"What the hell."

Glitch poked through the wreckage of his apartment, which had broken computer equipment scattered about. Cracked monitors flashed and discharged... Macs trying to boot up played "The Chimes of Death".

All of this didn't really make Glitch all that optimistic.

Dragging his hand through a small part of his calf length purple hair, he sighed, "I hadn't planed on upgrading for another three months... what a waste."

It took him all of a second to draw the conclusion that MicroSoft had done this. There were muddy boot prints with the logo on it, and one of the Underground's trademark swords were embedded in the floor (no doubt confusing and angering the tenant in the room below).

With a frown, he grabbed his wallet and walked out the door, destination unknown...

Well actually, he knew where he was going all along.

The computer store.

"If all my stuff is busted, I have to get a couple of new comps, right?"

A gust of wind blew past, and a small sweat drop appeared on his head.

"Anyway, I just new some new stuff so I figure out what's been going on for the last two years." Not expecting and answer this time, he pushed through the doors of the store and made a bee line to the small mac section. While it irked him that in the time he was away the world still hadn't realized the Mac's superiority, he shrugged it off and grabbed an iMac and a laptop off the shelf. When the store clerk came up to him and asked if he needed help he just shook his head and continued on toward to counter. There he produced a credit card (whose purchases are all billed to Microsoft) and paid for his things. Ignoring the wide eyed looks from employees, he hefted the two boxes under his prosthetic arm and began to walk back to his pad.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" He commented to himself, walking back down the street just a short minute after having arrived.

He was almost giddy with anticipation... It wasn't often he got new Apple toys. He swiftly unwrapped his two new partners in crime, then set aside the Powerbook and carried the iMac to his desk. Only moments later he was online, care of the broadband that Microsoft was also unwittingly paying for. He made sure to get rid of any backdoors hidden on his Mac, by MS or other. He may be an Apple Zealot, but he didn't need his activities monitored... seeing as a good portion of them were against the law...

He briefly checked his anti-PC site before going to the MS home page. He snorted.

" Rubbish... pure rubbish."

Glitch would have, as he had done many times before, played a random practical joke on whomever was in charge of the network at the time, but he had bigger fish to fry. Whatever Microsoft puts on their pages really had nothing to do with what Glitch was fighting against, and in this case , looking for. Doing what he did best, Glitch jacked into the computer, using cables that extended from his upper back. Soon, he had left his body and was venturing into internet space. To him, it was akin to returning to the womb. He had, after all, "grown up" there. The sever in particular was one not directly connected to the internet, but connected to the company network, and then to the internet. Glitch slid right in, unnoticeable by any of Microsoft's virus detection programs... at least as long as he didn't modify anything.

Which was fine as he didn't plan to do that in the first place. He needed to check, just like he did every time he returned from extended voyages to the net. The place were he, and his greatest nemesis was created. Truly like brothers. Well, step brothers. Who were inclined to hate each other. Glitch nodded off his feelings of angst, it was neither the time nor the place. He headed to the core, the center of the dark and ancient server. It was black here, long since having been deemed obsolete, but it's task was very specific, very specialized. It was designed to create artificial inteligences, like himself and Bill.

And, as Glitch observed with mixed emotions, it was being used again for the same purpose. The center was occupied once more for the first time since, to the best of his knowledge, 94. He poked and prodded the black void... but nothing came of it. It gave him an indescribable amount of nostalgia just being there, and he half expected the big thing to yell at him.

Glitch was concerned. The only reason the spot could be back is to develop some new sort of AI... and that meant someone new for him to fight against. He also had an inkling that it might be an omen of sorts. He really had no idea (or evidence) to suggest that, but he checked over the server once more for anyway for any recent references to Bill. No luck.

Moments later, Glitch was back within the confines of his body, yet again in his apartment. He was about to shut down his machine when an instant message popped up.

"Eh? Who's this from?" The sender's name was missing. Hoping to himself that this wasn't yet _another_ ad for pornography, he opened it.

