A Shadow in the Night
Written by Lady Sita
Rating: PG13 (innuendo, violence, language)
*****
Prologue
*****
She waited patiently in dark, leaning against a wall she couldn't see, for her time to be called. She didn't mind waiting there. She liked the dark. It was just that she usually had to wait so long. Her began to nod over her chest, her hair falling about her face.
"Morgan la Fey! Come forward!," a deep voice commanded. Her head snapped up and she stepped into the only spot of light to stand before the Guild Council. "You have a new assignment."
A small column across the room lit up. Suspended above it was a vid-window of a smiling blue-skinned sprite with silver hair and warm, brown eyes.
Avid-window appeared a few feet in front of Morgan. It remained black; apparently, her new employer was unable to send video. "My dear little mercenary, since you have proved yourself to be one of the best in your... field, I have chosen you to deal with a little problem for me." The speaker's way of inflection seemed to draw Morgan's attention. His voice was suave, smooth. "I would do it myself, but, well, I am not in the position to do so at this time. When I have proof of his deletion, you will be paid generously."
Morgan bowed low and then strode over to the table and took a moment to gaze up at the image. She reached to the sheath she wore on her back and pulled out a double-edged blade. The sound of whisper of steel on steel seemed to fill the empty silence. Morgan leaped up into the air with graceful ease and neatly sliced the vid-window in two. Such a pity. He's not too bad-looking. The halves became full of static and a crackling sound filled the air until one the Guild Advisors switched it off.
Morgan stood gazing down at the floor, silently remembering the sprite's kind face. Abruptly, the new voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned around to face the vid-window again as she slid her rapier back into it's sheath.
The outsider cleared his throat before speaking once again. "Oh, and the name of your new target is Bob. I do hope you finish the job. It would be very unfortunate if you didn't. You *do* know what happens when one doesn't complete her assignment, don't you?" Morgan nodded gravely.
Chapter I
*****
Once you had gold,
Once you had silver,
Then came the rains
out of the blue.
Ever and always.
Always and ever.
Time gave both darkness and dreams to you.
Once You Had Gold - Enya
*****
All of Mainframe was dark.
A small portal opened up at the edge of the city. A figure stepped out. The portal closed behind Morgan la Fey without a sound. I'm going to have to figure out how the Guild does that so... efficiently. Silent is the way I like to arrive. Fortunately for me, the portal is undetectable by scans. A slight breeze made Morgan's long, black trench-coat flutter. Several stray hairs blew in front of her eyes. She idly brushed them behind her ears, out of force of habit. Under her long coat, Morgan wore black leather pants tucked into black combat boots and a black tank top. The only jewelry she wore was a tear shaped pendant that matched her eyes; Morgan had been told that the necklace had belonged to her mother.
Morgan wasn't a bad looking for an 17-hour-old sprite. In fact, she was quite attractive. Her body was constructed of curving shapes, well-proportioned, in fact, but she was also lean and well built, without looking too muscled. Her hair was like a purple waterfall, which she usually kept pulled back in a neat braid, though several wisps of hair escaped here and there. Her skin was a deep red, the color of User blood. The eyes were almond-shaped; they were the color of the ocean when one stares into depths so far down one can't see the bottom. They tended to change different shades and intensities of blue to match her moods.
She had been trained by the Guild to use a multitude of weapons, and could use almost any object as an instrument of pain; although Morgan overly preferred the rapier. Her training in the martial arts was vast; the Masters had often praised her on her fighting abilities. She also carried ten throwing knives on a belt around her waist and a dagger hidden her boot.
The dead of night. This was the time when dark creatures stalked the dreams of the sleepers. The mercenary's favorite part of the cycle. Perfect time to arrive unnoticed. Morgan glanced around her new surroundings.
Too bad I won't be staying long. This place looks interesting. And... familiar? I wonder why...
