OK, I have several apologies to make about this chapter... A) I'm sorry that
I haven't updated for aaages, but I've been really busy. B) I'm sorry that
it's so short, but there's a cliffie at the end which I couldn't pass up.
C) The cliffies are returned. So so sorry. D) Because I'm so busy right
now, I don't have time to write callouts – again, I'm really really sorry,
but please keep reviewing! Enjoy!
Chapter 13 - Reflection
Asha lay on her bed, staring at her ceiling, as she had so many times in the past. She wasn't crying any more. Instead, her head felt empty, and she was hardly thinking. She was just staring straight ahead, not really seeing anything. She couldn't quite believe that Jon was gone, and she could have saved him, and escaped all this grief. She could have had a normal life, and not had to fight all the time. Now she never could.
There was a knock on the door. "Asha?" called Morpheus, "Do you want something to eat?"
"No," Asha found herself replying, "I'm fine." The footsteps went away again. Asha rolled onto her side, grabbing her pillow and hugging it. She knew that she'd done the right thing, the honourable thing, the thing she was supposed to do. The thing it had been prophesied she'd do. She'd worked that out. She'd fulfilled the prophecy – now what was she supposed to do?
That night, she had another dream. But this wasn't a premonition – it was a memory. When she and Jon had snuck into the Matrix when it first came out. They'd only been eleven, but when they first saw an advert they'd felt that they had to go and see it. Of course, since they were underage, it had taken some ingenuity – they'd bought tickets for U film showing in the screen next to it, then snuck in when the lights were down. Immediately, Asha had been hooked.
"The agents reminded me of Team Rocket," said Jon as they left the cinema. He'd been going through a Pokemon phase. "And Neo was like Ash, and Trinity like Misty, and Morpheus like Brock-"
"It was so cool," said Asha, "I wish I could be on the Nebock – the ship thing they were on," she finished somewhat lamely. But after one more showing, Asha would be the first person in her year to successfully say and pronounce it, and after another one say its reference in the Bible, and also explain what the number beneath it meant.
"Oh," said Jon, "I don't know if I would, I mean, it looks kinda scary."
"So?" said Asha, "Don't worry, Jon, I'd protect you."
"You won't always be able to protect me," said Jon. Asha blinked, as this had seemed amazingly profound from an eleven-year-old.
Suddenly Asha woke up. She had tears in her eyes herself, but hardly noticed them. She hadn't been able to protect him, not that time. But he was right, she couldn't do everything. She wouldn't have been able to save both Jon and Neo, Morpheus, Trinity and Falcon. And she knew which was most important for mankind. Jon would have told her to save them.
She hugged her pillow yet tighter. She didn't know why, but by seeing this, her pain seemed to have eased slightly. She got to her feet and walked through the door. She headed down to the dining room, where she guessed everyone would be. As she entered, they all looked up.
"You saved me some goop, right?" she asked.
* * * * *
That night, Asha and Falcon took the night shift, as they always did, but it was quieter than normal. Falcon didn't seem to want to instigate the conversation, and Asha was content in sitting in silence for now. As she looked at the code, she pressed a few keys, and zoomed in on Jon's house. Police were parked outside, and Asha could see Jon's parents in the living room, talking to the police.
"Hey," she said suddenly, making Falcon jump, "You don't think I could access tomorrow's newspaper articles from here, do you? Just to see whether they say anything about it."
"You could probably access next week's," said Falcon. Asha smiled slightly, the first time she had since that afternoon. She pressed a couple more keys. She thought that she'd have to read the local paper's, but to her surprise, it came up in the National papers as well.
"What the-" she muttered, and pressed a key to bring up the article. The headline 'Kentish Schoolboy found dead' came up, with a subtitle proclaiming 'Murder related to the disappearance of Asha Warner'.
"Weird," said Asha. At the top of the article was a photo of Jon. It wasn't a school photo, but one taken when she and him had gone to the park with his new micro scooter. He was riding on it at full speed straight towards the camera – and the unfortunate person holding the camera had been her. It had been a great photo, but it came at a price, in that he hadn't been able to stop and had crashed right into her. Trying to blink back the tears brought on by remembering it, she scrolled down and began to read.
