Hello everyone, I'd just like to apologise quickly for Chapter 11 – the Merovingian said something to Sarah that implied she has straight hair, and Hannah has the dreads – this was my mistake, it's the other way round. I've been back and changed it, sorry for any confusion that may have caused! Oh and thanks for the review Scott, it's always nice to get new readers )

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it's been put up a day early as a birthday present for Delisa. I had so much fun writing this…

See first chapter for disclaimer.

Chapter 15: Showdown

I had given up trying to wake Tom; if he was asleep it was no natural occurrence and I dreaded to think what had made him unconscious. Instead I had decided to get him out myself. Hannah had said my phone was going to be connected, so my plan was to get him as far as the hallway outside, then call the Neb and get the others to help me carry him to an exit.

But I hadn't realised how heavy a grown man can be; I was barely willing to admit that my brother /was/ a grown man. I stumbled across the floor, my hands latched under his arms, edging backwards towards the door. When I managed to reach it I stood for a moment to catch my breath, hands on hips with a satisfied smile playing on my lips. When my breathing had steadied I pulled on the door and propped it open with one foot, balancing on the other while I picked up Tom again and began taking very small and awkward steps, still moving backwards, trying extra hard not to fall over or let the door shut on me.

I took my fourth step and stopped. I had just hit a wall. No, a door. No, wait, I was holding the door open, wasn't I? I looked over my shoulder; there was nothing there.

What…?

I tried again, but was prevented by the sensation of backing into something solid. I put Tom down, turned around and tried going through it forward, making a point of taking a large step over the threshold. Confused, I found myself standing in the corridor. There's nothing there. What was stopping me? I looked back into the room, having to catch the door as it started to shut itself. Seeing nothing, I went back in, picked up Tom, and tried going through again. I couldn't.

What the hell is going on?

Deciding maybe it was to do with which way I was facing when I went through, I tried putting him down and going through it backwards, which worked. So it's not connected with whether I'm facing forward or backward. What is it then? I tried pushing Tom through first, but only pushed him into the invisible barrier with a thud. I stamped in frustration. Right, I get it. I can get out but he can't. And I can't if I'm touching him. Fantastic. There must be a way round this….

I decided to call Morpheus; if anyone knew how to solve a crisis it would be him. I picked up the key and stepped outside of the door. The Merovingian had gone but I kept my voice down in case they were still close, not wanting to be caught when I was so close to getting my brother back.

Finding my phone in my pocket, I flipped it open and was reassured by the screen lighting up. I hit the short key button to call the Neb; Link answered almost immediately.

"Operator."

"Hey Link, it's me."

OoOoO

"Let me talk to her," said Morpheus, reaching out for the headset, which Link obediently handed over. "Apollo?...Yes, this is Morpheus. It's been longer than 5 minutes so we came back…Yes…What did the Keymaker give you?…I thought so…Where are you now? We've been watching you appearing and disappearing from the code, that isn't safe and I want you to move away from wherever you are…Who?..." He looked slowly at Link. "That's impossible…are you sure?... In that case I want you to stay out of that room, you may become trapped yourself…I'm sorry Apollo but we can't bring him out if the computers don't recognise his code…I know, but if that was possible we could have recovered him a long time ago…it may not even be him, it may be a duplicate…"

"Sir?" Link whispered, trying to get Morpheus' attention. He touched his arm. "Sir, I think you oughta see this." He pointed to a low screen, showing a new message. It was from another Egyptian hacker.

'Time is running out and I am impatient. The key to freeing Neo is now the Sphinx of Giza. I leave it to you to be prompt. Meet me in Artemis' fortress.

Khentekhtay'

Morpheus closed his eyes in despair. "Apollo, I'm sending Artemis in to help you get to a safe exit. We've just received a message telling us we don't have much time so I need you to do as I say. Wait where you are for Artemis, then I want both of you out as soon as possible, do you understand me?" He handed the headset back to Link, then motioned to Hannah to get ready to jack in. "You're the only person who can convince her to leave, please do this for me."

