My muses have grown tired of this story. -- As usual, I apologize for the slow update, though I still plan to work on this until it's done or I drop dead. Whichever comes first.

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Click!

Hao grinned at Jeanne's startled expression when she failed to blow a sizeable hole through his throat. "Tsk. That won't work, you know. You need these." He opened his hand to reveal her remaining bullets lying gleaming on his palm. "And, of course, the throat isn't nearly as pretty a target," he admonished, taking advantage of her silence. "If you press the gun to the sternum--" he touched a hand to the middle of his chest "--and shoot, it blows a star-shaped pattern in the skin because the bone is so close to the surface. Ever tried that?"

She made a fruitless swipe for the bullets and he held them high, as if taunting a small child. "No, I haven't," she snapped, glaring. "I usually dispatch any who displease me from a distance."

"Bit cowardly, don't you think?" he inquired, putting a hand to her forehead and pushing her back.

"There is no cowardice among Agents," she stated, straightening herself in an attempt to regain some dignity. "The method is merely effective."

"Is it now?" he mused. "I should think that I would have been dead long ago, back when you and Marco were chasing me through the halls."

"It works on anyone who's not some freak of nature," she spat, trying to keep her cool but failing miserably.

"Harsh," he sighed, putting a hand to his heart with a grin. "But this is starting to seem a waste of time, is it not?"

"For once it seems that we agree on something," she said with cold, sarcastic surprise.

"Then shall we end this quickly?"

"You may as well lie down and die, in that case," she retorted.

"Oh?"

"Fool. We're data. Data doesn't die; humans do. It's the inevitable result that comes when a mortal is foolish enough to challenge a god."

"A god?" he repeated. "Far from it. Gods know everything, Jeanne."

"You can't hide--" she began, and broke off into a horrible silence. Hao had placed one hand forcefully on her, just below her throat, his fingers over her collarbone, pressing back. Her hands flew to his wrist to push away his violating touch, but those too stopped mid-motion. Something was terribly wrong. It was written everywhere, from the unpleasant smirk on Hao's face to the sudden wrenching pain within her.

She knew in an instant what was happening, could feel the data that made her very being falling out of order, scrambling painfully and destructively. Her memory flashed back to the time a Zion hacker had loosed a destructive virus on the matrix; she had been the only Agent attacked (though there had been few) who had not been forced to return to the system for reprogramming, leaving her with memories of the agony and terror. They had quickly tracked down and eliminated the hacker.

It was happening all over again, and for a moment, she was no more than a young human girl, just recently become an Agent, still new and naïve in the face of the horrors that came with the job. She turned her widened garnet eyes up to Hao's as he stared mercilessly back down at her. He had been right, she realized with a flash of hatred. There was one vital thing that the Agents – that she – hadn't known: she hadn't known he could do this, and it had brought on terrible consequences.

Her thing frame convulsed, and she retched involuntarily, blood rising in her mouth and streaming down her chin in a small rivulet to splatter on the back of Hao's hand. He watched silently as it trickled to his wrist and dripped onto the floor of the elevator.

He coldly returned her agonized gaze, watching as her eyes pleaded again and again for a reason to this pain. It was so strange and new to her, something unpleasant long forgotten and now cruelly resurrected. It had been so long since she knew such throbbing, and even longer since she had actually bled. Now she was forced to remember, and it came as a shock, the pain only compounded by the humiliation of having its perpetrator be Asakura Hao himself.

In a moment, Jeanne's legs had given way, and she sank to the floor, her eyes glazing over. In a cascade of silver tresses, she slumped forward, her blood on the floor creating a red stain on her front as she fell. Hao frowned, wiped off his arm with a handful of her hair, and stepped back.

He hadn't expected it to quite be like that. He had imagined the demise of the persistent female Agent several times before, but it hadn't been quite like that. Something about it seemed wrong, that she should suddenly become so fragile and break like she had. He had imagined a more violent destruction, in the vengeful spirit of the Agents, but she had merely wilted like a flower in late autumn.

He shook his head, clearing the thoughts. What did it matter, anyway? She was gone now, and would bother him no more, though it was a pity the fight hadn't been more interesting. He was about to turn his attentions to exiting the stopped elevator, but then froze.

