Title: New lives: Chapter Three

Author: Stormhawk

001010

They had followed the doctor's instructions, and had gone down the elevator to a basement level and were now faced with odd looking hallway.

"Where the hell are we?"

"I have no idea."

They walked down a short hallway and came upon a large, though fairly dim room. It was filled with storage cupboards and metal shelving.

In the centre of the room were three metal trolleys, covered with sheets.

Vin looked at the trolleys, "it doesn't take a genius to figure out what's under those sheets."

"Well you were the one who wanted to see your body, go on, look."

"Which one?"

"Corpse number three," she said coldly, "you were the third one after all."

"You think it'll be decomposed? Crawling with maggots and such?"

"No," she said distinctly.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Smell," she said simply, "there is no smell. If these bodies were decomposing, they would smell. Well, Carol's might be finished decomposing – she's been dead for more than fifty years, but yours is still very fresh."

"Well, all right, I'll trust you. If I lift that sheet and there's a rotting body, you owe me a drink."

"Ok," she whispered. "Let me know what you find," she said as she started back toward the lift.

"Hey wait!" he yelled as he grabbed her arm, "where are you going?"

"This is personal, between you and your corpse."

"Personal, but not something I want to do alone."

"Let me go Greer, I saw it once, and that was enough."

"Vin," he repeated, "why is this freaking you out so much?"

"Because I killed you!" she screamed. A couple of tears slipped down her face, "I killed you."

"Well I pulled though all right."

"That's not the point," she whispered as she wiped the tears away with the back of her sleeve.

Vin let go of her arm and pulled the sheet from his corpse without another moment's hesitation.

The room went silent as the young man looked at his own cold, dead body.

The body was exactly how he had been at the moment of his death. Vin swallowed, it was like a ghost from another lifetime. It was him, but at the same time, it wasn't.

"I look like a monster," he whispered as he looked at the dirty and bloody doppelganger. He turned back to Stef, "I have to know what I did. I have to know what my…I have to know what happened at the end."

"Your power drove you utterly insane, you didn't know what you were doing. You were acting like some kind of deranged monster, you weren't you."

"I don't think I want to see the file footage."

"You have to, but not straight away, I can tell you what happened."

"Please."

"After you killed the Edmund twins, you killed a subway driver and a young girl…she looked somewhat like Yami, so I guess that's why you did that…"

"And then I died?"

"No. Then I killed you! I killed you, we fought and then I shot you. I didn't have a choice but I still killed you." She started to cry again, "there was no guarantee that you were coming back and I killed you. You can't know how guilty I felt."

Vin smiled and pulled the sheet back over the corpse, "you don't have to feel guilty anymore, I'm fine, I made it."

"I'm sorry, I must look stupid, but it's pretty hard to let go of that image. Before that I'd never killed anyone I cared about. Or since then, but you know hat I mean."

A grin lit up Vin's face, "you care about me?"

She nodded, "sure, of course, you know that."

"But I don't, I don't remember half of my life here."

"Jonesy is working on getting your memories back."

Stef looked at Vin's eyes as she said 'Jonesy', looking a flicker or recognition, anything to indicate that he remembered anything.

There was nothing.

Vin shook his head, "why do you call him that?"

"It's just a nickname Gr…Vin. It's his nickname."

"He's a real agent right?"

"Of course."

"Well I knew, it's just…he was giving me some strange looks."

"The fact that you didn't come back…well, with all of your memories intact is kind of having an effect on him."

"Cause he feels like he failed? It's hurt his pride as a tech cause I didn't turn out perfectly?"

"Something like that, yes. He feels as though it's his fault, even though the reason you lost your memories is because of your power."

"Did anyone ever find out why I had that power?"

"You remember pictures of the real world? You know there's a spike going into the back of your skull so that you can live here?"

"Yes."

"Your spike had a teeny bit speck rust on it. Every so often it would spark and fire some neurons, that's how it worked."

"That sounds…well I didn't expect it to be something like that."

"You're not alone, everyone had surmised it was a software problem, not a hardware issue."

"Hey…so long as we're down here, you want to see your body?"

"No."

"Well I want to see your body."

"That's morbidly perverse."

"Well?"

Stef took a deep breath, stepped forward and grabbed the sheet. As her hand shook, she pulled it down. "Hello," she murmured voicelessly to her corpse.

"That wasn't the reaction I was expecting."

"I'm not afraid or disgusted. If you were expecting girlie screaming, you'll be disappointed. I have a strange relationship with Death, that's all."

"You like tall, dark and scythe-wielding?"

"Not that death. Death with a little d, not death with a big D. Death has been a big part of my life. It began my real life…this isn't making any sense is it?"

"I'm sure that once I have a chance to get philosophical with my situation, I'll feel the same way. After all, you and I are the only two, living, people who have ever gone through this. If I can't understand what you're feeling, probably no one in the world could."

"Give yourself a chance to get used to it before you start dealing with the philosophy of the whole thing."

"That sounds like a good idea."

"I mean, you haven't even done your first shift yet have you?"

