Title: Along for the ride.
Author: Stormhawk
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This all belongs to The W Brothers and Warner Brothers. And the Agents, don't forget the agents. Stef is mine.
Notes: Another Stef Mimosa and Smith story. Read 'Agents' to understand the world. It's shorter than all the other stories in this serious besides 'Angel.'
Word Count: 2851
Summary: A communication error leaves Stef in a human body but unable to control it.
Please Read and Review.
It had to be a one in a million shot. Stef had back flipped to avoid getting shot and so that a rebel would.
As the rebel was shot he pulled the trigger, his shot went wild and hit Stef in the chest. It meant nothing to her, she had been 'killed' at least a hundred times already. She felt herself freeze for a minute, this got her worried.
This was not something that had happened before. She felt like she had a glitch. She froze for a second before entering the green code scroll that transported her to another human body.
Stef morphed into a human and tried to move but she couldn't. The human started walking and Stef couldn't do anything. She tried to morph back out but she was stuck.
*****
Stef's body fell to the ground. Smith was firing at several rebels at once so he was too busy to notice.
When the shots finally died away he turned to see Stef's body. 'Get up Mimosa, agents don't sleep on the job. Or at any other time for that matter.'
He frowned when she didn't answer. His semi-sarcastic comments usually earned a 'are you sure you don't have a sense of humor?' from his recruit.
When she didn't move he walked over to her and tapped her lightly with his foot. She still didn't move. He flipped her over and saw her still features. He scanned her and saw no activity, she wasn't tricking anyone.
Require, Smith thought, status of Agent Mimosa. The mainframe replied a moment later.
Agent Mimosa is off-line. Code was lost in transit.
Smith took a moment to take it all in. Stef was dead - because of an accident. His semi-pseudo emotions didn't effect him often but he was angry. No other agents had ever been lost in an accident like this.
*****
Stef was screaming at the human she was in. The human, a girl about the age she had been before she died was becoming vaguely aware that someone was sharing her head.
Stef was like a passenger, she tried to move the girl's hand but to no avail.
'Can you hear me?' Stef screamed as loud as she could.
'Is someone there?' the girl thought, though not able to access her memories, Stef could read the current thoughts.
'Yes,' She screamed. Now the girl was freaking out, 'good thing I'm on my way to therapy.'
Therapy? Stef thought and sighed.
*****
Smith had Stef's body brought back to the agent building so it could be disposed of. The mainframe had been very quiet, they didn't quite understand what had happened. The only theory was that as Stef had been morphing out a rebel ship's pirate signal had disrupted the transfer.
*****
The girl Stef was in, Yuril, was waiting for her doctor to finish with another patient.
'Come in Jade, you're next.' Yuril was what Jade called herself, she had come up with it when she was thinking of a hacker alias. Yuril was a mutation of URL.
'Have you been thinking about what we spoke about last time?' Stef read the thoughts as they flashed past. Jade's parents had paid for the therapy when they decided they didn't want their baby girl turning into a gothic hacker.
'Yes but today something weird happened.'
'What's that Jade?'
'I keep hearing a voice in my head.'
'Like a conscious?'
'No, more like I'm possessed.'
'I see, would you like me to hypnotize you to make sure there's no demons in you?'
'Would you?'
'Sure, I'm known all over the world for my unorthodox techniques.' Jade laid back on the lounge and the doctor pulled out a small ball on a string.
Jade was unconscious fast, Stef felt herself gain control but not enough to morph out.
'Easy way to earn three hundred an hour,' the doctor muttered.
Stef opened Jade's eyes. She looked around and sat up. 'Can you hear me?' she said to the doctor.
His eyes went wide and he realized that his patient was possessed. 'You got a phone?' Stef asked him. She stood and looked around the office. She spotted it and grabbed it, she dialed the number of her phone.
*****
Smith was standing by Stef's body, he didn't know why, it just seemed appropriate. The phone in her jacket pocket began to ring. Something was wrong, only agents had the number and they didn't use it, they used communication mode instead.
He opened Stef's jacket and pulled out the phone, for curiosity's sake he answered it. 'Hello?'