<Glitch! It's me!>

Glitch took a step back, and quickly typed in a response, <Whose me? Be a little more specific.>

The text turned to red, <you bloody idiot! It's UT!>

Glitch's face lit up briefly before he returned to typing, <So, where are you?>

The return message appeared immediately, <Microsoft HQ, so could ya come and get me?>

He frowned briefly, <How are you online if you've been captured?>

<I'm chewing on an ethernet cord ^^;>

Glitch face faulted briefly, <Uh sure, I think I can get you... But how'd you get caught?>

<they came to the apartment and captured me. Don't ask me how, It was all pretty quick. Hey, guess what?>

Glitch typed back lazily, <what?>

<One of the guards came up to me, and started poking me with a stick. So do you know what I did?>

Glitch sighed, <What'd you do?>

<I sucked the life outta his hand. nothing but bone was left, I tell you!>

Glitch couched, <that's sick, dude. And sounded wrong.>

The next message came in slowly, <Ehehe, well, that is to say, I was kinda-- they're back, I'll talk later!>

"Hey wait!" He keyed another message up, but UT was already gone.

Glitch pushed out and stood up. Scratching the back of his head, he began to pace.

"Man, I don't wanna go back to HQ... it's almost defiantly a trap... But I can't just leave UT hanging!" He went to the coat rack and picked up his armor. With a feral grin, he said, "Well I guess it's decided... off to MicroSoft!" In no time, he was out the door and on the way to the HQ, which was only 30 short miles from where he lived.

Meanwhile, at the place Ultra-Troid claimed to be, there was nothing. Only the quiet hum of the nearby servers. Against one wall was a small break station, for whomever was on duty at the time. But there was no cage, no tiny metroid. And not a single sign that there had ever been one there.

"Hmm?"

Glitch had been jogging down the street when he was hit with a small pang. He shook his head to clear it, no need to worry about something he couldn't identify. But even so, he slowed down and put his hand on his forehead, "At least at BoTP I didn't have to worry about saving people..." A moment later he took back off down the street.

He finally arrived at Microsoft some time later, but to his surprise, it wasn't a battle field. In fact, he couldn't discern any traps at all.

"So much for that."

Not a second after he said that, a small net dropped slowly onto his head. He looked up laboriously to see two nervously grinning MicroSoft Underground personnel. With exaggerated ease, he plucked up the net and put it on the ground beside him. The men, no longer smiling, began to run. Glitch's claw shot out and grabbed one by the ear. He struggled, but not an instant later he was flung into the building some 35 feet away. The other man, who had stopped to watch, began to run again. Glitch ran after him, and knocked a nearby tree into the man's path... well not so much into his path as directly onto him, pining him neatly to the ground. Glitch put his foot on the tree and spoke in a quiet voice. "Did you _really_ think that would work?"

He sweat dropped before answering, "Not really... but we're just accountants..."

Glitch increased the weight of the foot on the wooden trap, "Why does MicroSoft need to use accountants when it has B07N?"

The captured man coughed under the pressure, "Ehh, he's been pretty reclusive all his life, and there are rumors of people who aren't his superiors getting killed if they bother him."

"Well, would'ya mind telling me what office is his??" said Glitch cheekily.

But the man below him had passed out from lack of oxygen. Glitch quickly pushed the tree off of him, before briskly jogging to the front entrance of the oversized office building.

The lobby was massive, circular with a small secretarial desk at the head. The whole thing was empty, surprisingly. The only sound came from the keyboard of the single secretary who ruled over this expanse, seemingly oblivious to what had just went on outside. With slight apprehension, he walked up to her, making sure to keep his prosthetic arm from view.

"Howdy, where might the server room be? I'm... a new system analyst." He said while grinning.

Stopping whatever she had been working on , she looked up at the man. Taking in the semi-tall, extremely long haired man with wide eyes, she replied, "Really? Your the new guy?"

Glitch scratched the back of his head with his claw, without realizing it. Luckily, it stayed out of sight. " Uh sure, I suppose..."

"As in, um, permanent new guy?"

