Hey people! WHOOOO!!!! Over 100 reviews! That is just so incredible, I've
never had a story this popular before... Thank you all so much for
reviewing, it really does mean a lot. To say thanks, I updated slightly
early! Hope you all enjoy this chapter! *Sniff* This story's nearly
finished... By the way, this chapter is dedicated to Im a Brandybuck, who
is seventeen on Sunday! All together now - Haappy Birthday to you-
*Car alarms start going off, windows smash, dogs start howling*
Fine, fine, I can take a hint...
Chapter 12 - Hostage
Asha fought to get free from Agent Smith. "Let me go!" she shouted.
"Now why would I want to do that?" he said. David came round the corner.
"Seems you can't keep hold of her," said Agent Smith. David glared.
"She has realized her powers already. I wasn't expecting it," he said.
"Lucky I was here," said Agent Smith. While this conversation was going on, Asha continued to struggle. She kicked Agent Smith hard in the chest. He tightened his grip on her wrists, which was so tight now that Asha cried out. David stepped up behind her.
"I think I can handle her now," he said, and wrapped his arm round her waist and lifted her into the air. Asha continued to fight. "Why are you fighting, Asha?" he said, "I'm so much stronger than you. What makes you think you are more powerful than me?"
A black car pulled up beside them. David threw Asha onto the back seat then followed, while Agent Smith got in the front. The car drove off. "Where are you taking me?"
"To a place where you'll look at us a little differently," said Agent Smith.
Asha looked around the car for a way to get out. David watched her.
"Looking for escape?" he said, "I wouldn't bother Asha. There isn't a way out. I'd just go to sleep."
Asha looked at him. Suddenly she felt all the strength she had leaving her. An overwhelming wave of exhaustion swept over her, and she closed her eyes and slumped backwards in her seat.
David observed her efforts to resist with amusement. She had no idea what they were going to do to her. If she did, she would have fought a lot harder.
"See, Smithy boy?" he said, "She's not so powerful."
* * * * *
Morpheus was jolted out of sleep by Asha's scream. He immediately ran as fast as he could towards Asha's room. He was beaten there by Trinity, who had undoubtedly been watching Neo again. Trinity knocked on the door.
"Asha?" she called, "Asha, we're coming in." She opened the door. "Oh, no."
On the floor was Asha in a crumpled heap. She didn't respond to Trinity shaking her, or calling her name.
"Its just like Neo," said Morpheus. Tank lifted her up and carried her to the medical bay and put her on a bed next to Neo. Asha still didn't move.
"She's breathing," said Trinity, "But completely unresponsive."
"What's happened to them?" said Morpheus.
* * * * *
Jon watched Asha sprint down the street, pursued by the boy in black. He heard Asha scream as she went round the corner. He got up to try and help, but he saw her struggling to fight off the boy and - was that Agent Smith? But Asha was overpowered, and bundled into a black car, still screaming. The boy and Agent Smith leapt in as well. It then sped away.
Jon stood there, feeling numb. What had just happened? He would have thought it was a daydream, but... He squinted at the number she had scribbled on his arm. Better that than nothing. He dialled the number.
* * * * *
Morpheus' phone rang. Instinctively, he answered it. "Hello?"
He was shocked to hear what sounded like a young boy's voice on the other end. "Who is that?"
Morpheus glanced at all the others. "Who is this?"
"I'm Jon," said the voice. Trinity glanced up.
"Asha said her best friend was called Jon," she said. Morpheus nodded.
"Are you a friend of Asha's?"
"Yeah," said the boy.
"Do you know what has happened to her?"
"Well, I was just walking across the road, when suddenly I was thrown across the street. Suddenly I saw this massive lorry where I had just been. I was thinking 'How could I have missed that?' when Asha came running down the street towards me."
"How long ago was this?"
"Just now. She told me that the Matrix was real, and to call this number. Then she ran off, because this guy was chasing her. She ran round the corner, then she screamed, and she was shoved into this car by the guy and someone who looked really similar to Agent Smith. You know, the guy from the film?"
Morpheus bowed his head. "Yes, I know. Did she say anything else?"
"Yeah. She told me to tell you to get her out of there. Actually, she told me to tell you to get her the hell out of there. I'm surprised she didn't call you 'Mr Wizard' actually."