Jeanne's left hand had twitched ever so slightly…or was he mistaken?

Hao looked again, and this time there was no error. He watched in surprise and slight horror as she drew back one hand, and then another, and slowly pushed herself up off of the floor. The blood on her face was half dried and sticky, but she took no notice of it as she raised her head to glare at him, new vigor flaming in her eyes. He took an involuntary step back. She was an Agent, a figment of data; there was no way she should have been able to survive his data warp, and even if she had, there was certainly no way she should be able to move at all.

Silently, with purpose in her every movement, Jeanne stood up. She did not touch the wall, or even brush against the railing for support, but straightened, with terrible resolve in her eyes. Hao did his best not to gape, and managed to succeed.

Now, there comes a time in every man's life when it is wisest to say in the face of a problem, "I'm terribly sorry, but I'll have to get back to you about it next Tuesday." And though Hao was the type of man who liked to deal with a problem (and burn it to powdery ashes) immediately, he also had the sense to recognize when the problem is one that he would not be able to solve right at the moment, and perhaps not even by next Tuesday.

So it was that when Jeanne lunged forward with a new, ferocious attack, she suddenly found no one there and looked up just in time to see Hao disappearing through the small door in the elevator's ceiling. A brief spasm of irritation crossing her face, and Jeanne used the railing for a step up and managed to scramble out, her eyes already combing the shaft for her quarry.

He was already out of sight, though, and she merely stood motionless on the top of the elevator, gazing up the shaft, the fury in her eyes dying down to a smoldering resolve.

---

Yoh hit the elevator down button again and stood back, wondering why it wasn't coming at a time like this. His arms were starting to hurt from Anna's weight, as light as she was, and all he really wanted now was to get out of the building and back into the Nebuchadnezzar. He hadn't heard or sensed anything from Hao, either, and he wasn't sure if that was good or bad, but he certainly hoped he'd meet up with his brother.

He continued waiting, frowning in puzzlement. Sure, the contraptions had a reputation for being slow, but not this slow. The dial above the doors didn't even register any movement. A sudden rattling in the ceiling above him tore his thoughts away from his impatience, though. He could sense something moving above him, deliberately and with confidence. He hurriedly looked up and down the halls, his eyes darting about in search of another possible exit.

If it was an Agent or one of their probes…

Not that he would really mind one or two – despite all warnings, he was still curious as to what the Agents were like – but he had the still-unconscious Anna in his arms, which would complicate things badly. He would be fighting handicapped, as well as having to protect her at the same time. He could work something out, but he would have to think quickly…

The movement continued in the ceiling and then paused by a vent. With a sudden crash and a small flurry of dust, the grate gave way, clattering to the grounds with a human-like form on top of it.

Yoh gave a half smile as the figure stood up and shook out his long hair, brushing at any dust possibly clinging to his clothes. "Oniichan! Aren't you supposed to be holding off the Agents?"

"Change of plans," replied Hao, turning and starting quickly down the hall. "Come on. We're leaving."

"Coming!" replied Yoh, a little breathless, trying his best to match his brother's speed. It was impossible, of course, and soon Hao turned to see what was taking so long.

"Oh, Anna weighting you down?"

Yoh paused for a moment to catch his breath. "I'm not used to carrying people," he protested.

For a moment, Hao considered offering to carry her himself for a while. The idea certainly had its advantages, he decided, eyeing her limp form. Then the image of her waking to find herself in his arms crept unbidden into his mind. For a moment, he could feel the smarting of her slap on his face and the intimidating flare of indignant rage in her eyes. It wasn't exactly something he greatly desired to repeat.

Then he pictured it happening to his dear, naïve little brother. And he smiled.

"Well, do your best," Hao advised, turning to continue on down the hall.

Yoh gave a small sigh, readjusted Anna's weight in his arms, and continued to follow his brother until they reached the end of the hall.

Yoh looked about. "It's a dead end, Niichan. Now what?"

"No, it's not," retorted Hao with a grin, drawing back his fist and slamming it into the glass.

Yoh watched open-mouthed as the tinted clearness cracked and shattered, its fragments raining down on the pavement so many stories below. "Oniichan, that's vandal – what are you doing??"

