Chapter Text
song rec: closer - nine inch nails
The moon shined into the club only vaguely through the few windows, clouds soon covering the natural light source as the clock inched closer and closer towards midnight. The bass was hard, the music loud - some kind of remix of Rob Zombie’s Dragula. A shadow moved in between the bodies, swaying to the music, covered in sweat and radiating nothing but rush.
In that crowd a man with dark hair and deep, big brown eyes was looking around almost uncomfortably, huddling against a wall with a cheap, stale corona beer in hand. He took a sip, glancing around the room with a sigh before looking down to the bottle in his hand. The bottle was covered with condensation, the droplets slowly running down and hitting the man’s long, slender fingers. He usually wasn’t the kind of guy to go partying on a weekday, much less when he had work bright and early the next morning.
But when he was asked to come, he took notice of that tattoo, a white rabbit inked into his friends shoulder and he had to think of the mysterious person that had hacked into his computer, told him that he was caught in the very net he was so suspicious of all throughout his teenage years up until now.
“Neo.” a voice said, female no doubt. He whipped around, his eyes landing on a woman, his age with black hair framing her face in an almost strict way. He positioned himself straighter as curiosity flickered in his eyes, an eyebrow raised slightly. She seemed so… weirdly familiar. Despite the off-putting artificial eye, the green and black tattoos covering her, where her tight and almost skimpy pvc dress didn’t.
“Where’d you get that name from?” he asked, his body rigid as he looked her over.
A soft, amused chuckle came from the woman as she stopped in front of him, her arms crossed relaxed over her chest. “Follow me.” she said, motioning with her fingers before she led the way deeper into the club. Neo hesitated, looking around before quickly following her, moving through the masses of moving, sweaty bodies.
His eyes were glued to the way the sea of bodies seemed to part for her, making him struggle to follow as his gaze dropped to how her hips swayed to the beat of the music, the lights reflecting off her dress. When she sat down in a booth in a secluded corner of the club he finally felt like he could breathe again. “Sit.” she told him, gesturing to the bench still offering plenty of space.
Almost hesitantly he joined her, making sure to keep enough distance between them. Something about her face was so oddly familiar, which calmed but also unnerved a part of him. “So, who are you?” he finally asked after she had gestured for some staff to bring some drinks.
“Mnema.” she replied calmly, leaning back with her hands folded in her lap. Neo seemed to think for a second, his face falling slightly once realization settled in.
Neo swallowed, furrowing his brows as he glanced at her. “Wait, you’re Mnema?” he asked and shook his head a bit in disbelief. “The Mnema that hacked the DOD computers and then stole the ISS software?” he continued, shaking his head a bit.
Mnema smirked, nodding softly. “The one and only.” she softly said, smirking - almost sharply.
With a huff Neo shook his head, crossing his arms as the server placed their drinks on the table, condensation rolling down the fancy glasses sides, some fruity mixture from the looks of it. “So you hacked into my computer.” he murmured slowly, still accusatory as he glared at her from where he was seated.
“No, that was a friend of mine. Give her some credit too.” she chuckled, taking a sip from her cocktail as she looked at him, took off the sunglasses she was wearing. Her eyes - or rather the one normal one, was a warm almost cozy feeling hazel color while the other formed a stark contrast, a mechanical one, the eyewhites a dark, metallic grey while the pupil itself emitted a bright green light.
“How?” he asked, leaning forward a bit, her eye throwing him off enough to doubt her again. “I’ve got so many jammers and security locks, how did your friend-” he continued, a hand running through his hair before Mnema interrupted him.
She sighed, shaking her head. “I can only tell you that you’re in danger, Neo.” she said, her eyes held him in a firm, commanding gaze. “We brought you here to warn you.” she added, a bit more quiet, leaned towards him so that she could still understand her.
For Neo, the bass faded, the thumping turning quieter now even though in reality nothing had changed around them. “Of what?” he asked, his brows furrowed ever so slightly as his mind and thoughts ran at a thousand miles an hour.
“They’re watching you.” she said, biting her bottom lip for a moment before looking back to him.
“Who is?” he quickly asked, eyes narrowed slightly - she must’ve made this stuff up, this couldn’t be real. This couldn’t be happening to him, he thought.
Mnema looked at him for a second, taking a deep breath, her hands slightly clutching at her dress. “Listen closely.” she softly said, turning to face him properly, sitting up straight. “I know why you’re here and what you’ve been doing.” she continued, looking down at her hands. “I know why you sleep like shit, live in that dingy apartment thats more a ruin than anything else. And I know why you’re sitting at your computer as soon as you get home from work until the minute you go to bed - You look for him, search for him.” she told him, her eyes still fixed on her hands clutching her skirt.
Mnema looked up to him. She caught his gaze, coming closer until their thighs brushed as she leaned into his space, her lips hovering by his ear.
“I know because I did too. I also searched for him. And when I found him he told me I wasn’t looking for him but for an answer. You feel it too, don’t you? That the world feels off sometimes, you can’t name it but you just know it?” she murmured softly in his ear, making the hairs in his neck stand up as he was unable to reply.
“It’s the question that brought us here, drives us. And you know it too.” she added, slightly pulling back to glance at his side profile, his eyes fixed on hers.
“What’s the Matrix?” he asked quietly, his gaze flickering across her face, looking for that answer.
“It’s out there, the answer, Neo. It’s looking for you, like you do for it. And it will find you, if you let it.” she said before standing up, disappearing into the crowd once more.