Morpheus looked at Tank. "Tank, get searching on those screens for Asha. Hurry!"
"The screens?" said Tank, "But she's right here!"
"Her body is," said Morpheus grimly, "David has taken her mind into the Matrix, and God knows what he's doing to it."
* * * * *
Asha opened her eyes. What had happened? Oh yeah - she'd been taken back into the Matrix by David, had pulled Jon out of the way of the truck, but had been captured by agents. She groaned, and tried to rub her wrists where they were still hurting from Agent Smith's grip, but found that she couldn't actually move them. She looked behind her, and saw that her hands were handcuffed behind her back. She became aware of her surroundings. She was in quite a richly decorated room. Where the hell was she?
She heard footsteps behind her. She turned round, and saw Agent Smith walking up behind her. "Ah, so you're awake."
"Where am I?" said Asha.
"In our base in London. We have one in all major cities," said Agent Smith.
"Bit fancy, isn't it?" said Asha, "So what are you planning to do to make me join your side? I presume that that is your plan."
Agent Smith laughed. Asha felt a chill creep up her spine. "Asha, not all this is about you. Yes, that may be the boy's eventual plan," he said, "But right now we have other designs for you. You're going to bring us Morpheus."
"I am?" said Asha sarcastically, "Wow, I didn't know that. Must have forgotten to write it in my diary."
"Sarcasm," said Agent Smith, "A human form of humour, I personally see no point in it. But you will bring us Morpheus, Asha."
David suddenly burst into the room. "I told you to tell me when she woke up!" he said angrily.
"I didn't see any reason why I should," said Agent Smith.
"This is my task," said David, "It has nothing to do with you. I don't need you to be here."
"If I wasn't here," said Agent Smith, his voice rising ever so slightly, "Then Asha would probably have already gotten away, and figured out how to wake Neo. I could handle this quite well without YOU."
"Um, people? Hi," said Asha, "Could you make this brief? Cos I have lots of other places I'd rather be. If you guys wanna have a cat fight, I'd rather not witness it."
Agent Smith frowned, but David smirked slightly. Asha didn't know which expression she preferred. "You don't have to worry about cat fights, Asha," said David, "All you have to worry about is yourself."
"Oh, believe me, that isn't my main priority," said Asha.
"Oh really?" said David, "Then what is?"
"My friends," said Asha, "Jon. Neo. Trinity. Morpheus. And I KNOW that sounds cheesy, but if you don't like it, I believe you can go to hell."
David's eyes flashed. "You little-"
"You humans," said Agent Smith, "So many emotions, so little vocabulary. Do you have any idea how useless emotions are? They are there just to distract us from the right choice."
"You know what else is useless?" said Asha, "You trying to get me to join your side. Because I'm not going to."
"Oh, but you are," said David.
"No," said Asha firmly, "I'm NOT."
Agent Smith looked at Asha. After a moment he said, "So you haven't seen the newest Matrix film?"
"No," said Asha, "Which I am now regretting. But that reminds me, I wanted to ask you. I thought you blew up at the end of the Matrix?"
Agent Smith glared. "So I did, Asha."
"Then how come you're still here?"
"Because I didn't in real life," said Agent Smith, a hint of amusement in his voice, "At the end of that particular episode, Neo ran. He realised he could stop bullets, that he was the One, and then escaped through the phone. Hooray for him. But he never actually killed me. You see, humans enjoy believing that evil can be defeated by the right person. The reality is that it can't be destroyed," he said, not taking his eyes off Asha, "It can just be postponed, and it will return in another form."
"Yeah, OK, but in the advert there were, like, loads of you."
"Ah, yes," said Agent Smith, "One of my useful abilities not shown in the first film, so that it could be brought out in the second one, as if I had 'gained' it from being 'set free'. But the truth is, I can duplicate myself, and always could." He looked at David. "I could turn this young man into me."
"I'd like to see you try," said David.
"Me too, actually," said Asha.
"Oh, but you wouldn't," said Agent Smith, "If there were two of me, there would be no-one to protect you."
"Oh, right," said Asha, "He's protecting me. Yeah. That's why he brought me here against my will, and tried to shove my best friend under a lorry. He's caring all right."