He took a step back unconsciously, "Why not? Guess that makes us office mates or something, eh?"

She laughed nervously, "Oh! Yeah... I think so... I mean, erm... " She struggled to keep the conversation going, to keep him in her grasp, "Hey! Why do you have so much hair?"

Glitch's heart jumped a bit. He had forgotten, somehow, that 5 feet of purple hair was abnormal, "Well, _I_ like it. Makes me, me. Ya know?"

The young woman had loosened up a bit. "If your up for it, I could always trim it for you... come over to my place... catch my drift?" She said with a seductive smile.

It was Glitch's turn to get wide eyed now, "Uh, that's very *gulp* kind of you to offer, but maybe some other time... I'm kinda needed downstairs..." He silently prayed the server room was downstairs.

The secretary gave him a little wave, "I understand, 5 floors down, elevators are to your left."

Glitch quietly sighed in relief, then thanked her. He began to walk out when she grabbed arm.

"Don't be a stranger, you hear?" she whispered, before winking.

Glitch nodded dumbly before half stumbling away. He made it to the elevators, leaning on it's side and sighing again, "Ehehe... I guess not everyone here's bad... she must be a temp."

He regained his composure as the elevator came to a stop. He had a bad feeling about this...

Bill. Bill without a last name. Code named Beta One Seven New, or as he is more widely known B07N. His body was the seventh Prototype, the first TestType body. His body, that bore the face of one Bill Gates, former CEO of MicroSoft, was inferior. His dirty blond hair, his slim, attractive build, his above average high. None of it mattered. He was pathetic, useless.

He hated everything about it.

When it was first developed, it was beheld as the revolution in cybernetic achievements. It had been specifically designed to record test data, and incorporate all that had been learned during the development and testing of all the previous prototypes. All in all, his body was faster, more compact, more powerful, and more adaptable then Glitch's. It was the best.

And then she came. Taking his prestige, his pride. Humiliating him. Bill had been severely reprimanded for his loss two years ago. After that fateful encounter, he had begun research on her. It took less time then he would have anticipated. It was remarkably easy to find information on person owned by the same corporation you were.

He had lost to her, in both design and battle. She was the final step before Mass Production, the Production Model. Every bit of her was more human, or even more super human, then either Glitch or Bill.

Bill, in his office that he had just recently acquired, smiled grimly at that. He and Glitch finally had something in common.

Her I/O jacks were twice as small as his or Glitch's. The prosthetic jacks on her were smaller as well, and more damage resistant. They were even backward compatible, able to use prototype attachments designed for Bill.

And the kicker, she was endowed with sex organs. Not that Bill had yet come into a situation where he needed them, he had been exceptionally busy, but the mere fact that he would never be able to had the need arisen frustrated him to no end. In reality, himself and Glitch were the only creatures on the face of the planet that could not mate, or at least pass down its heritage. And Bill felt himself, if not Glitch, much more deserving then most of the other inhabitants of the world of creating offspring.

Bill finally got fed up with his train of thought and got up off of the office floor, and walked to his window. He had taken to living here, as opposed to the small closet he'd lived in previously. It wasn't much, but it gave him full time access to a computer, so it was better then nothing.

He sat down and logged into his account, quickly checking his Pro-PC page and uploading his latest essay, before accessing the building's security setup. The camera was on the lobby, and that foolish secretary that always scowled at him. Then, exactly what he didn't need, Glitch walked in and talked briefly with her. And to top it off, she swooned when he left.

He growled, "...maybe if I talked to her more..." He shook his head quickly, "This isn't the time for such things!"

He grabbed the phone off of the receiver and dialed.

"Sir?"

A quiet voice spoke on the other end, "What?"

"I've identified him... I'm going to engage him."

"Whatever is needed, but don't interrupt me again."

"Yes sir, Mr. Gates." He replaced the phone back down and grabbed his sword.

"What the hell is Glitch doing here?"

"What the hell does Bill want me here for? I'd be nice if he had gotten over that whole finding and killing me thing." commented Glitch to himself.