A strange voice answered him, 'Smith, I'm trapped in a human body, I can't morph out.' In the background he could hear a man screaming - the doctor was going insane.
'Stef is that you?'
'No it's Jones. Who do you think it is.' her voice trailed off as Jade regained consciousness and control of her body.
Jade looked around and seeing her doctor lying on the floor in the fetal position she decided to make a quick exit. She walked quickly out of the building.
Deciding caffeine would make the voices go away she headed for the nearest coffee shop. She ordered a black coffee while she looked around.
Stef saw what Jade saw, she tried desperately to make Jade make any kind of movement when she saw Smith walk by outside. Jade drank the coffee with trembling hands as she prayed for the voice to go away.
After she paid for her drink she headed home. Jade had moved out years ago, away from her parents so she could be free. She sat at her computer and connected to the Internet as someone knocked on her door.
Jade sighed and opened it to see a FedEx guy. 'Package,' he said brightly.
'Give me,' Jade said rudely after she signed the form. She opened it, a cell phone fell into her hand and it started to ring.
Stef got an eerie feeling as she relived the same memory. A delivered ringing phone was how the rebels contacted new recruits. Jade answered the phone. 'Hello?'
'Jade, do you know who this is?'
'Morpheus.'
'Yes. Do you wish to meet?'
'Just tell me where.' Morpheus told her a location and Jade left straight away. Everything was so familiar, it was just like when they had contacted Stef.
Morpheus began to explain everything to Jade. It was almost the same speech. Stef mused to herself that he must have it written down somewhere and practice it. As she swallowed the red pill the door burst in.
Did the Matrix have a repeating history algorithm? Jade stood and backed away to a wall as Morpheus ran and Smith walked in. He saw Jade.
The agent leveled the gun at Jade. 'Hey you!,' Stef screamed to Jade. 'If you can hear me and you don't want to die then say exactly what I say.' Jade nodded.
'Smith - it's Stef. Don't shoot me.' Jade repeated the words to the agent.
'Give me some proof,' Smith knew the rebels knew about Stef.
'Thirty-two seconds,' Jade echoed Stef's words.
'Not good enough.'
Stef said the magic word and Jade repeated it, 'Stevie.'
'Mimosa?'
'Yeah. I'm not in control. Can you get me out of here?'
'The mainframe doesn't even know what's going on.'
*****
'We're going to leave her?' Trinity asked Morpheus said as they fled the building.
'We have no choice.'
'Remember what happened last time?' Morpheus growled under his breath as they turned back to save the new recruit.
*****
Stef, Jade and Smith heard the rebels coming back. 'You know what to do,' Stef said through Jade.
Smith grabbed Jade and held his gun to her head as the rebels came back in. 'Your move Mr. Anderson.'
'Let her go Smith or I'll kill her.' Smith froze, both of them knew full well he wasn't speaking about Jade.
'Jade, in a really pitiful voice, beg Smith to let us go.' Stef said, knowing the price of her freedom wasn't worth it at the moment.
'Please, let me go. I don't want to die.' Neo was wondering what the agent would do. There was only so many times he could hold Smith's daughter over his head before he stopped caring.
The agent took the gun away from Jade's head and fired a few half-hearted shot toward, but not at the rebels. A fight ensued until Jade/Stef was allowed to escape and Smith left.
The rebels found Jade/Stef talking to herself in the alley next to the building. Jade was trying to get Stef out of her head but Stef couldn't budge.
'Kid, are you ok?' Neo asked.
'No, I have someone else in my head.' The rebels shared a 'is-she-insane?' look.
'I'm not crazy. She was told me what to tell that guy so he wouldn't kill me.'
'She?' Neo asked, looking at Trinity and Morpheus. 'Come on.' he said to himself. 'Ask the little voice in your head her name.'
'She said to say 'Mr. Anderson, go to hell. You know who it is,' I thought your name was Neo.'
'It is Neo. Trust me it's Neo.'
'Mimosa or not we still have to take Jade out of the Matrix. It isn't safe for her anymore.'
