Hi guys! Sorry this has taken so long. I've actually had it finished for
ages, I've just been fine-tuning it etc etc. I was slightly worried about
this chapter, I didn't think it was all that good, so please tell me what
you think. And enjoy it, too, that's important!
Chapter 4 - Agents and the Architect
Asha didn't know what she was more surprised at. She could tell from Falcon's face what he found more surprising; she could see by his expression that this was almost confirming Asha's story, which he hadn't fully believed before.
"Whoa," he said, in true Neo style.
Asha forced herself to put her surprise aside for the moment - time to wonder later. The agents' fingers pulled the triggers of the guns, and Asha caught herself in that split second. Closing her eyes, she grasped the bullets as they flew towards their targets, and redirected them into the atmosphere. Falcon looked impressed.
"What, so you're like Neo?"
"Not exactly," said Asha as she struggled to pull the agents' guns from their hands. They must have been warned about what Asha could do, because they kept a tight grip on them. All Asha could do was make them point anywhere else but them. "I'm more of a reserve."
Asha's phone started ringing. "Could you get that?" she asked, as the agents gave up using guns and resorted to good ol' kung fu. Asha preferred this to guns; seemed to make it fairer.
Falcon blinked, but reached into Asha's pocket as she hit an agent round the head. He gazed in amazement as she jumped into the air and kicked them both at once, causing them to fly down the street. Then the insistent ringing of the phone broke through his shock of such a small girl being capable of such moves without the aid of CGI and wire harnesses, and he answered the phone.
"Um, hello?" he said, as Asha started trying to beat up the agents again, "What? Who? Tank? Neat! Um, yeah, we kinda guessed there were agents... no, Asha's doing fine..." he said, as he watched her grab an agent's leg and flip him over backwards, "Where? Leave her? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, go!" said Asha, "I'm fine." As if to prove her point, she grabbed one of the agents and hurled him at the other.
"Um, yeah, she says go," said Falcon, still looking slightly worried as the agents pulled themselves to their feet and Asha stood their grinning, "What? I can't hear you..." For at that moment, Asha launched herself at the agents with an attack cry, swung round a lamppost and flew towards the agents, boot heels ready and aimed at the place they could do the most damage. Falcon winced. Her aim was deadly. He wasn't going to be crossing her any time soon. Falcon waved as Asha stood there in a karate stance.
As the agents stood up, she gave Morpheus' 'Come on' hand wavy thing. "Bring it!" she said, "You don't want to be beaten by a GIRL, do you?"
The agents didn't notice the evil glint in Asha's eyes, which boys at her school had been so familiar with. Otherwise maybe they would have done what the boys would have done. Run.
* * * * *
About fifteen minutes later, Asha ran to the phone booth, satisfied with a good fight. The fight itself had been over pretty quickly - at the first available opportunity, she had run away down the street. But it had taken time to get to an exit with all the police cars around. The phone was already ringing - she opened her eyes back on the Nebuchadnezzar.
"You'll be giving Neo a run for his money," said Trinity as Asha sat up.
"She already has," said Neo, "Good job on the contacting. He's been unplugged."
"Already?" said Asha.
"Yeah, Asha, you got him convinced," said Trinity, "He's in the medical bay now."
Asha jumped to her feet and scrambled down the ladder to the bay where she herself had been when she was unplugged, and when David had taken her mind into the Matrix. There, on one of the beds, was Falcon.
"We just picked him up," said Neo, "While you were executing particularly painful moves on those agents."
Asha grinned. Who said that there were no perks to this job?
She sat down next to Falcon, who had his eyes shut. He looked remarkably peaceful as he lay there, no visible signs of the fact that his world had been turned upside down.
As she looked at his tranquil face, she remembered the dream that she had had. How could she have seen his face? She hadn't ever seen him before when she had it. And yet Neo, Morpheus, Trinity, Jon and her had been there as well.
Was she having premonitions? She hoped not - she couldn't remember exactly what had happened, but it was something bad. Something involving her. What was going on?
* * * * *
That night, Asha had another dream. This time, she was running. Running down a corridor. She didn't know why, but she knew that she was running away from someone. Doors flashed by on either side. Green doors.
Suddenly the dream changed. Now she was in a room. Asha looked around it. It looked very familiar. What was on the walls was incredibly familiar. It was herself.
"Miss Warner," said a voice she immediately recognised, even though she had only seen the Matrix: Reloaded once. "I trust you know who I am."