She nodded and lowered herself into a chair. "Yes, sir."

OoOoO

Sarah?

Hannah, you're here! You'll never believe what just happened!

Look, I'm coming for you now, we /have/ to leave, the Egyptian people say they're getting impatient and we don't want to anger the people who have control of our brother.

No, but that's the thing Hannah, I just found him!

There was a pause and I sensed Hannah stop running.

You what? Morpheus didn't tell me that…

The Keymaker gave me the key to this random room and Tom was inside! I couldn't get him out though…it's really weird there's some kind of invisible door or something that stops him from getting out but I can get through it OK.

Ooh, that's what Morpheus was talking about…yeh, you disappear from the code whenever you go in there, he was freaking out!

She started moving again and soon appeared through the door in front of me. She hugged me quickly and I saw her eyes go to the door behind me as she pulled back. I flipped the key into the air and she caught it, eyeing it incredulously and with undisguised curiosity. She looked again at the door, then shook herself.

"No, no – we have to go now," she said; and it was so unusual for her to talk aloud to me I knew she was being firm with herself as well as with me. I nodded reluctantly and we tore ourselves away. The exit Link had arranged was very close, for which I was thankful – the sooner I was out of that god-forsaken place the easier it would be to resist going back and trying to get Tom out again. My legs hurt from the amount of running I had done and the bursts of adrenaline, and my mind hurt from trying to comprehend everything that had happened to me and to Hannah.

Here it is, Hannah thought, as we rounded a corner and spied an old-fashioned telephone sitting on a side table in a room across the way. We tip-toed in, glanced around to make sure it was safe, and stood next to the phone. It'll start ringing soon, she thought confidently. We waited a few seconds and nothing happened. She looked at it expectantly, raising her eyebrows as if asking it when it was going to ring.

I looked around the room, which had turned out to be a lounge, more carefully. It was spacious and well-lit by tall windows that stretched nearly all the way up to the ceiling, which itself must have been several feet above the average height. The side table on which the phone was resting was at the end of a crimson chaise-longe, facing it was a deep sofa in a matching shade, with a low glass coffee table in between. In front of one of the windows was a pair of armchairs overlooking the view outside. The walls were lined with various bookshelves, cabinets and display cases and I noticed that, like all the other rooms we had come across, it had two doors.

Hannah crossed her arms over her chest and began to tap one foot as she stared at the phone. Any minute now… I sighed impatiently and picked it up to listen for a tone and make sure it was connected. There was at least a dial-tone, suggesting it was ready for outward calls, and hopefully inward ones as well.

Are you sure this is where you came in?

No, I came in a different way, then Link disconnected it – he didn't want to leave any phone as an exit for too long in case the wrong person managed to use it. But the directions he gave were pretty clear, I'm sure we're in the right place.

But no sooner had she finished speaking than we heard a noise coming from the room above us. Oh no… It was a phone, ringing. Hannah you fool…

"Lost, are we?"

I looked at Hannah. Hannah looked at me. Neither of us had said it.

"You should listen to directions more carefully."

We spun round and froze. Sitting on the sofa were two all-too-familiar twins, smiling with more menace than they ever had before. Without warning, they leapt up, and before I had time to realise what was happening I had been kicked in the stomach. I stumbled backwards and looked up, only to see one of them towering in front of me.

He swung out with his fist and I just managed to block it, straightening and pushing the pain in my stomach to the back of my mind as I prepared for a fight. He tried again with the other hand and I ducked, dodging behind him and striking out at his ribs as I went. He whirled round and I managed a spin-kick to his head before he began to rain blows down on me from all directions. I was reminded uncannily of the Sparring Programme as my arms began to move faster and faster to avoid being hit again. I tried a floor-sweep but when I came up he wasn't there; I realised too late that he must have phased as I felt a hand clamp over my mouth. Reaching back I grabbed a fistful of his coat and flipped him over my head, then made a run for the nearest door, but it had taken a lot of exertion to flip him and I was slow. He caught up with me and just as I was losing all hope, I remembered what I had been taught.

