"She's gone. They won't be able to access her. She was their last hope."
"Good."
"Oh god, she was so human... I feel... Perverted. Like a butcher."
"Oh please. She was just a program. Go to sleep."
"Yes, Captain."
The Agents, in their way, felt her passing as well.
"She is gone, then?"
"Yes."
"Now what do we do?"
"We wait."
The ragged, sleepless night finally ended, and 'morning' found the Twins twined on the floor, wide eyed.
"Aidenn?"
"Mmm?"
"Are we ready to kill?"
"We have never been more ready in our whole lives. We could kill, all of them, right now."
"Good. We're getting out of here, no matter what."
"Come on. Let's go."
They tried to ghost. As they felt the now-familiar sensation of a great invisible wall between them and escape into the cool almost-nothingness of the ghostworld. Aidenn, who was intensely claustrophobic, felt the room close in on him, suddenly. He had only been able to bear it until that point because he had known that he could just ghost out. Ghost out. Ghost out. That became all he could think. Ghost. Ghost out. He wasn't even aware of his Twin's hand on his shoulder, his hair. Of Adrian pleading, begging him to hear. He heard only his thoughts. Ghost out. Ghost out. And the horrible laughter of the walls, closing in to crush him. And...
"ADRIAAAAAN!" He screamed, screamed and sobbed into his brother's shoulder. He panted, calmed just enough to realize that the walls were in the same position.
He was alright. Adrian was alright. But... "We can't ghost."
"No. Couldn't we have figured that out without the screaming and the thrashing like we were being deleted? Honestly... But we'll get out of here, no matter what. We know that special thing we're programmed with?"
"That we automatically ghost if deleted by someone other than Him?"
"Exactly. Hopefully it won't come to that. But if it does..."
"It's a last resort." They discovered that their knives were still with them. They used their innate program senses to detect the weakest point in the wall, hefted the heaviest hunting knives they had with them, and began to punch through the stone.
"Captain Morpheus? There could be a problem..."
Morpheus hated this whole affair. He knew Lock was just torturing the programs as a way to get back at him for having spent all that time with Niobe. But why had she wanted to? It was a mystery. He realized that the tech was looking at him, expecting an answer. "Yes? What is it?"
"It's those albinos. They're attacking the walls. They could escape, very soon... everyone is very, very worried. We were thinking... since you kind of know them? You could talk to them, maybe?"
"Fine. I'll see what I can do." He headed to the left, away from the cells.
"Sir?"
"I know what I'm doing. Keep an eye on them. If they break through before I get back... Shoot them."
"We don't have guns..."
It was easy to get dependant on that part of the Matrix. "Fine. Delete them. Do whatever you need to do to stop them."
"Yessir!"
He headed, purposefully, to Commander Lock's office. They had to either kill them, which he did not want, or send them back to the Matrix. They were much too dangerous to be kept here. He burst through Lock's door, past the startled Zionese woman who was sitting across from him, and approached Lock himself.
Lock's expression quickly changed from one of surprise to one of anger. "Morpheuswhatthehellareyoudoinghere?!" He bellowed.
"I am very sorry to intrude like this, but there is a matter of great importance that needs your immediate attention."
Lock bulged his eyes, but waved the startled young woman away. She bowed and left. "What is this 'matter of great importance'? This had better be damn good!"
"It's about those Twins..."
"Ah. So you are another of THOSE. I must admit, I never expected it."
"Another of what, exactly?"
"Of those do-gooders who thinks it's 'Cruel to keep them locked up, even if they are programs'! They just don't understand. They are programs. Part of the system. Our enemy." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
"Part of me agrees. However. It's not their fault..."
"Don't give me that crap!"
"Just hear me out. It's not their fault. They are programmed to obey every order the Merovingian gives them. It was only through amazing strength and courage on their part that they didn't kill us the first time we met them." Morpheus doubted this, but he was willing to let bygones be bygones.
"What are you suggesting?"
"Considering that they are currently attacking the wall of their cell and may break through quite soon, I recommend that you send me in to talk to them. Along with some spheres in order to send them back to the Matrix. The Backup is destroyed, we have no use for them."
"Fine. Just get them away so they aren't my responsibility any more."
"Thank you, sir."
Morpheus heard the rhythmic banging even when he was still relatively far from the prison level. A small pile of dust had already settled outside the wall, and groups of people were milling nervously, waiting for the Twins, like angels of death, to smash through and kill them. He strode forward, not allowing his stark fear to show. If he was about to die, at least he would die doing what he was sure was right.
"Open the door." He commanded. The guards all looked at him as if he was crazy, but an especially brave one threw open the heavy steel door, invisible from the inside. Morpheus stepped through quickly, feeling, rather than seeing, the door slam behind him.
The Twins looked up at the sound of the door opening. To their utter amazement they saw Morpheus standing there, his hands raised in a surrendering, peaceful way.
"What," Adrian began,
"Do you want?" Aidenn finished.
"To mock us,"
"Before we die?"
"No. I'm here to send you back to the Matrix."
"Like hell you are. Maybe he's here to kill us himself, hmmm Aidenn?"
"Entirely possible. They thought 'Hmmm, they won't kill him immediately because they know him, and he can get close enough to kill them'. How about we prove them wrong?" Aidenn grinned evilly.
"Don't be stupid! I came here of my own accord. I even went and talked to Lock." He held up the pulsing orbs, blue this time, as proof.
"Say we believe you, at least for now... Then what?"
"What do you want from us? Or are you just going to send us right on back?"
"Exactly. We've already destroyed An - the Backup. You're more of a threat to us here than you are there. So you get to go back."
"Do it then."