'Kentish schoolboy, Jon Thomas, 15 years old, was found shot dead in Canterbury yesterday evening.
'Jon had been seen leaving his house that morning, and his parents say that he hadn't mentioned where he was going.
'"It's a mystery what happened," said Kentish police in a press conference yesterday evening, "Canterbury has very little gun crime, and there's no apparent motive. He was, however, a very good friend of Asha Warner, the girl who went missing from the same area just over a month ago. There is some evidence that both these cases are related, but as yet we have no suspects."'
Asha shut down the article. She didn't want to read anymore. Falcon continued to sit silently. They seemed to be communicating without words, so when Asha began to talk, it was as though they were already mid- conversation.
"I always felt separate from everyone else," she said, "Felt slightly distant from them. I wasn't the same as people at school, they all talked about clothes and bands and boys and parties they'd been to. I wasn't like that. I was separate from them. I never understood why I felt it, and ignored it."
"But Jon... he was like my link to everyone else. My bridge over the gap. I felt normal when he was with him. But when I felt the spoon in my pocket, I knew that I had to save you and Neo. Spoon Boy said that I would need it one day." She smiled. "He was right."
"He was," said Falcon.
"Agent Smith wasn't happy," said Asha lightly, but her eyes started to fill again, "He knew straight away what my decision was. He pulled out a gun, but I was gone. I ran faster than I thought I could. I think he chased me, but as soon as I was out of his sight, I went back to the Real World, then went back into the Matrix again a split second later."
A tear crept out of the corner of her eye. "I miss Jon so much," she said, her voice breaking, "When I was with him, I felt more like everyone else. I felt that I could be myself."
"And who was yourself?" asked Falcon. Asha rubbed her eyes and stared at the code of the Matrix, making no attempt to see through it.
"I was the girl who would go to parties, but halfway through go and look at the stars outside. Not because I was bored, but because I felt less alone when I was looking at them. Which, when I think about it, makes no sense." Falcon didn't say anything. "I was the girl who, when she went to see a castle, felt an immediate link with whoever had been in that castle before, even if I didn't know who it was. I thought I was important, meant for something. I had no idea why I felt like that, I just did."
Falcon nodded along, looking thoughtful.
"You don't have any idea what I'm talking about, do you?"
"I have a basic idea," he said, "But if someone says they understand you completely, you haven't told them everything about you. We're very complex beings."
"And the Matrix wants to turn us into power sources," said Asha, remembering Morpheus' speech. Combined with a form of fusion, the machines had found all the energy they would ever need... Something stirred in her mind. Something was happening in the Matrix, something that would affect David as well, the plans had been brought forward, needed help to stop it... She gasped, clapping her hand to her mouth.
"What is it?" said Falcon urgently.
"I think..." she said, "Wake everyone up. Now. It's important!" Falcon looked at her worriedly, then obligingly sprinted off towards the bedrooms. Asha sat there, looking at the code of the Matrix, hand still over her mouth. If she was right, it wasn't over yet...
---
Changed my mind – going to write a couple of callouts really quickly. Not for everyone though, sorry! I just don't have time! Most people commented on Jon's death – so I'll say to everyone, I'm sorry, but it had to happen! (flees attack chickens) And as you can see, she DIDN'T hit Agent Smith with the spoon – come on, give me a little more credit!
MollyJean – Well, there was a sort of funeral chapter and flashback... is that OK?
Im a Brandybuck – No, he can't, because it was a program that killed him, not a bullet. Sorry.
Jack Cole – (accepts Daisy) Wow! COOL! No, believe me, I want Daisy to cause those poultry of hell PAIN. (cackles)
Hogwarts-Drama-Queen – Oooh, magic duct tape!! (runs around taping stuff up)
Two Bored Idiots – I did consider killing Neo, but then thought... nah...
