Judges' Choice: Most Touching Scene in a Fanfic
From RoeBoot's Infestation
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Matrix paced around the bunker like a caged animal. He wanted to go outside and kill as many Bugs as he found to get even. There was too much suffering here. How could he find relief when no one in the bunker had any? His mentor lay dying and all his strength was useless to save him. As he made what seemed his hundredth lap around the bunker he ran into Hack and Slash.
"How is Bob?" he had to ask.
"Worse," Hack admitted.
Slash put in. "And getting worser."
"There's no such word as worser!"
"Yes there is!"
"No there isn't!"
"Yes there is!"
"WILL YOU TWO IDIOTS BE QUIET!" Matrix screamed at them.
The bunker grew silent. Hack and Slash cowered away from him, holding each other, afraid Matrix was about to pull Gun out.
Seeing their fear he said. "Aw man! Guys I'm sorry. I must have sounded like Megabyte. I'm nothing but a big jerk. I'm-"
They heard it. A soft sound of singing coming from the far end of the bunker. Matrix walked past Hack and Slash, dazed by the memory of when he last heard it. Matrix's first birthday only felt like a vague dream to him. To Dot, it was far closer in her mind. When he reached the cot he saw Dot cradling Bob and singing to him the same song she preformed for Enzo's surprise party. She struggled to keep her voice steady as she found the words between her sobs. Finally she gave up. She let Bob slip back into the cot.
Dot felt a shadow fall over the bed. She turned to see her bigger brother format.
"Dot. I'm here," Matrix knelt in front of her.
Dot clung to him and cried. "I won't do this again! I won't! I stopped believing in him before. I won't believe he's leaving me again. Why did I tell him I'd let him go? Why?!"
Matrix gritted his teeth in anguish. "It's my fault, sis. Just like AndrAIa! I left him unprotected! And now...now he's..." His voice faulted.
Matrix refused to cry. Dot remembered how he refused to weep again after the loss of Bob in the Web. No more tears. And the journey though the games hardened it even more. Be tough. No room for crying.
"Tell me what happened," she asked.
"You don't want to hear it."
"I do. Please, Enzo. Tell me what went wrong. It's the only way we can try again. We have to get out of here within the next cycle. Bob can't hold out."
He relented. He sat on the floor as Dot reset herself on the stool next to Bob. She held Bob's hand as Matrix told her everything.
"If I had listened to him the Bugs wouldn't have gotten so close," Matrix finished.
"But Bob said it was an ambush."
"It was like they were waiting for us. And Bob expended so much energy fighting them. If only I hadn't left him."
"Enzo. We've all made mistakes."
"My whole life is a mistake!"
"Enzo stop it!" She scolded him. "You had no choice. Bob and I are proud of you. We always will be. No matter what goes wrong. We're a team. We're a family."
Bob groaned. They looked at him. Dot took Matrix's hand and put in on Bob's.
"Enzo. Talk to him."
Matrix rubbed the back of his head thinking about it. "What do I say?"
"Anything. I'll leave you two alone if you like."
"No It's okay. You can hear it too. Like you said we're a family."
Matrix spoke to him. "Bob? I know you told me you were proud of me when I felt like a failure. I wish you...I want you to tell me that again. I can't shake believing this is my fault. You are my best friend Bob. But you'll always be my hero and my friend. No matter how old I am. I need your guidance. Your advice. I've never felt so lonely and lost. Bob. Dot and I need you. So does Little Enzo. Who's going to teach him to be a guardian? I can't. Right now I don't even feel like a good renegade!"
He recomposed himself. "Prove Dos is wrong Bob! You've beaten the odds before. You can do it again. You didn't come all the way from the Web to lose by being stung by a Bug! Please Bob!"
Matrix felt a tear come out his left eye. He quickly wiped it away. Dot put her arm around his shoulder.
"En...En...zo..."
They looked at Bob. His eyes were closed.
Hovering between dreams and delirium Bob mumbled. "Hap...py....birth...day..."
Matrix sniffed.
"Thanks Bob."