"No, Asha," said Agent Smith, "If it weren't for David here, you would already be dead."
Asha blinked. "What?"
David looked furious. "I told you not to inform her of this."
"I know," said Agent Smith, "I just didn't see why I should take orders from a boy."
"Wait," said Asha, "Um... what?"
"That's right, Asha," said Agent Smith, "Our original plan was just to eliminate you. You were a threat, we could see you had a strength of will quite different from this one here." He gestured towards David, who remained silent, eyes fixed on Agent Smith, hands flexing. "We could tell that it would be almost impossible to persuade you to join us."
"And I said that I could do it," said David, "And I can. I will."
"No you won't," said Asha, "I won't. Ever. Did you ever see 'Star Wars'? I am SO much cooler than Luke Skywalker, and even he didn't in the end. Not that it's difficult to be cooler than Luke Skywalker, I mean, his voice sometimes goes higher than mine..."
"There," said Agent Smith, "You see, David? Again, machines' intelligence triumphs over humans. She will never give in."
"Too right I won't," said Asha, "And I won't bring you Morpheus either."
At this both David and Agent Smith smiled. Asha leant backwards slightly. They were agreeing on something - that couldn't be good. "What? Wouldn't you find that bad?"
"No, Asha," said David, "We guessed that you wouldn't. That's why we didn't leave you any choice in the matter."
"What?"
"You are bringing him to us just by being here," said Agent Smith, "We have allowed you to show up on the system on the Matrix. They will see you here, and undoubtedly come here in an attempt to rescue you."
Asha felt her confidence slip down a notch. "So?" she said, "They beat you once before. They'll do it again."
"No they won't, Asha," said David, "For one thing, Neo isn't there to help them. He's still lying as if dead on the Nebuchadnezzar, with his loyal Trinity by his side. And secondly, we know they're coming; and we're ready."
* * * * *
Im a Brandubuck - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!
Tanuki Yasha - I really am sorry that I forgot you. Please forgive me, o wise and wonderful writer of Matrix parodies, who thought of such gems as the white ferret and Trinity playing Galaxian... By the way, peeps, read Tanuki's parody, its so so so so funny! What's the difference between Galaxian and Galaga anyway?...
Kit - Yup, Agent Smith... Though evil, he still rocks. Almost as much as fluff. Or lint. Or Spongebob Squarepants. Or the Smurfs...
Cirfia - Umm...... cos... um... Cos he only blocked the lorry from his eyes and ears. Otherwise he couldn't see the street either. Yeah. That must be it. Heh.... Sorry if there's any other bits of my story that doesn't make sense, I'm trying my best... And Jack Sparrow is from Pirates of the Caribbean, and Star was a reviewer who asked if she could bring him. I haven't seen it yet either... boooooo...... BRING ME PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN!!!!!
Alocin - Um, I don't know how muffins could... I know that there may be chocolate brownie ice cream...
Bradster2009 - MUFFINS RULE!!!! As does Agent Smith. And fluff. And lint. And Spongebob Squarepants. And the smurfs. And...
Gone-to-jarmadanga - Check my bio, that has my e-mail address. And is it really all that predictable? Damn... What do you think is gonna happen?
Mako - *gasps extremely loudly causing family, passers-by, friends, Santa Claus and whole buncha elves to jump* OH MY GOD!!!!!!! Must - see - Matrix - Revolutions - or I'll settle for telling my friend Frankie... WHERE'S THE PHONE?!?!?!?!? Thank you SO MUCH for telling me that!!! Is that a weird coincidence or what?...
Elsey - Sorry, there's going to be a helluva lot more cliffhangers to come... Its how I define the end of a chapter, by its cliffhangeriness. That's not even a word....
Mako (again) - Yeah, it does. I just put spaces between the e's so it looks like me e e e e ep. Looks odd, but I get my point across... WHY HAVEN'T YOU UPDATED??????
Catherine Ace - Yeah, I wrote it as if it was happening to me, and what I'd be thinking at that point. But its not self-insertion, cos Asha's slightly different from me. She's much braver, for one thing - if I saw Agent Smith, I'd say "MEEEEEP!!!" and run as fast as I could in the opposite direction...
