Hi everyone, I'm back from holiday! A very nice e-mail from EriEka127 encouraged me to update this early, so any thanks should go to her.
This chapter's a little different from most of the others. I hope you all like it.
Chapter 4 - Kathryn
As Etain drove away, after warning that if Asha wasn't back there when she returned in exactly 30 minutes she wouldn't hesitate to phone Morpheus, Asha closed her eyes. She'd done this before; all she had to do was return to the Nebuchadnezzar, then immediately go back into the Matrix at a different spot. It took almost no time at all.
Waking up back on the Nebuchadnezzar, she glanced over at Tank. He was too busy tracking people who had been woken up and picking them up from below the power plants to notice her open her eyes. Quickly she closed them again, and fell back into the green code of the Matrix.
But this time as she fell, something was different. Her speed was slightly slower, and she felt herself growing tired as she flew. This wasn't right; normally it took no effort at all to go through. Fear starting to enter her mind, she pushed herself forwards, and landed in the glorious English weather; it was raining.
She stood there for a second, panting as if she'd just run a race. Why was it suddenly taking effort to go between the Real World and the Matrix? What if – what if she'd stopped? What would have happened to her?
Glancing at her watch, she saw that she only had twenty-five minutes left. Quickly she ran down Jon's street towards his house. Luckily it was a Saturday, so Kathryn's parents would be at work, and Kathryn would be at home; otherwise there could have been a lot of explaining to do. Keeping her head down as she walked past people's front windows - it would only take one of them seeing her to let the agents know that she was here – she ran up the Thomas' front drive and, hesitating slightly, knocked on the door.
She heard footsteps running down the stairs, and then the door flew open. In front of her was Kathryn, exactly as she remembered her. By the look on her face, Kathryn recognized her as well, even though her hair was dripping and she was wearing more expensive clothes than her usual 'Next' ensemble.
Kathryn gasped and took a step backwards. Asha suddenly realized the danger they were both in and raced into the house, slamming the door behind her. "Kathryn, Kathryn, yes, I know it's me, but please, you've got to calm down- "
"Asha!" she said, staring at her with wide eyes, "Asha! Oh my God, what are you doing here?"
"Look, please, I'll explain, just calm down," said Asha desperately. If Kathryn turned into an agent, that was her chance gone. The image of the dead boy from last night flashed before her eyes, and she forced it back again.
Kathryn suddenly stopped hyperventilating and stared at Asha, as if she'd suddenly grown another head. Asha didn't know whether this was normal for someone who'd just had a large shock, and quickly felt into her mind. To her absolute amazement, she could feel anger underneath the complete confusion. Kathryn was backing away still.
"Is what the newspapers are saying true?" she demanded. Asha had not been expecting this at all, and it took a moment to register what she'd said.
"Uh – newspapers?"
"The newspapers!" Asha didn't need to look into Kathryn's mind now, her anger was starting to appear in her eyes. "Because I didn't want to believe it. But now you're here, perfectly healthy, and Jon's- he's-"
"Wait, wait, they said something about me and Jon?" said Asha quickly, "What have they been saying?"
"They said," said Kathryn fiercely, not taking her eyes off her for a second, "that YOU killed him."
"I – I – I WHAT?" said Asha in shock, "They're saying WHAT?"
Kathryn took a newspaper off the table and threw it at Asha. Asha, feeling somewhat worried that her best friend's sister should be this affected by her, read the front. The headline 'Teenager joins underground gang' was emblazoned across the page. "Oh no," she said, and read on.
'Teenage girl Asha Warner, who disappeared from her home on May 3rd, has been suspected to have joined a violent gang active in America.
'15-year-old Asha was discovered missing from her home one morning, and the bodies of both Mr and Mrs Warner were found downstairs. As the girl's door showed signs of being forced open, the police treated the case as suspicious, and were highly concerned as to the girl's safety.
'But government officials today stated that they had evidence that the girl had in fact joined a gang of disestablishmentarians, headed by some of the most wanted men in America.
'"This girl should now be considered as dangerous," said the government officials, "She has been seen in the company of other extremely dangerous people. She has been trained how to fight, and seems not afraid to kill people. There is evidence that it was she who killed Jon Thomas two weeks ago in Canterbury."
'This statement shocked most of the country, especially those who had known Asha. Jon Thomas was apparently Asha's best friend before these startling events.
'"I just can't believe it," said Jon Thomas' mother in a press conference this afternoon, "I grew up with her around, I looked on her as a daughter. I find it nearly impossible to believe that she would kill her best friend."
'Despite all these events, efforts are still being made to find Asha Warner. She should not be approached, but if you have any information as to her whereabouts...' It went on with a list of ways of contacting them.
"Government officials," muttered Asha, "Stupid agents. Find me too much of a threat now, do they?" She glanced up at Kathryn, who didn't seem to be blinking. "You don't believe this, do you?"