The elevator slowed, bouncing slightly as it stopped. The doors parted, revealing the large dark room beyond. Glitch cautiously walked out, observing the slight but noticeable chill that pre mediated the area. Walking between the massive, quietly humming servers, he figured that this must be a backup facility. He based these observations on the fact that the bullet holes from Bill's chain gun were still there, and the only new things in the room were replacements for units damaged in the fight. Hell, on one side of the room he could see his blood stain from years previous. Glitch looked shrewdly to his right shoulder, where a bullet had hit him. No scar remained, having been healed amazingly well by his BioSuit.

Even while looking around, Glitch was still wondering why Bill was doing what he was. He's sacked his apartment and stolen UT, almost inviting him into a fight. Lights flashing from around the corner interrupted his train of though. Wary of the possibility of a trap, he edged around the corner. All that greeted him, however, was the broken glass casing of a small cage. He wasn't sure, but he presumed that _was_ where UT was being held...

"Well damn, if he was gonna escape, he shouldn't have bothered to call me."

Before he could voice another wry comment, the sound of the elevator opening again shut him up. He spun around and pushed his back to the wall. He stuck his head out to see who or what it was. He had a pretty good idea.

In flash he was rolling, abandoning his hiding place in favor of taking the offensive. He shot his claw off at the silhouette created by the elevator's lights. Hearing the commotion, the figure jumped out of the way in the nick of time. Continuing on, the claw embedded itself into the doors.

Seconds later the person returned fire, his own claw whipping out towards Glitch at an alarming speed. In a feat of reflex, Glitch just managed to hit the floor before it skewered him. Before Glitch could get his wits together for a counter attack, his opponent held up his hands in protest.

"Glitch, wait!"

Glitch got to his feet, "Bill?

Bill brought his arms down, "Why are you here, Glitch?"

Glitch scratched his head, "Well why the hell do you think? You kidnapped my damn partner!"

Bill just stood there. Glitch crossed his arms in anticipation of an excuse.

"Well?"

Bill stood there a moment longer, before balling up his hand and yelling out, "What is wrong with you, idiot?! You don't even have a partner! Are you so delusional and lonely that you use figments of your imagination to justify assaulting me?!"

Now it was Glitch's turn to stand in silence.

"Are you stupid? Of course I have a partner, and a real one at that! Small fellow, metroid-y?" He replied slowly, for emphasis.

Bill narrowed his eyes and placed his hands on his hips, "You are delusional, old Glitch. Not once have I seen you with anyone besides that blasted woman."

Glitch was going to fire back another reply when he realized what Bill was saying; UT hadn't been reborn the last time Bill had seen him. He had just been a voice in the back of Glitch's mind.

Glitch sweat dropped, "Ehehe, uh, never mind that, could you tell where the little green floaty thing that you took from my apartment is?"

Bill barked out a laugh, "I'm afraid you've got the wrong guy. I never ordered any attack on your dump of a home. Now you have to make up reasons to attack me? This is trespassing you know."

Glitch gave him a withering stare, "I resent that, and you did attack my place. There was MS crap laying everywhere. And he contacted me from here, so give him back or I'll kick your arse."

Bill fumed at him, "You moron, why the hell would I have _it_? That makes no sense!"

All he got as a response was a grin, "Well, your not a very sensible guy, are you Bill" Glitch pulled his eyelid and stuck out his tongue.

Bill had calmed himself outwardly, "Well, if you have no more business here, then leave."

Glitch readied his beam sabre, "Oh ho, no no no. First, how ‘bout you tell me what's on the AI server, and then tell me where UT has gone off to. NOW."

Before Bill had a chance to answer, the door behind him began to open again. He moved to the side and pressed himself against the wall. He motioned Glitch to do something similar. Glitch dove behind a server just before the light of the elevator pored out once more. Glitch crawled to the end of his cover and peered out. The darkness of the room combined with the bright light of the elevator made another silhouette, this time that of a young woman. Well, at least Glitch thought it was a woman. It had the right curves. In the end, the voice confirmed it,

"Come out, DamnGlitch."