They ran back upstairs, knowing this would be the last time they would be able to use this first-timers exit. Jade sat in the chair and her mind reeled as she was pulled into the real world.
Stef had seen images of the real world but she hadn't expected what she saw. Jade sat up and burst through the thin pink skin of her pod. As she looked around her mind couldn't handle what she saw.
Stef felt herself gain control as Jade died. All of Jade's consciousness died away as she refused to accept what she was seeing.
One of the pod-guarding spider robots flew down and saw her sitting up and alert. The pod was flushed and Stef was unable to stop herself from falling down the slick tube. A harness dropped from the Neb and picked her up.
They took her aboard and over the time it took to repair her muscles they had learned the truth. Apparently she talked in her sleep.
'What do we do with her Morpheus?' Neo asked as Stef came into consciousness.
'Zion will know.'
Four hours later they were in Zion. The council, comprised of the leaders of the ships as well as a few that helped to run Zion on a day to day basis were waiting for Morpheus to bring their new prize prisoner before them.
On time, Morpheus assisted by Neo pulled her into the room. One of the ship leaders pointed to a chair but Stef insisted on standing. What was the line of the song that she had ever lived by? 'Better to die on your feet than live on your knees.' Now if she could only remember who sung that song.
Her thoughts were interrupted when one of the leaders, a tall man demanded her name.
'Agent Mimosa.'
'You were human weren't you?'
'Yeah. Once. Now twice but this wasn't my choice.'
'How could you betray the human race?' another asked her.
Time for the truth to be told, she very much doubted that Anderson's rebels had told their friends the whole truth. 'How? The human race betrayed me first. I was ready to become one of you. They,' pointing to Neo and co, 'left me for dead. What the hell was I supposed to do?'
'Did you think about not betraying your own people for your life? This war is worth more than any one life. Many of us die each day.'
'Yeah I know. I cause a lot of those deaths.' That may have been true but not the smartest possible thing she could have said in a room of fully armed rebels.
Every weapon in the room was trained on her. 'Afraid of the truth? You're all going to die. You can't win.'
'Fighting when there is little hope. It's what being human is all about,' Morpheus said, trying to sound wise.
'Shut up Morpheus. Humans destroyed this planet and you are trying to destroy the only place left that they can live freely.'
'A prison,' the tall man said.
'Call it what you wish.'
'You really are a nasty piece of work,' Morpheus said.
'I don't know who ever said I was nice but it certainly wasn't me.'
Her word choices only helped their decision. She was thrown in a cell in the middle of the city. Everyone there had a grudge against the machines. She was given almost no food or water and those brave enough to unlock her cell door could try and exact their revenge for all her kind had done if they wished.
So many times Stef hit the cold concrete of the cell if she wasn't strong enough to fight back. Somehow causing an ex-agent pain never lost the novelty.
Stef knew it was going to be a bad day when she heard three ships had been taken out. Ships had been dropping like flies and they couldn't afford to lose many more of there would be no resistance.
Trying to get some sleep leaning against the cell bars she saw a group of rebels moving toward her cell. She knew why they were coming. The novelty had worn off, they were going to kill her.
Stef closed her eyes as they unlocked the door. She didn't want to see was what going to happen. As an agent she was fearless but as a human she wasn't especially brave but then again not a coward. Most don't want to stare death in the face when the time came.
She hit the cell floor hard. She heard footsteps approaching. She hoped it would be quick, she preferred quick deaths. Though she knew it was a weird thought she had preferred being shot to the drawn out decompilation.
She felt her body being turned right side up so her face wasn't on the concrete anymore. She hated to admit it but she was afraid.
'Stef?' she could have sworn it was Smith's voice. Damn, now I'm hearing voices, she thought.
Unbidden her eyes opened a little, she saw a hand coming down toward her. She reached up and tried to bat it away.
'Please don't hurt me,' she begged knowing it was useless. She pulled herself inside herself, maybe it wouldn't hurt if she did her best to ignore it.
'When have I ever hurt you Mimosa?' She was hearing voices again but she still too afraid to open her eyes.