Sci-freak GrodySpork – (gasp) YOU CAN NEVER WATCH TOO MUCH LORD OF THE RINGS!!! Right? (everyone has gone silent) Right?
Chapter 13 - Reflection
Asha lay on her bed, staring at her ceiling, as she had so many times in the past. She wasn't crying any more. Instead, her head felt empty, and she was hardly thinking. She was just staring straight ahead, not really seeing anything. She couldn't quite believe that Jon was gone, and she could have saved him, and escaped all this grief. She could have had a normal life, and not had to fight all the time. Now she never could.
There was a knock on the door. "Asha?" called Morpheus, "Do you want something to eat?"
"No," Asha found herself replying, "I'm fine." The footsteps went away again. Asha rolled onto her side, grabbing her pillow and hugging it. She knew that she'd done the right thing, the honourable thing, the thing she was supposed to do. The thing it had been prophesied she'd do. She'd worked that out. She'd fulfilled the prophecy – now what was she supposed to do?
That night, she had another dream. But this wasn't a premonition – it was a memory. When she and Jon had snuck into the Matrix when it first came out. They'd only been eleven, but when they first saw an advert they'd felt that they had to go and see it. Of course, since they were underage, it had taken some ingenuity – they'd bought tickets for U film showing in the screen next to it, then snuck in when the lights were down. Immediately, Asha had been hooked.
"The agents reminded me of Team Rocket," said Jon as they left the cinema. He'd been going through a Pokemon phase. "And Neo was like Ash, and Trinity like Misty, and Morpheus like Brock-"
"It was so cool," said Asha, "I wish I could be on the Nebock – the ship thing they were on," she finished somewhat lamely. But after one more showing, Asha would be the first person in her year to successfully say and pronounce it, and after another one say its reference in the Bible, and also explain what the number beneath it meant.
"Oh," said Jon, "I don't know if I would, I mean, it looks kinda scary."
"So?" said Asha, "Don't worry, Jon, I'd protect you."
"You won't always be able to protect me," said Jon. Asha blinked, as this had seemed amazingly profound from an eleven-year-old.
Suddenly Asha woke up. She had tears in her eyes herself, but hardly noticed them. She hadn't been able to protect him, not that time. But he was right, she couldn't do everything. She wouldn't have been able to save both Jon and Neo, Morpheus, Trinity and Falcon. And she knew which was most important for mankind. Jon would have told her to save them.
She hugged her pillow yet tighter. She didn't know why, but by seeing this, her pain seemed to have eased slightly. She got to her feet and walked through the door. She headed down to the dining room, where she guessed everyone would be. As she entered, they all looked up.
"You saved me some goop, right?" she asked.
* * * * *
That night, Asha and Falcon took the night shift, as they always did, but it was quieter than normal. Falcon didn't seem to want to instigate the conversation, and Asha was content in sitting in silence for now. As she looked at the code, she pressed a few keys, and zoomed in on Jon's house. Police were parked outside, and Asha could see Jon's parents in the living room, talking to the police.
"Hey," she said suddenly, making Falcon jump, "You don't think I could access tomorrow's newspaper articles from here, do you? Just to see whether they say anything about it."
"You could probably access next week's," said Falcon. Asha smiled slightly, the first time she had since that afternoon. She pressed a couple more keys. She thought that she'd have to read the local paper's, but to her surprise, it came up in the National papers as well.
"What the-" she muttered, and pressed a key to bring up the article. The headline 'Kentish Schoolboy found dead' came up, with a subtitle proclaiming 'Murder related to the disappearance of Asha Warner'.
"Weird," said Asha. At the top of the article was a photo of Jon. It wasn't a school photo, but one taken when she and him had gone to the park with his new micro scooter. He was riding on it at full speed straight towards the camera – and the unfortunate person holding the camera had been her. It had been a great photo, but it came at a price, in that he hadn't been able to stop and had crashed right into her. Trying to blink back the tears brought on by remembering it, she scrolled down and began to read.
