a chance to see who she was talking to. "What do you mean?" she asked innocently. "It's going too far, Nalia," he said, "it was one thing when you were doing stuff with the gang, but now you're endangering Hailey! A nice girl who doesn't deserve what you and the ABC's do!" He was raising his voice and her eyes widened, alarmed. "Robert, shh! Mom-" "Mom won't be home for another hour," he interrupted, sitting down on the bed. "Now we've got to talk. I didn't want to say anything about you joining the gang, but now-" "Yes, yes, I know," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm endangering Hailey instead of just myself and my gang. Whatever Robert, I don't have to listen to you. And I'm not endangering anything! And don't you dare tell Mom about this, you know she'll flip. Probably send me to the Guardian Academy in the Super Computer." "There's nothing wrong with that." "Oh? So you want me to leave?" Nalia got up from her desk and crossed over to her nightstand where tons of clothing-formats were kept. "If it'll do some good." She glanced back at him. "Well thanks, Robert, thank you very much. I know what kind of image I'm holding, you remind me of it everyday. And I almost got caught by Mom yesterday when Ace was hassling that friend of yours. Don't you see what I'm trying to do?" He crossed his arms now, watching her, not buying it for a minute. "No." "Well I'm not surprised. I want to be able to have a chance to help others, don't you see? Getting Hailey into the Principal Office will help prevent her from failing. Not to mention you and I could get plenty of info ourselves on our projects." "Yeah right. Helping is one thing. Doing it illegally is another." "Well you know what? Maybe this wouldn't happen if Mom never sent me to the Academy!" "So why don't you tell her?" She shrugged. "Why do I care? She'll just give me this long lecture on how it'll do me good, then I'll feel bad for her and tell her I'd stay in for another season. It's torture." "How would you know? Half the time you're late or ditching." "And you better not tell them that! They thought I was ill. Mom thought so too." "You're so full of it." Nalia stopped rummaging through the nightstand drawer and stood to look at him. "You never believe me, do you? You don't even think I can do anything right. Look, maybe I'm not a goody-two-boots like you wish I could be, I'm definitely not like that Hailey girl, even though I have to admire her for standing up to Mrs. Tracer like that. But I'm trying to help people in my own way, don't you see? That's the problem here, you never believe in me! Nobody does!" Robert dropped his arms, starting to feel bad. "I'm sorry about that-" "Well forget it, okay? Now if you're not coming with us tomorrow night, then don't. And don't tell Mom about this, or anyone. But if you are coming, tell me now so I know." He hesitated. She stared at him, waiting for the answer. Finally he nodded. "I'm coming with you." AndrAIa stared absentmindedly out the window of the Principal Office as she heard Matrix walk into the room behind her. She sighed deeply but didn’t say anything. “Something’s wrong,” he said, approaching her and putting his strong arms on her shoulders. “Tell me.” She shook her head. “It’s nothing.” “It doesn’t seem that way.” She didn’t answer for the longest time. She didn’t feel it right telling him what was really bothering her. She just reached up to touch his hands as she gazed out over the city. “You should really tell me,” he said after a long pause. “We should be able to tell each other everything, especially now that we’re going to get married soon.” She turned to him, now feeling guilty. “I know, and I’m sorry. It’s just that…” “You’re not getting cold feet, are you?” He asked, taking her hands and kissing them. “No, it’s not that.” “Then what is it?” “I…” She looked at him, feeling the love between them, the connection they held ever since they were young. “I…” Hailey jerked out of her sleep, feeling the cushions of the bed beneath her and the sheets on top. It was well into the morning, and for a moment forgot where she was, still wrapped up in the dream. Then she frowned. What had she been dreaming about? She could barely remember now. Something about AndrAIa… She sat up in her bed, eyes now wide. AndrAIa! But was it really her she was dreaming about? She couldn’t tell anymore. The dream was now just a weak memory. Shaking her head, Hailey climbed out of bed, checking the clock. Class would start in awhile and she quickly rummage around the apartment, finding clothing formats and her books. The walk to the Academy was uneventful, and she was glad for that. Nalia and Ace must have told the rest of the ABC’s to lay off her. She still wasn’t too comfortable with this whole deal with those two. It just seemed…too nice. There had to be a catch. But she had already searched late into the night through her mini-computer to find information about AndrAIa, and got nothing. It was either go to the Principal Office, or fail. She couldn’t fail the Academy. It was too important for her. When she reached her class, she still had a few moments before the Mrs. Tracer would start. Robert sat next to her again, and she could tell he looked nervous about the situation. “Are you okay?” she asked him, sitting down. “Fine,” he said, looking at her. “You?” “I’m okay.” “That’s good.” Before they could begin talking about tonight, Nalia brushed by and stopped in front of Hailey’s desk. Hailey