"I didn't want to," said Kathryn, her face softening slightly, "I just couldn't believe it. So – where DID you go?" Suddenly her eyes brightened, and she looked even more alert than she had before. "Do you know what happened to Jon?"
"I-" Asha suddenly realized how difficult this was going to be to explain. "Yes, I do, but that's an explanation for another time. What I need to tell you is-"
"What explanation could be more important than what happened to my little brother?" said Kathryn angrily, "If you know what's happened to him, and you're not planning on telling me, why did you even bother coming?"
"I came to save you!" said Asha, also angry now, "I didn't expect this sort of welcome!"
Kathryn stopped. "Save me? What do you mean?"
"Look," said Asha, glancing at her watch again, "What I'm going to tell you sounds absolutely mad, but I promise you, I'm telling the truth."
"OK," said Kathryn warily.
"The Matrix is real," said Asha. Trying to ignore the look on Kathryn's face, she carried on. "I've been unplugged, I'm on the Nebuchadnezzar with Neo and Morpheus and Trinity and people."
"Morpheus is the bald guy, right?" said Kathryn, "With the pills?"
"Uh – yes," said Asha, realizing that this was going to be difficult, "The Matrix is going to be shut down, we don't know when; all we know is that it's soon, and we're trying to get as many people out as possible."
Asha didn't know what reaction she'd been expecting from Kathryn. She knew what she'd been hoping for; "OK, Asha, so I take the red pill? See you in Zion!" But that was slightly farfetched. What she hadn't been expecting was for her to start laughing. Which she did; slightly hysterically, but eyes filling up with tears as she laughed.
"I knew it," laughed Kathryn, talking in a strange voice, "I knew it, I've gone mad, haven't I? Everyone was saying, 'Why isn't she talking more about Jon? If she keeps it all in, then there's bound to be problems.' Well, lookie what happened, I've gone crazy, completely mad..."
"No, Kathryn, you haven't gone mad," said Asha desperately, "But I don't have time to explain – please, just take this, and I'll explain everything when I see you again."
"Whatever," said Kathryn, taking it from Asha, "If you're not here, than neither's the pill, is it? So doesn't matter. Doesn't matter, doesn't matter, doesn't matter."
Asha handed it over, feeling that this wasn't going exactly as she'd hoped. Yes, Kathryn was being unplugged, but it was going to be hard for her to let go if she didn't believe it. She paused. Was this really the right thing to do? Yes, it was. She'd just have to take the risk.
But before she could even give Kathryn the pill, it all went wrong. Suddenly, just as she was reaching in her pocket for the box containing them, Kathryn's eyes suddenly closed, and she fell to the ground. In an instant, Asha was on her knees next to her. "Kathryn! Kathryn! Can you hear me?"
Kathryn didn't respond. With a growing feeling of dread, she searched for a pulse on her neck; she found none. She was dead. Asha closed her eyes and bit her lip to keep from screaming in frustration.
She only allowed herself to stay there for a second. The machines would have something to do with this, and that meant that they knew she was here. She had to get back to Ireland, where, she hoped, the machines wouldn't find her until it was time to leave. Hastily she got to her feet, but before she left, she unwillingly found herself looking at the photos on the mantelpiece. Photos of Jon and Kathryn with their parents, Kathryn's school photo, a photo of Jon when he was six. She felt a stab of guilt; she'd taken away the other of their children, and so soon after Jon. She forced herself to close her eyes.
The journey was definitely more difficult this time. She felt as if something was holding her back, she wasn't soaring with the same effortlessness as before. Closing her eyes, she concentrated all her mind on forcing herself forwards. Just before she ran out of energy, to her intense relief, she appeared back in Ireland; but she had to sit down to wait for Etain, because her legs wouldn't hold her up.
Finally Etain came round the corner and rolled down the window, raising her eyebrows when she saw Asha sitting on the pavement. "I'm fine," said Asha hastily, scrambling to her feet, "Come on, let's get back to the meeting place."
Calliope-Elven-Agent – If I write the spin-off about when David was first unplugged, then Apoc'll still be alive in that. Which'll be fun.
Im a Brandybuck – Mary-Sues, while evil, are so much fun to write, I admit. The first of this trilogy was definitely bordering on Mary-Sue, if not one outright... Oh, and sorry for killing you, by the way...
LiMiYa – Um, no, you won't find out for a while yet... I'm just that evil.
Theshiz – I wanna be the very best, like no-one ever was, to catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause... I will travel across the land, searching far and wide, it takes Pokemon to understand the power that's insiiide... I could go on for absolutely ages. I know it all off by heart. It really is very, very sad.
Sirocco.flow – (squirms) It's not that good, really. Argh. Embarrassed now... thanks very much...
EriEka127 – There, I've updated! Hope you liked it! Oh, and you said on your bio you wanted a good HP fic – I recommend The Heir of Voldemort by Armelle-Madeline. Very interesting.