"So what happened to him?" One asked Adrian, his eyes fixed on Two's motionless body as he lay on a metal table. Adrian sighed.
"Wish I knew. It could be anything. I'm guessing it was probably a corrupted line of code in him or something. I'll check it out." One nodded and watched Adrian leave the room, then turned back to his brother. He took Two's cold, limp hand in his own, a small sigh escaping from his pale lips. He felt so lost. He didn't understand any of this, and as much as he hated to admit it, it scared him to think that he might lose his brother. They did everything together. They worked as a team, whether it was to guard Merovignian and Persephone, or simply to see how much they could wind up Merovignian before he lost his temper. Two was all he had. He was One's only family, friend, and partner in crime. Now, as One sat in the dark technician's quarters with his brother, for the first time in his life he was worried he might have to face everything alone from now on.
"This ought to help," One glanced up, as Adrian re-entered the room dragging a large machine with him. It was a large black computer, with wires streaming off it in all directions, and seemed to be covered in dials and small screens. He took a large headset off a stand attached to the machine, and placed it around Two's head. One released his brother's hand and stepped back, puzzled. Adrian smiled.
"This baby will detect any faulty lines of code in Two's programming, and will allow me to correct it." One grimaced, not daring to imagine what would happen if Adrian got the programming wrong.
"So, you'll be fixing the program yourself?" He asked, trying not to reveal his increasing feeling of dread. Adrian nodded, oblivious to the nervous tone in One's voice.
"Yeah, I pretty much know what I'm doing with the coding, so it shouldn't take long to sort him out." With that Adrian plugged in the machine and switched it on, smiling to himself as the familiar lines of code began to run down the screen in front of him. He started typing away on the keyboard jutting out from underneath the small black screen, and One turned back to look at Two. It all seemed so surreal. Instead of the strong, determined character that he was used to seeing, One found himself face to face with a helpless, weak individual. Two's face usually glowed with a determined, firm expression, with a hint of sarcasm gleaming in his dark eyes, but now his face showed only pain and exhaustion. Suddenly Two moaned slightly, his breathing quickening. One looked over at Adrian, no longer bothering to hide his increasing fear.
"What's happening?" He asked urgently, and Adrian shook his head, hammering at the keyboard.
"I dunno. Some kind of program seems to be writing itself within his code, maybe I can freeze it and try and identify it."
"Well hurry!" One said, his voice rising in panic. He looked back at Two, who was tossing and turning on the metal table, moaning continuously as if experiencing some terrible nightmare. One leant over and pressed the palm of his hand against Two's forehead, wincing slightly as he withdrew it.
"He's burning up," he murmured, and walked up to Adrian. "Isn't there anything you can do?" Adrian turned to face One and shook his head solemnly.
"Until I discover what's up with the code, I can't do anything. If I try to alter the code in any other way, it might cause more harm. Besides -" He stopped suddenly, his eyes flickering towards the code that streamed steadily down the screen, like raindrops on a window. "What's this..." his voice trailed off as he typed in a few lines of code, then began frantically pummelling at the keyboard, inputting endless lines of code in the present code. "That's it," he said, his eyes now fixated on the screen. One leaned over and watched the screen, half-understanding what he saw. Suddenly he reeled backwards, clutching at his head. He had felt none of his brother's pain as of yet, but now it seared through him, like fire shooting across a trail of petrol. He groaned, doing his best to stifle cries of pain. Adrian frowned with concern, trying not to take his eyes off the screen in front of him.
"What's wrong?" he asked nervously, and One looked up, trying to shake off the nauseating pain that refused to budge from his mind.
"Two is in pain," he replied, slowly getting to his feet. "You need to do something to help him now. If we don't help him, it will be too late." Those last few words were spoken in such a tone that Adrian felt a lump rising in his throat. He forced it back down and nodded, searching through the endless lines of code for a hint of something that would save Two. Then he saw it. Among Two's normal code was something else, lines of code that seemed out of place. Virus codes.
"I've found it," he began, when Two began moaning again. One sprinted over to his brother, watching helplessly as he began convulsing, his breathing coming in short rasps.