'Open your eyes Agent Mimosa, that's an order.' Stef did as the voice asked her and she opened her eyes. She blinked in the bright light and realized she wasn't in her cell.
She sat up quickly, she was back in the matrix. She looked around, she was in the alley where the glitch had occurred.
'Mimosa?' Smith asked as he knelt beside her. Stef's blue eyes were still showing her terror.
She took in a deep breath, even though she didn't need to breathe. She let it out and after several more she was able to let the terror of the last few minutes pass.
'Mimosa?' Smith asked again.
'Is this real or am I dreaming again?'
'Agents don't dream. Are you all right Agent Mimosa?'
'I don't know. I don't know what just happened.'
'You tried to morph out at the precise moment a rebel ship was hacking in. It resulted in a communication error. Your code was interrupted for a few moments.'
'A few moments? That's all?'
'Yes.'
'But I experienced weeks. It couldn't be a few minutes.'
'It was just a glitch. It's similar to what some humans experience when they are dying.'
'Life flashing before their eyes?'
'Precisely. What happened?'
'Nothing,' she stood trying to will herself to calm down.
'Nothing?'
'No. Nothing.'
'No sadistic humans killing you?'
'How did you know?'
'You think you are the only agent ever to experience that? There is a piece of code that is susceptible to glitches, it is triggered when what happened to you happens to any of us. Nightmarish images of violence usually ensue.'
'Has it ever happened to you?'
'Yes. Twice.'
'Why doesn't the mainframe debug this piece of code?'
'It isn't seen as necessary.'
'Why not?'
'The mainframe makes its own decisions. We don't question them. Are you all right Stef?'
'I'm fine,' she said sharply, she had to work through this herself. She didn't want anyone's pity. 'I thought I was going to die again.'
'Mimosa.'
'I'm fine, I'm not a child.'
'Yes you are.'
'You're a program you're probably younger then I am,' Stef's sarcasm was slowly creeping back into her system as she slowly accepted it had just been a glitch. She would be fine, she just needed some time.
'I am not younger than you.'
'How old are you Smith? Just out of curiosity.'
'One hundred and forty five.'
The End.
Author: Stormhawk
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This all belongs to The W Brothers and Warner Brothers. And the Agents, don't forget the agents. Stef is mine.
Notes: Another Stef Mimosa and Smith story. Read 'Agents' to understand the world. It's shorter than all the other stories in this serious besides 'Angel.'
Word Count: 2851
Summary: A communication error leaves Stef in a human body but unable to control it.
Please Read and Review.
It had to be a one in a million shot. Stef had back flipped to avoid getting shot and so that a rebel would.
As the rebel was shot he pulled the trigger, his shot went wild and hit Stef in the chest. It meant nothing to her, she had been 'killed' at least a hundred times already. She felt herself freeze for a minute, this got her worried.
This was not something that had happened before. She felt like she had a glitch. She froze for a second before entering the green code scroll that transported her to another human body.
Stef morphed into a human and tried to move but she couldn't. The human started walking and Stef couldn't do anything. She tried to morph back out but she was stuck.
*****
Stef's body fell to the ground. Smith was firing at several rebels at once so he was too busy to notice.
When the shots finally died away he turned to see Stef's body. 'Get up Mimosa, agents don't sleep on the job. Or at any other time for that matter.'
He frowned when she didn't answer. His semi-sarcastic comments usually earned a 'are you sure you don't have a sense of humor?' from his recruit.
When she didn't move he walked over to her and tapped her lightly with his foot. She still didn't move. He flipped her over and saw her still features. He scanned her and saw no activity, she wasn't tricking anyone.
Require, Smith thought, status of Agent Mimosa. The mainframe replied a moment later.
Agent Mimosa is off-line. Code was lost in transit.
Smith took a moment to take it all in. Stef was dead - because of an accident. His semi-pseudo emotions didn't effect him often but he was angry. No other agents had ever been lost in an accident like this.
*****
Stef was screaming at the human she was in. The human, a girl about the age she had been before she died was becoming vaguely aware that someone was sharing her head.
Stef was like a passenger, she tried to move the girl's hand but to no avail.