'Kentish schoolboy, Jon Thomas, 15 years old, was found shot dead in Canterbury yesterday evening.
'Jon had been seen leaving his house that morning, and his parents say that he hadn't mentioned where he was going.
'"It's a mystery what happened," said Kentish police in a press conference yesterday evening, "Canterbury has very little gun crime, and there's no apparent motive. He was, however, a very good friend of Asha Warner, the girl who went missing from the same area just over a month ago. There is some evidence that both these cases are related, but as yet we have no suspects."'
Asha shut down the article. She didn't want to read anymore. Falcon continued to sit silently. They seemed to be communicating without words, so when Asha began to talk, it was as though they were already mid- conversation.
"I always felt separate from everyone else," she said, "Felt slightly distant from them. I wasn't the same as people at school, they all talked about clothes and bands and boys and parties they'd been to. I wasn't like that. I was separate from them. I never understood why I felt it, and ignored it."
"But Jon... he was like my link to everyone else. My bridge over the gap. I felt normal when he was with him. But when I felt the spoon in my pocket, I knew that I had to save you and Neo. Spoon Boy said that I would need it one day." She smiled. "He was right."
"He was," said Falcon.
"Agent Smith wasn't happy," said Asha lightly, but her eyes started to fill again, "He knew straight away what my decision was. He pulled out a gun, but I was gone. I ran faster than I thought I could. I think he chased me, but as soon as I was out of his sight, I went back to the Real World, then went back into the Matrix again a split second later."
A tear crept out of the corner of her eye. "I miss Jon so much," she said, her voice breaking, "When I was with him, I felt more like everyone else. I felt that I could be myself."
"And who was yourself?" asked Falcon. Asha rubbed her eyes and stared at the code of the Matrix, making no attempt to see through it.
"I was the girl who would go to parties, but halfway through go and look at the stars outside. Not because I was bored, but because I felt less alone when I was looking at them. Which, when I think about it, makes no sense." Falcon didn't say anything. "I was the girl who, when she went to see a castle, felt an immediate link with whoever had been in that castle before, even if I didn't know who it was. I thought I was important, meant for something. I had no idea why I felt like that, I just did."
Falcon nodded along, looking thoughtful.
"You don't have any idea what I'm talking about, do you?"
"I have a basic idea," he said, "But if someone says they understand you completely, you haven't told them everything about you. We're very complex beings."
"And the Matrix wants to turn us into power sources," said Asha, remembering Morpheus' speech. Combined with a form of fusion, the machines had found all the energy they would ever need... Something stirred in her mind. Something was happening in the Matrix, something that would affect David as well, the plans had been brought forward, needed help to stop it... She gasped, clapping her hand to her mouth.
"What is it?" said Falcon urgently.
"I think..." she said, "Wake everyone up. Now. It's important!" Falcon looked at her worriedly, then obligingly sprinted off towards the bedrooms. Asha sat there, looking at the code of the Matrix, hand still over her mouth. If she was right, it wasn't over yet...
---
Changed my mind – going to write a couple of callouts really quickly. Not for everyone though, sorry! I just don't have time! Most people commented on Jon's death – so I'll say to everyone, I'm sorry, but it had to happen! (flees attack chickens) And as you can see, she DIDN'T hit Agent Smith with the spoon – come on, give me a little more credit!
MollyJean – Well, there was a sort of funeral chapter and flashback... is that OK?
Im a Brandybuck – No, he can't, because it was a program that killed him, not a bullet. Sorry.
Jack Cole – (accepts Daisy) Wow! COOL! No, believe me, I want Daisy to cause those poultry of hell PAIN. (cackles)
Hogwarts-Drama-Queen – Oooh, magic duct tape!! (runs around taping stuff up)
Two Bored Idiots – I did consider killing Neo, but then thought... nah...
Sci-freak GrodySpork – (gasp) YOU CAN NEVER WATCH TOO MUCH LORD OF THE RINGS!!! Right? (everyone has gone silent) Right?