Disclaimers: I own none of the characters that you recognize from the Matrix or the Matrix: Reloaded. They belong to the Wachowskis.
Also, in this fic they don't use 'I' 'me' 'my' 'mine' etc. Even when referring to only one of them. I think it adds a certain dramatic effect.
YAY FOR RYKAN, WHO DREW ANOTHER PICTURE!!! This chapter is ALSO dedicated to Rykan4Marius for drawing another scene from Dual Biography!
DUAL BIOGRAPHY- The life of the Virii Twins after the explosion, from Twin Two's POV
By Kobra aka Karina of Darkness
Chapter XIV: Fear
~
"You're the Matrix Incarnate." I replied in such a soft tone that it would be easier to read my lips then listen.
One laughs. But he's not One…...he's the MI. He IS the Matrix Incarnate..
The MI walks closer to me. He pulls off his glasses and coat, dropping them to the floor. The vest and shirt is removed, the tie gone, and an only half-clothed man is standing in front of me.
His features are shifting visibly. His eyes narrow, his skin darkens, the dreadlocks thin and multiply till his hair is straight and black. His skin has lost it's albinism, but it's gained a Caucasian tone. His eyes have turned to relate to those of a reptile, the cat-eyes. He's some reptilian, slimy, creature. He hisses. I'm not even sure what or how to respond. Smith is laughing loudly, his voice slices through my shock. I've doomed One to this fate. He's gone…..
….GONE……
"You can get him back, Twin Two," Ghost's calm voice cuts through me. "You must overcome your fear, and he will return."
"We……we can't," I reply weakly, backing up against the wooden shack as the shirtless thing approaches me, a vicious smirk on his face.
"There's no we anymore, foolish exile," MI tells me, in a triumphant tone, "There's only you. Your brother is gone, and your fear is realized."
"That's….that's impossible," I respond, "One can't be gone, He's always with us, always next to us."
"He's GONE, Twin Two, and there's nothing you can do about it. Your defeat is now, here, and there will be one less program that helps the Resistance in the world. You're dead, defeated. You have condemned your brother to kill you. I hear him sobbing. He was screaming when I drove you here, screaming to fight and realize, and now he sobs in defeat. Sobs in knowledge that the end is here for you, and there's NOTHING he can do about it. Worse, it will be by HIS hand you die. And I relish in his despair."
I can feel his hot breath on my face now. I'm panting myself. I'm rooted, terrified.
"You can do this, Twin One. You must not despair, the end is not here for you. You are not going to die, you are not going to kill your brother. You will survive this ordeal, and it will ultimately make you stronger in the end. Your weakness weakens your brother, he fights for you. If you are strong, he will be strong. You must fight, and then you will win. You must----"
There were two people speaking then, and then suddenly one is gone, interrupted by a sharp gunshot. I turn quickly. The sweat on my forehead shines as I do, and Morpheus is on the ground, crumbled. Smith's gun is smoking.
"You….you killed him!" Trinity shouts, and she charges Smith.
They fight. I can see their fight from my angle, and both I and the MI are watching it. Niobe is tending to Morpheus, who is breathing heavily. With a glance through the Matrix, I see the damage. Smith punctured a lung.
Ghost's voice continues through the violence, "You must be strong, you must continue. You must not despair; you must not lose hope. You must win; you must not lose. You must fight it; you cannot surrender. You cannot sob; you must hold your head high. You are a program of the Matrix, and you shame everyone one of them by bowing your head in defeat and letting this weak, sniveling creature manipulate you and your brother so."
The MI turns to Ghost now. He is snarling and hissing angrily at the resistant, and yet he does not stop.
"This creature you know nothing of, only what you have been told. You have no idea of it's power, it's only strength is your fear. Destroy your fear, you will destroy it's strength."
Ghost walks closer, closer to me, and away from the MI. The thing is furious, shaking with rage. He stands in front of me, and looks into my eyes. Even through my sunglasses, I can feel his calm gaze upon me. He swallows, and begins to recite something. I remember the words; I never heard them, but they echo in my mind. I've known them all my life. His voice disappears as my memory swallows me whole, hidden depths unlocked that have been sealed for thousands of years.
I have walked the paths, the shadow roads that lead to Terror's breast
I have plumbed the depths of Hatred's womb, and scaled Destruction's crest.
For every secret left unturned, for every power learned
I'd sell the remnants of my soul, regardless how it burned.
And now I find this power learned is more unto a curse.
My spirit burns with every spell and each irreverent verse.
Despite the strength and knowledge gained, I have paid a heavy toll….
Never should have traded power for my own, IMMORTAL soul.
AN:
The last part is © Blizzard, from the game Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. Honestly, I just thought it was really cool, so I wanted to put it in there. The title is self-explanatory.
Due to the nature of the next couple of chapters after this, they are really all supposed to be one chapter. Because that chapter would have been 18 pages, I split it up into two or three, so only the first of the next couple of chapters will have a title, disclaimers, or any sort of author's notes, because they're really all subchapters of the next one that I'm putting up. Because of this, I will only be putting up this chapter (Short, I know) this week but I may put up all three subchapters next week instead.
Also, I apologize in advance for whatever time it takes me to put up chapters from now one. You see, before this chapter I had it all written out beforehand, but now I am writing it as I go along and hence it may take me more then a week to finish chapters. Writers block, flag practice, whatever. Thankies. ^__^