"Not yet."

"Well, there's no time like the present. Where would you like to go?"

"Disney World," Vin said without batting

"Oh come on, Disney World?"

"Well, Epcot, but the principle stands."

"Well the principal should let the air out of your brain. That's really where you want to go?"

'Well I would have said Hooters, but I figured you'd object."

"Ok, given the alternative, Disney World it is. Just concentrate and think: 'Shift: Epcot.'"

"Ge…somehow I expected something more. If it's that easy, then why aren't recruits allowed to do it?"

"It's a dangerous power, more powerful than requiring. It's a way to keep them under control."

"That makes sense."

"Well, the Mainframe thinks so."

"So…Epcot?"

"Let's go."

01010101

"Four missing boss, well four plus the corpse" Carlson said, "Frey was unconscious in the restaurant car park."

"Do I even want to know why?" Mero asked as he put a hand to his forehead.

"Well according to his bar bill, he had four 'Silent Nights', so it was just drunkenness, nothing suspicious about him.

"Still, four plus the body."

"Two this week and three last week. Do you think the others have suffered the same fate?"

"You mean, mutilated and eaten?"

"All five of these guys were low-level grunts, why the sudden turn of caring boss?"

"I don't care Carlson," Mero replied as he closed the lid of his laptop. "The thing is, someone is playing with me and I don't like it."

Carlson gave his boss a look and arched and eyebrow.

Mero shook his head, "you know what I mean Carlson. There is a new power and I have the feeling that they are thinking of challenging me."

"Well it won't be a problem. You'll still got all of your regulars, and everyone else will back you with their lives for a little danger money."

"What is your take on this whole thing Carlson? You think it's another exile or some kind of system weapon?"

"Well if it is, and judging by his methods I would think not, you have a serious chance of getting rid of it with no trouble whatsoever."

"I'm rather glad I made extra copies of Smith's hacks. They've already come in handy. His security levels are so high that they let me access areas of the system I didn't even knew existed, even when I was system program."

"And they don't notice?"

"Of course they don't. That was a very good week. I wish I had known it was so easy. Just two bitches and I came out a winner." He noticed Carlson's look, "you don't have to be fucking someone to be their bitch."

"I know," Carlson said a shrug.

"Using that logic, the argument could be made that you are just another one of my bitches." He waited a moment, just long enough for Carlson to look hurt, and then restrain himself from saying anything. "But I wouldn't say that, I merely stated that the argument could be made."

"Yes boss."

"This…new competitor, whoever he is, he knows me. Well, not personally, but he knows my habits. He has some inside intelligence, at least enough to pick my henchmen from a crowd."

"You thinking you have another Judas?"

"I would lay money on it being Motoki."

"And yet, you gave the vamps the bounty. They had no proof and you forked over the cash regardless."

"The creature that they saw, I think that is my new enemy. If this is indeed true, we are dealing with something we have never seen before. A being new to the Matrix."

"Couldn't it just be a shapeshifter? Taking the form for effect?"

"If that were the case, things would be panning out differently."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Prepare, and wait to see what he does next."

0100101

"Teacups go spinny…"

"Stef?"

"Spinny, spinny, spinny."

"Are you ok?" Darth asked worriedly.

Stef braced the sides of her head, "god, I am so dizzy."

"And talking about teacups?"

"The teacup ride. At Disney World. We rode it for like an hour. And made it go twice as fast as normal. I almost hurled."

"A sane person would ask: why?"

"It was Vin's idea."

Darth went as still as a stone and his expression froze, "who?"

Stef didn't notice the look, and put a cushion behind her head. "Oh right, I think my brain's out of alignment. Vin. Greer's transfer worked, he's alive again and going by a different name."

"Oh…"

"And it was his idea to go to Disney World. Well, we started at Epcot."

Darth pouted, "you've never taken me to Disney World," he said, trying to make his voice lighter than what he was feeling.

She turned to look at him, "hey, what's the look for? You didn't think that…oh you did, didn't you? You thought I was having an affair? Don't you…"

"It's not a trust thing, I trust you."

"Then what?" she asked gently as she sat up and took his hand.

"I thought it might have been me."

"Yes Darth it's you. I'm having a hot and sordid affair because I'm sick of having the perfect boyfriend who loves me more than I deserve, understands me better than anyone and looks past my faults. I could never love anyone but you."

"Wow…"

"What could possibly be worth giving you up?"

"Perhaps the hot and sordid part?" he asked with a wry grin.

"You are the only bishoenen I want in my bed. And we are hot without being sordid, which is always preferable."

"Definitely."

"Well, about the preferable, I think my nausea has passed…" she leant up and kissed him, "I've been on G-rated rides all day."

"I'll happily oblige in upping the rating," he whispered as he kissed her back.

000101

"I should have noticed," Jones whispered to himself, "I should have noticed the missing data."

He shook the hair from his eyes and stared deeply into his monitor. He had lost Greer and it was all his fault.

If only he had noticed the missing data earlier, and not mistaken it for unimportant files, there would have been a chance of recovery. There would have been a chance to get back the man he loved.