Just a minute - *examines toy that came free with Ribena closely* Hmmm... press here?
RIBENA TOY: *starts giggling and singing extremely loudly*
AAAAARGH!!!! MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!!!
*Car alarms start going off, windows smash, dogs start howling*
Fine, fine, I can take a hint...
Chapter 12 - Hostage
Asha fought to get free from Agent Smith. "Let me go!" she shouted.
"Now why would I want to do that?" he said. David came round the corner.
"Seems you can't keep hold of her," said Agent Smith. David glared.
"She has realized her powers already. I wasn't expecting it," he said.
"Lucky I was here," said Agent Smith. While this conversation was going on, Asha continued to struggle. She kicked Agent Smith hard in the chest. He tightened his grip on her wrists, which was so tight now that Asha cried out. David stepped up behind her.
"I think I can handle her now," he said, and wrapped his arm round her waist and lifted her into the air. Asha continued to fight. "Why are you fighting, Asha?" he said, "I'm so much stronger than you. What makes you think you are more powerful than me?"
A black car pulled up beside them. David threw Asha onto the back seat then followed, while Agent Smith got in the front. The car drove off. "Where are you taking me?"
"To a place where you'll look at us a little differently," said Agent Smith.
Asha looked around the car for a way to get out. David watched her.
"Looking for escape?" he said, "I wouldn't bother Asha. There isn't a way out. I'd just go to sleep."
Asha looked at him. Suddenly she felt all the strength she had leaving her. An overwhelming wave of exhaustion swept over her, and she closed her eyes and slumped backwards in her seat.
David observed her efforts to resist with amusement. She had no idea what they were going to do to her. If she did, she would have fought a lot harder.
"See, Smithy boy?" he said, "She's not so powerful."
* * * * *
Morpheus was jolted out of sleep by Asha's scream. He immediately ran as fast as he could towards Asha's room. He was beaten there by Trinity, who had undoubtedly been watching Neo again. Trinity knocked on the door.
"Asha?" she called, "Asha, we're coming in." She opened the door. "Oh, no."
On the floor was Asha in a crumpled heap. She didn't respond to Trinity shaking her, or calling her name.
"Its just like Neo," said Morpheus. Tank lifted her up and carried her to the medical bay and put her on a bed next to Neo. Asha still didn't move.
"She's breathing," said Trinity, "But completely unresponsive."
"What's happened to them?" said Morpheus.
* * * * *
Jon watched Asha sprint down the street, pursued by the boy in black. He heard Asha scream as she went round the corner. He got up to try and help, but he saw her struggling to fight off the boy and - was that Agent Smith? But Asha was overpowered, and bundled into a black car, still screaming. The boy and Agent Smith leapt in as well. It then sped away.
Jon stood there, feeling numb. What had just happened? He would have thought it was a daydream, but... He squinted at the number she had scribbled on his arm. Better that than nothing. He dialled the number.
* * * * *
Morpheus' phone rang. Instinctively, he answered it. "Hello?"
He was shocked to hear what sounded like a young boy's voice on the other end. "Who is that?"
Morpheus glanced at all the others. "Who is this?"
"I'm Jon," said the voice. Trinity glanced up.
"Asha said her best friend was called Jon," she said. Morpheus nodded.
"Are you a friend of Asha's?"
"Yeah," said the boy.
"Do you know what has happened to her?"
"Well, I was just walking across the road, when suddenly I was thrown across the street. Suddenly I saw this massive lorry where I had just been. I was thinking 'How could I have missed that?' when Asha came running down the street towards me."
"How long ago was this?"
"Just now. She told me that the Matrix was real, and to call this number. Then she ran off, because this guy was chasing her. She ran round the corner, then she screamed, and she was shoved into this car by the guy and someone who looked really similar to Agent Smith. You know, the guy from the film?"
Morpheus bowed his head. "Yes, I know. Did she say anything else?"
"Yeah. She told me to tell you to get her out of there. Actually, she told me to tell you to get her the hell out of there. I'm surprised she didn't call you 'Mr Wizard' actually."
Morpheus looked at Tank. "Tank, get searching on those screens for Asha. Hurry!"
"The screens?" said Tank, "But she's right here!"