"The Architect," said Asha in surprise. This was one weird dream.
The Architect surveyed her over the tips of his fingers. He seemed to be expecting her to say something else. She cast her mind round for something intelligent to say.
"You've got a lot of TV screens," she said. Dammit, she thought.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly.
Wait a minute, she thought, WHY am I apologizing to the Architect? What am I even doing here?
"What-"
"Are you doing here?" finished the Architect. Asha blinked. She wanted to turn away more than anything, but she forced herself to meet his steady stare. "You humans are so predictable. Do you remember what I told Neo when he came here?"
"You told him that the first question we ask is often the most irrelevant," said Asha, "OK, so that's irrelevant to you, but what AM I doing here?"
"You are here to find out things you have been wondering," said the Architect.
Asha was very confused. The Architect trying to rid her of some of her confusion? That didn't make all that much sense.
"I realise that to a simple human mind the idea of me doing such a thing with no ulterior motive is unconceivable. But as you would not understand my motives, I will not waste my time to try and explain it to you."
Asha just nodded. This was getting more confusing instead of less. "But am I actually here, or is this just a dream?"
"Is there much of a difference?" said the Architect. Asha opened her mouth, realised she had nothing to say, and closed it again.
"Your first question will, undoubtedly, be whether these dreams you are happening have any meaning."
Asha nodded again. This guy was good.
"These dreams are telling you what you need to know. You no longer trust the Oracle as avidly as you did before seeing the Matrix: Reloaded, which is a shame, because she is a worthwhile guide to have."
"So they're not true?" asked Asha hopefully.
"I didn't say that," said the Architect, "Sometimes what one needs to know is what will happen."
"Um, OK," said Asha, "Something else - were there five system anomalies before Neo, or was that just the story of the film?"
"There were," said the Architect, "The members of the Council in Zion are the twenty five humans selected by the last one from the Matrix."
"But then... is the prophecy not true?"
"That remains to be seen."
"How will we know?"
"By whether Neo causes the war to end or not," said the Architect.
"Why?" blurted out Asha, "Why are you telling me all this? You're on the side of the Matrix, and I'm fighting against you. Why?"
The Architect surveyed Asha with an expression that she couldn't figure out; was it amusement? Interest? Mild surprise? Before Asha had decided, he glanced at his watch.
"Ah," he said, "We're nearly out of time. But before you leave, I was asked to give you this by someone you knew, and you remember well."
He held out a folded slip of paper. Asha reached out and took it. She glanced at it, then looked at the Architect. He waved formally with one hand.
Suddenly there was a loud alarm going off somewhere. Asha jerked awake. She was back on the Nebuchadnezzar. Trinity came scrambling from her room towards the main deck. Asha, confused, ran after her. As she climbed the ladder, she ran over all that the Architect had said. Had it all been a dream? It felt so real.
"Sentinels," said Morpheus, "Just within radar. I don't know whether they're coming near us yet. Tank, set her down there, just to be safe."
The Nebuchadnezzar nestled between two columns of rock and landed on the ragged floor of the cavern. Asha held her breath as she looked out upon the sewers. There hadn't been a sentinel threat throughout her time on the Nebuchadnezzar; even though she had seen it in the film, and knew that the EMP could get rid of them, she remembered what had happened in the Matrix: Reloaded. She held her breath as she watched it come closer.
Luckily, it swept by, but not before Asha caught a glimpse of the eerie glow that filled the sewers reflecting against the metallic chrome of the machine. Asha's breath caught in her throat when she saw the elegance and the lethality, all in one machine. But Asha had scarcely seen it when it had gone again, and Trinity and Neo were setting out a sigh of relief.
Asha got to her feet, feeling slightly dizzy, though she didn't know why. She followed Trinity to the medical bay to check on Falcon. When she saw him, she remembered what the Architect had told her about her dreams. Was the dream about them all a premonition? Or a guide? She glanced down at her hand, and realised that she was still clutching the slip of paper the Architect had given her.
"What's that?" asked Trinity.
Asha shook her head. It would take too long to explain. Fingers shaking slightly, she unfolded it. She already knew who it was from. There was only one person it could be from. She read, in a neat, formal looking script,
'You know where to go.'
"What is it?" repeated Trinity. Asha looked up at her.
"It's David," said Asha, "He wants to meet me."
