The Matrix: Legacy
Three
Abel
Morgain was strangely subdued as Cain and Abel led her back to her room. Cain stopped outside the door, letting his younger cousin explain the room to her.
Abel's explanations were short and to the point, and he even paused to reconfigure the laptop in her room so that she could type commands instead of speaking. "Just type what you want," he pointed to the keyboard, "and you'll get it. Don't be cute and try 'an escape route', because that will only earn you an unpleasant visitation. Also, if you try to hack that computer, the Frenchman will most likely give you to the Twins for an hour or so. You don't want that. Further transgressions will result in a visit to Cujo, who, by the way, makes torture an art form.
"That door," he pointed, "leads to the library. It'll only be unlocked when Cain or I are in there, so don't even try to get out that way. The bathroom has no cameras, but it's also over there," he pointed to a side of the room opposite the balcony. Obviously no escape route. "Now, the balcony itself is quite high. Don't even think about jumping; if the rocks don't kill you, the fall will.
"The main door will be locked at all times."
'You people don't leave a damn thing to chance, do you?' Avalon signed. Abel grinned mirthlessly. "Seeing as it's our heads if you escape, is it really so surprising? Ta-ta for now, chérie," he grinned again at her scowl. "We'll be calling in a few hours."
He bowed himself out, and Morgain gave in to a very childish urge and, snatching up a pillow from the bed, flung it at the door. She sat herself before the computer looked it over. She didn't recognise the brand or the OS -- hell, the screen was just black.
With a soft sigh, she typed in the first thing that came to mind.
BINOCULARS
Green font, looks like Courier New... kinda like the old DOS systems.
An odd electric-sounding noise caught her ear, and she turned to see a pair of binoculars lying on a dresser.
Holy shit.
Slowly, she got up and walked to it, unable to believe her eyes. At last she touched them, and found that they were indeed real. Now that's convenient. The future of shopping online. Poof!
She returned to the computer, thought a moment, then typed:
PLAIN T-SHIRT, PURPLE, M
COTTON PANTS, BLACK, SIZE 7
ANKLE SOCKS, WHITE
Another of those electronic noises, and the clothes she'd requested appeared. Smiling, she took them into the closet and changed swiftly. Coming out, she typed in a last request and grinned when a stereo appeared. I wonder if I can get the bass loud enough to rattle the windows of this place....
---------
Ghost looked sadly at the markers commemorating Neo and Trinity's sacrifices. She was gone, really gone, and she wasn't coming back. It had been two and a half years since the One had ended the war. Humans and machines coexisted in an uneasy peace that could break at any time. So far it hadn't, but there had been close calls.
They'd set up an embassy of sorts halfway between 01 and Zion. The machines had requested Morpheus as an ambassador, and Morpheus had agreed after some serious soul-searching. He returned to Zion once a month, mainly to see Niobe, but also to speak with the Council on how the negotiations were coming.
In fact, he was due back in an hour.
Ghost turned away to return to his apartment, and blinked in shock when he saw Sparks and Link standing there. He looked from one operator to the other, feeling a sense of dread at their solemn faces. "We have a problem," Sparks said.
---------
Cain and Abel's sharp ears both caught the low, throbbing sound. They exchanged looks as Cain counted down, "Three... two... one...."
On cue, they heard Cujo howl, "Turn that racket down!" Cain grinned. "He just can't take it... boy, am I glad we're not as sensitive to noise as he is." Abel nodded. "And our sight is all the better for it... although the nose thing can be a problem...." They both winced.
There was a heavy thumping, and Cujo stormed into the library. "Make her turn that damn noise off," he growled. "Noise? What noise?" Cain asked. "All we can hear is your yelling." Abel wrinkled his nose; it smelled like Cujo'd been tormenting some of the prisoners. He reeked of blood, sweat, and other things Abel did not wish to identify.
Cujo snarled and lunged for Cain, but the smaller werewolf nimbly leapt back. "Now, now, Cujo, be nice," he continued, grinning in an infuriating manner. Abel's grin matched his cousin's as he continued, "Yeah, it's to be expected that she'd try to annoy the hell out of us right off. Eventually the bass will give her a headache and she'll turn it down; for now, why don't you go to the other side of the château?" And bathe, he didn't add.
Cujo swung at him, but he ducked under the blow and leapt back, still grinning. The larger werewolf looked from Cain to Abel, snarled, and stomped out.
Once they were sure the burly werewolf was out of earshot, Abel let out the breath he'd been holding. "Woof! That is a God-awful smell."
"No kiddidg," Cain replied, holding his nose. "Abel, ged da spray. Abd hurry."
Once they'd purged the room of Eau de Cujo, they popped in one of their horror flicks. The low throbbing continued throughout I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Halfway through The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati, it stopped. They had just put in the original Willard when the door opened and Avalon stepped in. Cain had fallen asleep, so it was up to Abel to harass her. He faked sleep as she walked by them, ignoring both them and the movie and disappearing among the bookshelves.
Silently, he rose and followed her. Her scent was a welcome relief from the odour of Cujo still clinging to the room and dramatically different from that of Trinity. Abel had only gotten the barest sniff, mainly due to getting a silver bullet in the forehead, but he remembered it anyway. Trinity had smelled of leather, gunpowder, and the One; Avalon smelled of vanilla and mist. Unclaimed? She must have some strict parents.
He smiled as he crept up behind her, intending to startle her. However, she turned around and signed, 'Do it and die.' He immediately put on an innocent 'who, me?' face. "I was just looking for something to read," he lied.
'You suck at lying,' she told him as she looked at some of the books, then her face lit up as she saw what she had apparently been looking for. Abel followed her gaze to see The Faerie Queen set. Eagerly she reached up to grab the first one, but the shelf was just out of jumping reach.
He watched, highly amused, as she made several futile attempts to grab one, then she turned and gave him a speculative look. Before Abel could realise her intent, she had put her hand on his shoulder and used his height as a support as she jumped again. This gave her the required boost to tip the book off the shelf, and she caught it neatly.
She smirked at him and signed, 'Thanks for the lift,' before returning to her room. Abel just stood there for a moment after she'd vanished, utterly stunned.
Cujo's scent was suddenly nothing more than a bad memory. Abel's nose was filled with her. Okay, too many movies, he thought. Food. Food would be nice. Yeah. Food. Cookies. He wanted cookies.
Abel wandered off in the direction of the kitchen.
---------
My prayers have been answered: has given us a hide bio option! No more survey results, no more long babbling bishie lists, no more fangirl ramblings! Huzzah!
---------
Lehorin Hey, you just named the reason why I reread my favourite stories over and over. It didn't sound like a primary schooler's review at all, worry not, m'dear.