I smiled at him as he reached out, before jumping 8 feet into the air, somersaulting straight over his head. I began to feel slightly smug, but I hadn't practiced this feat and I landed on the sofa. The cushions swallowed my feet and I lost all sense of balance, my arms flailing briefly before I tumbled to the floor, landing hard on my back. He appeared above me and I rolled under the coffee table for protection, but he smashed the top with one powerful kick and shards of glass cascaded down on me. I scrambled out from beneath the frame and vaulted over the back of the chaise-longe, flattening myself against it quickly. He followed me over but landed in front of me. In the few seconds he took to pause and look around for where I had gone, I reached out and pulled his ankles, causing him to fall flat and disorientating him momentarily. I used the opportunity to check how badly I had been hurt by the glass; fortunately I had no pieces stuck in me, but my left arm was bleeding profusely and my face felt damp with blood.

I brushed away the tiniest fragments that had settled on my netting top and looked up, only to find that he had vanished. Oh, not again… I staggered upright but couldn't see him anywhere. Hannah and her attacker had both disappeared into another room, but she seemed to be handling things OK so decided to deal with my arm before anything else. On the chaise-longe was a cushion with a removable cover; I took the material off and proceeded to tear a strip, having no respect for other people's property, and did my best to tie it round my arm. The gash didn't look very deep and I wasn't too worried.

However I was tired, and I managed to get over to one of the arm chairs by the window. I didn't want to sit down for fear I couldn't get up again so instead I stood behind it and took hold of the back for support. I shut my eyes and breathed deeply, wiping the blood off my face with the back of my sleeve. When I looked out of the window I could see it was starting to get dark outside, and though I hadn't realised there were any lights on in the room I could see them starting to be reflected in the pane. I knew time was running out; we were supposed to be going straight back to the Neb and then dealing with getting Tom back as soon as possible. This is so typical. Just as I was thinking what a mess we were in, I felt something painful on my wrist.

I looked down and had half a second to register that a white hand had appeared from the front of the depths of the chair; with a gasp my head snapped up and I saw in the window the reflection of the twin sitting comfortably, one arm stretched up, his hand clamped firmly around my wrist. Shit.

Without giving me any more time for thought, he yanked hard and I was taken over the chair and slammed onto the floor at his feet. I opened my eyes and tried to sit up, but his foot was resting on my neck. I lowered myself back down slowly, keeping my eyes on him. He wasn't even looking at me – he was staring absent-mindedly out of the window, as if nothing was happening. I gently put my hands on his foot and tried to lift it ever-so-slightly, but he registered the tiny movement and pressed down harder. I choked as he almost completely blocked my airway and began rasping for air.

He looked down apparently for the first time, before suddenly removing his foot and instead taking a handful of my dreads and pulling me sharply upwards into a sitting position. He somehow managed to take both my wrists in his other hand and whispered hoarsely into my ear,

"Now, are you going to come quietly or do I need to be firmer?"

I paused as if considering what to do, making him think my pride was stopping me from admitting defeat. I could sense him beginning to smile in victory. I'll soon wipe that smile off your face…

Angered, I jerked my hands up, taking his arm with them, and sank my teeth into his hand. He hissed in irritation but he did let go of me, and I jumped up. Now my concern was getting back to Hannah, who was getting worn out quickly by making good use of the most highly recommended move in any kung fu repertoire: run like hell.

Despite the pain and the fatigue, I sprinted out of the door and into the corridor, following my instincts to get me back to my twin. She was moving fast but knew I was coming and started to divert towards me. I gave up trying to mislead the Virus Twin behind me, it was useless if I was going to get to Hannah fast enough.

Ironically, we ended up meeting in the marbled entrance hall where we had split up to avoid the Virus Twins before. We appeared through the two doors at the top of the staircase, and the quickest way out was through the colossal front doors. We leapt down the stairs two at a time and both took hold of one the enormous rings, deciding that even one door would need both our strengths put together to open. We counted to three and pulled as hard as we could, but nothing happened.