looked at her expectantly. “You still up for tonight?” “Yeah, you?” Nalia grinned. “You know it. There are a few things to remember, though. The Festival at Tracer Tours is going to go on while we’re there, it lasts throughout the entire night. Most of the city should be there. We’ll be able to get in and out without any trouble.” “That’s what you think,” Hailey said. “Hey, I’m not worried.” “Really.” “Yup. Remember, midnight. We meet toward the back of the PO since we obviously can’t go through the front. Ace will get us in. Half an hour should be enough for you, right? Getting your info, I mean. You can use the rest of the night to put it into report form for tomorrow.” “Yeah, it’s enough.” Nalia smiled, glancing over at Robert. “Good.” She straightened up and headed for the back of the room where her seat was. For the remainder of class, Hailey couldn’t concentrate on what Mrs. Tracer was saying. Half the time she was worrying about all the complications that might go in for tonight. What if they couldn’t get in? What if they get caught before they get in? Would they get arrested? Thrown out of the city? Thrown out of school? Thrown into jail? What if they do get in but the information’s not there? There were just too many ‘what ifs’. She was so busy she didn’t realize Mrs. Tracer was calling on her until the teacher had to walk right up to her desk. After class Hailey waited awhile before going back to her apartment and getting ready for tonight. She walked the streets of Mainframe, mainly people-watching and window-shopping. She stopped outside of one of the stores when she saw a bunch of Hover Flats in the window and, counting what money she had, decided to go inside and buy a pair for herself. It might come in handy. She discovered something new while she roamed the streets. There was just this strange…presence in the citizens. All the history books and record books described Mainframe as one of the happiest places in the Net. People were kind to one another, you were able to strike up conversation with any stranger around you, and everything just seemed so…pleasant. But now, people walked the streets with their faces pointing ahead of them. No one stopped for a friendly conversation, except for maybe the older sprites in the park when they had nothing better to do. Children would play together in the street, and that was one of the few lights of the city. Alleyways were lucky if they didn’t have “ABC” sprayed on their walls. She couldn’t help wondering where their hideout was, too. When she finally got back to her apartment, it was almost seven o’clock. She had eaten on the way over and was already tired, even though it wasn’t even late yet. “Short nap,” she said outloud, taking her clock and setting it to eleven-thirty. Then, setting it on the bedside table, climbed into bed and drifted off. She dreamed about AndrAIa again. AndrAIa couldn’t tell Matrix what was wrong. Instead she muttered something about insomnia and he nodded. He didn’t believe her, and looked a bit hurt that she wouldn’t tell him. But he wouldn’t push her and, saying something about checking up on Frisket, left the room. She wasn’t left alone for very long time, even though she wished she could have some privacy. Five minutes after Matrix left, Phong came in. “What’s wrong, my child?” he asked after glancing at her. “Why is it that I’m so readable?” she asked, “you’re the second one today.” “I’m sorry if I’m bothering you, I’ll go check with the scanners if you don’t feel like talking.” The old sprite turned and headed for the main computer console. AndrAIa watched him for a second, then couldn’t hold back any longer. “Do you think I’m important?” she blurted out. He looked up at her, surprised. “What do you mean, my child?” “I mean-“ she stepped down over to him. “It seems that I don’t really do wonderful things as much as Bob and Dot, and Matrix, and everyone else do.” She hurriedly rushed on before Phong could judge her. “I mean, did I even make a difference during the System Reboot? Bob is the guardian, he saved the system many times in the past. Enzo was the one who defeated Megabyte, Dot kept the citizens together, Mouse helped with the shields and protecting the city…did I do anything? I feel I’m not pulling my weight around here, like I’m useless.” “Of course you do! You helped pull the Saucy Mare together, didn’t you? You were the one who kept Matrix sane throughout your game hopping days. You kept him, Bob, and Dot from getting nullified in the game you came from…how can you think you’re useless?” “Yeah, but it was because of me that Matrix and Ray nearly didn’t get out of the web. I went up to that web creature while the others were building a shell around the Saucy Mare, they almost got lost forever-“ “And because of that, you found Bob, remember? And it was your trident that kept Matrix from getting killed so many times.” “But all that was pure luck.” AndrAIa was beginning to feel hopeless with the subject. “I don’t mean to sound…snobbish I guess, I just…” “Everybody feels that way once and a while,” Phong said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Enzo did too when he was younger-“ “Yeah, but-“ “And Dot did too when Bob was gone and she was left with the system. Everything she tried at first didn’t seem to work and she felt useless, hopeless.” “But that’s different-“ “Sure it is, but it’s the same feeling, right?” She didn’t answer right away, buzzed at the response. Phong smiled up at