*****
Luna - Ah... never update? Sorry, I won't be back for a coupla weeks probably, I'm really busy at the moment... *ducks various projectiles thrown by reviewers*
alocin - Hmm, chairs with fences... now there's a gap in the market...
Kit - See, he's fine. I wouldn't be so mean as to introduce him then kill him off in the following chapter.
Tanuki Yasha - Bit of both, are you happy? And this is just ONE of the major cliffhangers yet to come! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!! Oh, how I love torturing you people...
Yilantri - Now that is true. Cruddy breakfasts. ALWAYS watching? (turns round and sees chickens ducking behind the table) Uh-oh...
Im a Brandybuck - That bit IS really funny! But I was somewhat distracted by my friend muttering swear words non-stop under her breath, as she had been ever since Trinity said "I'm going in," and didn't stop till she was alive again... well, she paused briefly when she thought she was dead, but then quickly started again... IT IS SO FUNNY!!!!! "I LOVE YOU MORPHEUS!!!!" Hahaha, my friend can do such a good impression of him!!!
sirocco.flow - I don't know. Don't think so, I haven't seen them in any of the trailers. I know Persephone and the Merovingian are, but that's it.
M4KO - Hi, very hyper Mako. Hope you've calmed yourself slightly. Now calm. Breathe. Ohm. And you won't know what's going to happen until... well, a long time! Because only THEN will this story come to an end!
Jack Cole - Ja, ich kann Deutsch sprechen, aber erst ein bisschen. Ich wohne in Kent in Sudost England, in der Nahe von Canterbury. Und du? Hahaha, I can speak German!
Huntress - Um, sorry, I would have loved to have taken you guys too but I don't think you would all fit on the coach... Good point, where IS Jon? I'll need to write him in somewhere...
littlefurryscrubcreature - Don't be silly, cliffhangers aren't out to get us. It's chickens. Everyone knows that. Duh.
KnowInSight - Thanks!
MollyJean - I actually think the story gets better as it goes on. Right now I think it could be better, cos it's a little cheesy and Asha-centred. But it gets better, really.
Becca and Elektra - Yes, he's entirely my own creation! As are Asha, David and Jon! I think my fave out of them is a tie between Asha and David, cos Asha's so funny and David is so interesting to write. More hyper than before? Quick, give her more Ritalin, let's see just how hyper we can make her!
Chapter 4 - Agents and the Architect
Asha didn't know what she was more surprised at. She could tell from Falcon's face what he found more surprising; she could see by his expression that this was almost confirming Asha's story, which he hadn't fully believed before.
"Whoa," he said, in true Neo style.
Asha forced herself to put her surprise aside for the moment - time to wonder later. The agents' fingers pulled the triggers of the guns, and Asha caught herself in that split second. Closing her eyes, she grasped the bullets as they flew towards their targets, and redirected them into the atmosphere. Falcon looked impressed.
"What, so you're like Neo?"
"Not exactly," said Asha as she struggled to pull the agents' guns from their hands. They must have been warned about what Asha could do, because they kept a tight grip on them. All Asha could do was make them point anywhere else but them. "I'm more of a reserve."
Asha's phone started ringing. "Could you get that?" she asked, as the agents gave up using guns and resorted to good ol' kung fu. Asha preferred this to guns; seemed to make it fairer.
Falcon blinked, but reached into Asha's pocket as she hit an agent round the head. He gazed in amazement as she jumped into the air and kicked them both at once, causing them to fly down the street. Then the insistent ringing of the phone broke through his shock of such a small girl being capable of such moves without the aid of CGI and wire harnesses, and he answered the phone.
"Um, hello?" he said, as Asha started trying to beat up the agents again, "What? Who? Tank? Neat! Um, yeah, we kinda guessed there were agents... no, Asha's doing fine..." he said, as he watched her grab an agent's leg and flip him over backwards, "Where? Leave her? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, go!" said Asha, "I'm fine." As if to prove her point, she grabbed one of the agents and hurled him at the other.
"Um, yeah, she says go," said Falcon, still looking slightly worried as the agents pulled themselves to their feet and Asha stood their grinning, "What? I can't hear you..." For at that moment, Asha launched herself at the agents with an attack cry, swung round a lamppost and flew towards the agents, boot heels ready and aimed at the place they could do the most damage. Falcon winced. Her aim was deadly. He wasn't going to be crossing her any time soon. Falcon waved as Asha stood there in a karate stance.