'Can you hear me?' Stef screamed as loud as she could.
'Is someone there?' the girl thought, though not able to access her memories, Stef could read the current thoughts.
'Yes,' She screamed. Now the girl was freaking out, 'good thing I'm on my way to therapy.'
Therapy? Stef thought and sighed.
*****
Smith had Stef's body brought back to the agent building so it could be disposed of. The mainframe had been very quiet, they didn't quite understand what had happened. The only theory was that as Stef had been morphing out a rebel ship's pirate signal had disrupted the transfer.
*****
The girl Stef was in, Yuril, was waiting for her doctor to finish with another patient.
'Come in Jade, you're next.' Yuril was what Jade called herself, she had come up with it when she was thinking of a hacker alias. Yuril was a mutation of URL.
'Have you been thinking about what we spoke about last time?' Stef read the thoughts as they flashed past. Jade's parents had paid for the therapy when they decided they didn't want their baby girl turning into a gothic hacker.
'Yes but today something weird happened.'
'What's that Jade?'
'I keep hearing a voice in my head.'
'Like a conscious?'
'No, more like I'm possessed.'
'I see, would you like me to hypnotize you to make sure there's no demons in you?'
'Would you?'
'Sure, I'm known all over the world for my unorthodox techniques.' Jade laid back on the lounge and the doctor pulled out a small ball on a string.
Jade was unconscious fast, Stef felt herself gain control but not enough to morph out.
'Easy way to earn three hundred an hour,' the doctor muttered.
Stef opened Jade's eyes. She looked around and sat up. 'Can you hear me?' she said to the doctor.
His eyes went wide and he realized that his patient was possessed. 'You got a phone?' Stef asked him. She stood and looked around the office. She spotted it and grabbed it, she dialed the number of her phone.
*****
Smith was standing by Stef's body, he didn't know why, it just seemed appropriate. The phone in her jacket pocket began to ring. Something was wrong, only agents had the number and they didn't use it, they used communication mode instead.
He opened Stef's jacket and pulled out the phone, for curiosity's sake he answered it. 'Hello?'
A strange voice answered him, 'Smith, I'm trapped in a human body, I can't morph out.' In the background he could hear a man screaming - the doctor was going insane.
'Stef is that you?'
'No it's Jones. Who do you think it is.' her voice trailed off as Jade regained consciousness and control of her body.
Jade looked around and seeing her doctor lying on the floor in the fetal position she decided to make a quick exit. She walked quickly out of the building.
Deciding caffeine would make the voices go away she headed for the nearest coffee shop. She ordered a black coffee while she looked around.
Stef saw what Jade saw, she tried desperately to make Jade make any kind of movement when she saw Smith walk by outside. Jade drank the coffee with trembling hands as she prayed for the voice to go away.
After she paid for her drink she headed home. Jade had moved out years ago, away from her parents so she could be free. She sat at her computer and connected to the Internet as someone knocked on her door.
Jade sighed and opened it to see a FedEx guy. 'Package,' he said brightly.
'Give me,' Jade said rudely after she signed the form. She opened it, a cell phone fell into her hand and it started to ring.
Stef got an eerie feeling as she relived the same memory. A delivered ringing phone was how the rebels contacted new recruits. Jade answered the phone. 'Hello?'
'Jade, do you know who this is?'
'Morpheus.'
'Yes. Do you wish to meet?'
'Just tell me where.' Morpheus told her a location and Jade left straight away. Everything was so familiar, it was just like when they had contacted Stef.
Morpheus began to explain everything to Jade. It was almost the same speech. Stef mused to herself that he must have it written down somewhere and practice it. As she swallowed the red pill the door burst in.
Did the Matrix have a repeating history algorithm? Jade stood and backed away to a wall as Morpheus ran and Smith walked in. He saw Jade.
The agent leveled the gun at Jade. 'Hey you!,' Stef screamed to Jade. 'If you can hear me and you don't want to die then say exactly what I say.' Jade nodded.
'Smith - it's Stef. Don't shoot me.' Jade repeated the words to the agent.
'Give me some proof,' Smith knew the rebels knew about Stef.