"Do something!!" One shouted, and Adrian began typing away again, smiling triumphantly now that he finally understood what he had to do.
"Okay, I've figured it out," he said, tapping at the keyboard. "There are ten lines of virus code here. I don't know how they got into him, but they've been taking over his normal program. I'll need to remove each one separately."
"Then he'll be okay?" Adrian nodded.
"Yeah, that'll sort it out."
One sighed. "Okay, do it." He looked over at his brother again, who was lying still again, and gently wiped some of the sweat off Two's forehead.
"Hang in there..." He turned around to watch Adrian begin to delete the virus codes from Two's programming.
"Okay, two down, eight to go," Adrian muttered to no one in particular, carefully locating and deleting each line of code. This was easy. Almost too easy. No matter how hard he tried, Adrian couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling growing inside him. He slowly deleted the third code, then paused, his eyes widening as he stared in horror as he watched the screen. The virus was duplicating.
"Uh, we got a problem here," he said quietly, and One closed his eyes, not wanting to look.
"What is it?" he sighed, and Adrian fell silent. Without even being told, One had a horrible feeling that he knew already. "It's duplicating, isn't it?"
"Uh, yeah." One sighed again and looked down at his unconscious brother, wishing that there was some way he could save him. *Please hold on*, he said in his head, then stopped. He could feel something growing inside his head. He knew this feeling. Two was trying to communicate with him. He took his brother's hand again, holding onto it as if Two's life depended on this small action.
"This ain't good," Adrian murmured, frantically deleting the viruses as they infested the twin's code. This was too much for him. Even though he tried to remain confident on the surface, inside he was certain he would fail. There was just no hope for Two. Suddenly, as he counted the lines of virus code left in Two's system, he noticed something. They had stopped duplicating, and there were only two left. Cautiously, he deleted one line of virus, then gasped. The remaining code was expanding. It quickly engulfed the other lines of programming, infecting them like a plague. Behind him, Two cried out in anguish, and One clasped his hand tighter, closing his eyes tightly as he attempted to reach into his brother's mind. *Fight it, please try and fight it.*
*Don't leave me…*
"Wish I knew. It could be anything. I'm guessing it was probably a corrupted line of code in him or something. I'll check it out." One nodded and watched Adrian leave the room, then turned back to his brother. He took Two's cold, limp hand in his own, a small sigh escaping from his pale lips. He felt so lost. He didn't understand any of this, and as much as he hated to admit it, it scared him to think that he might lose his brother. They did everything together. They worked as a team, whether it was to guard Merovignian and Persephone, or simply to see how much they could wind up Merovignian before he lost his temper. Two was all he had. He was One's only family, friend, and partner in crime. Now, as One sat in the dark technician's quarters with his brother, for the first time in his life he was worried he might have to face everything alone from now on.
"This ought to help," One glanced up, as Adrian re-entered the room dragging a large machine with him. It was a large black computer, with wires streaming off it in all directions, and seemed to be covered in dials and small screens. He took a large headset off a stand attached to the machine, and placed it around Two's head. One released his brother's hand and stepped back, puzzled. Adrian smiled.
"This baby will detect any faulty lines of code in Two's programming, and will allow me to correct it." One grimaced, not daring to imagine what would happen if Adrian got the programming wrong.
"So, you'll be fixing the program yourself?" He asked, trying not to reveal his increasing feeling of dread. Adrian nodded, oblivious to the nervous tone in One's voice.
"Yeah, I pretty much know what I'm doing with the coding, so it shouldn't take long to sort him out." With that Adrian plugged in the machine and switched it on, smiling to himself as the familiar lines of code began to run down the screen in front of him. He started typing away on the keyboard jutting out from underneath the small black screen, and One turned back to look at Two. It all seemed so surreal. Instead of the strong, determined character that he was used to seeing, One found himself face to face with a helpless, weak individual. Two's face usually glowed with a determined, firm expression, with a hint of sarcasm gleaming in his dark eyes, but now his face showed only pain and exhaustion. Suddenly Two moaned slightly, his breathing quickening. One looked over at Adrian, no longer bothering to hide his increasing fear.
