Apocalypse noticed as soon as the hacker awoke, although he pretended not to. He kept his concentration on the road. Besides, it wasn't as if the hacker could do anything about it, even if he regained full use of his limbs any time soon.
Morpheus stood in the abandoned hotel in front of the white haired woman. "Switch," he said, "after this there is no turning back." He sat in the faded red chair behind him, pulling a small box from his pocket as he did. The woman leaned forward, curious. He opened the silver container and dumped its contents into his palms. He held one hand out to her, uncurling the fingers as he spoke...
Apocalypse swore to himself, mentally. 'Great, just what I need... a roadblock...' He looked out the window at the ancient hotel next to the car. He wasn't concerned about the road block, he had some phony badges in his pockets that identified him as a police officer, he could always pretend he was escorting a prisoner. A faint smile touched his lips as he thought about how flawless his plan was. 'Damn, I'm good...'
Switch observed the blue pill sitting in the large hand of the man in front of her. At last, after all this time, she was about to learn the truth. She would find out what the Matrix was. She only half listened to Morpheus's speech telling her she could still go back. She couldn't. She could not allow herself to give up after all this. It was too late. He uncurled his other hand, revealing a red pill. Without even waiting for him to finish his sentence, she leaned forward and snatched it from him. She knew what it would do, and she knew she wanted it. There was nothing left for her, in this world. She contemplated the pill for just a moment before seizing the glass of water on the table before her and swallowing the pill. Morpheus looked a little startled, but pleased.
"Follow me." He said, standing.
She followed him through a door behind his chair that she hadn't noticed before. Several other people were waiting inside. She paid them no mind, only glancing at the slim black haired woman in tight black leather who lead her to a chair. Without pausing to introduce herself, the woman applied a few electrodes to Switch's forehead. The people in the room began to speak, but Switch ignored them. 'I'm on my way...' she thought...
Apocalypse glowered at the cars in front of him as they crept through the blockade. The prisoner in the back was beginning to stir more, regain use of his body. Apocalypse hadn't planned on this kind of interruption when he had planned the dosage, and this irritated him. He moved his car up another few inches, pressing close to the car in front of him. A strange sensation passed over his skull, almost like an electrical current. He ran his olive hand over his slicked back hair, wondering. Another feeling began in his hand, like cold gel running up his fingers, to his arm, to his shoulder, to his neck... It spread onward, an invisible coldness. He did not allow himself to panic, not until it reached his mouth...
Mouse, watching from behind, saw the assassin's back suddenly arch. The driver opened his mouth and made only strange gurgling noises. With that, he vanished. Mouse's eyes grew wide. "The Matrix..." he whispered. He realized that he had full control of his muscles again. Raising his head slightly, he saw the flickering red and blue lights of police cars. "A blockade..." he muttered. He didn't know if it was there for him or not, nor did he care. He carefully worked the lock open, pushing the door open. He stepped out into the chilly street. The police all seemed interested in something ahead that Mouse couldn't see, and he took advantage of this. He walked, as slowly and calmly as he could, until he reached the nearest intersection. There he forced his trembling legs into the fastest run he could manage, and he didn't stop until he reached his apartment. He threw open the still unlocked door, slammed it behind him, threw all the locks shut, and allowed himself to slide down until he was sitting, leaned against the door. He only had time to consider how lucky he was before he fell into a state of unconcious sleep...
Morpheus leapt up from the battered seat on the Nebuchadnezzer, pulling the plug out of his head. He rounded on Trinity, confusion and anger contorting his face. "What the hell just happened?"
This uncharactaristic display of anger and profanity startled Trinity almost as much as what the scrolling code on the screen before her was displaying.
Cypher spoke up from his examination of the code "Well, we got Switch, but it looks like we got a...hitchhiker..." He stared once again at the code.
"And what," questioned Morpheus, his calm returning, "does that mean?"
Trinity looked up in wonder. "I've heard of that. Every so often, maybe in 1 in a 100 unplugings, something goes... wrong... No one has yet been able to figure out what it is, but the unplugging effect seems to rebound and spread until it finds the nearest plugged human. When it does, it unplugs them as well."
Morpheus looked briefly stunned. "Run a check on this person, whoever they are. Find out all you can about them."
"Yes sir." Cypher answered, smartly.
"Meanwhile, Tank, you and Dozer can get them both out of the Pool."
"Both, sir? We don't know-"
"You heard me!"
"Yessir."
When Mouse awoke, he was almost afraid to open his eyes. Maybe the whole escape had just been a bad dream? He opened them a slit, just enough for him to see the afternoon sunshine glowing through his dirty curtains. He heaved a sigh of relief, staggered off to his kitchen to get some food. Having eaten, he felt sufficiently recovered to go back to his computer. On a whim, he went to the FBI site. His name was gone from the list. He scanned the whole thing, just to be sure. It was gone. He blinked at it a few times, then shrugged. "Whatever..." He opened his hotmail account, peered blearily at the messages. Suddenly, his screen went dark. He swore at it, the message had looked like a job. He tried all the escapes he knew, but to no avail. "Bloody thing..." his hand had just reached for the restart button when green letters appeared, one by one, on the screen. He took one look at them before leaping up, pleased. At last, he would discover the truth about his world, discover the secret of The Matrix.