"Her body is," said Morpheus grimly, "David has taken her mind into the Matrix, and God knows what he's doing to it."
* * * * *
Asha opened her eyes. What had happened? Oh yeah - she'd been taken back into the Matrix by David, had pulled Jon out of the way of the truck, but had been captured by agents. She groaned, and tried to rub her wrists where they were still hurting from Agent Smith's grip, but found that she couldn't actually move them. She looked behind her, and saw that her hands were handcuffed behind her back. She became aware of her surroundings. She was in quite a richly decorated room. Where the hell was she?
She heard footsteps behind her. She turned round, and saw Agent Smith walking up behind her. "Ah, so you're awake."
"Where am I?" said Asha.
"In our base in London. We have one in all major cities," said Agent Smith.
"Bit fancy, isn't it?" said Asha, "So what are you planning to do to make me join your side? I presume that that is your plan."
Agent Smith laughed. Asha felt a chill creep up her spine. "Asha, not all this is about you. Yes, that may be the boy's eventual plan," he said, "But right now we have other designs for you. You're going to bring us Morpheus."
"I am?" said Asha sarcastically, "Wow, I didn't know that. Must have forgotten to write it in my diary."
"Sarcasm," said Agent Smith, "A human form of humour, I personally see no point in it. But you will bring us Morpheus, Asha."
David suddenly burst into the room. "I told you to tell me when she woke up!" he said angrily.
"I didn't see any reason why I should," said Agent Smith.
"This is my task," said David, "It has nothing to do with you. I don't need you to be here."
"If I wasn't here," said Agent Smith, his voice rising ever so slightly, "Then Asha would probably have already gotten away, and figured out how to wake Neo. I could handle this quite well without YOU."
"Um, people? Hi," said Asha, "Could you make this brief? Cos I have lots of other places I'd rather be. If you guys wanna have a cat fight, I'd rather not witness it."
Agent Smith frowned, but David smirked slightly. Asha didn't know which expression she preferred. "You don't have to worry about cat fights, Asha," said David, "All you have to worry about is yourself."
"Oh, believe me, that isn't my main priority," said Asha.
"Oh really?" said David, "Then what is?"
"My friends," said Asha, "Jon. Neo. Trinity. Morpheus. And I KNOW that sounds cheesy, but if you don't like it, I believe you can go to hell."
David's eyes flashed. "You little-"
"You humans," said Agent Smith, "So many emotions, so little vocabulary. Do you have any idea how useless emotions are? They are there just to distract us from the right choice."
"You know what else is useless?" said Asha, "You trying to get me to join your side. Because I'm not going to."
"Oh, but you are," said David.
"No," said Asha firmly, "I'm NOT."
Agent Smith looked at Asha. After a moment he said, "So you haven't seen the newest Matrix film?"
"No," said Asha, "Which I am now regretting. But that reminds me, I wanted to ask you. I thought you blew up at the end of the Matrix?"
Agent Smith glared. "So I did, Asha."
"Then how come you're still here?"
"Because I didn't in real life," said Agent Smith, a hint of amusement in his voice, "At the end of that particular episode, Neo ran. He realised he could stop bullets, that he was the One, and then escaped through the phone. Hooray for him. But he never actually killed me. You see, humans enjoy believing that evil can be defeated by the right person. The reality is that it can't be destroyed," he said, not taking his eyes off Asha, "It can just be postponed, and it will return in another form."
"Yeah, OK, but in the advert there were, like, loads of you."
"Ah, yes," said Agent Smith, "One of my useful abilities not shown in the first film, so that it could be brought out in the second one, as if I had 'gained' it from being 'set free'. But the truth is, I can duplicate myself, and always could." He looked at David. "I could turn this young man into me."
"I'd like to see you try," said David.
"Me too, actually," said Asha.
"Oh, but you wouldn't," said Agent Smith, "If there were two of me, there would be no-one to protect you."
"Oh, right," said Asha, "He's protecting me. Yeah. That's why he brought me here against my will, and tried to shove my best friend under a lorry. He's caring all right."
"No, Asha," said Agent Smith, "If it weren't for David here, you would already be dead."
Asha blinked. "What?"
David looked furious. "I told you not to inform her of this."
