She stands in the hatchway gaping open so carelessly, looking out to the horizon. Body thinned, sharp angles beneath draping masses of tangled black curls. Dirt smudged. Eyes lowered. Lids rising again to gaze at the skies. She is momentarily rapt with fascination as the dark sky manages to grow shades darker, even more thunder than before rumbling in the hills afar. Eye close. Her thumb traces the journal given to her so long ago. How long had she been out here? How could it seem so long ago, and yet not long enough at the same time?
Why?
He was gone. She felt it was only right that she become a ghost as well. She had fled the remains of civilization for exile. If the Universe willed it, sentinels would find her. She couldn't imagine continuing within the Matrix without him there by her side. A smile crept across her lips and a tear fell in remembrance of his features.
He was gone.
Smile fading.
Eyes opening. She sighed and the moment passed. She turned away back to the even darker depths of her stranded ship. Months, possibly years, of isolation had taken its toll on her, only eating when the mortal recesses of her brain willed her to against her own wishes. Such was life, waiting for death, until the dreams began. Her promise to Kabell was not the only promise she'd made. A figure both terrifying and familiar reminded her of the promise she made to him long ago, sealed with her own blood. And now he needed her again, for purposes she was not to understand, only obey. No commands came but one. "Return."
The ship had decayed in the harsh environment that remained of a long ago blue earth, and its energy sources were near drained by sustaining her, all beyond her own repairs. Setting aside the journal she said a small prayer to whatever might exist, although she suspected nothing heard her, that the power cells held. Lights suddenly flickered to life, green screens flashing with code, as she powered on all that was required, and nothing more, in the control room. Pupils dilated and for a moment she had to shield her eyes so used to searching shadows.
She went to work quickly, programing the machine to automatically jack her in and out within a set amount of time. Once she hit run there was no turning back from this new path set before her. She tried to give up, to give in, to lay down and die. The sentinels never came. Only he did, and she still did not know how he found her, how he reached her, but he did.
At any rate, she was bored to death with the wastelands.
She took a breath and entered the run command, then wasted no time settling in the chair, shoving off a wave of apprehension.
The rush. The ecstasy. Falling headlong from one existence to another. She would be running blind through the matrix without an operator to guide her. She didn't even know if she'd find anyone in time, and the thrill of not knowing excited her more than she had anticipated. She felt almost... giddy as she fell face first from the phone booth. A moment of laughter as she gazed down at the body of her RSI, clean and clad in the same purple leather she remembered. How long had it been since she'd seen the color purple? "Don't forget," she thought to herself, and set her watch as she stood and shook it off. Quickly she flipped out her com and checked for a friendly frequency.
She had to laugh again, this time louder. Only one online, and she wasn't sure he would even answer her. Bringing the receiver to her lips. "It's so strange, the air in here...."
"That isn't air you're breathing." He replied.
She grinned.
They met up in the yellow line subway and spoke briefly. She nearly wept seeing Hattah's face, which amused her to no end considering their tumultuous past. He referred to Lili as Commander, to her shock, and informed her she was all that was left of her beloved Advocates. All the rest had become ghosts like herself, or abandoned their name for other factions.
"It would be good to see the Advocates have a presence in the Matrix once again."
She hadn't even thought of it, considered it, but in that moment she remembered words she had said many times over. That she would be an Advocate until the day she died. And she wasn't dead...yet. "I'll think about it," she replied, "but right now I have more pressing matters to attend to, such as the fact that I am stranded in the middle of nowhere, very possibly with a ship that will not run. Send the coordinates of the new Merovingian base to me, and I will be there when I can manage. I'll walk if I have to."
"I'll send them as soon as possible," replied the liaison. "I'll retrieve you myself if I..."
She could only blink and laugh again as she gave her thanks and departed. Time was running out and she had a hardline to catch.
((The journal: http://liliane-mxo.livejournal.com/ for those who don't know her))