Ooooh, semi-cliffhanger!!! I think I'll update tomorrow, now this story is moving. Yay!
Morpheus stood in the abandoned hotel in front of the white haired woman. "Switch," he said, "after this there is no turning back." He sat in the faded red chair behind him, pulling a small box from his pocket as he did. The woman leaned forward, curious. He opened the silver container and dumped its contents into his palms. He held one hand out to her, uncurling the fingers as he spoke...
Apocalypse swore to himself, mentally. 'Great, just what I need... a roadblock...' He looked out the window at the ancient hotel next to the car. He wasn't concerned about the road block, he had some phony badges in his pockets that identified him as a police officer, he could always pretend he was escorting a prisoner. A faint smile touched his lips as he thought about how flawless his plan was. 'Damn, I'm good...'
Switch observed the blue pill sitting in the large hand of the man in front of her. At last, after all this time, she was about to learn the truth. She would find out what the Matrix was. She only half listened to Morpheus's speech telling her she could still go back. She couldn't. She could not allow herself to give up after all this. It was too late. He uncurled his other hand, revealing a red pill. Without even waiting for him to finish his sentence, she leaned forward and snatched it from him. She knew what it would do, and she knew she wanted it. There was nothing left for her, in this world. She contemplated the pill for just a moment before seizing the glass of water on the table before her and swallowing the pill. Morpheus looked a little startled, but pleased.
"Follow me." He said, standing.
She followed him through a door behind his chair that she hadn't noticed before. Several other people were waiting inside. She paid them no mind, only glancing at the slim black haired woman in tight black leather who lead her to a chair. Without pausing to introduce herself, the woman applied a few electrodes to Switch's forehead. The people in the room began to speak, but Switch ignored them. 'I'm on my way...' she thought...
Apocalypse glowered at the cars in front of him as they crept through the blockade. The prisoner in the back was beginning to stir more, regain use of his body. Apocalypse hadn't planned on this kind of interruption when he had planned the dosage, and this irritated him. He moved his car up another few inches, pressing close to the car in front of him. A strange sensation passed over his skull, almost like an electrical current. He ran his olive hand over his slicked back hair, wondering. Another feeling began in his hand, like cold gel running up his fingers, to his arm, to his shoulder, to his neck... It spread onward, an invisible coldness. He did not allow himself to panic, not until it reached his mouth...
Mouse, watching from behind, saw the assassin's back suddenly arch. The driver opened his mouth and made only strange gurgling noises. With that, he vanished. Mouse's eyes grew wide. "The Matrix..." he whispered. He realized that he had full control of his muscles again. Raising his head slightly, he saw the flickering red and blue lights of police cars. "A blockade..." he muttered. He didn't know if it was there for him or not, nor did he care. He carefully worked the lock open, pushing the door open. He stepped out into the chilly street. The police all seemed interested in something ahead that Mouse couldn't see, and he took advantage of this. He walked, as slowly and calmly as he could, until he reached the nearest intersection. There he forced his trembling legs into the fastest run he could manage, and he didn't stop until he reached his apartment. He threw open the still unlocked door, slammed it behind him, threw all the locks shut, and allowed himself to slide down until he was sitting, leaned against the door. He only had time to consider how lucky he was before he fell into a state of unconcious sleep...
Morpheus leapt up from the battered seat on the Nebuchadnezzer, pulling the plug out of his head. He rounded on Trinity, confusion and anger contorting his face. "What the hell just happened?"
This uncharactaristic display of anger and profanity startled Trinity almost as much as what the scrolling code on the screen before her was displaying.
Cypher spoke up from his examination of the code "Well, we got Switch, but it looks like we got a...hitchhiker..." He stared once again at the code.
"And what," questioned Morpheus, his calm returning, "does that mean?"
Trinity looked up in wonder. "I've heard of that. Every so often, maybe in 1 in a 100 unplugings, something goes... wrong... No one has yet been able to figure out what it is, but the unplugging effect seems to rebound and spread until it finds the nearest plugged human. When it does, it unplugs them as well."
Morpheus looked briefly stunned. "Run a check on this person, whoever they are. Find out all you can about them."
"Yes sir." Cypher answered, smartly.
"Meanwhile, Tank, you and Dozer can get them both out of the Pool."
"Both, sir? We don't know-"
"You heard me!"
"Yessir."
When Mouse awoke, he was almost afraid to open his eyes. Maybe the whole escape had just been a bad dream? He opened them a slit, just enough for him to see the afternoon sunshine glowing through his dirty curtains. He heaved a sigh of relief, staggered off to his kitchen to get some food. Having eaten, he felt sufficiently recovered to go back to his computer. On a whim, he went to the FBI site. His name was gone from the list. He scanned the whole thing, just to be sure. It was gone. He blinked at it a few times, then shrugged. "Whatever..." He opened his hotmail account, peered blearily at the messages. Suddenly, his screen went dark. He swore at it, the message had looked like a job. He tried all the escapes he knew, but to no avail. "Bloody thing..." his hand had just reached for the restart button when green letters appeared, one by one, on the screen. He took one look at them before leaping up, pleased. At last, he would discover the truth about his world, discover the secret of The Matrix.
Ooooh, semi-cliffhanger!!! I think I'll update tomorrow, now this story is moving. Yay!