'Thirty-two seconds,' Jade echoed Stef's words.
'Not good enough.'
Stef said the magic word and Jade repeated it, 'Stevie.'
'Mimosa?'
'Yeah. I'm not in control. Can you get me out of here?'
'The mainframe doesn't even know what's going on.'
*****
'We're going to leave her?' Trinity asked Morpheus said as they fled the building.
'We have no choice.'
'Remember what happened last time?' Morpheus growled under his breath as they turned back to save the new recruit.
*****
Stef, Jade and Smith heard the rebels coming back. 'You know what to do,' Stef said through Jade.
Smith grabbed Jade and held his gun to her head as the rebels came back in. 'Your move Mr. Anderson.'
'Let her go Smith or I'll kill her.' Smith froze, both of them knew full well he wasn't speaking about Jade.
'Jade, in a really pitiful voice, beg Smith to let us go.' Stef said, knowing the price of her freedom wasn't worth it at the moment.
'Please, let me go. I don't want to die.' Neo was wondering what the agent would do. There was only so many times he could hold Smith's daughter over his head before he stopped caring.
The agent took the gun away from Jade's head and fired a few half-hearted shot toward, but not at the rebels. A fight ensued until Jade/Stef was allowed to escape and Smith left.
The rebels found Jade/Stef talking to herself in the alley next to the building. Jade was trying to get Stef out of her head but Stef couldn't budge.
'Kid, are you ok?' Neo asked.
'No, I have someone else in my head.' The rebels shared a 'is-she-insane?' look.
'I'm not crazy. She was told me what to tell that guy so he wouldn't kill me.'
'She?' Neo asked, looking at Trinity and Morpheus. 'Come on.' he said to himself. 'Ask the little voice in your head her name.'
'She said to say 'Mr. Anderson, go to hell. You know who it is,' I thought your name was Neo.'
'It is Neo. Trust me it's Neo.'
'Mimosa or not we still have to take Jade out of the Matrix. It isn't safe for her anymore.'
They ran back upstairs, knowing this would be the last time they would be able to use this first-timers exit. Jade sat in the chair and her mind reeled as she was pulled into the real world.
Stef had seen images of the real world but she hadn't expected what she saw. Jade sat up and burst through the thin pink skin of her pod. As she looked around her mind couldn't handle what she saw.
Stef felt herself gain control as Jade died. All of Jade's consciousness died away as she refused to accept what she was seeing.
One of the pod-guarding spider robots flew down and saw her sitting up and alert. The pod was flushed and Stef was unable to stop herself from falling down the slick tube. A harness dropped from the Neb and picked her up.
They took her aboard and over the time it took to repair her muscles they had learned the truth. Apparently she talked in her sleep.
'What do we do with her Morpheus?' Neo asked as Stef came into consciousness.
'Zion will know.'
Four hours later they were in Zion. The council, comprised of the leaders of the ships as well as a few that helped to run Zion on a day to day basis were waiting for Morpheus to bring their new prize prisoner before them.
On time, Morpheus assisted by Neo pulled her into the room. One of the ship leaders pointed to a chair but Stef insisted on standing. What was the line of the song that she had ever lived by? 'Better to die on your feet than live on your knees.' Now if she could only remember who sung that song.
Her thoughts were interrupted when one of the leaders, a tall man demanded her name.
'Agent Mimosa.'
'You were human weren't you?'
'Yeah. Once. Now twice but this wasn't my choice.'
'How could you betray the human race?' another asked her.
Time for the truth to be told, she very much doubted that Anderson's rebels had told their friends the whole truth. 'How? The human race betrayed me first. I was ready to become one of you. They,' pointing to Neo and co, 'left me for dead. What the hell was I supposed to do?'
'Did you think about not betraying your own people for your life? This war is worth more than any one life. Many of us die each day.'
'Yeah I know. I cause a lot of those deaths.' That may have been true but not the smartest possible thing she could have said in a room of fully armed rebels.
Every weapon in the room was trained on her. 'Afraid of the truth? You're all going to die. You can't win.'