As the agents stood up, she gave Morpheus' 'Come on' hand wavy thing. "Bring it!" she said, "You don't want to be beaten by a GIRL, do you?"
The agents didn't notice the evil glint in Asha's eyes, which boys at her school had been so familiar with. Otherwise maybe they would have done what the boys would have done. Run.
* * * * *
About fifteen minutes later, Asha ran to the phone booth, satisfied with a good fight. The fight itself had been over pretty quickly - at the first available opportunity, she had run away down the street. But it had taken time to get to an exit with all the police cars around. The phone was already ringing - she opened her eyes back on the Nebuchadnezzar.
"You'll be giving Neo a run for his money," said Trinity as Asha sat up.
"She already has," said Neo, "Good job on the contacting. He's been unplugged."
"Already?" said Asha.
"Yeah, Asha, you got him convinced," said Trinity, "He's in the medical bay now."
Asha jumped to her feet and scrambled down the ladder to the bay where she herself had been when she was unplugged, and when David had taken her mind into the Matrix. There, on one of the beds, was Falcon.
"We just picked him up," said Neo, "While you were executing particularly painful moves on those agents."
Asha grinned. Who said that there were no perks to this job?
She sat down next to Falcon, who had his eyes shut. He looked remarkably peaceful as he lay there, no visible signs of the fact that his world had been turned upside down.
As she looked at his tranquil face, she remembered the dream that she had had. How could she have seen his face? She hadn't ever seen him before when she had it. And yet Neo, Morpheus, Trinity, Jon and her had been there as well.
Was she having premonitions? She hoped not - she couldn't remember exactly what had happened, but it was something bad. Something involving her. What was going on?
* * * * *
That night, Asha had another dream. This time, she was running. Running down a corridor. She didn't know why, but she knew that she was running away from someone. Doors flashed by on either side. Green doors.
Suddenly the dream changed. Now she was in a room. Asha looked around it. It looked very familiar. What was on the walls was incredibly familiar. It was herself.
"Miss Warner," said a voice she immediately recognised, even though she had only seen the Matrix: Reloaded once. "I trust you know who I am."
"The Architect," said Asha in surprise. This was one weird dream.
The Architect surveyed her over the tips of his fingers. He seemed to be expecting her to say something else. She cast her mind round for something intelligent to say.
"You've got a lot of TV screens," she said. Dammit, she thought.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly.
Wait a minute, she thought, WHY am I apologizing to the Architect? What am I even doing here?
"What-"
"Are you doing here?" finished the Architect. Asha blinked. She wanted to turn away more than anything, but she forced herself to meet his steady stare. "You humans are so predictable. Do you remember what I told Neo when he came here?"
"You told him that the first question we ask is often the most irrelevant," said Asha, "OK, so that's irrelevant to you, but what AM I doing here?"
"You are here to find out things you have been wondering," said the Architect.
Asha was very confused. The Architect trying to rid her of some of her confusion? That didn't make all that much sense.
"I realise that to a simple human mind the idea of me doing such a thing with no ulterior motive is unconceivable. But as you would not understand my motives, I will not waste my time to try and explain it to you."
Asha just nodded. This was getting more confusing instead of less. "But am I actually here, or is this just a dream?"
"Is there much of a difference?" said the Architect. Asha opened her mouth, realised she had nothing to say, and closed it again.
"Your first question will, undoubtedly, be whether these dreams you are happening have any meaning."
Asha nodded again. This guy was good.
"These dreams are telling you what you need to know. You no longer trust the Oracle as avidly as you did before seeing the Matrix: Reloaded, which is a shame, because she is a worthwhile guide to have."
"So they're not true?" asked Asha hopefully.
"I didn't say that," said the Architect, "Sometimes what one needs to know is what will happen."
"Um, OK," said Asha, "Something else - were there five system anomalies before Neo, or was that just the story of the film?"
"There were," said the Architect, "The members of the Council in Zion are the twenty five humans selected by the last one from the Matrix."
"But then... is the prophecy not true?"
"That remains to be seen."
"How will we know?"
"By whether Neo causes the war to end or not," said the Architect.
"Why?" blurted out Asha, "Why are you telling me all this? You're on the side of the Matrix, and I'm fighting against you. Why?"
The Architect surveyed Asha with an expression that she couldn't figure out; was it amusement? Interest? Mild surprise? Before Asha had decided, he glanced at his watch.