The sprite pulled off her coat and she narrowed her brows in concentration. Morgan began to compress the coat between her hands until it disappeared, stowed online in her private storage, ready to be downloaded back again any time she needed. After removing her boots, they too vanished in the same fashion. She seemed to do it with ease, with a sense of well-known practice.
When she was done, Morgan uttered only two words aloud, a command that seemed to have the cadence of a spell: "Conversion: Gargoyle."
There was a sound of stretching leather and the woman seemed to grow... bigger. This format will be most... useful here. She flexed her claws and whipped her tail back and forth.
I must find a place to hide out while I gather information for a plan, Morgan thought to her self as she flapped her leathery wings and launched herself up into the midnight sky.
*****
Floating Point Park was silent, except for the chirping of insects and the gentle sigh of the sprites' breathing. They stared up into the night sky, the woman laying in the man's arms.
Dot turned to look up at her husband. "Bob, what if something happens while I'm gone? What if Kyle needs me? What if -"
The Guardian put a finger up to the Command.Com's mouth, stopping her in mid-sentence. "Dot, you need a break! You've barely had a nano to yourself all week!" Bob's voice softened. "And I've barely gotten any time with you."
"I'm sorry, Bob. It's just that I've had to do so much lately..."
"I understand," he replied. He pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. "Let's just lie here for awhile."
Dot smiled in agreement and snuggled her head against Bob's chest.
He leaned his head on hers. They closed their eyes. Moments of sweet, comforting silence followed.
Suddenly, Dot heard a gasp from the Guardian as she felt him lift his head back up. She looked up at him. "What it is, Bob?"
"Something just... flew overhead."
Dot yawned. "Huh? I don't see anything."
Bob turned around. "Wait!" He pointed up into the sky. "There it is!"
She shifted her gaze to where Bob was pointing and her violet eyes widened as she put her hand to her mouth. "Oh my User! What is that?"
They watched until the thing disappeared from view.
"I don't know what that was," Bob said. "But it looked like it had wings."
*****
Morgan looked about her temporary home. Ahhhh, this place will do nicely.
It was an abandoned structure near the conveniently near the Principal Office, tall enough for flying.
Squinting her eyes, she brought her hands together and pulled a pillow out of her storage directory followed by a blanket. Might as well get some sleep before the next cycle starts. Morgan laid down and tried to get comfortable on the cold concrete. She soon drifted into deep sleep.
*****
Morgan opened her eyes. She saw that she was standing on top of the Principal Office, which provided a very good view of Mainframe.
"Morgan!"
She turned and saw the blue-skinned sprite standing next to her. Bob.
He took her by her shoulders and looked into her deep blue eyes. She stared back into his brown pupils. He's even better looking up close.
"You must remember!"
Morgan's eyes became sky-blue with confusion she scrunched her forehead in confusion. "What? What are you talking about?" Why is the sprite I'm supposed to kill talking to me?
Bob pointed toward a sector off in the distance. Suddenly the two of them were standing in the middle of the sector. Morgan looked around once more. This sector was much unlike the others: in the center of it stood a massive tower, dark and foreboding.
He gestured around him with the sweep of a hand. "You must remember what happened here!" Bob stared intensely into her blue eyes. "You have to know where you come from! You've been here before!"
Now Morgan was horribly perplexed. What is he talking about?! This is my first time to Mainframe! Where did this this dark tower come from? I don't remember seeing it...
"You must remember who you are!"
Bob disappeared and Morgan was surrounded by hundreds of viral binomes, each pointing a gun at her. Evil laughing began to fill the air, seeming to come from all directions at once. It grew louder until the laughing became overpowering, hurting Morgan. She clutched at her ears in vain. "Make it stop!!," she screamed in agony. The roar abruptly ended. In the silence that followed, Morgan realized that she had recognized the voice, that distinct laugh. He's the one who hired me! But if I never heard him laugh, how did I recognize his voice?
Morgan woke up with a start. What the Web was that?! Why was Bob in my dream!? And who was laughing at me? She flopped back down and sighed heavily. I need to get more sleep.