"I know," said Agent Smith, "I just didn't see why I should take orders from a boy."
"Wait," said Asha, "Um... what?"
"That's right, Asha," said Agent Smith, "Our original plan was just to eliminate you. You were a threat, we could see you had a strength of will quite different from this one here." He gestured towards David, who remained silent, eyes fixed on Agent Smith, hands flexing. "We could tell that it would be almost impossible to persuade you to join us."
"And I said that I could do it," said David, "And I can. I will."
"No you won't," said Asha, "I won't. Ever. Did you ever see 'Star Wars'? I am SO much cooler than Luke Skywalker, and even he didn't in the end. Not that it's difficult to be cooler than Luke Skywalker, I mean, his voice sometimes goes higher than mine..."
"There," said Agent Smith, "You see, David? Again, machines' intelligence triumphs over humans. She will never give in."
"Too right I won't," said Asha, "And I won't bring you Morpheus either."
At this both David and Agent Smith smiled. Asha leant backwards slightly. They were agreeing on something - that couldn't be good. "What? Wouldn't you find that bad?"
"No, Asha," said David, "We guessed that you wouldn't. That's why we didn't leave you any choice in the matter."
"What?"
"You are bringing him to us just by being here," said Agent Smith, "We have allowed you to show up on the system on the Matrix. They will see you here, and undoubtedly come here in an attempt to rescue you."
Asha felt her confidence slip down a notch. "So?" she said, "They beat you once before. They'll do it again."
"No they won't, Asha," said David, "For one thing, Neo isn't there to help them. He's still lying as if dead on the Nebuchadnezzar, with his loyal Trinity by his side. And secondly, we know they're coming; and we're ready."
* * * * *
Im a Brandubuck - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!
Tanuki Yasha - I really am sorry that I forgot you. Please forgive me, o wise and wonderful writer of Matrix parodies, who thought of such gems as the white ferret and Trinity playing Galaxian... By the way, peeps, read Tanuki's parody, its so so so so funny! What's the difference between Galaxian and Galaga anyway?...
Kit - Yup, Agent Smith... Though evil, he still rocks. Almost as much as fluff. Or lint. Or Spongebob Squarepants. Or the Smurfs...
Cirfia - Umm...... cos... um... Cos he only blocked the lorry from his eyes and ears. Otherwise he couldn't see the street either. Yeah. That must be it. Heh.... Sorry if there's any other bits of my story that doesn't make sense, I'm trying my best... And Jack Sparrow is from Pirates of the Caribbean, and Star was a reviewer who asked if she could bring him. I haven't seen it yet either... boooooo...... BRING ME PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN!!!!!
Alocin - Um, I don't know how muffins could... I know that there may be chocolate brownie ice cream...
Bradster2009 - MUFFINS RULE!!!! As does Agent Smith. And fluff. And lint. And Spongebob Squarepants. And the smurfs. And...
Gone-to-jarmadanga - Check my bio, that has my e-mail address. And is it really all that predictable? Damn... What do you think is gonna happen?
Mako - *gasps extremely loudly causing family, passers-by, friends, Santa Claus and whole buncha elves to jump* OH MY GOD!!!!!!! Must - see - Matrix - Revolutions - or I'll settle for telling my friend Frankie... WHERE'S THE PHONE?!?!?!?!? Thank you SO MUCH for telling me that!!! Is that a weird coincidence or what?...
Elsey - Sorry, there's going to be a helluva lot more cliffhangers to come... Its how I define the end of a chapter, by its cliffhangeriness. That's not even a word....
Mako (again) - Yeah, it does. I just put spaces between the e's so it looks like me e e e e ep. Looks odd, but I get my point across... WHY HAVEN'T YOU UPDATED??????
Catherine Ace - Yeah, I wrote it as if it was happening to me, and what I'd be thinking at that point. But its not self-insertion, cos Asha's slightly different from me. She's much braver, for one thing - if I saw Agent Smith, I'd say "MEEEEEP!!!" and run as fast as I could in the opposite direction...
Just a minute - *examines toy that came free with Ribena closely* Hmmm... press here?
RIBENA TOY: *starts giggling and singing extremely loudly*
AAAAARGH!!!! MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!!!