"Ah," he said, "We're nearly out of time. But before you leave, I was asked to give you this by someone you knew, and you remember well."
He held out a folded slip of paper. Asha reached out and took it. She glanced at it, then looked at the Architect. He waved formally with one hand.
Suddenly there was a loud alarm going off somewhere. Asha jerked awake. She was back on the Nebuchadnezzar. Trinity came scrambling from her room towards the main deck. Asha, confused, ran after her. As she climbed the ladder, she ran over all that the Architect had said. Had it all been a dream? It felt so real.
"Sentinels," said Morpheus, "Just within radar. I don't know whether they're coming near us yet. Tank, set her down there, just to be safe."
The Nebuchadnezzar nestled between two columns of rock and landed on the ragged floor of the cavern. Asha held her breath as she looked out upon the sewers. There hadn't been a sentinel threat throughout her time on the Nebuchadnezzar; even though she had seen it in the film, and knew that the EMP could get rid of them, she remembered what had happened in the Matrix: Reloaded. She held her breath as she watched it come closer.
Luckily, it swept by, but not before Asha caught a glimpse of the eerie glow that filled the sewers reflecting against the metallic chrome of the machine. Asha's breath caught in her throat when she saw the elegance and the lethality, all in one machine. But Asha had scarcely seen it when it had gone again, and Trinity and Neo were setting out a sigh of relief.
Asha got to her feet, feeling slightly dizzy, though she didn't know why. She followed Trinity to the medical bay to check on Falcon. When she saw him, she remembered what the Architect had told her about her dreams. Was the dream about them all a premonition? Or a guide? She glanced down at her hand, and realised that she was still clutching the slip of paper the Architect had given her.
"What's that?" asked Trinity.
Asha shook her head. It would take too long to explain. Fingers shaking slightly, she unfolded it. She already knew who it was from. There was only one person it could be from. She read, in a neat, formal looking script,
'You know where to go.'
"What is it?" repeated Trinity. Asha looked up at her.
"It's David," said Asha, "He wants to meet me."
*****
Luna - Ah... never update? Sorry, I won't be back for a coupla weeks probably, I'm really busy at the moment... *ducks various projectiles thrown by reviewers*
alocin - Hmm, chairs with fences... now there's a gap in the market...
Kit - See, he's fine. I wouldn't be so mean as to introduce him then kill him off in the following chapter.
Tanuki Yasha - Bit of both, are you happy? And this is just ONE of the major cliffhangers yet to come! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!! Oh, how I love torturing you people...
Yilantri - Now that is true. Cruddy breakfasts. ALWAYS watching? (turns round and sees chickens ducking behind the table) Uh-oh...
Im a Brandybuck - That bit IS really funny! But I was somewhat distracted by my friend muttering swear words non-stop under her breath, as she had been ever since Trinity said "I'm going in," and didn't stop till she was alive again... well, she paused briefly when she thought she was dead, but then quickly started again... IT IS SO FUNNY!!!!! "I LOVE YOU MORPHEUS!!!!" Hahaha, my friend can do such a good impression of him!!!
sirocco.flow - I don't know. Don't think so, I haven't seen them in any of the trailers. I know Persephone and the Merovingian are, but that's it.
M4KO - Hi, very hyper Mako. Hope you've calmed yourself slightly. Now calm. Breathe. Ohm. And you won't know what's going to happen until... well, a long time! Because only THEN will this story come to an end!
Jack Cole - Ja, ich kann Deutsch sprechen, aber erst ein bisschen. Ich wohne in Kent in Sudost England, in der Nahe von Canterbury. Und du? Hahaha, I can speak German!
Huntress - Um, sorry, I would have loved to have taken you guys too but I don't think you would all fit on the coach... Good point, where IS Jon? I'll need to write him in somewhere...
littlefurryscrubcreature - Don't be silly, cliffhangers aren't out to get us. It's chickens. Everyone knows that. Duh.
KnowInSight - Thanks!
MollyJean - I actually think the story gets better as it goes on. Right now I think it could be better, cos it's a little cheesy and Asha-centred. But it gets better, really.
Becca and Elektra - Yes, he's entirely my own creation! As are Asha, David and Jon! I think my fave out of them is a tie between Asha and David, cos Asha's so funny and David is so interesting to write. More hyper than before? Quick, give her more Ritalin, let's see just how hyper we can make her!