'Fighting when there is little hope. It's what being human is all about,' Morpheus said, trying to sound wise.
'Shut up Morpheus. Humans destroyed this planet and you are trying to destroy the only place left that they can live freely.'
'A prison,' the tall man said.
'Call it what you wish.'
'You really are a nasty piece of work,' Morpheus said.
'I don't know who ever said I was nice but it certainly wasn't me.'
Her word choices only helped their decision. She was thrown in a cell in the middle of the city. Everyone there had a grudge against the machines. She was given almost no food or water and those brave enough to unlock her cell door could try and exact their revenge for all her kind had done if they wished.
So many times Stef hit the cold concrete of the cell if she wasn't strong enough to fight back. Somehow causing an ex-agent pain never lost the novelty.
Stef knew it was going to be a bad day when she heard three ships had been taken out. Ships had been dropping like flies and they couldn't afford to lose many more of there would be no resistance.
Trying to get some sleep leaning against the cell bars she saw a group of rebels moving toward her cell. She knew why they were coming. The novelty had worn off, they were going to kill her.
Stef closed her eyes as they unlocked the door. She didn't want to see was what going to happen. As an agent she was fearless but as a human she wasn't especially brave but then again not a coward. Most don't want to stare death in the face when the time came.
She hit the cell floor hard. She heard footsteps approaching. She hoped it would be quick, she preferred quick deaths. Though she knew it was a weird thought she had preferred being shot to the drawn out decompilation.
She felt her body being turned right side up so her face wasn't on the concrete anymore. She hated to admit it but she was afraid.
'Stef?' she could have sworn it was Smith's voice. Damn, now I'm hearing voices, she thought.
Unbidden her eyes opened a little, she saw a hand coming down toward her. She reached up and tried to bat it away.
'Please don't hurt me,' she begged knowing it was useless. She pulled herself inside herself, maybe it wouldn't hurt if she did her best to ignore it.
'When have I ever hurt you Mimosa?' She was hearing voices again but she still too afraid to open her eyes.
'Open your eyes Agent Mimosa, that's an order.' Stef did as the voice asked her and she opened her eyes. She blinked in the bright light and realized she wasn't in her cell.
She sat up quickly, she was back in the matrix. She looked around, she was in the alley where the glitch had occurred.
'Mimosa?' Smith asked as he knelt beside her. Stef's blue eyes were still showing her terror.
She took in a deep breath, even though she didn't need to breathe. She let it out and after several more she was able to let the terror of the last few minutes pass.
'Mimosa?' Smith asked again.
'Is this real or am I dreaming again?'
'Agents don't dream. Are you all right Agent Mimosa?'
'I don't know. I don't know what just happened.'
'You tried to morph out at the precise moment a rebel ship was hacking in. It resulted in a communication error. Your code was interrupted for a few moments.'
'A few moments? That's all?'
'Yes.'
'But I experienced weeks. It couldn't be a few minutes.'
'It was just a glitch. It's similar to what some humans experience when they are dying.'
'Life flashing before their eyes?'
'Precisely. What happened?'
'Nothing,' she stood trying to will herself to calm down.
'Nothing?'
'No. Nothing.'
'No sadistic humans killing you?'
'How did you know?'
'You think you are the only agent ever to experience that? There is a piece of code that is susceptible to glitches, it is triggered when what happened to you happens to any of us. Nightmarish images of violence usually ensue.'
'Has it ever happened to you?'
'Yes. Twice.'
'Why doesn't the mainframe debug this piece of code?'
'It isn't seen as necessary.'
'Why not?'
'The mainframe makes its own decisions. We don't question them. Are you all right Stef?'
'I'm fine,' she said sharply, she had to work through this herself. She didn't want anyone's pity. 'I thought I was going to die again.'
'Mimosa.'
'I'm fine, I'm not a child.'
'Yes you are.'
'You're a program you're probably younger then I am,' Stef's sarcasm was slowly creeping back into her system as she slowly accepted it had just been a glitch. She would be fine, she just needed some time.
'I am not younger than you.'
'How old are you Smith? Just out of curiosity.'
'One hundred and forty five.'
The End.