"What's happening?" He asked urgently, and Adrian shook his head, hammering at the keyboard.
"I dunno. Some kind of program seems to be writing itself within his code, maybe I can freeze it and try and identify it."
"Well hurry!" One said, his voice rising in panic. He looked back at Two, who was tossing and turning on the metal table, moaning continuously as if experiencing some terrible nightmare. One leant over and pressed the palm of his hand against Two's forehead, wincing slightly as he withdrew it.
"He's burning up," he murmured, and walked up to Adrian. "Isn't there anything you can do?" Adrian turned to face One and shook his head solemnly.
"Until I discover what's up with the code, I can't do anything. If I try to alter the code in any other way, it might cause more harm. Besides -" He stopped suddenly, his eyes flickering towards the code that streamed steadily down the screen, like raindrops on a window. "What's this..." his voice trailed off as he typed in a few lines of code, then began frantically pummelling at the keyboard, inputting endless lines of code in the present code. "That's it," he said, his eyes now fixated on the screen. One leaned over and watched the screen, half-understanding what he saw. Suddenly he reeled backwards, clutching at his head. He had felt none of his brother's pain as of yet, but now it seared through him, like fire shooting across a trail of petrol. He groaned, doing his best to stifle cries of pain. Adrian frowned with concern, trying not to take his eyes off the screen in front of him.
"What's wrong?" he asked nervously, and One looked up, trying to shake off the nauseating pain that refused to budge from his mind.
"Two is in pain," he replied, slowly getting to his feet. "You need to do something to help him now. If we don't help him, it will be too late." Those last few words were spoken in such a tone that Adrian felt a lump rising in his throat. He forced it back down and nodded, searching through the endless lines of code for a hint of something that would save Two. Then he saw it. Among Two's normal code was something else, lines of code that seemed out of place. Virus codes.
"I've found it," he began, when Two began moaning again. One sprinted over to his brother, watching helplessly as he began convulsing, his breathing coming in short rasps.
"Do something!!" One shouted, and Adrian began typing away again, smiling triumphantly now that he finally understood what he had to do.
"Okay, I've figured it out," he said, tapping at the keyboard. "There are ten lines of virus code here. I don't know how they got into him, but they've been taking over his normal program. I'll need to remove each one separately."
"Then he'll be okay?" Adrian nodded.
"Yeah, that'll sort it out."
One sighed. "Okay, do it." He looked over at his brother again, who was lying still again, and gently wiped some of the sweat off Two's forehead.
"Hang in there..." He turned around to watch Adrian begin to delete the virus codes from Two's programming.
"Okay, two down, eight to go," Adrian muttered to no one in particular, carefully locating and deleting each line of code. This was easy. Almost too easy. No matter how hard he tried, Adrian couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling growing inside him. He slowly deleted the third code, then paused, his eyes widening as he stared in horror as he watched the screen. The virus was duplicating.
"Uh, we got a problem here," he said quietly, and One closed his eyes, not wanting to look.
"What is it?" he sighed, and Adrian fell silent. Without even being told, One had a horrible feeling that he knew already. "It's duplicating, isn't it?"
"Uh, yeah." One sighed again and looked down at his unconscious brother, wishing that there was some way he could save him. *Please hold on*, he said in his head, then stopped. He could feel something growing inside his head. He knew this feeling. Two was trying to communicate with him. He took his brother's hand again, holding onto it as if Two's life depended on this small action.
"This ain't good," Adrian murmured, frantically deleting the viruses as they infested the twin's code. This was too much for him. Even though he tried to remain confident on the surface, inside he was certain he would fail. There was just no hope for Two. Suddenly, as he counted the lines of virus code left in Two's system, he noticed something. They had stopped duplicating, and there were only two left. Cautiously, he deleted one line of virus, then gasped. The remaining code was expanding. It quickly engulfed the other lines of programming, infecting them like a plague. Behind him, Two cried out in anguish, and One clasped his hand tighter, closing his eyes tightly as he attempted to reach into his brother's mind. *Fight it, please try and fight it.*
*Don't leave me…*