But because of his error, the Greer he loved was gone.

There was a knock at his door, "come," he called. His heart jumped when he saw it was Greer.

"Hello," he said softly, hoping beyond all reason that Greer would look at him and everything would be all right.

"Hey," Vin said as he flopped into midair and required a chair before he fell to the ground. "Being an agent is pretty good Jonesy."

Jones smiled but his heart was fluttering like a hummingbird. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Well, nothing in particular, but can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Can I kiss you?"

Jones' mouth dropped open and he fell off his chair. Vin started to laugh hysterically, "Sorry J, sorry, psyche."

"Ps…ps…psyche?"

"I just wanted to see what you would do when I said that. I didn't know I was going to get such a big reaction or would have brought a camera."

"I don't understand."

"A psyche, a thing someone says or does to get a reaction. I was going to say 'the sky is falling' or 'the rebels have won the war' but this was more subtle, and apparently, more surprising. So…it worked."

Jones felt his heart breaking into tiny pieces again. He nodded, "very good psyche Greer."

"Vin. And I didn't mean to freak you out Agent J."

"Agent J?"

"Well I feel weird calling you Jonesy, so I figured Agent J is the next best thing. Besides, it's out of Men in Black so that means it's cool."

"I see."

"Ok, well, that's all I wanted. Later J," Vin said with a wave as he shifted from the office.

Jones buried his head in his hands and started to cry again.

0101010

"Motoki?"

"Master, it is bad luck to interrupt someone's kata."

"I do apologise," Grimoires said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Well, what can I do for you?"

"Your old employer has had time to contemplate me. I want to meet him."

"That meeting will not go well."

"Of course it won't, but I think it will be my kind of fun."

"Master, if I called you perverse, what would you say?"

"I would be inclined to agree with you. Motoki, there is no true brilliance that is not in some way perverse."

010101

Vin walked down the halls of the Agency, not exactly sure what he was supposed to be doing.

The rebels were quiet, so there was no fighting to be done. Smith and Brown hadn't come near him, Jones was probably mad after his psyche and Stef had disappeared hours ago.

Thus, he was bored out of his newly minted skull.

He'd been thinking about immortality and rebirth for the past hour, and his situation, however true, seemed almost calm and processed.

All of the focus was on his transfer from human to agent, not dead to alive.

Part of him wished that he could remember his missing months that led up to what had made them make the decision to bring him back. No matter how nonchalant they were acting, the process had only been done three times.

He must have been a damned good recruit.

On the other hand, he liked the memory loss, it gave him a freedom that not many people ever get to experience. The freedom of not being weighed down by the past.

"Heya Vin," a voice said.

"Casey right?"

Casey nodded and smiled, "what are you doing running around at this hour?"

"I'm bored," he said with a slight shrug, "nothing to do."

"You're this immortal agent guy and you can't figure out anything to do?"

He studied her carefully and saw the look she was giving him.

"Annie said you were a monster, but you're not, you're a man."

"I'm an agent now."

"So? You're still a man. With a little more stamina probably," she said with a seductive wink. "You want to find out if you're still a man?"

Vin saw the look in her eyes and the subtle body language and knew exactly what she had in mind.

He saw the look in her eyes…Casey's eyes were the ones he wanted to see it in.

But he wasn't going to reject what he had in front of him here and now. There was plenty of time to get the same look in her eyes, but he wasn't going to deny Casey.

"You aren't expecting some kind of long term commitment are you?"

"A few hours, and a lock of your hair."

"Is there a story behind that?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Your room or my office?"

"Your office sounds tempting, but my bed is much more comfortable."

"Beds aren't just made for sleeping," he said under his breath.

"Well, they are," Casey said, close enough to hear him whisper, "sleeping and sleeping."

"Let's go," he said. She nodded and led him off toward her room.

010101

"Is there some line about once you go agent, you never look back?" Casey asked breathlessly as she stared up at her ceiling.

"I'd imagine it's all programs, not just agents."

"I've never even seen other programs," she replied. "And I couldn't imagine them doing that anyway. They would have to have some human part…some feeling part to make them as good as you."

"I'm not human."

"You were."

"Not anymore," he said through gritted teeth. He turned and looked at her, "I am better."

"Vin…"

"I'm post-human, I'm more advanced, I am better than human."

"Definitely no argument here."

"The technology that brought me into being is centuries beyond you. I'm like the next step of evolution."

"Like the next link instead of the missing link," she said with a wink, "want to link with me again Mr agent man?"

"I'm up for it if you are."

"Good," Casey said, "let's give your advanced self another full work out."

He scoffed, "I'm holding back, if I let myself perform to the limits I'm capable of, I'd probably kill you."

"It wouldn't be a disagreeable way to go."

"I'm serious Casey, I don't want to hurt you."

"Well I'll give you a work out to the best of my abilities," she thought for a moment, "so what would it be like when two programs got it on?"

"Indescribable probably. But I don't think there's anyone we can question on the subject."

"Worry about them later," she murmured, "worry about us now."