Hao looked back from where he stood, poised to leap from the window. "I'm going to jump, as are you. It's our escape route."

"But…"

"It's just like the jump program, silly. Come on; there's nothing to worry about."

"But I failed the jump program," blurted Yoh miserably, catching his brother's sleeve in desperation.

Hao turned around, the surprise evident on his face. "You failed it?"

Yoh nodded, wishing they were not having this conversation at all.

The elder Asakura scrutinized his brother's face, unable to comprehend this new development. "How is it that my twin brother failed such a test? And after what the Oracle sai—" He stopped abruptly, apparently unwilling to divulge further information.

"What did she say?" queried Yoh, eager for the conversation to take off on a new tangent.

"I'll tell you –" the slightest trace of a smirk flashed across Hao's face, making Yoh's heart sink "—down there!" In an instant, Hao had seized his younger brother's arm and pulled him up on the empty windowsill, nearly dangling him over the edge.

"Stop, Niichan! I have Anna!"

Hao gave one glance to his brother, and one to the still-unconscious young woman in his arms. The unpleasant smile reappeared, this time remaining fixed on the elder brother's face. "Then you'd better learn how to land real fast!"

It was a matter of a simple shove between Yoh's shoulder blades.

Hao watched with amusement as his brother plummeted, hair literally standing on end both from the wind and possibly from fear. His arms would have been flailing as well, Hao decided, had his grip on Anna not been so tight. The long-haired twin gave a soft chuckle and then launched himself into the emptiness after his brother.

Yoh squeezed his eyes shut, his stomach rising in his throat. He probably would have been upset with his brother had not a numbing sort of shock come over him. The next building's rooftop was coming up much too quickly, it would all be over soon, he was sorry he had Anna, if only Hao hadn't been in such a troublemaking sort of mood…it's just that he didn't want anything to happen to Anna.

If only there was something he could do.

He opened his eyes in time to see the concrete rooftop come up underneath his feet; out of instinct, he pushed off against it as if to make another jump. The next moment, he realized to his surprise that he was whole; there had been no sensation of snapping bones and crushing pain, but only a freeing lightness and feeling of elation he didn't understand. And then it hit him; he had survived the jump; he and Anna were still alive, and he was practically soaring through the air.

He heard a whoop behind him and turned his head to see Hao following behind, catching up with the finesse of experience, an I-told-you-so grin plastered on his face. "Whaddya think of it, huh? Next step'll be flying."

"Flying?" asked Yoh, unsure of whether or not he liked the idea. The initial excitement of jumping from building to building was already beginning to fade as he realized how very high up he really was.

"Of course. It'll take a little time, but I'm sure you'll get used to it. I'm not quite done mastering it yet, but in a few more days, I can help you start."

"Oh," was Yoh's only reply as he tried to contemplate this new development and coordinate his landings with solid surfaces at the same time. At the same time, though, a blissful lightness seemed to wrap itself around him inside; he had managed to rescue Anna and escape the Agents, and all they needed now was to get to a phone and everything would work out just fine. He could go back to playing with controls on the Nebuchadnezzar and fixing things in his leisure time or searching the matrix programs for good music. He wouldn't have to worry about Anna dying or horrid things like that.

True, a creeping feeling of reality did begin to tug at him, reminding him of those who had died so recently and the damage that had been done, not to mention the problem of Hao's plans to wipe out humanity and the Agents. But none of that was a pressing issue at the moment, and he pushed it away, telling himself that everything would work out.

And then every thought vanished as he sensed the slightest movement in his arms.

Hao, leaping ahead, was lost in his own thoughts, similarly as complacent as his brother. After all, this had been a splendid chance to show off his fighting prowess and be a general nuisance to the Agents. He had had a dreadful amount of fun, and he decided to store their various expressions forever in his memory. Though he wasn't sure why his data warp had failed to destroy Jeanne. Being completely data, as Agents were, it should have been devastating, yet she had survived.

A voice cut through his musing, cold and sharp and utterly outraged. "You PERVERT!!" He winced as the exclamation was followed by the quick, loud crack of palm on face and the voice added a command through clenched teeth. "Get your hands off of me!"

So, Hao thought with a smile, Anna dearest has awakened.

To be continued…