The Virus Twins appeared at the top of the stairs and started to make their way down. and we pulled harder as we panicked before I noticed a tiny key hole underneath the handle. In desperation I whipped the key the Keymaker had given me from my pocket and thrust it into the lock, flicking my wrist to turn it. We heard something click and with only milliseconds to spare, the door came open.

We flew through and slammed it behind us. I shut my eyes in preparation for the blinding white light I remembered from last time I had been in the room, but Hannah nudged me. What have you got your eyes shut for?

I opened them and looked around. We weren't in the same room as before at all. No white walls, no searing light, and no Tom. We were in an underground car park, with rows of gleaming cars sitting silently in the gloom. This isn't right, this isn't where this key leads! I thought, bewildered.

Well apparently it is. Hannah looked at me with raised eyebrows. We could see a large exit on the other side of the floor, but it was at least a hundred metres away. We slowly started to make our way over to it, when we heard the unmistakable sound of an engine. Looking to our right, we saw that that side of the car park was in face a row of arches leading through into another section. There was a black Cadillac approaching fast, and as it came through on of the arches towards us we saw who was driving it.

Oh for Christ's sake, can we ever escape these guys?

Their engine revved and we jumped, knowing we didn't have a hope in Hell of running away now. We looked at the small red sports car nearest us, then at each other, then back at the car, before simultaneously leaping for it. It was unlocked and we jumped inside; I found myself on the driver's side and felt my heart rate increase substantially. Spurred on by the sound of the Cadillac coming closer, I looked for a way to start up the car without a key.

We haven't got time to fiddle with the wiring, what are we gonna do?

The key! The one the Keymaker gave you, try that!

I didn't believe it would work, but was willing to try anything and again took out the key. Despite my misgivings, it fitted perfectly into the ignition and the engine started smoothly. I smiled and flexed my fingers before closing them around the gear stick. Let's go.

We shot backwards and I caught myself just in time to steer us out of the row of cars without reversing into something. By the time we were in the main pathway to the exit, the Virus Twins had caught up with us and were hot on our heels. A gun strafed loudly and I stamped on the acceleration as the back of the car became riddled with bullets.

They're not trying to kill us, they're just trying to scare us, thought Hannah, trying to comfort both of us.

It's all very well to say that, I thought, but I'd rather not risk anything thank you very much!

We raced out of the car park and into an area of outside parking space underneath a concrete roof that was presumably more indoor levels. It was clearly disused, and we were thrown from side to side as my crazy steering took us around piles of rubble and sections of barbed wire. I could see we were heading towards an open road with cars streaking past; it was the last thing I needed but the Cadillac was still behind us and Hannah had to grab the dashboard as I sped forward, skidding unceremoniously onto the road and nearly colliding with a passing van.

Please don't kill me, Sarah, I've put so much effort into not being slaughtered by the Virus Twins it would be a shame to die now.

Shut up.

I was hideously over the speed limit as I wove in between the cars and lorries, the Cadillac following suit. There was soon a convoy of police cars on our heels too, which induced a lot of swearing from Hannah when she spotted them in the wing-mirror.

Just as we were starting to put a safe distance between ourselves and the Virus Twins, I noticed a strange smell.

What is that?

Hannah looked back. Oh shit, Sarah pull over.

What? I can't!

There's smoke coming from the back of the car…

Bollocks.

I swerved onto to a side-road, leaving a series of horns honking and fists being shaken out of windows at me, and jerked to a stop. I got out and saw that, just as Hannah had said, the trunk was belting smoke. I collapsed onto the road.

We're dead. There's now way to escape them now. I'm too tired to run any more.

I wouldn't be so sure about that, said Hannah. I snorted indignantly, knowing that my pessimistic outlook was actually realistic.

I heard another car pull up behind me and shut my eyes, not being able to look. Footsteps approached and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I didn't even have the energy or resilience to knock it away.

"I'm glad we found you, Apollo."

Wait, that wasn't one of the Twins' voices, that was-

"Morpheus!"