"Now?"
"Now."
"Good."
"Oh god, she was so human... I feel... Perverted. Like a butcher."
"Oh please. She was just a program. Go to sleep."
"Yes, Captain."
The Agents, in their way, felt her passing as well.
"She is gone, then?"
"Yes."
"Now what do we do?"
"We wait."
The ragged, sleepless night finally ended, and 'morning' found the Twins twined on the floor, wide eyed.
"Aidenn?"
"Mmm?"
"Are we ready to kill?"
"We have never been more ready in our whole lives. We could kill, all of them, right now."
"Good. We're getting out of here, no matter what."
"Come on. Let's go."
They tried to ghost. As they felt the now-familiar sensation of a great invisible wall between them and escape into the cool almost-nothingness of the ghostworld. Aidenn, who was intensely claustrophobic, felt the room close in on him, suddenly. He had only been able to bear it until that point because he had known that he could just ghost out. Ghost out. Ghost out. That became all he could think. Ghost. Ghost out. He wasn't even aware of his Twin's hand on his shoulder, his hair. Of Adrian pleading, begging him to hear. He heard only his thoughts. Ghost out. Ghost out. And the horrible laughter of the walls, closing in to crush him. And...
"ADRIAAAAAN!" He screamed, screamed and sobbed into his brother's shoulder. He panted, calmed just enough to realize that the walls were in the same position.
He was alright. Adrian was alright. But... "We can't ghost."
"No. Couldn't we have figured that out without the screaming and the thrashing like we were being deleted? Honestly... But we'll get out of here, no matter what. We know that special thing we're programmed with?"
"That we automatically ghost if deleted by someone other than Him?"
"Exactly. Hopefully it won't come to that. But if it does..."
"It's a last resort." They discovered that their knives were still with them. They used their innate program senses to detect the weakest point in the wall, hefted the heaviest hunting knives they had with them, and began to punch through the stone.
"Captain Morpheus? There could be a problem..."
Morpheus hated this whole affair. He knew Lock was just torturing the programs as a way to get back at him for having spent all that time with Niobe. But why had she wanted to? It was a mystery. He realized that the tech was looking at him, expecting an answer. "Yes? What is it?"
"It's those albinos. They're attacking the walls. They could escape, very soon... everyone is very, very worried. We were thinking... since you kind of know them? You could talk to them, maybe?"
"Fine. I'll see what I can do." He headed to the left, away from the cells.
"Sir?"
"I know what I'm doing. Keep an eye on them. If they break through before I get back... Shoot them."
"We don't have guns..."
It was easy to get dependant on that part of the Matrix. "Fine. Delete them. Do whatever you need to do to stop them."
"Yessir!"
He headed, purposefully, to Commander Lock's office. They had to either kill them, which he did not want, or send them back to the Matrix. They were much too dangerous to be kept here. He burst through Lock's door, past the startled Zionese woman who was sitting across from him, and approached Lock himself.
Lock's expression quickly changed from one of surprise to one of anger. "Morpheuswhatthehellareyoudoinghere?!" He bellowed.
"I am very sorry to intrude like this, but there is a matter of great importance that needs your immediate attention."
Lock bulged his eyes, but waved the startled young woman away. She bowed and left. "What is this 'matter of great importance'? This had better be damn good!"
"It's about those Twins..."
"Ah. So you are another of THOSE. I must admit, I never expected it."
"Another of what, exactly?"
"Of those do-gooders who thinks it's 'Cruel to keep them locked up, even if they are programs'! They just don't understand. They are programs. Part of the system. Our enemy." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
"Part of me agrees. However. It's not their fault..."
"Don't give me that crap!"
"Just hear me out. It's not their fault. They are programmed to obey every order the Merovingian gives them. It was only through amazing strength and courage on their part that they didn't kill us the first time we met them." Morpheus doubted this, but he was willing to let bygones be bygones.
"What are you suggesting?"
"Considering that they are currently attacking the wall of their cell and may break through quite soon, I recommend that you send me in to talk to them. Along with some spheres in order to send them back to the Matrix. The Backup is destroyed, we have no use for them."
"Fine. Just get them away so they aren't my responsibility any more."
"Thank you, sir."
Morpheus heard the rhythmic banging even when he was still relatively far from the prison level. A small pile of dust had already settled outside the wall, and groups of people were milling nervously, waiting for the Twins, like angels of death, to smash through and kill them. He strode forward, not allowing his stark fear to show. If he was about to die, at least he would die doing what he was sure was right.
"Open the door." He commanded. The guards all looked at him as if he was crazy, but an especially brave one threw open the heavy steel door, invisible from the inside. Morpheus stepped through quickly, feeling, rather than seeing, the door slam behind him.
The Twins looked up at the sound of the door opening. To their utter amazement they saw Morpheus standing there, his hands raised in a surrendering, peaceful way.
"What," Adrian began,
"Do you want?" Aidenn finished.
"To mock us,"
"Before we die?"
"No. I'm here to send you back to the Matrix."
"Like hell you are. Maybe he's here to kill us himself, hmmm Aidenn?"
"Entirely possible. They thought 'Hmmm, they won't kill him immediately because they know him, and he can get close enough to kill them'. How about we prove them wrong?" Aidenn grinned evilly.
"Don't be stupid! I came here of my own accord. I even went and talked to Lock." He held up the pulsing orbs, blue this time, as proof.
"Say we believe you, at least for now... Then what?"
"What do you want from us? Or are you just going to send us right on back?"
"Exactly. We've already destroyed An - the Backup. You're more of a threat to us here than you are there. So you get to go back."
"Do it then."
"Now?"
"Now."