her and she smiled back, but she still didn’t feel any better. “I know what you’re thinking,” he said, “Well let me tell you something, Mainframe wouldn’t be the same without you.” He grinned. Nalia stood in the dark of the night, peering out around her impatiently. The Principal Office was right in front of her, waiting for them to break into, and Hailey still wasn’t there yet. Ace was getting impatient as well. He held a club in his hand and he was hitting it into his palm like a baseball bat. “Where is she?” he growled. Robert looked back at them. “She’ll come, alright? She wouldn’t ditch out, especially since this might keep her in the academy.” Nalia didn’t believe it. She shifted her position, looking up at the round, white building in front of them. They had easily crossed the bridges on the back, and now the only way in was to somehow get to the door that was installed halfway up the side. She was prepared. She knew Ace was prepared. But was Robert and Hailey? “She’d better be here,” she said, “or we’re going without her.” Robert looked at her in surprise. “I thought you were doing all this for Hailey.” “Yeah? Well we get something out of too. I don’t know about you, though,” Ace replied for her. Robert turned away, slightly bugged, and cringed his neck to see if Hailey was coming. That’s when he spotted her, coming across the bridge, dressed all in black like the others. She had a bag slung over her shoulder, and her blue hair shown nicely in the moonlight. “There she is,” he said, relieved. “Good,” Nalia said. Hailey reached them hurriedly and she seemed a bit out of breath. “Okay, here,” she said. “Took you long enough,” Nalia snorted. “Are you ready?” “Yeah.” Hailey looked around. Barely anyone was on the streets. Most of the city population was by the docks where the Tracer Tours Festival was taking place. She had passed it on her way, since her apartment was near there. She had to admit, the festival was a success. It left no one on the streets. “Okay, let’s go.” She glanced up then, and saw the door halfway up the side of the building. There was no way to get there, no ladder, no rope, no nothing. She raised an eyebrow. “Okay, and how are we going to get there?” “Will you chill? We’re going in one at a time on Flats.” Nalia reached into her coat and took out a pair of Hover Flats. “You have one of these, right?” Hailey nodded, reaching into her pocket. “Yeah.” “Good, put them on. You’ll be able to levitate whenever you want, and it lets you walk on solid ground while you’re wearing them.” Robert and Ace started slapping them on the bottom of their shoes while she spoke. Hailey secretly wondered how they were able to control them like that, but then realized zipboards were kind of the same way too. She slapped the flats on as well, and right away felt her whole body seem to lift off the ground. She nearly lost control at first but Robert helped her gain balance and she was hovering. “This is really different,” she commented. “Whatever.” Nalia looked up toward the door. “Ace is going first so he can get the door open. After that he goes in, and if he doesn’t come back, we split. If everything’s okay-“ “I’ll throw whatever I can find over the side,” Ace finished for her. “Right. Then I’ll go in after him, then you two, got it?” She and Robert both nodded. Ace fiddled with the bag he had over his arm, and Hailey frowned. It looked almost empty, only the front pocket was full. Why carry a big bag like that for just a couple of tools? She didn’t ask out loud, though, and Ace started floating upward toward the door. The other three watched as he stopped just outside the door. There was a long moment as they saw him fiddle with the lock. A moment later it was open. Hailey braced herself for an alarm, but there was none. She frowned. That was odd enough as itself. “No alarm,” she murmured. “I know,” Nalia said, almost grinning. “Ace dealt with that when we first got here.” “Oh.” Hailey didn’t want to know how they did that. There was an even longer moment as Ace disappeared inside the door. From their position they couldn’t see in at all. “Did he make it?” Robert asked. His answer was the whistle of something flying through the air from the doorway and landing at their feet. Nalia bent to pick it up. “It’s one of his tools. He made it.” “Good,” Hailey said, then found herself judging her comment. Did she really want to go through with this? “I’ll go next,” Nalia said, pocketing the tool. “One of you two follow after I disappear through the door, got it?” She didn’t wait for an answer. The Hover Flats lifted her up in the air and soon she was floating up just like Ace was before. Hailey and Robert watched, and soon she vanished into the darkness within. Robert turned to her. “Well, here goes,” he said. “Ladies first?” She didn’t smile. She looked upward, then out around them. No one was in sight. “Okay,” she said. Shifting her feet, the hover flats kicked into action as she felt gravity disappear. She floated all the way up, and for a moment she almost lost control. Each hover flat worked on their own, and it was like controlling two things at once. Finally she reached the doorway, and for a moment she hesitated, peering in. It was completely dark in there, and she couldn’t see Ace nor Nalia. Glancing down the saw Robert standing below, staring up at her. She took a couple of deep breaths. Here goes. She went inside. TO BE CONTINUED… |
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