Dot spent the night on the bathroom mat. She was turned decidedly away from the woodgrain on the door, drawing her fingertips over the fiberglass side of the bathtub and feeling the pads catch at the smooth surface, then slide down again. The ecru tile had dark black grout in between each individual piece, a sign that it was time to give the bathroom another deep cleaning. She didn't sleep, she hardly blinked, only stared.

Elsewhere in the house, another sprite was suffering from insomnia. Bob watched the green numbers on the clock flick slowly to a later time, unknowingly mimicking his partner. He was troubled deeply by Dot's actions, and inactions, for the past week. No, more than a week. She had kept it up for at least two. He shifted under the bedclothes for the millionth time, unable to find a spot on the bed that would comfort his troubled mind.

He heard her finger squeak down the side of the bathtub again, hating the sound for reminding him of her position and for jerking his mind to consciousness. He resituated himself with a vengeance, slamming his head back on to the pillow so that the bed bounced. Eventually, his dark thoughts ceased to churn in his brain, and he fell to sleep. There was a quiet squeak from the bathroom.

Matrix scowled. AndrAIa took the opportunity to steal a sip of his energy shake. "Don't worry too much, Sparky."

"She doesn't look sick to me." he rumbled. AndrAIa stabbed at the shake with the straw.

"I know. But even Phong says she needs help."

Matrix tensed. "But why does Bob need to bring her to the Super Computer?"

AndrAIa shrugged. "Because there's no one here in Mainframe who can give her the help she needs." She laid a hand on his arm and his muscles loosened. The renegade sulked.

"If she's so sick, how come I never noticed?" He looked away, unable to properly express his feelings. "I'm her brother, after all, and I didn't even-!"

His fists clenched again, and AndrAIa sighed. "We've all been busy against Megabyte. Nobody's had a chance to pay close attention. In retrospect, I suppose she was acting odd, but I just put it off to..." She waved her hand in an 'et cetera' gesture.

"Recent circumstances?" Matrix suggested. She nodded.

"That can't have had a good effect, after all."

Matrix reached for his energy without looking. When it wasn't where he expected, he glanced down to find it in AndrAIa's hand. He cocked an eyebrow, and she handed it over.

Bob awoke, his brain seeming to start from precisely where it had left off the night before. He climbed out of bed, rubbing his eyes, and walked towards the bathroom with his eyes practically closed. He knocked lightly with his knuckles. "Dot?"

No answer. He knocked again, more smartly, and spoke louder. "Dot?"

Still, silence. Deciding she must have gone to sleep, he opened the door as quietly as he could.

There she was, curled into a loose fetal position on the bath mat. He felt a tug of emotion in two directions, one saying it was adorable to see her like that and one being alarmed once again at her bizarre behavior. He walked forward, bent over, and rolled her on to her back to pick her up and carry her to bed.

He jumped back with a short sound of shock.

AndrAIa and Matrix glanced up as one entity when Mouse entered the diner. She spotted them, waved, and made her way to the table to sit also. Greetings and smiles where exchanged.

"How are things going in the Principle Office?" AndrAIa asked good-naturedly. Mouse heaved a sigh.

"Not good. No one's gettin' anything done. And people are looking to me for all these tactical decisions, as if I have a clue what's going on. I can hack and code and all that, but when it comes to formulating a plan, there's no match for-"

The door of the diner burst open, and a blue figure hurtled through and towards their table.

"Bob!" AndrAIa said, surprised by the Guardian's disheveled apearance. His hair wasn't combed, and he seemed to be wearing tall, Guardian-standard-issue boots over plaid, flannel pants. It would have been amusing if not for the look of panic over his face. He leaned heavily against the table, panting harshly. AndrAIa offered him a sip of Matrix's energy shake, which he declined.

"Guys..." he panted as soon as his breath was under control. "Oh, user...Dot...She's...User..."

His panic was spreading. The three sprites to which he was trying to convey this message were standing up and clamoring for a clearer statement. Bob looked up, at last able to breathe without gasping, and the look in his brown eyes made you fear the worst.

"I never thought she'd do it." he whispered. Three sprites stared at him and tried to discern whether or not he meant what each was thinking.

"You don't mean..."

As much as he tried, Bob couldn't get that last image out of his head.

He walked forward, bent over, and rolled her on to her back to pick her up and carry her to bed. Then he jumped backwards with a short sound of shock. He curled body hid a puddle of energy that had saturated the fur on the mat and actually stood above it in places. Her complexion was deathly pale, and at the contact of his hand she shimmered transparent violently. Bob searched madly for a cause, and his eyes fell on little bits of smashed plastic on the edge of the bathtub. The colors and textures where the same as Dot's hand-held razor she used to shave her legs. In a nauseous wave of realization, he saw her wrist, minced in a crosshatch of deep cuts all the way up to her elbow. The scene was horrendous. Bob covered his mouth with both hands and yelled, but there was no one to help. Dot's body grew less and less solid, until in a panic he could not stand back anymore. He dove forward and grasped her shoulders.

"Dot! Dot! Don't!" He said, almost shaking her but not daring to. But she flickered on last time and with a burst, her energy dissipated. Her black and white system icon fell on to the linoleum with a clatter. Bob stared at the place where his fiance had been and did not let himself accept it, then took off towards the diner, only pausing to put on shoes.