I am Snake. A rank three Anidex. There is a long history to the past of all Anidexes. Almost nobody knows it except for the three Anidexes left in the Net. Thousands of hours ago, a small group of Anidexes escaped from the games and have been living in the Net ever since. My sister Mouse is the only other Anidex I know of. The third one is lost, somewhere in the Net. Every Anidex has three forms, at least. When I want to, I can alternate my outer appearance to sprite form, Anidex form or turn into a variation of my third form. Like all Anidexes, I have a ring, which is like an icon to sprites.

I just arrived in the Net since I was in the Web. I needed to communicate with the other sprites so Mouse downloaded a language program into my code. I went with several sprites from the Web into a wrecked system called Mainframe. There is this guardian named Bob who used to be a Web Rider. I saved his life in the Web but he doesn¡¦t know it. I don¡¦t intend to tell him. I¡¦d rather be known for killing a life than for saving a life. My sister seems to know Bob from a long time ago.

The girl named AndrAIa is a former game sprite who also went back with us. She is very kind and intelligent in most situations but fierce when in battle. She is almost like an Anidex but she¡¦s AI. Andraia is kind to me because I saved her life. I bet that if I didn¡¦t save her, she would be hostile to me like everyone else. Sure, everyone seems friendly on the outside, but they are only using it to their advantage. Just like I¡¦m using kindness to my own advantage.

The green sprite named Enzo, is also called Matrix. That is really confusing me. I don¡¦t like him because he fights before he thinks. But I have to respect anyone who enjoys battle. Anger, depression and jealousy is a mist around him. He and AndrAIa, for some reason, seem to be very close.

Dot is the Command.com of Mainframe. She probably has a relationship with Bob but I can¡¦t really tell. Dot is smart. That¡¦s about all I can say about her. Whatever she does, she does it well.

I met Mouse again in Mainframe. I always seem to be looking for her. I would have found her sooner if I wasn¡¦t stuck in the Web. She was supposed to be looking for me. Instead, she was in Mainframe the whole time. I am lucky to be in this system. It has two things that all Anidexes look for. A fellow Anidex and battle. I love to fight, but there is hardly anything left in the Net that is worth fighting.

The rebels were preparing for battle with a virus who has turned the whole system into this wreck. I was impressed. It¡¦s not easy to scrap a system. He would be a worthy opponent if I ever had to fight him. I was talking with Mouse, trying to get used to my new ability to speak.

The battle was starting! I followed Mouse, killing a few binomes with her. I decided not to eat any of them since there wasn¡¦t enough time for both fight and feast. Mouse got into the computer control room and started fussing with the codes. I decided to stay with her.

Matrix was fighting with the virus, Megabyte, on the stairs to the top of the Principal Office. I watched them through a vid-window. Neither of them seem to have an advantage over the other. I was both disappointed and jealous. Megabyte seemed too easy to fight. I sighed and looked at my left hand. I wish I could have extendable claws.

The battle was leaning towards the rebles¡¦ side. But Megabyte created a portal and was preparing to go to another system. Mouse¡¦s hands became a furious blur over the control panel.

"Oh no, ya don¡¦t," Mouse said suddenly. "One last double-cross sugah¡¦!" She reached to press a button but I inturrupted her.

"What are you doing, Mouse?" I asked, not really caring but curious anyway.

"This creep¡¦s gonna take a little vacation in the Web!" She responded.

"THE WEB!?!?" I shouted. I knocked Mouse over and slammed my hand on the control panel. The portal disappeared. Even though it was over the vid-window, Megabyte¡¦s roar of frustuation was deafening.

Mouse snared at me." What was that for!?" she shouted.

I looked angrly at her. "Think about it, Mouse. What good will it do if he is in the Web? Sure, the Mainframers would be happy but it won¡¦t benefit Anidexes. If he stays in this system, it would be more satisfying for our protocal."

She still seemed uncertain about the choice I made. I looked at the vid-window. An ABC came and took Megabyte back to his sector. The battle is over. The rebels have re-claimed the Principal Office. But there was still trouble to come, I could sense it.

The ground started shaking. Talk about a coincidence! The system was shutting down. Of course, the Mainframers were very worried.

"This is bad," I heard Bob say.

"Very bad!"

TO BE CONTINUED¡K